A Look Back at 2017 and a Peek Forward to 2018

As we approach 2018 Barb and I have been talking about what a crazy year it has been and what the new year might bring. I can hardly remember what I did yesterday let alone what we did the past year so I had to review our posts to remind myself of how much we really did over the year.

I am happy to report that Barb’s New Year’s resolution to kill me did not come to fruition (well there is always the next couple days).  I think the fact that I documented her first two attempts of the year scared her off and she is going to keep me around until the heat is off.

Throughout the year we drove from Arizona to Ontario and almost back again driving just under 8,000 miles which is the least amount we have driven in the almost 4 years we have been on the road.

Our 2017 Travel Map

Over the year we met lots of new people. We met Roger and Cindi, Kim and Shawn, Rick and Kathy, Guy and Sue, Butch as well as Jim and Brenda. And although it felt like we already knew them, we finally met John and Pam in person last February and also long time virtual friends Jim and Diana. Of course we reconnected with many of our old friends in Quartzsite, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario. Too many to list to mention….

We went on countless hikes but our most memorable and toughest was the Picacho Peak hike last February. The coolest new place we visited was the Lake Powell/Antelope Canyon area.

Thinking back at what our biggest accomplishments were two things come to mind and both are vastly different. The first was our land purchase, we had been looking for several years and finally found our piece of paradise. The second thing is our progress with Dakota. She came a long way throughout the year and we are thrilled with her progress. We still have some work to do but we are overall very happy.

It was fun reliving the year going through the posts. A lot of great memories and a lot of great pictures. As I looked through each of the pictures I picked my personal top 8. Some may have made the list because the pictures themselves were something I was really proud of and others because they brought back great memories.

My overall favorite picture of the year! Makes my heart smile just looking at it

Barb taking Farmer and Brother Bob out fishing

Cowboy Kevin doing some fence work 

Dakota's first duck hunt!

The Girls hanging out in Q last January. Who do you think the boss is?

Barb and I at Antelope Canyon

Two of my favorite wildlife pictures......

Our biggest surprise for the year? Getting Jim and Brenda as neighbors in South Dakota. Barb and I still talk about how a quick visit by them turned into several months with them purchasing the property next door. Somethings you could just never imagine!  

So what will next year bring?

As of right now it looks like we will be in Texas/New Mexico in January, Arizona in February, Oregon in March and South Dakota in April. From there we have no idea….. I know one thing for sure…. We will be in North Dakota and Ontario sometime during the year. As I was going through each of the posts from last year I yearned to get back to these places. We are also going to run out to Pennsylvania to visit our daughter at some point as well. Our original plans were going to head up north into Manitoba in the spring then east across Ontario and down the east coast into Florida for the winter. But now that we have bought the South Dakota property all those plans are up in the air. We want to be in South Dakota to help our friend Kevin build his house so our travel plans depend on his construction schedule. When time permits we are going to sneak out for trips as often as we can but at this point we have no idea when and if they will happen.

But back to this week….. We arrived in  San Antonio on December 23^rd    and checked into the Braunig Lake RV Resort for 4 days. With the Passport America price it came to $28/night. It was a very clean, nice park with full hookups, we would definitely stay here again.

Our first adventure was to visit The Alamo. We were surprised that this historic sight was right in the middle of downtown. The city did a really good job of preserving this church and surrounding building. Dating back to 1718 these buildings and church are packed with over 200 years of history. The story and accompanying historical artifacts were very interesting. A couple things we found very interesting were rifles and knives owned by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie who both died in battle at the Alamo in 1836. Entrance into the Alamo is free but they do offer audio tours for $7 and guided tours for $20. 

The Alamo

Just a short distance away (across the street) you can access the San Antonio Riverwalk. We really did not know what to expect but in our minds we were picturing a river with grassy banks and sidewalks along the edge. What we found was a canal that runs through the city, under streets, between buildings.....very cool. Restaurants and shops line both sides of the canal. Huge trees that have to be hundreds of year old also line the banks. For being in the downtown of a big city we were impressed with how clean the entire area was.

The architecture of some of the older buildings was incredible....

St. Joseph Catholic Church

The courthouse

Christmas Eve night we watched Miracle on 34th Street and watched the National Dog Show. Both were very entertaining for different reasons. Miracle on 34th Street was entertaining not only because it is a holiday classic but also because it is so politically incorrect by todays standards. The dog show on the other hand was entertaining because Daisy and Dakota enjoyed it just as much as we did. They watched each of the dogs paraded around the arena and I think each had their favorites. Daisy's favorite was the French Bulldog while Dakota's was a Collie. In the end the Bloodhound won Best of Show.

Christmas day we just chilled around the RV park and took it easy. Barb cooked a prime rib in the oven and we had a nice quiet day together.

Our final San Antonio adventure involved getting together with fellow fulltimers Cori and Greg who also own RV Solar Solutions. If you are ever in the market to put solar on your rig they are your guys! We met them at The Blue Star Brewing Company. We have not been to a brewery in quite a while (at least a few weeks)! We each got a flight of beer consisting of all but two of their brews. My favorite was Apache Amber while Barb's was Spire Stout.

Greg and I have not even ordered our beers yet!

We had not seen Cori and Greg in almost a year when we got together for a few days in Tucson. We had a great time back then when we went to The Retro Game Show and this time was no different. Although we may only see some people once or twice a year (or even once every couple of years) but it like you have been in contact all year long. Greg and Cori are like that. As an extra bonus Greg even smiled for the picture!

With our San Antonio adventure complete we are taking another unexpected turn. We were planning on heading south towards North and South Padre Island but we are going to save that for another year when the hurricane recovery is further along. Instead we are headed back north again to meet up with some friends we met this past summer at Pasha Lake Cabins. This week looks like the start of another adventure......Stay tuned!