#harvest host

[explorewiththeembachs]

Whew, what a crazy day!

First, let me say we made it to Canada. Woo Hoo! We are currently near New Maryland, New Brunswick about 4.5 hours from our destination in Nova Scotia.

Unfortunately, we missed our window to get into our scheduled campground near Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia by 8 pm today. The reason? Crossing the border was a bigger challenge than what we expected. It’s a long story but we brought a small shotgun as protection against wildlife (which we have done before in British Columbia) but they wouldn’t allow it. They searched our vehicle and camper and found a single bullet for a handgun in our safe. They then brought out the canines and proceeded to sniff everything. I felt like a criminal! (I know, I know, it’s necessary and important. I don’t mean to minimize it).

We then had to go back to the US, to the police station at the first town south of the border (Houlten, Maine) and ask them to store our gun for us. Apparently they provide that service for a lot of people - either that or we would have to find someone licensed to mail it back home. That done, we headed back to the border and crossed without a problem. That was interesting!

I was able to quickly find a Harvest Host site that approved our stay for tonight. We’re at a little farm near New Maryland, NB. I’m loving the wildflowers! I found a few new ones. See below. Enjoy!

By the way, I found a nice new tool for wildflower and wildlife identification and location - a free application called iNaturalist.

Explore more…

[dougrobyngoold]

Batteries & Brews - Ellensburg, WA

The last couple of days we had been noticing that our batteries didn't seem to be acting normal. Fortunately, we were able to get into town early enough to find a place and replace the batteries - hoping that would take care of the issue. After getting the new batteries installed, we made our way to Iron Horse Brewery, our Harvest Host site for the evening. Once we were properly parked in their parking lot, we went in and enjoyed a few of their brews.

This was an interesting Harvest Host - we had the option of parking outside their gate or inside their gate. If you stayed inside, you were locked in until the opening person unlocked the gate the next morning. We opted to stay inside the gate, the area outside the gate was a bit small for us and very close to the road. Luckily, we didn't have far to to go in the morning, so we were happy to wait until someone came and unlocked the gate. Good night, from Ellensburg!

[dougrobyngoold]

Firehall Brewery - Oliver, BC, Canada

Just a short drive today, making our way southward from Kelowna. We spent the afternoon and evening at Firehall Brewery, a Harvest Host spot. After getting situated in their parking lot, we went inside to check the place out.

They had a lovely patio, including a piano and stage. The atmosphere was welcoming and the staff friendly. We had a couple beers and enjoyed hanging out for a bit.

Cheers from Oliver, BC - another great stop! Back to the States tomorrow, hoping for an easy border crossing....

[dougrobyngoold]

Cedar Ridges Golf Course - Rangely, CO

We spent last night in Palisade, CO - enjoyed dinner with Doug's cousin, Jim, and his partner, Cathy, and several of her family members at Cathy's beautiful home. We packed up our trailer this morning and hit the road, ready to resume our 2024 golf tour. We stopped along the way and played 18 holes at the 9-hole course in Rangely. Cedar Ridges Golf Course is nicely laid out on a hillside just outside of Rangely. The greens were fast and in good shape. We paid $24 to walk 18, weekday rates. You play the same tees for the second nine - it was a challenging course and it was VERY hot! We gave this course a rating of 8 stars out of 10. A pretty little course in an out of the way location, a very pleasant surprise.

After our round, we packed up our golf bags and continued on to our Harvest Host spot for the evening - Permaculture Paradise Ranchette. This is literally just a mowed off spot along the highway near the little town of Dinosaur. We were happy to find a little shade (from our trailer, there were no trees at this location) and enjoy the pretty sunset. Off to Browns Park tomorrow.

[dougrobyngoold]

Trinity Turtle Healing Labyrinth - Alamogordo, NM

We spent the day in Alamogordo, where we lived right after we got married (40+ years ago). First thing we had to do was get settled into our spot at Trinity Turtle Healing Labyrinth - this is another Harvest Host site. They are in the process of building a labyrinth, it is definitely a labor of love for the people running the place, so far they have laid the concrete. She indicated that the laying of all the stones/tiles for the labyrinth is the next step. We parked our trailer and headed to the golf course on the west side of Alamogordo.

Desert Lakes is a city-owned, 18-hole course. We paid $26/person to walk 18 holes. The front 9 are tight, you have to be ready to dodge golf balls coming in from the other fairways! It also is close to houses in the community - have to be sure to hit 'em straight! The back 9, crosses the road and then opens up - no houses and wider fairways, but a bit of water and desert to deal with. No water on the course, but we did have a couple of people in backyards offer us water - which was unexpected and kind, no drink cart. There were bathrooms and there was a nice clubhouse. The fairways were grass, nice and dry on the front 9, so lots of roll, I like and need that! The greens were smooth and a bit slower than we are use to - which was an adjustment. We would rate this course a 5 out of 10 - pretty mountain views were an added bonus.

After our round, we drove by our old house - it is still the same color and it looks to be still standing and in pretty good shape. Lots of great memories in this cute little place:

We also checked out the local brewery - 575 Brewing Company. They had quite a few beers available and were very busy - very cool place, definitely worth checking out if you are in the area AND if you like microbrews!

[dougrobyngoold]

Tularosa Vineyards - Tularosa, NM

We were relieved to be leaving Seminole, TX this morning. Last night was one of our more interesting experiences at a free camping spot. When we arrived back to our trailer around 7:00 pm, our trailer was surrounded by teenagers in trucks and on motorcycles. It was a little surprising, as we had not seen or heard another soul near us the other 2 nights we were camped there. Apparently, Thursday nights are a whole different thing. Luckily, the spot next to our trailer was still open for us to park in. However, over the course of the next 4 hours, we listened to trucks race around the park, tires being spun out, and donuts being done....it was a bit crazy and out of control. Around 10ish, we finally heard a siren and the police pulled one of the trucks over - not exactly sure WHY they decided that that particular vehicle was doing something worse than the rest of them - and the party broke up shortly after that!

Tonight we are in a much quieter location - a Harvest Host site at a winery. We spent a couple hours tasting wine and sharing stories with the old owner of the winery. He use to work out at the Test Track on Holloman AFB - which is where Doug worked when we lived in Alamogordo 40 years ago. They had a great time discussing track happenings and the people that were involved with the track. No golf today, but we hope to play tomorrow, if the winds settle down a bit.

[pointers4dogs-blog]

RV Electrical Issues: Solving A Burning Question In My RV

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[pointers4dogs-blog]

Harvest Host Program: Farm Life

Harvest Host Program: Farm Life North Dakota is nothing less than beautiful with its miles and miles of rolling fields. My first stop would be at a farm where I could stay the night as part of the Harvest Host program. Between that farm and me were hours of gravel streets and avenues that crossed and connected all of rural North Dakota. Eventually, I got to a 4000-acre soybean /corn/wheat farm…

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