A quick catch up....

                                                                      

 

 

                                                                                   Our Location: Summer Spot                                                                                 Near South Baymouth, Ontario 

 

 

We haven't forgotten about you fine folks but we really haven't had a lot to post about either. I did however think it wise to post a few pics of our last 6 months or so. Just to keep a record for future reference. 

 

Yes the stop sign is regulation height. 

I walk this path from our summer spot every morning for morning coffee. Although I did not walk it much over the winter, only to check on the Igloo under it's blanket of snow. 

 

 

We survived the winter winds and snows snuggled into our little rented stone house. I can honestly tell you that I do not miss Canadian winters and look forward to continuing our travels when the border opens up to allow us frozen folks to head to warmer climes during those long, cold months of winter. 

 

The rushing waters of a spring time water falls.

Ice forms on the trees near the base of the falls.

 Riley had an MRI on her knee about a month ago, it's been causing her pain off and on all winter since she wrenched it last fall. The report says nothing is amiss and she is fine to continue strengthening it even though it causes some discomfort. Always afraid we could be doing more harm than good with such injuries and so we are both relieved to hear the good news. 

 

 

Ice will soon be gone from the rivers and creeks.

 

 We moved backed into the Igloo before the long weekend in May and have enjoyed our summer spot once again. The summer has been odd, at times reminding me of the desert with cool mornings and hot afternoons. A dry start to the summer season had us living with a fire ban for many weeks but it started raining around July 1 and until about 2 weeks ago we had rain, rain, rain, with very little sun. Now we have sun, sun, sun with no sign of rain with the dog days of summer arriving about two weeks late this year. However there is a bit of colour here and there in the trees, leaves are starting to drift downward in a few spots, the sun no longer peeks through my bedroom window at the same angle and the winds are of course ever present but they carry a hint of something cooler to come. I wonder what kind of fall we will have this year? 

 

Sunrise June 9 just before 6 AM.

Produce from our gardens this year.

Congrats to nephew Jason and wife Leah welcomed a baby boy this winter, Hudson is now about 6 months old and a happy little fella. Jason recently took a spill breaking a few ribs, puncturing a lung and suffering various bruises and contusions. He's on the mend and doing well. 

 

Congrats also to nephew Jesse (Jason's brother) and Claudia on their upcoming wedding in about a month's time. Also congrats to daughter Bradey and David on their upcoming wedding just a week after Jesse & Claudia.

 

Also a few birthdays to mention sister Jan (June), daughter Bradey (July), and my dad (Aug) all celebrated since I last posted anything. 

 

So now you are totally caught up with our goings on here on the big rock in the middle of the Bay. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

Until next time... take care, stay safe and healthy!!

 

Deb

Visitors, liking this spot....

Our Location: AZ 95 BLM, near Quartzsite, AZ

 

 

A nice quiet night last night, the road traffic died down quickly as the sun sank in the sky. Although I didn't take any photos of sunrise, it was a nice view. Cooler mornings here in the Quartzsite area than in Truckhaven. However the day time temps heat up nicely and before long we're taking layers off.  This afternoon's high was in the mid 70's/23ish in Celsius degrees.

 

 

If  you look really closely you can see our neighbour that pulled in just after we did. He's in the trees there. 

 From this distance Kofa Mountains look a bit more interesting but I'm still not feeling any pull to visit. 

 Now that section looks a tad more intriguing to me.

 

 

A walk this morning had me enjoying the flat areas of the desert, and the Saguaros of course. Some very interesting plant life in the desert. I'll share those photos tomorrow.

 

 The sun is starting to set now on the Kofa Mountains. 

Can you see our neighbour now? This is a zoom lens so he isn't nearly as close as he looks. 

 The pink over the mountains is reflecting on it. 

 

We were expecting company this afternoon and sure enough a nice little dusty black Jeep pulled in, weaving and dodging until they arrived right in our little yard. Friends Deb & Tom (Celebrating the Dance) were smiling as they stepped out of the jeep. Hugs and how are ya's of course followed. We moved around so some were in the shade and some not. The afternoon was gone before we realized it and all too soon we were hugging and saying our see ya's, and I didn't take a single photo. It was hard to believe the entire afternoon was gone so quickly. We had a great visit and enjoy spending time with this wonderful couple. We feel fortunate to have met them last year and hope to spend more time with them in the future. Truly an awesome couple. Some laughs, some chatter and just easy visiting. Who knows maybe we'll see them again before all of us leave this area. 

 

 

 

 Last nights sunset, Jan 25 here just a little south Quartzsite, AZ. 

 Other than add  my logo, I have not enhanced these photos. All of the sunset photos are as they came from the camera. 

A call to dad to see how things are going and inquire about Jason & Leah and their where abouts. They are currently in Great Falls, Montana and will head north to Lake Louise, Alberta. Leah wants to skate on the lake, as she did swim in it a few years ago on their honeymoon.  Then it's a short jaunt to their final destination in BC. They have travelled approximately 1600 MILES/2600 KILOMETERS in two days. They left yesterday at very dark thirty in the morning. 

 

 

 The light is reflecting off of the Igloo and the Dogsled. You can just see them there in the darkness.

 

 

 

Today's photos were taken yesterday and the sunset photos are LAST NIGHT (January 25), our first night here in this new location. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your day. Feel free to leave a comment, I try to answer them all. 

 

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

 Our neighbour and Kofa Mountain.

An amazing desert sunset! 

 

Deb

 

We moved today.....

Our Location: South Entrance, BLM Joshua Tree National Park

After a loudish night we decided to pull up feet and head out for quieter pastures. The day time noises weren't bothersome but the night time ones were very much so. 

On our drive toward the Badlands this morning.

 

Some spectacular views.

We first took a drive out to the Badlands where we thought we might like to park just to ensure we could find a spot. Sure enough we found a couple and headed back to the Igloo to hook up. We were thinking it would only be a short drive to the Badlands and weren't in any hurry. 

It sure is pretty out here.

After pulling in and starting to put the feet down we realized just how cold the wind actually was up there. We changed our minds, opting for Joshua Tree National Park instead. We stopped at the Red Earth Casino on CA86 to dump our tanks. The wait was long as it seemed everyone was using this spot instead of the one a bit further down at the entrance to the Parkway. No problem we waited our turn and headed out. 

In the lower down area of the Badlands they were wall to wall to wall to wall.

To wall to wall to wall.

We arrived at Joshua Tree National Park late in the day for us to be arriving. It was 3:30 pm and we still had to find a place, set up and do all those things before dark which would be around 4:45 pm. We managed to find a spot to park the Igloo, but found it very difficult to get level. We eventually moved a bit and within 5 minutes were level and setting up but are now much further out in front of another rig than I'd like to be, but we did ask if he minded and he assured he didn't. 

 

They were tucked up against the hills, in the open flat, way out as far as the eye could see.

In the background you can see the dust. As we drove along you could see the dust cloud hanging over the desert.

We are debating about how long we want to stay here but for now we're going to spend at least a couple of days here. We have a few errands in Indio and we want to visit Janet as well. So we shall see how things go. 

It was like a city down there in the low area of the Badlands.

That's it, our long day but short blog. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

And also along CA 86 they were packed in like fish in a barrel.

Until next time.. take care, be safe, 

Deb

Note to myself: Jason and Leah have arrived in Fernie, BC, Canada last night. They are too early to check into their rental unit until Dec 31 in the late afternoon.

Filling up the neighbourhood......

Our Location:  Near Borrego Springs, CA


We took a drive into Borrego Springs and around the area finding a few more sculptures which I’ll show another day. We stopped and I picked an orange from a tree, (we couldn’t find any fruit stands open to buy some so I picked just one) it is the freshest orange I’ve ever had. From there we headed on to Rockhouse Road for another look around. Very busy there now, they are lined up slide to slide to slide to slide. Nose to butt to nose. Many with a trailer behind and a toy obviously missing. I do believe by the looks of the empty trailers they all held BIG toys, possibly jeeps, Razors or big dune buggies.

 

The dirt bike contingent was well represented today.

 

Back home we once again watched the fun out the window. I am telling you folks they just kept coming and coming and coming and coming. For my friend Lorne (A place called away ) you could learn from a few of these folks, for they did in fact ‘CIRCLE THE WAGONS’. Started out as one lone tow behind yesterday and soon a rig with a tow behind, then a motor home and so on until they have a complete circle with about 8 rigs in it. They just kept going round and round until they all fit. It was an interesting sight to see. We dubbed them ‘Circle the Wagons’ while the other big area we dubbed Flag City. They too have a huge circle of rigs. Not quite as full but then again they have a bigger area to fill. 

 

For Lorne. They started off with the single tow behind yesterday and this morning they started coming and coming and coming and finally the middle picture was still not the complete circle but they filled it in about a half hour later. We called them "Circle the Wagons" in your honour. The bottom picture is Flag City, they too have a huge circle with almost every rig having at least one flag, many having 2 and one having 4. I counted 13 at last count.

 

You wouldn’t believe how many pine or spruce trees they brought. I suppose it’s their Christmas trees and they are using them for fire wood. One guy either owned a lot where they didn’t sell, or collected his neighbours trees too. He must have brought a half dozen. I can tell you the place has filled up with people parking everywhere. As I type this it is 6:00 PM and the fire works are starting. I think it could be a noisy night. 

 

This one went round and round and round and round. Caught some air, had good form over the rolling bumps. I enjoyed watching.

 

Looks like twins on the top right, identical in every way. One family, the bottom 3 pictures and the middle left picture brought 5 quads for 4 people. The toy hauler 4 of them came out of is in the middle bottom picture. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. 

 

So a few pictures to help you enjoy what we witnessed today. I hope you like the sights. 

 

It was follow the leader with the little fella on the red 3 wheeler leading the way. 

 

They came from early this morning....as you can see in the 2nd from the top right and 3rd from the top left, they came in lines, 2, 3, 4 , 5 in a line. The bottom left picture has two or three small dirt bikes tucked up around the nose and butt of the jeep.

They came all morning and into the afternoon. Cars, trucks, jeeps, towing, carrying, hauling, but no one was pushing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where there is a will, there is a way. If you can't fit it in, stand it on end. That is a toy hauler he's hauling and it was full too.

A quick note for myself, Jason and Leah were to cross back into Canada today after spending the night at Great Falls, Montana.

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the visit. 

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

Deb

 

 

 

 

Lots of sights out the window today....

Our Location:  Near Borrego Springs, CA


It’s cooler here at night than we’ve been used to but we add an extra blanket and enjoy the sunshine more when it appears. Today however was very cool with lots of folks wearing puffy vests and jackets as they were out and about. The wind kept us indoors most of the day with only about an hour outside to read. We didn’t reach above 57F/13.9 C. I know that doesn’t sound cold to the folks at home but believe me it was cold. 

 

Playing with the zoom lens, you can see the area of Borrego Springs far off in the distance.

 

The many faces of the mountains in the area.

 

We stayed inside looking out and enjoying the sights. The place has filled up with weekend warriors, big small and in between. They come in packs, doubles and solo. They bring multiple vehicles for the same family. Our newest neighbour was interesting to see coming in. Dad and son along with the dog in the truck with a small dune buggy in the back towing a fairly large home on wheels. Mom, daughter and small child in the SUV behind them pulling a trailer with the family side by side with a generator in the back of the SbyS. They were barely set up before they were off in their rides across the desert with dust flying and giggles sounding.

They are serious about their fun. Even the little toddler was excited to be riding.

 

The BLM parking lot on Henderson Canyon Road is filling up quickly too.

 

 Flags abound here in the area, one group has as many as 7 between two rigs. With today’s wind the flags were flapping and snapping. Kites were also out today in the wind, looked like they were having a good time flying them. The rides are varied and numerous. A few dirt bikes, a number of three wheelers, a couple of quads, a number of dune buggies and even a few bigger side by sides. Jeeps and SUV’s are also here adding to the fun and excitement. Flashing lights, stiffy’s (long ariel with flag attached) and various engine sounds mixed with yells, dust and laughter were certainly entertaining today. I can tell you that I wouldn’t want to stay among them for a month but for a few days I think we’ll enjoy the activity. Some great photo opportunities if one is quick enough. 

 

Flags, flags, flags.

 

Kites and helo's.

 

Other than Riley having a fire tonight the day has been very quiet and restful. Entertaining and amusing as well just by looking out the window. I’m amazed how many folks seem to land here each hour. Not even the cold wind can deter them. They are a hardy bunch. 

 

Big, small and in between, of various ages and sizes.

There are two different little fellows here. The smaller one is quite a dare devil. You can see he even managed to catch some air in the middle picture.

 

A news update on Jason and Leah, last night they reached the Minnesota/North Dakota border staying near Fargo. Today a text from Jason assured me they weren’t having any issues with blizzard conditions as they crossed N. Dakota. (The weather had blizzard conditions listed in N. Datkota). They were having blue skies and making great time. They were headed toward Great Fall, Montana. I have no doubt they will reach close to their goal. They are gaining an hour with each time zone and so they can stretch their driving hours if they wish. Both are young and capable of driving so I’m certain the long days aren’t having too much effect on them.

 

You can get anything in camouflage. The truck came behind the motor home and left at the same time, so I assume they were together. 

 

They are parked everywhere.

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your day. 

 

Rigs come in various sizes, colours and shapes too.

 

Until next time.. take care, be safe,

The green and orange are led lights on an ariel and flash as he goes. It's getting dark and they are still coming in.

 

 

Deb