November 26-27, 2010 Red Rock Canyon

On Friday, we woke to 22 degrees outside – BRRRR!!!   But the sun was shining and we decided to take another road trip to Red Rock Canyon.  This National Area is about 17 miles west of the Las Vegas strip and has a great visitor center and 13 mile scenic route.    There are also some great trails and programs and when we come back to this area (in warmer weather), we may just may camp here and do some of those trails and programs – :-)).

Here is a link to more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rock_Canyon_National_Conservation_Area

The pictures are from the area and the scenic drive – Enjoy!

  

And the swirls of color:

Lots of rock climbers:

I am amazed at the different colors in the rocks and the layers..WOW.

Andy taking a picture of me taking a picture of him:

 

 

Doesn’t this look inviting:

And Friday night we had Thanksgiving revisited (as my friend Madeline would say).   There were that many leftovers from our dinner here at the clubhouse that we had another party tonight – :-)))    Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

On Saturday night we got together with John and Audrey and another couple for dinner – another great time – :-))   Oh and I have to tell you about the traveling tree….

In December 2008 while we were at Livingston, Texas, Andy and I purchased a small Christmas tree at the Dollar Store for the holidays.   Well, when we left, we put the tree on the sale table.   Audrey picked up the tree and used it the following year (we did not know this).  On Wednesday when they came over, they brought us a Christmas present – the little tree – :-))).   So Audrey, I will take care of it and send it your way when we see you again.

Wednesday morning was my last day with the beading ladies and Saturday morning was my last coffee hour with the ladies and it was sad to say goodbye for now… but hopefully we will see them next season – :-)).  We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Pahrump and tomorrow we will head south to Quartzsite, Arizona for a few days.

So stay tuned.

November 2-22, 2010 – Our Time in Pahrump

Hard to believe it has been so long since I updated…guess you all thought I went into hibernation….LOL!!  

We are still in Pahrump and have been having a great time…and doing a little bit of everything and a little bit of nothing – :-))

As I have mentioned before, we put ourselves on a list for a lot in this park in November 2009 (our number then was 108).  As of today we are number 86 on the list – still a few years to wait but that is okay.   Since we only spent a few days here last year, this year we wanted to spend a month here and get to know the people, the park, and Pahrump to see if we really do like it.  And the only way to do that is to get involved…

So almost every morning, I have been going to coffee hour with the ladies.  At 7 AM, the coffee group starts and somewhere around 9 (that is usually when I show up – :-)), the ladies and men tend to separate to different tables.  There are a few regulars that come every day and then there are the visitors (like us) who come and then go.  I have learned a lot about the park and the area from these great ladies and am having a good time in the process.

From Monday thru Friday at 4 PM is Happy Hour and Andy and I have tried to make most of them.  And it is the same make up – regulars and visitors.  And of course another great time.

 

Old Friends and New Friends

Dave and Nina, childhood friends who now live in Las Vegas, came up to see us.  We had a great time getting caught up with each other since our last visit in November 2009.

We were able to reconnect with Larry and Peg (who we met in Alaska in July 2009); Kay and Norval (who we last saw in March 2010 in Yuma); and Audrey and John (who we last saw in Livingston, TX in Dec. 2008).   It was great to spend time with them and get caught up with each other.

Some of our Boomer friends were passing thru and we were able to touch base again – Elena, Ron, Pam, and Steve.

And we have met so many new friends who we hope to see again down the road or when we come back here again.

Andy and I feel so blessed to have met so many great people and be able to see them again on our travels is another blessing – :-))).

Some pictures:

Larry, Peg, Andy, Me, Kay, Norval:

John, Me, Audrey, and Andy:

Andy, Me, Paula, Sherry, John, Norm:

 

Family

Andy’s sister and family were in Las Vegas for an awards ceremony for her grandson so on Sunday, 21st, we were able to get together and had a great visit.

Andy and Mary Kay goofing off:

My niece, Christy and her son:

 

 

Hobbies

With just taking it easy – :-) - we have been able to do some hobbies.   There is a beading group here that meets Monday and Wednesday morning and I have been having a wonderful time learning new stitches, new patterns and getting to know the ladies.   One day, we took a road trip to the beading stores in Las Vegas – WOW!!!   Too many choices.   I am learning to bead shop (for specific patterns) and not bead collect (which I have been doing – LOL!!).     And I finally got myself bead organized!!   So now I have a number of projects to finish as well as some I want to do.

I also stopped at the local Swap Meet and found out that there is another beading group in town.  I met a few of the ladies (most are residents of Pahrump) and got on their mailing list.  They meet Monday and Friday afternoons so I may do that next time around.   Gosh, I think I need to start selling some of these items……

They have a great craft room here so one day I took advantage of the area and made our new wheel covers.   Yes, I did bring my sewing machine – :-))).   So how do you think they look:

Andy finished the bottoms with a pipe and tie downs and they have held up to some of the winds we had lately.

 

I think if we were staying longer, I would be sewing more – going to try my hand at making some jeans (have not found decent ones at the stores) and new curtains for the RV (and maybe even reupholster our couch) - (too much to do too little time – :-))).   I spent some time talking with Peg on what she had done in her coach and learned a lot – thanks, Peg.     Over the next year, updating the inside of our RV will be my big project.

 

Andy has been flying his helicopter almost daily.  Larry helped him with the settings and he has been going strong every since – Thanks, Larry.   Some pictures:

 

 

Andy also connected with some of the local amateur radio operators and we have gone to one of their breakfasts.   Really great group of people!

 

 

Sightseeing

We did not do a lot of sightseeing and that was okay.   Normally in the space of a month, there is lots of blog entries on where we have been with lots of pictures but you know, it was kind of nice to just kick back.

However, I can’t have a blog without (A LOT OF) pictures so…. here we go…

 

In one of our days exploring the town – check out the tumbleweed:

Slideshow version:

 

 

We took a 5 mile drive on Wheeler Pass Road.   This road extends 16 miles and from what I am told there are some ghost towns.  However, I did not have any maps with us so we turned around once we lost sight of the town.   We need to visit the BLM office to get some maps before I will go further (I know, I am chicken….)   Anyway, here are some scenes from our short drive:

Here is the road – that is Mount Charleston with the snow:

 

Over the past month, Mt. Charlestown has been with and then without snow.  There is a lodge and skiing there but there is not road directly from Pahrump – we either need to go to Las Vegas or thru Indian Springs to get to it.   On our list for next time – :-).   More scenes:

 

The town of Pahrump in the distance:

We met these guys on our way back.   The area around here has wild burros and horses as well as ranches (with open ranges) so we are not sure if they are wild or just on their way home:

 

Pahrump has a POW-WOW and we stopped by to see the opening dance.   The only sad part is that the weather did not cooperate and we left part way thru the ceremony because of the rain.  Some pictures:

 

Our way back from seeing Mary Kay found us going thru Red Rock Canyon near sunset:

 

 

 

Weather

The weather has been getting colder.   The days are now in the 50-60 range and if the nights are clear, it is below freezing.   We figure this will be a great place to be early in the season when it is still hot in central/south AZ and also at the end of the season as we head north. 

 

Sunsets

I don’t have many pictures of the sunrises and sunsets but they are spectacular!!!  Check out the red mountaintops at sunset:

 

 

Insurance

We think at this point we are okay for 2011.  We have spent much time on the phone the first two weeks of November.  It turns out that my insurance also changed and we were sent incorrect information.  Since it did not make sense to me I called – oh my, what a dilemma!!!!    Although I say we are okay, we will not know definitely until the end of the year….oh gosh!!!   Maybe that is why it was so great to just take it easy this past month – LOL!!!  

 

Our Dusty

Stress – what stress!!  

While we were here, it was time for our Dusty’s yearly shots.  Last year right after we adopted him, he was at the vet in Casa Grande and “screamed” when he was given the shot.   I have had cats all my life and had never heard one scream like he did – it was horrible.   But last year when we were here in Pahrump, our previous cat, Elliot, was very ill and we found a vet that was wonderful.  So it was a no brainer for me to take Dusty to her. (BTW – she is at All Creatures Hospital on Basin in Pahrump).   She did a physical on Dusty, then gave him two shots – his 3 year booster and 3 year rabies.    For the first one, he gave a little meow and the second, he did not even flinch.   She is my new vet!!!!

He has also been enjoying meeting all our friends – what a cutie – :-)).

 

Future

So where do we go from here….

Well, we will be leaving here on the 11/28 and need to be in Casa Grande by 12/12 (Andy has an appointment with the VA on 12/13).   In the two weeks in between we want to stop in Quartzsite and Yuma.   Quartzsite for some shopping and Yuma for shopping and dental work in Algodonas.  So for our RV friends, if you in the area, email me and we will get together.

We expect to be at the Casa Grande SKP Park until after the Christmas Holidays and if the Shuttle Launch in February is still on schedule, we will start heading to Florida….    It has been on our bucket list for a long time and we figure we better do it – LOL!!    There are some places and people we will miss visiting this season but…….it was a dilemma….       Now if the launch has changed then….so will our plans…  did I say I love this lifestyle – :-)))).

Since we still have another week here, we hope to do some sightseeing so stay tuned!