Last Week of the Decade!

It may seem like we fell off the face of the earth, but we didn't.  We arrived in New Mexico on October 1st, after our Alaskan adventure and working our way back.  We went to Gorham Scout Ranch near Chimayo, New Mexico, to help them out.  Below is a picture of the new site we chose to camp while at Gorham.

The fall weather was rather mild and we enjoyed our new home.  That is, until two weeks ago when we woke up to this:

Eight inches of wet, cold snow.  The snow didn't really last that long because the weather was warm and the sun melted most of it.  We debated when to leave the mountain area to lower climates and decided yesterday was the day.  This decision was partially based on the fact that the next storm coming in (due to arrive today) was supposed to drop "feet" instead of "inches."  Getting stuck up there until late April wasn't in our game plan, so we broke camp (after 2-1/2 months) and headed to Albuquerque.

It appears we left just in time, because the mud up there is almost worse than snow and/or ice.  Wayne got stuck trying to pull the rig out of the clay mud and worked with a shovel and some gravel for over half an hour before he finally dislodged the rig and made it down the hill.  It was a little scary watching him try to pull it out and it kept going sideways instead of forward! 

While at Gorham, we were in the mountains and down in a hole, so internet and phone reception were nil.  I managed to find a spot up on a hillside where I could walk and face southwest under a specific tree and get one signal bar on my phone -- unless the wind blew.  So we were off the grid while there.  Now we're back in civilization and getting ready to head to Atlanta and then Florida for the Alaska Rally in Tampa.  On our way back from there, we'll wind our way through Louisiana and Texas to visit with everyone.

Hope everyone had  great Christmas and we wish you all a healthy and happy New Year!

Roughing It

Some people might think we "rough it" when we're out, but I'm here to tell you . . . we don't! 

After waiting until September to find some really nice, warm weather, it seemed a shame to sit inside and watch football, no matter how much we love football.  Wayne decided the best solution was to upgrade our 5th wheel to have it's own outdoor entertainment system.

The only real distraction was the squirrel that kept teasing Ziva while we were out there.  People driving by would slow down to ask what the score was (as if they knew what game we were watching). 

This turned out to be a  perfect solution for football on a nice day.

Geaux Saints!

Triple Treat

We are back in the "lower 48!"  We decided to leave Canada and all its smoke and head for the border.  We drove through Banff National Park on the Icefields Highway, which is supposed to be spectacular scenery -- it may have been, but with the rain, clouds, fog, and smoke, we didn't see much of anything.  About the last 20 miles of the highway, the smoke started clearing and there were a few breaks in the clouds and what we saw was amazing.  Too bad we were unable to see the rest of it.

We crossed into Montana at Eureka about 9:15 in the morning and headed to Columbia Falls, which is right outside Glacier National Park.  Out of the week that we spent there, we had maybe two days of rain and the rest were nice days.  We had a gorgeous sunny day for our drive through Glacier National Park.  Road to the Sun is exactly that, you start climbing and keep climbing and the road narrows (and there was construction) and you finally get to the top which is Logan's Pass and it was beautiful.  

After Columbia Falls we headed towards Yellowstone and spent three nights there.  It was raining when we arrived there (imagine that -- rain), but the next two days were sunny and warm.  I almost forgot what a blue sky looks like!

We saw more wildlife in Yellowstone than we saw our whole trip through Canada and Alaska!

This guy decided a shortcut through the parking lot was easier than walking along the road!  We didn't get any closer and were staying close to the truck in case he decided to get closer.

After Yellowstone we headed west to Idaho and I was able to visit with some long-time family friends, which was a treat.  Then we headed west of there and took a turn into

the moon?  Actually it's Craters of the Moon National Monument, which was interesting. 

Tomorrow we head for Declo, Idaho, which is where we'll stop for a few days to watch the opening night of the new football season when the Saints play the Vikings.  We're slowly winding our way south to Lake Powell, which is where we'll meet up with the RV club for a few nights at Lake Powell and then the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We will stop at Bryce Canyon on our way down, which I'm looking forward to seeing again.

So that brings us up to date.  We're still enjoying what we're doing and after the Grand Canyon trip we're headed back to the Albuquerque area for a while to plan where we'll head next!

Another Canadian Fire?

We left Dawson Creek yesterday and after driving 400 miles we were still unable to get out of the smoke from the forest fire that's to the southwest (Williams Lake -- there's another one a little northwest on the Cassiar Highway).  We stopped in a little town called McBride at a very nice RV park that is all grass and it's right beside Fraser River.  This valley is situated between the Cariboo Mountains and northern tip of the Rocky Mountains.  The views are supposed to be gorgeous, but with all the smoke it's a little hard to tell.  We just listened to some CBC news and this smokes goes all the way east to Calgary, Alberta, so it doesn't look like we'll be driving out of it for a few days.

We opted to spend another night here after the long drive yesterday -- we like to keep it under 300 miles, but out here you have to go with what's available, too.  Twice yesterday we turned around and went back for gas when we read how far it was to the next "services available" and we're both glad we did!

So I may be relaxing and taking it easy, but Wayne is in the process of rewiring the TV and all it's various antennas.  There are local channels available where we are, but we are unable to receive them -- so he's troubleshooting the problem.

When we had Ziva groomed in Anchorage, I didn't notice at the time that they left the hair on her front legs longer and I think it looks like she's wearing legwarmers!

Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway

We are in Dawson Creek, British Columbia!  We have been unable to post as frequently as we would like due to sporadic internet service (or no service).    This is the signpost stating that this is Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway!  It's actually 1.5 miles away from where it used to be located, but vandals tore the other one down.  At that point, local government/businesses decided to place it a little more strategically so that guests to the area could also see their downtown.

We have managed to drive the whole of the Alaskan Highway, albeit backwards.  Wayne wasn't able to drive from Chicken, Alaska, to the Top of the World Highway in Yukon Territory because once again it was washed out by rains.  A few of the people in our tour group were able to travel back that way.

After the tour was over, we went back to Anchorage for a couple of days, then we headed to Valdez at Prince William Sound for eight nights.  It was relaxing and we actually had sun for two of the days.  After that we drove to Tok, Alaska, hoping to find out that the highway had been reopened, but it wasn't, so we headed back to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.  

While in Whitehorse, we discovered the water heater wasn't functioning - so we got it worked on there.  A part was installed, a wire replaced, and we were good to go.  We headed towards Watson Lake, but the smoke from the Cassiar Highway fire was so thick in town we decided to drive further.  After another 100 miles of travel, we were still in smoke and tired, so we stopped for the night. We saw more wildlife on this day of the trip than we have the whole trip so far!

The next day while winding our way towards Dawson Creek, we noticed that there was a crack in the rim of our right front tire -- not a good thing.  We drove a little slower to the campground we were staying at for the night and had Good Sam roadside assistance come out and change the tires for us.  

Once we got into Dawson Creek, we headed for a Ford dealer.  The rim was covered under warranty, they ordered one from Edmonton, it came this morning and we went back to get them switched out and the spare put back where it was supposed to be.

After this, we're headed towards Prince George and on towards Calgary.  We're not in any particular hurry, so we'll just drive to where we want for the day and spend a day or two when we find an interesting place.

We enjoyed the tour, and are now enjoying our trip back home!

We Saw Denali!

It may be a little hard to see it in the above picture, but we saw Denali on our tour today!  Considering we had 98% of our activities so far on this tour being rained on, we were happy for a shift in the clouds and being able to see the top part of Denali.  It never even rained on us during the tour.

We had to take a 699-mile detour to get from Dawson City to Tok, Alaska.  Several days of heavy rain washed out the highway called Top of the World Highway and our caravan was forced to take a detour to Tok.  That put us one day behind on our schedule, but it wasn't too bad, just two long days of driving on some of this area's worse roads (it's all relative, believe me).  The first really good day of weather was the day we went on the Discovery Sternwheeler Tour in Fairbanks.  We actually saw sunshine.

Tomorrow we head to Anchorage for five days.  We have a lot of activities in the area and some free time.  It may be cool weather, it may be rainy, windy, and cloudy, but we are enjoying it all!

On the Denali tour today we saw caribou, golden eagle, arctic ground squirrel, dall sheep, grizzly sow and two cubs, and two lynx.  The only thing we really didn't see was a moose.  That's okay -- I saw a moose when we were around Dawson City.

Dawson City, Yukon Territory

This picture was taken from the top of Dome Mountain looking North where the Yukon River is flowing out to the Bering Sea.  The island that you see is one of the places the locals kept their "barking dogs" during the summer months.  When the weather turned cold and the river froze, they'd get their dogs back to use their sleds to get around in the winter.

We have been gold panning (we didn't strike it rich), did a walking tour of downtown Dawson City (where the streets are packed dirt and the sidewalks are boardwalks), saw the restored Dredge #4 and learned how they operated during the gold rush era, and rested. 

We brought the cool weather with us.  It was 85 the day we arrived, but hasn't been above 60 since then and mostly overcast and rainy. 

We will be staying in Dawson another night because part of the Top of the World Highway washed away in the previous two days of rain.  This happens a lot up here according to the locals, and you just wait around until it gets fixed.  We are fortunate enough to be stuck in a campground -- the people who are up on the mountain now trying to go to Chicken, Alaska, or come to Dawson City, are stuck up on the road.  Our tour guide, Spike, said we'll just lose a day in Fairbanks; we were supposed to be there four nights. 

So we will remain fluid and see what transpires.  We've been averaging $5.00/gallon for diesel in Canada, and anxiously await returning to Alaska where it should be closer to $4.25/gallon!

This is the rear of the Dredge we toured.  It was misting the whole time we were touring and the inside was rather chilly! 

On our return from gold panning, we spotted a yearling moose standing in a pond eating leaves.  We were unable to get a picture, because the camera was buried in the back seat under all the gold panning paraphernalia.   Wayne promised we would see more moose along the trip -- I'll try to have the camera at the ready!

The Longest Day

Yesterday was the longest day of driving that we will have on the whole tour -- 337 miles.  That doesn't sound like much until you factor in there are 22 rigs plus a van pulling a trailer.  Throw into that mix a traffic accident that closed the highway for several hours, but our wait wasn't that bad as we came upon just as they were finishing.  The various bridges that are one-lane-at-a-time bridges with traffic lights at either end adds a bit of time to get us all across; and the final unknown - road construction.  

There was a stretch of construction that was several miles in length that had road base and dust -- so much that they had water trucks working continuously.  The pilot car would weave us from one side to the other around the working vehicles.  We now all have a matched hue of yellowish mud on our rigs/vehicles!  Wayne decided it is a badge of honor that we made it through the Klondike Highway and none of us should wash it off!  That and the knowledge that we have two more days of driving after we leave Dawson City - the start of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1896 -- that are gravel/dirt roads.  We take a ferry across the Klondike River to get out of Dawson City, so I'll be sure and take pictures of that!

We arrived about two hours later than our planned arrival time -- people were tired, hungry, and it was 85 degrees and sunny outside.  When we finally got to bed around 10:00 PM, the sun in the sky would be about the same as 3:00 PM elsewhere in the lower 48 states.  Must be how it got the name of land of the Midnight Sun!

Thankfully we have a few days to be here and rest up for driving the next leg.  We get to go over the Top of the World Highway, which is the northernmost highway in Alaska -- not paved, just a "working dirt road."  

Tonight we pan for gold! 

Weather Vane - Yukon Style

Yesterday we drove by this airplane outside the National Aeronautics Museum and I thought it looked neat.  Today we drove by again and it had shifted positions -- Wayne read last night that it's a weather vane!  They have it on a pivoting arm and the whole plane swings to show which direction the wind is blowing -- hence the Yukon Style Weather Vane.  They say everything is bigger in the Yukon!

We also went to see Miles Canyon that flows into the Yukon River and walked over a suspension bridge.  The water is coming from glaciers and the color is beautiful -- hard to describe.  The whole tour went there yesterday, but we left because there wasn't enough parking for everyone.  I'm glad just the two of us went back to see it today.  It was much nicer and less crowded.

We head to Dawson City in the morning.  Wayne decided to make some seafood gumbo for dinner tonight - yum!

At Last - A Sunny Day!

Little did I realize when we left Hyder, Alaska, and toured up the Cassiar Highway through Dease Lake, Watson Lake, and Teslin (Yukon Territory), that we would be without internet service. 

The Fourth of July and days we spent in Skagway were the coldest, dampest, and windiest that we have had so far on our trip!  The layer-look was rampant.  You could tell the locals, because they were in shorts and flip flops, while the rest of us were layered up, hats, gloves, anything to help keep us warm. 

Spending the 4th of July in a small town and seeing a parade is the best way to spend the Fourth!  The kids parade was first, which was small but cute.  The big parade was amazing in its length for such a small town.  A group of bagpipe players and a small group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police in uniform were part of the parade.  Ships came and went while we spent four days there, helicopters and planes ferrying passengers, and of course the White Pass Yukon Railroad was right by the campground.  It was a busy place!

This picture kind of depicts the weather we had while there.  One night a man from Santa Fe, which is just north of Albuquerque, camped next to us.  The next night a venture crew that ferried in from somewhere packs and all came in and were headed out to do some hiking for a few days.  The 33-mile Chilkoot Trail is a popular hiking spot.

We arrived in Whitehorse to clouds and wind, but yesterday afternoon the sun finally made it's appearance.  We are all happy to see it!  It looks like it will be sunny today, too, and it's a free day for us.  We plan to go to the Canada Super Store for some groceries and tomorrow we head to Dawson City, Yukon Territory -- the place where the Klondike Gold Rush started. 

We currently have about 20 hours of daylight and when we arrive in Dawson City, we'll only have two hours of "night time."  It's called the Land of the Midnight Sun.  That will be our furthest point North on the tour -- we're only 150 miles from the North Pole.

Driving up out of Skagway we were on our own, meeting up at Carcross by 11:00 AM.  As usual, Wayne and I were the first ones out and we hit unbelievable fog all the way up the road.  We were happy that there wasn't a lot of traffic because it was very hard to see.  We didn't get a picture in front of the "Welcome to Alaska" sign that resembles the "Yukon Larger than Life" sign, because the fog was so thick we drove past it before we saw it and didn't figure you'd see the sign in a picture.

We are enjoying our trip and hope this finds everyone well!

Hyder, Alaska

Welcome to Camp Run-a-Muck in Hyder, Alaska, the last ghost town of the great frontier!  This little town is a sister town to Stewart, British Columbia, which sits at the end of Portland Canal.  The mail is delivered twice a week by sea plane, if the weather permits.  It is where the Tongass National Forest starts, the largest National Forest in the United States.  This is a temperate rain forest -- 120 inches of rain a season and lots of the flora you would see in a rain forest.  It also receives approximately 42 feet (that's right FEET) of snow in the winter.  It's at the end of a road, so you only see it if you plan it.

I saw my first glacier, Bear Glacier, on the side of the mountain driving down into Hyder.  This is where the movie Insomnia was filmed.  We had a nice fresh Halibut dinner on Monday night with a little skit performed by the staff.

Our group that broke down just as we were leaving Hazelton were able to rejoin us in Hyder.  They were welcomed with shouts and applause -- the rest of us hoping that it won't happen to us! 

Hyder is where they built a viewing platform to watch the bears grab the salmon out of the lake to eat.  We didn't see any because the salmon aren't quite there yet -- it will happen mid-July according to the ranger.  We did see a black bear foraging in the trash can across the street from the campground at the motel and an eagle eating something in the middle of the road.  The wildflowers are beautiful and really starting to come out.  There are mountains everywhere you look and they're majestic, beautiful, and covered with snow at the top.  The waterfalls were amazing, too, and hopefully I'll get a picture of those attached at the next post.

The group seems to be gelling and everyone getting along.  It's staying light later now (as in later than 11:00 PM). 

We all have radios in our rigs and Spike, our tour guide, gives us running commentary as we drive along giving us the history of the area, interesting things to look for, and answers questions (also alerts us when traffic conditions worsen or there's a bear by the side of the road).

We're having a great time!   Wish you were here!

K'San Campground

Last night was our first meeting as a group for the tour.  There are 22 rigs along for the tour and approximately 45 people.  The process has started for checking out each rig, installing rock shields on the front of vehicles and protective plastic for those who want it on the front of their rigs.  After spending a good two hours trying to scrub all the bugs we acquired along the trip off the front of the fifth wheel, we opted to have a plastic cover installed for the duration of the trip. 

This area of British Columbia (which I misspelled on the title of my last post) is gorgeous.  We are nestled between huge mountains to the west and a large river to the north.  We're trying to get used to the idea that it's light outside until 11:00 pm and starts getting light around 3:30 am! 

There are almost as many dogs along on the trip as people.  I joked that not only do we need to learn all the people's names, but all the pet's names, too!  (At least the people have name badges.)

There are a few more rigs around the bend in the road, but this is the bulk of them. 

Tomorrow morning we start our tour with the local first nation tribe in this area, then a salmon potluck dinner!

Arrival in Hazelton, British Colombia

We arrived at K'San Campground yesterday around noon for the start of our Alaskan tour.  There are already about 12 rigs here that are on the tour.  The scenery is gorgeous, big mountains and a river by the campground (which also means bugs).  We were in Seattle for four nights and it rained and was cloudy all except the Friday before our departure, which happened to be the day of our lunch reservations at the Sky City restaurant in the Space Needle.  The sun came out, it warmed up, and it was beautiful!  The only thing we didn't get to see was Mt. Rainier -- I think it's a prop they use in their tourism advertisements and postcards. 

After leaving Seattle, we headed to the Canadian border.  Crossing the border wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be -- they didn't ask for paperwork on the animals at all (although we DO have the paperwork). 

Will add more later -- we're headed to a township 63 kilometers away to stock up on some groceries.

Redwood Tree?

This tree was growing out of the redwood tree next to our campsite outside of Crescent City, California.  It was very interesting looking, to say the least.  Although it's hard to see, at the top it's leafy and healthy.  I wonder if it will keep growing out and up?

Imagine our Surprise

While stopping for gas in Oregon, imagine our surprise when an attendant (clean cut and in uniform) came out to pump the gas and wash the windshield for us!  The attendant stated it was customary in the state of Oregon for this to happen.  WOW!  We are spending two days in Florence, Oregon, right along the coast line (two blocks from the beach).  The sun has been shining, but the breeze off the water is a little cool.  It'll be nice to relax and catch up on laundry.  We are finally at the Pacific Ocean!

This was a lighthouse outside Crescent City, California, where we spent last night.  Love the water!

The Run with the Harleys

We left Winnemucca (where the wind blew the whole time) and spent the next night in Verdi, Nevada, west of Reno, two miles from the Nevada/California border.  It was an RV park nestled up in the mountains and the views were gorgeous (I'll put pictures up soon).  The next two nights we spent in Grass Valley, California, at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.  It was a pretty place and very quiet.  We had dinner with Gary and Pat Orechwa the first night, then traveled down to Manteca the next day to visit Brett and Brian.  It's always good to see your kids and catch up with their lives.  That evening Gary and Pat came over to our "home on wheels" and visited, which was a special treat for us!

The next morning we took the trailer over and had four new tires installed.  It seemed like a good idea since we still have 10,000 miles left on this trip.  After leaving Grass Valley, we meandered north/northwest on Highway 20, which is a two-lane, curvy road, but very picturesque.  After we passed I-5, we noticed quite a few motorcycles on the road, all headed the same direction.  All the way from Highway 20, to Highway 101, and north, we kept seeing more and more Harley Davidsons in groups.  We decided to go beyond where we were planning on staying that night, and wound up at Redwoods River Resort north of Leggett, California.  Turns out that there is a Harley bike rally this weekend all up and down Highway 101.  The resort personnel warned us that it would be noisy, as they weren't enforcing their normal "quiet time" while the rally was there.  We had driven far enough we decided to stay anyway.  It wasn't that bad, really.  Some of the riders were up and leaving by 6:00 this morning, which seemed early to us, but who knows where they're headed next! Now we're headed to Crescent City and the Giant Redwoods!

The Wind Blew us to Winnemucca

We got an early start today and were supposed to spend the night in Battle Mountain, Nevada, but it was only 11:30, so we decided to drive on to Winnemucca.  It wasn't too bad until then, but the wind started blowing really hard.  We decided that Winnemucca was a good place to stop before we wound up on the side of the road.  At least we'll have the rest of the day to relax and head to an RV park outside Reno for tomorrow night.  No pictures as yet.  I'm trying to figure out a better way to post pictures to the blog without too much work.  Until next time!

If It's Friday, This Must be Salt Lake City

We arrived in Provo, Utah, around 11:30 this morning and decided to scope out a Camping World to have our air conditioner checked out.  The 90-degree heat in Moab helped us realize we needed cool air, and our air conditioner didn't want to cooperate -- 90 outside, 85 inside.  Fortunately it was something simple and didn't cost much to have it fixed.  We left Camping World three hours later and headed to the Salt Lake City KOA campground, which is very close to downtown Salt Lake City.  They even have a shuttle that will take you to and from Temple Square!  We'll be here for two days and then head on westward to California.  Thank goodness for air conditioning!

Our Journey Begins!

T

Tuesday, June 1, we left Gorham Scout Ranch and headed to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, our first night on the road for our Alaska RV Tour!  (Thank you, Donna, for taking the picture.)  We had dinner with our friends Jim & Deneice at their gorgeous home in Pagosa (it's for sale if anyone is looking)!  Now it's June 2, and we're in Moab, Utah, for two nights.  Last time we came through Moab, we wanted to hike a trail but were unable to because it rained all night.  I don't think we'll have that problem this time, at 2:45 PM it's already 87 degrees.  After Moab, we're heading to Salt Lake City to sight see, then to Nevada, and on to California to visit some family.  Then we'll head up the coast through Oregon and Washington state on our way to Hazelton, British Columbia.

We're excited to finally be on the way.  It seems like forever since we made the reservations for this tour, but so much has happened and changed since then, that it probably just makes it seem longer.  Ziva and Casey settled right in to the traveling routine, probably more so than Wayne and myself.

We plan to update a little more frequently from this point onward.  We will definitely have more pictures.

Less Than Ten Days

June 1st is getting closer and we'll be headed North by Northwest (hey, good title for a movie) to meet up with our Alaskan RV tour in British Columbia.  We will be sight seeing along the way and stopping in California to visit my sons, then head up the coast.  I have never seen Oregon or Washington state and I'm almost as excited about seeing those states as I am about the Alaska trip!  

We are in Albuquerque getting last-minute "official" things taken care of and put the Toyota in storage.  Tomorrow we head back to the Scout Camp where we will keep helping them get ready for summer camp until our departure.  Internet access there is sporadic, but we will keep the blog up-to-date more regularly once we start on the trip.

Spring in the Mountains

Friday, April 23, we awoke to three inches of snow on the ground!  It melted later that day and warmed up a little.  Then this past week, we have had snow and cold weather since April 29th.  Today dawned sunny with a promise of warmer weather, which we are hoping will occur.  We'll be leaving for our Alaska trip on June 1st and that's not far away. 

Boy Scout Camp

Just an update to let everyone know that we're at the Gorham Scout Ranch helping them get ready for summer camp.  The scenery is beautiful and the weather has cooperated.  Wayne has been pretty busy; Ziva and I are exploring all the trails around us.  She is loving being off leash and exploring the mountains!  We have a 30-minute drive to buy groceries or do laundry, but it's worth it!  We'll be leaving the first of June for our Alaska adventure.

We're Off!

As of tomorrow morning, we will officially be on the road!  Our house closed yesterday, today was spent loading the fifth-wheel and taking care of last-minute items, and we're set to head out!  Our first stop will be Gorham Boy Scout Camp northeast of Espanola, which is about a 90-minute drive from here.  Time will be spent helping them get ready for summer camp, which should be a lot of fun.  Internet and phone access up there is sporadic, it's up in the mountains in a little valley, so poor reception.  We will try to update as we can before we head out for our big trip to Alaska.  Departure date for Alaska is around the first of June.  We will check in when we can!

Winding Up or Down?

We have been back in Albuquerque exactly two weeks today, but so much has happened!  We were fortunate enough to sell our house without even having to list it (the neighbors next door wanted to buy it).  So we have been busy DOWNSIZING . . . a lot of items are being donated to Goodwill, Airman's Attic, and a local rescue mission.  Sometimes it's a little overwhelming what we're doing and still have left to do, but it's also an exciting adventure!  We're leaving this Saturday for a rally in the Las Cruces area with the RV Club we joined.  My parents will be meeting us there after wintering in Arizona.  That will be a week to try and cram/rearrange all the items we "can't do without" and see if it fits in the rig.  I'll just be happy to not have to do any serious packing for a few days.  The following week we will head to the Boy Scout camp outside of Santa Fe to donate a lot of tools and equipment for their use.  We'll keep you posted on how we're doing.

Back in Albuquerque

We arrived in Albuquerque on Tuesday to warm, sunny skies!  The trip through Texas was a little dicey - snow mixed with sleet and some ferocious winds -- but we got through it without mishap.  After much discussion, we have decided to go RV full-time and are trying to figure out how to sell our house and all the contents!  Talk about downsizing!  We feel the time is right for us to start this new adventure in our lives.  Fortunately we have been downsizing every time we have moved, so the task isn't too enormous (tongue in cheek on that one).  We'll keep you posted on the details.  Our goal is to be completely foot-loose before we head for our Alaska tour this summer.

Westward

Tomorrow we will be leaving Louisiana and heading West to Albuquerque.  We contemplated extending our stay in Louisiana (again), but have decided it's time to head home and see what's up!  Cooler weather and rain forecast for this area has prompted our decision to go ahead and head back.  It's been great visiting with family and friends while here.  Our next outing is planned for March 22-26 with our RV group, Siglo de Oro, in Las Cruces.  I have lots of family in the area and hope to get to see some of them while there!

Rain? Again?

We are in Louisiana at a new campsite at Fairview Riverside State Park -- this is the third time we have changed campsites, but that's all right, it gives us more practice in backing, setting up, etc., on our new-to-us rig.  The weather is supposed to turn rainy this afternoon, so I'm glad we're all set up before it hits.  I am enjoying having the stackable washer/dryer that we have in here -- it is so handy!  Even if we can't use the washer, due to not having sewer hook-ups, we can wash at their washers and dry clothes at home!  Ah, the modern conveniences of life!  I am going to try to figure out how to post a picture to this post so you can see our new-to-us rig!

Little Steps

Trying to figure out how to produce a blog is fun and maybe a little challenging.  I follow several family and/or knitting blogs and am trying to incorporate new ideas into this blog.  We'll see how it goes!  We've decided to extend our stay in Louisiana until next Tuesday so we can visit everyone we came to see.  Who knows when we'll head back to Albuquerque!

Mardi Gras

We have been in Louisiana for ten days and the weather has been mostly cold, rainy, humid, windy -- even snow last Friday!  Mardi Gras is today and we plan to view the Covington parade if it isn't too cold (it's warmer in Albuquerque today)!  Weather turned bad enough that the full campground had a lot of no shows and other people left two days early -- not nice enough to be outside.  Where are we headed next?  Nor sure yet -- maybe Mississippi, maybe Texas, then wind our way back to Albuquerque.  Love our new rig!

First Rally

Seffner, Florida, is where we have been the past two days while attending the rally for the Alaska trip we have planned for June 2010.  Over 200 people from previous trips and some newcomers are here to socialize and reminisce about Alaska.  We met five other couples that will be traveling with us this summer.   After hearing stories and seeing trip pictures from the people who have already made this adventurous trip, we're all ready to leave tomorrow!  We've set the blog up to keep track of our travels and shared pictures and information with friends and family.  The tour itself is 34 days long, leaving from Hazelton, British Colombia.  We plan to take our time traveling up and returning, and will probably be gone a total of three months.  We are both excited and ready to go!