pack, move and new home

Never thought to take a photo from this angle. Might give you a better perspective of my acre and Timberon. Have not had so much rain since I got here in 2017. Sure a lot of nice looking green on the acre.

Temps in the 50s at night and upper 70s to mid 80s during the day, Pretty nice for August.

I had no intention of buying a new trailer this year. Had put the new registration tag on the Nash’s license plate. I accessed a number of websites that rated the best 4-season travel trailers. Northwood Arctic Fox was on every list. Hence the trip to Deming in April. When I pulled into the park, I noticed an Arctic Fox, although a longer model than what I wanted. Found out a friend had recently purchased it. The next day I talked with her about her trailer. She was so excited with the Fox. I felt glad for her, brought a smile to my face, is the best RV she has ever owned, by far. Like me, it will probably be her last. We’re goin’ out in style. The trailer was awesome. The first Arctic Fox I’ve been in.

Drove the hour up to Lowry’s RV to look at trailers. There was a 25RB on the lot but the floorplan would not work for me. Put a deposit on a 2026 Arctic Fox RB25 (27’) with the dinette in the slide. So now I was on the order list for the current run of 50 or so orders from around the country for Arctic Fox trailers at the factory in LaGrande, OR. Northwood started the run in June.

Forgot what set me off on this path but once I decided to get a new trailer, it all quickly started to move along. I would have to be back at Lowry’s a week after my Fox arrived. They first have to give it a thorough going over. Testing everything,

So I towed the Nash back to Timberon to wrap things up there. Had no idea of all the work, let alone the weeks it would take me to get ready to leave. Once again—clueless. Luckily there were a couple weeks of holdups at the Northwood factory.
Started polishing the Nash sidewalls so it would be more presentable to the buyer, got close to finishing along with a number of other tasks.

I purchased twelve Sterilite 30 gal tote bins from Walmart. Six would fit in the bed of the Ford with another six on top. I was hoping that everything in the Nash 17K would fit in the totes. Nope.
Started on a big weed-down. Deviding all the stuff into three piles: items going to thrift stores, those to keep and pack and long overdue items to trash. Make a guess here? Yep, items to keep pile was still too big. Hence, another weed-down.

Then there was my 5x8’ cargo trailer. When I first arrived in Timberon, it was packed tight, and way overloaded weightwise for it’s suspention. A good deal of it’s contents ended up on the free-table out in front of the PO and later the small community market or to acquaintances. Always feels good. But still too much for a simple lifestyle. So another major weed-down.
I will leave the cargo trailer and Nash in Timberon and drive back in November to haul the 5x8 to Deming and put it in long term storage.

I made three piles of my possessions: what was going into the 12 totes, to the thrift shop and the trash. Filled the twelve totes—but still had too much to load. Had to go back through the twelve 30 gal, tote bins in the Ford. Managed to empty two of them and put the items aside for the thrift store. Filled the two back up with stuff from the 'to keep' pile. Still wouldn’t fit all of it. Bummer. More anxiety to add to other unrelated, more important problems. Guano.

This was all dragging, I was getting stressed if I would get this all done by the time I would have to leave for Silver. I’m sure getting way too little sleep was a factor. I realized there was way more work than I had anticipated. Anxiety over various issues and just a plain unsettled feeling in general. And so, so tired. Just not a mindset that I am familiar with. Went on for weeks.

Never felt this bad through any of my medical experiences. Seems I’m getting somewhat wimpy as I age. After I settle in for the winter, I need to get serious about bringing the various aspects of my life back towards center.

Finally got smart and took a day off. I had been working long hours since I got back to Timberon the first week of May with polishing the Nash, working through other tasks and weeding through all my stuff. The day off seemed to bring me back towards center a bit—sort of. It did settle me down and pick me up (does that make sense?). Moved into a healthier mindset.
M&M realized something was up but had no idea of what was going down. But for them the worse was coming. The last day I was down in the valley I stopped in a pet store for aniety and nausia medication for them. Both racks were empty. Not good.

The rest of my stuff was packed into heavy plastic bags and pushed down between the totes. Large flat items were laid over the totes and all was tied down with a couple of heavy tarps and rope.

I have since ordered, ‘The First Flat Bungee Cargo Net for Pickup Truck Bed, 4' x 4' Stretches to 10' x 10', 25 MM Heavy Duty Cargo Net with 2 Using Modes’, from Amazon. I know, I know, the horse out of the barn thing. But I will have use for it in the next few months.

Anyway, on to the actual move. The 4 ½ drive from Timberon to Silver City for Meadow & Mesa was possibly the worst day of their lives. Placed their carriers at headrest level in the back seat, facing each other so they could spend the time cursing me. Mesa peed before we even reached the only asphalt road in Timberon. Meadow sometime later. Over the hours they both pooted and upchucked in their carriers. My poor pets.

When we got to the dealership I took the carriers out back, tilted each up (which they did not like) and hosed out all the filth (which they also did not like). Then they were both gently and thoroughly hosed off. Can you guess what they thought of that? M&M have never been so clean. Once they were dried off, drank some water and licked up a dose of catnip, life was becoming bearable.

The people at Lowry’s RV in Silver City could not have been more friendly, helpful, patient and accommodating. I was so thankful. Have not come across a better dealership. If you are looking to purchase a Northwood Nash or Arctic Fox (a wise move), get in touch with Lowry’s. They have experience with out of state orders.

After the long, fragrant drive, I was hammered. Way tired and not thinking all that clearly. The Lowrys let me leave the Arctic Fox in the service bay overnight.
M&M were brought into their new home and they were like, Where are we? This is not our home. When is this day going to be over? I set up a new litterbox, food, water and bed for them and they spent the night in the Fox. I took a motel room next door. The first hot soak with Dr. Teal foam bath I’ve had in years. Simple pleasures.

When I entered the Fox the next morning, I could not find M&M. Offered them treats and catnip. No response. Looked everywhere, or thought I did.
The Fox does not have a solid panel across the bottom of the bed frame. It has two cutouts in which are two cloth storage boxes that can be pulled out. M&M were lying on one of the boxes, out of sight. It’s a tight squeeze between the foot of the matress and the sofa back, 10”, not conducive to seeing that area. One of the Lowrys found them.

So that day, I moved a few of the totes into the Fox and Tim gave me a thorough walkthrough, might have taken an hour. Every minute of it informative. Clearly and patiently explained everything. Also had answers for all my questions. The dealership I purchased the Nash 17K from up in La Grande, OR was a letdown and could not answer either of my questions or offer to find the answers.

The Fox’s first site.

I was still not feeling up to par so I asked Tim to drive my truck pulling the Fox to the Rose Valley RV Ranch & Casitas park where I had a reservation, and watch me unhook and setup. There were some differences from how I had always done it. I stayed in Silver for over a week to be sure I knew how everything worked and trying to finish storing all the stuff into the Fox. Did not succeed.

One of the many things I found surprising during these weeks was that there was much more stored in the Nash 17K (22’) than I could fit into the Arctic Fox 25RB (27'). A lot ended up at another thrift store. Felt good about that.

I can not recommend Lowry’s RV in Silver City, NM highly enough. Dave, Ray and Tim are easy to work with, patient and truly concerned about the whole process for the buyer from placing the order to you pulling the trailer out of their lot. They get many buyers from out of the area so have solid knowledge with working at such sales. And Dave gave me a great price.

The 25RB with the dinette setup in the slide was the only Arctic Fox that would meet my needs, and learned that it was Lowry’s best seller in 2024. Feel kinda good about that.

When I hooked up and drove out of Silver pulling the Fox, I was back up into my regular mindset.

The ball is in your court. Pick it up and move forward with it.

The moment you lose your center is the moment you become toast.
Got toasted there for awhile.

Table of Contents

RVwest article ‘Following a Free Spirit’

RVwest article ‘The Space Between the Places’