Mar 29th - Williams
Housekeeping day today. Watched the icky weather and did a load of laundry. I am glad that I only had one load as it was the most expensive laundry facilities so far - $1.75 for a small washer and $1.50 for the dryer for 42 minutes. Same machines that were $1.00 for wash and .25 for each 17 minutes of drying in Quartzsite.
Mar 30th - to Camp Verde
Snowed more last night but the roads were clear. Had to sweep snow off the slides before we could bring them in. Short driving day - hit I40 to Flagstaff (35 miles) and then south on I17 to Camp Verde (53 miles). We are in a nice clean park - near the freeway but below it so the noise is very low. We got the last spot in the park and only got it because Terry is a good driver and got our 36 foot rig into a spot with a 27 foot max designation. We had lunch in town and then went to Montezuma’s Castle nearby. It is a restored dwelling on a cliff face that was used by Indian farmers in the 1400’s.
We purchased an annual pass for national parks and monuments when we went to Zion and we have already recovered the $80 cost. Once Terry is 62 we will be able to get a lifetime pass for $10 - there are some perks to getting older!
The weather was lovely so we wandered around the park and chatted with one couple who is here with a group of people in small van-type campers (Pleasure Way). Then we met another couple on a walk and after standing in the street for a while we asked them over for a drink and took notes on places they had been and recommended.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Mar 27-28 - Grand Canyon / Williams
Mar 27th - Williams, AZ
We thought it was windy yesterday but it was nothing compared to today. We pulled in our slides before we went out for a while as the large slide that was facing the wind was moving so much. We played “good neighbor” and picked up and folded lawn chairs that were blowing away from a rig across the street When we got back we realized that the large slide was the last one to go out so we put out the other two and left the large one in until the wind dropped a bit. We were happy that the wind dropped until I opened the door to take Dolly out about 9:30 and realized that it was snowing!!! Everything was white and it was still snowing. We had seen a weather forecast and it agreed with our outdoor temperature reading of below freezing.
Mar 28th - Grand Canyon / Williams
The roads were clear this morning with other areas still mostly white but thawing quickly - helped by the wind that was still blowing but not so bad. After fortifying ourselves with fresh doughnuts from the nearby Safeway, we headed out for the Grand Canyon which is 59 miles from here. There were a few skiffs of snow along the way but it turned out to be a much better day than we expected. With our heaviest coats we were OK but I sure as heck would not have wanted to spend hours on a mule riding down the canyon! The film at the IMAX theatre about the history of the canyon was wonderful. We spent about 6 hours with travel and sightseeing. Some more skiffs of snow on the way back and it is just below freezing now (7:30).
We thought it was windy yesterday but it was nothing compared to today. We pulled in our slides before we went out for a while as the large slide that was facing the wind was moving so much. We played “good neighbor” and picked up and folded lawn chairs that were blowing away from a rig across the street When we got back we realized that the large slide was the last one to go out so we put out the other two and left the large one in until the wind dropped a bit. We were happy that the wind dropped until I opened the door to take Dolly out about 9:30 and realized that it was snowing!!! Everything was white and it was still snowing. We had seen a weather forecast and it agreed with our outdoor temperature reading of below freezing.
Mar 28th - Grand Canyon / Williams
The roads were clear this morning with other areas still mostly white but thawing quickly - helped by the wind that was still blowing but not so bad. After fortifying ourselves with fresh doughnuts from the nearby Safeway, we headed out for the Grand Canyon which is 59 miles from here. There were a few skiffs of snow along the way but it turned out to be a much better day than we expected. With our heaviest coats we were OK but I sure as heck would not have wanted to spend hours on a mule riding down the canyon! The film at the IMAX theatre about the history of the canyon was wonderful. We spent about 6 hours with travel and sightseeing. Some more skiffs of snow on the way back and it is just below freezing now (7:30).
Monday, March 26, 2007
Mar 25-26 - Utah to Arizona
Mar 25st - Sunday - Hurricane,,UT
Today we went to Kolob Zion park. It is a much smaller version of Zion with more amazing rock formations. We went on a short (just over a mile round trip) walk for a better view of the Finger Canyons - a series of valleys formed by rivers. We did not get going early enough to go to Bryce Canyon park - will have to go there some other time.
It was obvious that we were in “church” country today - there were very few stores open.
We heard a weather forecast that included 3-6 inches of snow in Salt Lake City so that really reinforced our feeling that we needed to get back into warmer weather.
Mar 26th - Monday - Arizona
Headed south this morning. We just hit I15 and went right through Las Vegas. Then onto I515 and across the Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam). I was disappointed that the parking for RVs was so far up the hill that we were not going to walk back down for a tour.
We stopped at a tourist info center in Kingman, AZ and thought we would continue on to Williams. But it had been windy all day which makes driving tiring so when we saw an RV park a few miles out of Kingman we decided to spend the night. Took the opportunity to do laundry and also have WiFi so have to update the blog.
Today we went to Kolob Zion park. It is a much smaller version of Zion with more amazing rock formations. We went on a short (just over a mile round trip) walk for a better view of the Finger Canyons - a series of valleys formed by rivers. We did not get going early enough to go to Bryce Canyon park - will have to go there some other time.
It was obvious that we were in “church” country today - there were very few stores open.
We heard a weather forecast that included 3-6 inches of snow in Salt Lake City so that really reinforced our feeling that we needed to get back into warmer weather.
Mar 26th - Monday - Arizona
Headed south this morning. We just hit I15 and went right through Las Vegas. Then onto I515 and across the Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam). I was disappointed that the parking for RVs was so far up the hill that we were not going to walk back down for a tour.
We stopped at a tourist info center in Kingman, AZ and thought we would continue on to Williams. But it had been windy all day which makes driving tiring so when we saw an RV park a few miles out of Kingman we decided to spend the night. Took the opportunity to do laundry and also have WiFi so have to update the blog.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Pictures now available!!
You might have noticed a new entry on our blog. Near the top is a heading "Pictures" and a link below it to a web site. Click on the link and you will be directed to a Picasa web site with a couple of "albums". Click on one of the albums and you will have an option to click on "slideshow" to step through the pictures or use the arrows to move to the next picture. Click on the minimize/maximize square box in the upper right corner to show the pictures full screen. Use the "X" at the bottom of the screen to stop showing pictures and go back to the list of albums.
Enjoy!!
Enjoy!!
Mar 20th - 24th - Laughlin & Mesquite NV; Utah
Mar 20th - Tuesday
The RV spot here in Laughlin (Riversite Casino) leaves a lot to be desired. We are in a “less desirable” central area with very narrow spots. The sites have a left and right spot for each number and the right spot is only used when the park is full. Well, we have neighbors left and right so it is really cozy. The Riverside Casino is on the north end of the park and across the street. All the other casinos are south but there is no exit from the park at that end so when you are walking you have to go clear to the north end of the park and then head south to the other casinos. And of course our site is on the south end of the park!! The coupon that we had includes the breakfast buffet for 2 and the dinner buffet for 2. Not a bad dinner buffet tonight.
Mar 21st - Wed
How can a breakfast buffet be bad? Well, this one was! We bought tickets for a boat ride at 2:30 and then wandered down the row of casinos - there is a walkway along the river for a long ways. I mentioned to Terry that we had a long walk back for the boat ride but the time slipped away and suddenly it was 2:15 (when they told us to be there!) so we walked so fast to get back there and made it. The boat went up river to the Davis Dam and then down past all the casinos. The captain told a lot of history as we went so it was interesting. Lovely weather. Went to a different casino for a “2 for 1” buffet and it was terrible!
Mar 22nd - Thurs
We drove to the Avi casino this morning to check it out and take advantage of the 99 cent ham & egg breakfast. Drove back through Bullhead City. Shopped at the outlet mall - looking for jean capris as I had to throw away my old pair as they were falling apart. No luck. There was a wind, rain, lightning storm when we went back to the rig to water & feed Dolly. Pebbles were thrown against the side of the rig. Yet another “2 for 1” buffet for dinner and it was good. Haven’t cooked for 3 days - how unusual! Notice there has been no mention of gambling wins? That is because there have not been any to speak of!
Mar 23rd - Friday
Decided to go along Lake Mead and stay in a campground along the lake somewhere. Well, Terry was not too impressed with what we saw of Lake Mead so we continued on to Mesquite - near the border of Nevada & Utah. Stopped at a casino RV park and they were full so we dry camped in the parking lot along with many other rigs and semis. I actually cooked dinner tonight - what a nice change. We sat and chatted with a nice couple from Alberta until a short rainstorm sent us inside.
Mar 24th - Saturday
We are near Hurricane, Utah, about 15 miles north of St George. We are in a Western Horizon (member) campsite that was in our CampClub USA list of participating campgrounds. So even though we aren’t Western Horizon members, we get the site for half price. Paid for 2 nights.
Went through Zion national park today. Didn’t get going until after noon and did not wear the proper clothes for hiking so just went on a couple of scenic drives. Amazing landscape! I would like to go back and go on a couple of walks but will have to see what I can talk Terry into and how much time we have after going to Bryce Canyon park.
We had breakfast before we left this morning and then did not have lunch. So we stopped at a store on the way back and got a couple of nice steaks to put on the BBQ for an early dinner. Wandered around the park and talked quite a while with a guy from Port Townsend, WA who has been full timing for 5 years.
The RV spot here in Laughlin (Riversite Casino) leaves a lot to be desired. We are in a “less desirable” central area with very narrow spots. The sites have a left and right spot for each number and the right spot is only used when the park is full. Well, we have neighbors left and right so it is really cozy. The Riverside Casino is on the north end of the park and across the street. All the other casinos are south but there is no exit from the park at that end so when you are walking you have to go clear to the north end of the park and then head south to the other casinos. And of course our site is on the south end of the park!! The coupon that we had includes the breakfast buffet for 2 and the dinner buffet for 2. Not a bad dinner buffet tonight.
Mar 21st - Wed
How can a breakfast buffet be bad? Well, this one was! We bought tickets for a boat ride at 2:30 and then wandered down the row of casinos - there is a walkway along the river for a long ways. I mentioned to Terry that we had a long walk back for the boat ride but the time slipped away and suddenly it was 2:15 (when they told us to be there!) so we walked so fast to get back there and made it. The boat went up river to the Davis Dam and then down past all the casinos. The captain told a lot of history as we went so it was interesting. Lovely weather. Went to a different casino for a “2 for 1” buffet and it was terrible!
Mar 22nd - Thurs
We drove to the Avi casino this morning to check it out and take advantage of the 99 cent ham & egg breakfast. Drove back through Bullhead City. Shopped at the outlet mall - looking for jean capris as I had to throw away my old pair as they were falling apart. No luck. There was a wind, rain, lightning storm when we went back to the rig to water & feed Dolly. Pebbles were thrown against the side of the rig. Yet another “2 for 1” buffet for dinner and it was good. Haven’t cooked for 3 days - how unusual! Notice there has been no mention of gambling wins? That is because there have not been any to speak of!
Mar 23rd - Friday
Decided to go along Lake Mead and stay in a campground along the lake somewhere. Well, Terry was not too impressed with what we saw of Lake Mead so we continued on to Mesquite - near the border of Nevada & Utah. Stopped at a casino RV park and they were full so we dry camped in the parking lot along with many other rigs and semis. I actually cooked dinner tonight - what a nice change. We sat and chatted with a nice couple from Alberta until a short rainstorm sent us inside.
Mar 24th - Saturday
We are near Hurricane, Utah, about 15 miles north of St George. We are in a Western Horizon (member) campsite that was in our CampClub USA list of participating campgrounds. So even though we aren’t Western Horizon members, we get the site for half price. Paid for 2 nights.
Went through Zion national park today. Didn’t get going until after noon and did not wear the proper clothes for hiking so just went on a couple of scenic drives. Amazing landscape! I would like to go back and go on a couple of walks but will have to see what I can talk Terry into and how much time we have after going to Bryce Canyon park.
We had breakfast before we left this morning and then did not have lunch. So we stopped at a store on the way back and got a couple of nice steaks to put on the BBQ for an early dinner. Wandered around the park and talked quite a while with a guy from Port Townsend, WA who has been full timing for 5 years.
Monday, March 19, 2007
QZ - Mar 15th to 19th
Mar 15th to 18th, Thurs to Sunday
We went to Palm Springs on Thursday to spend the weekend with Skip & Kathy, EllaMae & Don (Terry’s mom) and Cindy & Tim (Terry’s sister). The guys played golf on Friday & Saturday while the women shopped, lunched and lounged around the pool. Had dinners and drinks at the house and went to a couple of casinos. Watched the (disappointing) new James Bond movie one evening. Great time was had by all.
We women went to the “Street Fair” in Palm Desert on Saturday. It is in a parking lot on a college campus and is open every weekend. All the vendor tents are set up and taken down each weekend. There is an amazing variety of items for sale with a lot of jewelry and golf clothes. I bought a pair of shorts for Terry on Saturday before we cut our visit short because of the heat. Terry wanted more shorts so he & I got up early on Sunday and spent a couple of hours there. Got back in time for breakfast and left about 11. 93 degrees when we got back so unloaded, turned on the air conditioning and hibernated. Terry played pinochle and I spent a nice hour on the phone with Aunt Jessie.
Mar 19th, Monday
Decided to move to Laughlin tomorrow. We had a coupon for an RV park that we got at the RV show here so decided to get going. Very hot and quiet here. Clem & Marlene had left when we got back yesterday and we haven’t heard from them so don’t know in which direction they decided to go.
Weren't going to play pinochle tonight but we had a knock on the door with a request "to come out and play" so we went. Most of the players said they would miss us and everyone hoped we would be back next year. As I said before - you make friends quickly when RVing.
We went to Palm Springs on Thursday to spend the weekend with Skip & Kathy, EllaMae & Don (Terry’s mom) and Cindy & Tim (Terry’s sister). The guys played golf on Friday & Saturday while the women shopped, lunched and lounged around the pool. Had dinners and drinks at the house and went to a couple of casinos. Watched the (disappointing) new James Bond movie one evening. Great time was had by all.
We women went to the “Street Fair” in Palm Desert on Saturday. It is in a parking lot on a college campus and is open every weekend. All the vendor tents are set up and taken down each weekend. There is an amazing variety of items for sale with a lot of jewelry and golf clothes. I bought a pair of shorts for Terry on Saturday before we cut our visit short because of the heat. Terry wanted more shorts so he & I got up early on Sunday and spent a couple of hours there. Got back in time for breakfast and left about 11. 93 degrees when we got back so unloaded, turned on the air conditioning and hibernated. Terry played pinochle and I spent a nice hour on the phone with Aunt Jessie.
Mar 19th, Monday
Decided to move to Laughlin tomorrow. We had a coupon for an RV park that we got at the RV show here so decided to get going. Very hot and quiet here. Clem & Marlene had left when we got back yesterday and we haven’t heard from them so don’t know in which direction they decided to go.
Weren't going to play pinochle tonight but we had a knock on the door with a request "to come out and play" so we went. Most of the players said they would miss us and everyone hoped we would be back next year. As I said before - you make friends quickly when RVing.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
QZ - Mar 6th - 13th
Mar 6, Tuesday
We went golfing at Emerald Canyon in Parker today. It is a very challenging, interesting course. Very narrow fairways - you have to be accurate or your ball is bouncing off a canyon wall, hopefully back onto the fairway. We had a 2:00 pm tee time and we just finished the last hole before it was too dark to play. It was a slow round so we were finishing at 7.
Mar 7, Wed
Slow day today. I played Bunco in the afternoon and Terry spent the time with Clem. They were trying to figure out how to make a wheel chock work on our 5th wheel in order to stop some of the bouncing when someone walks in the rig. Couldn’t make it work so we’ll have to try something else.
Mar 8, Thurs
I spoke to a second level (!) support person at Homeland Security today about my green card. He was so rude! After telling me that I would have to stay in one location until I got my card (they can’t be chasing me all over the country!), he looked at my case and said it was still assigned to Seattle. He said they might allow me to show up on a Wednesday since I had an appointment that I missed and they might just deny the case and make me start over. I got the feeling that if it was up to him the case would be closed. So I wrote another letter to Spokane asking if I could show up on any Wednesday or if they could make another appointment for me. Crossing our fingers!
Marlene dragged out her sewing machine for me today so I could hem some T-shirts. Then we all (us, Clem & Marlene) went to Blythe for some groceries and lunch. We also bought a different wheel chock. It helps but there is still more movement than we like. I think part of the reason is that this site is really level so the rig is not “rolling downhill” onto a chock.
Mar 9, Friday
Terry sent my letter to HS by priority mail to try to get a quicker response. Did laundry before Skip & Kathy arrived. They were side-tracked at a casino so it was just right for sitting outside for a couple of drinks before having dinner. It did get hot today.
Mar 10, Saturday
Golfing at Parker with Skip & Kathy. Hot again. We were glad that we had our water misters with us. We stopped at the casino after golf - I won a bit, but again not quite enough to cover Terry!! Back to the 5th wheel for dinner & drinks.
Mar 11, Sunday
We did a bit of shopping in QZ today. Skip wanted a battery operated fly swatter once he saw ours so we found a couple for him. They also got a couple of spinning outdoor decorations.
Then we went to the Desert Bar. They thought it was very interesting and unique. A stop at the casino again on the way home and had dinner in the buffet there.
Mar 12, Monday
Skip & Kathy left after breakfast this morning. Kathy called later and asked if we could buy another spinner for her so we went out and got it for her. Dairy Queen was calling my name so we had to stop for a Blizzard. We played pinochle in the evening. HOT again (90s)
Mar 13, Tuesday
WAHOO!!!! Got an email today from Homeland Security in Spokane and I have an appointment there on April 5th to complete the processing for my green card. So we spent time on the Internet and booked a ticket from Phoenix. We have paid for the RV site in QZ until the end of March so we can spend some more time here (being bored!) after we get back from Palm Springs and then move closer to Phoenix. We are so excited to actually have a date and be able to do some planning.
Supposed to be in the 90s for the rest of the week and through the weekend.
We went golfing at Emerald Canyon in Parker today. It is a very challenging, interesting course. Very narrow fairways - you have to be accurate or your ball is bouncing off a canyon wall, hopefully back onto the fairway. We had a 2:00 pm tee time and we just finished the last hole before it was too dark to play. It was a slow round so we were finishing at 7.
Mar 7, Wed
Slow day today. I played Bunco in the afternoon and Terry spent the time with Clem. They were trying to figure out how to make a wheel chock work on our 5th wheel in order to stop some of the bouncing when someone walks in the rig. Couldn’t make it work so we’ll have to try something else.
Mar 8, Thurs
I spoke to a second level (!) support person at Homeland Security today about my green card. He was so rude! After telling me that I would have to stay in one location until I got my card (they can’t be chasing me all over the country!), he looked at my case and said it was still assigned to Seattle. He said they might allow me to show up on a Wednesday since I had an appointment that I missed and they might just deny the case and make me start over. I got the feeling that if it was up to him the case would be closed. So I wrote another letter to Spokane asking if I could show up on any Wednesday or if they could make another appointment for me. Crossing our fingers!
Marlene dragged out her sewing machine for me today so I could hem some T-shirts. Then we all (us, Clem & Marlene) went to Blythe for some groceries and lunch. We also bought a different wheel chock. It helps but there is still more movement than we like. I think part of the reason is that this site is really level so the rig is not “rolling downhill” onto a chock.
Mar 9, Friday
Terry sent my letter to HS by priority mail to try to get a quicker response. Did laundry before Skip & Kathy arrived. They were side-tracked at a casino so it was just right for sitting outside for a couple of drinks before having dinner. It did get hot today.
Mar 10, Saturday
Golfing at Parker with Skip & Kathy. Hot again. We were glad that we had our water misters with us. We stopped at the casino after golf - I won a bit, but again not quite enough to cover Terry!! Back to the 5th wheel for dinner & drinks.
Mar 11, Sunday
We did a bit of shopping in QZ today. Skip wanted a battery operated fly swatter once he saw ours so we found a couple for him. They also got a couple of spinning outdoor decorations.
Then we went to the Desert Bar. They thought it was very interesting and unique. A stop at the casino again on the way home and had dinner in the buffet there.
Mar 12, Monday
Skip & Kathy left after breakfast this morning. Kathy called later and asked if we could buy another spinner for her so we went out and got it for her. Dairy Queen was calling my name so we had to stop for a Blizzard. We played pinochle in the evening. HOT again (90s)
Mar 13, Tuesday
WAHOO!!!! Got an email today from Homeland Security in Spokane and I have an appointment there on April 5th to complete the processing for my green card. So we spent time on the Internet and booked a ticket from Phoenix. We have paid for the RV site in QZ until the end of March so we can spend some more time here (being bored!) after we get back from Palm Springs and then move closer to Phoenix. We are so excited to actually have a date and be able to do some planning.
Supposed to be in the 90s for the rest of the week and through the weekend.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
QZ - Mar 2nd - 5th
Mar 2, Friday
Made a trip to Parker for something to do. Skip & Kathy are coming for a visit and we are going to play golf at Parker so tried to make a tee time. They are booked up for a week - only EARLY times or so late that you might not be able to play all 18. We went to the course to see if we could do any better in person and they said we could probably get a decent time on Saturday if we called early tomorrow.
Went to the casino, had dinner and headed home.
Mar 3, Saturday
Dull windy day - pretty much just TV, laundry and pinochle. I set the alarm for 6 this morning so I could call the golf course for a tee time. Skip and Kathy will be coming on Friday and stay until Monday.
Mar 4, Sunday
Trip to Yuma today. As I said before, we are having to go further for things to do - Yuma is 81 miles from here.
We had some shopping to do - shoes for Terry and a jacket for me. I have to nag Terry to get him to shop for shoes so he was very surprised and pleased to find 2 pairs at Kohls (first store that we went to) for a reasonable price. I needed a jacket as I washed mine and the lining shredded. Not many stores in Yuma carry jackets at this time of year but I found one at Ross so we did well with our shopping list. Then a trip to Walmart and Paradise Casino. We had a gift certificate for Applebees so we had a nice early dinner and got back about 6:30. Then I spent a couple of hours on the phone catching up with some friends.
It was windy all day. It gets very dusty in Yuma when the wind blows as there are so many cultivated fields.
Mar 5, Monday
Back to quiet! It was windy again most of the day. It did get very warm. Our door and awning face west and by the time you want shade, the sun is down so far that the awning does not provide shade. So we move the truck beside the mat and sit in the shade of the truck.
Made a trip to Parker for something to do. Skip & Kathy are coming for a visit and we are going to play golf at Parker so tried to make a tee time. They are booked up for a week - only EARLY times or so late that you might not be able to play all 18. We went to the course to see if we could do any better in person and they said we could probably get a decent time on Saturday if we called early tomorrow.
Went to the casino, had dinner and headed home.
Mar 3, Saturday
Dull windy day - pretty much just TV, laundry and pinochle. I set the alarm for 6 this morning so I could call the golf course for a tee time. Skip and Kathy will be coming on Friday and stay until Monday.
Mar 4, Sunday
Trip to Yuma today. As I said before, we are having to go further for things to do - Yuma is 81 miles from here.
We had some shopping to do - shoes for Terry and a jacket for me. I have to nag Terry to get him to shop for shoes so he was very surprised and pleased to find 2 pairs at Kohls (first store that we went to) for a reasonable price. I needed a jacket as I washed mine and the lining shredded. Not many stores in Yuma carry jackets at this time of year but I found one at Ross so we did well with our shopping list. Then a trip to Walmart and Paradise Casino. We had a gift certificate for Applebees so we had a nice early dinner and got back about 6:30. Then I spent a couple of hours on the phone catching up with some friends.
It was windy all day. It gets very dusty in Yuma when the wind blows as there are so many cultivated fields.
Mar 5, Monday
Back to quiet! It was windy again most of the day. It did get very warm. Our door and awning face west and by the time you want shade, the sun is down so far that the awning does not provide shade. So we move the truck beside the mat and sit in the shade of the truck.
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