tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90786076716781466132024-03-14T19:11:35.504-07:00Our Full Time TravelsThe adventures of Rob, Chris and fur baby MayaRob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-60461351563290402572024-03-14T18:18:00.000-07:002024-03-14T18:18:18.402-07:00Quartzsite, Phoenix, A Jet Rally and Tombstone<div class="separator"></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After our week at KOFA following New Years, we headed to Quartzsite for the annual Escapees Boomerville gathering. I have written about this event in the past so won’t say too much about it this time. Suffice to say it was another good year. The weather was much better than last year with only a few days of rain and much warmer temperatures. We did make a couple of trips to Bouse which is a small town about 15 miles east. The attraction here is a restaurant that on Fridays serves all you can eat fish and chips. And they are gooood fish and chips!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We made 2 trips with Boomerville friends during our time here.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUraGlU3Q76eomY9iBmRZPgD7nvMewcqQlnkcPF5_hFymQ3LE9ha-piHdj2BFD1Mp-JbSseJJhlAdDR8tYCCUHt_s6XIREab_tkS9OrCkoX8l9pEqbiflPEvmlUJ9Exch86GDgkTNjFSTKQZjaYCK_BwbbTxHnd9lUy5mXFb599E1-5NMk4OOxSFfUmQc/s4032/IMG_8291.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUraGlU3Q76eomY9iBmRZPgD7nvMewcqQlnkcPF5_hFymQ3LE9ha-piHdj2BFD1Mp-JbSseJJhlAdDR8tYCCUHt_s6XIREab_tkS9OrCkoX8l9pEqbiflPEvmlUJ9Exch86GDgkTNjFSTKQZjaYCK_BwbbTxHnd9lUy5mXFb599E1-5NMk4OOxSFfUmQc/w640-h480/IMG_8291.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few days before the start of Boomerville. Early arrivals.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaU8yTLz8lFvD0DEdWSub4_Nt_OLYaeSe7EeFKZ1xQCGZr0E8CBi_Rv9kMgcYpgj7S5qmadaNq98-Coobaf9Nm06P5cy-RCh6vEANHKHZXbDEW9kbisfgrTPUsN73QLmARXoqCHtlF3IuytxxTHqLTcs-XLDrbH_KIfNR6oXDZTuwmVF3i6QeZ9at7F-Y/s4032/IMG_8301.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaU8yTLz8lFvD0DEdWSub4_Nt_OLYaeSe7EeFKZ1xQCGZr0E8CBi_Rv9kMgcYpgj7S5qmadaNq98-Coobaf9Nm06P5cy-RCh6vEANHKHZXbDEW9kbisfgrTPUsN73QLmARXoqCHtlF3IuytxxTHqLTcs-XLDrbH_KIfNR6oXDZTuwmVF3i6QeZ9at7F-Y/w640-h480/IMG_8301.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of several stunning sunsets.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0iUU6VilE4zX0uyXR5u6B5kb5wcujh09KSTVKLLGJr1eny64_UekJZSa8UTpSsVEhMf2djJhaKeWfjv8LGkqVNxJMkmWjK_rcs7bWXTzorg4W3xuHg1hq1lNVtM60gmGRR1pUAp0WyX4AyyI6FRWAbf4g-1UjB813onjCaEjMLObNWdJZdGCemwpBLSc/s4032/IMG_8330.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0iUU6VilE4zX0uyXR5u6B5kb5wcujh09KSTVKLLGJr1eny64_UekJZSa8UTpSsVEhMf2djJhaKeWfjv8LGkqVNxJMkmWjK_rcs7bWXTzorg4W3xuHg1hq1lNVtM60gmGRR1pUAp0WyX4AyyI6FRWAbf4g-1UjB813onjCaEjMLObNWdJZdGCemwpBLSc/w640-h480/IMG_8330.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris serving up her 'famous' Cinnamon Buns for CARE. Always a favorite.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHieTA_YY-aO0_KhlsJl0KQu2oI_8Uj470G6YpwaXfFBiUQxBBNis0ZlUwk4bA4DODKzVtfgbZISH9igHLf2Le7d8p9P_ohNDCzotQ97hZ8xddR-RtJ2hTMhaKx6O00LxRavRHjUZaUS_x0riqa2XUkwUfqT498xPH0xo0-bXYxbCIqE6BRk-ECQ74Hfo/s4032/IMG_8437.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHieTA_YY-aO0_KhlsJl0KQu2oI_8Uj470G6YpwaXfFBiUQxBBNis0ZlUwk4bA4DODKzVtfgbZISH9igHLf2Le7d8p9P_ohNDCzotQ97hZ8xddR-RtJ2hTMhaKx6O00LxRavRHjUZaUS_x0riqa2XUkwUfqT498xPH0xo0-bXYxbCIqE6BRk-ECQ74Hfo/w200-h150/IMG_8437.jpeg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8EYEfuJJpxypA-ZyElwlZjiJaHLu9zKCgiHpiWY3QGkv27Jdw8nUC1BYqclS0qwfgXBwnbps0sfmJa5BBeicz4e8dY-KPM-ZfzJCsSv2VD84ThpxtzqRPSdXyscOVtbLN9RaBaoII5hBBcXXg1QwHNYOVMUQ8h8lzYbhQiUQ4RXLHHmhwiXbZ5APGlBc/s1942/Screenshot%202024-03-14%20at%202.22.39%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="1942" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8EYEfuJJpxypA-ZyElwlZjiJaHLu9zKCgiHpiWY3QGkv27Jdw8nUC1BYqclS0qwfgXBwnbps0sfmJa5BBeicz4e8dY-KPM-ZfzJCsSv2VD84ThpxtzqRPSdXyscOVtbLN9RaBaoII5hBBcXXg1QwHNYOVMUQ8h8lzYbhQiUQ4RXLHHmhwiXbZ5APGlBc/w200-h150/Screenshot%202024-03-14%20at%202.22.39%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="200" /></a><br />Fish and Chips at Bouse with the Boomers</div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After Boomerville we stayed in Quartzsite for an extra couple of weeks as we had a visit from Chris’s folks (Marshall and Marilyn or M&M) who had come down at the beginning of February for a couple of weeks. They spent the first part of their stay visiting friends in Yuma before coming up to Quartzsite.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">While with us, we took them up to Lake Havasu City as neither one had been there before and wanted to see the London Bridge.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDRkWzieIFhmPZCgGOgiSvmHC4IdtEYOxkuoYvRVGxvwM9omS4uqSj3gjqriL9D4dfp3sKRXxtbQbkp9abggxkBhzIWqXP7dm4E21oVDirc9ScXqVTHmHGEl_gjiADZEri8C0AaJP-_Cr0xiEqeEahF1u_a72qZ5A2UywaKLKmMQ1QNx1HuPOUOmMZ9A/s1600/WhatsApp%20Image%202024-03-13%20at%208.21.21%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDRkWzieIFhmPZCgGOgiSvmHC4IdtEYOxkuoYvRVGxvwM9omS4uqSj3gjqriL9D4dfp3sKRXxtbQbkp9abggxkBhzIWqXP7dm4E21oVDirc9ScXqVTHmHGEl_gjiADZEri8C0AaJP-_Cr0xiEqeEahF1u_a72qZ5A2UywaKLKmMQ1QNx1HuPOUOmMZ9A/w640-h480/WhatsApp%20Image%202024-03-13%20at%208.21.21%20PM.jpeg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On the 13th, we packed up and headed for Phoenix staying at the Desertscape RV Park for a couple of days. This is an older but nice park just East of Interstate 17. Easy to get to although the sites were a bit on the small side. Also came with the usual city issues such as lots of traffic noise and sirens.</p><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">That evening, we met up with our friend Paul, who lives here, and his daughter, Kelly for a nice dinner at an Olive Garden. The next day we took M&M to the Phoenix airport and said our good byes.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The day after that we packed up at Desertscape and moved a short distance up I17 and across to Glendale. We moved over here to the Arizona Model Pilots Society club field for their annual Winter Jet Jam.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This event caters to pilots who fly either Electric Ducted Fan (EDF) jets or true turbine powered aircraft. In my case, I fly both. The event is a Friday, Saturday, Sunday event so we elected to arrive on the Thursday so we had lots of time to get set up and for me to get my aircraft assembled, charged and tested.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-aeMMaAn9mxmClgXdifwaTRIOUK0757jtI_4NUhdYqGC5nSxqJMCDNvUKOqNEA5p2lipPa7B7Vu-Jbzmqd3Z_deh2P_TPRs3wux_ENYLI0GAmVQOzQsO4S7i7mhSoFyWtwO1JvXDAR-jvli73CwhBmbuiEzc5wNGz2v-geFBYaOhgEMvMEU-rmtwvK8/s4032/IMG_8408.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-aeMMaAn9mxmClgXdifwaTRIOUK0757jtI_4NUhdYqGC5nSxqJMCDNvUKOqNEA5p2lipPa7B7Vu-Jbzmqd3Z_deh2P_TPRs3wux_ENYLI0GAmVQOzQsO4S7i7mhSoFyWtwO1JvXDAR-jvli73CwhBmbuiEzc5wNGz2v-geFBYaOhgEMvMEU-rmtwvK8/w200-h150/IMG_8408.jpeg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwluwQ8cZdp2Ixn5KyBnVwxfMCD1884qHWxMVeuzs71UuVTaMoUQHhTNAKME-5bvTeIRDo4ckmeovnnjzpVZjzsb9VaXKBVBUpHzOK4Qs1iYMoBfbyAei4sJ-fgZrOQN8fsodNEpndNjM_paXTuzOiXdeaAjVPGxQlzassCLCiHSMKFuGw5IV4OPrI1M/s4032/IMG_8411.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwluwQ8cZdp2Ixn5KyBnVwxfMCD1884qHWxMVeuzs71UuVTaMoUQHhTNAKME-5bvTeIRDo4ckmeovnnjzpVZjzsb9VaXKBVBUpHzOK4Qs1iYMoBfbyAei4sJ-fgZrOQN8fsodNEpndNjM_paXTuzOiXdeaAjVPGxQlzassCLCiHSMKFuGw5IV4OPrI1M/w200-h150/IMG_8411.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfT0N5gytw5s-fjpGA5DF_haU6G-k4GNhzYcdhzHRoj4iqCMDqi1bjTgSH96NN0C68L9hwDg6PKfvdwDX8za-I7H6c_2mePf74EO8YGs8WlgYdyxDuvA1vroyZ3mZHViMq2H2aT9E6SPxP9r8wDxjphP6dGa5-wfYVb_4ccT5Rstt9GmoVbc7trUX4fsw/s4032/IMG_8412.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfT0N5gytw5s-fjpGA5DF_haU6G-k4GNhzYcdhzHRoj4iqCMDqi1bjTgSH96NN0C68L9hwDg6PKfvdwDX8za-I7H6c_2mePf74EO8YGs8WlgYdyxDuvA1vroyZ3mZHViMq2H2aT9E6SPxP9r8wDxjphP6dGa5-wfYVb_4ccT5Rstt9GmoVbc7trUX4fsw/w200-h150/IMG_8412.jpeg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxOJI8NcRbwQ6vPA1Mc22ne5MKj2VhEXErxKTu43tUlrMZWwdaDuvn0yZN5gCKoAR_xaOl8oe_F9HWrzXCYYcB9DP_HEKml0ByJpHxlxWyIeG_dPjNsPpPY3pwjXvphdAVSjlrGpnUX99KEsk0pb4BXYEQW7EN7fqosrCC48sU3sETlCsU5z3RKpuL7g/s4032/IMG_8417.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxOJI8NcRbwQ6vPA1Mc22ne5MKj2VhEXErxKTu43tUlrMZWwdaDuvn0yZN5gCKoAR_xaOl8oe_F9HWrzXCYYcB9DP_HEKml0ByJpHxlxWyIeG_dPjNsPpPY3pwjXvphdAVSjlrGpnUX99KEsk0pb4BXYEQW7EN7fqosrCC48sU3sETlCsU5z3RKpuL7g/w200-h150/IMG_8417.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Just a few of the many impressive aircraft present.</div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">They had a number of prizes throughout the weekend and a raffle, which, as usual, I had zero luck on. The final prize drawn on Saturday however was the nicest one and guess who won it? No, not me but Chris! Lucky gal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>She has already graciously said that she will let me put it together and fly it for her.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzZEr373InO_jZVGDCDNeWmOxooS1pzFNZCiyfuvm1G-SQ_n6BHReZ6OcMBbxeDX-yWE7H1AaThgdbMdLqq68HnW0gI8gZ8MW_MMM3iwcs_2TmamB7mgebOuYior_B5bJYC0SgscOxEDNazpxS4G-JIIW_BZVkTVppETeohtC0Jpaob3lWizZ9BFXoQc/s4032/IMG_8422.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFzZEr373InO_jZVGDCDNeWmOxooS1pzFNZCiyfuvm1G-SQ_n6BHReZ6OcMBbxeDX-yWE7H1AaThgdbMdLqq68HnW0gI8gZ8MW_MMM3iwcs_2TmamB7mgebOuYior_B5bJYC0SgscOxEDNazpxS4G-JIIW_BZVkTVppETeohtC0Jpaob3lWizZ9BFXoQc/w640-h480/IMG_8422.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After packing up Sunday, we headed back to Quartzsite to a different spot just South of town. This area is where we will be attending our 4th Grand Design Quartzsite Rally in the Desert.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9To_3IOHrifVGdRv-PR2gsU5MtIKQ0ALTQeYaC3tDu8yB_Gfk2V976ioAcVbLVaHX2HyuaLTJSbLcBjwvz4aPmY7mohnat_U4WHaY3y6Y62Z94jTBEag7Upa4JhceXtKB7F8xxLVKhf991z9ysZX2vRTa1k6sX6sD4VKfLg69Y5VoxEcpZKt243eEdg/s4032/IMG_8431.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9To_3IOHrifVGdRv-PR2gsU5MtIKQ0ALTQeYaC3tDu8yB_Gfk2V976ioAcVbLVaHX2HyuaLTJSbLcBjwvz4aPmY7mohnat_U4WHaY3y6Y62Z94jTBEag7Upa4JhceXtKB7F8xxLVKhf991z9ysZX2vRTa1k6sX6sD4VKfLg69Y5VoxEcpZKt243eEdg/w640-h480/IMG_8431.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqHRgl-5RxTv3toRUY-IdbswPFSiZD2qB6pOpVKyfI8TVyxNcJOusJqbTrYzXF9SxqyYwvkkWWrR6h14dwU6334HIltONRBCwHel-QEOjRSPao1YJfB9ZC9hZgPPR8KZ7TPzPIG85kjHi6_RBRz26tzIjgR-q8MFG3Y-KbQpo0H29RgVBKs60vkqRdfM/s4032/IMG_8441.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqHRgl-5RxTv3toRUY-IdbswPFSiZD2qB6pOpVKyfI8TVyxNcJOusJqbTrYzXF9SxqyYwvkkWWrR6h14dwU6334HIltONRBCwHel-QEOjRSPao1YJfB9ZC9hZgPPR8KZ7TPzPIG85kjHi6_RBRz26tzIjgR-q8MFG3Y-KbQpo0H29RgVBKs60vkqRdfM/w640-h480/IMG_8441.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise at the rally. Note the front slide that is not out!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYmVnWXHy0IyuC9l_OIat9Ig-WU51dmwMEv0khTqvd-MA_5a1wkxBIbZ0qbGn9WTCUrIen51h_uZuvPPcxqwHa4uxcM-gTx30jSuTBqqmL4ew4n43B9fd_27bzY0o4jAxnyfblUIeh-hnRVM-71l8uafMGvotTatYKDKPqSq7UeWnAPipxcrYW8E8E-0/s4032/IMG_8447.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYmVnWXHy0IyuC9l_OIat9Ig-WU51dmwMEv0khTqvd-MA_5a1wkxBIbZ0qbGn9WTCUrIen51h_uZuvPPcxqwHa4uxcM-gTx30jSuTBqqmL4ew4n43B9fd_27bzY0o4jAxnyfblUIeh-hnRVM-71l8uafMGvotTatYKDKPqSq7UeWnAPipxcrYW8E8E-0/w640-h480/IMG_8447.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evening entertainment by The Border Hookups. Also Grand Design full timers.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Recall our last blog where we described a problem we had with one of our front slides in the trailer. We had had it repaired in Quesnel on our way back to Kamloops in September. Well, it seemed to be working OK for most of our trip south but by the time we got to Yuma we were noticing it was starting to show some signs of having more issues. It got a bit worse our first trip to Quartzsite and then when packing up at Desertscape, it really was not happy. We had to rock it back and forth a bit to get it back in. When we packed up after the Jet Jam, it was a real bear to get it in. We practically had to force it.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When we got back to Quartzsite, we decided to not even try and put the slide out and see if we could get a mobile tech to have a look at it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We did find one, but after checking it out he determined it was beyond his capability and felt the entire slide would have to be removed! Not something to attempt out in the desert. He did recommend a shop in Mesa who could do the work, so we made an appointment for after the rally.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As a result we were stuck with a slide we couldn’t use and a much reduced amount of space in our front room.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A week or so later, lots of rally goers started arriving and a day or so before the rally, the Grand Design mobile techs arrived as well. The primary function of these techs at rallies is to take care of manufacturer recalls, TSB’s and emergency repairs. I wasn’t sure if our slide issue could be classed as an emergency repair but we mentioned it anyway and were told that they would take a look if they had some time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Chris usually plies them with goodies while we are here and they have done stuff for us in the past so I felt we had a pretty good chance.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Other things going on at the rally included seminars, a pot luck, games, we came 3rd in the Cornhole tourney again, more food, a camp crawl (kinda like a pub crawl but between campers who set up tables with drinks and snacks) and lots of socializing.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On Sunday a couple of the techs showed up at our trailer and proceeded to investigate our slide issue. After fighting with it for a bit, they did manage to get it out but had to go to another call but promised to be back in a couple of hours to finish it off. True to their word they were back just after lunch and spent the next 2 hours working on it. They finally had to remove the entire front mechanism and completely rebuild it which they were able to do without removing the slide itself. The only parts they were able to reuse were the 2 tracks. Everything else was replaced. At the end of all this, we had a working slide again. This time these guys seem to have fixed it properly. They even gave me an extra motor to have as a spare. All of this is done at no charge! One of the benefits of belonging to the Grand Design family and attending a rally.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2l1VlLopuQXZieXCqQWQ71Q0dSJeTw6GvYpocUdISbc2Zjn8NMocrOWNY9EdSFMPtLm4tJiXGArjNi7fBK61ibXqXxpaELgBEFdeWuFCqc4mh9p6G05I1aU53YsW1i23TkBIy12Cb_Pqfd3bds7H0AuNFMPQWr5slKsXbPGMQ4txTK3nLsjpWFQ6TRmE/s1600/WhatsApp%20Image%202024-03-05%20at%201.51.50%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2l1VlLopuQXZieXCqQWQ71Q0dSJeTw6GvYpocUdISbc2Zjn8NMocrOWNY9EdSFMPtLm4tJiXGArjNi7fBK61ibXqXxpaELgBEFdeWuFCqc4mh9p6G05I1aU53YsW1i23TkBIy12Cb_Pqfd3bds7H0AuNFMPQWr5slKsXbPGMQ4txTK3nLsjpWFQ6TRmE/w480-h640/WhatsApp%20Image%202024-03-05%20at%201.51.50%20PM.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack and Lee. 2 of the GDRV SRT techs at the rally. These are the guys who fixed our slide.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3_6wzIzPILZZBoP392sy9JjVsi9PTgOlccUuCbX0aU8ea_RFC64IM4uWRJx3s2q7_rrF2Oi29E2YXiK0ZAAc93ULm6pK9LDT0EjKAkrmbLfZ1WGvdj3LrOv7duqy3vXczR7iyAkwd-KPeyf5mWXxOO7fTcGQ7HTpp8DpI76VnDmuz43o25Q5Fa94vkY/s1600/WhatsApp%20Image%202024-03-05%20at%201.53.46%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3_6wzIzPILZZBoP392sy9JjVsi9PTgOlccUuCbX0aU8ea_RFC64IM4uWRJx3s2q7_rrF2Oi29E2YXiK0ZAAc93ULm6pK9LDT0EjKAkrmbLfZ1WGvdj3LrOv7duqy3vXczR7iyAkwd-KPeyf5mWXxOO7fTcGQ7HTpp8DpI76VnDmuz43o25Q5Fa94vkY/w480-h640/WhatsApp%20Image%202024-03-05%20at%201.53.46%20PM.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Oh and one other thing, A coupe of months ago, the organizers put out a call for submissions for a design for the official rally t-shirts.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Chris had sketched out a design and submitted it, and wouldn’t you know it? Her design was selected as the winner. What a talented gal!</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqbuflkVm-TbAkLeQUykT393Cp7KkpaK68BTqAaBfNhq20NPxYSzXGeAMz0Ml-vjGUNZkZX5pAzAai1QzPdLdqsCHg-R4XeQMedElBwgzfKa5f4BuUPVYC8hZ7PVQ1iEjH569TNEwXP6UoYiaoNLFQqZctRuIqqhSzMP514HUllDbTP6orryCYRdIgrMc/s4167/64000_MAROON.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4167" data-original-width="2779" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqbuflkVm-TbAkLeQUykT393Cp7KkpaK68BTqAaBfNhq20NPxYSzXGeAMz0Ml-vjGUNZkZX5pAzAai1QzPdLdqsCHg-R4XeQMedElBwgzfKa5f4BuUPVYC8hZ7PVQ1iEjH569TNEwXP6UoYiaoNLFQqZctRuIqqhSzMP514HUllDbTP6orryCYRdIgrMc/w426-h640/64000_MAROON.png" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Monday, after cancelling our appointment in Mesa, we packed up and headed to Benson. Our destination here was an Escapees Co-Op park. We arrived in the early afternoon but were not able to get a full hook up site that day but were able to stay in their dry camping area. We did get a full hook up site the next day though. We basically just chilled for the next day or 2 but did make a trip into Tucson for some shopping.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On Saturday, March 9 we drove to Tombstone which is about 30 minutes SouthEast of Benson. In hindsight, Saturday was probably not the best day to go as it was quite busy. After finding a place to park, we wandered around for a bit. It is nice that they have tried to maintain the Old West look and feel of the town but we both felt that things were way to commercialized. Of course the “Gunfight at the OK Corral” was a feature but it and virtually every attraction in the town came at a price. If we had paid for all the attractions, shows, gunfight re-enactments, museums, etc. it would have easily cost us over $100. Also, so many of the shops were just glorified souvenir shops with little if any attempt to make them period authentic. We did find a place that served a decent BBQ for a reasonable price but honestly, Tombstone wasn’t what we thought it would be. We were much more impressed with the old mining town of Oatman in Arizona. They have really preserved the old west charm without over commercializing it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW00Ve7iJ2oihcXsFG8npXTqrJpZZLJ0PSa6z_ytWP-O3-Ls2IPcITOSYMaaa5TVgym-w7iN9UFx2NEofiJpMgfrHdblz4EFBX-zR61rUgKAaaNS2ZdvgvcV9vUPBuNHj0Oac1pf3Yl4zL6o9D9DW5bZj-sK9VyKhoPi_RAYrwLY6-0LE9E5BhCgfzZRY/s4032/IMG_8462.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW00Ve7iJ2oihcXsFG8npXTqrJpZZLJ0PSa6z_ytWP-O3-Ls2IPcITOSYMaaa5TVgym-w7iN9UFx2NEofiJpMgfrHdblz4EFBX-zR61rUgKAaaNS2ZdvgvcV9vUPBuNHj0Oac1pf3Yl4zL6o9D9DW5bZj-sK9VyKhoPi_RAYrwLY6-0LE9E5BhCgfzZRY/w200-h150/IMG_8462.jpeg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrJZ1v6VPZqA-bk5sgy2sv9eNOwpAzSrjnPgiwR1WonKgJw1rtixKj6EbzASxXkMA8Abp7KijiyJCMvfyzBOb5GdwVS6wnkH-8sw81TNJq0wC95yGofBca_y2hTz-EcCUhNeJ_jlfWMeHZoJzzcW_l59Yzb2qk0NE_gG1N1hf1PKnZFDbcHhWogL4KAQ/s4032/IMG_8464.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrJZ1v6VPZqA-bk5sgy2sv9eNOwpAzSrjnPgiwR1WonKgJw1rtixKj6EbzASxXkMA8Abp7KijiyJCMvfyzBOb5GdwVS6wnkH-8sw81TNJq0wC95yGofBca_y2hTz-EcCUhNeJ_jlfWMeHZoJzzcW_l59Yzb2qk0NE_gG1N1hf1PKnZFDbcHhWogL4KAQ/w200-h150/IMG_8464.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovbOpwrByTj5HbP9pSZD50SaMomvoEiEyUQjU_dnhmYAfLjSNtwbferlXhZ4-blZkdCedml_xDP2fmm8npZ5GKW2jKHpBzGthuKjgilQ9fj5GyLCikI51hq0sI1zCExws6rfBlJoao-Pa62mfSlshiZEtSzXE7gfIU4_PT0gjEidNM8PAlfzCxIKXoKs/s4032/IMG_8465.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovbOpwrByTj5HbP9pSZD50SaMomvoEiEyUQjU_dnhmYAfLjSNtwbferlXhZ4-blZkdCedml_xDP2fmm8npZ5GKW2jKHpBzGthuKjgilQ9fj5GyLCikI51hq0sI1zCExws6rfBlJoao-Pa62mfSlshiZEtSzXE7gfIU4_PT0gjEidNM8PAlfzCxIKXoKs/w200-h150/IMG_8465.jpeg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucc6U_qESIs8GcFUluqzHA54C13IM5FldRA0CesZKaaEt0ULys35BrZkjuvRQLRUMBTkHQtAKzjjOrw9KTsY8Eu0zqMQ37ChKUoR_oGhy5vTQ668vzVK1CcI-apti1buTwbr1vL59amH9Z5_i7AxWuB_9Jheh7u5dNFls9ge3VHZgRGArdGYMUwWvUIU/s4032/IMG_8467.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucc6U_qESIs8GcFUluqzHA54C13IM5FldRA0CesZKaaEt0ULys35BrZkjuvRQLRUMBTkHQtAKzjjOrw9KTsY8Eu0zqMQ37ChKUoR_oGhy5vTQ668vzVK1CcI-apti1buTwbr1vL59amH9Z5_i7AxWuB_9Jheh7u5dNFls9ge3VHZgRGArdGYMUwWvUIU/w200-h150/IMG_8467.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br />March 12 we left Benson and headed to our next stop which is White Sands in New Mexico. This marks the furthest East we have travelled so far in our travels. The main attraction here, is of course, the White Sands National Park. We arrived and after a very tight access to a public use camping area, we are set up for a few days just outside Holloman Air Force Base.<p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWhg0hYvobkeM1XKz_-YDYYJlBS1GG0GVzUSX8dvCxOYum6GzpHoUx7ioXA8PUi4_-zKjPe88OMSBscHuQvNTkt4budHSN7YBVEOOL0NCWHsulUKE-G41iGwDlK0d8lXIbhuCghDaHrhToyMksVLbgDcBttIBtsYbNPEaJ6Jr2j29pNc8tciB2BD9N50/s4032/IMG_8511.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWhg0hYvobkeM1XKz_-YDYYJlBS1GG0GVzUSX8dvCxOYum6GzpHoUx7ioXA8PUi4_-zKjPe88OMSBscHuQvNTkt4budHSN7YBVEOOL0NCWHsulUKE-G41iGwDlK0d8lXIbhuCghDaHrhToyMksVLbgDcBttIBtsYbNPEaJ6Jr2j29pNc8tciB2BD9N50/w640-h480/IMG_8511.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Set up at Holloman Lake. Note the white caps on the lake and the blowing dust in the background. <br />It was windy!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">More info on White Sands NP, Alamogordo and maybe even the White Sands Missile Range in the next post.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-3863105138048246812024-01-11T08:37:00.000-08:002024-01-11T11:20:01.457-08:00Happy New Year<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, I guess it’s been a while since we have posted anything. Time for an update.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;">So shortly after posting that last entry, and with less than 400 Kms on our new truck, we were parked at a bank in Red Deer. While we were inside some $h!thead decided he was in such a hurry that he either forgot to look behind him while backing up or didn’t care as he backed into the back right corner of the truck. He must of hit it pretty hard as in addition to the dented fender, he also managed to twist the bumper!</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7UpVf-RA9pW6FNvXHezqPH7sL3sBXBwqOrcsBnSuj5OH_kvlG-xqifEjvNIliNmMmFjsEdkMERj475YIx4ZNRixU_VWneWgoO9WKjHjwJDlaZZxXF-1ZDE2N34bFCPHjqq0R4Bt8kPv1y-5b1Sxe5QeNqiqfCEkR40rDyA3DsQUs77UBIFp9mgrSXN8/s4032/IMG_7985.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7UpVf-RA9pW6FNvXHezqPH7sL3sBXBwqOrcsBnSuj5OH_kvlG-xqifEjvNIliNmMmFjsEdkMERj475YIx4ZNRixU_VWneWgoO9WKjHjwJDlaZZxXF-1ZDE2N34bFCPHjqq0R4Bt8kPv1y-5b1Sxe5QeNqiqfCEkR40rDyA3DsQUs77UBIFp9mgrSXN8/w640-h480/IMG_7985.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXc4BFjB-0ToQnadYWeZOxg4bzLmvG-q6tRmUocUfbDVoE3TbIureQ5HELrQU576SqOG7CgwZE6xRa7LAX4tTm7_LrLe3rMuE2LqacIIs19vIecP7cCiKnNTwxWaJnyQLKkG8sAVdg5XqyR0yasZwUlr3Hn1ggQvPIgTmR4ezdEKopUV26W_vsEQMEJc4/s4032/IMG_7998.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXc4BFjB-0ToQnadYWeZOxg4bzLmvG-q6tRmUocUfbDVoE3TbIureQ5HELrQU576SqOG7CgwZE6xRa7LAX4tTm7_LrLe3rMuE2LqacIIs19vIecP7cCiKnNTwxWaJnyQLKkG8sAVdg5XqyR0yasZwUlr3Hn1ggQvPIgTmR4ezdEKopUV26W_vsEQMEJc4/w640-h480/IMG_7998.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;">The estimated damage was somewhere around $6,000 as the bumper had to be replaced along with some sheet metal and the tail light. Fortunately, insurance covered it but as it was a hit and run, we had to foot the deductible of $500. This happened in early June but the body shop couldn’t get one part so the estimated repair wouldn’t happen til late August. End of July we managed to switch to a different body shop closer to our location and got it moved up to early August. I think we let them have it around the 3<sup>rd</sup> or 4<sup>th</sup> and they were going to need it for at least a week to 10 days.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">By that time however, we were starting to realize that the campground we were at wasn’t the best fit for us. Amongst other things, we were being required to work way more hours than we were led to believe at the start. Around August 10, we had had enough and tendered our resignations.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">Luckily, we were able to stay at our site at the campground a few extra days until our friend Mike was able to come and get us with his big Kenworth as our little rented Ram 1500 would not tow the trailer.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">At this point, after contacting Reg at Alberta’s Littlest Airport just east of Camrose, Alberta, we were able to stay there for about a month on and off till about mid-September. </p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLsqBM7Zuvys3lszY7umSYcrv-aQOk4F2pQbatHZOngjypU6c_2vyI3BfqmyTdMqfSLDsKBeam1UreHbtPZKLV6r074RoMJix3NZMaCXL-HlNp6HVhokZK61EjOcFRls-EfdhnBFbK82CMGPDruDVEPoYFhFu2xlHS1h_FT5059QzDWnZ0Ww1zhDRa_Y/s4032/IMG_8045.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLsqBM7Zuvys3lszY7umSYcrv-aQOk4F2pQbatHZOngjypU6c_2vyI3BfqmyTdMqfSLDsKBeam1UreHbtPZKLV6r074RoMJix3NZMaCXL-HlNp6HVhokZK61EjOcFRls-EfdhnBFbK82CMGPDruDVEPoYFhFu2xlHS1h_FT5059QzDWnZ0Ww1zhDRa_Y/w640-h480/IMG_8045.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;">During that time, we were able to attend an RC airplane event just outside of Edmonton, and then on the way back to BC, we went to a new float fly event hosted by the MOFFA (Mostly Old Float Flyers Association) club at Clear Lake Park, near Barrhead, Alberta.<br /><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Calibri; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTV47czmuI-Gob3VLwv3ODicMVnVSpgZwuUdeHyacMe_8TCF57dW-AV2Ja4LIt4HGs53yZJv28toCIjtAAEYEKVkBpZBwEgkl4HTfu3aL3hZJVwPcCawtHvRcFCrrJ9dAGE0me37KoQkJ9ApSCN7_XVdhJjFM39hMiovRYZoyDIFEYVI2W_-IhxCTvNM/s4032/IMG_8072.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTV47czmuI-Gob3VLwv3ODicMVnVSpgZwuUdeHyacMe_8TCF57dW-AV2Ja4LIt4HGs53yZJv28toCIjtAAEYEKVkBpZBwEgkl4HTfu3aL3hZJVwPcCawtHvRcFCrrJ9dAGE0me37KoQkJ9ApSCN7_XVdhJjFM39hMiovRYZoyDIFEYVI2W_-IhxCTvNM/w640-h480/IMG_8072.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Calibri; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinF0WgVLdDGYnCUDtfWsQVYaXPnOOU_-kMXZtGBRsOWeX-bgy0bRq0ic8i7aNEoRwEDk6_nPyYwDuwllHDqz_n9zxeEkQ5TOa9IxQUevrrs6K1g4BTM7ue0cKrKG63eCk1ulF-nwKMUWmd5VMqiWKIz6KJbI47JXdGFCH1ethoO31fOhYFwubcFbZoYj0/s4032/IMG_8082.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinF0WgVLdDGYnCUDtfWsQVYaXPnOOU_-kMXZtGBRsOWeX-bgy0bRq0ic8i7aNEoRwEDk6_nPyYwDuwllHDqz_n9zxeEkQ5TOa9IxQUevrrs6K1g4BTM7ue0cKrKG63eCk1ulF-nwKMUWmd5VMqiWKIz6KJbI47JXdGFCH1ethoO31fOhYFwubcFbZoYj0/w640-h480/IMG_8082.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">Over the summer, Rob was noticing that when we brought one of the front slides in, it was coming in a little cockeyed. As I was bringing that slide in before we left Clear Lake, there was a “POP” that Rob heard outside and I heard inside. Well, the slide wouldn’t move much after that. Since the ground where we were parked for the weekend, was quite uneven, the one side (the side with the broken slide) was up a fair bit, so much so, we needed a step to get to the lowest step of the stairs to enter the trailer.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hOyokjV3ZqFNEs93BykzARYZdBhc88a46cuUN3mW9Mv5juSKBtklDbR6mHtHDiwCNTjRhp1lg9OqoA5IwCnIfRuurGEWidhV0WdZI0mJk9Qtig-9qTqjnFsd4AekxtRvl2rIk5_C1zugclmHbd9VHXD-FWnRPTCIFSw0ENnFCuHklYLDyGNZyIYfSkg/s4032/IMG_8069.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hOyokjV3ZqFNEs93BykzARYZdBhc88a46cuUN3mW9Mv5juSKBtklDbR6mHtHDiwCNTjRhp1lg9OqoA5IwCnIfRuurGEWidhV0WdZI0mJk9Qtig-9qTqjnFsd4AekxtRvl2rIk5_C1zugclmHbd9VHXD-FWnRPTCIFSw0ENnFCuHklYLDyGNZyIYfSkg/w640-h480/IMG_8069.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">We brought the rest of the slides in, hooked up the trailer and moved it to a flatter area, and then after about 5 to 10 mins of carefully hitting the slide switch in and out, we were able to get that slide in the majority of the way. The front wouldn’t quite come in all the way leaving about a ½” gap. Now it is trying to figure out where to get it repaired on our travels to Prince George, British Columbia.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">At the end of August, Rob’s cousin Peter had passed away, so as a family, we met up with his mom and brother in Prince George for his Celebration of Life. On our way to Prince George, we overnighted in McBride, BC. Sure enough, a thunderstorm came through and it rained hard overnight. Even with the slide in, Rob noticed the next morning that the rug we have in the front area of the trailer was wet. After leaving Clear Lake, we had not put the broken slide out with worries of not being able to bring it back in. We continued onto Prince George and then when we got to the campground, as I was getting things set up, specifically putting the TV up, the area I needed to get to was the area of the wet rug. Well, it wasn’t just a little bit wet, it was drenched. Had to take the wet socks off. At this point, it was grab all the extra bath towels we had to soak up as much of the water as possible and get a fan going to help dry things out. I was lucky enough to be able to lift the rug up and fold it back in order to mop up the water underneath it (the rug was only held down by a couple pieces of carpet tape and not glued down to the linoleum). At this point, the main thing Rob wanted to get done was to seal the slide up to prevent any further water from getting in. Out came the roll of silver aluminum duct tape, and he sealed the outside of the slide to the trailer to keep out anymore water that may get in with anymore rain.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">And guess what? I ended up doing laundry. Had to do some anyways.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;">While we were in Prince George, we were able to secure an appointment at a dealership in Quesnel, BC on our way home after the Celebration of Life. Thank goodness for extended warranty on the trailer, instead of $1200+, we only had to pay the $100 deductible.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>After a couple of hours, we were on our way.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;">We then spent about a month in Kamloops taking care of appointments for us and Maya. And also visiting with our parents in Vernon. We left Canada on Oct 22 and were in the Yuma area 5 days later. One of our quickest trips down south, but when you are trying to beat the cold weather you go when you can. But on the other side of that, boy oh boy, was it quite hot when we got to Yuma. When you have been used to sub 20C weather and then all of a sudden it is hitting 35C+, its was way too hot. Especially when you are not plugged in to power. Had to get Rob to run the generators for a bit in the evenings so we could run an air conditioner to help cool the trailer down.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">Since being in Yuma, we haven’t done a whole lot. For November and December, we have been at our friends Robin and Michael’s place in the Foothills of Yuma.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUPMO2jGUdNMRIjYx9-wnjWNTIk6Q-CR5uyZxgWaNkRxVPHlsXtsqpRaKkJUljMG7dGazOS85lGeUlNuRwkMTwoQTEj09m5aKjWHt8wWhNfUf0BsyTUndMVybV3dvwrW0CGWi_0kmxhvmwmq1WwC2j-uSOcJtzMwqNnwBSlfGS2yJujPVMjweP2uDeIg/s4032/IMG_8237.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUPMO2jGUdNMRIjYx9-wnjWNTIk6Q-CR5uyZxgWaNkRxVPHlsXtsqpRaKkJUljMG7dGazOS85lGeUlNuRwkMTwoQTEj09m5aKjWHt8wWhNfUf0BsyTUndMVybV3dvwrW0CGWi_0kmxhvmwmq1WwC2j-uSOcJtzMwqNnwBSlfGS2yJujPVMjweP2uDeIg/w640-h480/IMG_8237.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">After a quiet Christmas, we left them on January 1, to stay for a week at the KOFA Escapees RV park in Yuma. From there, the trailer was back into the shop to get a grey tank valve changed out on January 8 and then off to Quartzsite for a bit.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">After the service work we headed up to Quartzsite and to our usual area just off Plomosa Road for the rest of the month. This is where the Escapees Boomers hold their annual 2 week Boomerville gathering.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnkBckb2UQjDSvZmKFnYJ3Kq0LL7bGVXK28XjSnyHmwxsUKMY0gwUhKl6BjmJCE-1vaAwUNjyrkfX7uGhPFVou7x3Ddpsn4RJdPQv7DF3zqdQfWk73JhN-bCAXwi2MuSZAOP3G4UpjdfEe3-aF9uwPVjMq8FpqDdZ4CDNhtpTYHUV9c9XrwEhGnAMyJ4/s4032/IMG_8295.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnkBckb2UQjDSvZmKFnYJ3Kq0LL7bGVXK28XjSnyHmwxsUKMY0gwUhKl6BjmJCE-1vaAwUNjyrkfX7uGhPFVou7x3Ddpsn4RJdPQv7DF3zqdQfWk73JhN-bCAXwi2MuSZAOP3G4UpjdfEe3-aF9uwPVjMq8FpqDdZ4CDNhtpTYHUV9c9XrwEhGnAMyJ4/w640-h480/IMG_8295.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHhHC_Qi9dV0j0FoxXjPjU2luh3npyM15IAITH0KbOM6glvkDLA4unwr4FudVMofLcZYpSCUHCs4k7EgOcoiJJvvZsTLbXYVZYEJIGB0594TmMayd7m_QFEEJwdqFk9a_XY9C8nYgdPt-99ijgF6evvbn5B4y3hBQcuRMoHS_Q-5YU1EO8ZSErsDDLGs/s4032/IMG_8301.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHhHC_Qi9dV0j0FoxXjPjU2luh3npyM15IAITH0KbOM6glvkDLA4unwr4FudVMofLcZYpSCUHCs4k7EgOcoiJJvvZsTLbXYVZYEJIGB0594TmMayd7m_QFEEJwdqFk9a_XY9C8nYgdPt-99ijgF6evvbn5B4y3hBQcuRMoHS_Q-5YU1EO8ZSErsDDLGs/w640-h480/IMG_8301.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: Calibri; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">Arizona certainly does get some fantastic sunsets!</p></div><p><br /></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-64593191411935649472023-05-11T16:22:00.001-07:002023-05-11T17:01:19.384-07:00Spring 2023 update<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Howdy folks.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We figured it was time for another blog post. I know. It has been a long time. Guess that is because over the winter we really didn’t do too much different from previous years.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of the highlights. Unexpected expenses. We wound up having to get 6 brand new tires on the trailer! On the way down, we stopped at a boondocking area just south of Overton, NV where we have stopped before. The day before we were planning to leave, Rob was walking around the trailer just checking it out and discovered we had a tire separating at the back right hand side of the trailer, so he put the spare tire on. The other 5 looked fine and he figured we would be good until we got to Yuma.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsL9DBBuEpnhWVWPKWwPDD7QFXgFX6rxMqC4_pWsrgBOML0UtRusVMk8GafG6sh4LVfL3tX8kJK7uhMoVNrW73CQEyW4zZ4vOXeggTm0TZGjQVsZJX2RxQLfH824yP-P4sRE9_NsHzuiD3oSaORcuZynx3-EKRduGMHcn1is4OiX50xgSpPNFxu6P/s4032/IMG_7517.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsL9DBBuEpnhWVWPKWwPDD7QFXgFX6rxMqC4_pWsrgBOML0UtRusVMk8GafG6sh4LVfL3tX8kJK7uhMoVNrW73CQEyW4zZ4vOXeggTm0TZGjQVsZJX2RxQLfH824yP-P4sRE9_NsHzuiD3oSaORcuZynx3-EKRduGMHcn1is4OiX50xgSpPNFxu6P/w480-h640/IMG_7517.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the steel cords sticking out!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUssN-OS8PRotEgC85DeMGSQCgbzPmdfAXYDrdGe306_ZMM6ijHDARKQHFqcsfXCCDCbcKjJIJNPpHq1oUUAOvViE274Wfi6KkAK9K2Z-4mMXWzZFChTmxV1euiZWDySZFuSRFxpRhfoqXNTUfZrgMQvB9h7VafoYmMbGc47LwIUCWtXxRRauVuHsn/s4032/IMG_7516.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUssN-OS8PRotEgC85DeMGSQCgbzPmdfAXYDrdGe306_ZMM6ijHDARKQHFqcsfXCCDCbcKjJIJNPpHq1oUUAOvViE274Wfi6KkAK9K2Z-4mMXWzZFChTmxV1euiZWDySZFuSRFxpRhfoqXNTUfZrgMQvB9h7VafoYmMbGc47LwIUCWtXxRRauVuHsn/w480-h640/IMG_7516.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fast forward to just west of Quartzsite where we stopped for a lunch break. Rob checked all the tires again and all looked good. Pressures were good and tire temperatures were fine. Also, they physically looked OK to the eye. On we go until about 30 miles north of Yuma; we actually had a blow out on the left rear tire on the trailer. When we say a blow out, it was exactly that! Sounded like a bomb went off and there was tire shrapnel all over the road. We were lucky though. The only damage other than the tire was a small piece of the fender skirt on the left side disappeared as well.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjCAQ8wlMS_X-hd1XwcG-JY2WxymFXiO7tws8K7361EtoNkiMYGtBdFRS01bMV5H0QAPQJogGdNYNWxblNUM-XbWB68v8JT2j6yxaVoFJ2mU83EgysPWwD0tJYm0t7BCdD3_RAz_2jAr9TZdqDDWbIDWNmCrgfID1PCDAxPNbk-SuzHN6r18F461O/s4032/IMG_7641.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjCAQ8wlMS_X-hd1XwcG-JY2WxymFXiO7tws8K7361EtoNkiMYGtBdFRS01bMV5H0QAPQJogGdNYNWxblNUM-XbWB68v8JT2j6yxaVoFJ2mU83EgysPWwD0tJYm0t7BCdD3_RAz_2jAr9TZdqDDWbIDWNmCrgfID1PCDAxPNbk-SuzHN6r18F461O/w640-h480/IMG_7641.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSYii0e3PneS7F_sz0l76stnpcGuvW9wT1uJVbukzqmfL6ML82zO1Y1E1-3pVE9-crS8YVWUHLcoPZPwsWgJpoZHPvC6ZLPGwHCgrScE72VstAn6rVOgxv5cqwOJdytihOSfaMNgr7mqDBRxdBJeGGdE8xbP6YclAHchZ-NRuuqDWPtfRq1pi9oSr/s4032/IMG_7644.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSYii0e3PneS7F_sz0l76stnpcGuvW9wT1uJVbukzqmfL6ML82zO1Y1E1-3pVE9-crS8YVWUHLcoPZPwsWgJpoZHPvC6ZLPGwHCgrScE72VstAn6rVOgxv5cqwOJdytihOSfaMNgr7mqDBRxdBJeGGdE8xbP6YclAHchZ-NRuuqDWPtfRq1pi9oSr/w480-h640/IMG_7644.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmWDYUZjqVZVipcvwoo-geqeP1T5IjAc8jsrh2CqIq2Oc2gKv9fuDPER4_YELZgkxn3nBN3AoQP40anLPLYqru_fqWY9XGf6IEq8lXkItHWUPcgqcFNgj98o4kCLTTAFp-QWrM5GUGyrjRihWyYhbiR1i0RN9p_MjxVD_tkjiTYmz8XVSSZ-s6MZE/s4032/IMG_7645.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmWDYUZjqVZVipcvwoo-geqeP1T5IjAc8jsrh2CqIq2Oc2gKv9fuDPER4_YELZgkxn3nBN3AoQP40anLPLYqru_fqWY9XGf6IEq8lXkItHWUPcgqcFNgj98o4kCLTTAFp-QWrM5GUGyrjRihWyYhbiR1i0RN9p_MjxVD_tkjiTYmz8XVSSZ-s6MZE/w480-h640/IMG_7645.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At this time though, we didn’t have a spare tire for the trailer because we all ready put that on the other side. The left side of our trailer is quite a bit heavier than the right so Rob took the middle tire off from the right side and installed it onto the left and we slowly limped towards Yuma. We made it to the area we were going to spend a few days at before getting to our winter spot without any further issues. Plus, it was a Saturday, and by the time we got to our spot, it was too late to do anything until Monday. On Monday we ordered 6 new Sailun S637 14 ply tires at Big O and they were delivered and installed the next day.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We spent the majority of the winter in Yuma but did venture up to Quartzsite for the end of January for the Escapee Boomers Boomerville. An event we have attended a few times now and then again for the last week of February for the Grand Design RV Rally. We had a friend from Alberta join us for a few weeks at the end of January and he was also around at the end of February, so the three of made a quick day trip down to Los Algadones. It was the first time for him and I think we all spent too much money!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LYB7ooNbHNVsoJjSfeiTlvSwBqvOAxyhrK5zOKo6Y0FSHNSNLhqrhaJenbbjC6jpBMt5l0a7bMbVpzl3qmZvbs-aPbXQzDsSsQAvfJvLP9aKsAwkQHlIAR8itcGsrr-LVfS0VkTaSX7tSHTTVM6I4gvEKHhVx2-AO3iRUTEtRM5ZinbCnnsBC_-U/s4032/IMG_7721.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LYB7ooNbHNVsoJjSfeiTlvSwBqvOAxyhrK5zOKo6Y0FSHNSNLhqrhaJenbbjC6jpBMt5l0a7bMbVpzl3qmZvbs-aPbXQzDsSsQAvfJvLP9aKsAwkQHlIAR8itcGsrr-LVfS0VkTaSX7tSHTTVM6I4gvEKHhVx2-AO3iRUTEtRM5ZinbCnnsBC_-U/w640-h480/IMG_7721.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy92iCN1koekj3_yG3sq2hbrhcA-eXKMx7Z0c4y04RFM8qld-_erCpt1OdrdI-LQ2KdqSAEMabrPi4elCsNYVl4CTYd6ZBVPJtQyP-4yCdvda8smeNpwWixp05E8wY-7U75v5PPRB44OhMHgT-fOd071Ybgmk_C6-CFE845bgJ_TSiVxWUPn4-R6sI/s4032/IMG_7821.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy92iCN1koekj3_yG3sq2hbrhcA-eXKMx7Z0c4y04RFM8qld-_erCpt1OdrdI-LQ2KdqSAEMabrPi4elCsNYVl4CTYd6ZBVPJtQyP-4yCdvda8smeNpwWixp05E8wY-7U75v5PPRB44OhMHgT-fOd071Ybgmk_C6-CFE845bgJ_TSiVxWUPn4-R6sI/w640-h480/IMG_7821.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGbxzUJ5vP29S6GbuRHCSOUeHN9QHf3XKoM9SEYh-ffZNoYRTXpBh62RHJ24w9_QDEHHaunpg83Yu4OmW-htzDPNMpmPHT-Q3__6CWZVJAIm5mFz48GNiNONIiiqxKfhMkPMB1vtUdmAiRpJyTpVUkKiLoyb3DFBtPi8WmERPmwz2wgLBKGlgycmr/s4032/IMG_7840.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGbxzUJ5vP29S6GbuRHCSOUeHN9QHf3XKoM9SEYh-ffZNoYRTXpBh62RHJ24w9_QDEHHaunpg83Yu4OmW-htzDPNMpmPHT-Q3__6CWZVJAIm5mFz48GNiNONIiiqxKfhMkPMB1vtUdmAiRpJyTpVUkKiLoyb3DFBtPi8WmERPmwz2wgLBKGlgycmr/w640-h480/IMG_7840.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One other change we made while down south this winter was switch to <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/9078607671678146613/6459319141193564947#"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 233); color: #0000e9; font-kerning: none;"><b>Starlink</b></span></a> for our internet and TV. We had been using Shaw Direct for TV but they have been making a bunch of changes recently by moving channels onto the newer Anik G1 satellite. That is good for subscribers back home but sucks for us as the new satellite doesn't work down south. For internet, we had been using a number of solutions depending on where we were. In Canada we used a Telus Smart Hub at about $85 for 500 GB of Data and in the states an AT&T Mifi on an unlimited plan at about $80US / month. Between the TV and internet our monthly cost was in the neighbourhood of $200. Starlink on the other hand, works in the US and Canada and provides unlimited high speed internet for about $170 /mo. By streaming our TV content over the internet we get about the same service for about the same cost.</span></span></p></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We started heading home the last week of March, spent the first night at a rest area just south of <b><a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/pahranagat" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pahranagat Lake</a></b> in Nevada, then 3 nights in Twin Falls, ID, a night at the Wildhorse Casino parking lot in Pendleton, OR and the last night we spent at the <b><a href="https://oroville-wa.com/index.php/departments/parks/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Veterans Memorial Campground</a></b> in Oroville, WA which is about 10 mins away from the border crossing into Canada and right on the shore of Osoyoos Lake. We were the only ones in the campground that night.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF736q-WB3uc5T9_khNU07Q83i6dA3jshqk7EoRuelrDCs-mqFBrT5H1rliHVFXf-qT3-I2xaLpPbCAy6xh2sEqHDoJH5X92JzLURa2qRYRVszE7piHTCeuBMIXFNzCTLfJ4zfG2cdi3FV6FJbyjyGk82HeZLKWZDn4fzvjpZLdGO1kgsRzajHNInS/s4032/IMG_7860.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF736q-WB3uc5T9_khNU07Q83i6dA3jshqk7EoRuelrDCs-mqFBrT5H1rliHVFXf-qT3-I2xaLpPbCAy6xh2sEqHDoJH5X92JzLURa2qRYRVszE7piHTCeuBMIXFNzCTLfJ4zfG2cdi3FV6FJbyjyGk82HeZLKWZDn4fzvjpZLdGO1kgsRzajHNInS/w640-h480/IMG_7860.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWD87acYrlHVGTLAecqI15AV0dwJeA4R_jkmFZbNGiHA9KCMY691tVWs-b8d3r5pDbII7BPxeyUec8Issjuv_-Z-tWWtJJeNIpk74YU0eFzV29eTpOmZg88hqw-ZU7d7NT2EelzUWzrVk1k_zwcnJtiqjbqSgv-hdxZl8QBD1OwBcGSPPtO6EC5lRq/s4032/IMG_7863.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWD87acYrlHVGTLAecqI15AV0dwJeA4R_jkmFZbNGiHA9KCMY691tVWs-b8d3r5pDbII7BPxeyUec8Issjuv_-Z-tWWtJJeNIpk74YU0eFzV29eTpOmZg88hqw-ZU7d7NT2EelzUWzrVk1k_zwcnJtiqjbqSgv-hdxZl8QBD1OwBcGSPPtO6EC5lRq/w640-h480/IMG_7863.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Osoyoos Lake looking North from Oroville.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We spent 2 weeks in Kamloops to take care of some appointments and to help Rob’s mom celebrate her 103<sup>rd</sup> birthday. We then headed to Alberta and stayed for a week at Mountain View Farm Campground and then we headed up to Innisfail, AB where we are now for the summer working at the <b><a href="https://discoverywildlifepark.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Discovery Wildlife Park</span></a></b> Campground. We have been here now for not quite 3 weeks. The park opened May 1 but it’s not overly busy at the moment. The May long weekend will likely be our first taste of busy!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznxva4nT6pfkf6TmRPEyEmJDeZSnt81_Kec6fImDAactZ6F454udvGrS7XSIlaPagMYAy5goY6GCKS9jKNatuvxKfYZAhK_QG-iK_J0m35t22HS7G1hfue1vC_cb8xSAvbrXnmxF73zWK4pM82b7eu9YhpXpAlWjgOrsipAuBPhQj-KrS0y7aLFol/s4032/IMG_7894.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznxva4nT6pfkf6TmRPEyEmJDeZSnt81_Kec6fImDAactZ6F454udvGrS7XSIlaPagMYAy5goY6GCKS9jKNatuvxKfYZAhK_QG-iK_J0m35t22HS7G1hfue1vC_cb8xSAvbrXnmxF73zWK4pM82b7eu9YhpXpAlWjgOrsipAuBPhQj-KrS0y7aLFol/w640-h480/IMG_7894.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjVRaDyGOYdTJrjzRAEX6kAXGTVxMozy6ViYEZiFNbbOk13cG6u64Oq6tdJAtqy77Br6pJc2GT_9RqZhZeF_qn66XiGsBOan7zRjfYuHRE2muGU8u1lRWj2ePyMyFUwMwPdw3Iowm5Whmj45eawZ-WDvZBFJa4UcWjBHbTLc_scf5G9wqyxwS4__o/s4032/IMG_7910.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjVRaDyGOYdTJrjzRAEX6kAXGTVxMozy6ViYEZiFNbbOk13cG6u64Oq6tdJAtqy77Br6pJc2GT_9RqZhZeF_qn66XiGsBOan7zRjfYuHRE2muGU8u1lRWj2ePyMyFUwMwPdw3Iowm5Whmj45eawZ-WDvZBFJa4UcWjBHbTLc_scf5G9wqyxwS4__o/w640-h480/IMG_7910.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZeAxRLq_F2I_sGwEnjfTIrAEOFSZjhSVCJOKZt_SQPSwm41IvR9G3mMjbdL_W6jzk-LsPa-NLrjTLZ-wp5AfbfUOc4oQ5HLxY5YLnxD3yuHbxyKfZqatvKPClABOkESpTgi_ud3MmMj8O0nj9KbCLZeiwiHxM9WwCq7ODM6MiL-dpJb_ic0S_6vT/s4032/IMG_7889.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZeAxRLq_F2I_sGwEnjfTIrAEOFSZjhSVCJOKZt_SQPSwm41IvR9G3mMjbdL_W6jzk-LsPa-NLrjTLZ-wp5AfbfUOc4oQ5HLxY5YLnxD3yuHbxyKfZqatvKPClABOkESpTgi_ud3MmMj8O0nj9KbCLZeiwiHxM9WwCq7ODM6MiL-dpJb_ic0S_6vT/w640-h480/IMG_7889.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Hopefully I'll get some more and better photos of the locals later this spring.</p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We have also started the process to become Alberta residents. We now have our drivers’ licences and vehicle insurances switched to Alberta, have an address for the government, and we have applied for Alberta health care which we will get in July 2023. Several reasons for this with the main one being that we seem to be spending a lot more of our summer time in Alberta than BC. Also, no Provincial Sales Tax and much cheaper fuel.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I guess everyone is wondering how the is truck doing? Recall last fall, GM replaced the entire fuel system from the lift pump in the fuel tank all the way forward to another 8 fuel injectors.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Last time we gave you an update, we had had to get a new alternator in Jerome, ID. It ran pretty well over the winter, but when we started towing again in January, we were starting to hear the noises indicating that the issue was coming back. Well, guess what, half way home the check engine light came on again just south of Twin Falls, ID. We took it into the dealership in Twin Falls for a code read and they confirmed it was the same issue starting all over again! Once back in Kamloops we took it back to Zimmer Wheaton. At this point, the GM TAC team that the mechanics have to talk to for repairs, indicated that they wanted a GM Field engineer to look at it. Because we were limited on our time in Kamloops, we couldn’t do that, electing to wait until we got settled in Innisfail. After getting here, we took the truck to the GMC dealer in Red Deer. Wweelllllllllllll, our problem child is no longer our problem. Keep in mind, since COVID, these trucks are very hard to come by and when a dealership gets one, they typically don’t last very long. The dealership in Red Deer just happened to have what must have been, if not the last one in Alberta, close to it. They even gave us a much better trade than we were expecting. Only $10K less than we paid for it 3 years and 55,000 Kms ago even with its issues.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We wound up trading it in for a new 2023 GMC Denali virtually identical to the old one. The only issue is that it is white; Rob doesn’t care for white. We had no other options out there especially since all GM wanted to do on the old one was throw 8 more fuel injectors into it. Go figure. That would have made for 38!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Yes, you read that right. 38 fuel injectors plus a sh!tload of other parts as well since new!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore, we would like to introduce you to Driving Miss Daisy, or Daisy for short.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We are not sure if this is to be our long term truck yet or not. We have plans for something else but at least now we will both feel better if or when it comes time to sell this one for the next step.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvbOBoD8awyoPqW6LfPcqX7vp_pDOY-jPPg8tXz0v5G4Miene0Mivt46TI_yrZ1b_gcFk-CfWbXwuB2tWOkiEEYM56ZL2pAvYtmA7AdJMIDI7FwaGHGAe_CWmj68dlrL8SKlcApWvQN9HwXC0IOdNpIM0SFuDOMdgMSzx9r19Dcac_Gjxb-WC-Wb4/s4032/IMG_7900.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvbOBoD8awyoPqW6LfPcqX7vp_pDOY-jPPg8tXz0v5G4Miene0Mivt46TI_yrZ1b_gcFk-CfWbXwuB2tWOkiEEYM56ZL2pAvYtmA7AdJMIDI7FwaGHGAe_CWmj68dlrL8SKlcApWvQN9HwXC0IOdNpIM0SFuDOMdgMSzx9r19Dcac_Gjxb-WC-Wb4/w640-h480/IMG_7900.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out with the old (right), in with the new (left). Notice the Red and White licence plate.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UvNTU40c0a4B37LzQo_mE6YBMvTZPBW88w7a5eeace1HqLuxPcte9yOBT-RW-2ZgYTeM8W6orqcNfBAKCXRN23CYxvXNEvQXcR9f4P8hqiNzbQKJyr-X39OBX24S6Y0YCRNnjuGtL9Aw36mQ6QP3SKoiLZ9Y7bsIK2vb3MsX6TTqwQNyeAaga2QK/s4032/IMG_7902.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UvNTU40c0a4B37LzQo_mE6YBMvTZPBW88w7a5eeace1HqLuxPcte9yOBT-RW-2ZgYTeM8W6orqcNfBAKCXRN23CYxvXNEvQXcR9f4P8hqiNzbQKJyr-X39OBX24S6Y0YCRNnjuGtL9Aw36mQ6QP3SKoiLZ9Y7bsIK2vb3MsX6TTqwQNyeAaga2QK/w640-h480/IMG_7902.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><br /><p></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-40402361527129446972022-11-09T14:58:00.000-08:002022-11-09T14:58:06.487-08:00Does Christine do a lot of baking in the trailer?<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">Yes, I do.
I know; the next question is going to be how do I do it? Answer is, just
like I would in a house. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When we got our previous trailer, the Cameo 5<sup>th</sup>
wheel, I was lucky and there was a decent sized oven in the unit, and when we
were looking for our full time unit, the main item on my list was a certain
size oven and we have one. It is even larger than the one from the Cameo. Well,
how big is it?</p>
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{page:Wor</style><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjBWv84zmuviIfafvF7eQT9DMMavUlxtycM5sojUkIezUrHb3Oo53IEWteLFop7UCELNlLzePCNbgjeIAI_h1m_-lO3yp07MhAkqWFnK78vuN5bn0wG2YOu1fNM_dfNl0cL2hAsx_92VXwkCkzyrCWzcf6EOqsvG2EUdAM8ds6e1U-uTtOwon9wk6/s591/Picture2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="443" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjBWv84zmuviIfafvF7eQT9DMMavUlxtycM5sojUkIezUrHb3Oo53IEWteLFop7UCELNlLzePCNbgjeIAI_h1m_-lO3yp07MhAkqWFnK78vuN5bn0wG2YOu1fNM_dfNl0cL2hAsx_92VXwkCkzyrCWzcf6EOqsvG2EUdAM8ds6e1U-uTtOwon9wk6/w480-h640/Picture2.png" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsun4Hwi8JYcZJIVtP3jcrlYoT3LbPrQLQ_KVVtNIsZ_wMrul1SjKVTPMNEXdfo0fV3Y9zzDvUBokWO91ixGXq_oNp-CPJ1U2XjFYrxort9Y4U4g2KzbmZh_udvXmGqP7LxpoeSEvLrMqZiUheKqslHDzUrnCr8lRyzM9DTmQxOyKkC1sdnmnfOBhd/s591/Picture1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="443" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsun4Hwi8JYcZJIVtP3jcrlYoT3LbPrQLQ_KVVtNIsZ_wMrul1SjKVTPMNEXdfo0fV3Y9zzDvUBokWO91ixGXq_oNp-CPJ1U2XjFYrxort9Y4U4g2KzbmZh_udvXmGqP7LxpoeSEvLrMqZiUheKqslHDzUrnCr8lRyzM9DTmQxOyKkC1sdnmnfOBhd/w480-h640/Picture1.png" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">It’s not a normal sized as in a house but it works. As you
can see, I can get a regular 12 cup muffin tin in with lots of space. I even
have cookie sheets that fit with just enough room. I can get 2
dozen cookies on that one.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As for other baking implements, I have the normal measuring
spoons and cups, a hand held mixer, a Kitchen-aid Stand Mixer (it is at least 27
years old and still mixing), whisks, spatulas and other stuff. What can I say,
the RV is our house, so I use the kitchen like a house kitchen. I even have a
dishwasher, his name is Rob. The only stipulation he has is that if I am
baking, I am to do my baking dishes. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, what do I bake? Lots of stuff. Today, I made some raisin
muffins. They are quite good. I haven’t made them in awhile, because I couldn’t
find the recipe. I have been searching for the recipe book I found it in, but
could not find it. I went looking for a picture the other day on my iPad and lo
and behold, as I opened my picture gallery, the recipe was staring right at me.
When we were getting the house ready for selling, I had photocopied or
took pictures of the recipes I liked and used in my recipe books, got rid of
the books and had the recipes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p><br /> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zKDZHqxNOQsRBSdY8tSV8F9WoDmVisYH4rez2X5bWggMHfcqLkSMEtgXflD-Kgo0-A_IQqlZdYTiZxeu-yGOR_SET7C6iGNFiYKmtJ5Edl-yyoL1Mv6pm027yBRIsuy3CO_nAksYnw-usvRqbzHIwyR5pm-gXTeGq1SEWGkJOxg7pFBGYEztPkJc/s591/Picture3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="443" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zKDZHqxNOQsRBSdY8tSV8F9WoDmVisYH4rez2X5bWggMHfcqLkSMEtgXflD-Kgo0-A_IQqlZdYTiZxeu-yGOR_SET7C6iGNFiYKmtJ5Edl-yyoL1Mv6pm027yBRIsuy3CO_nAksYnw-usvRqbzHIwyR5pm-gXTeGq1SEWGkJOxg7pFBGYEztPkJc/w480-h640/Picture3.png" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I also
baked up some sourdough biscuits that I started the night before.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOIOveKiFVmS_F5dyh08eCrFgaX8VP0Vjve7Dn1gSHggUwR7KgTwtYbUdLDT6Zcjh_xrVsuevXT1E7OVoeSVhLlzFwvE2-CodyHgmz0H88h8a4Wre4bY95nCGNNch3mHYMMYAulyGG9ellFjkbdqTgp7xInZCkSJHe19GfQEfcXE4CjGxN_Rzr6Ym/s591/Picture4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="443" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOIOveKiFVmS_F5dyh08eCrFgaX8VP0Vjve7Dn1gSHggUwR7KgTwtYbUdLDT6Zcjh_xrVsuevXT1E7OVoeSVhLlzFwvE2-CodyHgmz0H88h8a4Wre4bY95nCGNNch3mHYMMYAulyGG9ellFjkbdqTgp7xInZCkSJHe19GfQEfcXE4CjGxN_Rzr6Ym/w480-h640/Picture4.png" width="480" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And the other day, I made a loaf of sourdough bread.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6AzqGoRtvsSBavJ7hHdrQanzKftXNeQrqBiVUg2HcGhXbbHIVGcm5aiwPS75zNwtdua2FV9SBO0iAP8qF9WvaISJqF2ohQCpoBWnd0w1Pu10V-cUFpurQipCj3COcTUgt4BH3wnfbbgnly43cSdg0VH1x4QtQzOajnQxro-os4Tk9A5PjmrKoZEt/s591/Picture5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="370" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6AzqGoRtvsSBavJ7hHdrQanzKftXNeQrqBiVUg2HcGhXbbHIVGcm5aiwPS75zNwtdua2FV9SBO0iAP8qF9WvaISJqF2ohQCpoBWnd0w1Pu10V-cUFpurQipCj3COcTUgt4BH3wnfbbgnly43cSdg0VH1x4QtQzOajnQxro-os4Tk9A5PjmrKoZEt/w400-h640/Picture5.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /> I have made lots and lots of cinnamon buns and a few
pineapple upside down cakes also.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSXvBlC7zGhCqDjSNAbn8Y_Vx0yRW6gQJZimdF6mDGuzgYhFwktIDrZUnaamPQ5VU6UCdCU5lcUyz6FnyFACnJrwZOT5Ye7Slalc32nFNUGHPv6XIu-oJtEg5i1OxoojQTQ0jCAUHb7274AxFtwmFkYmCri5kLlE6BXUa6BMym_7RgykWvVb9EN3s/s591/Picture6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="591" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSXvBlC7zGhCqDjSNAbn8Y_Vx0yRW6gQJZimdF6mDGuzgYhFwktIDrZUnaamPQ5VU6UCdCU5lcUyz6FnyFACnJrwZOT5Ye7Slalc32nFNUGHPv6XIu-oJtEg5i1OxoojQTQ0jCAUHb7274AxFtwmFkYmCri5kLlE6BXUa6BMym_7RgykWvVb9EN3s/w640-h480/Picture6.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8386ntAlQuH0D4YpnV73eWw6N2Us0M4rN4m2UVe7afDcEf47ENSNFdqmVVxLnFr8P7rQX4vNyhSUDN7WoKf_fRRfsnS9Xb2t1lHjCO6zmWbcrl2fVDb1sh8hhUahEXJIFcCSKkieZzGL-_nXTVdgiUZQidtxvQ-WIspEYYeZtpRbGB8ql-a-A386/s591/Picture7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="443" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8386ntAlQuH0D4YpnV73eWw6N2Us0M4rN4m2UVe7afDcEf47ENSNFdqmVVxLnFr8P7rQX4vNyhSUDN7WoKf_fRRfsnS9Xb2t1lHjCO6zmWbcrl2fVDb1sh8hhUahEXJIFcCSKkieZzGL-_nXTVdgiUZQidtxvQ-WIspEYYeZtpRbGB8ql-a-A386/w480-h640/Picture7.png" width="480" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Now you are thinking, sourdough. How is she making all these
sourdough recipes? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have tried in the past to make sourdough starter from
scratch, but it was a flop. So, I waited for a bit, and this July when we were
in Burns Lake, BC, I tried doing it again. And it worked. I followed the recipe
and have made a few things with it since. I have made bread, biscuits, a lemon
poppy seed cake, chocolate cake and even brownies that are very rich and
fudgy. I need to make those again soon, but when there are more people around.
The last couple things I made, I had brought my sourdough out from the fridge
and feed it for a couple of days and then made the loaf of bread and the
biscuits and after feeding it today, in the fridge it went again. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here is the link for the recipe for the sourdough starter: <a href="https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-47337">https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-47337</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And once it was ready, I just did some searching online and
found recipes to try.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A couple more recipes:</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrECj5CzjEeB0xMwxcdWCgEFAXYxzS4UY_81dy7FwjTgYzxeLV05BsahiRZHWGu1KkvG5Ikgju0VWu_iixP-i6_6LMJy3LbZJYeOAIYigRD6wtl1k2C2M__fLvk0F2FOhb3OUS2xu75Y3K8_KOMZuKdQyPcuxNTZSmC5m2erO8WILVAWPYKdof8Fzl/s1510/Picture8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1510" data-original-width="1129" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrECj5CzjEeB0xMwxcdWCgEFAXYxzS4UY_81dy7FwjTgYzxeLV05BsahiRZHWGu1KkvG5Ikgju0VWu_iixP-i6_6LMJy3LbZJYeOAIYigRD6wtl1k2C2M__fLvk0F2FOhb3OUS2xu75Y3K8_KOMZuKdQyPcuxNTZSmC5m2erO8WILVAWPYKdof8Fzl/w478-h640/Picture8.png" width="478" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">APPLE DUMPLINGS</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup sugar<br />
1 cup water<br />
1/8 tsp cinnamon<br />
1/8 tsp nutmeg<br />
2 drops red food coloring<br />
2 tbsp butter or margarine<br />
6 whole apples pared and cored or 3 apples pared and sliced<br />
2 cups flour<br />
2 tsps baking powder<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
2/3 cup margarine<br />
½ cup milk</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Combine first 5
ingredients; bring to a boil. Add butter. Mix together flour, baking powder and
salt. Cut in marg. Add milk all at once and stir until moistened. Roll 1.4 inch
thick on lightly floured surface; cut with pastry wheel or knife into 6 “
squares. Place apple in center of each square. Sprinkle generously with sugar,
nutmeg and cinnamon dot with butter. Fold corners to center and pinch edges
together. Bake in a 375°F oven for 35 mins.</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">PEANUT BUTTER
CRISSCROSSES</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup shortening<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
1 cup brown sugar<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
2 beaten eggs<br />
1 cup peanut butter<br />
3 cups sifted flour<br />
2 tsp baking soda<br />
dash salt</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thoroughly cream
shortening, sugars and vanilla. Add eggs, beat thoroughly. Stir in peanut
butter, sift dry ingredients, stir into creamed mixture.</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Form into tiny
balls, place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press with back of a fork to make
crisscross. Dough may also be rolled and cut if desired. </span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bake in 375° oven
– 10 mins</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YKYLgTnWRC3bYcj-5_I3QpxJLT-7zMauL6SHUCcIdEMIVi4wdhtRC8imI0FAZzbiF7z8fG4xEFucZ90tjKT0Aj7Fz8Pd8bTYMDEvQxDcJurqN9s0vJ6gHc05EhdTi1cup2EfRPKUliDGzQ6c2kjOWi72hAnkJtMnZZ7A7YMNyPw5AYj3YmTQPSKm/s688/Picture9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="525" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YKYLgTnWRC3bYcj-5_I3QpxJLT-7zMauL6SHUCcIdEMIVi4wdhtRC8imI0FAZzbiF7z8fG4xEFucZ90tjKT0Aj7Fz8Pd8bTYMDEvQxDcJurqN9s0vJ6gHc05EhdTi1cup2EfRPKUliDGzQ6c2kjOWi72hAnkJtMnZZ7A7YMNyPw5AYj3YmTQPSKm/w488-h640/Picture9.png" width="488" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">That is about it for now. Hopefully you will try a couple of
the recipes. Have a wonderful day.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">BTW - Currently hanging out in Quartzsite, AZ for a bit before heading over to California and some BLM land at the south entrance to Joshua Tree NP.<br /></span></p>
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<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-87867025196715084772022-10-25T18:09:00.004-07:002022-10-25T18:42:29.900-07:00October catch up<p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">Figured it was time for an update. Last that we posted, we were at a fun fly not far from Raven, Alberta. That fun fly turned into a nice time. Was little damp at times, but everyone had fun and we felt very welcomed at the RC flying field.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">While not formally part of the Rocky Mountain Barnstormers, the field at Raven does fall under their MAAC charter. It is actually a private airstrip owned by the local landowner who is also an avid RC flyer. They have a fantastic facility with a huge clubhouse and several ‘hangers’ as well as a large camping area.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsh53Cag4zIk9kg4hDVkuHrJC9M8aFaIkPgORH8A5B_8z-_AoGT0MDZX3YErLs5clmAuwx3Krp34fFme8ELbNP8ytB_PXUXkiO7a_QyxYQiRv5lr4vVls7IV1kAsUhaDR87GNGfe3BEDuwDSQ3OfdJ3vjcvVs2VTzOGfhf30Sfba7Fyg4Qc56vtdn/s4032/89890E9F-847E-49BA-8FC8-6F4715E76C51.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsh53Cag4zIk9kg4hDVkuHrJC9M8aFaIkPgORH8A5B_8z-_AoGT0MDZX3YErLs5clmAuwx3Krp34fFme8ELbNP8ytB_PXUXkiO7a_QyxYQiRv5lr4vVls7IV1kAsUhaDR87GNGfe3BEDuwDSQ3OfdJ3vjcvVs2VTzOGfhf30Sfba7Fyg4Qc56vtdn/w640-h480/89890E9F-847E-49BA-8FC8-6F4715E76C51.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGIsl7R9c4c3AxTH9ZdHiDlV3ckAjbFNvgJW84xg1HCHuoHpXV-cRBiacpwVmtKBf9gdZKcJl2JTMjIc4NZF7CSiCaHcZAksvN_zwP7QeNWpVoJ9evbc3ivWzzhliGeiglIvasMxneufnXyI0JUDFQ9_istm-r9fyjwR4POI-WVzQy6A7w7fx29I4/s4032/3D77C104-6A4B-4266-ADD9-D5F8ED45FA88.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGIsl7R9c4c3AxTH9ZdHiDlV3ckAjbFNvgJW84xg1HCHuoHpXV-cRBiacpwVmtKBf9gdZKcJl2JTMjIc4NZF7CSiCaHcZAksvN_zwP7QeNWpVoJ9evbc3ivWzzhliGeiglIvasMxneufnXyI0JUDFQ9_istm-r9fyjwR4POI-WVzQy6A7w7fx29I4/w640-h480/3D77C104-6A4B-4266-ADD9-D5F8ED45FA88.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Next up was the wings over Bremner event at the Edmonton Radio Control Society just outside of Edmonton. This was an all aircraft type of event with small foamies right up to large turbine powered aircraft. The Edmonton club always puts on a great event.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQYLj-2bU4W-8nYRWt4FfmB227qlhHuz_Nc8T5eUnqxFibot7sO601-7_W3HOASPFVC_EZzsHRGZi9ijSuzKA7UGr02lcVH8ivS52pxlCvRBtQZrzs-anB13JVOYTX5daXBttp2at0nuFpXUJFZErtb1Hdl9V09m9B7JkUJR7mmdb72W_ta8mNWHZ/s4032/BEC5A903-8388-429B-AC73-3B7DFEEACE55.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQYLj-2bU4W-8nYRWt4FfmB227qlhHuz_Nc8T5eUnqxFibot7sO601-7_W3HOASPFVC_EZzsHRGZi9ijSuzKA7UGr02lcVH8ivS52pxlCvRBtQZrzs-anB13JVOYTX5daXBttp2at0nuFpXUJFZErtb1Hdl9V09m9B7JkUJR7mmdb72W_ta8mNWHZ/w640-h480/BEC5A903-8388-429B-AC73-3B7DFEEACE55.heic" width="640" /></a></div><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjTkC9KlylXZkQOIRF8xfZDwkfBr0ruhGuAmAGZtmtVkTcpD_aKuB_lszrmW0XN0WXJXL4ro0G2syVU70wdCMbXjG47kRaHVEh82-da734WkqrT1sm05om5mXnS3HI1nRODAyUVgSv_6B50spmVsZMLoVUqZ_Gb6tnd_Yrb7hPSZrP6wCcWNgBo3J/s4032/82C25FEB-49A1-437C-BBB2-13F33FAAED00.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjTkC9KlylXZkQOIRF8xfZDwkfBr0ruhGuAmAGZtmtVkTcpD_aKuB_lszrmW0XN0WXJXL4ro0G2syVU70wdCMbXjG47kRaHVEh82-da734WkqrT1sm05om5mXnS3HI1nRODAyUVgSv_6B50spmVsZMLoVUqZ_Gb6tnd_Yrb7hPSZrP6wCcWNgBo3J/w640-h480/82C25FEB-49A1-437C-BBB2-13F33FAAED00.heic" width="640" /></a></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">From Edmonton we made our way an hour and a half or so SE to Bawlf, AB. Home of “Alberta's Littlest Airport”. Bawlf is about 20 minutes SE of Camrose, AB and the airstrip is about 5 miles before Bawlf. It is also home to a fairly busy, depending on the time of year, cropdusting airstrip. While here, there were a pair of Air Tractor 502B spray planes working.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The RC event here had probably the largest number of campers I have seen at an event like this. At one point I counted over 40 RV’s of one type or another. The strip and model facility are owned and run by Reg and Terri Blackwell. The club started years ago by Reg's father and is now cared for by Reg. While here we met and became friends with a fellow named Mike and his mom Agnes. Very knowledgeable guy who tows his trailer with a modified Kenworth heavy duty truck. Rob has had this in the back of his mind for a few years now and after talking with Mike, it is definitely something we will have to look more into.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjusaDqbHRrqLDZSN-dX45QDvB3tf2ThAoZDREmQa_6vcG5EfwXImf_L956NawdO6Bb0F1G6eXYEeCpC98WGkQz4TZEj5ayg5uFk-gxLsBCc6HrqHB48AisYtv1aJNq4HQvFUG_tuDWjG-CsdWyKtOW-lp1qZq43ClfstMexTH0lqDXMWaojLYTXkUL/s4032/03F8E5E5-AFB2-4468-BA7E-E18F5CE3A5A8.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjusaDqbHRrqLDZSN-dX45QDvB3tf2ThAoZDREmQa_6vcG5EfwXImf_L956NawdO6Bb0F1G6eXYEeCpC98WGkQz4TZEj5ayg5uFk-gxLsBCc6HrqHB48AisYtv1aJNq4HQvFUG_tuDWjG-CsdWyKtOW-lp1qZq43ClfstMexTH0lqDXMWaojLYTXkUL/w640-h480/03F8E5E5-AFB2-4468-BA7E-E18F5CE3A5A8.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7rtmH_UvykfQiEnFptwTiYE04kvl7gib8M-m-oyg6-rPTm6T44Kqhf9rLg-vaUtO42R4SbfuLMIhC10eN9AmAzRoJlueHl94o7dBs6mDWpU11kvi0Lip13DNi6oI6fW5G3EjLwW6_9V6AGKrPszLe_gzkK46vel75ZNGByb6bjTAUg77ZuHoxjHv/s4032/0F27F498-58A1-4EBC-A58D-B5638796E26E.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7rtmH_UvykfQiEnFptwTiYE04kvl7gib8M-m-oyg6-rPTm6T44Kqhf9rLg-vaUtO42R4SbfuLMIhC10eN9AmAzRoJlueHl94o7dBs6mDWpU11kvi0Lip13DNi6oI6fW5G3EjLwW6_9V6AGKrPszLe_gzkK46vel75ZNGByb6bjTAUg77ZuHoxjHv/w640-h480/0F27F498-58A1-4EBC-A58D-B5638796E26E.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3xNn7UAiLP0sQHA0kJ3ajW3y9NP1_TIH2d-vXubZR4n2q63RGG4DlIJp3U8rzz9NlNxbak7ImVqhXDVjlM9_Qk8Cbi_EY6OcUj79Qlpy3XAEsl4neJoJZq6SwoU010ej1t9ONhYMnggUZVFeveyFaaPGogJ-FvXpU-4LbG31zw_lnWC6d4KqwNDZA/s4032/F0171EFD-9B1D-426B-8B96-ECB6E789880A.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3xNn7UAiLP0sQHA0kJ3ajW3y9NP1_TIH2d-vXubZR4n2q63RGG4DlIJp3U8rzz9NlNxbak7ImVqhXDVjlM9_Qk8Cbi_EY6OcUj79Qlpy3XAEsl4neJoJZq6SwoU010ej1t9ONhYMnggUZVFeveyFaaPGogJ-FvXpU-4LbG31zw_lnWC6d4KqwNDZA/w640-h480/F0171EFD-9B1D-426B-8B96-ECB6E789880A.heic" width="640" /></a></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">About an hour North of Bawlf is Tofield, AB. Tofield is typically a jet event and is held every year at the Tofield Municipal Airport. All in all this was another successful event with only a little wind slowing things down for a bit.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgFLxdYL7_IoPkUhUbxDzTsuDQF_mJ8lhg8sbWg4QeelY1krKwkEu3hOLmoiP9HEzkX30iilquwF13jx-QNh12J2L-djAMa4wyySZ6yncAwBarFVJtR_wEjKw95KSvBUwJyo9Low_sXG2f_dgHLMj0_vtdr1hjFXJZGhJ7B89tEmiYqxiOaIL0PGO/s4032/60BF2FCE-4657-44F2-9019-C18FDFBB5981.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgFLxdYL7_IoPkUhUbxDzTsuDQF_mJ8lhg8sbWg4QeelY1krKwkEu3hOLmoiP9HEzkX30iilquwF13jx-QNh12J2L-djAMa4wyySZ6yncAwBarFVJtR_wEjKw95KSvBUwJyo9Low_sXG2f_dgHLMj0_vtdr1hjFXJZGhJ7B89tEmiYqxiOaIL0PGO/w640-h480/60BF2FCE-4657-44F2-9019-C18FDFBB5981.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn8Z5QScBIELZBF0TO7YHXQxyE-9KP7U8eFmlx6MaR9ogjMfotWLU-rYTnrkfN7drOaUhTDD5z1dq0d9-teNPvNLjf4vNIy-9__x67jEj2TDxbJAiBlUB9buyHcCs63eOwmlX1ndnr_J9VTFMRx3Oncdy2uFynqq_RTa-oliBIAgwHHdetAiIN0lN/s4032/BE7FC39E-8D9D-48D6-B1D0-F5E3B658C52C.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn8Z5QScBIELZBF0TO7YHXQxyE-9KP7U8eFmlx6MaR9ogjMfotWLU-rYTnrkfN7drOaUhTDD5z1dq0d9-teNPvNLjf4vNIy-9__x67jEj2TDxbJAiBlUB9buyHcCs63eOwmlX1ndnr_J9VTFMRx3Oncdy2uFynqq_RTa-oliBIAgwHHdetAiIN0lN/w640-h480/BE7FC39E-8D9D-48D6-B1D0-F5E3B658C52C.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnGFNZQRhgpmnjCFolexvOM1EljFdQS2GfmPZpS69L6Cs-40m6YL-i5eAOXERCfRPf6owgGx5j5x6ekglg7Y2PqH5CwJflhhSPY47BPfvxqv4j87wCNf9Pf7gtSKaiUh2hRCLysX3gqaDSQrJ7DGlG-Nz-1jF8gqum7mReTWMdWpKxp3nNk1hqfEE/s4032/E7EEDC91-9048-4233-9080-443164FCF439.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnGFNZQRhgpmnjCFolexvOM1EljFdQS2GfmPZpS69L6Cs-40m6YL-i5eAOXERCfRPf6owgGx5j5x6ekglg7Y2PqH5CwJflhhSPY47BPfvxqv4j87wCNf9Pf7gtSKaiUh2hRCLysX3gqaDSQrJ7DGlG-Nz-1jF8gqum7mReTWMdWpKxp3nNk1hqfEE/w640-h480/E7EEDC91-9048-4233-9080-443164FCF439.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After Tolfield, as we started to head back to BC for a few weeks, we stopped at Woody’s RV in Edmonton so they could replace the pull on the black tank. Rob has been finding it really difficult to pull open ever since we got the trailer. It has been attended to before, but wasn’t fixed the best. It is now working effortlessly. A little kid could pull it without issue. Also, nice that Grand Design paid for this repair under warranty. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Once the trailer was done for the repair, we started heading towards Grand Prairie, AB. We took Hwy 43 to head back to BC, and just before we got to Grand Prairie, the frost heaves on the road were nasty. Rob was down to 60 km/h for a bit. After a quick stop in Grand Prairie for a Costco shop and a fuel up, we headed to Chetwynd, BC to visit with my sister Theresa for a bit. My mom and dad were there also. One of the days we were there we took a side trip to the site of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam near Hudsons Hope, BC</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8hJVHGspc3zQf0eOSkGzOtWoPAwEzqS6HuT484EoSGqozamZKPvQH3Ha5iMOrUnKGlWas6fqPWiZ_3K3ZLsMokthbqCUNNQEUAoIw0dQZD5WQiJtXtkTnqYXd-oDjahdbfO-ZYFKSc-ne64wGZgRoN7NukOqC8lFQfcsMm6mtUFCoapb2O0W4gIL/s4032/BDA38A34-7B4C-4BDC-BA76-DDDD37A9DAE2.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8hJVHGspc3zQf0eOSkGzOtWoPAwEzqS6HuT484EoSGqozamZKPvQH3Ha5iMOrUnKGlWas6fqPWiZ_3K3ZLsMokthbqCUNNQEUAoIw0dQZD5WQiJtXtkTnqYXd-oDjahdbfO-ZYFKSc-ne64wGZgRoN7NukOqC8lFQfcsMm6mtUFCoapb2O0W4gIL/w640-h480/BDA38A34-7B4C-4BDC-BA76-DDDD37A9DAE2.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wJLHv-oC2VcsajFtkPp27sS6Xw7Q0Teg3l2tFGEOqQDo53v2N0mzcY7N2W-KVHwMYDjXe7Jp9CvbckSLIbqeKr9jVYP9ad_wkR94_2j9M_XZbmSzGAd2ctVHXyooQHqQud_qmdTeja5aIvjQ7odyEgXKq-leMPSLUa2lLUlFEsgZR0_Yv-f-Jcc5/s4032/DD11B0DD-A501-4EA5-AEE4-26027B908BFD.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wJLHv-oC2VcsajFtkPp27sS6Xw7Q0Teg3l2tFGEOqQDo53v2N0mzcY7N2W-KVHwMYDjXe7Jp9CvbckSLIbqeKr9jVYP9ad_wkR94_2j9M_XZbmSzGAd2ctVHXyooQHqQud_qmdTeja5aIvjQ7odyEgXKq-leMPSLUa2lLUlFEsgZR0_Yv-f-Jcc5/w640-h480/DD11B0DD-A501-4EA5-AEE4-26027B908BFD.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirh-opnrxItZEyooHex312rxjFDlFLcwziFiSK0UmiDxlWOn2gVXlvHY9T4rwAj7Ft5VwisgM3eSqPBed0WTUGKhEmx98bcXhRHKkxjSsfXJnpJvWdv51XXgmkUy-Ystr-EQvmGTP_uZXb3s3pJWjKA045eed-p60k7R9tar0N-fGeLOEz6jroTKWF/s4032/FF1A4BC9-F92E-4E12-BE41-755AF64EB4ED.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirh-opnrxItZEyooHex312rxjFDlFLcwziFiSK0UmiDxlWOn2gVXlvHY9T4rwAj7Ft5VwisgM3eSqPBed0WTUGKhEmx98bcXhRHKkxjSsfXJnpJvWdv51XXgmkUy-Ystr-EQvmGTP_uZXb3s3pJWjKA045eed-p60k7R9tar0N-fGeLOEz6jroTKWF/w640-h480/FF1A4BC9-F92E-4E12-BE41-755AF64EB4ED.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After Chetwynd, we headed to Burns Lake to visit with friends of ours. We normally see them at least once a year for a RC float fly at their place, but because of COVID and the RC group getting smaller, they haven’t held an event there for a few years, so we got the lower section by the lake all to ourselves. This event is usually held the 1<sup>st</sup> weekend of August for the BC Day long weekend. This year as there wasn’t an RC event, we headed to Terrace, BC with them for that weekend and stayed at the Ferry Island Campground.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Our friend, Dave is a car and drag racing buff so we took in a car show and shine and then Dave and Rob spent a few hours at the drag races.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodpEW1RRZmVLmdBuzjfn9p4-qQ6Q7PJonrsUutjaGdiwscW43SPmmxl0zRZf0A4bW-CxUZ9ldl19_N87fmsZWULlxouBgUPMF4kDYDGto-537q-TGrSjf581ldCVw3FwzEmRsNpqJpkUOX6H3hSR6GtepMTtuyVQm8-_g2K0uY3421uK7eFeX-VB0/s4032/97EC5B13-15F7-43FD-B540-D77B1974C293.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodpEW1RRZmVLmdBuzjfn9p4-qQ6Q7PJonrsUutjaGdiwscW43SPmmxl0zRZf0A4bW-CxUZ9ldl19_N87fmsZWULlxouBgUPMF4kDYDGto-537q-TGrSjf581ldCVw3FwzEmRsNpqJpkUOX6H3hSR6GtepMTtuyVQm8-_g2K0uY3421uK7eFeX-VB0/w640-h480/97EC5B13-15F7-43FD-B540-D77B1974C293.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3t2hjVAtESZHbq_WpbL2NBhRyJ8O4tDGLt3LsLCAOCZEV4ui7b5OWjx70awWhM2vjLCAXBQwuwa1KOxTRsfQoVYFFyNGIpIbVZcrQfxIGCVQhbfE66vzU-K8Wz1xc17AYxD_wCDB0DprKf2FYq3E-4i1eMqoW7xRm7xVjhK_GzWcaznj5BC7ueamB/s4032/0BF98B44-50A6-4183-8625-99E3BA75C5A5.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3t2hjVAtESZHbq_WpbL2NBhRyJ8O4tDGLt3LsLCAOCZEV4ui7b5OWjx70awWhM2vjLCAXBQwuwa1KOxTRsfQoVYFFyNGIpIbVZcrQfxIGCVQhbfE66vzU-K8Wz1xc17AYxD_wCDB0DprKf2FYq3E-4i1eMqoW7xRm7xVjhK_GzWcaznj5BC7ueamB/w640-h480/0BF98B44-50A6-4183-8625-99E3BA75C5A5.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FGuSZYi7qM_EeJkwi3YV-X_BZiJ0FQ39o6jXK08hXGj3QAcYq1kTOTF-mTZNi420PeZCiYijCH-6NVy8kdaW4Kuc0daU5m89e9D_nM9nPpFHbabx0SG4ZF4tFMPdITEYCzcEFpbMnMuhra2K8KbXlDkqe1JkViAcVBQF2YgYxVZihwoKBx_eF5bL/s2020/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-25%20at%202.57.04%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="2020" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FGuSZYi7qM_EeJkwi3YV-X_BZiJ0FQ39o6jXK08hXGj3QAcYq1kTOTF-mTZNi420PeZCiYijCH-6NVy8kdaW4Kuc0daU5m89e9D_nM9nPpFHbabx0SG4ZF4tFMPdITEYCzcEFpbMnMuhra2K8KbXlDkqe1JkViAcVBQF2YgYxVZihwoKBx_eF5bL/w640-h380/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-25%20at%202.57.04%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqVvVpToE4FIaSjwUPn-Kxds-ze3qRnlP82vjw4eKjUVVP6fK6MlrBLHtu8dhJH49NyAuswE900Gn5jdh18_g_JJZ0ueCi6OGzhQ3fXRdKU8dUoBXAmQC_qHcjG95YIYAtj75h7OA8K_NmmMEt3F68VGiv9SS_L9q7LJCIuLrVlapkdm95sbhLzxr/s2020/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-25%20at%202.58.07%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="2020" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqVvVpToE4FIaSjwUPn-Kxds-ze3qRnlP82vjw4eKjUVVP6fK6MlrBLHtu8dhJH49NyAuswE900Gn5jdh18_g_JJZ0ueCi6OGzhQ3fXRdKU8dUoBXAmQC_qHcjG95YIYAtj75h7OA8K_NmmMEt3F68VGiv9SS_L9q7LJCIuLrVlapkdm95sbhLzxr/w640-h386/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-25%20at%202.58.07%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After Terrace, we headed back to Alberta for more RC events. On our way, just after crossing the BC/Alberta border, we got a call from the GM dealership in Kamloops, saying that all the parts were now in for the next fix for the truck. At that time, we made an appointment for the beginning of September. We continued on to the rest of the RC fun flys in Alberta we had planned to in August. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We started off in Drayton Valley at a smaller event. While fairly small, the Drayton Valley club were super friendly and put on a great event.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslCpjPMK_omW2uSJ5UAPVMEwKxpeIyKYwMNTN7Eecpyo-EhhIoV9TTOrBOupRBAQwic8BCTtigCCs5CoHyladvYKzgmOabFtWxn9gJ4uG6zysVIwX8zrIk-ay85dWusBRZ1Z_gvvVq-5E5_Nzqy7oS0AXZSqgng1Bk4u3DwDmSCphpOoyPPPDX97b/s4032/594D38BD-AFCE-4101-9006-E02F8C7BFD7C.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslCpjPMK_omW2uSJ5UAPVMEwKxpeIyKYwMNTN7Eecpyo-EhhIoV9TTOrBOupRBAQwic8BCTtigCCs5CoHyladvYKzgmOabFtWxn9gJ4uG6zysVIwX8zrIk-ay85dWusBRZ1Z_gvvVq-5E5_Nzqy7oS0AXZSqgng1Bk4u3DwDmSCphpOoyPPPDX97b/w640-h480/594D38BD-AFCE-4101-9006-E02F8C7BFD7C.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMJnLgDMQUEgEbQ1tH-7ng8B04thLjlqe1ab-zJkiFeXy0Y9lpAY3HwMAfWLfLmu24YfjxyBbH8APLvVQzjub0y3l5N_5XfWTRpthZ1mfXxbz8Supk0Glp_xDxi79sYND7luF6SMX8jkco5cn9vh4HYMQ7UW_LudOqQjxASCUCcBKxDsmr0ASNbNX/s4032/AD8B7EE6-AD7B-4178-96D1-8CE1950A667B.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMJnLgDMQUEgEbQ1tH-7ng8B04thLjlqe1ab-zJkiFeXy0Y9lpAY3HwMAfWLfLmu24YfjxyBbH8APLvVQzjub0y3l5N_5XfWTRpthZ1mfXxbz8Supk0Glp_xDxi79sYND7luF6SMX8jkco5cn9vh4HYMQ7UW_LudOqQjxASCUCcBKxDsmr0ASNbNX/w640-h480/AD8B7EE6-AD7B-4178-96D1-8CE1950A667B.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After Drayton Valley we made our way back to Edmonton for their annual Airshow. They do a one day event in August with admission being a donation to the local Food Bank. There were fortunate with good weather and a good turn out. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After this we were back in Bawlf at Alberta's Littlest Airport again for their Corn Roast. Another great event hosted by Reg and Terri. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">While we were back in Bawlf, the plan was to attend the next event back in Edmonton. We decided to skip that event and start heading back to BC. Once we got back to BC, we attended the Vernon RC Aeromodellers Labour Day event. With being back in Vernon, was able to celebrate my mom’s 75<sup>th</sup> birthday. The next event after Vernon, was going to be the RC Float Fly at Sandy Point Campground, but while we were visiting my sister in Chetwynd, her daughter got engaged and decided that the wedding would be in Nanaimo, BC on Sept 10 this year. So, it was back to the Silver Sage Campground on Sept 5, dropped the truck off to the dealership on September 7 and then mom and dad picked us up from Kamloops on September 8 to head to Nanaimo for the weekend. We rented a place through Airbnb. It was a really nice weekend weather wise and visiting with family.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUA36sI9CqMwBK8mXqWFGeZjjnbFuQRKnZpISfYnGYK3976oYb0OCl22rIGtIT3BhTBck-hGyliyGycv01fR0hkyDE3FcXc0Lky1AMgD214sGqIsKGvfR6D1y9eDX9czPaliNqDyej97bg4RAMXiYKDPOTkSgnzTX8LtZsYrt7KObVQ3UltjPZXAk/s4032/49F348DC-8E7C-45A4-9B99-951F9FB2EBE3.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUA36sI9CqMwBK8mXqWFGeZjjnbFuQRKnZpISfYnGYK3976oYb0OCl22rIGtIT3BhTBck-hGyliyGycv01fR0hkyDE3FcXc0Lky1AMgD214sGqIsKGvfR6D1y9eDX9czPaliNqDyej97bg4RAMXiYKDPOTkSgnzTX8LtZsYrt7KObVQ3UltjPZXAk/w640-h480/49F348DC-8E7C-45A4-9B99-951F9FB2EBE3.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcD2X0Y_kz-W6uTL2I8yhieHBy2v1Ivh49o7ixWQd4mzesL_IOtNiXr8vVnRoJf_AJdZsVE1CZCz8B5wvuY6bRqxfQ5jiZeyk5-9R5bohWv-tJKUDFh2EaDT8ypXRxHf9N-qfg9USN_Y67uEW49iBOmuzVy0IyjL9YRfyDKN6tv9Qim8ylt8X-vy7/s4032/758B0BE5-DF8D-495A-A1AD-1240FB5195AD.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcD2X0Y_kz-W6uTL2I8yhieHBy2v1Ivh49o7ixWQd4mzesL_IOtNiXr8vVnRoJf_AJdZsVE1CZCz8B5wvuY6bRqxfQ5jiZeyk5-9R5bohWv-tJKUDFh2EaDT8ypXRxHf9N-qfg9USN_Y67uEW49iBOmuzVy0IyjL9YRfyDKN6tv9Qim8ylt8X-vy7/w640-h480/758B0BE5-DF8D-495A-A1AD-1240FB5195AD.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2lGoIv7TGANhh2jst3TbcI01Ptf4_Mg0UTx5N7cdnt11bYvlet2BA0g52Ic3uFCCi7_azcqk8tEekebIAPgS0l6sI1olrHWfSXtSEVGjibh1WyIfTbn5S03xPTNSQJpgG5oc5s2LgVUT9GccwONpxQ_xS9GTv23WFiReZFMm3ULPsQ-aY6Aubjmi/s4032/C07F2435-00B3-473E-81BA-592B21BDD73A.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2lGoIv7TGANhh2jst3TbcI01Ptf4_Mg0UTx5N7cdnt11bYvlet2BA0g52Ic3uFCCi7_azcqk8tEekebIAPgS0l6sI1olrHWfSXtSEVGjibh1WyIfTbn5S03xPTNSQJpgG5oc5s2LgVUT9GccwONpxQ_xS9GTv23WFiReZFMm3ULPsQ-aY6Aubjmi/w640-h480/C07F2435-00B3-473E-81BA-592B21BDD73A.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Left to right, Dave(my BIL), Theresa(my sister), Leanne(Justin's mom), Marilyn(my mom), Justin(Groom), Tiffany(my niece), Marshall (my dad), me and Rob</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After getting back from Nanaimo, we picked up the truck from its hospital stay. Hoping that this will be fixing the issues that we have been having. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">About a week after getting back from Nanaimo, Rob and I went and took an air brake endorsement course. We both passed the course and the knowledge test with ICBC. So, if it ever does come to it, we can both now legally drive a big truck with air brakes. We decided to do this because we have been thinking about getting a different vehicle to replace our truck. The more we think about it the more we like the idea. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">After the knowledge test, we went and hooked up the trailer to head to Princeton, BC for the last RC event of the year. This was the RC jet rally. Well, you guessed it, Not even 200 kms since the last repair (8 more fuel injectors, underhood wiring harness and a NOx sensor) the check engine light came back on. Called the dealership right away and was scheduled to go in to the shop again the Monday after the event. Otherwise we had a good weekend in Princeton. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Now back to the dealership we go with the truck. By this point, the mechanic is getting frustrated that this keeps happening. He got us to come up with the truck and trailer so he could plug his computer into the truck as we drove with the trailer. Took it for about a 45 minute drive but nothing came up. After we dropped him off, and almost back to the campground, the check engine light comes back on. He wanted us to come back with the trailer again on Friday to do this again. We were also told when we set the Friday drive up, that a GM field engineering tech was going to be in on Thursday, so be aware that we may have to go up with the truck for him to look at it. Didn’t have to, but the Friday drive got rescheduled for Monday. On that drive, the mechanic was telling us that talking with the field engineer, it was suggested that maybe there was internal fuel contamination, meaning possible metal in the system. The suggestion was to replace the entire fuel system. He was only given authorization initially to drop the fuel tank to look for metal but guess what? He found metal flakes in the tank and the fuel filter. Now it is a race to do a complete fuel system replacement except for a couple of lines that were easier to flush than to change, before our departure date to head south on October 15. Well, he did it. We are now hoping that this will be the last issue with the truck. So, to recap, there has been a total of 30, yes 30 fuel injectors, both fuel pumps along with the fuel pressure regulator, complete engine wiring harness, Engine Control Module, Body Control Module, 3 fuel filters (one was replaced in Sept 2022 because it was due to be changed), a couple of sensors, and some misc. other parts. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Left Kamloops on Sept 14, got to Vernon that night. Spent time with mom and dad and friend Laura, had breakfast with Rob’s mom Saturday morning, and crossed the border at Oroville, WA just outside of Osoyoos, BC. We stopped for the night at the Walmart in Omak, WA, then on to the Wildhorse Casino just outside of Pendleton, OR and then to Twin Falls, Idaho for a couple nights to visit with friends. As we were getting ready to head down towards Overton, Nevada, we started to smell a melting/burning plastic smell. Turns out the plastic cover over the nut that attaches the battery cable to the alternator was melting. It seems the nut which holds the cable down was not properly tightened which cause the wire to arc and partially burned through the stud. As a result, we had to get a new alternator. That repair and car rental, fortunately, were covered by the dealership in Kamloops. We got the truck back last Saturday but our weather window to head south had closed so we elected to stay an extra couple of days in Twin Falls rather than risk high winds and snow over the pass outside Ely, NV. We left yesterday morning and had an uneventful but long days drive.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We are now on some BLM land just outside of Overton, NV and will likely stay here til the weekend.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoucgUsvulgL_yBjIKVUcS0-taESjhA4py30L7TlF50gQ4sTEtUq_T1kQkiML8ed_9Xbt0h2tD5N_Hnsn4K1Av0gH3PHv9z3154EyySYU4NzLWGYAjtN-fxQSlb6WMKaf8Mrl9-yCAEC-QVW1VYjKS8pOdQpqeE2u6hvPC0fAflR4uxjyFN6c0Hw6q/s4032/6C9EC17F-9EBD-4EDB-96B5-C46AF1399EA1.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoucgUsvulgL_yBjIKVUcS0-taESjhA4py30L7TlF50gQ4sTEtUq_T1kQkiML8ed_9Xbt0h2tD5N_Hnsn4K1Av0gH3PHv9z3154EyySYU4NzLWGYAjtN-fxQSlb6WMKaf8Mrl9-yCAEC-QVW1VYjKS8pOdQpqeE2u6hvPC0fAflR4uxjyFN6c0Hw6q/w640-h480/6C9EC17F-9EBD-4EDB-96B5-C46AF1399EA1.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3tjz4M5bR7aX4ZucCJVWQjPf_Jk-XB7NCYeIwcR3tvOF05bxBKNuZ8X35h9jil6IYGFZ4qWZmn4xzlG-sLDyaw9qIt8uvyXV67JI0cqENspuNghdWrTEQFNjz8N5KmqRVYK_ViuWrdjcc4XxfLDZgwNrPqVQcPbPE_FggSmS92RzMeM-6bWqzgkg/s4032/944E4F12-B6FC-4D5D-A35B-0939C6D4B1C6.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3tjz4M5bR7aX4ZucCJVWQjPf_Jk-XB7NCYeIwcR3tvOF05bxBKNuZ8X35h9jil6IYGFZ4qWZmn4xzlG-sLDyaw9qIt8uvyXV67JI0cqENspuNghdWrTEQFNjz8N5KmqRVYK_ViuWrdjcc4XxfLDZgwNrPqVQcPbPE_FggSmS92RzMeM-6bWqzgkg/w640-h480/944E4F12-B6FC-4D5D-A35B-0939C6D4B1C6.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;">Reminder, If you would like us to email a copy of the blog automatically when we update it, please send us your email address to rcdover@rmcd.ca<br /></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-79480749836633364942022-06-14T15:01:00.000-07:002022-06-14T15:01:26.285-07:00Rainy day so time for an update<p>We are currently sitting in a farmers field near Raven Alberta while attending another fun fly, or will be if it ever stops raining!</p><p>So this is what we have been doing since the last update.</p><p>Once we left Kamloops, we spent a few days in Vernon to visit with parents as we likely won't see them for a couple of months. After that it was on to Princeton and the Spring Warm Up Jet Rally. Before arriving there though we stopped and spent a couple of days at <a href="https://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/bromley_rock/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Bromley Rock Provincial Park</b></a>. This is a small park consisting of 17 campsites and a day use area along the Similkameen River about 20 Kms East of Princeton. Before booking this location though, I had some concerns about if our rig would fit. Chris called the campground operator and they recommended only 2 sites. The first was #1, right off the highway. We picked that one as if worst came to worst, we could easily back out if necessary. #1 is a back in site and wasn't all that hard getting into, but it wasn't all that easy either; back up a hill and around a big fir tree and then watch the steep bank in the back corner. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHbbmfcPbRMfPfjLJlhPMbFQsEAdU9cFx5p6my6Ur0aC5oMOgckyVJHKpMZxJs6Bzj_1R2R2VG6Jx2DGtqzkZq7ThKPObt0UjaMUGY--lmlCZ3hhVnew5KXEqwuVQmEO26aJvUK77FRJcbbscd0TOtXmfKGFhQvSDdVodh_2tRNjNKy2Xe1raX1JE/s4032/6E7B26AD-C642-4BA9-84DF-0FA0D83B7813.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHbbmfcPbRMfPfjLJlhPMbFQsEAdU9cFx5p6my6Ur0aC5oMOgckyVJHKpMZxJs6Bzj_1R2R2VG6Jx2DGtqzkZq7ThKPObt0UjaMUGY--lmlCZ3hhVnew5KXEqwuVQmEO26aJvUK77FRJcbbscd0TOtXmfKGFhQvSDdVodh_2tRNjNKy2Xe1raX1JE/w640-h480/6E7B26AD-C642-4BA9-84DF-0FA0D83B7813.heic" width="640" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Once set up we explored a bit and came to the conclusion that #1 was the only site that would have worked for us. The rest were down a fairly narrow road with trees on both sides and low branches. We also discovered that our back up plan for egress would have to be used. There was a tight corner at the end of the road with a big tree right on the inside edge of the corner. I am not sure I would have been able to get enough clearance to swing around the tree. This was on Monday, May 16, coincidentally, my 65th birthday. As such, we we eligible for the BC Parks senior rate, half price! Gotta love it!<br />The next day, we had to make a quick trip to Oroville Wa as I had ordered a couple of solar panels to replace the ones damaged on our way home from down south. The rest of the time we just spent relaxing. There was no cellular coverage there either so we were essentially off the grid for a couple of days. On Wednesday morning we pulled out (by backing out of the park) without trouble and moved on to the Princeton Airport and our first R/C event of the season.</p><p>We were the first to arrive and set up in our usual spot. A few hours later Paul, the event coordinator showed up and we proceeded to get things set up for the weekend. Thursday, the first official event day, others started to show up and we got the event rolling.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTCN03C5VAxPsGL4u-d311P3KFeE4-H15_Nx9fAi38bJNzaVoyWMMxNSQDPhIY8K5bwdP5xraMZmH5xbzzyE0-h_0duc0-RS6OdSmtjr4X6tvNug-J5kHnzya6jgSTbrRvHcIOXWElrIoy1Imd3UM7Qq-1kKCn4d_P4ZJWVoPD8SyR2tom2fRxsYf/s4032/2D48162D-E6C7-4EE3-91A0-4C74CAA4172F.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTCN03C5VAxPsGL4u-d311P3KFeE4-H15_Nx9fAi38bJNzaVoyWMMxNSQDPhIY8K5bwdP5xraMZmH5xbzzyE0-h_0duc0-RS6OdSmtjr4X6tvNug-J5kHnzya6jgSTbrRvHcIOXWElrIoy1Imd3UM7Qq-1kKCn4d_P4ZJWVoPD8SyR2tom2fRxsYf/w640-h480/2D48162D-E6C7-4EE3-91A0-4C74CAA4172F.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>The weather wasn't the greatest but at least the rain held off for the most part and we were all able to get lots of flying in. It felt good to get my Elan back in the air after such a long break. I am happy to say, it ran and flew like a champ. My other jet, the 'Baby Boomer', unfortunately not so much. I just could not get it to start at all. I know the engine in it is pretty much done, but this basically decides things.</p><p>After Princeton, on Monday morning, we packed up and headed back to Kamloops for event #2. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2WjvJQy2Jgg531x_rayOdXjnF0mgZL0qKtOwq8qL_FmUye_W5itvRGxwS8-jx26dukAU3HHxt55WKtfNpSBW0TImFXrwMkMv_PFeUO5K3zZwg_iLB_WYlw0B36jeu1UTegT7NbQj2VFeKvyZzWPA4ZXWovSc7CmMc7Z6EcAwcpXOAw7qQTUnPs3oW/s4032/D6D25F60-B3BE-4334-BF95-03D73FB1FDFC.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2WjvJQy2Jgg531x_rayOdXjnF0mgZL0qKtOwq8qL_FmUye_W5itvRGxwS8-jx26dukAU3HHxt55WKtfNpSBW0TImFXrwMkMv_PFeUO5K3zZwg_iLB_WYlw0B36jeu1UTegT7NbQj2VFeKvyZzWPA4ZXWovSc7CmMc7Z6EcAwcpXOAw7qQTUnPs3oW/w640-h480/D6D25F60-B3BE-4334-BF95-03D73FB1FDFC.heic" width="640" /></a></div> <p></p><p>This is the Kamloops Model Airplane Society Spring Fun Fly. This is the event that Chris and I ran for probably 10 years before we went full time. Since then KMAS member, Andy and his wife Chris have taken it over and are doing a superb job. <br />The main event doesn't start until the Friday so for the rest of the week things were pretty quiet. Our friends Walter and Scott and their wives from the coast arrived a bit later on Monday so we weren't totally alone. One thing about Walter and Scott is that they like to fly early. They were both typically out flying by 6AM. Fortunately they both fly electric so didn't disturb us late sleepers.<br />By the weekend there were about 12 or 14 RV's and many of the Kamloops club members out flying as well. The weather was superb and I think only one minor crash! KMAS put on a Friday night appy party, a Saturday dinner and Sunday pancake breakfast. By all accounts, a very successful event.</p><p>Again, the Monday after this event, we packed up and headed to event #3. This is the Grindrod Airforce, Spring Float Fly, held at Sandy Point campground just West of Salmon Arm. The roots to this event actually started about 45 years ago in the mid 70's on a different area of Shuswap Lake at the resort where I grew up. It was started by the Kamloops club of the day, the Kamloops R/C Modellers. We hosted it at our resort for about 5 years before Mom and Dad sold the resort and retired. It stayed there for a few more years then moved around a bit before settling at Sandy Point. By this time, hosting had been taken over by the Grindrod club.<br />Frequently, the spring event suffers from a lack of beach due to the spring high water. This year though was the lowest I can remember the lake level for this time of year. There was plenty of beach.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fpm3Vl6aH3DnvB4bfpTQHCUAlZDjouI1v7qEITXwrFBpqNwIVa98ToqC7CydoI4q_uXObB805R4I7BuEPRffFn6QNINhoiY1-oX9pNFMFR3PFbVQUtY7WwGD0PMBl87IGiCtbVGjQPKK7o7Y800W2qxzkBsoegheuzihst_Rgo1Bfu5TAruuP4CX/s4032/637C7006-94E8-4750-9CEC-5A67894A244A.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fpm3Vl6aH3DnvB4bfpTQHCUAlZDjouI1v7qEITXwrFBpqNwIVa98ToqC7CydoI4q_uXObB805R4I7BuEPRffFn6QNINhoiY1-oX9pNFMFR3PFbVQUtY7WwGD0PMBl87IGiCtbVGjQPKK7o7Y800W2qxzkBsoegheuzihst_Rgo1Bfu5TAruuP4CX/w640-h480/637C7006-94E8-4750-9CEC-5A67894A244A.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUWGoRovGuzqufijpmia7f-S8M6zQ-mbqFQF9xAlW-vL4FF1FowJWEiZER10msFIEoqJfNdKFJlOORuMNzdSZGrmUETSeqTZDeulRoGk7K3Fgz2UC-yc9WirSiZ-Bea-ictL86Uyltzl-FDsYMx93s76gHcb5080-JCgg_2XKtNqBQGC0X290rsl6/s4032/AE4C07E6-BBB6-4933-AB1C-105FDD1705AA.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUWGoRovGuzqufijpmia7f-S8M6zQ-mbqFQF9xAlW-vL4FF1FowJWEiZER10msFIEoqJfNdKFJlOORuMNzdSZGrmUETSeqTZDeulRoGk7K3Fgz2UC-yc9WirSiZ-Bea-ictL86Uyltzl-FDsYMx93s76gHcb5080-JCgg_2XKtNqBQGC0X290rsl6/w640-h480/AE4C07E6-BBB6-4933-AB1C-105FDD1705AA.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>After getting the trailer set up, I dug out my aircraft and started putting them together. I was quite looking forward to flying my big Super Cub again after almost 3 years. I had run the engine up earlier while at Kamloops so felt it should be OK. After checking things out I took it down to the beach and after some further final checks, took it for a flight. It flew just as I remembered; slow, easy and majestic. This thing is a joy to fly, nary a bad habit at all. Between it, my Cessna and a couple of flights on others aircraft, I got quite a bit of flying in. As the week progressed though, the cub engine starting acting up. At first, just the occasional miss, then more often and finally towards the end of the meet it just quit on me and I haven't been able to get it to fire at all since. I am suspecting an ignition issue of some sort but troubleshooting it will have to wait a bit.</p><p>Saturday afternoon, we packed up as we wanted to be on the road fairly early on Sunday. We had a few stops to make in Kamloops before heading North to our next event. This time a Grand Design Rally in Spruce Grove AB. This is several days drive so we had planned to make our first stop at a small roadside pullout we have used in the past in Blue River. It is far enough off the highway and behind some trees so the road noise isn't too bothersome. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZ5yFEWDRLkuRReSrdBt57A57T7OwcT5kOws2_rFKHOzGapjuGJLZcrx5Hlm-X61-OHiJr-KeXEJoMnYueT5yGzvd0QVcZGiADf1rFeenP-RHw0Ht766753yCNYC_phUNFhAdxx4y0OxxbRnWJjcn1mpW5MTe8Vr2w8Vs_4dJnqb4pTuLVRyJXv7L/s4032/21480270-836C-4292-90FC-9B204505AAD5.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZ5yFEWDRLkuRReSrdBt57A57T7OwcT5kOws2_rFKHOzGapjuGJLZcrx5Hlm-X61-OHiJr-KeXEJoMnYueT5yGzvd0QVcZGiADf1rFeenP-RHw0Ht766753yCNYC_phUNFhAdxx4y0OxxbRnWJjcn1mpW5MTe8Vr2w8Vs_4dJnqb4pTuLVRyJXv7L/w640-h480/21480270-836C-4292-90FC-9B204505AAD5.heic" width="640" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div>Monday morning, we carried on and then turned East at<b> </b>Tête-Jaune Cache. After a brief stop in Hinton for a bite to eat and a laundry stop, we carried on for another 30 minutes or so to a spot Chris had spotted earlier. It was a small lake just off the highway with several RV spots near the lake and some more a bit further back. When we arrived it was raining fairly hard, so guess who got to set up and disconnect. Of course, just after I had finished it stopped raining. <br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDYzH2JvMegvh_Rl5nXUHoSfc6468EJ9Z2uiOiZg4bGMnszB4a6kSYvQh4_YwaY1gISXBOezgKAiT24kW7YLn-G5TxyhFPzXS1WH_eRR2njcqpU8JScI69r4gheATXziEKBZrZOntJJv30yovOWbk4EefVT3IPxmN7HbZPR904Ri5z0SAl8ZNrxqa/s4032/502624A4-1B31-4AEA-A26F-A3F5F18F28D5.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDYzH2JvMegvh_Rl5nXUHoSfc6468EJ9Z2uiOiZg4bGMnszB4a6kSYvQh4_YwaY1gISXBOezgKAiT24kW7YLn-G5TxyhFPzXS1WH_eRR2njcqpU8JScI69r4gheATXziEKBZrZOntJJv30yovOWbk4EefVT3IPxmN7HbZPR904Ri5z0SAl8ZNrxqa/w640-h480/502624A4-1B31-4AEA-A26F-A3F5F18F28D5.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3KNXDHWLXl9MNfe5904LsZaFUX8n_Zt866lhO7BYROdb0OA95bk2vFXBgbSI1kPDEjuBkA18fccJjcGclAVvqcWBOrMgQYyC0DWmkDWPlZ-jS5uWfiA8_Y9qO7a7Pl4MHU8A2rG2IzbPP984GhsojJL74FWbGyYMj05Tt0439l7ebl8y926eyEgQ/s4032/457FFC92-C5BF-49FE-917A-97A89B92EBD8.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3KNXDHWLXl9MNfe5904LsZaFUX8n_Zt866lhO7BYROdb0OA95bk2vFXBgbSI1kPDEjuBkA18fccJjcGclAVvqcWBOrMgQYyC0DWmkDWPlZ-jS5uWfiA8_Y9qO7a7Pl4MHU8A2rG2IzbPP984GhsojJL74FWbGyYMj05Tt0439l7ebl8y926eyEgQ/w640-h480/457FFC92-C5BF-49FE-917A-97A89B92EBD8.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>One of the local couples also stopped by to show off their family.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfEFSIglkZRUVsw2t2TNa5KwiFBnKHxATEIRAZyw0kXWgp_J4M_aRd3uOt-064q5eSoko5r6OtpiQMdeki1cozuCiErMS9aVIc4IpSOIt2oU2HnF3lrls_Ym5_PoWUiHi61tIB8yTr5_4FHoCPoyIRR63-y8EO1B29b946eqUaRtOiMr5eLbjWZX9/s4032/9B31E015-65BA-40E8-8121-8821081407B8.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfEFSIglkZRUVsw2t2TNa5KwiFBnKHxATEIRAZyw0kXWgp_J4M_aRd3uOt-064q5eSoko5r6OtpiQMdeki1cozuCiErMS9aVIc4IpSOIt2oU2HnF3lrls_Ym5_PoWUiHi61tIB8yTr5_4FHoCPoyIRR63-y8EO1B29b946eqUaRtOiMr5eLbjWZX9/w640-h480/9B31E015-65BA-40E8-8121-8821081407B8.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p><p>We stayed here and explored a bit for a couple of days before carrying on to our rally park in Spruce Grove.<br /></p><p>This was to be our 3rd Grand Design Rally and the first one in Canada as well as the first one at an RV park. The first 2 were both in the Arizona desert outside of Quartzsite. It was also a bit smaller than the previous 2 as well with about 50 rigs registered if memory serves. The first 2 were between 120 and 150. Once we had registered, we were escorted to our site and got set up. Through the rest of the day, quite a few other GD rigs were arriving and by nightfall we had quite the community. While the rally didn't officially get started until Friday morning, we did meet a few other folks including the rally hosts and the Grand Design rally coordinators.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwmS8mIO19VcdQe3DVKWk9b79fC4PQOa3pEBhscslrQ00SwS7Sz43h8iw-a4grTJjYbKTGhPmi8D1zs4LjGeCNKa27Vjm1nTl2yAZQilgc2Fg2-AFZkbfaKT3rRwWD9WuWbaDjdvPNK2SVHJnN9RLTh11WFI_I1tbdBqPco-JBAweAV_6cSKBielz/s16350/8BFF0203-4605-4944-8A1C-C5D439A948C6.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3784" data-original-width="16350" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwmS8mIO19VcdQe3DVKWk9b79fC4PQOa3pEBhscslrQ00SwS7Sz43h8iw-a4grTJjYbKTGhPmi8D1zs4LjGeCNKa27Vjm1nTl2yAZQilgc2Fg2-AFZkbfaKT3rRwWD9WuWbaDjdvPNK2SVHJnN9RLTh11WFI_I1tbdBqPco-JBAweAV_6cSKBielz/w640-h148/8BFF0203-4605-4944-8A1C-C5D439A948C6.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>One thing Grand Design Rallies are known for is that Grand Design and their local dealers will bring their techs out to the rally and do emergency repairs, recalls and other critical fixes for attendees. This is usually at no charge to the attendees. With us, we had started to get trailer brake warning messages on the truck indicating an intermittent problem with the brakes. We were able to get one of the attending techs to look at it and he completely re-spliced all the brake circuit connections under the trailer. Not a fun job which took around an hour. Not sure yet if that resolved the issue or not. Time will tell. Even if it didn't, it narrowed it down by eliminating one problem area.<br />There were also a couple of seminars and round table discussions I participated in which were quite productive.<br />Depending on dates and circumstances, we will definitely look at attending again next year.</p><p>Monday morning, we packed up and headed off to our next event (am I starting to sound repetitive?). Next up is the Valley of Hope Fun Fly hosted by the Rocky Barnstormers R/C club who are based about 30 minutes WSW of Red Deer, AB. Our weather started out quite nice and sunny but the forecast was for a massive rain event to hit the area later that day. Sure enough, by the time we arrived, we barely had time to set up before the rain started. We did get a break later in the evening, but overnight it started up again with a vengeance. I am writing this about 2:30PM on Tuesday and it hasn't stopped raining since about 9PM last night. My weather station is showing about 60mm since midnight. That's over 2" for our southern readers. Also very windy with steady wind of about 20 KPH and gusts up to 50KPH.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgowINVijLY5y8W92G69n6AbFm_By0sbx7eP3WtBljO4TMKfBgAECxo3YW2v9Uyq1wvscScAbu1WemMha9PBtYUOhElop8IMG8re6fB_d5O_jWC3sjUCX79xXzSRpMX4rh5INdd3o3I9pdUTsJanVQdjF1O2l6XUgPkSYP2TJ1HHptwccs87AtqSMJ8/s1276/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-14%20at%201.58.33%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1276" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgowINVijLY5y8W92G69n6AbFm_By0sbx7eP3WtBljO4TMKfBgAECxo3YW2v9Uyq1wvscScAbu1WemMha9PBtYUOhElop8IMG8re6fB_d5O_jWC3sjUCX79xXzSRpMX4rh5INdd3o3I9pdUTsJanVQdjF1O2l6XUgPkSYP2TJ1HHptwccs87AtqSMJ8/w640-h506/Screen%20Shot%202022-06-14%20at%201.58.33%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>This is a screen capture of the AccuWeather radar about an hour ago. We are just down and to the left of Red Deer. That storm is rotating anticlockwise and slowly moving towards the West. If things hold we should get a break in a couple of hours.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-31571052296027622602022-05-13T16:08:00.017-07:002022-05-14T13:10:40.980-07:00Back in BC<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hey there. It has been awhile since we have done a post.
Just not a lot going on. Hope everyone has been healthy over the last month or
so. <br /><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">While we were still at Poverty Flats, we needed to dump our holding tanks so while doing that, we took a drive back into Valley of Fire State Park as that was the closest Sani Dump. After doing the deed, we drove around a bit and took a look at the 2 camping areas. The last time we were here was with the Cameo so this time we were looking for sites where our Solitude would fit. Sad to say, there weren't many! Maybe a half dozen total in both areas.<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Southwest US has been in a severe drought condition for a few years now and one place where it was very apparent is Lake Mead. Normally the water level reaches almost up to the town of Overton in the Moapa Valley. Just south of Overton, there is an old town by the name of St Thomas. Back in the 1930's after they built the Hoover Dam, the town was flooded by the rising water of Lake Mead. All the residents were relocated but a lot of the town was just abandoned. Normally the town lies under 40-50 feet of water. Not any more. It is now high and dry and no water to be seen anywhere except what is flowing in the Muddy River. We spent several hours one day wandering around and learning the history of St Thomas.<br /><br /></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPo8LHlMph1BG8Rx5VTcFrchirS-0uJcIsBO81w-igsXx2RKlSAtQPWgayvqquH2_Gsdbw93o3csKBt6Y9MSZh4sdSXKVRWviqs4esr2LnmEOKW7ISbhb6es_PoCUz9URLLf5UTSf23SuABrOex6z8sTVAARwCMfL1momqWL1qFagygGYT-FqOxbpc/s1280/IMG_6603.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPo8LHlMph1BG8Rx5VTcFrchirS-0uJcIsBO81w-igsXx2RKlSAtQPWgayvqquH2_Gsdbw93o3csKBt6Y9MSZh4sdSXKVRWviqs4esr2LnmEOKW7ISbhb6es_PoCUz9URLLf5UTSf23SuABrOex6z8sTVAARwCMfL1momqWL1qFagygGYT-FqOxbpc/w640-h480/IMG_6603.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">This was the old General store.<br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5aygQ8yABK526O31qyEf0ldCCEX8boAmmPj1z9IrUADgg0aG7AXJq_jyPvsrH4cHSS8U97YWtgupE5QL6GP5CYNByXygvTo9YglL-6lLoaw_3CWPjkPG4CJ3G31hh1IrjvH3esRMCEtn4yS-cA09s2jmlmGRI_ipiHSBwrlvPDbtnMF2nMkrcEVR/s1280/IMG_6605.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5aygQ8yABK526O31qyEf0ldCCEX8boAmmPj1z9IrUADgg0aG7AXJq_jyPvsrH4cHSS8U97YWtgupE5QL6GP5CYNByXygvTo9YglL-6lLoaw_3CWPjkPG4CJ3G31hh1IrjvH3esRMCEtn4yS-cA09s2jmlmGRI_ipiHSBwrlvPDbtnMF2nMkrcEVR/w640-h480/IMG_6605.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The school house.<br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlU6ek3ZAx8jsGABzTAtl6_CpbtcNb05w9YBY96zqfnOm1P5HKqJ4AUxwGa4RXKRv-uRHdNQDdZ5cBDmFUOv-g5aZmqj-B9xicTn3i2dxys4ycOqy77KEvZqsz3mk81sm3QV5o4zSpQS0fZG0NW5J5xFfiTZGKtqkmGDcb5B_D5PjnPSnp6zqnM-v/s1280/IMG_6612.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlU6ek3ZAx8jsGABzTAtl6_CpbtcNb05w9YBY96zqfnOm1P5HKqJ4AUxwGa4RXKRv-uRHdNQDdZ5cBDmFUOv-g5aZmqj-B9xicTn3i2dxys4ycOqy77KEvZqsz3mk81sm3QV5o4zSpQS0fZG0NW5J5xFfiTZGKtqkmGDcb5B_D5PjnPSnp6zqnM-v/w640-h480/IMG_6612.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Click on this picture for a larger readable version<br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhISmqKLR2Gb0rtRa5b9gtXIicTjD-ZpLQGh-kEEYMTAsXvwd3UF0jaV00NNW2VNJncJ8Q50NNdOi7d6jZTDgH8dFjgV6ITEtzeb3EL-Txpm6UjdsGQpI-nitRPcNDHOLOVa6QM93E0buy33x5doW_MWfof6kl4JTfkcUbdIcvUuDr1GHuc6N2deX1/s1280/IMG_6614.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhISmqKLR2Gb0rtRa5b9gtXIicTjD-ZpLQGh-kEEYMTAsXvwd3UF0jaV00NNW2VNJncJ8Q50NNdOi7d6jZTDgH8dFjgV6ITEtzeb3EL-Txpm6UjdsGQpI-nitRPcNDHOLOVa6QM93E0buy33x5doW_MWfof6kl4JTfkcUbdIcvUuDr1GHuc6N2deX1/w480-h640/IMG_6614.jpeg" width="480" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Click on this picture for a larger readable version</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">More information on the town of St Thomas can be seen <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/st-thomas-nevada.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a> <br /><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">After we left the Overton area, we took a couple of days
to travel north to Twin Falls, ID to see Eric and Susanne again. On the way
there, we overnighted in Ely, NV, behind the Shell gas station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We parked there after filling the truck up
across the road at Love’s. What was nice about this location is that it was
quiet. In total, there was probably less than a dozen units parked there
overnight. Only a few big rigs with no reefers. It was also walking distance to
the grocery store (5 min walk), so we went and got some snacks for the road
and also a few things for dinner that night.
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once we got up the next morning, we continued on to Twin
Falls, ID. Guess what came on just outside of Twin Falls? You guessed it, the
check engine light. The day after we got set up at the Twin Falls Fairgrounds
in Filer, ID, about 10 mins to shopping in Twin Falls, we went back to the same
dealership we went to in November on the way down. At that point, they were not
able to get it in for diagnostics, but were able to read and clear the codes showing that they were the same as before. Clearing them this time didn’t last long though, the check engine light came back on the next
day. We decided that we would wait until we got back to Kamloops to deal with it.
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">One thing about Eric and Susanne; they are wonderful tour guides. They took us out again this trip. On Sunday, they took us to the little town of Eden, about 30 minutes NE of Twin Falls. There isn't a lot here except a little place if I recall correctly, called <a href="https://thesnugbarandgrill.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>The Snug.</b></a> On Sundays, they put on an incredible brunch buffet. All 4 of us waddled out of there after stuffing ourselves on just about any kind of breakfast/lunch items imaginable!</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">After wandering around a bit more, we wound up down in the Snake River gorge. Eric and Rob needed to work off some of breakfast so we set out to walk some of the <a href="https://visitsouthidaho.com/adventure/auger-falls-park/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Auger Falls</b></a> trails and wound up at the old Scott's Barrow Bridge. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here also, we noticed water levels were very low. I'm not sure if it is normal for this time of year but it seemed the river was barely a trickle.<br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWeEPFjHqzh8QYfxI4hMoW39sNxFGpLZ1STsTKPb7EpJJ_49GjRv30hZvmSM8bionYycQ2xppzzfktWdZ198YyhCXqamc3ocyglV11brChBxVSLFm2UVDNTI1SmaXBvWhrWns3u45-lWRRZ-lX3qxNmxeKtac3Uq4HCQhdz-F0IV7DrB7j4qIbA7O/s1280/IMG_6635.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWeEPFjHqzh8QYfxI4hMoW39sNxFGpLZ1STsTKPb7EpJJ_49GjRv30hZvmSM8bionYycQ2xppzzfktWdZ198YyhCXqamc3ocyglV11brChBxVSLFm2UVDNTI1SmaXBvWhrWns3u45-lWRRZ-lX3qxNmxeKtac3Uq4HCQhdz-F0IV7DrB7j4qIbA7O/w640-h480/IMG_6635.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4JiIor6dP_KMwywmIE34XRZ6PkYMWRmJG4KlcR4gJ94VCdUmg5mWYsIsqDu9EUyWz4wGuMAGGGP0VpGCDUZGCXQWwtmIuPgXPRflarp1GxsrRsmUS8qvH5KhQiZuhwAIwjqYs94ZkMAaGUOraTKvLBgioANbKUk7kUsP3Jw9USzWQ_ClLbeiYeKf/s1280/IMG_6637.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4JiIor6dP_KMwywmIE34XRZ6PkYMWRmJG4KlcR4gJ94VCdUmg5mWYsIsqDu9EUyWz4wGuMAGGGP0VpGCDUZGCXQWwtmIuPgXPRflarp1GxsrRsmUS8qvH5KhQiZuhwAIwjqYs94ZkMAaGUOraTKvLBgioANbKUk7kUsP3Jw9USzWQ_ClLbeiYeKf/w640-h480/IMG_6637.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-o3eqWa5D9j84ttLA0y2MoFk77PVxBCzbgFl5Mk-mcUJCbqrzuJyB_KxS_sPk5wHKsVr7S1FtJYvS_RJ1h2WOXqeawxgJgwYt1FwW5jK9PY74p2zpxMO41W1AN5E9-56rrnAQV3fzOC6bjqiXQUkCjda6F5H_82Nuit6dKWrkPV9xaa0yjoYHiD4/s1280/IMG_6642.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-o3eqWa5D9j84ttLA0y2MoFk77PVxBCzbgFl5Mk-mcUJCbqrzuJyB_KxS_sPk5wHKsVr7S1FtJYvS_RJ1h2WOXqeawxgJgwYt1FwW5jK9PY74p2zpxMO41W1AN5E9-56rrnAQV3fzOC6bjqiXQUkCjda6F5H_82Nuit6dKWrkPV9xaa0yjoYHiD4/w640-h480/IMG_6642.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Twin Falls pretty much dry as a bone!<br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpNRhuAvIlOVQ771nqXwQwuVSJ9wP-g-AKjsAQFchDHwS5uSO2AAyDGOJ_U-ck-OcCEWnpoXk23YUOWUqiFlEsqU9U2qZaQRGu-9Do7FwpMVWwjh8ZaR2sbL2A9rI7uDkD7fv6481GUnsVIS3QkOGY5CyNhe_lA-xnBRH1JRaeCjl2Iud8E0gt-zY/s1280/IMG_6652.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpNRhuAvIlOVQ771nqXwQwuVSJ9wP-g-AKjsAQFchDHwS5uSO2AAyDGOJ_U-ck-OcCEWnpoXk23YUOWUqiFlEsqU9U2qZaQRGu-9Do7FwpMVWwjh8ZaR2sbL2A9rI7uDkD7fv6481GUnsVIS3QkOGY5CyNhe_lA-xnBRH1JRaeCjl2Iud8E0gt-zY/w640-h480/IMG_6652.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6yuLzXL-3jCpIGPAQfI_7Je7_bvOeZ06wT4dbsPg_bXje89pEe56c-wQS6QA-JNf9S-TvxiX0MXxUj_L7k5tZslKg5wQPvoDElKqENFhCpEqM-2AR0f4rnkUBE-wGVNFmv3SKqx0kiMZekfHoggSsOZiMJvRLiI5r-7o2GiHo3mfQ5WQVTVfkPjT/s1280/IMG_6657.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6yuLzXL-3jCpIGPAQfI_7Je7_bvOeZ06wT4dbsPg_bXje89pEe56c-wQS6QA-JNf9S-TvxiX0MXxUj_L7k5tZslKg5wQPvoDElKqENFhCpEqM-2AR0f4rnkUBE-wGVNFmv3SKqx0kiMZekfHoggSsOZiMJvRLiI5r-7o2GiHo3mfQ5WQVTVfkPjT/w640-h480/IMG_6657.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />One of the places we
went shopping at was Fred Meyer (one of the stores in the Kroger family like
Fry’s and Smith’s in Arizona). With the Kroger chain, like some others, you can get fuel points when you shop at their stores. We went in with having a 40 cent per gallon
discount we had accumulated further south. At this time, there was a coupon for double fuel points when
shopping, but Chris used it when we were in Lake Havasu City and figured that we wouldn’t
get it this time, but after paying for our groceries, and walking out, she
discovered that we did get the double fuel points and now had 80 cents off per
gallon. Fred Meyer had diesel at $4.98 /gallon US, so it dropped it down to
$4.18/gallon (works out to $1.44/litre Canadian) . To figure this out, we have
found <a href="http://usgas.ca"><b>usgas.ca</b></a> works well to convert fuel prices from US to CDN or the other way around. <br />After a few days in Twin Falls doing some last minute
shopping, touring and visiting, we got on the road again. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The last couple nights in the US, we overnighted at the
Wildhorse Casino in Pendelton, OR and the parking lot (a bit more shopping) at
the Omak, WA Walmart. One issue that came up on one these travels days, is that
somewhere between Twin Falls and Pendelton, one of our solar panels on the roof
of the trailer ended up losing 2 bolts and nuts from the brackets and flipped up
and landed on the top of the one behind it.<br /><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7q0On3eZUvm5BezxYDhSlDqAJLxyONThReEShUvd5-jswX7QEZKJPzp2AMgaZVOfXiOrxO9Ngyx_MKTP61-4ZyrSQbOmUS9QOV4z3cFPhOzLedk03Q4UcuhF_KbSLXjfJfuIup2W_aWUFLGvqd8cWvuEIr9b-0JcPiBgRe_m9AM_JiF-CQtOOZb4M/s4032/F5AFEFBC-AADB-4576-BA35-EF222466B921.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7q0On3eZUvm5BezxYDhSlDqAJLxyONThReEShUvd5-jswX7QEZKJPzp2AMgaZVOfXiOrxO9Ngyx_MKTP61-4ZyrSQbOmUS9QOV4z3cFPhOzLedk03Q4UcuhF_KbSLXjfJfuIup2W_aWUFLGvqd8cWvuEIr9b-0JcPiBgRe_m9AM_JiF-CQtOOZb4M/w480-h640/F5AFEFBC-AADB-4576-BA35-EF222466B921.heic" width="480" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rob was able to remove the problem
one, and the other one is still on the roof of the trailer without much glass
on it. We now have 2 replacements being shipped to Oroville, WA. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">On April 1<sup>st</sup>, we crossed the border at the
Oroville-Osoyoos crossing which took maybe 15 mins. We had done the ArriveCan app
the day before crossing, and we found out that with having our Nexus
cards listed on it, when we gave the border agent the Nexus cards, all info
from the app came up. We were asked the basic questions, and then all of a
sudden the agent said “I will be right back.” At that point, Chris thought, oh crap,
just because she answered yes to having some veggies in the trailer, we were
going to have to do a secondary inspection. They came back with a box, and she
thought, oh, I guess the box is for the veggies. She was wrong. Rob was the lucky
one to be randomly selected to do a post arrival COVID test and that he had 24hrs to do it.
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We waited to do the test until we got to Vernon later that day and set up in
the spot we normally stay at. But on the way to Vernon, we stopped in Oliver,
BC to have breakfast at A&W and then we went to Shoppers Drug Mart to pick
up our free rapid antigen tests (RAT). Once we were done setting up in Vernon,
Rob had to register his test in order to have someone supervise him as he did
the testing. So once we had that done and were waiting for that, we did a RAT which we came back negative. After that, Rob got his post arrival test done and then we
just had to drop it off at a local pharmacy and wait for the results. It came
back negative a couple days later.
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">After visiting with friends and family, we left Vernon on
April 4<sup>th</sup> and got to Kamloops. We have been staying at Silver Sage
RV park and campground since then. It is a real nice spot. Right by the river.
Only thing that is a negative is that there are no sewer hookups because the
area is on a flood plain and does flood in the spring every so often. That is ok though, because we have our
portable black tank that we use when the trailer needs to go potty. <br /><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFH1umJWTR35-aPMOHT1pEfNQiIFPkTgoUpOEUXMGJczapJJUBD_ZPqh4rkEFe1cMf8X1pP_DhzEIfiX4KeHkOcI1qFj2wunyhZ1BmjeDNZ0AW4LtJNt0bqD0-0MTWH03qhMGv1JkiceBRyw42-JeMwNxAbQ9dW8kLe51t-IyIILQeH_7mDLobjjy/s4032/023DE604-CA81-4178-9FF2-92D0BE1BBA29.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFH1umJWTR35-aPMOHT1pEfNQiIFPkTgoUpOEUXMGJczapJJUBD_ZPqh4rkEFe1cMf8X1pP_DhzEIfiX4KeHkOcI1qFj2wunyhZ1BmjeDNZ0AW4LtJNt0bqD0-0MTWH03qhMGv1JkiceBRyw42-JeMwNxAbQ9dW8kLe51t-IyIILQeH_7mDLobjjy/w640-h480/023DE604-CA81-4178-9FF2-92D0BE1BBA29.heic" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />While in Kamloops, we made a few trips back and forth to
Vernon. We celebrated Rob’s mom’s 102<sup>nd</sup> birthday on April 8<sup>th</sup>
and then back again for Easter weekend. We were to go for Chris's dad’s birthday on
May 6<sup>th</sup>, but her parents came down with COVID. They are on the mend
and doing fine now. </span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Also while in Kamloops, we spent some time going through our sea can storage unit and weeding out things we had decided to part with. When we sold our house and started this adventure, we weren't sure what the future would hold so decided to hang on to quite a bit of stuff in case we decided we didn't like the lifestyle. After almost 3 years now, we both have decided to continue for the foreseeable future so we are downsizing again. We managed to eliminate a fair bit of stuff but are nowhere near finished. We will pick up again when we come back in the fall for a bit and go through the stuff we didn't get to this time.<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">As mentioned at the beginning, we were going to take the
truck back to the GM dealer we deal with in Kamloops. We did that, and we are now
waiting for parts. This time they will be replacing all 8 injectors again (yes, I know,
they just did that in October and we had 3 changed in November), a NO2 sensor
and the complete underhood engine wiring harness (this is the part that we are waiting
on and apparently, it can take up to 20 weeks or so to get it). Once all the
parts are in, they will also be looking at the fuel rails to make sure there is no
contamination in them. We have opened a case with GM Canada, but so far they just told us what
the dealership has told us. Guess we will have to wait and see. From what we have been told, there is such a parts problem right now, the dealer has had 6 or 8 trucks parked in their back lot for weeks waiting on parts for the DEF systems. When that goes, the truck is crippled until the parts are replaced. At least we can still use ours.<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We left Kamloops on May 12 and will be in Vernon over
the weekend and then we make our way to Princeton, BC with a quick trip into
Oroville, WA to pick up the 2 new solar panels. We will be staying at a small
provincial park (Bromley Rock) not far from Princeton for a couple of nights,
and then on the 18<sup>th</sup> we will get to the airport in Princeton and
help set up for the RC Jet rally happening over the long weekend. We'll hopefully provide
another update a bit later as we will be doing a bit more traveling this
summer.
<br /><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">That is about all for now. Stay safe out there, and have fun
with your travels.
</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></span></span></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-73574763098514855012022-03-20T17:24:00.000-07:002022-03-20T17:24:38.287-07:00More from Peoria and a few days in Lake Havasu City<p>This was a first for us and a sad day for others. Near where we were parked when Chris wrote our last blog entry, there were a couple of fellows in smaller trailers who looked like they had been there for a few months if not the whole season. One morning, about an hour after one of them drove off in his truck, we heard some sirens and shortly thereafter a firetruck and ambulance pulled up to their camp. After some activity, a couple of police cars arrived followed a bit later by a third. About an hour after this, the firetruck and ambulance left but the police stuck around for a few more hours until a nondescript white van arrived and we could see them moving what looked like a body bag into the back of the van. Shortly after that they all left. A bit later the other resident, who had left earlier, arrived back and one of the other longer term neighbours went over to chat. Apparently he had no idea what had transpired and looked quite distraught. We don't have any idea what transpired but have a couple of hunches.</p><p>As we had found this location a bit noisy with all the traffic nearby and the bad vibes from the earlier incident, we decided to pull up stakes and move to another spot we had found about a mile further up the road. Not before one very nice sunset though.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlIpq26w0e9KNXusEwyK26ncom7k0WS141E7IPSbH5EmRlFFfjZnOW03UNviUVaceiCtomN7Vw4B441uPG79Cv3msSiSrJEmmR2r0oLVBHJlUxkHfGfAmzpwSzdQ-jFPpttK7OB7CW7fSa_UphRNHHOoaxv03ERQKSSQq1qTGAqp1d5VL1XAY4it6/s1280/IMG_6510.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlIpq26w0e9KNXusEwyK26ncom7k0WS141E7IPSbH5EmRlFFfjZnOW03UNviUVaceiCtomN7Vw4B441uPG79Cv3msSiSrJEmmR2r0oLVBHJlUxkHfGfAmzpwSzdQ-jFPpttK7OB7CW7fSa_UphRNHHOoaxv03ERQKSSQq1qTGAqp1d5VL1XAY4it6/w640-h480/IMG_6510.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>The new spot proved to be quite nice; quiet and no neighbours right close by.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsuolhzhzWYikWfNuuKx4kuziULsoRMgWnm8ECay2vmSzy-vvvQFA2aKIBsVggBAhJGUbrgJS0Xwpjlizgtqe0t--kjX5hsUWZdFGD2s6nZjrq-chvtZ_OAZ6gdqJsOWN41EkAhSzhQYmcsua6ChGOEISoy6GQ-GBH8u-fVM_UAyieuErIPUwm9jn/s1280/IMG_6520.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsuolhzhzWYikWfNuuKx4kuziULsoRMgWnm8ECay2vmSzy-vvvQFA2aKIBsVggBAhJGUbrgJS0Xwpjlizgtqe0t--kjX5hsUWZdFGD2s6nZjrq-chvtZ_OAZ6gdqJsOWN41EkAhSzhQYmcsua6ChGOEISoy6GQ-GBH8u-fVM_UAyieuErIPUwm9jn/w640-h480/IMG_6520.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Nearby was this old (probably pushing 200 years) Saguaro that Chris promptly named Carmen Miranda. I guess the top reminded her of the fancy hats and head dresses the dancer/singer/actress wore.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJNUBIG1Z_Nx-CbtMHl6J5w5f8uRPBX-RvDwAbO14vwtJIjaVDpl_ZsSXlmZL3CSiNikNo1EKbj68w3bJ-J61yC_pvCuLY4EmRN7_neix3NwWbmLoEViOVGGZWqtNXnKr6bgzDy8elcKZg4RI6UoQeI4f8rfzOxBsa51hGGjX4F27ekmIw2fTXAmP/s1280/IMG_6529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJNUBIG1Z_Nx-CbtMHl6J5w5f8uRPBX-RvDwAbO14vwtJIjaVDpl_ZsSXlmZL3CSiNikNo1EKbj68w3bJ-J61yC_pvCuLY4EmRN7_neix3NwWbmLoEViOVGGZWqtNXnKr6bgzDy8elcKZg4RI6UoQeI4f8rfzOxBsa51hGGjX4F27ekmIw2fTXAmP/w480-h640/IMG_6529.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p>We also had some other neighbours who just kinda wandered around wherever they felt like. They are quite wild and won't let you get very close at all.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifdW5anxZRfZx5CSyCPbn_I9yweBqcJ3uWyIqsFCUYt-PsFtmBgWOPIYenLmbPzUeyAJNOklTEh8GGDU2_ZFaDc1nReiQBIog1_7oQHWVXhi-kPvplUF4ABZNyDTKzO7YMDS8_YZDr0bwVn7bqU0gzHPLiMV3-s_W9Rfs4SFnRroU6f1S3Jpk8mqcm/s1280/IMG_6554.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifdW5anxZRfZx5CSyCPbn_I9yweBqcJ3uWyIqsFCUYt-PsFtmBgWOPIYenLmbPzUeyAJNOklTEh8GGDU2_ZFaDc1nReiQBIog1_7oQHWVXhi-kPvplUF4ABZNyDTKzO7YMDS8_YZDr0bwVn7bqU0gzHPLiMV3-s_W9Rfs4SFnRroU6f1S3Jpk8mqcm/w640-h480/IMG_6554.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>We wound up staying here about 10 days.</p><p>During this time, I did some exploring around the old airport where we used to stay when in Peoria. It was quite sad to see it shut down and everything torn down. They were even in the process of busting up all the old concrete foundations and rehabilitating it all. I am not sure what the full story is but I guess things have been in decline for a number of years. It was as recently as 2012 that this was still a very active glider school with quite a large number of gliders, tow planes and resident aircraft. </p><p>Here are a couple of before and after shots. <br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLRdP_CGaCP1vUGK72m19AU1YPrlIQDSuHG-CRY4Et8juGz0AEAFKqoR5VR-pm28qZs4HQqd5pRpIzBevwp6rqcW_fgF4MCFNiHqKUOK3eQx_hLBZAte4DXZRGdawq4AEOOzMT8RURervwXK8MIjO68FHS83Xw_bKG96W65tseNpQ3BSdgJvF8EAC/s2520/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-20%20at%204.23.34%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="2520" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLRdP_CGaCP1vUGK72m19AU1YPrlIQDSuHG-CRY4Et8juGz0AEAFKqoR5VR-pm28qZs4HQqd5pRpIzBevwp6rqcW_fgF4MCFNiHqKUOK3eQx_hLBZAte4DXZRGdawq4AEOOzMT8RURervwXK8MIjO68FHS83Xw_bKG96W65tseNpQ3BSdgJvF8EAC/w320-h181/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-20%20at%204.23.34%20PM.png" width="320" /><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qpdW6lmc0yuBKWF8UIMHPmmdFvbVCFtW7dpM_kGV3O911fmL3WsTfPmxafAXKYqoFJ5orpdsrhKMTyXxtklm0-GQSaJ7NzQefrU_wGEqdCY0mFUDzYKaq4wJoJWNV9iWFVPbJ3lIOCEhCXlFZLDGOE0TgkssIowhj584xxiKiO9HFzXPxKNWGxKn/s320/IMG_6557.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbdMlnqBWN8KGO_1IAX_ljogkPUqCJM-yUmJF84Hoy5ZBF0uRW5QIDvEBBDVj38oC2ndzOxuKm4CU2YIxKGxFpGS6pghzrwnZSbeWXHRmPRLATIFmULdLB3GiCvAT9FlhS_FepVCx6QR5fVjlj4WA00Rg05MHDlWScVG0-0c4ZqFL3pNKlNYeqNRw/s1280/IMG_6560.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbdMlnqBWN8KGO_1IAX_ljogkPUqCJM-yUmJF84Hoy5ZBF0uRW5QIDvEBBDVj38oC2ndzOxuKm4CU2YIxKGxFpGS6pghzrwnZSbeWXHRmPRLATIFmULdLB3GiCvAT9FlhS_FepVCx6QR5fVjlj4WA00Rg05MHDlWScVG0-0c4ZqFL3pNKlNYeqNRw/s320/IMG_6560.jpeg" width="320" /><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWSvaTUso2zwxYlzSQf4Bsy8w7nKpi3hdYl_UP8PslX9iKJb-EAI8I8MBlKzZ9E7LvRCmmsXX1FL0C4i6z7zfQtDNVfLTnQ60ooTejuAXSZVw1hSpFO88xLI7_HOA8wflKXVmdPccpRfgAQrop1LlxErx16iMZrE8EUNircjC9D_GDZQ1Zx3gCyfs/s320/IMG_4850.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>As I said, I am not sure what the whole story is, but I hope the couple that ran the place, Rick and Jenanne are OK.</p><p>Our last weekend in Peoria, we heard about an all electric Fun Fly at the <a href="https://ampsrc.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>AMPS</b></a> club field that our friend Paul belongs to. It sounded like it could be fun so I loaded up my little Cessna and we headed over. This was their first event of this type and judging by the popularity, it will become an annual event. I put in 5 flights on the Cessna and had a great time.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2i19aMEt7-j6WK8_7d7JVdPE392A84mAtXGJm6xpxKZ6WNGYIHMkB28Asxr4frlLiMMtfqTxDtTQUqhfGW0fLMHI3Q5h4jiUYAsdCdyMiNtuWOQ1EZGB0Lg1z-m-eOHy54D-dhZMRFBUKNOho6837FVi3Q0KrQatIN7lxu8oP9dXJ_Yy7yYxS_IF/s4032/E457D44E-561A-4B2B-9767-AEC01E7BE9C5.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2i19aMEt7-j6WK8_7d7JVdPE392A84mAtXGJm6xpxKZ6WNGYIHMkB28Asxr4frlLiMMtfqTxDtTQUqhfGW0fLMHI3Q5h4jiUYAsdCdyMiNtuWOQ1EZGB0Lg1z-m-eOHy54D-dhZMRFBUKNOho6837FVi3Q0KrQatIN7lxu8oP9dXJ_Yy7yYxS_IF/w640-h480/E457D44E-561A-4B2B-9767-AEC01E7BE9C5.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBv3yaBzatyhwYGnaBOEQYg-tdTVsNdcJj-ZMHyrSu7sA9n4QD2QsRl5G1DiNwq975jX6cphqCvCMoYSWKa2glmawBGYqnQU0LKVZILmoEEr6DJm5zpvwdlWvJNbbdmEOQlXZZ5F-sw3rE32Fy79Ey2hwMCJYNz_7-D5vsoIknUquwt3eMTeJNxiNU/s4032/8CD68341-E0C3-4046-A38E-BEACEF0D16DC.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBv3yaBzatyhwYGnaBOEQYg-tdTVsNdcJj-ZMHyrSu7sA9n4QD2QsRl5G1DiNwq975jX6cphqCvCMoYSWKa2glmawBGYqnQU0LKVZILmoEEr6DJm5zpvwdlWvJNbbdmEOQlXZZ5F-sw3rE32Fy79Ey2hwMCJYNz_7-D5vsoIknUquwt3eMTeJNxiNU/w640-h480/8CD68341-E0C3-4046-A38E-BEACEF0D16DC.heic" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>After leaving Peoria, we headed back to Lake Havasu City to meet up with our friends Steve and Tammi. When we last saw them in early January, they were looking for a place in Havasu. Well, in the interim, they had found and purchased a house there. Steve had asked for some help with moving but by the time we had got there, they had pretty much moved in so there wasn't much for us to do. We spent a few days visiting then moved on.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pPgSkWhWGEFOjR3JFWCF6wsOh-WsDoGfSI3aX9pYFksrQO-SoGoIHfYpUahcc1l44hHAnqXiU4kwykiMZXW8-EfKpvp7CkSdXeZ2SR-FUYZ1-9E0VTbsxUpMqgsGW2QVakZbINPoZ7pPOozYnpvIpOT6Q5Y4SLCnHM960geLHASP-xD4NrYjn9pj/s4032/3FBA2450-7C7A-44AC-B881-ABCDEFEB671D.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pPgSkWhWGEFOjR3JFWCF6wsOh-WsDoGfSI3aX9pYFksrQO-SoGoIHfYpUahcc1l44hHAnqXiU4kwykiMZXW8-EfKpvp7CkSdXeZ2SR-FUYZ1-9E0VTbsxUpMqgsGW2QVakZbINPoZ7pPOozYnpvIpOT6Q5Y4SLCnHM960geLHASP-xD4NrYjn9pj/w640-h480/3FBA2450-7C7A-44AC-B881-ABCDEFEB671D.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7oFko6Bh4P-cyyfEnOf03D3SxPZO4Igxp9FccJH2KSB_f6GdAcQTNqt44nstRVIsJIrJ_p_cTcxesXkE5XhUlAXTRCFswKWbba6GZWIRT8X0kfiLqPVRSuxMadb0HOxbNHrHPgYXUcBkGeSB1TJjnEPLi8TliYj-Q6coTSPzhB15e3P-MYsKW5vb_/s4032/76B906C9-8B1E-4DFC-B3A8-4A9825A9659A.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7oFko6Bh4P-cyyfEnOf03D3SxPZO4Igxp9FccJH2KSB_f6GdAcQTNqt44nstRVIsJIrJ_p_cTcxesXkE5XhUlAXTRCFswKWbba6GZWIRT8X0kfiLqPVRSuxMadb0HOxbNHrHPgYXUcBkGeSB1TJjnEPLi8TliYj-Q6coTSPzhB15e3P-MYsKW5vb_/w640-h480/76B906C9-8B1E-4DFC-B3A8-4A9825A9659A.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9RS2Q75Bx2kQI8Exur4nAje2HWVOwBsJxLYRRbYKXzNUuK706ZHIjRZ_41S0EKUkvo5ko7HGXWaszVvoGeowXTLBatFFJTSjezRez1okN1FP22N116urIx1k6FQp16C-xVpWPTj-f3K3sHEsCyr8PGL84fWglHR1XCDK7FZqmgt3c4JSupr_1IRn/s4032/28734F44-209C-4B4A-8C4E-A40D4B743CA8.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9RS2Q75Bx2kQI8Exur4nAje2HWVOwBsJxLYRRbYKXzNUuK706ZHIjRZ_41S0EKUkvo5ko7HGXWaszVvoGeowXTLBatFFJTSjezRez1okN1FP22N116urIx1k6FQp16C-xVpWPTj-f3K3sHEsCyr8PGL84fWglHR1XCDK7FZqmgt3c4JSupr_1IRn/w640-h480/28734F44-209C-4B4A-8C4E-A40D4B743CA8.heic" width="640" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Things are starting to bloom here now. The Prickly Pear cactus seem to get things started.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnyAWdaPMq_Xtil0vTe9tSXkAukdl-8ZioJjttNrjoXkNSLy4L08WAP8_PkK9kwuYZwjk0b4l6yPGrVJJFHnJu--iT2a_l3HKe3tXad0WfjaH2_5eK0D8OcOrJhpZqDA-TupwqUEGgrU7IE2sbnocdRtPNAIp8BipKOBBgWayma9uRHctq6BnIl-t/s4032/D47D90B5-1487-460F-B5D1-58D7A27326B0.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnyAWdaPMq_Xtil0vTe9tSXkAukdl-8ZioJjttNrjoXkNSLy4L08WAP8_PkK9kwuYZwjk0b4l6yPGrVJJFHnJu--iT2a_l3HKe3tXad0WfjaH2_5eK0D8OcOrJhpZqDA-TupwqUEGgrU7IE2sbnocdRtPNAIp8BipKOBBgWayma9uRHctq6BnIl-t/w640-h480/D47D90B5-1487-460F-B5D1-58D7A27326B0.heic" width="640" /></a></div> <p></p><p>I guess you could say we are officially on our way home (home being BC that is) now. We are presently on some BLM land just at the northern edge of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This is also just outside <a href="http://rctravels.rmcd.ca/2019/03/valley-of-fire.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Valley of Fire State Park</b></a> which we visited back in 2019. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAklvNMUuN7zqUjvdSxsIyDtivFvABMFG_uyX3vTe6AUXbc8-w1HQCahLP4pI0G2OveVJQxxsL27mqE0hKIim8WhC1MC5QfoqUE0YPqg72vVua4xjEvXgwJcZZgB5vcwU9uQxto0cEZUoxduEwND2o7Lp4-t4hLLxw38R3XQ1S02--pxciV1tEEyJ/s1280/IMG_6594.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAklvNMUuN7zqUjvdSxsIyDtivFvABMFG_uyX3vTe6AUXbc8-w1HQCahLP4pI0G2OveVJQxxsL27mqE0hKIim8WhC1MC5QfoqUE0YPqg72vVua4xjEvXgwJcZZgB5vcwU9uQxto0cEZUoxduEwND2o7Lp4-t4hLLxw38R3XQ1S02--pxciV1tEEyJ/w640-h480/IMG_6594.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6ZVuLAJn5yY_gqkqZ8W62Ez6KZh1uM7yMdCraaqFFbyx2VHzQcKJ4skZnXdhVzxUPNsNE7uOYTAfAQjvIFp91iUErrc2Ix8kARhn_lGk_qCJKG_sLqK5JKgAJ2gLkpJCZmpEuS3jrCw4vlYbNk0_W8O2M7081mG4HJ_EPwbKdp5us9Dg_Ht1i_iB/s1280/IMG_6600.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6ZVuLAJn5yY_gqkqZ8W62Ez6KZh1uM7yMdCraaqFFbyx2VHzQcKJ4skZnXdhVzxUPNsNE7uOYTAfAQjvIFp91iUErrc2Ix8kARhn_lGk_qCJKG_sLqK5JKgAJ2gLkpJCZmpEuS3jrCw4vlYbNk0_W8O2M7081mG4HJ_EPwbKdp5us9Dg_Ht1i_iB/w640-h480/IMG_6600.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPdc5W1zc-RuUApd2P09hwCF19RhIgmloSRAqarOswcDd1nlcxPRlVqllfXasyaNtFD-zljL3_9Utpszo8V0G4Yfor50wa-W3aD_cjMfQobQxGbhXUKQa27mRipy_Rx_pJM-isp5yEc-2Il5NVUtw1lafu9zryyia5wqR_kFApHpd_PTjDq3uR-FL/s1280/IMG_6598.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRPdc5W1zc-RuUApd2P09hwCF19RhIgmloSRAqarOswcDd1nlcxPRlVqllfXasyaNtFD-zljL3_9Utpszo8V0G4Yfor50wa-W3aD_cjMfQobQxGbhXUKQa27mRipy_Rx_pJM-isp5yEc-2Il5NVUtw1lafu9zryyia5wqR_kFApHpd_PTjDq3uR-FL/w640-h480/IMG_6598.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>There are 2 fairly good size BLM areas here popular with RVers. The one where we are is called Poverty Flats. Nearby is Snowbird Mesa. Both of these are just outside of the Moapa Valley. This one was a bit easier to access with the trailer and also was the first we came to so here we are! We plan to stay here for a week or so, and then head North targeting April 1 or thereabouts to cross into Canada.</p><p><br /></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-57971656761377545302022-03-04T12:10:00.005-08:002022-03-04T19:58:20.134-08:00Yuma, Quartzsite and Peoria<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After our 2
weeks were up at the <a href="https://www.blm.gov/visit/imperial-dam-long-term-visitor-area" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Imperial Dam LTVA</b></a> (<a href="https://www.blm.gov/documents/arizona-colorado-river-do-california-california-desert-do/public-room-frequently-requested" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Long Term Visitor Area</b></a>), we hooked up, dumped and
filled the trailer, and then headed towards Yuma. A couple of days before, we had scoped out a spot to
stay at for a few nights before we headed that way. We ended up staying at an old
gravel pit about 10 minutes north of Yuma. It was actually not a bad spot. Wide open and not over crowed like it was up at the LTVA. While there, we
discovered another little BLM area for camping nearby, but not sure if we would be
able to get our trailer in. It has some tight areas. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcpg9uUlJd-tXgYuaoYM6irOyL1MoGjeU2iLSZgKpj2AWDv2-n-pNq2iExTagQLXEC_kxfBPOkGEOZeXbpGvFFMsm0WfMuEmuWwEW_KPvfPyuRO02rmR2ZMSY9cq-J7nDiclaiSbUjoYvNlmqyNeFmUbF1gWlwN4mr4mYo8Lpe1R9n31xdfbf5yMRt=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcpg9uUlJd-tXgYuaoYM6irOyL1MoGjeU2iLSZgKpj2AWDv2-n-pNq2iExTagQLXEC_kxfBPOkGEOZeXbpGvFFMsm0WfMuEmuWwEW_KPvfPyuRO02rmR2ZMSY9cq-J7nDiclaiSbUjoYvNlmqyNeFmUbF1gWlwN4mr4mYo8Lpe1R9n31xdfbf5yMRt=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We stayed 2
nights at the gravel pit and then moved on over to Contreras Field, the home of the <b><a href="http://yumaaeromodelers.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Yuma RC Aeromodellers</a></b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>,</b> where they were hosting their annual RC airshow. Rob was planning on
flying his RC jet at this event, but discovered about a week before that the
jet had some cracks on one of the tail booms. We believe that this
happened when we went over a large frost heave going through Rogers Pass as we
headed to Okotoks, AB for work last year. So the jet is grounded until he gets it
repaired. But he was able to fly his small Cessna electric airplane at the
event. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUHiDz58nk42oSU2NHI9K_gem_pbUBNYyZh90zyQf0SR5yHm2CfHiQj_ZG8S9X4hbHQvvNIBF4cjF6FtspECwTXUB_H-7V5iAHe61X2q1eRpnJHFR-pEZCviHPyCgwO7GPmjGTqLeMfowCXrx_SYlT8mpV8fob4lNBuKb_qMmQCJAjl3rBEFfasJca=s15640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3842" data-original-width="15640" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUHiDz58nk42oSU2NHI9K_gem_pbUBNYyZh90zyQf0SR5yHm2CfHiQj_ZG8S9X4hbHQvvNIBF4cjF6FtspECwTXUB_H-7V5iAHe61X2q1eRpnJHFR-pEZCviHPyCgwO7GPmjGTqLeMfowCXrx_SYlT8mpV8fob4lNBuKb_qMmQCJAjl3rBEFfasJca=w640-h158" width="640" /></a></div> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We ended up leaving the airfield on Sunday, Feb 20, to head back to
Quartzsite for the Grand Design RV "Rally in the Desert". This is the only Grand Design rally
that is boondocking, or no hookups. This is the second one that we have been
to. The last one was 2 years ago in 2020, just before COVID roared into North
America.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI17KL8pljR86oyEW9OHkrT7_EfsRefXRJcoWT0dG6lZMXwGrIzs_pidyb7LZjMdpT3B6AxTusZ9GtUU3aBnEXMNYJreCAi_vLfz7X7E10XO_BEupKrKIbIBmSd5kMFbh8ADKaivsipI36ek3tg4VvwbEmKd_3DbaerXZcvTcrFzu8RzAq5T5kr7e8=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI17KL8pljR86oyEW9OHkrT7_EfsRefXRJcoWT0dG6lZMXwGrIzs_pidyb7LZjMdpT3B6AxTusZ9GtUU3aBnEXMNYJreCAi_vLfz7X7E10XO_BEupKrKIbIBmSd5kMFbh8ADKaivsipI36ek3tg4VvwbEmKd_3DbaerXZcvTcrFzu8RzAq5T5kr7e8=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNS8v1GKmOxOJ_Bl67_39NDdKG45vNRT_TWIwSY4ROoL0-AubHBQDLTKMhaaE5Rnic-C4EyNhHMB6guJds63l_LZsXjBWSRxMI0J5onXIQhNRTdexS--mam8BzVr4Xd2VqP1tBKEEVu6RaJTmK2rmMibHx7hQQH90W2XdJiK5FD-zLW6Sp5Se5_j5n=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNS8v1GKmOxOJ_Bl67_39NDdKG45vNRT_TWIwSY4ROoL0-AubHBQDLTKMhaaE5Rnic-C4EyNhHMB6guJds63l_LZsXjBWSRxMI0J5onXIQhNRTdexS--mam8BzVr4Xd2VqP1tBKEEVu6RaJTmK2rmMibHx7hQQH90W2XdJiK5FD-zLW6Sp5Se5_j5n=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVTRopS93FJzcQJ--XSfOA1MVfCCiHEotL_n8i65sTI4SW19wogo25hFBUs6rHD1c7UmkeIJ8ELUN4ztBwSewtoBufXBcL4RyVIjYPdfJWogg46rYlCvZ4Evbj3lKXLmvGz8Y2AxYXjoKFPKhEHolmVU9z9cxD4ERI56_F5L16y5yrlFyLxpybNXDs=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVTRopS93FJzcQJ--XSfOA1MVfCCiHEotL_n8i65sTI4SW19wogo25hFBUs6rHD1c7UmkeIJ8ELUN4ztBwSewtoBufXBcL4RyVIjYPdfJWogg46rYlCvZ4Evbj3lKXLmvGz8Y2AxYXjoKFPKhEHolmVU9z9cxD4ERI56_F5L16y5yrlFyLxpybNXDs=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghZKRx8pZ0Ew7el8ydyX8YSzVXfbn2cIhKNV21UODJAjDDxM12_Tgskao7KphWuMpcv8mp_K88orL0ld8f6GLwRKlIpIEmtsk4DWMEM7Uqu2OfSke27_wozl-LXsEKIZtD6xinJVHo2Jv0PJiiK5wBCFbpIRgCAnFt9urlYCUKt7HlrXR-Uq1_uwaC=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghZKRx8pZ0Ew7el8ydyX8YSzVXfbn2cIhKNV21UODJAjDDxM12_Tgskao7KphWuMpcv8mp_K88orL0ld8f6GLwRKlIpIEmtsk4DWMEM7Uqu2OfSke27_wozl-LXsEKIZtD6xinJVHo2Jv0PJiiK5wBCFbpIRgCAnFt9urlYCUKt7HlrXR-Uq1_uwaC=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you look closely, you can see Rob in the foreground. He's the one with his arms up over his head!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi38EchaNTmsWqvrxEK4TIxO-TO2IXEkGfaREYkdDSvp62K5Nyc6CkWXttxota_aJDtbBRHzXd_edM6wh2eVoaS20oeQyK4h-_ewqCQFj8OaXlou6oBBUK8jG8O0LzlxGylinCu0pIUaFoCvNuSeGbo8XofdMYDfegAuYdVcCkQe6uMZPEbZOqYCqNz=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi38EchaNTmsWqvrxEK4TIxO-TO2IXEkGfaREYkdDSvp62K5Nyc6CkWXttxota_aJDtbBRHzXd_edM6wh2eVoaS20oeQyK4h-_ewqCQFj8OaXlou6oBBUK8jG8O0LzlxGylinCu0pIUaFoCvNuSeGbo8XofdMYDfegAuYdVcCkQe6uMZPEbZOqYCqNz=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At night, if the wind wasn't blowing too strong, we would have a large fire.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The rally
started on February 24<sup>th</sup> and was done on the Sunday. The final rig count I believe was 164. We were able to
meet more people this time. Had a good time, but did not win anything. Maybe at
our next Grand Design rally this June in Spruce Grove, AB. We decided that we
will not be working this summer as we want to do a bit more of the RC airplane
events in BC and maybe a couple in Alberta.</span></span><span>
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">While we
were at the rally, Rob had a chance to install the stained glass window that we
got when we were in Los Algodones. We discovered though, while removing the inside piece of the
window frame, that the stained glass piece was a bit smaller than the actual window in
the door. Rob had to MacGyver a fix in order to get it in. We had to keep the original glass in the frame and silicone the new one onto it. Here it is the morning
after with the sun shining through it as the sun was rising.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRkhQDlRZ5MUCIvpPhrtmnPXtRNVE-DfDSB6OaHMfCbCTqUQsQjtlduW8JgiNd3A4dFEdPKrY9t1w2nyfKmMpzj58Dw2xGnl2TeXHUed4tOTjSwxXuzfZlqqhbR5Q9E6d7im9sdJ-JNUTRQQWrfhAUyQt0Bi_1DwO9AtQTzax5I6Ci3WAp2VeYkoRb=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRkhQDlRZ5MUCIvpPhrtmnPXtRNVE-DfDSB6OaHMfCbCTqUQsQjtlduW8JgiNd3A4dFEdPKrY9t1w2nyfKmMpzj58Dw2xGnl2TeXHUed4tOTjSwxXuzfZlqqhbR5Q9E6d7im9sdJ-JNUTRQQWrfhAUyQt0Bi_1DwO9AtQTzax5I6Ci3WAp2VeYkoRb=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">While here, there were a couple of other attendees with truly impressive Solar/Battery systems.<br /><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8M6NuA6O37r_pV5CRkSbAmuDHDH9onPLzQbSeX0Gs7MzxBacM7_Uw21OZYN2gqmz3ZN5CC8izuFPu-zmPms3nQMu1wxgfwGLXdTL4F8S_b62X4miyCnkTA3ioyU5H8cydyKetE_XLgrlSpy1mHLMySOVKW4W7okyHhm3K9U10caVhasyJvZw7dGj2=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8M6NuA6O37r_pV5CRkSbAmuDHDH9onPLzQbSeX0Gs7MzxBacM7_Uw21OZYN2gqmz3ZN5CC8izuFPu-zmPms3nQMu1wxgfwGLXdTL4F8S_b62X4miyCnkTA3ioyU5H8cydyKetE_XLgrlSpy1mHLMySOVKW4W7okyHhm3K9U10caVhasyJvZw7dGj2=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mark and Elizabeth - 3300 watts of solar and 16.2 KWH of Lithium batteries</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihUXK80KDHxsaxbkUdCuiCn1a3IpJlv4CaOdJUvJnbAxrllASyff-J8I-ydWgYYIoWfaWh8QtpMyd5_SuDKir-Wg3cedozlJiIbs0MbjPjYrNMmE816yIIC0nVlAmrt0fRB__Yh-qkJmwmmXmjfq18Qz4W0sqoUHCnu7kpVbNAcfUF0gCXxx9h_cRH=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihUXK80KDHxsaxbkUdCuiCn1a3IpJlv4CaOdJUvJnbAxrllASyff-J8I-ydWgYYIoWfaWh8QtpMyd5_SuDKir-Wg3cedozlJiIbs0MbjPjYrNMmE816yIIC0nVlAmrt0fRB__Yh-qkJmwmmXmjfq18Qz4W0sqoUHCnu7kpVbNAcfUF0gCXxx9h_cRH=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joshua and Elizabeth - 7600 Watts of panels and 28.8 KWH of batteries<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br />We left
Quartzsite on March 1<sup>st</sup> and headed to Phoenix. We were going to try
and stay at the same place we normally do when we go to Phoenix, the Pleasant Valley RV Park and Airport, </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">but have
discovered that</span></span> it is no more.
Apparently, from what we can find out is that the lease for the Arizona State
Trust Land that it is on, was not renewed. We took a drive over there and sure enough, all the
buildings, hangers and rv park have been taken down or torn up. We are now on State Trust land just across Hwy 74 from the airport. The permit we needed costs
$20 for a yearly family pass, and is good for 14 days here. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcMyBf58YxvwPxsKZABuGhymLzwpYltfMeSI_5ymydEdjtSnQgmi1m39OcJn75crOtgbfS1g1geLYxQqiBESryZk8erbWiHotzlgT7lfG8tnfxMtkds4C8AzjjunRQSzV2cvOPMNZzfBkOwR2h5FK06GnmR7F3wyUKw4xBAyxZlUewqD4ZLaDRamIz=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcMyBf58YxvwPxsKZABuGhymLzwpYltfMeSI_5ymydEdjtSnQgmi1m39OcJn75crOtgbfS1g1geLYxQqiBESryZk8erbWiHotzlgT7lfG8tnfxMtkds4C8AzjjunRQSzV2cvOPMNZzfBkOwR2h5FK06GnmR7F3wyUKw4xBAyxZlUewqD4ZLaDRamIz=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last nights sunset<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We did a
quick grocery shop the day that we arrived here after setting up camp. While at
Fry’s Foods, they had chicken thighs on for .99 cents a pound. Ended up getting
4 packages of chicken thighs and it looks like they have 4 pieces in each pack.
The 4 packs before sale was $19.64 and with sale price they came to only $7.50!</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWf_E75xSUYP3a_BX9EJiAfdr9J9uW2HTzNo1SOUbpMtpXvY3Oj3tmnDrE-omC5vZxVDIxwVEPN3kW-P-VVqUfbrBfMQ-e3KaGTeA3hlXJoFCHUCYt_jTqfHwBdXyGjFfXdG51btFiHgBTyH2qqxZnOfQO4MQ1GIV-SNAVlJH23rqf0RFw8_mhYFoX=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWf_E75xSUYP3a_BX9EJiAfdr9J9uW2HTzNo1SOUbpMtpXvY3Oj3tmnDrE-omC5vZxVDIxwVEPN3kW-P-VVqUfbrBfMQ-e3KaGTeA3hlXJoFCHUCYt_jTqfHwBdXyGjFfXdG51btFiHgBTyH2qqxZnOfQO4MQ1GIV-SNAVlJH23rqf0RFw8_mhYFoX=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">One thing
about this location that we have mentioned before is the hot air balloons that
will take off or land in the area. Yesterday morning (March 3), there were 13 hot
air balloons that were up. The majority of them landed across the highway from us,
but there was one, that landed not far from us.<br /><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWHGw0712q9DcEL81utLoOzfiIsmDD8BMS7XThsE4EZttZqSFT6Bn3vPXERbT4ZHG6GmE9zc-aE-ph07xO2A2lNm8aJ3ofCu5aZvclQYU520qRt3HnIUnx5rqGhZ6CallnTZKOh8Gnc8DBosxPrCIRVdcpcg-VlQY2FT2etV0_a8xe_Fxcd4SG8vQa=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWHGw0712q9DcEL81utLoOzfiIsmDD8BMS7XThsE4EZttZqSFT6Bn3vPXERbT4ZHG6GmE9zc-aE-ph07xO2A2lNm8aJ3ofCu5aZvclQYU520qRt3HnIUnx5rqGhZ6CallnTZKOh8Gnc8DBosxPrCIRVdcpcg-VlQY2FT2etV0_a8xe_Fxcd4SG8vQa=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Quick video of the balloon landing. We watched
as the chase vehicle got into position in order for the one helper to help get
the balloon into position for deflation and packing it up as the pilot and the
2 passengers had their celebratory drink and snack. There are 2 main companies in the area that do daily passenger rides. <a href="https://www.rainbowryders.com/locations/phoenix/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Rainbow Ryders</b></a> and <a href="https://hotairexpeditions.com/hot-air-balloon-rides-arizona/private-hot-air-balloon-rides/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Hot Air Expeditions</b></a>. This balloon was with the latter. <br /><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwj3s6FUXPJujO8vDnTb1n01WeNxIjDPymBAkiKjc3rPgnr5v3zzALiPRkFYpWNW1K5Rn1TeTaV0BrU40aFLQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On
Wednesday, the day after we got to Phoenix, we went up to Bartlett Lake, about
a 1 hr drive from our location, for a small float fly. We met up with our good
friend Paul Good. We haven’t seen him for 2 years.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #505050; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Unfortunately</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, after about a month after we saw him last, his wife Joan passed
away. It was nice to see him again. We met them quite a few years ago while we were
at a float fly at Sandy Point Campground, just outside of Salmon Arm, BC.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We headed
up to Bartlett Lake around 7:40 am. When we got up to the lake, there were a
few guys getting ready for the little float fly. Rob ended up being the first
one in the air. It has been awhile since he has done that. <br /><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwdMWHfK0KRJZwJAzUfzX8ySRNxIl-zyVDFBTHdhMAoE7mFXXQU8QElXTti_5GLUOLP_7HM1X5kAQn-IPEbtA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As the
video plays, at about the 16 second mark, we will see Rob flying by doing a roll with his airplane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you can see, it was a beautiful sunny day
there. It was an iffy morning though, in regards to the wind. By the time we got to
the lake, the wind was starting to die down. Rob ended up getting 5 flights in
with his plane. Me, I was reading and getting a sunburn. Yes, I know, I should
of put some sunscreen on but I didn’t. Let’s just say that wearing a t-shirt
today has not been fun.<br /><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiw5Aeg-vJj1X7FQv8eRcTlLxvQSTuxkTRTT_90Gfe3p3em7HoIsHl0UgCOX9gawYUhWx_2oem1q09LVpLIzMWf2DJggqR-wPaBJgOU2fP1iCSwyb_yu3ldvhv19lNDXhlBGWfT2WDqo6iCfqqt23D3BHMqrh7ox-5CLO1ASMvd40WUOXsJZnX4dD-l=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiw5Aeg-vJj1X7FQv8eRcTlLxvQSTuxkTRTT_90Gfe3p3em7HoIsHl0UgCOX9gawYUhWx_2oem1q09LVpLIzMWf2DJggqR-wPaBJgOU2fP1iCSwyb_yu3ldvhv19lNDXhlBGWfT2WDqo6iCfqqt23D3BHMqrh7ox-5CLO1ASMvd40WUOXsJZnX4dD-l=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0JmraICF1nYsRHq5AXNivCEBEAjHR0HWDnIIfeJpvbesMoDraZgeo7FipLjXLcEXDEfhxbKCsghe3PTixar57snRuhLhrg6qMfzs68e6PT3dp3GpYjELggsOSDhvFGPf-8m6uhZREJ6IaDcAXQmdQBr5A_oOuv181Wx4HRUEi5_l7p5sq7lbnFeKj=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0JmraICF1nYsRHq5AXNivCEBEAjHR0HWDnIIfeJpvbesMoDraZgeo7FipLjXLcEXDEfhxbKCsghe3PTixar57snRuhLhrg6qMfzs68e6PT3dp3GpYjELggsOSDhvFGPf-8m6uhZREJ6IaDcAXQmdQBr5A_oOuv181Wx4HRUEi5_l7p5sq7lbnFeKj=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhHlDR5sUGSMA61izKUrvo6PBuyNsdY90TbPENpYxRyzaKY8_1ULrgRh1WRdl5hsu15kIVKYXrjs3uZmozEjEYPbPi-0vMqeR7g5Lh4vWVaMQBRKopuDphuLB-wvxWSFBXpbTaofpMzKK2ql3oxnFPE-vI32lyr9yfHVGIrRmkNhuxF9CAt1SqgYD-=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhHlDR5sUGSMA61izKUrvo6PBuyNsdY90TbPENpYxRyzaKY8_1ULrgRh1WRdl5hsu15kIVKYXrjs3uZmozEjEYPbPi-0vMqeR7g5Lh4vWVaMQBRKopuDphuLB-wvxWSFBXpbTaofpMzKK2ql3oxnFPE-vI32lyr9yfHVGIrRmkNhuxF9CAt1SqgYD-=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQrzW_199t_dIm3kuXONMppe1hcEIV-eZ_rL-zvF7nGuZUIk0Q6dbSxjeeGRXUrQW468ucP94SYryFdG2-q8m3nt_G7QteJFb85THSzxovqveYfe8PhLsN1Ga5xyPXYHD3ckWz2Vu7XNNWvhfPLhMIzVdnZQZCgUELnrCb9JdyZ17GjoewX2kEtP0F=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQrzW_199t_dIm3kuXONMppe1hcEIV-eZ_rL-zvF7nGuZUIk0Q6dbSxjeeGRXUrQW468ucP94SYryFdG2-q8m3nt_G7QteJFb85THSzxovqveYfe8PhLsN1Ga5xyPXYHD3ckWz2Vu7XNNWvhfPLhMIzVdnZQZCgUELnrCb9JdyZ17GjoewX2kEtP0F=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> One thing
that we like about the landscape when we get to Arizona, is the desert and the
cacti that we see. What we see the most are Saguaro Cactus. (Cacti is the plural
form). While there are some around Yuma and Quartzsite as we traveled to Phoenix, we start to see more and more.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmy_Tz-G6MFnNaa4isurJU3S4ibCkhtGw-D_kZAWbVSApkoAnIVpfHcRhg7tRP4DQOCFpExvZ8fwJAsMOUvKRIgvHEzrJuAmCz8s_qWaucnd-HFHk21lryLOEraTls0cnSdXoREfAMpj6jsvx1-BUmyG0L7bXgt_JIqGHCZR6nCC_aemfPJsvH9Ydi=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmy_Tz-G6MFnNaa4isurJU3S4ibCkhtGw-D_kZAWbVSApkoAnIVpfHcRhg7tRP4DQOCFpExvZ8fwJAsMOUvKRIgvHEzrJuAmCz8s_qWaucnd-HFHk21lryLOEraTls0cnSdXoREfAMpj6jsvx1-BUmyG0L7bXgt_JIqGHCZR6nCC_aemfPJsvH9Ydi=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0_P7umXJPG3zmZUnvjbxTVXdHJCR5EP6VKKzZX-5OmuWGondMoVn8aDTiZPTXMDOR65h7Y3cFe1xn02Kjy5pISoypqy5o2JCdW3ege3iCAVSnpEBurim2xs5o6JRDbuXPOETGX-kJXl5PjDUrbiv25M8zCi05jQn1gcWngZYVRDsb4VPQS0-gVXt_=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0_P7umXJPG3zmZUnvjbxTVXdHJCR5EP6VKKzZX-5OmuWGondMoVn8aDTiZPTXMDOR65h7Y3cFe1xn02Kjy5pISoypqy5o2JCdW3ege3iCAVSnpEBurim2xs5o6JRDbuXPOETGX-kJXl5PjDUrbiv25M8zCi05jQn1gcWngZYVRDsb4VPQS0-gVXt_=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxs3g_eh066qMINW6GkmOCjXOL1II24AtCkWB7d-vp0hTBFKjF_q5zvkatm1LVOsxLAMJ4KgS7HxBSqqQr8uw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As you can
see, the saguaro cactus can take on many different shapes and sizes. The ones
that you see are probably between 150-200 yrs old. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfP9r4JRU8VWFVH-Ul78rJ14SoYVjTu48f_bsv9jZjVHOoZwwSbMO-n2_-9SnfjYeyqAzSPkEZvVzbP-BvvoYUNZPQpgboG-iYxAd6aRd8TlWTVuDI6toxGW2SrvlE-ANVlRpBR4rVn7bhcN1zlU-ApwytmwnNW0EBVeds9S4C_KYaydHvIXgloqdM=s977" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="977" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfP9r4JRU8VWFVH-Ul78rJ14SoYVjTu48f_bsv9jZjVHOoZwwSbMO-n2_-9SnfjYeyqAzSPkEZvVzbP-BvvoYUNZPQpgboG-iYxAd6aRd8TlWTVuDI6toxGW2SrvlE-ANVlRpBR4rVn7bhcN1zlU-ApwytmwnNW0EBVeds9S4C_KYaydHvIXgloqdM=w640-h318" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><p></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Some info
on the saguaro cactus can be found at the below links.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://www.livescience.com/58520-crested-saguaro-cactus-photos.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://www.livescience.com/58520-crested-saguaro-cactus-photos.html</span></a></b></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://www.nps.gov/sagu/planyourvisit/upload/The%20Saguaro%20Cactus.pdf"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://www.nps.gov/sagu/planyourvisit/upload/The%20Saguaro%20Cactus.pdf</span></a></b></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We will be
in the Phoenix area for a couple of weeks. Will do another post in a few weeks.
Stay safe and warm. Talk to everyone soon. <br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Christine and Rob.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><p><style><span style="font-family: inherit;">@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</span></style></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-12065325413548629792022-02-06T20:47:00.001-08:002022-02-10T07:57:06.831-08:00Update by Chris<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hi
everyone. It has been a while since Rob has posted anything on the blog, so I
am doing one. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We last
left off where the truck was acting up again, and we were able to find a GM
dealer in Cathedral City, CA (just outside of Palm Springs) to look at it back
in November, and we are sorry to say, it had to have 4 fuel injectors, 4 bad
pigtails (they had corrosion on one end) and 2 fuel rails replaced. It took
over a week around US Thanksgiving to have the work done. In the meantime, we
were able to have rental car paid for by GM. Thank goodness we got the truck
back when we did because we needed to empty the trailer and I don’t think AVIS
would be pleased if we used our portable black water tank in it. We are hoping
after this, that the truck should be good.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">While we
were waiting for the truck, we hosted US Thanksgiving for the Escapee Boomers.
We had a small turnout, total of 7 rigs including us. For the first group
gathering, it was the perfect size. We had a couple of small units that had
camped near us just after we got there for a couple of nights, and one of the
units went to reposition and ended up getting stuck in the sand. So, Rob to the
rescue. It took a little bit, did not use the truck, it was all digging and
using some mats, and pushing of the van, they got it unstuck. As it turned out,
we ended up helping 3 or 4 more vehicles after they got stuck in the sand or in
a big hole using the truck to pull them out.</span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After the
gathering at Joshua Tree wound down, we headed to Yuma where we spent all of
December with Michael and Robin at their double RV lot in the foothills of
Yuma. On Dec 31, we headed up to Lake Havasu City to spend a bit of time with Steve
and Tammie, who we met last time we were down for the winter. They were looking
for a house in a more temperate climate. They now have an offer on a
house which is pending and they just recently put their house in Grand
Junction, Colorado up for sale. </span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">By the
middle of the first week of January this year, we headed back to Quartzsite and
stayed at La Posa South LTVA area for a few days and then emptied the tanks and
filled with water and headed over to the area for the Escapees Boomers yearly
Boomerville gathering. This location is just off Plomosa Rd at mile marker 3
north of Quartzsite. This will be our first large gathering since COVID
started. </span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">During
Boomerville, they hold an auction for the Escapees C.A.R.E (Continuing Assistance
to Retired Escapees). This organization is where you can go and get assistance
during any type of health issue while you are traveling or done traveling and
do not have a home to go to. It is all volunteer based, so they need donations
to stay running and volunteers to help. The hosts of Boomerville weren’t sure
if there was going to be an auction, but, there was, and I ended up being a
co-chair for it. I wasn’t planning on being as hands on with the auction as I
was. I still did do some baking for the auction though. Overall, with donations for
pancakes made by Gretchen, cinnamon buns by me and the proceeds and some other
donations for the auction, the Boomers raised $10,0001.00 for CARE. Considering
this was the first auction in 2 years, we did pretty good. </span>
</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZMBnpwkUA-D742A3fhfNiiYDzt71z6hQupZ_X1dLK1wbhqNFD9tQkjUASKJCeI6utwh-yfqVph9MvdVwJHp3oMCQgNI_BHH-YvJQ_4nQEaSSxSFq94lJPnXJI74vj5mU0qO3WVqLkA_uJ-tczEl149gXqILbz8ZR7k6B5Sjfg8jkS03Er9xU5srVF=s936" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="936" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZMBnpwkUA-D742A3fhfNiiYDzt71z6hQupZ_X1dLK1wbhqNFD9tQkjUASKJCeI6utwh-yfqVph9MvdVwJHp3oMCQgNI_BHH-YvJQ_4nQEaSSxSFq94lJPnXJI74vj5mU0qO3WVqLkA_uJ-tczEl149gXqILbz8ZR7k6B5Sjfg8jkS03Er9xU5srVF=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We are now
at the Imperial Dam LTVA area just outside of Yuma till around the middle of
February, and then we will be heading over to the Yuma Aeromodellers
RC airplane field for their annual airshow. Not sure if Rob will be flying in
it again though. We will see when we get there.</span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Saturday we made a quick
day trip to Los Algodones. As you cross the border into Baja Mexico, there are
quite a few people that ask you if you need a dentist or a pharmacy, as this is
one of the places that a lot of snowbirds will flock to for dental and cheaper
meds. We haven’t been to any there, but the prices are supposed to be much
cheaper than back home, even with eyeglasses. We noticed that the vendors
around the area have become very aggressive in trying to get you to buy from
them. I did not feel comfortable enough to stop and look at a lot of stuff in
case they got too pushy in forcing me to buy stuff. On that note, we did end up
buying some items. Rob picked up another Los Algodones jacket, black this time
with the 3 lizards in color and a nice tablecloth for the RV at one vendor and
then as we went through a courtyard, we saw one vendor that was selling stained
glass windows that you can put in the door window of your RV. In all, we spent
around $175 US while there. Oh, and I bought a 4 litre bottle of vanilla for
$11.64 US. I couldn’t resist it at that price. Not sure how long that will
last.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWDcy0lBWZRKzpcig7VhJUTkR7cVcNf-vqzsfWyZjYrUQMnD8kV_rZsWmNCwoOo0PPjLvD9Cuq4Sleq_bSudakHAhULftXP72eKILyNQRqG1bYu_JTilk629-tvK8thcaxiZGoQvhxvxl9l8lH2vE8tOdvyntFs3FT0tcutp-6xy4WnrjdIIEbT2cj=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWDcy0lBWZRKzpcig7VhJUTkR7cVcNf-vqzsfWyZjYrUQMnD8kV_rZsWmNCwoOo0PPjLvD9Cuq4Sleq_bSudakHAhULftXP72eKILyNQRqG1bYu_JTilk629-tvK8thcaxiZGoQvhxvxl9l8lH2vE8tOdvyntFs3FT0tcutp-6xy4WnrjdIIEbT2cj=w480-h640" width="480" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_hu7bwydWj5Necu44sspsrNwnOAz0cT1FnbUiW80K4tryFZ8NTzOepDDzAeKGe8-5g8aBYBAezXsVPcQlP2ToXp-3BBq-aLQ5daahzGrFI35GkailrmcbelzeuhxvIVujMBIa63UtcziZ7qSo9-i0mekaBu10Grb4hxn51WkSxGI9dWW9hhWS8sg6=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_hu7bwydWj5Necu44sspsrNwnOAz0cT1FnbUiW80K4tryFZ8NTzOepDDzAeKGe8-5g8aBYBAezXsVPcQlP2ToXp-3BBq-aLQ5daahzGrFI35GkailrmcbelzeuhxvIVujMBIa63UtcziZ7qSo9-i0mekaBu10Grb4hxn51WkSxGI9dWW9hhWS8sg6=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><p></p><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinTWB16x4QTpz6lhK6bQr6bqlo0HmM8jzviEKzUs9Qr7LGUPt3jLTWBYpZ33vJ_4Rwuvlw9he7PMkXOoJEtolJFNVeauTETsfAIsiMLwJNknwkoi3UJuK0KpWCGEGEB1iWt7WOREa16WUx76bqs_d9CnkTJLnbWTyY7AgLHuEdLPt0RKPV4NPu4uo5=s1054" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="936" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinTWB16x4QTpz6lhK6bQr6bqlo0HmM8jzviEKzUs9Qr7LGUPt3jLTWBYpZ33vJ_4Rwuvlw9he7PMkXOoJEtolJFNVeauTETsfAIsiMLwJNknwkoi3UJuK0KpWCGEGEB1iWt7WOREa16WUx76bqs_d9CnkTJLnbWTyY7AgLHuEdLPt0RKPV4NPu4uo5=w568-h640" width="568" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-7874478636624732862021-11-14T07:49:00.001-08:002021-11-14T15:58:31.704-08:00We've made Southern California.<p>When I left off the last entry, we had made it to Osoyoos on Nov 7 and had parked for the night in a church parking lot about 3Kms from the border. The plan was to get a decent nights sleep and then head for the crossing around 6:30.<br />As it turned out, we were both awake a bit before 5. We were also seeing a fair number of rigs driving past us headed for the border so we got ourselves organized and headed off ourselves.<br />We ran into the lineup about 1 Km from the border but it seemed to be moving along fairly well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGiyTR1Ugiz3C37IlrUuIqWv_KMnTRjgcWxZetMrt6KcQNdXfVTNaVunM0dzwG_ij9QvxuROUYe_P46ikpYT29xQ8nffYYqRKvIICPN2Zp_EhDWKf8MHNEjWdWcbP5MLPWdlUzFr69Vg9Btk46vGeUKazS9ZBkrRK5P2MUnifO9ua3OkNnWLbC8wEE=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGiyTR1Ugiz3C37IlrUuIqWv_KMnTRjgcWxZetMrt6KcQNdXfVTNaVunM0dzwG_ij9QvxuROUYe_P46ikpYT29xQ8nffYYqRKvIICPN2Zp_EhDWKf8MHNEjWdWcbP5MLPWdlUzFr69Vg9Btk46vGeUKazS9ZBkrRK5P2MUnifO9ua3OkNnWLbC8wEE=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>We hit the line about 10 to 6 and it wound up taking about 45 minutes to get to the plaza. We were met by one of the border agents who was directing traffic a bit to help organize the flow to the booths. She asked us about our vax status to confirm we were vaccinated but didn't ask to see any documentation. A few minutes later we made it to the booth and the agent there who looked at our Nexus cards. We chatted for a half minute or so and were sent on our way. No questions about where we were going, what we were carrying, or any of the usual things. Probably the easiest crossing we have ever made!<br />Our first stop was Walmart in Omak to pick up a few groceries as our pantry was pretty bare and for a quick bite. <br />An hour or so later we passed another rig heading south and Chris said it looked like a couple we used to live close to in Kamloops. Sure enough it was! We arranged a fuel and food stop in Othello and stopped for a bite and some catch up. They were heading to LaGrande to get some work done on their trailer en-route to El Centro, CA.<br />We wound up stopping at the Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton, OR for the night. And what a night it was! It blew and blew all night. The trailer was rocking so bad at one point that while working on my laptop at the kitchen table I actually felt slightly nauseous. I had to raise my head to regain my equilibrium. We were up early the next morning again and found out that I-84 East of Pendlelton had been closed overnight due to the wind. Fortunately we noticed the truckers starting to head out around 7 so about 8 we did the same.<br />The rest of the day was pretty uneventful until about an hour out of Twin Falls, our nemesis, the check engine light lit up again! We continued on to our stop for the next couple of nights at the Twin Falls Fair grounds. After parking the trailer we set out to visit our friends Eric and Susanne.<br />First order of business the next day was to the local GMC dealer to see what was up. Same basic codes as before, injector related. This time the advisor suggested we ensure we were running with the 4 wheel drive mode locked in 2 wheel drive instead of Auto. Honestly I can't remember what we had been using. Anyway, he cleared the codes and reset the system and sent us on our way. We also did a bit more extensive grocery shopping now that we had access to some larger stores.<br />The rest of the day and evening we spent with Eric and Susanne again.<br />Thursday morning we were off again. Up until this point we had been hoping to be able to visit with some other friends, Steve and Tammie in Colorado but with the truck issues and possible weather issues, we reluctantly decided to forego that and head straight south. We took the route through Ely NV and then over to NV-318. Our last time through Ely was a bit of a white knuckle drive as it was in the middle of a heavy snow storm on our way back 2 1/2 years ago. This time thankfully it was the polar opposite. Beautiful weather the whole way.<br />Shortly after turning onto NV-318 we saw a couple of highway patrol coming right at us weaving back and forth across all lanes with all their lights on. Turns out they were clearing the way for this big boy.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiez50rhi4nTxLH8OM0gFwNXDgJOjGzyLJCxN5oLzhdreEmyEw0F3ngECht6SlPydrtlPbkF0CqPrFwWE8L6KWgeRUR9zionmS0_brR-HqqohHr2rTMQWKTUa3AXdzwhBAWrI585EBOVR2aVnFNo3tYg8hM5vb6yagbyufD0eW5qkMbqLARnarRXmzg=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiez50rhi4nTxLH8OM0gFwNXDgJOjGzyLJCxN5oLzhdreEmyEw0F3ngECht6SlPydrtlPbkF0CqPrFwWE8L6KWgeRUR9zionmS0_brR-HqqohHr2rTMQWKTUa3AXdzwhBAWrI585EBOVR2aVnFNo3tYg8hM5vb6yagbyufD0eW5qkMbqLARnarRXmzg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>I think that sign is a bit of an understatement! Fortunately I was able to pull over onto a wide spot on the shoulder in time and get stopped. He had the 2 Highway patrol and a pilot car out front along with another pilot car and anther highway patrol bringing up the rear.<br />The rest of the drive to Alamo which was our next planned stop was pretty boring. We found a spot on BLM land across from Pahranagat NWR where we parked for the night.<br />Friday, we were on the road by about 8:30 and headed toward Las Vegas. We had noticed that the truck was starting to sound similar to what it does when the check engine comes on and sure enough, after an hour or so, it was back on. Not much we could do about it so we carried on.<br />We blew through Vegas and made a fuel stop at the Railroad Pass Casino in Henderson, then on towards Needles. From there we cut over and picked up I-10 just east of our destination arriving at the Joshua Tree BLM site about 2:30. We found a decent site and were set up in short order.<br />Most of the way down we have been using our TSD Logistics fuel card to enable us to fuel at truck stops. We also get a not insignificant discount over regular pump prices. So far this trip it has probably saved us between $80 and $100 over posted diesel prices. We first started using this company just before heading back in 2019 and have been eager to keep using it on this trip. Their card does work at some truck stops in Canada but without any discounts to speak of. <br />I find truck stops are also much easier to get into and out of than most regular gas stations. We have also noticed that all fuel prices so far are quite a bit higher than our last time down here. I am not looking forward to our next fuel up in California though. They have the highest fuel prices in the lower 48; pretty much on par with and some places higher than what we pay back in BC. Today's price for example is averaging 4.81 / US gallon which translates to around $1.60 / litre.<br />Our next order of business is to visit another GMC dealer in the valley and see if they can figure out what is going on. Otherwise, we will just hang out here for the next couple weeks until after US Thanksgiving.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEImSn59lzw_tuT5Pu17fbxMy2MX37Nouws9Sb3Tght2RZptGCbzofSqo2j95BsFyLie50eOdkmAOpY2-KnDU35zamDeXizfpC0Ocd99lPRu-NeX9LfmhcXp66entk-8chzJBEziEuPYpulW2Rr6ciK4Gpzf_filix2uk6cdKuBZRqSowRIskftcFv=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEImSn59lzw_tuT5Pu17fbxMy2MX37Nouws9Sb3Tght2RZptGCbzofSqo2j95BsFyLie50eOdkmAOpY2-KnDU35zamDeXizfpC0Ocd99lPRu-NeX9LfmhcXp66entk-8chzJBEziEuPYpulW2Rr6ciK4Gpzf_filix2uk6cdKuBZRqSowRIskftcFv=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-48889590856746945242021-11-07T20:48:00.000-08:002021-11-07T20:48:04.989-08:00Long overdue catch-up<p>Wow! It’s been a solid year since my last post. I guess there just wasn’t enough that I thought was all that interesting to post about.<br />So here is a bit of a recap of what we did do.<br />As you recall, we had just settled in for the winter at the Desert Gem RV park in Oliver BC. The first couple of weeks was spent getting the trailer skirted and some other preparations for winter taken care of.<br />I should back up a bit first though. Recall when we were in Kamloops, we had a check engine light come on in the truck while we were towing from Okotoks to Kamloops. In Kamloops, the GM dealer changed a fuel injector and sent us on our way. Well, while towing to Oliver, the light came on again just as we were getting into Vernon. Once we had things organized in Oliver, we took the truck into the GM dealer in Penticton where they diagnosed more injector issues. This time they changed another 2 and sent us on our way. Stay tuned, more to come on this topic.<br />Back to Oliver and around the end of November, Chris got a part time job at the NoFrills grocery store as a cashier. She wanted something to do while we were there and this got her out of the house and allowed me some time to myself. She was working 4 hours a day and usually 5 days a week.<br />One thing I had wanted to do for a while was to get back into my electronics hobby somewhat. I am not a winter flier and wasn’t planning on spending a lot of time flying my models over the winter. One of the avenues I wanted to explore was some small microcontrollers. There are a couple major players in the market and the one I decided on was the <a href="https://www.arduino.cc/" target="_blank">Arduino</a> platform. I started with a mid level experimenters kit and spent the rest of 2020 learning the ins and outs of the platform. A large part of the Arduino is the programming. It uses a version of the C++ programming language which is something I hadn’t even looked at in many years. I also remembered rather quickly why I had never gone into programming as a career. As a programmer, I suck! I can muddle my way through basic stuff and given enough time can usually overcome most challenges but I most definitely cannot call myself productive! I did find it rather enjoyable though.<br />I started with some simple stuff but then spent a fair bit of time developing a new holding tank monitoring system for the trailer. It took a while but I did get it to a point where I think it would be a significant improvement over the stock system in this trailer. It currently is at a point where it is pretty much ready for installation. I just have to finalize a couple of hardware challenges and then get it installed. Hopefully this winter sometime. I also came up with a couple of other projects that are 95% complete and I’m just looking for the right time to finish them off and get them into use.<br />Other than COVID which affected everything, the winter went pretty well. We stayed warm and healthy, nothing froze up, at least not seriously and we emerged in the spring ready to get on with things.<br />At the end of March, we packed up and hit the road again; this time back to Vernon for a few days to visit with family, then on April 1st, back to Kamloops for a couple of weeks. While there we took care of the usual medical appointments and stuff.<br />At the end of the previous season at the Okotoks Lions campground, we had told Pauline, the manager, that we would be interested in returning for the next season so on the 15th we packed up and headed east.<br />About 45 minutes before getting there, guess what? The check engine light came on again! We arrived in Okotoks late, spent the night in the parking lot and the next morning got in and parked. Soon after that, I took the truck up to the Okotoks GM dealer and they diagnosed more injector issues! This time, rather that changing more injectors, the changed out the engine control module along with a couple other minor bits and sent us on our way.<br />The first couple of weeks were spent getting the campground ready which basically was cleaning up the rest of the leaves from last year, getting the water turned on, signs up and all the usual maintenance items on the equipment after their winter storage.<br />We also had 2 new host couples to get to know.<br />As COVID was still ongoing, we opened at half capacity, the same as we ran all last year and again, no tenting as the washrooms were kept closed as cleaning and keeping them sanitized would have been a nightmare.<br />I won’t go into too much detail about the campground as it was pretty much a repeat of last year. <br />One thing we did do shortly after arriving though was go get our first COVID vaccine shot. It seemed Alberta was a bit ahead of BC in that regard. That made us feel a lot better. In fact the numbers in Alberta were looking pretty good and getting better and it didn’t take long before Pauline decided to open up about half of the remaining sites. And again about month later, most of the rest of the restrictions were lifted and she opened almost all the rest. That brought us up to around 50 sites of 55 in use.<br />The end of June, we received our 2nd COVID shot and while leaving the location, I noticed some movement in some bushes right beside the clinic. It was a Mule Deer doe who had just (within the previous few minutes) give birth to a fawn! </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXbveCB4Dp_yakxmli7kTo_d6WHghSPBhY7NJ5VsAfMgd-zE7R53lf5b8jqzHgWs0ebSGXNBJ8tokx4KcG3uOtzVkH4e7Tsgc8WGx35QVJhQ8k2mbNOX6GIqsMy86CiXqFedUZgJbpBukI-ab7fhcLuINIeR9G9LPlryabRowzmO81uQTp4V8TfYnY=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXbveCB4Dp_yakxmli7kTo_d6WHghSPBhY7NJ5VsAfMgd-zE7R53lf5b8jqzHgWs0ebSGXNBJ8tokx4KcG3uOtzVkH4e7Tsgc8WGx35QVJhQ8k2mbNOX6GIqsMy86CiXqFedUZgJbpBukI-ab7fhcLuINIeR9G9LPlryabRowzmO81uQTp4V8TfYnY=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></p><p>One thing about this summer that was quite different was the extended heat we experienced over the summer. We didn’t get the high 40’s like parts of BC but by Alberta standards it was damn hot! One thing I have never been good with is heat. I have to say, during the hottest parts of the day, I was struggling. Complicating this was Alberta was getting a lot of the smoke from the BC wildfires which made breathing difficult as well.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAMZ9s9lgco8Lhw8TGSamG7lNOnA9uoUWJCoTOvooRxC_5q0sEx5O0XWdFueTTTnLtmhdIDFVaBTu6SqiuRIUOoqkCDGoNpJu0iH2WWVEkjs9IdIrflDDhHuTuOIpx8TmBYunsNhTEoVWhuP2fGVKe1nq-CKVsRkDQiNTGwwVdDKvaKy3HOZ4KbCvo=s1280" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAMZ9s9lgco8Lhw8TGSamG7lNOnA9uoUWJCoTOvooRxC_5q0sEx5O0XWdFueTTTnLtmhdIDFVaBTu6SqiuRIUOoqkCDGoNpJu0iH2WWVEkjs9IdIrflDDhHuTuOIpx8TmBYunsNhTEoVWhuP2fGVKe1nq-CKVsRkDQiNTGwwVdDKvaKy3HOZ4KbCvo=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p>We did get away a couple of times. The first time was around the middle of July. We headed back up to the Propbusters club in Red Deer. I was able to get some flying in and some much needed time away from the campground.<br />The second time was in the middle of August to a small community campground just south of Okotoks called Archie and Janet Hogg park. Again it was for a weekend and just to get away for a bit. The first couple of days were still hot and smokey but while we were there, the weather broke and Southern Alberta got the first good rain it had seen in several months.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjN-IJBw2W4Ubp-0BWuGeEilrJfsevy5K6YxGdcce__QLb1oTsrpuaHTIbAE323Byj1JgBqbc6O_8Ckpv7zWATgnqm9vW4f6lrZ9wc0N4s_BDnosSKbNfeKX9TgIJxRn6uBk3KKg0uL4i6k25PbTmqLSz7_pwZRSlkUPJrwt2h2JKst6NN6_UjT22J4=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjN-IJBw2W4Ubp-0BWuGeEilrJfsevy5K6YxGdcce__QLb1oTsrpuaHTIbAE323Byj1JgBqbc6O_8Ckpv7zWATgnqm9vW4f6lrZ9wc0N4s_BDnosSKbNfeKX9TgIJxRn6uBk3KKg0uL4i6k25PbTmqLSz7_pwZRSlkUPJrwt2h2JKst6NN6_UjT22J4=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMjX-L7-B-Tl7ocfEnG3361q-Fii8BP1fYyoqTYS97GZA2GmbjSorkmtFOeZmUxoQlANUGCZ1RDwJrF0XeQwrkv5t-Hdr8QVmhUcYebbMDbNPVjy4Pmp3dDDPOSQ5xFrPsMoJd_D8ytn889e2LiM7nhUMYcG0AgwKOed5WZ7jELKI2FTY-_n2Rr6qn=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMjX-L7-B-Tl7ocfEnG3361q-Fii8BP1fYyoqTYS97GZA2GmbjSorkmtFOeZmUxoQlANUGCZ1RDwJrF0XeQwrkv5t-Hdr8QVmhUcYebbMDbNPVjy4Pmp3dDDPOSQ5xFrPsMoJd_D8ytn889e2LiM7nhUMYcG0AgwKOed5WZ7jELKI2FTY-_n2Rr6qn=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2Llx8yXUwtoLJIjAH2mYJIbNLyVAwZbPsEnp0osjMc9fehSr7SStf2-YLoh1fMxPyjhuqVVCts3gJ6nLg5eREVUIjGc8iuRxc3bndP-PXmr0BIyTE4wzFZqToD31m3bz4DNCF1-eivmDx0dI0DU1Iru10LGtL3FDahEchvwu-BpVEw05w_zP3DnQH=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2Llx8yXUwtoLJIjAH2mYJIbNLyVAwZbPsEnp0osjMc9fehSr7SStf2-YLoh1fMxPyjhuqVVCts3gJ6nLg5eREVUIjGc8iuRxc3bndP-PXmr0BIyTE4wzFZqToD31m3bz4DNCF1-eivmDx0dI0DU1Iru10LGtL3FDahEchvwu-BpVEw05w_zP3DnQH=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMnelJ96Ksbc0qmDguTNI6Qp0hNqFkc9eGbE8fFeI5AHXbp9pAYNBCnGGv8eDNpHE3l0TqB-DcHQhqiEHhXbmVh5OvDdyeaZhUrNxsu1HKddzvMXPRF5TteywEJNEIGvtk3gLE6GkWHcf3Z4ui0xOstmcvHd2yUB1cDmEnmkf6CavQ3Ds9YkRwgl2i=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMnelJ96Ksbc0qmDguTNI6Qp0hNqFkc9eGbE8fFeI5AHXbp9pAYNBCnGGv8eDNpHE3l0TqB-DcHQhqiEHhXbmVh5OvDdyeaZhUrNxsu1HKddzvMXPRF5TteywEJNEIGvtk3gLE6GkWHcf3Z4ui0xOstmcvHd2yUB1cDmEnmkf6CavQ3Ds9YkRwgl2i=w640-h480" width="640" /></a><br /></p><p>A couple of weeks later, we busted out again. This time up to Edmonton for the first organized model event we had been to in almost 2 years. This was the Bruce Bender Memorial Scale Fun Fly. We had an enjoyable few days there and it was nice seeing friends we hadn’t seen in quite a while. It was memorable in that while flying my jet, I had a minor structural failure halfway through the first flight. The right hand flap blew off during a high speed pass. Fortunately it didn’t cause any serious handling issues and I got it back on the ground without issue.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgosgXuXnI5aRKy6vEXN5-LHKpDsnzcV5pmTV4allyELgHPybQL-7hZqPl5k_bjYMKBVDEBwxHg0hrp-nXS3Vcc1wB1mAj3zXUqkVFcPVTI9mXe3g_Mupxdxh3jEA3BYbGNoEsCb8t9kTVrh9osoNUD5MSIfuC_lZ0Jd5tgOEoOhxovAg2Ly_bhm23S=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgosgXuXnI5aRKy6vEXN5-LHKpDsnzcV5pmTV4allyELgHPybQL-7hZqPl5k_bjYMKBVDEBwxHg0hrp-nXS3Vcc1wB1mAj3zXUqkVFcPVTI9mXe3g_Mupxdxh3jEA3BYbGNoEsCb8t9kTVrh9osoNUD5MSIfuC_lZ0Jd5tgOEoOhxovAg2Ly_bhm23S=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p>As luck would have it, while headed up there, around Red Deer, that damn check engine light decide to make another appearance. There wasn’t anything we could do about it then but when we got back, it was back to the dealership again. This time, while it was still showing the same injector related codes, they decided to just change the fuel filter even though it wasn’t really dirty.<br />During all this time, the Canada/US land border was still closed to non-essential traffic which meant that we wouldn’t be able to drive across to go south for the winter. And one thing we were sure of, was that we didn’t want to spend another winter here. As Canadians could still fly into the US we found that there were a number of commercial hauling companies that would be able to transport our truck and trailer across while we flew. We made arrangements with one such company to take our rig across and a small charter airline to fly us across for October 25. At least now we had plan for the winter.<br />We closed up the campground at the end of September and spent the next few days putting it to bed. The last thing was to blow out the water lines which we did on October 5. That afternoon, we pulled out and made our way back to BC. <br />And guess what? Around Canmore, our old friend the check engine light makes another appearance! Really? Again, not much we can do about it and as it doesn’t seem to affect performance any we carried on to Kamloops and our usual spot at Silver Sage.<br />As soon as we could, it was to the GM dealership again. This time after consulting with GM Canada, they decided to replace all 8 injectors. As none could be found in Canada, they had to get them air shipped in from the USA somewhere. They changed all 8 this time and sent us on our way. It sure is a good thing that this is all being done under warranty as each one of these service visits is an all day thing for a tech. I can’t imagine what the repair bill would be if we had to foot it.<br />While still in Kamloops we heard that the US had finally decided to open the land border to fully vaccinated travelers on Nov 8. After some discussion (slightly heated at times), we decided to forgo the truck/trailer transport for the 25th, save the appropriate. $2,000 cost and wait a couple extra weeks and drive ourselves across.<br />We spent an extra week in Vernon where we could spend some more time with our families which was nice and then this morning hitched up and headed south.<br />That is where we sit as I write this. We are parked about 3 Kms from the border in Osoyoos and plan to head out first thing tomorrow morning. Now, I just hope half of southern BC doesn’t have the same idea! We have already heard there is quite a lineup waiting at the border to cross. We shall see in the morning. <br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-88076984458093599132020-11-11T20:17:00.009-08:002020-11-12T07:10:22.968-08:00Settled in for the winter<p>I have left this entry a bit longer than I had planned. Just not in the writing mood I guess.</p><p>Anyway, our last couple of weeks in Okotoks were spent starting to get the campground ready for winter. With all the Poplar and Cottonwoods trees around, we had lots of cleanup. The leaves started coming down in early September and by the middle of the month, it became pretty much a daily chore to clean up as much as we could.<br />Years ago when we had our resort on Shuswap, that meant lots and lots of raking. My brother and I were fortunate in that we were able to avoid some of it as we had school, but we did get our share on weekends. <br />Oh, I would have loved to have one of these back then! <br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUacq4MYkYuxXlekkAG7cFx8WJd6bGfABbx4lzyv50TpFRr6mwquN_cLTCfx1omBdkse8rOj16dcCUNWuzp5YFaE1R87E-l9-gWbMArqm3x_8hIE6x9FF93lSBMLr-PlSvzOPyby3Jic/s2048/DA570315-1520-4236-82A5-9DF7CB235F4D.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUacq4MYkYuxXlekkAG7cFx8WJd6bGfABbx4lzyv50TpFRr6mwquN_cLTCfx1omBdkse8rOj16dcCUNWuzp5YFaE1R87E-l9-gWbMArqm3x_8hIE6x9FF93lSBMLr-PlSvzOPyby3Jic/w640-h480/DA570315-1520-4236-82A5-9DF7CB235F4D.heic" width="640" /></a></div><p>We use leaf blowers to blow the leaves off the roads and onto the grass,
and then the Cyclone Rake makes short work of vacuuming them up and
mulching them. <br />Other chores were taking all the signs down and putting them away, storing the equipment, putting picnic tables away and lastly, after everyone had left Oct 1, blowing out the water and irrigation lines.<br />We finished up with the water blow out in the early afternoon on the 2nd and as there wasn't much left to do and the weather was looking good, were given the OK to leave. Both Chris and I enjoyed our summer in Okotoks and given the opportunity, will likely head back there next year.<br /></p><p>After leaving on the 2nd, we made it as far as Kananaskis and pulled into the Stony Lakoda Casino for the night. We have stayed here in the past and as an overnight stop, it is perfect. Just far enough off the highway to be fairly quiet. By nightfall there were probably 15 other RVs doing the same thing. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyQVqfJbiLjmPhE-aWt281NYVBOp8Poxn_OXtGO9wsu8BPNUmaNTPkemaJbzR6u_YBF9XRDuWgyEYgIRtxag0FGRC_8t4o0mMtG3lrb7wKiJqj9XU9wSLLfwrn_hoeOziNhC6FaMGcvE/s2048/6FFA3C8C-3E9C-4149-97D9-BF2B6297C1FE.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyQVqfJbiLjmPhE-aWt281NYVBOp8Poxn_OXtGO9wsu8BPNUmaNTPkemaJbzR6u_YBF9XRDuWgyEYgIRtxag0FGRC_8t4o0mMtG3lrb7wKiJqj9XU9wSLLfwrn_hoeOziNhC6FaMGcvE/w640-h480/6FFA3C8C-3E9C-4149-97D9-BF2B6297C1FE.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br />The next morning dawned, as we used to say back in my flying days, 'severe clear', and we headed off for BC and our next stop back at Silver Sage in Kamloops. We needed to be there for a couple of weeks to take care of several appointments. We had stunning weather all the way through the Rockies and all the way to Kamloops.<br /><p>The only hiccup was just before getting to Kamloops, we noticed our check engine light on. Everything else seemed fine, the engine was running OK and all temperatures were in the green so I wasn't too concerned.</p><p>A couple days after arriving we noticed another Solitude pulling in. And it was being pulled by almost the identical truck as ours. They wound up parking right beside us. Other than the colour of their truck being slightly different, they could be twins!<br />We quickly got to chatting and found out they were Hal and Bonnie Dennison. A couple from Ontario who also have recently taken up the full time lifestyle. They were stopping off in Kamloops for a bit on their way to their winter digs at Harrison Lake.<br />Interestingly enough, their check engine light had also come on!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRYiIcoMCc8WIa2zvniX-Vf8BDtUtbN7_wAweONq7NzOsCJ55RB_sADdkoHGUREMR9uho4-5HryeWIAZ8rVD2mP-uieeHpqlUCVCJL1ZjUhtSKXwf1NlhXxySLw87sOnO6-88nazSRsE/s2048/2C73E3B6-E149-47B4-9A80-59BE81DE7AC8.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRYiIcoMCc8WIa2zvniX-Vf8BDtUtbN7_wAweONq7NzOsCJ55RB_sADdkoHGUREMR9uho4-5HryeWIAZ8rVD2mP-uieeHpqlUCVCJL1ZjUhtSKXwf1NlhXxySLw87sOnO6-88nazSRsE/w640-h480/2C73E3B6-E149-47B4-9A80-59BE81DE7AC8.heic" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>We had our truck booked into Zimmer GM to get it checked out the next day and Hal had his booked right after us. The diagnostics on ours showed one bad fuel injector and possibly 2 others that may also have an issue. They didn't have the parts on hand so booked us for a return visit the next week.<br />Coincidentally (or maybe not) Hal and Bonnies truck also was diagnosed with injector problems. As they needed to be moving on shortly, they got priority on the first repair which was OK with us.<br /></p><p>One of my chores to take care of before winter was to clean the roof. Being parked under 3 big poplars all summer had made a real mess. All the pitch that rains down coupled with the dust from the roads had left the roof filthy. I hadn't realized how bad it was until I started. I think I went through 2 pails of elbow grease, not to mention a gallon of sweat! This is how it looked after day 1. It took 2 more days to get it all finished up. Note to self: Don't leave it so long next time!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpgjRbtDrIdFb8bsL9MqUWX1Jd3garX4Rv4WIzObViNTeAoxdCZThjDmFaUreK0nyHWKRVsOF3rDCOTnd8MfwA0GpmruJ9redTEAZkIRKAN00Y2n1OrvraC0L0rM09ydkfjWzXjrhUOM/s2048/E80090AA-43D5-4E28-833D-ECB308421716.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpgjRbtDrIdFb8bsL9MqUWX1Jd3garX4Rv4WIzObViNTeAoxdCZThjDmFaUreK0nyHWKRVsOF3rDCOTnd8MfwA0GpmruJ9redTEAZkIRKAN00Y2n1OrvraC0L0rM09ydkfjWzXjrhUOM/w640-h480/E80090AA-43D5-4E28-833D-ECB308421716.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br />Another chore I wanted to get out of the way was to clean up some of the wiring and propane lines in behind our fridge. When we swapped it out last summer, the tech didn't have all the proper parts to make a clean install so we used what we had. I tend to be a bit anal on stuff like this and it just didn't sit well with me so decided to clean it up. I found the propane fitting I needed to do it right and spent probably a couple of hours at it. Here is a before and after pic.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGTLqwkF1ez6qp8KVRz1qiCqmlu-rRabMd3vSI8YO0f_ZqOuABw-RztC6JN0pGOpiNhYS3YyHj5RO0rDKZxqd218CqPEp6WHTO58OTXgKjc5Og4SBg-8SAaMrrfrNPwvEotxRqijFKQw/w640-h480/A4E0929C-6373-41B3-BD72-9BCDCAB892A6.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbR0DbVfJrPgYdYTzWRRjIh07ugYJZpn0hLxaKE3h79QZ0U98zk8bjyccxjWws31YhIjFPN9E7V90d7j-CEOZkA8plnZdKsPWRINlWaJlmm6NmU9QYn_pZNLYf0RiD3WseG_jdl_a3E4/s2048/87164C2E-D630-48BE-A72D-E23BB8784010.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbR0DbVfJrPgYdYTzWRRjIh07ugYJZpn0hLxaKE3h79QZ0U98zk8bjyccxjWws31YhIjFPN9E7V90d7j-CEOZkA8plnZdKsPWRINlWaJlmm6NmU9QYn_pZNLYf0RiD3WseG_jdl_a3E4/w640-h480/87164C2E-D630-48BE-A72D-E23BB8784010.heic" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Another project was to make up some cribbing. When we get to our winter site in Oliver I wanted to block the trailer up on something more solid than our hydraulic jacks. Especially since we would be in the same location for upwards of 5 months.<br /></div></div></div><p>Just up the road from Silver Sage is a truss plant. They bundle up their off cuts and sell them for $25 for a cubic meter. We bought one of their pallets and I cut up a bunch of pieces 1 foot long which I then screwed together into 6 cribs about 12" high.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFaOnNXQVUE41y-ro8MGYw-oJ5bIrOidir0xL0rd4_p9O6PPesMD2yWSZgndRyexv9F0TQUaHTaxbTWufdwGKb3_Q0kGUV-1HpTgqlRGDn5osX0EObWf9zq3FZzDNCAo99FWHhi3Ri20/s499/26605094-798.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="499" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFaOnNXQVUE41y-ro8MGYw-oJ5bIrOidir0xL0rd4_p9O6PPesMD2yWSZgndRyexv9F0TQUaHTaxbTWufdwGKb3_Q0kGUV-1HpTgqlRGDn5osX0EObWf9zq3FZzDNCAo99FWHhi3Ri20/w640-h478/26605094-798.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not mine but very similar to what I did.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I also cut a bunch of extra pieces as I didn't know exactly what I would need when we got to Oliver. This used about a quarter of the pallet load so I advertised the rest on Facebook Marketplace for free and someone came and took them away the next day.<p>On the 27th, we pulled up stakes at Silver Sage and headed for Vernon. We planned to spend 5 or 6 days there before making the final push to Oliver. This allowed us to spend a bit of time visiting family and allowed Chris to spend her birthday with her parents.</p><p>Oh, and guess what? The check engine light on the truck came back on. I guess they should have changed out those other 2 injectors after all. I guess we'll have to deal with that after we get to Oliver.<br /></p><p>Nov 1 we headed the last 160 km or so to our winter digs at the Desert Gem RV park. This is a smaller park right across the road from the Oliver airport. By the look of things they have 35 or 40 rigs here for the winter. Most, like us, frustrated snowbirds who are unable or unwilling to head south for the winter.</p><p>Setting up took a bit longer as I used the cribbing I had built earlier to add extra stability to the trailer. As we will be parked for 5 months or so, I wanted to make things as stable as possible. Also to take the pressure off our hydraulic levelers. Over the next couple of days we collected the remaining items we would need for the winter. Heat tape for our water hose and some materials to skirt the trailer.<br /></p><p>I was surprised that we couldn't find anything suitable at any of the building supply places in the area! We had to go all the way back to Kelowna and Home Depot to get the type of foam board I wanted. I settled on 1" Durofoam which has a silver side. It was also one of less expensive options at about $16.50 / sheet compared to $25 or more for the blue or pink stuff. <br /></p><p>Day 1 was a very nice day and I was able to get the back end done up to just behind the wheels.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuB40c-hZDjVvnRFZwHMjw2jwIkMKMfVm_aI-O5wuRlPxFXftGkfMNkdv53MC967lKcqgGf5l4OhkbLj2D3UFRMy36QOb7xwmtTh-s7bYNb65zGSy1bJ6oWtxXtCqyYuB6l3qdG2FYZM/s2048/0D799C77-AF68-49AE-8499-DD59F5EF8E7A.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuB40c-hZDjVvnRFZwHMjw2jwIkMKMfVm_aI-O5wuRlPxFXftGkfMNkdv53MC967lKcqgGf5l4OhkbLj2D3UFRMy36QOb7xwmtTh-s7bYNb65zGSy1bJ6oWtxXtCqyYuB6l3qdG2FYZM/w640-h480/0D799C77-AF68-49AE-8499-DD59F5EF8E7A.heic" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Day 2 was very windy and it was a struggle to manage the foam sheets. Everything had to be weighted down or they tended to blow away. I was able to get around the front end of the trailer done however which left mostly just the two big kitchen slides.<br />Day 3 was, if anything, windier and also cold so I decided to sit that day out.<br />Day 4 while still cool wasn't as windy and I was able to finish the chore off. One thing I have done is put one of my remote temperature sensors under the slide on the left side so I can keep tabs on the temperature underneath. While our water hose is heated, there are a couple of places where our sewer hoses are exposed and I would rather they didn't freeze although it wouldn't be a big deal if they did.</p><p>As it turned out the night after I completed the job, the outside temperature dropped to about -8C overnight yet the underbelly stayed at a relatively balmy +6C. I think I can call that success!<br />We have also noticed the floors inside are quite a bit warmer as well.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4QclJ8GrpOKY2TLbBNthZ9Zlo2IszNJwr_0EFuviHWXe8pBzIS-yH0DaTUjL5503wXaAQWnIMktmfoV40MYgjgT81IX6nOFHDVO7sRFYTicA2IIzVU04h8ct-V8o7f4tWpE3EjG-zRk/s2048/B3D33248-C121-4DEA-8ACD-47EC483EBC24.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4QclJ8GrpOKY2TLbBNthZ9Zlo2IszNJwr_0EFuviHWXe8pBzIS-yH0DaTUjL5503wXaAQWnIMktmfoV40MYgjgT81IX6nOFHDVO7sRFYTicA2IIzVU04h8ct-V8o7f4tWpE3EjG-zRk/w640-h480/B3D33248-C121-4DEA-8ACD-47EC483EBC24.heic" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm420dVDWmZAXzeCmBWevNvMdlVl5mbA3wFuk4idN4L-exU-OBUKEnFVUZnM8mxdctABhJZTjav7IoJzS_VarSLkuFLcYfWljY8kjg9nRX_Wv2BBTitn7CpwDVm8PaQn3Heyl-3EI4ijU/s2048/1266D33C-F1FA-4D9F-8231-AAAABF4BAE70.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm420dVDWmZAXzeCmBWevNvMdlVl5mbA3wFuk4idN4L-exU-OBUKEnFVUZnM8mxdctABhJZTjav7IoJzS_VarSLkuFLcYfWljY8kjg9nRX_Wv2BBTitn7CpwDVm8PaQn3Heyl-3EI4ijU/w640-h480/1266D33C-F1FA-4D9F-8231-AAAABF4BAE70.heic" width="640" /></a></div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In this shot you can see that this park is a bit tight but we have enough room for what we need. Not visible and just in front of the truck is our 350+L propane PIG. This should satisfy our cooking and heating needs for the winter. The company that rents the tanks will come by every couple of weeks or so and fill it up as needed. This will hopefully be cheaper than constantly taking our small 30 pound tanks to the local vendor. Time will tell I suppose.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><p></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-55765621388158868362020-09-13T13:36:00.004-07:002020-09-13T13:43:56.142-07:00Our season in Okotoks is almost coming to an endI think I have mentioned in the past that we have never been real happy with the performance of the stock fridge that came with our trailer. It never would get as cold as we felt it should and it would run almost continually to maintain a barely acceptable level of cold. When running on propane it would burn up a 30 pound (7 gallon) tank of propane in a little over a week and we could only run it on AC power if we were plugged in. If I tried running it off our batteries through the inverter, it would drain them in about 4 or 5 hours. I did some calculations and learned that it was using the equivalent of about 21 KWh of energy per day! If I translated that into electrical drain on our batteries, that equated to about 1,450 Amp/hours per day.<br /><p>Some of Grand Designs RV's come with a residential refrigerator from the factory and we had talked about replacing ours with a residential unit for a while. After doing some research we decided the time was right and went and did it! I won't detail all the process here but if you are interested, you can see the gory details <a href="https://rctravels.rmcd.ca/p/residential-fridge.html" target="_blank"><b>>here<</b></a>.</p><p>As a comparison, the new fridge uses about 1.5 KWh of energy a day or only about 125 Amp/hours per day.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRd_YJ0ffhFRwE1OCl1RiwSoqkrLL5T_U-ppECRF5cACrplMmtLayX8efxBJ6HWXPLodWdhWePxN6qdrEw6mn2uRRPHz7acMf13m-cGodh6yXdK6AjZAmSorbI-MH80gUgsMRSH2Slquk/s1030/Screen+Shot+2020-09-12+at+6.31.20+PM.png" style="height: 632px; width: 337px;" /></p><p>One thing I have missed this summer is flying. Believe it or not, up until August 28, I hadn't flown anything since before leaving Kamloops in May. Most of the usual events in Alberta had been cancelled due to COVID or conflicted with our work schedule but near the end of August there was an event scheduled up in Red Deer that coincided with our days off. Thursday, after our shift finished, we prepped the trailer for a Friday morning departure and made the 2 hour drive to the Red Deer Propbusters field just outside Sylvan Lake. </p><p>They have a beautiful grass runway in the middle of what was an old turf farm. The surrounding area has been replanted in Canola but the main runway is still the perfect grass left over from the turf farm. It was a beautiful sunny day when we arrive and several local pilots were already there. We quickly got the trailer set up and I started unloading the airplanes. While I was doing that, Chris was happily showing off our beast to several interested locals.</p><p>This was to be a jet event and several jets were in attendance including a gorgeous L39 owned by one of the locals.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3qLjBleEP53tLJHu5tuKfyTKTdhA65lFy5li4YJ9Jl9iIIlB84HbWZFzxTwG4jwfbBs_jmXrA3ON5qoNv2Wqeak5mrk1pRtZMWdj6jP5xrdBw5eTgps7miJ7rlS1XF_e2wjJ8X6Vf8w/s2048/51E139D0-40FA-414D-8E93-0E10BAA60EA4.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3qLjBleEP53tLJHu5tuKfyTKTdhA65lFy5li4YJ9Jl9iIIlB84HbWZFzxTwG4jwfbBs_jmXrA3ON5qoNv2Wqeak5mrk1pRtZMWdj6jP5xrdBw5eTgps7miJ7rlS1XF_e2wjJ8X6Vf8w/w625-h469/51E139D0-40FA-414D-8E93-0E10BAA60EA4.heic" width="625" /></a></div><p>I got my stuff set up in fairly short order and after doing my pre-flight checks, took off and put in a fairly tame flight to 'scrub the rust off'. Me, not the airplane! That all went very well and I put in two more during the afternoon. The L39 flew but suffered a flame out a couple of minutes into his flight. Fortunately the pilot was able to get it back on the ground safely so it will fly again another day.</p><p>Unfortunately, late in the day we got word from the event organizer that due to forecasted high winds for Saturday, the event that was supposed to happen would be postponed to Sunday.</p><p>Saturday, true to the forecast, turned out to be very windy and we didn't get any flying in until late in the afternoon. I still got two more flights though. Sunday turned out to be the same with more high winds all day so no flying until again late in the afternoon when I put in one last flight before putting everything away. </p><p>I must also add that the whole time we were there, the Propbusters club members were wonderful hosts and really made us feel at home. Special thanks to Steve Morgan, Stacy Jussila and Jonathan Vogt.</p><p>We pulled out Monday morning and made our way back to Okotoks. All in all it was a very relaxing weekend and felt really good to get totally away from the campground for a few days.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPXDzWPj7jKVuFI31TH1k-ARTimrFtUpCp-6lH0oF6FkspZdkyl6OJQsk_fp-rvBGfSVI-3Yi0pRreOe4D4XtnHzRG1r2MNxi8hNgAj7FLbHUN1ZLT7EKclRYzQBUr621mRKjrIAAfCM/s2048/5A3EB7AA-775C-4873-A808-7644A2CB1162.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPXDzWPj7jKVuFI31TH1k-ARTimrFtUpCp-6lH0oF6FkspZdkyl6OJQsk_fp-rvBGfSVI-3Yi0pRreOe4D4XtnHzRG1r2MNxi8hNgAj7FLbHUN1ZLT7EKclRYzQBUr621mRKjrIAAfCM/w625-h469/5A3EB7AA-775C-4873-A808-7644A2CB1162.heic" width="625" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">We are now into mid September and I find it surprising that the seasons are changing here this early. Maybe it is the elevation or the climate or probably a combination of both but the leaves are well into changing for fall. We stared to notice things changing 2 weeks ago but things are well underway now. The other hosts here tell me that the leaves should be mostly down by the end of the month.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnn8SOTlFgGT_KgCIMxrbVDaEGzjPxzmNUh73yo4xqALPRYa1h7nCJMOUGlbYj5Z7tKdU3-VG1vNAygZ1fgH5JrRfsKHSST0-O_SDsqIFbdn3Roo_BhLfuX6oGtluakD8xFsYpWnkHo_s/s2048/715E1F29-BCC7-42DA-9AA5-79D953042BC4.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnn8SOTlFgGT_KgCIMxrbVDaEGzjPxzmNUh73yo4xqALPRYa1h7nCJMOUGlbYj5Z7tKdU3-VG1vNAygZ1fgH5JrRfsKHSST0-O_SDsqIFbdn3Roo_BhLfuX6oGtluakD8xFsYpWnkHo_s/w469-h625/715E1F29-BCC7-42DA-9AA5-79D953042BC4.heic" width="469" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotgtFtny3plcSRxvaxi7VV0LqWjpJwkCIcQAKr3zy6H6C2HupSD-HD9JC5ZxJVjtJffPH2FP-6wI5dkHH9XM7tmvpToSh5flBwC5FnTRxqjFSLppLl38SCsyy3f0B9P3q67s01qJ4Gbk/s2048/70931676-4A1A-49BE-94A9-E08289DC60C2.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotgtFtny3plcSRxvaxi7VV0LqWjpJwkCIcQAKr3zy6H6C2HupSD-HD9JC5ZxJVjtJffPH2FP-6wI5dkHH9XM7tmvpToSh5flBwC5FnTRxqjFSLppLl38SCsyy3f0B9P3q67s01qJ4Gbk/w625-h469/70931676-4A1A-49BE-94A9-E08289DC60C2.heic" width="625" /></a></div> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Maybe it is the approach of fall but another thing I have noticed lately is that there are squirrels everywhere! We have seen quite a few through the year but right now they seem particularly active. No doubt preparing for winter. Around here the most common variety is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_gray_squirrel" target="_blank"><b>Eastern Grey Squirrel</b></a> which around here seem to be predominantly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_squirrel" target="_blank"><b>black</b></a>.<br /></div></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Squirrels in B.C." class="n3VNCb" data-noaft="1" src="https://spca.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/black-eastern-grey-squirrel-in-wild-on-fence-e1497576729673-825x470.jpg" style="height: 334.412px; margin: 0px auto; width: 587px;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eastern Grey Squirrel (Image lifted from the web)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p>I have also mentioned in the past our herd of urban deer. As far as I can tell there are three does around here; 1 with 1 fawn, 1 with 2 fawns and 1 with 3 fawns. There are all very unafraid of people and can be seen wandering around the campground almost daily.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4y0LQQbnPW5aNCrNUnwWFQ-eND9DsW9aNwD-UlX3hkwn2SQpb2S4TZKO4nxOLAxfmbAubgi4fMIltSYaV77Jcc3NPQbQlWlCNNmCq49HZ6ezugMR9C4ROlkTFgBkqQjYxZKYZ3dVOrBs/s2048/CA468A57-6DCA-490B-B50B-9EAF16A45492.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4y0LQQbnPW5aNCrNUnwWFQ-eND9DsW9aNwD-UlX3hkwn2SQpb2S4TZKO4nxOLAxfmbAubgi4fMIltSYaV77Jcc3NPQbQlWlCNNmCq49HZ6ezugMR9C4ROlkTFgBkqQjYxZKYZ3dVOrBs/w625-h469/CA468A57-6DCA-490B-B50B-9EAF16A45492.heic" width="625" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The campground here shuts down at the end of September and all the guests have to be gone by Oct. 1. I expect we will have to stick around for a few days after that to put things to bed but regardless we have to back in Kamloops for several appointments on Oct 5 so we plan to leave here by the 4th.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-89499995687709902042020-08-08T16:42:00.005-07:002020-08-08T19:53:46.134-07:00Waterfalls, Dinosaurs and Lancasters<p>We have made a couple of excursions on our days off this month. The first one was a short drive up the Sheep River, through the foothills and into the Eastern Edge of the Rockies. We drove West on highway 7 through Black Diamond and Turner Valley then highway 546 into Kananaskis Country and the <a href="https://albertaparks.ca/parks/kananaskis/sheep-river-pp/"><b>Sheep River Provincial Park</b></a>. We drove to the end of the pavement then turned around and checked out a couple of stops on the way back. Bluerock Campground which is a wilderness campground. Nice but 99% of the sites would be too small for us. <br />Our next stop was the Sheep River Falls just a couple of kms East. We got out here to stretch our legs and give Maya a bit of a break. They have set up a nice picnic area here and there are several walking trails up and downstream. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8Ct_E8DKzPyE3olMpl50LQnsj41c5Pm99hQ9JlhZzWz1sKkZ8Xo65Y-3mwlQ5QQcWqWOoAIwSJDd7tZPj0jQC9DNJEEPUUPZEV_VLXgByCEzMPZUM8T6wu5oW-x_4WR9tRfq6741u1c/s1280/IMG_5240.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8Ct_E8DKzPyE3olMpl50LQnsj41c5Pm99hQ9JlhZzWz1sKkZ8Xo65Y-3mwlQ5QQcWqWOoAIwSJDd7tZPj0jQC9DNJEEPUUPZEV_VLXgByCEzMPZUM8T6wu5oW-x_4WR9tRfq6741u1c/s640/IMG_5240.jpeg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">The river has dropped a lot since we got here in May! I can imagine what it must be like during the spring freshet.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVFnL8u-RPYXQpSg3oCkokF0VxBiG4QkAJ7LHe68h5msyFCQ94TmKHnrbQnlmTcveLG8tmfylc1uYDNUXNvRLf1G6cvUmuTXA05_TZKp59XNVZF_1HpCrfHpN6KSc1jZNsZ-nmg-wCggI/s1280/IMG_5230.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVFnL8u-RPYXQpSg3oCkokF0VxBiG4QkAJ7LHe68h5msyFCQ94TmKHnrbQnlmTcveLG8tmfylc1uYDNUXNvRLf1G6cvUmuTXA05_TZKp59XNVZF_1HpCrfHpN6KSc1jZNsZ-nmg-wCggI/s640/IMG_5230.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzB2W8huJNsi50t4BZ5qJHYKQa0Qaf1NEbakA5Bt1LYw-DkejZr6egK-KDjdD6mdd71WPXgMjjqJrBlefJ6SJICNYy0tVfcl5nMrXOGUYoqbJBVuVE7v5TNNV2X3NmXjRB773YME6MOuw/s1280/IMG_5239.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzB2W8huJNsi50t4BZ5qJHYKQa0Qaf1NEbakA5Bt1LYw-DkejZr6egK-KDjdD6mdd71WPXgMjjqJrBlefJ6SJICNYy0tVfcl5nMrXOGUYoqbJBVuVE7v5TNNV2X3NmXjRB773YME6MOuw/s640/IMG_5239.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After leaving the falls we stopped at the Sandy McNabb Campground. There was a bit more development here in that quite a few sites had power and there were a number of sites that would work for us. They also had a couple of group camps that were being used as overflow camping. Mostly these are in an open field which would actually be perfect for us. Gives us good sky exposure for both our solar panels and the satellite dish.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Our next excursion a couple of weeks later was to Drumheller, about 2 hours NE of Calgary. Drumheller is home to one of the best dinosaur museums in the world (<a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-best-dino-museums/index.html"><b>CNN</b></a>). <a href="https://tyrrellmuseum.com/"><b>The Royal Tyrrell Museum</b></a>. Chris and I had been here once before about 15 years ago with her niece and nephews. The kids were pretty young then so we went through it pretty quickly. This time we were able to take our time and actually read the info on many of the exhibits. Alberta has one of the richest deposits of dinosaur fossils in the world and the Tyrrell museum highlights these.<br />As is frequently the case, they had one section of the museum shut down to overhaul it and put up new displays. Essentially everything from the last mass extinction 65 mil years ago to the present.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdq592hq5Zpisq1NbkNV5SyGdIYoB9ArZOGT-q8gqbxGpeYFrZtJ-eQo5gbYpR7-Vx-LVhffpOyk6gT40y2jneoRQMTiKP3pFbs8DZZH4KMEt5MtK5pRxVc_ALgI12pvn944OpcABn_dQ/s1280/IMG_5255.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdq592hq5Zpisq1NbkNV5SyGdIYoB9ArZOGT-q8gqbxGpeYFrZtJ-eQo5gbYpR7-Vx-LVhffpOyk6gT40y2jneoRQMTiKP3pFbs8DZZH4KMEt5MtK5pRxVc_ALgI12pvn944OpcABn_dQ/s640/IMG_5255.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This is the first thing we ran into on entering the museum. That's quite a mouthful!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwYO44WLqUPnFsR4S7_57w_TbkhTqGF0iZ7YAvym-Xn9NUpMB6F2ZJVMCGKp_tdkLUAGqmTFK3fri5KJA6wiz68yxENp92HBfJPjZsm8WylfSvLX133whR-84tpk6ksOEEbefScwii12Y/s1280/IMG_5258.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwYO44WLqUPnFsR4S7_57w_TbkhTqGF0iZ7YAvym-Xn9NUpMB6F2ZJVMCGKp_tdkLUAGqmTFK3fri5KJA6wiz68yxENp92HBfJPjZsm8WylfSvLX133whR-84tpk6ksOEEbefScwii12Y/s640/IMG_5258.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This guy reminds me of the pet calot, "<a href="https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Woola"><b>Woola</b></a>" from the movie <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carter_(film)"><b>John Carter</b></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLHHgdixZZVFQSZFA70Y_o1qIzrbw7EEzfMlKzMQTm1NIz2va12k2BLnxL8mIZdM_yIv0HWzODy7U0v-4_svvhR3AlIJde9SRiopxAdfCLh8ZBPK4wzovMegjqDZQgGXIsBN-qWebLRM/s1280/IMG_5265.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLHHgdixZZVFQSZFA70Y_o1qIzrbw7EEzfMlKzMQTm1NIz2va12k2BLnxL8mIZdM_yIv0HWzODy7U0v-4_svvhR3AlIJde9SRiopxAdfCLh8ZBPK4wzovMegjqDZQgGXIsBN-qWebLRM/s640/IMG_5265.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specimens_of_Tyrannosaurus#%22Black_Beauty%22:_RTMP_81.6.1"><b>Black Beauty</b></a>, the only Black Tyrannosaur skeleton.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmJQspYrS9ukpwg-7JGRUm3OsCvEZi6DvT5NgvEA_y-w7rg4pdBYfZ-9WtMCduhjK-hrHETArBjrybjFR_XICaIRCeLtcBRX8zvqgr0lKGzXHGfQA_9_WIqdYkScqXBTB9bg40MNf5JA/s1280/IMG_5260.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmJQspYrS9ukpwg-7JGRUm3OsCvEZi6DvT5NgvEA_y-w7rg4pdBYfZ-9WtMCduhjK-hrHETArBjrybjFR_XICaIRCeLtcBRX8zvqgr0lKGzXHGfQA_9_WIqdYkScqXBTB9bg40MNf5JA/s640/IMG_5260.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">At the end of July, we took a drive south to Nanton. We have passed by here a couple of times and noticed a place called the <a href="https://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/"><b>Bomber Command Museum</b></a>. What gave it away was a big hanger right on highway 2 with a complete Lancaster Bomber in it. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelAcWrxKv2U-ViBK7xZHhq8BWH_ZMGpoaNDHbKB0FixaU5G4DJPoQg-_uau0cNUeJLHQTqNGCY4PRnnF461JlmTOPEJO2FJ8qtesw4Ri0Lyfe70aHMbevTSwIw_7XY7qdyaCQ860E2fo/s2048/AF64E0C4-56EB-4231-9822-4A97842425BC.heic" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelAcWrxKv2U-ViBK7xZHhq8BWH_ZMGpoaNDHbKB0FixaU5G4DJPoQg-_uau0cNUeJLHQTqNGCY4PRnnF461JlmTOPEJO2FJ8qtesw4Ri0Lyfe70aHMbevTSwIw_7XY7qdyaCQ860E2fo/s640/AF64E0C4-56EB-4231-9822-4A97842425BC.heic" width="640" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">This time we decided to pay a visit. Upon entering we found it was a lot more than just a hanger with an old Bomber in it. They have many displays of aircraft, vehicles, informational displays and more. Chris and I spent about 2 hours exploring it and by the end were suffering from information overload.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7KleqNRBcnwf5LmRzkIWU1xSMX0S4jIxS0NglxAYnovZLvzGEZ3NNDfv6DCGE__P_0Rp97vHLh5CsitGz9lMGGCukyIwfCtpHwHJas_EX5juLrFgwKVIzkDZlfKBI4nop8HO-RCFshQ/s2048/D759AEAF-842E-4B8D-A294-DABB1D613A2F.heic" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7KleqNRBcnwf5LmRzkIWU1xSMX0S4jIxS0NglxAYnovZLvzGEZ3NNDfv6DCGE__P_0Rp97vHLh5CsitGz9lMGGCukyIwfCtpHwHJas_EX5juLrFgwKVIzkDZlfKBI4nop8HO-RCFshQ/s640/D759AEAF-842E-4B8D-A294-DABB1D613A2F.heic" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">While this big bird will likely never fly again, they do bring it out a couple of times per year and run up the engines. That is an event that usually draws quite a crowd. Unfortunately all that has been put on hold this year due to COVID-19.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkHONWgNCb_0V7at1Vl1kp0188uWQH4zacD3lV-usPyM39N2LJIvpjBO1E9yZfdG5oJ-pZDliH4Sug0VMrQsAR-8i9JRfXwaQzfK5P81lTjA_c1T8-2hC80abfgseV5twdGBvWmUEcpcU/s2048/AA92F273-328F-4BDB-8671-ED14E7068E47.heic" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkHONWgNCb_0V7at1Vl1kp0188uWQH4zacD3lV-usPyM39N2LJIvpjBO1E9yZfdG5oJ-pZDliH4Sug0VMrQsAR-8i9JRfXwaQzfK5P81lTjA_c1T8-2hC80abfgseV5twdGBvWmUEcpcU/s640/AA92F273-328F-4BDB-8671-ED14E7068E47.heic" width="640" /></a></div>One interesting thing I learned was the importance of military aviation in Southern Alberta during WW2. Many pilots were trained here at a number of locations south of Calgary.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyABhkqmLCYKhtP8ReqasVgbXT7kr0tT7JO2ANyjsqEZ7XIiszz-j57-ygxa18SY8nOUu_WJPBGjUGvUaSyX56YeGzq7L0mMzdwkbANBL2XfpSrLm5AK2uYunRqhXVewvmUnLVyh2YIUU/s1248/Untitled.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1248" data-original-width="864" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyABhkqmLCYKhtP8ReqasVgbXT7kr0tT7JO2ANyjsqEZ7XIiszz-j57-ygxa18SY8nOUu_WJPBGjUGvUaSyX56YeGzq7L0mMzdwkbANBL2XfpSrLm5AK2uYunRqhXVewvmUnLVyh2YIUU/s640/Untitled.png" /></a></div>After leaving Bomber Command we took a short drive East to <a href="https://www.townofvulcan.ca/"><b>Vulcan, AB</b></a>. What makes this small town special is it shares its name with a fictional planet in the Star Trek universe and they are capitalizing on that. They have a visitor centre that is styled to look like a space station.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGoUnLsw8ZbIDN0w9EX71tE10PfpLsAY0S3eCybBsrw_JbmIm7G7OXWr8Nk_SKm2ll_jHyYzbEs0iv0gJNR-cMtw7Apn5GFs5wOIFibRSdiNK0VEPYc8TI4mbebHIL2pIB7XF1Iaz3VE/s2000/trek-center-close-up.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="2000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGoUnLsw8ZbIDN0w9EX71tE10PfpLsAY0S3eCybBsrw_JbmIm7G7OXWr8Nk_SKm2ll_jHyYzbEs0iv0gJNR-cMtw7Apn5GFs5wOIFibRSdiNK0VEPYc8TI4mbebHIL2pIB7XF1Iaz3VE/s640/trek-center-close-up.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo lifted from the Vulcan website<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As well as a large model of a Star Ship. Not the 'Enterprise' but close.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nCWoPRT-wOh2XxeOIyY35SeFQnysgPxogMoZbjMlFrka1L60Sj76fLVRWj5nH8WaNNezWGCEUOoj1gl2sN8_-GN3180pJ7PfXpHhiqfbwuwIQESFDqiw76NWOyK8u9_Bh6JylXgKYH0/s2048/FA9C29D9-9692-49AB-A8A8-41E6247E8077.heic" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nCWoPRT-wOh2XxeOIyY35SeFQnysgPxogMoZbjMlFrka1L60Sj76fLVRWj5nH8WaNNezWGCEUOoj1gl2sN8_-GN3180pJ7PfXpHhiqfbwuwIQESFDqiw76NWOyK8u9_Bh6JylXgKYH0/s640/FA9C29D9-9692-49AB-A8A8-41E6247E8077.heic" width="640" /></a></div><p>They even style their street lights to look like a starship!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPseR-AVTOQOd_vfCLiTNGYdGm-et42KvgjhS9d-du-5tDDmyVBon51-eDUoRWYOn4QBIMX5txEdxg_CiQ6tfnUuAeAbqwXLymrjTiTI0woUE_l7UDbhm3GlWjmpXga4XtyFFpqahipyM/s2048/F50677F3-5635-4C7F-B937-A2EA48A0EFB5.heic" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPseR-AVTOQOd_vfCLiTNGYdGm-et42KvgjhS9d-du-5tDDmyVBon51-eDUoRWYOn4QBIMX5txEdxg_CiQ6tfnUuAeAbqwXLymrjTiTI0woUE_l7UDbhm3GlWjmpXga4XtyFFpqahipyM/s640/F50677F3-5635-4C7F-B937-A2EA48A0EFB5.heic" width="640" /></a></div><p>So by now, you may be wondering what camp hosting is all about. <br />This year is a bit atypical but my work day starts about 6:30 on weekdays with about 2 hours of irrigation. We don't have the luxury of automatic sprinklers so we wind up dragging hoses around for that time. After that it is the first garbage run of the day followed by cleaning out firepits.<br />By this time it is usually coffee/breakfast after which, if there are lawns to mow or grass trimming to be done, I do that. Checkout time is 11 AM and at this point we get the camp ready for the new arrivals which starts at about 1 PM. This involves sanitizing all the departure sites by wiping down the picnic tables and power pedestals with a bleach and water solution. <br />Through the afternoon I am escorting arrivals to their sites, helping them get parked and doing any minor chores and maintenance items that need to be done.<br />We break for supper between 6 and 7 and after that, I do the second garbage run of the day and get things ready to put the camp to bed. Weekends we don't mow or irrigate but otherwise it is about the same.<br />Technically we are on duty all night but so far haven't had anything come up to disturb us.<br />Chris works in the office and her day starts about noon. She takes telephone calls, makes reservations, checks guests in and otherwise liaises with the guests and sells firewood, etc. We have a small concession which she also looks after. <br />We typically work 2 days on after which we have 4 days off.<br /></p>Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com2Okotoks, AB, Canada50.7254764 -113.97492822.415242563821153 -149.131178 79.035710236178844 -78.818678tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-51386568008580774772020-07-06T20:23:00.001-07:002020-07-07T06:59:04.343-07:00July catch upI seem to be running out of catchy titles but things are pretty consistent for us at the moment so it kinda fits. Not boring or anything but a lot of same old, same old, but there have been some interesting moments.<br />
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We have had some pretty extreme weather in the area recently. A couple of weeks ago, we had a very strong thunderstorm roll through the Calgary area. We fortunately missed most of it here in Okotoks, only getting some heavy rain and light hail. Northeast Calgary though, which is only about 30 miles north of us, got hammered with heavy hail. Some of the hailstones were baseball sized or larger. Here are a couple of pictures lifted off the web.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYu87eKoUnRhJyoWQ0im8oMaFB7K_4WiROUXWYShHLWCclGyoIBqDXdz9JGix0XSNQoBx7_ZcbK5owgEAHhQpo5Q5TURwndAK2V7CwdeLB7TzrmHJfUgrEq-8SleA6wsw3gPMbHKy9akE/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYu87eKoUnRhJyoWQ0im8oMaFB7K_4WiROUXWYShHLWCclGyoIBqDXdz9JGix0XSNQoBx7_ZcbK5owgEAHhQpo5Q5TURwndAK2V7CwdeLB7TzrmHJfUgrEq-8SleA6wsw3gPMbHKy9akE/s320/images.jpg" width="320" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="1564" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3v3S5CjhAI50ld9x-nETekO0yIgZmOBr4mGzQVQe5O1sOOAMIwVxRCyrONCYm7-w4j_6_JtZKqsaLESx37cl6dbFTl0cK24uqzRyCnx4AFtkoqBSDJFFZ6d6Y_qg6jNJpMCQhRnkyHvU/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-07-06+at+6.46.24+PM.png" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3v3S5CjhAI50ld9x-nETekO0yIgZmOBr4mGzQVQe5O1sOOAMIwVxRCyrONCYm7-w4j_6_JtZKqsaLESx37cl6dbFTl0cK24uqzRyCnx4AFtkoqBSDJFFZ6d6Y_qg6jNJpMCQhRnkyHvU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-07-06+at+6.46.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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Some estimates place the total damage in the area at around a Billion (with a B) dollars!<br />
In fact we have had thunderstorms to some degree about once a week for the last month or so.<br />
Last week several funnel clouds were even spotted south of us during another storm.<br />
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June is also the season for Cottonwood seeds. It started about 3 weeks ago with a few little bits of fluff floating around, but within a few days it turned into a full blown fluff storm. If it wasn't for the seasonable weather one might almost think it was a blizzard.<br />
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This lasted almost 2 weeks during which time the stuff was everywhere! The campground is surrounded by Cottonwoods and a variety of Poplar that also creates fluff seeds so it didn't matter which way the wind was blowing, we got it! We had to make sure doors were kept closed or it just invaded any open space. Eventually though the seed pods were spent and then they just littered the ground.</div>
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I have mentioned previously that we have a small herd of urban deer around here. It is amazing how unafraid of people they are. Chris and I came upon this one while out walking Maya the other day. We were within 5 feet of it and it just stood there and watched us.<br />
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It wasn't until we walked around behind it that it decided to be somewhere else and wandered off.<br />
We also saw these two on the tree just outside the office. Looks to be a parent woodpecker teaching its little one how to drill holes and look for bugs.<br />
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Last week we took a drive out to the object the town of Okotoks is named for. "Okotok" in the local native tongue means "rock". Just outside of town is a big glacial erratic dropped during the last ice age.<br />
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All around the area are families of these little guys. While I don't know for sure, I believe these are a variety of prairie dog, a type of ground squirrel.<br />
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Analysis has proven that the rock originated up near Jasper, BC, about 400 kilometers away. There is a trail of erratics stretching between here and the Rockies near Jasper. This is the largest in that trail.<br />
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A couple of weeks ago we took the trailer into the local Grand Design dealer (Woody's) to get the last of our warranty items looked at. They needed it for a couple of days but as this is our home we had to have it back at the end of each day. During the first day they had it, we did a bit of running around in Calgary that we wanted to do. IKEA being one stop. While there we found a few items for the trailer. One other stop was the local GMC/Chev dealer just across the street from Woody's. They had several of the new 2020 1 Ton dually's on the lot. One was almost the same colour as ours. Anyway after talking to the sales guy for a bit, we took it for a test drive and after kicking it around for a bit, decided to trade the old one in. This one was one that was special ordered for another customer but apparently at the last minute the financing fell through. His loss, our gain! The old truck needed new tires anyway!<br />
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We managed to work a deal where all we did was extend our existing payment for an additional 3 years. The same amount of time we'd had the old truck.<br />
The new truck has a bunch of new features that will make towing nicer including more horsepower and torque. Our old truck had a max towing capacity of around 22,600 lbs which was sufficient for our trailer (20,000 lbs) and worked well enough but having a larger safety margin is desirable. The new 2020's have upped the towing capacity to just under 32,000 lbs and also increased the payload. Add in a bunch of new features specifically geared for towing and it should make for a more comfortable experience.<br />
There was some confusion the next day when we went to close the deal though. Someone had recorded all the important info like stock number and Vehicle ID # incorrectly. It took them a couple of hours to get it all straightened out so it aligned with the truck we had decided on.<br />
The last thing we did was transfer our stuff from the old truck to the new one. The big item being the hitch for the trailer. Both trucks use GM's built in 'puck' mounting system, and neither I nor any of the GM sales staff had known that GM apparently changed the spec for the 2020 model year. The hitch wouldn't fit! Not even close! Now this was a problem; we had a new truck without a functional hitch and a trailer over at Woody's that we needed to get back to Okotoks. Fortunately the dealership was nice enough to loan us a set of dealer plates so we could use the old truck to haul the trailer back to the campground. The next day, Saturday, we drove back to Calgary and picked up the new truck. Luckily I was able to order a new set of legs for our hitch at a reasonable price so we are once again good to go. The rest of the day we spent driving to Sparwood, BC so we could properly register the truck. As we are BC residents we couldn't register the thing in Alberta. We needed a break in run anyway. Sparwood being the closest BC insurance broker open on Saturday.<br />
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The last thing for this installment is something I have wanted to do with the trailer for a while and with all the electrical storms we have had recently, convinced me that now was the time.<br />
This is the installation of an Electrical Management System or surge protector. This one has a number of other features as well that should protect us against badly wired campground electrical pedastals. More common that you might think! The photo below shows the new EMS installed beside the existing transfer switch.<br />
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I mounted the remote display on the compartment door beside the Electronic Levelling control panel. In this photo it is showing we have a solid 60Hz power feed. Right where it should be.<br />
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All in all, the whole install only took about an hour and a half and now we should be safe from almost all shore based electrical problems. </div>
Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-12562700099222102482020-06-02T20:20:00.003-07:002020-06-11T08:40:05.452-07:00June catch upWe left Kamloops as planned on May 15, and headed to Vernon for a couple of days. Spent a bit of time visiting my Mom who is now allowed outside a little bit if all social distancing protocols are followed. It was nice to see her face to face at close range for a change. FaceTime is nice but can't compete. I just wish I was able to give her a big hug though. We also spent most of Sunday with Chris's parents.<br />
After leaving Vernon on Monday morning, we made the trip to Okotoks. Unlike last time when we ran into snow showers, this time was much better with only a couple of light rain showers as we came through the Rockies.<br />
We pulled into the Okotoks Lions Campground, which will be our home for the summer, at about 4:30. We quickly set up camp in site 20 which is one of only 2 or 3 sites that we will fit. It is one of the designated host sites so is nice and close to the office.<br />
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This area seems to be about 3 weeks behind Kamloops, weather wise. You can see in a couple of the pics above the trees are just starting to leaf out. The shot with the front of the trailer was just taken a couple of days ago and the trees are now in full leaf. The trees here are almost 50/50 Poplar and Cottonwood. We have had those little sticky leaf bud covers all over everything for the last couple of weeks! Fortunately they are almost done now but in a week or two we will be having the cottonwood fluff storms starting.<br />
The first couple of weeks here we spent just learning the ropes. Chris works in the office so had to learn their booking and office systems and I was outside doing guy stuff like lawn mowing, trimming and associated stuff. Also figuring out the campground layout and the best way to get rigs into the various sites. Some are a bit tight. The park has 55 full service sites with 30 Amp power, water and sewer and 6 tent sites with 15 Amp power available. For the tenters, there is a washroom building with hot showers.<br />
You will notice some of the pedestals in the photos have bags over them. Due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, we are only allowed to open up half the park. We have to leave an empty site between occupied ones. That means we only have about 26 or 27 available sites at the moment. Also as the public washrooms have to remain closed, we are not allowing tenters either. To stay here guests must be in fully self contained units. As per COVID-19 protocols, we also have to go around and sanitize the picnic tables and pedestals when a guest leaves and not to mention, anywhere where people are likely to touch.<br />
Also for this reason, Pauline, the manager, has only hired one other couple to work with us. Normally there would be 4 couples working a 4 on, 4 off shift cycle with Pauline managing. Now there are only the 3 of us including Pauline and her husband Vern. The other couple, Don and Glenda, are people we originally met in Yuma 3 winters ago. They actually told us about this park and are partially responsible for us being here. They are old hands here as they have been doing this on and off (more on) for the last 10 years or so.<br />
There is a fair bit of urban wildlife around here. We have a small herd of deer that are very tame. Not so tame that you can touch them but Maya and I have been within 5 feet of them and they just stand there and watch you or casually move away.<br />
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This one was a lot closer than it appears in the picture; maybe 10 feet away and was coming up to check us out.<br />
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We also had a pair of Canada Geese nesting in an old stump at the back of park. About 2 weeks ago, we got word that one of them was in distress. It seems mama goose had got her neck stuck in a crack in the stump.<br />
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In the above shot, you can just make out her head at the bottom of the crack. Papa standing guard on top.<br />
One of the guests had called the fire department and they showed up with a truck and ladder and were able to get her head unstuck.<br />
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I am not sure if they had anything in the nest but we have seen them back a couple of times but they don't seem to be nesting.</div>
<br />Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-57632765403442856042020-05-10T20:34:00.001-07:002020-05-11T06:00:41.913-07:00A month in KamloopsAfter completing our 2 week isolation in Vernon and wishing my Mom a very Happy 100th birthday, we packed up and headed for Kamloops. We were originally only planning on being here a week tops but of course COVID changed all those plans. Fortunately the campground we had picked was open and had a spot for us. We <b><a href="https://rctravels.rmcd.ca/2019/09/time-for-another-catch-up.html" target="_blank">stayed here last fall</a> </b>before heading south so knew the lay of the land.<br />
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The above 2 shots show the difference between when we arrived here a month ago and now. The trees have fully leafed out and the river has come way up from when we arrived. In fact the river is coming up so fast that it may flood the campground in a couple of weeks. That isn't unusual here as the camp is built on the flood plain. I was standing on the protective dike as I took these shots.<br />
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So for the last while we haven't been doing a whole lot. I did manage to get a couple of my to-do project items knocked off. One big one being the hot water circulation pump. You can read all about that one on my <a href="https://rctravels.rmcd.ca/p/blog-page_2.html" target="_blank"><b>Trailer Mods</b></a> page.<br />
We also spent one full day going through our sea can storage unit. We pulled a few things out that we figured we didn't have any need for and sold them. That was mainly so we could free up some room for a few things in the trailer that we wanted to off load for the summer.<br />
Also Chris has been working on a couple of craft projects and I managed to get out flying a couple of times. The latest being to one of the local lakes for a bit of float flying.<br />
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This is the big project Chris has been working on. She made it for some good friends in Colorado.<br />
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It's been a pretty quiet month actually.<br />
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Recall I mentioned that our summer job at the <a href="http://okotokslionscampground.com/" target="_blank"><b>Okotoks Lions campground</b></a> was up in the air due to COVID? Well, we got word yesterday that we are a go! Yahooo! They want us to start right after the Victoria Day long weekend or in about 10 days for our US followers (May 19 actually).<br />
Things will be somewhat scaled back there initially. They only have permission to run at 50% capacity and only to self contained RV's. Normally they have some tent sites but as one of the restrictions is that their showers and washrooms have to remain closed, the tent sites have to stay closed as well.<br />
So, we will pull out of here Saturday and head back to Vernon for a couple of days for last minute visits with our parents before heading to Alberta.Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-2187398073627666992020-04-09T06:48:00.000-07:002020-04-09T08:10:48.941-07:00Out of our 2 week isolationNot a long post this time as we haven't done much for the last 2 weeks!<br />
After arriving in Vernon 2 weeks ago, I talked to the owner of the Mobil station beside Superstore where we were parked. He was gracious enough to allow us to hang out here for our mandatory 2 week isolation period.<br />
We had stocked up on most of the provisions we needed before crossing the border so had most of the necessities to last us. The only thing that we would likely need would be propane.<br />
The first few days the weather was quite nice so we didn't use a lot but last week, it turned downright chilly. We wound up burning through our 3 30 pounders a lot faster than planned. I did have to break isolation once to go get the tanks filled but made sure I kept a good distance between myself and anyone else.<br />
One day, about half way into our 2 week period, at 6AM, I was taking Maya out for her morning business and I watched an 18 wheeler pull into the lot and drive past our truck. He proceeded into the corner of the lot and I guess he decided he couldn't make it around the corner so started to back up. I was a ways away at the time and could only watch as he proceeded to back right into the front of our truck! Luckily he was only going very slow so didn't do too much damage but still managed to destroy part of the upper grill, the lower grill, dented the hood and possibly damaged the transmission cooler. Fortunately it is still drive-able and other than getting the initial insurance claim started there isn't much we can do until we get out of isolation.<br />
Other than a few times a day to take Maya out to do her thing, we didn't do a lot except watch TV. One thing I did get done though is a write up on our new solar power system. If you are interested you can read all about it <a href="https://rctravels.rmcd.ca/p/blog-page.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.<br />
We came out of formal isolation last Saturday so the first thing we did was hit Walmart and Superstore to refresh the fridge and pantry. I was pretty happy to see most people observing proper social distancing.<br />
We needed to hang around Vernon for a few days after that as my Mom turned 100 years young yesterday, Wednesday, April 8, and we had to be here for that. What an amazing lady!<br />
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The facility she lives in has locked it down very tight to protect the residents which means none of them can leave and no-one from outside is allowed in. All staff are also masked and gowned when working with the residents.<br />
Chris and I along with my brother Ken and Chris's parents stayed out in the parking lot and Mom was able to join us on their second floor patio. We shared some cake and conversation for an hour or so before it started to get chilly and we called it an afternoon.<br />
Tomorrow we head for Kamloops. We have a spot booked at Silver Sage campground. We had originally booked it for 2 weeks as we had planned to head to Okotoks for our summer camp hosting gig. We got word today that the park was only going to open with a skeleton crew so we wouldn't be needed until the end of May at the earliest. So we have extended our stay for the month.<br />
<br />Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-76620787553331525702020-03-24T08:22:00.001-07:002020-03-24T08:42:48.109-07:00Crazy times!Before leaving Yuma, I was able to get a replacement wing panel for my Elan and on Sunday, met my buddy Paul at the AMPS club field in Phoenix and got a few flights in. The weather was perfect and it was a very enjoyable day.<br />
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The next day, Monday, we spent getting the trailer ready for the road as we had heard that our Canadian government was telling all Canadians to get home due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak. This was about 10 days earlier than we had originally planned but felt we should probably heed the request.<br />
As a send off, Arizona gave us another one of its beautiful sunsets.<br />
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Our plan was to leave Tuesday morning and head for Las Vegas and get as far as we could the first day. As it turned out we made it about an hour north of Vegas to Mesquite. We spent the night at the same Walmart we stayed at on the way down.<br />
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Before I carry on, let me back up a couple of months for a minute. Back in December I
had heard of a company (<a href="https://www.tsdlogistics.com/services/fuel-program/" target="_blank"><b>TDS Logistics</b></a>) that was offering discount prices for diesel
fuel to RVers. The company is a fairly large trucking company that is able to
negotiate special pricing on fuel at some major truck stops. They use a
3rd party payment system and provide their customers with a card that
works in the pumps in the truck lanes at most truck stops. They have decided to offer their arrangement to RVers as well. It seemed a
bit too good to be true at the time so I just filed it for the time
being. Fast forward to Boomerville in January and there were a couple
folks there that had signed up. They had used the program a couple of
times and it all seemed to work as advertised. I looked into it a bit
further and while it still sounded very interesting, there were a couple of
stickler points for us. Mainly the fact we wouldn't be able to receive
their payment card as it would be mailed to our address back in Canada and as far as I could tell at the time, was required to be able to activate the pumps.
Fast forward again to the beginning of March and I found out that as
long as we knew the number on the card, we could link it to a Loves (one
of the major truck stops in the US) rewards card and I could use that to activate the pumps.<br />
Anyway, I
decided to give it a go. I filled out their application on-line and then
gave it a week to let them process the application. I then contacted
them and was able to get the number. We then made a trip to a Loves in
south Phoenix to pick up a rewards card. I should add that there is an app for smart phones where you can see where the discounts are available and what the discount price will be.<br />
The first time we used it was at the Loves truck stop in Kingman, Az. If I remember correctly, the posted pump price was $3.04.9 / gallon. Using the TDS program, we paid $2.19 / gallon. That's almost a 30% discount!<br />
<br />
Anyway, back to the story. After getting parked in Mesquite, we ventured into the store to see what was left. Not much! There were no paper products, almost no canned fruits or vegetables, the meat racks were virtually empty and basic staples like flour, sugar, rice, etc. were nowhere to be found. We really weren't desperate for anything so weren't too worried but there were a couple things we would have liked to stock up on a bit.<br />
The next morning we were both up fairly early and decided to head over to the store again just before 6. There was a line at the door but we got in fairly quickly. We wanted to pick up a couple more packs of TP so I headed there first. Chris went over to the meat section and picked up a couple of items there as well. We found a couple of other items then headed out. After we went through the checkout and just as we were about to leave I spotted a cart with a bunch of hand sanitizers on it. They were limiting these to 2 per customer and as we didn't have any, we picked up a couple.<br />
We carried on and made our next stop at Perry, Utah, just north of Salt lake City. At this point, our plan was still to cross into Canada at Coutts, Alberta, leave the trailer in Calgary for some warranty work and drive to Vernon. On checking the weather, it looked like it was going to get damn cold on the east side of the Rockies so we decided to turn west and cross into BC at Osoyoos instead.<br />
After an uneventful trip with stops at Boise and Wenatchee, we crossed into Canada Saturday morning and are currently hanging out at the Real Canadian Superstore in Vernon. We hope to be able to stay here for our 2 week self isolation and then get back to a somewhat normal life for a while.<br />
We don't know what is happening with regard to our summer camp hosting job at this point yet but hope to find out fairly soon.<br />
Oh, and after using the fuel discount card 6 times on the trip home, we saved almost $168 off the posted pump prices, about 40%. If you drive a diesel powered RV in the US, I recommend you check out the program. There are also a few stations here in Canada that do offer a discount as well although not to the same extent as in the US. As far as I can tell it seems that these are the Petro Canada truck stops.<br />
If you do decide to apply for the program, please consider adding me as the referer on your application. If you do, I will receive a small credit from TDS as a thank you.Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-69701808064294024442020-03-10T11:26:00.000-07:002020-03-23T19:56:06.338-07:00The Good, the Beautiful, the Bad and the Ugly!While we were staying with Michael and Robin at their new place in Yuma, I offered to help repair a section of their patio that was damaged while they were parking their trailer.<br />
I didn't get a full 'before' pic but the damage was considerable and required ripping up a 10' x 10' section and completely redoing it. I have some prior experience with doing paver patios so dove right in.<br />
The first step was to extract all the old pavers and salvage as much as possible. It turned out that about half the pavers were broken up to the point they were unusable. Next was to re-level, repack and prep the area. That took a couple of days.<br />
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After this, we had to find a source of the original style pavers which, considering this subdivision and most of the brick and paver work is about 20 years old, was easier than we thought. We found a location in town that had lots of stock at a very good price.<br />
Once the area was ready, laying the new pavers only took a couple of hours. A bit of work after that to seal it all up and clean up the mess, had it looking as good as or better than new.<br />
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A quick side bar: After my last flight at the Yuma Aeromodelers Airshow, I noticed some damage to the bottom of the right wing on my jet. I contacted the importer and ordered a replacement set of wings which he shipped to us here.<br />
Upon examining the damage, it became apparent how close I had come to losing the aircraft during the airshow! The wing structure was so badly damaged internally that any extra stress during flight would likely have caused a complete failure and a total loss of the aircraft.<br />
This was the apparent external damage.<br />
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And once I opened it up, this is what I found. That black tube is all
that holds the wing onto the aircraft. It was split in several places
and the support ribs were fractured. As a result the wing had lost about 90% of its strength! The only thing
holding it together was a thin 1/16" balsa wing skin.<br />
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While we were here, we contacted the manager of the Pleasant Valley RV Park in Peoria and explained that we had been there before and that we were unable to find other suitable parking for a week or two. We managed to convince them to let us come back for a week or two and park in their dry camping area, so after spending a wonderful week with Michael and Robin, and after receiving my replacement wing set, we pulled out last Tuesday and headed East. It took us about 3 hours to get to our destination and once there, were set up in short order.<br />
We have good friends who winter in Phoenix and on Wednesday, met up with them at the AMPS model club flying field where Paul is a member.<br />
We plan on several more visits while we are here.<br />
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Now, you are probably wondering what is up with the title of this entry.<br />
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The Good is that we are again able to spend a couple of weeks here in Peoria.<br />
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The Beautiful is that spring is here! The desert is again starting to green up and flowers are blooming. There are many Brittle Bushes that are in full bloom again.<br />
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Also along the roadsides are many of these which I believe are <a href="https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=spam2" target="_blank"><b>Desert Globemallows</b></a>.<br />
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And these <a href="https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=bamu" target="_blank"><b>Desert Marigolds</b></a>.<br />
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Another beautiful aspect of this area is the regular appearance of a number of gentle giants.<br />
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We see these quite regularly if the weather is suitable. Sometimes they come quite close as they did yesterday, landing just across the road from us. There is a company in Arizona, <a href="https://rainbowryders.com/" target="_blank"><b>Rainbow Ryders</b></a>, that flies regularly in the area. Yesterday there were about a dozen balloons that flew in just before dusk.<br />
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Now the Bad. I don't know what it is with people, but we see this quite often. Shotgun shells and bullet casings just dumped in the desert. Why can't shooters at least clean up their empties?<br />
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And if that isn't bad enough, then there is the Ugly. Out walking Maya the other day, I came upon this about a half mile from where we are parked.<br />
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I have no words for this except perhaps, disgusting!<br />
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We had planned to possibly head further East and spend a bit of time in New Mexico before heading North this year but now I think we will just head North from here. I am still unsure exactly what route we will take as that will depend on weather forecasts but we ultimately plan to cross back into Alberta around the end of March. Stay tuned.Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-82755203020531438192020-02-23T20:31:00.000-08:002020-02-23T20:31:52.957-08:00Winter Blast and the Fly Yuma, Yuma Aeromodelers AirshowIt's been a couple of weeks since the last update. We were hanging out near Lake Havasu City with good friends while waiting for the start of Winter Blast which I wrote a bit about in the last installment.<br />
During the 2 weeks we were here waiting for Winter Blast to start we did some touring around and checked out a bit more of the town.<br />
One day, we parked down near the bridge and just took a stroll along the canal. Lake Havasu has a number of functional navigational lighthouses. One thing that is interesting is what they have done with them. There are somewhere around 30 lighthouses on the lake and quite a few right around the city proper. There is a club in town, the <a href="https://lh-lighthouseclub.org/" target="_blank"><b>Lake Havasu City Lighthouse Club</b></a>, who have converted most of the navigational lights into full functional 1/3 scale replicas of actual lighthouses around the US.<br />
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Another day, we took a short ferry ride across the lake to the new Havasu Landing Casino. We went more for the boat ride than the casino, but did drop in to lose a few bucks. Most US casinos still allow smoking in the facilities and frankly the smoke drove us out in fairly short order.<br />
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The fireworks shows started on Thursday and for the first night, we elected to watch from camp. I did take the time to check out a ridge close to camp that I thought would be a better vantage point for watching the fireworks.<br />
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This is the view from the ridge looking back toward the camping area. Our rig is at the far right edge of the photo.<br />
Around dusk they started shooting off some of the earlier effects. Being that it was still quite light out, not too much was visible. Later on, there were some nice effects but we were in a spot where we could only see the higher level bursts. There wasn't an official show on Thursday so we really weren't expecting a lot.<br />
Friday was the start of the official shows and they kicked off just after sunset. Again we elected to watch from camp. There were sporadic shots until 7:30 when the official shows started. The first one was about 15 minutes long and was mostly low level so we didn't see too much. The second show however was mostly high level and was very impressive. There were several effects I hadn't seen previously. The main shows ran until 8:30 but there were shots going off right up until about 10PM.<br />
We were worried about how Maya would react as she does not like any kind of loud bangs or booms. While definitely uneasy, she didn't do too bad. She stayed in the trailer most of the time and curled up in her safe place in the bedroom beside the bed or under the kitchen table. There were a couple of real loud effects, called salutes, that rattled the trailer even as far away as we were which she really didn't like though.<br />
Saturday, Steve, Tammie and I, drove up onto the low ridge where we had a clear view of the firing lines. Tammie and I set up our cameras and attempted to photograph the show. I had played around with photographing fireworks a bit in the past but this was something all new to Tammy.<br />
Long story short, we had a great time. I think we both got some good shots and both learned quite a bit. I do know one thing though; my camera is ancient! After playing with Tammie's for a bit, I am very envious.<br />
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Both of the shows on Saturday were fantastic. Lots of variation in effects, colour and patterns.<br />
Sunday evening, we again watched the show from the ridge but Saturday was the main show. There were some good sequences on Sunday, but it wasn't nearly the show that Saturday was. There were also a couple of bright lights that were affecting our photography as well. <br />
Monday was a sad day as it was the day that Steve and Tammie, and Chris and I parted company. We had traveled together for over 6 weeks and got to know each other quite well. They were planning to hang around Havasu for a while longer while we needed to get to Yuma as we had an appointment to get some more warranty work done on the trailer. We also wanted to be in Yuma for the Yuma Aeromodelers 'Fly Yuma' model airshow. I have taken part in this show for the past 2 years and am always amazed at the spectacle they put on.<br />
We were able to get most of the planned warranty items taken care of (but not all) then over to Fortuna de Oro RV park where we had a coupon for 3 free nights. This gave us a chance to get caught up on a few things in town before the airshow weekend.<br />
Thursday, while still at the RV park, I loaded the jet up and took it out to the field. I hadn't flown it since September in Princeton and wanted to burn the dust off both it and me before the show. Made a couple of flights and by the end of the session, was feeling quite comfortable again.<br />
Friday, we took the trailer back out to the airfield and got it set up. We were able to get the same spot we have had for the last couple of years just off the parking lot.<br />
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I put in another flight and felt ready for the show on Saturday.<br />
It would be nice to say that airshow day dawned sunny and warm but alas, that wasn't the case. I should of known because we had a stunning sunset the night before which indicated clouds moving in.<br />
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I was up about 6 on Saturday and noticed it had rained somewhat over night and was still quite cloudy and overcast. I started getting my gear set up and about 9AM the skies opened up! It was the hardest rain we have had since leaving in October. It rained quite hard for almost an hour but then started to clear about 10AM. The show was supposed to start at 10 but it was looking promising so was delayed to 10:30 by which time most of the clouds had moved off and the sun was back out.<br />
The show went off without any more delays and was very successful. I think the attendance was down a bit due to the weather though but there was still a very impressive turnout.<br />
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Just a part of the crowd line. People were lined up 2 deep along the entire length of the runway.<br />
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After the formal flying portion of the show, everyone moved their aircraft out onto the runway and the public was allowed onto the field to look and ask questions.</div>
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Sunday was a model swap meet at the field and once that was done, we packed up and moved on to our next stop which is still in Yuma. Another couple who we have become good friends with have purchased a lot in the foothills area of Yuma. They plan to park their trailer here for most of the winter season. The nice thing is their lot has enough room for two rigs. It was a bit tight but I managed to squeeze our Big Ass Trailer (the B.A.T.) into the space alongside their Arizona room.</div>
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The plan is to hang out here for a week or so or until a new set of lenses Chris needs for her glasses arrives. After that, we will head east towards New Mexico before turning north.</div>
Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-32473006012880785462020-02-07T07:15:00.000-08:002020-02-07T07:17:12.592-08:00Lake Havasu CityWe are now back in Lake Havasu City for a couple of weeks. We have been here a couple of times in the past but each time just passing through. We did stop to see the London Bridge a couple of years ago.<br />
The plan this year is to stick around for a couple of weeks and take in more of the local sights and an annual event called <a href="https://www.eventcrazy.com/Lake-Havasu-City-AZ/events/details/18832-Western-Winter-Blast-Pyrotechnics-Fireworks-Display" target="_blank"><b>Winter Blast</b></a>. This event is billed as the largest fireworks extravaganza in the western USA. Fireworks companies come here to test out new products and displays. The shows start on Thursday the 13th around 5 and go to 11 on each of Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and 10 on Sunday.<br />
The Escapees Boomers are here as well but camped closer to the show down by the rodeo grounds. We elected to camp a bit further away in a BLM area called the Gravel Pit. This was primarily for Maya's benefit as she doesn't like loud noises. Time will tell if we are far enough away.<br />
We originally arrived here last Thursday but they have a camp host at the gravel pit and are enforcing the BLM 14 day stay limits now. As a result, in order to be able to stay at the gravel pit through the show, we had to move to a different site for a few days. We stayed there until Monday and then came back here.<br />
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Saturday, the 4 of us made a day trip up to <a href="https://www.visitarizona.com/cities/west-coast/oatman" target="_blank"><b>Oatman</b></a>, an old mining town, come ghost town, come tourist town. I wrote about Oatman last year so won't repeat that again but you can read about that visit <a href="https://rctravels.rmcd.ca/2019/03/asses-and-dams.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. After Oatman, we carried on up <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66" target="_blank"><b>Route 66</b></a> a ways to Kingman before turning back south and returning to the rigs. We did stop at one spot near the summit of the pass between Oatman and Kingman which was a weird kind of shrine/memorial of some sort. There must have been 30 or 40 memorials and markers located here.<br />
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Up until Monday, the weather had been stunning! Sunny and warm during the day and not too cool at night and almost no wind. That changed on Monday and things got downright chilly. We went from daytime temps in the mid 20's and overnight temps around 10, to daytime highs around 13, overnight lows barely above freezing and howling winds. That lasted 3 days. For the most part we just hunkered down and stayed close to camp. The 4 of us did go out for a wonderful dinner on Wednesday though to a place just across the London Bridge; the <a href="https://www.barleybrothers.com/" target="_blank"><b>Barley Brothers Brewery</b></a>. They have a rib special that was very good.<br />
Thursday, things got back to more seasonal weather. Steve had been talking about a hike he wanted to do called <a href="https://www.desertusa.com/desert-activity/sara-hike.html" target="_blank"><b>SARA's Crack</b></a>. SARA stands for Special Activities Recreation Area. The "Crack In The Wall" is a 5 mile round trip hike with a narrow slot canyon in the middle. As the weather was now more conducive to outdoor activities, we decided to tackle this. We set out around 10:30 and parked at the trail head then set off. About 45 mins later after hiking down a wash, we entered the slot canyon.<br />
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The first serious obstacle was a drop of about 15 feet down a slick rock slide. Someone had thoughtfully placed a knotted rope to assist ascents and descents.<br />
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After another 45 minutes we reached the end of the trail at Balance Cove which is named for a balancing rock on the shoreline.<br />
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While some
have climbed the rock, we elected to just enjoy the site and rest up for
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After a short rest we started back up and essentially retraced our route back to the jeep. </div>
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<br />Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-90521811128977514332020-01-30T20:50:00.002-08:002020-01-30T21:00:49.633-08:00The Quartzsite RV show and Boomerville 2020 This year is our third year in Quartzsite for the January zoo or, more properly, the <a href="https://www.quartzsitervshow.com/" target="_blank"><b>Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV show</b></a>. It is a totally crazy time where the the population of this sleepy desert town swells from approx. 3500 year round residents to over half a million! Almost all of them boondocking out in the desert in a dozen or so main areas around town. The main draw in January is the 'big tent' where a hundred plus vendors show and try and sell their products and services.<br />
In past years, most of these vendors were selling primarily RV related products. The last few years though, things have changed and the tent now seems more like a large home show. Yes, there are still lots of RV related products and vendors, but more and more non RV related stuff is showing up. Things like hot tubs and cell phone accessories, leather belts and wallets to name a few. Also the hucksters selling the latest 'must have' miracle kitchen gadgets!<br />
There is also another area across the road called Tyson Wells with longer term vendors who usually stick around for a good chunk of the winter. Here again you can find almost anything you like from RV accessories to hats to Trump wear to yard art.<br />
Quartzsite also hosts a couple of large RV dealers during this time and they display and sell a large assortment of RV's. This makes for a great place to explore different floor plans and 'kick the tires' so to speak.<br />
All of this, plus Quartzsite is also known far and wide among the rock and gem hounds. There are quite a few vendors who sell every kind of gem or mineral you could want.<br />
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After my last update, Boomerville filled up quite quickly. The total this year hit 239 rigs! It was actually quite crowded toward the end.<br />
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On Saturday the 18th, a bunch of us saddled up and headed off to a spot north of Parker which, while only about 5 miles off the highway but feels more like 20, called the <a href="http://www.thedesertbar.com/" target="_blank"><b>Nellie E. Saloon or just the Desert Bar</b></a>. This is a spot where someone converted an old mine camp into a completely off the grid bar and restaurant. <br />
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The road out was pretty rough in Steve and Tammie's jeep but once we got there it turned out to be a pretty interesting place. They have a very impressive solar array to keep it all powered. As far as the restaurant goes, the best way to describe it was fairly average but over priced. I get the price bit though as I don't imagine it would be cheap to transport all their supplies out there and that solar plant is pretty extensive.<br />
The drive back was the best part though. Instead of taking the road back, we decided to take a back trail more suited for jeeps, ATV's and off road vehicles. There were a few challenging sections but Steve did a masterful job. We also got to see some new terrain as well.<br />
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One thing Steve picked up from one of the vendors at the big tent was a new set of batteries for their coach. Their old ones were getting pretty tired and as they full time, they needed a new set that would provide for all their needs. This was our project for one of the days. It wound up taking part of one day and most of the next as they were a tight fit and we had to get a set of cables custom made. We also installed a new inverter and battery monitor for their coach.<br />
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Before installing the inverter though, was the Boomerville pot luck. As last year, there was a ton of food and we all ate way too much!<br />
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It was after we stuffed ourselves that Steve and I decided to finish up their install by mounting their new inverter. I should add that this thing weighs about 60 pounds and is mounted to the ceiling in one of their cargo bays. That was a lot of fun but we did manage. Their refrigerator and other appliances are much happier now with clean pure sine wave power.<br />
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Thursday was the annual CARE auction. I wrote about this <a href="https://rctravels.rmcd.ca/2019/01/care-auction.html" target="_blank"><b>last year</b></a> but Chris and I, along with Steve and Tammie got a bit more involved this year. Somehow we got nominated to be on the teams that canvased the vendors in the big tent for donations to the auction. I think we did pretty good collecting quite a bit of merchandise.<br />
The auction this year started around 11:30 and went til after 3. Chris, again this year, put some of her famous cinnamon buns and some pineapple upside down cakes in. I didn't keep track but I believe they garnered over $400 this year. All in all, with the proceeds of the auction and other fund raising efforts over the last couple of weeks, the Boomers brought in about $18,000 dollars for CARE! <br />
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Last Sunday a bunch of us headed out to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge to do some crystal hunting. There is a small area where they allow people to hunt for crystals; mostly quartz. After 3 hours or so we all had had some success in that we found some small ones. This area is pretty well picked over so not too much left to be found. We all had a good time though.<br />
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That is Ed, he is a retired geologist, in the light green shirt explaining what to look for and the best places to look.<br />
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This was taken up on the hill where I was hunting.<br />
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After the end of Boomerville, on Monday, Steve and I along with Ed and his wife Jan, headed back out to the area northwest of Parker to try and find the rest of the route we <a href="https://rctravels.rmcd.ca/2020/01/grand-design-rally-and-back-to.html" target="_blank"><b>started out on earlier</b></a>.<br />
There is a route (676) that Ed had found both ends of but wanted to connect together. We did the eastern half earlier but lost the track and had to return. This time we started from the west end and worked our way east.<br />
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After 3 hours or so crawling across the desert on what would generously be called a goat track, we finally found our way to the spot where we lost the route earlier. It turns out we had missed it the first time by only about 10 yards! So close!<br />
We did also get to go back to the old mine we had found earlier as well. We explored around a bit and got to check out the old mine tunnel, powder bunker and some of the old works. Very interesting place.<br />
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This is the entrance to one of the mine shafts. You could go in about 20 feet before the entrance was blocked by a heavy steel barrier. <br />
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You could see quite a ways down the shaft and I have no idea how deep into the hill it actually goes. <br />
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This is the one surviving powder bunker where they would have kept their explosives. <br />
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One of 2 vertical shafts that had been covered up. <br />
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<span id="goog_1218938064"></span><span id="goog_1218938065"></span><br />
<span id="goog_1218938064">I'm not sure </span>who this fellow was but he apparently passed away on June 17, 1994. I wonder if he owned the mine or just worked there.<br />
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As I write this tonight, we have left Quartzsite and headed north to Lake Havasu City. We had originally planned to go back to Peoria and the Pleasant Valley Airport but when we called to see about a spot they told us they were no longer doing dry camping there. There really isn't a whole lot of boondocking areas in the Phoenix area so we regretfully had to come up with another plan.<br />
Steve and Tammie had told us about "<a href="https://www.eventcrazy.com/Lake-Havasu-City-AZ/events/details/18832-Western-Winter-Blast-Pyrotechnics-Fireworks-Display" target="_blank"><b>Winter Blast</b></a>" in Lake Havasu City, so we though we would give that a try.Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9078607671678146613.post-81536917139133394662020-01-17T17:38:00.000-08:002020-01-18T06:59:37.748-08:00Grand Design Rally and back to BoomervilleAs planned, a week ago Tuesday, we pulled up stakes and headed about 15 miles south to another boondocking area for the Grand Design Owners Rally. When we arrived, there were already about 40 or 50 other GD rigs set up. We found a good spot in the Solar section and were set up in short order.<br />
Over the next couple of days, Grand Design rigs started streaming in. By the official start of the rally on Thursday, the count was up to 181 rigs. Everything from the smaller Transcend and Imagines right up to the largest Solitudes and Momentums.<br />
Over the next few days they had quite a few very interesting sessions scheduled, most of which I attended. Everything from solar to suspension upgrades to maintenance. It was all very informative. Grand Design had a crew of factory techs on site for the duration who were kept quite busy attending to critical problems and recalls. We had them look at one problem we have with one of our slides but unfortunately they didn't have the required parts to fix it on site but were able to authorize the repair for a later date.<br />
One interesting sidebar was the number of attendees who almost never <a href="https://www.definitions.net/definition/boondock" target="_blank"><b>boondock</b></a>, always being hooked up to power in a park somewhere. The first couple of nights a lot of them ran their batteries dead overnight and woke up cold and had to run generators to recharge, only to do it all over again the next night. There was quite a bit of grumbling over that. We, of course, were just fine.<br />
The one downside we ran into was that Chris came down with another cold a few days before we headed over there. Unlike her usual colds, this one turned into bronchitis and left her sounding like a seal with deep, deep coughs. She had it the whole time we were there and is just getting over it now, 2 weeks later. That somewhat curtailed our socializing with the others unfortunately.<br />
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Here are a couple of photos shot from a drone. You can see our rig in the second shot just right of centre with the satellite dish on the roof. In this first shot, we are just out of the frame to the left.<br />
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And another stunning sunset. We had several, as well as a couple of really nice sunrises as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEeMCkjNvF9V8W7f4KPpgDSOpQRxQyV1e063AKyv768CN8qxw4oJBgv1xZahWmNZ9OPIM178GTguK85oQEjQT9BstQkz9XMyKAQFLFmt78mIA1dwux7M2DjLDzQjZZLW4OPP3fLN7d3Y/s1600/jhl1%252B2T1SbiNJKcjheK5IA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEeMCkjNvF9V8W7f4KPpgDSOpQRxQyV1e063AKyv768CN8qxw4oJBgv1xZahWmNZ9OPIM178GTguK85oQEjQT9BstQkz9XMyKAQFLFmt78mIA1dwux7M2DjLDzQjZZLW4OPP3fLN7d3Y/s640/jhl1%252B2T1SbiNJKcjheK5IA.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Also while we were there, was the full (wolf) moon. I caught this one just as it was setting Saturday morning. My iPhone camera doesn't really do it justice.<br />
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Sunday morning after one final presentation, many people started packing up, and as we wanted to get back to Boomerville, we did the same. Even with Chris's bronchitis curtailing things for us somewhat, it was a good event and if we are back here next winter, I think we would consider doing it again.<br />
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So back to Boomerville... Quite a few more folks had arrived when we got back but we had marked off our spot and it was still unoccupied. We got set up just in time for the welcome happy hour on Sunday. We had a good time reconnecting with a number of people we hadn't seen since last year.<br />
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There are lots of activities going on all the time so always something to do. Yesterday my friend Steve and a couple others had organized another Jeep excursion. I tagged along and we wound up a few miles northwest of Parker. They had a plan to try and find a route around a mountain that promised to provide some opportunity for some challenging terrain.<br />
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Here is the gang planning out our route.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrExU9HOI33UCAhUFjfEATJmSLnYt6B0PVLussL7-PvmIfGtM7s1a54hfk06kT0mDCpnj3v_DioafVCIO3dWRYFgGFawdttxvZX8hZH-3bydom8O42sEetM9xPCHMgB0ddyaWqBBNVizs/s1600/ew7cUCH0RAeFvgXPfi3vuw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrExU9HOI33UCAhUFjfEATJmSLnYt6B0PVLussL7-PvmIfGtM7s1a54hfk06kT0mDCpnj3v_DioafVCIO3dWRYFgGFawdttxvZX8hZH-3bydom8O42sEetM9xPCHMgB0ddyaWqBBNVizs/s640/ew7cUCH0RAeFvgXPfi3vuw.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Heading into the wash<br />
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This was the first challenging section. A narrow gorge with a few challenging obstacles. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRuT9hMw6sv_yiS4N4sA33sfWfbKMN8maYLdGA_DVghh7phuf3nKDte7Q0AE33wuPHIC412oTlI3VU2x7pn9fjrw7vI_c7OR1j4x6vM2qGHNC0e4sQieKLXRq3-v0OxNcPN4ijh_9UKM/s1600/U4E4qxjWTRGt%252B2ZYwAqSkQ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRuT9hMw6sv_yiS4N4sA33sfWfbKMN8maYLdGA_DVghh7phuf3nKDte7Q0AE33wuPHIC412oTlI3VU2x7pn9fjrw7vI_c7OR1j4x6vM2qGHNC0e4sQieKLXRq3-v0OxNcPN4ijh_9UKM/s640/U4E4qxjWTRGt%252B2ZYwAqSkQ.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div>
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Steve spotting and guiding one of the other drivers <br />
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Steve and I were bring up the rear so I got to spot for him <br />
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Our lunch stop <br />
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An old mine site we came across. There was quite a bit more here but we didn't stop other than to figure out where we were heading to next. Both Steve and I wanted to stop and spend some time exploring. Besides this water tower, we could see what looked like the remnants of an old powder magazine and an open shaft along with some other structures.<br />
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All in all, we were gone for most of the day. While we were off doing this, Steve's wife Tammie and Chris were doing manicures and foot massages back at camp with proceeds going to the Escapees charity, C.A.R.E. I think I heard they brought in about $160.<br />
Today, Chris did up a batch of her cinnamon buns and put them out for a donation to C.A.R.E. 4 pans brought in $240! Well done!<br />
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Just for comparison purposes, here are a couple of shots of before and during Boomerville.<br />
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This is only about 20% of the rigs here!<br />
Good news too. The last few days Chris has been feeling much better. Still a bit hoarse and coughing a bit but past the worst of things. So far, I am still OK (fingers crossed!)Rob and Chris's travelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07877057248441516218noreply@blogger.com0