Starting Out - Westward Ho, Spring 2011

After what has seemed to be an extra long, cold winter, we have finally declared it Spring Camping Time. I didn't get an email off before we left home, so I am writing as we travel. Westward.


The temp is only 12C. There is a lot of water in the fields from the excessive snow this winter. The crews are out in full force cleaning the ditches. Ah.. springtime.

The plan, you say? Well - - we are not exactly sure. We are headed towards grandchildren. Vernon, Kelowna, Vancouver. Our first stop was to be Vernon, but the campground down the street from Jeff and on the lake is not open until May 15. That has somewhat dictated our arrival time there. We may have to 'poke about' until that time.

Tonight we will camp in the Canmore area. Originally we had thought Bow Valley Prov Pk. And then, we remembered the $34. cost from when we were there in June 2009. And so, the plan may change.

Anyway, I shall be in touch. Once again I am dependent on when I can find internet connections. However, I am hoping you hear from me regularly!

Feb 9-16, 2011: Puerto Vallarta - Mike & Gail's Wedding

Ahhhh... Puerto Vallarta... Sunshine, sand & sipping. Awesome week. A pretty lazy one for me. I never left the resort. Ron did go for a couple walks. I alternated between sitting 

on the beach or sitting by the pool. 

One can get pretty spoiled at 'all inclusives' by having lunch & drinks delivered on the beach. I've heard people complain that meals at all inclusives can get pretty boring with the same foods daily, but no complaints here. There were many choices, changed up daily and I was very impressed with quantity & quality.

There was a 'Beach Party' on the day we arrived with a huge buffet served on the beach. We could do lunches on the beach or had a choice of two dine-in places. For dinner there was an added fancy restaurant that required reservations & children weren't allowed. Ron & I didn't go there, but others in the group went and said it was pretty awesome. Ron & I hung with grandson's Ryley, Jack, Simon & Morgan the night the parents dined. We taught them to play "Pass the Ace" and laughed when Kari informed us that Morgan said it was the best time so far!! Mouths of babes, eh!?

Besides Kesslars (Ron's children, spouses & their children) there was Gail's parents, her sister-in-law & daughter, Terry (& her son) who works with Mike & about 4 other friend couples. One couple (parents of the ring bearer) brought both their mothers. So we were a group of about 47.

Part of the group went on a day excursion of ziplining, riding donkeys, a jeep tour and rappelling down a waterfall. It appeared to be quite a highlight. A few did some sailing trips and snorkelling. There was lots of beach & pool volleyball played, a karaoke night, water aerobics, pool table games, dancing & music in the lobby area and the hotel put on various entertainment nights, so there was always something going on.

And the wedding. Beautiful bride, handsome groom, lovely venue:

Arriving home, Feb 26, we got to Calgary at 10:30 p.m. By the time we got through customs and waited over 3/4 hr. for our shuttle back to the hotel to pick up our vehicle it was midnight when we left Calgary. After spending the morning on the beach in +26C weather and arriving home to -20C weather in Calgary, it was quite a shock to the system! We were exhausted when we crawled in to bed at 3 a.m. Ron felt a cold coming on and he ended up in bed until noon the next day and he remained in his PJ's for the day. Feeling lousy.

And that sums up our week in Mexico. I am now getting summer 'washed & put away'. Sob.
And NOONE is serving me breakfast anymore! Damn!

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.