Our first Snowbird adventure

April 29
We've been home in Red Deer for almost three weeks. I've been working on getting this post out for over two weeks. Yikes!

The snow is mostly melted and signs of spring are starting to appear. The rivers are breaking up and I see the pussy willows are beginning to show their buds. All good signs that winter is finally done with us. The temperature in Red Deer hit 25C (78F) this past weekend.

We've been happily looking after Grandkids and even had a couple of sleep-overs so far. We have three GK's, they are four, six, and eight. Two have birthdays in April so although we missed the first one we're making up with the second one.

We've enjoyed family dinners and catching up with friends we haven't seen since October. We've also begun the process of seeing doctors, dentists and optometrists. Boring stuff, but necessary parts of staying healthy I suppose.

I had hoped to get an oil change done in the truck. The truck is two years old and GM provides free oil changes for the first two years or 48k kilometers. I have 43k kilometers so under their mileage limit. So I phoned for an oil change on April 20. Imagine my surprise when they told me my truck was two years old on the 18th! Apparently they don't allow any flexibility in their rule so I guess I'll have to pay for the next one, but it likely won't be done at the dealership! I actually have about 35% oil life left as I had the oil changed in Yuma at the end of January (which I had to pay for). So if I can't get this one done free then I'll hold off for a month or two until I'm below 20% or so. That way we'll have fresh oil for the trek to Eastern Canada this summer.

So our first extended trip to the USA has come to and end. The truck and trailer worked well and really we had no significant issues to report. We drove just over 10,000 miles (16,500 KM's) and were very pleased with the fuel economy. According to the computer in the truck, which I have checked for accuracy by making some manual calculations, we achieved and average fuel usage of 14.1 MPG (US) (or about 17 MPG Imperial) or roughly 17.2 liters/100 km. That is combined towing and non-towing numbers. We actually got one stretch of non-towing touring were we got just over 30 MPG (US) (just over 36 MPG Imperial) or 7.8 liter/100 km. I'm very pleased with that!

We enjoyed our trip very much. We found the dry, low humidity much to our liking. The weather was certainly good. No bugs, snakes or scorpions to be found. The wind blew, sometimes a lot and strong but other than maybe a couple of days it really didn't damper outside activities.

It is impossible to state what we liked the best about our trip. I do have to say up front that beyond any geographical feature or historical site we visited, the people we met have to be at the top of the list. We met dozens of fine folks from all over the US and Canada. We met Bloggers, and others, that helped us in numerous ways with unselfishly sharing their knowledge. It's a great community to be part of and we hope to share it for many years to come. (sure hope I'm not jinxing us).

Each location we visited was special in one way or another. The shores of Lake Powell near Page, AZ where we did our first boondocking of the trip. The first of the many Bloggers we would meet we met there. (Steve and Dianne, and Ray and Deb) The photo trip to Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and the Glen Canyon Dam were amazing. Then we moved on to the grand-daddy of geology......the Grand Canyon.

Our site at Lone Rock Campground at Lake Powell. 

Antelope Canyon

Horsehoe Bend

The Toadstools

Glen Canyon Dam

Grand Canyon

We moved down to Flagstaff for week and saw the famous Lowell Observatory, and the ancient ruins of the cliff dwelling peoples. We also took side trips to Winslow and Williams......our first experience on Route 66.

Downtown Flagstaff

Ancient ruins near Flagstaff

Williams, AZ

Winslow, AZ

The Painted Desert

Lowell Observatory

Then it was down to Camp Verde were we spent time exploring areas like Sedona, Jerome, and east to Payson. All remarkable for their history and geology. And that was just November!

Near Sedona

Montezuma Castle

Petroglyphs near Montezuma Well

Near Sedona

More ruins near Cottonwood, AZ

Natural Bridge near Payson, AZ

Payson, AZ

From the train near Cottonwood, AZ

Jerome, AZ

We spent December and January in Yuma. What could we possibly do to keep us entertained for two months in one place? Ha! Not hard at all, it turned out. We explored the history of the area, the agriculture and the people. A side trip to Mexico was entertaining. We took side trips to Puerto Penasco, Mexico for New Years, and to San Diego to see the sites.

Vegetable fields near Yuma, AZ

Colorado River at Yuma

Yuma Territorial Prison Site at Yuma

Tamale Festival in Somerton, AZ

Yuma City Hall

Christmas parade at RV Park in Yuma

Miniature Trains in Yuma

Imperial Sand Dunes west of Yuma

Beach at Puerto Penasco in Mexico.

Organ Pipe National Park in Southern Arizona

Hard working vegetable pickers near Yuma

F35 jet at Yuma Marine Base

Osprey

Car show in Yuma

Dirt Racing at Cocopah Raceway south of Yuma.

Museum in Yuma (this is for Ken!)

Display on USS Midway in San Diego

Flight deck on the Midway

Hospital ship in San Diego Harbour

Balboa Park in San Diego

Civil War re-enactment at Yuma

We also discovered the Sonoran Lady they call the desert. We took a few trips to Quartzsite. Once to participate in Bloggerfest, and of course to see the 'Big Tent'. Then we moved the trailer up there on February 1 and spent two wonderful weeks in the desert. So much to see and do in that area, and of course a whole lot of people to get to know!

Bloggerfest

Quartzsite desert camping

Off-road racing at Parker, AZ

Hi Jolly Monument in Quartzsite

Burros near Parker 

RC Flying at Quartzsite

Boat races at Parker

Kofa Wildlife Refuge south of Quartzsite

The Palms in the Kofa Wildlife Refuge

Old gold mining camp near Quartzsite

Ironwood Tree

We took a trip to Mesa for a week or so. Metro areas are a bit hard to get used to after coming from the desert, but still we enjoyed a visit with family and many of the sites around the area. Then out to a gem.......the Superstition Mountains. We spent several days in the State Park and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Hard to believe this is only a half hour from Mesa/metro Phoenix.

Mesa

Phoenix

Egret at wildlife refuge near Mesa

Camping at Superstition Mountain

Goldfield ghost town

View from the Superstition Mountains out toward the Phoenix area

Next stop was Quartzsite for a couple of days then up to Bullhead City, AZ just across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada. We stayed here for the month of March. Again, so much to see in the area. We took side trips to Lake Havasu, Oatman, Needles, Chloride and Kingman. We also spent more time exploring Route 66 and the small towns along it's route.

Grand Canyon Caverns on Route 66 

Davis Dam near Bullhead City, AZ

Laughlin, Nevada

Chloride, AZ near Kingman.

Murals near Chloride

Kingman, AZ

Car show in Bullhead City

Elks Lodge in Kingman

County Court in Kingman

Roadrunner in our campground at Bullhead City

Burros in Oatman, AZ

Gunfight at Oatman

Cool Springs on Route 66 near Oatman

Petroglyphs at Grapevine Canyon west of Laughlin, NV

Colorado River between Bullhead City and Laughlin

Luaghlin, NV

London Bridge at Lake Havasu, AZ

Along Route 66 near Kingman

So then it was April and time to head toward home. We stopped for a few days in Las Vegas to see the sights and visited Red Rock Canyon. We then headed further north to escape the heat. Finicky weather caused some route changes but we managed to explore a bit of Utah. We discovered a couple of great little towns.....Fillmore and Delta, Utah and an area we will definitely explore again. A two day dash to the border and finally home to Red Deer.

Desert Tortoise at Red Rock Canyon west of Las Vegas

Red Rock Canyon

Near Virgin River Gorge on the Nevada - Utah border

Near Delta, UT

Fillmore, UT

County Court House in Fillmore, UT

Rockies north of Pocatello, ID

Near Butte, MT

Bow River in Calgary

Red Deer River

I started this blog around November 1, 2017 (thanks to Dianne and Deb for the push!) when we were in the Page, AZ area. I had been thinking of recording our travels for quite a while and now I really wish I would have started years ago. Not just as an update to friends and family but for us to help remember the trips we have taken and the locations, activities and people we met. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.......but didn't. So now I have started and so glad I did. The blog is a lot of work, but worth the effort. I'll continue but likely have some sporadic posts. It's not that Central Alberta is a boring place, just that I'm sure newsworthy activities won't be a daily occurrence and not sure how much travel we will be doing in the near term.

Thanks for following along.......and thanks so much for your words of encouragement.

......and that was Our View From Here!