Back in Cali

We made it back to California this afternoon. If you've ever driven from Oregon to California you know it's just a bit hilly. Well in a car it's not that noticeable but in a big old motorhome it's noticeable.  

Our coach is under powered with a 400 hp Cat engine. It sounds like a lot of horsepower but for the weight it's not enough. Yes I can keep up with most trucks but others pass us like we are standing still. What really pisses me off is when one of those cheap ass motorhomes passes me. I'm sure they are laughing thinking they are about to pass this fancy motorhome. I know I would be laughing to. 

Well I just have to remember they might get to the campground 5 minutes sooner but my 3 air conditioners will get me cool a lot faster then their two cheap o air conditioners and I  can sit in comfort while Maria does laundry in the coach LOL.

Spending the night in Yerka which is about 10 miles from Oregon border. It's hot and windy but the A/C is working fine.

Had to get our 10,000 steps so we waited till it sort of cooled off to get our walk done..

Maria is waiting on me to catch up.  That's new. As most guys know it's usually the other way around...... Big moon tonight.

On to Corning, CA in the morning.

OMC Round Two (this year)

We are back in Eugene, Oregon at Oregon Motorcoach Center.  You know we can't pass by a repair facility without stopping and spending some money. Just helping the OR state economy.

We have two foggy windows which is a common coach problem so we're having those fixed.  Plastic for now.

OMC redid the housing for the directv box, DVD player and satellite controller in April but now the directv box overheats when it's really hot outside. So they are going to have to make some adjustments to get more air around the box.

So hopefully they will have everything done by Friday so we can continue south. We will see.

Last night we had happy hour with all the other couples here to make their donation to OMC. The place is busy with every "camp" spot filled. I like to say it's is the most expensive "campground" in Eugene. 

Portland, Oregon

We made it to Portland, Oregon today at about 2:00 PM. The drive was busy. I wanted to get through Seattle early to miss the traffic. Well no traffic in Seattle but Tacoma was stop and go for miles. But we made it.

Its hot (90°) and smoky here in Portland.  Like California there are wildfires all over Oregon and Washington. They issued an air quality advisory.  It's not as bad as it was in Fairbanks AK but close.

The RV park we are in is actually in Fairview which is east of Portland. We are next to train tracks with a train going by about every hour. Just like living next to Hwy 101.

Run For the Border

We made it back to the good old USA today at 2:00 PM.

Until you're in someone's else's country for an extended period you don't realize how good we have it. As Maria said no more 60 dollar  dinners, no more trying to figure out the speed limit, no more loonies or toonies or whatever they're called. No more paying for chips and salsa and having no unsweetened ice tea. 

We are back in Bellingham WA for three days. Returned to a very nice park The Cedars RV Resort.. We were here during the hot water heater break down. We had to cancel our reservation three days ago due to our latest breakdown. They were very nice and credited us the canceled reservation to our  new three day stay.

Anyways today's story. We showed up at 7:30 AM at my buddy Chucks truck repair shop. He showed up at 8:20 AM. I waited till 8:30 AM and went inside. He was very cool and said to move the coach to his bay door and he'd be out to let me in. So I did as told. He opened the door directed me in and said he'd start working on it. 

He completely ignored Maria who said good morning to him. So he worked and I watched at the door.

I felt like a jerk because this guy's 70 years old and he's trying to get the coach jacked up and a 200 pound tire/wheel off. But I did not want to piss him off again so I watched.

The guys been a mechanic for 50 years he really didn't need my help but he's moving slow and  if anything I have a strong back.

So he grunts and groans and finally gets the blown airbag off and throws it in my direction.  

I just look at him and stand there. 

He puts the new airbag on and than the tire/wheel back on as I just stand there. Now I'm happy as hell cause we are getting the hell out a here. He than asks me to help him torque the lug nuts. Hey I'm fat so with my weight not a problem.  He asks me what I do for a living. I almost told him I was a mortician which would have ended the conversation but I told him the truth. Crap, it was like he took a Prozac. I couldn't shut him up. 

As I said yesterday I like Chuck even though he was an asshole to me. He is funny, has worked hard all his life and lost the woman he loved to ALS. He needs some meds or a girlfriend.

The cost for the repair was very reasonable. So we are back in the USA and happy to be here.

I Need a Vacation from this Vacation

Well here's the latest in a long nutshell. Coach is not fixed yet. Yesterday CoachNet (like AAA for motorhomes) was sopposed to tow us somewhere to be fixed or send us a guy who was quilified to fix us. Well they tried to send a guy who fixes cars because they couldn't find anyone else to come. No luck on a tow truck either. 

So I went to plan B. There's a local truck repair guy I talked to and Coachnet talked to but he was not that interested in working on a motorhome.

So I went and talked with him (Chuck) and he agreed to look at it. So we drove 10 mph for 7 miles and he looked at it. Blown airbag as I suspected.  He said he could fix it no problem but finding one would be the issue. Well we found one after some research by both of us. They would ship it to a truck repair place in Kamloops BC which is an hour away. It would be there the next day btwn 1 pm and 2 pm.

So we drove to Kamloops (45 mins) had a great breakfast and the airbag arrived FedEx at 1:30 pm.

I called Chuck and told him we were enroute with the air bag. He started yelling at me wanting to know why I hadn't brought the coach over in the morning.  I told him because we didn't have the part and he said he didn't want us blocking his one and only bay. He hung up on me. Well I have the new air bag which I didn't  pay for and Chucks having a temper tantrum.

So we drove back to Chucks and I tried to apologize for the misunderstanding.  He was an asshole about it but I was nice and said it was my fault.

He said to bring the coach over in the morning and he would try and work it in. We will see.

I like Chuck. He's a contankorous old guy that lost his wife to ALS. I am going to play nice and remember our problems are really not that big of a deal. If it goes sideways I still have the airbag and will find another way to get it installed.

I'm not sure what Canada's bail schedule is for punching out a 70 year old guy but hey if Basti can do it so can I.

Nothing is ever easy. But the campground we are in is nice. But it's hot here 88 degrees  at 5 pm.

It Never Ends

We have been motoring south back to the good old USA for 10 days. No issues except for the leaky tire valve. So we made it to Cache Creek BC (230 miles from the border) and we decided to stop for the night at a truck stop. They said no problem.  So I leveled the coach put the sides out and everything was good.

Than "pop" from the rear and the right side of the coach went down. I know what that was. Probably an air bag. So here we sit waiting on Coachnet to send a mobile tech to look at it in the morning. 

But we have sat tv, great internet from the truck stop, and I woke up this morning. And I am with the most beautiful woman I know. Life is good! Like every other break down we will get through it and move on.  Hell I could still be at work like some LOL.

Our view from our parking spot... Not bad...

Who Would Have Thought

We made it back to Prince George, British Columbia.  The drive was uneventful. 

We are here for two days so Maria can go to the scrapbook store. Just another stop on our drive back to SM.

Val (the oldest) and I mean the oldest child texted Maria to let her know that Mariah our grand daughter was going on a Police ride a long tonight. Guess with who? 

Yes with Officer Nicholas Giese SMPD's finest .

Who would have thought that our grand daughter would be riding along with our son (uncle nick).

Not to many years ago they were kids fighting like brother and sister.

Maria is getting old....... I'm not of course.

Can you say "Poutine"

We are still in Dawson Creek BC. We decided to wash the ton of Alaskan highway dirt off the coach. 3 hours later we got most of it off. We power washed it , brushed it and finally Maria wiped it down with detailer spray. We are both not used to manual labor.

Cause we worked so hard we decided a late lunch was deserved.  On a recommendation we went to Browns Social.  We had a appetizer called Poutine. French fries, covered in gravy and cheese curds. Yes I could feel my arteries clogging. But it was soooo good. I immediately went back to the coach and had a glass of wine to counter act all the bad stuff. 

Off to Prince George in the morning.

Mile "0"

We arrived in Dawson Creek BC  yesterday for a 3 day stay. The drive was ok except for all the big trucks. This is oil country and there were lots of northbound trucks. At least 20 wide loads passed us going north.

After that drive Maria found a restaurant with high ratings.  A steakhouse so I had stuffed chicken.  It was excellent.  Maria had steak and shrimp.  It was delicious.  The only downside was it was pricey but restaurants here in Canada are pricey.

The waitress recommend a place for breakfast so we went this morning. It was also good.

We stopped at the start of Alaska Highway sign to get our picture like every other tourist just in reverse. Most do it on the way up.

We than drove to a curved wooden bridge which is a historic site north of the city. Than it happened.   A southbound truck kicked up a rock that hit our Hondas wind shield.  It sounded like a shot. Scared the crap out of both of us. 

This will not be fixed with a crack fill. We continued on to the curved wooden bridge which is on the Old Alaska Highway. 

It was very cool how they made this wooden bridge curved.  

Maria didn't like walking on it thought.

Maria took me back to the coach so she could look for the scrapbooking store. Yes they have or had one of those here. She had no luck it must have closed. I guess oilfield workers don't crapbook....

She did get the cracked windshield fixed temporarily.  The guy filled it but it will still have to be replaced.

I BBQ'd chicken tonight and Maria made salads and cookies.

Life is good.

Fort Nelson BC

We drove about 300 miles today from Watson Lake YK to Fort Nelson BC. Long drive and as usual the first part (my part)  was smooth sailing.  And no kidding Maria takes over and road construction a mile down the road. It rained off and on and the coach is a muddy mess.

But we saw sheep, a bear cub, bisen and foxes. We saw more animals on this drive than our entire time in Alaska.  Great day.

We stopped in Fort Nelson BC and decided to boondock on the street next to the Greyhound station. If the cops tell us to leave my story will be I've been drinking wine and can't drive. I will tell the officer my wife causes me to drink.  I'm sure he'll understand.......

Going to Dawson Creek in the morning which is about 280 miles. Plan on spending 2 or 3 days there. Life is good we have sat tv! here on the street. ....

Change in the Plan

We left Whitehorse this morning after we tried to get all the dirt off the coach. We got some of it off but of course we got some minor rain and than a truck passed us in the rain.. So much for the wash.

We stopped in Teslin YK intending to stop for the night but it was only noon. So we had lunch at the restaurant which was excellent.  Homemade bread on my club sandwich and Maria's hot turkey sandwich.  

It was early so we decided to continue to Watson Lake. Maria drove the next 100 miles and got to go over some nice bridges LOL.

We stopped in Watson Lake for the night so we could put up our sign in the world famous sign forest.

We got the sign up and than the sky's opened up and it rained and hailed. I only got a little wet. Maria was dry.

 Moving further south in the morning.  Or that's the plan as of now.

Whitehorse Continued

We slept in today as it was cold this morning. Cold for us.  In the low to middle forties.  Finally got moving around 11:00 AM (Spike Time).

We went to a Canadian fast food joint called Tim Hortons. It was a combination coffee, donut, and sandwich shop. It was ok but nothing to rave about. We ate light because we are heading for a big dinner tonight.

We then went over to the Yukon Transportation Museum. 

The DC3 (I think) is a wind vane. It moves with the direction of the wind.  When we got out of the car the plane was pointed in the direction the wind was blowing.

Lot's of cool stuff in the museum and very interesting.

Tonight we went back to Klondike Ribs and Salmon for dinner. Maria had prime rib and I had Elk stroganoff. Both were ok. I guess we should of had the ribs and salmon like last time.

We head to Teslin YK in the morning for an overnight stop than on to Watson Lake YK. We stopped at both during the caravan so we know where we're going. Which is a good thing. The road is said to be good but we will see. 

Whitehorse The Rerun

We drove another 200 miles today and made it back to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.  We are stopped for two days at the same rv park we stayed at on the tour. 

Guess who's here?   Spike and Tour #2. Doesn't look like as many rigs on this tour than ours. The RV park isn't nearly as crowded as the first time we were here.

The drive today was mostly paved with a few areas of gravel.

As I posted on Facebook yesterday via my In Reach satellite device (no cellphone service here in the boondocks) the road from Tok, Alaska south 200 miles was patches of dirt, gravel, potholes and frost heaves.  And it rained most of the way. Which was actually good because there was no dust.

When Maria took over driving she got the worst of the road. But she did great and was a lot more patient than I was.

Finally Pavement!




We stopped at a rest stop for the night. Maria cooked chicken, made a salad and baked cornbread muffins. All with no hookups. It was Excellent! She can do it thanks to a 10,000k generator.

It rained hard most of the night. We slept very good.

Back in Alaska

We made it back to Alaska late last night. Our connecting flight in Seattle was four hours late.  We made it to the RV storage lot with 23 minutes to spare. The gate access goes off at midnight.  We were going to sleep in the coach in the storage lot but Maria said she didn't feel comfortable in the lot? Locked gate, security cameras and all? OK so we camped at Sam's Club parking lot in Anchorage.

But as usual we had a issue with the coach. An inside dual tire was low. It happened before and I thought I fixed it. Well wrong. So a 0800 AM we were at a tire shop. Luckily it was a minor value stem problem and we were on the road at 10:00 AM. We decided to drive to Tok, AK which is about 320 miles. It turned into a long drive as the road was very bad with construction and frost heaves. Lot's of slow going. But we made it.

Heading back into Canada tommorrow and going to boondock someplace  tommorrow night. Well that's the plan.  Sorry no pics I need to get back into blogging.

We're On Our Own in Alaska

Yesterday was our last day on the RV Caravan. We had a great time, learned alot and made some new friends. I know people are going to ask what was the best part of the caravan. My answer would be  the people we met. Yes the scenery is beautiful, animals amazing but the people we met was the best part for me. I know most of you wouldn't believe it but I'm not the most friendly person. But with this group you felt comfortable to let your guard down and really get to know people and let them get to know you.

Most folks were retired but a very few still worked. The youngest group member was thirty and the oldest in their late 70's. We had professional people and plain working folks. All came to have a good time and Spike, Lynde, Roger, Teresa, Johnny and Linda did not disappoint. We shared food, drink, laughs, and some sadness. But I'm glad we were able to share all of this with some people we might never see again but we'll always have a place in our hearts for all of them.

As for us, we are staying in Kenai till Friday than to Coppers Landing for two days. Back to Anchorage Sunday and Monday. We are putting the coach in storage and flying home Tuesday to get our kid, grandkids and dog fix. I found a very cheap airfare and hopefully Nick picks us up at LAX. We will be home for three weeks than fly back to Anchorage to start the second half of our adventure.  The drive south by ourselfs.

Deadliest Catch and the Dawson Crud

We are almost done with the tour and have been very busy.  We went on a glacier boat tour in Whitter AK which was awesome.  We saw the glaciers "calfing" big chunks of ice falling off. They fed us a lunch of salmon and prime rib on the boat which was good.

We are now in Homer AK for the Fourth of July weekend. Lot's of people here for the holiday weekend. We've had some rain showers but it's warm. I've got the "Dawson Crud" as I call it. Folks on the tour started getting sick with chest colds in Dawson and I finally got it.

Yesterday I felt a little better so we went to a rib bbq at our Delray PD friends Bill, Cheryl, Glen and Pattys. Great food! I wish I'd been at my normal appetite.  We then walked over to the Homer Four of July Parade.  Great small town parade.

We had planned to go Halibut fishing this morning but I still felt like crap so Maria went without me. She's such a fisher woman. So I waited on the dock for my woman to return from the sea with her bounty.  

And she did not disappoint.  She caught two cods (thrown back) and two large halibut. About 12 pounds of fillets. Maria said shes ready for the Deadliest Catch.

Of course my cop buddies said I was a wuss and wanted to know if I was going with the ladies to the Afternoon Tea tour. I said of course. Food, drink and hot chicks..... I'm in........Not.

Tommorrow we head to our last tour stop in Kenai  AK.

A Knock On the Door

We have been in Anchorage since Sunday. On Monday Spike did a guided tour of the city for the group. We took four vans and I got elected to drive one. I explained my driving history with police cars but they still let me drive. My group had a couple of backseat drivers and if I'd had a metal screen (like in a patrol unit) behind me some of my passengers would have got the old screen test. Or as my Delray Beach PD brother Glen said just ask them if they ever wanted to be in the movies.

Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska with a population of over 300,000. As with any big city they have traffic and all the things any big American city has. Like big hospitals. Which brings me to last night.

Last night we had a potluck. Hugh from San Diego organized it. Hugh's son is a San Diego PD officer so we have discussed our son's career choice. His son is also a renter like ours in their home in San Diego. Hugh retired for Sysco Food Services and now fulltimes with his wife Judy. He likes to tell jokes and is always smiling. Prior to the potluck he shared his secret recipe for San Diego salsa. It was good but HOT! 

Maria made chili verde which was a big hit. Lots of good food and laughs. Us cops were the last to leave as we had to finish a great boxed wine. All cops are cheap.

A knock on the door. 

Maria and I had been inside the coach for maybe 10 minutes when Cheryl (Delray PD Bill's better half) knocked and said Hugh was down in the street possibly a heart attack. It's still interesting how your training takes over. I went out the door no shoes on into the gravel. Patty who was a records supervisor at Delray PD  (& Delray PD Glens better half) had seen Hugh go down. She ran to Spikes coach to get the AED and then got Glen. Hugh was not breathing so Glen applied the AED and started it. Louise another tour member started CPR. I got there when the AED was analyzing. No shock at first so I took over CPR. Hugh is a big man so I was able to do the compressions much easier than Louise. Lyndy (Spikes better half) was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher and repeated everything she said in a calm clear voice. The AED cycled again and analyzed advising a shook. Thank god Glen told me to get my knee away from Hugh before the shock. 

We kept the AED/CPR going and Hugh came back after the second shock. We lost him again and we kept the process up till the fire department arrived. I can say I was never so happy to see our brothers from the FD. They sent 3 trucks and a PD unit at least 10 personnel. They did their magic and got Hugh back again.

He was transported code 3 to the trauma hospital just 6 blocks away. We cops hoped for the best but we have seen the look before. 

Well god was at Hugh's side and as of this morning he's in CCU but talking and breathing on his own. His wife said he keeps asking why his chest is so sore (sorry about those ribs Hugh) and is having short term memory issues but his heart is fine. It appears to be an Afib issue but more test tommorrow. The AED probably saved him.

It was a true team effort by everyone involved. Thank God we were all in a position to help Hugh live another day to be a husband and father to his family.

Update: This evening Hugh's wife Judy reported that after testing Hugh has no heart damage and no heart disease. He is having a pacemaker/defibrillator installed to insure the Afib doesn't happen again and might be out of the hospital by Saturday. UNBELIEVABLE. He is truly one lucky man. 

White Water and Family

On our last day in Denali Maria decided we needed to go white water rafting. I found this intresting sense Marias not the best swimmer. The tour was 4 hours. The first two hours were the light stuff 1, 2, maybe a class 3 rapid.  No problem.  Than the next 2 hours were all class 3 and 4 rapids.

So off we go with another couple from our group Glen and Patty who retired from Dalray Beach PD.  We had a great time. Lot's of splashed water and paddling.  

We were in dry suits so we didn't get cold and if you fell in you'd float. We were all tired after the paddlng workout but it was great fun. Maria said she's ready for more as this didn't seem that scary.  OK with me. But I don't understand why she keeps asking about my life insurance?

We arrived in Anchorage Sunday afternoon and after parking we met with Ryan, Blair, and little Benjamin Bozarth (at 1 he's not so little). Ryan is my cousin Mike's son. Ryan is serving our country in the Air Force and stationed here in Alaska. This was our first time meeting his beautiful wife Blair and son Benjamin who is all boy and on the move all the time. We had a great dinner and wonderful time catching up. We are all so proud of Ryan and hope to see them again before we leave Alaska.  And when we do I'll remember to get a picture!

Denail

We are now in Denali Alaska. Camped in an RV park just outside the gate to the park. The town is busy with tourists but has some good restaurants and some reasonably priced boxed wine.

We took the park tour yesterday and got lucky. We saw a Grizzly Bear. Moose, Big Horn Sheep, Caribou, Hawk and Golden Eagle.

Our bus driver said it was one of the best days so far this season.

6 1/2 hour bus ride in an old school bus was long but the view was spectacular.

Yes we are in the middle of no where but they still have one of these.

We are going White Water Rafting this afternoon.  Maria's idea so if anything happens it's her fault.

Smoky Mountains?

The smoke in Fairbanks is getting worse. Three fires in the area. No structures threatened. They have issued an air advisory and the smoke is even getting to me.

Today Maria got her hair conditioned and I walked over to the Harley Davidson dealer. I think I'd look good on a Hog. Just sitting on it not driving it.

Then at about 2:30 PM we were "resting" on the bed and the coach began to shake. I know what you're thinking, We were fully clothed and have been married 26 years.  Yes an earthquake.  5.8 magnitude north of Anchorage. No damage here. But we shook a bit.

We drove to North Pole, Alaska this afternoon to visit Santa's work shop. It is an actual town with a police department. Maria shopped and I looked for the big guy. But Santa was on his mandatory 10 minute break so we didn't get to speak to him. Some of our grand kids lucked out. You know which ones I'm talking about.......

We are off to Denali in the morning at 10:00 am Sharp!