A full-time RV foodie

[lastpick]

Hello, I love the atmosphere here, and hopefully, I can contribute some of the tips and knowledge I've gained over the years for cooking in small spaces, some of which might even prove useful in a regular kitchen. Feel free to hit me up if you're traveling in the US, as you might just get lucky and find yourself with some knowledge of the place you are traveling to in regards to food. Oh, and I'm always open to suggestions for any travel destination in the US.

[C. sapidus]

Welcome! I will be interested to hear about your mobile cooking experiences. Others here, notably @Smithy, have some background in that area.

 

Our kids built us a camper van with a small kitchen unit. Despite a couple of cross-country trips we have yet to use much except the fridge. Perhaps that will change this summer.

[AlaMoi]

there are a number of brands that make a 24 wide stove - oven&cooktop.  gas burners, electric oven.

however all the ones I saw require 240v for the electric oven.

I know you specified 120v, is your rv wired for 240v?  how many wires on the plug-in?

if indeed you rv can only supply 120v to the oven, that's likely why it can't get to higher temps.

 

[Smithy]

Welcome, @lastpick! As noted above, I've done a fair amount of RV traveling -- my husband and I spend the winter months traveling the southern states (I guess you could call us "half-timers") although we've spent less time moving and more time camping in one spot in the last year or two. 

 

Whereabouts do you like to go? What region of the US?

[lastpick]

Well, ever since Covid, I've spent more time camping than moving as well. I used to like to travel up into the mountains during the summer months and then head south for the winter. New Mexico is so big, and the mountains are so tall you can literally winter over in Deming or Silver City, NM, without any major prep and then spend the summer in the mountains with temps hitting the upper 80's and mid-40s at night. If you get a chance, I highly recommend visiting Eagles Nest north of Taos and staying at a family-run RV park called Golden Eagle. 

 

Going back 2016 I started my traveling from New England, heck of a Gauntlet for a first Diesel Pusher driver but I managed well enough. At some point, I'd like to go back to upstate NY in the Adirondacks for a Summer; the green is as unbelievable as the blue skies are here in the mountains. I've traveled the South, but the window of comfortable travel is, in my opinion, quite narrow. Summer is brutal on temps, and just stepping outside, you're drenched with the humidity. Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia are great in the late Summer or early fall. The midwest, sigh, well, there are a few spots I'd like to visit like the Ozarks, but really not much to be wowed by on the Great Plains other than the transformation of wheat growing to Wind Turbines leading through Kansas, or at least that's the impression one gets heading to Denver. 

 

The only areas I haven't explored are the Pacific Northwest and California. I've heard CA doesn't really like my stinky diesel pusher and gives travelers grief when they drive through the state, so I've left it out of my travel plans. One thing you realize traveling the country is just how big our country is and how diverse the landscapes are. 

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, lastpick said:

I've heard CA doesn't really like my stinky diesel pusher and gives travelers grief when they drive through the state, so I've left it out of my travel plans. One thing you realize traveling the country is just how big our country is and how diverse the landscapes are. 

 

I haven't heard that about CA not liking diesel pushers, unless you're referring to fuel prices. I can attest from personal experience and secondhand knowledge that the traffic congestion and speed get crazier every year. That might be what you're hearing about. A friend who lives in British Columbia and travels to the eastern SoCal desert has more or less quit traveling through the state.

 

Of course, CA itself is just about as diverse as the entire country. You must not judge the state by a single area. Your experience in the BLM lands near Yuma will be wildly different from the experience on the CA coast. I speak from experience.

[TdeV]

Hello @lastpick. You have a fine voice. Welcome!

[Smithy]

As for recommendations for places to visit: since you spend time in Deming, have you been to the Adobe Deli? Here's one of my posts about it. Mind you, that post is 11 years old and we haven't been there since the start of the pandemic. Their website suggests that the place is the same as always. Columbus, NM is an interesting town to visit and has a good campground. We like to stay there a couple of nights and go to The Pink Store in Palomas. I've seen that there's now a Pink Store in Deming, but I don't know whether their restaurant is the same.

 

I assume you've spent time rambling around Tucson. If you haven't, it may be already too hot to suit you, but there are oodles of great places to visit and eat if you can tolerate the traffic.

 

Do you tow a separate vehicle for getting around?

[lastpick]

Ha, Adobe Deli is a bright gem in the SW. Where else can you have a meal next to a stuffed animal staring at you? Then enjoy a cigar and a nice whisky, all while reading Dr. Seuss's books from the available library.

 

[Smithy]

44 minutes ago, lastpick said:

Ha, Adobe Deli is a bright gem in the SW. Where else can you have a meal next to a stuffed animal staring at you? Then enjoy a cigar and a nice whisky, all while reading Dr. Seuss's books from the available library.

 

 

...and those oversized skewers! The literal meaning of "souvlaki"!

 

Glad to know the place is still alive and well. 🙂

 

[lastpick]

I lug around a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but I don't expect to have it much longer. A storm last Spring flooded my Jeep, and the electronics have never been the same. As for Tucson, I've been through there on the way up to Biosphere 2 and a nice campground called Hay's Ranch. Just don't miss the turn for Hay's Ranch if you go, as the road turns narrow and heads down a steep canyon with no turnaround until you reach the bottom.

 

I want to re-visit Tucson, any suggestions on places to eat? Funny story about Tucson and a warning to those visiting in an RV. I probably ran like 5 or 6 red lights, not on purpose, mind you. My RV doesn't exactly accelerate or slowdown like a car, and the intersections in Tucson are so numerous and spaced just such that by the time I accelerate to the speed limit, the next light would turn red; there is no way to stop, so I stomp on the pedal and blast the air horn.

[Smithy]

It's been 3 years since we managed to visit Tucson, but a few good places back then were Barrio Brewing and Bianchi's Italian Restaurant. The latter is a family-run restaurant with The. Best. Lasagna. I have ever eaten in my life. Their salads were quite good too, and the staff are a kick. I very much like the Babylon Market's deli for lunch. The Babylon Market is a Middle Eastern grocery store. They don't have a web site, but here's my first post about it, from 2015. It's expanded since then. Don't even think of taking your RV there, though. It's on Speedway and has a tiny parking lot. We had trouble finding room for our pickup!

 

The food at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum used to be quite good, but it's gone through some management changes and wasn't quite as good the last time we visited. We used to be members of the ASDM and visit a couple of times a year. It's a fascinating place.

[blue_dolphin]

On 5/31/2024 at 4:47 PM, lastpick said:

I've heard CA doesn't really like my stinky diesel pusher

 

On 5/31/2024 at 6:52 PM, Smithy said:

I haven't heard that about CA not liking diesel pushers, unless you're referring to fuel prices. I can attest from personal experience and secondhand knowledge that the traffic congestion and speed get crazier every year. That might be what you're hearing about. A friend who lives in British Columbia and travels to the eastern SoCal desert has more or less quit traveling through the state.

 

Of course, CA itself is just about as diverse as the entire country. You must not judge the state by a single area. Your experience in the BLM lands near Yuma will be wildly different from the experience on the CA coast. I speak from experience.

 

Yes to the fuel prices, though that's about equal for gas and diesel, which is currently running a little less than regular gas in my area.   And yes to traffic and congestion, especially around urban areas. But as @Smithy mentions, if you're open to boondocking, there are BLM lands in absolutely stunning areas.  Check out Josh Jackson's Instagram account @forgottenlandscalifornia for a sampling of BLM camping areas throughout the state:

 

[TdeV]

@blue_dolphin, what does BLM mean?

[Tropicalsenior]

2 minutes ago, TdeV said:

@blue_dolphin, what does BLM mean?

Bureau of Land Management. It is federal owned land.