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Return to "Fall -
Summer 2021 - 2022"
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Friday, March 31,
2023: We finally get to visit with more grandkids.
While shopping at a Quartzsite Craft Fair I found
these lunch pale size tiny houses. The lady selling
them had decorated the inside and outside with paper
patterns as if wallpaper and flooring. Then she added
tiny figures and tiny furniture. When you open them
the children can place the furniture and figures
however they want as if a tiny dollhouse. It is
difficult to buy for grandkids but this time it was a
winner. The girls even added more tiny items of their
own.
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Thursday, March 30, 2023: Waking to
frozen ground and three inches of snow. |
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| Wednesday, March 29,
2023: This was our day with Noah since his sister is in
school. It began with IHOP for breakfast where Noah got
chocolate pancakes with chocolate chips plus eggs,
potatoes and bacon. I got a waffle. Then we walked
through Costco just for the fun. Once back at Uncle
Joe's house, Noah updated all of Uncle Joe's XBox games.
Meanwhile, Gwen got out the Phase 10 and UNO
games. When it was time to pick up Chloe it began
to snow so the driving was sloppy. Click for a photo of
Noah and Chloe at the Red Robin restaurant. |
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Tuesday, March 28,
2023: Joe has the habit of walking Casey every night
after work. He invited me to walk with Abby. We walked
through his neighborhood on a 47 minute course. Toward
the end of the walk we were at the western edge of the
neighborhood where there is a view of Sparks and Reno
in the distance. Click the photo for a panorama.
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Monday, March 27,
2023:This was a long driving day from Beatty to
Sparks, Nevada. Fortunately the weather was good and
we found good fuel prices in Yerrington, Nevada.
Click the photo for a panorama of Walker Lake we
passed just north of Hawthorne, Nevada.
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Sunday, March 26,
2023: Today I learned an expensive lesson. We were
traveling north on highway 95 about 65 miles north of
Las Vegas. We were looking for a location to stop to
fix lunch and to let Abby out. There were very few
wide spots in the road so I took an exit marked
"Mercury, no services" . We drove 300 yards down
a two lane road where we were greeted by two large "No
Trespassing" signs. Just beyond the signs was a large
area where I could turn around. I pulled into that
area and started back toward the signs but stopped
about 20 feet short to let Abby out. I figured 20 feet
inside their fence would not offend anyone. I was
wrong. Within 4 minutes four pickup trucks with
flashing lights appeared. I was informed that I had
trespassed onto DOE (Department of Energy) property. I
soon learned I was to be cited. Two of the four
officers took photos of everything, the rig front and
back and side, and photos of both Gwen and Me, the
offending couple. I don't believe they took a photo of
Abby. The citation comes with a $640 fine unless I
wish to return to Beatty in June to plead stupidity in
front of the judge and hope he/she likes dogs and
stupid people from Oregon. We drove on but
stopped in Beatty
for the night. Bud and Anita had
recommended this site. I would pay the fine in the
morning except I must pay with a cashier's check. I
was unable to take photos of the whole ordeal. I was
told if I took photos they would take my phone away
from me! The officers were courteous and friendly as
they handed me my citation! Don't stop in Mercury,
Nevada!
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Saturday, March 25, 2023: Our
morning began with a buffet at the Riverside breakfast buffet.
Both Bud and Anita had comp tickets to share, we were glad to
help out. The photo shows our line and wait to get
started. Following breakfast we learning of a craft show
upstairs so we checked it out. Bud drove us to the area where
a new bridge is being constructed across the Colorado River.
Most of the shopping is done on the Arizona side in Bullhead
City while all the casinos and entertainment is on the Nevada
side in Laughlin. The Colorado River separates the two states.
We then drove to Katherine Landing to view Davis Lake before
returning home to watch some of the March Madness Basketball
games. We ended our day with a visit to Culvers for
dinner.
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Friday, March 24,
2023: Another travel day from Bouse, Arizona to
Laughlin, Nevada. Our friends, Bud and Anita always
spend the winter at the Riverside RV Park. Bud's sport
is golf so he spends nearly every day on a golf course
with friends. Anita likes to gamble and plays at one
of the nearby casinos. She gets lots of comp tickets
for meals because of the time she spends in a casino
so we will enjoy one of her tickets tomorrow.
Apparently the Las Vegas Police department consults
with Laughlin PD. That is a Las Vegas patrol car
parked next to us. We will be moving again on Sunday
to try to beat the storms arriving in Northern Nevada.
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Thursday, March 23, 2023:
This was a travel day from Roosevelt Lake to Bouse, Arizona.
We chose Bouse because it was only a 200+ mile drive and we
knew the area. We needed no services just someplace to park
for the night. Our destination for tomorrow is Laughlin,
Nevada to be with our friends, Bud and Anita for a couple days
before moving on to Sparks, Nevada.
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Tuesday, March 22, 2023: After
a rainy night we drove 30 miles to Globe, Arizona specifically
to visit the Pickle Barrel. On the way we stopped at the
Roosevelt Dam to learn if the water was above the spillway. No
water was being released. There are two more reservoirs
downstream which must be full. All this water comes from the
Salt River which is usually low and slow but after a fairly
wet winter and a storm last night, it is flowing well. I
believe the lake level has increased 18 inches in the last two
days. On the return drive we stopped at the tiny one lane
bridge crossing the Salt River to view the flow. Click the dam
photo to see the river. I made a short
video of the Salt River at the bridge so you can see the
flow. The Pickle Barrel is a well stocked gift shop with
sections for children, hunters, textile, Native American,
jewelry, garden and kitchen. There really is too much to see
and to be worth while a shopper really needs to have something
in mind or at least a room which needs some sort of
decoration. Click the interior photo to see the entrance.
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Monday, March 20, 2023: About
ten miles from our camp spot is a cliff dwelling managed by
the National Park Service. I learned Abby was allowed on the
trail so we took a hike up the paved path. The mountain is
green so they must have received a lot of rain. Additionally,
the lake is as full as we have ever seen it. The views
from the side of the mountain are incredible. Click these
three photos for more views.
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Sunday, March 19, 2023: This
was a travel day from Tucson to Roosevelt Lake in the Tonto
Basin. We have been here before but it has been a long
time. The weather has been windy and overcast most of the day.
The forecast calls for rain beginning late tomorrow with some
measurable precipitation. We had rain several times in Tucson
but never more than half an inch. The drive was mostly two
lane roads with steep ascents and descents. Arizona has some
fabulous scenery. I was surprised at how many campers
are at the campground knowing that the forecast calls for
stormy weather the next few days. We found a good site, they
all come with a picnic table with canopy over the table.
We have never camped here when the lake was full. This
time the like is within 18' of the top and very
impressive. Click the photo for a view of one of the
grades we descended.
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Saturday, March 18,
2023: Tomorrow is our last day to be in Tucson and in
Rincon Country West Resort. We began our morning with
breakfast made by
the woodshop club as a fund raiser for them. They do
breakfast two Saturdays each month. It is a very
popular time for most in the park. It is $6 including
pancakes, eggs, sausage, juice plus coffee or tea. I
got a couple extra pancakes for Abby. The
woodshop club does a dinner at Rincon East, perhaps
they will try breakfast next year.
One of the reasons we chose Rincon East over West is
the smaller size of the park. We have been able to get
tickets to East events where we could not get tickets
to several events at West. Another reason is that West
is in direct line with the Tucson International
Airport and the landing pattern is directly over our
head. Commercial jets are flying at 300-500 feet above
our rigs 30 - 50 times each day. I'll admit to
getting use to the jet noise but we also get a lot of
traffic noise from the major multi-lane streets
surrounding us. We have none of that in the East.
Click the photo to see Delta landing.
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Friday, March 17,
2023: Gwen and I chose to join Rincon Country East for
their St. Patrick's Day Dinner. Before the meal was
served the Design Group had arranged for a young group
of Irish dancers to perform on stage. The children
were delightful and talented and just the right start
to an evening of Irish food.
When the dancing was complete, our meal
was served. It was a wonderful meal and we
were fortunate to sit with Judy and Gary. They have
been in this resort every winter for nine years and
had nothing but good things to say about their
experience. They are both in the photography club
which would be of interest to both Gwen and myself
next October. Click the photo for a panorama of the
room.
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Wednesday, March 15, 2023:
Gwen and I made one final trip to our new winter home before
we leave Tucson this Sunday. Gwen's purpose was to spend the
time with Cat, the current owner. Cat specifically wanted to
show Gwen all the secrets to managing the house. Cat is an
artist, she is also the designer of all the renovation she
completed in December, 2022. Cat renovated the entire
exterior, added the dining room and Arizona Room, Added the
full aluminum awning covering the entire east side of the
unit. She renovated the bedroom, bathroom and living room. All
her design ideas were well done. The one room she did not
touch was the kitchen. My purpose then, was to get
measurements in the kitchen so I can be working on
replacements during the summer. The cabinet pictured above is
my first cabinet to replace. We already have a wonderful
Frigidaire 18" dishwasher for this cabinet which Gwen found
while searching Facebook Marketplace. She found it, brand new
at less than half the Home Depot price for the same model.
Unfortunately, it is in Medford, Oregon. Fortunately, we have
friends in Medford, Ralph and Janet. I sent Ralph the money
using PayPal and Ralph picked it up. We will get it on the way
back to Sutherlin. The new dishwasher will be in this
cabinet. That not only requires a whole new cabinet but a new
electrical circuit, new sink, addition of a garbage disposer,
custom drawers, and of course a new counter top. I believe I
can get much of it done this summer. Click the photo to
explode this side of the kitchen.
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Sunday, March 12,
2023: Gwen is one of the 21 people in this
painting class at Rincon East. We met with the current
owners of the park model we purchased to get the
secrets to making it work for us. After Gwen went to
the painting class I continued to visit and learned
much about the park and about this particular
unit. |
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Saturday, March 11,
2023: I learned at yesterday's resort announcements
about model train displays all around Tucson today.
Gwen and I picked one to visit and we were glad we
did. It was not only an incredible train and miniature
display but the cactus garden around the model train
was incredible. We learned as much about the cactus as
about the trains. Click both photos for more views. I
also made a video where you will see
the large G Scale trains and miniatures as well as the
surrounding cactus.
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Friday, March 10,
2023: We are parked at Rincon Country West where
we have found it impossible to get tickets to live
professional concerts every two weeks during the
winter season without lining up hours before the
tickets are released. We were able to easily get
tickets for a live concert at the smaller Rincon
Country East. Tonight was the concert where the Rock n
and Roll n Band performed the top hits from the 1950s
to 2000s. The band did well to get the audience
interactive with several of the tunes. Click both
photos for more views.
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Thursday, March 9,
2023: Gary and I take Abby for a hike on the Robles
Pass Trail. Abby has been here several times and
enjoys this climb to the top. Today was a particularly
warm day reaching 79° . We enjoyed the warm weather
after so many cold days.
The "Fairy Duster" on the left was along the trail.
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Tuesday, March 7, 2023:Today
was a special day for Gary and Jeanne. They have made an offer
on a park model in the same resort where we just bought a park
model. Today was the day the inspector came to inspect the
model they are buying. Gwen and I came along to see their
model and to visit with Wes, the inspector. He had
inspected our model too. They have picked out a fine model
with lots of room and no problems discovered by Wes. Abby
likes both Gary and Jeanne so she had to make herself
comfortable with Jeanne. Click both photos for more views.
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Sunday, March 5, 2023: Rincon
Country West Resort where we are parked is just next to the
Santa Cruz River. Most of the two months we have been here the
river bed has been dry. I looked up the river in Wikipedia
and learned the only source of water for the river, unless it
rains, is treated water coming from the water treatment plant.
Wikipedia continues by saying the water flows for about a mile
then it's gone. Today I traced the water from the treated
water downstream and found water for eight miles so apparently
the recent rain, less than an inch, has added enough water for
the river to last eight miles. The left photo is the treated
water source. The right photo is the river bed after the water
runs out. Click both photos to enlarge. |
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Saturday, March 4,
2023: Gwen and I wanted to do something different
today, but first we began with a usual pancake
breakfast. I was fixed by the Rincon Country West
woodshop club as a fundraiser for them. The cost is $6
per person and very well attended every two weeks.
The something different was to ride in the resort shuttle
to a University of Arizona Baseball game. The shuttle
holds only 12 passengers plus the driver and is shared
with RCE. That's why it is so hard to get a seat on
the shuttle. Today there were only nine of us wanting
to see a baseball game. Of course, part of the fun was
the stadium food. The other part were the Arizona
Wildcats playing the North Dakota State Buffaloes.
Today's game was a tough win in the twelfth inning by
the Wildcats, 7 - 6. Click the photos for more views.
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Friday, March 3, 2023:
The winter home deal is done. Gwen and I are liking Tucson so
much we have decided to buy a park model in Rincon Country
East Resort (RCE). We have been in RCW for nearly two months
but decided upon East for several reasons. West is in direct
line with the Tucson International Airport and National Guard
Base. West, then, gets air traffic landing directly overhead
at about 300 feet all hours of the day and night. West has
more than 1100 spaces while East has 450. The larger resort,
then, is much more difficult to get tickets to the
entertainment, shuttle bus and other activities due to the
limited spaces available. We have not been able to see any of
the entertainment in the West and tomorrow will be our first
shuttle ride. We have been able to get tickets to East
entertainment which we will enjoy next week. East has a more
rural feel and is MUCH quieter with no traffic noise. Unlike
99% of the units in both East and West, the unit we are
purchasing has no other models in front or behind. The unit
backs to the perimeter fence with a private gate directly
to the desert and the Pantano Wash. This park model is
only slightly larger than our motorhome but feels larger. Gwen
will get a sewing room all to herself which is most important.
A great place for Abby to run. We are leaving Arizona soon so
won't actually be able to enjoy our new winter home until next
fall.
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Thursday, March 2,
2023: Starting at Rincon Country East and walking into the
wash looking for a pathway to the Loop Trail. Unlike
Rincon Country West, with a gate to the Loop, East is about 2
riding miles to the Loop. However, the Loop is located just
across the Pantano Wash from East, only 1/4 mile. Gary and I
took a hike into the wash looking for an easy access.
Unfortunately there is 100 yards of deep sand, good for
Gary's fat tire bike but my bike would have to be carried. On
the other side of the sand, however, is a nice hard packed
gravel road leading direction to the trail in the center
photo. Left photo is the courtyard of East after our record
snow fall. Right photo is some art work we found along the
gravel road. Click all three photos to enlarge.
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Monday, February 27, 2023:
Gwen and I visited the Rincon Country West Railroad Park at
night. Twice each month the railroad club runs the trains at
night for the entertainment of those in the resort. This was
our first time to see the trains at night. I took plenty of
photos, click these to see more. I also made a short video.
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Sunday, February 26,
2023: This was a stormy morning but everyone still
wanted to visit the Heirloom Farmers Market. It is
location across Tucson so a 30 minute drive. It was
still blowing and raining which is unusual for the
Tucson folks but normal weather for those from Oregon.
There were about 20 booths and several actually had
produce to sell. Others has craft items, bakery items
or bags of coffee beans which is what I bought.
Click on both photos for another view.
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Friday, February 24, 2023:
While staying at Rincon Country West residents have the
opportunity to see professional entertainment twice each
month. The tickets are sold toward the end of the month
previous to the month of the entertainment. For example,
tickets for the two concerts in March began sales at 9 am on
February 21. We tried to get tickets to one of the concerts
but all were sold out by the time we check in early afternoon.
Apparently, the auditorium is too small for the 1100 spaces in
Rincon Country West. I was able to get tickets for tonight's
play and Ukulele concert. So tonight was our first time to
experience entertainment in the resort auditorium. The Ukulele
Strummers were really quite good. Click the photo to see the
people and size of the auditorium, a panorama. I also made a short video of the Ukulele action.
Just to let you know, the same thing happens with the shuttle
bus. There are a dozen shuttles per month to various sites
around Tucson. However, the shuttle bus only holds 18
passengers so the shuttles are always sold out. Apparently the
University of Arizona Baseball games are not a big hit here at
the resort. I was able to get two shuttle passes for a UofA
Baseball game happening in a week.
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Tuesday, February
21, 2023: While visiting Tucson Gwen and I are trying
to experience new adventures. One of those today was
using our 2 for 1 coupon to see the Roadrunners ice
hockey team in action. They played the Henderson team
today. The last time they met the Henderson team they
lost both games. This time, they won both games by one
point. This was our first time to see an ice hockey
game. It was loud and fast. It took us some time
to learn how to spot the puck. Click on both photos
for other views.
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Saturday, February 18, 2023:
As I have mentioned before, this resort has many craft and
hobby clubs. Today the resort sponsored a silent auction in
the auditorium. It was a popular location for many of the
resort residents. The items for auction were varied from
woodworking, ceramics, glass, pottery, and jewelry. Our
favorite was the fish photo in the center. We did not bid on
anything. We simply have no place to put such items.
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Friday, February 17, 2023:
Several weeks ago I learned of the Saguaro Half Marathon race
happening only a few miles from our location in Tucson. They
were advertising for volunteers so I decided to help. I was
sent an email saying I had been assigned to the volunteer
check-in table. I needed to check-in all volunteers and give
them their assignments and supplies. The email gave me no
information about when and where I was to do this. I finally
sent another email asking for more information. After a couple
days, I received another email saying my assignment was a
mistake but that I could help unload the trucks this morning.
I was instructed to appear at 8 am and work until 11 am. I
arrived at 7:50 am for my 8 am assignment. None of the crew
showed until 9:10 so I had a negative feeling by that time.
About 30 crew showed up and worked hard and fast. I did feel
like I was able to help and anticipated much of what was
needed for the unloading and setup. By 11 am everything had
been unloaded and the setup was beginning. The main challenge
during all this time were the strong wind gusts to 36 mph (as
measure by my weather station back at the park). Each of the
canopies had to be staked down and several times a crew member
was almost pulled off their feet when trying to hold down a
canopy. The race is tomorrow and the weather is to be greatly
improved for the runners. A half marathon is 13.1 miles. The
row of potty houses were particularly vulnerable to the wind.
Click that photo and you will see what I mean. Click on the
truck photo for a view of the canopies. I also made a short
video to show what had been accomplished before I left.
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Thursday, February
16, 2023: I spent much of this day making Part 10 of
the Boondocking in the Arizona Desert series. This one
I title the "Opposite of Boondocking" since it is a
video about this Premier RV Resort. I hope it will be
a useful comparison of the two opposites of RV parking
in Arizona. The first is desert parking with no
hookups and no features other than the wide open
desert itself. The resort, on the other-hand, has full
utility hookups plus something to keep everyone busy
or entertained every day. Here is the video I
created today.
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Monday, February 13, 2023:
Since we are at a premier RV resort we not only get to pay
$1175/month for a space to park our motorhome but we also get
to pay for the electricity we use. Our first electric bill for
our first 15 days is shown above. The 11.9¢ per kilowatt
hour is a good price but look at all the additions. This makes
our electric bill in Oregon look pretty simple. The list of
taxes plus a "Base Charge" nearly doubled the electricity
charge. The city, county and state all charge sales tax on
electricity and I thought the state of California was a tax
heavy state!
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Sunday, February 12,
2023: This is Super Bowl Sunday with the Kansas City
Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles playing nearby in
Glendale, Arizona. Our resort clubs have put together
a fund raising event by selling tickets to a hamburger
lunch for $10. The lunch includes a hamburger,
pickles, beans, chips a cookie and two drinks.
It was really quite good.
Gwen and I watched the Super Bowl after lunch. The
Eagles dominated the first half and looked like they
would win easily. But the Chiefs returned from half
time and dominated the entire second half winning by a
field goal in the end.
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Saturday, February
11, 2023: I'm not sure how often the resort clubs do a
bake sale, I suspect once during the winter. But today
is the popular bake sale. I came early because I was
told they sell out early. There was already a
line and we filed pass all the baked goods to pick
out what we wanted. I chose peanut butter
cookies, Gwen's favorite, and an almond/poppy seed
loaf. I checked about an hour later and only a few
items were left.
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Friday, February 10, 2023:The
city of Tubac has a five day juried art and craft show. Today
was day 3 of the show. Gary, Jeanne, Gwen and myself went to
Tubac today especially to visit the show. There were many
booths all with excellent, high quality products. This was one
of the best shows we've attended. It is too bad we have no
place to put anything. Click the photos for more views.
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Wednesday, February 8, 2023: I
stayed home with a head cold but Gwen, Gary and Jeanne took
the Sabino Canyon Tour Bus. Vehicles are not allowed but many
hikers along the road. Sabino Creek Canyon on on the southside
of the Catalina Mountains and a very popular scenic area. The
tour was 45 minutes with a recorded geology information along
the way. The tour bus was all electric so no pollution. All
tourist has the option of riding to the top then walking back
the three miles. Click the photos for larger views.
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Monday, February 6,
2023: Gary, Abby and I went for a hike in the nearby
Tucson desert. We hiked following the trails to the
top of the pass for the best views of the area. Abby
enjoyed the hike as she always does. This time she got
a sticker in here right paw but was able to remove it
herself before I could inspect her paw. We were amazed
at all the different kinds of cactus found on this
trail. Click both photos for more views.
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Saturday, February 4,
2023: We started this day with a pancake breakfast in
the auditorium. Even Gwen joined us for pancakes. Once
the breakfast was over the auditorium was cleared out
and setup for a craft fair. There are many talented
people in this park and the craft fair shows that. There
were lots of fabric items and the woodworkers had many
of their items for sale too. Gwen bought a stained glass
hanging item. I bought some key chain holder which were
made of fabric. Gwen spent a lot more for her stained
glass than I did. Click the photo for a view of the
crafts in the auditorium.
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Friday, February 3, 2023: The
other day, when returning from getting propane, I passed by
the Robles Pass Trailhead. I thought to myself this could be a
perfect location for Abby to run since she had not had the
chance since leaving our desert location in Bouse. This is a
very large hiking area with a variety of terrain and covered
with different desert plants. I see it even more scenic than
the Saguaro National Park. Abby has never been in an area with
so many cactus so we were hoping she wouldn't learn about
cactus the hard way. Fortunately I was the only one who got
stuck by a Jumping Cholla. Click all three photos for more
views.
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Thursday, February 2, 2023:
OK, again to the African village but THIS time I actually
spent more than $100. Nothing for myself, only for my
grandchildren, wife, sister, and a friend. One of my two
favorites is the brass figurine handmade by Kifu. All the
vendors at the African Village speak an unidentified foreign
language. So all have a very heavy accent when speaking
English. Kifu has a heavy accent. He gave me his card to put
with the figurine. His card shows a French email address so
perhaps he is from France. My second favorite is a Zulu Chief
and his wife. I can't show a photo because it is a gift for my
sister who reads this Webpage every day. All these vendors
have spent a great deal of time and money to bring their
products to Tucson for a week. I wish them all success. Click
each photo for another view.
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Tuesday, February 1,
2023: Another visit to the African Village and I found
these. I can imagine the work that has gone into each
one of these. I hope the creator is fairly paid but
there is no way of knowing. Click on both photos for
more views. I hope they will speak to you as they
spoke to me. I put my hand in one of the photos to
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Tuesday, January 31, 2023:The
four of us took the trolley to the University of Arizona
Campus specifically to see the Arizona State Museum. We were
most interested in the pottery collection from the first
inhabitants of Arizona. In addition to the pottery the basket
collection was impressive. We also took the time to walk much
of the UofA Campus ending up in the student union for lunch.
It was fun being with college students again after so many
years. After a walk to a nearby bicycle shop we hoped onto the
trolley and returned to our vehicle. Click all three photos
for more views.
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Monday, January 30,
2023:This is a good weather day which we picked to do
a short ten mile gravel ride into the Saguaro National
Park West. It is only a few miles from our resort so
we picked a warm part of the day to ride. The park has
a west and east portion filled with towering Saguaros.
A Saguaro must be 75 years old to begin its first arm
so you can imagine the age of what we are seeing. The
ride went well for everyone. I believe it was the
furthest ride for Jeanne and the longest gravel ride
for Gwen. This was also my first ride on my tubeless
gravel tires. Click both photos for another view. I
also created a short
video of our riding group.
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Saturday, January 28, 2023:Our
plans for the day changed somewhat after we walked through the
African Village. The Tucson Rock and Gem Show began today with
more than 2500 booths. It is mostly for stores to find
wholesale suppliers of everything it takes to make jewelry and
to stock their stores. These vendors come from all over the
world so we heard lots of other languages today. Each vendor
is hoping to find many USA stores to buy their products. The
vendors are spread all over Tucson at convention centers,
hotels, motels and in commercial grade tents. There is a 100
page guide book to help the buyer find the vendor they are
looking for. Gary, Jeanne, Gwen and I wandered around for 3
hours before we decided we didn't need to see any more. Click
both photos for another view.
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Friday, January 27, 2023:Today
the four of us, Jeanne, Gary, Gwen and myself rode the trolley
into downtown Tucson. The trolley is free. It passes from a
good parking spot near the Decibel Coffee shop into downtown
and on through the University of Arizona Campus. It also
passes many unique restaurants. We picked a Mexican restaurant
after shopping some of the unique gift shops. Gwen and I will
likely return for more exploring of downtown. This is also the
time of year for the Tucson rock and gem shows with more than
2000 vendors. Near our trolley stop is the African Village. It
doesn't open until tomorrow but we walked through and found
many interesting items obviously direct imports from Africa. I
found the bicycle rider on the right and couldn't pass it up.
Click all of the photos for more views.
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Thursday, January
19, 2023: This was an early day taking Abby to the
groomer by 8 am. She hasn't been groomed for a few
weeks and it was time. We have not been to this
groomer before and it turned out to be the most
expensive grooming Abby has ever had. I'd like to say
it was the best grooming she has ever had but I can
say she was at the "spa" the longest. Click the
left photo for the results of the grooming.
While Abby was at the groomer, we met Gary and Jeanne
at the Coyote Pause Cafe. We have eaten in this cafe
years ago and remembered it as well as the curio shop
behind the restaurant. Click the right photo for a
view of the cafe.
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Tuesday, January 17,
2023:The El Charro is on the cover of the Tucson
Magazine so we decided to visit it. We went early to
beat the crowd. We were able to be seated immediately
unlike the folks standing outside as we left. It is
too cold to sit outside or I'm sure those tables would
be full also. According to the magazine, this is the
oldest family owned restaurant in the United
States. Gary, Jeanne, Gwen and I enjoyed our
meals. It was a fun place to be but I can't say I
enjoyed the food any better than our little Mexican
restaurant back home in Sutherlin, Oregon. Click
the photo for a view of my combination meal.
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Saturday, January 14, 2023: We
had scheduled to stay in Sun City another night but the
forecast calls for three days of rain beginning tomorrow
morning. I'd rather not drive in the rain so we left Sun City
for Tucson, Arizona, our next stop. For the first time in our
RV life we are staying in a premier resort. As we arrived we
learned the park clubs were having a "meet and greet" to
introduce new members to all the clubs they can join. I am
most interested in cycling and woodworking. I found the clubs
for both. The park has a huge woodshop with tools i have
used and many which are new to me. I already have a project in
mind. I also spotted the outdoor model railroad. I can't wait
to see it running. The photo on the left is right after we
parked in our space. Nothing is setup, we rushed to the club
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Friday,
January 13, 2023: This was a special day because we
got to meetup with some friends of Gwen we have not
seen for a long time. Jas has advanced her career so
she moved from Boise, Idaho to Phoenix. She manages
insurance underwriting. Her father, Jim, has retired
and living in a very nice sounding park. Jas uses Jim
as her handyman when she needs something fixed at
home. We enjoyed dinner at the Thirsty Lion just
because the name sounded interesting. It was pretty
busy on a Friday night with lots of noise.
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Wednesday, January 11,
2023:This was a travel day from Bouse to the Sun City Elks
Lodge in Sun City, Arizona. On the drive we came through
Wenden, a tiny village with a craft market in the center of
town. This market had crafts of all mediums handmade by the
local residents. We found much which we liked but of course,
we have no room. Click each photo for more views.
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Monday, January 9, 2023: Our
morning view from the windshield is different now! No more
sunrise in the windshield. Abby got me up at 7 am and I was
surprised how quiet the park was. I was expecting the desert
buggies to be up and leaving. Gary and I spent much of the day
clean the desert dust, dirt and gunk from our bicycle chains.
I had purchase an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner for that purpose
many months ago hut this was my first time to use it for our
chains. Once we found the right cleaner (Awsome) it worked
really well. We all have sparkling clean and lubricated chains
now. The rest of the bike is still dirty because it's against
park rules to wash anything in your space. Click the right
photo to see how good the cleaner works. Tomorrow is special
since we are meeting son Joe in Havasu.
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Sunday, January 8, 2023:
Today was moving day. Only a few miles to the Desert Pueblo RV
Park in downtown Bouse. Gary and Jeanne moved here ten days
ago when their inverter stopped working. We chose to move here
for three days to clean as much as we can before meeting son,
Joe, in Havasu City on Tuesday. I have already done three
loads of laundry, Gwen has done two. The black water tank has
been flushed, it will be window washing tomorrow. So far this
is a pretty noisy park with busy Hiway 72 only 200 yards from
our parking location. Also three-quarters of the park
residents have some sort of desert driving vehicle which
passes by our rig once every five minutes. RV parking is
always looking at benefits compared to the negatives. For the
three days we are here the benefits of unlimited utilities
outweigh the busy road and desert vehicles.
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Saturday, January 7,
2023: This is the day we have been waiting for. The
QIA Craft Show and swap meet is today. It is located
in Quartzsite. On the drive from Bouse to Quartzsite
my low-tire-pressure indicator came on the dashboard.
I checked the tires and could not tell which was
losing pressure so drove on to the craft show. While
parked, I checked again and the right front looked
suspicious so I checked the tread for something which
might puncture the tire. I found a metal something
sticking in the tire. I knew better than to remove it.
Instead, I left the girls at the craft fair and drove
down the street to a tire repair center. By the time
the repair was complete, the girls were done with the
fair. Click the left photo for a view of the fair.
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Gary,
Jeanne, Gwen and I did some riding around Quartzsite on the
short bike path then on quiet streets. We got to walk through
an open house in one of the nicer neighborhoods of Quartzsite.
After an hour of riding with the girls we drove to the
intersection of Plomosa Road and US95. Plomosa Road is the
route to Bouse and a quiet traffic road. Gary and I were
dropped off so we could ride the 20 miles to Bouse over Quinn
Pass while the girls drove home. Click the right photo for a
photo of Gary and me.
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Friday, January 6,
2023: I got to see the moon set this morning. Then I
turned around to see the sun rise. Click the moon to
see the sunrise.
Abby and I then drove to the Bouse Swap Meet where I
found the treasures on the right. I currently have no
use for any of them but thought it would be nice to
have them on hand. Click the treasure photo to see the
Swap Meet.
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Thursday, January 5,
2023: Gary, Jeanne, Gwen and I visited the Bouse
Museum today. It is divided into two sections.
1) The history of Bouse. 2) The history of Bouse Camp
during World War II. What really gave Bouse some
history was when the railroad came through this area
and built a large depot in Bouse. The railroad still
comes through Bouse but no longer has a depot and no
longer stops here. We hear the train about 4 times
each week. This area was originally a mining and
ranching community. Now it exists for tourism and
retirees. Recently there have been two new factories
come to town which if successful will provide
employment. During World War II, the desert area east
of Bouse was used to train tank crews. The area was
very busy for three years, 1942 -1944.
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Wednesday, January 4, 2023:
Abby and I did another desert hike. I was a cloudy, windy day
but not as bad as back home in Oregon and northern California
with an atmospheric river pouring into those two states.
That's OK, both states need the water. This part of Arizona
could use the water too but we have gotten very little rain.
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Tuesday, January 3, 2023: It
was grocery shopping in Parker today. Gwen wanted to visit the
Bluewater Casino for lunch. This is our first time this season
to visit the casino. The casino is also the only movie theater
within 40 miles of Parker so a place we have seen movies in
the past. Our lunch was good. These photos (click to see a
panorama) are looking out toward the Colorado River. All the
slips are empty now but I'm sure very busy in the summer. This
pool area has a super slide which you will see after clicking
this photo.
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Monday, January 2,
2023: Today was the official first day of the year so
it was a college football bowl game day. We watched
the Rose Bowl hoping Utah would win for the second
year in a row. Penn State and Utah were tied at 14 at
the half. It was mostly Penn State taking control for
the second half.
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Sunday, January 1, 2023: New
Year's Day has arrived with a blast! We are experiencing our
worst weather since arriving in the desert. This area rarely
gets rain but we have had threats all day with a 36 mph wind.
That's still better than my children back in Reno and Sparks,
Nevada. They got 18 inches of snow and have spent much of the
day shoveling. Gary and Jeanne woke up to their inverter not
working so have had to move in this storm to an RV park. There
has been no solar charging today so we will need to run our
generator soon. My sister living just south of Sacramento,
California sent me photos of all the trees down in her
neighborhood due to the wind. They may have more than 36 mph
wind. Click this photo for another view. Welcome to 2023.
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Saturday, December
31, 2022: New Year's Eve day!This is college
football playoff day. I added a hike with Abby. No
bicycle ride today due to wind in excess of 20 mph.
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Friday, December 30, 2022:
Gary, Jeanne, Gwen, Abby and I took the Camp Bouse Tour today.
It started early this morning with breakfast at the community
park. There were at least 35 vehicles in the tour. We drove
about 15 miles into the desert east of Bouse eventually coming
to the top secret location of Camp Bouse where tank training
occurred during World War II. Troops and equipment would
arrive by train at night. Bouse residents were instructed to
turn lights off and pull blinds to keep the unloading process
secret. As many as 10,000 soldiers were trained here. The
crews were trained to fight in the European theater. Patton
had already taken Africa and begun moving into Italy.
Our tour began with breakfast before following the leader into
the desert. We heard details of the training and stories
provided by veterans. We sat at the "lunch tree" for the lunch
we all brought with us. We did not return until 3 pm. I made a
short video of our experience.
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Thursday, December
29, 2022:Today is garbage day so we combined taking
the garbage to the transfer station with other chores.
The first was to visit Juan, Our vegetable man. Then a
trip to the post office to check on mail. After main
pickup we visited the library to use their WiFi. The
last on the list was to get more water for the
coach. I created a video
of our visit with Juan so you can see how good
the vegetables are.
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Tuesday, December 27, 2022:I
was up early so caught this sunrise. Nearly every morning the
sunrise is red/orange but this morning the clouds enhanced the
image. I also made this
short video of the sunrise. Besides two loads of water
into our holding tank and a small laundry load, I began work
on a series of videos to explain dry camping in the Arizona
desert.
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Sunday, December 25, 2022:
Christmas day in the desert. It was a warm day, 72 degrees.
Jeanne had this hike on her "bucket list" to visit the little
memorial we found on one of the far hills. So all of us, me,
Gwen, Gary, Jeanne and Abby took the hike to the little
memorial we knew nothing about. It is marked "Silver Arrow"
plus an "SA" branding iron. All this means something to
someone. There is a chair stored under a tree nearby. We
found
our way back to the motorhome. Two hours after the
hike we met back at Gary and Jeanne's motorhome for a
wonderful Christmas meal and visiting.
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Wednesday, December
21, 2022: This was a fun day trip to Phoenix. Glen
found the bike rack he has been looking for at a good
price. It was in Phoenix so we made the trip to pick
it up. I volunteered to go along to help with the rack
and to visit Costco. This is a Thule heavy duty rack
for his two heavy eBikes. The wheels sit in trays
while a bar clamps onto the front wheel. It is
identical to mine except I have a Yakima brand.
Once Gary picked up his rack we drove to a Culvers for
lunch. Culvers is one of our favorites. It is a fast
food restaurant based in Wisconsin.
Both Jeanne and Gary had items they wanted to get at a
bike shop so we found a bike shop on the way to
Costco.
Our last stop was Costco where I had a list of items I
wanted to get. We expected Costco to be very
busy and we weren't disappointed. But Costco had
planned ahead and handled the crowd very well.
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December 20, 2022: Desert hike with Gwen and Abby |
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Thursday, December 15, 2022:
Gary, Jeannie, Gwen, Abby and I drove to Wickenburg, Arizona,
about 1.5 hour drive. Our first stop was at the Stanford Inn
Cafe for breakfast. We have eaten here in the past and always
liked what we got. Gwen had some items in mind she was
searching for, Gary and I were just along for the ride. Jeanne
also found some things she liked. We all shopped for
Christmas cards and found a few of what we were looking for.
We have a favorite cowboy restaurant we visited for a late
lunch right before returning home.
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Sunday, December 11,
2022: Our plan for the day was to drive to Quartzsite
with our bikes to do a pavement ride. However, the
wind was so strong we cancelled that idea. I decided
to take Abby for another hike in the desert. No one
else would go, again, due to the wind.
Nobody wanted to cook so we all hoped into Gary and
Jeannie's Jeep and drove to Quartzsite to Silly Als
for pizza. Actually, Gary and Jeannie got pizza while
Gwen got a vegetable sandwich and I got Fettuccine
Alfredo with a dinner salad.
We came the long way home through Brenda and Road 42E
because Gary and Jeannie wanted to see some property
we knew about.
I spent the morning watching the return of Artemas 1.
I hope to be around when the next set of astronauts
establish a moon base.
Click this photo to enlarge.
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Saturday, December
10, 2022: Gary, Jeannie, Gwen and I watched the Bouse,
lighted Christmas Parade tonight. These folks did a
lot of work to decorate trailers, trucks and ATVs for
the parade. A long line of cars followed the parade
participants to the Community Park where we were.
Volunteers were serving Chili and hot chocolate after
the parade participants arrived. We got a perfect
location on the corner where the parade must turn into
the park. I took a video
of the entire parade, it's not long. Click these
two photos for more views.
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Friday, December 9,
2022: Abby got me up well before dawn this morning so
I had plenty of time to wake up and take this photo of
the sun peaking over the mountains.
I uploaded water then did my laundry.
I took Abby for a short run while I rode my bicycle.
While the girls took Abby for a desert walk Gary and I
did a 5 mile bicycle ride along a rough desert road.
Gwen and I did another two rounds of the card game,
Five Crowns.
That's how you keep busy when parked in the desert!
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Thursday, December 8,
2022:This day began with a trip to the transfer station.
Thursday is the first day of the week it is open. Then we
drove straight to Juan, the vegetable man. What wonderful
vegetables he had today. We bought $40 worth but that included
a flat of eggs and a half dozen tamales. Next to the
post office for a box to ship Christmas gifts. Second to
last stop was the library for decent internet except today
there were so many users, it was too slow for us. The last
stop was the Community Park to pick up some water. After lunch
we took our bike to the bottom of Yellowbird Road to ride
gravel into the mountains. In the photo, Gary is on the left,
Gwen, Jeannie then me. The ladies did wear helmets but had
removed them for the photo. After the ride, Gwen and I took
the package we made to the post office so it is on its way to
the grandkids in Reno, Nevada.
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Tuesday, December 6,
2022: Sort of a strange day today. Gwen had a haircut
appointment in Quartzsite so I tagged along knowing
the Salvation Army Thrift Shop was open today. Gwen
was looking for a tea pot and I was looking for a
French Press. Neither of us found what we were looking
for but Gwen found a few odd things she wanted. While
Gwen was getting her haircut I drove around town
looking for a repair solution to the Blue Boy. I
decided to go the very cheapest route, get a
replacement wheel. We will see how that works out. We
then decided to go to a real grocery store, Albertsons
in Blythe, California, only 22 miles away. Gwen found
most everything she was looking for there. I had
prepared to ride back to Bouse on my bicycle but by
this time it was too close to dusk, not a good time to
ride so that will happen sometime tomorrow.
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The story
about the photo on the right. A few days ago Gwen heard
scratching coming from underneath the refrigerator. I
immediately knew it was coming from outside because I had
stored a large bag of Abby's dog food in that location. I
walked around the motorhome with my flashlight and discovered
a small hole chewed into the dog food. I pointed the
flashlight around the area expecting to find a coyote but
instead, found a small white Fox about 50 feet away. To keep
the Fox away from the bag of dog food I put a small amount
into the blue bucket and walked it 100 yards from the
motorhome. That did the trick. The next night I put a small
amount of dog food into the bottom of a gallon water bottle
and filled the blue bucket with water. I know it is not good
to feed wildlife so I have been giving a smaller amount each
night with the idea the dog food would end once I was able to
put the bag into a safe location. Tonight will be the last of
the dog food. I believe I will continue to provide water. We
do our best to spot the Fox each night because it is so
beautiful.
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Monday, December 5, 2022: My
morning began with a $7 breakfast at the Bouse Booster Club.
The breakfast happens every Monday through the winter
months. Click the breakfast photo for a panorama on the
inside of the clubhouse. Next, I went to the one and only
hardware store in Bouse. I carry all the nuts, bolts, screws,
electrical supplies and more in the box above but I didn't
have the ONE bolt and nut I needed to complete my awning
repair. I needed a 5/16" x 2" bolt with nylon locking nut. The
Bouse Hardware has no competition within 25 miles. Maybe for
that reason no one cares to clean or organize anything inside.
It took me 30 minutes to find something which would work. I
finally found some flathead slotted 5/16" bolts 2" long. I
almost gave up on the nylon locking nuts but kept searching
through the junk pile of nuts/bolts. I finally found a rusted
old 5/16" nylon locking nut, hurray! Saved me a 25 mile drive
one way. The awning is now repaired and back to being useful.
I picked up my first of three loads of water on the way home.
Today was also poop day. I bought the Blue Boy at a yard sale
3 weeks ago for $35 and already used it once. It saves me a
trip to the county park with the motorhome by using the Blue
Boy to haul black water to the dump station. This time,
however. one of the wheels broke so my poop is currently
stranded in the desert. I'm going with Gwen tomorrow to
Quartzsite looking for a solution to the broken wheel.
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Saturday, December 3, 2022:
Today is the only day before Christmas for the largest Swap
Meet and Craft Show in the area. It happens in Quartzsite.
Today was also an overcast and cold day so most are dressed
warmly. We had several reasons to visit Quartzsite, about a 45
minute drive from Bouse. We had a few things to get for the
grandkids was the biggest reason. The Swap Meet and Craft Show
was just a bonus for the Quartzsite trip. Click both photos
for panoramas. Here is tonight's sunset.
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Friday, December 2,
2022: A busy day in Bouse. I first went to the Swap Meet
which happens only twice each month. A horse trailer made into
a coffee and bakery booth was advertised in the local
newsletter and I wanted to try it out. As it turned out, the
rolls came in a package of 4. I had already promised the lady
at the garbage transfer station that I would bring her one. I
also decided to take the lady in the post office two thinking
her helper might be present. Both ladies were very grateful. I
then came back home to pick up Gwen so she could visit the
Bouse Booster Club craft show. It was a busy place also with
some interesting items mostly made by the ladies of the club.
Click that photo to enlarge. I did buy a T-Shirt since my old
Bouse T-Shirt was worn out.
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Thursday, December
1, 2022: This is our second year to get an Advent
Calendar for Dogs at Costco. I think Abby remembers
the routine of opening one drawer each day for a treat
or a toy. I had to close the calendar to its current
position because she wanted me to open another drawer.
I'm hiding the drawers by closing the calendar.
Later this evening we toured one man's yard. He has a
circle driveway which he encourages drivers to pass to
see all the lights. Click the photo to enlarge. This
photo shows only 1/3 of the decorations. He came out
to greet us. He has a small shop with toys for any
children which may be in the car. Since we had none he
still offered his toys for those far away. We left the
toys for the local kids.
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Wednesday, November
30, 2022:This was a busy day with lots of utility
items. I made two trips to the community park for 20
gallons of water each trip. This water goes into the
freshwater tank. Later Gwen and I make a trip into
Bouse with four things on our to-do list. Go to the
library to use their WiFi to upload a video. Next, go
to the drinking water booth to get five gallons of
drinking water for $1. Number 3, go to the little dog
wash hut in the south of Bouse to give Abby a bath.
This is a small green house hut which the folks parked
nearby have set up with supplies and equipment as a
dog wash. Everything worked well and Abby cooperated
so she got a good bath. The sign says "One Dog = $10".
We considered that a bargain. The final item on our
list was to go to the post office. I'm hoping for some
directories I ordered to show us some potential RV
parks we might use during the month of February.
Nothing arrived in our PO Box. Click the photo
to enlarge.
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Saturday, November
26, 2022: Gwen and I drove to the La Paz County Park
along the Parker Strip to attend a flea market.
The market is usually large with many booths. Today,
however, there were few booths, I'm not sure why,
maybe early in the season. After leaving the market we
drove along Riverside drive until it ended at a "Road
Closed Sign", click the photo on the right for the end
of the road. We found our way to Buckskin State Park
looking for bike trails but learned they had none.
From there, we drove back to Parker to visit a couple
of retail stores looking for Christmas gifts. In the
meantime, the Oregon Ducks vs Oregon Beavers game
began and we listened on the radio as we drove back to
Bouse. The Beavers pulled off an upset even though
they were behind by 21 points in the third quarter.
Click both photos for more views.
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Thursday, November
24, 2022: Thanksgiving day. I had utility errands in
the morning. Meanwhile, Gwen fixed a wonderful meal
which would be ready for us after our desert hike.
Today we were lucky enough to find a beautiful Barrel
Cactus. It stands about 18" tall and as much in
diameter. Click on the cactus to enlarge.
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Tuesday, November 22,
2022: We have a full day planned which began with
loading the bikes and driving to Parker. On previous winters
Parker always had the best fuel prices so we filled up the
fuel tank. I didn't take long to learn that had changed, both
Quartzsite and Havasu City have cheaper prices by at least 20
cents per gallon. Our next stop was a quick snack before
driving on to Havasu City. We chose a 4 mile bicycle loop path
on the island after crossing the London Bridge. Gwen was on
her new eBike still learning how to ride it. After our ride we
visited a couple of retail stores where Gwen found what she
was looking for. Now we were hungry. Gwen chose Chili's where
we found great food and even better service. I made a video of our
bike ride
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Monday, November 21, 2022:
Every morning Abby gets me up before the sun. It is always
clear in the desert so I just watch for the sun to appear over
the mountains in the distance. This morning it was 39 degrees
when Abby and I stepped outside but it warmed nicely during
the day and little wind. Wind is always the weather demon in
the desert. The right photo has some glare off the windshield
as the sun popped up.
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Friday, November 18, 2022:
Today was the Bouse Swap Meet and the city wide garage sale.
The swap meet was well attended with and few good items but we
found nothing to purchase except from the vegetable man at the
far end of the swap meet. He comes every Thursday and Friday
with wonderful fresh vegetables and homemade tamales. The yard
sale had only a few residents participating. We did find ONE
thing to purchase, a clothes drying rack ($5) to replace the
PVC one which broke in the wind storm. Click the motorcycle
photo to see it. Click the other two photos for the swap meet
photos.
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Wednesday, November
16, 2022: During another desert hike we found a mining
claim. The papers inside the glass jars describes the
area claimed and warns visitors to take nothing. Click
the photo for an enlarged view.
We also found the marker on the right for "Silver
Arrow". It could be the name of a ranch, dog or
perhaps, since the marker is horse shoes, a horse.
Click to enlarge the photo.
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Monday, November 14, 2022:
Every Monday the Bouse Booster Club creates a breakfast for
the community and charges $6. I got the homemade cinnamon
roll, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy plus an
egg/sausage/cheese casserole plus coffee. After eating such a
breakfast, Abby and I took a long hike in the desert to the
base of the three hump mountain. We did this on purpose
because we intend to hike to the top one of these days. I need
to remember to wear my hiking boots and bring water for both
Abby and myself. You can see the desert gravel is not smooth
and easy to walk. These roads are made by desert buggies which
we see and hear occasionally. Click the photos for more
views.
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Sunday, November 13,
2022: This is laundry day so I did a small load and
hung out on our homemade drying rack. It attaches to a
ladder, often to the ladder on the back of the
motorhome. Today, however, I attached to my folding
step ladder. The wind was blowing strong, about 10 mph
when I hung out the laundry. I moved the ladder to
stand in the protection of the motorhome.
Unfortunately two things changed. The wind grew to 27
mph and shifted so the motorhome no longer protected
the ladder from the wind. It hit the ground with such
force, the PVC pipe broke but not so badly that it
can't be fixed. My clothes did get dry, however.
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Saturday, November 12, 2022:
We have made it a point to walk the desert every day with
Abby. Gwen walks after every meal. I usually walk between my
morning coffee and breakfast. If we are lucky, Gwen and I get
to walk together with Abby. Today was one of those lucky days.
We took a new route following a wash to a crossing road then
toward our mountains to the west. Click each photo for another
view of the desert.
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Thursday, November
10, 2022: Abby and I have made it a point to hike the
desert every morning since we arrived on Monday.
Today we did our furthest hike to the top of the hill
just before the three hump mountain. It is a good view
point of the Bouse valley where we are camped. If you
enlarge and look closely you will find our camp in the
desert this side of the village. The rocks we
climbed today are rough volcanic rocks so I will give
Abby a break tomorrow from this rough terrain.
Click these two photos for more views.
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Tuesday, November 8, 2022: I
watched the sunrise then after cleaning the solar panels, Abby
and I hike about a mile to the lone Saguaro to the west of our
location. After breakfast, I drive for propane and water. Then
I check the post office for a box to rent. We now have a PO
Box in Bouse, Arizona. I learned that this little post
office will accept a UPS and Fedx package if addressed to the
PO Box. That means we are not cut off from Amazon shipments.
We specifically purchased a T-Mobile Gateway for TV streaming
and for Internet. Unfortunately it is not working as it should
so I spent an hour on the phone with a T-Mobile Technician who
did her best to get it working. We are still looking for
solutions.
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Monday, November 7, 2022:This
was a travel day from Laughlin, Nevada to Bouse, Arizona. It
is a relatively short drive of only 115 miles but we had
several stops to make along the way so took longer than
expected. The photo at left is our desert parking location
before we moved the motorhome to this location. Click the
photo to see the view from our windshield. A full moon
appeared over the desert floor about 6 pm Arizona time. Then
we got our first desert sunset, click the moon photo to see
it. Tomorrow I will get some propane and check with the post
office for a PO Box. First thing in the morning the solar
panels need to be cleaned. I stood them up this evening to
point them at the southern sky.
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Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
November 4, 5 and 6, 2022: These last three days have been
busy with a hike every day with Abby. Gwen joined us for those
hikes. I also setup and did a Zwift ride with the Umpqua Velo
group in Roseburg. Son, Ben joined the Zwift ride from Reno.
We also took Abby to a groomer. After the grooming we found
one of our favorite fast food restaurants, Culvers. Culvers is
from Wisconsin and not quite nationwide yet. There are none in
Oregon. Culvers serves frozen custard. We ordered three of our
favorite flavors. Gwen got Reeses peanut butter cups in hers,
I got coffee flavored and Abby got vanilla. We have been
playing the card game, 5 Crowns with our friends, Bud and
Anita every night. Bud has been winning every game until last
night when Gwen and I finally took the night. Click each
photo for another view.
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Thursday, November
3, 2022:This morning was a special walk along the path
between the Colorado River and the Laughlin casinos.
This time of year the whole area if virtually
abandoned. The RV parks in both Laughlin and Bullhead
City across the river are full of snowbirds from
Canada and the colder states up north. There are
several popular but older entertainers scheduled to
concerts in Laughlin during the month of November. I
imagine the snowbirds will be attending those
concerts.
This afternoon we rode with Bud and Anita to a
favorite restaurant in Kingman, Arizona about 30 miles
away. The Golden Corral has special prices for seniors
between 2 and 4 weekdays. We always find good things
to eat at the Golden Corral.
Later we let Bud beat us twice in a card game called 5
Crowns. His first time to play but too good for us to
match his play.
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Wednesday, November
2, 2022: About 5 days ago, our solar charging system
stopped working. I could see that we were getting
power from the solar panels but nothing was going into
the batteries. Our plan is to be in the desert
beginning next Monday but without Solar we couldn't
park in the desert. I knew there had to be a problem
with the connection between the charge controller and
batteries. I checked the wire splices and fuse.
Nothing physical had changed I thought. I called
Logan, the technical support person who had helped me
install the system to begin with. Logan showed me how
to read the history where we found an error message 5
days ago showing a connection at the charge controller
has overheated. I checked those connections and found
the positive wire showed signs of heat. I trimmed and
reinstalled the wire. That fixed the problem.
The photo shows our parking spot at the Riverside RV
Resort.
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Monday, October 31,
2022: Today was a travel day from Saint George, Utah
to Laughlin, Nevada. We passed through some beautiful
mountains and Incredible engineering for Interstate 15
through the Virgin River Canyon. As we reached Las
Vegas, Gwen found a Cracker Barrel nearby. They
usually have good RV parking but we didn't find it.
Instead, we found ourselves to tight in the parking
lot and had to disconnect the Forester so I could back
out of my tight spot. We eventually found a long
spot right next to the building.
Click the photo to see our approach to Laughlin. You
can see the Laughlin casinos in the distance. The
Colorado River flows between Laughlin and Bullhead
City, Arizona so all the houses you see on the
opposite ridge are in Arizona. This is a very steep
grade to Laughlin and the Colorado River as indicated
by the warning sign on the right.
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Sunday, October 30,
2022:This is our last day in Saint George, Utah. We
made the best of it by Gwen, Abby and me hiking in the
Snow Canyon State Park. The canyon is surrounded by
red mountains. There is good pavement riding here and
good gravel riding. We were passed by many mountain
bikes and one gravel bike while hiking. This is the
park the Ironman riders had to climb toward the end of
the 56 mile ride. Click this photo for a large
panorama. This was a narrow canyon so the left of the
panorama is on my left side while the right of the
photo is on my right side. Imagine a 180 degree
photo. The name "Snow" came from the two
brothers with the last name "Snow" who discovered the
canyon.
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Wednesday, October 26, 2022:
Just a bit over one hour driving time from St. George is the
Zion National Park. We drove there today to take in the
sights. Zion is a place for hikers and perhaps backpackers
(but you would have to carry water). Dogs are allowed on only
ONE trail which starts at the visitor center. Abby got to walk
that trail. Zion is also famous for its mile long tunnel
to reach the east side of the park. We had to drive that too.
They had a very nice visitor center with lots of souvenir
items where I bought some Christmas gifts plus a decal for the
motorhome. Click each photo for more views. |
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Tuesday, October 25,
2022: There are many fine hiking trails around Saint
George. Today, Gwen, Abby and I chose the Chuckwalla
trail to hike into and among the rocks. It is a
popular trail with runners, horses and bicycles,
although we saw only hikers and runners today. The
temperature was the high 60s but it felt much warmer
since there was no shade.
Today I learned of the route of the Ironman to happen
here starting the 28th. The running route will climb
the hill next to us into the Elks parking lot. If we
pay attention, we will get to see each athlete up
close. The bike route is only one block from the Elks
so I hope to see many of the bikers also.
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Monday, October 24,
2022: Abby and I spent all day together. We found a
couple of bike shops to look at. We also went back to
Costco to get a replacement for the backseat pet
cover. Then we tried a "Dog Wash" attached to a
Car Wash. It was a little different from Tractor
Supply but we figured it out. Finally, we took a hike
on one of the many hiking trails around. We didn't
hike very far until we found why there were so many
cars in the parking lot. This looks dangerous but
these folks don't have to worry about getting run over
by a semi-truck while cycling.
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Sunday, October 23,
2022:Today was a cold shopping day after an overnight,
wet storm. St. George Costco was the first on
our list where we stocked up for our desert campi1`ng.
Our first surprise was Costco selling propane. We
needed a tank so the first thing I did. I
searched this Costco for all the treasures I could
find. Gwen and I follow a Facebook group titled
"Costco Finds", all day today members have been
posting photos of the 150 count candy bags sold at
Costco detailing the count and kind of candy found in
the bag. I had to do the same. Click the left photo
for my count (158 pieces). After watching some NFL, I
stepped outside to view the sunset over the lodge.
Click the photo to see what it really looked like.
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Saturday, October
22, 2022:This is a travel day from the Great Basin
National Park and Baker, Nevada to Saint George, Utah.
A winter storm has arrived. We got a few showers in
the campground but for the entire drive the heavy wind
played a big roll. It made driving this big
rectangular bus difficult and created dust storms
along the route. We would see another vehicle about
every 5 minutes until we got to Cedar City Utah where
the traffic became heavy on Interstate 15. Once we
arrived at the Saint George Elks Lodge their RV park
was full so we boondocked in their parking lot. Click
the photo to see the full RV parking.
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Monday - Friday, October 17 -
21, 2022: Our first stop after leaving Reno is to travel the
loneliest highway, US50, across the state of Nevada to the
Great Basin National Park. I would imagine that hiking is the
main adventure in this park, perhaps spelunking since there
are caves scattered around the mountains. For us, we did a
little hiking, enjoyed the good fall weather, explored the
visitor centers. and took a cave tour in the Lehman Caves.
Click all the photos for more views. Our Baker Creek
Campground is at 7,700 feet. The hike Abby and I took was from
8,000 feet to 8,600 feet. There is not enough air at this
altitude to feel comfortable. I imagine it would take a month
for my body to adapt to the altitude. I lived at the 6,500
foot level of Lake Tahoe for 13 years and don't remember
feeling uncomfortable at altitude but I was in my 30s.
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Wednesday, October
12, 2022: Joe and I finished the backyard artificial
grass project this morning. We actually finished
everything Joe wanted to do by 11 am (we started early
to beat the heat). We picked another area and finished
it by noon. The whole project went pretty smoothly
using a pneumatic staple gun to secure the grass to
the trim I laid yesterday. To go around the trees, we
cut the grass to the tree then used turf seam tape to
glue the grass back together. Click both photos for
more views.
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Tuesday, October 11,
2022: I spent nearly all day in son Joe's back yard
preparing the area for artificial grass. It already
had decomposed granite as a base so I just needed to
add the edging around the perimeter of the area
getting the grass.
Abby and Joe's dog, Casey tried to help with
everything. Joe and I will complete the installation
tomorrow.
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Monday, October 10, 2022: Gwen
is still visiting her daughter in Klamath Falls so I have only
my bicycle as a vehicle. I rode 12 miles with nearly a
thousand feet of climbing to visit my daughter and
granddaughter. My youngest granddaughter, Elise informed me
that she is now FIVE. We played Legos until Mom had to drive
to pick up her older daughter, Lucy at school. I rode back to
the Gold Ranch RV Park in Verdi. I moved there late yesterday.
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Friday, Saturday, Sunday:
October 7, 8 & 9: Son Ben and family drove to Folsom for
two nights so we all could visit Apple Hill on Saturday. Apple
Hill is located about one hour northeast of Sacramento,
California. It has many farms with fresh fruit and
entertainment. The local people sell their handmade craft
items so many of the farms have vendors set up with booths.
After finding Apple Fritters and Apple donuts for breakfast we
went to one of the largest farms with endless craft booths and
food. Click these photos for more views. I also took a short
video of our time at the crafty farm.
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Tuesday, October 4,
2022: Ben had to trim a lot of branches from his curb
side tree so my motorhome could fit. He piled them on
his front deck. I took much of the morning today to
get them ready for recycle into wood for his patio
fire pit. It was getting warm so I didn't finish the
project but will finish in the next day or two.
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Thursday - Friday, September
29-30, 2022: It is time to start moving south. Gwen took the
car to visit with here children in Brookings, Oregon while I
drove the motorhome to Reno, Nevada to meet son, Ben for the
Sacramento Century Ride to happen on Saturday. It has been
three years since our drive south due to pandemic issues. At
the California/Oregon border I get a good view of the 14,000+
Mt. Shasta. My route will take me along the west and south
sides of Mt. Shasta. I stopped in McCloud, California on the
south side of Mt. Shasta for lunch (click on the far left
photo). After 7 hours driving time I arrive at Ben's house and
test the T-Mobile reception for our new WiFi device. It is
working well. Click the center photo for a view of the
motorhome parked in front. On Friday, we load the bikes and
drive two hours to Sacramento to the motel Ben reserved. He
picked a motel only blocks from the century start point so we
could ride to the start rather than drive to the start. Click
the far right photo.
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Monday: September
26, 2022: We are leaving Oregon this week so we are
concerned about getting our ballots for the November
election. I called the Douglas County Clerk to ask
about Absentee Ballots. I was thinking of having them
mailed to us early. After explaining our situation the
clerk said, "Just come on by and we will give them to
you". We had no idea we could pick them up at the
Clerk's Office. Now we can vote.We have since learned
they are available 45 days before the election. Click
on both photos for more views.
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Sunday, September 25, 2022:
Today I prepared our gazebo for renters. I put some furniture
away but most is still there but I know where I will be
storing it. I removed the gazebo TV and stored. I removed all
electrical and stored. Then I trimmed our Willow tree training
it to grow taller. I did get the chance to watch a couple of
NFL ball games too.
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Saturday, September 24,
2022: Today is football day, however, I thought I had
scheduled my flu shot at Costco for noon. When I checked
in, they didn't have my appointment. That was
discouraging since their form takes about 15 minutes to
answer all the questions and I had to do it again. Once
the form was done, they took me right in and I got the
65+ dose.
While waiting, I noticed this gentleman walking with a
"service cat". It is hard to believe a cat will
willingly provide a service.
I had enough time to watch both the Oregon Ducks and
Oregon Beavers games.
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Thursday, September 22, 2022: I
chose today to ride a metric century (62.2 miles, 100
kilometers). It is one of my favorite routes to the tiny town of
Yoncalla with 3600 feet of climbing along the way. Yoncalla has
one of my favorite destinations, the Main Street Espresso. It
takes me 2.5 hours to reach Yoncalla through some of the best
rural roads in Oregon. There is virtually no traffic. My
Hammerhead K2 bicycle computer is on the left. It is showing a
climb with 0.5 miles to the top which is 193 feet above me. My
heart rate is at 140 beats per minute. After my rest break at
Main Street Espresso I rode on through town to my finish.
However, I left my phone sitting on the table in front of the
building. When I drove back to Yoncalla, the young lady in the
shop recognized me and rushed to get my phone which she had
inside. I was grateful. Here is a short
video of my ride. It was perfect weather today for this
ride.
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Wednesday, September 21,
2022: Gwen loves a unique salad dressing with the Kruse
Farm label. However, the Kruse Farm country store has
sold to another family and may no longer carry her
favorite dressing. I called my friend, Evan Kruse, to
learn if he had any more dressing we could buy. He told
me of a store in the village of Ten Mile which might
have the last bottles. We decided to search out the
store today. I could remember the name of the store so
we drove to Ten Mile hoping there was only one store. As
it turned out, the store was about 4 miles before Ten
Mile, we drove backward to find Porter Creek Mercantile.
It turns out they have very limited hours on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday, they weren't open. We still enjoyed
our drive in rural Oregon. |
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