April 4 to April 12, 2016 Doctors, Friends, THE THING, Heading East

Our last four days in Casa Grande was a little crazy. 

On Monday, I took the cats to the Vets to have their nails trimmed.  I always had a problem with cutting Dusty’s nails so it was just easier to take him to the vets (and then starting taking Bella too).  Less stress on me and them.

Tuesday found us at the VA in Tucson for Andy’s tests.  I am always impressed at that complex!   On Thursday was Andy’s final visit with his primary VA doctor in Casa Grande.  All is good so we are heading east on Friday. 

In between, we packed up the motorhome, cleaned out our sheds, spent time with Katy on Open Live Writer (her blog is http://dancing-on-down-the-road.blogspot.com/), and saying our “see you laters” and “see you in the fall.”

On Friday, 8th, we were on our way east to Benson – check out those clouds:

WOW- check out that scenery:

We arrived at the Saguaro Escapee Park, set up, and spent the rest of the day with our good friends Bruce and Sue.  We have not seen them since Quartzsite so it will be great to spend the next few days with them. 

Miles Traveled: 122 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: Montgomery Road; I-8; I-10; SR-80

Saturday, 9th – THE THING!!

We have been coming and going on I-10 since 2008 and we always see signs advertising “THE THING” – What a Hoot! 

So today we decided to go see it since it was only 22 miles away.

The complex consists of a huge touristy gift shop, truck stop, gas station, Dairy Queen, and a doorway from the gift shop that looks like this:

So we paid our dollar and in we went….   Now I have to tell you that we thought it was going to be real hokey BUT we were surprised – VERY SURPRISED!.  There are three buildings with antique displays.  Here are some of them:

There were a number of these creatures throughout the buildings – very cute!:

Sue and I:

While Bruce was taking our picture, Andy was taking one of him and Bruce – LOL!:

We did find “THE THING”!   But I am not telling you what is there – you just need to see it for yourself. (Hey, it is only a dollar to get in!)

More displays:

We were very pleasantly surprised and HIGHLY RECOMMEND a stop if you like to see old things.  And there is a Dairy Queen right there – which is where we had lunch.

This is for my Brother-in-Law, Bill.  I ALMOST bought it for you – .  Isn’t he cute?

On Sunday, 10, we stopped to visit Gloria and Frank and Sharon and Don who have lots at Cochise Terrace RV Resort nearby.  It was great to see them again, get a little caught up, and see their new lots.

On Monday, I stopped by to see Carol and Byron.  Carol has just had an ankle replacement and is doing well.  It was great to see them again and meet their daughter.

And it has been wonderful spending the time with Sue and Bruce, talking, laughing, sharing meals, and getting caught up.  Always good to see you, my friends.  It was also wonderful to meet their neighbors, Mary and Mike and spend some time with them. 

Our last night together – Mike, Andy, Bruce – can you tell how much fun we had:

Mike, Andy, Bruce, Sue, Diane, Mary:

We will miss you all.

Tomorrow we continue our trek east so stay tuned and enjoy today.

March 28 to April 3, 2016 Rocks, Friends, and Heading East

Oh my..  Here I am trying to get caught up again with the blog.  I admire those folks who post every day – it truly is a commitment.

So here we go..

On the 28th and 29th, we batten down the hatches, turned on the air cleaner and air conditioner and went to and fro in the motor home – it was VERY WINDY!!  We even saw white caps on the Colorado River – WOW!

So after being cooped up for two days, we woke to a beautiful day on Wednesday and away we went on a road trip.  Our first stop was to Blankenship Wash north of Lake Havasu to do some rock hunting – .

The wash:

Lots and lots of rocks on the sides of the road which is in the wash.  We are still not sure what we are looking at but we did find some bacon jasper and quartz.  Cool!

Sorting out our rocks and deciding what we are taking:

From there we headed south to Craggy Wash to visit with our friends Leonard and Carol who were camped there.  This wash belongs to BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and they allow camping for up to 14 days.  The wash goes back at least for 5 miles and they took us exploring.  Really beautiful and we are putting that on our list of places to camp!

There are different signs along the way – including mile marker signs:

Not sure what this means since we did not climb up to it:

What a view!

Sign on the way out:

From there we went to In and Out for lunch.  It was great to see them and get caught up.  They are heading to Alaska for the summer and I am looking forward to hearing about their trip.

Thursday was catch up day (laundry, etc.) and on Friday, 1st, we started our long trek to Pennsylvania – from California to Arizona:

The Palo Verde trees are in bloom and the desert is so green:

We arrived at the gas station on Thornton Road with a little over a gallon of gas in our tank – oh my!!  Those who know my Andy can just imagine why!  We continued to our lot in Casa Grande, set up, and then met Jan and Ken at the Moose Lodge for supper.  It was great to see them again!

Stats for Today:

Miles Traveled: 230 Miles

Routes Traveled:

California: Parker Dam Road; SR-62

Arizona: SR-95; SR-72; Vicksburg Road; I-10; SR-85; I-8 Business; I-8; Thornton Road; SR-84; Montgomery Road

Saturday and Sunday were spent visiting with folks, getting haircuts, going thru all my rocks (and adding rocks to Carole’s rock garden), and cleaning up the sheds.  We ended the week at Jan and Ken’s for dinner – YUMMY.  Thank you both.

Enjoy today!

February 22-28, 2016 Casa Grande, Tucson, and Yuma

Time flies, doesn’t it!  And I continue to update weekly – YAHOO!

We had another great week:

On Monday, Andy did more packing in the shed.  We expect to bring most of our “stuff” to our lot in Yuma.  I went to crafts and had a great time chatting with the ladies.

On Tuesday we were up early and on our way to the VA in Tucson for Andy’s appointment.  The appointment went well and we will be back in early April.  Bruce and Sue were also there and we had a nice time getting caught up and it continued thru lunch.  I have to say that with all the bad press about the VA, we have always had wonderful service at the Tucson VA – what an impressive place.

Wednesday was spent doing the final packing, deciding what we are taking to Yuma and what we are taking back east.  After lunch, we said our goodbyes to so many good people that we will not see the rest of the season.  .    We finished the day having dinner and drinks with Jan and Ken (we hope to see them when we return in April.) We are so blessed to have these folks in our lives – always puts a smile in my soul when I see them.

Thursday we headed west to Yuma.  The desert is really green:

Miles Traveled: 196 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona:  South Montgomery Road, Florence Avenue (first east, got gas, then west), SR-84; I-8; SR-195; East County 14th Street; South Avenue 4E; East County 17th Street

We arrived at our lot in Yuma and started the unpacking.  After lunch I did a quick trip to Walmart and a stop at Jan’s Bead Addiction to sign up for a class on Saturday.  We finished the afternoon at a Happy Hour at Cal and Kitty's – what a wonderful time!

Friday thru Sunday, Andy was been busy organizing the shed and motorhome bays while fighting another cold – .  Friday and Sunday for me was the usual cleaning, laundry, etc..

On Saturday, I had a great class with Judy at Jan’s Bead Addiction.  She is so talented and a great teacher.  It was great to finally master a stitch that I have just had a hard time teaching myself!

This afternoon as Andy and I sat out enjoying the beautiful weather, we had two visitors:

Can’t believe they came so close to us.

The cats just sat at the screen door and watched.  Amazing.

Dusty has also been enjoying the nice weather:

Bella is just too afraid of being outdoors so I don’t stress her – she just watches over Dusty- .

So that is our week when we are not really traveling and sightseeing.  Last year at this time, we were traveling in Texas:

Looking forward to exploring new places again.

Until next week, enjoy today.