November 20 to 26, 2016 ; Quartzsite to Yuma, Arizona

Sunday ;  Quartzsite to Yuma

Cloudy and warm in Quartzsite.  Raining and cool in Yuma.

HUH ?  RAIN IN YUMA ? ? ?  How odd !  It started raining right after we ate lunch, about halfway between Quartzsite and Yuma.  And while we only drove about fifty miles or so in the desert rain, it made both the truck and camper very dirty !

This morning we left the Hi Jolly BLM campground a few miles north of Quartzsite and drove south on Hwy. 95 into Quartzsite.  I wanted look for an item at the flea markets. 
I didn't find it.  BUT ... HA HA HA ... we bought almost thirty bucks worth of stuff on impulse, most of it a "scratch & dent" vendor.  Lots of marinades for use in Sun Oven cooking.  Some cosmetics and toiletries.  Unusual salad dressings, that sort of stuff.  After shopping we continued south on Hwy. 95 towards Yuma.  We pulled off the road into the desert to have lunch.  As soon as we resumed driving after lunch it began to drizzle, and continued to drizzle lightly until we reached "home" at Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park in Yuma.

We arrived "home" at 4:15 PM and got quite a lot of work done in the yard and Arizona room before it got dark at 6 PM.  It got dark at 5 PM yesterday in Quartzsite because we forgot to change our clocks and watches when we crossed from California / Pacific Time Zone into Arizona / Mountain Time Zone.  DUH !

The trip from Keremeos home to Yuma home was 3635 km. / 2272 miles.

Monday ;  Sunny and warm.

We slept late and got a slow start to the day.  Today and the next few days will be mostly taken up with "arrival" chores.  Opening up the Arizona room, getting dust covers off the furniture, folding and storing the dust covers, rinsing outdoor furniture, etc., etc., etc.  This afternoon we took Bo to the veterinarian to have him examined regarding a few problems that have persisted for about six months, and may be multiple problems or may be one problem with multiple symptoms.  As I feared and expected ... we spent two hundred dollars to find out ... absolutely nothing ! ! !  After the veterinarian we went grocery shopping, then returned home and barely had time for a quick lap around the dog park before it got dark.

Tuesday ;  Sunny and very warm.  By the way, today I removed the thermometer I had mounted last spring on a shaded spot under our front patio.  It read to a maximum of 120° F / 50° C.  At some point this summer ... the top blew off.  HA HA HA ... just like in the cartoons !

Today was another day of "arrival" chores.  Joanne finished removing all food items from the camper, and stored them temporarily in the Arizona room.  When we move the fifth wheel trailer to our lot, probably tomorrow, all of it will be moved into the fifth wheel trailer.  < sigh >  Lots of work !  We removed and stored all of the Arizona room's "solid" vinyl walls, turning it once again into a screen room.  We disinfected our five gallon water jug.  Joanne cleaned the interior of Elsie the camper.  I worked on cleaning and maintenance chores.  I worked on getting my bicycle ready for use.  When I inflated the tires, the rear tire tube exploded.  BAM !  Sounded like a gunshot !

Twice we went for walks around the dog park.  We are trying to do that twice per day for needed exercise.  I did some online and phone work shopping for a used vehicle to buy.  I watered all our plants and gardens.  A lot of our cactus plants have died, apparently due to heat and / or lack of water.  < shrug >  HEY ... they're cacti.  Aren't they supposed to be able to tolerate high heat and no water ?

Wednesday ;  Sunny and warm.

Our plan for today was to remove the camper from the truck, store it in one of our two storage spots in the storage yard, then move the fifth wheel trailer from our other storage spot in the storage yard to our lot 52.  Instead ... we bought a car !

We have been looking for what would be described in Canada as a "winter beater".  To use down here during the winter season as ... well ... our "winter beater ".  HA HA HA !  And that's exactly what we bought.  A scruffy, old, 1997 Oldsmobile Bravada SUV.  It's the "same" as the Chevrolet Blazer or the GMC Jimmy.  The Oldsmobile Bravada was never sold in Canada, so my Canadian readers won't recognize it.

I found it last night online.  I made arrangements by e-mail and telephone to view it late this morning.  We drove to where the buyer lives, viewed the car, I took it for a test drive with the buyer, and ... bought it.  We left it with him until Friday so that I can buy insurance for it before completing the purchase transaction and registering / licensing it with Arizona DMV.

Before returning home we went grocery shopping at Food City, the Mexican supermarket.  In addition to buying quite a bit of fresh produce, we also bought a lot of meat, and a turkey.  We're not cooking it tomorrow for American Thanksgiving, but wanted to buy a turkey while they're cheap.

Once we were back at home I did some maintenance chores and prepared the camper for removal from the truck tomorrow.  Joanne cut and repackaged meat, then did laundry.  We took Bo for a two lap walk around the dog park.  Actually, Joanne and
I walked two laps around the dog park.  Bo sort of meanders around keeping an eye on us, more or less, but he no longer has the desire / stamina to walk laps around the dog park.

After supper I spent a frustrating, long evening online trying ( and eventually
succeeding ) to purchase vehicle insurance.

Thursday ;  American Thanksgiving

Sunny and warm.  Tough, busy day today.  Not all of it went well.

This morning we completed our preparations for removing Elsie ( the camper ) off Lanoire ( the truck ).  We drove to the storage yard in the RV park and removed Elsie, then installed the fifth wheel hitch into Lanoire and hitched up to Harvey ( the fifth wheel trailer ).  On the way back to our lot we stopped at the park's air compressor station and adjusted the air pressure in all of the trailer's tires.  We parked haphazardly in our lot then went into the Arizona room to have lunch.

After lunch we fussed and fiddled with the positioning of the trailer.  It needs to be positioned very precisely, to ensure the door opens exactly where it should, in the cut out in the patio roof.  Once I got the trailer positioned exactly where it needed to be Joanne went to work on inside chores and I worked on outside chores, connecting electricity, water, and sewer before extending the slides and unhitching the truck. 
I worked on a burnt out tail light problem on the truck, then got "side tracked" by an extremely foul odour in the trailer's water system.  This last summer was the third time the trailer was left parked in the storage yard during the brutal summer heat, but the first time we've had this foul smell in the water system.  I spent a long time trying to figure out the problem and the solution.  I think the tank of fresh water that I left full over the summer was well water with minerals that "soured" over the summer.  I drained the freshwater tank, and will strongly disinfect it over the next few days.

My next priority was to connect the satellite dish and get the TV working.  I failed.  Another job that took up a lot of time.  And I still don't know what the problem is.  I have suspicions, but will need to do some more "troubleshooting" ... probably on Saturday ... to figure out the problem ... and solution.  < sigh >

We did not attend the communal ( American ) Thanksgiving dinner.  Joanne is so disgusted by the American people electing a sexist, racist, bigot as their President that she wants to avoid socializing with Americans as much as possible this winter season.  And I have forty-two years of good reasons to "stand by my woman".  I barbecued Coho Salmon from Haida Gwaii for supper.  It was good !

Friday ;  Sunny and warm.

We spent most of the day on the purchase of our "winter beater" 1997 Oldsmobile Bravada.  And NO ... NO ... it did NOT go well ! ! ! ! !  Enough said !  < gnashing teeth >

Nevertheless ... the car is now sitting in our driveway, titled, registered, licensed, and insured.  This is the first time we have had to deal with the distinctly American concept of vehicle "title".  And hopefully it will be the last !

Saturday ;  Cloudy and warm.

This morning I checked and refilled fluids in Obie ( Oldsmobile Bravada ), our new "winter beater" car.  Then we headed to "The Foothills", the Yuma "suburb" to the east, for some delayed Black Friday shopping.  While Joanne went to "The 99¢ Only Store"
I went to Foothills Shoes to buy a couple of pairs of SAS shoes at the ( extended ) Black Friday special sale price.  I only wear SAS shoes ... for about twenty-five years now ... and they are so outrageously expensive that I have taken to buying them only on "Black Fridays" ( the big shopping day after American Thanksgiving ).  After finishing shoe buying ( me ) and grocery buying ( Joanne ) we went to Burger King for lunch, then Fry's for a few more grocery items.  On the way home we stopped at Southwest Exchange so that I could buy a replacement bicycle tire tube.

Once back at home my priority was satellite dish troubleshooting.  By cannibalizing parts from Laszlo's satellite dish and installing them on my satellite dish I was able to determine that I will need to replace our satellite dish's old dual satellite LNB with the newer triple satellite LNB.  I had an extra satellite dish back home in Keremeos, a new dish with the triple satellite LNB ... and I sold it !  DARN !  Getting the triple satellite LNB that I need down here will be difficult and expensive.  DARN ! ! !  And in the meantime ... I’m paying for satellite TV service that I’m unable to use.  HMPH !

We took Bo for a two lap walk around the dog park, then I worked on replacing my bicycle’s blown tire inner tube.  It was dark by the time I completed that project, so I still need to inflate the tire and install it back onto the bicycle tomorrow.

In the evening I worked on bill paying and accounting.  Certainly has been an expensive month so far !

DSK

November 13 to 19, 2016 ; Coarsegold, California to Quartzsite, Arizona

Sunday ;  Sunny and warm.

Well !  Now wasn't that a bit of an odd day ?  Joanne watched fourteen consecutive hours of "90 Day Fiancé" on TLC.  I, showing much more restraint, watched only five consecutive hours of it.  HA HA HA !

Obviously, we didn’t accomplish much today.  I did some regular chores.  I took Bo to the dog park.  With much anticipation by both of us, I cooked Halibut for supper. 
I bought three packages of flash frozen Halibut in Prince Rupert, BC, about three months ago.  The three packages cost about fifty bucks !  So ... fifteen bucks or more per package.  Tonight I cooked the first package.  And as I was cooking it, I realized ... < sniff, sniff > ... it was ****ing rancid ! ! !  I was not pleased !  And we’re certainly worried about the other two packages !  HMPH !  That was at least fifteen bucks worth of fish into the garbage !

Monday ;  Sunny and warm.  Gee, the weather is nice here !

Late this morning we headed north on Hwy. 41 about twenty miles or so to the town of Oakhurst, to buy bread and milk at Vons.  We headed back "home", south on Hwy. 41, and just before reaching SKP Park of the Sierras, we stopped to have lunch at Chukchansi Casino.  MMMMM ... buffet lunch at ( what used to be ) our favourite casino buffet restaurant.  This was our first meal at Chukchansi Casino since it closed a couple of years ago and reopened this year.  The buffet restaurant is still pretty good, but not quite as great as it had been in its previous incarnation.

Once back at "home", parked in our assigned site, we walked with Bo down to the dog park.  Literally "down".  This park is built in the Sierra Nevada foothills, on a very hilly piece of land.  From our site is "down" to the dog park, and "up" to walk back to our site.  We spent quite awhile at the dog park, because ... we are leaving tomorrow morning.

We spent the evening watching multiple episodes of TLC's new series "Outdaughtered", a new generation clone of "Jon and Kate Plus 8".

Tuesday ;  Coarsegold to Bakersfield, California

Sunny and warm.  L.A. smog enveloped us today as we were leaving Tulare, about 170 miles north of Los Angeles !

This morning we prepared for departure and left SKP Park of the Sierras around
11 AM.  Before leaving I experienced more cell phone drama, trying to connect with a man in Palm Springs who is selling a car that I am interested in buying.  The cell phone reception at SKP Park of the Sierras was not good, and I wasted a lot of expensive cell phone minutes on dropped calls, and misdialed calls, and "telephone tag", etc.!

We drove south on Hwy. 41 to Fresno ( methamphetamine capital of the world ! ), then south on Hwy. 99 to Tulare, to shop at our favourite Mexican supermarket, Vallarta.  We initially stumbled upon this wonderful Mexican supermarket many years ago on its grand opening weekend.  We exited the freeway looking for groceries, got directions to a supermarket that we never found, and while trying to get back to the freeway found Vallarta on its second or third day of business. Now it's a mandatory stop for us when we're driving south along this route.

As soon as we entered the store we headed to the panaderia to stock up on pan dulce, including a large piece of tres leches ( three milks ) cake.  Their tres leches cake is wonderful !  Then we had lunch at the in-store Mexican lunch counter.  I had the platilla de tres tacos ( una carne asada y dos pollos ) con arroz y frijoles especial, and Joanne had the costilla puerco en chile verde especial, pork ribs stewed in green chile sauce. 
I had an extremely small taste of her meal.  WHEW !  Tongue numbing !  Probably not meant for gringos !  HA HA HA !  Especially since we noticed ... hundreds of customers in this large supermarket, and we were the only gringos !  HA HA HA !

After lunch we headed for the meat counter / butcher counter.  Mexican grocery stores always have excellent meat counters, staffed by butchers to provide service.  No shrink wrapped meat on styrofoam trays here !  We bought some taco meat ; marinated, seasoned beef of a texture halfway between ground beef and stewing beef.  I bought myself some ceviche de jaiba ( crab meat salsa ) at the fish counter.  Joanne bought herself some smoked pork chops.  We bought fresh produce ; cilantro, avocadoes, Mexican squash.  Then we wandered up and down all the aisles, stocking up on some of our favourite Mexican products, like a particular brand of tomato chicken noodle soup mixes with different types of pastas.  It was after 3 PM by the time we finished our grocery shopping and got back on the road.

We stopped again at the city of Delano to shop at Wal-Mart.  After our Wal-Martin', as we were loading our groceries into the camper, I watched a real disgusting scene unfold one aisle over from us in the parking lot.  In the amount of time it took to put away groceries, just a minute or two, I watched a couple loading their purchases into their truck.  The woman discarded two soiled tissues onto the ground beside their truck, and the man crushed and discarded two beer cans beside their truck.  Then ... < sputter > ... he puked in the parking lot, they had a good laugh about that, he reached inside the truck, popped open another beer and began to drink it.  Nothing like washing the puke taste out of one's mouth with a bit of the "hair of the dog", n'est-ce pas ?

And you wonder why ... with the exception of Palm Springs ... we generally dislike Southern California ?  And Southern Californians ? ! ?

We continued south on Hwy. 99 until we were almost at Bakersfield.  We stopped for the night at a Flying J at 5:15 PM, just as it turned dark.  SHEESH !  I guess we haven't stayed at a Flying J in a long time.  Hundreds and hundreds of commercial semi-trailer trucks, all with their diesel engines and reefers running non-stop, no apparent RV parking area despite the Flying J guide book showing that this station has a large number of "RV parking spots".  I parked in the car parking lot of the Denny's Restaurant that was part of the Flying J Travel Center.  The loud, "white noise" hum of the trucks, the diesel exhaust fumes, and the smog, gave me a headache.

Wednesday ;  Bakersfield to Barstow, California

Cloudy, a bit windy, a bit chilly ... a bit stinky.  We can smell the smog !  ( Bakersfield )

Sunny, very windy, chilly !  ( Barstow )

This morning we refilled with freshwater and dumped our grey waste tank at the Flying J before departing.  We drove into Bakersfield and found our way ... not that easy ... to the Basque area of town where Joanne wanted to have a Basque family style lunch at a restaurant that she had read a review of.  And as the review had stated, it was a lovely little restaurant in a grungy building in a decrepit area of town.  Even at its best,
I consider Bakersfield to be one of the two armpits of California.  The other is Fresno.

Having Basque family style lunch at the Noriega Hotel has been on Joanne's "bucket list" for a few years already.  The Noriega Hotel was established in 1893.  And has been owned by the same Basque family since 1938.  There is no real "hotel" left.  The upper floors are a monthly rental rooming house / "flop house" of questionable repute.  The main floor is a bar and ... family dining room.  Three very long tables with place settings on each side of each table.  Open for lunch and dinner six days a week.  Menu changes each day, each meal, repeating weekly.  Wednesday lunch is beef brisket slowly stewed in a Marinara style tomato sauce, and breaded veal cutlets smothered in cream gravy.  There were twelve diners for lunch today, all men except for Joanne.  Service was "family style".  Food is brought to the table in large serving bowls or platters, everyone helps themselves.  First course was a Basque cabbage soup.  With baked beans on the side, to be added to the soup.  Then a garden salad.  Freshly baked sourdough bread.  Homemade red wine.  Then the brisket ( quite good ) and the veal cutlets ( excellent ).  A side dish of Spanish rice.  We were seated at the head of the table, as the special Canadian guests.  The other ten men were locals and regulars.  We were seated beside an elderly man a bit older than us who didn't say much as he had recently had a laryngectomy, and across from him was his forty-something year old son, a commercial pilot.  The old man was a retired crop duster pilot.  The two of them, mostly the son, “coached” us throughout the meal, advising us what we were eating, and how best to appreciate it.  They were eager to show off the Basque specialties.  They even asked the server woman if she would bring us a sample of their famous pickled beef tongue for us to try.  We tried it and liked it.  We placed thin slices of the pickled tongue on sourdough bread, drizzled a little of the pickling juice onto the bread, and ate it like an open faced sandwich, with small bites of blue cheese as a “chaser”.  It was quite good !  < whispering > Joanne passed on the blue cheese.  The meal was finished off with ... a very dry, sliced cheese called “Hard Jack”, served on sourdough bread slathered with home made apricot jam.  That’s more of a breakfast item, but they wanted us to experience it as one of their cultural specialties.  Lunch was an excellent experience in ethnic dining !

We left Bakersfield heading east on Hwy. 58, climbing higher and higher into the Tehachapi Mountains.  The smog got thicker and smellier the higher the altitude.  And ... as before ... as we crested the summit of the Tehachapi Pass, the sky became clear blue as far as the eye could see, and we began the long descent down into the Mojave Desert.  The high ridge of the Tehachapi Mountains is like a barrier fence keeping all the smog on the west side of the mountains.

AHHHHH ... the Mojave Desert.  Feels like home.  We stopped at Kramer Junction to refill with diesel.  But ... we encountered a malfunctioning diesel fuel pump, and extremely poor customer service in trying to deal with it, so ... we left with only $28 worth of diesel purchased.  NOTE TO PILOT FUEL TRAVEL CENTERS ; CLEAN UP YOUR ACT !  TEACH YOUR STAFF SOME CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS ! ! !  We continued east on Hwy. 58 until reaching Barstow, where we completed refilling with diesel at Flying J, then found a spot in their parking lot to boondock overnight.

Thursday ;  Barstow to Palm Springs, California

Sunny and chilly in Barstow.  Sunny and warm in Palm Springs.  We did not have a very good day today.

This morning we refilled our freshwater tank and dumped our waste holding tanks at the Flying J before we left.  Flying J has increased the cost of using their sani-dump stations from $5 to $7.50.  We're not pleased.

We drove a couple of miles northeast on Interstate 15, then turned south on Hwy. 247.  At Lucerne Valley the highway turned east for awhile, then south again.  We reached Hwy. 62 at Yucca Valley, and followed Hwy. 62 west, then south to Interstate 10 at Palm Springs.

When we arrived at Palm Springs we drove east on Interstate 10 to the Monterey exit.  As soon as we left the freeway and were on Monterey Ave. we pulled into a large shopping mall with a Wal-Mart and a Bank of America.  We needed to phone the seller of the car we wanted to buy, we needed to withdraw cash from the Bank of America in order to pay for the car, we needed to buy a few items at Wal-Mart, and it was time for lunch.

Frustratingly, I once again experienced cell phone drama.  I could not get a TracFone network signal where we were parked.  Dead phone ... in the middle of Palm Springs urban area ! ! !  I walked over to the Bank of America and had to beg for the use of a phone to make a short, local call.  You would have thought that I had asked to sleep with their sister !  Eventually, with the assistance of a manager ... < rolling eyes > ...
I was allowed to use a phone.

WELL ! ! !  It was 1:30 PM.  I had told the car seller that we would be arriving in Palm Springs and phoning him about "mid-afternoon".  And ... < sputter > ... the ******* ***** had sold the car an hour before I phoned ! ! ! ! !  I was angry ... and pissy and crabby for the rest of the day !

We had lunch in the camper in the Wal-Mart parking lot.  Joanne went shopping in
Wal-Mart while I napped for half an hour.  We headed downtown to the Palm Springs dog park.  Now THAT should cheer me up !  When we arrived at the Palm Springs dog park behind City Hall ... < sputter > ... IT WAS CLOSED !  **** ! ! !  For three months !  For reconstruction !  Re-opening on SUNDAY !  **** ! ! !

Beautiful reconstruction though !  Looks like a golf course instead of a mud pit, which is what parts of it were looking like last time we were here ... last April.  I wonder how long it takes, with lots of dogs romping in it on a daily basis, to get from looking like a golf course to looking like a mud pit ?

We drove through downtown to shop at Revivals, our favourite Palm Springs thrift store.  Probably our favourite thrift store anywhere !  We browsed there for awhile, until I bought three shirts and Joanne bought a bathroom scale ( which we have to haul all the way back to BC next spring ) and fleece "pyjamas" for Bo ... < rolling my eyes >.  We finished there about 5 PM and contemplated staying downtown for the regular Thursday night Village Fest street fair and market which starts at 6 PM.  But ... we were both pissy and crabby, and couldn't come to an agreement / "get on the same page".  Had a lot of that today !

Because Palm Springs is surrounded by mountains which block the sunlight, it was dark at 5 PM.  We left downtown and drove through rush hour traffic in darkness to
Aqua Caliente Casino.  We got ourselves parked in their RV overnight parking lot and went inside the casino to pick up our New Year's Eve concert tickets.  The box office was closed.  Oh, well ... we'll just pick them up on New Year's Eve before the concert.  We returned to the camper to prepare and eat supper.  And continue to be pissy and crabby !
 
Friday ;  Palm Springs

Sunny and warm.  < shrug >  Of course !  We're in Palm Springs !

Our only plans for today were to have lunch at Sherman's Deli and to attend a classic car auction.  That left a lot of free time for ... < shrug > ... whatever struck our fancy !

As we were eating breakfast this morning we watched a drug or stolen merchandise deal take place.  We were parked in Aqua Caliente Casino's overnight parking lot for RV's and semi-trailers.  A semi-trailer pulled in and manoeuvered around beside and behind us so that its trailer rear door was blocked from view.  The driver climbed out of the cab, walked quickly to the back of the trailer and very quickly opened the door. 
A pickup truck came rushing into the parking lot and stopped behind the truck.  The pickup driver jumped out, and the semi-trailer driver began to pass him boxes out of the back of the semi-trailer.  The pickup driver threw them into the box of the pickup and roared off.  The semi-trailer driver quickly closed the trailer door, jumped back into the cab of his tractor, and left quickly.  Whole thing took no more than a minute or two !

In twelve and a half years of travelling, through three countries, we have only seen this kind of illicit deal happen three times.  Twice was in Palm Springs !  Once was in Tucson, Arizona.

We left Aqua Caliente Casino and drove southwest down Ramon Road into the Palm Springs "suburb" of Cathedral City.  I knew there was a dog park in Cathedral City similar to the Palm Springs dog park and I wanted to find it.  Yesterday I had "hyped up" Bo as we were approaching the Palm Springs dog park, then we arrived to find it closed.  I felt guilty for getting him all excited about the dog park, then not being able to deliver.  I didn't know where the Cathedral City dog park was, but I thought the staff at PetsMart would know.  So ... we drove to PetsMart and asked.  They weren't sure ... blah, blah, blah ... yeah, thanks for nothing !  We got poor / vague directions.  We browsed and bought a couple of cans of dog food for Bo as a treat.

We drove south on Date Palm Drive and eventually stumbled across the Cathedral City dog park.  In the dog park was a young woman with two large dogs.  Bo romped with the two dogs, then I, Joanne, and Prince, one of the other two dogs walked four laps around the dog park.  Bo didn't join us.  Too hot !  HA HA HA !

We left the dog park and began to drive west on Hwy. 111 through Cathedral City.  We stopped at the Cathedral City location of Revivals, the same thrift store that we shopped at yesterday in downtown Palm Springs.  It's a two location business operated by a gay men's organization.  Which might explain why it's so extremely well organized, and has such terrific clothing and fashion sense.  Today was Cathedral City's 35th Anniversary, so the Cathedral City location of Revivals had a 35% discount on all clothing.  WOW !  GREAT !  I bought four brand new leather belts, three brand new pairs of pants ( two pairs of Brooks Brothers ), and a brand new storm jacket.  About four hundred dollars worth of clothing for a little under fifty bucks !  I love Revivals !  I don't know why, but much of their clothing is brand new, with retail price tags still attached.  I think the expensive Palm Springs clothing stores give them "last season's" leftovers.  Which more often than not, are in sizes that fit me !

We drove downtown and parked between Sherman's Deli and the Palm Springs Convention Centre.  We walked back to Sherman's Deli and had lunch.  Let me pause here to remember and salivate.  HA HA HA !  I had a bowl of borscht and a hot pastrami sandwich on sourdough bread.  Was there any doubt ?  HA HA HA !  Sherman's is not a cheap place, but sometimes you just got to bite the bullet and pay the piper !  HA HA HA !  After lunch we walked over to the Palm Springs Convention Centre to attend a couple of hours of the three day long McCormick's Classic Car Auction.  Six hundred classic and collectible automobiles auctioned in three days !  Seven million dollars worth ! ! !  Each car's auction lasts two to three minutes.  BOOM !  It's gone !  Next car please !  Not for the faint of heart.  Not for me, other than as a spectator.  BUT ...
I surely would have liked to have that 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible !  In the same factory colour as my first car, a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 Country Sedan station wagon.

We left the car auction about 4 PM and walked back to where the truck was parked.  We drove north out of Palm Springs downtown to Interstate 10, then east on I-10 to the far east end of the Palm Springs area, to Spotlight 29 Casino.  We have boondocked here many times in the past.  It's an excellent boondock spot, with a large, quiet, secure RV overnight parking lot, separate from the commercial truck parking lot.

By the way ... Spotlight 29 Casino was developed and originally owned by Trump.  He went bankrupt here, and it was taken over by the Indian Band whose land it is located on.

Saturday ;  Palm Springs, California to Quartzsite, Arizona

Sunny and warm.

This morning we drove a short distance from Spotlight 29 Casino to Love's Travel Center and refilled our fresh water tank before getting onto Interstate 10 and heading east.  About halfway to Quartzsite we stopped at a rest area and had lunch.  Before resuming driving I had a brief nap.  Just before crossing from California into Arizona we stopped in the small city of Blythe ( commonly referred to amongst the full time RV community as "Blight" ) to buy some bread.  The grocery store we stopped at was Mexican, so we didn't buy a loaf of bread, we bought some bolillos ( Mexican "subway" style buns ).  And some pan dulce, of course.  HA HA HA !  Well ... what did you
expect ?  This morning for breakfast we finished the last two empanadas from Vallarta in Tulare.

Shortly after crossing from California into Arizona we arrived at Quartzsite about 4 PM.  We refilled with diesel at an ARCO fuel station that made us jump through an annoying series of hoops to get their posted "3¢ cash discount".  We have never experienced a fuel station try that hard to avoid giving a discount that they post out on the freeway to entice customers.  We drove north on Hwy. 95 a short distance to the Hi Jolly BLM
( free ) campground out in the desert, arriving about 4:30 PM.  We took Bo for a long walk in the desert and by the time we returned to our camper at 4:55 PM it was dark !  HMPH !

While Joanne prepared a couple of foil packets of sausages, onions, and squash, and another packet of tiny potatoes, I lit a campfire using scrap lumber that I hauled over 2000 miles to use as firewood.  HA HA HA !  I cooked supper to perfection over the open fire.  Joanne "smashed" and creamed the tiny potatoes.  AHHHHH ... campfire supper !

DSK

November 6 to 12, 2016 ; Grand Ronde, Oregon to Coarsegold, California

Sunday ;  Grand Ronde to Canyonville, Oregon

Today started out cloudy and mild, but the sky cleared as we drove.

We did quite a bit of chores this morning before leaving the Spirit Mountain Casino RV parking lot.  First we drove over to the sani-dump station and dumped our waste holding tanks.  Then over to the freshwater refill station to refill our fresh water tank.  Then over to the casino's Travel Center fuel station to refill Lanoire with diesel and refill a one gallon container with fuel for our little generator.

We drove a mile or two back to Hwy. 22 and headed east to Hwy. 99W where we turned south.  As we entered the small village of Rickreall I noticed a sign advertising a Sunday farmer's market and decided to stop and take a look.  Rarely do we stop at a farmer's market without finding something worthwhile.  And today was no exception.  Two elderly ladies were selling ... WOO-HOO ... freshly picked, wild Chanterelle mushrooms.  I have seen Chanterelle mushrooms only in pictures.  And have read about how wonderful they are.  Today was my chance to find out.  And I wasn't disappointed !

After buying the Chanterelles we continued south on Hwy. 99W to Corvallis where we found our way ... with a bit of difficulty ... to PetsMart to use a 15% discount coupon that expired today, to buy some dog food.  And ... in the same mall as PetsMart there was a ... wait for it ... WOO-HOO ... panaderia !  Si, si, we bought muchos pan dulces.  We ate lunch in the shopping mall parking lot before hitting the road again.

From Corvallis we headed a bit more east, on Hwy. 34, back to Interstate 5, and then continued south.  At Eugene I saw a Cabela's ( massively huge sporting goods store ) and was certain that Santa wanted to get some stuff at Cabela's ( tax free ... still in Oregon ! ) to put in my Christmas stocking.   HA HA HA !  To get to the Cabela's which was on the opposite side of the freeway was rather difficult, requiring taking the next freeway exit and manoeuvering around a series of complicated interchanges to head back north, and then exit again and manoeuver around another series of complicated interchanges to get to the mall where Cabela's was located.  Getting back onto the freeway heading south afterwards wasn't exactly a piece of cake either !  AND ...
< sniffle > ... I didn't find what Santa was looking for.  So ... to console myself, I bought four fishing flies.  HA HA HA !  Cabela's fishing flies are much better quality than that cheap shit I buy at Surplus Herbie's in Williams Lake, BC .  HA HA HA !

Our destination for today was the Escapees RV park at Sutherlin, but when we arrived at Sutherlin there was still about an hour of daylight left, so we continued driving south, heading for "Plan B" ; the Seven Feathers Casino at Canyonville.  We arrived at Seven Feathers Casino at 5:05 PM, at dusk, and after selecting a parking spot in their RV parking lot we immediately took Bo for a walk.  By the time we finished our walk at 5:20 PM it was completely dark.

We put Bo into the camper then Joanne and I went to explore the casino.  We wandered around the large casino, and after checking out the buffet restaurant decided we would like to have dinner there tomorrow evening, so we'll spend two nights here.  We returned to the camper where we shared supper preparation duties.  Joanne cooked shredded Brussels sprouts with onions while I sautéed Chanterelle mushrooms, then breaded and fried a couple of Cutthroat Trout fillets that I caught in the Similkameen River at home a month or so ago.  The Chanterelles were exquisite !  And the Cutthroats were pretty good as well !  Very nice supper !

Monday ;  Seven Feathers Casino

Cloudy and mild.  Today was a lazy, leisurely day of a few chores and lots of relaxing.

We slept late.  After a slow start to the day I did a teensy bit of preventive maintenance on the truck.  We drove across the street to the casino's Travel Center and refilled with diesel.  We drove to and through the casino's upscale RV park.  That's not where we are.  We're in the casino's free overnight parking lot for RV's.  "Casino camping" !  We refilled the camper's fresh water tank from a spigot in the dog park at the freeway rest area sponsored by the casino.  We drove into the nearby small village of Canyonville and bought a few grocery items.

Back at the casino RV parking lot I did some work on the computer, including reconciling October's month end financial statements.  Joanne gave herself a manicure, and worked on Sudoku puzzles.  We went with Bo for another one of today's many leisurely dog walks.  We found and identified mushrooms.  I read and napped.

Late in the afternoon we went inside the casino to gamble.  Last night we had joined the casino's Player's Club, and our cards were loaded with $5 of "free play" each.  To access the "$5 free play" one had to load a real dollar into a slot machine.  SO ... we each loaded a dollar into a slot machine and played until our $5 free play was used up.  My one dollar became $3.58 and Joanne's one dollar became $7.11, for total winnings of $8.69.  HMPH !  Pretty good !  Enough to pay for one of our two dinners at the buffet restaurant, which is really the only reason we stayed here today.

We had dinner at the buffet restaurant.  Surprisingly ... it wasn't all that good !  Casino buffet restaurant meals usually range from very good to stupendous.  This one was ... one notch below mediocre.  < shrug >  Oh, well !

We returned to our camper in the almost empty RV overnight parking lot to find that some a*****e from California had parked right beside us, and was running his generator with the exhaust pipe right below my bedroom window.  What would inspire this California a*****e to park right beside us in an almost empty, huge parking lot ? ! ?  And you wonder why we generally dislike Californians ? ! ?

Tuesday ;  Canyonville, Oregon to Red Bluff, California

Today started out partially sunny and mild, became very foggy as we drove, becoming sunny and warm in California.

Today was a day that just didn't go well.  Nothing really significant, but a lot of petty annoyances.  This morning we prepared to depart the Seven Feathers Casino RV parking lot and drove across the street to their Travel Center to refill our fresh water tank at a water spigot at one of the fuel islands.  The fuel island that I chose had a malfunctioning water spigot, so that by the time I got the camper's water tank refilled,
I was soaked.  Before leaving the Travel Center I turned on our cell phone and discovered a message waiting on voicemail.

The message was from an RV storage facility in Okanagan Falls, BC.  It was important to me to return the call, because that particular storage facility had referred me to a customer 3½ years ago that turned out to be my most lucrative trailer towing client ever.  I tried repeatedly to return the phone call using our cell phone, without success.  HMPH !  International dialling drama !  After wasting fourteen minutes of our expensive "pay as you go" cell phone minutes, I abandoned the cell phone.  I drove back to the casino's RV parking lot and attempted to make the call using Skype on the computer.  HMPH !  Internet connection drama !  By the time I gave up on the computer / Skype attempts, I had wasted a total of an hour trying to return a phone call ! ! !  I was mightily pissed off and stressed out when we finally hit the road.

We continued southbound on Interstate 5.  We stopped in Grant's Pass to finish our Oregon tax free shopping.  While Joanne went shopping at Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart
I connected to the Internet using a Wi-Fi signal from a nearby McDonald's, and finally returned the phone call.

We continued southbound on I-5 to our planned destination for today, an Oregon state park between Grant's Pass and Medford.  We were hoping for a pleasant, warm afternoon, with a campfire.  When we arrived at the state park, we were surprised by how expensive their overnight camping fee was, and chose not to stay.  We continued south on I-5, and into California.

At Redding we found our way, with considerable difficulty, to Win River Casino.  As soon as we arrived at their RV parking lot, a security guard on a golf cart approached us to advise that their overnight parking fee was ... wait for it ... $26 !  Are you ****ing kidding me ? ? ?  Goodbye ! ! !

We stopped for the night, about an hour after darkness, at a rest area north of Red Bluff.  We made and ate supper.  We took Bo for a walk, and realized ... the place was spooky.  There were ... shadowy figures skulking around in the darkness.  We felt unsafe.  I decided to leave.  We drove about another ten miles south to the city of Red Bluff and found our way to a Wal-Mart parking lot.  Much better than the rest area.

I raised the camper's roof top TV antenna, plugged the TV into the inverter, and we watched election coverage on a local NBC station.  How disgusting !

Wednesday ;  Red Bluff to Coarsegold, California

Sunny and warm.  It's like summer time here in central California !

Joanne slept poorly, and very little.  She was upset and disgusted by the results of the election.  And consequently felt depressed all day today.  And fatigued from little sleep !

We left the Red Bluff Wal-Mart parking lot this morning and drove a very short distance to an ARCO AM / PM fuel station to refill with diesel and refill the camper's fresh water tank.  As I was refilling Lanoire with diesel, the rocket scientist in front of me drove away from the pump with the fuel hose still in his truck's fuel filler.  He ripped the hose right out of the fuel pump !  Then stepped out of his truck, hollered an obscenity very loudly, got back into his truck, and drove away.  < shrug >  Welcome to California !

When Joanne went inside to pay for the fuel purchase, she was charged an additional 35 cents for using a debit card.  Are you kidding me ? ! ?  HMPH !  That is NOT allowed in Canada !  Merchants in Canada are prohibited from "upcharging" customers for the use of credit or debit cards.  Welcome to the good ol' U.S. of A. !

We continued southbound on Interstate 5.  We stopped for lunch at a rest area on the north side of Sacramento.  After lunch we drove through Sacramento, and at Stockton we switched from Interstate 5 southbound to Hwy. 99 southbound.  On the short connector road between the two freeways we stopped to shop for a new fly fishing rod and reel ( for Santa to bring me ) at Bass Pro Shops.  Didn't find what I wanted !

We drove a long distance today.  And spent most of the day listening to election analysis and commentary on NPR ( National Public Radio ).  A couple of hours before our planned destination ... SKP Park of the Sierras near Coarsegold up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, we saw a billboard advertisement for ... WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... CHUKCHANSI CASINO !  My favourite casino !  A mile or two away from the Escapees RV park, it closed two years ago, embroiled in controversy.  Two disagreeing factions of the Indian Band that own and operate the casino.   We were VERY glad to learn that Chukchansi Casino has reopened.  We decided to boonodock overnight at Chukchansi Casino instead of at the SKP park as we had initially planned.

At Madera we turned east on Hwy. 145, then about half an hour later, as it turned dark at 5:15 PM, we turned south on Hwy. 41 for the uphill, winding, mountain road drive to Chukchansi ( and SKP Park of the Sierras ).  We arrived at the casino about 6:15 PM.  Joanne immediately began to prepare supper, earlier than we usually eat dinner.  She was tired and despondent.  She is REALLY upset by Trump's victory.  We ate supper then went into the casino to see if it had changed and ... of course ... to check out the buffet restaurant.  My favourite casino buffet restaurant !  OKAY !  LUNCH !  MONDAY !

We returned to the camper.  Joanne washed dishes and went to sleep at 8:30 PM !

Thursday ;  SKP Park of the Sierras

Sunny and warm.  What a perfect "June 18" day !

This morning before leaving the parking lot of Chukchansi Casino we made a complaint to Security about the dog that was tied up to the fifth wheel trailer parked beside us. 
A female Golden Retriever, she howled all night and barked all morning.  It appeared as if the fifth wheel trailer was vacant from the time we arrived yesterday evening shortly after 6 PM until we were leaving this morning shortly after 10 AM.  Last night she snarled at Bo and I as we walked by, but this morning I was able to slowly gain her trust and she allowed me to approach and pet her.  I was so pissed off at her being left alone for at least sixteen hours, tied on a short leash to the trailer's steps, that I contemplated stealing her.

We drove the very short distance, just a couple of miles, from the casino to SKP Park of the Sierras, the most beautiful of all the Escapee RV parks, in our opinion.  We checked in, settled into our assigned site, then spent the rest of the day relaxing.  I napped after lunch.  We sat outside in folding chairs in our site enjoying the fine weather.  We took Bo to the dog park where he met old and new friends.  We walked.  We went to the clubhouse and checked out the bargain table and the library.

In the evening we binged on cable TV !  HA HA HA !

Friday ;  Remembrance Day ( Canada ) / Veteran's Day ( U.S.A. )

LEST WE FORGET !

Sunny and warm.  Another lovely "summer" day up here in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of central California.

This morning we had a private and personal Remembrance Day "ceremony" on our RV site, observing a minute of silence "to remember" at precisely the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, followed by us together reciting the poem "In Flander's Fields".

We drove north about twenty miles or so through the village of Coarsegold to the town of Oakhurst to refill with diesel and buy some groceries.  Surprisingly, the price of diesel was higher in Oakhurst than it was in Coarsegold.  But by the time we had arrived in Oakhurst Lanoire ( the truck ) was so low on diesel that we didn't even have enough to make it back to Coarsegold.  I bought twenty dollars worth of diesel in Oakhurst, then refilled the tank completely as we passed through Coarsegold on our way back to SKP Park of the Sierras.  While in Oakhurst we refilled our five gallon water jug and replenished groceries at Vons.

When we arrived back home we were having a late lunch when our friends Joe and Alene, and their sweet little Dachshund Lucy came by for a visit.  Joe and Alene live here during the summer, and are our neighbours across the street at our winter home at Kofa Ko-op in Yuma, Arizona.  We visited with Joe and Alene and Lucy and after they left we drove to the clubhouse.  Joanne went into the laundromat to do laundry and
I took Bo to the dog park.  There were more dogs there this afternoon than yesterday.  Bo met and played with old friends Parker and Callie, and new friends Autumn, Chloe, Buddy, and Jack.

For the third day in a row, Joanne remains extremely upset and "off the rails" by the election results.

Saturday ;  Sunny and warm.  Another very lovely day.

This morning a grey, long haired, female cat showed up in our site, to sit up high and look down on the main road below us.  Joanne went outside, and slowly, with considerable patience, convinced the cat to come over to her.  Once the cat was confident and comfortable with Joanne, she was eager to be loved up.  And she was very vocal.  The cat, not Joanne.  HA HA HA !  Eventually I went outside and joined in the cat love ups.  I miss having a cat, so it was a very pleasant experience to spend some time loving up this cat.  She hung around for quite awhile, just "talking" to us and following us around as we did some work outside in the yard and around the truck and camper.  As Joanne was petting the cat she discovered a couple of mats in the cat's long hair.  So ... she got a pair of small scissors, and cut the mats off.  HA HA HA ... we wonder what the cat's owners are going to think when their cat returns home with two small "bald spots" where Joanne cut out the mats.  HA HA HA !

We decided, somewhat on impulse, to give Bo a haircut this afternoon.  He was in need of a haircut.  It had been our plan to give him a haircut soon after our arrival in Yuma, but ... decided that doing it here, today, made sense.  After giving him a haircut we went to the dog park and joined in today's daily "dog party".  Everyone there was very surprised to see how different Bo looks after a haircut.  HA HA HA !

I barbecued a huge, thick steak for supper.  With tiny potatoes barbecued, "smashed", and smothered in cream.  MMMMMM !

DSK

October 30 to November 5, 2016 ; Keremeos, British Columbia, Canada to Grand Ronde, Oregon, U.S.A.

Sunday ;  Sunny and chilly.

Today Joanne did our final ( large ) load of laundry before departure on Tuesday.  I did a final preventive maintenance on Lanoire ( the truck ) ; adjust the air pressure on all seven tires, and top-up all fluids.  I ran the bathroom and range hood fans all day to dehumidify the house, and will keep them running until we depart.  Running the fans continuously has a tendency to make the house a bit chilly, because the fans are expelling moist indoor air and cold ( but dry ) outside air is being drawn into the house.

I finished the monthly medical travel records keeping that I have been keeping for Gord to submit to the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board.  I gave Marcie her second and final lesson in cleaning and treating Ozzie's ears to prevent a recurrence of the horrendous ear infections that he had, that took me about five months to "cure".  Our neighbour / friend Jeanine came over and visited with us this afternoon.  I returned a book to the clubhouse library, and selected some books to replenish my personal supply of books to read.

I did my regular weekly investments summary review and analysis.  I posted my weekly journal to my blog.  We ate supper ( home made cream of celery soup ... Joanne has to use up fridge contents that wouldn't be allowed across the border ) while watching Downton Abbey.

Monday ;  Hallowe'en ;  Cloudy, mild, no wind, a fairly nice fall day.

We both worked all day on departure preparations.  And now ( 6:30 PM ) we're ready to go tomorrow morning.  The minivan is winterized.  My beard and moustache and eyebrows are trimmed, I look somewhat civilized again.  HA HA HA !  All yard furniture is stored.  The dog has had a bath.  The DAMP RID containers are all filled and ready to be arranged around the house tomorrow morning to absorb moisture during the winter.  Month end bank and investment statements are retrieved and printed. 
I'll reconcile them while travelling.  Ink cartridges have been removed from the printer.  A book that Joanne just finished reading has been returned to the clubhouse library.  We went to the dog park with Bo, and then a long walk in cold drizzle ... YUCK ... around the RV park.  And Joanne has just finished a long phone call with her sister.

Tuesday ; home to Omak, Washington

Mostly cloudy, cool, a few drops of rain in the morning.

This morning ... and afternoon ... we prepared for departure from home.  Usually we are ready to leave home on November 1 around lunch time.  But today we did not leave home until 3 PM.  I ran into some problems with our park model manufactured home winterization procedures.  Specifically, I had some difficulty with draining the water heater.  I am going to have revise the procedures that I use in the future to drain the water heater to make it a quicker process.

Before leaving home we dropped off a large bag of recycling at the home of our neighbour / friend Jeanine, so that she can put it out for pick up on Friday, we said our goodbyes to Gord and Marcie, and we ate lunch in the camper while waiting for the water heater to drain.  We both think that today was our final farewell to Gord.

We left home about 3 PM and drove east on Hwy. 3 into Keremeos where we refilled our five gallon water jug and made a small purchase at the grocery store so that we would have a purchase receipt proving that we were still in Canada on November 1, should it ever be necessary to prove to our travel medical insurer that we did not leave Canada before November 1.  We continued east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos where we turned south on Hwy. 97 to the border crossing.

We crossed the border at 4:30 PM and it was the first time that we crossed the border at Osoyoos and were not subjected to an inspection by Agriculture.  Do the Agriculture staff at the Osoyoos / Oroville border crossing only work until 4 PM ?  The border crossing was easier and quicker than usual.  The Customs & Border Patrol agent asked six sensible and pertinent questions ;
1.  Where are you going ?     Yuma, Arizona
2.  How long will you be in the United States ?  175 days
3.  Do you have any plants or fruits ?    No
4.  Do you have any vegetables ?    No
4.  Do you have any tobacco or alcohol ?   1 bottle of wine
5.  Do you have any drugs or guns ?    No

We arrived in Omak about 5:30 PM.  By the time we had done a bit of grocery shopping at Wal-Mart it was dark and we decided to spend the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot.  We took Bo for a long walk, then had an early ( for us ) supper about 7 PM.

Wednesday ;  Omak, Washington to Memaloose Rest Area ( & State Park )

Gloomy and raining this morning in Omak.  The rain stopped and the sky slowly cleared throughout the day as we drove.

We left the Wal-Mart in Omak this morning around 10 AM.  We drove to the nearby Omak Fairgrounds to use their sani-dump station.  The water was already turned off for the winter, so we were unable to refill our freshwater tank, but we did dump our waste holding tanks.  We headed south out of town on Hwy. 97 which we followed for most of the day.

We stopped at Lincoln Rocks State Park to refill our freshwater tank.  While I did that Joanne took Bo for a walk.  She discovered a "fairy ring" of mushrooms.  Well ... quite a few "fairy rings" of mushrooms, actually.  We have seen pictures of mushroom "fairy rings" in my Mushroom Hunter book, but had never seen them in reality.  I picked one of the fairy ring mushrooms, and tried to identify it using my Mushroom Hunter book later while we were having lunch, but I was unable to positively identify it.

We stopped in the picturesque small town of Cashmere, home of Liberty Orchards, producers of "Applets & Cotlets" fruit candy confections.  We stocked up on enough of their products to last the winter.  We'll stop and buy more for next summer when we're northbound next spring.

We refilled Lanoire with diesel in Ellensburg, Washington.  The price of diesel fuel is quite cheap in the U.S. this year, especially so when compared to Canadian fuel
prices !  We drove more miles today than usual, so that we would be near the small city of The Dalles, where we will be meeting our 95 year old friend Eilene for lunch tomorrow.  When Hwy. 97 crossed over the Columbia River, the border between Washington and Oregon, we turned west on Interstate 84 and followed the very scenic Columbia River Gorge, about a dozen miles past The Dalles where we need to be tomorrow at lunch time, to stop and spend the night at Memaloose Rest Area, adjacent to Memaloose State Park.  When we arrived at the rest area, precisely at 6:15 PM as
I had planned, which is when it becomes dark, we took Bo for a long, leisurely walk around the very large rest area along the banks of the Columbia River.  We all enjoyed that after a long day of driving.

Joanne made a wonderful supper of Maple Syrup glazed, baked Sockeye Salmon.  MMMMM !

Thursday ;  Memaloose Rest Area to The Dalles to Portland to McMinnville, Oregon

Sunny and mild.  A very nice fall day.

We left Melamoose Rest Area this morning around 11 AM and "back tracked" about a dozen miles or so east on Interstate 84 to the city of The Dalles where our 95 year old friend Eilene lives.   We arrived in The Dalles a bit early for our noon luncheon date with Eilene.  Joanne needed to finish drying and styling her hair so we pulled into a shopping mall so that she could do that.  While she dried and styled her hair ... I went browsing in the Goodwill Thrift Store that was in the mall where we had parked.  Bought two pairs of pants.  HA HA HA !

When we arrived at the seniors' residence where Eilene lives she wanted to walk to a nearby restaurant since the weather was so nice.  So ... we walked a few blocks to the restaurant she chose for lunch.  It's very impressive to us that at her age Eilene still enjoys going for walks like that.  We had a pleasant lunch, then while walking back to her residence Eilene wanted to show us a local glass blowing artist's workshop and display store.  What lovely blown glass art.  I watched the glass blower and his assistant working for awhile, making blown glass flowers, then bought a freshly made blown glass Christmas ornament.  All of our Christmas ornaments are special mementoes of people and / or places.  This ornament will always be a reminder to us of Eilene.

After saying goodbye to Eilene we drove to the shopping mall across the street from where we had lunch, to shop at Walgreen's and refill with diesel at the Safeway Fuel Bar before leaving The Dalles.  Diesel was quite inexpensive at the Safeway Fuel Bar.  Could that be because it was 20% bio-diesel ?

From The Dalles we drove about an hour and a half west on Interstate 84 following the Columbia River Gorge to Portland.  First stop in Portland was Camping World where
I bought a couple of repair items I require for our fifth wheel trailer in Yuma, Arizona.  We searched for a PetsMart that Joanne had poor directions to, but I abandoned the search before we found it.  We continued west on I-84 to downtown Portland where we went shopping at Trader Joes's.  WOO-HOO !  Eighty-four bucks worth of impulse purchase exotic / gourmet food items.  That should be enough Trader Joe's items to last us until our next Trader Joe's shopping trip in Palm Springs when we go there for New Year's Eve.  HA HA HA !

We left the Trader Joe's store at 6:05 PM and were back on I-84 at 6:15 PM, just as daylight ended.  A few more miles west on I-84 then we turned south on Interstate 5 for a dozen or so miles, then southwest on Hwy. 99A to McMinnville, arriving at the
Wal-Mart in McMinnville around 7:30 PM.  From Trader Joe's in downtown Portland to the Wal-Mart in McMinnville was about an hour and a half of bumper to bumper, high speed, rush hour traffic.  WHEW !  I certainly am glad that we don't have to drive to work any more in urban rush hour traffic every day.

We spent the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot where we were stranded two years ago for about twenty-four hours because of a truck dead batteries problem.

Friday ;  McMnnville to Grand Ronde, Oregon

Mild temperature, extremely thick fog, not lifting until mid-afternoon.  And it didn't lift very far.  It rose to about tree top level, creating a cloud ceiling above fifty feet above ground level.  Pretty tough IFR flying conditions !

We were a bit uncomfortable spending the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot in McMinnville last night.  All around the periphery of the parking lot were cars with homeless people in them.  And at every freeway exit and entrance ramp that we used in and around Portland yesterday afternoon were homeless panhandlers.  In the past we have  seen this kind of homelessness and panhandling in California, but it now seems to have migrated as far north as Portland.

We didn't drive very far today.  Only about 50 km. / 30 miles.  This morning while I was getting myself ready Joanne went into Wal-Mart to do a bit of our semi-annual Oregon tax free shopping.  When she was done we drove across the street to check if Petco accepts competitor ( PetsMart ) coupons.  They don't.  We left McMinnville heading southwest on Hwy. 18 to Spirit Mountain Casino near Grand Ronde.

When we arrived at Spirit Mountain Casino we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the casino's RV parking lot's sani-dump station.  How convenient !  We have been here once before, two years ago, to see a Penn & Teller performance.  We selected a parking spot, then Joanne and I went into the casino to wander and explore.  We decided we wanted to have a late lunch at the buffet restaurant.  I did a bit of online work in the casino's Business Centre, where computers were available for use.

After a leisurely lunch in the Cedar Plank Buffet we returned to our camper and took Bo for a long walk and play session before we all went for a long nap.  Joanne napped much longer than me and Bo.  While she continued napping Bo and I went for another walk, then I puttered around with more computer work, doing some travel planning, reconciling month end bank statements and financial statements, etc.

Geeeeez, it was dark at 6 PM.  And tomorrow night the clocks fall back, so on Sunday it will be dark at 5 PM !

Saturday ;  Grand Ronde to Tillamook & return

RAINING ! ! !   Note to selves ; no more travel to Oregon coast in November !

This morning we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank then left Spirit Mountain Casino heading west on Hwy. 22 towards the Pacific Ocean coast.  About 50 km. / 30 miles west we reached Hwy. 101 at the coast and turned north ... yes, yes, the wrong direction ... to travel about another 50 km. / 30 miles or so to the small city of Tillamook, and our goal for today ; Tillamook Cheese Factory.  Long way to go for a grilled cheese sandwich.  HA HA HA !

Tillamook Cheese Factory was crowded today.  Must be a popular outing on a rainy weekend in November for the Portland crowd.  Mind you ... this is the Oregon coast.  Aren't all weekends in November rainy ? ! ?  We decided against standing in the extraordinarily long line-up for the cheese sampling bar and went straight to the retail shop.  We bought a large selection of cheeses, including freshly made, squeaky curds.  MMMMMM ! ! !  After paying for our cheese selections we had lunch in their café ; their world famous “Tillamooker” grilled cheese sandwiches, with bowls of creamy tomato soup.  Again ... MMMMMM ! ! !

After lunch we drove an alternate but equally scenic route back to Spirit Mountain Casino.  Very tough driving on those wet, curving roads.  There were fishermen in the streams by the roads.  BRRRRR ... what miserably cold, rainy conditions in which to be fishing !  I don’t know if they were fishing for trout or salmon.  By the time we arrived back “home” at Spirit Mountain Casino I was ready for a long afternoon nap.

After a late, light supper I went to the casino to use their free Wi-Fi in the Business Center for a couple of hours before returning home to set the clocks back before bedtime.

DSK