'Too Crazy Ladies' - RVing cousins

Red and Beth the 'Too Crazy Ladies' (Julianne Crane)

These 'Too Crazy Ladies' are longtime friends, in fact, have known each other all their lives, or at least all of Beth's life. Red is a tad bit older than her cousin, Beth. (Their mothers were sisters.)

Since 1994 these two strong, independent women have been a familiar presence at Quartzsite, RV rallies, and numerous dog (and horse) shows. They've been engraving name badges, license plate frames, judges badges and lapel pins.

"It took us nine husbands and 30 years to get our act together," erupts Beth in laughter.

'Too Crazy Ladies' rolling business. (Julianne Crane)

For years Too Crazy Ladies spent most of their time on the road traveling from one event to another.

"We love meeting new people, and being around the shows," says Beth, "however, the older we get, the less we like traveling long distances." These days, while they still hit the road, most of their business is done through the Internet.

In addition, each of the ladies have a few physical challenges. Four years ago, Red had a hip replacement. "But," says Beth, "they put her leg back on wrong, and she had to have a knee replacement after that."

As for Beth, she was run over by a motor home in 1978, has arthritic hips, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and diabetes. "But, by God," says this gutsy gal, "I’m not quitting."

Contact information
Too Crazy Ladies
URL: www.TooCrazyLadies.com
Phone: 575.525-0141

For more writing by Julianne Crane, go to RVWheelLife.com 

 Photos: Red (left) and Beth the 'Too Crazy Ladies' and their traveling rig. (Julianne Crane)

WomenRVers.com editor Julianne Crane shares tips about the RV Lifestyle

WomenRVers.com editor Julianne Crane

Julianne's update ... Monday 5/14/2012...thank you everyone who stopped by my booth on Saturday. The number one interest from solo women was how to find other solo women to travel with. 
The groups that I recommended are RVing Women, Loners on Wheels, and Escapees RV Club's Singles Birds of a Feather (must be a member of Escapees).
If you have experiences with other groups, please send them along in the 'Comments' section at the end of this post.


WomenRVers.com publisher Julianne Crane talked about the RV Lifestyle at the "Celebrate Life Expo" at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center (404 N. Havana St., Spokane).

Julianne has been writing about the recreation vehicle lifestyle since the mid-80s when she owned first small Mini-Winnie motor home. Between 2003-2007, she wrote 'Wheel Life,' a weekly RV column and blog for The Spokesman-Review. In 2008, Crane began publishing RVWheelLife.com and, in 2011 started contributing to RVShortStops.com. She is currently the RV lifestyle specialist for Motor Matters, an automotive content provider serving the print and online pages of daily and weekly newspapers across the United States. Thousands of her articles and posts have been published in newspapers, magazines and online.

She recently returned to Eastern Washington after 'snowbirding' for five months with her partner, Jimmy Smith, in their 29-foot fifth wheel trailer, traveling as far as the Texas Gulf Coast.

The previous winter they spent six months in an 8-1/2-foot truck camper on a 12,000-mile RV trip circumnavigating the USA; during 2009-2010 their three-month, 8,000-mile journey crisscrossed the Southwest.

A number of RVers and 'wannabes' stopped by the "RV Travel Tips" booth on 5/12 with questions about Living Life on the Road.

For information on the 2013 Expo, Call (509) 326-1471 with questions. For more information go online to www.ped-spokane.org

 Photo: Julianne Crane

Pacific Northwest antiquers ambled across Southwest herding memories, treasures

Peggy Littlefield and Harley Bratrude - 'Thelma and Louise' coach. (Julianne Crane)

Two Pacific Northwest women spent part of February and March traveling America's Southwest in a vintage Vogue motor coach in search of special objects for their antique business in Cashmere, Wash.

Antique six-shooter.

The Women:
Longtime friends Peggy Littlefield and Harley Bratrude aren't exactly Thelma and Louise, however they were armed (with an antique six-shooter) when we crossed trails in west Texas, just south of the Pecos. We both had circled our modern day prairie schooners around the campground in Balmorhea State Park.

Peggy, a mother of three, homemaker and retired rancher, was born and raised in the panhandle of Idaho. She owned the Kid Zone, an educational toy store with "a lot of neat things in it," and was a fixture for many years in downtown Sandpoint.  

Harley, also a mother of three, spent her youth in Detroit before making her way to the Pacific Northwest "because of a man." She is a community volunteer with the performing arts center and has been in the antique business for more than 20 years.

They met through a book club and soon discovered mutual interests in cooking, good martinis, scrabble and antiques.

1983 Vogue kitchen (Julianne Crane)

The Rig:
1983 33-foot Vogue II gasoline motor coach.
Owned by the Littlefields, Peggy found it on Craig's List and convinced her husband, Brad, to go look at it. They "own the very first Airstream motor home built," however, it is a 23-foot unit and they needed something larger to travel in.

The Vogues were very high end coaches in their day (rock and roll entertainer Chuck Berry owned a similar rig) and at that time 1983 Vogue cost more than $100,000.

They came extremely well equipped with standard dual air conditioning, and a 50 amp power system with matching 6.2 generator set, according to Brad. "It was equipped with hydraulic leveling system, large tanks for waste and fresh water, and two 4D batteries for the house and one for the chassis."

It had also been equipped with a GV overdrive, Mark VI 454 and a solar system to keep the four golf cart batteries up on their charge, said Brad. "All the systems work very well, and the coach runs like a Swiss watch."

The interior of the coach included leather front seats with 6-way power on both, pretty fancy for its day. There is a rear bathroom, twin beds, and a modern kitchen complete with bar with ice maker.

Their Mission:
Seek out great regional food and western relics as they moseyed across the Lone Star State--from Houston and Galveston to San Antonio and Austin ... then through the Hill Country and west Texas. Meander a while in New Mexico and Arizona before taking separate trails in Tucson. Peggy to be joined by her husband for their slow return trip home to Wenatchee, Wash., and Harley to visit friends in southeast Arizona before heading north.

Where to find their antique outlet:
Apple Annie Antique Gallery
100 Apple Annie Ave.
Cashmere, Wash.
1-866-504-8460 · 509-782-4004
Hours: Daily, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Upcoming big event at Apple Annie's:
Semi-Annual parking lot Flea Market Saturday, May 12, 2012, from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

To read more by Julianne Crane go to RV Wheel Life.com

Photos of Peggy Littlefield (left) and Harley Bratrude by Julianne Crane