MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

There was a loud HO HO HO on my roof at 3:30 this morning, so I'm sure your stockings are full, hopefully not with coal, and everything you wanted for Christmas is under the tree.

I'm pretty sure he had a rather hard time navigating Arizona since I seem to have brought winter to town.  Yesterday the winds blew at about 20 mph ALL DAY LONG!!  It's even COLD!!  You would think this was winter or something.  A quick check of my weather app and sure enough ... SNOW is predicted for Tuesday!!  That is definitely not what I came to warm Arizona to experience.

 

It was a love 41 degrees yesterday, so I spent much of the time inside checking out the new computer.  So much is different!!  It took me three tries to get my emails set up and it still doesn't even look close to what I'm used to.  After digging down through menu after menu, I finally got the top bar to stay ... as in SIT!!  STAY!!!!!  It just kept disappearing.  

I logged in to the blog using Safari, the Mac browser, and discovered it worked perfectly, so no more Firefox for me.  Silly me, I tried loading a couple of images to see if that was better, but couldn't find any because I hadn't put any ON that machine.  

I even tried downloading the game camera videos from the night before, but couldn't remember how to do it, it's been so long.  I think I need some brain juice.  I finally found the key ... the card reader, unlike the other camera that you just stick a cord into. 

 In VERY exciting news, I found my bag-o-jewelry that had gone missing.  I stuck it in a box with all of the puppy meds.  About half way here, I wondered where the puppy meds were.  OH NO ... I left them on the table at home.  I spent the next hour trying to figure out how to get more since they are prescription only.  Plus I was sure all my fabulous Indian jewelry would be gone when I arrived back in California.

Out of the blue, my little brain finally kicked in to remember the box was stashed in the far back corner of the pots and pans cabinet.  What a relief THAT was.  

Yup it was that kind of morning.  After three hours of getting frustrated, I shut it down and gave Cooper a haircut.  He can play much easier now, having lost that 3 pounds of hair.

 Lunch was guess what!!  My all time favorite Arizona Pizza Company prepared their finest pepperoni pizza for me.  In exchange, I gave all the kids working that day a big tip.  They were very happy ... which made ME very happy.  Merry Christmas!!

I stretched the meaning on the holiday mood meter most of the day.  I'll make peanut butter cookies ... no brown sugar.  I'll make some of Patty's famous Christmas Moose Crunch ... no M&M's.  I'll make a pecan pie ... no pecans.  Okay, I'll just watch more of those ridiculous Christmas movies.

Finally 3:00 rolled around and I gathered my Christmas oranges, a caesar salad and garlic bread for the long drive half a mile away to the Chance Ranch.  The plan was to make clam chowder for Christmas eve, having enough left over for the big shindig at the OTHER Chance household.

Patty and I chopped, hacked, spilled, dropped (3-second rule) and otherwise made a big mess of her kitchen.  We quickly mixed up her Christmas crunch (white chocolate, popcorn, M&M's, pretzels and whatever else sugary you can add) and stuck it in the fridge.    Talk about addicting ... OH MY GOSH!

Back to the clam chowder, it took us three hours to make this most delicious concoction.  I should have taken a picture of something other than the can.  It's full of leeks, potatoes, bacon, this entire 48 ounce can of clams and enough half and half (and cream) to sink a battleship.  BEST DINNER EVER!!

The good news is we left enough of the 7 quart pot full for the family to eat today, along with crab and whatever else they whip up.  It will be an epic meal.

In the meantime, I'm trying to find an open store so I can buy those M&M's.  

Wait .... I hear more HO HO HO's!!!  That must be Santa!!  He exclaimed as he drove out of sight, trying not to tip over in all the crazy wind ....

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Oh wait ..... that was the last holiday I missed.  You know how it is when you get old, the first thing to go is your complexion!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE

I can't believe this year went by so fast, but seemed to drag it's feet like none other.  The trip from Quartzsite to Tucson was lonely, mostly because I only saw maybe ten trucks and cars. 

It was a beautiful 70 degree and sunny day.  I backed the rig into it's cubby hole and began to unload.  Where did all this stuff come from??  I quickly decided on my new goal.  I'm going to unload everything I don't use any more, donate it to the Thrift Shop and do a major cleaning job.  You know I'm not a great housekeeper ... it's been eight years!

I don't have a Christmas tree here, so I'm printing out a copy of this one from home and stapling it to the wall.  First things first, I was invited over to the Chance Ranch for pizza dinner.  You know I can NEVER turn down pizza.  It was a take and bake with chicken and garlic white sauce.  YUM YUM!!

While the kids slept, I spent the rest of the day working on the rig.  It took me three hours and all I got done was the bedroom.  SO MUCH STUFF!!  Honestly, it was mostly old clothes I never wear, stuffed in every available inch of space.  I didn't even get to the cleaning part!! 

This morning I'm sore as can be from all those stair steps.  I think it's better than working out at a gym because I was carrying so much weight with each load.

There were some skirmishes in the house I had to take care of in between loads.  Miss Jessie has completely lost her patience with Cooper in HER old age.  This is an hourly occurrence.

 Here's Cooper a couple of years ago dreaming of a million balls he can chase down with a few chicken treats in between.  

 

And so I toast to you and yours ... here's hoping you have a wonderful Christmas with your family in spite of all the crappy stuff going on in the world.  At least for a day or two we can think about something else.

 As for Costa Rica, you haven't heard about the best part yet.  Poison frogs, almost struct by lightning, more rain than you can possibly imagine and no bathing suits!  To be continued .......

The Big Q - Quartzsite

It was the end of a long driving day when I arrived in Quartzsite.  Surprisingly, traffic was quite heavy.  Everyone was bailing out of California in droves.  Can't say as I blame them.  I was pretty shocked as I drove down the hill into town and saw maybe 4 rigs off to the right.  

Tyson Wells was in the process of construction with quite a few RV's setting up their sales tents.  Past that however, it was a ghost town.  The RV parks were not even half full.  

The first order of business was fuel.  The Arco station on Riggles Road is my go to.  Diesel was $2.43 a gallon, cheaper than I have found it anywhere in Arizona.  

 The kids and I relaxed after getting our spot at Park Place RV Park.  The going wintertime rate is $50 a night, but I paid only $14.  Merry Christmas!!

Yes we are still playing with the Cooper ball in spite of it's bad ending.  He just can't seem to let this one go.

You all will recognize this ... a gorgeous Quartzsite morning.  We were off again with a view of nothing but desert.  The rest of the way to the mountains had maybe ten rigs total on both sides of the road.  It's either really early and everyone stayed home for Christmas, or no one is coming to the Grand Ball at all this year.

Back to the volcanos of Costa Rica (that's one in the distance) ..... we stopped at this lake for a little boat ride into the depths of the jungle.  Did I mention it rained most of the time we were there?  This looks ominous and it was in more ways than one.

 Pretty soon we were cruising down a river with more birds than I've ever seen.  Macaws fly above the tree tops in flocks. 

 Soon we came to this sign.  If someone would like to interpret it, I would appreciate knowing exactly what it really said.  What they TOLD us is that we just crossed the border into Nicaragua, a place no one was allowed to go.  During this time there was a lot of fighting and guerilla warfare going on.

To make it worse, they just kept going a little farther until we all knew we were going to see gun-wielding guerillas coming out of the jungle to kill us.  I kid you not, this was a little scary.

 They even made a point to tell us that no one could take anything from the river.  No catching birds or critters of any kind, including NO fishing.  Yet here we see a couple of local women catching dinner with a stick and a piece of line.

At long last we returned to the dock and were shuttled off to our hotel.  That's when the heavens opened up and lightning began to strike WAY too close with the biggest booms I've ever heard. 
 

There was one other stop at a famous restaurant, the name of which I have forgotten.  This place was iguana central.  There were hundreds of them laying around everywhere.   Apparently they were pests at first, until the owner decided to feed them, resulting in everyone coming in from the jungle.  So many that it became a big tourist attraction and now his restaurant is always busy.  Smart guy!!

 At this point in time, everyone else in our group of adventurers left to go home.  Patty and I couldn't figure out why we were the only ones who added on the special 4 day adventure.  We were told to pack VERY light because there wouldn't be a lot of room.  We should NOT have listened.  We ended up on a bus in the middle of San Jose before being driven across the country.  We REALLY should have gone to those meetings.

Bananas are a big product here and we were treated to an example of how they are transported on steel cables across the fields to processing.  The bags are placed on the bunches in the field to keep out bugs and help the bananas grow.  Notice all the water on the lovely dirt road?

 At last we were dropped off here (more rain and mud), another of those out in the middle of nowhere spots, where the NEW guides were laughing about how they were going to deal with the new gringos.  It's HOT and it's probably 100% humidity, which remained for the rest of the trip.

And THIS would be our new transportation.  Interesting note here, Patty and I had one very small bag each.  Everyone else who got off the bus and onto these boats had huge suitcases full of clothes.  That will come into play a little later.

 Now the REAL adventure begins!!!  If you thought it was some adventure this far, wait until you hear about the rest of the trip!!

In the meantime, it's a lovely 70 degrees here in Tucson as the puppies enjoy roaming the back yard.  No snakes to worry about as they are hibernating (at least I HOPE they are) and no scorpions!!  YAY!!!

More importantly, it's almost CHRISTMAS!!!  Do you have all your shopping done?  I had it easy this year ... Cooper is getting a new bag of balls to chew up and Jessie gets food.  It's all she asked for, more FOOD!!!

Screaming Across The Canyon

Morning sun in Bakersfield amid the orange trees.  I could have picked six bags of fruit, but I didn't want to be a piggy.  Really, you are allowed one grocery bag full.  That alone is almost worth the $50 a night charge.  It's full hookup, quiet (except for that generator in the orange grove next door to keep the oranges from freezing) with plenty of room.  For those afraid of covid, you never even come into contact with a single human.

 Heading back to Costa Rica, this is not your hotshot high end luxury hotel with room service.  If you want food, you go to the buffet every night.  Most nights it was the same food, usually some kind of pork or chicken, black beans, rice and plantains.  We did on rare occasion go to a restaurant, but honestly, there were basically none where we were.  This was not the French Riviera, it was better in my book.

The country and the views made up for everything.  Costa Rica is very proud of their wind machines that produce electricity for the entire country.  It's rather cheap compared to costs in the U.S. and the government gives everyone a cell phone ... as in free, it costs them nothing.  Not bad for an third world country.

 Yes this is the road ... the highway we traveled down in that big bus.  You could really hear the screams when we crossed over this.  I would say at least 50% of the roads we traveled looked like this.  I mean really, this is a jeep trail. 

 
These were the roads you had to travel to get to see this.  I'm sorry that most all of these pictures were bus window snaps.  They did not stop for photo ops.  See all those clouds?  That means LOTS of rain.

The scenery made up for the bad roads.  We are truly in the middle of nowhere.
 

See that tiny little fence down in the very bottom corner?   That designates the edge.  This was another scream worthy road that dropped off into the bottom of a huge canyon.  At this point, being a big rig driver, I can't even imagine they are taking us here.

 At long last we landed in a small town with a restaurant.  Again with the rice and beans which was at least recognizable.  Next up ... let's go zip lining!!

Surprisingly, this big group of really old folks donned climbing gear and helmets.  We climbed the side of a mountain, stepped up on a platform and were hooked in.  We all were given yucky worn-a-million-times-by-someone gloves which we had to use to control our speed.  This is not your fancy dancy zip line adventure.

 We stepped off the platform one at a time and slid down the cables, using one gloved hand behind us on the cable, pressing down as hard as we could in order to slow down.  If you slammed into the guy on the next platform, you just might kill him or yourself when you hit the tree trunk. 

 Time and again we went from cable to cable, gliding through the forest tree tops.  What a great adventure THAT was!!  At the end was a 60 foot tower.  No one seemed to want to climb up, so I went first.  At the very top we just stepped off into mid air, Tarzan style, to swing back and forth before landing on the ground below.  Woohoo!!  That was a RUSH!!

 Somewhere along the way we toured a mountain trail through the jungle that led us across this swinging bridge.  You can see we are at the very top of the trees, looking for gibbons and critters in the canopy.  This is a weird picture because the sky was almost completely white.  I'm guessing we were over 100 feet up.

This beauty, a coatimundi, was scavenging for food.  The wildlife in the jungle is just amazing to see.
 

Next up .. we are off to see the volcano.  Had I known we were really that close to an active mountain of lava, I might have drug my feet a little.  The adventures just never stopped on this trip.

Today I'll land in Tucson ... YAY!!! ... after a long 5 hour drive.  Not to make anyone jealous, but the temperatures are in the 70's.

I did step outside to see the Christmas Star last night, but I am down in a low valley.  It was barely visible on the horizon and no brighter than the six airplanes I counted crossing the sky.  As Patty said, maybe next time!!!

 

I Landed In Paradise

 Imagine if you will, taking Hwy 58 East out of Bakersfield and heading to Tehachapi.  To my utter amazement, the entire section of highway was actually a highway instead of a test of your driving skills through a construction maze that changes every time you are here.  I was in shock.  It was five miles of paradise.

Yes it was a tad bit foggy.  All the California Highway signs said it was foggy until 11:00 am.  Guess what time it is here! 

 It did get a little dicey a couple of times when I was sure there was a truck ahead of me.  Turned out it was just shadows.  This pictures was taken about noon maybe?  And this is the best it would be.  

Lucky for me, the orange trees are completely full of their pure golden fruit as sweet as you can imagine.  I picked an entire bag full.  With the park not even 1/4 full, I may just grab another bag for my friends.

As I mentioned before, you should not let this hypocritical Governor keep you from traveling to see your family for Christmas.  You may not get to see them ever again.  RV parks are open, just make a reservation.  

My tags were clipped to the window ... you just grab it and go park.  They are even leaving spaces between rigs, which I absolutely LOVE.  Not so lovely is the generator screaming all night long trying to keep the oranges from freezing.  No matter, we love it here.

 Back to Costa Rica, I discovered my pictures were completely out of order.  See ... I told you there were crocodiles in the river.

 Anyway, as we drove around the countryside up and down mountains covered in beautiful green jungle, we would occasionally come upon a town.  This is main street.  This is the REAL Costa Rica, not the touristy part further south.

 We were headed to this butterfly sanctuary, one of the largest in the world that raises butterflies for zoos around the world. 

 Once they make a chrysalis, they are removed to these boxes around the interior where they hatch.  Many are sent to other countries at this point.  Here are some just drying out their wings.  The underside is camouflaged to make them invisible from underneath.

 The other side is the most spectacular iridescent blue you have ever seen.

Let me just say that this trip was Miss Patty's suggestion ... and it was the best idea EVER.  Even though the accommodations were not always five star, they were more than adequate, the food was delicious and the scenery nothing like I've ever seen before.  I would do it again in a flash!!

Our next hotel was in the private Calandria Reserve near Monteverde Costa Rica.
 

This place had the most fabulous rooms with views to die for.  It was set on the side of a mountain, making the walk back up from dinner a little on the slow side.  As usual, we investigated all around the buildings, finding orchids and gorgeous growy things in the tops of the trees.

 

 You can see just how steep the hill is.  I won't bore you with the dozens of flower pictures I took.

We stopped (I think before we hit the hotel) at the Calandria Reserve.  They are trying to plant the kind of trees these birds like to nest in which also provide the fruit they like to eat.  They host many scientists and specialists from around the world.
 

 So we of course got to plant trees!! 

 In case you ever want to go to Costa Rica, there are several things you do NOT want to do.

Do not go to the beach after dark, you may end up dead.

Do not go for a dip in the river, you may end up dead.

Do not skimp on mosquito spray, you may wish you were dead.

Do not speed ... best to go on a tour bus with locals for guides.

A Little Backup

 I had a little bit of time yesterday to trudge through my last computer full of thousands of images.  If you want to see the real Costa Rica, I have a little more digging to do.   So lets back up just a little to San Jose.  

This is a typical street, jam packed with cars.  There was not a time in the day that traffic wasn't terrible.  As you can tell, none of their electricity is buried underground and is the most suspect I've ever seen.  I cringed every time I turned on a light switch.

 

Aside from the two main roads in the country that are paved, there are some villages with concrete paver roads.  Here's how it works.  The entire town gets together and decides they want to fix the road.  The government does repairs only up to the edge of town.  It's up to the town to pay for and install asphalt or bricks.  Asphalt is hard to come by and we saw very little.  Each little town also has it's own government so to speak.  No business income in town equals dirt roads.  A rich (by their standards) tequila farm will get you pavers.

The towns seemed to have electricity but the rural areas had very little.  Every intersection had a rats nest of wires.  I doubt they have electrical inspectors anywhere.  The same goes for house inspectors. 

This was the fabulous pool at the hotel, but we saw no one swimming in it.  There is a block wall with razor wire around the entire perimeter.  Every house in the neighborhood also had block walls, razor wire and bars on the windows.  The capitol of San Jose is not where you want to live.

I did find this map showing our trip.  The line to the far left goes to Tamarindo.  Much further south on the coast is where all the tourists and ex-pats go.  We of course went on the off-road trip of Costa Rica.  Little did we know just how FAR off that road we were going to get!!

This is our beautiful new bus.  I have to say it was very comfortable with lots of room.  Our group took up the entire bus.  Lucky for us at least twice we got to sit right up front.  I was a little suspect when I talked to the driver who said this was the first time he ever drove it.

Or maybe it wasn't lucky at all since we could see where we were going.  This is what it looked like for the majority of the trip.  There were a couple of times where the driver had to stop, get out and survey the road with the tour guide to see if he really thought he could make it.  Patty and I were holding our breath.  

On one serious side slope, the entire bus load of people actually leaned to the left to keep us from falling over.  If you like excitement, this tour is for you!!!

Bakersfield or bust ... I'm almost packed and ready to head out.  It's froggy this morning (that's what we all the fog around here) so it will be a late takeoff.  See you down the road.