Sunday ; Cloudy and cool with intermittent rain ( and thunder and lightning ) throughout the day.
This morning Joanne went to town to run errands. I did an agility session with Bo and some routine vehicle maintenance. This afternoon I repaired the minivan's windshield wipers which had malfunctioned while Joanne was driving in the rain. I reviewed and revised my inventory of clothing in Elsie ( the truck camper ). I began the project of installing a pure sine wave inverter ( 12V DC to 120V AC ) in the camper. I barbecued chicken for supper then downloaded, printed, and reconciled another MasterCard statement while we watched the season finale of MasterChef Canada followed by Catfish.
Monday ; Sunny and warm.
We spent the morning giving Bo a haircut. It's quite surprising how much his hair grows in six months. It's quite surprising how much dirt can be embedded underneath all that hair ! I spent much of the afternoon working on the installation of the inverter in the camper. It's a complicated project. In the evening we watched The Bachelorette while having dinner. Joanne prepared a recipe she acquired from a date farm in Yuma. It's a pasta dish with dates and spinach and crumbled cheese. As soon as we were finished eating supper I threw the recipe into the recycle bin ! With encouragement from Joanne !
Tuesday ; A mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature.
Today was a day of running errands in Penticton, and seeing two doctors, one in Penticton, one in Okanagan Falls. I don't understand, and certainly don't appreciate, why doctors think it's perfectly acceptable to make their patients wait ... every day ... all the time ! I waited thirty minutes for my first doctor, and fifty minutes for my second doctor.
This morning we headed to Penticton. I shopped for some hardware I require for the inverter installation project before heading to my gastroenterologist's office for my 1 PM appointment. I was seated in her examining room at 1 PM. She entered the examining room precisely at 1:30 PM ! We discussed my ulcerative colitis medications, and my upcoming annual colonoscopy < sigh >. Afterwards Joanne and I drove to Skaha Lake Beach Park and quickly ate our picnic lunch. We ran more errands, including refilling the minivan with fuel, and finished our errands in Penticton with grocery shopping at Superstore.
We drove from Penticton to Okanagan Falls where I had an appointment with my family doctor at 4:45 PM. He walked into the examining room at 5:35 PM < fume >. I wonder if he remembers that I asked him only seven months ago to accept me as a new patient because I was unwilling to tolerate my then family physician's chronic long wait times any longer ? Today I was there to have a skin tag growth removed from my thigh
< OUCH >, have a prescription refilled, and discuss ... < ahem > ... < whispering > ... angina. HEY ... I'm fat, I'm old, I have a family history of heart disease ... < shrug > !
I was not eager to have that discussion with him. BUT ... after some nagging by my dear little wifey I promised her I would. Looks like I'll be seeing a cardiologist this summer !
Wednesday ; A mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature. Same as yesterday.
This morning I did an obedience session with Bo ... well done, Bo, good dog ... then polished shoes.
Immediately after lunch we headed into Keremeos. Joanne went to the health clinic to see her family doctor to get her annual cancer screening procedures started. I went to the lab to select appointment times ( new procedure ... hope it's better than the old procedure of first come first served ... wait forever ) for blood tests and an ECG, then to the health clinic desk to get an appointment time for a chest x-ray. I drove over to PharmaSave to order an old prescription refilled and some new prescriptions filled.
I returned to the health clinic and waited for Joanne to be finished, then we returned home.
I spent the rest of the afternoon continuing to work on the installation of the 12V DC to 120V AC pure sine wave inverter in the truck camper. And I completed the basic installation. And tested the inverter function. Works fine ! Well done, Daniel ! It was a complicated project. I still need to "finish" the job by clamping wires and cables, caulking holes drilled for cables, and other "tidying up loose ends" work. You know ... the kind of anal retentive stuff that paid professionals never do ... that drives me crazy !
Early in the evening we went for a brisk exercise walk. We stopped to visit briefly with our neighbour / friend Jeanine. We had a late supper of barbecued
Dan-O-Cheeseburgers while watching MasterChef.
Thursday ; A mix of sun and clouds, warm temperature, intermittent light rain throughout the day.
This afternoon I completely finished the inverter installation. Split cable wrap on the cables and wires, all out of the way and clamped down, holes through the walls of the battery box all caulked, and most importantly ... I ensured that the inverter would charge the battery in my laptop. WOO-HOO ! My laptop requires "clean" power ... pure sine wave ... to recharge the battery. Having the ability to recharge the laptop battery while travelling and / or boondocking was the principal motivation to undertake this complicated and expensive project.
Watched a documentary on Omar Khadr tonight. I already have had an extremely strong opinion about Guantanamo Bay for many years. Watching this documentary just reinforced my disgust and disdain.
Friday ; Mixed weather, sometimes sunny and warm, sometimes cloudy, cool, and raining.
This morning I drove into town to have a chest x-ray done at the health clinic. When
I was finished there I drove over to PharmaSave to pick up my prescriptions. Which weren't ready ! Because ... my gastroenterologist had prescribed a new medication for me, and ... it doesn't exist any longer. HUH ? The pharmacist is awaiting a response to the fax message she sent to my gastroenterologist. < rolling eyes > I bought some Ambrosia apples on the way home. Joanne baked an apple pie this afternoon.
WOO-HOO !
We trimmed Bo's claws. I assisted Joanne while she removed and washed window blinds. I had a somewhat odd phone conversation with the fellow from Yuma County Public Works who is responsible for their Adopt-A-Road program. The section of road that we ( Kofa Ko-op ) have "adopted" for clean up is changing from being a county responsibility to a city responsibility. < rolling eyes again >
We visited our neighbour / friend Jeanine to offer moral support. She has just received confirmation of her preliminary diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Saturday ; FIVE YEARS AS A NON-SMOKER !
Congratulations, Daniel ... well done !
Sunny nad very warm, a bit humid. ***K ! ! ! Typed "nad" again !
Around noon we left for Penticton. Stopped in Keremeos to buy an advertised item at the local hardware store. Next stop was Wal-Mart in Penticton to buy a couple of items. In violation of my "no Wal-Martin' on weekends" rule ! Found our way to the Shatford Center at the Okanagan School For The Arts to attend a live theatre performance entitled Cake Walk.
The play was written in Montreal in the mid-80's. It was ... Canadian ... and funny. Because one of the actresses in the play was a high school friend of the author / playwright, the author / playwright was in attendance today. How unusual ! AND ... she drew the winning door prize ticket, and awarded the prize to the winner. ME ! ! !
The door prize was an apron with the name of the play ... CAKE WALK ... and the year ... and the school name and logo embroidered on it. She signed it and personalized it to me. She was a nice lady !
After the play we went for an early supper to a Chinese buffet restaurant. After returning home we removed the camper from the truck and installed the fifth wheel hitch into the truck bed in preparation for an all day trailer delivery job tomorrow.
DSK
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Sunday, May 24, 2015
May 17 to 23, 2015
Sunday ; Cloudy and raining overnight and in the morning, slowly clearing in the afternoon.
After a week long visit Bill and Lynne ( and Windsor the Pomeranian ) left this morning to continue their adventure journey to Alaska. We had a great week with them. Drive safely and enjoy the adventure, Bill and Lynne.
The weather wasn't great and I had a lot of financial "catch up" work to do so I spent much of the afternoon at my desk. Around ( everybody else's ) supper time we went for a brisk exercise walk then for some swimming pool and hot tub time. We returned home and I barbecued Dan-o-burgers for supper.
Monday ; Victoria Day ( Canadian holiday )
Mostly sunny and warm. It rained briefly late in the afternoon.
Now that our visitors have left our lives have returned to a more leisurely pace, and more routine. I puttered around with miscellaneous maintenance chores today. Joanne started a large, tedious project of staining all the lower skirting ( from the bottom of the building to the ground ) on our manufactured home.
Tuesday ; Sunny, warm, humid.
This morning we went to visit our neighbour / friend Jeanine. We made arrangements to pick her up at the Penticton Hospital Friday afternoon. We also visited with our neighbour / friend Kolly. I helped her with her 2014 IRS 8840 form.
In the afternoon I designed and printed a form to help Kolly collect the information she needs to record monthly to easily fill out her IRS 8840 form annually. Currently her records keeping is a bit ... < ahem > ... weaker than ideal. Joanne continued working on staining our home's skirting panels. I removed Elsie ( the truck camper ) from Lanoire ( the truck ). We need to take both the truck and minivan to Penticton tomorrow ... again !
I trimmed my beard. I look ( slightly ) civilized again. I went bicycling. We took Bo to the dog park, then for a walk around the RV park. Enough exercise for today ! In the evening I worked on Churchill trip planning.
Wednesday ; Sunny and very warm ! ! ! Hellooooo, summer !
Late this morning we headed to Penticton with both the truck and the minivan. First stop was to drop off the minivan for service. Next stop was to wash the truck then refill it with diesel. Joanne needed a gallon of wood stain at Home Hardware. Okay. Home Hardware. WHAT ? ! ? Sixty bucks for a gallon of wood stain ? ? ? < blink blink >
We had lunch at Tim Hortons, then went to Cherry Lane Mall. Joanne went to buy some groceries at Save-On-Foods while I ran other errands in the mall. Last stop was
Wal-Mart.
When we arrived back at home I phoned Westech Automotive to get the estimate on the minivan repairs. KA-CHING ! Another seven hundred and twenty three bucks !
< sigh > We had supper while watching the start of the three hour season finale of Survivor.
Thursday ; Sunny and warm. This morning I set up the Sun Oven and Joanne cooked an Apple Kuchen in it. This afternoon she slow cooked a marinated roast in the Sun Oven to make "pulled" / shredded beef for supper tonight and tomorrow.
Joanne finished staining all the skirting on the house today. I removed, cleaned, oiled, and reinstalled the truck's "permanent" air filter. It's a difficult, dirty job that needs to be done annually. While I was reinstalling the air filter ambient air temperature sensor ... it broke. It broke a few years ago, and at that time I was so astounded at the cost of a replacement part that I glued the broken one back together. It's a small piece of electronics housed in a piece of plastic. Intense heat from the diesel engine turns the plastic brittle. It cannot be glue repaired a second time so I will have to buy one tomorrow in Penticton. It will probably cost close to two hundred dollars. < sigh >
In the evening I downloaded, printed and reconciled our May MasterCard statements.
< sigh >
Friday ; Sunny and warm. Had to slow down and type that carefully !
After lunch we headed to Penticton ... in our neighbour / friend Jeanine's car. First stop was Lordco Auto Parts where I bought the teensy little sensor for the truck. As expected ... one hundred and ninety six bucks ! ! ! We stopped at Safeway and deposited a cheque in the BMO ATM, then drove to Westech Automotive to pay for the repairs to the minivan. We left Jeanine's car there and drove to the hospital in our minivan.
Jeanine had been brought to the hospital early in the morning by another neighbour. She required a day in the hospital for a medical procedure. We picked her up at the end of the day. We returned to Westech Automotive to pick up Jeanine's car that we had just left there, I drove Jeanine's car home, and Joanne drove our minivan home with Jeanine as her passenger. Good deed #1 for the day.
On the way back home I stopped to offer assistance to an elderly woman standing on the side of the road with the hood of her vehicle raised. I couldn't solve her problem but I did drive her home to Olalla where she could get a family member in another vehicle to go back to her disabled car and solve the problem. Good deed #2 for the day.
As I arrived back home and drove through the gates of Riverside RV Park Resort I was following a 1--800--RV--4--RENT rental motorhome. I suspected ... correctly ... that they were foreign tourists looking for a rental RV site for the night. Sorry, folks, but not in this park. I welcomed them to Canada, chatted with them briefly ... they were from Munich, Germany ... been there ... and sent them down the road to Stemwinder Provincial Park near Hedley. Good deed #3 for the day.
Joanne had supper prepared in advance to feed us and Jeanine. Joanne had been expecting to spend overnight at Jeanine's home, but Jeanine was feeling better than expected, so she cancelled Joanne's overnight "babysitting".
Saturday ; Sunny and warm, becoming cloudy and windy late in the day.
This morning I installed the new $196 air filter ambient air temperature sensor in the truck. This afternoon Joanne did laundry. When it was time to walk back to the laundry room to fold clean laundry, she "persuaded" me to walk down there with her. Once there she "persuaded" me to go work out in the fitness room while she folded laundry. WOW .. .is she ever good ! I got snookered ! HA HA HA !
I paid a lot of bills online this evening. GEEEZZZ ... we have spent an astounding amount of money in the last month. We started a Saturday night "movie date" but by the time the classic movie "Three Coins In The Fountain" was half over we were ready to switch channels to watch Catfish. HA HA HA !
DSK
After a week long visit Bill and Lynne ( and Windsor the Pomeranian ) left this morning to continue their adventure journey to Alaska. We had a great week with them. Drive safely and enjoy the adventure, Bill and Lynne.
The weather wasn't great and I had a lot of financial "catch up" work to do so I spent much of the afternoon at my desk. Around ( everybody else's ) supper time we went for a brisk exercise walk then for some swimming pool and hot tub time. We returned home and I barbecued Dan-o-burgers for supper.
Monday ; Victoria Day ( Canadian holiday )
Mostly sunny and warm. It rained briefly late in the afternoon.
Now that our visitors have left our lives have returned to a more leisurely pace, and more routine. I puttered around with miscellaneous maintenance chores today. Joanne started a large, tedious project of staining all the lower skirting ( from the bottom of the building to the ground ) on our manufactured home.
Tuesday ; Sunny, warm, humid.
This morning we went to visit our neighbour / friend Jeanine. We made arrangements to pick her up at the Penticton Hospital Friday afternoon. We also visited with our neighbour / friend Kolly. I helped her with her 2014 IRS 8840 form.
In the afternoon I designed and printed a form to help Kolly collect the information she needs to record monthly to easily fill out her IRS 8840 form annually. Currently her records keeping is a bit ... < ahem > ... weaker than ideal. Joanne continued working on staining our home's skirting panels. I removed Elsie ( the truck camper ) from Lanoire ( the truck ). We need to take both the truck and minivan to Penticton tomorrow ... again !
I trimmed my beard. I look ( slightly ) civilized again. I went bicycling. We took Bo to the dog park, then for a walk around the RV park. Enough exercise for today ! In the evening I worked on Churchill trip planning.
Wednesday ; Sunny and very warm ! ! ! Hellooooo, summer !
Late this morning we headed to Penticton with both the truck and the minivan. First stop was to drop off the minivan for service. Next stop was to wash the truck then refill it with diesel. Joanne needed a gallon of wood stain at Home Hardware. Okay. Home Hardware. WHAT ? ! ? Sixty bucks for a gallon of wood stain ? ? ? < blink blink >
We had lunch at Tim Hortons, then went to Cherry Lane Mall. Joanne went to buy some groceries at Save-On-Foods while I ran other errands in the mall. Last stop was
Wal-Mart.
When we arrived back at home I phoned Westech Automotive to get the estimate on the minivan repairs. KA-CHING ! Another seven hundred and twenty three bucks !
< sigh > We had supper while watching the start of the three hour season finale of Survivor.
Thursday ; Sunny and warm. This morning I set up the Sun Oven and Joanne cooked an Apple Kuchen in it. This afternoon she slow cooked a marinated roast in the Sun Oven to make "pulled" / shredded beef for supper tonight and tomorrow.
Joanne finished staining all the skirting on the house today. I removed, cleaned, oiled, and reinstalled the truck's "permanent" air filter. It's a difficult, dirty job that needs to be done annually. While I was reinstalling the air filter ambient air temperature sensor ... it broke. It broke a few years ago, and at that time I was so astounded at the cost of a replacement part that I glued the broken one back together. It's a small piece of electronics housed in a piece of plastic. Intense heat from the diesel engine turns the plastic brittle. It cannot be glue repaired a second time so I will have to buy one tomorrow in Penticton. It will probably cost close to two hundred dollars. < sigh >
In the evening I downloaded, printed and reconciled our May MasterCard statements.
< sigh >
Friday ; Sunny and warm. Had to slow down and type that carefully !
After lunch we headed to Penticton ... in our neighbour / friend Jeanine's car. First stop was Lordco Auto Parts where I bought the teensy little sensor for the truck. As expected ... one hundred and ninety six bucks ! ! ! We stopped at Safeway and deposited a cheque in the BMO ATM, then drove to Westech Automotive to pay for the repairs to the minivan. We left Jeanine's car there and drove to the hospital in our minivan.
Jeanine had been brought to the hospital early in the morning by another neighbour. She required a day in the hospital for a medical procedure. We picked her up at the end of the day. We returned to Westech Automotive to pick up Jeanine's car that we had just left there, I drove Jeanine's car home, and Joanne drove our minivan home with Jeanine as her passenger. Good deed #1 for the day.
On the way back home I stopped to offer assistance to an elderly woman standing on the side of the road with the hood of her vehicle raised. I couldn't solve her problem but I did drive her home to Olalla where she could get a family member in another vehicle to go back to her disabled car and solve the problem. Good deed #2 for the day.
As I arrived back home and drove through the gates of Riverside RV Park Resort I was following a 1--800--RV--4--RENT rental motorhome. I suspected ... correctly ... that they were foreign tourists looking for a rental RV site for the night. Sorry, folks, but not in this park. I welcomed them to Canada, chatted with them briefly ... they were from Munich, Germany ... been there ... and sent them down the road to Stemwinder Provincial Park near Hedley. Good deed #3 for the day.
Joanne had supper prepared in advance to feed us and Jeanine. Joanne had been expecting to spend overnight at Jeanine's home, but Jeanine was feeling better than expected, so she cancelled Joanne's overnight "babysitting".
Saturday ; Sunny and warm, becoming cloudy and windy late in the day.
This morning I installed the new $196 air filter ambient air temperature sensor in the truck. This afternoon Joanne did laundry. When it was time to walk back to the laundry room to fold clean laundry, she "persuaded" me to walk down there with her. Once there she "persuaded" me to go work out in the fitness room while she folded laundry. WOW .. .is she ever good ! I got snookered ! HA HA HA !
I paid a lot of bills online this evening. GEEEZZZ ... we have spent an astounding amount of money in the last month. We started a Saturday night "movie date" but by the time the classic movie "Three Coins In The Fountain" was half over we were ready to switch channels to watch Catfish. HA HA HA !
DSK
Sunday, May 17, 2015
May 10 to 16, 2015
Sunday ; Sunny nad warm. Hard to believe I just did that again !
At 1 PM our Connecticut friends Bill and Lynne, and their little Pomeranian dog Windsor, arrived for a week long visit on their way to Alaska. We are thrilled that they have come to visit us. We spent the rest of the day visiting and chatting with them.
Monday ; Sunny and warm. Day two of our visit with our Escapee friends Bill and Lynne.
I woke up very early this morning with the excruciating pain of gout between the heel and ankle of my right foot. I ate 60 mg. of Prednisone for breakfast. The pain ( agonizingly ) slowly dissipated throughout the day. BUT ... as the pain subsided,
I became more and more "Arnold Schwarzenegger" until going to bed at 2 AM, feeling "wired", and with insomnia ... AFTER an evening of aggressively debating U.S. military history and U.S. health care issues with Bill and Lynne all evening. Who was that obnoxious Canadian sitting beside Bill on the sofa ? ? ? What's his problem ? ? ? Did he eat too much steroids for breakfast ? ? ?
Oh, goody ... only two more days that I have to eat that much steroids for breakfast ! ! !
This morning I drove into Keremeos and had a minor adjustment done at K Mountain Auto Repair to the truck's tire rotation job. This afternoon we took Bill and Lynne for a four wheel drive scenic adventure up a steep, winding gravel trail on the backside of Nickel Plate Mountain. Lynne is uncomfortable with heights so ... she can be proud of herself for enduring ... and enjoying ... the experience. Before returning home we visited the village of Hedley.
Back at home I baked bannock and barbecued salmon for supper. Bill, Lynne, and Joanne seemed to enjoy the meal. My harshest critic, however, was dismayed that the salmon was overcooked and consequently dry, and the bannock was over baked.
Tuesday ; Sunny and warm again. Woke up after only four hours of sleep ... wired and "manic". Oh, goody ... let's go have more steroids for breakfast, Dan ! Maybe tonight
I can initiate a discussion with Bill and Lynne about gun control issues in the United States. What a barrel of laughs that would be. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !
This morning we took Bill and Lynne up the Ashnola River Valley to Ewart Creek for a picnic in rugged Canadian wilderness. On the way we dropped off a propane tank in Keremeos to be refilled and we picked it up again on our way back home in the afternoon.
We drove over Red Bridge and along Ashnola River Road, stopping at a couple of the BC Forest Service campgrounds on the Ashnola River. We turned onto the rugged dirt trail leading to the Ewart Creek Trailhead where the hiking trail leading to remote Cathedral Lakes Provincial Park starts. Two days of uphill hiking to reach Cathedral Lakes. Not for us old folks. We wandered around enjoying the wilderness. We crossed a rickety old foot bridge over Ewart Creek, which is really a pretty fast moving river at this time of year. "Come on, Bo, you can do it ... good dog, well done !" "Come on, Lynne, you can do it ... good girl, well done !" HA HA HA !
After exploring for awhile we had our picnic lunch and relaxed. When a few drops of rain began to fall we climbed back into the truck and resumed exploring by road. Back near Keremeos we drove by the rodeo fairgrounds, over White Bridge, and around the orchards and vineyards surrounding Keremeos before picking up our refilled propane tank and heading home to Riverside RV Park Resort.
Back at home Joanne and I reinstalled Elsie the truck camper onto Lanoire the truck, then Bill and Lynne joined us for a swimming pool and hot tub session. Afterwards Joanne and I went to visit our friend Jeanine to see if she had received the results of yesterday's medical tests. Yes ... she had.
Wednesday ; Cloudy, windy, cold, a few drops of rain.
Our initial plan for today was to take Bill and Lynne to Penticton to run some errands and have a DanAir sightseeing flight. It was too cold, too windy, and too cloudy for pleasant flying, so I rescheduled the airplane rental booking and we didn't go to Penticton today.
Joanne went with Bill and Lynne to do some grocery shopping. Joanne and Lynne did laundry this afternoon. In the evening Bill and Lynne came over, we had Lynne's turkey chili for dinner and we all watched Survivor.
Thursday ; Mostly sunny nad warm. < sigh >
This morning we prepared a special picnic lunch and headed out with Bill and Lynne. We stopped in Keremeos to refill our five gallon water jug and pick up a batch of Bill's and Lynne's mail that was waiting for them at the Keremeos Post Office. We headed east on Hwy. 3 through Cawston towards Osoyoos. Our destination was Forbidden Fruit Winery where Bill, Lynne, and Joanne sampled some wines and selected one for our picnic lunch. I refrained from drinking anything today because I'm flying tomorrow. We bought the chosen bottle of wine and had an amazing picnic at a picnic table on Forbidden Fruit Winery's luscious lawn overlooking the Similkameen River, surrounded by apple trees. What a lovely setting !
Both before and after lunch we wandered around Forbidden Fruit's orchards. After we left Forbidden Fruit we continued east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos. We stopped to view Spotted Lake. We stopped at the Visitor Information Centre where Bill and Lynne stocked up on a lot of travel information for their journey to Alaska. On our way back home we stopped in Keremeos to buy some fuel for the minivan. Back home at Riverside RV Park Resort we took Bo and Windsor to the dog park for awhile, then we all went to float around ( for too long ) in the swimming pool. Consequently, supper was pretty late, around 9 PM.
Friday ; Mostly sunny and warm.
At 11 AM we left, with Bill and Lynne, for a day in Penticton. As soon as we arrived in Penticton we went to Tim Horton's for lunch, a true Canadian experience Bill wanted to have. HA HA HA ! After lunch we drove to the airport. Joanne sat patiently at a picnic table while Bill and Lynne observed my airplane inspection and preparation procedures of Cessna 172 C-GHBM ( Hotel Bravo Mike ), then Joanne took Lynne thrift shopping while Bill and I went flying.
DanAir flight 421 took off from Penticton and headed south over Skaha Lake, passing over Okanagan Falls and Oliver en route to Osoyoos. Bill had his first taste of flying a small airplane, handling the yoke / "stick" / "steering wheel" from Oliver to near Osoyoos. At Osoyoos I did a touch and go landing and takeoff then headed for the main attraction, Spotted Lake. While I flew "low and slow" around Spotted Lake, Bill took photographs. We climbed up into the steep mountains of the Similkameen Valley, took a look at Forbidden Fruit Winery and Vineglass Winery, and flew through the Similkameen Valley to Keremeos, slowly climbing the entire way. Once at Keremeos
I crossed over Fairview Mountain at an altitude of 9000 feet, barely above the mountain top. I turned north and flew over Okanagan Falls and descended over Skaha Lake back to Penticton.
Joanne and Lynne were parked beside the airport fence watching for us. As
I approached, they climbed out of our minivan and waved furiously at us. I waggled the airplane's wings back at them. I guess that was the "final straw" for Bill. As I completed my landing roll out on Penticton runway 34 he made good use of the airsickness bag he had brought along. Sorry, Bill !
Joanne and Lynne met us back at Hotel Bravo Mike's parking spot at BP Aviation. We went to run a few more errands in Penticton, including grocery shopping. We returned home to share a late supper of pizza while watching the season finale of Amazing Race.
Saturday ; Mostly sunny and warm again, with just a minute or two of very light rain drops while we were at the rodeo.
This morning Bill and Lynne came over at 10 AM and I prepared pancake brunch for all of us. Even Windsor and Bo got some pancakes with maple syrup. We chatted until noon, walked the dogs, then left for the Keremeos Rodeo, held annually on the Victoria Day / May long weekend. This was Bill's and Lynne's first time at a rodeo. HA HA HA !
The Keremeos Rodeo is a three day event, and this year, for the first time, the first day was entirely dedicated to two events ; barrel racing and team roping. In barrel racing, a women's event, each rider races their horse around three barrels, slowing down and turning as quickly as possible around each barrel, then racing as fast as possible to the next barrel. As I had predicted to Bill and Lynne, by the time we had watched a couple of dozen barrel racers' rides, Bill could estimate the rider's time to within a fraction of a second before the announcer would announce the official electronically measured time. Bill would say "oh ... that was an 18 second run" and it would turn out to be between 17.8 and 18.2 seconds.
The team roping event is two riders on horses trying to rope a bull calf, one cowboy roping the head, and one cowboy roping the hind legs, an extremely difficult task. Today's winning team had a time of just under six seconds. SHEEEEESH ! ! ! ! ! An enormous amount of skill, and an enormous amount of luck, as well.
On the way home from the rodeo we stopped in town to buy some produce. Back at home Bill and Lynne went to our RV park's pool building to shower while Joanne read and I napped briefly. At 6:30 PM we went back into town to have our final dinner with Bill and Lynne. They treated us to dinner at Benja Thai Restaurant in Keremeos. It was excellent ! Another first for Bill and Lynne, their first Thai meal.
We spent the remainder of the evening chatting on our deck at home. Bill and Lynne will be leaving tomorrow morning to continue their journey to Alaska.
DSK
At 1 PM our Connecticut friends Bill and Lynne, and their little Pomeranian dog Windsor, arrived for a week long visit on their way to Alaska. We are thrilled that they have come to visit us. We spent the rest of the day visiting and chatting with them.
Monday ; Sunny and warm. Day two of our visit with our Escapee friends Bill and Lynne.
I woke up very early this morning with the excruciating pain of gout between the heel and ankle of my right foot. I ate 60 mg. of Prednisone for breakfast. The pain ( agonizingly ) slowly dissipated throughout the day. BUT ... as the pain subsided,
I became more and more "Arnold Schwarzenegger" until going to bed at 2 AM, feeling "wired", and with insomnia ... AFTER an evening of aggressively debating U.S. military history and U.S. health care issues with Bill and Lynne all evening. Who was that obnoxious Canadian sitting beside Bill on the sofa ? ? ? What's his problem ? ? ? Did he eat too much steroids for breakfast ? ? ?
Oh, goody ... only two more days that I have to eat that much steroids for breakfast ! ! !
This morning I drove into Keremeos and had a minor adjustment done at K Mountain Auto Repair to the truck's tire rotation job. This afternoon we took Bill and Lynne for a four wheel drive scenic adventure up a steep, winding gravel trail on the backside of Nickel Plate Mountain. Lynne is uncomfortable with heights so ... she can be proud of herself for enduring ... and enjoying ... the experience. Before returning home we visited the village of Hedley.
Back at home I baked bannock and barbecued salmon for supper. Bill, Lynne, and Joanne seemed to enjoy the meal. My harshest critic, however, was dismayed that the salmon was overcooked and consequently dry, and the bannock was over baked.
Tuesday ; Sunny and warm again. Woke up after only four hours of sleep ... wired and "manic". Oh, goody ... let's go have more steroids for breakfast, Dan ! Maybe tonight
I can initiate a discussion with Bill and Lynne about gun control issues in the United States. What a barrel of laughs that would be. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !
This morning we took Bill and Lynne up the Ashnola River Valley to Ewart Creek for a picnic in rugged Canadian wilderness. On the way we dropped off a propane tank in Keremeos to be refilled and we picked it up again on our way back home in the afternoon.
We drove over Red Bridge and along Ashnola River Road, stopping at a couple of the BC Forest Service campgrounds on the Ashnola River. We turned onto the rugged dirt trail leading to the Ewart Creek Trailhead where the hiking trail leading to remote Cathedral Lakes Provincial Park starts. Two days of uphill hiking to reach Cathedral Lakes. Not for us old folks. We wandered around enjoying the wilderness. We crossed a rickety old foot bridge over Ewart Creek, which is really a pretty fast moving river at this time of year. "Come on, Bo, you can do it ... good dog, well done !" "Come on, Lynne, you can do it ... good girl, well done !" HA HA HA !
After exploring for awhile we had our picnic lunch and relaxed. When a few drops of rain began to fall we climbed back into the truck and resumed exploring by road. Back near Keremeos we drove by the rodeo fairgrounds, over White Bridge, and around the orchards and vineyards surrounding Keremeos before picking up our refilled propane tank and heading home to Riverside RV Park Resort.
Back at home Joanne and I reinstalled Elsie the truck camper onto Lanoire the truck, then Bill and Lynne joined us for a swimming pool and hot tub session. Afterwards Joanne and I went to visit our friend Jeanine to see if she had received the results of yesterday's medical tests. Yes ... she had.
Wednesday ; Cloudy, windy, cold, a few drops of rain.
Our initial plan for today was to take Bill and Lynne to Penticton to run some errands and have a DanAir sightseeing flight. It was too cold, too windy, and too cloudy for pleasant flying, so I rescheduled the airplane rental booking and we didn't go to Penticton today.
Joanne went with Bill and Lynne to do some grocery shopping. Joanne and Lynne did laundry this afternoon. In the evening Bill and Lynne came over, we had Lynne's turkey chili for dinner and we all watched Survivor.
Thursday ; Mostly sunny nad warm. < sigh >
This morning we prepared a special picnic lunch and headed out with Bill and Lynne. We stopped in Keremeos to refill our five gallon water jug and pick up a batch of Bill's and Lynne's mail that was waiting for them at the Keremeos Post Office. We headed east on Hwy. 3 through Cawston towards Osoyoos. Our destination was Forbidden Fruit Winery where Bill, Lynne, and Joanne sampled some wines and selected one for our picnic lunch. I refrained from drinking anything today because I'm flying tomorrow. We bought the chosen bottle of wine and had an amazing picnic at a picnic table on Forbidden Fruit Winery's luscious lawn overlooking the Similkameen River, surrounded by apple trees. What a lovely setting !
Both before and after lunch we wandered around Forbidden Fruit's orchards. After we left Forbidden Fruit we continued east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos. We stopped to view Spotted Lake. We stopped at the Visitor Information Centre where Bill and Lynne stocked up on a lot of travel information for their journey to Alaska. On our way back home we stopped in Keremeos to buy some fuel for the minivan. Back home at Riverside RV Park Resort we took Bo and Windsor to the dog park for awhile, then we all went to float around ( for too long ) in the swimming pool. Consequently, supper was pretty late, around 9 PM.
Friday ; Mostly sunny and warm.
At 11 AM we left, with Bill and Lynne, for a day in Penticton. As soon as we arrived in Penticton we went to Tim Horton's for lunch, a true Canadian experience Bill wanted to have. HA HA HA ! After lunch we drove to the airport. Joanne sat patiently at a picnic table while Bill and Lynne observed my airplane inspection and preparation procedures of Cessna 172 C-GHBM ( Hotel Bravo Mike ), then Joanne took Lynne thrift shopping while Bill and I went flying.
DanAir flight 421 took off from Penticton and headed south over Skaha Lake, passing over Okanagan Falls and Oliver en route to Osoyoos. Bill had his first taste of flying a small airplane, handling the yoke / "stick" / "steering wheel" from Oliver to near Osoyoos. At Osoyoos I did a touch and go landing and takeoff then headed for the main attraction, Spotted Lake. While I flew "low and slow" around Spotted Lake, Bill took photographs. We climbed up into the steep mountains of the Similkameen Valley, took a look at Forbidden Fruit Winery and Vineglass Winery, and flew through the Similkameen Valley to Keremeos, slowly climbing the entire way. Once at Keremeos
I crossed over Fairview Mountain at an altitude of 9000 feet, barely above the mountain top. I turned north and flew over Okanagan Falls and descended over Skaha Lake back to Penticton.
Joanne and Lynne were parked beside the airport fence watching for us. As
I approached, they climbed out of our minivan and waved furiously at us. I waggled the airplane's wings back at them. I guess that was the "final straw" for Bill. As I completed my landing roll out on Penticton runway 34 he made good use of the airsickness bag he had brought along. Sorry, Bill !
Joanne and Lynne met us back at Hotel Bravo Mike's parking spot at BP Aviation. We went to run a few more errands in Penticton, including grocery shopping. We returned home to share a late supper of pizza while watching the season finale of Amazing Race.
Saturday ; Mostly sunny and warm again, with just a minute or two of very light rain drops while we were at the rodeo.
This morning Bill and Lynne came over at 10 AM and I prepared pancake brunch for all of us. Even Windsor and Bo got some pancakes with maple syrup. We chatted until noon, walked the dogs, then left for the Keremeos Rodeo, held annually on the Victoria Day / May long weekend. This was Bill's and Lynne's first time at a rodeo. HA HA HA !
The Keremeos Rodeo is a three day event, and this year, for the first time, the first day was entirely dedicated to two events ; barrel racing and team roping. In barrel racing, a women's event, each rider races their horse around three barrels, slowing down and turning as quickly as possible around each barrel, then racing as fast as possible to the next barrel. As I had predicted to Bill and Lynne, by the time we had watched a couple of dozen barrel racers' rides, Bill could estimate the rider's time to within a fraction of a second before the announcer would announce the official electronically measured time. Bill would say "oh ... that was an 18 second run" and it would turn out to be between 17.8 and 18.2 seconds.
The team roping event is two riders on horses trying to rope a bull calf, one cowboy roping the head, and one cowboy roping the hind legs, an extremely difficult task. Today's winning team had a time of just under six seconds. SHEEEEESH ! ! ! ! ! An enormous amount of skill, and an enormous amount of luck, as well.
On the way home from the rodeo we stopped in town to buy some produce. Back at home Bill and Lynne went to our RV park's pool building to shower while Joanne read and I napped briefly. At 6:30 PM we went back into town to have our final dinner with Bill and Lynne. They treated us to dinner at Benja Thai Restaurant in Keremeos. It was excellent ! Another first for Bill and Lynne, their first Thai meal.
We spent the remainder of the evening chatting on our deck at home. Bill and Lynne will be leaving tomorrow morning to continue their journey to Alaska.
DSK
Sunday, May 10, 2015
May 3 to 9, 2015
Sunday ; Sunny and warm, a bit windy at times. Joanne used the Sun Oven for the first time this spring / summer season to cook Ratatouille. HEY ... how come there's no okra in there ? I think Ratatouille should have okra. Joanne disagrees.
We planted our vegetable garden this afternoon. I did some routine preventive maintenance on both the truck and the minivan. I used a headlamp restoration kit on one of the minivan's headlights. It didn't produce any better results than it did when
I used it on the truck's headlights last November when I purchased it in California.
For the last few days I have been working on our income tax returns about an hour per evening. Tonight I finished them. Tomorrow I hope to electronically file our income tax returns. If I accomplish that, and considering this year's five day extension on the filing deadline ( to May 5 ), this will be the first time in twenty-five years (since 1990 when we went into business for ourselves ) that I file our income taxes on time. HA HA HA !
Monday ; Sunny, then cloudy, then sunny again, warm, windy. Joanne started baking an apple and rhubarb crisp in the Sun Oven, but had to move it to the indoor oven when the sun disappeared behind cloud.
< big sigh > I spent a lot of time online today, completing and filing our income taxes, paying bills, and making Churchill polar bear viewing trip arrangements.
Tuesday ; Happy 14th Birthday to Joanne's niece Amelia
SHEEEEESH ! From sunny and mild to cloudy and cold to ... ice pellet blizzard !
This afternoon I removed the valve extenders, hub caps, and wheel liners from the truck in preparation for taking it in for tire rotation and brake service tomorrow.
With some "persuasion" from Joanne, today was the first day of us going to our park's pool building at supper time and doing exercises on the equipment in our fitness room.
I concede the merit of it, I just ... don't really want to do it. But ... I'll try !
Wednesday ; Mostly sunny, cool.
Late this morning we drove both vehicles to Keremeos. I left the truck at K Mountain Auto Repair to have the tires rotated and the brakes inspected. I'm certain that the brakes are in need of replacement. In the minivan we continued on to Penticton where we had another long and expensive day of shopping and errands, including having a wheel alignment done on the minivan.
Back home by early evening we had supper while watching Survivor, then we watched Catfish, our regular Wednesday evening ritual.
Thursday ; Sunny and warm.
So ... if the day before yesterday was Amelia's 14th birthday, then today ... Joanne is a 14 year cancer survivor ! And ... < sigh > ... I'm an eternally thankful husband !
It's somewhat too bad that the weather was so nice today, on a day when I had a workload that kept me indoors most of the day. Finishing and filing our income tax file folders. Shredding the contents of our 2007 income tax return files. Continuing to work on our Churchill trip plans, reservations, and payments. I spent a lot of time, and did a lot of work, on annual financial planning, because it's almost time to deal with annual RRIF minimum withdrawals.
We walked Bo. We went to exercise in the swimming pool building's fitness room, followed by some pool and hot tub time.
Friday ; Sunny and warm.
This afternoon we drove into town and while Joanne went to the grocery store to buy some groceries I went to K Mountain Auto Repair to pick up the truck after having the brakes serviced and the tires rotated. And I discovered after returning home that ... as is often the case when I have the truck's tires rotated ... the tire rotation was not done to my satisfaction. Which is hard to appreciate ... since I provided detailed written instructions on what I wanted done and how ! ! ! AND ... < sputter > ... I even provided the necessary deep wall socket necessary to do what I wanted, the way I wanted it done. To say that I'm a dissatisfied customer / in a pissy mood at the moment would be an understatement !
And I'm feeling pretty much the same way about Virgin Mobile after the difficulties I've been having for three days ... online, in Penticton, and online again ... getting our Canadian cell phone service reactivated !
At least the weather was really nice today !
Saturday ; Sunny and warm, another fine day.
This morning I drove to Keremeos to make a purchase at PharmaSave and to finish reactivating our Canadian cell phone.
In the afternoon we did some outdoor chores, including a large, messy glue job in our gazebo. It's a long story ! We took Bo for his daily romp in our RV park's small fenced dog park. We went for a brisk exercise walk. We chatted for awhile with our neighbour and friend Jeanine about the Riverside RV Park's annual general meeting held this afternoon, which Joanne and I did not attend ! We have not attended the AGM here for about five years or so.
In the evening we had a "movie date" watching Transamerica, a movie Joanne was interested in seeing. < blink blink > Odd story !
DSK
We planted our vegetable garden this afternoon. I did some routine preventive maintenance on both the truck and the minivan. I used a headlamp restoration kit on one of the minivan's headlights. It didn't produce any better results than it did when
I used it on the truck's headlights last November when I purchased it in California.
For the last few days I have been working on our income tax returns about an hour per evening. Tonight I finished them. Tomorrow I hope to electronically file our income tax returns. If I accomplish that, and considering this year's five day extension on the filing deadline ( to May 5 ), this will be the first time in twenty-five years (since 1990 when we went into business for ourselves ) that I file our income taxes on time. HA HA HA !
Monday ; Sunny, then cloudy, then sunny again, warm, windy. Joanne started baking an apple and rhubarb crisp in the Sun Oven, but had to move it to the indoor oven when the sun disappeared behind cloud.
< big sigh > I spent a lot of time online today, completing and filing our income taxes, paying bills, and making Churchill polar bear viewing trip arrangements.
Tuesday ; Happy 14th Birthday to Joanne's niece Amelia
SHEEEEESH ! From sunny and mild to cloudy and cold to ... ice pellet blizzard !
This afternoon I removed the valve extenders, hub caps, and wheel liners from the truck in preparation for taking it in for tire rotation and brake service tomorrow.
With some "persuasion" from Joanne, today was the first day of us going to our park's pool building at supper time and doing exercises on the equipment in our fitness room.
I concede the merit of it, I just ... don't really want to do it. But ... I'll try !
Wednesday ; Mostly sunny, cool.
Late this morning we drove both vehicles to Keremeos. I left the truck at K Mountain Auto Repair to have the tires rotated and the brakes inspected. I'm certain that the brakes are in need of replacement. In the minivan we continued on to Penticton where we had another long and expensive day of shopping and errands, including having a wheel alignment done on the minivan.
Back home by early evening we had supper while watching Survivor, then we watched Catfish, our regular Wednesday evening ritual.
Thursday ; Sunny and warm.
So ... if the day before yesterday was Amelia's 14th birthday, then today ... Joanne is a 14 year cancer survivor ! And ... < sigh > ... I'm an eternally thankful husband !
It's somewhat too bad that the weather was so nice today, on a day when I had a workload that kept me indoors most of the day. Finishing and filing our income tax file folders. Shredding the contents of our 2007 income tax return files. Continuing to work on our Churchill trip plans, reservations, and payments. I spent a lot of time, and did a lot of work, on annual financial planning, because it's almost time to deal with annual RRIF minimum withdrawals.
We walked Bo. We went to exercise in the swimming pool building's fitness room, followed by some pool and hot tub time.
Friday ; Sunny and warm.
This afternoon we drove into town and while Joanne went to the grocery store to buy some groceries I went to K Mountain Auto Repair to pick up the truck after having the brakes serviced and the tires rotated. And I discovered after returning home that ... as is often the case when I have the truck's tires rotated ... the tire rotation was not done to my satisfaction. Which is hard to appreciate ... since I provided detailed written instructions on what I wanted done and how ! ! ! AND ... < sputter > ... I even provided the necessary deep wall socket necessary to do what I wanted, the way I wanted it done. To say that I'm a dissatisfied customer / in a pissy mood at the moment would be an understatement !
And I'm feeling pretty much the same way about Virgin Mobile after the difficulties I've been having for three days ... online, in Penticton, and online again ... getting our Canadian cell phone service reactivated !
At least the weather was really nice today !
Saturday ; Sunny and warm, another fine day.
This morning I drove to Keremeos to make a purchase at PharmaSave and to finish reactivating our Canadian cell phone.
In the afternoon we did some outdoor chores, including a large, messy glue job in our gazebo. It's a long story ! We took Bo for his daily romp in our RV park's small fenced dog park. We went for a brisk exercise walk. We chatted for awhile with our neighbour and friend Jeanine about the Riverside RV Park's annual general meeting held this afternoon, which Joanne and I did not attend ! We have not attended the AGM here for about five years or so.
In the evening we had a "movie date" watching Transamerica, a movie Joanne was interested in seeing. < blink blink > Odd story !
DSK
Sunday, May 3, 2015
April 26 to May 2, 2015
Sunday ; Sunny and mild.
Another day of "return home" chores. Joanne cleaned the camper interior. I'm still unloading my stuff out of the camper, mostly purchases I made, mostly for myself, but also some for neighbours. I delivered stuff I purchased for neighbours. I installed stuff
I bought for the minivan.
In December I purchased some items for our minivan, including some filters, at Pep Boys in Yuma. Well ... the dyslexic clerk who served me picked the wrong cabin air filter from the stock room, transposing a couple of item numbers. SO ... I have a cabin air filter that isn't for our vehicle, and we won't be back in Yuma until more than a year after I made the purchase. I wonder how much of a battle I'm going to have on my hands when I try to get a refund ?
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
Vicious squabble this afternoon. What a waste of our time and energy ! ! ! ! !
Tuesday ; Sunny nad very warm. < shaking head in despair > I had actually typed it correctly, but my computer was set on CAPS LOCK. So ... I backspaced, cancelled CAPS LOCK, and ... nad ! < sigh >
What a very long ( 12 hour ) and very expensive ( over $2400 ) day of running errands in Penticton. We drove both vehicles to Penticton, so that we could still have one to drive while the other was being serviced. While Joanne drove the minivan to Penticton
I stopped in Keremeos to pick up prescription refills. First refill of the year, so PharmaCare deductibles and co-pays had to be dealt with. This batch of prescription refills cost me over $400.
When I arrived in Penticton I took the truck to Great Canadian Oil Change for its spring fluids service. < sigh > Another eight hundred bucks ! Joanne picked me up there and we went for lunch. After lunch she dropped me off at the airport for DanAir flight 420, my annual pilot proficiency / Cessna 172 recurrency check ride. KA-CHING ... a hundred and sixty bucks ! Joanne picked me up after the flight, we ran a few errands, then went to pick up the truck and leave the minivan for fluids service. Because I have no service history on the minivan, I had most of the fluids changed. Five hundred and fifty bucks !
Lots more shopping for groceries and gardening supplies including plants. We arrived home about 10 PM, very tired and hungry.
Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.
Spent much of today dealing with yesterday's purchases, unloading both vehicles, putting things away, doing credit card accounting, updating vehicle maintenance records, updating medication records, updating pilot records, etc. Joanne did laundry. We visited with our neighbour and friend Jeanine. In the evening we watched Survivor and Catfish.
Thursday ; Overcast and chilly.
Felt ill intermittently today with a mild flare up of ulcerative colitis, only about the third or fourth minor flare up in the last ten months or so, since my gastroenterologist changed my medication regimen.
Did some work on planning a polar bear viewing trip to Churchill, Manitoba ( on Hudson Bay ) next fall after attending my niece's wedding in Winnipeg. Absolutely outrageous prices for accommodations and Tundra Buggy day tours and everything else in Churchill for October and November, the annual polar bear season. HMMMMM ... certainly would like to try dog sledding !
Friday ; Sunny, warm, intermittently windy.
Joanne spent much of the day doing gardening. Working on our rock covered, steeply sloped "front yard" is difficult. I washed the truck camper. Lots of bugs, diesel soot, and road grime to scrub off. First I had to remove the truck's tailgate that was tied down onto the camper's roof. NOT an easy job to do by myself ! I should have asked for help !
I cooked ( superb ) omelettes for supper, one of my specialties. I could get a job as an omelette chef in a casino buffet. HA HA HA ! We watched Survivor, then ... Blues Brothers. My favourite movie, yes indeed !
Saturday ; Sunny and warm.
Went into Keremeos this morning for the garden club's annual plant sale, then over to Cawston to buy some bedding plants at Little Bushy's Greenhouse. On the way back through Keremeos we stopped at Sanderson's Farms to buy some produce.
Spent much of the afternoon working on gardening. We're preparing gardens and planting earlier than usual this year because we'll be leaving here in mid-September instead of November 1, our usual departure date. Our gardens will have to be harvested and removed by mid-September.
Gave Bo a bath tonight. Stinky little dog !
DSK
Another day of "return home" chores. Joanne cleaned the camper interior. I'm still unloading my stuff out of the camper, mostly purchases I made, mostly for myself, but also some for neighbours. I delivered stuff I purchased for neighbours. I installed stuff
I bought for the minivan.
In December I purchased some items for our minivan, including some filters, at Pep Boys in Yuma. Well ... the dyslexic clerk who served me picked the wrong cabin air filter from the stock room, transposing a couple of item numbers. SO ... I have a cabin air filter that isn't for our vehicle, and we won't be back in Yuma until more than a year after I made the purchase. I wonder how much of a battle I'm going to have on my hands when I try to get a refund ?
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
Vicious squabble this afternoon. What a waste of our time and energy ! ! ! ! !
Tuesday ; Sunny nad very warm. < shaking head in despair > I had actually typed it correctly, but my computer was set on CAPS LOCK. So ... I backspaced, cancelled CAPS LOCK, and ... nad ! < sigh >
What a very long ( 12 hour ) and very expensive ( over $2400 ) day of running errands in Penticton. We drove both vehicles to Penticton, so that we could still have one to drive while the other was being serviced. While Joanne drove the minivan to Penticton
I stopped in Keremeos to pick up prescription refills. First refill of the year, so PharmaCare deductibles and co-pays had to be dealt with. This batch of prescription refills cost me over $400.
When I arrived in Penticton I took the truck to Great Canadian Oil Change for its spring fluids service. < sigh > Another eight hundred bucks ! Joanne picked me up there and we went for lunch. After lunch she dropped me off at the airport for DanAir flight 420, my annual pilot proficiency / Cessna 172 recurrency check ride. KA-CHING ... a hundred and sixty bucks ! Joanne picked me up after the flight, we ran a few errands, then went to pick up the truck and leave the minivan for fluids service. Because I have no service history on the minivan, I had most of the fluids changed. Five hundred and fifty bucks !
Lots more shopping for groceries and gardening supplies including plants. We arrived home about 10 PM, very tired and hungry.
Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.
Spent much of today dealing with yesterday's purchases, unloading both vehicles, putting things away, doing credit card accounting, updating vehicle maintenance records, updating medication records, updating pilot records, etc. Joanne did laundry. We visited with our neighbour and friend Jeanine. In the evening we watched Survivor and Catfish.
Thursday ; Overcast and chilly.
Felt ill intermittently today with a mild flare up of ulcerative colitis, only about the third or fourth minor flare up in the last ten months or so, since my gastroenterologist changed my medication regimen.
Did some work on planning a polar bear viewing trip to Churchill, Manitoba ( on Hudson Bay ) next fall after attending my niece's wedding in Winnipeg. Absolutely outrageous prices for accommodations and Tundra Buggy day tours and everything else in Churchill for October and November, the annual polar bear season. HMMMMM ... certainly would like to try dog sledding !
Friday ; Sunny, warm, intermittently windy.
Joanne spent much of the day doing gardening. Working on our rock covered, steeply sloped "front yard" is difficult. I washed the truck camper. Lots of bugs, diesel soot, and road grime to scrub off. First I had to remove the truck's tailgate that was tied down onto the camper's roof. NOT an easy job to do by myself ! I should have asked for help !
I cooked ( superb ) omelettes for supper, one of my specialties. I could get a job as an omelette chef in a casino buffet. HA HA HA ! We watched Survivor, then ... Blues Brothers. My favourite movie, yes indeed !
Saturday ; Sunny and warm.
Went into Keremeos this morning for the garden club's annual plant sale, then over to Cawston to buy some bedding plants at Little Bushy's Greenhouse. On the way back through Keremeos we stopped at Sanderson's Farms to buy some produce.
Spent much of the afternoon working on gardening. We're preparing gardens and planting earlier than usual this year because we'll be leaving here in mid-September instead of November 1, our usual departure date. Our gardens will have to be harvested and removed by mid-September.
Gave Bo a bath tonight. Stinky little dog !
DSK
Sunday, April 26, 2015
April 19 to 25, 2015 ; Deschutes River State Recreation Area, Oregon, U.S.A. to Keremeos, British Columbia, Canada
Sunday ; Deschutes River State Recreation Area, Oregon to weigh scale between Quincy and Wenatchee, Washington
Sunny and warm, temperature in the mid to high 70's, a perfect "June 18" day.
This morning we left the campground at Deschutes River State Recreation Area and headed east just a few miles on Interstate 84 before reaching Hwy. 97 again. We turned north on Hwy. 97 and crossed the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington. Goodbye, Oregon ... see ya in about a year.
At Toppenish we stopped at Safeway to buy some groceries. We had lunch in Safeway's parking lot, then I napped briefly. We refilled with diesel at a fuel bar next door to Safeway. We dumped our waste holding tanks at the town's RV sani-dump station. At Yakima we stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up a few items that we did not get in Oregon. DARN ... had to pay sales tax in Washington. At Quincy we stopped at ... wait for it ... a panaderia. WOO-HOO ! Mucho pan dulce por gringos ! HA HA HA !
I still want to get a bumper sticker that says "I brake for panaderias". HA HA HA !
As we were driving we discovered a wood tick embedded in Bo, the second in as many days. We stopped at the next rest area nad ( F*** ! ! ! ... Why can't my fingers lose that muscle memory ? ? ? ) I plucked the wood tick off him. Since we were already stopped, we decided we might as well go for a short hike to have a break from driving. As we hiked a trail through the scruffy sage desert behind the rest area, Bo squatted and defecated. Right over a gopher hole. HEY ... A HOLE IN ONE ! ! ! PLOP ... down the gopher hole the turd went ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! Well done, Bo !
Our destination for tonight was a rest area just west of Quincy. We've boondocked overnight there a few times, both southbound and northbound. When we arrived there tonight about 7 PM ... the rest area was closed for renovations. AW ... **** !
I was already tired and hungry, and now we had to go off in search of someplace else to stop for the night. We headed for Wenatchee. Before arriving at Wenatchee we found a highway weigh scale with a large truck parking lot that was empty. We pulled in there and spent the night.
Monday ; Quincy - Wenatchee weigh scale to Okanogan, Washington
Sunny and very warm, temperature reaching into the low 80's. What a lovely day for exploring.
Joanne's plan for today was to explore three different areas of interest as we drove today. And so that's what we did. After leaving the weigh scale parking area this morning we drove to Wenatchee and crossed over the Columbia River, heading in the "wrong" direction, west on Hwy. 97 to the picturesque town of Cashmere to visit the Aplets & Cotlets factory. When Joanne worked in a couple of fruit stands in Keremeos and Cawston a few summers ago she kept being asked if they had "Aplets and Cotlets". Until today, she didn't really know what that was. She had assumed it was some kind of "fruit leather" product.
Well ... aplets and cotlets are a fruit confectionary product made in Cashmere, Washington. Since 1920. The Aplets & Cotlets factory is now owned and operated by the third generation of the founders, two immigrants who came to the area in the early 1900's, one from England and one from Turkey. They bought an orchard. The man from Turkey decided to utilize the orchard's surplus product and lesser quality product in a modified "Turkish Delight" recipe. And so Aplets & Cotelts was born. Apple and / or apricot juice and pulp slow cooked with sugar and pectin ... yes, just like jam ... mixed with nuts, poured into shallow trays, cooled until it has hardened, rolled in and coated liberally with icing sugar, and cut into bite sized pieces. Something akin to "gummy bears", but much tastier ... and healthier.
We toured the "factory", including the "kitchen". Surprisingly small for a facility producing over two million pounds of product per year. Still all hand cooked. Still all hand packaged. Not very different from the way it was done in 1920. Except now the large cooking pots ( and there are only four of them ) are stainless steel instead of copper. Not surprisingly ... we bought some ( probably too much ) of their products.
From Cashmere we returned to Wenatchee then drove north on Hwy. 97 ALT, the highway on the west / "wrong" side of the Columbia River. to our second stop of the day, the Rocky Reach Dam. We spent longer than anticipated on the dam's self guided tour and museum and exhibits. They do an astounding job of salmon "enhancement" there, with very well done fish ladders to allow adult salmon to return upstream from the ocean, and a salmon "waterslide" for salmon fry heading downstream to the ocean. Additionally they do a pretty amazing job of salmon fry "research", including surgically implanting salmon fry with microchip tracking devices. In their "theater" we watched an episode of Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" with Mike Rowe doing maintenance on a power turbine, and microchip implant surgery on a baby salmon. filmed at the Rocky Reach Dam.
Final "exploration" stop was Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center, a forest fire research and education center near Entiat. We hiked the interpretive trail through the Ponderosa Pine forest, with many interpretive / educational kiosks along the trail. Consequently, Bo thought the hike had too many "stops". "Hurry up, let's go !"
Our initial plan was to spend the night at Lake Chelan State Park. However, when we arrived there and saw the outrageous fees for overnight camping, we decided not to stay. We did, however, refill our freshwater tank and ... pay our respects to the spirit / memory of Teddy, our cat before Sully. Five and half years ago we put the box of Teddy's ashes in our campfire on site 17 at Lake Chelan State Park. Seeing the view from site 17, and its peace and serenity reminded me today of why we left his ashes there, in addition to it being the place where Teddy enjoyed the final campfire of his life.
We continued north on Hwy. 97 ALT until it merged with Hwy. 97 where Hwy. 97 crossed from the east side to the west side of the Columbia River. Shortly after was the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers at Brewster. Hwy. 97 follows the Okanogan River northward from there. Almost home !
We stopped to boondock overnight at the Okanogan Casino at Okanogan, Washington, about fifty miles south of the Canadian border. We've always appreciated the Okanogan Casino's free, pull through, electrically serviced RV parking spots. Thank you, Colville Tribes.
Tuesday ; Okanogan, Washington to Keremeos, British Columbia
WHEW ... we're home !
Today was sunny and warm.
We left the RV parking lot of the Okanogan Casino and drove about five miles north on Hwy. 97 to Omak. To Wal-Mart, of course < sigh >. After a teensy bit of Wal-Martin' we drove across the street and refilled Lanoire with diesel. Then ... north on Hwy. 97 to the Canadian border at Oroville, Washington.
No line up at the border. WOO-HOO ! The Canadian border agent asked a few more questions than usual. Once across the border we drove into Osoyoos to have a late lunch at Bo's favourite park, on the Lake Osoyoos waterfront. Bo LOOOOOVES that park ! I don't really know why.
After lunch we headed west on Hwy. 3 to Keremeos. We ran some errands in town before driving home to Riverside RV Park Resort. First stop was Similkameen Agencies to get a new license plate and insurance for the minivan. Then I went across the street to PharmaSave to order prescription refills. Then over to the Keremeos Review office to renew our newspaper subscription. Last stop was FasGas to refill both of the truck camper's propane tanks.
We arrived home late in the afternoon. Within a couple of hours I had our park model manufactured home "summerized" and ready to live in again. We took Bo for a walk and ended up visiting with our neighbour and friend Jeanine for awhile in her home. In the evening Joanne worked on unloading the truck camper and I worked online, getting caught up on e-mail and finances.
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.
Well ... we're home. Today was filled with "return home" chores. As will the next few days as well. We also chatted with some neighbours. I prepared the minivan for use and Joanne used it to go to town to run some errands. She did a lot of moving stuff from the camper into the house. I did a lot of online work, including downloading, printing, and reconciling our April U.S.$ MasterCard statement. In the evening we watched Survivor. And Catfish. Now that was an interesting episode of Catfish !
Thursday ; Cloudy and chilly.
The "return home" chores continue. It saddened me to dispose of Sully's litter box that was still in our bathroom at home. A potential client phoned this afternoon, perhaps requiring a fifth wheel trailer to be hauled from Vernon to Osoyoos ... tomorrow afternoon. Maybe ! He'll let me know tomorrow by 1 PM.
Friday ; Mostly cloudy, some intermittent light rain, chilly.
We spent the morning on "return home" chores. I was hoping that yesterday's potential client was not going to call back, as I really didn't want to do a day long trailer delivery, especially starting in the afternoon. At 1 PM he phoned. < sigh > He had concluded the fifth wheel trailer purchase near Vernon and wanted it picked up and delivered immediately < sigh >. From 1 PM to 2 PM we removed the camper off the truck, installed the fifth wheel hitch in the truck, and had a very quick lunch.
We left home at 2 PM. We returned home at midnight. We covered a total of 458 km. / 286 miles, from home to Vernon to Osoyoos to home. We were tired ! And we didn't have supper until close to 11 PM after we had finished delivering the trailer in Osoyoos. The trailer was extremely difficult to hitch up, and remove from its location. And then
I had to back it down a steep, winding driveway. < sigh > Some trailer delivery jobs are easy money. Some aren't !
At the client's home in Osoyoos I had to back the trailer off the highway and down his driveway ... blind ... in the dark. As we fussed and fiddled with getting it positioned exactly where he wanted it, he finally asked if he could jump in the truck and do it himself. Sure ... go ahead ! He opened the truck door, jumped up into the driver's seat, and ...
Bo bit him !
Holy shit, Bo ... < blink blink > ... what the **** were you thinking ? ! ? ! ? In his eleven years of life, Bo has never bitten anyone before. Just goes to show ... any dog can bite !
Fortunately the client was a "dog person" and blamed himself more than Bo.
He realized he should have looked at Bo and spoken to him before jumping into the truck. Bo was tired, and anxious / worried, as he gets when we drive too long in the dark. When suddenly, some stranger jumped into the truck and shifted it into gear. "HEY ... some asshole is stealing our truck and kidnapping me. I should bite him !"
I suppose it made sense to a tired, old dog.
Saturday ; Cloudy, cold, intermittent light rain. BRRRRR ... that's why I hate returning home before the end of April !
We had a lazy start to the day, tired from yesterday's trailer delivery, and not eager to face a cold, rainy day. We did more indoor chores today than outdoor. Our friend Jeanine came over this afternoon to get the pet medications we bought in Mexico for her little dog Charlie. She visited for awhile. I walked her home and then delivered the pet medications we bought in Mexico for Jimmy, another neighbour's dog.
After supper we had a movie date ... ( The 40 Year Old Virgin ) ... then had hot chocolate ... and sex. HMPH ... it's about time ! Haven't had hot chocolate in ages ! HA HA HA !
DSK
Sunny and warm, temperature in the mid to high 70's, a perfect "June 18" day.
This morning we left the campground at Deschutes River State Recreation Area and headed east just a few miles on Interstate 84 before reaching Hwy. 97 again. We turned north on Hwy. 97 and crossed the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington. Goodbye, Oregon ... see ya in about a year.
At Toppenish we stopped at Safeway to buy some groceries. We had lunch in Safeway's parking lot, then I napped briefly. We refilled with diesel at a fuel bar next door to Safeway. We dumped our waste holding tanks at the town's RV sani-dump station. At Yakima we stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up a few items that we did not get in Oregon. DARN ... had to pay sales tax in Washington. At Quincy we stopped at ... wait for it ... a panaderia. WOO-HOO ! Mucho pan dulce por gringos ! HA HA HA !
I still want to get a bumper sticker that says "I brake for panaderias". HA HA HA !
As we were driving we discovered a wood tick embedded in Bo, the second in as many days. We stopped at the next rest area nad ( F*** ! ! ! ... Why can't my fingers lose that muscle memory ? ? ? ) I plucked the wood tick off him. Since we were already stopped, we decided we might as well go for a short hike to have a break from driving. As we hiked a trail through the scruffy sage desert behind the rest area, Bo squatted and defecated. Right over a gopher hole. HEY ... A HOLE IN ONE ! ! ! PLOP ... down the gopher hole the turd went ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! Well done, Bo !
Our destination for tonight was a rest area just west of Quincy. We've boondocked overnight there a few times, both southbound and northbound. When we arrived there tonight about 7 PM ... the rest area was closed for renovations. AW ... **** !
I was already tired and hungry, and now we had to go off in search of someplace else to stop for the night. We headed for Wenatchee. Before arriving at Wenatchee we found a highway weigh scale with a large truck parking lot that was empty. We pulled in there and spent the night.
Monday ; Quincy - Wenatchee weigh scale to Okanogan, Washington
Sunny and very warm, temperature reaching into the low 80's. What a lovely day for exploring.
Joanne's plan for today was to explore three different areas of interest as we drove today. And so that's what we did. After leaving the weigh scale parking area this morning we drove to Wenatchee and crossed over the Columbia River, heading in the "wrong" direction, west on Hwy. 97 to the picturesque town of Cashmere to visit the Aplets & Cotlets factory. When Joanne worked in a couple of fruit stands in Keremeos and Cawston a few summers ago she kept being asked if they had "Aplets and Cotlets". Until today, she didn't really know what that was. She had assumed it was some kind of "fruit leather" product.
Well ... aplets and cotlets are a fruit confectionary product made in Cashmere, Washington. Since 1920. The Aplets & Cotlets factory is now owned and operated by the third generation of the founders, two immigrants who came to the area in the early 1900's, one from England and one from Turkey. They bought an orchard. The man from Turkey decided to utilize the orchard's surplus product and lesser quality product in a modified "Turkish Delight" recipe. And so Aplets & Cotelts was born. Apple and / or apricot juice and pulp slow cooked with sugar and pectin ... yes, just like jam ... mixed with nuts, poured into shallow trays, cooled until it has hardened, rolled in and coated liberally with icing sugar, and cut into bite sized pieces. Something akin to "gummy bears", but much tastier ... and healthier.
We toured the "factory", including the "kitchen". Surprisingly small for a facility producing over two million pounds of product per year. Still all hand cooked. Still all hand packaged. Not very different from the way it was done in 1920. Except now the large cooking pots ( and there are only four of them ) are stainless steel instead of copper. Not surprisingly ... we bought some ( probably too much ) of their products.
From Cashmere we returned to Wenatchee then drove north on Hwy. 97 ALT, the highway on the west / "wrong" side of the Columbia River. to our second stop of the day, the Rocky Reach Dam. We spent longer than anticipated on the dam's self guided tour and museum and exhibits. They do an astounding job of salmon "enhancement" there, with very well done fish ladders to allow adult salmon to return upstream from the ocean, and a salmon "waterslide" for salmon fry heading downstream to the ocean. Additionally they do a pretty amazing job of salmon fry "research", including surgically implanting salmon fry with microchip tracking devices. In their "theater" we watched an episode of Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" with Mike Rowe doing maintenance on a power turbine, and microchip implant surgery on a baby salmon. filmed at the Rocky Reach Dam.
Final "exploration" stop was Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center, a forest fire research and education center near Entiat. We hiked the interpretive trail through the Ponderosa Pine forest, with many interpretive / educational kiosks along the trail. Consequently, Bo thought the hike had too many "stops". "Hurry up, let's go !"
Our initial plan was to spend the night at Lake Chelan State Park. However, when we arrived there and saw the outrageous fees for overnight camping, we decided not to stay. We did, however, refill our freshwater tank and ... pay our respects to the spirit / memory of Teddy, our cat before Sully. Five and half years ago we put the box of Teddy's ashes in our campfire on site 17 at Lake Chelan State Park. Seeing the view from site 17, and its peace and serenity reminded me today of why we left his ashes there, in addition to it being the place where Teddy enjoyed the final campfire of his life.
We continued north on Hwy. 97 ALT until it merged with Hwy. 97 where Hwy. 97 crossed from the east side to the west side of the Columbia River. Shortly after was the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers at Brewster. Hwy. 97 follows the Okanogan River northward from there. Almost home !
We stopped to boondock overnight at the Okanogan Casino at Okanogan, Washington, about fifty miles south of the Canadian border. We've always appreciated the Okanogan Casino's free, pull through, electrically serviced RV parking spots. Thank you, Colville Tribes.
Tuesday ; Okanogan, Washington to Keremeos, British Columbia
WHEW ... we're home !
Today was sunny and warm.
We left the RV parking lot of the Okanogan Casino and drove about five miles north on Hwy. 97 to Omak. To Wal-Mart, of course < sigh >. After a teensy bit of Wal-Martin' we drove across the street and refilled Lanoire with diesel. Then ... north on Hwy. 97 to the Canadian border at Oroville, Washington.
No line up at the border. WOO-HOO ! The Canadian border agent asked a few more questions than usual. Once across the border we drove into Osoyoos to have a late lunch at Bo's favourite park, on the Lake Osoyoos waterfront. Bo LOOOOOVES that park ! I don't really know why.
After lunch we headed west on Hwy. 3 to Keremeos. We ran some errands in town before driving home to Riverside RV Park Resort. First stop was Similkameen Agencies to get a new license plate and insurance for the minivan. Then I went across the street to PharmaSave to order prescription refills. Then over to the Keremeos Review office to renew our newspaper subscription. Last stop was FasGas to refill both of the truck camper's propane tanks.
We arrived home late in the afternoon. Within a couple of hours I had our park model manufactured home "summerized" and ready to live in again. We took Bo for a walk and ended up visiting with our neighbour and friend Jeanine for awhile in her home. In the evening Joanne worked on unloading the truck camper and I worked online, getting caught up on e-mail and finances.
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.
Well ... we're home. Today was filled with "return home" chores. As will the next few days as well. We also chatted with some neighbours. I prepared the minivan for use and Joanne used it to go to town to run some errands. She did a lot of moving stuff from the camper into the house. I did a lot of online work, including downloading, printing, and reconciling our April U.S.$ MasterCard statement. In the evening we watched Survivor. And Catfish. Now that was an interesting episode of Catfish !
Thursday ; Cloudy and chilly.
The "return home" chores continue. It saddened me to dispose of Sully's litter box that was still in our bathroom at home. A potential client phoned this afternoon, perhaps requiring a fifth wheel trailer to be hauled from Vernon to Osoyoos ... tomorrow afternoon. Maybe ! He'll let me know tomorrow by 1 PM.
Friday ; Mostly cloudy, some intermittent light rain, chilly.
We spent the morning on "return home" chores. I was hoping that yesterday's potential client was not going to call back, as I really didn't want to do a day long trailer delivery, especially starting in the afternoon. At 1 PM he phoned. < sigh > He had concluded the fifth wheel trailer purchase near Vernon and wanted it picked up and delivered immediately < sigh >. From 1 PM to 2 PM we removed the camper off the truck, installed the fifth wheel hitch in the truck, and had a very quick lunch.
We left home at 2 PM. We returned home at midnight. We covered a total of 458 km. / 286 miles, from home to Vernon to Osoyoos to home. We were tired ! And we didn't have supper until close to 11 PM after we had finished delivering the trailer in Osoyoos. The trailer was extremely difficult to hitch up, and remove from its location. And then
I had to back it down a steep, winding driveway. < sigh > Some trailer delivery jobs are easy money. Some aren't !
At the client's home in Osoyoos I had to back the trailer off the highway and down his driveway ... blind ... in the dark. As we fussed and fiddled with getting it positioned exactly where he wanted it, he finally asked if he could jump in the truck and do it himself. Sure ... go ahead ! He opened the truck door, jumped up into the driver's seat, and ...
Bo bit him !
Holy shit, Bo ... < blink blink > ... what the **** were you thinking ? ! ? ! ? In his eleven years of life, Bo has never bitten anyone before. Just goes to show ... any dog can bite !
Fortunately the client was a "dog person" and blamed himself more than Bo.
He realized he should have looked at Bo and spoken to him before jumping into the truck. Bo was tired, and anxious / worried, as he gets when we drive too long in the dark. When suddenly, some stranger jumped into the truck and shifted it into gear. "HEY ... some asshole is stealing our truck and kidnapping me. I should bite him !"
I suppose it made sense to a tired, old dog.
Saturday ; Cloudy, cold, intermittent light rain. BRRRRR ... that's why I hate returning home before the end of April !
We had a lazy start to the day, tired from yesterday's trailer delivery, and not eager to face a cold, rainy day. We did more indoor chores today than outdoor. Our friend Jeanine came over this afternoon to get the pet medications we bought in Mexico for her little dog Charlie. She visited for awhile. I walked her home and then delivered the pet medications we bought in Mexico for Jimmy, another neighbour's dog.
After supper we had a movie date ... ( The 40 Year Old Virgin ) ... then had hot chocolate ... and sex. HMPH ... it's about time ! Haven't had hot chocolate in ages ! HA HA HA !
DSK
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
April 12 to 18, 2015 ; Winnemucca, Nevada to Deschutes River State Recreation Area, Oregon
Sunday ; Winnemucca to Virgin Valley Camp, Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada
Sunny, mild, a bit windy.
This morning before leaving Winnemucca we refilled Lanoire with diesel at a Chevron station, refilled Elsie's freshwater holding tank at Flying J, bought groceries at Raley's, and then, just before leaving town, I remembered that I needed to buy a gallon of gas for the generator, so we went to yet a third service station and bought fuel for the generator.
We headed north out of Winnemucca on Hwy. 95, then turned northwest on Hwy. 140. Late in the morning we stopped on the side of the road and went for a hike in the desert, just to enjoy the sunshine and get some exercise. At Denio Junction we stopped to have lunch. And a nap ! We continued west on Hwy. 140 into Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge and eventually turned onto a two mile gravel road to Virgin Valley Camp, an unserviced campground with a warm mineral springs pool, and a shower house with warm mineral spring water.
The small campground was deserted, we had the place all to ourselves. We selected a site, parked and set up, then I went for a soak in the warm mineral spring pool. AHHHHH ! Afterwards we went for a hike in the desert. While Joanne prepared foil packages of steak, potatoes, carrots and onions I started a campfire. I cooked supper to perfection over the open fire. It always give me great satisfaction to do that ... and do it well ! Just before it got dark we went to take a shower in the warm mineral springs shower house, equipped with two showers. First time we've showered together in decades ! It was so long ago ... how long ago was it, Dan ? It was so long ago ... she still had two breasts. HA HA HA ! HEY ... if you can't laugh about a mastectomy after all these years ... !
Monday ; Virgin Valley Camp, Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada to Summer Lake, Oregon
Mostly sunny, mild, windy, very windy at times.
This morning I had another shower in the warm mineral springs shower house, we dumped our grey tank and refilled our freshwater tank then left Virgin Valley Camp heading northwest on Hwy. 140. Not too far down the road, still in Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, we took a one lane gravel road a few miles to see Big Spring Reservoir Camp. HMPH ! Dry lake ! In the last couple of days we've been seeing quite a few lakes that have dried up. I guess it's not just California that's battling drought.
Continuing northwest on Hwy. 140 we crossed out of Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada into Oregon. And the elevation changed a lot. We quickly descended from the 6000 to 6500 foot elevations of Nevada down to something a lot more ... normal. And the topography changed from scruffy high desert to forested mountains. It began to look like home around Keremeos, BC.
We stopped for lunch at Warner Canyon Ski Area, deserted at this time of the year. After lunch I napped briefly then we went hiking briefly. And ... < sputter > ... SOMEBODY threw a snowball at me ! HMPH !
When we got to Hwy. 395 we turned south for five miles to the town of Lakeview to refill with diesel then headed north on Hwy. 395 to Hwy. 31, then northwest on Hwy. 31 to Summer Lake where we stopped at a rest area to have supper and boondock overnight.
Very windy and chilly this evening !
Jeezum Crow ! ( learned that yesterday listening to NPR on the radio ) When I took Bo out at 10 PM, a blizzard was just starting. A ****ING SNOW BLIZZARD ! ! ! As I type this a few minutes later the wind is blowing so hard it feels as if the camper is going to get blown over. Thank goodness for duallies !
Tuesday ; Summer Lake to LaPine State Park, Oregon
As I'm beginning to type this ( at 7:30 PM ) it's beginning to snow heavily !
We had a slow start to our day. BECAUSE IT WAS WINTER ! ! ! ! !
We had a bit of a scary night last night. The snow blizzard was accompanied by very heavy winds, with VERY strong gusts, making the camper rock and roll. It prevented us from falling asleep for a few hours until the winds subsided slightly, and the camper stopped rocking and rolling.
We awoke this morning to ... snow covering the ground ! ! ! Joanne walked the dog and we all went back to sleep for a few more hours. By the time we were ready to depart the rest area it was 11:30 AM. The sunshine was melting the snow, BUT ... I almost froze to death refilling the fresh water tank.
We continued northwest on Hwy. 31. Within fifteen miles "winter" was over. HMPH ! Once again we had spent the night at a rest area near a mountain pass summit. I think highway engineers must intentionally design rest areas to be near mountain pass summits so that drivers can get off the road to escape bad weather conditions, which are always at their worst near the summits of mountain passes.
At the junction of Hwy. 31 with Hwy. 97 we turned north. AHHHHH ... Hwy. 97 ... the road to "home". We spent much of the afternoon in the town of LaPine. First we stopped at a supermarket and bought some groceries. Then we went to a laundromat. Joanne got our laundry into washing machines then we had a late lunch parked in the parking lot of the laundromat. After lunch Joanne went back into the laundromat to dry and fold clothes. I walked a couple of blocks to the library to use Wi-Fi to retrieve e-mail and post my weekly blog entry. When I was finished we left LaPine, continuing north on Hwy. 97.
But not very far ! Our destination for today was LaPine State Park, a short distance north of the town of LaPine. We've been here a few times before. It's one of my favourite Oregon state parks. On the way into the campground we dumped our black waste tank at the sani-dump station. We selected a site then went for a walk to the
self-registration station, and a walk around the campground. That was enough "hiking"... we were freezing ! Joanne asked me if I wanted her to locate my gloves and toque, stored somewhere in the camper. YES ! ! !
We decided it was much too cold for the campfire we had planned. Since we had an electrically serviced campsite Joanne dug out the little electric heater and Sully's "heater blankie". We fired up both and hunkered down ! Joanne and Bo cuddled on the bed underneath the heater blankie while I worked on the computer with the little electric heater blowing on me. BRRRRR ... my legs and feet are still cold !
Wednesday ; Sunny nad very cold < gnashing teeth in frustration over typing "nad" yet again >, temperature 22° F overnight, 39° F during the day. But no wind and bright sunshine mitigated the cold, making it a fairly decent day overall.
With a bit of mild persuasion from Joanne I decided to make this a "day off". No driving ! We had a late start to the day, and made it a lazy day, staying at LaPine State Park. This morning we went for a hike through an adjacent loop of the campground that is still closed for the winter season, and did a fun obedience session with Bo at the same time. After lunch I read ... and napped. Joanne did Sudoku puzzles. We went for another long hike, this time beside the Deschutes River. Late in the afternoon I lit a campfire. Joanne prepared a ground turkey meat loaf, wrapped it in foil, and I cooked it over the campfire. It was excellent !
Thursday ; LaPine State Park to Bend to Peter Skene Ogden Viewpoint & Rest Area, Oregon
Sunny nad mild. !)@(#*$&% Just what I needed when I'm already really angry !
< taking a deep breath >
This morning we left LaPine State Park and drove north on Hwy. 97 to spend most of the day shopping ... tax free ! We keep a list of things to buy tax free in Oregon. Twice a year ... once southbound and once northbound ... we shop for what's on the list. We shopped at Trader Joe's ( set a new personal record for amount spent at Trader Joe's ), Wal-Mart, an auto supply store, an RV parts dealer, and numerous auto supply stores and pharmacies that didn't have what I was looking for. AND ... we refilled with diesel. AND ... we had a vicious squabble that left both of us upset. And that lingered for the rest of the day. What we were not able to find in Bend would have to be bought further north. We headed out of town northwest on Hwy. 20 to find Tumalo State Park, our destination for tonight. When we got there ... the ****ing campground was closed. No explanation ... just "CLOSED" ! Well ... that really helped improve my mood, didn't it ? ! ?
So ... we continued north on Hwy. 97 to Redmond. Another Wal-Mart. Got more of what we were shopping for, but not all. And another auto supply store. Got what I was looking for there ! We continued north on Hwy. 97. We stopped for the night at Peter Skene Ogden Viewpoint & Rest Area between Redmond and Madras.
Friday ; Peter Skene Ogden Viewpoint & Rest Area to Grass Valley, Oregon
Sunny and warm, a lovely spring day in Oregon. We were both angry and upset from yesterday's squabble, and it continued to affect us until we arrived at Eilene's late in the afternoon when we had no choice but to "turn it off".
We left the rest area this morning and continued north on Hwy. 97 until arriving at the home of our 93 year old friend Eilene in the small village of Grass Valley, Oregon. But ... not her home for much longer. On May 1 she will be moving into a seniors' residence in The Dalles, a small city about an hour or so northwest of here. Two of her three daughters live somewhat nearby and were visiting Eilene today. Eilene and her two daughters cooked supper for us. Thank you very much, Eilene, Alice and Leta Ann. We boondocked overnight parked in Eilene's driveway.
Grass Valley is a small farming village. When I took Bo for a walk around the neighbourhood tonight after supper, he had his head down, sniffing, and did not notice that one of the neighbours had two horses in their yard. When the two horses saw a stranger ... me ... they decided to amble over and pay me a visit. Bo did not see the horses approach, as he had his nose down, and did not see them until they reached the fence and stuck their heads over the top rail. When Bo sensed something, and finally looked up, there were four horse legs about two feet in front of his face. He was so startled, and inhaled so rapidly, he choked ... and then tried to bark at the horses. But he was choking. So ... he did this strange "choke / snort / bark" routine. Too funny !
Saturday ; Grass Valley to Deschutes River State Recreation Area, Oregon
Sunny and warm.
This morning Eilene made brunch for us before we left her driveway. Thank you very much, Eilene. And while we ate brunch she suggested some scenic adventure routes in the area that she thought we might enjoy exploring. And knowing Eilene and her sense of adventure, we knew her recommendations were worthwhile. SO ... off we went.
We "backtracked" just a few miles south on Hwy. 97 to get to Hwy. 216 where we turned west. Along that road we found ... Eilene's childhood home, which had been a one room schoolhouse before Eilene's family lived in it. And given that Eilene is approaching her 94th birthday ... it's a pretty old house ! We continued on that road until we reached White River Falls where we stopped to wander around, viewing the falls and enjoying the lovely weather.
When we reached Hwy. 197 we turned north and drove through a picturesque area of grassy valleys and canyons. When we reached Interstate 84 at the city of The Dalles we turned east. I-84 runs east / west along the south side of the Columbia River, the border between Oregon and Washington. The final stop on our "adventure circle route" was Deschutes River State Recreation Area. We liked the campground so much we decided to spend the rest of today and overnight here.
We selected a site in the campground which was near full by mid-afternoon, and it's only mid-April ! At dusk there was only one site left, and that was a small site suitable only for a small rig like a tent trailer or truck with camper. We hiked along the Deschutes River. Bo was very happy to be allowed to wade into the Deschutes River, which Joanne prohibited a few days ago at LaPine State Park because it was so cold. After hiking I napped. Early in the evening I started a campfire and used the remaining firewood I had brought from Yuma. I had split and loaded into the truck camper enough firewood for two campfires ... I thought. By using it conservatively I made it last for four campfires.
I cooked supper over the campfire again. Joanne made a rather unusual "meatloaf". Back in Yuma I had purchased, on impulse, a can of chicken luncheon meat ... like a clone of "Spam" ( U.S. ) or "Klik" ( Canada ). I thought when I purchased it that I might be able to fry it up like a breakfast sausage, perhaps, or use it to make a hillbilly version of Eggs Benedict or something like that. Tonight Joanne mashed it, mixed it with diced onions, diced tomatoes, shredded brussel sprouts from Trader Joe's, added a dollop of ketchup, double wrapped it in foil and ... I cooked the "meatloaf" in the campfire. Turned out rather well ! HA HA HA !
After supper and the campfire were over, our friends Bill and Lynne returned our phone call made earlier today. I chatted with them briefly ... until the cell phone call "dropped" ... about their plans to visit us in a couple of weeks.
DSK
Sunny, mild, a bit windy.
This morning before leaving Winnemucca we refilled Lanoire with diesel at a Chevron station, refilled Elsie's freshwater holding tank at Flying J, bought groceries at Raley's, and then, just before leaving town, I remembered that I needed to buy a gallon of gas for the generator, so we went to yet a third service station and bought fuel for the generator.
We headed north out of Winnemucca on Hwy. 95, then turned northwest on Hwy. 140. Late in the morning we stopped on the side of the road and went for a hike in the desert, just to enjoy the sunshine and get some exercise. At Denio Junction we stopped to have lunch. And a nap ! We continued west on Hwy. 140 into Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge and eventually turned onto a two mile gravel road to Virgin Valley Camp, an unserviced campground with a warm mineral springs pool, and a shower house with warm mineral spring water.
The small campground was deserted, we had the place all to ourselves. We selected a site, parked and set up, then I went for a soak in the warm mineral spring pool. AHHHHH ! Afterwards we went for a hike in the desert. While Joanne prepared foil packages of steak, potatoes, carrots and onions I started a campfire. I cooked supper to perfection over the open fire. It always give me great satisfaction to do that ... and do it well ! Just before it got dark we went to take a shower in the warm mineral springs shower house, equipped with two showers. First time we've showered together in decades ! It was so long ago ... how long ago was it, Dan ? It was so long ago ... she still had two breasts. HA HA HA ! HEY ... if you can't laugh about a mastectomy after all these years ... !
Monday ; Virgin Valley Camp, Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada to Summer Lake, Oregon
Mostly sunny, mild, windy, very windy at times.
This morning I had another shower in the warm mineral springs shower house, we dumped our grey tank and refilled our freshwater tank then left Virgin Valley Camp heading northwest on Hwy. 140. Not too far down the road, still in Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, we took a one lane gravel road a few miles to see Big Spring Reservoir Camp. HMPH ! Dry lake ! In the last couple of days we've been seeing quite a few lakes that have dried up. I guess it's not just California that's battling drought.
Continuing northwest on Hwy. 140 we crossed out of Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada into Oregon. And the elevation changed a lot. We quickly descended from the 6000 to 6500 foot elevations of Nevada down to something a lot more ... normal. And the topography changed from scruffy high desert to forested mountains. It began to look like home around Keremeos, BC.
We stopped for lunch at Warner Canyon Ski Area, deserted at this time of the year. After lunch I napped briefly then we went hiking briefly. And ... < sputter > ... SOMEBODY threw a snowball at me ! HMPH !
When we got to Hwy. 395 we turned south for five miles to the town of Lakeview to refill with diesel then headed north on Hwy. 395 to Hwy. 31, then northwest on Hwy. 31 to Summer Lake where we stopped at a rest area to have supper and boondock overnight.
Very windy and chilly this evening !
Jeezum Crow ! ( learned that yesterday listening to NPR on the radio ) When I took Bo out at 10 PM, a blizzard was just starting. A ****ING SNOW BLIZZARD ! ! ! As I type this a few minutes later the wind is blowing so hard it feels as if the camper is going to get blown over. Thank goodness for duallies !
Tuesday ; Summer Lake to LaPine State Park, Oregon
As I'm beginning to type this ( at 7:30 PM ) it's beginning to snow heavily !
We had a slow start to our day. BECAUSE IT WAS WINTER ! ! ! ! !
We had a bit of a scary night last night. The snow blizzard was accompanied by very heavy winds, with VERY strong gusts, making the camper rock and roll. It prevented us from falling asleep for a few hours until the winds subsided slightly, and the camper stopped rocking and rolling.
We awoke this morning to ... snow covering the ground ! ! ! Joanne walked the dog and we all went back to sleep for a few more hours. By the time we were ready to depart the rest area it was 11:30 AM. The sunshine was melting the snow, BUT ... I almost froze to death refilling the fresh water tank.
We continued northwest on Hwy. 31. Within fifteen miles "winter" was over. HMPH ! Once again we had spent the night at a rest area near a mountain pass summit. I think highway engineers must intentionally design rest areas to be near mountain pass summits so that drivers can get off the road to escape bad weather conditions, which are always at their worst near the summits of mountain passes.
At the junction of Hwy. 31 with Hwy. 97 we turned north. AHHHHH ... Hwy. 97 ... the road to "home". We spent much of the afternoon in the town of LaPine. First we stopped at a supermarket and bought some groceries. Then we went to a laundromat. Joanne got our laundry into washing machines then we had a late lunch parked in the parking lot of the laundromat. After lunch Joanne went back into the laundromat to dry and fold clothes. I walked a couple of blocks to the library to use Wi-Fi to retrieve e-mail and post my weekly blog entry. When I was finished we left LaPine, continuing north on Hwy. 97.
But not very far ! Our destination for today was LaPine State Park, a short distance north of the town of LaPine. We've been here a few times before. It's one of my favourite Oregon state parks. On the way into the campground we dumped our black waste tank at the sani-dump station. We selected a site then went for a walk to the
self-registration station, and a walk around the campground. That was enough "hiking"... we were freezing ! Joanne asked me if I wanted her to locate my gloves and toque, stored somewhere in the camper. YES ! ! !
We decided it was much too cold for the campfire we had planned. Since we had an electrically serviced campsite Joanne dug out the little electric heater and Sully's "heater blankie". We fired up both and hunkered down ! Joanne and Bo cuddled on the bed underneath the heater blankie while I worked on the computer with the little electric heater blowing on me. BRRRRR ... my legs and feet are still cold !
Wednesday ; Sunny nad very cold < gnashing teeth in frustration over typing "nad" yet again >, temperature 22° F overnight, 39° F during the day. But no wind and bright sunshine mitigated the cold, making it a fairly decent day overall.
With a bit of mild persuasion from Joanne I decided to make this a "day off". No driving ! We had a late start to the day, and made it a lazy day, staying at LaPine State Park. This morning we went for a hike through an adjacent loop of the campground that is still closed for the winter season, and did a fun obedience session with Bo at the same time. After lunch I read ... and napped. Joanne did Sudoku puzzles. We went for another long hike, this time beside the Deschutes River. Late in the afternoon I lit a campfire. Joanne prepared a ground turkey meat loaf, wrapped it in foil, and I cooked it over the campfire. It was excellent !
Thursday ; LaPine State Park to Bend to Peter Skene Ogden Viewpoint & Rest Area, Oregon
Sunny nad mild. !)@(#*$&% Just what I needed when I'm already really angry !
< taking a deep breath >
This morning we left LaPine State Park and drove north on Hwy. 97 to spend most of the day shopping ... tax free ! We keep a list of things to buy tax free in Oregon. Twice a year ... once southbound and once northbound ... we shop for what's on the list. We shopped at Trader Joe's ( set a new personal record for amount spent at Trader Joe's ), Wal-Mart, an auto supply store, an RV parts dealer, and numerous auto supply stores and pharmacies that didn't have what I was looking for. AND ... we refilled with diesel. AND ... we had a vicious squabble that left both of us upset. And that lingered for the rest of the day. What we were not able to find in Bend would have to be bought further north. We headed out of town northwest on Hwy. 20 to find Tumalo State Park, our destination for tonight. When we got there ... the ****ing campground was closed. No explanation ... just "CLOSED" ! Well ... that really helped improve my mood, didn't it ? ! ?
So ... we continued north on Hwy. 97 to Redmond. Another Wal-Mart. Got more of what we were shopping for, but not all. And another auto supply store. Got what I was looking for there ! We continued north on Hwy. 97. We stopped for the night at Peter Skene Ogden Viewpoint & Rest Area between Redmond and Madras.
Friday ; Peter Skene Ogden Viewpoint & Rest Area to Grass Valley, Oregon
Sunny and warm, a lovely spring day in Oregon. We were both angry and upset from yesterday's squabble, and it continued to affect us until we arrived at Eilene's late in the afternoon when we had no choice but to "turn it off".
We left the rest area this morning and continued north on Hwy. 97 until arriving at the home of our 93 year old friend Eilene in the small village of Grass Valley, Oregon. But ... not her home for much longer. On May 1 she will be moving into a seniors' residence in The Dalles, a small city about an hour or so northwest of here. Two of her three daughters live somewhat nearby and were visiting Eilene today. Eilene and her two daughters cooked supper for us. Thank you very much, Eilene, Alice and Leta Ann. We boondocked overnight parked in Eilene's driveway.
Grass Valley is a small farming village. When I took Bo for a walk around the neighbourhood tonight after supper, he had his head down, sniffing, and did not notice that one of the neighbours had two horses in their yard. When the two horses saw a stranger ... me ... they decided to amble over and pay me a visit. Bo did not see the horses approach, as he had his nose down, and did not see them until they reached the fence and stuck their heads over the top rail. When Bo sensed something, and finally looked up, there were four horse legs about two feet in front of his face. He was so startled, and inhaled so rapidly, he choked ... and then tried to bark at the horses. But he was choking. So ... he did this strange "choke / snort / bark" routine. Too funny !
Saturday ; Grass Valley to Deschutes River State Recreation Area, Oregon
Sunny and warm.
This morning Eilene made brunch for us before we left her driveway. Thank you very much, Eilene. And while we ate brunch she suggested some scenic adventure routes in the area that she thought we might enjoy exploring. And knowing Eilene and her sense of adventure, we knew her recommendations were worthwhile. SO ... off we went.
We "backtracked" just a few miles south on Hwy. 97 to get to Hwy. 216 where we turned west. Along that road we found ... Eilene's childhood home, which had been a one room schoolhouse before Eilene's family lived in it. And given that Eilene is approaching her 94th birthday ... it's a pretty old house ! We continued on that road until we reached White River Falls where we stopped to wander around, viewing the falls and enjoying the lovely weather.
When we reached Hwy. 197 we turned north and drove through a picturesque area of grassy valleys and canyons. When we reached Interstate 84 at the city of The Dalles we turned east. I-84 runs east / west along the south side of the Columbia River, the border between Oregon and Washington. The final stop on our "adventure circle route" was Deschutes River State Recreation Area. We liked the campground so much we decided to spend the rest of today and overnight here.
We selected a site in the campground which was near full by mid-afternoon, and it's only mid-April ! At dusk there was only one site left, and that was a small site suitable only for a small rig like a tent trailer or truck with camper. We hiked along the Deschutes River. Bo was very happy to be allowed to wade into the Deschutes River, which Joanne prohibited a few days ago at LaPine State Park because it was so cold. After hiking I napped. Early in the evening I started a campfire and used the remaining firewood I had brought from Yuma. I had split and loaded into the truck camper enough firewood for two campfires ... I thought. By using it conservatively I made it last for four campfires.
I cooked supper over the campfire again. Joanne made a rather unusual "meatloaf". Back in Yuma I had purchased, on impulse, a can of chicken luncheon meat ... like a clone of "Spam" ( U.S. ) or "Klik" ( Canada ). I thought when I purchased it that I might be able to fry it up like a breakfast sausage, perhaps, or use it to make a hillbilly version of Eggs Benedict or something like that. Tonight Joanne mashed it, mixed it with diced onions, diced tomatoes, shredded brussel sprouts from Trader Joe's, added a dollop of ketchup, double wrapped it in foil and ... I cooked the "meatloaf" in the campfire. Turned out rather well ! HA HA HA !
After supper and the campfire were over, our friends Bill and Lynne returned our phone call made earlier today. I chatted with them briefly ... until the cell phone call "dropped" ... about their plans to visit us in a couple of weeks.
DSK
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)