Update

Hi Everyone - I don't know if this has been put on twice but read the first one.  I guess I pushed the wrong button. I am progressing very slowly and from all I have read on RA it is a long haul.  My right eye seems to be correcting itself but my feet are still numb and tingly.  As most of you know nothing has ever gotten me down, so not happy being grounded for the winter.

I am not sitting still have put my house up forsale too big to keep up so have been dealing with construction to get it in shape.  Everyone stages their places now and I have to say the house looks so good, if it doesn't sell it won't bother me too much.  Will buy a small house in Barrie with not much upkeep and I'll be nearer to things.

I cannot get internet at my house, have tried three companies all said sure no problem.  Well they lied I am on the wrong side of the street, go figure. Isolated cottages can get it and I am a lot closer to Toronto. I had an internet satellite dish for a few years, but it was way too expensive and I find out that the equipment is worth nothing now.

Well no grass grows under my feet, I entered a contest to go to a concert at a place called "The Ranch" which is a bar in downtown Barrie.  Big Sugar and the Trews are a Canadian rock group and were playing.  I love Big Sugar, but figured that I would never win, well I did.  MMMM who would go with me?  Well my daughter Jessica said she would go, but she isn't into rock, would you believe she loves country never thought my kids would like that music.  She is also a person that needs lots of sleep and she had to go to work the next day.  What a great daughter to do that for me.  We waited in line for a long time and it started to rain so sat in the car and waited, but the line didn't get any shorter. They have a lot of bouncers there and the police patrol the area all the time. It was a great place to people watch.

 We found out that we could have gone in the short line and not have to wait.  The entertainment never starts till late first group the Trews started at 9:30, now that is almost my bed time. I remember when everything started at 8 and was over by 11. Oh those were the days.  We both took our ear plugs, learned a long time ago that the kids like things loud and the music was up full blast.  Boy when they are in their 40's they will all be deaf.  There were very few seats so every one was standing, where do these young adults get the money to spend on all the drinks.  They sure were flowing.  My group came on at 11 and when I looked at Jessica she was almost asleep on her feet so after a couple of songs we left. At least I can say I saw them in person. I think I will pass on anything else that comes up.

Will catch up on my travels out west, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.  I want to put my pictures on Flickr along with my other travels, but all depends on the day.

Hi Everyone -  I guess you are wondering where I have been, well this will be a short blog, but when I am back on my feet will finish my travels in the west.

I had a great time exploring Utah and Colorado in the months of May and June, before I was hit with devastating all over pain that got worse as the days went by.  I arrived in Long Beach, WA the end of June to start my trip down the west coast to San Diego. I finally ended up in Waldport, OR where the pain was so bad I couldn't drive.  Every part of my body hurt so bad I couldn't do anything.  I ended up in the hospital in Newport, OR and of course they just give you pills that don't work.  Did you know that they refer you to a Dr. for a follow up call and they will only discuss the problem that you went to the hospital with.  I learned a lot about how their systems works.  Not good

I also found out how out of country insurance works.  Well it didn't work this time.  They wouldn't help me get home said the only reason I couldn't drive was because of the drugs I was taking.  Chiropractors they will pay only $300.  They called me all the time wanting all kinds of forms filled out.  They never had any compassion what so ever.  I paid over a $1,000 for 212 days.  I finally had to tell them that when I felt better I would get the forms to them.  They also have to be original.

I finally put out a call through my Escapees SOLOS group for someone to come to Oregon and drive me and the motorhome home.  What a wonderful group within in a couple of days I was in contact with a guy from Saskatoon who has driven big rigs and said he had no problem with coming.  Well it took 6 days of driving 10 to 12 hour days.  It was so nice to have someone for company, he was so helpful and all I could do was lay on the sofa.  I finally decided that we should get back into Canada for the medical and ended up in Lethbridge emergency.  I have to say that the doctor there listened to me and gave me some drugs to get me home.  Did you know that Alberta does not charge more for out of province medical.  I will be checking out other provinces to see if we really need to pay extra out of province insurance.  I think the thing that pissed me off the most was that I had never driven around Lake Superior and I was too sick to even see it.
I will go back.

To finish up Seann Zales was the guy that helped me out he got the motorhome back to my house and took me to the hospital.  I was in the hospital for over a week and was told I had rheumatoid arthritis.  Well that was a shocker and of course they gave me about 10 pills for a cover their butt.  The doctors do not look at the patient they just take blood and go from there.  I have to say some doctors should not be doctors the guy I had had no bed side manner and his reply to my questions was get out of bed and exercise.  How the hell can you get out of bed when you are drugged up with the pills.

What are my symptoms - my right foot has gone numb from the arch to my toes and my left foot the toes are numb.  My fingers are so sore that my left hand is prone to dropping things.  My right eye is not working very well so I don't walk too well sometimes.  My taste buds have disappeared and I have lost 10 pounds.  I never in all my life would had thought that this disease could cripple a person so fast.  Within a month I went from hiking from 3 to 6 miles almost every day to a body that is not working.  As most of you know I don't have time for this, but I guess I am being told to slow down and get my health back.

I do no have Internet at my house no one seems to make their product work where I live, so I use my daughters when I can get to here house.

Hope everyone had a great summer and I will be back to let you know about the rest of my travels.

BRYCE AND ZION CANYONS

While I was in Cedar City I took a day and drove over to Bryce Canyon.  I left early because it was an hour and a half drive.  Again beautiful scenery and very good highways. Before Bryce there is the Red Canyon a prelude to Bryce. You have to go through two tunnels, very short and when you come out the other side the scenery was WHOW.

One thing I should have done is gone to Zion first it was beautiful but Bryce has it all over Zion in my eyes.  Others say no they liked Zion best, but to each his own

 I arrived and first stop was the visitors centre.  They always have a short film on the history of the parks any where you go in the U.S.  They give you a very documented map with the history and how to start your tour. Did you know that they call it an ampitheatre of pink and orange hoodoos, cliffs and pinnacles.  I spent all day there and didn't see it all.  A fact, Bryce is fortunate that it averages one death a year. Heart attacks ( high altitude), the elevation is 9,115 ft. and supplies only 70% of the oxygen you need,  falling off cliffs, lightening and vehicle accidents.  I understand the falling off cliffs people go off the beaten path to get the perfect picture, dumb.  I saw a guy drop his walking stick and went down to retrieve it - dumb.   I started at the far end of the park at the Rainbow Point and stopped at all but two of the thirteen viewpoints and worked my way back. I was there early in the season and was able to drive my car, the shuttles were not running yet.

It is a 36 mile round trip with lots of parking at the different points. I take a lot of pictures as you know and carry two batteries.  Well I didn't know what pictures to take, every where I looked was so beautiful with the pinks, reds and beizes that I was just mesmerized  It was hard to believe that these Hoodoos could stand like they do and not fall over. There was still snow in a lot of the rocks and it was cool, great for hiking.  I would have loved to have been there at night, they say the stars are all you can see in the sky.

So just what are Hoodoos and how did they come to this magical place.  About 10 million years ago forces in the Earth created and moved massive blocks called Table Cliffs and Paunsaugunt plateaus.  These rock layers towered over 2,000 ft above the layers on the Paunaugunt.  Ancient rivers carved the tops and exposed the edges of these blocks taking some layers and sculpting formations in others. The Paria Valley (I stayed in this area for almost two weeks) was created and widened between these plateaus.  The Paria river still carves these plateau edges.  It carries dirt and gravel, rushing waters gully the edges and steep slopes of the Plateau where the National Park is. Over a long period of time tall and thin ridges called fins emerged, the fins then eroded into pinnacles and spires called hoodoos that weakened and fell, adding their bright colours to the hills below.

People have lived in the Colorado Plateau region for about 12,000 years. The Paiutes (indians) have lived in this region and the eastern states and came to southern Utah. They called the hoodoos "Legend People" whom Coyote had turned to stone.  John Power and Clarence Dutton explored this area in 1870s.  The Paiutes were displaced by the  emissaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and they developed a lot of small communities in Utah. Ebenezer Bryce did a lot of work in southwestern Utah and northern Arizona.  In 1875 he came to the Paria Valley to live and harvest timber.  Neighbors called the canyon behind his home Bryce's Canyon.  In the 1900's people started coming to see this beautiful area.

Every year more than 1.7 million people visit the park from all over the world.  The park is open all year and you can hike, sight see and and of course take lots of photos. In the winter snow shoeing.

These hoodoos all start off as steep slopes and this increases the waters speed and energy.  The faults and joints caused by the compression controls the erosion patterns.  Freezing and thawing loosen the surfaces of the slopes. The runoff with debris rubs the softer rock and creates gullies.  Harder rock remains as fins.  When the gullies widen into the canyons fins become exposed to more erosion at their vertical cracks. As freezing water expands in the cracks in winter it peels off layers and carves out vertical hoodoos.

The above picture as you can see has a rock wedged between the rocks, amazing how it got there. The best show of the hoodoos was at the Bryce Point overview. Amazing, amazing, the faces in the rocks were the most interesting so I started taking all kinds of them.

These rocks look like two little kids kissing.  Thought it was so cute.

I have so many pictures that I don't know what to show you.  I think the next blog will be just some pictures. I went back to Bryce a couple of days later to do the last two lookouts and decided that I would hike a 3 mile down in the canyon trail. I was kind of worried because I won't go alone to do anything that is isolated.  I walked down a couple hundred feet to get some pictures, but every bend they were more beautiful so went back and got my walking sticks and walked all the way down thinking I have to go back up sometime.Well there were a lot of people on the trail so stopped and talk to them while catching my breath.  It took me three hours, but boy was I proud of myself. I am amazed that I can do these things now and not suffer for weeks.

Can you see the arch on the right side picture?

This blog is really late and sorry for that hope to get better.   The new picture at the start with the motorhome and the car was taken at Paria Station.  I was dry camping on a gravel lot in the middle of nowhere with fantastic views.  Will show you the views when I do a blog on Paria Station and the Wave.  What a life.

10 TOP THINGS THAT TICK ME OFF AND SOME MORE PICTURES

Every so often I thought I would list some things that really tick me off about being on the road or just people in general.  It is all done in fun though and nice to blow off steam.  The next one will be the the things I love about rving.

1.  Cities and towns that have exits to businesses that are so deep you bottom out on your car or motorhome.

2.  Tripple transport trucks, they are getting longer all the time, saw one that had three on the back of his rig. Gravel haulers are longer too they can't get around the corners with out holding up traffic.

3.  People who pass you then slow down.

4.  Rvers who run their diesel motorhomes for over 5 minutes there is no need and when they are parked close to me the smell comes into the motorhome and is very noisy.

5.  Left hand exit lanes there are a lot of them in the United States, thank goodness for GPS they tell you what lane to be in.
6.  Guys wanting to help me back up my motorhome.  I say no if I run into something it is my fault if they run me into something I am really upset.  I know they want to help but don't.

7.  Gas stations that face the convenience store, there is no room for a large motorhome with tow car to get around.  I usually take the car and check out the gas stations to see if I can get in easily when I am staying somewhere for a few days.  I stay at a lot of Flying J's they have RV islands that are easy in and out.

8. Expensive laundramats paid $2.50 a wash load and 25 cents for 6 minutes of drying in Durango. Most I have ever paid.  At campgrounds they are usually from $1.00 to $1.50 and the same for the dryer.

9.  The sand that blows constantly, it gets into everything.  I have seen some of the older cars, the paint has been sand blasted off on certain areas.

10.  Last but not least campgrounds that can't support motorhomes that run their air conditioners. Hardly get enough power and can't run any other electic equipment.

This was a Mexican guy dressed up in there native costume in Algodones.

On the salt flats in Death Valley with friends from British Columbia.

Some more Solo people in Pahrump.  This was at the Terrible's casino seafoof buffet on a Friday night. The guy behind me is Roy and I dragged him to a few things in the area.  The guy on the far right, Gary, I geocached with, did Zion National Park and now in Moab doing some 4 wheeling and hiking with him.The other guy is Leroy he lives on his property in the winter and rents out lots for the Solos. 

Just some trivia -  The History of the Apron -  This was on the wall of the Mum's restaurant in Pahrump, Nevada.  All the Solos that were in the area met there every Sunday.

You will have to make the picture bigger by clicking on it to read it.

Its amazing what you find in restaurants especially the ones that have been there for a long time.  It was hard to get a seat here on a Sunday morning, everyone came here after church.

This is a reminder that last December 1st snow fell in Pahrump Nevada and I left a couple of days after that.  It didn't melt for a long time I am told. Now I am in 40C can't do much but enjoy the air conditioning. Moving on Monday.

Something to laugh about.  " A friend is someone who thinks your a good egg even thought your slightly cracked.

Have a great week everyone.

LAST MONTH IN PAHRUMP, NEVADA ON TO UTAH

I spent the last month (April) in Pahrump at my membership park called Preferred RV.  For my membership I pay only $3.50 a day for electric and have full hook ups.  I have 35 days a year at that cost, after that I pay $12.50 which is a very good price for a 4 star resorts. It has a beautiful pool and big hot tub.  The gardens are beautiful with a running stream with coy so big they look like trout.  The community centre holds breakfasts, lunches and pot lucks all year long.  Mary the activity person makes the best bread, cookies and cinnamon rolls to die for.  I will miss them. Picture below is at Terribles Lakeside Casino seafood buffet.

I had three visits to my Fibromyalgia clinic in Vegas and did do some shopping at the big malls.  I will be doing some hiking in the canyons of Utah so picked up a good pair of hiking boots, along with some sandals.  As I have said before my single friends love to eat out so did a few breakfasts, seafood buffets and lunches.

There is a tiny town just south of Pahrump call Amaragosa originally Death Valley Junction.  This was a booming town in the Borax days when the workers stayed at the motel there.  It is still open and very run down, but filled almost every night.  They have a small cafe type restaurant that has very good food and most under $10.00.  My friend Roy Kannada and I went there a couple of times for dinner and we split some home made Banana Cream  and Coconut Cream pies.  I haven't had those in years.  They were yummy.

The Opera House is a building you don't want to miss. Why would anyone want to perform in this run down place.  Well the movie on Friday night was all about a woman called Marta Beckett.  This woman was a ballet dancer in New York City and moved to Amargosa.  In 1968 Marta started painting the walls and ceiling of the Opera house.  She painted an entire audience on the walls. Characters from the past.  Nuns, court jesters, ladies of the night, gypsies and royal children of the court.  She has angels on the ceiling and on the stage.  It took four years to complete.  In 1983 Marta bought the Opera House.  In April of 1984 she paid the mortgage off of $26,500.  She has exposed thousands of people to live dance, pantomine and comedy.  Although she broke her hip last year she still appears on stage at the age of 85.  She has a girl named Sandy Scheller who is now doing the acting.  She is a mime and when we were there she played all the characters on the wall in mime.  A two hour show which was amazing.  It is a must see if you are in the area.

It was nice because Roy liked to do the same things so if I wanted to do something I would call him.  He would also drive which I love.  I will see him somewhere on the coast or next year at Death Vally.  A great guy.

Every Sunday we all went to Brunch after everyone went to church.  No I am not a church goer.

I did some geocaching in the desert with another friend.  Geocaching is hunting for treasurers that people have hidden all over the world. You go to their site (geocaching.com) and look up the geos in the area you are at.  Use your GPS and go hunting.  It is addictive, but I don't go out on my own unless it is in a town.  I will be doing some caching when I am back home.

I did go to the Tecopa hot springs on my own and enjoyed the relaxing waters.  Next year will definitely go back more often. Not many people there.  You can camp there and use the springs for free, or you can pay $7.00 for all day.

I left Pahrump on Sunday May 2, I was going to go to the Valley of Fire, but Fibro acted up for two days so did nothing.  I was trying to miss the wind but that didn't happen and Vegas on Sunday morning was really busy.  After I got out of the city it was smooth sailing traffic wise. It took me about 4 hours to get to my next destination.  What a fantastic drive, road was flat for miles then all of a sudden it looked like it ended, couldn't figure out where the road went.  Well I found out it was a long pass that was built through the mountains long hills up and long hills down, don't like the down hard on brakes.  The valleys were amazing you couldn't see the bottom and when you went around a curve there were beautiful huge pink rocks that were sitting on little rocks. They looked like if the wind blew they would topple over.  I find it amazing that they sit there for years.  The canyons were carved out by the water raging down from the mountains into the Virgin River.  Along with the water huge trees, boulders and all kinds of other things are dragged along.  This was how the canyons are formed over thousands of years.

I stayed at a Passport America campground for three night they give half price off the camping fee.  I wanted to go to Bryce National Park and there were a few things around the area that I checked out.

Cedar City was just north of where I was staying and had all the stores.  I stopped at a wonderful bakery for a oatmeal raisin cookie, big one, and they were giving out a slice of fresh baked bread with butter for free.  It was yummy. I was going to do a loup on some back roads but one of the roads was closed due to lots of snow.  Cedar Breaks another beautiful area opened a week after I left, so I enjoyed the scenery for a few miles stopping to take lots of pictures. There was still snow on the hills, the highway was right beside the mountain.  There were signs saying watch out for rocks, I think they would hit you before you saw them.

I went to the Kolob Canyon, it is the north side of Zion. It was just down the highway. I have found out that early morning pictures do not work here.  There is a white haze as the sun comes up and goes down. So I came back later on in the afternoon. This girl was in the middle of no where painting, she said she comes up to the area for a couple of weeks every so often.  I chatted with her for awhile her name was Linda Christian and goes under the name of Curly.  Its amazing who you find on your travels and so friendly.

Next I went to the Petroglyphs just north of Cedar City in Parowan Gap.  I had to ask someone for directions it was down a road that was hard to find.  It took about 5 miles to get to it, but was worth it.  It boggles the mind that people passed by here, They probably stayed in the warm season and headed south for the winter where it was warm.  I would love to know what these marking say.

Next up Hurricane, UT where I stayed at a park that offered 4 nights camping.  A Western Horizon membership park, all I had to do was take the "talk".  I have gotten used to them and just nod my head.  I didn't buy they only have most of the resorts in the west and I don't think I will be back.

Next blog will have a lot of  pictures only to let you see just how beautiful Utah is.

I am now in Durango, Co with a blown transmission waiting in the lot where they fix them.  It happened on Saturday so have to wait till Monday to see how long it will take and I don't want to think of the cost.

Will fill you in on one of my blogs.  Hope everyone has enjoyed your long weekend.  U.S. long weekend is next weekend.

THE BEAUTIFUL DESERT

 These are  Desert Five Spot I think.

I have spent a month in the Pahrump area and I am sure you are wondering what there is to do here.  Well the days seem to go by very fast.

There are a few single SOLOs here in town so breakfast, lunch and dinner out once in a while is nice.  A great way to find out what everyone is doing.  This is a come and go town you come here on the way to your final destination.  

I had company for a week and through the Yahoo chat we found another couple that was in town.  I have forgotten what it is like to do things with a couple.  She is a good cook so cookies and brownies were among the great meals Pat cooked.   They have a convertible, but it was too windy and cold to put it down.  We went to the mineral hot springs just south of town and soaked for an hour.  I went back last week by myself and enjoyed them.  It was actually too hot to lay in the sun.  They have one hot tub outside and one on the inside. 

We took a drive after through Death Valley and enjoyed some of the spring flowers.  This was a Beaver Tail Cactus there were so many buds on it would bloom for a couple of weeks.  The area of Badwater was so white.  What happens is it rains creates little pools all over the desert floor and then the sun dries up the water and leaves salt.  Its like a beach without the water. 

This is called scented Cryptantha

This bush was covered in a brilliant orange called Toothed Dooder is a parasitic flowering plant it covers host shrubs. I touched it and it is just like rubber.  Would be interesting to see what happens after it dies, probably kills the plant.You could see them dotted all over the desert floor in Death Valley.

This beautiful cactus (Prichacereus) was in the garden where I am staying at Preferred RV in Pahrump.  It is still flowering after a month.  Love to take pictures as you can see. The rest of the pictures are from out on the desert.

The white looking like daisys are Desert Chicory.  The yellow ones are Desert Dandelion.  The ones that look like buttercups are Desert Gold Poppy.  The one to the left is the Josuha Tree, interesting flowers. This green one with no flower is called Desert Trumpet.

The desert is covered with miles and miles of purple, oranges and greens right up into the mountains.  Every time you go into the desert there are new once out.  The catapillars were hugh eating all the flowers. The red flowers above are Desert Paintbrush.

Enjoy I sure have.  To get a better look click on the pictures they look so much better when they are larger.

A STEP FROM MY TRAVEL BLOG

I have wanted to talk about this for a few years and when the subject came up people just looked at me.  I can see the thought.  She is always complaining,  well I tried not too.  Yes I do a lot of traveling, but I have to push myself to the limit and if I didn't I would be a prisoner in my own home.

The subject is Fibromylgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  I have suffered from this, when I look back over the years, since I had an inner ear virus in the early 70's.  It got progressively worse as the years went on.  Would be fine for months then it would hit, the total fatigue and horrible pain all over my body. Hair loss, very dry skin, dripping nose,  very cold hands and feet were with me all the time. I have had a dry cough and short of breath along with the other things.  I used to think I was nuts: the pain moved, it was never in my muscles just hurt where it settled at that time.  There are 8 pressure points that the push to check for this.  More than 4 you have it.

I complained for years to my doctors, their answer was you know you are getting old and the other was: you know stress will do that to you. I loved my husband and family and we had a great life very little stress.   I have to say my husband was a saint when I would end up in the ICU with chest pain about every month for a period of time.  My kids were only around 5 so I know it scared them a lot.  The doctors never knew what the cause was, but I had every test in the book.  Stress test, echo cardiogram and even an angiogram. They put dye through your veins to see if you have any blocked arteries. Nothing showed up.  They said it was Prinz Metals Angina, again from stress, put me on all kinds of pills that made me even weaker and sicker.  They probably cringed at the hospital every time I went there. My file was really big.

One of the symptons is you don't sleep, well I have never slept well since I was a teenager so just figured that was the way it was.  No, everyone should get at least 7 to 8 hours sleep to refresh the body to give you energy.

The five years after my husband died was the worst stress that anyone could imagine and I think that put me over the edge.  Also driving my motorhome hasn't helped either, but I have learned to do short drives and stop early in the day.

As time went on I couldn't physically work more than a couple of hours a day and when I did I needed one day to do nothing except lay on the couch.  With owning a house now there is a lot of things to do and most of them physical.  I hate paying someone to do things that I should be able to do myself.

As I have said before the networking that I have with RVing is amazing.  One day a friend, who writes a weekly newsletter mentioned that a Canadian from Alberta who had Fibromylgia  had gone to a Clinic in Las Vegas. She raved about what this clinic had done for her and that she had gotten her life back.

I called her to find out just what I had to do.  She filled me in on everything including the price. The price was very expensive, but you know I didn't want to feel this way for another ten years so I bit the bullet and made an appointment.  I was coming west so it worked well for me.  After the long drive 3,500 miles I was totally wiped out and for the month of October I did nothing but lay on the couch waiting for that appointment.

It was a three day with intensive testing.  They took about 20 tubes of blood and intravenous energy boosters.  They were for memory, brain fog and energy.  I also received an iron shot.  B12 every day, women are lacking in this.  Tests showed that my thyroid was on the low side of the normal.  Still trying to figure out how they use the graph, if you are in the normal rang in Canada you are fine.  A couple of other things were low too.  After the three days of intravenous a couple of energy shots and my pills and powers, I was sent home to get started.  Oh did I mention I had three days of massages, wonderful.

Since the middle of November I can now say I can do most anything during the day and just be tired at night.  No total fatigue any more. I can hardly get to 10 at night before I go to bed.  I put that down to getting from 6 to 8 hours of sleep every night.  When I don't sleep I hurt all over the next day and my brain is in a fog again.. I have had some set backs, but they only last a day or two.  I still haven't gotten that real energy back yet, but after a day at the clinic this past week they have upped my thyroid pills.  I will try them for a week and see what happens. A higher dose will hopefully stop my hair falling out, my cold feet, fingers and my brain fog.

There is a book called "From Fatigued to Fantastic" by Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D.  If you have any friends or relatives that are having the same problems as I am, let them know about it. You can get the products at any natural food store.

Dr. Teitelbaum had Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue when he was going to University to be a doctor and had to drop out because the fatigue was so bad he fell behind in his classes.  After that he worked with different holistic and natural drugs and vitamins.  He is a board certified internist and a leading researcher in the field of ChronicFfatigue and Fibromyalgia.  All the things that I take are make personally for me at a Compounding Pharmacy.  The clinic supplies all the vitamins and energy powers.  I talk a lot of pills, but they are giving me my life back.

What I take are bio identical hormones, rest and restore natural sleeping pills (all the roots, flowers and Melatonin plus others things), cortisol, B12, release and renew (again roots, fruits and flowers).  A power called Ribose, it is a natural sugar with other natural ingredients.

When I was home in March I went to the doctor to get more of my prescriptions and I mentioned what I was taking.  Boy she said  "Oh they have not been tested I wouldn't be taking them"  I told her that if I could feel this good I will keep doing it.  I showed her my blood tests and right away she ordered more.  She was not interested in finding out more about it.  All she said was she would call me if my tests came back with something out of the ordinary.  I haven't hear from her.  We need to get this Clinic in Canada and  help anyone that has been diagnosed.

If you know of anyone please let them know about this, I guess it is a disease, I will be more than happy to talk to anyone to help.

Thanks for listening.   Would appreciate any comments you might have on any of my blogs.  Also if you click on any of the advertisements I get paid a few cents.

YUMA COMING TO AN END

First I went to the Q (Quechan) casino for the $2.95 big breakfast.  Two eggs, big piece of ham, hash browns and toast.  I couldn't find anyone to go with me so enjoyed it myself.  You only get this deal if you get a players card.  When you get one they give you $10.00 to play with and I decided I should use it that day.  Well I came out with $8.80 left after I played.  Not bad with free money.  The Q is just over the border into California and just north of the Mexican border (Algodones).  After that headed to the Yuma Territorial Prison.  This prison housed a total of 3,069 and included 39 women from 1876.  The prison was open for 33 years.  This was a model institution for its time and they treated the prisoners well.  The only punishment was the dark cells for inmates who broke prison rules and the ball and chain for those who tried to escape.

The prison sits on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River.  The prison was authorized by the Legislature in 1875 by the Legislature for $25,000.   Crimes ranged from murder to polygamy with grand larceny being the most common.  They made crafts and held a bazaar at the prison after church on Sundays.  Many learned to read and write and had the first public library in the territory.  A fee was charged to visitors for a tour of the institution and was used to purchase books.  

The prison closed in 1909 because of over crowding.  The Yuma Union High School occupied the buildings from 1910 to 1914.  In the 1920's it was used to provide free lodging for the hobos riding the freights.  All that is left after fires and weather is the cells, main gate and the guard tower.

The Arizona government has started closing the State parks and a lot of the museums so the Prison is one of them.   Yuma is trying to raise money to keep it open for tourists to enjoy.   Arizona has also closed all the rest areas, which I don't like.  A lot of people relied on them for a break when traveling long distances.  I will have to rethink how I travel here now.

Another place is the Lutz Casino, not a casino at all but a restaurant that has the oldest pool hall. It is still going strong.  The Casino is in the downtown core along with a few more historic buildings.  From the outside you can hear loud music and burgers frying. On the walls are murals of pool games complete with seedy looking characters out of the Old West and a cringing hound dog with big sad eyes. The place is always crammed with people and the noise level is almost unbearable.  It has the look of an old town saloon.  Not one that was fixed up but one that just got old.  There is interesting junk all over the walls and 12 foot high walls are plastered with posters, paintings, murals and decals of every description.  Suspended from the ceiling is a full size Signal Gas sign and a Western Union one.  If you look up you will see a raggedy foot crashing through the ceiling.  There are regulars and tourists, the tourists are drinking beer and walking around looking at the walls and the regulars.

The children love the place too, there is a whole wall lined with pinball machines and other coin operated space age machines.

The building was built in 1901 and housed the New York Store that sold groceries and general stuff.  Upstairs was a hotel and they operated until 1920 when it was purchased  and turned into a Casino Billiard Parlor.  The specials are the Especial which is a combination cheeseburger and hot dog covered with hot sauce.  You can find people dressed up or just dressed down, they go for the atmosphere.  Members of the San Diego Padres baseball team was seen enjoying a beer and a game of pool.

There is no gambling there just the sale of state lottery tickets.  The men's washroom has a window in it so no one can sneak up and shoot you.  Guess in the old days that happened.

There is a camel farm in Yuma where they specialize if breeding Arabian one hump camels and other exotic animals and birds.  They have so many its too long to list.  They are open from Oct. 1 to May 31st.  The camels can be used for parades and special events.  If you want to check it out go to their web site www.blendradioandtv.com/camelfarm.  I didn't go to this place, but it is on my list for next year.

There were lots of end of the winter parties to say good bye to everyone.  I have to say I haven't cooked a lot of measl in my motorhome this winter, but I haven't put on any weight which is hard to believe.  There are a lot of great cooks on the road.  Now to move on to other adventures.

Just What Is There To Do In Yuma

What is there to do here in Yuma?  A lot of the resorts have jam sessions all week long and dances, along with Happy Hour most days.  In the Foothills where I am staying you can go to a Happy Hour every day of the week and someone is eating out most nights.  I can pick and choose what to do.  There is every kind of restaurant you could think of here, from Chinese, Mexican, Susi, and buffets are everywhere.  I have only been to the Golden Coral, Cracker Barrel, Mandarin (not as good as ours in Barrie), a couple of Mexican restaurants (have decided I am not into Mexican food), The Moose (I am now a member) and of course the Q casino.

I love the homes in the area.  This one had a three hole golf course in its front yard. The homes are interesting they have palm trees and other things added to the walls of the stucco on their homes.  The stucco is painted greens, yellows, beize and browns.  There are a lot of lots for rent and I am renting mine for $300 a month for everything.  I like doing that so I know I have a place to come back to or if I want to leave my motorhome I can.

About 10 minutes away there is a place called the Peanut Patch.  They have tours twice a week, well it is just a barn where they explain everything about the peanut and its uses.  They used to grow peanuts here, but now they bring them in from Texas.

 They have the best ice cream that I have tasted in a long while and only $1.50 for two scoops.  They have every kind of peanut you would want along with home made peanut butter. Chocolates, dried fruit, sugar free candy and of course yummy fudge.

Did you know that the peanut is a vegetable and a rich source of plant protein, no cholesterol so are more beneficial than many sourses of animal protein.  Peanuts can help reduce the risk of heart disease. They are an execellent sourse of Vitamin E and 2 grams of fiber per ounce.  Peanuts provide more protein per ounce than any other legume.   I didn't dare buy some peanut brittle it is deadly. The Peanut Patch was started after World War II it was homesteaded on the Yuma Mesa. the soil was much sandier then the surrounding valley. The first peanut was grown in 1977.

The Canadian Snowbirds Association has their annual information day here in Yuma.  You know just how many Canadians are down here when you get them all together. I did learn a lot about the laws regarding leaving Canada and coming into the U.S.  The association does a lot for Canadian travelers and has changed a few laws that snowbirds have had to deal with.  Check out their site and join to support all they do for Canadians, not just Snowbirds, but all Canadians. www.snowbirds.org 

As I mentioned before I joined the Moose, it is like the Legion and the ANAF.  In the U.S. the Elks, Moose and VFW have some of their lodges with motorhome hookups or you can dry camp.  I hope to use this membership to park the RV when I am on my travels on the west coast.  All you need to do is make a donation.  They are friendly places with very reasonable meals and cheap drinks.  They have dancing at most of them with live entertainment.  The cost is $45.00 for women and $60.00 for men.  I don't know why the difference in price. 

Every one goes to Mexico either to San Luis or Los Algodones.  Most go to Algodones it is about a 10 minute drive from Yuma on the California side.  The Quechan Indians have their reservation just before the border and a big parking lot to park.  Cost $5.00 and all you have to do is walk across the border.  I know you are saying it can't be very safe, well this border is well policed and you see them all over the place.  Their lively hood is made from the American and Canadians going there in the winter to spend their money.  It is called the Medical Border Town because it has a lot of medical, dental and discounted prescriptions.  There are restaurants, all kinds of tiny shops that line the sidewalks.  Lots of silver jewelery, pottery, cloths and purses. All the merchants take U.S. money.  The dentists are less than half the price of any place in North America along with the optical stores.  You can get your teeth done in an hour and if you want bridges you can get them the next day usually.  Glasses you have in two hours, my friends did and paid $60.00 for frames and biofocals.  Hair cuts are from $5.00 to $8.00 and you tell them what you want and they know how to do it.  Cheap liquor stores that sell everything.  Every kind of tequila you could think of.  That is all you see people coming back across the border with a purple bag from the Purple Liquor Store.  Prescriptions are very inexpensive, I bought some arthritis gel for $2.85 and the Canadian was $58.00.  It works just as good so will be bringing a lot back.  Also retinol E cream for $3.95 and I payed $28.00 in Canada and it was a smaller jar.  They have outside eating places in courtyards with entertainment.  The margarita's are really good and almost too big to drink.  The only drawback is the wait at the border to come back across.  I have waited for about two hours while other times half an hour.  They are equipped to handle the people they have walk ways that have a sun covers over it so you are in the shade.  A plus is that you get to talk to all kinds of people while in line.  I have never had any trouble coming back, they sometimes ask you what you are bringing back and other times they just look at your passport. One picture is a shot of the jewelery booths in the court yards and this guy in a Mexican dress played the flute and danced around.  The other is the line up under the cover at the border.  The guy sitting down was selling food along the street and the boganvia flowers were in full bloom. The border has all kinds of camera's plus this look out that keeps tabs on the border.  They are always checking to make sure the Mexican's don't cross into the U.S.  They go through every car and motorhome coming into the U.S. Will finish Yuma after I return from a rally  I will be attending for the next four days.