December 22 to 28, 2013

Sunday ; Sunny and very warm.

This morning I set up the Sun Oven and put three drying racks of thinly sliced Roma tomatoes in to be sun dried. MMMMMM ! It's been about a year since we've had fresh sun dried tomatoes. A few days ago we bought six pounds of Roma tomatoes at Food City, on sale for thirty-three cents a pound. Carol Mae came over to discuss Humane Society fund raising ideas.

This afternoon I did back yard Bo-gility. I did some minor maintenance and "home improvement" projects around the yard and trailer. We went to the storage area and did some work on Elsie the truck camper. We've done a lot of cleaning, minor maintenance, and refurbishments / improvements to Elsie in the short period of time we've had her, in order to make her "ours". And we have a lot more that we want to do during this winter season. I did some cactus gardening in the dog park behind our rear fence, positioning pre-cast concrete tree ring sections around all my plantings back there. We took Bo for our daily walk around the dog park. No one else joined us today, so ... Bo was a pack of one.

Late in the afternoon we went to the regular Sunday late afternoon / early evening ice cream social. We chatted with new arrivals, and new full time RV'ers, from Texas about their interest in visiting Canada next summer. Afterwards we had a late, light supper while watching Downton Abbey on PBS.

Monday ; Still sunny and warm, and forecast to remain that way for at least the next week. Don't ya love Yuma ? ! ? We finished the sun drying of the Roma tomatoes started yesterday, then Joanne put a Hungarian Chicken casserole into the Sun Oven to cook for tonight's supper. It was very good. That recipe is a keeper !

This morning we walked over to the other side of the RV park to give Bo's Christmas gift to Dulce, and say goodbye and wish Merry Christmas to Carol Mae and Larry. They're going to celebrate Christmas "in the desert", a common euphemism around here. There is a clique of people here who spend all holidays boondocking out in the desert, avoiding the large communal dinner gatherings of the RV park.

I continued working on the repair of the corner of the truck bumper that I damaged in Bullhead City a month or so ago. This afternoon Joanne went shopping by herself. "What ... again ?" you might ask ? I watered all my cactus gardens and plantings. Joanne returned home just in time for the daily pack walk. After the pack walk I washed the truck. A nearby, old lemon grove was set on fire a few days ago ( intentionally ... the lemon trees had reached the end of their useful life ) and ash floated over our RV park and settled on everything !

Around 1:15 AM Sully and I were awakened by the sound of coyotes howling nearby. It scared Sully and he came to sleep beside my face, using my cheek as his pillow. After a few minutes of howling the coyotes were silenced immediately following the sound of seven rapid fire shots. Yup ... them semi-automatic assault rifles are certainly effective at blowing coyotes to Kingdom Come. Especially around a populated area like this ! ! ! God Bless America ! ! ! And I say that as only a pinko Canadian atheist can !

Tuesday ; Christmas Eve

AHHHHH ... sunny and warm !

Today I remember my father, who died on Christmas Eve eighteen years ago.

We were up a bit early this morning so we could head to the Humane Society of Yuma. When we signed on as volunteers recently, we chose Tuesday afternoon as our weekly "day of work". But today the Humane Society was closing at noon, so we wanted to get our weekly "work" done this morning.

It was our first day as trained volunteers, me doing "dog walking" and Joanne doing "cat cuddling". We both enjoyed our two hours of "work". I walked six dogs, and named four of them. Tonight I'm stiff and sore from "wrestling" a young, intact male pit bull that was a "puller". I was naming the dogs alphabetically, so by the time I got to him, I was up to "D". I was sorely tempted to name him DORK, but settled on DENNIS. The fifth dog
I walked was a cute little Terrier cross named Santa. Sadly, Santa did not leave on Christmas Eve.

Back at home we had lunch in our Arizona room, as we do most days. It's wonderful to be in there on sunny, warm afternoons. I spent the afternoon puttering around with home improvement work, while Joanne worked in the kitchen, baking for Christmas, and preparing her special Christmas Eve dinner. Upholding her family’s tradition Joanne prepared tourtière ( French Canadian meat pie ) for Christmas Eve dinner. Thank you, my dear.

I'm typing this at 7:15 PM. Supper is almost ready. I've got a Zydeco Christmas album playing in the computer's CD / DVD drive. We've just returned from a long, slow, leisurely walk up and down every road in the RV park, admiring the hundreds of luminaries laid out along both sides of each road and lit at dusk, a Christmas Eve tradition at Kofa Ko-op.

It's a wonderful life !

Wednesday ; Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel / Feliz Navidad

Well ! ! ! Life may have been wonderful last night ... BUT ...

Today was sunny and warm, as Christmas always seems to be in Yuma, Arizona.

We got a bit of a late start to our day. And ... while preparing our traditional Christmas morning brunch of Belgian Waffles, we had a vicious little squabble. It really soured us over brunch and for awhile thereafter. We finally came to our senses when we went out to the Arizona room to open gifts.

As always, we allowed Bo to open all gifts. HA HA HA ... what a gift opening frenzy he experiences every Christmas. I'm certainly going to miss that when he's gone. He was so enthusiastic about opening gifts that I received a hardcover book as a gift ... and it has dog tooth marks on one corner of the hard cover. HA HA HA ! Slow down, Bo, you're leaving tooth marks on the gifts. HA HA HA HA HA !

Not long after we were finished opening and admiring gifts Joanne had to get dressed and leave for the clubhouse. She was a "greeter" for our park's 3 PM Christmas dinner. I thought 3 PM was a very odd time to schedule Christmas dinner ! I had time to phone my sister and chat for half an hour before I had to get dressed and head to the clubhouse. I was a server, serving turkey and gravy.

The Christmas dinner organizers actually had a strategy for planning dinner at 3 PM. They were trying to combat this park's "eat and run" mentality by scheduling dinner for 3 PM ... and dessert at 5 PM. They mostly failed. How discouraging ... and frustrating ! People finished eating their dinner well before 4 PM ... and most left. Most returned for dessert at 5 PM ... and the clubhouse was almost deserted again by 6 PM. A handful of us remained and chatted for a couple of hours.

You'd think that after this many years spending six months a year in the United States ... we'd have figured out how to avoid to getting drawn into discussions with Americans about their "constitutional right to bear arms" and Canada's universal / "free" health care system. < sigh >

 

Thursday ; Boxing Day ( in Canada )

Still sunny and warm. Except late in the evening. We went for a walk around the park with Bo after 9 PM. BRRRRR !

We spent much of the day visiting with friends and neighbours. Visited Tina and Everett, and their dog Maddie in the morning, then visited Lynn and her dog Windsor all afternoon. In the evening Penny and Paul came over to visit.

We walked Bo in the dog park. I rode my bicycle. I puttered around with Elsie the truck camper a little bit.

Friday ; Sunny and very warm, a really gorgeous day.

Let me tell you the story of my Scarlet Macaws wood carving.

On October 13, 1999, the day after our 25th wedding anniversary, we spent the day browsing in the open air market place in Ocho Rios ( Eight Rivers ), Jamaica. As we entered the market in the morning, a wood carver was just beginning to carve a five foot section of burled Cypress tree trunk. Throughout the day, as we passed by his location about every hour or so, I was fascinated watching the carving develop. It became apparent that he was carving a series of six Scarlet Macaws, large parrot like birds, in the burls of the tree trunk. The more he carved, the more fascinated I became.

Late in the day ... OMG ... the carving was finished, and ... he was painting the birds in the vivid colours that Scarlet Macaws possess. At the end of the day, as we were about to head back to our cruise ship ... he attached a price tag to the finished and painted carving. The paint had barely dried. Yes, yes ... I bought the damn thing ! It was a bit expensive, but ... it did represent an entire long day of work for the artist / carver.

I hoisted the heavy, five foot section of the Cypress tree trunk onto my shoulder and lugged it back to the cruise ship. A few days later I lugged it from the ship to Miami Airport. American Airlines wrapped it in a lot of bubble wrap. Thank you, American Airlines. Back in Canada, at Ottawa Airport, we underwent a lengthy inspection of the carving by Canada Customs, which included X-rays and drilling a long hole up into the bottom of the trunk to ensure that it was solid, and not stuffed with drugs.

It was on display in our living room for almost five years.

In June, 2004, as we prepared to begin our new life as full time RV'ers, I packed the carving into a tall box, filled it with styrofoam popcorn, taped it shut, and hauled it to Winnipeg, Manitoba where it went into storage in my sister's basement for nine and a half years. Thank you, Sharon.

In September 2013, we retrieved it from Winnipeg, Manitoba and hauled it to Keremeos, British Columbia. It was in our way on the entire journey !

In November 2013, we hauled it from Keremeos, British Columbia to Yuma, Arizona. It was in our way on the entire journey ! ! !

Today ... TA DA ... I opened the box, removed the carving, and set it up on display in our Arizona room. And yes, yes ... it's every bit as appealing to me as it was on the day that it was carved over fourteen years ago. Hello, beautiful birds ! Nice to see you again !

Anybody wanna buy a lot of styrofoam popcorn ?

Joanne spent the entire day out shopping by herself ! < scowling >

Saturday ; Partially cloudy in the morning, sunny in the afternoon, warm.

We spent most of the day out shopping, most of it at Yuma Park N Swap, a.k.a. Dog Track Flea Market. Sears for a minute, Salvation Army for a few minutes, Goodwill for a few minutes, then Harbor Freight ... for many minutes ... HA HA HA ... a few minutes at Walgreens and a few minutes at Bank of America before an early ETYS buffet supper at KFC.

Stock market doing well ! Looks like a good year overall for our investments. Unless if the sky falls in the next couple of days. HA HA HA !

DSK

December 15 to 21, 2013

Sunday ; Sunny and warm. And getting warmer over the next few days.

This morning we headed to Wal-Mart. In violation of my "no Wal-Martin' on weekends" rule. Especially applicable on the second last weekend before Christmas ! After
Wal-Mart we went to Wienerschnitzel for a quick lunch. Then across town to Gila Ridge High School for a matinee performance of "Harvey" by Yuma Community Theater.

Long play ! And not a very good one. And not performed particularly well by the actors. Shades of Port Aransas, Texas's community theater !

Joanne drove home from Gila Ridge High School to Kofa Ko-op, her first time driving the truck with the camper on. We arrived home in time to attend the regular Sunday late afternoon ice cream social. We visited briefly with some new arrivals from the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.

I cooked pickerel for supper, then we watched the three hour finale of Survivor. While cuddled with Bo and Sully on the sofa, doing "TV time", I discovered a lump in Bo's "armpit". It was an embedded, festering desert grass "quill". We pulled it out of the lump with tweezers. OUCH ... sorry, Bo, I know that hurt. As soon as the quill was out, the lump began to drain blood and pus.

Monday ; Sunny and very warm.

I did a Bo-gility session. I watered my flower beds / cactus gardens. I did more camper maintenance and improvements. Joanne cooked some chicken thighs in the Sun Oven, to use in making chicken enchiladas for supper tonight. We visited with a neighbour in our Arizona room.

This afternoon Joanne went to the Christmas cookie exchange. Last night and this morning she baked three dozen peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, her favourite. She took them to the clubhouse, and along with thirty-five other women, exchanged cookies, returning home with three dozen assorted home baked cookies. MMMMM !
I loooove Christmas cookie exchanges !

We took the camper off the truck. A few days ago I arranged to have a site in this park's storage area. Once the camper was off the truck, Joanne went shopping by herself.

I've wasted at least a couple of hours tonight attempting to get some online work done, and failing. As in previous years, the Wi-Fi service to this RV park, and surrounding neighbourhoods, is HORRIBLE ! ! ! ! ! It's the most frustrating aspect of living here for the winters !

Tuesday ; Bard, California

Still sunny and warm. Late this morning we headed out with our new friends from Connecticut, Bill and Lynne, and their little black Pomeranian, Windsor. Destination ; Bard, California. Objective ; date shakes ... and free lettuce. HA HA HA !

We drove in their car out of Yuma heading west on Interstate 8 across the Colorado River into California, then north a few miles through the lettuce farming area to the date farming area. We stopped at a couple of lettuce fields that had been harvested yesterday or earlier this morning, and "gleaned" some "leftovers", the lettuce heads left unpicked by the pickers / harvesters because they were too large or too small. On the way to the date farms we picked a couple of heads of Romaine lettuce, and on the way back we picked some heads of multi-coloured artisan lettuce.

We went to Sun Gardens Date Farm, our "usual" place for date shakes, only to discover that is was closed and for sale. HMPH ! We drove a short distance further to Imperial Date Gardens where we all enjoyed date shakes. Especially Bo ! And ... HA HA HA ... Joanne and I really enjoyed watching Bill and Lynne and Windsor discover the joy and wonder of date shakes. Windsor got one lick of date shake ... and his eyes just about bugged out of his head. HA HA HA ... looked like a case of a Pomeranian with instant glaucoma ... HA HA HA !

Back at home we all visited for the afternoon in our Arizona room.

After our daily dog pack walk Joanne went shopping by herself. I did a tiny bit of work on the truck camper, then worked online, paying bills and reconciling bank statements. When Joanne got home she made a fresh salad while I baked potatoes and barbecued a sirloin steak. MMMMM ! That would be one of the "buy one get two free" sirloin steaks she bought yesterday. We had supper while watching Swamp Pawn, one of our new favourite TV shows.

Wednesday ; Partially sunny and totally warm. HA HA HA !

This morning we decorated for Christmas. Finally ! We're running a bit behind schedule. And we put up some lights this year. First time putting up Christmas lights since ...
< thinking > ... December 2003 ... ten years !

In the afternoon we went to the Humane Society of Yuma for volunteer training.
I trained to be a "dog walker". Joanne trained to be a "cat cuddler". While undergoing my training, I had an opportunity to walk an unnamed dog. And ... as one of the privileges of being a dog walker ... I got to name her. Hello, Bonnie !

In the evening I did some online research and discovered that the fridge in the truck camper is subject to the recall of 2008. DARN ! The retrofit has not yet been done on Elsie and will have to be done.

Thursday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Sunny and very warm, another beautiful day, until ... it just started raining lightly ( at 10:15 PM ).

Late this morning we headed for Mexico, about half an hour away, first west into California, then south into Mexico. First stop was Dr. Camacho's office to make appointments for dental cleanings and examinations for both of us, and a periodontal examination for me. It was a bit of a struggle to overcome "resistance to change". I have been seeing Dra. Esther Estolano, a female periodontist for a few years. Her periodontal practice is in nearby San Luis Rio Colorado, but she does periodontal consultations at various dentists' offices in Los Algodones by pre-arrangement. BUT ... Dr. Mr. Camacho and Dra. Mrs. Camacho ... our husband and wife dentists, now have a new periodontist in their practice ; their recently graduated daughter, the new / second Dra. Camacho. I made an appointment for a periodontal examination by the younger Dra. Camacho, despite my reluctance to give up Dra. Estolano.

We walked across town to Farmacia Safari, the veterinary pharmacy, and bought Heartworm medication for Bo. We walked back “downtown” and had lunch at our “regular” restaurant in Los Algodones. Joanne had dos tacos pescados y dos tacos carne asada ( two fish tacos and two seasoned diced beef tacos ) ... she was hungry !
I had uno taco carne asada, uno taco camaron ( shrimp ), y uno taco chivo ( goat ).
I wanted borrego, but they were out of lamb, so the owner suggested I try chivo.
< shrug > Okay, sure ... I’ve never had goat meat before.

After our late lunch we went shopping for eyeglasses for me. We visited a couple of different optical shops, I made my decision on which shop I preferred, selected two pairs of ( free ) frames, one for regular glasses, one for sunglasses, and made an appointment for an eye exam in two weeks on the same day as our dental appointments. The eye exam is free / included in the cost of the glasses. The frames are “free” / included in the cost of the glasses. My regular glasses ... trifocal and SunSensor / Transitions ... will be $129. My sunglasses ... trifocal and dark tinted ... will be $59. Good deal !

Next stop was one of the larger farmacias in town to buy an assortment of medications, then next door to buy Creminos, mini-Nugs, and mini-CocoNugs ... Mexican chocolates and chocolate bars. We walked back to the border crossing, where ... GADZOOKS ... no line up. No waiting ! We were back home at Kofa Ko-op just in time for the daily dog pack walk at 4 PM.

While we have often bought "street food" while travelling in Mexico, we've never had an opportunity to do so in Los Algodones. But today ... while we were having lunch, a man came into the restaurant with a cooler filled with his wife's ( still hot from the oven ) fresh baking. We bought three bags of her baked goods ... at two dollars a bag. As I type this at 11:30 PM, I'm eating a large piece of cinnamon coated, brown sugar "stuffed" pan dulce ... literally "sweet bread", and dinking a large glass of egg nog. Good night !

Friday ; Started out cloudy and warm, became sunny and very warm. After lunch Joanne put a pot of ratatouille in the Sun Oven to cook for supper.

Joanne went shopping by herself again this morning. One of the very few things I don't like about Yuma is ... it provides her with apparently endless shopping opportunities !
I suppose there are worse flaws in a wife than chronic shopping, n'est-ce pas ? Especially since her shopping usually results in very little money spent. One can only spend so much at the Salvation Army. HA HA HA !

I puttered around with minor maintenance on Harvey the fifth wheel trailer and Elsie the truck camper. And I did some gardening.

In the evening ... BAH ! ... HUMBUG ! ... I hate wrapping Christmas gifts !

Saturday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning we went shopping to Arizona MarketPlace, the local large flea market. My main objective was to comparison shop for a radiant infrared ceramic brick heater, or "Blue Flame" heater for the truck camper. We also bought some tools and hardware and household supplies.

As we drove down Avenue 4E from Kofa Ko-op to Arizona MarketPlace there was a dead cat on the road, obviously a recent kill. It's disconcerting enough to see somebody's pet lying dead in the middle of the road, even more upsetting if it gets repeatedly run over and mangled. I stopped, put on gloves, and moved the carcass to the side of the road. Rest in peace, little black kitty.

After lunch at home we went out to run some errands and do some thrift store shopping, and grocery store shopping.

Tonight we went on the YCAT ( Yuma County Area Transit ) Christmas lights tour of two Yuma neighbourhoods with outstanding Christmas lights and decorations,  55th Street in The Foothills, and Candy Cane Lane in central Yuma. After an early dinner at home we drove to Historic Downtown Yuma where the tour started. Like last year, the first time this tour was done, the wait for tickets and boarding was over an hour. Not very impressive, in that YCAT learned nothing from last year's experience to improve their efficiency this year. AND ... < sigh > ... I was suffering from an ulcerative colitis flare up tonight, with cramps and nausea for about twenty minutes of every hour. It really put a damper on my ability to enjoy the outing, especially standing in line for over an hour while feeling ill.

DSK

pics of truck camper interior ... because my sister is e-mail attachment impaired !

December 8 to 14, 2013 ; Aguanga, California to Yuma, Arizona

Sunday ; Aguanga to Valley Center, California

Today was a little bit nicer weather than yesterday. Partially sunny and cool.

This morning we puttered around with Elsie a bit before leaving Jojoba Hills SKP RV Park in Aguanga. We have named the truck camper Elsie ... LC ... Lance Camper.
I disconnected, repositioned, and reattached the front tie down turnbuckles.

As we departed Jojoba Hills, we were subjected to the most dangerous, most life threatening, bone headed manoeuver by another driver we have experienced in almost ten years on the road ! It just adds to our prejudice that the only thing wrong with beautiful Southern California is that it is populated entirely by assholes ! And I really don't want to have my life ended by one them in an automobile accident !

We drove west on Hwy. 79 back to Temecula where we spent much of the day shopping. PetsMart, Sports Authority, Sprouts ( a green grocer ), Wal-Mart, PetsMart again, Wal-Mart again, Auto Zone. and Albertsons. Mid-afternoon we headed out of Temecula, southbound on Interstate 15 back towards San Diego. A bit north of San Diego we headed up into the hills on country back roads to find Valley View Casino where we planned to have dinner in the buffet restaurant, to celebrate the purchase of Elsie, then boondock overnight.

We found the casino, got parked in the bus parking lot where RV’s are allowed to boondock overnight, then I did my first minor repair / improvement to Elsie. And sustained my first Elsie related handyman injury ( rolling eyes ) ! I cuddled with Sully in bed for awhile before we went for dinner. Sully seems to really like the truck camper, especially the over cab bed. Go figure ! We thought he was going to be very resistant to change regarding the new camper.

This casino buffet's feature item is lobster. The good news is ... the meal was pretty good. The bad news is ... it costs $33 per person ! The best news is ... we got two freebies to the buffet when we joined their player's club. Thanks for the $66 meal !

 

Monday ; Valley Center, California to Yuma, Arizona

Sunny and cold !

This morning we left Valley View casino and headed back towards Interstate 15 on a succession of country roads, following a different route than the one we took from the freeway to the casino yesterday. We refilled with diesel. We stopped when we saw a large dog park, and we took Bo for an impromptu romp. He played nicely with Francois the Afghan and Charlie the Dandie Dinmont Terrier. Yes, indeed ... welcome to Southern California and the "high rent district" up in the hills around San Diego.

Once back on the freeway we headed south into San Diego. WOO-HOO ... Trader Joe's ! We bought quite a bit at Trader Joe's as we always do when we get an opportunity to shop there. We had lunch in the mall parking lot then continued south into San Diego until reaching Interstate 8 heading east to Arizona.

A bit east of San Diego there is a forty mile stretch of ascent to, and descent from, the Tecate Divide. It's always windy there. Today ... the winds were extremely severe. And hitting the highway at an angle, a crosswind. It was SCARY ! I thought the truck and camper might tip over ! It reassured us of the merits of a dually which is near impossible to tip over due to the stability of the width of the dual rear wheels. It didn't tip, although it did feel like it was going to a few times, but ... the winds were so severe they caused the camper to shift within the box of the truck.

When loaded into the truck there is only a couple of inches clearance on each side of the camper's body to the truck's wheel wells. Today's wind caused the camper to shift right over against the wheel well on the passenger side of the truck, then twist slightly so that the front of the camper was a bit over towards the passenger side of the truck and the rear of the camper was a bit over towards the driver's side of the truck. We stopped at the rest area near El Centro and spent about an hour removing the camper from the truck, and then reinstalling it again, properly centered within the box of the truck. We dumped the grey and black waste holding tanks at the rest area as well, our first time dumping Elsie's waste holding tanks. We pulled out of the rest area at dusk and we were soon driving back to Yuma in the dark.

It was Joanne's idea to stop at Holtville to buy a burrito at Holtville Taco Shop, to share for supper when we got home. Excellent idea !

Tuesday ; Sunny but cold. BRRRRR !

We puttered around with Elsie the truck camper today, doing a bit of cleaning and maintenance, and showing it to quite a few friends and neighbours who were interested. Joanne cooked supper in the Sun Oven, and baked our first loaf of bread in the bread maker I bought last Friday. I set up the bread maker in the Arizona room, so when the bread was baking, the pleasant fragrance was evident throughout our yard.

Wednesday ; Sunny, a bit warmer. Almost mild.

Another day spent puttering with Elsie, Joanne doing cleaning, me doing minor maintenance. Dog sat Spanky today, as Terry and Judy are gone for two days to Las Vegas. In the evening, we made a quick shopping trip to Albertsons and Walgreens in between having supper and watching Survivor.

Thursday ; Sunny and mild.

This morning I went with Carol Mae to the Humane Society of Yuma to present them with the funds we raised at our fund raising luncheon last week. We presented them with funds sufficient to sponsor ( pay the adoption fees for ) one dog and one cat ... monthly for the next year ! Well done ! Carol Mae deserves almost all the credit.

We made the presentation, took the obligatory PR photos, then met with the Humane Society's volunteer co-ordinator to discuss our participation in their volunteer program. Carol Mae and I toured the dog adoption wings, and then the cat adoption room where we informally participated in some "cat cuddling" with their senior "cat volunteer".

I made some maple syrup glazed candied salmon in the Sun Oven today, and served it as "amuse bouche" before dinner tonight with Carol Mae and Larry. We invited them to come over tonight for an authentic Ukrainian perogy dinner ... very competently prepared by my wonderful non-Ukrainian wifey. Well done, Joanne, thank you.

Friday ; Sunny and warm.

Joanne spent much of today cleaning inside the truck camper. I spent much of today puttering with minor maintenance on the truck camper. In the afternoon I went shopping to Yuma Nursery Supply and Fisher Dodge. Bought a little plastic piece I broke on the truck. TEN BUCKS ! ! ! In the evening we gave Bo a bath. Late in the evening I bought some Christmas gifts online. Gifts for ... me ! HEY ... it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. HA HA HA !

Saturday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne baked a cake in the Sun Oven.

Today was another day mostly dedicated to cleaning and minor maintenance of the truck camper. After our daily dog pack walk we spent a few hours in the Arizona room chatting with neighbours who dropped by for a visit.

DSK

December 1 to 7, 2013 ; Yuma, Arizona to Aguanga, California

Sunday ; Mostly sunny and warm today. Just enough cloud cover to prevent Joanne from baking a cake in the Sun Oven. She had volunteered to bake a cake for the ice cream social this evening. She had to bake it indoors.

I started my day with a Bo-gility session. Well done, Bo, good dog ! I hooked up our satellite dish cable today. I had cancelled our satellite TV service for the month of November, while we travelled from B.C. to Arizona. After getting set up all we could receive on our TV was ... the channel guide, the weather channel, and ... the Shaw Direct "fire log" channel. HUH ? Where's all the rest of my channels ? Can the rumours be true ? Has Shaw Direct disabled their service south of the Canadian / U.S. border ? Why would they do that ? Don't they want my money for the next five months ? I sent an e-mail to "Technical Support". Wish me luck !

This afternoon I removed the storage chest from the bed of the truck. I had to grind off the four mounting bolts. Tough job ! Good thing I bought a grinder at Harbor Freight two days ago on Black Friday. I'd like to speak to the a*****e in Kingston, Ontario who installed the storage chest in the back of the truck 7½ years ago, and his moronic choice to use carriage bolts instead of hex head bolts ! ! !

At tonight's ice cream social I made an announcement about the upcoming tour of the Humane Society of Yuma Animal Shelter on Thursday, and the fund raising luncheon afterwards. Joanne and I are involved in the organization and execution of both.

Monday ; Sunny and warm. Went out this morning to run errands. First stop was Bank of America to get a certified cheque to pay for the truck camper on Saturday. More complicated than it needed to be. Outrageous service fees ! Next stop was Smart & Final to buy food for Thursday's fund raising luncheon. Food for about 80 people ! Last stop was ... WOO-HOO ... PetsMart, Bo's first visit of this winter season. And ... < sigh > ... another new food for Bo. The "winter season" food we have been feeding him for the last two winters is no longer available. And never was available in Canada. Hence him having a "winter food" and a "summer food". Despite the pet food industry having made us as financially comfortable as we are today ... it pisses me off !

This afternoon I continued the truck camper preparations / modifications to the truck, relocating the truck to trailer / camper "umbilical cord" and seven pin wiring plug. Easier said than done. Can't believe that I've used my new grinder twice since I bought it just a few days ago. Maybe my "Liquid Wrench" days of dealing with seized nuts and bolts are over ? HA HA HA ! Repaired a minor leak in the kitchen sink plumbing. Just a loose plumbing fitting caused by road vibration. Shouldn't be experiencing any more of those in the now "retired" fifth wheel trailer ! Joanne did a lot of laundry tonight. I ordered tickets to an upcoming play / live theatre performance.

Our satellite TV service now seems to be working fine. Got no response to my e-mail to "Technical Support", but ... the problem is solved.

Tuesday ; Sunny and very warm again.

This morning Joanne took her elderly friend Eilene shopping for a bathing suit. And they were gone all day ! While I was preparing my lunch I dropped a Corel plate into the sink ... and it shattered ! What a mess ! After an early lunch I went to Special 1 Truck Accessories to have TorkLift truck camper tie downs installed on the truck. Special 1 Truck Accessories did a very good job at a very reasonable price. On the way home from Special 1 Truck Accessories
I stopped at Yuma Nursery Supply and bought a dozen sections of precast concrete tree ring. After the daily dog pack walk I unloaded them from the truck. All eleven of them. HUH ? ? ?

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm, chilly in the evening.

I continued working on preparing for the pick up of our new ( to us ) truck camper on Saturday. Joanne spent the afternoon in the clubhouse, working with Carol Mae, preparing food for tomorrow's fund raising luncheon following the Humane Society tour. Mostly they were baking tortillas in moulds to make taco salad bowls, and dicing twenty-five pounds of tomatoes.

We attended the regular Wednesday late afternoon potluck social hour, then spent quite awhile chatting with new friends. Afterwards we watched Survivor. I set up and configured the new printer I bought on Thanksgiving evening. This is the second year in a row that I have purchased a new printer on Thanksgiving evening for less money than the replacement cost of the two ink cartridges inside the printer.

Thursday ; Sunny and mild, chilly in the evening.

This morning I led a ( smaller than expected ) caravan of cars from Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park to the Humane Society of Yuma for a tour. Joanne remained at Kofa Ko-op to work on preparing the luncheon.

The tour went well. First there was an audio-video presentation followed by a tour of the shelter facilities. Given that about seventy people had signed up for the tour and luncheon, I was extremely disappointed that the tour group comprised twenty-seven people !

We returned to Kofa Ko-op for the fund raising luncheon. Attended by sixty-seven people ! Where the hell were all these people when we were on the tour ? ? ? ! ! !

The good news is ... the meal was great, and the fund raising goal was achieved.

The bad news is ... that goal was reached on the basis of two significant donations and one huge donation ! The other sixty or so people's donations didn't amount to a hill of beans ! And the luncheon revenues barely covered the luncheon costs. Maybe. Hard to tell. Accounting didn't exactly follow GAAP !

< shrug >

Friday ; Sunny ! Cold !

This morning we headed to The Foothills, to shop at the Helping Hands Super Yard Sale, an annual fundraiser at the Gila Mountain United Methodist Church. I was shopping for tools. Joanne was shopping for ... I don't know ... whatever the hell she endlessly shops for, I guess. By the time we arrived about 11 AM, all the good stuff was sold. I bought a bread maker machine.

We went to Fry's in The Foothills. I refilled with diesel, then we went inside to shop for groceries. MMMMM ... Fry's in The Foothills has a sushi bar. I bought some sushi. On the way back to Kofa Ko-op we stopped at Westwind Golf Resort & RV Park to visit briefly with a neighbour from back home at Riverside RV Park Resort in Keremeos, B.C.

CRACK ! WHAT ? ? ? Another rock chip in the windshield ? ! ? What the **** ? ! ? That's the fourth time we've sustained damage to the truck's windshield, three times in the last year ! Because we're leaving tomorrow morning to go pick up the truck camper, and we'll be gone for a few days, and a cold spell is starting, and we were worried that the new rock chip is going to "spread" into a long crack across the windshield due to cold weather, we drove to a local windshield repair shop to have it immediately fixed. The windshield repair shop owner came out to look at the truck, saw the irreparable damage caused to the windshield a few months ago in Saskatchewan, and talked me out of paying $39 to have today's crack repaired, convincing me that it's time to replace the windshield because of the Saskatchewan damage. At a cost of $150 ! Which seems reasonable. And Joanne bought on quickly, because she's tired of having to look out the windshield through the Saskatchewan damage. Okay ... sometime this winter we'll have the windshield replaced.

Back at home I chatted with a neighbour about cactus gardening. She gave me some cactus cuttings, and advice. We met with Carol Mae to "dissect" yesterday's Humane Society tour and fundraising luncheon. We went on the daily dog pack walk. And most importantly, we prepared for the road trip to go pick up the camper.

Saturday ; Yuma, Arizona to Aguanga, California

AHHHHH ... nice truck camper ! ! !

This morning we left Kofa Ko-op and headed west out of Yuma on Interstate 8, across the Colorado River and into California, heading for San Diego. Before we reached San Diego, the weather got ugly. Cold temperature, heavy rain, low clouds at times becoming fog, zero visibility. We stopped in San Diego to have the picnic lunch Joanne had prepared, but ... HEY ... an "IN N OUT BURGER". MMMMM ... haven't been to an "IN N OUT BURGER" in a couple of years. Picnic lunch will keep until tomorrow !

After lunch at "IN N OUT BURGER" we headed north out of San Diego on Interstate 15, about an hour to Temecula where we met David, the owner / seller of our truck camper, in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Of course, as soon as we began to remove the truck camper from his truck and install it on ours, it began to rain again. Cold rain ! We removed the truck camper from David's truck, installed it on ours, took care of payment and paperwork and ... WOO-HOO ... we had our "new" 1997 Lance Legend 990 truck camper.

We left Wal-Mart, and Temecula, heading east on Hwy. 79 about 20 miles or so to Jojoba Hills SKP RV Park at Aguanga, arriving just before dark. We filled the camper's fresh water tank and parked in a boondocking / unserviced site for overnight. We examined the truck camper, brought in the bedding and food from the truck to the camper, then had supper. BRRRRR ... cold evening !

We were very pleasantly surprised when Sully managed to get himself up onto the over cab bed. That was one of our main concerns about getting a truck camper ; the difficulty / inability of both Sully and Bo to get in and out of the over cab bed. Even though Sully did manage to get himself up onto the bed ... once only, he couldn't seem to do it a second time ... he and Bo will both need "pet helper steps". I think we might go to PetsMart in Temecula tomorrow and buy some.

 

DSK

November 24 to 30, 2013

Sunday ; AHHHHH ... sunny and warm. HELLOOOOO Yuma !

We started this lovely day with a back yard Bo-gility session. HA HA HA ... very well done, Bo.
Up and down, on and off, our back yard concrete toadstools, patio chairs, back yard fence, walk along the top of the fence, jump onto the swamp cooler, and then onto the barbecue table ... HA HA HA !

I set up our ( not so ) portable solar panels and connected them to the trailer. I filled my bicycle tires with air, rode about ten feet, and ... BLAM ! HMPH ... the desert summer heat certainly does cause rubber products to deteriorate ! Blew the rear tube AND tire. And upon inspection ... the front tire is looking pretty "iffy".

We removed all of the Arizona room's snap on vinyl walls. AHHHHH ... lovely ! Bo went inside the Arizona room and ... "HEY ... my Kong" ! He spent a long time playing happily with his "lost" Kong. HA HA HA !

We went to the ice cream social, then returned to the trailer to watch Amazing Race and for me to cook ... wait for it ... pickerel cheeks, bought in Winnipeg when we were there in September. MMMMM ! ! ! We haven't had pickerel cheeks since before we moved from Winnipeg to Ottawa on January 1, 1988, so ... twenty-six years !

Monday ; Sunny and warm. That's why we're here !

This morning I drove all over Yuma, shopping for truck camper tie downs. I knew what brand
I want, I was just getting quotes. I also bought a bicycle tire and tube to replace yesterday's blow out. After a late lunch and a brief nap we took Bo for our daily walk around the seven acre dog park, where we were joined by his old friend Spanky, and a new friend Maddie. WOO-HOO ... a pack walk !

At dusk we headed for Wal-Mart on Pacific Avenue. Earlier in the afternoon we stopped at
Wal-Mart in The Foothills, but the parking lot was so full we decided to defer our Wal-Martin' until evening. After finishing at Wal-Mart we went to "EAT Asian Super Buffet" for supper. MMMMM ! Lots of great sushi !

 

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm. Just enough occasional thin cloud to slightly screw up Joanne's use of the Sun Oven today. She baked potatoes and baked a cake in the Sun Oven, but supper got cooked indoors.

I ordered the TorkLift camper tie downs for the truck today. I replaced the blown bicycle tube and tire. My bicycle is functional again. I did some cactus garden cleanup and pruning. OUCH ! My cactus gardens are looking very good ! I did lots of chatting with neighbours. We did a "twice around the dog park" pack walk with a pack of five dogs.

Wednesday ; Sunny, mild, windy.

Joanne went shopping by herself today. I stayed at home and puttered with chores and gardening. Late in the afternoon we went to the regular Wednesday "heavy appetizer" potluck social. Spent quite awhile chatting with full time RV'ing "newbies" from Connecticut about getting dental work done in Mexico. In the evening we watched Survivor.

Thursday ; American Thanksgiving

Today we fondly remember Toby, our first cat, who died nine years ago on this date while we were WorkCamping at YMCA Of The Ozarks Trout Lodge in Missouri. My goodness, it doesn't seem that long ago !

Today was sunny and warm. I used the Sun Oven for the first time this season ( Joanne used it a few days ago ) preparing Sun Oven dried, maple syrup glazed, candied salmon. MMMMM !
I continued gardening work, cleaning up in the desert / dog park behind our back yard fence.
I have a cactus garden in the dog park behind our rear fence, stretching across the fifty foot width of our lot. I cleaned out all the desert grass growing back there, about a twenty foot wide swath across our fifty foot lot. A thousand square feet of hoeing and raking. Much more work than
I thought it was going to be ! After a bit of work I took off my shirt. A bit more work and I changed shoes and socks for sandals. A bit more work and the jeans were changed for shorts.

Late this afternoon ( too early for dinner for me ! ) we attended communal Thanksgiving Dinner in the clubhouse. Good food, good company. Afterwards we headed out for our second annual Black Friday shopping trip ... on Thanksgiving evening. For the second year in a row, Black Friday shopping started at 6 PM on Thanksgiving evening.

WOW ... Wal-Mart learned a lot from last year's Thanksgiving evening fiasco ! They staggered their specials this evening, some at 6 PM, some at 8 PM. We walked in the door at 8 PM for three of the 8 PM specials. We had a printer ( $29 ) and TV ( $75 ) by 8:05 PM ! Joanne headed to the cash registers and I went looking for the third item, an HDMI cable. By the time I found it and returned to the cash registers at 8:15 PM Joanne had finished paying and was waiting for me.
I paid for the cable, we were checked by Security as we approached the exit doors, we were in the truck and pulling out of the parking lot by 8:25 PM ! ! !

We went to CVS Pharmacy, and Walgreens ... then another Walgreens, for a few small items. We were home before 10 PM. Bought a $5.99 package of batteries on sale for $4.99 plus 37¢ taxes, used a $4.99 coupon, and paid ... 37¢ ! ! !

Friday ; Sunny and very warm. AHHHHH !

 I just discovered ... via Twitter ... that Keremeos, B.C. is experiencing freezing rain. AWWWWW ... how sad ... < snicker >.

Today we went out for much more Black Friday shopping. Bought lots, spent lots. Trying to blend into the American culture by engaging in rampant consumerism. HA HA HA !

Had smoked Lake Winnipeg Goldeye for supper tonight. < frowning > It wasn't very good after being frozen for a couple of months.

Saturday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning we headed out to Yuma Fairgrounds to see a dog show. We sat and watched for half an hour or so. We've never been big fans of dog shows. Or dog show people. Way too serious ! And ... apparently unaware ... or uncaring ... of how devoid of fun a dog show is for the dogs. Geeeez, people ... they're dogs. Take them outside and play with them ! ! !

We ran errands. Banking. Grocery shopping. Thrift store shopping. Flea market shopping.

Back at home we went on the daily pack walk around the dog park. We visited with Carol Mae, planning next Thursday's Humane Society Tour and fund raising luncheon. We planned our trip to go pick up our new ( to us ) truck camper. The seller phoned today to discuss a delivery option. He must bring his wife to a medical appointment halfway to Yuma from where they live near San Jose. So ... Joanne and I will pick up the camper in a week near Temecula, California.

DSK

November 17 to 23, 2013 ; Laughlin, Nevada to Yuma, Arizona

Sunday ; Laughlin, Nevada to Golden Valley, Arizona to Fort Mohave, Arizona ( across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada ! )

Sunny and warm. < sigh > But not a great day !

This morning we departed the RV parking lot of the Avi Casino and crossed over the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada to Bullhead City, Arizona. We did a bit of Wal-Martin' then headed through Bullhead City and out to the northeast on Hwy. 68. We stopped at a Chevron station on the edge of town and spent half an hour refilling our freshwater tank ... to the halfway point ! Low water pressure !

Twelve miles of uphill on Hwy. 68 out of Bullhead City ! Tough climb ! Four miles of downhill and we were at the town of Golden Valley where we were headed to see truck camper for sale number nine of twelve.

We viewed it, then asked the owner if we may top up our freshwater tank using his garden hose. He allowed us to, but seemed a tad miffed. Hey, pal ... I just drove about 5000 km. / 3000 miles to see your camper, the least you could do is provide twenty gallons of fresh water, don't ya think ?

On the way back down into Bullhead City I noticed in the rear view mirror that the trailer seemed to be leaning towards the passenger side. As soon as we were at the bottom of the twelve mile hill I pulled over and took a look underneath the trailer. DAMN ! A broken leaf spring shackle ! I drove slowly to the nearby Home Depot, hoping to be able to buy the sockets I would need to replace the broken shackle. I have the spare parts, but ... I left all my tools back home in Keremeos, B.C. in anticipation of not having room for them when we have a truck camper. Catch 22 !

I bought the sockets I needed, and even was able to borrow a bottle jack from the tool rental department, anticipating needing a extra jack in addition to the one in the truck in order to change the broken shackle. I worked on it in the Home Depot parking lot for awhile, but was not able to loosen the large nuts and bolts on the broken shackle. < sigh > I gave up and returned the unused, borrowed bottle jack to Home Depot's tool rental department.

We drove slowly through Bullhead City looking for an auto repair shop, or tire repair shop, or RV repair shop that might be open. I had the necessary spare parts, just needed somebody with big enough tools to loosen the broken shackle's nuts and bolts. We made it all the way through Bullhead City and into adjoining Fort Mohave before settling on Mohave RV & Marine Parts & Service, which appeared open. Their front door was open, but they weren't open for business. Two women were inside doing some administrative work. The women directed me to a nearby empty lot where we could boondock overnight. I will return to their service department first thing in the morning !

In early 2008, just before our first RV trip into Mexico, I bought a "spare" of every component of the trailer's suspension, knowing that Mexico's roads could easily destroy trailer suspension components, and while Mexican labour was easy to find, RV parts were simply not available. So ... after three winters in Mexico without ever breaking a suspension component on the trailer,
I break a shackle on a smooth Arizona road ... about four days before Harvey the trailer's "retirement". < sigh >

Monday ; Fort Mohave, Arizona to San Diego, California

Sunny and very warm. A very long, very tiring, upsetting day !

We were up at 6 AM so that I could be at the service desk of Mohave RV & Marine Parts & Service at 7 AM. They were working on the trailer by 7:30 AM and were finished by 8:30 AM. Well done ! Not cheap ... but quick and efficient and competent.

We drove to Wal-Mart so that I could buy a tool that I needed. Wal-Mart didn't have it. Drove to Auto Zone and found it. Pulled into Maverik to buy the cheapest diesel of this trip so far. Refilled with diesel, then got permission to refill our freshwater tank at a difficult to access water spigot on the side of their building. While backing the trailer away from the fuel island and towards the water spigot, I crunched the front bumper of the truck against a concrete barrier, gouging a big tear in the truck's plastic front bumper. !+@_#)$(%*^& ! ! ! ! !

That fouled me for the rest of the day. I have extreme difficulty forgiving myself for such transgressions. And what the hell ... might as well take it out on the little wifey, n’est-ce pas !

We drove south out of Fort Mohave, Arizona on Hwy. 95 to Needles, California, onto I-10, crossed the Colorado River back into Arizona again, refilled with diesel at Flying J, then back over the river into California ... again. From there we drove south on a variety of "country back roads" all the way to Holtville, between Yuma, Arizona and San Diego, California. It was Joanne's idea to head to Holtville to buy burritos "to go" for supper, at Holtville Taco Shop. GAWD, their burritos are good !

We got onto I-8 heading west to San Diego. We stopped at Golden Acorn Casino to refill with diesel for the third time today. We continued west on I-8 ... in the dark, and fog, to Viejas Casino just east of San Diego. We are going to boondock here tonight and tomorrow night, while we spend tomorrow viewing our final three truck campers for sale.

GAWD, those burritos were good !

Tuesday ; San Diego, California

Today was cloudy and mild.

WHEW ! I'm all truck camper shopped out ! And freeway driving burnt out !

This morning we unhitched the truck from the trailer then headed out to view truck campers for sale numbers ten, eleven, and twelve. Of a total of twelve ! Here's the summary ; one excellent, one good, two fair, six poor, one rotten piece of junk, and one that can't even be considered because the seller is such a certifiable nut job ! Joanne thinks he's mentally ill. I think he's just a drunk. He's likely both !

And before today we thought it would likely come to a decision between two ; the excellent one and the good one. But now ... it comes down to a decision of ... none of the twelve ! Joanne has decided that there is a particular model / layout she wants, and the ones that we saw of that model were not acceptable to us for one reason or another. So ... < sigh > ... the truck camper shopping will continue !

After seeing the last three truck campers we had a late lunch at El Pollo Loco, then crossed the street to shop at Petco ... they didn't have what we were looking for ... and buy a few groceries at Albertsons. We drove back to Viejas Casino and hitched the truck to the trailer.

The last time we were here at Viejas Casino, a few years ago, I spent three days in bed, sicker than a dog, with food poisoning from tainted peanut butter that was subsequently recalled. Joanne spent those three days wandering around the casino and the adjacent "outlet stores" shopping mall. So tonight she was my tour guide. We caught the casino shuttle bus and rode from the RV parking lot to the shopping mall. It's too far to walk. We wandered around, admiring the dancing water fountain display choreographed with lights and music. Pretty nice ! Not the Bellagio ! We shopped for Birkenstock sandals in a shoe store. HMPH ... not much selection of Birkenstocks at this time of the year. We wandered over to the outdoor skating rink.

HA HA HA HA HA ! Southern Californians, of all ages, mostly Hispanics, trying to ice skate.
HA HA HA HA HA ! Not easy, if you didn't learn how at about five years of age, like most of us Canadians did. But they certainly were enjoying themselves. An elderly Hispanic woman slowly passed by us, mostly holding herself up and pulling herself along the boards with her hands, and exclaimed "Es no easy". HA HA HA HA HA ... no, ma'am, it certainly isn't. But ... I’ll bet that she can probably ride a surf board a hell of a lot better than I can. HA HA HA HA HA !

We wandered around inside the casino for awhile. Nice casino, more spacious and a bit quieter than most. We caught the shuttle bus back to the RV parking lot, had dinner and a quiet evening.

We're eager to arrive "home" in Yuma tomorrow.

Wednesday ; San Diego, California to Yuma, Arizona

Harvey's final journey

At 6 AM Joanne abruptly woke me up. She had come to a sudden realization. The truck camper model that she wants ... has no logical place to locate a cat litter box. My response to that was ... ZZZZZZZZ ! We had a brief discussion. We made a decision. We went back to sleep. Looks like we'll be buying my first choice.

Today was cloudy and mild in San Diego, sunny and very warm in Yuma. We're very glad to be "home".

This morning we prepared for departure and left the RV parking lot of Viejas Casino, heading east on Interstate 8. Harvey the fifth wheel trailer's final journal. Upon arrival at our lot 52 in Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park this afternoon, Harvey is retired. His travelling days are over. He served us very well over ten years and about 280,000 km. / 175,000 miles. Enjoy your retirement in the desert sun, Harvey !

Shortly after leaving San Diego the coastal gloomy sky cleared, and we were back underneath clear skies with brilliant desert sunshine. We had lunch at a rest area. We arrived "home" about 4 PM. We spent the rest of the daylight ( about two hours ) getting set up in our site and getting the Arizona room opened up, aired out, furniture uncovered, etc.

Thursday ; Cloudy and warm all day, thunderstorm in the evening, with thunder, lightning, and heavy rain, very unusual here in the desert.

Bought a truck camper today ! The eighth one we saw, a 1997 Lance Legend 990, near San Jose, California. I think I paid too much. The seller thinks he sold for too little. < shrug > Probably means it was the right price !

We spent most of the day on "arrival" chores, mostly cleaning ... and visiting. We went to the Salvation Army Thrift Store to buy some clothes. Today was "all clothing items for $1", a good time to buy "work" clothes, especially t-shirts for me. Did I mention ... I got droplets of battery acid on yet another shirt the other day when checking the truck battery fluid levels. We took Bo for a walk around the perimeter of the dog park. Must have been a moist summer, the desert / dog park is filled with ... "grass". I'm not sure if grass is the right word to describe what's growing out there, but ... ? ? ?

Friday ; Well ... how unusual ! Cloudy with intermittent rain all day long.

And I was feeling ill, so did very little today. Joanne did a lot of laundry, and went grocery shopping to Fry's. WOO-HOO ... Donald Duck orange juice, my favourite ! HA HA HA !

Saturday ; Today was cloudy, windy, and cold. Really ? ! ?

This morning we headed out to run some errands. I dropped Joanne off at Albertsons to buy some advertised specials, then I drove to Wells Fargo Bank to deposit a cheque to the account of our truck camper seller.

This afternoon we had the truck and trailer washed by a mobile washing service that many people in our RV park use on a regular basis. We've seen the crew in the RV park many times, and decided to give them a try. WOW ! Now we know why they're so popular. Wash the fifth wheel trailer, top to bottom, including the roof, wash the truck ... six Mexican guys, fifty minutes, forty bucks ! Six guys, fifty minutes, that's five man hours of labour. For forty bucks. Plus they supply the vehicle wash detergent, and tire conditioner, and even use non-spotting "soft" water from a large tank on the back of their truck. And high pressure spray hoses. GEEEEEZZZZZ ... washing the roof of the trailer that well, alone is worth the forty bucks ! The work that they did in less than an hour would have taken Joanne and I a couple of days of hard work. Both the truck and the trailer were very grimy from 6000 km. of travel, some of it in terrible weather.

This evening we went to Desert Sun Stadium to see the annual Balloon Glow, an event of the annual Yuma Colorado River Crossing Balloon Festival. Tethered balloons, simultaneously lighting their burners, to "glow" in the dark. As we arrived, cars were streaming out of the parking lots. HUH ? OH ... cancelled due to too much wind. HMPH !

DSK

November 10 to 16, 2013 ; Antioch, California to Laughlin, Nevada

Sunday ; Oakland and San Jose, California

Sunny and warm today, except for the smog around Oakland. We drove over 330 km. / 200 miles today to view two truck campers for sale, almost all of it on congested freeways. On our way home we were passed by a red Ferrari convertible, with a woman in the driver's seat, long blonde hair blowing out behind her. How California !

We left our RV park this morning and headed west then south beside San Francisco Bay, through Berkeley to Oakland. We viewed the first of the two campers we were here to see, then headed south to San Jose < humming "Do You Know The Way To San Jose ?" >. We met the second truck camper's owner / seller in Morgan Hill, just south of San Jose. We viewed the second truck camper for sale, spending much more time at the second than the first.

Back in the bedroom community / suburb of Morgan Hill we had a very late lunch at Burger King, refilled our five gallon water jug at Safeway, then drove across the street to ... WOO-HOO ... Trader Joe's where we spent almost a hundred dollars on impulse purchases of gourmet / exotic / specialty food items. We drove the hundred or so miles back to our RV park in rush hour traffic, although, quite frankly, it always seems to be rush hour traffic on the California freeways. I'm very grateful we've never had to live in this kind of high population area. What a crappy way to live !

We connected to the RV park's cable TV system and watched Amazing Race in the evening ... as we ate Trader Joe's products for supper.

Monday ; Remembrance Day in Canada, Veterans Day in U.S.

LEST WE FORGET !

Antioch to SKP Park of the Sierras near Coarsegold, California

This morning we prepared for departure, hitched up, and left the Contra Costa Fairgrounds RV Park in Antioch, once again heading west then south along San Francisco Bay, then east, all on a succession of congested Interstate freeways. At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month ... we observed Remembrance Day with a minute of silence as we drove, followed by Joanne reciting the poem In Flanders Fields, learned by all Canadian school children at a young age.

For me, Remembrance Day is mostly an opportunity to remember and honour my father, a veteran of World War II. And ... somewhat in his honour, we stopped to browse at a Bass Pro Shops, an incredibly huge outdoors store, similar to Cabela's. My father used to love spending cold winter evenings browsing for fishing tackle in his Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops mail order catalogues. I bought myself a very small Christmas gift ( to me from Joanne ... HA HA HA ) at Bass Pro Shops.

When we reached Hwy. 99 we turned south, shortly thereafter refilling with diesel at Flying J in Ripon. We stopped to have lunch and buy a few items at a Wal-Mart in Turlock. Never again in Turlock ! We weren't even out of the truck when a security guard showed up and began to hassle us about how long did we intend to park our big rig in their parking lot. About an hour or so, as long as it takes to spend some of our money which will pay your salary, a*****e ! The store itself was the dirtiest and most disorganized Wal-Mart we've been to. And we've been to a LOT of 
Wal-Marts ... in three countries ! I picked up a package of Q-Tips ... and found that there was ... puke ... or something ... all over it. And now it was on my hand ! The last straw for me was being asked at the checkout for photo ID before my credit card was acceptable. **** you ! ! ! Must be a tough neighbourhood !

We continued south on Hwy. 99, then east on Hwy. 145, then north on Hwy. 41 up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains and ... SKP Park Sierra near Coarsegold. Bo recognized it as we arrived, and promptly went berserk in anticipation of the daily dog parties that take place in the dog park. We quickly registered and while I went to park the rig in our assigned site, Joanne took Bo to the daily dog party, already almost over for today.

I parked the rig and walked back to the dog park, meeting and chatting with old friends and new ... as did Bo !

Tuesday ; After eleven days of driving, I deserved to sleep in this morning.

After getting a late start to the day we went to the Chukchansi Casino buffet restaurant for lunch. WOO-HOO ! ! ! My favourite casino buffet restaurant. After stuffing our faces we drove north to the town of Oakhurst to do a bit of shopping. While Joanne went into Vons to buy some groceries I went to O'Reilly's Auto Parts to buy what I need to do an oil change tomorrow. We returned home and took Bo to the daily dog party at the dog park. He was SOOOOO pleased ! He LOOOOOVES the SKP Park Sierra daily dog parties.

In the evening I went to the clubhouse and got quite a bit of online work done.

Wednesday ; Sunny and mild, a nice day.

This morning Joanne did a lot of laundry. I worked in the clubhouse, on the computer and the phone, making arrangements to see four more truck campers over the next week. After lunch
I went to the Pole Barn, this RV park's maintenance garage, and did truck maintenance. 
I changed the oil and filter, changed the fuel filter, and lubricated the eight grease zerks in the front end steering and suspension. I cleaned the battery terminals, and did a thorough inspection, discovering a brake hose with a "blister". UH-OH ... better get that changed ! Nice catch, Daniel ! Might have saved our lives, finding that one !

MMMMM ... I made pickerel fillets for supper, one of my "specialties".

Thursday ; Another sunny, mild day.

This morning I headed out in search of a new brake hose. First stop was Napa in Coarsegold. They didn't have the brake hose I needed, could get it from Sacramento ... tomorrow. I headed to Oakhurst. O'Reilly's Auto Parts didn't have what I needed, could get it from Fresno ... by 3 PM this afternoon. OKAY ! I headed back to SKP Park Sierra. I was sorely tempted to install the brake hose myself in the Pole Barn, but decided to phone some auto repair shops and find out how much it would cost to get it done "professionally". I made arrangements to have it done at Coarsegold Car Care at 3 PM.

After lunch I headed back to Oakhurst, bought some buns and milk at Vons, and picked up the new brake hose at O-Reilly's Auto Parts. I drove back to Coarsegold Car Care. AND ... everything went sour !

It was perversely reassuring to see a simple job go completely sour ... for a "pro". Every time that happens to me, I blame my own ineptitude, thinking ... "it must just be me !" I watched the mechanic do the work, so that I could learn how to do it properly. First thing that happened ... the hold down clip bolt broke while he was trying to remove it. He removed the old brake hose and installed the new one. No problem. He "bled" the brake line to get trapped air out. Then he began to work on drilling the broken bolt shaft out of the bolt hole. He failed, couldn't get the drill bit to go in straight. He decided to drill a new hole, thread it, and install a new bolt. He drilled the new hole, inserted the thread tap, and ... it broke as he tightened it down to cut the threads. < sigh > He tried to remove the protruding shaft of the thread tap using vise grip pliers. He failed, couldn't get the broken shaft out ! He cut off the protruding shaft of the thread tap using a grinding wheel. We both decided "enough is enough". It was almost closing time.

The mechanic was frustrated. Hey ... better you than me, pal ! His boss seemed annoyed. I paid the bill and left. Before we leave tomorrow morning I will try to devise a substitute for the hold down clip, using a very large plastic cable tie. The hold down clip seems to be more "insurance" than "necessity".

At least I won't be hitting the road tomorrow with a brake hose "aneurysm".

Friday ; SKP Park of the Sierras to Tehachapi, California

Sunny and mild most of the day, cold and windy at Tehachapi Summit where we stopped for the night.

This morning while Joanne took care of departure preparations I completed the brake hose replacement job, securing the new brake hose to the rear axle using a very large plastic cable tie. When I saw those jumbo cable ties in a flea market a few years ago, I knew they would be useful some day, somewhere. We hitched up, paid our bill, and left SKP Park of the Sierras.

South on Hwy. 41 to Fresno, then south on Hwy. 99. We stopped at the city of Tulare, to have lunch and buy groceries at Vallarta, our favourite Mexican grocery store ( in America ). At their in store taqueria ( fast food restaurant ) we shared a huge bowl of Caldo de Res ( Beef Soup / Stew ) and a Platillo de Carne Asada con Arroz y Frijoles ( Seasoned Grilled Beef Platter with Rice & Beans ). MMMMM ! And we bought quite a bit of Mexican specialty grocery items. 
WOO-HOO ... pan dulce for breakfast. And bedtime snack. HA HA HA ! By the time we left Tulare it was already 2:30 PM.

More south on Hwy. 99 to Bakersfield. YUCK ... smog ! From both Bakersfield and Los Angeles which is a bit further south. We refilled with diesel at Flying J then headed east on Hwy. 58, up the seemingly endless hill into the Tehachapi Mountains, which act as a barrier to all the smog. The higher up the Tehachapi Pass, the worse the smog. We stopped for the night at Love's, a fuel station similar to Flying J, right at the summit of the Tehachapi Pass. Very cold, very windy. And we know from previous experience that the pollution dissipates immediately after the summit, descending down into the Mojave Desert. The sky becomes clear, the air is desert clean. Tomorrow morning !

Saturday ; Tehachapi, California via Arizona to Laughlin, Nevada

Sunny and warm in the Mojave Desert today.

This morning we departed the Love's and continued heading east on Hwy. 58. Immediately we began the long descent from the Tehachapi Summit down to the Mojave Desert ... and its brilliant sunshine. And temperature in the mid-70's. AHHHHH ! And this season's first glimpses of Joshua Trees and Teddy Bear Cholla Cacti.

At Barstow we got onto Interstate 15 for just a few miles, then onto Interstate 40 heading east. It was a long day of driving across the Mojave ! At Needles, California we crossed the Colorado River into Arizona. We refilled with diesel at Pilot then headed north on Arizona Hwy. 95 to Bullhead City. In Bullhead City we crossed the Colorado River again, this time into Laughlin, Nevada, to the RV parking lot of the Avi Casino.

DSK

November 3 to 9, 2013 ; Carnation, Washington to Antioch, California

Sunday ; Carnation, Washington to Portland, Oregon

After a bit more sniping and bickering this morning we were finally able to get ourselves back on track and function co-operatively and supportively again. Why does it seem so hard to do sometimes ? ! ?

We left the parking lot of the municipal park in Carnation, Washington this morning and sort of stumbled and fumbled around country back roads until reaching Interstate 90, then drove west on I-90 until reaching I-5 at Seattle. We refilled with diesel in Seattle. Diesel price too high ! We headed south on I-5 stopping at a rest area between Seattle and Tacoma to dump the grey waste holding tanks and refill the freshwater tank. We continued south to Tacoma then northwest up into Key Peninsula to see a truck camper for sale.

And a very nice truck camper it was ! A Lance Legend 990. On the way off Key Peninsula we stopped at a beach alongside Tacoma Narrows to take Bo for a walk along the beach.

We found our way back to I-5, and stopped in Tacoma to buy some groceries at Safeway. 
I refilled with diesel again ( much more reasonable diesel price at Safeway in Tacoma than earlier in the day at a 76 in Seattle ) then worked online at the Starbucks in Safeway while Joanne shopped for groceries.

We continued southbound on I-5 until crossing the Columbia River into Portland, Oregon, then turned east on I-84. At the eastern edge of Portland we stopped for the night in the parking lot of Camping World. While Joanne prepared supper I walked about a block or so over to Burger King and did more online work.

Monday ; Portland, Oregon to Richland, Washington

Yes, yes, I know ... Oregon to Washington is the wrong direction !

Last night while online at Burger King in Portland I discovered a newly listed truck camper that was of some interest to me. After sleeping on it overnight, I decided I wanted to see it, despite it being about a hundred miles or so north of our planned route for today. What the hell ... let's go for it !

While Joanne shopped at Camping World for an item she needed, I used their free Wi-Fi to get online and quickly get a bit of work done. We headed east on Interstate 84 following the Columbia River Gorge. Very scenic, although the weather was gloomy and raining lightly. We drove and drove and drove and drove ! Slowly the weather improved. We refilled with diesel.

Eventually we turned north onto Interstate 82, crossed the Columbia River from Oregon back into Washington, onto I-182, then Hwy. 240, Hwy. 24, and Hwy. 243 to the town of Desert Aire. There we viewed an AlpenLite truck camper. As we began to "backtrack" from there we stopped at a rest area at dusk to dump the grey waste tanks and refill the freshwater. We do that daily, if possible. The OCD side of me wants the freshwater tank to be nearly full each morning for showers. By the time we left the rest area it was dark.

We drove for about an hour in the dark, back to the city of Richland where we stopped to boondock overnight in a Wal-Mart parking lot. While Joanne prepared supper I went to Taco Bell and used their free Wi-Fi to get online again. Oh, boy ... every day I find more truck campers to see !

Tuesday ; Richland, Washington to Baker City, Oregon

BRRRRR ! ! ! Snow and below freezing temperature in Baker City tonight. Snow and below freezing temperature all the way from Pendleton to Baker City this afternoon.

We left the Wal-Mart in Richland, Washington this morning and "backtracked" on Interstate 182 and Interstate 82 to the bridge over the Columbia River and into Oregon and onto Interstate 84. 
I needed to pull over to the side of the road and pour my emergency two gallons of diesel fuel into the truck three miles before reaching the Arrowhead Travel Plaza at the Wild Horse Casino.

What a great place for RV'ers. We've boondocked there a few times. Today we refilled with diesel and refilled with propane, using our "Rewards On The Rez" card to get discounts. HA HA HA ! We dumped and flushed the waste holding tanks and refilled with fresh water.

The snow began as we headed east from Pendleton. Light snow and heavy winds all the way to Baker City. We drove through Baker City and about nine miles towards Sumpter to view a Bigfoot truck camper. After viewing the Bigfoot camper we returned to Baker City and parked in a truck parking lot behind a Shell service station / truck stop. After supper I walked over to a nearby McDonald's to use their Wi-Fi. It was out of service but I did have an interesting bilingual conversation with a Quebecois fellow. Our conversation flipped back and forth between English and French, much to the puzzlement of others nearby. I walked over to a nearby hotel and used Wi-Fi in their restaurant / bar.

Wednesday ; Baker City, Oregon to Boise, Idaho and back to Ontario, Oregon

It was cloudy and cold for most of the day, with light rain in the evening.

We left Baker City, Oregon this morning and headed east on Interstate 84, eventually crossing into Idaho. About fifty miles into Idaho we arrived at Boise, to view a 1997 Lance Legend 980 truck camper for sale. What a rotten piece of junk ! I'm hopeful the seller doesn't read this, but if he does ... < shrug >.

We refilled with diesel before leaving Boise, and headed back the same way we came, until reaching the Idaho / Oregon border where we stopped at a rest area for a late lunch. After lunch and a brief nap we went into the city of Orange and did our semi-annual tax free shopping in Oregon. By the time we finished our Wal-Martin' it was already dark, so we stayed in the Wal-Mart parking lot overnight.

Thursday ; Ontario, Oregon to Winnemucca, Nevada

Well ... we're finally travelling south, instead of mostly east or west. And it paid off. It was cold and raining this morning when we left Orange, Oregon, and by the time we arrived in Winnemucca, Nevada, it was dry and 20 degrees warmer !

Before leaving the Wal-Mart shopping mall area we refilled our fresh water tank and bought fuel for the generator at the Chevron station, then while I went into Home Depot to buy a tool I needed to remove the truck's taillight Joanne went into Sally Beauty and bought some hair care products.

We drove east just a few miles on Interstate 84, crossing from Oregon into Idaho, then turned south on Hwy. 95. We drove south on Hwy. 95 for the entire day, first in Idaho, then it crossed back into Oregon, and then Nevada. Endless scruffy high desert ! Fairly early in the day, at the village of Parma, Idaho, we stopped to buy a stamp and mail an envelope at the Post Office,
I bought a taillight bulb at Napa, and changed a burnt out taillight on the truck.

Due to extremely heavy winds most of the day, I barely made it across the 100 mile stretch where no fuel was available. And, of course, at the first fuel station after the 100 mile stretch, the fuel prices were 10% higher than elsewhere. HMPH !

We passed a billboard advertising the smoked meatloaf special at Winners Casino in Winnemucca. That seemed appealing, so when we arrived in Winnemucca and saw that Winners Casino had free overnight parking for RV's that was where we went. And ... their free Wi-Fi reached our trailer in the parking lot. WOO-HOO ! We went into the casino's restaurant and found that the smoked meatloaf special was no longer available. HMPH ! BUT ... now they had an "all you can eat spaghetti with meat sauce" special for $4.95 ! Garlic toast included. Okay ! Joanne ate two bowls of spaghetti. I ate three ! We finished supper just in time for the free comedy show in the cabaret. The comic was so bad ... how bad was he ? He was so bad ... we walked out after about five minutes.

Friday ; Winnemucca, Nevada to Sacramento, California

This morning we pulled out of the RV parking lot of Winners Casino and drove down the street to Flying J where we refilled with diesel, refilled a propane tank, and refilled our freshwater tank before heading southwest on Interstate 80.

We drove all day southwest on I-80. It was sunny, and as we slowly descended from Nevada high desert into California forest it became warmer and warmer. By the time we reached Sacramento, it was 70 degrees. WOO-HOO ! Just before we crossed from Nevada into California we stopped to refill with diesel again at Reno, surmising that fuel prices would increase once we entered California. Shortly after crossing into California we had to stop at the California Agriculture Inspection Station. Usually they are concerned about what fruits and vegetables are being brought into California. Today the female inspector's question was "do you have any firewood or game ?" HUH ? ! ? Firewood or game ? ? ? UHHHHH ... nooooo ! ! ! And she waved us through !

We intended to boondock overnight at Camping World on the east side of Sacramento, but when we pulled in there the parking lot was pretty crowded so we decided to head to a Wal-Mart we had passed a mile before. When we arrived at the Wal-Mart, we realized ... OH ! It's a Wal-Mart under construction, looked completed, but not yet open. No matter ... the parking lot was finished. We spent the night there.

Saturday ; Sacramento to Antioch, California

Sunny and warm, temperature reaching mid-70's. All of today's driving was on congested California freeways. It was stressful < taking deep breath and exhaling slowly > !

This morning we left the parking lot of the soon to be open new Wal-Mart and drove to a nearby Safeway to buy some groceries, then headed west on Interstate 80 into Sacramento. Through Sacramento and out heading south on Hwy. 99 to Galt, one town north of Lodi, to see truck camper no. six, another AlpenLite.

After viewing the camper we continued south on Hwy. 99, stopping at Love's in Ripon to refill with diesel, then heading west across to Interstate 5, and I-205, and I-580 towards San Francisco Bay. We took an exit off the freeway into the city of Livermore and stopped in the parking lot of the Elks Lodge to eat lunch. SHEESH ... no rest areas along these California freeways ! Interstate 680, Hwy. 242, and Hwy. 4 to Antioch where we found our way to the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds ... and their small, minimalist RV park. Oh, well ... the price was right !

We parked, set up, unhitched, then I got busy phoning about the two truck campers we are here to see tomorrow, one in Oakland, one in San Jose. To my very great chagrin, the Oakland camper owner is currently up in the Sierra Nevadas, mountain climbing. This after he confirmed by e-mail just a few days ago that this weekend would be a good time for me to view his truck camper for sale ! I'm not pleased ! ! !

DSK

October 27 to November 2, 2013 ; Keremeos, B.C. to Carnation, Washington

Sunday ; BRRRRR ! ! ! Cold and raining all day !

Spent the day indoors. Shopped online for a truck camper. Have about a half dozen to see on our way south.

Monday ; Sunny but cold. Did a bit more fall pre-departure work today.

Tried to reactivate our U.S. cell phone service online tonight. Couldn't ! Phoned for assistance. U.S. cell phone "sim card" expired. I didn't even know what that meant ! They could send new one. Three to five business days to deliver. Can be shipped only to U.S. address. HMPH ! Guess that means we're buying yet another new cell phone as soon as we reach the first Wal-Mart in the U.S., at Omak, Washington. Third U.S. cell phone in three years !

Tuesday ; Sunny but cold. Spent much of the day in Penticton running errands. Final trip to Penticton this year.

In the evening I researched the Canada Pension Plan. WOO-HOO ! Joanne is eligible for early pension in three months. I'd better get her ducks in a row soon !

Wednesday ; Sunny ... cold !

Made many phone calls today to sellers of truck campers. Planned travel route to see truck campers for sale. Went to Keremeos for haircut. OOOOO ... a bit too short ! Oh, well ... hair grows quickly ! Had to do simple repair on trailer fridge drain hose. Cold weather, brittle hose ... broke it ! Simple repair now becomes difficult repair < fume > !   Did "shoemaker" repair for now, will fix more elegantly once in Yuma.

Joanne spent most of day on pre-departure preparations, mostly "moving" from house to trailer.
I prefer the "old days" when all we had to do was hitch and go !

Thursday ; Hallowe'en 

Sunny ... mild. A great day to be working outdoors "winterizing" the park model. We moved into the trailer by lunch time and I spent the afternoon disconnecting and draining all the water lines, draining the water heater, draining the sink traps, pouring anti-freeze into all the drains, the toilet tank and bowl, etc. in the park model. Joanne did a lot of laundry and finished moving everything that had to be moved from the park model to the trailer. We hitched the truck to the trailer.

Ready to go in the morning !

Friday ; Keremeos, B.C. to Okanogan, Washington 

Today was gloomy, but mild and dry, a good day for departure and travel.

This morning we finished our departure preparations, weeded our lot underneath the trailer after
I pulled the trailer out, chatted with neighbours, and finally left Riverside RV Park Resort about 11:30 AM. We stopped in Keremeos to adjust the air in the trailer tires and to refill the trailer's freshwater tank, then headed east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos. Our border crossing was uneventful, typical for crossing at Osoyoos, B.C. to Oroville, Washington. No line-up, a few minutes answering reasonable and pertinent questions for a Customs & Border Patrol agent, then a few more minutes being inspected by an Agriculture inspector checking fridge contents and pet foods.

We stopped on the south side of Oroville to have lunch, then continued south on Hwy. 97 to Omak. We went "downtown" to the Bank of America where I took a large cash advance on our BMO U.S.$ MasterCard and deposited it to our Bank of America account. A few days ago I had "overpaid" our BMO U.S.$ MasterCard account to "cover" the cash advance, and avoid paying interest on the cash advance. It's how I get money from our Canadian bank account to our U.S. bank account without incurring fees. HA !

After the banking I refilled with diesel then we went to Wal-Mart to buy some groceries and ...
< sigh > ... a new cell phone. When I tried to reactivate our U.S. cell phone a few days ago I was unable because the "sim card" had expired, so I needed to buy a new phone. Cell phone bull**** is one of the things I hate about November 1 each year !

While Joanne put away groceries I walked across the highway to McDonald's and used their free Wi-Fi to activate the new cell phone. Because the new phone was plugged into the truck, charging, I had to cross the highway to return to the truck from McDonald's a couple of times to get necessary information for the activation process. Did I mention ... cell phone bull**** is one of the things I hate about November 1 each year ! I was able to activate the phone but was unable to buy airtime. I needed to have the phone with me in order to buy time online, and of course, the phone was charging in the truck, and the Wi-Fi signal wouldn't reach from McDonald's across the highway to the truck. Did I mention ... ! ! !

By that time ... it was dark. Joanne and the animals were sitting in the trailer in the Wal-Mart parking lot, getting very cold. We usually spend our first night in the Omak Wal-Mart parking lot, but ... we drove in the dark, south on Hwy. 97 to the next town, Okanogan ( different spelling than in Canada ) to boondock overnight in the RV parking lot of the Okanogan Bingo Casino. Free pull through RV sites with electrical service. Thank you !

Saturday ; Okanogan to Carnation, Washington 

No, no ... not a good day at all !

We awoke this morning to the sound of heavy rain, and we went to sleep tonight to the sound of heavy rain. In between, there were heavy winds, lots more rain, and a snow blizzard !

It was raining when we left the Okanogan Bingo Casino RV parking lot this morning. We drove south on Hwy. 97 to Wenatchee, then turned west on Hwy. 20 ... up and over the Cascades. At an elevation of about 2800 feet the rain turned to snow. By the time we reached the summit of Stevens Pass above 4000 feet, it was a blizzard, with heavy blowing snow, and freezing slush on the highway. Very treacherous seven miles of 6% grade downhill, until the snow turned to rain again.

At the tiny village of Index the traffic abruptly came to a halt. We were stuck there for about an hour until we found out that the heavy winds had broken a tree, and the falling tree had brought down a power line down across the highway. There was no estimate of when a crew would be there to rectify the problem and get the traffic moving again, so ... I manoeuvered a near impossible u-turn on the two lane highway and followed other traffic on a 20 mile detour down a very, very narrow and winding mountain road to the next village < sigh >.

We were now about an hour and a half later than planned for our first viewing of a truck camper for sale. We met the seller in the parking lot of the Safeway in the town of Duvall, and he led us on a lengthy journey “off the beaten path” to his rural property. We parked our truck and trailer a mile or so from his remote property and rode in his truck the rest of the way in. We had little time to view his camper before darkness set in.

He drove us back to our truck and trailer. We became lost in the dark trying to get back to Monroe. We eventually ended up in the town of Carnation where we parked in a municipal park parking lot to boondock overnight. We were lost, we were hungry, we were tired, we were stressed ... so we blew off the rest of the evening bickering and sniping fiercely < sigh >.

And ... Joanne didn’t like the camper !

DSK