RV Ranch of Keene, TX

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Rachel Gillen

I think we got lucky with this spot. We would normally stay at Trader’s Village in Grand Prairie. This time we wanted to try somewhere new because we have a different, bigger camper and Trader’s Village can be really tight depending on where they put you. I started calling around to different parks when we were in Oklahoma City on Friday. We started with parks between Cedar Hill (the shop) and downtown Dallas (the new job site). I called about 6 different campgrounds (with pools because it’s ridiculously hot and I just need a pool), and everywhere was full! That’s never happened to us here. So we had to keep going further out and finally found this place, the RV Ranch. It’s an hour from the job site and 40min from the shop. So that sucks. Luckily Allen will probably be able to ride the bike most days.

Anyhow, we headed down I-35 and got here Sunday afternoon to 90+degree sunny weather! We got an easy pull through spot with a nice little half moon shaped patio and a little arbor type things so Charlie has some shade. Our spot is long enough to open the hatch and leave it as a back porch but I can’t really see that happening with how hot it is. I don’t think our AC’s will shut off during the day!

We are right across from the showers and laundry in the adult (21+) section. And the pool is one row over behind the office. The office is also a tanning salon and a movie rental store and a pizza place… Charlie and I went exploring this morning and I think we are in the fancy section. The other half of the park is mostly filled with mobile homes and long term residents. Overall, I think we are going to like it here. I can’t wait til my sunburn from OKC fades so I can use the pool!

OKC? OK!

Posted on June 6, 2015 by Rachel Gillen

We made it Thursday night and checked into Abe’s RV Park off I-35.

Spot Y-17

Friday We got the tires balanced and rotated and a nail removed from one of them then had the oil changed. Here’s the truck next to a nice corvette…

I also won another small victory!

Allen didn’t want to get a map. I did. Look what we have! Isn’t he such a sweetie! I decided to only mark the states where we’ve stayed the night with THIS camper, not the old one too. So we are starting fresh.

After all our errands we hung out for a while until Karen and Bob were done working. It was then Friday night drinking time! Finally! We met up at Old Chicago’s for pizza and drinks and made plans to swim at their house on Saturday. Finally I get to find out if little Charlie knows how to swim! Update to come! I think we are going to try and hit this neighborhood garage sale I saw a sign for yesterday first…

Stop in Sparta

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Rachel Gillen

We left Frontier Campground at around 10:30am on Wednesday and headed down the road to our friends Brandi’s and Tommy’s place in Sparta, KY. It’s only about an hour and a half drive. We got there and set up in their yard (they have about 7 acres total).

We let Charlie run around with Paisley (some kind of herd dog), and Storm (the wolf, yes, a real full blooded wolf who acts like a puppy), and Milo (the cat and Charlie’s arch nemesis).

Once she discovered the chickens and pigs, she terrorized them for a while.

Then we grilled some hot dogs and metts followed by a nice, refreshing nap. Brandi got home from work around 4 and we went to the neighborhood bar/liquor store for a game of pool. Once Tommy got home from work we went to the Sunset Grill on the Ohio River and had dinner with them and Brandi’s two little girls. We always have a good time with them, and so does little Charlie!

Brandi got these two framed Budweiser pictures for Allen also. We will probably have to wait until we get our Texas Ranch or Florida Beach Shack to actually hang them though… I’ll post pictures when we stop..

We were back on the road this morning a little before 7am.

We just stopped at the last Missouri rest stop on I-44, which is about 100 miles from the Oklahoma state line. But it was a cute little stop. They had a “Route 66” walkway.

Don’t let it fool you when you pull in, it looks tiny with limited parking, but there’s a huge lot in the back.

We should be at Abe’s RV Park in Oklahoma City by around 9 tonight. Yay!

Tower Drop

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Rachel Gillen

Now it’s here.

Now it’s gone.

Yesterday, Allen dropped the last 550 feet of the tower! They destacked the top 450 feet to get it short enough for the fall zone. My mom came up and we drove over to the site to watch. It’s a pretty neat thing to see. I’ve seen them drop two now. The first was in Robertsdale, AL and the site was directly across from the RV Park we stayed in. It takes a lot of planning and setting up and then it takes less than a minute and it’s over. Here are some pictures we took from across the street in the safe zone. If you hadn’t known there was a tower standing there, you’d never know now.

My mom got a short video and this is a screen shot from it

Another screen shot right before it fell into the woods

Here are some more pictures we got yesterday…

So now that’s finished, and for this job we (and by we, I really mean Allen and the guys) don’t have to stay and clean up the mess. This job is kind of an exception because the guy who owns the tower also owns a demolition company so he’s doing all that. Allen is at work today waiting on trucks to show up so they can load out. We are leaving here tomorrow and our tentative plans (what other kind of plans are there?) are to stop in Sparta, Kentucky at our friend’s house (she has about 5 acres we can park on), and stay a rent free day there. Then take our time getting to Abe’s RV Park in Oklahoma City so I can see my buddy Karen, then we need to be in Dallas by Sunday evening. So we have some time, which is a rarity and a luxury. We are thinking of staying at the North Texas Jellystone Park, but it’s about 35 minutes from the shop. It looks nice and it would be a change from where we usually stay, at Trader’s Village RV Park, and I’m thinking I will like it better, but we still haven’t nailed that down yet. Who knows, our tentative plans could change later today…. But for now, I’m going to start getting the little things put away and ready to hook up and go.

Oh! I almost forgot, we had a little tiny sparrow trying to make a nest in our fifth wheel… We’ve seen them in our neighbor’s since we got here and then the other day Allen saw the little fella with some moss in his beak, climbing in there. So we took the nest out and put it across the street in the grass. At least all his findings are in one spot still…

Hello world!

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Rachel Gillen

Hi, my name is Rachel and I love moving around. My boyfriend and I travel and live in our camper with a nine pound puppy named Charlie (Charles when she’s in trouble). Over the past couple of years I’ve learned a lot about living on the road, gotten to know some very interesting people, and discovered some neat places. I’ve been toying with the idea of a blog for a few months now, so here it finally is!

HomeSweetHomeOnWheels is a place for me to talk about my random musings of things on the road. We like good food, trying different local cuisines, craft beer and playing trivia. We like to watch NASCAR and go to races when we can. I love to cook and go to flea markets. I also like to draw and paint and make puppy clothes. Yes, puppy clothes. Charlie likes her outfits.

We log a lot of highway miles and stay a lot of different places. So I wanted a place to share all these experiences, with our friends and family, but also with other RVers… You’ll find RV park reviews, recipes, issues we’ve had with the camper and things we’ve done to improve it, little gems we’ve found on the highway, artsy crafty stuff, and I’m sure a lot more.

Cheers to today! Nothing more, nothing less…