Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 47--Home

Another day of driving in the wind and now at home. We pulled out of Amarillo around 9:00am this morning for our final day on the road. The local weather report there indicated that the storms that had generated all the wind had moved out and we should have a calm day. Unfortunately, that did not happen. About 30 miles out the north winds picked up and hit us broadside all the way home, although not as bad as what we experienced yesterday.

Other than the wind we had an uneventful trip and arrived at the house around 1:30pm. Everything appears to be fine here other than the house having that "all closed up" smell. That will go away as we get the air conditioner running and get everything aired out. We unloaded the essential stuff from the coach and then locked it up for the night. We'll take a couple of days getting it unloaded and definitely will give it a good bath. After nearly two months out in the desert with weather from everything from wind to rain to snow the coach really looks bad.

Always good to return home but we are already starting our planning for the next trip, which will be in about three week from now.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 46

Wind, wind and more wind and then a big steak. After having a relative easy drive yesterday we were not prepared for today. We left Albuquerque around 9:00am and got back on Interstate 40 heading east. After a stop in Tucumcari for fuel and lunch we headed toward Texas. That was when the wind picked up. The closer we got to the state line the harder the wind blew. Once we crossed into Texas the wind was so strong we were having trouble keeping the coach on the road. We finally pulled off into a rest area about 60 miles short of Amarillo. We had talked about driving all the way into Oklahoma today but that was not going to happen. After visiting with another Monaco coach owner we decided to press on but only at about 50mph. Around 5:00pm we arrived at the Overnite RV Park in Amarillo. By this time I was exhausted from fighting the wind. This was when we decided to go down the street to The Big Texan steakhouse for dinner.

The Big Texan is famous for the "Free" 72oz steak. This thing is huge and is free if you can eat it, a scrimp salad, a baked potato and rolls in one hour. If you take the challenge they sit you at a table on a stage in the center of the place in front of a timer. If you fail to consume all the food then you are presented with a bill for $72.00, $1.00 for each ounce of steak. Of course, anything left after the hour is up you are allowed to take home with you. Tonight there were two young men taking the challenge. Neither were successful but went home with enough food to make several meals.

This area is a good stop over for travelers along Interstates 40 and 25. To make it easier for these folks to get to The Big Texan they provide a fleet of limo's that will pick you up at your hotel or RV park. (We chose to drive our own car since Joanne wanted to make a stop at Wal-Mart on the way back.) In addition to the steakhouse they also have a large gift shop, an adjacent motel and a horse motel for people traveling with their horses. While we were there Grandma Jo found a rocking chair she could relax in. Of course, like many things in Texas it was way over sized.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 45

A bridge in the sky, a dam and then some snow. We finally have started the trip back home to Oklahoma. This should make our grand daughters happy since we've been told they are ready for us to come home. Before we could head out of Las Vegas yesterday morning we had to have one last visit from the Las Vegas RV Doctor. They had previously put on a new main awning and retraction motor, resealed all the seams in the roof and had removed the slide topper (a large piece of material that protects our slide when it is out) from our largest slide. The slide topper was ripped and they had taken it in to be sewn. They had to return to put the topper back on before we could leave.

We finally pulled out of the RV park around 10:00am and after a stop for fuel we got on the road toward Hoover Dam. Since the 9/11 bombing traffic has been restricted over the dam. Large vehicles were prohibited from driving across the dam. Although commercial trucks and buses are still restricted RV's are now allowed to cross. We did have to stop for a quick search of the coach. While one agent walked through the coach another had me unlock all the storage bays so he could look inside. Obviously they were looking for explosives. As we wound our way around the mountain and down toward the dam we saw the new bridge that is being built. This bridge, when completed, will divert all traffic away from the dam. The bridge is being built much higher than the dam and appears to be suspended in air. This has been a major undertaking and has been under construction for several years. It is scheduled to open around the end of this year but that is not guaranteed. There is still much work that needs to be done on the approaching road on the Arizona side. The first picture here was taken through the coach door as we drove down toward the dam. (The picture is a bit distorted because of the screen on the window.) The second picture was taken showing the level of the bridge and of the dam. Not sure I want to drive a large motor home over that bridge once it is finished.

After the dam we climbed back up the mountains on the Arizona side. This was a slow route with the many switchbacks in the road and the road construction going on. (Our friends Lew & Dottie had come through here the previous day and they got held up for a couple of long periods while blasting was going on opening up sections of the mountain for the new road.) We finally reached Kingman, Arizona, and Interstate 40 around noon. Soon after leaving Kingman we ran into a snow storm. The road was completely covered in snow and traffic was going very slow. Traffic in the west bound lanes was backed up a long distance as a long string of motorcycles, heading to Laughlin for Bike Week this next week, were having problems. We saw at least two bikes that had been "laid down" due to the slick roads. The snow lasted for a while and then we were in sunshine, but not for long. All the way to Flagstaff we drove between sunshine and falling snow. We did stop at Seligman, Arizona, for lunch at the Road Kill Cafe. We've enjoyed this great diner on previous trips through this area. It is located off the Interstate on old Route 66.

Around 5:00pm we made it to Flagstaff and Black Bart's RV Park. This is an older park with limited amenities but it is inexpensive and works fine for a one night stop over. It was snowing very heavy flakes when we arrived and were hooking up the coach. Within a few minutes of getting back in the coach the sun came out. What a way to end the day. We did get more snow during the night and the coach and car were covered the next morning. We didn't leave Flagstaff until around 9:00am this morning and by then the snow had melted off our vehicles.

Today was a fairly uneventful day of driving through Arizona and into New Mexico. We arrived in Albuquerque around 4:30pm and checked into the Enchanted Trails RV Park and Trading Post. This is a very nice park with full hookups with, obviously, WiFi. Our friends, Lew & Dottie, arrived here earlier today and are staying a couple of days. They came by the coach for a visit and then needed a little help leaving. Lew had left the lights on his car and ran his battery down. Since I had not unhooked my car from the coach he decided to just push his car over next to mine so we could jump start his. When you live a life out on the road you must always be prepared for whatever comes your way.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 43

Plenty to eat and a jackpot. Some people may think the biggest thing we do on these trips is eat and lately it seems like that. Last night several of us headed downtown to the Main Street Station Hotel/Casino for dinner in their brew pub. After a great meal most of us headed out to Fremont Street to see the light show, the Fremont Street Experience, that plays above the street. Last nights show was a tribute to the band The Doors. This show is on the huge portico above Fremont Street that runs four blocks in length. The do a show each hour after dark and until midnight. Some in our group had never seen the show before.

While here in Las Vegas we learned some other of our RV friends were in town so we met up with them this morning for breakfast at Arizona Charlies out on Boulder Highway. We've seen Arizona Charlies advertisements and have heard this is a very popular place but we had never been there. We had most of the group we've been with the past few days (Leith's, Anderson's and Roe's) and were joined by Wilbur & Phyllis Ply and Nancy Wolfe. Nancy's husband Dick had flown back home to Florida and was do back in town this evening. The buffet breakfast was exceptional and we all had plenty to eat. This was Lew & Dottie Anderson's last day here and they got off before the picture was taken.

The afternoon was a time for everyone to relax. I decided to walk over to the small store that is attached to the office here at the RV park and try one of their older slot machines. Most of the slots out here no longer accept coins but only paper money. They also pay out with a voucher that must be paid by the cashier. These still take quarters and dispense winnings with real quarters. Earlier in the week I had won 15 quarters on a three quarter bet on one of these machines. Today I hit a jackpot, again on a three quarter bet, and wound up winning $118.50. There were not enough coins in the machine to pay the jackpot and the machine emptied before half of it was paid out. They had to call the company that services the machines to come in and reload it and pay me the balance of the win. We've had a good time out here but all things must come to an end.

Later this evening, after a happy hour at the Leith's coach, our group headed back downtown to the Four Queens for a prime rib dinner in their Magnolia Restaurant. It has become a tradition with Joanne and I to have prime rib at the Magnolia every time we visit Las Vegas. We had the same group from breakfast, less the Anderson's, and were joined by Dick Wolfe direct off his flight from Florida. After dinner we took a shortcut back to the car through the Golden Nugget. They have completely revamped their swimming pool area and it now includes a shark tank. They have a large tube slide from the upper deck to the pool that people can slide through. The portion that goes through the tank is clear so people can see the sharks and other fish as they slide through. All good things must come to an end and that is true of our stay here in Las Vegas. Sometime tomorrow morning we will load up and start our trek east back to Oklahoma.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 42

Some coach repairs, visiting with friends and even meeting some Stars. Pawn Stars that is. The last two days have been spent mostly running around Las Vegas getting some chores done. We made arrangements with the Las Vegas RV Doctor to complete the repairs they started while we were in Laughlin. We now have a fully working main awning, although the wind is blowing too hard today to be able to extend it and get the hot desert sun off the coach.

While Joanne and Vicki did some shopping Don and I tooled around town in his Corvette Z06. We did find time time to visit the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, the home of the History Channel TV show called The Pawn Stars. This has become a very popular show and has made stars out of the three family members: Richard Harrison (The Old Man), Richard junior (Rick) and Rick's son Corey along with Corey's long time best friend Austin Russel (Chum Lee). They told us at the shop that prior to the TV show their business was relatively slow. Now they often have 1,000 visitors per day. We try to catch the show every Monday night and enjoy each of these characters. On our visits we were able to meet The Old Man and Chum Lee. I had a good conversation with The Old Man in that he is, like myself, retired from the Navy. We also got to see his pickup truck that is often seen on the show when he stands in front of it while giving a monologue about the happenings in the shop.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 40

Viva Las Vegas! We woke up Sunday to the sound of gun fire. Don & Steve were out in the desert trying out Steve's new rifle. I quickly got dressed, grabbed my Henry Repeating Rifle and joined them. After expending a few rounds we loaded up our coaches to head out. The Terra's returned to their home in Southern California and the Leith's and us headed for Las Vegas. We arrived at the Oasis RV Park on the far south end of Las Vegas around 1:00pm on Sunday. After getting settled in and hooked up we relaxed awhile before heading to the Southpoint Hotel/Casino for their buffet dinner. The promoters of the Baker to Vegas race provide each of the RV Volunteers with a voucher for the Sunday night buffet at the Southpoint. The six of us (Leith's, Anderson's and Stone's) were joined by Ray and Glenda Roe for dinner.

Afterwards only Vicki, Glenda and I wanted to keep going so as everyone else returned to their respective coaches the three of us headed for downtown Las Vegas. I'm always amazed at the changes that have taken place in between our visits to this town. I've always preferred to spend my time in the downtown area than out on the "strip" (Las Vegas Boulevard). This year we saw many changes in the different casino's that are down there with the biggest change at the Golden Nugget and the Gold Coast. Both of these casino's have added space by moving into portions of the old Pioneer Casino, which has been closed for many years. Additionally, the Golden Nugget has added a third tower of rooms for their guest.

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

Today is my father's 91st birthday. He has always been my hero and is my best friend. I am proud to be his son. I hope he had a very special day and was very sorry that we could not be there with him to celebrate. Being out in the middle of the California desert we had no cell phone coverage to even give him a call. We love you Pop.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 39

Final day at the school and then off to the desert. Friday morning was met with a moving van full of equipment to be used at the staging areas for each leg of the Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay Race. Don & Vicki Leith and Steve & Vicki Terra have traditionally taken on the task of dividing up all the gear and issuing it to the RVer's who work the different stages. Last year I joined them in this endeavor. This time Joanne plus Lew & Dottie Anderson helped us out and we got it done in a couple of hours. After this tasks was complete we had some free time to relax before dinner. Each year on Friday evening one of the classes at the school has a spaghetti dinner as a fund raiser. After the dinner us and the Leith's, Terra's and Anderson's loaded up and headed for our stage out in the desert. (If we had waited until Saturday morning we would have had to be out of the school parking lot by 7:00am to be ahead of the race. We decided to go out early, like we did last year, so we did not have to roll out so early on Saturday.) After we got set up out their we all sat around and visited until well after dark and then turned in in anticipation of the next days race.

On Saturday morning we were out bright and early to help set up the equipment for our stage of the race. Using rebar and plastic tape we formed a "chute" for the incoming runner to come in, exchange the baton with the next runner, and for the next runner to take off. Each team has a chase car that follows directly behind their runner. From the start line to us (Stage 2) it is just over five miles. The entire race is 120 miles broken down into 20 stages. The second stage is the longest at just over eight miles and is almost all uphill. The almost 250 teams were broken down into eight flights, leaving the starting line an hour apart, starting at 9:00am. The teams with the slowest average times start first with the fastest teams starting last. This is, hopefully, so they will all be hitting the finish line on Sunday morning. The race ends at 10:00am sharp on Sunday. Any team not past the finish line, at the Las Vegas Hilton, by that time is eliminated and is disqualified for next years race.

Since the runners of the last flight left the finish line at 5:00pm our portion of the race was over by 5:45pm. We then broke down all the equipment and stacked it for the truck to pickup. The truck came by within an hour or so. Also all the other volunteers broke down their areas (Timekeepers, medical staff, traffic control, etc.) and departed. By late evening all that were left were the Leith's, Terra's and us. (Lew & Dottie were working at a location well down the race route, very near to Las Vegas.) The six of us pulled up our lawn chairs and had dinner together.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 37

Everything got settled in Laughlin and then off to Baker. In the last post we told about the problems our friends were having with their Corvette and their motor home. All is well. Don returned with the Corvette all fixed before the tow truck was finished hooking up the motor home last Monday. The coach was towed to Kingman with Don & Vicki following in the Vette. By mid-day Tuesday they were back with everything all repaired. Early Tuesday morning we headed west for Baker, California, our primary destination. By this time we were now up to four coaches. In addition to the Leith's we now had Jack & Jane Dale and Lew & Dottie Anderson with us. We arrived in Baker around noon yesterday and got our rigs set up. Actually it did not take much setting up since we are "dry camping" here in the parking lot of the Baker High School. Dry camping means we have no hookups: water, sewer or electric. It is on occasions like this that these things are self contained. We came in with our holding tanks empty and our 100 gallon fresh water tank full. Also will have to run the diesel generator a couple of times a day to keep the four batteries charged up to run the appliances and lights. Here is a picture of us lined up with some of the other RV's that are here to support the race this Saturday.

Today was a slow day, a time for everyone to visit and relax. Our group did go into town for lunch at The Mad Greeks. This is a great little restaurant that is famous in this area. Baker is approximately half way between Los Angeles and Las Vegas on Interstate 15. Today it is a good stopping point for people making the trek in one direction or the other. It is a very small town but the main drag is loaded with eating places, including most of the usual chain fast food places. At one time, before the Interstate was completed, it apparently was a place for people to get their cars taken care of that had overheated trying to climb the mountains. The picture to the left is Joanne with Dottie & Lew Anderson at The Mad Greeks.

This evening we had a pot luck dinner in the school gym. As is normal at any pot luck there was plenty of food. Afterwards we had ice cream provided by one of the school's classes as a fund raiser. The Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay is a major fund raiser for this small school. (The senior class will usually have between 8 and 12 students each year.) In addition to the ice cream social tonight they will have a bake sale tomorrow morning, a spaghetti dinner tomorrow and a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning prior to the race. Since they have all these people camped in their parking lot they need to make the most of it. Also, each RV couple donates $10.00 to the school for their scholarship fund for allowing us to use their parking lot as a staging area for several days. After dinner tonight we returned to the coach to a beautiful sunset behind the mountains. Due to all the rain they have had out here in the desert this year it is a great time to be here. This is as about as green as we have ever seen the desert southwest with almost everything in bloom.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 34

More days of beautiful weather and then watching our friends get the hook. The weekend saw more of our friends arrive prior to heading out to the race in Baker. Jack & Jane Dale pulled in on Friday and Lew & Dottie Anderson arrived on Sunday. In addition some of the Dale's kids came over for the weekend to play on the river. We spent a lot of time going out to eat with all these folks including at the Saltgrass Steakhouse in the Golden Nugget Hotel/Casino on Saturday night. The guys also attended a car show that was being held at the Tropicana Hotel featuring 1955, 56 and 57 Chevy cars and pickups. They also had a version of the n2a (for no two alike) versions of the 789. This is a new car, built on a Corvette frame, using the front of a 1957 Chevy, the center of a 1958 and the rear of a 1959. This is a very unique vehicle. This car is titled as a 2007 N2A 789.

When our friends, Don & Vicki Leith, arrived here last Wednesday they were experiencing trouble with the engine in their motor home. They called all the necessary repair facilities and the emergency roadside assistance to arrange for the coach to be towed to a facility in Kingman first thing Monday. In the meantime they also experienced problems with their Corvette, which they had brought with them in a trailer. On Thursday we had taken the Vette to the local Chevy dealer in Bullhead City for repairs but the part that was replaced came disconnected over the weekend causing a loss of steering. So this morning they had two tow trucks, one for the Vette and one for the coach. Fortunately the the Vette was a quick fix and Don was back before the driver had completed hooking up the motor home. Around 11:00 they were all headed out for Kingman. Hopefully the motor home problem will not be major and they will return back to the RV Park here in Laughlin very quickly. Although they took Don's dog, Tess, with them we are cat sitting with Vicki's cat, Furby. Furby has settled in and he and Buddy Joe have decided to coexist if not actually become friends.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 30

Laundry chores, friends arrive and a boat ride. Yesterday was a day for doing chores, mainly the laundry. First we decided to explore along the Colorado River and some of the casino's we had not been in. This was mainly to hit their gift shops looking for logo golf balls. Some years ago a cousin got me interested in collecting logo golf balls so now I seek them out with logo's from places we have visited. We did a lot of walking and was able to score two, one from the Edgewater Hotel/Casino and one from Aquarius Hotel/Casino. In the afternoon Joanne bundled up all the laundry into two large baskets and we headed off to the RV Park laundry facility. This endeavor took most of the afternoon.

Toward the evening Jo was getting ready to fix dinner when we received a call from one of the couples we were to meet up with here. They originally were not due in until Friday but were ahead of schedule, were refueling in Kingman and would be at the RV Park within the hour. The food went back into the fridge and we waited for Don & Vicki Leith to drive in and then went to dinner at the Edgewater Casino buffet. We will spend the next few days with these transplanted Californians, who now live in Arkansas, while waiting for two other couples to arrive.

This morning was spent lining up repair schedules for the Leith's motor home and their car. The car is now at the Chevy dealer and the motor home will be taken to Kingman on Monday for repairs. It seems there is always something on these rolling houses to be fixed. After lunch at the In-and-Out Burger we headed over to the Riverside Hotel to take their boat ride up and down the Colorado River. This was about an hour and one-half tour that went all the way north to the Davis Dam and then back down to the south end of Casino Row. It was a fun time with an interesting narration about the City of Laughlin and the area.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 28

A trip to the RV hospital and up in the hills to feed the burros. We really had not done much since our trip to Chloride last Friday. It was a relaxing weekend with our only real excitement was the Easter Buffet Brunch over at the Tropicana Hotel/Casino. On Monday we contacted a local RV repair service we had been referred to for some repairs on the coach. They are located in Fort Mohave just south of Bullhead City on the Arizona side of the river. I made arrangements to take the coach in at 7:00am this morning. The repairs were estimated to take about 10 hours so we had to find something we could do that included taking Buddy Joe with us.

Although we had been to the town of Oatman before we decided it would be fun to go back. After a stop for breakfast in a diner by the RV repair facility we headed off. Oatman is on the original U.S. Route 66 about 13 miles east of Fort Mohave. From Oatman the old road winds up and over a mountain to Kingman. We arrived in Oatman around 8:30am and almost everything was still closed. With that we decided to go on over to Kingman. This is a 25 mile drive over a two lane, mountain road with many switchbacks and no guard rails.

Though this is one of many trips out west over the years we had never stopped in Kingman for anything more than stopping at the Flying J for fuel. It has always been interesting that one of the main roads through town is Andy Divine Drive. Kingman was Andy Divine’s hometown and the town’s favorite son. We stopped at what had originally been a power generation plant but are now home to the tourist information center and a really nice Route 66 museum. The museum had a rather large section devoted to the plight of the migrate workers that made their way to California during the Great Depression looking for work. These people stories were told in John Steinbeck’s book “The Grapes of Wrath”. We did enjoy the museum but with Buddy waiting in the car we needed to move on.

After a stop at the Flying J for gas, since it is cheaper to buy fuel in Arizona than in Nevada or California we headed back to old Route 66 and the trek back over the mountain to Oatman. By the time we got back all the shops were open and the town was full of tourist. As a matter of fact just after we drove through and got parked they blocked off the street to stage an old western gunfight. We took Buddy with us as we made our way up the street but Joanne wound up carrying him most of the way because he did not like the crowds, the burros nor the gunfire. Oh yeah, the burros. Oatman’s claim to fame is not just being an old mining town that has since become a tourist attraction, the wild burros roam freely up and down the street allowing the tourist to pet them and feed them carrots. There are plenty of signs warning that these are wild animals and sometimes will bite or kick but many of the shops sell bags of carrots to the tourist. They do caution everyone to not feed the baby burros because their systems are not fully developed and they will choke on the carrots. They have even placed a “no carrots” sticker on the forehead of the babies.

By having Buddy with us we were unable to go into any of the shops or eating establishments. Finally, around noon, we took him back to the car. That gave us a chance to do a little shopping and then stop in at the Oatman Hotel for lunch. They were very crowded and we had to come back twice before we were able to get a table. Like the place we ate lunch in Tortilla Flats, down in the Phoenix area, they have allowed guests to sign dollar bills and staple them to the walls, poback to Buddy and headed back to Fort Mohave. The pleasant surprise was that the coach work was completed so we were able to return to the RV Park st, beams and anywhere else they can find to put them. This place was pretty much completely wallpapered with dollar bills. After lunch we got in Laughlin by around 3:30 this afternoon. Overall this was a good day. Got needed repairs on the coach done plus had a great day of sightseeing.

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 25

As previously mentioned Laughlin is a mini version of Las Vegas. The hotel/casino’s that line Casino Drive along the Colorado River are just as lit up and glitzy as any a person would find in Vegas. We are staying at the Riverside RV Park, directly across the street from Don Laughlin’s Riverside Hotel & Casino. This park is built up the side of a very large hill in tears. We are at the very top level so we have a commanding view of the strip down below. Here are some pictures taken from up on the hill of some of the lit up hotel/casino’s.

Don Laughlin's Hotel & Casino

Tropicana Hotel & Casino

Colorado Belle Hotel & Casino

Aqurius Hotel & Casino

Westward Ho--Spring 2010--Day 24

We arrived in Laughlin around noon after an uneventful trip from Lake Havasu City. Laughlin is an unusual town built around a casino. In 1966 Don Laughlin had a vision of a gambling Mecca on the Colorado River immediately across from Bullhead City, Arizona. At that time there were no bridges crossing the river so he set up free boat rides so the folks on the Arizona side could come over to the casino. Since that time several hotel/casino’s have been built up along the river and Laughlin has become a mini-version of Las Vegas. Although there are some residential areas of Laughlin the main non-casino growth has been across the river in Bullhead City. There are now bridges connecting the two towns and Bullhead City has become a good size city.

For our first excursion out we decided to take in what is described as a ghost town, the town of Chloride, Arizona. It is about 50 miles northeast of Bullhead City. This is not actually a true ghost town in that it has a current population of around 150. The town does have the longest U. S. Post Office in the area, dating back to the 1880’s. There are also a few shops in town along with a very nice cafe/restaurant. Also, one section of town is the old western main street. On one side of the street are original, historic buildings while the other side has a series of false front structures to give it the look of a western movie set. This is where local re-enactors hold gun fights at high noon on Saturday’s during tourist season. Since we were there on a Friday there were no gun fights.

There are some unusual sights in town. Up on the northeast side of town are numerous houses that have what could be called “yard art”. These are collections of antiques, rocks and junk that has been lined along the street in front of houses in a decorative mode. In one of the houses a lady actually does operate an antique shop but the others appear to have just put up the decorations for their own and the tourist amusement. The lady who runs the general store and tourist information bureau suggested we check out their town cemetery. She indicated there were many very unusual tombstones since Chloride had many unusual people living there. All in all this was a good day trip.