EVERYBODY’S GONE **SOB** SOB **

What great people I met here in Osoyoos, British Columbia !!

First there was Lorne and Donna who own their lot in the Park and have been living here for 5 years.  They head South for 4 months each year.  Lorne helped me get ‘DA HULK’ backed into my site and was a wealth of information because he knows the area so well.  I got up at 9:00AM and they were already gone.

Then there was Marty and Shelley from Vancouver Island.  They just started fulltiming and sold their house on the Island.  This will be their first Winter South in their rig.  They are also fellow riders.  I killed the battery on the bike one day by leaving the lights on.  The Owner was around and mentioned he had a trickle charger but perhaps not the right adaptor thingie.  While I was talking with the Owner Marty comes over and says he also has a trickle charger and came right back with one.  WELL, it turns out I also have not ONE but TWO trickle chargers.  One wasn’t even out of the packaging.  The next day the bike still wouldn’t start so Marty says it’s likely the connections to the battery were loose.  He has all the tools, takes the seat of and sure enough the connections are very loose.  Tightened the connections and in no time the bike was fine again.  The left a couple of days ago.

Then there was Jim and Liette.  Folks from Saskatchewan I believe.  Jim helped me out with several things and I’ve already blogged about one of them.  They left today.

And last but not least were Len and Gloria.  They are also fellow riders and new fulltimers from Ottawa.  Len actually spent 4 years working in my home town !  They brought over food from their fridge and freezer yesterday as they did not want to chance taking anything across the Border.  They left today.

Oh dear, it’s gonna be a LONG November and December.  Such nice folks and I sure hope to run across their paths again.

P.S.  It’s 5C/41F as I type this and windy which makes it feel colder.

MR. HEATER

OK, So I’m NOT happy about the fact that I can’t head South until the end of December but I WON’T be cold. And it’s damn cold here now.  There was even frost outside this morning.

I have this fabulous heater recommended to me by my friends that I spent some time with in Goose Lake.  It is the MR. HEATER which gives off such a delicious heat and is SOUNDLESS !!  Man Oh Man, Have I ever become ‘noise sensitive’ in my old age !!

I absolutely cannot stand the furnace in an RV.  It is soooo noisy plus it cuts in and out so often.  It gives a blast of warm air, then cuts out, then it gets cold inside, then it cuts in again.  Hate it !  I also have two of those electric pedestal kind of heaters and they are no better when it comes to noise level.

But the Mr. Heater is awesome……..EXCEPT that it runs on those small one pound propane cylinders that are very expensive.  And with the way I love my heat it is costing me a fortune.

Now LMJ did tell me I could hook this heater up to a larger propane tank and even better yet I could hook it up to the propane tank in the rig.  The latter is the way I wanted to go but apparently that is ‘illegal’ here in Canada but not in the States.  I was going to wait until I got to the States to get this done but it’s just too bloody cold here.  I had to find a solution STAT !! 

I contacted the local (and only) RV place here in this small town for a price quote to get it hooked up directly to my propane tank……hoping they didn’t know it wasn’t legal. LOL  I’m still waiting for an answer from them with a price quote.

The other day I got chatting with a neighbour here in the Park (Liette) and we talked about how cold it is and I showed her my heater and mentioned what I wanted to do with it.  Liette  mentioned it to her husband (Jim) and next thing I know Jim is knocking on my door saying he can hook up the heater to my propane tank for me.  WELL, I looked at him like he had 10 HEADS and figured Liette had obviously not described to him accurately the complexity of the work that was required.

Jim just smiles (patiently) while I describe what I’d like and assures me it’s quite simple.  Surely this man jest !!  This is very intricate work and very complicated  !!  I mean, holes would have to be drilled through the floor to get the line up into the living area; special adaptors and major complicated thingies would have to be installed on the existing propane tank etc. etc. etc.  This job is a MAJOR one and should ONLY be done by professional !!  Silly man !!

Jim just (again) smiles (patiently) and instructs me to go to the local hardware store to purchase a propane hose.  He shows me the one he has and also shows me how his is hooked up.  So, still very doubtful, off I go to the hardware store (with Jim’s propane hose so I can show them what I need).

This very complicated and intricate job involved simply screwing one end of this adaptor thingie onto a fitting that’s already on my propane tank….

Run the line up the side of the rig and in through a window…..

Attach the other end to the heater….

Stuff something into the opening in the window so the cold air cannot come in…

Close the blinds so you can’t see it…

And Bob’s yer Uncle !!  DONE !!

THANKS Liette and Jim !!

MY ROOF INSPECTION

Yesterday I decided to climb up on the roof to see what all is there.  That is one BUSY roof !!

Gawd, Should I ever decide to get Solar down the road – where would I put it !!??

So what all is there ?  Well, The things I recognized were:

- THREE Air Conditioners

- THREE Vents

- A ‘Trac Vision’ dome thingie – not sure exactly what that is for but ‘think’ the previous Owner had it installed for Satellite TV ?

- Antenna

- Bathroom sky light

 

First thing I saw was this:

Not liking the looks of that.  Is this a problem ??

Then I saw these other things that I have no idea what they are or what they are for ??

This looks like a wee little solar panel.  Wonder what it powers ???

While I was up there I figured I might as well take a few pics of the Park and surrounding view….

POKER RUN - PART 2

I did join the Group on Sunday for a small part of their Poker Run. It was VERY cold here this morning but by Noon it was a beautiful day – still chilly though especially on the bike.

I just rode as far as the little community of Rock Creek which is only 53KMS/33miles from my location. Plenty far for me given most of the ride was straight UP with many, many 90 degree turns and I needed my heated jacket on.  The Group had just arrived and most were having lunch inside so Bennie and I hung around outside.

Lots of sweet looking bikes…

 

 

Bennie was out and about, mingling, making new friends as he always does – but I finally had to put him back in his kennel.

 

 

Rode back to Osoyoos again where the last stop of the Poker Run was for the Group.  Stopped by a Lake – there’s a ‘lake’ everywhere you turn here in Osoyoos – or perhaps it’s all part of the same Lake – I dunno.  All I know is that it sure is beautiful.

 

 

 

Bennie was very intrigued with these strange creatures in the water and wanted oh so badly to go in there after them….

 

 

POKER RUN

Yup, Going on a Poker Run tomorrow.  Took a scoot into Penticton today (nearest Wally’s) to stock up on some things.  As I was packing my things in the saddlebags a fellow (female) rider approached me.  We got chatting and she showed me her bike – which is an awesome Honda Trike Conversion.  Really nicely done.

Anyway she told me about the group she belongs to Okanagan Motorcycle Riders Association and also told me about a Poker Run they are doing tomorrow and invited me along.

They will be leaving Penticton (about an hour from where I am located) at 10:00AM – meaning I would have to be on the road by 9:00AM at the latest – and seeing that it is FREEZING at that ungawdly hour – and I do mean a forecasted temperature of ZERO – well there is a slim to NIL chance that I will be doing that !!!  But the day promises to warm up later in the day to a nice, sunny 17C/63F – still heated gear temps for this WOOSE !!

She e-mailed me their route and I will be able to meet up with them at the last leg of the run as they will be going through Osoyoos.  So I figured out the timing fairly well and have decided to meet up with them about an hour or so out of here for lunch.  And then I will be able to ride back here with the group.

Looking forward to it as I haven’t been on a ‘group’ run now since I left home.  Will definitely have pics to post.

GOTTA STAY IN CANADA

……well at least until the end of the year.  Turns out I spent more time in the U.S. in 2011 that I thought and have only 5 days left for this calendar year.

Here I was planning my trip to warmer climates thinking this time I would take about 2 months to get to Arizona (via States I had not been to)……………NOT !

I’ve known this for awhile now and was NOT happy.  Of course before I accepted such awful news I researched the Internet endlessly to find a loop hole.  Didn’t happen.  And I’m not about to screw around with the U.S. Border !!

Then I had to figure out where I was going to make ‘home’ for three months.  The choices were to stay around the Vancouver and surrounding areas where I knew some people BUT where it rains every single day at this time of year.  OR to head to Osoyoos where at least there was not so much rain – but I didn’t know a soul.  Much investigation and research went into this decision as I (with a LOT of help from my Administrative Assistant !) looked at the various RV Parks and historical weather data.

I spent September hanging around Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Port Coquitlam and areas while pondering this decision.  I wavered a couple of times but ultimately decided to head to Osoyoos.  It is a border town so I won’t have to go far when I can leave here.

“Situated in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains to the west and protected from the worst of winter storms by the Columbia Mountains to the east, this is Canada's only true desert area. The water is reported to be the warmest in Canada making it excellent for swimming, boating and fishing.”

“Osoyoos is a unique, vibrant, growing community located in the heart of Desert Wine Country. Our semi-arid climate produces very hot, dry days in the summer and very mild days in the winter. Osoyoos Lake is the warmest fresh water lake in Canada and provides for great summer time activities. We boast having a very long golf season that can be experienced on one of two golf courses located in Osoyoos. With Mount Baldy ski hill just a 45 minute drive, you could ski in the morning – golf in the afternoon!! A very unique experience! “

 

Here’s a few pics of Osoyoos that I got off the web….

At this point I have two weeks down – only 10 more weeks to go !!  I do love this little Town.  It is so pretty and scenic but EXPENSIVE !!  I got a great monthly rate at this RV Park so I’m very happy about that, however, everything else is outrageously high in price.

I dare say I’ll be very unhappy as it gets colder and colder !!

TOY HAULER GARAGE

A friend of mine recently said to me that I should get paid by Harley Davidson because I have so much stuff in the garage.  Well I do have a few stickers etc. placed in the garage but I just saw this Toy Hauler on E-Bay and what I have PALES in comparison.  This Owner REALLY is a Harley fan !!!

Reminds me of my friends Paula and Dennis, where every nook and cranny in their entire HOUSE has something Harley related !!  LOL

Jeeze, I should have bought this one as the garage is already ‘decorated’ !!  A little too much though – even for my taste !

CANADIAN SNOWBIRDS

I recently picked up a copy of the latest edition of the Snowbirds & RV Travelers Magazine and read a great article about The Retired Persons Visa Issue (Pages 34-35).

This Group is fighting for changes that will allow Canadians over 55 to spend more time each year in the United States.  As someone who fits into this category and would love to spend more time South, I will for sure be watching their progress closely.

A very interesting read which stated that Canadian tourists spent 5 BILLION DOLLARS last year alone just in the States of Florida, Arizona, Texas and California !!!  I knew we left a lot of change in the U.S. but had no idea it was that much !!