February in Havasu, 2016

February was a very busy month and flew by quickly.  2/4  We invited Janet and Dee over for a little cookout, along with Wally ( Janet's friend).  Kirk made his popular poppers, and grilled brats.  We had a fun time.

Courtesy of Jan and Dee.  Yummy!

Rare snowfall on the mountains outside of our RV park in Havasu on 2/1

2/6. Kirk and I golfed in Mohave Valley at the Huukan Golf Course.  It was an especially windy day.  A little side note here, it's almost always windy in this area. But this day was more windy than usual. It was exhausting.  We did get placed with a single player.  This guy, CL, lived on the 14th tee box of the course.  He is a Native American and retired from the Department of the Interior.  CL explained the myths of Spirit Mountain that could be seen from the course.  He explained how the Mohave tribe is said to originate from the spirits in the mountains.  This mountain is on Christmas tree road just outside of Laughlin.  We were also told the mountains contain petroglyphs.  We will definitely drive up there next time we are in the area.  

Some needed FaceTime with Isaac and Bella.  Silly kids!

We were so excited when Rudy, Bev, and Angela came to visit us.  Rudy and Bev arrived on 2/8 and were staying for a week.  They were able to rent a site in our park just a few sites down from us.  Angela came on Thursday and left Sunday morning. She stayed with Rudy and Bev.  Needless to say we had a great time/week.   The first part of the week, we enjoyed happy hours, cookouts, and enjoyed each other's company.  We totally loved Rudy's twiced baked potato casserole.  When Angela arrived on Thursday, we drove down to London Bridge, walked around to the shops,  had drinks at The Heat, then walked over to the Javelina Cantina for more drinks and dinner.  We had a view of the London Bridge from both places and it was a beautiful night to sit outside.  

Enjoying the shops at London Bridge. Angela and Bev 

Rudy and Bev enjoying the view from Javelina Cantina. 

I took Friday (2/12) off work to spend the rest of the weekend with my family.  Neither of them had ever golfed Emerald Canyon, so we made reservations to do so that Friday.  I followed along on the golf cart and didn't play as the course only allowed a foursome.   We had a great time. Afterwards we stopped at the Sundance Bar in Parker for a drink and appetizers on the deck, and watched the boats.  Later, after returning home, we just hung out at the park and enjoyed each other's company. I believe Angela went to bed early that night.  

Rudy and Bev   They look like pros!

Angela enjoying the scenery

This is a fun par 3. 

Bev in awe!

What a view Angela 

Rudy hitting from the blues cause you can't beat this view. 

Enjoying drinks at Sundance after a round of golf   

The next day 2/13, we drove to the Desert Bar, but not before stopping along the way for some target shooting.  You can pretty much shoot your guns anywhere in the desert as long as you're at least 1/4 mile from the road and/or any house, etc.  

 Don't mess with Bev!

 Little Angela Oakly!!

 Some of the crowd at the Desert Bar

 Great time at the Desert Bar.  1/4 lb hamburgers and garlic fries were awesome.

Angela, Bev, Rudy by the historic church at the Desert Bar.

Women's bathroom At Desert Bar.  You never lose site of the scenery.

After returning to town, we spent the evening across from Sarah Park to watch the pyrotechnic fireworks.  This is an annual event held on President's Day weekend.  Called the Western Winter Blast, and is presented by the Western Pyrotechnic Association, and Lake Havasu City.  It is one of the largest firework displays in the country, and is geared to those who like to develop and create pyrotechnic items.  We were fortunate to find a prime parking spot, but not without others trying to block our view.  However, they didn't realize Angela was with us, and they soon disappeared.  

As beautiful as this looks, this picture does not do it justice.

 More pyrotechnic fireworks.

Tons more like this one and more even better!

Angela left after coffee on Sunday morning and returned to Mesa.  Today was my birthday.  I'm formally IN my 60's (61).  It's kinda weird.   So, I try not to think about it and enjoy each day as always.  Rudy, Bev, Kirk, and I drove to Oatman, AZ about an hour away.  We've been there before, but not Bev.  We ate lunch at the Oatman Hotel,  and played with the burros.  On the way home, we stopped at the Topock Bar at the junction of Route 66 and I40.  It was a pretty windy day (surprise), so we just looked around and returned home.  Kirk grilled fajitas, and we all just hung out, drank wine, and enjoyed the beautiful Arizona sunset.  Rudy and Bev left the next day and I went back to work.  I sure do enjoy our family visits.  The only things missing were Jim and Elena.

Fun day in Oatman with the burros

Topock Bar on Route 66.  You can swim while you eat and drink.

 Cute butt Bev.

Beautiful end to an awesome day!

Surprise cake from Rudy and Bev.  Thank you.

Start of Lake Havasu City adventure 2015

After one relaxing day to recuperate from our 2500 mile trip, I started my job at Lake Hills Inn on 11/9.  I had been contacted by email on our trip to Havasu by the company I would be working for, asking me to cover in Bullhead City (an hour from Lake Havasu) for 3 days my first week, and one day in Kingman (also an hour).  I felt obligated to do so, but, oh boy was I sorry I did. This just aggravated my previous exhaustion to the limits.  OH well, I soon recovered and chalked that one up to a lesson learned.

We were told by those staying in our park about a fun little place to eat that was fairly close, called Blondies.  This is a small bar and restaurant.  They have a nice little patio with grass-like umbrellas, or you can eat inside.  A lot of the RV locals go there.    Our first 2 weeks here, Kirk was able to take two bike rides.  One with a group from the park to Quartzite, eating at Silly SAMs, and the other with a group from town (The Hangover group) to Parker and California  where they ate at Dumas Walkers in California. 

On 11/21 Kirk and I took the local ferry boat, which is located down by the London Bridge, over to the casino at Havasu Landing on the California side.  The boat ride takes about 20 minutes.  The casino is very small, has a small restaurant, and is very smokey.  We probably won't return, mostly because of the smoke smell.    Earlier in the day, we had attended the Mud, Sand, and RV event at the Havasu State Park.  It was pretty small, yet interesting, and something to do.  Not much for RV's though.  They had a couple of 5th wheels, and class C's and that was it.  Around here, people are more into the Razor's, boating, fishing, etc.

             London Bridge

  Picture from ferry boat of Havasu State Park

11/22 we went on a motorcycle ride with our neighbors, Paul and Bev (Canadian's), and their friends, Mark and Nola.  We rode to Parker Dam where we saw Burro's along the roadside, down to Quartzite, ate at Silly Sam's for lunch and then rode back.  On our way back we stopped at Sundance in Parker for drinks.  This is a neat place on the River and the building itself has some history.  A little side note here, while dismounting our bike upon arriving at Sundance, my foot was caught in the side bag, and I slowly fell to the ground.  How embarrassing!  i was fine, but later realized my elbow was a little "puffy" and determined it was an olecranon bursitis.  Been wearing an elbow sleeve since.  No infection though.  Yay! (i guess).

Kirk and I celebrated Thanksgiving this year (11/26) by me working and him cooking :).  I came home to an awesome meal of turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls,  corn (from our summer harvest), and pumpkin pie.  I just may work every holiday if this is what I will be coming home to each time.  Plenty of turkey left over to freeze for future meals.

I decided I needed boots for going on motorcycle rides, so Kirk and I drove to Bullhead City to Kohl's.  I found some pretty nice looking boots, and even though they aren't riding boots, they look better than my tennis shoes on the bike.  After shopping, we drove down 95 and ended up at the Desert Bar in Parker.  This is a bar in the desert.  You will want to have a fairly reliable vehicle to get there.  Although, we saw regular cars driving to and from there, it made me wonder.  This road is not paved.  It is more of a bumpy, narrow, rocky path.  By the time we arrived at the bar, I was exhausted from being jostled around so much.  Believe me though, I would do it over and over again.  It was a great, and beautiful experience.  We went on Sunday, the last day of a 4-day Thanksgiving weekend for many people.  Along the road there, you could see where people go out in the desert and target shoot.  A lot of people drive their razors, quads, etc to this place.  It is only open on Saturdays/Sundays from October to May.  It is ran soley on solar power.  I did see they have large propane tanks.  They do have flush toilets.  The food is great.  Every year, the owner adds something new to the place, so it is advised that you visit whenever in the area to see the upgrades.

Road to the Desert Bar

Almost there

You can see the solar panels that provide all the electricity 

The walk over to the bar

An old church. Historical. And Kirk. 

View from parking lot. 

Picture from the walk over.  Just a cool place.