Here we go again

It started when I re-read Steinbeck's Travels with Charley.  Steinbeck set out in a custom-built pickup camper to cross the country, accompanied by his dog Charley.  His purpose was to take the pulse of the country at a local level, in the early 1960s pre-interstate era of road travel.

I have no such lofty purpose.  I wanted a way to spend as much of the summer as I could away from Tucson's heat.   When my son was small, we loaded the Volvo station wagon and drove back and forth across the continent several times, using a large canvas tent for shelter.   I can fly to places like San Francisco and Colorado, staying with friends and family.  I'll still do that from time to time.  For any extended stay, however, the kennel bills for Emma get to be the largest single expense, overwhelming air fare by far.

An RV will let me travel with Emma.  I don't expect she'll be easy about it at first, but she's an agreeable and adaptive critter, and I hope we'll get along fine.  

In addition to getting out of the summer heat, I have to confess that the gadget freak in me is entranced by what has to be the largest gadget I can imagine.

Maybe I'll hate it.  Maybe I won't hate it but travel in it won't be worth the effort, or the expense.  If so, I'll take a deep breath and sell it and chalk it up to experience.

So here it is:  A 1999 Coachmen Santara, with a Ford V-10 under the hood. The interior comforts are almost unimaginable to a former backpacker and tent camper.

The Beast

More photos will follow.