Spending money

Aug. 31.  More seminars, getting more tired.  Don bought a tire monitoring device.  WE had a note on the MH that our car hitch needed repair, so after $150 it is repaired. 

Escapade day 2

It was back to the Escapade today Aug. 30.  We went together to one seminar and our separate way for two others.  We came home early as we were pooped.  No evening entertainment tonight, I’m not sure we would go anyway.  The MH washer went on the fritz but my live-in master mechanic fixed it again.

Escapade begins

Aug. 29.  The Escapade began today.  We went our separate way to seminars, we each went to four.  Then it was home for dinner and back in the evening for entertainment which was a singer/guitar player.  He was Ok but we were tired so left early.  Still no success in getting a prize, some of them are very nice.    We had e-mails from Char and Laurie, Duane’s condition hasn’t changed much.

Lulu Belles

Registered today Aug. 28 and looked at the vender booths.  Went to breakfast at Lulu Belles where we had gone once before when in Gillette, a very local place.  They set a ½ pt. half and half on the table for coffee cream, but they have plenty of good food.  In the afternoon was the opening ceremonies and in the evening a singer/comedian who was good.  They give away prizes every evening; we know we don’t have to worry about getting any.  We tried to contact Char and Laurie with no success

Parking at the Escapade

Aug. 26, made to the Escapade- Escapees Rally in Gillette.  Parking was very efficient and just took a few minutes although we were behind 6 or so RV’s.  One of the first people we saw was Bea from Sumter Oaks who we got to know last winter; she was helping with directing people.  We got the MH sat up and went for lunch at McDonalds then to Wal Mart for some supplies.  The town is a zoo, traffic everywhere!  There was a storm in the evening, cooled things off.  Talked to Laurie who has flown to Sioux Falls, Duane seems to be holding his own right now but not eating.

Waiting in Buffalo, WY

Still in Buffalo on Aug. 25.   We mostly stayed home, ate dinner at home and caught up on some things.

Buffalo, WY

Now we are in Buffalo, WY for two nights – Aug. 24.  We have a nice site with wild turkeys around and deer in the park.  It was a good drive, 1/3 of it on a two lane cut across which saved us a lot of miles.  There were a lot of trucks on the road as well.  Duane was moved to hospice, we don’t know how long he has to live.

Rock Springs, WY

Made it to Rock Springs, WY today Aug. 23.  We had to travel by Provo and Salt Lake City and beside the traffic there was almost constant road construction.  Was a bit nerve racking at times, it was good to get away from all that and into WY.  It is hot out; we have a nice view of oil tanks from our RV site – just for one night.   We got an e-mail from Char saying Duane was not doing well and in the hospital.

Capitol Reef National Park

Aug. 22.  We went to Capitol Reef National Park today.  It was named from the pioneers who called a land mass a Reef when it was an area hard to get across.  There is a dome that looks like a capitol dome.  It is another interesting Utah area, beautiful.  We got home in time to make some appointments and reservations and catch up on the computer.  Pizza tonight.

My Birthday

My birthday, Aug. 21.  We went out for a good breakfast then home to read the SLC paper.  We decided this would be a day off from traveling.  I opened the box Sheila had sent from both families.  I got a number of things with a cute sound card.  They all went together and got me a Verizon gift card for an IPhone.  I’m looking forward to getting that when we get to Rapid or MN.   We went out for dinner and watched the show Lincoln Lawyer which was good.  Don had gotten me carrot cake.  I am overwhelmed at all the Facebook birthday wishes I got.

Richfield, UT

Moving day again, Aug. 20, to Richfield, Utah.  We got here about 11 AM after a good start this morning.  This is our first KOA campground of the trip and in the last two years.  We had a thunderstorm in the afternoon, the first of our trip and the first real rain since Washington.  Ate at KFC, not a lot of eating places here.  We found a Red Box and rented the show Rango which was cute.

Canyon touring

It was back into the car today, Aug. 19, to go to Bryce Canyon National Park, Red Canyon and Konob Canyon.  It was one of those hills and curves days.  We stopped outside Bryce for lunch at Ruby’s, we’re not sure if the hamburger was meat but the French fires were good.  We saw a lot of beautiful scenery.

Zion National Park

Aug. 18.  We went to Zion National Park today.   They have a shuttle that takes people on the loop, we got there early enough to get right on a shuttle – we got off once at the end of the loop.  It is a beautiful park, probably hard for the people in Utah to admit it was first explored by a Methodist minister!  We then got in the car and traveled through the mile long tunnel built in 1930.  We couldn’t find a picnic table for our lunch but did find a shady pull over.

Hurricane, UT

We moved to Hurricane, Utah today, Aug. 17.  It was a short move, got here about noon even with the time change back to Mountain Time.  We’re in a nice park with TREES and GRASS, it is still hot out but not as hot and the trees help keep the MH cool.  The move went well, even the moving around a gas station.  We were on the highway blinking to turn right into the park when some idiot in a SUV decided he had to get around us on the right – we nearly turned into him.  HE honked at us!  We went back into St. George for dinner and ended up at an IHOP.  We asked for a senior discount and they gave us HALF off.

Hoover Damn

Aug. 16, we cleaned the house then went to Hoover Damn mostly to see the new bridge.  It is stunning from underneath but on the drive over it we couldn’t see a thing because of the high sides.  This is our last night in LV, it has been too hot (100’s) for the week and too hot to really enjoy everything.  We are ready to move.

Red Rock Canyon

We went for a $3.99 breakfast at TGI Fridays in Sam’s Town, Aug.15, it was good and the waiter gave us a large coffee to go.  We then went out to Red Rock Canyon National Park.  It is interesting with the red rocks and also the formations that are half red and half white.  Was good to get there before it got too hot.  It hardly got below 90 degrees last night, 93 at 3AM!  Don brought in a Subway for dinner.

New Battery for Car

Sunday Aug. 14.  We went for breakfast at Denny’s.  They had excellent coffee!  In the afternoon we went to a Sam’s Club which had an automotive department and got a new battery for the car.  Don installed it in the parking lot and took the old one back in for recycling.  We had planned on leftover prime rib for dinner but it was too hot in the MH to eat – we went to the always good Sweet Tomatoes.

Kohl's fix

Aug. 13.  Shopping today, we went to Kohl’s – I badly needed a  Kohl’s fix.  Then we went to Sam’s Club and Wal Mart.  It was raining on and off, a cloudy day and thus cooler.  We went to the new casino by our camp ground for dinner  Eastside Cannery – we ordered Prime Rib dinner for $11.25, we got a side of beef – a huge hunk of meat we each could eat only 1/3 and took the rest home. 

East Side Cannery

Mail Call

Hair cut day and badly needed on Aug. 12.  We also went to Camping World, buying nothing and then to the post office to pick up our mail and we had a box.  Part of it was Don’s medication and the cord I ordered to continue to fix the blinds when they break (yes, it is getting old).  There were all the credit card and bank statements, junk and one fun piece of mail – the invitation to Judy and Guys wedding which is just 3 weeks away!  We have a lot of ground to cover in 3 weeks.  After we ate dinner at Sam’s Town’s TGI Fridays (lobster and steak special) we drove up and down The Strip.  There seemed to be a lot of people walking around.  Several big new buildings are being built.

Faits

This evening Aug. 11 we saw Laurie, Dick and Ryan.  Dick had a meeting so we went to dinner at the Claim Jumper with Laurie and Ryan.  We had a good meal and lots of good visiting.  The Faits’ are leaving tomorrow for a vacation in Colorado - so glad we got to see them.

Las Vegas

Aug. 10.  Moving day – we left Bakersfield at 6:45 to beat the heat we knew we were headed into in NV.  We got to Las Vegas and parked at Sam’s Town about 1PM.  It was 104 (going up to 108) and it was 88 in the MH.  The air conditioners didn’t seem to make much difference so we went to the casino and sat and walked around awhile then ate at their buffet.  When we got home the MH had cooled to 82 and we had cooled off as well so didn’t feel too bad.  It was a good move but over mountains up to an elevation of 5000 feet, most all interstate.  

Fueling problems

Aug. 8, it was a shorter than usual drive today to Bakersfield.  We had to stop for diesel at a Flying J; we pulled into the RV lane only to find the diesel hoses bagged so the next plan was to move into the area where cars go.  There was a truck pulling a 5^th wheel taking up the diesel lane so we waited.  As we waited a truck pulled into a parking place in front of the store cutting down our turning radius.  Don still thought he could do it and given a couple more feet he would have, he needed to back up and to do that the car has to be unhitched.  Here we were in the middle of the traffic removing the car; I quickly parked the car and guided Don into the pump.  After we got diesel we moved in a parking area off the road to hitch up the car again.  We had only 20 miles to go, but I’m not driving in the California traffic and Don needed my navigational skills.  We got to the campground before noon, the campground calls themselves a Luxury Resort, it is nice but not that nice.  Later we went on a trip to find a USA Today paper and found none but did find a Del Taco and stopped to bring home dinner.  We also went to Camping World and found a drawer latch that should be better than the one we bought the other day.  Another hot day, the MH is very slow in cooling down.

Day at home

We went into Oakhurst for breakfast at McDons and got a Sunday Aug. 7^th paper.  Came home and sat outside to read the paper, it was hot out but we were in the shade and there was a nice breeze.  We stayed home the rest of the day and got the MH ready to move tomorrow.  

GPS knows best

Shopping day, Aug 6.  We went to Fresno for groceries, let the GPS lead us to a Walmart Superstore and it took us left, right, right, left, etc. for a long drive.  I was wondering if there was really going to be a Walmart at the end of the line, but the GPS said “trust me” and there it was.  Before going to Walmart we let the GPS lead us to a Panda Express as I was having a strong craving for one.  It was a 45 minute drive home from Walmart but good to have some food in the MH again.  We ate dinner at El Cids, a Mexican place that a trucker in a rest stop recommended to Don.  It was good, not great.

Jack in the Box

We went into Oakhurst today Aug. 4 for lunch at Jack in the Box and to mainly get a USA Today paper.  Earlier a woman gave us a golf cart tour of the RV Park and history.  We went to a casino about a mile away for dinner, ate at the buffet which was good – featured Chinese food but also had other food.  We played a little penny slots and lost like usual.

Yosemite National Park

Aug. 3.  We went to Yosemite National Park today.  We got an early start and a good thing as by noon it was packed and the rangers were limiting the number of vehicles on some roads.  The park and the tall falls are beautiful.  Because of more snow this last winter, there is more water around.  It was cool in the park but we got back to the heat.

Coarsegold, CA

Aug. 1!  It was back on Interstate 5 for our trip to Coarsegold, CA and a harrowing trip it was.  The highway was packed and all were going fast.  At one point Don cut off a van, they were none too happy.  Then for pay back a truck cut us off, thankfully the other lane was open.  It was near 100 degrees when we finally arrived at the Escapees Park.  This park is supposed to be the crown jewel of Escapees Parks and it is very nice.  We have a nice site; have to pay for electricity separately so it is killing Don that we have to run the AC full blast.  We are near the entrance to Yosemite National Park.  Along the road were many bushes with white, pink, red and lavender flowers.   Some were beside the roads and sometimes between the north and south bound lanes.  We also were amazed at the new trees planted in perfect rows and columns so when you looked at them from the road there were perfect diagonal lines.