Catch up #2

 

Well I have now gotten to Fall 2019 - we headed south again, stopping in Penticton to visit 2 sets of dear old friends. Onward via Keremeos, a favorite stop because of all the colorful fruit & veggie displays & across the border into the US.

 

Keremeos fruitstand

Okanogan

old friends, Richard & Sharon

We stopped in Bellingham, Washington to catch up with 2 wonderful couples that we met early on during our first trip down the Baja. Good food, cervesas, a bit too much Jack Daniels & some lively conversation!

Randy & Marilyn

Randy & Wendy

The ocean, any ocean, is my happy place, so we journeyed down Hiway 101 along the coast thru Washington, Oregon & northern California. We collected a bunch of driftwood, stayed in 3 very nice state parks & walked along most of the beaches.

 

Now that Robin has been introduced to obsidian knife making we decided to visit Glass Buttes in central Oregon to hopefully collect some obsidian. We had maps from a helpful Gem Trails book & then we ran into an old timer who was very happy to help us newbies. He showed us a good spot & even assisted in the digging! We came away with approximately 250 lbs of several varieties of obsidian, including one chunk weighing 31 lbs!

 

Driving through California seemed to take forever; we angled southeast until Arizona, spending nights in casinos or truck stops. We arrived in the Quartzsite area Oct. 28, spent the first night on BLM land & then headed to our full service RV site at Kofa Mountain RV. It was so nice to be returning to a familiar place with folks who were happy to see us! Our trip down was 4281 km, our site rent $400/mo. including power. Diesel prices $2.98/gallon.

 

overnight in BLM land

Now to the highlight of the winter – a family vacation to Puerto Vallarta in November!

We made the decision to stop giving our kids (the adults) gifts for a few years now with the promise of hosting a family get away every couple of years. It took a lot of planning with a very helpful travel agent to pull it all together; we flew out of Phoenix, the family flew out of Edmonton & we met at an all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta for a week of fun!

We hung out at the beach & the pool, played in the ocean, enjoyed the never ending beverages, did some touring & excursions & most importantly had some excellent family time! We even got to see a baby turtle hatch coming up from under the volleyball court! Considering the current state of travel we are so glad that we could have this adventure before the world went wonky!

 

out on an excursion

trying out a local taco stand

wild iguanas - eating carrot pulp

we ran into Robin's cousin Steven

a swim with dolphins excursion

We reluctantly said goodbye to the family & headed back to sunny Arizona, the kids headed home to Alberta.

Back to wire wrapping, volunteering to supervise in the lapidary shop, shaping & polishing cabochons (some from rock that we dug up on rock hounding trips), get togethers at our RV park & with the rock club. And 2 Thanksgiving dinners!

 

creating cabochans in the lapidary shop

cabochans that I made

wire wrapped scorpion, very tricky to make!

We met some old friends to celebrate her birthday on New Year’s Day, a chance to catch up.

 

Linda & Chuck

We visited Algodones, Mexico several times, an easy walk across for tacos, cervesas & dental check-ups (a whopping $25 incl xrays). On one trip we had a sign & our Costco coffee mugs painted – all done with cans of spray paint!

 

Robin was happy to take a steel knife making class, followed by a leather sheath making class – he was quick so the instructor encouraged him to start 4 new knives.

 

We lucked out on our choice of RV parks, we had wonderful neighbors, a lovely site with a palm tree that Robin could  ”tidy up” & bunnies to feed (I bought a 25 lb bag of carrots for them)! By the time we headed home the cacti were blooming!

A welcome visit from some friends we met in Mexico, Don & Kelly

Maralyn & Lonnie, friends & fellow rockhounds

Covid 19 hit while we were still in Arizona, empty shelves in the store but not much more going on – resturants stayed open, people still gathered. We avoided get togethers our last few weeks there as we waited for the weather to improve in Alberta. Being full time in the motorhome with -20C wasn’t something we wanted to endure. We were back in Alberta the end of March & spent our 2 week quarantine in an RV park in Lethbridge where it hit -17C & our water system had several frozen lines! It was a long 14 days but we managed; luckily we had filled our fridge before we arrived.

 

Bridgeview RV in Lethbridge

yes I do drive this thing!

We returned to Elk Island Retreat campground, a new site that we then had to “fix up” – seeding lawn, planting berry bushes, wildflowers & a container vegetable & flower garden. When we arrived half the site was still under a couple feet of snow!

 

This summer was a very busy one for us – we agreed to help out at our campground doing garbage pickup, outhouse cleaning & painting; and once they were allowed we resumed doing Farmers Markets. Initially we could be found at Sherwood Park’s Baseline market but we quit mid-season as we didn’t feel comfortable with the level of Covid compliance. We did enjoy being part of the weekly Ft Saskatchewan Farmers markets even with having to wear masks throughout.

We fed the birds & enjoying watching them, did some hiking, a couple canoe trips & some visiting with old friends (at a distance). We certainly missed all the summer festivals & events that were cancelled due to Covid 19, we had to create our own entertainment.

 

a distanced visit with Trudy & Pat

a pop in with Edna & Rick

a drive by our old house & yard near Two Hills

We attempted a camping trip with Adam, first the solar quit so we had to head home, then about 27 km from home we had a warning light & the RV quit. Turned out to be a hose clamp on the radiator hose that broke resulting in leaking all the coolant onto the hiway. Not able to drive we called AMA, a flatbed semi picked the motorhome up, had to go a very long way home to avoid a "low" bridge height & dropped the RV off at our campground. Luckily we found a mechanic that does "house calls"! All better!

We also continued with markets & creating more things to sell at markets.

Fordite pendants

And of course, as much time with family as we could arrange.

 

trying to clear out a beaver dam blockage

we climbed a mountain!

if Grampa can do it.....

this one loves to climb trees!

the family mugshot!

Our 3 sons!

did some Sturgeon River valley cleanup

Robin's 64th

my brother Colin & Lesia

birthday #8

Birthday #5

Grampa, you are too old for that!

we get a lot more exercise than when they were little!

a housewarming visit with my niece Angela & AJ

my birthday #63

on my birthday

Despite the threat of illness from Covid 19 & the changes to everyday life that it has brought, we continue to be happy & are Living the Dream, all the while with masks & physical distancing!