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!