It's good to be back again ...

.... both  at the Canal Cottage in real life and posting all about it here  in blogland. 

Our calm and peaceful Oregon backyard, early October

(around the time we were learning about the hurricane damage to our winter home in Florida)  

Thank you to everybody who reached out with good wishes as we found out about  the mess that Hurricane Ian left behind here in SW Florida.  The rest of the pictures today are postcards I could have sent  while we were on our  cross-country roadtrip to get here.

Mt. Shasta California 

There were so many trucks on the road -- it is hard to believe there's a shortage of anything anywhere!  

 

Sidewinder Grade -- Just past Oatman Arizona on Route 66

That's our car/camper in the background

Because of the hurricane, we left Oregon about a month before we'd originally planned and we drove and camped across the country in our Roadtrek van.     

 

Oatman Arizona -- wild burros come into town a couple of times a day to be fed and admired.

(Here's one of many reference sites for more information).

It was even more fun to spot the donkeys who chose to stay up in the hills:

We've never enjoyed drive-till-you-drop road trips.  We do enjoy the journey, even when we're anxious to reach our destination.    

Just a few people, some of whom you might recognize, doing what you do in Winslow Arizona.

(More information here  -- and many other places)

We drove 3,775 miles in just over three weeks.  Because there had already been a snowstorm in Colorado, we sadly missed visiting our family there.  We especially missed thanking them in person, because our son was able to spend some time at  the Canal Cottage as soon as people were allowed back into our neighborhood after the mandatory evacuation (well before we even left Oregon).    He did a lot of the necessary cleanup and hard preliminary work  to save our house from most mold and water damage.   We are beyond grateful.  (I'll share some more information and  pictures  in a later post.) 

 

 

Window Shot -- the roads were mostly flat -- the scenery sometimes more interesting.

Instead of  our preferred route through the mountain west, we took the flatter route -- from our Oregon home, we stayed at least overnight in California, Arizona, New Mexico, a small portion of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and home to Florida.   

 

Sunset from our campsite somewhere along the way. 

This is one reason why we like a camping road trip.-- you seldom see sunsets  from a freeway motel room.

We are in our winter home now and doing fine, although it will still take a little while and a lot of work to whip the Canal Cottage back into the shape it was in before the hurricane.   Many people were not as fortunate -- we count our blessings.     

 

Linking (with thanks) to the following:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS  

Comments

[Beatrice]

A bit late in blog reading, Sallie, but good to read that your cross country trek went well and you are back in your winter home. Sorry you missed seeing family in especially as your son was so helpful after Ian struck. I am sure you will all connect at some other time

[Soma @ InkTorrents.com]

Gorgeous photos from your road trip. They really do look like postcards. Hopefully you can visit your family in Colorado on your way back to Oregon. Welcome back!!

-Soma

[Adam Jones]

Welcome back and some great pictures.

[ellen b.]

Sallie, Happy to hear you are safe and sound in your winter home in Florida. God bless your son for his help and care for you and your property. Take it slow and easy as you complete the work that needs to be done after all the damage in your area. Blessings!

[DeniseinVA]

Thank you for sharing your journey with us Sallie. It looks like an amazing trip each place you visited. I immediately took note of the Burros in Oatman. Good to hear your home in Florida survived, though very sorry for your neighbors and everyone else who lost theirs. Take good care of yourself and I'll be thinking of you during this clean-up process.

[mae]

Great to hear that you have made it across the country once again! And even better that you are able to return to your Florida home thanks to your son’s rescue after the disaster. I hope you’ll be documenting a wonderful winter so we can share what you experience. I’ve been worrying about the burrowing owls in Cape Coral, but as best as I can tell, they are pretty smart about staying safe, and after the waters recede, they find a new burrow to live in. I hope you’ll be like them!

best…. mae at maefood.blogspot.com

[Debbie]

beautiful, soothing "postcards"!! that sure is a long trip, thank goodness for the scenery. i am quite thankful the cottage was not horribly damaged...thank goodness for your son!! happy to see you today!!

[Eileen]

Hello Sallie,
I am stopping back to say thanks for linking up your post. I would love to see those wild burros some day. Beautiful photos from your road trip back to Florida! I hope all is going well at the canal.
Take care, have a great weekend.

[Aimee]

I am so very thankful you both made it safely to your FL home! I’ll have to check your route on a map as a possible option during the winter. Wishing you well as you work to restore your place there. Take care, be safe.
Peace,
Aimee
PS: I love burros!

[Michelle Keltner]

It sounds like things are fixable, so that is a plus. Your road trip looks wonderful!! Not sure I could talk my spouse into doing one....he prefers to fly.

[::: Heidrun]

How wonderful post, wonderful you are back ... Welcome! And many thanks for being part on MosaicMonday with your report, this captures here, I read it with great interest. Yes, the weather phenomenon become more and more.

Take care and have a good time.

Hugs by Heidrun

[Peter B.]

The Oatman donkeys have become famous! So glad to hear that your canal cottage is in reasonably good condition.

[Gaelyn]

Glad you got to enjoy some sights along the way and that your son did some of the cleanup. Don't work too hard.

[Alan]

I'm glad things were not too bad at your Florida house.

I love your trip photos. I'm the only one in my house who enjoys driving trips the other two just want to get there and I like stopping and checking things out, take photos, and find geocaches. Drives the other two flat crazy.

[Dina Johnston]

Looks like a fun road trip. Hopefully your clean up is going well.

[Sharon Wagner]

I loved Marco and was so lucky to be able to pivot and stay there. I'm glad you didn't come back to a complete disaster zone, like my beloved Lover's Key.

[dNambiar]

Oh yeah -- there's always a lot of truck traffic on I-5. :)

There's nothing quite like a road trip -- the sights and experiences and all make it all worth it.
Thank you for the pictures from the road.

[Lorrie Orr]

What a road trip! Glad that all went well and you are tucked away in your Canal Cottage. Take good care.

[David Gascoigne]

Good luck with it all, Sallie. I hope you are able to get everything back to normal quickly, and I especially hope the area doesn't get hit again. At least the hurricane season should be over by this time of the year, but when you look at the science, and the predictions for future storms, their potential ferocity is truly frightening. Stay well and stay safe.

[Ken Schneider]

I'm glad your Cottage survived the worst of the storm. So many people lost everything. Felt odd being in Connecticut and not really experiencing any personal threat, yet following the storm as if we were right there in our former Florida home.

[Jennifer Jilks]

Wow. You have an adventure behind and before you!
There is such destruction.
I cannot imagine driving that far!
Good luck with clean ups!

[Veronica Lee]

Glad you made it safely, Sallie.
I enjoyed your photos as always.
I especially loved the donkeys.

Hugs and blessing!

[diane]

Glad you made it safely. It is interesting that you went a different way this time. You are both amazing doing such long road trips. We are not so confident these days. I would love to drive to Melbourne again to see our family.Nice to see you back here.

[tomthebackroadstraveller]

...I've always want to drive a Corvette along Route 66!

[Carol]

You had a beautiful trip back to Florida. Love all your photos - I hope you said hello to the donkeys for me. Cute. I'm saying a prayer your Florida home turns around quickly. Thank goodness you son came and tried to dry it out. That's the worst part of living here - floods and mold. Ugh. I'm glad you back. I hope December is kind to you in work and you have a good holiday season.

[Sharon]

Good to be reading your blog once again! Love your pictures as usual. I'm sure your son and daughter-in-law missed your visit!

[A ShutterBug Explores]

Wow! That is quite the road trip for you and hubby ~ great photos ~ beautiful vistas and love the donkeys ~ Hope you didn't have too much work to do in FL ~ Xo

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

[Lavender Dreams]

It's so nice to take your time and enjoy a trip. And I've very glad you don't have so much damage that it can't be repaired. I know it's been devastating for so many. And thank you very much for your kind words of comfort. Your friendship means so much to me. Hugs, Diane

[Bill]

That is quite a road trip around the states, not something I would like to do now. I'm intrigued by your canal life and which canal it is

[Shiju Sugunan]

That was a really long road trip. I especially like the pics of donkey and sunset. I am so glad your son did the preliminary damage-control. Hope you can get back to normal soon.

[hena]

Wow what a crazy journey. Good to hear you are safe and sound in your winter home.

[Beatrice]

Thanks, Sallie, for posting this update. You really did have quite a road trip to return to your winter home and it was nice that the work your son did in advance will mean you can settle into your home soon.

[Pat]

Hi Sallie

I'm so glad to hear that you arrived in Florida safely! I hope you won't have too much work to do on the Canal Cottage. I just sent an e-mail to you! I did get your comments on my blog but I have "comment moderation" enabled on my blog to cut back on spammers leaving comments. I have to personally approve each comment before it can be punished and I only do that once a day. I loved hearing about your father's work as a mining engineer. It is a thriving profession out here. You would love the museum if your ever get a chance to visit Golden, Colorado.

[William Kendall]

Beautiful shots.

[Amy]

yay you're back! I was wondering where you were. Lots of updates to blog about, the donkeys are one of my favourite animals, so gentle.

[Linda P]

So glad you are in your canal cottage. I can image the miles undertaken to get there. You must be thankful that your son was able to help beforehand. Take care and best wishes as you settle in.

[Eileen]

Welcome home! It was wonderful your son could help with the cleanup at the cottage. Your road trip looks wonderful, it is nice to stop and see the sights along the way. I'd love to see the burros. The sunset is lovely. Take care, enjoy your day. Have a great new week ahead.

[Sondra]

good your son was able tp help ot