May 26th - 28th, 2024 - Whitehorse Yukon and New Friends

 We woke to a beautiful sunny day and away we went!

We made a stop at Johnson's Crossing for one of their famous Cinnamon Rolls and met the new owners.  In 2009, we tried to stay here but unfortunately they were snowed in.  (For those who are new to my blog, our 2009 trip to Alaska in April was a real adventure - LOL!)

Anyway, the rolls are huge! We sat in their dining area, talking with the owners and ended up bringing half of the rolls with us.  Yum!

Love the cloud reflections:

Not sure what this is but I know it has to do with the salmon runs.  This is the Yukon River - the 3rd longest in the world:

Coming into Whitehorse:

We are staying at the Pioneer RV Park where we have stayed every time we are in Whitehorse.  Once we checked in, our first item was the RV and Truck wash area.  We did the best we could and our vehicles look a lot better with all that dirt gone.

Once we settled in our spot, we headed to Walmart and the Canadian Superstore.  In 2009, we came thru here very early and there were no campgrounds open so we stayed in the Walmart parking lot overnight. They do not allow that anymore.

When we stayed at the Walmart in Fallon Nevada, we met a couple, Jane and Roger, who were Escapees and SKP Boomers and have stayed in touch ever since.  They are also at this campground and we got together for supper at the Cooper's/Dirty Northern on Main Street in Whitehorse.  The food was great!  We had such a good time chatting and getting to know one another that we ended the evening at our RV.  What a great time and hope to see them somewhere in Alaska.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 96 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Yukon: YT-1 (Alaskan Highway)

May 27-28, 2024

The last two days were spent doing laundry, getting supplies, doing some things around the motorhome, and just taking it easy.  Four days of continuous travel is a bit much for us anymore.

We did not do any sightseeing but may on our way back thru.

Tomorrow we continue our journey to Alaska so stay tuned and enjoy today.

March 25th - April 3rd, 2024 - Our time in Yuma

WOW!  Time really goes fast when you are having fun - LOL!

So what have we been up to for the last 10 days?

We did organize the shed - at least in part.  We will do more when we our here next season.  We also got an estimate for some improvements we want to make on the lot.  Hopefully we can get that done in November or December.

We had our cat, Gray, to the vets for bloodwork and a check-up.  He is gaining weight but eating less food so I was concerned.  The good news is that all his tests are wonderful and he is a healthy cat.  The bad news for me is that I now have to really monitor his food by counting his calories.  Next, I will be doing that for me. LOL!

Isn't he the cutest!

In February at our park's annual membership meeting, there was an issue that concerned me so I volunteered to be on the Ad-Hoc Committee to address the issue.  The first meeting I attended by phone, the next meeting was my birthday and the last one I attended was this past week.  There is a great group of people on the committee and I am learning a lot about how parks work and some of the "legalities" of park operations.  I will miss the last meeting but will be there in the fall.

After the meeting on my birthday (3/26), members of the park went to EATS (Chinese Restaurant) to celebrate all the other March Birthdays and Anniversaries.  It was fun.

The next day (3/27), we went back to Los Algodones to my favorite restaurant to eat.

Happy Birthday to me 😁:

Yes, the Margaritas and Garlic Shrimp were still wonderful!

Our favorite bartender was there, Leo, (on the right) and gave me a big hug for my birthday and a big hug when we left.  He introduced us to his little brother (on the left).  At first I didn't believe it was his brother and he convinced me it was.  I could not pronounce his name so hopefully next year I will.

As many of you know I just LOVE yard art and this little guy came back over the border with us.  Can't wait to put him in my yard in PA!

They had an awesome camel and an awesome giraffe but getting that home would be a problem..

Our friend, Judy, came into the park that day and we spent some time getting caught up and then out to dinner.  Sadly, I did not take a picture.

The weather has been crazy here!  Cold some days; warm to hot other days; and we had lots of wind and rain.  

Pictures of one of the dust storms coming thru - Looking west:

Looking south:

Looking east:

And that dust just covers everything!!  We usually close up everything and put the air conditioning on cause it is that fine, I can taste it.  

Besides the normal shopping, laundry, etc., I spent a considerable amount of time planning the next few months of our journey.  I only do reservations about 2 weeks in advance and also have backups if it doesn't work out.  Depending on the weather, we hope to spend a little time in Nevada before heading north.

I also spent time on the phone preparing for our trip thru Canada:  What credit cards can we use and not incur any charges? How about cell phone and internet coverage?  Insurance? Medical?  Do we have enough of our medications? What can I bring into Canada - food, alcohol, etc.?  What paperwork do my cats need?  ETC...  I also found out that I could get Canadian money from Wells Fargo with no fee so we made that happen here since there is no Wells Fargo in Canada.   Finally, since my cats eat special food, I ordered enough for the next few months until we get to Anchorage.  I think we are covered!!

One interesting thing I did over the past week was take part in an Alzheimer Study.  As many of you know, my mom had Alzheimer's and a few years ago I inquired about participating in those studies.  I have been in one study now for almost 5 years.  I do it online every three months.  They contacted me to see if I was interested in doing a short term one - every day for 5 days and then repeating in 6 months.  Since I knew we were going to be stationary and the internet was good, I went for it.  I will tell you that this one was hard.  Plus at the end, they asked for an evaluation of the test.  Yes, I will do it again.  I have also participated in other short term ones but most of them I did not qualify.     If anyone is interested in participating in studies like this, you just need to Google the specific disease and make sure the study is done by a university or hospital.  Once you are in one of them, others will contact you.  Also, if you need testing, many doctor and hospital groups participate.  One of the studies I was in two years ago, the pretest was bloodwork and they referred me to a doctor in Pottsville. (I had to give 11 vials of blood and they actually paid me. That was a nice surprise.  But, I did not have the specific proteins that they needed so I could not participate.)  If I were home more, I would look into some of the cancer studies because of the prevalence of cancer in my family.  

Tomorrow we start our trek north so stay tuned and enjoy today.

March 18 - 22, 2024 Casa Grande Part 3 and News

Well, we had a semi-boring week - LOL.

We did get our fuel filters changed at SpeedCo - a division of Love's.  On Wednesday, we were there when they opened at 7 AM and by 10 AM we were on our way back home.  They were great and it was a minimal charge.  Now, we did buy the filters from Amazon because we found out that the one filter is readily available but the other is not.  

The other days were doing the normal laundry, groceries, packing up (see below) and trip planning (see below).

Here is our news...

News Flash 1

In 2023, we started the year with our home and three lots in Co-ops (Florida, Casa Grande, AZ and Yuma, AZ) and said...we are lot poor.  We made the decision that in two years we would have our home and one lot.  In 2023, we sold the lot in Florida and I could not make up my mind on the AZ lots.  There were pros and cons on both.

In January, we got a new lot in Yuma with a great "shed" and it backed up to the storage area.  Not that we are happy on the storage area but there are possibilities.  Another plus is that the "shed" can have a his/her area plus storage so I can have my "space" to do crafts, and Andy can have his radio area as well as a work bench and storage above.

After being there and looking at the possibilities, we decided to give up our Casa Grande lot.  We are sad to leave this park because of the many memories but now we have one house in PA and one lot in Yuma.  So stay tuned for some of the things we want to do to make Yuma our home away from home.

We have not left for good.  It is still a great park to stay and we will be dropping by now and then.

News Flash 2

The picture tells it all.. (from our 2009 trip)!

(Yes! That is on the Alaskan Highway in April 2009.  There are no words to describe the beauty. And yes, I did take those pictures.)

Alaska, here we come!

We have decided to spend the summer in Alaska and then come back to Arizona in Fall of 2024.  In the spring of 2025, we will be in PA.  We have been in Alaska in 2007 and 2009 and it does call you back.  We felt the time is right so we are going for it! 

Right now we are still making our plans but tentatively...we hope to cross into Canada sometime early May and spend some time seeing the sights.  So sometime in June, we will  cross into Alaska.  Gosh, the only thing I can say is that we are blessed!  We are excited!!   

Tomorrow we are heading to Yuma so stay tuned and enjoy today.

February 16 - 20, 2024 More Yuma and Artsy Fartsy

On Friday, 16th, I went to Ladies Coffee at the park - what a great time!  Wish we would do it more than once a week.  

Here we are (Thank you Bonnie for the photos):

I don't know everyone here but I will get there.

On another day, we talked to the Lot Committee Co-Chairman about our upgrades and hopefully we will be able to do them next season.  Next steps are estimates of the work.

On Sunday, 18th, I went to a Glass and Resin Class at the Artsy Fartsy Studio in Yuma.  What fun!  My masterpiece - LOL!

Is this something that I might explore?  Hmmm....   I would love to say yes but I do not want to take on another hobby so no, I will just go to these events if I like the picture.

I could not take it home with me since we are leaving here on Wednesday.  I will pick up when I head back this way.  

They have crafts here in the park from Monday thru Saturday from 1PM-3PM.  There is a great group of ladies that get together and do their crafts and others who join them.  I do not get there often but when I do, it is a lot of fun.   So I was able to get there on Monday!  For me, it is a smaller group and easier to get to know people.

On Tuesday, 20th, was our park's annual membership meeting.  There were so many people there that I have never seen before.  The meeting was...interesting.  If you have ever been to these types of meetings or even HOA membership meetings, you will know what I am talking about.  But, I do have to say, kudos to our board members and kudos to the parliamentarians who kept it on track.

I did volunteer to be on one of the focus groups (because I do have a vested interest) so we will see what happens.  Since we travel, I can always do Zoom or email.  

Later that day, our friends Pam and Steve came in to the park.  We checked in with each other and I was able to spend a little time with Pam later that evening.  So hopefully our paths will cross again.

In between, we did the normal stuff - Laundry, shopping, etc.

I have been doing research on how to get my pictures back on the blog and I am going to try some of the solutions.   Sadly, Google has changed a number of things and many, if not most, of the third party programs that uploaded to Blogger are no longer able to do that.  Sad!

Tomorrow we head to Parker area so stay tuned and enjoy today!

February 15, 2024 - A Walk in the Dark at the Yuma Territorial Prision

Andy heard about this event and it sounded interesting.  We had been to the prison many years ago and were told that they have expanded the museum and updated some of the visitors areas.  So we just had to go.

But first, we went to Da Boyz in Old Town Yuma for a wonderful dinner and then off to the prison on the hill.

A little background:

"Yuma Territorial Prison is a living museum of the Old West. More than 3,000 desperadoes, convicted of crimes ranging from polygamy to murder, were imprisoned in rock and adobe cells here during the prison's 33-year existence between 1876 and 1909. The cells, main gate and guard tower are still standing, providing visitors with a glimpse of convict life in the Southwest a century ago.

On July 1, 1876, the first 7 inmates entered the Territorial Prison at Yuma and were locked into the new cells they had built themselves. A total of 3,069 prisoners, including 29 women, lived within these walls during the prison's 33 years of operation. Their crimes ranged from murder to polygamy, with grand larceny being the most common. A majority served only portions of their sentences due to the ease with which paroles and pardons were obtained. One hundred eleven persons died while serving their sentences, most from tuberculosis, which was common throughout the territory. Of the many prisoners who attempted escape, 26 were successful and 8 died from gunshot wounds. No executions took place at the prison because capital punishment was administered by the county governments.

Despite an infamous reputation, the historical written record indicates that the prison was humanely administered and was a model institution for its time. The only punishments were the "dark cell" for inmates who broke prison regulations, and the "ball and chain" for those who tried to escape. Prisoners had free time during which they hand-crafted many items to be sold at public bazaars held at the prison on Sundays after church services. Prisoners also had regular medical attention and access to a good hospital.

Schooling was available for convicts, and many learned to read and write in here in prison. The prison housed one of the first "public" libraries in the territory, and the fee charged to visitors for a tour of the institution was used to purchase books. One of the early electrical generating plants in the West was utilized here to furnish power for lights and run a ventilation system in the cell blocks."

Many movies used this location for their stories and it has been voted "Best Haunted Destination in the US".

The guard tower that sits on the bluff which overlooks the Colorado River:

Before all the dams and canals, the Colorado River came thru here like a "raging ocean."  Now it comes thru as a small river but this is designated wet lands - home to many plants, animals and birds.

When they opened the gates, we first went thru the gift shop and then into this entrance (also called the sallyport).  This is the only original adobe structure remaining at the prison.  How about this picture:

Love the prisoner in the background - isn't he the cutest!

There was a small talk in the yard area and then we went thru the museum.  Andy and I did not spend a lot of time there because we wanted to see the prison while there was still some light:

Andy got his papers - LOL!

Thru the Museum, we met up with the Yuma Wild West Day 1800's Group - they were so much fun!

Of course, we had to get our picture taken with the prisoners:

The Main Cell Block:

The locks:

The cells:

Each cell held 6 people and a pot (for the toilet):

High Ceilings in each cell:

Check the thick walls of the entrance to each cell:

Heading to the yard and the dark cell:

Now, think about this...   Yuma in the summer reaches temperatures well over 100 degrees.  You are in a cell with 5 other people (who are not the nicest). Your bathroom is a pot on the floor.  I just cannot imagine.

This is the "Dark Cell."  It is a cave, dug out from the bluff.  Prisoners that did not follow the rules were put in a cage in this cave.  They were fed once per day and there was no toilet. Sometimes there were up to 6 prisoners in the cage. They could be there for a day, a week, a month or many months.  It was too dark to take a picture of the cell but believe me it was small.  Oh my!

Since this is one of the "Most Haunted Places in the US", they have spirit hunters or ghost hunters come here.  Tonight, these two were ghost hunters.  They had two pieces of equipment - one to see if the spirits were here and one to pick up their "voices."  They asked the spirits questions and they did get answers, although it sounded like gibberish to me.  So is this real? I don't know.   

I was there a while and a few of us got to talk with them (people, not spirits).   Anyway, he said that there are no evil spirits, just tortured souls.  Interesting perspective.

On the floor is the floor of the cage - Oh my.

There were 29 women incarcerated over the years that the prison was open.  This was one of their cells.  It was also dug into the bluff.

For those prisoners who followed the rules, they ate pretty good.

The prisoners who followed the rules had a lot of amenities.  The library here was used by people in the Yuma territories.

One last item:

It was a great tour and there is so much more to see there.  We intend to come back next season when it is light to take advantage of that.

Enjoy today!