Quartzsite Continued...

Sat Dec 11
This morning I cut Dad's hair outside the motor home. Then we toured again with Phil. We first headed west on I-10 to Ehrenberg, Arizona and took a gravel road south along the Colorado River where we saw huge cotton fields being harvested. Along the edges of the fields the cotton had been pressed into huge bales. A little further we came to a cliff alongside the road that had a large honey bee hive in an opening in the cliff face. The bees could be seen flying in and out and many honey combs dangled from the ceiling of the opening like a large vertical venetian blind. A little farther on we crossed the river into California and traveled south through the small town of Palo Verde to the Palo Verde County Park on Oxbow Lake which is a narrow lake that branches off the Colorado River. It was a pretty scenic place. We then retraced steps somewhat back to the Arizona side of the river to the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. Near the visitors center is a loop drive with a one-mile loop trail part way around the drive where we enjoyed a peaceful and scenic hike to a viewing blind. This overlooked a huge swampy field where literally thousands of Canadian Geese and a few Snow Geese were spread out before us making a lot of noise. We found that the noise was due to a coyote that was looking for lunch with no luck as clouds of geese took to the air in front of him and eventually settled back down. Along the trail we also saw a pair of mule deer and a number of different song birds. Once back in the car to finish the driving loop we saw Sandhill Cranes, many more geese, a Road Runner, hawks, a small Burrowing Owl, a large herd of deer and many more small birds. Around camp we have also seen numerous small quail, mourning doves and other birds. We then headed back through the tiny and very poor looking town of Ripley to Blythe, California where we had Chinese food for dinner and headed back to camp to witness another beautiful sunset.
Sun Dec 12
Today we attended church here at the branch in Quartzsite. The chapel and cultural hall were packed with about 98% of the congregation over 60. It was quite a different experience from times past in Island Park on Memorial Day with similar crowds but with a much more diverse age distribution. We have enjoyed another day in the lower 80's and I'm loving it! Today has been a time to catch up with internet business, talk to families and watch another beautiful sunset. Happy tenth birthday tomorrow to Travis McKnight!

Exploring Quartzsite Area

Thu Dec 9
First thing this morning Dad tried to find out why the air conditioning on the Elantra has quit to no avail. The remainder of the day was spent getting better acquainted with the town. We signed up at the senior citizen center to get more reliable wifi. We lunched at the Jerky Store then visited the library and a whole lot of flea market stores along Kuhen Road. In the evening we went to town to Skype as many of our kids as we could find home. It was fun visiting with each family and we plan to try again tomorrow evening.
Fri Dec 10
This morning we got our mail that Leta Shaffer had forwarded. This left plenty of business to take care of with taxes, insurances and bank statements. But we still spent over three hours touring the town on bicycles with Phil. Since he knew the area it went quite smoothly until just before home I crashed with some minor scuffs and bruises but nothing serious. In all we covered just about ten miles and visited a number of interesting places with a couple of rest stops along the way. The first was a car lot that specializes in cars with few exceptions from the 40's through the 70's. Some were customized and many were in very nice condition. We then made our way to the city park and visited Celia's Rainbow Gardens that were inspired by an 8-year old girl's untimely death who had dreamed of making the world a better place. Close to that near city hall were a number of Native Ironwood Trees along a wash, some of which are known to be over 1000 years old. It was over 80 degrees today and in spite of being a little sore it was a pleasant and fun day that was finished of with a beautiful sunset.

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.