We are home at last!!!!

We arrived in Portland in the early afternoon on Thursday. A couple of our motorcade club chapter members, Gary & Claire, were also in Portland visiting their new grandson so they stopped by to see our new coach. We hadn't seen them since last September when we attended the 2010 fall rally they hosted in SW Oregon which was the beginning of our long trip. Six months and a couple of weeks have gone by since then!

Friday morning, after a really great lunch at a Mongolian Grill we found by chance [we haven't had Mongolian food since we left and it is one of our favorites], Kris dropped me at Fabric Depot, the largest fabric store in America with over 20,000 fabrics according to their website. I browsed and touched as many of the fabrics as I possibly could for the next several hours. I even added several to my cart! Lucky for me they were having their anniversary sale and EVERYTHING in the store was on sale! I was pooped by the end of that day but I've had my fix for awhile. I think Kris was pretty tired too. He went to the Jeep dealer, Harbor Freight, Home Depot and who knows where else? I actually finished my shopping before him which doesn't usually happen when I'm in the fabric store, so I found a bench and parked myself until he was finished. We have a bit of a role reversal in that he likes to shop more than I do except when it comes to fabric, I can shop for hours. 

This is just one little section of the store...

We headed back to the coach to rest our weary bones. We thought we might wait and come home Sunday but the weather was looking good for Saturday so when we woke up Saturday morning, we decided to pack up and go. We rolled into our driveway around 1:00 and by 6:30, with an hour pizza break, we were unloaded except for the basement. The best part is it was sunny with no rain in sight!

The house, which looked fantastic when we got there, now looked like we had just moved in with everything but the kitchen sink! We had no energy left to care. Kris spent some time in his shop after parking the coach and the neighbors who had been watching our house for us, came by to welcome us home. Bill, Terri, CJ, Megan & Charles are the best neighbors you could want! Bill picked up Kris's oil every week while we were gone so Kris has plenty of oil to keep him busy making biodiesel for quite awhile. Bill also kept our pool chemicals current, and our lawn mowed ~ it looked fantastic when we got home. Teri and the kids [CJ & Megan] kept an eye on the house, picked up our mail, watered our plants and cared for our cat Rosie [who is now their cat]. They made sure the house was dusted and vacuumed before we got home. It smelled so good when we walked in. They also cleaned up our yard after a huge wind storm when we had several large trees blown down and we can't thank them enough!

I think Gabbi was as excited to get home as we were. She has the run of the house, a lot more space than the coach for sure.

After a good night's sleep in our big comfy bed, Kris was outside unloading the basement in the coach and I managed to put away everything that was brought into the house. Unfortunately, there was a lot of stuff in the basement so I'm back to square one.

It honestly already feels like we were never gone. If it wasn't for this blog as proof, I'd have to wonder . . . although, waking up in the dark this morning, I reached over the side of the bed to turn off the electric blanket and after fumbling around for awhile, realized the control was on the headboard, not the nightstand as it is in the coach. I had to literally stop and think because I thought we were still in the coach! We should have our land legs back within a couple of days.

I would like to say we are kicking back and relaxing for a few days, catching up on all the TV shows we recorded over the past six months, but today Kris is over at his folks' helping them with their tax return and I am getting the registration packet for the spring motorcade club rally ready to go in the mail. Being retired is a lot of work!

It's good to be home!

Home or bust!

We made it to Chico plenty early enough for Kris to finish his business at Springboard Biodiesel. It rained so heavily almost the entire time, we were under a flood warning! We also sprung a leak in the bedroom slide because it was raining so hard. Kris was a bit depressed from all the rain but Gabbi doesn't mind it one bit! She loves to walk in the rain [or snow] and doesn't give a second thought to the fact that she brings in all kinds of debris in her hair... She does seem to love being cradled while I wipe down her paws though. She's so sweet...

The drive to Oregon was absolutely gorgeous. I always love driving through the Siskyou Mountains. There was plenty of snow on Mt Shasta where I managed to get a couple of pictures at the Weed Rest Stop next to the Weed Airport.


Mt. Shasta in the background. Couldn't resist a shot of the bird.



Mt Shasta hiding behind the clouds.

 

Shasta Lake. Made me wish we were on a houseboat on the lake!



More of Shasta Lake.

Lots of visitors at the rest stop enjoying the view of Shasta.

We are in Grants Pass tonight and since today is our 8 year 6 month anniversary, we walked a couple of blocks to Angela's Hacienda, a Mexican restaurant that turned out to be a real find. The food and service were better than most and you just can't beat a $10 pitcher of margaritas! It's hard to believe it's only been 8yr 6mo, seems like a lifetime. That'll happen to you when you're cooped up in an 8-1/2' X 40' space for six months!

Elvis has left the building...

After 10 days of basking in the sun, we left Palm Springs yesterday! We had such a great time with Gene & Betty and really struggled to come to the decision to leave the sunshine behind. We came to our senses and here we are, on the road again. Wait, if we came to our senses, wouldn't we still be there? Truth is, we have places to be, people to see and sooner or later, we would have to come home to the rain. It appears today may be our last rain free day. Once we reach Chico this afternoon we'll most likely be in the rain the rest of the way home. I suppose that'll get us ready for being home again.

Last night was spent in Visalia, CA at a KOA. It was a good park for the most part. They had a pull-thru site that was long enough so we didn't have to unhook and the fenced dog park was fabulous. The only problem was our site's electrical hookup was only 30amp which is not enough for us to be able to run the A/C, microwave and have hot water all at the same time... In light of what happened in Japan recently, we should feel lucky to have a home at all.

We actually hit the road at 9:30 a.m. today so we'll get to Chico during business hours!!! While in Chico, we'll be visiting Springboard Biodiesel where Kris will be picking up a piece of equipment for his biodiesel machine. He was there a year ago for a biodiesel conference so he's excited to be going back. Hopefully we'll only need to spend one night as we need to get up to Portland to drop off the chapter treasury files to our new chapter treasurer and get her authorized as a signer at the bank. I also want to spend a day visiting Fabric Depot preferably not on the weekend! We didn't have time to stop at FD back in September when we were on our way to our fall chapter rally in Grants Pass so I have informed Kris we are spending an entire day there on our way home! He can go to the hardware store or electronics store and hang out...lol. The rain started while we were driving thru Sacramento today and unfortunately, it looks like it will be raining from now on. Can you hear the whine in my voice? Even though it wasn't raining this morning, the ground was wet and muddy. Not looking forward to more of that because Gabbi got filthy when I took her out and it'll be even worse when it's raining. I know, I know! It's part of being a dog owner!

I think I could live in Palm Springs!

We sure have been enjoying the weather here in Palm Springs. It's in the mid 80's and here it is only March. Gabbi absolutely begs to go to the dog park every day and even though I need the exercise, I carry her over on the Segway. Kris usually comes along as well. Gabbi puts her nose up in the air and takes in all the smells. She loves meeting all the other dogs throughout the park and there are a lot of dogs here, big and small!

A few nights ago in the wee hours, one of the park models here caught fire and burned to the ground. We didn't hear or smell a thing! News travels fast around here and we heard about it, so we went to check it out. No one was hurt but they lost everything. Thankfully, I know our smoke detector is in working order because I set it off making toast recently.

We picked up the Jeep from the dealer yesterday even though they weren't able to fix it. Hopefully it won't continue to act up. Our big TV started working again the other day so why not the Jeep? One can hope. So, it looks like we may be leaving here Monday to start making our way home as much as we would love to stay. I don't know for sure though, Kris is already expressing his dread of coming back to the rain...

Today, we went up the Palm Springs Tramway with Gene and Betty. It was unbelievable! It felt like we were going straight up the mountain ~ it was just over 8500' in elevation. The tram car holds up to 80 people so it felt a bit like a cattle car. The floor rotates the whole time it's going up and also going down which was a weird sensation but it gave everyone a chance to get the whole view. It was 85F at the bottom and 55F at the top with lots of snow still. Good thing we brought our jackets! At the top is Mt. San Jacinto State Park, 14,000 acres with 54 miles of hiking trails. We had dinner in the restaurant [great food], went outside and enjoyed the view for a bit, and headed down again.


The view from the top was incredible!



Wednesday's come and gone, we're still in Palm Springs!

We would be on the road by now, but fortunately [or unfortunately, depending on how you view it] our tow Jeep would not start yesterday after we had loaded up the car with all the goodies from our Costco shopping spree. I was not aware the Jeep had been acting up for several weeks off and on, since I rarely drive these days. This time it took quite awhile to get it to start up and we got concerned so we took it into the nearest Jeep dealer for service. So far, they have not been able to duplicate the problem so we are driving a rental car for the time being. Hopefully they will figure it out and we can be on our way.

It has been one of those days! This morning, Gabbi was getting a bath and I felt a lump on her. Since I didn't have my glasses on, I couldn't see what it was but it felt like something was under her skin. I poked and pulled but it didn't come loose. Once we got out of the shower and I had my glasses on, I saw that it was a bug attached to her. Now I was really grossed out. It didn't look like any tick I had ever seen, it was the size of my pinkie fingernail! I got out my tweezers and pulled and pulled and it finally came loose. I googled pictures of critters that attach themselves to dogs and lo and behold, it WAS a tick. Fortunately, it hadn't had time to engorge itself with her precious blood. Gabbi didn't seem bothered by it but you can never tell what a dog's thinking can you? So, long story short, the tick collar went back on which I hated to do, but... She's such a good girl and doesn't seem to mind. Now I check her every time she comes back from the dog park!

Won't you play with me please!!!???

We spent two whole days and nights dealing with wind/dust storms right after we arrived in Palm Springs! I have never seen anything like it and hope never to see it again! We had left the Jeep windows cracked because of the heat and forgot all about it . . . need I say more? The last couple of days have been spent shopping, doing laundry and exploring on our Segways.  Tonight, we went out for Mexican food with Gene & Betty. The other day, they took us to El Paseo, a high end mall in Palm Desert where Kris & Gene found their dream car.

Can you see the big smile on Kris's face?

The dog park of all dog parks...

Little did I know we were only 14 miles from the California border when we were in Quartzsite! Had we simply driven a little further and crossed the Colorado River, we would've been back in the Pacific Time Zone and gained a whole hour. The difference in the scenery is like night and day. No more tumbleweeds and cactus, just palm trees and lots of mountains and greenery. No wonder everyone wants to live in this area especially with the weather as nice as it is here.

We left around our usual time and arrived in Palm Springs very early yesterday afternoon due to the time change. Driving in from the south was just a spectacular view of the mountains all around us! After getting settled in, we had to let the office know not to park anyone across from us, otherwise, we would not be able to get out. They advertise they can accommodate only up to 40' RVs but when I called they said they could squeeze us in even though we're 45'. We were able to drive around and pick the site we wanted which helped a lot. They are really nice here and the price was very reasonable considering where we are. We're on a golf course in Palm Springs and we don't even golf!!!

We went out for a very nice dinner with some of our Motorcade Club chapter members who live in Sequim but are wintering here. The food and the company were very much enjoyed and we plan to get together again during our stay.

First thing this morning, I took Gabbi to the 1-acre dog park where we're staying. It was occupied by 4-5 dogs and their owners when we got there. Gabbi was the small one of the bunch but there was more than enough room for all and she held her own. She got a lot of exercise not only from inside the park, but getting to and from the RV was quite a walk. The scenery was breathtaking no matter which way you looked.


Gabbi running through the 1-acre fenced dog park with her pink ball.



All 4 legs in the air!

 

Countless wind turbines in the area. Click on the picture and you'll see even more!

 

The view from every direction is gorgeous.

 

View from inside our RV.



Beautiful walk in the resort to get to the dog park.



We're backed up to a wide gully with tall hedges between us and our neighbors on both sides.

The wind picked up early today. Our first clue should have been the hundreds of wind turbines within eyeshot! All day tomorrow is forecast to be even windier than today. We will stay in Palm Springs until at least Wednesday to give the wind a chance to die down. Even though we're parked, we can really feel the wind blowing the coach around and sure would not want to be driving in it. There is a lot of blowing dust and sand in this area and visibility would be pretty limited. Better to be safe than sorry! We'd also like to be able to enjoy a few days of nice weather while here. Can you blame us?

Where are we again?

It's kind of strange waking up in a different city every morning! Sometimes when I'm laying in bed, waking up, I have to ask myself, "Where we are again?" I have to picture the campground in my mind to remember... Oh yeah, we're in Tucson today! We thought about staying an extra day and driving back to Tombstone about an hour behind us, but decided to wait until the next time we pass through this way.

Gabbi is feeling back to herself and had the pleasure of a couple of visits to the dog run. She carries her pink ball in her mouth all the way to the dog run. There's a reason I have her do this. If we run into someone else walking their dog, it's impossible for her to bark! She's usually unwilling to give up the ball so it usually [but not always] works out pretty well. Once in the dog run, however, she will drop the ball for me now without too much prodding. She loves to wrestle for it but I don't like all the dog slime on my hands.

Our big TV in the living area of the coach died this morning! Needless to say, that did not make Kris a happy camper! We have a smaller TV if we get desperate to watch one of our shows. The other one will have to be replaced up in Spokane where they will also install a ladder on the back of the coach and install our snow chains, two things we were not able to get accomplished in Texas. The ladder was supposed to arrive in Texas by the end of January but as of yet, still has not been delivered. We couldn't wait around forever as much as we would've loved to stay, if only for the weather.

We left Tucson at 11:00 sharp and drove west on I-10. Once past Tucson, we saw what looked like an airport but there was no control tower. We weren't sure what it was so I looked it up online and found out it was the Pinal Airpark, a commercial airplane boneyard where apparently, mostly NW Airlines planes go to live out the remainder of their days. It's so nice of them to put them in a warm place for retirement! LOL, they actually do that with the hope there will be little or no corrosion in case they decide to put them back into service at some point. Now that's a scary thought!

Instead of going up through Phoenix, we took the I-8 bypass and soon were driving through what looked like the Taco Time Forest. It's actually saguaro cactus but Kris called it that because the cactus looks like Ned on the Taco Time commercials! The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona and it is illegal to harm a saguaro in any manner. I read where one fella was killed while vandalizing one when its "arm" fell off and hit him. Duh!

Gotta love having internet access on the road. I can research things we see along the way, map our route in case the GPS acts up, look for our next RV campground and even reserve it online. There really has been no good scenery to keep me from staring at my laptop. In fact, it looks very similar to the scenery in parts of Texas with the exception of the cactus and mountains. Fewer dead skunks than Texas, though, LOL. We've started taking the lesser traveled roads instead of the interstates. It gets really boring taking the same path every time, however there are only so many ways you can go and not very many at that.

You know those signs that say "don't pick up hitchhikers in this area"? Better pay attention to those. We just passed a massive looking prison! I tried to look it up online and ended up scrolling through the patients prisoners on death row there. It's amazing what information you can get online. It even had their name, date of birth, picture, crime they committed and more. There's not much you can keep private these days.

A short time later we pulled into our campground in Quartzsite, AZ. We parked next to a Winnebago and the owners were outside so we chatted for quite awhile. Turns out they are from Auburn, WA and are headed home after a month on the road. We meet the nicest people everywhere we go...



Typical landscaping in Arizona!



Another day closer to home...

It was a beautiful morning in Las Cruces so I snapped a few pictures of our view. Here's one I really liked. Las Cruces is at the foot of the mountains in the background. I caught the bird in the tree enjoying the same view as Gabbi and me. We were on our way back from the doggie park where Gabbi had a blast chasing her ball. The park was all dirt, so Gabbi got another bath! She could really use a haircut as well! I wish I could've taken a picture  last night of the same view. The lights sparkling in the city were incredible. There was no moon and tons of stars in the sky, just beautiful!

We left Las Cruces around our usual time this morning! Maybe if the RV park's check-out time was earlier, we'd get on the road sooner, but what the heck, what's the hurry anyway? We don't like to drive more than 300 miles or 4-5 hours on the road each day, otherwise we are worn out when we get settled in for the night. We stopped for lunch at Kranberry's Family Restaurant as they had RV parking in the back and the lot was full. The sun was shining and the food was great. We don't usually stop except for rest stops but this place just called our names.

We pulled into Voyager RV Resort in Tucson where we are staying tonight. We first stayed here in 2003 on our first RV road trip when we had a Winnebago. This is our third time here. We always enjoy it as they have an onsite restaurant [bar & grill] with really good food and friendly people. Tonight was no exception. We even got "treated" to karaoke in the bar which is part of the restaurant so we had no choice. It was entertaining and a couple of them even sounded decent. The others could use more practice [but in private if you ask me]! The resort also has everything else you could possibly need onsite here. The doggie park was great and Gabbi got another workout chasing her favorite pink ball. She needed the exercise after being cooped up all day in the RV.

Tomorrow we are headed to Quartzsite, AZ. It'll be the first time we've stayed there, that is if we can find a campground with space. We've not been in this area this time of year before so we shall see. After that, we're off to Palm Springs to visit friends for a couple of days.

We made it out of Texas alive!

We left Balmorhea around 11:30 [as usual] and had an uneventful day of driving. I could not keep my eyes open and napped a good part of the way which helped the time pass, lol. Good thing Kris loves to drive...

We debated on whether to stop in Las Cruces or drive on to Deming, NM. After reading all of the reviews I could find about the RV parks in both cities, we decided to stop in Las Cruces. We gained an hour just before we made it out of Texas and could've easily have pushed on but Deming RV parks are not much more than gravel parking lots with hook-ups from what I read. The Las Cruces KOA is gravel, but the view of the Organ Mountains and city of Las Cruces was too much to resist so here we are. It was unbelievable after dark with all the city lights.

View from our RV campsite

After settling in, we ventured out to nearby Mesilla for what we heard was authentic Mexican food. We felt like we were in Mexico and in actuality, we weren't that far away. The food was mediocre but our tummies were full so we headed back. When we left, it was dark and somehow we got lost. Thank goodness for the GPS! We made it back safe and sound to a happy Gabbi. She seems to be feeling much better today...

Tomorrow's another day and we are one day closer to home! We'll be somewhere in Arizona, not sure where yet...

Sadly, we said good-bye to our best friends yesterday, the last day of February. We would be leaving the warm sunshine of Montgomery to go home, where I heard we have fresh snow on the ground! Are we crazy or what? Don't answer that! Truth be told, we should've been home two months ago but life happens and here we are.

I can't believe we're leaving the KOA campground and sunshine behind...

The first day of our trip home, we drove to Kerrville, not far from Austin and San Antonio. We pulled into the Buckhorn Lake Resort off I-10 and what a treat that turned out to be! First of all it is a beautiful resort and there are only three nights a week they offer dinner in their cafe' and we were lucky enough to be there on one of those nights! We had the most scrumptuous spaghetti, including a salad, garlic bread and a brownie sundae for dessert! They even had live music after dinner. There was a rally going on in the park so the cafe' was pretty full. We met a lot of nice folks and we also ran into some of our Foretravel friends that were on the Ohio Motorcade with us.


The picture doesn't do Buckhorn Lake Resort justice!

We excused ourselves after dinner and headed back to the coach to relax. Driving all day really does zap your energy. That night, unfortunately Gabbi was not able to hold it in and I woke up this morning to a pile of "you know what" on the living room floor. She is usually such a good girl so I know she couldn't help it. I couldn't blame her, she hasn't been feeling up to par for the past week. So, after cleaning up, I took her on a long walk, then into the shower for a nice, warm "bath". After that I fixed breakfast for everyone and she ate hers right up so I'm hoping she is on the mend.

It was downright freezing outside this morning but it warmed up quite fast and after a short, but nice visit with our Foretravel friends, we headed on down the road. We got a later start than we wanted, but that's the way it goes most days. Our goal today was about 300 miles almost due west, to Balmorhea State Park in Toyahvale, TX. It looked like a neat place and fit right in with our driving schedule but really turned out to be out in the middle of nowhere! They have a 1.75 acre spring fed swimming pool with scuba diving and snorkeling. The pool goes from 2' to 25' deep and stays around 75 degrees year round. Unfortunately, when we got here, it was anything but what we expected. The reviews I read were good but they must've been written at a different time of the year. We barely fit in our campsite, it was dusty and dry and there are NO shade trees anywhere only weeds as far as the eye can see. I was happy that at least it was 80 degrees. Soon enough we'll be in the cold weather.

In the morning, we'll be out of here and on our way to Las Cruces, NM. Stay tuned!

Breckenridge has come and gone!

After three weeks of beautiful sunsets at our campsite on Lake Conroe in Willis, we were planning to head north a couple of days before we were to drive to Breckenridge, Colorado, as I had a hair appointment in Nac. Unfortunately, a storm moved in overnight and we woke up to below freezing temps, ice everywhere and high winds. We felt it was too risky for a high profile vehicle like ours to be on the road so we decided to play it safe and had a lazy day inside. I would just have to go shaggy and gray for awhile longer! The sunsets were to die for so we were really in no hurry to leave...

The next day the weather had improved so we left Gabbi in the care of The Pet Resort, drove to Nac where we spent the night and then left the coach in the care of Foretravel. We left in the jeep, bright and early, with a goal of reaching Amarillo by dark, about an 8-hour drive. We don't generally drive more than 4 hours a day in the RV, so it made for a very long day. I will say that driving was nicer compared to flying because we could bring everything but the kitchen sink if we could fit it in the jeep! I was even able to bring my sewing machine and a big box of fabric!

We met up with Ed & Connie after a few hours on the first day of driving and would caravan the rest of the way. They have made this drive many times and know the path by heart. We were planning to stop for dinner at the Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo but by the time we checked into our motels, we were all so tired, we decided to pass. It was Saturday night and the Steakhouse parking lot was full. We would try again on our way back. There was a lot of snow on the ground and it was pretty cold but Kris & I ventured out in search of food. All of our favorite places were jam packed so we ended up at Pizza Hut for pizza and beer. It was just barely acceptable [would you believe they still have smoking sections in Texas?]. At least we didn't go to bed hungry.

When we got back to our motel, we noticed two giant buses with teenagers unloading. We thought, "well, so much for a good night's sleep!" It was a high school wrestling team and fortunately their coach kept the kids on a tight curfew. Once our heads hit our pillows, we didn't hear anything after that except the trains blowing their whistles in the distance!

Up early again the next day, we headed down the road for another long 8-hour drive. Did I say this was nicer than flying? We gained an hour once we left the central time zone and entered mountain time zone. The scenery was beautiful as soon as we crossed the border into Colorado! We pulled into Breckenridge just as it was getting dark and checked into the Grand Lodge on Peak 7, a true ski-in/ski-out resort. 

Connie & Ed near the chairlift at Grand Lodge on Peak 7

How high can you go?

We all had a great time together in Breckenridge. The weather was great with the exception of one day it when it snowed. We all stayed in that day. For Valentine's Day, we reserved the 12-seat inhouse movie theatre and watched Date Night and Red and enjoyed both! Connie and I got facials and massages at the spa. I brought my sewing machine and finished two new projects, a chenille flag and a bag for Connie's wheelchair.

The week went by super fast and before we knew it, we were on the road heading back to Texas. This time we stopped at the Big Texan and even though they were really busy, being a Saturday night and all, we managed to get a table. We took some pictures while we were waiting. None of us were hungry enough to try the 72oz free steak but there was someone there who did it while we were eating. It was fun to watch.
 

Kris & Shannon

Connie & Ed

They grow 'em big in Texas! This slice of carrot cake
is as big as a whole cake!

We were stuffed to the gills when we left for our motel where we said our good-byes as we would be heading in a different directions the next morning. We were headed back to Nacogdoches to pick up our coach and they were headed home. As soon as we picked up the coach, we headed down to Ed & Connie's to pick up Gabbi and spend one last week before heading home.