Dec. 26, 2009

From the KOA Fairplex RV Park, Pamona, CA, N34º5.306’ W117º45.824’
This trip is a rally with Adventure Caravans to see the Rose Parade. We left Las Vegas at about 10AM and got to the RV park at about 3PM. This is a typical older KOA park with very narrow streets and not much space between sites. We are in the space right next to where the staff has set up registration. We met a few of the staff and registered, even though the activities don’t start until Monday afternoon.
After getting set up and registered we went to visit Todd and family in Long Beach. We last saw Todd, Jeannette, Emma and Wyatt when we started or long trip in June. Emma hasn’t changed but Wyatt is taller and slimmer and talks a lot more now.
After supper we exchange gifts. Emma loves swirly dresses so she got a princess dress. Wyatt seemed to enjoy a truck and car set that we bought for him in Hershey, PA. Emma and Wyatt gave us ornaments they had made from sea shells picked up in Mexico.
This was the last of Christmas for us since we had already been with the families in Las Vegas and Reno

Dec. 25, 2009

From Las Vegas, NV.
On the evening of the 21st we got to visit with Kayla our oldest G-person. She didn't get to Reno until after 9PM. Another early exchange of gifts. We will see her again in June when she graduates from college.
During the early morning hours we noticed it was getting cold in the RV. By 6:30 AM it was down to 48 degrees. We got up and ran into the house to get warm. Turns out one propane tank had run out. I didn’t know anything about switching tanks. Our RV has a 32 gallon propane tank and the furnaces run on diesel fuel. We got to visit again before leaving for Las Vegas.
The trip home was uneventful except places where snow drifted across the highway and formed ice. There were a lot of plows out so we had no problem. It was snowing off and on between Indian Springs and the Mount Charleston turnoff, but the road was dry.
Between Beatty and Las Vegas I realized I was catching a cold.
I went to bed not long after getting home and for all intents and purposes didn't venture far from bed until Christmas morning.
A planned dinner and gift exchange with Curtis' family and Gerri's mom had to be cancelled. It's on again for tonight.
Tomorrow we leave for Pomona and a RV rally including the Rose Parade.
We hope to complete Christmas with the kids and grandkids with visiting Todd and his family before our activities start.

Dec.20, 2009

From N399⁰44.11' W119⁰45.56’
We are really roughing it. Kathleen didn't have a coffee maker in the RV. The girls brought us some and saved the morning. I was really cold during the night and we had no water. I the tank gauge read empty. When I talked to Scott, he told me had just filled the tank Saturday afternoon. We did some checking and found a tghat the casing for the water filter had cracked. Probably from a hard freeze a week or so ago. Scott had drained the tanks but not the entire system. Nothing to do about it on Sunday, so we will keep roughing it. Gerri and Kathleen went into Reno to finish last minute shopping. The borught home pizza to bake for supper. After supper we had an early gift exchange since we leave to go back to Las Vegas on Tuesday. The girls gave a piano recital before opening gifts, each one playing three Christmas songs. After gifts hot chocolate was served.
I was much warmer during the night, when we retire dto the RV there was a cold wind blowing north but it was warm enough tht the snow was still melting.
Kayla comes in from Seattle tomorrow evening, so we will have another Christmas party then.

Dec. 19, 2009

From the corner of Argonaut and Matterhorn. Near Reno, NV
Well the Barker's are on the move again. We aren't in the motorhome this time. We drove the new Lincoln to Scott and Kathleen's. Their guest bedrooms are a fifth wheel. Very nice quarters.
This was the first trip with the new car. We bought a 2010 Lincoln MKT last week. It's a new crossover from Lincoln. I know I swore off Ford ownership after we had a 1988 Lincoln Continental. But with Chrysler or GM I have to pay with taxes for the bailout and the purchase price. At least this way I only pay once. The Lincoln is a little larger than the Cadillac SRX we had for five years. It has a third row of seats which will come in handy when we have the G-people with us.
The drive from Reno was mostly unremarkable. We got up at about 5:30AM and left the house at 7. This after the family Christmas party and cleanup which lasted until about 12:30AM. I went to sleep after trying to learn something about the audio and navigation systems. I woke up at Beatty to the sight of snow all around and it was with us the rest of the way. We gassed up in Hawthorne and I took over driving. North of Schurz and south of Fallon we ran into what looked like fog. Visibility was reduced to less than a quarter mile and only white could be seen looking out the side windows. It wasn't really fog, but water crystals suspended in the air. It is a fairly common phenomenon called Pogonip. The bushes and trees we could see from the road were covered with ice, it looked like a scene from Dr. Zhivago.
The drive from Reno was mostly unremarkable. We got up at about 5:30AM and left the house at 7. This after the family Christmas party and cleanup which lasted until about 12:30AM. I went to sleep after trying to learn something about the audio and navigation systems. I woke up at Beatty to the sight of snow all around and it was with us the rest of the way. We gassed up in Hawthorne and I took over driving. North of Schurz and south of Fallon we ran into what looked like fog. Visibility was reduced to less than a quarter mile and only white could be seen looking out the side windows. It wasn't really fog, but water crystals suspended in the air. It is a fairly common phenomenon called Pogonip. The bushes and trees we could see from the road were covered with ice, it looked like a scene from Dr. Zhivago. The temperature had dropped from 44 in Hawthorne to 26.
When we got to Scott and Kathleen’s there was still a couple of inches of snow on the ground and piles everywhere where roads had been plowed. We will be here until Tuesday. I have to be back in Las Vegas for doctor appointments on the 23rd and 24th.
We had a great evening catching up, we hadn't seen this part of the family since last Thanksgiving.