2019 – 2020 Snowbird Year Wrap Up

Despite all our best efforts we did hit snow this year, fortunately Maxx wasn’t with us … remember he was chillin at the side of the road in Nevada while we had to drive into Utah for parts to fix our wheel.

Over the past six months:

• We spent time in seven states (Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho).

• We covered 6,196 mi (9,972 km), once again down from previous years. Our first winter away still showed the most distance when we travelled 14,093 mi (22,663 km) from Kelowna, B.C. to Key West, Florida.

• We spent $1,681 on fuel compared to $2,152 in 2018/2019, $2,719 2017/2018; $2,150 in 2016/2017; $1,526 in 2015/2016; $2,350 in 2014/2015; and $5,041 in 2013/2014.

• On average we paid $3.047 a gallon for diesel; down from $3.252 a gallon in 2018/2019 but up from $2.598 in 2017/2018, $2.514 in 2016/2017, $2.096 in 2015/2016, and but still down from $3.128 in 2014/2015, and $3.813 in 2013/2014.

• The most expensive diesel was $3.839 in Susanville, California. California was home to our most expensive fuel last year when we paid $4.249 per gallon in Rio Dell; our cheapest diesel was $2.169 in at Sams Club in Bullhead City, Arizona, which is down from last year when our cheapest diesel was $2.459 in Yuma, and can you believe in 2016 we only paid $1.559 per gallon in Yuma, AZ!

It is nice to be able to walk around the campground.

We are finally having a sunny, almost warm, day … I just want spring to arrive but old man winter doesn’t seem to want to let go 😄

There are a few signs that spring may be approaching.

The COVID-19 virus sure brought a crazy end to a wonderful winter. We hope all of you and your families stay healthy, do your part to self isolate, and that this pandemic is over soon!

Some of the Oregon Grape are about to flower.

Until next time …

And That’s A Wrap On Week Two

We have finished our two weeks of self isolation/quarantine and while I am happy we are both healthy I’m not sure I’m really ready to go out into the world. There is a very large part of me that would like to continue to stay in this wonderful little bubble we are in but we need some groceries.

Thanks to our daughter and my sister we had plenty to eat but we need to stock up on meat and fresh vegetables. When we were travelling home our daughter asked me for a shopping list so that she could deliver it to us once we arrived at the park. We didn’t need a lot of stuff and I looked in our freezer and counted up the meat and knew I was good for two weeks. What I didn’t realize is that the freezer was mostly full of steak and shrimp with just a few other types of meat and no chicken which is devastating for me. So every night for the past week I have asked hubby what he wants for dinner the next day and he pretends to think and then answers “I think I would like steak” 🙂 Good answer since that is his only option, but then to hubby that is the best option! If we had a freezer full of chicken he would have been very disappointed.

Anyway we are going to enjoy today’s freedom, which isn’t any different than any other day for the past two weeks but somehow it feels a little more free 🙂

Tomorrow we will venture out and hopefully get enough groceries for the next two weeks.

Until next time …

Is It Really Spring?

A while ago I posted pictures of the creek with ice in it but it quickly melted so I thought spring might be on it’s way … that is until this morning 😦 It was -4C (24.8F) when I woke up this morning.

I actually waited until after lunch, when it had finally warmed up to 5C (41F), to go out for my first walk of the day. The sun was out so it felt a little warmer and then I came across some spring flowers … Yay maybe spring really is here!

And then I walked up along the creek and was greeted with fresh ice in the water 😦

Maybe spring isn’t here … but I came across more flowers so I’m going to look at that as a positive sign.

And here is a thought … do you think we will all be able to lower our voices when talking to people once we no longer need to social distance?

Until next time …

Yahoo, Fresh Air

The closed signs where posted on all the gates at the park on Saturday and the last pedestrian gate was locked so we were able to get outside for a walk 🙂

There is still ice along the sides of the creek, we have never seen that before when we return.

On weekdays there are workers in one loop, on the other side of the creek, upgrading all the sites but they have a fence up to stop people from walking in that area, and they are not coming into the rest of the park, so we are okay to walk around with no fear of running into them.

The beavers have been really busy this year. That’s three big trees they have brought down.

The park managers are also living on site but they know we are in quarantine so they give us a wide berth, but so far we have not even seen them walking while we are walking.

The only other area we have to stay clear of is behind the main washroom where they are working on sprinkler lines … but the park is 440 acres so there is lots of area for us to walk without coming anywhere near other people.

I wonder how long it takes them to chew through a tree this size?

We are now on day ten and still doing well. We have caught up on a few TV series, Maxx has had a deep clean, I filed our income tax, and have read more than a few books.

Still a lot of snow on the hills surrounding Kelowna.

We have had three grocery deliveries, two from our daughter and one from my sister. We could have done without the last two but there were a few more things that we wanted and they were happy to get them for us. It makes us laugh when they pull up in front of the gates to drop off our groceries. They drop the groceries and then get back in their vehicle. Once they are behind closed doors and drive off we open the gates and quickly haul our stuff in. I feel like we are in jail because the gates have razor wire on top 😀

I have some more jokes which I will share over the next few days if anyone is interested. Most of them have been flying around Facebook so they may be old news to some of you.

Until next time …

WOOHOO, That’s A Wrap On Day Seven

Seven days of self-isolation/quarantine down and we are still healthy and happy. We only have seven more days until we can bust out of here and see the rest of the world … at a safe distance of course 🙂

It’s feels like we should be sick because we are holed up inside and can’t go out and about. I have to keep telling myself “you are not sick, get your lazy butt out of bed and get dressed”, but I have done just that and we are finding lot’s to of things to do to keep busy.

That’s about all I have to say today so here are some funnies for you, I hope they bring a smile to your face.

Until next time …

How Is It Going?

I know that this is tough times for everyone and we all have our own challenges to face right now. With us, and all other returning snowbirds, it’s how to deal with the fourteen days of self isolation.

We are now into day 6 and so far so good … hubby and I haven’t killed each other … and our daughter and my sister are ensuring we are okay for groceries.

Another blogger couple we know did the right thing by not bring fruits, vegetables, and other restricted foods into Canada but then immediately faced the challenge of how to get groceries once they arrived home. They have no family in town but did have a guardian angel come to their rescue.

We know another couple who have a dog but live in an area with no fenced yards … how do you take your dog out to do it’s business? I have no idea what the safe answer to that question is, but I know whatever they do it will be safe and keep others safe.

Other people we know are trying to make their way back to Canada and are making decisions over what groceries they can and should bring. If you have nobody to buy you groceries I can see the logic in bringing what you need across the border, especially when wait times for grocery deliveries is up to two weeks!

Still others are staying put were they are and looking at a lot of us like we rushed home for no reason. And yes I could make a lot of arguments on this one, but I will say that we all had our own reasons for coming home just as those that are staying have their reasons. Hubby and I are glad we came home for several reasons; our medical coverage was cancelled as of March 23 but what really points out to us that we made the right decision is the alarmingly fast rate that the virus is growing in the US! I for one am glad I am not bringing that risk back to Canada and those I hold dear.

I saw this headline on CBC News today “Mandatory quarantines for internationl travellers kick in at midnight; health minister”. The article states that “The government has been pleading with Canadians to self-isolate if they’ve returned from a trip since mid-March, but this move under the Quarantine Act makes it a legal obligation.”

So for those of you that are safely tucked away, and doing your legal and moral obligation to protect all Canadians, what are you doing to keep yourself busy?

Hubby and I finally finished The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel series and have a few other series that we want to watch. This quarantine time has also given us a chance to sit on the phone for hours and hours trying to cancel his US mobile service, as I write this hubby is on his sixth attempt within the last week to cancel his Spectrum mobile plan. Yesterday, after many hours on the phone, he was finally able to get my Canadian mobile service working right, but we still have to go in and show our ID after our quarantine period is up 😦

So I will leave you with this picture of my view out the window as I write this blog … I long for the day when I can go outside for a walk 🙂                🙂                  🙂 Notice the social distancing in those smiles?  That was a good laugh in an email from our neighbours in Yuma!

Until next time …

A Few Last Pictures

We are all settled in at the campground and are into day three of our fourteen day Self Isolation. I did post signs on the Camp Host sign at the front of our site, the pamphlet rack bulletin board, and on the door window of Maxx, saying that we had just returned from the US and were in self isolation until April 2^nd. BC Parks did close all their parks until April 30^th and the gates of the park are locked, but people still find ways to come in and wander around. In previous years they have knocked on the door with their questions on how to get sites, or when is the campground opening, so I wanted to make it clear that we wouldn’t be able to talk to them expect through the closed window of the RV.

Park Lake on Highway 17, Washington.

I also finally manage to convince our mobile provider that I was unable to go into our local store and show them my ID … they really don’t need this since we already have an account with them for our home line which we do not suspend in the winter. So at least I have some data which we can use for the next two weeks.

We had a beautiful sunset on our last night in the US.

Other than that we have been pretty lazy the last few days and today wasn’t any different. Tomorrow I want to start doing a deep clean on the inside of the RV and if nobody is around hubby will start on the outside.

It was very comforting to see Okanagan Lake on our way home.

But for now we are enjoying our self isolation … I hope wherever you are you are safe and healthy and enjoying your day 😄

Until next time …