Well 2018 didn't go as planned...

This time last year we were buying a spot in a schwanky resort in California where we spent the winter, leaving April 6th to head home to Canada.

Rancho RV Resort

The plan was simple: We had rented an RV site in Alberta for the summer from readers we had met along the way. (Still feel terrible about that whole mess, we haven't heard from them since.) We would drive the (Yellow) Jeep out to Saskatoon to see family every few weeks or so before heading south again in November to the Resort.

Easy, Simple, Sorted.

NOT.

While driving to the rented resort in Alberta, the 4X in the Jeep fell out of Neutral somehow we still don't understand and we blew the engine out of her in southern Utah! Most obvious solution: my brother. So we change routes and head to Saskatoon with her in tow. After a month of repairing her every chance he got, we thought she was fixed but she had other plans....

Jeep engine rebuild

While all of this is going on my Dad AND his wife were in and out of hospital in Ontario adding to the stress level of the entire family (they are both doing relatively okay now).

Meanwhile not knowing when we would ever get to Alberta, we decided to cancel the resort we had booked. Turned out just as well because we had to buy a new Jeep (Black), Brad's Mum went away on a couple of holidays and we house sat for her for 2 months, putting the RV in storage.

Brad's Mum's garden

Our house in Hell sold and we were ecstatic to be rid of that problem... We flew out for a few days to remove our things. Unfortunately, after we returned the deal fell through because it turned out we never had clear title of it since we purchased it in 2010.... more to come on that next year, I presume.

The house we built ourselves

Once Brad's Mum returned home, sitting around in an RV in the middle of a Saskatchewan campground in 30+C (90F) temperatures for a couple of weeks while everyone we knew was working and dealing with their own stuff was incredibly boring and expensive, so we needed something to do...

Saskatchewan campground

Bing Bang Boom before you know it we were workamping in AB for a couple of months and now here we are in BC running a 50 site campground beginning January 1st. Wish us luck.

Bow Valley Campground, Alberta

Mowhinna Creek Campground, BC

Only 7 full hookup sites, so book early (after the New Year :D )

We did manage to sell our site at the Resort because I was concerned about the all the 'Canadian' Shite Trump was spewing all summer long. Made a tidy sum on it too. At least something went our way this year.

Wow what a whirlwind. This is our life. All prayers for a better year next year are welcome :D

On the up side of this year, we were able to spend time with family, old friends and new acquaintances, in no particular order...

Brent & Lisa, California

Bob & Barb, Utah

Brad's Mum

Linda & Larry, Ontario

My good son, with his wife and my 3 Grandkids

My grandkids with my other good son 

(yes, I have only 2 sons and yes they are both the good son)

Some of the Bow Valley Crew

Brenda & Phil, Alberta

Kenny and Marla, California

Tom & Bea, British Columbia

Susan & Reuben, British Columbia

Mark, British Columbia

California friends

Ray & Deb, British Columbia

Karen & Dave, California

Big thanks to you all for helping us get through this difficult year!

Jeep Then and Now

The way she was

Lifted version

Lifted and new tires/rims

Now, I know a lot of you will say it doesn't look any different.... and I would agree. However, to Men it seems like a whole other world.... apparently.

It is harder to get in to thats for sure, and the black rims certainly give it a different look but was it worth the money? I don't think so... but then, I'm 'just a girl'. 

In any event, it is done and I'm glad of it.

Shout out to Kal-tire on Faithful Avenue.

I have now listed the original tires and rims with built in TPMS on Kijiji and hope we can sell them to recoup some of the cost of this 'procedure'...

Lifted

First thing yesterday we needed to have the Jeep over to Tiger Automotive for the lift kit by 8am. Since we were over there, we decided to text my son and see if he was available to open the gate at shop where he and my brother work so we could put the RV in the yard.

On Sunday we had driven the RV to the windshield repair shop and dropped it off so they could take the necessary measurements to order a new one on Monday morning. This is an insurance claim so not out of pocket, for a change. Unfortunately, we weren't able to leave it for too long as it is a shared parking lot.

Timing the RV move to the shop was difficult because both my son and brother's jobs are pretty much 24/7 so its hard to pin them down to a time. However, he was oddly available so we took advantage of the opportunity and moved the rig over. Only problem with this park spot is the potential for mice... we'll be doing some kerfuffling today around the rig to hopefully protect it. I have already stuffed holes with steel wool but every little bit helps considering all of our stuff is in it and I'm sure as hell not emptying it out just for a few weeks.

Brad wants to make some inquiries about a proper RV parking spot today, so I'll call around for an indoor storage, however, getting the RV out of the yard will be just as complex as getting it in was... and when we were driving in and I made calls, you may recall there was nothing available...

Brad went for his weekly massage and before he returned Tiger Auto had called to say the Jeep was ready... so we scooted over there to pick her up...

Lifted 2 inches

Our tire and rim guy called to say he could move us up a week and get them put on on Friday, bonus!

So....

Thursday morning Brad drove Deuce over to the Jeep dealership just a few blocks away, but just before he got there - the serpentine belt shredded.

Fitting background

The Shop Foreman took a look at it and said it would likely be a few days before they could get it in to put a new belt on it. Aaargh, good thing we didn't give Carey his car back yet.

Brad had a hair appointment at 1pm so we drove over to the north end of town. While he was in there the mechanic called to say that the crank had been shredded too. Engine will need to be replaced or rebuilt. Wow, this just keeps getting better and better.

When we considered that we'd now have to spend several thousands on the engine, still had the lift kit issue and the daytime running lights, not counting whatever else they found wrong during the 2 safety inspections it needed to pass... Well, there was an F word in there somewhere but lets just say we decided to get a new Jeep!

We went to Auto Clearing because it was close to Brad's hairdresser. We made a deal on a 2017 Jeep hard top (we wanted soft, but could buy that later) in which they would put the tow bar assembly on the front for towing, talked to the financing guy and he was going to process it right away and likely hear back Friday morning. We decided not to say anything to anyone about getting a new Jeep because who the hell knows with banks...

Friday morning, we had been approved and needed to go over there to sign paperwork and leave a deposit for the work to be done. Huh? Brad was VERY concerned about this deposit BS but off we go.

He asked the finance guy why there was a deposit, guy said they would be doing a lot of work to the Jeep and we could then decide not to buy it. Brad said we would buy it first and then they could do the work... well, that caused quite the kerfuffle... they said the work was not part of the deal!... the salesman was brought in on his day off. Oops, Don the salesman says, I F'ed up... THIS was not our problem... the deal is the deal, where they going to stand by the deal or not.

Not.

We walked out.

Now, had we provided the deposit they would have done the work and then said oops, that wasn't part of the deal..... and we would have been screwed. Fortunately, my husband wasn't born yesterday - me, I probably would have paid the deposit and been screwed.

Anyway, with a sour taste in our mouths we drove across town to Dodge City. I went in to find a salesman, and point blank told them we were not interested in any bullshit, was there a salesman who could sell us a car without any?... Gary Polishak.

We drove a few Jeeps... one was yellow, lifted, 4 door, winch, all the bells... I loved it as you might imagine if you've been reading this blog for awhile. But during the drive, it was terrible, real bad shimmy at 100 and just felt like the shocks were gone the rest of the drive. Not to mention it looked to be around 1/2 the size of our RV... waaaay too big.

So... we made a deal on another.

Introducing, our new 2018 Jeep Wrangler JK Sport

We don't think we'll name this one. Other than Jeep.

This deal closed at 5pm last night with no fuss, we made it to SGI before close and got a new plate for her. Today I will put all our bells and whistles into it and find places to put everything... my most favourite thing to do, actually. But first, my oldest good son is coming over and we're going to take him out to Broadway Cafe for breakfast. Brad's treat.

Deuce is running, if a little wild

My bestest ever brother got the Jeep sorted yesterday... the gasket came in late morning and he went to pick it up and got right at it. We certainly appreciate all the effort my brother has put into helping us out with this Jeep, it hasn't been an easy couple of weeks.

It still has a knock so Brad wants to take it to the Jeep dealership and have them take a look. The boys think the knock is in the lower engine area, my brother was doing the top of the engine. Honestly, it sounds the same as it did in Aguanga to me... but boys and their toys...

Not that I was actually in the engine compartment, but I did start it while they listened... it's not a Cadillac it's a Jeep... but we'll take it to Jeep just to make sure.

While my little brother (he's 6'4 and I'm 5'4) was doing the Jeep, I went to Bell.

Turns out that because we are on a special 'loyalty plan' the guy at the local Bell store (Brian) wasn't able to do what I needed done so he called his help desk, who then had to call their help desk, who then called the super duper help desk techy guys and after about 2 hours they called me with my new number.

Because we had 2 phone numbers from our old locale and I only wanted one of them switched right now, and because of the loyalty program... this caused all kinds of kerfuffle. I offered to sit on hold while the Bell guy dealt with a couple of customers - thats how long it was taking.... eventually he suggested that we didn't need to sit and wait, they could just call me when it was finished.

Off I went to Staples where I picked up a cheap wifi printer, Yay! Bell called while I was at Staples to give me my new number, there were 4 different number attempts but because of the kerfuffle everytime they went to grab the chosen number it was already snapped up.

Just as I was leaving Staples, Brad called to ask me to hurry home because his Mother had locked him out about 10 minutes after I left. Poor guy had been stuck outside for a couple of hours, so he raked the lawn again and set the sprinkler to it.

After supper my brother called to say the Jeep was done and we drove out to pick her up. Took her straight to Golf's Car Wash and made her all pretty once again. While Brad washed Deuce, I washed my son's car and vacuumed all the dog hair out of it.

Deuce

Son Carey's car

Remnants of Robbie

We can likely take it back to him today but given that we already did that once, I think I'll wait until we've been to Jeep at least.

The Federal safety inspection only allows 45 days to get it done... we're quickly running out of time and we have to have Daytime Running Lights put into her yet... not to mention the whole lift kit issue that we still have to deal with. I figure I'll take it to CT and ask them outright if we have to go through all that to take the lift out and then put it back in after. Likely we will. Bureaucracy (bureau crazy) at its finest.

But at least the tranny is okay! Thats something, right?!

PS There were a few comments I didn't reply to over the last few days. I apologize, I did read them just couldn't get to replying.

Jeep fix - Day 2

So the boys got to work first thing yesterday. It took all day but they managed to get the cylinder head off.

Brother David with Brad in background

Brad on left, oldest son Lee on right

The Cylinder Head

Cleaning up the piston thingy

We got a call from the wreckers who had said they had a cylinder head for us, seems once they removed it (this particular wreckers does that part for you), the bloody thing was cracked. So urgency kicked in and we (I) set about trying to find another one... new ones are around $1500CAD so that was out of the question. Finally got a return call at the end of the day that someone could get one, if they order it today (Friday) it would be here by Monday..... order it we did! 

Once the boys were finished for the day my Sister-in-Law had a really awesome Chicken Pot Pie ready that she had spent all day cooking. I don't usually like Chicken Pot Pie but... damn it this one was really good.

Karynne - Sister-in-Law

So now we are on hold for the weekend. Good news is that my youngest son, Carey has an extra vehicle we can use until the Jeep is sorted. Such a good son! Today, Brad and I are going over to visit the Grandkids and take them some presents we picked up in sunny California... 

My brother has to go out of town to work this week - for a week, not sure what day so I have no idea when we will get back at the Jeep.

Jeep fix begins - Day 1

We got the Jeep to my brother's and the RV parked at Campland RV Resort where they allowed us to park beside their shop for $30 even though they haven't opened for the season yet... Thank you soooo much to them.

My brother arrived back from working out of town, just as we were offloading the RV and right after supper, which was soooo good, he got at it... removed the rad and did a bit of tinkering with the Jeep. 

Today the big work begins... Brad was up in the night with his nasal congestion again, not the best thing when you have a CPAP machine... so he isn't up yet and Dave (brother) is getting antsy, so I'm going to run into town with him to get the parts and stuff we (he) need. 

Originally, I had planned to do this job but it appears that Dave has taken full control of it and God knows, I'm okay with that... and Brad is not mechanical at all.... so.... Dave is our hero for this kerfuffle.

Dave and Brad

Robbie watching the men do the work.

Well, time and my brother wait for no one... so I better get beautified.... my auto parts people await...

Snowy Saskatoon

It was one hell of a long day yesterday, but we managed to get to a Walmart in Saskatoon around 7pm... 10 hours of driving.... while not unheard of for us, the Prairies are difficult  to drive as it just drolls on and on and on.

My oldest son (Lee) came out to visit last night for a couple of hours and it was sure great to see him. He is a techy guru kind of guy so much so that he did it in the Army and now does it for a living. He has invented some kind of gizmo that is welllll above my paygrade and is starting his own company to get this thing into the marketplace. Don't panic it's not something else you'll have to carry around, it's for businesses. I couldn't tell you what it is if I wanted to, like I said... it's over my head and I consider myself a bit of a techy too. Anyway, we wish him luck with it, he certainly seems to know what he needs to do to get it marketed. He has patents and is searching for investors already.

My youngest son is working out of town for the next week or so, his job is something about nuclear x-rays... again, above my paygrade... So I won't be able to see him for awhile but his wife and my Grandkids are close by and while I don't think I'll get to see them today, I will certainly see them tomorrow.

We found a spot btw, at a campground. It isn't open yet because it's too bloody cold up here. In fact it is snowing as I type this... supposed to snow all day. This is not good when we need to move our RV around the city but we'll just have to make do. -5C (25F) at the moment, going to a balmy -2C (28F) this afternoon. At least we are off the highway for the most part. Just made it here before sunset last night but so glad we didn't have to stop in Davidson and finish the trek to Saskatoon today in all this snow. By the time we're beautified and ready to roll, hopefully the roads will be sorted out.

So, the plan for today is to pick up some mechanical stuff, tow the Jeep out to my brother's acreage, winterize the RV and park it at said campground. I tried to find an RV storage place but everything is full, the only guy who answered the phone told me. I must have called a dozen places who didn't answer the phone before finding this campground that also answered. They are not open yet, had hoped to open April 8th but there is too much snow. When I explained the situation they graciously said we could park out by their shop. So that is what we will do. Thank you sooo much. Now to find a Napa that we fit into...

My brother has a new puppy- Max, in addition to their old dog Maggie so Robbie will have fun out at the acreage. These dogs are much bigger than Robbie so this should be interesting....

Huge kudos to my family for stepping up when we need them with this damn Jeep. We really appreciate the help everyone. So it looks like myself, Brad, brother David and oldest son Lee will be sorting this Jeep out... just praying it all goes smoothly so we can have a vehicle to drive around. Of course this doesn't solve the whole lift kit problem for the federal safety we need done... but that's another problem for another day.

Brad is still a little testy but all in all he is pretty much back to his old self... just hope he holds it together for this Jeep repair. When I think of all the stuff we've had to deal with while he did this final reduction of his medication... Oy, Veh! The worst possible timing. Of course, had we known that any one of these things would occur he never would have reduced when he did but hindsight is 20/20... He is definitely not completely over it (6 weeks later) but getting closer all the time.

Two Vehicle Issues and Great Friends

We were at the mechanics at 9am yesterday morning for our RV Oil Change and were on our way by 10:30a.m. Very impressed with Redland Repairs in St. George, UT. I let them know we were travelling when I booked the appointment and they made sure that we were taken care of quickly and without fuss so we could get on our way. Much appreciated that.

But then... our Jeep exploded. We were driving down the highway a couple of hours later and suddenly I hear a POP, look at the rear camera and see all kinds of something something coming out of the Jeep hood. "Pull over, Pull over".... sure enough the radiator had blown a huge hole in the top... it seems, although we can't be sure, but we think the 4X wasn't properly set into Neutral and from what I can gather that means we likely blew the head gasket as well. I can't recall if antifreeze is oily but what was all over the Jeep was oily. I will be taking a good look under the hood now that we are stopped at a Sam's Club and not on the side of a highway.

But then...  half an hour later, we stopped for gas at the Love's truck stop in Cedar City, UT. I was able to pay at the pump which was quite the coup for me (I"m so excited about the little things), but when we went to leave... nothing. It wouldn't turn over or even try to turn over, just nothing. WTF?!?! Brad suggested calling Redlands in case they had touched something and forgot to untouch it.

Spoke to Dan who did our oil change and no he hadn't touched anything like that. He knew a guy in Cedar City and called him to come to our rescue. Which we thought was fantastic! Now keep in mind we are sitting at the gas pump with the unuseable Jeep attached and now the RV won't start. An hour later the mechanic showed up, he sourced the problem at the Starter... he left to see if he could find one... Brad also made some calls but could only find one in Salt Lake City (3 hours away)... Just as I was texting our (relatively new) friends in SLC to see if they would consider driving it down to us (otherwise we had to wait until Monday (when we are expected to cross, paperwork included)) the mechanic comes speeding up and he has a starter! Holy!

Also, while the starter was being put on Dan from Redland Repairs called to make sure we were being taken care of and that everything was okay.

So after sitting at the pump for 2 hours (and $400US) we were on our way. I found a new spot to stop, since we lost 2 hours drive time, right in Salt Lake City where our friends live just minutes down the road. Super bonus for them as they were going to drive an hour each way to see us at our previously designated stop for the night.

Bob & Barb picked us up from Sam's Club and we went to a pizza joint (California Pizza, I think but not sure). So great to see them again, they have 2 months booked at the Ranch next year so we're looking forward to that. It was great to catch up with them and a nice relaxing evening that was much needed after the day we had.

Bob even picked up the bill. Super duper nice couple and we absolutely love their company. Big thanks to you both.

Barb & Bob

Friends Extraordinaire

No longer selling, 2006 Jeep Wrangler TJ / RV Toad

Currently in Aguanga, California (1 hour West of Palm Springs)

So it turns out, though we didn't know it at the time, that our Jeep has been lifted. By lifted I mean raised, not stolen. The Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) will not accept ANY vehicle which has had ANY modification. We were in the process of sorting out the paperwork for Customs and after finding out we did not need a 'Compliance Letter' except to bring a Canadian Vehicle to the USA, getting our 'Recall Letter' from Jeep, digging out our 'Certificate of Title' and the 'Bill of Sale'.... We then moved on to Modifications...

We didn't think our Jeep had had any modifications but when I was looking at 'Stock' photos of the Jeep online, I noticed they seemed to sit lower than ours. So today we drove over to a Jeep dealership and had them take a look. YUP, Lifted.

He suggested a place where we could have it lowered but also mentioned that if we had it lowered the tires would likely rub.... so we'd be looking at a $ couple grand $. Given the price of Jeep's back 'home', we have decided to try and sell her - before we leave. Not a lot of time.... So if you or someone you know is looking for a reliable Jeep by all means, Please, let us know.

All fluids changed Oct/17.

A day out Jeeping in the Arizona Desert

This Jeep is in great shape, we had all the fluids changed out the day we bought her in October and we put Brand new tires on her a week later, she also got a brand new (soft top) lid at Xmas and she has side rails.. Her power comes from a 4 cylinder, 6 speed, 2.4L engine. Sale includes tow bar for towing her behind an RV (about $3000 value). She has 72,131 miles. Jeeps were designed for towing I'm told, making this the perfect Toad.

Asking price: $12,500 obo (ono)

She is a fantastic Jeep and we had every intention of importing her to Canada but this ridiculous CBSA rule is making that too complicated.

We will be actively trying to sell her over the next few weeks, baring that - we will likely just leave her here at our site and either use it stateside only or sell it next season when we come down.

As any Jeeper will know, this has been very disappointing and upsetting to us but hopefully we can find a buyer who will keep her at her best. We will just have to buy one back 'home' when we return.

Pictures of her taken today:

March 6, 2018

Jeep lid, Massage and 1950's

Yesterday Brad replaced the old soft top on the Jeep with a new one he got from Santa. He also put the mesh one underneath so when the windows are off I won't have to worry about the dog falling out. Now we're going to have to clean up the black trim of the rest of the Jeep...

New Jeep soft top being put on

Brad had a massage this afternoon so I went with him as I needed to go to Lowe's. After his massage we decided to go out for supper. Our favourite place 'back home' is a 50's diner, so when I saw Richie's Read American Diner on Google maps.... that's where we headed.

Richie's Real American Diner

The place was not empty by any stretch but this was a small section they didn't have open. I chose to take a picture of that rather than worry about someone not wanting their picture taken.

Unlike back home, this diner has a bar.

My pomagranate lemonade came in a milkshake cup. Huge.

Brad's meal came with a salad

Brad ordered Spaghetti

I order a bacon cheese burger

Brad's flavourless spaghetti was soaking in a pool of water in the bottom of the bowl.

He did not enjoy it. At all.