Our life on the road continued as we left Osoyoos and winter behind and began working our way south toward warmer weather.

On November 25th we pulled out of our site at 9:00 in the morning. Before leaving the Osoyoos area, we stopped at Nk’Mip to fill the propane and were back on the road by 9:30. We made the important breakfast stops along the way—Tim Hortons for apple fritters for Bob, followed by McDonald’s for our own breakfast.

The border crossing at 10:00 was quick and easy, but not long after crossing into Washington we had a little excitement when we were pulled over for speeding as we came into Oroville. Speeding in our motorhome we thought would never happen but I missed the speed limit drop as we were rocking to Christmas music. Fortunately, the officer let us off with a warning.

Whew!

We still had about six hours of driving ahead of us to our next Harvest Host, an alpaca farm in Oregon. The drive was mostly foggy with a little drizzle, but as we approached the Washington-Oregon border and the Columbia River, the weather finally gave us something to enjoy—a beautiful sunset spread across the river and surrounding landscape.

We arrived at the farm around dusk, and Darcy gave us a tour of the property. There were cows, alpacas, goats and chickens, along with Marshmellow, the miniature horse. It was a great first night on the road, even if the weather wasn’t exactly cooperating.

The next morning, November 26th, we took our time getting organized before walking around the farm in the daylight to see the animals again. We chatted with Darcy for a while—she certainly likes to talk—and eventually got ourselves moving around 10:30 instead of our planned 10:00 departure.

It was another long driving day, although the weather was much better. The roads were dry, the sun was shining and there were fluffy white clouds scattered across the sky.

We arrived at our next Harvest Host just southeast of Buhl, Idaho, at a horse arena that offered full hookups and 50-amp service. We didn’t arrive until just after the sun went down, but once again we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset. A thin crescent moon added to the scene, looking almost like a little French manicure moon in the evening sky.

Then it was time to settle in for another cold night.

The following morning, November 27th, started with one of those sights that makes getting up early worthwhile. The sunrise was amazing, and then millions of birds suddenly filled the sky, creating a spectacular scene over the farm.

After breakfast June went for a walk while I washed the front window, tweaked the door latch and went to see the horses and play with the dogs. June got her own visit with the horses and dogs when she returned.

We also managed to watch some of Canada’s soccer game in the Men’s World Cup. Unfortunately, they lost again, meaning they would not be moving on.

Around 11:00 we left Buhl and continued south. The roads stayed dry all the way to Ely, Nevada, where we arrived at the KOA around 2:30. We went for a five-kilometre walk that took about an hour, then finished setting everything up and settled in for the evening.

The next morning brought another reminder that we were still dealing with winter before we could really escape it. On November 28th we woke up to temperatures of -8°C. Hopefully, this would be our last below-freezing morning for a long time.

Shortly after leaving Ely we passed Connor Pass at 7,720 feet. It was the highest pass we would encounter on our trip to Tucson.

The drive toward Henderson was good, with light traffic, dry roads and beautiful skies. June drove the entire way to the Revere Golf Club, where we were staying in the parking lot, another Harvest Host.

Once we arrived, we went for a walk through the golf-course neighbourhood before heading over to Barb’s.

There we met Kathy, an old friend of Kale’s who has since become a long-time Long family friend. It was a nice evening of catching up, and there was also some important hockey-watching to be done. Barb is a huge Golden Knights fan, and we watched Vegas win. The Leafs won as well, as did Kathy’s Lightning, so it was a pretty successful night all around.

We had Pizza Hut for dinner and enjoyed the evening together.

On November 29th we pulled out of the golf course around 9:15 and began the long drive toward Cottonwood and Dead Horse Ranch State Park. We also crossed another time zone along the way, adding an hour to the day.

We arrived around 15:30 and got set up in Site 64. Once the motorhome was settled, we went for a five-kilometre walk and hike through the surrounding hills.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, which meant the sunset wasn’t much to look at. Sometimes a completely clear sky isn’t what you want when you’re hoping for a good sunset.

The next morning we had a relatively short commute ahead of us, so we could afford a leisurely start. On November 30th we left our site just before 11:00, stopped at Fry’s for groceries and gas, and then continued on toward Sedona.

We pulled into Rancho Sedona around noon, and almost immediately ran into familiar faces. John and Rio were the first people we saw—and they were in our site! Well, the site we have used before.

We eventually backed into Site 81, and as we were getting settled, Brad, Dianne and Poppi came over to greet us.

We then headed over to John and Suzanne’s to say hello and make plans for breakfast the next morning.

But there was no point wasting a beautiful afternoon, so we headed out for a hike with Brad, Dianne and Poppi. We followed Marg’s Draw Trail toward Chicken Point, covering about 12.5 km. We had to turn around just before reaching the point because of the time, but still made it back around 17:00.

Afterward we had a look at the trailer fire from the previous night and checked out their new trailer.

Once we were cleaned up, we walked over to El Rincon in the Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village with Brad, Dianne and Poppi for a great dinner.

It was a wonderful first evening in Sedona, and even better because we were sharing it with friends.

December 1st began with breakfast out at WildFlower with John, Suzanne and Rio. It was a nice morning together, and then we returned to the motorhome to get organized for our next move.

Brad, Dianne and Poppi came over to say goodbye before we pulled out.

We drove down to White Tank Mountain Regional Park and got ourselves settled into Site 12. Once the motorhome was set up, we headed out for a 10.5 km hike through the desert and among the towering saguaros.

We made it back home just in time for sunset.

The following day, December 2nd, we went for another hike before lunch. This one took us into the mountains through Mesquite Canyon and turned into a beautiful 14 km hike with about 400 metres of elevation gain.

Afterward we settled down to read while waiting for what we hoped would be another good sunset.

It never really happened.

Sometimes you get the spectacular sunset. Sometimes you get the hike. And sometimes you just get to sit in the motorhome and enjoy the quiet.

By December 3rd we were ready to move again. We started the morning with a short four-kilometre walk through the desert and around the campground.

As we finished up, the rain started coming in.

We pulled out around 11:30, and as we were leaving the campground something rather significant happened—the motorhome odometer rolled over to 100,000 kilometres.

One hundred thousand kilometres.

It had taken us six and a half years to put that many kilometres on our home on wheels. There was something fitting about reaching that milestone while we were literally pulling out of another campground and heading toward somewhere new.

The rain was becoming heavier, and the forecast called for rain throughout the entire weekend. We had originally planned to spend some time at Picacho Peak State Park, but with the weather looking the way it did, we decided to blow that plan off.

Instead, we kept driving.

We stopped at the Pilot for fuel and then continued all the way to Rincon. We pulled into the park around 2:00, backed into our site and hooked everything up.

And just like that, another piece of our journey was behind us.

In only a little over a week we had travelled from the Pacific Northwest through Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada, crossed high mountain passes, spent time with friends in Henderson and Sedona, hiked among the red rocks and then moved into the Sonoran Desert and its giant saguaros.

The weather had taken us in a few unexpected directions, but that’s becoming part of what we enjoy about travelling this way. We have plans, but they aren’t carved in stone. If the weather changes, we change the plan. If a friend happens to be nearby, we stop and visit. If we find a good hike, we go for it.

And if the sunset doesn’t happen, there’s always tomorrow.

And now, with 100,000 kilometres on the odometer, it was carrying us toward another winter in the desert.