We have been busy making plans for our trip. While it sounded like fun to just take off and not make any reservations and just wing it, the cost would have been too high. Since we own several camping memberships that provide us with no or low cost camping sites that is what we are going to use. We have found that this takes some long term advance planning. But we think we have it covered.
Our first stay will be at Desert Pools RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs, CA. This is in the Palm Springs, and Joshua Tree National Park area. We will be there for two weeks (this is the max time at our membership parks), giving us plenty of time to explore.
The next stay will be at a commercial RV park near my Dad's house in Tucson. The name of the place is South Forty RV Ranch. On our way to Tucson we are going to stop in Quartzsite and Buckeye,AZ.
After Tucson we will be spending the next three weeks in the Benson and St. David, AZ area at two resorts Valley Vista and Western Horizons St. David RV Resort. This is in the Tombstone and Bisbee area. A visit to Karchner Caverns is also in our plans.
The next stay on our adventure will be at Pilot KnobRV Resort in Winterhaven,CA (this is across the Colorado River from Yuma). But to add to the adventure we are staying a couple of nights in the small Arizona town of Ajo (pronounced ah-ho) we'll let you know how it is.
This puts us at about mid trip we have more plans that I'll share in the next couple of weeks. My plan is to insert these stops on the map in the right column of this blog so you can see where we are on the map. I also plan to change the location of the weather sticker to show the conditions we are putting up with, probably not for the short stays but surly for the stays of a week or more.
Anyway this is a start, More Later, Rich
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Shout Box upgrade
OK just for you Gail, I upgraded the shout box so now you can enter up to 300 characters (letters, numbers, spaces, etc) into a message. If you have more to say just post it (shout) and pick up where you left off in a new message. Or you can always go to the comment link at the bottom of the post. It will also tell you if anyone else is currently viewing the blog. I see that you found the smiley's. For everyone else just click the "+" at the bottom and choose a smiley to add to your shout. Have fun trying it out.
More Later, Rich
More Later, Rich
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Added a weather sticker to the blog
I plan to change this sticker when we are in new locations so you can see our weather where we are. Lets see how it works.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Cool Day at Ike Kinswa
Saturday was a very enjoyable day, the temperature never rose out of the 50's. We cooked out, and played cards all day anyway. A fire was enjoyed by all, what a great day with good friends.
Our rig parked in the trees I have been playing with the blogger to see how to enhance our posts and make it more interesting for folks to follow. Next I think I'll try to add a weather sticker so everyone can see the conditions we are enjoying. That way maybe Jerry won't feel like I'm rubbing it in.
Today we head home, I'm going to continue to post and let you know how our plans and preparations are coming along.
More Later, Rich
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Ike Kinswa State Park
Yesterday we traveled from Ocean Shores to Ike Kinswa State Park to hook-up with Deb and Jerry. This is a nice park on Lake Mayfield and set in some old growth forrest. They have already shut down most of the park for the winter but the loop we are in is open all year. They have five really nice cabins they rent that overlook the lake. We are going to hang out and play some cards before heading home tomorrow. We have a really slow internet connection here because we are roaming so they limit us to slower than dialup speeds. So I may not be able to post a picture today.
More Later, Rich
More Later, Rich
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Ocean Shores Mushrooms
More later, Rich
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Ocean Shores
We are at Ocean Shores RV Resort for a couple of days just to relax and get some RV time. We love being in our motorhome and are looking forward to the "Big Trip 2008/9". I hope everyone will again follow our adventures this year. I have come to think of ourselves as snowbirds since we will be in the south for the winter.
Our travels start on Nov. 29th. Unlike last year when we drove all the way to Tucson by driving US highways and state roads, this year we are going to jump on the interstate and head south. Our first stay will be in Desert Hot Springs California. This is in the Palm Springs area and will be new to us. After two weeks there we go to Tucson for Christmas with my Dad.
I have added some goodies to the right side of the blog, on it is a map that I will update to add our stops along the way so you can see exactly where we are. This is a live map that you can move around and zoom in on, you'll probably want to click the link to make it larger, so have fun with it.
The other new feature is a shoutbox, where you can make comments and also read what others have to say, or even talk to each other. Just please put your name on top so we know who to respond to. By the way, this is not a public blog so only our friends and family will see what we all have to say.
In the days leading up to our departure I'll keep everyone posted on our preperations and fill you in on where we are going.
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Our travels start on Nov. 29th. Unlike last year when we drove all the way to Tucson by driving US highways and state roads, this year we are going to jump on the interstate and head south. Our first stay will be in Desert Hot Springs California. This is in the Palm Springs area and will be new to us. After two weeks there we go to Tucson for Christmas with my Dad.
I have added some goodies to the right side of the blog, on it is a map that I will update to add our stops along the way so you can see exactly where we are. This is a live map that you can move around and zoom in on, you'll probably want to click the link to make it larger, so have fun with it.
The other new feature is a shoutbox, where you can make comments and also read what others have to say, or even talk to each other. Just please put your name on top so we know who to respond to. By the way, this is not a public blog so only our friends and family will see what we all have to say.
In the days leading up to our departure I'll keep everyone posted on our preperations and fill you in on where we are going.
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Restarting the blog
Well this blog has sat here since last November unused and unread. We are starting to plan our trip for this year, so I think I'll use it to run some ideas and test some new toys for it. I use Google's free photo program "Picassa", they also have a web album feature that we can insert links to so you can see more pictures than we post in the blog itself.
Stand by, Rich
Stand by, Rich
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
HOME ! ! !
Posted by Rich
We are home, the motorhome is home, and the trip is over.
We caught a ride from Coburg on Sunday afternoon with Deb and Jerry back to Vancouver. I had a doctor appointment that I needed to keep on Monday. I called the repair shop and told them where we had hidden the keys, they said that they would try to look at it that day. Kevin had called the Cummins rep and he said he would get them to give us priority treatment, well they called back in the afternoon to say it was fixed (it was a tripped breaker!!). So how much does it cost to reset an electricians circuit breaker? About $420.00 is all. The breaker was hidden behind a panel and it took the technician a while to find it and he knew what to look for. So this morning we drove to Coburg and picked it up. Anyway it's fixed and safely home in the driveway.
This is likely the end of these posts until we go off on another adventure.
We want to thank everyone for reading our blog, we certainly enjoyed sharing with everyone.
If you have read and enjoyed our blog and would like to read it on our next adventure, send us your email address via ramarange@aol.com and we will have the blog send a notice that we are blogging again.
Until the next time, Rich and Gloria
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We are home, the motorhome is home, and the trip is over.
We caught a ride from Coburg on Sunday afternoon with Deb and Jerry back to Vancouver. I had a doctor appointment that I needed to keep on Monday. I called the repair shop and told them where we had hidden the keys, they said that they would try to look at it that day. Kevin had called the Cummins rep and he said he would get them to give us priority treatment, well they called back in the afternoon to say it was fixed (it was a tripped breaker!!). So how much does it cost to reset an electricians circuit breaker? About $420.00 is all. The breaker was hidden behind a panel and it took the technician a while to find it and he knew what to look for. So this morning we drove to Coburg and picked it up. Anyway it's fixed and safely home in the driveway.
This is likely the end of these posts until we go off on another adventure.
We want to thank everyone for reading our blog, we certainly enjoyed sharing with everyone.
If you have read and enjoyed our blog and would like to read it on our next adventure, send us your email address via ramarange@aol.com and we will have the blog send a notice that we are blogging again.
Until the next time, Rich and Gloria
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Sunday, November 18, 2007
Sitting in Coburg, OR
Posted by Rich
Edited by Gloria
Yesterday (Saturday) we were driving home northbound on I-5 about 3 miles north of Coburg, Oregon when everthing died electrically, the wipers stopped, the engine died, the lights went out, everthing electrical having to do with the coach. Lucky for us we were able to get over to the shoulder ok. Not even the emergency flashers were working, I did turn them on in the Suzuki. Good Sam Roadside Assistance sent out a tow truck, made arrangements with Cummins Northwest for them to work on our rig, but they are closed for the weekend. They do have water and electric hookups, and that is where the tow truck parked us. So we are sitting in Coburg waiting for them to open on Monday morning. This place is situated accross the street from the Monaco factory and down the road from the Marathon factory where they make those multi-million dollar Prevost coaches, maybe we will just trade this in on one of those:) Our son-in-law Kevin has contacts/connections with Cummins Northwest and he is using his influence to help expedite our repair on Monday. They even offered to have someone come in on overtime to fix it but decided to forego the extra expense.
I have a doctors appointment at 9:00 AM on Monday or I'll run out of my meds before I can reschedule. Deb and Jerry are still at Belknap Springs and are stopping to see us and we may hitch a ride home with them and return after I see the doctor.
Well if it had to happen this is probably as good a place to break down as any, better than out in middle of nowhere or going down a mountain with no room to pull off the road, we've been to both those places on this trip. Well, we are safe, reasonably comfortable, dry, and we still love each other, what else do we need?
More Later, Rich
Until Next Time, Gloria
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Edited by Gloria
Yesterday (Saturday) we were driving home northbound on I-5 about 3 miles north of Coburg, Oregon when everthing died electrically, the wipers stopped, the engine died, the lights went out, everthing electrical having to do with the coach. Lucky for us we were able to get over to the shoulder ok. Not even the emergency flashers were working, I did turn them on in the Suzuki. Good Sam Roadside Assistance sent out a tow truck, made arrangements with Cummins Northwest for them to work on our rig, but they are closed for the weekend. They do have water and electric hookups, and that is where the tow truck parked us. So we are sitting in Coburg waiting for them to open on Monday morning. This place is situated accross the street from the Monaco factory and down the road from the Marathon factory where they make those multi-million dollar Prevost coaches, maybe we will just trade this in on one of those:) Our son-in-law Kevin has contacts/connections with Cummins Northwest and he is using his influence to help expedite our repair on Monday. They even offered to have someone come in on overtime to fix it but decided to forego the extra expense.
I have a doctors appointment at 9:00 AM on Monday or I'll run out of my meds before I can reschedule. Deb and Jerry are still at Belknap Springs and are stopping to see us and we may hitch a ride home with them and return after I see the doctor.
Well if it had to happen this is probably as good a place to break down as any, better than out in middle of nowhere or going down a mountain with no room to pull off the road, we've been to both those places on this trip. Well, we are safe, reasonably comfortable, dry, and we still love each other, what else do we need?
More Later, Rich
Until Next Time, Gloria
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Friday, November 16, 2007
Back in the Wet
Posted by Rich
It has poured all night here. The sound of the rain is soothing at night, this place is so peaceful and quiet that we are getting some great sleep. Yesterday during a pause in the rain we went for a soak in the hot mineral water pool, very relaxing. Afterward we took a walk through the gardens, even in the fall/early winter they are beautiful. Mostly we have been sitting around playing cards with Deb and Jerry, it's nice to be with friends again. We have had a great adventure and will do it again but it is sure nice to be with loved ones, we are looking forward to being with everyone at Thanksgiving.
Today will be another day of cards and relaxing then we drive home tomorrow. I don't know what we will do with our blog when we get home but it has been fun sharing with everyone.
More Later, Rich
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It has poured all night here. The sound of the rain is soothing at night, this place is so peaceful and quiet that we are getting some great sleep. Yesterday during a pause in the rain we went for a soak in the hot mineral water pool, very relaxing. Afterward we took a walk through the gardens, even in the fall/early winter they are beautiful. Mostly we have been sitting around playing cards with Deb and Jerry, it's nice to be with friends again. We have had a great adventure and will do it again but it is sure nice to be with loved ones, we are looking forward to being with everyone at Thanksgiving.
Today will be another day of cards and relaxing then we drive home tomorrow. I don't know what we will do with our blog when we get home but it has been fun sharing with everyone.
More Later, Rich
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
Belknap Hot Springs Resort
Posted by Rich
We met up with Deb and Jerry in Springfield yesterday. We had a wonderful reunion, and went to lunch at a local tavern. Jerry was working at the Springfield Fred Meyer Store. The drive to the resort follows the McKenzie River and is a beautiful trip. After we set up we just sat around catching up on things. It will be good to visit with everyone else when we get home.
We do have cell and internet service here but it's slow and weak, not very reliable. I hope I can post this without any problems. As I'm sure you have noticed there haven't been any pictures lately, well our connection is so slow and when we are roaming (like now) they have a habit of cutting you off when you try to upload files like pictures. Anyway there is a link to this place at the bottom of this post and they have some pictures on there, have a look.
More Later, Rich
http://www.belknaphotsprings.com
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We met up with Deb and Jerry in Springfield yesterday. We had a wonderful reunion, and went to lunch at a local tavern. Jerry was working at the Springfield Fred Meyer Store. The drive to the resort follows the McKenzie River and is a beautiful trip. After we set up we just sat around catching up on things. It will be good to visit with everyone else when we get home.
We do have cell and internet service here but it's slow and weak, not very reliable. I hope I can post this without any problems. As I'm sure you have noticed there haven't been any pictures lately, well our connection is so slow and when we are roaming (like now) they have a habit of cutting you off when you try to upload files like pictures. Anyway there is a link to this place at the bottom of this post and they have some pictures on there, have a look.
More Later, Rich
http://www.belknaphotsprings.com
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Seven Feathers Resort and Casino
Posted by Rich
We left Pixleyville and intended on stopping in Mt. Shasta, it was such a nice day and we were making such good time that we decided to continue on to Ashland, OR. We stayed at a campground called Glenyan RV Park, When we walked around I thought I remembered the place. Well it turns out that it used to be a KOA, and we stayed there on one of our trips when Dusty and Heather were little girls. It's a bit run down but it was quiet and comfortable.
In my haste to get over the pass I passed up the discount liquor stores. I wrongly thought there was one close to the border. Anyway we backtracked to Yreka monday morning ( only 36 miles) but we had to drive over that pass two more times, lesson learned when the boss says stop here you stop here. Anyway monday afternoon found us in Canyonville, OR, at the Seven Feathers RV Resort. This is a brand new place and is just beautiful. It is actually across the freeway and tucked behind some hills so it was very quiet, It's also very large 192 sites. The landscaping and facilities are very nice. We are here for two nights.
We leave here Wednesday to travel to Belknap Hot Spring and meet up with Deb and Jerry, then it's home on Saturday. I don't think we will have any internet connection while there, as this place is 55 miles east of Eugene, but we have been suprized before.
More Later, Rich
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We left Pixleyville and intended on stopping in Mt. Shasta, it was such a nice day and we were making such good time that we decided to continue on to Ashland, OR. We stayed at a campground called Glenyan RV Park, When we walked around I thought I remembered the place. Well it turns out that it used to be a KOA, and we stayed there on one of our trips when Dusty and Heather were little girls. It's a bit run down but it was quiet and comfortable.
In my haste to get over the pass I passed up the discount liquor stores. I wrongly thought there was one close to the border. Anyway we backtracked to Yreka monday morning ( only 36 miles) but we had to drive over that pass two more times, lesson learned when the boss says stop here you stop here. Anyway monday afternoon found us in Canyonville, OR, at the Seven Feathers RV Resort. This is a brand new place and is just beautiful. It is actually across the freeway and tucked behind some hills so it was very quiet, It's also very large 192 sites. The landscaping and facilities are very nice. We are here for two nights.
We leave here Wednesday to travel to Belknap Hot Spring and meet up with Deb and Jerry, then it's home on Saturday. I don't think we will have any internet connection while there, as this place is 55 miles east of Eugene, but we have been suprized before.
More Later, Rich
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Saturday, November 10, 2007
Posted by Rich
Another 300 mile day, the rains came just as we passed the city limits of Sacramento. We knew it would come but we were sad to see it anyway. This is the first time we have had to drive in the rain since we left home on Sepember 10th. Oh well. We are staying the night at a nice RV park, "Campers Inn and Golf", too bad we don't golf and too bad it's raining. In the morning we are going to drive to Mt. Shasta City for the night and watch the weather on the pass, the forcast is for snow showers at night and rain in the afternoon. Hopefully we won't have to wait until spring :-).
More Later, Rich
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Another 300 mile day, the rains came just as we passed the city limits of Sacramento. We knew it would come but we were sad to see it anyway. This is the first time we have had to drive in the rain since we left home on Sepember 10th. Oh well. We are staying the night at a nice RV park, "Campers Inn and Golf", too bad we don't golf and too bad it's raining. In the morning we are going to drive to Mt. Shasta City for the night and watch the weather on the pass, the forcast is for snow showers at night and rain in the afternoon. Hopefully we won't have to wait until spring :-).
More Later, Rich
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Pixley, CA
Posted by Rich
We are on the road. After avoiding freeways for the most part, we are now traveling on them for the rest of the way north. We continue to meet people headed in the other direction.
We did it again, we left Pahrump a day earlier than planned. We don't know how that happened, I guess we just didn't pay attention, or look at our calendar.
Our last evening there was wonderful, we went to a winery tour and wine tasting, followed by a gourmet dinner. We met some very nice people that were traveling from their summer home in Maine to their winter home in Texas, how interesting.
Well we need to hit the road in a few minuets.
More Later, Rich
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We are on the road. After avoiding freeways for the most part, we are now traveling on them for the rest of the way north. We continue to meet people headed in the other direction.
We did it again, we left Pahrump a day earlier than planned. We don't know how that happened, I guess we just didn't pay attention, or look at our calendar.
Our last evening there was wonderful, we went to a winery tour and wine tasting, followed by a gourmet dinner. We met some very nice people that were traveling from their summer home in Maine to their winter home in Texas, how interesting.
Well we need to hit the road in a few minuets.
More Later, Rich
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Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Pahrump Valley Winery
Posted by Rich
Pahrump Valley Winery
We are enjoying our stay in Pahrump very much. This is a place we would like to return to. We went exploring yesterday to an RV park we had heard about, it's called Terrible's Lakeside Casino and RV Resort. It is beautfully landscaped with lawns, trees, and flowers, set around a manmade lake. It's like an oasis in the desert.
Last night we went to the restaurant they have here, it's called Symphony, (named after one of their wines). It was probably the best dinner out of the whole trip. It was truly a gourmet meal, and the wine was very good as well.Today is Gloria's birthday and she wanted to just laze around for the day so thats what we are going to do. She also wanted cedar planked salmon for dinner so thats on my to do list for today.
I'm making plans for our return trip home, to stay down here as long as possible we are going to have to make some long drives to get home, plus it looks like rain a good part of the trip, oh well it's the price you pay to play.
More Later, Rich
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Sunday, November 04, 2007
Sunset in Pahrump, NV
Posted by Gloria
We left Las Vegas today and drove 100 miles west over the mountain range to Pahrump, NV. We are staying at one of our Western Horizon RV resorts at the base of Mt. Charleston, which is called Charleston Peak RV Resort and Winery. Yes, there is a winery on the property with a restaurant attached. The campground is hosting a dinner and wine tasting event on Thursday that we think we will attend. We plan to lay back and relax for a couple of days and explore the area. Several people we've met along the way told us there are two other nice campgrounds in the area and we are going to check them out. We took a picture of the sunset that we wanted to share. It is weird to have it dark at 5:00, good ole' standard time.
Until next time,
Gloria
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Sam's Town, Las Vegas
Posted by Rich
This is the interior courtyard of Sam's Town where they have a water/light show in the evening.
This is probably the "vacation" portion of our trip, we are being tourists, eating out, sightseeing, and of course gambling. The gods have not seen fit to shine their luck on us yet, but we are trying hard to find some. Yesterday we went back to Freemont Street to visit our favorite places and had a great time. Today we are going to visit a couple of the Station Casino's probably the Sunset, and the Boulder Stations (we have never been to the Sunset Station).
You have to wonder if we've been here to long and too often when you can find your way out of the casino's without hunting for an exit.
Today is our last day here, we move to Pahrump in the morning and are looking forward to going to bed earlier and eating at home (notice I've started thinking of our motorhome as "Home").
More Later, Rich
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Thursday, November 01, 2007
Las Vegas
Posted by Rich
This is where we are staying.
We are in Las Vegas, staying at Sam's Town on the Boulder Highway. We have always liked this casino so this sounded like the place to stay. The casino is still nice though the RV park is very crowded and rigs are jammed in side by side. Anyway, we are sleeping in our own bed and taking showers in our own bathroom. The first night we had neighbors that partied outside until 3:00AM. When we got back last night they were gone so it was quiet and we slept great. This morning the maintenance staff is making a repair to the water line at that site, I'll have to remember that trick to get rid of rowdy neighbors in the future, so they must have just moved them.
Yesterday after puttering around and doing the laundry in their laundry room, we took the free shuttle to Fremont Street and had a great time, we like that part of town and miss being there. We could probably get a room at the Fitz for free but we do like our own bed. Speaking of the Fitz, they are having random drawings of all the people using their players card every hour, well Gloria's name came up She was playing three card poker, (I was watching having not done too well), and they came up and tapped her on the shoulder to tell her she won. They had her pick an envelope and in that envelope was a certificate for $125.00 in free play (the winnings ranged in value of $25-$150), they also gave her a T-shirt then took her picture to post on the winners board, that was alot of fun.
Today we are thinking about going to the Green Valley Resort for a while. So I'll tell you about that next time.
More Later, Rich
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