April 4, 2024 - Travel to Lake Havasu City and Lake Havasu Wildlife Refuge

(I am a little behind in updating so hopefully will be caught up soon.  Today is 4/11 and we are currently in Boulder City, NV)

April 4th, 2024

We did our final clean up and lock down; said our "see you in the fall" and started our trek north.

Lots of grassy plants this time of year:

Past the big guns at the Yuma Proving Grounds:

The greenery from earlier this year is now turning golden:

But the brittle bushes are still blooming:

We made a stop for fuel in Quartzsite and continued to Lake Havasu RV Resort in Lake Havasu City.  This is one of our membership parks and it is our first time here.  

And it is WINDY.  My Andy did a great job getting us here!

After setting up, it was time for a road trip to check out the area.  First stop was the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge.

"Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, originally named Havasu Lake National Wildlife Refuge, was established by Executive Order by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 for the primary purpose of providing migratory bird habitat. The refuge is comprised of 37,515 acres along the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California. The refuge protects 30 river miles and encompasses 300 miles of shoreline from Needles, California, to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. One of the last remaining natural stretches of the lower Colorado River flows through the 20-mile long Topock Gorge. 

Havasu National Wildlife Refuge is within the Pacific Flyway, a major north-south migratory route along the western coast of the United States. Hundreds of birds stop here to rest and refuel during their long journey. Many species also breed and overwinter here. Because of its importance to birds, the refuge is considered an Important Bird Area in the state of Arizona. Come out and enjoy Havasu National Wildlife Refuge -- it's definitely for the birds."

All along the lake, there are trails.  We stopped at one of the walkways and took the tour.  (Sadly many of the kiosks with information have been destroyed)

The word Havasu ("HAVE-a-Sue") means blue green water in the Havasupai ("WA-Sue-Pie") language. Lake Havasu is a man-made lake formed by Parker Dam on the Colorado River.

The views at the end of the trail:

Just beautiful!

But it was windy!!

We continued our tour of the town and the island and finished our day with supper at the Elks Lodge. YUM!   It was many years since we have been here and they have really upgraded.  Nice.

Another wonderful day!  We will be here for a few nights so stay tuned and enjoy today.

(Another side note:  I appreciate all the comments on the blog.  But if you post as "Anonymous", I do not know who you are.  You can always put your name in the comment and still post "Anonymous".

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 166 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: South Avenue 3 3/4 E; East County 17th Street; South Avenue 4E; East County 14th Street: AZ-195; Araby Road; US-95; Chenoweth Drive; London Bridge Road

March 25th - April 3rd, 2024 - Our time in Yuma

WOW!  Time really goes fast when you are having fun - LOL!

So what have we been up to for the last 10 days?

We did organize the shed - at least in part.  We will do more when we our here next season.  We also got an estimate for some improvements we want to make on the lot.  Hopefully we can get that done in November or December.

We had our cat, Gray, to the vets for bloodwork and a check-up.  He is gaining weight but eating less food so I was concerned.  The good news is that all his tests are wonderful and he is a healthy cat.  The bad news for me is that I now have to really monitor his food by counting his calories.  Next, I will be doing that for me. LOL!

Isn't he the cutest!

In February at our park's annual membership meeting, there was an issue that concerned me so I volunteered to be on the Ad-Hoc Committee to address the issue.  The first meeting I attended by phone, the next meeting was my birthday and the last one I attended was this past week.  There is a great group of people on the committee and I am learning a lot about how parks work and some of the "legalities" of park operations.  I will miss the last meeting but will be there in the fall.

After the meeting on my birthday (3/26), members of the park went to EATS (Chinese Restaurant) to celebrate all the other March Birthdays and Anniversaries.  It was fun.

The next day (3/27), we went back to Los Algodones to my favorite restaurant to eat.

Happy Birthday to me 😁:

Yes, the Margaritas and Garlic Shrimp were still wonderful!

Our favorite bartender was there, Leo, (on the right) and gave me a big hug for my birthday and a big hug when we left.  He introduced us to his little brother (on the left).  At first I didn't believe it was his brother and he convinced me it was.  I could not pronounce his name so hopefully next year I will.

As many of you know I just LOVE yard art and this little guy came back over the border with us.  Can't wait to put him in my yard in PA!

They had an awesome camel and an awesome giraffe but getting that home would be a problem..

Our friend, Judy, came into the park that day and we spent some time getting caught up and then out to dinner.  Sadly, I did not take a picture.

The weather has been crazy here!  Cold some days; warm to hot other days; and we had lots of wind and rain.  

Pictures of one of the dust storms coming thru - Looking west:

Looking south:

Looking east:

And that dust just covers everything!!  We usually close up everything and put the air conditioning on cause it is that fine, I can taste it.  

Besides the normal shopping, laundry, etc., I spent a considerable amount of time planning the next few months of our journey.  I only do reservations about 2 weeks in advance and also have backups if it doesn't work out.  Depending on the weather, we hope to spend a little time in Nevada before heading north.

I also spent time on the phone preparing for our trip thru Canada:  What credit cards can we use and not incur any charges? How about cell phone and internet coverage?  Insurance? Medical?  Do we have enough of our medications? What can I bring into Canada - food, alcohol, etc.?  What paperwork do my cats need?  ETC...  I also found out that I could get Canadian money from Wells Fargo with no fee so we made that happen here since there is no Wells Fargo in Canada.   Finally, since my cats eat special food, I ordered enough for the next few months until we get to Anchorage.  I think we are covered!!

One interesting thing I did over the past week was take part in an Alzheimer Study.  As many of you know, my mom had Alzheimer's and a few years ago I inquired about participating in those studies.  I have been in one study now for almost 5 years.  I do it online every three months.  They contacted me to see if I was interested in doing a short term one - every day for 5 days and then repeating in 6 months.  Since I knew we were going to be stationary and the internet was good, I went for it.  I will tell you that this one was hard.  Plus at the end, they asked for an evaluation of the test.  Yes, I will do it again.  I have also participated in other short term ones but most of them I did not qualify.     If anyone is interested in participating in studies like this, you just need to Google the specific disease and make sure the study is done by a university or hospital.  Once you are in one of them, others will contact you.  Also, if you need testing, many doctor and hospital groups participate.  One of the studies I was in two years ago, the pretest was bloodwork and they referred me to a doctor in Pottsville. (I had to give 11 vials of blood and they actually paid me. That was a nice surprise.  But, I did not have the specific proteins that they needed so I could not participate.)  If I were home more, I would look into some of the cancer studies because of the prevalence of cancer in my family.  

Tomorrow we start our trek north so stay tuned and enjoy today.

March 23 - 24, 2024 Travel to Yuma

March 23rd, 2024

After our final pack up and shut down, we handed in our lot papers and headed west to Yuma.

Cloudy, breezy day and saguaros in the distance:

Brittlebush blooming everywhere:

Starting the next crop:

And away we go - the desert is really green and lush:

We stopped in Dateland for lunch - a date shake - Yummy!  First one this season.

The scenery continues:

Heading up and over Telegraph Hill:

We landed on our lot and started unloading the RV and truck with items from our shed in Casa Grande.  Tomorrow we hope to organize it all - LOL!

We ended the day with a great steak dinner at the American Veterans and came home to the start of a sand storm.  Windy!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 171 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: Montgomery Road; I-8; Araby Road; AZ-195; East County 14th Street:  South Avenue 4E; East County 17th Street; South Avenue 3 3/4 E 

March 24th, 2023

We started the day working on the shed: putting up shelves, figuring out what to store and organizing it.  Then reorganizing the truck for our upcoming trip.  Sheesh.  

In the middle of all of this, the wind really picked up and there was dust everywhere - Yikees.  It is still windy as I write this but at least we are back inside.

This afternoon, I headed to Artsy Fartsy to pick up my project - Glass and Resin.  It is just a beginning but I can see the possibilities.

We are not sure how long we will be in Yuma so stay tuned and enjoy today.

February 21 - 24, 2024 Emerald Cove and a Girls Day

February 21st, after closing down and hooking up, away we went to Earp, CA / Parker, AZ area.

Past the growing fields:

Checking out the watering systems:

A little tidbit about Yuma:

"Yuma’s reputation as a worldwide leader in agriculture is growing, and Visit Yuma wants visitors to know about what makes the farmers and farmland around Yuma so special. Abundant harvests of vegetables, citrus, and melons feed our nation—not necessarily the picture visitors might have of what it’s like in the desert around Yuma. Fertile land in the Colorado River lowland and water from the mighty river, as well as being around the Sunniest City in the World, Yuma, sets up Yuma-area farmers to raise two, and sometimes three, crop rotations on the same plot of land in a year. 

If you’re eating a salad during the winter, chances are that it was grown in Yuma. Agriculture is Yuma’s number one business; it’s a more than $4 billion industry each year. More than 91% of the leafy greens produced in the winter in North America now come from the farms around Yuma. In the winter, crops include 75 varieties of lettuce, baby greens, cauliflower, broccoli, herbs, root vegetables, and kales. Summer crops include hay, hard red wheat, Durum wheat, cotton, Medjool Dates, watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydew, alfalfa, and Bermuda grass seed. Lemons top the crops for citrus production among other citrus grown in the area.

More than just a booming industry, agriculture is an intrinsic part of the fabric of Yuma, from the early 1900s when the Colorado River was dammed and diverted to canals to water the fertile fields around Yuma. As waters etched and formed the Grand Canyon, what became the Colorado River carried silt and soils downriver. Before the river was dammed, annual floods deposited millions of tons of rich organic matter onto the floodplain area around Yuma. Learning to harness the river took innovation, resolve, and a “can-do” Western mindset that continues to this day in the spirit of Yuma’s people. The farm families that have shaped Yuma’s heritage are leaders in ag technology, conservation, and plant sciences."

It is fascinating to see the fields here.  When we stay for a few weeks, we witness planting to harvesting and then stating again.  Amazing.

The road to Quartzsite - the desert is really greening up:

Interesting roads - LOL:

This area has had a lot of rain over the past 6 weeks.  Awesome to see all the green.  Flowers should be appearing soon - can't wait!

Heading into Parker - Check out those clouds:

Much of the land here belongs to the Colorado River Indian Tribes.  A few years ago, we explored the areas - the land and farms are beautiful:

The Railroad Bridge crossing the Colorado River:

Into California:

We traveled Parker Dam Road where the rock formations are amazing:

Fun with stones:

The alien head - LOL!:

Colorado River Wetlands:

Lots of ATV Trails:

WOW!  What beauty:

We arrived at Emerald Cove and will be here for around 2 weeks.  This is one of our membership parks  - Colorado River Adventures.  A few years ago we upgraded and now, if we stay less than 60 days a year, we do not pay membership dues nor do we pay to stay here for full hook ups..  Good deal.

Our friends, Wendy and Vince, are here and when we finished setting up, we went to see them.  We have not seen them since 2016 so it was great to get caught up.  We all decided to go the the Tiki-Bar for supper.  What a great time and hopefully we will spend more time together over the next week or so.

On a side note.. We always liked the Tiki Bar here.  The drinks (especially during Happy Hour) were very reasonable and so was the food.  But their prices have really gone up.  We will try it again just to be sure.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled:  130 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: East County 17th Street; Avenue 4E; East County 14th Street; AZ-195 (Araby Road); US-95

California:  CA-62; Parker Dam Road

February 22nd was just a hang out day and that is just what we did.

February 23rd, Wendy and I headed to Quartzsite.  When I was there a few weeks ago, I did not get the chance to go to Gem World or Desert Camel Beads.  Since it was only 30 miles away, I decided to check them out and was glad Wendy joined me.

Last year, I took a few classes at Desert Bead and they have a few interesting ones next week..  Hmmm.. still thinking about it - LOL!

We had a great lunch at Silly Al's, then headed back home.  Nice girls day and nice spending time with Wendy (too many years)!

Later that day, Andy and I headed to the local Legion at Big River.  We had a nice time chatting with the locals and enjoyed their fish fry.  Back home, we decided to try out the Tiki Bar again.  The one bartender remembered us from last year and we got talking about the prices.  Yep, they increased - some were doubled.  Bummer.. not my favorite place anymore. :-(

Today, February 24th is another sort of hang out day.  Having some computer problems that I am trying to sort out and fix.  (Fingers crossed!)

Tomorrow we are doing another excursion so stay tuned and enjoy today.