Meeting a whole passel of fellow Canadians.....

 

Our Location: 

North of MM 4, Ogilby Road, Winterhaven, California

 

A windy morning but bright blue skies and a bit warmer temperatures. Morning coffee time  was outside but it was closer to 2 pm when it ended. Back home for lunch and to edit a few photos. 

 

 

While looking out the window I noticed a silver truck pulling in near the White Lion. Before long a familiar voice called out and I recognized Ivan (Roadtrip  ) as our visitor. Outside at the Stinger B we meet fellow Canadians, Ernie and Deb, whom we met our first year out in the desert, and Don and Donna (Driving Miss Donna ), all of them hail from the western provinces of Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Deb & Tom ( Celebrating the Dance ), Doug ( Miss Adventure Travels ), Riley and I were surprised but delighted when they all showed up. Laughs of course, problems solved, things were learned and a good time was had by all. We hope to see them again before we all leave the area. 

 

 

Chatted with my dad again tonight. Lots of snow there, at least a foot and more on the way in the next few days. Cold also has settled in for a while. Condolences to the McGauley family in the passing of Stacey, at far too young an age. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you all had an enjoyable day! 

 

Until  next time...

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

Some cleaning, cooking and reading....

Our Location: Saddle Mountain BLM, Tonopah, Arizona

A cooler start to the day this morning. I slept soundly last night and didn’t hear anything until after 7 am this morning. I like those kinds of nights. I checked the temps this morning Dad and it was 35F/1.6C, does that make you feel better yet? 

 

Ernie & Debbie's rented rig, from up on the roof of the Igloo

I turned on our buddy Mr. Heater, the little guy, and he heated up the Igloo pretty quickly. Riley was awake already and roused out of bed before 8 am. We had no real plans today and so we just kind of putzed around doing  a few things. After our hot chocolate we discussed a number of things including the thought of moving to avoid the cold that’s coming. We’ve decided to stay put. A couple of cold nights and a bit cooler days won’t be too bad and maybe the cooler air will make it feel a bit more like Christmas. It’s hard to know. 

 

A bit different view from up on the roof of the Igloo..

I paid a couple of bills on line, registered my Lynx blocks for their ten year warranty, and checked out the weather. After that I looked up a recipe for turkey/sausage meatloaf. Can you guess what we had for lunch?

 

I found my Inukshuk a better arm.

I started making the meatloaf immediately as I wanted to let it rest for a while to kind of firm up before cooking. In fact I wrapped it in saran and put it in the freezer for about 45 minutes. It firmed up very nicely by the way. Riley made our salads and the mixed veggies so they would be ready to just pop on the Weber whenever we got around to cooking lunch. I kind of cleaned up the fridge a bit while we had so much stuff out. The crispers needed a bit of wipe, and the bottom shelf of course, along with one of the shelves in the door. So while those things have been tidied a bit, I’ll have to defrost the fridge in the upcoming weeks anyway but at least it looks a bit better. 

 

Can you see the dust in the air? 

Riley and I have been debating about the replacement for the love seat. We chatted about a number of different options we have. We’ve settled on something a bit different than our original plan.  In fact the results have been enough to allow us to have more space for our replacement options. In fact we’ve decided on two separate chairs along with a table (having at least 2 drawers) in between. I think we’ll really like this much better.  The solution was easy, we just moved the table.

 

The sun setting on the mountains. 

A short few minutes later.

After our interior fix we both sat down to read. I’m enjoying my book but I was extremely restless today and so the book couldn’t hold my attention. Instead I wandered outside looking for something to do. It was too cold in the shade, too hot in the sun, add a sweater, take it off, move here, move there. You get the idea. I came up with the idea of cleaning some of the dust off the door screen which of course at my height means I need the 6’ step ladder. While removing the blue boy and the step ladder I realized just how sun faded some of the bungees are, I’ll be looking for some more new ones in the near future. 

 

A few minutes later again...

With the ladder off and the screen door cleaned I grabbed some paper towels and proceeded to do the kitchen window, then my bedroom window. As they weren’t in the sun, eventually I moved to Riley’s bedroom window, and two small windows in the slide. I stopped with 3 more windows to go as they were too heated from the sun to attempt any kind of cleaning at that point. I’ll have to do it another day. After finishing the windows I climbed up on the roof and cleaned the solar panels as well. I have to tell you, I don’t think I”m going to worry about them not having the ability to tip. With the four panels flat on the roof they reached full charging capacity before noon. Since we don’t use a lot of power I think I”ll just leave them alone, flat seems to be working fine. 

 

The setting sun shining on the front yard mountains.

 

As the sun set dropped the mountains changed.

Down the ladder and things put away it was time to think about cooking lunch. I turned on the Weber letting it heat up for about 5 minutes, then placed the meatloaf on a small sheet of aluminum foil, just big enough to fit under the actually meatloaf. In hind sight I should have sprayed it but, oh well, next time I’ll try to remember. Once placed on the small piece of foil, I placed the meatloaf in the centre of the grill with the heat on low. I spent the next 45 minutes putting up our Christmas Decorations, reading and taking in the views. At about the 30 minute mark I inserted a meat thermometer taking a reading of about 115 in various places. At that point I added the mixed veggies to the grill and shut the lid again. After about 15 minutes I checked everything again and while the numbers were getting pretty close to the desired mark, I added the cauliflower in a separate packet. I also used the brush to apply some sauce to the entire exposed surface of the meatloaf, including the sides. Not too thickly but to ensure it was covered and wouldn’t allow the meat to dry out. With the lid once again closed I left it for another 10 minutes before once again brushing the remaining sauce on, and turning the veggies and cauliflower. Another 5 minutes I pulled the meat loaf onto a small plate, closed the lid and let the veggies continue to cook. Inside I let the meatloaf stand for about 10 minutes while I finished up outside. By the time everything was ready to come inside the meatloaf was ready to be sliced. Everything was excellent. I didn’t get any pics but trust me, we will be doing this again. A little less black pepper next time. We use fresh ground pepper and it’s much stronger than regular shaker black pepper. So note to self…..less damn pepper. 

 

Ernie and Debbie pulled out while we were enjoying lunch. Meeting them was very nice and the way it happened was certainly entertaining. We hope to met up with them again and become better acquainted at some point. Safe travels to those Saskatoon folks. 

 

After finishing the dishes and cleaning up outside Riley and I grabbed our walking sticks, and shuffled our feet all the way to Courthouse Road and back. Didn’t take long, and I’m sure we’ll do it again in the near future. It’s a nice quick, walk but the closer to the road the more noise you hear.

 

Back home, time to write my post, edit my pics and catch the sunset. Those things I usually do all at the same time. I’m talented that way!!! But I couldn’t chew gum while doing all those things, that would tax me beyond my capabilities. It’s good to know one’s limits. 

 

Just seconds after the picture above but the light is turning fast....

Riley and I have been discussing our future camping plans, and have come up with a couple of tentative ideas that include Joshua Tree area for some or most of January. A couple of reasons for that location. Close to Aunt Janet (Riley’s Aunt), and also gets us away from the crowds. We like both of those things, so that’s kind of the plan at this point, although it could change at any time. 

 

That’s it, our quiet day. The kind we like, with no drama, loud folks, loud noises, barking dogs and most of all it was a peaceful, amuse ourselves type of day. It’s a good life and we are enjoying it very much.

 

As I walked around taking sunset pics a new rig came in taking Ernie and Debbie’s spot. Didn’t stay empty more than a couple of hours. 

 

It's slipped away again ....

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to drop a comment. A quick note for my Dad, temps

reached 77F/25C this afternoon but it was chilly in the shade. Just thought you might want to know that!!!

 

Until next time, take care, be safe…


Deb

Fellow Canadians, shopping and a wee bit of dust....

Our Location: Saddle Mountain BLM, Tonopah, Arizona


Not a cool night at all, although I found it a bit cool just about 6 am as I was waiting for the sun to come up. Always seems warmer even if the sun doesn’t really show itself. A mental  game for me I guess. 

Pulled off to let this guy by earlier. He's our newest neighbour.

Both of us were up before 7:30 am this morning. Riley said her phone went off at 7 am and woke her up. She didn’t know the number and therefore didn’t answer it. If she doesn’t know the number she won’t pick up ANY phone for anyone. Who ever it was called back later around noon but again she didn’t answer. I offered to call them back and find out who it was but she declined. Oh well, must not be important, they didn’t leave a message. I’m guessing Telemarketers. Who knows. 

Last night I showed the sunset reflecting off this motor home, appeared to be engulfed in flames. As you can see it wasn't.

After our hot chocolate, I tidied up the Igloo, or maybe more aptly I moved the dust around. After that we pulled our selves together, climbed in the Dogsled and headed for Courthouse Road. We were going to run some errands today. The Dogsled was just starting to loosen up when I remember the shopping the list was still in the Igloo. Back we went, lucky we weren’t quite to the road way yet. List in hand we headed out once again but had to pull over and await a 5’er moving from the front of the parking area to the back near the mountains. Very skinny road but lots of places to get off and let him get past. 

Tons of cotton along the roads as it blows off the trucks hauling the cotton to the mills.

On the road today we turned right instead of left, heading toward Tonopah to catch I-10 for our trip to Buckeye. We were soon rolling down the Interstate amazed at how quickly folks drive. I mean they really fly. Scares the crap out of me to think of them going 75 plus miles per hour. In no time at all we were at Miller Road Exit and took it so we can have a look around at the Love’s truck stop, it has a dump station that I’ve been told is a $10 charge, allowing you to fill up with NON POTABLE water and possibly leave a bag or two of garbage as well. For those that don’t know, the dump station is at the front of the yard right beside the road. It’s near the air pump. So you have to pull in pretty close to the sidewalk  so people at the pumps aren’t going back/drive into by accident.  Ernie and Debbie confirmed the number  when I mentioned the fella with the dog told me just the other day the price was $5. I didn’t go in and ask but at least I now know where it is.

This horse wasn't too steady on the roadside. Kept wanting to get off , away from the hard top even before I got close to him.

From there we headed a bit south along Miller Road taking one of the side roads to the left to head to Watson Road, home of Walmart, Walgreens, Poppa John’s Pizza, and a few others. It wasn’t hard to find. Our first stop was Walgreens to fill up some jugs with potable water for cooking, and the kettle. For $1.25 it dispensed 5 gallons of potable water, and for another 60 cents it gave us two more gallons to fill up our jugs. I was certainly very pleased. Walmart also has a water dispenser at the back near the dairy section, it’s cheaper at 25 cents per single gallon, no matter how many you buy. However taking all those small jugs into Walmart is a pain. The Walgreens machine is right on the sidewalk by the parking lot.

Last night he parked right in the first spot near the road, today he moved about 3/4 of a mile back. Much nicer back there.

From Walgreens we slipped across Watson Road to Fry’s Market Place and Arron’s rent to own. I thought I’d check there for some proper sized furniture. Close but only if we take something that’s electric. I don’t want electric, only works with power or an inverter. No good to us. From Arron’s we wandered into Fry’s. Very nice store, some really good deals if you have a card. So after shopping I asked for a card, we saved $10 by having that card. We’ll shop there again, for certain but you have to be aware of prices as not all things are a good buy. 

Looks like they split everything right down the middle in divorce court....

From Fry’s we went west at the crossing street, into the Walmart parking lot. The stores are very close together and I”m a bit surprised  they aren’t spaced out a bit more, as there is a great deal of land out here that is empty. Anyway, we dropped into the Dollar Tree as we needed a couple of cheap trash containers for recycling. It’s easier to do it at the time than later. We do this at our summer place and truly we need to take the recycling before we ever need to take the trash. So with trash containers in hand I headed back to the truck and Riley headed into Wally’s to start our grocery shopping. 

That's a truck camper parked way back there. The road is extremely rough and I'm not sure I would have taken my truck over it. He is an extremely long way off. 

We managed to find everything that was left on our list (that we didn’t get at Fry’s) except Thyme and Garlic. We still have some but we’re running a bit low and I want to replenish soon. We bought some Italian Seasoning the other day and it looks like it has a small grinder in the lid. I’m looking forward to checking that out. 

Never know what you might see ......

Loading everything in the Dogsled took mere minutes and before long we were on our way back toward Saddle Mountain and home. We didn’t take the interstate the whole way, instead we got off at one of the exits and kind of wandered our way home on back roads, enjoying the views. I must say that trying to keep the Dogsled or the Igloo clean is an impossible task. I’ve cleaned the windows numerous times but the dust is so fine that it just causes the windows to have a ‘haze’ like film over them. If you stand just right you can see the whole truck is covered as well. In some places more obvious than others.

That Airstream belongs to the guy with the dog in the trailer.

We pulled in back home around 1:15 pm and started unloading the Dogsled, putting the groceries away in the Igloo. Since I had already prepped lunch before we left, it was a simple matter of starting the Weber and tossing on the food. Today’s menu was quick and simple. Riley passed on the salad but I truly enjoyed mine. Black berries were only 75 cent for a small container and I added a half dozen to my salad, along with a small clementine. We didn’t pick up any grapes as they weren’t very good. So no grapes in the salad today. I love the Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing that I’ve been using, it adds a really nice flavour. Lunch today also included Bourbon BBQ Chicken, with fresh mushrooms, beans and asparagus drizzled with orange juice, and a small potato with Italian seasoning for Riley. I followed lunch with a small Granny Smith Apple. My favourite apples. 

Ernie and Debbie from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

After lunch I grabbed my walking stick and headed out for a quick walk. I wasn’t gone too long, about an hour. I walked about 1 1/2 miles around a few of the roads checking out some spots for future stops. Back home I took my computer, phone, camera and myself outdoors to watch the sunset and start my post. 

My Inukshuk really does have two arms.  I'll have to find him a better one tomorrow. An Inukshuk in the form of a person signifies hope, friendship  and safety.

The sunset wasn’t spectacular and I didn’t get any great pics but I did manage to meet our Canadian neighbours as they were heading by to catch some pics of the sunset from a different angle. Ernie and Debbie are from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan , Canada.  They are having quite the adventure already and are only into their first month or so of Full Timing. Ernie informed me that he knows Ivan, that semi Retired Ranger fella with his charming feline companion Miss Hailey, they hail from Alberta. It seems Ivan (Road Trip 2018) and Ernie attended some sort of schooling or training together, and it was through Ivan that Ernie found my blog and learned we are neighbours here in Saddle Mountain. It’s a small world for sure. Thanks for pointing that out Ivan! It was great to meet both Ernie and Debbie, we hope to catch them further down the road as they are heading out tomorrow for a more southern clime. It seems we’re going to have some cold weather, close to the freezing mark according to Ernie. I didn’t look at the weather but perhaps we should head a bit further south as well if it’s going to be too cold.

The afternoon sun on one of the mountains outside the front door.

So the sunset wasn’t great but there’s always another night. It’s cooling off quickly once the sun goes down and as we approach the shortest day light day of the year we need only remind ourselves that this too shall pass and before we know it the sun will be hanging in the sky for longer and longer each day. I believe in about 3 or 4 more days we will be into the turning tides of longer days instead of shorter ones. With those longer days the promise of summer and long lazy evenings  can’t be far off. 

The Airstream is on the right, a tiny white dot between those two green bushes. The truck camper is on the left a tiny dot in the sway of the hills.

That’s it, our exciting day here in the neighbourhood of Saddle Mountain, BLM and Buckeye, Arizona. Nothing to make the earth quake and the mountains tremble but we enjoyed it. It’s why we do it. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit.

The beginning....

A belated Happy Birthday greeting goes out to my cousin Stephen who celebrated a birthday recently back there on that Island in the middle of Georgian Bay.  

The End...

Until next time….take care, be safe,

Deb