Happy Holidays to all!

OK, here's a test for those of you that read this blog:

Which one is the real picture of where we're parked for Christmas?


















OK, I know, that was too easy. Anybody that know us also knows that we think snow is a 4 letter word.

The snow picture was given to me by our neighbor Doug Spriggs. He specializes in such photos, as he and his wife usually work a T-shirt booth at car shows, where they photoshop pictures of peoples cars into nice backgrounds and print them up on transfers and put them on T-shirts. I've seen some of his work, and it's very nice.

So we're parked in Yuma, AZ, where it never (never say never) snows. More likely is a weather event such as we had yesterday, 40-50 mph winds laden with sand and dust, blowing up almost instantly as a cold front passes across the desert. Awnings were flapping, loose objects like do0r mats and wash buckets were blowing around the park, and any whirlygigs were zooming along or scurrying along the desert between the RV sites. Waves splashed in the swimming pool, and we nearly got out our surfboards!

But today it has calmed down, temp at 8:00 AM is a cool 46, and the sun is coming up over my right shoulder. Time for us to get our last minute stuff done for Christmas. Only one package remains to be shipped east, one that includes some sewing, probably won't make it out until next week.

We got volunteered to decorate the table for Christmas dinner here in the RV park. Consulo has been exercising her creative muscles, and we found some pretty cheap markdowns yesterday to do the job. I'm making photo place cards with pictures of folks RVs to put on the table, and those are nearly done. We still have some cooking to do, as the park is providing ham and turkey, and the rest is pot luck. I'll be making a cherry pie, Consuleo is making flan.

We've been busy since my last post. We got ourselves organized to show photos and slippers at a couple craft shows/flea markets here. I think our display looked pretty god, but we only sold 2 pair of slippers. We're booked for one more show in January so far.

I also offered to coordinate a "Computer Club" in the park, basically a get together to chat about problems and issues around computers. We've solved a couple problems for people, and we'll continue that into January. I've also volunteered to do a photo club in January, as many of the computer issues surround photo topics.

I got word yesterday that an article & photos I submitted to Escapees Magazine have been accepted into their publication mix for 2010.

On Monday 12/28 we're going to Apache Junction, AZ, some 4 hours away, by car (only) to visit my brother for a few days. We're also scheduled to have lunch with Andrea Mackie and Denny Robertson on Wednesday, as we return.

On to Yuma

I know, I know, it seem like we fell of the earth after my last post in November. We're still out here somewhere. We have settled into a long term stay in Yuma, Arizona, and have been catching up on all those things that we knew would be easier done when we stopped for at least a couple weeks. We're getting caught up on those, so I'm now inspired to write again.

BLM parking north of Lake Havasu

First, a short update on our travels to Yuma. We left Coarsegold and drove to Barstow, CA. We stayed overnight there in a the front lot of a Flying J. We were awakened there by the noise of half a dozen police cars and several ambulances and firetrucks, all bound for the truck parking lot. We never knew what happened at the time, but have since found out that a 27 year old drove his ATV off the top of a 40 foot embankment into the top of a trailer truck, and was killed at the scene.

Leaving Barstow, we crossed the Sierra Nevadas and roamed down to Lake Havasu, AZ, current home of the London Bridge. We would have spent the night in a Walmart, but the city has so much open space that it has had to ban overnight RV parking in anything but a campground. We found a BLM site just north of town where we could dry camp for 2 nights for free.

Hot air balloons laid out for inflating in Yuma

We did some driving around town, including crossing the London Bridge. I thought it was rather bland. In fact, we missed the fact that it was the London Bridge the first time we drove by it. Other points of interest that we found included the waterfront, a large sandy place with nothing there. My guess is that it serves as a flood plain. The rest of the city seemed fairly ordinary. We did discover that the Casino on the far side of the lake, in California, has a passenger ferry that runs back and forth to the city. If we had known that, we might have stayed there.

Leaving Lake Havasu, we followed Arizona 95 into the desert, where we saw our first saguaro cacti north of Quartzsite. We stopped in Quartzsite for lunch, then passed the Yuma Proving Grounds on our way to Yuma. We checked in here at The Palms RV Resort, a new upscale park between the city and the Foothills on the east side of town.

The Palms has nice amenities, but we miss the friendship we get in an Escapees park. They seem to be working hard here to generate fun, but many of the activities have a fee, so things tend to be more business like than sharing an adventure. We came here because we'll have friends here after Christmas.

Up, up and away in Yuma

Part of our winter plan included finding outlets for our arts and crafts. Consuelo has been busy knitting slippers, and sold a couple pairs here. But there is no bulletin board, no advertising on site, no vending, so we're looking elsewhere to carry on. Yesterday we found an inexpensive flea market nearby, and agreed to buy a table for next weekend. This week we're doing finishing touches, framing photos, making slipper tags, etc. We'll see if we can recoup the cost of the table next weekend.

Getting repairs done has been the other activity. The car needed an oil change, and the brakes needed looking into. Parts have been ordered for that. Our thermostat failed on our furnace when we arrived, having been balky for a couple months. We found and ordered one of those and installed it. We've given parts of our motorhome a good cleaning, like the leather in the sofa and captain's chairs. Changing the drinking water filter, which should have been a 10 minute job turned into 5 trips to the RV parts store and one to Lowe's, as a tiny leak developed which challenged my patience.

One of the street urchins in Los Algodones

Consuelo finished proof reading the book we did for our Alaska trip and we got that ordered and it has arrived. We think it turned out pretty good, and we'll be sure to show it to you when we see you.

The plan to print calendars on our new printer turned out to be too expensive, given the costs for ink. I did print up a few copies as Christmas presents, and they came out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I've been printing other photos to sell.

In reviewing all the great spots we got to since we left Maine just about a year ago now, we both feel really blessed to have had the opportunity. North America is really a wonderful place, notwithstanding some of the less attractive spots. We got into a dozen National Parks in the US and Canada on our travels, plus a number of state parks and historic locations. In our view, they all live up to the hype. We encourage you to visit them, too.

Brother Bill saying "NO!" for the 1000th time

Having said that, Yuma is not a national park. I've not been inspired to search for many photogenic opportunities here. One event that I found was the Colorado River Crossing Balloon Festival, which provided some good shots. You have to be up early to see hot air balloon liftoffs, which means before sunrise here at this time of year.

My brother Bill and his wife Pat came to visit from Apache Junction for a couple days. We had fun with them, both sharing our travels and photos from the last year. We found one of the few historic sites in Yuma, the Territorial Prison which held all the outlaws in the late 1800s and early 1900s. That place made me glad I didn't go to jail there.

Perusing the purses in Los Algodones

We also tripped down to Los Algodones, Mexico, just a skip and a jump from Yuma. Los Algodones offers Mexican pricing on things like pharmaceuticals, eyeglasses, dental work and liquor. They also sell all kinds of junk like purses, pottery, ballcaps and wall art. Sellers accost the tourists on the the sidewalk, nearly forcing their stuff on you. Its a great game, if you're into it, and when you leave, you can say you did some international shopping.

We'll be here until the end of January. Don't expect too many blog posts before then.