Another park, a visit at home and another trip to Florida

Hi everyone

After we left Moab and the great adventures there we were once again on our way back to Ontario for a short time. Along the way we visited Rocky Mountains National Park just before the US government shut down and all the parks were closed. But this had been the last one on our list of parks we wanted to see and so we didn't miss anything, we just made it.

Rocky Mountains National Park is a great park with diverse landscapes, wildlife and a road going up high enough for us to have gotten into snow which was fun because we could see Princess experiencing the white stuff for the first time. We had expected her to go slow and lift her feet with each step but we were wrong. She got all excited and dove right into it, chasing snowballs we threw for her. She even laid down in the snow and didn't seem to mind the cold at all.

Then it was off to Ontario where we took care of some business and appointments. After only a week we were already heading south again on a cold and rainy day. And wouldn't you know it: only about two hours south of North Bay we blew another tire on our fifth wheel. And this of course on a stretch of highway with close to two inches of slush on the shoulders. Great! We managed to take the wheel off and had the spare ready but then our jacks didn't go high enough to mount the spare and we had to wait for roadside assistance anyways. By then we were wet to the bone and freezing of course. If we had realized that we would not be able to mount the spare, we would have let roadside assistance do all of the work and just waited for them in the warmth of the truck.

A couple of hours later we were on the road again and on our way to Smithville, Ontario, for three nights and then on to Bluffton, Ohio for eight more. André had to take care of an important appointment in Windsor on November the 5th and so we were stuck in Ohio until then. On the 6th we were finally able to get going for good and we arrived in Orange City, Florida on the 8th of November. This will be our home for a month before we head over to Crystal River to the same campground we spent the last winter at. We will then stay at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park for three or maybe four months before heading back to Ontario come spring.

Our stay in Florida will mark the end of our traveling time and we will turn another page and start yet another chapter in our lifes after that. The idea right now is to try and find work during summers somewhere in Ontario and return to the South for the winters. Only time will tell if we will be able to do that.

So, our friends, this is it then. With the end of our traveling time also comes the end of this blog. It's been a lot of fun and we thank you all for coming along for the ride.

Take care, everyone.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Moab to Idaho Springs (Catching you up Part III)

Moab is also the place we went for another adventure. One early Saturday morning, long before the sun would rise, we drove out to the desert outside of Moab getting ready for a hot-air-balloon flight. The air was crisp but not cold when the ground crew got the balloon ready. With a full moon in front of us, the sun came up behind us and soon we were gliding through the air. As long as the pilot didn’t use the burners to keep us up or gaining some more height, everything was incredibly quiet and peaceful. And Lou, our pilot, sure knows what he is doing. At times it seemed like we were just barely avoiding skimming the ground or were about to crash into a shear wall of rock when he utilised wind, updrafts and the burners to keep us in perfect position. At other times he brought us up to more than 2000 feet above ground. A balloon does not react like a car. Every single move comes with a delay and so piloting it the way Lou did is an art. This was one of our “calmer” and “softer” adventures but nevertheless one we would not want to ever have missed!

But we were not through with Moab just yet or better, André was not: Moab - Canyonlands - Arches have so much outdoor activities to offer that it is almost impossible to choose which ones to do. During our 2 week stay at the OK RV Park (which was really OK, except the internet perhaps) we have seen all kinds of 4x4 vehicles like never before: 4wheelers, side-by-sides, rock-boogies, regular Jeeps, modified Jeeps, upgraded Hummers - you imaging it and it was there. So where the rental places, the adventure operators offering white-water rafting, day-and-night dinner cruises on the Colorado river, speedboat trips on the river, sunrise or sun-down Hummer tours, mountain biking trips and so much more.

We have done the white-water rafting in B.C., the Jeep off-roading here in Moab (yes, about 25 years back - but there was no novelty in it for us at this time) and the mountain biking or hiking where not our cup of tea. This time we did something we had never done before and the area is almost designed for it: we went for a ride in a big pick-nick basket hanging from a big balloon filled with hot air, we went for a flight in a Hot Air Balloon. But Sue already described that outing to you so let me tell you about the other great adventure I had (Sue was too chicken to do it lol) because it got better:

Even today I don't know why I picked up the phone and signed up for ... a tandem parachute jump. Yes, and not a regular one they do all year long, but the special jump they only offer during the Moab Skydiving Festival "The biggest Boogie". This jump is from 17,500 ft or 14,000 feet above ground! Normally they jump from 10,000 feet above ground which makes the jump I took a bit longer. 1 minute of free-fall and about 5 - 7 minutes of gliding. Transport up to the altitude in a twin motor Otter plane that holds 24 jumpers, some of them "crazy newbies" like me. And I went through with it: signing all the legal paperwork, meeting the guy that was going to be strapped to my back for the jump, getting suited up into a harness and up we went ... and down we came, I with big eyes, high on adrenaline and in a mental rush. What a crazy and amazing experience it was! Steven took a lot of pictures and a video (which I will get once they cut it together) and Sue took pictures, too. Check some of them out on our web site.

Moab, Utah - we will remember our time in this area for a long, long time for sure.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Montana to Monument Valley (Catching you up Part I)

I know, guys, I am so behind with our blogs it’s not even funny anymore. We’re having so much fun and so much to see and do that I really rather spend my time doing these things than sitting down and writing about them. But I figured I owe you at least an attempt to catch you up on our travels. So I sat down a couple of days ago and started writing. Unfortunately we had no internet access so I could only upload this post today in a McDonalds. So here it comes:

After our ZIP-lining adventure we continued our trip to Bozeman (still Montana) from where we wanted to visit one of the greatest national parks of the United States, one we had not been to ever before: Yellow Stone which is actually located in Wyoming. And it sure was worth the trip. We saw the famous geysers, rocks covered in the sediments left behind by them, fantastic and diverse landscapes and wildlife including bears and herds of wild buffalo. The animals are so used to people that they hardly pay any attention to them. In fact we came so close to some of the buffalos that we could have reached out the car window and touched them. They walked across a parking lot between cars and people and seemed perfectly comfortable doing it. This is more than can be said for Princess. She decided that those beasts had come close enough and took it upon herself to try and protect us by starting to furiously bark at them. Good girl! We did not see “Old Faithful”. When we arrived there we found out that we had just missed it and would have to wait for over an hour for it to go off again. But we had seen many other geysers and it was getting late after we had stopped so many places to take pictures that we decided to get back to the campground.

After we had moved our rig to Tetonia, the other national park we visited in Wyoming was Grand Teton, a park we had never heard of before and don’t know how well known it is. Grand Teton is a nice high plateau with beautiful mountains in the background and a wildlife refuge and it would be very nice for hiking. Unfortunately, though understandably, one is not allowed to take a dog on hiking trails in any of the national parks in the United States. So we were limited to the views from the road and parking areas and didn’t get a chance to go out into the more remote parts. As nice as it is to have a dog and as much as we love Princess, there can be a little downside to dog ownership, too.

Then we were off to see more parks in southern Utah. You might have read about our unintentional stop in North Salt on the way there two blog posts back. We finally made it to a nice looking RV park we had found on the internet and booked for a week. But after just one night we had to leave there because of the altitude which gave André problems with breathing. So we ended up in Hatch which really is ideally located for trips to Brice, Zion, Red Rocks and Grand Canyon National Parks. With so much to see we had a busy week ahead of us. But before we even got to Hatch we came across a kind of a mountain pass and hit some snow. SNOW! In August! In southern Utah! Crazy!!! Who would have expected that? We just took it slow and easy on the road and made it safely to the other side.

The four parks we were going to visit from Hatch are among those we had visited way back during our very first trip to the United States. Like others of the kind we still didn’t want to miss them and are glad we revisited them. Memories from our first trip came alive and we compared them whit what we were seeing now and made new memories, too. Of course a lot had changed over all those years since our first time here. While the parks have always been made to attract tourists and outdoors enthusiasts alike, they are now much better accessible for vehicles which for the reasons I told you about regarding dogs, is important to us. We took it all in and after many more pictures decided that we would come back here anytime again. The one thing we did differently from last time is that this time around we went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as opposite to the better known and more visited South Rim. Sue and Princess had quiet the adventure there and learned a valuable lesson. You can read all about that in Hunter’s and Trapper’s blog “Blame it all on Princess?” of September 1, 2013. You won’t believe what they did!

The week was over way too soon and we hit the road again. Our destination this time was Cortez. Along the way we planned to see Monument Valley National Park, again one we had been to before, and then Mesa Verde. This park had not been on our list last time and after discussing the route and detour it would take to get there instead of bypassing Cortez and heading to Moab the quickest possible way, we decided to take the time to visit those two parks. Monument Valley has become much better accessible, too, since we’ve been there over 20 years ago. Then one could only go into the valley on guided tours. Now there is a road which people can drive themselves if they dare. It’s not really bad but comes close enough to off-roading in some parts to make many people prefer a guided tour. Of course we could not drive through the valley with our fifth wheel in tow so we came up with the idea to drop it right there in the parking lot and then drive our truck into the valley. We always find that we find a lot of nice subjects to take pictures of that we would not get to photograph out of a tour bus which stops at certain locations only. And we did find nice angles, views and details.

To be continued.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Montana adventure

Hi everyone

If you have looked at the pictures on our web site you may have noticed that we had some awesome times after leaving Canada and before our breakdown north of Salt Lake City. There is a gap in our blogs and we want to fill that in for you.

Ever since we came close to the mountains we were talking about outdoors activities we wanted to try. We did some of them, horseback riding and whitewater rafting in British Columbia but still had a big one on our bucket-list: ZIP-lining. Though we have come across some ZIP-lines we never actually did it and in hindsight we are glad about that because none of them would have come even close to the ones we found in Montana!

After crossing the border we found a nice campground in Columbia Falls which we made our home base for a week. It was very conveniently located to go visit Glacier National Park and only a day's drive from Bozeman where we planned to stop again. Bozeman again is perfectly located for yet two more national parks: Yellowstone and Grand Teton. But these would come a little later and we'll tell you about them in another blog.

So we're in Columbia Falls and had seen Glacier National Park. I had expected a little more of it based on the name. There was no ice or even snow to be found anywhere and honestly I'd recommend the Icefield Parkway in British Columbia over Glacier to anyone who is looking for an alpine scenery. All in all it was still worth seeing though. And we did the same thing as we had done last year for Canada, we bought an annual pass valid for all the national parks in the U.S. so we can visit them without spending too much money on admission fees and then asking ourselves: was it worth it?

Montana, as you might know, has some mountainous regions and so we were not surprised to find an outfit offering ZIP-line tours. I called and after talking to them booked both of us on a 7-ZIP-line tour. You could also go for 5 lines only and leave the two longest and fastest ones out. But what would the fun be in that? So two days later we were at the resort, getting geared up and instructed on how things were going to work. A safety video and the comments of our two guides later we were out the door and walked to the first line. It is a short one and kind of a test if one got the different positions you're supposed to use while on the line. You can go "pencil" (lay back and stretch out) to go as fast as possible. You don't actually have to do this if you don't want to (we did of course). The 'Starfish" (sit up and spread-Eagle) and the landing positions are crucial though to slow down and come in for a save landing at the end of the lines. Actually the spread-Eagle gives you maximum air-resistance, the only way to slow down. There are no breaks here.

After the guides decided we all knew what to do, our 14-person group headed out to have some fun. We zipped down a total of 7 lines, 8750 feet / 2669 meters (the longest ones 1900 feet / 580 meters each) in total, at speeds of over 50 miles/hour (80 km/hour) and as high as 300 feet / 91 meters above ground. WOW! What fantastic fun we had! We wouldn't miss this experience for the world. I actually envy the guides for their job. They get to zip those lines every day! Now that's a dream job as far as I'm concerned. See the pictures and watch the video on our web site and you will understand how much fun this was.

Some of you might know the song "Live like you were dying" by Tim McGraw. We kind of put our own spin on the chorus of that song:
We went ZIP-lining
We went horseback riding
We went 3.7 hours on a whitewater raft
And we went farther
And we played harder
And never before has life been this much fun
And we hope
Some day you too will get a chance to do what we have done

With this we say goodbye for now. Please com back for more new.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

"One who takes a journey has stories to tell ... "

There is the saying in German: "Wenn einer eine Reise tut, dann kann er was erzählen" - or freely translated: "one who takes a journey has stories to tell". And we had quiet a few adventures worth telling a story about in the past days. After visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks we started our journey further south without making a reservation first. The main season seems to be winding down and most campgrounds have good spots available.

Our goal of the day was to drive past Salt Lake City towards Cedar City or Hurrican in Utah - all more or less on Interstate 15. We made it to North Salt Lake, where all of a sudden the right back tire of our home on wheels blew out. Looking into the side mirror I first started seeing a little white smoke, then more and then the tire was gone. We were glad that we caught it right then and there. It was only a short distance to the next exit and to the back parking lot of a gas station. We never have changed a wheel on a fifth wheel before so we felt more comfortable to call road side assistance for that and within about 45 minutes they arrived, changed the wheel, gave us information on where to find a Les Schwab tire shop and left again. By then it was a quarter to 6 pm and the shop closes at 6 pm.

The guys at Les Schwab where just great. We arrived at 5 minutes to 6 pm and JP said that he would do the job anyways: changing the good tire from the freshly mounted spare wheel to the still good rim of the blown out tire, putting a new tire on one of the other rims and mounting the used but still good tire he had taken from that rim onto the spar-tire-rim. All in all 45 minutes of work but now we have two good new tires on the back wheels and a used but functional tire in spare. By now it was getting close to 7 pm and we needed Diesel and a place to stay for the night. Again - we were in the right place: gas station just down the road and a nice campground 5 minutes away.

All in all an exciting day on the road. From there we booked a spot that looked promising in Panguitch Lake. Talk about being in the middle of nowhere! The campground is located on a nice mountain lake at close to 9150 feet / 3000 m above sea level with no phone, tv or reliable internet reception, the site on a gravel surface and we had booked for one week! After the first night, André could feel the thinner air atn this altitude affect him and we decided not to push it too far. We cancelled the rest of our stay here and moved on to a new spot lower in the valley.

We arrived here after about 200 km of driving but not before driving up and down a mountain road and finding snow (yes, snow in August) on top. Cars and RV's where parked on the side waiting for a little melting but we just took our time and kept going. The new place is just beautiful with a nice panorama view of reed rock cliffs (see picture), a small creek with trout in it flowing through it, there are walking ways, a dog run and great hosts.

Now we are planning to visit a few more National Parks in the next few days, beginning with Bryce Canyon National Park, Red Canyon State Park and Zion National Park before continuing our trip. And who knows what else we're going to explore.

You can see, the days on the road can be very exciting!

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Rocky Mountains and B.C.

Hi everyone

The first part of our trip through the Rockies led us to Hinton in the Albertan foothills of the mountains. Getting a first glimpse of the mighty mountain-chain was impressive enough and we could only imagine the drive through the passes. But before we started on that, we made a nice KOA our base for a week. From here we went to see Jasper which is really nice. A lot like some of the high alpine towns in Switzerland. Along the way we saw some awesome wildlife, too. The elk in the picture has antlers that easily span 1.8 meters/6 feet or even more. Very impressive.

We also went to the Miette hot springs where we bathed in the 40C/104F water. The water actually comes out of the rocks at 53.9C/129F and is then cooled down for the pools. There are also a couple of pools one can go into to cool off. One is at 15C/59F, which was just too cold for us to go in. The other is a little warmer at 20C/68F and I went into it a few times, alternating with the hot water. André preferred to stay in the hot water and passed on the colder pool.

Another day we went for a 2 1/2 hour trail ride through nature all the way from the river up to a crest, about 200 meters/600 feet above the starting point. It was a gorgeous day and the view from the top was just beautiful. The ride itself was very nice and led us through forests and along steep cliffs. The horses worked up a good sweat and I was so glad to be riding and not on foot on these hills. It would have taken us forever to get up there.

Then it was time to move into the Rocky Mountains and over to Golden, B.C. The drive along the Icefields Parkway alone is worth the trip all the way to the west coast. Along the way one can see more than 30 glaciers and ice-fields.

Golden is a small town nestled on the Kicking Horse River. It also is a major railway hub and one can see freight trains with 4 engines and 150 plus cars go by. Here we went to see the Grizzly bear habitat and took the gondola to the top of Eagle's Eye high above the valley. From 2347 meters / 7700 feet up the view is something to remember for a lifetime!

And then there was our whitewater rafting adventure with Alpine Rafting. We originally booked the 11 km "Afternoon Whitewater" tour but then at the end of the upper canyon decided that we wanted to add the lower canyon as well and ended up doing the "Ultimate Whitewater" tour. The 24 km of Kicking Horse River with countless rapids, many of them class 4s, were so much fun and a true adventure we would not want to have missed. Everybody got wet and some rafts had people go overboard. In our raft everybody managed to stay in although André almost went overboard once and I almost took a dive twice. It was comforting to know that our guides were really experienced and that everybody had gotten instructions on what to do when you fall in and what to do if you have to retrieve somebody who had gone overboard. At the end of the tour everybody arrived save and sound. This was an awesome adventure and we would do it again in a heartbeat.

We have put some pictures of our adventures from both the Alberta and the B.C. sides in our web site for you to check out. Unfortunately the pictures from our whitewater rafting tour are generic ones from the company's web site. Their photographer fell and broke her ankle and her camera the day of our tour and therefor there are no pictures from that day. We wish her a quick and full recovery. There is also a short video from Alpine Rafting on our web site you should watch. It was filmed on the the stretch of the Kicking Horse River we went down and shows what we really did.

Until next time. Have fun and enjoy life!

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

From Ontario to Alberta

Hi everyone

A lot has happened since our last post and I have to catch you up a little on what we've been doing the last few weeks.

After leaving Ontario for our second summer on the road we crossed the border to the U.S. once again and drove to Cedar Lake, Indiana. While I flew out of Chicago to Switzerland to surprise my mom for her birthday and was having a wonderful time there, André travelled the next few thousand kilometers to Alberta all by himself. Well with our "zoo" that is. The cats and dog of course would be with him not only keeping him company but also keeping him busy looking after them. 7 Days on the road left him little time to rest and see the sights but he enjoyed the trip to Delburne, Alberta non the less. One of his few stops was to check out the West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping center in Canada. André loves to shop and so visiting a shopping center is something he really likes to do. I on the other hand don't like shopping and was really happy that he had the chance to go see the mall without having to drag me along.

After my return from Switzerland on the drive from Calgary airport to Delburne, where we are right now, I was taken by the landscape of Alberta. Not having seen the prairies, the wide open land has something very calming to it and we just love it. We could not get enough of it the other day when we drove to Dinosaur Provincial Park, too. Patches of bright yellow canola alternate with the lush green of wheat fields as large as a whole farm in Switzerland. The road a grey band as straight as an arrow stretches before us until it is but a fine line disappearing from view before it even hits the horizon. A distant stand of trees raising over a field like an island in the sea and gently rolling hills have "calm" written all over the the landscape. The buildings of a farm here and there are the only witnesses that people even live here. Then we turn a bend in the road and the road suddenly dips into a canyon about 250 feet deep.We cross a bridge and clime the other side of the canyon. Looking into the rear-view mirror nothing of the river which carved the canyon out of the land over thousands of years can even be seen. The canyon is but a scratch on the surface of the great flatland.

Dinosaur Provincial Park had been our destination that day and it was worth the trip. It is the world's richest deposit of dinosaur bones of its size. Like with the canyon I just told you about the flatland all of a sudden completely changes its appearance when one approaches the park. An outlook offers a great view over the scares receding glaciers left millions of years ago and it doesn't take a lot to imagine dinosaurs roaming here. One display shows a dinosaur skeleton where it actually had been found in 1959. Another explains how bone excavation works, showing the tools needed and giving a very good idea of how hard that work must be. It is brutally hot and not surprising one can find prairie rattlesnakes, blackwidow spiders and scorpions here, creatures which like this kind of climate. Visitors are warned about them and it actually scarred me a little and I was very careful not to get too close to bushes or big rocks. I also kept Princess on a short leash and away from them.

Now we are getting ready for another change of scenery. The next leg of our trip will take us to the Rocky Mountains and Jasper. Please come back to read what adventures we will encounter there.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Medieval times

Hi everyone

The weather has finally warmed up enough in Ontario's Near North for us to drive all the way back to Lake Nipissing. When we first left Florida and then Georgia it was still so cold up there that we decided to stay in Michigan for some time and wait it out. After all we did not go south for the winter to return to snow flying in spring.

At Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park we had met a nice couple who owns an RV park in Grass Lake, Michigan about 2 hours from the Canadian border and we knew they would be open. That's where we spent a few weeks before coming to Powassan where we stay at our good friends',  Pia and Alfons who just purchased Knowlton Ridge Equestrian Centre. It is a beautiful and very busy place with events every weekend throughout the summer. The first such event that we witnessed was a visit of the Knights of Valor who offered an educational day to schools of the area.

The kids got to see birds of prey and learn about those majestic aviators and hunters. Then the knights came to the arena for some medieval games and jousting competition. What a great thing to watch! Dressed in the garments of the time, the horses all decked out for the event they showed some amazing skills on horseback. Using spears, lances and swords the knights fought for points and honor. I had never known just how hard real jousting is. When a knight gets hit squarely in a duel, the impact is comparable to hitting a brick wall in a car going 60 km per hour! No wonder their armor is as heavy as it looks. When I picked up a piece of armor to help the lady carry it back to their trailer, I was surprised at the weight of it! The jousting ended with one knight getting knocked off his horse, badly denting his helmet when he hit something on landing, and the victor being declared.

It was a great event to watch and we took over 250 pictures. André's camera is ideal for this kind of photography. It lets one choose to shoot several pictures in a row by pressing the shutter button just once. This way you always get at least one picture which is 100% focused or even a whole series of shots showing the progression of an event. We have put such a series into this blog not only to show you this great feature of the camera but even more to give you a little impression of the jousting.

We will stay here at Knowlton Ridge Equestrian Center for 10 more days before hitting the road again. The plan now is to head west and then decide whether to go north (Yukon / Alaska) or south (northwestern US national parks) once we reach Calgary which will be just around the time of the famous Calgary Stampede. We will try to post more blogs along the way now that we are about to cover more roads and adventures again so come back and check out what's happening with us.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Heading North

Hi everyone

We are currently in Grass Lake Michigan, about an hour from the Canadian border, where we will stay for another 3 weeks. After having spent the winter in Crystal River, Florida, we are on our way back home to Ontario but have to wait a little for campgrounds there to open. From what we hear the weather has greatly improved in the North Bay area so that part would not be a problem any longer. If one lives in a fifth wheel, cold temperatures can be a real drag and one definitely does not want to see snow. Now that winter seems to be over with in northern Ontario, all we need is a place to park our rig and hook up to services. This means a campground because of the services part. But most of them will only open on the May long weekend so we have to drag our feet for a few more weeks before we can return to Lake Nipissing.

We will also need a campground which allows pets. Hunter and Trapper would not normally be a problem as they are cats and for the most part stay in the fifth wheel. But now that we also have a dog, this has to be considered. Speaking of the dog: we are all learning a lot. André and I how to handle a dog, Princess what we want her to do and not to do and the cats simply to get along with our new family member.

Tomorrow we will go visit with friends and spend some time with them in Frankenmuth. They live in Stirling Heights but love Frankenmuth and so we decided to meet up there. We have last seen them a while ago and are looking forward to catching up with what's new with all of us. They will also get to meet Princess which we will take with us. And then (in just over 3 weeks) it will be time to drive north and see all our friends in the North Bay area! Can't wait for that. Ahhh... sitting on H. & I.'s porch having a beer and a chat. And then there are all the others of course, too. This will be so great!

But for now it's Michigan for a little longer and then Ontario before we head out on a new adventure again. We will keep you posted of course, so please come back to read up on our travels.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Getting ready for another trip

Hi everyone

It's been a while since we posted a blog and you might have been wondering what we've been up to. First of all we did enjoy the winter here in Florida. Having our things we like to do we really didn't have a lot to tell you without repeating ourselves. That's the reason for the pause in posts. Now we are getting ready to hit the road again and take another trip.

Though we have put quiet a bit of thinking into our 2013 travel plans, we don't want to lock in to a schedule too much and leave ourselves open for changes of route along the way. The general plan is to go back to Ontario before heading west and back to Crystal River for the winter of 2013/14. A few way-points are set but that's about it for now. The first of these is a stop in Ashburn, Georgia where we will spend a couple of weeks on our way back to Ontario. We will stay at Wanee Lake Golf and RV Resort again and hope to get a lot of golfing in. The great thing there is, that while you stay with them, you can golf all you want free of charge. Another stop is in North Bay where we will take care of some appointments and "housekeeping" issues then we will be headed west. We don't think that we will make it all the way to Alaska and Yukon as we had originally planned because of time. So we think we will go west on the Canadian side and then south to visit some of the great national parks in the US which we have last visited over 20 years ago.

Traveling will be a bit different this time around since we now also have a new family member: Princess is a 18 months old shepherd/collie mix and a sweetheart (you may have been wondering about the picture). We adopted her on March 23 from the animal shelter in Inverness. She is already very well trained and great with other people and dogs and even Hunter and Trapper. It's the cats, especially Hunter, which need a little more time to get used to her. Having a dog of course means daily walks which is really good for the both of us, too. We will just have to adjust driving and stops to accommodate her needs and exercise requirements. But all in all this should be good for all involved.

In the next 7 days we will get everything packed up, hopefully get a chance to wash the fifth wheel, (after being parked under the trees here for 4 months it needs a wash down) and say goodbye for now to some people we've met. Many of them will be back at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park next winter just like us and so we will get to see them again come December. Meantime we are looking forward to seeing our Canadian friends after a long absence from the North Bay area.

We are back to blogging about our adventures so please come back and check out what's going on.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Life at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park - Part two

Hi everyone

In our last blog we told you a little bit about Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park and promised to tell you about the people here.

Like many RV parks in the South Rock Crusher has its share of long term residents. Some are really long term, meaning they basically stay here all year round, and others spend anywhere from two to five months here during the winter. The later include Canadian snow birds of which group we are a part at the moment. One can easily spot the sites of long term guests by the way they are maintained and by additions such as sun decks or other (semi)permanent structures added to the trailers. The first giveaway usually is that the leaves are raked and dead palm leaves removed. We have told you about that in a prior blog. Many people also have some kind of sign with their names on it, welcoming visitors and at the same time making it known who's site it is or, if one knows they are here, what site they are on. It was the long term guests, too who put up Christmas decorations and it is them who know one another of course. If you need information or want to join a group for some activity, your long term neighbour just might be the person to ask whom to get in touch with. This is the way Sue got in touch with a group of ladies which she now joins for a weekly game of golf and sometimes lunch afterwards.

People here are also very helpful. Some might just be looking for something to do or they simply like to help. Just recently a group of men got together and built a deck for a lady who lives here by herself. And when we have a weekly get-together with a potluck dinner and a campfire another of her neigbours drove her there in their golf cart since she has recently broken her knee and couldn't walk. No way would they let her miss out on the "eat and chat" evenings. When we first arrived here the potluck took place at our neigbours' Jim and Jeanne and they immediately invited us to join them. Everybody is welcome to these evenings. One simply looks for the whiteboard which is put up to announce at what site and time it will take place. It was also Jim who noticed that the first step to our fifth wheel was a little high. So he came over and suggested to build a step. He had some leftover lumber, screws and the tools, he said. And so we ended up putting the step together after measuring how big it could be to easily be stored in the truck-bed while we're on the road. It's a great thing to have not only because it makes getting in and out easier but also because it works great to keep sand out of the fifth wheel. It really is a little thing but how we came to build it is great and speaks to the way people here are.

That's it for today. Take care.

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Life at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park

Uptown

 

Hi everyone

There is a lot to be said about spending the winter in an RV Park like we do so let us tell you a little bit about Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park.

Rock Crusher offers 398 nice, spacious sites in 2 main areas. There is what we call "downtown" with its 287 sites and then "uptown" with the remaining 111. We are uptown on a corner lot with so much space, it could almost house two rigs like ours. The entire RV Park also offers privacy between the sites and lots of shaded sites with Palm and other trees for those who want it. All sites have 30 / 50 Amp service, full hock-up, wireless (and really good) internet as well as cable TV. We also like that it is gated. Campers as well as visitors are issued access codes for the duration of their stay.

With the gatehouse, clubhouse, pool and playground all downtown we personally enjoy the quiet up here. Sure, if we want to participate in one of the many events offered - a list is published monthly - or go for a swim we can't just cross the road but that doesn't bother us the least. We simply take our bicycles and ride there. The only thing about being up here is that it really is up. There is a short, about 200 yards, but rather steep hill which some call "heart-attack-hill" to be climbed. That too doesn't bother us, we simply take our time when we're on foot or have the bikes with us.

Clubhouse

 

Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park is located a little bit outside of town so there is no noisy road going by yet everything we need such as grocery stores, post office, some flea and farmers markets etc. are only minutes from here by car. Crystal River offers everything a small town usually does, there is even a Chevrolet dealership should our truck need a service or some work, and Homosassa and Inverness are not far. Being so close to the Gulf of Mexico gives us the opportunity to indulge in fresh shrimp, clams, oysters and other seafood and fish whenever the mood hits us. We have been exploring the area a bit and found a seafood seller we like a lot on one of the markets.The prices for seafood are unbelievable cheap compared to Northern Ontario and of course it's fresh.

So much for today. It's time to go hit the pool and cool off a bit. In our next blog we will tell you a little about the people here and the "events" they/we hold uptown on our own (aside from the many organized by the RV Park).

See you soon

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Happy New Year

 

Hi everyone

Well, another year is coming to an end and what a great one it has been for us. We sure hope you too can look back on lots of fun, happiness, success and hopefully good health.

As you know we have been on the road for the past six months and covered quiet some distance exploring the east cost of Canada. Then, after a "detour" through the New England states it was back to our old home on Lake Nipissing for a short visit before we headed south for the winter. We had such a good time and have seen so many beautiful things and met many wonderful people along the way. We explored some new foods while tasting the local cuisine and are looking forward to having a lot of our favorite, seafood, while here in Florida. Traveling has been all we had expected it to be and even more. There is so much to be learned about Canada's history, geography and the people who make this wonderful country what it is.

Of all the great memories of 2012 our respective trips to Switzerland and visits with our families and Alice's stay with us still are the most precious ones. Although we try to make it over there as often as we can, time between visits is still very long and we are already looking forward to the next time we will see them all again.

Now we will spend some time in the warmth of Florida and making plans for 2013. Our trip has just only begun and we still have so much to see and explore. The options are many and we will keep you posted as our plans progress and certainly when we hit the road again come spring. Until then we wish you, your families and friends a very

HAPPY, HEALTHY, FUN-FILLED and SUCCESSFUL 2013

André and Sue

@ home on the road

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Settling in for the winter

Hi everyone

It's been a while since our last blog and lots has happened since then. We had Alice, André's mom, visiting us for four weeks. It was a wonderful time as we took her on a small tour of the south of the United States. Though we mostly visited places we had been to before, it was interesting for us as well. First of all some of those places have changed a lot since we've last seen them. And secondly Alice's comments and questions gave us a different perspective of them, too. We did enjoy the trip big time.

We started out in Florida, Fort Lauderdale to be precise, drove all the way up to Georgia and over to New Orleans. Then we returned to Florida and Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park in Crystal River where we will spend the winter. Along the way we made day-trips and stops at Key West, Cape Canaveral, Daytona Beach, Apalachicola, Avery Island and, of course, New Orleans to name just some. We tasted the local foods and took in the local sights. We went on an air-boat ride and a cruise on the Mississippi river, visited wildlife parks and cotton fields, the homes of Tabasco Sauce and space travel. It was a lot to take in for Alice and so we also spent a few days doing nothing much and got her to help us wash our fifth wheel. The four weeks passed so fast and soon it was time for her and Sue to fly to Switzerland, where Sue spent a week visiting our families over there.

Before they left we had already done some leaf raking at our camp site and André had begun to clear out dead palm leafs. All around it looks like people here at the campground take great pride in well maintaining their sites. We got into the spirit as well and have to say, it looks so much better, once all the dead leafs are gone. The seasonals here are also preparing for Christmas and one doesn't have to go far to find decorated trailers, motorcycles and even golf carts. There even is a contest going on which will, by popular vote, award the best decoration in those three categories.

So we are settling in for the winter and it will be very special this year. Never before did we sit outside in shorts, t-shirts and sandals less than a week before Christmas. There will be no snow, and of course no shoveling, no coming in from the cold and huddling in front of the fireplace to warm up and it is kind of hard to even think of Christmas. Especially Sue, who just loves all things Christmas-lights, was kind of envious of the displays on other camp sites. But the sensible reasoning is not to spend a whole lot of money for something like an inflatable Santa which can only be used for a short time and will then take up precious storage space in our fifth wheel for the rest of the year. Besides, inflatables are not really our style. None the less Sue would really have loved some kind of decorations and so she was over the top when she came back from Switzerland and found out what André had done during her absence: there were solar tiki torches marking the entrance to our site, solar lights from there to the fifth wheel, two bird-feeders and a gorgeous flower display adorned with palm leafs and moss. Inside the fifth wheel Sue found a cute rosemary-tree lovingly decorated as our Christmas tree. There also is a clover spiked orange which, together with the rosemary-tree gives off a very nice, seasonal smell. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here in Florida.

In this sense we wish all of you a
MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Company is here

Hi everyone

As you know from my last blog, André flew over to Switzerland to visit with our families and fetch his mom. Alice has arrived here with him 6 days ago and we have been having a blast ever since. Not that we don't have a great time without her here. As a matter of fact we are both loving retirement better and better by the day. Fact is, my mother in law is a real sweetheart. She loves traveling and does a lot of it by herself back in Europe. With her every day is an adventure whether we plan on doing something or just hanging around making it a "relaxation day". And we laugh a lot. You wouldn't believe the things she comes up with. Sometimes it's because her mother tongue is French and even after all those years in the German speaking part of Switzerland she still has her own way of expressing herself. Let's just say she thinks in French and speaks in Swiss-German - translation on the go by Alice. Sometimes it's just her quick wit that makes us laugh or leaves us speechless. Bottom line is, we are enjoying her company big time.

The whole thing of André flying over to get her was an adventure in itself. At least for him. First Hurricane Sandy caused New York to shut down so both his flights (Miami to N.Y. and N.Y. to Zurich) were cancelled. The earliest plane he could catch was 3 days later which shortened his stay in Switzerland considerably if one takes into account that he had originally planned to stay just 7 days. Then their flights back (Zurich to N.Y. and N.Y. to Miami) also got cancelled because another storm shut N.Y. down again. They found that out the morning they were supposed to leave. Luckily they got seats on a different carrier and arrived here from Zurich via London England and then directly to Miami. Let's hope that we won't have similar problems in December when Sue will bring Alice home and visits with our relatives over there. Delaying Sue's flight back could bring her into the per-Christmas travel mess.

Anyhow, since their arrival here we have visited a flamingo and wildlife park and a large shopping mall. This was kind of a day off to adjust to the climate and time difference. The next day we made a trip down to Key West and on the day after that we took Alice for an air-boat ride to see alligators. We didn't see alligators, at least not in the wild but the air boat ride itself was worth doing. Sunday we did nothing but relaxing and going to the pool and then, on Monday, Alice got her first taste of what it is like to pack up, pull our home on wheels to a new location and setting up again. This was yesterday. We also drove to the beach in Daytona, surely a must for a first-time US east coast traveler. Today the Kennedy Space Center was our destination and once again Alice was impressed with what she has seen. We have been here before but it's been a while and we, too were impressed.

Our travel plans for the next 3 weeks will bring us further north and west and include stops in Nashville, Lynchburg Tennessee, Avery Island Louisiana and of course New Orleans, among others. So please stay tuned, we would love to tell you about our travels with Alice.

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Winter destination

Hi everyone

After having spent a good 2 weeks back in North Bay, we have taken to the road again. The destination: Florida where we will spend the winter. But first we had to make a stop at Sicard RVs where the maintenance department took care of some warranty work on our fifth wheel. They were absolutely great, taking us in the next day and getting things done in a very short time. We were able to cross the border the same afternoon and drove to a nice campground for the night.

The next day we started our trip south and arrived in south Georgia on October 21st. There we stayed at a Golf and Country Club and RV Resort. Sounds very expensive but was not. With our Passport America membership we paid less than $20 per night and that included free golfing. Now we had never golfed before but took the opportunity to try it out. Two of their members not only lent us some clubs but also gave us a one-on-one lesson so we would get off on the right foot. We had so much fun that we decided to give the sport a go and went to get our own clubs and stuff. We also added three more nights to the two we had originally booked and Sue picked up a new web site. She is now working on it and will have it finished as soon as she gets the information and pictures required. The site is for a BBQ competition Team and caterer. They have won first place in all categories in the past and are now preparing for the 2013 season.

Our next stop was in Crystal River at the exact campground where we will spend four months starting December 1st. They even put us on the exact site we will have. We stayed there for three nights and then continued to Fort Lauderdale where we will remain until November 12th. This will give André's mom a few days before we start traveling with her. She will arrive in Florida on the 7th and stay with us for four weeks. What route we will take with her we don't know exactly yet but we will be back in Crystal River for her last four nights.

So much for today. Take care

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

On our way back

Hi everyone

Yes, we are on our way back to Ontario and with that the first part of our trip is coming to an end. But that doesn't mean that we're done criss-crossing Canadian and US roads. It simply means that we will see our friends in Northern Ontario and take care of a few things before heading out again.

Traveling the way we did the last few months has been a learning experience. Not only with regards to history and geography but also as a new way of living. When we first moved to Canada we made a major change to our lifestyle and we just did that again. Not that we are sorry we did it. No way! We love it. But living in a fifth wheel full time, learning the ins and outs of camping (I guess we can't really claim to be roughing it), planing routes and other things can be challenging. One might think we now have all the time in the world which is true in a way. But we have come to understand that there is no such thing as too much time. There hardly is enough. We packed the most possible in every day until we reached an information overload a while back. So we had to cut back a little on what we wanted to do and see. Enthusiasm is great but we came to realize, that one has to take one's time, too or risk not seeing the forest for all the trees anymore. Good thing we have the opportunity to simply take it a bit slower as we don't really have any time restrictions. We are temporarily retired so to speak. Which brings me to another (kind of funny) realization: we are now the ones, one has to make an appointment with to meet. I used to joke about that after my dad retired and all of a sudden it wasn't so easy anymore to just meet with him for a beer. Oh no! If I wanted to do that, I better called ahead to make sure I would catch him. This seems to be a phenomena with retired people and now with us, too.

Anyhow, we did change our route and that took care of the "problem". Now we will spend a few days in our old stumping grounds and are really looking forward to seeing our friends. We will also have to take care of a few things and plan the next part of our trip before heading out again. This time the planing has another focus. We are more concerned with weather and temperatures as winter is just around the corner than with sightseeing destinations. Of course we want to spend the winter months in a nice location or nice locations. However, considerations for the climate will outweigh those for area attractions. There might not be many snow birds amongst you, our readers, who know what goes into the planning of the first winter on the road. But try to put yourselves in our shoes. How does one choose a campground or resort for a whole season? There are so many that comparing them seems impossible. Are we looking in the right places, on the right web sites? How do we narrow it down? What do we really have to have and what would be nice to have? What are we willing to "sacrifice" for a better price or what are our priorities anyway?

We've been looking at some web sites and to tell the truth, I was a bit overwhelmed with all the possibilities. Good thing that André keeps calm in such situations. I am so glad for that and confident, that we will pick a place we will be happy at. The decision has to be made shortly though as we don't have any idea or experience on how soon campgrounds in the south book up for the winter months. At the moment Florida looks very tempting. We will let you know in due time.

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Stranded in Pennsylvania

Hi everyone

It's been a while since our last blog which came to you from New Brunswick, Canada. Since then we have crossed the border into the United States and spend a wonderful time with our friends in Massachusetts. We didn't do any sight seeing since we had been there several times before and just wanted to spend some time with them, catching up. It had been way too long since we've last seen each other. So we did greatly enjoy our time with them. But all good things must come to an end and so we finally drove on on our way to Michigan where we will see more friends.

After a very long drive (somehow we did underestimate the distance when looking at the map) we stopped at a very nice campground in Pennsylvania. While talking to our host we found out that an about 2 hours drive away, in Hershey (yep, where the famous Hershey Kisses come from) the "biggest RV show in America" was opening its doors the next day. So we added a night and took a day-trip down there. It was very impressive and we got some information regarding some parts for our fifth wheel we're still looking for as well as on long-term camping in the South. After all that's where we plan on spending the winter.

Then it was on to a new destination which unfortunately we never reached. Sue needed to use the facilities and so André stopped, let her out and then drove around the parking lot to turn the rig around. Where he had stopped, there now was a puddle on the ground and getting out to investigate he found the problem: our truck was leaking cooling-fluid like a sieve! Now, it's one thing to have roadside assistance tow the truck but we could not find anybody who could haul our fifth wheel away. And the flat bed was just long enough to load our truck.

So we are stranded on a truck stop in the middle of Pennsylvania. By now we found out that the garage needs to order a part which will arrive Monday earliest. The whole thing happened on Thursday. We also got the phone number of a customer of the gas station where we broke down who has a fifth wheel himself and who might be willing to tow us to a campground in Du Bois where the garage is, some 60 km from here. He is at work right now but we will find out if he can give us a tow later today. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

A thing or two about tides

Hi everyone

as you remember from our last post, we are on our way to Massachusetts to see friends before heading back to Ontario. Along the way we came through Truro, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and we couldn't resist to go see two really interesting sights with regards to tides: the tidal bore in Truro and the world's highest tides here in Hopewell Cape.

A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current. It can be just a very small wave, no more than a few inches or a bigger one. The one in Truro is not huge but big enough to clearly see it coming and what's impressive, is the speed with which it moves and fills the riverbed. In order to give you an impression of what we've seen we have included two pictures which were taken only about 20 Minutes apart. In the second picture the water is actually a few feet deep.

Our next stop was in Hopewell Cape in New Brunswick where one can witness the world's highest tides. The difference between low and high can be as much as 14 meters (46b feet). On the evening of August 31 we were down there walking on the ocean floor and the next day around noon we returned to see the same rock formations at high tide. It wasn't the highest possible that day. According to a park ranger it reached "only" 13 meters (43 feet) and left a small gap in the arch between two rocks. This can hardly be seen on our pictures but nevertheless they give an idea of the change. We were awed by this display of nature and will not forget looking down to where the night before we were walking and now there was several meters of water.

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.

Nova Scotia

Hi everyone

Our stay on "the rock" came to an end after 3 more nights near Port-aux-Basques. We had to wait for our ride on the ferry and enjoyed the hospitality of Newfoundland at a beautiful campground about 40 minutes from the ferry terminal. Some sight seeing brought us to a fishing harbour where we, once again, got ourselves fresh cod. Then it was time to say goodbye to this wonderful province and set sail for Nova Scotia. The trip took only 5 hours since we had calm seas. It started kind of early though. We had a reservation for the 11:30 a.m. departure but received an e-mail telling us that we had been moved up to an earlier crossing which left Port-aux-Basques at 6:45 a.m. Since we had to be at the ship 2 hours prior to departure, that meant getting up at 3 a.m.

Once in Nova Scotia we drove up to Cheticamp where we visited friends and spent two nights. Originally we had planed a 3-night stay but the campground was booked up for the weekend. So we made the best of the time we had. Besides seeing our friends a day-trip along parts of the world famous Cabot Trail and tasting the Arcadian food were the other two highlights of our short stay. We then continued to Louisbourg

where we visited the fortress and lighthouse as well as the Miners Museum and Marconi in Glace Bay. All these visits once again offered us a tremendous amount of information on the history of this fabulous country. We were very impressed especially with the Fortress of Louisbourg and the Miners Museum with a underground tour guided by Sheldon who has himself been a coal miner for 32 years. Like so many times before we learned things we had had no idea about and which are so much part of Canada and Canadians.

After our return to the fifth wheel after seeing the Miners Museum and the Marconi we both came to admit that we have reached the point of information / history overload. We decided to change our travel plans a bit to "take a break" from seeing more historic sites and let sink in what we've seen and learned so far. It would be a shame to just rush through the exhibits which have been built with so much care and thought. Instead of just going "trough the motions" and not absorbing all the information, we will travel down to the US for some time before heading back to North Bay in October. We have friends in Merimac, Massachusetts whom we haven't seen in years and we are looking forward to spending a few days with them. We will take our time driving there and after a rainy day on the road, our first stop along the way is near Truro, Nova Scotia. Here we will stay for 3 nights and do some (last) sightseeing for the time being. This will include a trip to Halifax. After that we will add Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island to our Bucket List.

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

PS: Don't forget to read our other blogs (listed on the side) and to follow us on facebook and our Google Map. You can also check our web site for new pictures.