Day 52 - 2019 Review (Part 1)

January - We started out 2019 in Fairbanks with very cold temperatures. We had parked the 5th wheel in Benson, AZ, and the truck at a motel in Tucson. We flew back to AZ and headed back to Valley Vista RV Park in Benson, AZ. From there we went to Quartzsite to boondock at my first hamfest. This was a get together of other ham radio operators and it was scheduled to coincide with the RV show and the gem show. Too many people due to the RV show. From Quartzsite, we headed north to Lake Havasu City, AZ, to finish off the month.

February - We headed to the marina in Needles, CA, where we spent the entire month. This statue of Spike is in the Subway sandwich shop at the north end of town. Needles is the home of Spike, Snoopy’s brother in the Peanut’s comic strip.  We are currently at the same RV park and staying for a month. The cost is very reasonable and I really like the jacuzzi.

March - After Needles, we headed west into CA. The first stop was dry camping behind the George Patton museum with trips into Joshua Tree Natl Park. Then into Palm Desert near Palm Springs. The RV dealer next to the campground is the first time we looked at used diesel pushers. While here, I flew back home to Fairbanks. After returning, we headed into the Los Angeles basin and stayed for several days near Disneyland. We spent two days in the park. The next stop was Menifee for a couple of weeks for a mini family reunion. All this time in the Los Angeles area just reinforced the idea that a one ton crew cab may not be the best vehicle to drive around congested areas. (Big surprise, eh?)

April - We then started the trek north through California and had several wonderful multi-day stops along the Oregon coast. We then headed east through Washington, Idaho, and Montana before heading into Canada at the end of the month.

May - It turns out that the beginning of May was too early for the Alaska Highway. We ended up staying in Fort Nelson for three days  while a blizzard blew through the Canadian Rockies. After that, no problems at all until we crossed the border into Alaska. One of the spring shackles on the 5th wheel broke. We had the suspension rebuilt in Tok. We arrived back in Alaska on May 8th. After only a few days home, we left for Washington D.C. for Bridget’s dads ceremony at Arlington. The month ended with the sidecar rally in Talkeetna, AK.

June - The highlight for June was definitely riding to Dawson City, YT, for the D2D non-rally. There were other things less highlight-y such as tearing out the front porch or some local Fairbanks events. And one of my last trips to Barrow.

I’ll continue this post tomorrow as it’s getting to be kind of long.