April 17 to 23, 2008

April 17 to 23, 2008

Corning, California to Keremeos, British Columbia

 

Thursday ; Corning, California to Sutherlin, Oregon

Well, now I've seen it all ! ! ! This morning Bo woke me up at 7:00 A.M. to be taken out for a walk. When I stepped outside, I noticed for the first time the RV rig that had pulled in beside us in the Flying J parking lot last night, after dark, after our shades were drawn. It was an older Class A motorhome, with British Columbia license plates. And behind it was its toad ( towed vehicle ), on a flatbed trailer. A fairly small, personal use ... are you ready ? ... helicopter ! ! ! I suppose that would get you from the RV park to the Wal-Mart pretty quickly all winter, wouldn't it ? HA HA HA !

Today was sunny and very warm. We prepared for departure, and before leaving the Flying J in Corning, we refilled the fresh water tank and dumped the two grey waste holding tanks. We headed north on Interstate 5, covering a lot of ground again today. Over 1000 km. / 600 miles in two days. Shortly before we reached the border between California and Oregon we stopped for lunch in a beautiful rest area where we have stopped before. California has nice Interstate rest areas. After lunch we continued on I-5 into Oregon, entering the Cascade Mountains, the same mountain range that we live in back home in Keremeos, British Columbia. We stopped to refill with diesel in Roseburg. A few minutes before the front office closed at 5:00 P.M. we arrived at Timber Valley SKP Park in Sutherlin.

I've just been taken for a walk ( at 7:00 P.M. ) by Joanne. She wanted to show me the wild turkeys she saw a few minutes ago while walking Bo. And she wanted to redeem herself, after telling me back in Yuma that she was seeing iguanas in the dog park on a daily basis, but there never were any when I went to the dog park with her. Yes, dear, I believe you. HA HA HA ! There were, indeed, wild turkeys where she said there were. Three males and three females. We walked to where she had seen them, and once I saw them, then I realized ... I should have brought my camera. DUH ! We trudged back uphill to the trailer, I got my camera, we walked back down to where the wild turkeys were, I shot a couple of photos, and my camera batteries died. Oh, well, I had already taken a couple of photos. Then ... < blink > ... two Blacktail Deer wandered by. Gee, this park is like a wildlife refuge. Timber Valley SKP Park is in the Cascades Mountains in Oregon, surrounded by thick evergreen forest. The park is filled with huge rabbits. Bo is frenzied ! And he didn't even see the wild turkeys or the deer.

 

Friday ; Today was cloudy and cool. HMPH ... welcome to Oregon in the spring.

Yup ... the passenger side outside rear dually tire is definitely continuing to lose air slowly. I think I'll procrastinate dealing with it until we get back home to Keremeos. Until then, I'll just have to add air to the tire every few days. I climbed up on the roof and swept off the tops of the slides. They were dirty with desert dust and evergreen needles. We noticed a few days ago when we retracted the slides for travel. I went to the clubhouse and < sigh > used a dial up connection to send and retrieve e-mail, and update my blog. It’s been over a year since I’ve last had to use a dial up connection. I wasn’t able to attach photos to my blog using a dial up connection. I’ll have to do it the next time I have access to Wi-Fi. After lunch I read and napped. Darn ... I slept through Timber Valley’s weekly friendship hour, Fridays at 3:00 P.M.. Joanne didn’t wake me because she didn’t know I wanted to go to friendship hour. I spent the rest of the afternoon updating my investment files.

 

Saturday ; Sutherlin to Silverton, Oregon

Today was cloudy and cold ! All day long, as we drove, there was intermittent rain, freezing rain, ice pellets, and wet snow. Fortunately, there was no precipitation during our departure preparations, arrival procedures, or any of the many shopping stops we made today.

We left Timber Valley SKP Park in Sutherlin this morning heading north on Interstate 5. A few minutes after we departed, the freezing rain and ice pellets began to fall. We stopped at Cottage Grove to shop at Wal-Mart and Safeway. We bought most of what we wanted to stock up on before leaving the United States at the Wal-Mart in Cottage Grove. We wanted to do our stocking up in Oregon because there is no sales tax. We continued northbound on I-5. Shortly before we reached Eugene we were delayed by a multi-vehicle pileup on the Interstate freeway.We stopped for a late lunch at a roadside rest area. We saw a Home Depot from the freeway as we drove through Albany. We stopped there so that I could shop for something that I need for a home improvement project in the trailer. The Home Depot in Albany didn't have what I needed < sigh >. We continued northbound on I-5. We stopped in Salem to refill with diesel and shop at another Wal-Mart for a couple of items that the Wal-Mart in Cottage Grove didn't have. We drove another few miles north on I-5 and saw a Lowe's in Keizer. They had the items I needed that Home Depot didn't have. From Lowe's we headed east on Hwy. 213 a short distance to Silverton where Joanne had selected a Passport America park to stay at tonight.

Nice park. Pull through sites, cable TV, free Wi-Fi, reasonable rates. We got set up in a site and while Joanne prepared supper I got online to send and retrieve e-mail, and attach photos to my last blog entry. We didn't attach our external water hose tonight because of the cold temperatures. It might dip below freezing tonight. The very cold weather forecast for the next few days might make us have to rethink our plans for the next few days. As I'm typing this late in the evening sitting at the dinette table Teddy is sitting on the table in front of me, cuddled up against my chest. Poor old Teddy, he's cold !

 

Sunday ; Silverton, Oregon to Tacoma, Washington

Today was another cloudy, cold day, with intermittent rain. Just north of Mount St. Helens there was a brief ice pellet blizzard.

Okay ... Plan A. We were going to drive to a Passport America park south of Mount St. Helens and get an early start tomorrow morning on exploring Mount St. Helens National Park. Afterwards we would go to another Passport America Park between Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier National Park, followed by a visit the following day to Mount Rainier National Park. We decided that upon leaving Silver Spur RV Park in Silverton we would travel secondary back roads for awhile before returning to the Interstate. As we drove through Silverton looking for Hwy. 214 ... HEY < slamming on brakes ... SCREECH > ... a Mexican bakery ! This far north ... who'd 'a thunk ? HA HA HA ! We stopped and loaded up on pan dulce. We drove northwest on Hwy. 214 to Interstate 5 then headed north on I-5. We thought driving through Portland on a Sunday was a good idea, hoping that the traffic on a Sunday would be lighter than on a weekday. We drove through Portland and across the Columbia River into the state of Washington. Joanne decided today that she doesn't want to drive on Interstate 5 through Oregon and Washington any more, in the spring and fall. Every time we've driven I-5 through Oregon and Washington in November or April, the weather has been bad. Interstate 5 is on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. Hwy. 97, the main highway through the Okanagan Valley, runs on the east side of the Cascade Mountains all the way down to Interstate 5 at Weed, California. The weather is much better along Hwy. 97, east of the Cascades. So that will be our route in the future.

Okay ... Plan B. We arrived at Ridgefield, Washington, where we were planning to spend the night, much earlier in the day than we had thought we would. It was too early to stop for the night. So we decided to drive to the Mount St. Helens Visitor Centre, get information, then stop for the night at a nearby state park. We continued north on I-5 and at Castle Rock we turned east on Hwy. 504 heading for the Mount St. Helens Visitor Centre at Silver Lake. There we found that the road through Mount St. Helens National Park and the road through Mount Rainier National Park were both still closed for the winter.

Okay ... Plan C. We decided to head for Millersylvania State Park further north on I-5. We drove back to I-5 and continued north. As we were driving Joanne was checking our campground directories. HEY ... there's a county park with camping at Chehalis that's cheaper than the state park.

Okay ... Plan D. At Chehalis we found our way to the county park. We didn't have the correct change for the self-registration / self-pay system.

Okay ... Plan E. Same as Plan C. We continued north on I-5 heading for Millersylvania State Park. HEY ... a roadside rest area on the Interstate.

Okay ... Plan F. We pulled into the roadside rest area planning to boondock for the night. HEY ... there's another rest area on I-5 about 50 miles down the road at Tacoma / Seattle, and it's still fairly early, so ...

Okay ... Plan G. We continued north on I-5 heading for the roadside rest area at Tacoma / Seattle. HEY ... a Flying J just as we got to Tacoma.

Okay ... Plan H. Let's refill with diesel and we'll just boondock at the Flying J. While I refilled with diesel Joanne walked around looking for a suitable site to park overnight. There was no separate area for RV's to park overnight, so wewould have had to just park in between the tractor trailers, most of whom idle their engines all night. Been there, done that, so ...

Okay ... Plan I. Same as Plan G. Hmmm ... a roadside rest area on the Interstate right in the middle of a large city. Rather odd ! But the roadside rest area was quite suitable for boondocking overnight. Good thing, because Joanne had already formulated ...

Plan J. If the roadside rest area was unsuitable, there was a Wal-Mart a few more miles north on I-5 where we could have boondocked overnight. It should go without saying that shopping at the Wal-Mart became tomorrow's Plan A. HA HA HA !

 

Monday ; Tacoma to Lincoln Rock State Park, Washington

Tonight we are at Lincoln Rock State Park, a lovely, albeit expensive, Washington State Park on the Columbia River in the eastern portion of the Cascade Mountains. Washington’s state parks are very nice, but very expensive. This area looks like “home”, in Keremeos, in the Similkameen Valley. Not surprising, since the Similkameen River flows into the Okanagan River near the Canadian border, and the Okanagan River flows into the Columbia River not too far north of where we are tonight. And as expected, as soon as we crossed from the western side of the Cascades to the eastern side, the weather improved considerably.

Today was mostly cloudy and cold. When we stopped for lunch at a roadside rest area in the Snoqualmie Pass, it was snowing heavily. This morning before we departed the roadside rest area in Tacoma we dumped our grey waste holding tanks and refilled the fresh water holding tank. Some of Washington’s roadside rest areas have trailer sanitary stations. We drove into Tacoma and found the Wal-Mart. Easier said than done ! Some Wal-Marts are easy to find off the highway, some aren’t ! While Joanne shopped for the last few items we wanted to stock up on before returning to Canada I phoned Riverside RV Park Resort to arrange for the hydro and water to be turned on at our site tomorrow. Joanne still couldn’t find one item we want, so we’ll have to make one more Wal-Mart stop tomorrow, in Omak.

We departed Tacoma heading northeast on Hwy. 18 until it reached Interstate 90. We drove east on I-90 climbing up and over the Cascade Mountains. We refilled with diesel at Flying J in Ellensburg, the most expensive fuel price we paid this winter, $4.479 per gallon of diesel ! At Hwy. 281 we turned north to Quincy, then west and north on Hwy. 28 until it merged with Hwy. 97 at East Wenatchee. Hwy. 97 is the road that runs all the up through the Okanagan Valley, in both Washington and British Columbia. A few miles north of East Wenatchee and we were at Lincoln Rock State Park.

We got set up in our site, then took Bo for a long walk in this lovely park. We walked down to the waterfront. Bo ran into the Columbia River at the park’s beach, but didn’t get very far before turning around and running out of the water. Pretty cold, wasn’t it, Bo ? We’re not on the Sea Of Cortez anymore. HA HA HA ! We walked over to the park’s playground where Bo did some “Bo-gility”, including fearlessly and eagerly sliding down the children’s slide. What a silly little dog. He loves slides ! We returned to the trailer as the sun was setting because it was getting pretty chilly !

I phoned the China Creek technician in Cawston to arrange for me to pickup the China Creek ISP Wi-Fi transceiver equipment as we drive through Cawston tomorrow on our way back to Keremeos. I had to return China Creek’s equipment last November 1 to suspend our home Internet service for the winter. At the moment, he doesn’t have the equipment that I need. HMPH ! I did some work on the computer, including preparing and printing a list of our U.S. and Mexico purchases this winter, to declare as we cross the border tomorrow.

 

Tuesday ; Lincoln Rock State Park, Washington to Keremeos, British Columbia

Today was sunny and cold. We're home !

We departed Lincoln Rock State Park this morning and headed north on Hwy. 97. Much of the Okanogan ( American spelling ) Valley in the U.S. is apple orchards, the same as in the Okanagan ( Canadian spelling ) Valley in British Columbia. The apple trees are all in blossom. Very lovely. We stopped at Wal-Mart in Omak for our last chance to buy the last few items on our "must buy before leaving U.S." list. Finally ... success ! We got the last few items we wanted. We had lunch in the Wal-Mart parking lot. We continued north on Hwy. 97 to the Canadian border at Oroville, Washington, crossing into Osoyoos, British Columbia. This is the second time we have crossed at Oroville / Osoyoos, and like the last time, it was a painless process that took about 30 seconds. We turned west on Hwy. 3, the Crowsnest Highway, for the final leg of our journey home to Keremeos.

Driving west from Osoyoos along the Similkameen River to Keremeos and Riverside RV Park Resort affirmed the decision we made a year and a half ago to buy an RV lot here in the Similkameen Valley. We love it ! At Keremeos we stopped at Fas Gas to refill with diesel and buy a phone card for our Canadian cell phone. We arrived home at Riverside RV Park Resort and were surprised by all the changes. There were quite a few new park model homes that weren't here when we left on November 1. And most importantly, the pool complex is finally finished ! ! !

Before we were even able to get parked in our lot we were being greeted by neighbours. We chatted with neighbours, got set up in our lot, then chatted with neighbours some more. I was very surprised to find out that some of our neighbours have been following us along, reading my blog. I told one neighbour about my blog last fall, but I guess the word got spread around. Finally, we went down to see the pool complex. It opened a few days ago, a year behind schedule. Huge indoor swimming pool, hot tub, 2 infrared saunas, a fully equipped exercise room, bathrooms and change rooms with showers, and a laundromat. The long wall of the pool and hot tub area facing the Similkameen River and the mountains across the river is a floor to ceiling glass wall comprised of a series of huge overhead doors, like giant glass garage doors, that can be opened in warm weather to turn the indoor pool and hot tub area into a semi-outdoor pool and hot tub area. We're really looking forward to using the pool complex !

We had a late supper while watching an episode of Survivorman on DVD on the computer. It will be few days before I can arrange to have our satellite TV service resumed. We had a great winter of adventure, but it's good to be home. I'm tired !

 

Wednesday ; Today was cloudy and cold. And so ends another winter season of travelling and adventures. Like last summer, I will not continue to keep a daily journal / blog during the summer. I don’t think our day to day life here during the summer would be interesting enough to justify keeping a daily journal. But like last summer, I will keep an intermittent journal, recording interesting events and activities, and posting them on my blog from time to time.

I hope you enjoyed our winter’s adventures. We certainly did ! Thanks for reading my blog.

 

DSK

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April 10 to 16, 2008

April 10 to 16, 2008

Victorville to Corning, California

 

Thursday ; Victorville to Porterville, California

Today was sunny and very warm. Typical Southern California weather, I guess.

This morning we left the Wal-Mart parking lot in Victorville quite early. I wanted to have another day of hard driving covering many miles. We drove north on Interstate 15 for a few miles, then turned west on Hwy. 18 for a few miles to Adelanto where we stopped at Stater Bros. to buy groceries. Nice grocery store. In general, California's grocery stores are nicer than average, with particularly good produce departments, meat departments, and in store bakeries, somewhat of a rarity in the United States, we find. While in the grocery store's parking lot I phoned Wal-Mart in Penticton, B.C. to order some prescription refills, to be ready for pick up in 3 weeks.

We headed north on Hwy. 395 through the desolate Mojave Desert to Four Corners, then turned west on Hwy. 58 and continued through the Mojave, passing the Edwards Air Force Base and a huge commercial airliner graveyard. We reached the western edge of the Mojave Desert at the Tehachapi Valley, a beautiful mountainous area we have driven through before. The Tehachapi Pass is a challenge to drive a big rig through, although it's more of a challenge going uphill / eastbound than it is going downhill / westbound, as we did today. At Bakersfield, we turned south on Hwy. 99 looking for the Flying J. Ooooops ... wrong direction. Too bad we drove about 10 miles until we realized that ! We headed north on Hwy. 99 and found the Flying J. Why is diesel about twice the price in California than it is in Mexico ? ! ? Today's refuelling cost $133 ! ! ! We had a late lunch in the Flying J parking lot.

We continued north on Hwy. 99 to Hwy. 190, then turned east heading for Porterville. There we found our way to Lakeside Trailer Park, the last reasonably priced, commercial RV park before Sequoia National Park. Since we had boondocked at a Wal-Mart last night, we wanted full services tonight, and we didn'twant to go into the National Park because it's been our experience that most National Park campgrounds in the United States are unserviced. Lakeside Trailer Park was a really dumpy mobile home park with a few vacant pads available for use by RV'ers. Oh, well, it was reasonably inexpensive ( for California ! ) and it was only for one night. The place was overrun with feral cats. The elderly "white trailer park trash" woman manager of the park claimed to be trying to capture them and have them neutered, but it looked like she was losing the battle. After getting set up in our site we took Bo for a walk around the park, checking out the 40 to 50 year old mobile homes. Yikes ... how can people live in those ? ! ? But ... the park does have a lovely California spring fragrance.

I bought some huge steaks at Stater Bros. today at an exceptionally good price. Joanne diced one and I barbecued steak and mushroom shish kabobs for supper. After supper we watched an episode of Survivorman on DVD.

 

Friday ; Porterville to Sequoia National Park, California

Today was sunny and very warm. We departed Porterville this morning heading north on Hwy. 65. At Exeter we stopped to refill a propane tank. At Hwy. 198 we turned northeast towards Sequoia National Park. We entered the park on Generals Highway, the main road through the park, and stopped at the Foothills Visitor Centre where we found out that it was not possible for vehicles longer than 22 feet to navigate the narrow, steep, winding roads through the park to the Giant Sequoia groves < sigh >. It had been our plan to enter the park from the southwest corner, then drive through in a big half loop to exit at the northwest corner, sightseeing as we drove.

We drove as far as rigs over 22 feet were able to go, to Potwisha Campground. With some difficulty we squeezed into a site, unhitched, and had lunch. Most U.S. National Parks that we have been to were designed and built long before today's big RV rigs became a reality. The roads and campgrounds are just not big rig friendly. After lunch we drove north through the park, stopping frequently to view and photograph the Giant Sequoias. The campground was at an elevation of 2080 feet. But the Giant Sequoia groves were between 6409 and 6720 feet. At those elevations there was still a lot of snow on the ground, despite the temperature being in the mid-50's. The snow had been melting during the days and freezing overnight for awhile, so the snow covered trails were icy and very slippery. We hiked a short distance on the Big Trees Trail, but it was too treacherous and we turned back. We toured the Giant Forest Museum. We parked and walked to the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree inthe world. We drove as far as the Lodgepole Visitor Centre about halfway through the park, then turned around and drove back.

To a certain extent, once you've seen a few Giant Sequoias ... you've seen 'em all !

 

Saturday ; Sequoia National Park to Coarsegold, California

Today was sunny and hot ! We departed Sequoia National Park this morning driving southwest on Generals Highway until we were out of the National Park, then west on Hwy. 198, and northwest on Hwy. 99. We stopped at Bravo Farms Cheese Factory at Traver, but I didn't want to buy cheese priced at $10 a pound ! We continued northwest on Hwy. 99 to Fresno. We turned north on Hwy. 41, up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, towards Coarsegold, and SKP Park Of The Sierras. We think Park Of The Sierras is the nicest of the 19 Escapee parks.

We registered, got set up in our site, had lunch, I napped, then we drove through the park to see if our friends Lynn and Mischa and their dog Gypsy were here. They have a permanent site in this park. Unfortunately, they were not here. We spent the afternoon relaxing, enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. I prepared some e-mails to send. I downloaded and processed yesterday's photos from Sequoia National Park. We spent the evening watching television. We haven't watched any television in about 2 months.

 

Sunday ; Whew ... today was sunny and very hot ! Abnormal for this time of year ! Ironically, one year ago today, we were in Albuquerque, New Mexico, waiting out a spring blizzard. We spent a lazy morning, mostly resting. After lunch we began to work on repairing a section of stair nosing from the stairs leading up from the living area to the bathroom hallway in the trailer. I wanted to replace the section of stair nosing, but I've been unable to find any to match so far. So I repaired the existing section, to last temporarily, and hope that I can find replacement identical stair nosing once we're back home in Canada. The removal, repair, and reinstallation took most of the afternoon, and while the results were somewhat less than perfect, it'll have to be good enough, for now.

We went to the park's Sunday afternoon ice cream social. Some Escapee parks' Sunday afternoon ice cream socials are better than others. This one was good ! We chatted with a man whose first name was Kirby. He was a civil war veterans' grave historian. Okay ... must be an American thing ! ? ! While doing my Monday preventive maintenance, I discovered a rear tire that was almost flat. Darn ! Hopefully, it's just a valve extender problem. That's likely, since I removed and reinstalled the valve extenders about 10 days ago when I had the truck serviced in Yuma. I removed the rear hub cap and wheel liner, removed, adjusted the positioning of, and reinstalled the valve extender, reinstalled the wheel liner and hub cap, and went to put air in the tire at this very large RV park's well equipped maintenance garage. I'll have to monitor the air pressure in that tire closely for awhile. I did some minor paint touch up on the shower stall base. Again, results less than perfect, but it'll have to be good enough. We dusted the truck ... again ! Gee ... we've gone from the truck being covered in desert dust on a daily basis to it being coated in California Sierra Nevada mountain forest springtime pollen !

After supper I drove slowly through the park with the Wi-Fi phone, using it to search for a Wi-Fi signal. I found one at one of the higher spots in the park. It was a very strong and very fast Wi-Fi signal. I think it was coming from the Chuckchansi Gold Resort & Casino, visible a couple of miles away on the next mountain. I sent and retrieved e-mail, updated my blog, retrieved phone messages, and checked my investments.

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and hot again. It cooled off a bit, and a breeze came up in the afternoon. The California Sierra Nevada Mountains that we are in have a lovely, fresh spring scent. But ... the truck is coated in pollen daily, and Bo and I are sneezing a lot. We slept late this morning. I did today's preventive maintenance, then performed surgery on Señor Caballerro III. Señor Caballerro is the little rubber Saguaro cactus wearing the bolo tie and cowboy hat that sits on the truck antenna. The first Señor Caballero simply died of old age after being on the antenna for a year. Señor Caballero II was knocked off the antenna in the Baja, on one of the many back roads / burro trails that we drove. Señor Caballerro III is the recent replacement. A few days ago, while driving into a very strong headwind, we noticed that he was almost pulled off the top of the antenna. So, today I drilled all the way through him, and slid him down to the bottom of the antenna.

We went to the nearby Chuckchansi Gold Resort & Casino for lunch. It's our favourite casino buffet. They have a very economical senior's price for lunch in their buffet restaurant on weekdays. And they simply assume, since we're showing up for lunch on a weekday, that we are seniors. Hey ... who am I to argue ? It's not my fault my wife looks old. HA HA HA ! We have eaten at Chuckchansi before, and it has resulted in some "inside jokes". We eat until Joanne has to ... well, you know ... visit the ladies' room. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! That's usually after we've each made a trip to the soup and salad station, the Italian food station, the Mexican food station, the American food station, the Chinese food station, and the dessert station. It's too bad she doesn't have a larger capacity colon. I've never made it to the Mongolian barbecue station. HA HA HA < tears rolling > HA HA ! And ... < snickering > ... the wait staff's question to all departing guests is, with a smile, "Did you have enough to eat ?". HA HA HA ... casino buffet humour.

After lunch, before departing the casino, Joanne wanted to play penny slots until we lost a dollar. Okay ! We finally left when our dollar had become four dollars ! Hey ... some days you just got it ! We drove north on Hwy. 41 through the little village of Coarsegold and on to the slightly larger town of Oakhurst. We refilled with diesel, refilled water jugs, and bought some groceries.

Back at SKP Park Of The Sierras we rested and read for the rest of the afternoon. Joanne was slow and sluggish until after her second Chuckchansi s**t. HA HA HA HA HA < barely able to type > HA HA HA HA HA ! I drove her and our dirty laundry over to the laundromat at the clubhouse. While we waited for the washing machines to finish, we took Bo to this park's fenced dog run for a romp, then did an obedience session with him. He hasn't had more than a few obedience sessions in the last 5½ months, and it shows ! When we get back home to Keremeos, I'm going to have to resume daily obedience sessions with him. We browsed through thepark's bargain table and library. I picked up some books to read, and a pair of shorts from the bargain table. I had difficulty starting the truck. Uh-oh ... maybe Lanoire's first mechanical problem ? I'm hoping, since I just refilled with diesel today, that it's nothing more serious than some dirty diesel fuel, or diesel fuel with some water condensed in it. I guess I'll know as soon as I've used up this tank of fuel, which will be after one full day of driving once we're back on the road.

I pulled out the truck's owner's manual, and learned how to drain the fuel / water separator filter. I used to do that regularly on Dee-Dee, but I had never done that before on Lanoire because I didn't know how. It's supposed to be done "periodically". That probably means more often than once every 85,000 kilometres / 53,000 miles ! The truck started 10 times in a row with no problem. Hopefully that will have solved the hard starting problem that I experienced today.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and warm. The unseasonably hot weather is over, for at least a few days. We decided that we wanted to stay here at SKP Park Of The Sierras for one more day, and will leave tomorrow. This morning I determined that the passenger side outside rear dually tire was still losing air slowly. I changed the valve extender, installing a spare that I had. If that doesn't solve the problem, then the tire itself must have a leak. Joanne was complaining about the length of her hair on top, dissatisfied that the hair stylist in Mulegé had not cut enough off the top. It's hard to get a good haircut when you don't speak the same language as the hair stylist. HA HA HA ! I gave Joanne a hair trim today, something I've never done before. Apparently my talents and skills are boundless. HA HA HA !

We spent most of the afternoon reading outside in the warm sunshine, resting up for the next few days of driving. Over the next few days I think we'll drive through the northern half of California, and halfway through Oregon to the SKP park at Sutherlin.

I prepared a letter and supporting documentation to ICBC ( Insurance Corporation of British Columbia ), requesting a refund of our truck and trailer insurance premiums for the period of time we were in Mexico. Our Canadian vehicle insurance is not valid in Mexico, and we are entitled to a refund of the insurance premiums for that period of time. After supper I drove over to the high spot in the park where there is a strong Wi-Fi signal from the Chuckchansi Gold Resort & Casino, and retrieved mid-month investment updates.

 

Wednesday ; Coarsegold to Corning, California

This morning we prepared for departure from SKP Park Of The Sierras, Joanne went to the office to pay,and I drove over to the maintenance garage to adjust the air pressure in all 12 truck and trailer tires for the long drive north. The passenger side outside rear dually tire still seems to be losing air slowly, despite me replacing the valve extender. We decided that since we were rested and fresh, we would travel scenic back roads through the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the morning before heading over to the Interstate in the afternoon.

We headed north on Hwy. 41 through Coarsegold to Oakhurst, then turned northwest onto Hwy. 49, following the steep, winding road as it passed along the western edge of Yosemite National Park. It was a tough drive with a big rig. It remained steep and winding until we began to move westward away from the Sierra Nevada Mountains when we turned west onto Hwy. 120. At Oakdale we saw a cheese factory and stopped. We bought fresh gouda curds, a tub of a cheese spread called Quark, and a loaf of sourdough bread. We ate some of that for lunch in Oakdale Cheese Factory's parking lot. We visited their animal pen which had a llama and baby goats.

At Manteca, a bit east of San Francisco, we reached Hwy. 99 which is a four lane divided freeway. We drove north on Hwy. 99 to Lodi, where we drove across the city to get to Interstate 5, and a Flying J. We refilled with diesel at Flying J because I didn't want to be < singing > "stuck in Lodi ... again". HA HA HA ! We drove north to and through California's capital city, Sacramento. We continued north on I-5 to a rest area at Dunnigan where we changed drivers. I was tired of driving after about 400 km. / 250 miles. Joanne drove for about another 100 km. / 60 miles to Corning. We refilled with diesel at Flying J ... again ... and parked there for a night of boondocking.

Gee ... our diesel expenditures for the day were $169 ! The price of fuel in California is truly outrageous. Here at the Flying J in Corning we paid $4.239 per gallon. And Flying J is ten to fifteen cents per gallon cheaper than the other stations. Hopefully this tank will last us until we cross into Oregon, where I'm hopeful the prices will be cheaper. The truck's hard starting problem has disappeared. The diesel I bought in Coarsegold must have had dirt or water in it.

 

DSK

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April 3 to 9, 2008

April 3 to 9, 2008

Yuma, Arizona to Victorville, California

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and hot. This morning I dropped Joanne off at Arizona Marketplace to shop for fresh produce, and I drove over to RV Connection to buy some RV parts I needed. They only had 2 of the 3 parts that I needed. I picked Joanne up at Arizona Marketplace and we went to Peanut Patch to buy a couple of large tubs of fresh peanut butter. They have very nice peanut butter ! Back at Kofa Ko-op I removed the hub caps, wheel liners, and valve extenders from the truck, in preparation for servicing. After lunch I drove over to Arizona RV and bought the last of the 3 RV parts I needed. Then I took the truck to Fisher Chrysler Dodge to drop it off for servicing tomorrow. Instead of driving me back to Kofa Ko-op, they suggested that maybe there was enough time left today for them to complete the truck servicing. I waited a couple of hours, but they weren't able to complete the servicing this afternoon. They drove me back to Kofa Ko-op.

While I was waiting at Fisher's service department, I went over to the parts department to buy a hub cap to replace the one I lost in the Baja. Geez ... $73 for a teeny little hub cap ! The trailer hub cap and the trailer bearing grease / dust cap that I lost cost about $20 today. So my total losses to Baja's rough roads, topes ( pronounced "toepays" ... big speed bumps ) and topecitos ( pronounced "toepayseetoes" ... little speed bumps ) were a little less than a hundred dollars. Not bad. Could have been a lot worse. I also chatted with another Dodge one ton diesel dually owner whose truck was in for service, because I noticed that his license plate was from Ontario, and it was a commercial truck with an Ottawa phone number on it.

I repaired the onyx wind chimes we bought the other day. One of the cactus figurines was broken on the one I wanted to buy, so the vendor cut a cactus figurine off another set of chimes, and gave it to me to replace the broken one. In the meantime, I had noticed the broken piece on the floor, so I had picked it up, thinking that it might be possible to repair the broken figurine with the amazing glue I bought here in Yuma a few months ago. Tonight I cut the broken figurine off the chimes, and using some fishing line from my fishing rod, installed the replacement. Then I worked on repairing the broken one, hoping that, if successful, I would end up with a spare. The good news is that I was able to repair the broken onyx cactus figurine. The very bad news is that I got some glue and paper towel glued to the dinette table. < sigh > I'm going to have to sand and refinish the area on the dinette table that I damaged.

We administered heartworm and flea treatments to Bo and Teddy. I reconciled the March bank statements. I went to the clubhouse late in the evening to get online with Wi-Fi, update my blog, receive and send e-mail. I find that if I work online using Wi-Fi late at night, when I am the only one using a Wi-Fi network, and no on else is gobbling up bandwidth, I am able to attach photos to my blog without any difficulty at all.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny and hot. Another day of chores. And another day of fighting with Joanne. This morning I installed a replacement dust / grease cap on the trailer. Then I removed all the fittings and connections from my old, leaking 20 foot sewer hose and installed them on a new one. I trimmed my beard. This afternoon we washed the trailer. I took Bo to the dog park. I spent some time relaxing around the pool, reading the newspaper. First time I've read a newspaper in about 2 months. Fisher Chrysler Dodge phoned late in the afternoon to tell me that my truck was almost ready, but asked if it would be okay if they picked me up tomorrow morning instead of today. Sure ... fine. I paid my U.S.$ MasterCard bill by phone. I spent the evening updating and analyzing my investment files.

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and hot. I was up early this morning, in anticipation of the shuttle driver from Fisher Chrysler Dodge picking me up shortly after 8:00 A.M.. While I waited for his arrival I drained the black waste holding tank, then went over to say goodbye to Erbon and Lorraine who left this morning for the long journey back to Ottawa, Ontario. When I got to Fisher I noticed that they had rotated the tires incorrectly, despite me having provided written instructions and a copy of the correct tire rotation pattern diagram from the truck's maintenance manual ! ! ! ****, it's hard to find good help ! ! ! After they rotated the tires again, correctly, and I paid the bill, I headed for the Post Office to pick up a batch of mail sent by my next door neighbour back home. From there I went to Checker Auto Parts to buy some auto supplies, then to Pep Boys for the items that Checker didn't have. From Pep Boys I went to Lowe's for some hardware, then over to Home Depot for the items that Lowe's didn't have < sigh >. From Home Depot I drove over to Love's to buy a gallon of Lucas diesel fuel additive. By the time I returned to Kofa Ko-op it had been a long, productive morning.

After lunch I worked on removing the glue damage that I had done to the dinette table a couple of days ago. My efforts were not successful. Joanne sanded the dinette table top to remove the damage, then varnished it. Sorry ... and thank you ! The rest of the afternoon we spent washing the truck, a job I've been somewhat dreading. The truck has never been that filthy before. That was the result of quite a few back road adventures in the Baja, on gravel and/or dirt and/or rock trails that would be better described as burro paths than roads ! Oh, well, I guess that's one of the reasons why I have a 4WD dually ... which makes it a 6WD actually. HA HA HA ! Nobody could ever accuse me of pampering Lanoire. And today when we washed her, it wasn't a surprise to discover that there are a few new scratches on her from being scraped through desert brush on those back roads / burro trails. I believe that's called "Mexican pinstriping". HA HA HA !

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and hot. I got an early start to my day because I had a lot of work I wanted to get done. First I tightened all the truck lug nuts, then reinstalled the valve extenders, wheel liners, and hub caps. I replaced a lug nut on the trailer. Then I tackled the fairly large job of removing a trailer wheel to install a new hub cover to replace the one that was lost between La Paz and Ciudad Constitución. I jacked up the trailer, removed the wheel, and installed the new hub cover, which installs from behind the wheel. I reinstalled the wheel, then discovered that the wheel and hub assembly were loose and wobbly. HMPH ... loose bearings ! I removed the wheel ... again, removed the grease cap I had just installed a day or two ago, removed the cotter pin from the bearing retainer nut, and tightened the bearing retainer nut. The bearings were very loose, and I wonder if that was from wear and tear, or did Camping World in Albuquerque do a poor job of reassembling the bearings and hub assembly after cleaning and repacking the bearings about a year ago. I suspect the latter, of course. Now I have a bit of anxiety about whether or not the other three hubs have loose bearings, but I can't disassemble and thoroughly inspect every job that I pay somebody else to do. Well, I could, but I'm already obsessive compulsive enough. HA HA HA ! Finding and rectifying the loose bearings prevented a potentially huge problem from developing while travelling. It's gratifying to find and rectify a potentially huge problem before it becomes one.

When Joanne took Bo to the dog park, she encountered a huge lizard, much larger then the little ones we often see out here in the desert. It was probably an iguana. Spring has arrived in the deserts of the southwest. There is a note in the clubhouse warning to be aware of scorpions and rattlesnakes. Makes me a bit leery of wearing sandals when I walk the dog.

We went out for lunch to Carl's Jr., a hamburger fast food chain, then over to Albertson's for grocery shopping. Back at Kofa Ko-op I read today's newspaper, then napped. Joanne worked on cleaning the inside of the truck. I worked on sealing around some exterior plumbing underneath the trailer with expanding foam insulation. The job went very poorly. I don't know if it was too hot today for the expanding foam insulation, or if I bought a poor quality product. It was like trying to get melting ice cream stuck to the underside of the trailer. The only things this expanding foam insulation wanted to stick to were my hands and clothes ! I've used expanding foam insulation before, and it was messy and difficult to use, but nothing like today.

We went to the park's regular Sunday afternoon ice cream social. There certainly are fewer people here in April than in January and February ! Joanne made a list of the lots with park model homes that are available for sale in the park. We walked around and took a look at all of them, to give us an idea of what might be available to us in this park in a couple of years. We are now no. 72 on the park's waiting list. Today at Albertson's Joanne bought a corned beef brisket and cooked it for supper tonight. It was the first time she's made corned beef. It was very good.

 

Monday ; Los Algodones, B.C., Mexico

Guess what ? Today was sunny and hot again. HA HA HA ! This morning we headed for Los Algodones for our last Mexican shopping trip. We bought a couple of cartons of cigarettes for me, some medication for me, a bottle of "Mexican eggnog" liquor, and obscene amounts of Cremino chocolates, Nugs chocolate bars, CocoNugs chocolate bars, and Mini-CocoNugs chocolate bars. HA HA HA HA HA ! Joanne also stocked up heavily on Zuko drink mixes. They're a powdered drink mix like Crystal Light, but much better in her opinion. And they come in flavours like tamarind that just aren't available in Canadian or American powdered drink mixes. Alas, she couldn't find any Nugs Crujiente ( Crunchy Nugs ) chocolate bars. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! Gee, we now have "must buy before leaving country" lists for three countries. Canadian products we stock up on before we leave Canada, American products we stock up on before leaving the U.S. to return to Canada, and Mexican products we stock up on before leaving Yuma or the Texas Rio Grande Valley where we have easy, regular access to Mexico. And we now travel with the currency of all three countries ! We ended our day in Los Algodones with a lovely, late lunch at El Paraiso, our favourite outdoor restaurant in Mexico. The line up to cross the border back into the U.S. was much shorter and faster than in January and February.

Back at Kofa Ko-op we spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool, chatting with a couple from San Diego and a couple from the west coast of Washington. The Washington couple will be starting for home tomorrow. The San Diego couple will be heading for Wyoming and Montana soon. Time for all good little RV'ers to start heading north. It's getting too hot down here in the desert. HA HA HA ! After the pool we took Bo to the dog park. Joanne wanted to show me the large iguanas she had seen in there yesterday and earlier today. I didn't see any ! Yes, dear, I believe you < rolling eyes >. Really, I do ! There were iguana tracks all over the dog park. Little paw prints and lines in the sand from their dragging tails.

I spent the evening reviewing the February and March batches of forwarded mail that I picked up at the Post Office the other day. And it's obvious that our January batch of mail was lost ! It seems as if once per winter we lose a batch of forwarded mail. Not very impressive performance by whichever country's postal service loses my mail ! ! !

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and hot, becoming a bit windy around supper time. This morning Joanne continued cleaning the interior of the truck. I continued working on my expanding foam insulation project. Now that the mess had dried, I was able to trim off the excess with a hacksaw blade, and the job turned out okay. I did some other minor maintenance, we had lunch, then set off for another Wal-Mart trip. We got ourselves well replenished and ready to resume travelling. I refilled with diesel on the way home. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the pool and hot tub, then took Bo for his last play session in the dog park. No ... I still didn't see any iguanas. Yes, dear, I believe you ! I exchanged some books in the park's library. We dropped off some items on the bargain table. Joanne did laundry. I got online and got caught up on e-mail. We're ready to travel !

 

Wednesday ; Yuma, Arizona to Victorville, California

Today was sunny, warm, and windy. This morning before departing Kofa Ko-op I phoned Forbidden Fruit Winery in Cawston, B.C., a few miles from our home in Keremeos, to make reservations for their May 3 picnic. They have sold out of all their 2006 production of fruit wines and ice wines, and are unveiling their 2007 production of wines and ice wines with a picnic on their lovely grounds on the banks of the Similkameen River. We prepared for departure, drove to Love's to adjust the air pressure in all the trailer tires, and headed west on Interstate 10. And so began our spring "migration" north.

We crossed the Colorado River and entered California. We got off the Interstate at Holtville to go into town to stock up on pan dulce / Mexican pastries. Since we were a few miles off the Interstate in Holtville, Joanne suggested we take "back roads" north, then west, and bypass the Interstate freeway and traffic in El Centro. We drove north on Hwy. 115, then west on Hwy. 78 to Brawley. We got onto Hwy 86 and drove northwest along the Salton Sea until we reached Interstate 10 near Palm Springs. We refilled with diesel at Flying J in Thousand Palms, an eastern suburb of Palm Springs. We continued west on I-10 through Palm Springs. Joanne suggested we turn north and once again take "back roads" to avoid the freeway traffic during rush hour on the east side of Los Angeles, through Riverside and San Bernardino. Seemed like a good idea ! The distance might be a bit further, but it would probably take less time, and would certainly be less stressful than driving through Los Angeles suburbs on the freeways during rush hour. We turned off I-10 and headed north on Hwy. 62. I made an obscene gesture as we passed Guide Dogs Of The Desert where we had an unpleasant and unsuccessful WorkCamping job 15 months ago. We followed Hwy. 62 north, then east, from the SonoranDesert over the San Bernardino Mountains, through Yucca Valley and alongside Joshua Tree National Park, to the Mojave Desert. The Yucca Palms and the Joshua Trees are in bloom. Very lovely ! We turned north on Hwy. 247 and followed it north, then west until it reached Hwy. 18. We followed Hwy. 18 west until it reached Interstate 15 at Victorville. We drove about 5 miles south on I-15 and found our way to Wal-Mart where we boondocked for the night.

We drove a very long distance today, but that was my plan. It was our first day of the northward journey, I was rested, and wanted to drive a long distance, then just stop for the night at a Wal-Mart parking lot. We had supper, then did some planning of our travels for the next few days. We decided we want to go see Sequoia National Park and adjacent King's Canyon National Park, then spend a few days at the Escapee park in Coarsegold, California.

 

DSK

March 27 to April 2 photos

 

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March 27 to April 2, 2008

March 27 to April 2, 2008

Playa Santispac, Baja California Sur, Mexico to Yuma, Arizona

 

Thursday ; Playa Santispac to San Ignacio

Today was sunny and hot again. This morning at 7:30 A.M. I had just returned from walking the dog when a Mexican woman in a little white car drove up beside our trailer and stopped. She was selling freshly made, still hot from being baked overnight, tamales. MMMMM ! I bought 2 chicken, egg, and cheese tamales, and 2 chicken, egg, and pineapple tamales. MMMMM ! ! ! Shortly after that I discovered a small female finch had flown into the truck during the night. I had left the windows open a tiny bit. A male finch, her partner, no doubt, was sitting on the outside mirror of the truck, and was obviously very agitated. The female finch rushed out of the truck as soon as I opened the door.

We departed Playa Santispac and headed north on Mex 1. At Mulegé we stopped to refill with fuel. Just before the village of San Lucas we found our way to The Cove Development, a real estate development on San Lucas Cove I was interested in seeing. We met with the developer, Mr. George Wade, a retired professional golfer, and viewed the development. Bo romped with his dog and a neighbour's dog. At last ... success ! From Bo's perspective ! He finally managed to get to roll on a dead fish on the beach. We weren't aware of that until we had lunch. Joanne wondered what the horrible stench was as she sat eating her lunch, with Bo sitting on the dinette chair beside her, begging. EEEEEUUUUUWWWWW ... he had a smudge of dead, rotten fish on his cheek, between his eye and his ear. At least he didn't return from romping on the beach with a large Tortuga ( turtle or tortoise ) skull, like Mr. Wade's Silky Terrier Charlie did ! What the hell's the matter with these little Terriers ? ! ? We weren't really interested in the real estate development, and declined Mr. Wade's offer to stay on the property overnight in our rigs, and he would take us out fishing in San Lucas Cove in his large boat tomorrow.

We stopped in the village of San Lucas to buy some groceries, but the tiny grocery store in the village didn't have all of what we needed. We drove on to Santa Rosalia, and when we got to the RV park we were planning to stay at tonight, it was closed. Welcome to Mexico ! Joanne and Lorraine were quite interested in visiting the town of Santa Rosalia, and that's why we were planning to stay there overnight. We parked our rigs along the malecon ( waterfront walkway ), had lunch, then walked into and around town. We walked though town, finding the town square, Plaza Juárez, then went to see the Iglesia ( Church ) Santa Bárbara de Santa Rosalia, a beautiful church designed and built by Georges Eiffel, as in the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The church was designed and built in France, then disassembled, shipped to Mexico, and rebuilt in 1897. Then we walked over to the Panaderia El Boleo, the town's notable French bakery, founded in 1901. Santa Rosalia is the only town in all of Baja California with a French heritage. AHHHHH ... relief at last ! I was having pan dulce ( Mexican pastry ) withdrawal symptoms already. HA HA HA HA HA ! Suffice to say that we stocked up heavily on Mexican pastries. HA HA HA ! While walking back to where we had parked our rigs on the malecon we bought some produce from a truck parked on the side of the road loaded with fruits and vegetables, and more groceries from a slightly larger grocery store than the one in San Lucas.

We decided that since the RV park in Santa Rosalia was closed, we would continue to drive north to the town of San Ignacio. Shortly after we left Santa Rosalia we ascended Cuesta del Infierno ( Hill from Hell ) and bade farewell to the Sea Of Cortez as Mex 1 turned inland, heading northwest. At San Ignacio we stopped for the night at Rice & Beans Oasis RV Park, Hotel, Restaurant & Bar. We got set up in our sites, then had a planning meeting to figure out the rest of our trip north back to the Unites States. The RV park had Wi-Fi, so I spent quite awhile getting caught up on online work. For supper we had the tamales I bought this morning. And because she bought avocadoes today, Joanne made fresh guacamole to accompany the tamales.

OH ! Obviously I misunderstood what the woman said this morning was in her tamales. I thought she said pineapple. What she actually must have said was pimientas ( peppers ). WHEW ... those were some hot tamales ! HA HA HA ! And neither of us could eat two large tamales. As a result, Teddy and Bo now loooooooooove tamales ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! Although Teddy had to drink a lot of water after eating tamales ! And Bo thinks a day with both dead fish and tamales is a pretty good day ! ! ! < laughing so hard I have tears in my eyes >

 

Friday ; San Ignacio to Guerrero Negro

Today started out sunny and hot, but became cooler and windier as we drove northwest across the Baja to the west coast, the Pacific Ocean side. Shortly after leaving Guerrero Negro, we came to one of the many military checkpoints on Mex 1 as it winds its way over 1000 miles from San Diego / Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas. This was the first time that the soldiers actually wanted to inspect our rig. In all previous instances, they just smiled and waved us through. The young soldier, toting a machine gun over his shoulder, walked into the trailer, looked left towards the kitchen and dinette area, then looked right, up into the bathroom and bedroom area. He saw Teddy lying on the bed, and he walked into the bedroom, leaning over to talk softly to Teddy on the bed. Teddy scowled ! "Who the hell are you and what the hell do you want and why the hell are you interrupting my nap ? ? ?" HA HA HA ! The soldier leaned close to Teddy, took a look at the name tag on his collar, then turned to me and asked "Teedy" ? No, I explained, it's pronounced "Teddy". That concluded his inspection of the trailer. Maybe their bosses are complaining that they're waving too many gringo RV's through the checkpoints and should be checking more of them ? The soldier who inspected the Dickinson's RoadTrek implied that he surely could use some batteries for his flashlight. HA HA HA ... welcome to Mexico and its rampant petty corruption. The rampant petty corruption amongst Mexico's police and military forces is legendary. It's one of the negative aspects of travel in Mexico to which one quickly becomes accustomed.

We arrived in the city of Guerrero Negro and went to the grocery store before we checked into our RV park. We're staying at the same RV park that we stayed at with the caravan group on our way down south. As soon as we had lunch, I used the Wi-Fi phone to call the man in B.C. whom I've been playing telephone tag with for a week regarding a summer job in the forest fire fighting industry. He wanted to offer me a job in Abbotsford, about a 3 to 4 hour drive west of Keremeos. I told him no, that I was only interested in a job in Penticton. I thought I had made that clear in my initial letter of application.

We decided to have one last nice dinner in Mexico. We had dinner in the Malarrimo Restaurant before, and it was good. So the four of us went out to dinner at the Malarrimo. As before, it was quite good, and reasonably priced. Afterwards, Erbon and Lorraine came over to our trailer for tea. After they left, I went to the hotel, to sit in the back corner of the bar where the hotel's Wi-Fi signal was strongest, and I uploaded photos to my blog. < sigh > Spring break has arrived on the Baja. The bar and restaurant were filled with "spring breakers" from Southern California. I wouldn't have believed that young people could actually be that loud and obnoxious if I hadn't seen it myself. Although, I guess one must take into account ... they were from Southern California !

 

Saturday ; Guerrero Negro to Cataviña

Today was sunny and warm, a bit windy. It seems to always be a bit cooler and windier on the Pacific Ocean side of the Baja than on the Sea Of Cortez side.

We departed Guerrero Negro this morning, setting our watches back an hour as we departed. A few miles north of Guerrero Negro we crossed from the state of Baja California Sur, and the Mountain time zone into the state of Baja California ( implied Norte / North ) and the Pacific time zone. We refuelled as we were leaving Guerrero Negro. We passed through an immigration checkpoint as we crossed from B.C.S. to B.C.. We had to produce our Mexican tourist cards at the checkpoint. Then we came to another military checkpoint, and our rig was inspected again. I suppose the military are more inclined to check northbound vehicles than southbound ones. Once again, the soldier seemed more interested in Teddy, and getting some Spanish to English translations, then checking our rig for hidden drugs, or whatever it is they're looking for. Gato ... cat ! Viejo ... old ! Old cat ... gato viejo ! Amigos ... friends ( Erbon and Lorraine ).

The Baja Badlands desert area is much more colourful than it was a few weeks ago. Everything is green or yellow. Spring has arrived in the desert. We stopped for the night at Rancho Santa Ynez, another campground that we stayed at on our way south a few weeks ago. It's near Cataviña, in the desolate 200 mile stretch of Baja Badlands that doesn't even have electrical service, let alone gas stations. I napped for awhile after our arrival, having been awakened this morning at 6:00 A.M. by the Southern Californian parked beside us with the very loud diesel truck that was departing at 6:00 A.M.. And after our clocks were set back, it was as if I had been up since 5:00 A.M.. We visited with Erbon and Lorraine for awhile, then Joanne, Lorraine, and I took a brief hike over to see the airstrip and remote medical clinic beside the ranch. Once a month a flying doctor flies in to provide medical services for the locals for two days. We're really in the "outback" here !

Yesterday Joanne had carne asada for supper in the restaurant at Guerrero Negro. She had a steak bone that I wanted to bring back from the restaurant for Bo. We didn't have anything to wrap it in to bring it back to the trailer, so I wrapped it in a tortilla. All Mexican meals are served with a stack of warm tortillas wrapped in a cloth in a tortilla serving bowl. Tonight I wanted to give the bone to Bo. I took the tortilla wrapped bone out of the fridge and handed it to Bo. He grabbed it, started to trot off to the bedroom to eat it on the carpet, then paused, uncertain of what it was I had just given him. He slowly took it to the bedroom, and unwrapped the bone from the tortilla. HEY ... just like unwrapping a Christmas present. HA HA HA ... he was very happy. He ate part of the bone, took a break from the bone to eat the tortilla, then returned to the bone. HA HA HA ... good dog, Bo ! Bo likes Mexico ! HA HA HA HA HA !

We chatted tonight with a couple from Reno, Nevada, travelling with a fifth wheel trailer. They had a sideswipe accident on the highway yesterday while attempting to pass a slow moving truck. The awning on their trailer, likely worth more than U.S.$1000, was ripped off, and they gave U.S.$500 to the truck driver to settle for the damages to his truck. It's common practice for gringos who are involved in a minor automobile accident while driving in Mexico to reach an agreed cash settlement on the side of the road, to avoid police involvement. Having an automobile accident in Mexico is a "crime", and getting the police involved usually results in at least a few hours in a local jail, frequently an overnight stay in the jail, while the accident is "investigated".

 

Sunday ; Cataviña to San Quintin

This morning we prepared for departure from Rancho Santa Ynez then walked around the ranch for awhile taking photos of the lovely desert. The desert is greener than we've ever seen a desert, and filled with tiny yellow and red leaves and flowers on plants and cacti. Desert plants never have large leaves or flowers. They're always small to prevent loss of moisture through evaporation. When we got into our vehicles and turned on our CB radios as we departed, we heard Becky, Baja Winters' wagonmaster instructing the caravan to pull over for a Lenny break. Our caravan group was a mile or two down the road in front of us. We stopped and visited with the caravan briefly, but did not join up with them for driving. We prefer independent travel. John and Becky are leading the caravan on the return trip back north to the United States, but they are covering in three days what we are going to take six days to drive. Shortly after we left the caravan group we stopped at a non-descript little building on the roadside that John and Becky had told us sells articles made of lovely onyx, mined nearby. WOW ... gorgeous work ! We and the Dickinson's each bought a set of onyx wind chimes. Ours is a series of figurines of cacti and coyotes.

The desert was much more colourful than when we drove through it a few weeks ago in the opposite direction. The ranch owner explained this morning that this winter there was more rainfall than usual, and they were light rains which allowed the water to soak into the ground, rather than just run off like it does during heavier rains. We stopped quite often to take photos. We arrived in San Quintin in mid-afternoon and filled up with fuel before finding our way to Cielito Lindo Motel & RV Park where we stopped for the night. When Joanne and Erbon registered at the bar for 2 sites in the RV park, they were told that the electricity would come on in the RV park around 4:00 or 5:00 P.M.. When we still didn't have power by 6:00 P.M. Erbon and I went to the bar to inquire. Apparently, once again, the rules get made up as they go along. No power in the campground tonight, señor ! Oh, well, we had water, albeit a very weak supply, and sewer. I'm content with that. Inability to get fresh water in and waste water out are more constraints for us than a lack of electricity. As RV'ers go, we're water hogs, not power hogs.

We wandered around the campground and motel grounds. Joanne took Bo for a "Bogility" session in the playground. We walked down to Playa Santa Maria, the beach on the Pacific Ocean, over sand dunes that were "carved" by the strong winds and drifting sands, both light coloured and black sands. Very interesting formations ! We've been allowing Bo to be off leash a lot lately, so he ran and ran and ran on the beach and in the water. We picked up some pretty sand dollars on the beach. I saw a couple of viejo vaqueros ( old cowboys ) unloading musical instruments from their vehicle outside the bar, so awhile later I went inside to see if there was a Mexican cowboy band playing in the bar. No ... there were three old cowboys / tres viejo vaqueros wandering around the restaurant, playing Mariachi music from table to table.

 

Monday ; San Quintin to Sordo Mudo ( translates as Deaf Mute )

Today was sunny and mild. We departed Cielito Lindo Motel & RV Park, drove through San Quintin and continued heading north on Mex 1. The further north we got, the heavier the traffic became. We were once again approaching "civilization". As we passed through the village of Maneadero I spotted a panaderia, slammed on the brakes, and ran in to buy some pan dulce. I still think I should get a bumper sticker that says " I brake for Mexican bakeries". HA HA HA !

We passed through yet another military checkpoint today. When the soldier who was inspecting our trailer opened a kitchen cupboard, he discovered my stockpile of ulcerative colitis medications in plain sight. I was worried because I had ignored the regulation that permits Norteamericanos ( gringos ) to bring only a one month supply of "foreign" medications into Mexico. Since our trailer is our full time home, and we are away from Canada for 6 months, I have far more than a one month supply of each of my medications. He asked a few questions, and was satisfied. He spoke English quite well. Most of the soldiers we have encountered do not. Or pretend not to, as do many English speaking Mexicans when dealing with gringos. They think it puts them at an advantage, and indeed it does. Another irritating quirk of Mexico ! On the other hand, our caravan wagonmaster advised us to pretend that we do not speak a word of Spanish when having to deal with soldiers or police. I guess turnabout is fair play !

< huge sigh > Getting through the large city of Ensenada without the guidance of our caravan wagonmaster was a very trying ordeal. The driving styles and habits of Mexican drivers in large cities are different, but about as bad as the drivers around Los Angeles, California. And the roads through Ensenada are not Interstate freeways ! It was a difficult challenge and we dealt with it poorly ! We missed a turn, had to backtrack, do a couple of u-turns, etc.. We got angry and upset, squabbled and sniped, and made ourselves feel foul towards one another for the rest of the day. Once through Ensenada we turned off Mex 1 ( adiós ! ) and onto Mex 3 heading northeast. We plan to avoid driving through Tijuana to cross back into the United States at San Diego. We're going to cross east of Tijuana / San Diego at Tecate, a much smaller and hopefully easier to manage city.

We stopped for the night at Rancho Sordo Mudo, a school for deaf children in the Valle de Guadalupe ( Guadalupe Valley ), a grape growing and wine producing area. Evidently the little village here is named the same as the school, Sordo Mudo ( Deaf Mute ). Somewhat of an odd name for a village, but I guess there are many small Mexican villages that are named for the most prominent business or activity or industry or church or geographic feature nearby. The school operates a small, very nice, serviced campground. The nightly fee is by donation. The campground was originally developed to accommodate gringo volunteers / WorkCampers, but I don't think they utilize WorkCampers any more.

 

Tuesday ; Sordo Mudo, Baja California, Mexico into and across California to Yuma, Arizona

Today was sunny and cool when we started out in Sordo Mudo, but became increasingly warmer throughout the day. By the time we got to Yuma, it was hot. We were both feeling very disheartened today, the lingering after effects of yesterday. And I underestimated how far it was from Sordo Mudo to Yuma. We drove a long distance today, and I felt exhausted when we arrived in Yuma about 5:30 P.M..

This morning I walked across the highway from the campground to the deaf school's campus, dormitories, and administrative office to make a donation to pay for last night's camping fee. The buildings and grounds were very nice, with a lovely view of the Guadalupe Valley. Nice setting, nice school. I found the office, made my donation, and chatted with the woman working there. I asked a few questions about the school and students, then offered to do a magic show for the 30 or so students, but only if I could do it within the next hour. She wasn't able to adjust schedules and plans that rapidly, so she declined my offer.

There were a few Escapees in the park this morning preparing to depart. They had been part of the Escapees Mexican Connection, an Escapee caravan group that tours Mexico annually. I chatted with an Escapee from Nova Scotia, and one from Texas. We compared caravan experiences. Their caravan was 50 rigs, far too large for my tastes. And not surprising, given the size of their group, they had more breakdowns and accidental damage to rigs.

We departed Rancho Sordo Mudo and continued heading northeast on Mex 3. At today's military checkpoint we were just waved through. We stopped to refuel shortly before reaching Tecate, and the U.S. border. The border crossing at Tecate was physically very difficult for large rigs to manoeuver through. The inspection by the border guard was cursory. We drove northeast on Hwy. 188, then Hwy. 94 to Interstate 8. AHHHHH ... what a relief to drive on an Interstate after 5 weeks of Mexican roads. We drove east on I-8 to Holtville, California where we stopped to have burritos for lunch, then bought Mexican pastries. Our friends Gil and Maria from back home at Riverside RV Park Resort in Keremeos, British Columbia had previously taken us to Holtville, to the little taco stand in town with the best burritos. I didn't need their help to find the best Mexican pastries in town. HA HA HA !

After our late lunch we continued east on I-8, across California, west to east, until we crossed into Arizona at Yuma. We arrived at Kofa Ko-op SKP Park after their office was closed for the day, so we had to spend the night in the unserviced boondock area. Bo was very excited as soon as we drove into the park and he recognized it. He loves the 2 acre fenced dog park here. Joanne took Bo for a play session in the dog park. I napped. In the evening Joanne did laundry. I went to the clubhouse, got online with Wi-Fi, retrieved month end investment updates and bank statements, retrieved and sent e-mail, etc..

 

Wednesday; Today was sunny and hot. As soon as the office was open this morning, we registered and got moved to a serviced site. We were surprised, when we checked the Kofa Ko-op site lease waiting list, that we are now no. 78 on the waiting list. When we got onto the waiting list 26 months ago, we were no. 160. So it seems probable that we will get a permanent site in this park by the winter of 2010.

This was the third day that Joanne and I have been unable to resolve our "personal differences". I'm already physically tired from 5 weeks of travel through the Baja. Now I'm emotionally drained as well. I'm eager for this turmoil to end ! ! !

Today was mostly a day of chores. That's what most of our week in Yuma is going to be. After draining the waste holding tanks and unhitching the truck from the trailer, we went Wal-Martin'. We had lots of replenishment of groceries and supplies to do. While we were at Wal-Mart our friends Barry and Marty from San Felipe in Mexico left a note on our trailer. We were planning to visit them in San Felipe before leaving the Baja, but they needed to come to Yuma for a couple of days of medical tests. Maybe we'll get to see them before they have to return home. Joanne continued doing laundry this afternoon. I read and napped, trying to find relief from my feelings and fatigue. I wasn't successful. I gave Bo a bath. What a stinky little dog ! Must have been all that beach time, finding and rolling on dead fish. I delivered some gift items to Erbon and Lorraine for them to deliver for me in Ottawa. I exchanged some books at the clubhouse. I prepared notes for the Dodge dealer that I am taking the truck to tomorrow afternoon for service the next day. I printed investment updates and bank statements. I barbecued cheeseburgers for supper. MMMMM ... "regular" food !

 

DSK