Summer of 2018 and Life changes

Just to update you all on a few things going on this summer.

I forgot to post a picture of Joe and I on our ride to California.
so here it is. It was a fun ride Joe.

As any of our friends that have an RV know, that when you drive a home on wheels there is always something that needs to be fixed, no mater if it's new or older. Anyway in July we went to the factory in Nappanee, IN to have some things fixed. While there we made some new friends that we went to breakfast with one day. One of the things we love best about RVing is the people we meet and get to know.

Gary, Nancy, Dietmer, Holly, Sandy and Dave.

In August Joe, Glen and I went to Canada to fish with friends, Bob, Bruce and Russ. We had a good time fishing and caught lots to eat and bring home.

Bruce and My brother Joe

My brother Glen

Now for some bad news. On Wednesday of the week I (Dave) went in for an MRI and found that I have a Brain Tumor. On Friday I went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to get an opinion. 

It was determined that the tumor is glioblastoma, high grade and is not curable. Th good thing is that it's in the right Temporal lobe. This is an area that if you have seizures they can remove a large portion of the brain with minimum of effect. So that turns out to be a good thing.

I will be having surgery on Thursday at the Mayo Clinic. I feel real good about the doctors doing the surgery and the follow up care I will be receiving, which will be radiation and chemotherapy. The procedure will take 5 to 6 hours so my family will be having a tough time waiting to hear how things are going. We know that we are going to have a good outcome. The only thing that might be affected is some memory. So if there is anyone out there I owe money too, GOOD LUCK. 

We hope to see you all down the road.

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy

Quick trip to Shasta Lake, CA

 A quick background note as to why this trip was necessary. Over the years of motorcycle riding I have tried and bought several motorcycle seats trying to find one that would keep my butt from hurting at the end of a days ride. The 4 or 5 that I tried over the years did not do the job. One that I had not tried, because of price, was the Russell Day Long Seat. It was time to bite the bullet and see if this was the seat for me. It is a seat that many "Iron Butt" riders have raved about. One of the Iron Butt rides is to ride 1,000 miles in 24 hours.

 So in June of 2013 Sandy and I loaded the Goldwing Trike into the trailer, hooked up to the GMC pickup and headed west to Shasta Lake, CA to have one installed. Gotta have a reason for a road trip. HA HA. It was the best $1,000 I've ever spent on a motorcycle accessary. 

 My friend Dale put one on about 3 years later and loved it. My brother, Joe, got tired of of listening about how Dale's and my butt were not hurting after a day's ride and said "I give up. I need to try one of these." Upon contacting Russell he found out he could send his seat out and have on built on his seat pan but it would be about a 3 week turn around. Not wanting to be without being able to ride for 3 or more weeks, Joe asked when the next ride-in appointment would be. If you ride-in they will build the seat in one day and send you on your way. They gave Joe a May 30th date which he took.

 Guess what -- "ROAD TRIP." We left June 25th and rode out in 4 days. On the way out Joe wanted to stop every hour to rest his rear end. I did my best to remember. Sorry Joe. We actually got there on the 28th so on the 29th we were going to ride around in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I suggested we stop at Russell before we left to see if by chance they could get Joe in a day early. We must have been good boys on the ride out because after some checking they could do Joe's seat that day. With his seat done we headed back home on the 30th.  Going back we wanted to do a little sight seeing so it took us six days with us riding through,                                

                               Zion National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Arches National Park by Moab, Utah.

Now tell me, now did this stay up there, or is this a commercial for Super Glue?

We were also going to ride through Rocky Mountain National Park, but it was 34 degrees when we got up in the morning and that was the expected high up in the park. Knowing that ice was melting up there we decided we did not want to chance coming around a corner and find frozen patches on the road. We both have been there several times, so it was hit the throttle and continue on home. 

 It was a good 11 day, over approximately, 4000 mile ride. Joe was even able to ride from gas fill to gas fill for about 3 hours, on the way home. He's loving the seat.

Until Next Time,

Dave

                                     2018 Winter Trip
It's July 4th as I start writing this blog post. We are camped at Mina Lake State Recreation Area west of Aberdeen, SD with some of Sandy's cousins. Last night we went to supper at the Wakeside restaurant and found that another cousin of Sandy's was there also. We invited them to the RV so we could visit. While visiting, they asked if we were still doing the Blog. As you can tell, it has not been updated for awhile, so thanks Roger and Mona for get me motivated.

Because our new RV wasn't ready for pickup until Valentines day, we did not leave for Arizona until February 24th, with a detour to Nappanee, IN to have our surround camera worked on. Then it was off to AZ. We arrived at McDowell Mountain regional park on March 2nd. McDowell is just north of Fountain Hills, AZ. We spent 12 days there before moving to Cave Creek Regional Park to stay for the rest of the month. 

The RV was pretty dirty upon arriving in AZ, so I contacted A.N.S. Detailing to have the RV washed. Andy has a mobile washing service and did a great job.

We did not get any sight seeing in this year because of being in AZ for only the month of March. But we did keep busy visiting with friends. in the picture below is Sandy, me (Dave), Nancy, Karl, Deb and Gil. Deb and Karl are from North Scottsdale. Nancy and Gil came down from Henderson, NV just to visit us. Thank you guys for coming down so far out of your way and having to move your RV every one or two nights because all the campgrounds where so full you could only get one or two nights in the same site.

While at supper Sandy and Nancy came up with the idea of going to the Cavalia Odysseo, an excellent horse show  After the show, Nancy was so thrilled, she said that she should go out and get a horse for herself. 

This was our camp site at McDowell. 

We felt safe at this site because Gumby was watching over us. You all do remember Gumby, right. If not just do an internet search.

Ruthie and Vern came to visit us and we went into Fountain Hills for supper. While visiting we found

out that they also had been to the Cavalia Odysseo. While this surprised us because of the coincidence, it shouldn't have, because one of the things on Vern's resume is "training horses".

This is our favorite site at Cave Creek, and no, I'm not giving out the site number.

A lot of mornings at Cave Creek the balloons take off just down the road.

Steve and Sandy came to visit us one day.

We thought it was time to leave when the rattlesnakes started coming out. We got back home on Easter Sunday.

Sandy's mom, Dalles, had her 90th birthday on May 17th. On the 19th we had a party for her and had over 100 people show up. Dalles was very pleased that so many people thought enough of her to take time to come and visit.

The week of July 4th we spent at Mina Lake State Recreation Area. Our campsite at Mina Lake.

Dalles, Dave, Randy and Korine watching the activity on the lake.

This was the first time we had seen this type of "float" being pulled by a pontoon. It's called "Super Mabel" and it carries 3-4 people. Sandy thought it looked fun and she might even try it.

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy.

IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE OUR LAST POST. PART 2

                                  July 18th to now.

Things are changing at our house again.

July 18, the day after I got back from my motorcycle trip with Joe, Sandy showed me an article in the latest Motorhome magazine that was about Newmar's new 33 foot New Aire RV. In the past we have discussed that if a nice 30-35 foot class A RV came on the market we should take a look. After reading the article and doing some internet research we decided to go to Nappanee, IN and visit the factory to actually see what one looked like. We have not been known to let moss grow under our feet when making a decision.

We arrived at the Newmar factory just before noon on July 26th and were able to join the afternoon tour where we were able to see a New Aire in production, but could not get a good feel for it. So, we headed south to Mount Comfort  RV in Indianapolis, IN to see a finished product there. It is a very nice RV with all the bells and whistles. We stayed overnight and went back to look at it the next morning.

After looking at the New Aire some more we headed for home. On the way back we kept reviewing what we saw and by the time we got home and stopped at Ole Piper Inn to have pizza and beer, we had decided to look at a Dutch Star 3718 at Steinbring Motorcoach in Garfield, MN. They are the only Newmar dealer in Minnesota. 

One of the item's on my list in a new RV was a recliner and the New Aire did not offer it as an option because of its size. One of Sandys wishes was for a washer and dryer which is available on both sizes.

The next day, the 28th, we drove to Garfield which is near Alexandria to look at a DS 3718 shown on their website. However, when we got there it had been sold and picked up a few days before. After looking around we decided to go ahead and order one, so our RV life style is changing again. The floor plan of our Newmar 3718 Dutch Star.



With a new RV coming we got busy selling our Lazy Daze. While   visiting with our garage condo unit neighbor, Jay, he said that he and Linda were looking at RV’s to buy. I told Jay that the Lazy Daze does not have slides and he replied that Linda did not want slides, so I invited him to come take a look. Later in the day both he and Linda came back to look at it and said they were very interested, but would have to think about it as they were not looking to buy until next spring. They bought the LD and we are happy it's going to a good home. So the LD is now parked 20 feet to the west of where it used to be.

I had cataract surgery on both eyes, the right one first. The ME is the doctors initials. At first Sandy thought ME stood for me - this eye, so the surgeon wouldn't operate on the wrong eye. She was partially right.  I think I'm a little sleepy.

Jane likes to have full medical details, so this photo is for her. (An inside Joke.)

The 30th of September had us headed to Lake Chippewa, WI for a week of fishing with friends, Terry and Elaine. Being that we no longer had a RV we rented one of the resorts trailers. Jay and Linda offered us the use of the LD but we did not want to take a chance on damaging it, so we just rent instead. Our home for a week.

The weather was cool and rainy so we didn't do too much fishing. Sandy and Elaine spent spent some time doing jigsaw puzzles and playing dominoes with Elaine's sister.

Ron and Jane have been wanting us to come visit their new home in the Jackson Hole area of WY in the winter. They moved from Phoenix a couple years ago. Since we are waiting for our new RV to arrive, we thought this would be a good time to visit. We left on the 19th and took 2 days to get there. We spent 4 days there visiting, site seeing and playing a card game called 7's. It was great to see Ron, Jane and Charley again. Jane was right about the cold in Jackson Hole, it did not feel as cold as in Minnesota. We have been to the Teton several times in the summer, but the area looks totally different in winter.

This is the view out our bedroom window at Ron and Janes home.



They have this wonderful sunroom which was great to sit in and have coffee in the morning -- or anytime of the day.

On January 29th we received a text that our RV had arrived at the dealer. Both Sandy and I were running around town doing errands, so when I saw the text, I called Sandy and asked if she was up for a road trip. You probably can tell I was anxious to see it. So we drove up the next day to have a look. Here are a few pictures.

We had never seen this model other then on paper before, but the floor plan was better then we expected. We scheduled a February 14th delivery. After getting it stocked up we will head to the Phoenix area for the month of March.

I just have to say this so a few of our friends that know us real well can have a good chuckle. Or is it just a belly busting, hoot snorting, foot stomping laugh. As we have said several times in the past.

"This is our last RV"

Until Next Time,
Dave and Sandy

IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE OUR LAST POST. PART 1

                              March 26th to July 17th, 2017

On the 03-26 we moved to Cave Creek Regional Campground. Ron and Jane, who now live in Wilson, WY had come down to Scottsdale to visit. Oops, I forgot to mention Charley. It had been two years since we last saw them.

Gil and Nancy arrived at the campground in the early afternoon of March 29. It was great to see them again as it had also been a couple years since we were last together. Late afternoon we all went to Ron and Jane’s for dinner and an evening of visiting.

On March 30th we invited a group of friends, Karl, Deb, Dan, Paula, Gil, Nancy, Ron and Jane over for an afternoon happy hour, lots of fun, even if the wind was blowing wildly. For some reason we did not take one picture. 

That next evening we went to supper with a group of friends to celebrate Nancy’s Birthday.

Nancy and Gil.

Sandy, Dan, Paula, Nancy, Gil, Jane and Ron.

We headed for home on Saturday April 1st.  We were both ready, Even though we got to visit with friends, it was a wet and cool winter. The trip to get home took 3 days.


A couple of reasons we head back home in April is for taxes and Crappie fishing. Terry and I got out together 5-6 times. There were years when Terry, I and another friend, George (who is fishing in the great sky above) would spend over 100 days fishing together. There was a sports/bait shop that used to call us the "Three Musketeers."

In May we went out to Aberdeen for Sandy's mom's birthday and Mothers day. It was nice to visit for a few days with Dalles and Sandy's sister and brother-in-law, Cindy and John.

The first week of June we drove the RV to Staples to spend the weekend with all of my brother Glen’s family. It's hard to get all 5 of their kids to be together other then at Christmas or Thanksgiving.

On June 27th Joe, Glen, Dale and I headed out on a four day Motorcycle trip to the La Crosse, WI area. We stayed in La Crosse and did day trips out of there. There was a little rain, but we got some nice rides in.

Joe and I left July 10th on a 9 day 3,919 mile motorcycle trip to the NE part of the USA. We crossed lake Michigan on this ferry from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI.

One of our stops was in Laudon, NH. We got there and stated looking for a motel around 7PM.  It took until 8:30 to find one on our route. NASCAR was in town. $200 a night for a cheap motel.

After we drove through DC we continued west to the Skyline Drive Parkway which we took south. It was a lot like the Blue Ridge Parkway. Then we headed for home. 

This trip was for Joe to say he had ridden his motorcycle in all 49 states in North America. The one's in bold are states he needed.

Wisconsin, Ontario, New York, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine,

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Quebec?, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,  West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and of course Minnesota. Now all Joe needs is to take a trip to Hawaii.                                                    

Until Next Time,

Dave and Sandy

        

LOST DUTCHMAN STATE PARK

March 14^th thru the 26^th.

Lost Dutchman State Park and Canyon Lake.

While still at McDowell Mountain there was this bird that had a habit of flying up 3-4 feet then diving back to the perch. We have seen Phainopepla do this when eating bugs, but this looked more like a mating ritual.

March 15^th had us moving from McDowell Mountain to Lost Dutchman State Park.

This is the view as you enter Lost Dutchman State Park.

Sandy took this picture from inside the LD to show the view we have from the Motorhome. We were here once before, and by luck got a site with a good view of the mountains. This time we made reservations 6 months ago and this was one of only two sites available, we lucked out again.

Enjoying the view of the Superstition Mountains.

Even though the Superstition Mountains are great to see during the day, it’s at sunset that the MAGIC appears.

These are pinnacles along the top of the mountain.

On our way to Canyon Lake for a boat ride. The land is now made up of green and yellows. This turned out to be a perfect day to be on the water as the temperature was 81 degrees with a slight breeze.

Ocotillo in full bloom.

This was the boat we rented for a half day (5 hours). They also rent fishing boats and pontoons. All can be rented by the hour, half day or full day.

We are moving across the main lake for a 10-mile ride through the canyons to the Apache Lake Dam. We never got to see the dam as it was around the corner from where the buoys stopped us from going further upstream. This is an interesting boat ride because of the different rock formations and vegetation along the way.

There also were a few kayakers on the water.

There were a few spots where it narrowed down to 100 to 150 feet wide. All the rock hazards were well marked.

Dave hard at work navigating the treacherous narrows…..

and Sandy enjoying the beautiful day on the water. Sandy must be feeling real comfortable with boat skills today, as she usually wears a life vest when in the bath tub. Just kidding.

Can you see the pink blooms of the hedgehog cactus?

Again, thank goodness for telephoto lenses.

Back out on the main lake there were several groups of grebe on the water.

While eating at the restaurant it was interesting to watch this couple paddle boarding with their dog. When we first saw them, the dog was on the man’s board. They brought their boards together and the dog smoothly crossed from one board to the other, and no one ended up in the water.

Canyon Lake from a lookout as we headed home.

On March 23^{rd ,} the weather finally broke. We woke up to a 50  degree morning and we had .22 inches of rain last night. The high today was 65 degrees. Other than yesterday, this is the first day since March 9^th that the high hasn’t been between 90 to 95 degrees. In the morning, there were some clouds covering part of the Superstition Mountains giving it a different look with all the yellows in front.

The next day, we met Vern and Ruthie and went to supper at the Organ Stop Pizza. This is a 5 million dollar instrument that has 6 thousand pipes, numerous percussions and countless traps. It is the largest Wurlitzer organ in the world. What looks like TV screens around the organ are actually glass louvers that open to let out the sound of the pipes playing at any particular time. It was an amazing experience to watch and listen. The pizza was pretty good too!

Ruthie, Sandy, Dave and Vern.

The next day was another beautiful day so we took an opportunity to take a ride up to Payson and stopped at the Saguaro Lake Marina for lunch. Very good food, and Sandy took a chance on the fish which she said was excellent. Our friends, Pat and John, can attest to our bad luck ordering fish.

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy