Monday, February 22, 2016

Yuma, tire kicking, eye challenges

Because of the wintry conditions in Bouse (see last post) we decided to move down towards Yuma for a few days.  We stayed at the BLM 10 day area at Mittry Lake (32.81642, -114.47332) while we kicked some motorhome tires and had a quick visit with Laurie and Randy Guyot.  Tried fishing the lake a couple times with no success; those bass are crafty buggers and I just haven't figured them out yet!

Feb 13 it just got too warm for us and we headed back to Q, and then next day back to our spot near Bouse.  Wintry conditions had abated a bit so it`s quite pleasant here now.  This was the day before we left Mittry:

Around about Feb 12 I got what I thought was a floater in my left eye... of course I gave it a couple days to go away but it got bigger instead.  Long story short, I got in to see an eye doctor in Blythe CA on Feb 16 who confirmed I had a detached retina.  I was immediately scheduled in for surgery the next afternoon in Phoenix.  Since then I`ve been hanging around, recovering.  Looks like we`ll be in this area for the next month or so as I can`t have any significant altitude increases because of the gas bubble in the eye.  

Staff at the Blythe clinic and the Southwestern Eye Center where the surgery was done have been excellent, and Wendy has been a real trooper driving me around (and putting up with me) despite battling a bad cold herself.

No pictures this section; the eye is not pretty right now.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

We're OK, don't worry...


Sorry about the crappy picture.  The sign says "Winter Weather Conditions  Drive With Care".  This was in Parker the other day.  Well, 'winter conditions' seem to mean somewhere close to freezing at night but so far we haven't frozen up in the motorhome or skidded off an icy road.  In case anyone had heard about the weather here and was worried about us.

One thing that DID concern us was the wind just before the weather cooled off.  Probably about 50-60 MPH for 12-14 hours or so... nobody bothered to mention that on the radio or I might have buttoned down the solar panel or moved so that we weren't broadside to the wind.  I guess winds aren't much of a deal around here even if cooler temperatures are...

Aside from that, we've settled into life on the outskirts of Bouse and haven't done too much exciting which is why no posts for a while.  We looked at a few RVs and toured the booths in Quartzsite, back and forth to Parker and Blythe a few times, went fishing (unsuccessfully, but then nobody's been catching lately... too cold for bass they say), did some laundry, fought with T-Mobile over internet, etc.  Here are a few random pics from the last 10 days:

Camp.  We moved a little closer to Bouse this trip to improve the internet and phone reception. 
 
Closest neighbours.  These guys moved in a few days after we set up, and within a few days there were FOUR units parked there.  Sheesh, the nerve.  We're at the end of the road though so at least it's us driving past them coming and going and not the other way around.  
There's never a shortage of nice sunrises and sunsets in the desert. 
Trekin' the desert.  We have to pay attention to which direction we go now, as we have no "homing dog" to lead us back when we turn around.  You would probably thing that it would be difficult to lose sight of a 34' motorhome and a bright orange jeep with a big aluminum growth on top, but then you'd be incorrect.  Gab always uncannily knew where her bed and treat bucket were.  
She loves her Saguaros.  There's a hawk or eagle nest in the top of the right one.  
We haven't had many campfires as it's been too cold and/or windy, but we did manage to get one in at least.  Pay no attention to the winter duds; it could be 80 F and she'd still be wearing those.  
Produce prices are high there... well here as well.  14 bucks for this batch from the vegetable guy that comes into Bouse every Thursday.  It's not cheap to eat healthy! (Yeah, there are TWO heads of lettuce there... I protested but to no avail.  My ears are growing long and floppy).  
Laundry day! We hit the laundromat in Bouse to wash our 2 weeks worth, but decided it would be just as fast and easy to hang them dry.  Look at us being all environmental! 
We found out there's a Popeye's Chicken in Blythe, so there's another item checked off the list.  Gotta have Popeye's at least once per trip!  Little hooch to wash it down, of course.  
I found poop on the BBQ lid one morning.  Any scat experts want to hazard a guess from what?  Keep in mind that the BBQ lid is about 3 feet off the ground, with nothing around it and almost impossible to climb up the metal legs so it would have to be something either with wings or a helluva vertical.  BTW, that's a penny for those who've forgotten what they look like.  They still have them here.  
Storm clouds moving in.  
Rain!  It rained pretty good, along with the winds, but there was not a drop of flow in the washes the next day.  I wonder how much rain has to come down before it doesn't just soak into the ground?  
Yeah, I love these Mesquite trees.  This is one tree, half dead (middle) and half alive and doing well.  Crazy.  
Hey, when you're on a fixed income you have to stretch those dollars, right? First Dutch meal (roast chicken) so we figured we may as well use the excess heat for lunch.  (No pictures of the chicken dinner as it turned out less than stellar.  I have to overcome my tendency to use too much charcoal.  The chicken was very 'fall off the bone', if you catch my drift.) 
Lunch turned out good though.  This passes as healthy, right?  Right?
So long from our desert abode! 

Saturday, January 23, 2016

On the Road 2016

Well, after dawdling around for a while we hit the road headed south for an abbreviated winter trip.  Wendy clipped a deer between Christmas and New Years, but Wawanesa and the Sherwood Dodge bodyshop were able to put things straight in time for us to meet our Jan 17th departure.  I'll spare you most of the pics of the trip; if you want just flip back to one of the previous winter trips as they all look pretty much the same.
Overnights this trip were:
Jan 17th: Great Falls Wal-Mart (47.52552 -111.29806)
Jan 18th: Brigham City rest area (41.55252 -112.06955)
Jan 19th: Truck parking near Mesquite NV (36.77908 -114.26781)
Jan 20th: Bouse BLM (home for a couple weeks)
Since then we've enjoyed a couple days at the Quartzsite RV show and kicking tires on some motorhomes.  Unfortunately with the dollar being worth so little it doesn't look like a new(er) unit is in the cards this year, but it's good to see what's around.
At least fuel prices are down along with the CDN dollar: Fuel cost for the trip down was only about 800 Canuck bucks, cheaper than any trip in a bunch of years.  So I guess the plan is to drive around as much as we want this trip but just don't buy anything!
Look like $5K worth or carnage to you?  Me neither.  
Obligatory 'Hooked up and ready to roll' pic... sorry! New this trip is the car topper, hope to use it lots.  
Obligatory 'Made it!' pic... sorry again.  
Obligatory 'First BBQ of the year' pic (ribs and spuds).  Some of the spuds are destined to become hash browns, in case you're wondering.  
Washing the Jeep, very necessary.  Did you know there are no car washes within 25 miles of here?  Last trip though we picked up some Turtle rinseless car wash/wax, which is perfect for boondocking.  About 2 gallons of water cleaned up the Jeep, and about double that will do the Bounder when I get to that.  

That's it for now.  I'll try to be a little more interesting for the next post.  Cheers! 

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Homeless, finally

It became official at 12:01 PM on December 1st 2015: we became homeless.  The 'For Sale' sign had gone up in April, and after we'd had one deal fall through in August and given the slowness of the economy right now we'd resigned ourselves to settling in for the winter.  Of course that was probably the best thing to do, because as soon as we did that we managed to get an offer that stuck.

What didn't get given away or hauled to the dump got stowed away in a 6' x 12' Gypsy Wagon, and we moved a bed and a few things into Kathy's house near Ardrossan.  We'll stay there until after Christmas helping out with some things, and then hopefully get south for a couple of months.  Back up in the spring, probably using Ardrossan as a base and helping Kathy out with some more maintenance stuff.  And having LOTS of garage sales, as we didn't get a chance before the final move-out.

So now we just have to see how long it will take for me to remember my new mailing address... it took me about 12 years before I could get the Lamont street address right without looking it up.  And also see how long it takes Kathy to stop cooking with cheese... 

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Gabriella

After being our travelling companion for almost 13 years, we had to put Gabriella down on Nov 14th.  She had been battling arthritis for about 5 years and was getting worse each year so we knew she didn't have very long left.  She had what we believe was a stroke in the afternoon, and after several hours she had not regained control of her right legs so we decided that this was the time.  Fortunately there was an emergency vet in Edmonton, and she was out of pain by 9 PM that evening.  Having been with us for many, many adventures she will most definitely be missed.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Winnipeg Sept 13 - 25

We made the trek out to Winnipeg with Kathy, for the Celebration of Life for Cliff Sept 19th. ll went well and the event was well attended.  We parked in Judy and Al's driveway and they were wonderful hosts.  Sorry no pics as they were in the batch that got corrupted.

Overnighted at Radisson SK (52.46858, -107.40197) and Foxwarren MB (50.51948, -101.15503) on the way down and Indian Head SK (50.53061, -103.65788) and Maidstone SK (53.08671, -109.27701) on the way back.  Had a little transmission trouble on the way there, but limped down and back.  Wound up putting in a rebuilt transmission when we got back, so good to go again for a few more miles I hope.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Open Creek Dam

Back home for a few days - long enough to cut the grass and do some chores, then off to Open Creek Dam (52.65450, -114.70686) for the weekend camping with Stan, Glenda, Denise, and Brodie.  Kathy and Ellie came with us, as well.
Another new hammock for the Hammock-lady! Notice her hand? 
Of course I had to test it too.  
By the end of the summer I had lots of help with meal prep. 
 
A couple of nice clear cold springs in the campground, and one was right beside us as luck would have it!  Bonus! 

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Fraser Lake / Fort St James

Settled into the family campground at 24 for about a month, with a short camping trip up to Ft. St. James with Jack and Kathy and Kathy, and a couple quick runs back to Alberta with the Jeep to pick up and drop off Wendy's sister Kathy and her dog Ellie.  Mo, Christina, Bella, and Emir came back out with us the second time and spent a week or so.  Chris, Kelly, and Chase came out a couple weekends (must suck to have to work and only get away on weekends), and we had mom moved into the house for the duration.  Lots of yardwork but lots of fun too.
Some people need a cell signal wherever they go.  Can you hear me NOW?

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Allison Lake

From Castlegar we headed east past Osoyoos and then north, spending a couple nights at Allison Lake (49.68105, -120.60240).  I've accidentally lost all my photos from Castlegar to Christmas (oops) so from here on just a few borrowed ones.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Rest in Peace Huw

Sadly, the reason for the Castlegar trip was to attend the Celebration of Life for Huw George, who I went to school with.  Like Cliff, Huw passed away much too early in life and will be missed by many.