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"Illegal aliens have
always been a problem in the United States. Ask any Indian."
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he drinks beer all day
Happiness is just a memory away....
To be truly happy is a question of how we begin and not
of how we end, of what we want and not of what we have
Half the fun of Travel is the
Unexpected
I could
make a million or wind up broke, but you can't
take it with you when you go, so
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Wow...that was fun!"
How come we choose from
just two people to run for
Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes!
If you can read this, thank a teacher - and, since it's in English, thank a Soldier!
The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
'Government is like a
baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of
responsibility at the other.' |
Pat's 2008 February Blog If this is your first time here, you might want to start from the beginning of our fulltime RV Journey with our 2007 Blog's For Those That Don't Know Me, You can click here to read my Bio Photo Gear We Use - Solar Tips, Fact's and Trick's we've learned while on the road
Camper
Check List - A list of things we do before leaving camp.
Again, this isn't gospel, but its a good start for those who might not
already have a list made up. **** Thursday January 31st 2008 RVing in a Concrete Jungle
Cindy looked up Oasis RV Resort, which was on the other side of town and a bit closer to the action on the strip. This place is truly an RV Resort. With heated pools, a putt-putt course, a restaurant and bar and a full store on site, this was like staying in a resort instead of a campground. We checked in and called it a night. With temperatures dropping down into the mid 30's, I was glad we had shore power so we could run the tank heaters and the ceramic heater with no worries. The next morning I took the truck over to a local Ford Dealer to get our oil changed and the transmission flushed. We figured since we tow fulltime, we might as well take some extra precautions and change the transmission fluids when ever we get the motor oil changed. It's not going to hurt anything and hopefully will keep us breakdown free. While I was at the dealer, I got a call from Derrick asking where we were. I didn't know he was in town yet, and thought he wouldn't get here till Friday. Oh man, I could feel my liver tighten as he said "Get your butt down to Caesars Palace!"
Oasis RV Resort offers a shuttle to the downtown area, but it's a trolley that has a scheduled route every 45 minutes or so. I started talking to another couple who was waiting for the trolley and after 20 minutes of waiting, I just had the front desk clerk call me a cab. The nice couple said they would split it with me and we were on our way. Cindy had gone out shopping with our girlfriend Christine who lives here in this ant farm of a city. While I was in the cab, Cindy was calling me to see where I was? I told her I was on my way downtown, and she just had Christine drop her off at the Casino so the 3 of us, could go out to lunch. I should mention that Las Vegas is everything we are not. It's very big, very busy, very fast paced, very expensive and so over the top that I was questioning why we were here. A simple lunch that wasn't all that great of food, was a whopping $150, but that might have something to do with the 3 buckets of beer we washed it down with. The reason why we're here is for the company! It had been months since we had visited with Derrick and Tish, and since we were only a few hours away in Arizona, we thought a party weekend was something to get us ready for the big Super Bowl Weekend. I'm just glad that the entire month of January was spent for next to nothing in the Phoenix area. Something tells me this weekend alone will take all that money from us that we've saved Boondocking and living like gypsies for the last few weeks. From Margaritaville, we headed over to Caesars Palace to meet Tish who had just gotten out of her convention. We sat talking with some of her co-workers who all looked like they were ready for a night of partying. Tish sells high-end carpets and floor coverings, and the Carpet Munching jokes were flying around like crazy giving us all many laughs.
We walked along the strip trying to walk off some of the alcohol and just in awe of the night life that this town thrives off of. A local news report said that last year during Super Bowl weekend, the town of Las Vegas brought in over 70 million dollars! My God that is a lot of money for one weekend. We probably walked 5 miles just looking at all the lights and the amazing casinos. Las Vegas is so outrageous when it comes to the next big thing. I remember a few years ago when the New York-New York was the big hype, then came the Luxor, then the Wynn Casino and the new construction building bigger and bigger casinos goes non-stop, 24 hours a day. We finally made it all the way to Mandalay Bay where we grabbed the last shuttle back to the Oasis. I think I was asleep while I still had my tooth brush in my mouth getting ready for bed. Friday February 1st 2008 We had to be up early to bring the dogs in to a local vet. We needed to have their shots updated so we wont get hassled while crossing the border into Baja. We also thought that boarding them for this weekend would be more fair for them. There is no need to leave them locked up in the Travel Trailer all weekend while we're out partying. While we were driving them there, Cindy asked for a piece of gum and when I reached in my jacket pocket, I had a weird feeling that something wasn't right. I pulled out a dinner roll that I had shoved in my pocket last night thinking for some reason that in the long walk down the strip, I'd need some extra carbs to power my drunken legs. We both got a chuckle out of this and the dogs got a nice treat. Once we dropped them off, we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to re-supply our fluids before we'd do it all over again.
We met him at a black jack table and headed over to the Carnival Court bar to watch the amazing flair of the best bartenders in the world. Carnival Court is where Christian Delpeche works who is the best Flair bartender in the world. Being Friday afternoon, the town was starting to get it's buzz on getting geared up for the big weekend. Tish called saying she was done with the convention and the four of us were back together again. We spent the next few hours bar hopping and catching up on all the gossip we had missed while being apart from each other for the past few months. Eating dinner at some bar in Caesars put a few hundred dollar dent in the wallet, and the night was still young. Cindy and I don't even gamble and we were doing a good job of giving away our money to the mob. I guess one way or another, if you're in Vegas, they're going to empty your wallet. From Paris we headed over to the Mirage where Derrick had us on the VIP List at JET Night Club. This hopping nightclub was filled to capacity with scantily clad beautiful women every where you looked. The thumping bass was so loud, my shirt was bouncing on my chest. I walked over to one of the doormen asking how we got a couch overlooking the dance floor to which he replied, "To get a private sitting area, all you need to do is buy a bottle of alcohol, prices start at $400 per bottle and we supply all the mixers" Oh, is that all!?! Well in that case, give me two, I don't want to be crowded. Yeah Right, I guess I'll do fine just standing at the bar watching the wild show going on all around us.
Next thing you know, this woman comes up and asks Cindy and Tish if we would like to come sit in their private sitting area with them? Of course we said yes, and next thing you know, we're talking with new friends drinking their $400 vodka. Can I tell you that the $400 vodka tasted the same as the cheap stuff that I'm used to drinking, but I wasn't complaining. When we finally stumbled out we couldn't believe it was 2:30am, we said our goodbyes and goodnights before Cindy and I jumped in a cab to head for home. Next thing you know, the cab driver is yelling at us "Wake up, you're home!" I elbowed Cindy while I threw him the last of my money. We walked hand in hand back to the camper where we didn't have any dogs to pre-warm the bed for us tonight. Saturday February 2nd 2008
Baja Nomad is amazing for anyone traveling to that area, and kept me occupied for most of the day. From what I've read, 90% of what you hear from the media is not the norm. So, we're still planning on heading South of the Border, and we'll keep you updated on our findings. We finally got our butts out of bed and headed back into the thick of Party Central. We met for dinner in Caesars Palace before we headed over to the Las Vegas Hilton where Derrick had us on the VIP List for The Scintas Show. This show was fantastic. Nothing crazy, no pyrotechnics, no crazy lighting, no nudity and no big cats biting anyone, just good humor mixed with great music. These 3 family members along with their band mates had the crowd cheering, laughing and even one girl was crying (not sure why?).
After the show, we sat paying the mob their dues on a few slot machines.
Even though Derrick had us on VIP lists at four different night clubs,
none of us
Maybe we're just out of practice when it comes to this party scene? So with our tails between our legs, we all said our goodnights and made plans for our next foray. Derrick and Tish would fly home early in the morning, and Cindy and I would have one day of recovery before getting back on the road. Something tells me that this little excursion would knock a few months off of our trip when it comes to the bank account. I've come to the conclusion that there is no inexpensive way to visit this city. Sunday February 3rd 2008 Super Bowl Sunday Even though we were in bed fairly early last night, I woke up feeling like my body was just run down. I had probably ruined my immune system these past few days and my body was telling me something.
Yep, I'm thinking I'm getting old...LOL Checking the emails, I was amazed that a few people had replied to my request for Tips concerning Baja Travel. One fellow RVer who lives on the Mexico mainland even went as far as providing his cell phone number and said that if we found ourselves in any trouble, feel free to give him a call and he would see how he could help. Every day I'm amazed at how nice and helpful the RV community is. Numerous people from Baja Nomad had given me tons of stuff to look up or suggestions for the best spots to Whale Watch. I'm planning on putting together a separate page that will list all the helpful info we've received from veterans of South of the Border Travel. Hopefully our first experience will be good, and others who are thinking of RVing in Baja will be able to learn from any mistakes we might make. Ok, got to go watch the Super Bowl (really just the commercials) Monday February 4th 2008 With last night being an early night, we were both up bright and early this morning getting things packed up. Cindy did some laundry while I did the basic chores of getting the camper ready for travel.
I guess those visors don't care about small sand particles, because the dash board and the passenger seat are both covered in sand. The passenger seat was so bad that it looks like we had been at the beach all day empting our pockets after we got in the truck. Oh well, I'll have to find a car wash with a vacuum and clean it out. As for the camera and big lens that was sitting on the floor, well that is a different story.
After retrieving the mutts, which was funny because Luca is very upset that he was kenneled for the weekend, we headed out of Vegas towards Red Rock Canyon. We found a book store along the way so I could get the Travelers Guide to Camping Mexico's Baja. Every person that has contacted us has recommended this book. Most refer to it as the Baja Bible. Back on the road, we were in Red Rock Canyon in no time, it's only 17 miles out of Vegas. This is a beautiful park that we had visited last time we were in Sin City. Cindy and I had flown in for a Bar & Nightclub Convention and stayed a few days extra so we could visit Red Rock Canyon and the Valley of Fire State Park. Both were very short visits, so we were eager to get back and really do some exploring. The background top picture (The Header) on our home page was taken at Red Rock Canyon on our first visit to Nevada years ago for a Bar & Nightclub Convention. Pulling in, we realized we were going to be in for a night of cool camping. The temperature was unseasonably cold with snow on many of the surrounding mountains. Who ever said the desert was hot and dry, must be talking about somewhere else. So far, we've only found winter weather everywhere we've stayed in this desert climate. I joked with the campground host when he asked how long we were going to be staying "Only tonight if this weather doesn't warm up!" He replied "Tell me about it, we're from Missouri and it was 70° there today!" We both laughed at that one. Here we are both trying to get away from winter, and the deep South West is blanketed in record lows?
Luckily we had the dogs to pre-warm our bed, since we were going to be fighting for the covers tonight. If it doesn't warm up soon, it looks like we'll be heading back to Phoenix. Tuesday February 5th 2008
The temperature hasn't warmed up any, and the winds are still trying
their best to blow us over. Waiting for the weather to warm up a
bit, Cindy is reading
So far she's picked out Food (la comida), Beer (cervesa), and Cheap (baroto)...LOL With these 3 words, she should have a very enjoyable time south of the border. She has also been working on an outfit for me to wear so I'll blend in with the locals and no one should even know I'm a gringo. I think she should work on my glasses a bit, but other wise I'll look good. Once the sun got up, the temperatures warmed up enough to get us outside in Red Rock Canyon. We loaded up the truck with the photo gear and shoved off from the security of the warm camper.
The rocks here are so wild, that you just sit and stare thinking someone spike your sweet tea with some good LSD. Between the neon colors and the bright reds, Cindy kept saying "No one is going to believe this is what they really looked like!" She told me that anyone looking at the images would just think we doctored them in Photochop. Well we didn't, the rocks are out of this world and should be visited by anyone who visits Las Vegas. The minimal $5 it cost to take the drive is well worth the beauty you'll see along the route. At one pull-off along the scenic drive, I had gotten out to snap a picture and walked away from the truck leaving Cindy and the dogs in it. By this point I think Cindy was getting bored with my enthusiasm and was ready to head home.
While I had gotten out, a coyote had walked up to the side of the truck within 10 feet before Luca, the pit bull scared it off. Cindy was able to think fast and snap off a few quick photos of the little beauty and the whole time, I had missed it all. You'll have to check out her Blog, she said I wasn't allowed to use it...LOL Tonight wasn't as bad as last night with the temperatures. The heater only kicked on every 15 minutes rather than every 10. But then I got an email from our friends in Phoenix who told us that our complaining about the frost was nothing since they had ice on their cars Monday morning. Make sure to Check out our Red Rock Canyon Gallery
Wednesday
February 6th 2008
Cindy and I made a decision this morning that we need to run back to Phoenix, pick up a few things waiting for us at our friends house that we've been using as a mail drop, before we make our way towards San Diego.
So we packed up and headed off toward Arizona. We really wanted to cross the Hoover Dam just to see this Landmark. But for some reason the electronic signs above the freeway said the dam was closed today and was detouring us way around it? Cindy worked her magic and said "There are a few Ghost Towns along the way if you want to check them out?" She had been looking up some stuff on the internet while we were driving along, and found a site listing hundreds of Ghost Towns. So we detoured away from Hoover Dam and headed towards memories long forgotten. HWY 163 out of Las Vegas towards Laughlin is quite the climb. Luckily for us we have an Engine Brake that holds our speed when coming down the backside of the hill, or we would have burned our brakes out on this monster decent. Once we got into Laughlin, we headed towards Kingman up HWY 68 which is one of the longest climbs I've ever done. 10 miles of 3000 RPM's with the turbo-diesel just screaming. If you ever head towards Kingman out of Laughlin, make sure you have a full tank of fuel in Laughlin. Our Scanguage was telling us we were averaging 2.5MPG climbing this mountain :( Oh Man Does That Suck! I cant imagine making that climb in anything but a Turbo-Diesel. We passed numerous gas vehicles that were towing trailers that looked like they were chanting "I Think I Can...I Think I Can!" When we finally made it to the top, we were able to coast for the next 10 minutes back down the other side. Once we hit HWY 68, we headed back West towards our first Ghost Town.
This Bumpy little two lane road eventually dead ends into the parking lot for the employee's of the local landfill, but if you park just to the left of the employee parking lot, you'll see a few ancient structures hidden in the hills. Parking the camper off to the side of the road, we grabbed our cameras and wandered into the scrub brush. Anything to the right of the road is marked "No Trespassing", but as long as you stay to the left, you'll find numerous dilapidated structures to let you know at one time, this was a mining town. Mineral City had one hell of a view in it's hey-day, although now it's ghosts just over look the city dump. But a few (Count 2) buildings still remain to let you know that a thriving mining town once stood here. I was surprised to see numerous open mine shafts only protected by a few barb wire fences with signs stating Keep Out. One shaft had two entrances that were very close together and looked way too spooky to go near. So we headed back down the mountain to the camper for some lunch. Make sure to check out the Mineral City Gallery here
This was a tricky one to find. The map on the web site only told us the road names, but none of the roads we would cross had names on them? By the luck of the Irish, our GPS, which has been getting us lost lately told us we were approaching CR-125 which was the road we were looking for. Using the word 'Road' is giving this 4-Wheel-Drive trail way more than it deserves and was why we had passed it a few times already, CR-125 is nothing more than a dusty cow trail. We headed down the sandy two track for a few miles before Cindy said "We have to dump the camper off somewhere!" She kept saying "We've got to be doing damage to the inside of the camper with these rough roads"
So
we dropped the Sunline on the side of the trail beside a fire ring that
told us others had camped here, and
headed off much lighter with just the F-250. Thank God I listened
to Cindy this time! As soon as we dropped the camper off, the road
became a washed out mess. I kept having nightmares of our
excursion in the Bulldog area when Donielle
Once we scouted out the abandon town, which was hard to do with a set of binoculars and the fading afternoon light, we pulled up to Cerbat. All that is left of this once thriving metropolis is the main mill, numerous foundations dotting the mountain side, and a few open shafts. I guess Mineral City is open enough that they have to fence off the shaft heads with barb wire, but Cerbat has numerous open shafts that you can walk right up to and look down in making sure not to lose your balance and fall in head first. Let me just say it's a bit unsettling looking down into a bottomless mine shaft.
We found the town dump when we walked over a ridge to find 1000's of rusted steel cans littered down the hillside. You could tell these relics were old because of the tops that needed to be punctured with a can opener which was way before pull-tabs even. When the sun was down behind the mountains, we packed up and headed back towards our little cabin on wheels. We joked with each other after Cindy found a large chunk of stone with gold flakes all over it that maybe we should just shack up in one of these ghost towns to see what we might just find. Check out the full Cerbat Ghost Town Gallery Here Thursday February 7th 2008 After yesterdays adventure with the Cerbat Ghost town, we sat out on some private ranch land, that was open to the public much like BLM Land, and spent the morning just enjoying the solitude. Between the sound of nothing but the wind blowing and the occasional cows wandering by our campsite in search of greener pastures, we had the few thousand acres all to ourselves.
I think the dogs loved this even more than Cindy and I. I took
them both for our morning jog with no leashes on and let them wander
about at their own pace. Luca, the bigger, younger dog was running
circles around me the entire
I don’t think Luca knew what to do not being on a leash, and when ever it would sink in, he would just take off running in a full sprint till I would let out a yell and reel him back in. Cindy spent most of the day on the computer as the first week of the month is her time to make the financial transactions so we can stay on this little excursion of ours. This usually involves swapping money from different accounts, some with higher interest rates to some that we have money drawn out from automatically. You know, the book keeping end of things, something that I take no part in. My job is to spend the money, her job is to figure out a way to make sure there is money for me to spend. It’s a great relationship...LOL I’ve never been the one who handles money, I’ve just been the worker our whole lives who brought it home. My macho guy friends back home used to call me a push-over for doing this, but if I was allowed to spend it without Cindy to be that little person behind me saying “No, we cant afford that right now” then more than likely we wouldn’t be where we are today. I’d probably be more like my friends back home and still plugging along working for the man. So I’m very comfortable with letting Cindy manage all the money. Frankly, I hate money in general, and I really suck at math, so it’s probably better that I have such a great financial coach. By mid-afternoon, we packed up and headed towards Vulture Arizona. This route was the alternative to driving up HWY 95 which we took on our way from Phoenix. That route took us up through Lake Havasu and was a beautiful stretch through the mountains.
We passed through one section where the Joshua Trees were so thick, they stretched from horizon to horizon like some primeval forest. With the afternoon sun hitting them right, they looked more blonde than they did green. We finally found Vulture, which is no longer a town, but just a huge expanse of BLM Land just outside Wickenburg. We pulled in just as the sun was setting and still had enough time for one last run with the dogs. The weather had warmed up considerably from the past few nights, and this late in the evening it was still warm enough for just a t-shirt. This is the weather I love! Friday February 8th 2008 Vulture Gold Mine & Ghost Town We had
no idea what to expect today. I will say that today
was one of the
When I first started typing about today, it got too long for just a typical post, so I ended up making an entire Vulture Gold Mine & Ghost Town Page. If you really want to see how much fun we had, check that page out. If you don't want to read all about it, then just know that it was a great day and Vulture City is one of those places I could spend many days at. I just love that type of history and photographic opportunities. You can also check out our Vulture Gold Mine & Ghost Town Gallery which probably has some of my favorite photographs I've ever taken in it. Saturday February 9th 2008 With almost perfect weather today, we just hung out at Vulture City and shared our time between working on the computer or wandering around the ghost town trying to get a few shots that might not have turned out yesterday. I sat talking with Marty and Roma for awhile learning plenty of cool things about the Gold Mine. They are very interesting people and Roma needs to get her facts onto some paper so tourists like us can buy the book. She is filled with fantastic history of the historic mine. After a long day of just relaxing, Cindy proceeded to kick my tail in an ongoing game of Rummy that we've been playing. She was 'ON' tonight and I couldn't barely get on the score board. Maybe while Donielle was visiting, she taught her some card tricks and she is now stacking the deck against me. Sunday February 10th 2008 Our Return to Salt River We were on the road early this morning headed back to Salt River so we could say 'Goodbye' to our good friends Darrel and Gene before we leave for Mexico. I had yet to discuss this earlier, but I guess I finally have to fess up about a secret I've been keeping.
Well you all know that I went and bought the Honda EU2000i the next day from the lady off of Craig's List. What I haven't told anyone was after we had left this area headed towards Quartzsite, I checked my emails and learned that I had also won the auction for the second generator. OOPS! I had forgotten that I had even bid on it by this point. We went for a year with no generator, and now we have two! I couldn't back out of it even though I tried, and once we started thinking about it, we both said that after last summer's heat wave, it might be nice to have the ability to run the A/C if we have to. Having both generators would allow us to do this. So I called up our friends at General RV back in Michigan and ordered a Parallel Kit. Both have been mailed and are waiting for us here in Phoenix. We've been getting our mail shipped to a friends house in this area for the last two months. She joked and said almost every time she gets home, she gets excited because there is a new package on her porch, but then it's always got our name on it and she just has to throw it to the side with the rest of our mail. So yes, I'm a Dumb A$$ and yes I've had to deal with Cindy griping at me that I made a mistake like this. But I'd rather have the two very light weight generators than the one heavy Honda 3000i generator that we were looking at. Now we have 4000 watts available, lighter weight than the single Honda 3000i and are fully set up if we need it. So start the razzing now, but I thought I'd get that skeleton out of my closet for all to know. Salt River and Our Friends We pulled in just as Darrel was setting up his camp. I guess he had left the campground because he had family in town in the Phoenix area. When we sent him an email letting him know we would be back for a final Happy Hour, he said "I wouldn't miss it." So here we are all back together again. We walked over to Gene's camp and I was amazed at the picnic table filled with bowls he had turned while we've been gone. I'm not lying when I say that in a few days of tutorial from Darrel, Gene is turning bowls that most wood turners would take years to master. He has some pieces that would fetch hundreds in any gallery in the world, and the most amazing part is he has only been working this craft for a month. Even Darrel, who is a Master Woodturner and turns out some of the best work I've ever seen and could teach in any woodworking school was impressed with Gene's newest work. The best part about it all was the big smile on Gene's face. He had went from a man looking for something to a happy guy that was proud to show off his new hobby. We all met at Darrel's for Happy Hour at 4 o'clock and sat watching our favorite sun set spot on our adventure. The weather has warmed up so much, that rather than scurry into the camper as soon as the sun set, we were able to sit out till almost 9pm all enjoying the weather with just a light jacket on. It was good to be back amongst friends. Monday February 11th 2008 Today was a cleaning day. Or I should say organizing day. Everything we've read has warned about bringing any type of firearm into Mexico. They say that if you're even caught with a bullet, you'll get in trouble. So we spent the day going through the Sunline and the truck with a fine tooth comb to make sure there wasn't anything we would overlook. We made two piles. One was things that would go back into the rig and one pile was items that would get put into a storage locker we are going to get in this area. After our cleaning secession was finished, we headed into town for some supplies before we needed to be back for Happy Hour. I'm trying to find an RV shop that can install some window awnings to help hold the heat down inside the camper. Everyone says they can do it, but they also say that the awnings will take 7 to 10 days to order? In a day in age where I can get anything overnighted for the right price, I don't see why I cant get these shipped in 2 or 3 days?
Sitting under the canopy beside Darrel's RV sipping on a Makers Mark and water, we watched one of the best sun sets we have seen to date. The Superstition Mountains were glowing with a nice mix of pink, gold and yellow clouds over top of them. I'm pissed I didn't get a picture of it, but I was having too much fun with our friends to ruin it with getting the camera gear all unpacked, so I just recorded this one with the brain. Darrel treated us to an awesome dinner at his place, and presented Cindy with a new bowl he had turned today. This beautiful piece of Russian Olive is just amazing. I'm always at a loss of words when it comes to describing how truly awesome these guys can make a little chunk of wood turn into such a beautiful piece of art. The rest of the night was spent just enjoying each others company. I love to surround myself with like minded people, especially ones that have such a positive outlook on life. At the end of the day, you just feel better when you've sat sharing great conversation and it was all positive. No one to bring the mood down, and nothing negative spoken amongst the bunch. Good conversation, Good friends and Good food! What more could you ask for? Tuesday February 12th 2008 Some days Cindy and I just don't get along. I know in her blog the other day she said that we had driven for a few hours not talking because "She didn't like me today", but that's just a normal affair that happens weekly between us. Any couple that spends as much time together as we do, is bound to have their weekly quarrels.
So we did a whole lot of running around in silence just listening to our various NPR stations we like to listen to together. I'm guessing it's because we're both a bit stressed out with the upcoming journey into Mexico. We both are a bit nervous, and this is just not like us. Normally we just head into any situation with our smiles on and ready to take on what ever the road might bring us. Being in a different country will be a bit different, especially when neither of us speak the language. On top of that we have been getting dozens of emails from people worried about our well-being. That only amplifies our worries, but everyone we talk to that has actually been South of the Border recently, says "there is nothing to worry about." So our stress level is a bit heightened and that is something we haven't had to deal with in the past year on the road.
I found a tire shop
where we are going to get a new set of tires on the truck. Ours
are pretty beat up and that might be another concern that is stressing
us out. Why is it no big deal to drop a few hundred dollars on a
night out partying, but dropping a thousand dollars on something that
gets us around every day of
We chose the Goodyear Wranglers with Silent Armor which has a layer of Kevlar around the tire to absorb road noise and abrasion. Hopefully, this will help the next time we are 4-Wheeling and rubbing against the rocks. The only other tire that we were thinking about was the Michelin MTX. We've had these tires in the past on a different truck, and I'll admit they are very nice tires. That was our old Bronco with a set of Michelin's on it. The Goodyear's were a few bucks cheaper ($20 per tire) and offered a longer warranty, so we thought we'd try them out this time. After all our errands, which we didn't really accomplish anything we set out to do, we made it back to Salt River a little tardy for Happy Hour. Darrel and Gene had gotten started without us, but we caught up real quick. The sunset was just a typical beautiful setting of the mountains going through their change of colors, but the conversation was extra special tonight. It just amazes me what I learn each night from these knowledgeable fellows. Wednesday February 13th 2008 Not wanting to waste any time, I was waiting at Discount Tire when they opened this morning. When we visited this place yesterday to get a quote, there was at least 10 people in line. The guys at Discount Tire were great and I was in and out in about 45 minutes with a new set of tires. We saved one of our original tires, the best of the 4, figuring if we get more than one flat while in Mexico, we'll have an extra. If we don't use it, then we'll just dispose of it when we return, but we might as well be safe. From the tire shop, I stopped by a car wash place that hand washed the vehicles. Every time we wash the truck at a quarter car wash, we probably spend a minimum of $10 and neither of us are happy with the results. I found a place that hand washed the vehicles and would do it with the kayaks on the roof! That was a big help as taking them down just to wash the truck is quite the chore. It only cost $25 for them to power wash the truck, vacuum the inside, clean all the windows inside and out and hand dry the outside. Not bad when you think of how much money and time it saved me! I know that the last time we stayed out at the Salt River campground we mentioned how dirty the sides of the road were. I'm not sure if the Forest Service read our blogs, or just took notice themselves, but the sides of the roadways are cleared of all debris and the desert drive looks beautiful.
While I was driving
home, I noticed a truck driving down the shoulder picking up
When I got home, Cindy was laying out in the sun enjoying this beautiful weather we were having. I took a mental note of her lying in the sun before putting a good coat of wax on the truck for the next few hours. That took me the rest of the day or at least till Happy Hour started. Tonight we sat around listening to Mike, another camper in Pebble Beach. Mike has a wealth of stories to keep us entertained and we all enjoyed sitting around listening to his work as a BLM Ranger in both Arizona and Alaska. Mike even brought over some pictures of his career out in the wild where each picture had a great story behind it. It was awesome listening to his stories and the photos only added to the details. Once the sun set and the temperature brought us in too Darrel's Allegro Motorhome, the big leather couches and the warm air made my eyelids very heavy. I was having trouble staying awake, not due to lack of quality conversation, just the comfortable surrounds. Thursday February 14th 2008 YHappy Valentines DayY I asked Cindy if she wanted to go out for dinner tonight since it was Valentines Day and I thought it would be nice to treat her to something different. Luckily for me, Cindy is almost a guy when it comes to the sappy things like this, and she said "Everyday of my life is a dream come true, so you don't have to take me out and waste money on me at a fancy restaurant just to show me how much you love me!" This was the valentines card I got for Cindy...I thought I'd share my since of humor with you all!
Y Oh how I love this woman! Y Mike had told us about an archeological site that was within a close hike from the campground and had asked if we would be interested in visiting it with him. So we met up after breakfast and headed into the backcountry to find some artifacts. Within an hour we had spotted dozens of sites where painted pottery was scattered over the ground, and once we knew what we looking for, it was hard to walk without stepping on some of the many pieces of history. At one point in time, this area must have been a very big village. Looking around, you knew what must have drawn these native people to this area. The surrounding mountain sides were picturesque and the river could be heard just a short ways away running over the rocks. Mike was filled with knowledge about the desert plants and surrounding rocks we kept asking him about. It was a great little day hike, and to think we had been camped so close all this time. Sunday February 17th 2008 The last few days have been a whole lot of fun just hanging with the boys. We've sat and tried to solve life's questions, but have all come to the conclusion that "All Women are Crazy" Just Kidding, but that's what I've come to the conclusion of. Gene, Cindy and I went and checked out the Red Mountain Gun Club yesterday, and all agreed that the trap shooting is something we need to try before we leave this area. Darrel has made Cindy a few more bowls and I keep joking with him that "The way he is spoiling her, it's going to be hard for me to break this habit." Being that today is Sunday and we are planning on leaving in the next few days for the Baja Peninsula, we decided to have a little get together with all our good friends. Don and Denise even came up from Phoenix to say their goodbyes. Cindy went overboard and cooked a big Mexican smorgasbord while Don and Denise supplied the Pacifico Beer. Don had sent me an email suggesting since we were leaving for Mexico, we should get one last lunch together before we leave for Baja and a Mexican theme might be in order.
Cindy showed off her Salt & Pepper Grinder that Gene had made for her and we spent the day mixing good conversation with good fun. The weather held out perfectly and graced us with bright blue skies for the entire day. The food was fantastic, the company was even better and the day was just one of those days that you wait for all winter long! I love days like this and sharing it with good friends is more than a simpleton like me can ask for. Monday February 18th 2008 After yesterdays lunch, Darrel was packing up camp and getting ready to shove off first thing this morning. Cindy and I got up early to say one final 'Goodbye' before he took off. Before he left, we grabbed Gene and snapped a picture of the four of us since we realized yesterday that all this time, we've never taken a shot with all of us together.
Kevin had told us about an eagles next along the river banks of the Salt River and had asked if we wanted to go check it out with him. So we headed down the road to see if we could spot a bald eagle. After scoping out the nest for awhile with our cameras and binoculars, we gave up since all we were doing was staring at an empty nest. From there we headed into town. I had found a 35 gallon water tank at t | ||
Pulling into Las Vegas just as the sun was setting a few days ago, we
found
I
told Cindy that for every time we hang out with Derrick and Tish, we
should get our names moved up the Liver Transplant list by 20 spots.
If we can make it a few more years with these two party animals, then we
should be eligible for a free transplant courtesy of the Coors Brewing
Company.
They needed to leave to go get ready for an awards banquet they had to
go to, so Cindy and I made plans for tomorrow and walked down the strip.
We grabbed a bite to eat at Bill's Casino and once the food hit my
stomach, I was ready for a nap. 
Derrick started calling asking where we were and we knew it was time to
suit up in our drinking outfits. With plenty of Milk Thistle in my
stomach to boost the liver cells I had ruined last night, we got back on
the trolley for another fun filled night. 
I
cringed every time I ordered another round. I kept joking with
Derrick that for every 4 beers we bought ($28) we could buy a 30 pack at
the store and still have enough for a bag of chips and dip. Then there
is this thing that we have about us where
people just want to come up and talk to us? I don't know what it
is, but it happens all the time?
It
was 5 0'clock before Cindy got out of bed today...LOL I wasn't in
any better shape, but I couldn't lay in bed for that long. There
are a few different Forums I've found that are specific to traveling in
Baja. 
had the stamina to go at it another night. 
So
Cindy made me breakfast and I went back to bed. I couldn't believe
that I slept most of the day away. But when I finally got up in
time to watch the big game, really just the commercials, I felt 100%
better. I'm thinking I just needed some good sleep to rebuild my
worn down system. 
We
found out the hard way that you should never leave the windows cracked
while camping in the desert. The winds were gusting up to 50 MPH
yesterday and we had left one of the windows cracked about 1/4 of an
inch. We almost always do this so the truck doesn't get warm
inside and we even have those window visors so no rain will get in.
through
the Spanish Flashcards we bought at the book store yesterday trying to
get some key words down that we might need in Baja.
time,
but ol’ Lucy, she was a few hundred feet behind us at all times at her
usual slow turtle pace. 
HWY 93
coming out of Kingman is one heck of a road. I cant remember the last
time I’ve driven a stretch of road this smooth. Crossing bridges, the
transitions were so smooth that I had Cindy close her eyes and she
couldn’t even tell that we had crossed. 
When
we were looking for a generator last month, I found one on Craig's List,
and one on Ebay. They both were right around the same price, so I
bid on the one on Ebay, and sent an email to the owner from Craig's
List. 
When
we returned for our evening quorum of Makers Mark and good friends,
Darrel made a good suggestion that we should order the window awnings
from an RV Shop that we'll pass along our way. That way they'll be
there when we show up. He said that Yuma is known for RV Shops and
installation centers, so my goal for tomorrow is to find one and try to
order them. 
Well today was one of
those days. No matter what I did, she went off on me, and anything
she said to me seemed like one of those comments that was trying to
start a fight which I was ready to add too at the drop of a hat.
the year for the entire year feels like a
bite out of the wallet? That's one of those things I've never
understood, but it still stresses me out for some reason?
any
trash that was currently on the side of the road. Way to go
Arizona for keeping the roads clean!
We're not one to turn
down a beer drinking get together, so we invited all the fellow campers
at the Pebble Beach campground, and had one hell of an afternoon.
Mike brought over some razor clams he had fished from the Kanai Peninsula of
Alaska when he used to live up there, and Darrel supplied all the
beautifully crafted turned bowls. 
Cindy got a few more
hugs in and we all made plans hoping to see each other later this summer
in South Dakota.