2017 In Review - Part One.....What a year!

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We began 2017 at the home of very good friends Tom and Darlene McCloud.....I had been sick for several days when 2017 dawned......we had lots of rain in Wittmann, AZ, but I managed to help Tom work on a few things in his new bus barn....

.......after leaving Wittmann we headed to Los Algondones, MX where I had my new crowns installed, and had my smile restored after over a year with a gap......

......we next headed to Quartzite, AZ where we spent about 10 days visiting the Big tent several times, hiking and biking and a few days with Charles and Bobbi Wilson....

Charles and Bobbi by the fire with TLE at Quartzite

....next we moved up the Parker Strip which is on the California side of the Colorado River....we scored a spot right on the river for the week we were there.....

.....while there we hooked up with long time friend Steve and Candy Landry....we visited the London Bridge in Havasu City......

......and the world famous 'Desert Bar'......

....we also reconnected with my cousin Lori, and her husband Jeff......I hadn't seen her in about 7 years......

Jeff and Lori Lindsay

.....next up was Borrego Springs, where we boondocked for 3 weeks, our longest time yet without having to dump our tanks.....

New friends at Borrego Springs

.....we did a lot of hiking, including a cool slot canyon, we rode our bikes almost every day.....we met and made new friends.....and toured the amazing steel sculptures which dot the landscape in and around Borrego Springs.....

......next up was a college reunion being held in Las Vegas where we dry camped in the parking lot of The Orleans Hotel for 5 days....

.....we spent time before and after the reunion at Tecopa Hot Springs soaking in their hot pools.....in all we were there for about a week......

.....from there we headed to Death Valley spending 3, or 4 days there site seeing.....it was very windy part of the time......

......by late March we were back in Riverside, CA visiting our kids for a few days before we headed to Lake Tahoe for our 4th summer.....

In Riverside

Dinner at the Pomona Valley Mining Company with my brother Philip, and his wife Jeannie

.......on our way out of Riverside to begin a 2 week trip up the California coast to Lake Tahoe we had a coolant line blow out on our Newell....I was able to repair it myself, and we were back on the road in four hours....

Old and new coolant hose

....we spent a week in Lompoc, CA at the Elks Lodge....it was the only place that had room for us at the end of Spring Break, but what a lovely surprise Lompoc was....

 Lompoc Elks Lodge

.....there were micro breweries, site seeing at local California missions.......

.....day trips to Jalama Beach, Solvang, a local winery, two drives down to Vandenberg Surf Beach....and walking around Lompoc viewing the incredible wall murals that were ubiquitous.....

 Jalama Beach

 Vandenberg Surf Beach

 Lompoc wall murals...

....next we moved north to Oceano, CA (right next to Pismo Beach) where we spent 4 days....

.....then up to San Luis Obispo for 4 days......they had a wonderful jaccuzzi, and olympic sized pool.....

 Rode our bikes down to Avila Beach one day, and the next day I rode back by myself.....

.......took an overnight AMTRAK trip down to Santa Barbara to visit with my sister Hilary, her husband Bob, and their two girls (Stephanie and Caroline)......

.....next up was San Jose where we visited my good friend Don Neff and his wife, and also ran over to Santa Cruz for one day....

 San Jose Elks Lodge

 Santa Cruz, CA

.....I had seen my good friend from high school, Scott Royer at the Las Vegas reunion, and promised to pass through Santa Rosa on our way north......he and his brother, Doug, took us on a day long tour of local wineries......what a great day it was....

 Good friends Scott and Doug

........we did some local site seeing around the Petaluma/Santa Rosa area....

.....of course there was a local micro brewery that we had to visit.....

.....finally it was time to make the final push to Lake Tahoe where we had planned to spend the entire summer......

......we arrived in South Lake Tahoe on April 13 anticipating a wonderful long summer.....

 My son Tim, and his fiance, Laila, came up over Memorial Day to visit.....a very special time with them.....we gave them a tour of 'our Lake Tahoe'

Great new friends

.....we were at Tahoe Valley Campground just under two months when it became obvious a full 4th season there was not in the cards.......we made some inquiries, and with the help of Art Young, our good friend, we found jobs in Yellowstone National Park.....

June 10th and it's over at South Lake Tahoe

.......by June 10th we were on our way to Yellowstone National Park and working there by the 15th....we spent the rest of the summer in Yellowstone working, and exploring.....what an amazing summer.  With that I will close this first installment of our recap of 2017, and continue the rest of the year in a second post in the next few days....stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

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