Lake Havasu City

We left Parker AZ to travel some 40 miles north to go to Lake Havasu City. Our plan was to participate in the Winterfest and the Pyrotechnic Display. We really enjoyed these 2 offerings last year and wanted to return again. Six of the "Strays" made the trip, Millie, Ray, Joanne and Rick followed us from Parker up the road to LHC.

We don't usually caravan, but it was a short trip and Joanne and Rick hadn't been there before. John felt the vibration in the steering wheel again so we took our time. Our plan was to stay out on the island after crossing the London Bridge. John and I stayed on BLM land there for 2 weeks last year waiting for nicer weather before traveling north. We parked near one of the miniature lighthouses and not 3 hours after getting all settled, a policeman knocked on Ray's door to inform us we had to move. Since it was already dark, he said we could stay the night. Next day we moved our little village to other BLM land about 4 miles outside of town.

We decided to take a day trip to Oatman AZ. This is a small mining town that for a time was deserted and then turned into a tourist trap. I say that because we were all disappointed. It was suppose to have cowboys and burrows wandering the streets. After driving 70 some miles we passed the dozen burrows on the outskirts of town and in town we found several shops all containing junk from China. There was 1 store displaying some wares from local artists that was nice.

The Winterfest was nice. Bigger than last year, but a lot of jewelry... which didn't interest me. We spent the day meandering.

John's birthday was the 14th and Rick's was the 23rd so we went to the Golden Corral (guy's choice) for a celebration. Our waitress sang Happy Birthday to John.... Marilyn Monroe style....even called him Mister President. I didn't realize you could blush so much with a tan.

One evening our generator kept turning itself off, so we visited an RV service center that referred us to Joe's Auto RV and Truck Repair Shop. They gave us an appointment in 2 days. They also had an idea about what was causing the vibration ( ride height not adjusted correctly). We expected to be homeless for a few hours but it turned into 2 days. They were wonderful to us. We stayed in the motor home overnight in the lot. We had a beautiful view of the lake and it was quite. Turned out the generator was low on antifreeze due to a very small leak. The ride height was only slightly off (they fixed it) but they took it on a test ride and determined that the U joints were bad. They helped us deal with the extended warranty people and got the repair approved. John is very pleased with the way it handled all the way back to the BLM land. Genny is running fine. Here are the U joints.... no ball bearings.

If you are ever in Lake Havasu City and need RV work we highly recommend these people. They were wonderful!

The fireworks were beautiful and we didn't even have to leave the coach to watch them. 3 evenings of brilliant colors lighting up the sky.

What with all the repair costs and the fact that we will be needing new tires next year (6 of them) and a roof on the house at home, John and I have decided instead of sitting in Arizona waiting for spring to travel north, we would try our hand at Gate Guarding in Texas for several months. Our friends Millie, Ray, Sherrie and Mike have been doing it and think we could handle the job. So we said goodbye to Joanne and Rick (who are headed to Laughlin Nevada for a month) and headed back towards Texas.