Home at Last

We are getting settled in Eatonia, even with the snow that keeps falling everyday. We were very surprised to see our yard and decks - they required shovelling before we could get into the front porch. The snow is wet and is adding much needed moisture to the soil.

It is hard to believe our winter is over and we have already started counting down the days until we can head back to San Carlos. Although, I must admit I have been feeling the urge to teach again. Someone shake me!

The upcoming summer will be filled with house renovations - remember the kitchen sink? We have one special trip planned for June and that is to go to New York to see Yankee Stadium before it closes in October. Being a baseball fanatic, this has always been a dream of mine and I am so excited about seeing the history of baseball in that stadium.

Great Falls

Can you guess which Maggie enjoyed the snow the most?

We made it to Great Falls without any difficulties - well maybe one! We checked our medical insurance this morning and found that it had expired yesterday, so another trip to the pay phone. No problems with GMS extending it.

This storm in Northern Montana has taken a toll on heaters. The Home Depot in Great Falls is sold out so we are on a mission later this afternoon to find one.

It is quite interesting to see the number of RVers who have been stranded by the weather. Many have the same problem we have and have been experiencing frozen pumps and pipes. The RV park is out of propane and WalMart is also out of space heaters and RV antifreeze.

The last few days have been exciting and a good wake-up call from the 'worry about it tomorrow' mentality we've become accustomed to over the last four months.

Tomorrow we are moving to Havre and then home on Wednesday. Hopefully!

SIDE NOTE: We finally were able to find a heater at K-Mart after searching many big box stores for what we thought was a very common item.

Good News

Our furnace kicked in last night and the second storm has not yet appeared. We're leaving Butte in an hour or so and will try to make it to Great Falls or Havre.

Movin' On Up...North

Since we left Mesquite on Saturday we have been through extremes in the weather, from 30 degrees and higher in Mesquite [just perfect for a happy hour with friends] to blankets of snow with -11 degrees and lower in Butte [not so perfect].

As we neared Salt Lake City on Saturday the sand was blowing reducing visibility and on Sunday as we got closer to Monida Pass the snow was blowing, again reducing visibility.

We left Ogden early on Sunday hoping to beat the storm that was to hit Helena and further north. When we got to Dubois we checked with the services stations to make sure Monida Pass was open - the response was "yes, no trouble". Alas - weather changes fast. Within 30 minutes of leaving Dubois we were in the midst of a severe storm. We had to decide between turning around and driving more than 50 miles back to an RV park at Idaho Falls or struggle through the pass. Monida was dangerous and very scary, but we were committed and continued on to Butte. We keep reminding ourselves that when we left in December, we promised that if we ran into poor weather we would just "hole up" and wait it out. Next year for sure.

Butte is in terrible shape with tons of snow and very cold at -11 degrees. The good news first. Wait - there is no good news. Because we didn't expect the temperature to drop so suddenly, we didn't empty the black water, grey water or the fresh water. Of course they froze solid and we had to haul pails of hot water to get the sewer thawed and emptied. The rest was too frozen to work with so we will check for leaks later.

The next "good news" was that our furnace quit. We tried to buy a heater at WalMart [sold out] and then K-Mart [fake fireplace look for $100]. We finally had to borrow one from the Kamping Kabins at the KOA.

The last piece of "good" news is that this storm is expected to reappear tonight. We have no plans of leaving Butte tomorrow and as such may not be home until Wednesday. The Friday 501 is looking better and better.

Oatman Arizona

Fred and I had wanted to go see the "ghost" town of Oatman and when Lenore wrote about their visit, it only reinforced our desire to see the place. The town is situated in the low hills surrounding Laughlin and Bullhead City.

When the gold mines closed down, the residents did not allowed their town to die completely. They set up souvenir shops, restaurants and promoted the wild burros that roam the area. The burros were the main attraction and they caught my attention completely. They come down from the hills to wander the streets and to get a feed of carrots offered by the tourists. They often walk through the stores, stopping for a visit with their favourite shop owners.

We stopped for a beer at the Oatman Hotel and saw the honeymoon suite of Carol Lombarde and Clark Gable. The hotel is papered in dollar bills from every country [mostly USA] and in my eyes is a major fire hazard.

We have since left Laughlin and today are camped at Ogden, Utah. We always stay at a state park when we pass through here, but today decided to stay at a regular RV Park so we could use the Internet to get an update on the storm we were warned about. After checking in we found out the WIFI is not working so we have now resorted to sneaking into the Super 8 Hotel to send this and to check the weather.

If all goes well, we still plan on arriving at Eatonia on Tuesday. It all depends on the huge snowfall we are hearing so much about.

Moving Slowly

We regretted leaving the Parker area, but we must keep edging northward. We drove two hours to Laughlin, Nevada and are currently parked in the Riverside RV Park located on the north end of the "strip".

Yesterday was another extremely hot day and we tried to stay cool by walking near the river, dipping in and out of the casinos, while Doug and Lenore were dipping in and out of the Riverside Casino pool. We couldn't stay away too long as we needed to check on Princess Maggie making sure our AC was keeping her cool and safe. Being in Arizona and Nevada during this hot spell gives us an appreciation of what the heat must be like in the summer months.

Today is going to be a day of laundry, fitness centre, and shopping. I have learned that a couple of friends have comp'd a hotel for two days and I am going to "borrow" their gym for as long as I can.

Much Hotter Winters

The last two days have been hotter than we expected and we have had to resort to spending time with Maggie at the river. She was so hot she would beg to go for a walk as she knew it always ended with a swim in the Colorado.

Nothing seemed to cool Fred and I down. We have been going through at least two gallons of water a day, along with ice-cream drumsticks and fruit bars. Even as we complained about the heat, we looked at the forecast for the trip home and we realized we were very lucky as the temperatures at night still called for freezing. We may have to drain the 5th wheel of all the water, and after spending a winter in warmer climes that is very hard to comprehend.

Tomorrow we are driving to Laughlin, Nevada and will be staying at the Avi RV Park. We will likely see Doug, Lenore and Abbey before we start the final leg of the trip home.


As you can see from the photo, the area around Parker is beautiful and great for sightseeing and hiking. Fred took this photo from a trail just outside our park. California is just across the river.

River Race

Today we did something out of the ordinary - we watched a Colorado River Race and the best part was that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The races were so different from anything we have seen before that we were fascinated with the event. It was a circle race with the boats going round and round [sounds like a Nascar race].

The boats we saw varied from the Cracker Box to Super Pro category. We know there were other groups, but the heat was overbearing and we could not stay outside too long.

Everyday we keep telling ourselves that we must move north, but everyday something new turns up and we make another excuse not to move. Buckskin Mountain State Park has been good for us - not too busy, but with enough to keep us occupied

Buckskin Mountain State Park

We left La Paz this morning with the hopes of finding something as comfortable as what we just left. We knew we would be giving up a "sometimes" Internet, but that was the price to pay. As it turned out, we are scabbing off someone else and the service is extremely fast [probably the fastest of the trip]. As you can see by the photo we also gave up some very relaxing mornings, sitting around with coffee and discussing the events of the day.


During the last couple of days we have seen some wonderful golf and had some great times with friends. The pictures we took do not do justice to the course, but I can only hope you can see what we could see.



Doug and Lenore toured Lake Havasu today while we made the long move [5 kms] to Buckskin Mt. State Park. The USA has some awesome state parks and we love to use them as much as possible. While we were setting up, Rudy and Pat from Vancouver Island, pulled in behind us so we spent time reminiscing about the 3 months we spent at Totonaka together.

This state park is also situated on the Colorado River, but it does not see as much boat traffic as La Paz. There is a store and small restaurant on site - nothing like the Roadrunner. Tomorrow we plan on washing the truck and 5th wheel and nothing else.


The weather is a stark contrast to last year's trip home. Last year we sought out the warmer weather and this year we are hunting for some relief from the 30 - 36 degree temperatures.

Parker, Arizona

All week we have been watching the cactus at Desert Palms continue to bloom. When we left Mexico the cactus were already finished blooming so we were surprised when we saw the plants in Arizona - they are very striking and beautiful.


We followed the Baileys to Parker and after our long drive [65 minutes] we were ready for a rest and a cerveza. We are camped at a County RV Park [much like our Regional Parks] and have a front row seat on the Colorado River. There are numerous boats showing off in front of us. This setting is ideal for water lovers, like Maggie.


Just a short walk from our site there is a floating bar/restaurant that caters to the boating traffic, some of whom have had too much to drink. The noise was almost too much for a Sunday afternoon.



This afternoon we have a tee off time at one of the top 10 hidden jewels in the USA [according to Golf Magazine]. Hopefully we can give a good report after the round and not be too frustrated.

Salute to Glenda and Bob

Today was spent organizing for tomorrow's move to Parker, Arizona - laundry, water refills and finding a place for everything that really doesn't have a place.

Getting water is a necessary chore, whether we are in San Carlos, Mexico, Yuma, Arizona, or Salome, Arizona. The dispensers that are so prominent in these areas are almost never seen at home. A gallon of water usually costs 25 cents and if you are like Fred or Doug, you can find better bargains by doing a little hunting around.


We wanted to send our best wishes to Glenda and Bob and for us the best way was to take the time to raise an amber beverage to them from the Cactus Bar.

Another Heat Wave in Salome

After my run this morning, Lenore visited our RV site and told us the forecast was for heat and wind. Like Maggie, we hate the wind, so within the hour we were on the course. The workers were reseeding the greens so only eight holes were open - we played 18 by replaying as many hole as we could. The wind never did appear.

Yesterday, on a day off from golfing, Doug and Lenore drove to Parker to check out a course that all of us have heard many good things about. The Baileys were pleased with what they saw, so on Sunday we will likely move to Parker, Arizona. We don't know much about the city so will have to rely on their guidance.

After Parker we will probably hit different trails, as we 'may' be going to Death Valley, California and Doug and Lenore 'may' go toward Zion National Park in Utah. The "may" plays a prominent part in winters like this.

We missed out on the park's 'pitch and putt', but congratulate me as I won the cumulative week score for our foursome - even par of 66! ( I guess you can tell by this score that the course is not a regulation size course and there is only one par five). Senior play!

BTW -For those who read Lenore's blog, I am truly embarrassed by her behaviour yesterday at 'The Bookman' in Quartzite. If I had know she would take such suggestive pictures I would have distanced myself from her and her fantasies... in reality I am very envious and would love to stop at the "Bookman" and see what he has to offer.

Cactus Bar

Earlier today we completed our third round of 18 holes in as many days and were ready for a break. The four of us went on a palapa bar hunt in Salome, but had no luck. We did find the Cactus Bar and had a cooling refreshment. The bar is a typical Southern Arizona cowboy bar with many humourous and strange artifacts. 'Rumour by Fred' has the ceiling made from pressed seaweed and the bartender 'almost' confirmed it. Do we believe her? The Cactus name really does come from the cactus growing out front of the bar.

There are a few places of interest and it was a pottery shop that caught our attention. We checked out the place, but did not make any purchases as items that look good in Arizona sometimes do not look as striking in Saskatchewan.

We are in Salome for a few more days and we 'may' have some plans for the remainder of our stay. There is talk of entering the skins game at the pitch and putt course right here in the park. I want to enter the ladies Texas Hold Em tournament on Satuday, but will wait and see - that seems to be a retirement attitude!