Arches National Park

We awoke to this wonderful view from our motorhome.  We both love the sun, so this was most welcome.

The last few days have been spent in cold weather, forcing us to wear warm jackets and gloves.

Today the temps were in the low 70's, and I even got a bit of a sunburn before remembering to put on my cap.

We were excited to be visiting Arches today, so after our coffee, I was busy packing water and supplies into the car, while Teresa handled the sandwiches and snacks.

We loved the blue sky contrasting with the rocks

Arches is only a few miles out of Moab, so we were there in short order, and joined other excited tourists looking for adventure.

Our favourite ... The Three Gossips

You might notice a lack of photos with us in them.  That is because we are very out of shape and carrying a couple of extra pounds !!

Balanced Rock. It seems every park has one of these.

That is one thing we are most excited about this winter.  Getting outside for some walking and hiking, and pickle ball, and tennis, and just plain ol' exercise !!

Landscape Arch. Eventually it will break apart.

Although none of today's hikes were strenuous, we were huffing and puffing and vowed to never get this out of shape again.

Delicate Arch, the most famous of them all

Several times we had to stop and pinch ourselves, as we could not believe we are so blessed to be here.

The Windows

I mean, here we are in t-shirts enjoying the warm weather, and we are surrounded by red rock formations, arches, beautiful blue skies, and the warm sun smiling down at us.

Turret Arch

After many hours of hiking, we were getting very tired, and our legs were letting us know that we were over doing it our first time back on the trails.

Teresa had the energy to climb up to Window Arch

Reluctantly, we packed up for the short drive home.  The sun was setting as we left the park, and in what seemed like only minutes, it was black dark in Moab.

Who can forget ... the Golden Arches

We stopped for a few necessities like milk and wine, and soon we were back home, toasting our wonderful day.

Moab, UT

Today marks our third day of hard driving.

We were on the road by 9AM ( an unremarkable record for us ...) and geared up for another day on the road.

A Frosty Morning !!

If you are ever travelling near Rawlins, Wyoming, please watch for the wind and the wildlife.

There are literally hundreds of antelope near the roadways, and numerous deer as well.

We had a real scare when a huge mule deer with an impressive set of antlers darted out along the shoulder running at full speed.

Thankfully, he ran parallel to us, but we saw many dead animals in the ditch that told a different story.

And as for the wind, we have heard of semi's and RV's being blown off the road and rolling.

We made really good time today, and 7 hours later, we had covered over 360 miles.

As we neared Moab, the scenery finally changed from flat prairie lands to red rock.

We have booked in at a Passport America campground for three nights at the great price of $17 per night.

There is lots to see and do in this area, including Arches National Park.

With the daytime temperatures to be in the 70's, we are looking forward to getting off our butts, and getting some fresh air !!

Rawlins, WY

As predicted, Teresa and I had an amazing sleep last night.

Would you believe we slept for 10 hours straight !!

We enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee in bed, then reluctantly got up and broke camp.

Soon, we were back on the road.

There isn't much for scenery travelling through Montana and Wyoming, but we did see a lot of wildlife.

There is an abundance of mule deer and antelope, and a couple of times there were some animals in the ditch next to the highway.

We were on high alert, for sure.

We arrived at Rawlins after driving for about 8 hours, and I am glad to report that we can now un-winterize our rig, and have full hook-ups. 

After a quick supper, we enjoyed a glass of nice wine.

Tomorrow we will arrive at Moab, and I promise a more exciting blog with the odd photo thrown in !!

Miles City, Montana

What a crazy day we had today !!

As predicted, we received a fairly heavy freezing rain last night.

My mind was so active with everything we had to do to this morning, plus thinking about the rain, I tossed and turned and bet I only got an hour or two of sleep.

We were both up by 4 AM, and could not even look out the windows, they were so covered in ice.

Gulp ... Well, let's get showered and packed up, and see if the morning rays melt the icy streets in time for our intended departure.

I quietly loaded up our car, so as not to wake our condo neighbours, and headed over to our motorhome.

As I was getting out of the car, I could not believe how the motorhome was covered in ice.

I must have been distracted, because I then proceeded to slam the car door shut on my thumb !!  EOWWW ... I was afraid to look, but there was no cut, because it pinched on the nail, and not the skin.

As a result, I can't use this thumb now for anything, and I have to keep it elevated, or the throbbing becomes intolerable.

One of Teresa's most admirable traits is her ability to organize and pack, so I did the heavy lifting and smiled as she made our rig a home again.

Shortly before noon, we gingerly headed out.  I will admit to a few tense moments, especially witnessing all the cars and trucks in the ditch, but by this time the roads were beginning to melt.

The border crossing was the easiest yet, and six hours later we reached Miles City.

We made a bee line to the nearest Walmart and stocked up on food and adult beverages.  Yes, we needed a relaxing drink after the day we had.

So here it is 9PM, and we can barely keep our eyes open.

Bet there will be no tossin' and turnin' tonight !!

Visiting Family Before We Go

With plans to head out on Sunday, we left today open to visit our son's family including our two grandchildren !!

We love spending time with them, and only wish we could see them more often.

Even though they are only a couple of hours away from us, it seems that our visits are about a month apart.  Oh, well, we are very thankful for each and every visit !!

 

After enjoying our time with them, we got back to Regina a little after 11pm.  We have set the alarm for 4 AM to be sure all the last minute items are scratched off our to-do list.

 



It has snowed here in the last couple of days, and they are predicting freezing rain overnight, so there is only a 50/50 chance we will get away as planned.

 

Not a big deal, because Monday is forecast to be above freezing, so we can leave then.

 

I guess I better get some sleep now, because tomorrow might be a long driving day !!

 

PS - I am posting this after midnite, so even though it looks to you like it is Sunday, it is only Saturday night to me !!

 

 





Happy Re-Retirement Teresa !!

As of quitting time today, Teresa is mine .... all mine !!

She was really excited to be called back to her former office, because she truly liked her job, but truly loved her office family.

The local restaurants are going to miss her as well, because I don't think I saw her pack a lunch the entire three months !!

Thank goodness she is done, because with her away at work, I have been left to get everything ready for our travels.

Oh, oh, that's not good !!   I am quite capable of getting the motorhome and car ready to go, but my packing and organizing skills inside the rig aren't that great.

We received confirmation today that our park in Gold Canyon will accept us this year.

It was a case of too young and too old !!

That's right, we are rule busters !!   They are a 55+ park, which makes us too young.  They also have a 10 year or newer rig rule, and our rig is too old !!

We had to send photos of our rig for manager approval, and just to be sure, I also sent a photo of Teresa to bribe them !!

That was the quickest approval on record !

Just a quick blog note.  Unfortunately, I had to disallow anonymous comments, because we were getting flooded with spam messages.

We love to hear from others and receive their advice, so I hope this does not discourage folks from signing in.

Better run now, Teresa will be expecting a clean condo and supper ready. 

Oh ya, guess I better get a few tissues ready, because I know there will be tears on her last day.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch ...

Let's see, last we heard from our hero and heroine, they were silly with excitement at the birth of their new Grandson !!

Fast forward a few months, and we find it is time for them to head south for new adventures.

Actually, we are starting to realize we are some of the last ones to leave.  I guess we just want to make sure the rest of the flock gets going safely. 

I am finished with my summer driving job.  Although I do love to drive, I put on over 70,000 kms in the last six months.

Guess my butt will be ready for the drive south !!

Teresa's last day is tomorrow !  She was called back to her previous job, as the person they hired to replace her took on a new position, and Teresa was able to train another candidate.

We will take a few days to sleep in, finish packing the motorhome, visit our Grandchildren and families, then head off to the sunny south.

We have had a few skiffs of snow, but so far the roads appear in great shape.

Our plan is to spend the winter mainly in Arizona, but for sure we will be back in Palm Springs for March, before heading home.

As you can imagine, there are so many things to take care of before you leave that it really seems overwhelming sometimes.

But, once we get on our journey, those concerns seem to melt away and are replaced with the excitement of new adventures !!