Been here three weeks…time to move on!

Thursday Nov. 29, 2012

Yesterday we took a ride up to Searchlight, Nevada and then down 95 to Needles for lunch at the Wagon wheel Restaurant…my burger was good but Eric’s giant Taco….not so much!  You win some….you loose some. 

Searchlight…basically just a few casinos, fuel, restaurants (always a Macdonald’s) 

 

Plaque on the wall above our table.

After lunch we continued east on the I40 to Topock and then onto the #10 or 95 or route 66 whichever they choose to call it to join up with Boundary Cone Road that heads up to Oatman. 

Route 66….I wonder whatever happened to Buzz and Todd!

The road from Topock to the junction with Boundary Cone Road is dead quiet and you can go slow and sightsee which is nice.

 

That little tiny peak on the middle left is the Boundary Cone.

Full size Boundary Cone. 

From there back up the 95 highway towards  Bullhead city, over the parkway and home.  A nice quiet ride. 

Today we are packing up to move to Yuma for the next two weeks.  Laundry done, vacuuming done, Big Red loaded, etc. etc.  We’ll move down to the free camping at Bouse, Az.  just north of Quartzite for a couple of nights so we can check out all the RV crap that Quartzite has to offer.  You can find just about anything there but you do have to wade through lots of junk.  Always something to buy or replace on an RV.

 

From Bouse  we’ll head to Yuma where we’ll check into the Arizona Sands RV park for two weeks and get a bunch of shopping done before I head back to Canada on the 8th of December for my medical check up with the rheumatologist.    We’ll book only one week at the Arizona Sands to start so we can check out a couple of other parks while we are there.  Most of the parks in Yuma are right next to the freeway, railroad, busy highway, airport and or military base so it is always noisy.  Eric thinks he might like be in Winterhaven, California on the north side of the freeway so we’ll check that out

Hopefully by the 16th of December we can start heading to the border and Mexico. 

A bit of this and that!

Monday Nov. 26, 2012

I didn’t get any pictures in my earlier blogs this trip so here are a few.

Quesnel, B.C. to Clinton, B.C. …..not the way to start the winter’s journey.

 

Somewhere south of 100 mile.

Yuck!

  

From Cache Creek, B.C. to Kelowna it got better.

Parked in the gravel in the Riverside Park in Laughlin Nevada.

 

View out the rig window in the evening….nice!

It’s dark!

I guess my mind was on other things as we travelled this year because I didn’t take many pictures.

A visit with Andy and Carol at River’s Edge RV park in Parker, Az.

Sunday Nov. 25, 2012

Yesterday morning the park started to quiet down after Thanksgiving.  The bunch next to us … in  31 ft motor home (5 adults, 2 kids, 2 full grown boxers and possibly a cat) all left.  The dogs were locked in the motor home for 2 days except for a few pee breaks and by Friday night they’d had it.  Bark, bark bark and you can’t blame the dogs.  The adults smoked and slammed the RV door for two days …..what a crew!  Oh they did leave to drag all their guns with them for some sort of shooting thing (U.S. marines) and other than that who knows what else.  Odd stuff to us!

So we left the park about 10:30 am and road back through Lake Havasu and into Parker for lunch.  Had a real nice Mexican lunch (large beef burrito-chile relleno- rice-beans and lettuce) with all the fixins for $5.95 and neither of us could finish it! 

Ruperto’s  Mexican restaurant on the right side of the highway going into Parker just before the crossroads.   Good food.

After lunch we road north back up the highway and crossed over the Parker dam to the River’s Edge RV park (California side) where Andy and Carol spend their winter.  Eric and Andy have a beer or two every Thursday night when we are at home in Terrace so they have gotten to know each other over the years.  The Thursday night crowd has shrunk with Don moving to Alberta and leaving Fraser, Mel, Bob, Andy and Eric to carry on.  Not like the old days in the Skeena Hotel when the place was packed and everyone crawled home late at night and then had to go to work the next morning.  We were all young then….and a whole lot dumber….at least that’s what we’d like to think!

Carol used to work with our youngest daughter Erika back in the 80’s at Shopper’s Drug Mart when Erika had a part time job there after school.  A long time ago!

That’s Andy and Carol’s view across the river.

Andy took Eric around the park in the golf cart.

Carol and Andy in front of their 5th wheel.

They’ve been coming south now for 16 years and still enjoy it!

Nice visit….have a good winter.

We left the park by 3:30 and had to rush as it is 90ish miles back to Laughlin and we didn’t want to get back after dark.  We continued south down the California side and west back Vidal Junction, north up 95 to the I40, west to Needles and back to Laughlin.  A quick stop to pick up beer in the town of Laughlin and home safe and sound by 5:30 pm. 

A good day!

Happy Birthday Holly!

Sunday Nov. 25, 2012

15 years ago today I had the privilege of watching our oldest grand daughter Holly Lynn Watson be born.  What a thrill.  She is  a beautiful, talented, intelligent and very sweet girl (do I sound like a doting Gma?)  Of course!  I should also mention she is learning Spanish at school this year so maybe next summer she can tutor me. We love you to pieces Holly……Happy, Happy Birthday!

This is our youngest daughter Erika on the left, Abby (12) Holly (15) and of course the shortest one….me! 

Took a ride to Kingman, Az. today

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Have I mentioned that the weather has been beautiful since we arrived here in Laughlin, Nevada.   Sunny and warm with hardly any wind which is unusual for here.  Bueno!  This means that we have been able to do some nice riding and it has been very pleasant.  Yesterday we took a ride into Bullhead City and up over the parkway to look at a few RV parks and subdivisions.  The prices here are cheap and you could buy a nice new two bedroom home in a gated community for around $100 thousand…not that we would….but…..it’s fun to look. 

We ended up out at the mall for a look around Target as we’d found good folding chairs in another Target store in Yuma.  This is a new store and I must say it reminded me of the Stepford Wives movie where everything is the same color and exactly the same everything else….very pink….kind of creepy.  No chairs but we did find a cell phone case. 

On to the Smith’s grocery store for a bit of food and that didn’t thrill me when I ran into a couple of people with their dogs in their cart in the store.  What is with that!  I blame the store for not doing something about that.  Would you want to have your groceries in a cart that two dogs were in….I don’t think so.  No they were not service dogs….they were mutts! 

Today we road up to Kingman and took the round about way through the historic town of Oatman.  Like last year we didn’t stop as it really isn’t anything that interests us.  We really aren’t very touristy people.  However we do enjoy the Mexican towns, churches and people so maybe we just like different touristy things. 

We had lunch at the In & Out Burger in Kingman and it’s good bang for your buck.  Two cheese burgers, two fries and two drinks for $11. and it’s fresh and good.  It was super busy but the service was fast.

We spent a little time at the Mother Road Harley dealer in Kingman but I didn’t get anything but an ear warmer!  I have a bit of Harley gear and don’t really want to pay an over inflated price for something with Harley plastered all over it!  I am not a walking billboard either.  Eric picked up a new right front brake rotor to replace the one that was damaged when he had the front tire changed in Mazatlan.  Tire change $3 ….new rotor $114.00…..not a cheap tire change ….$117! 

I should also mention that Eric did get his brake pads and battery from Jake Wilson and it did come quickly.  Not quite as good an order though since the packing box said this side up but the battery was in that box UPSIDE DOWN!  Luckily it is a sealed battery so it didn’t leak.  Also there were no battery cable bolt included with it.  Perhaps someone else has them.

Meanwhile back in the park it is Thanksgiving weekend and it has busied up.  Lots of rigs and lots of Shmoopies (dogs to you) barking and barking and barking.  Oh well they’ll all be gone by Sunday and the park will quiet down again.  The biggest American holiday of the year. 

Happy Thanksgiving America. 

The Yagi antenna is worth every penny!

Monday Nov. 19, 2012

Last year we bought a Yagi antenna to help us find free Wifi as we travelled and that has worked in many situations.   However, now it has really showed it’s worth in bringing in a weak signal that we are already paying for.  Here in the Riverside RV park in Laughlin, Nevada the cost for a week of internet is $19.99 but it barely works at best.  It doesn’t work everywhere in the park and they don’t have enough antennas so it has always been a huge frustration.  The first week we were here I just used the laptop wireless connection and it worked good sometimes and sometimes not at all!  Every time Eric touched it….it ground to a halt….bad vibes or what!   So….enter the Yagi.

Week two we turned off the wireless connection on the laptop and paid for a week connected with the Yagi which is pointed at the antenna up on the hill behind us.  Guess what….it is BLAZING FAST…..super.  Worth every penny that we paid for it because even though the connection showed excellent strength without the Yagi it was less than mediocre at best.   10 points for the Yagi!

Today I even managed to download Skype and get that up and running.  We do have an AT&T phone that our daughter(Krista) and son-in-law Jeff gave us on their plan and it is great for calls in the US but calling Canada is expensive for a good chat.  The really good thing is that they can turn the service on for Mexico as well and we can use it for emergencies if we need too.  Now I will be able to use Skype to call home when (and if) we get to Mexico. 

Ain’t technology great! 

We had a great ride to Parker, Az and back.

Sunday Nov. 18, 2012

I was feeling really well yesterday so Eric and I decided to take a ride from Laughlin to Parker for lunch.  We drove out the Laughlin, Nevada side of the river to Needles where we jumped on the I40 for two miles and then onto the 95 south to Vidal Junction.  The road is straight, quiet and good so even though the scenery is a bit bleak the ride is very relaxing and temperature for riding was just perfect at about 22C.  From Vidal Junction we travelled to Parker, Az where we stopped at the Crossroads Cafe for lunch.  We have always had a good lunch there and since it’s so popular it’s always busy and today was no exception.  The parking lot was filled with bikes as there were a few big group rides going on.  Lots of trikes too but I think that I will give up riding as a passenger if we ever get to that point.  Too geezerish for me! 

We road back up 95 through Lake Havasu and as usual it made Eric swear!  The lights are not syncro and they have a very short yellow so it is always a quick stop….even on the bike.  Back on the I40 and then on for a ride up through Golden Shores and the south end of Bullhead City where we turned left on Aztec road and passed back over the river on the Veterans Memorial Bridge and back onto to the Nevada side and the old Needles highway which passes by the Avi Casino.  Down Casino drive and back to the park.  Home by 4:15 and still time for my evening walk.  A really swell day! 

The bike tire arrived in 48hours.

Thursday November 15, 2012

Eric ordered a back tire for Big Red on Monday morning from Jake Wilson and they said it would be delivered to our site in the park on Wednesday and at 10am it was here.  Pretty amazing…no shipping cost and no tax. 

Eric has unloaded the bike and taken the back wheel off and now it’s off to the shop to get the new tire put on.  I think I’ll go shopping instead!

When I got back from a very successful shopping trip….sometimes things just go as planned Eric had the tire on and Big Red was ready to hit the road again.  Bueno! 

Now that this order arrived so quickly with no problems Eric has decided to get a set of brake pads and a new battery as well.  Although the brake pads don’t need replacing yet they will be ready when they are needed.  As for the battery he has always been suspicious that it was not quite right and we certainly don’t need a dead battery in Mexico or any where else for that matter!  Like the Boy Scouts say…..be prepared.  Again….no tax and no shipping and the order will be delivered to the park on Monday or Tuesday. 

Hanging out in Laughlin

Monday, November 12, 2012

Well….it isn’t snowing here but it isn’t very warm either!  The wind hasn’t been too bad until today and now it’s picked up.  C’est LaVie!

We managed to get the rig washed on Saturday and Sunday so it looks pretty good now.  Nice to get all the road grime (salt etc.) off and the next thing will be the truck but we’ll take it in into Bullhead City to the car wash.  When we wash the rig we have to use a squeegee or else the whole thing would be covered in water spots. 

It looks like we might stay here for a couple of weeks even though there isn’t much to do.  Eric has ordered a back tire for Big Red and will have it shipped here to the park.  He’ll have to find a shop to put it on but that shouldn’t be too hard.  When he had the front tire put on in Mexico the shop bent the front rotor which is an expensive thing to replace so he wants to get this done before we leave the States. 

I spent a little time over at the small outlet mall up the street yesterday and I always enjoy a little shopping there.  Prices are good and the stores aren’t too big.  I don’t really need too much but you know a gal can always find something to buy!

We have to hang around in the States until I fly back to Kelowna on the 8th of December for a medical appointment so most of what we will do while we are here won’t be very exciting. 

I spent the afternoon on the computer booking a Royal Bank rewards airline ticket home for December and although it took a long time with the lousy internet they have here I did get it done.  I’ll fly out of Yuma on the 8th of December and return on the 14th and although I have to make a couple of stops each way I can do it in one day and the flights aren’t too early or too late.  35,000 points and $108. tax so not too bad. 

I met up with Dick and Val from Montana here in the park and had a good chat (they stay in Las Jaibas in Mazatlan for the winter).  They were supposed to travel south with Glen and Mary from Indiana but Glen has had a bout of E Coli and will not be travelling any time soon.  Looks like they will have to stay in Arizona for the winter….bummer…..we’ll miss them.

Tuesday the 13th

After my walk this morning I trotted over to the Riverside Casino for my free breakfast.  The weekly rate here at the park is $108 including tax and with that you get two free buffet breakfasts.  If you have a players card the rate is $89 so I guess I’ll have to get one even though we don’t gamble.  Now I might mention that the buffet is kind of like hospital food and although I wouldn’t pay for it….I will eat it for free but Eric declined so I went by myself. 

Off into Bullhead City for a little shopping and Eric found a high performance Harley shop that will put the back tire on Big Red. 

A few groceries, a look around Lowes and home.  The weather is now about 23C so….nothing to complain about.

In Laughlin in the wind again!

Friday November 9, 2012

It was a short run from Ash Springs to Laughlin this morning and we were set up by noon.  Pretty windy on highway 93  from Ash Springs to the junction with the I 15 heading into Vegas,  windy from the south end of Vegas up to Searchlight and windy here.  What can I say….it’s windy.  Old news because it’s always windy here.  The only time it hasn’t been windy is when we were here last spring and it was 100F and we needed some wind.  Go figure. 

We use Laughlin as our coming and going layover spot because it’s cheap, quiet (mostly) and we can get a few chores done.  Oh and also it doesn’t snow here.  Bonus. 

I can walk here as the park is huge, Eric can ride his bicycle, we can wash the rig, I can shop at the small outlet mall, Eric can possibly get a new back tire on Big Red in Kingman etc. etc……you get the picture.  Nothing new or exciting except that we actually made it here.  With my health problems (feeling good right now) this is all good news.   Okay….except for the d..mn wind! 

We beat the wind to Ash Springs.

Thursday Nov. 8, 2012

We were up early and on the road just after 6:30am this morning hoping to beat the wind that was for casted by the National Weather advisory….30mph hour on the nose with gusts to 50mph.  Well….we didn’t get as much wind as we usually do when there isn’t a weather advisory so what’s up with that?  

We arrived in Ash Springs around 1pm and took a spot for the night.  $18 for a pull through with power and water so not too bad.  It’s pretty noisy here with all the trucks stopping for fuel, working on their rigs and getting food but no complaints.  It is early to stop but after six hours on the road and another 4 hours to Laughlin it didn’t seem like a good idea to carry on.  We usually lay over here and there for a rest but we have been moving since Monday so Eric is tired.   Tomorrow is another day and although there might be a little rain it doesn’t look like the for casted cold and possible snow showers over night here are going to happen.   The wind did pick up behind us but seems to have died down a bit now and it is quite warm. 

There is no TV or internet so we amused ourselves by watching the local Mexican kids herding their goats around behind our rig for their evening meal.  About 15 of them (mostly Boer meat goats) including an enormous Buck so I guess there will be a few carnitas for dinner soon.  I raised goats for milk for about 30 years so I have a special place in my heart for them.  I did not eat them….but that’s just personal preference.  Highly intelligent animals who are smarter than most people!   Funny to watch because the kids were more interested in playing ball than watching the goats and the goats weren’t paying any attention to them anyways.  The big deal is to keep them off the highway as the big trucks are going by at 65 miles an hour and that would be a mess if a goat got on the highway.  

A few beers, a nice dinner and bed. 

Made it to Jackpot, Nevada …running from the weather as usual.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Up early this morning and a quick shop at WinCo.  I threw everything in the fridge and decided to deal with it later and we hit the road by 10:30 am.  The weather today was sunny and warm (20C) and no wind so the journey over the big bald prairie was quiet and the wind generators were ….NOT… turning…which is a good thing.  We decided to stop in Jackpot, Nevada instead of Twin Falls, Idaho for the night.  Most times it’s too cold for us in Jackpot  on our way south as it’s at 55oo ft. but today it was nice.  We plugged in for $18 but there is no water as they have already turned it off for the winter.  No big deal.  A good shower for both of us at the RV office and a buffet dinner at the casino and all is well.  In case you wondered we aren’t gamblers so we didn’t leave any money behind in the casino.  Tomorrow we’ll be up early and try to outrun the wind and weather behind us.  A wind advisory is in effect from ten am on so maybe we’ll be lucky and beat it.  We plan to spend the night in Ash Springs and then on to Laughlin on Friday.  The temperatures are dropping by about 20 degrees F over the next couple of days.  Brrrrr!

The journey south begins for 2012

Tuesday Nov. 6, 2012

So what’s been going on you might ask!  Well I’ll try to condense it a bit. 

After a busy summer at home with lots of projects completed it was time to pack up and get ready to hit the road.  The big news of the summer was that Eric sold his 100 acre parcel of land to the same fellow who had tried to buy it last fall.  Eric wasn’t too thrilled that he’d hired an excavator for a week to burn the slash piles from last years logging (big bucks!)  and in the end the buyer didn’t care one way or the other.  Strange because it was quite  mess.  Oh well it is still all good.

So… we left Terrace on Oct. 19th which is a few days early for us but since I had a medical appt. in Kelowna on the 23rd it was time to go.

The weather on day one from Terrace to Quesnel was above freezing with rain squalls.  Could have been worse.  The only big issue we had was just out of Prince George when we were hit by a fist sized rock from an off road truck pulling onto the highway without checking his tires.  Bad boy!    There was a huge bang as it hit the truck and when we stopped there  was a dent and hole in the front cap of the 5th wheel.  Eric had to cover it with a little black magic for now!  I checked the roof of the truck and there was a big dent where it hit first before it bounced up and hit the RV.  If it had hit the windshield….well…I’ll leave that to your imagination.  Not Good!

Overnight at the Walmart in Quesnel and on the road early.  About 5 miles out of town it started to snow.  Great.  Snowed all the way to Clinton but luckily hadn’t been too cold yet so the roads weren’t bad.  Still very stressful hauling an RV.  We made good time and rolled into Kelowna and Ian and Linda’s driveway around 3:30pm and were set up in no time flat. 

The weather in Kelowna for the last two weeks was the pits!  Rained almost every day!  During this time I attended my medical appointment with the rheumatologist (Dr. Shojania) and completed other diagnostic tests.  At the end of it all I am on prednisone at a high rate for temporal arteritis and will have to deal with that condition over the next couple of years.  It was what I expected to hear but still a bit of shock.  The good news is that I am feeling hugely better.  You don’t know how sick you are till you feel better. 

We decided to leave Kelowna and head south and travel as far as Arizona for now and I will fly back to Kelowna in December to see Dr. Shojania for blood tests and a check-up.  I will discuss the ongoing treatment and hopefully get enough medication to last me for the winter.  After that Eric and I will decide on the next leg of our journey.  I am expecting that we will head into Mexico in mid December and I will continue my care there.  Time will tell.

So where are we now you ask.  Well we left Kelowna yesterday morning on route to the Walmart in Othello, Washington.  It was a good day.  No trouble at the border, warm temps (17C) and no wind.  Sweet.  A nice evening.  On the road this morning at 7:30 am and the weather was good to start with.  A bit of fog south of Kenniwick but not much traffic.  Easy over the Cabbage hill and then of course we hit wind.  An open bald prairie so what can you expect. 

We arrived in the Meridian, Boise RV park around 3:30 pm and are now set up in warm temps for the night.  We’ll shop early at WinCo (you remember….my favorite store) and then head for Twin Falls for the night.  We want to get through Ely, Nevada (7000ft.) on Thursday morning as rain, cold and snow are coming at the end of the week.  We will stay in Ash Springs on Thursday night and then go to Laughlin, Nevada for a week and from there probably Yuma. 

It looks like it will be warm enough now so Eric has filled our lines with water.  He had blown them out with the compressor at home and added anti-freeze so it is nice to be able to turn on the taps now.