Lake Havasu to Quartzsite Arizona

Mon Dec 6
This morning we spent about three hours hiking from the campground to the London Bridge where we window shopped and just took in the sights and atmosphere along the waterfront. After hiking back to camp we took a drive across the bridge and around the loop on the island. There are several high-end resorts and RV parks there along with beaches and marinas. The wind was calm, the weather was warm and sunny and the lake was like glass. It was a happy, peaceful time. We then left camp and parked in a large unidentified vacant gravel lot just north of town and enjoyed a relaxing evening as we watched the sun set.

Tue Dec 7
Dad started the morning wishing Aunt Bonnie a happy birthday. We then headed for Quartzsite. We stopped as we crossed the Bill Williams River just above the Parker Dam for some scenic views. We then continued on through Parker and to Quartzsite where we decided to stay in the long term BLM area just south and west of town. The ladies at the entrance station were friendly and helpful and they invited us to park near them. When we got over there another lady walking her dog told me they were all single women and right then I decided we were NOT going to camp near the "cougar den" and I told Dad so in no uncertain terms. So we found a nice site a little way off and set up camp for the next two weeks. We then drove around town to find the church, the laundromat and the post office to where we are having mail forwarded. Dad then called Phil Mortensen with whom he worked for many years at AMI. We also did several motorcyle trips with him on the BMW. We hadn't seen him for the past 7 or 8 years. (Dave had seen him earlier at Overton and gave us his cell phone number.) It turns out he is here camping near us in the same area and Dad made plans to get with him tomorrow morning. The weather has been sunny and warm and I'm soaking it in!
Wed Dec 8
This morning Phil rode his bicycle over and we visited with him for quite some time. We found that he has been spending winters here for the past six years and we talked a lot about what to see and do around this area. We then rode our bikes over to his camp for some more fat chewing and catching up on old times. We invited him to dinner and a movie for the evening. It is good to find old friends and renew friendships.

Vegas to Lake Havasu

Thu Dec 2
We ate breakfast at a nearby McDonalds to get wi-fi to update the blog. We also booked a show to "V-The Ultimate Variety Show" at Planet Hollywood. Then Dad repaired the motor home steps. We then went to Planet Hollywood where an outside atmosphere similar to Caesars Palace has been created indoors. The mall goes on forever and we did a lot of looking at beautiful art and a huge variety of shops. We had a late lunch in the mall and watched a fountain display while waiting to get into the show. The show included a variety of talent including juggling, lots of comedy, gymnastics, aerial acrobatics, a magician and much more. The emcee and principal talent was Wally Eastwood. Google him on U-Tube playing the electronic keyboard with bouncing balls. We were seated three feet from the stage and had a closeup view of all the action. The show was family friendly and we about laughed ourselves sick.
Fri Dec 3
We spent most of the day touring Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area to the west of Las Vegas. Each time we think we have seen all the variations of desert/Southern Utah type of scenery we find something new and different and in its own way very beautiful. Only pictures can explain the color variations, shapes and unique qualities of this beautiful 13-mile scenic drive but the most notable were the places where the colors were in distinct layers at the two "Calico" view sites.

Sat Dec 4
After calling Miss Mckinsie Ockey to wish her a happy 7th birthday we said farewell to Las Vegas and headed south. The first stop was at the Big Bend of the Colorado River Nevada State Park just south of Lauglin. We spent a couple of hours walking around enjoying the views along the Nevada side of the river and of the beautiful homes lining it in Bullhead City on the opposite shore. There were hundreds of ducks on the river that would eventually loose the battle swimming against the current and take flight upstream to start drifting downstream again. We had the place to ourselves and it was warm enough to stroll around without a jacket. We then drove up through Laughlin along Casino Drive and across the bridge into Bullhead City. We stopped at a Lowe's to get parts and Dad fixed a leaky kitchen faucet. We then traveled down through town on highway 95 all the way to the California border at Needles. We arrived in Lake Havasu City about sunset and found a campsite overlooking the lake in the Windsor Beach Arizona State Park campground. The sunset was a beautiful end to a fairly relaxing day. Then WOW! Just when we thought the day was done, on a dark moonless night I suddenly heard Christmas music, looked out the front windows and saw lights out on the lake. It was a Christmas parade using boats! This was a first in our lives. The boats, big and some very large (as in house boat size) were decked out in the most unbelievable light displays depicting, and in come cases animated, Christmas-themed "floats." This kind of lent new meaning to this common parade term. Many were playing Christmas carols. The most interesting of animated floats were an amazing steam-engine train complete with turning wheels, a bell and a whistle and another with Santa reeling in a fish from his sleigh over the London Bridge. For those that aren't aware the real London Bridge was disassembled in England back in the early 70's, shipped to here and reconstructed downtown from the lake shore to a small island.
Sun Dec 5
We attended church this morning at the Acoma Wark in Lake Havasu City. We then returned to camp to break our fast and explore around town. We visited the London Bridge and were amazed that it seemed even larger and more impressive than when we were here several years ago with the Gardners. We then went to a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Wheeler Park. Two local DJ's were the emcees and they had about an hour long program that included reading "The Night Before Christmas," a small choir singing several Christmas carols, and a young man and his sister who are local theater talent also singing Christmas songs. It ended with the mayor throwing the switch to light not only the huge tree but lighting all the trees in the small park and then the arrival of Santa Clause on a fire engine. For attending this event we received free hot chocolates from Schlotzskys and free personal pizzas from Pizza Hut.

Headed South

After leaving the McKnights we took care of many last minute tasks to secure our home for the winter and headed South on November 18th. On the way to Utah we had our token breakdown for the trip. After leaving the rest stop south of Tremonton the step failed to retract. A freeway repair was not possible and the problem was later diagnosed but a part was not found to fix it until we reached Las Vegas. The first stop was to visit the families in Utah. We parked at the O'Donnal's for a visit and then went to visit Leon and Chrissy as they were also making last minute preparations for a trip to Europe early Friday morning. We took Brendon with us overnight and went to visit Laurie. It was strange to go to the Ockey home and find no one home but Laurie. She needed help with a couple of Daddy-do's. Later that day we did get to see more of the family and Dad was very pleased when Breanne had saved him some of her delicious peanut butter and chocolate candy she had made. (Dad loves Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and some time ago he and Breanne made a batch together.) Toward afternoon a major snow storm was predicted to arrive Saturday and so we felt it best to try to get to St George that day. Laurie took Brendon a couple of days earlier than scheduled and we got blown all over the road all the way to St George, arriving late in the evening. We parked at Murray and Collene Taylor's home and spent the next couple of days visiting them and attending church. These were very close next door neighbors when we lived in Salt Lake City. On Sunday evening we went to Hurricane, Utah to visit Doug Shaw and his family. Doug was a mission companion of Dad's at the MTC in Provo prior to leaving for Brazil. Elder Shaw went to the South mission and Dad went to the North. We had an excellent dinner with Doug, his wife Alanea, his son and daughter-in-law, his daughter and three grandchildren. We reviewed pictures from the MTC and the mission field and crammed as much catching up as was possible into a couple of hours. It was a wonderful evening. On Tuesday Dad helped Murray get a slide scanner working at their stake family history center and Wednesday morning we headed for Mesquite, Nevada to meet up with the Liljenquists for Thanksgiving. The Liljenquists and Gardners left in early November and have been in the Overton area. This week the Gardner's had gone to California for Thanksgiving with Laurene's sister. The cold front that brought a major winter storm back home also brought unseasonably cold weather far south as well. Temperatures even in Las Vegas have been into the 20's at night and 30's to 40's in the daytime. I have said that my luck is such that if I went to Hell it would even freeze over! We had a nice traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the Eureka and enjoyed bowling at the Virgin River. We camped at the Casa Blanca where they have a beautiful pond and waterfall out front. On Friday we went on an adventure with Gene and Lynn to the southeast of Mesquite to see a giant sinkhole called Devil's Throat and some rock formations called Whitney Pockets. We then wound along a primitive road through parts of Arizona up over a mountain pass with snow on the road and back to Mesquite after dark. On Saturday we drove to Overton where we attended church on Sunday and on Monday waited until afternoon to meet Dave and Laurene. They and the Liljenquists are leaving motor homes in storage and going back to Idaho together until after Christmas. After a brief greeting when the Gardners arrived and a farewell we headed for a campsite in the Valley of Fire Nevada state park. Tuesday we toured the Valley of Fire. It is a varied and beautiful area typical of Southern Utah. We did the hikes to Mouse's Tank and around the White Domes where remnants of a set from the movie "The Professionals" exists. We then drove down the Northshore Road into Las Vegas where we found a Wal-Mart off the Boulder Highway across from Sam's Town to camp. That Tuesday evening we went to visit another of Dad's mission companions, Jim Bohne and his wife Diane. He and Dad served five months together in the city of Campinas and were very close companions. Again it was difficult to cram so much catch-up history into a two-hour visit but we reviewed all of Dad's mission pictures from Campinas and thoroughly enjoyed the time as we learned that in two months they will be leaving to serve a mission in the Czech Republic. On December first we toured the Lake Mead Parkway from Henderson around the lake shore to Hoover Dam. There we took the walkway over the just opened bridge over the gorge below the dam. It is a creepy feeling to walk out and look down 900 feet to the river below. That evening we had the unique experience of getting permission from a guard to enter a gated community and visit Laurie and Evan's daughter Kristina and her newlywed husband Jared in a lavish casita where they are living briefly until they return to Rexburg soon for Jared to finish school. It was fun to see them and we enjoyed our visit.

It's Looking a Lot Like Christmas

The season's first major winter storm has suddenly changed beautiful, sunny 60-degree fall days to windy, cold, snowy 30-degree days almost overnight. We hope the motor home water does not freeze up with daytime temps in the 30's and overnight temperatures forecast to be in upper teens and lower 20's for the next few days. Days have been filled with shuttling boys to and from doctor appointments, school, soccer practices and games, preschool, band practices and shopping. Dillan and Brandyn have both had a couple days of coughing, fever and strep throat but they seem to be getting better. There has also been plenty of changing diapers and helping with little Jaxon. So far he is growing and doing well. Dad has kept busy with various routine household jobs and minor repairs and even helps with dishes. Last weekend we went back to Inkom in hopes of raking leaves before winter sets in but most of the leaves had not yet dropped. In the process we got to play with Taylor for a couple of hours Sunday while Dad helped Lance replace a leaking water heater. At present Lance is home alone taking care of Taylor while Aubri is in Seattle for training for about a week. He sure is a kind and loving Dad to that little sweetheart! Dad would never have been able to take on that kind of an assignment with our children, especially with a baby. For the last two days I have been on the crippled list with a very sore back for not apparent reason. Dad has a follow-up doctor appointment for his surgery Thursday and we will return home on Saturday with hopes that by then Leslie will have recovered sufficiently to handle things on her own. We have tickets won in the raffle to the BYU Ballet Theater at the Marsh Valley Performing Arts Center Saturday night. We then hope to make final preparations and be on the road headed South for the winter by next Tuesday.

Surgery, a New Arrival and Halloween

On October 21st we drove the motor home to Idaho Falls and parked it across the street from Leslie and Matt's apartment on a pad beside the driveway of their neighbor, Bruce Noller, who graciously offered it for the next few weeks through Dad's surgery and the new baby's arrival. Early the next morning, on Friday, Dad checked in at the Mountain View Hospital for outpatient laser prostate surgery. The surgery apparently went well but the first two days of recovery were a little difficult for him. He is now supposed to take it easy for at least two weeks for healing. On Monday morning we drove the Elantra back home to winterize the sprinkling system and got to tend Taylor for one day before we returned to Idaho Falls Tuesday evening to be there for the new baby's arrival the next morning. Jaxon Paul McKnight was born on Wednesday, October 27th as scheduled and Leslie and Jaxon came home on Friday. Jaxon was 7 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long and is a very cute little addition to the family. His brothers have been excited about his arrival but Dillan seems to be the most. Travis came home sick early from school last Wednesday and was sick for the next day and a half. Since then our days have been busy mostly with school, preschool and Halloween-related activities. On Tuesday evening we watched and helped as the boys carved at least a half dozen jack-o-lanterns. There was a costume parade and party at Cloverdale Elementary School on Thursday and no school on Friday. Brandyn had a soccer game Saturday where his team won 5-3 and Brandyn scored one of the goals. Saturday there were Halloween parties at friend's homes for the boys and then a big Halloween party with a talent show, dinner and activities at their LDS ward in the afternoon followed by trick-or-treating that evening. Brandyn and Travis went with friends, Matt and Dad went with Dillan and his friends around the block and then I went for a second bag of loot with Travis later in the evening. Dad knocked out the few repairs on Leslie's list in the first couple of days and then volunteered to run electrical wire with Matt's help to provide a light and two electrical outlets for Bruce's workbench in his garage to help pay for the free space rent. In so doing Dad and Bruce have become friends and Bruce showed Dad the results of his gold prospecting and metal detecting for coins over the past 50 years. His coin collection was nothing short of incredible with literally hundreds of U.S. coins of every denomination dating back well over 100 years in age. Today, Sunday, we slowed down a bit. Dad, Matt and the boys went to church and I stayed with Leslie to help with the baby and fix dinner. We are looking forward to the next while to help until Leslie can manage on her own.

Life Back on the Homestead

For the past couple of weeks we have been home. The usual time has been devoted to upkeep and maintaining our home and yard and preparing for the cold winter months to come. High priorities have been finding health insurance for both me and Dad. My COBRA from ON Semiconductor ends December 31st and Dad's Medicare Advantage plan will be discontinued in Idaho also starting next year thanks the the government health care overhaul. This has required digging up lots of old medical records, hours of research on the internet, many phone calls and several visits by insurance agents. And we are still not there yet but hope to make our decisions by November. We have also spent much time researching an RV park in Arizona to spend the majority of our winter as well as related planning and travel routes. Since we will not be leaving until Leslie is back on her feet after the baby's arrival some time in November we have decided to travel directly to Arizona and then visit Carlsbad Caverns and possibly my brother Jimmy and one of Dad's former work friends, Mike Saville, near San Antonio, Texas next spring. We have learned that Carlsbad weather can be quite cold in December. One of Dad's most memorable mission companions from Las Vegas called out of the blue to wish him happy birthday along with calls from all of our children and his sister, Sharon, to make his day. Elder Bohne's call after over forty years will likely route us through Vegas on our way to Arizona. Last night (Saturday) we went to a prime rib dinner show at the Center Stage Playhouse in Chubbuck called "Lucky $tiff." This is the former Mystique Theatre. One of Dad's good friends from his group at work, Evan Harrison, was a cast member who did an awesome job as a half-dozen different characters in the play. Most memorable were as a French Emcee and a Catholic nun. Last Friday we picked Gene Liljenquist up and went to Jensen's Grove lake in Blackfoot to fish in the late afternoon. The fish were biting well and within less than two hours we had caught ten nice fish. We came home after dark and then met Leslie, Matt and boys Saturday morning for more fishing at the same location. Fishing was much slower than the previous evening but the boys still caught seven fish by afternoon. We hope they had a memorable time as each caught fish. And now, since we forgot the camera for the fishing excursions this post is short of photos except for some new "pets" that we found in our back yard upon returning from church Sunday. They seemed to like our apple trees and other vegetation and then made a bed on the lawn across the creek as they stuck around all day. It is amazing how different the reaction is between deer, which we have also had plenty of this fall, and moose to humans. The deer immediately take flight but the moose cow just stands up and dares you to come any closer. Dad and her had about a half-hour stare down from about twenty yards across the creek and the moose won.

Visit to the Hartsocks in Chicago

Sept 23rd - Oct 3rd, 2010
I can't believe ten days could pass so quickly. When Lindsy and Ben offered us plane tickets to visit them it was an easy decision. Besides we could spend Carter's third birthday with him and see how Emilia and Avery have grown. The weather in Chicago was a little cooler than back home for the first few days but it was a nice change from last January. On this trip we did far less exploring of the city and a lot more hanging out with the family. Our desire was to help out with the kids and Dad was given a small list of fixit jobs to keep him occupied. The first day there Carter had fun at the playground with a new friend, three-year-old Abby. He had a very nice birthday party with lots of friends, an amazing Thomas the Train cake and lots of presents including a super play kitchen. It felt like Christmas eve with Dad helping Ben assemble it the night before. We visited the Brookfield Zoo and took Avery and Amelia for shots. We baby sat for Lindsy to take Carter to the doctor, for a hair appointment and for Ben and Lindsy to have a date night. Carter is now potty trained and the doctor was talking him into no more thumb sucking which he was already doing well at. Avery and Emilia are so adorable. They smile and giggle and sit and play at stealing toys from each other. They seem to be getting even harder to tell apart and we could no longer rely on the color-coded binkys. Emilia would do the most adorable hand wave with her arm extended while twisting her tiny hand back and forth like a princess on a parade float waving at the crowd along with the cutest smile. Dad went with Ben Thursday evening to the Chicago temple to perform baptisms for the dead. Dad and I took a couple of rides around the neighborhood on some very nice 21-speed bicycles that a neighbor had given them. While there we booked a Southern Caribbean cruise for next February that we will take along with Ben and Lindsy, Laurie and Evan and Lance and Aubri. We are excited but sincerely regret that the other three families can't be there with us. Lindsy and Ben treated us to an amazing breakfast at the Bongo Room in downtown Chicago the Saturday morning before we left. That evening we had dinner alone at the Golden Steer Restaurant near where Ben and Lindsy live. They have the most delicious steaks and we enjoyed our meal every bit as much as when we ate there on our trip last winter. Finally, we did our best to watch all five general conference sessions with intermittent baby/Carter background noise. I think we have almost forgotten what it was like to watch conference on television when our children were small. As usual it was hard to leave but the traffic at the airport departures drop off forced our goodbyes to be very short. Thanks Lindsy and Ben for showing us a wonderful time!