Tucson and a return to Borrego Springs

We were in Tucson for 2 weeks and for the life of me, I don't know what all we did.  We did get the carpet, tile, and ceiling cleaned by Kyle of Complete Carpet Cleaning in Benson.  Luckily he comes to Tucson.  I would highly recommend him.  We did do the mandatory trip to Costco.

We got together a couple of times with good friends Rodger and Sharon.  Rodger does wood-carving and his pieces are beautiful.  He gifted me a Kokopelli carving I had been drooling over.

We met Al for dinner one night at the casino for prime rib.  He has been traveling with a SOLOs group.  They provide lots of activities for their members.  He is always doing something.

There were a few short walks at Tucson Mt. park.  With my sciatica I can't walk very far or stand for any length of time which is seriously a pain in the ass for me. Walking has always been my thing!

We decided we wanted to go back to Anza Borrego to see the wildflower superbloom.  We were not disappointed.  Since the temps were high we stayed at an RV park in town as we didn't want to be couped up inside running the generator in order to boondock out in the desert which would have been our first choice.

We took off early on a Monday morning hoping to beat the crowds.  The weekend was gridlock with traffic at all the popular locations.  The flowers were at their peak.  We even found some cacti blooming up in Glorieta Canyon.

Yuma to Ajo

We got our couch back from Ricardo, the upholsterer, and it is absolutely beautiful.  I am so pleased with his and Arlene's work.  They gave us a time frame that fit in with our month-long stay and delivered right on time.  I would highly recommend them if you happen to be in Yuma; 928.919.3950.

After a month in Yuma in an RV park, we anxiously headed to Ajo, and Darby Well Rd. for some boondocking time in this beautiful location.  We seem to be repeating years past as we return to our favorite places.  The sunsets, the mountain views, the funny gesturing saguaros, the quaint artsy town
all at our fingertips.

Anza Borrego to Yuma by way of Quartzsite

Our final days in Anza Borrego were highlighted by the arrival of Canadian friends, Dan and Heather.  Not only did they come for a visit, but brought dinner with them.  Now that's some super-special friends.

In Quartzsite we spent a few days boondocking at Hi Jolly BLM just north of town.  The big tent RV show opened on January 21 and Howard went down the next day to look for a few products we use on a regular basis.  The only vendor he could find was the Orange Oil wood products. He was hoping to find the Dri Wash'N Guard cleaner we use on the motorhome's exterior, plus a water filter, and a few tools.  These we can find in Yuma.

We spent a great afternoon visiting with Nan and John Talley who are parked at La Posa South.  Like many of our friends, we first met the Talleys in Anza Borrego two years ago.  The following day we all met for pizza at Silly Al's; the Tallys brought Sandie and Jim Dixon, and we invited friend Al, who was parked with the Escapees SOLO group. It was great to meet Sandie and Jim and see Nan and John again.

On to Yuma!  We have a list of projects and repairs needing to be done and Yuma is the perfect locale
with access to all or most of our needs.  We decided to stay at an RV park with full hookups for a change and decided on Caravan Oasis in the Foothills area east of town.  It is an old park but we thought the monthly price of $535 was reasonable.

First was to find someone to reupholster our living room couch.  Our friend Beth, who lives in Yuma, provided a great rcomendation.  Ricardo and Arlene came over with samples and prices.  We picked a vinyl beige (Sand) color.  Ricardo measured and Arlene soon provided us with a price which we thought was very reasonable.  Our 16 year old couch was soon dismantled and hauled away.  If we are satisfied with their work we will have our remaining 3 chairs done next year.

I also found Ron's Mobile Screen Door repair and he came out right away and replaced the old screen that had been damaged by one of the granddogs running through it.  We have an appointment with a mobile RV service and repair place.  We are hoping they can fix a water leak we have around our slide by replacing the rubber seal.  We also need to get our Hurricane heater functioning which has been the source of some not so nice language over the years after dealing with one problem after another.

By now we are needing some fun.  Friends Beth and Chris invited us over for dinner at their new home in the Foothills.  We had a wonderful time catching up and enjoyed a great dinner.

Once we have most of the repair work done, we can concentrate on getting to Algodones for a check-up with our dentist, Dr. Jorge Cortez.  We both have issues we need to attend to.

So no beautiful pictures to share. And not very exciting commentary.  We all have these times when things need to be done and not much time for sightseeing.  We did drive over to Ogilby Road to check out the boondocking sites.  We will definitely go there on our next boondocking outing.  Also keeping an eye on Anza Borrego as the wildflowers will soon be blooming.  Hoping for a good season after all the rain we have had.  And speaking of weather, the winds have died down and we  have been enjoying sunny days with highs in the mid 70s here in Yuma.

Until next time~~~

Anza Borrego Desert 2017

The Anza Borrego Desert has been our "go to" place for many years, usually arriving mid-December and staying through the holidays and most of January.  This year is no different, however, the weather has been a challenge.  We've had every thing from howling, sand blasting wind to rain and very few days of sunny, warm, be outside kind of days. Even the spectacular sunsets have been few and far between but here are a few noteworthy exceptions:

With the rain comes the greening of the desert floor.

Now is when we really miss our Jeep Wrangler and all the off road trips we've taken in past years. Our Toyota RAV 4 is 4-wheel drive but not Jeep 4-wheel drive!! Its low clearance and small tires are very limiting to where we can go.  But there are still a few possibilities like 17 Palms Oasis and Fonts Point:

About every 10 days we drive up to the State Park to dump tanks and refill with water.

Every year we revisit the Brecedo sculptures on display around town:

With the temps near freezing we are not surprised to see a dusting of snow on our surrounding mountains.

Sadly our Wave 6 propane catalytic heater died so we're having to order a new one.  Our only other heat source is a small electric heater and since we're boondocking we'd have to run the generator in order to use it.

Another challenge to traveling is being able to find a salon for a decent hair cut.  I recently had mine cut and now it's so spiky it looks like a bird on my head.  I'll not post pictures of this one!

Otherwise, all is well.  We're not sure if we'll head to Quartzsite or check out the boondocking on Ogilby Road near Yuma when we leave here next week after receiving our heater and some mail that is being forwarded.  We thought we might like to see the big RV show but don't like all the crowds, so we might just hunker down on Ogilby Road for awhile.

Post Townsend, WA - Strait talk

The Strait of Juan de Fuca extends east from the Pacific Ocean between Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula about 95 miles inland to Puget Sound.  Port Townsend is bordered by the Bay of Port Townsend and Admiralty Inlet, which intersects the Strait.  In other words, we are surrounded by big water and lots of marine activity.

Click on the maps for a more detailed view.


The town is a Victorian seaport and arts community. With its maritime heritage, artist spirit, and a touch of urban chic, Port Townsend is an easily accessible base camp to the Olympic Peninsula and beyond. 

The Point Wilson lighthouse at Fort Worden

We've been coming here every year, same site, since 2009.  We had been staying at the SKP's Evergreen Coho RV park in nearby Chimacum and took a drive one day to check out Port Townsend. We were drawn to the Point Hudson Marina mainly to see the boats and splendid views. The RV park is nothing special.  Most of the full hookup sites are expensive, graveled, and close together.  We decided to check in at the office for more information and were told they had two boondocking sites for $20 each per night (since upped to $30).  Our site 361, is about 50 feet from the water and entertains us with a constant flow of boat/ship traffic.  Never a dull moment though lots of lazy ones.

An afternoon parade of schooners (insert Howard drooling)

Jefferson County Courthouse - Uptown

In years past we have done many all day trips to see Seattle, Port Angeles, Sequim, and all the local hangouts.  There is RV parking at Fort Worden State Park and Fort Townsend State Park as well as the Elks Lodge and Jefferson County fairgrounds.

There is a great little local theater that shows currently running movies as well as art and eclectic films, and the best ice cream at Elevated Ice Cream, both located downtown. There are lots of shopping opportunities from second hand shops to chic, expensive ones. There is Doc's restaurant located here at the marina which we enjoy for the convenience and every type of eating pleasure you can imagine in town.

Victorian downtown

During our 12 days we hung close to home, not feeling any pressure to do a daily tour as in year's past.  We've been catching up on our reading and exercise. And both of us got haircuts (whoopee).  A walk from the marina uptown is a long steep hill that gathers momentum as it reaches it's high point in town then starts back to downtown again. Three or 4 outings like this gets the old legs aching and the knees screaming!

The ferry docks are busy during the summer season with two ferries running about every hour, making for easy travels between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island, about a half hour scenic trip each way.  The downtown streets are packed with tourists arriving by small cruise ship or ferry.

The hot dog spot downtown framed by a great mural

This is what we do most of the time!

Anacortes - Gateway to the San Juans

Anacortes is known locally as the Gateway to the San Juans because it's a hopping off point for ferry traffic and pleasure boats going to the islands and Canada.  For us, Anacortes is a destination in and off itself.  It is one of those places, like Port Townsend, that we visit at least once a year.

We stay at the Cap Sante Marina which also provides dry camping for RVs and great views of the marina and boat traffic.  The marina location is centrally located providing an easy walk into the historic downtown, and access to miles of trails for walking and biking.  Shopping and restaurants are all easily accessible.  We arrived just in time for the annual Art Festival which is a huge event bringing folks from far and wide.  Plus there are weekly Farmers Markets providing entertainment and a great selection of sustainable produce.  In other words, there seems to be a constant flow of activity in this vibrant seaside community.

Just hanging out with the girls!

Howdy

Murals on downtown buildings

At Cap Sante marina overlook...

Mount Baker rising out of the fog...

At the Saturday Farmers Market

We'll be leaving here by ferry returning to Port Townsend for our annual 2 week stay at our waterfront site at Point Hudson Marina. 

21 Years of full-time RVing

Yep, this year marks our 21st anniversary of living and traveling full-time in a motorhome.  We've had two, a 91 Dolphin MH and the Country Coach we have now, purchased in 2001. Those first few years we did a lot of driving, trying to cram as many locations as possible in a period of a few days.  It was nothing for us to drive cross-country a couple of times a year.

In 1995 we had two grandchildren born, Daniel in Sun Valley, Idaho and Noelle in Redwood City, CA.  We were there for both!  Oh the joys of being mobile!

One of our bucket list locations was Zion National Park. The photo below was take on a walk along the Virgin river toward the Narrows. We stayed in the national park campgound, enjoyed summer days, barbecued dinners, and lots of walks.  We always put our awning up before we go in for the evening....accept for one night.  The day was balmy, no wind.  Not good as it turns out!

About 1 a.m. in the early morning hours we had a loud knock on our door.  It was the park ranger saying we had to evacuate immediately.  There had been a landslide and the Virgin River was rapidly reaching flood level.  We had a mess outside to put away, especially the awning put. We filed in with a bunch of other campers and followed the ranger up to higher ground.  The next day we found out the hotel was isolated by the slide and patrons were stranded.  Supplies were rapidly running out.

  Our cozy campsite at Zion before all hell broke loose.  Notice all the stuff that had to be put away at 1 a.m. when the ranger told us we had to evacuate,

What follows in a series of old photos taken from road trips we visited in the first few years. The pics should provide a lot of laughs.

At Arches National Park

At Capitol Reef, we think.  

At Bryce Canyon National Park

At Mount Rushmore

At Devil's Tower

Crater Lake

Campeche, MX

Admiring the electric in Campeche, MX

Howard climbs to the top of the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itsa

I however, did not make it to the top.  Too steep and scary!

Sunset cruise at Acapulco, MX

Rafting the Salmon River in Idaho with Bill and Carol

At Glacier National Park

Tunnels at Custer State Park, in South Dakota

Mount Rushmore

Hot springs by the Rio Grande, Big Bend NP

Hiking at Big Bend

The marina in Victoria,  British Columbia

Native dances in downtown Vancouver, BC

Liard River Hot Springs BC, on the road to Alaska

The London Bridge at Lake Havasu, Arizona

This is enough for now!  I will continue to work toward the present in future issues.  Many thanks to daughter, Terri, who spent a lot of time going through boxes of old photos and scanning them.

Our current location is the Elks Lodge in Port Townsend, very nice for $20 per night. We will be allowed to leave the motorhome here when we go on our cruise to Alaska on July 23rd.