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 Fall and Winter
2024-2025

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Thursday, December 5, 2024: While Gwen play cards with the girls, Abby and I take ourselves for a driving toward Mt. Lemmon. We can reach the mountain drive in only 30 minutes. These are beautiful mountains full of unique rock formations and if we had any precipitation, mountain streams. We were also exploring the campgrounds along this route for a possible night stay. We learned the Arizona Trail passes through this mountain range. Abby and I should explore that further. I have been on the Arizona Trail 8 years ago as it passes the Four Peaks Area.  Abby and I hiked only a short distance because we needed to return for fuel before returning home trying to time our return when Gwen gets home. Click the three photos for more and larger views.






Wednesday: December 4, 2024: Tonight was our monthly photo club meeting.  We had an hour long demonstration of editing photos using our iPhones. I was able to edit these three photos mostly by cropping differently and adjusting exposure. From the left is the Harris's Hawk sitting on a branch in our back yard. The Northern Cardinal is next where I cropped closer and still did not lose the sparkle in the eye. Last is the Abert's Towhee looking straight into his reflection on the camera lens.




Sunday, December 1, 2024: While we are having a heat wave here in Tucson, the 49ers and Bills must play in a snow storm in Buffalo New York. The Bills know how to play in this weather but the 49ers are learning. This video will help you understand how hard this game must be.






Saturday, November 30, 2024: Today was the final game of the season for the Arizona Wildcats. Their final opponent was Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils have a much better record than the Wildcats, in fact they are going to the Big12 Championship game. They easily handled the Wildcats with a 49 to 7 win. After returning home we watched Oregon win against Washington. Oregon is the only team to go 12 - 0 this season and is ranked number one. They will battle Penn State in the Big10 Championship game. Here is a short video of the Arizona Wildcats Marching Band.




Thursday, November 28, 2024: Our table at the Rincon Country East Thanksgiving had plenty of food, lots left over for another day. Every table was active with plenty of food. Click here to see a short video of the room. The room was loud with conversation. You will here that on the video. Click both photos for more views.




Wednesday, November 27, 2024: Our Thanksgiving day will be in the RCE Clubhouse with many others. Gwen and our neighbor, Mary, are the captains at our table of nine. Today was table decoration day. We have been given instructions for the decorations to be a tropical theme because this whole RCE season is a tropical theme. Gwen did all of  the decoration. She created the surf boards from unfinished plywood. One of the guests at our table supplied the plates. All the food will be put onto the table in the background and served as a buffet. Each table must supply their own food with the park supplying the turkey. The meal will be at noon tomorrow. Here is a short video of the table.




Tuesday, November 26, 2024: I learned that the brake light on the left side was not working.  I have replaced bulbs like this on other vehicles but wanted to be sure the bulb was the problem. I removed a working bulb with the idea or replacing the failed bulb to learn if that side began working. However, I couldn't get hold of the failed bulb mount. Smaller hands were needed so Gwen tried but unsuccessful. My neighbor, Daryl, tried but also unsuccessful. I drove to O'Reilly Auto Parts, the closest parts store. Chris is the manager. I asked about an LED replacement. He grabbed a package and went to the car. He easily popped out the failing bulb and replaced with an LED bulb. He did the same on the working side. The LED bulbs have a lifetime guarantee. Thank you Chris for doing something I couldn't.



Sunday, November 24, 2024: Both our feeders were very active today. It seems the Sparrows come to winter here in Tucson because we don't see them in the late spring and summer months. Maybe they fly into the mountains. This one is a Rofous-winged Sparrow as Identified by the Merlin Bird ID APP on our phones. The APP identifies birds by photos and by their song. Just turn on the recording button, the APP listens then identifies the bird. The APP is free from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab. Click the photo to see a short video of the Sparrow feeding.
To get the APP go to your Apple APP Store, for Android go to the Google APP Store. Search for the Merlin Bird ID APP.





Saturday, November 23, 2024: Gwen got a gift from her daughter, a smart bird feeder. It has a built-in camera to take photos as the birds arrives. It will also notify Gwen's phone when there is activity at the feeder. The Cardinal and the Woodpecker seem to like this food better than the seed pod we have on our other bird feeder. All the birds like the birdbath we maintain. We also had a visiting Harris's Hawk today. Unfortunately, the Harris's Hawk was not interested in seeds but in the birds eating the seeds. Here is a short video of the Gila (hela) Woodpecker selecting it's favorite from the many choices.  I will add more bird photos as we learn to use this new feeder. Click on the photos for more views.






Friday, November 22, 2024: Gwen had a good idea of inviting friends to join us at one of our favorite restaurants in east Tucson, The Barnyard. Much of the seating area of this restaurant is outside. Since this was a warm day, we all sat in the patio area. We had a very good time with good friends. Click the photos for more views.








Monday-Thursday, November 18-21, 2024: Another camping trip by the camping group from the park. We drove to Benson, Arizona for breakfast the first day. Our favorite restaurant, The Horseshoe Cafe. Our goal was to reach the Elks Lodge in Willcox, Arizona. We got there early enough to drive around and view the Sandhill Cranes located nearby. Next on the list was to visit the Chiricaha National Monument. It was a cold but clear weather day. The monument has amazing rock formations.  Finally we visited a historic homestead called the Faraway Ranch settled in 1883 after the surrender of Cochise and Geronimo.  This had to be rough life. Click all photos for more views.   





Sunday, November 17, 2024: Our neighbor, Mary, had some extra tickets to the Broadway production of CLUE and invited us to go with her. She took us to the Centennial Hall on the University of Arizona Campus, our first time in the hall. This play was by professional Broadway actors so very well performed. We took Mary to a restaurant she recommended after the play, The Flower Child.




Saturday, November 16, 2024: My friend Wes and I attended the Arizona Wildcats game against visiting Houston. Houston was not playing to it's potential so Arizona won 27 to 3. This was the 2nd Arizona conference win. The first was against Utah. Click the left photo for a wider view of the band. Click the right photo for a short video of the band.






Friday, November 15, 2024: Our photo club makes the first excursion to the Amerind Museum and Texas Canyon Nature Area an hour from our park. Without the guidance from the photo club we never would have found this interesting geological and historical area.  This museum has an extensive exhibit of the inhabitants of this area to 10,000 years ago. The Texas Canyon Nature Area is full of  unusual rock formations with trails through the area. Click the photos for more views. 




Thursday, November 14, 2024: We used the annual pass given to us by my sister to visit the Desert Museum again today. This trip we were more interested in the art inside the gift shops at the museum. It was very nice to visit on a week day with no live bird flight. Far more relaxing with a few visitors, no lines and helpful volunteers roaming the trails. Click the two photos for more art views.




Wednesday, November 13, 2024: Gwen and I visited Gates Pass on the west side of Tucson. Gates pass was built in the late 1800s and never improved except to pave the road. It is a popular cycling route because of the steepness of the grade on both sides of the pass. It is accessed by a narrow two lane road with a view point and hiking trails at the top. The Sonoran Desert is to the west and Tucson is to the east. Click the photos for more views. Here is a short video at the top of the pass. I did not take this video.




Tuesday, November 12, 2024:  Gwen, Abby and I started off this day with a morning hike in the nearby nature trail. There is a city dog park about a mile down the road. Abby doesn't care for the other dogs in the park and gets very nervous around these dogs. But there is a mile long nature trail accessed from the same parking lot. She likes that hike. This was after Abby and I made a run to the park dumpster with garbage. Abby got in some good walking today. Click the photo for another view of the nature hike.




Sunday, November 10, 2024: Gwen and I attend "Scrooge" at the Gaslight Theater. It is a musical comedy based on the Charles Dickens story "A Christmas Carol". Of course Scrooge was converted in the end and saved little Timmy. Plays at the Gaslight are always fun and can include a meal if you wish. I had a pizza while Gwen has chicken stripes. At the end, birthday and anniversaries got free ice cream. These plays always seem to sell out. Click both photos for more views. Here is a very short video of one of the cast tunes.





Saturday, November 9, 2024: Today was the "Walk-Around Sale" in the park. Both our neighbor Daryl (and Mary) and we have lots to sell. The number of buyers were lite but we still sold about half. We hauled the leftovers to our favorite thrift store. As I walked around the park looking at what others were selling, I saw lots of interesting items but only bought a $4 cowboy hat. Gwen was also going to buy one but couldn't find her size. Click the photo to see what we took to the thrift store.





Friday, November 8, 2024: Once each month the resort has a "Walk-Around Sale" where residents sell or give away the items they no longer want or need. This time we have much to get rid of.  The sale begins at 7:30 tomorrow morning but we got everything ready tonight. I hope I have a chance to circle the park looking for treasures too.



Wednesday, November 6, 2024: Rincon Country Resort has a morning meeting for announcements every Wednesday. On the first Wednesday of the month the Desert Boys entertain for 20 minutes before the meeting begins. Today was a selection of 50s - 60s themes. They promised Christmas themes on December 4. From the left it is Dennis, Paul and Wally.










Friday - Sunday, November 1 - 3, 2024: This is our first try at a "camping club" at the Rincon Resort. Jane was the only one brave enough to want to drive an hour to Sierra Vista and park in the Sierra Vista Elks Lodge RV Park. It was our first time at this lodge. The folks were the friendliest of any Elks Lodge we have visited. They made us feel at home and part of their group. We had dinner with them on Friday night. The RV park was mostly gravel and dirt with water and power for only $15 per night. However, the plants under our parking spot contained goat heads. If you don't know what a goat head is, it's a seed with thorns which stick to the bottom of your shoes and must be wiped off before entering your trailer. They are also awful for dog paws. Both Jane and we laid down a mat to protect the dog paws and we made sure to walk them only in the gravel. As nice as the folks welcomed us, we won't be staying in their RV park again. Our first tour on Saturday was to Fort Huachuca (pronounced Wa-chuca). It is an US Army base still in operation and we had to get passes to enter.  The fort has been here since 1846 so has a long history. Our second tour was the Brown Canyon Ranch House, also with a long history. It is an adobe house with only four large rooms. None were a bathroom.  We ended our day with a meal at the Landmark Cafe because they had outdoor seating where we could take our dogs (Jane has two dogs).  Jane then treated us to a Culver's Custard.  Sunday morning was windy with a storm approaching. We had a final breakfast together at the Caffe Ole (yes, spelled correctly). It turned out to be a local hang out on a Sunday Morning so very busy but good. Click all photos for another view.








Thursday, October 31, 2024: We followed our friend, Jane, to Nogales Mexico. Jane had a dental appointment at Dental Laser who had advertised at one of our Wednesday morning RCE meetings. She has been to Nogales many times where we have never been to Nogales. We were not impressed compared to our visits to Algodones south of  Yuma.  Still, we did buy a couple items. Gwen bought this little man which sits about 12" tall. I bought some numbers for the front of our house. They are about 5" tall.  Click on all three photos for more views.





Tuesday, October 29, 2024: Daryl has been wanting to trim this Mesquite tree for a few weeks. We decided to visit Home Depot for an electric saw on an extension pole and share the cost of the saw. We found a Black and Decker saw, wired electric and heavy but affordable. The cordless saws were much better but out or our price range.  The saw we bought was essentially a chainsaw with a pole attachment.  We did not want to lose the shade from the Mesquite so we were careful to only trim the branches which leaned over our houses. Daryl and I were already partners in the ladder but this was our first time to use it as a step ladder. It took us about 30 minutes to figure out how to unfold and extend it. It is a wonder, strong ladder but very heavy and complicated. Click these two photos for another view. Gwen also made a short video of our adventure.




Monday, October 28, 2024: Will with the Gate House was here before 8 to pick up the queen sleeper couch. It has gone to a good home.

I'm riding Zwift in my car port. I have a small TV which came from our trailer. I am mirroring Zwift from my tablet to the TV but the TV stalls occasionally. I installed this WiFi extender to bring a strong Wifi signal to the patio. Adding the extender has solved the TV problem .



Sunday, October 27, 2024: Just wanted to show you my stadium seats. This is my view of the halftime show and often my view of the football game. These turned out to be awful seats. In this photo you can see all the folks above us. All those folks must come up our isle and often stop to talk, look at their phone to find their seat or just stop to watch the game blocking our view. These are horrible seats.



Saturday, October 26, 2024: Gwen and I attended the Wildcat game against the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Wildcats seem to be setting up a pattern of showing up only in the third and fourth quarters. They came from behind but still lost 31/26. The most fun for us are the flyers at the beginning of the game as well as the military aircraft which fly over during the national anthem. We also enjoy the fireworks. It would be nice to hear and see the band but it is often blocked by people standing in the isles. I'm already planning different seats next year. Click these photos for more views.




Friday, October 25, 2024: Now that we have a new loveseat recliner we have a perfectly good queen sleeper sofa to give away. I have advertised it on two Rincon Resort Facebook pages but no takers. I walked to the office to find Laurie who often knows of people in need. But she knew of no one. Rachel asked if I had asked "the Pastor". I had no idea what she was talking about. She handed me a small printed page telling of "The Gate House". I knew nothing about The Gare House but was happy to donate to folks in transition. I know nothing about incarcerated individuals but can imagine how difficult it must be to transition to a life accepted by society. It must also be very difficult to help those individuals. Will answered the phone when I called and will pick up the sofa on Monday.  I hope our sofa helps!





Wednesday, October 23, 2024: Joe continued to work in Phoenix this week but is returning to Reno tomorrow. We volunteered to meet him with Casey at the Culvers restaurant in Casa Grande, Arizona, a place familiar to us. That saves him at least 2.5 hours of driving time. We enjoyed visiting with Joe and Casey for the week he was in the area. It is a long drive back to Reno, fortunately Joe has a nice car and likes to drive. Click this photo to enlarge.




Saturday, October 19, 2024: My son Joe is visiting so we attended the Arizona - Colorado football game. Arizona was pathetic so they lost another game. The couple in front of us wanted their photo taken because today was their 33rd anniversary. They have had these same seats for ten years.

The band always wins.

Click both photos.




Friday, October 18, 2024: Finally some clouds and some serious cooling. I actually turned the heat on. Unfortunately no rain but low temperatures were in the 40s.




Tuesday, October 15, 2024: During Amazon Prime Days, just a few days ago, I ordered a new vacuum to replace the awful vacuum which came with our park model. It arrived today. I did not even unpack it from the box because it was obvious it would not work in our situation. I immediately returned it then drove to WalMart to learn what my options were. Whatever vacuum we have must be able to clean up pet hair and their are plenty of vacuum which advertise "good for pet hair"! It must have a powered floor head which will not tangle the hair. That eliminated about two-thirds of the vacuums. It must also have a HEPA filter to catch pet dander and dust. It must have enough suction power to catch everything. It must work on both carpet and hardwood floor. Then it must have the right attachments to catch corners and sofas. Finally, not necessary for convenient to be cordless.  As it turns out, each of those requirements raises the price just a bit more. The photo shows what I bought and so far I am very pleased. I had to dump the dust container several times as I tested it around the house. This will be mainly for the bedroom/den because we have our robot vacuum for the main part of the house.




Saturday, October 12, 2024: Gwen and I decided to replace our refrigerator with a slightly larger Kenmore model from Lowe's. It was scheduled to be delivered on October 22 but we got a call today saying they wanted to deliver as early as tomorrow. The opening for the refrigerator needs to be 5" taller for the new Kenmore. I scheduled the delivery for Wednesday. I began working on the opening today but the Oregon Ducks game against Ohio State took most of my afternoon. The new refrigerator has French doors and will be more accessible and more storage. Except for the taller height, it will be the same dimensions as our current refrigerator to the right.



Friday, October 11, 2024: Our park installed a dog bath last year. We used it once last year and today used it again. It looks like Abby is enjoying her spa day.







Monday - Thursday, October 7 - 10, 2024: We had promised ourselves a camping trip to make up for the camping we missed on the way south. We chose Pine Grave Campground because that's the campground we had reservations last September.  It turned out to be a very good choice because it is one of the nicest campgrounds we have visited. At first I was not going to make a reservation thinking few would be camping this time of year. Pine Grove actually closes for the season on Monday. We are at 6,900 feet looking for cool air after the weeks of 100+ in Tucson. It is perect 70s during the day and 40s at night. We are 15 miles from Flagstaff which we visited on Tuesday. Gwen had some grocery shopping to do while I found a used sporting goods store and purchased some ski boots for $39. I guess this mean I must go skiing this winter. Click these photos for more views.





Saturday, October 5, 2024: Gwen and I bought season passes to the Arizona Football team. This was our first home game. Arizona's opponent is Texas Tech from Lubbock, Texas. I purchased the seats opposite the student side of the field because the band always plays to this side of the field. My hope was to get a good view of the band during the pre-show and halftime. As it turned out, our isle seats were almost always blocked by traffic in the isle and the sound from the band was always muffled by the fans in the stands around us always talking. We won't purchase these seats again.
As for the football game, the Arizona offense did not show up until the 3rd quarter. By that time Texas Tech had a substantial lead. Arizona actually made enough scores to pass Texas Tech only to allow TT to score again in the fourth quarter. Click on these photos for more views.  




Thursday, October 3, 2024: We planted this Mexican Petunia last year and fortunately our neighbors kept it watered during the summer months. It was half this size when we planted it. It is a marvelous plant, continues to bloom with new blooms each morning. All blooms are dropped in the evening but somehow new ones appear each morning. We purchased a second one this week and planted in the backyard. Unfortunately some animal ate half of it so it now has a guard fence around it.






Wednesday, October 2, 2024: The end of our block in the park are Daryl and Mary on the east side of us. (Single) Mary is on the west side of us. I have been seeing the ads for the play, "Dial M For Murder" for a month. I got the idea for all of us to see the play together and everyone though it a good idea. We chose the matinée because we didn't want to be out past our bedtimes. :-)  Photos during the play were forbidden but you will see inside when you click on the center photo.

We all enjoyed the play from the Arizona Theatre Company with a bit of a twist at the end. They we took ourselves to Rose's for an early dinner afterward. This was recommended by (single)Mary and she surprised us by paying for our meal! It was great Mexican food from a restaurant owned by one family for many years. Click on all photos for more views. 



Tuesday, October 1, 2024: While on my bicycle ride this morning I came across the Praying Mantis and Grasshopper.  I'm not sure if the Mantis is thinking this of a big meal. I suspect the grasshopper would be too big of a bite.




Monday, September 30, 2024:  Yesterday, while shopping at Costco I spotted this cordless Spin Scrubber. Today I used it on the shower tile, walls and floor. I was really impressed with the quality of the tool. I always day of my woodworking skills, if I don't have a power tool to do the job it generally doesn't get done. Now I can say the same for my cleaning tools.




Sunday, September 29, 2024: On this hot day I first drove to the car wash followed by a visit to Costco for gas plus a few items from inside. My Oregon Costco in Roseburg would love to have half these customers over a week. Our Tucson Costco was very crowded. After Costco I drove to our water store for five gallons of water.  The water store sits only a few feet from Fry's grocery store.  I needed creamer but also found some Greek Yogurt.



Saturday, September 28, 2024: Tonight we participated in a catered lasagna dinner followed by September trivia. Nate's, a local restaurant, made two lasagnas for us. One with meat and the other meatless. Both were very good. This was followed by a 30 question trivia challenge concerning "Italian Night". Gwen and I were surprised by how much we knew about Italy.




Friday, September 27, 2024:  I walked to the Rincon Country East office today to pay our annual rent. A couple of landscape workers are preparing the ground for all new landscaping around the new fountain. I saw this person working in the sun with no hat and a heavy shirt or jacket over another shirt. It is 108 degrees our warmest day since we returned to Tucson. I was wondering what his secret is.



Thursday, September 26, 2024: Today is a SPA day for Abby so Gwen and I celebrate by taking ourselves to First Watch breakfast. I like their coffee and Gwen likes to break all the rules by ordering biscuits and gravy.




Wednesday, September 25, 2024: This Lazy Boy recliner is going to the thrift store on Monday unless you come and get it before then. Gwen decided she wanted to save the cover so you will get it coverless :-) .




Tuesday, September 24, 2024: We purchase some new plants because we wanted to get them in the ground so they would have 3/4 of a year of us taking care of them to get them established before the next summer heat. We bought a Mexican Petunia last year which has done really well. It was planted up front. These are planted behind our house. We are hoping they will attract humming birds, butterflies and bees.  I hope they do as well as the Petunia.




Monday, September 23, 2024: We did go shopping today at Hobby Lobby for Gwen then Costco for the both of us. We also bought some plants at Home Depot.

The big deal for us was a 5 gallon water dispenser and our first 10 gallons of water. We have never purchased water this way so something new for us. Very interesting water company. It is drive-up with the bottle in the trunk. A hose reaches the bottle so you never have to pick up the 5 gallons until you get home.

The water is very good.




Sunday, September 22, 2024: Gwen and I hired Mark and Angel to pressure was the entire house to get rid of all the summer dust, spider webs, leaves and debris. They also washed the outside of the windows and pressure washed the carport and patio deck.

Later, I hired our friend Wilson to repair the insulation which was dropping from under the floor of the dining room.





Thursday: September 19, 2014: Abby and I started early this morning with three tricycle rides to the garbage bins. Three loops around the park for Abby is more than she normally does. Click the left photo to see the load.

This is Thursday night football night. I'm anxious to see Aaron Rogers in action. His first half performance was very good. Even the commentators admire his return to football. Click on Aaron for another photo.






Wednesday, September 18, 2024: Every Wednesday the residents in Rincon Country East meet for announcements, music, and sometimes food and drink. The "Summer Buddies" continue on Wednesdays in the summer but in a more intimate setting. Today we joined with the Summer Buddies for a breakfast potluck. There was plenty of food, visiting, jokes and a 50/50 raffle which we did not win. This morning it was 60 degrees and several were complaining about how cold it was.



Monday and Tuesday, September 16 & 17, 2024:
We arrived home about noon on Monday. We parked in front of our neighbor (they aren't home) to make it easier to unload the trailer. It wasn't long before we learned our air conditioning was not working. The same as last year. It cost $500 to fix last year. Everything you see on top of the car is for Tucson. The car was grateful to have it unloaded as well as most from the back of the car. Our HVAC guy, Ramon showed up mid-day on Tuesday. After a good discussion we decided to replace the heat pump. That will cost more than we spent on the kitchen remodel last year but you can't live even a few weeks in Tucson without a reliable air conditioning.





Saturday and Sunday, September 14 & 15, 2024: Traveling from Beatty, Nevada where we spent the night with full hookups. Very strong headwinds again but beautiful country. We burned 15 gallons of a 19 gallon tank to drive from Yerington to Tonopah, Nevada due to the wind. On the drive from Beatty to Kingman I noticed the "Check Engine" light. Our plan was to spend the night at the Kingman Elks Lodge but stopped at Autozone to check the meaning of the engine light. The report came back with a strange report of a drive shaft sensor. Click both photos for more views. Behind the right photo we are sitting next to the Elks Lodge wall to stay in the shade. After a short discussion we decided to cancel our planned week of camping near Flagstaff and drive home. We drove another two hours to Congress, Arizona where we have an Escapee Park to get full hookups for a shower.




Friday, September 13, 2024: Joe took Casey, Abby and me on a walk around the Sparks Marina Lake. The length of the walk was at my limit. It was very enjoyable for the dogs because they have a lakeside dog park where the dags can swim then roll in the grass. Click the photo on the right for a photo of Abby swimming.




Thursday, September 12, 2024: Gwen and I have been parked in front of son Joe's house since Monday. Joe has been on a business trip but returned this evening. I picked him up at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport.  We had a good evening dinner together before returning home. Then we watched the dogs play before turning into bed ourselves.




Wednesday, September 11, 2024:  Here are two more good reasons to visit the Reno area. Chloe and Noah got to stay home from school today due to the wildfire nearby. After I arrived we all decided to visit Chipotle for lunch.  That's where I got this photo. After lunch it was off to Barnes and Noble because Chloe had a book she wanted from a favorite author.  Someone mentioned "ice cream" so the Rolled Mountain Creamery was chosen. However, only Noah could bring himself to order. Click both photos for more views.





Tuesday, September 10, 2024: Here are two good reasons to visiting the Reno Nevada area. My granddaughter Lucy on the left and granddaughter Elise on the right.  Click both photos for enlargements.




Monday, September 9, 2024: This is a travel day from Klamath Falls to Sparks, Nevada. Before leaving, however, I has SumoSprings installed. These are simple but expensive spacers installed between the coils on the rear suspension. These help support the load when towing. It only took about 15 minutes to install on both sides.

The Red Barn was new for us because we took a route suggested by Lesa. It is in the town of Bieber, California. Literally in the middle of nowhere, northern California. It was a beautiful two lane road drive. The Artisan Coffee shop is about ten miles south of Susanville, California where we stopped for a lunch time smoothie.








Sunday, September 8, 2024: Today is our last breakfast together as a family. We took ourselves to Starv'n Marvin's because the owner is one of Lesa's friends.  Gwen and I decided to share a 5 egg omelet. When it was delivered we quickly learned we should have split a 3 egg omelet. We both had enough left over for another meal tomorrow morning.

We hope to be on the road early tomorrow for Sparks, Nevada.







Saturday, September 7, 2024: The girls took Abby and me on a  2 mile hike around the neighborhood and through Sportsman Park. I was wearing sandles so lagging behind most of the time.




Friday, September 6, 2024: To stay cool we drive an hour to Lake of the Woods. The girls brought a picnic lunch which we are quickly to spend more time sitting next to the water. Abby has never had the chance to swim free in a lake but she took to it quickly. The three of us took turns throwing sticks for Abby to retrieve in the lake. We spent three hours staying cool next to the water. Click the photos for more views.



Wednesday, September 4, 2024:  Gwen and I do not subscribe to HULU but Lesa does. I began watching Martin Short and Steve Martin in the series "Only Murders in this Building".  It turned into binge watching where I made it to episode 10 when there are 12 episodes in the series. Steve Martin is being murdered by his girlfriend, :-0

Unfortunately that's where I had to stop watching so I don't know who saves him. Surely someone will save him since he is a star in the show.






Tuesday, September 3, 2024: Abby and I took a walk around the block and found this giant Weeping Willow tree. It is significant to us because we planted a Weeping Willow tweg about six years ago on our lot in Sutherlin. It is now a full grown tree providing lots of shade and atmosphere. This tree made me think of our tree and wondered if it will become something like this some year in the future.




Monday, Labor Day, September 2, 2024:  While everyone else is asleep, Abby and I go exploring and found the Common Grounds Coffee Shop in downtown Klamath Falls. After coffee we take a walk across the street into the city park. Abby enjoyed the most green grass she has seen in months.

I only ordered a large house coffee for $3 but noticed a refill was another $1. Seemed a little high for a shop in Klamath Falls.  :-)





Sunday, September 1, 2024: This is moving day from Sutherlin, Oregon toward Tucson, Arizona. Our travel plan will take us nearly a month. Our first destination is to Klamath Falls, Oregon to visit with Gwen's children.

I wasn't going to hang the bike off the back of the trailer but changed my mind since the inside of the trailer is already crowded with stuff.

The top of the car also became the place for stuff going to Tucson. We sent six UPS packages to Tucson already but the roof cargo would be too difficult to ship.

I stopped at a weigh scale thinking the worst. Fortunately the trailer is still within the maximum towing capacity for the Highlander. Once we get rid of all the Tucson stuff, we will be lighter.



 
 
 


 

Thursday - Wednesday, July 11 - 17, 2024: Gwen and I found the Camp Lite 21RBS in Spokane, a very special light weight travel trailer. It is special because it is entirely made of aluminum, frame, floor, roof, sides. No wood, the walls are a material called Azdel, Azdel is 50% lighter than wood, it has no mold, mildew, rotting or warping. It is far superior to wood. Our Highlander is limited to 5,000 lbs so this trailer is perfect for us.
Our trip south from Spokane ended in a fairground near Colfax, Washington on the first night. We had power and water and a large field for Abby to run. There was a cow show happening the next day so the fairground became busy. We continued on our way south following 395 which crosses 3 states, California, Oregon and California from Mexico to Canada. Our goal was the Clyde Holliday (yes, that's the correct spelling) State Park where we spent 3 nights. The Highlander did well pulling the trailer. Click all the photos for more views.
 

Monday, July 1, 2024: We like our Tucson Park Model and expect to spend much of our time there but not yet during the summer months. We still want to travel. But not in a giant motorhome. We are downsizing by selling the
motorhome and purchasing a much smaller travel trailer to tow behind the Highlander. We already have a travel trailer in mind. It's called a "Camp Lite" manufactured by Livn Lite, a company which does not exist any longer. The Camp Lite is very special in many ways. It takes a seasoned RVer to recognize what makes it so special. I will explain more once we have the trailer in our possession. We are expecting to have it by July 12. In the meantime, the trailer does not come with a weight distribution hitch. I searched Facebook Marketplace and found many. I was lucky to find one for the right price right here in Sutherlin. I'm cleaning it up and painting. The hitch in the photo on the left is upside down because it came with the wrong size ball, much too large. I need to put on a 2" ball. I need a 1-3/4" wrench to remove the large ball. I don't have one that large and neither do the friends I've asked. However, I suspect the park shop will have one, I'll check tomorrow. A weight distribution hitch is essential for stability with towing. It distributes the towing weight among all axles including the front wheels of the Highlander. I would not tow without one. We are needing the trailer before selling the motorhome so we can unload our personal items into the trailer then sell or donate what's left.

 

 

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