Home to Casa Grande, AZ - January 31 to Feb 11th, 2015

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 31^st) 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.

To Casa Grande

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 6^th.

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 5^th 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 11^th) 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!

The best way to reach us is by email or if you know my personal cell phone number you can Text me there too. 

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! 

In fact we have a few different friends that will be doing just that.

Life Is Good!

Jim

Farthest Away From Home Now! Sunday, November 25.

Yesterday we made it to the point farthest away from home for this trip!

Key West, Florida is not only the farthest point away into the south east of the USA but it is the farthest point south on mainland USA.

In fact Key West is about 90 miles north of Cuba and straight west of the Bahama Islands. We are closer to Havana, Cuba than we are to Miami, Florida!

How far is it to home from here?
Good question!

Key West is located at the Red Star on the right side.
We are quite away down south now!

Now, one should prepare themselves for a visit to Key West.
I say this for a number of reasons.

This wasn't one of them...

As one gets to the other end of Duval Street there are some.. lets say establishments there that are not where I would take my children. In fact some of the staff is on the sidewalks trying to lure you in, so I wouldn't even walk down their with young people.

If you thought the guy above looked weird that is nothing compared to what I am talking about. I am talking about... I will leave that to your imagination because most of it is right there in your face. As the sun goes down... things come out and the city changes a bit.

Before heading down to KW, I would read (as one should for any city visit) about the history first to better relate to what you are seeing.
There are a lot of interesting facts, sights, historical moments and sounds in this little city!

Here is a Link outlining some of it: Key West Preparation from Jim!

When we arrived in town we started off with a nice seaside lunch at the Hyatt Hotel.

Barb in her Sun Hat, always looking so good!

Part of our lunch time view.

We decided rather than walk that we should rent a Scooter!
I have a couple of tips here too.
TIP: Ask to see the Scooter first and make sure it is in good condition. Long after we left the so-called rental agency I discovered that we didn't have either signal lights or brake lights!

Just call me "Scooter!"

I thought he said he'd rent me a Harley?

That didn't stop the fun though and we covered a huge part of town. Its not as quaint as walking but you can see so much more this way and it is the next best thing.

Nice beach eh!
Sure beats the Ghost Dam back home.

Just watch out for the darn tourists driving because half of them don't know where they are going and they may surprise you with a last minute turn!

This wasn't a Tourist - I don't think?

Everyone in town heads over to Mallory Square to watch the sun set. Apparently this is a ritual they follow each & every day. When in Rome!

We headed over and what a beautiful sight. It reminds one of the favorite sunsets of times gone by. Add in sailboats and others on the water along with a slight warm breeze & Carribbean music in the background & wow.

Sunset Watchers Everywhere!

This makes me want to go sailing again!

Some of the best Sunsets anywhere... just ask all of these people!

We really enjoyed ourselves at Key West for a number of reasons.
The picture below wasn't one of them.

One reason Barb didn't like this place as much.
I thought we should go in and have a look around!

It can get very busy down here with tourists and if you happen to be unlucky enough to hit it when the cruise ships are in port lookout! Thankfully that didn't happen on our visit.

The main street is called Duval Street. It is a must to wander the little shops and when you get tired of T Shirts there are lots of places to stop for a nice bite to eat or a refreshment.

Duval Street is where the action is!

We decided to stop in here for a cool drink.

There's always something happening here on Duval!

Do not drive while on your cell phone!

Lots of neat old homes, Inns and more.

Lovers in Key West Dancing.

Lovers in Key West riding a scooter!

TIP: do not wear flip flops when trekking around like this!

Much of the afternoon was spent looking around to about 930pm. We got so tired we knew it was time to drive back home. On the way back to the car the second TIP of the day came to life.

TIP #2: Don't buy $6.42 cookies. They are large, they are good but...

Our motor home was parked about 45 minutes north up the Keys at Bahia Honda State Park. It doesn't look far but the highway speeds are slow and sometimes there is a lot of traffic.

BAHIA HONDA State Park:
Have a look here at this Link: Bahia State Campground

Aerial View

Campsites

Beach

Another aerial view

These photos might help you to understand 

why we do not want to leave here!

For our 60th wedding Anniversary I mentioned to Barb we should fly back to Key West and spend a week here in the American Caribbean!

Some of the best bronze sculptures I have ever seen!
This one is of Harry Truman who spent a lot of time here.

That pretty much sums up the day at Key West.

Other than that we have been spending our days relaxing, walking beaches and reading. It has been very relaxing down here.

It started to rain on & off here today. It is supposed to rain a bit tomorrow (Tuesday) and 100% chance of rain on Wednesday which is our next moving day.

On Wednesday we will move to a RV Resort called Grassy Key RV Park. 

Click the Link to see their website, photos & more: Grassy Key RV Park 

Feel free to leave a comment on our Blog and share it with anyone that might be thinking of this way of life. If they have questions on pursuing this way of life have them contact us and we will do our best to get them answers.

Thanks for reading! 

Please know that we really feel blessed that we have been able to live out our dreams like this during the Calgary winters.

We also feel blessed for all of our friends and all of our family.

Cioa!

CAMPING IN THE FLORIDA KEYS! November 18th, 2013.

As noted earlier we came down into the Florida Keys on Monday, November 18th. Staying the night before in Homestead, Florida at a Casino parking lot with a few other RVers we got up and had breakfast in the casino before heading south.

I'm not sure I should post this but I will take the risk and hope that I do not offend anyone.

It doesn't happen often but it has happened a few times and it happened again today. This time it was a lot different. I needed to gas up the motor home so after finding a place with both a decent price for fuel ($3.19 a gallon) and a lot big enough to drive our rig into, we stopped for same.

Once I started fueling it happened. I was approached by a lady.

She was wearing a small school sized back-pack, wearing sunglasses, a T shirt, jeans and a Dew Rag (a cloth tied at the back & over her head).

She started off with "Hey Sir when are you heading home did you enjoy the races?" To which I replied no we missed the races yesterday and just arrived in town, heading south.

She continued... and then dropped the bomb!
She started to cry (this always gets to me when a woman cries) and said she was the Mother of two. She said "I'm a good person you can ask inside they know me, I have cancer and I just need ten dollars."

Having gone through this before I was preparing myself while listening. Times in the past I have given them money figuring that if it was a scam that God would deal with it and I shouldn't care. This time was a bit different than all the rest!

She continued on and I had a hard time understanding her southern African American accent at times. Before I knew what was happening I heard her say something about "I'm not trying to be gross" and she pulled down the collar of her T shirt to show me what I thought was going to be a boob!
(Sorry for saying this but when faced with this happening so quickly what else would you expect?).

As it turned out she was showing me the scars of a mastectomy!
Now, I don't know about what others would think but this made me take a step back!

I had never dreamed this would happen, nor was I prepared for it. As much as I felt sorry for her I recalled in our conversation that she mentioned something about trying to find a church.

I will leave the rest to your imagination (maybe I shouldn't) but let me say this. I eventually told her that rather than give her money that I would do something much more valuable and powerful.... that I would pray for her.

She started to cry again and said I wish you would sir and wandered off.

I felt so mixed up. My emotions were back and forth. Should I have given her some money? Did I do the right thing? Was this real or another scam (gas stations are popular spots to get hit up for scams). I felt bad.

A few minutes later Barb came outside where I was at the gas pumps and I told her what had happened. She said lets pray for her and we did. I know personally from past experience that is worth more than all the money in the world and I will leave this story at that point.

After fueling the rig we headed down south on the highway. Passing by everglades and acres of wet farm land and pastures. As we continued we came across areas with cattle grazing and plenty of birds standing by for the left-overs.

We came into one area where it reminded me of BC with fruit stands and flowers and all sorts of things for sale beside the roads. The difference was that these were fruits and smoothie-drinks being advertised with names I did not know.

Before we knew it we crossed into the Keys and into Key Largo. The sites from the road were very exotic. We have seen lots of palm trees and exotic tropical plants before this but having them growing wild and large beside marina's with the emerald waters is just something else to see!

Continuing on south along Route #1 the usual T Shirt shops abound but add marina's, resorts, motels, and boats for sale everywhere. It was a feeling much different than anywhere else and sort of reminded me of previous trips into the Caribbean with an American flavor added.

The white sand is everywhere and the water colors range from emerald green and blue to some deeper darker colors for contrast. I love seeing this kind of water!

We reached our destination for the next five nights and I will start with a warning for any of you that plan to come down here. Make sure you have reservations months in advance!

This is a very popular area and the camping had people from all over America here. We have seen people from New York, Colorado, eastern Canada and all over.

We were lucky to get in and our stay here will likely be short lived as we are trying to book by the day via other's cancellations. So far we have 9 nights in 3 different camp sites at two different State Parks. We were lucky to get these!

As we pulled into the Registration area we could hardly contain our excitement. Without even getting to the camp area yet from what we had seen so far we knew we had hit the jackpot for a location!
After registration we drive down the paved road surrounded by 20 foot trees and bam there it was!

Exotic plants, Palm Trees, Hot weather and beautiful seas!
This is our front yard!

This is one of those few places where nosing the motor home into the stall instead of backing it in is the way to camp! Looking out the front window we have one of the best views in North America! The warm Atlantic Ocean, white beaches, exotic plant life and the odd fish jumping for joy!

Our Tropical Home by the Sea!

Having an Awning to block the hot sun is a must! 

Our camp stall is perfect!
We look out front or from our patio to the sandy beach and waterfront straight south towards Havana, Cuba! We aren't that far away from Cuba or from the Bahamas which are slightly north of us.

Now this is the life!

Quickly setting up, we leveled the rig (we have hydraulic levelers for this) got the awning out over the patio (a requirement to block the hot sun down here!), hooked up the electricity (for the two air conditioners in the motor home, another requirement down here) and then the water line.

We had a few visitors on our arrival, they are called ants!
They were living in our patio area. One that I saw had front feet like a Lobster with little chompers. I'm not sure if we were his planned dinner or not? Barb got the cure out and sprinkled Comet around the edges of our patio mat and that seems to have taken care of that!

Other friends have been coming by for a visit as well and this included the Geckos. These are little salamander types of friends and I call them friends because they eat bugs. If you don't know what a salamander is watch the Geicko Insurance commercials and change his color to brown.

These little Geckos remind me of a trip I took to Malaysia one time a few years ago. I was warned to not sleep with my mouth open. The reason was that the Geckos came into the house and scurried all around up the walls and across the ceilings in my bedroom.

As one can imagine Geckos eat things, and what goes in eventually has to come out. If you sleep on your back and your mouth is open, I think that they have a sense of humour similar to that of the North American seagull. They aim and fire and guess where yesterdays lunch lands!
Thankfully they do not get into the motor home (at least, not yet) so we don't have to worry about that!

We spent the afternoon and evening sitting on the patio and wandering up and down our beach in front of the rig. A few Jelly Fish had washed up on the shore and if you are familiar with them at all you will know that this is not always a good thing.

Looking east

Looking west

One neighbor told Barb that he saw a "Portuguese Man of War." They may not be the only piousness species and it will keep you alert if you wander out into the water.

Sitting here has reminded Barb that she wants to buy a Kayak.
Now if you know me at all I am fine with that as long as it comes with a 400 horsepower motor that makes lots of noise and goes very very fast. Anything short of that and I get bored easily. However watching people going back and forth in these things does have an attraction and I am sure they see a lot more sea life than we do here on shore.

I might go and purchase some snorkeling gear?
Having been a certified scuba diver in years past all my old gear rotted away in the basement with time and I am feeling the urge to get out there again. I have had problems with my ears so Scuba is out of the question. Add to that the waters here are quite shallow it seems, so snorkeling would be the way to go at least in this area.

We just cannot say enough about the view!

AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT.
The temperatures here do not change much from day to night.
In fact a quick check of the forecast shows at most a 4 or 5 degree difference between day and night with some days much the same all through a 24 hour period.

If the sun is blazing down on you it seems to hot for us Canadians but the shade helps a lot. Having the awning on the motor home helps and I wouldn't even think of coming down here without air conditioning. In fact sometimes we sit on the patio and after 20 or 30 minutes we come inside to cool off. The humidity is high. Reminds me of the time we flew into the Cayman Islands.

The A/C will be on all night long here!

Sitting out side tonight we watched the sun go down with a beautiful glow and the moon rise over the water. The water has been very calm here so it is peaceful and quite quiet.

As I sat in my lawn chair on the sand in the dark enjoying our new location something scared the you know what out of me!
Was it because I was nervous or wondering what all was out there for bugs, snakes and alligators (they have crocodiles in southern Florida too), No. That hasn't worried me at all. But what was to occur next, raised my radar a little to say the least!

Some days you wonder (at least at my age) how people can move their legs and stretch them to some extremes. I found a way and it didn't even hurt! I was sitting in my lawn chair and felt something firmly rub against the calf of my right leg. Without any thought or warning whatsoever my leg flung into the air to heights I have never imagined before! I know something came out of my mouth but I don't think it was discern-able?

You have to understand it was very dark with only the moonlight dancing off the waters when this happened. I don't know what it was but it wasn't a fly or a bug, it was much larger.

As soon as this happened we heard a duck begin to quack and fly off in front of us. Was it a duck blinded in the dark and walked right into my leg? I highly doubt it, however as I will never know what it actually was, I like that idea and will stick with it! A blind duck brushed the calf of my leg scaring me as bad as it scared him?

After having spent so many hours outside we finally retired into what we call the house. The air conditioner humming at near full capacity and the cool air feeling so refreshing. We had forgotten to eat dinner but it didn't seem to matter as we were fully replenished with all that this location had to offer us.

The TV doesn't seem to work here (we have not subscribed to satellite TV) so we decided it was time to watch our favorite TV show on the lap top. It comes on TV on Sunday nights but we missed it so we sometimes catch it on the laptop via the Internet. That show is called The Good Wife.

Don't ask me why I like this show, however I can say the more you watch of it the more addicting it gets. So we settled down with an hour of tubular entertainment before bedtime in the coolness of our air-conditioned home. After it was over I went back outside. It was as warm out as when we arrived in the afternoon. I love it!

So we went to bed retiring for the evening with smiles upon our faces ones that were still there when we awoke the next morning. Ahhhh!