Bailey

To say goodbye….

First let’s back up to 06/23/2025:  After years of back-and-forth, second guesses, and soul-searching, we’ve made the call. Bailey—our steadfast companion since 2018, our shelter through the chaos of Covid, our memory-maker on wheels—is going up for sale. This may be the end of an era.Allan’s diagnosis of Charcot foot and the uncertainty of when he will have surgery contributed greatly to our decision. (Fast forward; surgery was on August 14th) It is a lengthy recovery, will Allan be able to drive Bailey again? We have questions galore.

Are we packing up for the last time?  Part of me hopes she doesn’t sell

What am I showing here?  Awning lights!!  We went through 2 strings of lights, neither wanted to shine for us.  We spent, more time than I care to admit trying to make them work.  Nada!!  Then, just as we’re about to pull away—bam!—they’re ON. Not by our doing, mind you.

Magic?  Mischief?  Who knows!

Is this the last time we hear Bailey’s air brakes. Click:  Bailey Brakes

So much emotion!

From 2018 to now, Bailey wasn’t just a motor home—she was our joyride through life, our anchor in the storm, (and we went through some big storms) our rolling sanctuary. Even broken down at the side of the road for 8 hours, she was still our happy place. Thanks for the miles and the too many to remember memories.

Here we are at Sylvan Lake RV     

Spoiler Alert:  This is the last photo I’ll take of Bailey  🙁

To part with Bailey is to acknowledge that life moves forward; rarely as we’d have anticipated.   Allan’s diagnosis and surgery will not allow him to drive, for how long?  Allan’s foot reconstructing is pretty major stuff.

Around the middle of July we learn that Bailey is sold pending financing.  The purchasing folks put 100k down and are looking for financing for the balance.  We should learn the outcome by July 18th, then 25th, then Aug 01st.  I really believe this is a dead deal but Dave our sales guy says “No, it’s a good deal”.

We on July 30^th, during our orthopedic surgeon appointment learned the surgery date is August 14^th.  Recovery will be at least 6 weeks during that time no weight is permitted on the right foot.  Now that will be no small feat (pun intended).

Finally on August 15th Dave says the deal will be concluded on Aug 22nd, and it did 🙁

With sad hearts and tear-washed cheeks, we say goodbye, dear Bailey.  You were our sunshine and sass, our chaos and calm—always keeping life interesting.  You brought laughter, love, a few headaches, and a whole lot of unforgettable moments.   

May your next chapter be just as wild, wonderful, and full of joy—as you were to us.

We would really love to meet the new owners, sure hope they treat Bailey well…

 

 

A road trip sin Bailey, purpose of trip a Nascar race. 

As a direct route its a 4-1/2 hour drive but Bob isn’t the most comfortable vehicle and we’re not in a rush so decided to throw in a few days of sightseeing as well.

First stop:  Hanna, AB  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t very nice so we had a bite and holed up in the hotel and played, what else??     Kings Cribbage

Second stop:  Royal Hotel Edmonton Airport Trademark Collection in Leduc.  We’re here on a VIP package that includes the hotel, race, goody bag.

The lobby

The car haulers waiting to spring to action 

The next day!  Here we are 🙂 

Back at the track…     

It’s me with my VIP bag 

A first for us!!

STACKER RACING   It is a fun and exciting class meant to make the crowd laugh and have a good time watching! We just need to build more of these!

The Racer “on the bottom” controls the gas pedal and the brake and the Racer “on the top” handles the steering.

Notice the open passenger door on the blue stacker above?  What time is it now?  Bevvie time!!  We have a shuttle to and fro the track so….

Pre-race entertainment.  First up, parachuters…parachute jump by the Canadian Armed Forces Skyhawks, The SkyHawks are the Canadian Forces Parachute Demonstration Team. Based at CFB Trenton in Trenton, ON they are a sub-unit of the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre. 

One of them did spirals!   

Next up the flyover!

Meet the drivers   

Finally the Race!  We didn’t realize it would only have 10 cars

Cameras down, time to watch the race.

    Nothing was set on fire

Whats a visit to Edmonton without a trip to the West Edmonton Mall?  Not a fan of those clouds.

WEM is the largest in North America, it ranks as the 14th largest in the world in terms of gross leasable area and the second largest by square footage.  The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, is the largest in North America by square footage. The largest malls in the world are in Asia, with the New South China Mall in Dongguan, China, being the largest. 

Fun mini getaway, back home we go…..

Today was a good weather day; almost no rain!

We took a walk and spotted these creations 🙂

The beach is crowded today, folks everywhere.  Not sure why I didn’t take any photos.

We happily got a fire in!!

Look theis trying so hard!

Dinner at the Fireside was delicious!   

Spot Bailey??

Overnight, the weather shifted, and the rain poured down heavily again, drumming against windows and the rooftop.  Soothing in it’s way.

June 23:  Morning brought redemption, with this sunrise.

Heading home today, Allan has an appointment for X-Rays tomorrow and I have an appointment for a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) on Thursday.  Not looking forward to that!

 

 

 

Reminder 506p; rain, rain, rain 

Let’s become “Weather Rebels”

559p;  There’s something liberating about defying the weather forecast. Kind of feels like we are flipping off the clouds. Are we foolish? Fearless? Foolish for sure as Allan’s healing sandal should not get wet.

 

The best adventures are often born from the moments we dared to go, in spite of the forecast.

Let the adventure begin!  We’re not as adventurous as these folks!

Glad we brought our raincoats! 

Some of the fine eateries around town

Only place we’ve ever saw an aquatic playground; this one is named                   Aqua Splash click name for more fun info  

Sylvan Lake’s Lighthouse     

Our bravery certainly deserves a REWARD!

We beat the rain back to Bailey, only catching a few drops—victory! Moments later, the skies threw a tantrum, and it rained all night. June 21st? Still soaking. Nature needs a chill pill!

That’s alot of rain in 24h in Sylvan Lake!   Lethbridge got 42mm in the last 24; Mazatlán 32mm (it is their rainy season), perhaps we should not be complaining

Chill time! 

June 21st:  The rain was done noonish, but the wind is still partying like crazy!

As for the sun?

It’s gone AWOL—I’m starting to think it forgot we exist. Maybe tomorrow it’ll show up.

Fingers crossed!

 

The first day of summer! Cue sunshine, beaches, and golden skies—right? Nope. The clouds crash the party, and rain drums away like nature’s “Not so fast!” Instead of  sandals, it’s rain boots. But hey, we’ll dance in the rain till summer decides to show up for real!  Sunrise through dirty window     

Yesterday we left Cochrane for Sylvan Lake.  We knew we were on the right route when we encoutered one lane only open.  The delay was about 20 minutes.

Here we are… 

  Got a chuckle out of how the neighbour’s decorate.  May look better if they plant some flowers in it

Although not to worst we’ve been in butt this one is up there.  The photos made it look wider than it is; when we booked online we selected our proper lenght of 43′

Hum, very narrow     

Jim, the camp host loaned us this pylon

Sticking out just a tad!!     

Our neighbour leaving this morning, was quite the show   Glad for now at least, the park isn’t busy

Why didn’t we just bail on this park?

Cause it’s 300 steps to Sylvan Lake, 2 minute walk to downtown, 5 minute walk to the Marina.  Did we get to do any of this?

Nope!

The rain decided to turn our dream day into a wet, soggy joke.

Mother Nature: 1, Us: 0

We did get new neighbours       

Will tomorrow be sunny???  Let’s hope so! But knowing the weather, it might just decide to throw a curveball—sunshine in the morning, heavy rain at lunch, and snow by dinner.

Fingers crossed the weather gods are in a good mood tomorrow!

 

But before Father’s Day was yesterday – an equally as important day as it was…  “Buy Coffee” day    may as well get these too.

Coffee in hand we dropped by the Farmers Market and got popcorn

Father’s Day begins with….

Allan opening his gift from Kyle & Megan

Allan is a happy papa!   Thanks much to K&M Allan is loving it!! 

Off we go to a parking lot to give it a lift, its so compact it stores in this little case.  Directions aren’t that good, press button #3; there is no button #3

Back to Bailey to give Allan’s leg a break and try to figure it out

Oh NO, it attacked Allan!! It will now be named “Blade”

Allan’s no quiter ….   Victory!!  Click on the Blades to see the flights.    Blade!     Blade

First photos taken by Blade  (last photo, me taking a video of Blade while it’s taking a photo of me)

Father’s Day dinner       

What better way to end the day??   IndyCar!!

Happy Father’s Day!

 

 

Our first trip this season will be to Cochran AB.  We have to test ou Allan’s foot, this trip is 3 hours – should we have chosen a closer destination?  We’re scheduled to  leave Friday the 13th.  Are we asking for issues?

June 10th:  We’ve been to Bailey a few times to clean stuff up, etc to get ready for our first trip.  Everything worked.  Today the big slide doesn’t open (turns out it needed a reset) and the house batteries do not come on.  They did yesterday.  A call to Back Country and our saviour, Chris, says bring Bailey in on the 12th.

We brought our TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) back to Bailey so now see one of our tires is low on pressure.  Allan did notice the tire valve was loose so tightened it.  Allan hooks up, for the first time, (but we require a trip to Canadian Tire for the part that connects the air compressor to the tire), and pumps up the tire to 107 lbs.

June 11th:   Fingers crossing didn’t help,  Tire was down to 102.  Called our road side, CoachNet.  We wanted them to cover Kal Tire’s bill when we have the tire repairs BUT if we can drive there it isn’t a road side issue so we get to pay.  We can hang up and call again and have them come to our house, then it’s covered. 

June 12th:  We drop Bailey off by 8am.  Allan has a wound clinic appointment at 10; on our way there we get the call that Bailey is fixed.  The inverter remote was replaced.  All good now on the battery front.  Next stop Kal Tire; there from 1135 till after 2, and it’s pouring rain.  Good for the wildfires but I’m not loving it, at least the tire is repaired.  We should be good to go tomorrow.

June 13th:       Bob’s hooked up                                                          Off we go!!

Cruising along nicely until we encounter this, but what would a trip be without.  They closed this section of the road to allow a dignitary precession accompanied by at least 10 police motorcycles, police cars, and those black SUVs.  Made it!!

The drive did take a bit of a toll on Allan’s foot.  Have to plan shorter outings.

All set up!!

Time to relax aka beer time!!  Chill for a while then it’s dinner time.  We were looking forward to camp fires & BBQing on our charcoal grill.  Sadly both are still banned.

When we were leaving Lethbridge I said “I’ll be interested to know what I/we forgot?”

Me forgot, of all things…….. COFFEE

Allan’s forgot is not so tragic…  the remote for the fireplace & the one for the back TV.

 

 

 

 

After a wonderful winter in Mazatlan escaping the cold & snow; we’re back!  To read about our escapes there visit my or Allan’s FaceBook page.

May 07th:     A Tale of Troubleshooting and Triumph

Today’s the day we get Bailey ready for the road.  The batteries have to get reinstalled so we are meeting Back Country’s mobile tech at storage.  Batteries in Bailey starts the first shot!  Way to go Bailey!!

Not so fast!!  Bailey stalls!  Allan restarts; stalls again.  Allan gets the error code:Meaning:   “The Winnebago error code SPN 111 FMI 1 indicates a low coolant level or a problem with the coolant level sensor circuit. This can lead to the check engine light and stop engine light turning on, with potential power derating or engine shutdown if the engine protection feature is enabled”

How does that happen?  The coolant was fine when we parked, it looks like there is coolant in there so thinking this will not solve our issue.  Off we go to Canadian Tire and buy some consentrated coolant, back at Bailey we’re  surprised it takes the entire bottle. I get a chopstick, to use as a measure stick – the fluid barely covered the bottom.  Off we go again, this time to fill our container with water.  Back again and the stick is measuring.  Let’s try to start Bailey again!!   Not only does Bailey start, she keeps running!!

Bailey pulls out of the spot with no problem.

Off to Back Country RV, finally! 

Back Country de-winterized Bailey, reinstalled the balance of the batteries, serviced the auqa hot, replaced  3 slide toppers, roof atenna, one of the bathroom faucets, sealed the roof.

May 09th:  This done we head to Diesel Tech for the engine stuff.

As fun as RVing is, it’s   

and requires               

May 14th:  Bailey’s innards are now all serviced; grease chassis, full service genset, engine, check air filter, air all tires, coolant level; they had to add more coolant.

Pick up complete!  Bailey back in storage

We’re happy Bailey is all good to go but are we?  This is a confusing “what are we going to do?” time in our lives.

About 1-1/2 years ago Allan’s right foot began to swell.  This is the condensed version of what has transpired …

The podiatrist diagnosed it as gout; medication prescribed allopurinol & colchicine for when a flare up occurs (problem is Allan has peripheral neuropathy; no he isn’t a diabetic) so can’t feel a flare up.

The no feeling in his feet caused wounds to form.  Allan has been attending a wound clinic for at least a year.  They debride the wound frequently.

Thinking it must get better as now Allan has been prescribed antibiotics (October 2024) we booked our flight & AirBnb for 4 months in Mazatlán, MX

Another podiatrist visit more tests, no new prognosis, foot still as swollen maybe more.  The podiatrist’s letter to our family doctor stated he had no clue what to do next.  Really comforting.

Shoes fitting are an issue; Allan comes up with the idea to buy 2 pairs of Brooks, each a different width.  That works!

A few weeks before leaving another wound clinic visit reveals the wounds are now extremely infected.  The wound doctor loads Allan up with a multitude of antibiotics.

Now in Mazatlán the wound requires debriding.  A friend who has spent many years here, recommends a doctor.   A great doctor!  We get the wound treated and a referral to a specialist.  Trying to keep this short, I know right, 3 doctors later they ordered a culture test.  Ended up have 4 over the next few month;  they all come back the same Bacteriological culture: Pseudomona Aeruginosa; one of the most difficult bacteria to combat.  4 more different antibiotics, one as an IV, and still the foot is the same.

Back home we’ve seen an Infectious Disease Doctor, had another culture test (this one agrees with the Mexican ones) another 2 types of antibiotics taking for 42 days.  He referred Allan to an orthopedist surgeon; this is an upcoming appointment.  Surgery is almost all but guaranteed to either remove the infection or just reattach some bones that have become dislodged and straighten that has bent during the swelling. Recovery from surgery is going to be at least 8 weeks. As it is, Allan has grown out of the Brooks for his right foot and now wears a healing sandal. Driving with this sandal just adds to our concerns.

SO… with all this we are in limbo.  Multiply appointments, tests, etc. still to come our lives are in a “what are we going to do?” state of mind.

 

There is much talk on how safe Mazatlan is, we feel VERY safe.  We exercise care and caution we you should do anywhere.  These guys and the military vessel in our little bay are always close by.  How can we not feel safe?

A walk around town

An interesting building and wow oh wow how do the construction dudes balance up there.                                                                           Top right on the rebar

Our first bus ride..  standing room only but a kind gentleman gave up his seat to me

Our 30th Anniversay Dinner

Making spicy salsa

Dinner, pork shank for Allan – bacon wrapped shrimp for me

Spanish coffee for the win!! Been forever since we had one prepared at the table

Our condo, only bad thing is no dishwasher.  So far 2 wine glasses down.

Our view from the kitchen makes dishes easy to takeThat’s if for now.  Happy 2025 everyone; hope it is the best year yet!!

 

So excited, the day has finally arrived – off to the Lethbridge Airport for our flight to Mazatlan.  Last year it took us 3 days to finally arrive in Puerta Vallarta, hoping for a quicker, smoother time.

Lethbridge to Calgary flight delayed by a mere 15 minutes.  Calgary, we wanted to grab breakfast, but with just 1-1/2h layover no time.  How great is that?

Allan heads off for pre-flight boarding biffy break..  As I’m awaiting Allan’s return I hear a voice behind me ask “do you have the time?”  I turn around and it’s 2 people wearing hoodies pulled tight.  “9 o’clock” I saw – these people are not leaving.  Felt very creepy.  One of them pulls down their hoody!  “Oh FUCK” I say, followed by big hugs.  It’s my sweeties; Kyle & Megan              We knew they were coming but they led us to believe it was the day later, in Mazatlan and we’d meet at the condo. What a great surprise followed by a great flight.

December 17th – First full day… breakfast 

On our walk to Sam’s Club (no Costco here) we encounter this lizzard       Enjoying the rays after Sam’s visit

Dinner prep time                                                Whoops, oven not working pivot to micro cooking 

Dinner figured out it’s now Kings Cribbage time!  Allan for the win and highest score since we’ve been playing.

  Sunset over the waves

Dec 18th – Walking to Walmart, we see this red, slightly overfilled pick up.  Chairs, chairs, chairs!!

Kyle and Megan crossed the street and wandered around the beach while we stocked up.  My new favourite photo of them

Another nice sunset in the making 

Highlight of today!  Kyle & Megan took us to a Brazilian restaurant – La Churrascaria Mazatlán    Super delicious and fun.

Preparing Cowboy Steak     

A first for us… “Golf carts are a popular way to get around Mazatlán, Mexico, and are known as “pulmonias”. Pulmonias are retrofitted golf carts that are open-air and a unique way to explore the city”

More fun than an Uber

December 19th – Tour day to a tequila factory and a few remote Mexican towns.

“Experience the traditions of Mexico up close on a half-day tour from Mazatlan to villages known for their tequila and other locally made products. Stop at the picturesque villages of La Noria, La Vinata, and El Quelite, where you can visit a tequila distillery, browse the handicrafts and stroll along cobblestone streets. Learn about the process of making tequila, see a blue agave plantation, and sample tequila from the producer. Your tour includes guide, entrance fees, round-trip transport from Mazatlan, and the option to upgrade to include lunch.”  We did upgrade to lunch  🙂

Stop at a bakery,  best bread!                                                      Should have bought more

Town of El Quelite: Hike up to the top of a mountain to enjoy the lookout

  Yahoo, we found “Rosie”      Off to the tequila factory

They explain the process:

December 21:  Walk the Malecon Day

Caution flags up, jelly fish	Posing with my friend the Walrus!

You’d never catch us on a scaffold, let alone one that isn’t level!  December 22:   Light Parade with Santa!  Is Mexico the only place where they hold a parade with active traffic lanes?

 

 

My attentive family, whoops my cell is in my hands as well   LOL  Gotta wonder what Megan’s smile is about

 

December 23 – A walk around the nearby pond.  Love pelicans!

Spot the lizzard??Cruise ship visiting Mazatlan   

December 24th – Last meal together – Breakfast @ La Laguna aligator ranch (Alligator Ranch) delicious food and even better company.The official receipt!   

And just like that our week is over.  To take poetic license on Dr. Seuss famous expression “We’re not sad it’s over just over the moon happy it happened”

They are off!

Dinner and the next door hamburger stand after another beautiful sunset