Mt Revelstoke NP BC Canada

Located just out side the town of Revelstoke, BC this is a beautiful park with some fabulous scenery.  The weather was on and off rainy while we were here so we did not get in much hiking. But we did drive up Mt. Revelstoke and took some pics.

We did get in a strole thru an area call Skunk Cabbage boardwalk trail.  While walking the boardwalk we could easily hear the highway just off the trail, yet somehow we seemed secluded.

Skunk cabbage is a very big plant.

Red Chairs
As we hiked along various trails thru Mt. Revelstoke and Glacier we found these red chairs.  They are place sporadically along some trails but not all.  They are wonderful.  You can sit and just enjoy the scenery and serenity of the space.

Kelowna, British Columbia

We crossed into Canada from Oroville, Washington.  Found out Oroville is a pretty nice place, especially if you like wine or beer.  The drive to Kelowna was rather easy with no issues crossing the boarder.  We came up route 97 thru the Okanagan valley.  We must have passed several hundred wineries.  This is big time wine country.

We took a walk along the waterfront in Kelowna.  Lake Okanagan is about 90 to 100 miles long and runs thru the valley.  Kelowna water front along the lake is beautiful.

Osprey nest

We met some friends from Apache Wells that live in or near Kelowna and had dinner with them at a beautiful winery.

We managed to find a brewery or 2 and spent one day at 4 wine tasting rooms.  We even got in a round of golf.  A good stop.

Harvey gets a colonoscopy and beyond

As has been chronicled here several times, we have had consistent problems with the toilet system.  Toward the end of this last summer(2017) the system clogged about weekly.  This means the toilets do not work.  So we have to empty 2 bays, remove 2 access panels, crawl in and reach an arms length to loosen  a screw, remove the pipe, clear out the clog (very pleasant) then reassemble everything.  This usually takes 2 hours.  We have some idea why this problem came about after several years on the road.  And this is a different problem than we have had before.  So while we were in Maui visiting Daniel and Mona we had some new plumbing lines installed in Harvey.  We'll see if this works.  To be continued...

Well we had both toilets removed, replumbed the entire system so each toilet works independently and put in masarating toilets.  During the process the tech that took out the old system saved some of the drain lines so we could see the problem.  The lines diameter had been reduced by about 1/2 due to build up of lime, calcium and other minerals in the water.  This meant the pump had to work extra hard to move the derbies. This caused it to either leak, blow a electronic part, or just stop.

We believe the water deposits were a result of a combination of things but mostly the extremely hard water in Arizona where we spend 4 to 5 months each year.  So we bought a portable water softener.  The original system took about 2 and 1/2 years before we had problems.  So we will wait.

We do like the new toilets better as they are much quieter and seem more efficient.  Time will tell.

Mexico

After several months on the road we arrive in Mesa, AZ for winter.  Usually within about 2 weeks we fly to Mexico just to get out of the RV, away from the routine of packing, moving and unpacking.  I know it sounds crazy but sometimes we need a break from our life style. Don't get me wrong, we love this life style.  But at the end of the season we like a break.

The view from our room

The view from our couch

The beach view

One happy lady,  bubble bath and wine!!

Our 2 favorite people in Mexico.  Diego our server and Renee our bar tender.

Our week consists mostly of deciding if we will sit at the beach or the pool all day.  Some days we get crazy and do both!!

Bend, Oregon and Newberry Volcanic National Monument

We had been thru Bend once before on our way to an RV rally.  We realized there is a lot to Bend so we went back.

This is all last winter snow.  The temps were very nice while we were there.

We have not made any effort to get to National Monuments.  But we knew from our previous stop in Bend we wanted to get to Newberry.

 This area is all volcanic rock.  The vistas across the landscape are amazing.

The power of water never stops amazing us

This water fall has gradually eroded this lava wall.

Yet within this barren landscape there is sporadic vegetation

Pinnacles NP

After returning from Midlothian we picked up Harvey and headed off to Pinnacles NP in California.  It became a National Park in 2013.  Had we realized it was a NP we would have stopped our first time thru California.  But our NP book was published in 2012 so Pinnacles was not listed.  In our quest to see as many National Parks as we can, we had to go back.  So glad we did.

The primary activity in the park is hiking. The scenery is great.

One hike takes you on a nice trail then into and thru a cave.  We needed flash lights and had to scramble thru some dark narrow sections of the cave.

These boulders have fallen and get stuck in these crevices.  They are called talus caves.

While in the park we were able to see several California Condors.  They fly pretty high so no pictures.  However each evening there were 20 to 30 turkey vulchers the roosted in a tree in the campground.

We left here a day early as the weather got too hot for us to hike...mid 90's by noon.

Midlothian, VA

A few years back we went to China for our nephew Ben's wedding.  He and his wife have moved from China to Virginia.  We flew back to attend a baby shower for them.  We got to see most of the Beatty family and several from our sister-in-laws family.

Sister-in-law Janice, mom to be Fanny and Fanny's mom.