November 22, 2010

The end of our latest journey came to an end on November the 18th when we arrived back in Grand Rapids at the Woodchip Campground... right on schedule for Sydney's 1st birthday on Nov 20th.  Couldn't miss that!  I will post a video of the party later this week on FB but here is a sample of her party... it was a wild one!

Our stay in Arlington was great as we were once again able to renew some old acquaintances while being fed by some pretty great cooks!  We will be back in spite of a couple of people sharing the flu (11 of 15 people got sick)... sigh.

On the 13th we headed to our good friends Phil, Kathleen and Leslie Hunter in van Alstyne TX where we spent a couple days in their driveway.  In spite of them  having 4 cats, I was able to spend a significant time indoors with them playing games and eating... yes Kathleen is another one of those great cooks!  Phil also does a mean job of cleaning up the dishes - ha.

Monday morning arrived and we had to head north so we could make it back in time for Sydney's birthday but first we had to find some good friends, Tom & Kathy Marlatt, in Sulphur OK.  The GPS is great as we were able to find them and they had lots of room on their front lawn for our rig... see picture below.

We also enjoyed some great BBQ at Smokey Joe's and then went back to Marlatt's where we played Mexican Train and some other game called BO BO or something like that... it is not a favorite of mine but Arda sure enjoyed playing this with her sister Yvonne when we were in Holland this fall.  After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, we headed north once again.

This time it was direct to GR with over-night stays at Wally-Mart... Who says the scenery isn't beautiful as Arda took this picture of a sunset in Marshfield MO.

As we traveled north, we had beautiful, sunny weather so the drive went quickly with us arriving back in GR 101 days, 9482.5 miles and 901.0 gallons of diesel fuel.  I didn't count the number of boxes of wine Arda drank but it was more than 1...yuk, yuk.

Well this is the end of this Tally... we head south to TX & AZ in Jan and I may start this again but we will see.  I'll post it on FB if I do.  In the meantime,

Keep your loops open!

November 10, 2010

Nothing much to report.  We are still here in Arlington TX enjoying 70 degree weather.  We had a great time at the Buchanan's where they hosted a pot-luck lunch.  The food was plentiful (too plentiful for my weak will-power) and just excellent.  On the downside, as of today 11 out of 15 adults plus one child came down with the flu!  As Arda was one of the nine, we have been holed up in the trailer as she recuperates.  Not a fun thing but fortunately it is/was short-lived.


We also had dinner Sunday evening with our good friend Marguerite.  She served a mean meal!  It sure if fun to see friends again.


The only other significant happening is a sad one.  My "Vecta Marketing Hat" finally hit the dust and had to be retired.  This hat was given to me by my friends at Vecta when I left there in 1988.

It has been a faithful companion over the years and has seen many miles in front of and behind a few critters...

 It will always have a special place where-ever I am...


Until next time, keep your loops open!

November 4, 2010

We are back!  We arrived back from Holland a week ago although it seems as if we have never left the US.  We had a great time with family and friends... made lots of memories.  As usual we ate and drank too much but what the heck!  We especially enjoyed our 2 birthday dinners celebrating Yvonne's 50th birhtday.  Here are some pictures we took while there... Netherlands Fall - 2010

We also were able to visit with our friends, Marita and Horst in Germany.  It is hard to believe but we have known them for almost 20 years... time does fly.

After we arrived back in Phoenix, we spent Friday getting acclimatized to the time zone again.  Sid, made a great dinner for us that night so Arda didn't have to cook. 

Saturday we headed towards Texas to visit friends before we head north to GR.  We arrived in Arlington on the 1st and will leave her on the 13th.  We are going to stop at an old friends (and I mean old) in north Texas on the way back to GR.

That's about it.  Nothing exciting except seeing friends and enjoying some good old southern cooking again.

So until next time, keep your loops open!

October 11, 2010

This will come as a surprise to everyone… we’ve moved on down the road.  Yes we woke up and there was no rain, thunderstorms or tornados so we decided it was a good time to head to Maricopa, AZ.  

After we packed up inside, it was time to do the outside and guess what?  We had a flat on the trailer.  We were lucky because it wasn’t entirely flat so we Googled Discount Tire and found one a few miles down the road.  We drove there and once again we were lucky… there was a nail in the middle of the tread which meant they could repair it.  I didn’t have to buy another tire.  They repaired it right away at NO CHARGE and we were on our way.  We have dealt with Discount Tire over the years and they have always performed admirably.

After getting the tire fixed we headed to Maricopa which was about a 3-hour, uneventful drive J.  Our good friends Dick and Sid Overturf were waiting for us with dinner all ready… Mexican Food – yeah!  As usual it was delicious. 

Dick and Sid rent a house with 3.3 acres for the winter.  Most lots in this area are 3.3 acres and set-up for horses.  In fact a many of the winter residents (snow-birds) are from Canada, especially Alberta.  Some of the snow-birds are ranchers in Alberta and other just like horses and they want to get out of the snow and cold.  This is a nice spot to do that.

We also address another small problem Wrangler Dave had… saddle leather deficiency.  Dick has a couple of horses with him so we’ve been able to ride and do some roping in the AM when it is cool but alas, Dick and Sid are heading to California to Vaquero Days.  Vaquero Days consists of competitions that are held in the tradition of old Californian/Mexican ways of handling cattle and horses.  Dick will compete in the roping contests.  They return to Maricopa on Sunday.

Arda and I leave for Holland on Thursday of this week and return 2 weeks later.  As we are just getting ready for our trip, I will not be doing anymore updates to my Tally until we return.

Until then, keep your loops open.   

October 6, 2010

We left Ely Sunday morning after we were unable to find a church.  A town of about 5000 people and there was no Catholic Church although they did have a rectory.  If you live in Ely and want to go to a Catholic Church you have to drive to the next town about 20 miles away.  We found this very strange as even in some very small towns we’ve been able to find a Catholic Church. 

We drove through the rest of Nevada which is very much the same as the first part… desert plants and shrubs.  It is beautiful in a rugged sort of way.  One of the strange sites we saw were the signs telling people to put chains on their vehicle.  It seemed strange with the temps in high 80’s and being in a desert but I guess some of the passes get freezing weather or snow in the winter.

Another phenomenon was we ran into a couple of rain storms in the desert.  They came up fast, dumped a large amount of water, and disappeared just as quickly.

As we entered Utah, the landscape changed to lots of rock formations.  We headed to Zion National Park where we spent the night.  This is a beautiful park too with lots of red dirt/rock which is hard to fathom as this area was once part of a desert area that extends to California.  The sand dunes in this area were over 3000’ deep at one time.  There were no glaciers here so only the wind, rain, and rivers have reshaped this area.

There are also hanging gardens on some of the huge cliffs that are supported by moisture that seeps out of the rock.  When it rains, the water seeps through the top layers of sandstone until it reaches shale and then travels horizontally until the face of a cliff is reached where it waters the plants.  This water has been tested and dates back anywhere from 800 years to almost 4000 years.   The whole area is beyond words so I will let the pictures speak for themselves and even they don’t do it justice.

Another thing we learned is that the area that includes Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon is like a giant stair step with the top of Zion equal to the bottom of Bryce with the same relationship between Bryce and  the Grand Canyon.

Another thing that is amazing is how the colors of the rocks and surrounding countryside change as the sun moves.  Rocks that appear gray become very red and later yet, yellow.  It is astonishing to say the least!

Monday we left Zion and headed to Bryce Canyon.  Nothing exciting to report or should I say, nothing out of the ordinary as it is all exciting and very beautiful.  There is on very impressive tunnel that is 1.1 miles long and was completed in 1930...  Imagine how this was built without the equipment we have today.   We had to drive in the center of the tunnel so we didn’t hit the top with the 5^th wheel.  The drive was fantastic with lots of stops along the way to view the scenery.  We took so many beautiful pictures  

Monday night we decided to splurge and went to a dinner show at Ebenezer's Barn & Grill where we had a delicious salmon dinner.  After dinner the Bar G band played some old western songs.  Two of the band members were brothers and a third was married to one of the brothers.  They were all very good musicians.   

We arrived at Bryce Canyon City and decided to stay 2 nights so we could get the laundry done and do a little bit of shopping.   Canyon City was founded by a couple back in 1916 as they bought a ranch in this area.  After many of their friends decided to visit and word got around, they started a B&B and it just expanded to what it is today… a lot corporation with hotels, service stations, RV Parks, Grocery store, restaurants, etc.  If the original couple could see it today, they would be astounded.

It has rained for the last 24 hours but we went sight-seeing anyway.  A few stops along the way were so cloudy we couldn’t see anything.  Another spot down the road was clear and one could see down into the canyon… absolutely gorgeous!  The last stop on the route was Rainbow Point where the temp was 38 degrees with rain and hail… and they call this fun – HA!

Oh well, back at the trailer we are snug as a bug in a rug… and dry too!  No internet due to the storms... bummer!  Another great day!  

Wednesday and we are on the road again.  We had some horrendous thunderstorms during the night.  The thunder and lightning was so close the ground shook with each bang after which we could hear it rolling through the canyons.  In all my 29 years, I have never experienced something like this and can’t say I want to again.

The drive to Flagstaff was mostly in the rain today… it just seemed to follow us.  In fact it is raining as I write this.  Oh well, one of these days we will see sunshine again.  Still a great life!  Here is a couple of pictures we took of Glen Canyon on the way by… one of the dry spots we had today.

Just want to give you a heads up... We took so many beautiful pictures it was really hard to get them down to a reasonable number so there are a lot of both Zion and Bryce Canyon.  There are only a few for Flagstaff.

Until next time, keep you loops open!

October 2, 2010

It has been a busy few days where we either didn’t have internet or were in San Francisco (SF) being worn out by the Morins… They were the best tour guides one could ask for!

Let’s back up to September 28^th where we had triple digit heat and high 80’s over-night.  With or without humidity that is hot.  We left early Tuesday morning and headed to SF.  As it was only a 50 minute drive we started late and finished early.  After checking into our campground, we once again turn the A/C on as it was hot.  Jeff, Dan and Rachel Morin (our tour guides for the next few days) came over for some Mexican Food… enchiladas that Arda made.  As usual, they were delicious.  It was fun to make plans for the next day and then Arda shanghaied us all into playing Farkle… yes she lost even though she kept score.

The next morning (Wednesday) we drove to the Larkspur Ferry where we took the 10:10 AM to the SF Ferry Terminal, which is about a 30 minute ride.  This particular ferry also went by San Quentin where many of the prisoners we out in the exercise yard.  Not a very inviting site.

Jeff was waiting for us with Dan and Rachel joining us shortly.  First stop, Fisherman’s Wharf.  This really is a tourist trap but it was interesting as we were able to see a lot of little shops (from the outside that is J), some seals sunning themselves in the harbor on floating docks, and some old ships which were really fascinating.  We grabbed some lunch at a restaurant that Jeff knew… there are tons of them in SF… an eater’s delight!  Next we took a cable car to the top of the hill (one of many) near where Jeff lives.  We went to his place where we had a glass of wine while sitting on the roof-top enjoying the views.  There are many different views of SF depending which way one looks.  It really is a beautiful city. 

After Jeff’s, we went to Dan and Rachel’s.  Actually Jeff went to his final (as it turned out) basketball game while the rest of us moved on.  They live in a really neat building and have a very nice apartment.  We took Dan’s car and headed over the Golden State Bridge.  The bridge was encased in fog but Dan took us to a place where we over-looked the bridge and where able to get some neat pictures.  After that we went to a sea-side restaurant in Sausalito called the “The Fish”.  Guess what they served?  You are right and it was delicious.  After dinner, Dan drove us back to the trailer for coffee.  What a day!

The next day (Thursday) we again took the 30 minute ferry ride into SF.  Only one problem, the Giants were playing a day-game and they are fighting with San Diego for a play-off spot.  So, needless to say, parking was at a premium.  I let Arda out so she could buy the ferry tickets while I found a parking spot… we should have walked from the campground.  Oh well, onto the boat with 1 minute to spare.

We met the Morins at the terminal again.  They had planned an entirely different day for us.  Dan drove and took us on a 49 mile scenic tour of the bay area.  We drove about 30 of the total miles but what we saw was beautiful.  SF is really a clean city with a lot of beautiful architecture which you can see later in the pictures.

We had lunch in another one of Jeff’s favorite restaurant (not fish this time) which where the food was excellent!  After lunch we headed back to the wharf where we took a ship to Alcatraz.  This was extremely interesting.  The first building on this island was a lighthouse… the first one on the Pacific Ocean and is still in operation today. 

Next the island was one of three forts used to protect the SF Bay Area.  There were two larger forts, one on each side of the bay and then Alcatraz which was smaller but was in a direct line with incoming and outgoing ships.  The Government used the facilities as an Army Prison for a short period before it became a Federal Prison and the main cell-block was built.  Only the most incorrigible prisoners were sent here with only about 5 of them being notorious.  The rest were trouble-makers from other prisons.  As conditions go, this was not a bad prison as the food was a top priority.  If you were a trouble maker, you paid the price by going into solitary confinement where you were in the dark 24 hours a day and let out for 1 hour each week.  The expense of keeping the buildings in good repair is what finally closed the prison and it was turned over to the National Parks.  If you are ever in SF, a trip to Alcatraz is a must!

After Alcatraz, we went to another of Jeff’s restaurants in another part of the city.  This was not a Chinese Restaurant but it did have a Chinese flair… the fish was superb!  Dan, Rachel, and Jeff all fought over Dan’s chocolate dessert but Dan won out.

Here are some pictures of our time in San Francisco

After dinner it was back to the ferry for our trip back to our 5^th wheel… we were exhausted but we had a great time.  We can’t thank Jeff, Dan, and Rachel enough for all they did for us!  Hopefully we can return the favor some day.

Well time to leave the bay area.  Friday morning we headed NE towards Fallon which is just east of Carson City & Reno.  We stopped at a RV Park across from a casino after driving for about 4 hours… long day J.   Guess where Arda went after dinner?  This time she didn’t make a donation but came home a winner!  Yeah! 

Saturday morning we headed SE this time toward Ely NV which is about 5 hours from Fallon.  The road we took, Hwy 50, is called, “The Loneliest Highway in America”.  We drove for miles without seeing any inhabitants… human or otherwise.  It was beautiful in its own right as the small bushes (Sage?) go on for miles right up against the mountains.  We travelled through at least 7 passes of which most were in the 6700’ range.  We also ran into a couple of rainstorms in the desert which was novel.  Rain in the desert… who’d of thought it?

          

Another interesting (unique?) sight was the signs that told people to put chains on their cars or they couldn’t travel any further.  Not what you would expect when the temperature is in the high 80’s and the landscape is totally brown except for a few small trees once in a while.

Tonight we are in Ely.  Yup, you guessed it…  We are parked in another casino parking lot.  Arda has spent an hour inside and returned with a profit of 1 cent… yeah!  A big winner so far.  I think she is going back  though so we will see...

Here are some pictures from today’s travels… Across Nevada

Until next time, keep your loops open!

September 27, 2010

Another travel day but also a very special day for us as our son Steve turned 30 today!  Sure brings back a lot of memories.  Here is a picture where he is making his own memories with our granddaughter Sydney...

We didn't have far to travel as we head toward SF.  I think we will make it tomorrow as we only have 41 miles to go... but we could get way-laid as one never knows what one will find along the way.

Today we took about 6 hours to travel 60 miles.  There are 2 reasons for this... First the roads were really twisting as we traveled Route 1.  We drove between 20 & 30 mph so we wouldn't have a wreck and it also allowed us to look around.  It is a great drive!  It would be an easier drive without the trailer but then we wouldn't have any place to sleep...

The second reason for the slow drive is that we kept stopping to enjoy the view and take a few pictures.  Oh ya, we mustn't forget our lunch stop too.  It is amazing to watch the wave crash into the rocks and to see how the landscape has changed over the years.  If only we could harness the power of the waves...

At one of our stops, we saw a fisherman casting his net into the ocean.  We are not sure what he was catching but it was a lot of little fish (?).  Arda thinks he owns a bait shop... who knows, she may be right.

Another "strange" happening, for us anyway, was the weather.  We woke up this AM to sunshine and 60 degree temps.  The forecast for Santa Rosa (tonight's stop) was for temps in the high 90's to low 100's.  Well all day we had temps in the 60's... that is until we turned away from the coast.  Within 5 miles we had traveled over the "mountains" (more like low hills) and the temperature rose to 105.  Since we knew the forecast we had already decided to stay at a campground with electricity so we could run the A/C.  Are we glad we did.

That's all for now folks, until next time keep your loops open!

September 26, 2010

Another great day!  We woke up late, had an even later breakfast and then went grocery shopping.  Since our fridge broke down, we have been trying to finish up food already prepared, we haven't bought groceries for a while so I guess it was time.  By the way, the fridge has started working again but we are not rushing to fill the freeze nor have I cancelled our appointment in Phoenix - yet!  If it continues to run, we will wait until we return to GR where we will have to address the missing heat deflector.

Driving down the coast next to the ocean, our truck and trailer are covered with sand and salt.  We were able to get the truck washed today - I knew a GMC could look really good!  The 5th wheel will have to wait  until after SF and we move away from the ocean.

After lunch, Arda and I crossed off another item on our "to do" list... horseback riding on the beach!  We went to the Ricochet Riding Stables just north of Fort Bragg where we went on a 1.5 hour beach-ride.  It was a nose-to-tail ride but we knew that going in.  For a mere $100 more, we could have had a private ride which would have been nicer for me as we would have trotted & galloped but Arda wasn't terrible comfortable with this so we just enjoyed our group ride.

After our ride we stopped at the Kerichecher State Park where we walked the boardwalk.  The ocean is relentless as the waves just keep coming and pounding the shoreline.  We saw some of the biggest waves we've seen yet... 10' - 12'.  Just awesome!

We also watched a half-dozen or so seals/sea lions (we couldn't tell from where we were) frolic in ocean as the waves crashed around them.

Another thing that is really strange for us is the fog.  It has been coming and going all day long.  You can actually see it coming, going overland, and then all of a sudden, the sun is out.  Apparently this is common when the temperatures on the other side of the mountains are in the high 90's or 100's... which they are.

Tomorrow we move on to ???  Will have to let you know as we don't know yet.  All we know is that on Tuesday we are supposed to be in SF which is about 100 miles away.  I can see a couple more long driving days coming up - HA!

Until next time, keep your loops open!

September 25, 2010

Since nothing could be done to repair our fridge in Eureka, we decided it was time to get out of town!  We headed south to a campground about 80 miles down the road… and what a road it was!  We took about 3.5 hours to travel the 80 miles as we drove through the Redwood Forests via the Avenue of the Giants.  These trees are very majestic rising over 200’ in the air.  In some places they are so thick that the truck lights came on even though the sun was shining.  It was beautiful driving along at 20 mph enjoying nature’s beauty.

Arda even discovered a new forestry term.  As we drove down the highway, we could see the tops of the mountains in the distance.  The trees grew up to a certain point and then it was brown the rest of the way to the top.  At first we thought it might be clear-cut as we realized it was not high enough to be above the tree line.  Then we realized it was only "nature's bald spot"!  The ground was rocky and only grass grew/browned (?) there. 

We also visited a local tourist site where there were hundreds of carvings from the redwood trees as well as the usual souvenirs.  Arda was able to pick up a couple of things for our trip to Holland and if we had room, I am sure we would have a couple of carvings for our new home in our trailer… whew, dodged another bullet!  J  We also saw a huge tree called the “Grandfather Tree” which is over 1800 years old plus a log home that is made out of one tree.  See the video California Redwoods for a few pictures.

The Wrangler is starting to suffer from saddle leather deficiency which hopefully we will cure when we get to AZ and our visit with Dick & Sid. 

Saturday morning was beautiful.  Sun was shining, the breeze was down, and the temps were in the lower 70's... perfect!  We headed down hwy 101 and then we cut-over to hwy 1 which runs down the coast.  We saw some beautiful scenery.

We also stopped along the way at a winery to enjoy a little wine tasting.  The wines were OK, but didn't suit my palate as well as some I've had, but we still bought some wine.  :-)  

We stopped in Fort Bragg at Harbor RV where we camped on the bluffs.  The weather was gorgeous when we arrived but within a half hour of taking the pictures of the harbor (Fort Bragg Harbor), the fog rolled in and we could not see the water... tomorrow's another day.  

We went to church tonight and enjoyed another interesting Mass.  The priest used his Blackberry, which was plugged into the sound system to play the Mass-music.  Based on what I heard of his singing, this was a great idea!

Well, that is all for now.  Keep your loops open until next time.

September 23, 2010

Well gang, we are in Eureka, CA where we had hoped to get our fridge repaired.  That is not going to happen.      The local RV Dealer looked at the unit, confirmed what we already knew - the coils aren't working.  He did add a new wrinkle.  Apparently KZ, the RV manufacturer, was supposed to install a heat deflector in the fridge compartment before installing the fridge but never did.  Norcold (the refrigerator manufacturer) insists this be done before they will replace the coils under warranty.  Sooooo, since this is a major undertaking, we had to find a RV dealer who was capable of doing these repairs.  We found one is in Phoenix so will have this looked at again Oct 5th, get a quote (we hope) and get it repaired after Norcold approves the quote... again we hope!  Once the quote is approved it will take a week to ten days to get the parts... by this time we should be in Holland and it will be repaired during our trip there... nice plan eh?  We'll see as we all know what happens to plans.

In the meantime we've spent our second day in Eureka.  We took all our frozen food (mostly meat) to a local food pantry so we didn't have to throw it out... at least someone benefits from all this.

Arda also made a donation to the local Indian Tribe this AM...

For the rest, we are enjoying the sun (finally) and warmer weather as we plan our next couple of days.

Thats all for now.  Until next time, keep your loops open!