Enjoying the Arizona Sun

The weather is incredible, nothing lower than 90 degrees each day. We have a wonderful spot that gives us plenty of shade throughout the day so we can sit outside and enjoy the view. Our neighbours around us are very friendly. On either of us are people who live in the park year around. Very helpful with suggestions of what to do and see.

Entrance to our park with Superstition Mountains and swimming pool in background



Our RV site, with Motor Home,  ATV and utility trailer

 View of the Superstition Mountains from the front of our motor home

Colours of the sunset on the Superstition Mountains

We are almost set up, we bought a used 5 cu ft chest freezer today and will keep it in the utility trailer. I am excited as I can bulk shop now and not have to go to the store as often as in the past. We were lucky the lady selling it lived very close to our park. We sure have been enjoying the swimming pool, a quick cool off as the temperature soars in the afternoon.

Sharon going for her afternoon swim





Considering the park is about 1/3 full at present, we are often the only ones in the pool in the late afternoon. Like having your own private swimming pool! Tomorrow we are taking a day of rest and going to do nothing!! Out will come the pocket book and I plan on just sitting out in the sun and reading all day. Happy Halloween everyone

We arrived in Arizona

We got away from Campbell River on time Saturday morning and had an excellent drive up island to Victoria. Sat in the Coho ferry parking lot in the inner harbour for 3 hours

Victoria harbour

Brian came down to the ferry terminal after work to say good-bye to us. We haven't seen him in a year and I can't believe how curly his hair has gotten - not sure where he got that gene!

Coho ferry coming into the harbour

We stayed the night at 7Feathers Casino just out of Port Angeles. We had a terrific wind and rain storm that night but we survived! Left the next morning at 0730 hours and drove through torrential rain for most of the day arriving in La Grande, Oregon about 1830 hours. Headed out at 0730 hours the next day and had a good drive through Idaho and into Nevada. It started to snow heavily about 1700 hours as we entered Wells, Nevada. We quickly made the decision to stop here for the night but all the campgrounds were full. We ended staying at the back of a Flying J gas station along with five other RV's and I swear 2 million 18 wheelers!! They ran their trucks all night as it was so cold so we got very little sleep. We were up early and on the road at day light. Luckily the snow didn't stay on the road, only the hills. It was very cold and windy and actually quite beautiful. We headed over the mountains and down into the valley where it warmed up every hour. We were pretty tired so decided to stay just out of Las Vegas at The Valley of Fire State Park. We ended staying for 2 nights and had a good rest. An absolutely beautiful park.

 

Doug relaxing at the end of a long day driving





Our campsite at the Valley of Fire State Park

 Thursday morning we were on the road at 0715 hours, through Vegas and heading to the Hoover Dam and the new bridge over the gorge. We had seen it last spring as they were building it and it was spectacular.


heading down the hill on the Nevada side to the Hoover Dam bridge - Lake Mead ahead of us

 This is all you see as you go over the bridge. I had to stand up in the motor home to see over the edge. The bridge is so cool you hardly realize you are on it and so high over the gorge! We are now in Arizona and as we get closer to Phoenix, it gets warmer and warmer. We arrived at the Arizonian Travel Trailer Resort, just east of Apache Junction at supper time on Thursday. It was 34 degrees! We got parked in our spot and collapsed with a cold one. We slept without sheets that night as it didn't cool off much. Today, Friday, we finished setting up, did a road trip to town for groceries, spent the afternoon in the swimming pool and unloaded the utility trailer and ATV. It was 36 degrees today and boy did that make it warm to be setting up! We had the coyotes serenade us last night and we felt like we were home!

 Doug unloading the ATV and the utility trailer at our RV site

Dolphins gave us a going away show!

 Here we are getting ready to leave and the dolphins swam by to bid their farewells! There must have been over 100 white sided dolphins right out front of our house in the channel. They were jumping and swimming in circles definitely having a feed on a school of fish. We had to stop what we were doing and go down to the water front and watch them. They hung around for a good hour before they moved on. It gave us a break from packing the motor home and closing the house.

Brown's Bay where we live is having a huge Chum Derby this weekend with over 200 entries. Doug and his brother entered it last year as I was still working but as I finished work this year in September, we are getting out of Dodge before the craziness! We will be on the road tomorrow just after dinner and just driving into Campbell River to stay at the WalMart for the night. We have to be out of Brown's Bay tomorrow night as we will never get out of our road Saturday morning. Those crazy fisherman line up by 0530 in the morning to launch their boats and then they park their trucks and trailers every which way and block all access to the little side roads. We have the Blackball ferry to catch out of Victoria to Port Angeles Saturday afternoon so we need to get out of Brown's Bay pronto tomorrow evening

The count down begins in earnset

Five days till departure - but who's counting!! We just took the boat out of the water. Doug is so good at it - one try and right onto the trailer, I had very little cranking to do. I was up to mid-calf in ocean though and surprised at how warm the water actually was. Now comes the yucky jobs: we need to unload everything from the boat, bring all the cushions and lifejackets etc into the house to keep dry and mildew free over the winter. Then Doug has to power wash the whole boat, winterize the motors and put the kicker in his shed. We then take the boat over to the covered storage and take the motor home out and put the boat and his golf cart in the MH space. This will all hopefully happen Tuesday morning so I then can start loading the MH. By the way, the motor home woes were very minor, a $76 bill to change a corroded tail light socket! The tail light was working but I guess the corrosion was shorting out the other lights. Hallelujah for small bills!

Motor Home woes

Left for Nanaimo at 0615 hrs yesterday. had a bear right under the kitchen window just before we had to venture out in the dark to the motor home and car! Dropped my plant's off at Theresa and had a short visit with her and Dan. We hit the thrift stores just to while away the hours till the MH was finished at the truck shop. Got the call at 2:30pm that we could come and get it. We were just coming through Nanoose when Doug noticed the lights on the odometer kept going out every time he stepped on the brakes and the outside running lights would come on when he stepped on the brakes! So there we are trying to find a place to turn around with a big MH towing a car....but we did and back to Nanaimo to the truck shop and there remains the MH! We are still waiting to hear what the problem is and if they can fix it. Talk about throwing a wrench in my well planned schedule. Sigh... Plan 2......

The big job of closing the summer house!

I am so excited, 10 days and counting and we are on the road south! Doug isn't as enthused as I am. He loves his ocean and boat and is having a tough time with the thought he is bringing it out of the water this week and winterizing it!! We have brought the motor home up to the house as we are on a road trip to Nanaimo tomorrow for recall work on the brakes. Doug has put the tow hitch back on the car today as we'll tow the car to Nanaimo tomorrow so we can do some running around as we wait for the call saying all is done with the motorhome. My 4 plants will be making their yearly trip to my sister Theresa's house for the winter and a trip to Costco in Nanaimo of course. I am having a tough time taking down my hanging baskets as they are still flowering nicely but can't leave everything till the last moment! Hard to leave these beautiful views from the house and front deck......but the lovely sun and warmth of Arizona beckons

and these images will still be here 

 when we return in April 2011