Frank and Jen On the Road
Having received a few complaints, I guess we will try to update more often. With the motorhome emptied and stored, we have been slowly settling into the house. Organizing and decorating has been slowed by another week's stay in the hospital for Jen - we think she over-exerted for our fast trip down and unloading in the heat. She is home and doing well, and the temps are finally getting down to bearable. We have been enjoying the sunrises and sunsets, and have set up some bird feeders to enjoy from the Arizona room. Our first major purchase for the house was a bedroom set, since that seemed like the most necessary. The rest of the house is furnished with our traveling lawn furniture for the time being. Stan and Carla, from "up north", stopped by the RV park for a few days on their way to Texas, and we joined them with Carl and Eileen for a visit to the Desert Museum. We visited the American Indian Heritage Celebration, at the national park visitor center, with Carl and Eileen. There were presentations by local tribes, and booths displaying (and selling) some of their beautiful craft and artwork. We are currently recovering from an overabundance of Thanksgiving dinner with most of the usual mob from the area. We did a progressive dinner this year, roving between the 3 homes within walking distance of each other, ending at our place for dessert (though everybody took their pie to-go). Along with a lot of kicking back and relaxing, that pretty much catches up with what we have been doing since we got to Tucson.
Arose early, hoping to beat the heat, and found everything on the street right where we had left it. With Carl and Eileen's help, we got the UHaul unloaded, swept out, and returned by about 9:30. Then we started unloading the motorhome, trying to figure out where to put things. Started with the refrigerator so we could get it defrosted and cleaned out. Then we decided to bring in all the rest of the food so it wouldn't spoil (102 degrees in the motorhome). Then we went to Carl and Eileen's for a nice lunch, then back to it. We did get a little siesta during the hottest part of the day, but did get more stuff moved in. We return to Carl and Eileen's for relaxation and a steak BBQ this evening, then we will probably crash and start over tomorrow. Once we get everything moved in, we will store the motorhome up the road a bit, waiting for some cooler winter weather to bring it back to clean.
Started early, fighting through San Bernadino, then decided to push it and get to Tucson. Jen moved ahead with the UHaul, and met Carl and Eileen at the house to get it opened up. Frank arrived about 5:30 (before they locked the gate), and we got the motorhome situated in front of the house. We had just enough energy left to strip the motorhome bed, wash the sheets, and get the guestroom bed made up (we did have Bullett worried for a while). After a very light supper, we crashed.
Got another early start, traveling down through the farm country between Fresno and Bakersfield. Turned east, climbing over Tehachapi Summit (4,064 ft.), into the high Mojave Desert. Passed by Edwards AFB, but did not see any space shuttles landing. Ended up at a nice RV park in Hesteria, California for the night.
Got an early start to get through the mountains, stopping for lunch in the shadow of Mt. Shasta. Pushed rather hard to get past Sacramento. The idea was to miss their morning rush, but we were too early and hit the end of the evening rush. Got past it and out onto highway 99, finally stopping at a rundown old truck stop, where they are letting us dry camp for free (can't beat the price). We had a 12-hour day of driving (never again), getting here in time to be greeted by the full moon.
After lots of wet weather this summer, we are ready to head south. Decided to vacate our rented storage unit in Lake Stevens and haul our junk to the Tucson house with a UHaul truck. Loaded up yesterday and hit the road this morning, stopping at an RV park where we had stayed before in Coburg, Oregon.
Frank spent yesterday at Lake Connor Park getting a pile of gravel ready to level the RV. Got it done, so we went ahead and moved in today, after a stop in Marysville for an emission test on the motorhome (it passed). After all those miles, we got to our home park at Lake Stevens, Washington, only to cut a corner too close and inflict some minor damage to the motorhome! Oh well, we are settled in for the summer, though I suppose we will need to get that fixed before travelling again.
A shorter drive today, to our Thousand Trails park in Monroe, Washington. Went up to Lake Connor this afternoon and ordered some gravel to be delivered to our lot tomorrow, so we can level it out a bit before moving in.
Another early start, and it was nice not to be fighting strong winds. Of course, it took a moment to remember how to use the wipers when we ran into rain. At least most of the bugs got cleaned off. Stopped at a nice RV park in Centralia, Washington for the night. We have reservations for tomorrow at the Thousand Trails park near Lake Stevens.
After a restful day off from travelling, we headed on north to get through the Siskiyous. There was plenty of water in Lake Shasta, and we stopped at a rest area with a nice view of Mount Shasta. It's nice to see real forest and real mountains, and we even ran into a bit of fog this morning. Stopped at a nice RV Park in Sutherlin, Oregon, which sports a drive-in movie screen! Per their website, Hi-Way Haven RV Park is built on the site of a classic drive-in theater and is now licensed by the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation to provide guests with a nostalgic drive-in movie experience (free of charge). They usually show movies on Saturday nights, but might show "RV" tonight if they have enough people, though it would be past our bedtime.
Only drove 5 1/2 hours today, fighting a headwind all the way (wreaks havoc on the mileage). Stopped at a nice little RV park in Red Bluff, California, where we will spend 2 nights (need a day to rest).
Got another early start and drove about 8 hours (haven't done that for a while). Fought our way through the L.A. freeways, then over the grapevine, fighting gusty winds all the way. Stopped at a dumpy RV park in Santa Nella, California for the night. Supposed to get even more windy tomorrow (oh joy!).
Got an early start and drove about 6 hours. Got slowed down by strong, gusty winds coming over the pass west of Palm Springs. Stopped at a KOA in Banning, California for the night. Hope to get out of here tomorrow before the winds kick up again, then comes the joy of driving through the L.A. area.
Got away from Tucson just after 10:00 this morning, and only drove for about 2 1/2 hours. Stopped in Gila Bend, Arizona, at a little RV park where we had stayed several years ago when it was still under construction. The forecast calls for 108 degrees this afternoon, so we thought we would sit out the hot part of the day in the a/c (wouldn't want the tires to explode from the heat!) Hope to get out of the overly hot country tomorrow.
Finally, we are set to head north - it has been pushing 110 degrees this week! We closed on our new winter home just down the road from the RV park, near Carl and Eileen. Nice view of the adjacent Tucson Mountains out front, and a long-distance view of other mountains from the back patio. Of course, there is no furniture - I guess we'll fill it up one piece at a time. This will cut into the travelling funds for a year or two, but we do plan to get back on the road sometime. I guess we are technically no longer full-timers (just most-of-the-timers). We are getting packed up to head north tomorrow. Hopefully the northwest rain will stop before we get there.
Still here in Tucson for Memorial Day. It's getting a bit warm, so we have to watch out for desert critters when venturing outside. Tucson has had one day of 101 degrees, though a few degrees cooler where we are located (out of the valley). Forecast is for low to mid 100's by Friday, and lasting at least through next week. Winds are a bit gusty, and we even had a micro-burst in the park, which pretty much destroyed the covered group area. Looks like we may be able to get out of here in the next week or so.
Joined Carl and Eileen in a drive to Patagonia Lake State Park for a picnic lunch in celebration of Eileen's birthday. Enjoyed great weather, almost 10 degrees cooler than Tucson, with a strong breeze off the lake. Took a walk on their birding trail, where we saw few birds (wrong time of day), but did see several frogs and cows. A great day, ending back at their place for a cold one and some dessert.
Things have been looking up (at last!). Frank's shoulder is progressing (slowly), and a short drive with the motorhome to have some servicing done shows that he can drive it. Jen has been improving as well, and is now off oxygen in the daytime. We are hoping for word that she doesn't need it at all so we don't have to haul it around with us. The weather is warming up (into the mid-90's this week), and the park is almost deserted. We have been able to see more of the desert spring bloom, with flowers appearing on the various cacti, like the hedgehog, the ocotillo, the prickly pear, the staghorn cholla, and even the giant saguaro. Spring also brings new life, as well as slithery life. We are all set to leave here May 15, with a short visit to Lake Havasu (never been there), then west and up the coast, arriving at our Washington "home" in mid-June.
More catchup, since Jen's hospitalization and diagnosis of severe COPD. They kept her a week, then sent her home with oxygen and lots of meds. She is doing better, still undergoing tests to see how this will affect the future. Then, of course, Frank's shoulder suddenly developed more pain, so had to abandon PT and revisit the surgeon to find out what is going on. Diagnosis was "frozen shoulder" (better than a re-tear), so a shot of cortizone and PT is progressing at a slower pace. So we have been spending a lot of time sitting around and doing some bird watching, reading, and napping. We did enjoy a great ham dinner for Easter with Carl and Eileen. The spring blooms on their cactus is looking very pretty. Sean (son), Karri (daughter-in-law), and Jill (granddaughter) just left after a day's visit on their big vacation loop (Kansas, Texas, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas). Met them for breakfast yesterday morning and were joined by Carl and Eileen, who hadn't seen Sean since high school. Took them to the Desert Museum, where we spent most of the day wandering in the heat to view the animals, flowers, and birds. We took breaks for rests in the shade, some antics from Jill, and an ice cream cone for lunch. They were hot and tired after that, so took a quick dip in our pool to cool off. Jill spent the night with us in the motorhome for a nice visit, while she got caught up on her homework and ignored Bullett trying to get her up the next morning. It was great to seem them, but they sure are cramming a lot into 2 weeks! With all our medical problem and delays, we figure to be here until the middle of May (it's gonna get HOT!!!) before heading north, probably postponing our visit to Yosemite for another year.
Not much been going on so far this year. Frank had shoulder surgery January 14 and is just now able to type, so this is a catchup entry. Surgery has slowed things down, but we did get in a picnic with Carl and Eileen (before Carl's shoulder surgery) at Signal Hill in Saguaro National Park, where we saw some ancient hieroglyphs. Since Carl had his surgery, we have been sitting around moaning in our beer, letting the gals wait on us. We had a very wet January, but it made for some nice sunsets and rainbows, and now we are enjoying sunshine and 70-degree days.
