Back in Arizona

Finally, we are back in warm weather!  We arrived Queen Valley on Monday at 4 pm and have been getting things resettled since then.

We left Corning, CA early Sunday morning.  After learning there was no traffic restrictions on I-80, we decided to take it east to Nevada then on to AZ from there.  What a difference crossing there then it would have been going east on one of the Oregon passes (22 or 58).  The road was well graded even though there was several feet of snow piled on each side.  Oregon's passes east had packed snow and required chains on most (not 4 wheel drive) vehicles.

This is I-80 with some incredible views.

That is Reno up ahead of us!

The temp while crossing was a balmy 39 degrees with high clouds.  We made great time and got through Reno by Noon and stopped in Fallon for lunch and a short break.  We reached Tonopah around 3:20 pm.  It was 25 degrees with lots of snow on the ground but not on the road.

This is Tonopah!

Since it was early, we decided to try for Beatty which was another 90 miles.  We knew there was a new Inn (Death Valley Inn) that had just opened in July, so we thought it would be a great place to stay the night (yeah right -- big mistake).  We got there at dusk (5 pm ) and went inside to register for a room.

The inept clerk (only person around) had no idea what he was doing and it took forever to get a room assigned.  Ken (with bags in hand) was the first to open the door and discovered it had not been cleaned.  Back to the desk we went and told him what was up and that we wanted another room.  He fumbled around and found another one (yep, it wasn't clean either).  We thought about changing motels, but this place had our credit information and we didn't want to take the chance of being billed for something we didn't use.  Anyhow, he finally found us a room and Ken checked it out beforehand and said it was ok.

We were hungry, so didn't unpack the Jeep and just went to get dinner at the Stagecoach Inn and Casino (Rita's Cafe).  The food was great and we took our time eating and enjoying the place.  When we got back to our room, Ken tried the key and "OOPS" found someone in there......seems the "stupid" clerk gave our room to someone else, and we still had the key.  Well,we stormed back to the clerk and as he was stumbling over himself apologizing, he found one of the better rooms for us (no extra charge....should have been free!!).  Again, we checked it out and yes, it was ok.  BUT, there was NO Internet and the cell towers nearby were soooo slow that the Aircard took forever to get anything opened or sent, so we did minor stuff and called it a night.  We will NEVER stay there again!!!

We actually got a good night's sleep (after blocking the door with a chair) and got up at 5 am to make the long drive to Queen Valley (NO, we did not turn our key back in either).  It was 33 degrees when we left Beatty, but before we got to Las Vegas it dropped to 25.  All the way from I-80, we had snow, but none was on the road.  All the mountains from Reno to just south of Las Vegas were covered with snow.  In some of the areas, it looked neat with the white ground and sage brush sticking out and above it.

Pretty isn't it?  This is just north of Las Vegas.

Once we got past Las Vegas and through Kingman (Arizona) the temperature started rising.  After we passed Wickenberg, Arizona, we stopped for another break, it was warm enough (70) for Ken to change from a sweat shirt to a short sleeve shirt.  The rest of the way through Phoenix (via I-17, 101 and 202 loops) we made it to Queen Valley at 4 pm (Mtn Time) and quickly got stuff unloaded and got coach back to living condition (slides and awnings out).  The best part, it was 73 degrees and no wind.  It is soooo nice back to sleeping in our own place!!

Arizona Bound!

Whew, what a wild last two weeks of weather we have had!! This is the worst Salem/Keizer has seen since the huge snow and flood of 1968. Even over Christmas, there were people still without power. We were one of the fortunate ones who didn’t lose power, but there were several thousand who were (and still are) affected.

Even with the snowy/icy weather, we had a fun Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we got together with Ken’s brother’s families for a couple hours of eating and visiting. We all (except one brother) live in the same town and seem to only get together once a year (everyone is soooo busy). Anyhow, we had a fun time getting caught up on the latest happenings and especially meeting our new (2 mths old) great-nephew, Andrew.  What a cutie he is!!  Tom and Allison are going to have sooooo much fun with him next Christmas!!

Later on Christmas Eve, Ken & I went to our daughter’s place where she and her husband (Leigh and Tim) and their children (Lauren, Justin, Jessica) and their significant others (Ryan, Holly, Luis) along with all the itty bitties (our great grandkids) got together to swap gifts and watch the little ones open their presents from ALL of us. The 6 month old (Meila) slept through the whole thing, but Adri (1 ½ ) EZ (2 ½) and Noah (5 ½) were like little tornadoes opening their goodies.  The pictures are our itty bitties.... aren't they adorable?  Of course that is what any great grandmother would say (right?).

Meila finally woke up!

Adri opens up a present.

EZ poses for GGpa.

Noah sits waiting for more.

 

Christmas Day, we went to 8:30 mass and celebrated the birth of our Lord, then later in the afternoon, we again gathered together at our daughter’s for a Christmas Feast. All of us were well fed and many pounds heavier (at least it felt like it) when we headed home for the evening.

We were still getting some snow/rain showers on Christmas, but things got much better on the 26th. Ken and I drove north to Camping World in Wilsonville and had our tow hookup installed on the new Jeep. After we got back in Salem, we met our BFF’s (Lynda & Rod) over some great Pizza. It is going to be a long time before we see them again, so we had to get in one last "pizza fix" with them before heading back to AZ. Later that evening, we finished packing up what we needed to take, and readying the house for the winter.

This morning, we had a couple errands to run, but were out of Salem by 9:30. We were quite surprised that the roads were virtually clear of snow until we got near Grants Pass. Can’t say the same for rain, we were getting rained on all the way to Redding, CA. The Siskiyous was a snap (some slush), but we did get snow in the higher elevation and had snow/rain mix from Weed to Redding.  After Redding, it was just clouds and no rain.

We pulled into Corning, CA around 4:30 and stopped for a bite to eat and decided to get a room and stay the night. We are now safely housed at the local Best Western and just relaxing. Tomorrow is going to be a long day because we hope to make it across I-80 and through Nevada before stopping again. We will see what happens.

God's Artistry

We actually went out for a drive in the snow last night and it was gorgeous.  We ended up getting about 6 or 7 more inches of snow yesterday and thankfully, no more ice.  The ice did a lot of damage throughout our county and caused a lot of power outages, but we were ok and had no problems.  Click this link to see the local reporting  Statesman Journal .

While out, we saw huge trees split in half because an ice laden limb pulled it apart.  Also, we saw many smaller trees with lots of limbs beneath that had broken off.  Still with all the snow, things were quite peaceful looking.

While we were out, we took the opportunity to drive around and view Christmas lights.  There were some pretty displays, but nothing like what Ken usually puts up.  Of course with our being in Arizona in October and November, he didn't have any chance to put any up.  I did put a tree up, but that is our only Christmas display this year.

Out of all the decorating we saw, none was prettier than what God did.  This is one gorgeous scene we stumbled upon.  This tree is encrusted with ice and snow with a street light shining through.

     

Another great shot is this bush and the ice dripping from it.

There were more beautiful sights, but alas it was very dark and we couldn't get a good shot.

Right now (today) there is a lull between the storms, but another huge one is expected to hit later this evening or very early tomorrow morning.  Not a happy report for those who are stranded at the airport and in places where the roads are closed.  I-84, which goes east from Portland to Pendelton (Eastern Oregon)  has been closed for several days stranding truckers and many people traveling in their cars at a Flying J Truck Stop in Troutdale until ODOT opens the highway.....could be a long wait IF the new storm dumps more snow.   If the temperatures (27 right now) don't rise, that may just happen.

More Snow and ICE

Since getting our new Jeep, we have had more snow and ICE.  The last couple days were freezing rain and today (Monday) we are getting more snow on top of all that ice.  We really haven't had much time to play with the Jeep because it has been covered with ice....  and, we haven't had good enough weather to get good pictures, so all we have is these ICE shots (grin).

Much of Salem/Keizer area has had power outages because of falling trees and limbs that knocked the power lines down.  We have been ok, but it sure is getting boring because we haven't been out and about much.

This is what our yard looked like a couple evenings ago...  Now it is ICE!!!

Here is a couple shots of the ice on our bushes.

The latest news on television is the snow and some ice will continue through this week and may be ending sometime over the up coming weekend.  Looks like we are going to have a very white Christmas after all.  Also heard that this is the biggest snow/ice storm since 1940 and IF it continues, it will soon become the second.  I can hardly wait until we are back in Arizona!!!

We Did It!

We did it!  We finally broke down and bought a new car (Jeep).  Why you ask?  Was it because of the 106,000 miles (plus another 32,000 towing miles) on our 2002 model?  Was it because the power steering hose leaks?  Was it because the shocks were bad?  Or, could it be because the windshield was all pitted and even cracked from towing behind the coach?

NO, it was none of the above.  It was because of the rebate and great deal we got on a "new" 2008 model.  What is it you ask???

It is a 2008, Stone White, Grand Cherokee Limited and only has 300 miles on it.  That is because it came from Bellingham, Washington and had to be driven down to us.  The changes from our old Grand Cherokee to this one are numerous and it is going to take quite a while to learn how everything works.  The biggest thing is the Navigational System which is a small computer with all kinds of neat programs/tools.  Ken says that I will have the "whole" trip back to Arizona to learn how that works and play with all the features.....(we will see).

Anyhow, as soon as the weather here clears up I will post some pictures, but in the mean time you can cllick on this link Jeep to view what we bought.  Click on the "Interior 360" viewer to see the inside.   Our inside color is  Dark Khaki with Light Graystone.

Back to the weather, we still have some snow, but most is gone because of the rain.  There is still a threat of freezing rain and more snow coming this weekend, so things around here are still dicey.  Sure hope it clears by the time we head to Arizona.  Our plans are to head back the weekend following Christmas.

Snow and Ice

We have SNOW and ICE!!

In fact the snow came Sunday (December 14) and built up about 2 inches.  With temperatures dropping into the high teens that night, so on Monday, we ended up with lots of ice.  With the ice, things around town came to a quick halt. Many people stayed home and schools were canceled, but there were still those that just had to go out and see if it was as bad as the news was reporting (it was!!)

The freeway was a sheet of ice and traffic slowed way down and even came to halt when accidents occurred (and there were many). These are some shots that I took this afternoon (Tues, December 16) when we finally ventured out.  Note the snow that we still have left around the house (last picture).  Plus, there is still enough ice on the freeway to cause traffic woes (first and second pictures).

      

Today is actually the lull in the storm with things kind'a melting (at least where the sun hit), but the temps are again dipping in the low 20s this evening and what did melt will become ice once more.  Wednesday (tomorrow) another, bigger snow storm is predicted. We are told that it is going to be much worse than what we have had the last couple days. Oh boy, this is going to be fun with our Dr appointments scheduled this week. The good news is that on Sunday (December 21) the weather is going to change, and once again, we will be back in the 40s with no more ice. We can handle the snow, but 4 Wheel Drive does NOT work on ICE!!!

It's Official!!

We knew our grandson, Justin, and his girlfriend, Holly, had been talking marriage, but it wasn’t “official” until December 4 when he took her to the Chart House in Portland and proposed. It was Justin’s 21st birthday, and Holly thought they were just going out for dinner with her parents and his parents to celebrate. However, before dinner was served, he got down on bended knee and asked her to marry him…….of course, she said YES!!!. Everyone present had tears in their eyes!

This is our grandson Justin with Holly, our beautiful new granddaughter to be.

 

Congratulations Holly and Justin. We love you both and are so proud of you!!

The wedding date has been set for August 12, 2009.

Home in Oregon

We are back home in Salem, and it is cold.  Next week the forecast is a high of 29 (brrrrr).

It was in the 70s when we left Queen Valley on Thursday, December 8.  We drove north on I-17 and started caching at Cordes Junction, all the way through Prescott, Dewey, and on to I-40 where we quit at Seligman.  After 32 finds we quit and drove on to Kingman to spend the night.

Friday, we left Kingman and took hwy 93 through Boulder City (over Hoover Dam).  There is a new highway (bridge) being built to bypass the dam, but it has a long way to go and we were fortunate enough to once again drive over the dam.  Notice the new bridge being built.  This new road will be much higher than the old one.       

Did you see all those guys working on that lower piece??  Hard to imagine how they hang on.

Anyhow, we made it over the dam and once in Boulder city, we had a nice view of Lake Mead.

From there, we headed on for Las Vegas then took I-15 north to where hwy 93 heads west for Tonapah.  We didn't cache at all in the Vegas area (hate the traffic) so only cached the unpopulated areas.  Even though the caches were far between, we found 29.  Not bad, but we had to quit early because we forgot to top off the gas tank in Vegas and we were running low on fuel.  As it was, we got into Tonapah and only had 1/2 gallon of gas left in the tank (whew).  Once we filled the tank, we filled our tummies and found a nice place to stay the night.

On Saturday, we woke to 25 degrees, but things were so dry (and cold), there was no ice anywhere. Again, we cached all of that morning and ended up quitting just south of Fallon, Nevada with 41 finds.  It was getting late, so we grabbed dinner, the drove the next 50 miles to Reno where we spent the couple nights with Ken's aunt and uncle.

That night we sat up very late visting and having a very nice evening with Velma and Francis (auntie and uncle).  What a marvelous treat it was to spend that night and all the next day (Sunday) with them.  We don't get to visit with them but once a year, so we made the most of this visit.

Monday morning came all too quickly, but it was time to head for Salem. Since the trip was going to be about 500 miles, we opted not to cache, but just drove straight home. Our route was 395 out of Reno and north to Alturas, then west through Klamath Falls and west on hwy 58 to I-5 then north to Salem. We were very fortunate that even though it was very cold all day, we encountered no moisture until we reached highway 58 and started heading down the mountain. Just below the summit, we hit slushy snow, but it was no problem in the Jeep and it didn’t last very long. However, not all traveling though there were so lucky.  We encountered this on our way down.

 

We figured they hit the curve too fast and lost control in the slush.  Thankfully, it looked like they were ok, but the car was down off the side of the cliff.

Once we got out of the slush, it was smooth sailing all the rest of the way. The warmest we got all day was near Albany (47 degrees).  After leaving Arizona and the 70s, coming to Oregon and the low 40s (and lower) we are freezing!! Boy do I wish we were back in Arizona, but I hear from a friend that it is cooler (59) and showery there......

Leaving Arizona

Time has come for us to head back to Salem for the Christmas holiday. We are packed and the Cherokee is loaded for our tomorrow morning exit. We still have minor things to do around the coach to prepare it for our being away for 3 1/2 weeks, but that will all be done this evening.

We will be geocaching on our way to Salem and with any luck at all, we should be spending tomorrow night in Kingman Arizona. There are a lot of caches between here and there, and we plan on finding a very small portion of them. Weather forcast for the next few days is good, so we hope to make it home before any drastic changes occur.

More later from on the road!

FIRE

This is what can happen when greasy food is being cooked......  This WAS a McDonald's restaurant in Apache Junction.

 

 

 

                                                                       

 

 

Actually, the fire started in the back storage area and spread from there.  The McDonalds sign wasn't touched, but the rest of the building was pretty much destroyed.  The fire occurred a few weeks ago in the middle of the night, so thankfully, no one was hurt.