Seasons Greetings – 2006
Well it is that time of year again, and we are scrambling to try and get the annual Christmas letter together. Time this year seemed to pass quickly, and it was hard to look back into the blur, as to exactly what we did.
Seasons Greetings – 2005:
Well, this is probably the earliest, that we have put out our annual Christmas letter, but we’ve moved around a bit and wanted to get back in touch with our friends. As you are aware, last year was our major trip across nine provinces and 27 states – at Christmas time we were sitting at a small campground just north of the Alabama/Florida border. The trip still brings back many smiles and great memories and we wanted to share them with you. In with this letter is a CD that has Pat’s daily journal and a select few pictures. It should be readable under word or Internet Explorer. On the suggestion of a friend that does not have a computer – they still supported this way of sharing – as they would to take it down to the local library and view it on the computer there. The text version of the journal (complete with all the spelling errors) is still available on the website for those of you that want to suffer through it in its raw form. Don’t try and go through it all at once….we certainly didn’t! After giving it some thought we have decided to keep the old motor home and are thinking of another big trip in a couple of years. Until then we will have to satisfy ourselves with shorter get-a-ways.
April 22, 2005 –
Headed North up the peninsula this morning to do some exploring and hiking. Travelled up the inland side of the Peninsula with a couple of stops at garage sales along the way. Mom was able to pick up a wonderful rain jacket. Took a short side trip into historic Oysterville – and Dad had to pick up more raw oysters which he would have for lunch. Continued on to Ledbetter Point State Park and Wildlife Refuge. Spend about an hour and a half walking up the beach and across the point on a loop trail. In addition to the usually sea life – saw some very huge and industrious ant piles – with the ants clustering in some form of mating or swarming behaviour – really interesting. The boys were delighted to find a big banana slug in the path – and both had to take turns holding it before setting it down off the path so it would not get stepped on.
April 15, 2005 –
We are officially in mourning – in exactly one month our odyssey ends. Well that’s the last day of our leave of absences with Dad returning to work on Monday May 16th (mom the day after due to her part-time status) – although we will be home sooner, in our minds that date has always been official end date to our adventure. We are looking forward to seeing friends and family again but it is sad to realize we are almost done … for this time….
April 8, 2005 –
The wind continued through the night and it was still gusty this morning. As you looked off in the horizon you could see the haze from the dust storms – and everywhere tumbleweeds were blowing. At one point tumbleweed past us – and we were traveling at 40 MPH – so it gives you an idea how windy it was.
April 1, 2005 –
Although very stuffed up – Keelan slept through the night – and was feeling not bad this morning. We had a substantial breakfast – and headed north towards Sedona. Sedona is a beautiful town nestled between the brightly coloured canyon walls. The streets wind their way into the various canyons – going up and down in anything but a straight line. It is easy to understand why many people want to live here – it has the characteristics of the desert, with the painted canyons, and with enough moisture (irrigation) many types of trees and flowers are capable of growing in the area. It is also quickly becoming a destination area with many fancy hotels and resorts – offering everything. Almost everywhere you see Jeeps and Hummer’s offering off-road desert tours (Red ones, Blue ones, and even Hot Pink ones). It looks like quiet a successful concept. Stopped by a couple of yard sales on our way through town – and the boys were able to buy a couple of small things – as well as people giving them things.
March 25, 2005-
Had a little light rain overnight and again this morning – but I guess that is better than the 6 inches of snow in Flagstaff – 140 miles away. We may have to start looking at alternate routes home, if the frequency of the snowstorms to the north of us – keeps up.
March 18, 2005
Today was a slow start – and headed out towards Tombstone at about 10:30 this morning. Tombstone is in the process of having a celebration – which means that in addition to the usual tourist glitch – there are many people around in period costumes. This combined with Tucson’s part in Basketball’s March Madness there were many people around (losing teams supporters could be seen in their team colours).
March 11, 2005 –
Drove the two and a half hours north, through rural Texas (read – largely unpopulated) – into White’s City. As the area became more and more arid – and the cactus became more plentiful and varied in species – we were even able to see our first live Roadrunner. The short cut (back road) over to White’s City was a bit of a challenge – with cattle guards – and livestock at large – and a 55 MPH speed limit – on a 1 1/2 lane road.
March 4, 2005 –
Up early this morning to take the RV into Lafayette to have the window repaired. After dropping the vehicle off – went back to St. Martin Lake to do a walk around the rookery in the daylight. Walked for about 2 1/2 km around the road looking at and taking pictures of the birds. Mickey was able to see the yellow crested night heron that he has been looking for the last several weeks – unfortunately they are a bit shier than the other birds and did not nest as close to the pathway. The locals all go there to try and see the alligators – and although several people were excited when they saw one – and tried to point it out to the boys – they did not get that excited as they had seen enough in the Everglades.