A Change of Direction!

Got to love the hat!!

We had been considering to slowly start heading north with stops along the way.  But it is amazing how the weather can change your mind.  The week started off cool (16C) and windy.  While the next days were equally as cool, the wind had lessened although it had a real bite to it.  So glad for the warm clothes that we had brought with us. In spite of the cool weather, we did have some terrific visits.

We had supper with friends who now live in Regina.  What a treat - a great visit, a terrific meal - what more could one want.  The next evening we had a repeat with friends who live in Lake Havasu when they came out to visit s.  There is something special with being able to catch up with friends!

The forecast wasn't very promising so we decided that if we headed south, the temps would likely be a few degrees warmer so that is what we did.  The drive south of Lake Havasu is very scenic.  The golf course along the way winds throughout the mountain - changes from down below to up on hillside ridges - very unique and pretty. On our way we stopped again at Quartzsite to do a little shopping at the mess of jewellery we had seen a week or so earlier as well as a pizza lunch at Silly Al's.

We are back in Yuma parked on a friend's lot.  While it is nice to be tucked in sheltered from the cool north wind but the real bonus is to visit with the owners who are also friends.

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully by next week we will have done more than just hang out and make for a bit more interesting read.  Have a great week!!

We Ended the Weekend with a Bang

We are still at Lake Havasu City relaxing after a busy and fun weekend.  The past week has been spent here as we awaited friends to arrive and join us.

Stay warm girl!!

The weekend started Thursday night with the first night of fireworks of the annual Pyrotechnics Show.  This is where vendors show off their wares and put on a show each evening for four evenings.  Generally the show is from 7:30 to 8:30 but fireworks go off until 10:30 or so.  They say the best show is from the grandstand but with the evenings being rather chilly, we chose to drive up onto one of the hills surrounding the city to sit and watch in the comfort of our vehicles especially if the wind was blowing.  When it was fairly calm,  a great way to watch the spectacular displays was around a campfire making sure the insides were kept warm!!  It is very difficult to get a great photo of fireworks plus the photos really don't do them justice.  I did manage to snag a couple of them and are posting a couple of the better ones.

 

Also during the weekend was a Rockabilly Reunion.   There were a number of ways to be entertained - listen to the music, people watch, or wander around the car and motorcycle displays.  We chose to do all three.  You may ask "what is a Rockablly Reunion".  Well, we asked ourselves the same thing and we still are not sure but we did think it was somewhat like an Arizona Woodstock!

We are looking for a smaller trailer - not sure if this is right or not

Arizona Woodstock?

Fix that banner - no safety equipment required

We wandered along Lake Havasu with friends and planned to check out some of the shops.  Since no one needed any pasties, we just wandered around.

We also got to celebrate a 55th Anniversary with Gene and Janice.  I can only hope that we look that great when our 55th arrives.

The weekend came to an end, everyone went home with plans of returning next year.  We enjoyed great weather over the weekend but today it is cold and windy and miserable although the sun is now shining.  All week, they are predicting of highs of 14C - maybe 18C.  I guess this is payback for the wonderful temps all winter.

I hope you have a great week and until next week............

Time Just Flies By

Sometimes the weeks seem long, and sometimes they just fly by.  This past week was one that just flew by - of course it was only four days since I last posted so it makes for a short week.

We were still at Quartzsite so decided to see what kind of treasures were out there. Sometimes it's not very easy to see what is out there.  First you think "oh, I forgot my gloves" because you are not sure if you want to go digging to see if there is anything of interest.  And second, how far would you have to dig to find anything.  We decided to go through a few of the vendors to see what might be out there.

Here we just walked down the aisles that have been created.  Stuff was just piled upon stuff layered with dirt.

This is the jewellery counter (or tables)  There were quite a number of tables with jewellery (mostly necklaces) all twisted together.  There were some very nice chains, if one was able to untangle the mass!

This fellow had all his toys with him - almost needs a bigger truck!

Then it was time to move on.  Since we are going to Lake Havasu City for some shows, we decided to head north to that direction.  It's a short day as we only  have about 75 miles to go so a nice easy drive.  We had heard (and seen) of an area called The Steps.  The story goes that a developer came in to put in a condo development.  In preparation for this, the mountain was all terraced so each unit would have a view of Lake Havasu.  Supposedly, the correct permits were not obtained so the development was stopped and the land got turned over to the state.  This area seemed to be a great place to park except....the roads to the preferred upper levels were very rocky with some substantial dips from washouts from the rain.  We found a spot, quite unlevel so it was difficult to get level and after spending the night found that it was fairly noisy.  Next morning, on to the next spot much closer to the city plus far quieter.

This weekend is Winterfest in Lake Havasu City.  We have to see what this is about - there were two long blocks of vendors, some entertainment, and, scads of people.  The weather was perfect though - quite a switch from this evening as a cold front is coming through so the winds are blowing.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a return to the terrific weather  we have been enjoying.  I am sure this will be the case - just look at the sunset we had this evening.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope each and every one of you have a great week!!

It's Been a Long Week........

This past week has certainly been a long one - it's been ten days long.  I try to write a weekly blog but this one has been stretched out a bit.

Just needed a little help to get over that edge!

Have to leave this one for the big boys.  Not sure a tow strap would even get us through.

Pack rats build houses from the cholla cactus.  This is usual as they usual build them in shrubs.  They certainly offer them great protection

We are still in Quartzsite and started the week with the end of a gathering of 4-wheelers.  Most attendees pulled out and there were just a few of us left.  Also, friends that we met a number of years ago, drove up from Yuma to spend the week with us.   We took a ride out into the mountains and saw some great scenery, a tough hill climb, and a few rocks that ensured that we had nice and shiny skid plates under the Jeep.

There was also the super blood moon and the lunar eclipse which we wanted to see.  However, we were unsure as to what time this was to happen and there seemed to be some conflicting reports as to the time.  We woke up at 2:20 a.m., looked out, and went back to bed as there seemed to be nothing happening.  Next time was 4:00 a.m. and again, nothing happening.  We then set the alarm for 5:00 a.m., went out, and watched until 6:30 a.m. as we saw the lunar eclipse - quite incredible!

Since there were only ten of us, we decided that a weiner roast would be a great idea.  We picked up some buns and wieners, and suddenly we had salads and dessert and ended the evening with smores - coupled with great fellowship it was the end of a fantastic evening.

Then we got a phone call that my brother-in-law passed away very suddenly.  By spending part of a day on the phone, arrangements were quickly made to fly back home.  In order to get some decent times, we chose to fly out of Las Vegas which was 220 miles away.  We started early to ensure we had plenty of time - then I realized that we really had plenty of time as we were driving into a different time zone - an hour behind.  Then we went to the wrong terminal but fortunately there is a high speed transit to pop you from terminal to terminal.  The plane was a bit late coming in so that would mean that we were going to be a bit late leaving.  Well, it turned to be a little more than a bit - the tire was low so they had to wait for maintenance to get some air into it.  Fortunately our connecting flight in Calgary was also late which meant we were able to clear customs and go the length of the terminal to make our flight.  When we arrived in Regina, they had to find a power cord to bring the bridge to the plane.  Quite a trip and only an hour and a half late!!  

The funeral was three hours north.  It is so sad when someone is taken too soon.  As always, it is also a time to chat with folks that you haven't seen in far too long.  


I was happy that the roads were good to start and great the rest of the way up and back but the temps fluctuated from -24C to -29C.  It was great that the sun shone brightly which it feel not nearly so cold!

A couple of days later, we flew back.  It was a nice trip back and felt great to be back in temps of 25C and sunshine.  We settled back in, did laundry, and can look forward to some relaxation.

Thanks for stopping by - see you again in a few days!!