The dental experience

So... we go through google and find some dentists in the area. The second one Les calls, Dr. Stanley Baird, can see him that day. We arrive early and hang out in the waiting room where we have a chance to visit with a very nice family of 6 ~ Mom, Dad, and 4 cute little kids, who are having a family dental day. Les finally get called in and explains his dilemma to the Doc, who graciously pokes and grinds and then sends Les happily on his way, with no charge. Thank you Dr. Baird. What could have been a nightmare scenerio became a story to tell. We appreciate your graciousness and hope your good karma brings you health, wealth and happiness.

...the 'pitfalls' of travel

So, yesterday (Sunday) we're heading south to Tucson Mountain Park to a favorite stop, Gilbert Ray Campground. While traveling through the little burg of Marana, there's a lot of activity on the side of the road and I spot a mexican gentlemen selling homemade tamales. I holler to Les to stop the coach, and I run back and buy 4 fresh tamales. Yum... We saved them until this afternoon, when I reheated them for lunch with some green enchilada sauce that I keep in the coach. I discover that there's a green olive in mine and I warn Les and he finds one in his too. By the time we get to our second tamal, he's apparently forgotten about the olive and proceeds to bite down on the pit, breaking out a filling in his tooth! Tomorrow we'll be searching out a local dentist to help repair the damage!

This was our sunset tonight as we drove back into the campground. Click on it for a full screen view.

Quartzsite and beyond

When we checked into the KOA in Blythe, they let me spin the ‘wheel of fortune’ and I won a fishing pole set! I’m going to hang on to it until Kyle comes out to visit.

On Monday morning, we hooked up with some friends, Mike & Rosalie, who we had met at the Monaco Rally in Lancaster last year. They were heading out into the Quartzsite desert to join some other Monaco Coach owners and we tagged along. We hung out there for a few days, going to the RV show in town and getting to know some fun new people. (Huggy Bob & Marlene, Rob & Jean, Jim & Peg, et. al. this is you! ~ Peg & Jim produce a web page you RVer’s and wannabe RVer’s might enjoy. http://www.americanrver.com/)

The weather has been so great that we’re hesitant to leave the Arizona area yet. High’s in the 70’s and lows in the 40’s and 50’s. On Friday, we made our way northeast to Wickenburg and are staying at an RV park called Horspitality RV Resort and Boarding Stable. That isn’t a typo. This is definitely a cowboy town and the hats and boots are not just for show! Today Les had a great day riding his off-road motorcycle. He did have one brief encounter with a Bull on the same trail that he was riding, but Les was able to give him a wide enough berth to not antagonize the big guy! This is a picture of the stables area behind the rv area.

While Les was out riding, I spent a bit of time going through the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in town. It was a very nice museum with a lot of the local history. Wickenburg is considered the Dude Ranch capital of the world, which started back in the 1920’s. Many still operate today and some have become medical treatment facilities. (Remuda has been converted into the nation's largest eating disorder treatment facility.) I had my first senior moment while visiting the museum; when I went to pay for my ticket, the lovely gray haired lady (old enough to be my grandmother) charged my credit card the senior price! I didn't know whether to be offended or appreciate the $1.50 savings!

Bola ties are reputed to have been invented here. Silversmith Victor Cedarstaff claims to have invented the bola tie in the late 1940s, and later patented his slide design. There were several examples in the museum and they’re quite attractive.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Tucson.

The next great adventure...

We’re hoping our first week back on the road is an indication of the trip to come. We started out on Sunday the 11th, stopping in Nipomo to have a wonderful dinner with friends. On day two, we spent the night in San Bernardino so that Les could go to Chaparral. For the uninitiated, Chaparral is like FAO Schwartz for the grown man whose passion is off-road. (Actually, they have road bikes and stuff, too). You could spend hours in there and still be overwhelmed with all the choices.

This is just the motorcycle area!

Finally, we pulled into Ocotillo Wells State Recreation Area, near the Salton Sea. Les got to ride for a couple of days with our buddy Sterling, and then he and I took a couple of days to test the off-road capabilities of our Tacoma. The weather has been awesome. Upper 70's during the day and mid 40's at night. It doesn't get much better than this in January.



There was some interesting points of interest in the desert, including gas domes and this Artesian Well, left over from some old mining operation. It still bubbles water out of the ground. We suspect the palms were planted, creating the illusion of an "oasis"!


This is our lunch spot...



And our view.

















Home away from home ~ in the middle of the desert.













Les also got to spend some time playing with his Christmas toy.





You should really check out the video, too.

Tonight, we’re in Blythe and plan to spend a couple of days exploring the crazy area called Quartzsite. There are thousands of RV parked all over the desert. They all come here during the month of January for a giant flee market and gem show.

Until next time...