Sun, 30th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 11.3 degrees, clear sky.

We went detecting while Ross and Kev set up for the next pour tomorrow.

Lovely day though only a top of 18 degrees but the sun still has a bite to it.

Drinks around our fire. Abra’s white hair is now tinged with red so she is black and pink now.

Clear cold night.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sat, 29th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 15.4 degrees. Blew all night then we had a shower of rain at 3am. No wind and clear at the moment.

The boys got ready for the concrete to arrive to do the slab. I headed back to our new area to go over it – lots of rubbish still to pick up.

Wind picked up again by lunchtime and it’s a bit nippy but we must be acclimatising as I only need two layers!! The sun is still hot when you are out of the wind.

Back to camp early to get ready for Sat night BBQ. Decided to move the firepit to the other side of the container to get out of the wind.

I made a tossed salad and baked some Banana Twists for dessert. Had a great evening chatting and the wind settled down and the stars came out. Sandy spotted a great falling star but was having a drink at the time so couldn’t call out.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Fri, 28th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 15.8 degrees, clear sky - warmer night.

Lovely morning detecting.

By lunchtime the wind had picked up again and was very strong and gusty. We have the awning only half out and tied down so it coped with the wind ok. Blew all our ‘fire starter’ cardboard boxes etc across the paddock though!!

Clouds started coming over and the wind was relentless and didn’t stop when the sun went down either.

Very strong winds through the night. Reminds us of Marble Bar etc last year and that we are now heading into two months or so of these winds – such fun!!

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Thurs, 27th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA (Matthew & Wendy’s birthdays)

7am 13.2 degrees, clear sky.

Sent off texts wishing Matthew and Wendy best wishes for their birthdays.

I went detecting while Steve helped Kev and Ross with the slab preparation. Before that Steve got all the washing done too – what a good boy.

Headed into town at midday – enjoyed our fortnightly treat of a big yummy burger. Very windy in town. Rang Rick for a chat. He is improving which is great news.

Got our water, food and gas bottles then had a cuppa in the park. Dan rang with lovely news – he has a girlfriend, a lovely lady, Francesca De Vries (nurse, ex Melbourne).

The wind dropped off about 6pm so we were able to enjoy leftovers by the fire.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 26th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 13 degrees, clear sky.

Went detecting. Got windy by the time we headed back for lunch.

Robyn & Robert had rung so I rang them back. They are leaving Mosquito Creek – all the others have gone too as the run of gold has run out!! They are head to Marble Bar now.

Back detecting and I was rewarded with my biggest piece yet. Steve did well too. Icecream for us tonight!!

Rang Mum and Dad to brag.

Windy around the fire tonight but it isn’t cold.

Ross and Lara had gone into town to pick up the formwork etc for the camp’s slab that Kev is here to do. They also picked up their new puppy, Abra, a black and white border collie. So cute. Ross came over with her and I had lovely cuddles. She is so fluffy and still white at the moment. She’ll be black and red soon with all this red dirt. Will have to get a photo and send it to Jon & Jess.

Finished off the evening with icecream – even Kev got some as he had wandered with his 2300 and found a couple of little bits.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Tues, 25th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 11.2 degrees, heater back on for an hour to take the nip out of the air and heat up our clothes so they are nice and warm to put on.

Went detecting then started on where we had been cleaning up the rubbish.

Back to camp for lunch. Steve made toasted sandwiches – his speciality, while I rang the insurance company to compare rates and pay so we are all insured again.

I worked on  my blog while Steve did some plumbing. Lovely day 26 degrees in the van.

Played Dice with Sandy and showed her my Hand Patience.

Got our drinks and chatted around Tom & Sandy’s fire. Ross stopped in for a drink.

Got dinner happening then Kev arrived. Had a good trip up. Tom and Sandy came over after dinner for a chat and some after dinner drinks of Butterscotch Snaps and our white port. Had a great night chatting – probably our latest night outside, 10pm, and the temperature was just perfect.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 24th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA (Erica’s birthday)

7am 12.3 degrees. Tried to ring Erica for her birthday but there is no service at the moment so will try and ring her at lunchtime.

Back detecting.

Back for lunch and we called Erica – woke her up from her nanny nap. Will try video chat with them this afternoon. She weighed all her stones they brought back, agates, amethysts etc and they had 90kg!! Wish we could find that much in our ‘rocks’.

Back detecting then home a bit earlier to try the video chat. Just got through – our signal was low again but she knows what to do now so we will try again another time. They are having lunch with friends tomorrow for her birthday. She got our card which was good.

A cold wind came up while we were cooking dinner – more stuffed capsicums and I stuffed some tomatoes too. Roasted the other vegies too and had it with Y bone steaks. Great dinner as Steve does all the cooking on the fire!! And he does the washing up too. Went inside to eat though as it was getting a bitty chilly by the fire even with our lovelies warmers going.

I did manage to spot two satellites though – one going east to west then 15 minutes later one going west to east. Maybe it was the same one and he turned around!!

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sun, 23rd July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 10.8 degrees, clear sky.

Detecting after lunch.

Good day – lovely temperature during the day – only need one layer. Cools off quickly at night though so on with the boots and jumpers.

Drinks around our fire with Tom, Sandy, Ross and Lara. Great hearing their stories from their cruise out of Hong Kong.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sat, 22nd July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 12.2 degrees, clear sky.

Four magpies, Mum, Dad and two babies have joined the breakfast group of Butcher Birds.

Went back to Crystal Valley – thought that was a nice name for the area. We tried raking the area then blowing it with the leaf blower – sort of worked but it didn’t uncover any good crystals. Sandy joined us – Tom went off for a detect. We found a few more broken ones. I kept them and will take them home and see if Brian can tumble them.

Rang Wendy for a chat at lunch time. Had a lovely long chat then Steve and Dave chatted for ages too.

We are having BBQ tonight as Ross and Lara are arriving. I baked my Gingerbread Spiced Pumpkin cake and made some more pasta salads.

Drinks around the fire near the camp with the others. Ross and Lara arrived in time for dinner which was great. Poor Ross has the flu – we thought they would be clear of ‘diseases’ after a week back in Australia but he probably caught it in a shopping centre instead!!

Had a great night chatting. Bruce & Julie had come too and Phil, Sandy & Annette joined in too.

Cold air as we walked back to our vans in the evening.

Fri, 21st July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7.30am 14 degrees, clear sky.

Mum rang but we didn’t get the call just the text message as we don’t seem to get phone service at all first up in the morning. Must be Telstra as the booster is on all the time now. Rang her back and it was great news – she and Val won $1000 on their favourite pokie machine. They were very excited which was wonderful. Mum said she might shout herself a new bedspread.

Went for a wander over where Steve had been detecting and Steve checked out where Sandy and Annette had been as we have all finished our areas. Cold wind blowing.

After lunch we settled in to our ‘games’ room in the camp and played games with Tom and Sandy. Sandy and Annette aren’t into relaxing unfortunately!!

I had googled the space station and it was due to come over again at 6.21pm so we were ready for it. We also saw 6 other satellites which was amazing. The space station wasn’t as bright as the other night though.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Thurs, 20th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7.30am 15.4 degrees, thin cloud covering the sun and thick clouds in the west.

8am the thick clouds turned into a heavy fog – couldn’t see very far at all.

I got out our brochures for the WA coast Kalbarri down to Perth to see what we are going to check out later in the year.

9am the fog has lifted. Just as Tom and Sandy headed off to go into town for their supplies, Bruce rang to say he spotted some utes near the windmill in case it needed checking out. We followed them around as we were heading that way to pick up some pipe Steve found slotted pipe at an old camp that he can use for grey water drainage. Saw Sandy detecting and he said he saw 3 cars take off after Bruce had driven through. We drove down to where they were and found 9 kangaroo remains – mainly the head and legs. They left in a rush as they left their knife sharpener behind. The dogs scored the roo legs to chew on though.

We picked up the pipe and Steve found a ‘rock tamer’ – long bit of conveyor belt that hangs behind the truck to stop the rocks from flicking up on the van. He is going to mount it under the van to stop the rocks hitting the water tanks.

Linda texted saying Kevin is coming up on Tuesday to do the concreting for Ross. I rang her back for a chat.

Ross rang from Kalgoorlie – making sure he had the correct bits that Steve needed. We said about the roo shooters and he said it would have been the local aborigines. Must be a party happening!! Ross said Kalgoorlie is full of riot police etc in case the court case outcome for the trial of a chap who ran over an aborigine boy who had stolen a motorbike. They were admitting to dangerous driving but it wouldn’t have happened if the kid hadn’t been stealing the bike!! Makes you wonder about the right and wrong of the Law.

Phil arrived. Will need a knee operation but he is going to keep detecting till he gets it.

Windy afternoon. Steve put the rock tamer on. I prepared stuffed capsicums as we scored lots in the chook food from the IGA. Also sautéed butternut pumpkin to go with our chicken.

Drinks around the fire then we enjoyed our ‘fancy’ dinner.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 19th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 16.7 degrees, clear sky.

Decided to wash the sheets as the sun was shining and there was a strong wind blowing from the NW. Sandy used my machine too as the washing machines in at the van park where she normally does them have broken down and there is only one left. She is going to get one like mine for next year.

Rang around the insurance companies as the van and truck insurance is due. What fun!! Steve having fun creating another shower room – he is enjoying pottering around the camp. As it was so windy we didn’t do any detecting today!!

Another lovely day in shorts and t-shirt. The cold weather predicted hasn’t arrived yet thank goodness. Nice to get some sun on my legs!!

Games afternoon again then back to camp to cook dinner. As we were sitting around the fire admiring the beautiful night sky a big light crossed over the sky. Will have to check if it was the space station as it was very bright and definitely not a plane etc. Went from SW to NE.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

PS it was the space station and it will come over again on Friday night then in the morning 6.24am on the 29th so might have to get up early for a look.

Tues, 18th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7.45am 12.4 degrees – slept in. Clear sky.

Beautiful warm day, light breeze. Short and t-shirt weather.

Detected some other areas near the windmill. I scored but Steve missed out.

Played more games in the arvo – enjoying our break time.

Still in shorts and t-shirt for dinner, 25 degrees. That’s a first!!

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 17th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

Sprinkle of rain in the early morning.

7.30am 18.1 degrees, cloudy.

The wind was gusty and moved the clouds around us.

Rang Mum and Dad for a chat.

Back detecting. Tried to dig out a big rubbish sound in one of Steve’s areas. Got down to it but it is a big sheet of corrugated iron. Continued out further in our clean up area and was rewarded with two little bits.

Erica rang to let us know they were home safe and sound. She says she is going to weigh all the rocks they brought home just to see how much they collected in garnets, amethysts, agates etc.

Lovely evening by the fire. It is starting to cool off quickly again at night.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sun, 16th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA (35 months on the road)

7.30am 13.4 degrees, clear sky. Much nicer!!

We have another family of birds coming for breakfast. These ones have a full black chest but look to be the same as the others, a type of butcher bird.

Ross rang – they are back in Perth after their cruise. They had a great time. Should be up here by the end of next week. Steve gave him a list of plumbing bits to get so he can connect up the other donga.

Charles texted – Steve had tried to ring him last week. He has been reading a book a chap wrote about Bruce’s murder and is going to send us a copy, which is lovely of him to do.

After lunch clouds started to come over but it was still a lovely temperature day. Just a light breeze. Steve fiddled around with the plumbing then went for a walk to find some gold but no luck for him. I found a few little nuglets on some old timer scrapes nearby.

Nice evening.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sat, 15th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 11.9 degrees, clear sky.

Followed Tom and Sandy to check out some different areas.

Sandy has found a heap of beautiful clear crystals on a slope of quartz rocks so we stopped there for a look. We managed to find a few nice ones too.

Warmer day though the wind picked up a lot. We stopped off to check out some other areas on our way back for lunch.

Made some more pasta salad for our sausage sizzle tonight with Tom and Sandy. Annette has been ill so she and Sandy won’t join us.

Wrapped my fairy lights around the tree beside our van – I forgot about them. I have our other solar lights out marking the awning ropes etc.

We played games then when the wind dropped we got the fire going and had a yummy dinner. There was a little microbat caught in one of the dongas so we set it free – it looked so cute.

Lots of laughter as we played games – girls ruled in Sequence but the boys got us in Skipbo.

Fri, 14th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 11.5 degrees, clear sky.

Detected some other scrapes the other couple have been doing as they are going to go over ours now we are all finished.

Hotter day – 28 degrees in the van at lunch time. Nice to be able to open the windows to get a breeze!!

Sandy and I played Dice in the afternoon. I had shorts on so got a bit of a tan on my legs.

While we were having drinks after sunset I saw a falling star and said to the others. It must have been space junk as it took a long time to fall so they all watched it too. It burst into flames leaving a trail but then burnt out just about the tree line – somewhere to the north east. It was amazing to see.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Thurs, 13th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 11.5 degrees, clear sky. Didn’t put the heater on but maybe should have.

Steve got the fire going to heat some water so I could wash my hair. Then he loaded the truck ready for our trip to town to get water, food etc. By 9am though it is lovely and warm so didn’t take a jumper as it is supposed to be 26 today.

Hayden called in to say goodbye – he was camped on the pending lease and is heading to Sandstone to attend a ‘bikie’ event – apparently it is run very well and there are lots of ‘girls’.

Into town – got my mail then filled up the water tanks and all our containers. Had a lovely big burger for lunch -  special treat. Watched the highlights of the V8 racing in Townsville on the laptop. Steve rang Brian for a chat – heading to O’Briens Creek for Show weekend to find some topaz.

Got our gas bottle and food/drink items from Coles Express. They even have frozen meat too now. Got the rest of the food from Farmer Jacks IGA . Picked up the chook food they keep for Lara then headed for home.

Unpacked and settled in for drinks with Tom and Sandy then a few games before dinner as we both had leftovers.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 12th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 12 degrees, cloudy. Didn’t put the heater on this morning – being brave!!

Week forecast for warmer weather up to 26 degrees during the day and 10-12 at night. Then it turns cold again so we will be enjoying the warmth.

Tried detecting another area.

Did the washing in the late arvo – still warm enough that most of it was dry by drinks.

Clear sky and nice temperature for dinner again.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Tues, 11th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 10.8 degrees, clear sky. Top of 21 forecasted for today – yeah.

Lovely morning. Finished cleaning up the area beside our detecting area then I redid my area again just in case I missed one. All good.

Wind picked up – strong and gusty at lunchtime coming from the NW.

Went for a drive to detect some different ground.

Back for smoko then games of Skipbo – the girls rule today.

Windy arvo but not cold which is nice. Clouds in the west but the rest is clear. The wind dropped at sunset so we had a lovely time around the fire, not having to be too close to keep warm for a change!!

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 10th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

6.30am 4.9 degrees – brrr . Clear Sky. Put the heater on then as it is going to take a while to get the temperature up to a nice temperature. 7.30am it had only climbed to 11 degrees!!

Wind came up in the morning bringing a thin cloud across the sky making it a colder day. Needed a few more layers this morning.

Hot soup and toasties for lunch. Nice and warm in the van, 21 degrees, though it is overcast and cold outside.

Steve rang Rick to see how he is progressing. I then rang Mum and Dad to see if they had got their birthday cards as I forgot to as the other day. Dad’s card was a funny one – big boobed lady on the front saying want to see my winning pair – of course it was a pear!! But Steve decided Dad deserved better and found a photo of a pair of boobs from one of his magazines and stuck it in the card!! Dad thought it was great.

Baked and did my blog in the afternoon while Steve connected up water to Lara’s outdoor sink.

Sandy and I played Rummykub then Sequence after smoko. Tom was attending to their fire and dinner. We joined them for drinks.

Cooked our dinner in the camp oven and as the wind had dropped had tea outside but no stars or moon as the cloud has covered it up.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sun, 9th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 7 degrees, clear sky. Jeff rang for a chat which was lovely. His shoulder is doing well after its surgery so he is looking to go detecting shortly and looking forward to coming over to WA again next year.

Back to cleaning up the area beside where we have been detecting – lots of rubbish but another nice reward.

After lunch Sandy took me for a walk over the hill to another hill that has lots of ‘Devils Dice’. Ironstone rocks in perfect cubes or rectangles. Though some are still joined together which are rather interesting.

Back in time for a cuppa then 5 games of Sequence sitting in the sunshine – Unfortunately the boys beat us, 3 games to 2.

Got our fires going for dinner. The wind dropped again after sunset which is great so we can sit around the fire and enjoy the night. Actually saw 2 satellites as the full moon was rising.

Malcolm rang for a chat and to plan our trip to Cape York next year. We settled on August so we will start driving home just in the truck in July and do the Canning Stock Route etc on the way. Then we have Stephs’ 21^st and Brian’s 50^th in September so it will work in well. Malcolm said it didn’t get over 6 degrees there all day and the heavy mist only lifted for a short while. We had a day like that when we stayed with them. Depressing type of weather.

15 degrees in the van at 8pm with it all closed up. Going to be a chilly night.

Sat, 8th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA (Dad and Ella’s birthdays)

7am 12 degrees with a heavy fog. Rang Dad for his birthday. He had his computer back so we connected up via Facebook video and chatted for half an hour. So lovely to be able to see them and chat. Will do this once a month at least.

Back to clean up next to where Steve has been detecting this time so I dug while he detected. We were pleasantly rewarded too.

Had lunch then early showers ready for games with Tom and Sandy this afternoon.

Rang Ella for her birthday. She and Amanda were having a girls shopping weekend in Brisbane.

Played a few games of dice then the others arrived. Bruce and Wendy who are camped on the pending ground and another chap, Hayden. Then Annette and Sandy came back from detecting (they go from sun up to sun down!!) and joined us. Had a great time chatting around the fire even though there was a gusty cold wind coming through the camp. After the others left we went into the lunch room and played some more games of Skipbo – the girls won this time.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Fri, 7th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 6.5 degrees, bit of cloud in the east blanking out the rising sun. The cows are wandering again upsetting the dogs.

Cold morning detecting but by lunch the sun was warming us up.

In the afternoon I did my blog etc and Steve got wood for tomorrow’s BBQ night with the others.

I had some leftover grissly bits of roast from lunch so I chopped them up and left them on the quartz rocks for the birds. They thought it was lovely and sang me a pretty song to say thanks.

Cold wind blew at sunset but then stopped when the sun had set so it was very nice to have dinner by the fire.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Thurs, 6th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

6.30am 10 degrees, still needed the heater on though. Clear sky and no wind.

Visit from our friendly birds for their morning cereal – they get bread at Tom & Sandy’s.

Tom and Sandy headed into town for water and supplies. We ordered some wine and rum with them from Dan Murphy’s and they deliver it to the Post Office for a very cheap delivery price. We can get 5 litre casks for the same price we pay for 2 litre ones in Meeka.

We went back to cleaning the area next to where I had been detecting but this time Steve did the digging while I swung the detector. Much easier to deal with all the rubbish and we were pleased to be rewarded with some little nuglets.

After lunch I rang Rebecca and Clive to wish them all the best for their trip to Cape York but unfortunately they have the flu and are delaying their departure till they feel better. Being retired you can do that.

Steve crushed up two rock specimens we have picked up here – one quartz and one ironstone then panned off the gold. Then he crushed the other rocks we have been carrying around from last year and got the gold out of them too. Not much but it all adds up.

Jon rang – he has the flu too. Might have something to do with working in the rain on Sunday building his new deck out the front of the house. He wants to give the dogs some more room out the back now that he and Jess have decided to settle in the house for a while now. They have a new chap in the front room too. He said they had a nice dinner for Nana’s birthday.

Around the fire for drinks till the wind picked up and got too cold – even with the ‘lovelies warmers’ under our seats.

Wed, 5th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

6.30am 7 degrees, clear sky.

Finished going over Steve's area – no more joy. He stayed back still finishing off the plumbing – slow job. I then started working over the fresh ground beside my area to clear off any rubbish – lots of that but I did find a little nugget.

The wind picked up but it was still nice in the sun, 18 degrees in the van at lunch time.

Spent the afternoon playing Skipbo and Sequence with Tom and Sandy. We have invited Sandy and Annette but they have declined. The boys won 4 to 1 in Skipbo but Sandy and I won Sequence 2 games to 0.

Leftovers for dinner around the fire after the wind settled down. Into the van for our hot showers then watched the end of another TV Series – American Crime.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Tues, 4th July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA (Mum’s birthday)

7am 7.6 degrees, clear sky. Rang Mum to wish her a happy birthday and arrange to chat with them both via Facebook video. Unfortunately Dad’s computer died so they don’t have any internet. Had a nice chat any case. Julie was cooking dinner and all the rest of the family were coming over for dinner.

Baked my Gingerbread Spiced Pumpkin Cake as I had extra pumpkin and took it across for morning tea with Tom and Sandy – she had yummy lemon slice. We have a hard life here!!

Swapped detecting areas with Steve to make sure we have got all the gold!! Not too bad.

After lunch Steve worked on trying to get the toilet in the camp working so I rang Suzanne for a chat. The start of her next chapter in her life as she starts working at the Kindergarten.

Erica rang – they are now in Georgetown and are heading to O’Brien’s Creek to find some topaz. Brian was heading up in two weeks for the show weekend so he will miss seeing them. Erica and Terry are celebrating their 60^th wedding anniversary in September and asked if we were going to be close to Perth then in case we could fly back to Bundy to join them.

Nice afternoon and evening around the fire – Tom even spotted a satellite. I can’t believe we aren’t seeing them.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 3rd July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA (new fireplace)

7am 7.5 degrees inside so would be about 4 outside!! Warms up quickly though once the sun gets the beams happening. Lovely clear sky again. I can handle the cold as long as the sun is out.

We have a friend waiting for something to eat by the door.

Didn’t take long for his friends to arrive!! They have a lovely little song but I don’t think they are magpies – maybe a type of butcher bird.

Back to the cleaning up the turned over area. Not expecting to find much other than rubbish and to my surprise out came a beautiful quartz specimen with gold cap.

Tom showed me how to do a Specific Gravity test and gave me the formula to calculate how much gold is in it.

The boys went out for a firewood run while I worked on my End of Year stuff on my computer. It gives us a clear picture of how we are travelling financially. Made a cuppa and wandered over to see what Sandy was up to – she just made a lemon slice.

Steve rang Rick to see how he was going.

Steve decided he wanted a better fireplace so got lots of quartz rocks and created this beautiful fireplace.

Enjoyed our drinks around it then cooked dinner and even stayed out again to eat dinner – lovelies warmers full of coals too.

Sun, 2nd July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 11 degrees. All fogged in. The wind stopped during the night. We only put the awning half out as we know how it blows over here!

Took till 8.30 for the fog to lift.

Nice morning detecting.

18.7 degrees in the van at lunch time which means it is probably only 15 outside but feels warmer if you are standing in the sunshine otherwise if feels like 10 if you are in the cold wind in the shade. The IGA saves vegies for Lara for the chooks and Sandie and Annette has picked it up when they were in town and had lots of spare stuff that was too good for the chooks. I scored lettuce, half a cabbage and pumpkin. So we had yummy pumpkin soup and toasted sandwiches for lunch – yum.

Steve continued on with his plumbing so I went back to finish off an area.

Back for a cuppa then we cleared off the table in one of the dongas and played Skipbo with Tom and Sandy. After a couple of games we played in pairs which was great – girls vs boys – 1 game each so far.

Jess sent through some photos of Jon’s latest renovation at the house – a deck out the front. Dan had mentioned it. He wants more room out the back for the dogs so will pull up that deck and move the spa out the front. He and Jess should go into House Rules!!

Got a recipe off Rebecca yesterday for Chinese mince to use up the cabbage so did that tonight in the camp oven – very nice and lots of it so we have another dinner and I bagged some and put them in the freezer for lunches.

Lovely night by the fire though it is very cold but there is no wind. We even got the ‘lovelies warmers’ out and had dinner by the fire.

Clouds started coming over the sky as we headed inside. Putting the heater on tonight as it has already dropped to 14 degrees in the van at 8pm!! Forecast is for 2 degrees overnight!!

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sat, 1st July, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 8.2 degrees, clear sky.

Dan sent through a photo of his new car. Looks very nice. Now he will have to sell the others!!

A nice day though still quite windy from the west.

Rang Malcolm for a chat. He and Kerry were having a weekend in Adelaide – very nice.

The wind picked up in the afternoon and is coming more south-westerly. Good time to stay in the van doing my blog and my financial spreadsheets as the financial year is over – not that we have to worry about that too much now but I like to see how we are travelling.

Clouds started coming over but by dinner time the wind had blown them away but the wind got stronger, but it isn’t as cold. It was actually very nice around the fire as long as you had your back to the wind!!

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Fri, 30th June, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 8 degrees – just love our heater.

9am – no wind, lovely in the sun. Had to strip off my flanny shirt as the sun was very warm.

The wind picked up in the afternoon from the west and that has a bite to it.

Rang Rebecca at lunchtime to wish her a happy birthday.

Detecting again in the arvo and the temperature was very nice as the wind had dropped off. Can’t believe I am saying these cold temperatures are nice!! Must be climatising!!

Dug out the spare blanket in the truck to throw on top of our other one to make sure we are warm at night. Forecast for some 2 degrees nights soon!!

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Thurs, 29th June, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 8.3 degrees, clear sky.

Erica rang from Forsyth – heading to Agate Creek. Lovely and warm there.

We are heading for a top of 17 degrees today – yeah. Steve coloured my hair – been 8 weeks since he last did it so the greys were letting me know it was time to do it again. Though no one cares out here and I mainly have a cap on but I’m not ready to go fully grey yet!!

Headed into town to top up the water tanks and fill up all the drums and buckets we have and for Tom and Sandy too. Got our groceries and enjoyed a very yummy hamburger for lunch.

Got out the laptop while we had a cuppa and I did my bits and pieces while Steve had a nice chat with Rick. He is doing blockies on Mum’s walker but his leg is still weak. His GP said it could take a while. Hope it doesn’t.

Got a message from Dan that he had just picked up his new ute and he sent us a photo on Facebook. Will chat with him later.

Back to camp to unload and pack everything away then enjoy a drink with Tom and Sandy. Leftovers for dinner which was great.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 28th June, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 8 degrees, brrrr. Clear sky.

Phil left – heading to Newman to help his daughter move house. He will be back in a few weeks.

Went detecting on a new area.

The wind picked up and was blowing the dirt everywhere so gave up and went back to the van for lunch.

I did the washing – the wind will dry it in no time. Got organised for our drive into town tomorrow to get food, water and gas.

Kaylene has sent a text to rang her back. Rick is home and Steve and Sandra has just left – heading off for their trip to the Kimberleys. We had hoped to see them in Marble Bar as they came through but we won’t be heading up there now.

Steve pottered around the camp so Sandy and I played ‘Dice’. Great game for windy days.

Tom connected the booster for the phone reception to solar so we can have it on all the time.

The boys joined us and we had a few more games of Dice with them before drinks around the fire. Got out the big coats as soon as the sun set.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Tues, 27th June, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7 am 8.6 degrees – the winter nights have arrived. Flicked on the heater and stayed in bed till it warmed up the van. Then we warmed our clothes in front of the heater before putting them on – toastie.

Lovely clear sky. The breeze is cold though it is lovely in the sun.

Said farewell to Ross & Lara then gave Steve a haircut.

Drinks around the fire with Tom and Sandy while tea cooked in the camp oven.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 26th June, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 13 degrees, clear sky and no wind.

The pastoralist buzzed over us – mustering time.

Off detecting again – nice in the sun today. The wind picked up which had a cold bite to it.

Last night for drinks with Ross & Lara before they head off on their holiday with all the family to celebrate his birthday.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sun, 25th June, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7am 14 degrees. Clear sky overhead but dark clouds are still hanging on the horizon. Still windy.

Clouded over by 9 and the wind is cold. Good day for hot coffee and port I reckon.

Rang Rick and Kaylene – Rick will be home tomorrow from hospital. We are thinking of them both and hope he heals quickly and is back on his feet quickly.

Texts back and forth from Dave and Majella who are in Marble Bar. Lovely and hot there, 30 degrees and overcast.

Ended up going detecting – with a few layers on.

Needed a nice warm fire tonight for our drinks, then into the van for a hot shower and watch some of our movies.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sat, 24th June, 2017 Bush camp, near Meekatharra, WA

7.30 am 12.8 degrees, cloud bands covering the sun and there is another cloud band in the west.

Steve went off detecting while I stayed in the van to catch up on my blog. Steve put the genie on before he left so I could charge my laptop as I worked. Should have put the heater on too! Even got the blog uploaded as Lara had the booster on.

Dark clouds appeared in the north but they moved on. Cold wind today – forecast for a top of 18 degrees!!

By lunch big black clouds came over and dropped a sprinkle of rain drops on the van.

I went for a wander along the road where I found a couple of bits when we first came here and was rewarded with a couple more.

Drizzly shower of rain in the arvo so I got my book out for the first time in ages. It is another one of the Jason Bourne ones with lots of different bits so had to reread a bit to remember who was who in it!! This one hasn’t been made into a movie.

Steve pottered around with the pipework etc at the camp.

Lara got us all over for a BBQ dinner. The boys cut a 44 in half to use as the fire pit and they found some wire grill to use as the plate. Amazing what you can make do with. Very cold wind so we were all enjoying the fire’s warmth. Had a great night chatting and laughing. About 8.30 we headed back to our vans just as a drizzle of rain came down.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.