Third Snowbird Trip

We left Tuxbury Pond RV Resort on September 5th.  I had our itinerary planned for the next 2 months. Six days out I canceled all of our reservations for upcoming campgrounds.

Houston, we have a problem. We blew a tire. I knew we had a problem. I limped into the Akron Camping World. We had a serious problem! The trailer was no longer road worthy. The insurance company was contacted. Their sense of urgency is different than ours. I think the stress of this problem is greater than anything I had as a manager at Massachusetts General Hospital. However, I survived it without another stroke. I can't believe how much STUFF we had in our old trailer and how little space we have in our new trailer. Time to downsize again. Now I have to put five pounds of shit into a two pound bag and find a way to keep Kay happy. We need your prayers. I need your prayers!

We left Akron with our new trailer and immediately had some more warranty issues. We took the trailer to the Camping World in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The service department there was absolutely fantastic. Everything was fixed to my satisfaction in just a couple of hours.

Naturally, I started planning our trip again. Next up, Mount Rushmore. WRONG! A winter storm is on its way. We turned South to Nebraska to avoid the snow. I guess that is why this blog is called Destination Unknown.

More planning to do. Next up, Colorado Springs, where we will visit my son and his lovely wife Denise.

Welcome Home

I had originally thought that I would do another blog about Mexico. That will wait for my return. I took videos when I thought I was taking pictures and I have nothing useful to use.

All I can say about our trip is that it was amazing. On our return trip we stopped in Yuma Lakes RV Resort for a week.  We stopped in Yuma to say goodbye to our friends Linda and John Wilde who live in Yuma. As an added bonus several friends from El Golfo were also at Yuma Lakes. We got together for a Happy Hour on the patio by the pool.

We left Yuma Lakes and went to Queens Creek, Arizona to see my brother Roy and Carol Sue. It was 100 degrees, time to head home. As we headed home we saw that it was still snowing in Boston. Not only that, we ran into snow in Tennessee.

Did I mention there was an horrific dust storm in Arizona and New Mexico as we headed East? 

The winds were in excess of 60 miles an hour. The trailer pulled fine, but it didn't fare well. The cosmetic panel was torn off by the cross winds. The panel on the other side was damaged as well.

But that wasn't the only thing that happened on this trip. The converter stopped working. The converter charges the batteries and turns 120 volt AC to 12 volt DC. Fortunately we have solar and that has not created a problem. Oh, and the steps have started to fail.  Lots to fix before we start our journey again. I replaced the converter, because the trees in our campground shade us from the sun. The rest needs to be fixed before we hit the road.

Looking at hitting the road right after Labor Day. The plan is to do some sightseeing on this next trip west.

Mexico

Time flies when you are having fun. I have not posted a blog in quite some time. However, in my defense, the wi-fi and cellular data here in Mexico is HORRIBLE. If you use too much, they just shut you off. Even though my cellular plan usually has plenty of gigs, the international plan is limited. Even though I pay for wi-fi in the park, because there is no free wi-fi in the park, if I use too much, they just shut it off until the next month. That is the only downside about being here. 

This is the reason we were in Arizona and are now in Mexico.

Now for the pictures and the stories behind them. 

A picture of the beach from the RV park.

We are staying in a small RV park called El Golfo which is in the tiny fishing village of El Golfo de Santa Clara, Sonora, Mexico. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the outline of some low mountains on the horizon. Those mountains are in Baja California.

Beer stop.

One of my favorite activities has been riding in the hills with the quads and side-by-sides Off Highway Vehicles. The landscape is rugged and barren. 

Looking back towards the town and RV park from on top of Lighthouse Hill.

The old lighthouse.

Out in the hills

One of the hills

Rugged hills.

Rolling hills.

Oh Shit Hill.

This hill is steep, steep, STEEP. It's not a cliff, but almost. It is almost as scary going down it as it is going up. Everyone doesn't make it up on the first try. You can't turn around, because you would roll over. If you don't make it up, you have to back all the way down. Each person waits for the person in front of them to make the top before starting up the hill. We are waiting for the person in front of us to try it next.

Sunset at the beach.

If you look closely at the picture you can see one boat in the water and trucks and trailers on the beach. They drive the truck and trailer right up to the floorboards into the water to launch and pick up the boats. There is no boat ramp. They are just out on the beach, where the water is extremely shallow.

Sunrise at our trailer.

I will do at least one more blog about our stay in Mexico.This is a good stopping point, because it is almost time to go to Happy Hour. Everyday at four o'clock up to 30 people gather on the patio for snacks and a drink. BYOB and some snacks to share. In my next post I will include the activities sheet so that you can see what there is to do here.

Bulldog Canyon.

While Kay was having her eye surgery, we were in the Phoenix area where we stayed in an RV Park in Buckeye, Arizona. We got to visit with my great nephew, Derek Wallace, and his wife, Rebekah, who live in Buckeye. 

Derek and Rebekah Wallace

We also got to visit with my brother Roy and Sue again at Christmastime. Some of their children and grandchildren also joined us for Christmas dinner. Such fun! So much fun that I forgot to take pictures. I did get a picture of Roy and Sue when they took us to the biker bar for lunch.

Russ, Kay, Carol Sue and Roy Wallace

Biker Bar

Our fourth week in the Phoenix area was spent in Bulldog Canyon National Forest Service Off Highway Vehicle Area. We needed a permit to camp which we got at the ranger station in Mesa for no cost. The area is gated and we received the combination to the lock when we got our permit.

Our trailer camped in Bulldog Canyon OHV Area, Tonto National Forest. 

 My boss, aka, Queen of Camping, suggested I rake the stones before putting out the rug and chairs.

I thought I was retired. Apparently not. I got an Attaboy for this.

 The view from our free campsite

 Jake, checking out his boundaries

Another view from our campsite

Jake loved going for walks. The view overlooking Bulldog Canyon.

 This is what we see on our walks.

 More of what we see on our walks. I love the desert. Why do they call this the Tonto Forest?

Our site as the sun sets. 

Did I mention that I love, LOVE, the desert Southwest?  Oh, and boondocking? 

Goodnight sun.

Can you see the wild horse trail? Jake is standing on it. It is about 18" wide. This is right next to our site!

This picture is taken from our site. Wild horses came through almost everyday and sometimes two or three times a day. Jake always let us know when they arrived.

 Then there were more sunsets!

Did I mention that I love the desert Southwest? Oh, more than once.

Finally, Kay got a good report from the eye doctor and we were free to move about the country. Off we went to Yuma and Yuma Lakes, RV Resort. We caught up with Bob and Cindy Rooley and made plans to go to Mexico together. 

We also connected with Linda and John Wilde who now winter in Yuma.

Kay, Linda, Russ, and John Wilde at Juliana's Patio Cafe.

 We were sitting in the outside courtyard. Jake was with us. He did not like the peacock getting close to us. He barked, warning it to stay away. I had to put him back into the truck.

 Mr. Peacock was right next to our table!

We love the parrots at Juliana's Patio Cafe. 

My favorite place to eat in Yuma. The food is good, too!

Our campsite at Mittry Lake.  We had to spend a week out of the system before going to Mexico. We had neighbors for one night. 

What's not to like about being right on the lake at sunset? 

Lining up to go to Mexico. Six of us joined this caravan. We are third in line.

More adventures to come. We are enjoying Mexico. I hope you signed up to follow by email so that you don't miss my next update. Leave us a message of encouragement. I love writing the blog. Are you enjoying following us?

Health Issues on the Road

Many of our friends have asked us about how we handle health care on the road. Kay has kept her primary health care in Boston and I am using the VA in Manchester, NH.

On our first trip last year, we both contracted Valley Fever while in Arizona. We were a long way from our health care providers. A virus should have run its course after 10 days. Since we were both experiencing flu like symptoms for over two weeks and not starting to feel better, we found a walk-in clinic and received excellent treatment. After another two weeks and an antibiotic, we finally started feeling better. The rest of our trip was uneventful.

When we returned home, I got my thyroid checked, and there was no significant change in the spot that was being watched. However, a routine mammogram turned up a growth in Kay's breast. It was biopsied and found to be malignant. Kay had the growth removed and because it was caught early enough, she needed neither radiation nor chemotherapy. We were both glad to be home for this one!

Everything was fine as we started out on our second trip across the country to the Desert Southwest. Although I had my eyes examined at the VA and got new glasses before we left, Kay decided to wait until we could go to Mexico and have her eyes examined and buy the glasses there (much less expensive as she has no insurance for this). But, during the first two weeks of our trip, Kay realized that she needed more than just new glasses. Kay began to notice that lines that should have been straight were wavy or distorted. She also noticed that when she looked at the diamond shaped yellow caution road signs, the sign would sometimes disappear and just a pole was there with nothing on top of it.

As we traveled towards Colorado Springs, Kay began researching ophthalmologists. She found one with good reviews and called and made an appointment. The ophthalmologist told her that she had a hole in the macula and referred her to a retina specialist. The retina specialist said that she needed treatment within the next three months. If she did nothing, in all likelihood she would become blind in that eye. This surgeon recommended that the two existing cataracts be removed before the repair of the macular hole. That would have meant a delay of 10 weeks in our departure from Colorado. Due to the weather, we were not staying in Colorado long enough to get the necessary surgeries done there.

The retina specialist in Colorado Springs referred Kay to a retina specialist in Phoenix. The new eye doctor said that he did not need to remove the cataracts before he repaired the macular hole in her eye. The surgery involved removing some torn layers of tissue in the eye and removing the vitreous fluid in the eye. Then, a gas bubble was used to replace the fluid. After the surgery, Kay had to keep a face-down position for four days and nights. That position causes the gas bubble to apply pressure against the hole, forcing it to close.

Because Kay had a gas bubble in her eye, she was not allowed to significantly change altitude. We stayed in a campground near Phoenix for three weeks.

The surgery was a success. The hole is repaired. Kay is still experiencing some of the same symptoms (although to a lesser degree), but has been told that the eye will continue to heal over the next six months. The gas bubble is gone and Kay has been cleared to move about the country!

We have learned that we do not need to let fear of health issues stop us from traveling. Plan to take care of health issues when you are home; be prepared to take care of health issues as you travel. It can be done!