Fun In Las Vegas

For some reason we can never bypass Las Vegas. The truck just turns off the interstate highway and it seems to know its way to the RV park. Ritchie and Corrine had emailed us to let us know that they would be in Las Vegas when we were passing through and then Fred and Colleen also emailed to say that they would also be in Las Vegas so what could we do? We just had to let the truck take us to Sam's Town.

It was great to have a few beverages with friends from home and catch up on the news. We enjoyed showing Ritchie and Corrine around the strip (too bad Ritchie was not feeling well and had to head back to the hotel early). We shared some stories and a few dinners while we were together. On Friday they left their truck and trailer in Las Vegas and headed out on the motorcycle to tour around Arizona for the next week.

And our winter holiday would not be complete if we weren't following Fred and Colleen home. They left Las Vegas Friday morning and we started for home today. Roads are clear, I'm still in capris and sandals (not sure for how much longer) and the weather forecast is great. We should be home on Monday!!

Lazing About In Laughlin

We took a new route to Laughlin last Sunday. We headed north from Mesa through Phoenix, Glendale (home of the Phoenix Coyotes), Sun City, Sun City West, Peoria and finally more than an hour later hit the open road. We took the route through Wickenburg to Kingman (which is on the historic Route 66) and then on to Laughlin. We saw miles of joshua trees and barren desert. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the scenic trip. We dropped Abbey off at the kennel (she seems to remember the place) and then headed over to the employee parking where we left our 5th wheel. We spent the evening feeding the slot machines and strolling along the river walk.

On Monday morning I decided I had to find a beauty salon and the sooner the better. Lucky for me there was a salon on the hotel and they were not too busy. Well, as a matter of fact I was their only customer. An hour and half later I walked out a much happier person. I joined Senor Ping poolside and we spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading while soaking up some sunshine. I also squeezed in a bit of shopping at the outlet stores before feeding the slot machines at a couple more casinos. No jackpots for us!!!

Tuesday was windy and cloudy but we spent a couple hours at the pool and then did some more shopping and gambling. Overall the gambling was poor, weather was fair (Wednesday morning the temperatures hit a record low) and the shopping was good. On to Las Vegas!!!

Homeward Bound

Tomorrow morning Senor Ping and I will begin our trek home. We have enjoyed the past 2 months here in Mesa and have made tentative plans to return next February. We will spend the next 3 nights at a hotel in Laughlin while Abbey enjoys a few days of R&R at the kennel. On Wednesday we are heading to Las Vegas for a few nights and then we'll start for home.
In the mean time we want to wish everyone a Happy Easter and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Tortilla Flats/Canyon Lake/Apache Trail

With our guests, Glen and Trudy Bews, we boarded the "Dolly", a paddlewheel steamboat and toured the magnificent Canyon Lake.



The Paddlewheel Steamship "The Dolly" awaits our arrival.


We stopped for a great lunch at Tortilla Flats, a touristy ghost town, Burgers to die for.


An awesome band provided entertainment for our lunch.


We also saw mountain goats lakeside

Beautiful Sedona!!!

Senor Ping and I took a scenic drive to Sedona last week. We went north through Payson and stopped at Camp Verde for lunch. We also toured Montezuma's castle before winding our way over to Sedona. Near Strawberry we came across some snow on the side of the road. The temperatures went from a balmy 65 F in Mesa to 36 F when we spotted the snow banks. Down in Sedona it was back up to a pleasant 60 F.
Sedona has a world wide reputation as being a spiritual mecca. There are numerous spiritual guides and readers in the area as well as gift shops selling every possible trinket from the area. We did a quick tour, stopping to take many photos, as we soon realized that this is a place we would like to return to in the future (not for the "vortexes" ) because of the beautiful scenery.

Lenore goes Golfing!

With the Superstition Mountains in the background, Lenore prepares to attack the beautiful island green at Apache Creek Golf Course



She reached the green but just barely. Her ball lodged tightly against the rotting timbers separating the green from the waters.




Another beautiful view of the pretty 14 tee at Apache Creek. This photo was taken from the Championship tees. Two water hazards to cross.


Scenic Apache Creek Golf Course.