Graduation...

Who knew?? That cute little puppy in the lime green tunnel would actually graduate from her first course at 8 months old. Now don't get me wrong... she's still a rambunctious, mischievous, sock thieving, stuffy toy destroying, morning cuddler... and/but each day we see glimpses of who she'll be when she grows up. It looks pretty good. So for now... we hide the socks, stick with chew toys and rope dolls... and hang on to the sides of the roller coaster that is raising a puppy. We're also glad we had the summer to introduce Maddie into our life; she s been great.

On another note...you may have noticed I haven't been writing much. We've been working hard on 'the manuscript'. Yes, Vancouver's Women in Blue...is in the final push to completion and gobbling up most of our spare time. And then, of course, there's getting things ready for winter...brrrr. 🥶

So, there you have it... an update of sorts. hope all is well with each of you...and you're warm and cozy as the first winter 'freeze' heads our way. ❄️💨🌬☔️

Adios for now... CJ
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Email hiccups

Hi folks... many of you have been kind enough to subscribe to our blog and receive the postings via email. Yet again, an old posting was sent out via email yesterday. This is a problem with the blog-to-email service that we have been using for years (FeedBurner). We are looking for an alternative service and hope to have it fixed soon. Thank you for your patience. CJ

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Park Host Follies...

Now that we're home, we have the privilege of volunteering as Marine Park Hosts at our beloved Pirates Cove on De Courcy Island. Being a park host includes some responsibilities as well as a small dock to tie up to (which is pretty nice when the NW winds are blowing). And of course, as a Park Host you do your best to set a good example of nautical prowess and calm, mature behaviour. We usually do pretty well at both....until today.

Today began well. We tidied up and left the Nanaimo Yacht Club guest dock in good time to make it to Dodd Narrows. This narrow spot of rock and current must be transited very close to the turn of the tide if one is to avoid whirlpools and hidden rocks. And, as I mentioned, it is narrow requiring boats going in either direction to heed the approach of opposing traffic. At this challenge, we did well; came through without a hitch, and were well south of it when numerous opposing vessels met up with each other mid channel.

We then carried on our merry way to Pirates Cove. On this day, we managed to arrive at the entrance to PCove almost exactly at low tide :-(. This is not a preferred time of arrival as the entrance, at the lowest tide, has only 4 feet of water (and we need 5' 7"). We did the math and checked it twice... and decided we would have enough water to get in... so in we went. Our hearts only stopped once when the depth sounder read 0.0 water below our keel. Fortunately we did not touch bottom but this confirmed we have a couple inches of "insurance" factored into our calculations. BUT, neither of these stories are why I'm writing about an otherwise ordinary day. Nope, there's more.

The next story is for Dave. Hope you like it. Let's call it: Park Host Follies.

As I mentioned earlier, setting a good example is important behaviour for a park host. You be the judge of how we did today. Picture this: We arrived unscathed, made a tidy approach to the dock, stopped, and hopped off with dock lines in hand. We tied the lines and reset the fenders in a very nautical fashion. I attended to the foredeck to tidy the loose ends of our bow line and spring while Kathy set about hauling out our folding chairs and setting them up on our little dock. Then I surmise she hauled out the umbrella that attaches to a chair, clamped it on and went below to prepare lunch. The ship's dog Maddie, at this point, was romping about on the dock, exploring every bit of wood, muscle shell, or moss she could find. She also found a bit of shade against the dock box and tucked herself in there... as well as a smallish dog wearing a big life jacket can tuck into anywhere.

The fun began as I turned around and noticed two things at once. The first was that the NW wind was gusting... the second was the beautiful blue umbrella, carefully clamped to one of our folding dock chairs, and starting to respond to the gusting winds. "That's a very fine parachute" or something to that effect, I might have said.. and then we both watched in horror as the chair with umbrella firmly attached, sailed off the dock and into the drink on the far side. It was right about then Maddie fell off the dock and into the water...same side as the chair but towards the far end.

You can imagine the pandemonium..... I dove to the deck with arms outstretched and just missed getting my fingers on an edge of the umbrella as the whole kit and kabutal sunk into the deep. Kathy fished the dog out (luckily she still had her life jacket on) and ran for the boat pole. Between the three of us we missed catching the sinking chair/umbrella combo and the dog had a good swim and was rescued safe and sound.

Sigh... now what about those hotdogs? Well, they weren't too charred and tasted great. With the help of sustenance (and maybe a beer) Kath devised a contraption that combined the boat hook at full extension and the clam fork, also extended, tied together and managed on her third sweep to hook a rung of the sunken chair. We took a bow to the nearest cruisers in the Cove who had enjoyed our antics. We explained we didn't normally provide such a comedy act but were happy to do so on this day. We all had a good chuckle.

Chair, umbrella and dog have all had a good rinse down and are currently drying in the warm sun and we are about to resume our staid and mature position as Park Hosts of Pirates Cove.

Wishing you all a pleasant evening... and don't forget to tie down your chair when the winds come up. 😀 CJ



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The tough life of a Ship’s Dog

This is the fifth day of our three week vacation cruise. The original plan was to sail to Vancouver, have our diesel heater installed and then spend the next three weeks cruising up the coast a bit or gunk-holing around the Gulf Islands. Before an update...a peek into cruising with a new puppy.

There's an old saying...something about making your bed and laying in it... Well who knew Maddie would be the first dog in either of our lifetimes who would be at least as, and often more, comfortable when we're underway... hanging out below in a bed of her own making, on the couch? It's taken us a while to figure that out as, while she's very vocal and loudly so, she only has a one word vocabulary - BARK! This word can mean "pick me up!", "I want my water!", "I want down, or over there, or over here!", "pat me!"....etc. Lucky she's cute and our fellow cruisers don't mind she's still learning :-)

"Yes, we're on the boat", and "Yes, we're having a good time". Maddie continues to impress us with 'most' of her activities...including sleeping through the night, not barking her face off when we've left her alone in the boat cabin (her cabin is now the aft cabin... which she shares with a multitude of bins and boating equipment... lucky girl), using the puppy 'mat' when necessary, and being as cute and mischievous as ever. I guess the main thing I wish she hadn't noticed was how chewable the lines are. All those 'ropes' running hither and yon look just like a perfect theme park for her personal enjoyment and persistent taste testing. Oh well... she's here to stay... and has only one baby tooth (aka flesh piercing fish hook tooth) left... yay!

On the nautical front... we did get to anchor behind Bute Island off Ladysmith for two nights and then moved in to the Ladysmith Community Marina. Yesterday (Sunday) Kathy returned from her event earlier than expected and so we cast off and headed for Pirates Cove. While we were under way we realized the tide would be too low the next morning for us to get out of PCove in time to get through Gabriola Pass at 0700 so we checked the Pass to see what it's slack times were for the early evening. Voila! We were able to get through Gabe Pass and head to Page's Marina in Silva Bay. We did all this because we knew a North Wester was predicted to come in on Tuesday and so Monday was the day to cross. Well, the Norther arrived last night and was blowing 19 knots with 3 second seas by 0600. After much consternation at the fickleness of Mother Nature (at times) we made the difficult decision to abort the mission to Vancouver and tuck in at Page's until the wind blows itself out. We expect to be here - possibly until Thursday.

Destinations after that? Unknown. We'll wait until the direction to go seems obvious.

For now, we are safe, cozy (a little cool without the heater 😏), and enjoying the beauty of Gabriola Island. We'll visit with a few friends while we are here, generally kick back, relax, and do some reading.... take a page from Maddie's book as it were....

Hope all is well with each of you...and your hatches are battened down for the next couple days. If your anchor's down, best ease out a few more yards of chain ⚓️

Bye for now, CJ, K and M

SSpirit's Crew - first full grooming

AND... we're off on an adventure!  Yup, SSpirit is finally slipping her lines and heading out for 25 days of carefree wandering.  We know we're heading to the Ladysmith area for a few days and then across the Straits to Vancouver to have our diesel heater installed.  Being a California girl, SSpirit had no form of heat so now we'll be dry and toasty warm while we cruise BC.  We've made no firm plans other than the aforementioned so will keep you posted with anything interesting.  Hope you are all happy and well and enjoying the 'dog days of summer'.  Maddie even got a hair cut (her first full grooming) for the event.  The photos are 'before' and 'after'... we think she's pretty cute.  And, no surprise, she's changing colour... lightening up.  Just like the madrass shirts of the '70's... all we can do is wait to see what colour she'll be next.  For now, she's a smokey dark grey... very nice.

Take care everyone... enjoy every day. 

Photos by Kathy, words by CJ

Learning curves... (with a new puppy)

Many may wonder where we've been.  Some of you already know. We have been caring for the newest member of our family - Maddie. It's been many years since either of us shared a home with a brand new puppy and, oh my, the things we'd forgotten. Suffice to say we no longer wear our best clothes or leave our shoes lying about. And, we've learned the hard way about winding her up and expecting her to calm down when we think she should. BUT, aside from our learning curve, having Maddie in our clan has been fantastic. She's a real trouper, game to try anything and go anywhere. She loves her backyard (and the leaves and little branches and anything else that moves in the wind:-), and she travels well in the car and truck... and seems to like the boat as well.  

The following photos were taken last week on her first cruise. We took her to Pirates Cove in case we lost her.  It's a small island and the chances of finding her again are fairly good.  We were quite amazed when we set up her sleeping crate in the aft cabin and then, at bedtime, put her into the crate and closed the door. We also closed the aft cabin door so we could continue our evening for a while longer. She went right to sleep and slept through the whole night, and every night thereafter. Yippee!  Sleeping: done.  Then there's the mat. She used it every day.  Mat training: done. And then there's hanging out with the big people... like on the dock.  Personal chair: done.  The photos will tell the tale of how she did during her first cruise. Needless to say, we're pretty happy.

Life with Maddie...

Now, some might say we've been MIA (missing in action) but I cry "NO" we've been living with a puppy!!  OMG how much we've forgotten. They're so cute! so cuddley! some might even say adorable!!  But, oh!, who remembered their razor teeth, short attention span, and.... did I mention.. their adorableness?

Inquiring friends have been asking... "How is Maddie doing?".  Well, I'm here to tell you she's doing fine. Us?  We're a little tired but holding up  :-) 

Even though I remember the phases of living with Sophie, where we went from being the moms, to being the sisters, to her becoming the aunt and finally like a grandmother (that'd be Sophie);...  this little one, this bundle of energy and inquisitiveness, and attention demanding,... and wonderfulness... has us back feeling like moms again.  The good news we're told is that this particular little nipping and demanding phase will pass... and so we study puppy parenthood, and work through the tantrums, and continue protecting her from herself.. and loving her, and setting boundaries, and working through them... and, and, and.

And then, wonderful things happen.  She starts to remember the area we've asked her to use in the back yard for (you know).  She goes to bed at night without argument and sleeps through the night. She is now telling us (sometimes more subtly than others) when she wants to go out.  And... wonder upon wonders... the very first time we took her to the boat.. she used Sophie's 'boat mat' (I'm sure I don't need to tell you what for :-). We've taken her down to the boat four times now and she's used the mat each time.....  which is a wonderful gift that will make life easier for all of us.... thank you Sophie.

And, just yesterday we took her to a beach for the first time.  We walked along the sandbars in one direction and then we walked back along the shore (it was low tide).  Maddie followed us into the water and waded with us and then, when Kathy went out a little deeper, Maddie continued after her and, without any hesitation, started swimming to stay with her.. SWIMMING!!  both front and back legs working at the same time!.. so awesome!

After our sandy and salty beach visit we went home and hauled out one of our homemade deck showers that we use on the boat.  Turns out it works very well for puppies too. Outdoor showers are great !!

So friends, thanks for your patience.  There are/were not a lot of photos. As you already know, black dogs don't show up well in photos... not with much definition anyway.; but we'll keep trying.

Hope all is well with each of  you.  We are fine and re-learning puppy speak.  TTFN

CJ, Kathy, and Maddie

Life with Maddie is busy...

We've been asked for photos of our new crew member. Here are three of the many faces of Maddie... She's pretty amazing and adapting to her new life very well.... although she does keep us busy. Thank goodness she sleeps between 'play times'.

May we introduce... Leapfrog's Madison Mulhaley

We are absolutely delighted to introduce you to Leapfrog's Madison Mulhaley (aka Maddie).  She will be 8 weeks old when she comes home with us on May 10th... next Friday. We have had the pleasure of watching this little girl grow from a wee pup into an inquisitive, intelligent  puppy...(thanks to her breeder and care-giver Cheyenne, who shared precious moments with us via photos and videos). We're really looking forward to introducing her to her new life with us. There will be many stories and photos to follow but we know you've been waiting to hear. So... here she is.... our little Maddie. 

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Hola from Maple Bay...

Another journey concluded... we are home.  Yup, caught the 0820 Coho ferry out of Port Angeles on Friday morning.  Are we glad to be home?  You bet!  The trip was great... good to see old and new friends (as always).. good to see some of Mother Nature's exquisite beauty (absolutely amazing)... and/but... nice to be home (finally).

For those of you wondering how we got from there to here.. and our impressions of our stops.. here goes. After the Sierra Trails RV Park in Mojave we heading off to Coalinga (the Harris Ranch).  We had heard of this spot from friends and wanted to see it.  Great restaurants, free parking for RVs in their truck stop area as well as their general parking lots.  We met good people as always, had a lovely prime rib dinner, and took off early the next morning on our next leg. Monday the 18th saw us in Corning at the Rolling Hills Casino.  This is a nice RV spot if you're going to the Casino and want to be among RVers.  What we noticed, after we'd booked in and paid, was that we could have stayed (for free) in the very large, paved, truck stop portion of the parking lot(s).  By the end of the day it was filled with RVs and, although they didn't have the view including a bush or two and some grass... they did fine.  We'll try that next (vs $35 USD).

Our next leg... took us to Canyonville and the Seven Feathers RV park.. which is affiliated with the Seven Feathers Casino. This has been one of our favorite stops for years.. but, sadly, we must admit.. it was the most expensive hot tub we've ever had.  True, the sites are flat and clean and beautifully groomed.. but the price has been going up each year and $57 was just too much to actually enjoy it.  Next time we'll stop over in their truck stop which is actually right next door to a cafe/truck stop store/showers and washrooms... for 0$. As you may be figuring out...this year we have learned that we can be self-sufficient and 'dry camp' far more than we ever did when were 'on route' to Mexico.  There's $$$ to be saved if you're set up for it.

After Canyonville we headed on north to Vancouver, WA (just across the river from Portland). There we stayed at the 99 RV Park (a place we'd stayed at before).  It was much warmer this time, compared to our last visit.. and the folks were friendly.  It was/is suitable for an overnight stop... but be forewarned, the office closes at 4 PM and will only give out the code for the washrooms during office hours :-(

And then.. we found a gem.  Just 45 minutes before Port Angeles, nestled into the little town of Sequim is the Gilgal Oasis RV.  Now don't all of you go rushing there.  It's small and you should phone ahead to make sure there's room; but it's delightful.  Friendly management, well groomed sites, and a lovely lounge... all made it a lovely little place to stop in for the night.. and we did.  Then up bright and early and we were on our way to Port Angeles and our ferry ride home to Canada.  We were treated well by the officials, enjoyed the ferry ride across to Victoria, and were home by mid-afternoon (after stopping off in town for some business and some grocery shopping).

All in all, despite the snow, wind and freezing temperatures...(where they shouldn't have been)... I'd say we had a very nice vacation, thank you very much.  And/but it's so nice to be home.  The daffodils are up and the rest of the gardens are starting to show signs of life.  We have hit the ground running and will be up and ready for spring and early summer.

For now.. know we are well and safely home.  We hope each of you are equally comfortable wherever you are.  Bye for now, adios, ttfn.....  CJ

It’s Saturday, this must be Mojave...

Since I last wrote, we've made a couple decisions (maybe more, but at least two). While the temperatures do appear to be rising, slowly... the winds are also rising and, in some places, at an alarming rate. As well, most campsites are fully booked -this being peak season and all. Considering these factors, and our desire to be home close to the middle of March, we decided to save Joshua Tree Park for our next trip (they were full anyway)and to take ourselves back to our Desert Hot Springs digs (the Catalina Spa and RV Resort. They were good to us as usual and the office building has been sorted out. They are now firmly ensconced in their brand new office building. As well, the reno's to the upper washrooms and showers are complete and the pool is in better shape as well. Shortly after we arrived and settled in we discovered our two friends from home were still there. The four of us had rousing games of Bocci (and settled for a tie) and a nice visit even though time was short. We also made two runs to the Blaire Stn RV store for bits and pieces and got the truck washed and cleaned up.

After one and a bit days, filled with activities, we were on the road again this morning... having planned a route that skirted the biggest winds and avoided the highest mountains. We are now in Mojave at the Sierra Trails RV Park. It's a small place, just off the highway, with flat sites, full hookups and clean washrooms. Everything you need for $20. And, the sites are long enough we can back in and not unhook -which is our preference when only stopping for one night.

Oh yes, I wanted to mention our lunch stop. We tried on the way down (or was that last year?) but the line up was out the door so we moved on. This morning, about 11:30 we accidentally drove by it, recognized it and circled back. This time the lineup hadn't started yet, but it started right behind us... we had perfect timing! Cafe 247, "Home of the dirty boys BBQ Club. Voted #1 Best BBQ in the High Desert" is located on the corner of Hwy 247 and Old Woman Springs Rd in Lucerne Valley at the 4-way Stop in the middle of no where. You can dine in or take out. They BBQ your meat of choice while you wait and it's delicious. They're open every day except Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas; and they have a parking lot large enough for even the biggest rigs....if you're early enough. So, next time you're hungry and somewhere near "the middle of nowhere" check it out.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah. Tonight we're here sending Happy Birthday vibes to my baby sister who turns 65 today. Tomorrow we head to the Harris Ranch in Coalinga where we will celebrate St. Patrick's Day in their restaurant and throw the anchor out in their parking lot for the night. Then we'll be off the next morning, heading to Corning.

Our plan includes stops at Canyonville, Vancouver, WA, and Sequim after that... and we're booked on the morning Coho out of Port Angeles on the 22nd. Not sure how much wifi we'll have between now and then... so.. as always no news is good news... and we wish you all the best.... and a very Happy St. Patrick's Day ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️CJ


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Safe and sound in Ehrenberg, AZ...

Where the heck is Ehrenberg ? You might ask. Well, it's about two miles past Blythe, which is four hours south of Las Vegas. We slipped away from our wonderful site at Valley of Fire early this morning (wellll, actually more like 0900ish). We decided to not stay for the extra day we'd been contemplating because when we finally received a weather report - there was some robust breezes coming in tomorrow and the next day in the very areas we were planning on moving to. So, we graciously handed over our wonderful estate to a young family and moved on...and on...and on. It felt like a very long drive (even though it wasn't really) because of the rain (and some fine hail) we kept running into. Between the 'desert mist', partially flooded 'dips' in the road... and the hundreds of big ol' dirty tanker trucks on the road.... our focus was pretty much on the road conditions and our fellow travellers. And, we made it all in one piece.

We are now tucked in to site #7 at the Arizona Oasis RV Resort in Ehrenberg, AZ. After confirming it was ok to use a bit of extra water, (Lucy was literally dripping mud on all sides) we wiped most of the mud off and found our little Casita. We'll be here for two nights and, assuming the winds abate, will then carry on our way - either to Joshua Tree Park or to the Palm Springs area.

As of now, we are slowly winding our way home with the route being determined by road and weather conditions as well as suitable places to stop for the night. We are also happy to be back in the land of connectivity (although, being disconnected for a few days is good too).

That's our news for now. Hope all is well with each of you... CJ

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Valley of Fire... the best yet

Well, apparently our vacation isn't over yet! We not only arrived at this, reputed to be fantastic, State Park early enough (as in 0815, having spent the night at the Hitchin' Post RV in Vegas) but the ranger standing beside the sign that said "CAMPSITE FULL" said it was OK if we wanted to take a drive through. "You bet!" we said... and carried on to the campsite we knew had RV sites; not the kind of RV sites civilized folks might seek out (with full hook ups) but RV sites that could hold a trailer and a truck and that either had power and water (the dump site was outside the campgrounds) OR were, what we fondly refer to as, "dry camping".

And so, to add to what started out as a beautiful, clear blue sky day, and a 'less than an hours drive' from Las Vegas, we took the opportunity to do a slow drive through the Atlatl Campground. Now I'd be the first to admit we've had some luck in our journeys but this morning comes near the top of the evaluation scoresheet. There aren't a lot of sites to choose from (did I mention they are first come, first served?) at this campsite. All have covered picnic tables. Some are just large enough for a trailer and tow vehicle. Some are just big enough for a camper van. One loop was for dry camping and the other loop had power and water (only). Also, three buildings housing toilets and/or showers are scattered within the campgrounds. We began to drive slowly around the first loop and, about half way around, stopped at the first site that was showing signs of packing up. Kathy approached and tactfully asked if they knew of any campers that were leaving... The woman she spoke to admitted that, actually, they were just about to leave. Then she took Kathy on a tour of the campsite. It seems... we struck gold. This particular site sits on a parcel of land that is at least half an acre in size. It's like sitting on a point of land if this were an island. Not only is there room to park the trailer and truck, but it also has a very large, flat and gravelled tent site. It also has beautiful rock formations with wind worn 'bubbles' big enough to sit your chair in and get out of the wind. Then there's the view, a 360 view, and the space... We must have moved our chairs three times and enjoyed a different view each time.

Well, we were tickled pink; and when they left (about 30 minutes later) we moved in. By 0905 hrs. we were all set up and enjoying the brilliantly coloured beauty of what must be... the best site in the Valley of Fire State Park. On the advice of a fellow camper we'll just pay up each morning until we decide how long we can stay. And one more good thing... it's only $20 per night as this is one of the 'dry camping' sites. We're lucky it's not freezing at night AND this will be a chance to to try out our new Mr. Heater portable propane heater. We picked it up in Sun City West and Kathy figured out how to run a line from the heater, out through a little hatch to the compartment where the power cord is stored, and then out through the exterior door of that compartment (which is designed for a cord to run through with no space for varmints to climb in), to a small propane tank outside the trailer. Note: we added the recommended propane filter at the heater end of the hose as a safety feature. We are now fully independent and able to dry camp in comfort.

There's only one downside which really isn't all that bad (rather restful actually). The closest place where there is any 'connectivity' is down the road a few miles and it's just a place where you can pull off the road, stand on a rock, and hope to connect.

So.. this posting will introduce where we are, but it won't get sent out until later tomorrow.
We are doing well and happy to be here. Yesterday we hiked the short 'Mouse Tank' trail, complete with beautiful soaring red rock, petroglyphs, Mountain Sheep posing for photos, and the brilliant greens and blue-greens the desert can produce when she's had a little rain. The vision of green grasses and shrubs with the red rocks and crystal blue sky in the background takes your breath away. Photos won't do it justice but we'll try.

This place has caught hold of our hearts. We'll be staying a few more days. Today (Sunday) we're going to hike two trails, also down the road.

Hope all is well with each of you. TTFN for now. CJ

Time to move on...

Well, haven't we had, what turned out to be, a wonderful stay at Lost Dutchman State Park - just outside Apache Junction. The wind did finally stop, and the temperatures warmed up. We've had great, sunny days for the past week. Thanks to our friend Donna, many miles of hiking trails were covered (mostly by she and Kathy), and many mountain and valley vistas were photographed, enjoyed and memorized. The photo was taken by Donna on the Boulder Canyon Trail in the Canyon Lake area not far from Lost Dutchman.

We may have done a little shopping too and, again thanks to Donna, spent a day at the 2019 Renaissance & Artisans Festival enjoying shops of every kind, medieval jugglers, Pirates, ladies, knights, comedians, actors and more. We also saw Jousting and other demonstrations of skill... a long but enjoyable day.

This park, Lost Dutchman, is very beautiful. The number of birds that visited our campsite was amazing. Some, like a Gila Woodpecker who loved to hang off the Hummingbird feeder, the hummingbird who fiercely guarded the feeder and only let certain other hummers into his territory, the little bunny who visited each day (ok, not a bird), the dozens of Gambles quail who meandered through, the two Northern Cardinals (one brilliantly red and the other just as brilliant, but orange) who were shy but visited anyway, the Cactus Wrens who lived in the Saguaro cactus standing proudly all around us and called back and forth to each other, and all the other little tweeters who came to pick over our meagre offerings of seed... well it was like living in an ongoing movie. Our Happy Hours were mostly spent sitting, watching, and photographing... in between chatting and sipping of course.

But, it's now time to move on and we leave this morning to make our way to Sun City West for a visit with aunt and uncle. We're looking forward to seeing them and will visit for a couple days before starting on our long, winding route home. Weather and road conditions will dictate what route we take but we are thinking that north on 93 will be a good start. Will write again as we move along and, even though it's still freezing there, we are looking forward to being home and seeing friends and family.

So, stay well everyone and prepare for spring... it will come! Talk again soon. CJ
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Warming up...

Good news! After dumping "never seen before at this time of year" snow (3" in Tucson, 3' in Flagstaff, knee deep on the top of mountains surrounding Apache Junction.. and deep enough to be staying for several days on the Flatiron here in the park) Mother Nature may be loosening her grip and allowing some warmth to seep in. The wind is still quite cool and the evenings chill very quickly.... BUT the sun is definitely shining and the day time highs are creeping up! Phew. Guess we'll hang in here and carry on with hiking, biking, touring, etc. We expect to be here until the 5th when we'll head to Sun City West to visit my aunt and uncle.

Sure hope things are well and warming up in your neck of the woods...🌞 TTFN. CJ

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Superstition Mountains - before and after (the storm)

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Snow on the Flatiron!

Woke up this morning.... to pouring rain, wind gusts that rock the trailer, a cabin temperature of 51 (34 outside) and snow on the Flatiron, a well known peak that the best hikers climb here at Lost Dutchman. We had our first campfire and hotdog roast last night, knowing the forecast was predicting rain overnight, today and tomorrow.... definitely days for exploration by truck :-). Stay warm everyone... CJ. (Photos by Kathy)
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Lost Dutchman...- 2

The last posting ended rather abruptly. The following was supposed to post after the photo. For reasons beyond my control, it did not. So hereafter is the last half. Thanks.
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>> I've been a little delinquent in my postings... so to catch you up... when last I wrote we had just left Picacho State Park, also beautiful! Since then we've had the pleasure of catching up with cruising friends Tom and Jeanne in an RV Park just outside Tucson (or Tuckson as our GPS calls it :-). We had a great visit with them and caught up on all kinds of things... maybe even told a few stories and relived some of our mutual memories of the trip sailing down the west coast of North America. We met in Monterey marina and have been good friends ever since. After our visit with them we moved on to Gilbert Ray County Park, a whole 2.8 miles away. There we endured freezing temps at night and very cold winds during the day... so you can see why we're so happy to be able to sit in warm sunshine for a change. OK, enough for now. We are well. And, we hope all of you are well too. Spring is coming sometime... wherever you are, so hang in there... TTFN. CJ
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Lost Dutchman...

> Good morning. I'm sitting in my chair, under a partially opened awning, in the sun, basking in the beauty of the Superstition Mountains, and watching beautiful birds taking turns on the seed sock I hung in a nearby tree just before dark yesterday. Oh yes, and I'm enjoying a cup of coffee and marvelling at this temporary morning lapse in cold and freezing temperatures :-) This is such a beautiful site I think I could sit here forever.
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> Yes, it appears our weather may finally start to warm up (next week) according to the weather forecasting gurus. Two more days of cold and rain and then things will, hopefully, dry up and warm up. Oh wow. Two brilliantly coloured red Cardinals just arrived. One of them is actually orange. Beautiful! There's also a pair of Gila Woodpeckers that are visiting and many more smaller birds.

> If you can see it in the photo, we've rigged up a contraption that includes a walking stick, Rosemary (the rosemary plant), Rosie (the Valentines Day rose), and a hummingbird feeder. Apparently it's working as we've had many visitors so far :-). We're just going to hang out today. Kathy's recovering from a cold and we're here for two weeks so don't feel rushed to accomplish much today. With luck we'll have a fire and a hotdog roast for dinner. 🌭🌭🌭
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> Anyway, suffice to say things are very nice here at Lost Dutchman State Park and we are so very lucky to not only be here but to also be in one of the best sites thanks to our friend Donna who kindly booked two last year.
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Picacho Peak Hike (2)

And a few more.
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Picacho Peak Hike (1)

As promised.... a few pics from the hike... including looking back down at the campsite and a Saguaro cactus with encircling arms....
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Picacho Peak State Park

Where oh where to begin? Perhaps with a 'shout out' to all of you suffering through an unexpected and extra-ordinary winter 'event'. We really do wish you luck, warmth, and an early spring. While there's absolutely no denying the cold is COLD ... it may be worth mentioning that southern Arizona is also very unusually cold. The lows at night are near or at freezing, and the daily highs have been in the mid '60's. OK enough said.

We've just spent two days at Picacho State Park. Not only is it a beautiful park with good sized sites and lots of space between... it is also the home of some pretty amazing hikes. Kathy and our friend Donna tackled one of those hikes and photos from that will follow in another posting. For now, I just wanted to show you our site and tell you a bit about this place.

Picacho Peak is the location of the most-western (geographically speaking) conflict of the US Civil War. The Battle of Picacho Pass pitted groups of the Union and Confederate armies against each other as they tried one side, then the other, to gain control of the pass. You'll see the breadth of the territory they were trying to claim in some of Kathy's photos that follow.

As for our site... it's beautiful and quite private. All is going well on our little vacation... a few domestic glitches, like a fridge that won't turn off and freezes everything. We had to throw out two full loads of frozen food (that shouldn't have been) before we started monitoring the inside temp and turning it off and on accordingly to keep the frozen part frozen and the other part... not so much. And fancy Ricky (the truck) couldn't understand why all his tires were suddenly lower in psi than they should be... (cuz it has been freezing over night??) and started flashing messages to me on the instrument panel about adding air...and wouldn't stop until we got to our first gas station and did so. By the time we got there, the tires had warmed up and were almost up to pressure :-)

So... know we are fine and enjoy some photos... the first is, of course, our lovely site with Picacho Peak in the background. The second is Kathy and our adventuring friend, Donna, resting up and discussing a vigorous hike up the peak planned for day two.

Sure hope you're all doing well.... all the best from cool Arizona....

Boondocking at Imperial Dam Proving Grounds...

What is boondocking? You may well ask. I've had a few enquiries...and didn't really know myself until recently... like three days ago when we arrived to visit our friends. Basically, it's stopping in the middle of nowhere, parking on the flattest piece of sand or rock you can find, wiggling your RV around so the refrigerator side is away from the blazing hot afternoon sun, making up the beds with enough blankets to stave off the rather cold nights (no power for heaters for many of us), making sure your water tank is full and your 'other' tanks are empty (no water taps or black and grey water dumps out here), having your battery(s) all charged up and a system worked out to keep them charged (like solar panels or a generator), saying goodbye to the internet and wifi (unless you've stopped somewhere close enough to civilization to have same), and not being able to put out your awning for shade because of the strong and erratic winds what swoop through at their pleasure.

Having said that, the art of boondocking has become quite sophisticated. As you drive through the deserts of California and Arizona you will see, not far off the roads, clumps of RVs gathered together in various sorts of chaotic parking plans. Let's call those villages of boondockers. Many of the villages have organized collective services in one way or another. As well, folks wanting to stay in the BLM (Bureau of Lands Management) lands have (after purchasing a permit for not very much) the use of a dump station, water station, and garbage dumpster.... very civilized. With these services available many RVers spend their entire winter... boondocking and love it.

Our friends are boondockers and have pretty much perfected it. Theirs is the nicest set up we've seen and includes places to escape from the wind on both sides of their RV, a lovely desert garden and bird feeding station, games adapted from the refined table versions and reproduced in desert-appropriate materials and size. They are also crafters who make beautiful art from natural materials they collect along their way. Theirs is not a way of life for everyone but they have created, adapted, and are living the life with aplomb. The picture below (or above... I never know where they'll pop up when I hit 'send') was taken of the four of us outside a very comfortable desert bar where we headed for lunch whilst out touring the area (and finding some wifi).

We have had a good time visiting and learning about boondocking; even set up one of our portable solar panels. The other photo will give you an idea of our view and location. The stars at night are brilliant and while it looks rather desolate there is lots of wildlife. Doves, red-winged blackbirds, several varieties of finches, and hummingbirds visit the feeders regularly. Wild burros (one with a baby) clip clop by our camper at night while they graze and, although we haven't heard them, there are coyotes around as well.

It's Tuesday morning and time to move on. We head in to Yuma today to visit friends from home who winter over there. They are the folks who were kind enough to care for Lucy while we drove down to the boat each winter. This year they get us too :-) but we won't stay for the whole winter... just a few days. It will be great to see them...

Time to start packing up for the move. Hope this day is a good one for each of you. Adios for now. CJ

Anza Borrego State Park

Every so often, as we wander along our path, we come to a place that takes our breath away. This is such a place. It's desert at its best. It's beautiful mountain-scape; and it's teeming with wildlife if you learn where to look. I've told you about the coyotes, but there's so much more. Jack rabbits bigger than Sophie scoot across the roadways and through our campsites. Hummingbirds and other small birds come to our feeder. And we were also blessed with Big Horn Sheep crossing the trail all around us when we went for a hike up to the Oasis. Yup, even I managed to walk the trail and scramble up and over rocks for a round trip of three miles. It was worth every step to see the rock formations and tons of giant boulders tossed asunder by flooding over the years. And, did I mention the Big Horned Sheep? Awesome. One crossed the path only about six feet from where I stood (motionless of course :-) There was also a baby in the herd... very cute. For now, this is why we've stayed here for a few extra days.. I'll write again soon with photos from the hike. We leave tomorrow morning and head for Yuma, to the Proving grounds.. to try our hand at "boon docking". Hope all is well with each of you. Adios for now... CJ
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The morning call...

Some folks wake to the call of a rooster doing his daily duty... but here in the Anza Borrego Palm Canyon campsite - as the dark skies slowly fade to grey in the early morning hours, we wake first to the single lonely call of one coyote and then to the chorus his call stirs up.

I must tell you that, particularly in the late afternoon and early evenings, the coyotes here sound very, very near to us. They ring the campsite with their calls and are so close people wander to the narrow road that circles our sites, peering out into the scrub and bush searching for a glimpse of said wild creatures. Somewhat eerie to be so close; and somewhat 'cool' for the same reason. Definitely a place where the 'Keep your dog on a leash' rule is readily obeyed. I don't think any single pooch who shook off his leash and slipped away for a wee walk-about would last even an hour out there.

It's quiet now. The calls started just after 0600 and lasted for about half an hour. Guess they're busy sorting out who's hunting where this morning.

More on this great location later. Time for a little more sleep for us humans. Zzzzzzzzz


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Rio Bend ... Part 2

So, re-reading my last post I realized it was quite dry and while, as some of you know, we're not much prone to partying 😉 I figured I'd better fess up a little. Yes, we had a great time! Not only did we practice our beginners style Pickle Ball (oh, if only I could serve; Kathy serves so well!)... we also golfed 9 with some borrowed clubs (even managed to not lose too many balls) and enjoyed some Happy Hours with neighbours and friends. The resort is a good size; not so large it feels like a small town and small enough that folks tend to at least recognize each other and know quite a few others.

We were well received by the friends of our friends who we were there to see. Well enough received that, having been lured to the Fish Fry dinner on Friday evening, the good music that followed (that kick up your heels, thigh-slapping, toe tapping kind of music)... well, you guessed it, up kicked our heels and with petty-coats flying... into the fray we leaped. Danced our legs off we did... and it was great fun. OK I did exaggerate a wee bit there... we weren't wearing petty-coats... but we had fun anyway. The next day, Saturday, found most of us a little subdued, but not too much. We were able to squeeze in a bike ride, more Pickle Ball, a little visiting... and some rest.

Sunday was the day of our departure... and we did, depart that is. Spent half the day picking up groceries and fuel (which is always fun cuz Lucy seems to be just a little smaller than the stuff we pick up and need to store).No complaints though. We love Lucy and we always find places and Ricky offers up room for whatever won't fit. We did well and then hustled on to Anza Borrego, arriving just at dusk after being delayed by traffic build up due to a security check point on the highway.

Hope everything is well with each of you and you're finding joy in each day. Some days seem tougher than others... that's for sure, but I think they test us in many ways and make us stronger too. Thanks for following our blog. It means a lot.

Adios for now... CJ

PS: for newbies.... Lucy is our little Casita trailer and Ricky is our truck. 😀

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El Centro, CA

Hook down, winds and seas calm. Oops, guess I mean, stabilizer legs down... winds calm, and no rain in sight :-). Waving goodbye to Desert Hot Springs yesterday morning we headed on our way. We drove into Anza Borego State Park on our way and checked out the Palm Canyon Campsite... very nice. We've booked in there for the 27th and 28th... when we'll return and do some desert hiking. In the mean time we are tucked in at the Rio Bend RV and Golf Resort, El Centro, where we will spend a couple days relaxing, (still) looking for places to stow things away in our little trailer, and visiting with cruising friends who now winter here instead of the Sea of Cortez.

Hope all is well with each of you. It's been a tough year for some, and for others... the challenges continue. Know you are in our hearts and thoughts. CJ
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Catalina Spa RV Resort...

It's windy outside. So, windy little Lucy (that'd be the trailer) is rockin' and rollin' with every blast that hits her and we're pretty certain there won't be Pickle Ball this morning. Sigh. I'm just glad I checked the weather forecast before going to bed last night and figured I'd rather take the awning down then, in the peaceful quiet evening in the light of the blood moon, instead or wrestling it in like a wild parachute in gusts of 70MPH.. much better sleep as a result. This mornings forecast says the winds are going to carry on until Wednesday which may put a crimp in our plans to leave tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. We shall see what the wind gods decide.

Guess. I should back up a bit here.... Hi everyone, we're finally back to Desert Hot Springs where we left Lucy and Ricky (that'd be the truck) in a small storage lot inside the Catalina Spa RV Resort. Our flight landed at 1545 hrs. And friends picked us up and hustled us over to the resort in time to get there before the storage lot closed. The 'rig' was fine when we got here. Truck started first try and all six wheels turned when asked to... so off we went to our assigned slip...er I mean site. Unfortunately the site was not 'to our taste'. Why? You might ask. Well for starters it was very narrow and overshadowed by a huge tree on one side. The other side was the backside of a building with an air conditioner running full tilt boogey. And, it was definitely not the site we had reserved which was much nicer, larger and with a view. So, off to the office I trotted to beg, plead, say "please" real nice and ask for a different site.

Thankfully the gal in the office was very nice and understood my plea. She found us another site. The late afternoon sun was sinking as we made the approach and entry to the new site. It was in a much nicer location and we were very pleased with our success. We quickly set up the awning, chairs and little table so as to enjoy a celebratory glass of wine with our friends. It was about then Kathy decided to plug us in... well, actually, it was Lucy she went to pub in. "We" were fine :-)

Hmrph. Turns out we couldn't plug in. There were no 'guts' in the pillar to plug into. We looked around for an available outlet in a neighbouring site... no luck. Back I trotted to the office to explain our situation. I'll only say here that the office seems to be undergoing some reorganization (if they're not, they should be). Three different people, all apparently working off different 'floor plans' with different data, couldn't agree on what sites were already taken, about to be taken, reserved, or available. They finally picked one that maybe or might be available in the morning IF we wanted to move. The IF was because one of the fixes was to wait for the store to open in the morning and the maintenance guy would buy a splitter so we could plug into the neighbours working pedestal. Oh, forgot to mention... none of them had any idea there was a slight problem with the power in our site.

The final result? We had a quiet night and a lovely sleep in our very nice (but powerless) site. Woke up yesterday (Sunday) and found out when the store finally opened at noon, they had no splitters. Being Sunday, none of the RV stores were open and tomorrow (today) is a holiday so the RV stores may or may not be open. We shall see. We have decided a splitter might be a good thing to add to our inventory so will be off this morning in hunt of one.

Believe it or not, one of our neighbours, staying in a rig not much bigger than ours (Lucy is a Casita 17 which means she's a 15' trailer on a 17' trailer) offered to help us out with a little power to charge up our battery. He's plugged in to his power pedestal and we're plugged in to his trailer. Nice guy.

And so, that's a long winded way of saying we are fine. We arrived safely, truck and trailer were none the worse for wear, we've had fun visits with dear friends, and we're about to start tidying truck and trailer to improve our living space for the next couple months.

Please know our thoughts are with friends and family at home, as well as our readers we haven't met yet, and we wish all of you a peaceful day (with less wind than we are experiencing right now :-). Adios for now. CJ

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Gettin' a little wet and chilly...

Now, I don't want you thinkin' we're afraid of a little wind and rain... but it goes without saying... there are choices to be made here.  And, I'm not saying we don't love the seasons (missed them even) and we absolutely love helping out the winter birds in the neighbourhood, and seeing our dear friends and family... but fact is... well... there are alternatives, appealing alternatives.

So, I'm here to tell you we have made a decision; actually we knew about this back in November when we deposited Ricky and Lucy (that'd be the truck 'n trailer, aka "the rig") in Desert Hot Springs, in a small storage lot, secured within a recovering RV park (recovering because it has new owners and they're doing a good job of bringing the place back to life).

Yup, we kind of figured we might need a wee break from our beloved BC winter and so we set up this plan, see... It calls for us to take off... not for 7 months like before, not even for 6... just a wee short 2 months (8 weeks) hardly any time at all.  But, it will be time enough to warm up, catch a little fix of desert, and see a few friends (some of them even cruisers like us who are currently enjoying more sand and sun than water).

And so, we are in that final leg of preparation; preparing boat, house, car and selves - for a little adventure :-)  We'll head out mid-January and be back before the end of March... that's the plan.  I'll blog as we travel for those who are interested in the places we visit.  And I'm carrying the draft manuscript of Women in Blue with me... no worries there - the editing continues.  We hope to be ready to publish by the end of next summer so stay tuned on that front.

I want to take a moment to thank you folks for supporting this blog and my writing.  It means a lot to me and it's very motivating as well.  I also want to wish each and every one of you all the best in 2019.  It will be an interesting year for sure; lots to keep up with in the news and many changes happening closer to home.

So for now, know we are well and planning on heading out soon. And, we're wishing all of you a Happy New Year.  May 2019 provide all you wish for, along with some peace, happiness and good health.

TTFN   (tatafornow)    CJ