I have a new woman in my life. She made me a picture of us in the sun and she also made me a Christmas Card. Her name is Yvonne & Jan is very understanding about my new friend.

We had a lot of fun,swimming in the pool. I would meet her there every afternoon.

Yvonne's mom & dad left with Yvonne yesterday. But they'll be coming back next year.

Here is Yvonne & "Princess."

Just another typical sunset.

Another Day in Paradise

It's been getting a bit cool at night & very humid some evenings.

We often have a pretty layer of fog over the Sea of Cortez. The Island of Tiburon ( Shark Island) is behind the fog. It's about 3 miles offshore.

Jan took a day trip to San Carlos, about 70 miles south of Kino yesterday. She went with 6 others from the park. I didn't feel like spending 5 hours (2.5 hrs each way) as they were coming back the same day. They took a nature cruise in the morning and saw lots of birds and a pod of dolphins swam along with their boat for a while.

After lunch, they went to a pearl farm in Guaymas, just across the bay from San Carlos. They grow black pearls at the farm, which if course is in the bay with oysters.

Then they had dinner at Jorge's Restaurant in New Kino.

Just another sunset.

Kino Bay

We are in Kino. We got here Nov 15 with Jill & Kim and Joan & Maurice. The weather has been fabulous. 80's & 90's and sunny every day. It even hit 100+ one day. That was a little too much, but NO COMPLAINTS. It cloudedup this morning & we are getting some light rain right now. We were invited to a Quinceinera (not sure if that's spelled right) Saturday. Poncho owns a small restaurant in Old Kino where we go for dinner frequently and his twin daughters turned 15. The Quinceinera is a huge celebration when a girl turns 15. The party is comparable with a wedding in the U.S. Anyway, he invited Jim & Karen Benson, Jill & Kim Edwqrds & us to the party. We had a great time, but he had seating for about 80 people in his yard and there were over 200 people there, so we left after about an hour so others could have our table and be able to eat. Besides that we could not understand the words of the songs. They had a live band.

We;e been pretty busy getting the park organized for the season. There are only 9 rigs in the park right now & 6 of us are volunteers. We've had time to do a lot of swimming. And of course, we've gone into town 4 times so far for dinner. The sunsets have been amazing, but we missed getting pics of most of them as we didn't hae the camera with us when we went for dinner. Here is a pic of the least spectacular one.

There was this really cool fog bank over the water the other morning.

A couple of the local fishermen.

Back in the Southwest

We left Wisconsin on Oct 12 and decided to take I80 across Iowa and Nebraska and then I76 to Denver. We hadn't been that way with the RV & wanted to go a different way this year. I don't think we will be doing that again this late in the year. We didn't run into any snow, but it was too cold. The mountains also were tough on the truck. Pulling 16,000 lbs up to 11,000 ft. was hard on it, and then coming back down (without an exhaust brake) really heated up the brakes, even in 2nd gear, I had to do a lot of braking. Next time, I think we'll go further south and avoid the higher mountains and the cold.

We've been in Pahrump for a week now. I haven't taken the time to post anything, so I figured that I should do it this morning. We've run into quite a few friends here. Kim & Jill, Jim & Karen, Jerry & Laura, Rick & Pam, Paul & Carol and Pat & Dee. The weather here has been wonderful. It's in the 80's and cool at night. I have played Texas Holdum a couple of times at the casino and I am 30 dollars ahead. I also played in a tournament at the casino and split the pot with 2 other guys. We were the only ones left and rather than play it out & winner take all, we agreed to split it. I got $60 from that. So add that to our losses at the slots & we are only down a little. Mostly we have been taking advantage of the 2 for 1 buffets at the casinos. We haven't cooked one meal since we've been here. It's a good thing that we are leaving Monday. If we stayed a month, we'd gain 50 lbs each.

I'll post again when we get to Pilot Knob in Yuma.

Time to head South

Well, it's been a while, so I figured it was time to post an update.
We've spent the summer parked in my Dad's back yard outside of Hustisford, WI. Jan's ankle is finally healing nicely. It took almost 2 months for the incision to completely heal, but she is beginning to show faster improvement in her walking. She has been in physical therapy for about 2 weeks now & that is helping a lot. It will still take 3-4 months longer for her to be walking without pain.

We will be leaving WI on Oct 12 and meeting up with friends in Pahrump, NV. It is really getting to be time to leave WI. We have to wear sweatshirts and have the furnace turned on in the RV. Too cold for us. We're meeting Ron & Sandy Hunter there and will also be visiting with Jerry & Laura Milano. They're staying at their son's house in Las Vegas. I also found out yesterday that Jill & Kim Edwards and Jim & Karen Benson (friends from Kino) will also be in Pahrump, so it looks like we'll be busy.

We'll be going to pilot Knob in Yuma for 2 weeks after we leave NV. Gotta see a dentist, get our visas and get some Pesos. Then we head to Kino Bay, MX for the winter. I should have more pics to post from Kino.

Surgery

Jan had surgery on her right ankle on Tuesday. The Dr. said that the tendon was torn much worse than the MRI showed. He had to do a lot more sewing than he thought. He also tightened up a ligament to make the ankle much more stable. He also scraped off a large bone spur that was causing most of her pain.

Jan is doing quite well. She has had a bit of pain, but the painkillers she was given have done a great job of keeping it bearable. The Dr. had told me that she would be in a lot of pain, but she has been pleased that the pain isn't as bad as he said it would be. She is supposed to keep her foot elevated and only get up to use the bathroom. So, she has spent the last two days in bed, reading and doing puzzles and watching TV. She has an appointment next Tuesday and weshould know how she is coming with her recovery.

Medical Update

My Stress-Echo was completely normal and the doctor said that there was no sign of any blockage, so that is good news. I have no idea what may have caused the chest pain that I had.

Jan has been having frequent pains in her ankle so our Dr. referred her to a podiatrist & he took fome x-raysand found a lot of arthritis and bone fragments. He said that the pieces are too big for arthriscopic surgery, so he will have to make longer cuts to get all the pieces. He is also going to repair some tendon damage and possibly some ligament damage. Jan had an MRI done and has a follow-up appointment on Thursday. He probably will be scheduling surgery for her as soon as he can.

I have had a chance to visit with my dad while we are parked in the yard. He is feeling pretty tired and has not even felt up to tending his garden, so we've had a chance to play some cribbage, which he really enjoys. He has a hernia and goes to see a surgeon about that on Thursday.

Back In Wisconsin

I never did get in for a stress test in Canada. The Dr. at the ER told me to contact the Dr in Fort St. John on Thursday to confirm the test for Monday. The Dr's office said that I had to call Marilyn at the Hospital. I tried to contact the hospital, but Marilyn was off on Thursday and Friday and it seems that nobody else could even check to see what time I might be scheduled on Monday for the Stress test (Or if I was in fact scheduled) We discussed it and reluctantly decided that it was best to cancel the trip and go back home to Milwaukee. They were not going to do a nuclear stress test, just a regular one. If something showed up, I would have to home for any proceedure anyway and even if it was negative, I'm not sure that I would have felt comfortable being in the wilderness.

So I have an appointment with my cardiologist on Monday.

Dawson Creek

The four of us arrived in Dawson Creek, the start of the Alaska Highway, yesterday. Of course we had to get photos of the official Milepost "0".

Today, we took a side trip to the little town of Tumbler Ridge. It's about 54 miles (wait, I guess since we're dealing with Kilometers all the time here, it is 90 KM) from Dawson Creek. The town is famous for it's Dinosaur trails. In 2000, two young boys were rafting on the river and fell out of the raft. They walked to the bank and saw the tracks in some flat rocks. Some experts were brought in and confirmed that they were real dino tracks. Jan and & took a hike to see the trails. It was about 1 1/2 miles each way. Just as we got there, it started raining and of course, even though we brought our raincoats, we had left them in the car.


We had planned to go another 65 KM to see Kinuseo Falls, but I developed a little chest pain on the walk back to the car (in the rain). Jan & Nell insisted that I go to the community clinic in Tumbler Ridge. They did a couple of ECGs and drew blood twice for cardiac enzymes. I DID NOT HAVE A HEART ATTACK, but the Dr. recommended that I have a stress test before we continue our trip. So, being in Canada with their free health care, since I was from the US, the Dr was able to skip me WAY UP on the waiting list for the stress test (which is in a Hospital in Fort St. John) and I only have to wait until next Monday. So it looks like we'll be staying in Dawson Creek for a while longer than we expected. If the stress test is negative, we probably will continue. If not, we'll head back to Milwaukee. So, we never made it to the falls.

On the way back to Dawson Creek, we saw this Bull Moose standing next to the road. He was nice enough to pose for a bunch of pictures.

A little further down the road, we saw two Elk grazing if a field. They were quite a way from the road, but the new digital camera has an 18x optical and 4x digital zoom, so I was able to get some pics. Hopefully, we will get a chance to see more a lot closer to us.

I'll keep y'all updated on my health, but it seems that there is no immediate need for concern.

Prince George, BC & the Hart Highway to Dawson Creek

Sunday, Dave and I visited the Prince George Railroad Museum while Jan & Nell enjoyed themselves shopping. I can't imagine why they would want to shop intstead of looking at old train stuff. Well, us guys had a great time.


















Dave & I also tried our luck at the casino. Being the last of the big spenders, we spent our time on the penny slots. We discovered that our luck was bad.










Today, we continued north on the Hart Highway to Dawson Creek. We stopped at Bijoux Falls for lunch and to see the falls.


























Next on the list of things to see was the town of Chetwynd, BC. They have an annual chain saw carving competition with carvers from all over the world competing. This year it is being held June 12-15. We won't be around the area that long, but the 2007 sculptures are displayed at the Visitor's Center on the Highway. Here are a few of the sculptures.

Quesnell, BC

Friday, we only drove 70 miles to Quesnell (that's pronounced "Kwe-nell"). They have "The World's Largest Gold Pan." We had lots of time for sightseeing, but again, rain put somewhat of a damper on that.

We did take a 60 mile drive to the old mining towns of Wells and Barkerville. Wells was build around the turn of the century and has a population of around 200. The buildings have been restored by the current or previous owners and it is a quaint little village with a few shops etc.

Barkerville is a village with restorred and replicated buildings from the gold rush era of 1860's - 1900. There is a charge for admission of $13.50. We drove the 5 miles from Wells to Barkerville & when we got there it was about 3:30 and the rain had just recently stopped. We were admitted without having to pay the admission, as the shops inside were closing at 4:00. We did take a stroll around the town. It would be worthwhile to spend the entire day, or a big part of it anyway. They have tours throughout the day with guides explaining the history of the town and gold rush in general. There is also a large "Chinatown" area. As in the US, Chinese played a large part in the building of the Canadian Railways and working in the gold mines. There was another guide for that part. We arrived too late to get in on either tour. I got the impression that they didn't conduct the tours that day anyway due to the weather. Jan was dissapointed that the streets weren't really "paved with gold" but were paved with mud instead.

Today, Nell & Dave continued on to Prince George, 80 miles further N. Jan and I stayed in the area to take a drive to Pinnacles Provincial Park to see some "Hoodoos."

Then we took a drive to a ghost town, Stanley, that we had missed yesterday. Jan also wanted to try her hand at panning for gold in a stream in the area. She didn't have any success finding gold, but had a great time trying. I tried a little, but my enthusiasm is not at the same level as Jan's.

We did see two Moose next to the highway. A bull on the way in, which we were too slow on the camera to get a picture of, and this cow, which we saw on our way back to Quesnell. We caught up with Nell & Dave this afternoon

Chilliwack, BC

It's been a while, but I finally have internet access. We crossed the border into Canada on June 1. Drove all the way to Chilliwack, BC (about 40 miles into Canada) to visit with Doug & Ginger Jones. They are friends who we met in Kino Bay and when they heard that we were going to Alaska this summer, they said that we had to stop in and see them. They live about 1/2 mile off Hwy 1, which we were taking. So we, along with Nell & Dave set up in their driveway for 4 nights. Doug & Ginger were terrific hosts and guides and took us exploring as much as we could in the weather. At Harrison Hot Springs, they are in the middle of a sand sculpture competition. There are about 30 sculptures on the shore of Harrison Lake. The weather was pretty rainy, so we didn't get a lot of pics. While we were in Chilliwack, we were all invited to Gerry & Jeanne Day's condo for dinner. They are another couple from Kino Bay. They live about 4 miles from Doug & Ginger, but they had never met until this past winter at Kino.



We left Chilliwack on June 5 and headed north along the Frazier River. Another rainy day, but there were some great views along the way. The river was very swollen due to all the rain & the melting snow in the surrounding mountains.



Hell's Gate is a narrow part of the river, where part of the mountain fell. They have constructed an "air tram" to take tourists to the bottom. We decided not to go to the bottom. Jan & Nell's "isues with heights" may have been a factor in that decision. Also the continuing rain was a factor.


We drove 265 miles on the 5th to Williams Lake, BC, where we stayed in the parking lot of the Signal Point Casino. We decided that was way too far to drive in one day and decided that we would only drive 150 miles or so. There is no rush, as we don't have to be in Skagway, AK until June 21. That leaves pleanty of time to take a mure leisurely trip.

Seattle

We stayed outside of Seattle for almost a week at Tall Chief Resort in Fall City. Mostly just hanging out & getting small repairs done & last minute prep for the trip into Canada. We did take a couple of days to do some sightseeing. Sat the Space Needle and "Pike Place Market" in Seattle. Nice fiews from the space needle, but it would have been better without the overcast and fog.

Pike Place Market is very interesting. Lots of shops to spend your money. Several Fish vendors selling fresh seafood. At this one place, the fish is displayed out front and when you buy one, an employee tosses it to another guy back behind the counter & he wraps it. It is quite a sight and there are always a lot of people standing around to watch the show.

We drove about 120 miles north today & are just south of Blaine, WA, which is on the US/Canadian border. Nell & Dave & us are planning to maybe do a little sightseeing. Again some last minute stuff like oil change & getting the dog groomed, then across the border on June 1.

Mt. Rainier

We met up with Nell & Dave today at an ROD park in Randle, WA. It was raining off & on all day, but we decided to take a drive to visit Mt. Rainier just in case we were able to see it.
Nell & Dave had visited Mt Rainier a couple of days earlier and had some great views of the Mountain and we were hoping the weather would clear enough for us to see it too.

We saw some beautiful scenery on the way through the park.
As we drove further into the park, we gained altitude and the temp started to drop.
The rain ended......Well it turned more solid anyway.


We went as far as "Paradise" which is a visitor's center at about 5000 ft. The rest of the roads in the park were closed due to snow at higher elevations and flooded roads at lower elevations.


We never were able to see Mt. Rainier because when we would have been able to see it, it was snowing too hard to see any more than about 100 yards.



Yes, that last pic is a snow drift which goes onto the roof of the visitors center at "Paradise."
Now I remember why we left WI.

Columbia River Gorge

We spent this afternoon touring the Columbia River Gorge, just east of Portland. There are a number of beautiful waterfalls and awsome vistas. It rained off & on all afternoon, but we need to practice sightseeing in the rain, so it will be old hat when we get to Alaska.

It's been a few days since my last update. We've been without wi-fi for the past week, but we have been quite busy. First, Nell & Dave & us visited Craig & Barb Roberts in Florence, OR. We went for several drives along the coast and also went out on the dunes for a tour on a "dune-bus"

Jan & I then went 40 miles up the coast to Newport, OR. The first thing that we did was head to the "Bay Front" to meet the official Newport welcoming committee. We visited with Ron & Sandy Hunter. We met them in Kino Bay this past winter. Their friends, Tom & Kay were also there & we had met them in Kino also. They took us around for more sightseeing. Lighthouses and some interesting tidal pools.

Yaquina Head Light

We spent 2 days visiting with Dave & Deanna Dahlberg, friends from St. Lucas back in Milwaukee. Dave was a teacher at St. Lucas and moved to the west coast 6 years ago. We haven't seen them since then, so it was great to spend some time with them. They took us out exploring the coast again, this time north or Lincoln City. We had some wonderful expeiences. We saw our first whale and saw a family of periguine falcons nesting on a cliff. We also had a young eagle soar about 30 feet over our heads. Unfortunately, we did not get pictures of any of them. The whale was quite far out & we needed binoculars to see it. The falcons were also too far away. We couldn't even see them with the binoculars, but there was a guy from Oregon DNR monitoring them & he had a powerful spotting scope that enabled us to see them. There were 3 babies in the nest & the male was feeding them. The female had been in the nest, but flew off when the male returned with the meal for the young-uns. Jan had the camera when the eagle flew over, but was too busy looking at it & forgot to get a picture. We also went to the "world famous" Tillamook Cheese Factory (in Tillamook) and bought some cheese (very good, even though it's not made in WI.) We took a hike to a waterfall with them also.

Munson Falls

Mears Point Light