Boondocking night #4...near Mt. Rushmore!

We know now why we usually take a full month to go from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. There is simply too much to see, and we feel a bit rushed doing it in two weeks.

For those of you new here, there are two reasons we're doing it quickly this time around. One, the current strength of the U.S. dollar means that anything we buy in the United States costs 35% more than it should. It will be much cheaper for us in Mexico.

Boondocking night #3...quiet as can be!

An overcast day yesterday, but warm enough and we never did see any rain. We did 133 miles (213 kms), which is still slightly lower than we need to be doing on average.

But...we made it into South Dakota, a new state for us! And, we're kind of excited that we're headed for Mount Rushmore this afternoon. Always wanted to see that.

Boondocking night #2...better!

We only did 94 miles (150 kms) yesterday. It was a beautiful day and we wanted to get out for a hike. Made it to the north section of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Really pretty area!

We actually thought about staying in the park since we have a National Parks pass that we had bought in the spring. We stopped in at the visitor's center which was right by our highway so we didn't have to go off route.

Boondocking night #1 complete...into the U.S....

We left Wendy and Phil in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada at around 1:00pm. We had a plan to get across the U.S. border and into North Dakota so we wanted to get going right away. We don't drive any faster than 55 mph (90 km/h) unless we're going downhill with a tailwind, so we needed to get some miles done or we wouldn't make it across the border that evening.

We stopped in the little town of Wilcox, SK (where the Canadian TV series Corner Gas was filmed) for a late lunch and that was pretty much the last time we would be on the internet for the day.

Border to border boondocking challenge

Had a simply fantastic long weekend away in Ottawa area. It was too short of course, and next time we'll plan a little more time to be able to spend with family and friends. But overall, we did what we planned to do and now we can get back to our RV trip to Mexico.

This morning, we flew from Ottawa to Regina with a connection in Toronto.

Our last day with the family.

Yesterday was our last day with the family.

Kevin had made arrangements with Lindsey and Justin to meet with them just after lunchtime to view a couple of houses they were interested in buying. One of them has been on their mind since the very beginning and is quite a bit cheaper than most of the houses but it is a very small house that is outdated and will require a fair amount of work but it is in the price range that they would like to be in.

What the other half is doing!

(Written by Ruth)

Well it sounds like Kevin is having a really good time with his friends at their boy's getaway weekend at the beautiful cottage in the country and I am really happy for them. Having said that we haven't been sitting around here either and we have had a house full of people and a ton of laughs, especially last night!

Ready for the weekend!

Had a nice breakfast yesterday morning with friends Kimberley and Bruce. They had some questions about our lifestyle and how we do things because they're both around our age and from the conversation, they're obviously looking for something different at this stage in their lives.

So, they asked all the right questions and hopefully we were able to help them with their decision.

Family time

When we landed at Ottawa airport yesterday around 1:00pm, our daughter Lindsey was there to meet us, along wth our grandkids Cameron and Sadie!

Great to see them again!

We drove from the airport to my Mom's apartment where we visited with her for a couple of hours.

Made it to Ontario!

Writing this from Toronto airport waiting for our flight to Ottawa.

We enjoyed our first drive in the motorhome yesterday to Moose Jaw. A little late leaving, we were shooting for 9:00am, but didn't get out of the park until around 10:00am. We made a quick stop in Cabri to drop off the keys, and then hit the road.

That's it...we're outta here!

In a couple of hours. Still a couple of things to finish up here this morning because we simply ran out of time (and energy) yesterday. It was almost 7:30pm when we called it quits for the day! Hmph. Gonna have to be more organized next year!

So...what's the plan?

I had to do a double take...!

Last day of work today. Yay!

Most people, on their last day of work, would be relaxing and not getting anything done. That is not the situation here at the park. A lot of last minute stuff happening here today.

So...a neat story to tell you from yesterday evening.

Moving into the motorhome...and supermoon photos!

Getting Sherman all cleaned up yesterday and transferring things over because today is moving day!

It's amazing how dusty it was inside after five months of sitting. Sure, we were in and out of there a few times and I did some minor work in there, but still...it was dusty! Everything had to be wiped down. But, better to move into a clean house, right? Ruth did the stove and oven, and the fridge, and the bathroom and we got the fresh water tank filled and the waste holding tanks flushed.

We're going to sleep the next two nights in the motorhome, and then we're off!

Flyboarding! Now on our list of things to try!

City Chase is billed as Canada's largest urban adventure. Where teams of two compete in a variety of physical and mental challenges and race on foot or by public transport from one event to the next event.

It's become pretty popular in this country, and there were five regional races this year...in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Toronto. Each race had over 300 teams competing, and our son Alex and his friend Matt finished 2nd in their regional event. This gave them a spot in the National Finals which took place yesterday.

Wow...what a day!

Four more sleeps

Until we're out of here and on the road (and in the air) again! It'll go by pretty fast because we've still got a lot to do.

Yesterday, I moved Sherman (our motorhome) down to the campsite nearest our house trailer so that we could start getting him cleaned up and ready to live in again. Over the next two days we'll transfer everything over to him, and then by Monday night we'll be sleeping in the motorhome again. Yay!

Whenever I work under the motorhome, I think of my grandmother...

So yesterday I changed the fan clutch on our motorhome.

I had read a few stories online of other people who have done them, and it was described as a "knuckle busting operation". It's really quite simple on most vehicles because you can access the area. On a motorhome...it's not so simple.

What a day...

Yesterday was our last day this season for going into town. We did one last bottle recycling return for the park, and had to pick  up a few more jugs of plumbing antifreeze for the washroom buildings. And some latches and locks for the doors on the newly renovated washroom.

And our last grocery run, although this time we had to include a bunch of things that we have a hard time getting in Mexico. So there was a bit of stocking up to be done.

I like the way they do things here!

I sure do like the way they do things with vehicle and insurance registration here in Saskatchewan. Compared to Ontario, it's a breath of fresh air!

Today when we go into town, I will get the new licence plate and insurance for Sherman, our motorhome. He has been registered in Ontario, but because he's been sitting since we arrived here last April I just hadn't bothered to switch the registration over yet.

The only downside was the mandatory vehicle inspection. But with that done...everything else is a piece of cake.

An enjoyable day off

We decided to go for a drive to another Saskatchewan Regional Park.

There are over 70 of these parks in Saskatchewan, in addition to the Provincial Park system. We worked the one summer at Sturgeon Lake Regional Park, and of course two summers here at Cabri Regional Park. But we've never been to any of the other Regional Parks.

So yesterday, we took a drive over to Clearwater Lake Regional Park.

We're taking a day off!

Well, the place is just about empty. Today is the last day for our seasonal campers, so there are only about five trailers left in the park. And those should be gone by the end of the day today.

We don't get very much opportunity to explore this part of Saskatchewan, despite the fact that we spend the whole summer here. So today, we're going to hop in the little blue car and go for a drive to another regional park. Just to have a look and see how they do things and hopefully go for a hike.

Travel medical insurance - stuff you should know!!

I saw two posts on two separate forums yesterday that made me want to write about this, because there is so much misinformation out there. And it amazes me how many people travel and don't know the rules.

The first post made me shake my head...

I understood that if you got sick in Mexico (hospitalized) and had all your receipts BC Medical would reimburse you. This was not how it worked in my case - got $630.00 back from $3,000.00. Can anyone explain this to me...? 

Yep. I can.

Out for another hike

Beautiful fall day yesterday, so we made a point of going for another hike. Only out for an hour and a half or so and 5.5 kms (3.5 miles), but enough to get the blood flowing a little bit anyhow.

We had gone through a couple of days of rain, so it was nice to see the sun shining again.

Family update

Sorry for the boring post...but sometimes we must put things up here just for ourselves!

Daughter Lindsey with her husband Justin and the two kids moved back to Ottawa in June, and they've been living at Ruth's dad's place ever since. Still a temporary situation, but it's less temporary than they expected it would be.

How to take your motorhome to Mexico

I've been refreshing my memory on the procedure because we'll be doing exactly this about a month from now. Always good to be totally prepared and to make sure you've got all the necessary paperwork in order, plus I wanted to check and see if anything has changed since the last time we completed the permit process in the fall of 2007.

Mexico motorhome permits are valid for 10 years. But when we left Mexico last spring, we weren't certain that we were going to be returning this year, and we had even tossed around the idea of selling the motorhome. Which meant that it made more sense to turn in our old permit when we left in order to have more options available to us.

RV fire alert

I was skimming through the news headlines the other day and noticed one about a fire in an RV. You hear about those every so often, but it's actually a little disturbing just how common an event it really is.

In fact, if you search for the term "RV fire" in Google news, here's the listing that you get...

Recent RV fires

Satellite internet now costs less

And it's faster, and you're allowed more data.

We're stuck in a valley here at the park, and while our cellular internet works...it doesn't work very well. And it's slow, and we're limited by how much we use because it's expensive for what you get.

So while most of you are at home with unlimited high speed data plans watching videos and using skype to talk to your grandchildren...we are here for five months with none of that.

The place is starting to empty out...

We have 80 seasonal campsites here at the park, and around 35 daily campsites. The daily campsites have been empty since September 7th.

I went around on Thursday night and there were still 43 seasonal trailers here. Yesterday evening Ruth and I took a walk around and there are now only 25 trailers here. It was a beautiful day on Saturday and many people came to pack up their things.

Good news and bad news...

Both of them to do with traveling! Actually, the good news is great news. And the bad news isn't really so bad...just an annoyance. So, since the bad news isn't really that bad, lets get that out of the way first!

Our return flight from Medellin, Colombia to Mexico City on December 15th was supposed to depart at 8:00am, and arrive Mexico City at 11:41am.

But I had an email waiting for me this morning...

Sherman's rear shocks

Well that was a little more difficult that I expected.

Changing shocks is typically a pretty easy job, provided you've got the tools to loosen the bolts. Normally, you don't even need air tools, although an impact gun is certainly handy to have. Not totally necessary though because sometimes there isn't room to fit the impact gun to where the bolt or nut is located. Otherwise, a half inch socket set and ratchet with a two foot long "cheater" pipe should do the job.

Three weeks to go!

Actually, three weeks less a day. Until we get to see our grandkids. And our kids, and my mom and Ruth's dad, and some of our friends. Really looking forward to seeing everybody, despite the fact that it's going to be a very short visit.

Our daughter Lindsey posted a picture on facebook this morning, and it sure made us realize how fast time goes by.

Yay! He passed!

I was up at 6:00am this morning because I had to have Sherman at his insurance inspection for 8:00am.

I was a little worried about a couple of things, but it turned out they were pretty minor. I had a burnt out licence plate light bulb, and piece of hose for the windshield washer was split. Other than that, Sherman is ready to get a Saskatchewan licence plate!

End of season camping special?

Gorgeous weather is forecast for this upcoming weekend. Pretty much perfect. Sunshine and blue skies, with a high on Friday of 24C (75F) and on Saturday 28C (82F). Beautiful camping weather.

And lows around 10C (50F)...a little chilly, but that's what campfires are for, right??

Getting our hiking legs in shape

We finally made it out for a hike yesterday afternoon. For the first time since we've been here this season! Only an hour and a half, but we still managed almost 6.4 kms (4 miles) and weren't at all tired.

I love having the iPhone with me and using the MotionX GPS app.

Photo editing, and how we do it

Most of you know that we change our header photo every day. When we're not traveling, we choose a photo from past travels. But when we are traveling (soon!) we strive to take a fabulous photo to display for you every single day.

But not every photo we take turns out "fabulous". In fact, more often than not, every photo we take requires some kind of editing. Here's how we try and change a not so great photo to one that is suitable for display.

If you would have told me this five years ago...

It poured with rain all Friday night, and most of Saturday. High temperature was 11C (52F).

We had 13 reservations for Friday night. Six of them called to cancel, three didn't bother to call and simply didn't show up. Four die hard campers did show up, and one more came in for the night who was passing through.

A Taste of Spanish Wine

Spanish wines have always been a favourite with people travelling around Europe, and with good reason; they produce beautiful wines that are not only tasty and easily accessible, but are also much more affordable than similar wines from more-established wine destinations, such as France.

If you want to discover and fall in love with Spanish wine, the most enjoyable way is to explore the different flavours of the country is to go on a trip to Spain. You can travel with a tour operators that specialise in taking tourists to the wine-making regions of the country. These tours can take you to the biggest and most popular vineyards, as well as smaller, more traditional vineyards. However, if you're not planning a winery tour any time soon, then you can find a lot of good quality Spanish wines for reasonable prices at retailers like Tesco.

It couldn't be worse...

Labor Day weekend is supposed to be the last hurrah for the camping season. Where the park is full of people enjoying one last session around the campfire before everyone heads back to work and school.

But this year is messed up.

August Expenses

Better get this posted before I forget. A pretty good month, really. Especially considering that this is the year both Sherman (our motorhome) and the little blue car have both needed a fair  bit of maintenance work. Once again, I'm glad that I can do the majority of this work myself and save on the labor costs.

Oh, and there's more motorhome expense coming up this month.

Motorhome swap update

We had visitors for a couple of days. Blog readers Barrie and Lorrie stopped by with their Class B campervan. They were on their way from Winnipeg to British Colombia and wanted to say hello! They picked a good time to stop by because we're not busy at the park so we could spend some time with them.

RV Rubber Roof Coating

Here is our review of the procedure necessary to successfully increase the lifespan of your RV rubber roof.

When the rubber roof starts to deteriorate, you have two choices. You can either replace the rubber membrane material that protects the substructure of the roof, or you can re-coat the rubber roof with a special material designed to penetrate the pores of the original tired dirty rubber material.

Today is RV roof coating day!

Perfect weather forecast for today. Clear and sunny, with a high of 25C (77F). And no rain in the forecast until Thursday which gives the roof coating plenty of time to cure before it gets wet.

Really looking forward to getting this done! One of the things that has bothered me since the day we bought Sherman eight years ago is that I could never get his roof to look clean. Not that anyone ever sees it but me, but it still bothered me. So this procedure today should make his roof look like brand new according to the many reviews of this coating product's capabilities that I have read.

Possible motorhome swap!

We weren't going to buy a new inverter this year, but one has come on sale that will do us nicely for the winter so I think we're going to buy it.

For those of you who don't know, an inverter is what changes the 12 volt DC battery power into 115v AC household electricity.

A dangerous journey

With the recent strength in the U.S. dollar, there is even more reason for Mexican people to want to work in the United States. We personally know two young Mexican men in their twenties who have made the dangerous, expensive, and illegal journey north across the border.

One of them tried on his own a few months ago and was caught by the U. S. Border Patrol and sent back. So what do you do?

You pay and you try again. Why? Because it's worth it...

When you need to use the facilities...

We've been in some interesting bathrooms over the years. And when you need to go, you will use whatever facilities are available! Some of the bathrooms we have had to use haven't been very nice. Such as the one when we were hiking in Guatemala where you had to crouch into this little hut that was only about three and a half feet tall. Not easy for a guy who is six feet tall! But, you do what you have to do.

Interesting stuff found on the internet

We don't watch TV, but we do stare at the computer screen quite a bit during our spare time.

Sometimes, we come across some interesting items. But there sure is a lot of stuff that's a complete waste of time. Most of it is on facebook! We like keeping up with the activities that our family and friends are doing, but we increasingly find that political stuff (from all sides) is totally annoying. And with election crap coming from both sides of the border, it's getting to be a bit much.

Obviously we spent a lot of time on the internet researching our travels and finding deals related to that. And we like keeping up with other RV'ers too. I also check the news and the weather at least once a day to keep up on things.

Spain is on sale!

Man, you Americans have it made right now with the (somewhat odd) strength of the U.S. dollar versus other world currencies. And the low oil price is making for a lot of cheap flight deals.

This morning, you can buy tickets on Delta Airlines from Dallas, Texas to Barcelona, Spain for just $600 return.

Poor little Whip-poor-will

I may be in charge of cutting the grass here at the park, but Ruth is definitely the official gardener! She's put a lot of work this year into her flowers and making the park look beautiful for the campers and the day use people.

Since things have slowed down a little bit, she's been able to spend more time building another garden...

The Ancient Ruins of Mexico

A lot of people are familiar with the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza because they are located only a two hour drive from the popular tourist city of Cancun. And so a lot of people will do day trip tours to visit. The other ruins sites close to Cancun are Tulum, and Coba.

But those ruins sites have become very touristy, and in fact there are much better sites to see if you explore the country a little further. There is much more to Mexico than the beaches of Cancun!

Thinking of Puerto Escondido

Those of you who are regular readers will remember when we asked for your help when our friends in Puerto Escondido were having some medical problems. The operation that little Gael had in 2013 was a complete success and he seems to have grown into a normal, active little boy!

We sometimes get photos sent to us, and thought we would share a couple of recent ones here.

Well that was a bit of a job!

And it's not quite done yet.

Yesterday, I changed the timing belt in the little blue car. It's supposed to be done as a regular maintenance item...every 100,000 kms (60,000 miles).

The little blue car is at 203,000 kms, so I figured I had better get at it.