Sept 6th - Mesa, AZ

Sept 6^th – Mesa Arizona

We had an uneventful drive to Mesa this morning. Good time to be driving as the traffic was great all the way. We checked into VVV and got settled into our “usual” site. We were walking to get water when Robin Umatum came out to say hi and asked us to come in & visit for a while. A while ended up being several hours and drinks later!!! Neil is driving for a dental office in Mexico and his car broke down on the way back today so we kept Robin company until Neil got back after Harland picked him up. Jill came over as they were supposed to go to dinner. She finally left to look after her dog and came back after Neil was home. By this time no-one should have driven to dinner so we ordered very good Chinese take-out. Quite the welcome back!

This will be the last post for a while. Like last season, I decided to take a break from the blog since things get awfully repetitious here. Also, a lot of friends keep up with us on Facebook so my stats indicate fewer readers. If we do anything interesting or unusual, I will probably post.

Sept 1st to 5th - Parker AZ

Sept 1^st - 5^th – Parker AZ

Thurs - We lazed around until Terry thought he could go get someone to look at our power problem. A couple of guys showed up a short time later, took it apart, put it back together and it worked. They asked that we don't run 3 ACs – I think we had figured that out! We just shut the doors to the garage so we don't have to cool that area. We took the bike to town again (with closed shoes!) and stopped on the way to make a tee time for tomorrow morning. Pretty much the same as yesterday – casino & a bit of shopping but we stopped at Bobby D's Diner for huge root beer floats on the way back. Yummy! Then we put on our swim suits and cooled off in the Colorado River before settling in for the evening.

Fri – We teed off on the back 9 of Emerald Canyon GC at 7 this morning. It rained during the night and the humidity was really high which made it seem even hotter than the thermometer read. I made sandwiches, we changed into our swim suits and cooled off in the river again while we had lunch. Then it was back to the casino. A neighbor 3 rigs down (Sharon) came over just before we were ready to have dinner to ask if she could see our home. She also wanted to have a ride on the bike sometime this weekend as her husband wants a bike but she is afraid of them.

Sat – Up early and on the golf course at 7. Must mention that this early bird special is $10 each for the back 9 including the cart and the last early tee time is 7 which explains our schedule. Our round was not as enjoyable as a sand trap maintenance crew was working just ahead of us and we had to wait on nearly every hole. On longer holes we could tee off as most of the traps are close to the greens and/or they had finished with fairway traps. Terry finally got annoyed and we hit up anyhow. Tends to make for a crappy game. We relaxed a while, had breakfast for lunch and then took chairs to the river so we could cool off and watch the boat “parade”. Boats & water craft of every shape & size running up & down the river. They are quite orderly and drive on the right side of the watery highway. The water is quite warm but cool enough to be refreshing. Of course we headed back to the casino on the bike with a stop this time at Safeway.

Sun – Golf at 7 with slightly “not so hot” temps. Not quite right to say “cooler”. We had to wait a few minutes on the first hole for a greens mowing crew to leave. When we got to the tee box on the next hole, they graciously halted work so we could “play through”. We both had some great shots mixed in with the usual so-so stuff. We drove the truck to the casino & a bit of shopping so we could fuel up before we leave on Tuesday. We did well at the casino so didn't get back early enough to want to visit the river before dinner. We have taken turns winning a bit at the casino so our spending luckily is not as great as all the visits might imply!

Mon – Labor/Labour Day. I think the park expected more campers than showed up. Everyone has to wear a wrist band for the weekend to keep out non-paying guests. I will be happy to cut off the lime green accessory tonight! We skipped the golf this morning but have been up early too often so couldn't sleep in. Of course we had to give the casino one more chance to return our money. Good news is it didn't take everything! We stopped at WalMart for our favorite General Tso chicken and a couple of perfectly ripe avocados for a late lunch. I defrosted the freezer and obviously updated the blog. Terry started packing up lawn chairs, etc to leave tomorrow. Loaded the bike and then kicked back. Very quiet in the park.

Aug 26th to 31st - CO, AZ

Aug 26^th - 31^st – CO, AZ

Fri - No storm materialized last night so it was indeed uneventful. We packed up and headed south and then west – through “4 corners” but have been there before so didn't stop. We are still wandering around so went to Page AZ and set up at the Elks club which has water & electric with a dump on site. We had a fairly long drive today so relaxed for a while and then went to the Elks for a drink. There chatted with some very nice, friendly people and left when they all went to have the steak dinner offered by the club. We had dinner planned so just kicked back for the rest of the evening.

Sat – Previously we toured Antelope Canyon and someone last night told us that there was a free area where we could walk in some other canyons. When we got there, there was a line of cars waiting to get in and I told Terry that it looked like we would have to pay to park. When we finally got to the booth, it was $8 each to enter the site and then $20 each to go on a tour. We said “bag it” and drove to Horseshoe Bend. Lots of people there but we got a decent parking space and walked to the top of the first hill where you could see the river. From there was an even longer walk down which of course means a walk back up! Terry choose to stay at the top and I walked down. I was too chicken (or smart!) to get right to the edge for a picture of the entire loop but got some decent shots. If there had been fewer people and an empty space near the edge I probably would have crawled to the edge! When I got back to the top where Terry was waiting, we both made the same comment – we heard all sorts of languages except English! We stopped for a few groceries and headed back for an early dinner since we didn't have lunch. Then it was back to the Elks club for drinks and to listen to really bad singers as it was Karaoke night. A guy (Mark) sat beside us and we really enjoyed talking with him. He just moved to this area and had all sorts of questions about our gypsy lifestyle. He came to look at our rig when we left and said he might come down to VVV this season.

Sun - We were going to Laughlin & Riverside casino RV park but changed our mind and went to the KOA RV park at the Avi casino on the other end of “the strip”. We thought it was quite a bit more expensive than the Riverside but at this time of year is cheaper and a nicer park. The weather got a LOT hotter during the drive so we were happy with 50 amp service to run the ACs. After setting up, we got a shuttle to the casino (not too far but too hot to walk!) and enjoyed the cool while losing very little.

Mon – Just before we decided to get going for the day, Terry looked out and saw a small lake near the truck. Our water hose blew due to the heat. Our neighbor had just noticed it also and was turning off the water. We replace the hose and headed to Bullhead City for breakfast and some shopping. I saw a sign for the Bonanza Cafe (best breakfast in town!!) and we drove by it in a mile or so. We stopped and had a great breakfast for a very reasonable price. A huge Walmart was nearby for a few items that we needed. I decided to get rid of the knife block that I have to place in the sink each time we move and we were looking for magnetic strips to use instead. None at Walmart, none at Ace Hardware (obviously a small town as a clerk searched their database for 5 minutes) but found the mechanics version at an auto parts store. After dealing with the groceries and putting up the magnetic strips (yes, 2!) we headed back to the casino. This time we both came out ahead for a change.

Tues – We were only going to stay here for 2 nights but we saw the nice big laundry room at the park and decided to stay and get the laundry done today. But first we went to the casino for a buffet breakfast. Since it was earlier and not so hot, we actually walked back & forth. Got the laundry all sorted out and discovered several machines out of order so it was a good thing that there was only one other person there. Terry wanted to go back to the casino but I had decided that I needed to do some “delayed cleaning” which is best done without Terry pacing around and being bored. My technique is to clean one area and then take a break with a book. I had just finished when Terry got back with more $$ than he started with.

Wed – Packed up and headed south again to Parker AZ and the La Paz county park where we have stayed previously. We knew it would be busy this coming weekend but we were here early enough that we had our pick of sites. The lady at the office sent us in to pick a site and then come back to register. We went to unload the bike and found a dead battery as we didn't unload & ride it since one short ride in Cortez. Hooked up the charger, registered, had a bite to eat and took the bike to town. It was really hot and the exhaust air hits our feet so we were hurting by the time we got to WalMart. Of course there was road construction to make the trip even longer. We each bought cheap, closed shoes for the ride back as sandals weren't cutting it! We stopped at the casino to continue cooling off. The ride back wasn't as bad due to our new shoes, the sun more behind us and a shorter ride on the highway instead of the road with construction. Thermometer on the bike showed 111. While we were relaxing and hydrating, half of the power went off so we only had 30 amps which won't run 3 ACs. 2 ACs still ran but it was HOT. I had thawed a skirt steak for dinner but Terry didn't want to go out in the heat to BBQ so I fried it instead. It was still excellent. When we went to bed we closed the bedroom door and just ran the bedroom AC which cooled the room down after a bit.