RVoutoftheRatRace

We think this might be the best campsite ever. It is definitely the best birding campsite we have ever had. We are camped along a side channel of the Colorado River south of Needles, CA. We can kayak from our site into the river and over to Topock Marsh on Havasu National Wildlife Refuge. Topock Marsh is supposed to be the birding hotspot around here. The marsh is a desert oasis for the birds that come south for the winter. Most of the campsites here have full hookups, but we are in the no hookup sites and as a result have the area to ourselves. Another advantage of our solar system, it is saving us money and giving us privacy. We have been sitting in the trailer and watching the ducks swim by. We have quail walking around and there are lots of birds along the river. We have already seen two new species and we haven’t even made it to the refuge yet. Birding from the trailer is not our normal style, but Dan has been sick so it’s worked out well. Once he feels better, we are planning on kayaking Topock Gorge and heading over to the Wildlife Refuge for some serious birding. We might head into Lake Havasu City on New Years Eve to watch fireworks. It is warmer here than Vegas and we are enjoying having the doors open and wearing shorts again. We are also planning on heading over to Oatman, AZ to check out the former mining town. Since we have history, birding, kayaking all within a close range, we have no plans yet for our next move. As usual, there is plenty to do wherever we are.

Dan and I are college football fans. We have been to several CU Buffs games and always had fun, even when they lost (which was most of the time). When we realized we could go to a Bowl Game in Las Vegas we knew we couldn’t pass up the chance. We went to the Macco Bowl and watched Boise St destroy Arizona State. It was a cold night, but we still had a lot of fun. The atmosphere was great. During the 4th quarter we got to move closer to the field and sit with the ASU fans. The beer ensured they were having a lot of fun even though they were losing badly. One guy kept yelling, “Boise isn’t even a state”. Maybe you had to be there, but it was hilarious at the time. You have to love college football fans. There is so much more enthusiasm involved than the pros, of course we have never been to a pro game. We would go to another Bowl Game if we had the chance. Who knows, maybe our Buffs will eventually get another bowl game…at least we still have the best mascot. Run, Ralphie, Run!

We spent the last seven months in Colorado working full time again. Dan for JVA and myself for my old company again. It was good for our bank account, but we were both happy to get back on the road again. Life is starting to slow back down for us. We are camped out at Lake Mead just outside Las Vegas. We boondocked next to the lake for two weeks and enjoyed the sounds of the desert. The coyotes were yipping and howling outside, we got to see our kit fox family from last year and enjoyed a nice kayak on the lake. We can hear the grebes and the coots on the lake and are enjoying the spectactular desert sunsets.

We are camped in Valley of Fire State Park. It is about 90 minutes outside of Las Vegas. The “valley” is filled with amazing red and orange rocks that are actually petrified sand dunes. Finding campgrounds like this is what makes full-timing so special.

We rented a kayak yesterday and paddled to Klein Bonaire. It’s only a half mile offshore. Even though there is a water taxi that takes people back and forth, we had the beach to ourselves. We had rented an underwater camera and wanted to get some fish pictures while we snorkeled. Below are some of our photos. We are planning on renting the camera another day and taking some pics while diving.

Today is New Years’ Day and we are in the middle of a month-long vacation in Bonaire. After spending three weeks visiting Curacao and Bonaire last year, we realized we wanted to return and stay even longer. We started discussing it in June and soon had ourselves convinced that a month wasn’t excessive. After spending the last two weeks diving, we aren’t sure a month is going to be long enough. We love it here. The weather is warm, the water is consistently 81 degrees at depth and the diving is easy. Bonaire is known for its shore diving. It really is as easy as driving up to the ocean, gearing up on our tailgate and walking in the water.The entire island is surrounded by reef between 50 and 150 feet off the shore. We love being able to go when and where we want and not be dependent on a boat or be with a group of people. We’ve done 23 dives so far and there are many new places left to explore. We haven’t had a bad dive yet. In fact, we have experienced some amazing dives. Yesterday, we were surrounded by schools of Horse Eyed Jacks, chromis and creole wrasse. We felt like we were floating in an aquarium. Last week we watched a spotted eagle ray feed in the sand about 30 feet from us. We took today off from diving and are laying around watching college bowl games on ESPN. We did venture out for a short bird-watching drive this morning where I took this picture of Dan alongside the ocean.

New Year’s Eve is a big deal on Bonaire because fireworks are legal this week only. The owner of the condo we have rented warned us that the island would be shaking last night from the fireworks. He wasn’t kidding. We saw huge fireworks from our window. It seemed to go on all night. We were both tired this AM. The cat wasn’t too happy with all the booming. Yes, we did bring our cat with us. She doesn’t like to be left alone, and our condo allows it. We gave here a sedative for the flight and took her onboard the flight with us. She did great in the airport, but hated the take off and landings. We were concerned she would be scared in a new environment, but she seems to think it is fun. She was exploring our condo as soon as we arrived and she loves the birds that come to our patio. She sits in front of the screen door and chatters at everything that wanders by. She really enjoyed the 4 foot iguana that wandered across the patio. The only downside was a scorpion she found that stung her. It was hiding in our fins on the living room floor and she found it. Her paw swelled up and we frantically tried to figure out if we needed to take her to the vet. Luckily, it wasn’t a lethal scorpion, but it took about 8 hours for her paw to return to normal size. We can only hope she doesn’t find any more, since she is still chasing every bug that comes inside. I have already rescued a tree frog and a baby gecko from her.
Dan is actually taking a real vacation from work. He hasn’t worked at all for the last two weeks. He will probably have to put in some hours in the next two weeks, but he is planning on keeping it to a minimum. We are loving being on our own schedule again and we really appreciate how fortunate we are that we get to travel and explore. We are definitely on “Island Time”

What have we been doing for the last 6 months? The title says it all. We have been working in Colorado. Dan has been working crazy hours and I took a temp job at doing project accounting for a company I used to work for. Working full time again has made us really apprecitate our rving lifestyle. We forgot how little time you have when you are working 40+ hours a week. We missed having time together and just being on our own schedule. The cat wasn’t happy with us being gone all day. However, the paychecks helped build up our bank account after an expensive year. Between my broken wrist, a new truck transmission and a planned dive trip, we wanted to earn a little extra money. We could have paid for everything out of savings, but the longer we leave that alone, the longer we can full-time.

We left Colorado on Dec 11 and headed for Las Vegas. We were planning on heading across I-70 through Colorado, but the weather had other plans. We dropped south through New Mexico and Arizona instead. Two days later we arrived in Vegas. Why Vegas? We picked Las Vegas because we are planning on spending the rest of the winter wandering around the Southwest. Before we do that, we needed to find somewhere warm to store the trailer while we flew back to Bonaire to enjoy some diving. We also planned on losing some money playing video poker before we flew out. We spent four long nights in a casino, and walked out a thousand dollars ahead. After 5 nights there, we put the trailer in storage, drugged the cat and headed to Bonaire.

For the second summer in a row, we are sticking around Boulder longer than planned. We orginally thought to be leaving about now, but have decided to stick around until at least the middle of October and maybe longer. Last year, we stayed because I was on crutches. This year, several things influenced this decision. First, Dan’s work. He is incredibly busy at work, averaging more than 40 hours a week since April. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to move around and play. Second, with the economy and stock market the way they are, we decided it would be foolish to turn down work. Third, we were thinking about another dive trip to Bonaire this winter. Our plan was to build up our cash reserves this year, and take off for the Southwest in October and fly to Bonaire in December.

With all that in mind, I got a part-time temp job doing some accounting for a company in Louisville. We were thinking we would be in great financial shape at the end of the year. A week after starting my new job, I broke my wrist. Luckily, they liked me enough to keep the job for me and I returned about 5 days after my surgery. However, now the extra money will be going to pay my $5,000 deductible on my health insurance and for a new truck transmission. The week after my surgery, Dan was driving to a site visit in the mountains when fifth gear went out on the truck. The transmission needs to be rebuilt. Oops, another couple grand.

We have a budget and usually stick closely to it, but sometimes unexpected things happen. June was an expensive month. We have savings, but we try not to touch it. We would rather work a little more and try to spend less elsewhere. Our goal it to have the option of full-timing as long as we want. Spending our savings lowers the chances of that happening.

Staying in one place longer helps keep down expenses. We spend less on gas, eating out and entertainment. We will still try to fit in a trip to Yellowstone sometime this summer, but that is fairly cheap. I will probably pick up more hours at work, and we might stay as long as mid december to build back up the finances. We are still considering Bonaire and want to find a way to make that happen.

Even with the last month, we feel fortunate that we still have choices available to us. There is work available to both of us, and our lifestyle lends itself to downsizing easily. We don’t have a mortgage or any outstanding debt to worry about. I have said it before, one of the best things about full-timing is the freedom to make different choices and change plans at any time.

I am starting to wonder if riding bikes is something I should avoid. For the second time, I have injured myself on a bike. Last year, I sprained my lisfranc joint in my foot and spent 6 weeks on crutches and months limping. After a year, it is almost 100% healed. Not quite, but close.

A few weeks ago, we met some friends for a bike ride and within the first 15 minutes, I managed to break my wrist. Both the radius and distal bones through the joint. A trip to the ER was needed since my wrist was twice it’s normal size and very oddly shaped. Plus, I almost passed out from the pain. Luckily, our friends took care of me while Dan went back for the truck.

The ER doc said, “You broke it good”. He referred us to our Orthopedic Surgeon who operated a few days later. I say “our” because he is practically family now. He walked in the room and said, “What did you do this time?” I said I had been hoping to avoid him this trip to Colorado, but it wasn’t to be. Dan asked him if he had a punch card for us. Seriously, buy 5 get 1 free? At least it happened near a doctor we trust. I now have a plate and 6 screws in my wrist. 10 days after surgery, I got a lovely purple cast. 6 weeks in that and I should be good as new. Of course, I did manage to break my left wrist and I am left-handed. Luckily, growing up in a right-handed world, I am fairly ambidextrous. I will be even better after this.

The sad thing is, I was trying to avoid falling when I broke it. We were on a bike path, and I wasn’t really paying attention. I was busy admiring the mountains. I drifted into a small wall on a bridge. I almost saved it, but tried to grab the bridge instead of letting myself fall. Bad decision, I grabbed on and felt my wrist pop. It didn’t hurt when it happened, that came later. Dan saw the whole thing and didn’t think my wrist should bend like that. I fell over anyway and thought I was fine. I even said I was. Then I noticed that I couldn’t hear what Dan and our friend were saying over the roaring in my ears. I had to sit down and breath. Then I looked at my wrist and thought, that doesn’t look right. Lessons learned, pay attention and just fall if needed. Dan has a theory about my fear of falling off my bike. He grew up riding a bike and falling early and often as a little kid. I didn’t ride a bike much as a kid and never learned how to fall properly. As an adult, my first instinct is to stop the fall. I need to learn how to fall without hurting myself, or maybe just pay attention.

As usual, it’s been ages since I posted. We have spent time in South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas since then. Wow, that’s a lot of states for a short period of time. After spending 4 months in Florida, we headed north to South Carolina. Our eventual goal was Cincinnati to visit Dan’s family. We spent a month in South Carolina and then two weeks in Raleigh, NC before heading to Cincinnati. 10 days in Ohio, with one overnight trip to Grand Rapids, MI in the middle to visit another cousin and then we headed back to CO. 1200 miles over 4 days of driving with stops in Grafton. IL, St Joseph, MO and Norton, KS. It’s no wonder that we have no plans to leave CO at the moment. That was a lot of driving for us but seeing family was worth it. Dan’s aunt spoiled us with her excellent cooking. I don’t think I cooked once while we were there. It was great to catch up with all his cousins and meet their kids. We don’t get out there enough. Next time we head east, we will make sure to see them again. Now that we know a great campground five miles from his aunt’s house, we are more likely to go back. We were camped overlooking the Ohio River. The cat was in bird heaven, there was a constant supply of birds for her to watch and we enjoyed all the river barges that went by. It was a beautiful spot 15 minutes from downtown Cinci. A wonderful surprise.

We are once again staying in Lafayette in our old mobile home park. It has been cold and rainy with some snow since we got here. So far, not the best weather although the snow was pretty. On the road, it is easy to get confused as to which season it is. We had so much nice weather this winter that it feels like that was summer and this cold weather must be fall. Luckily, I will be happily confused when the gorgeous Colorado summer starts soon. We are looking forward to seeing friends, and revisiting some of our favorite trails in the area. It is also so fabulous to eat good vegetarian chinese food again. The south has great biscuits, but the tofu selection is non-existent. Seriously, we were back an hour before I called in our first order of Sesame Tofu to our favorite place down the street. There are times it is nice to know where everything is located in the area. Dan is really busy with work and we are both enjoying sitting still for awhile. I think we will be here at least two months and probably more. I have lots to post about South Carolina and will do that soon.