In Lake Havasu City....and Preparations to Fly Home....

Following a three hour drive from Yuma, we rolled into the little RV park, overlooking Lake Havasu, shortly after 12:00 noon, yesterday.  We are here for two nights.

Settled into our site at Lake Havasu, AZ.

Campbell Cove RV Park

This is a small RV park that overlooks Lake Havasu. There are 124 sites - located just west of I-95 - north from the downtown core and the famed London Bridge.  It is a Passport America park and we rolled in for 1/2 the regular rate.

Our table at Manuel and Dottie's Yuma Foothills party

I mentioned the invitation we had received - courtesy of my brother, his wife and their friends - to attend a Sunday afternoon, annual Yuma Foothills house party.  Well.....this annual event drew well over 60-70 folks.  What fun!  What great food too! Add to that a great Mexican live band, and we were set for several hours of good living.

L-R   Grey sweater (Paul, friend of Bernie and Rita), Rita (my sister in law) and Jeanette (green vest)

Lots of folks....and these were the early arrivals

It was a pot luck dinner - with appetizers - and we sure ate well.  The hosts - Manuel and Dottie - are long time Yuma winter residents, who summer in California and Oregon .  Talk about great hosts!  We felt privileged to have been invited along. And we did have fun.

When the sun was setting, Manuel began lighting a 1/2 dozen outdoor propane patio heaters.  You can see him at work with myself, Paul (behind Manuel) and brother Bernie making sure he is doing it well.  LOL.

L-R  Brother, Bernie, SIL Rita, friend Linda, and host Dottie.

Now this group of like minded snowbirds have known each other for many years and, as the newbies in the group, we were instantly made to feel welcomed.

This really good Mexican band (from San Luis) provided endless music.  What a treat!

Paul's wife, Linda - who is well known to the locals as having a great voice - took to the stage and sang a couple of numbers.  She does have a great voice!

By 8:00 pm Sunday night, most folks had left for home - as did we.  We thanked our hosts, said good bye to Bernie, Rita and their friends, then returned to our RV park to prepare for our Monday morning hitch up and drive north to Lake Havasu.  

The early morning view from outside our fiver, before sunrise, on Monday morning in Yuma, AZ.

Within an hour of readying to leave Yuma for Lake Havasu, we were rolling by 9:00 am.  With no winds in the forecast, it would prove to be an easy drive north.

Final walk around - safety check - before departure.

Traffic was quite light as we rolled north on I-95.

An hour or so into the drive and we were driving through Quartzite. There were several boon dockers in the surrounding area but nothing compared to the zoo that occurs there every late January when the BIG tent sale is in full swing.  The desert then looks like white flecks dotting every bit of landscape for miles on end.

This area has something to appeal to everyone.  The landscape is fantastic. The beauty of the desert, including sand dunes, red rock canyons, towering rock formation and waterways offers so many options to snowbirds who winter here.

Hmm....nice place to paddle our Sea Eagle kayak....!

Once settled into to our RV site in Lake Havasu, Jeanette and I walked down to the lake and found the groomed hiking trail that would eventually lead us into the downtown area and the famed London Bridge.  With over 45 miles of blue water, the man-made Lake Havasu can look like an ocean; depending on where one is viewing it from.

Nice.....very nice!

Most interesting colour.  Although it may look like a prickly pear cactus, it's not.

 Walking through the trails in the Havasu State Park, there is a garden that highlights all of the flora this area is known for.  The Cholla (photo below) can stick to you if you get too close. Some claim the Cholla actually jumps and can stick to clothing and skin too......!  We kept our distance.

Interesting view....including the lighthouse.

About one hour into our hike, we came out of the Havasu State Park and into the west side of the downtown - London Bridge - area.  It's always interesting to read why and how this bridge (below) was dismantled, shipped from London, England, and reassembled here in the Arizona desert.

This passenger ferry travels to and from the west side of the lake where a thriving Havasu Landing Marina Resort and Casino - on an Indian reservation - caters to patrons. 

We hung around the London Bridge area for a few minutes before resuming our walk back to our RV park.  Our walk - and the hike through Havasu State Park -  took over two hours.  That was refreshing!

We have a few activities planned for today but our main purpose will be to prepare our 5th wheel for storage.  That's right!  Tomorrow (Wednesday), we'll close up the 5th wheel, sanitize the tanks, winterize the water lines (by blowing air with the compressor), then drive north from Lake Havasu to San Bernardino County, California - where our fiver will be stored for one month, in a gated and security serviced storage facility.  Once that is done, we will drive two hours north, to Las Vegas, Nevada, where our truck will be stored (under cover and in a secure facility) while we are back home in Langley, BC.  We fly out of Las Vegas, for Bellingham, WA, on Thursday.  The airport is only 15 minutes from the Canadian border and another five minutes from there leads to our home.

We're heading home for Christmas and the exciting arrival of our newest grandchild - Deni and Courtney's first baby - due sometime around New Years.  That alone is a great reason to park our snow birding home on wheels to go welcome the new baby.  Christmas will be fun too, with our first grandchild, Easton and his parents.  

We will return to Las Vegas in mid-January, collect our truck, hitch up our fiver and continue with our winter fun in the sun in the US southwest. We've enjoyed these past five weeks roaming around the Nevada and Arizona countryside.

More to come!  Thanks for dropping in.

Side Note:  When we checked into this RV park yesterday, we were advised of a $3.50/day charge for WiFi.  We said no thanks!  Our new iPad Mini worked really well as a personal hot spot.  This blog was written using the hot spot.  Gotta love the technology that allows for the independence of having our own WiFi.  Our Face Time with Easton , last night, didn't work so well though!  We kept losing the signal.  I'll have to check into that.

No Time Wasted....

Our time here is coming to a close.  We leave for Lake Havasu City tomorrow morning.  It has been an enjoyable time here in the Yuma Valley. 

Friday was a 'stay at home' day in the Fortuna De Oro RV Park.  We chose to book a Tee time and play the full length, nine hole, golf course.  Jeanette came along for the exercise.  The course layout is actually very nice but the grounds have been neglected.  I believe the new owners of this RV park - Cal Am - will have the entire place in ship shape within a couple of years.  The company has already spent huge sums of dollars, slowly converting this place into a resort style facility. 

Jeanette joined me for the walk and to keep score.  With a foursome ahead of us - leading to slow play for us - I played two balls.  That was like playing 18 holes of golf.

Nice course layout.

My caddy for the day...but she didn't work too hard.  I pulled the rented golf cart but Jeanette kindly chased a couple of errant golf balls.

I did manage to play fairly well and finished with a 40 with one ball and a 46 with the other.  Not great....but not bad either.  Anyhow, it was fun to try the course, swing the clubs and enjoy the scenery.

Finishing putt on the 9th.

We returned to our site by 1:00 pm,  put some lunch together and Jeanette fired up the washing machine.  Laundry got cleaned and we enjoyed a relaxing and pleasant day, reading and just sitting outdoors, in the sun.  

Saturday morning ride into the Dome Valley

We chose to take a ride to the Dome Valley on Saturday morning.  I suggested that we ride out east to Welton and check out the Coyote Wash Golf Course there.  I've played there many times before.  It is a resort course and the club house offers a great view and an equally great breakfast menu. 

Our view from inside the restaurant at the club house @ Coyote Wash Golf Course.

Breakfast was enjoyed while watching golfers at the first Tee.  December is not the busiest time here.  Between January and mid-April though, this place will see a sizable increase in  RVers and golfers. 

RVing friend, Hector - from Vancouver Island - and I played this golf course several times in the past couple of years and I look forward to our next round here; quite possibly in the new year.

Lovely place.

After breakfast, we rode around the development here.  It is top class but it suffered greatly in the 2008 economic crash.  So many homes and empty lots are for sale.  Coyote wash is about a 15 minute ride east from Yuma.

We left Coyote Wash and headed north into the town of Welton and east into the Dome Valley.  This is prime vegetable farming country.  And there was plenty of activity.  Hundreds of labourers were cultivating the lettuce and cauliflower crops.  Riding on the motorcycle is so pleasant because we get to smell the fresh cut of these vegetables.  It smells great during harvest.

One of the many fields being harvested.

Another enjoyable evening looking out of our 5th wheel window at the colourful Christmas light display

By mid-afternoon Saturday, we rolled into Bernie and Rita's place for another visit and, by 4:30 pm, we headed to a recently established, first rate, smorgasbord restaurant.  Now...that was one fine feast had.  Lin's Grand Buffet restaurant is a going concern, offering top rate food and for the grand total of $11/person.  Lin's has nine locations in Texas and Arizona. We'll go back there again!

Back at Bernie and Rita's we enjoyed several rounds of Kings in The Corner - a card game - before we rolled back home to our RV site.  We'll be joining them - and better than 40 more folks - this afternoon for a food gathering at one of their friend's home in the Yuma Foothills.  We look forward to that.

Today, we start organizing our fiver to advance our preparations to leave tomorrow here tomorrow  morning.  The motorcycle will be tied down on the swivel wheel and other stuff will be stowed. It will be an otherwise relaxing day before our dinner gathering.

That's it from here.  Thanks for dropping in.

Sure Enjoying The Warming Trend....

The temperatures, here in Yuma, continue to rise from day to day, and that sparks greater interest to get out and do more.  

This view drew us to walk in that direction.

We took a long, long, walk towards the mountains, the day before yesterday.  Till we got to the base of the mountains, the temperature was quite fine.  As we neared the base though, the wind began to gust and we could feel the cool air.  A quick turnaround had us back in appreciable warmth.

Although short pants weather, one has to dress in layers till the mid-morning sun heats things up.

Once back at our site, we began the dinner preparations.  My brother, Bernie, and his wife, Rita, were joining us for happy hour and a Weber-Q'd pork tender loin.  It was a fine afternoon and, thankfully, our fiver was blocking most of the northeast wind that reared up.

We still required jackets to ward off the waning afternoon sun.

Although jackets were required outdoors, it was nice to close off the afternoon while sitting in the sun.  Before long, I showed our guests our iPad Mini.  We chose to Face time Deni and Courtney in Edmonton, Alberta.  They were home and answered....surprised to see Bernie and Rita on the screen.  A good visit had, we then Face Timed Ginette, Trevor and Easton in Langley, BC.  That too was a pleasant visit.

As a result of this experience, Bernie and Rita wanted to order an iPad Mini too.  And we did just that! Within minutes, there was a confirmation that their new iPad - from Millenicom - would be shipped to their Yuma home.  You should be getting a commission, Janna!  Tin TeePee/Log Cabin

Once done with the iPad fun, we settled in for a nice indoor dinner and more visiting.  Once our guests left to return to their abode, we settled in for a bit of TV before calling it a day.

Entrance to the Yuma Proving Grounds.

Thursday morning, we geared up for a motorcycle ride into the Imperial Dam countryside; including a drive by the Yuma Proving Grounds.  There is a large roadside display of various tanks and guns.  The entrance to the grounds has this ominous gunship (below) that would frighten anyone being chased by it.

Check out the size of the bullets that fire from the guns....

We've been to the Imperial Dam before so we chose to keep riding west toward our intended stop; The Imperial Date Farm.  Although it was still morning, we dropped in for a date shake.  Once ingested, we had no interest in having lunch.  The richness of that date shake carried us till dinner.

The last curve on Highway S-24 before our stop at the Imperial Date Farm

We enjoyed our date shakes while sitting outdoors, facing the sun, and watching the farming activities around here. We also rode south on Highway 95 towards San Luis - on the Mexican border - to enjoy the numerous orchards there.  The oranges, lemons and limes are ripening well.  

By 2:00 pm, we were back at our RV site.  We cleaned up and changed into better clothes before driving to Bernie and Rita's home for pizza.  After pizza, we were joined by three of their friends to attend a Christmas concert at a modern church/school nearby.  Although performed by amateur seniors and others, it was a funny and festive musical .  We quite enjoyed the solid performance by the volunteer actors and singers.

We gathered back at Bernie and Rita's house and, by 10:45 pm, we all said our bye byes and headed back for our place.  It was a fun evening!

Our RV Park - Fortuna De Oro - like most in the Yuma area, are less than 50% occupied.  We're told that they busy up after Christmas....when many, many, snowbirds fly the cold climate coops for the southwest US.

Today is a 'stay at home' day.  Jeanette was talking about getting some laundry done and I was expressing interest in playing the full length, nine hole, golf course that is part of this resort.  I walked over and booked a Tee time for 11:07.  Jeanette will be joining me for the walk. Once back, we'll get the laundry done while enjoying the afternoon sun with our books. It is shaping up to be a calm, bright, sunny and warm day.  Nice!

That about says it all from here, for now.

Thanks for dropping by.

It's Heating Up....Finally!

That's right!  The temperature is rising, the sun is out, the wind is down and the sky is blue.  So....that's something to write about; following so many endless days of cool, cloudy and windy weather here in Yuma country.

Monday afternoon was a planned visit at Bernie (brother) and Rita's (SIL) winter home, here in Yuma.  When we arrived, they had visitors over and we were so caught up in chat and laughter that we forgot to to take photos.  After dinner, and more visiting, we took this photo of their decorated home before we left for our RV park.

Very festive....

If I ever get bored, or find myself with nothing to do (which doesn't really happen), I just have to park myself by the motorcycle swivel wheel and I will have no shortage of guys dropping by to chat.  It happens every time.  What should take only about 10 minutes to remove tie downs and roll the motorcycle down ends up taking an hour or so due to the curious who talk me up.  That was the case yesterday.  I have had several swivel wheel chats in the past two + days. 

I'm sure I have sold several of these swivel wheels.  I should seek a commission from the designer/manufacturer in Texas.  Hmmmm.....I may have to chat them up!

When I did get the motorcycle off the deck, we geared up for an afternoon ride; in and around Yuma, including old downtown. We also checked out a few golf courses.  The courses were not busy.  It was gusting winds with cool temps that kept people away from the links.

When completing our set up on Monday morning - in gusting winds - the wind caught this garage door and slammed it back, breaking the plastic door holder.  I picked up a new one at a local RV shop and replaced it.

We rolled in and out of a few RV parks and most were less than 50% occupied.  That will change come January.  We're told that the bulk of snowbirds head out following Christmas.

A catchment pond at one golf course....

Downtown Yuma was partially closed off while weekend market hucksters were clearing the streets.  They were packing their wares before the streets could re-open.  It was otherwise quiet in the downtown area.

We were pleased to roll on new pavement on Avenue 4.  That very long stretch of highway, along the major shopping district, was rough pavement.  Newly paved, it is a treat to ride on.  It also makes the shopping and downtown district look and feel better.

The Country Roads Resort that my brother and sister in law reside in.  It is 5 star!

By late afternoon - back at our RV spot - I caught the photo (below) just as the late afternoon sun lit up the mountains to the east.  Nice colours.  That is our view from most of our windows.

Shortly after the sun set, we put some burgers on the 'barby' and closed off the night with a bit of reading and some TV watching.  Of interest was catching up on the South African world event that included so many statesmen and stateswomen who attended the Nelson Mandela memorial event.  We did get to see and hear Obama's speech.  He was clearly the crowd favourite and his speech was top class!

Son in law, Trevor - Mother in Law, Mary - Grandson, Easton and our daughter, Ginette.

Before flying back home to Langley, BC, Ginette, Trevor and Easton drove the 90 minutes east from Edmonton, Alberta, to visit with Jeanette's mom, Mary.  It was a wonderful visit.  Mary got to spend some time with her great grandchild.  We received texted photos during their visit.  Nice!

It was great to wake up to mid- 40's weather, early this morning.  With no wind and expected temperature increases, it is shaping up to be a very nice day.  We're up for that!  We are hosting dinner for my brother and his wife at our site today.  And we look forward to that.

Thanks for dropping by.