February 1 – 5, 2012 Casa Grande

After saying our goodbyes on the 1st, we headed east to Casa Grande and the Escape CO-OP Park where we will be for two weeks.  We found out that we are number 4 on the list.  Yee Ha!  We just may get a lot here this season.   

For us, coming to this park is almost like coming home.  We have met some wonderful people here over the years and it is always good to see them again.  We are truly blessed with the people in our life.

So the past few days, I have been working on getting caught up with all my computer “stuff” and taxes.  If I owe you an email and you have not received it, please email me again.  And with this blog I should be caught up..

Speaking of the blog, I have been going thru a “should I” or “shouldn’t I” continue.  And then comes the question: what type of blog do I want to have – a travel blog, a personal blog, a combination of both, or none.  I admire those who keep a journal – something I would love to do but know me well enough that I know I won’t keep it up.   When I first started doing this (can you believe it is almost 5 years ago – WOW!), it was to be a travel blog only.  When we got home, I stopped blogging.  When we spent a few weeks with family, I posted rarely.  And my belief was that it is my personal life – not to be fully public.   Somewhere over the past year or two, we have slowed down in sightseeing and become more involved in socializing – :-)),  which really is a good thing but then how much do I want to publish.  Hmmmmm…… much to think about. 

Speaking about socializing, last evening we were invited to Bob and Donna’s Happy Hour – very nice and we got to meet and talk with more of the people who have a lot here.  There are also a number of ham radio people here so they are talking about starting a club.  I know Andy will enjoy that.

We also have some friends that are in the area and hope to get together with them later this week.

This coming week is the park’s annual meeting and celebration so since we are so close to being residents, it will be interesting to see how it all works.   And between all that we will be doing organizing, cleaning and a few things I want to do in the motorhome.

Our little kitties are doing well.  And they do just love being together:

 

And I will leave you with two photos from Boomerville – thanks Judie:

Our stats for February 1st:

Miles Traveled: 186 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: Plumosa Road (Quartzsite); SR-95; I-10 Business; I-10; SR-85; I-8; Montgomery Road

 

Laugh when you can,

Apologize when you should,

Let go of things you can't change,

Life is too short to be anything but happy.

January 29 – 31, 2012 Geocaching

On Sunday after saying our goodbyes, we traveled about 15 miles to the Escapee Geocachers BOF Rally (another Escapee subgroup).  Andy and I have been interested in doing some caching and wanted to know more about it.  So we were told “Just Show Up” and that is what we did.

Many of the people there were also Boomers so it was like a mini “Boomerville” except with lots of learning.

On Sunday night, we went to the “Z-Circle” that Sue Pace put together (thanks, Sue).  There were 5 rigs that were host rigs.  Because of the time frame, we did three rotations.  So this is how it works.  We showed up at the first rig with a snack (along with other people).  For about 30 minutes, we all got to know each other, then a horn would blow and we moved to another rig with new people for another 30 minutes and then one more time.  This was our first Z-circle and we had a great time and got to know lots of folks in a short time.  Thank you Sue.

On Monday, we went to three classes and learned about geocaching – introduction and what does it all mean; the software and web sites – how to get around them; and learning our GPS.  On Tuesday, we participated in Geocache games and learned about what we should take along when we do go.  The nice thing for us is that many of the items we already carry in our hiking bag. 

And I have to do a Thank you to Pam, who has and is mentoring us in this hobby.   Now all we need to do is go out and do it!

Here is where we parked:

 

The classes took place here next to Judy and Luke’s rig:

 

A sampling of the different type of travel bugs, trackables, and path tags:

 

 

So stay tuned for our new adventure.

January 17 - 28, 2012 Boomerville in Quartzsite

Quartzsite and Boomerville – What a wonderful time we had – :-))).

We belong to a sub group of the Escapee Club known as the Boomers and every year in Quartzsite there is a non-structured rally for two weeks.  This year there was over 130 rigs parked in the desert.   We reconnected with old friends and made new ones.

There is also many rallies throughout the Quartzsite area and on the 18th and 19th, the Escapee Club sponsored two happy hours.  When we came to the southwest in 08/09, we were adopted by another couple who took us under their wings.  And we saw them again at the main Happy Hour – how wonderful!

Here is Boomerville:

The arrow points to our rig:

We parked with Bill and Shelly and Bruce and Sue.  Bill and Shelly’s rig is on the left, we are in the center, and Bruce and Sue are on the right.  Don also stayed with us for a few days too but his rig is not in this photo.

Our rig – notice the new sunscreens (from Yuma).  It really makes a nice difference in the motorhome:

The weather was wonderful most days this year and we took advantage of it.  Most mornings, Tom would take off in his ultra light (the aerial pictures above are from him – thanks Tom)

 

 

Happy Hours and Announcements were held here every day at 4 PM:

 

Campfires on non windy nights – L-R – Geri, Sue, Bruce, Andy, Shelly, Bill, and John:

And in between……

Chili Contest

The judges:

The winners – Bill placed 2nd:

Andy and Bill:

 

Our group awaiting the Judging – Don, Andy, Sue, Bill, Shelly (Bruce was a judge):

  

This was even an entry – how funny!

There were LOTS of entries – and a great dinner afterwards.  I even made a pot and called it “Non-Farty Chili” by Gassy’s Wife – LOL!.  It was actually hamburger stew and tasted pretty good (Tina, you would be proud!)

We made a trip to the Desert Bar one day.  This bar is only open from September thru May on Saturday and Sunday.  And it is all powered by solar.  We have been here twice before (so I will not be giving any history this time but here is a link if you want to read more: http://www.thedesertbar.com/)

The Bar is north of Parker and then back on a dirt road for 5 miles – the scenery along the way is BEAUTIFUL!

The last turn – very tight:

The Church:

The owner’s home:

The Bar:

 

The view from the Ladies Room – oh my:

The bathroom sink:

    

Another day, Andy, Bill, and Bruce went on a 4x4 trip where they came upon this cabin:

Where people left items that went undisturbed:

  

Their destination was “Dripping Springs” where they found these petroglyphs:

  

And, of course, that day, the girls went shopping.  This is the camel at Gem World:

 

Another day, there was the “Geraldine” Contest.  From what I understand, there was this gentleman named Jerry who was very curious about the women’s circles.  And one day he dressed up like a lady just to see what was going on.  Jerry has since died and every year they have a contest in his memory.  Mark (on the right with the pink hair) won the contest.

Group Pictures (thanks Judie):

Some of our other activities included:

Lots of socializing (which is why I did not write a blog – :-(((;

Geocaching Seminar; Tablet Seminar; Potlucks; Lots of shopping – :-)))); Playing Mexican Train; And just a general good time.

One of the other things we did was sign this flag for our troops.  Here is the link http://supportrsoldiers.org/ and I would encourage you to check it out.  They are doing a lot of good work. (Thanks, Judie for the picture.)

And this was Friday night – our last night all together:

Bruce, Sue, Me, Andy, John, Geri, Bill, and Shelly

We have all had such a wonderful time and I will miss them all as we are all off to various parts of the U.S.   Hopefully we will all be together again next season.

We are so blessed with the people in our lives – :-).

Enjoy today.