Arizona, Wisconsin

Encounter with a Game Warden

by Ingrid

The RVers were quarantined in their snug little homes, while visions of travel danced in their heads …

“Okay Ingrid, snap out of it”. I do believe the soaring 100 degree plus Fahrenheit temps in Phoenix, Arizona, have caused something to dance in my head, or is it the increase in consumption of brownies and alcohol? 🤫 Staying housebound in a tiny home, aka RV, during the Phoenix hot season is obviously not an ideal scenario.

Weather is temperamental

April is always an interesting month for the weather. The changing of seasons is rarely gradual. When we lived in Colorado, April always found winter making at least one final appearance by dumping a boatload of snow just when we were ready to welcome spring. It’s as if winter is talking to spring and saying, “Ah ah, not so fast”.

But it’s a dry heat! 🤪

It’s somewhat similar here in the desert southwest, but instead of cold, it’s heat. Sometime in April, the weather warns us of the impending summer heat by sending us those soaring hot temps. We’ll get a reprieve (hopefully) before real summer sets in. Last year, we enjoyed lovely weather in May, but so far this first week in May is not looking promising for any kind of break from the soaring temps. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out. Let’s face it, so far 2020 isn’t playing nice. So I don’t have high expectations for anything these days.

With that said, it’s that time of year in the desert southwest when those that can do and those that can’t suffer.

I’m talking about hitting the road and escaping the desert heat. Fortunately, we fall into the lucky category where we get to leave Phoenix for the entire summer.

Others will try and get a reprieve on weekends by traveling either up to northern Arizona or to the White Mountains in eastern Arizona where temperatures can easily drop by at least 20 degrees.

Our plan is to endure the Phoenix weather until the end of May and then hightail it up to northern Wisconsin to stay on Al’s sister’s property. We stayed there last year but took a little over three weeks to drive the 1,900 miles. This time around, Al has fishing on the brain and just wants to get there asap, plus with this whole pandemic thing, it’s probably best not to meander. Beam me up, Scotty!

I don’t think anyone could’ve envisioned something like a pandemic shutting down the country and impacting our freedom to travel, but I think it’ll be okay for us to drive to Al’s sister’s place by the end of May. However, we will be cautious on our drive there and reconsider doing any further excursions this summer once settled on private property. I had a list of places in Michigan’s Upper Pennisula that I wanted to visit, not to mention returning to the north shore of Lake Superior. Time will tell how it’ll all play out this summer!

Guest post

For those of us living a nomadic lifestyle, we’ve had to rethink our travel plans and some nomads have needed to do some serious scrambling just to find suitable accommodations to abide by the ‘stay at home / shelter in place’ orders. Sue and Dave over at Travel Tales of Life have recently written a series of blog posts showcasing folks from around the world and how the pandemic has impacted their lives personally. I was honored to be asked to be a guest writer. You can check out their blog here.

Back to visions dancing in my head

So with visions of Wisconsin dancing in my head, I thought I’d share a lake tale with you …

Reflections in a lake in northern Wisconsin, boat at a dock on a lake

Ingrid and the Game Warden

It was a beautiful summer day in northern Wisconsin. Al had spent the better part of the morning on the boat fishing. After several hours of fishing, he returned home to take a nap.

Considering it was such a lovely day and the lake looked so inviting, while Al napped, I decided to take the boat out. I motored out a short distance to a quiet bay, dropped the anchor, and began reading my book. “Ah, this is the life!”

While turning a page, I glanced up at the approaching boat which appeared to be a Game Warden. He pulls up alongside my boat and says, “Good morning, Ma’am, what are you doing”?

“Reading a book”, I replied, (thinking to myself, “isn’t that obvious”?)
The Game Warden informs me, “You’re in a Restricted Fishing Area”.

In a very polite voice, I responded, “I’m sorry officer, but I’m not fishing, I’m reading”.
“Yes, but you have all the equipment. So, I’ll have to write you up a ticket”.

“For reading a book?”, I asked quizzically.
“You’re in a Restricted Fishing Area, Ma’am”, he says rather matter of factly.

Somewhat exasperated, I stated once again, “Sir, I’m not fishing, I’m reading”.
“Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I’ll have to write you up a ticket and you’ll have to pay a fine.”

“If you do that, I’ll have to charge you with sexual assault,” I responded.
“But I haven’t even touched you”, explained the Game Warden.
“That’s true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment”.

“Have a nice day ma’am”, he responded and quickly motored away.

campfire
Tales around a campfire!

So maybe this didn’t actually happen in real life, but it could’ve.🤣

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It’s likely she can also think.

I hope you enjoyed a little chuckle and you all are having a great day and staying healthy. And although we may have to rethink our travels and possibly make new plans for the summer, we’ll get through this challenging time and may even discover new hobbies in the process. Cyber hugs!

a canoe on a lake at sunset

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91 thoughts on “Encounter with a Game Warden”

  2. lovely and funny story! the story of the game warden is absolutely hilarious😂 thanks for sharing thus post with us!

    Follow @everythingtips for tips and recommendations if interested☺️It would mean a lot to me🥺🤍

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  3. Hello there my name is Jodi, I am new to your blog and just enjoyed the post about the Game warden.
    Actually I think that you could take this a little further if you wanted to.
    Maybe do a little short story piece.
    Thanks again for making me laugh

    Jodi

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  4. Hi Ingrid,
    My wife Laura and I are canceling our big trip to the East Coast and are also going to “glamp “ on a lake in Washington on her sister’s property. After being stuck in south Texas for way longer than expected it should prove quite refreshing. I enjoy your blog. Have fun, be safe-Greg

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Greg. And yeah, I get the hanging around in one location a little too long. However seems like, we’re the lucky ones with family in the north who have land for us to hunker down on. Enjoy your summer on the lake and we’ll do the same 😊

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  5. Little did we know as full-timers that when we decided to buy a improved lot here in quirky Quartzsite to use as a winter base, that we would be hunkered down here well beyond “winter”. Our temps pretty much mirror yours over in Phoenix. Although we are thankful to have our “base” here, we’re making plans to head to Northern Arizona toward the end of June..maybe. I’m thinking it will be crowded with escapees from down south. It’s certainly a day-by-day world at present. Loved your game warden story.

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    1. At least we both have lots where we can shelter even though we wouldn’t want to spend our summers stuck on them. It’s still better than nothing during these uncertain times and offers a level of security.
      Our RV Park is at the far north end of Phx right off the 17 and we’ve seen regular trailer traffic every weekend … heading north on Friday and south on Sunday. Not sure where they’re staying up north but some swing in here to dump on their way home ($15). Stay cool!

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  6. Safe travels Ingrid, I would love to escape the heat too. We take our trips up north when we can but who knows how things are going to play out this summer. What a year 2020 is turning out to be. You and your husband have a wonderful time fishing and thanks for the laughs at the end of this post, we all need those. Happy traveling adventures.

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    1. Thank you, and agree, 2020 is sure turning out to be an interesting year. I’m afraid we may be in for quite a roller coaster of a ride for the rest of the year and perhaps into 2021 as well. I’m hoping the weather will cool somewhat and return to ‘normal’ temps next week 🤞 I don’t mind the temps up to 90 but over that it starts getting a little too hot to do much.
      Hope you can escape the summer heat at least a few times this summer 😊

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  7. That was a funny story, Ingrid. Love your sense of humor and smartness. 🙂 Last year, when we were in Southern Utah mid-May, it was raining, freezing at night, hailing, and snowing with temps in the forties and fifties (and nice weather in Phoenix – seventies I believe), while now, it’s upper eighties in Southern Utah. There is no normal anymore when it comes to weather!

    It was a surprise to share a guest post with you (and Lisa) on Sue’s blog. I hope you have a smooth journey to Wisconsin and that your summer plans work out!

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    1. Thank you Liesbet. It was great being featured on a blog with you … pleasant surprise. Yeah, the weather is definitely fickle. Here in AZ, we’re experiencing above norm temps and now WI is experiencing below normal temps 😏 What’s a nomad to do? Oh well, we’ll just stick to the plan and head northeast after Memorial Weekend and make sure we have plenty of cold weather clothing with us (which we always do).

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Yeah, it’s getting pretty warm in Phoenix with temps 10-15 degrees above normal for this time of year, but now Wisconsin is having unusually cold temps 🤷‍♀️ Life sure is crazy right now on all fronts!

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  9. Thanks for the laugh Ingrid! Here in Melbourne we haven’t made any plans for travelling north for the winter and at present all state borders are closed anyway. On the plus side we are enjoying a southern autumn and still get pleasant days. Our lockdown is bearable as the govt. urges us to exercise daily and so far the strategies have worked but a less dense population helps. I’m not game to start planning, we’ll just take each day as it comes and hope the virus tallies stay low. Now more than ever …travel safe and enjoy life on the road.

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    1. I hear ya! We could probably travel now with some restrictions, but we’re waiting until the end of the month and heading to private property. We’ll be avoiding campgrounds for awhile until we start seeing some normalcy (whenever that might be). Take care!

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      1. We’re doing well – especially Gail we’re introverts and no kids at home. Still have one more year before retiring from our school as facilities manager. British Columbia has been relatively mild – problems mainly in the Care Facilities, but everything non-essential is still shut down – even playgrounds. It will be interesting to see what changes our collective culture will retain or reject after this passes.

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  11. You got me on the joke! 😅 I was like, whoa Ingrid…..he’s gonna give you a ticket! 😂 Thanks for the chuckle! We need to laugh every day, good for our heart and soul!! 😊 BTW, we’ve been on the road, we’ve left SC and are now in our home state, Maryland, for a few weeks to get caught up on home life. Then hopefully first of June we’ll head west if the areas we’ve booked stay ‘open’. 🙂

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    1. Glad you enjoyed a laugh. It’ll be interesting to see how the summer travels play out. Fingers crossed things won’t be too disruptive. We’ll hit the road after Memorial weekend. I look forward to seeing where those wheels will take you.😃

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    1. I find it so interesting that we could live on other sides of the world and yet our lives are so similar. I’m thinking, we could all use a few extra laughs these days. 😁

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  16. Ingrid, thanks for the laugh! We all need more laughter these days. I hope you’ll be able to get to Wisconsin this summer! I’m heading over to Travel Trails of Life to check out your guest post.

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    1. Yes, we could all use a little laughter these days. I don’t foresee any problems getting to Wisconsin. We may end up curtailing some of our other summer excursions, but at least I won’t be sitting in 100 degree temps in Phoenix. So no complaints from me 😎

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Good morning, Ingrid,
    At least Al knows where not to fish…loved the story. I’m glad you mentioned the gloves for pumping gas. We’re leaving in a month and I might not have thought about that until it was too late. A pic or two of a saguaro before you leave would be a nice treat. Stay safe. Joe

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    1. I’ve been posting pics of cactus on my IG account, but blooming cactus might make for a good blog post especially since I seem to be running out of things to talk about. Ah, say it isn’t so 🤣 Safe travels to you and Helen and don’t forget the gloves!

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  19. I needed a funny today – thanks! I want the two of you to be safe and take care once you start traveling at the end of this month. I am sorta glad my parents have planted themselves and no longer RVing. We worried about both sets of parents when they would migrate back to MN – traffic, weather, etc. In laws have planted themselves too. Enjoy your day – Try and Stay Cool 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think we could all use a little humor these days. Yeah, being a full-time RVer during this time has certainly proven to be a challenge for many. We’re very fortunate that it has had very little impact on us … just the usual toilet paper, flour, hand-sanitizer shortage that’s affecting everyone else. I got lucky yesterday shopping and scored a bag of flour and a container of disinfectant cleaning wipes – score! Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined being thrilled to find something at a grocery store. Ah, crazy times 🥴 I’m hoping to return to Minnesota’s Northshore this summer, but that’s questionable and up in the air at the moment. Might just stay put in Wisconsin!

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      1. We were thrilled to find yeast a few weeks back. We like making homemade pizza dough. So I get where you are coming from. Yes, crazy times. Great places to explore in Wisconsin and right there with you in loving MN’s Northshore – have some fond memories of time spent in that area growing up.

        Have a Great Day 🙂

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        1. I knew you and I shared fond memories from that area. I too make my own pizza but usually buy the package mix of dough where all I have to do is add water. I’ve tried making from scratch but it’s just a tad too challenging in the RV. Hmm, perhaps you could share your dough recipe and pizza making skills on your blog … hint, hint 😉

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          1. Good suggestion on sharing pizza making skills 🙂 My blog writing has taken a back seat due to my work in supporting a health care system in a pandemic. I will get back to it eventually.

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            1. Hope things start to settle down soon for you. I know what a challenging time it is for everyone. Stay safe and I look forward to the pizza post … whenever you get around to it 😊

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  20. We’re currently traveling across the country to our lake for the summer. No problems getting sites for the night, or even a couple nights along the way. Most places are taking precautions such as check in’s outside or on-line and keeping an empty site between each camper. We try to pick fuel stops where we can pay at the pump and not go inside and have enough food for the entire trip – no grocery stores or take out. The only odd thing is that rest stops along the interstates are randomly closed or open, no apparent rhyme or reason to which will be open! Not so bad.
    Safe travels!

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    1. That’s good to hear that you haven’t run into any problems. We’re not expecting any either and it’ll be travel as usual for us since we don’t normally eat out and rarely go into gas stations unless we have a problem at the pump. Love being self-contained and traveling with my bed and kitchen in tow. Your lake property will be perfect for hunkering down for the summer. I look forward to your pics!

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    1. With me, ya never know if bail money is needed 😎 You are welcome to join me on an adventure anytime, but I make no promises as to your safety OR sanity 😆

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  23. Thanks for the laugh! Good one!
    We abandoned Phoenix last Wednesday and made the three day trip back to Alberta. (I’m posting the story of the trip tomorrow…) The heat was a bit much, even for us in a house. The evenings weren’t cooling off any more, and I was walking at 6:30 in the morning to avoid the heat. Old Wheezy, the air con in my craft room, simply couldn’t do the job anymore. Rattlesnakes plentiful…
    The drive home was easy – mostly just us and long haul truckers. No problem buying fuel, fast food places all open for take-out, restrooms all sparkly clean, social distancing very easy.

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    1. Glad you made it home safely and good to know you didn’t run into any problems while traveling. Yeah, it’s hot. Doesn’t seem like we’re going to get a reprieve from the soaring temps like we did last year. I thought last May was quite enjoyable and was hoping this year would follow. Look forward to your post on the trip.

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  24. Wisconsin sounds like the idea place to spend some summer time and if you really said that to the game warden, consider me very impressed with your clever thinking.

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    1. We had such a great time last summer that we thought we’d do a repeat. A free lakefront place to stay with a pontoon boat at our disposal, what more could we ask for? 😎

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  26. funny story, oh, how we envy you that you have a family spot in Wisconsin to hold out the pandemic at. Looks like we will have to start moving around the country again soon and see if we can find a nice quite spot to sit for a while…

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    1. Yes, we are very fortunate. Last summer we did a couple of out and back excursions from Al’s sister’s place, and I had several excursions in mind for this summer, but we may just hunker down. We’ll see how the summer plays out. Hope you find a few places that’ll work for you.

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  28. You did give me a chuckle… and I know you girlfriend… I think this could have happened! 🤔

    Enjoyed your guest post on Travel Tales.

    Safe travels and let’s hope we can escape to our place in Pennsylvania… but on a plane. Ugh, the thought of that is just giving me the Eebie Jeebies. But so far they are allowing only 25 on a plane. We shall see.

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    1. Ah yes, you do know me 😁 Wishing you safe travels back to Pennsylvania and I’m sure once you settle back into the lake house, life will calm down for you. I’m not sure we’ll do any other travels this summer. I had a list of places I wanted to visit but we’ll wait and see. How about you?

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      1. Happy to just get to point A from point B. We shall see how flights are when it’s our time to head East!

        Once we are there… I can’t wait to have a social distance meet with my kids! Plus… I want to meet my youngest son’s girlfriend of 8 months! I miss them so much! Hopefully we can meet outside in the front yard. Met online… but… not for real! Crazy times!

        Perhaps you, Al and us can have a social distance meet up out in our driveway before you head out. Bring your own libations and chairs. Let’s do it! Let’s text and figure it out. 🤗

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    1. Thank you Cindy. I can’t believe how hot it is already. Last May was lovely. We’ll be heading up to Sedona next week after our truck has been serviced. We always like to give it a good running before we hit the road with the RV. The cooler weather will be welcome.

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  30. Great story! My father would have loved that one. He was never one for dirty jokes but loved that type of joke. I can see his smile right now.

    What lake do you stay on up here in the Northwoods? FYI, no roadblocks and more and more people are arriving for the fishing opener and using their second homes. We’ve dodged the bullet so far. Only 3 positive diagnoses of Covid 19 and no deaths in Sawyer County.

    Safe travels and the fish are waiting.

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    1. My sister-in-law works for Sawyer county and has been keeping us updated regularly. It’s so hot in Phoenix right now that we can’t wait to get up there for some cooler temps and fishing. Thanks for dropping by and commenting 😊

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  31. That’s hilarious! Going to pass this to my Dad – he will like it. Working outside today. Better get stuff done before the 90s the rest of the week. Finally got to see the beach again yesterday after 2 months. Can’t tell you what a relief that was! Everyone was socially distancing and we wore masks.

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    1. Glad to hear you were finally able to visit the beach. Strange times! We’re hitting the 100’s which is no fun cooped up in a tin can with a loud A/C, BUT I’m grateful for that A/C.

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      1. Yes I know what you mean. A classic Florida meme shows that Floridians fear loss of AC more than anything else! 🙂

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  32. That is a great story and believable to me, Ingrid, and made me laugh! I saw your guest post on Travels Tales and saw you were in great company with Lisa and Liesbet! I’m glad you are heading off to Michigan. I can’t imagine the heat in Phoenix! April flirted here with some 90 degree days already with more coming later this week! Thank goodness when Hans replaced the siding on the front of the house, he added insulation. It makes a huge difference in the house temps! We are doing a quick road trip to Spokane on May 14 since we couldn’t go in March. Like me, I’m sure you can’t wait for a change of scenery!

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    1. Thank you Terri. Yeah, the heat is starting to get old real quick. It’s challenging to get our RV projects completed. We had one more vent on the roof we wanted to replace, but we’ll wait until the fall when we get back. Next, the underbelly. Just want to make sure everything is ready for the long drive.
      Safe travels up to Spokane. I’m sure you’ll take lots of pics and share them with us.

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  33. The banter with the Warden made me chuckle. Don’t mess with women who read! If you get to the Bevington Exit on I-35 and need a place to boondock, let us know! We are only 3 miles away. Mary Ann & Ed (Hidden Oaks 2016)

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    1. Hi Mary Ann, wonderful to hear from you. Your # is still in my phone 😀 Thank you for the offer and we may take you up on it. I think we have our route picked out, but I could use any suggestions since I-40 to Tucumcari to KC then north on I-35 is a new route for us. We’ve always taken I-80 to I-35. I’ll be emailing you in the next day or so for any recommendations. Thanks so much for the comment, talk soon!

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  34. Funny joke. Good to see you making plans to move about. We are stopped in northern Alabama, having moved through two states since this crap started. Spent five weeks sheltered down and we only traveled when stay at home orders were relaxed. Finding spots to camp has not been difficult, you just can’t be as selective. We have been planning slightly ahead and then just reacting to the change such as when the not so great state of Arkansas cancelled our plans at a now open state park as we are from Texas and they are only allowing locals into state parks.

    Enjoyed the read,

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    1. I can’t imagine staying in Phoenix “in an RV” the entire summer. So yes, we definitely have plans to move north. We’re lucky we have a place for the whole summer and can do some out and back excursions if we feel like it. Time will tell how the campgrounds will handle things this summer. Safe travels!

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    1. Thank you and yes they are blooming. The saguaros are one of the reasons I usually don’t mind staying in Phoenix for the month of May, but this May has graced us with temps 10 degrees above normal which is not very pleasant in an RV. 🌵

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    1. Thank you! We’re hoping to return to a few places that we haven’t been to in 30 years. Fingers crossed life returns to normal.

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  38. That’s a very good and funny story. I would think that since you and Al are homeless, nomadic, gypsy RVers you could head up Wisconsin at the end of May. Unless they have roadblocks and are asking for your papers, what’s to stop you?

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    1. No, we won’t have any problem traveling. We could actually leave now, but we have some family events that we’d like to stay in Phoenix to attend. But once Memorial weekend is over, we will be hightailing it with some long travel days. No meandering for us this year!

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  40. The Game Warden story made me chuckle. On your way to Al’s sister’s place are you planning on campground stops or other places to take breaks, i.e. rest areas, truck stops? Be safe and healthy!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed a chuckle When we meander, we’ll do campgrounds, but when we’re hightailing it (like we’ll be doing this time), we’ll overnight at Walmart, Cabela’s, or an Elks if available. I’ll have all our meals planned and prepped and we’ll eat every meal in the RV. We’ve traveled like this before, but one difference due to Covid, Al (or I) will wear gloves to pump gas (yes, we both drive, and both fill with gas). Social distancing is never an issue for us when we have driving/get there on the brain. What’s funny is even before the pandemic, we had planned to travel quickly to WI. Last year we took over 3 weeks to get there. This year we’re thinking 5 days. We’ll see!

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