Lovely Lake Havasu City!

Traveling is fun...most of the time...but we all know, nothing is perfect. Case in point - Our trip to Lake Havasu...

We have this wonderful GPS system, the Rand McNally Tripmaker but it's only as good as the information going into it. Sooo, when we were given the "address" of the campground, that's what I put into the system. Well, I should say, that's what I tried to put into the system. It kept fighting me (that was my first clue), not "finding" it in Lake Havasu or Parker. As the sun started setting and we started getting closer to Quartzsite we started getting more and more worried that we were indeed lost. With hundreds of rigs heading on the long stretch to Quartzsite, and not a turn-out in sight, it didn't look pretty. Quartzsite was the last place Jack wanted to be, and I was failing fast as the navigator. Tempers were starting to flare! This was not going well. We finally spotted an area large enough to pull over and recalculate the situation. That done, Jack saw a way to pull the rig around and go back the way we came and retrace our route. Long story short, we finally found the place, well hidden, I might add! Once there (Havasu Springs Resort), the staff couldn't have been more accommodating and friendly. Luckily they had a restaurant and it was still open too! Good food, a glass a wine and some live music later, and all was well. Phew! Lesson learned...don't fight the GPS system, she knows best, if she can't find it, the address or directions given were wrong!!

In the light of day, we saw that the campground (called a "resort") was really quite nice! Jack had won this when he was having some work done on the rig in San Marcos before we left, at Camperworld. They had called him on his birthday, no less, and told him he had won $1000 worth of free nights at a Colorado River Adventures campground of our choice. He explained that we were right in the middle of moving, etc. and we would have to call them back to schedule something. When we were in Pahrump, I told him to give them a call and see if we could go ahead and book their Lake Havasu location - that's how we ended up there! We had to attend a "sales meeting", we knew, but what the heck?

It ended up to be a good call. We met with some very nice folks, explained our new style of living for the next year or so, and actually worked out a really good deal for us (and them, of course). We decided to go ahead and purchase their membership. It's through CRA (Colorado River Adventures) and covers RPI (Resort Parks International) that includes Thousand Trails and Enjoy America campgrounds as well. That along with our KOA membership should pretty much cover us across the US! I was actually a little concerned about "peak season" camping, but now I don't have to be, yea for us! And that's now at $10-$15 a night even! I'll keep you posted on how it all works out.










































...kicking back in Arizona, Marie

Funky, Fun & Delicious!

Kay, being an old and dear friend, who knows me well, says, "I've got a great couple of places to take you! We'll leave the guys here, and just the two of us will go have some FUN!" So off we went! First direction, back to California! "Tecopa" to be specific. We "checked out" the options for the various "hot springs", but turned up our noses and drove on to China Ranch Date Farm. THAT was the real beginning of our adventure! You practically need a 4-wheel drive to get there, but Kay knew the way, and v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y drove through the soft rocky road to the ranch. All along the "road" are steep walls of gypsum that had been mined out long ago, leaving a pretty interesting entrance to this place, I must say! We finally reached the "entrance sign" so I knew it couldn't be much further, then turned a corner, and WOW, rows and rows of beautiful date palms! Now, it's not like I haven't seen date palms before, but I can tell you, I haven't seen any with clothes hanging in them! What a hoot! Instead of burlap bags or other "plain" material to cover the dates until picking time, they use old clothes! Guess it's easier? cheaper? a good marketing idea? Anyway, it does make a good "impression", that's for sure!

After driving around enjoying the trees, we went over to the "store", such as it was. Nothing about this place is "fancy" that's for sure. But one this is for sure, the dates are plenty, the variety is huge, and the taste is wonderful! They make date shakes (of course) and bread (all day, every day) that I couldn't resist (sorry Jenny Craig). A few other fun little "sights" to see and chuckle over and off we went, on to the next "location" of my surprise adventure!























































































A few miles away, we came to this little, I mean little town called Shoshone. We missed the museum being opened, but I still had a good time walking around and seeing "everything". The BEST was this art! There really wasn't any signs up about it, and the best I can gather from my research, is that it must be left from Jill "Lady Buffalo" Thacker, who was commissioned to weld the names of local mines onto a railroad rail for a footrest at the base of the bar next door. Maybe it was her, maybe it's just a "local artist" expressing them self, but I got quite a chuckle out of seeing all these just lying about in the desert!













































































We decided that was enough fun for one day and took the poor van in to be washed before we brought it back to the guys! A fun day had by two happy gals!

...kicking back in Nevada, Marie