August 4, 2015 by Lee and Tracy

July 2015 Budget

Oddly despite all the wedding crazy we had the best month we have ever had from budget perspective. The way I handled this month was to remove all direct wedding expenses and last minute costs for the wedding itself, and leave in meals, clothing and travel costs because if you attended a wedding or family event you might have similar expenses. Based on this criteria we only spent $3804 this month. We only spent $191 this month on campground fees. To be clear, our actual cash flow was much less, but that money came out of contingency funds. The incidentals weren’t that bad. We spent less than $750 in last minute incidentals which is a testament to the good job Kat did on planning the wedding. For more detail on each category please see below. This amount was updated in August when I discovered I left out our RV payment. I apologize by the mistake which was caused by rushing to get the post out before a work trip.

July Budget 2015

Campground Fees – The first two weeks we “moochdocked” on the Miles family farm, which was wonderful. We could have stayed there the entire time, but wanted to be closer to the wedding venue during the week of the wedding. The last week of July our campground costs were covered as part of the compensation package for the video production Lee is doing for Howard. Both moochdocking and work kamping are totally legitimate ways to keep costs down in this area and we are very excited to finally be able to save some money in this category.

Groceries – We’re happy this category stayed under despite stocking up at a Walmart before going to northern Minnesota. It will be interesting to see how we do in August with a stocked cupboard but more expensive local groceries.

Dining Out – We went over by $276. The bulk of that was the Ecuadoran lunch we bought for all the kids which came in at $170. I left it in because sometimes you just want to pick up the check. Bill and Kelly can relate! If you take that meal out and offset with the $127 we were under, in entertainment it wasn’t that bad of a story. Plus, we ate quite a bit of fast food this month. We were running all over the place and providing meals for the people that volunteered with the wedding setup. Individually, small dollar amounts, but it does add up.

RV Relocation – For the first time in a while we went over in this category, but we are $2K under for the year. It will be interesting to see how this is affected when we head out west next month.

Cigarettes – We have been rolling our own cigarettes for one year now (using finely shredded pipe tobacco, an electric roller, and tubes you buy for around $3 a box) and our average monthly costs have gone down from $520 a month (two cartons a week ) to $125 a month. This is a substantial savings and of course it would be nothing if we quit but since that’s not in the cards for us right this moment, saving all that money makes this possible. As an alternative, our friends Jo and Craig have changed 100% to vapor which has the advantage of being better on the budget and a healthier alternative. Either way if you smoke and want to be a full-time RVer we definitely recommend you look into it. There is way to much variation in cigarette prices from state to state and rolling our own allows us to pre-buy tobacco when it’s cheaper.

Clothing – Over by $242. This was some of Lee’s suit, earrings for me to wear to the wedding, and an extra set of sunglasses when I misplaced mine. Thankfully I found the originals. I love those glasses and bought them in an airport so could not necessarily find them again. I left the bulk of this in because when you are going to a special event you might need a new shirt, shoes, or dress. It happens.

Personal Care – I was shocked we were under in this category. Lee got a haircut and I had my eyebrows waxed and a trim but nothing else. I did help pay for some pedicures for the girls prior to the wedding but left that in as a wedding expense because I wouldn’t have done it normally. I do miss my pedicures quite a bit! At $32 a pop though I just can’t justify it. I keep trying to talk Lee into giving it a try but he is not interested, plus the best part is the cool massage chair and hot towels and I don’t think he could duplicate that.

So, it was a really great month and since two weeks of August campground fees are also covered, we’re looking forward to seeing how next month goes. We may actually be getting the hang of this. Hope I didn’t jinx us !!

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August 3, 2015 by Lee and Tracy

Another Moon Filled Night

Saturday, Lee and I decided to go down and see the visitors center at Ash River Trail. Mike, at the Lake Kabetogama visitors center had recommended seeing the beaver pond overlook so we decided to drive down and take a look. Plus, we like just driving around a bit when we get to an area. You never know what you will get to see and it gives you a good feel for what living in a place would be like. The thing that strikes us the most about this part of the country is the lack of people. Even in high tourism season, the roads are largely empty and the stores don’t feel packed. The largest group we have seen since coming here was at the Bear Sanctuary and that was only about 30 or so people. So we were a bit surprised by how full the parking lot was at the visitors center. Mostly it was tons of trucks with boats in varying stages of getting on the lake, and there were no people in the visitor center itself, so that was good. Actually, I am jumping ahead, so let me go back a bit.

Lee took this shot for me of the sign

On the way to the visitor’s center we stopped at the Voyageur National Forest Overlook trail. This .5 mile loop is categorized as easy…well not so much. The trail was very narrow, lots of roots, and there is a pretty steep climb halfway in. Plus the “overlook” is a rock where you can stand and see a little bit of forest. Not the grand vista I was picturing. Luckily when we started we bug sprayed because we needed it and brought a bottle of water, because it was hot in there. I’m not sorry we did it, but it definitely occurred to me before we jump into these hikes I probably should do some research. The sign on the trail gave minimal information and we really weren’t prepared if something had gone wrong.

The “overlook”

Pretty flowers outside

The next stop was the Beaver Pond Overlook, which they state is moderate but I found way easier than the first hike. It’s short and although there is another steep climb there are hand rails and nice stairs going up to the observation deck. Here was the view I was looking for. Absolutely beautiful and we met a nice older couple on the trail who kindly pointed out some blueberries and a cool tree that woodpeckers had been working on. I love how people share their knowledge in these places. It’s a great way for newbies like us to learn.

Helpful stairs

Very nice platform

First wild blueberries I’ve ever picked and eaten

One of two dams

It was 360 degree beautiful, this was behind us

Loved the clouds that day

Selfie

Lee’s shirt was appropriate!!

The grubs are in inside the tree in the warren. Lee took this pic because it was tough to get it to focus. Have I mentioned how cool it is to have an experienced photographer with me at all times. Sometimes it’s great to hand him the camera and say “Here honey take the pic!!”

Then we moved on to the Ash River Visitors Center. It was very nice, but I have to say I like the Lake Kabetogama center better. It did have a cool table though with a beaver pelt, moose antlers and a deer antler that people could touch, which I appreciated. Plus when you walked out back it had a nice view of the lake. We didn’t spend much time there but touching the moose antlers made the stop worth it. I get excited about all kinds of things…OK, I am picturing what Greg would say to that, but you know what I mean. It doesn’t take much to make me happy which is a pretty terrific way to live, I recommend trying it!

Visitors Center

Cool table with local items you can touch

Lake Kabetogama

On the way back to the campground we saw a sign for NOvA, a physics laboratory sponsored by the University of Minnesota. In the spirit of our new lifestyle we made the turn and drove several miles down an isolated road until it reached a dead end at a large secured compound. It felt like we stumbled upon a secret lab (OK, not so secret; they do tours on Thursdays) but still it was cool. According to The University of Minnesota website, “The completed section of the detector is about 12 feet long, 15 feet wide and 20 feet tall. It catches cosmic rays – particles produced by a constant rain of atomic nuclei falling on the Earth’s atmosphere from space – at a rate of 3,000 rays per second. When cosmic rays pass through the NOvA detector, they leave straight tracks and deposit well-known amounts of energy” I have absolutely no idea what it is all about but “the $283 million NOvA experiment involves 169 scientists and engineers from 34 global universities and laboratories” and “when the detector…is completed, physicists will use it to explore the mysterious behavior of neutrinos, fundamental building blocks of matter that are thought to have originated in the Big Bang. Way cool. So in order to celebrate this discovery what else can you do but stop and take a picture with a big fish? We have passed this sign numerous times but never stopped and I couldn’t pass an opportunity to ride on the fish and get my picture taken. Plus, it’s across the road from my favorite little convenient store Gateway General . I really like this store because it has a little bit of everything, and yes, the prices are high, but not so high that you feel guilty for not driving the 30 minutes into Littlefork, Orr, or International Falls. Plus the people who work their are super nice.

N.O.v.A

Riding the fish!!

General Store Check out the sign on the side

Gateway General Store

That evening we went over to Linda and Howard’s for dinner. Linda had invited us earlier in the day and in true Full-Timer fashion we cobbled together a meal from what we each had available. What made this one especially good was the addition of fresh vegetables from the farm H&L are working on. We had marinaded chicken, quick pickle ribbons, green beans, and zucchini fries. It was all very good and healthy and I included the recipe for the Quick Pickle Ribbons below. Neither Howard nor I care for cucumbers but this recipe makes them taste a bit like sweet jerkin pickles and we both liked it. After dinner we played Qwerkle (Howard and Lee won and I came in second again, twice) and then we had a large beautiful bonfire and watched the moon rise. It was another 6 hour evening and I am amazed by myself and Howard’s capacity to hang in so late in the evening. It’s a testament to how good the conversation is and how easy the four of us have become with each other that neither Howard or I need to call it a night early as we are both kind of known for with our friends. Tomorrow it’s International Falls and maybe a pop over to Canada. Looking forward to it.

Grilled marinated chicken thighs

Quick Pickle Ribbons

Fresh green beans with bacon

Zucchini fries

Linda gave me some kosher salt when I mentioned I didn’t have any. Love the smiley face on the bag !!

The clouds (not color enhanced) reminded me of the Michaelangelo painting on the Sistine Chapel

Nice big blaze

Settled into a very beautiful fire

The moon coming up

Recipes

Quick Pickle Ribbons

4 medium size cucumbers; scrubbed but skin on
2 large carrots, peeled
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
2 TBL dill weed
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBL kosher salt (sea salt can be substituted)

Using a vegetable peeler peel the cucumber lengthwise into long thin ribbons. Stop when you reach the seeds and discard remainder
Using same technique turn peeled carrot into long thin strips stopping when you reach core of carrot and discard
In a large bowl combine cucumber, carrot, onion, dill weed, and pepper
In a small saucepan bring vinegar, sugar, and salt just to boiling over medium-high heat
Pour immediately over vegetables, stir to combine
Cover and chill for 1 hour
Ready to serve will last for up to 3 days

Quick Pickle Ribbons

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August 2, 2015 by Lee and Tracy

First Time at a Bear Sanctuary

When I researched the area last weekend I was particularly intrigued by the bear sanctuary. Lee, as everyone knows, absolutely loves bears. OK, I can’t even type that with a straight face because several months ago Lee decided to watch some bear attack videos and he’s been nervous about meeting bears every since. (I do not love bears. Bears love me. Because I am crunchy, and good with ketchup. Only a fool would NOT be nervous about meeting bears. If you are a fool, feel free to go to YouTube and watch some videos. Or do a Google image search for bear injuries. Then come tell me how cuddly they are. – Lee) Since he also really wants to get me out west into the wide open space where apparently bears abound, there is a bit of a contradiction here that we have not worked out yet. So I thought we would take advantage of the closeness of the sanctuary and check it out. We had no idea what we were getting into, but at $8 per person the price was right and I expected to see a few bears. Wow, were we underestimating the experience.

The Vince Schute Wildlife Sanctuary had an interesting start. During the depression Vince sold the family farm to start a logging company. It became very successful, but they had a serious problem with local bears breaking into the cabins the loggers stayed in and stealing the food. So, for many years Vince and his loggers hunted and trapped the bears. In the early 70’s, tired of the killing, he started voluntarily feeding the bears in an area away from the cabin and although this drew bears to the area it kept them away from his men and their cabins. In 1993, at the age of 80, he became concerned about what would happen to these bears when he became too sick to feed them (you should never feed bears because when you stop they often become a “nuisance bear” and then must be killed) so he started a wildlife refuge. There are no cages or fences here. The bears come because they are fed every night and the population of bears varies depending upon the time of year and season. Because of this they are only open between 5-8pm Tuesday – Sunday and don’t absolutely guarantee a bear sighting.

As I said, our expectations were low, but it was something we could do on a Friday evening, so after work we headed over. The reserve is 13 miles outside of the small town of Orr, Minnesota, so it’s really in the middle of nowhere. When you pull into the gravel drive there are numerous signs telling you if you see a bear on the road please honk your horn loudly at them. The sanctuary uses negative conditioning to keep the bears off the road until you get into the sanctuary area itself. It’s not much to look at, a small stand to buy tickets and a gravel parking lot, then you take an old school bus into the sanctuary itself, and the observation deck.

All of the staff were college kids doing summer internships. Many of them live on the property

The platform area itself is very nice, 12 feet off the ground, pretty large, with a nice gift shop in the middle. Lee decided to take his nice professional video camera just in case, along with a tripod, and that’s where we ran into a problem. First, no tripods are allowed (only monopods) which makes sense because there were many children there, and it’s a tripping hazard. Second, when Lee pulled out the professional grade camera things got weird. We were barely into the experience when the assistant manager came up and talked to Lee. We were told that videotaping was not allowed. Once Lee assured him the camera was for personal and not commercial use, he finally allowed him to start shooting, asking only that we not shoot footage of the bears being fed, or how close volunteers got to the bears. Just a minute or two later, the manager came out. This young lady looked to be all of 21, and announced herself as the director of the non-profit, and she asked him to stop shooting, and explained that videotaping was not allowed. At this point I was getting annoyed, I wanted to see the bears. I let her say her piece and Lee again reiterated we were not professionals, and finally I turned to her and said, “You do realize I can take excellent high definition video with my SLR camera?” She paused and admitted she did indeed know that, and that she was fully aware that everyone around us was shooting video with their phones and SLR cameras, and even a few consumer level video cameras. Then she said somewhat sheepishly they had had some problems with naturalists coming into the sanctuary and taking videos and causing problems. Then she said she would allow it. As a side note, for $200 per person you can pay to go down on the grounds with the bears and have a private tour. Not sure I would pay for that, seems like it’s a bad idea all around, but the option is available.

I know many people are purists when it comes to wildlife and I respect that, but I will take a moment to tell you where I come down on the issue. Anything that inspires people, children in particular, to respect wildlife and that does not hurt the animals in any way is a good thing. I listened to more than one kid start the experience by asking grandma if they could play a game on their phone and then actually stopping and watching as the bears started to get more active and feed. This is the next generation, and unless we want our wildlife to be reduced to pixels on a screen we need to find a way to capture their imagination. I think the sanctuary did a nice job of that. Just my opinion, your mileage may certainly vary. Plus, selfishly, what a tremendous picture opportunity! We both had a blast taking pictures and shooting videos. I took over 300 shots and I am going to share some of my favorites with you. It was really fun, the price was right, and as you’ll see, the bears didn’t have a problem with the deal. I highly recommend it if you’re ever in the area.

The cubs were so so cute about 7 months old

Big bear sleeping on a rock

Bear staked out his feeding station

This little guy was my favorite

Just in case you think they were all cute and cuddly

Wouldn’t want to meet up with this guy in the wild

The nursing mom’s (bottom right) were so slim in comparison to the males

The first thing the mom’s teach the babies is how to climb a tree and when they growl the babies go up fast

They even had a three legged bear (missing the front left leg)

Mom and her cub

The little guys were good sharers

We stayed for a couple of hours and the bears were active so we got tons of great pictures. With that much time and closeness you could really play with the shots and get a little creative, which I appreciated. Plus, did you know more people die from potato salad each year than black bear attacks? That was an interesting fact and one I can believe since I’ve had some pretty yucky potato salad in my day. Seriously though, don’t feed bears. Use noise for negative reinforcement. They used air horns in the parking area and I think I may get one for Glacier. And here’s a link to their website with lots of great how to live in bear country information.

So from a photography standpoint I was feeling pretty good about myself, but then we got home, and Lee took this amazing picture (with my SLR) of the Blue moon. You can even see the craters on the right hand side for heavens sakes…ahh well, I guess I need to keep practicing, but as Lee said, “It was a perfectly lovely day.”

Lee’s Blue Moon pic

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August 1, 2015 by Lee and Tracy

Lee’s First Birthday on the Road

Despite the rain, Wednesday was a better day than Tuesday, and after the rains cleared in the evening the hummingbirds were out in full force. We saw as many as 7 around our feeder at one time (if you don’t own a hummingbird feeder get one; it’s really cheap entertainment) and Lee got some great pics. He also put the feeder right on his hand and they got super close. Had to share some of his amazing pictures because they really are so good, plus what’s not to love about hummingbirds? They are cheerful, industrious little birds. Plus the sunset was absolutely amazing, as it often is after a storm, and I got some pics of that as well.

Lee’s pic

Lee’s Pic

It was a feeding frenzy

I took this one pretty happy with the shot

Feeder on Lee’s hand

Lee’s

We’ve only seen one male in plumage so I was happy Lee got these pics

Sunset through the trees

The colors were awesome

So onto Thursday. As I have mentioned I don’t believe in coincidence. What are the odds that we would be practically next door to the people who were very instrumental in helping us choose this lifestyle on Lee’s first on the road birthday AND that Howard’s birthday would be the day before Lee’s? Astronomical? See, my brain won’t accept that. When the odds get into those high numbers I have to believe that something else is going on and God/Higher Power/the Universe (however you identify it) is in play. Your mileage may vary on that, heck I don’t even know if my kids buy into my philosophy, but it’s one truth that I feel pretty rock solid on. That being said, when we discovered a week ago the guys’ birthdays were so close Linda and I sat down to plan a little celebration. The interesting thing is that neither guy is much into birthdays. I love birthdays (big shock for those who know me), but Lee generally plays them down and Howard is the same way. Linda and I were having none of that though, and decided they were having a party whether they liked it or not!!

The first item up for discussion was food, and since they both love lasagna and Linda bakes a great one, she volunteered. It is not an insignificant amount of effort and she taught me how to make a lasagna, which believe it or not I have never done before, and I was really grateful. I have included her lasagna recipe below. Next we discovered Howard loves Caesar salad and since Lee’s first job as a kid was making Caesars from scratch table side at a restaurant, we decided to have him make Caesars for everyone. (That wasn’t my first job, it was my second job. My first job was busboy at the fabulous West Wind Steakhouse, at which I met Tracy and decided to marry her. I then waited seven damn years for her to get her act together. It’s also the first job I was ever fired from, because I was so giddy to be around her all the time at the tender age of 14 that the manager decided I was drunk from finishing off leftover drinks, which I was not. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t drink after other people, not even my own wife or kids. It’s gross. – Lee) This left me with little to do but the bread, and I was OK with that. Howard requested German Chocolate Cake and Lee of course wanted pie. Unfortunately I am not much of a baker, but Linda recommended a little bakery around the corner and they could make a dutch apple, which is Lee’s favorite. It was $15 for the pie, on the high side, but since he is not getting a drone (liked he wanted) for his birthday seemed a small price to pay. (This is why I am not into birthdays, by the way. I asked for a drone, and what I got was a pie, and being forced to work like some kind of indentured servant. If, by the way, you are reading this and have an extra $1000 you need to get rid of, just click here. – Lee) I did feel guilty though about how little I was contributing and decided to spend my lunch break picking raspberries. This is another thing I have never done and thankfully Carol, the super nice camp host here at The Pines , loaned me her hat netting. Picking raspberries is a ton of work and crazy buggy. They were yummy and went well with the cake and pie, but not sure its something I would want to do on a regular basis. (She lies. Putting raspberries on a Dutch apple pie is an abomination. Don’t do it. Think of the children. – Lee)

The pie was beautiful (until she put berries on it – Lee)

Linda’s Lovely Lasagna

Lee showing Linda how he makes Caesar salad from scratch. Linda has access to this nice kitchen in her workamping job

Raspberries and the one blackberry (identified by Howard) that I found. Yummy!!

Raspberries and the one blackberry (identified by Howard) Yummy!!

After we ate (the lasagna tasted as good as it looked) we lit candles and sang. Well, Linda sang while I murmured along. Then the guys opened their cards and little presents while we ate. It was yummy; the cake and pie were really good, and afterwards they taught us to play a game called Qwerkle. It is sort of like dominoes with shapes and colors and Linda was totally in the groove. She was the Qwerkle Queen and won both games. I was pretty happy I came in second both times, but the birthday boys did not do so well. (I was distracted. The lines made by the game pieces did not even come to close to lining up with the lines on the table. Also, I had raspberry seeds stuck in my teeth. – Lee) I had read about Qwerkle in Howard’s blog but it made a lot more sense as we played it. Plus, I really liked the way they explained the game, being very transparent about strategy techniques while we played. There’s nothing worse than playing a new game and having people hold back critical info until you make the mistake. Yes, we’ve all played with folks like that and not only does it take the fun out of learning a new game but can even make you feel stupid, which is the antithesis of fun. Howard and Linda not only helped us play but were happy to allow us to change some moves when we had made an obvious mistake. That made it a lot more fun, and Lee said he wanted to buy the game as soon as we left. It was another very nice night, and I was so glad we could share their birthdays. It’s really nice sharing those moments with people and unlike a sticks and bricks existence that is in no way a given.

Howard and Lee with their cake and pie. Note the pile of raspberries on my pie, rendering it something almost like pie, but with raspberries. I’m still not ready to talk about the wax bits that fell of the candles into my perfectly good pie. – Lee)

Lee’s “I like this pie” face

Linda gave Lee more packets of fire colors since we liked those so much

I bought Howard a book about an adventure couple which I thought he could relate to

I bought Howard a book about an adventuresome couple who paddle to Alaska. I thought they could relate.

Linda and Howard teaching us to play Qwerkle. Love this pic!

The second game we put all the squares together which results in a very unusual game. I had to take a pic, usually things are more jumbled than this

The second game we started with all the squares together (which is very unusual) I had to take a pic because I thought the board was so pretty. (Note how the pieces are not aligned with the lines in the table. Chaos. – Lee)

Recipe

Linda’s Lovely Lasagna

This is a really old family recipe Linda has been using for a long time. You can substitute ground hamburger for the Italian sausage but it’s not recommend as the Italian sausage really adds to the flavor. This recipe makes enough for two 9×13 casserole dishes. You can cook both and freeze one or halve the recipe.

Sauce

3 lbs Italian sausage
1-1/2 cloves minced garlic
1-1/2 TBL basil
1-1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 lbs canned tomato sauce
3 six oz cans tomato paste

Ricotta Filling

3 eggs
4 cups ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 TBL parsley flakes
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 TBL pepper

Additional

2 lbs mozzarella cheese sliced
1 box lasagna noodles

Brown meat slowly draining off excess fat
Add additional sauce ingredients and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
Cook noodles in a large pot of salted water until tender; drain and rinse
Combine ingredients for ricotta cheese filling
In a 9×13 casserole dish (Linda uses Glad Bakeware which works perfectly and is disposable) layers noodles (roughly 4 lengths per layer).
Spread noodles with Ricotta mixture
Add a layer of meat sauce (roughly 1/2 thick) so it covers noodles and ricotta
Add a layer of sliced mozzarella cheese covering sauce
Repeat steps 5-8
Add a third layer of meat sauce
Add a third layer of mozzarella cheese
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned (as seen below)
Let stand for 20 minutes outside of the oven and then serve.

Linda’s Lovely Lasagna

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Camper Chronicles

Travel Tales from Working Full Time RVers

Month: August 2015

July 2015 Budget

Another Moon Filled Night

Recipes

Quick Pickle Ribbons

First Time at a Bear Sanctuary

Lee’s First Birthday on the Road

Recipe

Linda’s Lovely Lasagna