Paws and Friends

Chula Vista RV Resort is a destination! Check out their web site for fun activities the second weekend of December! We enjoyed an open house Friday evening, December 9th, and shared in the fun of the holidays as several RV clubs were there with all their Christmas decorations! One row, each rig completely decorated! Another Club, with this coach for sure the Winner!  Saturday, December 10, all the businesses along the bay were open for snacks and hot chocolate, as we walked along enjoying the lights of the boats in the marina, stopping for snacks along the way. The San Diego Parade of Lights was scheduled for Sunday evening the 11th. We chose not to attend this time--wanted to depart on a Sunday rather than fight the crowds on a Monday... Imperial Beach looking north towards San Diego We explored the town of Imperial Beach, and stopped to walk along the beach. The town got its name from the Imperial County, a dessert climate 100 miles inland. Far...

This Christmas found us once again in Goodyear, Destiny RV Resort. We celebrated Christmas with good friends, sharing a terrific meal and great times. We are fostering a Corgi from Arizona Cactus Corgi Rescue  over the holidays, after looking into her eyes at the rescue facility....enuf said! Miss Bitty Rupert (back)  Miss Bitty (front) Best wishes to you and yours this holiday season and for 2012! Later! Paws   (Rupert and Miss Bitty) and Friends  (Mike and Lindy)

Thursday, December 1, we traveled from Destiny RV to Chula Vista, CA, just south of San Diego. There were wind warnings, but they seemed to be north of our route. As it happened, we experienced gusty winds (approximately 20 to 30 mph) from Gila Bend to just past Yuma. The winds died out after Yuma, particularly going through the mountain passes on I-8, from Octollio to El Cajon, which always have  warning signs for high winds! Thankfully, we avoided the winds! We have a pull through site, with ample room for our bikes, jeep, and patio chairs. Friday we "practiced" with Rupert's Tail Wagon made by Burley, riding around the RV park and the surrounding South Bay Park. Rupert did very well! We are calling his ride the LRC for Lord Rupert's Chariot! Yesterday we packed a lunch, with snacks for Rupert, and took off on the Bayshore Bikeway . We had to ride almost 3 miles before we actually got to the dedicated bike path, but traffic was not too bad, as it was a Sa...

Rusty peacefully left us last night. We traveled more than 120 miles yesterday--to Scottsdale for her scheduled appointment with her oncologist, then to Gilbert for an ultrasound. We laughed about that distance, for we would have had to travel more than double that if we were in Gallup, seeking medical attention (Albuquerque is 135 miles one way). The results of our visit supported changing but continuing attacking the mast cell cancer with medication. We feel Rusty chose to meet Bandit and Puff at the Rainbow Bridge on her own time. She loved riding in "her" jeep. Yesterday was her last ride.

We drove up to Oatman, on old Route 66, north and east of Needles, from Cattail Cove State Park. It was 67 miles one way, but was worth it! Perhaps Needles, CA or Kingman, AZ would be better places to stay if one wishes to visit Oatman, but CCSP worked for us! We picked up old Route 66 at exit 1 off I-40, and could have traveled it all the way to Kingman, through Oatman. We have traveled Route 66 across New Mexico and into Arizona from the east many times, often biking on the Mother Road from NM into AZ. It was fun to experience this western portion. We enjoyed the trip, traveling from 460 feet at CCSP to 2700 feet at Oatman. To the east  we could see the dusting of snow on the mountains from the recent storm, and slowed for the many dips of the old highway going down into and out of washes, many of which had  moisture from the rains last night! Burro with crooked ear! Rupert barked at the burros... and they ignored him! We did not get out and walk around. The...

We discovered this small State Park last January, and really love it, especially this time of year, for there are not many campers here! We reserved our site on line, same one we had last January, but ran into challenges in getting our rig level. We finally pulled the coach as far forward as we could and achieved success! We note on this visit that site 53 is very nice! Next time! You may note that our steps are not out....Yep! They broke! Tiffin is sending a new step assembly to us, at Destiny, and we will get them installed. Setting up the coach this trip did take a little longer than usual....! Dog walk toward the boat launch Trail to dog beach dog beach! Although the boat launch was not as busy as January, there was some one there either loading or unloading throughout the day. The weather, you'll see, was glorious! Temps in the low 80's, with cool nights. One day we were here the Phoenix area experienced another dust storm. Our winds were around ...

It is a "fer" piece from the North Rim to most anywhere...! Unless one goes back to Kanab---which we did NOT!  We were traveling over familiar roads, and we had reservations at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park, so we were relaxed and ready for the 250 miles....! We saw something going through Flag about it being a great star-gazing place. We said it could NOT be as good as Bryce! We stayed 4 nights in Williams, adding another night as we looked ahead at the forecast and the forecast wind. It gave us a change to enjoy cool weather, before our dip down into the valley! We drove into Flag one day, discovering that the Camping World that recently opened is now closed, and found a container of DEF for our rig. We like the new diesel engine which does not put out the pollutants of older models but hunting for DEF to add does add to the "fueling process." We did not like one container of DEF we picked up at a truck stop, so we located a truck facility that had a more sturd...

From Carson City we traveled to Ely, NV where Lindy found the plot in the Ely cemetery of her grandparents. We discovered that two nights are NOT enough time to relax, unwind, and explore an area. So, we are adding Ely to our list of re-visits! Our favorite campground there, the KOA south of town, was very pleasant. From Ely we traveled to Bryce Canyon National Park, staying at Ruby's Inn and RV Campground, this time for three nights! We had a comfortable site for our rig, on the end, allowing for easy departure without going through branches capable of scratching the rig. Weather was beautiful, sunny but cool during the day and downright chilly at night! And the stars....! The sky at night in Bryce is up to six times darker than most astronomical research locations. The Milky Was was glorious to see! There is a full moon hike throughout the summer, this year ending with hikes on October 11, 12, and 13. In addition, there are more frequently scheduled "Dark Rangers'...

What fun Lindy had in Carson City! She found the location of the Nevada State Orphanage where her folks worked right after Sacramento! Now her challenge is to go through the family pictures identifying those from Carson City, to "match" with the actual. In the mid 40's, the home was out in the country. The property now is located within the city just a few blocks from the capitol building. We shall return (we keep saying that about most places we visit!) for further exploration of this area:  Lake Tahoe, Virginia City....! We stayed at Silver City RV Resort, in Minden. A nice park that we would visit again. Later! Paws and Friends

Tulelake, CA was super! We stayed at a nice county fairground RV park which we had to ourselves the first night (like Valley Camp!). We did have a hard time finding a level site...! Our new coach lowers, as air is released from the air bags during the leveling process, so the steps would not come out. We have learned from that school of hard knocks! We finally backed into a site across the way and enjoyed our stay! On the second day, we were joined by 2 rigs. Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair RV Park We enjoyed walking through the museum for the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, Tule Lake Unit, which is on the fair grounds property. Here are some pictures Lindy took at the museum: We did not have time to drive out to the 2 sites of the actual camps. So, we shall return....!  Weather was cool, rain even night before we left, with really heavy dew and ground fog the morning we left. We have discovered that county parks are nice (check out the one ...