We are safe and sound in Ontario......

 

 Our Location: 

Valens Conservation Park, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Our morning was an early one, we were on the road at 6:50 AM, I know that because we looked. We enjoyed the Mercer County Fairgrounds and would stay again. We enjoyed it, it was a relaxing few days. Next time we would actually get out and tour Celina, but this time was strictly resting. 

We noticed this truck back at Quail Ridge Rv Park, in Huachuca City, Az.

And this one was in Fry's parking lot in Sierra Vista, AZ.

This morning's sunrise as we headed East.

We did see the sun later in the day.

The roads were pretty good over all, a few rough patches but not too bad. We had easy sailing to the border and the crossing was easy. A few questions and we were on our way. We crossed back into Ontario by 11 AM. We stopped a few times but not for long. 

Daffs in bloom at a rest area in Ohio.

We were only in the state for a short time.

We crossed the Ambassador Bridge.

The St Clair River.

There were lots of folks out on the water.

On the 401 East at MM 224, near Woodstock we had our first ever blow out of a tire on the Igloo. It was an interesting experience, no one was hurt but we do have some damage at the wheel well and along Riley's slide, one of the side markers is gone and apparently the Igloo isn't covered by CAA, who knew that? Not me. So I had to foot this bill myself. Kal Tire came after a two hour wait, and we were on the road again within about 20 minutes. Officer Stephen showed up and waited with us for about an hour before she was called away. We appreciated her assistance very much. Anyway all is well with us, we drove for another 50 minutes to reach Valens Conservation.  It's a big park and lots of trees, not someplace we would stay again. The roads are very narrow and the trees too close to the roads and the entrances to the sites. Our site is particularly odd, we had to turn around as the power receptacle is almost in the site beside us, we barely reach the post, if we hadn't turned around we couldn't have reached the outlet.

Back in Ontario, the grass is greening up and the leaves are almost visible.

The roads were pretty good. Excuse the dirty windshield.

Not our best day.

Tomorrow we are going to visit grandsons/nephews, daughter and her husband. We are looking forward to it very much. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you've all had a good day. 

Until next time....

Take care, stay safe, 

Deb

We are getting warmer....

 Our Location: Walmart, Franklin, Tennessee

First, hello there, I didn't forget about you but we've been busy. I'm going to put a number of posts together here, but no photos. 

Tuesday, Oct 11. 

Riley and I left our summer spot about 2 pm. We said our goodbyes and closed up everything until spring. The weather was sunny and coolish. Our first stop was just off the Island at Birch Island to fill up with diesel at about $1.70 per litre. Our second stop was in Espanola to grab some lunch to go. (It's approx 1 1/2 hours from our spot to Espanola). From there we motored on heading north for another 40 minutes before finally turning the Big Dog southward and we have been heading in the proper direction since then. We ended our first day (after a late start) around 4:30 - 5:00 pm just about 40 minutes south of Sudbury, Ontario at a truck pull off. We spent a quiet night, but the rain started before the night ended. 

Wednesday, Oct 12

We were up and on the road before 9, heading southward in the rain, wind and cold. The day didn't get any better until much, much later. The rain stopped around Barrie, Ontario and while things weren't sunny, they weren't dripping either. The 401 and Weston Rd was my first ever accident. The merge space was big, no one was there, I started over and looked ahead, looked back and I seen the little black car coming sideways across the lane and couldn't stop the Igloo from coming into the lane behind the Dogsled. It was a kiss but still not fun. The Igloo has a few scratches and we need a new cubbie panel and lock but everything still functions and works just fine. The nice lady cop arrived and we sorted things out. I swear those folks think every opening is their own personal invitation to get into it as fast as they can and say, "I was here first". In all my years of driving I've never had an accident. About an hour later, we were once again on our way heading through Toronto, Mississauga, Burlington and all the other little towns in the GTA before finally hitting the 403 and scooting on out to Brantford. We found the conservation park, got a nice little pull thru spot ( we were so lucky to leave early, the park closes on Oct 15 for the year, as does pretty much every park in southern Ontario). We headed off to Walmart to get a few last minute things we needed and then off to daughter Bradey's home. We visited with Bradey, David and grandson Auston, but new baby Lincoln was asleep already. The night was cold and the morning was wet with more rain. A few minor things around the Igloo and a bank visit before we headed off to visit with Bradey and boys again for the day. We had an enjoyable day with all of them and left shortly after dinner. It was nice to see them even though it wasn't a long visit. We just couldn't connect with daughter Courtney in Toronto but we will in the spring. Friday morning found me heading to Strickland's Chevy dealer in Brantford for a new air filter and a new bulb in the running light. Complicated thing to put in those pesky bulbs, took a couple of hours but by 11 I was on my way. Did I mention that the wind really, really picked up and the skies opened up, pouring down so much rain that it was unbelievable. It passed in 20 minutes, all while I was sitting at the dealership reading my book. Back to the Igloo at the Conservation area by 11:30, Riley and I hooked up and headed out even though it was a still a bit windy but nothing overly bad like it had been. A drink of fuel in Brantford had us paying $2.19 a litre but the onRoute at Dutton had us drinking at $2.29. I like to keep us on the upper side of half when we travel.  The border crossing was interesting, it was fast for what it was, very few cars at all in the lines but I was waved over to the truck lane. No idea why but it was interesting, never been in the truck lanes at Detroit before. Two nice lady border agents checked out the Igloo and seemed to be all smiles as to the fact that we could get away from the weather, wished us well and sent us on our merry way. We didn't have to pay a toll. How weird. We managed to make our way to Walmart, Wapakoneta, Ohio arriving about 5 pm. Sunny skies, warmer temps of about 55F/12C but still a wee bit cool as the sun went down, I was glad to have my sweater. Parked by the lawn and garden/automotive side, very quiet, excellent place to park.

Saturday, Oct 15

After a quiet night, which I didn't sleep much we woke up and made tentative plans for the day. Cold this morning, around 43F/6.1C but at least there was no frost. We headed out around 9 am after stopping for fuel at the Murphy's, diesel was $5.49 per US gallon. Pointing the Big Dog's nose southward we just let him run and run he did. We stopped a few times but not until we reached Kentucky, we stopped at two different rest areas that we would certainly consider to be prime spots to overnight in the future. The first is just north of the I-71 cut off, lots of space there, very clean and welcoming. The second was along 1-71 around Bowling Green, KY, also nice and welcoming, good for overnight, very big lots. We crossed into central time right around that same area, it went from 1:30 to 12:30 and we were still letting the big boy go. We debated about Franklin, Ky, White House, Tn or Franklin, Tn for the night. Each Walmart offers overnight parking. We were happy to be through Nashville today and so we pushed on arriving here around 4:30 pm. We've never stayed here before and I wouldn't recommend it for these reasons: it's an exit only, we will need to find a way to get back to the interstate in the morning:, the lot is big but chopped up and not very well suited for anything our size or bigger. Smaller vans, even maybe small motorhomes but we had to angle the truck to get the back end of the trailer in out of the lane.  It's a very busy store. Very warm as the day progressed, our high temp reached 78F/25.5C. No wind and sunny skies. We are happy campers. Tomorrow we plan on arriving at a destination of our choosing to rest up for a number of days.

Some notes for those coming behind us via I-75, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. First the I-75 in Michigan is greatly improved, or at least southbound it is but there is still an ugly stretch near Monroe, not as bad as before but still plenty ugly. Our first sighting of fuel in Michigan (diesel of course) was $5.99. Ohio roads are fair with some rough areas, lots of scored pavement with the top smooth layers gone and just the grooves remaining. Not as good as in years past. Cincinnati is still under lots of construction of course but it's getting better too. Fuel in Ohio (diesel only) ranged from $5.98 to about 5.39. You need to really watch. Kentucky, was well, Kentucky, roads were decent overall with some long rough areas and fuel was running a little less than Ohio with around $5.60 to $5.35. Tennessee roads have quite a few rough patches but Nashville was a breeze with little construction. Fuel was in the low $5's, less than $5.50 but we did sight off in the distance a $4.98 (credit), $4.68 cash (or something like that, with a big difference). Overall there is lots of construction in all states but it being Saturday, we didn't have any troubles. Of course the lanes are narrow, uneven and always squeezing by the big cement barriers with only a hair to spare. The leaves are barely turning yet, a few hints of colour here and there but nothing to speak of once you get past mid Ohio. 

As always when we travel I've been calling my dad to let him know we've arrived safely and where we are. Always nice to chat with him. Today was the gender reveal for nephew Jesse and wife Claudia, a baby girl is expected in March. Congratulations to all. Condolences to the Bowerman family in the passing of Andy on the evening of Tuesday Oct 11. 

So now I think you are up to date and I'll be blogging on a more regular basis now. No photos today as I can't get the computer to recognize the sim card from the camera. I'll work on that another day. 

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

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

Deb

Rain, windy, back in Ontario.......

Our Location: ONroute, Tilbury, Ontario

 

(No pictures today, they just won't upload)

 

It was very warm last night when I went to bed but by morning it had dropped 30 degrees staying steady at 47F/ 8C with over cast skies. At 7 am my dad called to ask what kind of weather we were having and telling us they were having snow, high winds, and it was very cold. We chatted for a few minutes before saying goodbye. Riley and I were quick at getting everything secured and ready to roll just at the time the rain started to fall. 

 

We didn't have to go very far for our first stop, only a few hundred feet to the dump station. I will be honest with you, we made it up the first hill okay until I tried to turn to the right then we had a problem. The washed out hill, the new gravel and well you get the idea. For a few feet we were chattering sideways until I stopped, popped into 4x4 and with a little bit of a heavy foot we managed to get up the hill. I left us in 4x4 until we had arrived safely on the very top ridge at the dump station. 

 

Of course, it started to rain again as soon as my feet hit the grass outside the Dogsled door. No worries I'd donned my bright yellow rain slicker and proceeded to sweat as the temps were too warm for a none breathable coat, but the air was wet and the rain drops cold. Oh well, it's only a short time outside, then I'll head inside, change my shoes and sweater, coat, and be ready to the hit the road. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get the water to come out of their hose. They had some kind of valve after the handle on the faucet but the valve just spewed water everywhere except out the end of the hose to rinse the sewer hoses. So I simply turned on the pump and used our own water, a quick rinse, put the hoses away, changed into dry clothes. We were heading out the driveway at 8:10 am. Of course the rain has been coming in waves at this time, now it continues but with a bit more gusto. 

 

Our RV GPS had us wandering around the back roads like two lost sheep. She was basically having us go west for a mile, go north for a mile, go west, go north, etc. I mean really? The Interstate it 12 miles that way, lets just go that way. Finally I just ignored her and off we went finding the Interstate just where I thought it would be, it hadn't moved since last fall. That added at least 30 minutes to our time. I wasn't impressed. I'm going to be chatting with Garmin in the near future, I am not happy and for the price I paid for this thing, it should damn well work properly. 

 

So we finally climbed onto the interstate near exit 103 north, and pushed the Big Dog toward Lima, only 21 miles/ 33 km away. For the entire morning we rolled along at 55 mph/ 88.5 km through the nearly flat state of Ohio. The wind wasn't bad at all when we started out, the rain kind of came and went, never very hard though, I think I only had the wipers on full once due to spray from the truck ahead and beside that seemed to be just sitting on my front bumper and my side door. Not sure why they do that but oh well. I will say the roads were pretty good until we reached the upper edges of Ohio and in to Michigan. It was here that the winds started to be noticeable as well. Michigan is always a nightmare for that stretch around Monroe. I thought for certain I drove over another 5'er that was lost in the hole with just his A/C sticking out. Turns out I didn't, it was just my imagination, but a couple holes were deep enough to get lost in and I was lucky to avoid those ones. I will be driving the middle lane in that stretch from now on though, they'll have to pull me over to give me a ticket before I start driving in the slow lane again until they fix that particular piece of roadway. It's insane. We pulled off at Luna Station for a fuel stop as the prices seemed to be steadily rising, we were seeing only numbers right at or above the $3 per gallon mark. We filled the Big Dog's bowl for $3.09 a gallon. The Big Fella took 22 gallons, or approx 83 liters (1 US Gallon = 3.79 CDN liters). Couldn't squeeze in $50, stopped at $49.50 USD.

 

We reached the area of construction, which of course were shut down today and motored right along. As we approached Dearborn exit the traffic suddenly came to a very fast slow down, a creep along. Within 15 seconds of the slow down I could see the problem ahead. A big rig had jack knifed in the 'fast' lane into the construction lane and just his back bumper was sticking out a bit into the next lane, he wasn't impeding traffic by more than 6" -8". The driver was out walking around but no one else was on scene so it had literally just happened. We didn't see or hear any evidence of law enforcement, medical or fire aid of any kind. We were past the end of his truck within 30 seconds and on our way. Sorry for his troubles but we didn't see it, he wasn't hurt, we couldn't help, so lets get out of the way. No need to gawk, big deal his nose is kissing his A**, he's fine, keep driving. 

 

We pulled up to the Canada Customs lines which are confusing in that they now have lots of truck lanes open but no arrows pointing you to the car lanes, nor is there an RV lane, which there is going the other way at this crossing. I checked the time, 12:15 pm. We found our way to the car lane, 4 folks ahead, we rolled along and were at the booth within probably 4 to 5 minutes. Nice lady asked us a couple of questions and told us to have a nice day. We were across in a little more than 5 minutes. Yeah us!! Welcome to Canada. Home of the Maple Leaf, Tim Horton's, and $1.25 per liter diesel. So that $49.50 fill up would have cost me $103.75 here in Ontario.

 

We immediately began seeing the overhead signs warning of freezing rain in Ontario. The temperatures by this time had reached 37F/2.7C and were staying steady. We discussed a few options and Riley checked out the local forecasts. We decided we'd pull in at the first ONRoute (rest area) in Tilbury/Chatham-Kent. Which is where we are right now. We pulled in against the grass edge, but are leaving the slides in to help keep us warmer and in case we receive some freezing precipitation overnight, it won't stretch the slider topper and we won't have to go up there and knock it off. Plus with the slides in we don't rock and roll so much in the wind. We had our heater going within a few minutes (which requires us to run a hose in the window), and the Igloo is nice an toasty. 

 

I called my dad, we chatted for a bit, he's glad we're off the road for the day and I'll let him know tomorrow what we plan on doing. I don't believe the roadways are the issues. I'm pretty certain they will be sanding, salting and doing all that good stuff over the next two days. The issue I believe will be when one is getting off and on the roadways, ramps, side streets, parking lots, etc will not be as well  maintained as the major road ways will be. So we're going to sit here until late tomorrow afternoon or Monday late morning before heading out to Hamilton. By then every thing should be cleaned up, salted or melted, as the temperatures will rise a bit in the next day. 

 

So there you have it, we are safely back in Canada, although we will be conserving our battery power a bit as there doesn't appear to be much sun in the forecast for a few days.  The temperatures are above the freezing mark and in this area there are no freezing rain warnings posted on the web. Just a bit further along there are of course lots of warnings posted. 

 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. I hope you've had a wonderfully safe and productive day. Thanks again for following along. Please feel free to leave a comment if you like, I read them all. For those don't wish to leave a comment, that's quite alright too, I'm honoured that came by to read! 

 

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

 

Deb

 

 

 

Cold morning, stayed in today....

Our Location: Magic River Rv Resort, Long Beach, Mississippi

(all photos taken with my phone)

A cold night again, with a cold damp morning on it's heels, I opted to stay inside this morning and missed the fire crew. The day eventually warmed up to just needing a light coat or a heavy sweater but I felt better staying inside for most of the day with just a short walk around the campground this afternoon. Tomorrow the weather looks to be great and I'm hoping to get back outside walking again. It's been a long time since we've walked and I'm ready.

Breakfast was a quiet affair and the only decision we made was about dinner and that Riley would definitely have it. ~laugh~ I can say that is a decision we carried thru on too. Just so you know Riley didn't miss a meal. ~laugh~ 

Magic the camp cat.....

Spent the morning doing some more research for campgrounds in Canada that we will require a number of times this coming spring and fall. I've located one for our appointments in Southern Ontario and I think one in the Ottawa region for a later date in September. I'll keep doing a bit more research in that area to see what will suit us best. 

Mac came by this afternoon to check on us since we hadn't been seen outside all day, nice of him to do so. I find with the damp, cold weather it's just better to stay inside until it passes, it's a lot less bothersome that way. Like I said, we managed a short walk this afternoon in the warmer sun. 

The pool looks inviting but not heated...

I read a bit today and am enjoying being immersed once again in the world created by Robert Ludlum, he's a fantastic writer and draws the reader into his world with an ease and skill that is flawless. I've always enjoyed his books but not the works that have been co-written or that use his name such as Robert Ludlum's Bourne series by.....some other writer. I think these are story lines he had fleshed out a bit before he passed away and some one else has used his ideas to write a book. They aren't nearly as good. 

Jerry and Carol pulled out today about 2 pm heading for their home state of Michigan. Jerry was originally a Canadian but is a US citizen since he was in his early years, mid twenties I think he said. He was a radio personality in his time and has one of those voices that you always hear in commercials. 

Ron & Sharon's empty spots...now filled with a Roadtrek van.

The park was looking pretty empty with about 8 or 9 spots open but 3 more folks pulled in to help fill the emptiness. One a returning couple that has been referred to as the 'drunk bump' people, and two we've never seen before. 

Again no night time fire as no one seems to be interested any longer. I think it's because there are so few of us here that know each other. 

 

Jerry & Carol's empty spot with the 'drunk bump' coach off to the far right of the pic.

 

On our walk we happened to see Magic the local cat in all her black glory. She was coming from the cabin and stopped long enough for us to scratch behind her ears for a quick second before we left. I think she misses Ron & Sharon a great deal. 

During our walk we happened to go past the maintenance shop to check out the pool area as the temps are heating up maybe Riley will take a dip before we go. We happened upon Swilly once more working his magic with wood, refinishing a china cabinet for the owner's wife. A fantastic job he's doing, he's truly a wizard with wood. An extremely friendly fella to boot!!!

Riley's dinner...looks pretty good doesn't it?

Dinner tonight was inside, having decided to stay out of the cold night air tonight. Chicken breast with friend Roger's BBQ sauce, steamed veggies with orange zest and Long Grain brown rice. Miss Riley said it was very good so we will just have to believe her!! I enjoyed the veggies which was all I felt like eating. 

Clean up and then off to our own interests. So as you can see not a big day but a day all the same. Tomorrow the temps will be better and I'm going to get out and enjoy them!!!! Thanks for stopping by, until next time..be safe, take care...