It's Moving Day....

We leave our great RV spot at Canyon Vista RV Resort here in Gold Canyon, Arizona, this morning.  Following our third stay here, we will miss the gorgeous Superstition Mountain and the many friends who live in this area.

 Our 14 days are up. And we now head further south and west to Yuma.

The RV sites in Canyon Vista are some of the longest and widest we have ever experienced.  One does not get the sense of being squeezed in.  In fact, we feel less squeezed in here than the present crush of boon dockers that are calling Quartzite home.  Oh....and we get the wonderful benefit of 50 amps - with all the services - and two great pool and spa facilities.  Shopping is close by.  It is hard to beat such a fine facility.  And the activities coordinator here is on top of organizing so many  interesting events.  

One can partake in all or none of the activities.  There is no sales pressure either!

In the four years we have traveled in the winter months - and have called so many RV Parks home - we marvel at the courtesy RVers have towards other RVers.  We have seldom - if ever - had reason to complain about noise or other disruptions.  We respect that!  These parks tend to draw like minded, courteous folks.  And....we enjoy meeting new people!

Jeanette and I will return here.

Another beautiful Arizona day....

Not only did we thoroughly enjoy our time here, we certainly took full advantage to check out the countryside.  Our Iowan friends (that we met three years back) were fun to ride with.  We will miss them.....but, then again, we may get to see them again in Yuma.

Entrance to our RV park.

I put most of the storage stuff away, late yesterday.  That leaves only a bit of work before we hitch up and pull slightly forward to allow for sufficient clearance to load the motorcycle on to the swivel wheel.  Our drive today will take about 3.5 hours.

Golfing friend - Gerry

I mentioned in earlier blogs that we have several friends who call Canyon Vista their winter home.  Gerry and Pauline are one couple who call Montréal, Quebec their primary home.  And Gerry and I go back many, many years to our time at CBC-TV (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).

Gerry lined up a golf game (my first since last mid-October) on the Sidewinder course at the Gold Canyon Golf Resort.  There are two golf beautiful golf courses at the resort; the other being the Dinosaur course.  There are a few other golf courses nearby too.

The resort hotel - 5 Stars!!!!

Our tee-off was close to on time and by 3:30 pm, we were completing the 18th hole. One can easily be distracted here because the scenery is so stunningly beautiful.  It was a fun day on the links.

Hole #1 on the Sidewinder Golf Course.

Late evening sunset.

We have seen many sunsets in our travels but the Arizona sunsets, from Gold Canyon, seem to top off the best of the best.  We never tire of that.

We've enjoyed a whack of fun here and we look forward to meeting up with friends - along with my brother and his wife - in Yuma.  More adventures to come.

Thanks for dropping in.

Beautiful Countryside is Never Ending.....

The outskirts that surround the large Phoenix metropolitan area offer some impressive countryside.  And to view it from a motorcycle is that much more impressive, in our view.

Heading out on MLK long weekend - Sunday

SUNDAY:  We followed our riding friends, Lavonne and Dave on a great route north and west towards Fountain Hills, Scottsdale and Cave Creek.  We avoided all freeways.  And what a ride!

We cannot confirm if true or not, but the locals state that this home, on the mountain top, in north Mesa belongs to Bruce Springsteen

In the Fountain Hills area

Lavonne and Dave led us through some great countryside, beautiful housing areas, awesome roads and into a funky place called Greasewood Flat.  It stands out amongst some beautiful residential communities.

A place to take one back in time.

This place is popular with the locals and tourists.  It is a collection of all that is old.  But the food is pretty darned good.  This rustic eatery and outdoor beer joint attracts an eclectic mix of people.  

It's quite the draw for motorcyclists too......

.....with quite the collection of old junk......

There are chicken coops (with some exotic looking birds), donkeys, a small band stand for country music performers and it is surrounded by a vast collection of old pioneering equipment and more.  It's treasure to some and junk to others.

......and walls and ceilings dripping with US dollar bills.

The indoor food order area is valuable; given the hundreds of thousands of dollar bills that are stapled to the walls and ceilings.  

And the food?   Pretty darned good.

I chose a cheese burger and Jeanette chose a chicken burger.  We were impressed!  The burgers were not just good, they tasted great.  Enjoyed outdoors, seated on rustic tables, we listened to a talented country singer who had a very good command of his guitar.  The ambiance was true country.  What a fun place.

Further north and west in Cave Creek.....

After lunch, Dave was keen to take us further west and north to an area that is a huge, huge draw for motorcyclists.  Whoa!  Was he ever right?  Other than other large motorcycle gatherings we've attended, this area of Cave Creek was dotted with millions upon millions of dollars worth of two wheel rides.

......a popular gathering for motorcyclists.

Everything I ever heard and read about the Hideaway Grill seemed true when we rolled in to Cave Creek.  We rode by, slowly - pulled a U-turn a few blocks up - rolled back through the chaos of motorcycles before making our way back towards Gold Canyon.  Impressive?  Yes.  And we will go back there some day.

Parking is at a premium on weekends and long weekends.

On our return ride, we took a break in the Fountain Hills town centre.  Our timing was perfect.  The popular (and impressive) fountain began pushing water high up as we walked along the waters edge.

The fountain in Fountain Hills.

Heading east to Lake Saguaro

We learned that Lake Saguaro is a popular fishing  and pleasure boating spot.  And it was busy during our stop there.  It is a beautiful lake.  For the uninitiated, visitors are always surprised at the number of beautiful lakes that can be found near the metropolitan area.

Beautiful Lake Saguaro just north from Mesa

We enjoyed a lovely chat with an 85+ year old volunteer along the lake shore.  This gentleman is a full time RVer with a beautiful philosophy on life and living.  I so thoroughly enjoyed engaging with him.  

MONDAY:  A day trip to Tortilla Flats

A pretty scene in at the foot of Superstition Mountain.

With some shopping out of the way and a late morning outdoor breakfast enjoyed at our RV site, we coordinated another day ride under the sunny and warm Arizona skies.  Lavonne and Dave were up to taking a ride out to Tortilla Flats.  We guessed that being a holiday Monday, there could be some good country music to be enjoyed there. 

Our Iowan friends and great riding partners.  L-R  Dave, Lavonne with Jeanette and me.

The road to Tortilla Flats is as bumpy as it has always been.  With the tight twists and turns, we managed the mountain road to the rustic and pioneer village known as Tortilla Flats.  

On the way to Tortilla Flats.....

The countryside is amazingly beautiful here too.  For a holiday Monday, the road was not overly busy but our arrival in Tortilla Flats had us quickly realize that many had the same idea we had.  It was busy there.  We found some roadside parking and within minutes, we were seated and listening to some great country music.  Cooling down with some well earned lemonade, we took in two sets from the talented trio.

....to take in some great country music.....

Not only were the musicians good country singers, the lead guitar player was funny.  He had the knack to tell jokes.  And although many jokes were somewhat corny, he sure was able to get the crowd laughing.  I enjoyed him.....and his incredible musical ability with his Fender guitar.  Fun time!

....from a top class trio of talented musicians.

Gun to the head........?

I am not sure if planned or not but Jeanette took this photo while I was returning to the motorcycle.  Such timing, eh?

Enjoying Happy hour with good friends back at Canyon Vista RV Resort.  L-R  Lavonne, Dave, Sylvia, Rod and me.

Back at our RV park, we chose to drop in to the regular Monday afternoon Happy Hour. It is put on by the Canyon Vista staff and volunteers.  The beer was cold, the popcorn endless and the company was engaging.  We met Rod and Sylvia, blogger friends who call West Kelowna, BC home -  Six Saturdays and a Sunday | Work's over, now it's time to play!  We enjoyed a nice visit with them and our Iowan friends before the beer quit flowing and the popcorn disappeared.  It was an enjoyable hour.

Back at our 5th wheel, we settled in to catch up on the news of the day and after dinner,  over to Lavonne and Dave's Class 'A' to enjoy their outdoor wood burning fire pit. 

Other than our fun day spent with Janna and Mike Tin TeePee/Log Cabin , along with with Brenda and JB John & Brenda's Incredible Journey , this past Saturday at Dog Pound South, the Martin Luther King weekend was a fun-filled one that we will not quickly forget.

Thanks for dropping in.


 

Tin Tee Pee @ Dog Pound South

As far as great days in blogland go, our Saturday was about as good as it can get.  You read right!

-

Leaving our RV park and heading for points west and south from Gold Canyon.

Our Palm Springs friends, Trena and Lucky, were heading to Yuma.  We were heading in the same direction...but our destination would be two hours shorter than theirs.  We rode to the lovely, small city of Maricopa before we said our bye byes.

Taking the ramp from Highway 60 to the 202 Loop

A brief stop in Maricopa to say bye bye......!

After Trena and Lucky headed west on Highway 238 we, on the other hand headed a few minutes further south and west. Our destination?  A nice little ranch known as Dog Pound South.  We were really looking forward to that. 

Rolling in to Dog Pound South

And by 11:30 am, we were rolling into Dog Pound South, our third visit here, these past three years.  But the 'pièce de résistence' was meeting long time Montana bloggers, Janna and Mike - well known as Tin TeePee/Log Cabin - for the very first time.

Mike and Janna

Having followed their blog for several years - and enjoying everything about their story - we were excited to meet them in person.  It was friendship at first sight.  And what a lovely couple they are!  We instantly felt we had known them forever. 

Brenda and Jeanette

JB, Brenda, Janna and Mike have been friends for several years.  To be invited to share their Saturday was a blogger's gift.

JB is waxing about oil prices and the industry in general.

The mid 70's Arizona temperature had us sitting under a bright blue sky and being completely engaged in chat.

L-R  JB, Mike and Janna

"Cheers......."

Brenda is a terrific hostess.  We enjoyed really tasty barbecued beef burgers, with all the trimmings and condiments.  Yummy!

....and the carrot cake was oh....so......good!  We even brought some back home with us.

Truly enjoying the sunny afternoon in the Arizona outdoors.

To recap our endless discussions would fill a small diary.  But we did cover a wide spectrum of topics - blogging, RV'ing, family, and more.  

Emmi and Mike

Emmi seemed to warm up to me but when I encouraged her to sit on my lap, she preferred the comfort and security of sitting on Mike's lap. She did come to me for some petting though.

Enjoying a relaxing day....

By 4:30 pm, we were preparing to head out for the 90 minute ride back to Canyon Vista RV Resort in Gold Canyon.

L-R  Me, Janna, Mike, Brenda and John

To describe our day with these good folks can only be summed up with one word:  Awesome!  And we look forward to the next time we can get together.  

You have to love this RV lifestyle - and the blogging world - for bringing like minded folks together. What a treat!

And that's our story from here, for now.  Thanks for dropping in.

Barrett-Jackson & Tonto....

THURSDAY MORNING: was reserved for the unreserved auto auction that has made Barrett-Jackson a famous name in the auto bidding and trading industry.  For the uninitiated, Barrett-Jackson is where the elite (and very rich) auto (vintage, American muscle, European and everything else) collectors gather to sell and/or bid on virtually thousands of cars on the humongous lot in Scottsdale, AZ.

Line up for bus transportation to the Barret-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale

We met Lucky and Trena for breakfast at their hotel before driving up to Scottsdale - a 50 minute drive from Gold Canyon.  We arrived on time; we're easily guided to off-site parking; we're quickly placed on huge luxury buses and delivered to the large auto auction venue.  What great organization!  Parking was free; and so was the bus ride.

Home - Barrett-Jackson Auction Company - World's Greatest Collector Car Auctions

Lucky and I are already comparing notes.

No....we did not stop in to purchase a $500 bidder's card.  Yes, we paid our senior discounted rate of $25 to spend the entire day at the show.  And what a show!  I have never, ever seen so many cars - of all types and from all countries around the world - assembled in one place.  Wowzzzza!

These antiques are auctioned off too.

We have so many photos but I only chose a few to show the scope of cars available for the highest bidder.  Bids were between $45,000 and well into the hundreds of millions for select and priceless automobiles and paraphernalia.

Thousand of spectators and bidders were on hand to check out the cars in detail

This beautiful Duesenberg caught my attention.  I love these cars; always have. Click on the link below for greater detail.

 Duesenberg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Another one of my favourites - a beautiful BMW Isetta.  I always wanted one of these.  Click on link below for details.

Isetta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This Beverly Hillbillies' original jalopy sold for a whopping high price $137,500.00  Click below for details.

0 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES CUSTOM TRUCK - Barrett-Jackson Auction Company - World's Greatest Collector Car Auctions 

There was plenty of action outdoors too.  The large transport truck below hauls a massive barbecue.  Wow!  The smell was impossible to ignore. The food was as big as the truck.  Man....was there a lot of food.

The one and only RV I saw at the show.  Click below for details.  What a beauty.

 1946 INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER WOODY WAGON - Barrett-Jackson Auction Company - World's Greatest Collector Car Auctions

Jeanette and Lucky chose to take a ride on a speed track with a professional race car driver.  Jeanette was beside herself at the finish line.  She loved it.  Hmmmm, I hope she doesn't want to trade our Nissan truck for a sports car......!

Jeanette going for a speed trial in a souped up Corvette.

The beautiful boats - especially the wooden built beauties in the photo above -  are true works of art by skilled craftsmen and craftswomen.  I would not want the maintenance demands these priceless woodies would need on a very regular basis.

We sat in for several live auctions - while SpeedVision TV was covering the live action.  Most interesting.

If I recall right, this awesome street rod sold in the neighbourhood of $50,000.  Far less, we believe, than it would have cost the original owner or builder to restore it.

Leaving for a great ride east from Gold Canyon

FRIDAY MORNING:  Off to Tonto   National Monument......and areas around and about.

Stunningly beautiful country; including this very, very large open pit copper mine, along route 177 Arizona.

Opportunity to take photos near a very nice saguaro

Trena captured this photo with Jeanette and I.

Mid-afternoon - rolling back into Gold Canyon.

The beautiful Gold Canyon Sidewinder golf course was sure getting my golfing juices going.  Next week....perhaps?

And that is a quick re-cap of our last two days in the beautiful sun filled skies of the Arizona desert in Gold Canyon and beyond.  No complaints here.  

Thanks for dropping in.