Dec 26 - 30 - Phoenix

Wow, 3 days in Phoenix and not a lot to say other than we drove around a lot.  I took a few pictures but most turned out crappy so I'll just include a couple. 

Half the people who answered the poll were right - we stayed at the casino for three of the four nights and in the lot at Camping World the 4th.  We did go looking at parks and found a nice one in Mesa for $39/night, but that seemed like a lot to pay when we had pretty much everything we needed - including wifi - already at the casino.  The generator acted up on Sunday so we wound up recharging the house batteries off the car via booster cables, but otherwise no issues.  I had planned to get a service on the genny anyway, and the Bounder was due, so I got an appointment at a Camping World for first thing Tues. AM.  Hence Monday night was in the Camping World lot, as we decided it was more prudent to move at night rather than in the morning rush hour. 

Also tracked down the wiring short to the section I'd done in the car (I wired permanent bulbs into the taillights last winter).  Found one chafed spot but that still didn't do the trick, so would up going retro by buying some magnet-mount lights and bypassing my wiring altogether.  I'll look at the wiring again when I get a chance (much too busy, though, you know).  I still have the old lights, but of course they're on a shelf in the garage doing me no good whatsoever.  Picked up a set from Wal-Mart for $50, which was more than I originally paid at Princess, and than found some at Harbor Freight (after opening the Wal-Mart set, of course) for $20.  Arg. 

We did attend the game last night, where the Canucks managed to float their way to a 3-2 overtime loss to the Coyotes.  Good game - Coyotes deserved to win.  It was funny though that the crowd was just as loud on the Canuck goals as the home ones.  Tip for those planning to attend a game down here: Your GPS will think that Jobbing.com and Jobbing.com Arena are different places, several miles apart.  Make sure you include "Arena" in your address... nuff said. 

We're headed east on I-10 this morning - won't have internet for a few days probably, so I'll say Happy New Year to everyone now.  Take care and stay warm.  If you're going out for New Years, plug in your car because I see it's getting to -31 at home.  Brrr. 

Looking south over Phoenix from the Scottsdale hills.  Can't see much - sorry. 

Seats in the home corner, 20 rows up, $60/seat.  Parking was free in the football stadium lot, a 5 minute walk away.  Place looked about 3/4 full, which somebody said was about double the crowd at the San Jose game Sunday.  Pray for the Coyotes to stay here, cause it's the best NHL bargain around and you can attend in shorts and flip-flops. 

This was the RV lot Thursday AM - varied between 0 and 5 other rigs while we were here.  Building on the right is the hotel.  Picked up wifi with the external antenna, but nothing without it. 

Toodles. 

Bad penny turns up in Phoenix

Hey, I betcha thought that the state troopers had us locked up or something, when we disappeared for a week.  No such (bad) luck, just one of the hazards of the trip when you're relying on the goodness of others to leave their wireless connections unsecured.  Here's a fast recap of the past week:

San Francisco - Of course we left there last Sunday, but I finally got some pics off Wendy's camera so before we leave that alone here's some of the less unflattering ones. 

The Streets of San Francisco really DO look like on TV... Wendy wouldn't let me try to fly her Cavalier like Carl used to do on TV, though.  Probably just as well.  We didn't try it with the Bounder, either...

This big horkin' tree was at the entrance tp Pier 39.  Good thing she took the pic in the morning because you couldn't get near it by after lunch. 

I suppose in this pic I was trying to look as "criminal" as possible... either that or the lunch burrito wasn't going down too well... I'll save you the bother of trying to zoom in (I don't know why it turned sideways; you'll have to rotate your monitor I guess):

Unlike this next one, where I'm just surprised as heck to be there. 

OK, that's enough laughing for one day.  If anyone wants the original of this next one to blow up for a desk photo, let me know.  I won't give it to you of course, I just want to know. 

This next one was on the fence at the RV park, and outlined in Xmas lights, so she thought it was neat. 

This next one was one that I thought was really interesting.  At a gas station at Novato they had these TV screens on top of the pumps.  I suppose so you don't miss too much of your favourite soap or something.  I thought about asking him to switch to the movie channel while I was filling the motorhome.  BTW, it was also at this station where some guy very loudly told all of us that Canada doesn't have a health care system.  Period. 

Nope, that's not my reflection in the screen. 

And finally, this one was actually from back in the Redwoods but I thought it was a good one to show that we did have some back seat drivers this trip.  One, anyway. 

Dec 20-21 - Bakersfield and Victorville - Spent the night on Dec 20 in the parking lot of a closed down (since Oct) Wal-Mart.  Nice & quiet!  This after discovering I still have a short somewhere in the tail/clearance lights, and having the MH "hood" come loose on one side and drag the ground after a hard brake stop at a light.  Tip: In California, there are advance warning lights at a lot of the intersections like in Canada.  However, unlike Canada, the advance warnings flash continually and not just when the light's gonna change, so they're pretty much useless. 

Dec 21 we stopped off to see Elaine, Mark, and Mark's sis-in-law (sorry, forgot name - my goof) in Victorville.  Getting there was an adventure, because I was soooooo positive that I had the address both written down AND punched into GPS that I never checked until after we left SF.  Discovering that I had neither address nor phone number ANYWHERE that I could find led to a wifi hunt in Bakersfield and again in Victorville to send and receive quick emails.  Thanks Elaine and Jackie.  I STILL think I have that address written down somewhere, in a safe place. 

In any event, we stopped by and had a good visit, then stayed the night at a little strip mall behind the Denny's.  Very quiet there, and convenient for breakfast in the morning too!  Only one pic to show - this one just to prove that they actually do get winter there (why anyone would want to live in a California town that gets snow is beyond me, though). 

Dec 22 - 25 - Quartzsite - In need of a few days of R&R and with Christmas quickly approaching, we'd decided to head for "Q" for some warm sunny days in the uncrowded desert. 

Nope, the Saguaro's not getting held up (as far as I know).  Or wearing glasses.  I hope someone else sees that too, or I've been 'netting too long. 

We got the sunshine and open space, but the temperatures weren't very co-operative as you can see.  I braved the shorts, but had to stay with the jacket and socks since the highs were only getting into the high 50s during the day...

... and down into the high 20s at night.  Yup, that's frost on the car - BRRRR.  Wendy hasn't made it into shorts yet, although she did use the machete in preparation.  Still, I hope these pics elicit some sympathy, especially since I hear the last couple weeks have been so nice back home. 

BTW, in the "shorts" pic I'm holding a Christmas present from my granddaughter, of which we're about to partake.  THANKS FUZZY!  THEY'RE GREAT AT HOOCH TIME!

Thinking ahead, we brought a few Christmas lights with us (solar, of course), so we were able to do a little decorating as soon as we parked. 

Other than the obligatory shopping trip into Q on Wednesday, and a quick run down to Yuma on Thursday for some groceries and a TracPhone, we had a nice quiet hang around in the desert.  I crawled under and re-did all the electrical connections from the rear axle back (didn't help, as it turns out) and Wendy got some good cleaning and relaxing done. 

Christmas in the desert - Christmas dinner was turkey, stuffing, potatoes, yam, and brussel sprouts, of course.  The turkey and yam were on the barbeque, of course, and we decided to have dinner early (3:00) so we could prank call all the relatives and keep them from eating THEIR dinners.  It all turned out wonderful as you can see, and we had an excellent Christmas day.  Hope everyone else did, too! 

(Don't ask where we got the three-legged, one-breasted turkey.  We did pass a nuclear power plant on the way here, though.)

Finally a couple of the obligatory desert campsite shots.  I liked this spot MUCH more than the one in Novato, and it's not just because of the price.  Gotta get that internet thing figgered out, though. 

Dec 26 - Phoenix - Packed up and ran into Phoenix today, to be close by for the Canucks-Coyotes game on the 27th.  One small issue: found out when we got here that the game's not actually until Tuesday the 29th... guess who messed that one up?  Yep, that's two strikes for me now (that I'm counting - others may count more).  Oh well, it's a bit warmer here than the desert anyway, and we're camped out at the Gila River Wild Horse Casino (Don will remember that one, although they've now built a hotel here too) and borrowing their internet.  Debating whether to move to an RV park for a day or two while we see the sites; let me know in the poll what you think. 

That's it for now - more when stuff happens. 

Alcatraz & Fisherman's Wharf (Pier 39)

I like this first one - looks like a ghost image in the background. 

This shower setup is thought to be the inspiration for soap-on-a-rope.

Had lunch at this place on the wharf.  Chowder was pretty good, salad and fish not so much.  Whadya expect for $57, though?

Our campsite.  Can you spot the Bounder (you should know what it looks like by now)?

I suppose they have to jam them in to pay for the solar panels (and maybe the Prius Hybrid, since everyone here seems to own one.  OK, maybe half - and the other half own Yukons and Mercedes SUVs. 

San Francisco

Bodega Bay is only about 60 miles from San Francisco, so it was an easy trip into the Novato RV Park.  Typical city RV park: packed in like a parking lot, but with hookups, wifi, and cable for not much more than Arnie wants for an unserviced site. 

We went scouting in the afternoon, which as you can see was quite nice (high around 60F, I think).  That's Alcatraz Island behind Wendy in the middle picture, and she's taking a shot of the Golden Gate. 

The day was slightly blemished by a small misunderstanding between me and GPS Lady... I thought I said to take us home while what I actually said (and it must be true because I never argue with a lady - computerized or other) was to take us on a tour of Oakland, San Jose, Palo Alto, and South San Francisco before getting us home in the midst of rush hour traffic at 5:30 tonight. 

Ah well, tomorrow's another day.  We're booked on the 10:30 AM Alcatraz tour, so I should have some more soon.  We'll push off from here Sunday or Monday depending how it goes. 

Pacific Coast Highway

Thursday was winding down the coast highway.  Sorry I don't have any pictures, but my hands were two busy sawing the steering wheel from one pin to the other to think about holding a camera.  My advice for the Redwood road goes for the costs highway as well, as they didn't want to use any dynamite at all.  Stopped for the night at the municipal campground at Bodega Bay ($22), after checking a couple of state parks and finding them all priced at $35.  They were all empty, needless to say. 

Yup, that's the campsite.  It's on a peninsula which serves as a breakwater for the bay.  You're looking south at the Pacific side and behind you is the harbour side.  Would have been nice to think of a pano picture, no? 

California, here we come!

After spending the night in Valley of the Rogues, we backtracked to Grant's Pass and headed west to Crescent City, CA.  If you're wondering why, have a look at a map. 
This took us smack through Redwood country, wich was an awesome drive.  If you get a chance, do it.  Just make sure your brakes are it tip-top shape first, and makbe buy brakes for the toad too. 

After a great ride through the forest, with an extra hour stop along the way to let the brakes cool a bit, we reached

Yup, that's what you think it is.  But we weren't done with the Redwoods quite yet...

...and then more of...

...until it all got quite tedious, really.  Well, not really.  We stopped for the night at a little pulloff near Garberville (we were thinking of springing a few bucks to camp among the trees, but Arnie wants $35 for an unserviced site even in December, so we took a pass on that.  I've slept under trees before, and it ain't worth $35). 

Water!

Top priority for the day was to get some water on board, since we were far enough south not to worry about it freezing up.  Took a scouting trip down the Interstate to the Pilot Truck Stop hoping that they'd have RV services, but nope.  So we circled back to Woodburn to the Tourist Info booth... it didn't open until 10 so we did a little sightseeing and found a nice little covered bridge for Wendy. 

When we got back to the TI office, she gave us a nice little brochure on the state dumpstations.  Lots along the coast, but the next one on the interstate was at mile 45, quite a ways.  But, we loaded up and hit the road.  We were still thinking interstate at that point as it was still pretty damp, and we didn't see much point spending time on the coast in the rain. 

When we did stop in Valley of the Rogue state park to de-winterize, it was late enough in the day that we just decided to stay.  Nice pull through site with full services for $16 for the night. 

BTW, temps in the low 50's for high, and the low 40's for lows... still looking for some decent weather!