Our Temporary Home

We are in Yuma and have moved into a rental park model while we have a new roof put on our RV.  It's something we have wanted to have done for a while and found a place in Yuma that does the job.  We are having the rubber roof removed and a spray on rhino liner type roof applied to it.  Its the same thing they use to spray in the bed of trucks to make it durable and resistant to scratches.  We have worried about  our roof getting holes from hail and tree limbs.  Now we won't have to worry because it's guaranteed for life. 

The people we rent our RV lot from here in Yuma also have park models that they were renting.  They are letting us stay in one while our roof gets replaced.  Its very nice but not a lot bigger than our RV.  The only thing that makes it bigger is the huge covered deck.  There is also a large adobe shed behind it with a washer and dryer and additional bathroom.  They are in the process of selling this lot with both park models for $120,000 and they are promoting it as a rental property.   The rental season down here is from November til March.  The rest of the year it's too hot.

Our First 4 wheel adventure

We got to Quartzsite and finally got to start using our 4wheeler.   The first time we tried it we took it on the roads in town and then out to the gold claims.  We quickly decided we didn't like riding on the roads and will stick to offroading.  We now put the 4wheeler on the trailer and trailer it out to the part of the desert we want to explore.   It rides very smoothly and it has a windshield so we don't eat bugs while riding. 

We've been discovering old mines that have been covered over like the one in the top photo or they have barb wire around them.  It is illegal to go into an old mine in Arizona but people tend to ignore the law.  The thought of snakes and other critters keeps us out.  The little brown marker in the bottom photo is a "road" marker.  Just a track in the desert and we have been having fun following these kind of "roads". 

More Colorado

We left Santa Rosa, New Mexico and headed south.  We had planned to go west on I40 across New Mexico and northern Arizona but the weather turned to rain so south we went.  We stopped in Elephant Butte, NM and visited friends and got our tires fixed again.  The valve stem extenders for checking the tire pressures were bad and they had removed them in Santa Rosa but wouldn't put new ones on the tires.  The tire guy there doesn't like them however it is too difficult to check pressures without them so we had new ones installed.  We down to I-10 and headed west into Arizona.  We stayed in Benson and then shot through Tuscon on a Saturday morning.  Tuscon is getting to be very busy with lots of road construction so its nice to get through early on a weekend.  Next stop was Gila Bend, AZ.  A very small town on the southwest side of Phoenix but they have a very nice campground.  We then headed up to Quartzsite, AZ to spend the rest of October.                     

We have finally gotten our 4 wheeler out in the desert and it rides very nice.  We have been checking out lots of trails and going places we've always wanted to see but couldn't get to with our truck.

Poudre Canyon

We spent time in Fort Collins, Colorado.  We like to go through Denver on a Sunday morning when traffic is lighter so we had time to kill in Fort Collins.  We took a drive up through Poudre Canyon.  It is a beautiful drive with the road following along the river.  The road is winding and gains elevation.  There are places to pull over and many people were fishing in the river.  We were lucky enough to see Bighorn Sheep up on the canyon walls.  We followed the road as far as Poudre Falls.  We then turned around and headed back down the canyon with a stop for lunch at a small resort that had a very nice restaurant. 

We thought going through Denver on a Sunday morning would make travel easier but there was still a lot of traffic.  We spent a night in an Rv park south of Pueblo and the next day we went to New Mexico over Raton Pass.  We got to Santa Rosa, New Mexico and Jim checked our truck tires and found we had almost no air in one of the inside dual wheels.  We took the truck to a big rig tire shop and they found that the tire valve extension was leaking and removed it.  We haven't had any more tire issues which is a good thing since the roads we have been on have been very bumpy and rutted.  It is time to spend money on road infrastructure.  The freeways and highways we have traveled have been in pretty bad shape making driving a challenge and taking the fun out of travel.

Terry Redlin Museum

After leaving Wadena, MN we got back on highway 210 and followed it the rest of the way across western Minnesota and into South Dakota where it dumped into interstate 29.  We stayed at a nice little campground in a cute little town called Summit.  We got stuck there an extra day because of high winds.  We made the best of it by taking the day and driving down to Watertown to the Redlin Art Museum.  The building and the grounds are impressive for being in a small town in South Dakota.   Redlin's paintings are known for showing cabin life and old homesteads with an interesting use of light.  Kind of like Thomas Kincade paintings use light.   The museum has three floors filled with paintings and two gift stores.   He passed away in 2016 after a battle with Alzhiemers.  They were displaying the last painting he was working on which he left not quite finished.   The museum is free and is well worth a stop if you are on I-29. 

We spent a few days in Mitchell, SD so I could get my routine medical care done.  The clinic is right next to Cabela's so that was convenient for both of us.  We found a tiny little hole in the wall place to have a bite to eat.  It was scary looking on the outside but it had gotten good reviews so we thought we would chance it.   It was clean and brightly painted on the inside and the burgers, fries, malts and onion rings were great.  Its nice to find a place that serves good food at a good price and is just a nice little family business. 

We are now in the Black Hills getting ready to leave and head to Wyoming and then down to Colorado.

On the road again

We said our goodbyes to Whiteface Reservoir and hit the road and are making our way slowly back to Yuma, AZ.  Our first stop for the night was a city campground in Wadena, MN.  I took a picture of our rig all hooked up with our new 4 wheeler - no more boat.  We are about six feet or so shorter now so it's a little easier traveling.  We are still longer than even a huge forty foot 5th wheel -- the longest they make- so we still have to use truck stops for fuel and stay in campgrounds with nice long pull-through sites. 

This is our first experience towing a small trailer.  We towed the 4wheeler around hitched to the truck and didn't seem to have any problems.  We hooked it up to the back of the 5th wheel and it looked good.  Well as soon as we hit bumpy road (most roads are bumpy) we noticed the trailer was rocking side to side like it wanted to flip.  We had to pull over and it looked like the 4 wheeler wanted to move back on the trailer just enough to put it off balance.  We stopped at a truck stop and bought more straps and added straps back to front.  We had it strapped rock solid side to side but that hadn't been enough so now it rides much better.

We are now in South Dakota not sure how long it depends on weather.

Beaver Breakfast

We have a family of beavers that live right across the lake from the campground.  For a few weeks they were swimming over to the campground and taking down some poplar trees.  They are building a new house in the bay directly across the lake from where we are camped.  It is amazing to watch them take down a tree, drag it to the water and swim away with it.  They also dine on the leaves and bark instead of dragging it away.  We have a fishing deck that is very popular and you could watch the beaver right from the deck.  They did not care if they had an audience. 

We are packing up and hitting the road this week.  Headed to South Dakota to take care of our mail since we had to change addresses from Madison to Sioux Falls.  We will probably go south down the east side of Colorado and enjoy some fall color.  We will be pulling our side by side 4 wheeler for the first time behind the fifth wheel instead of the boat.  We won't be quite the train we have been with the boat but we will still be pretty long.  A new adventure!