When Paulette and I decided to take the plunge and get into RV’ing about 4 years ago, our dream was to spend the winter months in places like Arizona, Southern California and New Mexico. We wanted to spend the months of January thru April in sunny, warm climates that would allow us to get away from the “rainy season” at home on Vancouver Island.
One of our 1st ‘off the Island’ stays in Moosomin, Saskatchewan
Now, we could just as easily have done this by renting a condo somewhere in the southwest desert. Or we could have travelled to far off places in exotic locations. Hawaii’s always a nice place to spend a few months during the winter. Or, maybe a few months in Mexico?
But, we had 2 dogs, Mo and Molly, and there were no real options that would allow us to travel and do the kinds of things we wanted to do while taking the muttzo’s with us. One summer, about 5 years ago, we thought we’d take a summer vacation and leave Mo and Molly at home with our daughters who were home from University for the summer.
Our visit to Mt. Rushmore is still one of our favourites
Big mistake! We were only gone a few days and were miserable without the pups so we made a u-turn and headed back home. We decided then and there, that we would have to come up with a plan that allowed us to take the dogs along – thus the purchase of the 5th wheel.
The Badlands of South Dakota were a spectacular sight
Our first big RV trip was in the summer of 2007, right after Paulette retired. We loaded up the RV, made spots in the back seat of the truck for Mo and Molly and headed off across the Canadian Prairies to Winnipeg and then down to Mt. Rushmore in SD. After a terrific stay at Mt. Rushmore and exploring the SD Badlands and other great sites, we headed west towards Yellowstone Park. Along the way, we stopped at the historic site of Custer’s Last Stand at the Little Bighorn.
The Little Bighorn Battlefield was awe-inspiring
No matter where we went, or how long we stayed, both Paulette and I felt absolutely great having Mo and Molly along with us. For those readers who have pets of your own, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. If you’ve never owned a pet, then I guess it might not make much sense to you.
Everyone knows this one – Old Faithful in Yellowstone
A few months after our big summer adventure, we left on our first winter snowbird vacation to the southwestern US. It was early January and we were very lucky to hit a great weather year. We had hot, sunny weather in Lake Havasu, Apache Junction, Tucson, a few other spots and finally, we landed in Desert Hot Springs, CA where we spent our last 2 months before heading home.
Our current and future winter snowbird home
Both Paulette and I loved the Sands RV Resort and the entire Palm Springs area right from the first moment we arrived. We are now in our 3rd straight year here – this time for a 3 month stay, plus a month in AZ and NM on the way home. We have already made reservations for another 3 month stay beginning in January, 2011.
Sadly, we lost Mo at age 14 a year ago. However, our new pup Rylie is a great little RV’er and does a terrific job of being both a companion to Molly and sometimes a real annoyance too! Both Molly and Rylie really seem to enjoy this place and absolutely love their twice daily trips to the dog park. It’s a great place for us too as we’ve met a lot of really great people there who have much in common with us – their dogs and RV’ing.
For Paulette and I, our main goal here is to just relax and take it easy. We’re on vacation even though we’re both retired. That means lots of fun in the sun – swimming in the beautiful pool, walks around the park with Molly and Rylie and just sitting outside in a lounger reading a good book – with the occasional siesta thrown in. It reminds me of an old saying I heard once - “I get up at 7am with nothing to do, and by 5pm, I get it all done”. That’s a perfect day for me!
My idea of a perfect afternoon in the RV park
For excitement, Paulette enjoys nothing better than a visit to one of her favourite Quilt Shops and quite often I’ll end up driving her, but that’s o.k. too – what else would I be doing anyway? I enjoy photography, so that motivates me to get out once in a while and go for a hike in one of the many canyons and desert trails in the area. When I get back, I love nothing better than a quick swim in the pool and a long soak in the Jacuzzi. We also like to hop in the truck and take off for day visits to places like San Diego, Santa Monica and many of the smaller towns around here.
Molly and Rylie’s idea of a perfect day in the RV park
However, our main enjoyment is still just relaxing and enjoying our time here at the Sands RV Resort – that’s primarily why we’re here. I definitely wouldn’t want to be on the road for our full 4 months as that could get pretty tiring. Around here “same old, same old” happens to be a great saying! It works for us!
Have a great Saturday, and thanks again for visiting!
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