Winnebago Wanderings

Gave Santa My List

2011-12-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, he said that I wasn't near good enough this year for a Harley Davidson, Yamaha 4x4 quad or a new Corvette. I guess I'll try again next year.

Update From Meridian

2011-11-13T06:22:00.000-08:00

Just enjoying the Arizona weather and relaxing. I've been doing a lot of geocaching and increasing my find count. I've pretty much done everything close by, so now I'm back doing it in Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Queen Creek.
Friday night we had a wonderful Veteran's Day program. All branches of the service (both Canadian and American) were recognized individually. Then, we had a short performance by the Uptown Angels (actually 3 sisters) that did a 40s and 50s USO type tour with old songs. They were very good and the 45 minutes went by in a hurry.
Today, Keith and I are off to Phoenix International Raceway for the next to the last NASCAR race of the year. No - I'm not driving. We're taking a tour bus. And of course, rain is in the forcast.

Friday

2011-11-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

Spent most of the day lounging around the motorhome and enjoying the last day of nice weather for awhile. The winds picked up around noon and were gusting up to 45 mph and blowing dust and sand. When we went up to the "happy hour" tonight, only 20 people showed up. The new activity director is going to have to be straightened out or this park will slowly go downhill. If this is what a Friday night is going to be like, we won't be going again.

Tomorrow, the rains and cool weather will be upon us for the next week. Yuck!!!!!!!! I guess I'll have to go and get a library card from the Apache Junction library so I'll have something to read.

Update From Meridian

2011-11-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to return to normal now. Most (not all) of our close friends from last year have arrived for the season. Dutch and Tony are back at their home in Fountain of the Sun. We spent most of the day with them on Tuesday catching up on all sorts of various topics.
Bob and Maggie along with their dog Zoey arrived late Tuesday. The 1st thing Zoey wanted to do was to come and visit "Uncle". We weren't home but she led Bob to our door and she sat and waited for us to come out.
Yesterday, Keith and Caroline got here and Axol wanted to see "Uncle" also. Gosh, it's wonderful to be loved.

I finally got around to putting the palm tree up. So, I guess we're now ready for the season. Now, the only thing to do is to get the coach washed and waxed.

"Tk In AJ

2011-10-30T09:18:00.001-07:00

What a hectic week. I flew back to Redmond on Tuesday and arrived late in the day. Trish picked me up at the airport, picked up the pickup and spent the night at Jerry's house. Got up early on Wednesday and started my trip back to AJ. Along the way, I picked up geocaches along the highway all the way to AJ. I arrived back Saturday afternoon safe and sound.

One of the most enjoyable sights along the way was between Fallon, Nv and Hawthorne, Nv. I stopped along the road to pick up a cache and spent 45 minutes sitting there watching the US Navy's "Top Gun" pilots screaming down the valley and doing mock dogfights. I tried to get a picture but they were moving way to fast to try and focus the phone on them.

As I neared Hawthorne and driving along Walker Lake I spotted a herd of Bighorn Sheep and managed to snap a picture of them.

Now, I need to hookup the water softener, put up the palm tree and I'm done.

Busy Day Ahead

2011-10-24T08:02:00.001-07:00

Well. not really. Just the activity meeting this morning and then coming back to the coach and picking out what clothes I want to pack for tomorrow's flight back to Redmond. Yup, back to Redmond to get the pickup and bring it down here for the winter. No sense in letting it sit another 6 months. I plan on being back in the land of "fun and sun" sometime on Saturday.

Of course, I'll do some geocaching along the way so it will take me a little longer to get here.

Getting Into The Routine

2011-10-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

Lounging - enjoying the warm weather - Happy Hour around the pool - meeting old friends and making new ones.

Life is good

Awning Is Now Fixed

2011-10-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

After calling several RV mobile techs, and some saying they didn't want to mess with it and others not even calling back, Cheryl spotted a mobile tech in the park yesterday and had him stop by. $79 and the awning is now working (somewhat). We will have to replace the awning itself since it did get some stress damage when it came out unexpectedly, but for now it is working.
Last night Stephanie (Jim's daughter) brought her puppy over for us to babysit for 3 days while she is proctoring a volleyball tournament in Phoenix. He's a cute little guy and smart, but I'm not used to puppies anymore. Holly kinda looked at him and said WTF is that?
They played (as much as you can play in a motorhome) and at bedtime, I just put him on the bed with me. For a tiny toy poodle, he didn't take up much room and slept next to me all night so that was a plus. I think today, we will go to Jim and Toni's house and take him with us so that he can bein his own surroundings for the afternoon.

We've Landed In Apache Junction

2011-10-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

We left Yuma this morning around 9, stopped for fuel and headed on towards Apache Junction. We arrived around noon and it was 97 - no breeze and hot. It took awhile to get the coach set up for a long term stay. Cheryl and I kept coming back into the coach to get somewhat cool before going back out again. Tomorrow, I'll call the mobile rv repair so we can get the patio awning working. We need some shade. We have the patio table and umbrella and chairs set up, so we are almost ready. The last thing I'll do is put up the palm tree.

Pictures of our place tomorrow.

Our Annual Los Algodones, Mexico Trip

2011-10-15T09:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we did our annual tourist trip to Los Algodones. We had nothing special in mind when we went except to pursue my hobby of Geocaching. I knew of 2 geocaches in Los Algodones so loaded them into my GPS and off we went. I found both of them without any trouble and now can add a foreign country to my statistics. The 1st one we found was in Pueblo Viejo ( a local eatery) and after signing the logs and dipping several trackable items in the cache, we decided to come back for lunch since the food smelled so good.

Now, we went shopping. Of course we made a trip to the local pharmacia/liquor store/smoke shop and made a few purchases. As far as souveniers go, we didn't buy a thing. Cheryl found a turtle that she wanted to put out in front of the motorhome. But, I didn't feel like carrying it around and thru customs and across the border (80lbs) so we passed on it.

When we got back to the coach, I thought about doing some geocaching around this area, but the temp was 105 and no breeze, so opted to enjoy the air conditioned coach and have a short nap.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's adventure or lack thereof.

Landed In Yuma

2011-10-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

What a long day yesterday - 3 hours from Lake Havasu to Yuma. We'll be here for 4 days and then head to Apache Junction for the balance of our stay down south.

After we arrived and got set up, I tried to extend our patio awning. (Yes, it's the awning that we had trouble with when we left). It went out about 3 inches and that was it. After monkeying around with it, I was able to get it back (or close to) the closed position. Now, it's zip tied and I'll put a couple more on and hope that it makes it to Apache Junction so that we can get a mobile repairman out and get it working again.

I was going to find one here, but we want to go to Los Algodones, Mx today for some good authentic Mexican food and a little shopping. Of course, I'll take my GPS with me as there are a couple of geocaches in Los Algodones and if I find them, I'll be able to add a foreign country to my stasistics.

I'll post the results later. Time to go.

On The Road Again

2011-10-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

We left the Redmond Fairgrounds RV park on the 5th or October and went to Coachmasters in Bend to have a couple of things done to the motorhome before we headed south for the winter. One of the things was to check out our large awning. It needed a motor replacement and they informed us that it would take several days to get the motor in. We decided to wait until we got to Apache Junction before we would have it fixed since they told us it would be OK to travel. Well, we got 2 miles down the highway and a gust of wind caught it and it extended fully on the Bend Parkway. I managed to get the motorhome pulled over and out of the traffic. Coachmasters came and got it rolled back up, zip tied and back to their lot we went. They were able to overnight a replacement motor in and the new one was installed the next day. We spend one more night in their lot and left early on the 7th to start our journey south.

Our 1st night out was spent at the Bordertown RV resort. Nothing fancy about this place but just a real convenient overnight spot. Waking up the next morning, there was frost on the window of the car, so we knew we had to get out of there and quick, so buttoned everything up and headed to Terribles Lakeside RV Resort in Pahrump for the next 3 nights. (Now the weather is starting to get nicer).

After Pahrump, we were on our way to Yuma, but at the last minute, we decided to go to Lake Havasu for a couple of days before heading on. Now the weather is getting downright perfect. Yesterday it was in the triple digits and cools down to 70 at night. Perfect for me, but not for Cheryl. We'll leave today and make the long trek to Yuma (2 1/2 hours) and spend the next 4 days there.

Stay tuned for updates.

2011-09-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

Flying the 2 flags proudly. The 10th anniversary of 9/11/2001 is tomorrow.

Redmond Oregon

2011-09-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

We actually got back to Redmond around 5PM on Monday night. The traffic was so light on the holiday weekend, we made very good time. We parked the coach, but didn't hook up the water or sewer. Just electric so that we could take it to the car wash and get 4000 miles of road grime and dirt off it as well as 4000 miles of bug splatters. $20 worth of quarters and it is relatively clean. We're now parked for the month and enjoying the Oregon late summer and early fall weather.

Pictures of the journey will be loaded soon.

This Is A Catch-up Blog

2011-09-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

After leaving Spearfish, we headed towards Yellowstone for 3 days. On our way to Riverton, Wy - both Pete's and my motorhome overheated. Mine wasn't as bad as Pete's. His fuel actually shut off so there wouldn't be any motor damage. He stopped in Casper while we went on to Riverton. 3 hours later, they showed up and the problem was the rear radiator was plugged with road debris and wouldn't cool. So, before we left for West Yellowstone, we stopped at a car wash and $21 later, we had a clean radiator and was cooling just fine.

The resort we stayed at was just outside the boundry of Yellowstone, so it was easy to get into the park whenever we wanted. As saw Buffalo and Elk, bug never did see Moose or Bear while we were there. Naturally, we visited Old Faithful and toured the Old Faithful Inn. I can remember being there when I was just a wee lad and it was great to see it with a different outlook.

Since we were in the park, I just had to do some geocaching and pick up another state in my geocaching experience.

West Yellowstone is a really neat little town. Most of the building are rustic or a "log cabin" look. Many cute little pokey shops to go in. Of course, more t shirts and sweatshirts for me, so will have to weed out some that were in the coach when we get back to Redmond.

I've got many pictures to post, but will hold off and create separate blog entries for the Black Hills and Yellowstone.

We left West Yellowstone this morning and are on our way back to Oregon and will be "home" on Tuesday. Tonight we are in Twin Falls, Idaho and tomorrow we will spend the night in Burns. That way, we can arrive in Redmond early enough in the day so that we can take this dirty filthy road grime and bug splattered motorhome to the car wash and get it cleaned before we check in at the RV park.

Stay tuned for pictures and updates.

Heading To Spearfish SD

2011-08-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

We're leaving this morning for a short drive up to Spearfish and will spend 2 days there touring Lead and Deadwood. It's not enough time but, we are running out of time and need to be back in Redmond on the 6th of September and still need to see Yellowstone (and that's even going to be cut short a couple of days).
Yesterday, Cheryl and I just poked around in the little "pokey places" in Hill City and then in Keystone. Just a relaxing day with nothing else going on. I've been waiting to see the deer in the meadow in front of the motorhome, but they have been elusive and haven't come out during the day.
After a solid 2 months of wearing shorts, today will have to be a "Long Pants" day. The weather has turned a mite cool, but only for the day and back warm again tomorrow.
I've got a lot of pictures to post, but will put all of them in a separate blog entry later.
Later-------------

Mount Rushmore

2011-08-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

We visited Mount Rushmore this morning to see it in the morning light. What an impressive sight. So much has changed since I was last here 55+ years ago. The National Park Service has done a remarkable job on preserving and improving it.

The 1st picture was taken this morning.

The 2nd picture was taken after the evening lighting ceremony.

The last picture was taken by a friend of ours using his phone. I'll explain. They invited all veterans to come down to the stage for the lowering of the flag ceremony. Then after the ceremony was over, the Ranger asked those of us who served during the Vietnam era to step forward since we were despised and looked down upon at that time. The applause and a standing ovation from the crowd choked both Cheryl and I up. 47 years and finally the appreciation was shown. As we walked back up the steps we actually had people ask to shake our hands.

I'll post more of the pictures of our day tomorrow. This blog deserved it's own space.

Hill City South Dakota

2011-08-26T05:59:00.000-07:00

This was a short days drive. Only 65 miles from Wall to here. We're parked at the Rafter J RV Resort for the next 4 days. After getting set up, we wandered around a bit and found a quilt shop for Cheryl and Debbie. Right next to it was a small winery and just had to go in and do a little tasting and buying. Red Ass Rhubarb wine. Now, I'm not a wine drinker, but I did like this one. We then went out in search of wildlife and found some and I'm sure we'll see more while in the Black Hills and then Yellowstone. Not much else to post right now, but will be off to see Mount Rushmore later.

South Dakota Badlands

2011-08-25T06:32:00.001-07:00

We took a drive thru the South Dakota Badlands yesterday. What an amazing area. One side of the road could be prairie and the other side towering rock formations or deep canyons. It's hard to describe, but on most of the rocks and canyons as you get close to them, look like they are covered in clay. If you have ever seen a birdsnest that is made out of clay, that is what they look like up close. The wildlife was abundant. We saw a herd of wild buffalo out in the distance and hoped they would come closer. As we drove along the road, we kept seeing more and more and finally, they were right off the road. The herd in the Badlands is estimated around 800 strong.

The little prairie dogs were fun to watch as they scampered around and issued their warning chirps when you got too close. As we exited the park on the south end and headed back to the interstate, we came across a little store that had hundreds of the little critters around. Unsalted peanuts were their favorite food and for 50 cents, you could buy a bag and walk out into their little colony and hand feed them. Funny little things.

Our last stop before heading back to Wall, was to an abandoned Minute Man rocket silo from the Cold War Era. It's decomissioned now, but under the protection of the National Park Service. We were'nt able to get the underground tour, but could look down thru the glass cover and see the missle replica. I always thought the command center for the missle was where the missle was, but it is several miles away. According to the information that was given to us, even though these are decomissioned, there are still hundreds that are active throughout the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas,Wyoming and New Mexico.

Off today to the Black Hills for 4 days (give or take).

Wall South Dakota

2011-08-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

We're spending 2 days in Wall, South Dakota. Why you ask??? Well, one day was spent touring Wall Drug. What an amazing and eclectic place this is. It was started during the depression by offering travellers free ice water and has grown from there to one of the top tourist attractions. You could spend a couple of days just looking at the historical pictures that are on display. What a fun place. Tomorrow, we're going out into the Badlands National Park and see some of the scenic rock formations and will also tour an abandoned missle silo from the Cold War era. The underground tour is already booked, but we can do the above ground tour on our own.

More to come - stay tuned.

On The Road Monday

2011-08-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

We didn't get very far on Monday. We only made it to Al's Oasis just past Chamberlain, SD. But then, that was the plan for a short days drive on the back roads of SD. Tuesday, we had another short drive to Wall, SD. If you go thru South Dakota on I90, it's almost a must that you have to stop at Wall Drug. It's an institution.

Wall Drug was started during the depression offering ice water to travelers and the tradition continues today. There are 26 different shops and restuarants in the "Drug Store Complex". We spent most of the day just wandering around and looking at the souveniers. We did go to the restuarant and have lunch. Wonderful food and plenty of it. Cheryl and I rode the Jackalope but, I had one helluva time trying to get her down. The hips don't work like they used to.

Tomorrow off to the Badlands National Park and a deactivated missle silo from the cold war era.

Soo City and The Class Reunion

2011-08-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

The time went by way way too fast. We arrived in Sioux City (well actually North Sioux City, SD) on Wednesday afternoon and after getting the coaches set up, we drove back to Sioux City and went to Miles Inn for a couple of "Charlie Boys" and a frosted schooner of Coors Light. Keith and Caroline came and joined us and we visited for a bit before we took Pete and Debbie on a little sight seeing tour of the Morningside area before heading back to the RV Park.

Thursday, Pete and I did some serious geocaching. I found a string of 105 caches and we tried for all of them. Only managed 102 of them before calling it quits and back to the coaches.

Friday started the reunion activites with a get together at a restuarant/lounge just outside Sioux City and on Saturday we had an impromptu lunch get together and then the dinner Saturday night. Sunday was a breakfast and everyone went their separate ways. Keith and Caroline and the kids wanted to get together Sunday evening for dinner, so it was off to the Pizza Ranch and a short visit before heading back and getting ready for a Monday departure. Way way to fast and not enough time for a good visit. I guess, it means we have to come back. We didn't even get a chance to see our friends from Arizona (Dutch and Tony).

On The Road To Sioux City Today

2011-08-17T05:44:00.001-07:00

We're leaving this morning for Sioux City for a 5 day stay. Visiting relatives and attending the 50th class reunion of East High School class of 1961. Unfortunately, the RV park that we would normally be staying at, is still under water from the Missouri flood waters, so the next closest is a KOA across the river in South Dakota.
Yesterday, we toured the Amana colonies, bought goodies and took Pete and Debbie sightseeing since they had never been there.
We had a great dinner at the Ox Yoke Inn (real German food) the night before. Wait until I get them to Sioux City and a culinary delight at Miles Inn.
More to come.

Colony Country RV Park

2011-08-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

We're at the Colony Country RV park in North Liberty, Iowa and will be here for a couple of days before moving on. Tomorrow, we will take Pete and Debbie to Kalona to see the Amish community and then to the Amana Colonies for some shopping and good German food.
As an added plus to our stay here, one of our very best friends lives right across the road from the park. We surprised her this evening after dinner and spent 4 hours reminiscing and catching up on all the news. Pictures tomorrow.

Last Day Of The Rally

2011-08-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

It's just about over. I have absolutely nothing scheduled for today. I'm going to kick back, relax and maybe have a cold drink or two and just enjoy the exhibits and tour the "show coaches" and see what I want to trade ours for. Just kidding!!!!!!!!!!! No new motorhome for us. We'll just have to make do with this old ratty one of ours.
We now have our stabilizing jacks fixed so life is good. HWH came to the coach yesterday and installed a new shuttle valve and now everything works fine.
We'll leave here tomorrow morning (not early) and start working our way to Sioux City for my 50th class reunion next weekend.

Circus in Baraboo Wisconsin

2011-08-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, not really a circus, but the old winter headquarters of the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus. Many of the old buildings have been preserved in the original state and are open to the public. The railroad built a spur into Baraboo and all of the railroad cars were stored here during the winter. Now, there are only a few cars left (Most were scrapped years ago). The museum is restoring and preserving the circus wagons from circus' from all over the world. I took so many pictures that I will edit this post and post more when I can download them from the camera.

We spent the entire day just roaming the grounds and strolling down "Memory Lane".

The next day, we headed off to Madison Wisconsin for the FMCA Rally. We arrived on the grounds of the Alliant Energy Center around noon, set up the coach and watched the parade of motorhomes arriving on the grounds. They are esimating around 4500 to 5000 motorhomes to be here when the rally starts on Wednesday.

Yesterday, we had a new experience. We went to the nearest WalMart to get a few groceries. This store was built on a parking lot. Parking is on the ground level, and you take an escalator up to the store. Wierd.

Today, starts my meetings and they will be all day long for the next 2 days. Then I'm free to enjoy the rest of the rally.

Arrived At The Wisconsin Dells

2011-08-06T04:51:00.000-07:00

It was only a 2 hour drive from our previous stop, so we arrived early enough yesterday to do a little sightseeing. When we checked in at the RV park, we were given a 2 for 1 card that was good at most of the attractions in the area, so we decided to put it to good use. Our 1st (and only) stop for the day was to take a 2 hour scenic boat ride on the Upper Dells of the Wisconsin River. I had done this with my parents when I was 11 or 12 years old (as near as I can figure) and was fun to do it again. Then it was back to the motorhome and potty the puppies and off again to a dinner at Crabby's which is a pirate themed seafood buffet. Stay tuned to this channel tomorrow to see what we can find to do today.

Duluth and Beyond

2011-08-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

We could have spent more time in Duluth, but we needed to move on and get closer to Madison, Wi, but not at the RV park. It seemed like the ore trains came thru about every 3o minutes and we were only 50 yards from the crossing. The blowing whistles were loud and annoying.

We arrived early in the day and went down to the waterfront and discovered that we could take a harbor cruise and out onto Lake Superior so we signed up for it and found that it was their Pizza cruise. Unlimited pizza and salad while cruising.

On our way back to the harbor we passed under the bridge and watched it raise so we could pass. Following us in was a Great Lakes Freighter loaded with cement and it looked like he would run right up our tailpipes. Pete and I managed to snag a couple of geocaches while there when we toured the nautical museum. If Duluth weren't so far away from home, it's a place where I could spend more time.

Left the next morning for Stoney Creek RV Park is Osseo, WI. Even a blind squirrel can get a nut once in awhile. This is not a park, it's a resort. Beautiful grounds, miniature golf course, skate park and a small water park for the youngsters.

We will leave in the morning for the Wisconsin Dells and spend the next 2 nights there before heading into Madison, Wi for the FMCA Rally.

Keep tuned.

Leaving Today For Duluth

2011-08-03T05:15:00.000-07:00

We spent the last 2 days in Bemidji and met the nicest young couple that are the owners of the KOA. Normally, we try to bypass KOAs but this one was very convenient. They even trimmed tree branches so that our slides wouldn't rub the trees. Not many places will do that.
Yesterday, we went to Itasca State Park to show Pete and Debbie the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Normally you can walk across the rocks from one side of the river to the other and never get your feet wet, but with all the rains and snowmelt in the higher elevations, the water level is extremely high, so I opted to walk across the log from one side to the other instead of the rocks. At my age, I didn't want to make a fool of myself and fall into the water. We did a bit of souvenier shopping and generally relaxed. We also toured the Bemidji Woolen Mills. The young man that gave us the tour gave us a lot of information on the different wool plaids and how some of them are registered and in order to make that particular plaid, they need permission. After the tour, we met the owner of the mill and he gave us a lot more information. Of course, Pete and I did manage to do several geocaches while in the area.

Now In Bemidji Minnesota

2011-08-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

We left Jamestown and moved north to Minnewaukan and spent 2 days at the Country RV park. After we arrived we went for a short drive into town and discovered it was their summer festival so watched the parade (color guard/3 fire trucks/2 4 wheelers and a semi. Visited with the locals for a bit and then had a cold one at the Dakotah Spirit bar. The next day, we drove the tow car up to Munich to see Buster and spent the day with him. He told us about an Icelandic Festival in Mountain, ND so went and took a gander there. All in all, we had a nice visit with our son.

The next day we left and headed to Bemidji, Minnesota and after getting settled, we had to drive into town and see Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox. Today we will drive around Lake Itasca and walk across the Mississippi river.

Good News - Not So Good News

2011-07-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

Tonite we're parked in Jamestown, Nd at a funky little RV Park. The good news, is that this morning when I started the coach, the air pressure gauge was working and seemed to work all the way here. The jury is still out on that. When we arrived, and lowered the jacks and extended the slides, we noticed a puddle of hydraulic oil under the pump and solenoids. I called Coachnet right away and they found a tech that thought he could help us. After a few trial and errors, we managed to get the jacks in a safe travel position. The slides were a different story. He called HWH (the slide manufacturer) and finally got a tech to call us back. In just a matter of a few minutes, he was able to bypass the shuttle valve and now the slides will work, but we can't use the jacks until we get to the FMCA rally in Madison, Wi and get a new shuttle valve installed. The perils of motorhoming.

But, on the bright side, we got the laundry done, the Honda washed and waxed and went and saw the worlds largest Buffalo. The live buffalo herd was down in the ravines in the trees keeping cool and didn't venture out.

Tomorrow, we will head towards Munich, ND to see Buster. Trying to find an RV park or campground was virtually impossible. We will be staying out in the country around Misawaukeen(sp) The have 9 spots on their farm place with full hookups. We'll still be an hour plus from Buster, but that's what the little car is for.

More later

Bismarck, ND

2011-07-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

We pretty much had an uneventful journey across Montana. After leaving Osburn, our next stop was in Deer Lodge, Mt for one night. Other than being rather close to the highway, the park was OK. Looking at the map and where we wanted to wind up the next night, we had a long day of driving to Miles City for the next night. We stopped for the night in a fairly new park and managed to sink down in the uncompacted gravel and never did get the coach level. As we approached Bismarck I noticed that the air pressure gauge for the front air dropped to zero. Not a good sign but the warning buzzer didn't come on so continued on to the KOA campground. (Did I mention that I had KOAs). We're only going as far as Jamestown today so that the laundry can get caught up. If a problem persists we may spend several days trying to get it fixed. If it's just a faulty gauge, we'll continue on and monitor it along the way. Here's hoping.

Osburn Montana

2011-07-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

We spent 2 days in Osburn/Kellogg/Wallace Montana. The little RV park was most accomodating so we could take a guided mine tour this morning. In Kellogg, we rode the Silver Mountain Gondola to the top of the ski area and had lunch. The trip takes 25 minutes and is the longest gondola in the US. The history around this area is rich in mining history. We're now in Deer Lodge Montana for the night. Tomorrow we'll try and get an early start in hopes of making it to Miles City. It's either stopping early in Billings or making the long push to Miles City. I guess we're going to just play it by ear and see where we wind up.

Day One Of The Madison Trip

2011-07-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

We're parked in Osburn, Idaho at a funky little campground/RV park. I managed to snag one of the 2 spaces that is clear enough for satellite reception. Whew!!!!!!!!!! We'll be here for a couple of days so that we can explore the surrounding area and take a couple mine tours. Pictures tomorrow.

Prosser Day 2 & 3

2011-07-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

Not much doing in the way of club activities so Pete and I went geocaching yesterday and explored Prosser. What a neat little community. We managed to find 9 in a short while. For our evening dinner, we carpooled to Grandview for a 5 Star dinner at Dykstra's House. Wonderful food to say the least. Today, we took the ladies to Chukar Cherries for a bit of shopping and then showed them around the town. After lunch, we went to Winery Row and did some tastings and of course a couple of purchases as well. Full bellies + warm weather = a sleepy afternoon.

Winery Tour

2011-07-22T07:22:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, our group toured the Columbia Crest Winery (about 25 miles from Prosser). 9 acres of underground wine cellars and over 50,000 barrels of both white and red wines are stored there. Quite an experience to see the barrels stacked rows, upon rows. They are gearing up for this year's grape harvest that will be later this year, due to the cooler weather. The time limit for picking the grapes on 12,000 acres is usually only about 30 days. The winery employs a staff of 165 year round, but during the harvest, the employee count triples. This winery is only one of around 85 that are in the area.
I'm not a wine drinker, but did manage to taste several and actually bought some to take with us on our adventure to the midwest.
Updates to follow:

Prosser Washington

2011-07-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Wine Country RV Park in Prosser, Washington. Talk about a tough drive. 101 miles and most of it on the freeway. As we pulled in to register, we noticed that the 2 coaches ahead of us were part of our group and as we were waiting in line, the next 2 that arrived were also part of our group. We have 16 coaches at this rally. Tomorrow, we will get a guided tour at one of the many wineries complete with a lunch and of course a little tasting. More to follow tomorrow.

I Won!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-07-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton and I actually came out with winnings. YES!!!!!!!!!!!
On the way, we stopped in Hermiston to get fuel and visited a geocache travel bug hotel. I dropped off 4 travellers and picked up 4 more to move along. The casino/hotel is undergoing a major expansion. I guess the gambling must be good. We did spend entirely too long there and it was dark when we left for the 65 mile drive back to Ione. No deer along the roads, but the owls were flying everywhere.
Today, I'll head out and pick up the 5 geocaches that are in the Ione area. After that ------------

Ione Oregon

2011-07-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

As you drive into this little burg - the welcome sign says "Growing With Pride". Since we were last here 2 years ago, there hasn't been much growth. The only thing new is their "RV" park. It has 8 spaces and I don't see how you could comfortably park more than 4 in it. $40 per night to sit on a gravel corner lot. No office - you have to call the phone number listed and if someone answers and feels like coming into town, you can stay there. There is water and sewer along with 30 and 20 amp electric. No - we are not staying there. We're across the street at Chery's brother's place and are running our electric into his shop.
We're leaving this morning to take her brother to Pendleton to the casino. It's his 1st trip out since hip replacement surgery 2 months ago.
I always say the name of this town as I-One - and hope to be able to say later today I-Won.
I know, that's kinda sick. Later

Parked At Heceta Beach In Florence, Oregon

2011-07-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

This is our last day here. For the most part, the weather has been pretty good. We had the usual mix of Fog - Wind - Rain and Sunshine. Other than taking a little sidetrip down to Coos Bay, we've stayed around the park. Cheryl took her sewing maching to the activity room and worked on another quilt. I managed to pick up most of the geocaches around this area without venturing out into the forest or off the beaten path. Tonight, we will meet friends from Veneta (Anne and Maury) who we met in Arizona and head to the casino for Double Turf and Surf at the buffet. I don't do steak, but will manage to eat my share of shrimp, scallops and of course the normal roast turkey.
Tomorrow, we will leave early and head to Ione, Oregon and spend several days with Cheryl's brother and his wife before heading to our last FMCA Rally of the year with the Rim Rock Roamers and then we will head east.

Still At Coachmasters

2011-07-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

The coach was finished on Friday afternoon. After looking at the crazies out on the road, we opted to spend the weekend in the lot. (Unpaid Security). But, I got the coach washed this morning and will finish the exterior cleaning tomorrow. To top it off, we have a perfect view of the fireworks display that Bend puts on the 4th. Tuesday, we'll head back to Redmond and visit Les Schwab tires and bite the bullet and put on 6 new tires. There is plenty of tread wear left, but looking at the date code on the tires, it's time to replace them. Then it's off to the Oregon coast for a couple of weeks before we head to Prosser, Wa and visit Washington's wine country. Free samples and wine tasting tours.

Time For An Update

2011-06-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

Right now, we are sitting in Coachmasters RV Repair Lot. Exciting isn't it??? Our time in Central Oregon has come to an end. As soon as we get the oil changed and a couple other little things done, we will be venturing to the Oregon coast for several weeks.
Since arriving in Redmond the end of April, we've attended a Rim Rock Roamers FMCA rally in Canyonville, Or and the Northwest FMCA rally in Albany, Or. The balance of the time we have been hanging out at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo RV park in Redmond. The 2 months we were there went extremely fast and didn't seem like it was time to go.
After we leave the Oregon Coast, we will head to Prosser, Wa for another RV rally with our club. After that, we will venture towards the midwest with another couple from our club to attend the National FMCA Rally in Madison, Wi. The following weekend is my 50th class reunion in Sioux City, Ia. We had planned on spending a month or so there and then head south. But, due to the flood on the Missouri River (the rv park is under 5' of water) we have changed our plans and will head back to Oregon via the Black Hills and Yellowstone with an arrival back at the Fairgrounds RV park on the 6th of September and spend another month there before we head back to Apache Junction, Az for the winter.
The blog will be updated a lot more frequently as we start our trek East. Stay tuned

Sitting in Loigandale Nevada

2011-04-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

We left Bullhead City, Az on Monday and drove to Logandale,Nv to spend several days with our friends John and Sue. Yesterday they gave us a guided tour of Fire of the Sun state park and Lake Mead. Today, we went with them to one of their friends and partook in a wine bottling party. We bottled 3 different types of wine and a total of 45 gallons. We will be bringing some back to Oregon with us. Tomorrow, we will start our journey north and should be back in Redmond either Sunday or Monday. Below are several pictures from Fire of the Sun

The Winnebago Has Wandered

2011-04-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

We left our winter home in Apache Junction this morning and drove the motorhome for the 1st time since 11/1/2010. It seemed strange to be driving down the road. Our 1st stop on our trip back to Central Oregon is in Bullhead City, Arizona. We plan on spending the weekend here and then on Monday leave for Mesquite, Nevada. It's interesting to see the names of the different washes and stream beds. One that tickles me everytime I see it is "Rattlesnake Wash". I know there are car washes and truck washes. But who wants to wash their rattlesnake. The next time we are in that area, I'll have to stop for a photo-op. It was sad leaving this morning. Many of our new friends are still there until the end of the month. I think that next year, we will stay until the end of April before we start our trek north. Since we are right across the river from Laughlin, I can see a casino night tonight and maybe even again tomorrow. More to come as we move north.

February Update

2011-02-05T10:04:00.000-08:00

No, the coach hasn't moved - still at Meridian Rv Resort. I've been doing physical therapy for the past month. 3 days each week. I think that the back and legs are finally on the road to recovery. At least, I can drive the car without too much discomfort.

We've just been enjoying the RV park and the activities that they offer. And, I've been doing some geocaching

Cheryl's Bingo Update

2010-11-14T07:05:00.000-08:00

Of all things, she actually won the 1st game last night. $50. But,Mesa Spirit announced that starting next week, only "residents" can play. Guests are not allowed. It's good that she won last night since she can't play there anymore.

Weekly Happenings

2010-11-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

The weather turned a little cooler, but it's still better than the cold and drizzle at home. The Wednesday potlucks are a hit. There were around 100 attending this last week and the Friday happy hour at the pool are fun. This week we had 50 ane 60s music and many different types of finger foods. This morning was the 1st Saturday breakfast of the year. And, we are meeting so many new friends as well as seeing friends from the past couple of years.
I managed to do a little geocaching this week. Not as much as I would have liked, but was able to get out and find a few. Today, Cheryl, Keith and Caroline went with me and I tried to show Keith and Caroline what geocaching was all about. A couple of the caches involved nice walks out in the desert instead of wandering around the Apache Junction area. None of us were really equipped for the desert, but no stinging nasty things appeared. So far so good with the desert wandering. Cheryl is back at Mesa Spirit tonight attempting to win at BINGO. You notice, I said attempting. So far, she hasn't had much luck the past couple of years and I doubt if this year is much better.

I'm Not Ready

2010-11-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

I wanted to enjoy the extreme warmth, but the cooler winter weather is on the way. After a week of days in the 90s, now we're looking at highs in the low to mid 70s. What's up with that??? Today, I get kicked out of the coach. Cheryl is going to do a thorough cleaning -so the dogs and I will be put out in the cold.
So far, we're real happy with our choice of parks for the winter. Friendly people and activities that appeal to us. Yesterday we went to the "ice cream social" and they even had the sugar free ice cream that some of us have to eat.
I've done a little geocaching, but hope to do some today while I'm "homeless".
As soon as I have time (LOL) I'll get some pictures of the park put on the blog.

Pizza Time

2010-11-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

Last night we picked up Dutch and Tony Ball (friends from Sioux City) and we went out to dinner at Casanova Brothers Pizza. When we walked in Luigi (the counterman) looked over and said Bruce - Cheryl - Tony and where is Dutch. Now, it's been 7 months since we were there last and he remembered our names. Either we went there too much or he has a great memory. And of course, the pizza was fantastic.
I haven't figured out what to do today since we did find a patio set (table - 4 chairs and an umbrella) so we do have manufactured shade now. Maybe, it's just time to sit back and enjoy the day.

And It's Starting

2010-11-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

My sister and her husband showed up yesterday afternoon and I got a call from our friends from Sioux City and they will be coming in today for a couple of days. They bought a house in Mesa, but they have their motorhome and need a place to park it for a couple of days until they get their house set up. We stopped by our old park a couple of days ago and some of our winter friends are already there. OLD HOME WEEK.
I still haven't figured out the manufactured shade problem yet, so will head to Camping World today and see what they have.
Last night we went to the first function here. It was a crock pot pot luck and met a lot of really friendly people. So far -good.

All Set Up (Sort Of)

2010-11-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Other than "manufactured shade", we're set for the winter. The palm tree is up, the rope lights are out as well as the solar lights. Tonight is the 1st function of the park. It's a crock pot - pot luck. Beer will be furnished by the park so if the food ain't great, the drinks will be. We've only been here a couple of days, but we've met more people in these few days than we ever did at Mesa Spirit. From the manager on down to the guests, everyone greets you when they walk by.

I'll report on the pot luck tomorrow. Now, it's time to take the car and see if we can find a patio table and umbrella so we can have a bit of shade during the heat of the day.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Parked For The Winter

2010-11-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

The coach may be parked, but I haven't been in too much of a "toot" to get everything set up. I did manage to get the windows washed and the sunscreens put on as well as the tire covers. That's about as far as I have gone with the winter setup. We had a minor change of plans. We didn't inquire and the park didn't say, but we're not allowed to put up dining canopies due to abuse of the privelege several years ago. Now, we're looking at finding a cheap table and chairs that has an umbrella so we can manufacture some afternoon shade.
We did go back to Mesa Spirit today to pick up our bikes that we left there in the spring. They survived the micro-burst and mini tornado that went thru the park last month. I just need to pump up the tires. I'll put that on the "to do" list for later on in the week. The rope light palmtree is still in the box. Maybe I'll save that for next week. I don't want to get everything done all at once. I need to space things out some.

That's the latest update -stay tuned for more.

Leaving Yuma Today

2010-11-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

We spent the last 5 days in Yuma relaxing and enjoying the warm and sunny weather. While here, we did a little geocaching as well as making the obligatory trip over the border to Los Algodones, Mexico. We didn't do a lot of shopping, but always enjoy the sights and sounds of the little "tourist town" across the border. We'll leave this morning and go to Apache Junction, Az - where we will spend the duration of the winter. This will be our 1st time at this RV Park, so we don't know exactly what to expect. We are looking forward to seeing many of our old friends and Rim Rock Roamers that have made the trip south and look forward to meeting and making new friends as well. I do need to make a trip to the store for a better type of sunscreen.

Stay tuned for further updates.

California Has A Monopoly

2010-10-28T07:26:00.003-07:00

I do believe that California has a monopoly on the worst roads in the nation. We left Pahrump and headed towards Yuma, Az. US95 in California is probably on the top 10 list of worst roads to travel. Not only is it narrow, full of dips (California doesn't believe in culverts, so they just have ups and downs) it was falling apart . We had to stop for road construction ( I know it's hard to believe that they were actually working on it) and I stepped out of the motorhome and you could actually pick up chunks of asphalt 6 ianches square from the road.

But now on the brighter news. We're in Yuma, Arizona for the next 5 days or so. We'll go to Algodones, Mexico a couple of times for the food, and of course bargain shopping. Other than that, we'll just sit back and play it by ear. The long pants have been put in the laundry hamper and the short pants are back out.

We haven't noticed any more "signs" in the coach, so we think that our hitchhiker was a single, but we're not letting our guard down. Peppermint oil on cotton balls in all the cupboards and drawers. The coach smells like Christmas Candy.

More later.

On Our Rumps In Pahrump

2010-10-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

We're spending 3 days in Pahrump, Nv visiting with friends from Redmond and doing a little geocaching while here. We've been to this park before and it really is quite nice. Of course, there is a casino on site, so the Misses is quite happy about it.
Somewhere along the way, we picked up a little hitchhiker and we were'nt very enthused about him tagging along, so we bought sticky mouse traps as well as several of the "live trap" ones too. I didn't much care whether he was caught alive or dead, just caught. They have been out for several days now and this morning, there was the little furry creature squeaking on one of the sticky traps. Now, if he didn't have a friend traveling with him, then we are mouse free. Now, we need to get Bounce dryer sheets and place them in all the drawers, cupboards and bays. I guess the little suckers don't like the smell. We'll do anything to keep them from invading us again.
Tomorrow, we're off towards Yuma. How far we'll get - who knows. Stay tuned.

Death Valley

2010-10-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

Our second day in Beatty was mainly so we could take the Honda and the "babies" and head into Death Valley for the day. We started our day with a stop in Rhyolite, Az. Supossedly, it is the most photographed ghost town in Az. From there we went on to Furnace Creek, Ca. It's not at all what we expected. It was a regular resort. But, a 4 slice pack of bologna was $5.25 and a gallon of Diesel was $4.88 We ventured on to Badwater, which is the lowest point in the US and is 282 Feet below sea level. I'm glad the dam holding the ocean back didn't break. On our way back, we took a side trip though Artists Drive. It's really a must see and pictures don't do it words. From there back through Furnace Creek and up to Stovepipe Wells and back to Beatty. There is much more to see and we will make another stop on our way back north in the spring.

A Fairly Exciting Day

2010-10-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

The travel wasn't bad. We only drove from Hawthorne, Nv to Beatty, Nv and the distance traveled was 93 miles. It's too bad Oregon and California can't take highway maintenance like Nevada does. Highway 95 is a wonderful 2 lane highway and for the most part smooth as glass. The only exciting part of the trip came 20 miles from Beatty. It seemed that the driver needed to make a pit stop and the co-pilot found a wide spot off the highway. While the driver was pitting, the co-pilot ventured out to have a quick smoke. For once, she actually looked down before she stepped to far from the coach. Can you say "sidewinder rattlesnake" about 5 feet from her feet? Yep, when I went out, there it was sidewinder slithering away. Those little things move really fast. We watched it until it crawled up into some scrub brush. We are spending tonight and probably tomorrow in Beatty at the www.beattyrvpark.com . We went out and did a couple of geocaches before dinner and tomorrow we will take the Honda and make a nice little side trip into Death Valley and visit Furnace Creek, Rhyolite, Stovepipe Wells and Scotty's Castle.
Stay tuned for further adventures.

It's Taking Forever

2010-10-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

We left Fallon this morning and headed down 95 towards Beatty (which was to be our stop for the night. Didn't make it. We stopped in Hawthorne, Nv to do a little geocaching and as we finished up, we looked at the sky and say the ominous rain clouds so we scurried back to motorhome and headed over to the Whiskey Flats RV park and are staying the night. Tomorrow we will venture on down to Beatty. I don't know how you can beat $21 per night for a nice park with full hookups as well as cable TV. www.whiskeyflats.net is their webpace.

Out of California and into Nevada

2010-10-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

We left Corning, Ca this morning enroute to Fallon, Nv. After leaving the armpit of Northern, Ca (Corning - Orland - Chico) we meandered thru the countryside on county roads and headed towards Grass Valley, Ca. Although the road was narrow, twisty and ups and downs, it was a beautiful drive until the time we merged onto I80. What a piece of garbage that highway is. It looks like there are earthquake fault lines running down the middle of the highway and rutty to boot. Driving it was a handful. Nevada was a welcome sight as the road was wonderful - except for 18 miles of road construction and traffic running on a narrow single lane with the cones on one side and a Jersey barrier on the other side. We are spending the night in Fallon, Nv at the Fallon RV Park. Not a place for long term stays, but adequate for overnighters. Depending on the thunderstorm activity tomorrow, we may only go as far as Hawthorne or on to Beatty. Stay tuned.

Slightly Longer Drive

2010-10-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

We left Canyonville around 9:30 in the morning and drove I5 through Oregon and into California arriving at the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning around 3. Have I ever mentioned just how much I hate driving over the Siskiyou summit????? Long pulls uphill at 35 mph and then using the exhaust brake coming down at 55 mph.
Now, this RV park is something to behold. Self service check in and parking. Full hookups at $25 per night. Use your credit card and the little machine prints out your receipt and you put it in a little holder by the end of your space. We may just stay here another day or so.
When we left this morning, it was long pants and sweatshirt weather and the furnace was running. Now, the Air conditioner is running and we're in shorts and sandals. 87 degrees and bright sunshine. We were planning on heading towards Reno in the morning, but the weather forcast for Reno is rain. Sunny beats rainy any day. Stay tuned for the latest.

Long Days Drive

2010-10-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

120 miles. WHEW!!!!!!!!! We left Florence this morning and drove to Canyonville, Oregon. It was a beautiful, but real twisty and turny drive along the Umpqua river. The fall colors were changing and with the bright sun shining on the river, it was gorgeous. We're spending the night and maybe tomorrow here before we head towards Susanville, Ca. I really don't want to drive down I5 again so we'll cut across and go towards Reno and then points south. Stay tuned.

On The Road (Finally)

2010-10-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

We left the Deschutes county RV park this morning and had a nice leisurely drive over the mountains as we headed to the coast for a couple of days. We stopped in Veneta Oregon and had lunch with a friend that we met last winter in Arizona. Anne came by herself since Maury was having an attack of OCD (they have tradesmen laying a new bamboo floor) and he had to supervise. We're spending a couple of days in Florence, Oregon at www.hecetabeachrv.com and then will head down the coast and visit other friends that we met last winter before continuing our journey south.
It's typical coast weather. Cool, damp and foggy. Cheryl likes it and I can do without it.

Out Of The Repair Shop

2010-10-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

We're finally out of Coachmaster's repair lot. We spent 3 weeks living in the motorhome while the rear end damage was being repaired. Twas a mite inconvenient, but we made the best of it. The coach looks good and after spending today and tomorrow at the Deschutes County fairgrounds RV park so we can catch up on the laundry and clean the inside of the coach, we will really start our "fulltimer" adventure. Where the 1st stop will be, we don't know yet and probably won't know until we stop for the night. Stay tuned.

Time For An Update

2010-08-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone???????? We've attended several club motorhome rallys this summer as well as the FMCA convention at the fairgrounds here. Our club staged 3 miles from the fairground so we could caravan in together. Unfortunately, when I stopped for traffic, the coach behind me didn't and did considerable damage to our coach.
When the rally ended, we took the coach to Coachmasters in Bend to see about repairs and it was temporarily fixed so we could use it until all the parts and pieces come in. During all this, we moved out of our home and rented our house out for the next year or so and now we are "fulltime" RVers. Our 1st trip was a long one. 4.5 miles to the RV park at the fairgrounds. We'll be staying here until the 14th and then head to Baker City, Or for a club rally and return back on the 20th. On the 21st, we take the coach back to Bend to the repair facility and will spend the next 2 1/2 - 3 weeks staying in the coach at night, but vacating during the day so the repairs can be made. Once everything is done, we'll start our journey south.

Florence Oregon RV Rally

2010-05-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

We spent 7 days in Florence, Oregon. The first 4 days were spent relaxing and preparing for the Rim Rock Roamers FMCA rally. Of course it rained. It was the Oregon coast afterall. We had 21 coaches attending and only 19 reserved spaces, so our first challenge was parking. We wound up doubling several of the smaller coaches on one spot and it all worked out well. We were co-hosts on this rally along with Pete and Debbie Ribble. Our job was to prepare meals for the attendees. No stove, oven, refrigerator or water was available to us in our meeting building, so we improvised with propane grills, turkey cookers, griddles and extension cords running to every available outlet. We set up 2 dining canopies to cook under and pulled it off. The activites we planned for everyone went out the window due to the rain, but everyone seemed to find ways to occupy their time. It was great to see many of our RV friends again and looking forward to the next rally we will attend.

Done Wandering (For Awhile Anyway)

2010-04-17T11:34:00.001-07:00

We arrived back in Redmond late Thursday after spending the past 5 months in the warmer climates of Arizona. We did take a little detour on the way home to Pahrump, Nevada. We had heard from several of our "motorhome buddies" about this park called Terribles Lakeside RV Resort and wanted to take a looksee. What a great surprise that turned out to be. A nice, lush 35 acre resort with a 7 acre lake stocked with fish. Fishing is free, but it's all catch and release. We spent a day listening to the ducks and geese and generally relaxing before the long journey north. The next day, we drove to Reno and spent the night and then drove back to Redmond the following day. The coach is pretty much unloaded now, but the inside is not cleaned out. Several pictures of the resort will be posted later, after I find the camera.

We will be home for the next several weeks before the coach starts wandering around again. Our first rally with the FMCA Rim Rock Roamers will be on the 21st of May, but we will head out early and spend 4 or 5 days at the beach before the rest of the group shows up.

Easter Pageant

2010-04-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

The LDS church in Mesa puts on a non-denominational Easter Pageant every year. They set up 10,000 folding chairs on the Temple grounds. The stage takes 1 month to erect and is 4 stories tall. There are over 450 cast members that start rehearsing 4 nights per week a month before Easter The program itself was absolutely AWESOME.

A Single Bypass

2010-03-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

No, not what you think. Last night a group of us went to the Heart Attack Grill for dinner. Upon arrival, you are put into a hospital gown, fitted with a wristband and the attending nurse fills in your chart. I had "flatliner fries" (cooked in pure lard) and a single bypass (a burger with 1/2 lb of meat and 3 types of cheese) and to drink, a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Nothing healthy about this place, but the food and atmosphere was "to die for". If, and I say if, you can eat the quadruple bypass, you are wheeled out of diner in a wheelchair. Healty - no / fun - yes.

Just A Catchup

2010-03-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

The coach still hasn't moved, but we did take the car and go to Jerome, Az last week. What a fun little town. Now, it's just a tourist attraction with cute little shops and eateries. Once is was a thriving mining town, then it was abandoned, next it was home to the hippies and artists (still quite a few living in the 60s and 70s) and now it's just a fun place to visit.

Survived Another Year

2010-03-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

Eight of us went to the Arizona Opry (http://www.azopry.com/) last night for my Birthday dinner. This is the second time this year that we have gone and ejnoyed this performance as much as the first. It's a family operated BRANSON like dinner show. The lead performer and music director (George Staerkel) married into the family and is terribly talented. In his earlier life, he was the lead singer for a group called The Tokens. He was best know for his lead vocals in the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight. He's not lost any range of vocals over the years. He also plays over 55 musical instruments. I'll have to give this show a thumbs up.

The Winnebago Hasn't Wandered

2010-03-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

The coach stayed in Mesa but we took the PT and went to Las Vegas for a 4 day NASCAR weekend. Friday's practice and qualifying was cold and windy and Saturday's Nationwide race was not only cold and windy, but we had rain and the race was delayed a couple of hours. But then on Sunday, the weather was perfect for short sleeves. Cheryl went to her first race on Saturday and wasn't that thrilled. She said it was OK, but doesn't care to go again.
Now, the gambling part of the trip wasn't profitable at all, but had a good time non the less.
Now, we're back in Mesa for the duration of the winter, except for a few side trips with the PT. The weather has finally started to warm up so it will be "pool" time in the afternoons.

Rain and Wind Times 3

2010-01-22T09:55:00.000-08:00

We have been inundated with rain and wind for the past week. And I mean RAIN and WIND. Yesterday we semi-survived the 60+ MPH winds and 3.54 inches of rain. The dining canopy bit the dust but everything else more or less survived. I have 2 of my wheel covers under the motorhome and as soon as it dries out, I will crawl underneath and retrieve them. The dining canopy was another story. During one extreme gust, it picked up and flew into the dog run. Twas a sight to see. Upon landing, it folded up like an accordian. The cover went into the trash today, and the metal framework went into a recycle bin.
There were several motorhomes that sank into the sand and are being towed out as I write this. Ours isn't one of them. I put pads under the jacks when we arrived and it helped. I will have to raise the jacks and reposition the pads, but that isn't a big deal. We had at least 4 tall palm trees that I know of that have toppled over. Thankfully, no RVs were damaged by them. Hopefully, the storm due late today and into tomorrow will be the last for awhile.
On the plus side, this area got their entire yearly rainfall in 3 days. There isn't any drought now.

Rim Rock Roamer Snowbird Potluck

2010-01-11T19:11:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of pictures of the 1st annual RimRock Roamer Snowbird winter gathering in Mesa Arizona. We had 7 coaches represented, but there were several that were just a little too far away to make it for lunch. The weather was superb and as usual the potluck was wonderful.

After the potluck, we toured Val Vista Village with Bob and Judy to see if it was somewhere we might want to winter next year. It's another "mega park" and although the price is right, we're just not sure if we want another large park or if we want something a little smaller. The beauty is that we don't have to decide right now.

New Years Day

2010-01-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

Another first today. New Years Day in a swimming pool. Now that's an interesting concept. It really wasn't a "Polar Bear" swim. The water was a cool 85 degrees, and the hot tub was a warm 102.

Last Post For 2009

2009-12-31T17:45:00.000-08:00

This has been a very memorable year. Cheryl retired on January 5th and on the 8th we left Oregon for an extended winter vacation in Arizona. We met a lot of new friends that showed up again this year. Upon returning home in April, we joined the local chapter of FMCA (Family Motorcoach Assocation) called the Rim Rock Roamers and went on 4 rallys with the group over the summer and again met new friends. In June, we took another extended trip, this time going back to Siouz City to see Keith and Caroline and their families. While there, we hooked up with Tony and Dutch Ball that we met here in Arizona and spent time with them also. That took up most of our summer.
In November, we left Oregon again for the warmer climates of the southwest and arrived in Mesa on the 1st of December for our winter stay and will be here until the 10th of April and then head towards home and do it all over again. We haven't done much exploring yet. We are waiting for Keith and Caroline to show up in February so we can show them the sights.
The more time we spend here, the better we like it. We have looked at several houses, but won't commit to anything until we decide what we want to do with the house in REdmond. We do have the winter to think about it, but we are leaning towards selling it and relocating to the southwest for the winter and then using the motorhome for summer travels to the "north" country. Time will tell.

Christmas In Mesa, Az

2009-12-25T17:36:00.000-08:00

What a nice and relaxing Christmas day in sunny Arizona. We both slept in and discovered that Santa made a visit during the night. The morning was spent opening a few gifts and enjoying a Mimosa or two on the patio. Our Christmas dinner was anything but traditional. It started out as a hamburger barbeque with Dutch and Tony Ball (friends from Sioux City that we met here last year) and it quickly evolved to a full blown potluck barbeque in the pavillion. We were joined byEd and Donna (from Ontario, Canada) Mike and Sharon (from Colorado) and Ken and Judy (from Ohio). Our dinner consisted of Bloody Mary Burgers, potato salad, baked beans, chips, all the condiments, and ice cream, blueberry pie and lemon merangue pie. Of course there were the usual libations before, during and after the meal. Although the temps weren't that warm (only in the mid 60s) the sun was warm and it was a wonderful way to meet old and new friends. Now, we have to decide what we want to do for a non-traditional New Years dinner.

We also got to see Toni and Jim via SKYPE. She flew back to Williamsburg, Va to spend Christmas with Jim before he deploys to an unknown location where there is a lot of sand. He knows, but can't tell anyone. All in all, it was a very nice day.

One More Week Until Christmas

2009-12-19T19:49:00.000-08:00

It's hard to get into the Holiday spirit when the sun is shining and everyone is in shorts and t shirts. We went into downtown Mesa last night and saw the LDS Temple Square light display. Wow, what an impressive sight. Over 750,000 lights. They start the middle of October placing the lights in the larger trees and the 1st of November, over 3000 volunteers show up and approximately 10,000 hours to get everything in place and lit up. These are just a few of the pictures of the displays. A lot of my nighttime pictures just didn't turn out well enough to post. They estimate that over 1,000,000 visitors tour the grounds each year. Concerts are free and are different every night. Tomorrow, we will go again and listen to the Holiday sounds from Tonga and Samoa.

Sunshine At Last (And No Wind)

2009-12-11T14:46:00.001-08:00

Finally, after a week of cooler than normal temperatures, the sun is back out and shining. It is now shorts and t shirt weather. At least for a couple of days and then the forecast is for a day of rain before the weather warms up again.
Believe me, I'm not complaining about wearing a sweatshirt outside when I look at the weather in Redmond and see the sub-zero weather and snow on the ground.
Tomorrow we will go out to Cardinal Stadium to look at new motorhomes. You notice, I said look and didn't say buy. LaMesa RV is going to have over 100 motorhomes on the lot and it will be fun to just look and drool over the new models.

Stormy Weather

2009-12-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Rocking and a rolling all night long. We just didn't have blustery winds, but we had gusts upwards or 50 MPH throughout the night. Today is just exceptionally cool, but the skies are clear and the winds moderate. I expected to see torn awnings this morning when I looked around the park, but all I saw were overturned bikes, and chairs and of course the patio mats were not where they were left yesterday. I did have to bungee the dining canopy down to the picnic table to keep it in place and did have to crawl under the coach to retrieve a tire cover but that was all. The weather is suppossed to start clearing today and tomorrow and get back up to the normal temperatures again. I'm ready!!!!!!!!

A Dreary Day In Arizona

2009-12-07T12:36:00.000-08:00

Rain, rain and more rain to come. It's not even close to short and t shirt weather (yet). Cool, breezy and rainy. That's been the norm for the better part of this last week, but next week looks more promising. But looking at the weather at the "sticks and bricks", this is downright pleasant.

Yesterday we went to Mesa Marketplace. It's billed as a swap meet - flea market. Really, it's all retail stores of every kind imaginable under 1 1/4 miles of cover. It's always fun to go and see what is there as it changes every week as new vendors come in and others leave.

It's hard to believe that it soon will be Christmas. Palm trees decorated and yard decorations in the sandy yards aren't quite the same as up "north". But, it will do for the forseeable future.

We did decorate the coach with a cute little tree that was made for us by good friends, so it is rather cheery.

The Winnebago Has Landed

2009-12-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

Cheryl and I were both getting a little antsy and wanting to be stationary so we called Mesa Spirit and asked if anyone was in our spot and the answer was no, so we told them to hold it and we would be arriving early. It felt good to be getting "home" again. We spend part of yesterday and today getting everything set up for the winter. Dining canopy, hammock, barbecue and cleaned the inside of the coach from top to bottom.

The dogs even remembered how to get to the dog run. I guess they were happy too and not have to be on a leash all the time when outside.

When we left last spring, we left our bicycles next door along with our large garbage can. The only thing we had to do was to wash the dirt and dust off and pump up the tires and now they are ready to go. There are several of our friends from last year that are already here and when checking in at the office, inquired about several others and they are due in prior to the 15th of the month. I can see the Mexican Train Domino games starting up. Tomorrow I will call Qwest and get hooked up on DSL and not have to fight the slow internet at the park.

We will spend the rest of this week relaxing before we take the little car and go exploring the area again. We may have seen it before, but we will see it again.

A Couple More Pictures From Los Algodones

2009-11-29T06:52:00.000-08:00

Los Algodones Mexico

2009-11-27T17:55:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful day. I learned who has the best gold prices, the best silver prices, the best dentists, the best optomotrists, who has the best prices on trinkets of all kinds, the best prices on pottery and who offered the best food. Moments after we crossed the border into Mexico, we were inudated with offers for dentistry, glasses and souveniers. We did learn that you don't pay the asking price but bargain with the sellers. We did purchase a few things, but not until we had pretty much toured the 4 block area, including alleys and back streets. We pretty much just smiled and said "no thank you" and tried not to be rude NorteAmericanos.

We had a wonderful lunch at Papalos and listened to a one man Mariachi band. Actually, he was pretty darn good. I tried to get a video, but it didn't come out too well, so it got trashcanned.

If there is one dentist in Los Alodones, there are 200. And the same for pharmacias and eye doctors. The lines in the pharmacies were long with a lot of Canadians and Americans with their bottles of prescription medicines to be refilled at bargain prices. We visited with one couple that had their eyes examined ($10) and went back in 2 hours and picked up their glasses for less than $100 each and that included designer frames.

When it was time to return to the US, we joined the long line and slowly snaked along until we got to the US Border. Our wait wasn't too bad, only 45 minutes. But during the height of the snowbird season, we were told the lines could be up to 3 hours before you get back to the states.

All in all, it was a fun day and we will go back the next time we are in the area.

Thanksgiving In Yuma

2009-11-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Yuma, Az on Tuesday with a new GPS unit guiding us along the way. Cheryl went to KMart in Lake Havasu and bought a Magellan to guide us along the way, but this one didn't reconginze where we were and told us that the RV park that was next door to us was 3.6 miles away. Needless to say, it was returned. Now, we have another Garmin that we bought at Staples. It's not named Ethel, this one is Sammy.

Yesterday, we took a little side trip to San Luis Colorado in Mexico. We kept hearing about all the Americans and Canadians that go there for dentisty or prescriptions. I coudn't figure out where they all were. We were the only "Anglos" there. Come to find out, it was the wrong town and nobody goes there due to the dangerous conditions. We should have gone to Algadones which is across the California border and 5 miles south to Andrade, Ca and walked across. We will do that tomorrow and see what it is all about.

On the drive south from Lake Havasu to Yuma, we noticed a lot of RV resorts along the Colorado River in and around Parkerr, Az. It looks like a real interesting place and we will put it on our "to do " list for next winter.

The RV park that we are in is close to the freeway for easy access. www.shagrilarv.com. Nice friendly people here, and they even brought us a Thanksgiving 'goodie" basket yesterday.

We will look for a nice buffet restuarant for Thanksgiving dinner later today and maybe explore the surrounding area or just relax and watch a little football and nap the afternoon away.

I haven't figured out how to place a photo is the appropriate spot, but the one above is from San Luis Colorado.

More to come.

Cross It Off The "To Do" List

2009-11-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

You can't go to Lake Havasu without seeing the London Bridge. Now, we've done it and we can cross it of the "to do" list. We did the whole tourist thing and perused the tacky little shops under and around the bridge. While it was interesting to see the bridge, there isn't any reason to go back and do it again. Lake Havasu City is a lot larger than I thought that it would be. It runs on for miles and miles, but then, they can't build any farther west and east is BLM land so it just runs along Hiway 95. We did take a spin across the lake on the Dreamcatcher to the Indian casino on the California side of the lake for dinner and of couse a couple of hours of slot entertainment. It was interesting to see the lights of Lake Havasu from the other side of the lake. Today is just going to be another "kick back" and relax day. We'll stay here tomorrow also and then on Tuesday start working our way to Yuma for a few days before venturing east towards Casa Grande and Tucson.

The "Ethel" Saga Continues

2009-11-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

She died a horrible death. Yesterday when we left Bakersfield, she announced rather proudly that she lost the satellite signal. We didn't think to much about it at the time due to the haze and smog but after 100 miles and no signal, we surmised that she died. Cheryl called Garmin on the cell while we were going down the road and they tried several things and suggested that when we had internet to call back and they would try a couple more things. After 45 minutes with the Garmin tech today, they agreed that she died and that for a proper burial that I would need to send her back and they would send me a new one. Unfortunately, we won't have an address for another 3 weeks, so until then - it's off to WalMart of Kmart or somewhere else and to purchase the most inexpensive one that I can find. After relying on the GPS, it's the pits to go back and read road signs and maps.
We were going to spend last night in Barstow, Ca, but after looking at the primitive and I mean primitive RV facilities, we opted to keep going. We actulally wound up in Laughlin, Nv at the Riverside Casino Rv Park. It worked for one night, but I don't see how people can spend the entire winter there. We did Casino a bit of course.
Today we took the scenic (tongue in cheek) drive to Lake Havasu, AZ and found a nice and clean park. www.havasufallsrvresort.com It's rather new and not a lot of amenities, but super nice people and nice level sites. We'll be here for 4 days awaiting the repair of our Motosat satellite system. They will do it on site either late Sunday or Monday morning. We spent most of the day relaxing in the sun and enjoying the warm weather. Tomorrow, we will unhook the little car and go exploring and see what is in the area.

Oranges, oranges and more oranges

2009-11-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

The RV park is the middle of a 500 acre orange grove. There are 200 spaces for RVs. Although the oranges aren't quite ready to pick yet, they are wonderful and sweet. The park encourages the "guests" to pick a grocery sack full during their stay. We will be in Bakersfield another day before we head towards Barstow and Lake Havasu. Although I am not a Buck Owens fan, we want to go see his Crystal Palace museum and bar. I might just have to have sample their dining menu.
I'm still roughing it. The satellite dish will not recognize the satellites, so we will have to go to a Motosat dealer in Lake Havasu and have it reprogramed. We found out that it will work in Oregon and Washington as is, because it will pick up the older satellites, but new ones have been launched for the southern US.

A review of the last park

2009-11-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

It is really a resort and not an RV park. If you enjoy a good wine, there are 51 wineries within an 11 mile radius of the park
http://www.jacksoncasino.com/
When we left today to head further south, we stopped and got diesel and at the same time had the coach washed. They have an automated wash and it did a decent job, not perfect, but a lot better than it was. We only made it as far south today as Visalia, Ca. Bakersfield was our destination, but I didn't want to mess with the rush hour traffic, so we stopped early. Unfortunately, we can't use the satellite due to the trees, so we get to watch a little over the air TV tonight. In other words, we're roughing it.
Tomorrow, we will go to Bakersfield for a couple of days. We picked out this park for our stay.
http://www.orangegrovervpark.com/
There is a storm coming in with cooloer temps and rain forcasted, so it looks like a nice place to sit and relax. We aren't on any schedule and have plenty of time to get to Mesa, Az since our reservations don't start until Dec. 10th.

Off The Road For A Couple Of Days

2009-11-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

It's time to relax for a couple of days now. We've dodged the snow going over Mt Hood and over the Siskyous heading into California. So, now we'll just sit for a couple of days. It's too bad that Cheryl and I are not wine lovers since we are in the middle of the Napa Valley and all the wineries. We're not unhooking the tow car, we're just going to relax. Cheryl is happy since the resort that we are staying at is on an Indian reservation and they have a casino and a shuttle from the park.
Now, Ethel II and I are going to have a little chat. Not only does she show my speed, but she also shows the posted speed so I can't even "fudge" a little. Cheryl used to be my navigator, but now she's becoming a nagivator. I'm wondering if I can turn that setting off.
Tomorrow, we'll start working our way down to Bakersfield and then over then over towards Barstow. Why Barstow? I don't have a clue, except that we've never been there and need to see what's there.
I'll post more later when there is something more exciting going on.

We Lost "Ethel"

2009-11-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

We lost Ethel and don't have a clue where she is. OK, Ethel is our Garmin GPS and we won't leave home without her. Sometime between the 14th of October and now, she has come up missing. We've scoured the house up and down as well as the pickup and the PT and she's nowhere to be found. We're thinking at this point, that she's been kidnapped by some unscrupulous nefarious person. So, it looks like tomorrow I will go "Ethel II" shopping. If she ever shows up again, we'll give her a good scolding and relegate her to Cheryl's Honda and not let her go in the motorhome again.

We've just about got the motorhome packed. Most all of our clothes are packed as well as the fridge and pantry. About the only thing left is to take out Cheryl's sewing machine and quilting supplies. Then it's on the road Tuesday as soon as we get the Scotties back from getting groomed.