It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...desert-style!

Here are two picture taken when we were in Portland for the rally the first week of December. We all went on a bus tour of the animated Xmas lights. One is of a famous mansion lit up for the season and the other from the Xmas lights extravaganza at the Speedway.

We are having a very good time here in Palm Springs. The spirit of Xmas is everywhere but...just a little different from what we have always been used to. We have settled in and have developed a good routine going to the Health Club three mornings a week. Alan is playing handball and he says the calibre of play is very high. He's getting many good games and has met lots of new handball players. I am into Aquafit, spinning/cycling and something called Zumba! It is a cuban dance routine/workout that is demanding. The instructor is very good looking and he has all the moves!!
We have seen Mary & George several times and we will be with them Xmas Eve and Xmas Day. They are only 5 minutes away from here.
Yesterday, we had a vicious windstorm and some of the roads were closed due to poor visibility. Today, no wind and it's clear and warm again.

Settling in to the Snowbird life!

Yesterday we went to the Palm Desert Athletic Club in our great little rental car(above). Alan played a couple of games...he's kinda rusty...and had a good work-out. He has joined the club for a month for $50.00 and I will join tomorrow, $25.00 for me. It's a pretty good deal and includes all fitness programs & facilities. I came back to the park and stopped at the City of Hope Thrift Shop, my favourite place to find bargains. Everything half price. I bought a pair of shoes, a tablecloth, a steam iron & a huge knitted Xmas stocking to hang on the front of Kingsley as a decoration. Total: $10.50!
Alan needed a new tire for his bike so we took care of that and greased up and washed both the bikes so they are ready to go, too. We may go and visit our friends in Desert Hot Springs this afternoon. PS That's me in front of the Palm Desert Costco wearing my uniform for the entire two week trip. I'm still wearing the down vest in the early mornings!

Friday night and we're here!

We have arrived in the Palm Springs area!! What an ordeal to get here!! We left Freemont on Wednesday after getting the 3.70 Final Drive installed in our coach. We also had some other work done and were ready to go by mid-day. We traveled about 12 miles north to Pleasanton, Ca where my cousin, John, lives and we checked into the Alameda County fairgrounds RV Park for the night. Unfortunately, John & Caroline were in Texas so we didn’t see them this time. We headed west to hook up with the I-5 south to LA and Palm Springs. Right away we noticed a difference with the engine…lots more power on the hills. We came to the notorious Grapevine section of the highway and got stuck behind a bunch of trucks at the beginning of the climb. Alan pulled out into the next lane and breezed right by all the trucks! We decided that our money on the final drive was well spent!! We have lots of power to spare now!

At about 4:00pm, when we reached the junction of the I-5 and the 210 at LA, we missed our turn on to the 210 and we promptly got lost in the canyons of the Hollywood area for about an hour! This put us right into rush hour big-time!! We found our way back but it was very scary trying to maneuvering through six lanes of traffic in an ancient motorhome across the top of LA on a Thursday drive home. Everyone knew where they were going but us! We finally found an exit at Redlands and took it. We parked for the night at an industrial park with nice safe surroundings. Today, after a stop at Starbucks for breakfast, we carried on the 50 miles to PS, our destination. We are now safely ensconced in our spot at the Cathedral Palms RV Park in Cathedral City, CA where we hope to be for one month. It is so good to have arrived 14 days after leaving Edmonton on November 28th. More to follow!!!!

California is FREEZING!!

Just to bring everyone up to speed....we are now at the Durango RV Resort in Red Bluff, CA where the temp was 22F last night! The drive yesterday from the middle of Oregon to here was scary and Alan was wiped out by 3:30pm when we arrived. This is a beautiful and mostly empty RV park and we are thoroughly enjoying it. Big clubhouse with leather couches, stone fireplace, great showers and pool with hot tub. I met a couple from St. Albert, AB who have sold their home and are on the road permanently in their big motorhome. Small world, eh! The rally in Portland was so much fun and I will post a separate report with lots of picture. We are moving south towards Fremont. Still too cold to clean the exterior of the coach.

Headed for Portland,OR

This morning we are in the Tri-Cities, not sure which one! I do know that half an hour's drive south and we will have crossed the Columbia and into Oregon. Monday was Osoyoos; Tuesday, a State Park near Coulee City and last night here. The road conditions are great and we seem to have the highways to ourselves so far but that is bound to change as we approach Portland and the coast. We are looking forward to the GMC rally which starts today!

We are officially underway as of Saturday noon! We left Edmonton with Kingsley packed up to the gunnels with all the stuff we think we will need for up to four months on the road.
The road west to Jasper/Kamloops was in great condition until just past Jasper when it started to snow! All the way through Mt.Robson to Valemont was a " white-knuckle trip" and Alan was driving. When we turned the corner at Tete Jeune Cache everything changed for the better and the snow stopped. We parked overnight at the Petro Canada/A & W along with about 20 huge rigs and many snow-mobilers with their fancy trucks and gear. This is definitely a ski-dooer's paradise!!
About 30 minutes out of Valemont Sunday morning, the snow started up again, the visibility deteriorated and we were in a mess all the way to Barriere. Nervewracking!!
Anyway, to make a long story short, we (Alan,Janet & Kingsley) made it safe and sound to Penticton Sunday afternoon. After a nice visit and dinner with Alan's sister Caryl & husband, Warwick, we headed south on Monday.
We are now in Osoyoos, 15 minutes from the US border, and very happily settled in at the N'kameep RV Park where we went for a swim, jacuzzi and a nice dinner in house before settling down for the night! Tomorrow, the border!!

Back to the Blog!!

Well, it has been over four months since my last posting and much has happened in the interim! I started "Footloose with Kingsley" back in January 2008 as a diary of our travels in our classic motorhome. As that is the focus, I've kept the rest of our experiences and events to a minimum on the blog. Also, I have a hard time making the time to post stuff since I joined Facebook! With four daughters, seven (out of eight) grandchildren and many other family & friends as FB friends, that seems to be the place I go to stay in touch. However, we are heading out again very soon for another odyssey as snowbirds so I'm starting up again!

Kingsley spent most of the time, since we got home last March, parked in the back yard with only one excursion to Olds, AB for a mini-rally in July. We made some repairs to the entrance door which entailed removal of the door, bodywork, welding, clamping etc. Lots of trial & error and frustration but, it's looking pretty good now....closes tight and locks too! We also put it to good use as "The Garden Suite" when we had guests!

Alan & I had lots of company Labour Day weekend when we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. Our four daughters put on a wonderful party for us here in Edmonton. Lots of family and friends attended and it really was memorable. On the actual anniversary date, October 3rd, we went to Jasper Park Lodge in Jasper, AB, a gift from the family. It was beautiful! Here are a few pictures from the past few months.

Still waiting for Spring!

We have been home for six weeks and it's still not real spring-like here in Edmonton. When it comes, as I know it eventually will, it will be sudden and dramatic, like overnight! At least they're working on cleaning the streets and all the snow we had over the winter will be good for the grass when it comes.

Enough about the weather!

Since coming home, we have installed a new floor in the kitchen and back hall (A& J), pruned and dug over the garden, painted the exterior of the garage, repaired the damage to the door of the GMC... details to follow later (Alan) & a one week trip to Vancouver (Janet).

We unpacked Kingsley in the week after getting home but it is sitting out in the backyard looking pretty forlorn...dirty inside and out and awaiting warmer weather before we get around to making it all nice and shiny again.

I was in Van to see Michelle and her new place in Kitsilano (see picture above) and to attend my 50th reunion of the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in Harrison Hot Springs. I had a wonderful time seeing everyone again. We were a class of fifty-one nurses at graduation. Four have died in the past 50 years, leaving 47 still around but spread out all over the continent, and there were 43 at the event! Pretty amazing don't you think? On the last day on the coast, Michelle & I visited my cousin Nell in West Van. Nell is a VGH grad too, the class of 1950. so good to see her again. That's us in the picture above.

Our daughters, Barbara & Karen, came here for the weekend to celebrate Alan's 77th birthday and Mother's Day. It has become a tradition for them and we always look forward to having their undivided attention for a couple of days. I think they enjoy the break from their busy schedules too.

Life is good with the promise of spring/summer in the wind!

Highlights of the Snowbird Adventure

Arizona Desert Sunset - Mexico Caravan - Painted Canyon in CA - Overlooking Palm Springs - Utah Winter Highway

Here is an assortment of pictures from our trip these past few months. We had a wonderful time and came away with many good memories. We are planning already for next winter!

Kingsley, Alan & Janet back in home port

Well, here we are 69 days and 4975 miles later, we are back where the adventure began! And what a time it was. Our first Snowbird experience was terrific! Only problem, not long enough!
Kingsley is sitting out at the curb in front of the house because, there is four feet of packed snow on the usual resting place out back. We will be working all weekend to clear the space. And that nice clean & shiny coach is now quite filthy because of the crappy weather we travelled thru. Alan says, "Never again will we travel with Kingsley in March". It is just no fun! Actually, it was easier traveling in January this year.
Anyway, it is comforting to be home and find the house in good shape and no catastrophes while we were away. Lots of pictures to come. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for safe travels.

Spring storms on the way back home.

We are on I-15 at Pocatello, ID in an RV park attached to the Fort Hall casino. It has been an interesting couple of days on the road. We were in Ely, NV Saturday nite, American Falls Sunday nite and now, a few miles away at Pocatella all because of spring storms. Here are some pictures that really say it all. The one with the bright blue sky was taken on the 18th and the one with the side mirror, this morning, when we woke up to a blanket of snow and howling winds. Some spring,eh?

Ready for the storm in Ely, NV.

We left our friends, Milt & Carmen, in Las Vegas at noon today and decided to take a different route from the one we took coming down. We went US 93, the route the less traveled. We are at the KOA in Ely, NV and the lady at the desk says the storm is on the way and is in Reno already! Check your maps. Tomorrow we hope to make it to Twin Falls or maybe Idaho Falls. We will keep you in the loop!

Homeward Bound

Today we are packing up and leaving the 88 Shades in Quartzite, AZ. It is time to begin the trip back to our former lives after fifty-nine days away. The weather has been near perfect…we haven’t even had the A/C on since one day in Palm Springs when we tried it out. We have been here four nights and have made many friends with the people in this park the two times we have stayed here. Also, it was good to be with the GMCers, John & Hazel from Ranier, WA; Norm & Joan Engman from Olds, AB, Carol Gray from Calgary & Bernie Bartko from Edmonton area..
Now we have to decide which places we want to return to next winter. It’s going to be tough but we do think three months would be better than two. We both have tans and I think we have shed a few pounds during the past nine weeks. All the bike riding & hiking hasn’t hurt either.
We are looking at 1700 miles of travel before we reach home so wish us luck and no mishaps on the road. Oh yes, and no winter/spring storms!!

Hiking in the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, AZ

I went on a five mile hike yesterday with 35 others from the RV Park where we are staying. It was really great and we all had fun. It was good to get out there and get some serious exercise.

On our way to Mesa.

Today as we left the GV RV park, we went to the Titan 2 Missile Museum down the road. It's the only one of 54 installations in the USA that remains...a relic of the Cold War. The tour was fascinating! I have included some pictures...I took many.
We stayed at the casino overnight and dined very well and cheaply. We also lost some money but won more than we lost overall.
We are in a coffee shop in Sahuarita, AZ, a beautiful planned community,half-way between Green Valley and Tucson and near the Desert Diamond Casino where we stayed last night. It's another beautiful day as we head north to Mesa to see our GMC friends, David & Joanne Carter from White Rock, BC(see archives for May 2008).

Tubac - Artist's Enclave

Saturday, March 7th
Our friend, Bernie Smyth from Edmonton, came by and picked us up this morning and took us on a tour of Green Valley and then we joined his wife, Lou, at their lovely place. Later we drove south to Tubac, an artists colony and village about 20 miles south on the road to Nogales at the Mexican border. We spent a couple of hours in the shops and galleries. It was fascinating!
When we returned to the Smyth’s, Reg & Heather Gates joined us for drinks. It was an unexpected treat to see them! They are long time friends(Heather & Alan worked for Royal LePage for years).They live in West Van now spend their winters here. The six of us went to a great place for Mexican food. Tomorrow we are golfing with Bernie & Lou. I can try out my new ‘Footjoy’ golf shoes which I bought at the Swap Meet in Yuma for $3.00! TTFN.


Monday, March 9th
Today we golfed with Bernie & Lou @ St.Ignatio Golf Club, one of the most interesting in the Green Valley are a. We teed off at 2:45pm and were able to golf as long as we could. Well, we could have done 18 holes if it weren't for the weather! It got very cold and the clouds rolled in. We quit after the thirteenth hole, which is the premiere hole on the course. Truly spectacular!!! Back to Smyth's and a beautiful dinner ...BBQ steak, med. rare, twice baked potatoes and asparagas. Great hosts that Bernie & Lou!

How Green is our Valley!

Friday, March 6th
With some reluctance we left Hickiwan about noon and headed east along Hwy. 86 bound for Tucson and Green Valley. The road goes from one border to the other of this very large reservation. We saw lots of different species of cactus and great scenery.
As we hadn’t shopped since before Mexico, we were out of everything, so we stopped at a Walmart Supercenter and stocked up on groceries, etc. Then it was just a short ride to Green Valley where we found a nice RV park on the edge of town. Actually, it is not an incorporated town but more of a suburb of Tucson. It is a very interesting community with beautiful housing, great community centers(8), many golf courses and many, many churches! Almost every denomination is represented with the Presbyterians having the largest numbers.

Hiking at Hickiwan Trails

Thursday, March 5th
We met Gus yesterday after settling in to the campground. He has been coming to Hickiwan Trails for many years and knows the area like the back of his hand. He offered to take us on a hike this morning and what a great time we had! We left our site at 8:30 and were gone for just over three hours. Gus had his GPS and camera and I had my camera too. The pictures I have posted can attest to the beauty of this place but they don’t really do it justice. Gus was able to identify all the various cacti and other plants and animals and had lots of stories of his encounters and those of his dog Alma. We were lucky enough to spot a group of the wild burros that we tried so hard to photograph last night. We managed to get close enough for some good shots before they took off into the desert. About ½ hour after we retuned, Gus presented us with a memento of the hike:. He had printed out a map of the area with our exact route plotted and some pictures taken along the way. Also, there was a picture of the two of us that he had taken. It is a treasure and so is Gus! We have met so many interesting people at this place both times we have camped here…it’s pretty special.

Back in the USA

Wednesday, March 4th
We packed up this morning and left Puerto Penesco in a smaller caravan of coaches than when we came. Two coaches left on Sunday and four are staying for another week. The trip was uneventful, however, we had to hand over some potatoes and our friends had eggs and chicken which are not allowed into the US. We parted our separate ways at Why and we went back to the Hickiwan Trails where we stayed before going to Mexico.
In the afternoon we decided to visit the world’s smallest casino run by the Tohono O’odham Nation who also own the campground. We invested ten dollars in the machines and came away with $36.50. Not bad for 20 minutes of fun!

Kingsley gets a Day at the Spa

Today a group of fellows worked on Kingsley to make him sparkle plenty! He got a thorough scrub down followed by a hand polished waxing. It is one of the pluses to staying in a resort here in Mexico…they come to your door selling fish, offering pedicures, painting the coach or just some graphics to make it jazzy! Ya gotta love it!!!

Dinner at the Lighthouse in Old Town

The whole group went out for dinner Friday night to the Lighthouse where we had a wonderful view of the sunset over Margueritas before the meal….. great food and great company!

Finding our way in Puerto Penesco.

Yesterday we went with Milt and Carmen to drop off some clothes at the local church and get some groceries at the local market. We were quite lost as many of the stores they had been to several years ago are no longer there. Fortunately, Carmen speaks fluent spanish so she was able ask directions. Everything is in spanish and the currency is the peso. They will take your US $ but your change is in pesoes. Prices were pretty cheap but the produce and meats were poor quality by our standards.
Today we went beach-combing at low tide and collected mucho shells. We have been gathering in our party space for breakfasts and happy hours and generally having a very good time.
The pictures are of the Catholic church, the view looking east and the view looking west from our place.

At last,Puerto Penesco, Mexico

This morning our caravan left the campground under the supervision of our caravan leader, retired marine captain, John Culver and Rear Gunner, Milt Wade on Operation Mexico Border Crossing. All the preparations paid off and we proceeded without incident(well, the Sims did get pulled over for inspection but it was either because we were the only canadians in the group or they wanted to have a closer look at the new interior of our coach!)
This place is so beautiful!!! We are a few steps from the beach and the view is spectacular. More on that in the days ahead.
We all met at the bar for Margueritas at 4:00pm. All together there are 33 of us in the party. It has been a great day!

Many said, why Why? We said, why not!!!

Monday, February 23rd
We left Yuma and headed west along a hot and dusty road for Gila Bend and then south to Why, AZ and the Hickawan RV Park on the same grounds as the Native Casino. We were a day early for the meet-up with our caravan so we had time to get to know our neighbours and explore the area. The stars in the pitch black sky were incredible and I awakened to the sound of wild burros in the middle of the night.

Mardi Gras
Tuesday, February 24th
Today is Mardi Gras and the park owners put on a fantastic party at noon. They served a feast of extraordinary and wonderful Mexican food and drinks. It was quite unexpected and we enjoyed it thoroughly. In the afternoon our travel mates started to arrive and by five o’clock everyone was there in time for Happy Hour and the organizing meeting. We are a diverse group; five GMCs and six SOBs (some other brand) who once owned a GMC. I think we are going to have a great time in Mexico!

We took the "3:10 to Yuma "and it was grand!

Well, here we are in Yuma, AZ and finally we are sleeping without having the heater on! Today, Norm & Joan drove here from Quartzsite and took us to two large swap meets. It was quite an experience. The first one was all old stuff but I found a swell pair of new golf shoes for $3.00. The second, larger one, was all new stuff. Very interesting but.....tiring. After, we all went to Walmart and we stocked up with more groceries, etc. Tonight we are having an old standby: Deli chicken, potato salad & bean salad. There is an Ice Cream Social tonight @ 7:00.
Last night, Saturday, we went to the weekly dance..great music and 3/4 of the people were Canadians! We danced up a storm! They even played a shottiche (sp). Only the Canadians were familiar with it. Tomorrow is the beginning of week six.

88 Shades RV Park

We like it here. Yesterday we took the bikes out and went exploring. There are many, many bargains because the vendors who have been here since the first of January are packing up their stalls and moving on. We have decided to stay until Saturday am when the plan is to go south to Yuma. It is still unseasonably cool at night but today was beautiful and not a cloud in the sky. I did the laundry and hung everything on the lines to dry.
There is a saying down here about Happy Hour....."It's 5:00 Somewhere"...and in the desert HH starts @ 4:00 because the sun sets at 5!
We are toasting all of you, our friends and our family. Salut!!

California, then Arizona.

Well, it has been a week since the last posting. Today, we are sitting in Kingsley in a great RV park in Quartzsite, AZ after spending the last two nights at our GMC friend's place here.
We had a wonderful week in Palm Springs in spite of the inclement weather. The rental car helped alot! We were invited out for dinner twice last week and it was nice to have our own wheels!
Alan played handball at the Palm Desert Athletic Club three times last week and was in handball heaven!!! Lots of new friendships there. I can probably get him back to the desert again next year based on the handball thing alone!
The bad weather was rolling in on Sunday as we left the PS area and yesterday was unsettled here. Today, however was a beautiful day.
We rode our bikes around town today and will go back tomorrow to pick up the bargains. Things are starting to wind down here. Last month, there were over a million people here and in another month is will be deserted. The permanent population of Quartzsite is 3000 people. The temps reach 120 degrees in the middle of the summer!
This weekend we will head south to Yuma and then to Mexico on the 25th.

Palm Springs with Snow!

Here are some pictures taken in the last couple of days. Some frost this morning but burned off quickly. Still better than home right now. We were thinking of naming the new lake in front of our unit!