Ehrenberg AZ

We are almost back in California.  Staying this week in Ehrenberg AZ, which is just across the Colorado River from Blythe CA.  Now, I must admit that when I made reservations here I thought it was just making the best of a place in the middle of nowhere.  It was on the way where we were going but who would really come here on purpose?   Well, to our surprise it is very nice and really is a destination for lots of people who like to boat on the river, ride ATVs and lots of other outdoor activities. 

We are staying at River Breeze RV Resort where we paid $225.09 for the week.  Why the 9 cents?  I have no idea.  But it is a reasonable price considering the amenities. All the sites are nice green grass and extra wide.  They have a great dog park and a boat launch and beach along the river.  Amelia loves grass so she is in heaven and Pablo got to swim for the first time in the river.  He wasn't sure at first when he went out deep enough to lose his footing but he soon got the idea and was swimming around having a blast! 

Evenings and mornings have been cool but it has been up in the 90's in the afternoon.  We get our long walk and bike ride with Pablo done in the morning and then take the doggies in the river in the afternoon.  They do have a pool but we have not taken advantage of that yet as they frown on furry people in there! 

Site B-18 - Close to the river and the dog park.

River access - boat ramp is just behind the bench on the left.

Pablo enjoying the dog park.

We found out from the manager that the "Run for the Wall" Veterans group will be coming through Blythe on Wednesday.  This is a group of veterans who ride motorcycles from Ontario CA to Washington DC in order to raise awareness and honor Viet Nam and all veterans.  You may have seen some of them along with "Rolling Thunder" when they all ride into Washington.  Linda and I are going to go over and cheer them on as they ride through.  It should be fun and we always like to support those who served to protect our freedom.

Las Cruces NM

We are now on our way back to California.  Spending this week in Las Cruces, New Mexico at the Hacienda RV Resort. Nice place but maybe a little over-priced.

 

On our way here from Angela's house we stopped overnight in For Stockton, TX.  While there I pulled on the handle to open the front door and something snapped or broke.  It was kind of scary because every time we shut the door we were worried that it might not open again and we would be locked out!  I was able to order a replacement and had it expedited.  it arrived today, Thursday, and I spent the afternoon tearing apart the front door and replacing the handle and lock.  All done and it works nicely!  Now we need to have some more keys made.  

We also created a minor flood in the space next to us when the shut off valve on our new water softener popped off.  Luckily, Linda happened to look out the window and said "what's all that water from?".  Yikes!  It was our water hookup!  I guess the shut off valve that came with the water softener was not designed for very high pressure.  I temporarily used a y-splitter and got us hooked up again and will have to pick up a new shut off valve next time I'm at Home Depot.  

That's about all the excitement we've been able to create here for now.  Moving on to Ehrenberg this weekend.  That's on the Arizona side of the Colorado River at Blythe.  We will be there next week and then back to home turf in the bay area next weekend!

Robstown TX

I just realized that I skipped a whole week in San Marcos TX.  We stayed at the Canyon Trail RV Resort while visiting my Ciber co-worker.  Walt just bought a new house in Kyle, TX so we got to see his new place and spend some time with he and his wonderful wife, Vira.  We also managed to get in some good training and knowledge exchange so it was a very good visit.  Too rainy and stormy for golf but we did have some good BBQ at the County Line! 

After that, we headed down here to our daughter Angela's house.  Even though her address is Robstown, she is out in the country and not near town at all.  She and her husband, Paul went to extreme measures to fix up an RV pad for us complete with power and water, but the rain did not cooperate so we wound up parking in the driveway.  Still had 50 amp power so we could run the AC and escape the 90 percent humidity that we and the doggies are not used to so it was all good.  There was rain and thunderstorms pretty much all the first week we were here with one gigantic storm that literally turned the whole property into a giant river!  We had mud everywhere and even now, a week later, we are still cleaning  mud out of the coach. 

Here are a couple of picture Before the great flood!

Other than the weather last week, our visit has been a great time with family.  We have been able to spend a lot of time with Angela and Paul, Robert, our son and the grand kids, Maddy and Mason.  It is so good to see them all and catch up on what is going on in their lives!

From here we will be heading back to California in order to arrive in time for our Woofstock dog show the first week of June.  We will be spending a week in Las Cruces, NM and a week in Ehrenberg, AZ on the Arizona/California border.

Albuquerque NM

Oh wow am I late in posting this!  We have already been here almost a week and we have eaten enough wonderful food for almost two weeks!  We have discovered that we both love new Mexican food!  Hatch green chiles are manna from heaven!  Check out Facebook for all of our check-ins at various restaurants around here.  Many were suggested by our friend Gary Allison who says he fasts for a week before coming here for the dog show and eating out almost every day.

Anyway, we were going to stay in Santa Fe for two weeks but we had to come down to ABQ to get 4 more tires on the rear of the coach.  Also had to get an alignment which the tire places were not able to do.  We are staying at American RV Resort which is just down the street from the tire place and across the freeway from Camping World.  Very convenient, and it is only a short drive into town. This is also the first place we have stayed where they offer a free continental breakfast each morning. We partook one morning but prefer our usual fruit and bagels at home.  Then, of course, we went down to the iconic Frontier for breakfast one morning.  Great juevos rancheros and cinnamon rolls!

The weather has been nice although a but windy at times.  While the coach was getting new tires installed we took the time to go on a little hike with the doggies to see the Petroglyph National Monument.  Here are some pictures...

Just like Santa Fe, we have enjoyed old town Albuquerque as well.  Linda found a lovely necklace from a local artist too.  Here she is modelling her new "spirit necklace".  It is worn over the heart and is supposed to bring you good health and good spirits.

Here is the old church that is on the square in Old Town. 

We will be leaving here early Saturday to head down to Texas.  We will stay a week near Austin to see my co-worker, Walt and then head down to Corpus Christi to see the kids!  

Santa Fe NM

We finally made it to Santa Fe on Sunday evening.  We had to leave the Grand Canyon a day early to go down to Flagstaff and get some work done on the coach.  We discovered that our rear air conditioner had stopped working  when we were in Phoenix so we ordered a new one at Camping World in Flagstaff and planned to stop and pick it up.  Due to our time constraints I just decided to let them install it as well.  We also had to get two new front tires (arghhh, it never ends!). 

On  the second day at the Grand Canyon we decided to move to a better camping spot.  When I was putting the tire covers on, I noticed on the drivers side front tire that there was steel belt coming through the rubber!  So, we arranged for two front tires to be installed the same day.  We were able to drive slowly down to Flagstaff and got everything done and stayed at a KOA there Friday night.  Then we were back on track.   Drove to Gallup Saturday and then on to Santa Fe Sunday.

We are staying at Trailer Ranch RV Resort which was recommended by our friends John and Lee Millsap from the Hangtown Kennel Club. It is really nice and has a 1/2 acre dog park for Pablo and Amelia to play in.  Check out the video I posted in Facebook of them chasing each other. 


We plan to see as much of the area as we can in one week.  We originally planned to stay here for two weeks but we need to go down to Albuquerque next week so I can get 4 more tires for the rear of the coach and a front end alignment.  These were not available in Flagstaff.  It's OK though because there is a lot of stuff we want to see down there as well.  We plan to take the tram up to Sandia Peak, see old town and try out some New Mexican restaurants that friends have recommended. 

Site is a little tight but level and neighbors are nice.

Pablo is looking for more toys in the box!

Amelia and Pablo really liked running free in the 1/2 acre park.  Hopefully not too many rattlesnakes out this time of year, but they have been through avoidance training so they should be safe!

Grand Canyon AZ - more pictures

We are really enjoying our time here at the Grand Canyon!  Here are some pictures which really do not even start to show how grand this canyon is!

Watchtower at Desert View

Inside the watchtower

Top level of the tower

 

The Hopi House

Navajo dancers

Grand Canyon AZ

The good news is that we are safely camped at the Grand Canyon and we are all fine!  Getting here didn't seem too bad at the time, but Linda and I kept noticing a strange noise from the top driver's side of the coach.  We checked the cupboards in that area and nothing was rattling around.  We thought it might be that the window shade was coming loose on the outside but when we stopped at a rest stop for lunch we both looked around out there and it all looked fine.  Well the mystery was finally solved when we arrived at the campground and I went in the office to register.  When I came out, I looked at the coach across the street and saw the satellite dish fully extended on the roof!  

I CANNOT BELIEVE WE DIDN'T NOTICE THAT!  We drove 250 miles with a giant satellite dish on our roof!  Holy toads from outer space, Batman!  And it gets worse - when we were leaving the park in Phoenix, a guy was honking at us and waving - we thought he was just a friendly guy, probably from South Dakota and saw our plates.  Then when we stopped for lunch at a rest area I walked up on a ridge with Pablo and I STILL did not notice the giant dish on the roof!  And, there's even more.  When we arrived here at the Grand Canyon we drove under a very low wire hanging over the street.  Linda said "are you sure we can get under that?".  My response was "of course,  We're only twelve and a half feet tall".  I am sure that we only cleared that wire by inches!  The RV gods must have been with us because everything still seems to work OK and there is no damage done except for a few bugs on the back of the dish.  Thank goodness it was positioned pointing more backwards so the wind didn't hit it straight on.  Needless to say, we are going to be double checking the dish before we leave from now on!

Our site at Trailer Village

We are staying at Trailer Village RV park which is inside Grand Canyon National Park.  It's only about a 10 minute walk to the south rim of the canyon and we walked over there with the doggies this morning. I have never been here before and I must say I was impressed!  This has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.  We will be doing more exploring over the next two weeks and I will post some more pictures.

Take care and remember - Home is where you Park it!