Paydirt in Laughlin

We had a busy day scheduled yesterday. The morning was spent driving around some areas in Lake Havasu City which has grown in population to just over 50,000 residents. There are many areas that have new homes, but for the most part, the neighborhoods are mixed with old and new. There may be a new $250K+ home sitting next to a $150K older home. Most of the neighborhoods have poles and wires running through the backyards with only the higher-end neighborhoods having underground utilities. We did run across one neighborhood of reasonably priced homes with underground utilities which was very nice.

We also stopped at the only floral shop in Lake Havasu called Lady Di's. Josie spent a lot of time talking with the owner who has owned the shop for 15 years. As the only florist in Havasu, the shop is doing very well. Of course, the owner would have hired Josie on the spot if we were living here. It's nice to know she can get a job just about anywhere we go.

We then drove to an area just south of Kingman to look at a development that I had information about for about a year. It is called Stagecoach Trails, and is a huge area of 40 acre ranches that is in the middle of nowhere. The photo below was taken of one of the ranches that was for sale that looked like an Ocotillo nursery:

That was the only positive aspect of these properties. I have now satisfied my curiosity of these ranches that looked so nice in the pictures in the brochure.

We then moved on to Laughlin and to the Golden Nuggett Hotel where we have had some success in the past at the casino. We started with a nice lunch that was in the Claim Jumper restaurant just off the beautiful atrium:

We spent a few hours in the casino and it did not disappoint. Josie won a nice jackpot and we left with a nice profit that more than covered all our casino visits on this trip. We'll make a nice deposit when we reach Lake Pleasant today.

The ride back to Havasu from Laughlin occurred just about at sunset and we got one last picture of our trip that wrapped up another wonderful and successful season in Jackson:

Lake Havasu City, AZ

We got an earlier start yesterday AM and made it to Lake Havasu City in AZ by 1:30 PM. We will be here for two nights as we wanted to explore some areas around this town where we haven't spent much time. It is one of the nicer areas along the Colorado River and is a warm, dry, and relatively affordable area that we want to explore for future consideration.

Our drive was terrific through some pretty countryside and desert areas that included Las Vegas. The road was in pretty bad shape going through Vegas and the fifth wheel got tossed around pretty good while going through the curves along the Interstate through that town. The drive from Vegas to Havasu was almost all desert and rolling hills.

The RV park where we are staying - Havasu Falls RV Resort -  is very nice. It is close to the River and has some nice amenities. These shots below are of our space which is on the end of a row across from the pool and clubhouse:

Following our set up and getting things ready for the stay, we took a drive into town and across the famous London Bridge where we had dinner at a great Mexican restaurant - Javelina Cantina:

We sat outside on the balcony and had a birds eye view of the London Bridge. We got better shots along the walkway following our dinner and a couple margaritas:

Last night was another "C" night as we drove the 30 miles south to Parker where we played the slots at the Bluewater Casino. Josie had won a nice jackpot here the last time we visited about a year ago. No such luck last night. We must be rusty from our layoff from the casinos. So, we will probably take the drive 30 miles or so north to Laughlin tonight to give it another shot. In the meantime, we will drive around the areas in Havasu and try to get a good feel for the town and what it has to offer. Hang on for the report tomorrow AM...

Computer Fixed and Travel to Mesquite, NV

I got up extra early this morning and found the problem on my computer that was not allowing an Internet connection. Of course, it was in a setting that was somehow altered when a new update was installed on Wednesday morning. It's good to be back on-line.

Our travel day yesterday was another nice day. I first want to show a few pictures of the first two days travel which were not able to be published as a result of the computer problem.

The first is a shot of the Hoback Canyon that runs along the Snake River south of Jackson. This shows that the fall colors are disappearing, but also shows that they were probably spectacular a couple weeks ago:

This next shot is of the archway that is in the town of Afton which is about 60 miles south of Jackson:

Our arrival in Heber, UT, at the Deer Creek Sate Park was on time. We got all set up and took a couple shots outside as we relaxed:

That shot in the first picture above is of a trailer that was in our spot when we arrived and we made him move as we showed him our reservation for our spot. This is the same site we stayed on in our trip north in May and wanted to enjoy the same privacy and views.

Our travel day yesterday was another joy. It was a pretty drive and we arrived in Mesquite, NV at around 1:30 PM local time. It was actually 2:30 Mountain time. We were happy to change our clocks back. After fooling around trying to figure out my computer problem for awhile, Josie and I hit one of the local casinos in town. It wasn't a wise choice (Eureka) as neither of us did very well and we were out of there - losing our stake for the evening - in about an hour. We stopped for dinner at a place called Peggy Sue's which was OK.

Below is a shot of our nice campsite in Mesquite as we leave for our day on the road - 230 miles - to Lake Havasu City in Arizona:

We'll see 'ya tomorrow from Havasu...

Late, Late Post for First Travel Day

Last night I had no problems with my computer. This morning, I accepted an update to the software and haven't been able to sign on since. The problem continues tonight from Mesquite, NV, and I'm doing this post on Josie's computer which is still able to connect to websites. I'm almost to the end of the rope with MS software.

Our first travel day from Jackson to Heber, UT and the Deer Creek State park was beautiful. We arrived at the park at around 2:30 PM and got setup and relaxed outside for a couple hours. I'll have to show the pictures we took when I once again gain access to my computer.

Today was another perfect day for travel and we left at around 8:15 AM this morning and traveled the 300+ miles in time to arrive at our RV park in Mesquite at 2:30 PM. We also crossed into another time zone - PST - and it actually was 1:30 PM local time when we checked into the park. It is the same park we visited two years ago and is now in bankruptcy. That is another story I'll relate sometime. It is a very nice park in a great area.

I wasn't able able to make any progress on the computer problem, so I'll just have to make this entry do for now. We plan to go to - yes, a casino tonight - the first one we've been to in over 5 months. The way I feel now with my computer frustrations, I'm not sure I should go. Maybe I'll win big and I can toss this MS s___ once and for all!

Prep Day and Farewells

This year, we had our farewell get together with Donna and her daughter Rachel at The Bunnery restaurant in Jackson. It is one of the premiere breakfast restaurants in town, and we enjoyed a nice meal and conversation:

 

When we returned to our fifth wheel following breakfast, Josie presented them with a couple scarves she crocheted and the wreath which she made out of local pine cones from the RV park:

 



It turned out beautifully, and Donna was overwhelmed by the gift.

We then did some packing and in the afternoon we went into the lodge to say our farewells to the staff and to pick up our bonus checks for the year. Josie also gave a jar of her crabapple jelly that she made from the crabapples she picked in the RV park to each member of the staff. Of course, they were all appreciative.

I decided to hitch the truck to the fifth wheel last night so that I could pump air into the suspension system:

and also into the "cushion" that is part of the hitch and needs to be done while connected to achieve the proper inflation:

It saved a lot of time and the noise that the air compressor makes didn't disturb anybody. So, we are already hitched and ready to head out to Heber, Utah, for our first night on the return trip. It was a very different year from the previous two as far as work was concerned, but the area, as always, is wonderful and baring any fantastic offers, we will be back again next year for our fourth year.

We're on the road again...

Another Season Done

The final work day is over. Last night was a welcomed break in the hectic pace of the previous couple days. We worked alone the entire shift and had no other lodge employees in the lobby area. We said our goodbyes to some of the maintenance staff and to the housekeeping supervisor and will say our goodbyes to everybody else during the day today. We have a breakfast scheduled at the Bunnery in Jackson with Donna and Rachel this morning, and we will go into the lodge this afternoon to say farewells to the rest of the management and employees. We will also pick up our final checks, including our bonus for the year.

We will spend the rest of the day getting packed-up and I will probably hitch up the truck and fifth wheel late this afternoon. I have to put some air into our Trail-Ride suspension and into the balloon on the hitch which cushions the ride while towing. I can't do that early in the AM as the compressor makes a lot of noise while putting the air in anything, and the hitch has to be inflated while connected to the truck. I'll take a picture of this setup this afternoon so you can see what I'm talking about. Anyway, the rest of the day will be spent preparing for our departure tomorrow morning...

More Moose Sightings

The sun was shining brightly and we had the urge to take another drive to the same area on Moose-Wilson Road to see if we could spot any more bears or moose. It was a bit late when we left for the drive- around 10:30 - but it wasn't far away, so we took the chance. We got lucky and spotted a big cow moose near the area where we spotted the bear last week. It was close to the road and eating from the bottom of a small pond:

As we were leaving the area and driving over the Snake River near Dornan's, we spotted another moose in the distance. It turns out that there was a family of moose - a bull, cow and calf - together in this location but by the time we arrived, the bull and the calf were out of sight. This is the shot we took of the cow:

The views of the mountains were terrific in the morning and we have these shots that we took on the drive. This first one was taken before we turned onto the Moose Wilson Road:

And the second shot taken from the bridge in the area where the second moose was spotted:

This beautiful weather is suppose to last us through the week, so we are confident that there will be no problems getting ready and leaving on time on Tuesday.

Our final day at work is today and we expect it to be a quiet and easy day for a change. We also hope to get some more of the preparation done this morning. The end is near, and we will be ready to go...