Lakeside....AHHHHHH

We are currently beside Lake Havasu in Arizona. It is mid-state next to the California border. As a matter of fact one side of the lake is Arizona the other California. At the end of the lake is the city but most of the lake side is either, state, federal or Indian land. It is prohibited to build within so many yards of the waters edge. I don't know the exact amount but there is nothing within a quarter of a mile of the edge except boat launches, beaches and miniature lighthouses. First the topography..

This is how close to the water we are parked. Pictures just don't do it justice. I know I've said that frequently but it's true. We are dry camping of course... no services.

The lake is huge...man-made... don't know how big. I believe I mentioned before that there was a TV program about this lake ..... popular spot for spring break. Kids party on houseboats and around the lake. Here is a picture of a houseboat moored in one of the many coves. No-one is occupying it at the moment.

I have proof that I actually went into the water. Here are my feet immersed in Lake Havasu ... see how clear the water is.

It was also COLD... fed by the snow melt in Colorado.

I mentioned the lighthouses.. all around the lake are a series of miniature lighthouses. They are replicas of actual ones on the Atlantic & Pacific coasts as well as the great lakes. Here is an example of one.

This is from Thunder Bay in Alpena Michigan. It was originally made of wood but after a fire was rebuilt out of metal. It has a nick name in Michigan... can you guess what it is. Here's a hint... a Russian space vehicle from a long time ago. E-mail or use the comment section to send me your guesses. Why should I do all the work on this blog???
We also have visitors here on a regular basis... wildlife. We listen to the coyotes at night. Here is a male Quail that came by for some bird seed that spilled on the ground.

Isn't he cute with his little feather hat? There are many of these creatures around and they scurry from bush to bush trying to stay out of the heat.
Now here is another quiz. What is this creature? Same thing.... email or use the comment section. A hint... think cartoon character. I kinda like making you guys do some homework for a change.

California and Mexico

Friday morning (the 11th of March) we left Yuma and traveled to a campground in California about 5 miles from the Arizona border and 3 miles from the Mexican border. It was called "Pine Knob" but there wasn't a "pine", as in tree, in sight. We only stayed a few days but it sure was nice to have full services. We are currently back in the desert on Indian Reservation land, dry camping. We are within 2 miles of an Indian Casino called The Quechan Casino Resort.The Quechan Indians lived in this area thousands of years before the Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th century. They are a small, in stature, people. The women we have seen are not more than 5 feet tall.
Here are some pictures around this area. This is the American Canal, water syphoned from the Colorado River to irrigate the surrounding farmland  ... one bank is Arizona the other California. This is the lettace capital of the world.

This huge tree is adjacent to the area we are in

The reason we are here is for John to have dental work done in Mexico. When we were in Florida, John was complaining of a toothache so we went to a dentist. After xrays he was told that there wasn't a cavity or visible reason for the discomfort but they would like to do $3,000.00 worth of bridgework for him. They suggested that he use Sensodine toothpaste to eliminate the pain in the tooth. We had heard that a lot of seniors go to Mexico for their dental work, eyeglasses and medications because the cost is 1/3rd what it would be in the states. John believed that he needed root canal work ...So here we are... traveling to Algodonas Mexico to see a dentist. We return for the last time Monday the 21st to have his final checkup. After xrays the dentist found no cavities, no need for root canal. What he did see was evidence of teeth grinding at night. I can confirm that. Sometimes I wake up believing I cooked all night because I listened to him Chew all night. Anyway... the exam, xrays, impressions, night guard and follow-up check for fit cost a total of $75.00.
Here are some pictures from Mexico. There are hundreds of street vendors, dentists, optometrists and liquor stores here. One day we had shrimp tacos for lunch...it costs us $3.00 ....for both of us.

And now a Lukas update. You saw how cute he is... now see how smart he is. Once he got home, one of the first things on his agenda... make friends with the dog.

Next Tuesday we start our meander north. We have reservations in Las Vegas for the end of the month so we will probably hang out in Lake Havasu City for a week before going to Nevada.

Gypsy Journal Rally

From Quartzite we traveled to Yuma Arizona for the Gypsy Journal Rally at the Yuma fairgrounds. I thought we would at least have electricity but the service was only 15 amps.... enough to recharge our batteries. So it's still like dry camping... no water or sewer service and minimal power. Can you tell I'm about ready for a campground?
The rally was nice. A lot of what was presented we had either learned before or experienced first hand. There were more fun things this year though. I attended a course on Swedish Weaving.... I have been hooked on a new craft. My first project is a pair of place mats.... I'll show them when completed. I also have 2 more projects in mind.... one of them for Lukas.
John had an RV expert go over our new coach with him. I'm not sure he learned all that much but it made him feel a little better..... I think. We experience a slight pulsing in our lights when we first start to use the generator. I thought it must be a loose connection or belt because it doesn't sustain a constant flow of electricity for a while when we turn it on. The "expert" thought it was the inverter and offered to sell us one for $1600.00 +. That was a thanks, but no thanks for now.
Here is a picture of the pizza party held one night. There were at least 250 rigs... usually 2 people per rig.... at the event.

The night before the end of the rally, they held a fundraising event for the Escapees Care Center. It is called the Cactus Queen Beauty Contest. 9 volunteers get dressed up and compete for the Beauty Crown and bragging rights until the following year. Did I mention that it is the MEN who get dressed like women and compete? I laughed until tears rolled down my cheeks. Not only did they dress like women they had stories about themselves about why they should be the Queen. Here is a picture of some of the contestants.

And the winner was....

Maybe I can talk John into competing next year.....  what do you think the chances are?

At Last.... Grandparenthood

I really am a superstitious person and therefore have been keeping a secret to insure that nothing would go wrong. But the time has arrived to tell. Welcome Lukas Alan my first grandchild. Born 3/8/11 at around 2:30 AM (Arizona Time... when my phone woke me up) in Pa to my younger son Jeremy and Chelsey. Isn't he beautiful..... all 8 pounds 7 ounces and 22 inches of him.

What a handsome devil.

Back at the Q

We were in Quartzsite for about 2 weeks. John and I took time to do some rearranging of items in the new-to-us RV. We read manuals and played with buttons and switches......  fun actually.
We also did some picture taking. John wanted a photo of the new camel in town. It's made of auto rims.

Before Millie and Ray left we went geocaching with their daughter Paula, who was visiting from Mass. We ended our search at a place called "Celia's Garden". It was developed in memory of a 12 year old girl who died. Her parents started this memorial and it has now grown over the years and many families have placed personalized memorials of their loved ones. It is really an interesting place to visit. Here are a few glimpses of peoples lives....

These are family built and maintained memorials to the lives of their loved ones. It is like walking through an album with snapshots of people who have left us. Very Touching. These are not graves.... they are representations of people.

On March 7th we left the Q and headed to Yuma for Nick Russell's Winter Gypsy Journal rally. We started our meandering by attending his fall rally in Celina Ohio in September of 09. We thought it was about time to check in with the full timer group and attend some seminars on what's new.