Finally have got caught up with everything that has been left undone at home since our trip ended, so I'm now taking the time to put up the rest of the journal entries from the children during our snowbirding adventure:
Jan 10
We left Quartzite for California. When we got to California we came to a city called Blythe. Dad was having trouble with the steering wheel, so we went to Easy Lube to get it fixed. They didn't have a part so they let us stay the night there. Good night!
Jan 11
They fixed the steering wheel and then we went on to Palo Verde. We found a cool county park that was like a jungle that we stayed at for the night.
Jan 12
Woke up early. Deborah, Ben and I found a cool place by number 13 (camping site at the park we stayed at) and went fishing there. We saw an owl and made a fireplace there.
Showing posts with label RV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RV. Show all posts
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Deb's Posts for Jan 2 & 4 - Apache Junction
Jan 2
I got to ride a horse for my birthday. Yipee! It was super fun. the horse that I rode was called the Cat - short for Cat Be Nimble. I also learned how to make her walk, trot & gallop, and make her walk on a bridge & in a tire. I think I was better at stopping than anything else. After, I went with mom & Rachel to get a cake. It was a black forest cake and it was good. we had a barbecue and watched True Grit (without Mom - she was asleep).
Jan 4
Did another horse ride today without the other girls, only Miss Rosemary. We rode around the town. i got to saddle and pick the Cat’s hooves. I had a fun time and was sad we had to say good-bye. I promised to write to her. Now we are back in Estrella Park.
note from Mom - Miss Rosemary operates the Tecolote School of Horsemanship in Apache Junction. She's also a great teacher of life skills, not just horseback riding, with the right combination of grit & sweetness to train up her students. I highly recommend her!
I got to ride a horse for my birthday. Yipee! It was super fun. the horse that I rode was called the Cat - short for Cat Be Nimble. I also learned how to make her walk, trot & gallop, and make her walk on a bridge & in a tire. I think I was better at stopping than anything else. After, I went with mom & Rachel to get a cake. It was a black forest cake and it was good. we had a barbecue and watched True Grit (without Mom - she was asleep).
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Did another horse ride today without the other girls, only Miss Rosemary. We rode around the town. i got to saddle and pick the Cat’s hooves. I had a fun time and was sad we had to say good-bye. I promised to write to her. Now we are back in Estrella Park.
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| Brushing up after today's ride |
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Starting the New Year in Arizona (very long post!)
As per usual, we're behind in keeping this blog up to date. Here's a short run down of the days from Dec 6 onward:
Dec 6 - Tried to find the first library we found in Abuquerque. After many failed attempts, went back to the Petroglyph Monument so the boys could burn off their extra energy, while the girls & I stayed behind to have some quiet time away from them. After we found out that the library was in Alamos, so we headed there for the day - then shopping at Walmart & sleeping in their parking lot for the night.
Dec 7 - Found a swimming pool to go to (West Mesa), but it only opens up to the public after 6 pm. Figured this was a good time to visit the Rio Grand Zoo. It was a day well spent! Lots of exhibits to see, even in the off season. The timing was especially good for us, as there was hardly any other visitors there, making it easy to keep track of our rambunctious boys.
At one point Nathan not too far ahead of us & managed to climb into one of the enclosures - thank God it was just the tortoise pen & Dan was able to get him out quickly! A good time was had by all & lots of photos were taken.
Dec 9 - Left Albuquerque & headed to Elephant Butte State Park. Spent a little bit of time there before heading into Truth or Consequences. Yes, that is the actual name of the town - it named itself after a radio game show of the same name in the 50‘s in order to win a contest.
Dec 10 - Nathan became sick today - it would be the beginning of everybody coming down with the flu over the course of the week. He & I stayed in the RV while the others went fishing in the Rio Grande River at the Elephant Butte State Park. Ben caught a white bass for our dinner & we opted to stay at the Rio Lago RV Park for a week, knowing that we’d need a place to settle in to recuperate.
Dec 11 - Nathan was well today, so we headed back to the Elephant Butte State Park again, though we got there closer to evening. Turned out to be worth our while, as the Beachwalk Luminaria was going on that night. The beach was lit up in like manner as the Festival of Lights in Coronado, and there were over 50 vendors there (all free) with food & drink to try. Dan, Ben & Joel went fishing while the rest of us headed straight to the festival & the first crack at the hot chocolate & pozole. Zach & Nathan complained about being cold, so I took them back to the RV while the girls caught up with the others to take them to the goodies. All in all, a rather good night.
Dec 13 - Tried another fishing hole closer to the beach. The boys had a lot of messy fun there:
Dec 14 - Another day, another sick child - this time it was Zachary. While he rests & I do laundry, the others discover a town fishing pond stocked with catfish. Rachel is quite happy to be the only succesful fisherman of the day, catching a 4 lb fish for our dinner.
Dec 17 - Last few days were just s[ent taking it easy & getting everybody recovered from the flu. We are ready to hit the road again, and based on a forest ranger's description of the road to silver City being "not too mountainous", we head up to the Gila National Forest. Turns out the ranger didn't have a clue what she was talking about - it was very curvy & stomach turning (at least for me) in our RV. The Gila Forest itself is very beautiful - it is nice to see old growth trees again, but I would not like to take that route again unless it is in a small car. We opt to not stay long in Silver City, but to head for the Arizona border instead. However, our vehicle breaks down & we need to exit the highway immediately. Thankfully there is a safe place for us to pull into just off the exit for us to sleep for the night.
Dec 18 - Dan call CAA & premier membership turns out to be worth it's weight in gold. They send out a tow truck within an hour & the driver determines that only the belts broke & nothing more serious - he has a mechanic sent to repair it right on the spot.
While waiting for the mechanic, the kids & I get a tour of the Stein Railroad Ghost Town right next to us by Melissa, whose family has lived in the area since her pioneer great grandparents came there & now own the property. The ghost town is officially closed to the public due to problems that they had with visitors who would loot & vandalize the place, but they make exceptions for school groups, home educators & others seriously interested in the area's history. We learned a lot about the outlaws that came through the town, pioneer life & the interesting facts about many species of cactus. We especially liked learning about all the edible cactus fruits available, like the barrel, pincushion & hedgehog varieties. We thank our host & head to Eloy, AZ.
Dec 19 - Get to Phoenix, do some shopping & head to Estrella Parkway for Dan & Ben to do some riding. We see a refreshing looking lake, but in trying to reach it discover that it is all gated - only members of the surrounding community & yacht club have access. Talk about a clear signal for those making less than 6 figures to scram! Head to Quartzsite & stay the night at the B-10 RV park.
Dec 20 - Do a bit of checking out the town of Quartzite, but not much going on - the real events start in January & aside from rock hounding, not much else goes on. Rachel found some bamboo coral beads that she like & Ben got a good deal on a used metal detector. We hit the BLM land & boondock for the night.
Dec 21 - The kids catch up on some school & try out the metal detector. Then it starts to rain, rain, rain. Good to know that our unit is water tight! But We read a local paper & things aren't looking good for us to stay there or head toward California just yet, so we decide to head back to Phoenix, where there are more things for the kids to do.
Dec 22 - The flu finally catches up with me & the water pump for the engine is going. We make an appointment with Pepboys to get it fixed the next morning.
Dec 23 - Water pump takes all day to get fixed, & I'm feeling grumpy with being sick. Can't wait to get to bed!
Dec 24 - Found out about Estrella Mountain Regional Park & head there. It was a great find! Stopped in at the info center, met some great hosts & bought a UV light to find scorpions with. The area has: 6 playgrounds for the kids to run around on; trails to hike; ramadas to get electricity, water & BBQ at; & activities to enjoy at the nature center. We go for a night walk (watching the trail for scorpions with the UV light, but there weren't any) up to the ampitheatre & back. It was a great day that completely made up for the previous one.
Dec 25 - Go for a hike on the trail up the hillside. Found some rainbow hedgehog cactus in fruit - they are quite tasty, like strawberries! That night I male some ground turkey chili & we eat it out at the ramada - with our computer hooked up to watch a DVD. So much for roughing it - LOL!
Dec 27 - Try another regional park after getting some help from the locals at the laundromat. Very friendly guy named Thomas helped us out a lot with navigating the area. We go to White Tank Mountains & though they are pricier than Estrella, they have a showering facility. When you go for a week without, you really appreciate them!
Dec 28 - Ben & I go on a bike ride - I'm happy that they have dirt trails that even I can manage at my level - otherwise known as total weenie - lol! Spent a good hour riding & grabbed another shower before we left. The biggest drawback to this park is its nasty cactus, jumping cholla, that's everywhere. It has hooks in it so the spines stay in you & if you don't want to pull it out with your other hand (pliers recommended). Everyone but Deborah & I got some stuck in them at some point, despite warnings to watch out for it. We head back to the park in Estrella to stay tonight.
Dec 29 - Junior ranger program for the kids today, plus snake feeding & animal tracking at the Nature Center. All the kids earn their badges & I get to warm up the rat in hot water for the gopher snake feeding. Glad I'm not squeamish about that sort of thing. It starts to rain so I take Nathan back to the RV, the others get soaked looking for animal tracks & scat (though it's not successful with the rain coming down). We snuggle up inside the RV for the rest of the day.
Dec 30 - Rained all night & early in the morning, so the kids missed out on the horse handling lesson. It did clear up for the treasure hunt, but it was rather cold & windy, so only our family & one other little boy with his Mom participated in it. Still, it was a lot of fun, & as a bonus, we had free hot chocolate after.
Dec 31 - Still at Estrella (what can I say, we love this place!) and we go to a gold panning & metal detecting demonstration. This was really quite fun, & we are convinced that we really need to get a membership in the GPAA, so we can go prospecting all around Canada & the US as a family for fun next year. We decide to find another park to stay at, but end up lost, even with the GPS, and end up bunking down at a Walmart for the night.
Jan 1 - Hard to believe we are starting a New Year in a different country than our home & native land. We get some info on the local tourist attractions & head to Goldfield Ghost Town. What a blast - literally, as they had actors stage an old west gunfight every hour & a steam whistle announcing the start of each mine shaft tour. Besides that, we visited the venomous reptile museum, went on a train ride, panned for gold & garnets and generally enjoyed ourselves. We think this was a great way to start off the New Year & hope you are having a wonderful time too!
Dec 6 - Tried to find the first library we found in Abuquerque. After many failed attempts, went back to the Petroglyph Monument so the boys could burn off their extra energy, while the girls & I stayed behind to have some quiet time away from them. After we found out that the library was in Alamos, so we headed there for the day - then shopping at Walmart & sleeping in their parking lot for the night.
Dec 7 - Found a swimming pool to go to (West Mesa), but it only opens up to the public after 6 pm. Figured this was a good time to visit the Rio Grand Zoo. It was a day well spent! Lots of exhibits to see, even in the off season. The timing was especially good for us, as there was hardly any other visitors there, making it easy to keep track of our rambunctious boys.
At one point Nathan not too far ahead of us & managed to climb into one of the enclosures - thank God it was just the tortoise pen & Dan was able to get him out quickly! A good time was had by all & lots of photos were taken.
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| Our lil' monkeys checking out the chimp |
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| Apparently Rachel is not so fond of snakes |
Dec 9 - Left Albuquerque & headed to Elephant Butte State Park. Spent a little bit of time there before heading into Truth or Consequences. Yes, that is the actual name of the town - it named itself after a radio game show of the same name in the 50‘s in order to win a contest.
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| Now that's an (Elephant) beaut of a pic! |
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| I think Deborah captured an interestin silhouette of us here. |
Dec 13 - Tried another fishing hole closer to the beach. The boys had a lot of messy fun there:
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| Mucking about a little bit... |
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| ...and mucking about a lot. |
Dec 17 - Last few days were just s[ent taking it easy & getting everybody recovered from the flu. We are ready to hit the road again, and based on a forest ranger's description of the road to silver City being "not too mountainous", we head up to the Gila National Forest. Turns out the ranger didn't have a clue what she was talking about - it was very curvy & stomach turning (at least for me) in our RV. The Gila Forest itself is very beautiful - it is nice to see old growth trees again, but I would not like to take that route again unless it is in a small car. We opt to not stay long in Silver City, but to head for the Arizona border instead. However, our vehicle breaks down & we need to exit the highway immediately. Thankfully there is a safe place for us to pull into just off the exit for us to sleep for the night.
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| Mountain creek in Gila National Forest |
While waiting for the mechanic, the kids & I get a tour of the Stein Railroad Ghost Town right next to us by Melissa, whose family has lived in the area since her pioneer great grandparents came there & now own the property. The ghost town is officially closed to the public due to problems that they had with visitors who would loot & vandalize the place, but they make exceptions for school groups, home educators & others seriously interested in the area's history. We learned a lot about the outlaws that came through the town, pioneer life & the interesting facts about many species of cactus. We especially liked learning about all the edible cactus fruits available, like the barrel, pincushion & hedgehog varieties. We thank our host & head to Eloy, AZ.
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| Stein Railroad Ghost Town Mercantile |
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| Barrel cactus fruit - tastes like green bell peppers |
Dec 20 - Do a bit of checking out the town of Quartzite, but not much going on - the real events start in January & aside from rock hounding, not much else goes on. Rachel found some bamboo coral beads that she like & Ben got a good deal on a used metal detector. We hit the BLM land & boondock for the night.
Dec 21 - The kids catch up on some school & try out the metal detector. Then it starts to rain, rain, rain. Good to know that our unit is water tight! But We read a local paper & things aren't looking good for us to stay there or head toward California just yet, so we decide to head back to Phoenix, where there are more things for the kids to do.
Dec 22 - The flu finally catches up with me & the water pump for the engine is going. We make an appointment with Pepboys to get it fixed the next morning.
Dec 23 - Water pump takes all day to get fixed, & I'm feeling grumpy with being sick. Can't wait to get to bed!
Dec 24 - Found out about Estrella Mountain Regional Park & head there. It was a great find! Stopped in at the info center, met some great hosts & bought a UV light to find scorpions with. The area has: 6 playgrounds for the kids to run around on; trails to hike; ramadas to get electricity, water & BBQ at; & activities to enjoy at the nature center. We go for a night walk (watching the trail for scorpions with the UV light, but there weren't any) up to the ampitheatre & back. It was a great day that completely made up for the previous one.
Dec 25 - Go for a hike on the trail up the hillside. Found some rainbow hedgehog cactus in fruit - they are quite tasty, like strawberries! That night I male some ground turkey chili & we eat it out at the ramada - with our computer hooked up to watch a DVD. So much for roughing it - LOL!
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| The fruit looks like little chili peppers, but these hedgehog cactus treats are sweet :) |
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| View of the park up on Estrella Mountain |
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| Computer addiction is a hard habit to break. |
Dec 28 - Ben & I go on a bike ride - I'm happy that they have dirt trails that even I can manage at my level - otherwise known as total weenie - lol! Spent a good hour riding & grabbed another shower before we left. The biggest drawback to this park is its nasty cactus, jumping cholla, that's everywhere. It has hooks in it so the spines stay in you & if you don't want to pull it out with your other hand (pliers recommended). Everyone but Deborah & I got some stuck in them at some point, despite warnings to watch out for it. We head back to the park in Estrella to stay tonight.
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| Jumping Cholla - don't know how Dan managed to not get stuck with this particular one, but he did get plenty of others in him |
Dec 30 - Rained all night & early in the morning, so the kids missed out on the horse handling lesson. It did clear up for the treasure hunt, but it was rather cold & windy, so only our family & one other little boy with his Mom participated in it. Still, it was a lot of fun, & as a bonus, we had free hot chocolate after.
Dec 31 - Still at Estrella (what can I say, we love this place!) and we go to a gold panning & metal detecting demonstration. This was really quite fun, & we are convinced that we really need to get a membership in the GPAA, so we can go prospecting all around Canada & the US as a family for fun next year. We decide to find another park to stay at, but end up lost, even with the GPS, and end up bunking down at a Walmart for the night.
Jan 1 - Hard to believe we are starting a New Year in a different country than our home & native land. We get some info on the local tourist attractions & head to Goldfield Ghost Town. What a blast - literally, as they had actors stage an old west gunfight every hour & a steam whistle announcing the start of each mine shaft tour. Besides that, we visited the venomous reptile museum, went on a train ride, panned for gold & garnets and generally enjoyed ourselves. We think this was a great way to start off the New Year & hope you are having a wonderful time too!
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| The actors don't just work here - they live right in this town too! |
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| Superstition Mountains behind the town |
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Deborah's Post - Coronado State Park
Because our blog is also a home school project, it's time for me to hand the reins over to the kids. Here's Deborah's entry & pictures for Dec 5:
Today we went to another National Park. This time Joel tried to win a badge too. We met this teacher, named Danielle, she was a teacher for 35 years. she made her own house of adobe and told us of a really neat zoo and art museum. she also told us a lot about the Pueblos people and yucca. Yucca roots can also be used as soap for your hair - it makes it really soft.
We even got to go in the Kiva. The Kiva was used for ceremonial worship for the native men. The women only went in there to give food to the men and their sons. Later on we got to see the Festival of Lights. It was really pretty to see it turning dark and all the lights lit up.
At the Visitor Centre we met this funny ranger who gave Rachel some answers to he Junior Ranger Guide, like saying the answer rhymed with adobe, then whispered the answer in her ear. He also taught us the junior ranger's secret handshake. Mom & I are hoping to go back there sometime.
Today we went to another National Park. This time Joel tried to win a badge too. We met this teacher, named Danielle, she was a teacher for 35 years. she made her own house of adobe and told us of a really neat zoo and art museum. she also told us a lot about the Pueblos people and yucca. Yucca roots can also be used as soap for your hair - it makes it really soft.
We even got to go in the Kiva. The Kiva was used for ceremonial worship for the native men. The women only went in there to give food to the men and their sons. Later on we got to see the Festival of Lights. It was really pretty to see it turning dark and all the lights lit up.
At the Visitor Centre we met this funny ranger who gave Rachel some answers to he Junior Ranger Guide, like saying the answer rhymed with adobe, then whispered the answer in her ear. He also taught us the junior ranger's secret handshake. Mom & I are hoping to go back there sometime.
...and ended up in Elephant Butte
Nov 30 - ... so after waking up in Pecos, we headed to the nearest automotive repair shop, Sam's Auto Body. The owner, Sam Whittington, took care of the problem for us, then showed us around his place. He took special pride in his pontoon, telling us about fishing on Val Kilmer's property (he even had one of Kilmer's quads in his shop for repairs), and asking if he could keep Ben around to go hunting. On his advice, we got some breakfast at Rivera's, where his daughter works, and went to see the Pueblo ruins at Pecos National Park:
It was very cold with the wind, so we didn't stay very long outside. We went back to the museum & looked at the artifacts while the oldest 3 kids completed a workbook to receive a Junior Park Ranger pin. Afterwards, we hit the I-25 (aka as the Santa Fe Trail on the section we were on). Most of the housing in Santa Fe has some form of adobe feature on it, or is completely finished in adobe - really quite lovely.
Dec 1 - Really only stayed in Santa Fe long enough to go to the library & catch up on emails, then we were off to Albuquerque.
Dec 2 - Our headlights had gone off again, so we went to repair shop that could diagnose the root of the problem, which was a burn out switch. while it was being replaced, we walked to the Petroglyph Monument National Park, where the kids earned another junior park ranger badge & pin.
Dec 3 - found a good library in the Alamosa county of Albuquerque that I used to make the last post - there was a skate/bmx park nearby, so we didn't see too much of Ben all day ;)
Dec 4 - on the way to look for a bicycle shop, we brushed against a tree that was just about down & it popped off part of something on our roof (can't remember what it was, but nothing important & Dan was able to put it back on), as well as ripped it right out of the ground. this happened near an Emu farm, so the kids went over to take a look at them while the repair was being made. Later when shopping a rep for a fundraiser sold us a coupon book for discount meals at Denny's, so no supper for me to cook tonight :D
It was very cold with the wind, so we didn't stay very long outside. We went back to the museum & looked at the artifacts while the oldest 3 kids completed a workbook to receive a Junior Park Ranger pin. Afterwards, we hit the I-25 (aka as the Santa Fe Trail on the section we were on). Most of the housing in Santa Fe has some form of adobe feature on it, or is completely finished in adobe - really quite lovely.
Dec 1 - Really only stayed in Santa Fe long enough to go to the library & catch up on emails, then we were off to Albuquerque.
Dec 2 - Our headlights had gone off again, so we went to repair shop that could diagnose the root of the problem, which was a burn out switch. while it was being replaced, we walked to the Petroglyph Monument National Park, where the kids earned another junior park ranger badge & pin.
Dec 3 - found a good library in the Alamosa county of Albuquerque that I used to make the last post - there was a skate/bmx park nearby, so we didn't see too much of Ben all day ;)
Dec 4 - on the way to look for a bicycle shop, we brushed against a tree that was just about down & it popped off part of something on our roof (can't remember what it was, but nothing important & Dan was able to put it back on), as well as ripped it right out of the ground. this happened near an Emu farm, so the kids went over to take a look at them while the repair was being made. Later when shopping a rep for a fundraiser sold us a coupon book for discount meals at Denny's, so no supper for me to cook tonight :D
Friday, December 3, 2010
I think I missed that right turn in Albequerque...
...at least, that's what Bugs Bunny would have done. Don't know how he would miss it now, especially if he made use of a GPS :)
It is pleasantly cool out - like a mild autumn day on the prairies. The locals here find it cold, the coldest they've known for a long time. Let's send them to Southern Saskatchewan to compare - Bwahahaha!!! Seriously though, all the people that we've met here are very nice, so I really wouldn't want to torture them that way. Since I've got our personal computer in the library, I can finally show some photos.
Dan busting out of jail when things didn't go so well at the first attempt across the border
Cowboy statue greeting us in Plentywood, MT
Nov - 26 - Deborah is standing next to the propane tank of our RV when the valve shoots off & gas goes up in a big cloud. Dan isn't around & I'm not sure what to do, so being the "safety dog" that I am, I have Deborah call the fire department & track down Dan in the store he was in, while I keep the other children away from the vehicle.
The fire truck & Dan arrive at the same time, & I'm told that it was a good choice to be safe rather than sorry by the chief, but that it was just the safety valve that blew. Apparently the attendant at the gas station over filled the tanks. Still, they checked around the vehicle for any signs of leaking propane or carbon monoxide inside just to be sure, and then invited us to stop by the station so they could give the kids a tour (which we did). Too much excitement for the day, we drove on to Wyoming & bunk down near Guernsey for the night. It is extremely windy & I wonder if we might get knocked over while we sleep.
Nov 27- The wind is gone by morning & I feel surprisingly refreshed. It is starting to feel more like autumn outside. After looking at some points of interest on the maps at the rest stop, we decide that we have to check out some of them: Guernsey Reservoir, Oregon Trail Ruts, & Ft. Laramie.
A scenic, winding road brings us past a dam into serenity. The North Platte River is frozen over, there's a kiss of snow on the ground and the crisp air carries no voices of man or beast. We have this wondrous place all to ourselves, and it is heavenly.
The boys try to break the ice, literally, by throwing stones, only to have them skip along the surface. It sounds like rain on a tin roof, due to the great acoustics provided by the surrounding red-faced cliffs. We walk along the shoreline, picking over rocks, then side-stepping cacti as we climb the banks back to the road.
Guernsey Reservoir
Next stop, Oregon Trail Ruts. The road leading to the park is very rocky & uneven, which we would discover later to cause a flat tire on the way out. Despite that, it was the perfect place for the kids to burn off their pent up energy.Aside from the paved trail that climbs up the hillside, there are smaller footpaths that cover the area and the wagon ruts themselves to clamber over. Looking at the terrain that the settlers crosssed, I'm amazed that they succeeded in moving west at all - certainly no passenger car could travel that same route today.
Wagon Ruts along Oregon Trail
After getting our flat fixed, we went on to Fort Laramie. We came after 4pm & weren't sure that we'd be let in, but we had about an hour to look around. the site is very clean, well-maintained, and the staff are incredibly knowledgeable about the site's history - friendly too! We really enjoyed looking through the exhibits and old housing units on the grounds. I personally would have loved to camp out in their bookstore (as would Deborah) - so many interesting tomes on Native American history, the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express & more.
Nov 28 - made our way quickly through Colorado - it was difficult to get a reliable wifi And Dan just didn't like driving along I-25 through all the big cities. We did stop near Garden of the Gods for some photo opportunities and picked up a few trinkets for the kids.
Red rock formations at Garden of the Gods
Nov 29 - We stopped at Trinidad, just before the border to try to get wifi at the Carnegie library (my last post) but it turned out that connection really was painfully slow - it took nearly the whole hour to upload my post, then my time limit was up. :( Other than that, got to see everybody's posts wishing me well on my birthday. Awww - Thanks everyone :) Then had chocolate mousse cake for dessert that night - my favourite!
Then, our signal lights & headlights decided to fade in and out of working, so we quickly pulled off into the town of Pecos, NM for the night. To be continued......
It is pleasantly cool out - like a mild autumn day on the prairies. The locals here find it cold, the coldest they've known for a long time. Let's send them to Southern Saskatchewan to compare - Bwahahaha!!! Seriously though, all the people that we've met here are very nice, so I really wouldn't want to torture them that way. Since I've got our personal computer in the library, I can finally show some photos.
Nov - 26 - Deborah is standing next to the propane tank of our RV when the valve shoots off & gas goes up in a big cloud. Dan isn't around & I'm not sure what to do, so being the "safety dog" that I am, I have Deborah call the fire department & track down Dan in the store he was in, while I keep the other children away from the vehicle.
The fire truck & Dan arrive at the same time, & I'm told that it was a good choice to be safe rather than sorry by the chief, but that it was just the safety valve that blew. Apparently the attendant at the gas station over filled the tanks. Still, they checked around the vehicle for any signs of leaking propane or carbon monoxide inside just to be sure, and then invited us to stop by the station so they could give the kids a tour (which we did). Too much excitement for the day, we drove on to Wyoming & bunk down near Guernsey for the night. It is extremely windy & I wonder if we might get knocked over while we sleep.
Nov 27- The wind is gone by morning & I feel surprisingly refreshed. It is starting to feel more like autumn outside. After looking at some points of interest on the maps at the rest stop, we decide that we have to check out some of them: Guernsey Reservoir, Oregon Trail Ruts, & Ft. Laramie.
A scenic, winding road brings us past a dam into serenity. The North Platte River is frozen over, there's a kiss of snow on the ground and the crisp air carries no voices of man or beast. We have this wondrous place all to ourselves, and it is heavenly.
The boys try to break the ice, literally, by throwing stones, only to have them skip along the surface. It sounds like rain on a tin roof, due to the great acoustics provided by the surrounding red-faced cliffs. We walk along the shoreline, picking over rocks, then side-stepping cacti as we climb the banks back to the road.
Next stop, Oregon Trail Ruts. The road leading to the park is very rocky & uneven, which we would discover later to cause a flat tire on the way out. Despite that, it was the perfect place for the kids to burn off their pent up energy.Aside from the paved trail that climbs up the hillside, there are smaller footpaths that cover the area and the wagon ruts themselves to clamber over. Looking at the terrain that the settlers crosssed, I'm amazed that they succeeded in moving west at all - certainly no passenger car could travel that same route today.
Wagon Ruts along Oregon Trail
After getting our flat fixed, we went on to Fort Laramie. We came after 4pm & weren't sure that we'd be let in, but we had about an hour to look around. the site is very clean, well-maintained, and the staff are incredibly knowledgeable about the site's history - friendly too! We really enjoyed looking through the exhibits and old housing units on the grounds. I personally would have loved to camp out in their bookstore (as would Deborah) - so many interesting tomes on Native American history, the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express & more.
You can even quench your best friend's thirst out here at the Fort :)
Nov 28 - made our way quickly through Colorado - it was difficult to get a reliable wifi And Dan just didn't like driving along I-25 through all the big cities. We did stop near Garden of the Gods for some photo opportunities and picked up a few trinkets for the kids.
Nov 29 - We stopped at Trinidad, just before the border to try to get wifi at the Carnegie library (my last post) but it turned out that connection really was painfully slow - it took nearly the whole hour to upload my post, then my time limit was up. :( Other than that, got to see everybody's posts wishing me well on my birthday. Awww - Thanks everyone :) Then had chocolate mousse cake for dessert that night - my favourite!
Then, our signal lights & headlights decided to fade in and out of working, so we quickly pulled off into the town of Pecos, NM for the night. To be continued......
Monday, November 29, 2010
Catching up in Trinidad, Colorado
It has been a bit difficult to get to wifi along our route, either because the wifi signals haven't been very strong, or have been so painfully slow that it made posting very frustrating. Here at the Carngie Library, it is still slow (just shy of painful) so I finally have the time to catch up on the blog.
Here's a run down of the past week:
Nov 23 - stopped at the border and not allowed to cross - the US border patrol really don't like you coming down to "wing it" for vacationing - they want addresses, names & numbers to reach you at. Oh yeah, they also want to know how much money you have in your bank account, your income tax return, your house taxes, your utility bills, your credit cards & sign over your first born child (ok, I'm just kidding about the last one, but they do require all the rest). We are told that if we come back with that info, they will let us through, so back to Regina we go to use the library to print off the info & stay the night there. We go to the swimming pool that night too, so we are in good spirits.
Nov 24 - they let us through with the info we provide - Hurray!!! The roads are amazingly clear, as if a switch turned the snow off as soon as we crossed the border. I find out the hard way the need to be careful when walking from the kitchen to my seat while the vehicle is moving. Ouch! Must watch that top corner.
Nov 25 - Spent the night in Miles City, MT. Our table had been on the verge of breaking when we bought it & finally gave. The contact cement Dan used to fix it was terrible, it was supposed to dry in 5 minutes, but kept running. despite efforts to keep it out of the way, all the kids managed to put their hands into the wet glue at least twice before the table was fixed. It works quite well now. It is Thanksgiving & we "cheat" (as the grocery clerk put it) by buying a tub of popcorn chicken, popcorn shrimp & wedge fries for dinner - but there is cranberry sauce, so we think this is ok :)
Here's a run down of the past week:
Nov 23 - stopped at the border and not allowed to cross - the US border patrol really don't like you coming down to "wing it" for vacationing - they want addresses, names & numbers to reach you at. Oh yeah, they also want to know how much money you have in your bank account, your income tax return, your house taxes, your utility bills, your credit cards & sign over your first born child (ok, I'm just kidding about the last one, but they do require all the rest). We are told that if we come back with that info, they will let us through, so back to Regina we go to use the library to print off the info & stay the night there. We go to the swimming pool that night too, so we are in good spirits.
Nov 24 - they let us through with the info we provide - Hurray!!! The roads are amazingly clear, as if a switch turned the snow off as soon as we crossed the border. I find out the hard way the need to be careful when walking from the kitchen to my seat while the vehicle is moving. Ouch! Must watch that top corner.
Nov 25 - Spent the night in Miles City, MT. Our table had been on the verge of breaking when we bought it & finally gave. The contact cement Dan used to fix it was terrible, it was supposed to dry in 5 minutes, but kept running. despite efforts to keep it out of the way, all the kids managed to put their hands into the wet glue at least twice before the table was fixed. It works quite well now. It is Thanksgiving & we "cheat" (as the grocery clerk put it) by buying a tub of popcorn chicken, popcorn shrimp & wedge fries for dinner - but there is cranberry sauce, so we think this is ok :)
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Night Before Leaving...
...and all through the house,
the only one stirring was myself (where's my spouse?)
Ah yes, he was sleeping in bed with no care,
while I fret & worry about our trip there!
Ok - night time has a way of opening up some poetic weirdness for me. Everything in our house is in order - other than a huge batch of receipt scanning I want to get done so it's all ready for filing the income taxes when we return. Then early this morning - uh, make that later this morning - I just need to hop over to the bank to get a bit of US funds, cancel our internet at home for the season, pack the last of the food & toiletries, do a head count (very important when you've got 6 children) and away we go!
We couldn't get any chains in Swift Current for the RV (everybody local has to put them on order), so we will head into Regina first to get some, then top up the propane & head south towards New Mexico. Hopefully we won't have any trouble getting through the US border - that would really put a damper on things. Praying that the
Not sure how well things will go with getting wifi access, though we plan on trying to update at least once a week. Until then, happy trails ahead :)
the only one stirring was myself (where's my spouse?)
Ah yes, he was sleeping in bed with no care,
while I fret & worry about our trip there!
Ok - night time has a way of opening up some poetic weirdness for me. Everything in our house is in order - other than a huge batch of receipt scanning I want to get done so it's all ready for filing the income taxes when we return. Then early this morning - uh, make that later this morning - I just need to hop over to the bank to get a bit of US funds, cancel our internet at home for the season, pack the last of the food & toiletries, do a head count (very important when you've got 6 children) and away we go!
We couldn't get any chains in Swift Current for the RV (everybody local has to put them on order), so we will head into Regina first to get some, then top up the propane & head south towards New Mexico. Hopefully we won't have any trouble getting through the US border - that would really put a damper on things. Praying that the
Not sure how well things will go with getting wifi access, though we plan on trying to update at least once a week. Until then, happy trails ahead :)
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Tick, Tick, Tick
The clock is ticking and there's so much to do! I'm sure that I'm going to forget something important - that's what I keep telling myself. I've got the passports & birth certificates ready & packed. Have the extra insurance on the RV done. Benjamin, Zachary & Joel are packed, Nathan is half packed. The girls, Dan & I are next in line.
I've gotten all the spring booking order checks written up & sent off to suppliers for the bike shop. Dan is contacting Canadian Tire & Worker's Comp for funds that they owe him for parts & labor, as well as any other customer who's account isn't current.
We're waiting to hear back from the Watershed Authority for a brochure order that they need to approve so that we can get them printed before we go. I just printed off 30 menus for the local restaurant, 5 months of calendar blanks for the craft shop, and two other clients want Ben to make them business cards before we go. We are suddenly so wanted for printing projects!
So much to do, so little time....
I've gotten all the spring booking order checks written up & sent off to suppliers for the bike shop. Dan is contacting Canadian Tire & Worker's Comp for funds that they owe him for parts & labor, as well as any other customer who's account isn't current.
We're waiting to hear back from the Watershed Authority for a brochure order that they need to approve so that we can get them printed before we go. I just printed off 30 menus for the local restaurant, 5 months of calendar blanks for the craft shop, and two other clients want Ben to make them business cards before we go. We are suddenly so wanted for printing projects!
So much to do, so little time....
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The Countdown Begins
We have an unofficial departure date on November 22th, and the plan was originally to head west to Vancouver to visit my MIL & brother, then hop over to Salt Spring island to see my college buddy Jane, then possibly hop onto Vancouver Island to see many more friends & my folks.
That plan looks like it is going to change though, as a severe storm front that has hit Western Canada & Montana. We'll just have to wait it out & see whether it is safer to head south first or keep to our current plan. Until then, the countdown begins and I've got to get back to organizing this house before we go.
Today I have to get a set of keys cut (accidentally threw my spares into the town's paper recycling bin - don't ask), return everybody's library books & dvds, call the utilities, & clean, clean, clean! My oldest 3 are in town with Dan, helping him with the inventory count at our store. Hope that Dan remembers to get the oil change done. Hmmmm, I think I better phone to make sure!
That plan looks like it is going to change though, as a severe storm front that has hit Western Canada & Montana. We'll just have to wait it out & see whether it is safer to head south first or keep to our current plan. Until then, the countdown begins and I've got to get back to organizing this house before we go.
Today I have to get a set of keys cut (accidentally threw my spares into the town's paper recycling bin - don't ask), return everybody's library books & dvds, call the utilities, & clean, clean, clean! My oldest 3 are in town with Dan, helping him with the inventory count at our store. Hope that Dan remembers to get the oil change done. Hmmmm, I think I better phone to make sure!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
The Unofficial Beginning
We'd bean hoping for this moment for years - dreaming really - that we would one day be the owners of our own RV.
I think it really all started back when Dan & I only had 2 children, Deborah & Ben, and were in the position to finally get out of apartment living and buy our own home. We had gone on walks through the Fort Victoria RV Park that was near my parent's place, and had often oohed and ahhhd at the beautiful motorhomes that were there. We talked about how we "hadn't done things right" by buying into the common mentality that you move out from home into an apartment, then save up for many years until you buy a house, only to be bogged down with a mortgage for the rest of your life.
The very idea of being tied down to one location seemed the anti-thesis of who we were - we loved to travel & meet new people! How was it that we missed this better ideal - to live full time in a home that you can take with you just about anywhere you wanted to go? So we started looking seriously at the different models that were available, scouting out ads in the classifieds and making numerous trips to RV dealerships. We were very close to settling on a Prowler 5th wheel with 2 sets of bunks in the back and a queen bed in the front, when I found out I was pregnant again.
That got all our close friends & family "concerned" because I had a history of problematic pregnancies and guilt placed on us that it was going to be too difficult to raise our children in an environment like that. And so we were talked into getting something more "stable", such as a mobile home (a poor name for a wood & plaster box that doesn't go anywhere!) Rachel was born a couple of months after we settled in to our home in Sooke. We had only owned that house for a year when Dan was bit by the traveling bug again and had us move to California.
I was really quite upset about this upcoming move for the first few months. This wasn't just going for a local mystery tour or a vacation to head back home again from. It was more like leaving my heart behind - my family and friends and everything I knew was going to be so far away from me - and for all I knew, it might end up as our permanent residence. Needless to say, I was pretty grumpy and miserable - oh yeah, and pregnant with child #4 too!
Dan had to make sure everything was in place for us to have health insurance cover the cost of having a baby in the US (the delivery would have cost us $30,000 if we didn't have coverage - and that's without complications!). His work visa was in order and our apartment was supposedly ready for us, so we left in December for sunny St. Helena.
It wasn't a good start when we showed up with all our family at the apartment with all our goods in the moving van, only to be told that the tenants that were supposed to be gone were still there and that they didn't have anything for us (despite the fact that they already took our first month's rent & damage deposit).Thankfully, some quick thinking on my part to write down the phone number of tenant's rights association suddenly inspired the landlady to accommodate us with a different suite.
All of us soon grew to love our St. Helena home, including me. But what's not to love? Warm weather in winter, beautiful coastal views, lots of fun activities for the kids, and on and on. Who knew that the fresh oranges we bought in Canada tasted so different from ones plucked straight from the tree? Bliss! My parents gave a surprise visit in January, and my Mom came again in April after Joel's birth. We had another terrific visit with them in fall and saw the San Francisco Zoo together. It felt as though we may have found paradise on earth.
It was too bad that the wonder of it all was not to last, as we hit tragedy after living there for just over a year. Dan had renewed his work visa with a different company, the owner of which often payed Dan with bad checks. Having a financial crises start due to our rent & bill payments bouncing was bad enough - then we got the news that my Mom's lung cancer was now untreatable - that I needed to get there as soon as possible to say good-bye. Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time - she passed away while we were halfway on our drive there.
Even though I determined to just go on living my life (kind of have to when children need to be looked after), I definitely felt the impact of losing my Mom. I would even say that I went into a depression, though I think I hid it pretty well. Easy to do when the bad employer situation meant we had to start looking at moving back to Canada & all the stresses that entailed. That and by the time we found a place in Saskatchewan to call home, I was expecting baby #5 in a couple of months.
The move went well, I was happy to be back in Canada, even though I was still far from family and friends and everything went well with Zach's birth (though I got very sick just a few weeks before, probably from all the pent up stress from the previous year). We settled in fairly well, but after a couple of years of -40ºC, the whole family began itching for a change in scenery.
The financial difficulties that we had accumulated in our last few months in California had compounded here in SK, simply because all the kinds of work Dan knows how to do are not in demand in this area. Seemed like a great time to open up a bike shop - lol! :) I think we were very scared of this decision at first (ok, I was terrified, but then, I'm the worry-wart around here), but it turned out to be the best thing Dan could have done. It was like igniting that fire to be adventurous once again.
The first year of business was over, we hadn't ended in bankruptcy, and our sixth child Nathan had been added to the family. We started talking about how it would be so nice to get away for the winter (did I mention that I really hate -40 weather?) Perhaps if we could scrape together just enough money we could get an RV and go back down to California for 4 months and not be cooped up with everybody in the miserable cold. It was a lovely, lovely dream!
We carefully weighed out the costs of living in our house with all the bills associated with it and life in an RV - oddly, they are pretty close to the same. So when the question came up of "Do we stay here & freeze, & not see Grandma Dianne (who's health has not been great), or do we go see as many family & friends as we can & enjoy a warm winter?" it was no contest! Soon we were searching furiously on the internet - Craigslist, Kijiji, Ebay & RV sales sites.
One thing we decided early on was that we didn't want all of our money to be thrown away on poor gas mileage. The Class C style caught our attention - I liked it for safety reasons, Dan favoured it for fuel economy. After a bit more research, Dan felt that a Toyota chassis would fit the bill, as they typically get 16-24 mpg. But they are hard to come by in good condition, if at all, in Canada. Our other alternative was to find a motorhome that ran on propane. These motorhomes are easier to find, though gas stations that sell propane are hard to find.
This past week we narrowed our choices down to just a handful to look at; after phoning the owners, it was narrowed down to just two: a 21" Toyota Oddyssey and a 21" Ford Vanguard. Both had pros and cons to them, but Dan felt that both were also asking more than they were really worth. As he was humming and hawing between the two, I found another RV available - and it was right here in Saskatchewan!
I phoned the number right away and had a good feeling about it when I talked to one of the owners on the phone. She told me so much detail, that you could tell that it was a cherished home, not just some junk they were trying to get rid of. Their only reason for selling it, I was told, was that they had the opportunity to buy their dream RV - one with a queen bed in the back. Otherwise, if that opportunity had not come along, they would be using it for many years to come.
Dan made an appointment to go see it yesterday and was blown away by just how great the condition of it was. So we are now the proud owners of a propane powered 23' Ford Scamper! :) :) :)
I think it really all started back when Dan & I only had 2 children, Deborah & Ben, and were in the position to finally get out of apartment living and buy our own home. We had gone on walks through the Fort Victoria RV Park that was near my parent's place, and had often oohed and ahhhd at the beautiful motorhomes that were there. We talked about how we "hadn't done things right" by buying into the common mentality that you move out from home into an apartment, then save up for many years until you buy a house, only to be bogged down with a mortgage for the rest of your life.
The very idea of being tied down to one location seemed the anti-thesis of who we were - we loved to travel & meet new people! How was it that we missed this better ideal - to live full time in a home that you can take with you just about anywhere you wanted to go? So we started looking seriously at the different models that were available, scouting out ads in the classifieds and making numerous trips to RV dealerships. We were very close to settling on a Prowler 5th wheel with 2 sets of bunks in the back and a queen bed in the front, when I found out I was pregnant again.
That got all our close friends & family "concerned" because I had a history of problematic pregnancies and guilt placed on us that it was going to be too difficult to raise our children in an environment like that. And so we were talked into getting something more "stable", such as a mobile home (a poor name for a wood & plaster box that doesn't go anywhere!) Rachel was born a couple of months after we settled in to our home in Sooke. We had only owned that house for a year when Dan was bit by the traveling bug again and had us move to California.
I was really quite upset about this upcoming move for the first few months. This wasn't just going for a local mystery tour or a vacation to head back home again from. It was more like leaving my heart behind - my family and friends and everything I knew was going to be so far away from me - and for all I knew, it might end up as our permanent residence. Needless to say, I was pretty grumpy and miserable - oh yeah, and pregnant with child #4 too!
Dan had to make sure everything was in place for us to have health insurance cover the cost of having a baby in the US (the delivery would have cost us $30,000 if we didn't have coverage - and that's without complications!). His work visa was in order and our apartment was supposedly ready for us, so we left in December for sunny St. Helena.
It wasn't a good start when we showed up with all our family at the apartment with all our goods in the moving van, only to be told that the tenants that were supposed to be gone were still there and that they didn't have anything for us (despite the fact that they already took our first month's rent & damage deposit).Thankfully, some quick thinking on my part to write down the phone number of tenant's rights association suddenly inspired the landlady to accommodate us with a different suite.
All of us soon grew to love our St. Helena home, including me. But what's not to love? Warm weather in winter, beautiful coastal views, lots of fun activities for the kids, and on and on. Who knew that the fresh oranges we bought in Canada tasted so different from ones plucked straight from the tree? Bliss! My parents gave a surprise visit in January, and my Mom came again in April after Joel's birth. We had another terrific visit with them in fall and saw the San Francisco Zoo together. It felt as though we may have found paradise on earth.
It was too bad that the wonder of it all was not to last, as we hit tragedy after living there for just over a year. Dan had renewed his work visa with a different company, the owner of which often payed Dan with bad checks. Having a financial crises start due to our rent & bill payments bouncing was bad enough - then we got the news that my Mom's lung cancer was now untreatable - that I needed to get there as soon as possible to say good-bye. Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time - she passed away while we were halfway on our drive there.
Even though I determined to just go on living my life (kind of have to when children need to be looked after), I definitely felt the impact of losing my Mom. I would even say that I went into a depression, though I think I hid it pretty well. Easy to do when the bad employer situation meant we had to start looking at moving back to Canada & all the stresses that entailed. That and by the time we found a place in Saskatchewan to call home, I was expecting baby #5 in a couple of months.
The move went well, I was happy to be back in Canada, even though I was still far from family and friends and everything went well with Zach's birth (though I got very sick just a few weeks before, probably from all the pent up stress from the previous year). We settled in fairly well, but after a couple of years of -40ºC, the whole family began itching for a change in scenery.
The financial difficulties that we had accumulated in our last few months in California had compounded here in SK, simply because all the kinds of work Dan knows how to do are not in demand in this area. Seemed like a great time to open up a bike shop - lol! :) I think we were very scared of this decision at first (ok, I was terrified, but then, I'm the worry-wart around here), but it turned out to be the best thing Dan could have done. It was like igniting that fire to be adventurous once again.
The first year of business was over, we hadn't ended in bankruptcy, and our sixth child Nathan had been added to the family. We started talking about how it would be so nice to get away for the winter (did I mention that I really hate -40 weather?) Perhaps if we could scrape together just enough money we could get an RV and go back down to California for 4 months and not be cooped up with everybody in the miserable cold. It was a lovely, lovely dream!
We carefully weighed out the costs of living in our house with all the bills associated with it and life in an RV - oddly, they are pretty close to the same. So when the question came up of "Do we stay here & freeze, & not see Grandma Dianne (who's health has not been great), or do we go see as many family & friends as we can & enjoy a warm winter?" it was no contest! Soon we were searching furiously on the internet - Craigslist, Kijiji, Ebay & RV sales sites.
One thing we decided early on was that we didn't want all of our money to be thrown away on poor gas mileage. The Class C style caught our attention - I liked it for safety reasons, Dan favoured it for fuel economy. After a bit more research, Dan felt that a Toyota chassis would fit the bill, as they typically get 16-24 mpg. But they are hard to come by in good condition, if at all, in Canada. Our other alternative was to find a motorhome that ran on propane. These motorhomes are easier to find, though gas stations that sell propane are hard to find.
This past week we narrowed our choices down to just a handful to look at; after phoning the owners, it was narrowed down to just two: a 21" Toyota Oddyssey and a 21" Ford Vanguard. Both had pros and cons to them, but Dan felt that both were also asking more than they were really worth. As he was humming and hawing between the two, I found another RV available - and it was right here in Saskatchewan!
I phoned the number right away and had a good feeling about it when I talked to one of the owners on the phone. She told me so much detail, that you could tell that it was a cherished home, not just some junk they were trying to get rid of. Their only reason for selling it, I was told, was that they had the opportunity to buy their dream RV - one with a queen bed in the back. Otherwise, if that opportunity had not come along, they would be using it for many years to come.
Dan made an appointment to go see it yesterday and was blown away by just how great the condition of it was. So we are now the proud owners of a propane powered 23' Ford Scamper! :) :) :)
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