You could pretty much start a timer each time I turned the conversation to me selling them the awesome opportunity of ‘loaning me a free RV’

By Steve Baer

Here’s the link in case you missed Part 1 or just need a refresher: 3 a.m. Idea Sparks Pilgrimage to the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial – Part 1.

Quick review and then I’m jumping right back in:

• An 11-day road trip to the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in Colorado Springs, CO
• Found a sponsor with my friends at CRACKYL magazine
• The plan relies heavily on an RV I don’t have
• No firefighter friends have joined my plan yet
• My logistics game is not strong as I don’t really know where Colorado is located

Definitely a huge part of my plan includes an RV, an RV I don’t have. I don’t even have any friends who have an RV.  

So I just started cruising RV sales lots …

After you read this part, close your eyes and visualize it. An RV salesman sees me wandering the lot like a lost baby deer. He’s the hungry predator in this analogy, and sees dollar signs all over me (it’s probably my expensive bedazzled jeans). He approaches with a moist handshake and a, “How you doing today, partner?”

You could pretty much start a timer each time I turned the conversation to me selling them the awesome opportunity of “loaning me a free RV.” Most walked away in less than three minutes and in several instances, banned me from the lot.

Eventually I did find an awesome local RV company that was willing to join my big idea. So a big shout-out to Ryan’s RV Town in Everett, WA, for stepping up with an awesome ride for 11 days. In exchange for their 27-foot RV, I gave them photos they now use on their website.  Check it out, and see if you can spot me and my photos.

With the RV secured, I think I had a lot more swagger when pitching my idea to friends to join the trip. Pretty quickly, I had two takers.

The first guy to join the team was retired Boise fire captain Rich Brown. Years ago, I met Rich at the Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle. He’s a monster athlete who also loves raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  

A few things you should know about Rich: He loves dogs, he can make friends anywhere, talk to strangers in any situation, and if it was up to him, would bring a bicycle everywhere he goes.

Our second partner in crime was retired firefighter/paramedic Will Elmquist from West Pierce Fire. Will is also a Stairclimb guy who lives just down the street from me. Anytime I break something on my house or car and can’t figure it out using YouTube, he’s my first stop. He’s super handy and has all the cool tools. I usually just stand in his driveway looking sad until he comes out and helps me. Will’s real superpower is that he can drive forever without needing a break or getting bored. He should have been a NASCAR driver …

With the trip just around the corner, I made sure to meet with a few Seattle groups that go each year, our Honor Guard, Pipes and Drums, but especially our logistics team, who hauls all the gear back and forth to Colorado Springs. My plan was to follow the logistics folks on the three-day drive to Colorado. A few of our members have been to the memorial for the last 15 years and had really good suggestions for us first-timers. 

Check out this video of packing up the logistics trailer on Sept. 14.

Sept. 16 marked Day 1 of the trip. I drove from Seattle to Boise to pick up Rich. On that eight-hour drive I had plenty of time to consider there was about to be a lot of “together time” for three dudes in this RV. Have you ever been in an RV bathroom? Let’s just say it’s pretty small.

Just outside of Boise I stopped off in Nampa, ID, where I visited with Nampa Fire Station 1. They were incredible hosts, posing for photos and inviting me to stay for dinner. I had an awesome time.

After dinner, it was a short drive to Rich’s house, where he met me with his beautiful moustache and a hug. We loaded his gear and made plans to leave the next morning for a 700-mile drive to Casper, WY, where we would try and meet our logistics friends.

Keep an eye out for Part 3, where I’ll tell you about the severe weather that tried to carry our little RV to Oz instead of Colorado Springs. See you then …