A tin cup or a gilded goblet, a hut or a castle, wobbly bicycles or a Bentley -- to wherever and by whatever means, my love, our journey is splendid, our cup is full.
We're into our last week here this winter, and we're trying to make the best of it. We've been doing some last minute shopping and just generally getting things ready for the road, after being here for four and a half months.
One of our key items was getting several Cummins engine service items taken care of on the motorhome. Over the past several months we've gotten several "service bulletins" of adjustments and/or parts replacements that are needed (under warranty, of course) on the rig's diesel engine. I checked directly with Cummins and found that our engine needed three different things done, and that fortunately there was a local service facility that could take care of it. We took the coach in about a week and a half ago to get everything done -- however, one part was needed which they didn't have in stock. Now its just days before we need to hit the road, and they still don't have it. We will be checking tomorrow (when they've assured me it will arrive) and they will get us in ASAP for the one hour job to install it. I hate to have this type of thing go to the last minute, but I guess I'll just have to go with the flow.
On the more positive side of things, we've been getting in some good cycling, as the weather has been very good -- a bit windy at times, but very good cycling weather nonetheless. Most of the time we've not had one of our cameras with us, so we just snapped a couple of pictures with the camera in our phone -- and they come out pretty good, all things considered.
One of our canal mountain bike rides -- thanks Joe, for organizing these fun events!
The other day we took the opportunity to draft a tractor out in Dome Valley -- he was going about 15-16 mph and we let him cut the wind for us for about 10 miles along old US 80. From left to right: Marty, Cheryl, Ray, and Mandy. Val, Judy, and Lisa held back a bit, as his exhaust was a bit strong!
Through Dome Valley on three Trek Tandems -- Bill and Carol, Mandy (and me behind the camera), and Gail and Dave.
Lisa, Mandy, Cheryl, and Judy as we explored an abandoned estate along old US 80 -- pretty interesting . . . .
I've been meaning to mention an additional item which we recently got which should be a help this summer -- a cell phone signal amplifier. Now that we are depending on cellular phone signals for both our voice communications and our Internet connectivity, we thought it would be wise to make sure that we are doing all we can to assure that we're getting the "most bars" possible. We got a 1.7 watt Wilson cellular amplifier, which is very small, and uses our external cell antenna -- but does not have to hook directly to our cell phones or our broadband card. Basically it has an "internal antenna" -- a small flat rectangular item about the size of a stick of gum, which is attached by a 6 foot cord to the amp. The internal antenna just needs to be near (2-3 feet) to the cell phones or the broadband card to boost its signal. So far it has worked really well -- we've used it in the motorhome for the last 5 weeks, and we also used it on our trip up to Washington in March. We're anticipating that it will be a big help during our summer at Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota -- it looks like we may be a ways away from either an ATT tower (for our phones) or a Verizon tower (for our broadband access) -- and as everyone knows, you've still got to pay the bill, whether or not you're able to get a good signal. Stay tuned for an update on our situation after we get set up in South Dakota. We're also pretty sure that it will help out as we go through west Texas -- and for our time at our son's place north of Austin. Once again, ATT and Verizon are somewhat inconsistent north and west of Austin -- its Alltel and Sprint country.
So, we're busy deciding what things to take for a summer at 5600 feet, as well as making sure that all the systems on the rig are in their best shape. I've had a pretty good list of items that need to be checked, verified, cleaned, lubricated, or replaced -- and I've gotten through most of them. The big things that remain are packing the 4 bikes in the van (we've decided to leave the tandem here for the summer), getting all the motorhome tires aired up properly and making sure that the the Pressure Pro TPMS is monitoring all of them, and just a general cleaning of the rig, inside and out.
The cleaning thing was also prompted by our potluck dinner here Sunday night -- we wanted to host a get-together for our friends who were still here, as we won't be seeing them until fall. We had a great time with BBQ chicken, and all the appropriate potluck items which go along with it. We really have a great group of folks here in Yuma, and we're very lucky and fortunate to be able to spend a wonderful season with all of them. Here are some shots of us all together for a last get-together before we take off -- (I guess that's a bit incorrect, as we're heading to another potluck on Monday night, which will probably be our final one -- we've got to get our packing work completed sometime!!).
All the gang from the roof our motorhome
Another shot from a different angle as the dessert line starts up
Mark racing over for a last dose of ice cream
PRE-POSTING UPDATE (several days after the above was drafted) --
The day before we left Yuma, we were notified that Greg's uncle, Father Tom Fenlon, had passed away in Butte, MT. He had served as a priest in Western Montana for well over 50 years (he was ordained in 1942), and had been a pastor at over 10 towns and cities during that time. Uncle Tom married us over 40 years ago (as he did my parents, and our son Brian), and has been a big part of our life. We immediately modified our travel plans to be able to attend his funeral this coming Monday in Butte.
We're now in Mesa, AZ, arriving here on Wednesday after a short drive from Yuma. We drove the Honda up to Flagstaff and back yesterday to get Mandy's annual checkup completed (she passed with flying colors!) -- and now we'll be leaving the motorhome here for the next several days and flying to Montana early Sunday morning for Uncle Tom's funeral on Monday. All of Greg's brothers and his sister, as well as his mother, will be traveling there too, as well as a number of cousins and other family friends, so our celebration of Father Tom's life will also be a bit of a family reunion. We'll fly back to Phoenix on Tuesday, and will head out to Texas with the motorhome on Wednesday morning. We'll be cutting it a bit short for arrival before Gillian's birth (currently scheduled for May 4) but our son Brian and his wife Christy agreed that it was much more important for us to take the time to go to Butte to say farewell to Uncle Tom.
We're planning on posting some entries to the blog as we travel (assuming connectivity), so until then . . . . . . .
Our cycling group usually schedules a desert potluck in conjunction with the full moon each month, but this year our luck with the weather has not been good. Its either been too windy, or too cold, or even -- in one case -- a bit too rainy (believe it or not).
Our usual destination is Baker Tanks, about 30 miles east of Yuma, and actually inside the Barry Goldwater Bombing Range. Its an area of rock formations which hold runoff water (hence the "tanks" terminology), and over the years a "ramada" has been built out of rock, concrete, and a few strategically placed retired railroad rails. We posted some pictures of the location with one of our gatherings earlier in the blog -- a few reminder pictures below from our potluck there last spring.
The Baker Tanks full of rainwater runoff
The downside is that the Baker Tanks location requires a 60 mile round trip, and often has other groups there, as well as being pretty exposed to the weather. Recently several of the club have found a much better (and closer) location on the east side of Gila Mountain above Dome Valley, and we had a wonderful gathering there on Thursday evening -- the last full moon of this winter stay in Yuma.
It does not require 4wd to get into, but it does require a high clearance vehicle to get over some of the rocky areas of the road. Once there, there are lots of canyons and draws to explore (but watch for the snakes) -- the whole area is a soft sandstone which has eroded in many areas forming many arches and caves. Its a very interesting area, and like none that we have seen around here in the 6 years of intermittent desert hikes and exploring. It was really amazing to find it and realize that its just over the hill from our place in the foothills -- and that we regularly ride within a mile or two of it when we do our Dome Valley route.
Here are some of the shots of our recent potluck there -- there is no doubt that we'll return (double click on any of the pictures for a larger version).
An example of the caves and rocks at the site
Judy and Greg explore one of the larger caves
The boys enjoy some refreshment before dinner - Dome Valley is in the background
Sitting around the fire resting our feet in the knee-resting position
And the girls were on the other side of the fire -- kinda like a high school dance . . . .
A great campfire and a wonderful evening with friends (unfortunately our shots of the full moon did not turn out -- we'll remember to bring the monopod next year).
Today we finally received complete confirmation of our summer position at Custer State Park in South Dakota's Black Hills. We've been hired as seasonal state employees working as Gate Attendants (we'll be the smiling ones taking your money and telling you where the buffalo are roaming . . . .), rotating through all of the park's five entrances. We plan on arriving on May 10 -- we'll be staying at Wheels West RV Park, just outside the west entrance to the park near Custer. The state uses a combination of paid workers (like us) and volunteers -- and the volunteers get most of the the available worker campsites inside the park -- a bit of a change from the normal workamping scenario that we've gotten used to over the past summers.
The park management did find a site for us, but it was way off in one corner of the park (which is huge -- 72,000 acres) -- so we decided to stay closer in at the commercial park near Custer. All in all, the overall employment package was attractive enough, even with this additional expense, to keep us interested. Our orientation will start on May 11, and our commitment/contract is through late September.
We're really looking forward to enjoying the summer there -- neither of us has been there before, but we've heard so many good things about the area, we can't wait to get started.
In preparation for hitting the road in a couple of weeks, we finally had our appointment today with the Cummins facility here in Yuma (Yuma Diesel Service) to get several engine recalls/service advisories taken care of. We got two out of three taken care of, but parts had to be ordered for the third one, and we'll have to take the coach back in to them in a week. Everything else is coming together as we check out all the coach systems to make sure everything is ready to go.
As we head east, we'll make a quick detour to Flagstaff then take a couple of days to get to the Austin area, where we'll stay with our sons and their families for a week or so. Our stay there will coincide with the birth (scheduled for May 4) of granddaughter Gillian, and after we give our love to our whole family there, we'll head north to South Dakota. We plan on spending more time there this fall on our way back to Yuma.
We've decided to leave the tandem here in our storage in Yuma for the summer and just take the road bikes and mountain bikes with us. We're not in a tandem-ing phase at this time, and it will make packing the car much easier to only have to make arrangements for four bikes. I've also done some housecleaning in the motorhome basement over the past week, and Mandy has gone through her kitchen cupboards, and we've both found a number of things we really don't need to drag with us all over the country. Its taken us 18 months to get really where we need to be in effectively using the storage in our Phaeton -- balancing usefulness and necessity with weight, placement, and available storage area.
We also got our last Algodones, Mexico run done over the past several days -- getting our teeth cleaned, and stocking up on drugs and prescriptions. Its really great to be able to wait until the crowds die down -- both days we had virtually no wait crossing back into the US, whereas several weeks ago we would have stood in line for and hour or more. That's about it for now -- no pictures this time around. We'll snap some for our next posting as we should have some good ones from tomorrow night's bike club potluck out near Gila Mountain -- the full moon and excellent weather forecast (at least for now) should make for an enjoyable evening.
I'd made plans earlier this year to fly up to Sequim, Washington in early March for my mother's 90th birthday. My two brothers and my sister would be there and we'd have a good reunion -- I think that the last time we'd all been together with Mom was when we celebrated her 80th in Santa Fe at my brother's.
My sister called me in late February to tell me that Mom had had a small seizure and we'd probably need to review her living situation -- she still was living by herself in her house. We decided to temporarily put her in assisted living, and decide the permanence of the arrangement when we all got up there for her birthday.
To make a long story short, we had a great birthday party for Mom at my sister's place in Seattle. Since I'm the retired one, and have (theoretically) more time than my sibs, after I flew in on the 8th, I drove over to Sequim (on Washington's Olympic Peninsula) and brought Mom back to Seattle. One of her high school classmates from Butte (who is a retired Seattle doctor), and her nephew Al (he's the redheaded one) came and joined us all as we celebrated her 9 decades.
We discussed the situation with her and we all decided that the assisted living arrangement was the best alternative. I took Mom back to Sequim, and we spent a few days doing her taxes, and moving some of her items to her new place. The bigger question was what, when, and how to take care of all of the rest of her things and the sale of her house, which was now sitting vacant.
I returned to Yuma, and after some discussions between Mandy and me -- and with my brothers and sister -- we decided that it would be better to address the issues now rather than later this year. We packed a few things, grabbed the GPS, fueled up the Honda, and temporarily left Yuma's sunshine behind and headed for the Northwest.
Fortunately we had time to stop for long-overdue visit with our good friends, Randy and Lori (and their daughter Natalie) in Vancouver (WA). Lori also showed us her newest pets -- miniature horses!
We also made time for quick tax-free visits to REI, Performance Cycle, and the Columbia Outlet Store in the Portland area.
After arriving in Sequim, we spent about a week boxing and packing things at Mom's house, getting her more permanently set up in her assisted living situation, renting a storage for the items that we all wanted to keep, and getting most of the items move to storage. We also spent time visiting with Mom daily, and taking advantage of the great meals at her facility.
Our hope is that our week of work would allow my sister to get Mom's place on the market this spring, and we'll see what happens in this interesting real estate market.
We didn't have time to take many other pictures, but we did snap a few along the way --
We caught a pretty good view of Mount Shasta as we zoomed by
We've always been pretty impressed by the windmills just west of Palm Springs -- but no wind this trip -- they were all still!
This was our first view (and transit) of the new Tacoma Narrows bridge connecting the Kitsap Peninsula with Tacoma -- it will get heavily used this summer, as there is a planned closing of the Hood Canal floating bridge for about 60 days.
We thought this was pretty interesting -- an old Huey being trailered to its new home. The guy had Army stickers all over his truck, so I suspect that he's probably a veteran on a labor of love.
Mandy managed to catch this interesting view as we were following him down the I-5 at 75 mph . . . . . .
So, after 3300 miles of dodging California traffic, and enduring Oregon and Washington rain, we're now back in Yuma, enjoying the last of the spring cycling here, and slowly getting ready to leave for points east. Our current plans are to hit the road around the 20th of April. We'll make a short drive to the Phoenix area and leave the motorhome there for a day or two while we make a quick run up to Flagstaff for Mandy's yearly visit with her cardiologist. We'll then head east on I-10 for central Texas and a visit with our sons and their families for a week or two -- and for the upcoming birth of our sixth grandchild. Our son Brian and his wife Christy are expecting their second child -- a girl (Gillian) just after the first of May.
After the festivities of welcoming another family addition, we'll turn north, bound for South Dakota's Black Hills. We will be working at Custer State Park, just south of Rapid City, for the summer and enjoying the biking, hiking, and scenery of our adopted state until the end of September. Barring unforeseen circumstances -- and realizing that plans more than 5-6 months out are cast in jello -- our plan is to wander south after our Black Hills stay, going to Red Bay, Alabama for some additional work at the Tiffin factory, and then leisurely head west, with a stay-over in Texas, on our way back to Yuma for the 09-10 winter season.
Speaking of "winter" in Yuma, here are a few flower pictures that Mandy has been collecting over the past couple of weeks, as things bloom out here this spring. Hopefully we'll be able to follow the spring season north over the next month, and see all the variations of flowers that are starting to bloom across the west.
