We are still here….

 

Our location:

BLM Ogilby Rd, Winterhaven, California 

We are still tucked away in Southern California enjoying the winter adventure. The days are mostly balmy with some chilly winds tossed in occasionally to remind us it is now winter time. We are of course sympathetic to those that can’t be here and will just suffer through for everyone with no complaining. Yes we are that generous!

Some times the night sky is on fire. 
Dec 22

We are no longer solo as most or at least some of you know, our friends Ken and Kim have been here since Nov 18,  they too are suffering the reminder of winter right along with us, they are not complaining either. Happy hours are more on the quiet side but fun, informative and some times even educational. We are truly enjoying their company. 

Kim and Ken have taken a spot in the front yard.

I told you it was breezy, sand in the chairs.

We, meaning the four of us, Kim, Ken, Riley and I met up with Bill, Patsy, Duncan and Patty on Nov 19 at the entrance gate to Los Algodones, Mexico for a fun filled day. It was our first time meeting Duncan and Patty, who also are from Ontario, Canada, and in fact are from Northern Ontario just as Riley and I are. We had a fabulous time, enjoyed some laughs, some good food and drinks, managed a few hugs and handshakes from some folks that remembered us, we even managed to spend some money, after all ,”Its almost free.”. It was so surprising when we turned the corner to start for the line at US customs, 2:00 pm and no one was in line! We all enjoyed that a great deal.

L-R
Riley, Deb, Duncan, Patty, Patsy, Bill, Ken, Kim

We shared Christmas Dinner in our rig with the two K’s, they supplied half, we supplied half, we were all full by the end! You will have to take my word for it as we don’t have a single pic! Thanks Kim and Ken, it was delicious and the company fantastic!

Christmas Eve

We FaceTimed with my grandsons on Christmas Eve for a bit, but chatted with everyone back home and here in California on Christmas Morning. SIL Janet and hubby Dennis are once again in Indian Wells, California.

Not spectacular but nice.

Nightly chats with Dad, has us wondering if they will get any more snow, it has rained now for a couple of days, their snow is mostly gone, but there are serious patches of ice in some places. 

Happy belated birthday wishes to Isabel, my great niece. She celebrated on Christmas Eve. I believe Miss Issy is 11. Also happy birthday to cousin Barry, a Christmas Day baby. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

We are in California….

 

Our Location:

BLM Ogilby Rd, Winterhaven, California 

 We had the wheels rolling this morning at 8:07 am, and finished dumping the tanks and depositing the garbage at La Posa South LTVA ( long term visitor area) by 8:38 am. We took AZ 95 south all the way to I-8 west in Yuma and it was shortly after 10:00 am when we entered California. Within 15 minutes we were searching for a place to put feet down. The two spots we had in mind are both occupied so we checked out a couple of others before settling into this one! We had everything completed for a quick setup inside and out by noon. At 12:15 pm I was chatting with Dad’s answering machine.

The Guns of the Proving Grounds.

Crops are just coming up here.

The roads were excellent, no slow downs or construction disruptions of any kind. Some new hardtop for a long distance, with only one very rough patch in the whole trip, 10 lengths of the rig at the beginning of Ogilby Road coming down the off ramp. It is always the same there. Ogilby Rd is getting a bit rougher as well but overall is good.

This one is closer to harvest.

It was a bit breezy when we were setting up. In Q the wind was steadily coming from the north, northwest since our arrival a few weeks ago. Today’s winds were from the south, southwest. Can you guess which direction we were heading? It was a slight breeze but really!

I never tire of this view.

Familiar views.

A very basic setup but we are relaxing, we both had a nap already.

We have a few plans for the next couple of days but I will not be posting for a bit. I do promise to give an update by weeks end.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Until next time…….

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Some errands……

 

Our Location:

Road Runner BLM, Quartzsite, Az

Since our arrival I have said we were going to just rest for a couple of days and we kinda did but not completely. Today however the Big Dog did not move.

We have been to Q twice since our arrival for a few reasons but now we are going to stay put for a couple of days. I truly just want to sit for a bit. This morning we went for a short stroll, I worked outside for about a half hour and then we just rested for the day. I’m certain we did not finish our resting today and so will be forced to continue tomorrow. Such is the hardships of life.

I have chatted with Dad every night, staying caught up on the news back there. He had no tricker treaters at all but I don’t think he expected to either. I have called my sister a couple of times and had coffee, it was a nice way to pass an hour. Today I called my friend Linda to get caught up with her and her family. Due to busy lives we just didn’t get a chance to visit this summer. 

While we are sitting I will blog occasionally but not every day, I don’t do anything interesting enough to do so, some times they will be photo blogs, and since a picture is worth a thousand words, if you view the pictures slowly enough it will be as if I have produced a novel for you to read!

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time,

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

We didn’t go as far as thought we would….

 

Our Location:

Missouri Welcome Center, Missouri

Our day started with a very crisp nip in the air and frost on most things. By 8 amCDT we were frost free and wheels rolling after a quick sip at Murphys for the Big Dog.

Our first stop of the day.

We rolled along and not once did we have to stop for any construction, slow downs in speed limits, narrow lanes, single lanes, but always moving at nothing less than 45 mph/75klm. We stopped often and enjoyed the slower pace. 

The leaves look rusty here.

Our first glimpse of Rend Lake

We had plans to stop at the Arkansas Welcome Center tonight but when this one appeared we veered right and are truly happy with our choice.This is a massive lot, tons of space, big dumpsters and lots of cans.  We are parked against the curb with our slide open toward the curb. We have our panels out, charging the battery but they aren’t visible from the lot. We sit here with the door open enjoying the 75f/24c temps with a slight breeze. It is a good life.

You can park here overnight.

And it is away from the trucks and noise.

Come past the nose of the delivery truck veer toward where I’m standing and you will see the view in the above photos.

For our own reminder and perhaps knowledge for anyone on this route we are marking Rend Lake rest stop the premium stop in our future SOUTHWARD journey.  DO NOT enter the truck, rv parking, instead use the car parking entrance, DO NOT PARK THERE but go thru, past the welcome building, veer to the right and keep going. At the lake side you can park overnight, but not on the grass. There is a circle drive so no issues turning around. We asked in the WC and were told parking back there is permitted but not on the grass.

We crossed the Mississippi River today.

We entered the state of Missouri 

And we are still in Missouri tonight at her Welcome Center.

Tomorrow will be a long day, we both agreed but the two after will be short. I think I could get used to this way of travelling.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Mineral Wells, Texas….

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Mineral Wells, Texas

A good nights sleep at the Ward Rest Area had us well rested and ready to move along. We rolled the wheels at 8 am CDT. Uneventful is the only way to describe the perfect day. Traffic was lightish, slow downs were few and quick, fuel prices remain below $4.00, although you can find them above as well.

Lots of fans to keep us cool.

I never tire of the views.

We stopped numerous times today, the dampness is evident and stretching joints works well! We found another rest area at Eastland, Texas that will certainly do to spend a night safely there. It too is big, flat, well lit, and is a DOT rest area. Both sides of the interstate, which means you can easily plan them on a route.

Some bright new leaves and some not so new ones.

It is greening up very much here.

We are currently at Mineral Wells, Texas Walmart. Very friendly folks, assured us parking is not a problem. Big lot, pretty flat, easy in and out. So far we are enjoying our hours here. The current temp sits at 83F/28 C at 5:10 CDT.

One of the few rest areas we stopped at today.

The island is still in the midst of weather, rain, last night but I believe snow was in the forecast for the next day or two. We shall see how it goes.

It just kept getting greener…

We thought this ride was a little bumpy to MW.

Inside the Eastland RA. All things oil was the theme, and old garage and store front too.

Todays drive was short at 332 miles/534 klm, we were about 7 hrs on the road, with many stops, we used about 30 gallons/114 litres of fuel but being in Texas hill country the ups and downs were steeper and higher than the long rollers in NM, so we’re again in the 11 mpg range. Fuel prices were mentioned above.

Flowers along the roadside.

Dirty window,fast speeds, etc for the pictures again tonight.

Until next time….

Take care, stay safe,

Deb