Home in the Shuswap

It was a quick drive from Oroville to the Shuswap, with a couple of stops on the way.  We visited the BCAA office in Kelowna to take care of our single trip medical policy, since we were back early and we received a small rebate.  Donald wanted to stop at White's BBQ and Fireplaces in Kelowna to check about a bigger ( Weber ) BBQ for the rig, with a propane quick connect.  There was one there, but pricey, so we are holding off till we decide what we really want to do.  The 5th wheel came with an RVQ, but it is extremely small and we are still not a fan with a BBQ on the side of the rig.

We have sticker shock with the price of groceries, but we were prepared for the diesel prices.  What can you do, hmmm?

Chores were in order at the lot.... cleaning up dead perennial growth and pulling weeds.  We will be too busy this summer and also on the road, so we won't be making any big plans for further development.

Kim stayed up most of last night to watch THE wedding live. Crazy.

Hopefully the roses will come back....

almost in canuck land

Hagerman Horse, Idaho

The Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument in Idaho is very interesting.  If you go to the actual site, there is not much to see, except for the neat escarpment.  In the town nearby, there is a small museum building with a theatre, displays and small shop.  Hundreds of these prehistoric horse fossils have been found, as well as mastodon and other creatures.

The museum is free, with a box for donations.  On the way through Washington we were able to see a couple of dams, with a stop at the Chief Joseph Dam.  The picnic/pullover/view spot of the dam was lovely, with a labrinth design of stones and grass, playground for children and lots of exhibit boards.  A great place to stop.

We will be a few days till our next post, as we travel and get settled into our Shuswap lot.  Hopefully there will not be as much yard work there, as Rick and Paulette  are doing, but we suspect there will be even more!!!!  Ah, spring chores!

Putting on the miles

Just a quick post - there was going to be some strong winds to drive through again, so in short order we went from our night stay in Wells, Nevada to Caldwell, Idaho to Soap Lake, Washington. Whew.  Pictures and update soon as we rest a bit.

New header picture is for Paulette.

Backtracking to see Caliente

OOO.. the weather looked cold going through Salt Lake City, so we backtracked west as Don wanted to see the Old Union Pacific Station at Caliente, Nevada.  This station is undergoing renovation, and we were met by the Mayor of Caliente himself, who would have taken us on a personal tour, but was busy with a visit of persons from the US Department of Energy.  They were there to see the station and grant some dollars towards the heating and cooling situation.  The building was already well used, as it housed the local art gallery, the Chamber of Commerce and the Town Library as well as offices upstairs.

A fellow from our are in the Shuswap recommended taking 318 and 95 north through Nevada, and we only had a short distance to backtrack to catch the 318, so we did.  A lovely easy drive, till we hit very cold weather in Ely, NV near the end of the day.  The Casino on the edge of town looked liked it even had full hookups, and there were a couple of spaces left.  It was a good deal - $15.00, full hookups, 2 free magaritas, and use of the pool. Can't beat that.

Yesterday, we only made it as far as Wells, NV - 35 mph winds, 55 mph gusts, sleet, hail, snow...... you get the picture.  We pulled into the Flying J for a hour for lunch and to decide - yeah, let's stay here for the night.  Early start the next day......

Close to the start of the ET highway - maybe next year....

inside the Caliente UP Station

Bryce - WOW

People have told us that they enjoyed Bryce National Park more than the Grand Canyon.  Well, come on, compared to the Grand Canyon? Yes, we concur - it was pretty great. We took Utah State road 14 out of Cedar City, very steep, mud slides, rock on road and lots, lots, lots of snow. Beauty!

Antelope in the grass, Bryce NP

 Since we arrived before noon, the light for pictures was fantastic, as was the weather! Lucky! Every 'stop' for a named viewpoint was very different from the one before it, so we enjoyed it all.

Thors Hammer, Bryce

One the way to Bryce is Red Canyon, which had even redder ( is that a word?) stone formations, and two that you drive through - cool!

We are still reading fellow bloggers that have posted of cold weather further north.... are we heading home too early? Probably..... come on spring...... Bayfield Al has talked about how he looks forward to heading back to the southwest almost as soon as he gets home.  We are doing the same thing, and we haven't even left - deciding on what to see and experience next winter, what roads to take.  Maybe we're trying to evade all the " to do" things when we get back to B.C.