Our Cooler Weather Arrives, I Finally Got a Walk In!

The Ridge

Last night, I went up to bed at 9 as Bill was into his classic car shows. I found the Movie Coal Miner’s Daughter and watched it with Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones. That was a good ‘before bed movie’. That meant it was 11 when I rolled over to sleep. Bill was up to bed soon after. Today, Tuesday, Sept. 29^th he was up and washed when I fully came awake. I joined him downstairs before 7 and saw him off to work.

Pretty clouds this morning on my walk

They have some outside work to finish this morning and then maybe some indoor stuff. The weather is iffy this week with more rain in the forecast so they will have to work (or not work) according to what we actually get. At 7:30, I’d finished my tea and blog reading, I bundled up a bit (it’s so hard to know how to dress on a windy 11C/52F morning) and went for a walk. Once I got on the road, I was glad I did as it has been quite a while since I’ve got out there for a nice walk.

No special sightings other than this chubby character down by the dock area. I believed it was a raccoon but it was hard to tell by the time I got my camera zoom set. He wasn’t there by the time I got to the end of the lane. My picture confirms what I thought. 

Yup, it's a raccoon

I sat inside for the half hour before work and read emails and played some online games. ScrabbleGo replaced Scrabble but it can only be played on our mobile phones. It is better than nothing so I have a few opponents, including a cousin-in-law and a friend from Arizona.

Evidence that the soybeans have been harvested

Those beautiful red leaves are dropping already

It’s a dull day out there with a sky full of gray clouds. I assume that means I’ll be working inside today or running errands for Mitch. When I arrived, I worked on hand sanding and then taping for an hour before going into town for an hour. Errands. 😊 It gave me an opportunity to pick up Bill’s prescription while there so why would I complain? The last hour of work was taping to prepare for painting. That means another pick up truck, seems to be our main business, is soon out the door.

Pretty, huh?

Back home at noon, there were brief patches of blue sky showing but the temperature didn’t get much above 14C/57F all day. Still not bad at all as it remained dry and outside work was possible. If I wanted to do that. LOL After lunch, I washed the dishes and then received a phone call from an rv resort in Vancouver, B.C. I’d called over a month ago to see about a site and what their rates were. That was when we were in panic mode. She had a site for us but it’s too late, I told her, we’ve moved on. Maybe a couple of weeks ago, we’d have considered it.

Our little neighbour, Jacob, catches the school bus

When I was talking to her on the phone, I looked out and saw my sweetie walking up to the door. I didn’t even hear him drive in. It was only 1:30 so I was pleasantly surprised to see him. They’d gone as far as they could at a couple of job sites so rather than start a new one, took the afternoon off for things to dry and set. He informed me that the mailbox flag was up so I could take a walk down to get it. He knows better than to collect it. 😊

Our verbena is still beautiful

It wasn’t important, just a TSC flyer but the walk is always nice. Soon, I will be bundling up a lot more to collect mail! We will be forwarding our mail to Paisley this winter, instead of to Donna’s, so will get a walk out of collecting the mail as often as I want. After Bill had a snooze, he took the water bladder over to the Acreage for a fill up. We were getting low. While he was gone, I delved into my next book.

Looking north, blue sky

Looking south

Michael Connelly’s The Brass Verdict was one that Bill had read on my Kobo but I hadn’t yet. Now I can read it in hard copy instead, which still is my preference. As is typical with a Harry Bosch/Mickey Haller story, I was into the 6^th chapter almost immediately. I love his stories. The last book, The Dressmaker…was different, an interesting true story, but I still prefer these detective type mysteries for a quick read.

The last harvest this year

Supper was good

With the water hooked up and being transferred, Bill went down to the Hangar to work on his Corsair and I made myself a tea and turned on my Animal shows. Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet on the Ntl. Geographic channel is a favourite. Pigs, porcupines, reindeer, dogs, cockatiels, guinea pigs – oh my! 😊 For supper, tonight, sausage patties and fries. I steamed a bit of cauliflower with mine. Needless to say, supper, topped off with a banana split, was great!

Although there wasn't much sun,
we had a nice sunset somewhere over there
Good night!

We did the dishes and just enjoyed the evening together. It was another good day. Was yours? We will be experiencing a low of 7C/45F tonight so will leave the fireplace on low. We can do that now!

Thank you for the visit!

 

Moving Day, Preparing for Colder Temperatures but Oh, What a view!

Love's Travel Centre, Williams, AZ

We were awake at 6 on Saturday, Mar. 14^th. Maybe the ‘anxiety’ or ‘excitement’ of moving aided in the early rising. We weren’t looking forward to leaving the warm weather behind but we were just ready to move. Bill and I showered and then I went out for a nice walk. It is a pretty park and a pretty neighbourhood with new business malls across the street. The buildings all adobe coloured, pretty.

I tried to catch the quails again but even though that is obviously a favourite hangout for them, they are still too far away for a clear photo. I could hear them telling stories though. 😊 Goodbye little guys! Back at home, I had my tea and we each had a bowl of Cheerios. The day was glorious, 55F/13C and the sky is blue with big white fluffies. A perfect driving day. The rain is done for a few days.

Good morning and goodbye to the Gambels

The sun rises

It was only 8 am so I sat and read some blogs until Bill was finished in the bathroom. After brushing our teeth and securing two bathroom cupboards, I do the bedroom check and make sure the closet doors are secured and work my way downstairs. Bill does a similar thing outside the Suite. He brought the slides in while I walked the garbage to the bins.

It is very hard but I am limiting the pictures
There were just way too many beautiful views

We weren’t back far enough on our site to dump so Bill backed up and took care of that. We have 35 gallons of fresh water in our tanks for the road. Keith was ready so pulled up in front of our site and by 9:08 we were pulling out of Silver View RV Resort. It is a nice park, we’d not hesitate in going back. As we pulled onto Bullhead Parkway I texted Kim and they were waiting to follow the convoy as we passed the K fuel station where they were topping up.

I feel a bit offended - huh!

And then the air and the sky changed dramatically
but no precipitation dampened the drive

We did some climbing up AZ-68 for about 12 miles. If you’ve been here, you are familiar with it. We took it easy and set the cruise at 55 mph (in a 65 zone). The bonus is the views we get. I’m awestruck every time and saddened that we are soon going to be leaving them behind. We couldn’t see Keith or Ken and Kim behind us but since we hadn’t heard anything, figured all was well. When we turned onto I-40E I texted Kim. They were slowed down with the incline.

I kept busy too

We were a way down the interstate when we could see them behind us but Keith was supposed to be in the middle! Kim said they never saw him making the turn in Kingman. He sent us a text and with sketchy service in the area, we didn’t get it for 25 minutes. All he said was “?????” Meaning he couldn’t see either of us. It all worked out and TG for the tekky world we live in as we were able to let him know to get on I-40E. We took Exit 123 for fuel at a Chevron and it wasn’t long and he pulled in too. Phew! Together again. Diesel was ridiculous at $3.39/gal. Ouch!

White stuff we don't want to see

The landscape changed around us and when we were about 15 miles from Williams, AZ snow was quite visible in the mountains as well as on the grass. Not lots but still SNOW. Keith will be happy; he has missed the winter over the last month. We didn’t! The journey was good from there on and our next turn was onto AR-64 which is the road north of Williams to the Grand Canyon.

Driving towards the Canyon

Now, you know our destination. We’ve seen it a couple of times already but Keith hasn’t, nor have Ken and Kim. We should never say ‘you HAVE to do’ something. I’m telling Bill all the time. They don’t have to! But this, if you are anywhere close, you HAVE to see it to believe it. So, we are driving north about 50 miles looking for the Fire Road in the Kaibab Ntl Forest. Bill and I found this free campsite in 2017 on our way home.

It was a nice 2 lane highway for 50 miles with the
occasional passing lanes

Today, however, the weather was creating some concerns. It has snowed here over the last couple of days and it has rained here over the last couple of days. The dirt/sand roads into the sites don’t do well in those conditions. 

There won't be any overnight camping here this trip!

 Once you turn onto this road, there is no turning around without going into these semi-designated spots. We stopped, Ken stopped and Keith stopped. We’re on a single lane and after walking to scout things out ahead, Bill tried backing into one.

The boys did great backing up

Needless to say, it wasn’t going to work and my fear would be getting stuck and needing to be towed out. Cha-ching! After much more deliberation amongst the guys, Keith turned around easily and pulled off to the side. Ken unhooked their car and dolly, Kim drove the car pulling the dolly out and off to the side. Ken backed up their Journey motor home out to the road, turned it around, backed in to hook up the dolly and the car again.

Bill and Keith help Ken get turned around on the busy AZ-64

Bill had to back up the Suite as well. No easy feat but painstakingly he managed to do it, slowly back the ¼ of a mile. Doesn’t sound far, but it was not easy. He is awesome and we didn’t get stuck! Once that was done, we pulled into a camp spot off the fire road near the highway. We pulled in behind Keith and parked. Then we all piled into Ken and Kim’s motor home and with the car in tow, drove the 9 miles to the Grand Canyon parking lot.

Bill rides shotgun

Kim rides - um - backseat?

My oh my! Easily, he found a spot for rv’s in the first parking lot and we took the next 2 hours, walking along the south rim. It is nice for us to see it again, I’m still blown away by the beauty and magnitude. It is just plain fun to watch and listen to someone see it for the first time. We enjoyed that today. I still took tons of pictures. The weather went through all the motions. We had sun, rain, wind, sleet, more sun and over and over. It was a Saturday so it was quite busy today.

It was very misty which gave us a completely different view from past visits

Bear with me for a few pictures

Around 5:30 we hopped on the little bus back to the parking lot and Ken drove us to the fire road where our vehicles waited. We couldn’t stay there for the night. Bill and Keith followed Ken back the 50 miles to Williams to a Love’s Travel Station where we hoped to park for the night. It was packed and Bill and I had a few fretful moments of what now?

Kim and I pose for a picture

Keith and Ken on the edge

How much further do we want to drive and what are our chances of finding anything? It was late and most truckers were off the road. Ken did some checking on line for us about the Walmart down the road in Flagstaff and the Pilot J travel centre but they weren’t going to be any help. Because of our slide-outs, these truck stops are not where we go for the night. Ever. We don’t fit. Keith found a spot for his rig so he was set up.

A nice picture of Bill

There were 3 spots beside Ken (for rv’s) so we parked right in the middle. Bill put out his corner traffic cones and we all went in to the Carl’s Jr. restaurant for a late supper. It was 7 pm. Other than our morning cereal and we each had a muffin and a snack bar, we hadn’t eaten. The burger and fries were good. Well, they sure hit the spot and it beats heating up the chili. After we ate, we came out and opened up the Suite and Bill turned our blue flame heater on. We were toasty warm.

Kim is awed

Bill, Keith and Ken
Kim and I are present in our shadows

What a day! There were definitely good things about it, lots of those, but we have learned things to. I-40 is not traveler friendly. There are no Rest Areas from Kingman to Williams. Beyond that, we’ll find out tomorrow. It was smooth in places but then out of the blue, you hit rough patches or huge holes in the pavement. The scenery was certainly nice but when you are trying to make good time, it isn’t our #1 choice. We’ll find another way to go home in the future.

We saw 3 double rainbows on the drive back to Williams

So, inside the Suite, I was too tired to complete my post with pictures. Bill sat with his book and tried to keep his eyes open. My sweater was as far as I could go without putting more thought into it so I wrote the day’s happening and will worry about pictures in the morning. We are settled, safe and warm. I hope you all had a good day. We look forward to a better one tomorrow. The outside temperature when we went to bed was 37F/3C.

Couple of love bugs in the tree
Good night!

Thanks for stopping by!

Windy Day, Cooling Off, Cheap Water Leak Fix, Mom, Post Office PickUp, Visit from Cousin

I woke up at 6:30 on Thursday, Sept. 20^th and noticed Bill had already got up and closed the bedroom door. I was warm and cozy under the duvet and so was Clemson. Woops, spoke to soon, he got up 5 minutes later to go out and then return to the bed with me. When I realized I wasn’t going to sleep anymore, I got up and immediately got my fleece lined jacket on for my walk. No point in dawdling or I’d talk myself out of it.

It was 57F/12C and actually a warmer morning than yesterday even though there was a brisk wind this morning. When I returned from walking past the ‘Doghouse’, I was anxious for a nice cuppa tea so made that right away. Bill was finished his coffee and was upstairs getting washed up. Between he and Marshall yesterday, they came up with a suggestion for Bill to try regarding the water leak Bill noticed. It will be nice to get it fixed because as of yesterday morning, we turn the pump off unless we’re using the water. Off and on off and on.

the turbines have a pretty nice back drop this morning

Bill drove to a couple of places, one being Pratt’s in Durham and the fellow there recommended trying Mount Forest to pick up the part we needed. Kind of an ‘o’ ring thing but not really. I can’t recall what Bill called it. Anyway for .75 per, he picked up 2 and replaced both. Voila’! No more leak. Yay! That was easy. We spent more time thinking about it then it took to repair it. Perfect resolve!

After he returned, I made us bacon and eggs and another coffee. I got washed up and drove into town to see Mom. No disappointment there either, she was resting but very chipper to see me. We chatted about the book she was reading, a blank journal type book that Donna had picked up for her 91^st birthday celebration last year. We were all supposed to write in it on the day to wish her a Happy Birthday, which most of us did. We slipped up this past April and forgot to put it out again so there was nothing added for 2018.

What a coincidence that it was Bridgette's note she had the page open to when I arrived 

The page she just happened to be reading was the note my daughter left her, so that was special. She read it over 5 or 6 times in a row, forgetting each time, of course, but thought it was so special that everyone said nice things about her smile and her piano playing. 

You'd think we were dressed for Christmas!

Time went by fairly quickly in her room, talking about sending birthday cards and the prices (she was shocked when they rose to $2.50), looking for the puzzle box to put the completed puzzle away (which I never found) and her new watch.

she showed me her watch and we said
"Oh! it's lunch time!"

After saying goodbye at her table, I chatted with Aunt Mary briefly and complimented her on her pretty blouse today. I wonder if Rob and Pat gave it to her and was that was she was trying to tell me. It looked very nice on her, nice bright flowers. From there, I drove uptown to the Once, Twice Again store and I picked up a couple of greeting cards and some sticky shelf paper for $3. Now I’ll have it for my Kobo cover if I want to ‘pretty’ it up.

Driving from Durham, I saw this flock of turkey buzzards
Can you see all their gray necks sticking up as they shuffle off?

Back home and inside, I made myself a Dulce de Leche instead of another tea or coffee. I had a few Keurig pods of it left. When the weather turns cool, sometimes I feel like a hot drink at odd times. This was one of those times. Bill came in from working on his barbecue wind screen. It isn’t going as easy as he’d hoped. He’ll figure it out as he needs to make adjustments for the side ‘wings’. He had a snooze and I added to my blog post.

We took a drive to Priceville Post Office to pick up a parcel that we’d received a notice for. We had ordered our rv cards on Monday, the 16^th, got an email that they’d shipped on the 17^th and they arrived yesterday, the 19^th. That is crazy!! What great service Vistaprint offers and our tip for you if you are ever using them is to NEVER pay anything more than the lowest shipping cost offered. We could have paid $12.99 for 3 to 4 days, $10.99 for 5 to 7 days or $7.99 for 7 to 10 days. We paid the $7.99 and got them at the post office here on the 3^rd day.

Our Vistaprint parcel

After we got in the Rav, we immediately opened the boxes, anxious to see our new cards and they are wonderful! We did good! 

we treated ourselves for our birthdays
New pens and mugs too

We drove home and because it wasn’t raining hard yet, Bill went to the Acreage to fill the water bladder. The rain would hit at some point and he wanted to get this taken care of. It is 64F and with a bit of a breeze, feels chilly to me so I changed out of my ‘fancy-go-to-visiting-Mom’ top and slipped a warm and sloppy top on. I like my inside days here in the Suite.

When our fresh water tank was full, Bill came inside and we relaxed together in front of the tv. I read some of my book with Clemson beside me. At 5:30 I began making a meatloaf for supper. It takes just over an hour to bake and we had leftover rice and a couple of cobs of corn to clean up. With sliced garden tomatoes on the side, it was a really nice inside meal. Just as we were cleaning up the table, my cousin Harvey pulled up the laneway.

It was a delicious supper tonight

Harvey is on the council for the Literacy Association in the area and he is tutoring 3 students this summer.  They meet on Thursday nights so it was nice that he stopped in tonight. Clemson took to him right away and shared the recliner for most of his visit. When we stepped outside an hour later to say goodbye, the winds had really picked up. It was around 59F but it felt colder than that.

We cleaned up the dishes and relaxed for the rest of the evening. It hasn’t been a tough day by any means but we are getting really good at taking it easy. At least I am! It was so nice to have another great time with Mom today. This summer has been great for my visits and the memory of those visits will help me get through the winter when I won’t see her.

It was nice that my cousin, Harvey stopped in for a visit
Clemson cozied right up beside him

It has been a good day and I hope you can say the same.

Thank you for stopping by!