27/05/2013 - 21/06/2013 Penticton to Montreal

27/05/2013 - 02/06/2013 Penticton.

Dad and Heather have arrived back in one piece from their little escapade across British Columbia and Alberta - more importantly so has the car.  Bobbie and Brant have organised to go out for a nice dinner at the Poplar Grove winery. A beautiful  winery with some spectacular views of the Okanagon lakes.

During the night we developed some heavy rain and gusty winds.  Unfortunately, Stubbie become all religious and developed a hole in the roof.  We managed to control the leak during the night and the next two days the Big Fella was removing the old chalking and replacing it with new material.  Dave believes / hopes that after a fair amount of sealant and some tape, that the roof should now be fixed (fingers crossed).

We did manage to get one game of golf in - which was my first in nearly two years - the driving was okay, but ohhh that chipping absolutely tragic.  The Big Fella picked up exactly where he left off - smarty pants.  It was great to be out on the golf course again - hopefully we will get a chance again soon.

So after a couple of weeks of catching up and spending some wonderful time with the Howard's and Navin's - we needed to move on.

So time to make the trek from Penticton to Niagara Falls, only a small drive of over 4000 km's, about the same distance from Brisbane to Perth.  I get cranky when I have to fly that far.  Let the trek begin.

06/06/2013 - Black Hills, South Dakota.  Our first sightseeing stop is the Black Hills in South Dakota.

Jewel Cave is the third longest cave in the world some 266 kilometres long.  Before you enter the cave they have a hollow cement block to show you how tight the cave is in some places.  You have to be able to squeeze through this if you want to explore certain parts of the cave - well the big fella put the challenge out, so of course as you can see I had to give it a go.  Okay it did take me two attempts, the first attempt my belt got caught on the edge.  Oh well at least I kept a few other visitors entertained for a while.  Dad is not particular fond of caves, and as we finished our 2 hour tour of the cave, his comment was - 'well I'm glad I have done it, but that is that last cave I will be doing' - not sure if he really enjoyed.

Next Stop -  Crazy Horse Monument, Crazy Horse monument is the world's largest mountain carving.  It was built to honour Crazy horse and to let white men know that red men have heroes too. It is not far from Mount Rushmore.  Even though the mountain carving looks similar in size to Mt Rushmore.  There is a substantial difference with Crazy Horse monument dwarfing the whole of Mt Rushmore.

Crazy Horse

Last Stop for the day is Mt Rushmore. Mount Rushmore is the mountain carving of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt.  Dave and I have visited this memorial before, so Dad and Heather went to have a closer look.

Mt Rushmore

07/06/2013 - Rapid City, South Dakota, Bear Country USA Park

One of my all time favourites stops - and one that I have been looking forward to seeing again.  The Park is a drive thru park featuring North American wildlife.  My favourites are the Bears and the Bear Cubs.  This year they only had 4 cubs, they have been practicing birth control in the park - every female is given an injection and some have had tubal ligation.  Last time we were here there was over 30 cubs...  Oh well it just makes these 4 more special to me. 

Dave felt my comment about a great bear rug - probably wasn't appropriate at the time...

07/06/2013 - 08/06/2013 Badlands National Park, South Dakota.  
Today we have had really pretty drive through the Badlands National Park - it has turned out to be a welcome surprise.  The scenery is really quite spectacular.  We are camping in the National Park and Dad has decided that rather than me cook again (not sure if it is my cooking) that he would take us out for dinner.  So off we go - well let's just say that whilst the scenery has been a welcome suprise the food and wine was definitely not.  I think for the first time in my life I couldn't eat my main meal - the Salmon tasted and felt like it had been cooking since Good Friday in a very hot oven, very dry, chewy and had absolutely no flavour - no matter how many condiments I could put on it.  And if that wasn't bad enough, Dad ordered a bottle of wine, which we thought was going to be a dry white and it was the sweetest wine, I have ever tasted, it was that bad that after my initial taste I just couldn't drink anymore - it smelt like a very sweet sherry.  Even Dad and Heather couldn't drink it - it was sent back to the kitchen to let the staff enjoy.  Mmm my cooking now doesn't look that bad.

Badlands National Park

09/06/2013 - Mitchell, South Dakota.  
We have decided to spend our next night at Mitchell, South Dakota, it is about the right distance of driving and they have the Corn Palace - mmm yep Dave and I were excited too.  Dave was so excited in fact he just couldn't bring himself to make the trek.  So off the turtles and I went in search of the Corn Palace - originally built to show that Mitchell had a healthy agricultural climate.  I must admit it wasn't as bad as I had expected (admittedly I didn't have any positive expectations).   Unfortunately that night we have a fairly large storm come through and Stubbie has sprung the same leak - all hands on deck.

10/06/2013 - Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  

We have decided to try and seek professional help.  So off to Sioux Falls the next large city.  We register into an RV Park and Dave has decided to have another look at the roof - he now wants to go and get some more sealant, so off to an RV Dealership.  Whilst we were in there we asked if they could fit us in, in the next couple of days for a look at the roof, to which they reply 9:00am tomorrow morning - now fingers crossed it doesn't rain tonight.

We have decided to take the advice from the Lonely Planet (yet again) and visit a very small eatery named Bob's.  The Lonely Planet did mention that there were 12 stools at the counter - we just thought that there would be more seating tables as well.  Well when we walked inside we soon found out we were wrong, everyone shuffled around so the four of us could sit together - the food was delicious.

11/06/2013 - The next morning we wake up and send Dad and Heather off in Shooter for the day, whilst the Big Fella and I head on over to the RV Service Centre.  We drop Stubbie off and head on over to Denny's for breakfast.  Well we were gone for just over an hour and when we return Stubbie is outside of the Service Bays.  We are not sure if this is a good sign or a bad sign.  Dave talks to the technician and he thinks he has found the problem and fixed it, he believes there was some creases in one of the tapes, so they have pulled that up and resealed that section.  The only problem is it takes about 4 hours to become waterproof and looking outside the weather is not looking good - so for peace of mind we ask if we can put Stubbie back into the undercover Service Bay until the four hours has passed, needless to say we did receive a few very very light showers.  Dave is really very sceptical that they have fixed the problem - but has decided to head on over to Niagara Falls, see what happens in bad weather and make the call from there.  He has decided that if the roof is not fixed he wants to take Stubbie to the RV Roof Man in Sacramento, California - only approx 4000 km's away.  

13/06/2013 - Warren Dunes State Park, Lake Michigan, Michigan
Well we have finally made it to one of the Great Lakes - Lake Michigan.  Whilst there are children in the water swimming - to us the ice has only just melted and it is way too cold, to even put our feet in the water.

15/06/2013 - Niagara Falls, Niagara, Ottawa.  
We have finally made it - it has been a long journey and whilst some of the scenery was just spectacular a lot of the drive across the plains, for Dave and I at least did become monotonous, both Dad and Heather did enjoy the journey.  As we got closer to the East Coast the roads have been very bumpy with a lot of construction and traffic.  I can see why they say they only have two seasons, Winter and Construction.


16/06/2013 - Niagara Falls, Niagara, Ottawa.  
Well the day has arrived (this has been what Heather has been waiting for - her highlight) and of course it is rainy and overcast, we decide to wait awhile and see what the weather is going to do.  So just before lunch we decide to bite the bullet and head on over to the Falls.   Wow....  Absolutely magnificent - Heather was like a child in a lolly shop and really couldn't stop smiling.  We book ourselves in to do the Maid of the Mist (the boat ride up to the falls) and the Journey behind the Falls (elevator ride down 150 feet and in behind the water fall).  The one thing that did surprise me was that the noise from the falls wasn't as loud as I had expected.





The sheer beauty of watching the falls was mesmerising.

Dave and I decided to have a wander around (whilst Dad and Heather went to have a wee drink and a sit down).  The town of Niagara was interesting, it really was a bit like Cavill Avenue, Surfers Paradise.  There was Ripley's,  Wax Museums, restaurants, games etc.  It did come as a bit of a shock.

 Town of Niagara..

We decided to stay until sunset (well after 9:30pm) and watch the lighting of the falls.

18/06/2013 - Toronto, Ottawa.  

We have decided to catch the train into Toronto and jump on the Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour.  We do do the Hop On Hop Off Touristy thing regularly, we find it a good way to get the feel of a city whilst pointing out the highlights.  

The City of Toronto is doing some major construction work on the roads - so I'm sure that if the roads were all good this tour would only take 45 minutes, but when the roads are all being worked on (and you can see why -winter must really knock the roads around) it takes about 2 hours to do the loop.  The main attractions for us to see are - Dad and Heather the Canadian Tower (know as CN) and for Dave and I - the Hockey Hall of Fame.  So after the full loop of the bus we head our separate ways and agree to meet up at the Hockey Hall of Fame.  Dave and I head off for a bite to eat and then onto the Hockey Hall of Fame.  For me I found the Hockey Hall of Fame a little disappointing - the highlight for me (which was a huge highlight) was to be able to see and touch the Stanley Cup.  The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded to the winner of the National HockeyLeague - other than the cup I really did loose interest quite quickly.  Whilst in the RV park I have had the pleasure of sitting back and watching the little chipmunks running around.  Also, we have had the chance to observe a ground hog.

Best of all we have had rain and no leak in Stubbie.

 A little bit of Silverware we picked up on the way.  "THE STANLEY CUP".

19/06/2013 - 22/06/2013 Toronto, Ottawa - Montreal, Quebec

Dad and Heather have decided to rent a car for just over a week and travel over to Boston and meet us back at Quebec, with a few days to catch-up and look around Quebec City until they make the long journey back home.  Dave and I have decided to take our time and drive up to Quebec via Montreal.  Well as soon as we crossed over from the province of Ottawa into Quebec, all signs are now only in French, prior to this you would find that most signs were in both languages.  Whilst we are driving along and nearing the City of Montreal, we notice the word 'Barree' written on a few of the road signs - Dave looks at me and asks what does that mean - well let me say that my one semester of French in grade 8 does not help me out.  Oh well we continue to drive on.  We are getting close to our turn-off when we notice that the word Barree is now appearing on our exit.  What to do? - so of course we continue on, only to find out that the exit we had planned on taking is closed - no problems we will take the next exit and try and work our way back.  All the while we have a navigation system that insists on taking us on a freeway that is closed.  Of course the next exit takes us into Downtown Montreal - remember we are in Stubbie and towing Shooter - luckily our next turn takes us back on the highway.  We have both realised it is time to get our French for Dummies book out and start reading.  When we get to the RV Park, I start to look up a few of the french words that I will need and also to look up the word Barree.  Yep Barree does mean Road Closed.  The RV Park we are staying in is about 1 1/2 hours out of Montreal.  We plan on staying here for about 5 days, the first two days have been spent catching up on things around Stubbie etc.  We have both really enjoyed these couple of days.

The RV park we are staying at is quite full because of the Canadian long weekend for the start of summer.  It is strange not to hear any english being spoken and our French is being tested to the limit...and beyond.

We have had a few showers with no leakage - so fingers crossed.....

15/04/2013 - 19/05/2013 - Brisbane to Penticton

15/04/2013 - Brisbane
Last day before we fly out to Los Angeles, Dave had a few errands to do and I had a few catch-ups organised.  Firstly I caught up with Sarah and Darrin to say goodbye.  One of my tasks for the day was to get a few copies of our passports certified, Sarah being a JP offered to help me out, so back to the old office to copy the passports etc.  Next I caught up with Ingrid to say goodbye, then onto the Big House for lunch and to say goodbye to Geraldine, Nat, Kate, Kelly and Tess.  Then over to Lou's and Matt's place where we caught up with Dad and Heather for afternoon tea.  After Dad and Heather left and before we were going out to dinner with Karleigh, Louise and Matt, Dave and I decided to organise some of our money, at which point I decided to check for the passports, and at this stage (it's about 6:30pm, the night before we fly out) I realise I had left my passport under the photo copy at my old work - Dave Not Happy Jan, luckily Sarah came to the rescue and met me at work with my passport - it did give me a chance to say goodbye to the Aitken family - a little added bonus, from my mistake.  

Oh well the rest of the night went to plan.....

16/04/2013 - Brisbane to Banning, Los Angeles
No problems at the airport checking in, we had a lovely cup of coffee and said our final farewells with Karls, Louise, Mum, Tony and Simmy.  So down through customs and immigration, there was a lot of people waiting to get through immigration so it took longer than normal - so we get into the departure area and Dave decides to go straight to the gate, whilst I thought I would have a little look around and do a bit of shopping.  Well before I know it I hear a final call for our flight and then an announcement asking me to come to the gate - Dave had set me up, yes we where on final call, but passengers were still boarding.  The plane flight over was uneventful.  The Big Fella and I had been saying how nice it would be to get on the plane, start our healthy eating and stop drinking for awhile.  Well before we had even moved away from the airport, the steward offered us champagne or orange juice, the Big Fella did well and went for the OJ, mmm me not so well went for the champas, time for dinner, Steward would you like a drink before dinner Dave - just water, Me - what the hell I'll have a Bailey's on ice.  The Big Fella tried so hard to be good but next time the steward came around Baileys all around....

We landed a little bit early at Los Angeles, which was a bit of a bonus as we were the first through to customs and immigration, we did need to fill in a form as we were carrying a bit more cash than a family is expected, we thought the limit was per person, okay I thought it was per person.  It was no drama though.

We have picked up the motorhome and car.  Dave is driving Stubbie and I am driving Shooter.  Well how soon we forget.  Dave is going to follow me. The first thing that I do is to look in the rear vision mirror, oops it is on my right, not my left.  Well I am travelling down the road a bit below the speed limit, whilst the Big Fella appears to be hardly moving - at least we only have about 1km to go.  Just a few reminders to one self - if driving hop in on the left side of the vehicle, drive on the other side of the road, handbrake is on the other side, you are driving an automatic and that's just as I've turned onto the first street.

Dave and I have both decided that we wont drive alone for a little while.

We arrive at the RV Park, park Stubbie at the site and start to set-up.  Mmm it certainly isn't like riding a bike, we really did have to stop and think for nearly every activity we did.  It even took me a while to turn the gas oven on and I have to keep reminding myself to flush the toilet you use your foot.  One of the tasks that Dave was worried about was making sure that he connected the water pump in a cupboard under our bed.  Well luckily (so we thought) he did remember to connect one side - but he had disconnected both sides.  So needless to say when we connected to the city water supply we had an excess of water.  Its a bit like turning a hose on when you are inside your house.  Pretty obvious that something wasn't conenected....

17/04/2013 - Banning, Los Angeles
Not sure exactly how long we will be in Banning - will be a wee bit longer than planned.  Why?  Well one of us who was responsible for making sure the registration and insurance was kept up to date, missed the registration on Stubbie (only just, it ran out in May last year).  Luckily we don't need to go and get a new registration, but we can't renew on line, we need to post away the documents for renewal, this will take between 6 - 10 days (working days of course) - Lucky we have cable tv and plenty to do and clean up.  We also need to wait for our rego sticker for Shooter.  

Some things haven't changed, it has been great to sit back and watch the squirrels and rabbits.  A little bonus was to hear and see a woodpecker, bringing back many memories.

22/04/2013 - Banning, Los Angeles
Woohoo the registration sticker for Shooter has arrived - off to the Outlet Shops for me...  I made a couple of purchases nothing big, but I did buy a jumper and Dave said to me great purchase in this weather (being a wee bit sarcastic). 

Still no news on Stubbie's registration.

23/04/2013 -    Banning, Los Angeles
We have been taking it easy and relaxing.  The Big Fella gives himself one job a day to do and when that is finished (doesn't matter if it takes hime 30mins or 3 hours) it's time for the movie channel.  It really has been great to spend this time just relaxing so in a way it was a bit of a bonus.  

We did need to get the tyres replaced on Shooter - a job that we knew would need to be done.  So off to Walmart, we book Shooter in and we are told it will be close to an hour, well after about 1hour 15 we receive a call to ask us to come back to the Service Desk, they advise us that they don't have the correct tyres in stock.  We let them know that is okay and that we will just take Shooter home.  Mmm, they need to put the old tyres back on, oh where did they put them???  So after another 45mins they have found our tyres and put them back on Shooter.  So we take Shooter into the GoodYear store in Banning.  Dave gets them to check the brakes as well (not expecting any problems) however we have sprung a leak in one of the rear wheel bearing seals.  We had these replaced two years ago!!!   After a steak and lobster lunch and a couple of bucks later we are on the road again.

The Registration for Stubbie was processed in Vermont on the 25th, and you wouldn't believe that I had left our postal address in Texas on the forms, not where we are now - oops.  I once again needed to phone the Department and they were so helpful it was unbelievable, they will post out new stickers etc. whilst I was on the phone he addressed an envelope to where we are now and printed out the stickers etc (all from a Government Department and done with such great customer service) now we just need to wait until the stickers arrive.  We think that it will be here on Tuesday - which means Las Vegas here we come...

Whilst we have been waiting, I've been getting out and doing a bit of exercise each morning. It really is great to be out there and watching the squirrels scurry around in front of you to get to their homes.  I really have been enjoying it, even though I have felt like the piped piper on one occasion, as I was passing a home about 7 small dogs ran out and started barking at me, but they didn't stop there, they kept yapping and following me for a couple of hundred meters, would of been quite funny if you were sitting there watching me.  There is also another home that has a couple of dogs, some chickens and some roosters, now not only do the dogs start barking, but the Rooster starts crowing - mmm still got it for the old Roosters.

Even the Big Fella has ventured out to the Outlet Stores - ohh and let's see what his purchase was considering he went to keep me company (great, love shopping with the Big Fella in tow) and to buy some shoes - 5 Jumpers/Jackets (great weather for it - NOT), and 4 shirts - no shoes in sight.  Lisa's purchase - Nil.

When we were driving back from the Outlet Stores we needed to stop at the Chemist / Pharmacy to pick up some cold sore ointment (stress of waiting for Stubbie's Rego) for me.  When we walked into the Pharmacy we remembered why we loved America, not only is it what we would call a Chemist, but you can also buy your alcohol, cigarettes, groceries, phones, ice cream cones etc.....  You gotta love that.

One of the Big Fella's job was to organise / diy job to have a new TV put in the front.  Well, I may have suggested (more than once) that it might be a good idea to take it to the experts at CampingWorld.  Dave took my suggestion on board (well that's what he told me) and decided that he would try and save us a bit of money.  I did ask how long the installation would take - Dave 2 Hours.  Okay not as bad as I thought,  and if it was going to save us some money and keep the Big Fella busy - go ahead I said.  Well at 10:00 am off to the nearest Walmart to find out that they didn't have the TV in stock - next closest store 30 minutes drive away - I must admit it was a nice drive.  Okay we've now got TV and tools etc in Shooter so back to Stubbie.  We get back around 4:00pm and the Big Fella sets to work, well at about 8:30pm the Big Fella is watching the TV, I can see that there are a few holes that need to be fixed up, but I think he has done a great job, until he tells me that he hasn't finished he still needs to do a fair bit of work tomorrow.

Well this morning after I came back from my exercise the Big Fella is already into the TV - it's about 9:00am.  It's now 4:00pm and the Big Fella has finally completed the installation of the TV - and though it has taken a wee bit longer than first anticipated - even I must admit he has done a great job - oh and saved us a bit of money.  Now we just need to see if it will stay up whilst we are driving.

2/05/2013 - Banning, Los Angeles
We have finally received our Registration Papers, but just our luck, the winds have picked up and the canyon roads that we need to cross to get to (of course) Las Vegas.  So looks like we will be staying another night in Banning.

03/05/2013 - 05/05/2013 - Banning, Los Angeles - Primm, Nevada
Yeah - today we finally get to go on the road, it took us a little bit longer to pack up and move on then when we finished our last trip.  Dave had to check everything that I had done and I needed to check everything that Dave had done.  

We were lucky enough that we could get through to Las Vegas with all of the fires around, it did slow us down a bit, but not too much.We arrived at Primm, Nevada (a three Casino town with Factory Outlet Stores) about a half hour outside of Las Vegas.  When we arrived at Buffalo's Bill we drove around to the

back of the Casino to park and set-up for the night in the parking lot.  There are normally only  couple of RV's and Trucks in the parking lot, but not today the car park is nearly full.  There are motor bikes and RV's everywhere.  This weekend they have a motocross competition behind the Car Park - The Big 6 Grand Prix Off Road Series.  That explains all the off road motorbikes, quad bikes etc and the dust.   The rider in the photo was one of our neighbours in the car park.  He works in Hollywood as a 'Special Effects' producer for the movies.  He worked on the special effects for the movie "Titanic".  (Very interesting person to have a beer with.)

05/05/2013 - 19/05/2013 - Primm, Las Vegas, Big Sur, San Francisco, Seattle

After picking up Dad and Heather I have been a wee bit busy and a wee bit slack at getting to the blog.  So here goes..  When in Vegas you have to go to "Old Las Vegas"

It was great to see Dad and Heather arrive in Las Vegas, looking a bit weary but other than that they had survived the flight and the transfer in Los Angeles (this is their first overseas trip - so they were a little nervous).  So after they met Stubbie and settled in we took them to the old Vegas.  

 










We showed them around Vegas for a couple of days.  Dad and Heather also took the flight from Vegas out to the Grand Canyon,  we then started to make our journey up to Penticton, Canada.  

On our way to San Francisco, we drove via the Big Sur and stopped at Hearst Castle the Seals and stayed in a few State Parks where we had some lovely camp fires.  


On one of the nights in the State Parks we somehow managed to break the lock on the door - which meant we couldn't open the door to Stubbie - yes we only have one way in and out, via a door.  Heather and I are locked in and Dad and Dave are locked outside.  Well after a while of me trying to take orders from the Big Fella on the inside to see if I could somehow manage to unlock it, out comes the step ladder, next minute the Big Fella (this is where being the Big Fella isn't a good thing) is climbing through the bedroom window.  He wrestles with the locks inside for about an hour and then decides that we need to get Stubbie to a workshop, this door is not going to budge.  So our first plan was to have Dad and Heather drive Shooter behind us whilst, Dave and I drove Stubbie.  This meant getting Heather outside, via the bedroom window and step ladder.  

So off we drove and only after about 15 mins we pull over to see the seals.  Dave and I stayed inside whilst Dad and Heather went for a walk.  We then decided that it would be silly to drive two cars, so we decided to hook Shooter up to Stubbie.  Yep we are still climbing in and out via the bedrooms window and the step ladder.  Dad is 70 and has a little bit of a beer belly and is afraid of heights ....  The sight to all the other tourists must of looked well,,, lets say interesting. We all manage to get inside safely and off we head to a Camping World Workshop, we are lucky enough to pull into one that has two wonderful mechanics on and who get the door to open in about 15 minutes - and all this for no charge. So onto San Francisco, the door can open and shut now and we can lock it, but you can not open it from the outside unless you have a key so we need to either get a replacement mechanism for the lock or a whole new door lock.  Well we haven't been able to find a store that stocks either one of these in San Francisco or on our planned route to Canada, so we order one on line and decide to get it sent to Seattle.

We have gone into San Francisco and put Dad and Heather on a trip to Alcatraz, whilst the Big Fella and I wandered around the Piers - we really do enjoy San Francisco.  The next day we put Dad and Heather on the ferry and send them on their way to do the Hop On, Hop Off Tour, so they can get more of a feel for San Francisco.  On one of these days Dad decides to take Shooter for a wash - the Car Wash is about 100 meters down the road.  Well Dad successfully gets the car washed and thought that he would do the right thing and fill her up with Petrol.  But on his way out of the car wash he finds himself turning on the wrong side of the road and ends up on the Freeway.  To cut a really long story short Dad turns up over 2 1/2 hours later, and yes he was a bit frazzled.

After San Francisco, we start our next leg to Seattle, via the RedWoods (the world's tallest trees), and one on the items on Dad's bucket list.  

We have arrived in Seattle and our order for the door lock and the glass crisper shelf have arrived (oh that's right in amongst all this fun, Heather opens the door to the refrigerator and accidently breaks the glass shelf).  So Dad and Dave get to work.

We have a nice day in Seatlle, showing Dad and Heather the sights, i.e. Pioneer Square (the old district), the Pier, Pike Market and off course the Needle.  Dad decides that he is going to brave the Needle (even with his fear of heights), so whilst they do that Dave and I wander around.  When we go back to meet them Dad is white as a ghost, he says that he really enjoyed it, but I don't think that he has recovered, and when we got back to Stubbie, the first thing he does is to reach for a Scotch....  

The scenery along our way is just breathtaking and I know that Dad and Heather have really enjoyed themselves so far.  

Now on to Penticton.

20/05/2013 - 23/05/2013 - Seattle to Penticton.
20/05/2013 - We have decided to make the trip in one day so have decided to get the Turtles up early.  After about a 7 hour drive and making our way through Customs on the border we arrive into Penticton.  On our way to the RV Park we drive past the Howard Hacienda, nothing has really changed it is all so familiar.  We spot a couple of deer and see the quail scooting everywhere.  At this stage we don't have any cell phones working in Canada, but we do manage to contact our friend Peter via email / Skype and have decided to meet up at the Howards after to dinner to catch up with everyone. I must admit we were in the middle of cooking a roast, but when plans changed it was toasted sandwiches all round.

 It is just great to see Bobbie and Brant and Peter and Lisa and to finally meet Jett (he is so gorgeous), and a wonderful surprise was that Mike and Karyn and their two beautiful children Hayden and Presley are both visiting from the Island as well - it was just so wonderful to see them all and to catch-up, they are just an absolutely fantastic family.


21/05/2013 - We have a few chores to do today so needed to do a bit of running around Penticton, nothing has really changed and the Big Fella remembers where everything is still.  We now have cell phones - yeah.  Tonight we have all been invited over to the Howards for Cedar Wood Planked Salmon - yummy, as if Bobbie doesn't have enough going on... It was another great night and the food was just delicious, Karyn had made a scrumptious Coca-Cola Cake, of which the Big Fella had two helpings.

22/05/2013 - Today we have organised for Dad and Heather to hire a car and travel up to the Rockies.  Dad is a bit nervous about driving, but Dave and I have assured them that they will be fine.  So after two and a bit weeks, we have Stubbie to ourselves for a little while, Dave is finally smiling.  Tonight we went to the Barley Mill for dinner with Bobbie and Brant and their friends, this is a weekly event which we have been invited to before.

23/05/2013 - 26/05/2013 - We have spent the last few days catching up with Bobbie, Brant, Peter, Lisa and Jett.  Bobbie and Brant have been their usual fantastic hosts.  We have moved Stubbie into Peter and Lisa's driveway.  It really is wonderful to catch-up with everyone.

19/05/2011 - Flagstaff, Page (The Wave), Monument Valley

19/05/2011 - Flagstaff, Arizona.  We spent a couple of very cold days in Flagstaff.  By the time we arrived in Flagstaff - it was snowing.  We had snow for the two nights that we were there and that was enough for us.

20/05/2011 - Page, Arizona.  It was nice to leave the snow behind us we, climbed down from 7300 feet to about 4000 feet.  We will be basing ourselves in Page for a week, we hope to obtain a Permit to hike into The Wave.

21/05/2011 - Page, Arizona / Utah.  We were up early this morning and driving to the Paria Ranger Contact Station.  This is where you need to go to try and obtain the permit to do the hike to The Wave.  We arrived to find that there were only 35 people here (it can range anywhere from 30 - 100) so our chances looked fairly good.  They complete the ballot by allocating a number to each application, then your numbered ball goes into a wire cage (very similar to playing old bingo) and if you are one of the lucky numbers called out you will receive a pass - our luck wasn't with us today.

Oh well, we have asked the Ranger what hike they would recommend - Wire Pass into Buckskin Gulch was the recommended hike - so off we went.  After about a 15 minute drive we take the turn off to the dirt (very corrugated) road - this road goes for about 14 kilometres. 

We finally arrive at the trail head and begin our trek.  This trek takes us into the slot canyon Buckskin Gulch - the world's longest slot canyon.  A slot canyon is a narrow canyon, formed by the wear of water rushing through rock. A slot canyon is significantly deeper than it is wide. (In this case the Canyon ranged from 10-20m deep and .05-2m wide.  In many places you had to take your pack off and pass through sideways.  Wow this was truly a spectacular sight.  The Big Fella who does get a bit of claustrophobia walked quickly through a couple of very narrow areas.  If you want to hike  the whole slot Canyon it takes two full days and there is only one place that you can climb out along the way.  You also have to be very aware of the weather as it can rain 100km away and flood this canyon within hours.  We hiked about 7km in and then the water crossings were getting too deep so it was time to back track.

22/05/2011 - Again we are up nice and early and on our way to the Paria Ranger Station for another chance in obtaining a permit for the hike to the Wave.  Today there was about 70 people for 10 slots - yet again we had no luck.  After the ballot drawing we headed for another trail - Toadstools Trail.  Toadstools are balanced rock formations assuming the shape of a toadstool or mushroom. Differential erosion with the bottom stem portion eroding at a much faster rate than the top cap is essential for the formation of toadstools.  Another beautiful trail.  I made the mistake of letting the Big Fella go shopping at Walmart by himself - and today he came back with a compass - he has decided the compass will come he handy for hikes.

23/05/2011 - Again, no luck in the ballot, today there were 94 people for the ten permits.  Today we have decided to hike the Wahweap Hoodoo Trail.  We arrive at the trail head and it does take a little while to get going as Dave needs to check the map and the compass - I now know that it is going to be a long day.  We walk another 100 metres down the trail and we need to stop and check the compass against the map - just to make sure.  We make it another 500 metres and after checking with the compass Dave decides that we can take a shortcut across the banks of the stream rather than following the creek bed - well this continues all the way to the Hoodoos.  The trail to the Hoodoos is suppose to be 6km - but thanks to the shortcuts that Dave has found it takes us 8km - great work Big Fella.  On the way back I take the lead and we take the trail down through the dry stream bed - yep 6km's and we are back at the car park - can't wait to use that compass again. Today we had a blow out of Dave's hiking boots - the sole on his right boot has nearly come completely off, we can't complain about our boots though we have had them for over 10 years.

24/05/2011 - Still no luck with the ballot, today there were 90 people.  After 3 days of hiking we have decided to drive Shooter around and have a look at Lake Powell.  Lake Powell is the 2nd largest man-made lake in the States.  It is 186 miles long and has 1,960 miles of shoreline.  The water is sparkling and clear.

25/05/2011 - Yet again, no luck with the ballot - but hey we are certainly persistent.  Today we went for a short hike to Horseshoe Bend - another stunning view.  We then went for a game of golf at the National Lake Powell Golf Course in Page.  The Big Fella is really on a hot streak - smashed me, but I pulled the chain on the last hole (double or nothing) and thank goodness I won this one.  I did say to The Big Fella that he is playing some unbelievable golf - to which he replied, yes - I was only one over the front nine...

26/05/2011 - Still no luck with the ballot.  This morning we went and booked in for the Antelope Canyon Tour.  Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American South West.  It is located on Navajo land.  You can not enter by yourself you need to take a guided tour, run by an American Native.  Our tour was run by JC and was absolutely unbelievably stunning - so very glad that we decided to take this tour.  The Big Fella even took his camera with him, we haven't been taking the Cannon with us on our hikes - too big and heavy.

27/05/2011 – We have decided to move closer to the Ranger Station (where the ballots take place), we’ve done all the hikes around the Page area that we wanted to do, and so instead of driving 45 minutes each way to try and get a permit, we’ve moved to a campsite right next to the Ranger Station.  Still no luck with the draw, today, it is starting to get really frustrating, especially when people come in and get it on their first try – try No 8 tomorrow.

We arrived at the campground (which is also a working ranch) and were talking to the host, this campground caters mainly for the Intrepid camping tours, so we’ve been warned that they will probably be partying until early hours of the morning.  He also told us that they used to have a lot of country’s flags hanging up in the barn, but due to a few Aussies having a few drinks and burning the British flag, they are now scattered around the campground.  Dave and I figured that they must not have had a New Zealand Flag.  We went for a 3 hour horse ride around the area - we had a great time, even though after about two hours our knees and buttocks were starting to ache, time to get off and have a stretch.

28/05/2011 – Yet again, no luck with the ballot system – it’s starting to feel like ground hog day.

29/05/2011 – Still no luck, we have decided that we can no longer handle rejection and tomorrow will be our last try.  We went for a small hike around the area we are staying at – mainly so Dave could practice using his camera – he wasn’t happy that my little camera had taken some better shots in the Antelope Canyon – he said that he had brought the wrong lens....

30/05/2011 – Well today we have no. 9 in the ballot (attempt no 10 and our last(, when we get to the desk the staff said that they are feeling really sorry for us.  As our luck would have it - 5 numbers have been called out amounting to 9 people so there is only one spot left – so you guessed it our number was called out, so of course The Big Fella put his hand up first and said that he would be happy to leave his wife at home and go on the hike to get some great photos – which of course he will show me when he gets back.  So we get back to Stubbie and The Big Fella is all pumped for his big hike tomorrow, and I ask him if he wanted to go for a hike around the area we are staying at – to which he replies 'thanks, but no thanks', I need to save myself for tomorrow.

31/05/2011 - Today the Big Fella is getting ready for his hike into the Wave.  And boy is he rubbing it in, first off he asks what I'm going to pack him for lunch, then I say to him that I probably wont go to the entry point for the hike (there is also another trail - that you don't need to get a permit for), and he says that is a good idea, because it would be less hassle, he said it would be better for me to stay with Stubbie and do the cleaning and the washing - oh boy he is going to pay for these comments....

I went for a 10k hike along the dirt road, at the back of the campground.  It really is amazing what your imagination can do.  I was hiking on the dirt road by myself (did I mention that the Big Fella was at the Wave), for about an hour, when I thought I saw a snake up a little further, so as I edged (very slowly) closer, I realised it was just a stick, this didn't happen once but several times.  I was hiking for about 2 hours and in all that time, I only saw one other couple.

The Big Fella has arrived back to Stubbie (and no I didn't move camp while he was gone - lucky) he is barely able to climb the steps to get into Stubbie, he said the hike was really strenuous, oh but well worth it. So after he has crawled into the shower and is refreshed, it is now time to sit down and have a look at his photos (well over 200), I did say to him when he gets it down to 50 (I thought I was being generous) I would sit down with him and go through them.

He has captured some great photos and by the sounds of it he had a wonderful time. He did mention that he was glad that he had bought the compass (there are no trails to the wave - they don't wont people to find it), he had to help a few people out (God help them). He did mention that the hardest part to find, was getting back to Shooter.

01/06/2011 - Page - Monument Valley.  Today we head on over to Monument Valley, where we plan to spend a few nights before driving back to .....Vegas.  We had some great news that Bobbie and Brant will be joining us in Vegas for 4 nights - really looking forward to seeing them both one more time before we head on home.  When we arrived at Monument Valley, Utah there was some enormous winds happening, the place looked red, with all the red dirt and sand flying around.  So this afternoon is planned inside Stubbie, we now have a decent Internet connection, phone service and Cable TV.

02/06/2011 - Monument Valley, Utah / Arizona.  Today we took a drive through the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.  Now part of the Colorado Plateau, Monument Valley was once a simple flat basin. Over millions of years, layers of sediment piled onto the basin, which was eventually uplifted by pressure from below. Then, wind and water slowly eroded the plateau, leaving Cutler Red siltstone and its sand behind, forming the wonders of Monument Valley.  Monument Valley has appeared in  many television programs, commercials, and movies, especially westerns.  Some of the movies are:  Stagecoach (1939) starring John Wayne, 2001:  A Space Odyssey, National Lampoon's Vacation - where the Griswold's car falls apart, Forest Gump - where he finishes his cross country run and the list keeps going.  Unfortunately it was still windy, but thank goodness we were in Shooter.

24/04/2011 - 19/05/2011 - Parker - Flagstaff. Arizona

24/04/2011 - 06/05/2011 - Parker Dam, Arizona / California.  Well after a month of enjoying the sunshine, seclusion and taking it easy, we decided it was time to move on.  Before we left Jim and Melanie and their dog Spike took us for a boat ride on the Colorado River, Parker Dam.  We had a lovely day, it was unusual in the fact that everyone drives their boats up to the Dam Wall, then they turn off their motors and float down the river. 

We also managed to get in two games of golf at the Parker Golf Course.  On our second outing Jim came and enjoyed the course with us.

06/05/2011 - 08/05/2011 - Phoenix, Arizona.  We spent two nights in Phoenix just to have a look around the city.

08/05/2011 - 10/05/2011 - Tombstone, Arizona. The most famous event in Tombstone's history was the famed Gunfight at the OK Corral, which didn't actually happen at the corral, but in a vacant lot on Fremont Street. On October 26, 1881, members of the "Cowboys" had a run-in with Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp with help from Wyatt's friend Doc Holliday. 24 seconds and 30 shots later, Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury were mortally wounded. In many peoples opinion, it was this one event that has kept Tombstone alive for all these years. 

Tonight we went to do the ghost tour at the Bird Cage Theatre - not sure if the Big Fella was really keen or not but he came along anyway. The Bird Cage Theatre was a saloon, theater, gambling hall and brothel. Legend has it that no self-respecting woman in town would even walk on the same side of the street as the Bird Cage Theatre. It opened its doors on Christmas Day 1881 and ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year until closing its doors in 1889. In 1882, The New York Times reported, "the Bird Cage Theatre is the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast." Evidence of this can still be seen in the 140 bullet holes that have been found in the walls and ceiling. The Bird Cage was named for the cage style crib compartments suspended from the ceiling. It was in these "Bird Cages" that the "ladies of the evening" entertained their customers. The story goes that they were the inspiration for the song, "She's only a bird in a gilded cage", which was quite popular during the early 1900's.  Well we didn't see any ghosts, but in our photos were white circles - supposedly orbs.  Apparently orbs have been broadly interpreted as a highly variable range of paranormal phenomenon without verifiable causation — including invisible spirits, auras, angels, ghosts, energy fields, psycho-energetic artifacts, energy balls, etc

09/05/2011 - Today we went for a walk around Tombstone.  We did stop and go into the OK Corral and watch the reenactment of the gunfight. 

10/05/2011 - 11/05/2011 - Casa Grande, Arizona.  Today we drove from Tombstone to Casa Grande - an overnight stay to fill up the fridge, oh there was also some outlet shops that we did visit.  Just another stop in the desert.

11/05/2011 - 13/05/2011 - Camp Verde, Arizona.  We have decided to stay for two nights at Camp Verde to go and see Montezuma's Castle and Well and also to get ourselves set-up for 5 nights camping in the National Forrest - which doesn't have electricity, water or a dump station. 

12/05/2011 - Montezuma's Castle and Well.  Montezuma Castle is near the top of a Verde Valley cliff and is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. It was built by the Sinaquas about 700 years ago.  The name Montezuma Castle was a mistaken name. Early settlers who discovered the cliff dwelling ruins erroneously connected them to the Aztec emperor Montezuma, but in-fact the Sinaqua ruins had been abandoned a hundred years before Montezuma was even born. And the dwellings weren’t a castle at all, but a multi-family “prehistoric high rise apartment complex”.

Montezuma Well is a natural limestone sinkhole through which some 1,400,000 gallons of water flow each day through two underground springs. It is located 11 miles (18 km) northeast of the castle. The well measures in at 368 feet across and 55 feet deep. The water is highly carbonated and contains high levels of arsenic - I'm surprised the Big Fella didn't throw me in.

13/05/2011 - 18/05/2011 Sedona, Arizona (Coconino National Forest).  Today we drove into Sedona - OMG what a spectacular drive.  The Coconino National Forest is one of the most diverse National Forests in the country with landscapes ranging from the famous Red Rocks of Sedona to Ponderosa Pine Forests, alpine tundra to Oak Creek with Rainbow Trout.  We first notice as we are driving into the campground that there is a hummingbird feeder with about 4 hummingbirds having a feed.

After we got set up, the campground sites for RV's is tight, we went for a drive and walk to see the Sliding Rocks.  (Which is basically a slippery waterfall that you can slide down.  We chose not to as the water is the melted snow coming down the mountain so it is a bit chilly.)

Later on in the afternoon,

14/05/2011 - Today we have decided to go on a hike on the West Forks Trail.   West Fork Trail is touted to be one of the best trails in Arizona and one of the top 10 trails in the United States. The trail is approximately 13.5 km round trip and is rated easy. Although, there are a few areas where short uphill stepping stones are used. There are also numerous stream crossings which are done with stepping stones and logs. At the end of the trail a pool of water surrounded by cliffs is encountered. Just awesome hiking.  Tonight we sit around the camp fire and have a couple of drinks with our two hitch hiker friends - Lea and Alberto.  Lea is from France and Alberto is from Italy.  So Dave being so good with names has nicknamed them Frenchie and the Italian Stallion (he eventually called Alberto the Pony).

15/05/2011 - Today we all head off to do the Cathedral Rock Trail. This is a short 2 km hike but rated as a strenuous hike as it quickly rises 608 feet in elevation. The midsection of the trail has a near vertical segment which requires climbing.   On the top, there is a narrow plateau with steep slopes on each side. The width is about that of a wide sidewalk and several stones are perfect for sitting.  Once we got to the top we sat down for a while and enjoyed the view, probably not a great hike if you are afraid of the heights. Another spectacular hike. 

Well we have finished this by about 10:30am - yes I got the Big Fella out of bed early.  So we decided to go do the Devils' Bridge Hike.  Devil's Bridge is the largest natural sandstone arch in the Sedona area. From a trail head elevation of 4,600 feet, there's a mere 400 foot climb in altitude during this moderately difficult 4km round trip; the journey to reach the top doesn't leave you breathless -- but we would never say the same about the views you witness when you finally get there.  To get to the trail head is about a 3km car ride along a dirt track - recommended for 4wd vehicles only.  Of course not everyone takes notice of the sign and we did see a couple of sedans make the drive.(Must have been company cars...)  When we were leaving there was this large Jeep (fairly new) and the driver was asking if it would be okay for them to take their 4WD on the dirt track, a sedan had just left in front of us - I have no idea why people who buy a 4WD wouldn't drive off road.  Shooter managed to get us there just fine.  I had to remind the Big Fella that we needed to keep at least three wheels on the ground at any point as we climbed over a few large boulders.

16/05/2011 - After two strenuous hikes yesterday - the Big Fella has a sore right Achilles, so we have decided to have a rest day.

17/05/2011 - Well we woke up this morning and I checked on the Big Fella to see how his right Achilles was, well - he lets me know that his right Achilles is okay but now is left one is sore.  So that counts out the 20km strenuous hike we were going to take.  We decided to do the Courthouse Butte Loop a 6.5 km easy hike.  This is a hike which goes around the Courthouse Butte and the Bell Rock formations.  This was a beautiful hike but for me not as spectacular as the other 3 hikes.  Yet again we had finished this hike by around 10:30 am - so we decided that a nice game of golf was in order.  The Big Fella is playing some unbelievable golf (it really is annoying me) he has been going around most of the golf courses (sight unseen) only about 5-6 over par.  I must admit it is taking us a lot longer as we need to get the range finder machine out every time he has a shot - I'm just surprised he hasn't used it for putting, YET.

18/05/2010 - Well it is time to leave the stunning Sedona area.  Our black (sewage tank) is nearly full and we have just about run out of fresh water - we have decided that we can only stay out 5 nights without having to dump our tanks or fill up our fresh water.  (We use 10 gallons of water per day.)  We have really enjoyed our time here and would recommend it to anyone who likes to hike etc.  We have been blessed with great weather the days go up to about 26 degrees and the nights down to about 10 degrees.  A couple of the evenings were windy so we were not allowed to have camp fires.

18/05/2011 - Flagstaff, Arizona.  We have only about a 35 minute drive to our RV park in Flagstaff - but the weather is really deteriorating.  (Flagstaff is about the same elevation as Mt Kosciusko's.)  By the time we get to our RV Park it is snowing - it's Spring.  So much for the warmer weather.  We no longer need the air conditioning during the day - we had 3 heaters and one electric blanket going last night as it was extremely cold.  The weather station said it got to -2 however with the wind chill factor it was about -7. 
 
Whilst we have a few places yet to go we are really looking forward to hiking into the Wave.  Considered to be one of the most beautiful places in the world to hike to.  It is not a place marked on any of the maps, it has no marked trail, and the Rangers only allow 20 hikers a day. (It is a ballot system.)  You can view it on Google Earth. "The Wave Arizona."