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.