Guess The Temperature

The title of today’s blog is courtesy of Kevin.  He took this picture last night.  I admit it, I get cold easily.  I especially don’t like any cool breezes on my ears.  So, the thermometer said it was 68 degrees and the hood was up.  Honestly, the air feels cooler as soon as the sun goes down.  It has something to do with the lack of humidity. Kevin thought our boys back in the cold Midwest would get a kick out of this picture.

We’ve been pretty much hanging out at the RV park relaxing and participating in some of the park activities.  We’ve played shuffleboard a few times.

 

We’ve been swimming and bike riding.  On Thursday the guys played golf.  On Friday night we went out for a fish fry.  This time the food was very good. 

On our way to dinner we stopped at a few RV dealers.  We looked at Heartland, Carriage and Montana 5th wheels.  We saw some great features, but nothing that would make us want to give up ours.  Joan saw a Big Horn she liked.  I think she REALLY liked it.  We’ll see what happens!

Today our friends, John and Carol are leaving Yuma so we had a little cocktail party yesterday afternoon to say goodbye.   From left to right are Joan, Kevin, Al, Carol and John.  We’ll see John and Carol again in Wisconsin in April.

Joan has a hiking booklet someone in the park lent her.  Yesterday we decided to try one of the suggested hikes.  It was supposed to go to an old mine in the desert back in these mountains.

It was not a marked trail.  We parked at the designated spot and followed an off-road vehicle road.  The directions weren’t the best, and we ended up following a wash, scrambling over rocks and boulders.  Eventually, we got to an area where we thought we saw the roof of the mine.  There wasn’t a safe way to get down so we went back.  I took some pictures of what we thought was the mine.  After zooming in on the computer, I think we were just looking at rocks.  We never found the mine.

But, that’s okay.  We hiked for 1.5 hours and got a good workout on another fantastic day.

We made our way back to the car following the ATV trails.  I’m beginning to appreciate the desert beauty more and more even though there is no green grass.  I think the gorgeous weather has a lot to do with it :)

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Cash Out

Yesterday we went to the Paradise Casino in Winterhaven.  According to their website, the lunch buffet was buy one get one free on Wednesdays.  Also, new Player’s Club members received $10 in free slot play.

It turns out they discontinued the buffet offer over a month ago.  It would be nice if they updated their website with that info.  When we asked about it, the cashier couldn’t have been more unfriendly.  She very obviously couldn’t care less about customer service.  The poor customer service was evident throughout the casino. 

Oh well, you did get a $2 discount on the buffet with your Player’s Club membership and we were hungry.  The buffet was very mediocre at best.  Not a lot of choices, and very little flavor!  I managed to eat enough to be full, but I wouldn’t eat there again.

Next, we hit the slot machines.  We found a smoke free room with about 30 machines in it.  That was nice as the rest of the casino smelled like an ash tray.

When we were in Vegas, we figured out that with free slot play, you can’t cash out any of the “free” money on your card.  However, if you win anything, you can cash out your winnings and continue to play with the “free” money until it’s gone. 

So, my strategy was to cash out as soon as I was up a few dollars.  I ended up cashing out 10 times before my free money was gone and ended with total winnings of $18.50.  I almost never gamble; and the few times I have tried it, I usually don’t win.  So, it may not sound like a lot of money, but I was excited about it.  Kevin won a little, too.  We were up $27 total.  On the way home, Kevin decided my new nickname should be cash out.

That means our $13 lunch was covered with a little left over.  Every Monday during the day the casino has a 50+ special.  Anyone over 50 gets $10 free slot play.  Since the Territorial Prison Historical Site is nearby, we may go there on Monday and stop in at the casino to see if we can win a little more.

On the way home, we stopped at LaMesa RV and looked at Carriage and Heartland 5th wheels.  We’re just looking, but our friends Joan and Al are in the market for a new one.  They found a Big Horn they really liked.  We’ll see what happens :)

Back at the park we spent about an hour in the pool and hot tub and watched some TV before bed.  I know, it’s a rough life we’re leading.

I forgot to take pictures yesterday, so nothing interesting to see today. 

I’d like to welcome new readers Susan, Trailcamper, Judy and John, and Laura from Wisconsin.  I’m so glad you’ve joined our journey.

The key to success is having dreams. The mark of success is living them. ~ Unknown

Quartzite

We made the 65 mile trek to Quartzite today with Joan and Al.  None of us had been there before, and we were excited to see it.  After all, we’ve heard it’s the Mecca for RVers.

Well, I must admit, we were rather disappointed.  It’s just a giant flea market.  One of those things to see once, but we won’t be going back.

There was one very large tent with lots of RV vendors.  The problem was, it was so overcrowded in there, you couldn’t really get close to anything you might want to look at.   We squeezed our way up and down the aisles, but didn’t really get to look at much.

We did find these “Hot Socks” which you put in the microwave and they keep your feet warm for hours.  I tried them, and they work great.  Only thing is there is a funky odor, so I hope that goes away.

Once outside, there were many more vendors, aisles and aisles of them just like this.

We found a good deal on an outdoor RV mat.  It was about half the price as Camping World.  A good percentage of the booths were magnetic bracelets, balance bracelets, herbal remedies, arch supports, therapeutic crystals and all kinds of other items that are supposed to make you healthier or younger.  Go figure :)

We met some friends of Joan and Al’s at Grubstake for a late lunch.  The place was very crowded and understaffed.  I had the fried clam strip special and Kevin had a 1/2 lb. burger.  It was okay, but nothing special.  You certainly did get a lot to eat.  I only ate half and was still stuffed. 

After we got back, Kevin and I went for a swim and hot tub soak.  It felt good to get some exercise. 

So, all and all Quartzite was a bit of a disappointment.  It was very interesting to see all the boondockers, though.  It went on for miles and miles. 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

They Did It!

The Packers are going to the Super Bowl!  We’re very excited.  I did look up how far it is from Yuma to Dallas.  It’s over 1,000 miles.  That’s as far as it is from Wisconsin.  I also checked out ticket prices on Stubhub.  The lowest were over $2,000 and the most expensive yesterday was over $589,000 for a 30 person suite.  Anyone out there want to buy it?  We’ll come!

So, I guess we’ll just stay here and enjoy the game.  There are quite a few Packer fans in the park.  We’re ordering shirts on line so we’ll be all set on game day.

I promised a picture of our site.  As you can see, we’re on a bit of an angle because the site isn’t quite deep enough.  Good thing we paid for a premium site to make sure it would be plenty big enough.  We supposedly have room to park two vehicles (we only have one).  There is supposed to be enough room to park on both sides of our unit.  It’s awful tight on the front side.  I wouldn’t want to try parking in there.  At least it gives us some extra seating room outside.

We do actually like this park.  It’s very quiet, and there are lots of activities.  We played shuffleboard again this morning and are going to try playing Euchre tonight.  We just learned how to play so it should be quite interesting.  

I was wondering if anyone would notice anything unusual about the picture I posted yesterday.  Did you see Kevin’s name on the scoreboard.  It was one of those pictures you could order as a gift and have someone’s name put in there.  He got it quite a few years ago.

Another beautiful day with temperatures in the 70s and sunny.  I hear Milwaukee is above freezing now.  Hang in there.

Tomorrow we’re going to Quartzite for the day.  We’ve never been there.  I can’t wait to see what it’s all about.

The key to success is having dreams. The mark of success is living them. ~ Unknown

Go Pack Go

That’s all I have to say for now!

Meeting More Blog Friends

I’ve been following the travel journal of Jo and Fred Wishnie for a few years.  I discovered their blog while I was researching and planning our fulltime RV dream.  They are also from Wisconsin.

When I realized that they we would all be in Yuma at the same time, I sent Jo an email and we made plans to meet.  Yesterday they came and visited us at our resort.  We had a very nice visit, and I enjoyed playing with their dog, Boo Boo.  We no longer have a dog, so it’s nice to get my dog fix once in a while :)

As you can see, Kevin did not want to have his picture taken.  I told him it goes in the blog no matter what kind of face he is making.  Thanks, Jo and Fred, for coming for a visit.  It’s so nice to finally meet you!  I’m sure we’ll see you again some time.

Today we went to the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge.  There are big horn sheep and wild burros at the refuge.  You guessed it; we didn’t see any!  We did take a hike on the Painted Desert Trail.  It was another beautiful day, and we had an enjoyable walk.  Here we are with our friends Joan and Al.

 

We didn’t see much wildlife, but we did see a bunch of these little lizards .

And we saw these birds.  I tried to identify what they are online, but I couldn’t find it.  Maybe Judy can help me.

This hike in the desert reminded us of Death Valley.

On the way out, we saw this blimp in the sky.  It’s used by the border patrol to catch drug smuggling planes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at the Yuma Proving Grounds which is a 1,300 square mile area owned by the military.  They do testing of all kinds of military items and vehicles.  We saw these guys doing some type of parachuting exercises.

 

 

 

We stopped at the visitor center where there were a number of displays.  We waited around to watch the movie, but they never started it :(  There was a pull-off area with a bunch of missiles and tanks on display.

Tonight we had the fish fry dinner at our RV park.  The food was mediocre at best.  We might as well have gotten a TV dinner and cooked it ourselves.  There was a guy who sang and played guitar during dinner.  He was pretty good.  After dinner they had the weekly jam session in the park.  All kinds of musicians staying here get together and take turns playing and singing.  There were a few talented people in the group, and some who just enjoyed themselves.

As I mentioned before, there a a lot of Canadians in this park.  We were quite surprised that almost all of them sang country songs.  We would have liked to hear some oldies.  We also enjoyed watching the dancers.  I’m honestly not trying to be critical because it takes a lot of nerve to get up there in front of people, and we don’t do it.  But, I must admit we did have to chuckle a few times.

So, our first week here at the park has come to an end, and we are having a great time!

There were some questions asked regarding our dune buggy trip in the desert.  Yes, it was noisy, but the engine was behind us so I didn’t think it was that big a deal.  We did go with friends, but we rented the vehicles along with the guide.  It was $199 per couple.  It was a lot of fun, and definitely a memorable experience.

The key to success is having dreams. The mark of success is living them. ~ Unknown

Adventure in the Desert

Today we went on an adventure in the desert.  These vehicles are called sand vipers, but they look like dune buggies to me.  Each one seats 2 people.  Kevin was the driver.  We went with our friends Joan and Al and there was another vehicle with two guys from Montreal.  Our guide’s name was Art, and he did a fine job of showing us the ropes.

 

We drove through the desert, some washes and some canyons near the Picacho Mountains.  We were actually riding in California.  There was an area out in the desert where people write their names using rocks.  It went on for miles and miles.  Art told us people have been doing this for 5 generations.

Those are the Picacho Mountains in the distance.

Here’s our group having lunch.  The price for the 3-1/2 hour trip which included sub sandwiches for lunch and waters was $199 per couple.   We had a great time, and would definitely say it was worth doing.

It was quite narrow in some of the canyons.  That’s Al and Joan in front of us.

I’m guessing our boys will be surprised to see that I went on this little adventure.  And, they’ll be even more surprised to see this evidence that I drove the vehicle by myself.  I even managed to kick up some dust.  Speaking of dust, we sure did get dirty.  I think this may be the dirtiest I’ve ever been in my entire life.  Thank goodness they gave us goggles.  There sure was a lot of dust!  We jumped in the pool as soon as we got back :)

This morning we played shuffleboard here at the park.  We must have done alright because they invited us to play again tomorrow.  There’s a huge cactus growing here in the park.  The full moon is peaking out behind it.

 

 

 

 

Here are two more full moon shots.  It sure is beautiful!

It was another gorgeous day today with a high of about 80 degrees.  What can I say, we’re in paradise :)

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!