The West Coast...not quite

Our next adventure is to follow the west coast. Of Arizona that is. They call the Colorado River bordering AZ the west coast. We stayed 2 extra days at Boulder Beach after the Wins left. Went to dinner with Carl & Maryann again, serviced the motorhome at a Freightliner service center on the northside of Las Vegas. They had a laundry room so to kill time we caught up on almost 4 weeks of laundry.

Tuesday 10/27 found us leaving NV. We headed to Laughlin and the Riverside Casino planning to spend the night there with a few other Win's but it was noisy and bright. After a late lunch we headed down the road and overnighted at Golden Shore's community center. We had horrific winds all day and Bob put up our wind generator.

Our next move was 28 miles to Lake Havasu City. We are in a gravel parking lot next to an RV park. The land is owned by them so we only pay $6 a night instead of $32. The Win's are gathering here for Halloween.

While here I went to Curves, Bob worked on the rig and we both went geocacheing. Friday night we went to the Saloon for dinner and dancing. There were over 20 of us. On Saturday night we gathered at the clubhouse for the Halloween Party. Everyone came dressed up. Bob and I went as twin ghosts. OH OH, We forgot we are not suppose to dress alike at a WIN function. But it was the cheapest costumes we could find at the thrift store.
And the winners were......

Boulder Beach Win's Gathering

Oct. 11 We arrived at Boulder Beach to get ready to host the Win's gathering which started on Friday the 16th. We met Carl & Mary Ann for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant the first night. Several trips were made into Las Vegas. On one we purchased a canoe at Bass Pro. Bob figured a way to mount it on top of the trailer. I help but it is easy with rope and a roller.

Several rigs arrived early and then the onslaught occurred on Friday. Our first event was 4pm circle.
There were 61 people here. We made a calender of things to do while here. Visited with lots of people we haven't seen in a while. Bob lead the group and I assisted.

The first day a group went into LV to the thrift stores to get costumes for the murder mystery play. In the evening we went to the Elk's lodge for a pig roast and dancing.

The second day we had kayak training. There were 23 plus us in our new canoe. Each person rolled over then tried to get back in both with help and alone. We decided to roll our canoe
and it filled with water completely.
We were touching bottom so we walked it to shore and tipped it over to empty. We felt really cool getting wet since it was near 90 degrees.

23 of us did an overnight trip on the Colorado River below Hoover Dam thru the Black Canyon.




Our beach front campsite with the colorful kayaks.
A short hike lead us to this ladder with a hot springs up top.

We had an outfitter transport our boats, gear and us to the put in point and picked us up the next afternoon to return us to the campground and a delicious hobo stew prepared by several of the group.

We also hiked
or biked to Hoover Dam via the old railroad bed that was used in the construction of the dam.

The play was great and the cast sure can come up with great costumes at the thrift store. Check out Barbara's blog for them.

We went to Fremont Street on our last Friday. The "Experience" is awesome along with various free shows. A delicious Prime Rib started the evening. A coupon for 2 for 1 helped the budget.

Along the way to Lake Mead

We left Bullfrog on Wednesday driving thru these pretty colored rocks. We picked up our mail at Torrey, UT near Capitol Reef. Along the way we came upon this shepard with his flock. We continued on to just north of Panguitsh and found a turn out with this stream running by. It was close to the highway but the traffic noise ended during the night and we got a good nights sleep

Left early Thursday morning and stopped at Jacob Lake, AZ 40 miles above the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We toured the sights at the canyon

and headed back to the Nat. Forest CG. We decided since there was snow on the ground we would leave and go back to lower altitudes. As we were hurrying along Bob got stopped by the highway patrol and was ticketed. We left the cg and headed west. Just kept going until we reached Hurricane, UT and found a new Walmart. We pulled in and parked right in front of Paul from Reno and friend who had been on our houseboat. Bob had a nice visit with him finding out all about the repairs to his MH and car. Both of which were unmovable while we were at Bullfrog. Bob had managed to get the MH started and Paul took it to Page for repairs. He is getting the car repaired here.

Friday morning we decided to stay in the area but not at the Walmart. We moved 17 miles to the Elk's Lodge in St. George. We have a beautiful view of red rocks surrounding a golf course.
We took a drive to Snow Canyon State Park.
Watched some rock climbers. Lots of pretty views.
We did a short hike also to Jenny's Canyon. It was a slot canyon. There was also an overlook there. We ran errands around town and when we got back 4 other Win's were here having a social hour. We went inside to have dinner as we had skipped lunch.

We headed out toward Boulder City, NV and drove thru Virgin River Gorge.
Pretty scenery. We entered into Lake Mead National Recreation Area and came across this herd of big horn sheep.
At Echo Bay we tried to get into the campground where the WIN gathering is but as usual we are too long. Went down to the lodge and we were allowed to park in their huge parking lot "free". Got the car out and went back to the group that was there. Bob was surrounded by women but he handles it so well.

We then moved to our favorite campground at Boulder Beach near Boulder City, NV. Called Carl & Maryann and they met us for dinner at Toto's. They were neighbors of Donna's at Chittenango, NY in the 60's. Always visit with them. We will be here for two weeks and starting Friday we will be hosts for the WIN's gathering.

Lake Powell Houseboat Trip

9/30 At the Marina we checked onto the boat (from hell) at 8 am. The men had their lesson on driving the houseboat and speedboat. A couple of women did the inventory and then we tried to find places to put all the stuff we brought on board. As we were doing that we were discovering all the things wrong with the boat and asking them to fix them. We had all day to do it as the wind had kicked up and no boats were allowed to leave. Several went back to their rigs to spend the night in their own beds but Bob & I and a couple of others stayed aboard.

10/1 With all back on board we were allowed to leave. One of the Bob's (we had 3) couldn't find his car and it had been towed several hours up the road. To say he was upset is a bit of an understatement. We went about 20 miles down lake to the Rincon area.
Had lunch while cruising. All 3 boats beached.
Bob setting one of the 4 anchors. The speedboats launched for some exploring of Iceberg Canyon. Only 6 can go at a time so there were two trips for each boat. Bob and I fixed a Mexican dinner that had so much left over it wasn't gone for the whole week.

10/2 Two houseboats left this morning. One had to wait for repairs. We went a couple of more hours down lake and tucked in at Cottonwood Canyon. A nice secluded cove. We launched the speedboats and went to see the Hole in the Rock. This is part of the Mormon Trail and they lowered their wagons at the "V" down to the river. They had a long drop and a great deal of it is underwater. One of the gals had been here 30 years ago and there was a beach.

At Davis Canyon we saw these two arches.


Hiking and campfires were the highlight along with relaxing. In the evening some played cards. We were here on the full moon.

10/3 We took our houseboat and towed 2 speedboats down to the mouth of Rainbow Bridge Canyon. While Randy hovered in the bay 2 of the speedboats went to Dangling Rope Marina for fuel and to get the one speedboat repaired so it would except gas. Clogged vent. When they got back and had a bite of lunch we loaded up the speedboats and went to see the bridge. There was a 2/3 mile hike to get to it. We could see it most of the hike. The ranger told us about it and then allowed us to walk under it. Back on the houseboat we headed back to the cove. Along the way one engine quit. A call was placed to the marina requesting yet another maintenance man.

10/4 The winds kicked up again and we had to wait for the repairs so it was another day of not doing anything but getting on each other's nerves. We ate, played games and slept. Repair man came and fixed the engine.

10/5 The winds died and we headed back up lake. Plans were for Moki Canyon. When we got opposite Bullfrog Marina we put in the speedboat to take a couple back to shore whose cat got stuck behind the refrigerator. Then the speedboat wouldn't work. The bilge was full of oil. Radioed in that we needed a replacement boat. By this time I was near billistic. I called and talked to a supervisor at Aarmark at their central reservations. I was so upset I went to shore along with Bob and spent the night in our own motorhome. The cat was rescued and they left in the speedboat and joined the group at Moki Canyon for the night.

10/6 The boats were returned to the marina a little after noon. Those on board had everything packed up and we loaded the cars and went back to the campground.

10/7 Bob, Randy and I saw the supervisor to see what could be done about the experience and she agreed to refund us $1200 so each person will receive $100 back. We also found out that Bob had to pay $540 to retrieve his car that had been towed.

Cortez to Bullfrog

9/25 We arrived at Cortez Elk's lodge in time for dinner. While we were in Cortez we had time to catch up on mundane things like laundry and more work on the electrical system. Before leaving on Sunday we did a major shopping trip to Walmart for the perishable stuff for the houseboat trip. Got 24# of sliced cold cuts and cheeses for our deli lunches. We left Cortez at 2:30 and arrived at Bullfrog at 7:15. Bob was flying. Did stop for fuel. Kicked ourselves for not purchasing it in Cortez at $2.71. Paid $2.80 at Blanding. Oh well, what's $5 more. The drive thru all the red rock and different formations was wonderful. Sorry about the bugs on the windshield.





Monday we visited with some old friends. Some people didn't even recognize me. Down at the marina we asked questions and later on toured one of boats that we will be assigned to on Wednesday. There was social hour at our place as we had the most shade. We had a brief meeting for our houseboat group and then split for a quick bite to eat. At 7 everyone came back and there was a surprise birthday cake and ice cream for Wanda.


Tuesday I went to the Marina and paid for the speedboat and insurance. After getting back I unload our bays with all the stuff we have bought for the trip. We then started to pack "our" stuff. Bob volunteered us to cook the first day so that means we also have to put out the lunch fixings. Going to be a busy few days then maybe we can relax.

South Fork Break

On our way to Cortez we stopped at South Fork, parked at the visitor center and took a lovely drive to Creede and a loop above Creede.

On the way to Creede.


Creede was a mining town. Silver and Gold.








Heading back to South Fork we came upon a flock of sheep being herded.

Discovery Rally

9/17 We arrived a day early on Thursday at Pueblo, CO. We are so long we wanted to get parked before it got jammed. They gave us a great site. We are across from the Texas group and we had met a lot of them when we were at Kerrville a couple of years ago. Of course they had to come out and check out the garage.

Friday was the true arrival date and we did our own thing. Curves, haircut and relaxing. The parking lot we are in is huge and all 100 plus rigs fit on one small side of it. There was a social hour at the rally hall where we had finger foods and socialized.

Saturday we boarded a tour bus early in the morning for a 12 hour day. We headed back up to Colorado Springs where we toured the Air Force Academy and saw the beautiful chapel inside and out.

A stop for lunch at Cracker Barrel was a lot shorter than they had anticipated so we were able to stop briefly at the Olympic Training Center.
Didn't have time to see it all so we will be going back in the future.

On to the Cog Railroad and a beautiful trip.

At the top we were in a cloud.
If you look close at this picture you will see a Llama in the center. Not one of their normal wildlife...this one has been roaming the area for about 3 weeks and they are trying to find the owner.
It was 31 degrees and spritzing snow.

Glad we only had a 1/2 hour there. Three years ago we drove to the top and spent a long time seeing everything.

Sunday was a free day for us. We went to a Greek Festival and watched these dancers. The food didn't seem to be WW material so we left. Went to downtown Pueblo and walked around the new Riverwalk. Not impressed. They should check out San Antonio's.

The party started on Monday. Of course the rain and cold also started. Stayed inside most of the day listening to the raindrops and wind. It cleared a little in the evening and there was a buffet dinner and dancing afterward. We were the first ones on the floor and danced almost every dance. We remembered how after all this time.

After the continental breakfast on Tuesday Bob attended a seminar. Came home saying it wasn't for our type of rving. The development team from Discovery wanted to know what we are looking for in RV's. All except Bob wanted 45 footer's with washer & dryer's. That must be why the honey wagon came on Monday to pump people's holding tanks after only 3 days here. A conversation I overheard was about the W&D and how one could only wash one pair of jeans. Would they believe we went 4 weeks at Heron without needing to dump or take on water until we departed. We went shopping in the afternoon. Needed to buy the none perishables for the houseboat trip. Went to Sam's Club for the large amounts and Walmart for the small amounts. Will get the perishables at a Walmart in Durango. We are purchasing for the whole boat for the deli lunches and paper products. The evening was a pot luck and card bingo so we stayed home.

Wednesday was more of the same boring stuff topped off with a dinner and dancing.

Thursday we left and headed for Cortez. We didn't get to leave until almost 3 pm as Bob was waiting on a UPS package. I did get my flu shot and shopped at the thrift store again. Needed jeans as it's cold out here. Snow was on the mountains where we turned west and it flurried a little at LaVita pass. We parked overnight at a closed K Mart in Alamosa. A few trucks were here and we got free WiFi behind the Motel 8.

Bye Bye New Mexico

We left our wonderful place by the lake and headed to Colorado and civilization. Stopped long enough in Chama to get propane. Our tank holds 30 gal and we put in 31.4. I guess we were empty. Took on a little fuel to get us into Colorado where it's 20 cents cheaper. Over the passes on 17, in the rain to Alamosa, Co. Bob did great driving and the brakes on the trailer are adjust just perfect. We pulled into the Walmart, took out the car and toured the nearby Great Sand Dunes National Monument. We wanted to stay there but the ranger said there wasn't a place big enough for us to park. We did find a place but after we got back to the rig we headed north to Salida. Again we found Walmart and we parked there overnight. There were several others there also and 3 of us were towing utility trailers behind.

The next morning we headed to Colorado Springs. We drove along the Arkansas River thru the beautiful Buffalo Canyon. We arrived at the Elk's Lodge and shortly after we set up Dave and Carol came in. They have been on our NM tour. Out our windshield is Pike's Peak. Had a little snow on it after the afternoon rains. Bob ordered new batteries, I went to Curves and in the evening we played Pegs & Joker's with Carol & Dave.

Bob continued to do work on the motorhome and trailer. His honey-do list is dwindling and while he does that I play, exercise and shop. I went to a needlework shop for some supplies for a new project. The lady who helped me invited me to attend their local EGA meeting on Saturday. So I did. Had a lovely time and went to lunch with them. I was also going to Curves and getting my much needed exercise. Haven't been close to one since we were in Raton last July.

Our batteries arrived on Friday. Got the battery box reconstructed at a welder's nearby on Saturday. Bob installed them and equalized them. Hopefully these will last. Our other ones were 5 years old and had been severely damaged when they were reinstalled by the solar man when we got the new motorhomes solar's applied. 4 of the 8 were never hooked up to the system properly.

A lady stopped by walking her dogs and we chatted with her out the window. She said "you are so cute like that" and wanted us to have a picture of it so handed her the camera is this is what we look like. OK are we cute?

One day out running errands we stopped at the Black Bear Restaurant. I had eaten lunch there with the embroidery gals but this time I ate with the bear.

OK, OK. Its' time I get small clothes after the 43# loss. Waded thru the closet and drawers and removed a bunch. We both have lost weight so it was time to go shopping. We love Thrift Stores and found 2 ARC's here in Co Sprgs. To say I lucked out is an understatement. Summer clothes were $.99 and since we stay mostly warm weather that was what I needed. Got 20 garments for $45. Did I do alright....

Time to head south When you can see snow. Yes, that's Pike's Peak out our windshield. Heading to Pueblo today for the Discovery Rally. Bye

Last days at Heron

It was a relaxing time for me while Bob completely tore apart the trailer and rebuilt his storage the way he wanted it.

Rained every afternoon at circle time. Sometimes we held it in the trailer and other times inside the motorhome.

We were surprised one day by a visit from one of our "groupies" that we didn't even know we had. Bob Moeler stopped by because he recognized our rig from our blog. Told his wife he knew us. Had a nice visit, thanks for stopping Bob.

The hoards descended for the Labor weekend. The campsite next door and across from us were one big family. We counted one trailer, 8 trucks & cars and about the same number of tents. Their kids did not respect our space and were riding their bikes and running thru our patio a lot. To get me less stressed we went to Chama for breakfast with the group for the delicious all you can eat breakfast.
Then went geocashing
and for a drive.

These are the Brazo Cliffs we see in the distance from our lake.
If you click on this picture you can see our lake on the far left.

Our last day was spent getting ready to leave. Laundry, filling the tires, stowing stuff. 4 weeks have flown by. It is the longest we have ever stayed put and it tested our tanks to the max. We used water sparingly for drinking and doing dishes. Took showers at the shower house at the next camping area. The last few days we started shutting off the refrigerator at night to save our propane as we haven't filled it for 2 months.

Still Here at Heron

Is this the lazy man's way of chopping wood?

Then there is the Strawberry's dipped in Nutrella, hmmm chocolate.

And the choosing of a new hat? NAH

On a 5.5 mile hike, first the suspension bridge.


Then the pretty views.
The view from the bridge.
Heron Lake where we are camping.

First site of the river we kayaked on and El Vado Lake.

And the rapid were we played.


Phew we made it.
As for no facilities there is always the Peeonabush.