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.   

We are home!

Wednesday May 9, 2012

We arrived home safe and sound on Sunday around 4:30 pm.  A couple of small trees on the road (2 inches) so no big problem to get in and Eric removed them with an axe.  Last year it took a chainsaw to get us in.  When we pulled into to the yard with the rig everything was A okay so that is a good thing.  Buildings all okay, house okay and no trees down on anything.  It was huge amount of snow this winter so we didn’t know what we would find when we got home.  We snuggled into the building that Eric built for the rig and hooked up to power and we were good for the night. 

It has been a bit hectic over the past few days but I think we are starting to see the light of day.  Okay, wait a minute, there isn’t much light because it is rainy, windy and cold….about 4C at 6pm….can you believe it!

We started the water back up on Monday and checked appliances, taps, etc. for leaks as we went.  All looked good until we heard a whooshing in the bathroom and saw water on the floor.  Yikes!  A burst pipe between the bathroom and the bedroom.  Our bedroom has diagonal cedar on the wall between it and the bathroom and not gyprock so that turned out to be a good thing as cutting a big hole in gyprock would really have made a mess.   Down with the diagonal cedar on the wall and there was the culprit….a burst pipe!  How that happened who knows as we had drained the water and blown out the pipes with a compressor.  Water is very sneaky!  Eric cut the pipe and capped it and we were back in business.  Stressful but no huge damage done so that is a good thing. 

I spend Tuesday and today unloading the rig and getting the house back in order while Eric dealt with unpacking the garage of the rig, recharging all the batteries for the machinery and restarting them. 

P.S. We are on dial up internet here at home so posting is a slow process.  Feel sorry for us…we can’t get high speed where we live and the internet sticks are too expensive so dial up is it.   I will try and post every week or so. 

Made it to Prince George.

Saturday May 5, 2012

We left Kelowna this morning at about 7:15am in hopes of making it as far as Prince George.  Depending on the weather we sometimes only make it to Quesnel  and the Wal-Mart parking lot which makes for a long second day on our way home.   Today there was not much traffic, not much wind and only a few rain showers so an easy but long days travel.  Tomorrow we will head for our home in Terrace but are likely to hit rain and wind on our way.  Oh well, one day out of two isn’t bad!  We are parked in the Bon Voyage parking lot at the west end of Prince George and it is a good deal.  $13 for power and water and a restaurant on the property so all is well.  Beer, food and bed. 

In Vancouver visiting Mom.

Thursday May 3, 2012

We left Kelowna on Monday morning and ran into 2C and snow over the connector from Kelowna to Merritt. Heading south on the Coquihalla there was a detour at Othello just north of Hope which took us off the Coquihalla and on a windy slow back road into Hope. Huge rain between Hope and Coquitlam on #7 the scenic route on the north side of the Fraser River on our way to visit Mom. So….not the best trip down. The trip back on Wednesday morning was better with no rain or snow. Journey done.

So the visit to see Eric’s Mom is done and we were relieved to find her well, happy, safe and busy.  Did she know us?  Maybe, maybe not,  but we are okay with that.  She is unable to have a conversation as she has lost the words that make a sentence.  Questions frustrate her as she can’t reply unless it is a short answer and not too complicated.  It is what it is and we are okay with that.  She is going to have her 90th birthday on May 31st.  The family especially Eric’s sister Kathryn has done a stellar job of looking after her and getting her placed in this facility.  A relief for them and us too.

Eric and his mother Doris.

We spent two nights at Joy and Wilbur's’ house (my youngest sister and her husband)  just up the hill from Mom’s care facility which is right next to Coquitlam centre.  We had a good visit and as I haven’t seen Joy in two years it was nice to catch up and have a good blab.  We were introduced to the new additions to her family….Kola the golden retriever and Buddy the Shiatsu x Australian silky terrier.

It didn’t take Buddy long to get himself onto Eric’s lap.

Kola and Buddy.  Isn’t she pretty!

She also has a cat (Sammy) who is not amused by the recent addition of Buddy to the family.

Sammy spends his time up on his perch complaining about Buddy!

Joy and I with the dogs.

Kola has been with them two years and as they have no children this menagerie is it!  Good animals and lots of fun.  Thanks Joy and Wilbur for the hospitality. 

We got back to Kelowna yesterday and will spend today and Friday getting ready to head home on Saturday.