A Week of Safari-ites Visits

As most of you blog readers know, we own a vintage Safari motorhome.  It's just about 20 years old, being manufactured in Oct 1995 and is considered a 1996.  That's pretty old!   We qualify for Collector Plates next time we register the rig in Wisconsin.

We know  quite a few folks who also have the same kind of rig.  They are no longer made by Safari but were bought out by Monoco and later bought out by Navistar.  All in all, we love our Safari motorhomes, no matter what year they are!   I gather and share information about them on various websites, Safari Yahoo groups and Safari Facebook groups.  Over the years I have met many nice owners of Safari motorhomes in our travels, both on the road and on the internet.

That brings me to this week....

Fellow Safari owners Paula and Mel Stuplich have a 1996 Sahara rig and we have camped together for many years now.  Last winter while out West, they met up with a cute couple, Conny and Jack who also have a Safari.  They clicked immediately and became friends.  Conny and Jack live in their motorhome fulltime.  After hearing Mel and Paula sharing so many stories and tales about us, Conny and Jack decided to come and visit us!

They were coming to Wisconsin to attend a Diesel Motorcoach Seminar and then a Safari Rally over by the Wisconsin Dells and Madison area.  They planned to get into Wisconsin a week early and were able to snag reservations at High Cliff State Park.  Mel and Paula watched the reservation list at ReserveAmerica and were able to get a cancellation in a site right behind them! What luck!  We watched for an electric site to open up on the ReserveAmerica website, but didn't get in.  Even if you work at a State Park, that doesn't give you an inside edge to get a campsite. It's all handled through the ReserveAmerica corporation. But because we live nearby, that was okay.  When the other Safari-ites got here, we just planned to drive back and forth to visit.  Besides.... Steve is at the park every day, so it was not a problem to be a "visitor" each evening and not actually camp by them.

They pulled on into their campsites....  

Conny and Jack have this lovely 2000 Safari Serengeti:

Mel and Paula have this 1996 Safari Sahara, 

just look at that careful parking job!  

When the awning rolled out, it perfectly settled into place around those trees! 

Safari Motorhomes are known for their interesting murals that are 

handpainted and airbrushed on the back.  

The Dame family works on them right at the factory.

Here is more info about the murals: 

 http://arcatapet.net/travel/murals.cfm

Conny and Jack's rig has a bobcat

 Mel and Paula's rig sports a herd of wild horses! 

(I love theirs and wish it was on ours)

Our has two white tigers

Also, the Dame family would often hide a tiny animal on each mural,

ours being a tiny mouse!

We finally got to meet the charming Conny and her fun-loving husband Jack.  They had a hectic drive over from Indiana on Sunday, the fifth of July.  Dead stopped traffic around Chicago made for a long, long day. I fear we kept them up too late visiting, and I am sure they were exhausted. 

Paula and Mel pulled in the next morning and got settled in their spot.  We later planned a dinner together, with each family contributing something to add to the feast.  Paula served up the main portions and also a fantastic baklava for dessert!!!  We got rained out a few times, and Jack had the perfect idea to hide from the raindrops until they let up! LOL

We did move the picnic table over under the awning to avoid the splatters....

and continued the gabfest on so many topics.

and the guys continued to solve all of the world's problems.  

Later on, the rains held off a bit, so we could start up a campfire.  Conversations are always interesting around campfires, and we sure had a lot to say!  (note the tiki torch fluid?  great way to start a campfire when the wood is wet, because it burns slowly and will light easily)

We gathered around the campfire until late, swapping stories, telling tales and figuring out the fixes and modifications we were all doing to our rigs.  Favorite places to visit, interesting people met, and crazy drivers on the roads were all prime topics around the campfire. 

Again, we gabbed well into the night, until raindrops again pulled us to the awning, and then we gave up and headed home in our car.  The folks retreated to their rigs for a comfy night of sleep under the rainy night sky, listening to the drop drop drop sounds on the roofs of their rigs.  Ahhhhhhhh

The next day was pretty hot and humid, not my kind of camping weather.  The humidity really bothers my lungs.  Although we could have gotten a non-electric campsite nearby, I was not up to camping without the benefit of air conditioning for myself or for the dogs.  Steve was working all day at the park, and I caught up some stuff here at home.  Later, we planned another evening meal, with this time Conny planning the main meal and she did up a pan of brownies for dessert.  Gosh, we sure eat good, don't' we?   Spiced sausage, Trader Joes Beans, with fresh salad and melon to round out the meal. 

Now that the rains ended, the guys set about to solving all the problems on our Safari rigs.  Yes, things break and need repairs. Constantly.  Mel was showing Conny the differences in surge tanks, and showing her the placement of various componants on the back of his own rig.  She is a sponge for soaking up all the info and repair ideas to help maintain their own Safari. 

Mel hauled out his collapsible ladder and Steve was able to get up and examine the top of Conny and Jack's slide.  They are having trouble with the seals, so Steve was helping to figure out where the leaks were. She now has a better idea of what needs to be replaced and what can possibly just be repaired and caulked back into place.

Each evening, we ended up around a flickering campfire...

settled into our lawnchairs and settled into our friendship.

On the third day, Mel and Paula had to move to another campsite due to an incoming reservation.  It wasn't too bad though, they only had to move one more campsite to the south, and still were within walking distance of Conny and Jack's site.

Now it was time to start "Fixin Stuff"

Mel helped Connie with a frustrating shade device that is used as a visor when driving. 

It would creep upwards with every bump in the road, and not hold into place.

Between Mel and Conny, 

by George, I think they got it! 

Later on, I took Conny and Jack on a tour over to our house, so they could get in a grocery store stop, and we also toured our motorhome parked in our yard.  They got to meet Finney, but Binney hid out upstairs as they took a quick tour of our house.

Now it was my turn to supply the main meal. I did up some shrimp scampi with noodles and steamed veggies.  We noshed on more leftover brownies and baklava for desserts.  For some reason, we always seem to make too much?

 One more night of campfires.... 

and more conversations and ideas and thoughts and stories...  

what a great group of people! 

Paula snapped this hazy pic during the moist humid weather. Not sure if it's camping smoke or a fogged lens on her camera, but it really sums up the feeling of our own little Safari Rally together!

See ya down the road, 

Conny & Jack  and  Paula & Mel! 

Winding down the month as Camp Hosts at High Cliff State Park

This is our last week as hosts!  

It has really flown by, and we have enjoyed the process and chores that go along with being a camp host for the State of Wisconsin.  We do realize that some other hosting positions in county, municipal, and even federal national forests have different job descriptions, and more duties to perform.  For the Wisconsin State campgrounds, this hosting position has been a pleasure.  We are also attending a Volunteer Jamboree next month at Point Beach State Park which is put on by the DNR park system as a "thank you" for all the volunteers around the state.

We made it 24 days on our holding tanks!   We had hoped to make it to the end of the month, but 24 days is pretty danged good, so we furled up the awning and drove over to the dump station and did the deed.  

I decided to snap a few pics around the park as I did a clean up run the other morning.  The park is home to a flock of Turkey Vultures.  They hang out and roost on the roof of one of the picnic shelters.  They are kinda ugly, but I thought it was cool to see them all in a group.  Sometimes they soar in circles all along the cliffs and look pretty awesome!

Every Thursday morning I drive my Polaris down along by the Marina to clean the grills and firepits down there for the boaters.  It's such a pretty scene as you look out across the harbor...

But if you go up close to the water's edge, you see the "blue green algae" that is blooming about this time of year.  The winds from southwest blow it all up into the harbor and it's not too pretty....

 plus it kinda *stinks*  .... ewwwwwwww

Anyone want a sail boat?   

It was "abandoned" here in the marina's parking lot, and they are unable to reach it's owners.  

Now they have to go through all the proper channels to get it moved out of their parking lot! 

At least this sail boat has a happy owner, taking across the big Lake Winnebago.  

One day I took a ride around the "Butterfly Ponds" which were a lovely volunteer effort from the Friends of High Cliff who created it on the north side of the park.

Handicapped accessible trails round the ponds and wind through the woods. 

A lot of wildlife is habitating by these ponds this year, they were dug out and created last year.

Besides being campground hosts, we have had the honor of family and friends coming to visit us here at the park.  Although we don't get any "deals" on campsite fees, we do get a certain amount of firewood from leftovers on campsites that we can burn.  So our company can join us around a few free campfires?

On Sunday afternoon our good friends Mel and Paula pulled into their reserved site for four nights next to us.  (same site as Pa Pfundtner was on last week)   It's always fun to get together with them... Steve and Mel love to fiddle and futz and finagle on our Safari Motorhomes (we both have the same year)  then Paula and I get to do some quilting or go thrift store shopping!   Matches made in Heaven!  LOL

We had a dinner out at the same High Cliff Country Club as last Sunday with Pa Pfundtner.  Mel and Paula treated us to a fine dinner (they stole the check!)

Monday we took a run to the quilt store in Plymouth, WI called The Sewing Basket.  Here is their website:  http://www.sewingbasket.biz/    or you can follow them on Facebook  if you search their name.

I think it's the nicest quilting shop I have been in so far.  I saw two different interesting table toppers that I am going to try to make (branching out from just hot pads)  and I bought all the fabrics to piece together to make these.... I am going to change them a little bit, but will be interesting to work on.

(Paula held them up for me to photograph --with the shop's permission) 

We had a "stalker" in the store with us.  Mel grew too hot and uncomfortable waiting in the car, so he came in and wandered around.  He said the ONLY thing he found in the quilt store that was for a man was a CHAIR!   LOL LOL ..... 

We enjoy cooking together too, so another meal was tenderloin steaks on the grill.  There is a little meat market in Wausau that has excellent meats, so we beg Paula each time before they visit to pick up tenderloins to fill our freezer again.  We laugh that it's "imported meat"---

They had to run back to Wausau for their son's anniversary dinner tonight, but will be back later tonight or else tomorrow morning.

We had a huge storm just pass through here tonight... not a single warning on the weather radio, nor anything on any of the four Green Bay tv stations?   The Park Naturalist Cindy texted me from her home to warn me it was coming, as she lives west of the park and it hit by her first.  We rushed out and removed the awning lights, and rolled up the awning fast.  Whew....  just as we finished and got back in the motorhome, the big drops started falling.  Then the sky got very dark, and rains came down in buckets!   Not much wind which was a good thing, since we are surrounded by trees.  But the rain and rumbles and flashes of light were pretty exciting.  When it seemed to be settling down, oh no... Cindy texted again, Round Number TWO was on it's way.... sure enough... a Double Storm Whammy!


Now all is calm as I write this, and I am heading to bed.  It's Tuesday night.  Thursday noon will be the "CHANGING OF THE GUARD" as the next camp hosts, Rosie and Luke take over our site. Sadly, I will turn over my badge, my vest, my keys and my clipboard.

I will drive the motorhome back to our house about noon, and Steveio is going to spread a little more gravel on the site and level it out a bit more before Rosie and Luke put their RV in it's site in the afternoon.   Then it's back to Life as Normal again.

Coating Mel and Paula's RV Roof with Elastomeric Paint

Friday was kinda held in limbo, as Mel had a medical situation to be addressed.  He needed to have a carotid artery rotor-rootered out ....  (errr sliced open and cleaned out with a pipecleaner, according to Steveio)   All came out fine and he is fit as a fiddle.

Saturday morning was dawning with sunshine and ewwww heat.  But at least we had clear skies to work on the roof without the threat of rain.

Steveio removed the old caulking and redid all of the seams with ProFlexRV by Geocel tripolymer nonhardening caulk. Great stuff for the thin seams on our rigs.  Then he taped off the sides for our painting task.

The Eternabond tape on the front and rear end cap seams was all settled nice and flat and sealed well.

In lieu of flowers or candy or balloons, I decided the best "Get Well" present for Mel would be to scrub his motorhome from top to bottom with car wash and our big soft brush.  I was just finishing up that job as Paula drove up with Mel, freshly released from the hospital!

Now it was time for the fun stuff to begin!  We were prepped and ready to coat their motorhome roof with elastomeric paint.   From Menards it was the same stuff we used, called White Elastomeric Roof Coating by Seal Best, on sale for about $13. Normally $18.99 a bucket.  Beware... it's only a .9 gallon!  Since when did they start making .9 gallon buckets of paint????   hmmmmmmmm

Pa-Fundtner Roof-Coating Company, Inc. 

We rolled the first coat of the entire roof in about 20 minutes, with me cutting in around the areas with a brush, while Steveio manned the roller.    Mel supervised from below, while Paula kept the rice krispie bars a-coming!    And lots and lots of ice water!!!

Steveio and Mel took a break while I decided I had enough fun for the day and hopped in a cool shower.  The temps were over 90 degrees, but with a nice breeze, it all dried very quickly.

Steve rolled the second coat later on in the day, while we all supervised from below and told him where he missed spots... (Yah, right, like we could see it)

Once he was done, he set the ladder against Mels' garage, he hopped up there and snapped these photos from the vantage of the garage roof:

A JOB WELL DONE! 

 I am not so sure what they have on the schedule for tomorrow...  

but I am sure it's gonna be some fun task!  

(added later----) They used up a full bucket, and half of another.  So that would be 1.35 gallons?   But today before we leave, Steve is gonna coat the "waterfall" sides area where the mauve paint came down to the first trim strip a third coat as you can see some brush marks.  Then he will roll the rest of the bucket across the top layer to use it up.   So really, two .9 gallons is all that is needed.

Another day at the Stuplich RV Resort and Convalescent Center

And another glorious day of weather too!   I failed to mention our wonderful weather in Wisconsin (after all of that complaining I did during the hot horrid humid days)...   we are in the mid 70's during the days and down into the 40's at night.  Last night we did kick in the furnace a few times to take out the chill, and we slept with the electric mattress pad on too.  Very comfortable.

Monday was a busy day again for Steve and Mel.  They did some configuring and confabulation, some comparisons and considerations, and then some complaining too... what about?  Their repair bills!

They were sitting side by side, with their cases of paperwork, with manuals, warranties, instruction books and repair bills!  LOL   They were checking how much they were charged for what part number, what procedure or what service at various places.  I think they came to conclusion that motorhome ownership is just plain old EXPENSIVE!!!!    

We took the "Tour of Wausau" yesterday with Mel and Paula, seeing all the sights, places they had lived, and scoped out some places we need to get to in the next few days.  Of course, the guys needed a stop at Harbor Freight. and we also stopped at a small town style meat market for some great steaks for supper. 

The guys were working on changing the oil in Mel's generator, and Paula rinsed out the washable filter.  She also got the grease outta Steve's good shorts!  Thanks Paula! 

We ended the evening again with a few bottles of beverages around the canned propane campfire.  The Stuplich RV Resort and Convalescent Center is located within city limits and you are not allowed to have a campfire, so this portable propane one of Mel's just fits the bill perfectly.   It even gives off heat, but not smoke or ash. 

Today's schedule holds a few more projects, including washing all my motorhome windows inside and out.  This is our view this morning as we raise our powered windshield shade (you can't quite see all of the bugs but they are there) 

Steveio's knee is doing great.  The doc office called yesterday to check on him, told him to get up and around and move it.  He has the bandage off and is able to take a shower.  Then put on smaller bandages to keep the dirt off.  He is walking around pretty good, and getting almost full range of motion already.

Time to perk up another pot of coffee, and head on over to the side porch of the Stuplich RV Resort!  I heard she has some great Mocha Bars for breakfast.....


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Moochdocking Memorial Weekend and Motorhome Modifications

Our Memorial holiday weekend started out with a fun overnight babysitting for a couple of the grandtots!   At Christmas we had given each of our kids and their spouses a "DATE"  It was gift cards for a dinner out, a movie and also an overnight babysitting to enjoy their "date"   Dan and Heather saved theirs till now in May to use on their anniversary.  Awwwwwww   We kept little 8 week old Mason and 2 year old Allegra overnight on Friday.

We told the young parents that they could sleep in and come by noon on Saturday.  But no, they are too used to getting up early and were at our door by 9am to take their kids back!   Before they left, I got the two grandtots to pose by my birch trees.

All of the grandkids have been posing for pics in front of these trees for three years now.   And if everything goes as planned this week, we may not even be owning these particular birch trees in the near future.  But I am not going to say anything to jinx it, you blog readers will just have to wait and see!~

Seeing as the kids left early, we hopped in our rig and headed west on Hwy 22.  Stopped in Cecil by a little parking area on the shores of Shawano Lake to make a little lunch.  What a great view out the windows!!!

(panorama camera setting)

Being  that it was a busy holiday weekend, we knew that the chance of getting an open campsite was just about nil, so we headed over to Wausau, WI to "mooch-dock" in our fellow Safari-owning friends Mel and Paula! 

"Mooch-docking" is when you hang out in someone's driveway for free, as opposed to "boon-docking" out in the woods for free without hookups, or "Wally-docking" when you park overnight for free at a Wal-Mart! 

It was a pleasant day and we avoided a few of the scattered showers during the daytime....   Their rig is crosseways in front of ours is the same year, just a different color and slightly different model.  Sahara vs Serengeti.  But basically the same rigs...  both made by Safari. 

Because Mel and Paula live within the city limits, they are not allowed to have a burning campfire.  Sigh.   What fun is "camping" if you can't have a campfire?  So Mel had made up this Campfire In a Can!   You can buy commercially made ones, but Mel made this one up from a metal wash tub, a fireplace gas log setup and a hose to a propane tank!  It sure put out heat too!!!

Saturday night we were up kinda late, yacking and going between their rig and ours, comparing ideas and modifications.  The rains started, and soon the HAIL!!!! ACK!   It was pinging down on the roofs of our rigs... and piling up as the 1-1.5 inch hail was sliding off the end of our tilted awning.  The pinging was getting louder and louder and we were shaking, just thinking of our solar panels getting smashed to smithereens!    The rain let up around midnight, so they wandered in their house and we made it back into our rig to get some sleep.  

The next morning they examined the roofs.  Our rig made it through safely, probably due to being parked underneath a pretty big tree.  Paula and Mel's rig didn't fare as well.  They had a few holes banged through their fiberglass air conditioner covers!   Mel said he can repair them though, so all is not so bad.  At least the expensive bathroom skylites and solar panels all made it through safe and sound! 

Paula and I kept ourselves busy with cooking food, checking out her quilting room (she has a huge long-arm quilting machine!)   and we even hit a few thrift shops.  I found some yarn. Yah, right, like I really need some yarn!    Their wonderful daughterinlaw, Sarah, made us a cheesecake and raspberry glaze for a special treat.  Yummmmm 

The guys never left the yard!  They were busy---- under, inside, over and on top of each other's rigs.  They fiddled and futzed and researched and repaired.   Two guys, a pile of tools, and two similar motorhomes to play with.  Talk about FUN!~ 

They did discover a problem.... first with Mel's rig and then even worse with ours!   I will let Mel tell it in his own words from his post on the Safari Group SafariCoaches

This past weekend Stevio and I where diagnosing my PacBrake because, to me, it felt as though it was no longer working as it had been. (Turning it on would cause the Allison display to drop to 2nd and the coach would downshift as it slowed..... but did not have the "drag" I was accustomed to).

We figured out how to activate the PacBrake air solenoid, (after turning ON the key and allowing the air pressure to build up), with a momentary jumper wire from the always hot chassis battery post of the isolator to the positive wire of the solenoid, (which we had removed from the PackBrake relay).

The air cylinder would only push out about 1/4 as far as it should with each momentary application of 12v, (which only slightly closed the butterfly).

Steve discovered that the strange looking 90 degree elbow, (mounted on the top of the PacBrake air cylinder), to which the air line from the solenoid is attached, had an air leak.

When Steve sealed the opening in the end of that elbow with his thumb and I jumped the 12v, the PacBrake cylinder extended all the way and closed the butterfly, as it should.

He removed that "elbow" and we discovered that it is actually a "Humphrey 1/4 Quick Exhaust Valve #SQE2".

When we disassembled that "valve" we found that the internal rubber diaphragm had a hole in it.

Steve took the diaphragm from the working valve on his '96 Serengeti  PacBrake cylinder and put it in mine and it is working perfectly.

Link to valve:

http://www.cleanersupply.com/products/product.cfm?pID=10281

Link to kit:

http://www.cleanersupply.com/products/search.cfm?KEYS=sqe2&x=8&y=5

BTW, the reason Steveio is willing to go without his Humphrey Valve temporarily is that we found that his PacBrake butterfly is rusted/frozen in the open position............ (I guess it's true: "No good deed goes UNPUNISHED")! :-)

I have ordered a new valve, ($15.95), plus a rebuild kit,($7.95) plus shipping ($3.83), so when Steve frees his up he can use it.

Mel

'96 Sahara, 3126 Cat

Paula helped me solve a dilemma that I had-----   Long ago, my friend Lisa gave me her old cast aluminum roaster.  It's perfect for a small roast, a chicken, casserole or mashed taters (that is what she used it for).  It's one of those "prized possessions".  Also when my daughter bought her house, the previous owner had a larger one, and it was being tossed in the trash as the sellers were cleaning out the house.  I was allowed to keep it when we were just looking at the house for Erin and Mark to buy it.   So I have these two antique roasters.  The big one won't even fit in the convection oven of our rig, and the small one will barely fit.  They are very heavy, and I am guessing quite old. 

I know this sounds silly, but I have been just agonizing over the decision of what to do.  If I get rid of them, I doubt if I could ever find them again if we do settle down into a larger home and kitchen.  They are not very common.  Do I toss the big one?  Do I keep it?  None of my kids wanted it. Even if it doesn't fit in the oven, it's great to put out over the fire and will fit a turkey in it.  There is just not enough room in the motorhome's kitchen cabinet that I have for the regular kettles.  I needed to cull one and didn't want to.  I have most of my allotted storage compartment space underneath already earmarked for other things, so putting it there would just let it sit and rattle around never get used? 

Sooo along comes Paula with a solution!  

Our Safari rigs come with a pretty useless lazy susan cabinet in the corner of the kitchen.  I hate mine.  Paula hated hers too.  The cans and jars and bottles of food spill over the edges and get caught way in the back!   Then you have to get down on your hands and knees to reach wayyy back behind with a pair of cooking tongs to get them out again. Argghhh.   

Paula had the best idea, she took her lazy susan out!    The boxed-in area underneath the lazy susan is covering our water heater.  It's a nice carpeted cabinet with a strong surface to hold items without slipping around.  There is a narrow side open area that works great for baking cookie sheets and muffin pans.  So tonight, my Steveio got down on his knees to remove my lazy susan! 

(before)                                                       (during) 

(and after!)

Now it's like a big appliance garage!   I fit in the roasters, the toaster, my little food chopper, hand held Braun blender, some bread pans, my apple corer  and there is still some room for the waffle iron!   It sure don't take much to make me happy, Steveio says.  Remove one little rotating circle and his wife is grinning like a fool!  LOL 

While he had out his trusty drill with a phillips bit in it, he removed these wooden brackets that were around the top opening of our stairs.  My newest sandals have been catching on them and I have tripped twice in the last week going into our rig.   (I know, I know, just pick up my feet, eh?)   

They were originally designed to hold up a flip down door that would cover the stair-well while in transit.  We long ago removed the flip down door to create more space for the heater located on the wall next to the stairwell.  If the door is gone, why keep the brackets in place?   He removed them and the tiny screw holes left behind are not too noticeable.  

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day

 and lest we never forget the brave men and women 

who have fought to protect our freedom. 

So that is about it from the Pfundtner's home, 

stay tuned for the newest updates in our transition to full time RVing! 

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