Escapees March-April 2023

camping chair chat

Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Louisi ana, Missouri and Mississippi. We have discovered that the greatest part of RVing is having our pets with us. The memories we’ve made together are priceless. In 2019, we lost Treasure. She was close to 20-years old when we had to put her down. We had a few more years RVing with Prince. On the day before Thanksgiv ing, in 2022, we made that last trip to the vet. Prince, at the ripe old age of 21, was suffering from congestive heart failure. That very day we said, “Goodbye,” to my best friend. Our pets have been a huge part of our lives, and have enriched our lives in indescribable ways. It was because of them that we discovered RVing. The house is quiet now. The RV sits in the driveway, unused since the loss

Transitions The following summer, Mr. Pumpkin’s health began to decline. At the ripe old age of 20-ish, his quality of life had deteriorated to the point that we made the dif fi cult choice to put him down. All we had left of him were some photos and all the memories, and some of the best of those memories we had was of that RV trip to Arizona with him. The house was like a tomb after his passing. It didn’t take long before we felt compelled to fi ll the void by rescuing another little dog. In 2008, during a trip to the Humane Society, in Omaha, Prince chose us. Prince was a seven or eight-year-old chihua hua-pug mix. On the two-hour trip back home, he fell asleep in my mother’s arms like a baby and melted both of our hearts. He became the perfect RVing partner. In 2009, I purchased my fi rst RV. It was a 36-foot 1995 Jayco fi fth wheel which had been poorly main tained and needed some work. Throwing caution to the wind, once again, we hitched up the RV and loaded up the truck to head to Arizona to spend Christmas with my sister. This became one of the most memorable RV trips we would ever make, and it because of the pets. Jumping Cacti Instead of staying in an RV Resort in the Phoenix area, we went to the Usery Mountain Regional Park Camp ground in Mesa. We decorated the RV for Christmas, and even had a little tree. We would put Prince on a leash and multiple times a day explore the local area. This is when we discovered the Jumping Cactus. While walking along the established paths, we were attacked. My mother ended up with a needle in her shoe, which punctured all the way through the sole and into her foot. It was while pulling out that cactus needle that I looked over at Prince and saw that he had an entire segment of Jumping Cactus on his head, with the needles dangerously close to one eye. He didn’t even notice it. I reached down and removed the Cactus segment with my bare hand in order to save the dog. He gave out a mighty yelp as I pulled it free. Then we walked back to the RV so that I could get a tool and remove the cactus segment from my hand. Need less to say, we didn’t take any more nature walks there. Years later Prince would become diabetic. Twice a day for four years I would use a different kind of needle to administer his insulin. Insulin must be kept refrigerated. One of the neat things about traveling by RV is that you can take your refrigerator with you. Diabetes never slowed him down a bit, nor did it end our RVing adven tures together. Memories I am on my second RV now, a 2002 Hitchhiker II fi fth wheel. Prince and Treasure have traveled with us to

of Prince. All we have left is the occasional dog toy lying on the fl oor where Prince had last played with it. We haven’t had the heart to collect them and put them away. But, we do have all those memo ries, and what great memories they are! Cecil Dale #129364

Battery Maintainer Last year, I published a Gadget Box article on the LSL Trik–L–Start, a battery main

tainer. Late in 2022, the owner of LSL Products passed away, and it appears that the company may be closing. As a result, the Trik L Start is currently unavailable from LSL and is out of stock just about everywhere. Only time will

tell if the product line will be discontinued or if someone will pick up the rights to the product and continue producing it. For now, the Xantrex 82-0123-01 Echo Charge is an equivalent type charger, but it sports a hefty price tag (around $150). Mark Nemeth #45776, Escapees Technical Advisor

Opinions contained in “Camping Chair Chat” are not necessarily those of the Escapees RV Club, its o ffi cers or the membership in general. This column is for Escapees magazine readers to share thoughts, ideas and helpful hints. Escapees RV Club accepts no responsibility for what is expressed here by any person, group or company. If accepted, submissions will be edited for magazine style and formatting. Submissions that are sent by e-mail can be directed to department seditor@escapees.com.

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March/April 2023 ESCAPEES Magazine