Anacortes, Washington

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 21st year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV Resort in La Connor, Washington. I’ll depart here August 30th. I’ve been here a number of times in past years.

 

I’ll be hanging out in this general area until about the beginning of October, taking maximum advantage of my Thousand Trails membership and very agreeable weather.

 

This area of Washington has always been one of my very favorite locations in all of the United States. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, the air is fresh and clean, it seldom gets too hot or cold, there are virtually no bugs or mosquitos and the people are very friendly. I’ve been coming here for years and know the area very well. It’s my very favorite place to go to during the Summer…that’s why I keep returning.

 

As I travel, many folks ask me…”Where’s your favorite place?

I answer…Every place has its own beauty, if you are willing to look for it. However, if someone were to point a gun at my head and say you must pick one place and stop traveling…it would be Anacortes, Washington.

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

I took the below photo several years ago from atop Mount Erie in Anacortes, eight miles distant…

 

 

 

Downtown Anacortes is 12 miles from my campground…

 

 

 

 

To see the other 16 photos of Anacortes I took back in 2009, click this link…

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273/album/AF1QipPVJM7sqGz0_mys0Z2QtSP_v1mRmjaxC2czHEE6

 

 

To read all about Anacortes, click this link…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacortes,_Washington

 

Of course, the rain begins around October 1st, so that’s why I start South about that time of the year. There is no absolute perfect place. If there is, I’ve not found it.

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Yesterday was mostly sunny and 86 degrees. Forecast for today is mostly sunny and 79 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Washington. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet 2016

I Really Love…

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails Palm Springs RV Resort at Palm Desert, California. Mary remains at home and I expecting her to rejoin me in mid-January

I really love being in the Southwest during the Winter season.

First reason is the weather. While most of the nation is shivering…most days here from about 10 AM to 4 PM, I can be in shorts and tee-shirt.

Second reason is the spectacular scenery. A lot of folks consider the desert as barren. For those who know how and where to look, it’s quite spectacular!

Third reason is the spectacular sunrises and sunsets! I’ve seen many over the years. Here is last night’s sunset…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 Yesterday was a cloudy day at 61 degrees.  Forecast for today is partly cloudy and 64 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office inLuckenbach, Texas…Y’all!Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videosThere are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdAIf you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2014

INCLINE VILLAGE, MT. ROSE SKIING.

Incline Village, Nevada sits on the north side of Lake Tahoe. Living in the Sierra Nevadas we have a choice of what route to take over the passes. Laurie drove Ken, Doug and I up over Highway 88, which she considers the most scenic. Normally at this time of year, snow covered 88 would require chains and could have closures. Lakes were covered with thin ice, and dabs of snow looked painted on the mountain fissures.

Kris came up from Las Vegas. Virginia and Cedric took Highway 80 which is a fast four lane thoroughfare and serves the bigger populations from the Bay Area.

Highway 4 and 108 are my other two favs, but 88 is prettiest.

The first night, we played and noshed.

A little wine, games, and plenty of snacks.

Kris made the observation that Ken has lived at one time or another with all of his siblings. He is currently sharing an apartment with his youngest sister. Both are away from their respective homes for their jobs. Ken is extremely neat and Virginia likes to leave dishes in the sink and clothes hanging over the backs of chairs-til later.  Hmmm!

Virginia taught us this loud, raucous game she learned from her Italian brother-in-law. Fast moving, arms waving, card auctioning, gambling card game, a matter of luck, so the kids of any age have an equal chance of winning one of four pots. Everyone could put in a dollar, two dollars, a per-determined equal amount.  Kris, Theo, Myself, and Austin each won a pot. But the laughter was wonderful.

Laurie brought a pot of chili from home so we had and easy dinner and lots of time to catch up with each other. This was our family Christmas since we couldn’t all get together this past December.

On Saturday morning, everyone geared up for skiing, except Doug, Kristanne, Laurie and I. Kristanne is “Lodge Fluff.” I’m the photographer and Doug and Laurie stayed behind and played cards and rested. Ken hadn’t skiied in 13 years and all but Virginia and Ced had lesson packages that give a price break for skiing.

Laurie and I were thinking we might  do cross country, or maybe snowshoe since neither of us like downhill. There really wasn’t enough snow.

Owen gets fitted for his boots.

Virginia, Cedric, Theo and Owen all go at their own pace on different runs. Owen is boarding. Theo is skiing. Skis are shorter and rounder than any I’d ever seen.

 

Austin, who had never skiied wanted to snowboard because he likes his skate boarding.

The kids lessons were at station one. That bit about falling?

The instructor just came up to him and knocked him over numerous times. Taught him HOW to fall so he wouldn’t put his hands out and break a wrist. He had a two-hour morning lesson and a one hour afternoon private lesson. The instructor said Austin was the best student he ever worked with at that age. Kudos!

 

The “bunny hill” of station one has a tramway up the hill where everyone, kids and adults can practice their newly learned skills.

Ken decided he didn’t want to go back to work with a broken anything and Virginia went with him on the bunny slope.

She coached him for a few runs on cutting and stopping and turning before they headed for the lifts.

We all met around lunch time and then everyone went all out on the slopes. Kris and I kept track of spare gear as everyone shed jackets or pants, or whatever. Virginia referred to us as the “mules.”  The weather was amazingly warm.

Back at our condo, which sleeps 16 people, Cedric made the pies.

Laurie made a beautiful salad. She said she was always salad queen as a child at home.

Ken made kabobs.

I roasted a turkey breast and we toasted our good fortune and grand gathering.

Kris surprised Doug with a basket of goodies, as in Ben Gay, Anti Diarrheal meds, vitamin container, gas relief, all that over-the-hill stuff because his next birthday will be his 50th.

And we all decided Cedric should give up his science PHD and become a pie chef. I didn’t get a picture of his apple pie. Life is not only good but delicious.

 

Lake Alpine, California

The motorhome is parked in Mary’s yard at her home at Murphys, California.

It seems like we are always working on something, so yesterday we decided to take a day off. We took her Prius and drove about 40 miles up to Lake Alpine at over 6,000 feet of elevation. We arrived about 11:30 AM and the temperature was a brisk 41 degrees! The lake level was down substantially noticeable by the markings on the rocks.

At mid-day with a mostly cloudy overcast, photos can look flat. Because it was so scenic, I chose instead to use the watercolor mode on my camera. Here are some of the photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Enjoying pretty scenery is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust