Parker and Lake Havasu

Hi all,
Our next stop was River Island State Park located about 12 miles north of Parker, AZ. We thought this location would give us a good stepping off point to check out the Parker and Lake Havasu areas.
 River Island is a small but pretty state park right on the Colorado River.

Colorado River and Buckskin Mountains

 Just a couple miles south is Buckskin State Park. Buckskin is a bit bigger and to us not as nice. Both parks have boat launches and the close proximity to California make this a mecca for river runners of all types. Thankfully we didn't hit to busy a time as the campground is in almost a canyon and the boat noise can get extreme.
 We first made a drive to Parker and stopped in at the visitor center. We got a couple ideas of things to do, then made the trip home following the river from the California side. We checked out the Parker Dam. Built in 1934 it is 320 feet high and 235 feet below the river bed making it the deepest dam in the world.

 Another day we took a nice 35 mile drive to Lake Havasu. Lake Havasu is home to the world famous London Bridge. We checked out the visitor center and enjoyed pictures of the transfer and recreation of the massive stone work.

Locks attached to rails- keys are thrown in river

We had heard from fellow bloggers that a good(and cheap) way to experience this is to take a ferry ride across the lake. Of course there is a catch the ferry delivers you right to a casino, hmmm what are we going to do next??

one of 19 replica lighthouses built 1/3 scale

 We stopped for a nice dinner in Lake Havasu and strolled around a bit then decided the spring break crowd was beginning to take over and we were a little out of place.
 Next we debated a drive to Oatman but thought it a bit to far so we opted to drive down to Quartzite. Quartzite is noted as a great place to boondock camp in January and February. Thousands gather in the desert to attend massive RV tent shows selling anything imaginable and more.
 Not much to see now that most of the Rvers have left for cooler temps and although not here at peak time we can say it does not look like our cup of tea.
 Saving the best for last, according to the visitor center, the number one thing to do in Parker is visit the Nellie E. Saloon better known as " The Desert Bar ".
 The bar located 5 miles down a rough dirt road and lies on old mining land has been in operation since 1983. It operates only on weekends Labor Day thru Memorial from noon to six.
 It is quite the setup with live bands performing and plenty of food and drink being served. It also does this all on solar power and the solar panels do double duty serving as large sun screens.

solid steel church

Anniversary to Remember

Hi all,
 It has been a interesting time here in Yuma, one we won't soon forget. We made another trip to Mexico this time for our dental work. We both needed cleanings and Wendy had a chipped filling that needed attention.
 Wendy had done some research and found a dentist with good reviews so she made us an appointment to save us from the hawkers trying to lure you in.

 Wendy went first for her cleaning and sadly learned the damaged tooth would require a root canal to fix properly. A specialist would be available in about one hour so we snuck out and grabbed a margarita to help ease the pain.)

 After getting her temporary filling and my cleaning we left with an appointment two days later for her crown. Well the dentist said not to eat he didn't say nothing about having another margarita to help ease the pain.)) Well we are in Mexico and as it was our 41st wedding anniversary, we had to make the best of it.

enjoying great fish tacos

 Two days later she got her crown and said even with the root canal she experienced little to no pain. Course did I tell you they got good margaritas in Mexico.) And I did have another pic of Wendy with her second margarita but after the root canal she didn't find it was flattering.
 Our total cost for the cleanings, four x-rays, root canal and crown was $770.
 Looking to do something different a drive to The Imperial National Wildlife Refuge was just the ticket. The 25,768 refuge is spread out along 30 miles of the lower Colorado River.  Along the route we passed quite a few fields that were being harvested of various fare.

 We stopped in the Visitor Center to learn a bit of what there was we could do. We found a rough road that was passable for the dually and able to check three observation points along the route. The observation areas were of the Colorado River

 We also got in a cool little hike on the Painted Desert Trail. The 1.3 mile hike takes you through a rainbow of colors left by 30 million year-old volcanic activity. It also featured a panoramic of the Colorado River Valley. We took our time to enjoy the trail and had a nice picnic lunch at the end. It was good to get out and see some beautiful natural landscape.

 We extended our stay here at Yuma as we had a couple tasks to do and our next stop is a short drive to River Island State Park.

the desert beginning to bloom

Yuma to Mexico

Hi all,
We pulled in to the KOFA KO-OP just a few miles from Yuma. It is an Escapee club park. At this park you set up camp on a members owned site. Availability here is somewhat limited other than a few boonedock sites this is all they have available.
 The 150 site park is pretty nice and has a hot tub and pool centrally located. They also have a good size community building for activities.
 The Yuma area is very popular for snowbirds and boast some of Arizona's warmer temps. As that is it seems some have already started to make their exodus northward. We see final planned activities running just to the end of March.
 Popular with the snowbirds here are the markets or swap meets. On Friday Wendy and I hit a swap meet, an indoor market, and a large multi tent sale. The large tent sale was close to what we had went to at Mesa. They had a lot of newer stuff and many stands with RV related merchandise. We bought a few things trying to find some things to get the kids for Christmas. I know that's thinking early but we want to get them something different and then not have to pay shipping. We will drop it off when we hit Wisconsin.
  Also while here we wanted to venture into Mexico for glasses and dental work. We had heard many snowbirds do this so we figured to give it a go.
 So Saturday we made the drive to a large parking lot just on the US side. Most people park and walk over to Los Algodones, Mexico.

 Once there we were bombarded by the hawkers trying to pull you in for the dental or optometrist. There are literally hundreds to choose from and although we had tried to get ideas from others online we were pretty much confused when we got there.
 The hawkers pulling you in can be persistant and you really have to learn to ignore or say no. We did think one guy was funny as he said "cmon and give me a chance to rip you off ".
 We had figured to get me glasses and return for dental another day. We stepped into a decent looking place and the young gal assisting us was nice and spoke good English. I had a short wait for the eye test and got them to agree putting new lenses in my current frames.
 A two hour wait allowed a little shopping and a fish taco lunch that was pretty good. After lunch at just the 2 hour mark my glasses were ready. Total cost for the progressive tint no line bifocal was $135.00 including eye test, not to bad.

 Sunday we bummed in Yuma first checking out the Quartermaster Depot State Historical Park. It boast five buildings from the post that was used to supply all of Arizonas military posts during the early 1900's. The main house used by the quartermaster was built in 1872 and believed to be Yumas oldest Anglo built homes. The park is now managed by the city of Yuma and is a nice self guided tour.

 Next up we made the trek to check the famous Yuma Territorial Prison. The Prison built in 1875 and was used for 33 years. Now a state park we used our volunteer cards to get free( or$6.00) entry.
 We took a guided tour that led you through a museum and to the cell blocks where each meager block contained 6 cell mates. This also included the famous "Dark Cell" used to hold incorrigible prisoners. The dark cell contained a cage 8x10 and prisoners were chained to the cage for whatever determined time.
 Fun facts the prison was also used as part of Yuma High School for a few years, also the schools sport name has been The Criminals and few efforts to change that over the years have failed.

Gilbert Ray County Park and Saguaros

 Hi all,
Seems we got out of the Roper just in time, Rose called and said she has the flu and Kay has pneumonia. It was nice of Rose to call and alert us to the exposure, we will stay alert and hopefully healthy. We wish them the best and a speedy recovery.
 Our first stop after leaving Roper was not to far, we landed at Gilbert Ray County Park in Tucson. We were catching up with Nancy and Al coworkers from Custer.
 As things go after not moving for four months we encountered a issue with the jacks not seeming to have enough power to raise the rv off the truck. So I plugged in to the electric and that seemed to help. I will have to get the batteries tested under load to see if they are bad. Just like the old house things can and will go wrong.
 We got a nice close sight to Al and Nancy and after setting up had a nice catch up session with them. Nancy provided us with a tasty lasagna dinner and more good conversation after that.
 Gilbert Ray is a pretty campground in Tucson Mountain Park with saguaro cactus everywhere. It has 75 sites and they enforce a seven day maximum stay. One issue we encountered was it only contained 30 amp sites and our surge protector continued to flash low voltage and kicked out a few times. I would think this could be a big issue if air conditioners were needed a lot. As it was it was warm enough but we were away most of the day. The park is at a great location just 1/2 mile from Old Tucson and a couple miles from Saguaro National Park.
 Tuesday Wendy and I headed out to tour Old Tucson,( Al and Nancy had already done this). Old Tucson is one of the most famous western movie sets and was used for over 300 film and television productions. It has been used since 1939 for film classics as Rio Bravo, The Outlaw Josey Wales and Tombstone to name only a couple. Popular TV series Little House on the Prairie and The High Chaparral also filmed parts there.

2nd story added for The Three Amigoes

Golden Gate Mountain in background

  We took a short guided tour to begin then were free to just roam about. We enjoyed a few videos and a small museum with some of the actual props used. They also had a gunfight and a Miracle Elixir show that was pretty funny. We thought it was well put on and had a good time.
 Later we chatted some more and Al offered to take us up to a mountain pass that is well known for great sunsets. We hit it pretty good with a few clouds and got some great shots.

Sitting on a CCC building waiting for sunset

 Wednesday they joined us for a drive through Saguaro National Park. The park is divided into two sections, east and west side of Tucson. We slowly took the 5 mile loop stopping many times along the way.

Wendy spied the only flower on a saguaro we saw

 We got back together after dinner and enjoyed another beautiful Arizona sunset from our campsite. We had a great time with them and will see the later this year at Custer.

 Thursday Wendy and I headed off to Yuma to explore that for a week or so.