Summary 2021

2021 modifications

We have done a number of modifications to our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP motorhome, to make it more comfortable as a full-time home, to improve the features, or to repair issues. This is a summary of some of the changes done in 2021.

As with previous summaries, for each I include a link to the corresponding blog post, and a sample picture; see the post for details.

You can see all of the modification-related blog posts via the modifications category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.

Removing couches; we removed the two couches that came with the coach, so we could replace them with our swivel recliner chairs and a desk:

Couch dissembly

Toad installation; installing the tow bar and related changes, to tow our truck behind the coach:

Tow bar

Minor mods including a towel holder, shower tweaks, necklace racks, and chair levelers:

Towel holder

Desk; a desk and cat litter box where a couch used to be:

Desk

Cooktop; replacing the induction cooktop:

Removed cooktop

Media cupboard; rearranging to fit our equipment:

Media cupboard

AGM batteries; we had the house batteries replaced with better ones:

Batteries

We also got a couple more solar panels installed; I didn’t do a blog post about those, though you can see them (covered in leaves) in the Valley of the Rogue drone shots post (I can’t believe I haven’t flown my drone since then; I really should do so):

Coach roof

Tire pressure monitoring system; to make sure none of the tires have an issue while driving:

Display unit

Upgraded Spyder control panel; a much nicer panel:

Upgraded control panel

Replaced lights; fixed some flickering lights:

Replaced lights

Smart surge protector; to help avoid electrical issues:

Power Watchdog

Clear sewer hose extension; to help watch the flow:

Wet bay

Toilet flush switch replacement; fixing an unreliable switch:

Trying replacement switch

There are a few more modifications that I did in 2021; stay tuned for posts about them over the coming days.

2021 attractions

One of the main reasons for traveling the United States in a motorhome is to explore the many wonders around the country. This is a summary of some of the attractions we visited in 2021.

I’ll skip the many Yellowstone National Park places; check out the Yellowstone posts for those.

As with the previous summary, I’ll include a link to the corresponding blog post, and a sample picture. Click or tap the link to see more.

You can see all of the attraction-related blog posts via the exploring category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.

Olympic National Park in the Northeast corner of Washington state:

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, OR:

Spruce Goose plane

Golden ghost town in southern Oregon:

Golden store and homestead

Oregon Vortex in southern Oregon:

House of Mystery

Lassen Volcanic National Park in California:

Visitor center

New Clairvaux Vineyard in Vina, CA:

Tasting room

Bidwell Mansion in Chico, CA:

Bidwell Mansion

Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA:

Gardens

California’s Great America in San Jose, CA:

California's Great America

Apple Park Visitor Center in Cupertino, CA:

Apple Park

Pinnacles National Park in Paicines, CA:

Rocks

Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, CA:

Jellyfish

California coast:

Bixby Creek Bridge

Joshua Tree National Park in Indio, CA:

Joshua trees

Bombay Beach, Salton Sea, CA:

Beach art

The Living Desert Zoo WildLights in Palm Desert, CA:

Holiday lights

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona:

Visitor center

Painted Rock Petroglyph Site in Gila Bend, AZ:

Petroglyph rocks

Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix, AZ:

Pond

Pedal boats at Encanto Park in Phoenix, AZ:

Ducks

Scorpion Gulch and Dobbins Lookout in Phoenix, AZ:

Scorpion Gulch

Phoenix Zoo lights:

Zoo lights

Goldfield Ghost Town in Arizona:

Gunfight

Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Arizona:

Cacti

Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ:

Chihuly

We’re looking forward to seeing several more National Parks and many other attractions in 2022!

2021 campgrounds

Another interesting summary of 2021 — the places we stayed during the year.

I’ll start with buying our coach, then our Yellowstone trip in a rental travel trailer, and continue with our subsequent coach stays. For each location, I’ll include a link to the corresponding blog post, the campground map (if available), and a picture of our site. Enjoy!

You can also see all of the campground-related blog posts via the campsite category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.

Pasco / Tri-Cities KOA Journey in Pasco, WA, where we purchased the coach:

Campsite

At our homestead in Estacada, OR:

Coach at homestead

For our Yellowstone trip in the rental travel trailer; Grand Hot Springs in La Grande, OR:

Grande Hot Springs

Campsite

Twin Falls / Jerome KOA in Jerome, ID:

KOA

Trailer

Madison campground, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming:

Campsite

Jim & Mary’s RV Park in Missoula, MT:

Jim & Mary's RV Park map

Trailer and truck

Coyote Run RV Park in Connell, WA:

Coyote Run RV Park map

Campsite

Back into our coach, our first stop after leaving our homestead was Portland Fairview RV Park in Portland, OR (no blog post, so this is a newly-published picture):

Campsite

Mom’s place in the Seattle region:

Parked at Mom's house

Kevin and Julie’s Boondockers Welcome site in Chehalis, WA:

Campsite

Olde Stone Village RV Park in McMinnville, OR:

Coach and truck

Valley of the Rogue state park in Gold Hill, OR:

Campground info

Truck and coach in campsite

Heritage RV Park in Corning, CA:

Heritage RV Park map

Coach and truck in campsite

Coyote Valley RV Resort in San Jose, CA:

Campground map

Large site

Thousand Trails San Benito Preserve in San Benito, CA:

Campground map

Campsite

Truck and coach in new campsite

Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield, California:

Orange Grove RV Park map

Campsite

Shadow Hills RV Resort in Indio, CA:

Shadow Hills RV Resort map

Campsite

Sonoran Desert RV Park in Gila Bend, AZ:

Sonoran Desert RV Park map

Campsite

Dry camping at Straight Line RV in Phoenix, AZ:

Coach

Black Rock RV Village in Salome, AZ (blog post coming next week):

Campsite

I hope you enjoyed this tour of our campsites in 2021!

2021 travel

Happy New Year! 🎉

As we begin 2022, let’s look back at our coach travel in 2021.

We bought our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP diesel pusher motorhome on September 2, 2021, and other than a few times when we’ve been out of it due to our Yellowstone trip and a couple of servicing appointments, we’ve lived in it full-time since then.

We’ve driven the coach about 2,300 miles in that time, on the west coast, from as far north as the Seattle area, and as far south as the Phoenix area (actually Gila Bend, not far north of Mexico). We’ve stayed in it in just four different states so far: Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona.

Here’s the map of our coach travels and stays in 2021, via the excellent RV Trip Wizard website:

Map route

If we include our Yellowstone trip, staying in a rental trailer, we can add Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to the list of states:

Map route

You can see all of the travel-related blog posts via the travel category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.

I thought it’d be interesting and useful to include a summary of travel days. I didn’t start blogging about them consistently at first, but over time settled into a pattern. Here are links to blog posts, and a sample picture of the view of each, so you can see how the landscape changed as we travelled in our coach.

Travel to Mom’s place in the Seattle region:

Driving

Driving to Southern Oregon:

Freeway

Video timelapse:

Into California:

Nice view

Video timelapse:

Travel day to San Jose:

Horrible road

Video timelapse:

To San Benito, CA:

Highway driving

Video timelapse:

To Bakersfield, CA:

Trucks on freeway

Video timelapse:

To Indio, CA:

Desert road with lots of dips, and Joshua trees

Video timelapse:

To Gila Bend, AZ:

Welcome to Arizona

Video timelapse:

And a timelapse to Phoenix:

To Salome, AZ:

Road

Video timelapse:

What’s in store for 2022?

We are looking forward to the Xscapers Bash in mid-January, then will head to Disneyland for Jenn’s birthday in February, to the coast, then back to Arizona, and the FMCA convention, then north into Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming to hit more National Parks. Then via Idaho into Oregon to visit doctors and dentists. After that, we’ll head north, then east, then south, heading towards Texas for next winter, as we slowly make our way across the country.

We already have reservations up till mid-June, but the rest of the year is subject to change.

Here’s the current route and stop map for 2022; starting from the Phoenix area, heading to the coast, then going basically clockwise:

2022 route

Still a lot more of the country to see, but we’re working our way across, with trips back to Portland each year. The maps for subsequent years will be similar to the 2022 one, but heading north from and ending up further east each time:

2022 route

2021 was an eventful year, what with the big transition from the homestead to coach. 2022 should be an interesting year, as we continue to explore. I hope you’ll enjoy following along via this blog.