Tough Life but Someone HAS to Do It!

We are presently in sunny Indian Waters RV Resort in Indio, CA (near Palm Springs), where magnificent and colourful bougainvillea and oleander line the streets and the temperatures are in the high 60's to 70's everyday. We will kick back, do some needed cleaning, see some sights, try local cuisine, shop and enjoy this beautiful desert area.



Caper, our much loved mini-schnauzer has developed canine diabetes. We are making weekly treks to Pets Vet in Hemet, CA to do a blood-sugar profile, he is on special prescriptive diet and he has insulin(human) shots twice daily. We are so thankful to be able to stay in one spot for a bit until he is straightened around and what better place than this! It is very beautiful; as I sit here writing this, I am watching the sun set red, on the San Bernardino Mountains.

Northern California

Yes, there is only one tree set close to each side of the road. Their girth is magnificent. The highway (101, known as the Pacific Coast Highway) wends its way through this beautiful grove of Redwoods. Even on a sunny day, travelling through these monstrocities can be quite dark; travellers are guided by the amber road markers set at the base of the roadside trees.


These friendly guys came to greet us at our campsite along with about twenty or so wild turkeys (I was not quite quick enough with the camera). They quacked their way across the pond and on to the grass close to me, probably looking for an easy handout; this campground was a quiet little spot in the middle of nowhere near Willets, CA, where check-in was self-registered. We normally would have spent more time in N CA but with delays in Vancouver waiting for parts, we needed to push on to warmer and drier climes.

Travels through the Napa Valley, the wineries and the vineyards present with beautiful colours of yellow, reds and gold, reminding us of the Fall in Northern Ontario. Acres and acres of rows and rows of grapes can be found in the lowlands and crest over the rolling hills, positioned just so, for the sun to ripen them. A very big business in Central California!

Washington and Oregon Travels

Our travels south took us through the beautiful city of Portland OR, a city of bridges and lots of traffic. We travelled through and out to the Pacific Coast while waiting for parts for the motorhome. Unfortunately, it rained and was very foggy this trip, something we have not encountered while travelling this beautiful coast.

Travels are much simpler with the toad "hitched" to the motorhome. We managed to follow one another to Vancouver WA with the aid of walkie-talkies and only once became separated while trying to find the lineup for the ferry in Lynnwood, WA. This picture was taken in the parking lot of our favourite cheese factory in Tillamook OR. We just had to have our ice-cream fix and make a purchase of our favourite cheeses. From here, we travelled north to Seaside, a beautiful resort town, but again lots of rain and fog.

Daniel at Five Months (Oct 28th)

Since we left Edmonton, Daniel is now sitting up (proud of it,too!), rolling over and is eating some solid foods...rice pablum, avocado, sweet potato and banana. We miss our frequent visits and Nadine and Michael report that we will not know him when we return at Christmas. He is strong and getting to be such a big boy; I would not be one bit surprised if he is standing and trying to walk when we see him next.

From This to This

In early September, we decided to make a big change. First, we bought a gently used SUV that we could tow four-down, meaning all four wheels on the road without making significant changes to the transmission. We bought a 2007 Saturn Vue. Next we went looking for a very gently used motorhome. We found one in Fairview AB....a 1994 Rexhall Aerbus. A couple of winters ago, we had visited and were impressed with the manufacturer of this small family run company of RV builders who specializes in design safety and inventive floorplans. When we purchased the motorhome, we asked the seller to winterize and find us some indoor storage as our intention was to travel in the fifth wheel for the winter. He obliged.

BUT, we decided to try to sell our F650 truck and leave our beloved Mobile Suite as a park model in Glowing Embers for the winter. Amazingly, the truck sold, leaving us scrambling to dewinterize the motorhome, return with it to Edmonton and then start to load it for the winter. We then had to winterize the fifth wheel. All of this was accomplished in about two weeks. Oh, and the motorhome needed some minor repairs which we found as we began to check its systems. Thankfully, Edmonton's beautiful Fall weather held and we found ourselves in travel mode by Oct 21. We headed to Vancouver and crossed into the USA at the end of October. California, here we come! Life is simple and very good!

Early Morning Sunrise/Evening Sunset

The Western sunset skies are glorious but the morning sunrises are spectacular. I don't ever remember seeing a rainbow with the morning sun, but this is what greeted us last Friday morning. WOW! The skies over Spruce Grove threatened rain, but the sun from the East cast light, producing this distinctly colourful rainbow. The colours remained until the sun was fully "up" and cast light on the golden leaves of the trees in our park giving the park its name "Glowing Embers".







This was the sunset at day's end. We have had some very cool nights with hard frost, so days with sunshine are very welcome. We know that there will not be too many more warm days this season, so we "drink" in days like this. In fact, a day of rain followed by a day of high winds scattered the leaves to and fro. The "glow" lasted sadly, only a couple of days! It was beautiful, though, while the colour lasted. The colours are very different to Muskoka; yellows are predominant; only mountain ash gives the oranges to reds. Still gorgeous...God's masterpiece!

Kendra Returns from Ghana

August 29th, Kendra safely returned from Ghana where she spent July and August working in a clinic, mostly for new moms and babies. She is pictured here with Esther, her "go-to" girl that would help her communicate in the language, Twi. Kendra landed in the capital city, Accra, spent a week or so in orientation, then travelled to Nsuta where her clinic was located. She has many stories to tell us. Although she is enrolled in Pharmacy at UBC, she acquired maternity experience, helping to deliver twins with no midwife present, weighing babies in the outreach programme, recording and giving innoculations, to name a few. Of course, she travelled, sometimes with the other volunteers and sometimes just she and Esther. Kendra lived in the top floor of a house and the little boys from the family down the street brought her meals to her each day. Kendra was known as "Obruni" which means "white person"; she was so greeted each morning as she walked to work and in her words, "possibly the best morning walk to work, ever"!
As most of you know, Kendra has very thick curly hair, but while there, she decided to have it braided. It took four women, six hours to braid her hair and three women, four hours to remove the braids, a month later. She had it braided twice as it was much easier to care for, as clean water to wash/rinse is not plentiful. In all, she reports a wonderful time and has a deeper appreciation for the amenities that we, as Canadians enjoy, especially fresh, clean water.