Almost a year!! Last post on my blog, all about our adventures with Kingsley, was almost a whole year ago! Don't worry, I won't saddle everyone with everything that has transpired during this last year but I do want to start up again with our latest adventures on the road. We left Edmonton on Saturday, October 6th bound for Lake Louise, AB in our 35 year old GMC motorhome(named Kingsley). We met up with our family from Calgary to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in Canada. It was a great time hiking, eating & drinking and visiting with the daughters, sons-in-law & the grandsons. Monday, we headed west towards BC and then south to Palm Springs but....we didn't make it very far. The coach had mechanical troubles just past Emerald Lake turn-off and we had to be towed to Golden, BC...radiator problems. We ended up staying there for eight days while they ordered parts and did the work on the coach. Golden is a great little spot in the mountains and we explored every inch of it while we were there. Daily trips down into town and lots of interaction with the herd of Rocky Mountain Sheep camped all around us. A week ago today all was done and we set out again. This time we made it to the little town of Revelstoke(at the other side of the Rogers Pass). This time, it was the header gasket!! Well, we decided to head home as the work would not be started until yesterday. Last Thursday we spent 12 hours on the Greyhound wending our way back home. To make things even worse, it was my 75th birthday!! This was one B-day I won't soon forget!! We have been home now for almost a week and awaiting the news from the mechanic. We are still hoping to get back on the road soon and get our Kingsley down to the desert where we will leave until Jan/Feb when we will return for the rest of the winter. Wish us luck...will keep everyone posted.

We start the trip!

Saturday, November 5, 2011
Left home around noon, all packed up for the trip to California in Kingsley. Half an hour out of Edmonton and we discover we didn't have the travel health insurance cards! Back home to retrieve.
Arrived at the Dundas residence @ 7:oo pm. Everyone there and a fabulous dinner...BBQ steak & ribs, rice etc. plus Karen's apple pie!
So good to have those big tall boys giving lots of hugs and towering over both of us!!

Sunday, November 6th
Headed out before noon and ended up at Warner, AB, at one of our favourite RV spots. Very cold but we had power and a functioning furnace!

Monday, November 7th
Left Warner and crossed the US border without any hitches about 9:00am. We arrived in Conrad, MT to see cousin Ann & Larry Boettcher. We spent about 1 1/2 hours then carried on, reaching Butte, MT.@ 4:30pm. We stayed at the Butte KOA for $15.00. We bought a great chicken dinner with all the fixins' for $10.00! The furnace still works!!

Tuesday, November 8th
Left Butte at 9:00 am, gassed up @ Dillon, MT. Sunny but windy and cold. We stopped at Pocatella, ID for gas at Costco. It's always fun checking out Costcos in the US. Hardly anyone in the store @ 2:00pm...no lineups at the pumps. We travelled on to Downey, ID and stayed a wonderful place called Downata Hot Springs, 100 years old, open year round with an amazing mineral spring-fed pool, hot tub and sauna. It is quiet this time of the year. A very popular family resort in the summer.

Wednesday, November 9th
Alan & I went up to the pool this morning...wonderful showers and mineral pools! It was a great start to the day.
Back on the road @ 9:30 am and crossed the border in to Utah @10:00am. Sunny and warmer; roads dry. We pulled in to the Filmore, UT KOA @ 4:00pm after spending entirely too much time looking for and finally finding a Costco for gas!! It was warmer in the afternoon so I donned pedal-pushers and sandals. Silly me! It went to 10F overnight.....we were @ 6000 feet!

Friday, November 10th
Fetched water from the washroom to make coffee this am. We left the camp at 9:30 am. We reached the Utah/Arizona border before noon and Nevada @ 12:17pm. We stopped at the Welcome Centre in Mesquite, NV, had breakfast, and both of us changed into shorts! This a ritual which we have enjoyed several times on our trips south! Mesquite is the place where everything changes!! Back on the road @ 12:17, thanks to our being in the PST zone. Heading to Vegas!! I am now too tired to type any more so I will close until tomorrow! We have arrived at our first destination in Quartzsite, AZ and we are very happy!

Fall weather, wind and freezing temp. sends us packing!

It's the beginning of November 2011 and we are packing Kingsley for another trip to sunny (and warm) California. Our destination is Cathedral City, CA where we will store the coach until February 2012. We will fly home for Christmas with the family in Calgary & Lake Louise.
Lots of preparations and we are running out time! I will post every few days. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we wend our way south, hopefully with good weather, on our route.

Back to the BLOG!!

At last, time to start reporting again!! We have been so busy down here in SoCal that we fall into bed at night exhausted. Also, we had many days away from internet connection.
We are parked in a beautiful spot by the Pechanga Casino in Temecula, CA. We are on I 15 just south of LA where we came for a Bluegrass Festival.We parked in a dirt lot right in the heart of Olde Towne Temecula with 26 other GMC coaches, members of the Pacific Cruisers club. It has been a blast and we really enjoyed the music and shopping etc. but, the weather has turned very cold so we are now all hooked up and very comfortable with wifi & cable TV.
My last posting was Feb 10th while we were still in Quartzsite so, I have a lot of catching up to do.
I have taken tons of pictures....over 700 since the beginning of the year. I will pick out the best to post and hope to give everyone a taste of our adventures with Kingsley.

Algodones, Mexico

Yesterday, we experienced Algodones for the first time! We are staying at an RV park in Winterhaven, CA across the Colorado river from Yuma, AZ where everyone goes for four things: dental services, optical services, pharmaceuticals & cheap liquour!! Our friends picked us up at 8:00am and by 8:15 we were parked, crossed the border and sitting in one of hundreds of dental offices! I went for glasses and @ 8:30, was customer #1 across th

e hall in the eyeglass place. One hour later I had had an eye exam and was fitted for two lovely pairs of progressive lens glasses...$100.00. I am going back to pick them up tomorrow on our way out of town. After our friends had their dental work done and I was finished with the optician we went for fish tacos & tamales, then, at 11:00am the liquour stores opened. We each bought a bottle then got into the line to go thru customs. You cannot imagine the crowds!! It was colourful and crazy and alot of fun!! Old people love this stuff, what can I say!!

The "Journal in a Box" booth at the RV show in Quartzsite.

We met the mother & daughter team, Yvonne & Tonya, behind this great idea for helping everyone to keep a journal. Find out more about this unique product at: http//www.journalinabox.com A couple of great gals with great smiles!! Good luck to you both and get rested up for your next show.

Quartzsite again!

We left Palm Springs on Wednesday headed for Quartzsite (2 hours east). Camped on the desert (boondocking) with 20 other coaches. More to follow.....

We're back....snowbirds again!!!

January 12, 2011
Time to get caught up with our travels with Kingsley, our 34 year old GMC Motorhome which we have owned for the last eight years.
January 12th 2011 we flew out of YEG to Palm Springs to join up with our home away from home, Kingsley. Melissa’s friend, Ronald , drove us to the airport. The temperature @ 7:00 am was -30C and there was tons of snow on the ground. Also, there were lots of check-points, security, etc. It’s good that we were there 1 ½ hours before our flight
Three hours later, we arrived in Palm Springs. Glorious weather…the air smells so good! Cab drive, ten minutes, and we were at the Cathedral Palms RV Park and reunited with our Kingsley before noon!
We drove to Walmart to buy bike tires then to PS Cyclery where we left my bike for repair. On the way back,we made a stop at Trader Joe’s for some groceries. Both of us were exhausted by 8:00 pm.

January 13, 2011
We took a long walk in the morning and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant next to the Big Lots Store. Walking back, we stopped at the Incredible Artist’s Gallery- great artwork and classes in Cat. City Centre.
We picked up my bike then went to Costco for major grocery shopping and gas.
We are pretty well settled in and have great neighbours!

January 14, 2011
Stayed close to home and washed all the windows on the coach…..really dirty! We didn’t spend a cent today!! We watched “The Stepford Wives” on the laptop tonight.


January 15, 2011
Another gorgeous day in SoCal!!!

January 16, 2011
Cooler today. Rode bikes to Royal Palms where Parkers used to stay. A fabulous sunset tonight…all pale pink & blue.

January 17, 2011
Martin Luther King Day in the USA,

Kingsley is on the move again!

Well, it has been over three months since my last post and it's about time to bring you up to date on my adventures with Alan & Janet! The three of us left Edmonton on Monday, October 11th(Thanksgiving Day in Canada)heading south to Palm Springs via Calgary, Conrad & Las Vegas. We are now in LV at a GMCWS rally with about sixty other GMCers and having a ton o'fun!! Two things happened just as we were leaving home: First, our RV fridge went kaput and secondly, the laptop crashed with a virus. We are buying a new fridge which will be installed next week and...we went to Costco and bought a Acer notebook so, we are back on line...yea!!!

Quilchena School Class of 1949 reunion

1st pic: Class of 1949 revisited 61 years later!
2nd pic: At the Avenue Grill - Shelley's husband, Richard, Lynn Blusson, Debbie(Shelley's daughter) Shelley.
3rd pic: Sandy (Krass), Michelle Sims(Janet's daughter), Russell Wilks.
4th pic: Muriel(Wilson), Bill Holt, Kay(Hammarstrom), Bill Climie.
5th pic: Ross Blusson, Nancy Climie, Mike Dumoulin.

Anyway, here is my blog about our adventures on the road and I have posted a collection of photos dedicated to our gathering on May 30 th.

For those who were present, thanks for coming. It sure was fun.

For those who couldn't make it, we were thinking of you with love and affection. Lots of good memories of our youthful lives and experiences.

I hope we will all stay in touch and who knows....... maybe we will have another opportunity to see each other again somewhere down the road!.

Caio, Janet

The Magee & Quilchena Reunions

Here are some pics from the Saturday & Sunday celebrations. See the sidebar.

A rainy spring week in Vancouver

I flew in to Vancouver a week ago yesterday to visit Michelle, attend my high school reunion(Magee '55, 55 years later) & meet on the steps of my grade school with eleven Grade Six classmates.....61 years later! Woo-hoo!

One whole week in Vancouver and it rained every day but, that didn't deter the fun. Thursday, Michelle, Zephyr(her greyhound) & I took the ferry to Bowen Island(see pics). Alan & I met on Bowen Island and later on bought a cabin on the water, which is still there.

On Friday, I went with classmate Shelley & her husband to a house party for the out-of-towners in West Van. Saturday, Michelle, her friend, Nicole & I went for a mani & a pedi in the West End....opted for a lilac shade to match my blouse! Later on the party started at the Jericho Sailing Club where over 100 Magee Class of 1955 gathered. It was a wonderful afternoon and evening with lots of reminiscing and laughter. On Sunday at 10:00am our Quilchena group met at the school for a photo-op on the steps where we tried to replicate the old photo from 1949. Then we all moved to the Avenue Grill in Kerrisdale for brunch. Classmates, spouses/partners & children were there too. The Avenue was our hangout or juke joint when we were kids and, although the decor has changed drastically, it's still in the same location and stil has the original neon sign out front!

Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Michelle was off work so we cleaned up and renovated her apt. following her room-mate moving on. It is in a perfect location in Kitsilano and so close to UBC where she starts her Masters in Nursing this September. Michelle will be in the Nurse Practitioner program. Wednesday I flew home, another rainy day!! However, I missed the snow in Edmonton last weekend, so that's not to bad.

Spring in Edmonton

Some scenes from the past few weeks,

Since the last entry.

Well, it has been a while since last I made a posting on this blog. We have been home in Edmonton for six weeks and it seems like an eternity! Funny thing about time... Well, spring/summer has finally arrived and the forecast is...no frost for at least the next two weeks which will take us past the traditional planting day of May 24th! Guess it's safe to plant all those tender plants.

Here are some pictures from the past weeks that I never got around to posting. Blog-poster fatigue?

Back in Canada

Well, we crossed the border yesterday and we did not have to wait too long in spite of all the warnings! We stayed at a truck stop at Nanton and it was a good choice. Today we went north to Nanton where we looked around at places for sale. We then went to Okotoks, AB where we checked out a RV park that looks very promising. We are staying here tonight and will be with all the Calgary gang tomorrow. It's good to be nearing home!

Neatest little Toad or, should I say, Stowed!!

Well, it's time to get caught up with all the exciting things that have happened in the last month or so!! These pictures are of an amazing little car that travels in the baggage compartment of a converted 1963 Trailways bus. It was originally a 1971 Honda Colt 600 convertible which was shortened by 33" and now fits in the luggage compartment of the bus! It's just too cute for words and still street legal!

The Trip to Joshua Tree

On Wednesday we drove the car to Joshua Tree National Park about an hour north of Palm Springs. The elevation there is around 4800 ' and PS is at sea level. The air was just delicious!! We stopped in three places: first, we went to Hidden Valley where we hiked for about an hour. We were there about 15 years ago and loved seeing and experiencing it again; then we went to Cap Rock and watched a party of climbers, quite a sight on a crystal clear day; lastly, we took in the view of the entire Coachella Valley, Palm Springs Area and the Salton Sea. Unfortunately, the haze created by the smog from LA made it hard to see things clearly....a fact of life nowadays! Here are some pictures from that trip.

Super Bowl Sunny Sunday

Lots of rain yesterday caused many road closures in PS area. It really came down and put a damper on all the usual weekend activities. Costco became the place to go yesterday afternoon and the crowds were huge. It was shopping as entertainment with lots of sampling going on! We went to dinner at our friends, the Shearers, new place in Palm Desert. Gailene's brother John & his wife Leslie were there and it was wonderful to see John and meet his wife. John is the same age as Barbara and we have lots of memories of camping trips in the 70s.

Today we will be watching the big game with the Nagles....I like the commercials!

Today there's not a cloud in the sky. Life is good!!

The beauty of the desert.

Some pictures taken while in Quartzsite. Some are of the "western wallop" storm that plowed thru on January 21st. It was wild!!

Left Quartzsite, back in Palm Springs!

We are back at the Cathedral Palms for the month of February. It is now "high season" and was tough to get a booking and a car rental, however, we have both ! Quartzsite was fun both the boondocking on the bare desert and in the 88 Shades Park. We even looked seriously at buying a place there. Very good prices right now. We found lots of bargains at the RV Show in the Big Tent and at all the hundreds of smaller tents and swap meets. We also met at least 30 new GMCers and re-aquainted ourselves with many friends from the past rallies. We were sorry to say goodbye to the Sanders & the Engmans but we will see them again in a month or so. I am feeling a little homesick for home but, then I read the Edmonton Journal online and am reminded of the winter weather so...happy to be here where it's warm.