Month: January 2015

This morning there  was fog in the campground and on the river. Quite unusual and very pretty.

This afternoon we headed out in the kayaks. Went further we have before. Saw some sights.

Burros visiting a house nearby. I suppose they just wander around hoping for a handout. It is illegal to feed them but I think lots of people ignore that rule.

A sunken boat.

And lots of beautiful scenery.

On one of our kayak trips Bill saw some hummingbird feeders hung in people’s yards. So yesterday he dug out our feeders, filled them, and hung them outside on our cabana. Almost immediately a tiny friend came to visit and there has been one or two there almost all the time since. The pics below are from inside the motorhome through the windshield.

So we have been at Sundance RV park in Earp, CA for a little over a week now. We have met some nice people, the view of the river is beautiful. The weather is generally cool at night, and warm & sunny during the day. The past few days have been pretty windy, however, blowing around lots of dust (even when it’s not windy there is dust on everything).  On the non-windy days we kayak upstream towards the parker dam and have an easy paddle back to the campground. It is very peaceful this time of year. We have been told that in spring and summer the area gets very busy and there are lots of speedboats on the river – but now it is pretty quiet.

 

We made a couple trips down the Quartzite, AZ this week. Quartzite is a crazy desert town where millions of RVs migrate every winter. There a some commercial campgrounds where you pay for a site but thousands of RVs just pull off the road and dry camp in the desert. Additionally there is a huge area where vendors have booths in a flea market style. We had fun but also very dusty!!

In the 1930s, while the aqueducts and dams were being built on the river, this town was known as Cross Roads with a population of several thousand. Below is what remains of the Cross Roads Mercantile Company.

Yesterday we walked across the street from the campground and took a hike in the hills. There is no civilization there. Only desert, hills, and dirt roads. There is an interesting rock structure that looks (to me) like a finger pointing to the sky. It can be seen for miles.

We can see sunsets and sunrises here.

We are at Sundance RV Resort now until March, but spent a few days at Lake Havasu State Park this past week before moving on to Sundance.

There is a 9 hole disk golf course on the London Bridge Island. We did not play that well but had a lot of fun. It’s been a while since we had the disks out.

And of course we took the kayaks out on the lake. Just a beautiful place. We are lucky to have the chance to experience it.

And the sunsets are spectacular!!

We departed Lake Havasu the day before the annual balloon fest. But a few of the participants were getting an early start.

We are back on the Colorado River in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Next week we’ll be moving to Sundance RV Resort in Earp, CA for two months. Today we went to have a look at our new site (the place was still under construction when we made reservations in December).

The campground is in an area where wild burros are frequently seen wandering around.

We stayed in Death Valley National Park for a few days. Awesome!!

We stayed in the park at Furnace Creek Campground. Thought we would be dry camping (no electric, water or sewer) but were pleasantly surprised when they offered us a full hookup.

First day we visited man-made wonder – Scotty’s Castle.  Scotty’s Castle is a mansion built by millionaire Albert Johnson in the 1920’s.  Johnson was a creative engineer/inventor who designed and built this lavish and extremely comfortable winter vacation home in the middle of the extreme dessert.

This guy was sneaking around as we were leaving Scotty’s Castle. We were going to have lunch at some picnic tables near the parking lot but he was a bit too close and interested in our food – so we ate in the car.

The next day we visited Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level.

Natural Bridge Canyon.

The Devil’s Golf Course

And my favorite – Artists Drive. I had no idea rocks and mountains could have so much variety and color.

Finally some shots of the mountains from our campsite.

 

Time to catch up!!

We spent Christmas and New Years in Oregon with Kathy, Gabe & Greg.

The week before Christmas we visited Portland.  They had the animal sculptures dressed in ugly Christmas sweaters – very cute.

On Christmas Eve we viewed lights at the Grotto.  The Grotto is a religious shrine in Portland that puts on a great Christmas lights display.

The week after Christmas Greg and Kathy joined us for a couple of days for a visit to wine country in the Willamette Valley. Our Campground was in Dayton Oregon. Greg & Kathy stayed in a Vintage trailer from the 1950s.

 

Nearby was the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum where Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose is kept.

We had lunch at Golden Valley Brewery and Greg got a private tour of the operation.

On New Years day we drove down the Columbia River Gorge and stopped at Multnomah Falls.  Much of it was frozen this time.

 

Happy New Year to my great family!!!