Winter Camping in Mexico

January 28, 2023 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We’ve been offline for a few months, mostly staying stationery at home in Prescott to celebrate the holidays and enjoy the luxuries of “home.” But you can only stay put for so long before the itch returns to hit the road. Plus, the weather in Prescott has turned cold and icy, so it was time to head south!

We are spending the next few months at the Playa Bonita RV Park, on the beach in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. We’ve owned our condo here for 20 years, and it was time for some renovations. We’re staying in the fifth wheel while the condo is under construction and it’s been a fun new way to experience our little Mexican town.

Playa Bonita is one of about four RV parks here in Peñasco, and it’s been here forever. Many of our fellow campers are here for months, Americans and Canadians escaping the winters up north. It’s a super fun environment, and we’re really enjoying the group bike rides, weekly “shot” bingo, and happy hour at the beach at sunset. The water man delivers a bottle to our door for $1, propane man will refill our tanks without moving, and we had our rig washed and waxed for a fraction of the cost in the US. Even the dogs are enjoying the Mexican lifestyle, with $15 haircuts at the local dog spa.

One day Steve discovered a leak somewhere in the bowels of the trailer. He worked hard to find out where the leak originated and then we were able to hire a guy to come fix it. Problem solved!

One weekend we fully participated in Roger Clyne’s January Jam, a three day music event that features one of our favorite bands. Good food, good drink, and great music right outside our door made for a fun few days.

Most days we head about a mile down the beach to the condo to check on the progress and to workout in the gym. It’s been good to be here to supervise the construction as it seems there is always something to decide or adjust. We’ve had to pick out countertops at the local shop, which allowed us to watch the craftsman at work.

Overall the remodel is coming along very well, appears to be on schedule, and is looking pretty good! Our crew has been very professional and appreciative of the daily goodies and Friday afternoon beers. Here are some pictures of the work being done and you can be sure we’ll post “after” pictures!

Of course there’s been lots of time for the beach, soaking in the sun, and enjoying the slow lifestyle that is Puerto Peñasco! We are grateful that Mitch made the trip down to visit for a few days and brought us some needed supplies from Costco. More visitors are expected in the next month and we’re looking forward to seeing our friends!

We probably won’t have much more to report for awhile as there’s not much variation day to day – sun, fun, relax, repeat. But rest assured, we are enjoying every minute!

Denali Highway and Valdez with Mitch

August 13, 2022 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We love it when we have visitors on the road, and in this post, we’re excited to share our adventures with my cousin Mitch. He flew into Fairbanks just a day before Sam left us. Together we shared a great dinner and show at the Salmon Bake at Pioneer Park. We were sad to see Sam head south but so grateful for our time with him.

With Mitch our first stop was the North Pole! It’s actually a big gift shop in a suburb of Fairbanks, and it was a great place to stock up on gifts and put in a few requests with Santa.

After our visit with Santa and time to restock our provisions, we set out back towards Denali with a quick stop at the Magic Bus at the Denali Brewing Company and the National Park visitors center.

Mitch photo bombs at the Denali Brewing Company

From there we began our trek across the Denali Highway, the 135-mile, mostly gravel route that was the original path to the park. Along the way we camped at two primitive campgrounds, took in the amazing views, and got in a little fishing. Mitch even caught his first fish with his new fly rod!

Our next stop was back to one of our favorite places from our time here in June. We stayed at the Salmon Grove Fish Camp, along the banks of the Klutina River. From here the guys went on a rafting trip down the river to catch the big ones: King Salmon. It was a long day but both were successful, and we’ve enjoyed some incredible dinners since! This was the first time for both guys to catch Kings so it was pretty exciting!

Copper Center is quiet little town, which we explored on foot in about 30 minutes!

Valdez was our next stop and the drive itself was spectacular! The road winds through Keystone Canyon, with waterfalls on both sides.

We were lucky to arrive in Valdez on a sunny day so that we could take in the snow-capped peaks. We had just enough time to fit in a quick bike ride and check out the town.

The next day Steve and Mitch went on another fishing charter, this time for Silver Salmon. They had sunny skies most of the day and each caught their limits. What a haul! For those who are keeping track, we’ve now sent nearly 50 pounds of fish home, some of which has been shared with Mitch and Sam.

After the successful fishing venture, the skies turned dark and the town was socked in with clouds for the remainder of our stay. They say it rains a lot in Valdez, and they aren’t kidding. But it wasn’t too cold and we were prepared, so the weather didn’t slow us down much. We unknowingly timed our visit to Valdez to coincide with the annual Gold Rush Days, a four day celebration of Valdez’s history. As part of the celebration, we participated in the Wine (and more) Walk through town, which gave us an opportunity to mingle with the locals, support local charities, and sample Valdez-brewed beer. Even in the rain it was fun!

A highlight of any trip to Valdez is going on one of the local tour boats to see wildlife and the nearby glaciers. We opted to go on the Lulubelle, and we weren’t disappointed. Granted, it was a L O N G day on a boat…almost 11 hours with a captain that did not stop talking the entire time!

However, we saw things we couldn’t have seen on other tours. The highlights of our day included humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, and puffin.

The most unique part of the excursion was slowly plowing through the thick ice field at the Columbia Glacier. Along the way we met nice people and enjoyed unbelievable views.

Valdez is a beautiful place. We were lucky to snag a campsite at the Bear Paw II RV Park, right alongside the boat harbor. We spent hours just watching boats of all sizes come in and out of the port. Surrounded by at least five glaciers, the port area is where the action is at in Valdez.

Across the harbor we visited the Solomon Gulch fish hatchery. Here, hundreds of thousands of silver salmon return to the hatchery each year. The mass of fish attract all kinds of other creatures including sea lions and bears. Watching this fat sea lion chow down on salmon was a highlight of our visit there.

Mitch returned home safely, after a cancelled fight and quick change of travel plans. We loved having him with us and hope he has memories to last a lifetime.

We’re now beginning our very slow trek south but still have some fun stops ahead.

Going to the Dogs in Anchorage

June 24, 2022June 24, 2022 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We just spent a week in and around the Anchorage area as part of our Alaska summer fun. There’s a lot to do here! Besides haircuts for all of us, several trips to Costco, and some down time, we had some big fun.

We spent one weekend camping at the Alaska Raceway Park in Palmer. The racetrack is part of the Harvest Host program which allowed us to camp right in the pits so we could enjoy a full weekend of racing.

With our trackside campsite we were able to watch the cars line up to enter the oval, freely walk through the pits, and make friends along the way. On Sunday we watched the drag races from all angles. This was a unique experience — another great Harvest Host stay in a beautiful setting.

Nearby is a MuskOx Farm, a non-profit that is dedicated to the domestication of these arctic creatures and the production of qiviut, the extra warm, luxury wool that comes from the muskox. We enjoyed our tour where we met the muskox and learned about their lives. They’re cute, huh?

In Anchorage we biked the coastal trail, took in the scenery, and picked up our dear friend Sam up at the airport. Sam will be with us for the next six weeks as we explore Alaska’s coastal and mountain areas.

The big excursion this week, however, was our glacier dog-sledding adventure outside of Girdwood. We boarded a four-seat helicopter and took a short but scenic flight to the Punchbowl Glacier.

Once we landed, we were introduced to Mitch Seavey’s kennel of champion sled dogs. The Seavey name is synonymous with the Iditarod, having won the legendary race numerous times.

We learned about the race and the grueling conditions dogs and drivers endure to reach the finish line. In fact, one of the guides at Dog Camp raced this year but broke his ankle with just three days to go. He had some great stories about life on the trail!

Once our team of eight dogs were hooked up to the sled, we were off! The dogs were smaller than we expected at about 40-50 pounds each. It was incredible how much power these small but mighty animals could generate. We traveled at about eight miles per hour, which is about how fast the racers go as well.

Sledding around on a massive glacier, well removed from civilization, with only dogs and their handlers to guide us, was a surreal experience. Occasionally we’d stop along the way and take in the views. We had a beautifully warm day with crystal clear skies, which just made the day even more special.

We finished our time at Dog Camp with the puppies! Three future sled dogs enthusiastically greeted us and were ready to play (and chew on whatever they could find!) We wondered if a puppy was included in our fare, but unfortunately they had to stay atop the glacier.

Before we knew it the helicopter returned, and it was time to fly back down the glacier to the Girdwood airport. Again, the scenic beauty was overwhelming. Needless to say we’d highly recommend this unique adventure.

Steve continues to snap shots of the beautiful flowers that have sprouted up everywhere in the past few weeks. Summer is certainly here, as evidenced by the very long daylight hours. With over 19 hours of light, and unseasonable warm days, everything is growing like crazy.

Another reason we were in Anchorage at this time was for Steve to rack up another marathon in another state. He completed the Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon in just over four hours and placed second in his age group. This race in Alaska is his 26th state in his quest to hit all 50.

We finished our time in Anchorage with a wonderful dinner at the home of our friends TJ and Jon. It had been a few years since I’d seen them, and it was great to catch up! Thanks TJ and Jon (and Jon’s Mom Peggy) for an incredible evening!

As always, we are grateful for the opportunity to travel to these special places with special people and we love sharing it with you! Your comments are much appreciated.

Marnie and Steve Travel

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Biking

Winter Camping in Mexico

Denali Highway and Valdez with Mitch

Going to the Dogs in Anchorage