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.

Parker 425

We claimed area 2 off Shea Road in Parker for our race viewing space. This is BLM land right along the route of the desert race. The track is 141 miles long through the desert and they must go around 3 times. There were 242 entries this year. The vehicles are all types of desert racers... stock trucks, modified ones as well as dune buggies, jeeps and volkswagons. Here is a partial map of the race course. The red line is Shea Road and the black road is the race course. We were parked at the number 6 (mile marker for the race). As you can see we had front row seats.

Thursday before the race they had a street fair where some of the racers and their vehicles are parked on the main street. Fans are invited to come see and talk to the race teams. Here are a few of them.

Robby Gordon participated again this year.... only difference was he won it.

They had this motorcycle that was built to celebrate the Arizona centenial this year. It is made of copper and just shone in the sun.

Ray and Millie's son Paul flew out from Massechusettes to watch the race with them. He stayed for 4 days.......  I think he enjoyed himself despite the fact he was with a group of seniors.

Before the race we took a trip to Swansea, a ghost town that was a copper mining town in the early 1900's. We had gone there last year but our newbies, Rick and Joanne wanted to go since they were from Swansea Mass. On the way back, Ray got a flat tire.... again..... just like last year. Don't think he'll go there again. Question.... How many Ray's Stays does it take to change a tire? Answer....5. One to hold the lug nuts from the spare, one to hold the lug nuts from the tire, one to remove the spare and the flat tire and switch them, one to jack up the car (3 times until we got it to the right height), and one to tell the others what to do.

There were some interesting mountains in our area and Joanne and I hiked up into them to find a neat little cavern. If I had been several years younger and had Paula or Vera ( search and rescue friends who were great at ropes/repelling) with me, I would have gone further up. But alas.....

Yeah Giants. We watched the Patriots lose with our New England friends Ray, Millie, Rick, Joanne. It was sweet.... especially since Ray put his Patriot blanket over me at half time.
Next stop Lake Havasu City for Winterfest and Fireworks.

The Q....... the rest of the story.

I am so far behind in writing...... I feel like I'm back in school and I've put off an assignment until the night before it's due. Boy that's going way back. Hold on, I've got a lot to say.
While in Quartzsite, we attended a concert by Paul Winer, the owner of the infamous book store. In a previous life he was a performer known as "Sweet Pea"..... a nude piano player. After nearly dying of alcohol and drugs he dried out and moved to Quartzsite and started selling used books his mother had bought at yard sales. He now has a fairly large store that is a stop for everyone who goes to Quartzsite........ mostly because of his attire (or lack of it). Once a year he performs to raise money for the city. Here is a picture of Paul at the store.

For the concert he wore clothes, joking that it's the only time he dresses. It was really good and he made us laugh at ourselves with his snowbird and RVer observations.

Since John and Wendy Dreese didn't join Ray's Strays this year, we went shopping and found a motor home for them. Think they'll like it?

I've been trying to convince Sydney that he is no longer a search dog but he doesn't think he is old enough to retire yet. He is always trying to follow scents....  rabbits especially. One day while on our morning walk, he practically drug me along a wash following what I thought was a rabbit or coyote trail. Lo and behold he stoped at a small black case lying in the sand. I picked it up and there was a cell phone in it. Back at the RV, I called one of the ICE numbers and spoke to the owners wife. He lost it bike riding in the desert 3 days previous. He was one happy man when he picked up the phone and didn't quite believe that my dog led me to it.

We learned of an area between Parker and Quartzsite where there are sand dunes for off roading.... so we were off. We found a neat little valley just starting to green up, but the sand dunes were fun.

After 3 weeks, we said Goodbye to Sherri, Mike and Jackson who headed off to Phoenix to visit family. The rest of us left for Parker AZ and the Parker 425 Best in the Desert Baja Race.