My New Year's challenge to you

So, as promised yesterday, I'm including then-and-now photos. The first photo shall remain undated, and the third was taken yesterday.

We've travelled 3,000 miles from home

We hit a milestone in our travels yesterday, having logged 3,000 miles since we left home. We also crossed another timezone. As well, as tourists crossing the desert we learned an important lesson; fuel up before you leave the city! No longer can we boast about low fuel prices as we paid $3.19 a gallon out in the desert, as we crossed into California. Talk about a cornered market! Even here in Los Angeles it’s $2.59 a gallon, which is quite a jump from Phoenix.

Goodbye for now, Fanci

Tomorrow we'll leave Peoria, a suburb of sprawling Phoenix, heading for Woodland Hills, a suburb of sprawling Los Angeles, California. There seems to be a theme here.

Canadians use Kijiji, the British use Gumtree, and Americans use Craigslist

I recently posted an ad on Craigslist, to expand our Phoenix audience for opportunities to house and pet sit. Today we went to visit a couple who found us through that ad. They have three large dogs, but like to go away monthly to fish at Rocky Point, Mexico, close to the Arizona border and a 4-hr drive from their home. It was interesting to hear about a different way of life. For example, it's the first time I've heard of scheduling vacations based on the tides (for fishing)!

Snowbirds go south for warmer weather, don't they?

This morning we were out walking (with Fanci, of course) and saw this,

What type of party did these people have last night?

Just another day in paradise!

We're living in a gated community that has resort-like surroundings. It's just beautiful. A positive, that's for sure. Check out this promotional video,

I'll be bold ... Merry Christmas!

First, let me report that we sighted another nativity scene yesterday, and I like this one better. Why? ... because it has sheep in it, of course!

Twas the night before Christmas ...

Here's the full text and the legend of Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Outdoor Christmas decorations makes me think of one of our good friends, Rick. He traditionally counts the number of nativity scenes he sees at this time of year, which he believes represents the true meaning of Christmas. Unfortunately, I've only found one here so far, and all I'll say is that the photo looks better than the original.

America's respect for its patriots

Today we walked with Fanci, the poodle, to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, which is just a short distance from "our home".

Its American flag is a prominent landmark on the hilltop (centre of the photo). A trail leads to it from the roadway, and along the trail you can see markers with details of those lost to the Vietnam war.

Red sky at night ... whose delight?

As an immigrant to Canada in my teens, I was surprised when I heard the following saying, Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in morning, sailor's warning. In Wales, given the large population of sheep, those sailors are displaced by shepherds in the Welsh version. I suppose it makes sense. Unlike most of Canada, however, in our house the sheep population is pretty high!

This is just a portion of the flock in our home,
although some are on the road with us now.
Can you find Pig, the most recent sheep to leave us?

Newsflash - Santa's not at the North Pole!

Today we enjoyed blue skies, sunshine, and a high of 64ºF. Another perfect-weather day to be out and about at nearby Lake Pleasant.

Enjoying the great outdoors

After a cool, overcast morning, the weather finally perked up and so we went to White Tank Mountain Regional Park, which is about a 30-minute drive away. We logged a high temperature today of 60ºF, with blue skies and sunshine. Yeah! The conversation amongst locals is about how cold it is, but for us it's still warmer than back home in Canada so we're grateful.

What ... pigs, in a gated community?

No more logging distance each day; now I'm focussed on the weather. Yesterday reached a lovely 65ºF with blue sunny skies, but not much chance of that today as it's overcast and drizzly.

After a week on the road we've had a change of pace by generally staying put and enjoying our new home. Our lifestyle has now changed somewhat, and it's good for us. As part of the home sit we are to walk the dog twice a day, and she's used to at least an hour's walk each time. Well, those who know us well will know that Greg and I have good intentions about exercise, but like many, we struggle with discipline and consistency. Now for two weeks, at least, we're forced into a good cardio workout each day.

We're settled in at our Phoenix house sit

Thanks to the help of the internet, we stayed overnight at the Majestic Mountain Inn which was a hidden gem at a modest price. Payton is a contrast to the many other locations we've travelled so far in that its population is increasing and it's modern and upscale. Our journey south to Phoenix was marked on the map as a scenic route, and took us through an amazing landscape, with huge majestic mountains and breathtaking vistas. As we neared Phoenix, everywhere became very flat. Now at our house sit in Peoria, northwest in the greater Phoenix area, the landscape is again very flat, with mountains rising in the distance all around. It's quite beautiful.

What a difference a day makes

Again we had time today to do some sightseeing, so we only covered 220 miles (352 kms). The weather had also changed dramatically. Yesterday we were in Santa Fe in lovely weather wearing t-shirts and hoodies, whereas their forecast today was for 5" of snow. Similarly for us, we were to expect heavy rainfall for much of the day.

goodbye t-shirt weather!

At the Arizona visitors centre the lady suggested that we not take our planned scenic route as the rainfall on those steep roads might make driving difficult. We opted instead to continue on interstate 40 and went to the Petrified Forest National Park. Although I took photos, some of which I'll add here, the website will probably give you a better idea of the landscape. Greg said he felt like we'd landed on the moon! It started raining as we drove in, and it continued to rain for most of the time we drove the 28-mile road, but it was still an amazing sight. We highly recommend it.

The air was a little thinner for us today

Today we only travelled 277 miles (443 kms), and in fact detoured north from our basic westerly route. We took time to take in some of the New Mexican culture. We visited its capital, Santa Fe, which is the oldest capital city in the U.S., having been founded in 1610. At an altitude of 7000 feet above sea level, the air is a little thin up there!

Wooden plaque at the entrance of the Governor's residence

We really like New Mexico!

A mere 297 miles today (475 kms), but that was intentional. We've already passed through two time zones since Monday, so it's good to slow down the pace now. Goodbye northern Texas⎯and we're not saying see you later either ;-)⎯and hello New Mexico! Given that we have the time, we've decided to take a more scenic route for the rest of the way (maybe it was the idea of 857 miles on the same interstate?). The weather was beautiful, blue skies and sunshine and a high late morning of 65ºF. Boy did it feel warm after the Canadian weather!

Texas sure is interesting!

Today we travelled a total of 490 miles (784 kms). We left Joplin, Missouri, crossed the state of Oklahoma, and stopped for the night in Amarillo, Texas.

Before we left home, I prepared a Trip Planner, which has been very helpful. We're on page 3 of 4 pages, but one of the entries on page 3 tells us to turn onto Interstate 40 and drive for 857 miles. We may be on page 3 for a while!

Day 2 of our road trip

Today we logged another 497 miles (795 km) of our journey. We left Indiana, travelling across Illinois to our tourist destination for the day, the St. Louis (Missouri) Art Museum. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours there, fascinated by the detail in the work of many of the pieces. Going to an art museum together was a first for us - good idea, Greg! We continued our drive, stopping for the day at Joplin, Missouri, at the Kansas border. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Welcoming our newest grandchild

Our fourth grandchild⎯our first granddaughter⎯was born this past Thursday. Given that we were leaving for our trip a few days after, we were grateful that she timed it well. Needless to say, we'll see a big change in her when we see her next. Welcome to the family, Soleil. Here's Greg, a proud grandpa.

The first day of our winter adventure

Our first travel day was a good one. We covered 570 miles (912 km), with excellent travel conditions and no traffic tie-ups. After leaving Canada we travelled through New York state, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, stopping for the night just west of Indianapolis, Indiana.

We ended the day with a great Mexican dinner at El Cantarito. Life is good!

We're already one-quarter of the way to Phoenix. Yeah!