Not The Day We Planned … Oh Well!

When we finally settled on a plan of travel for the next few days we were happy it included really short days so there was no rush to get on the road early … and then of course I wake up just after 1:00 a.m. and cant get back to sleep 😦 When I was able to fall back asleep it was 6:30 a.m. but, because we had a short travel day, I took full advantage and went back to sleep for another two hours 😀

We were on the road by 9:30 a.m. and would be set up at our destination, the Carl Precht RV Park, in Omak, WA by 11:30 a.m. … I told you it was a short drive!

We were surprised at the amount of snow and so low on the hills in Washington.

Our main reason for spending a night there was to wash Maxx and get the road salt off of him. We also needed to pull out our passports, Canadian wallets, grab our duty free list with receipts attached, and figure out how much alcohol we had in our three partial bottles.

Before too long we had sunny blue skies.

Well those were our good intentions but the RV Park in Omak still had their water shut off 😦 So we made a quick stop and dealt with everything else and then we headed off to Canada. Our plan for tomorrow was to stop at a Provincial campground just on the Canadian side of the border and I was all over that plan but hubby just wanted to get home and I always figure it is the driver’s call so home we went.

The Osoyoos, BC border crossing, always a welcome sight 🙂

As soon as we crossed the border, which was so easy with no questions due to our Nexus cards, I put our Canadian SIM cards in our phones and sent texts to the kids and my sister that we were back in Canada. When I looked up from that project I saw we were already driving through Oliver, BC.

Before to long we had passed through Penticton and caught our first good glimpse of Okanagan Lake.

We made a stop for lunch before we drove through West Kelowna.

And our excitement started to build as we came up to the exit for Bear Creek Provincial Park.

There is the park, on the point, hmm the trees haven’t even started to get buds, normally we see lots of signs of spring on our way home.

We decided to set up in the double site behind our site because we need to do some yard work in our site, but we will start on that tomorrow.

That is our site on the left behind Maxx.

So in the end it was a longer day than planned, five hours total, but we are now home for the summer and are looking forward to catching up with family and friends.

Until next time …

A Busy Afternoon

We used yesterday afternoon to get in some errands and chores, a new air filter for the truck, a car wash to get all the road salts off the truck, and a wander around Costco and Fed Myers … those last two were totally for me and I can’t believe I didn’t buy anything 😀 Hubby also checked all the tire air pressures on Maxx and the truck. I also boiled my last dozen eggs so that I can take them across the border … you never know if they will let fresh eggs through so this is better than throwing them out. We had hope to give Maxx a hose off to remove road salt but the water isn’t hooked up in Confluence State Park. I think I said this when we stopped here on the way down but I think this is a pricey state park, $35.00 during the off season and all that includes is power because everything else is shut down.

It is nice to be back into spring weather!

While we were doing those errands we debated on staying another day so that we could ride the bike trails and visit a few breweries but in the end we decided it was still a little cold for that 😦

Since we decided not to stay another day we mulled over a couple of options but so far haven’t made a decision … stay tune.

Until next time …

A Weather Decision

It sure was nice to wake up this morning and not have to worry about how the roads would be for our drive today. We enjoyed another evening of fast powerful free WiFi and quiet surroundings, this time in the Wildhorse Resort and Casino parking lot. So far we have camped for free all the way home 😀

Our biggest decision before heading out was whether we were going to Wenatchee, WA for a few days to do some bike riding or was it going to be to cool for that. We finally decided to go to Wenatchee and see how the weather was this afternoon and if it felt warm enough we would stay at least two days.

It was very crisp when we headed out this morning but the roads where dry and the drive was pleasant. We have sure seen a shift in the weather from the last few days, it is sunny and the morning warmed up quickly.

Half an hour after we started our day we passed into Washington and that always makes us feel like we are almost home. After driving through Washington we will cross the border into British Columbia and that will end our winter south until next year.

Four hours after we left Pendelton we pulled into Confluence State Park in Wenatchee, WA. We stayed here on our way down this winter and like the park and the fact that the bike trails leave right from the park.

Until next time …

Phew It Worked Out

I think last night, when we we were parking Maxx and waiting for him to auto level, I was the coldest I have ever been. I was so happy to get inside and warm up and we had a great, toasty warm, night. Walmart delivered with free WiFi and very quiet night.

We left this morning under sunny skies, no snow, and temps at freezing …we were so happy when we woke up and looked out the winter to see no snow on the ground and a dry parking lot.

The guy in the picture below pulled in late last night, judging by the crap on his truck and trailer it doesn’t look like it was a fun trip. But the encouraging thing for us was that all that frozen stuff was melting and falling off his truck and trailer 😀

Nothing personal Winnemucca but I was happy to wave goodbye to you before your next storm comes in later this morning! Once we were back on Highway 95 I thought the view was pretty, even with all the snow on the mountains, because this route takes us through the valley rather than over the snowy mountains so we can enjoy the view and not the driving through it.

The roads in Nevada have been awesome, very well maintained and a very smooth drive. Unfortunately that all changed when we entered Oregon, the road was terrible for the first twenty-five miles! So bumpy I was starting to get nauseous, but Maxx handled it like a pro and nothing moved around. The sky also changed as soon as we entered Oregon 😦

We did have a few snow flurries during our drive through Oregon but nothing stuck to the road and the roads remained dry so it was a good drive.

The skies brightened and the topography changed once we crossed into Idaho and even though the second picture shows storm clouds on either side of the highway we drove right through the middle of them.

We topped up the tank with fuel, at the slowest pump we have ever seen, and joined onto I-84 for a very short trip back into Oregon.

Nice looking weather!

Our plan was to spend tonight in Ontario, OR but the weather was looking okay so we decided to continue another 2.5 hours and cross the Blue Mountain pass, our highest mountain pass of the trip, between La Grande, OR and Pendleton, OR. We figured it would be better to cross this afternoon when the weather is warmer and there is more traffic on the road. We thought this would be a better option than tomorrow morning when the roads wouldn’t have had a chance to warm up and clear off.

This was as bad as it got and it lasted maybe ten minutes.

It turned out to be a great move and seven hours after we left Winnemucca we are settled down in the parking lot at Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton enjoying a drink to celebrate getting through the hardest part of our trip home 🙂 It should be clear sailing from here on in.

Coming down into Pendelton, OR our stop for the night.

Until next time …

A Very Very Long Day

We left Laughlin as the sun was rising and waved goodbye to the last of our sort of warm weather. Yesterday we arrived in shorts and flip flops and today we are in jeans, boots, and jackets because the weather in Winnemucca, NV, our stop tonight, is calling for rain and possibly snow 😦 We had a long drive today but it was necessary to put us in the best position for travel tomorrow. There is a snow storm coming in to the Winnemucca area tomorrow and we want to get out of that area and put some miles on before it hits.

The weather was great when we hit the road early this morning.

We could see the snow on the hills as we drove through Las Vegas … yup that is where we are headed 😦

And then we were out of Vegas back on more boring straight highway.

I was looking forward to seeing some new highway when we turned toward Tonopha and I guess it was a little different, definitely less creosote bushes and more sage brush … but those pesky snowy peaks are still there looming in the distance!

Four hours into our trip, with a stop to top up the tank (hubby doesn’t like to get much below half a tank) and a washroom break, we left Beatty, NV behind and turned north toward Tonopha, NV. This is a route we have never taken and the roads where lined with sage brush which reminded us of the Kamloops area in British Columbia.

When we originally planned our trip home we were going to spend our second night in Tonopha but if we had done that we would have been driving through a snow storm tomorrow or spending a few days hunkered down in Tonopha. After checking weather we decided our best option was to skip Tonopha and drive a very long day today which should get us ahead of the snow storm … I guess we will see how that works tomorrow.

Five hours later and a half hour south of Tonopha we hit this …

There were only some small sections with snow and we were still under sunny skies and temps in the high 30F/5C, it was cooling down quickly but the roads were dry and the snow was sparing. That view only lasted for a few minutes and then we were back to this.

We topped up the tank in Tonopha and headed off on the second half of our trip … crap we are only halfway 😦

When we left Tonopha the wind was really howling and sadly for our fuel mileage it turned into a headwind as we drove further north.

We had four hours left of driving and the topography hadn’t really changed, the clouds were moving in but the temperature had gone up 10 degrees.

With three hours left we passed through Hawthorn, NV and found some interesting things, a military depot and a lake. This is a quick photo of the Hawthorn Military Depot which I think I will do a blog on the next time we come through this area, it has some interesting history.

And it was nice to finally see some water, this is Walker Lake.

An hour out of Winnemucca, and after we turned onto I-80, we ran into the nasty weather we were expecting. The tail end of this storm with the next one starting around noon tomorrow.

After an eleven hour day we finally pulled into the Walmart in Winnemucca, NV where the skies had cleared and we though the weather was looking better … and then we stepped outside! Holy crap it was cold and windy, and then an hour later it started to snow. I’m not sure what tomorrow holds but I would really like to get out of here before the next storm arrives.

And FYI a report from Miss Kansas in Cocopah shows Paul & Penlope are doing well 😀

Until next time …

Homeward Bound

After five, not as warm and sunny as we would have liked, months we are heading home 🙂 The weather was definitely a disappointment this year but we still had a great time with lots of socializing and maybe too much eating and drinking!

We left under sunny blue skies but the cold wind kind of made me happy we were leaving, if I have to be cold I might as well be cold at home! Once again Maxx cooperated after his five month nap and we had no problems getting him prepped and hooked up, but the lights on our bike rack didn’t cooperate 😦 The driver’s side tail light on the bike rack wouldn’t work but the tail light on the rear of Maxx worked so, after hugs from the neighbours and a farewell to Penelope, we headed out. We arrived early for our 10:00 a.m. Spectrum appointment to cancel our internet so hubby fixed the light in the parking lot … gee I love how handy he is 😀

The light he fixed is on the left at the bottom of the bike rack … and I love our new bike bag!

A half hour later we were on the road and headed to Laughlin, NV the first stop of our trip home. I had a chuckle when, while texting with our son-in-law, he said he knew we were on our way to Laughlin. I share our RV calendar with him so that someone knows where we are travelling from and to and where we plan to spend the night, so I was happy he was on top of our travels. If we change our minds and stay somewhere different I always update my calendar right away and some days when the jello is really wiggling I can update the calendar alot which means he gets alot of notifications but he has put up with it for years and I feel so much better knowing someone can track us if we ever disappear. Now you may wonder why our son-in-law does this and not one of our three children, well we chose him because, with his job, his phone isn’t far from him and he was willing to take the job on. And while texting with him today I thanked him for doing this and he told me “That is why I’m your favourite son-in-law” and yup that is true and not just because he is our only son-in-law 😀

I only took one picture today because this is a route we have done many times and I have taken many pictures of it and honestly I was just bored and couldn’t bothered.

This was pretty much what our route was like, long, straight, and up and down.

Four hours later we were set up in the back parking lot of the Tropicana Casino in Laughlin, NV. After filling the truck and a propane tank we chilled and got to bed early because we have an early start tomorrow.

Until next time …

Success

We are packing up our site so I had to empty my planters and put them away and that meant Penelope, and Paul her husband, had to move homes. I set up a cardboard box, inside a garbage bag, with some dirt and plants and move the nest over. Hubby provided a broken brick which allowed us to get the box up off the ground. Before I moved the nest I got a few last pictures of Penelope and Paul … after watching them exchange places many times I figured out that Penelope sat facing to the right and Paul sat facing to the left … and Paul is much more skiddish than Penelope.

Penelope

Oh and I don’t think I told you, the day after I posted my last blog Penelope layed another egg.

Once the next was moved Penelope quickly came back but she was very out of sorts and did a lot of chirping and flying around where the planter had been. Finally hubby and I went down to a friends place for a visit and left the site empty. When we came back she was sitting on the nest again!

I am so happy that it worked and really wish I was going to be around to see the eggs hatch but a friend has promised to keep an eye on them and then throw away the box once it is no longer needed. Hopefully I will get some pictures, and if I do I will share them with you.

Until next time …

It’s Been A Difficult Relationship!

But the doves finally won 🙂 We have an abundance of doves when we are here for the winter and this time of year they are mating so they can be paticularly annoying. They love to sit in my two tall planters and I’m constantly chasing them out … and they have no fear!

They like the two tall planters on the right of the patio.

To get rid of them I have to walk right up to the planter and slap it to scare them into flying away. Finally I had hubby put long nails around the edges and that seem to work.

The plants have died because they kept sitting on them.

Well it worked on one planter, the other one they pushed the nails back and made themselves at home and despite me constantly scaring them off one enterprising couple was able to make a nest and yesterday we found an egg. I finally accepted that Penelope and Mr. Penelope had won and I let them stay.

But now the problem I have is that the nesting period for a dove egg is fourteen days and in six days I have to empty the planters and put them away for the summer. Many people have suggested that I just leave the planter out and let the flowers die but it is an expensive planters and I don’t want the summer heat to deform, discolour, or destroy it. So I am going to prepare a box with dirt and leftover plants from my other planters and using a shovel gently lift the nesting material and the egg (when mommy and daddy are away) and place it in the box. I will then move the big planter and put the box back in it’s place. Hopefully mommy and daddy will come back and continue to sit on the egg.

I really hope it works and I also wish we were going to be around to see the egg hatch. Maybe next year they will lay an egg earlier and I will get to see it hatch.

Mommy and Daddy (they take turns) have no fear when you get close but I like to give them as much space as possible.

Until next time …

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

From our house to your’s I send you this wish on St. Patrick’s Day …

I hope our children at home are keeping up their childhood tradition of green milk on their children’s cereal and, now that they are the parents, a glass of green wine after work.

If you think this is over the top, our children always woke up to green milk on their cereal on St. Patrick’s Day!

You can count on this girl being dressed in green with her shamrock jewelry on and sending a toast to my dad with a glass of green wine for happy hour today!

Until next time …

Another Yuma Airshow Under Our Belts

Last weekend we attended the Yuma Airshow for our third time. We attended our first show in 2014 but in the following years it was held after we had headed home until 2019 when we were able to attend for our second time.

In past years the show ran Friday night and Saturday during the day. Admittance has always been free and you can bring your own chairs, but you can also buy grandstand and chalet tickets. In the past we have taken our own chairs, along with water and lunch, and sat along the fence to watch the show for free. This year we once again took our chairs and sat along the fence but coolers are no longer allowed and water bottles had to be empty and filled up once inside the grounds. Since it was warm out taking lunch without a cooler with ice was not an option, but I did take my water bottle only to find out the promised water filling stations inside the grounds were non existent 😦

USAF F-35A

But I’m getting ahead of myself … also changed this year was the requirement for Foreign Nationals to bring passports, in the past any photo ID was all that was required. This year you also needed to download a free parking permit and display it in your windshield … which we did and absolutely nobody looked at. We were quickly parked, unload our chairs, and headed to the table to check in where we reached our biggest hurdle! There were at least fifteen check-in stations for US Citizens but only two for Foreign Nationals and that line was long!

I think we were about half way in this picture

Once we finally got through the line we had to wait in another line for the two buses moving Foreign Nationals, while the buses moving US Citizens numbered eight or more. Oh and the thing to note here is it appeared there were way more Foreign Nationals attending than US Citizens so those check-in stations and buses sat idle for long periods of time. We finally got on the bus and were delivered to another check-in station where we lined up again for another passport/security check, again separate from US Citizens where dropped off, which is why we had different buses. By the time we arrived at the second check-in they had scrapped additional ID/Security checks for Canadians and were only checking those from other countries … which sped up the line for everyone because most of us were Canadians. An hour and a quarter after we arrived we were finally through the gates and onto the grounds.

USAF P-F51D Mustang

USAF F-35A & P-51D

Hubby’s cousins (also Canadian), who were meeting us there, said they arrived about half an hour after us and stood in the long line for a few minutes before the barriers where removed and everyone was allowed to use whatever gate/bus they wanted. I think they were totally overwhelmed by the number of Foreign Nationals that showed up. We are okay with the passport requirement and the need for heighten security since the air show is on the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station but better planning is definitely needed next year.

USAF F-35A

USAF F-35A

We were fortunate to get in just in time to watch the show and while it was an entertaining two and a half hours it was a disappointment from the previous two we had attended. In the past there have been many more military planes, Search & Rescue performances, and many private plane performance filling in four and a half hours.

USMC F-35b

USMC F-35b

This was the first show since 2019 so maybe they are slow ramping up again or maybe many of those other planes went to the airshow in El Centro which was held the same day. We will have to see what the schedule looks like next year to determine whether we will go again.

USMC MV-22B

Until next time …