Jan 31, 2015.
Leaving Home.
After much anticipation we were finally
able to hit the road on January 31.
If you don’t know what all the anticipation
was about, remind me when I see you next and I will fill you in.
It seems to have been more common than not
(except last year’s trip) that we leave home just as the snow starts. It
happened again this year too.
After a beautiful January (highly unusual)
with many warm sunny days we finally were packing up “Bounder” the motorhome.
Mother Nature wasn’t able to hold on one more day so the night before we left
she started to snow and snow she did!
We woke up on Saturday (January 31st)
to a few inches of the white stuff. Prior to that we had hardly any left in our
yard and the grass was green.
We decided not to rush and make sure that
the snow plows and crazies got off the road before we got on them. It paid off and at
11am we were finally back where we love to be, travelling down the highway.
Our first day saw us crossing the border
and into Montana. We spent the first night in Butte, Montana. We stayed at a
“Truck Stop” as we often do when we are on the road if there are no Wal-Marts
nearby. Needless to say it was a little cold out and the wind was blowing hard making it even worse. Thankfully we filled up with propane back at home so the
furnace did a great job of keeping us cozy.
Our second day saw us headed south again after our morning coffee. We made it down through the rest of Montana, the bottom of Idaho and
through Salt Lake City. We continued on down the I-15 and took our turn-off
spending the night in Panguitch, Utah.
It’s a nice quiet little town and no real truck stops or Wal-Marts. We
found two semi Trucks parked in behind a gas station on a dirt lot so we pulled Bounder in there for the night too. It was a little warmer so the furnace
didn’t have to work near as hard as the night before. Another great sleep!
Now on our third day of travel with no
water in the rig (It was still winterized, protecting the plumbing) we got up
and had our usual morning coffee. You might be wondering how we make do with no
water. What we do (done it several times) is bring some big water jugs from
home and when we need it, we warm some water up on the stove to wash up with. It
works great and all adds to our little adventure.
So once again we were on the road! I always
love this part of the trip as we wander down through Flagstaff, Arizona and hit
the warm (sometimes hot) weather. Warm weather that we will enjoy for the rest
of the winter! Always an exciting day!
So as we were an hour or so from Phoenix it
became apparent that we were going to hit the big city right at the 4pm rush hour.
Something we don’t necessarily enjoy in the motorhome, especially after a long day
of driving.
Barb pulled out the Atlas to check for any
short cuts we could take as we were needing to head over to the east side and
Apache Junction in particular. In reading the map Barb saw a short cut that
apparently (according to the map) didn’t have any big mountain climbs.
As we started to head east bound it was
apparent we would have a little climb. This climb turned into a long big climb
and to make it even more challenging it had lots of twisty turns where we had
to slow down and lose our momentum. When I say slow I mean they required us to
get down to like 30 or 35 miles per hour (50kph)!
Just as we thought it was all over, there were a
lot more to come. Up and down and all around! As we are towing our Honda CRV
behind us steep down hill grades can be a bit challenging too. If we had a
diesel we would have a Jake Brake to slow us down but we have a gas motorhome.
People look at you really funny when you
pass them at over 100 miles per hour (160 kph) going downhill while 53 feet
long!
So as we don’t have a Jake Brake one has to
really take care of his/her brakes. First you don’t want to overheat the brakes and
have brake fade and second, you don’t want to wear them down too much, as they are
really expensive to replace on big rigs.
So I try to slow to a reasonable speed at the top
of the grades and then use the Allison transmission to keep us slow to a reasonable
downhill speed. As you can imagine the longer the downgrade the harder this is
to accomplish. When I’m not tired (after a day of driving) its sort of fun but
when I am tired its no fun! Nothing like holding back 24,000 pounds (12 tons of
fun)!
Apache Junction, AZ.
At any rate we finally pulled into Mesa and
then over a short distance into Apache Junction where we were booked for the
next 4 nights. We stopped just a block before our RV park (Superstition Lookout
RV Park) to un-hook the Honda and Barb drove that into the park in front of me.
Our good friends Wendy and Tim were at the gate to welcome us, a welcome site!
We got led into our stall by the Ranger and
parked the rig and got her set up. As it was now after 6pm Wendy & Tim had
prepared dinner for us and what a welcome gift that was! After three days on
the road good food and good friends was exactly what we needed!
This was a real nice little park with lots
of Palm trees and in a great location close to many of the things we do while
we are in town out there (next to the Superstition Mountains). Four nights
seemed much too short though. Before we new it our time here was over and it
was time to pack up.
We had got in a quick visit with other friends too and it seemed
weird to have to leave already. Usually we spend at least a month in this area
but because we were held back at home, our month was cancelled and all that was
left was these four nights.
So on Friday, February 6th we headed south
of Phoenix to our next stop at Casa Grande. This is a nice little city of about
50,000 residents. Our stay here is at a resort called Palm Creek and we are
here until March 6th.
Now I must add in that we came over here
for a look last year. I honestly didn’t think I would like it here. The reason
is because it is so darn BIG! At 2400 lots it’s a little city all of its own.
In fact if you do the math its about 10% of the population of the city of Casa Grande!
Its now Wednesday and we have been here 5
nights. I have to say I like it here. The only thing I don’t like is that every time
you go somewhere in the park you have to wear a name tag. I’m getting used to
it now and don’t mind much anymore.
This place is what I would normally call an
upper end park. It has RV lots (some with Casita’s) and Park Model type homes
but many of them are like Modular homes. There is an 18 hole executive Par 3,
golf course. A restaurant, Pro Shop, 3 swimming pools, two or three laundry’s,
tennis courts, pickle ball, and so much more. It really is a resort, not just a
RV Park.
The only real reason why we ended up booked
here was that some time ago from home, Barb found a deal. They had a special for
first timers, buy two weeks and get a month. So we decided to gamble and try
it. We are both glad we did and will likely be back.
On Saturday some friends of ours (Kathy
& Steve) from near Los Angeles (Corona) came out with their 5th
Wheel to join us. The only issue was we had a communication issue and they booked in at a different park (The wrong one). That’s ok though it’s not a big city. On their
first night we had them over for an Alberta Beef Night. We BBQ’d some real nice
steaks. Hmmm what a dinner thanks to Barb my favorite Chef!
The next day we went over to the Casa
Grande National Ruins. This is a federal government park where everything is
protected. It’s staffed by Rangers and Tour Guides complete with its own little
museum. What was here included the ruins of the Ancient Sonoran People. It is
very old and they lived here for a very long time. You would be surprised at
how advanced they were. Very interesting and only $5.00 to get in! I certainly recommend it.
For more information go to: www.NPS.Gov/Cagr/Index.htm
Later on we went for lunch at a great
Mexican restaurant and later that night we had a great dinner over at Kathy &
Steve’s RV. They were staying at the park where we were last year - Casa Grande
RV Park. The day was complete with laughs, fun & learning. Unfortunately Kathy and Steve
had to hit the dusty trail the next morning for their drive home.
Our home life now is quite simple. We generally get up in the mornings and have
coffee out on the patio. Every morning so far is the same and reminds me why we
like coming down here. Blue skies, rarely a cloud and warm days. It’s generally
been in the low to mid 80’s each day so far but the nights cool off so a
sweater or a jacket is needed if outside for long in the evenings. Next week the forecast calls for a cooling down to highs of mid to high 70's F.
After our morning rituals of coffee and
checking emails we decide on what to do.
Just like in past years of doing this, the people here are really happy. Everyone seems friendly and often quite outgoing.
A lady who works here told us today, the
park is usually 50 to 60% Canadians and I wouldn’t be surprised at all there are lots of them. There are a
lot from the 3 western Provinces along with some from Manitoba, Ontario
and Quebec. Wev'e seen a lot from the Calgary area and even spoke to one I know
from Cochrane.
Today (Wednesday, Feb 11th) we
decided on a nice bike ride. We bought a pair of Trek bikes last year when we
were in Florida and we are glad we did. They are comfortable and really easy to
ride. So we spent the morning and early afternoon riding up and down almost
every street in the park.
Afterwards we stopped in at the Bistro and
had some lunch and then came back home. After that Barb went out for a Pedicure
and I went to work on cleaning and doing some maintenance with the motorhome.
I
love my Power Washer and bring it with us each year. It’s the best way to clean Bounder and meet
the other men living nearby! They all seem to love pressure washers!
The Order of Dress for the days includes sandals, shorts
and a top. In mid-day sitting in the sun is easy to get a burn of you are
not used to it. Working too hard can easily raise a sweat. So we take it easy
while trying to still be active to some degree. After all we don't want to over do it!
Our patio is all set up with chairs, loungers, tables
and solar lights. I love my outside room and we are already making plans for
potentially building a little “Oasis” in our backyard at home.
Our evenings here often include reading,
watching TV or reading some more. It’s all very relaxing with our couch and
recliner if we aren’t out on the patio.
Today I saw one patio with a couple of
nice leather chairs set up outside, beside their motorhome. That in itself shows
you how the weather stays pretty much the same every day and night here.
I have no idea what the days ahead will
hold. Likely some pool time, laundry and hanging out on the patio mixed in with
seeing some sites in the area.
Our BBQ quit just as we were firing it up
the other night. I had noticed the last time it was used (at home) that the
propane bottle had run out after using it the night before. I figured it must
have had a leak at the connection.
As it turns out I found the problem. The
regulator (made in China of course) had started to leak from the overflow vent.
So its toast and a new one is on order via Amazon.com. I hope it gets here fast
as the smell of the other BBQ’s around here every day are driving me crazy!
Barb has her kitchen and home all set up
just the way she likes it and she seems to be in her “Happy Place. She’s completed
a couple of visits to the pool and loves the resort we are at too. If I were to
guess I would say she will be booking us in for another month next year. Many spend their complete winters here, but as
in past years we are still too much “traveller’s” for that yet. Maybe in the
future though, time will tell.
Wi-Fi Issues.
In past years we had purchased “mobile Wi-Fi”
from a place in Oregon so we had it whenever we wanted. It was a great deal and
worked well anywhere one could get a cell signal. Unfortunately that business
has either gone under or was bought up. So now we have to go with Verizon and
they have almost doubled the price and reduced our Gigs to half of what we used
to get each month.
So having said all that our Internet usage is going to be
down a lot this year. No more wasting time on Facebook and other sites like we
used to do! I hope to find a more reasonable solution but it doesn’t look very good.
I probably won't be writing on this Blog as
much as I did in past years. For some of you that’s likely a good thing!
I will try to make a post once each week
covering the events of the past few days and what’s in store next.
I’m busier
this year than last between finding so many things to do, relaxing with
potential mid-day naps and doing a little work with the real estate business
too. I love it all!
As I said we are here in Casa Grande until March 6th.
So if you are in town or nearby stop for coffee and a visit!
So if you are in town or nearby stop for coffee and a visit!
In
fact we have a few different friends that will be doing just that.
Life Is Good!
Jim
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