Our purchase of Atticus III is only interesting as a point at which we recognized that we were getting older, that there were things that we no longer able, or willing to do. In terms of the RV, it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to navigate the ladder to the bed in the loft. Coupled with our increasing need to get up in the middle of the night, the difficulty became more than I was willing to accept. We began a search for an RV that had a bed on the ground floor. It took a few months, but eventually we found a “rig” that was affordable, not too long, and had a bed we could access without the difficulty of falling.
III was just a shade longer than its predecessor and, unfortunately, hung out over the sidewalk a bit. One of the neighbors complained that we were obstructing public access, a complaint we received via a very apologetic police officer. For the short term, we had to jockey the RV sideways in the driveway, but ultimately had the driveway widened, so that we could easily park in the drive parallel to the house. Now I confess, I am a bit of a snob and have always felt that cars parked on the lawn look a bit like white trash, an attitude I surely got from my mother. I am not totally comfortable with our solution, however the result looks planned and formal rather than an impromptu decision. I can live with it.
Number III has taken us on two extensive trips to the Southwest and places we had long hoped to see, Monument Valley, the Kanab Valley, the Grand Canyon, and Santa Fe. Twice we were snowed on and had to detour or delay our travels. That’s the nature of the road, things happen and that is the adventure.
As I write this it is November and we are camped along the South Santiam in the Willamette National Forest. The sky is a high grey overcast. A hawk circles above, screeching occasionally. We are getting in one last trip before the end of year holidays. Winter is coming and we plan to spend the two months after New Years on the south coast. It seems that we always have another trip in the works, another adventure planned.