HOME AT LAST

May 23, 2017

We arrived home on Thursday May 11th.  I think I could live full time in an RV but Denny isn't ready for that. Six months is  enough for him.

Here is a synopsis of our trip:

 Left Nov 24, 2016

Returned May 11, 2017

Gone 5.5 months

Stayed at 13 campgrounds that we had been at before

Stayed at 5 new campgrounds that we had never been to

Spent $3039.89 on campgrounds

Spent $1353.72 on diesel

Because we have a large 57 gal tank, we only had to  stop 16 times for diesel 

Our most expensive diesel was $2.93 in Bakersfield, CA

Our cheapest diesel was $2.36 in Yuma, AZ

Drove 7162 miles

We really enjoyed our trip this year. We stayed in a couple of areas we had never been to:

Yuma, AZ

Surprise, AZ 

Bullhead City, AZ

The first 3 months of our trip were  colder than usual.  We went thru a lot more propane than we  ever have. The  last 3 months were hotter than normal.  The weather went from winter to summer, with no spring in between.  The weather was either below or above normal temperatures. The last  couple of months we were in the 90's.  The last few weeks, the weather was 95 to 105 degrees. A tad hot!!. The day we got home it was 52 degrees,  quite an extreme change for us.  We have been cold ever since we got home, but it is finally starting to warm up. 

Since we have been doing this for several years, it is always nice to see new places. Next year, we have plans to also go to an area we have never been to, Parhump, NV.  It is about 60 miles west of Las Vegas

Hope you have all enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Til next year...........

CRAZY WEATHER

MAY 7, 2017

We have had several days of 100  degrees plus for  a few weeks now.  The day before we left Bullhead City, we hit 105.  We like the warmth, but that is a little too hot.  

We got to Bakersfield, Ca last Thursday.  We have never been as far north as Bullhead City when we start for home, so this time we had to go thru the Mohave Desert. It was suppose to be 105 degrees, so we left earlier the we ever had to beat the heat. Trucks don't like it  that hot,  it can overheat the transmission.  We left at 6:30 am, that  is the time we usually get up.  Even then, it was still 85 degrees.  When it gets hot,  sometimes you have to turn off the AC to help the engine stay cooler. There were only a few times the we had to do that.  Thank Heavens!!!

When  we got to Bakersfield, it was 104. The amazing thing is that within 2 days, it was 65 and raining. That's what I mean about crazy weather.  I know that is about normal at home (or even lower), but we were SO COLD because we aren't used to it.  We have not had temps under 90 degrees for quite a while. Last time we saw rain was early Jan. Not looking forward to going home to the cold weather.

When we were in Bullhead City, we took a road trip just in our truck to Las Vegas and Parhump, NV. We are thinking of going up there next year for something different.  We wanted to check out the Thousand Trails park in Vegas because we had heard some bad things about it.  We liked the one at Parhump much better, so might stay there.  Parhump is abut 60 miles SW of Vegas.
 The reason I'm mentioning this, is that we saw something unusual.  On our travels we see a lot of Veterans Highways.  There is also one going to Vegas, but a bit different. Every  hundred feet, there was a sign honoring Veterans from different wars. Usually you just see a sign  honoring all Veterans.

There were some signs that I have never  seen before: They all said
       Veterans of:
WWI
WWII
           Korean War
                                         Cold War (had never seen this)
            Vietnam War
      Iraq War
             Desert Storm
                                                        The war on Terror (have never seen that)

I think it was very nice to mention all of the wars, not just lump them all together

RIGHT PLACE, WRONG DAY

April 28, 2017

I wanted to go to Oatman, AZ, an authentic Western Ghost Town and Mining Camp. We had been there before a few years ago, but it is a fun place to go, so I wanted to see it again. Denny wasn't very enthused because the road to it is all  dirt and rocky.  It was  only 16 miles, but took an hour.  They have donkeys wandering all over town. They walk the middle of the streets and on the wooden sidewalks. It is a very touristy town, but still fun.  If you are old enough, you will recognize the names Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. They were famous movie stars. They honeymooned in Oatman, an amazing thought, but they must have wanted complete privacy.  It would have been hard to believe, but there are pictures of them in the hotel lobby where they stayed. The pictures show them playing chess and having dinner with the locals.  During the Great Migration, Oatman was the last town people were able to stop at before the Mohave Desert.  Also covered wagons were able to stock up before the desert. 

We certainly picked the WRONG DAY to go. There were probably a thousand motorcycles there lining both sides of the street and going down the middle. There was a big motorcycle rally in Laughlin this week. On Friday, they had a sanctioned event in Oatman. I felt so sorry for the donkeys,  it was noisy and crowded.  I'm sure they were scared to death. You couldn't even walk on the sidewalk without being sideways it was so crowded. Think of all those motorcycles in a one street town.  We had planned on having lunch there, but no way after we saw all the people. It was a mess. Every store was packed. The road is so dusty and rough, can't imagine doing it on a motorcycle. 

Finally saw a couple of donkeys, usually the town is full of them.

There were a couple of geocaches in Oatman, but they were even hard to find because of so many people. We were determined to find them after going all that way!!!!