This is a quick summary of our 2017-2018 fall and winter in southern California, as well as a preview of our 2018 travel plans.

Another Sad Passing

Fall was a difficult time for us as Kim’s mother, Priscilla (Pease), had just passed away. (Kim’s father, Bob, had passed away in spring of this year.) We received word of Pease’s passing in mid-September while we were in the Black Hills of South Dakota and returned quickly so we could be with family during this time of loss. Memorial services were held in mid-October. It was good to see so many family members gathered together celebrating a rich and fully lived life. Pease & Bob, we miss you.

Fall & Winter

The rest of our fall and winter went by quietly and we spent much time catching up with friends and family.

We stayed at several parks in the area, including Silent Valley Club, Sam’s Family Spa, Lake Skinner Recreation Area, Rancho Jurupa Regional Park, and Banning Stagecoach KOA. During our stay at Lake Skinner, we purchased an early Christmas present for ourselves – inflatable kayaks. We had a great time paddling around the lake and look forward to using the kayaks in coming years.

We experienced Halloween at Silent Valley Club for the first time. The park goes all out for the event, with many members elaborately decorating their sites. The park has contests for best decorated site in many categories, costume contests, a haunted house, and closes the park down to vehicle traffic for one afternoon so kids can safely trick-or-treat. What fun!

We also caught up with maintenance on our vehicles and trailer. We had a somewhat expensive repair when the cable to our black tank snapped during routine maintenance and inspection of the trailer. Not so hard to fix, but labor intensive and parts needed to be ordered. Worse, the first opening for the repair was three-weeks away – shortly before Christmas and we were expecting company during that time. We would be without an on-board toilet for three-weeks and using the campground facilities, instead. Not too bad, but inconvenient

My mom, Marta, flew out from Iowa at Christmas time for a two-week stay. Two days after she arrived, we had to break camp and take the trailer in for the scheduled repairs to the black tank valve. Fortunately, the repairs only took one day and we setup by evening at a new campsite. Not too inconvenient. Welcome to the RV lifestyle, Mom!

We had a great time just visiting with Mom, enjoying her home cooking, and celebrating the Christmas and New Years holidays, together and with other family and friends. We took several trips around the area, including to Joshua tree National Park, Idyllwild, and to the beach and pier at San Clemente. All too soon, Mom had to return to Iowa. We had a great time visiting and look forward to her next trip – perhaps this next winter.

Snow Storm at Silent Valley

This winter in southern California was quite mild and dry, with few storms, save for one memorable exception. Late in the season we had a series of storms bringing light rain and snow showers to the mountains, as well as one very heavy snow fall to Silent Valley. For a brief time, the area truly looked like a winter wonderland. By afternoon of the next day the snow had mostly melted away, but it was lovely while it lasted.

Chapbook Art Projects

This winter I worked on art projects related to my photography, producing a series of chapbooks (hand-stitched fine art booklets of text and photographs). The term Chapbook dates back to the time of Charles Dickens, when fellows (chaps) stood on the corners and passed out inexpensively printed booklets of prose, hymnals, as well as religious or political screed. I’ve titled the chapbook series, Vignettes, referring here to a short sketch offering an insight or glimpse into another time, place, or idea.

Several of the chapbooks are companions to recent Folio projects, others are stand-alone projects. Here are previews of the chapbooks – if interested, contact me about purchasing a copy.

Travel Preview 2018

Finally, we took the opportunity during our winter downtime to plan for our next travel season. This year we have decided to travel to Alaska. (Yes – we are excited!) Here is a rough sketch of our itinerary.

By May 1st, we plan to cross into Canada and spend a month passing through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. We plan to spend June and July in Alaska, visiting Tok, Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, and many places on the Kenai Peninsula. By August we will be making our way back through Yukon Territory and British Columbia. If the forest fires are not too bad this season, we plan to visit Alberta, with stops in Jasper, Lake Louise, and Banff. We will be back in the US by September and working our way south for a return to SoCal in early November.

Travel Itinerary Preview – 2018

That’s all for now. Safe travels and enjoy the journey!