December 19, 2020 - Wreaths Across America Day at the Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell FL and 12/22 at Sebastian Inlet FL

 WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA - Saturday, December 19, 2020

As yearly Sponsors and Volunteers for the Wreaths Across America (WAA) organization and program to distribute these beautiful wreaths with a red ribbon to fallen veterans' graves, this year we were honored to do so at the Florida National Cemetery (FNC) in Bushnell, FL, as this year we are spending most of the winter here in Clermont and Summerfield in FL.  

Wreaths Across America Day is an official national date, unanimously voted on and declared by Congress on December 13, 2008, to be celebrated on either the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of December, yearly. This year it was on the 3rd Saturday, on December 19, 2020.
Their mission is threefold: 

1) To always Remember or fallen military heroes' sacrifices for us, 

2) To Honor the Men and Women who currently stand their post in the Armed Forces to preserve our freedom, and 

3) To Teach new generations the value of Freedom.

Every cemetery that is registered to be included in the Wreaths Across America program gets SEVEN (7) Ceremonial Wreaths... ONE (1) for each BRANCH OF SERVICE. Do you know which they all are?

U.S. Air Force,

U.S. Army,  

U.S. Coast Guard,
U.S. Marine Corp,

U.S. Navy,

U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the

U.S. Public Health Service.

Of the Armed Services also, the POW/MIA is also remebered.

Others, though perhaps not formally members of the Armed Services are also honored as hoeroes, having fallen in defense of our nation in great disasters, like at ground zero of the World Trade Center in NYC, at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville PA, where flight 93 was brought down by the passengers to prevent the terrorists from taking it to their target, and so on, among them first responders and civilians alike.

This was our first visit to the FNC and we can honestly describe it as beautiful as it is peaceful. The most impressive thing for us was to see that there is no distinction among the graves due to branch of service, rank or religion. All graves were together, much the same as how they fought on the battlefield... ALL just brothers and sisters of the same family... the United States Armed Forces. This mission is perhaps embodied best by the words of President Ronald Reagan, on January 5, 1967, in his Inaugural Address said... “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, what it was once like in the United States where (and when) men were free.”

WAA's story is amazing and inspiring, and we urge you to read about it, having been started by the selfless act of one family (Morrill and Karen Worcester, of the Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington ME), wishing to quietly honor fallen veterans. Their efforts and growing contributions to that end expanded to a greater coverage of our heroes graves at Arlington when a photo of all the green wreaths with a red ribbon contrasting against the snow-covered cemetery canvas of headstones went viral, giving birth to an army of contributors and volunteers, expanding the coverage from 7 memorial wreaths (one for each branch of service and POW/MIA) at Arlington National Cemetery, to over 1.7 MILLION wreaths across over 2,000 cemeteries in the continental US, plus Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and at sea, plus a few other countries in Europe, in which American servicemen and women and other heroes have been laid to rest, or are deemed to have last rested there.

The story of how the FNC in Bushnell was included in the WAA program is equally inspiring, having been started in 2006 by a veteran and member of the US Military Vets Motorcycle Club, Randy Lewer. His motorcycle club, realizing that the FNC had not been included in the distribution of wreaths, hosted the first ceremony with the 7 sponsored ceremonial wreaths, to honor their fallen brothers and sisters, with some 40 people in attendance in pouring rain. The second year, with the help of the Civil Air Patrol and a few other sponsors, 88 wreaths were laid. Fast forward to 2017, 27,000 live wreaths were placed with an estimated 8,000 people in attendance. In 2019 the goal was 30,000 and in 2020, it is estimated that over 35,000 wreaths were placed on graves. Of interest is that FNC is 512.9 acres, began in 1988 and has about 120,000 grave sites, with about 108,000 being veterans. At approximately 7,000 burials per year. It is estimated that it will reach capacity by the year 2030, being one of the busiest cemeteries in the nation.

Bill is a legal immigrant having served in the US Army for 6 years to get his Naturalization to citizenship, and then served further in the US Coast Guard Reserve. As an American and a veteran, contributing to and volunteering to lay wreaths on his brothers and sisters resting places across all branches of service for WAA is truly an honor.

The story behind how WAA became the magnificent demonstration of Remembering our fallen heroes, Honoring those who currently serve, and Teaching new generations the value of the Freedom we are all blessed with today, OR to find out how you can contribute or volunteer, you can do a Google Search for 'The Story of Wreaths Across America' or go to their website at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org It is a 501 (3)C enterprise. You will be glad you did.

To reach the Wreaths Across America organization, their phone number is (877) 385-9504 (7:30am - 7;00pm EST) or through the Contact Form at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org (Contact Us). They will typically respond within 24-48 hours.

Charles Burr Marble Jr (1LT US Army, WWII) was the father of Joseph Manuel Marble, (SP4 US Army, Korea) who was like the brother Bill never had, and who is laid to rest in the same cemetery as his father and mother at the FNC. Bill played golf with both so (bottom photo) he left a golf ball on their graves too.

Mary bought a WAA wreath that we will take to Sebastian Inlet FL, on December 27, 2020 to release at sea, in memory of her father, who's ashes were deposited into the ocean at Sebastian Inlet in 1998. The wreaths cost only $15 each from Wreaths Across America, and $5 of the $15 is donated by WAA back to any organization you choose or  that sponsor WAA's activities, like the Civil Air Patrol, which helped expend their initial efforts.

So, since our friends, Mike and Magda Miley, who we met originally at Southern Hills RV Campground near Hermosa SD, live in Vero Beach FL, we made a date to meet them for lunch at the __________ in ______ on December 27th, and went to the pier at Sebastian Inlet before that to release her dad's wreath in the outgoing current. Unfortunately the pier was full of fishermen, which only made the release of the wreath that much more difficult as we did not want it to get caught on someone's line. Then the other problem was casting it out far enough at the end of the pier to reach the middle of the passage, so the main current could take it out to sea. Well, there was a good 20 feet between the end of the pier and the inner rail, so at best we were only able to just barely clear that rail... but thankfully we watched it float out with the current, to sea, and followed it until we just barely saw it clear the other pier. It was a an emotional as it was on the same day and place as his ashes were releases out to sea, ___ years prior. 

Here are photos of that day.

Later we met our RV friends Mike and Magda Miley at the ________ in ______, had a wonderful lunch and then went to the nearby park to chat for awhile. That's the great thing about the good friends we make in the RV lifestyle. Though years may pass staying in touch only by email and Facebook, one always gets a chance to meet again and catch up. Here's some photos of our lunch and chat with Mike and Magda. 

  

October 2020 - SECOND TRIP TO TIFFIN SERVICE CENTER to fix what they didn't take care of on the FIRST TRIP...

After leaving Red Bay, AL we spent 5 days travelling to Star Valley, WY for the summer, arriving in Star Valley on June 16.  During our trip, we attempted to avoid travelling around any cities where demonstrations were occurring.  The only city we could not entirely avoid was St. Louis.  However, we were able to stay well out of the city proper by utilizing the beltway.  There was one moment of high concern as we approached an overpass that was packed with what appeared to be protestors.  Thankfully, when we got close enough to determine who the demonstrators were, they were supporting Trump 2020.  No cement blocks came through our windshield.  

As we settled into Star Valley, watching the national news was very concerning, between demonstrations and COVID 19, the news was pretty depressing.  As time progressed, we made many new friends and caught up with old friends.  We foung that we had many friends in Wyoming.

So, for lack of better things to do with all the political and Covid insecurity, we spent the summer of 2020 shopping for a nicer (larger than the Arizona Legends lot) 1/2-acre+ lot on which to build a 1200sf (minimum residence allowed) 2 bed/2 bath house with a 2-car garage plus a full-sized (20'x48') RV Garage. Star Valley Ranch is about 45 miles south of Jackson (Hole) WY, between Alplne and Afton WY, and about 5 miles east of the Idaho. Land sales there are going through the roof because everyone seems to be leaving California, Oregon and Washington and large cities and looking to move out of the metropolitan areas and toward red(der) states. Wyoming being one of the most conservative, where free speech and gun ownership (open and closed carry are both lawful without a permit) and where it is beautiful wherever one goes, as well as having no state tax and being very RV friendly has a growing draw of conservatives fleeing blue states. They say that the Billionaires are moving to Jackson (Hole) WY, which is forcing the Millionaires into Star Valley, and consequently the land and homes are being sold quickly and prices are skyrocketing. Since our arrival in June we had found some 1/2 acre lots on one of the golf courses for sale at about $20,000. No sooner we started to look at one, it was Sold. Finally, by contacting an owner that was listed as an owner but whose lot was not even on the market, we convinced him to sell it to us, at a price of $50,000. That may seem steep but suffice to say that by the time we left WY in October those same 1/2 acre golf course lots were selling in the $60,000 - $70,000 range. Who knows where they will be when we get back there in May 2021. See plans and lot photos.

Before leaving Benson AZ we posted a For Sale listing on Zillow for the Arizona Legends proprerty. Shortly therafter Bill also created a website featuring photos from the basic lot, through its construction to the finished product and that of the resort and its features and benefits. A couple of months later a couple from NC, impressed by its ample detail of photos and a 90-minute phone conversation with us made us a Full Price CASH offer. They had just retired and have a 42ft 5th Wheel, which they planned to reduce to a motorhome and wanted to down size their house too, which was waterfront and they were tired of all the storms on the NC coast. Win-Win for them and us. The more we talked about the house at Arizona Legends, they would say that it was as if we had designed the house especially for them.   

At the Star Valley Ranch RV Park we HAD TO leave every October and were not allowed back in until May, yearly. At the Town of SVR however, there is no restriction and the HOA dues (same as at the RV Park) include the plowing of all the streets in the town, when it snows, so one can stay as late as one wants to, return as early as one wants to, or even stay all winter if that's what one wants to do. During the winter months, when it's too cold or due to snow one can't play golf, the golf courses are converted to cross-country skiing tracks and some for snowmobiling.  Of course snow mobiles are also usable off-road and along the sides of the roadways and are a popular means of transportation, seen readily at the grills and saloons in and between the various towns. During this summer we also placed our Star Valley Ranch RV Park lot for sale and sold it for $9,100 more than what we had paid for it just 12 months earlier, and with those funds paid for the Town of Star Valley Ranch golf course lot, about 1 mile to the north. As part of the sale conditions, since the new owners already had other plans for the rest of the summer, they allowed us to stay on the RV lot, RENT FREE (we just paid the electric and taxes... after all, fair is fair.) We also offered to winterize it when we left for the winter, and open it up for them next spring, before they get there on June 1. 

So at the end of October we winterized the shed and put up the chains and moved on to Red Bay AL (to the Tiffin Service Center) to address the rest of our coach defects that they would not address during our first visit there in May-June 2020. To recap, this was almost as disappointing a trip as the first one. On the first visit the rig spent 5 days in PAINT, and most if not all the issues were left unresolved. This second visit the rig was in PAINT ANOTHER 10 days, and STILL so many issues were left unrepaired even after spending a total of 15 days in the paint shop. So hopefully on the third trip (hopefully it won't take them as long in PAINT, we'll be able to get everything done. Other issues were also left unrepaired. The Spyder system which supposedly controls all the electronic systems is a piece of SH**. The tanks never read right, the touch buttons are supposed to light up blue to indicate that whatever they control are ON or LOCKED, but sometimes they do and sometimes the don't, so one either thinks that something is on/locked, when it is not, or vice versa. Very confusing! The temperatures are always off by 6-10 degrees, and on and on with the different issues. Frankly, on a $400,000 motorhome, one does not expect that one has to do this and then that for it to work correctly; but at least IF they had told us these caveats, we would have just bought a Thor product instead, which would be guaranteed to have all these same issues, BUT would have saved at least $100,000, instead of being willing to pay the higher $ because it was a TIFFIN, and one could expect more.  No more... especially now that a TIFFIN is actually a THOR, now that Thor bought out Tiffin. The one thing that always attracted Tiffin buyers to the Tiffin products, is the knowledge that "IF anything is wrong with a motorhome or trailer, Bob (Tiffin) will see to it that it is made right to the customer's satisfaction." Sadly, that is no longer the case with TIFFIN, and now more especially true, now that it is actually just a THOR with a fancier name with name recognition. However, BUYERS BEWARE.... IF you buy a Tiffin Motorhome of Trailer, you lose the right to complain about it later, because you have been warned. All you are buying is a Thor with a Tiffin price tag.

So, AGAIN after spending another 4 weeks at the Tiffin Service Center, and still only getting a some of our issues resolved, we decided not to waste anymore time there and went on down to visit our friends in Florida. However, we will be returning to the Tiffin Service Center for one more try, to resolve our on-going list of issue that continue to plague or motorhome. Also the longer we go since having purchased it, the more things break on it, even though it is not even a year old yet. Now, on the road to FL from Red Bay AL, the right trun signal stopped flashing on the dash electronic display. Thankfully, the right turn signal (outside) on both the back of the RV and on the tow (Edith) still work... just not on the in-dash display. We reported it to 'Spyder Mike' (the Tiffin liaison with the Spyder System company) and other so-called 'technicians', who say that they have NEVER heard of THAT problem before. So obviously TIFFIN sold us a Lemon, and despite several attempts to speak to BOB, he continually refuses to talk to us. I guess he only speaks to thos that are going to praise him, especially knowing that he was going to sell his company, he no longer cares about the customers that got him to where he is now.

NEXT post will be of Wreaths Across America, Dec. 19, 2020 at FNC Bushnell FL...

May - June 2020 - FIRST TRIP at Tiffin Service Center in Red Bay Alabama and SVRRVR in Star Valley WY

Friday, May 22, 2020: We arrived at Self-Serve Campground.

Saturday, May 23: We found out by accident that we were supposed to go to the Service Center campground, despite having called three times previously and having been told to go to the Self Service (paid) campground, so we moved.

Monday, May 25: 
National Holiday.

May 26th 2020
After the few days to rest during the Memorial Day weekend at the Tiffin Service Center campground, on Tuesday May 26th a Service Advisor (Jason) showed up at a little after 7:30 am to go over our list of issues (but who we never saw ever again after that day). We told him that the ladies at the Service Center had said that they would only take care of 10 items, but that we had well over 50 items as THIS coach should never have left the factory in such sad shaape, and we expected that Tiffin would honor their warranty, or extend it if they were going to allege difficulty in working on it due to Covid 19. He said that that is the standard line that Management tells them to say, but that Tiffin would take care of ALL our issues. (He lied). He then mentioned that one of our issues... the P/S (passenger-side) slide awning not rolling into the roller when the slide is retracted back into the RV, is a Girard Awning issue, and that Girard Awnings had just opened a new Factory Service Center right there in Red Bay, not more than 1-2 miles from our location. He gave us their Manager's name (also named Jason) and his cell phone number to call him. Jason of Girard was very accommodating and said to take the RV to his shop where he would not only fix whatever issue there was, but would also check all the other slide awnings and window awnings on the RV to assure that we have no other issue with their awnings, and adjusted them for our preferred angle for rain to go to the prefferred side. THAT is what we expected from Tiffin. Boy, were we disappointed.

When we arrived at Girard's new facility we were very surprised of the size of their facility, and degree of modernization. Right next to their facility there is a very new and well laid out campground as well, which Jason explained is also theirs, as well as the General Store and Restaurant next to it. While there, they noticed that our rig was leaning to the front left, evident from the height of the wheel well over the tire on that one side... so we shall have to have that addressed tomorrow as well. 

IF you need a Girard Awning repair in or near Red Bay AL, they are located at 990 9th Street West in Red Bay AL 35582, and the Manager's (Jason) cell is 702-419-0850. We heartily recommend them for their good service, professional and very friendly attitude to take care of the problems.

After our repairs, handled professionally and quickly, we took the RV back to Tiffin and then took 'Edith2' (the Ford F150) back to the restaurant for something to eat. The restaurant, called the 'Red Bay Yacht Club' was most tastefully decorated and the food was very good. The tables were socially distanced and the waitresses all wore masks, but the patrons were not required to, since they had to use their mouths to eat. See the photos of the Girard Awning facility, campground and restaurant. 

 

By around 3:00 pm we received a phone call from the Tiffin Service Center telling us to be in front of Service Bay #48 at 6:45 am, tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

Wednesday, May 27th through Friday, May 29 2020, Bay 41 (Mike),

Mike said he fixed MOST items on our list (other than Paint) that should never have left the factory QC in such condition. However, the SPYDER electronic touch control system was NOT fixed and Mike lied to us with a story @ 'Spyder Mike' having tested Positive for Covid19 so he would not be available to fix Spyder systems. He also never fixed the cargo doors and other issues..

Monday, June 1, Bay 47

(Tech never gave us his name, and was most belligerent, stating that we are not competent to know if the RV is leaning just because it looks off balance, stating that it could be the floor... UNITIL LATER he found out that one air bag had a leak.)  He also confirmed Mike's story about 'Spyder Mike'. Said cargo doors are not his problem and that someone else would have to try to fix them. VERY RUDE MAN.

Tuesday-Wednesday, June 2-3 

No Activity or word from Office. So on Wednesday afternoon, June 3, we went to try to see Bob Tiffin at Main Office. The Guard said that custiomers cannot see Bob Tiffin and had to see Tim Massey, Svc Mgr, FIRST. So, we went to see Tim Massey. He seemed interested and got us with "L.D." for Paint, who said for us to be at Bay #23 on FRIDAY. Tim also countered the previous Techs' stories @'Spyder Mike' saying he saw him working that same day and promised he would have him fix our Spyder problems.

Thursday, June 4, Bay #23 (Billy). 

He said it would take it would take him 3/+ WEEKS to fix all the paint issues that the RV has, that should never have been allowed to leave the factory in such bad shape, but that perhaps because it was made during the Christmas - New Year period, the painters were not at their best. He also stated that it would take the factory less than week to repaint it, since it was their screw-up. "LD" called them to come see the piss poor work they had done. They said they would come by to see it, but never did that day nor the next morning.

Friday, June 5, 

So, "LD" got them to commit to repaint it on Monday, and confirmed to us that they could do so within a week, and got us a place to stay at Spark's B&B. We said that we woulld wait for it, if they could repaint it within the week; otherwise we will bring it back in October to fix that plus the Spyder and all other still unresolved issues. Again he confirmed that the Paint factory at Belmont could take care of it within a week. HE or JOSH at Belmont LIED. It seems that LYING is becoming a favorite pasttime of TIFFIN.

Monday, June 8, 

07:00AM - Delivered our RV to Josh Stacey at Tiffin Belmont 07:00am. Turned over our Phaeton 40-IH and told them to be sure to keep it plugged in as this is our full-time Home and the Ref-Freezer is full of food. They said they would... THEY LIED.  Also gave them a listing and photos of all the paint issues, including gouges in roof. They were astounded of all the issues and of the condition of the roof.

Wednesday, June 10, 

Tiffin Belmont, Paint (Josh Stacey). checked on status update. Said they would work later today to try to further the work and said he would call us on Thursday 08:30 (+/-) to see if we want to take it as it is, then bring it back in Oct to finish paint work... or wait until finished, with a time schedule.

As it is we'll have to accept not having a dependable RV due to a defective Spyder, which Tim Massey never got Spyder Mike to fix. Other Techs at Bay 43 (supposedly to fix the remainder of problems still unaddressed, said they replaced a Spyder board and that THAT fixed it... IT DID NOT.   They LIED.  It still changes tank levels up and down within minutes while level, the shower still fails to cut-off even after replacing the had set, the PS rear-view mirror (a safety hazard) is still hard to see ALL of it, due to having moved the mirror from the front of the RV to the right side  (cutting off the angle of view) and failing to extend the arm on the mirror to allow the driver to still see it; 1/2 bath door still warped (when forced closed stick out of bottom). They say they had to order one because they don't have any at the factory. So we ask ourselves, how are they going to make any more Phaetons, IF they don't have any doors for them... and how can they replace the 6" moulding above the bed (that the fan tore up) the same day... IF they don't have wood to make a door there??? MORE LIES or PISS POOR customer service. So what happens when we receive the door (by mail)? Who installs it?? They would never say.  Why can't they just  replace it THERE. Fleetwood did.

The main door screen door & latch are loose and now, among many other things, the door has trouble opening together witht he screen; the Emergency Exit window is locked (won't open); the P/S window next to dinette won't close fully. So now we have to spend $$ to go back to Red Bay, AL from Wyoming, after having already taken it to RED Bay once from Benson AZ. which we'll have to bring it back in Oct before Warranty runs out. A Tiffin RV is quickly becoming too expensive to have to deal with it, too hazardous to risk our lives in, and loosing its previous reputation as to a well-built coach.

After 3 weeks in service, Paint was the only MAJOR issue left, that we wanted taken care of, but there are so many issues with bad painting that it would have taken 3 weeks to fix it all at the service center and tied up a paint bay for all that time. So the factory committed to LD that they would strip the RV and repaint it RIGHT at the factory. Regrettably after a week, they had hardly touched it, except to repair the buffed out clear coat by Billy, fix the gouges on the roof and replace the engine cover which  was also warped. 

So now we will have to make plans to return it back to Red Bay in October, to leave it with them while we wait for them to fix ALL the issues and we will NOT LEAVE until they are ALL fixed correctly. Tiffin can put us back up at Sparky's or at Bob Tiffin's house (maybe that will encourage them to finish the job right).

We will follow-up with what they do to honor their warranty (or still won't/don't do) in October and hopefully Bob Tiffin will grace us with accepting to talk to us in person, instead of hiding behind his other managers, who won't take care of what needs to be taken care of. 

Then for the rest of the summer...

Given that Tiffin was not honoring its New Vehicle Warranty on our FIRST trip to them in May 23 - June 12,  2020, (citing Covid-19 as an excuse, but not offering to extend the warranty either) we decided to just go on back to Wyoming and then bring it back to them after having enjoyed our summer in Wyoming. During our Wyoming summer 2020, crazy as the whole year has been, we spent most of our time coming to a long and well thought out plan to relocate was ourselves from Benson AZ to Star Valley Ranch WY more permanently, because Arizona has increasingly become a bluer state (currently purple) and because by comparison we have 10x as many friends in Wyoming as we have in Arizona. Actually, the only friends that are actually at Arizona Legends or even including the area is Dan & Beth. The others, Nancy Bunker moved from Vail farther away; and Richard & Francoise Chasse, Jack & Billie Dain, Bob & Joy Thomae, and more recently Russell (last name unknown) in Vail, are retired RV travelers so meeting up with them (like us, we suppose) is a hit and miss proposition and not always possible. In Star Valley Ranch, however, there are many full-time residents and even those that leave for the winter, are always back for the whole summer. And if we ever don't want to spend the winter in Wyoming, we too can load the motor home and travel ourselves for the winter or summer, free to go anywhere we so choose to.

So on we spent the summer of 2020, for lack of better things to do with all the political and Covid insecurity, shopping for a nice (larger than the Arizona Legends lot) 1/2-acre+ lot on which to build a 1200sf (minimum residence allowed) 2 bed/2 bath house with a 2-car garage plus a full-sized (20'x48') RV Garage. Star Valley Ranch is about 45 miles south of Jackson (Hole) WY, between Alpine and Afton WY and about 5 miles east of the Idaho. Land sales there are going through the roof because everyone seems to be leaving California and large cities and looking to move out of the metropolitan areas and toward red(der) states. Wyoming being one of the most conservative, where gun carry (open and concealed are both lawful without a permit) and beautiful wherever one goes, as well as having no state income tax and being very RV friendly has a growing draw of conservatives fleeing other blue states. They say that the Billionaires are moving to Jackson (Hole) WY, which is forcing the Millionaires into Star Valley, and consequently the land and homes are being sold quickly and prices are skyrocketibg. Since our arrival in May we had found some 1/2 acre lots on one of the golf courses for sale at about $20,000. No sooner we started too look at one, it was Sold. Finally, we contacted the owner of a 1/2 acre golf course lot, whose lot was not listed for sale.  We convinced him to sell it to us, at a price of $50,000. That may seem steep but suffice to say that by the time we left WY in October those same 1/2 acre golf course lots were selling in the $60,000 - $70,000 range. Who knows where they will be when we get back there in May 2021. See plans and lot photos.

During this summer we also placed our Star Valley Ranch RV Park lot for sale and sold it for $9,100 more than what we had paid for it just 12 months earlier, and with those funds paid for the Town of Star Valley Ranch golf course lot, about 1 mile to the north. As an added bonus,  due to the Buyers already having plans for the rest of the summer, and given the extremely amicable transaction, they agreed to allow us to remain on the lot until the end of this season, and even until they come on June 1 next year. We agreed to winterize the lot (shed dryer/water heater) and close/open it for them, paint a doorway, maintain the property and set up their gazebo next year, as well as pay for the remainder of the taxes and bills.

Shortly thereafter we received a call in response to our Zillow ad on our Benson Casita, which Bill had loaded with an abundance of the construction photos as well as photos of the clubhouse, and area, creating a very informative marketing presentation. The prospects, basing their decision to buy our place solely on the photos and written presentation and a one and a half hour phone conversation with us made a full price offer, cash sale to close ASAP. They have not seen the casita in person but the more they found out about it the gladder they were to have found it. As they said "It's just like you have designed and built the casita FOR US". They still had to sell their house but felt assured they could do so quickly without any problem (and they did so). This too proved to be yet another very amicable transaction and of new friends which seem very compatible to our own mindsets.

At the Star Valley RV Park we HAD TO leave every October and were not allowed back in until May, yearly. At the Town of SVR however, there is no such restriction and the HOA dues (same as at the RV Park) all the streets in the town are plowed when it snows, so one can stay as late as one wants to, return as early as one wants to, or even stay all winter if that's what one wants to do. During the winter months, when it's too cold or due to snow one can't play golf, the golf courses are converted to cross-country skiing tracks and some for snowmobiling.  Of course snow mobiles are also usable off-road and along the sides of the roadways and are a popular means of transportation, seen readily at the grills and saloons in and between the various towns. 

So on October 20, 2020 (barely a few days before Interstate 80 would be closed due to high winds), we loaded our fresh water tank FULL... (100 gallons) to make us bottom-heavier to resist the high side winds (which when we went through were blowing at about 25mph and gusting to about 65mph) we left Star Valley Ranch enroute back to Tiffin Service Center,  inn Red Bay Alabama, for TRIP #2