Return to Tucson

After a driving trip to Sacramento for Christmas, we arrived back in Tucson just a few hours ahead of one heck of a storm.  We rocked and rolled all night long.  When John got up at 5 a.m. this morning, the outside temperature was 50 and it went down to 39 before going back up to the day's high of 48.  Thankfully, our furnace was repaired this morning as we are suppose to see the mid-20's as a low tonight. Brrr.  When we left on the 20th for Sacramento, the day temperatures were in the upper 70's; we hope they get close to that again real soon.

Our visit to Sacramento was very busy what with doctor and dentist visits and then the holiday.  We had a great time spending time with Melissa, family and friends.  We left Sacramento on Monday the 27th and we were met with the expected fog this time of year.  From Natomas (suburb of Sacramento) past Stockton, we drove in dense valley fog.

Thankfully, the fog dissipated after Stockton and all we had to do was deal with the traffic on I-5.  We have never driven this Interstate when there was so much traffic.  I guess everyone had the same thoughts of us about not leaving on Sunday.  We spent the night in Lancaster so that I could visit with my sister, Jan, as we hadn't seen her for a couple of years now.  It was nice getting caught up and just seeing my big sister.

Upon leaving Lancaster, we drove through the mountains that had the remnants left of the storm we drove through on the 20th.  The snow made for a very nice picture.

We had originally planned to stop at Joshua Tree National Park on Tuesday but between traffic and the distance involved, we changed our minds and decided to just head for Yuma.  Our drive afforded us the view of the Salton Sea (which goes on for miles).  We pulled off the road to an area we thought would give us a good shot but the area looked like an apocalypse had struck it - burnt out homes, vehicles, abandoned lots.   The area was very depressing and had definitely seen better days. It gave us a very weird feeling compounded by seeing a lot of people dressed up in paramilitary outfits outfitted with paintball guns (we didn't realize that at first!).

We got in to Yuma around 3 p.m. our time (4 p.m. Arizona time - - right, we lost an hour) and checked in to the motel.  We decided to go check out an RV park that recently opened which was very nice but out of our price range especially for the months of January through March.  We then decided to go to dinner and based on a review I read on TripAdvisor.com, we chose Ciao Bella.  Not a problem, we will just type in the address on the GPS and away we go.  It wasn't that easy.  Seems the GPS didn't recognize the address so I called the restaurant and we were guided in by Eric who was fabulous with his instructions.  Now, one of the problems was that we didn't know where the heck we were and he kept asking us questions that we had no way of knowing how to answer.  After a few minutes and a wrong turn or two, Eric  had guided us in and was standing outside giving us instructions by phone until he waved us in.  What service!  I told him on the phone that the food better be worth it lol.  He told me it would be and he was right; John and I both enjoyed our selections and the ambiance of the restaurant.

As we headed out on our final leg back to Tucson Wednesday morning, we were treated to a beautiful Yuma sunrise.

After the beauty of the sunrise to a mileage robbing headwind, we finally made it home.  There is no place like home no matter where you park it.

As this most likely will be my last post for 2010, John and I wish you and yours a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011.

Greetings

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

First rain since arriving

We have been here in Tucson since November 1 and just today received some rain.  Up to today, we have been enjoying beautiful weather in the low 80's.  Having seen all the bad weather across the nation, we have felt blessed to be here.  Shorts and sandals in December is mighty fine!  The downside to this beautiful weather is that it makes it hard to believe that Christmas is less than ten days from now.  Our psyche's are geared for cold, damp, foggy weather not this beautiful sunshine we've had.  Rudy, the mascot here at Justin's Diamond J even got into the holiday spirit.  

With the day a bit gloomy, I wrapped Christmas gifts and even indulged in a bit of Christmas music . . . so it's beginning to feel a lot more like Christmas.  

An occasional trip to town and a lot of doing nothing has been what we've been up to.  Once a week, we have been going to the local Indian Casino for their Tuesday night buffet - $8.30 a couple (drinks included).  At that price, who can afford to cook or why would you want to especially when the food is decent?  At night, we have been playing cards or Pegs and Jokers with Rick and Y.  That nightly ritual has been put on hold as they headed off to the Austin area yesterday to spend the holiday with their dear ones.  We were going to surprise them with a Road Trip Survival Kit we made up by leaving it on their Jeep early in the morning for them to discover when they headed out.  They had told us they would be leaving around 7 a.m. so we figured around 6 a.m. would be a good time to get the deed done. Well, the surprise came back to us as John went out at 6:05 a.m. to put the bag on their car and they were GONE!  They left at 6 a.m.  Shoot . . . so much for trying to be stealthy lol.  Soon, we will be on our own road trip when we head to Sacramento to spend the holiday with Melissa.  Must admit that we are starting to get antsy about hitting the road ourselves.

We won't be having a beautiful sunset tonight, so I thought I would share a couple of pictures of some of the majestic sunsets we are gifted with here in the desert.  Pictures just can't do the sunsets justice.  Enjoy!

 

Another month gone

Where or where did November go?  We've done a lot of enjoying the warm sunshine and watching the antics of the birds around our bird feeders.  We have learned one downside to drawing the birds in and that is that it also draws in birds of prey.  A Peregrine Falcon nailed a Gamble's Quail right behind the Palo Verde Tree right behind our site while we were out talking with neighbors.  We see him/her cruise the area almost daily. We now call the bird feeders the Falcon Smorgasbord. 

Mid-month we saw our friends, Rick and Y Dyer, arrive.  Good conversation, laughter, and card games take place almost nightly.  We helped Y celebrate her birthday as she is slowly catching up with me.

We flew out Thanksgiving morning to Sacramento.  We had no issues to report with the new TSA procedures and amazingly, our flights were all on time.  Melissa picked us up at the airport and we headed directly to Bonnie and Butch's house (John's sister and brother-in-law) for the feast.  As usual, Bonnie outdid herself.  Here is a picture of the whole gang of family and friends.

We have a new baby in the family after a 10 year dry spell and needless to say, Emma is very popular.  Here is a picture of Melissa with Emma in the darling outfit Melissa picked out special for her.

Finally, after dishes were done, I was finally able to have a little special time with Emma myself.  She was so relaxed stretched out on my lap that she fell asleep for about an hour.  What a sweet little thing she is.  

When night time came, our batteries had pretty much ran out as we had been up since 2:30 a.m. Alas, another confirmation that we aren't as young as we once were.  What a great day with family and friends and all were  reminded as to how many things we have to be thankful for.  We hope your Thanksgiving was equally wonderful.

We did not partake in any Black Friday shopping but did Christmas Tree shopping with Melissa instead.  As this is her first holiday in her condo, she wanted a real tree.   After a few stops, we found the right tree and took it back to decorate.  I got snookered into putting the lights on and then Melissa finished up making the tree very festive looking.

We had a nice time in Sacrament but it is was so nice to get home.  The weather in Sacramento was in the low 50's so it was especially delightful to have 80 degree weather today.

We had asked Rick and Y to keep an eye on our place while we were gone.  Rick told us he was going to put a For Sale on the rig to see how much he could get for it lol.  We got a call from Rick on Monday saying that there appeared to be a problem with our furnace as it wouldn't come on without tripping out.   Rick and John tried to trouble shoot it but to no avail.  Found out today that the bearings in the motor burned up and we need a new motor which will take a week or so to get.  Thank goodness for electric heaters as it was 47 degrees in the rig this morning brr.

Settled in at Tucson

We arrived in Tucson on Monday and got settled in to our site here at Justin's Diamond J.  The RV park is probably only a third full at the moment.  It will be interesting to see when the influx of  snowbirds start arriving for the winter.

Yesterday, we took a drive to Green Valley to go to their Farmers Market.  To me, a Farmers Market is primarily about produce with other items also available to purchase.  However, in Utah and now Arizona, I have discovered that Farmers Market means sellers selling primarily items other than produce.  Such a disappointment. We did, however, purchase two fresh tamales along with three samples of salsa that we took home to eat for lunch.  They were very good.

The wind has been blowing so strong the past two days, that we sought out something indoors to enjoy this afternoon.  We decided on the International Wildlife Museum.  Click on this link for a description of what the museum is all about.  The first thing we did was buy the Tucson Passport for $15 which has many 2 for 1 discounts for many of the popular attractions here in Tucson.  The Passport pays for itself rather quickly when you visit popular Tucson sights.  We saved $8 on the admission to the museum - passport almost paid for. 

 Very real looking dioramas

 Beautiful face

The displays are beautiful and the museum is well worth seeing.  Most of the animals/insects on display we would never have the opportunity to see if not for some wonderful examples of taxidermy.  

The wind has finally lessened which allowed us to enjoy the evening sitting outside where we heard coyotes off in the distance and got to enjoy the beautiful sunset.  Got to love this view.

Life is good.

A little farther south

After leaving Buckskin Mountain State Park, we drove down to Brenda, AZ and spent a couple of nights at Black Rock RV Village where we caught up with friends Bob and Brenda.  They had spent the summer working in Yellowstone NP and then spent a month in Moab so they had lots to share.  It was nice to spend some time with them.

From Brenda, we headed to Picacho which is about 20 miles south of Casa Grande.  We had spoken with the owner in July about a possible winter job but decided not to take it which was a good thing what with Melissa buying a condo.  Frankie requested that if we came by the area, that we stop in so true to our word, we did.  Frankie and her husband recently had to take the RV park back from the previous owners who pretty much neglected the facilities and customers.  So Frankie and her husband have had to do a lot of grounds work, remodeled the on-site restaurant where Frankie cooks home-style meals five nights a week, remodel the meeting room and just freshen up most everything else.  They are now left to also rebuild their client base.  With what they have gotten done in just a few months, I think they'll be able to do just that.  The new name of the park is Arizona Hideaway.

Yesterday, we took a drive into Casa Grande and took in the movie Red at their new mall.  Movie started a bit slow but did improve as it progressed.  While we did enjoy the movie, I'm glad we paid matinee prices and not full price for it.  We drove around Casa Grande and when we were here in 2008, we don't remember it being as built up but then again maybe we didn't get to the newer side of town.  Had a good lunch at Eva's Fine Mexican Food on N Pinal.  We both enjoyed our lunches, the restaurant is beautiful inside and it didn't break the bank.  The complex the restaurant is in is a little confusing as we almost walked into a State Farm office thinking it was the restaurant.  We were going to get fuel after lunch and noticed a station showing diesel at $2.99.  When we stopped after lunch at Eva's imagine our surprise when the price read $2.89.  Whoeee! That just doesn't happen. 

Today we went to Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch.  Admission is $5 per person and you get a large cup of food to feed the critters and a small container of nectar to feed the Lorikeets.  We enjoyed ourselves in 2008 so we decided to go back.  It is a fun thing to do that won't break the bank.  Lots of parking and if you are just driving by, exit 215 and take the frontage road until it dead-ends at the ranch. 

Guys and their trucks

 I'll be your best friend as long as you give me food.

Ostriches are a bit intimidating when they have their necks stretched up long and are focused on the food in your hands.  They sometimes try taking your fingers as well as your hand in grabbing the food.

 

John getting fawned over . . . lol.

These goats were so funny as they practically crawled out of the holes in the wall to get to the food.  

John sure looks awfully happy with the Lorikeets.  They are very colorful and aren't bashful about getting to the nectar.  The attendant said they could take the lid off the container and I believe that they could.

 The birds will land anywhere -- not on my head you don't!

 

I took a short video (my first) of a Lorikeet that really got into his bath.  I wish I had filmed him for a longer period of time because he would go from the bird bath to the trough to a waterfall that you can't see and back again making sounds all the while.  I don't think he could have flown because he was so saturated.  It was mighty cute.

We are planning on arriving in Tucson on Monday.  Looking forward to being able to "nest" and bring out the bird feeders.

A little exploring

Last night we visited again with Art and Connie.  We had invited them over to play some Pegs and Jokers but we never got to the game as we were too busy talking.  Art and Connie left this morning for Yuma.  Safe travels you two.  

The park is doing some work on their water well and the guys started bright and early at 7 a.m.  So much for sleeping in. 

We decided to take the river drive on the California side of the Colorado River.  We didn't realize that there were so many mobile home/RV parks on both sides of the river not to mention some very nice looking homes.  The view from the California side was more attractive to us than looking at California from the Arizona side.  

We did get to see some wild burros.  Not surprising, they look just like the Custer, SD burros lol.

Next up was the Parker Dam which supposedly is the deepest dam in the world as 73 percent of its structural height of 320 feet  is below the original river bed.  The reservoir behind the dam is Lake Havasu.  Here is a link if you would like to read more about Parker Dam.

                                        

We were going to drive over the dam but the barriers were so close that we were concerned about scratching up the wheel fenders so we went back the way we came.  We did stop at one RV park that said $10 a night for full hook-ups.  What was the catch?  Well, the offer was good for three nights but you had to listen to their membership talk.  No thanks.

We stopped for lunch at Crossroads Cafe in Parker.  Actually, the service was good as was the Taco Salads which was a pleasant surprise. 

There is a RV/Marine store in Parker that is called Spanky's which is one of the best stocked RV stores we have ever been in.  We stopped in to browse and didn't see anything that we absolutely needed but we did have a nice conversation with the clerk about the area.

The rest of the day was just spent taking it easy.  Life is good.              

Buckskin Mountain State Park

The drive from Needles to Buckskin Mountain State Park on Tuesday was less than a two hour drive.  Gotta love that.  The state park sits along the Colorado River and is approximately 12 miles north of Parker, AZ and 27 miles south of Lake Havasu City, AZ.  Our site is nice and long and we can see the river from the kitchen and living room windows - very nice.  Bad thing is that we have no cell phone coverage.  Thankfully, we have our satellite so we do have internet and TV.

Just a short distance up the river is the Parker Dam so the river is slow flowing and very clear in the shallows.  Across from the campground, on the California side, there are a number of mobile home/RV parks that fill up with snowbirds (northerners avoiding the snow).  Right now, the area is in between the summer water crowd and the arrival of the snowbirds so vacancies are high. We aren't sure what our opinion is of this state park yet but I'm sure we wi'll have a better idea after this weekend. 

John was out taking some pictures for the blog when he heard John?  His first thought was that it didn't sound like my voice and then he heard, John Prather?  That really surprised him and  when he turned around he saw a couple of familiar faces - Art and Connie.  What a pleasant surprise.  We first met Art and Connie in Custer, SD in 2008.  At that time, they were doing extended travel but have since gone fulltime.  We follow their blog and last read that they were in Nevada and had no idea we would land at the same state park.  We spent the evening getting caught up while it rained.  We decided it was best to head home during the lull and it was a good thing we did,  as we had some real close lightning strikes and it just poured for a while. 

Needles, CA

After months of going to sleep in well lit rv parks, we had forgotten what a treat total darkness is.  Maybe that contributed to an excellent night's sleep in Bakersfield.  Our travel day to Needles was just another drive through the Mojave desert.  We found along I-5 and I-40 that the state (CA) does not bother to advise travelers that rest stops are closed so you pass up the one that is open thinking that the next one further down the road will be available.  Would it be so difficult to give travelers a heads up by putting up a closed sign over Next Rest Stop x miles sign?

When we pulled into the KOA in Needles (the only KOA we stay at), we were shocked at how empty the campground was.  Far cry from the number of rigs we saw in February.

Bakersfield bound

Bakersfield is not what we consider a destination spot but it is always our stop for the night on our exodus out of California.  It sure felt good getting back out on the road after spending two months in Sacramento.  Our trip was uneventful (thankfully) except for going through a short spurt of rain that got the truck and trailer filthy.  So much for cleaning them up before heading out.  With possible showers tomorrow, John said there wasn't any point in cleaning them up as they could get trashed again tomorrow on our way to Needles. 

Finally done

After 3 1/2 weeks, the condo remodel project is done.  It was a lot of hard work on everyone's part but the condo looks 100 percent better now than it did.  

Once the painting was done, Melissa had laminate flooring installed everywhere except the bathroom.  When we looked from the hallway to the bathroom, it quickly became apparent that the linoleum had to go.  Melissa chose to have the bathroom floor tiled and with her Dad's free labor, it didn't break the bank.  Thankfully the bathroom isn't large and Lowe's was nearby as it required several trips for tile to be cut.  John's brother-in-law has a tile saw that he offered to loan us but between the thought of hauling it up and down two flights of stairs as well as the mess it would make in the common area, we decided Lowe's was the way to go.

While John was busy in the bathroom, Melissa has a bistro set that really needed a paint job.  I offered to paint it if she bought the paint.  Not one to hesitate at getting a job done, soon Melissa had me priming and painting the set.  It looks pretty good sitting out on her balcony.

We are happy that we were able to assist Melissa in making this condo her home.  What this experience has also taught us is that we really don't miss owning a house and all the maintenance that goes with it and we are getting older lol.  Now that Melissa is settled in, we can now turn our attention to heading back out on the road that we will do next Sunday. 

Stolen bikes

We woke up this morning to discover that someone had used bolt cutters to cut through the steel chain locking our bikes to the landing jacks.  John especially feels violated because he loved his bike and this is the first time in his life that he had anything stolen from him.  Our bikes were there last night when we got home from Melissa's so we know it happened during the wee hours of morning.  Bummer.

At long last

Melissa got word that she would record by noon today YAHOO. She was going to get her keys around 1 pm and wanted us to meet her there with her cat and truckload of painting and other stuff. In keeping with everything else that has caused delays, we all get there and there is no key to get in! Melissa's realtor contacts the sellers realtor and supposedly the locks were rekeyed yesterday but no key was in the lock box. More calls with the locksmith stating he left a key. He says he will come by between 3 and 4 pm to cut Melissa a new key. Melissa went back to work while we hauled stuff up to the third floor and will wait for the locksmith. So Melissa owns a condo that she can't get into. She was also told a specific site was hers for parking.  Hmmm, John and I couldn't find it.  Another issue to get settled.

Thankfully, the locksmith got there earlier than expected.  He was perplexed that the key was not in the lockbox because he knew he had put the key in the lockbox and left two other keys on the kitchen counter.  He had a key and said if the deadbolt is locked (he left it unlocked), then a realtor was here and took the key.  Sure enough, the deadbolt was locked.  John and I told the locksmith that we didn't feel at all comfortable that someone had a key to our daughter's condo.  He had to agree so we asked him to rekey the locks at our expense.   His price was very reasonable, quick, and convenient.  Both John and I feel much better.  We did learn that all Fannie Mae properties are keyed the same way and the lock box has the same code country wide so when a property sells, they rekey the locks.  

John and and I got all the stuff inside the condo and went to work.  We got Melissa's bedroom ceiling painted and were well on the way to getting the dark walls primed when Melissa got home from work.  She had stopped at the store and got her working crew some sandwiches and cold drinks for dinner.  With the help of Ryan (Melissa's friend Kelly's husband), John got Melissa's bed up the stairwell after a trip to the storage unit.  Melissa was determined to sleep in her own bed tonight.  John got the water heater lit, shower curtain and shower head installed (former owners took the shower head).  While John was doing all of this, I continued on priming the dark walls in the bedroom.  We were very tired puppies by the time we got home at 10:30.  We are just so happy that the real estate limbo Melissa has been in is over and we now have plenty to do.  It will be fun helping Melissa bring her vision of what she wants in making the condo her home.

Waiting still

We have been in Sacramento four weeks today.  Melissa's loan was "suppose" to close around  August 20 and here we still sit.  None of the delays have anything to do with Melissa but  rather unprofessional "professionals".  No proactive thinking with this group.  I guess the real estate/loan industry feels everyone should just be darn happy they are willing to work with anyone.  This whole process is so jacked up.  I can't tell you the number of times Melissa has been told that closing was imminent when at the last minute another form is needed - oops that will be another 24 or 48 hours (happened twice in the last two and half weeks).  Once approval was given and Melissa signed her documents last Thursday evening, funding and closing was to happen Monday, Tuesday at the latest - both days have come and gone.    Oops, another issue has reared its head.   Got to get the necessary form and approval before the loan can be recorded.    No wonder people are just giving up on trying to get real estate loans.  Good news: loan was funded today.  With all these "delays", John and I feel really bad that we didn't complete our commitment to Fort Welikit because it is very apparent now that we could have.  Sigh.

Cal Expo only allows you to stay 30 days so we were faced with having to move to the Elks who only allow you to stay one week (no sewer hookups).  We figure once we actually start work on Melissa's condo, it may take us two to three weeks to get everything the way she wants it for now.     John had been told by some Elk Knight that longer stays than one week were allowed.  When we stopped by the Elks to see if we needed to make reservations or just show up, the very unfriendly almost bordering on rude woman working the front desk made it sound like extending would be a problem.  Great.  Trying to take the road of least resistance, we decided to try to see if Cal Expo would work with us by allowing us to extend another month (A month is cheaper than three weeks).  Thankfully, we were approved.  We will have to change sites on Friday which we will gladly do.  One problem solved, now if only Melissa could get her docs recorded and be given her keys so she/us can move forward.  Any inconvenience we've experienced is nothing compared to the limbo Melissa has been in the past few months.  She said that there is no way she ever wants to go through this again.  Maybe it is like childbirth and given a few years, she'll change her mind lol.  

Still waiting

We arrived back in Sacramento on 8/18 under the belief that Melissa's purchase of a condo would be closing soon.  We are still waiting.  There have been a lot of bumps along the way and the frustration just keeps building.  It is believed that everything Wells Fargo needs/wants was put in their possession on Monday, 8/30.  Here we sit waiting for final approval so that documents can be drawn and signed.  After waiting 2 1/2 hours on the phone with Wells Fargo yesterday, the underwriter was told that a decision would be made today or Friday.  I wouldn't want to put any money on it what with a three-day holiday right around the corner.  The lack of customer service and the amount of BS being fed is outrageous.  No wonder so many who would like to buy a home at nearly basement bargain prices just give up.  What a waste of time and energy.

We did get Melissa moved out of her apartment and items put in storage.  We have a very full 5th wheel as Melissa and her cat are staying with us.  Melissa did spend one night with friends enjoying a good nights sleep on a regular bed while her cat had a total meltdown for 12 hours and neither John nor I got much sleep because she was not going to be pacified.   Unfortunately, Melissa's friends have cat allergies so she couldn't take Hayden with her so she (Melissa) had to return to stay with us . . .  no Hayden.  I guess Hayden wore herself out after her 12 hour meltdown as she was pretty darn mellow before and after Melissa arrived.  If Hayden kept Melissa awake last night, it wasn't at the pitch from the night before when we (and possibly our neighbors) were kept awake, as I only heard soft meows on occasion.  This experience has confirmed to John and I that we do not want any pets at this point in our lives.

I didn't think we would ever say this again but we are soooooo ready to get with painting, unpacking and such.  May this logjam break soon or there will be three of us humans having a meltdown.

While all of this condo craziness has engulfed us, our family did have some good news what with the arrival of our great-niece Emma Leigh Kinnear on August 31.  Welcome to the family Emma and we can't wait to meet you.

Back in Sacramento

Our daughter is trying to purchase a condo and we got word last week that it looked like the closing would happen the middle of this week.  Our boss, Paul, knew what was going on with Melissa and was fine with us leaving three weeks early as the campground got through the Sturgis Bike Rally and the campground season would begin to slow down.  We hated not completing our commitment to Paul but felt we needed to be there for Melissa for such a big moment in her life.

We packed up and headed out on Sunday morning and arrived in Sacramento around noon today.  We had four hard days of travel.  That is to say for the way we normally travel.  We wanted to be here when the condo closed as there is painting to do, baseboard to replace, and heaven knows what else is on the agenda.  However, Melissa was blindsided today by a glitch that everyone is feverishly working to get resolved quickly.  Poor thing is so frustrated as this has absolutely nothing to do with anything she can control.  She told us this evening that she knows that we can't do anything to help with the matter but that it was comforting just knowing we were here.  Hopefully, this glitch can get resolved quickly as Melissa has to vacate her apartment by 8/31 so that is also an additional bit of pressure and concern to her.   She is learning about the unexpected items in life that blindside you when you least expect them as adults.  Sometimes "being an adult just sucks" as Melissa said.

We plan on being here at least a month so for the next few days it looks like we will be able to recover from the hard travel, get haircuts, and maybe get a bike ride or two in before we have to move Melissa.

Sturgis Bike Rally in full swing

The "official" Sturgis Bike Rally is 8/7 through 8/14 but the motorcycles really hit the Black Hills the beginning of August.  We have far more motorcycles in the campground this year than last.  Tent sites are pretty vacant but the RV's towing utility trailers have descended big time.  It is estimated that attendance for the Rally is up considerably for the 70th anniversary.  To our eyes, we would have to agree.  The weather seems to be cooperating as thunderstorms aren't being called for until Thursday or Friday and the temperatures are warm but pleasant.

We were woke up at 5:45 a.m. yesterday morning by a Harley that started up and sounded like it was right under our bedroom slide.   From the sounds, it seemed like it was ridden down a short ways (to buy a newspaper?) and then returned.  Did not make us very happy.  Thankfully, no repeat this morning.

We had to make a trip to Rapid City yesterday to have new tires put on the truck (OUCH) and must have seen a hundred plus motorcycles for every car on the road.  The road coming down from Mount Rushmore was backed up as far as my eyes could see with mostly motorcycles. It was quite the sight.

What was suppose to take only two hours to have our tires installed ended up taking four hours due to a boneheaded tire installer.  Even-keeled John even lost his cool and was not happy.  As we always try to make the most of any trip to Rapid City, we had errands to run after the tire install which put us back home a little before 9 p.m. - it was a long day.  Then as we were trying to settle down to go to sleep around 10:30 p.m., we had a few Harley's driving past us (very noisy) and campers talking and laughing loudly right outside our bedroom slide (how rude).  So much for "quiet hours".  Other than a few instances of bad manners as described, I must say that the motorcyclist enthusiasts have been good guests.

The rest of the week is going to be spent laying low and working on the rig.  Lots of hard work but we always feel better when the fifth wheel is clean and looking good.

Life is good here in the Black Hills.

Bald Eagle sighting, fishing, and rain

We went fishing this morning as one heck of a rainstorm was suppose to be coming in this afternoon.  The fishing at Bismark Lake wasn't anything to brag about - I caught 3 Perch and John 0.  The surprise thrill we got was a close-up view of a soaring Bald Eagle.  It soared over our heads and fished the lake for a while and then headed off towards Stockade Lake.  This was a first as we haven't seen any Bald Eagles in the area.  Once again, where's the camera when you need it?  Once the Bald Eagle left, the lake was then worked by a pair of Osprey's.  If we would have had the camera, we could have gotten some really nice pictures.  Darn it.

Sure enough, the rain came down in buckets for a couple of hours.  Just took the opportunity to do some reading.  Once the rain stopped, it turned into a beautiful evening and one would have never known that it had rained.  Typical Black Hills weather.

Later in the evening, Frank and Sherry (co-workers) came over to share some pictures with us and us with them.  I think we have given them a good reason to visit Arizona during the winters months.

Another lovely day in Custer.

Special day

Today was my birthday.  Many thanks everyone for the calls, cards, and emails.  I truly appreciate all of the lovely thoughts and best wishes.

When I went to work at 4 p.m., I was in for a surprise.  There were three of my fellow Workampers in the office.  I jokingly asked if they were having a party to which they replied yes.  Ha, ha I thought.  Sure enough, more Workampers came into the office (John included) as well as Paul and Sandy (campground owners)cake and ice cream was brought out, as well as birthday cards.  The gang even joined in to sing Happy Birthday to me.  I was shocked and so very touched by the thoughtfulness.  Paul and Sandy gave me two tickets to the Flying T Chuckwagon Supper & Show which should be fun.  All of this came about because John asked one of my co-workers, Helen, about a place he could get a gift certificate for a massage for my birthday.  Soon the plotting and planning was in the works . . . even John was kept out of the loop.  Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty blessed and thankful for having such wonderful people in my life.  Thanks again everyone!

Hail yes

Being from Sacramento, we aren't use to getting hail much larger than pea size.  So it was a surprise to hear thunk, thunk, thunk on our roof while we were eating lunch.  We looked out and saw these large balls hitting the ground and rolling along so we had to get a picture.

Thankfully, the hail didn't last for long and never got larger than 3/4 inch size.  The hail passed through and then the rain, thunder, and lightning started in.  We had one thunder clap that was so loud that the lightning strike must have been really close by.  Yikes!  

Later in the afternoon, I heard that Sylvan Lake Road toward Highway 16 really got blasted with hail.  We saw proof of that when we went into town later in the evening.  While some of you have much experience with large hail, this was a first for us. 

Melissa's visit

Melissa was suppose to arrive Friday evening but due to plane mechanical problems that would make her miss the connecting flight to Rapid City, her arrival was postponed until Saturday.  As always, we were very happy to see and hug our beloved daughter.

The days' planned activities were slowed by John feeling pretty crummy.  We were able to get the prerequisite drive around the Custer Wildlife Loop where we saw antelope, deer, bison,.  What would the drive be without feeding the burros . . . or in this case, burro.

John and Melissa were going to go on a Trail Ride Sunday morning while I worked my shift but John was not feeling up to it.  Actually, it was a good thing because it started to rain just as they would have been heading out and it rained for several hours.  

The days were low keyed and  we managed to fit in several hands of Wizard and Shanghai.  Melissa was certainly on a winning streak (all time high at Wizard) until which time her dad started feeling a bit better.

I now know that PIGS CAN FLY.  How could I know such a thing?  Because here is a picture of Melissa with her fishing license!

Out on the boat with her dad:

And with a fish (the only one caught for the day):

Being a fair weather gal, the fishing trip ended once the wind came up along with threatening skies.

Today, on the way to Rapid City to take Melissa to the airport, we stopped at Bear Country USA.  This was on her list of must do's.  It is always lots of fun to watch the antics of the baby bears.

We planned her visit months ago and here it has come and gone.  It sure was nice having her around for a few days.

Another great visit

John's sister, Bonnie, and husband, Butch, arrived Monday afternoon, got set up, and settled in for the dinner we had ready for the weary travelers.

Tuesday we visited Bear Country USA, Mount Rushmore, took the drive on Iron Mountain Road through the tunnels and Pig Tail Bridges towards the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park.  Here are Bonnie and Butch at Bear Country USA.

The drive through Custer State Park proved to be more successful than last week's drive when we took our visiting friends through the park.  This time around, we saw everything the park had to offer.  Here are Bonnie and Butch feeding carrots to the "Wild" Burros.

We also got to see a couple of large herds of Bison.

The next three days were spent fishing and visiting.  Everyone caught fish on Wednesday (wish I had the a copy of the smiling picture of Bonnie with her first catch of the day . . . darn, it was on her camera!) at Center Lake.  Thursday was a bust as no fish were caught at Sheridan Lake.  On Friday, only the guys went fishing as Bonnie had a stomach ailment so us girls laid low at the campground.  John and Butch were successful  fishing.  The first Bass of the season was caught by Butch at Bismark Lake.

This little guy was released just like all the others caught on the fishing expeditions.

Saturday was a trip to Jewel Cave - the second largest cave in the world.  This really is a beautiful cave and has just about everything a cave can offer.  One of our tour companions was nice enough to take this picture of the four of us deep underground.

We capped off the evening by going up to Crazy Horse Memorial to watch the laser-light show and the night blast celebrating Ruth Ziolkowski's 84th birthday (wife of the deceased sculptor) and the 134th Anniversary Of The Battle Of Little Big Horn.   The Memorial only has two night blasts a year: June 26 and September 6 (the observance of dual anniversaries - the 1877 death of Lakota leader Crazy Horse and the birth date of sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski).  Everyone enjoyed the evenings entertainment and the weather cooperated much better this year than last year.

Sunday morning found us saying our goodbyes as Bonnie and Butch headed back to Sacramento.   Bonnie and Butch had been in Iowa visiting Butch's parents and friends and then attended an Aliner Rally in the Amana Colonies.  They swung north specifically to visit with us and we are very happy that they did!  After hugs and safe travel wishes, Bonnie and Butch got on the road while John and I worked our shifts at the campground.  What a nice time we had catching up, laughing it up, and getting to share the beauty of the Black Hills with two people who mean a lot to us.

Special guests

We were blessed to have friends fly out from Sacramento for a quick visit.   Janis and her two sisters, Jane and Jean, flew in on Thursday for a whirlwind tour of Custer and the surrounding area.  We picked the ladies up on Thursday and they flew back to Sacramento early Saturday afternoon.  We had a lot to show them and boy, did we ever.

We stopped at Bear Country USA, Sylvan Lake, Eye of the Needle, drove Iron Mountain Road and Custer Wildlife Loop (saw no herds of Bison!  Unimaginable.), Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse.  Not to mention stopping at the Alpine Inn for bacon-wrapped filet mignon, the Purple Pie Place for pie and  other local eating establishments.

What a great time we had visiting and showing them the beauty of the Black Hills.  The only negative was that Jane came down with a stomach issue on Friday and felt really poor the entire day.  What a trooper she was!  She came especially to see Mount Rushmore and saw it she did.  Here is a picture of the Jean, Jane, and Janis.

These are three of the nicest ladies you can ever hope to meet.  We feel very blessed that we can count them as friends of ours.  Ladies, anytime you want to come and visit us wherever we might be, you have a standing invitation.

Checking in

Wow, it has been almost three weeks since my last entry.  We must be having fun or not doing much.  We've worked, hung out, been fishing, and made weekly trips to Rapid City.  Yawn!  See, not too much to write about.

This afternoon it is 47 degrees outside and raining . . . when is it going to stop?  It would be lovely if the sun would shine for more than a few hours a couple of days a week.  There is a glimmer of hope for some good weather later this week.  I certainly hope so as we have friends flying in from Sacramento for a quick visit.  Doing the tourist thing in the rain really is not that enjoyable and we want them to have a great time as we have lots to show them.

John split wood this morning with the splitter and is now bundling it up for later sale.  He erected a tarp between trees so that he could keep working while it rained.  As it has been cold all day, I took him some hot chocolate instead of a Diet Coke around 3:30.  He wasn't being bothered by the rain at all and even had the golf cart under the tarp keeping it dry.  Last weekend, John built a jig for stacking the wood into the right size and then bundling it all at an easy height.  Pretty smart thinking as there is a lot of wood to be split and then bundled this summer as the ready for sale supply is nearly gone and the busy season is almost upon us.  

Well, that is about it from Custer for now until next time . . . bye.

Severe Weather

Severe Thunderstorm Warning
High Wind Warning
Tornado Watch
Flood Warning
Flood Advisory
Flood Watch

I guess you can say we are having some severe weather!  We are fine and quite comfortable. 

While we knew that we were expecting some rain and high wind this afternoon, we decided to take a drive up to Rapid City this morning figuring we would be home long before the bad weather hit.  Our door latch/handle broke over the weekend and we wanted to see if we could find a replacement.  Nope, we had to order one from Petersen Industries and are having it shipped to us.  While in town, we stopped at Cabela's and Sam's Club, had lunch and got diesel.  As John was finishing up getting diesel, thunder and lightning started up as did the heavy rain.  We heard on the radio that Custer had softball sized hail - YIKES!  I called the campground's office and was told that they had small hail and lots of rain.  Whew - we were happy to hear that.  The drive home was rather treacherous with heavy rain and good sized hail.  John had to pull over once as visibility was so poor.  As we got half-way back to Custer, John said "Well, this is a stressful drive home".  How true.

Sheesh, we are so ready for good weather. 

Update for the past week

We've had fog, rain, thunderstorms, severe weather with a tornado warning, and bits of sunshine (rare).  Thursday it wasn't suppose to rain but was cloudy and breezy and John was itching to go fishing!   We headed up to Center Lake around 9:30 a.m. to take the inflatable pontoon boat (Sea Eagle Foldcat 375fc) out for its true maiden voyage.  It takes a bit to get it all set up but with teamwork, we are getting the hang of it.  Once out on the water, we were catching trout . . . some really small to some 12 to 14 inch long chubby ones.  Since we catch and release, we aren't limited and easily caught over 30 trout between us (we lost count).  I really enjoyed the whole trolling bit which was a lot easier than in the kayak.  The electric motor is so darn quiet that there is no distraction from the peace and quiet of being on the water which I really enjoy.  It was also nice to be able to easily chat with each other and assist the other with their catch.  I don't think we are going to miss the kayaks one bit.  We must have been enjoying ourselves because before we knew it, it was 3:30 p.m. and we were starving.  I had brought snacks only as I didn't think we would be on the water that long (another lesson learned).  When the fishing is good, one doesn't pack it in early!

Friday, we took the boat up to Stockade Lake with plans to be off the water at noon before the thunderstorms rolled in.   We were trying our hand at bass fishing - what a bust.  It was windy, cold and not even one nibble.  As we headed in, we got to see an Osprey fly over us with a fish in his talons and land in a tree to enjoy his meal.  Glad he had luck fishing.  We were off the lake at noon and as we headed home, it started to sprinkle so we had good timing in getting off the water.

John is working on fixing some barbed wire fencing during his work shift this weekend.  Last night on my shift, I checked in some campers as business is starting to pick up.  Hard to believe that next weekend is Memorial Day weekend - let the campers arrive. 

Sunshine on our shoulders

Today was an absolutely beautiful day with a high of 60 degrees.  Whoo hoo!  We went into town and everyone was commenting on the beautiful weather.  The locals are more than ready for good weather as they have all commented that eight months of winter is enough.  We've only had two weeks of winter and we couldn't agree more.  

We had Customer Service Training to attend at the high school.  Just like last year, their chosen speaker was very entertaining and had a good message about attitudes.  Like we told Paul, our campground owner, having a good attitude is no problem when working in the campground.  I guess it would be more difficult if one was working retail, restaurant or motel/hotel.  

The gorgeous weather had us pulling out the chairs to sit in the warmth of that elusive golden orb.  We have really missed sitting outside simply enjoying our surroundings.  The blue skies and sunshine has kicked in John's desire to go fishing.  It is already on the agenda to go up to Rapid City on Monday to purchase our battery for the trolling motor and get our fishing licenses.  I told John that it is a good thing that we have the inflatable pontoon boat because if we still had the kayaks, we would be waiting a while or shore fishing.  No way would I walk into the water up to my thighs right now to launch the kayaks - talk about cold.

Talk about elusive sun, tomorrow is suppose to bring showers and/or thunderstorms.  Sure hope they are wrong.

Snow Day

Official records said Custer received 5 inches of snow but we only recorded 2 1/2 inches before it started to melt once it got above freezing. Our high for the day was 35 degrees.

It was very strange to have melting blobs of snow drop down on the roof of the rig while watching it snow like mad at the same time.  Sometimes it sounded like we had someone dropping onto the roof the rig and run the length of it.  I ventured outside to enjoy some of the white stuff - John stayed inside.  Here are some pictures of our winter wonderland:

 

Is this Spring or Winter?

Another cold day with snow flurries on and off all day.  A winter weather advisory has been issued with the possibility of 4 to 8 inches of snow - holy cow!  John and I say "bring it on", we are ready.  The snow actually started sticking to the ground around 6 p.m. so it will be interesting to see what it looks like when we get up in the morning.

Rapid City visit

As we had a service appointment at the Ford Dealership this morning at 9 a.m., we were on the road by 8 a.m.  It was raining as we left and the rained pretty much continued all day.  The service was completed by 11 a.m. with the news that we will need to purchase new tires before heading back out on the road.  We figured that this purchase would be needed soon, so we weren't too surprised.  When you make the drive up to Rapid City, you make the most of the trip.  We had lunch and did some needed shopping.  We got back home at 5 p.m.  so it was a long day.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a lovely conversation with my darling daughter this morning so my Mother's Day was complete. 
 

If you are a mother, we hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day.  If your mother is still alive, we hope you took the time to let her know how much she means to you.

Cold Cold Cold

We were woken up at 3 a.m. this morning by the sound of our furnace running out of propane.  Now, we had the automatic switchover valve on the regulator turned on so that when one propane tank ran out of fuel, the other tank would come on automatically.  At first we thought it was working properly but then it started sounding strange.  John got up and went outside to turn off the empty tank and manually turn on the full tank.  Neither one of us was able to get back to sleep very easily.  When John took the tank up to have it filled, it was only half-empty.  So the $64 question is why didn't the switchover valve not function properly?  We had the valve replaced last year.   

It's been cold today - we reached a high of 38 degrees.  We have had snow flurries on and off all day.  At times, nearly white-out conditions and then the sun will shine and the snow will stop for a while.  After being stuck indoors all day yesterday, we stopped at Subway for lunch and then took a drive up to Sylvan Lake to see what it looks like surrounded by snow.  This is one of the most scenic lakes in the area.

As of this evening, most of the snow from yesterday has melted and the snow that came down today has not stuck around. Tonight we are suppose to have a low of 16 degrees.  This may be a new low for us.  The weather can warm up anytime now but based on knowledge from last year, we may have a couple more weeks of inclement weather.  John will start his first work shift tomorrow so he better bundle up. 

White Fluffy Stuff

When I woke up this morning, my first thought was I wonder if it snowed last night.  John greeted me with "Good Morning, we have an inch of snow on the ground and more is falling."  The snow continued to fall until almost noon.  Here is a couple of shots taken from our rig.

Later in the day we did get to see the sun.  The high temperature today was 37 degrees and the low tonight is suppose to 25 degrees.  Brrr.  Thank goodness our furnace is working well this year unlike last year when it took a couple of weeks to get it fixed.  

As we spent the day indoors, we didn't do much today other than some reading, computer playing, and me making soup.  We did get a couple more visitors welcoming us back.  John and I are so touched by all the warm greetings and confirms our decision to return to this wonderful place.  

Travel Day - Cinco De Mayo

Our time in North Platte, NE came to an end.  We have been watching the weather in Custer and decided that we had a window of opportunity to make the drive up before bad weather and strong winds took hold for a few days.  It was going to be a long drive (336 miles) so we got an early start and was on the road around 8 a.m.  Other than a headwind all the way, the drive was a pleasant one.

We saw one deer and a number of herds of Pronghorn Antelope before reaching the Black Hills.  We also saw our first bull Bison's as we got near Wind Cave National Park.

Driving through Custer as we headed to Fort Welikit Family Campground felt like we were coming home. Once we got to the campground, we checked out our site and were warmly greeted by Helen, a fellow workkamper who stays in the park year around.  We were very pleased to see that the ground was dry as last year the ground was very wet and soggy that caused us some grief in getting backed in to our site.  This time around, the backing in went without a hitch which was good as we had campers and fellow workkampers watching.

After getting settled in, we made a trip to the grocery store so I can make soup for tomorrow as it is suppose to be a wet and/or snowy kind of day.

Later in the afternoon, we were welcomed by Michelle, a fellow workkamper we met last year, and the campground's owner, Paul.  John and I were touched by the warm greetings and look forward to another summer in the beautiful Black Hills.

North Platte, NE

We finished up with our service center visit on Tuesday.  Paid our bill and purchased the cute table we had our eyes on.  The table fits nicely between our chairs.  Tuesday afternoon we took the factory tour and saw some of the new changes to the new models which are a good thing in our opinion.  Tuesday night, all four couples having work done met at Pizza Hut for dinner which was a lovely way to spend the evening. 

Wednesday morning we were still undecided as to whether to head towards Lincoln to stay at a campground  for a few days or just head towards North Platte.  After saying our goodbyes, we decided to go with the wind and headed towards North Platte.  We decided to hang out in North Platte for a week as the Custer area is having snow and rain showers.  Not too anxious to get in to that.  Our decision actually proved to be a good choice as the Lincoln area is having severe weather this evening along with tornado watches.

Smith Center, KS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISSA!!!!

We made it to the Excel Service Center late Friday afternoon and spent the weekend  backed up to one of the service bays.  Come Sunday afternoon, three other rigs rolled in to join us.  Another case of water intrusion due to lack of maintenance, a broken frame at the pin box, and several other issues with slides.  We almost feel guilty because we really don't have any "issues" but are here for a few small warranty items, preventative maintenance and to have a couple of items we want installed.    

We were up at 5 a.m. to shower and have breakfast before having to be out of the rig by 6:30 a.m.  Good heaven's . . . it was still dark outside.  Our list of items isn't very long so we may only be here a day or two.  We met with our technician and went over the items that were on our list.  Once that was done, we discussed some concerns of ours regarding maintenance.  We doing as much as possible to avoid experiencing the results of water intrusion ($$$) so John discussed what we've done and what we are planning on doing.  Our technician told John that we were on the right track and that we were ahead of the curve regarding the maintenance of our rig when compared to most RV owners.  Steve said that it was always amazing at how people who once owned homes and did regular maintenance on them, spend all this money on a  RV and then do nothing and then are surprised when they have problems.  I guess it pays to be anal . . .  err detail oriented.  

If our bill doesn't break the bank, we have our eye on a cute cherry colored folding table that could sit nicely between our two chairs and fit nicely with our decor.   Oh, oh.  The deal is if something comes in, something must go.  We'll have to give that some thought.   

Still hanging out at Wilson Lake

We've had a few decent days with which to enjoy the sun but the wind does blow daily.  Yesterday was the first day where we just had a slight breeze until late afternoon.  The Park Attendants have arrived for their summer shifts.  We spoke with one, Gary, who has his fifth wheel all tethered down to lag bolts in his site.  He confirmed that the wind really blows here.  He said that us visitors get to leave but they have to stay through all the bad weather.  Doesn't sound like my kind of job for the summer.  I get incredibly tired of the wind pretty quickly.

One nice morning, we got our inflatable pontoon boat out to put on the South Dakota tags so that we are legal when we want to use it.  Here's a picture of our SeaEagle Foldcat - looking at the stern to the bow.

The taller seat will be in the back for John to steer the electric motor and the short seat is well for the short one (me). 

While we had the boat out, John couldn't resist taking it out for a row as we had a nice little beach area where we could easily reach the water.

 John hadn't rowed anything since he was a kid so it was a bit of a challenge.  When he was coordinated, the boat went smoothly along.  It won't take him long to get the hang of it.  The oars are for backup should our battery die before we are done fishing or get back to shore.  Good thing we don't have neighbors because John and I sat on the seats out in the sunshine and talked for a while . . .  our neighbors would surely have thought we had a few screws loose.  Then again, maybe they'd be right!  We are looking forward to getting the boat out to do some fishing once we get to Custer and the weather improves.

Last night the thunder and lightning started around 2 a.m.  When I heard the first rumblings, I jumped up and got with deploying our satellite dish - don't want to encourage a lightning strike.  John slept through all of this until the big claps of thunder started in.  The thunderstorms kept on until almost 9 a.m. with more to come tonight.  Oh, goody.

John called me to our kitchen window to see that the pair of Canada Geese that hang out here were behind our rig along with a Cattle Egret.  First time we've seen anything other than the geese in the area.  He was rather pretty with all of his plumage blowing in the wind.

There haven't been many people camping here while we have been here.  A few rigs did come in for the weekend just past.  One of the rigs belonged to a couple with a Aliner Sportliner.  This unit is a bit smaller than the Aliner LXE we owned.  We had a total of 72 square feet of living space so I know they have even less.  Since A frame RV's are near and dear to our hearts, you would have to know that John would have a conversation with one of the owners.  Now get this, they are full-time RVers in this:

We did great on two-week vacations in the summer or weekend trips in the winter but to live full-time in one - crazy.  The couple were avid geocachers and were gone all day every day.  Now, I have no idea what they were doing, (laundry, grocery shopping, geocaching) but being gone every day all day seems like work to me. Also, these units have only a porta-potty and no shower.  The showers here won't open until May 1 so I guess military showers were the order of the day.  They were parked near the vault toilets.  I did comment to John that I know how small their refrigerator is and wonder how in the world they do it.  I complain about our 8 cu foot refrigerator not being big enough sometimes and theirs is only a 3 cu foot. Clothing and food storage?  Mercy.   My hat goes off to them because I know I couldn't live full-time in one.  They give a new meaning to the world minimalist.