Alliance RV Vegas Rally 2024

Hi everyone, over the past week Tessie and I headed to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend our first RV rally, The Alliance Vegas Ally Rally 2024 and it was in a word amazing. I found out about the rally in the first part of 2024 after we returned from our annual trip to Quartzsite for the Big Tent and Q Rally. At first, I was not sure if rally life would suit us, since Tessie and I are such spur of the moment travelers but decided to find out more information about it and ultimately during information gathering process it threw our names in the hat, and we were invited to attend. So, the prep started with getting the rig in “Rally” mode which I don’t even know if that is a thing, but I there we were getting everything ready for this new adventure. So, we decided to get there the day before all the events happened since we were not traveling that far, so we headed out Tuesday morning the day of the official kickoff. We drove from San Diego where we Cabin Host at Santee Lakes Regional Campground and headed east to Las Vegas. The trip, like 99% of our trips, was pretty uneventful thankfully, we drove stopped halfway to enjoy brunch at arguably our favorite diner Peggy Sue’s Diner just outside of Barstow, California off highway 15. Anytime we are heading east on Highway 15 Peggy Sue’s will always get our business, it’s also great that they are now a Harvest Host stop for rver’s. After brunch we continued heading to our Vegas destination with a stop just outside of Baker, California at one of the newly renovated rest areas. After our 6-hour journey we pulled into Oasis RV Resort, truth be told we have passed this resort probably 20 times on our too or through Las Vegas and never knew this place was there, not that we hadn’t heard about it from fellow rver’s in YT videos, but we had no idea where it was located until, but we do now. After checking in and getting parked, we got the rv all set up headed over to the main meeting hall where all the events would be happening, we walked in and saw a friendly face which is always a great thing, and from that point on the adventure and fun began. During this first evening, we had the pleasure to finally meet Ryan Brady, and Bill Martin, Bill you are definitely a positive light sir, your passion and commitment to Alliance RV and us the owners is matched, so glad you are on our side. Also, during this time got a chance to meet April Clark, and Rob Boyer who literally kept the show going and were the go-to crew throughout the week. These two were always literally everywhere, I have no idea how they did it all, but they definitely had a great crew of helpers with them. Thank you, April and Rob, for all the hard work, it all turned out amazing from my purview. During the next 3 days there were so many activities and seminars, also the shear amount of work the Alliance Service crew took on was monumental. We saw everything from wall trim repairs to axle replacements. The true professionalism on display by the Alliance Service team was something to behold. As someone with a background in service and customer care, I truly appreciated seeing the service team in action. Besides the Alliance crew we were able to put names to faces that we see on the many Alliance Facebook groups. I want to thank Bob & Lorraine Mitchell, John & Kim Tyer, Mark & Angie Wilkerson, Tom & Robin Ross, and Jason & Kimberly Anderson for your hospitality and FamAllyShip, meeting and hanging out with all of you was fantastic, we definitely look forward to meeting up with you all at some point on our journey and travel’s I have to say that this was a fantastic week and we will definitely attend another Alliance RV rally, hopefully we can make it to the National Rally in Indiana who knows.

Joshua Tree National Park

One of the things that we enjoy is visiting our countries National Parks and Monuments. We recently visited Joshua Tree NP which has been on our [list of living] places for a very long time. It’s kind of funny, we are from California, San Diego specifically, but we have not visited this NP in the past, hell we haven’t visiting many places in California, but ask us about Arizona, Utah, Oregon or any of the other Western states and we can talk for hours. We plan to visit many more amazing places in California over the coming year as we get around the state we have lived in most of our lives lol. One of the highlights of the trip was taking a driving tour from Cottonwood Campgound to the main visitor center on the other side of the park which was a 42 mile drive. Along that drive there are Exhibit Points that explain the history, flora and fauna of the NP. On this drive you can see part of the sheer magnitude of this beautiful park and also the diversity of the landscape which really has to be seen to be appreciated. This area has a deep and rich cultural history to it that is not readily known. If you’re in the area for any period of time I would say check out Joshua Tree National Park, it just may surprise you!

RV Build Quality, is it or isn't it a bigger deal than we think.

A little different perspective on the quality debate that seems to have infected the rv world over the last few years. I personally look at things from a different lens being that I have a background in Submarine Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Quality Assurance, where proper manufacturing and assembly are paramount to the success of ships operation and mission, while protecting the humans that live and work on board. Do i believe that a higher standard needs to be had in the rv industry absolutely, but i also believe that after taking 14 rv manufacturing factory tours, that they are putting in the effort (even though most end users don't think so) to ensure a quality product is put out. Recently a former fulltime RV couple who i have followed for over 10 yrs, the Wynns, who have gone from RV's to Sail Boat's just purchased a $1.6 million dollar custom boat, and in this vlog they speak of the quality issues that they are going through as they continue their cruising around the world. Trust me i'm not trying to call anyone person or company out, i just hope to expand some thinking on the subject when the proverbial "issue(s)" comes up in your rig possibly.

https://youtu.be/bDaCN0OxUBM?si=aPo0o6GTjtY_IKi8

Q24 RV Rally and Meetup

Welcome to the crazy

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January 19th to the 29th will be the annual meetup of content creators. This meet up started in 2020 right before covid as a very informal gathering of creators who invited friends along for the festivities. That first meetup and subsequent meetups that have followed have been nothing short of amazing, and this years version should be nothing less than amazing as well.

This year has taken on a little more organization with the amazing work of Greg and Penny Cameron who just happen to live in Q, so they have step into the dare i say logistical position, but really i have no idea how we were blessed that they chose this group, because we would be completely lost without their guidance and can do spirit for all things gathering.

This year will have a few organized events i.e. River Paddling, Side by Side trail riding, Cooking class’s, Electronic Power Bank building class’s and a few more items, that will go with the always desired potlucks and the very enthusiastic evening campfires.

If you have not made it to Quartzsite to attend one of our events, you are missing out on a great opportunity to meet new friends, who will become family, and to experience the many sides of the nomadic community.

This year we will have every type of livable vehicle represented so it should be a great time. Looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new. Hope to see you there.

Traveling to Texas

We left southern California, Santee Lakes Regional Reserve where we cabin host heading to Irwing, Texas today. Travel days for us are what its about, we love the journey hence or name Living Our Journey 365. For this trip we are taking a lazy 8 days to get there. Along the way we will have various stops at campgrounds, rv parks, fairgrounds, state parks, national parks and harvest hosts with a little bit of boondocking thrown in as well. To say we like a variety of places to stay is an understatement, we are not glampers by any stretch of the imagination we don’t gravel, dirt, or grass actually we prefer it most of the time. Over the next couple of weeks i will be posting some of the stay’s we have so i can give you guys an idea of what’s out there when you start your journey, hopefully you will follow along with us.

First stop on the Spring Fling Tour : Sonoran Desert RV Park

The Sonoran Desert RV Park over the past few years has become one of our favorite stops weather we are going out or come in to California. When we are passing through Arizona on our way to other parts of the country or coming back to California from our travels one of our favorite places to stop is Sonoran Desert RV Park. This is our first stop, it gives me a chance to check the rig before we head to parts unknown. This park is located in Gila Bend, Arizona. It has all the amenities that you could want. Its also located very conveniently off HWY 8 and Interstate 10. So if you are driving through Gila Bend and need a nice park to hand out for a few days this is a great stop over.

The next few post will be of the stops that we made on our way to South Dakota where we will officially become South Dakota residence.