Our highs and lows of 2020

Most of the world is happy to be leaving 2020 behind and watching it disappear in the rear view mirror. 2021 just has to be better. But while there were some challenges for us in 2020, we certainly wouldn't call it a disastrous year, as it has been for many people!

The first three months of 2020 were fantastic. January, February, and March we were in Mexico leading a group of other motorhomes on a four and a half month tour. It was a great group of people and we enjoyed the trip as much as we think the participants did. It was a lot of fun!

And while we were doing that trip, we knew that it would be our last time in Mexico for a while. We love Mexico, and it ticks all the boxes for us. But there is a whole big world out there (and what if there is somewhere even better than Mexico??) and we knew it was time for us to see some more of it.

Our motorhome Sherman, enjoying the views at Patzcuaro, Mexico.

Seeing the wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly is always a highlight!

A gorgeous sunrise with the Volcán Popocatépetl (Volcano) in the distance.

As seen from San Agustín Tetlama, Morelos, Mexico.

Helping out at the Hogar Infantil orphanage in Ocozocoautla, Chiapas, Mexico.

The group did a fantastic job helping out during our week long stay at the orphanage. We think everyone enjoyed the experience and it was good to give back. We thank our many readers for contributing as well! Definitely a highlight of 2020.

The month of March had us making our way north back up to the U.S. border. But there was a lot to see along the way, including some places that Ruth and I had never been before!

One highlight was the Grutas Tolantongo Canyon and Hot Springs.

Another highlight was the most beautiful drive in Mexico.

And then Covid hit.

We had been watching the progress of Covid, and eventually it began to affect our trip. One couple decided to hightail it back to the U.S., while two other couples headed to other parts of Mexico to wait things out. (One of those couples is still there, and quite happy!)

The rest of us quickly made our way up to the town of Matehuala where we sat out nine days until the end of March. It was actually a nice stay even though Covid limitations came into play pretty quickly in that area.

March 30th, we crossed the border into the United States at Laredo, Texas.

This was when we realized how much Covid was about to affect our plans. Originally, we were planning to head up to Saskatchewan to work for three months. And, we were supposed to fly back to Ottawa to visit family for a week during our drive up to Saskatchewan. Both of those things were shelved.

But we are pretty resilient and adaptable, and don't let things bother us very much. As the saying goes "when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade"!

So we spent the months of April through July traveling Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and eventually into Ontario, Canada. We were in our motorhome and kept to ourselves. Other than buying fuel and groceries, we generally stayed away from people.

We did a few nice hikes with friends Bob and Denise.

We boondocked most of the time.

We loved hiking in Utah!

We had never spent much time in the state of Montana over the years, so we wanted to do some more exploring there. We spent the entire month of June in Montana!

I said in the title that there were highs and lows of 2020. Sure, the entire Covid situation was a low, but we made the best of it and I think the choices that we made ensured that the end result turned out very well for us. But there were some lows along the way. Our motorhome Sherman was getting old and despite spending a bunch of money on him in Texas, he continued to cause some problems along the way. It was becoming frustrating not knowing if he was going to break down again, and although that only happened one time when the engine water pump gave up, we were certainly making up our minds that he had reached the end of his life for us.

Sherman, with the Teton Mountains in Wyoming, on our way to Montana.

One of our favorite campsites of 2020!

Near Gardiner, Montana.

Hiking in Montana.

We really enjoyed the month of June hiking and biking in Montana.

July we drove to Ontario. We weren't really in a rush, knowing that we would have to do two weeks of house arrest (quarantine) when we arrived. But, we were looking forward to seeing our families. Driving across South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan was not as exciting for us, but we still found some interesting things to see along the way.

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.

Devil's Tower.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

And then we crossed into Canada and made our way to Ruth's father's house where we quarantined for two weeks.

We stayed in and around Ottawa for all of August and September. Just visiting with family. Lots of fun to see the grandkids again and spend time with them.

One low point during that time was when we said goodbye to our motorhome Sherman. He was priced to sell, and he sold to the second person who came to look at him. He had been a great rig for us and we spent a lot of time in him between 2007 and 2020. He took us to a lot of fantastic places!

Our last ever photo of Sherman, dropping him off at the new owners.

In October, we flew to London, England and then on to Turkey. That was when another low point occurred. We knew when we said goodbye to Ruth's father that we might not see him again. 

He passed away November 13th.

Our last ever photo of Ruth's dad.

But the rest of the year has been really good.

Turkey has surpassed our expectations. It's an easy country to travel in, and there is a lot to see. I won't bother posting any more photos because most of you have been following along anyhow and have seen them every day.

Oh, another high point of 2020 was when we found out our new motorhome had arrived at the dealership in Germany. We still have to take you to Tanzania with us in the new year, and although we are looking forward to that, we are more so looking forward to traveling Europe in our new motorhome.

Our new motorhome!

Oh and of course our year end highlight... our new eyes! Christmas Day eye surgery went well, and we look forward to having our other eye done tomorrow!

So, a pretty exciting year for us really. I told Ruth when we got married that she would never be bored! 

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And in Canada...

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