by Danville. Put RV into storage. Forgot a bunch of stuff – thankfully not critical to Reno. Drive to Danville 2-days after TG was really difficult – Felix was great even though the drive was 10.5 hours instead of 8.5 hours. Visited Suzanne’s mother at Sunrise. Great breakfast at Sidebar again. Met up with the S’vale group for dinner – picked up Traeger for transport back to Danville.
Missed midnight UTC deadline for SL pause – will be billed for December. Continued to work to get KIA registered in California (battery died and 2 wheels needed a lot of air) – the colorado check engine light prevents smog check (need to investigate after Reno).
516 – Springs at Borrego. Back again. Site 503 for one night – PT site. Went to dinner @ Carlees.
515 – The Palms RV Resort. Back again. Site 201. Back-in site. Cell and SL good. Bath house really good. Thanksgiving dinner at The Palms. Great weather for a couple of days. Suzanne went on bike ride along the river. We went for a walk on the river on TG day. Went on hike near the military base on Imperial reservoir. Visited Lemon Grove 95 for tacos – old Dirty South BBQ. Visited Martha’s for great date shakes and dates. Went to lunch at Da’ Boyz. Need to visit Dirty South BBQ at their new location downtown Yuma.
After ride, discovered that the Suzanne’s e-bike battery needs to be replaced – ran diagnostics – found a bike store in pleasanton
514 – Buckskin Mountain State Park. Site 24. Back in site. E&W – dump station available. Cell is really poor, SL is good. Bath house was okay. Beautiful views of the river, but there are common areas in between. Spent first day hanging outside enjoying the sun and reading. Weather then turned cooler and more cloudy for rest of visit. Visited the Desert Bar.
513 – Lake Mead RV Village. Site 14. Pull in site. FHUs. View of the lake. Cell and SL were good. Bath house was okay. US recreational area – so pass was needed. Took highway 93 – really poor road; will travel further west and take highway 95 into Boulder City. Drove into Vegas to see Soul of Motown show – good times – dinner at Gangnam Asian Bistro. Drove thru the back road, thru the recreation area, to visit Valley of Fire State Park – was excellent experience. Visited Hoover Dam again. Had a great dinner with Linda and Nate at Bootleggers Bistro in Vegas. Visited downtown Boulder City and had good coffee and pastries at Boulder City Co Store.
512 – Grand Canyon Rail and Hotel. Pull thru site. FHUs. Cell and SL was good. Bath house was good. Had laundry. Walked into town and looked around. Good coffee at Brewed Awakenings. Overnight was really windy and wet.
511 – Dead Horse State Park. Sites 62 and 51. 62 had incredible views. E&W – dump stations available. Cell and SL were good. Bath house was good. Went to 10-12 lounge for drinks and really good live music. Had a good hike in Sedona and went to lunch at Indian Gardens up canyon. Had another great dinner at Elote after walk in downtown Sedona. Went to Jerome for walk and great breakfast at Clinkscale. Good drinks and food at Brewha in Cornville – farmers market was minimal. Winetasting and snack at Caduceus Cellars on top of the hill. Good coffee and pastries at Crema Craft Kitchen. Took bikes to Verde Valley in Cottonwood to fix brakes and Suz’s hanger. Took a nice hike and bike ride within the state park. Weather was kinda of wonky with sun n rain.
510 – White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Site 32. Back in site. E&W 50 amp site. Dump station available. Bath house was nice. SL was good, cellular was hit n miss – Marcell Pro did not work well. Stopped for lunch at Sonoran Sweet and Savory in Ajo. Farmer’s market in central Phoenix – pastries and bread from Proof, lunch at Carlsbad Cavern, drinks at Greenwood Brewery (live music) then shake at Danzeisen Dairy. Coffee at Spencer’s Place and Bully Brew and lunch at Sicilian Butcher.
509 – The Reef. C6 Site. Bath house was open this year – it was okay, but we mostly used shower in the RV. Power was high voltage again this visit, but the problems happened later in the evening – around midnight. We used 50 am surge protector but then the Reef had a transformer blow and the surge protector did not prevent the breakers on the ATS from popping. I booked then cancelled mobile tech in Surprise to possibly replace the ATS. Put EMS back, but then experienced nightly power loss till about 7am each morning. We received a few warnings about food and drink crossing into Mexico – need to enter next year with minimum food in freezer and fridge – propane may be a problem. Bought FMM at the border this year. Entering US was not a problem. Ordered 30′ 50 amp power cord and sewer hose since we thought we had C5 and further pedestal.
Visited the Wrecked and JJs 2x so that M&M could have the experience. Visited Restaurante Sazon Problano and Mariachi’s and Tequila for the first time – M&M the latter – both really good. Went back to Puesta Del Sol for good meal on the water. M&M wanted to visit Koffeehaus for yummy breakfast. We got tres leche cake and Candy Cake. Walmart now has a really good market in town – went to Super Ley and Sam’s club as well. Took M&M to Rodeo Drive to experience Dia de Los Muertos – it was really fun seeing everything.
SoCal couples did not book this year. Susan and Sam and Pearl cancelled a week before. Madeline and Michelle had truck and trailer issues – we picked them up at the border four days after arriving.
508 – Hikiwan rv camping. FHU – 50 amps. SL and cellular was good.
507 – KOA. PT site. Had challenges leveling. Chose site with E&W only – dump station available. SL was not good, cellular was good. Bath house was okay. Went on a nice hike down by the water treatment site. Pastries n coffee again at Macy’s European Coffehouse. Back again to Mother Road Brewing Company.
506 – Roam America Horseshoe Bend. Site 182 – back in site. Tried a different site, but we scraped backing into the site. Using lots of jack pads to get level. Beautiful views. Good bath house. SL and cellular connection good. Toured Antelope Canyon upper canyon with Adventurous Tour company – it was beautiful – somewhat crowded. Lunch at Birds chicken restaurant. Drove out to Horseshoe Bend city park – beautiful view – many people along the edge or rim of the river. Drove out to an overlook on the north side of Page. Toured Antelope Canyon lower canyon with Ken’s tours – wonderful experience – small deluxe group with navajo fry break and tea lunch. Explored south and north page marinas.
505 – Thunderbird Lodge. Parked the vista along side a building not being used – Felix stayed in the vista since the weather was rather mild. Had a really good tour in the valley in spite of the weather varying during the six hours. We toured the south and north rims in the jeep. Enjoyed the visit. The food in the cafeteria was okay – so we only ate one meal there – ate mostly in the vista. Room was okay. Stopped at the historic site of Hubble trading post along the way.
504 – Balloon Fiesta VIP west camping area. Dry camping. The sites were 50′ by 15′ – not bad – needed to use jack pads to level. They do have honey trucks. Had a great time at the Fiesta. There were several microbursts the first night, so activities were cut short. Our 1st full day went smoothly for morning and evening activites. Saturday activities were decreased due to lightening, wind and rain. Same for sunday morning. Sam, Susan and Pearl were parked next to us.
503 – Sante Fe Skies. Back again. PT site (site y30) next to Sam, Susan and Pearl. SL and cell good. Lots of errands. Visited Madre for coffee (java junction) and drinks. Dinner again at Sazon – food and vibe still great. Great breakfast at Clafoutis. Breakfast again at Cafe Dolina and dinner at Pasquels.
Discount tires for tire rotation – 113.5k miles – oct 2025. Told me to look into getting tire alignment.
502 – Monument Valley KOA. Journey site 18. PT site – FHUs. Really nice bath house. Expensive campground. SL worked well, cellular was good. Drove to the Navajo welcome center to drive the 17-miles loop in Monument Valley – beautiful area – ate indian fry bread and Linda’s food shack inside the area. Road was rough but we saw sports cars and sedans.
501 – Best Friends. Site 10. Back in. FHUs. Beautiful views. Really nice bath house. SL worked well, cellular was okay. Further down the canyon is Best Friends sanctuary. Sporadic showers the first couple of days. First day we went on tour of the facilities – cats and pigs. Went into town to look around (sunday so limited stores open). Coffee at Jakeys. Viewed the various western actor placards on both sides of the main road. Went to Sand Caves – the slip rock was a little challenging for Suzanne. Great time volunteering in Roxy’s (dog walks first day) and Quincy and Morgaine’s Place for cats the second day – Quincy was for seniors and cats with disabilities. Great cafe with incredible views on premise. Went to Sego for good asian fusion dinner. Bought sand recovery boards at Napa Auto – planned to go to peek a boo slot canyon (red canyon) but decided that weather looked to wonky. Went with Corral Cliffs tour company for trip to white pocket – felt road was too problematic for our jeep – had a great time with raymond and drew as our drivers and guides. Probably could have made it based on other cars in the parking lot at the trail head. Saw condors at one of the release sites – had an opportunity to talk to biologists and observers at the viewing station.
500 – Canyons of Escalante. Nice campground. Site 24, PT, FHUs. SL and verizon good. Narrow sites with small wooden fence separating sites. Only 68 miles or so, but the road from Torrey and Escalante was steep with 8 to 14% grade and narrow roads around Boulder – decided to have Suz drive the jeep separately. Incredible views along the way – Larb Hallow overlook. Went to local visitors center. Drove out to Kiva Coffee with great views. Drove out to Boulder, then took a great road trip out to Singing Canyon and beyond on Burr Trail Road – ended up in Capitol Reef National Park on a unpaved section.
499 – Capitol Reef RV Resort and Glamping. PT site 19. Great bath house – unisex rooms. Great views of the hills near Torrey. SL and verizon work well. Visited Capitol Reef NP. Fruita farm – great pies at Griffith House. Drives through scenic drive with side trips to cassidys arch and capitol gorge (took a hike at end of side road) – lots of pull outs for viewing and picture taking. Visited Goosenecks vista point. Visited Hickman Natural Bridge and its trail. Visited petrolglyphs viewing area.
498 – Mountain Valley RV Resort. PT site. FHUs. Bath house was okay. SL and verizon were good. Near Heber City – we were in the area in sept 2020. Drive up I80 past park city was quite steep. Drove up to Cascades Springs intepretitve trail. Drove to Midland and had coffee and cake at Harvest Midway. Drove the back way to Park City thru the scenic byway – walked around the town – lunch at No Name Saloon. Walked a great paved trail called the Provo River trail. Coffee at Sundance Ski Resort. Drove the Alpine scenic and byway routes to Timpanogos Cave back to town via cascade springs. Beautiful fall colours through the mountain roads.
The tow cable spring latch fell off one of the hooks towing the jeep – got a latch replacement at ACE hardware. Got new bike handles at local bike store.
497 – KOA. PT site. SL and verizon worked well. Did not use bath house given only one night.
496 – KOA. PT site. FHUs. Bath house okay. SL and Verizon were okay. Coffee at Primal Coffee. Rode our bikes downtown along the green belt area along side the Boise river. Celebrated 41st wedding anniversary at Barbacoa – then took a short walk downtown.
495 – River Point RV park. FHUs. PT site. Good bath house. SL and verizon were good. Visited Suz’s distance cousin to see their new house along the Snake river in Weizer. Good dinner at Good Shack on the 7th.
Felix developed another cold.
494 – Boschs Big Bear Rv Resort. Pull thru site. FHUs. Did not appear to have a bath house. SL was good, cannot remember about Verizon.
493 – Bend Sisters RV Resort. Back again. Site 51. Good SL and verizon. Great bath house. Had a great dinner with Margaret, Scott, Carson along with Cam n Meg in Sun River – was able to see the site for the Daniel’s new house. Took Felix to Pawtown vet to check Felix’s kidneys and heart racing – blood n urine tests were normal for kidneys and thyroid. Coffee n pastries at Wildroots. Coffee at Looney Bend – walked around town – then dinner at Spork. Good hike outside of Sisters, coffee at Fika Sisters, bought smoked meats in Sisters.
492 – Bill n Liz. Helped Bill with several projects. Suzanne went on a couple of hikes and bike riding. Pretty hot week. T&L storm – lost power for 3 or so hours. Went with Bill n Liz to meadery called Oran Mor Artisan Mead and Melrose winery. Changed vista oil change – 86812 miles. Suzanne took Felix for vaccines in Roseburg – was told to get Felix checked out for ‘rough kidney’.
491 – American Heritage RV Resort. Back-in site. FHU with 30-amps. State park like setting. Decent but older bath house. SL was not possible – but verizon was good. Coffee and walk around the capital lake at Rhythms. Met up with Carol and Roy and their kids – visited their tap room – then dinner at Anthonys near Tacoma. Great dinner at Beth n Steve’s house – snacks n bubbly on their floating dock then great dinner on their back deck facing the lake. Met up with Madeline and Michell, from Newfoundland, had a great dinner at Anthony’s in Olympia and saw their house in progress. Went for a bike ride near Evergreen State College. Coffee at Olympia Coffee. Good visit to the local Olympia farmer’s market. Drinks at Bar Francis. Dinner at Hotstone authentic korean. Pastries and coffee at Left Bank pastry. Visited Aberdeen, lunch at Finch and Bull, drinks at Steam donkey brewing then distillery tasting and dinner at Westport winery.
490 – Sun Resort. Back again. Dinner with Cam n Meg at Mason. Coffee with Myles and Madison at Symposium Coffee. Dinner at Deb, Mark and Rose. Another dinner at Rose’s house. Coffee n pastries and Lux Sucre then walk with Meg n Cam with the pups Lulu and Gus. Met Tom n Ann for lunch at Ram Wilsonville. Coffee at Symposium in Tigard. Dinner at Dar Esslam. Suzanne got jewelry fixed.
Another great burger at Yaks. Since Suzanne was sick, no excursions in Sutherlin except John went with Bill to the Blackberry festival. Changed jeep oil – 111500 miles
Stayed at Yvonne’s house again. Dinner at Sultan’s kebab. Bagels at Noah’s and coffee at Peets. Lunch with Yvonne at Bungalow on Rose. Another day visit to Reno for John’s shoulders whilst Suzanne took care of Nevada DMV for her parents. Lunch at Taqueria Gaudaljara. Coffee at Hub Roasters. Met Jimmie and Cat for coffee at Bean Scene Cafe. Visit to Maison Benoit for pastries and Peets for coffee. Suzanne got sick, so 2nd visit with Yvonne was cancelled.
Africa July to August. East Africa – Kenya and Tanzania with Graham. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana afterwards. Gadventures. Had a great 5-weeks!
Took uber to hotel near the airport – Aloft
Day trip to Reno to pickup stuff from storage place. Got an injection for John’s shoulder. Food at Perenn bakery. Dinner at Kebab’s south of forestville.
Drove to Danville. Great burgers at YAKs on the 5th. Stayed at Yvonne’s house. Took her to lunch at Watani spot. Coffees at Sideboard. Pastries and coffee at Maison Benoit.
489 – Bill n Liz. Took Bill n Liz to Melrose Winery. Again at Steamboat INN and River Ranch Olive farm. Left Felix and Vista with Bill n Liz.
488 – Winchester Bay. Back again. Lunch and live music at Blue Box. BJ’s ice cream. Beachcrest brewery. Dinner at Sol de Mexico. Visited Banning and Coos Bay. Coffee at So It goes. Dessert at Coastal Mist. Dinner at Wildflour public house.
487 – Sea n Sand. Back-in site with partial views of the ocean. Was able to connect via SL and Verizon. Dinner at Tidal Raves. Bakery at DASSH bakery. Dinner at Bohemiam Bar. Coffee at Coastie Roasties. Drinks at Rogue Spirits. Dinner at Rook n Larder. Drinks at Vin and Brau. Dinner at Red Roof Munchery. Fish n chips at Squatchami. Walked around town of newport and the nearby park across the bay.
486 – Olde Stone Village. Back again. Old section. Dinner with Cam n Meg at Hefe Mexican restaurant. Visited Deb, Mark and Rose for dinner at their house. Lux Sucre for pastries and coffee. Rode bikes around the air n space museum. Coffee at Union Block cafe. Lunch at Pura Vida. Visited Guerrero and Blue Raven Farms. Visited Pinot Vista Vineyards (great local live music at their town tasting bar), White Rose winery and Stoller winery. Pastry and coffee at Alchemist Jam. Coffee at Flag and Wire coffee. Drinks at Conservatory Bar. Dinner at Thistle.
485 – River Park Rv Resort. Nice back-in site along the river. Nice visit in town. Nice visit to Rogue Creamery and dairy for cheese. Good ice cream at Udders Ice cream. Good coffee at Rogue River coffee. Walked around the park next to the river.
484 – Mountain Gate RV Park. Convenient for staying one night. Pt site. Had verizon.
