Tuesday, January 29, 2013

New RV Friends, Burros & Happy Hour!

It has been a few days since our last blog and it has been a busy time.  We met new RV friends from Anacortes, WA.  Their home is about an 80-90 minute drive from our home in Langley, BC, Canada.  Terry and Sherry are motorcycle enthusiasts.  They are vintage motorcycle buffs too - most notably for Vincent motorcycles.     Vincent Motorcycles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Terry and Sherry's BMW motorcycle sits in the box of their truck.
We met and chatted when Terry and Sherry rolled into the Pirate Cove RV Park last Friday.  Not having been here before, they were most surprised by the sites and, although they had only planned to spend two nights, they stayed for four.  
Sharing a wee dram the evening before Terry and Sherry were to leave for the Scottsdale area, near Phoenix.
While chatting, Terry mentioned a few names of vintage motorcyclists he knows well in BC and when I mentioned that we had lived, for over 30 years, in White Rock, BC, he mentioned a well known and respected vintage motorcycle buff who lived there too.  The name instantly rang a bell with me.  He was known to me.  I had visited his home and had seen his great collection of vintage motorcycles -  including a steam powered one - and he lived only three blocks from our home.  We also threw a few names about and, low and behold, he knew of them.  What a small world!

Chatting up the motorcycle swivel wheel.
Terry was most interested in the swivelwheel we attach to our 5th wheel to transport our motorcycle.  They have been seriously considering purchasing a 5th wheel but, like us, motorcycling is a must.  He was taken by the system.....and, who knows, they may well be 5th wheeling next season.
Terry and Sherry, leaving for points further east in Arizona.
When we were talking about favourite RV spots, Terry spoke about Lake Pleasant Park - just north and west from Phoenix.  Their description was magnetic.  We loved how they described this beautiful and underutilized park.....so, with that in mind, we are headed there, one day early, on our drive to get to Gold Canyon.  We'll leave on Thursday, spend one night at Lake Pleasant, before arriving at Canyon Vista RV Resort on Friday.

Some weekenders attending a small rally here.
Several weekenders arrived for what was billed as a large off road rally.  It did not materialize.  Only a few rallyers showed up.  Good thing too!  Their engines are noisy and they tore up some of the areas we enjoy walking in.  By and large, most folks were responsible but it irks us to no end (most others too) to find beer cans strewn all over the place.  Rather than act responsibly, some idiot rallyers  had to spoil it for most.  We witnessed one dog owner - of the many who were here - who ignored picking up their doggy poops.  Pathetic! We did not want to get shot so we did not say anything....but the disrespect was appalling at best.  Again, most rallyers with dogs were responsible.  It is quite likely (Yes, I'll go out on the limb on this) that the irresponsible dog owners were the likely beer swilling, can throwing, fools along their riding trails.

The weekenders left on Sunday and the park returned to its quiet and beautiful self.  This is our third year here and we have never witnessed an event like this before....and we hope it doesn't happen again.

I just love the sunrise here - overlooking the river.
Early morning shadows on the rig
This is what we witness while enjoying and early morning coffee in the warmth of our 5th wheel.....while watching the colours change on the horizon.
Riding Route 66 to Oatman, AZ
Although we have ridden to Oatman on several previous occasions, yesterday proved to be a good day to do it for the first time this season.  We took the famed Route 66 to get there and back.
Scenery along the route.
True to what is always advertised about Oatman, the burros were all over the street looking for free handouts from curious tourists.
This burro got interested in Jeanette.....even before she could remove her riding jacket....but quickly left when it was discovered that we had no treats.
We opted for lunch here....and it was quite good too.
When seated in the restaurant, a fellow tourist, seated next to our table, strongly urged us not to order the chilli.  His mouth was still burning from the hot spices.  He could not finish his meal....but he did manage to consume several bottles of water. We took his advice! He was seriously hurting!

Locally produced native Indian art produced on locally mined sandstone.
The art work - paintings on sandstone - were a joy to look at, in one store.  The talent to produce this quality is priceless.  Good thing for riding the motorcycle. It kept our temptations in check.
Grand building of old......
If the walls on the building above could talk, imagine the many captivating stories.
Back at our RV park, we headed over to Pod 24 where friends David and Patty were showing off their recently acquired electric two wheel scooter.           L-R Dean (RVer in the Pod) me on the scooter, David and Patty.
David bought this little rider for Patty to scoot around with.  Seeing as we were helmeted - and likely could not hurt ourselves - they wanted us to try it out.  We did just that.  Kind of a fun scooter to get around in RV parks. Not sure you can make it out under the black cover, just behind Patty, but David rides a beautiful Harley Davidson Ultra Glide. 
This little electric scooter is fun....albeit a bit slow for my liking.
We had some fun and laughs riding this thing.  They are growing in popularity, and we are seeing more and more of them around.
Jeanette is willing to give it a test ride.
Our objective, for the ride over to Pod 24 where David and Patty's RV sits, was to invite them over for some finger foods and libations at 5:30 pm yesterday afternoon.  Before we could manage the invite though, we got busy playing with this electric two wheeler.  That was fun!

David and Patty (who hale from Yuba City, CA, in northern California) did come to our Pod 16 and we enjoyed a few hours of fun chats and laughter.  After they left, back for their home site, we enjoyed a quiet evening of WEB browsing and TV watching .

Several RVers here are motorcycle enthusiasts.  Yesterday, we were invited to join a 300 mile, return ride - on Route 66 - to 29 Palms, CA.   Sadly, we won't be here, this Saturday, for that.  We will be settled in to Gold Canyon, AZ, by then.  We did the very same ride last year and we'll look forward to it for next year.

That it from here for now.   Thanks for dropping in.

8 comments:

  1. Looks like anonymous spammers have somehow penetrated Bloggers Spam Protection on your blog, Rene.

    Great post - loved the photos of your site and of the burros on the streets of Oatman.

    Too bad about the weekend idiots that invaded your campground.

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  2. nice recap of your last few days! the sunrise photo is spectacular!

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. Whew--the anonymous guy got after you!
    It seems that's frequently what happens, one bad apple or several bad apples spoil activities for the rest. No dogs on trails in National Parks is an example--clowns let their dogs off leash, the dogs chase the animals, now no one can have dogs on trails in the parks.

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  5. Sheesh! I took several hits from 'ANONYMOUS'...and that's the reason for blowing them away. I wish there was a laser system that would burn up their computers too What pests they are!

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  6. Wow...you have been busy! Great bike riding country.

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  7. Good article. I will be facing many of these issues as well.
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  8. It seems like you've been to a lot of good places with your RV. I enjoyed reading your adventures. I hope you keep us updated. Reading your posts makes me feel like I get to travel and go to places too. :)

    Rosalinda Rudloff

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