A post before we hit the road and begin year 10! Our first venture to the Canadian Rockies! We will head north and then west across the upper peninsula continuing on to Custer State Park South Dakota and Golden Colorado before heading north to Alberta Canada. Our family is meeting us in Golden for part two of our anniversary celebration.

In Alberta, we have camping reservations in Banff and Jasper National Parks as well as some guided excursions. This is a popular area, especially in the Summer and early Fall. When the Canadian National Parks system announced the date reservations would open for the 2026 season (April), I booked immediately. Spots go quickly, especially for larger rigs.

When making our way back to Florida stops will include the north entrance of Yellowstone NP MT/WY and Fort Lake Smith State Park in Arkansas.

We will be back in Florida the third week of October. Winter plans include travel to southwest Florida in late December for a couple of weeks in the Ft Myers/Naples area, and then on to the upper Keys in January, with a reservation at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.

Year Nine recap: August 2026 indeed marks our ninth year as “full time RVers” which is still hard to believe. Even harder to believe is this 50th Golden wedding anniversary! What a year! So much to be thankful for.

We left Michigan the third week in September after attending a couple of Saline football games to see Faye and the marching band her senior year.

First stop was St. Louis for a visit to Gateway Arch National Park. Definitely worth a stop to ride to the top of the Arch, see the museum and enjoy a short boat ride on the Mississippi River.

On to our favorite Colorado town, Golden. Seems appropriate as we got ready to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. A familiar stay at Clear Creek RV Park always feels comfortable and relaxing.

From Golden we headed to southwest Colorado to the San Juan Mountains and the towns of Buena Vista and Salida. Once again our timing was good for gorgeous Fall color.

Traveling farther south into New Mexico, we attended the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in early October. We can check that one off our list – a great experience, so glad we went. We were back in Florida later in October.

The whole family traveled to Michigan for Christmas. A fun time as usual with plenty of cooking baking and presents.

Back in Florida in January, we headed south for a few weeks to enjoy warmer weather in the Jupiter area with friends Darrell & Susan, staying at Jonathon Dickinson State Park.

Tax season kept me busy from February through mid-April. A visit from Beth, Kevin and Gemma in March was a nice break. In late April we took a short trip with Darrell& Susan to Top Sail State Park near Destin. We headed north early in May with a stop in North Carolina.

We arrived in Michigan mid May, staying at a different park in Manchester, Hidden Lakes RV Resort. We celebrated Faye’s graduation and our milestone anniversary.

Enjoyed several short trips, including Shipshewana Indiana, and lots of time with family and friends.

This was an expensive maintenance/repair year, including a trip to the Freightliner shop for replacement of the leaking water pump and a new serpentine engine belt.

After experiencing a front tire blow out in January, we replaced all six tires. Jim took care of the regular annual maintenance himself and also replaced the six house batteries.

New parks we enjoyed this year include: Mt. Princeton RV Park, Buena Vista CO, Canton KOA-Silver Spur Resort, Canton, TX, Jonathon Dickinson State Park, Jupiter FL.

We made a return visit to Santa Rosa RV Resort in Navarre, FL – very nice park – always a treat!

Other notes: Medicare/Medical Insurance remained the same, as well as our RV Insurance (Progressive through Overland Insurance Service in Arizona). Tax and accounting business continued with contract work for the CPA firm in Port Saint Joe. T-Mobile cell phone and internet still working great.

No change in our trip planning software (RV Trip Wizard) and discount fuel program (Open Roads).

Excited to get on the road again. Always thankful for this time!