Lake Havasu, Arizona

On the first leg of our journey, we spent two nights at Lake Havasu State Park. This is a new area to us, and it definitely was a place I would come back to. We were in site 37 at the state park, which I think may have been the best site there. We had a view out the front of the lake, with no sites in front of us, just a beach area. Beautiful views and sunsets. This area is definitely about water activities including boating, fishing and other water sports.

Here's the view sitting under our awning.

And here is the sunset on our first night. Both nights, clouds popped up late afternoon over the hills.

The lake was formed when the Parker Dam was built over the Colorado River in the late 1930s. Lake Havasu City began in the early 1960s when entrepreneur Robert McCulloch purchased 26 square miles and along with C.V. Wood, the master planner of Disneyland, enticed prospective land buyers to the area. There are now over 50,000 residents, and nearly a million tourists each year.

In 1967 the city of London put the London Bridge up for sale. McCulloch purchased it for $2.46 million. Each block was numbered and the entire bridge was disassembled and shipped to Lake Havasu. Total cost was over $5 million. There it was rebuilt on land, and then a channel from the Colorado River was dug under it. A quaint English village tourist area was built next to the bridge.

The gate to the village was purchased from Witley Court in Worcester, England, a palace that was in decline and being sold.

Lake Havasu is a beautiful portion of Arizona, and having a lake in the desert is a great find.

Today we drove to Mesquite, Nevada. Our route took us around Las Vegas. The traffic at midday was a big dicey, but Kevin handled it so well, as he always does. I get so nervous when we are towing in heavy traffic. It's a good thing I'm not the driver.

We are staying one night at Sun Resorts RV Park in Mesquite. It's a small, but very nice park. Sites are very spacious and beautifully maintained. There are not many amenities, other than s small clubhouse and a putting green, but a great place for a short stay.

I maintain a campground review page as part of this blog. You can visit that page by clicking on the link under the header picture at the top. I have reviewed every campground we have stayed at since beginning our full time RV journey in 2010.

Tomorrow we  head to Provo, where we will stay 3 nights while we explore the Salt Lake City area. This is another new area for us to visit.

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

Packing Up

We are leaving Yuma tomorrow morning, heading to Seattle where we will begin our Alaska adventure. Our trek will be at a leisurely pace, with ten nights total to get there. Our first stop will be Lake Havasu State Park. This is a place we've not been to yet. One of their claims to fame is The London Bridge. We will also be spending a few nights in Provo, Utah to explore another new place to us, the Salt Lake City area. We have lots of adventures planned for the next few months, so stay tuned.

Since the resort is practically a ghost town, we have brought the fifth wheel down to our park model, and parked it in the road in front of our place. You are actually allowed to do this for up to three days when loading or unloading. Since our fifth wheel is so large, we would not do it if our neighbors were here. All of those around us have left, so we can take up all the room we need.

We turn off the power and water while we are gone. So, all food has to be moved over. Also, since it gets so hot here in the summer, we are moving most of our clothes as well. It's kind of like moving, without having to move any of the furniture. In two days, we got everything packed, and the park model summerized.

Here are our two homes parked next to each other. They both are actually about the same size. The park model is somewhat bigger because it has the added on Arizona room. We're very happy with both of our homes!

 Brad came over and put the finishing touches on the kitchen cabinets. He added crown molding at the top, and decorative pieces of wood to give them a Southwest look. We also added the knobs. I am so happy with how they turned out. Brad is a master at his craft, and we will never be able to thank him enough for his gift of time and talent on this project. We paid for the materials, and I made a quilt, bed runner and pillows in exchange for his labor. It just doesn't seem enough. He told me he loves doing it, and misses it when he doesn't have a project to work on. That's how I feel about quilting, so I get it. Here is a sample of what they look like finished.

We've been out golfing several times in the last few weeks with Brad and Martha, and friends that are still here at the resort. One morning, the sprinklers came on just as we were getting to the ninth green. Kevin was already on the green, so he dodged them to finish putting. The rest of us were not on yet. We waited until one of the groundskeepers came and turned them off. They use reclaimed water from the treatment plant, and we didn't want to get wet with that water. Too funny!

I'll try to blog more often in the coming weeks. We're very excited about the upcoming adventures. I'm also very much looking forward to seeing the kids again. It will be about 8 months since we saw them, and that's just too long!

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

Inside Remodel Pictures

We are very close to being finished with the inside remodel. There are some trim pieces that still need to be put on the kitchen cabinets. Brad, the cabinet maker, has been on vacation the last two weeks, so the trim should be finished as soon as he returns.

In the entire place, the popcorn ceiling was removed, walls and ceilings were coated with knock down texture and then repainted. Also, all woodwork was painted. The walls were wallpaper before. We have had new windows, patio door, shades and flooring installed throughout.

Here is the living room before and after. The cornices over the windows were removed, opening up the look of the room. We replaced the old ceiling fan with a new white one. The little table is for my sewing machine. We're not sure what we are going to do for furniture in this room, as I plan to use part of it for my sewing space.

The kitchen underwent a drastic change. We had the drop down ceiling removed, and all new cabinets installed. Also, all new appliances including adding a dishwasher and new light fixtures. We got rid of the large kitchen table and put in an RV size small table. Perfect for just the two of us. The pictures don't do justice to the new cabinets. They are beautiful, made with alder wood. I did not stain them, just varnish. Once the trim pieces are done, I'll post some close up pictures of them.

We got solid surface counter tops that look like quartz. I am so happy with how they look. We haven't shopped for counter tops in a long time. I was blown away at how expensive they are, but at least they look great. By getting a smaller table, we were able to extend the counter and make room for the dishwasher. In our nine years of fulltime RVing, a dishwasher was the one thing I missed the most.

In the bathroom, we had the old tub surround replaced with a tiled walk-in shower. Also, a new vanity, sink, faucet, medicine cabinet and light fixture.

In the bedroom, we upgraded from a queen to king size bed. That doesn't leave room for much of anything else. We added a new ceiling fan, and had the cabinets painted.

I found this cute picture frame display at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Fits perfect on the bedroom wall.

The Arizona room, which is the same as a family room, also had a dramatic change. The closet on the back wall was removed, and a large window was installed to open up the beautiful view of the golf course. We also got a new back door, TV and recliners.

By taking out the closet, we added more room, but it is an odd shaped room, 16 feet long, but only 8 feet wide. The couch under the window was here, and it is a sleeper sofa. We're going to keep it there for when our kids come to visit, so it makes the space usable.

So, that's pretty much the extent of what has been going on here at our place in Yuma all winter. I can't tell you how happy we are that it is finally finished. Overall, our park model is only about 600 square feet, but it is now our home, and we love it here.

In previous years, we had to be back in Wisconsin for our campground job by mid-April. Now that we've completely retired, we are able to stay in Arizona longer. I've really enjoyed seeing the different types of cacti bloom. Recently, the saguaro have begun to bloom. Here's one that is on a site in the park. I'm guessing it's about 20 feet tall. Lots of flowers growing at the top.

The weather has not been as hot as I was expecting. We have days in the 90s, even a few 100 degree days. But, at night it is still cooling off to the low 60s. We understand that in the summer months, the night time temperatures stay in the 80s. Only about 70 people stay in the park year round. The RV area has 5 spots occupied. In the winter that area has over 400 spots filled. It looks like a ghost town around here.

We'll be leaving near the end of the month to head to Seattle where we will leave our RV and begin our two week Alaska vacation. We're very much looking forward to that!! Then we'll slowly made our way across Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota to be in Wisconsin by mid August. We're staying for a month, then heading to Nebraska for a few weeks, planning to be back in Yuma in early October.

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

Remodel Almost Done!!

When we hired the contractor to do our remodel in November, he told us we should be finished by the end of January. Here we are near the end of April, and it is still not completely done; but we are VERY close. There were a number of reasons for the delay, but mainly the contractors were just very slow. I believe they took on more work than they should have, and did a little at each place to keep everyone somewhat happy.

It was a challenging winter living in our place while the work was being done. We didn't let that stop us though. We just kept going about our fun schedule, and they came and went as they pleased. Generally, we are very happy with the outcome. There are always a few things you wish you would have done differently, but I am so thrilled to be nearly done.

Here are pictures of the before and after outside. We had the windows replaced, took off shutters, and had everything repainted. I thought the main wall color outside would be a little darker (it is taupe), but it is better than it was.

Here's the back. I plan on painting the shed next year. Our orange tree we planted in January (in the foreground) has grown about a foot. No blossoms though, so we'll have to wait for fruit. We were told it can take up to three years to get fruit from a newly planted citrus tree.

I will post some before and after inside pictures in the next week or two. We still have too much stuff laying around that needs to get put into cabinets once the countertops are installed today.

In other news, we continue to keep busy. Many of the snowbirds leave during March, with the last of them heading out in early April. There are plenty of goodbye parties as more and more people leave. We really enjoy the many activities we participate in during the busy months, but it is a nice change to have things slow down again for a while.

I joined the woodcarving group this year. I really enjoyed the projects we worked on. Two projects are finished, one is not quite done yet. I'll finish that next season. Here's the carving in the round bird I made.

And here's a chip carving dragonfly trivet.

We went out for a seafood buffet dinner at the Quechan Casino in California (we are only 14 miles from the border) with a small group that are still here. The food was very good, and the company was delightful!

Now that the golf groups here at the resort have ended for the season, we were able to get out and play at some of the other courses in Yuma. On Monday we played at Mesa del Sol. Kevin had played there years ago, and I had never played this course. I really liked it, and we had a great time with friends Rick and Cynthia.

Cynthia is so fun and outgoing, she makes everyone smile. She was trying to teach me how to strike a pose. I think I need more lessons.

Yesterday we played with Brad and Martha (Brad is the one who built our kitchen cabinets). We have all been so busy this year, that this was the first time we were able to golf together all season. We played Desert Hills, the city owned course in Yuma. It is a pretty course, but quite a challenge. Too many LONG holes for my liking. I did par one of the par 3 holes. That's all I'm saying about my score!

This is the latest we've ever stayed in Yuma. I'm so enjoying getting to see some of the cactus bloom. I didn't realize there are different color flowers on prickly pear cactus. The yellow one is in front of the bar and grill, and it's huge.  The horse sculpture is amazing!

The house across the street has a bottle brush tree. It's so pretty when all the "brushes" are in bloom. But, quite messy when they all start falling down.

The corporation that owns our resort does a good job of putting money back into the place. This summer they are moving the main office to a new location inside the park. I think this will help greatly with the flow of RVs coming in and having a place to park while they register. 

Any time something new is happening, they have an excuse to party. We attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new offices and a road resurfacing project a few weeks ago. Free hot dogs, chips, beer, wine and lemonade were given out. Here are some of the managers from our resort and the corporate office participating in the ground breaking ceremony.

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

Hole in One

We continue to keep quite busy with all the activities going on in the park.

Last Wednesday Kevin had his first ever hole in one. We were playing in the couples group. On the par 3, fourth hole, he hit a perfect drive that bounced just in front of the green and rolled toward the pin. It was going at a good clip, so I was afraid it was going to roll right past. Suddenly, the ball disappeared. We both saw it, but couldn't quite believe it. The couple we were playing with drove their cart up to see. Sure enough, there it was in the hole. He was quite excited!! So was everyone else at the bar afterwards. We bought several pitchers of beer, and everyone was able to enjoy the celebration!

We have still been playing quite a bit of golf. On Feb. 23rd, we both played in the annual tournament for the park residents. There were 185 participants. Here's my group. It was so cold, we had a 30 minute frost delay. Once the sun got higher in the sky, it warmed up nicely. Good thing we had plenty of layers and some birdie juice to keep us warm.

Each year there are more men than women signed up for the tournament. Several yeas ago, they started choosing men to be special ladies to even out the teams. It has become quite the event. The "ladies" wore golf attire during the day, and changed into their evening finery for dinner. It's all in good fun, and everyone seemed to enjoy the entire day.

The quilting group has also been busy. We made 35 bags for foster children. The kids are able to take the bags to a charity where they can fill them with toiletries and some clothing. Here we are working hard sewing them.

And, here are the finished products!

We found time to go to some quilt shows at some of the other RV parks in Yuma. We enjoyed lunch at one of the shows. So many talented people creating beautiful quilts all over Yuma.

A few weeks ago there was a full moon. We attended the Howl at the Moon party with music, dancing and some howling going on. I managed to catch a picture before the moon disappeared behind the clouds. It was kind of cool that it was rising between the palm trees with the flag between the trees. Too bad that cell tower was in the way. 

This winter has been colder and wetter than normal. We've had quite a bit of rain, which is supposed to make the desert bloom beautiful in spring. You don't often see a rainbow over the desert hills here.

The Sunday before Dick and Wanda left I attended Cowboy Church with them at another RV park. Jack Jackson is a top rate country entertainer who spends his winters in Arizona. Several years ago he began holding his Cowboy Church services. He has developed such a huge following that they now have two services, and they are packed. It was very enjoyable. He is a great entertainer and preacher. The gentleman playing the fiddle was outstanding.

So, you can see we are never bored. In between all the fun, our remodel continues at a slow pace. Our friend Brad, who was a cabinetmaker before he retired, is making the kitchen cabinets. He has finished the bottom ones, and I applied the varnish. They are going in this week. The outside was supposed to be painted this week, but it rained, so another delay. I'm hoping the outside will get done next week. The remodel is mostly finished, but we are waiting until the cabinets are done before the flooring and final touch ups can be done. 

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