Last day in Laughlin.

Thursday April 8 2010

I spent yesterday afternoon in the mall and did some hard shopping.  Bras (no woman’s favorite task, but the girls needed a new home!) new leather flip flops and a pair of shorts for Eric (returned today not what he wanted.)   We were both getting cabin fever with the huge wind so what else could I do but go to the mall.   Eric stayed in the rig and worked on his music.   We couldn’t ride the motorcycle, couldn’t sit outside and couldn’t sleep at night due to the howling wind.  Today it finally stopped and we actually enjoyed the afternoon.  Got groceries, lunch, gas, did the laundry and now we are ready to move.  Eric had a little chat with a guy in the Safeway parking lot who had an old school hard tail chopper.   We’d seen it on the street a few days ago so it was a fluke that it was parked there.  It will be bike week here in two weeks and the whole town will be filled with motorcycles (thousands ) and this park will be full of motorcycles.  Something to see…. another time!

When I went down to the office to get quarters for the laundry I thought I recognized a man standing in line to register.  Dick from Las Jaibas in Mazatlan?  Yes it was and he was just checking in after arriving from Gila Bend.  We had a quick chat and he said they had just left Mazatlan on Sunday travelling with Glen and Mary and made the same stops as us heading out.  Los Mochis, Santa Ana, San Carlos .   I said we left too early and will probably stay longer next year.   Nice to see someone from Mazatlan and also brings up that “ It’s a small world thing.”

We had a lovely warm happy hour with no wind.  Sweet. 

Tomorrow we head for Ely, Nevada at 6500 feet on our journey back to Canada.   We have been waiting for the wind to die down and also for the overnight temps to get above freezing in Ely.  A good way to go but you have to plan it.  Keeping our fingers crossed!

Trapped in the wind in Laughlin.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

I had a chat with grand daughter Abby (9) in Terrace this morning and also daughter Erika.  They were apparently out taking Holly(12) to dance at 6:30 on Easter morning so I don’t know if that qualifies as doing something fun!  However, Erika and Abby did go for a trail ride as well so that was good.  Abby now has a new horse as the pony she had last year had some medical problems and had to be put down.  Sad for a little girl but it sounds like the new Morgan/Dutch 14yr old mare is a really nice horse. Big and robust and at  15-3 in size Abby will not outgrow her over the next few years.  Big enough for Erika to ride as well!  This horse came from Sherri Kirsch in Telkwa who is a girl that Krista and Erika grew up and rode with in Terrace. 

Monday was our 42nd anniversary and we spent it driving up and down the highway in Bullhead city looking for things on our list for the rig.  Didn’t really find anything much.  Everything is so spread out you could run out of fuel getting from one store to the next.  Have I mentioned that not many people walk here, probably. 

Anniversary’s lead you to reflect on life when you have been together all these years and since we started out with less than nothing we had nowhere to go but up.  It’s been a long interesting road together.  Life is a journey!

We found an internet connection at MacDonald’s and I managed to post the blog and check the weather heading north.  It looks like it is improving by Friday but this wind must slow down or the travel will be hideous!  Eric rode his bicycle on Monday morning and the wind was blowing so hard he was stalled and had to turn around and come back.

Our new spot down the hill.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a day to clean up the rig.  Vacuumed  everything and defrosted the fridge and then off to the mall after lunch.  Poor Eric, the wind has been so bad we haven’t been unable to unload Blue and he is stuck with going shopping.  How pathetic is that!  We thought we’d get a ride to Oatman but it looks like that will not happen.

   Night shots of the casinos.  Pretty in the dark.

We are learning to switch gears and do what has to be done based on our location and the weather.  At home we are too busy to shop for clothes so if that is what is available here and we can’t do anything else, so be it.  Eric got two new pairs of jeans that he actually tried on.  I usually buy them and then return them when they don’t fit so this was a bonus for me.  If I can actually get him in a store he will pick out clothes that he likes which is a bonus for him! 

Today is Wednesday and once again the wind is screaming so I guess we’ll be going back to the mall.  The wind has been screaming ever since we left Mazatlan so it looks like we will stay longer next year and make a quicker trip home.  It blew in San Carlos, Yuma, Parker and now here.  Sure it’s sunny but you can’t sit outside without getting blown away and it is definitely not warm! 

Easter Sunday in Laughlin

 

Sunday, April 4, 2010

It is breezy, sunny and about 20C.  I had a quick chat to daughter Krista and grand daughter Ava (a.k.a. Bunny) in Pittsburgh.  Ava informed me that the Easter Bunny came while she was sleeping and brought her a really noisy toothbrush!  We discussed that the Easter Bunny was white, had big ears, a pink nose but she didn’t think that he hopped!

A walking Easter Bunny I guess.  Cute. Ava Kathryn Noone (Bunny!)  Age 3

I also called daughter Erika, but, no answer so I hope they are doing something fun.

The weather in the northwest is not good right now and so we are uncertain as to when we will move.  If there is snow in a pass anywhere you must have snow tires or carry chains and we have neither.  Big storm in Vancouver with high winds and a big storm coming in again. 

I walked down to the Mall where there was supposed to be free Wi-Fi available but of course it was down, so tomorrow we’ll go over the the McDonald’s on the other side of the river and try again. 

Happy hour, dinner and bed.

A better day in Laughlin.

 

Saturday April 3, 2010

We both got a good nights sleep, no noise from cats or anything else.  We had breakfast and packed up the rig for our big move down the hill.  No problem, parked and set up and it is a much nicer site that we can actually sit outside in, no cat …..  While Eric was setting up the Starchoice dish a couple (Monica & Jim) stopped to chat as they spotted the Cyclone rig.  They had just picked theirs’ up ( a 40’ Cyclone toy hauler  that they will in live full time ) and they wanted to ask some questions.  They had pulled into town late last night and were parked in the Casino parking lot and so they were having a look at RV parks to stay in.  We discussed everything we knew about the Cyclone and what we’d done to it, fixed in it,  liked about it/ or didn't and where we were going and had been and how it was all working out.  A lot of talk and a good chat with really nice people.  We wished each other happy trails and they were on their way.  Sounds like they will summer in Montana and winter in the Baja, perhaps.  They asked about Mexico and I said even with all the gunfire I preferred it to the states!    Monica said she was already learning that she couldn’t have everything too tightly planned because something unexpected kept happening.  I said “ Well, that’s the way it goes in the Carefree RV Lifestyle.”  Carefree Hah! but  Interesting yes! 

A quiet afternoon, me a little walk, a Good dinner and bed.  A better day. 

Last day at Buckskin Park

Friday April 2, 2010

Yesterday was our last day at Buckskin Park and the weather cleared up and it was sunny but a bit cooler.  We decided to ride the bicycles down the lake road to the La Paz County Park and the first part of it was a nice ride as it is closed to traffic.

Rock on the road.

There has been a bit of rock falling off the cliffs but other than that I’m not sure why they closed it.

Little tiny Kathy on the bicycle.

Huge cliffs.

   Little tiny Eric on the bicycle.

As we rode along we ran into another couple riding their bikes the other way.  We both stopped and went “ I know you!”  Turns out it was Lorraine and Bill whom we met when we went to Vern & Bev’s (along with Ron) for happy hour in Yuma.  They all checked into the La Paz park the same day we checked into Buckskin.  Had a quick blab and a laugh about what a small world it is!  Nice people from Coquitlam.  I enjoyed the ride but the part of me that sits on the bicycle seat is not very tough so I had  to keep getting off.  I guess if I rode more it would get better but in Mazatlan I just felt like I’d get killed by a car so I walked instead.

  Beautiful Cliffs and interesting rock formations.

A shot straight up.

When we got back we drove down to Parker about 10 miles for lunch and groceries and beer.  We had lunch at the Crossroads restaurant and it was delicious as usual.  It is quite the place.  Nothing fancy but it has the best food, good prices, great staff and really quick service.  It is always packed and they really move the people through.  We both had the taco salad and it was super de duper good. 

We stopped at Wal-Mart and Eric was in luck when he found a reasonably priced motorcycle cover.  I made him one for the bike but it isn’t rain proof so this one should be better.  I also made him buy some new riding gloves as his have holes in them.   A few groceries and over to Safeway for the rest of what we needed. 

When we got back to the park there was a large crew of teenagers moving in across the way.  Holiday weekend and spring break too.  Two men, about a dozen kids, a boat, a truckload of firewood and a toy hauler trailer,  a bunch of tents and you guessed it a lot of really loud music.  The toy hauler like ours has outside speakers and can really blast the tunes.  Eric says it was the Dads because it was blues and not kids music, at least not until they fired up their tunes too.  The poor old people next to them in the motor home, I hoped that they were slightly deaf.  That went on at top volume for about three hours and everyone went inside to get away from it.  We at least have our own music and Eric has headphones.  How rude!  Sure we were young once but guess what, we got kicked out of parks for that!  Not here and the old people in the motor home cleared out at about 30 miles an hour this morning along with most of the people around them.  What a treat.

THE START OF A REALLY CRAPPY DAY!

This morning we hooked up and headed up to Laughlin.  It is a crummy drive through Lake Havasu as it is really spread out and there are a gazillion traffic lights that are not synchronized at all.  Stop after stop after stop which is no fun in a rig.  A short trip west to Topock and then up the old 95 to Bullhead City and then into Laughlin and the Riverside park.  I asked to be put up on the ridge and they tucked us in far up in the back corner.  That sounded like it would be great but they forgot to mention that their works yard is right behind us and the road is right beside us.  Sweet!  Stressful and you learn something every time.  Hopefully they are done at 4:30pm.  We’ll stay here till Monday morning and then start on our way home, weather permitting. 

As we settled in it became apparent there were a lot of cats around.  I counted about 12 different ones and they were hanging out and crapping all around our rig.  A giant litter box in the gravel.  Yuck.  They were congregating at the rig beside us as well so we figured out that the woman in that rig was feeding them.  Adding to the problem, not making it better.  When Eric saw cats at the foot of stairs and the crap on the ground he freaked out.   Down to the office for a different site.  The manager was very nice and said “Yes we are having a problem with cats!”   They are supposedly dealing with it but it doesn’t look like they are trying very hard.  A few cat traps would be in order.  Not a healthy situation, and we certainly couldn’t sit outside.

A crappy site! Note the road on the right, the building behind and on the right the rig that was feeding the cats.

The manager  gave us one free day for our trouble.  We walked down to look at the new site and will move in the morning.  We sat inside for happy hour (cats and cat crap outside) and then I cooked dinner.  Just to top off a really crappy day I made a really crappy dinner!  I’m usually a good cook but not today!  Hopefully tomorrow will get better.  And yes, I know I used the word crap to excess but it was " A REALLY CRAPPY DAY!’’

A ride out to Black Mountain Landing.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

It is 10am and is once again sunny and the wind has died down for the moment.  Eric has so much weight on the satellite dish the wind would blow the rig away before the dish.  Eric is now doing yesterday’s dishes because he was too lazy to do them last night.  The thrill is gone!  I’m going to have to give him demerits.  I do the pots and try never to use any extra dishes so it’s not that bad.

We had a really nice ride out to Black Mountain Landing yesterday.  We rode over the Parker dam and then turned west just south of the dam onto the road that leads out the landing on the south shore of Lake Havasu. 

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The  8 mile ride out was very enjoyable  even though it was twisty and turny going up and down the mountains.  There was no traffic and there was quite a bit of sand and gravel on the road so that meant a really careful ride.  We could see where the road had been washed out in quite a few places as it seems the road actually follows a gorge.  The hills were beautiful, with lots of varying rock formations and lots of jagged peaks of many colors.  The yellow flowers of the brittlebush and the green vegetation on the hills made for spectacular scenery.   I couldn’t get very many pictures as there weren’t a lot of places to stop.  Next year I will have a pocket sized high zoom camera with me so I can snap while I ride. 

A rough ride.

Blue on the way back.

 

A dorcus storkus!

 

Jagged peaks.

 

 

Brittlebush on the hills.

When we got to the landing we were given a pass to go in and look around.  Lots of RV sites, a store, restaurant, golf course and boat dock.  A bit rustic and a very long way back to get groceries in either Parker or Lake Havasu.  In this area they would get frost in the winter and day time highs might only reach 50F.  There was a lot of sand in the area and when the wind blows you would have a hard time keeping it out of your rig.  Not a place we would stay. 

A nice ride back to the dam road and then we started up toward Parker on the California side but the wind had picked up and it looked like rain so we stopped at River’s Edge RV park and had a look around.  This is where quite a few people from Terrace stay in the winter ( Andy & Carol Avison,  Leo deJong, etc.) but we didn’t see anyone we knew.  The park was pretty empty so I suspect most of them have headed home already.  We went back over the dam and then south to Buckskin Park.  It was blowing like hell, very gusty so Eric went fairly slow and I tucked down behind him.  Steady wind is okay but gusts are a bit scary. 

Today we’ll go into Parker for a few groceries and maybe stop for lunch at the CrossRoads cafe.  We’ve eaten  there a few times and it has always been really good.  Tomorrow we’ll head up to Laughlin and hopefully we can get the internet there and also cell service. 

I Finally added Live writer and now I can add a map too!

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Sunday March 28, 2010

We will be leaving Yuma tomorrow and I don't know if I will have the internet everywhere I go so it was time to install Live writer. I think this will be the way to do things from now on as you don't have to be hooked up to the internet to keep up with the blog. Croft had suggested this awhile ago but I just hadn't done it. Livewire also has the map feature that Croft just added so I'll see if I can figure that out too. Spell-check is available so that is a good thing. All this technology we have to learn. Good for everyone to learn something new.

Monday March 29, 2010

We left Yuma this morning and are presently in Buckskin State Park about 11 miles north of Parker. It is right on the Colorado river and looks like it will be nice. Full hook-ups $28 a night. That's about the same as we were paying in Yuma but there is the river and new things to look at here. The site is a pull through which is always easy. We stopped just north of Quartzite in the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Hi Jolly 14 day free area for lunch. This is different than the La Posa long-term visitor sites south of Quartzite which have water(to fill your tanks), dumpsite and garbage area. In the free sites you can stay for 14 day maximum but you must leave the site to dump and pay at the long term area or go to the pit stop in Quartzite where they will dump your tanks and fill your water for a fee. We would probably overnight there if we were passing through. We have lost our interest in boon docking (unplugged) and are hooking up where it is available. We lived pretty cheap this winter in Mexico and if we have to buck up on the way home, so be it. There is no internet here (all secured) and my AT&T phone seems not to work so I'll have to figure that out. Eric has gone off for a ride on Blue and I will go for a walk. It is 20C. at the present but may get rainy by Wednesday.