Member Spotlight

Alan and Juanita Buckel
Full-Timers from Sioux Falls, S.D.

FMCA membership number:  F221341 (we joined in 1997)

Our current motorhome:  A 2001 Country Coach Intrigue

Other motorhomes we’ve owned:
A 1993 National RV Sea Breeze, a 1994 Country Coach Magna

Two words that best describe our current motorhome:
Comfortable, pretty

The best thing about our motorhome: 
It has gotten us to many places safely.

We decided to buy a motorhome because:
We wanted to travel and see our children, grandchildren and extended family who live in various states. We wanted to see the wonderful U.S.A.

The best thing about motorhoming:
Freedom — we’re never bored. It’s easy to travel to various places without packing suitcases, etc.

Former occupations:
Alan is a retired electronics technician. I (Juanita) am a retired registered nurse anesthetist.

Children, grandchildren:
We have one son, one daughter and four grandchildren.

Our all-time favorite motorhome trip:
Our first extended trip — a 45-day trip to the Maritime provinces.

Other favorite destinations: Sand Diego, Colorado and Wyoming

Our “dream” motorhome trip:
To circle the United States in one continous trip.

Our perfect day of motorhome travel:
On the road early (facing west, avoiding the sun glare) and off the road by 3:30 p.m. — always before dark.

Our worst motorhoming experience:
1) When a motorist turned in front of us and we had to “stop on a dime.”
2) When a tree branch fell on our coach during a storm.

Our motorhoming pet peeve:
1) Neighbors who leave campfires to smolder into our windows.
2) Music blaring with the owner nowhere near.
3) Unattended dogs barking while owners are gone from their RV.

Something motorhoming taught us about life:
There are wonderful people everywhere. RV folks are especially friendly and sort of like-minded.

The best additions we’ve made to our motorhome:
A computer desk in the living room, a dresser/keyboard drawer in the bedroom, a satellite dish, and a cell phone.

If we could change one thing about our motorhome:
Add another slideout in the living room. (It won’t happen, though.)

Something about motorhoming that we know now but didn’t know when we started:
Probably lots. But after eight years of full-timing, we can’t remember.

When driving the motorhome the most important thing to remember is:
Defensive driving, yielding to the semi trucks who are making a living. We have more time than they do.

Our favorite thing about FMCA: The very informative magazine.

Our hobbies:
Alan: stock market, computers, travel, hiking. Juanita: computers, knitting, travel, hiking.

Our favorite way to exercise:
Walking and hiking. Also, we work on a building crew — called Mission Builders — for three months of the summer building churches.

Favorite movie:  Any old John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart movie.

Favorite book:  Any of John Grisham’s

Favorite singer, songs:
Hank Williams’“Jambalaya,” “Lovesick Blues.” Any hymn. Eddie Arnold songs.

Favorite restaurant:  Dave’s Bar-B-Que

If we were awarded a free shopping spree at any store, we’d choose:
Home Depot to buy a variety of tools to use in our building projects.

Favorite campground:
Desert Shadows RV Resort (Western Horizon) in Casa Grande, Ariz.

When motorhomers visit our home state, they should be sure to see:
The Falls Park in Sioux Falls and the Black Hills of South Dakota. (South Dakota is our state of registration and mail forwarding service only.)

Items we always keep in our motorhome’s refrigerator while traveling:
Beer, Diet Coke, salsa, bread

Our advice to new motorhomers:
Start as young as you can. The years go by so fast and too soon we get old.

Behind our motorhome, we tow:
A 2001 Honda Odyssey using a Blue Ox tow bar.

Our favorite activity to do inside the motorhome:
Read, watch TV, play cards, eat.

Other FMCA members may contact us via e-mail: afbjjb@aol.com