Why does the water pump keep coming on?  Read the book!  Because it needs to maintain 45 pounds of pressure.  Can I plug in to the house?  Yes, if I get a pigtail that plugs into the big plug on the trailer cord and then into an extension cord - but, the extension cord has to be rated to carry the load.  Practice living in the trailer while it’s in the driveway.  Ok, this is kind of fun, camping out in my driveway.  But, it doesn’t make sense to use the propane to cook when I have a perfectly good electric stove in the house.  And neither does taking a shower in the camper….so it just sort of means I’ll heat up something in the trailer microwave and sleep in it.  Then the doubts start ~ can I really control a trailer on the highway by myself?  Can I hook it up to the truck, unhook it at a campground and hook up all the utilities?

There are just a lot of things to learn now that I am responsible for all my “indoor” stuff and Bill’s “outdoor” stuff as well.  With a slightly different twist in that I’ll be towing a 26’ travel trailer instead of a 5th wheel.  Which creates some issues.  Such as, a bumper pulled trailer tends to sway more since the weight is  behind all four tires.  And, my brother recommends a weight distribution hitch so that the entire weight of the trailer doesn’t rest on just the ball and hitch.  He brought me one and showed my how to hook it up.  There are some nuances to getting it right.  In addition to the hitch, he brought a wealth of learning for me since he has a bumper-pull toy hauler.  And, he helped me understand my trailer better, what it could do and not do and how to do it all correctly.  Like coming up with a way for me to load a 130 pound generator into the pickup by myself.  Ramps and a come along did the trick, but it took some practice to get it right.  Then there were things like a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) to purchase and install on the truck tires and the trailer tires so I can keep an eye on them and prevent issues before they become a blowout!  And a water regulator to make sure that the campground water pressure doesn’t blow out my plumbing system,  and a digital multimeter to test campground outlets before plugging in, and safety lights, and on and on. 

the plan was for us to travel around the US for a couple of years after retirement and see places we never had time to visit during the working, raising children years.  The farm/ranch could do without us for a while and then we could settle down to raising horses, cows, sheep, chickens, and pigs.  Plenty of room for all of that, a milk cow, a big garden, an orchard, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and beautiful views of the Bitterroot Range to sweeten the evening glass of wine.  But, God had a different plan, He opted to heal my sweetheart in Heaven instead of here on Earth.  Thus I find myself working to adjust the plan to a solo active participant.  Since Bill and I were always partners in our recreational life as well as business (everything except 42, in fact!) he equipped me well to figure out how to travel with a trailer and visit all those places we talked about so long ago.  When we pulled a 30’ fifth wheel, he would pull over at some point and say, “Ok, it’s all yours for a while.”  And when I got nervous about that guy following too closely or scared as the rain began to pour down on the two lane highway, he would say, “Just relax, you got this.”

This blog is the diary of my departure from Montana and the dream that God allowed us to bring to reality.  It is the story of my transition from wife to widow and from being one half of a couple to just being one.  It is a story of change, of closing a very long chapter and beginning a new one that I hope will also last a long time.  If it strikes a chord in your journey, may God bless us both for that.