November 30. 2011 – Just a day in Our Lives

First, to my email subscribers, let me apologize.  Apparently there was a problem with FeedBurner and after yesterday’s post, they FINALLY sent you all posts from 11-7 to 11-29 in one email.  I am still not sure what has happened.   But I really need to thank Lynne for bringing the issue to our attention.

So what did we do today.  Well, this morning was laundry.  I really have to say that this park has some great laundry facilities and it is really reasonable!!!  After I got back to the RV, Andy went to help Sandy and Raul with their motorhome in Yuma.  While he was gone, I did the normal stuff in the RV (just like a home) and then sorted out and made phone calls to make sure I understood our Colorado River Adventure and RPI Memberships.  Yes, I made LOTS of phone calls and notes.   I will say that I am impressed with their customer service – which is a lot to say in this day in age – :-))).  So far so good.

This afternoon, we went to check out where the American Legion’s were and also the Moose Lodge.  The one American Legion on Virginia has RV spots (for us, it is an FYI for our week out).   We stopped in the Moose Lodge – what a great place!   And may return later this week.

I have to say that if we decided to stay in Yuma for the season, we have LOTS of options on what to do and see.

Can you believe that tomorrow is December, 2011!!!  Sheesh, time really does fly.  Please enjoy today – :-))).

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November 23-29, 2011 – Friends and Family in Yuma

Gosh, can’t believe it is week since I posted.  So what have we been doing?  Well, mostly getting together with family and friends.
* We had a great visit with our daughter and her family and a wonderful Thanksgiving too.  This was the first time in about 20 years that Andy spent Thanksgiving with his daughter and I know it meant a lot to him.  Her in-laws, Sandy and Raul, were gracious enough to have us all there and the food was DELICiOUS!  What a great time.
* After the kids left, we got together with Sandy and Raul and got caught up with each other – A great time and hopefully we will see them again this week.
* We met up with Larry and Peggy for breakfast and got caught up with each other – another great time, great to see them, and hopefully we will meet up again this season.
* Fellow Boomers, Jim and Diane, hosted a wonderful Happy Hour on their lot in the Foothills.  We connected with old friends and met some new ones too.  Can I say – another great time.  We hope to see many of them at Boomerville in Quartzsite in January.
* We stopped to see Margie and Tom today (they are in the park) and hope to get caught up with them later this week.  We last saw them at Boomerville in January 2011.
Hmmm, let’s see, what else -  :-))).
- We went to Algodones, Mexico for dental work and then walked around to check out the vendors.  We did make a stop at our favorite pastry shop – YUM!.  Sandy came with us and it was fun to watch her reactions to the vendors – we all go thru it our first time there.
- We made stops to the Arizona Marketplace and the Yuma Swap Meet.  No purchases at the Swap Meet but we did get a few things at the Marketplace (New outside chairs – YEA).
- We have been getting to know the park better – going to the restaurant, swimming, hot tub, etc. - and continue to get our questions answered.  Today we went to the Sales Office with a lot of questions and were given the rule and guideline book (which we SHOULD have got when we joined).   And I am happy to say that that book answered most of our questions – :-))).  So far so good.
- Andy started flying his helicopter today – I think Larry got him excited about flying again.  Thanks Larry.
- I spent an afternoon and organized my beads and decided what will be my next projects.  It has been over a year since I beaded (mostly due to feeling so poorly over the last year).   Then today I joined the beading group here at the park.  It was nice to be back beading again and nice to get caught up with Margie and the rest of the girls.

And that was the short version of our week.   We are having a good time and enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather.  We will be here until Monday and hope to do some sightseeing so stay tuned.

I will leave you with two links that I found real interesting on kindness and paying it forward:

http://state-journal.com/news/simple_article/4895577
http://www.avivausa.com/portal/site/avivausa/content/home/youmanity

Check it out.

November 22, 2011 – Extra View

Something neat to see on the farming around Yuma.

Go to the blog http://thehitzels.blogspot.com.

On the right, click on the link below “Where are we”.

Once the view comes up – we are the cross – click on Satellite.

What you will see is all the farmland “squares” – fascinating!

(Note: As most of you may know, in some places, google is a few years behind in the satellite views but this still gives you an idea – :-))

November 21-22, 2011 - Yuma

November 21

We woke this morning to this cute RV near us:

 

After packing up and saying our “see you laters” to Lynne and Fred, we heading on south thru the rocks and desert:

To Yuma.  What always amazes me when we come south from Quartzsite is that as we travel, there is desert on both sides – very little green.   Then just as we get close to Yuma, we turn a corner and the landscape flattens out and there is farming all over.  What a contrast.

From the internet:

With mild winters, little danger of hard frost and more than 350 days of sunshine a year, Yuma County enjoys the longest growing season in the country. And while the winter is notable for the emerald and ruby patchwork formed by vast vegetable fields, something is either growing or happening in Yuma county fields even during the hottest months of the year.

One reason is because those fields - sediments deposited by the Colorado River over millions of years - have some of the most fertile soil in the country.

But with less than three inches of rainfall annually, water was the missing component, though the mighty Colorado flowed nearby. The Bureau of Reclamation's first big water project in the West gave nature a hand, with construction of the first dam on the Colorado and completion of the Yuma Siphon - delivering water through a huge tunnel built under the riverbed - in 1912, the same year Arizona became a state.

Now, of the 230,000 acres of land utilized for agriculture in Yuma County, 100 per cent are irrigated with Colorado River water delivered by one of the county's seven irrigation districts. Every single field in the county is also laser-leveled and graded using GPS technology, making Yuma's irrigation network one of the most efficient in the world.

All this has made Yuma County first in the state - and THIRD IN THE NATION - for vegetable production. In fact, about 90 percent of all the leafy vegetables grown in the U.S. from November through March are grown in and around the Yuma area.

To put this in perspective, the Yuma area is home to nine salad plants that produce bagged lettuce and salad mixes. During peak production months, each of those plants processes more than two million pounds of lettuce per day.

http://www.visityuma.com/agritourism.html

And the pictures:

We are camped at the Yuma Lakes RV Resort, a Colorado Rivers Adventure Park.   Since we are now members, we have decided to check them all out.  So we will be here for about 2 weeks.

Once we set up and made our rounds to the grocery stores, it was now family time.  Our daughter and her family from Everett, WA are visiting with her in-laws.   For those of you who follow our blog, you know that we usually visit the in-laws and our friends, Sandy and Raul, when we are in this area.  This year it will be nice to have a family Thanksgiving.

Here are the girls:

The boys:

Andy and Sandy:

What a wonderful day!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 88 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: Hi-Jolly; AZ-95 South; South Laguna Dam Road; E County 6th Street; Yuma Lakes Resort

 

November 22

Today was a hang around the park day.  For us, we have seven days to decide whether we want this membership and we wanted to check this park out thoroughly since this will be one of the main ones we use.

Here is our site:

Pretty roomy.  This is the view out our front window:

Now I know we are on an end and may not have a view like this all the time but as we walked around, it is okay.

I did the laundry – laundry facilities are pretty good – just like an Escapee Park.  Then this afternoon, I went to the beading group – great bunch of ladies.  So I will be joining them next week.

From there I took a walk around the park.  They have these neat “animals” made from trees:

The clubhouse, pool, hot tub, and restaurant:

The lake:

   

I stopped at the office to get more questions answered – so far so good.

The restaurant serves meals that are extremely reasonable.  Tonight was hamburger night – a cheeseburger, potato salad, macaroni salad, and chips for $3.50 – can’t beat it.  We sat with another couple who have been members since 2003 and basically picked their brains on the membership.

So are we going to keep it? – yes, I think so.   Is is the best for us? – Well, only time will tell.    So far, I am impressed with this park – lots of activities and the people are very friendly – sort of like an Escapee Park.

Tomorrow we are off to Algodones for dental work for Andy so stay tuned.

Enjoy today.

November 18-20, 2011 Quartzsite and Friends

Friday, November 18

We had an interesting start to our day.  After packing up, Andy went to start the motorhome and …….. nothing!   He checked the starter wire, wiggled it, and it starts – Yea.  Then we went to lift our jacks…..nothing.   He did a few more things and then they came back up…  Hmmm, not sure what is going on.   

So off we went headed south thru Parker (with a Wal-Mart stop) and then to Quartzsite and Hi-Jolly.   We were so happy to see that our favorite spot along the wash was open and the campfire pit that Andy built 2 years ago is still here – :-))).    As we are setting up, our fridge is giving us alarms – will not run on propane.  Oh no…that will seriously hurt us for boondocking.    So we called “The Gambler” to see if they could check it out and the mechanic’s first recommendation was for us to blow out the area.   Lo and behold, it starts up and stays working – :-))))).    We need to put that trick on our checklist!

But the best part is that our friends Lynne and Fred are here next to us.   We have not seen them since last January so we spent the rest of the day getting caught up with each other and a side trip to the VFW for their fish fry.

Stats for Today:

Miles Traveled:  49 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: Havasu Springs Road, AZ-95; Hi-Jolly BLM Land

Saturday, November 19

I really missed staying in the desert and especially this time of the season – lots of open space.  Our last two days at Havasu Springs Resort were not the best.  The neighbor on one side of us played Latin music LOUDLY from 12 noon to 8 PM, whether they were there or not.  The neighbor on the other side had a leak in their sewer hose and kept the tanks open so the smell was not the best. (Had we stayed longer, I would have asked for another site.).      So waking this morning, seeing the sun rise over the mountain, and having a nice breeze coming in the windows (yes, folks the nights are in the 50’s) was just WONDERFUL!

After our morning coffee with Lynne and Fred, Andy and I headed to town.   There are only a few vendors on Kuehn Street and we checked them all – :-)).   We wanted to get more LED lights from the vendor next to the Gambler (he always gave us a great deal) but he was not open yet.   We also rode around “Q” and checked out some of the other areas.    In two months, this area will be packed and we will not be able to do that without traffic jams so we took advantage of it now.

Back home, we got together with Lynne and Fred and enjoyed cooking over the fire – YUM!

Another great day.

Here is Hi-Jolly.  In a few months this area will be full of RV’s:

Our site – Lynne and Fred’s RV is on the right:

Our back yard:

Sunday, November 20

Last night was the first time our little Bella heard coyotes (they were very loud so must have been close by) and she hid – poor thing.  Dusty goes from being curious to getting scared.   As long as he is near me, he will continue to look at the window.  Ahhh, one of the great sounds of the desert.

This morning I headed out to Gem World and Joyce’s crafts – :-))).   I love just walking thru the aisles, getting lots of ideas.  But now I need to get working again.

We just hung out the rest of the day and got together with Lynne and Fred this evening.  Tomorrow, we are heading to Yuma so stay tuned.

Enjoy today.

November 16-17, 2011 – Colorado River Adventure Members

November 16

We showed up this morning for our “sales” presentation and are you ready…we purchased a membership – are we nuts or what????

Anyway as some of you may know, we are currently on the list of three different Escapee Co-op Parks.  We had decided that we would only keep 2 of those lots when our name came up.   After discussing what this membership offers, we decided we would buy in and only do one Escapee lot.

So did we do the right thing…well only time will tell.

The nice thing about this is that they have parks all along the Colorado River – which will be “free” camping.  We hope to try out the park in Yuma over Thanksgiving so stay tuned.

This afternoon we worked on one of the window shades on our slide.  The string had broke and we were not sure what we wanted to do.  So last week, we purchased blinds to see how they might work ($2.87 at WalMart).  Well today we took the shade and the “wood stuff” down and put up the blind.  Not bad but we need a wider one.  Now we will just see how it works when we travel.   Hmmm, may replace a few more day/night shades..

November 17

When Andy and I spend money, we both have doubts on whether we did the right thing or not.   So this morning we talked to a few of our neighbors who are members.   From there we went to Parker to check out another park in the system – nice place – :-))).   And our last stop was back at the office to have more questions answered and make reservations at the park in Yuma.   Did we get all our questions answered – yes.  Only time will tell if we made the right move so stay tuned for our adventure.

Many years again, people came to this area to mine gold, silver, copper and other minerals.   They used burros to haul many of their goods as well as work animals at the mines.   When they left, they let the burros go and fend for themselves.   And, of course, they multiplied – :-))).   Today we saw two of those burros:

 

 

Aren’t they cute?

 

Since we have good WiFi in the park, I have been playing around on youtube.

I just need to share two videos with you:

The first (thanks Bruce):

AMAZING GRACE, SUNG IN THE COLISEUM IN ROME, JUST WAIT TILL YOU HEAR THE MIDDLE......the song was written for this instrument. (The Human Voice!)

THE CHANGE IN THEIRVOICES ARE AN AMAZING GRACE.

Click here: AMAZING GRACE Sung by 4 Men Beautifully!

http://www.clarrissegill.com/videoclips/amazing_grace.php

 

The second (thanks Tom):

The Beauty of Nature, Caught in Slow Motion..

This is an incredible little video.  Slow motion captures each of these wondrous creatures at their best.

http://www.youtube.com/v/xHkq1edcbk4?version=3%20%20%20%20

 

And I will leave you with one last picture – our little Bella sleeping:

Tomorrow we are heading to Quartzsite for a few days and then to Yuma so stay tuned!

November 15, 2011 – The London Bridge in Lake Havasu

Road trip day – YEA!!

So today we decided to go north and check out a few places. Lake Havasu:

 

Havasu Springs Resort:

The Steps..this is BLM land that allows free camping.  We hope to be here in February for the firework displays:

 

Lake Havasu from Cattail Cove State Park:

And our main stop of the day – The London Bridge – :-))

First some info from the internet:

“How did the world famous London Bridge come to make its unusual home in Arizona?  The tale of how the bridge came to Lake Havasu City began over 5,400 miles away in London, England.
The bridge’s storied past includes previous structures that spanned the same section of the Thames River before the current bridge was built. The old London Bridge of nursery-rhyme fame was built by Peter of Colechurch between 1176 and 1209, replacing an earlier timber bridge.  Due to uneven construction, the bridge required frequent repair. The bridge survived more than 600 years.
One of the more grisly periods of the bridge’s history was at the southern gateway between 1305 and 1660, when it was customary to display the severed heads of traitors, impaled on pikes and dipped in tar to preserve them against the elements.  The head of William Wallace was the first to appear on the gate. Other famous heads on pikes included those of Jack Cade in 1450, Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher in 1535, and Thomas Cromwell in 1540.  A German visitor to London in 1598 counted over 30 heads on the bridge.  The practice was finally stopped in 1660, following the Restoration of King Charles II.

By the end of the 18th century, it was apparent that the old London Bridge needed to be replaced.  It was narrow and decrepit, and blocked river traffic.  Designed in 1799 by Scottish engineer John Rennie, the new London Bridge was completed in 1831.  As time passed, the new bridge began sinking at the rate of an inch (3 cm) every eight years. However, by 1924, the east side of the bridge was some three to four inches (102 mm) lower than the west side.  The bridge had not been designed to withstand 20th century automotive traffic.

In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London began to look for potential buyers for the London Bridge. Lake Havasu City founder and entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch placed the winning bid of $2,460,000 on April 18, 1968. McCulloch came by this figure by doubling the estimated cost of dismantling the structure, which was $1.2 million, bringing the price to $2.4 million.  He then added on $60,000 -- a thousand dollars for each year of his age at the time he estimated the bridge would be reconstructed in Arizona.  (Contrary to popular belief, McCulloch was not under the impression that he was purchasing the Tower Bridge.)  Each block was meticulously numbered before the bridge was disassembled.  The blocks were then shipped overseas through the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona. Following reconstruction of the London Bridge, Lake Havasu City rededicated it in a ceremony on October 10, 1971. 
The London Bridge, Arizona tourism’s second-largest attraction after the Grand Canyon, attracts thousands of visitors each year.”

http://www.golakehavasu.com/about-us/about-havasu/london_bridge1.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_(Lake_Havasu_City)

So here we are – the start of the park and the English Village under the bridge:

 

 

As we were standing under the bridge and taking pictures, there was a vendor selling spaces for a boat ride thru the channel and to Copper Canyon.  So, yep, we hopped on the boat and off we went.  More views of the bridge:

Swallow nests on both sides:

Coming out of the channel to the Lake:

And these neat lighthouses:

The Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club has been building a series of lighthouses around the lake.  These lights are reduced-size replicas inspired by famous lighthouses of the U.S. and Canada. The lights are legitimate aids to navigation, with designs approved by the Coast Guard and locations approved by the state as part of a master plan for lighting the waterways of the lake. Eventually there will be more than 20 lighthouses, including several on the California side of the lake.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/862921/famous_lighthouses_of_lake_havasu.html?cat=23

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/az.htm

There were all kinds of modes of transportation on the lake:

 

This is the color of the water – WOW!:

More scenes along the way:

 

The hole in the “Wall”:

Going into Copper Canyon:

 

Silver tailings from the mine that was here.

 

 

The hole from the other side:

Coming back:

See those holes..they are bullet holes from WW2 – Interesting:

The big area in the center that is chipped off…that also happened in WW2 from a bomb!:

The other side of the channel:

From there we drove out to the island on the other side of the bridge – more lighthouses:

Lake Havasu City is beyond that light house – WOW!

We continued our road trip by driving thru more of Lake Havasu.  I thought that this city was more like a small town – turns out it is a big city – oh my…   On the boat, we found out the history of Lake Havasu – here is a link – very interesting:

http://havasumagazine.com/history_of_lake_havasu_city.htm

Back at the motorhome – what a sunset:

What a WONDERFUL day!

Enjoy today!