We have arrived…..

 

Our Location:

Cabo San Lucas

Baja California, Mexico 

A short post just to let the masses know we have arrived safely. It has been a very stressful trip but all went smoothly.  My last post was from daughter Bradey’s lively house in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. We stayed from Fri-Mon, Bradey drove us to the Hamilton Go Station on her way to work. We travelled by GO Bus back to Toronto’s Union Station where daughter Courtney met us, an Uber ride later we arrived at her much quieter home. Normally we would have taken the subway but it was out of service for a short section and the Uber was easier. We stayed with Courtney from Mon-Wed afternoon, Riley and I then took another Uber to the Four Points on Dixie Rd. An early morning shuttle had us arriving just before 6 am at Pearson International Airport, Toronto. Everything went very well and we easily passed all of the security checks. 

San Jose del Cabo, at the airport waiting for our ride.

Our departure was delayed about 2 hours, seems the front tires didn’t look right, so the auto club came out to change them while we waited on board. So at approximately 11:20 am we finally taxied to our runway and we were soon hurtling down the runway and into the air. The flight was good, Riley did well, a bit of turbulence didn’t seem to bother her. We landed approximately 2 hours later than planned, with some difficulty in finding our driver but eventually we managed. The drive from San Jose del Cabo to Cabo San Lucas was about 40 minutes but Beto stopped at a Walmart so we could pick up a few things to tide us over for a day or two. Ever the gentleman, he pushed the cart, loaded and unloaded the suitcase and groceries upon our arrival. Majo our hostess greeted us, gave us a tour and she and Beto left.

Waiting for Beto to come pick us up.

Overall Riley did extremely well, she has had a number of very anxious, stressful new experiences but has reacted much better than I thought she would. Even though the preflight days were with family it was not our usual quiet routine, everything was different, beds, sounds, foods, noise levels, and bathrooms. The two nights we spent in hotels had a calming effect to a degree. I have changed our reserved seats for the flight home. Although I think the delay was a big factor in the overall experience, two less hours may have made it much easier for her. Overall she did well, we took a whole day to just decompress, enjoy the quiet and sleep. Yesterday we walked for a while, today we rest, tomorrow we will get out again, and so on. Our transportation will primarily be our feet, bus and taxi. I miss the Big Dog but we will adjust.

Our location is near a busy road and it is about 3 minutes walk on a dusty road to get to the sidewalks. The apartment is fine but not very bright inside. I will speak to the hostess to seek a different spot but if none are available we will make do with this one.  The people here are extremely friendly, very welcoming and I have no doubt we will enjoy our winter. The temperatures are high, hitting close to or reaching 30+ C/86F every day, by the end of November thru until February we should be down in a more comfortable range of 25C/77F for day time highs. In March it will once again start getting warmer and by the end of April we will be very ready to head home.

There are many things we need to learn and accept. I believe this winter will be a very educational adventure. In some ways Riley will have an easier adjustment than myself, she has a different approach to many things and I’m looking forward to learning from her about our new adventure.

Until next time……

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

We are in Ohio…..

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Napoleon, Ohio

The weather today was fabulous! Shorts will be a must tomorrow.  

Yesterday was a busy day, shopping, money exchange, visiting Bradey and the boys before heading back to the park. It was a long day.

This morning we started our day at Olympia RV in Flamborough, Ontario. After breakfast we packed everything up, pulled in the slides, put away the power cord had everything ready to travel. We locked the door, leaving the Igloo behind as we headed off to pick up daughter Courtney at the Go Station. The three of us enjoyed lunch near by while catching up. It was a quick visit but we all had fun. We dropped her back at the Go Station just before 1 pm, headed back to the park, hooked up and let the wheels roll. We made the decision to cross into the US instead of our original plan to stay at the onRoute in Tilbury.

The wait at the border was about 20 minutes, a few questions, a quick peek and we were off. The rough roads were not fun but we didn’t have any workers present and folks were flying, we rolled along about 65mph and around 8 pm we pulled into this lot. Thumbs up to stay the night from the Customer Service lady, I called Dad and Sister before having something to eat. 

Tomorrow we will do some shopping before we head out. We are hoping to cross into Central Time and spend the night at a great rest area we visited last spring on the way home. However that’s for tomorrow’s blog. 

Thanks for stopping by, until next time……

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Our last day in Southern Ontario….

 

Our Location:

Valens Lake Conservation Area, Flamborough, Ontario

I would like to say the weather has been delightful, however my mother always told me never to lie. It has been cold, damp, overcast, windy and yes, damp, or did I mention that already? I know, I know, it’s typical spring weather, the lack of snow fall in the winter must be compensated by rain in the spring. Blah, blah, blah.

We are comfortable in our site and will be reserving this one in the future. We’ve learned that we can reserve 11 months in advance, that is a good thing to know! No water connections this early and I would guess none later in the fall either, but you can pull to Hilltop Shower Building and use the outdoor spigot to add water. There are no sewers at any site, but 5 dump stations are available. The above shower house is also the location for laundry, 2 top load only, 2 dryers, $3.00 is the magic number for all machines. The price for a night in the park is approximately $55 CAD per night. 

Courtney and Riley.

We have had a couple more visits with Bradey and the boys but today was unavailable as they are heading into Hamilton to see the Monster Trucks!  The boys, big and small, are all very excited. Yesterday, Friday, we motored into Hamilton to The West End Diner to visit with oldest daughter Courtney, she commuted from Toronto. We enjoyed the short visit, it is always exciting to visit with her. She is such a positive person and was totally thrilled with the little bag of goodies we brought her! The food was excellent too! We would definitely go there again if in the neighbourhood.

I’ve been chatting hit and miss with dad in the evenings, things are going well there and we are hoping to be there in a few days. The weather here is like the weather there, just a couple of degrees cooler. 

Tomorrow we start the near to last leg of our journey homeward. We roll out for points north, our destination will be just a couple of hundred miles north at a very nice spot for overnight. Not nice as in views but nice as in it is very, very large, ( semis park far away) pretty flat and just a half hour from one of our stock up on groceries stops. Sudbury. From there we have a couple of ideas, one which will have us arriving at home dirt around 3 ish on Monday or another one arriving around noon on Tuesday. We will figure it out as we go. So if all goes well we will be putting feet down for a few months by Monday or Tuesday in time for a dip in the temperature and moisture from the skies. Ah, springtime in Northern Ontario. 

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

A few quiet days at Buttercup Ridge....

 

 

Our Location: 

Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 

The past few days have been quiet and peaceful, a little rain and then a lot of rain yesterday. However I have managed to do some raking and while I'm not finished, it's a good start. Yesterday was a busy day for me, Judi and I tackled the garage, quite by accident, but after a couple of hours we were finished and with Dennis' truck (we had to push it out, dead battery, glad it's a stick) out of the garage, and with everything cleaned up Judi can now put her gym in that space. We spent some time getting out the summer furniture, planters and lanterns, etc. Winnie of course was ever present with her ball wanting someone to toss it. Riley obliged in between laundry loads, and Winnie was excited to see Riley each time she stepped out of the house or the Igloo. 

 

 

The outside fire place here at Buttercup Ridge.

The pizza oven was covered for the winter.

Tulips in the front yard at the base of two black walnut trees.

The driveway needs some attention, it was a tough winter with no real frost.

We headed into Cobourg shortly after 5 pm to meet daughter Courtney at the Via Rail Train station, the train was delayed and didn't arrive until around 6:40 instead of the 6:10 originally planned. We headed out to The Ale House, a local pub, for some food. It wasn't the greatest but it wasn't bad. We managed to chat during the entire meal and get caught up on a lot of things. A brief stop at the Igloo for an hour or so and then into the house to meet Judi and Winnie as well as a brief visit before C, R and I came back to the Igloo for a while. Courtney headed off to the house for the night and will catch up with us this morning. We will deliver her back to the train station some time today for her return to Toronto. 

 

A bit better view of the backyard kitchen. There is a big Weber, sink and fridge under the tarp.

 

Some turkey vultures on the barn roof.

A quiet place to rest and overlook the fields.

 

This morning is foggy and a very heavy dew.  The sun is trying to come out and is burning the fog off quickly as you can see in the photos. I hope you enjoy them. 

 

Meet Winnie, she's 8 years old and loves to chase balls.

 

The fog was dense when I opened the curtains around 6.

 

And started burning off quickly.

Until next time....

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

All about saguaros today...

 

Our Location:

MM 91-90 SB AZ 95, near Quartzsite, AZ

 

A bit warmer this morning when I rolled out but it warmed up nicely through the day. The wind seems to have died down this afternoon as it was a pretty good wind this morning before noon. 

 

 

Some walking with Doug & Yuma, then some walking on my own and after that a little stroll with Riley, Doug & Yuma. I definitely have all my steps in today. 

 

 

A few minutes with Doug doing a few little things to help him along and after that I was done for the day. I find the early mornings (4:30 am to 5:00 am) make me want to nap in the afternoon and while I don't do that, I would sure like to.

 

 

A chat with oldest daughter Courtney, who lives in Toronto, has us informed of only a few inches of snow and none of it from the lake effects snow squalls. The temps are just a few degrees below freezing but manageable. She and her housemates were settling in to watch football, Buffalo and Cleveland playing in Detroit since the Bills home stadium is under 5 ft of snow. 

 

 

Today's photo are all about saguaros. They are a very stately and majestic sentinel that stands guard over the desert here. Their skin is wax like, protected by spines that range from an inch to several inches long. Their trunk at the ground is battered and hardened much like hard wood in appearance. Various holes appear, some are healed, some are still gaping. The wax like covering looks as if it turns to a paper like substance in some places and in others looks more a peeling wallpaper. They are vivid green, dark green, light green and off in the distance some even have a brown hue to them. The nearer they are to death the more brown they are, dark and stark in appearance.  Finally the bones or ribs of the saguaro in death appear to be a very light tan colour, or off in the distance a hint of yellow almost. Each rib becomes evident and the pulp inside the circle of ribs dries out and leaves them hollow. The spines however stay sharp and protect it even in death until it falls over and once again goes back to the earth. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my walk in the saguaros today. 

 

 

 

Until next time...

 

 

 

Take care, be safe, 

 

 

 

Deb

 

 

We travelled farther than expected today.....

Our Location: Richard's Park, Brady, Texas

 

When we woke this morning in Marshall, Tx it was coolish at about 60F/15C with a bit of humidity in the air already. Our plan was a regular 4 to 5 hour travel day. We pulled out of the park at 8:32 am, I know because I glanced at the clock. 

 

Somewhere between Tyler and I-35 South.

Confusing the number of highways here.

 

The route we chose had us taking I-20W to Tyler, TX and then once again catching Texas 31 West. We took this route before and enjoyed it. We did so again today. For those that are interested, the beginning of the route is a bit chopped up with lots of lights and slow downs but after about 30 minutes it spans out into a 4 lane semi divided highway for most of the way to I-35 South near Waco. I say MOST not all, a few slow downs here and there in a few of the towns but it rolls along well and the road is in pretty good condition. The only thing is you have to pay attention to direction changes as I don't feel Texas advertises some things well. That being one of them. However we managed to make our way through Tyler, Athens, Corsicana, and Hubbard, we eventually entered into Bellmead and popped onto I-35S which carried us through Waco to Hewitt our planned stop for today. . 

 

Course pavement but the bridge joints are good.

 

 But as the clock was just hitting high noon we kept going. We followed I-35S to Temple and hung a right onto I-14/TX 190 toward Kileen and Fort Hood. This road was also a nice 4 lane road for a long way but it eventually narrowed down to a regular 2 lane road with a few passing lanes when it turned to just Tx 190. We ventured through Lampasas, Richland Springs, Rochelle, San Saba and eventually we ended up here at Richard's Park in Brady, Texas. The road was decent overall with a couple of humpy bumpy spots but not many. 

A river we crossed.

I paid this price today.

A retaining wall on Tx 190.

Beauty wise it is definitely worth the drive but I think sand fleas may make it seem less so, however we shall see. The RV park is past the baseball fields and is situated near a very large pavilion. A bathhouse, play ground, disc golf and a number of other things make up the park. I'll post more tomorrow. 

 

A beautiful home we passed today.

For our friend Jim...the hunt is on, tools vary as per the hunter.

 

I called my dad upon our arrival and set up which was around 4 pm ct, 5 pm his time. We chatted for a while and he told us the weather there is down right summer like, and we are so happy to hear that. It's about time they had some nice weather. 

 

Some Texas country side...

The reason we came to this park is odd maybe. My late husband's name was Richard. Richard's Park is on Memory Lane. Our middle daughter's name is Bradey. About a half hour or so out of town we passed Riley Road. Only Courtney and I are missing representation here, perhaps I'll find the connection tomorrow. Although I did chat with Courtney last night. It just seemed to me that Richard's Park on Memory Lane in Brady, Texas was a place we perhaps should visit and so we have. 

 

Our spot in site # 8. 

 

Temps were warm today here, 85F/28C with very strong winds, of course they were side and head winds all day. The Big Dog was thirsty doing all that work. Diesel has been steadily going down and we are now looking at $4.35 to around $5 +, with most in the range of $4.75 or so. 

 

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

 

Until next time..

 take care, be safe, 

 

Deb

A few more photos from my hike....

Our Location: Saddle Mountain BLM, Tonopah, AZ

 

 

After a bit of wiggling and jiggling I've been able to get my cord to work again tonight. I should have a new one by Wednesday morning. If all goes well. The nice fella at Saddle Mountain Ranch has graciously allowed me to have my package sent there at no charge for the use of his address. 

 

 

 I crossed this wash while on my hike.

 Some campers way down over there.

Always interesting to see where folks park. 

 

 

Today Riley and I headed into Buckeye for a few things. A stop at the TA for trash disposal, Lowe's to check on a couple of items, we bought one and decided to wait on the other. A stop at Walmart had us dropping a great many of our hard earned dollars for a number of items. Today is the second visit to this Walmart and the second time my debit card hasn't worked there. They need new machines. It's worked everywhere else this winter except this store. 

 

 

 I am not sure what that is, we cannot see any water from the roads but it could be an irrigation pond way off the road.  

 Those folks are all camped off Courthouse Road.

 

 

Back home we put everything away and will be doing a bit of work in the future with the items we picked up today. However the rest of the day was  restful. Very few flies around us, and we are happy about that. The door, windows and vents open most of the day to catch the little breeze that was helping to cool off the heat. Mid 70's today in the heat of the afternoon. Close to the 50F mark in the mornings now. 

 

 

The photos today are still from my short hike up the edge of Saddle Mountain a few days ago. Only my zoom lens, so I don't have many panoramic views.  

 

 

 It is much steeper and longer than it looks. I walked up and down this area.

 The White Lion, Vaughn  and the Igloo way off in the distance.

 I went a bit higher than this point.

 

 

Chatted with my dad today, he called to say the snow has stopped and it was a nice sunny day, not warm but sunny. Supposed to warm up tomorrow with more snow on the way. Winter in Northern Ontario, isn't it just wonderful? Chatted also with daughter Courtney for a while. Left messages on a couple of other machines as well. 

 

We have had a bit of a change of plans and will be staying in the area for another week before we head off. We are slowly figuring out our route home and with certain dates in mind we are working out our route to allow us to plod along at a nice leisurely pace.

It doesn't look it but on top of that rock is where I stood, it's quite large in size. I took most of the higher up photos from that spot. Even the one above it which shows the saguaro that I mentioned climbing higher than.

 

 

On that note, I'm going to say goodnight. Hope all is well with everyone out there in blog land. Thanks for stopping by. 

 Pretty, isn't it? 

That is the area I climbed, to the top of that slope. 

 

 

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

Deb