About Me

Lee Creek, North Shuswap near Chase, B.C, Canada
We went full-time Rving in October of 2005! We retired from full time to part-time as of the end of 2015. Our present "small but comfortable" Wagon is a 2008 Camper trailer(TravelAir Rustler), pulled by a 2008 Dodge Dakota, 4X4.l. Our home is now a Gated Community Park, in Oliver, British-Columbia, Canada. I retired in 2005 and my Life Companion, Valerie, retired October 1, 2006 from nursing. We invite you to follow and share our new adventures and mishaps. Life is but an adventure full of dreams yet to be fulfilled!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

February 26 to 28, 2013; Onward to Big Bend Texas


FEB  26, Tuesday, Wheel alignment on trailer and onwards north to Big Bend, Texas
We left at 9 AM after saying our goodbyes to everyone; even Kim and Tim showed up which was very nice.  On the way out, we stopped at Al and Debbie and Gigi & Laurent to say our goodbyes.  Hard to leave good friends!  We drove to CAMCO Wheel & Axles and had the rear axle recamper for $52.  We went for breakfast while they were doing that and after paying, an hour later, we left and headed West and North-West on Hwy 83.  We stopped along the way for lunch and met another Rv’er heading to Arizona from the Valley.  We stopped in Laredo at the Flying J for fuel at $3.99, off I-35.  We turned off I-35 a while later and headed North on Hwy 83.  In Carrizo Springs, we turned onto 277 and made our stop here for the night at BRUSH COUNTRY RV Park for $25/night.  We arrived around 5PM.  We got a call from Donna and Val called her back.  Time to relax and enjoy the rest of the sunshine.  It is a balmy 70*F and sunny.  This park has nothing fancy to offer more than a rest place for all the oil workers.  As we neared the town we could lots of active oil well.  It has created a booming era for this place and the economy is appears to be strong.  It was quite noisy from the highway traffic but the price was right.

We travelled 425 KM (261 miles) in 5.5 hrs.
N  28* 31.672’
W 099* 52.424’
ALT: 647 feet

 
FEB  27, Wednesday, continue to Big Bend
We left around 9 AM, drove through Carrizo Springs, a small community, and headed to Eagle Pass.  This was another medium size border town and a major thorough fare to northern Mexico.  We continued on Hwy 277 to Del Rio; we had a head wind all the way which was quite strong.  From here, we took Hwy 90 west.  Most of the way was flat desert country with very little to see or look at.  We stopped in Landry for lunch and to look around.  We stopped here back on ’05 or ’06 so we didn’t do any significant visiting.  We drove on and slowly climbed to over 4000 feet and the temperature was only 58* F and sunny, a big difference from the Valley.  We stopped in Sanderson where I took on fuel @ $4.19 and topped up again in Marathon at $4.59 (ouch!).  Here we turned south on Hwy 385 to FM 2627, down 6 miles to STILLWELL RV PARK and MUSEUM.  We paid $27 for full hook-up including internet.  It was not as impressive as I was led to believe from the write-ups but we are here and enjoying it.  It is a quaint place but I would NOT return.  We have full hook-up and internet for $27/night.  This used to be a working ranch owned by “Hallie Crawford Stillwell” and her husband back in 1880.  She was a tough old lady who made her way in life through her own stubbornness and stamina; she was a teacher, a writer and a justice of the peace to name a few job of hers.  We are at the Northern entrance to the Park.  We went for a walk and looked around.  Dinner, read a book then to bed.

We drove 316 miles in 6 hrs @ 53 MPH
N  29* 38.597’
W 103* 04
ALT: 2464 feet

 
FEB  28, Thursday, BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK
Sunny and cold in the morning.  Before leaving, we found two geocaches here and two more on the road back to 385.  Good way to start a trip!  We headed south on 385 and stopped at the Park entrance to buy a seven day pass then continued on to miles 29 where we stopped at the Park Info Centre  the PANTHER JUNCTION and got more information on what to see and do.  We drove on south- east to Rio Grande Village Campground and found site 88 and set up.  We have no hook-ups except our generator and own water.  After a glass of wine, we drove to the store at the road junction and got more info, bought a T-Shirt each as souvenirs and found out they have internet here.  We drove down to the end of this section where we found the trail to the hot springs.  We also saw a boat launching pad to the Rio Grande River and while there, saw a Mexican crossing the river on horseback.  The river is quite shallow in these parts.  From here, we went on to the “BOQUILLAS CANYON” overlook.  The scenery is absolutely FANTASTIC!  It is so nice to be back amongst mountains again.  The desert is full of cactus, ocotillos, Yucca plants and many more. This is also where we saw all these little trinquets, walking sticks and rocks for sale and all made by Mexican.  What they do is come across the river, lay out their wares with prices on them and you, as a tourist buy these on an honor system.  You see, they are NOT allowed to do this nor are we to buy them but it is very common and everyone does it. (SEE PICTURES IN PICASA LINK).  We did buy two little items; a scorpion and a road runner, very pretty and well done.  We could also see the village of BOQUILLAS DEL CARMEN, Mexico across the river.  It was surreal.
We drove back to the main road and went to the turn off to the Hot Springs.  It was a gravel road and at one point, the road split and became extremely narrow.  We arrived at a parking area and had to hike for half a mile to the spring.  There were already a few people there soaking in.  We looked around and took some pictures (with their permissions) then came back.  We also saw some petroglyphs and some old buildings which used to be a store, office and hotel/motel back in the 30’s and 40’s.  Amazing how history is so abundant in these parts.  It was time to come home, relax with a glass of wine and think about how we saw on this first day.  I BBQ’ed sausages for dinner and we had that with mash potatoes.  The generator is going so that I can write this.  We are here for 5 or more days!  Lots of hiking here but dogs are not allowed on the trails unfortunately so Tucker will have to spend some time alone in the Trailer.  Speed limit in the Park is 45 MPH and strictly enforced. 

We drove 55 miles in one hour and 20 minutes @ an average 42 MPH (Speed limit in the Park is 45 MPH)
N  29* 10.811’
W 112* 57.307”
Alt: 1873 ft

Monday, February 25, 2013

February 19 to 25, 2013; Final days in Weslaco

FEB  19, Tuesday, Jack’s birthday party.
It was foggy when we got up this morning; the sun soon came out and burned it off.  We attended a presentation from the Border Patrol at 9 am and it lasted 2 hours, lots of questions.  Afterwards, we went to Walmart to pick up a few items and a birthday card then came home and at 3 PM, we went to the hall for live music and a birthday party for our friend and neighbour, Jack.  We had fun and we all met again at Ed’s for some snackies.  The wind became cold which put a damper on the whole thing and people left early.  Val went over to Ed and Joanne to check on her as she has not been feeling well in the last couple weeks.

 
FEB  20, Wednesday,
Overcast, rain forecast and very windy gusting to 35 MPH; what a day!!!  Val went for her exercises this morning and did some Tai-Chi. I changed the oil and checked the air filter on our portable generator, started it and made sure it worked fine as we will probably need it in Big Ben National Park.  The rest of the day was quiet.  We went for burgers at the club house at 5 pm then home; no Happy Hour this evening, just too windy.  We watched "Survivors” and listened to the wind buffeting the trailer.

 
FEB  21, Thursday,
The wind has abated some this morning and it is still cloudy but already 70* at 8 AM.  It was a hot one, went up to 94*F (32*C) by 2 PM!  Val did a load of laundry and I stayed inside under the A/C’s comfort and read.  Around 4 PM, we all met at Ed’s place for H.H and it was still very warm; everyone was scrambling for shade.  We went over to Louise and Dave afterwards then came home and I made the mistake of sitting down and passed out...too much bourbon!!!

 
FEB  22, Friday, back to Mexico for Val
Cloudy and warm, no winds!  We headed back to the dentist in Nuevo Progresso for an adjustment on Val’s teeth.  This was definitely our last time there.  I don’t know why but the parking lot was full of cars, RV’s and busses yet nothing was going on in Progresso; we even asked around.  We had lunch there and after our adjustments, we shopped a bit and Val picked up a couple items for grand-daughter McKinley.  No problem at the border and the line up was small.  We came home, had H.H at Louise and Dave and ended up inside having grilled cheese sandwiches and played a couple games of ‘Sequence”.  I am very sad to report the boys won once again!!!  To bed by 11PM!

 
FEB  23, Saturday, to Mercedes & going away dinner
We went to an outdoor “Cook-Out” at Mercedes State Park.  It cost $10 for both of us to get in and we had to buy tokens worth $2. each which bought us beer and certain meals.  We bought beer but there was so much food for free that we didn’t pay for any of it.  The best was the rib cook-out.  Each kiosk was serving their own recipes and was fighting for first prize judged by a group of people.  There was lots of music including live shows.  We saw a lot of our friends there from Pine and Pecan Street.  We came home with full stomachs. 
Of all rotten luck and so near to our leaving, I am with a very bad sore throat and runny nose.  When we got home, I went straight to bed as I was feeling worst.  Val went to H.H without me.  At 6 PM, everyone went out for dinner including Val and I stayed home; I just wasn’t in the mood to socialize or be of good company.  I asked Val to bring me a salad back.  This was a farewell dinner for the 4 of us as we are leaving in 3 days and Louise and Dave tomorrow.  I was in bed by 9 PM feeling lousy.

 
FEB  24, Sunday, Dave and Louise depart & begin our packing
Val had a good time last evening which is good, she even came home with two glasses from “Olive Gardens” and so did Louise, given to them free!  I got up this morning stuffed up but no worst for the wear.  Dave and Louise left around 10 AM after saying goodbye to everyone.  I vacuumed and washed the inside of the truck, put the BBQ and tables away and installed the rack on top of the truck.  That’s it for today; Val did laundry; getting anxious to leave, not that we don’t like this Park, it’s just time to move on.  Val went for H.H at Ed’s place and I joined them for a while but came home before anyone else, just not feeling right yet.  Watched the tube for a while then went to bed by 9 PM.  It was cloudy but warm all day and no wind to speak of.

 
FEB  25, Monday, Last day in Snow to Sun Park and the Valley
What a day!  It was warm all night and with my cold, I had a lousy sleep and I was up by 6:30 AM from all the coughing.  We had very STRONG winds all day, gusting to 44 MPH.  I went to Walmart and had an oil change and changed the two batteries in the truck; it had been acting up when starting in the morning and they were due to be change anyway.  Afterwards, I phone ATT&T and renew my phone for another month but on a cheaper rate.  We went back to Walmart to pick up some groceries for our stay in Big Bend as the Kirkby’s told us there wasn’t much there and food and fuel was expensive.  At home, I stopped at the office and paid our final electrical bill then I loaded the kayaks with Val’s help, had the rig washed for $50, put away the satellite dish and all the chairs except two.  We went to Happy Hour at Ed’s and afterwards, we said our final goodbye to those who won’t be there tomorrow morning.  We are pretty well ready to go.  The winds continued into the evening and finally abated.  Rosemarie and Cookie came over to say their goodbyes, we walked over to Debbie and Al afterwards but they were already in bed; no lights in the house.
Tomorrow, we leave for Big Bend where we will be without internet and phone contact for a few days.

Monday, February 18, 2013

February 15 to 18, 2013; Routine stuff

FEB  15, Friday, Weslaco
Val is still not feeling 100% so she didn’t make the exercises this morning.  It is sunny and going to mid 70’s today!  Val did make the “vegetable guy” who comes in the park every Friday with fresh vegetables and she bought what we needed or were short on.  Val, Judy and Louise went shopping to the local mall, Dave drove them there.  I fixed another “must do” on the rig; replaced the intake water inlet as the back-up valve was shot.  Dave and I went for lunch at Burger King.  Dave figured if his wife can go out for lunch, so can he! J  I picked them up at 4 pm and found that Val had been good and only spent $15, total.  We had HH at Ed’s place.
The day was sunny and warm but cooled off quickly once the sun went down.

 
FEB  16, Saturday, Geocaching
Sunny; we had a cold front come through overnight and the wind was quite strong (woke me up)...this morning all is quiet and it is already warming up, it went to 78*F (24*).  We went Geocaching in Harlingen.  We found 6 of them, two of which were really interesting; the first one was a Veteran’s Memorial at the Info Centre then we drove to the IWO JIMA Monument.  This one was located on a Military Marine school base.  The museum was interesting and full of pictures and the monument was huge and impressive.  We looked around some then went for lunch at Pizza Hut which was very noisy.  We decided to come home as it was getting late in the afternoon and got back in time for H.H at Louise and Dave.

 
FEB  17, Sunday, sunny & pleasant
Cloudy and very strong winds, we went up to mid 70’s.  Val did laundry and I read.  It was blowing so hard that everyone stayed home!  I downloaded a program for our income tax and began the process; now I wait for our mail to be forwarded so I can find out how much we get back or owe.

 
FEB  18, Monday, Mexico one last time!?
Sun, clouds and lots of winds today; temperature went up to mid 80’s F!  Val went for Line Dancing Lessons and I had one tank filled with propane @ $19.  Today is Audrey's birthday so we called her and wished all the best and Val chatted for a while.  We drove to Nuevo Progresso with Dave and Louise in their truck.  I spent over 2 hrs at the dentist while the crew went shopping; thank goodness we had enough time to eat first.  Dave went looking for some meds for his gout and found some then we came home in time for H.H at Ed’s place.  We had the A/C on for a while but now it’s off as the evening is cooling off quite nicely.
Eight days left to our departure!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

February 10 to 14, 2013; Cirque du Soleil and Valentine in Snow to Sun Park

FEB  10, Sunday, Cirque du Soleil show
A cloudy, muggy and hot day!  We left the house at noon to drive to Hidalgo State Farm & coliseum where the show was presented.  We were sitting in a good spot with an excellent view.  The show lasted 2.5 hrs with a half hour break.  It was EXCELLENT and AWESOME!   This was our first time seeing the Cirque du Soleil and it was worth every dollar.   Afterwards, we all went to TEXAS STEAK ROADHOUSE where we had a delicious dinner.  It was a busy place but once seated, the service was fast and courteous.  There were 24 of us seated around two tables.  Very noisy, everyone was excited about the show.  We finally arrived home around 6 PM and had a nightcap.  Al, ED and Judy came to join us.

 
FEB  11, Monday, wash day and back to Mexico once again
Warm and cloudy!  Val has a real bad strep throat so she stayed home and didn’t do any exercises.  I called the dentist and got an appointment for noon.  I left at 11:30 AM after dropping Val at the laundry room.  I got back from Mexico at 2:30 PM, picked up Val at the laundry (she was actually doing puzzles in the room next door) and drove home.  We had HH at Charly’s place then left over’s for dinner.  In the evening, we watched a movie.  It is cooling off and still cloudy

 
FEB  12, Tuesday, Debbie’s street party
Cloudy and it little cooler finally, only went up to 78*F!  We went to the Post Office then to Walmart to pick up a few more things we forgot yesterday then I went for a haircut.  We got back in time to get ready for the Party.  At 3:30, we made our way to Pine Street to Debbie and Al’s place.  The party lasted until well past 10 but we came home at 8:30 because of Val’s throat.  Buster, Debbie and Al’s son, provided all the fish that we ate tonight and cooked hush puppies, a common item in the South, sweet dough with jalapenos and deep fried.  He also deep fried the fish, potatoes and onions...what a treat!!!  Others had brought salads, desserts, beans (3 kinds) and a bunch of other stuff.  There were well over 50 people.  It really was a wonderful day spent with good friends.  Judy even got me dancing a waltz!!!

 
FEB  13, Wednesday, cloudy and much cooler
We barely reached low 70’s today; we have a cold wind from the north.  Val went for her exercises this morning then Judy, Louise and her went shopping to the outlets east of here.  Al picked them up at 4 PM.  I took the toilet out, took it apart, cleaned it, changed the seals and put it all back together; what an improvement!  We had H.H at D&L with AL & Judy and Ed.  We went to the club house for hot dogs then came back and found everyone still here but we soon called it quit once the sun went down.

 
FEB  14, Thursday; HAPPY VALENTINE!
Val attended a “Roaring 20’s” luncheon at the club house.  Everyone was dressed up to the nine for the 20’s and 30’s.  There even was an old Model T in front of the club of which we took of few pictures with the girls in front of it (see Picasa link).  Men were not invited except those serving the ladies.  Val and Louise had a really good time.  While she was there, I fixed the vent on the roof which had broken a while back.  When the girls got back, they were still hungry so we went to “Peckers” for a beer and snack.
It is sunny, little wind, dry and near 79*F; the night before was cold, in the low 40’s and going to the upper 30’s tonight!  12 days left in Weslaco, time is flying by!  H.H was at Ed’s place but we called it quit once the sun was down as it cooled right down.

Saturday, February 09, 2013

February 5 to 9, 2013; Dentist and McAllen walking race competition

FEB  5, Tuesday, Back to the Dentist in Mexico and carpet cleaning
10 AM and it is 78*F already!  It’s going to be a warm one.  Took Tucker for a walk and Val took the day off from exercises and walks.  I went with Dave to check on a canvas place for his truck then came home.  We got a text message from Lynden and Charlene about picking up “Gracie's” ashes at the hospital which I did then I went to Mexico about my teeth then came home.  We had the carpets cleaned today and when I got home, he was just leaving.  We went over to Debbie and Al’s place for a “left-over” get together where we ate most of the left over from the Super Bowl party.  We ended up playing a game of bowling on Wii which was a lot of fun...Americans VS Canadians; we won!  We came home, sat outside for a while, watched “VEGAS” then went to bed.  It went up to 94*F today!

 
FEB  6, Wednesday,
Heavy dark clouds and very humid this morning but no rain yet, temperature at 74*F (22*C) by 8 AM.  The sun eventually came out and temperature got up to upper 80’s.  We finally put the A/C on in the afternoon.  We went for a few items at Walmart then came home and had happy hour with Al & Judy, Ed & Joanne who is feeling a bit better and Louise and Dave who is coming down with a cold too.  The four of us went to the Elk’s hall for Italian spaghetti dinner ($5.95 includes salad, bread, drink and dessert then came home and called it a night after a nightcap.

 
FEB  7, Thursday, Weslaco
Cloudy and humid again; no wind and warm, that was our day! Not much to report on this day, we did go play shuffle board in the afternoon with Louise & Dave then cooled off in the clubhouse with a beer and a few dances to live music.  We ended up at Charles’ place with the rest of the gang.  Came home, had dinner and watched the tube in the evening.

 
FEB  8, Friday
Same weather system in the morning however it did improve as the day went on and the sun did come out but much cooler than what it’s been.  We went out with Dave and Louise to Alamo and Donna looking for an RV Service centre which we finally found then we went for lunch at “Peckers” Pub.  A stop at Walmart then home for H.H.  Al and Judy joined us and eventually Ed.  IT got quite cool when the sun went down so we called it early.  Val made a marvellous dinner consisting of vegetables only.  We got a text form my daughter, Rochelle, that they bought a brand new Mercedes SUV...WOW!!!!  Congratulation!!

 
FEB  9, Saturday to McAllen for organized walking race
Cloudy, humid but warm and windy!  We left around 10:30 AM. for McAllen Sports Field where there was a walking race planned by the city as part of on-going festivities in the area.  There were over 80 people registered for this senior race.  It began at noon with the officials giving everyone a break down on the rule then everyone was invited on the field for a warm up then the race began.  The race was divided into 3 heat; two for the ladies and one for the men.  Our friends Debbie came in third and Cookie came in first in the men’s heat.  I took quite a few pictures and posted a few.  Val did great but had really bad stomach crams and unfortunately had to quit on the last leg but she did great and even got compliments from the officials about her style of walking fast.  We came home for some meds for her stomach then headed back to PIZZA HUT in Weslaco to join the rest of the gang.  More pictures, more laughs and we came home for the evening.  We have really STRONG winds right now and it is still 74*F (22*C) outside.

Monday, February 04, 2013

February 1 to 4, 2013; Super Bowl in weslaco

2013 FEBRUARY  1, Friday; Weslaco Texas
I forgot to mention in yesterday’s blog that I finally got my $20  deposit from the guy I had bought prescription glasses from in Nuevo Progresso, it made my day!  Sunny and no wind to speak of!  Morning routine and then we said our goodbye to the Kirkby’s as they are headed for San Antonio and Austin.  This is also our last month here before we head out to Big Bend National Park and slowly make our way home.  Spent the day doing chores and phone calls to set up carpet cleaning and shade repair; all next week.  Actually, it ended up that the shade was taken down today as they couldn’t do it next week.  We had Happy Hour with Louise and Dave and called it quit early as it was getting cold.  We had fish for dinner and turned in early

 
FEB  2, Saturday, repair window blinds
65*F at 8 AM and cloudy but no wind.  There is a flea market happening in the park this morning.  The shade people were over this morning to put the shade back after fixing it ($50) then we went to the hall for lunch...hot chicken sandwich but nothing like Quebec!  We picked up our bed comforter which we had dropped off to get it clean ($11), stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things for tomorrow and more wine then we relaxed at home until 4 PM.  We went over to Al and Debbie for Happy Hour; present were Laurent and Ghislaine, Vickie and Jim, Paul and Ruth, Cookie and ROSEMARIE (NOTE Rosemarie!!!! HIHIHIIHI), Dave and Louise and us of course.  We had a good time then came home for dinner and a quiet evening at home

 
FEB  3, Sunday, SUPERBOWL XLVII
Warm, cloudy with sunny breaks!  This was a lazy day, we didn’t much except read, late shower and lazy walk with Tucker!  At 3 PM, we prepared the food for the Super Bowl Party then at 4 PM we went over to the club house and joined our group.  We set up the tables for the food and there was enough to feed a small army!  The game started at 5:30: Baltimore RAVEN VS San Francisco 49er and what a game, suspense until the end and the underdog, RAVEN held to a lead of three points to win the Super Bowl.  We had a good time and full bellies.  The Park gave two keg of beer free to quench our thirst for everyone attending.  We went home at 9 PM after cleaning up and were in bed by 10:30 PM.  A good day indeed.

 
FEB  4, Monday,
Val didn’t go for exercises but did go for Line Dancing.  It is sunny and very warm, upper 80’s but very comfortable.  After lunch we went to Hildago with Dave and Louise to pick up our tickets for next Sunday then to Mission to exchange a part for Dave.  We stopped for lunch at Dairy Queen, Dave had to have a chili hot dog and ice cream.  We came home via HOOVER where I picked up a couple items then Happy Hour at our place.  It was a warm but comfortable evening and lots of stars to look at.