5C's Que Pasa

We had some fun on our mid morning walk.

By noon we were on I8 heading East, with the specific intention of heading South eventually.  Certainly no rush to our day.

In just over an hour we had rejoined I10 and were heading to that mountain on the right.

A horrid shot thru the windshield but that was our destination, Picacho Peak Sate Park.

One of the first things we saw in the park, an about to bloom cacti.

Yet another great Arizona State Park. We have been here a few times over the years.

Happy to be here. Still a bit of wind but pleasant enough with a light jacket.

It is fall but there are things still blooming.

We managed to get over to loop C which is closed and let the girls have a good off leash walk. So much to see.

I liked this shot.

Loved the sun on the RV.

I got caught relaxing again.  It was only for an hour before it was too cool to sit outside but I did finish the book I started over three weeks ago.  Usually it takes me 2 -3 days max to read something but we have been busy.

Another great day…..

Stunning sunset tonight. It went  on forever. The colors just kept deepening but never seemed to stop.

A mere 83 miles today from Gila Bend to Picacho Peak but we did enjoy the scenery.

The sun wasn’t even over the mountain. He did a great job in just over 2 hours. Well worth the price to get all the bugs off from our trip North to Canada last April and again through the prairies last June. It needed a cleaning.

Tenting in style. After our morning walk we packed up and headed where else but South.

We had to pick up some ear meds for Caeli, a just in case, as they don’t sell this brand in Canada. Of course the RX had not been faxed by our vet but it wasn’t much of a delay to sort it all out. Here we are heading towards Parker. The other side of the river is California.

Sadly the lovely natural terrain is being torn up for more housing.

Love this area. It had been rather overcast this morning but the sun peaked out and brought wind with it. Two of my readers mentioned to watch out for heavy winds and they were right.  Thanks for the heads up.

That is Quartzsite over to the right where all that dust is blowing. We looked at each other and wondered what the point of stopping would be if we had to spend all the time inside the RV?

So being as it was only 2:30PM we simply headed further south.

We were hoping to avoid more dust.

This is how we travel 🙂 The ramp is new and the screen in front of Carmehs bed is to prevent her from jumping up on the dash.  Caeli always stays on Colin’s lap.

I always wonder what stories a place like this could tell.  Who lived here?  What did they do to survive?  Where did they go?

My first bougainvillea.  A nice greeting to our stop for the night.

We pulled into the Shell station Passport America RV Park in Gila Bend, about 5PM and got a lovely pull through site for $13.46. We certainly dwarfed this Casita who had pulled in just ahead of us.  We could have easily dry camped out in the large main parking area but for a mere $13.00 why not plug in and be toasty cozy.  The wind was still blowing and it was a two fleece jacket walk.

Very hazy all day, likely from the dust in the air. The sunset tonight reminded us of India, but it’s much warmer there.

Lake Havasu to Gila Bend, drove 202 miles today. Not planned but it worked out perfectly.

I was still in my nightie when Colin got things underway. He was spending a lot of time re doing things the RV tech did ( but not too well  obviously) that the tech had done becuaase of the reno guy. I told Colin that he should just do it all himself. Wouldn’t that be nice but we can’t afford to do that, better to hire someone to do the work while Colin is out doing his photography.

The girls were happy to hang around as it was a tad cool outside. Caeli is laying on a pile of dog blankets piled between the sofa and the recliner.  She was slowly sinking into the crack.

Break time for the worker and his trusty dog Carmeh.

Finally about 11AM, I got dressed, yes, I lazed around, it was great. Then we headed out on the 1.75 mile one way trail.  View from the trail.  We also made a list of great sites for next time.

Great trail with a mix of vegetation and lake views.

The girls loved it. I was worried about Carmeh but she did very well and did not show any sign of being tired. I think this is the longest walk she has done since mid May. Great for her and us of course. Looking forward to seeing how she will do on the beach on the Isla.

Just off the trail, there is a Xeriscape Garden with dozens of examples of local plants. Lovely area indeed and wheelchair friendly.

Loved this cacti, very unusual but a local plant.

Once we resumed the trail, we came upon a diversion, lake access with dogs allowed.

Because of Carmeh we headed back as we didn’t want to wear her out. We could do the trail with the stroller but she truly enjoyed being all four on the ground with all the sniffs to check out. As there was no one about we left the hounds off leash for a while.

Great roadrunner shot if I say so myself 🙂

Feral pigs!!!!

Just after 3:30PM, I said enough is enough and went out to relax. Colin worked a tad more and then packed it in and pulled out his guitar.

I wonder how many people who come to Vegas appreciate the beauty of the area.

Such a beautiful drive as we headed further south.

We start these early mornings with a hot drink and then stop after 60 -90 minutes to feed the girls. Today it was at an air strip on the California, Arizona, Nevada borders.

Today was a Sunday and it was really neat to see all these planes flying in to the restaurant for breakfast. First time in over the years that we have seen any action on the airstrip.

It wasn’t long before we hit the California border and the immediate decrease in the quality of highway.

Our sixth state in five days.

Yeah we made it to Lake Havasu City. Stopped for some things at Walmart. Saw this old thing as we drove on, could it be my next car?  Don’t think so but it would be a sweet ride.

Lake Havasu State Park.  Dogs not allowed on the beach, but we can walk right beside it.

OMG, what a beauty!  All the years we have been coming to this city and we had no idea this existed.

The view from our site which pleases us to no end. Yet you can get much, much better sites for the same price. Of course you have to reserve those sites but it is certainly worth it. We are writing down the preferred site numbers for next time. Cost is $30.00 per night for electric and water, there is a dump station in the park.  If you make a reservation there is an additional $5.00 fee.  Sometimes it is well worth paying for a site as opposed to boondocking.

FIrst we had a walk, then set up and then just sat and relaxed.

Some loud siteseeing aerial contraption.

Happy to be here.

Bonus….

Not the Isla but very very nice.

We only drove 137 miles today!! How wonderful.

Facing the front of the RV. Two ramps shown here.

With the living room slide in we are tight  There are 2 hounds under the blankets on the sofa.

Colin getting ready to deal with the cold on one of his many trips outside last night. I think this was when he was off to place a heater in the sewer area.

Just to show you that we do eat in all meals and have lots of dishes at the end of each day.

The bedroom slide comes right up to the end of the bed. We were truly snuggled in last night.

Frost on the inside of the head of the bed window. Colin wrote my name on the window while lying in bed. We did get to 7F with the windchill which is -14C.

After doing her business at 6:45AM. Carmeh was shivering more than imaginable.

It took a while to defrost the windshield before we left in the morning but the view was worth it.

About 40 minutes south of Ely, in Lund, we had to stop so this goat could cross the road. He simply took his time and was very majestic about it all.

Sometime before Vegas, maybe 60 -80 minutes, one drives thru this very scenic area. Perhaps 1-2 miles of interesting rock formations.

Utah, with all its beauty and spectacular rock formations are mere miles to the East. I like to think of this section of road in Nevada as the gentle end of those outstanding formations.

Today I thought of my dear friend Suzanne who was just a few hours East of us, enjoying the outstanding nature of Zion National Park. Sadly our schedules did not mesh. See you in the spring mi amiga.  Wish it could have been……

Of course you know what the majority of that was spent on.  I have no idea how our RV seems to absorb so many boxes.  It’s a miracle.

We drive 276 miles today and tomorrow will be even shorter.