Weerrr Baaak! It’s been so long since we wrote about our travels that we are going to do a quick catch-up of this year and then try to keep up with places as we visit them. No, we didn’t fall off the face of the earth or give up this fantastic live style! Surprise!!!! We’re still loving it. So…Since our last blog…(can’t remember how long ago) we had put our RV home in storage and rented an apartment in FL. for several months in 2014 with Gene’s mother. When summer came we hit the road again. In May, attended the last College Graduation (Michael), met up with RV friends for a few weeks in the Outer Banks, attended my niece, Sarah’s wedding in NY while Gene’s mother went to Boston for the summer and we headed out west. Traveled to visit kids, friends, more family and finally back down to Florida in October, 2015 for a few months while helping set up Gene’s mother at Aston Gardens Independent Living in Venice. We planned on leaving FL. Jan. 2 but we liked it so much we decided to stay another month before heading Westward-Ho again. We left with another RV couple headed to Quartzsite, AZ. We stopped to visit friends Guy and Sue Alexander in AL. and then Mardi Gras in New Orleans. We were there for two days of craziness and got a call with family emergency and had to head back to FL. Gene’s mother had developed an infection and wound up in the hospital for a week and recuperating at home for another few weeks. We wound up staying til the end of Feb. and started out again. This time we made it out to AZ. where our friends Kelly and Bill Murray waited for us to arrive and hung out boondocking/drycamping (meaning no hookups in the desert) another two weeks with us. What great friends in this RV community! We then went our separate ways as they are headed to Alaska to workcamp and we headed to Las Vegas to visit with my son, Matthew and his wife, Julie. The pictures below start right before we left Florida for the second time which we wound up being there for a few birthdays.
Birthday party for Eileen and my mother at the Pelican point Golf and Country Club . Going clockwise: Dave-Richard-Billy-Eileen-Yo-Rosa-Aunt Theresa-Lisa-Christine-Patty. Photography by WayneEileen dancing with Kim at a dance at a Kim & Denise’s condo community at Welcome Back dance.Air boating through the bayous of Louisiana with our friends Kelly and Bill. A must if you are in the area. Our guide was a wealth of knowledge and an all around fun guy.
Mardi Gras New Orleans (Nawlins)
Yeah, he wishes.Having dinner and looking out the balcony in New OrleansLooking the other way
Eileen collected a lot of beads…me not so much!Yes, they were real!Camp site at Oleno State Park FLBlack River State Park FL. I’m going left! You can’t make this stuff up.Lakeside RV Park, Livingston LA
The Natural Bridge Caverns The caverns are located near the city of San Antonio, Texas in the Texas Hill Country next to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, a drive-through wildlife safari park. The caverns feature several unique speleothems and other geological formations. The temperature inside the cave is 21 degrees Celsius (70°F)[2] year-round and the humidity rate is a constant 99 percent. The deepest part of the public tour is 180 feet below the surface, although undeveloped areas of the cavern reach depths of 230 feet. (Wikipedia)
Cavern entranceNatural Bridge and cavern entranceHeading down 180 feet
Hiking back upThe green light in the top center is the beginning of the Spelunkers tour. Pictures of Spelunking or as it is now being called Caving. Lots of Guano on the ceilings…I call it bat poop.
Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp walking down to fight at OK Corral.
Met up with other RV Dreamer friends, Greg and Cori and Lee and Trace in Tucson, AZ
Finally!!! arriving at Quartzsite, AZ. La Posa South LTVA. Many were gone that gather every Jan. for the RV show there, but still some interesting campers left.
The Neighborhood! Us on the left, Bill and Kelly in the center and Bert on the right. Not pictured to the left of us about a quarter of a mile a way Les and Sue and Mike and Claudia.
A special thanks to Bill & Kelly for sticking around Q and organizing the dinner at their house and helping us get settled at Q and the trip to Los Algondones, Mexico. Thanks! Not to mention the trip to the desert bar!
It’s tradition that when friends are arriving from a long drive to campground to have dinner for them. We love that tradition. From left: Kelly, Ei,Gino, Bert, Mike, Claudia,Sue and Les (Big Boomer) Photography by Bill.Yes, someone is camping in the desert in a boat!I don’t know how they sleep in this, but they do have solar!Breakfast with Bill & Kelly in Quartzite
Max wants to give a shout-out to his friends “Hobie” and “Mikey” and “Gracie the cat”.Our reason for the hike-Palm trees in the crevasse
These cactus are about 75 years old. Otherwise, no comment.KOFA, the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 to protect desert bighorn sheep. It encompasses 665,400 acres of Sonoran Desert. Broad, gently sloping foothills as well as the sharp, needlepoint peaks of mountains are found in the refuge. Wide variety of plant life and scattered waterholes attract a number of water birds to the desert.Too much hiking for this little guy.Outdoor movie night and popcorn at the Murray’s.
There are a lot of people that travel to Mexico to get dental work done. Us included. We traveled there one day to get our teeth cleaned. It was the best cleaning we have ever had. The equipment was high tech., better than my dentist in VA! We were very impressed and Gene had a crown re cemented that he had lost. Teeth cleaning – $25.00. Score!
Heading to the Nellie E Saloon (Desert Bar) in Parker, AZ. This is a unique bar located on the site of an old copper mining camp. It is run strictly on solar energy and is stored in batteries and run through inverters. They have live music, food and only open on weekends. The church is made of solid steel and the walls and ceiling are made of the same stamped tin as the bar. It is one side but people hold marriage ceremonies and photo ops there. It is 5 miles of dirt, rocky road and hills off the main highway. You definitely need a truck and a drink by the time you arrive and well worth the trip.Not a road for the faint of heart!Owners house. The tall structures are cooling towers. They work similar to an evaporative (swamp) cooler, except they don’t have a fan. When you wet the pads on top, cool air falls and you get a nice cool airflow.
Big Boomer & SueKelly & SueLooking down at the bandLine to get foodSame line
you can see the solar panels on top.
ChurchLes (Big Boomer), Sue, Gino, Eileen, Claudia, Mike, Bill and KellySunset at Q (Quartzite, AZ)
One of the pleasures of this lifestyle, chewing the fat around the fire.Sunset reflecting off our house
Eileen & Julie Trying to attach a Gremlin Bell on Matt’s new bike supposed to protect the riders and bike. .Rick & Wendy on the left and Matt & Julie on the right on the way to Death Valley.
No we are not on a bike!
Brunch at hotelRick, Wendy, Matt, Julie and Eileen & Max
This looked like camouflage
Easter Brunch
This brunch was awesome! Biggest brunch I’ve ever been to. The menu doesn’t cover half the items. Should have gone to the Dessert Bar first!!
This is the oldest state park in NV. It derives its name from red sandstone formations. They often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun’s rays.Campground looked like a great place to camp in the park.
The BeehivesMore beehives
Mouse Tank Trail Named for a Paiute Indian renegade who used this one place to hideout in the 1890’s after being accused of killing two prospectors and one of the few places that had water.
Rock art from prehistoric Ancient Pueblo Peoples. They didn’t stay long in this area because of the scarcity of water. They were farmers from nearby Moapa Valley Indian reservation that were visited for hunting, religious ceremonies and food gathering.End of the trail – Mouse Tank
Eileen on the White Domes trail. This site is used as many movie sites. Sandstone formations with brilliant contrasting colors and a one-mile hike.
Shortly after we arrived here the campground had a Customer Appreciation night.
Newhallin - Dragging Our Bed Around 