Saturday, January 31, 2004
The sun and warm weather just doesn’t quit, tho it was too windy today to use the pool. Also too bad I am still not on the golf course. Carolyn and Sue returned to the Casino, no winner, just whiners today. Rob and I went across the border to Algodones Mexico. It is only 2.2 miles away as the crow flies but we had to drive 10 miles to get there. It was a pleasant visit, many touristy stores plus pharmacies selling cheap drugs, many optical and dental outlets too. Apparently these outlets are well qualified and inexpensive and popular to the local Americans. No prescriptions are required at the pharmacies as well. Imagine being able to buy any amount of any antibiotic??? They were all there, doxicillan, amoxicillan, penicillin, etc. Not a good idea actually. Viagra, readily available though, Did you know Niagara Falls but Viagra rises???
Rob and Sue leave tomorrow, so we spent our last evening going out for Dinner. We went to a nearby restaurant called Brittans Farm Chuckwagon Steakhouse. The special was Prime Rib and was it ever delicious!!.. Followed that with Deep dish Apple pie with ice cream, which was also great. Could hear the old arteries slamming shut. I guess we will have to be good now after Sue and Rob leave. We were with them for 4 weeks and it didn’t seem any more than 6. Bwahaha. Kidding aside we really had a great time together. We wish them safe traveling back to Victoria. They are anxious to retire and I expect by the end of the year they, or at least Rob will be.
Man am I full. Time for bed. Nitey Nite.
Rob and Sue leave tomorrow, so we spent our last evening going out for Dinner. We went to a nearby restaurant called Brittans Farm Chuckwagon Steakhouse. The special was Prime Rib and was it ever delicious!!.. Followed that with Deep dish Apple pie with ice cream, which was also great. Could hear the old arteries slamming shut. I guess we will have to be good now after Sue and Rob leave. We were with them for 4 weeks and it didn’t seem any more than 6. Bwahaha. Kidding aside we really had a great time together. We wish them safe traveling back to Victoria. They are anxious to retire and I expect by the end of the year they, or at least Rob will be.
Man am I full. Time for bed. Nitey Nite.
Friday, January 30, 2004
We had a great gathering at the Golden Corral Buffet. About 24 of us (Vancouver Islander Branch of FMCA) showed up and it was great to see so many friends from the Island. Several others are here that couldn’t make it. We will probably see more of some of them over the next 3 weeks. We have extended our stay at Cocopah to a full month. We will be here until Feb 23rd enjoying the Sun and fun, pool and hopefully more golf. I have only managed one game and had to cancel the rest as I have a pain under my right shoulder blade that won’t go away. It didn’t do my game any good at all and has been hurting since. Hopefully I will get a few more games in before leaving. Sue and Rob extended their stay for two days and then will be heading home, to go back to work (whatever that is). They really don’t want to but apparently they need to make money, so they can retire. Apparently that will be in 12 – 18 months.
The weather has been fabulous, but as much as I would like to rub it in, I can’t. From what we have heard from just about all parts of Canada through, emails, Dennis’ blog etc. is that this has been one of the worst winters for a long time. It will end so I am told. Good times and weather will return, then we will come home.
Rob, Sue, Carolyn and myself treated ourselves to a “Red Lobster” dinner. We had planned that when they were going to leave today, but now they are not leaving until Sunday we can celebrate somemore. Sue and Carolyn went to the Casino today and Carolyn actually came home with $20.00 more than when she left, and got to play for a couple of hours too. She usually dumps her limit in 5 minutes or less.
Time for a nap. Tata til next time.
The weather has been fabulous, but as much as I would like to rub it in, I can’t. From what we have heard from just about all parts of Canada through, emails, Dennis’ blog etc. is that this has been one of the worst winters for a long time. It will end so I am told. Good times and weather will return, then we will come home.
Rob, Sue, Carolyn and myself treated ourselves to a “Red Lobster” dinner. We had planned that when they were going to leave today, but now they are not leaving until Sunday we can celebrate somemore. Sue and Carolyn went to the Casino today and Carolyn actually came home with $20.00 more than when she left, and got to play for a couple of hours too. She usually dumps her limit in 5 minutes or less.
Time for a nap. Tata til next time.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
John and Sue Van Shaik, as well as Verne and Audrey Hauge are here in Yuma and they were over for drinks Sunday. We saw them at Quartzsite last week, funny I forgot to mention that in my recent blogs. Anyhow Brooke and Linda Williams and quite a few others from Vancouver Islanders Chapter of FMCA are here in Yuma and we are all getting together for dinner Wednesday night. It should be fun.
Haven’t golfed here yet as my (Gary’s) back has been sore for unknown reasons, might have something to do with washing the Rig and car, the day after we arrived. It is so unusual to find a campground that allows you to wash your motorhome, (especially with water being a scarce commodity around here) that we had to take advantage of it.
The weather has been simply gorgeous. High 60’s, low 70’s on the Stanford-Binet scale, no that’s IQ, well that’s about 18 on the other scale. Hey, how ‘bout that, southern weather is smarter than northern weather.
Girls are going to the pool while Rob and I golf this afternoon. Tis a tough, roughing it in the wilderness, having to make do with only 70 CATV channels, having to drive to the heated pool and hot tub, waiting in line for internet access is particularly rough. In fact we like roughing it in this resort so much that we are thinking of extending to a month. Rob and Sue (who still have to work, silly people) will be heading back home next week.
Check out my Brothers Blog at http://dousey.blogspot.com for his interpretations of our trip and other hilarious commentary on a wide variety of topics that happen to trip over his twisted mind.
Must take a nap, its been a rough day.
Haven’t golfed here yet as my (Gary’s) back has been sore for unknown reasons, might have something to do with washing the Rig and car, the day after we arrived. It is so unusual to find a campground that allows you to wash your motorhome, (especially with water being a scarce commodity around here) that we had to take advantage of it.
The weather has been simply gorgeous. High 60’s, low 70’s on the Stanford-Binet scale, no that’s IQ, well that’s about 18 on the other scale. Hey, how ‘bout that, southern weather is smarter than northern weather.
Girls are going to the pool while Rob and I golf this afternoon. Tis a tough, roughing it in the wilderness, having to make do with only 70 CATV channels, having to drive to the heated pool and hot tub, waiting in line for internet access is particularly rough. In fact we like roughing it in this resort so much that we are thinking of extending to a month. Rob and Sue (who still have to work, silly people) will be heading back home next week.
Check out my Brothers Blog at http://dousey.blogspot.com for his interpretations of our trip and other hilarious commentary on a wide variety of topics that happen to trip over his twisted mind.
Must take a nap, its been a rough day.
Friday, January 23, 2004
We arrived in Quartzite on the Monday (19th) and departed today Friday (23rd). We are now in Yuma at a very nice (golf) resort called Cocopah. Sue wanted at least one week of pampering with access to hot tubs and pools, I jumped at the chance to do some golfing (Rob is going to golf too). There is a pet park here, which is to say a fenced off area which includes all the things pets like, ie: fire hydrants etc. You can let them run loose in that area. Our Chuffley and Rob’s Merlin just love it. We will be here a week. But back to Quartzsite.
Talk about a 3-ring circus. WOW. It is a small town of regulars that increase in size many times. According to Sue the town of 10,000 swells to a million, though I don’t think it is quite that much. The main attraction is the BLM lands; that is the Bureau of Land Management. You are allowed to park just about anywhere in the desert for up to 14 days free. Actually they have large tracts set aside for 14 day maximum stays, and other large tracts for unlimited stays, provided you have purchase a $100. annual pass to do so. This pass is good on any BLM lands in Arizona of which there are many. Quartzsite is the most popular. When you drive over the pass and look down into the valley where Quartzsite resides you can see literally thousands of various Rigs spread over thousands of acres. Many travel in groups and you circle the wagons in the spot of your choice and settle in. Downtown is turned into a tent city of flea markets, RV dealers, gem and rock sellers, acres upon acres of everything and anything for sale. There were African carvings (eg: 8’ tall giraffes – David would know) tools, crafts, tourist trap stuff, some cheap, some expensive. The downtown is also turned into a giant parking lot, which included most streets. Constant rush hour and the inevitable traffic jams. Line ups everywhere for everything. Yep and 3-ring circus.
Many set up camp and stay for the winter. $100 is an inexpensive way to go. However, you don’t have any hookups. If you are in the 14-day area you are dry camping and on your own. In the long term areas water is delivered and honey wagons take away your waste, propane is also delivered (all for a price of course). Generators are used extensively though many Rigs are equipped with Solar panels, with the almost constant sun that is a good choice to charge your batteries. The countryside is essentially desert with mountains visible in the distance. Pitch black at night makes for great stargazing. Biggest problem is dust dust and more dust. However, if you can put up with that it is great spot. We only stayed the four days as were are on an exploratory mission.
Weather was generally sunny with warm days and cool nights. We saw some heavy thunderstorms in the distance but nothing came of it in our area.
This week we can relax in the luxury of this resort. Today is hot and sunny and the forecast is for warmer evenings. Internet is available so I’ll be on line for the next while.
See you on the golf course.
Talk about a 3-ring circus. WOW. It is a small town of regulars that increase in size many times. According to Sue the town of 10,000 swells to a million, though I don’t think it is quite that much. The main attraction is the BLM lands; that is the Bureau of Land Management. You are allowed to park just about anywhere in the desert for up to 14 days free. Actually they have large tracts set aside for 14 day maximum stays, and other large tracts for unlimited stays, provided you have purchase a $100. annual pass to do so. This pass is good on any BLM lands in Arizona of which there are many. Quartzsite is the most popular. When you drive over the pass and look down into the valley where Quartzsite resides you can see literally thousands of various Rigs spread over thousands of acres. Many travel in groups and you circle the wagons in the spot of your choice and settle in. Downtown is turned into a tent city of flea markets, RV dealers, gem and rock sellers, acres upon acres of everything and anything for sale. There were African carvings (eg: 8’ tall giraffes – David would know) tools, crafts, tourist trap stuff, some cheap, some expensive. The downtown is also turned into a giant parking lot, which included most streets. Constant rush hour and the inevitable traffic jams. Line ups everywhere for everything. Yep and 3-ring circus.
Many set up camp and stay for the winter. $100 is an inexpensive way to go. However, you don’t have any hookups. If you are in the 14-day area you are dry camping and on your own. In the long term areas water is delivered and honey wagons take away your waste, propane is also delivered (all for a price of course). Generators are used extensively though many Rigs are equipped with Solar panels, with the almost constant sun that is a good choice to charge your batteries. The countryside is essentially desert with mountains visible in the distance. Pitch black at night makes for great stargazing. Biggest problem is dust dust and more dust. However, if you can put up with that it is great spot. We only stayed the four days as were are on an exploratory mission.
Weather was generally sunny with warm days and cool nights. We saw some heavy thunderstorms in the distance but nothing came of it in our area.
This week we can relax in the luxury of this resort. Today is hot and sunny and the forecast is for warmer evenings. Internet is available so I’ll be on line for the next while.
See you on the golf course.
Saturday, January 17, 2004
Today was a long hard day shooting a variety of firearms. Started with 9mm pistol and ended up with an Ousey shooting an Uzi. LOL. I must of shot 7 different types of rifles; (a Mauser 742 Machine Gun currently worth $22,000.00), Sigsaur 9mm pistol, MP5 Machine Gun, AK47, Mac10-45 Calibre Machine gun with silencer, M16 Colt 9mm conversion, Standard M16, with tracer ammo, and an Uzi). There was more firepower there than the current Canadian Army. LOL. It was great fun. Rob and I took pictures and movie clips of each other shooting the s**t out of some targets composed of old cars and old computers; also some regular targets. Great fun. Afterwards we had a BBQ with so much food and desserts I am still stuffed 6 hours later. Ron Wong and his brothers, Bing, Ralph and Michael were great hosts along with their better halves. We bade them goodbye and invited them up to Victoria in the summer when it is hot here and cool (relatively speaking) on the island. I am not sure they will, they are all so busy with the rather enormous enterprise. It was a satisfying and tiring day. So tomorrow we will relax around the pool and otherwise get ready to depart to Quartzite on Monday. There is not Internet connection in Quartzite as we will be dry camping in the desert for a few days. So may be off line for that time. Probably will get back online after that from Yuma, our next destination.
Friday, January 16, 2004
Hey, two blogs in one day OOOgah OOOgah OOOgah.
Dennis is wondering how to pronounce Picacho. We pronounced as that little pokeman character, but were wrong. Locals had a good laugh at our expense. We have 3 syllables; the Pi as in pick, then Ca as in caught, and cho as in choke. Thus we have Pi’ca’cho, with emphasis on the ca. But then we have had pronouncing most things down here with our “Canadian accent”.
Saguaro “so’wa’ro National park was a cacti lover’s delight. It was a virtual forest of Saguaro along with every other cactus known to mankind. All this with the Tucson mountains as a backdrop made for very different scenery. We missed the Desert Museum due to road construction, and found that “old Tucson” is a studio and mini theme park. Looked good but we didn’t have enough time to make it worth the entrance fee, so will go back to that Sunday, time permitting. Instead we did the Walmart theme park instead, stocking up on what we will need for Quartzite next week.
Well off to shoot machine guns tomorrow. Only in America you say!!
Dennis is wondering how to pronounce Picacho. We pronounced as that little pokeman character, but were wrong. Locals had a good laugh at our expense. We have 3 syllables; the Pi as in pick, then Ca as in caught, and cho as in choke. Thus we have Pi’ca’cho, with emphasis on the ca. But then we have had pronouncing most things down here with our “Canadian accent”.
Saguaro “so’wa’ro National park was a cacti lover’s delight. It was a virtual forest of Saguaro along with every other cactus known to mankind. All this with the Tucson mountains as a backdrop made for very different scenery. We missed the Desert Museum due to road construction, and found that “old Tucson” is a studio and mini theme park. Looked good but we didn’t have enough time to make it worth the entrance fee, so will go back to that Sunday, time permitting. Instead we did the Walmart theme park instead, stocking up on what we will need for Quartzite next week.
Well off to shoot machine guns tomorrow. Only in America you say!!
Weather is still beautiful, cool evenings and warm sunny days. Carolyn and Sue spent the day in the pool while Rob and I got a tour of Ron Wongs farm. Amazing place. They rent all the land to farming and an area to a gravel pit, which turns out cement and asphalt too. Quite an enterprise. Ron treated us to a steak dinner at his friends Dude Ranch, “White Stallion Ranch”. It is a resort destination ranch. All inclusive at $400 - $600 per night. Thursday was all you can eat steak night. It was great. Marvelous ranch, with all sorts of animals, deer, mule, horses (small and large) wide variety of Cacti gardens, and bronze statuary, Carolyn was in her glory. Very pleasant day and evening. Today we are about to head to the Saguaro National Park and Old Tucson. TaTa.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
This is a great resort. Pool, hot tubs, lounges by the pool for sunning, games, activities, good weather, we’re thinking maybe a month here next year, maybe. There is a state park nearby that contains the local feature called Picacho Peak; a rocky, craggy peak of a few hundred feet sticking out of the desert landscape. Also, there is Saguaro National park nearby that has many of the cacti of the same name. There are many of these and other Cacti in and around the resort. Carolyn was really thrilled to see them for the first time. We will be visiting both parks today and on the week end. Right now Carolyn and Sue found an Outlet Mall not far from here so guess what? Surprise! They are shopping.
Rob and I worked on a minor problem with the my motor-home. The brake lights stopped working. We narrowed the problem down to the switch on the brake pedal as the culprit. Went into Eloy today and got a new one and now brake lights are fine.
Having a good time with Rob and Sue. Rob’s Diesel Club buddy Ron Wong has invited us for a steak dinner Thursday and also invited Rob and I back to his shooting range on the farm (he seems to own half of Arizona) for a shoot on Saturday. Ron has a bunch of gun nuts over twice a year (machine guns yet). So Rob and I are going; just target shooting fortunately. Might be fun, guaranteed to be noisy, (note to self “take ear plugs”).
Rob and I worked on a minor problem with the my motor-home. The brake lights stopped working. We narrowed the problem down to the switch on the brake pedal as the culprit. Went into Eloy today and got a new one and now brake lights are fine.
Having a good time with Rob and Sue. Rob’s Diesel Club buddy Ron Wong has invited us for a steak dinner Thursday and also invited Rob and I back to his shooting range on the farm (he seems to own half of Arizona) for a shoot on Saturday. Ron has a bunch of gun nuts over twice a year (machine guns yet). So Rob and I are going; just target shooting fortunately. Might be fun, guaranteed to be noisy, (note to self “take ear plugs”).
Monday, January 12, 2004
Been off line for a few days. We made it to Tucson and stayed at a “resort” that needed a little TLC. However, we only planned on staying a couple of days. We visited a Titan Missile Silo at Green Valley. It was an excellent guided tour. The only silo that is open to the public that still contains a missile. ( A deactivated Titan missile ) It is a must for anyone visiting near Tucson. A volunteer group of retired “misslemen” run the program and it very professional.
Today we continued on to Picacho Peak Resort. It is a Passport of America site so we got a good rate for a week. Rob and Sue have friends nearby whom we will be visiting and we are 30 miles from Casa Grande where we have friends to visit and still only 35 miles from Tucson if we wish to go back for any reason. Rob’s friend has a Hummer (one) and we just went for a drive in it. Great piece of machinery.
We have internet connection so shall be online for the next few days. We are well health wise and still enjoying the trip, though missing family and friends.
TTFN
Today we continued on to Picacho Peak Resort. It is a Passport of America site so we got a good rate for a week. Rob and Sue have friends nearby whom we will be visiting and we are 30 miles from Casa Grande where we have friends to visit and still only 35 miles from Tucson if we wish to go back for any reason. Rob’s friend has a Hummer (one) and we just went for a drive in it. Great piece of machinery.
We have internet connection so shall be online for the next few days. We are well health wise and still enjoying the trip, though missing family and friends.
TTFN
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
We went to Juarez, Mexico today. Enjoy that very much. Only Rob, Carolyn and I went as Sue wished to remain behind and look after the dogs. Merlin (their Llaso) doesn’t care to be left alone too long, so she looked after him and Chuffley while we went. Quite a typical Mexican border town of 1.8 million souls, many of which were asking for money, in one way or another; mostly by selling tourist stuff. Had an excellent Mexican lunch and a really marvelous décor. I would have to send pictures to do it justice. We will be on our way to Casa Grande day after tomorrow. We all have friends to look up there.
TTFN
TTFN
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
We visited the Caverns and they were just as spectacular as when we first saw them years ago. There are huge cavernous rooms and lots of stalact-things; we enjoyed it again. It was cold again over night in Carlsbad, Robs hose froze overnight; mine was OK as I left it dripping over night. (Now don’t misinterpret all that). After toodling around Carlsbad (the city) we left for El Paso. We found that the military FamCamp at Fort Bliss, was available to Canadians and they had space. Sue and Rob had not stayed at a military camp yet so we just had to do it. We arrived today about 3 pm after some interesting navigation. Sue and Rob and we got separated just as we were getting into town, however, we ended up in the same place roughly the same time, which was a good thing.
We have set up and will stay for a couple of days. Just are going over to Juarez on the Mexico side tomorrow for the day.
We are real sorry to see all the cold and snow back home, yeah right! Anyway we are thinking of you all. We just called Donny in Victoria to tell him just how much we were thinking of you’all. We sang “the weather outside is frightful,…..Let it snow, let it snow let it snow”. Amazing how far south these cold snaps travel though, the saving grace is the warm sun during the day.
Till tomorrow then.
We have set up and will stay for a couple of days. Just are going over to Juarez on the Mexico side tomorrow for the day.
We are real sorry to see all the cold and snow back home, yeah right! Anyway we are thinking of you all. We just called Donny in Victoria to tell him just how much we were thinking of you’all. We sang “the weather outside is frightful,…..Let it snow, let it snow let it snow”. Amazing how far south these cold snaps travel though, the saving grace is the warm sun during the day.
Till tomorrow then.
Sunday, January 04, 2004
We have arrived in the city of Carlsbad NM. We are at the Windmill RV park, which is about 25 miles from the Caverns. It is a beautiful sunny day, about 75 fractals for you Northerners, though a bit breezy and thus dusty. We drove through something that was approaching dust storm proportions. It forced me to clean my air filter in the motor home. Carolyn’s has practically given up try to dust, she can’t keep up with it the past couple of days anyway. We are waiting expectantly for Rob and Sue. They had a longer drive from San Diego, but were planning on doing it in 3 days. So they should arrive tonight. In fact we should know before I actually blog this.
Camp office closed at 6:30 pm yesterday and therefore couldn’t blog. Sue and Rob arrived about 6 pm and we went out for dinner at the “No Whiner Diner”. Actually turned out to be an excellent restaurant with a rather humorous menu. Food was great too. Spent the evening catching up with the news from home and reading some of the mail they brought down to us, mostly our Christmas cards.
We are off to the Caverns momentarily so that’s that for now (TTFN).
Camp office closed at 6:30 pm yesterday and therefore couldn’t blog. Sue and Rob arrived about 6 pm and we went out for dinner at the “No Whiner Diner”. Actually turned out to be an excellent restaurant with a rather humorous menu. Food was great too. Spent the evening catching up with the news from home and reading some of the mail they brought down to us, mostly our Christmas cards.
We are off to the Caverns momentarily so that’s that for now (TTFN).
