i think April is my favorite time in the Keys. Especially this year. The weather has warmed up and the winds have died down. Because of the COVID-19 virus, US-1 and most public boat ramps are closed. These closures have reduced the number of people in the Keys and boats out on the water. Since our boat is tied up behind the RV, we can still enjoy getting to some of our favorite spots. Being able to get out on the boat has kept the cabin fever at bay. Especially since we are no longer going to the pool (even though it is still open). I just do not feel comfortable using the pool.
Continue reading “April in the Keys, Fishing and COVID 4/15/2020”December in The Keys 12/31/2019
This year has been considerably cooler and wetter in the Keys than last year. However, it is still warmer and dryer than home so still loving it! We are watching the Ravens game and looking at all of the rain in Baltimore. This is the second home game that it has been pouring down rain during the game, while we are in sunshine! I will take the warmer weather! Even if I missed being with family over the holidays.
Continue reading “December in The Keys 12/31/2019”Back to the Keys 10/2019 – 11/2019
October and November were busy months. We had a lot to do once we got back home from our summer adventures. Just cleaning out the Dirt Yacht took quite some time. From storing our cold weather clothes to getting rid of all of the dust in the motorhome and outside storage compartments, Randy and I spent quite a bit of time organizing and cleaning. And that is never my favorite thing to do! While we were home we also caught up on some of our doctor’s appointments. I had a few extra tests to check on my kidney stones, but for now at least the doctor just wants to keep watching them to make sure they are not continuing to grow.
Continue reading “Back to the Keys 10/2019 – 11/2019”Wisconsin Dells 09/12 – 09/14/2019
We drove 354 miles to make it to Country Roads Motorhome and RV Park in Lake Delton, Wisconsin. This was a beautiful RV park with large grassy lots perfect for us! They advertise their park is for “older kids” so we definitely qualify. Originally we stopped for just an overnight stay, but we decided to stay for the weekend so we could explore the area and iwe didn’t want to get to Elkhart, Indiana, until Monday so we could have some work done on the front drivers seat of the RV. It was a busy weekend because of the Wo-Zha-Wa Days Fall Festival, but we lucked out and could stay for the weekend as long as we moved to another site the following day. It didn’t take long to move the RV and we still had lots of time to explore the town and the festival. We didn’t buy much at the festival, except for some delicious fudge and a new purse for me to replace my damaged small blue cloth purse that I carry when I walk.
Continue reading “Wisconsin Dells 09/12 – 09/14/2019”Prince George 09/06 – 09/07/2019
Day 60 was our last planned drive as part of the caravan to Sintich RV Park in Prince George, BC. It started with Ricky’s last thump of tires. It was only 223 mile and with the good roads we made great time. With the photo scavenger hunt over, we had no planned stops so we only stopped for lunch and walks for Ty. Once we hit Prince George, we did stop at Walmart to stock up on food and supplies.
Continue reading “Prince George 09/06 – 09/07/2019”Telkwa, Totem Poles and Memories of 1966 09/05/2019
The time spent in Hyder was our last time in Alaska and once we left Stewart it was a push for 2 days of driving to complete our caravan’s journey. However, I think the drive to our next stop at Fort Telkwa RV Park was one of Randy’s favorite parts of this trip.
Continue reading “Telkwa, Totem Poles and Memories of 1966 09/05/2019”Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK 09/03 – 09/04/2019
We drove 243 miles from Dease Lake to the Bear River RV Park in Stewart, BC. Along the way, we stopped at the Bell II Lodge for lunch with Mitch and Kate and to get our scavenger hunt photo of where we ate on the Cassiar Highway. I get extra points in the competition since there were 4 of us in this crazy photo. Mitch took the point after lunch. This allowed him to radio back to us about a black bear along the road. Unfortunately, we could not get stopped in time to get a good picture. The bear took off up into the wooded bank on the side of the road, and we had traffic behind us with nowhere to pull over so we could not get any more photos of this particular bear. We didn’t learn until later than Brian and Diane did not have any traffic behind them so they were able to wait for the bear to come back down the hill. They were able to get a few nice pictures of the black bear. We also stopped for some photos of the Bear River Glacier that came down the mountain just on the other side of the river that ran along the road.
Continue reading “Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK 09/03 – 09/04/2019”Dease Lake and Bears in the Road 09/02/2019
When we left Baby Nugget RV Park, it was a quick 0.5 miles before we turned left onto the Cassiar Highway (BC Hwy-37 South) and back to narrow, bumpy, frost heaved roads. We passed gorgeous lakes such as Blue Lake and Simmons Lake. Randy was thrilled that he somehow spotted a black bear off of the road and was able to get the RV stopped in time to get a couple of photos. He flagged down the 5-wheel with the Adventure Caravan that was following us so he could get a photo and the bear could cross the road unharmed. I think the driver of the 5th wheel did not want to stop because he kept flashing his lights at Randy. He didn’t slam on his brakes until he saw the bear! Randy said the photo he got of the bear looking at him with some foliage in the foreground was his favorite photo he has taken on the trip. You can also really see the foliage starting to show their changing colors. Randy likes the black bears better than the grizzly bears. Unfortunately, later on our drive we missed the photo of a mama bear and her 2 cubs. Randy yelled “camera, camera, camera” but by the time I got the camera out, the sow and cubs had jumped back into the bushes. One disadvantage of the RV–its noisy!!
Continue reading “Dease Lake and Bears in the Road 09/02/2019”Nugget City 09/01/2019
It was nice to be back on decent roads, at least by Alaska standards. We traveled 255 miles on Highway-1 East toward Watson Lake to Nugget City, Yukon. Most of this part of the road, we had traveled before, but with the beautiful fall colors, it was a whole new experience. We stopped at Rancheria Falls for our scavenger hunt photo. I was glad we were one of the first to make this stop, as the parking lot was small. The falls were a quick 10 to 15-minute walk from the parking lot. Jim and Jane also stopped at the falls and joined us (and Ty) on the quick walk. It felt good to get out and stretch our legs; and the view was worth the short hike.
Continue reading “Nugget City 09/01/2019”Whitehorse and the Northern Lights 08/31/2019
The ride out of Haines was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. After crossing the border without any issues we made the long climb to Chilkat Pass, elevation 3,510 feet, to stop and take our scavenger hunt photo. The last few days we really noticed the difference in the foliage that was now showing her beautiful autumn colors. The Haines Highway was tiring to drive with all of the frost heaves and potholes but absolutely gorgeous. The scenery was so different from our last stop in Whitehorse which was only slightly more than a month previous.
Continue reading “Whitehorse and the Northern Lights 08/31/2019”