December 31, 2009

Santa Claus moved into the desert on Tuesday evening and today we went over to visit with him. We even got our picture taken sitting on his knee. Just proves that Santa is a Snowbird also, at least for a little bit before he has to get back to the North Pole and resume his duties in preparation for next Christmas. This first picture is of the rear of his RV. The last picture is of the rear passenger side of the RV.

It is cool 61F and windy today. Not really nice to sit out. Gordon got a hair cut this afternoon and he cut up firewood for the weiner roast tomorrow. We got another load of pallets on Tuesday (40 pallets on our truck and Jim's truck) so Gordon has a lot of work to do to cut them all up for firewood. We are going dancing tonight at Holiday Palms RV Park.

Wishing you all a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

What a change from yesterday. It is windy and very cool today. We went to Blythe, California to get some groceries for New Year's Day dinner - it is going to be a great deal of work . . . a weiner roast. The American weiners are not like the Canadian ones but they will do. Got fresh corn on the cob right of the truck so hope it is good.

Gordon went to Holiday Palms RV Park for a jam and Jeanne stayed home and watched a movie.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

What a gorgeous day. No wind +67F and we were able to sit out and enjoy the desert. The afternoon was spent at Bonnie & Kathy's playing UPWORDS. The evening was spent around the fire. Gloria & Glen; Mary & Don; Bonnie & Kathy; Gordon & Jeanne. It was a very nice evening with a nearly full moon.

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Overcast all day today. We went for a ride but it was cold, especially when we hit some back roads and could do 55 kph. Gordon went to a jam tonight and left Jeanne resting at home. The riding is not too good on her thumb, and consequently, her shoulder as well.

High today was around 58F. Would have been a very pleasant day if the sun had peeked thru.

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Today was a bit windy. Jeanne went to church until 1:15 pm. We then visited with Hans & Maria for about 3/4 hour. After supper we went over to Glen & April's for a visit. We don't see much of them because they are about 3 miles away, not 200 yards like they were last year. Stayed there until 9:00 pm

Had to have an early night as we are going for a ride tomorrow.

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

The countdown to the end of the year is rolling forward quickly. Today we got up around 8:00 am then went for a walk. Came home and baked the present we received from Glen & April. They gave us some homemade cherry jam, some refrigerator biscuits and hot chocolate. We made the biscuits and had some jam but saved the hot chocolate for another time. Then we went and walked the vendors for three hours, got 5 gallons of drinking water, stopped by Glen & April's but they were not home, so came home. Jeanne was very tired, but Gordon could have gone on longer. Supper was simple - leftovers! The two of us played a couple of games of Upwords then went to bed.

Merry Christmas 2009

What a cold morning 28F when Jeanne got up at 5:10 am. It did warm up mid morning and turned into a most beautiful Christmas Day.

Dinner was hosted by Hans & Maria. They provided turkey, dressing and gravy. Added to that was cranberry chicken, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn bread dressing, peas & carrots, rice (of sorts. Jeanne forgot to begin cooking the rice in time, so she tried to speed it along a bit - it was really more like wall paper paste), tossed salad and fruit salad. For dessert - carrot pudding with sauce, pumpkin, apple and peach pies. Oh Boy! What a feast! Everything was cleaned up by 5:00 pm, then Gord decided he needed to fill the water tank.

As you can see, it was warm enough to eat outside and to sit and visit after dinner. It is 6:00 pm now and the temperature has dropped to 48F. Looks like we are in for another cold night. Well, we hope you all have enjoyed your Christmas Day. We wish a MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

December 24th, 2009

What a beautiful day for Christmas Eve day. We got up around 8:00 am and went for our walk. Came home and opened the door of the 5th Wheel so the sun could warm up the inside of our home. After breakfast of cereal and bread with peanut butter, we went to the Market to purchase a double boiler for the pudding, and picked up a small gift for H & M, then we got busy with our preparations for tomorrow's dinner. Gord grated the carrots and potatoes for carrot pudding. The sweet potato was cooked and mashed and pan ready for heating tomorrow. Sauce was made for the pudding, and was just cleaning up the final dishes when Bonnie and Clyde came over and we played a couple of games of Upwords. They were just getting up to go home (they are parked about 50' from us) when Glen and April came for "a little something to drink". Hans and Maria were invited to join the crowd for gingerbread cake and other goodies.

Everyone was gone by 4:30 pm. Thank goodness we had leftover soup from Monday for supper, as by 5:30 Gordon had been around inviting the neighbors to join us in a fire. While he was doing that, Jeanne was making a pineapple dump cake. There were 12 people at the fire and we had a good visit. Gloria & Glen brought a big pot of hot chocolate, Clyde brought cookies and Mary brought some corn bread made from Indian corn her son had grown in Arkansas. Maria and Hans came for a little while as well.

Returning to the RV we sat and watched a DVD of Terry Fador, the ventriloquist who won America's Got Talent some time ago.

Merry Christmas to all!

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Today on the desert brought sunshine and wind. It rained here on the desert yesterday while we were in Blythe and it is a good thing because there was dust flying today, and it would have been a brownout without yesterday's rain.

We had a very lazy morning, not getting out of bed until after 9:00 am. Our walk took us to about 10:00 so we were just finishing breakfast at 10:45 am

Gordon dumped sewer today, Jeanne made bread, did dishes from two days ago, and cleaned house. Lunch was hamburger soup Jeanne had made on Monday. We were just going to sit down to eat when Chuck came, so warmed up a bowl for him. Glad we had some extra.

Hans and Maria invited us, along with Bonnie & Clyde over at 3:00 pm today for tea. She served fresh baked buns with jam and cheese and a cake. Clyde also brought a gingerbread cake she had made. We came home at 5:35 pm just in time for Gordon to get ready to go to the jam.

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

Today was pot luck at quilting, but decided that seeing the Chiropractor was much more important. Have to go to Blythe, California (20 miles away) to do the shopping and see the doctor. Did some shopping for groceries after doctor appointment, and it was 3:00 pm when got back to Quartzsite. At 5:00 pm we went to Tom & Lucille's for a turkey supper. Very good. We played Crib until 9:45 pm. They love to play Crib and can't fine anyone to play with them. It was a real fun evening. They, also, are a super nice couple. Tom jams so Lucille will often save a seat for us. The last week or so Gordon has been doing the Wednesday night jam by himself so he sits by Lucille. She introduces him as her cousin, because her cousin's daughter, Nona was married to Gordon's cousin, Keith. Jeanne is not getting much quilting done. The days go by so quickly, there is just no time for work.

Monday, January 21st, 2009

The group, Glen, April, Bonnie, Clyde, Chuck, Gordon and a new member, Clint all went to Crystal Hill today. Jeanne stayed home and tried to get a Chiropractor appointment, except he doesn't work Mondays.

Some scenery from the ride. Clyde took a terrible fall, landing on her side, putting her elbow and wrist out of joint and her opposite shoulder is so sore she can't lift her arm.

Both Jeanne & Kathy (Clyde) went to Blythe on Tuesday morning to the Chiropractor. Things are improving with them both.

December 19th, 2009

I am having trouble inserting more than one picture in a post, so will just do more posts. After breakfast Jerilyn was presented with her presents. One was a little ditty that went something like:

For all the wear and tear Ron has

put on you over the years

here is something to wear and a spare

and two pair of panties. It was fun, but Jerilyn wouldn't model them for us. A real fun time was had by all!

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

A beautiful morning for a Birthday Breakfast for Jerilyn. They had planned a steak dinner for Sunday, as Jerilyn and Ron were leaving Monday for Utah. However, the weather report said Sunday would be better than Monday, and they wanted to get home before the storm, so we had a breakfast. We hosted it, as the two tents had blown down in the storm on the 7th. One couple purchased a new one but didn't want to put it up until they returned in the New Year, and our place had the best windbreak. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and warm if out of the wind. Gordon is at the BBQ Jim & Jan (Wisconsin) Walter (behind Jan) Gloria & Glen (Washington) Gloria's brother Lee and their cousin Opal. We had a wonderful egg, ham and biscuit dish made by Jan, a ham from Gloria, bacon, garlic sausage and orange sticky buns from Jerilyn and Gordon made pancakes and fried potatoes. Jeanne made sweet potato pancakes and a pan of brownies for a birthday cake. This is a great group, and we had a feast.

Here is a Christmas display in the desert. Remember, there are no electrical hookups here, it is all lit with generator power. Not a very good picture, but a fantastic display.

Here is a couple of pictures of Gordon clipping the skirting to the underside of the trailer, because he didn't want to drill holes to put the clips. Too bad because four days later we had the terrible storms which pulled it off the trailer, leaving it staked to the ground. It was quicker and easier the second time around.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

What a beautiful day in the desert. We left at 6:45 am for our walk. The sun was just showing a few rays in the eastern sky. We left so early because today was our first together quad ride of the season. Glen, April, Chuck, Clint, a neighbor from Washington, and of course Gordon & Jeanne loaded machines and headed to the Bouse area. We left at 10:00 am and returned at 4:00 pm. Put on 26 km which wasn't much, but it was enough for Jeanne. With quilting and not sleeping her wrist was a wee bit sore.

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Quilting day for Jeanne. Learned a new technique to do a fast quilt. What fun! Gordon rode quad over to visit with Glen & April. Evening found us at a Concert by Skyhawk. It was a fund raiser for the Rock & Gem club. Proceeds go to scholarships for the local school kids. Skyhawk is a threesome, Sonia is from Princeton BC great singer and trumpet player as well as keyboard. Norm is from Colorado and sings and plays guitar. Joe is base guitar player.

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Laundry day at the Foster's home. By the time the clothes were hanging on the line it was 11:00 am. Took all day to dry. Monday evening is our Arizona Sun RV Park jam, but the musicians had the volume turned so loud we could hardly hear the singers. At intermission Gord spoke with David, the organizer, so the last half was better but not as it should have been. We found out that a lot of the musicians are not coming there because of this very thing. We shall be rethinking Arizona Sun jams.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Boy has time whipped by us so fast we just don't seem to get anything done. On Wednesday the 2nd we went to Parker, AZ for groceries. They have a new Walmart there, but if you want any produce or meat arrival is necessary before noon. One good thing about Walmart is that Safeway, which is directly across the street, has lowered their prices. We spent the whole day there, visiting thrift stores and checking prices at three grocery outlets, and going for lunch at the Casino which we didn't think was all that good.

On Friday, the 4th of December we went dancing. That is a first in at least 15 years because of Gord's bad knees. Oh dear! toes were stepped on several times, but we should be much better by the time we leave here in the spring.

Glen & April arrived in Quartzsite on the 6th and have settled in LaPoza North. On Monday, the 7th we had a terrible storm, tornado tore out a lot of the vendors tents and both our neighbors, the Thuets and Hagens both lost their tents, and in so doing Thuet's car was damaged and Hagen's motorhome was damaged. Hagen's tent flew, braces intact, across the highway and landed over a mile away. We were attending a jam when the storm hit. When we got home our skirting was flapping and the tarp Gord had put up for a wind break was down, as the posts had twisted. The Saguaro cactus made from pop cans last year and stored in Quartzsite over the winter was in many pieces all over the country. We didn't find all of it.

Gordon spent Tuesday helping the neighbors get rid of their torn tent and making the repairs around here. Jeanne goes to the Seniors Center Tuesday from 9-2 to quilt.

Wednesday the 9th we accompanied Hans & Maria to Parker to shop. Evening found Gordon at a jam and Jeanne stayed home and did a bit of crocheting, quilting, reading. Don't seem to have much time during the day for those types of activities, and because it gets dark at 5:45 pm by 8:00 it seems late enough to go to bed.

Saturday, December 12 found Gordon, Chuck, Ken ( Dutch Creek Camp Host) and Clint went for Gordon's first quad ride of the season. It was a cool, windy day and Jeanne wanted to do some quilting. However, Maria came over in the afternoon to play cards, so didn't get much quilting done.

Hope all is well with all who read this!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

It was 40F at 7:00 am.

This morning Jeanne went to church and Gordon read and slept. We made a pot of ham and bean soup for supper. Shortly after lunch Hans & Maria came over. They are just over the way, we can see them but we are not within shouting distance and she likes it that way. They visited until 4:30. We ate our soup and read. The wind came up around 6:30 and it began to rain but neither the wind nor rain lasted very long.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Didn't walk this morning. Cleaned house instead. Went uptown in the early afternoon looking for some Wonder Under to do some appliqueing but the fabric store was closed. We picked up two cylinders of propane and returned home. It was very windy today and even though the thermometer said +68F it certainly didn't feel like it. Visited with Hans and Maria then returned to the 5th wheel in time to set the table and welcome our dinner guests, Bonnie & Kathy. They brought dinner, all we had to do was provide Maple Syrup. What they brought was sweet potato pancakes, and they were wonderful. Had pecans in them! We had a great supper then played a couple of games of UPWords. Bonnie won both games. He just seemed to get the right letters at the end to zoom past us all. They left around 7:30 and we sat and read until 10:00 pm.

Friday, November 27, 2009

It is a very warm day in Quartzsite. We were late getting up so it was 8:45 before we left for our walk. It was rather too warm by the time we got back home. After lunch we visited with Hans & Maria for a short while then returned to the RV. Both of us picked up a book and sat out in the sun. It was so hot on the sunny side of the 5th Wheel that Gordon decided we needed to purchase a screen to put on our awning. While we were out getting it, Gordon ran into a fellow from Grande Prairie and they spent over an hour visiting on the street. By the time we got home with the screen it was clouding over so we didn't put it up. Friday evening found us at JR's RV Park for a jam.

From our dining room window we get to enjoy the hummingbirds as they come to eat. They are so fun to watch.
We had a very special guest the other day. A road runner. If you look on top of pallets and below the drivers window you can see him. I couldn't get very close to get a picture. Ed and Norma are feeding a road runner, so we will have to get some hamburger. Ed says they don't like weiners.

We haven't been out on the quads yet.

Jeanne went quilting on Tuesday. Joined the Quartzsite Quilter's Guild so will be quilting every Tuesday.

Gordon built a table and has been cutting up pallets for firewood.

We have been walking every morning, so that makes breakfast around 9:00 am. Hans & Maria (we went to Canim Lake to visit them this summer) arrived Tuesday evening, so they are getting settled in. Good to see them again.

If you click on the pictures they will enlarge and the road runner is easier to see.

Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2009

Had Thanksgiving dinner at Bonnie & Kathy's motorhome. First picture is Hans, Norma & Ed. Second picture Bonnie is in the foreground and Kathy is next in line. That is Hans filling his plate. There were twelve of us for dinner and food enough for three dinners. So guess we will be eating ham, potatoes and sweet potatoes for the next week.

After dinner Gordon had a nap and Jeanne read a book. Around 6:00 pm Gordon built a fire and Bonnie, Kathy, Chuck, Hans & Maria and two new couples, one from Alaska and one from Crossfield joined us.

A beautiful day and a nice warm evening.

This is Jim & Jan, the anniversary couple.

November 18th, 2009

Jerilyn and Ron (3rd photo) and Gloria and Glen (1st photo) hosted a 50th Anniversary dinner for Jim and Jan. I made the cake. It turned out great considering what I had to work with.

Jan made a couple of pots of chicken soup from the chicken left from last week's PCP. She thought we were just having soup and crackers. Boy were they surprised when they arrived to find the tent all decorated and real plates and cutlery on the table, and along with the most delicious chicken soup I had ever tasted, we had ham, potatoes, veggies and cake and ice cream for dessert. Played cards until 5:00 pm

Had a great time.

Something is happening to my photos

Greetings from the desert! Just a few pictures of the November 12th sunset in Quartzsite. We haven't been taking pictures like we did last year. Jeanne was working on the computer a couple of weeks ago and inadvertently moved iPhoto from the dock, and in so doing lost all of the photos we had. We just need to find an Apple store or some smart Mac person to get them back, as we are sure they are somewhere buried in the depths of the hard drive!

Friday morning Chuck came for a pancake breakfast. Then we went to Tom & Lucille's to see if our solar panel had arrived yet. It was being UPSed from Flagstaff and we needed a street address to have it sent to. It would be pretty hard for the driver to find us in the desert! It hadn't arrived, so went to a garage sale but found nothing we needed but a lemon juicer for 25 cents.

Bonnie & Clyde arrived and parked just to the north of us. Nice to see them again and have them as close neighbors. The evening saw us at the jam at JR's. Much better music tonight. Our panel had arrived shortly after we left this morning and T & L didn't know how to get in touch with us, so we picked it up after the jam.

Saturday morning Bonnie & Clyde drove us around to a couple of RV parks with yard sales. That cost us $2.00 for coffee and donuts for Gordon. By noon Jeanne was feeling very poorly. Her cold had returned with a vengence.

Sunday morning dawned clear and sunny +12C but the north wind was sure rocking this boat. Jeanne was still poorly, and didn't want to inflict her illness on those at church, so she stayed home. Gordon worked around, doing this and that. Because of the flooding here in September the desert is greener than this time last year.

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Here it is, Thursday already. Monday morning we left Overton at 8:47 am. It was 10C at 7:15 am when we returned from our walk. At 12:38 pm we entered California high clouds and 75F. We stopped in Parker, AZ for groceries. There has been a new Wal-Mart opened in Parker this past few months. Rumor has it that there are so many people getting groceries there that they are having a hard time keeping the shelves stocked. My feelings ... it is just poor management!

We arrived in Quartzsite at 4:30 pm. Stopped by our last year's spot to visit a moment with Jerilyn and Ron and Gloria and Glen. They seemed disappointed that we wouldn't be their close neighbors this year. However, Chuck was at Chickadee Flats so we went there, set up just as it was getting dark and spent one night. Tuesday morning after our walk we checked out other spots on Chickadee Flats but decided we wanted our old spot back, so we picked up roots and moved. It was hot working out in the sun, and this awning is good for absolutely nothing at this time of year.

In the afternoon we ran some errands and stopped by Tom & Lucille's to get our cactus. We visited with them, they told us they had had a $1.00 burger at Burger King for lunch. As they were coming over after supper to play cards and see our new home, we stopped at Burger King. Good deal for $1.00 - a two patty cheese burger. It even tasted pretty good.

T & L came about 6:30 and we played Mexican Trail until 8:30, had some cake and tea then they left and we went to bed. Jeanne had had a bad night the previous night so was very tired.

Just as we were leaving for our errands this afternoon, Ron came over to invite us to a Pop Can Party on Wednesday. What is a Pop Can Party you ask! Well, they collect all their refundable cans and bottles, take them in for refund and use money to purchase fixin's for a dinner.

Wednesday morning dawned very overcast. It was nearly 60F when we got up. After our walk we had toast and tomatoes for breakfast then I wanted to hit the Thrift Store to get a couple pair of jeans to make a handbag. Just getting ready to leave when Ron and Jerilyn came for a tour of our new digs. They stayed until 11:00 am. We quickly did our errands and returned just before the PCP (Pop Can Party) Chicken was BBQ'd, potatoes were baked, coleslaw was made and a great dinner was served. Ten of us sat down to dinner. R & J have an outdoor shelter (portable garage) enabling us to be in the shade. Even though it was overcast, when the sun did break through it was HOT! After a beautiful meal, Sonia and Opal left and the rest of us, Gloria & Glen, Jim & Jan (the LaPosa West Hosts), Ron & Jerilyn and Gord & Jeanne played Golf (card game) until 5:45 pm.

A jam was calling Gordon, so we left home at 6:10pm. Went to Holiday Palms and sat thru a 2 3/4 hour disjointed jam. The musicians haven't got used to playing with each other yet and at times they were really out of sync. OH WELL! they will get better with time.

The snakes are still out and about! Three days ago in JR's RV Park a woman left her screen door open during the day, and at night she heard a noise and looking over she saw a diamondback rattler curled up inside her closed door! She called the fire department who came and relieved her of her unwanted guest. Tom & Lucille leave their screen door open all the time as well, and they live at JR's. Boy, I wouldn't be leaving my door open. Some guests I just don't want.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

It is a lot cooler today. +70F tops, but it is really overcast and has been all day. Jeanne went to church this morning and Gord spent the morning lazing around. Lunch was some kind of something disguised as Pita bread with cold ham & cheese. We have decided that to eat the rest of the package we will fry it and put syrup on it and consider a mess free way to get pancakes.

Really, they wouldn't open and were doughy and a bit on the disgusting side.

Here are a couple of pictures taken from the back of our 5th Wheel looking to the east and south east over the mesa. Some of these units will be here for a few days, or a few weeks. Some stay for only a few days before moving on. Others will camp here all winter long. It is free camping but there is absolutely no facilities. I would not want to spend the winter here, but if you are a fisherman, Lake Mead is just down the road about 25 miles and fishing is good. We will be leaving here in the morning. I was going to stay until the Thrift Shop opened to get some old jeans to make a handbag, but Fay gave me a couple of pair last night, so that will be great until I hit Quartzsite. Have a wonderful Sabbath Day.

Saturday, November 7, 2009 +83F this afternoon

A beautiful sunny morning +12C at 6:30 am. After our walk and breakfast, we met Fay and Robert and went to the Pomegranate Festival in Logandale, which is just down the road from Overton. There was very little to do with Pomegranates, other than jelly for sale, but there were lots of other booths with everything you would would find at an art fair. We had a pomegranate ice cream sundae which was very nice. Left the fair grounds around 1:30 pm and returned to the 5th Wheel. I watched a movie while Gord went off visiting. After supper we went to Fay and Robert's where we watched some of the National Finales Bull Riding from Vegas and then played a few hands of "Hand and Foot". It is a fun card game for four players.

Home at 9:30 pm as Church begins at 9:00 am in the morning.

Friday November 6

Up at 8:10 am (which really was 7:10 am Nevada time) went for a walk then made breakfast and left Mesquite at 8:35 am NT. By 9:00 am it was 72F with clear sunny skies.

Arrived in Overton around 10:00 am, watered and fueled and then went to visit Fay and Robert, a couple we had gone riding with in the spring. We went for lunch with them, then set up camp on the mesa where we were in the spring. Fay and Robert came up and we played Mexican Trail until it got too dark outside to see then came into the RV and visited for a while longer.

After they left we made supper then Gord went to bed. It is only 9:15 NT (Nevada Time) but I feel like it is midnight. It was +85F here today. The area is having record breaking temperatures. I LOVE IT!

November 3 & 4

Spent at Shirley & Dicks. All three mornings Gord and I got up and went for a walk before breakfast. The four of us went shopping, to Golden Corral for lunch on Tuesday then Gord made spagetti supper on Wednesday. Dick not feeling very good, and Shirley has a cough she can't seem to shake. We still had a nice visit. It is hard saying goodbye, as we see them so seldom.

Thursday, November 5

Left Shirley's at 9:30 am in sunshine and light wind. Stopped at Scipio and Beaver for fuel and both places have a big DO NOT RETURN as fuel is so high. It was +75F at 2:00 pm

We were going to have a short day and spend the night in St. George, Utah, but that city is closing all their RV parks and there is no overnight parking allowed at Wal-Mart, so we kept on going. At 5:18 pm we crossed the Nevada State Line and upon arriving at Mesquite we took exit 122 to the Eureka Hotel and Casino where we parked for the night for $4.00 and that included four decks of cards!

Monday, November 2

Left Dillon at 6:45 am in daylight -5C. Another cold night. The full noon was just setting and it sure was pretty to view. 145 miles to Idaho Falls. Monida Pass was 21F but no snow for which we are thankful. Fueled up at Dubois and called Shirley. She told us Dick had a head cold and we may not want to stop. We were going to take in the Craters of the Moon, but it was 100 miles out of our way, as we have a stop in Taylorsville. Gord asked if I would like to drive, but I declined and about 21 km south of Dubois we ran into dense fog, some places down to 1/4 mile visuability so I was glad I wasn't driving. Fog broke about 5 miles north of Idaho Falls.

Planned on stopping at Blackfoot, Idaho for a snack and a rest, but both the Flying J and Wal-Mart are very RV unfriendly, so we hit the road without our rest. Stopped at the Flying J at McCammon and had soup and salad for lunch. Got our rest and our snack! Arrived at Shirley's in the early afternoon.

October 31, 2009

Had supper with Derek & Nicole and planned on going Halloweening with the little kids, but with daylight savings it was just too late, so we left there around 6:30 pm and headed for Lethbridge. Spent the night in the Wal-Mart campground, did a little shopping there, then went to bed. We were sure glad for the extra blanket we had thrown in, as it was very chilly.

Sunday, November 1 - 0C at 7:00 am with frost everywhere. Cloudy with some bits of sun now and again. Had a lovely breakfast with Colleen and Wayne in Raymond and left there at 10:30 am, arriving at the border at 11:25 with two apples to declare. We had to take them into the Lobby for inspection. We got the apples and our passports and were on our way again at 11:55 am. Stopped for fuel at Shelby. From the border to Shelby we had a nice tailwind, but from Shelby to Great Falls it was a cold cross wind. Left Great Falls at 2:25 pm arriving at Boulder at 4:30. What a beautiful drive, saw lots of Aberdeen Angus cattle and lots of deer and hunters looking for them. Spent the night at the Cenex in Dillon

Sunday, October 18, 2009

After the snow of Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the last couple of days looked and felt as if Indian Summer was upon us. This morning the roads were wet with rain and it certainly felt humid. Overcast skies persisted all day long.

Gordon has been helping our son, Derek, do some bathroom renovations and has been there each evening for the past week. I thought today he was helping with the reno, but the enclosed pictures tell me he was helping in another way.

The tractor is a replica of the Ford tractor that I learned to rake hay with. We had given it to Dex, our grandson, on his lst birthday and this fall Gordon put it together. The decals telling of it's make are waiting to be put on, but with bathrooms being a needed thing in a home, the tractor is put on hold for the time being.

Thirteen more days and we are on the road.

October 13, 2009

Winter hit with a vengeance early this morning, dumping just enough snow to make the morning commute a three hour nightmare! Thank goodness we don't have much longer to face winter driving in Calgary. Just 18 more days and we will be on the road again. Finally located the camera so here is a picture of our new rig. This was taken in September as we were leaving the Dutch Creek area. Looking forward to having it all packed up and heading south before we get too much more winter!

Hi everyone. We are getting ready to head south for the winter in a new 5th wheel. We almost don't know what to do with all the room. Have taken only one picture of the unit so far, and it is still in the camera, the camera is in the unit and the unit is in storage for the next two weeks.

Summer was half and half. Half staying home and half out and about. Gordon had knee replacement surgery on the 15th of June, so he was home bound until the end of July when his six week check up was scheduled. We were off to BC the day after the long weekend. We had to stay home so I could bottle some of our bean crop. All that hard work of planting and weeding and I didn't want to let the kids have all the harvest. We spent time at Clearwater and Canim Lake than headed over to Wetaskwin, Alberta to visit family. Home for a few days then headed south to the Dutch Creek area in southern Alberta. Had a great time and could find no bugs in the 5th Wheel, which is a great thing!

Now it is October, the days and nights are cooling down, snow is forecast and we want to "get out of town" before winter sets in, but unfortunately November 1st is the date of departure.

Wednesday, March 18 - Left Payson  at 8:30 am after a breakfast of peach danish and mini donuts.  Real nourishing, but that was a Wal-mart special.  We traveled as far as Lehi where we stopped at Cabela's.  What a store!  Everything outdoors sports, hunting, campimg. fishing plus the displays of wild North American and African animals in their natuve habitat.  On the walls they have mounted fish of all kinds.  They even have an old hunter outside his canvas tent who talkes about the animals (when you press the button).  We left there and drove directly to my sister, Shirley's in Taylorsville, arriving at 11:15 am.  Lunch was at Golden Corral then we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting and watching Glenn Beck.

Another great day of sunshine but not quite as warm as we have been used to.  We will leave Taylorsville on Friday morning as the forecast is for snow and we want to be home before it does.  We should be in Calgary Saturday.

Tuesday, March 17 - Happy St. Patricks Day!   It is pack up and leave day for Ron & Winona and Richard & Ivy and Jeanne & Gordon.  It is amazing how quickly you get to know people here in the desert and how hard it is to say goodbye.  Plans are to meet here again next year.  We pulled out around 10:30 am and drove to Overton Beach to dump.  The water in Lake Mead has receded so much that the marina at Overton Beach has been removed from the area.  This picture shows a house boat stranded.  If you look closely on the far side of the picture you will notice some lighter rock.  That is the high water mark of the lake in its earlier days.  We stopped at the CasaBlanca Casino in Mesquite for lunch.  It was +77 F when we left there at 1:15 pm.  Saw some boondocking on the Black Rock Road 8 miles south of St. George, but it was too early for us to stop.  We saw that "S" stuff in small amounts in the ditch south of Cedar City.  Took a few pictures today as we drove through the Virgin River gorge, but having a difficult time getting them uploaded.  We stopped for the night at Wal-mart in Payson, Utah.

Monday, March 16  day dawned sunny and warm.  No need for layers of clothing for our ride today.  The first picture is of the Fish Fry on Saturday. The group gathered around 10:00 am to head west into the hills surrounding Overton.  It was a great day for a ride.  We got on the wrong trails a few times which took us nowhere, but we just took another trail.  We ate lunch inside an old mine.  Jeanne got just inside the mouth of it and that was the extent of her venturing.  It was cool inside so for that reason it was a great place to lunch.  After lunch, as we were traveling to another old mine site there were places on the trail that were wet.  We did a lot of walking as the gorges were too small to ride the quads through.  It rewarded us greatly as we came upon a pool of water, with just a trickle running down from the rocks above.  Gordon stepped into the sand at water's edge but he was sinking quickly, so changed his mind about going any further.  There were rocks that could have been climbed, if any of us had been younger than 60, to see if there was water pooling up above, or if it was just a spring up there trickling down.  Where are grandkids when you need them.  Even though we didn't get to the place where we had originally planned, we had a wonderful ride.  After the ride we drove to the Valley of Fire for a shower.  25 cents for 5 minutes in nice clean surroundings and nice hot water.

After supper we visited with Winona, Ron, Glade & Kathy.  Went to bed early as we have a busy day tomorrow.

Sunday, March 15 - Another month half over. Yesterday was a very busy day.  We got up early and made potato salad for 20 people.  Then we rushed to town to get dessert for an evening meal.  Originally we were just going to play cards at Fay and Robert's but she changed her mind and made it supper to help clear the freezer before going home.

Went to Connie & Terry's at 2:30 for a pot luck fish fry.  There was oodles of beer batter fried striper bass fish caught in Lake Mead.  Terry has caught 60 in three fishing trips.  It was very tasty.  He wanted to get rid of some fish as their freezer was full and he wanted to go fishing a time or two before they go home.  There is no limit on the amount of fish taken under 20" in length.  There was 14 at the fish fry and enjoyed a wonderful meal.  However, we left there and sat around for about an hour then went on to a lasagna supper.  We took the potato salad to the fish fry and strawberry shortcake to the supper.  After supper we played "Hand and Foot" for three hours.  -  Very busy day.

Today Lucille & Bert picked Jeanne up for Church.  After lunch we made bread then Gordon went horizontal for a snooze until Ron came over to invite us to join them for Mexican Train.  It took until 6:30 to play one game.  Lots of fun.  Sandwiches for supper after a hard day on the desert.   

Friday, March 13 - Sunny and very windy on the top of this mesa we are camped on.  We finally crawled out of bed at 8:30 and Jeanne went for a 2.5 km walk trying to get some pictures to show where we are camped, but had to delete them later on in the day.

While Gordon was making toast (cooking on the stove outside) for our toast & tomato breakfast, Glade and his neighbor Ron came over to invite us to a fish fry on Saturday afternoon.  There is no limit to the number of fish one can catch in Lake Mead, and the boys had been out the day before and caught 24.  Everyone is heading home soon and their freezer is full, thus the fish fry.

Around 11:00 am we drove south 11 km to the Valley of Fire State Park.  Capturing the grandeur on our digital camera is impossible, but we took a camera full of photos and had to delete the ones Jeanne took during her morning walk to make room for a few more.  Hope you can get some idea of the vastness and the beauty of this land.  Valley of Fire was Nevada's first state park, so designated in the 20ies.  The winter temperatures range from freezing to 75 F.  Summer highs usually exceed 100 F and can reach 120 F.  They have an average yearly rainfall of 4".  The plant community is dominated by widely spaced creosote bush, burro bush, and brittlebush, with several cactus species, including beaver tail and cholla are also common.  Also common are several species of lizards and snakes, coyote, kit fox, skunk, jackrabbit and antelope ground squirrel.  We saw no wildlife while in the park.  The second and third from the last of the pictures were taken directly across the road from each other.  The last picture shows, in the far distance, the Mormon Mesa we rode up and over yesterday.  There is a little white spot about in the middle just below the furtherest mountains which is the letter "M" on the side of the Mesa.  After our return from the Valley of Fire we drove into town to get some things to make potato salad for the potluck tomorrow.  Gord made popcorn and we read our books then went to bed early.  It got up to 72F today.