28-March-11
So Dear Reader, where were we last… oh ya, Joshua Tree. So we found some awesome BLM land right outside the park itself and proceeded to set up camp. The place was perfect and if you’re looking to go cheap then this is the spot! Staying in the park itself might be appealing to some, but honestly, why pay to park somewhere with no services for $15+ a night when you can be literally 20 yards from the park for free! We had a nice little spot with a tree. Trust me… a tree is a big deal! And to our surprize in our tree was a nest of 2 sweet little hummingbird babies. They were only a week or so from flying when we parked so we got to watch then getting fed and loved everyday. What a treat that was. Then, we enjoyed them taking their first flights and trust me, that was special! Funny how you get attached to little things around you. Even the Mama didn’t mind us peeking in and getting some amazing pictures and video. An awesome treat for us. So, we spent close to 3 weeks in and around Joshua Tree. We scooted around the park and found some fun trails, got lost… (or so I felt). Hopefully I can get some pictures sorted out and posted here or on facebook.
We did a day trip down around Saltan Sea and saw some interesting towns. Apparently we went on the wrong side to see Slab City, but I know we will be back and it will be there.
Gary spent a lot of time working on his remote solar lift system thingy and I think it‘s actually looking promising! He’s got a video on his facebook page I think… o and um, I’ll get one up somewhere near here too…
So after almost 3 weeks near the park, we decided it was time to move along. We took the scenic route and drove the road through the park and headed to Barstow, CA. Spent a couple days at a KOA and cleaned up. We didn’t see much around there, if there is much to see LOL We wanted to spend more time but when we went to pay for a couple more days were told we had to leave as the park was booked solid the next day. Not the same story we got when we checked in… KOA got an email from me and I await (haha) a reply.
Since we didn’t have any immediate plans we decided to head to Death Valley early. And let me say, the weather it threw at us was definitely death worthy. Our first day it was above 90F. The next day was in the 80s with winds over 40 mph! then more wind. We had it with the wind so we headed out and drove through a snow storm!! Like I said an appropriately named park for sure. We did tour around the jeep trails and down through the salt flats. It was very different, it looked like dirty snow drifts but was just salty crusty drift things. Worth seeing and worth going back, maybe once more. We did find a great BLM spot that I would rather have stayed at, so next time!!
So off we went trying to get away from the wind. We weren’t exactly sure where we headed other than towards Bakersfield…ish… We did have an idea of a park near Mojave, so we punched that in and thought we’d play it by ear as to how we felt. Needless to say, after driving though the Death Valley mountains in snow and rain, the park with full hook-ups was certainly enticing. We arrived to the neat little park and paid for a week and settled in. Funny how a week with services and cable TV can seem like an RV Hilton! We had spent most of the last 2 ½ months boon-docking so this seemed like heaven! Not having really looked into much for the area, we just spent some time cleaning and organizing and staying out of the cold wind. It wasn’t much fun to say the least. The weather just wasn’t being very cooperative, so indoor activities prevailed.
With our week in Jackson, CA for the Montana rally creeping up, we thought we would see what was on the other side of the mountains. So here we are just south of Fresno between Kingsburg and Selma. Selma looks like an interesting little place. The park…ooo the park! LOL Nothing overly special but it has GRASS!! And for those of you who are chuckling over my excitement over California grass… I mean LAWN not weed :P It’s warm and sunny with just enough humidity to be pleasant. I’m hoping that this weather stay with us until we head to the border.
So, that’s us, updated, for what it’s worth LOL And with that Dear Reader, loving you and missing you as always xox
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Better Late than Never!
02-Feb-11
Let me guess… lol tired of me apologizing for late updates and lack of photos? Lol Well, then I won’t do that now! The slow posts have mostly been due to the lack of anything exciting going on.
We spent almost a month in Huachuca City, AZ waiting on repair work. While we were there we got new brakes and drums and a fridge recall done. We did a bunch of geocaching and a lot of relaxing. Much as we wanted to see a lot of the area, we had to spend most of our time close to the phone and the dealer in case parts came in. Somewhat disappointing, considering there is a lot to see in that area. I guess the upside is we have a few more winters to visit!
We did get over to Tombstone and poked around some. Interesting little tourist trap! The Birdcage was the highlight for me though. It is the only original building left in town and still boasts some original billboards and other unique items. It still has the original bar and organ even. A nice touch in a place that really doesn’t offer much more than over priced re-enactments and fake store fronts.
We did have a nice visit there with Dick and Jackie, and enjoyed lunch with them. Poked around town and watched Dick take some great pics! You need to check out their blog (hehe) and there you can see some of the great places we have been and many that we hope to get to!! http://talesfromthedriversseat.blogspot.com/
We left Huachuca and headed west towards Yuma. Over nighted at the John Wayne RV park. Kinda had to because of its name J
Got to the BLM land outside Yuma, just over the CA border and parked for awhile and enjoyed the nice weather. We didn’t get to see as many people as we intended while we were there. Terry and Gail stopped out for a nice afternoon visit. It was great to see some hometown faces for a change! We poked around Yuma a bit and did a day trip to Los Algodones with Robbie and Alice. We broke down and finally bout one of the beautiful stained glass windows for the 5er. I didn’t think we would find something that we both would like but lo and behold we did!!
So after our near 2 week stint in Yuma it was time to head out again. Back to Quartzsite for the Circling of the Montanas. We got there a bit before rally time and enjoyed some smaller happy hour visits. It was fun to not be the newbs this year! Normally there’s a group that arrives early and gets the location set up and so on, this year was no different. However, a couple of folks from our group decided to check with the BLM office as to how some people were allowed to over stay the 14 day limit. This had been overlooked by the officer for the area as a courtesy to some of the rally groups, “don’t ask, don’t tell” was pretty much how it went. But I guess when you point out that this might not be right, well then it gets back to the book time for everyone. As no one was immediately aware of all the commotion, a lot of us that had arrived early to help out the wagon master also had to leave before the rally was over. We did manage a mini circle in town and drove out for a couple of happy hours. But it just wasn’t the same…
After all the rally stuff was over and we got bored with Q, it was decided to check out some new territory-ish. We headed out to Lake Alamo for a week near some water. Again we did a lot of relaxing and some exploring. Found a few good spots for some great boondocking next time we are in the area. Jack enjoyed his daily swims and defended us from the evil burros. We found some fun trails and poked around for the week then decided it was time again to head out.
Which found us outside Parker, AZ. A couple miles past Earp, CA, BLM land again! Met some nice people from Alaska and extremely unusual couple that live in a tent. I think Gary appreciated them more than I did. They thought he was a genius!! I know it would be easy to say, “well, the economy has hit us all pretty hard” but then theres just lazy people who are happy to have an excuse to be slackers to the extreme. So, after 10 days there it was time to find some new neighbours!
We headed down the road a bit and spent a couple nights at Lake Tamarisk Desert resort. Got cleaned up and took a day to scout out our next boondocking spot. We are now parked just outside the Joshua Tree National Park. Did some peeking around for the usual stuff. Once I know there’s drinking water available close I can settle down better. The park has a station about 5 mins from us so all is good! Fresh water, garbage bins and dump station for when we are ready to leave. There is a lot to see around here, besides the park itself. I’m hoping we take a trip to Slab City and see what its like. Saltan Sea is just south of us as well. We have a few weeks to explore. Our next scheduled event isn’t until March 30 for another rally in Jackson, CA. then off to the factory to get our rig fixed!
So hopefully I get this uploaded for you to peruse soon Dear Reader! And until next time, love you, miss you as always!
Let me guess… lol tired of me apologizing for late updates and lack of photos? Lol Well, then I won’t do that now! The slow posts have mostly been due to the lack of anything exciting going on.
We spent almost a month in Huachuca City, AZ waiting on repair work. While we were there we got new brakes and drums and a fridge recall done. We did a bunch of geocaching and a lot of relaxing. Much as we wanted to see a lot of the area, we had to spend most of our time close to the phone and the dealer in case parts came in. Somewhat disappointing, considering there is a lot to see in that area. I guess the upside is we have a few more winters to visit!
We did get over to Tombstone and poked around some. Interesting little tourist trap! The Birdcage was the highlight for me though. It is the only original building left in town and still boasts some original billboards and other unique items. It still has the original bar and organ even. A nice touch in a place that really doesn’t offer much more than over priced re-enactments and fake store fronts.
We did have a nice visit there with Dick and Jackie, and enjoyed lunch with them. Poked around town and watched Dick take some great pics! You need to check out their blog (hehe) and there you can see some of the great places we have been and many that we hope to get to!! http://talesfromthedriversseat.blogspot.com/
We left Huachuca and headed west towards Yuma. Over nighted at the John Wayne RV park. Kinda had to because of its name J
Got to the BLM land outside Yuma, just over the CA border and parked for awhile and enjoyed the nice weather. We didn’t get to see as many people as we intended while we were there. Terry and Gail stopped out for a nice afternoon visit. It was great to see some hometown faces for a change! We poked around Yuma a bit and did a day trip to Los Algodones with Robbie and Alice. We broke down and finally bout one of the beautiful stained glass windows for the 5er. I didn’t think we would find something that we both would like but lo and behold we did!!
So after our near 2 week stint in Yuma it was time to head out again. Back to Quartzsite for the Circling of the Montanas. We got there a bit before rally time and enjoyed some smaller happy hour visits. It was fun to not be the newbs this year! Normally there’s a group that arrives early and gets the location set up and so on, this year was no different. However, a couple of folks from our group decided to check with the BLM office as to how some people were allowed to over stay the 14 day limit. This had been overlooked by the officer for the area as a courtesy to some of the rally groups, “don’t ask, don’t tell” was pretty much how it went. But I guess when you point out that this might not be right, well then it gets back to the book time for everyone. As no one was immediately aware of all the commotion, a lot of us that had arrived early to help out the wagon master also had to leave before the rally was over. We did manage a mini circle in town and drove out for a couple of happy hours. But it just wasn’t the same…
After all the rally stuff was over and we got bored with Q, it was decided to check out some new territory-ish. We headed out to Lake Alamo for a week near some water. Again we did a lot of relaxing and some exploring. Found a few good spots for some great boondocking next time we are in the area. Jack enjoyed his daily swims and defended us from the evil burros. We found some fun trails and poked around for the week then decided it was time again to head out.
Which found us outside Parker, AZ. A couple miles past Earp, CA, BLM land again! Met some nice people from Alaska and extremely unusual couple that live in a tent. I think Gary appreciated them more than I did. They thought he was a genius!! I know it would be easy to say, “well, the economy has hit us all pretty hard” but then theres just lazy people who are happy to have an excuse to be slackers to the extreme. So, after 10 days there it was time to find some new neighbours!
We headed down the road a bit and spent a couple nights at Lake Tamarisk Desert resort. Got cleaned up and took a day to scout out our next boondocking spot. We are now parked just outside the Joshua Tree National Park. Did some peeking around for the usual stuff. Once I know there’s drinking water available close I can settle down better. The park has a station about 5 mins from us so all is good! Fresh water, garbage bins and dump station for when we are ready to leave. There is a lot to see around here, besides the park itself. I’m hoping we take a trip to Slab City and see what its like. Saltan Sea is just south of us as well. We have a few weeks to explore. Our next scheduled event isn’t until March 30 for another rally in Jackson, CA. then off to the factory to get our rig fixed!
So hopefully I get this uploaded for you to peruse soon Dear Reader! And until next time, love you, miss you as always!
Friday, December 10, 2010
blah, blarg and bloggin'
10-Dec-10
I must apologize for my lack of posting Dear Reader! Things have been a bit busy. When we last talked we were in Nevada. Since then we have put on a few miles and had some amazing *coff* adventures!
We made plans to meet up with Alice and Robbie in Quartzsite and then head off to a couple of new spots. While we were traveling I noticed a lot of smoke from one tire. We stopped and Gary noticed that one brake was overheating big time! We took it easy and limped to Q. Once there Gary proceeded to check all the brakes, well, turned out they were leaking grease and not working at all. Then one that was overheating was the only one working! So after a few phone calls we made arrangements to get them fixed. That all went seemingly smooth, Keystone picked up the tab and so off we headed for Franklin Roosevelt Lake in Tonto National Forest, kinda notheastish of Phoenix. We spent a week there with Alice & Robbie and another friend Steve. Needless to say a good time was had by all!
We were invited to Silver City, NM to spend Thanksgiving with Bill & Mary, Alice’s sister and hubby. On the road there I was in my usual follow the Montana down the hiway position, when all of a sudden one tire FLEW off the trailer! Bits of trailer siding soon followed!! Not sure exactly but somehow the one tire that had the hot brake broke off some of the bolts and took a side trip! So in a little town called Safford, AZ I went in search of a new hub. The trailer damage was mainly cosmetic, thank god! After trying a few places, a nice kid at NAPA tried a small horse trailer fab shop. To my surprize they had exactly what we needed! I went and picked up Gary and off we went to get the new hub. We had a couple of nice people stop and see if we needed help but thanks to Alice and Robbie we had made some calls and were set. After a couple hours getting the new hub on and finding food and fuel, we decided that Silver City was only a couple hours from us… so off we went… in the dark… to somewhere new… like we swore we wouldn’t do… again. So finding SC wasn’t too bad but finding the park was a little more tricky! We managed to finally find it, and what a find, a cute little park, reasonable rated and away from trains and freeways even! So, while we were there Somebody spent a lot of time tearing apart the brakes and see just exactly wtf happened. Over greasing coupled with bad seals seems to be the ultimate culprit. I feel safe now that he has torn it apart and fixed it for now…
So we had a wonderful time in New Mexico, but we needed to leave… it snowed! Not much mind you, but enough to scare us away lol! We will definitely go back, we need to see more of the area.
So off we went westward! We both have wanted to see Tombstone, so we headed out. We ended up near Sierra Vista, AZ. It’s a fairly central spot for most everything we want to see. We are at a park just outside Huachuca City. Quiet and reasonable rates. Our stay here has become more extended than intended. After some talks with the Keystone factory, our contact there wants the axels replaced asap! When we inquired as to where the nearest repair facility might be, she asked how close to R.V. City we are. Well, it’s about 300 yards in front of us lol. So we have been talking to them and are getting new axels and springs, as well as a fridge recall fix, and most likely the siding fixed on the rig too! It’s nice to meet a decent repair facility that actually seems to have a clue! I wish I had more exciting news and adventures to share, but seeing as we have been fairly sidetracked by getting the 5er repaired.
The end is in sight now lol hopefully I will have something more fun to share with you before too long Dear Reader and I thank you for reading on with us! Until next time, love you and miss you as always!
I must apologize for my lack of posting Dear Reader! Things have been a bit busy. When we last talked we were in Nevada. Since then we have put on a few miles and had some amazing *coff* adventures!
We made plans to meet up with Alice and Robbie in Quartzsite and then head off to a couple of new spots. While we were traveling I noticed a lot of smoke from one tire. We stopped and Gary noticed that one brake was overheating big time! We took it easy and limped to Q. Once there Gary proceeded to check all the brakes, well, turned out they were leaking grease and not working at all. Then one that was overheating was the only one working! So after a few phone calls we made arrangements to get them fixed. That all went seemingly smooth, Keystone picked up the tab and so off we headed for Franklin Roosevelt Lake in Tonto National Forest, kinda notheastish of Phoenix. We spent a week there with Alice & Robbie and another friend Steve. Needless to say a good time was had by all!
We were invited to Silver City, NM to spend Thanksgiving with Bill & Mary, Alice’s sister and hubby. On the road there I was in my usual follow the Montana down the hiway position, when all of a sudden one tire FLEW off the trailer! Bits of trailer siding soon followed!! Not sure exactly but somehow the one tire that had the hot brake broke off some of the bolts and took a side trip! So in a little town called Safford, AZ I went in search of a new hub. The trailer damage was mainly cosmetic, thank god! After trying a few places, a nice kid at NAPA tried a small horse trailer fab shop. To my surprize they had exactly what we needed! I went and picked up Gary and off we went to get the new hub. We had a couple of nice people stop and see if we needed help but thanks to Alice and Robbie we had made some calls and were set. After a couple hours getting the new hub on and finding food and fuel, we decided that Silver City was only a couple hours from us… so off we went… in the dark… to somewhere new… like we swore we wouldn’t do… again. So finding SC wasn’t too bad but finding the park was a little more tricky! We managed to finally find it, and what a find, a cute little park, reasonable rated and away from trains and freeways even! So, while we were there Somebody spent a lot of time tearing apart the brakes and see just exactly wtf happened. Over greasing coupled with bad seals seems to be the ultimate culprit. I feel safe now that he has torn it apart and fixed it for now…
So we had a wonderful time in New Mexico, but we needed to leave… it snowed! Not much mind you, but enough to scare us away lol! We will definitely go back, we need to see more of the area.
So off we went westward! We both have wanted to see Tombstone, so we headed out. We ended up near Sierra Vista, AZ. It’s a fairly central spot for most everything we want to see. We are at a park just outside Huachuca City. Quiet and reasonable rates. Our stay here has become more extended than intended. After some talks with the Keystone factory, our contact there wants the axels replaced asap! When we inquired as to where the nearest repair facility might be, she asked how close to R.V. City we are. Well, it’s about 300 yards in front of us lol. So we have been talking to them and are getting new axels and springs, as well as a fridge recall fix, and most likely the siding fixed on the rig too! It’s nice to meet a decent repair facility that actually seems to have a clue! I wish I had more exciting news and adventures to share, but seeing as we have been fairly sidetracked by getting the 5er repaired.
The end is in sight now lol hopefully I will have something more fun to share with you before too long Dear Reader and I thank you for reading on with us! Until next time, love you and miss you as always!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Fade to Beige..
10-Nov-10
Hey there Dear Reader! Hope all is good where ever you are! Things are good here. We managed to get out of the cold and into the beige. We left Montana and headed south after 2 days in Dillon. We made another long haul to Fillmore, Utah… I know I have issues with that state but after another 6+ hr drive I figgered I should get over things. I found out that you just need to be in Utah during the right hours and they do have rum there after all!! LOL and you have to try really hard to buy it all if your in the right town :) So we spent a couple of wind down days there deciding where to next. We did say we wanted to boondock as much as possible this year but we also wanted to find somewhere new. We exhausted many routes and then decided on a state park called Red Hills outside St. George, UT… well… we aren’t there… we drove to where the directions said but hmm no exit. So we pulled into to town and got fuel. While there I decided to ask the nice young lady at the counter where it might be, she gave some vague directions that may have taken us there… but she admitted she want really an outdoorsy sort, so she might be wrong! LOL So, while I was talking to her Gary claimed he found it on his nav-bitch. Well when we got to where she wanted us to turn, hmm, not sure if the jeep would have fit thru the underpass let alone the 5er! So we scrapped that idea and decided to just go back to Valley of Fire and figger out where to go from there. I was trying to explain the Overton, NV area near Valley but “Somebody” didn’t recall anything about any BLM land there… or should I say here, where we are sitting now! As we were leaving the little town of Overton, stocked and ready to go nowhere in particular, my radio came to life with this voice saying “ O hey lookit all the rigs parked there! Must be BLM!!! Wanna just stop here?” So with a heavy sigh I agreed. Seems some people need to see things to remember they told you it would be a good idea hehe.
So here we sit.. Til our next adventure!!! And now Dear Reader you are all up to date! Loving and missing you as always!
Hey there Dear Reader! Hope all is good where ever you are! Things are good here. We managed to get out of the cold and into the beige. We left Montana and headed south after 2 days in Dillon. We made another long haul to Fillmore, Utah… I know I have issues with that state but after another 6+ hr drive I figgered I should get over things. I found out that you just need to be in Utah during the right hours and they do have rum there after all!! LOL and you have to try really hard to buy it all if your in the right town :) So we spent a couple of wind down days there deciding where to next. We did say we wanted to boondock as much as possible this year but we also wanted to find somewhere new. We exhausted many routes and then decided on a state park called Red Hills outside St. George, UT… well… we aren’t there… we drove to where the directions said but hmm no exit. So we pulled into to town and got fuel. While there I decided to ask the nice young lady at the counter where it might be, she gave some vague directions that may have taken us there… but she admitted she want really an outdoorsy sort, so she might be wrong! LOL So, while I was talking to her Gary claimed he found it on his nav-bitch. Well when we got to where she wanted us to turn, hmm, not sure if the jeep would have fit thru the underpass let alone the 5er! So we scrapped that idea and decided to just go back to Valley of Fire and figger out where to go from there. I was trying to explain the Overton, NV area near Valley but “Somebody” didn’t recall anything about any BLM land there… or should I say here, where we are sitting now! As we were leaving the little town of Overton, stocked and ready to go nowhere in particular, my radio came to life with this voice saying “ O hey lookit all the rigs parked there! Must be BLM!!! Wanna just stop here?” So with a heavy sigh I agreed. Seems some people need to see things to remember they told you it would be a good idea hehe.
So here we sit.. Til our next adventure!!! And now Dear Reader you are all up to date! Loving and missing you as always!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Crossed Over
2-Nov-10
Greetings Dear Reader from Dillon, MT.!! So I guess it is officially vacation time! LOL I know some of you may kill me for that comment, but I welcome your arrival! The more the merrier I say!
Since we last spoke some changes came about. We aren't headed to Oregon as we were expecting. Turns out they couldn’t get us in until the end of January! Well that just wasn't a viable option for us. Gary talked with a person from Keystone and explained all that was going on with the rig and told her we would get back to her with a more reasonable date for us to come in. He took some time and went over where the issues were, did some measuring and with his expertise and wisdom realized its not as critical as we thought. It does need to be repaired but we aren’t going to blow apart or anything! So we hit the road from Kelowna to Creston for a couple days.
We wanted to spend some time here to look at some lots that were for sale there. After driving on the Crowsnest hiway though...*NOTE TO HIWAY BUILDER GUYS!!! 2 words GUARD RAILS!!!!* OMFG the road was fun *puke*. some snowy, icy and foggy patches added to the glorious unprotected curves that tumble hundreds of feet to the snowy trees... I was so happy when we dropped down to some normal levels with normal plunges of a few feet IF you managed to hop the GUARD RAILS. So ya, not sure if that’s a road we want to drive every year! So we will continue to look at lots maybe Saskatchewan isn’t so bad after all! LOL at least they have good fishing *wink*
After spending a couple days in Creston we decided to hit the road and cross the border. Our grand intentions were to get up early for the long haul to Dillon, MT. Well, hehe, I guess you know us right Dear Reader? We managed to get to the border just after 10 pst. Which meant out 7 ½ hr drive wouldn’t get us here til about 8pm mst!! The border crossing was quick, I was first in line and Gary was first in the oversized lane. Lol there was only 1 other person at the border. After they peeked in the fridge and told me my pomegranates were acceptable we were on our way. Beautiful drive but loooong. And soon it was later than we wanted it to be. So much for our rule of never driving at night again! At least we know this route and knew where the park we wanted is. I think that made it easier to manage. So we found ourselves back at Southside RV park! We decided rather than try to another long day we are spending 2 nights here and will (I swear) get up early for our haul to Fillmore, Utah. I plan on buying my rum here in Dillon since I do not trust Utah to have any!!
We also finally signed up for Skype, our name is judyandgarym so look for us there! Easier there than anywhere as we are only taking texts on the phones while we are down here. Barring any tragedy with you Dear Reader, our phones are off.. Emails, texts, facebook notes are the best way to get in touch!!
And now your as up to date as I am Dear Reader! Loving and missing you as always!
Greetings Dear Reader from Dillon, MT.!! So I guess it is officially vacation time! LOL I know some of you may kill me for that comment, but I welcome your arrival! The more the merrier I say!
Since we last spoke some changes came about. We aren't headed to Oregon as we were expecting. Turns out they couldn’t get us in until the end of January! Well that just wasn't a viable option for us. Gary talked with a person from Keystone and explained all that was going on with the rig and told her we would get back to her with a more reasonable date for us to come in. He took some time and went over where the issues were, did some measuring and with his expertise and wisdom realized its not as critical as we thought. It does need to be repaired but we aren’t going to blow apart or anything! So we hit the road from Kelowna to Creston for a couple days.
We wanted to spend some time here to look at some lots that were for sale there. After driving on the Crowsnest hiway though...*NOTE TO HIWAY BUILDER GUYS!!! 2 words GUARD RAILS!!!!* OMFG the road was fun *puke*. some snowy, icy and foggy patches added to the glorious unprotected curves that tumble hundreds of feet to the snowy trees... I was so happy when we dropped down to some normal levels with normal plunges of a few feet IF you managed to hop the GUARD RAILS. So ya, not sure if that’s a road we want to drive every year! So we will continue to look at lots maybe Saskatchewan isn’t so bad after all! LOL at least they have good fishing *wink*
After spending a couple days in Creston we decided to hit the road and cross the border. Our grand intentions were to get up early for the long haul to Dillon, MT. Well, hehe, I guess you know us right Dear Reader? We managed to get to the border just after 10 pst. Which meant out 7 ½ hr drive wouldn’t get us here til about 8pm mst!! The border crossing was quick, I was first in line and Gary was first in the oversized lane. Lol there was only 1 other person at the border. After they peeked in the fridge and told me my pomegranates were acceptable we were on our way. Beautiful drive but loooong. And soon it was later than we wanted it to be. So much for our rule of never driving at night again! At least we know this route and knew where the park we wanted is. I think that made it easier to manage. So we found ourselves back at Southside RV park! We decided rather than try to another long day we are spending 2 nights here and will (I swear) get up early for our haul to Fillmore, Utah. I plan on buying my rum here in Dillon since I do not trust Utah to have any!!
We also finally signed up for Skype, our name is judyandgarym so look for us there! Easier there than anywhere as we are only taking texts on the phones while we are down here. Barring any tragedy with you Dear Reader, our phones are off.. Emails, texts, facebook notes are the best way to get in touch!!
And now your as up to date as I am Dear Reader! Loving and missing you as always!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Travels and warranty issues -.-
20-Oct-10
So, how have you been Dear Reader? Things have been interesting to say the least for us!
We left Longriders on the 2nd of October after Gary actually put in about 3 weeks of work (LOL almost killed him!) and moved out to some friends for the weekend. we managed to get in some good old bonfire partying in our old neighbourhood. Was great to see Kelly & Trevor and Nora & Duane haven't changed!!! Thanks guys for an awesome weekend!
From there we began our slow haul to Kelowna. No major rush as we didn't need to be here til the 18th to get some warranty work done on the 5er. We spent a night at Obed Lake as we didn't get out of town as quickly as intended. Made our way to Golden, B.C. for a couple nights and poked around town there a bit. After that we headed to Vernon for a few days. I had hoped to get in touch with my Uncle Dan when we were there but we got a bit tied up in ourselves and our colds, the next thing we knew it was time to move to Kelowna... There's still time...
Arrived here, on the 16th, which gave us a chance to check in at the dealer and see exactly where it was from the park. Ahh the park. Its a little, 10 site place on a hill overlooking fields. I guess we are in the city of Kelowna but it is farm area still. Scenic View RV Park is the name. Great little find. Reasonable rates and great hosts/owners, Graeme and Jane-Marie James.
So next we come to the dealer and warranty work on the trailer (insert eerie horror movie music now). We had a couple of little things that needed attention and one big deal. Gary noticed that the wall separating the closet from the drawer area had cracked and then noticed that there was alot of movement in the pin area when we were hooked up. We had sent pictures ahead of time so that the dealer was prepared to deal with what we thought was a fairly major issue. Needless to say on our arrival we got the comforting words that it should all be done by 4:30... They started on the inside then had to wait for Keystone to give approval for a closer look as the problem didn't seem to be just in the closet. Not like Gary hadn't said it was prolly to do with all the movement from the hitch! Well... it wasn't done at 4:30 and was in no shape to go back to the park til they could talk to Keystones techs and see what was the next step. So we got to spend the night in the dealer yard... gated and locked in! Felt weird to not be able to take off for supper at a reasonable time. So, the next day they spoke to Keystone techs who were unwilling to walk them through the fix over the phone. This left us wondering wtf? Keystone now wants us to drive the unit to Pendleton, OR., not really the route we wanted to take but doable. They will do all the repairs and whatever else needs to be done as nothing other than a small crack in the shower wall got fixed at the dealer. Our only issue is that someone needs to gives us IN WRITING that the rig is safe to haul and they take responsibility for us arriving safely there with the unit still attached to the truck! Not much to ask I'm thinking. If they want us to haul it there then they must think its safe! So the ball is in there court now and we are just waiting to hear from them now to see if this is acceptable...As Gary says, news at 6...followed by drinkies at 6:01...
And so I leave you once again Dear Reader. I will update as we get updated and hopefully get to add in that we did get to some winerys and didn't waste all our time here! Loving and missing you as usual!!
So, how have you been Dear Reader? Things have been interesting to say the least for us!
We left Longriders on the 2nd of October after Gary actually put in about 3 weeks of work (LOL almost killed him!) and moved out to some friends for the weekend. we managed to get in some good old bonfire partying in our old neighbourhood. Was great to see Kelly & Trevor and Nora & Duane haven't changed!!! Thanks guys for an awesome weekend!
From there we began our slow haul to Kelowna. No major rush as we didn't need to be here til the 18th to get some warranty work done on the 5er. We spent a night at Obed Lake as we didn't get out of town as quickly as intended. Made our way to Golden, B.C. for a couple nights and poked around town there a bit. After that we headed to Vernon for a few days. I had hoped to get in touch with my Uncle Dan when we were there but we got a bit tied up in ourselves and our colds, the next thing we knew it was time to move to Kelowna... There's still time...
Arrived here, on the 16th, which gave us a chance to check in at the dealer and see exactly where it was from the park. Ahh the park. Its a little, 10 site place on a hill overlooking fields. I guess we are in the city of Kelowna but it is farm area still. Scenic View RV Park is the name. Great little find. Reasonable rates and great hosts/owners, Graeme and Jane-Marie James.
So next we come to the dealer and warranty work on the trailer (insert eerie horror movie music now). We had a couple of little things that needed attention and one big deal. Gary noticed that the wall separating the closet from the drawer area had cracked and then noticed that there was alot of movement in the pin area when we were hooked up. We had sent pictures ahead of time so that the dealer was prepared to deal with what we thought was a fairly major issue. Needless to say on our arrival we got the comforting words that it should all be done by 4:30... They started on the inside then had to wait for Keystone to give approval for a closer look as the problem didn't seem to be just in the closet. Not like Gary hadn't said it was prolly to do with all the movement from the hitch! Well... it wasn't done at 4:30 and was in no shape to go back to the park til they could talk to Keystones techs and see what was the next step. So we got to spend the night in the dealer yard... gated and locked in! Felt weird to not be able to take off for supper at a reasonable time. So, the next day they spoke to Keystone techs who were unwilling to walk them through the fix over the phone. This left us wondering wtf? Keystone now wants us to drive the unit to Pendleton, OR., not really the route we wanted to take but doable. They will do all the repairs and whatever else needs to be done as nothing other than a small crack in the shower wall got fixed at the dealer. Our only issue is that someone needs to gives us IN WRITING that the rig is safe to haul and they take responsibility for us arriving safely there with the unit still attached to the truck! Not much to ask I'm thinking. If they want us to haul it there then they must think its safe! So the ball is in there court now and we are just waiting to hear from them now to see if this is acceptable...As Gary says, news at 6...followed by drinkies at 6:01...
And so I leave you once again Dear Reader. I will update as we get updated and hopefully get to add in that we did get to some winerys and didn't waste all our time here! Loving and missing you as usual!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
home-ish
06-Sept-10
Hello again Dear Reader! I hope you have all been good since we last talked. Things have somewhat slowed down for us. We spent a couple of relaxing weeks parked at Prairie Creek and did a whole lot of nothing. Gary went fishing a few times when the weather was accommodating... We did get alot of rainy days, but oh well! We caught up on our movie watching and some odds and end sorting out stuff.
On the 31st we moved to Longriders RV park, outside Gibbons. Nice place, close to everything we need. This is where we actually started this whole little adventure. Ahh the old stomping grounds haven’t changed much. I touched base with some old friends and it turns out that Gary will be going to work for a couple of weeks. I’m sure it will be as odd for him as it will be for me! After spending most of the last year together my days will be weird.
We are planning our trip south for the winter already. Hard to believe that a year has almost passed! I’m excited to see all our new friends south of the border!! We will be cruising through B.C. on our way down then...um... ya... our plans are vague at best. So far we know we want to stop in Needles, CA... Quartzsite in January... maybe Joshua Tree National Park... Ok so we aren’t the best planners lol but we do know it will be fun!!
So I guess once we know more of what will be doing and where we will be, I’ll let you know! Until then... love you, miss you and see you soon!
Hello again Dear Reader! I hope you have all been good since we last talked. Things have somewhat slowed down for us. We spent a couple of relaxing weeks parked at Prairie Creek and did a whole lot of nothing. Gary went fishing a few times when the weather was accommodating... We did get alot of rainy days, but oh well! We caught up on our movie watching and some odds and end sorting out stuff.
On the 31st we moved to Longriders RV park, outside Gibbons. Nice place, close to everything we need. This is where we actually started this whole little adventure. Ahh the old stomping grounds haven’t changed much. I touched base with some old friends and it turns out that Gary will be going to work for a couple of weeks. I’m sure it will be as odd for him as it will be for me! After spending most of the last year together my days will be weird.
We are planning our trip south for the winter already. Hard to believe that a year has almost passed! I’m excited to see all our new friends south of the border!! We will be cruising through B.C. on our way down then...um... ya... our plans are vague at best. So far we know we want to stop in Needles, CA... Quartzsite in January... maybe Joshua Tree National Park... Ok so we aren’t the best planners lol but we do know it will be fun!!
So I guess once we know more of what will be doing and where we will be, I’ll let you know! Until then... love you, miss you and see you soon!
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