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.

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.