Hill City, SD

Like some other towns located in the Black Hills, Hill City is another gold rush settlement founded in the 1870s. Deadwood is in the northern hills, Hill City is in the southern hills.

It’s located on Hwy 385. Which route you take to reach it will depend on where you’re coming from. Hwy 16 from Rapid City, Hwys 40/244 from Hermosa, Hwy 385 from Custer in the south and Deadwood/Lead to the north.

While there is more to do, for us, Hill City is the place to eat and drink. Especially for mommy – daughter outings. Our daughter had a list of activities she wanted to enjoy while we were visiting. Now that she’s a college grad in her mid-20s, her tastes are more sophisticated. Kristal’s birthday was a couple of weeks away during our last visit. Kristen hadn’t been home for them since leaving for college, so she wanted to take her mother to some of her favorite places.

Their first outing was at Prairie Berry Winery. The Hill City location does wine flights. Patrons can sample up to 5 wines for free and be entertained by the wine experts serving them. The winery also serves food. The patio, with its grapevine covered pergola, is a nice place to sit when the weather is pleasant. If you don’t have wine drinkers in your party, they can still enjoy the food and find other products in the retail space. Kristal bought South Dakota honey, Kick-Ass Compote (delicious on pork and poultry), and Red-Ass Roast Coffee. Kristen likes the Frost Bite Wine Freeze. (Kristal didn’t buy any wine during that outing, but she did purchase one bottle each of Calamity Jane and Strawberry Fusion a couple of weeks later, while we were in Sioux Falls.) Fall in love with some wines you can’t live without? Prairie Berry has a wine club and does ship in case your address is outside their retail distribution area (SD & WY). 12 bottle cases get free shipping. Like beer instead of wine? They have a brewery next door.

Alpine Inn was the choice for a birthday lunch two days later. This restaurant is known for its Bavarian fare. In case you visit any popular travel websites, and read reviews mentioning a limited menu, that’s the evening service. Want to take a taste bud trip to Munich, Germany without actually leaving the States? Alpine Inn will take you there during the mid-day lunch. The luncheon menu is a bit larger. Kristen had Schnitzel and Mom tried the Kassler Ripchen. While there is a Spaetzle meal on the menu, the pasta can also be ordered as an additional side dish with the other meals. Which of course we did. Everything was delicious. And filling. Unfortunately, there was no room for dessert, but that was easy to fix by enjoying it later. Since we were taking half our meals with us anyway, we ordered some dessert to go – apple strudel and cheesecake with strawberries. Payment here is cash only, and they were closed on Sundays while we were in the area. Before you plan to go, check the restaurant’s website for hours and menus, just in case something has changed.

The 1880 train is another Hill City attraction. We’re actually more familiar with seeing it stopped in Keystone. However, the larger main depot/rail museum is in Hill City. The choo-choo was leaving the station as the ladies left the Alpine Inn. Which was OK. The train wasn’t on the agenda that day. The train ride is a two-hour narrated round trip. The amount of time you spend in either Hill City or Keystone can be determined by your party. Want to stay longer than the 15-minute turn-around? Follow the train’s guidelines for using the schedule to determine what time you want to leave and return. Children are allowed on the train, but parents considering going might want to read thru the FAQs page on the website. According to the site, the engines are working vintage/antiques. To keep them in good working order, they can’t travel at very fast speeds. One-way trips aren’t mentioned on the website, probably for the simple reason most tourists won’t have transportation waiting at the other end. Another option is to visit the Hill City depot, and tailor it to suit your party’s interests/attention spans. It’s a neat place to take some photos. They also serve food. If you want to see the train in action, plan your time there to coincide with the train’s arrivals/departures.

Adults only activities on the train are available too. They can be found on the special events schedule. Look for Rails & Ales, Wine Express and Octoberfest. Our daughter has heard good things about the Wine Express and is interested in trying it. We have yet to ride the train ourselves. When we do go, it will probably be one of the regular rides, as a treat for our uncle. His father was a depot agent, and he’s just old enough to remember some steam engines still being on the tracks when he was a small boy. By the time Grandpa retired in the 1970s, diesel had fully replaced steam. The 1880 Train has both kinds of engines. What they’re running on any given day depends on maintenance schedules. While steam does have a certain romance attached, it’s pretty impressive to listen to the low hum of the generators on diesel engines.

http://www.hillcitysd.com/

https://www.prairieberry.com/

http://www.alpineinnhillcity.com/

https://www.1880train.com/

Deadwood, SD

Despite its small size (2014 population of 1,261), Deadwood is probably one of the best known communities in the Black Hills. If memory serves, it was the setting of a cable TV series a few years ago.

There are 3 ways to reach Deadwood. On our first trip, we took I-90 west from Rapid City and exited at Sturgis on Alt 14. Alt 14 meets Hwy 85 just north of town. When we visited with our daughter, we took a scenic route starting from Hwy. 40. We traveled on Hwy 385 and met Hwy 85 on the south side. (Hwy. 385 will take you past Sheridan Lake and Pactola Resevior.) A somewhat faster route from, and to I-90, is Hwy 85. It’s shorter and more direct than Alt 14. The exit is a few miles west of Sturgis. On paper, it may look like a longer route, but more of the mileage is on the interstate with its faster speed limit.

Pactola Resevoir

The Welcome Center/Chamber of Commerce is just north of Historic Downtown. If you’re not staying at one of the Hotel/Casinos, plan on parking there. The hotels reserve their parking for guests only. There isn’t much parking on the downtown streets, either. Parking at the Welcome Center is free. While we were there in September, there was no difficulty finding a space. The Visitor’s Center is a newer, nicely maintained building. The front lobby has plenty of printed material covering most of Deadwood’s attractions. The help desk has friendly, knowledgeable folks and a mini museum. The public bathrooms are clean and easy to find. If you don’t want to walk around town, trolleys come and go from the south side of the building.

Deadwood began as an illegal, rowdy mining town in the 1870s. (It was built in Indian territory.) Eventually, it settled down when the search for gold switched from panning to deep mining. Fires were the most common reason for busts which caused declines. In the 1980s, the town proposed capitalizing on its notorious past as a means of revitalization. Legalized gambling was allowed by the state in 1989. Mention Deadwood to someone and gambling will probably be the first thing which comes to mind. Of course, the casinos provide other entertainment too, like various music acts. The town and surrounding area also have a pretty active event schedule year round.

The vibe does seem to be more adult-centric. Families, and those not interested in “vice”, can still find things to do, however. The afternoon gun fights and Days of ’76 rodeo might be of interest (Summer).  Otherwise, think educational. History buffs can find plenty to do. Mount Moriah Cemetery is the resting place of many western notables like Seth Bullock, Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. There are also informative plaques detailing the town’s history. Deadwood had a Chinatown and was inclusive at a time when more established parts of the US were not. It was also got telephone lines in 1878 and was an early adopter of electricity in 1883. The Days of ‘76 Museum is north of the welcome center. Adams Museum is south downtown, and Adams Historical Home is further south on Van Buren St.

The smaller town of Lead is just a few miles away, in case you run out of things to do in Deadwood. Science types might want to visit the Sanford Lab Visitors Center at Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center. If you’re going south from Deadwood, just stay on 85. From 385, turn left on 85 and go west.

Love the outdoors? Look for the 109 mile George S. Mickelson trail. The northern trailhead is located in the Lead/Deadwood area, and the southern end is at Edgemont. (Our daughter has hiked portions of it.) Or head to Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. From Deadwood/Lead, take Hwy 85/Alt 14 south. It’s also known as the CanAm Hwy. After a while the highway will split. Alt 14 is the scenic byway which takes you thru the canyon to the town of Spearfish.

Shopping opportunities include the standard t-shirts/hoodies, biker and western wear; Black Hills Gold and Native American Jewelry; art; postcards and books; cigars at Deadwood Tobacco (Karl’s favorite); and the Deadwood Moonshine Distillery. Our next door neighbors were watching over our house while we were away. They were also keeping us posted about Hurricane Harvey. We thought they deserved a good souvenir. After trying a couple of samples, Kristal chose a jar of apple flavored moonshine as a gift. Everyone has been busy lately, but when we have a few minutes to visit, we’ll ask if they’ve made any interesting cocktails with the moonshine. Our older daughter and her fiancé enjoy reading. We purchased books about the bad boys and girls of Deadwood for them.

Dining options are easy to find. While steak does appear to dominate, there are other choices. When we visited with our younger daughter, we ate lunch at Mustang Sally’s. They do have some outside seating if you happen to be there when the weather is behaving. We’d call it a sports bar, but it does serve all ages.

We’re mostly day trippers these days, usually only a couple of hours at a time. During our brief visits to Deadwood this past fall, we just scratched the surface a bit. However, with family living in the area, we have a good reason to keep returning. Each time we’re in the Hills, we choose a few things we haven’t done yet. The activities in this post are on our bucket list, and we’re looking forward to our next visit, when we’ll enjoy some of them with our loved ones.

You can find more information on the following websites.

https://www.deadwood.com/

https://leadmethere.org/ (Lead Chamber of Commerce)

http://sanfordlabhomestake.com/science

https://gfp.sd.gov/parks/detail/george-s--mickelson-trail/

https://visitspearfish.com/

The Black Hills in Autumn

This year, we didn’t embark on a trip up north until August 22. Our younger daughter, who now lives in Rapid City, had been pestering us all summer about our travel plans. As a result, the Black Hills were our first destination this year.

In the post, “Newbie’s Guide to South Dakota”, we provided general information about visiting the Black Hills and South Dakota. This year our visit spanned 3 weeks, from Aug. 26 – Sept. 17 (Day of departure to NW Iowa.) By the time we arrived, school had started for many communities, so travelers with children had thinned out quite a bit. Full-time and reverse snowbird RVers were starting to leave the area too. RV travelers didn’t completely disappear, though.

We stay with family while in the Black Hills, and our time there is as much about seeing people that matter to us, as visiting tourist attractions. Not that the area goes into complete hibernation after Labor Day. It just depends on your interests. This is the time of year when you find out what the locals like to do.

Weather is the wild card. As we’ve mentioned, we’re long-term Texans, who once upon a time, lived in South Dakota and NW Iowa. Past experience has taught us that the transitional seasons can be tricky the further you get from the equator. We remember a year or two when our daughters had to trick-or-treat in snow suits, and others where Indian Summer lasted until November. Not even a jacket required for Halloween. Moving, and acclimating, to a region which only has two (maybe 2 1/2) seasons, can make packing for locations more than 1,000 miles north a bit complicated. Just like our late spring, early summer trip last year, the weather was hot at home while we were packing. Even hotter, actually. It’s typical to have temps over 100° at the end of August in Texas. An exact date wasn’t set for our return, so we tried to cover our bases by packing some warm weather clothing, long sleeves & jeans, and waterproof rain gear. This was not the first time we’ve visited in August, after Sturgis, either. Just a week later than usual this time. But we’re quickly learning past knowledge can only help so much.

The day we arrived in the Hills started off warm and sunny in Nebraska. As we traveled north on Hwy. 385, especially after we passed thru Alliance, we entertained ourselves by watching thunderstorms develop north of us and speculating where they were headed. Turned out they were part of a system we drove into, just past the junction of Hwys. 18 & 79 in South Dakota. We encountered wind and heavy rain first, then were hailed on before we got much further down the road. Visibility was poor enough that we were forced to pull over and wait it out, along with other motorists. The sound was terrible. We prayed nothing would be broken or dented. We got lucky. Fortunately, the hail stones stayed small, and the worst of it passed over in less than 15 minutes. (May have been less than 10 minutes. Seemed to last a long time.) When we reached the home of our uncle, water was rushing over the lowest point of his driveway, the ground was still covered with hail, and the temperature had dropped more than 30 degrees. This episode pretty much set the tone for the 3 weeks we spent in the Hills.

While there were still summerlike days, there were just as many which were damp and chilly. The daylight hours were definitely getting shorter, and deciduous trees were starting to turn yellow. During our last night there, the temp went below freezing. Our uncle joked the Bluebirds, who regularly visited his bird bath, would have to bring ice skates. Officially, the calendar still said it was summer. But as most of us know from experience, the calendar is lousy at predicting weather. Still, this is earliest we remember being given a taste of Winter. Besides a northern latitude, the Black Hills do have higher elevations which can make the weather more unpredictable. (Granted, they’re not as high as the Rocky Mountains, where snow above 10,000 feet is not unusual in July.)

Luckily, we were traveling at a time of year when purchasing warm clothing and accessories wasn’t a problem. We even got to take advantage of Labor Day weekend sales to pick up a couple of heavier sweaters, stocking caps and thicker gloves.

There was another issue that took some of the fun out of our visit; air quality. No, Rapid City isn’t known for smog like the major cities (yet). Big fires around Los Angles have been in the news most recently. But large blazes were burning in several of the western states this year. Wind carried smoke from these fires a few hundred miles to the east. Some days there was a faint brown haze. On others, it was heavy and the smell of smoke was actually noticeable. It was bad enough to give Kristal a sinus headache on a couple of days. And probably contributed to the sinus aggravation she found herself fighting as we began our return to Texas a few weeks later.

Though it wasn’t perfect, we still enjoyed ourselves. Kristal and Unc got to do some star gazing. They tried her new telescope on the moon and some favorite constellations/star clusters. She’d never been to Deadwood. We went there 3 times; once by ourselves & once with our daughter. The third trip back was to find a new pair of glasses which Karl had dropped from a pocket. A kind stranger found them and turned them into a store where he’d been sitting on a bench out front. (They may never read this, but “Thank you, kind stranger!”) We also paid a couple of visits to downtown Rapid City and Hill City. Then there was the scenic drive we took on Hwys. 16A through Custer State Park, 87 through Wind Cave National Park, and 385 down to Hot Springs.

Any resemblance to Cousin Eddie is purely intentional.

Overall, it was one of the most relaxing visits we’ve had so far. We’ll just make sure to pack some of our winter gear next time.

Red Willow Recreation Area

We think Prairie sunsets are just as spectacular as any at an exotic beach.

However, the most colorful shows usually occur when there are clouds in the sky.

On this particular evening, thunderstorms were developing

to the north and west of us.

When observed in the wide-open skies of the Great Plains,

it’s much easier to see and appreciate their awesome power.

And a big relief when they go storm elsewhere.

This rec area has a nicely maintained little campground. It’s a few miles north of McCook, NE (SW corner of the state) and easy to reach from Hwy 83. The roads into the campground and down to the reservoir are gravel. Most of the campsites are graveled, with two exceptions. The handicap sites are concrete. They are placed next to the bathrooms, a handy option for those who need or prefer to use the campground’s facilities. We used the site closest to the campground entrance. (Karl is a permanently disabled veteran.) The handicap accessible bathroom next to it doesn’t have his/hers sides. Each unisex restroom has one flush toilet and coin-operated shower. The bathroom near the other handicap site, placed in the middle of the campground, might have vault toilets instead. (Our stay was in August. Memory is getting a bit fuzzy.) It’s easy to identify vault toilets by their (usually) taller ventilation pipes, handy knowledge if you don’t want to be camped next to, or like to use them.

Wherever you stay in the campground, it looks like Red Willow is either a new recreation area or has been recently updated. The gravel, concrete-paved handicap sites, bathrooms and power posts don’t appear very old. Since decent facilities are not always a given at any price range, including more expensive private RV parks, it’s always a nice surprise when you find them. Our only complaint here would be the coin-operated showers. Karl took a shower there and wasn’t certain he got the amount of time he initially paid for. He had to use more quarters in order to rinse off. We’ve now stayed at three NE state-run modern campgrounds. (Platte River SP, Fort Kearney & Red Willow Rec Areas) Each one of them had coin-operated showers, which may be standard for all of their developed campgrounds. So, come prepared with plenty of quarters if you need to use the showers.

In Nebraska, you will find two kinds of state-operated outdoor opportunities; state parks and recreation areas. Like many states, some of the state parks are historical sites and may not offer camping of any kind. The recreation areas offer camping, but when deciding which facilities (park or rec) you wish to visit, you will want to pay close attention to available amenities. In both cases, some are more developed than others.

For those who have never visited Nebraska, there is a reservation system for a certain number of state campsites. Some of the rec areas are first come, first served for all sites. If you don’t find a facility in the online reservation system, it’s because reservations aren’t taken for that location. Both SPs and rec areas require payment of a daily entrance free, but some of the rec areas do not have a manned entrance where your payment is taken and a campsite is assigned. They are self-serve, and at some locations it’s required that guests have the state’s annual recreation pass before using the facility. Red Willow is self-serve and has this requirement. Some other campgrounds may allow you to add the entrance fee to the envelope with your campsite payment. Contact Outdoor Nebraska if you need to verify which rec areas require the annual entrance pass and where at those locations it can be obtained. Otherwise, just make it easy on yourself and purchase the pass online, far enough ahead of a trip so it has enough time to reach you by mail. The pass does cost more for out-of-state visitors. However, daily entrance fees can add up when you’re spending more than a day or two at any of the campgrounds. At the very least, you could break even. Camp long enough, or use the parks/rec areas frequently for other activities, and the pass will actually save money. By the way, the self-service rec areas aren’t unsupervised. They still have state employees who keep things tidy and check up on campers.

The following is the official website for Nebraska’s parks and rec areas. This link is specifically for Red Willow. However, it’s not difficult to navigate if you’re looking for facilities in another area of the state. The official state and McCook tourism sites have lots of useful information, too. There are more camping opportunities in the McCook area, including 3 other rec areas also on reservoirs. Red Willow worked out best for us, since we took Hwy. 83 all the way from Childress, TX to I-80 at Ogallala, NE, while on our way to the Black Hills. Just so you are aware, it’s on a hill above the lake. Some of the sites at the back of the campground have a lake view. If you want a lakeside site, you may be able to find one at the other rec areas.

http://outdoornebraska.gov/redwillow/

https://visitnebraska.com/

https://visitmccook.com/  or http://www.gotomccook.com/

From a Colorado native and former mountain snob (Kristal), if you’re wondering why anyone would deliberately visit a “boring” mid-western state now that the Great American Eclipse is over, ponder this quote by Willa Cather found on the Visit McCook tourism home page. “Anybody can love the mountains, but it takes a soul to love the Prairie.”

Shamrock, Texas

Does the building in the above photo look somewhat familiar? If you’ve seen a certain Disney/Pixar movie, you might be experiencing a bit of Déjà vu. It was built in 1936, when art-deco was still at the height of fashion. And it was once one of many places on the Mother Road where travelers could get fuel for their cars and tummies. (Airstream was founded the same year, and a struggling pharmacy, Wall Drug in South Dakota, started transforming into a tourist destination.)

Ah, the Mother Road, otherwise known as Route 66. It’s on the bucket list of many travelers who love the romance of the open road. RVers are no exception, and for those interested in making the trip, there are plenty of books and other info designed to help find its remnants from Chicago to the West Coast. We want to make the trip ourselves, and with a family event occurring in Ohio next year, we certainly have a good excuse to explore a lot of it on our way there.

Shamrock is in the Texas Panhandle, not too far from the Oklahoma border. It’s on Hwy 83, just south of I-40. The first time we passed thru was in 2007. Just like Radiator Springs, it was a town time seemed to be leaving behind. When we first saw the Conoco station, it may have been around the time Shamrock began the process of restoring and turning it into a visitor’s center. We remember the building looking a bit sad. It was a Sunday, and there was no activity around the concrete/tile relic. We had no idea anything was being done with it. Imagine our surprise to pass thru this year and discover that the downtown businesses located on Hwy 83 appeared busier. Some have interesting vintage signs which have been restored. Kristal would love to photograph those, but stopping there with the trailer in tow wasn’t such a good idea. Instead, we saved our photo ops for the Conoco station, which is further north and faces E. 12^th St (Route 66). If you’re northbound on Hwy 83 (Main St.), it’s to the right. (To the left if coming from the interstate.) Just like downtown, we were delighted to find the building basking in its former glory and open to visitors. It also amused us to see the Tesla charging stations on the east side of the building, a nod to its service station past with a 21^st century twist.

Taking photos of the building, inside and out, is allowed. They also offer free coffee in the café, U Drop In. The gift shop is well-stocked with Route 66 souvenirs. We picked up t-shirts and a snow globe for our younger daughter and her room-mate.

Kristal got the community cookbook for herself. She’s a bit of a collector and often finds them an entertaining read. It was “road tested” too. There are a few cobbler recipes very similar to what she’s seen on TV, when The Salt Lick BBQ joint has been featured. We enjoyed blueberry peach cobbler while staying at San Angelo State Park in Oct.

Some of the small towns north of Amarillo, along with Shamrock, will most likely be the starting point of our Route 66 trip. There are other interesting bits of history, some of it older than the Mother Road, we haven’t seen yet. When we travel in and out of Texas, it’s often an excuse to see more of our home state, too. Can’t think of a better reason to mosey thru the Hill Country or visit Palo Duro Canyon State Park while on our way there.

Want to learn more about Shamrock and Route 66? Start here:

http://shamrocktexas.net/

https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/tower_station_u-drop-inn_cafe_shamrock.html

https://www.historic66.com/

https://roadtripusa.com/ (Good resource for other themed road trips, too.)

Got Your Back(splash)

Depending on the brand and decade of your vintage trailer, you may have an original metal or retro laminate backsplash you wish to keep. (Or once again, it’s vinyl wallpaper.) In case it’s not salvageable, there is good news if replacement is necessary. Metal backsplashes have never really gone away, especially in commercial applications. Reproduction retro laminate is getting easier to find, along with a variety of chrome trim for countertops. There are at least 2 or 3 online retailers who carry retro laminate. The following vendor is a frequent advertiser in publications like “Vintage Trailer” magazine.

http://www.heffrons.com/retro/swatches/laminates.html

Before we address metal, it’s necessary to mention faux options once again. If you choose to use them, pay close attention to manufacturer instructions concerning proximity to heat sources and maximum amount of heat the product will tolerate. Some options we considered were rated to 140° F. That includes gel tiles and 18” x 24” faux tin backsplash sheets (PVC). The faux tin sheets average about $20 a piece. Still pretty expensive per square foot, and 140° F may not be enough behind a propane stove. It’s not a bad idea to turn on the burners and check the temperature of the stove lid (if you have one) as it rests against the wall. Also think about your cooking habits before making any decisions. How many burners do you normally use when making a meal? If you’re not using the back burner(s) very often, a plastic backsplash will probably be fine. Otherwise, pay attention to manufacturer recommendations and make sure the backsplash material is far enough from a heat source.

Besides safety, other considerations will include ease of installation and upkeep. Trailers like Airstream and some of her silver sisters, with their curved walls may not be so laminate friendly, since it’s hard plastic backed with a very thin sheet of wood. It may have some leeway to bend a bit, but will crack if you force it. Are you restoring? If it was there before, it can be installed again, as long as it stays in the same footprint.

Metal doesn’t have the heat issues found with plastic. It does come with price issues, though. Stainless steel and aluminum are the most common choices. Stainless is generally one of the most expensive options. It doesn’t need any coatings to prevent corrosion. Still, it will have to be cleaned. Have stainless appliances in your house? Then you’re already familiar with the care of stainless steel. Copper is another high dollar option. For those who want to keep the new penny look, copper has to be clear-coated. Aluminum can be somewhat less expensive. Prices will be determined by alloy type, sheet gage (thickness), and type of finish – such as mill or brushed.

For our backsplash, Kristal chose .040 aluminum. Though a bit thicker than sheets found in big box stores, it’s still flexible enough to follow the wall curve. She also wanted a large sheet which would allow a single, seamless piece to be cut. Seams and  textured surfaces are dirt collectors. Since she was looking for a 4’ x 10’ sheet, it took a bit of digging. Shortly before giving up, she stumbled on a racing parts store. They have several locations in Texas and Oklahoma. 4’ x 10’ sheets of aluminum in various racing colors and mill finish are in their inventory. It can only be picked up in-store, and we’re lucky enough to have a location just a few miles north of us. Kristal was happy to find them, especially since the mill finish sheet is under $100. We purchased 2 sheets and were pleasantly surprised by the thickness and quality for the price. (The other sheet is for another project.)

You may be thinking a 4’ x 10’ sheet is a bit excessive. Kristal wanted 2 kitchen backsplash pieces. The only seam she was willing to tolerate is the corner where the curbside and kitchen walls meet. The larger piece, for the curbside wall, is 6’ long and 31” deep. The kitchen wall piece, which will back the sink, is the same depth and 32” long at its widest point. The upper cabinet covers most of the top edges and the countertop will overlap the bottom edges. Both pieces were cut from one sheet with room to spare. There is enough left over to make a bathroom sink backsplash, along with replacement window frames for the 2 lower Vista View windows, on the street side. (The originals were plastic.)

The trickiest part of fabricating the curbside piece was placement of the window. We could have removed the kitchen window, its hardware, and the inside screen frame before putting up the sheet. Then cut out the window opening from outside of the trailer. Unfortunately, the window’s hardware wouldn’t allow it to be so easy. There are slots on each side for the levers which open and close the window. The locking latches at the bottom of the window don’t detach with it. Not really possible to put a sheet of aluminum over those. Using a power tool to cut around the latches and make slots would have been a no-no. Why risk damage to the window frame? Kristal’s pattern paper allowed us to make a mock-up which had the window cut-out with accommodations for the hardware.

Aluminum is another material which may benefit from a clear coat. Type of alloy can make a difference in oxidation. The one issue we had with our aluminum sheets is lack of information on type of alloy. We know who the manufacturer is and tried reaching out to them for more information. They never responded. Kristal wanted to keep maintenance to a minimum, so she decided to err on the side of caution. We purchased satin finish, bare metal automotive clearcoat with a temperature rating to 300° F. The brand we chose comes in 32 oz. cans or spray cans. Kristal decided to try the 32 oz. can because of the square footage she needed to cover. (Our new stove has a glass lid. Glass isn’t a very good heat conductor, but it can still get toasty.)

Clear coat can be applied with a brush. The following site contains instructions for brushing on this type of product. Since she’s more comfortable with spray coatings, Kristal read thru these instructions a couple of times. She also recommends practicing on scrap pieces before applying to the final piece. Part of the reason she found practice useful was more lacking information – what type of brush is best suited for this job. She kept her choices limited to brush types which were easy to find in our neighborhood. Thru trial and error, she determined brushes for oils and varnishes will do a decent job. The backsplash pieces were clear-coated before they were installed in the trailer. Clear-coat in the can is thin enough to run on a vertical surface. Over-spray from an aerosol product will do the same if you get in a hurry. Follow manufacturer instructions concerning curing. Give your pieces the recommended cure time before installing.

https://www.kbs-coatings.com/DiamondFinish-Clear-Directions.html

We installed the backsplash pieces with 3M double-sided VHB tape. Since each wall has a single piece, installation didn’t take too long. It was just a matter of adjusting fit around the window a bit, and making sure each piece was straight before applying pressure to the tape. The tape was allowed to cure for a few days before we caulked the corner. (Which was done prior to installation of the cabinetry.) We also used Olympic rivets on the outside curbside edge to make sure the aluminum stays where it belongs. The sink backsplash is on a flat wall, so the rivets aren’t necessary. However, we will come back later when we’re finishing up the trim work, and make it match the opposite edge.

We’re now finishing the curbside kitchen cabinetry, and we’re getting excited to create the custom countertops we’ve been dreaming of for the past 3 years.

Surrounded

We’ve mentioned previously that RV renovation/restoration presents a host of issues; a big one being a lack of parts. When parts are available, they’re often expensive.

Our tub base is one example. There is only one vendor we know who carries it. They hire someone who makes fiberglass reproductions. It appears to be an exclusive relationship. When tackling a project of this magnitude, it’s a good idea to look for and price any parts you want to replace before you start dismantling your trailer. If you can’t find a replacement or don’t like the price, take a good, hard look at what you have and come up with a plan to refurbish it. You will also want to be careful when removing things not to damage items you want to reuse. We accidentally put a small crack in one corner of our tub, where the plastic happened to be a bit thin. But it was easy enough to repair with JB Weld and tub repair epoxy. After that we smoothed out the interior a bit and painted it metallic silver.

In case you’re wondering, we have noticed the trend to use residential tub/shower systems. Many new RV shower systems are designed to look like residential plumbing, though sometimes a bit smaller. However, it’s possible none of these will be compatible with your vintage trailer. We had a hard time finding an RV shower base which was small enough to fit the area allotted to it. Never mind a matching surround which would work with a contoured wall. Most were going to take too much space from an already narrow hallway and tiny bathroom. It’s a trade-off we made when we chose a center bath AS model with a back bedroom, over a rear bath with twin beds.

Putting glass or ceramic tile in a travel trailer can also cause significant problems, if you plan to travel with it. Tile is heavy. The weight of every material you put in your trailer has to be considered. The manufacturer constructed the chassis to support a certain amount of weight and not much more. Go over the original manufacturer’s dry weight by a significant amount, and you will have to make sacrifices. Such as what you will be able to pack later for a trip. Tile will also not survive the rigors of travel without cracking, breaking, or just falling off the wall. The big, fancy Class A diesel pushers can get away with real tile because their chassis and suspension are far heavier than a travel trailer. Not to mention they usually come with air-ride. Some folks like peel & stick gel tile as an RV solution. That’s fine for small projects and dry areas. It’s kind of expensive per square foot and isn’t always appropriate for wet areas. If you can’t seal it up enough to keep water where it belongs, don’t even consider it.

Depending on the age of your trailer, the tub/shower surround may have been covered with a product you don’t want to reuse. Our 1979 model had vinyl wallpaper inside the shower. We didn’t find any serious water damage when we dismantled the interior. Kind of surprising considering the vinyl was starting to peel in the corners. It’s likely the POs didn’t use the shower very much. Finding a replacement meant keeping an open mind and being a bit patient. Some 4’ x 8’ waterproof panels are not flexible. Those weren’t an option for us. The back wall/ceiling of our shower follows the curved shape of our trailer. We managed to locate a product called Polywall at one of the big box home improvement stores. It could be rolled if you need to do so. Though it’s better to store it flat if not using immediately.

Kristal used large sheets cut from her roll of pattern making paper to make templates for the surround. Airstreams are tricky when you’re trying to cut walls and cabinetry to fit the curves. You can try to use the old pieces as templates. Just don’t be surprised if there isn’t an exact fit when installing the new stuff. Trim & finish work was how the factory compensated for less than perfect carpentry. Not much different from the way tract houses are constructed, really. By making paper patterns, Kristal was able to compensate for areas where the shower walls didn’t quite touch the interior skin. There were also some other adjustments which required an accurate pattern. We had constructed a partial wall to fill in the back shower. It replaced an awkward ledge the factory constructed to fill in the gap between the tub seat and trailer wall. There is enough overlap of the side wall pieces to finish the corners with PVC quarter round trim for a snug, waterproof fit. We also made another change by moving the entrance from one side, to the front of the shower. The bottom of the tub measures 27” wide by 24” deep. Wall overlap of the tub base made the original opening about 22”. A 27” entrance is far more convenient even if it means entering from the hallway. The tub base has a lip around 3 ½ sides which was riveted to the walls. The lip disappears at the original opening. Kristal designed her pattern for that wall to follow the contours of the tub down to the floor of the tub bottom. She used painter’s tape on the back of the paper to secure it to the walls. The paper overlapped the ceiling and tub base. With a Sharpee marker, she traced the wall’s outline along the ceiling and to create an overlap for the tub base lip. It worked out well. The final pieces only needed a small amount of trimming to correct the fit.

In case you’re like us and white isn’t what you want in your shower surround, Polywall can be painted. Kristal chose a brush-on oil-based silver metallic. She wanted something impervious to water after it cures. It was going to require too many cans of spray paint to be cost effective. We purchased a 32 oz. can instead. There is some paint left over. She painted the Polywall pieces after they were cut to shape and before installing in the trailer. Far less mess when painting a horizontal surface.

Oil-based paint brushed on plastic can do interesting things. The curved shape of our trailer and the depth of the tub base meant we needed a piece of Polywall for each section, a total of 3 sheets. There was enough scrap for Kristal to play with. Some special effects can be time consuming on a larger piece. Plus, it really doesn’t take a lot of paint to get the necessary coverage. Too much paint will take longer to cure. Even if painting in a temperature controlled environment, the paint cure can still be effected by humidity at least a little bit, when you live in a high humidity environment like we do. Painting outside means finding a way to protect your work from any debris created by plants, bugs & the wind. Check the manufacturer’s instructions before painting outside. Many paints don’t like high temps or humidity.

Also look for the labels on the Polywall. They contain important info, like which side gets glued. A small label in a corner provides recommended adhesives for attaching the product to a surface. When purchasing, look for the amount of coverage provided on the adhesive label. Make sure you’re buying enough to keep the paneling where it belongs. This is not the time to be stingy.

Until the Polywall was up, we didn’t have the side walls secured. They are now attached, and the next steps are to close the front of the tub base and secure the tub lip to the walls. Once that task is finished, the Polywall will be glued to the lip, the trim will be installed, and all the seams will be sealed with clear silicone.

We had explored the possibility of installing a shower door with the new, wider opening. It may still get done at a later date. We have at least 2 possibilities under consideration.  For the time being, we’re using a tension rod and shower curtain. We happened to stumble over a tension rod which was short enough for the 27” width, during one of our many home improvement store forays. We are contemplating our next journey. Some of the itinerary includes the usual family visits to IA and SD. Campgrounds we’re familiar with will probably mean using showers/bathrooms we know are kept decent. When they’re not, or a campground charges extra to have hot water, having a working bathroom of our own, no matter how tiny, will be nice. At any rate, it will be a good opportunity to determine if we really need to pay the higher price for a shower door.