Today started out dark and gloomy and went downhill. It started raining a bit before noon and rained all day and into the night. Not sure how much longer it is supposed to rain, but a nice bright sunny morning would be welcome.

Yesterday afternoon we met with friends Clark and Carol and the 5 of us went to the Organ Stop Pizza palace. It opened at 3pm and if you ordered your pizza before 4pm you got a discount of $2.00. So you can be we got our order in pronto. Evelyn and I split a large Vegie pizza and drinks. The building was built around this huge Wurlitzer theater organ. It has 4 manuals, 276 keys and 798 stops and nearly 6000 pipes.

The organ was built by Wurlitzer in 1927 and installed in the Denver theater. It was used regularly until the 1930's depression hit. Theis building has 43' ceilings. the wind is provided by 4 huge turbine blowers housed in a separate part of the building. It has been added to over the years and is currently the largest Wurlitzer in the world.

It is mounted on a rotating hydraulic 8,000 lb. elevator. Many of the percussion's (such as the xylophones, glockenspiels drums, etc.) are installed in the dining room for greater audience appeal. These sections are individually lighted when they are played.

All in all, it was a truly an experience to sit there and hear a masterful gentleman play this huge organ. He could really make it talk. He played without any music and took requests and would play most anything requested. Something anyone would enjoy hearing. The pizza was quite good as well.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all. We spent a quiet day with Nancy B. and a nice meal this afternoon.


It has been a while since I posted anything, but we have been taking life easy and enjoying the warm sunny weather here in Mesa, AZ.


Not really a lot going on, just eating and sleeping and not really doing much. We do go to Church on Sunday and Christmas Eve at a nice little church that is not very far away.


The oranges are ripe and quite tasty and very plentiful on Nancy's little tree. Evelyn has been doing some cleaning in Nancy's house and we are making plans for next year as far as the hamfests we will attend and out trip back to the midwest for the summer months and our round of doctor appointments, etc.


We are planning on working our way south to Florida next year and work the circuit down that way during the first of 2012 and them across the south to the warmer climates of the southwest.


We have several friends yet to see and visit with in this area before we head out the middle of January for Quartzsite and Yuma and Palm Springs, CA before starting east.

Lots of things going on around here. We got the motor home parked on Monday morning and all hooked up. Nice to have cable tv and all those good things. The air card is working quite well.at least we do not have to rely on someone elses wi-fi that is usually pretty slow.

Tuesday we had a water problem with a broken valve on the outside shower fixture. As usual the manufacturer that built the motor home makes things easy for them but creates problems for the repair person. I will not go into details, but it was a big job to change the fixture when it should have only taken half an hour. On top of that, after the repair was made, the water worked fine except in the kitchen sink. No water! Water everywhere else in the motor home. So we bled the lines to the sink and had water everywhere. Finally discovered that the water diffuser on the sink was completely plugged with lime/calcium or what ever. I cleaned it out and all worked fine. It semed it was just one thing after another.

Our photos are of route 66 on our trip to Oatman, AZ. It is really the "Mother Road" in all respects. It is narrow and it really follows the contour of the area. Few of the hills were graded out and the low areas filled. The areas that drain the water from the mountains were not bridged, the road just followed the "draw" and lets the water flow over the pavement, thus preventing the need for a bridge and that expense. The road has not been improved since it was built. Some of the curves are 15 and 20 mph and
the road is about 20 feet wide. It is difficult to stay on your side of the road and stay on the pavement. Not a lot of traffic so it is not a problem.

I can only imagine what it was like negotiating these mountains and curves back when the road was new. There are lots of areas on the up grades to pull off the road if the car got hot. There are places to pull off on the downhill side to let the brakes cool. The grades are what appear to be 6 and 7% grades and the sharp curves that you can not see around. Pretty steep for vehicles at that time.

While we were in Oatman, I saw a relatively new Rolls Royce come in from the pass up the mountain and it parked on the south side of the business area. I did not have a camera available so I did not get a photo. A very unusual thing to see in Oatman, AZ.

There were a lot of cars, trucks, and RVs coming and going all evening and this morning in the Hi Jolly LTVA. There were several units parked in various areas and appeared to be there for the duration. Many, I am sure are set up in the same place as last year and will be with many friends as they assemble around the area. There are many Escapees bof groups that meet in certain areas and spend time together and enjoying one anothers company.

We will be meeting with the Amateur Radio (Ham) group at the 99mm south of town off of US95. There will be many units in that gathering with all types of units and all kinds of antennas you can imagine and some you have never seen before. They will have an antenna shoot out on the day of the hamfest to determine who has the best antenna setup. A lot of fun for all involved.

We will not be able to stay the whole week as we have to go to Palm Springs, CA on Friday for a hamfest on Saturday. A very good hamfest last year and we anticipate a good one this year as well.

Today, we left HiJolly LTVA and made our way to Mesa, AZ and the home of good friend Nancy B. where we will be until sometime in January. There will be lots of things to do while we are here and we want to take advantage of what is available.

Our photos are from downtown Oatman, AZ showing some of the stores and items for sale.

The trip to Oatman on the original US66, the "Mother Road", is quite an experience and one experience all should have.

Yesterday we took a trip to Oatman, AZ, an old gold mining town, now a town trying to survive. At one time the population was almost 10,000 and dropped to 15 and currently about 150 people live here full time. There are wild burros that roam freely through the old mining town. The burros were used to bring supplies to the area. Later, they were used to haul rock and oar from the mines. When the gold gave out and the mines closed the burros were left to fend for themselves. Today, they roam the streets of Oatman and beg for food. You are allowed to feed them in town but not outside the city limits.

There are all kinds of old time shops and outside one of the businesses there is a sign that says that the people and businesses maintain the right to carry and use firearms. A right given to them by the state of Arizona, as well as all those in the state.

The burros are two kinds, as we saw in town, a brown and white burro with distinctive black stripes over the shoulders and down the middle of the back and down the tail. The others are white or mostly white with some dark areas. You would think that in this many years they would all look alike due to inbreeding, but that is not the case here.

This morning we got things hooked up and secured ready to travel and hit the road. We went down US95 in Arizona toward Quartzsite and are at the Hi Jolly LTVA, a free camping area for 14 days. You can spend the winter here or in any LTVA for $180.00 until April of 2011. Not a bad price, however there are no services or water. You have to go to Quartzsite for that.

Tomorrow we will go to Mesa, AZ and get set to sit tight until after the first of the year and attend a couple of HTC lunch bunch gatherings.

Another beautiful morning, a bit overcast but the sun was soon shining brightly.

We took a tour of the park and out on the peninsula that runs along the Colorado River. There are some 25 sites that will accommodate up to 5 units each. There is water and electric for each unit as well as public restrooms and a dump station. Most all have a beach area where you can swim or fish.

Most of the areas had at least one unit and we talked with one woman and they were there for the winter and would leave in April, so it is really a winter destination for a lot of people. Certainly a place to keep in mind if you are interested in a winter place to camp.

We decided to stay another day and take a trip to Oatman, AZ and see the old gold town and the burros. But, we have to go back to Arizona to do that, it seems we have been crossing the Colorado River over and over again going from California to Arizona and back.

This park is in California and really looks the part. Just a mile or so away, across the river in Arizona the terrain is very different with mountains and desert.

We drove late last evening and did not get to the RV park until after dark. This was a little after 5:30, but it was dark. We got caught by a train and lost about 10 minutes, so that did not help any either.

We did not get away today until after lunch, however we only drove a dozen or so miles to the Moabi Regional Park just south of Needles, CA. This is really a pretty place situated along the Colorado River. There is a regular campground and a peninsula that has group camping areas that is really nice. I will get some photos tomorrow of the area.

After we got hooked up, we went to Lake Havasu City, AZ to the post office and to Walmart to get some groceries, etc. We put the address in our GPS for Walmart and when we arrived it was not Walmart and we were not looking for the post office, but it was across the street. We then ask the GPS to locate the Walmart and when we went there, it was a huge shopping center, but, no Walmart. We checked with a Schwaun man that was in the parking lot and he directed us to the new Walmart about 4 or 5 miles up the highway toward home. Finally we got our shopping done and headed back home, stopping at the Loves Service/Subway, picked up a sandwich and came home. The mountains were quite interesting as the sun was setting behind them and it was getting dark, all in a matter of a few minutes.

We had a lot of things to do today, get the rig ready to travel, laundry, go to town and pick up our mail as well as fill the lp tank with gas, etc. We finally got things done and away from Pahrump a little after noon. You have to go back to LasVegas to get through the mountains and then you can go south down US95. This is a good 4 lane highway and there is no towns along the way, just desert with mountains in the distance. There was one town, Searchlight, which had a couple of Casinos and a few filling stations, but that was about all. The town of Cal-Nav-Ari was less than that, just a wide spot in the road.

You know it has been cold at nights and we could see the snow on Mt. Charleston, but as we went up the mountain to get to LasVegas, we say a lot of snow along the highway and it was still pretty cold.

We are currently at the Calizona RV Park in Needles, CA. we are down considerably in altitude and at 10pm it is still near 50 degrees outside. Much warmer than the last week or so.

Not a lot going on the last couple of days, just getting things ready to travel. We were not sure our mail would make it today, so we really could not make any definite plans one way or the other.

We spent the evening sorting mail, paying bills, and deciding where we would go tomorrow. It will not be an early start as we will be late to bed tonight.

As we traveled down US95 we could see lots of high voltage power lines crossing the area from Hoover dam that was just a few miles to the east. That power plant furnishes power to cities all over the southwest grid. We even saw a huge solar system that was right along and under the power lines. Every little bit of power helps.

Not much to do today, it has been cool and quite windy, so we stayed inside and mostly watched football games all day. Three of the four were good games , but the Colts vs Chargers game was a joke. However, when you have a lot of injuries and do not have a running game, what can one expect.

It is supposed to warm up a bit in the next day or two and hopefully the wind will settle down and driving will be better by Wednesday, when we hope to get away.

Our photos are from our visit to the Bass Pro Shop the other day. You have to look at them a bit to get a prospective on the fact that the first photo appears to be from underwater but the fish are actually suspended from the ceiling, surface of the water, but you see the shoppers and product displays below.

This store is very interesting with everything in hunting, fishing, you can imagine, as well as boats and all kinds of 4 wheelers. They even have cooking utensils and food items to cook as well as pre-packaged foods. Lots of dehydrated items ready to fix, just add water and heat over your open fire or camp stove.

There are actually so many animals around you find yourself just staring at them as many of their background is so realistic. You could spend hours just looking at the animals, birds and fish.

A cool but sunny day today. There were a few clouds in the sky until after noon when it cleared off. This evening the wind came up and it is supposed to be windy the next couple of days but not as cold at night. That will be a welcome change.

We did not do much today, just try to recover from two days of eating turkey, dressing and gravy as well as all of the other goodies that people bring in.

We will be here a few more days waiting on our mail and some other items that should be here in the mail. However, if the wind keeps up we would not be leaving anyway as I do not like to drive when it is windy and gusty.

We may do another local casino before we leave and maybe win some big money, now that is not likely, maybe enough to pay for our lunch but not much more.

The photos are of LasVegas and the first one appears to be of the older section of town with all of the little shops and you can see the cross walks above the street. The other two photos are of casinos that are in the same area and are quite ornate in their design.

You can walk miles, it seems seeing all there is to see in a town this size. I understand that the inside of the casinos is even more beautiful than the outside, but we will probably never see the inside of them as parking is some distance away, at least for our big van. There is a lot of underground parking but it is for those little, at least not tall, vehicles like ours.

When we came home yesterday evening, after a huge Thanksgiving dinner, I just crashed, taking a short nap and watching some TV before retiring for the night. It never crossed my mind to write a blog. So, I am writing tonight to catch up.

Today, we were up and at it a little earlier than usual, but not to go shopping early, but to get ready to play bridge at 1pm and then to get ready to eat leftovers at 5pm.

Another great meal with a chance to eat your choice of the leftovers from yesterday. Yesterday everyone at the same table fixed their speciality and shared it with others at their table. The turkey, dressing and mashed potatoes and gravy was furnished by the park. Today, all went on two tables and we all had an opportunity to sample it all. My, what good food, from cooks from all over the country. As usual, the turkey and gravy was just as good as it was yesterday.

We had an opportunity to meet and talk with others that were seated nearby. Today, it was a couple from Pennsylvania. They are leaving on Sunday and heading for Quartzsite, AZ and then on to CasaGrande to the Escapees park for the winter. We will be leaving on Monday heading for Mesa, AZ for a while and then on to Quartzsite in January.


Evelyn took a trip to town to get some groceries and then on to the Post Office to see if we had any mail, but nothing has arrived as of yet. We are expecting a care package as well as some things we ordered on the web. So, we will check again tomorrow and then again on Monday to see if anything has come.

Nothing really planned for tomorrow or Sunday, at this time, will just have to wait and see if it warms up. It has been below freezing the last couple of nights and again tonight before it warms up the first of the week.

The photos are from LasVegas showing one of the big hotels as well as some wooded areas but confined to a small area.

Another cool night, in the 30's this morning, but it did not warm up much, maybe in the upper 40's with a brisk wind that made it feel even cooler.

We stayed in most of the day until I went to play bridge and Evelyn did some laundry. We attended the Happy Hour at 4pm with good conversations with many people. It is interesting the places some have been and how they saw the same area that we had traveled and saw something a lot differently. People look for different things and therefore see things differently. One of the ladies I talked with had driven to Alaska on two different occasions and at different times of the year, one early, in May with many of the facilities closed with snow piled all around and the second one later in the year with the changing of the colors.

We are beginning to notice people that we have met before at different parks or on the road and have a chance to compare notes on travels since we had seen one another.

The photos were taken at the Bass Pro Shop in LasVagas that has a casino attached, so you can shop and look at all of the animals as well as a fresh water aquarium and a huge salt water aquarium. You can go directly into the Silverton Casino and eat or play the slots and then come back into the Bass Pro shop at will. A very interesting place to visit.

Yesterday we woke up to a very cool morning, about 30 degrees and when we looked out we could see fresh snow on the mountains all around us. The big mountain is Mt. Charleston and the snow was still there this afternoon.

We have been in a cold snap and will be until the week end, however, as soon as the sun is up you can turn off the heat as it warms up quite quickly and stays that way as long as the sun stays out. It will be 85 degrees in the motor home in short order. When it goes over the mountain, the temperature drops 15 or 20 degrees in less than half an hour.

Today, we got a late start, but took a trip to downtown Pahrump to the post office to mail some work and then to Walmart for a couple of things and then to the Terrible's Casino. We got our Players cards and went to work. We finally cashed out with $15.40 in winnings. Then we went to the restaurant down the street for some BBQ which cost us some $20.00, so it was a money losing day, all in all a fun day. On the way home we stopped at the grocery and picked up some things we needed as well as the items we needed to fix for our Thanksgiving dinner here at the park.

Back home, the sun was just going down and it was ready to turn on the heat and enjoy the evening.

Today, we took a trip to the big town of Las Vagas. It surely has changed since I was last here in the late 70's. We drove from the south end of town to the north end of the strip, turned around and drove back to the south end. There is a lot of traffic and more pedestrians than you can shake a stick at. There are escalators at most intersections moving the foot traffic to upper walkways. Each also has an elevator to make the walkway accessible.

Parking is difficult to find, some underground parking garages, but very little surface parking along the strip.

As you can see in the photos there is very little real estate that is not in use. In the second photo of the Statue of Liberty, you can see the rail of the roller coaster that actually covers the complete block. Also you can see other replica buildings from the New York area.

I was driving and watching traffic and pedestrians and Evelyn was taking photos. The complete strip is just beautiful, one beautiful building after another. It seems that everyone is trying to outdo the other as far as design and size is concerned. Just one magnificent building after another.

We finally went farther south on the strip and visited the Bass Pro Shop and the attached Silverton Casino. After touring the Bass Pro Shop we went to the casino, got our Players card with $5.00 free money to play the slots as well as the opportunity to visit their buffet for $5.00 each.

We visited the buffet and what a beautiful facility with excellent food including all kinds of fish, roast beef, all kinds of Italian dishes, as well as Oriental dishes and American food, a very nice salad bar and a complete desert bar. A real treat indeed.

Later we went to the slots and turned our two $5.00 free cards into $11.98, so we basically ate for free and a little left over. A really fun outing.

The morning started dark and gloomy with lots of clouds and wind. We could not see the top of the mountains for some time. It rained on several occasions as the day progressed and the clouds broke a little and let the sun through for a short time around noon and then it was gloomy the rest of the day. It did warm up a bit and then cooled back down in the afternoon. Not really expecting much different until the first of the week.

The photos are of items in the Death Valley museum. The old stage coach is still in good condition and with some upholstery, maybe be back on the trail. The huge diesel engine was used in the processing of the borax before it was shipped to the rail head some 165 miles away.

There is a lot of mining equipment, ore cars, etc. that are well preserved, due to the hot and dry conditions. There is some rain in the valley, an average of 1.9 inches a year, so things are quite dry.

Our indoor/outdoor thermometer is also has a humidity indicator and it does not register below 20%, it just says LO. I never did see anything but LO while we were in the valley.

Hopefully by Monday it will clear up and we will be able to do some thing in the area.

Not a lot going on here at the park. I played bridge this afternoon and the cards were not good. I made a couple of bids but no good hands like on Wednesday. I played just good enough to not have the lowest score.

Things are coming together for the big Thanksgiving dinner next Thursday. Looks like a lot of good things to eat. The park will furnish the turkey, gravy and potatoes with everyone bringing their favorite dish for their individual table. On Friday we will take all of the leftovers and share them with everyone along with the turkey, etc. I am sure all will get enough to eat.

Among the many features to see at Death Valley is the sand dunes. These are quite large and move up and down the valley with the winds. They are ever changing as the wind is always blowing to some degree. The wind goes up and down the mountains as the air heats up as well as up and down the valley, so the dunes are ever changing.

You can see the size of the dunes in the photo with the people walking out on the sand.