Oh Yeah... Sam let me put stickers in Monty II

Not only did we Ikea-ize, but I got my hands on some decales (let's be honest) stickers. Once we parked in Cannonville, I decided to add stickers and photos to the inside of the trailer. Yeah, my trailer might look like it's owned by a fifteen-year old, but it's got BODY ODOR character...

Paper Towels front and center. And yeah, stickers. Oh and a dog.

RV Remodel Part Three: The Valance Angel

Thank you, Valance Angel!

The missing part of the RV? The window valances! In Remodel Part One, I mentioned a certain curtain angel who swooped in and offered her services when our topless windows needed her coverage the most. Before I get to the specifics, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge all the bad-arse textile manipulators out there--the ones who can crochet, knit, sew, and basically turn a Whole Foods hemp sack into an evening gown. You know who you are... And, let's just get real, shall we? I know that no matter how hard I try to hand-baste my own irregular hemline, I am never going to be one of you. So when something in my life requires this kind of needlework, I must look elsewhere...

RV Remodel Part Two: Ikea-izing our Fifth-Wheel

Uh.... There's nothing to see here...?!

Late last Friday, Sam and I pulled into our spot at the RV park determined to use the last hours of daylight for some hard-core stealthy furniture removal. Unaware of our plans, our nice RV neighbors greeted us and proceeded to apologize for the bad weather in Las Vegas. *Grin*... I quickly forgave them, then prayed to the RV gods that no one would notice any strange furniture items being ejected from our fifth-wheel. I mean, this is normal, right...?

RV Remodel Part One: Removing the Darkness

OK. Yeah. So it was decided. We were going to take out all of Monty II's leather furniture and replace it with Ikea stuff.* And, like usual, the project had "scope-crept" into us removing the valances, switching out the dining room chairs, and even changing up some of the fabrics. And no, this wasn't just my idea. In fact, Sam was pretty excited, too. I think we both realized that with the proper furniture, not only would our RV be bright and cheerful, but it would also be more useful.

So I measured our space and came up with a color scheme and some inexpensive furniture items:

Most was from Overstock & Ikea

Legend of the Slippery Sofa

When Sam and I bought the new fifth-wheel, it was absolutely NOTHING like the original Monty.

The Original Monty with its low-brow look but its fabulous rear kitchen

Monty II was gleaming! We're talking black leather furniture, cherry cabinets, formal valances, and all sorts of classiness. In fact, I really didn't want to touch anything for fear of ruining the shiny interior...

A Little History of our Blog (and our Trailer Obsession)

Sam and I started camping right after we got married, but I had no idea that his determination to make us camp during thunderstorms would lead to us down the path to a fifth-wheel trailer. Here's the short version:

Our gateway drug 

In December 2010, we purchased a tiny Coachman Clipper that we named The Clippah. It was supposed to allow us to camp in Wisconsin and other places without getting attacked by falling branches, raging raccoons, or threatening thunderstorms. But mostly, it gave us the bug to go on a road trip. In September 2011, Sam, Nora, and I took our tiny trailer on a six-week trip to the Southwest, and that's when this blog was born...

And We're Back!

Larry the Truck with Monty II

It's been awhile since I posted on this blog. In fact, I thought this blog was finished. Caput. Finito. Done. Lesson=Learned. And then...we moved to Las Vegas. And we started traveling again, and yep, buying trailers again... and basically just all-around causing trouble. So I had the bright idea to re-open The Clippah blog. Let's be honest, for those of you who know me, I've had a lot of blogs in my day, and I've rarely kept them up. But this blog was different. With CGW there was no pressure to win clients or to create a professional image for myself. When I blogged here, I was basically trying to entertain my family. But most of the time, I ended up just crackin' myself up while I kept track of our journey. We've taken quite a few trips since we moved to Las Vegas, and I posted most of them on Facebook. Here are some links:

• Glamping on the Strip, August 2014. We tested out Monty II for the big-time in the Circus Circus KOA
• Fall in West Yellowstone, September 2014. We visited my brother and his wife, Alice in Montana
• Zion NP. October 2014. We love Zion!
• Joshua Tree NP. February 2015. OK, I totally dig this amazing park. My parents also were with us on this trip... but not in Monty! 
• Death Valley NP. March 2015. No trailer--just tent camping in the heat of Furnace Creek! Thanks, HEATHER HALL, for joining us!

Here's to rving, national parks, trucks, dogs, solar panels, and most of all to Las Vegas, our new home!

11/18 Ode to Sam and His Royal Fifth Wheel Drivin' Badarsness

On the road yesterday from Albuquerque to Amarillo, Sam really began to strut his stuff while driving Monty. Let's just say that it has been fairly, uh, gusty, while driving through the Texas Panhandle. Like so breezy that when we stopped for a quick Veggie Delight with Avocado! (tm) at Subway, I couldn't shut my car door without rolling down the window first. I'm pretty sure Sam's gonna come back from this trip looking like he's all 'roided up like Hulk Hogan or something. It's hard work pullin' this rig in the wind.
Also worth mentioning was the smooth move yesterday when Sam manuvered Larry and Monty nonchalantly into a tight diesel spot-- like he was driving a Mini Cooper or something.
I'm sure there will be more to come, and let's keep prayin' that I don't take the wheel!

11/05 Snow Patrol!

We woke up this morning to four inches of snow on the ground. Little Miss Snow Speed Demon, Nora Woofington Swett, was in HEAVEN. She tore around the campground looking for lost hikers and the remains of campfires past.  This dog is just plain, FUNNY in the snow. She all of a sudden turns very, well, Swiss! She puts her working dog cap on, and just starts PATROLLING! Running beside us, she makes sure we haven't fallen in a deep snowbank, then she gallops ahead to check out any other dangers that await--you know--like avalanches, hot doggin' telemark skiers, unruly snowshoers, or lost Iditarod participants. She might not let us leave!

11/04 Hunkering Down

Nora and Sam "hunkering" on the couch

Oh Monty, I love you more and more each day... The weather has gotten nasty here. They're expecting a rain/snow mix tonight, and well, just plain yucky weather. After we went to the Grand Canyon, we headed on over to Safeway to pick up a bunch of helpful supplies like guacamole, beer, red wine, pancake mix, and refried beans. Oh yeah! Looks like this is gonna be a fun one!

10/30 Loss of Hipster Points

It's 6:30 in the morning, and my brain is awake wanting coffee while Sam's is still catching z's upstairs in the bedroom. So I don't bother my sleeping fifth-wheel driver, I'm down in the living area typing on my computer and staying out of Sam's way. As I am sitting here, I started reflecting on everything we've just done. With a bit of quiet space, of course, the enormity of it all has snuck up on me.
I must admit, I am terribly in love with Monty. He's cozy like a house, yet is (relatively) mobile. We got a great deal, and I know that we will get a ton of use out of him. But, let's just admit it--in a lot of ways, he's really silly. And, I think we're the youngest couple ever to buy a fifth wheel this huge (although I found this blog post from a young couple who bought a fiver from their grandparents and had to learn how to tow it). To make matters worse, when all this is said and done, I'm pretty sure that our hipster points have dropped by fifty million or so.
I keep having these flashbacks to when I was living in the Dominican Republic. Everyone there wore tons of color and tropical prints. Of course, I had to invest in a couple of breezy hot pink, green, yellow, and purple floral print pant-skirts. In Santiago, I wore them with a grin on my face--feeling all free and flowy and Caribbean. When I got home to cold and drab Michigan, my outfits just didn't have the same, let's just say, pizzazz. All of a sudden, I was a petite tropical flower in a sea of Gap jeans and gray hoodies. As cool as Monty seems now, if we can't use him in Wisconsin or Michigan, it's just not going to matter how great he seems here. We've done our research, and I think everything will work out just fine, but I know that we still might have to make some compromises.
But as I rock back and forth on my recliner with a goofy grin on my face, all of a sudden, the epiphany hits--I am smiling and relaxed. Apparently I've just gotta be who I am. If that's an honorary AARP member, then that's OK-- as long as Sam is one too...

10/28 Dig the Big Rig

Yes. That's Jonathan and Sam aligning chocks, plugging in connections, and figuring out why the heck we are pulling a trailer the size of my first condo across the Southwest. Sam is my hero, and drove Monty here from the dealership without incident. Honestly, if it were me, I would've had some sort of altercation with the parking gate at the KOA. Sam managed to slide on in between the two yellow poles and chug into our nice pull-through spot.

It's been a really long day. Tomorrow, we have to pack everything up because we are taking both Larry and Monty to the local tire place to add HUMVEE style mega-tires and to fill them with superhero nitrogen. The plan is to avoid the sort of blow-outs that we had on the way here with the popup.

More news tomorrow as we get settled.  

Jonathan was amazing today--we could not have done it without him. Many, many thanks to him and Diane.

10/16 The Clippah Staying West

So, yeah, uhmmm. I don't know how else to say this except for as bluntly as possible:
The Clippah is being retired for a fifth wheel named Monty. If you don't know what a fifth wheel is, then I'm sure my adoring brother will explain it to you. He LOVES them, and I know he will be very willing to tell you why we made a wonderful decision.
At this time, I'm pretty sure my mother and father think that we have played an April Fool's joke on them a bit too late. Either that, or they think that we have been admitted as honorary members of AARP. Neither is the case LOL.
There is an extremely long story here that I won't share right now, but it involves RV shopping yesterday with Jonathan and Diane at local Reed's Trailer Sales (fabulous, fabulous service) after enjoying our lunch perhaps a little TOO much...
We are a bit behind today after lots of big decision making, but we promise to share more details and information soon.