The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Change of plans

Much of the world has had a change of plans over the last 6 weeks, and we are no different.

Originally, we were supposed to head up to Kansas City, Missouri where we were to hop on a plane and go visit family in Ottawa, Ontario for 10 days. Then fly back to Kansas City and drive the motorhome up to Cabri, Saskatchewan where we were going to spend three months working at Cabri Regional Park.

But all of that went out the window.

The park would not allow us to quarantine there, and there was no way we were heading up to Canada to arrive there in mid April. I know, many people did just that, but we simply did not. For us, there is just too much cold and bad weather in Canada in April. Not only Canada... but much of northern United States still has cold in April. Here in Texas, it was only last week that Amarillo went below freezing and had some snowflakes. And Sherman is not made for cold and bad weather, and we were not going to be stuck inside a cold motorhome in prison for two weeks.

And of course at the time we had no idea if the park would even open.

We could not come to an agreement, and so we are not working at Cabri Park this summer.

Still, we hope to make it up there for a visit if the mandatory two week quarantine in Canada is lifted. Otherwise, we will remain in the United States, at least for the next three months. We've always wanted to do some exploring in Montana!

In the meantime we will remain holed up here at the ranch until we see some changes in the directives the various states have implemented.

We woke up yesterday morning, and saw a coyote having a drink at the watering hole across from where we are parked...


Off he goes!

Ruth and I took the bikes off and went for a ride. There are lots of places to explore by bike. We ended up doing a 6 mile (10 km) loop. We will try and get out every day and gradually increase the distance.

Lots of oil still being pumped in this area.

The wells are still operating... I hope they have somewhere to put it!

Ruth.

Back at the ranch, I did some puttering around on Sherman. Cleaned the bugs off the windshield and the front end, and cleaned the glass inside and out.

I had bought a can of expanding spray foam to fill some gaps that had developed between the firewall and the dash. It's a bit messy to work with, but it seems to have done a good job and should stop some  of the drafts and squeaks! Sherman is getting old, but he's got a few miles left in him yet!

Sunset at the ranch.

It's windy again today, but it's a warm wind. Calling for a high of 84F (29C). Might not be a good day for a bike ride, but we are heading out for a hike!

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And in Canada...




22 comments:

  1. I've got some warmth for you here in the Central Valley of California. Montana is cold thru May I would think. Been in Montana one time, but had little time to explore it. Lot of areas not so dense in population are lifting their Stay at Home orders.

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    1. No need for warmth, we are going to get plenty of that this week here in Texas!

      We don't expect to be up in Montana until late May most likely so the weather should be getting much better by then.

      All the areas that we plan on traveling through have little to no sign of the virus and yes, we have noticed that some are lifting the "Stay at Home" orders with other less stringent orders, however we will still be sticking to ourselves as much as possible.

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  2. A change of plans isn't a bad thing. It is fun to see where it takes you.

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    1. You are correct, it isn't always a bad thing. Who knows where we will end up?!

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  3. So nice you have a safe place to stay put for a few weeks. I am sure things will look different in a month where it is not so hard to move around. Saskatchewan is considering a soft reopening starting May 4th - the rest of the country is waiting to so how that goes first. It sounds like parks and outdoor areas will be the first areas in Canada to reopen. There may be tightened restrictions on interprovincial travel though. At this point, who bloody knows.

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    1. It is very nice to have the opportunity to hunker down here on the ranch. There are lots of wide open places for us to hike and bike and have no one around for miles. We are enjoying the animals at the ranch, as well as the wildlife and birds. There is always something new to see and explore around here. We definitely will not be bored here.

      Yes, we have seen the news about Saskatchewan. They have done a great job at keeping the virus at bay but then again it helps that it is a huge area with very little population compared to many other provinces. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

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  4. Nice to have a warm spot to ride out this Isolation Period.
    Stay Safe and Enjoy your freedom.

    It's about time.

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  5. Beautiful mid-70s here in Flagstaff all this coming week, but I'm bracing for the inevitable May blizzard!

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    1. Enjoy the beautiful weather while you can. If you don't get a May blizzard you may just get scorching temperatures!

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  6. Saskatchewan is probably the safest province in Canada to be in. They have the lowest number of cases. Just be aware that once you cross into Canada, there is no returning to the US for the foreseeable future. It is not looking good for next season, but who knows. The uncertainty is the worse part. You are still going to have to find a place to quarantine. If you don't, they will force you into a hotel. Try to come up with a plan for a place near the border like an open RV park.

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    1. I don't believe Saskatchewan has the lowest number of cases but it is definitely near the very bottom of the pack.

      I guess you didn't read the post closely enough, Kevin said we wouldn't be crossing the border anytime soon unless the mandatory quarantine order gets removed, which we don't see happening in the very near future.

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  7. Looks like a big coyote! Back when I use to "sleep under the stars" I was out in the desert on a moon lit night and awoke to a coyote licking me in the face!(tenderizing the meat? or maybe just a salty snack!) I was startled, he jumped back startled, and we locked eyes and he walked away. I still slept under the stars, until one morning, and just at daybreak I sat up in my mummy bag to turn over. I looked down(good thing) to see a scorpion where my face was. Needless to say I bought a tent after that! BTW, if your hankering for some heat, here in Riverside county California it was 99 degrees...ouch!

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    1. Yes, it was a fairly big coyote!

      Good thing that the coyote only licked you face, that would have been a little nerve racking to say the least. So glad that nothing worse happened to you. I think that would have been enough to make me sleep in a tent after that. I would be too nervous about snakes, spiders and scorpions, so for you to have still been out there sleeping under the stars and then wake up to a scorpion, that just would have been too much for me!

      The temperature here is going to be up in the high 90's, possibly even the low 100's this week so no need to send even more hot weather our way. ;-)

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  8. Here are the regulations, I would start phoning RV parks just north of where you paln to cross and see if you can make a reservation. Better stuck in your own rig than somewhere they force you to go. You have to be ready to tell them exactly where you are going when you cross:


    You must quarantine (self-isolate) in a place where you will have no contact with vulnerable people, such as:
    people 65 years or older, or
    people with underlying medical conditions
    You will need to confirm you have a suitable place to isolate where you will have access to basic necessities, such as food and medication.
    You must wear a non-medical mask or face covering while traveling to the place you will quarantine (self-isolate).

    If you do not have an adequate place to quarantine (self-isolate), the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada will designate a facility where you must remain for 14 days.

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    1. Paul, we are totally aware of all the regulations for the 14-day self quarantine and the fines that are imposed if you do not follow the regulations. We do keep abreast of all the news, even here in the middle of nowhere!

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  9. Good plan to stay where it is warm. We only came home because we may be open for business in 2 weeks and we have an umbilical cord to hook on to to stay warm if necessary. So far it has been quite nice here. I think if you hang on a little while a lot of these rules will blow over or be relaxed. I am not a sky is falling type of guy so I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. Enjoy your summer where ever it takes you!!

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    1. We are in a good safe spot here, so yes it is much nicer here at the moment than up north.

      Good luck with your quarantine time, at least you have some room to move around outside and work that you can do to keep you both busy. Hope the time goes by fast for you and that you will be able to open soon but I am not sure that they will allow the concession and mini putt to open so soon, at least that isn't the case in Saskatchewan, only the campground itself is open for camping, no concessions or other activities, not even the beaches.

      Some things will be opening up a little more here in the states come May but we still intend to keep a low profile and stay away from the public as much as possible, just like we have been doing so far.

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  10. My wife and I lived in Bozeman, Montana back in the 80's while I attended Montana State University. We have been back many times since. We particularly enjoy the Hyalite reservoir area near Bozeman. It includes waterfalls, camping, and a lot of hiking trails. I have no idea whether the area is open because of the virus but it is well worth looking up on Google.

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    1. Thank you very much for the suggestion, we have written it down and put a pin for it on our mapping system. It is definitely in the direction that we are headed so hopefully we can make a stop there for a few days, or longer providing the area is open when we get there. :-)

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  11. You guys always do a great job, but being from Ontario and travel a bit , just wondering how your health insurance works, would love to stay out of the cold weather longer, if its not to intrusive that is to ask.

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    1. Each province is different as too how long you can stay out in order to keep your "home" health insurance but I think Ontario is the same as Saskatchewan which is 7 months. However, we simply don't let that stop us from doing things and going places. We are healthy at the moment and hopefully will stay that way fora long time but things could change for us on that somewhere down the road. There is also private health insurance that you can buy so that you will be covered if you are out of the province longer than your allotted time.

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