Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Today was another beautiful, warm day here in Yuma – hope this weather continues!

This morning we putzed around and didn’t really accomplish much then this afternoon we went to the RV Connection & Water Place and checked out reverse osmosis water systems for the trailer. We are thinking of getting one but want to price them out at a couple of different places before making a decision. The water here has so much salt in it that it is very hard on the skin, pipes and faucets and we have to buy drinking water and water for coffee and tea, but whether or not it is worth the cost of a system is the dilemma. We then went to Wal Mart to pick up a couple of groceries to tide us over until after the new year and then wanted to stop at a place to pick up some fresh fruit but we were about 5 minutes late as they close at 4 and we got there at 4:05 – darn. Oh well, another day.

When we got home I went for a nice walk then came back and sat out for a while. John was just getting ready to go for a bike ride when Steve & Brenda stopped for a few minutes so had a quick chat with them.

Tonight is another quiet evening of TV, not real exciting but we are past excitement at this point in our lives! And so ends another great gift of a day, quiet, but enjoyable in the sunny south.

Monday - December 29, 2008

Yes, today was more like it – a beautiful day with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 60’s – perfect!

This afternoon we went to the mall so we could mail a letter, we had to weigh it to make sure we had the right postage, hence a trip to a postal outlet. We then went to Target where John wanted to get something (things electrical I don’t have a clue about!) then from there a quick stop at CVS Pharmacy, Fry’s and Lowe’s. Nothing too exciting and mainly it was a John day – things he wanted to do.

When we got back I went for a nice walk then came home and made dinner – Roman Holiday which is another family recipe and an easy casserole.

It is about bed time, I am tired and ready to hit the sack – and so ends another great gift of a day, quiet, but enjoyable in the sunny south.

Sunday - December 28, 2008

Today the weather did improve, it wasn’t as windy and a bit warmer, so we were much happier! Today we have been thinking of Ron & Dee and hope they got safely on the road for their trip to points south and hope Mike & Margie had a safe trip to Florida!

I called Nan about 1:30 Toronto time as she was having the family Christmas dinner today and I thought everyone would be there by then but it turned out that only Kel & her family were there so I had a nice chat with both the girls. Nan was saying that they were experiencing terrible winds and a lot of houses were without power, she was just hoping that they would keep their power when she was having 16 people for dinner - can’t say I blame her for that. I talked to her a while ago and somehow they lucked out, she said all the streets around them had their hydro out and the street behind them was still all dark, but somehow they managed to miss it all and kept their power – talk about lucky. I just talked to my sister and she said they had a good time and the drive home from Nan’s was a lot better than the drive over as the wind had died down going home. We sure wish we could have joined them for this family day but on the other hand we do like the weather here far better than there!

We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast then went across the road to Yuma Palms Mall as I wanted to return some steak knives to Target. Last week I had bought four Henkel steak knives but when I got them home I discovered the handles were of some sort of rubber material – yuk, so I took them back and got a refund then found the ones I had been looking for with real wood handles – they didn’t have them last week but did today so I am now happy.

From there we went to the Yuma market and checked out a reverse osmosis water system, they seem expensive so will have to really think on this one. I got a sweat shirt and some t-shirts for next summer – big deal. From there we took a tour through Crossroads RV Park – not impressed as it is pretty well all park models, then we went over and looked up Don at Mountain Cactus Park. Had a nice visit with him then headed off to Fry’s and Wal Mart to pick up a few groceries.


By the time we got home it was dinner time – I sure don’t know where the day goes! Tonight will be a bit of TV and early to bed as I didn’t sleep real good last night. And so ends another great gift of a day, quiet, but enjoyable in the sunny south.

Saturday - December 27, 2008

Allright, allright enough of this windy cold weather! As you can guess it was windy and cold again today with a high of about 55F, fortunately the forecast is for warmer weather starting tomorrow – sure hope that weather man is right!

We were going to go to the market today but it was just too cold and windy, so decided we would wait and go tomorrow. I did laundry this afternoon, I timed it just right as it wasn’t busy when I got there but by the time I was done all the machines were in use.

Steve & Brenda stopped by to lend us the movie the Long, Long Trailer, they had said at Christmas they had it and I haven’t seen it since I was a kid (a longggggg time ago) so thought it would be fun to watch it again. They hadn’t seen Casino Royale so we traded, guess we will be watching a movie tonight.

That was it for the day, a good hunkering down day but I’ve had enough of those so hopefully tomorrow will be warmer and nicer for being outside. And so ends another great gift of a day, quiet, but enjoyable in the sunny south.

Friday - December 26, 2008

Today was a nice sunny day but there was a very cold wind, a good day to stay inside and keep warm.

We had a quiet day and late this afternoon John went for a bike ride and I went for my walk, I was quite cold when I got back but kept telling myself that it was much better than Ontario! The weather is supposed to warm up in the next couple of days so we are looking forward to that.

John gave me the DVD The Bucket List for Christmas so we just finished watching it, a good movie that we quite enjoyed. And so ends another great gift of a day, quiet, but enjoyable in the sunny south.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

The forecast for today was for cool and wet, fortunately the forecaster was wrong and it turned into a beautiful sunny, warm day, the only downside being that it was windy.

Santa came and left presents under the tree



John and I enjoyed talking to our children and brothers and sisters so that even though we aren’t there we were able to talk to everyone and wish them a happy day. Fortunately the snow had stopped at home so it was an okay travel day for those who had to travel. Our daughter Nancy is having the annual family dinner on Sunday for all my family so hopefully the weather will continue to co-operate as everyone has to travel to get to her place.

We had a lovely dinner and evening with Steve & Brenda, it is nice to share Christmas with friends when we can’t share it with family. I made baked corn which is an old family recipe and our daughter Kelly hates it, she seemed quite disgusted when I said I was making it for dinner, well, Kel, Steve & Brenda loved it and want the recipe so guess not everyone is like you Kel.

Now everything is cleaned up and it is bedtime, I am tired but it was a wonderful Christmas. And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Wednesday - December 24, 2008

Today was an absolutely gorgeous warm day, I even got into shorts this afternoon – gotta love it!

This morning we did a major cleaning (having company is always a good prod to get at it!) and this afternoon I went for a long walk then came home and sat out reading and enjoying the sun. As usual though, as soon as the sun started to go down I had to come inside as it still really cools off.

We are going to have a nice steak & shrimp dinner then a quiet evening, hopefully enjoying some traditional Christmas music.

For all those heading out for the south after Christmas safe travels and remember as Peggi says – don’t drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.

To everyone who is reading my blog – HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND ALL THE BEST FOR THE NEW YEAR!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Today was a much better day, both weather wise and feeling better. Today was sunny but windy with a high of about 64F, quite comfortable.

This morning I got up and did my usual intenet stuff reading e-mails and news from home. John was getting ready to go out and get fuel and propane when Steve & Brenda stopped by to see what they could bring for Christmas dinner. We had a quick visit with them then they left and John went off for propane etc. while I stayed home and wrapped his Christmas presents and had my shower.

John got back just in time to get changed and then we headed out for the show – we went and saw Australia, what a great movie and John enjoyed it as much as I did (I was worried that he wouldn’t really enjoy it and was just going for me). It was a long show, almost 3 hours so it was almost 5:30 when we got out and from there we went to Wal Mart to finish our shopping for Christmas dinner. Wal Mart was a real zoo so it was after 7:30 when we got home - needless to say we had a late dinner.

We are now watching Jay Lenno and it will soon be bedtime. And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Monday - December 22, 2008

Today was a total write-off both weather wise and just for the whole day in total. My arm was really swollen and sore and I just didn’t feel great and the weather was overcast with the odd rain spit which just added to my feeling of blah.

I laid down in the afternoon but couldn’t sleep but at least felt a bit better when I got up. We didn’t do anything at all today so hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting. Still, it was a great gift of a day and hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Sunday - December 21, 2008

I sure am glad that the movie There Will Be Blood self destructs – it was the stupidest movie I have seen in many years, I didn’t watch it but couldn’t help hearing it on the TV. Apparently Daniel Day Lewis won an academy award for his part, sure must have been hard up for nominees that year!!!

Today was another nice sunny day. still a bit on the cool side but at least we don’t have snow! Our sympathy goes out to all those suffering in the snow and cold back home, we don’t envy you one bit, we just hope that the weather is good for traveling over the next week or so.

I went for my walk today and stopped and talked to a couple from London who had bought their trailer at Can-Am. Then I stopped and chatted with Birdie & Jean who were a couple of doors down from us last year, by the time I got back John said he was just thinking about going out looking for me to make sure I was okay!!

John bought me this pretty little cactus yesterday, adds a splash of colour in the trailer!



John downloaded the 2008 tax program yesterday so today did a fair bit on our tax returns and it looks like we will have to pay very little for this year – gotta like that!!

Tonight we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, we had a coupon for a free Cactus Blossom so with that we split an order of ribs and both had cesar salad, a very good dinner – we really like their ribs. Missed you Janet & Dave!

John is just making us a cuppa tea so we will probably just watch the boob tube for a bit before heading for bed. And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Saturday - December 20, 2008

Today was a nice sunny day but there was a cold wind all day so not a sitting out day, I actually wore a jacket when I went for my walk this morning.

This afternoon we decided to go back to Staples and get another table for the patio, they had nice ones on sale for $15 earlier in the week and we really like the one we bought so wanted to get another one, we lucked out and got the last one today. The nice thing about these is that they fold down flat for travel and are very sturdy – we notice a lot of people use them to sit their barbecues on. From there we went to the mall and John went to Best Buy and I went to Kohl’s looking for a Christmas present for him. I wanted to get him a new Henkel carving knife and we ended up going to Target to buy one and he picked it out so no big surprise there for him for Christmas, but, as he is the one that will use it I figure I’d best get one he liked! Actually it was a set so I get a nice paring knife out of the deal! I also bought a new set of steak knives but when we got home and I opened the package the handles were rubberized, not wood, and I don’t like them so will return them. We stopped at Fry’s for romaine and mushrooms for dinner - Kel & Tim please not that we did not go to Wal Mart today!

John bought the movie There Will Be Blood on a DVD for $2.50 and once you open the package it is good for two days then somehow self destructs so we will watch that tonight. And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Friday - December 19, 2008

Today was another nice day with temperatures a bit warmer than yesterday but still on the cool side in the shade but it was lovely in the sun.

I got the laundry done around noon, when I got there I got the last 2 washers but managed to get 2 dryers without having to wait so I am not complaining. I came back and sat outside and read for a while, then went for a long walk.

We had an electric outlet in the kitchen which blew the fuse every time we tried to use one of the outlets in it so today was the day John decided to tackle it and see what the problem was; not being an electrical person I can’t tell you all the ins and outs but it took him about 3 hours to correct the problem. Turns out that when our dealer was supposed to make this outlet active whoever worked on it truly messed it up – needless to say that John was totally ticked off but at least he got it working. So much for most of his day!!

We are now having a quiet evening of TV and I think I will finish my book – such a tough life!! And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

What a difference a day makes – today we woke up to sunshine (even though it was a bit foggy) and although it was a cool day with a high of only 60F (15C) it was still a wonderful day.

I went at 10 to get my haircut and she did a good job but I am not sure that she did a better job than Rosie did last year for quite a bit less; I will probably go to Rosie next time then decide who will do it after that.

I came back and did some cleaning while John was outside wiping everything down, now we are again clean inside and out. We chatted with Gary & Leslie for quite a while then went to the market as John wanted to get an extra key cut and knew that there was a place at the market where he could get this particular key done. I bought a new sweat shirt and we got a sign for the trailer as we had left our old one at home.

From there we went to the Fry’s and Wal Mart in the Foothills and that was the extent of today’s adventures. I did take a couple of pictures of our new wheel covers – real exciting.





And so ends a great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Wednesday - December 17, 2008

Well, there isn’t much to say for today. It was rainy and COLD all day so I hunkered down and didn’t do a lot. I had an e-mail from my brother today re the severe storm warnings for pretty well all of Ontario in the next few days, again sure am glad we aren’t there!

John went out and got one of our propane tanks, which went dry last night, recertified and refilled and that was his excitement for the day. As I say, not much to write about today but it was another great gift of a day even though the weather was crappy.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Last night it rained off and on all night, nothing too much but it was wet this morning. We saw a little bit of sun late this afternoon and had a high of about 62F (16C), not real warm but not too cold either.

This morning we were lazy, read our newspapers on the internet, did e-mail, etc. About noon we had a call that the wheel for John’s bike was ready so we went out to pick that up, then stopped at Hastings (a book store) and Lowe’s where I got a new entrance rug for the trailer. When we got home John offered to put in the new rug and take out the old but I want to wait until all this nasty rain is over – lol!!

The lady two doors down who is a hairdresser appeared to be home when we got back so I went down and got an appointment to get my hair cut on Thursday morning – sure does need it so hopefully she will do a good job. Just as I came back Steve stopped for a chat – turns out they spent the summer in Utah so we had a good chat about the canyons and beautiful scenery there. Then Gary & Leslie next door came over for a chat; while we were talking to them there was a real pretty rainbow – something you don’t see here very often.

John got his bike put back together and went for a quick ride, quick in that it looked like it was going to rain plus the bike seat was wet and he didn’t find it really comfortable riding with a wet butt!!!

This morning John was working on his pictures and gave me a few he took at Zion plus one of our trailer with the Christmas lights in the front window so I will post them – just call it a mish mash!

Pictures from Zion Canyon







These were some deer we saw at Zion



Our Christmas Lights



Tonight is a quiet evening of reading or TV; and so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Monday - December 15, 2008

Today again started out cloudy and very cool but this afternoon the sun came out and we had a high of about 64F (17C). It clouded over again late in the afternoon and the forecast is for a couple of cloudy, rainy days.

John went for his bike ride today and was again having problems with his brakes grabbing while he was riding so came back and tried to figure out what the problem was. In the fall before we left Kincardine he took the bike in to have a cleaning, tune up done on it and they didn’t put the back wheel on properly – long story short it was something John didn’t have the tools to fix as a couple of parts had broken. We took it to Johnny Yuma’s bike shop this afternoon and they said it should be ready late tomorrow so hopefully it will be and it doesn’t sound like it will be too expensive to fix – thank goodness.

I was going to go out and find some place to get my hair cut this morning and on the way out stopped to talk to Leslie next door for a few minutes and she said the lady two doors down is a hairdresser and does a good job so I think I will try her. She wasn’t around at all today so hopefully I will be able to catch up with her tomorrow and make arrangements for a cut.

Apparently there is a fair bit of theft going on in the park, a few people have had their bikes stolen – one a fellow from Ontario, and yesterday a golf cart was stolen – John makes sure his bike is locked up.

We didn’t do anything too exciting today but as usual enjoyed the day anyways. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Sunday - December 14, 2008

This morning was cloudy but by noon the sun had come out although the temperature never got much above 60F, oh well that is still better than it is at home.

This afternoon we went to see Quantum of Solace, lots of action in this movie. It was $4 each for the movie and a bucket of popcorn was $5 with free refills (which we didn’t get – splitting a bucket was more than enough!), sure beats Ontario prices!! After the movie we drove around old Yuma and I was going to take a couple of pictures, but alas my battery was dead – darn.

After the movie we stopped at Fry’s and Mervin’s on the way home. Mervin’s is closing in 7 days but I didn’t see a lot og great bargains.

We saw a Winnebago motor home today which reminded us of Bob & Denise who were beside us the fall of 2006 in Waterloo and then for a week or so were in the same park as us during the winter here in Yuma. They moved to New Brunswick in the fall of 2007 and we have often wondered how they are enjoying winters in New Brunswick, somehow I don’t think they are as warm as Yuma!!

That is about it for today, nothing too exciting. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Saturday - December 13, 2008

Today it was pretty overcast until about noon when the sun came out and it remained sunny for the rest of the day with a high of about 68F (20C).

This morning I put a pot roast in the slow cooker and did some cleaning. John was outside all day working – he got the roof of the trailer cleaned off and now the solar panels are again clean so should pick up the sun better. The wheel covers are installed and look really good and his final job was to again try to get a better signal on the satellite which he did without a lot of trouble. After my walk I sat out in the sun for the afternoon reading but again at 4:30 had to call it quits and come in as it was getting too cold to sit out.

John is starting Casino Royale so that is this evening’s entertainment. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow.

Friday - December 12, 2008

Today was pretty overcast and coolish with a high of about 68F (20C), still not a bad day.

We got a call that our wheel covers were ready so we headed out to pick them up and because the place we bought them is across from the Arizona Market we had to make a stop there also. I got a few books, which should do me for a couple of weeks, as well as a new purse, other than that had fun wandering around. From there we went to the mall and got our parcel mailed to Ontario and I got some matching pillows for our new quilt and also bought an electric throw as they were on sale for half price.

After that was a stop at Wal Mart, then home. When we came into the park these goats were running around in the front 2 rows, don’t know where they came from but they had quite an audience.



John bought the Dark Knight DVD so guess that will be tonight’s entertainment – if I find it too scary I won’t bother watching it.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow, we have to install our wheel covers but other than that we have no plans.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Today was another nice day here in Yuma, although a bit cooler than it has been with highs in the mid 60’sF ( 15-18C), but it was sunny so we are not complaining.

Today is our daughter’s 21st wedding anniversary – happy anniversary Nan & Carl.

This morning I heard John get up so thought I would snooze until he was through in the bathroom, next time I knew I woke up and it was 10:00 a.m. – what, this is crazy! Guess I will have to start setting my alarm again.

I have found meal times to be a good time to do laundry and today was no exception, I went over shortly after noon and it was practically empty – perfect! We are now clean for another week.

John thought he would try moving the satellite dish today and try to get a better signal – NOT A GOOD IDEA! He spent all afternoon messing around with it and has no better signal than when he started – what is the old adage – if it works don’t mess with it! Tonight was the Parade of Lights in the park, anyone who wanted to decorate their golf carts, bikes etc. could put them in the parade, must say it was a pretty small parade!

I had an e-mail from my sister today and she got the stitches out of her wrist and all seems to be good so I was real happy to hear that.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow, we have to pick up our wheel covers and want to go to the market, other than that we have no plans.

Wednesday - December 10, 2008

Today was sunny but cooler with a high of about 70F (21C), still we’re not complaining as this is far warmer than Ontario!!

This morning I did some cleaning etc. while John did some outside stuff like burying the cable for the satellite dish. This afternoon Jim & Sonia came over around 2 and we had a great visit, we were able to sit outside but by the time they left, about 4:30, it was getting quite cool – time to put on the sweatshirt!

I went for a walk and John went for a bike ride after they left then we had some leftovers for dinner – real exciting! Tonight I got fiddling around with my I-Pod Touch and downloaded a game, Bejeweled, so will probably spend the evening trying out how to play it.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow, we have no plans so will have to see how the day unfolds.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Last night they were forecasting high winds starting in the early hours of the morning and ending around noon – well they were right, I woke up this morning thinking that somehow over night we had been transported to the RGV in Texas – LOL! The winds lasted until late this afternoon – a little longer than forecast but it was a bright, sunny day so other than not being too pleasant for sitting outside it was a nice day.

With the Star Choice set up we are again able to enjoy Canada AM, this morning Jeff & Bev had us in stitches watching them try Seamus’s pomegrante seeds marinated in Goldschlager.

We did some Christmas cards then headed out this afternoon to get them in the mail, the first stop was at Wal Mart where John wanted to get a couple of prints made to enclose in one of the cards, then a stop at Cracker Barrel to buy a quilt for our bed (our Christmas present to each other) then Hallmark to mail the cards, Fry’s for some groceries then another Wal Mart to pick up a couple of last minute items. While I was waiting for John at the last Wal Mart I was standing beside the cooked chicken stand, couldn’t resist as I figured Pico de Gallo chicken sounded a lot better for dinner than left over sausage!

Dinner is now over, the dishes are done and a little bit of TV or reading is in order before heading for bed. Sure can’t figure out where the days go, they but they do seem to fly by.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow, we are looking forward to Jim & Sonia’s visit but will first have to get the place cleaned up before they arrive.

Monday - December 8, 2008

Today I was a wuss – at 9:15 a.m. when it was time to go for pool aerobics the temperature was 48F so I chickened out – now am I a wuss or am I smart? Today did warm up to the low 70’s with lots of sunshine – all in all a nice day.

I decided that today was P Day (Pedicure) so headed out shortly before noon to get my feet feeling good – wow, now I think I could walk on air they feel so good. I went to Wal Mart on Avenue B as that is where I went this past winter and I was lucky to get the same fellow today as I had then – he does a really good job. There was a lady there waiting to get a pedicure that I thought I recognized, she ended up sitting at the next spot so we got talking and sure enough she is in our park and goes to pool aerobics so that is where I recognized her from. I told her I was going to go this morning but thought it was too cold – she laughed at me and said the pool was really nice – okay, okay I will go on Wednesday.

After my pedicure I wandered around Wal Mart for a bit and picked up a few groceries and a red bow for the trailer then headed to Beall’s. Monday is senior’s day at Beall’s so you get an extra 15% off and the only time I will go is without John so today was a perfect day to check it out. I didn’t really find anything much other than a pair of capris and a couple of glasses but had fun wandering around checking everything out.

When I got home John said he had spent all day trying to get my e-mail working with road runner, it turned out to be something really stupid and simple that was causing me not to be able to send out e-mail through Outlook and road runner but at least now I am good to go – many thanks to my wonderful hubby! If I had to do the problem solving I am sure my computer would now be a broken mass on the sidewalk!!!! (Do you get the impression I don’t have a lot of patience?)

I am looking forward to spending a bit of time reading tonight as it doesn’t appear that there is a lot on TV. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow although we have no great plans, will just see how the day unfolds.

Sunday - December 7, 2008

Today started off cool and cloudy but about 1 p.m. the sun partially came out, we are not complaining as it was still a heck of a lot better than the weather in our part of southwestern Ontario!! John got our Star Choice set up so we can now get Canada news – hooray (I think)!!

We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, my, what a busy place that was but we did enjoy our breakfast. While waiting for a table we ran into Tom, a fellow we golfed with in the Tuesday morning scramble so had a good chat with him. After breakfast we went to Kohl’s and got some new cushions for the trailer – sure do brighten it up.

We decided to go over to Desert Paradise and see if Jim & Sonia were there, and after much looking we finally found them – they have bought a park model trailer so were not where we expected to see them. We had a nice visit and they are coming over here on Wednesday for a drink and visit.

By the time we got back it was think about dinner time, we are now finished with dinner and the dishes so a quiet evening is ahead. Actually, I was talking to my sister so John did the dishes – do I sound like I am arguing about that?

The 11 o’clock Ontario news is on and they are just covering another major snow storrm in Wellington County – ask me if I miss it!!!

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow although we have no great plans, will just see how the day unfolds.

Saturday - December 6, 2008

Wow, today was one of those quiet, at home days where nothing exciting happened. It was a lovely day with lots of sun and temperatures in the low 70’s’sF.

We didn’t move too fast this morning, but today John did manage to dust the outside of the trailer, work on hiding wiring for the cable TV and internet, putting lighting around the patio etc. and I vacuumed, dusted and then sat outside and enjoyed the lovely day while reading.

A fellow from Comax B.C. stopped this afternoon and chatted for a while and I walked around the park this afternoon – a start to my exercise program. John went for a bike ride late this afternoon but due to the fact it was getting dark he kept his ride quite short. Hopefully he will get in a longer ride tomorrow.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow although we have no great plans, will just see how the day unfolds.

Friday - December 5, 2008

Today was another beautiful day here in Yuma with a high in the mid 70’s and some wind, certainly not hard to take!

We left shortly after lunch to go to the Yuma market, not just a fruit & veggie market but a market that sells every from A to Z. The market is open Thursday to Sunday and is a fun place to browse. Today I got a new supply of t-shirts but that was about it for the market. From there we went to Sew Masters and ordered wheel covers for the trailer then on to the RV store for some light bulbs – real exciting eh?

On to Yuma Palms Mall where we went into a couple of stores but found nothing too exciting. I needed some stamps so we stopped at the Post Office in the Hallmark store which we have found to be far less busy than any other postal outlet in Yuma. I needed some stamps and couldn’t believe it when the gal told me that they only had $0.69 stamps and I needed $0.72 so I would get the $0.03 stamps for free, the same for international stamps so I ended up getting $0.34 in free stamps – could you ever imagine this happening with Canada Post!!!!!

By the time we got home it was too cool to sit outside so I came in while John did some fiddling around outside. We are now through dinner and it will soon be bedtime – where or where does the day go!!!

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow although we have no great plans, will just see how the day unfolds.

Thursday - December 4, 2008

This morning it was pretty overcast and cool but it did get sunny by about 11 a.m. and we had temperatures in the mid 70’s – sure do like that.

I forgot to mention yesterday that John filled the truck at $2.169/gal for diesel – sure do like that price!

John again spent the day washing and cleaning the outside, the truck is now nice and clean, the trailer is clean and shiny and WE CAN SEE OUT THE WINDOWS! I got out the crystals and the Christmas decorations as well as sorting out my clothes so I can get the winter clothing put away for a few months.

I walked over to the office about noon to get some quarters for laundry and mail a couple of cards then walked by the laundry room and lo and behold it was pretty quiet so I came back and got the laundry loaded up and headed over. I got there just before it got busy again so was lucky to get it done so early as last year I usually went around 4:30 when it was quiet. It is $0.75/load to wash and $1.00 to dry – a good deal I think. I enjoyed sitting in the sun with my book while doing the laundry, such a tough life.

I took a few pictures on my walk today:

Main Lap Pool



Volleyball Court



Tennis Courts



Neighborhood Centre and Small Pool





Our Trailer



Two days here and I am totally frustrated with their internet as sometimes it works fine then other times it is as slow as molasses in January, so about 3 o’clock we headed over to Time Warner to sign up for their internet again this year. We were really surprised when we walked in and got waited on right away as usually there is a long line of people waiting to get served, so John is now in the process of trying to get it all set up again. It is a good deal at $29.95/month (no taxes) and works really well (or at least it did last year). On the way home we made a quick stop at Wal Mart for a couple of items I forgot to get yesterday.

It is time to think about starting dinner, so I had best get at it. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow although we have no great plans, will just see how the day unfolds.

Wednesday - December 3, 2008

Our first day in Yuma was a beauty, lots of sunshine and warm temperatures – sure do like that!! The high today reached about 78F (25C), as far as I am concerned that is about perfect.

This morning John headed out to get a haircut and pick up some supplies for washing the truck and trailer. While he was gone I got busy with the cleaning and was about ¾ done when he arrived home after about 3 hours. When I was finished I had my shower then went out and sat in the sun with my book for about an hour, then we headed out to get groceries.

It was about 6:30 p.m. by the time we got home so had to scurry around and make dinner.- we are now cleaned up from dinner and enjoying a bit of TV before heading for bed. I didn’t even get my camera out of its case today, so no pictures, hopefully tomorrow.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to tomorrow although we have no great plans – oh yes, hopefully we will get to Time Warner and sign up for Roadrunner Internet as the wi-fi here in the park is pretty slow and aggravating.

Tuesday - December 2, 2008

It was much easier to get up this morning with a temperature of about 50F (10C), sure beats yesterday mornings temperature! It was about 10 a.m. when we got on the road and we had a good drive to Yuma with most of it being on secondary highways. There were a couple of rough spots but on the whole it wasn’t too bad. It was partly overcast most of the day but we don’t mind that on a driving day.

We opted to take Nevada/California Hwy. 95 down to Interstate 40 then go across to Arizona 95 through Lake Havasu, rather than having to cross the Hoover Dam. To go across the dam would probably be slow, plus they would go through the trailer etc. – who needs that hassle! Last year we let “Alice” (our GPS) guide us and she sent us down US 95 in California from I-40 to Parker – never again as it was the worst road we have ever been on. Today she tried to send us that way again but we opted to drive a bit further and go through Lake Havasu where we knew the road was pretty good.

Lake Havasu



Along The Colorado River Between Lake Havasu & Parker









And for Dave - Emerald Canyon Golf Course





Boondockers Outside of Quartzsite



I took a few pictures on the way but mostly it was pretty boring. The drive from Quartzsite to Yuma always seems so long and boring – not much for scenery today with it being overcast.

We arrived at Del Pueblo and will be here until late March – by then we will be ready to move on!! The trailer is filthy both inside and out and the larder and fridge are empty so the next couple of days will be spent rectifying those problems, as well as catching up on laundry. I did a real quick vacuum when we got here but the heavy duty cleaning starts tomorrow.

I just had an e-mail a while ago from my sister and she was discharged from hospital about 6:45 p.m. so that was good news.

And so ends another great gift of a day, please join us again to see what life in Yuma is like.

Monday - December 1, 2008

Wow, December already, where does the time go! This morning I woke up and without even looking at the clock knew it was 6 a.m., which is 8 a.m. home time, and when my sister was scheduled for surgery on her wrist which she broke last Monday (she is on blood thinners so had to get that under control before they could do the surgery). I was awake for quite a while worrying about her (me, being the person who always told my mother that worrying doesn’t change anything and is a waste of time!!!) Where was someone to tell me not to waste my time worrying? I finally went back to sleep but had really weird dreams so slept fitfully. When it was time to get up, I didn’t want to – the temperature was 26F (-3C), who in their right mind wants to get up with it being that cold!! We finally did get up but were in no hurry to get hooked up and on our way, John waited till it was at 32F (0C) to start hooking up so it was about 10:30 when we got on the road.

I thought the drive would be boring today but it was far from that, it was a pretty drive across the mountain to I-15 then some pretty scenery along the interstate. We entered Arizona after Utah (for about 26 miles) and went through the Virgin River Canyon – stunning scenery.

Once into Nevada we stopped at the Visitor’s Centre in Mesquite and the fellow there told us there was a lot of construction through Las Vegas on the interstate so suggested an alternate route. The route was nice except for about 25 miles where there was some construction, and if there wasn’t construction there should have been as the road was terrible. The good thing was that there was very little traffic and lots of nice scenery.

Today's Scenery













And We Drove Along Lake Mead









The high today reached 69F (20C) which suited us just fine. Tonight we are at Canyon Trails RV Park in Boulder City, NV and at 9:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) it is still 56 F (13C) – we are really glad to back into warm temperatures! Boulder City is actually on Pacific Time but seeing that tomorrow we will back on Mountain Time we are just continuing on in that time zone. John was in 7th heaven tonight, he actually barbecued dinner in his t-shirt, sure has been a long time since he has been able to do that.

I waited until about 9:30 p.m. Ontario time to hear how my sister is and having had no e-mail from my niece I called her. She said her mom had come through the surgery okay and hopes to be home tomorrow, I sure feel relieved to hear that.

And so ends another great gift of a day - do come back again to see what tomorrow brings.

Sunday - November 30, 2008

Today was another beautiful sunny day here In Utah with the temperatures depending on where you were – today we were in lower altitudes, therefore, warmer temperatures.

We decided to check out Zion Canyon today and found another beautiful, scenic national park. The drive there was through pretty countryside but nothing outstanding, there was a lot of traffic, don’t know where they were going to or coming from!!

The east road into Zion presented more picturesque scenery than the main highway, and once into the park we had a pretty drive and an interesting tunnel to traverse. The tunnel is 1.1 miles long and was completed in 1930, there are no lights in the tunnel but there are a few large windows that provide air vents and there are many twists and turns. We were okay to go through with the truck but anything larger requires an escort and our trailer could not go through as the maximum length is 50’ for a combined vehicle. A larger vehicle must pay $15 for a permit for the tunnel (which is good for two trips) and they don’t actually get an escort, all other traffic is stopped from going through at the same time as the larger vehicles have to travel down the middle of the tunnel. Once we excited the tunnel we were into a long descent with lots of switch backs and tight curves – I certainly wouldn’t even want to THINK about taking our trailer through there.

Tunnel Entrance



Virgin River



It Looks Like Ice But Isn't



And Of Course There Are Always the Interesting Rock Formations











Once into the canyon we went to the Visitor’s Centre and found out that there were shuttle buses running, these buses go to the end of the canyon and you can get off and on at any of the stops (and are included in the admission fee); the buses weren’t running at Bryce as they are done until spring so were surprised to find them running at Zion. We decided to take the shuttle as this would give John a chance to enjoy the views. We took the shuttle right to the end then got off to walk the trail to Temple of Sinawava, okay I thought I could walk the trail but after about ¾ of a mile, with no end in sight, I called it quits and John continued on alone. When he returned he said the view was disappointing so I hadn’t missed a lot. My hips were both kind of sore and stiff today so I decided not to over do it, how I miss having all my own parts and being able to walk as walking was something I always loved to do. Hopefully I will build my strength back up in Yuma so I can do the walking again.

The weather in the canyon was lovely, in the sun it was in the high 60’sF but cooler in the shady areas, still very pleasant.

We got off at one other stop but again it was a walk to see the view and we wanted to get well out of the canyon and park before dark so we didn’t do any other stops. On the way back I was talking to the shuttle driver and she said this was the last day for the shuttles and this is only the second year they have run in November (but only on the weekends). She said they were so busy on Friday and Saturday (Thanksgiving holiday) that it was like in the summer, traffic congestion galore! Parking areas and viewing pullouts are quite small and they all seemed congested today so heaven only know what they would have been like on Friday and yesterday. We also saw quite a few deer and some wild turkeys but couldn’t get good pictures through the bus window. The park is open year round and the shuttles start again the first weekend in April.

It was about 6 when we got home, so a long day. I had some left over spagetti sauce in the freezer so used it for dinner – a nice dinner of comfort food!

I am having trouble keeping my eyes open so will end this now; and so ends another great gift of a day and do come back again to see what we have done.

Saturday - November 29, 2008

Last night didn’t go below freezing so it didn’t get as cold as forecast – gotta like that. Today was a nice sunny day, with highs in the high 40’s here in Panguitch, but it was much colder at Bryce Canyon (just a couple of degrees above freezing) with a brutally cold wind.

Our Spot At Hitch-N-Post Campground



What a beautiful drive again today, to get to Bryce Canyon we had to go through Red Canyon then had a beautiful view of Table Cliff Plateau – and the best was yet to come.

Red Canyon





Table Cliff Plateau



Our first stop was at Bryce Canyon Visitor’s Centre and was it busy – we have been used to the quiet Visitor’s Centres at Arches and Canyonlands so today was a real change, guess it is because it was the weekend as well as the Thanksgiving holiday. From the Visitor’s Centre we took the scenic drive along the top of the canyon but because of the snow the road was closed at Ponderosa Canyon (elevation 8904’) so we couldn’t go to the end. We drove out to Ponderosa Canyon then stopped at all the scenic views on the way back. There was lots of snow – what, didn’t we leave Ontario to avoid this!!! At one point we stopped at a pullover that wasn’t plowed and John got out to take some pictures and the snow was well over the tops of his shoes – thank goodness for gortex lined shoes!!!

I was really disappointed that there was no hiking today as it would have been neat to hike down around the Hoodoos, but all the trails were snow covered and I wasn’t about to tackle them and end up slipping and falling so we had to make do with the overlooks. With the cold temperatures (about 35F) and the wind it wasn’t really nice to spend a lot of time outside anyways, guess we are just wussies.

I hope you aren’t terribly bored with pictures of rock formations as there are a lot of them today. Bryce is know for its Hoodoos, which are rock formations that at one time were fins, which developed windows, that later collapsed to form Hoodoos – a very brief description of how they are formed.







Natural Bridge



Snow On Trees



One of Us Was Smart Enough to Bring a Touque



And More Hoodoos











And We Saw This Pretty Bird



It was another pretty drive through Red Canyon on the way back home. When we got back we stopped at the one and only grocery store in Panguitch, pretty sad and pricey, took a drive through town and then came home and warmed up after our day in frigid temperatures.

Red Canyon On The Return Trip







And so ends another great gift of a day and we are looking forward to tomorrow and exploring more of this part of Utah, do come back and see what our day was like.