The big new motor home pulled into the space next to us, around dusk. We suspected that the owners were new to camping and RV's, especially when it took them an hour to position their rig in their assigned spot. That didn't count the second hour needed to hook up water, electricity and sewer connections.

The owners were in their late 60's. A paper license plate in the rear window indicated their motor home was brand new, probably on its maiden trip to Montana. It was a fancy basement model, with lots of accessory features. Most noticeable was the television satellite dish on the roof. They were pulling a small sedan too.

We had no difficulty discovering the woman's name was Bessie, for her husband at the wheel shouted at her about placement of the vehicle. "No, no, Bessie," he called. "You watch for trees on the right side. I can see the left."

It wasn't clear why they had to move the RV back and forth a dozen of times, for the final position was exactly where they put it on the first try. Just when it looked as though it was in the best spot, Bessie decided it had to be moved four inches one way or another. They had yet to attempt leveling the unit.

Finally, they got it positioned, where both the man and his wife agreed on the right spot. Then, they took twenty minutes moving a few feet back and forth while placing wooden blocks under the wheels to level the motor home. It was dark by the time they shut the engine off.

By flashlight, the husband began opening the storage doors to get at his water hose and tools. Site hookups were close to the aft end of the parking space. After attaching the water hose to the motorhome, the he discovered that it was not long enough to reach all the way back to the spigot. It was two feet short.

"Bessie, where's that other hose?" he shouted. No answer from inside the motor home. "Bessie, it won't reach the water faucet." He stood there holding the free end of the hose, looking first at it and then at the spigot just to the rear of the vehicle.

Bessie came out to see what the problem was, and why she had no water inside. "Well, why don't you move it back three feet?" Trudgingly, the driver got back behind the wheel, the hose still connected to the motor home. He started the engine and eased back, off the leveling blocks, about four feet. The aft end of the vehicle was just even with the spigot. He shut the engine off.

Now, he easily hooked his hose to the spigot, and then connected the electricity and sewer hose. "Okay, Bessie, you've got water," he shouted.

Soon Bessie appeared outside the RV, carrying another flashlight. "It isn't level," she announced. "The bubble shows the front's too high."

"Well, that's the way it's going to stay," the frustrated husband retorted. "I'm not moving it again."

And he didn't....

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