Martin Family Blog

In the Beginning…

Tom Martin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:30:31 +0000

….in the beginning there was a desire to do some adventuring once the kids were grown up and out of the house. Two years ago, when we started talking about this trip, everybody thought we were crazy.

The particulars: Vince McCargar, 38 yrs / Melissa Martin, 42 yrs Married for 10 years; 5 children (Jessica, 22; Missy, 21; Lindsay, 19; Andrew, 18; and Danielle, 17); and one grandaughter, Jillian Kay, 22 months.

Two years ago, when we started talking about this trip, everybody thought we were crazy. Maybe they thought we were full of hot air, but we kept talking, and along with the talking we were planning and saving $ and preparing. We are now 24 hours from departure, unless we’re both too hung-over from the Bon Voyage party tonight to get out of bed and hit the road Saturday morning. I doubt that even a quite wicked hang-over would keep us from our departure, though. We will be spending 12 weeks on the road, traveling from Phoenix, Arizona to Anchorage, Alaska. Transportation is a 2008 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 5.7 liter V8 and our living quarters will be a 2005 Komfort Trailblazer T25S Travel Trailer.

We had no experience towing or camping in an RV, so we purchased both a year ago in order to give ourselves plenty of practice time, and get the ‘kinks’ worked out. One of my first driving experiences I managed to put a large hole in the side of the trailer and do some damage to another one pulling out of our storage lot. Vince and Dad managed to patch it up good as new. Amazingly, I’m still allowed to drive it!

The trip itself is loosely planned, we leave for our first stop Saturday at Zion National Park, and will most likely boondock in Dixie National Forest or BLM lands nearby. (Boondocking definition: to camp in remote areas such as deep woods or desert locations without power, sewer or water hook-ups.) We don’t have a planned number of days for our stay, and only have to get to Yellowstone by July 6th, since we had to make a reservation there in order to get into the park. We have some ideas about other places to stop along the way, one being Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the Grand Tetons. After Yellowstone we will head into Montana and Glacier National Park, crossing the border into Canada from there. We have no plans at all going through Canada, except that we are heading for the start of the Alcan at Dawson Creek, BC. We know we have to be in Anchorage by August 17th, since all 5 of our children and our grandaughter are flying in to spend a week with us there. For the return route we are putting the vehicles on a cargo ship in Anchorage, which will take them to Seattle, while we follow on a Holland America Inside Passage cruise that will take us from Seward to Vancouver beginning Sept. 4th, then it’s home along the coast visiting family and friends in Washington and California along the way.

Cape Lookout State Park, Tillamook, OR

Tom Martin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:28:37 +0000

Cape Lookout State Park, Tillamook, OR – Summer 1999

This was one of our favorite parks, especially before the winter storms in 2000. We could get a campsite right on the beach, but the winter storms washed that away. But its still a beautiful park, off the beaten path, with a relaxing view and not too crowded.

Cape Lookout is located on a sand spit between Netarts Bay and the ocean, giving you a terrific view of the ocean with easy access to the beach. Beachcombing is popular here, and the park is reputedly a good place to find glass floats. More than eight miles of hiking and walking trails wind through a lush old-growth forest. The Cape Lookout trail follows the headland for more than 2 miles. A bench is located at the end of the trail. Enjoy the view! You might see a whale or two along with other wildlife.

Two walking trails — a nature trail and the Jackson Creek trail — are perfect for a shorter jaunt. The nature trail gives you a close-up view of native trees and other plants. Numbered markers are keyed to a trail guide. The Jackson Creek trail starts with an interpretive panel describing the local salmon restoration project.

Be sure to look up when you visit this park … hang gliders and paragliders fill the air with colorful wings as they catch thermals and rise to dizzying heights. Along with Cape Kiwanda and Cape Meares, Lookout is part of the Three Capes Scenic Route.

State Parks Web Site

NAME: Cape Lookout State Park-
Where: Tillamook, OR
Admission: $3 day use – $$-$25 camping
Camping: 38 full hookup, 1 electric, 173 tent (maximum site 60 feet); 13 yurts; group tent (2 areas); hiker/biker camp; 3 deluxe cabins (with bathrooms, kitchen, tv/vcr), hiker/biker camp.
URL: http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_186.php
Month/Year visited: Summer 1999
Comments: For information only, call (503)842-4981 or (800) 551-6949. To make reservations, call 1-800-452-5687.

RVs and Camping

Tom Martin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:27:03 +0000

I have been camping for many years, using tents, campers, travel trailers, Class C, 5th wheel, and hybrid. I have posted here some of my adventures and mis-adventures. I make a distinct difference between “camping” and “RVing”. its not based on the type vehicle, but how and where you go. You can “camp” in an RV. Camping is going to the out of the way places, without RV pads, or full hookups, and leaving a lot of your electronic toys behind. RVing is taking it all with you, to a park with RV pads, 50 amp hookups, cable, water and sewer. With my 17 foot hybrid, I could “camp” or RV, depending on how much I wanted to rough it. In my 32 foot 5th wheel, it was mostly RVing, most camping areas were too small to accomdate it. You get the point…

I will post more detail about each RV and the adventures with those camping experiences in other articles. This is just a summary.

I tent camped for many years, even when the family was young. My oldest son was a mosquito magnet so we knew to continue camping we needed something better than a tent. Plus with 26 years of military life, I know canvass. So in 1972, I bought my first RV, a 1968 Chevrolet 3/4 ton pickup with a cab-over camper. It was great and we used it often. Then in 1974, I got orders to transfer to Alaska, the wife didn’t want to travel that far with the kids riding inthe camper, so I sold that and purchased a 23 foot Terry Travel Trailer and a 1974 Chrsyler Town and Country Station Wagon for the trip to Alaska. That was an experience, me, the wife and 3 kids lived and travelled in that for almost 60 days getting to Alaska, including an ALCAN drive of 1500 miles of gravel road.

Next came the Class C, a 23 foot Free Spirit by Holiday Rambler. Flew out of Alaska to Arkansas, purchased the Class C and drove it back. Used it for a couple of years, then sold it prior to leaving Alaska. Then we took a break for awhile and purchased a 1990 Oddessy Micro Motor Home on a Toyota chassis. We used this for a few years and finally upgraded to 1995 Alpenlite 5th Wheel, 32 feet, with dual slide outs. We used this setup for over 7 years and loved it. Then after buying a home in Arizona, we sold it. Of course, our grandchildren kept pestering us to go camping, which to them meant going out in grandma and grandpa’s RV, we purchased a Jayco Kiwi 17A hybrid. Great little trailer for getting into some of the remote campgrounds in the Nationall Forsest and small state parks, but just a little too small for the wife to truly enjoy, and to prevent us from bumping into each other, we sold that and upgraded to a 2008 Trail Cruiser 23SB, with a slide out rear queen bed.

The Wielders Chronicles – Journey of Enchantment

Tom Martin — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:43:18 +0000

This is an online novel writen by a relative. I have created a web place for it to be downloaded in its entirety. Take a look.

The Wielders Chronicles