21 August 2008

Hi All: This will be my last entry for this trip. We have been home a week today and still don't have all the stuff out of the Motor Home yet. It's been raining off and on, but no big wind from the storm that passed to our East a couple days ago. Now the storm is turning and will go North of us again. Shouldn't have much trouble from it this time either. Just some rain, and most of Florida needs the rain. Just not 23 inches in a couple days. Most of it will run off and not sink in to the lakes and aquifer.

Amy figured out our final costs etc for the trip. Thought I would share it with you in case you would think of a trip like this for you:

Trip: 96 days
Miles: 12,645
Campgrounds: 56
Campground $: $2831.98
Gas Stops: 46
Gas $: $7344.37
Gas for Saturn: $165.09
Laundry $: $149.55
Motor Home Repair: $2014.78
Food & Misc, Eating out, souvenirs, tours etc: $8734.78

Total for trip: $21,240.55

We had figured it would cost us $20,000.00 for the trip, and if I had not had the expense for repairing the Motor Home it would have made it under the estimate. I don't know what kind of cruise or trip a couple could take for 96 days and see what we saw and did for less than that. It was a fantastic trip. One we will remember for ever and ever. Also strange that Amy and I were not holding each other by the throats within two weeks in to the trip. We were attached at the hip for the whole time and it was super. I was in a store the other day and walked around looking for her for half an hour before I remembered I was there by myself. hee hee...

I recommend the trip to anyone that can do it. That country is beautiful. Just wouldn't want to be there in January or February!!!

Some folks say a cat only has a memory of 30 days. And if he is away from a place longer than that he won't recognize anything when you put him back in his place. Well, I'm here to say that is wrong. Pharaoh remembers everything. He is now leading us around making us do all the things he did before we left, and remembers where everything is. He is a happy cat to have all his space again.

Again, Thanks for reading our trip.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & PHARAOH

14 August 2008

Hi All: Well, this is the last blog I guess. We got home about 1 PM today and drove all the way today in the rain. It was good to get home even if it was raining. We unloaded some stuff but decided to not work in the rain any more so we quit for the day.

We had a SUPER time on this trip and will now have to sit down and plan the next one. Not sure where yet, but do plan to use the Motor Home more...

Thanks for all your kind notes during this trip. We'll do it again some time...

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh (He's real happy to have so much room now!!!!)

11, 12, 13 August 2008

Hi All: Sorry it's been so long but the last two campgrounds did not have WiFi available. One of them had it in the building, but it was raining last night and didn't want to unhook the car. It rained most of the night and was raining this morning. Got soaked unhooking the water and electric from the Motor Home, then had to get gas and got soaked again. Glad the heater worked in the dash of the rig. It rained on us all the way to the Tallahassee RV Campground here. At least they have cable TV (72 stations) and WiFi. Was writing JoAnn and the electricity went off. Thought it kicked a circuit breaker, but it wasn't. The storm knocked out all the electricity in the area. We decided to go to the Cracker Barrel for dinner. Had a heck of a time finding it. Knew which exit off I-10 it was but it was hidden way back in the woods. Was just about ready to go to Shoney's but Amy saw a sign so we made it in. Good meal.

Made it back to the campground and the electricity was back on so we are all set for leaving in the morning for home. About 200 miles and we'll be there. Amy said that her records indicate it will be about 12,500 miles when we get home. Wow, that's a lot of gas.... We've been getting about 9 MPG on this flat hiway so far. Should be even better tomorrow as it's down hill all the way home I think.

Hope everyone enjoyed our trip and the Blog. It was fun doing the trip, AND fun doing the Blog...

Semper Fi.

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

10 August 2008

Photo's: A ways to go to San Antonia

One of those long long hiways

Hundreds of these along the way

Hi All: We made it to a little campground about 50 miles East of San Antonio, TX The trip was another hot one and it's hot here again. Close to 100 I'm sure. It's 87 here in the Motor Home, and I hope getting cooler. We did buy a small fan to move the air around and that makes it feel better when it's so hot...

Nothing much to report about the trip. Texas has the longest straightest roads I've ever seen. You can see the road till it disappears WAY down the road. Stopped for gas just outside of San Antonio cause we find that the gas is cheaper in the cities than way out on the hiway. It was $3.53 this time, and I got 9.0 MPG this time, and we had the generator running some this time, so if I take away the gas the generator uses I got better MPG....

Amy found this campground in one of our camping books. It's a Passport America campground, so it is half regular price. It's the cheapest place so far $12.50. No cable TV though, and a couple stations I can get on the regular antenna. Supposed to have WiFi also. Found it on the air and connected, but could not connect with the Internet. There was another WiFi signal there too, so I connected with it and got on line. Don't know who's WiFi it is, but it works just fine...

We are going to Lake Charles, LA tomorrow. A little shorter trip than today. We traveled about 350 miles today. Feel just fine. This rig drives much better than the Beaver did. Hate to say that about My Beaver though. But this rig has a chassis that is made for a Motor Home, not a beefed up one ton truck chassis like the Beaver...

Well, we'll see if we have WiFi tomorrow???

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

9 August 2008

Photo's One of the storms waiting on us.

Cleaning the windshield. A daily thing

Jack & I with his new helicopter?? Fixing it??

Hi All:

Got on the road at our 0900, but had to stop for gas before we got going. Gas was $3.84. Had to buy the mid grade as the regular was 85 octane, and the mid was 88. They do that to ya around here. Advertise regular at $3.74 and then you have to buy the mid grade. We got gas here before we camped and the gas was regular 87 octane and it was $3.99. Seems like gas is always more expensive in Texas even though there are a bunch of refineries here and they still pump oil, but the gas is more expensive here. We plan to be East of San Antonio tomorrow so we won't have to drive thru there on Monday morning. Amy just made reservations at a campground and they said they have just one spot left. Hope it's still there when we get there.???

The trip was another trip like yesterday, some gradual upgrades and downgrades. We even had our rain storm just before we got here to Ft. Stockton, TX. The campground used to be a KOA, but is now a Good Sam. Even has a restaurant, Not sure we will use it or just eat in. We do like to eat in. Amy's a better cook than most any place out. Except Chinese???

Temp here is around 95 and the AC is working max now to get he inside of the Motor Home cooled down. Didn't use the generator today, just the dash AC. Got 9.4 MPG at our fill up today, and 9.1 on this morning's fill up. That's not to bad I don't think. We were getting 6.? in Canada and Alaska, but there were a lot more ups and downs there.

Didn't try to mess with the satellite today. We get 3 channels here and one of them is the Olympic, so that is what we have been watching since the opening stuff yesterday.

Amy talked to Judy today and Tom is coming along good. He's eating regular food and up and about. Should be home Monday. Good news...

Not sure about WiFi for tomorrow, Wish Us Luck.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh..

8 August 2008

Hi All: Boy, we had a long trip today. Forgot that we lose an hour when we get out of Arizona. Arizona does not do Daylight Savings Time, so when we hit New Mexico we lost an hour, and we had about 400 miles to travel also, so we didn't get in to the campground till a little after 1800 local time. It's the Coachlight Motel and RV Park. It's supposed to be a Passport America place and our catalog said it would be $13.50, but when we signed up it was $18.50. Guess all things get more expensive. It's still not bad. Pull Thru site with full hookups AND WiFi free, so don't have to much to bitch about. No cable TV. Have to use the regular antenna, but get 12 channels, and 6 of them are in Spanish???? The Temp when we got here was about 87 which is much better than 117. We did hit a big rain storm about 80 miles from here. It cooled things down to 64 for a while. See gas is $3.79 here. We stopped at a station about 200 miles ago and paid $4.09. Guess we need to get gas closer to the big towns. Will top off in the morning. There are two stations here that we are supposed to be able to get in and get out of...

Will be leaving again at about 0900 in the morning, but plan to go only about 300 miles this time. The roads are pretty good, Lots and Lots of trucks, and the speed limit is mostly 75. I keep it at 60 which probably upsets some of the truckers as they think they own the hiway most of the time.

I did a program on Good Sam travel program that had us getting home on Wednesday, but it had me going 400 miles a day which Amy won't stand for, so it will probably be Thursday or Friday before we get home.... The hiway is fairly flat, but there are lots of gradual up grades that eat in to the MPG. Still got about 8.8 on the last tank, and today I should do better than that. Don't need to run the generator here either. It's a lot cooler than Arizona...

Well, better entertain Amy and Pharaoh for a while.

Semper Fi.

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

7 August 2008

Hi All: Had a slow day today. Amy got out early to the laundry and got our clothes washed and was back in about 2 hours. We sat around for a while, I checked the oil in the generator and the Motor Home. Checked the air in tires and we went over to Jack and Yoli's about 1330. Stopped at Starbucks and got some ice coffee and a couple strawberry things Jack and Y0li like. We sat around and BS'd for a while till it was time to go to dinner. Amy wanted to go back to the Mexican Restaurant they had taken us to when we first got here. WE had different meals this time too. The food sure is good there. We just DON'T have any good Mexican food where we live. Won't get any more good food till we go back to visit Jack and Yoli again I suspect. WE want to plan a trip back when it is not so hot.

Hated to say good bye to them after dinner, but all good things etc etc... We REALLY had a good time there with them. Jack had to go to work in the morning too. He took time off the whole time we were there. Sure glad he did..

Not much to report on this day. We leave at approx 0900 in the morning for Los Cruces, NM. Pretty long day I think. About 400 miles. Don't like to go that far...

Semper Fi.

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

6 August 2008

P
Photo's: Jack Cooking Dinner???
Yoli also cooking Dinner

And, Amy with a bird head..hee hee.

Hi All:

Another super day with Jack and Yoli. Amy got her hair done this morning and that took half a day for some reason. She left the Motor Home at about 0730 and we didn't see her till 1330??? She did look good though. Some of the time may have been used up getting a few small things for Jack and Yoli. It's their 28th Anniversary, and Yoli's ?? Birthday. She still looks like a teen ager...

Jack, Yoli and I sat around the house till Amy got back, then we visited a while longer then went to a restaurant called PF Chang's It was a super Chinese restaurant. The best I've ever had. Not a buffet, but a dinner like Amy likes. She likes all the food brought to her at a table etc. That happened here in style. If you ever see one of those restaurants and like Chinese food be sure to stop in...

That's about all we did yesterday. Amy will do the laundry tomorrow morning and then over to Jack And Yoli's for (Don't Know yet). Amy wants to go back to the Mexican restaurant they took us to a couple days ago. We cannot get any good Mexican food at home so this will be our last good food of that kind till we get back here to visit. Next visit will be when it is not so hot also.

Semper Fi.

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

5 August 2008

Photo's: Inside shot of stadium

Grass playing field on the outside. Rolls in when game is played
Jack and I showing bad knees??

Hi All:

Another great day in Phoenix. We got up at normal 0700 and was slow to get going. Got to Jack and Yoli's about 1030 and we decided to go early to the UofP Dome. Yoli said there was some stores etc we could browse thru. We found "Margaritaville" there and browsed thru a Margarita. Well, just Jack and I had one. Yoli had a "Coor's Light" and Amy had water. She still can't drink Tequila. hee hee.

We then walked over to the dome from there and looked around in the Cardinals gift shop till time for the tour. The tour person was real good. Took us all over the dome. It's one of the biggest in North America, Opens up on the top if they want, AND the grass field is grown on the outside and the day before a game they roll it in to the stadium for the game, then back outside to continue growing and they cut the grass out there and all. Pretty neat. We got to see some of the Private Boxes (Called Lounges here) that go for $125,000.00 a year with a minimum 3 year contract. Pretty nice, but not as nice as the owners "Lounge". It is glass enclosed and has food furnished etc. We couldn't go in there. Also went thru the visiting team locker room. Wouldn't let us in the Cardinals locker room. The tour was just great. Now I have to root for the Cardinals NFL team like I had to after Jack took us on the tour of the Diamondbacks place 7 years ago. Jack said the team needs a lot of help as they are not doing well this year. Well, after he took us thru the Diamondbacks stadium they won the World Series that year. Maybe the same will happen to the Cardinals. Not the World Series, but the Super Bowl?????

Had a fantastic dinner at Jack and Yoli's last night after we got back from the tour. Jack cooked some kind of marinated Dead Cow.( Don't remember the name of the meat?) and Yoli made some Mexican Rice which was superb, and had "Fried Beans". Not re-fried, just fried. They were great also. I even had to have seconds which I hardly ever do any more. The scale told me about it this morning....???

Amy is going to get her hair done this morning at o730, and Jack is going to pick me up here and we'll do something till she calls that she is done at the beauty shop.

Temp this morning was 86 with cloudy skies. Had a lot of lightening last night, but no rain here that I could tell.

Amy's brother Tom went in the hospital yesterday and had his gall bladder removed. Amy talked to Judy this morning and he seems to be coming along pretty good so far. Please send him all your good wishes. He hates being in the hospital... "Get well soon Tom"

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

4 August 2008

Hi All: Another great day with Jack and Yoli. Got to their place about 1015. Was supposed to be there at 1000, but you all can guess who was holding up progress!!!!!

We had decided to go to the base to the Px and the Commissary. Got to the PX and it was nice, Then walked to the commissary and on the way in we noticed the checkout line was at least 100 feet long going down a long hall and I don't know what on the other end. I dropped the shopping basket and ran to the car. So we did not get an time in the commissary. We instead went to the "Food Store" Jack said had good prices and stuff. He was right. We got all we needed in no time at all. We only needed a few things so to stand in a line that long made no sense to me. We had dropped Yoli off at the house so she could get to her dental appointment at 1300. So we brought the stuff we bought to the Motor Home and Amy got it all stored and we went back to the house to wait on Yoli. She got back and we went to "THE LIQUOR STORE" Jack had a list of their prices and they were good. Wow, what a place. Almost as big as a KMart with nothing but wine and beer and liquor... Left with a trunk full of stuff..

We then went to a Mexican restaurant for Lupper. It was a great place. Super Margaritas, Salsa and chips, and the meals were superb. I had a Taco Salad off the Senior menu and it was just right. So tasty and not so much that I couldn't eat it all. Amy even was able to eat all her meal too. Jack and Yoli recommended the Senior Menu as the portions were pretty large here. One of the best meals I've had so far.

We went to the house and watched O'Riley till 1800 and then came home. Seems we get so tired having all this sight seeing and fun.. Oh, JoAnn, we are not having that much fun. She has told us we can have a little fun without her, but not to much. hee hee...

Going on a tour of the new University Dome at 1230 tomorrow, and I think Jack has some dead cow to burn for dinner. Looking forward to that too. It's so great to have the time to spend here with Jack and Yoli. It's exciting, interesting, exhilarating, and wonderful.

Checked the electric hook up this morning and the plug on our electric cord was so hot that I couldn't touch it, so I replaced it. It was melting the plastic around the outside of it. Not sure why, but changed it any way. Must have been a bad connection in there somewhere. Seems to be OK now...

Temp was 99 outside this evening. Must have something to do with the large rainstorm we had last night about 0300. It really came down. Jack said none came down where he lives about 15 minutes from here.... Any way, it's a little less hot this evening... Might be the warm salsa we had with dinner that warmed up our insides to get us closer to the high temps they have here.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

3 August 2008

Photos: A Javalina that walked down the road at a rest area.

We just had a wine tasting and I bought 2 bottles

A rock on the way to Jerome that is painted like a frog. Had to do a U turn for Amy to get her photo's.

Hi All: Another great day in Arizona. Got on the road from Jack and Yoli's about 0830 for Jerome, AZ. About 125 miles North of here. It's an old 1860's mining town on the side of a mountain. The streets are switch back on the mountain about 4 times as it is really on the mountain. They built a jail there a long time ago and it rained a lot and the jail was moved about two blocks down the mountain and is still located where it came to a stop. Not used but still there. It was a cement block building so it stayed pretty much in together. The town is a big tourist town now and we should NOT have gone there on a Sunday. Every biker and every other person in Phoenix and around was there too. Had a heck of a time finding a place to park, but did and then we had to walk up the side of the mountain roads to the town. Found a winery and did the wine taste. I bought two bottles. We were trying to find a wine that Yoli wanted. Not sure we did, but did buy the two bottles that she didn't make a real bad face when she tasted them...?? They were sparkeling wine of Peach and Almonds....We'll see if she still likes them....

The only other thing we bought was a T shirt from the fire department's table who were trying to get enough money to get a ladder long enough to reach the tallest building they have in case it ever catches fire... Bought one for $20 with their name on it... Also got an ice cream cone. Then started clouding up and thundering and we headed for the car and made it just as the sky opened up and we got on the road south to Phoenix..

Got back to Jack and Yoli's and had a couple drinks and we headed back to the Motor home to make sure the electricity stayed on today for Pharoah. The Air Conditioner was still running when we got there so we knew it should be OK for the little guy. He was happy to see us and back to his old self even if it was only 90 in the motor home, but 112 outside. The AC only gets to our 78 setting about 0530 in the morning, and I see from the weather channel it will be hot all the way across I-10. We plan to leave Friday morning.

Going to the base to the Px and Commissary tomorrow, and maybe to Best Buy to see if Kevin the tool is working that can put my key back on the lap top that Pharaoh picked off...Will probably do something else also, don't know what yet. Jack has tickets for us to tour the new Phoenix Universarty dome on Tuesday. Have plans to take them out for dinner for their Annivarsary, and Yoli's birthday one of these days, and Jack says they want us to try a Mexican Dinner place also. Amy has an appointmnet for hair fix on Wednesday, and then plans to do laundry etc on Thursday, and we plan to leave morning of Friday. Should take about a a week to get home. Hope we don't meet that tropical storm that is coming in to Texas about then....

Hope you enjoy the photo's.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & a COOL Pharaoh..

2 August 2008

Photo's: A rose between two thorns. Amy and Yoli

The Thorns by themselves

The sign on the hiway of Out Of Africa

HI All:

We had a good day today. We wanted to check a few places to buy an electric Ice Crusher. WE do have one I have to crank, but wanted an electric one. Not one that make slushy's or smoothies, just cracked ice. Could not find one.....We then decided to go to Cabella's and there was a nice restaurant on the way that brews their own beer etc, so we stopped for lunch. Wow, it was one of the best hamburgers I've ever had, and the beer was pretty good to. Went to Cabella's then and spent a lot of time looking around in there. What a place. Didn't buy anything, but it was a trip to see what is in there. Checked Best Buy to have the key replaced on my lap top by the Geek Squad. Well they said they needed a special tool to fix it and his name is Kevin and he won't be in till tomorrow, so I didn't get it fixed yet.

Went to Jack and Yoli's for some water and a little wine and socializing and came back to the motor home at about 1800. Got here and opened the motor home and it was 106 inside. The circuit breaker on the campground outlet tripped I don't know when so poor Pharaoh was in a hot box for we don't know how long. It must have been a while as it was 103 outside, and 106 inside. He's OK I think, but doesn't seem to want his dinner which he is always ready for. When the AC catches up I'm sure he'll be back to normal. Need to put him in the shower I guess. Amy says No...

Dean Harrison called us today, Guess he finally got the card we left in Verde Valley. Amy talked to him for a while. Promised we'd try again when we get back out this way. Will try to make it when it's not this hot.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy, and Sweaty Pharaoh

2

1 August 2008

Photo's A striped horse; A black Bear; A White?Yellow Boa

Hi All: Here it is the beginning of a new month already. Our trip is coming to a close..:-(

Got here in Phoenix about 1200. The trip down

was pretty easy. Mostly DOWN HILL. We dropped about 3000 feet in 80 miles, and the temp went up with the drop of each foot.

Phoenix has grown an awful lot since our last visit. The area around here has become as busy as downtown Phoenix. Amy is in a fit about all the MALL's and shopping around here.

WE had a nice visit with Jack and Yoli yesterday with a super Pizza for dinner at the house. The get one that is all made up and you bring it home and cook it yourself. One of the best ones I've had...Didn't stay up to long as Amy and I were beat from the heat and trip I guess. Slept great. "The AC finally caught up to the setting about 0500 and was off for about half hour and came back on and has been going again since. Amy said the outside temp was 102, but the sun was on that side so she dropped the awning and it is now down to 99.. I suspect it will go up some as the day goes on...

WE plan to do some shopping like trips today, They have a Cabella's here, need to take my lap top to Best Buy to have one of the keys replaced. I think Pharaoh picked it off one night I left it open as it was pried up the next morning. Also want to check out the PX and Commissary on the base here too.

Plan a trip to Jerome, AZ on Sunday. A neat little town to visit. WE did it the last time we were here and enjoyed the visit as well as the trip there..

Later.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

31 July 2008

Photo's 4000 pound two horned Rino

Small Grizzle Bear

Hi All:

It was another hot hot day here in Verde Valley. We got up and went to find a place for breakfast and WOW. We found a Denny's just down the road, so I had to much to eat for breakfast, so that will be the only meal we eat for the day. I asked about the military discount all the other Denny's have given us since we have been on the road and she said "We're not cool enough to do that".. So no discount here at this Denny's

We then went to the Out of Africa place that Amy's cousin owns and they were not there. We did pay to get in though $58.00. We rode a tram out to the main area of animals. There were some along the way, some tigers, grizzle bears, black bears, a wolf, some giraffe's and stripped horses? We got there in time to wait about half hour for a snake show of two big snakes, then the next show was 1 1/2 hours off and the temp was over 100 by this time so we decided to get out of the heat and come home. Amy left a note there for the Harrison's to call us if they could and that we were leaving tomorrow for Phoenix. Doubt we will hear from them???Will be surprised if we do.

The temp on the outside thermometer was 122 when we got back to the motor home. The sun was on it though, so we put the awning down. The AC worked it's butt off and got the inside of the motor home down to 89. When we thought it was warm in here we just walked outside for a little while and realized it was cool inside.

We did decide to go to dinner. We saw a Dairy Queen down the road by the Denny's so we went there. I had my large cone, and Amy had a hot fudge sundae. It was a good supper. We then came back to the motor home.

I did have trouble getting the Direct TV working when we got here. I tried to use the antenna on the roof of the Motor Home that is supposed to lock on the satellite automatically. It has not been doing it since I had them work on it before we left home. Well, I did get it locked on the satellite but had no channels on the TV. Called DirectTV and was talking to the agent and lost lock, so I hung up and got the land based antenna up and got a good lock and called them back. Got another agent of course. Told her my problem and she said to tune in to a channel and pretty soon it started to work. She said if you don't use the box for a while it goes to sleep and they have to wake it up.. Nice to have all the stations again. But do miss the local ones that we can't get when we get out of the area.

We then went to the local winery here by the campground. Had a wine tasting and bought 6 bottles, so there went our free camping????

Will be at Jacks tomorrow. Don't know about WiFi at the campground, but I'm sure Jack will let me use his computer if they don't.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharoah

30 July 2008

Hi All: I got the Motor Home all washed today. Boy was it dirty. Left quite a ring around the spot we are parked in. I was surprised the campground allowed us to wash the rigs as we are in the desert, and I thought water may be short in supply. Apparently not.

The knee was talking to me after crawling all over the rig washing it, so let it rest the rest of the day. Amy did laundry and worked at cleaning up the inside of the rig most of the day. We went out for dinner as it's to hot to cook in the motor home. The AC has to work at it's maximum all day to keep it livable inside. It got up to 107 today, but does cool down to 73 in the morning. The weather man says it's going to be 112 in Phoenix this weekend, and we leave Friday for there. Will be there 5 days, and if I recall there are no trees at the Cotton Lane Campground. It's like a lot of other camping places, just like a big parking lot with no trees, and places full of rigs. I suspect there may not be to many rigs this time of year there. There were few of them last time we were here with Jay and Lou in 2001....

Amy had a phone number from her Uncle Donnie Harrison of some relatives that live near here and run an attraction called "Out Of Africa". We saw where the attraction is, and Amy tried to call the number but it has been disconnected. We plan to go visit the attraction tomorrow. Might be able to find the relatives there. They are the family of Amy's Grandfather Harrison's Brother we understand..

We went out for dinner last night. Had a big time at Pizza Hut... Hadn't had one of their pizza's in a while. It was good. To hot to cook in the Motor home.....

We plan to go sight seeing tomorrow. There are about 5 wineries here. Might check out one of those or two....Also going to see "Out Of Africa".....

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

29 July 2008

Hi All: We had quite a trip from Flagstaff to Verde Valley. We came down from 7230 feet to 3200 feet here at the campground. It's a lot warmer here and it's desert. We were here at this campground in 2001 when we came out here before. It hasn't changed at all. The trip down here was all down hill, had to use the engine to slow the motor home on the 6% grades. Didn't have any problems on the way though. We did miss a turn in Flagstaff and had to find another entrance to I-40, but Amy got us on OK. We also missed the turn to the campground in that they are working on the hiway and the signs have been removed. Had to go down the road a ways till I found a way to turn around. I need about 40 acres to turn this thing around.

Got all hooked up and things running and we went to the town of Cottonwood for dinner. Found a nice place which had real good food and came back to the motor home.

I decided to try to get the Automatic Satellite dish to work and it did lock on the satellite, but I couldn't get any of the channels to work. I finally called Direct TV and was talking to an agent and he needed the card number in the box so I pulled it out and lost the satellite signal and could not get the system to relock, so had to hang up. I then put the big antenna up and got a good lock but still no channels. Called Direct TV again and talked to a different agent naturally and told her my problem. She said if the box isn't used for a long time sometimes it goes to sleep so he did something to wake it up and it works super again. Have all my channels except the local channels there in Tampa.


They told me when I checked that I would have to go to the rec building to use the WiFi, but I tried it here at the motor home and I have a signal here so I must be close enough to pick it up.

More later..

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

28 July 2008

Hi All: We made it to the campground just North of Flagstaff. The trip down was beautiful. It's the same route we took with Jay and Lou but it seemed to be more beautiful. It's mostly desert and mountains. Lots of Mountains. Lots of ups and downs. I'm sure my gas mileage has suffered on this trip, but it was worth the extra to see that wonderful landscape. Saw the south end of the painted desert, and the south end of Zion National Park with it's super mountains, and saw the Colorado River where the Grand Canyon starts. We went from 8000 feet down to 3000 feet, and back to 6000 feet and down, then back up to 7200 feet here in Flagstaff. I feel like I did a Daytona 500. I never had to go to first gear though. The Motor home did a super job of drinking that gas...



It's kinda warm here but not like it will be in Phoenix. The weather person says it will be 110 to 112 in Phoenix this weekend. We will be doing a lot of inside stuff there. At least inside a car with the AC running. BUT, Jack says "It's a dry heat"... That should make a difference????



This park only had a hot spot at the office where I had to take the lap top to the office to use the Internet. They said there was a "RVWiFi that was available for $$ and that I can log on that and use the Internet from the Motorhome. I tried to log on their site and never could get it. I noticed another WiFi site and logged on to that and was able to get on the Internet, however, I was in the middle of this Blog and it closed down. I then tried the money site again and finally got logged on and signed up for a one day for $5.95 and got back on here and found that the blog had saved some of what I had written before they dumped me. So now I'm on fast WiFi here in the Motor home with Amy cooking something that sure smells good....

We leave in the morning for Camp Verde that is about 100 miles down I-17 towards Phoenix. We will stay there 3 days cleaning things up and Amy can use the Laundry. We need to use some of those 1000 Trails campgrounds that we are members of. We will never catch up to what we have paid for the membership costs. But every little stop helps. Seems most of the campgrounds are where we are NOT. Don't know if they have WiFi there or not.They should have, and have someone come to my Motor Home and log the Blog for me.. hee hee.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

27 July 2008

Hi All: Made it to Cedar City, Utah at about 1430 today after a 280 mile drive. The country is still pretty desert type country with some crops being sprayed with water here and there. They are cutting the hay and oats now in places. Fairly flat, but do have some mountains to go over in places.

Woke up this morning and started the coffee and found the coffee maker bought the farm. Could not get it to work. Thank goodness Amy had her one cup coffee maker so she made several cups to get us on the road. We did find a WalMart here in Cedar City to get a new coffee maker. Now I have to mount it to the cabinet where the old one was. Of course the present mounting bracket will not work with the new coffee maker.

Have been having trouble with the motor surging since I left Florida. It would happen when I first start out, and then the Anti-Lock Brake System light would come on and the surging would stop. The light has been coming on since I changed the brake pads before we left. I paid them in Billings $190.00 to fix that, but the light came on before I got out of Billings. It has not been to troublesome, but it did seem to last longer in the surging the other day. Soooo. I removed the fuse from the ABS system and it ran just great today. Hope I don't need the ABS on the rest of the trip. Plan to take it to a Workhorse place in Brooksville when I get home...

We plan to turn off the Interstate system tomorrow and go down route 89 around the end of the Grand Canyon and then on to Flagstaff for the night tomorrow. Then the next night we have reservations at one of our 1000 Trails campgrounds in Camp Verde, AZ. Plan to stay there 3 nights to get rested up for our stay in Phoenix with Jack and Yoli. Jack has made arrangements to be off work while we are there. Plan to stay there about 5 days then head down I-10 towards Florida.

It's been a great trip.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

26 July 2008

Hi All: Made it to Ogden, Utah with no problems. The country is mostly desert, with lots of irrigation that makes for large patches of green. Lots of corn, oats that is being harvested, and some stuff I didn't know what it was. There is an awful lot of growing going on in the middle of a desert area. The heat is really hitting us now. It was 96 when we pulled in to the campground. We decided to run the generator and the air conditioner in the motor home all day to keep it cool so it wouldn't be so warm when we started living in it here at the campground. That helps a lot as the AC doesn't have to work it's but off to get rid of the hot air to get it cool enough to be comfortable. It's comfortable now, and we have Cable TV and WiFi and Ice and Lord, so I am set for the evening...

We will leave in the morning for Cedar City, Utah for another night there, then leave the interstate system and head out across southern Utah in to Northern Arizona after Cedar City. Looks like more of the same kind of country we have been traveling in. Not much traffic. Just an awful lot of trucks..

Later.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

25 July 2008

Hi All: We left Pendleton, OR and traveled down I-84 to "Mountain Home, Utah". The trip was fairly uneventfully, and a lot of up and down trips with the mountains that are here. The biggest thing is the temperature. It was 95 on our last leg of the trip to this campground. Mountain Home RV Park. It's one of the best campgrounds we have been in. Paved streets, concrete sites that are level, and plenty of room to pull in without having to unhook the car. It's a beautiful "Resort" type campground. It has plenty of room for campers, but this may not be the tourist season for here due to the heat. Has grass at each site, a picnic table, Cable TV, and super WiFi for $30 a night. It is a place we would choose to stay a few days if we had not committed ourselves to a time frame. We made reservations at the Cotton Lane campground in Phoenix area for 1 August for 5 days to visit with Jack and Yoli. Jack says he'll be off the whole time we are there. We are looking forward to our visit with them.

We were looking at a route down there thru Las Vegas, but have decided to change the route from Cedar City, Utah to go down toward the North rim of the Grand Canyon and down route 89 to Flagstaff, Az. The route there is one that we took with Jay and Lou some years ago. It's not an Interstate hiway, but the scenery is much better... Distance is pretty close to the same..

Didn't get a chance to download any Photo's from Amy's chip today. It takes forever as she has over 1200 photo's on the disc, and I have to download all of them to pick some of the last ones. It takes about two days to do that.

Bob and Dorene are leaving Canada today I think. Hope they make it thru the customs gate faster than we did. We miss them...

Had to unhook the car and go in to town to find a Booze store. Amy ran out of Scotch. hee hee. I also picked up some of the "Lord" they had there. Have been using Black Velvet. It's not as good as the Lord. Calvert that is...

Leaving in the morning for Ogden, Utah. Have reservations at a campground for the night, then on to Flagstaff the next day. We hope. Not sure how the roads are... Plan to stop at a 1000 Trails campground in Camp Verde, AZ for 3 days around Flagstaff to clean up the motor home and rest up for our visit with Jack. Will be at Jacks the 1st of August for 5 days...

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

24 July 2008

Photo's: Blue roses in Farmers Market

Don getting his peaches

Joe and Judy Harrison after a fantastic Lunch

HI All:

We are in Pendelton, OR today. We left Seattle area about 0900 and headed to a campground about 230 miles down the road. Stopped there and it was awful, so we went to the next exit where there were two more campgrounds and they were "No Vacancy", so we ended up driving 375 miles to Pendelton, OR. Have a nice campground here. Like a lot of them. They are just large parking lots with no trees, shrubs or anything, just spaces with water, electric and this one has a sewer outlet about 35 feet away from where my hose comes out of the Motor Home, So I will probably have to drive around the place and park half in the space and do the dump deed in the morning, or just hawl it down the road to the next park and dump there.

We plan to go to Mountain Home, Idaho. About 250 miles. WE made reservations at this one. Not going to chance it any more. I guess it really is the tourist season around this part of the country.

We came down the Columbia River today and it was a beautiful drive. The river is enormous and has lots of barges and boats and Dams with electric producing stuff there. We decided to come this route rather than the route over the mountains and glad we did. Got over 8 MPG on the first leg, but then when we left the river area we started gradually going up and the MPG went down, party because I had to turn on the Air Conditioner. It was 52 when we left Seattle area, and when we got here it was 88. The country turned to mostly desert type land scape with a few green spots here and there called little towns. Pendleton is a larger green spot, but we won't be doing any sight seeing here. We are beat and plan to leave in the morning.

Had a super time with Joe and Judy. They took us to Pike Farmers Market. Think I called it Pit on the last Blog. It was the best Farmers Market I ever have seen. Every kind of fruit and veggies you can think of, and a lot I never heard of. One kind of mushroom was $30 a pound. Didn't buy any of those. Did get some fantastic Peaches, and a Part Plum and Aprcot. It has a feal red fruit inside and sweet as can be. Also got a couple Nectorines that were super. Had one of the peaches at breakfast.They were the size of soft balls....

Got a note from Dorene.They are in Prince George and Bob thinks he passed the stone. He has had no pain for 5 or 6 days, so I would think he's over it. Sure happy to hear that.

Amy just figured out the rest of the trip to Phoenix?? Jack, looks like we'll get there on 1 August if all goes OK along the way. Plan to stay 5 days OK??

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

23 July 2008

Hi All. We are at Joe and Judy Harrison's place near Seattle. We got here yesterday afternoon and checked in to the campground, a Sunrise Resort and they had no WiFi, so I missed a day or so of Blog.

We went to Joe and Judy's place yesterday about 1700 and then they took us to the Country Club for dinner. It was super. Then we went back tot he motorhome and went to sleep early.

They picked us up at 0930 and took us in to Seattle to the Farmers Market. It's more than just a farmers market, they have everything you can think of there. Think it's called Pitts Market. I did buy some fruit they had there. Beautiful peaches and plums. We then went to lunch at a wonderful little place and I had clam chowder and a salad, Amy had a steak salad, so had to help her eat her steak too. The lunch was grand. We then came back to their place and I am on Joe's computer now doing the blog. Will have dinner here, and their kids will stop by so we can see them.

Plan to leave in the morning down I-5 to I-82 East. Not sure how far we will get. It's on our way to Phoenix. Think it may take about a week to get there. Think it's 1500 miles from here. We don't like to make to long a day of driving. Will let you all now as we get along how far we will get and when we will get in to Phoenix. Will let you know as soon as we can Jack so you can plan.

Semper Fi.

Don, Amy & Pharoah

20 July 2008

Hi All: We made it to Mount Vernon, WA at about 1500. It was along trip. A lot of ups and downs coming down the valley from Cashe Creek. No big mountains, just a lot of ups and downs with a brisk head wind most of the way.. To make things worse it took about one and a half hours to get thru customs in to Washington. It only took us about 2 minutes after we made it to the gate. Seemed like most of British Columbia was coming across the border when we were there. Traffic lined up behind us as far as I could see. I was fit to be tied....But glad to get back in the USA.

It sure is a lot warmer here. Had to use the AC coming here, and then had to turn it on in the Motor Home also.

Real nice campground with paved interior roads. Amy plans to do some laundry here tomorrow,and I hope I can find a place to wash the car. It sure is filthy.

Plan to leave for the Seattle area Tuesday. It's a short drive. Have reservations at a campground that isn't to far from Joe and Judy's place. We'll call them when we get in, then visit with them Wednesday I guess, then back on the road again toward Phoenix..

No photo's this time. Didn't download what Amy took today..

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

19 July 2008

Photo's: At a campground.

One of the dusty roads we traveled on.

This is a field of Canola Beans. They were as far as you could see in British Columbia. Beautiful

Hi All:

Another day of travel, this time about 280 miles to a little town called Cache Creek,BC. It is in the desert of British Columbia. It really is a desert here. As we came down it started getting browner and browner along the way. Here there are the mesquite that they had in 29 Palms, CA when we were stationed there. It is all brown except along a little creek that runs down here. We left Prince George and the temp was about low 50's. Well we got here and it was 85 degrees. We have the AC running now.

The campground is called Brookside Campground . Have not seen a Brook any where near here though. It is a nice shady campground though and does have WiFi, even if they charge extra for it. Only $2 for as long as we stay. Only staying one night

We parted with Bob and Dorene this morning. It was a teary separation. We have had such a great time the 10 weeks we were together. Bob's stone is still there, but Ibuprofen seems to make him somewhat comfortable. I'm sure he hasn't found any water Melons to eat up here yet as Jan said was good for Kidney Stones. He's still drinking lots of water in hopes it will go away. They have a long trip to Hyder, BC. I had thought it was only 250 miles up there from Prince George, but I was wrong. It's over 400 miles one way. Have to come back the same way up there, then turn south like we did this morning. We wish them safe trip, and hope Bob gets rid of his pain in the ***, I mean side.....

We plan to go to a little town just over the border and stay a couple days to do laundry and clean up the rigs a little, then on to a Campground that Joe Harrison mentioned in his mail to us. We plan to call that campground tomorrow when we get in the US when our phone is not in roaming as it is here in Canada.

We drove to the little town of Cache Creek to see what was there when we got hooked up here. Well, we had seen all there was there when we drove thru to get here. It does have a Dairy Queen though. To close to supper to have one though. Stopped at a little food store to get some milk and spend the last of our Canadian Money. Have $1.01 left. Amy will go in the store when we get gas in the morning and buy something for a dollar, as if there is anything to buy for one dollar. They do take US money as well as Canadian most anywhere along the road...

Not sure about WiFi for our next stop over, so if you don't hear from us for a couple days don't be concerned. We'll be back on as soon as we can find a WiFi campground. We have the usual two TV channels here. Both terrible. Will be glad to get back in the US where they have cable, or I can use my Satellite dish..

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharoah

18 JULY 2008

Hi All: Here's a couple photo's we took at a place called Chetwynd, BC on the way here to Prince
George. They have an annual chainsaw artist thing there to see who can make the best stature or whatever. These are some of yearly winners work. They are made from a big piece of wood and takes hours to do. They were fantastic, and beautiful arts of work. The other one is a place we stopped for lunch and I had just cleaned the bugs off the windshield and the phantom camera person struck again.

We had a real nice day here in Prince George. It's a big city of over 80,000 people. We went to breakfast for the first time in a while, then of course found a WalMart and then a MALL. While the girls were in the Mall Bob and I went to a place called "Princess Auto" as recommended by the guy here at the campground. Well, he did us a good turn. The place would not have been a place I would have picked to go in due to the name, but they had more than just auto stuff in there. It was like a big big Harbor Freight place. They had EVERYTING in there. I didn't buy anything, but sure would like to have if I had a place to put it. Bob and I spent the hour the girls gave us to meet them at the mall. Could have stayed another hour. Bob did find one small thing he needed. Valve stem extensions he's been looking for. Wish we had one of these stores in Florida.

We then found a Dairy Queen and had to have a cone there, then went to a nice restaurant that the manager here recommended for dinner. It was very very good too. Had a real nice day.

Bob and Dorene are going to Hyder,BC today to see the bears eat salmon. We are sad that we are splitting up as we are heading south to Seattle. Bob's stone has not passed yet, but his pain is manageable with Ibuprofen pretty much he says. We have had a super time the last 10 weeks together. We will miss them very much on the rest of the trip. Could not have had as much fun on this trip without them...

Well, better get going and get on the things that need done before we leave here. Have about an hour to do 2 hours of stuff.

Hope we can keep getting WiFi like we have here. It's nice and fast, but it does quit at times.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh.

Good trip Bob and Dorene........

17 July 2008

Photo's Buffalo crossing the road in front of us with dumb people on road running for cover.

Goat in a herd that we had to stop and let cross the road.

Wild cat in field of Alfafa called Pharaoh

Hi All:

We had an uneventful trip to Prince George, BC today. The weather was real nice, and it only rained on us one time and not very long. It got the bugs off the windshield which is a good thing, as I think they have more bugs up here than we do in Florida, Except for "Love Bug" season down there.

We called early this morning to make reservations at the campground we are in. It is a nice one, but the WiFi was off when we got here due to a lightening strike yesterday, but they got it working at around 7 PM so I get to make the blog from the Motor Home which is nice. I hate to sit in those laundry rooms and do the blog and check the mail. Also I had to unhook the car and trailer to back in the spot. This wasn't to bad as we were going to unhook the car here any way as we want to go about town tomorrow.

The trip here wasn't as nice as we had on the northern part of the Alaska Hiway. It was a better road though, but the scenery wasn't as beautiful.

We plan to stay here two days, then go on to Seattle to visit Joe Harrison there, then on to Phoenix to visit Jack...

Not much to write about for this day. Hope I can attach a couple photo's.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

16 July 2008

Ph Photos: Our photo of our signs at Watson Lake. Amy hearding cats. It's hard...

A black bear and two cubs along the road.

Hi All:

Had a nice trip to Dawson Creek today. About 274 miles. The view was not as good as the day before, and didn't see hardly any wild life. Did see one moose along the hiway, but he ran in the woods before Amy could draw her camera. She carries it in a holster. hee hee.

We went to a different campground this time, as the one we stayed at when we came thru there a month ago was so crammed up that I couldn't get out of my campsite till Bob got out of his. Well, this one isn't as crowed as that one, but it is on a hill and I couldn't level the motor home and had to disconnect the car before I had to back in the site. It is a nice campground with trees of all things. Most campgrounds we have been in so far have been like big downtown parking lots with electricity and water hook ups. This one does not have sewer hook ups so will have to find the dump station when we leave or take all the waste with us to the next campground and hope they have on site hook ups...??? Big IF. At least this one has a good WiFi signal at the site, so I can post the blog from the comfort of the seat in the motorhome.

Got Joe Harrison's address from Donnie Harrison, so sent him a mail letting him know approximately when we will be in Seattle. We leave here in the morning for Prince George, BC and plan to stay there two nights, then leave for Seattle. Think it will be a two day trip. Don't want to drive over 400 miles a day. Used to be able to do that, but that was a few years ago,and I had a smaller vehicle than this 26,000 pound one with the car attached to the end...

Got another little rock chip on the windshield today from a trucker who was going to fast over a gravel area. Bob got his first rock chip on his windshield today also. I now have 5. The new one is a very small chip, so shouldn't give me to much trouble without being fixed. It didn't go thru the first pane of glass to the layer between them. I may have a couple new windshields in my future...

Well, guess that's about it for this blog. I'll try to add a couple photo's from Amy "Quick Draw" camera.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

15 July 2008

Hi All:

We made the trip down to Fort Nelson, BC. It was 311 miles of mountainous beautiful country. It’s supposed to be the prettiest section of the Alaska High Way. We saw a black bear with two little cubs just along the hiway. Got some photo’s Lots of Sheep, LOTS AND LOTS of Buffalo laying along the side of the road, AND walking across the road in front of the motor home, Lots of Carabou running around on the road. More animals on that part of the Alaska hiway than any other area. Amy must have taken 200 photo’s of every thing. Not sure I can get any of them on the blog as some of the WiFi won’t let you send big letters or photo’s for some reason. Probably because it ties up the Internet for others...

We are staying at the same campground we stayed in when we came up. Got gas here at $5.78 a gallon. Makes me want to cry. I filled up and it cost $220.00. A while back a motor home just filled up with diesel and he said he just paid $340.00 to fill it up. That’s with his discount that some of the campgrounds give you if you stay there and buy gas from them. This campground gave me $2.50 off the $220.00 bill. This is the campground we stayed at when I lost the side window of the motorhome to a rock thrown by a truck.

We saw an awful lot of RV’s going North on the hiway today. Guess this is the time when a lot of folks come up here. Saw a caravan company with LOTS of rigs with their stickers on the front. Sure would not like to come up here in one of those deals, as you would have to keep up with what they want you to do....

Bob’s problem is under control a little. He has been taking Ibuprofen and it seems to relieve the pain some. He drove all day today and appeared to be doing OK at the one and only rest stop we took on the trip down here. That was for lunch and Amy took Pharaoh out for a walk in the Alfalfa that was planted along the road and the rest area. It was blooming and sure smelled good. It was a nice rest stop.

The hiway was pretty good, and lots of Mountains which makes things go up and down. Still got about 7.5 MPG on the trip which I’m happy about. I saw a lot of 5.4 MPG from the computer on the engine of the Motor home.

We plan to leave tomorrow for Ft Nelson and stay the night, then on to Prince George toward Seattle. Plan to stay there for a couple days to rest up from this hectic driving long distances. It sure beats me up. You cannot relax one second driving in these mountains with no guard rails and big drop offs if you make a mistake. Still beautiful country...

Well, I have to take the lap top to the building to hook up with Internet to send this off. Not sure I can get any photo’s attached. I’ll try.

Semper Fi.

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

13 July 2008

Hi All:
We made it to Watson Lake with no problems. Trip of about 280 miles. We drove thru a heck of a rain storm in the mountains about where we crossed over the Continental Divide. Think we have crossed that thing about 4 or 5 times on this trip so far, and have a few more crossings to go before we get done..

We walked around the town of Watson Lake. This is the town that they have the "Sign Forest". We put up our signs on the way up. There must be nearly 100,000 signs there. Could not possibly count them all. We did find out sign that Bob made for us again...

Leaving in the morning for Fort Nelson farther down the road about 300 miles, then another 300 the next day to Dawson Creek where we will turn south toward Prince George.

The temp here is about 55 now. Pretty nice. I’m getting used to this weather I guess. Will feel like Ken when I finally get back to Florida. Will have to get used to the heat and humidity.. Humidity here is pretty high now due to the rain, and all the mud puddles everywhere. One thing we don’t keep very long in Florida is a mud puddle..

Have to take the computer to the main building to get the WiFi here, so will walk over there and copy and past this in the blog.

Phone in the Saturn does not work here either. Didn’t work at the last campground either. Hear that most cell type phones etc don’t work in Yukon except ones that you buy here??? Wonder why that is???? Conspiracy???

Semper Fi.

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

13 July #2

Hi Again:

Bob is no better yet and looks like he's not going to get much better and the hospital here just said to drink water till it passes and take pain pills.

Soooo. We plan to leave in the morning heading for the good ole USA. Dorene is going to do the driving. From what I saw of her driving yesterday there should be no problems. She's a little worried about the close quarters on that one bridge, but maybe Bob will be up to taking it across there. I feel she could do that too. I guess he can pass the thing as we drive on the road since they won't do anything here at this hospital. Dorene has a couple home remedies she plans to try, but she has to get Bob to drink more liquid. Seems he sleeps a lot from the pain pills and then don't drink. He just has to drink or the stone will cause damage to the kidney I think. Might have to hook up that hose to him Amy talked about and force the water in to him.

Any way as it stands now we will take off tomorrow morning for Watson Lake, Yukon. It's about 1800 miles to Seattle from here, so we have a long way to go. Wish us luck.

Above is a photo of the single lane bridge. About 10 inches clearance on each side of the Motor Home.. I'm sure Dorene won't have any trouble. Can go slow...

Semper Fi

Don, Amy and Pharaoh

13 July 2008

Hi All: Still in Whitehorse, Yukon. Bob is not much better this morning. His pain is still pretty intense. He is supposed to drink LOTS of water, and does have pain pills to take for the pain. Dorene read somewhere that distilled water, lemons, and vinegar will help disolve/move the stone, So Amy and her are gone to town to find some. That goes along with what my brother Jack said to take. Lemons, and Limes. Hardly any folks from Mexico ever get kidney stones. I first thought that you only used Limes in Corona Beer, but I guess there may be another use. hee hee...Hope this home made medicine works. He did say the pain had moved somewhat around his side, so the stone may be moving on it's way out, but that don't make it quit hurting.

It rained most of the night last night, but it's nice and sunny now. Hope it stays this way for a while. I think it has rained almost every day we have been on the road, at least a little, but not enough to mess up any plans thank goodness.

I do have two more stone chips on the windshield and they advertised they have someone that can fix them here. He stopped by last evening and said he'd be by today to fix them. Hate it when they say "Sometime" today and I have to wait around all day for the guy. Don't really have any other place to go though. Kinda nice to have a couple days to sit around and read a book. Haven't had much time for that on this trip so far.

Don't know when we'll get on the road again. Can't be bouncing Bob all over the Motorhome with his condition. Hope the vinegar water does the trick. Amy said she's going to get some rubber tubing and hook him up to a gallon of water and pump it in him. hee hee. Hope Bob reads this and drink his water. hee hee.

Well, I'll let you know what is going on..

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharoah

12 July #3

Hi: Bob and Dorene got back from the hospital. The doctor there gave him a shot for pain and said to go home and keep drinking water. Bob said the shot was like Advil (Anti Inflamitory). He said it did make the pain go away. He's resting and drinking water. Said the pain has moved down his side some, so the stone seems to be moving toward getting out. Sure hope so. We will stay here at least tomorrow.

Amy came home a little before them and we went to Walmart and a grocery store. Boy things are sure a lot more here than at home. Paid $3.60 for 1/2 gal milk....

Well, it's time for me to give my troubles to the "Lord" "Lord Calvert" that is. It's 5 O'clock some where....

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharoah

12 July #2

We made it to Whitehorse just fine. Dorene did a super job of driving their Motor Home for the first time. Bob was feeling worse this morning so we decided to come up here to get in this hospital as it's the biggest around. Next one would have been Seattle, and that is way far to keep Bob under the influence of Alcahol.. Just kidding...

Amy is going to go in to the Hospital with Bob and Dorene. She'll take our car too so she can come home when they keep Bob, which I'm sure they will. Will let ya all know what happens. We checked in here for at least two nights....

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

12 July 2008

Hi All: Bob woke up this morning feeling no better, so we are going back up the road to Whitehorse. They have a large hospital there that can help him. It's the capital of Yukon. We stayed there on the way up and they even have a WalMart there, so he should be able to get his kidney fixed. Dorene will drive his rig. I'm sure she can do it OK. She's driven it around a little, and did practice in a parking lot I think. We'll take it easy...

Wish Us luck.

More later.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

11 July Continued #3

Hi Again: Bob came back from the Medical Clinic. They just pumped him full of fluid in hopes the stone would flush thru. It's about 1800 here, 9 PM back east and Bob says he feels a little better, but thinks it may be the pain pills. We got the rigs all drained and gas tanks filled at $5.50 a gallon, and will now wait here in Teslin till morning to see how he feels. If he still hurts don't know at this time what we will do. He says that when he's had them before it just takes time and water to get it thru his system. He has done it in a hospital where they fill him with pain pills for several thousand dollars, and he's done it at home too for much less.

Have had trouble getting on line here with this WiFi. It's one of the worst I've had so far.

We will stay with Bob and Dorene till he feels up to traveling again. At least this campgrounb is nice and not one of the most expensive we've stayed at. Temp here runs from around 45 to 60. Gets a little warmer in the motor home when the sun shines on us as it has today. Just have to open a window or door and things cool down real quick.

We'll send something tomorrow morning IF I can get connected to let you know what's going on.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh.

11 July Continued #2

Hi All: Amy took Bob and Dorene up to the medical clinic here it Teslin. Amy said it was very clean and EMPTY. So Bob is the only patient. The nurse took him in and started and IV for fluids hoping to flush the stone. Dorene brought Amy back and went back to the clinic. Hope they can get it flushed out there without going to the hospital. So Far So Good..

Later...

11 July Continued

Hi Again: We called the hospital in Watson Lake to see if they could take care of Bob. They don't have a doctor that does that work, nor do they have the equipment. They send folks to Whitehorse which is about 110 miles from where we came from. There is a medical clinic here in Teslin so Amy and Dorene are taking Bob there first. They may be able to give him a shot for pain or whatever before we leave for Whitehorse. I'll stay here and get the rigs ready for travel. More to come as things develope.

11 July 2008

Hi All:

Bob felt pretty good yesterday morning and most of the day and we walked about half a mile to a place they were playing music. Pretty good too. Well, on the way back I could see Bob walking a little different and asked if he was OK, he said yes. I said "Your Lieing" Any way when he went in his Motorhome he said the pain came back.

Checked him this morning and he is in pain again, so we are calling the hospital in Watson Lake and kinda plan to drive down there so he can get in a hospital. Dorene can drive the Motor Home so that is where we are now.

Gotta go and get the two rigs ready for travel. Have to dump both rigs holding tanks. Had trouble getting on line so I hope this gets out OK. Will let ya know how things go as I can.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

10 July 2008

Hi All: This is the second time I am writing this blog. Some how when I published the last one it went in to Cyber Space again. Some of these WiFi places are a lot of trouble.

Bob says he's feeling better this morning. He said the pain is not as bad, and other times he passed the stone and it hurt like this for a day or two, so do hope he is on the road to well. We are staying here at the Yukon RV Campground today at least. Will see how he feels in the morning as to if we leave then or not. Don't mind the rest myself.

Amy and Dorene went over to look at the laundry mat. Might do some laundry here as long as we are here any way.

Asked the guy in the office WHEN does the sun come back out. He said "About September". Yuck. Don't want to wait that long.. It's still raining off and on. Rained most of the night. Not a heavy rain, just a lazy drizzle, and it's awful cloudy. Can't see any of the mountains around us.

Talked to a guy on his way to Alaska and he said his friend up there says the salmon have still not started running up the rivers yet. Boy, hope they are just late, not all gone.. They may have to do what they did in Florida. They banned all those 2 mile long nets the fishermen used that caught everything. Won't take long to deplete the fish doing that. Not sure what the rules are in Alaska waters, but other countries don't abide by our laws any way. At least I got one of mine.

I tried to download a photo last time and it wouldn't load. Will try again with this one.

Nope, couldn't add any photo's for some reason. Hope this mail at least posts this time.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh