May 2020

We are settling in nicely and getting caught up on a few things.

Only been home a couple of days and happy to report that the yard is officially cleaned up.
The foot high shade grass is back to its beautiful manageable length.
Just like everything during this Pandemic it needed a haircut!

It was really nice to have it cleaned up....thanks to Eve and her family for doing

such a great job, as usual! 

We are selling the RAM truck in the next couple of weeks so I am doing a major clean on it.

I had no idea that Bronco actually had all this hair in the vehicle.

I know she and Chuck are going to miss Big Bertha but we just don't need that big of  truck any

longer.

What a great truck she has been.

I am happy to say she is going to still be in the family as my step-sister and her husband are purchasing it from us.  

Of course the batteries, yes I say batteries, since she has two to get her going have decided to die and we are having to replace both of them.

With the lockdown in full swing Chuck purchases a couple from Batteries Plus and we make a drive over to pick them up.

Now she is ready for her new home!  

Since we now have a much smaller motorhome we no longer need the extra length on the barn so that means we need to close up the back of it and put the barn back to its enclosed self.

This time around we are going to be using the clear panels on the top portion of the barn so we can get some natural light in.

We had saved the old tin that came off the back so it was pretty easy to get the wall back up.

Chuck went back with wood to secure the panels since we had removed the metal struts that ran across the back of the barn.

I am going to be so glad to have the barn enclosed again as it will stay a lot cleaner and hopefully that will also keep the Leprechaun a little cleaner as well.

The task was a bit trying on the high spots as we didn't have the right ladders for the job, but Chuck was able to stretch enough to secure the panels and we had this little job done and cleaned up within a day.

Hey, we are retired, so we can take a little longer on projects if need be!

Mother's Day was spent with the family coming to the house and we all spent the afternoon outside.

We didn't get to do our usual hugs and touching but it was so nice to have them out to spend some much needed "family" time together!  

Chuck had been working on Big Bertha getting her ready to sell, and had placed his glasses on the back bed on the cover.

Forgetting that he had placed them there he took the truck for a spin and later in the evening he started looking for his glasses.

He remembered that they were on the back of the truck so we set out looking down the road by the house to see if they had fallen off.

We weren't lucky enough to find them.

I just knew they would be on the side of the road squished.

Fast forward to Monday.....our neighborhood has a group on FB.

I was looking on FB and someone had posted a picture of his glasses on the site.

I immediately responded to the post.

The neighbor was so kind and actually brought the glasses to us.

Amazingly they really weren't scratched up or anything.

The cactus that stays in Oklahoma has bloomed right on time.
I think you could almost set a clock to the day that this goes shows all its glory.
I am thinking of taking some of the small ones back to Yuma and see if they will flourish there.
Will let you know about that next year!

We meet Rita and Keith at our favorite Mexican restaurant and have lunch before handing over the keys to them.

I knew Keith was as excited to be purchasing her as we were when we got her.

So glad they were able to buy it and give her a good home.

Tony has been going by our place in Yuma and checking for snakes.

When he shows up, he always rings our doorbell so we get to talk a little with him.
This got us to thinking and we came up with a plan.

It was decided that we would have to get Heidi in on this as well, so we came up with the idea to have a virtual "Happy Hour" ever so often so we could catch up on what is going on in Yuma.
Now I'm not saying this is a lightbulb moment as our Canadian friends have been doing this for quite some time but they are using the app Zoom and we just don't feel that secure with it due to all its breaches.

Tony & Heidi don't have Apple phones so we looked into Google Duo and have to say that it is a flawless app so far!

I have been working on the inside of the Leprechaun and trying to make it look more like "ours" instead of looking like all the rest of them on the road.

The painting of the cornices have been somewhat time consuming but I am so excited to get rid of the busy pattern that has plagued the inside of the rig.

Have to say that I am quite pleased with the outcome.

I also was able to get rid of some of the busy pattern on the dinette.

It was just not in the cards right now to reupholster the cushions.  

For one thing, I can't make up my mind what material I would want to use, so this temporary fix works for me!

I ordered some of the chair cushion covers I have been seeing all over the internet.

The ones that are to cover the dining room chairs.

In my mind the shape of the chair and the curvature of the back of the dinette were pretty close so I am going to order some and see if I can make them work.

I also framed the large mirror that is on the wall by the dinette area.
I think it looks a little more finished.
There is more to come for the mirror, but you will have to wait and see next month.

I will also post pics of the rig when I get  it all put back together....or should I say when Chuck gets it all back together.
He has been working on the solar panels for it and has it basically pulled apart at the moment to run the wiring.
Heck might as well make one big mess all at once.
Stay tuned for more pics!

We got a call from the grandkids asking to come and spend the day with us.

Of course we were delighted for them to come out.

The day was filled with Starbucks drinks and some fun playing around the house.

Cash was really excited because Pops let him shoot his pellet gun.
Cash kept calling the rifle a "sniper rifle"....think it has to do with one of the video games he plays :)

Going to have to nick name him "Eagle Eye" as his marksman abilities were right on target.

He was one proud kid.  

Cash also got to go on the top of the Leprechaun and check out the roof as Pops was working on the solar panel installation.

Cooper and I baked some brownies and smashed the middles when they were done so it made a bowl.

Of course we had ice cream to go into that bowl.

All in all it was a good day with the grandkids.  

They are very special....and we are always happy for them to come and visit.

I guess I haven't gotten tired of painting as I decided to try gel staining the garage door.

It was in really bad shape and Chuck helped me power wash it to prep for the paint.

I have used the gel stain in Yuma on a few things and am hoping that it works out good on the metal door.

I only got one coat of stain on today and the wind is supposed to be blowing the rest of the week.

That means the cotton wood tree down the street will be filling the air with cotton, so that concludes this painting for a few days.

Its the end of May and we are knee deep in the Pandemic.

Things are opening up and people are acting like they have been set free around here.

For myself I am still wearing a mask and trying to stay my distance from everyone.

Hope June will be a little more friendly to us, but the way its looking I don't think the Pandemic is over yet!  

February 2019 The Quest To Find a Casita in Yuma, AZ.

Today is the first day of February and we are
saying goodbye to Diana & Chris.
They are going to head back to the frozen tundra of Oklahoma.
Although I hate for them to leave I think I am glad we are staying in the warmth just a little bit longer.







Chuck and I have been in contact with our realtor and she is going to show us a few places in the Foothills that we think might be something we might want to purchase.
We look at several and think we will keep looking for the time being.

As we leave a place Chuck turns down a street we hadn't explored and there is a place for sale that peeks our interest.
Long story short, Deena meets us later that day and we are really really interested.

By February 3rd, we have found our winter home, we hope.
A little negotiating with the owners and it looks like we have a deal.
Wow, that was fast!
We are going to be the proud owners of a 460 square foot Casita and double car garage.


It's kinda funny because the garage has more square footage
than our living quarters.
It is pretty exciting to see a lemon tree and an orange tree on the lot.
We even have palm trees....never in my mind would I ever think we would own palms.

The next few days are spent driving over to the property and getting the paperwork done so we can close in a couple of weeks.
No kidding we have gone over and stood at the property hoping to see neighbors moving around so we can get the feel of the neighborhood.
We have seen no one.
Sure hope they are our kind of people....LOL

We had the guy come and do a home inspection and while he was there, we actually meet some of our neighbors.
The couple on the corner that are starting to build a new home came by.
We meet Jay and his wife Pat.
They inform us of a couple of things that they thought we should know about the property.
We already knew the things they were telling us.
I told Chuck I wasn't sure if they were trying to warn us on our behalf, or trying to scare us away from the place...LOL

Everything is in order and we will be making a trip back to Oklahoma to celebrate our grandsons 8th birthday, and then turn back around and close on our new Casita!





February 9th we pull out from Sans End RV Resort and head back to Oklahoma.
Bronco was excited to be on another trip.
She is quite the travel dog.









Our first night is in Deming NM.
Chuck tries to find us a spot to park at the Walmart there, but there were just too many big trucks and trailers around there for me.
You know how it is when you are driving thru a Walmart parking lot....well, think what it's like pulling a 43' trailer behind you.
I was a nervous wreck.
Plan B goes into action and we pull out of the parking lot and go right next door to an old K-Mart parking lot.
Oh my, so much better.

We find a spot to pull in and call it a day!


The following night we roll into Sweetwater, TX. and again pull into a Walmart parking lot.
I go inside to make sure it is OK for us to park out there, and I am talking to this lady explaining what we are doing, and this lady speaks up and says, "she doesn't speak English, but I work here as well, and you guys are fine to park where you are at".
At this point in our travels, we are just glad to be able to sit down and rest especially since it has gotten colder and it is now raining.
There is road construction on the frontage road and a few times during the night we heard crashing and banging going on.
Nothing ever hit us so it looks like we have survived the night at Sweetwater. 




Traveling in February is always a bit tricky since you never know if you are going to get caught in a snow storm or even a wind event.

So far Chuck has been able to get us where we need to be and we should get back to Oklahoma without any issues.

Once home we start packing the Taj-mah-hauler full of the "stuff" we brought back from Arizona last season.
Looks like we will have a place to put all those talavera pots and solar lights we bought for our other lot.

















I don't even want to mention that it is COLD in Oklahoma and the weather is really not cooperating to well with us. 
We are having quite a bit of wet stuff coming from the sky.

 We celebrate Cash's birthday a day early this year.
What can I say about this grandson of ours.

He is absolutely the cutest guy I have ever seen.
He is sporting a few less teeth in the front and when he smiles it makes you laugh.
Cash is growing up way too quickly....but that is what they are supposed to do, right!











Cooper seemed to like the necklace that we had made for her in Mexico. 
So wonderful to see her smiling face.
Thankful to know that she is healing inside and out from the bus crash. 
Time heals all wounds 








The reason we celebrated his birthday a day early was so we could get back on the road and try to beat some of the weather that is looking pretty bad for travel.
We will be taking what Chuck calls the "southern" route back to Yuma.







I can truly say driving thru El Paso, TX was interesting.
I am being nice to say "interesting".....so many people...going the same direction as us...and driving like crazy!
We just held steady in the middle lane and Big Bertha and Chuck maneuvered their way thru all the construction and masses of vehicles.
I guess I never realized how close the Mexican border was to El Paso.
Upon looking at the map, I realize it now!








We stop for the night at a KOA just outside of El Paso...it is actually in the town of Anthony, TX.
This place is really nice for big rigs.
Every site is a pull through and you have so much room between each site.
The lot was pretty empty where we parked.
There are some full time residence in an upper area, but where we parked, it was pretty empty.
I guess it wasn't quite empty enough for our next door neighbor, because when we pulled in they scampered to put their cat back in their rig and that was about the only time we saw them.
The gentlemans scowling face said pretty much everything as we maneuvered to get into the site.
I guess he thought he was going to be the only person here tonight.

It was so nice to be stopped and set up by 3pm.
We unhook and drive to fuel Big Bertha so we can make some miles tomorrow.

2-19-19
We are up and on our way by 8:30am as there is snow in the forecast and we would like to get through the area before it gets bad.
I had no idea that we were so close to New Mexico....Anthony is right on the border!
You now know why I don't navigate these trips, I am just along for the ride....and sometimes a few directions  :)

We are about an hour and a half along on our trip today and we find snow.
The flakes are pretty large and it is coming down like crazy.
The wind is bad as well, so today may be an interesting day for sure.







The snow lets up before we get to Deming, NM. but the aftermath of the snow they have been having is showing on the mountains.




Did I ever mention that it is COLD!!!!
My gosh this has been an interesting trip....from warm to cold a few times now.




We hit another band of snow along the way today as well.




By the time we make it to Willcox, AZ. the skies are clearing and it looks like we made it through the "weather" event we were dreading.







Our plan is to boondock in the town of Eloy, AZ.
It is outside of  Tucson and will be a good stopping point for the night.
Our friends Joe and Ernie live very close to our stop and we have been in contact with them and it looks like we will get to see them this evening.
Another couple, Danny and Linda will be joining us as well.
I love it when these impromptus come together.

We park in the gas station that just so happens to have a Dairy Queen in it.
Our friends come by around 5 and pick us up and we go over to the Denny's for some dinner.
It was a really nice evening getting caught up on every ones lives.
We ended up back at the 5th wheel and had a margarita or two while sitting in the middle of the parking lot. 

We are hopeful that they will come and see us in Yuma once we get our Casita set up!





The final leg of our travel goes very well.
I have talked to our realtor and the owners of the Casita have given us permission to park on the lot.
In fact we are getting there early enough that we can go to the title company and sign our documents and get this transaction completed today.





I had no idea that in Arizona, you don't get the keys to your new property upon closing...you have to wait for them to have the documents recorded....so it looks like we will be staying on our lot this evening, but will not be able to take possession until possibly tomorrow. :(
Deena felt it was OK for us to unload the Taj and put the stuff in the garage, so we made it happen.

The title company let us know that we could have our keys today.
What an exciting day!
Deena meets us over at the Casita and we officially have keys to our new to us property.

We have even met our next door neighbors, Cathy & Don and feel we are going to fit in nicely with this little group of misfits....LOL





Now the fun begins.
Doesn't take us long to decide to rip out the oak long piece of cabinets that line the walls as you enter the Casita.
I think it just dates it so much.
Yes, we will have something else there, but not a ten foot long cabinet!
Poor Chuck!

We found a really cool dining table that is pub height for the area that had the very long cabinet.
Oh, by the way, we just moved the oak cabinets to the garage, so we repurposed them quite nicely.













During the past few days we have scoped out some stuff we think we need so we make a run to the local furniture store and pick up some "tiny house" recliners.
They should fit perfectly.
Bronco isn't sure what the heck is going on.
The doors are wide open to the Casita and she can sit inside or out and see everything that is going on.
I think she approves of our new little abode.














It didn't take me long to realize I can't live with the white walls in the Casita.
Since we have a strange greenish colored tile with grey grout, I think a gray color for the walls will work.
A trip to Lowe's to pick up color samples and it didn't take me long to pick one out.
Greyrock Inn from Glidden is the color we went with.
It is amazing what a little paint can do to update a place.
I think the walls were very thirsty as well, because the one gallon of paint was completely used on the main area of the Casita.
I bought a couple of gallons with the intent to paint the bathroom as well, but I am going to save that for a later date.



Chuck and I ventured out and had lunch at Wheezy's one afternoon.
The food and the service was great and I think we will be back here for future meals.
Our waitress had a cute and sassy haircut so I asked her who cut it.
She gave me the girls name, so I will be looking into this in a few weeks when my hair is due to be cut.



I woke up with an idea to put the peel and stick wallpaper on the insides of the barn doors.
Of course I had a roll in the trailer, so I was able to get one door done.


It really looks great, so I ran to Walmart and picked up another roll and got both doors done.
I am not sure how the paper will hold up on the doors while we are not here in the Summers but I can always come up with another idea if it doesn't work out.







February is coming to a close and I think at this point it has been a very productive month.
We are now officially land owners in Yuma, AZ....actually we are in The Foothills....found out that is what you tell people....LOL
We are quite happy with our purchase at this point.
Our next door neighbors invited us over for a Happy Hour so we could meet some other folks.
Wow, I think we hit the mother load on good people....I think we are going to fit in with this group quite nicely.
Time to settle in and enjoy our place and our new neighbors.
I got a text from Diana & Chris and it looks like they are coming back out to Yuma to see us.
She asked if they could squat on the property.
Surely by now she knows they are always welcome anytime and anyplace.
They will be driving out, so I told her to bring an air mattress and head this way.
Now I am excited...we officially have our first guest coming to stay with us.
Goodbye February....hello March!

C&D Adventures 2018 Week 1

Day 1 8-22-18

When leaving for a three week vacation do you ever second guess yourself?

Little things like wondering if you have closed the garage door.

Assuming you have both sets of truck keys with you and a multitude of other things.

This trip has started off just like that.

I am pretty sure the garage door is closed but those keys.

Well I think they are still at home in Chucks shorts that are sitting on the chair in the master bedroom.

At least I have my set.

Cups for the trip

I am sure that is why the truck started in the first place.

Love the keyless entry but sometimes there is a hitch in that luxury.

Our travels are short today and we get to the Winstar Casino around 4:30pm.

We are getting ready to make the walk to the casino when a courtesy bus stops in front of our rigs.

How perfect was that.

Gosh the casino is big and getting to El Fenix made me even more hungry.

I know we are pretty predictable, but this food is pretty stinking good.

We walk back to the trailers but not before we walk around some of the trailers that are in the lot just west of us.

Appears that Funtown RV has opened a sales office here.

They didn’t have anything that we would want to trade the Taj-mah-hauler in for.

Time to call it a day and get some rest.

8-23-18. Thursday.

Big Bertha, and her sister are ready to get this vacation underway.
We are on the road by 8:30.

Greenville TX Lupie (our gps on Big Bertha) decides to change our route.

She may think this is quite humorous but when pulling 43’ of trailer it is NOT!
We recovered quite well from this little detour....LOL

The next obstacle was a work crew striping the white line on HWY 69 south bound just outside of Greenville.

Our 6mph crawl was not a lot of fun.

The line of cars were endless behind us.

We are up towards the front but not sure how long this could last.

Finally get around the crews and that is the last obstacle for us in today’s drive.

Big Bertha's sister and Big Bertha

We get to Diamond Jacks Casino around 2.30pm.

Nice little park

Walk over to the casino to figure out dinner and a lady asked if we have a players card.

Nope but give us a minute.

They had a free taco and nacho bar this evening.

It even comes with two complementary margaritas.

Can’t beat that.

After we eat we make our way to the casino.

I think those “free” tacos and drinks were just paid for by our losses at the machines tonight.

Chuck and Chris came out fine but Diana and I are losers.

We walk back to the park and sit outside for a bit.

Meanwhile back in Oklahoma Mother and Louie have gone to our house to hopefully pick up a UPS package. (not to be found)

While there mother finds Chucks missing truck keys.

Check that one off the list.

Nice quiet evening

Day 3 8-24-18 Friday

Although I didn’t sleep very well worrying about the whereabouts of a UPS package, the trailer was cool and comfortable.

First thing this morning I text our UPS driver and he informs me that he left our package with our next door neighbor.

Another mystery solved.
Check that off the list as well. 

We leave the park at 9.

Today’s destination is New Orleans.

I-49 highway puts any Oklahoma road to shame.
It was terrible...
Then we got on I-10 and it was even worse.
We have hit Love bug country, and those little guys are out in force.
We hit a few million I think.
I know what we will be doing when we get set up this evening.
We have learned our lesson on those guys.

We have a slow down at Lafayette due to road construction.

Took some time off our trip but just didn’t want to risk trying to take off streets to bypass it.

Low bridges are not our friends.

Another slow down on I-10 as we make our way to New Orleans.

Guess it’s good we are not in any hurry.

We make it to the Pontchartrain Landing RV Park this afternoon.
We end up at a different spot than we requested, as the guy thought with the size of our rigs we would be better in another location.   
That was perfectly fine with us.

They have a restaurant on site so we decide the just eat there.
They even have live entertainment tonight, so as got a taste of not only local food, but also the music.









Chris says he is going to have some local food, which totally shocks all of us, as he is not one to go out on a limb like that.

Hurricanes were pretty tasty and the food was good as well.

We sat outside until the mosquito's decided to come out with a vengeance.

Day 4 8-25-18 Saturday

Plans are to take the shuttle to the French Quarters.

Bronco is going with us as well

A few first for her today.

Riding in the shuttle.
Bronco did very well, and acted like she knew exactly what to do.
She was with her family and she was happy.  

Sitting in the restaurant for lunch.

Several people commented about what a pretty dog she was.

One lady even took her picture.

I was excited to get a couple of Starbucks cups I had wanted.

Even found a cute shirt at one of the shops.

We can catch the shuttle back to the RV Park at 4pm or 8pm.

Chuck and I decide to go ahead and head back and I know Bronco was ready to leave.

We get a little rain shower while waiting for our ride.

When we get back to the park it is dry.

Nothing, not a drop of rain.

Chuck and I grab dinner at the restaurant at the park again.

Pretty tasty again.

We even had live entertainment again but they didn’t have a very large crowd to play to tonight.

Day 5 8-26-18 Sunday

We decide to go to French Marketplace and shop and have lunch.

Sure looked like we were going to get wet but it passed us by.

Sitting outside getting a bite for lunch was enjoyable.

The nice breeze made the humidity tolerable.

We came we shopped and we ate.

There they are again  :)

Back at the trailers we took advantage of the off time.

I actually finished a book I had been reading off and on since we were in Arizona.

Shows you what kind of avid reader I am. LOL.

It was agreed upon to just walk to the restaurant in the RV Park once again.

We walked around the park after we ate.

All was good until the blood sucking mosquitoes started coming out.

We all sought refuge in our own trailers and called it a night.

We start a new week tomorrow, and more adventures await us.
We keep hearing about the tropical storm "Gordon" and are sure hoping it stays away from our destination in Florida.
We know, its hurricane season, but it is the best time of the year for us to make this trip, so we just have to stay weather aware and cross our fingers that they don't come to the Gulf!
Time will tell!

Rocky Mountain High in July 2018 (part 1)

Looks like Big Bertha and The Taj-Mah-Hauler are heading for another adventure.
We have to make a trip back to Arizona and clean out our storage shed since we have sold the property so we are embarking on a little trip.

The summer trip has been planned for awhile to go to Colorado and explore some areas so when we knew we had to clear out the shed we decided to combine the two.

Our friends, Pat & Heike Garrett, will be joining us in Colorado in a few days, but for the first week we will be winging it by ourselves.

Sunday July 15th we get up bright and early and set our sites for Santa Rosa, NM.
I have to say we have made this trip quite a few times, and it is really not exciting.
Our stay tonight will be at the Santa Rosa RV Park.
We get all set up and decide to go and try dinner at one of the local spots I saw as we drove in.
The Mexican food platter at The Silver Moon Restaurant was quite tasty.
There just so happened to have a Dairy Queen right across the street, so you guessed it, we had a blizzard for desert!
By the time we got back to the park it had filled up quite a bit with overnight travelers.
Goodnight world....for tomorrow we go to Pie Town!





July 16th  Monday

We have heard our friends talk about the little town of Pie Town New Mexico and since we aren't in a big hurry to get to Arizona, looks like today will be our day to make it there.

The ride was nice.
Our altitude climbed quite a bit today...so that makes for a lot cooler temperature than what we have been having in Oklahoma.
Not a bad idea!
Pie Town, NM....have you ever been there....well, all I can say, is don't blink or you will miss it....LOL
We pull into the Pie-O-Neer Pie shop and quickly find that they are closed on Monday.
Not to spoil our day, we just drive a little further to the west and come upon The Gatherin Place.
Greeted by the owner, telling us that we don't have to leave our dog out in the truck as he has set up an area just for the puppies.
Thanks for the offer, but Miss Bronco will be just fine sitting in the truck...she doesn't mind one bit!

As we enter the little store we walk into what seems to be the baking area.
There are a couple of ladies covered in flour making cut outs in the flour to make the pies that look quite appealing.
We go into the restaurant area and meet the cook and the waitress.
The owner tells us that the steak and eggs are also on the menu all day long.





I noticed the Green Chili Stew and decide that is what I would like to eat.
Chuck gets the Chicken Pot Pie.
The food was quite outstanding and left no room in our bellies for us to eat the much talked about pies they have for sale.




The case of pies has every flavor a person could want.
We decide to take a couple of pies to go and make our choices.
I come out with a Caramel Apple....and Chuck gets a White Chocolate Cherry.
These will be great later on tonight!














Our destination for this day is the little town of Springerville, AZ.

The RV Park has been purchased by new owners in the last couple of years, and they are working on building it up.



As soon as we pulled in the park the host shows up and gets all our information and shows us where to park.
We are basically the only RV in the middle section of the lots.
There are about 6 other RV's scattered around the park and look like they are there for a longer time than we are.
The evening temperature is wonderful....and we were there for the late afternoon shower that the host told us had been happening quite a bit lately.
The almost 7000 ft. altitude was great.

The little park was very nice and clean and the newly laid rocks made for a nice level site.
Chuck found out about this RV Park from the owner when he was making our reservations in Cortez, CO....so glad we were able to stay here and give them some business.
We find out that there are no local TV stations and we will have to rely on the DISH, but not going to worry about it this evening as we have to get some rest so we can make our way to Florence, AZ tomorrow and beat the heat....crossing our fingers that we can get in and out of there quickly.




July 17th, Tuesday.



We are up and on our way by 7am Arizona time.
So glad we are able to leave the Taj-Mah-Hauler in Springerville and just drive Big Bertha to Florence today.
This should make things a little easier and less stressful.
The traffic is not bad at all and we make good time going through the Salt River Canyon.












We have loaded all we can load and are out of Desert Gardens by 11:10am.
Its a whoppin 94 degrees when we left and even though it is a "dry" heat....it was HOT!

We made it back to Springerville by 3pm.
Now to unload and pack all our stuff in the trailer so we can continue on to Colorado!
As we almost got everything unloaded we had to stop as we had a shower that decided to come by the area.
It didn't last too long and by 5:30pm we had everything in Taji and ready to find some food for dinner.
Our host had told me about the Booga Red's Restaurant, and I noticed it as we drove through town, so we decided to check it out.





At this time in the day, it was just nice to sit and relax for a bit.
The food was good and the margarita wasn't too bad either!

Back at the RV park I attempt to dial in some TV stations with the DISH....but the storms are messing with the reception....but we finally get satellite.

The daily call to DISH is such a pain, but I have to say the app the girl told me about to find the satellites was a big help.  (SatFinderLite)

The storms left us with a beautiful sunset this evening.









July 18th Wednesday.

We have a short hour and a half trip to our destination for tonight. 

We are staying in Lakeside, AZ at the Ponderosa RV Resort.

The ride to Lakeside was a really nice drive.

Our trip takes us into higher altitude.

Along the way we see areas that must really be bustling when it is winter.  

The ski trails are quite evident on the mountains.

We are at our destination by shortly after noon.  

When we pulled up to check in I was a bit skeptical of the place.

Lots of very tall pines.

It is a tight and quite snakey drive to our site, but we follow our leader!  

Oh man. Really.

Let me say it was a tight squeeze to get into the space.

We no more get parked and the neighbors next door come over and are asking Chuck all about the trailer.

They want to come over and see inside the rig.

But first lunch.

We finish a quick lunch and Chuck goes over to have the neighbors come over.

During the visit the skies get really dark and it opens up and pours.  

The neighbors decide to leave when the rain lets up a bit.




  

Now on to more pressing matters.  

We had a repair to do to the slide in the kitchen.

When we got parked I walked into the trailer and see that  the kitchen door had come open and stuff fell out.

I checked before I opened the slide but guess one of the glasses had fallen behind the slide and caused an issue.

We pulled the bottom wood piece off and sure enough there was a glass back there.

At least it was a quick fix but makes me realize I have to fix my new cabinet pull so it will close properly.

We have heard from Heike and Pat and they have made it to Sayre OK for the night.

The temp is like 104, and I am sure they will be wanting to get to higher country very soon.

For dinner we drove up the road a mile and got a burger.

The reason we stopped here is they had outdoor seating so we knew Miss Bronco could go with us.  

We get back to the rig just in time for another rain shower.

We lost the electricity for a short time but it came back on fairly quickly.

The plus to all this is that the temp is 64.

Just hope we are able to get out of this place in the morning. (switch the brain to worry mode)

Snug as a bug in a rug, with an emphasis on snug.....  :) 

Time to settle down for some sleep....or so I thought!  

July 19th, Thursday

Today is my dad's birthday.

He hasn't been with me for a very long time now, but I think of him often.

Happy Birthday in heaven daddy....I love you.

Just as I figured I didn’t sleep all night worrying about getting out of our site.

All I know is it is going to take some extremely good driving (Chuck I know you can do it) for us to get the Taj-Mah-Hauler out of this place.

We actually drew a crowd this morning as we attempt to exit the site.  Seems everyone knew it was going to be a bit taxing.

The owner came down to assist as well.

He told me to have Chuck keep backing up as the area would crest and start back down quickly.

Looks like he has had people in this situation before because by golly, he was right! 

With his words of wisdom we were able to get out of the trailer park.

Not sure that we would want to try this park again.

Checking it off the list!  

We are now heading towards Gallup NM.

What an easy day of driving.

We make it to American RV Park in Gallup by noon.

It was so nice to pull into this BIG park.

Stayed here before and knew what to expect.

They know how to accommodate "Big Rigs".

We are told that they have BBQ in the park this evening, so it looks like I escape cooking once again...Oh darn!  

We had a nice relaxing afternoon and before you know it it is dinner time.

The BBQ was quite tasty, and it looks like they have an ice cream social after dinner.

I walk down to get our ice cream.

Going to bring it back to the rig and eat it.

As I am in line, there are a few others waiting their turn.

The conversation came up as to where everyone was from.

One of the gentlemen said he was from Midwest City, OK.

We talked a bit and he says he and his wife saw our tags as we pulled into the park....seems he was behind us when we checked in.

The gentlemen also said he was going to Cortez, CO.

Thought that was kinda interesting.  

The ice cream was great....never have I seen such big scoops of it.

Just what the diet ordered...No Keto for me!  

Another day has come to an end and I think I may actually get some sleep tonight since I know we are going to have an easy time of getting out of the park.  

The plan is to meet up with Heike and Pat around 11am tomorrow in Gallup.

They are driving from Albuquerque and we will meet at a designated place and make our way to Cortez, CO.

July 20th, Friday

I guess Pat decided to pour the coals to their rig and we ended up meeting them a little earlier than discussed.

We love it when a plan comes together and by 10:30am we are together in a parking lot with Cortez, CO. on our minds.  

Now we are a pack...a pack of two...LOL

The roads across New Mexico were very rough.

The scenic view was wonderful.

The Little town of Shiprock had a breathtaking view of the ship rocks.

As soon as we cross into Colorado, the roads got a whole lot smoother.









One interesting thing we encountered along the way was a herd of sheep...they look as if they had gotten out of their fields and were grazing along the road side.
Thought about asking if they needed Bronco to get them back where they belonged, but she just didn't seem to be in the mood to herd today.

We will be staying at the La Mesa RV Park for a week

We get to Cortez and checked in by shortly after 1pm.

Shiree (the owner) was waiting for us.

She owned the other RV Park we stayed at in Springerville Az.

Not a large park and no pool but it was clean and a nice place to call home for a few days.

After we park the guys discuss Pat turning his bus around so we could have a buddy site.

We call and ask Shiree if she is OK with it, and she says "sure" and thanks for asking.

What a great idea as we can pull out our awnings and have plenty of shade all day long.

Have to say that we put the DISH out and had TV within minutes. 

A first for us in quite awhile.

Settled in and ready to get this little vacation started, but first Chuck has to work on a small project for Heike and Pat.

Chuck sets up a system to make their internet more secure on their rig.

They now officially have a private network for their Dutch Star.

Mexican food was on the agenda for dinner and while searching Yelp I found one that was close and the reviews were good.

One of the reviews mentioned a Cadillac margarita to die for so when we got to Tequila’s we bellied up to the bar and ordered one.

In our quest to find  that "perfect" margarita, I am thinking we have found the Holly Grail of all margarita's.  

We all decided the food was so-so but those margaritas were another thing altogether.

Back at the rigs we call it an evening.




By the way, the gentlemen that I spoke with the night before in Gallop, well, he is parked in our same RV Park.
He came by and said hello to us.
Small world, huh!  

Saturday July 21st

Being that it is the weekend, we decide to just hang around the rigs today and not mess with the tourist in the area.  

Heike and I go to the local Walmart and stock up on supplies.

The guys did a little maintenance on the rigs.

Chuck adjusted our axels in hopes to stop the wear and heating up we are getting on one of the tires.

We will know if it worked when we latch on and pull back to Oklahoma.

It was fairly warm during the day, 90’s, but with a nice breeze and low humidity we were pretty happy.

Pretty uneventful day.

We grilled burgers and hot links for dinner and just enjoyed visiting.

One thing we learned was to make the Cadillac margarita the secret ingredient was Grand Mariner.

I had noticed a liquor store within walking distance so after dinner Heike and I walk over there to purchase this liquor.

Little did we know that this was a great big Liquor store and you know that we are just like kids in a candy shop.

I find our favorite Salvador's Margarita mix there so I have to stock up on it.  

Back at the rigs we attempt to make our own Cadillac Margarita by using the Salvador's mix and the Grand Mariner.  

I think we have found the secret to make our margaritas quite special.  

Yes, I know I am a snob about them, but they have to be just right for me to love them.  :)

Sunday July 22nd

No exciting plans for today so we just kinda sat around.

Heike and I are planning to cook chicken wings and Brussels sprouts in our air fryers for dinner.

Another trip to Walmart for things we didn’t get the day before and back to watch the Nascar races on TV.

It was warm but with all the shade it was quite tolerable.

We cooked dinner outside and although Pat isn’t a lover of chicken he ate it.

I thought it was great.

After dinner Chuck had mentioned Dairy Queen so Heike and I drove and got us BLIZZARDS .

Although the DQ was a little out of our comfort zone of one mile...LOL...we did it.

I would love to say that they were the best we have ever had, but Heike got the short end of the stick tonight.

Her Blizzard was quite runny.

It was more like soup than ice cream  :(

The guys have been discussing our plans for tomorrow, so looks like we are going to be "tourist" soon  :)

This week is over....tomorrow we tourist...