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

9 July 2008

Hi All: I'll try this again. I did a blog a little while ago and sent it to the blog and it disappeared in to Ciberspace some where..

We got out of Destruction Bay at about 0945. Had to dump the holding tanks and get gas. The campground didn't have a sewer hook up. Most of the campgrounds along this road do not have sewer hook ups at the site.Have to go up a hill and dump in a hole so you know what rolls down hill. hee hee.

The road here was a little better than what we had the day before. That part of the road going in to and out of Alaska is about the worse of the trip. We did have a lot of construction today fixing the hiway from frost heaves etc, also seems like they were blowing part of the mountians away at places and making little rocks out of big ones. Had to wait at several places due to one lane road with a pace car to tak you thru at a real slow pace...

We are in a little town called Teslin, YK. We stayed at this campground on the way up. It is pretty nice. Has a weak WiFi, have one and a half TV stations and no sewer hook up. This is the campground that we had to change one of Bob's jacks, and my motorhome would not start when I had pulled up the hill to dump the holding tanks and waited on another rig so I turned off the engine and it would not start when it was my turn. It turned out that it apparently was the neutral switch on the gear shift. Have had no more trouble with that since. We did have a lot of mud and dust on us that trip, so we contributed it to dirt....

We got here and Bob said he was hurting in his back and leg. He has had trouble with kidney stones before and was afraid it may be another one. He said he may be able to walk it off as he has had trouble with his hip and back if he doesn't walk a little each day, and we have had two days of hard driving.

We went and visited Bob and he feels it is another kidney stone. He is now taking pain pills and drinking lots of fluids. He says that's the way to get it to pass. So we may be here a few days till he gets rid of that stone. We could use the rest any way. To bad that Bob has to rest under the influence of pain pills. Told him to drink lots of Bourbon with the pain pills as it enhances the effect they say. hee hee. Sure feel bad about him hurting...

Bob and Dorene want go down the Cassier Hiway to Seattle. We had looked at that and decided we didn't want to put up with the bad roads and the mountain switchback etc, so we will part company in Watson Lake and then hook up again in Prince George down south of us, then continue to Seattle. We will then split up again somewhere around there as they go to Wisconsin, and we go to Arizona. Not sure of any dates now due to Bob being wimpy.????

Will keep you all up dated as things develope....

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

8 July 2008

Hi: This is the real 8 July Blog. I don't know what key I hit to post the blank one??

WE got out of Tok, AK at about 0900 Alaska time, and it was raining good. It rained all the way thru Alaska (About 95 miles) till we got in to Canada and it stopped for the most part. Had no Trouble at the border. Just asked if I had a gun and I showed them my permit and they waved us thru. Same with Bob and Dorene.

The road from Tok to the Border was awful. Muddy and wet and slick and sloppy and just the worst. We got thru the border and the roads were just as bad or even worster?? Pot holes, frost heaves, and lots of construction and stops and waits for as long as 15 minutes. We averaged about 30 MPH for the first 4 hours on the road I think.

We finally got to Destruction Bay Campground in Destruction Bay, Yukon. It's another parking lot camp ground, BUT, they did allow us to wash the rigs and Towed vehicles. The sure needed it with all the brown mud on them. Got here about 1800, and that is Pacific Time. Lost an hour coming across the border.

We plan leave in the morning. Might have to stay in Whitehorse again, as there doesn't seem to be any campgrounds within our travel range beyond that. Towns are few and far between around here. WE have two snowy TV stations here at this campground. Don't know if Bob's Sirous radio will even work here. He has had it work off and on. If we get close enough to his rig I can pick the stations up on his satellite radio. Have to be pretty close on my FM radio....

Sure hope the roads are a little better in the morning, but if my memory serves me right I think we will have more of the same tomorrow. Will leave the cover on the Saturn.

Got another stone hit on my windshield just before we got to the campground. A motor home was coming from the other direction and going like he was on an interstate and thru a stone that hit me. It's a mark about the size of a nickel. Was going to use my repair kit but realized I had forgoten to load my Dremel machine to drill a hole in the glass. Can't fix it without that, so I hope I can find a repair place some where along the tail. It's not bad, and below my field of view. That's two knicks I have on my windshield...

Well, its now 2000 and I need to eat supper. Hope the WiFi tomorrow is as good as it is here.

Photo's : Photo of burnt gas station In Tok Sharon asked about. Looks like nothing has beendone since it burnt down.

Semper Fi.

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

8 July 2008

7 July 2008

Hi: Didn't do much today. It was a day of rest and relaxaction, and it was nice. Amy and Dorene went in to town to see if she could spend all the Canadian money we had left. I suspect she did a good job. I hid a little in my pocket to spend in Canada when we leave in the morning. Here's a couple photo's she took. Pharaoh says Hi, and they had a good set up of stuffed ones in town.

We leave in the morning. See ya later.

Semper Fi.

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

6 July 2008

Hi All:

WE had a nice easy day today here in Tok, AK. The town has around 1400 people and is kinda spread out. Has a lot of Gift shops. Amy and I went to one for an hour or so. Amy was able to find something to buy even after all the shops she’s been in while here. She also plans to go back today and try to spend some of the Canadian money we have left. They take it here as we are so close to the border.

Bob plans to get out early to check on a tire place in hopes he can get a new tire for his VW. He hopes the wheel isn’t damaged to bad. Didn’t look like it to me. I feel sure he can get a tire on it OK and he may want to take the wheel somewhere and have them trim up the edges of the wheel that ran on the road for a while. Just looks cosmetic to me. Sure hope I’m right. I’m sure he hope the same.

No big plans for tomorrow except the big sourdough pancake breakfast they serve here in the morning. I am sure they won’t be as good as Denny’s, but there are no Denny’s around here. Pancake breakfast for $7.50. Kinda spendy for pancakes. If you want reindeer sausage it’s an additional $2.50. Not sure coffee comes with this or not.

This campground advertises that they have the dinner open all the time, serve lunch, and dinner as well as breakfast. Have live music every night and lots of entertainment. Well, they don’t have anything except the breakfast on Sunday and Monday’s. And that’s when we have been here. So the Breakfast is all we get to participate in?? There is a couple places in Tok, about 2 miles from the campground that have restaurants. Might check one of them out this tomorrow.
The campground is real nice. Lots of trees, and full hook ups. No WiFi on site. Have to go to the Office building to get it, and there is only one TV station available here. Sure glad we brought lots of DVD’s. Watched one this evening. "Secret Window" with Johnny Depp. Didn’t keep me from falling to sleep before it was over..

Am writing this in the computer and will have to go up and copy and paste it to the Blog later.
Leave in the morning for Canada about 90 miles East of here. Hope the border crossing is as painless as when we came across coming up here...

We have planned our return trip again. We have decided NOT to go thru California, but rather swing southeast out of the Seattle area down thru Idaho to Las Vegas, then on over to Phoenix to visit Jack for about 5 days. Should get there the first of August some time, then will take I-10 on our way back to Florida. Having a super time on this trip, but will be glad to get home.

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

5 July 2008

Hi Again:

We are Tok, AK now. Stayed in Glennallen at a campground that didn't have their WiFi working naturally, so no blog. The campgrounds all advertise that they have WiFi, but they don't tell you that they don't work till your get settled in. Any way, we are at the "Sourdough Campground" just South of Tok, Alaska. It's about 9o miles from the Canadian Border and we will be crossing it day after tomorrow. Hope we get across as easy as we did when we came up here.

We left Anchorage for Glennallen and stopped to rest the legs etc and took off and was only on the road for a short time when a car passed us and pointed at Bob's tow car. We stopped and found that the left front tire was GONE. All that was left was about two inches of side wall on each side of the wheel. It had been running flat till the wheel cut thru the tire and threw it along the way somewhere. Bob did have a full size spare and we got it changed with no problems. I think the minimal damage on the aluminum wheel won't cause him any trouble. We checked the town of Glennallen and it was Saturday, so no one was open. Plan to try to get a new tire for him tomorrow (Monday). It could have been a lot worse if that car had not passed us, and there are very few cars of any kind on these roads. I sure don't look forward to getting down in the lower states to fight the traffic. There is almost NO traffic here. If it weren't for the tourists in motorhome etc there would be NO vehicles on these roads...

We are now on our way home. Have decided NOT to go down thru California due to all the fires there, but will swing East out of Washington and on over and swing South to Pheonix to visit Jack. Should be at his place the first part of August. The new road plan we did last night has us getting home around the 15 to the 20th of August. Still have a lot to do and see.

Have to bring my computer to the office building to get WiFi here, but at least it works.

Better get back to the site to see what the girls have planned for us today...

Photo's: Close up of the Glacier. About 200 feet thick

A stuffed eagle in a visitors Center...

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

3 July 2008

Hi All:

Another day in Anchorage, AK. The weather continues to be super. We went in to town today and went to a theater to see a show about the Northern Lights. Pretty nice, some beautiful shots of the lights, and the music was good too. The show was about 30 minutes long. Had a little trouble keeping eyes open. The music by guitar, and then piano was soothing!!!. Think we went to the ULU factory. It’s a special knife the Alaskians use to cut meat and everything else I think. They are for sale every where. Think Amy may have bought a couple???. Just another gift shop is all I could see. Then went to a walmart and came home. Not doing to much all at once here. Kinda restful and nice. The knee sure is happy about it.

Went to a grocery store in the evening to get some things Amy needed to get us through Canada. Don’t want to have to buy very much in Canada. Cost is a lot higher there.

Got on line to check Amy’s cell phone and they finally had something posted as to what they are charging us to use it here in Alaska. All we have used it for is to make reservations at campgrounds and that’s all. Not sure how many minutes we have used, the bill didn’t indicate that, BUT they indicated our bill was almost $200.00 more than normal. Really can’t justify that much use. Will do some more checking. Did add some more minutes to the car phone. It’s cheaper to use..

Photo is a mountain right beside us driving down the road. Beautiful country

That’s about all for today. Pretty slow day. I’m glad...

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

2 July 2008

Hi: We have no WiFi at the Motor Home here. One of the most expensive campgrounds and we have to come to the Laundry room to use the computer. They have about 100 machines going here at all times and one table to sit at and use the computer. The gals doing the laundry think it is the table to fold clothes on??? I'm up to my arm pits in underwear of other folks.????

The weather here is perfect today. We went to town in Anchorage and took a bus tour of the city. I didn't get the photo's downloaded on the computer from Amy's camera yet so I'll send some next time. The temp went to 70 today for the first time this year they say and the sky was clear and bright. We could see Mt. McKinley from here, and that is rare they say. It was sure beautiful. All white and cold looking. Have no desires to climb any more mountains. The knee is still talking to me for the last trip up one to see a glacier....

We also went to a SAM's club and Amy was able to find something to buy. Had to find space in the outside storage compartment for some of it. She wanted to stock up on things that we may need going thru Canada. They have some of the highest prices on things in their stores, and the dollar is less than their dollar now, so it costs more, and when I use the Credit Card, the Credit Card people charge me to convert from Canadian dollars to US Dollars. Get you coming and going. Oh well.

We plan to do laundry on the 3rd and then go in to see a theater that shows the Northern Lights. Can't see them this time of the year here for some reason. Probably because it never gets dark??. Good reason I guess, and Bob and Dorene talked about going to the Alaska zoo? Not sure I want to do a lot of walking yet due to the hurt I put on the knee climbing that mountain the other day to see the glacier??

This campground is a real busy one. There is at least two caravans in here at all times. They have 215 sites, and they are mostly full all the time.

We leave here Saturday for our North trek to Tok, AK, and then on in to Canada and heading South toward the "Lower USA" Hope all the fires in California are under control when we get there. If not we may have to find another route down there??

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh

1 July 2008

HI All.
Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit. Gotcha.

We got out of Seward at about 0930 and made a nice trip north to Anchorage. The mountains were beautiful, and we could see Mt. Mckinley off in the North distance sticking up thru the clouds. The whole mountain range was covered with snow.

We checked in to the Golden Nugget Campground and they assigned me site 128. Got there and there was someone in it. Amy went to the office and came back with a gal who knocked on the door of the Class C and found that they had not checked out yet. It was 1210, and they are supposed to be out before noon, so he started hooking up and getting ready to move. Finally got out of my spot and we got hooked up for a four day stay here.

Bob and Dorene wanted to go see some more mountains and see a salmon run, but Amy and I decided to stay home and rest. Amy had a nice long nap. She must have needed it, I watched a movie, but do feel much better now since the rest time. The left knee was talking to me from the long hike yesterday, and the left foot was sore for some reason. Must be a sympathy pain for Donnie’s foot that is hurting???

Think we are going on a tour of Anchorage tomorrow, and I hear we may be going to a SAM’s club or COSTCO that they have here. Bob and Dorene are members of COSCO, we are members of SAM’s

We don’t have any WiFi at the site here, have to go to the laundry room to use it. You would think that for $45 a night the WiFi would be strong enough to reach us here at this site. Only have regular TV also, no cable, and we are right in town too. The park is almost full, and they have 115 sites I think. Pretty crowded. You would not know that the campgrounds are complaining that there are not enough RV’s coming to town??
Well, I’ll put this in my documents and Paste it on the Blog when I go tot he Laundry for my WiFi..

Semper Fi

Don, Amy & Pharaoh