Newsletter

Dec 15, 2010

Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year

We are settled into a nice warm, dry spot with full hookups In Yuma, Az for the winter. After four years of almost non-stop travel we need some quiet time. We’ve rented a RV lot with a beautiful view of the local mountains and some very nice neighbors. We plan to spend the winter here with some side trips around Arizona and maybe into New Mexico.

Our last newsletter left off as we were returning from our summer trip in the boat to British Columbia, before we moved back into the motorhome we took a short trip to South Sound to visit Jim and Genie on Anderson Island. As luck would have it Ed Wurden and Adm Sam Hubbard were also cruising South Sound and we met them in Oro Bay too. Our new friends from Canada, Cameron and Laurean were buying a radar from Jim and they were going to meet us on the Island and spend a couple of days on board El Capitan with us. When you get this many great people together it always turn into a party. Jim got a hold of a couple of his local friends and we all contributed towards a fantastic sea food feast. A good time was had by all!


	We put the coach in the shop for some brake work, transmission service and bearing seal replacement and then loaded up heading to PacBeach State Park to meet with brother Jim and sister Sharon for a week before heading down the coast to warmer climates.

Our original plan was to head down the coast highway into California and then shoot across California to the Sierras and then head into Yosemite, Unfortunately we once again had some windshield issues come up and required that we stop in Eugene to make repairs. Seems that when Monaco installed our windshield during initial construction they welded the center support bracket top and bottom when it was suppose to float to absorb the coach motion. We found this out at Coach Glass in Eugene after they removed both windshields trying to find out why they kept popping out. $700 later we were fixed, but couldn’t leave for 24 hours until all the adhesives set. So when we got going again we opted to run down I-5 to about Sacramento then head over to Hwy-120 and south


		Arriving in Yosemite Valley you are greeted with a massive monolith of stone El Capitan! It was an amazing site and this picture doesn’t do justice to its size.




	We settled into the campground that was old and all the sites were very small. Sequoia trees were all around and we got about an hour of sunshine per day, the solar panels weren’t much use. To complicate matters there were run time restrictions for the generator and 45 minutes was max run, fortunately we could run it more than once a day, as it was somewhat chilly and furnaces use a lot of battery power.


	We were fortunate that a heavy rainstom had passed through a few days earlier and Yosemite falls, which was normally dry in the fall, was very active. We walked the trail to the base of the lower falls and on the way back got this great shot of all three falls, upper, middle and lower.

We took a couple of day trips, in the park to some of the view points and to Bridal Veil Falls at the end of Yosemite Valley. Looking down from the view point you can see into Yosemite Valley, with El Capitan to the left, Half Dome in the back ground and Bridal Veil Falls on the right. We stopped at Bridal Veil and hiked a short distance up to the bottom of the falls. This time of year Bridal Veil is never in the sunshine. The center photo is said to be the most photographed spot in the park.


	On the left you can see these two guys ascending El Capitan, a 4-5 day climb, they were about 1/3 of the way


	Bikes are the best way to get around Yosemite


	We were going to spend 5 days in Yosemite, but our path to Nevada was across Tioga pass, at 9943” elevation and there was a storm fast approaching so we opted to depart a day early and avoid the potential of driving in snow again. The scenery was awesome crossing the pass with alpine meadows, lakes and some unusual boulder collections




		Stopping at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas for a day, then onto Lake Mead, on of our favorite spots for a little more than a week, we continued or trip to Yuma, sunshine and warm weather. We arrived November 8th at Roger and Marsha’s property where they had space for us to stay until we got settled into something for a longer term.


	The rest of November we stayed on Roger and Marsha’s place developing a friendship with the local humming birds. Leonard and Margaret Christie stopped in one day for a visit, it’s always nice to see old friends. Thanksgiving Linda and Marsha cooked a turkey with all the trimming and we had Ken and Wenell, Canadian friends of Roger and Marsha join us for a wonderful dinner




		On December first we rented a lot at 14782 E 50th Street in Yuma for the winter. The owners are from Port Orchard, but also have a lot in Quartzite where they spend the winter. Their real eager to sell this lot to us and who knows...could happen.


	We’re heading home in the car on December 18th for Christmas with the family. It’ll be nice to be with the kids and grandkids for the holidays again, as we have missed Christmas for the past 5 years. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we’ll have a trouble free drive.


		Until next time

	*Dale and Linda*


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