February 28th, 2024 Friends and Road Trip

Last year when Andy and I did one of our Parker Dam Byway Road Trips, we stopped at the Rock House Recreation Visitor Center and met Maureen who is taking care of the center.  Since then we have kept in touch and followed her newsletter.  The center is right down the street so we were looking forward to visiting today.

Jeanne (the other caretaker), Maureen, me:

Maureen is an incredible artist and her talents can be seen throughout.  She has made the center into an educational/hands on place for folks to enjoy.  And enjoy we did!

Bird sounds:

Cactus area:

Bone area:

Check out the snake spine and rattlesnake tail:

Last year she was just starting this - it is a miner's cave/shaft to reflect the many mines in this area.  On the left is information on some of those mining towns.

Native fish of the Colorado River:

Many of the creatures and paintings you see were done by Maureen.  She is now working on a life size frog:

She did a life size burro that is now in the BLM office in Lake Havasu City.  

Love the coyote she made:

This is one of the hands-on table for the kids to enjoy - Love the egret:

She made many of those items too.

Her trophy wall - native animals of the area:

Isn't he beautiful - she does incredible work:

I was so fascinated with everything that I did not take any pictures of her artwork..  Next time.

We hung out for a while getting caught up with her and meeting Jeanne for the first time.  What fun!

If you are ever in the area, stop by and enjoy.  And tell them hello from me.

From there we headed on down the Parker Dam Byway: 

Where we met these little ones:

OMGoodness!  Aren't they the cutest!  Sometimes we see them roam thru the campground.

The wild burros have been in Arizona since the 1700's when the Spaniards used them as pack animals.  Many of the miners did the same and when the mines dried up, they released them.  The wild burros around the Colorado River in Arizona are the descendants of those miner's burros. 

There is some great information here:  https://americanwildhorse.org/media/about-burros#:~:text=Burros%20are%20a%20member%20of,borrico%2C%E2%80%9D%20meaning%20donkey.)

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Another part of our journey today was to check out some Day's End sites.  The Day's End Directory is available thru our Escapee Membership and relies on member-submitted low cost parking/camping places.  Years ago,  we would do road trips to check out places and found some really beautiful spots to camp.  We realized that we missed doing that so it is back on our list of things to do for road trips.

Just south of Parker is Shea Road, where many folks camp for the races and also for the "Howling at the Moon" events.  Since we have never been there and it was a Day's End site, we decided to check it out.

The first four miles was a rough road.  Once we crossed the cattle guard, the road was beautiful and we found a large farm.  At five miles out, BLM land starts and the scenery is just beautiful.  There were so many places to camp from there to another six miles out (we turned around then).

The start of Shea Road:

We are on BLM land here. Once we went thru the wash areas, there were many camping sites.

Imagine staying here with a nice campfire - beautiful and it will be on our list!:

We did check out a few more areas then headed home.  What a great day!

We are staying here until Saturday when we will head southeast so stay tuned and enjoy today.

February 26 - 27, 2024 New RV Shoes and Stuff

On Monday, 26th, we were up early and headed to Benny's Commercial Tire and Service for new tires for the RV.  Last year we had an issue with one of our tires and Benny Jr. came and fixed it.  (They also have a Mobile Tire Repair Service.)  We found out that it was a family owned business and they have high ratings on the Commercial and RV Tire Repairs.  Our tires have aged out so Andy started calling around - not only in PA, but in AZ and also OR (since they do not charge sales tax).   Well, Benny's was the best price!

(For our non-RV friends, it is highly recommended to replace the RV tires at 7 years old because of  "aging out".  Since we are planning some long trips, we figured now is the time to do it!)

So I did take some pictures along the way to Lake Havasu City - LOL!  (Yes, another cloudy - Bummer!)

Love those red rocks:

The Colorado River:

Benny did a wonderful job and we were back home by noon - YEA!

We just hung out for the rest of the day and started making our plans for the next few months.  😀💓

Tuesday, 27th was laundry and clean up - LOL!  Wendy and Vince stopped by and we made plans to get together later this week.

Tomorrow is another road trip day so stay tuned and enjoy today.

February 25th, 2024 Part Two - Ernie

Last year when we were traveling back and forth to Kingman, we would see a little enclave in the mountain and there was always something new added.   One day we stopped and met Ernie who was the owner and creator of all of this.  On the top of the hill, he was going to build his house - the driveway was already dug out.   Well, after checking out his attractions and chatting with him, he invited us for tea when his house was built.  We told him we would see him next season and that is what we did today.

When we pulled in, I was so happy to see him there.  He has added a number of new things but his house is still in the works.  We told him about the blog and mentioning him last year.  He told us that his son was overseas and finds all the blogs where he is mentioned - how funny.

Here is Ernie with Andy:

The last time I was there, he was just adding the gazebo.  Now it is finished with furniture.  He opened the gates for us and told us to enjoy.  Here are some of his attractions:

The gazebo:

YARD ART - I LOVE IT!

Look close - it is a stage coach.  I think by next year he will have something pulling it!

The entrance is thru the gate that is in the boat:

His house will be on top of the hill and yes, he did invite us for tea.

What fun - this place and Ernie just make me smile.  Can't wait until next season to see what he has done!

What a great day!