What Will Be Our Birding Base?

We’ve had a stretch of cold, windy weather here in Vermont and along with questioning our sanity in staying here this winter, I have been battling a painful nerve situation in my neck, arm, and hand.  So I’ve had plenty of time to work on writing and reading projects. 

As you have noted in my blog posts, we do a lot of our birding in warmer places of the U.S.  We haul our ‘99 Airstream, set up in state parks, and see some wonderful birds and meet some fine people.  The Airstream is easy to pull and works pretty well for us but the truck-trailer rig can be tricky to drive so I do all the driving.  Mary would like to help with that chore. 

Last winter, I was intrigued with some of the Class B and larger RV rigs that we saw in various state parks, particularly because of their ease of handling and setup.  I never did anything about them but last week, facing the completion of repairs on the Airstream and dithering about upgrading and or upsizing, I came across a post from a guy about his success on buying RV’s unseen (except for photos, videos, etc).  He was from Vermont and wrote that he had a Chinook -- a rig I’d never heard of.  In a brief exchange of emails, he raved about their reliability and quality, and scarceness.

A random email exchange introduced me to Chinook RVs

Diving in headfirst, I joined the Chinook Yahoo group, visited some Craigslist and RVtrader sites, and wrote to the Chinook RV Club.  Next thing I know I was learning the different models and their layouts and getting advice on possible rigs for sale.  Hey, I have a snow-covered Airstream that has a few weeks worth of work before I can even move it.  And we certainly don’t have a bank account that can handle two rigs at time  -- especially a newer pricier RV.

But, after a few more days research, I’m getting hooked on getting a Chinook.  It may never come to pass but I’m planning a trip to Georgia in April for a rally to look one or two over.   Of course, Georgia birding will be in full operation and I’m outlining some sites we can visit while we are there.  

Seeing the many rigs that are sold because of health reasons of one or both of the owners makes one realize that fixing up old rigs is perhaps not to efficient a use of time.  Going in style to prime birding and tourist spots (note the priority) is why we are thinking of upgrading.  Stay tuned or better yet, sign up by RSS feed or via email  over at vtbirder.com to follow us in this “What’s Our Birding Support Base” decision.