Wednesday, March 28 - The penultimate night of camping on the road this trip has come. Tomorrow night we will be in Port Angeles, ready to take the early ferry to Victoria. From there we will have a short hop over to Pender Island, and our road journey will have come to an end. We have mixed feelings, as it's been a terrific trip; but at the same time, it will be great to be back with family, first here on the West Coast, and then with family and friends back home. And other trips await. So no regrets.

We are now in a park south of Forks, Washington. Kinda out in the middle of nowhere, but a nice park, and not far from a very good beach (we are told) on the upper reaches of NW Washington. We left Oregon behind at mid-day, after spending an hour taking in the Astoria Tower. It's up on a hill 600 feet above the Columbia River in the city of Astoria (named after the original Astor, John Jacob).
It's quite something to see, so if you have a moment, google it, and that'll save you having to read my version of what it's all about. Suffice it to say we climbed the 164 steps inside the tower to get to the viewing platform. Great view of the surrounding countryside, and no heart attack from the exertion of the climb.

We enjoyed Oregon a lot. Their coastline is truly spectacular, with long stretches of beach punctuated by many stacks (erosion resistant rock that projects out of the sea, sometimes up to 200 feet high) and unusual rock formations. The wave action along this coast is quite wondrous, 10 foot swells not uncommon, with a roar at beach level that never subsides, it seems. We enjoyed some fine hikes, through forests and along beaches, some tough walks, but all enjoyable. The weather wasn't always great, as we had two days of rain that slowed us down a bit. But those rainy days were alternated with two brilliant sunny days, during which we made up for lost time with multiple miles of hiking.

Oregon deserves high rating for several other things. They have really good parks, and loads of them, as the state has made it a policy to make their oceanfront accessible all along the coast. And there are parks every few miles, some with camping, some for day use, but all well signed and set up. Second, when you pull up into a service station for gas, someone actually comes to your vehicle and serves you, just like in the old days. The state passed a law requiring all service stations to provide service, in order to promote employment and safety. The young lady who served me told me she's been doing this job for 4 years, makes $14. per hour, and is quite happy with the situation.

Third, some of you will know that Oregon was one of the first to legalize pot...stores are common everywhere, quite unobtrusive, just part of the landscape. Doesn't seem to be an issue here. Guess that'll be the case at some distant point in time in Ontario.

This is the time of the great migration of Grey Whales, moving from Mexico to Alaska on their annual trip north. At several parks you can find Whale Watchers, volunteers who are on hand to first of all do counts of passing whales, sitting there for hours scanning the ocean for spouts, and recording their numbers. They are also there to provide interesting facts about the whales, greys and others. And all done by volunteers. We did a rather difficult 2.5 mile hike through forest, over tree roots, through mud, to get to Cape Lookout. Loads of people were on the trail, hauling kids and dogs along  with them (March Break in Oregon). Got to the point, to find two dozen people there, and two volunteers on hand to explain whale lore. Quite impressive. The parking lot was so jammed I had a heckuve time getting out, but managed thanks to Gail and a helpful hiker. Nothing like a walk in the woods to enjoy solitude and peace.

We set out in California to do all of route 1, which we accomplished to its end in Leggatt. From there we picked up route 101, which we have now nearly completed and will do so at Port Angeles. So we can now say we've done all of the west coast the hard way over the two trips we've done, from San Diego to here on these two coastal routes. Some of it is

very tough driving in an r.v., especially the road north of San Francisco. But the two highways offer some great scenery and experiences, so it's well worth the doing.

That's about it for now. I'll throw in some pictures, and hope you've enjoyed these notes over the past four months, if you've found time to tune in. One more message to come, maybe two, as we wrap up this trip. So more later. Stay tuned.
Picture number 1 was taken at Devil's Churn, a narrow slit in the rock that erupts with foam and water spray as the waves pound in. Second, the dunes along the coast, notably the largest dune formation in North America fronting a seafront. Third, very unusual rock formations at Sunset Bay, near Coos Bay, a truly beautiful point along the coast. Fourth, the ever-changing crowd at Cape Lookout, and fifth, Gail taking in the scene not far away from the others.
Sixth, we found trillium flowers along the trail, which took us back to Ontario. Seven, the beautiful old lodge at Lake Quinault, in the Olympic National Park. The next two were taken at the site of the World's Largest Sitka Spruce, and at the top, one of many logging trucks we saw along the route today. The final shot is of the Astoria Tower. Look it up on the net. Most interesting.
Must say, today's drive was much like going through Northern Ontario or New Brunswick. Trees, trees, trees. Seems they haven't cut them all down yet. Thank the heavens there's evidence of replanting, or they'd all soon be gone. With that piece of wisdom, I'm gone.

Saturday, March 22 - We are nearing the end of the road for this trip. Now in Oregon, staying at a neat park that has wild turkeys roaming around, and osprey calling to us from a nearby nest. We're across the road from the Rogue River, one of the primary spawning rivers for salmon and steelheads. And the creek not far from our front door (oops, we don't really have a 'front' door) is Indian Creek, where one of the earliest salmon hatcheries in the state is located. This is Oregon...the south coast...wild and wonderful.

Sorry, I've just been reading the terrific info booklets that Oregon produces, and I got into their presentation style. But it's time to go back, to where we've been the past few wifiless days. This is our first day in Oregon, but we finished California off in style. Alternate days of sun and rain...Tuesday and Thursday the latter...After Fort Bragg there were a lot of ups and downs along the coastal highway, but some great views of the seafront below. But we ended the day on Tuesday in Richardson Grove State Park, at the leading edge of the great Redwood Tree area. (The park is not named after me, unfortunately, but after a long-time-ago former Governor of the state...maybe someday I'll get a trestle named after me..or a storm sewer drain...or something).

The next two days had us in the biggest and best trees in the world. We did some wonderful hikes, totally captivated by the immensity of these marvels of the West Coast. They are truly awe-inspiring, and if you haven't been here, you should add it to your bucket list. I've been in some of the great cathedrals/churches/mosques/temples of the world, and nothing can compare to a walk in the midst of these giant trees. A couple of pics will hopefully demonstrate my point.

It was raining for much of our time in the forest, but that only added a special element to the experience. It's dark in there, the canopy more that 300 feet up blocking the light, but such an atmosphere. Magical. The next day, Thursday, was sunny, and we did a wonderful 2.5 miles in Humboldt State Park midst the giants. Then on to Fortuna, where we walked along the Eel River, 3rd longest in California, and then to Loleta, where there is an excellent cheese factory. Tried many, bought but two. Good cheddars. Then on to Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge for a long walk in search of new species. Not much luck, although we did see large numbers of Aleutian Geese, first cousins to our Canadas.

Next day, rain, rain, rain. We went to Eureka Mall, to get Gail's phone reconnected, as she'd lost service a few days ago. Then on to a very neat College town, Arcata, which has a great produce store that clearly caters to the new age students with their new age food ideas. Lots of organic stuff, and vegan stuff. The new world is descending upon us. Our grand-daughters have almost convinced us to convert. Not quite, but moving us closer to certainly using less meat.

We had lunch (delicious clam chowder) in the tiny coastal town of Trinidad, a former whaling center (early 1900s), fishing center, and tourist center (surfing). Then on past the Elk Pastures, where there are a couple of herds of elk near the highway, and to Klamath, where there is an excellent Native American museum combined with a very nice gift store (and outside, lifesize statues of Paul Bunyon and Babe the Ox.)

Crescent City last night, and now here beside Indian Creek.

That brings us up to date. We'll work our way along the coast, following highway 101 all the way up. We'll skip Portand and Seattle, and plan to be on Vancouver Island in about a week. There you go. Now hopefully some pics will download.

First, Gail at the Founder's Tree, more that 360 feet high; next walking the trail in the forest, feeling so small; and trying to stretch around the base of a tree that would take 10 of me. Fourth, one of many very finely constructed spider webs we saw along the way in the forest.(Small things can sometimes be almost as impressive as large things.) Fifth, our campsite, squeezed between several large redwoods. Then, one of the Kings of the Elk herd. Handsome guy, you'll agree.
Next, the Carter Mansion in Eureka, former home to one of the original lumber barons of the region, now a private exclusive club. The last three are samples of the seafront scenes we observed today here in Oregon. Lucky to be here.

We hope all are well. Only another 11 days before we fly home, and much to be done before then. So stayed tuned. More later.

Monday Mar 18 - Just a short note to report our whereabouts. We're now in Fort Bragg at an r.v. park we stayed in three years ago. Last night we stayed in a neat camp in a valley near Mendocino, one of the neatest towns along the coast. Full of artists, with an excellent artist's center, featuring a very good collection of works by local specialists. There is also a very good waterfront, with lots of crashing waves and an arch that captures the incoming waves and flings them high and wide.

Today we only had to drive 5 miles before checking in to our next r.v. park. We decided to have a relaxing day, and a catch-up day as well, so moved from Mendocino to here. There's a very fine Botanical Garden only a half-mile down the road, so we spent a good part of the day there today. The drive along the coast is a little more manageable, not quite so twisty-turny, so a little more relaxing.

Next on the agenda is a tour along the Highway of the Giants, so we'll get a great chance to look at the huge redwoods and sequoias in the next day or two. We're on schedule to reach Vancouver Island by the end of the month, so no need to hurry.

Some pics follow.
First, an old Irish curse worth keeping in mind. Then a lass of Scottish descent paying tribute to her Irish neighbours. Next, a few shots from the beach at Mendocina, followed by three photos from the local Botanical Garden.
That's it for now. Stay tuned. More later.

Saturday, March 16 - Today is Gail's birthday, so I'll be sure to attach a couple of nice photos. There have been a lot of very nice messages forwarded to Gail to help her celebrate, so she's had a very nice day. I did a brunch breakfast for her (nothing fancy, but it was okay), and we did a very nice hike, a mile over to the beach, and then a long walk along a great waterfront. Back for some reading time in the sun, and then to a Mexican restaurant next to our park for dinner. A good day for Gail!

We have to go back to yesterday, and our drive from Half Moon Bay to Bodega Bay, where we checked in yesterday, and have stayed on today. Some folks say the drive north on Highway 1 from San Fran is not a good idea in an r.v. We can see why, having done it. It would be a great drive in a little red sports car. Twisting, turning, up and down, very tight corners, up above the sea, down along the shore, for 60 miles. It was a little tense, but we did it, and all in all, I'm glad we did, as the scenery was great along the coast, and very nice along the interior sections. There were a number of  small villages along the way, artsy places with appealing restaurants and shops, the types of places city people love to visit. Quite a drive, a fun adventure.

Getting through San Fran was no problem, although we did run into a traffic snarl caused by road work. Going over the Golden Gate bridge is always exciting, but with the traffic, not much time to take in the bay below and the adjacent waterfront. We had decided not to stop in the city this time, as we've been there several times, and this trip is focussed on smaller places. Good decision, although it's such a neat city, it was a little hard to pass up.

A couple of points of interest. When we were camped at Half Moon Bay, at around 9:30 p.m. there was suddenly a fire truck racing right past our door. It wheeled around the corner to the site just opposite us, and screeched to a stop. Then a police car came in, lights flashing. Next thing, there were 4 ambulance attendants working over a shirtless and immobile guy lying on the ground. Three cops stood by to ensure... what... order, I guess, having a nice chat while the ambulance people worded fast and furious over the guy. Very efficient and professional. They finalized their preps and lifted the guy into their ambulance and off they went.

We'd seen the guy earlier, a big guy, wandering the camp shirtless in party mode, but he and his buddy weren't causing any problems. I spoke to buddy the next morning (they run a roofing business), who matter-of-factly said his friend had overdone it a bit and taken a fall. Must have been quite a fall, as he was clearly out cold when the ambulance got there. Anyway, all was okay next morning, I was told, as I helped buddy hitch their tent trailer to their truck. Out-cold guy wasn't there to do his duty that morning. Just a little excitement in the old r.v. park.

Today at the beach, we met a couple of men, got chatting, and found that the older fellow had lived on Toronto Island for several years. A long-retired teacher, he mentioned a former student named Brenda Burford, who he thought lived down our way. We have Burfords. Is she one of them? He knew she was somewhere in the Kingston area. Could be the County. We've talked to a number of Americans who have clear Canadian family connections. Some have dual citizenship, and seem to value their link to Canada. Can't blame them, can we?

That's about all for now. I'll try to post a couple of pics. The first is easy. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. The second is quite a story, tucked into a little park behind our r.v. site. The bells commemorate the death of a 7 year old from Bodega Bay who was killed by robbers in Italy when travelling with his family. His parents donated his organs to 7 recipients, making the boy an organ donation poster child. The Italian people were so impressed, they created bells to recognize his contribution, the largest forged by a company that has been crafting bells for the papacy for 1,000 years. The bells were blessed by the Pope, sent here and placed in this memorial, which was created by an artist in San Francisco. Quite a story, and quite moving.
The other two photos are of the birthday girl on the beach. Looking great!
More later. Stay tuned.

Thursday Mar 14 - Managed to get the computer to behave. The first image is the amazing light that powered the Pigeon Point Light Station for 100 years. Second, along the route on highway 1 south of Carmel. Third, a find elephant seal on the beach north of Hearst Castle. Fourth, Hearst Castle from below. Fifth, a gaggle of coots at our site in Pismo Beach. Sixth, Gail overlooking the Pacific. Seventh, the lighthouse at Pigeon Point.
That's enough for one posting. More later. Stay tuned.

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Thursday, Mar 14 - Two days on route 1, the coast-hugging highway that provides some of the most amazing driving in North America. We started out from Pismo Beach, had a stop at Morrow Bay, another at the reception center of the Hearst Castle. And then we hit the ups and downs of the road, narrow, switchbacks, tough climbs, sharp descents, and all along the way, the urge to pull over to a viewpoint for yet another photo. It is truly breathtaking, and if you haven't done it, we hope you get the chance.

We finished the day at Carmel, sad that Clint wasn't available to have us for tea. We drove into town, but had to dodge trees to avoid ripping the aircon off, and found the town packed with cars and people. Not sure why it was so busy, but it was packed. We couldn't find a place to park, so left to find our rv park in a little valley 6 miles north of town. We were there three years ago, and until we got there, I had no recollection of the place. Old age and fading memories.

Today, we had in mind to get through San Fran on route 1, determined as I am to continue our trek on the shoreline highway. But we didn't get to SF, let alone through it. Here we are at Half Moon Bay, in a shore front park right beside the highway. We poked along, with stops at a couple of interesting places, one a sheltered beach backed by high cliffs, and secondly at the old Pigeon Point Light Station (we would say light house). Built in 1872, it has saved many a ship during its lifetime, but is now in disrepair, and in need of funding to be restored. The original light, probably 10 feet tall, made of more than 1,000 pieces of finely honed glass, is on display, and is a marvel of mathematical and physical ingenuity. It was powered by candlelight which the glass panels refracted to push light out over 5 miles to sea. Fed by kerosene, it had a wick which had to be trimmed by the keeper, who became known as the 'wicker'.

As the afternoon was progressing, we decided to find a place south of SF, rather than facing rush-hour traffic. So here we are, at a rather unusual place that provides wifi, t.v.,, sewage, but no washrooms. All for 65 bucks. But it's right on the shore, and has a bike path adjacent to it, so it enabled us to do a ride out to Pilllar Point, and then rewarded us with a stop at the Half Moon Brewhouse. All in all, a pretty decent day.

Can't get the photo option to work, so will have to close for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, March 12 - Yesterday I started my post with reference to keys. "Tires and keys. Desert and seas." I covered three of the four items, but forgot about the keys part. So here goes.

At Carpenteria, Gail and I did a long walk in very nice weather. Warm enough that I took off my hoodie and carried it along, forgetting that, most unusually, my car keys were in the front pocket of the hoodie. Got back to the r.v., went to find my keys, and they weren't there. We had walked a long distance on the beach, so guess how I/we spent the rest of our day. Walking the beach, retracing steps, forward and back. No luck. Fortunately, Gail has the extra set, so it wasn't a tragedy. But damned frustrating. First time in my life I've lost keys, that I can remember.

Anyway, we've managed to get copies made of all but one, the side door key, so now have two of the main keys back in hand. Now to continue the tire saga. The rv service guy across the road couldn't deal with my tire, but they referred me to a little dealer in the next town. So after breakfast (I was up early to see this service guy), we drove over to Oceano, and lucked out. These guys knew what they were doing, and hopefully my tire problem is no longer an issue.

We walked into town, a reasonably charming tourist town, as it turns out. Not gawdy, but definitely a popular tourist spot, as most shops cater to the beach crowd. A nice long pier, so we walked out into the wind, strong, and watched a guy surf. Mick Chalmer's son would have aced the waves here...good six to seven footers. Wandered the town looking for a barber shop, as neither of us has had a haircut since we left. Gail is dedicated to the growth, but I'm getting  a little tired of the long locks. Then changed my mind. Let it grow.

There was an rv dealer across the road. We thought we'd go over for fun. Looked at a nice Mercedes Winibago, 24 feet. Over a hundred grand Canadian. Very nice, but wow, that's a lot of moola. We'll stick with old Regal for now, although we are contemplating looking into a newer model of similar size and class, if one can be found.

So there you are. Tomorrow we will head up the most scenic part of Highway one, along the coast, thankful it's open again after two years of closure due to mud slides. Hope we don't get swept away in a sudden downpour. We'll be in Carmel tomorrow night, hoping former mayor Clint invites us over for a drink or two.

That's it for now. Stay tuned. More later, and a pic to show. Only one, as el computer won't  process any more. Sunset on Pismo Beach. Life is good.

Monday, March 12 - Tires and keys. Desert and seas. These are the themes for this report.

First the tires. We continue to have issues with tires on the r.v. We have so far replaced the two front tires, in Lake Charles, and the left rear tire, in Tuscon. And still we have issues, this time with the right rear tire. As any of you who have done extensive travel will agree, having good rubber under you is critical to one's feeling of confidence. Now we have a slow leak in the right rear tire probably because of a leaky valve. This has to be repaired, and hopefully we will get it done tomorrow. No more driving with this worry. We are in a good r.v. park in Pismo Beach, which has an r.v. service as part of its business, so we will try to get in tomorrow to get the tires properly set up.

As for other tire issues, yesterday Gail and I went for a bike ride, and made the error of going off pavement down a dirt path. Result: yours truly got a flat tire. Thankfully, the tire was repaired by a local bike shop guy this morning. Story: down the main street of the town came jogging,  pulling a little cart behind him, a bald young guy in excellent shape. I had seen him a little earlier, and as luck would have it, as I  was crossing the street from the bike shop, along came this guy. I stopped him and asked where he was aiming for. "Patagonia" he replied, as calmly as if he had said two blocks down the street. "Which Patagonia do you mean?" I asked, thinking there was maybe such a place in California. "The tip of South America," he replied. "How much do you do each day?", next question.  "Oh, between 25 and 40 miles, but I take time off some days." I wished him well, and shook his hand. Shook my head!

When I returned to the bike shop, I relayed the story to the owner, a guy in his late 30s with a bit of an accent. "Patagonia," he said. "That's where I'm from. Used to live there, in Chile. He probably started out in Alaska," was the matter-of-fact comment, as though it's no big deal to jog from one end of the two continents plus Central America to the other end. Another coincidence. A guy is jogging to Patagonia, and the guy fixing my tire is from there.

Going back! We had some fine times in Joshua Tree National Park, doing several hikes of merit. It's a fine park with fascinating scenery, rocks of all shapes and sizes in amazing configurations, and the symbol of the park, the Joshua Trees, all over the place. They aren't really trees, but are of the yucca family, but they have the stature of trees, so are well named. The nicest hike was a 3 mile jaunt over a ridge (300 foot elevation) down into a canyon that contained about 30 large palm trees, similar to ones we'd seen in Palm Springs. I'll try to attach a photo.

We left the park and headed up to the north, through the Sonoran Desert for miles and miles. Empty, but for low growth plants and Joshua Trees. Nothing else! A few people actually try to live there, but what they do to make a living is beyond me. We ended up at a Lancaster Fairgrounds RV site that had promised a place for us, only to arrive at twilight to find no space available. So we set up for a night of dry camping, and fortunately a kind manageress allowed us to stay for no charge.

We had thought to go north from there, up the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada to Death Valley, but checking the weather made for a change of plans, as the night-time temps were predicted to be in the low 20s. So we opted to head for the coast and do the scenic route again. Good decision, as it's been much nicer weather-wise. The drive is beautiful, and we've managed to get sites on the beach both last night, at Carpenteria, and tonight at Pizmo Beach. Walked the beach, enjoyed the sunsets.

Crossing the mountain and down to the shore again today, we drove through an amazing agricultural area, centered around Guadalupe. Talk about massive large scale farm operations. As far as we could tell,, most of it was to produce berries, but there seemed to be a lot of other produce being grown as well. But on a massive scale. No wonder California is the source of so much of the produce we enjoy at home.

Tomorrow hopefully we get the tire problem looked after. Then we can be more relaxed as we head further north. We may stay here another couple of days, as we're in a nice park with a restaurant and store, right on the beach. What the Hell! Friend MacKay keeps sending us pictures of the snow banks, incentive enough to delay our journey north. Still plan to hit Vancouver by the end of the month.

That's it for now. More later. Stay tuned.
The pictures. First, the flower of the Joshua Tree, signalling the start of a new branch. Second, Larry trying to move what looked like a precarious boulder with one finger. Didn't work. Third, a complex of branches on an old Joshua Tree. They only grow about an inch a year, so you can only imagine how old this baby is. Next, our elephant rock. If you look closely, you can see the shape of the elephant in the rockface. Many images come to mind as you wander through these rocky pathways. Finally, Gail delivering a lecture from behind a large stone dais. I listened!

Wednesday, March 6 - This may be the last posting for awhile, as we think we'll head into the interior of California, and may not have much access to the internet. Today being the 6th of March, we have three and a half weeks to get to B.C., so are trying to plan around the weather in the north, in order to avoid freezing temps at night. And we are also looking at doing a route that takes us to new places, rather than the coastal route we did three years ago. So today is a planning day, and since it's quite warm, some time at the pool and hot tub will be in order.

A word about our park, West Winds. It has over 1,000 sites, many full-time prefab homes, but also a large number of spots for people like us. But if you figure two people to every site, there are close to 2,000 people here during high season. It's like a small town, with a grid of streets that totalled nearly 10 kms when I rode them all on my bike. They have everything here one could ask for, if looking for a community that provides a variety of activities: shuffleboard courts, bacchi courts, pickle ball, 9 hole par 3 golf course, library, ceramics room, 10 pool tables, a crafts room, restaurant and bar, swimming pool, and the largest hot tub we've ever seen...you can swim in it.

Yuma has to be the r.v. capital of the west, as there are literally 20 or 30 large r.v. parks in the area around and in the city. So guess what the main industry here is!! Keeping the tourists happy and collecting their dollars. Lots of Canadians are here from Alberta and B.C., and from the northern states. A few from Ontario as well. This is a nice change from some of the more basic parks we've been in, but not something we would want for too long.

So we'll depart tomorrow, now that we have our grand-daughter safely away to San Diego. We hated to see her go yesterday, as we've really enjoyed having her with us for these past three weeks. She was so easy to be with and we had a lot of fun with her. But she's off on her adventure, which seems to have started well, from reports received so far.

We enjoyed our three days in Ajo, as we like this small town stuck out in the southern desert. We took in the Saturday market, did some walking about, but nothing too strenuous. I did a good bike ride out into the desert, and we enjoyed looking at the murals local artists have produced, as well as a pretty good photography display of desert photos.

Yesterday after getting Anna on her bus, Gail and I rode the bike trail along the Colorado, about 12 kms of okay riding. Shopping, planning, hot tubbing, having a beer by the pool...that's about it. A couple of interesting encounters. As we were boarding Anna on her bus, a little old guy carrying an oxygen tank and a big backpack had just descended, and asked if we could call him a taxi. He was quite desperately in need of getting to a medical appointment, having just come from Las Vegas. Long story short, we ended up driving him to his appointment. Preacher John is his name, and he'd just come back from a conference of the CMA. Christian Motorcycle Association. He's had three strokes in the past three months, and was due to get medical opinions as to what treatment was next.

At the pool last night, Gail spotted a man wearing a t-shirt that said "Clan Fraser...je suis prest". Gail is reading the first of the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon, about Scotland in the 18th Century.  The hero is named Jamie Fraser. The fellow in the t-shirt turned out to be a Fraser, Kevin Fraser, a close friend of Diana Gabaldon. He is the prototype of the main character in the book, tall, red-bearded, large of stature, whom she had met at a book signing. Someone had come up to him and asked him to sign the book, as he looked so much like the main character of the novel. As a result he got to meet Ms Gabaldon, and they became fast friends, travelling often to Scotland together to do research. He also coordinates Scottish festivals, which are very big in the U.S. Quite a coincidence that we would meet this man who is so close to the writer of the book Gail is now reading.

Finally, an image from the market in Ajo. Two groups are working to provide water stations for migrants who make it across the border into the desert or Arizona. Since 1999, more than 2,000 people have died in the desert because of lack of water. Rather shocking!! Both groups had maps of southern Arizona covered with red dots, each signifying a place where people had died. As volunteer groups, they are trying to set up dozens of water sites in the south to help prevent such tragedies.

All for now. Who knows when we shall post again. Meantime, stay well, stay tuned, more later.

Saturday, March 2 - More than a week since last we met. No wifi on site for that length of time, and I tend not to want to sit out at a hot spot in the dark in order that I can communicate. So here we are, out in the middle of the Sonoran desert, in the town of Ajo, Arizona, and finally I have good wifi (and we have t.v. to boot).

A lot to catch up on, so this will be thumbnail sketch stuff. We enjoyed a tour of a very good space museum in Alamogordo. Why would there be such a facility there? The desert is the answer, as well as the White Sands area...all good for the military to try out missiles, Atomic bombs and all manner of destructive devices. So there's a huge military presence in the area, with big bases all over the place. Because of the geography, NASA also came here in a large way to test out moon devices and procedures.

From there we went to the White Sands Monument, a very extensive area of...you guessed it...white sand dunes. People buy little discs for $18 in the gift shop so they can slide down the dunes. (The gift shop will buy the discs back for $5. Not a bad deal. Wish I had the concession.) It's quite an outstanding area, and well worth the 12 mile round trip drive in the park to have a look. We climbed a couple of dunes, sort of like in Sandbanks at home, but minus the vegetation. Pure white sand...gypsum.

On to Las Cruces for a cold night, 25F. Froze my outside hose, but fortunately, no damage to the system. Then to Bensen, where we found a park with t.v. so we could watch the Oscars. Wouldn't you know, once we were hooked up, the only channel that wouldn't come in clearly was ABC. However, after an hour or so, it cleared up, and we had good reception. We always watch the Oscars, even if we hardly know any of the films. Just a ritual that Gail and I enjoy. Anna too!

Next morning, we did a tour of the Karshner Caves, south of Bensen. A most impressive show cave, and we highly recommend it, even if you aren't fond of cave experiences. This one is rated the best in Arizona, primarily because it's a living cave, meaning the alterations to the system are ongoing. Water still has an effect on the subterranean structures. And the State has pledged to do all possible to keep it pristine. No touching anything. Clear instructions from our excellent guide as to how we were to behave inside. And wonderful structures to be seen in the two large rooms of the system that are open to the public. No cameras allowed, so no pics to show. Killed me!

On to Tucson. In a nutshell, here's what we did. Day One: walked to the Tucson Mall, 10 kms return, to get Anna set up with her phone. Lunch. Got groceries in a local Hispanic grocery store. Day Two: Went to Suguaro National Park, and did the 6 mile drive-around, admiring these magnificent cacti. Then over to Sabino Canyon where we did a good hike, ever on the look-out for mountain lions, which have been seen recently in the area. Day Three: Maintenance Day, comprising getting my tires checked, and thus having to purchase one new one for the rear; wash and vacuum the rig; and get propane fill-up. Then visited the large Mission to the south of town. Day Four: Spent the day at the Arizona Desert Museum, which we all enjoyed, and then drove the 2.5 hrs to Ajo.

And now you're up to date. A big decision has been made...no, two. Anna is going to depart for San Diego from Yuma on Tuesday, and is now booking the necessary arrangements. Needless to say, we will really miss her, as she's been so great to have along with us. Second, we have decided to carry on into California, and up to Vancouver Island. We will repeat what we did three years ago, but going a different route, not along the coast the whole way. We'll leave the rig on Pender Island for the summer, and fly home, as we are going to be back in Vancouver next fall for our Lahr Reunion. It will mean being without the r.v. for the summer, but it will save a lot of miles and wear and tear. So we have 4 weeks to make it to B.C. This will also give us a chance to have a visit with Gail's sister Di and family, as we haven't seen them for some time.

That's the news. A few pics will follow. First, Gail and Anna climbing a dune at White Sands. Then, missiles and space rockets in Alamogordo. Next, Gail and Anna trying to imitate a giant suguaro cactus. Following, our hike in the Canyon which was halted temporarily by a major rush of water over the trail, caused by earlier heavy rainfall and snowmelt. We found another route. The Spanish Mission south of Tucson. Then the most beautiful mountain lion ever, my favorite pic of the trip. And finally, a little hummingbird sitting on her nest, something we'd never seen before.

That's it for now. We go on to Yuma tomorrow. Anna will leave us on Tuesday for San Diego. And we will wend our way north. More later. Stay tuned.