We're Home

 Happy Easter to all!! 

Driving through the gorge

From Mesquite, we stayed a few days at the Virgin River Recreation area campground which is in the heart of the Virgin River gorge.  The scenery driving through the gorge and from the campground itself, is very beautiful.  The campground is quiet, the scenery is great - makes it easy to want to stay for extended periods of time.  While there, we drove into St. George and had a lovely lunch with JoAn McBride and Jim and Myrna Lawrence at a restaurant on the cliffs overlooking the city.  

Below are some pictures showing our campground and the way the sunshine changes the scenery.

But all good things must come to an end so Wednesday morning we hit the road.  So two and a half days and 1,335 miles (2148 kms) later we were home - and it was good to be here. We got home Friday about noon after a good trip. Other than some wet roads in Utah shortly after a snow shower and just before Swift Current (not just a snow shower) the roads were good all the way home.  And we even had a tail wind part of the way, sometimes no wind, and yes, sometimes that dreaded head or side wind, although that was minimal.  The temperatures at night hovered around or just below the freezing mark but we were cozy and warm.  The only glitch was the blower motor on our heater.  It gave us some warning signs on the way home and just as we pulled into Swift Current for the night it quit.  By this time we were not far from home and with the sun shining and the furnace running, we were very comfortable.

Thanks for following our winter travels.   If you click on "Our Route" on the right hand side of this page, you can see our stops throughout the winter.  Until our next trip, have a great summer!!

A Little Further North!!

We have had a couple of new addresses again as we slowly make our journey home.  While our days at Needle Mountain were very pleasant, it was time to move on. 

 We stopped for a couple of days at Overton, NV on a mesa they call Snowbird Mesa.  Here you overlook the town of Overton and the surrounding valley.  We did a day trip into the Valley of Fire State Park and did a few small hikes as we ventured off to see some of the spectacular rock formations.  The scenery was incredible with the various colourations in the rock although mostly it was the dark red/rust colours.

Beautiful rock formation and colouring

Beehives

Petroglyphs

More rock in the Valley of Fire

A great cabin - might put a bid in for it

A  spaceship!

The town of Overton was celebrating Moapa Valley days which meant community garage sales.  Before we could leave, we had to attend some of them as well as the big one sponsored by the Rotary Club.  It just wouldn't be right to visit a town and show some support so we did purchase some items.

Then it was time to visit Mesquite, NV.  This meant a one night visit to see if Lady Luck was in the area - I guess she hadn't arrived yet so we had supper,  spent the night,  and carried on to Virgin River recreation area.  Here we will spend a few days, watch the weather, and it will be home time.  Thanks for checking in - have a great week!

On the Road Again

After our rally last week, we spent a couple of days in an RV park in Lake Havasu as we spent some time with some general cleaning and getting caught up on some laundry.  After a few days it was time to hit the road as we were planning on meeting Jim and Myrna further north (well, 20 miles further).

Pilot and co-pilot

We met them at Needles Mountain just south of Needles, CA.  The view is absolutely great as you have 360 degree views and most of that is of the colourful, and rugged rocks of the mountains.  It seemed like a lovely, quiet spot - which it was for one night.  Then a group of folks and the ATVs came in for the weekend so tomorrow night again - peace and quiet.

View from the top

We took a road trip along the famous Route 66 over to Oatman, AZ.  It's a beautiful drive about 25 miles to the mining town of Oatman which was a productive mining town in the early 1900's.  Today it is still a productive town but for tourism instead.  The main attraction is the wild burros that freely roam the streets.  Apparently, once the miners no longer had any use for their burros they just let them loose.  There are various food stations for burro food.  The younger burros have signs on their foreheads that say "do not feed me carrots".  Apparently they choke on the carrots --- or they don't sell carrots but pellets instead - we are not sure.
 
The past week has seen both of us catch a cold or something like that.  Gerry is almost over his after a week so he is happy about that.  I'm not sure if I'm almost over it, or in the middle as it seems to come and go.  Hopefully it will go and that will be the end of it.

The weather remains to be pleasant although yesterday was very windy.  I guess that is a sign of spring so it is to be expected.

Enjoy your week and I'll be back next week to say hello!!

On the Trails

This past week we have been in Lake Havasu City taking part in a 4x4 rally. We all gathered Sunday morning and took part in various activities throughout the day ending with a group supper.  Each day we took various trails off into the desert and/or the mountains.  On Tuesday was ladies day so I drove the trail.  All went well for me although one of the participants wasn't quite so lucky.

We came through the rally just as we had hoped - virtually unscathed.  It was amazing at some of the terrain (obstacles) that we were able to get through - much easier than we had anticipated.

 
Thursday was a day of rest so we started our day by going out for breakfast.  In the afternoon we took part in a poker run.  Gerry almost got high hand with three aces but was beat out by a flush - oh so close.

The desert flowers are starting to bloom.  Some of them are brilliant while others are just starting to show off.  The beaver tail cactus is just starting to bloom but they sure do have a lot of buds.  It's amazing how quickly they fill out - on Saturday they were very young buds and by Tuesday they were in full bloom.

 

I have mentioned at the incredible sunsets.  Well, this week was a perfect example so I had to include a couple more pictures. 




I hope you have a good week!!