April 28 to 30, 2012; End of another month in Lee Creek

APR  28, Saturday, Lee Creek, BC
Our first morning in Gateway Park, Lee Creek!  We spent the day getting things ready on the lot, putting out toys and decorations.  We drove to Chase to pick up some grocery and banking which was closed due to a robbery that happened this past week!!!!  We then drove to Sorrento to get my refund on the truck insurance due to being 65.  We got $30 back for 3 months.
We came back to our lot and it was time to go to Marcel and Donna’s lot as they were celebrating her birthday.  Their family was there and most of the people from the park.  It was good to see everyone and catch up to all the news.  The party lasted until 8 pm when everyone went home.  We were in bed by 10 pm.  It was sunny all day but cool from what we were used to.
As a foot note and because I forgot to put it in, here is one more stat; we travelled a total of 15 454 Km or 9 603 miles on this past trip.

APR  29, Sunday, sunny
We were up early under a sunny sky.  We were soon working around the yard; Val did her thing in her garden and I got the car ready to move it in the compound then changed the air filter and fuel filter on the truck.  I then worked around the yard getting more things clean and ready to use for our short time here.  In the afternoon, Val went to do some tai-Chi with Gail, Donna and another lady.  She was gone for over an hour and really enjoyed her time.  At 4 pm, we went to Bob & Gail for happy hour then for dinner, I BBQ’ed some pork chops and Val made a delicious salad and green beans.

APR  30, Monday,
It rained overnight and all morning, welcome to BC!  Actually it is nice to see, smell and hear I have to admit!  More chores today!  We went to Chase, made an appointment with the bank manager, did the laundry and bottled wine that we had ordered last fall.  Right now we just got back from a walk around the Park and enjoy a clear but frisky evening.  Tomorrow, we are going in to Salmon arm for more business.

April 27/12; To HOME in Lee Creek, BC!

APR  27, Friday, Oroville, Washington to Lee Creek, BC

I was up at 6 am and Val at 6:30.  We looked at each other and decided to head out so...after dressing and brushing our teeth, we left and were across the border by 7:30 am.  We had no hassles at the border and were heading north on Hwy 97 within a couple minutes.  We stopped in Penticton at a “TIM HORTON” for breakfast then again at Salmon Arm for lunch after picking up our mail at the UPS Store.  We were at our site in Gateway, Lee Creek by 1 pm.  The first thing was to clean our pad from the fall-out from all the cotton trees.  We visited with neighbour Ruth and Marcel and Donna.  It’s good to be home!  We called all the kids to let them know we are here!

We drove 300 Km for a total time of 4.5 hrs, including stops!

TOTAL EXPENSES BREAK DOWN  (Oct 18/11 to Apr 27/12):

          Camping cost         $2745.49 or (457.58/mth)
          Fuel                       $ 3464.43 or (577.4/mth)
          Other Expenses    $6207.89 or (1034.65/mth)

April 26, 2012; to Oroville, Washington for our last day in the USA

APR  26, Thursday, Our last day in the USA and a night in Oroville, Wash.
RAIN!!!  It is actually raining!  We haven’t had a good rain fall in over 4 months so this is quite an event.  We slept in as we are only travelling about 175 miles to the border where we will do some last minute grocery shopping.  We left at 9:25 am and headed north on Hwy 17.  We reached Hwy 97, our final leg to the border, it rained the whole way.  We stopped for a quick bite to eat at a “Subway” and had a sandwich then continued on to Oroville, just south of the border and Osoyoos.  We went to Prince Market and stocked up on items that we are allowed to bring across and which is much cheaper than BC.  We are also staying in the Parking Lot for the night and have power.  We organized all our food and booze, made a list, charged up the Canadian phone, put our US money away and got our Canadian money out (about 2 lbs of loonies and toonies, so it feels like) and our passports.  We will be home in Lee Creek tomorrow!

N  48* 56.974

W 119* 26. 246
Alt: 985 feet

We drove 178 miles in 3 hrs and 45 minutes @ an average 47 MPH. We stopped for a total one hour.

We fuelled in Moses Lake @ $4.48/gal & Oroville @ $4.48/gal.

April 25, 2012; To Moses Lake with stop in Pendleton for lube and oil and new tire on Bear in Moses Lake

APR   25, Wednesday, to Moses Lake with lube on Beast and new tire on Bear
We can sure tell we are now in the northern parts of America; it is 9*C this morning at 7 am and the sky is cloudy.  The forecast is for some rain in these parts but hopefully, by heading north, we will miss most of it!??  We left Burns, Oregon around 8 am and continued on Hwy 395 north.  All I can say about this part of the trip is AWSOME, BEAUTIFUL SCENIC!  This was an absolute enjoyable day!  We went over 5 passes with the highest being 5500 feet and most of the climbs were long and easy but going down on the other side, it was steep and lots of switch backs and curves (See pictures in folder 85).  I would recommend this drive to anyone but only from south to north as I think it would be hard on the engine, transmission and fuel the other way although we did meet RV’s going south.  We went through some really neat villages and stopped in “John Day” village and had brunch.  A neat town!  I fuelled in Seneca where I took only $50 as it was 4.99/gallon.  In John Day, it was 4.56 and I topped up.  We arrived in Pendleton at 1 pm and I had an oil change and lube ($89) done on the truck and fuelled at 4.27/gal.  I checked all my tires and we were back on the road at 2 pm.  We took I-84 west to I-82 and finally crossed into Washington State.  From here it was back on 395 then Hwy 17 to Moses Lake where another driver advised us that we had a flat on the driver side on the trailer.  Good Grief!  We found a “Les Schwap” tire shop and bought a new tire @ $162, it has a 5 year warranty on it.  From here, it was a skip and a jump to our RV Park, Pier 4 RV Park, an ROD member and cost us $0!  Have to save somewhere, no!???
We are set up for the night and have internet.  Now we wait for “Survivor” to come on and cheer us up!

N  47* 06.131'
W 119* 19.221
Alt:  1033 feet

350 miles (556 Km) in 6 hrs and 50 minutes @ 50 Mph average.  We were stopped for 2 hours and 15 minutes for a total of 9 hours day!

April 23 & 24, 2012: Bullhead city to Burns Oregon

APR  23, Monday, Onward to Eureka, Nevada

We left Bullhead City at 8:30 am and took Hwy 163 to Hwy 95 north.  We went through Las Vegas on I- 515 with little traffic but hot...98*F.  We got on I-15 north-east and eventually reach Hwy 93 where we stopped for a break and fuel at “Love” truck stop, (4.19/gal).  We went on north on Hwy 93 and eventually turned on Hwy 318.  Just past Preston, we turned right on Hwy 6 and arrived in Ely at 3:30.  That whole area we drove on is known as the “Great Nevada Basin” and is basically just one big valley and very much like a desert.  We fuelled at 4.19/gal, had a snack and continued on to Eureka on Hwy 50.  The temperature in Ely was 83*F and Eureka 79*F, warm and comfortable.  Hwy 50 is known as the loneliest highway in North America and I can vouch for that.  (See pictures in folder 85)  Anyway, even at 6500 feet the temperature was warm.  We climbed three easy passes going as high as 7500 feet but no snow and warm temperature.  We reached Eureka at 5 pm and stopped just before the town itself.  We are staying at Silver Sky Lodge and RV for the night and paid $25 for full hook-up.  Time to relax and enjoy this wonderful weather, we are surrounded by dark threatening clouds but blue sky above us.  This is another route that I have wanted to complete and now is done.  Tomorrow, more new grounds are in the making.

N  39* 29.897’

W 115* 57.464’
Alt:  6601 feet

We travelled 418 miles (678Km) in 7.5 hrs at an average 55 MPH and stopped for one hour.

APR  24, Tuesday, to Burns, Oregon
We were on the road by 8:15 am and drove through Eureka, an old mining town and turned onto Hwy 278 north to I-80.  This part was quiet and boring; high plateau with low shrubs and prairie grass.  We went over two easy passes then turn West on I-80 and went on to Battle Mountain where I fuelled @ 4.26/gal and had a late brunch.  We went on to Winnemucca and turned north on Hwy 95 to Hwy 78.  What a boring drive.  Flat, long distance and we only had one exciting scene where we entered a canyon, went down to a small valley and climbed back up on the other side.  The only excitement in this whole day was driving on Hwy 78 when I almost ran out of fuel.  Yes, you are reading it right, I got down to the fumes almost; the needle was on empty and the fuel tank was lit up telling me I had 30 miles to go.  We finally arrived in Crane where I put in $50 of fuel @ 4.72/gal.  I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it!!?
Anyway, we carried on and arrived in Burns, Oregon a half hour later.  This has been a looooong day!  9 hours total!  We are at Burns RV Park, a Good Sam member and paid $32. For the night.  They have WIFI but I found out it is verrrry slow!

N  43* 35.811

W 119* 02.984
Alt: 4125 feet

We drove 423 miles (685 km) @ 56 MPH average in 7.5 hours with stops of 1.5 hour.

APril 19 to 22, 2012: Bullhead City and Kevin visit

APR  19, Thursday, Geo-Caching in Bullhead City
I took Tucker for a walk this morning in the desert and found a geo-cache (with GPS); got a nice view of the airport runway and Laughlin’s casinos.  Val went for her exercises at the club house.  Later, we went geo-caching but quit after 9 as it was just too hot.  Our last geo-cache was inside a small local bar (how convenient) so we decided to eat and have a couple beers to cool off.  We came home and went to the pool (37*C in the sun) where we cooled off then came home and had dinner and watched the latest “Mission Impossible” which we bought at Walmart yesterday.

APR  20, Friday, Wash day
WOW, we slept in to 9 am this morning!  It is already 35*C in the sun!  Val did the laundry today and then went for a swim.  It’s been another hot day and we spent it inside the rig, didn’t go anywhere.  Looking forward to leaving this hot place even though I know we will regret it!  I feel like we are just surviving this heat wave!??

APR  21, Saturday, Bullhead City
26*C at 8:30 am!  It’s going to be another hot one.  Val went for exercises at the club house and I worked on our finances, really exciting stuff.  We got an e-mail from Craig and Cathy that their truck is now fixed and they are headed for home in Northern California.  You will recall that they had their truck stolen and badly damaged in San Carlos!
We went geo-caching for about an hour and half and that’s all we could stand for, we found 7 of them; just too hot:  40*C by 3 pm!  We went to another bar called “Old Town Saloon” in Laughlin, Nevada and had a couple beers then came home.  Pool time!

APR  22, Sunday, meeting Kevin in Oatman
This is supposed to be the hottest day of the week, we will soon find out!  It is already 26*C at 8 am!  We showered, got dressed and were ready to leave when we got a text from Kevin saying they were running late and will now be there at 1 pm.  We left around 11:30 am for Oatman; we look for and found a few geo-caches along the way and arrived in Oatman at 1 pm.  We walked around a bit then went inside a bar to cool off, it was 116*F outside, really... about 45* C.  Incredibly hot, yet lots of people around.  Our bikers (6 of them) arrived around 1:30 pm.  We had lunch with them and they left soon after heading for Maricopa near Phoenix.  We left and came home via a paved highway and picked up a few more geo-caches near the highway and arrived home at 4 pm.  Now we load the toys and get ready to leave.  Tomorrow we head north towards home!

April 16 to 18, 2012; To Bullhead City

APR  16, Monday, To Bullhead City, AZ
We left Salome at 9:30 am and headed south on Hwy 60 then west on Hwy 72 to 95.  In Parker, we stopped for brunch and fuel (4.19/gal) then continued north to I-40 through Lake Havasue.  I had forgotten how rugged, desolate yet beautiful the rock formations make this part of the State so impressive.  Lake Havasue has grown a lot and dozens of traffic lights too.  We stopped at I-40 for a break and let Tucker out for a walk and drink.  Val went inside the rig and found a spilled cooking oil bottle that we’ve had since Mexico and went all over inside the cabinet, floor and even inside the micro-wave; what a mess.  We cleaned some then went on, deciding that we would clean the balance once in Bullhead.  We took I-40 west to Hwy 95 at Needles, California; what a desolate and depressed area.  Half the houses were boarded up.  We crossed back into Arizona on Hwy 95 and headed north to Bullhead City.  We took Bullhead Parkway and arrived at our new Park, Bridgeview RV Resort, an AOR member.  We have a fantastic view of Laughlin and all the casino and Hwy 163 in Nevada heading west and north to Las Vegas.  As I was setting up, a Road Runner stood about 10 feet from me watching what I was doing.  He seemed pretty tame and used to people; didn’t stay long enough for me to take a picture.  Randy and Shirley are in Laughlin staying at one of the casino so we gave them a call but only got their answering machine.  We are hoping to meet up with them this week.

N  35* 10.346

W 114* 33.411
We drove 160 miles in 3.5 hours at an average 46 mph.

APR  17, Tuesday, Laughlin Nevada
Hot, hot, hot!  That was our day, 98*F (32*C)!  Yes, Val went for exercises this morning and after walking Tucker, we went out to town.  We drove across the river through Laughlin, Nevada which is nothing but casino upon casino just like a mini Vegas.  We went looking for AVI Casino where Randy and Shirley are staying; friends we met in San Carlos!  It ended up being almost 10 miles south of Laughlin and was still consider part of Laughlin.  Anyway, we had a very nice visit with them and went to look at the casino.  It has a huge pool, a movie theatre, 3 restaurant, lots of bars, a place for kid baby-sitting and a sandy beach with palapa on the Colorado River.  A very impressive place!  Afterwards, we walked back to their site and made arrangements to meet again for dinner tomorrow evening.
We came home after stopping at a local bar for a drink and nachos.  We took Tucker for a walk who stayed home all day, had dinner then relax watching TV and reading.
We also learned today that Les Dyble, my ex-brother in law passed away this morning.  He was barely over 65 and will be dearly missed.  We phoned Rochelle and had a chat with her.

APR  18, Wednesday, Bullhead City
Another hot one, hotter than yesterday if that is possible.  In the afternoon, we went to Sam’s Club and Walmart to shop for groceries.  We stopped at “MAD DOG BAR” afterwards for a drink and try to cool off.  We came home after two and put the groceries away and then relaxed inside under the A/C.  At 4:30, I took tucker for his evening walk then we drove to “OUTBACK” restaurant across the river in Laughlin, Nevada and met Randy and Shirley for dinner.  We had a great time together and a nice meal albeit a bit rush we all thought.  After saying our goodbyes (they are leaving tomorrow for home), we came back to our Park and watch SURVIVOR then it was bed time.  I have taken more pictures and uploaded them to folder #85 in Web Picasa.

April 11 to 15, 2012; Salome, AZ

APR  11, Wednesday, Salome
What a change, it is cloudy and windy and the forecast is for 30% rain (we felt 3 drops the whole day)!  Anyway, we decided to go explore Salome which turned out more depressing than Ehrenberg so we continued on to Wickenburg.  What a lovely and interesting town, especially the town centre which is historic.  We found a BASHA grocery store so went in and bought a few things and some booze which just happened to be on sale.  As we were coming out of a store, we ran into      whom Val met in San Carlos while doing her Tai-Chi. What a small world!
We went for lunch at a neat historic restaurant/bar named “RANCHO 7” and an excellent soup and lunch.  After a couple hours there, we came back to our Park (82KM), had dinner and watched Survivor (I have the dish set up)

APR  12, Thursday, Geo-Caching
Val decided to do some exercises on her own so took her tape to the club house and spent a good half hour doing her thing.  I ordered a new easy lock 50 amps to replace the one outside that was busted at the border.  It will be delivered to the Park in Bullhead City.  Afterwards we went geo-caching around Salome (pronounce Salomee) then around the desert for more and lots of walking and climbing around and over rocks...lots of fun and great for my diabetes.  We went as far west to Hope where we saw this beautiful well kept park with tons of activities and only for $375/month; sure beats $500/month at Totonaka with NO activities.  This was our last cache of the day.  After all that exercise, we had to have a drink at the local bar in Salome.  A good day all around; it was sunny and around 24*C and a slight breeze
I uploaded more pictures in folder #85 in the link “MY PICTURES PICASA” on the blog

APR  13, Friday, Salome
We got up to grey skies this morning.  The forecast is for 40% rain!?  I decided to wash both the Bear and the Beast today (makes sense, don’t it?) and we had lunch between the two.  Val spent an hour at the club doing some Tai-Chi and exercises.  We didn’t have any rain today but the sky remained overcast and the wind picked up some around 3 pm, gusting to 30 mph by 8 pm.  Needless to say, we lost our satellite signal so it was read a book time.

APR  14, Saturday, Salome
The sun is shining this morning but did we ever have a downpour last night, it must have lasted at least an hour and this morning we have big puddles to prove it!  It is quite cool too, only 10*C at 9 am, the forecast is for a maximum of 20*C.
We went geo-caching after Val did her exercises and we had breakfast.  The caches took us in the desert and over mountains.  We had lunch out there and continued into the afternoon.  We ended up on the east side of Salome, stopped for milk at a local store then came back to our Park.  It is sunny with clouds and the temperature got up to 66*F.  Even Tucker enjoyed all his walks.

APR  15, Sunday, Last day in Salome
We have total sunshine today and little wind.  A few more rig left this morning making the Park all the more empty.  After exercises and showering, I cooked some pancakes (I was in the mood for it) then we went the find the last two caches left on my GPS.  We went into town (Salome) and got some drinking water then came home.  We loaded the kayaks, put air in the airbags, put the chairs and outside furniture away then relaxed with a beer!  Tomorrow, we head for Bullhead City, AZ

April 6 to 10, 21012: Ehrenberg to Salome AZ

APR  6, Friday,
We had quite a wind storm overnight, the whole rig shook and woke me up.  Tucker seems to be better!??  He slept the whole night without having to go out or puking in the house.  Things are looking up.  Val didn’t go to her exercises today as she needed a rest.  We went to Blythe to the grocery store to get some food for Tucker and milk for us.  I also got a haircut while in town then we came home.  We read for a while then Val made dinner consisting of salad & shrimps; delicioso!  The wind picked up again in the evening.

APR  7, Saturday, Tucker’s problem
Tucker had the runs again early this morning but at least this time, it was only once but the good or bad news is that we found what we believe to be the head of a tick just above his eye.  It looks quite embedded in there so we will take him to a vet Tuesday as this is a holiday week-end!  He did eat his food which is good, I think!?  Sunny and a light wind this morning.  I BBQ’ed two steaks and we had that with a salad and baked potato; delicious!

APR  8, Sunday, to Parker, AZ
After calling and talking with the kids this morning and wishing them a HAPPY EASTER DAY, we drove to Parker and visited with Tammy and Bill & Al and Brenda.  The rest of the gang left a few days ago and we missed Tim and Kim; they left this morning and we missed them by one hour.  We had a very nice visit with the four of them.  They are staying in La Paz County Park where we stayed the last time we were here.  After we left them, we went to a new bar next door called “Pirate’s Den”.  A really neat place and we had a couple beers and burger which was big and marvellous.  The scenery was great too!  It is built on the Colorado River and bikinis abounded which my old eyes couldn’t feast enough on...Ahhhhhhh, to be young again!!!
Anyway, we paid our bill and came back to our Campground.  It was a great day and we are glad we did it, it broke the boring routine here.  It was a cloudy and hot day too; 94*F (33*C).  I took Tucker for his evening walk and his stool was much more normal; he was also much livelier today.

APR  9, Monday, Last day in Ehrenberg
Well, I believe this was the hottest day yet...36* C in the shade!  Val did laundry and I packed some of our stuff and also got propane for the BBQ and one bottle for the “Beast”
 The A/C is on full blast and having a hard time cooling the rig.  We spent the day mainly inside, away from the heat.  I checked out on Google Earth a couple routes I am thinking of taking home and finished another book, “POWER DOWN” by Ben Coe.  An excellent writer and I recommend it anyone.  He is much like Vince Flynn and as a matter of fact, I heard about Coe from Flynn’s website.  Now I am reading “Coup d’état” from Coe, his second book.

APR  10, Tuesday; To Salome, AZ
We left at 10:30 am and already, it is 80*F.  We headed East on I-10 then north-east on Hwy 60 to Salome.  Just before Salome, we entered Desert Vista RV Park, an ENCORE Park.  We are here under AOR and paid $77 for 6 nights.  We hit it right as they are having a hamburger appreciation cook-out for free.  The park is soon closing and there is hardly anyone here.  We attended the dinner and met a couple of people; sounds like this place is quite popular in the winter with ATV people.

The wind has picked up but it is still very hot; 31*C @ 6 pm.

 N  33* 45.671

W 113* 38.897
Alt: 1920 ft

We drove 54 miles in one hour and 10 minutes driving time @ an average 47mph.  We stopped once for about 10 minutes.

April 1 to 5, 2012; Ehrenberg,AZ

APR  1, Sunday; Ehrenberg
After another lazy morning, we went geo-caching around here and up Hwy 95 on the California side.  We found over 25 of them.  Today is much cooler, 24*C with a breeze!  As much as we love the sin, it would be nice to have at least one day of rain but we’re not complaining!!! 
On the way back, we stopped at a pub we had frequented a couple years back and had a beer there but I have to say that the smoking is a bit much.
We came home and got dinner ready then read and relaxed for the rest of the evening

APR  2, Monday; Laundry day
A sunny day but very windy with gust 25 to 35 MPH!  The sky in the west is brown from all the sand in the air.  Val went for her exercises then did the laundry.  We took a drive into Blythe to mail a couple letters, did some shopping then came home.
The wind finally died done around 5 and we enjoyed a nice evening

APR.  3, Tuesday; more geo-caching
Tucker was sick overnight; he had me up 4 times to go to the bathroom, not sure what is going on.  We had a late and lazy morning; I forwarded my tax to the government and paid my dues.  I also finished another book call “KISSING THE VIRGIN”.  An interesting read about a Mexican girl growing up in Mazatlan and Rincon.  Now I am reading a book by Lee Child called “Worth dying for” on my e-reader “kobo”.
In the afternoon, we went geo-caching into the desert and the town of Blythe.  Our first move was the desert where we found a few rigs boon-docking.  As we drove by, one of guy was outside his rig and totally naked except for a red satin scarf around his waist and we were only half a mile from town...only in Arizona!!!  We couldn’t find a route to the cache so we went back around and into Blythe for the next three which we found with no problems.  While in town, we stopped at K-Mart to get some cookies for Tucker then drove back to the Arizona side.  I continued on I-10 for about 4 miles and took the exit to a truck stop where we found the road to the cache on this side.  We found it, signed the log and came back to Ehrenberg where we stopped at the pub for a beer and got to have an interesting conversation with the owner.  We came home, had dinner and sat outside for a while.  Interesting day!

APR.  4, Wednesday; Quartzsite
After Val’s exercises, we took a drive to Quartzsite, a 20 minutes drive from here to look for an arm for the satellite and a part for the BBQ.  We were unsuccessful on both counts!  The place is becoming more and more like a ghost town as the vendors close their shops for the season.  I fueled at $4.15/gal then we had a beer at a local bar then came home.  It is another hot day (over 30*C) and the A/C is on full blast; there are clouds overhead and no wind.  I BBQ’ed pork chop for dinner with a salad and a couple of buns.  I am on a diet, trying to lose weight, even cut back on beer!

APR  5, Thursday, Ehrenberg
Why, oh why did I book this place for so long???  There is not much to do or visit around here!  We spent the day around the Park, nurturing Tucker back to a more healthy condition and read.  I finished another book; Lee Child “Cross Road”.  It was windy but hot again and the clouds around cleared by the end of the afternoon.  We haven’t had internet all day, typical Tengo!  Tucker threw up overnight and had us getting up twice to take him out.  He was fine all day and when I took him for his walk at 4 pm, he didn’t do anything but didn’t seem the worst for it.  Val has him on a rice and chicken diet to settle his tummy and we found a tick on the carpet so that may have been the problem.  We’re going to give him a bath and give him an early treatment for ticks and worms.