3:10 to Yuma

Haha. Really the Dodge to Yuma but what the hell.
On Tuesday after our visit with Karen and all we headed to Fortuna Pond just north of Yuma. I hope you don’t get too tired of me saying this is one of our favorites, but… this is one of our favorites. It is relatively easy access if you’re in a Dodge (that’s for you Ken as you bump along). Seriously though the road is great but gets pretty washboard after the farm traffic daily. But it is watered and graded frequently, just take it slow. The reward is the opportunity to camp along the pond which is always a great find in desert boondocking.

Just as we were set up Ken and Brenda joined us. As they were setting up a jack on the front of their fifth wheel broke. The guys fenagled it and set the trailer up, and it was beer o clock. Ken was all set to tow it to a repair shop for replacement, but Don (or the RV repair guy as I like to think of him as) was determined Ken and him could do it. Turned out to be a few bolts and I’m sure Don saved them a few hours of labor costs. After a late pizza supper the day was at an end.
So, after determining the jack repair would be done, on Wednesday it was on the phone to find out where to buy one. We have been having trouble with the control panel on our fridge, so it was a perfect reason to make a trip to the RV shop. We found one that was quite knowledgeable about all the parts we needed and hence it was a successful trip to town!
Later in the day we went to Walter and Pat’s for dinner. Of course I picked the Golden Corral – what better place for a bunch of people who have different tastes. It was so great to see Walter and Pat again.
The next couple of days were pretty lazy. Brenda and I shopped on Thursday and then on Friday I had to work. I am so fortunate that I can conference call into my Co-op meetings, but this time due to the heat and my concern over phone connections I wanted to find somewhere more private. I called the Yuma Library and not only did they have a small room I could use – it was free. How often we forget the value of libraries in our communities.
Saturday was my long awaited dentist appointment. I have been going to the same clinic, Oasis Dental in Los Algodones, for four years. This year with a full set of X-rays my bill was an outrageous $35. LOL No need for a dental plan with that. Luckily for me my teeth continue to be healthy. I have a small pin point cavity but chose not to have the work done this year. But when I do it will be at that clinic.
To soothe my pain (not really) Brenda and I sought out some tacos and margaritas. We made friends at tables around us and visited with a few older couples, who I am sure found us or me quite entertaining, but soon it was time to take my flowers and go home.

Sunday was another bright and sunny day and we didn’t want to leave this area before checking out Kofa National Wildlife Refugee. Several bloggers have boondocked there and it is always handy to have a different boondocking spot in your pocket in case the favorite one is full. Kofa did not meet our expectations in that way, but I am glad we drove through and saw the scenery.

On our last day Don and I went to visit my cousin Peter Tomman. Peter and Marla live in Yuma for the winter, and although I was kind of aware of that we had never connected while in the area. We had such a good visit, toured their RV Park, reminisced about my mom, and talked about life in general. Another stop we will have to keep making!
And that my friends ends our time in Yuma!

Urban Time

Well we just spent the last week in and around Phoenix. Actually Casa Grande would be a better description. Our time started with an overnighter at Picacho Peak State Park. Yes we actually paid for a site! The cost for a dump and fill in the area hovered around $20 and the campsite was $30. So why not have power for one night? Sadly the only thing we did with that was charge all our devices, which we do anyway on solar, so really we gained nothing. Lost the solitude of boondocking…
There were several reasons or people behind our stop in this area. Ron and Bev who winter in Apache Junction, Don’s sister Karen and Darrell who were vacationing for a week, and Don’s cousin Carol an Richard. Also we hadn’t seen Don’s brother Ken and Brenda yet this year south, and they were at her mom’s literally around the corner from Carol’s.
Anyhow, as we were pulling in Ron texted us to see where we were and what we were doing, and before we knew it we were at Boston Pizza in Casa Grande, having supper with the Edmunds. What a great life right??
On Friday we moved from the state park to a county park that was “almost” free at $10 a night. (We ended up staying for 4 nights) West Pinal County Park is just minutes form Casa Grande and a good place to make our visits from.
We made plans for Friday to pick them up, do some shopping and eating and exploring. As always we had a great day together and ended the evening at the Hitching Post Saloon, where the food was great, the company outstanding, and the music and margaritas were on point.
On Saturday morning we slipped into Carol and Richard’s for coffee. Besides also seeing Karen and Darrell, Ken and Brenda came, and we had a great visit before they had to leave for a hockey game. We returned home and this time Ron and Bev joined us. We picked up a few grocery items then headed to the Dwarf Car Museum. This place is INCREDIBLE!! I am so glad we didn’t miss it. An older gentleman and some of his friends build these half size true working replicas of cars. We were able to see them from the pieces stage to fully road ready stage. The thing you need to understand is that these men hand make these cars from steel with heat, welders and a hammer; and try to keep them as realistic and close to the model as possible. Look it up and read about it, otherwise you just have my photos…

Now that’s not the end of this social season for us! On Sunday we all met again at Carol and Richard’s for a fantastic afternoon of visiting, beverages and of course an amazing supper! It was very generous of Carol to let us fill her house, and give us all a space to visit and share memories!
On Monday Don and I took a roadtrip to Why, AZ. Upon it’s conclusion I can’t say why, but I do know we may never go back. LOL  It is quite popular with boondockers, but I think they are a bit less social than we want to be. But you never know if you don’t visit, right?

Tuesday was our departure day but first we had Carol and Richard and Karen and Darrell for coffee. Finally it was time to say final goodbyes, as we had convinced them to visit the Dwarf Car Museum. I’m sure Karen and Darrell had a great holiday and maybe we will see them down here again next year.

We are headed to Fortuna Pond near Yuma where Ken and Brenda are joining us for a few days on our adventure. Take care!

Discovering Craggy Wash

Although this wasn’t a hard boondocking area to find as it is quite popular, marked clearly at the exit, talked about and raved about by many, listed on Campendium, etc. etc., it was our first time and we were so pleased. I have no idea how many sites are here as we did not make it to the end, but on the way to the site we selected there were 51 visible units. I say visible because there were many trails leading off to places unknown that we didn’t check out. And there are apparently miles more of road from where we left off. The cell service was amazing, which was no surprise considering the many mountain top cell towers around. I don’t know if I have told you this trip about our amazing solar. Not just for the quick and easy charging and the convenience of no longer pulling out the portable solar at every stop, but that I have toast for breakfast! That’s probably the only electrical luxury I miss. And yes I know I can make toast many other ways, but I happen to like electric toast.
Anyhow, in addition to being thrilled with this new to us boondocking location, we also enjoyed our time in Lake Havasu. From walking the boardwalk and stopping for lunch and a  (you really need to stop by the Blue Chair at London Bridge), to Target shopping, to actually hiking in SARA Park and Cattail Cove State Park, this stop has been wonderful.
We are headed to somewhere in the Phoenix area next so see you later.

February Part 3??

Well I did expect to finish February last time but I got lazy, so here is the end. LOL

We left the Baker area on Monday and headed to Telephone Cove on Lake Mohave. This is one of the all time prime boondocking sports for us. Close to Laughlin, Bullhead City and if you wish many other scenic areas, but the beauty of the site is the draw.

This will be our base for quite a while as I fly from Las Vegas to Saskatoon for the Co-op Conference and Don holds down the fort.

Our days were spent leisurely enjoying the space, and finding solace in the slow pace. We did have a fridge incident that took a bit of time, but we are old hands at deciphering issues and after two removals, all was well. We did have a time of panic where we purchased Styrofoam coolers for the food in case, but in the end they were not used that long. We have experienced this before, where ammonia crystals get caught in the orifice. If not for our wonderful RV "advisers" back home, Red Neck RV, we would not know the trick of pulling the fridge out (easier than it sounds), tipping upside down for approximately 20 minutes, then returning to its' righted position.

I must say that this is way better than a $2000 new fridge. We will keep doing that until it no longer works.

On Friday we headed into Vegas airport and I departed for Saskatoon. It was an interesting trip as I spent Friday through Monday in Saskatoon, then went to Edmonton to Lindsay's house on Monday. I was so thrilled to be able to fit in a short afternoon with my sister, and appreciated that she was accommodating with my schedule! Lindsay and Mason drove me to the ophthalmologist for my eye injection, we met Tracy for lunch, then back to the airport to head home to Don. I was a bit concerned about all the travelling with my eye but it was smooth sailing, or should I say flying:) I took a few Advil to counteract the irritation and just didn't do any reading.

The next day was finally time to relax. All my prep work and reading for the conference was over, and we could spend the day relaxing and visiting.

On Thursday it felt like time to move on. We had previously scouted an area by Lake Havasu City to boondock, Craggy Wash, so that is where we headed!

And that finishes February and starts March. I will try to stay motivated to write, it seems hard not to just post photos.

February Part 2

So the weather held up for us, and from what the forecast was telling, it was time to get out of Dodge. Our plan was to be gone on Tuesday but Monday seemed like the right time so off we went.
Typically we stay our first night in Idaho Falls, then to St. George where we de-winterize and start the warmer weather festivities. Two things were different than last year – one we did not hit ice and storms so made it to Idaho Galls and stayed in the trailer; two it was too cold in St. George so we continued to Mesquite.
Although I say we stayed in the trailer here is what greeted us in the morning!

There it was just warmer enough to accommodate staying in the trailer, an affordable RV wash, a great storage facility that had an amazing station to dump and fill and a casino that offered overnight parking and restaurant choices! We both agreed this is our new second stop.
After getting in the spring mode, we headed to Baker CA. Ivan was camped out and we decided to skip the city life and join him. It was a wonderful and serene stop.

Well we here we did make a visit to Las Vegas Outlet Malls and Costco, and a Costco trip to Victorville. We did do a bit of exploring and drove through the Mojave National Preserve. We couldn't seem to get away form this white stuff! I'm pretty sure it is not natural habitat for a cactus.

After a few days it was time to move on to another favorite - Telephone Cove near Laughlin.

Stay tuned!

February Part 1

The last week of January we spent an afternoon with Mason, celebrating his soon to be 5th birthday! He had a pretty solid idea of where he wanted to shop, but struggled a bit with what he would get. The chosen place for lunch was McDonalds, and the chosen place for a gift was Mastermind Toys. He did a great job of directing us to the store, and was expedient in selecting the Lego set. It seemed to me he shops by size. LOL  I gave him the money and he hosted the box on the counter, paid the lady, and proved he could carry that giant box to the truck on his own. Mission was accomplished and he declared he was ready to go home and build!
The actual February started at supper with Phil and Amanda at her house. She makes a mean veggie lasagna. Great start to the month.
Saturday was Mason’s birthday party, followed by a family supper. Emerson joined us as the rest of the family was engaged in Ringette and hockey activities. Emerson stayed over at our place and after brunch we took her home to face her weekend activities.
Of course a week can’t go by without medical appointments, and this week was no different, from a bone scan to yet another eye injection.
Next up on the birthday rounds was Emerson! She picked a visit to West Edmonton Mall and shopping for clothes. She is a pretty tactical shopper, and quite the price watcher, knowing that she could get more clothes if she bought less expensive ones. She did a great job and was loaded with bags. Just a couple of hours and she declared it was time to get home.
After we dropped her off we headed to the RV show, but again we found nothing to entice us form our current fifth wheel.
The week ended with Cal’s 40th birthday party at a community hall. It was great seeing him enjoy himself so much and seeing his friends all gather.
Because we are not yet tired enough, in addition to the usual hockey and ringette times, we also attended Emerson's Ukrainian Dance supper and show on Saturday night with Phil and Amanda and Ciara. She was astounding in her steps and performances. They practice for hours a week and it really shows.
The next week Don had a Dr. appointment and I essentially spent the week in Co-op meetings, with any spare time spent finishing any client projects I needed to wrap up.
Thursday was Connor’s long awaited birthday trip with us. He too picked McDonald’s for lunch, but spent a lot more time deciding where to shop for his gift. He had a Playmobile set in mind, and was very careful about his dollar allotment. After two stores he picked what he loved, and again, we headed home so he could begin the build.
On Friday night I attended the Family Dance at Connor’s school. It was so cute to see the kids dancing and playing with friends, and also to see the result of all of the hard work of the Fundraising Committee of which Lindsay plays a big part in.
Of course weekends bring ice times and this one Emerson had a tournament in Spruce Grove. It was also Emerson’s birthday on Saturday so between games they came to our place for a big birthday brunch.
On Saturday night we somehow found time to have a family supper – all of us! We met at Royal Pizza and once again shared birthday wishes with the February people!
I’m sorry we miss in person celebrating Jeremy and Connor, but Connor and I agreed I can Facetime him in the morning and sing Happy Birthday.
Our hope is to leave for the south on Monday, so you will know if we get away as planned soon.

Farewell January

So that’s over. Not necessarily thankfully because as I’ve said I never want to wish a day away, but it wasn’t the greatest weather, I was faced with my “eye” issue which I touched upon last post, and I was very busy with my Co-op world. None of those are really bad things in the big picture, and give a person something to do constantly, so that is the good side.
Our new year started with a fantastic day at the Stecyk cabin, snowmobiling and sliding. I even put skates on for a short time.
We had to laugh at ourselves a bit because between the 2 of us we sure have had a lot of medical appointments. I had a CT scan and an ultrasound due to my eye, as well as another injection day, and then a Dr. appointment again so she could review everything and be comfortable with things. We have met enough people on our travels through the states to appreciate our amazing health system, and hence I will not complain about having a Dr. that worries about me and sends me to what feels like an overabundance of testing, but…
As for Don he had his annual checkups with the cardiologist and regular Dr., and he passed with flying colors. He takes very good care of his diet and exercise and is a rock star heart attack recovery patient! Sadly though he broke a tooth which led to several dentist appointments, dental surgery, and a crown. Although I offer glowing reports on our medical system, dentistry, in my opinion, is a necessary evil that costs far too much. We opted out of having a dental plan added to our medical, and although at this time it would have covered some costs, the annual premiums still don’t balance out for us. But why can I have my teeth cleaned in Los Algadones for $25 US and in Canada it is $488?? Anyway…
We had a great visit one weekend with our friends Jim and Janice. We see each other very rarely but when we do it’s wonderful and full of laughs and reminiscing. Who knows maybe one day Jim will retire and our meet ups will be in a warmer climate. And one Saturday evening I went to a fundraiser cabaret with my friend Amanda. We had a blast supporting the Children’s Make a Wish Foundation, and of course sharing a beverage or two:)
I spoke of lots of Co-op meetings – nine this month! But the product of those was a successful hiring of a new CEO. This is exciting times for us as a Board, and a monumental move forward, well worth every meeting held. I truly treat my Directorship as a job, and respect it as such.
We made a trip to Saskatchewan to celebrate Don’s mom’s 90th Birthday! As many of the family that could attend did. Several grandchildren and great grandchildren were there as well, and I know mom enjoyed her visits.
January concluded with Don curling in a bonspiel, which he has not done for a few years. They started out losing a couple pf games and ended up wining the C division and playing far more games than expected, They made their entry fee plus back, and a fabulous Sawmill gift certificate.
Of course in between all that we went to several hockey games, ringette games, one swimming day, and a lot of coffees and dinners with friends and family.
Not a lot of pictures worthy of our blog, but here is our beautiful mother!