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By Katrina Kane, on May 22nd, 2015 As you may have heard, Texas is still experiencing rains and flooding. The good news is our lakes which have been almost extinct for a few years are now back in business with much higher levels though still not at full capacity. The bad news is this latest flood did trap me and come uncomfortably close. I was as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs (Hey, this is the south!). Due to my company not wanting to lose this gate in the current oilfield crisis, I stayed in position too long. The water rose higher than the last time and cut me off in all directions. I was barely able to get my truck through it to look for other possible escape routes but found no positions I could still get to that were any better than where I was. I decided to stay put rather than risk the deep waters and mud with my trailer.
  
As the water came up to my truck tires in front of my trailer, I hooked up and pushed the trailer back farther to get my truck out of the water and get the best possible height under my trailer. The water continued to rise. I called my supervisor but his attitude was entirely too laid back for any kind of much needed reassurance to ring true. I called my past supervisor who had previously saved me from losing everything in another flood. He gave me the info I needed to find the flooding levels on the Internet, told me what river to watch, and suggested I put up a pole outside so I could see if the water was still rising or not. I remembered that I still had a 5 foot piece of PVC in the back of the truck for measuring my support trailer fuel tank. I strapped it to the support trailer which was already surrounded by the runoff since it sits in a lower area. All I could do then was wait and watch.
The Internet reports said the river would be cresting within a couple more inches. That was soothing. It was getting late but I continued to watch my pole for a couple hours. When the water level stayed at the same level for an hour, I was able to get a bit of sleep.
The next morning, the water started to recede a little from the front of my truck. I was still blocked in for a couple more days. I could see one of the families that own the ranch I’m on come by on the other side of the water. They had a net to catch whatever came in with the flood. I did notice the father wading into the water then suddenly jumping back out. I assumed he saw a snake. I had seen one fleeing the water while I was hitching up. When the road opened up, I got word from the other gate guards that we had some guests up the road toward the pad so I road up there on my scooter to check it out. What I found were a whole bunch of huge alligator gar fish trapped in a gully on one side of the road. They had swam through the drain pipe that runs under the road and got stuck in a pool between the road and fence. A couple of them had gotten trapped out of the water by driftwood. One young one got stuck with his head through the fence. With the flood waters still running against them fast through the pipe, they were all very tired from trying to get back out. The two in the driftwood seemed to have given up. I grabbed a very long piece of wood and managed to shift the wood just enough for one of them to get out. The other appreciated having more room and water but was too tired to get over the last hurdle. I gave him a pep talk then left him to rest and try again in his own time. When I checked on them the next morning, some had made it out and the last one in the driftwood had made it to the pool. I checked again the next day and found all of them gone except the one whose head was stuck in the fence. He died.
The rain and flooding continued farther north and has caused a lot of problems in San Antonio and above but I’ve been good and dry here since this flood.
By Katrina Kane, on April 21st, 2015 Time for a review of mail services for RVers. Having lived in an RV for 10 years now, I have a lot of experience with 4 of the different services out there and using family to forward mail. Here is my opinion on each of them as they pertain to RVers. Keep in mind, while the last two services can provide you with a legal address to become a resident of their states if you are living in your RV full-time, residency is not required and you can just use their mail services. Where you get your mail is not the only factor used to determine residency.
Family
Don’t even think about it! You can’t count on them to forward all mail in a timely manner or to let you know you have mail. If you want to mess up your credit by failing to pay bills, this is the best way to do it. While they mean well, they aren’t generally paid to handle your mail so it tends to come after most other things in their own busy lives. Handling mail is a job. It requires more attention than you think and is often inconvenient. Trust your mail only to professionals.
US Post Office
Pros
- Found everywhere
- Reasonably priced
- You can get a box at their nearest office if staying in one area for awhile
- They have package lockers for items too big to fit in mail boxes
- General Delivery is very convenient and they will hold items for 2 weeks
Cons
- Won’t accept UPS and FedEx packages
- Can’t sign for mail for you as needed
- Many online retailers will not ship to a USPS mailbox
- General Delivery at any one Post Office is available for only 30 days then they insist you rent a box
- General Delivery will only hold items for 2 weeks
For traveling all over the country, the US Post Office has been pretty good and handy. While they have many cons and are not suitable as your primary mail service, as a secondary mail service they are great. As needed, I have my primary mail service send me mail via General Delivery to the nearest Post Office.
UPS Stores
Pros
- Found in many cities across the US
- Longer hours than many Post Offices
- Can accept all packages
- Online retailers will ship to them
- Can forward mail and packages
- Have many other services including handling deposits for USAA.
Cons
- They charge $1 a day each for packages held longer than 1 week
- They don’t always notify you of package or mail arrival
- They don’t have lockers to make packages available 24/7. You must call and work it out with them
- While box rates are reasonable, their services including mailing a USPS package are extremely expensive
UPS is okay but there are cheaper services that offer more service. The $1 per package fee can really add up fast if you don’t time your package arrivals with your mail run. Expect to pay twice as much to mail any USPS packages through them.
Escapees
Pros
- They now have 3 locations in Texas (Headquarters), Florida, and South Dakota which will forward mail anywhere
- You can use their address in all three states to establish residency for tax purposes (no income tax), vehicle registration, etc.
- You can call or email to find out what mail they have for you
- Highly rated service with lots of experience
- Online retailers will ship to them
- Can receive all packages and forward
- They are also an excellent RV club with discounts on camping from 15-50% and other discounts
- They have their own RV parks with great rates
- They provide help with absentee voting
- Strong advocacy on behalf of RVers
- Camaraderie and lots of hugs
Cons
- They charge a flat fee of $1 per package to handle them
- Notify when packages arrive but not mail
- They can’t mail out the same day you call even if you call in the morning
- You must belong to the Escapees RV Club for an additional fee to use their mail service
- Residency in Texas with their local address will subject you to annual vehicle inspections for RV and tow vehicle though they will be waived when not in state
Escapees have a very good mail service and choosing residency as an RVing full-timer in any of their three states may help to avoid state income tax depending on your source of income and previous home state. Check with an accountant or lawyer. In Texas, they are currently NOT in an area requiring smog testing, just vehicle inspections. Their staff are friendly and helpful. You must belong to their RV club to use their mail services but there are many great benefits to belonging to their club such as discounts on camping and supplies, inexpensive camping at Escapees parks in wonderful places all over the country, a list they maintain of free and cheap areas to camp (extra fee), special interest groups for any interest or hobby you may have, group camping and annual shows, RV weigh ins, and lots of friendship and hugs. They love to hug! They also run a CARE center for injured or sick RVers. Even if you don’t use their mail services, you should join their RV club!
My Dakota Address – Out of business in 2017 so choose another private mail service with similar pros.
Pros
- Very friendly and responsive staff
- Same day mail outs
- Email you every day you receive mail so you know exactly what is waiting for you
- Will read or fax mail to you
- No package handling fees
- Can receive and forward all packages
- Will sign for packages and certified notices on your behalf
- Online retailers will ship to them
- Help with South Dakota residency and vehicle registrations using their address at courthouse very close by
Cons
- Located in an area with a wheel tax of $4 per wheel on your South Dakota registered vehicles
- South Dakota does not have online driver license renewals so you will need to return every 5 years if you also choose to become a resident too
- South Dakota is Homeland security compliant which means more citizenship proof needed for drivers licenses
Excellent service and friendly staff. They help you keep on top of your mail by emailing whenever mail or packages are received and they keep replying to that same email until you ask for mail to be sent so you can see a running list of what they have waiting for you. If you call anytime before they mail out, they can mail out today. Mail from them arrives in 3 days by Priority Mail anywhere you are in the country.
Summary
I hope these reviews help. There are many more services out there besides these but this is an idea of what to expect. Choosing a good, professional service to handle your mail as you travel is very important if you don’t want credit dings from paying bills late, don’t want to miss important family event invitations, etc. With a non-Post Office address, you can order all you like off Amazon and Ebay and the address can be written so as to look like an apartment number rather than a box number (#555 instead of PO Box 555). It can also help with becoming a resident in a no state income tax state or in a state that offers many discounts to residents such as Florida. Be sure to pick one that suits your life and travel desires.
By Katrina Kane, on April 16th, 2015  Say what you want about As Seen On TV products, sometimes they really do have a good idea and get it right. I stumbled across a veggie spiralizer in a Big Lots store and decided to give it a try since I am very much into eating healthy these days. The idea of making pasta that is very low calorie, non-gluten, and contains lots of excellent vitamins and fiber was very appealing. You can even leave the skin on for no peeling hassles and more good nutrients, the bulk of which are actually found in vegetable skins. The big question though is does it taste good? Hmm.
To test it, I used a zucchini though a yellow squash, cucumber, or large carrot work too. Wash then lop off the ends of the zucchini. Insert it into the device and put the included turning cap on the other end of the vegetable. Twist slowly and watch the long threads of veggie pasta come out. When ready, steam them to soften. I put them in a microwave safe bowl with a little water and cooked for 2-3 minutes. On a plate, cover with your favorite heated Spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese. Dig in.
OMG! It was delicious! I thought it was actually better than regular spaghetti and the texture was perfect, just like spaghetti.
For test two, I made zucchini pasta for Pasta Chicken Alfredo. Instead of spaghetti sauce, I covered it with Alfredo sauce that I had warmed up with chunks of cooked chicken and black pepper. Mmm mmm good! If you really want to go wild, add some broccoli too.
I can see using this to make julienne potatoes or hash browns also. I wonder what carrot pasta with roast beef and gravy would taste like. Hmm… Maybe with some potato shreds as well.
I rate this an A. The device works, cleans up easily, is solidly built, and is an easy way to eat healthier or help with a diet. I took off one point for not being able to use the whole vegetable, however, you can use the remaining vegetable by cutting and adding it or frying it up for something else.
By Katrina Kane, on April 10th, 2015 Like death and taxes, one thing that is certain in Texas is that there will be a flood every year. As you may remember, I got caught in a flood last year and nearly lost everything. Several months before that, I got pretty close to being flooded out of my gate. This year, I was specifically told I was in a major flood plain when I arrived at my current gate and was warned again when the spring rains started. I took the precaution of hitching up my trailer and pulling everything in the day before it was supposed to hit. It really helps that I have a new truck box this year which does not block my view of my hitch so I can hitch-up very quickly now.
The next day, the rains started. I kept an eye on the road and all around me. By nightfall, the road was still clear so I decided to hang in there and went to bed. Very early in the morning, my weather radio started going off constantly with flood alerts. I checked outside and saw that everything was fine around me so no problem yet. Later, when daylight came, I checked the road and found it just starting to cover to the south. To the north, the road was covered with fast running water and rising. I waded in a bit to check the level with my hiking pole since I would have to pull my trailer through it to either hunker down up on the first drilling pad or to turn my trailer around to get it out of there all together. The flashlight popped off my hiking pole and is now probably in China darn it. I really liked and used that light. Bad pole/light design.
 
When I walked back to my trailer, I could see the water was now over the road to the south and was crossing over behind my trailer pad. I called my boss for permission to abandon post for a day or two, secured the company equipment, then headed out through the water. I slowly pulled through the foot and a half of water to the north so as not to soak the undercarriage or hit a hidden pothole hard. Since I don’t have an H2S gas monitor, I turned the rig around up at the pad and drove back through the water to go out to a campground. When I got close to the front, I spotted a large graveled area that was just big enough and high enough to pull in to stay. With 4 golf batteries and a full tank of water, I knew I could easily boondock for a couple days. That allowed me to not only stay safely for free but to also continue working and collecting pay by driving back down in my truck to guard the gate from my vehicle. I knew I was safe doing that as long as the tanker trucks were still navigating the water to continue their runs. I actually had a good time and a nice change of pace with plenty of walking up and down the road where I could and both my smart phone and Kindle Fire with me. I worked that way for a couple days from dawn till dusk and got to go out to the nearby Pilot station for gas and dinner (in that order not the opposite 😉 ).
As soon as the water receded, I towed my trailer back to the gate. Getting back in was not easy now that everything around the pad was mud. Much of the rock on the road had been washed away. It took a few tries and some steep angling to get in past the mud. I also had to get it lined up as close as possible to the way it was to re-attach the sewer lines. They use solid plastic sewer pipes with very little give to hook guards up to external sewer tanks.
I stayed hitched up for another day to be sure I didn’t get surprised. The guys were all very welcoming and happy I was back in position. I was home again.
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