Friday - Nov 12: HOME AGAIN

Home Sweet Home. It looks good and feels great after 2 months in the RV. All this room!

The weather is not what we HAD been enjoying a week ago, but I guess we'll have to get used to it. It's not quite as weird seeing those Christmas decorations on display in the stores here, as it was seeing them in the stores down south. When we were in our shorts & shirt sleeves!

Ron is putting antifreeze in the RV. I must finish unpacking & get started on the laundry. And this will be the last of my daily updates. 

Happy Friday. Have a great weekend!

Great Falls, MT - We made it . . .

Dick's RV Park
Site #110 - $32, p/w/s, Cable, Internet

Well, we made it through last night without freezing up. It was certainly 'winter' looking in Idaho Falls when we left this morning though. Light snowfall, -2C. We passed a snow plow on the highway as we were heading out of town. Eech. Not something you like to see.

And things got worse. Ron needed a pee break, so he pulled off at Spencer, just before the Monida Pass at the Idaho / Montana Border. Bad choice. It was very icy. Our 2 wheel drive truck has zero traction. We slid down the ramp and we couldn't get enough traction to get going again. We backed in to town barely managing to keep on the road. We literally 'slipped around' the town trying to figure out what to do and where to go.

This is a very small town. Everything was closed except a small "Opal Shop" whose owner had no suggestions as to where we might park or stay. Ron decided to make one more attempt to get out of town and this time he was successful. I wasn't so excited about that. The next 20 km through that pass was probably the scariest. EVER. Solid ice. Ron drove very slow but things were very tense. A 1/2 ton truck had hit the ditch in front of us. And he wasn't towing an RV. Yes, very scary! It was such a relief when we finally got through that pass to dry highway once again. Thankfully the remaining drive to Great Falls was good. It's 2C, but no snow.

We will stay 2 nights. Clean the RV and get it ready for winter. I am now more than ready. It's damn cold.  People are wearing winter jackets!

Idaho Falls - Nov 9, 2010

Snake River RV Resort

Site #4: $30 p/w Internet

We are camped at Idaho Falls. In the snow. 0C weather.
I think it might freeze tonight.  We don't have boots.

So yes,. there comes a time when I just want to get home. Fast!

It got down to -2C last night but there was no snow on the ground this morning when we left. There was a skiff of snow on some of the roof tops and further out of town. The roads were fine to Idaho Falls, but there is quite a bit of snow here. Again, that higher altitude.

We are aiming for Great Falls tomorrow night, but that is pushing it a little -- for us with the 5th wheel. We'll see how it goes. There is always Helena.

There is an Edmonton couple camped beside us who are heading to Phoenix. The smart ones. The couple on the other side of us are heading home to Kalispell from the Palm Desert area.The dumb ones - like us!

I have a pot of chili simmering on the stove for dinner tonight. No more bbques or evening campfires for these campers. ☹

Cloudy & Cold & Wet in Nephi, Utah

High Country RV Camp
Site #44 - $20, p/w, Internet, Temp 3C

Well Vegas was a bit of a bust. One crappy over-priced meal in the Casino. Enough said.

However, we truly enjoyed the drive from Vegas to St George, UT this morning. The Virgin River Gorge near the Arizona / Utah border was so awesome. We shouldn't have been surprised, because this is the Zion Canyon area. One should therefore expect to see those Red Cliffs. Beautiful!!

Ron has Slow Pitch teammates that go to St George every year for the big International Senior Slow Pitch tournament held there. I think that is why we had pictured a flat desert like landscape. Kind of like Medicine Hat! Wrong!

Driving from St George to Salt Lake City the Elevation went up and the temperature went down. Like from 20C to 1C. There was some rain. We had planned to stop at Fillmore for the night, but it was only 3 p.m. and only 3C.  We decided to keep driving for another hour. To Nephi. Where it was still 3C. And raining. Harder. Kind of like splatting. Crap. Even Medicine Hat is looking better than this!

We were pretty quick to change from our shorts & capris to jeans & sweaters. And the electric heater is now plugged in.

*sniff* I MISS ARIZONA *sniff*

We are here . . . .

. . . . in Las Vegas. At a Wedding Chapel.
hahahaha...Just kidding :)

Well, actually we ARE in Vegas -

Charlies RV Park & Casino
Site #7230 - $33, p/w/s, cable, Internet, Temp 25C

We left Surprise at 9:30 this morning. It was a tough move. We know what is in store for us over the next few days.  Away with the shorts. Out with the sweaters. And the jackets. And then the boots. Eek

So we came across that new Hoover Dam Bridge. Just opened mid October. Lots of traffic. Fortunately for us, most of it was heading south. Bumper to bumper in to Boulder City. All the Sunday afternoon sightseers.

We will take a look at our literature and decide if we will un-hook & check out sin city. We may just make use of the hot tub & pool here. But first I will check out the curling scores. We watched the 1/4 finals on TV at Jim & Jan's yesterday. So, I'm wondering who won today's final.

The temp here is 25C, so not too bad in Vegas. Maybe we'll stay an extra day?

surprise.. still here..

Yes, we are still in Surprise. I feel a little guilty and I worry that we might be over-staying our welcome (??) But damn, it's awesome here! Jim & Jan are great hosts. And we've really enjoyed our stay.

Bits of shopping, bits of touring about, some 'happy hours', our evenings around the propane fire. Such a beautiful location.  AND THE WEATHER . . . Just WOW!

Last night some friends, Merv & Ev came for dinner. The routine has become very comfortable, for us anyway ;) Jim & Jan go golfing, we go for a bike ride. That sort of thing. We do our own breakfasts & I have made a couple of lunches plus an evening meal. It's working well.  or, I think/hope it is!??

We had a great bike ride this morning and Ron is now picking up the olives that have fallen in the gravel under the tree. I have this fab idea that he could become the yard maintenance guy & I could cook & clean. (hehe!) However, that is a whole lot of dreaming and it is time to be moving on. We will be leaving first thing on Sunday morning. We need to get the maps out, but figure we'll be camped somewhere near Vegas on Sunday night.











This evening we headed to the fish & chip place and to Dobbins Lookout to see the sunset.
As you can see from the pics, the valley view and the sunset was pretty spectacular from there.

Surprise, AZ

So sad to leave Yuma this morning. Because it means we are starting the trek home. Nooooooo......!!!

Again, I don't think I'll miss Yuma so much, just the warm weather. And the tank tops :)

The Park Owner noticed our proane firepit yesterday afternoon when she stopped by to settle up our bill. (Must admit that after a week of evening fires we were a little surprised that someone wouldn't have said something!) Anyway, the lady was very intrigued. She had never seen a propane firepit. We told her to come by later & she could see it in action. Shortly after 6:30 pm she drove by and was very disappointed it wasn't lit yet. We were still cooking supper!. She said she had told a number of neighbors about it and figured they'd be by to see. Only thing is, NOBODY is outside beyond 6 p.m. And, it's lights out by 9 p.m. That is why noone ever noticed our fire. Ron was pretty disappointed he couldn't 'show off'. I don't think I would ever get used to that 'Snowbird' time schedule!!

So now we are street parked at Jim & Jan's in Surprise. Jim barbecued steaks for dinner and once again we enjoyed an evening around our propane firepit. Warm weather, good food, good company, a beer-garita or two... Oh yeah....



One of these days I'll check the temperatures back home, but not yet.  Life is good .....

Windy in Yuma

Yuma can be windy. Especially outside the city limits. As Ron puts it "There is a lot of real estate changing hands today."

We drove south along the Mexican border towns of Somerton, Gadsden & San Luis. Miles & miles of produce fields. With the bus loads of Mexican workers. They all carry their own rakes & hoes and the bus pulls a trailer with their porta-potties. Not such nice working conditions today in the heat and the blowing dirt.. But I suspect it's tough working most days.

There was a Walmart at San Luis so we stopped to buy new tubes for my bike. Ron has repaired many flat tires this past week. Cactus needles are hard on bike tires. Anyway, when you shop in a predominately Mexican community and you are dark skinned like me, everyone speaks to you in Spanish. I had to smile. Ron got the English version :)

So Monday we will start our trek north. I'm sad. We will likely visit Jim & Jan for a couple days and it will take us a week or so driving home. We will blow out our waterlines in Great Falls as we did last year.

Yuma Days

It's Wed. and it looks like we will hang out at Yuma for a few more days. Even though we aren't really loving it here. Except the hot weather. We love that!

There is a nice bike path through the parks and along the canal. We always enjoy a good / easy bike ride.

We have found the people in this park really aren't that friendly. Americans. We haven't seen a Canadian license plate yet. There are many empty sites right now but it's booked solid for the winter. The old boys across & beside us won't even look at us. It's like we don't exist. The 'foreigners' invading their little world I guess. Ron was at the office to pick up some Yuma literature and one of the old gals did invite him to Bingo on Thurs night however :) This RV Park is one of the older ones in Yuma & I suspect the Canadians are mainly staying at the newer parks on the city outskirts. We drove by quite a number of those parks yesterday.

Ron is toying with the idea of heading across the border to Los Algodones although I am not crazy about doing that. I guess 'thousands' of people head to that Mexican town for their eyeglasses & dental work. The violence that has plagued other border towns supposedly has not been a problem there... Still, it makes me nervous!

We have noticed that there is a whole lot of air traffic over this city with the Yuma International Airport, Marine Corps Air Base plus north of the City there is the Army "Proving Ground" for equipment testing.

Evenings we enjoy sitting around our propane firepit. Have I said how much we love this weather?
-------------------------------------------
Later Wed: We decided to stay. The office wasn't open when Ron first went by this morning. A resident told him the owner would be back shortly. When Ron said we planned to extend our stay, he asked what site we were in. Ron says "Number 10" and he says "Oh, the Canadians". So yes, we have been noticed with our foreign plates! Also, it is quite windy here today. It would not be good for RV travels.

We had an interesting morning at the Territorial Prison State Pk. In 1876 the first 7 inmates were locked in to the new cells that they had built themselves. The last prisoner left in 1909. The buildings were used by the Yuma High School 1910-14 and then provided shelter for homeless during the 1920's & 30's. It was very interesting to tour the cells & read about the prisoners who spent time there -- including 29 women.

Also, we will remain in Yuma until Monday morning - Nov 1. Hoping Jim & Jan will be ready for 'Surprise' company by then??

in Yuma

Riverfront RV
Site #?, p/w/s, no Internet (coming) Temp 29C

Well it was tough to give up our lake front spot at Lake Havasu. It was getting pretty comfortable there. However, our sewage tanks were full and so it was time to move out. There were people clamoring to get the spot when we pulled out. We had given the 'heads up' to one of our neighbors last night & he brought his lawn chair over to stake his claim. He had a boat pulled up on shore, so we knew he'd appreciate the lake front spot.

We are at Yuma. We chose the Riverfront RV Resort because it was on the Colorado. Haven't seen the River yet though.. :) I don't believe one can see it from the RV Park. No internet in the park either, so that was disappointing. I am using a connection from the local library.

Anyway, we paid for 2 nights and we will check this place out. I'm not sure it's a place we would want to stay at long term though. We likely won't come back.  We have been spoiled with our last place on the lake! We did enjoy the drive here. The acres of gardens & the bus loads of planters hand-planting in the fields. Also, we did not know they grew cotton here. Interesting...

Havasu...and 'where has the week gone' ??

This place just got a whole lot busier & a whole lot noisier on the weekend! Not so much in the campground itself, although there were a few more units coming in. But the boat launch here. Wow. Very busy! All the young people with their big fast noisy boats. And they can't seem to launch them without turning the boat radio up full blast!? (yes we are that old grumpy couple sitting there in our lawn chairs.) Anyway, at least they are heading to town with their noise and they aren't hanging around this area of the lake after they've launched their fancy equipment! We now realize there are big advantages to be camped on the outskirts of Havasu City!

On Friday I drove to town for a haircut and did a bit of shopping on my own. I have to admit that it was rather nice not to have Ron tailing me about the store & asking what I'm looking for. Every 2 minutes! When you shop with him you don't 'look'. At anything! You go in, grab what you need & get out. In a hurry! grrr!

So tomorrow we will be moving on. I admit that I will really miss this place. I love our lake view. The hot lazy days & those warm nights. Swimming in a lake at the end of October, the road runners, the quail & the bunnies that share our campsite! So awesome!

Something I forgot to mention and will NOT miss... There are little desert mice here. They scamper around our feet when we sit at the fire during the evening. They freak me out! 

Also they bring out the rattle snakes. People have said that they see them laying about on the campground roads at night. Eek... you won't find me using those campground toilets! I will not miss them... or the flies! The flies are so annoying during the day! Anyway... we are saying goodbye to Havasu on Monday.  Our next email will be from Yuma.

Lake Havasu Week

The last time we drove in to town it ended up being an expensive trip! The bracket on the truck muffler was broken and rattling, so we stopped at a muffler shop to see about getting it welded. It ended up being a replacement job for $350. Yuk.

Also, that thunderstorm that has been showing in the forecast all week? We got it on Tues. night. It REALLY came down. Yes, it can rain here. There were big puddles all around our campsite. It started with big winds in the evening. We weren't able to sit out & have our campfire. Last night it sprinkled again. At least it remains warm! (27-29C during the day and about 17C nights) No complaints!

Yesterday, Ron blew up my floating lounge & we enjoyed the some time in the lake. It's been pretty quiet in the campground. Us, the hosts & a couple other units. There were a few more units that came in last night & I expect it will be busier over the weekend. We did end up paying for 3 more nights. If you pay 5 you get 2 free, so I expect we will be here for the week.

We drove south to Parker for a couple of supplies (& for internet) today. The State Park is between Havasu City & Parker, a bit closer to Havasu, but it's nice to see some different country side. I ended up buying 3 tank tops for $3. each... Need them here!

well I found my internet... must hustle. Ron isn't very patient!

PS: You know those red peppers that the border people stole from me. Yeah. I know why he took them. They are SO expensive here. The majority of them are imported from Canada. One store was selling them for $2. each.

Lake Havasu

Cattail Cove State Park

Site #4 - p/w $26. no internet, TV

Ahhhh....... Heat. At last!!
Actually, IT'S VERY HOT HERE!!! 30C

Love. Love. Love it!! On this trip, we've probably run our heater every single night that we've been on the road. But not last night. Windows & vents were all wide open. Fans on.

We have one of the best spots at this State Park. Front row on the lake. The road runners, the quail, the rabbits.... (oh yeah, and the ducks, grackles & flies that we could do without!) It is so beautiful. 

We stayed in this State Park last year. When we arrived at Havasu yesterday, we checked a couple of other RV places, but the price & the view drew us back here.

The lake is very warm. Ron went for a swim when we arrived. I had a margarita... cheers to that hot sunshine! We ate dinner outside by candlelight and we sat around our propane fire until late at night. In our shorts & tank tops. Awesome! Our neighbors (gay men) joined us. Interesting conversation. We enjoyed their company & were sorry to see them leave this morning.

Just made a potato salad to have with ham. It's too hot to cook. We'll slip in to town for some celery & hopefully find some internet. We booked two nights, but I'm pretty sure we'll be staying longer (a week?) if the weather stays like this. You likely won't be hearing from me for a few days.