February 17, 2012 – Geocaching and Fireworks

A good day for a walk in the desert – :-):

We found out that there was a geocache about .4 miles away so off we went.

Bob, Gretchen, Andy, Don, Glenda – starting our trek:

The wildflowers are blooming:

 

And cacti all over:

We are still marching along:

More cool cacti:

YEA!  We found it:

Well, we got so excited we said “Let’s find another.”  Turns out, my tablet and Gretchen’s phone told us there was one only .7 miles away.  So off we went:

Cactus on the side of the hill – they are hardy:

More flowers – what a contrast on the desert floor:

And the road goes on:

We have to go where?

Finally!  Turns out that it was .7 miles as the crow files.  And we had to go around quite a few hills not up and over.  The boys coming back from the cache:

Break time:

Modern Petroglyphs:

We decided to make our way to the highway but then we still had over a mile to go – :-):

Almost there:

What a great hike – but we did learn a lot more about reading our GPS and tablet.

After a rest and supper, off we went to the Winter Blast.

Oh MY and more OH MY!  Awesome! Breathtaking!   There are no words to describe it.  It was like the Grand Finale over and over again.    Here is a video of some of it.  Now just imagine this going on for almost an hour – WOW!  And before and after the public show, there were hours of fireworks – some good some not – Cool.

 

 

 

Another great day – we are so blessed!

February 16, 2012 The Steps and Winter Blast

We woke to a beautiful morning and decided to take a walk to the top of both of the hills surrounding us.  The pictures are not in order – just so I could tell the story.

Here we are – second from the left:

Our first hike was to the top of this hill – notice the steps:

Check out the motorhome at the top – what a view – that is Lake Havasu in the distance:

Now I am not sure what the story of this property is – I have heard there was a mine and this was part of the reclamation.  Another story is that a developer bought it, then ran out of money.  Anyway we can camp here for free – isn’t that great!

The second hike was to the top of the flat hill on the right:

And the pictures from above – most RVs are from the Boomer group and the SOLO group (both Escapee sub groups):

  

 

We met Glenda and Don at the top of the first hill and the four of us went to the top of the second where we met up with Ken and Jo – :-).

Some other shots from along the way:

Cacti grow in the most amazing places:

And the hills go on forever:

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Tomorrow we went up that road –:-) - see next blog:

  

What a great walk.

After Happy Hour, Gloria, Frank, Andy and I went into the Winter Blast where we met Judy and Luke.

So what is Winter Blast, you ask – :-).  Well, every February in Lake Havasu City, the Western Pyrotechnics Association hold their annual Convention and Fireworks Show.  They have seminars, trade shows, pyrotechnic supply vending and open shooting and shows.  And the public enjoy the open shooting and shows.

So today was amateur night open shooting – a little disappointing for us but we will see what tomorrow’s show brings.

Stay tuned.

February 15, 2012 Travel to “The Steps” near Lake Havasu City

We said our goodbyes to our friends this morning and headed west.

Thru the Sonoran Desert National Monument:

Pass the farms near Vicksburg:

And the feedlots near Vicksburg:

On the road to Bouse:

And beyond towards Parker:

Love the cloud shadows on the mountains:

Heading towards the Steps – I love how the mountains change near the Colorado River:

The Colorado River:

Check out the red rocks:

One of the small communities by the lake:

Lake Havasu – Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge in the distance:

Almost there:

We pulled into “The Steps” and got settled in.  We are here for a get together with the Boomers as well as Winter Blast and Ed’s Birthday Party (will have those details in later blogs).  Judy and Luke arranged to go to dinner tonight at the Elks in Lake Havasu City with a group of us so off we went with Frank and Gloria who are parked near us.  Yummy Rib Dinner – :-)))

It was also great to see many of our other Boomer friends and we hope to have a great couple of days with them so stay tuned.

Stats:

Miles Traveled: 231 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: S. Montgomery Road; I-8 W; Vicksburg Road; SR-72; SR-95

February 6-14, 2011 Casa Grande

Well we accomplished most of what we wanted to do here: cleaning, washing, fixing and updating some items, haircuts, bills, financials, etc. etc. 

Tucson VA

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we drove to the Tucson VA – Andy had to get some testing done (he is all okay, by the way).  We were very impressed by this VA in 2010 and continue to be – it is truly a top-notch center.   On Tuesday as I was in the waiting room, three veterans started to talk about their experiences during the wars (one was from WW2 and Korea; another from Korea and Vietnam; and the third from Vietnam).  For me, it was extremely POWERFUL and emotional to hear them talk.  I almost felt like I was intruding on a private conversation (yes, there were others there too and probably felt like I did).  We all need to thank our veterans and active duty personnel for the great job they have done and are doing to keep us free.  Oh my!!

Rov’ers Roost SKP CO-OP Park

We remain number 4 on the list and getting excited.  This past week was their annual meeting and celebration “February Follies” and we attended a few of the events as well as the meeting.  Lots of fun  – :-))))

We have also met quite a few people that are leaseholders and hopefully will get to know them better next season.  We will probably not be back here this season unless we get a lot but you never know.

Friends

One of the best things about traveling around and keeping the blog as well as Facebook is reconnecting with friends we have met along the way.

On Friday, we got together with Larry and Cheryl (who we first met in Alaska in 2009 and we just touched base with each other this past January in Quartzsite).  They came over for our own little Happy Hour and we got to talking about geocaching.  Well here we are – found the one near the park.  This is the third geocache for us and the second for them.

Afterwards we all went to dinner and the Elks and continued getting caught up.  Hopefully our paths will cross again this year – :-)))   (Check out the writing on Andy’s t-shirt – LOL.)

On Sunday we got together with Jan and Ken – we also met them in Alaska in 2009 and have not seen them since Whitehorse.  It was great to have lunch with them and hopefully we will get together more when we have our lot here.

Our friends from NJ – Carolyn, Pete, Kathy, and Dave came into the park and we had a wonderful couple of days getting caught up – hopefully our paths will cross again this season.  (Sorry, no pictures.)

Geocaching

And speaking of geocaching – we found another one plus discovered two trackables (thanks, Katy).   We are still learning the GPS, downloading the information, and the tablet but we are looking forward to having a great time with this.

Tomorrow we are headed for “The Steps” near Lake Havasu for the Winterblast – 4 days of fireworks – so stay tuned.

Here is a great link for state park passes and national park info:    State Park Passes

 

 

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