Cattail Cove State Park, Lake Havasu, AZ (March 9 - 11th), 2011

 After driving through the city of Lake Havasu, AZ where the World's Largest Antique "The Famous London Bridge" is located and brought over from Europe we stopped a Cattail Cove State Park for a couple of days.  What a beautiful park overlooking Lake Havasu.  There was even a dog beach where Buddy had a blast swimming relentlessly after two ducks that seemed to like being chased by him and were teasing him.  He did his swimming that day!!  We also hiked Whytes & McKinney Loop Trail (about 3 miles) that ran along the shoreline of Lake Havasu providing an excellent view of the lower portion of the Colorado River.  The McKinney Loop took us through desert hills and a shallow gorge with bluffs on both sides.  We enjoyed the nature talks that were provided in the evenings in the best amphitheater  we have ever seen with a cactus gardens surrounding it.  We enjoyed this state park very much!!!!

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monement, AZ (March 13 - 15th), 2011

The Twin Peaks Campground in this Organ Pipe Cactus National Park in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona shocked us.  Even though we had no hook-ups, there were nice showers in nice bathrooms.  The sites were large and they had cement pads with tables and grills.  We were very surprised.  The amphitheater was very nice as well and for the two nights we stayed there; the Rangers gave talks in the early evening:  one of the twilight "Creatures of the Night", the other was about the "Vultures".  The hosts were exceptionally nice and informative.  There were two scenic drives for a total of 31 miles, the Ajo Mountain Dr. and the North Puerto Blanco Dr..  That was our first encounter on dirt roads in a very long time.  We enjoyed the Ajo Mts. drive because it went through the Ajo Mountains and you could see all the different kinds of cactus plants as well of a great view of the Arch Canyon.  We were amazed to learn that a cactus's lifetime could be over 100 - 200 years.  The Kris EggleVisitor Center was interesting and there was a basket weaving demonstration by a native Indian family. 

We were only 5 miles from the Mexican border near the town of Lukeville, MX.  Of course we could not pass up an stop at the tax-free shop and restock, walk into Mexico between the gates and back though
 the U.S. Customs. Since we did not feel like driving into Mexico.  The U.S.Border Patrol was quite heavy and well armed all around this area.

 This is a park we would definitely be back to!  The weather was great for Winter; the scenery was plenty and the people were very enjoyable.  Hiking trails, and biking were also available.

Ajo Heights RV Park in Ajo, AZ (March 12th, 2011)

Just an overnight stay at a nice RV park called Ajo Heights.  There was a very nice cactus garden with horseshoe pits and we went to eat "The Best Ribs in Arizona" at a restaurant called Ajo Roadhouse.  And by the way, Ajo [ pronounced ah-ho] stands for garlic.  Imagine that!!!!

Heading to a Organ Pipe Cactus National Park not too far down the road like 30 miles.

Lake Mead, Nevada (March 7 - 9th) 2011

We stopped at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on our way out of Las Vegas to camp a couple of nights.  It was rustic camping but what a view and the sites were terrific.  We were out of the city!!!  We took a 10 mile bike ride (they had a 38 mile paved bike trail around the park) to the historic railroad trail including old train tunnels.  To our dismay we could not make it to Hoover Dam because they had it blocked off and were doing some maintenance.  But it was a nice ride anyways because it was sunny and just a nice day to ride!!!  Our destination is Las Cruces, New Mexico where we will work on Habitat homes for 2 weeks.  So follow us on our journey there.  P.S. The Hoover Dam By-Pass Bridge is now complete and opened!!

Las Vegas, NV. (Jan 19th - March 7th), 2011

On our drive to Las Vegas, of course Mike had to take the most scenic route which took us very close to the Mexican border (Jacumba) and we were stopped twice by the U.S. border patrol as we proceeded east. We camped overnight in Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA (our old stomping grounds near Palm Springs, CA.).  Ate dinner and gambled a little bit since we were staying free in their RV parking lot.  Then we drove through Joshua Tree National Park.  We checked out a couple of campgrounds there and said we would be back to camp there because of their beautiful settings    We proceeded on to Las Vegas and stayed at another one of our membership campground ( Thousand Trails on Boulder Hwy.). Met up with my brother Gary and this friend out here on business from Michigan for a few days.  We visited Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and Red Spring which was very scenic, informative, just an great place for hiking and rock climbing with of course it's many red rock formations.  They also have one of the most beautiful and amazing Interpretive/ Visitor Centers we have ever seen. We met up with Darlene's cousin, Cindy and her husband Randy who has lived outside of Las Vegas (Logandale) for the past 17 years. We went on an very scenic drive though Valley of Fire State Park near their home. There you could find various shapes like an elephant and an beehives made of more red rock.

This was an very nice park and we really enjoyed it. February brings in the Lee's  (Brian and Lori, Darlene's sister)  from the old COLD Michigan. Jason continued on his job searching on the strip and Mike found a couple of Habitat homes to work on. Did 7 days off and on while we were here in Vegas.  Toured Ethel's Chocolate shop where they even gave you a free piece of chocolate.  They had an amazing cactus garden  from around the world-- well worth the cost of entrance which was zero.  Did "life" things like physicals, tire rotations. taxes etc. I gave Jason a break from job hunting one day and we went up to Ski Las Vegas on Mt. Charleston just north of the city. That was a blast, we didn't over dress for that occasion. We happened to see the world's largest gold nugget, naturally at the Gold Nugget Casino and Hotel.  Beside the Thousand Trail Campground we also stay a few times at Sam's Town RV park on Boulder Hwy. Which is of course right next to Sam's Town Casino and Hotel. Very nice, clean and well maintained park. Just too many emergency sirens going by for us at all times of the day and night. Sam's Town also had an bowling ally and movie theater inside. Which made for a couple of days of entertainment close bye.  Found a business and a nice big bark park for Buddy. The business was called "Soggy Dog" where you wash and blow dry your own dog.  We all loved it so well, We went twice!!  Went to all the Major Casinos and some that are not so big. We are not big on gambling, so we didn't lose a lot.  I could not leave Vegas and not check out all the shopping malls. They do have a few here.  Darlene and I keep up on whats new, our likes and dislike in RV world and attended an RV show at Southpoint Casino. Couldn't pass up a free show. We extended our stay here for interviews Jason had and  also because

\Cindy and Randy got some extra free tickets to the Only Nascar Race of the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. What an way to end our stay here in VEGAS!!!

Pio Pico in Jamul, CA (Jan 10th - 19th), 2011

We landed at Pio Pico Thousand Trails Campground which was about 20 minutes east of San Diego in the town of Jamul.  It was out in the hills where we had no cell phones nor internet service.  But we loved the area and the weather.  Sunny, high 60's and beautiful mountains all around us.  And of course the Border Patrol traveling up and down the trails in the mountains and on the area roads.  Lots of them.  We were only about 20 miles or less from the border of Mexico.  The campground was huge so we chose to camp at the back of the park so we could walk Buddy up and down the hills which we loved.  He had his freedom and loved to investigate the new area.  We traveled to San Diego a few days; we loved the town.  It has so many great restaurants and had many people walking through town.  Definitely was a happening town.  We had dinner with some good friends Norm and Sheree who relocated from Lake Orion to Del Mar which was a very nice town along the ocean.  Again we found out about a dog beach along the Del Mar ocean side which Buddy swam, chased dogs and just had a grand time.  We visited Chula Vista Olympic Training Centers which is one of 3 in the U.S.  There was an Olympic mile long sidewalk that we could walk along and see where they practiced soccer, BMX course,  softball, track and field sports, and with cricket and archery practice that was going on at the time of our visit..  It was a very nice park with room for more sports. On another day we visited nearby LaJolla a town along the ocean that had kayak trips in the ocean to the caves and a great snorkeling park.  It was rather late in the day and the tide had gone out so it was not a good time to kayak up to the caves so we had to pass.  It was 83 degrees and instead we walked along the ocean side in town and watched the sea lions beach on the rocks that jutted out into the ocean.  The waves were pretty big and it was another nice town to visit.  Since San Diego is known for it's great zoo, we had already visited the zoo twice before with our kids when they were little so we passed it up on this visit.  We could love staying near San Diego because it had great weather and some neat towns to visit.   But with Mike's brother Gary coming in for a visit to Las Vegas, we decided to head there.  But we will be back to San Diego someday and extend our stay.  Especially in the winter months.

Descanso, CA (Jan 5th - 10th), 2011

On our way south to San Diego area, we camped overnight at the Santa Fe RV Park in California.  It was a very nice, clean park; however, it was right next to the I-5 expressway.  We then arrived at our destination, another one of our member parks, Thousand Trails in Descanso, CA.   We were out to try all of our membership parks and this was on the way to San Diego.    We had a great campsite -- kind of seclusive but picturesque.   The weather was cool the first couple of days and started warming up the last day we were there.  While there we visited the town of Alpine, the Viejas Outlet Mall/Village (Indian Reservation) which was outside and very nicely landscraped with boulders and waterfalls and an ice skating rink which was used for the holidays and they were now taking down.  Then we discovered the town of Julian.  What a quaint little town that was known for their "apple pies".  One of the people we met at a pancake breakfast in the Township Hall of Descanso told us to make sure we had a piece of pie.  We didn't stop for a piece of pie -- we bought a whole pie and it was so delicious.   We tried to walk Buddy at the area State Park but dogs were not allowed but he liked hiking up the mountain with Jason back at camp.  Down the road 79 we stopped at a stand where there were wood carvings, fruits, vegetables, homemade jerky, jams and just about anything you would find at a farmers market. Some of the very best jams and jerky we've ever had. Not bad for these locals.  It was called Pam's Place.  It was time to move on closer to San Diego to another membership park!!!!!!