Tuesday, November 16/2010

Got up before the sun today. It is a bit chilly without it so am eagerly awaiting for it to pop it's face over the surrounding hills. Hogan is out, checking out the perimeter and I don't hear any noise so all must be well.

Once again, it was a lazy day. I finished my book, grabbed some sun, got slaughtered in yahtzee - the usual busy day!! One has got to love these lazy days. We spoke with friends of ours and they are leaving the cold weather next week and heading south as well so hopefully we will see them before too long. It will be nice to spend some time with them and hopefully do some of the old mining trails again. We had better get that jeep running a bit better - John!!

Monday, November 15/2010

As usual, Hogan and I are up early and once again the sun is shining. I'm not sure what is on the agenda for today but perhaps Hogan and I will climb the trail that the jeeps took yesterday just to see what we can see. Or, maybe we will just work on our suntans.

Hogan and I opted NOT to walk the jeep trail today as it is covered with rocks and with the weather being so darn warm yet, I am sure that there are still some rattlesnakes out and about and they love sunning themselves on the warm rocks. And me, being a cowardly prairie girl ( or should I say prudent) decided to stay in the campsite and read.

John spent the day deciding what needed to be fixed on the jeep. I wonder if this will send us over "budget"!! Oh yea, I remember that word from last year!!

We heard gun shots today, boy, haven't heard those since last year!! A sound we definitely do not hear in Canada unless you are in the forest, during hunting season. Welcome to America.

Sunday, November 14/2010

Woke up to sunshine again but today, the wind seems to want to make itself known. There is often a wind here in the desert.

Today is football day, with both the Eastern and the Western Semifinals on TV. Go Riders Go. I must have our "rider"gnome propped up and watching too!! Must get our fleece Rider pants on as well and send lots of good mojo to Darian Durant's playbook.

I was sitting here having my coffee this morning when what must have been the local jeep club came by and started climbing the cliff next to the bus. There must have been about 8 jeeps all set up for rock climbing and away they went - up the trail. Hell, I didn't even realize there was a trail there!! I got the Flip out so I hope I got some decent film of them. Our Jeep was pointed in the right direction so I hope it got a good look at exactly what is expected!!

Well seven hours of football is enough for anyone but the Roughriders won and now we are headed to Calgary next weekend to play the Stampeders and hopefully take the West and Rider Nation into the Grey Cup on the 28th of November!! Go Riders Go!! I must say though, that I don't think there is another team in the CFL that makes their fans suffer as much as the Riders do!!! Double Overtime!! *#!#&*^ Oh my shattered nerves!!

Saturday, November 13/2010

Well, since we dealt with everything that needed to be dealt with yesterday, today is going to be a quiet, relaxing day. The sun is shining so will have to sit in the lawnchairs and get our daily dose of vitamin D!! I see that the temperature back home is in the minus range again, so can't help thinking how lucky we are to be here and not there!!

While catching the rays, I was challenged to a game of yahtzee and as usual got my ass kicked - again. You may ask yourself, "why does she continue to play, when she get beat so bad". Well the short answer is -- I could win, it could happen and I live with a perpetual hope that maybe today is the day, the Yahtzee Gods will smile upon me!!

I spent the afternoon reading and helping the writer solve a murder and John looked under the hood of the jeep, trying to decide what to do next - come on, throw a match to it!! Do it!!

The day concluded with a wonderful BBQ steak and an awesome fire.

Friday, November 12/2010

With yesterday's adventures behind us, I wondered what today had in store. The trailer needed to be turned so that when we did get the hitch fixed, we could hook up to it and get out of Dodge!!

The big question was - Will the jeep start today and will it run long enough for us to winch the trailer around so that it is sitting in a position for the bus to be able to hook up to it?

The sun is shining and it was only right that we should enjoy it and start on our suntans!! With the coffee drank, John headed over to the jeep and to my amazement, it started!! Yeah, maybe I won't set it on fire after all!! About an hour later, with a bit of ingenuity, the trailer was where it needed to be - hooray!! The jeep heated, I could hear the rdiator boiling but it lasted long enough to do the job. It really has some issues - ones that had better be worked out when we get to Wickenburg.

With the trailer issue worked out, we headed back into Parker with the bus. Off roading again, we managed to get to the pavement without ripping any important parts or pieces off the bus. The first welding shop we found (thanks to the GPS) was closed. The second shop we went to looked like the yard from "Sanford and Son" (a total mess of junk and old cars - Oh my God!!).

As it turned out, we met a cacophony of characters. One being, "No Shoes", yes, that is what everyone called him. Apparently the fellow, dressed only in a pair of pants, had never worn shoes a day in his life!!. Then there were the ladies, perched on an old couch in the yard, drinking beer. One thought that John should let her come live with him in the motorhome! Then along came a rather large man who told John that he was dying - his liver and kidneys were shot and he just didn't feel well. John said he was sorry to hear that. We were there for about two hours. Thank heavens the welder looked "normal" but the people that came in and out of the business looked like a parade of down on their luck, lost souls. Not to mention the four scraggy looking dogs, making the term "junkyard dog" come to mind. $130.00 later, the hitch was fixed and we headed back to the trailer stopping at the grocery store first. It was getting dark by the time we arrived so we sat outside enjoying the peace and quiet of the area, eventually enjoying the stars.

We spoke to our oldest son on skype and he wanted to know if we were ready to sell the jeep to him (after hearing of the trials of yesterday). I told him, if he would have asked yesterday, I would have given it to him - never mind sell it!! Today, the stupid thing did what it needed to so I have dearer thoughts towards it.

Thursday, November 11/2010

Remembrance Day today - Lest We Forget. Wouldn't it be nice if we could live in a world without war and be charged with the task of only remembering those that have already fallen instead of those that have yet to fall. We can only hope.

I looked up Valley of Fire State Park and this is what I found. Valley of Fire, is Nevada's oldest state park. It was dedicated in 1935. The rough floor and jagged walls of the park contain formations of eroded sandstone and sand dunes more than 150 million years old. These features are the Park's attraction, and often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun's rays. Not only is the Park a favorite place for campers, hikers and bikers, Hollywood has filmed numerous movies here. Scenes from Transformers, Total Recall and Star Trek Generations have been filmed here. And - for all you "trekkie" fans, it was here that Captain Kirk fell to his death. You just have to love google!!

One can certainly tell that we are now at a much lower elevation. The weather is much warmer and we didn't have to use the heaters at all last night. I think we must be sitting somewhere in the 2000 foot range ( a lot like home). The sun is shining through the big front windows and it is certainly warm. With the bus road ready, we rolled into the nearest gas station to fuel up and make the drive through Las Vegas, hit the corner of California and settle for the night near Parker Az. The drive through California took us on the Joshua Tree Highway. Here we travelled through the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area. This is an area of 6,050 acres established to protect a forest of dense, old growth Joshua trees. Now, Joshua trees are from the genus Yucca and got their name from Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid 19th century. The tree's unique shape reminded them of a biblical story in which Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer. They are "fast growers" for the desert. New seedlings may grow at an average of 3" a year for their first ten years then only grow 1 1/2" in the following years. If it survives the rigors of the desert, it can live for hundreds of years with some surviving up to a 1000 years. The tallest trees can reach 15 meters tall. As with most desert plants, it is "armed". The leaves are bayonet - shaped, tapering to a sharp point and the leaf margins are serrated. Now isn't that a surprise!! Everything, it seems is "armed" down here in the desert. Everything shouts "leave me alone - or else"!!

We quickly found the road we wanted and headed to the boondocking area. We weren't 5 miles down that road when we heard the strangest of noises, John looks in the mirror and says "oh my goodness honey, I think the hitch just broke" (and if you believe that statement, I have the proverbial ocean front property here in Arizona!!). Out to investigate and sure enough, the trailer was holding on by a very small piece of metal that had yet to separate from the bus. We pulled off the road onto a trail and traveled "off road" for a few hundred feet. Now let me tell you, this bus is not really meant to do any sort of significant off roading. We did manage to get the bus situated for the night. We had unhooked the trailer and got the jeep out thinking we could move the trailer much easier with the jeep. The jeep did well until the trailer got stuck and then the jeep decided not to start anymore so we ended up leaving the two vehicles where they were for the night and deal with them in the morning. "Honey, is this the adventure, you were talking about?"

Wednesday, November 10/2010

It was a "chilly one" last night. We had both heaters running and John set the heater up in the big bay to ensure that the pump didn't freeze. Definitely time to move!! There is lots of cloud coverage this morning and it definitely looks like there is "rain in them there hills"!! Hope it isn't snow!!

Once the bus is road ready, we head out. John was able to see some of the petroglyphs from the road as we were driving through "the gap". It is still a bit hard for him to walk on all the uneven ground. His knee and ankle ache alot if he over does it. Good thing I have a walking partner in Hogan!!

Todays travel once again took us through some pretty awesome scenery. We climbed one pass with the summit elevation at 6150 feet and as always, what goes up, must come down and these down grades were 7%.

We ended the day taking a scenic tour through the Valley of Fire State Park. It was absolutely amazing and the rock formations did indeed look like flames shooting into the air. I will google info on the park tomorrow. Once out of the park, we found a boondocking site near the road and settled in for a quiet evening.