Red Bluff ELKS

Day 4 at the Red Bluff ELKS and still watching the road reports in Yreka and Weed. Chains are still required and all vehicles are being checked 10 miles north of Redding for "maximum chains". Campers and trailers are NOT advised due to high winds. We don't have chains for the RV and I won't drive where they are needed anyway. So, maybe tomorrow or Sunday.....or Monday to begin our dash north to Oregon. Once past the state line, weather issues will usually be limited to wind and/or rain. I can live with that but NOT snow/ice:) In the meantime, we will sit and enjoy the hospitality of the Red Bluff ELKS lodge. Really nice people here. This will give Lou another opportunity to do some baking. Yesterday, she replenished our cookie supply:) YUMM!

Hunkered down in Roseville

We are now in Roseville, CA watching the rain come down. Lots of rain.... and WIND! Lots of that also. It is really windy and gusty and the weather prognosticators are forecasting more rain and stronger winds/gusts after midnight until mid day tomorrow. Soooooo, we'll just stay here parked behind the Roseville ELKS Lodge plugged into electric and water until at least Monday. Maybe Tuesday. We had a great visit with Ken and Jackie Coyne while parked in front of their house for the last three days. They are very gracious hosts and super great people. We're sure that Ken and Jackie will wear out rather than rust out when the time comes:) Still a long time off for sure!
Next week, sometime, we'll head northward to Red Bluff or Redding for a few days and, keeping a close eye on the weather, plan our further travels up to visit with Kathleen.

New baby and rain...

We are now in Petaluma afer a few days of a noisy ELKS Lodge in Santa Clara. We were not aware of its proximity to the San Jose airport or the waste transfer station just down the street that the garbage trucks begin their runs at 5AM... even on the weekend:( Otherwise, it was a very nice spot. They served a super steak dinner for $8.50! We arrived in Petaluma with great anticipation of seeing the latest member of the Burns family, Lila Mae Doris Burns. She is beautiful and Dad is giddy with delight and wonder. Carly, Will and Lila are all doing well:)
I was going to go out and take pictures today but it's raining! Imagine that! Raining in California. This cold front will pass through this evening, we hope, and the rain will slow to showers for the rest of the week . We will head towards Roseville, via Napa, to spend a few days in that area. We look forward to visiting with Ken and Jackie, Lou's cousin, and maybe some wineries also:) We'll cycle from parking in front of their house and checking out some of the ELKS lodges in the surrounding areas. If it's raining, boondocking isn't as much fun. Having power, water and sewer connections permits one to just be a bit more comfortable.

On the move

Last night, Indio, CA. Very nice ELKS club but one night was enough so we moved on Westward past where we SHOULD have stopped (Oxnard) and continued on to Lompoc, CA. More miles then we planned but I was determined to escape the traffic congestion in the LA area. While in the Lompoc area we will visit, once again, Buellton and Solvang. We were here 2 years ago and it's worth repeating. Tomorrow, we will check out the Jamala County Beach Park a few miles away from here. It gets rave reviews for scenery and facilities. We'll see and judge it against the cost.

The Golden State isn't golden now. It's GREEN! The hills are covered in green velvet as Lou described it. Still pursuing cheap gas ($3.73 at Costco in Fontana) but we have seen it as high as $4.19! C'mon Ghadaffi, give it up and LEAVE:)

We Moved Again!

We have left the lovely "gentle desert" of the Pinal County campground and are now tucked in at the Yuma BPOE RV area. This is our first stay at an ELKS Lodge since becoming an ELK in Gila Bend. We decided to begin our westward trek but needed to have a safe haven to let the current weather system pass us by. Driving in rain and gusty winds aren't as fun as they used to be in Florida. Of course, I wasn't driving an RV then:) We have been watching with trepidation the constant rise of the cost of fuel for the RV. We will pay what it takes to get home, of course, but it will still be a bit painful at $4/gal... or more. It was less than $3 when we left:(
We'll be here until Monday and then try to get our turn signals fixed. The left signal keeps blowing a fuse and I think it's in the steering column. Having it checked Monday AM. We haven't decided which route we will be taking through California as yet or where we will enter California for that matter.
Lou gets a break for dinner this evening as we will have dinner at the lodge. Reports are that the food is really good and they are serving shrimp and tenderloin this evening. YUM!
Right now, the weather isn't too bad. A little gusty and some sprinkles. Not the big storm they were predicting earlier. Weather map shows that a bunch is still on the way however. Maybe it will slide up north (hope, hope, hope).
We will get to the San Jose, Petaluma and Roseville areas on our return trek. No schedule set as yet but we should be home by the first part of April.... weather permitting. As always, we look forward to the journey and seeing family along the way. We have met many nice people along the way and even ran into some we saw 2 years ago. Really good to renew the old acquaintances. Still lots of Canadians in AZ. You'd think it got cold up there or something in the winter:)

Sunrise and Sunsets in Blythe

We are still in Blythe, CA at the Mayflower County Park. We have had a great time watching the contractors work on improvements to the park. They are building a large storage area for the trailers that the summer crowd leave here until they can get here for the boating and fishing. Good money for the county. Lets see..... 150 spaces at $40/month makes about $600K/year for the county. Not bad, and it's a good deal for the summer crowd based on the going rates in the area.
We have also been enjoying the sunsets and I have also enjoyed many of the sunrises. This AM, the sun was rising as the full moon was setting. The pic doesn't do it justice but here it is anyway.
Since we are not all that far from the El Centro Navy Base, we have quite a few daily, low level flybys of the F-18 Hornets. Sometimes playing "catch me if you can" and occasionally just going like the dickens at a very low altitude over the park. They are actually following the Colorado River course which brings them right over head. Somewhere around here the Blue Angels have begun their training for the upcoming airshow season.
Yesterday, we went over to Quartzite to check it out before the BIG TENT opens on Friday. A REALLY BIG crowd is expected for the various manufacturers' booths and other stuff that will be showed and offered for sale. We will NOT be among the early attendees. We may not even be among the late attendees. We'll see:)
We'll be here for a couple of weeks more before we consider moving on to somewhere else. All's well with the world here in Blythe. Stay warm ya'll.

Post Parade and Settled in Blythe

We started our week @ the Rose Parade Rally with a wine & beer party where we were issued our badges that would get us into all the activities of the week. It was a very busy week which went from float building (in a tent in the rain) to touring the Huntington Library and grounds where we saw a fabulous cactus garden with cactii from all over the world.. There was so much to see & do and so little time.

The next day we toured two more float barns to see more of the floats under construction and in the afternoon we went to see the Band-fest. This encompassed standing in many lines. While waiting for the people to all be seated, we got to practice our drumming skills sponsored by REMO Drums. What a marvelous performance! Some of the more memorable bands were the North Japan Honor Green Band whose members were very innovative & talented, North Carolina Central University Marching Sound Machine, Lindbergh "Spirit of St. Louis" Marching Band, and last but not least US Coast Guard Marine Corps Band. We finished the day with fine dining & winery tour at the San Antonio winery w/guitar music.

Each days events got more exciting with lunch @ the Santa Anita Park's Club Court restaurant and an afternoon of horse races. It was fun to try & guess who the race winner would be. By evening the staff had the tent transformed for a super New Years' Eve party with a live band. We celebrated on NY time so we could be up & on the bus next morning by 6:00 a.m for the Tournament of Roses Parade.

We made it to our stadium seats for the parade on time, as did the rest of the millions of people:) Our seating was right up to the curb so there was no one standing in front of us. The view was close and spectacular. Pics attached. The parade was kicked off with a flyover of the B-2 Stealth bomber. Very impressive.. and quiet!

The next day we said our good byes and headed over to Blythe, CA where we now reside for the next 30 days or so at a very nice county park on the Colorado River.