Another Year Has Rolled Around

It's New Years Eve and preparations are being made for Mom and Dad's open house and year end celabration here on the desert.
Christmas was great with beautiful weather and just as wonderful friends and family to spend it with.
It started with a cute little tree to get us in the spirit.

A few presents to add to the excitement.

and a Christmas Day brunch.... with the bunch!

Happy New Year!! May the bumps in the road be small and your joys great. Love ya lots!

Have Tools Will Travel

No it's not just a catchy phrase. We really do break out the tools for more than trading work for a parking spot.
Here's John building a deck a few sites down from the cabin in Quartzsite.



John and Tom resting after a job well done. But wait there's more. The back looked so good the front porch must be replaced also. It's a good thing this Evergrain decking is so nice to work with and should hold up well under the extreme conditions here in the desert.

Of course on any restoration or remodel there are a few suprises like no insulation above the living room.


So the 3 of us( John, Tom and I) decided to do it ourselves....Yuk! But more importantly why does John always get to run the control and stay away from the insulation ?

The Absolute Very Last Yard Sale

Ya right!!
But its so much fun.

We say this every year but somehow we always find enough stuff to fill a pick-up truck.
It's a great excuse to visit with everyone just arriving back for the winter so I can't complain and of course it does put a little" jingle " in the pocket!

Kayaking the Colorado River

NOT US !!!!!!!!!


US !!!!! (Jim and Kayodie, John, Chris and me -behind camera)


Of course we don't take off without a pre-flight(float) test of equipment .The 5 of us had a nice leisurely paddle down the Colorado river. ( Ariel at a mere 70 lbs. is a bit to much uncontroled weight). Next time we'll bring a picnic !! and make a full day of it.


It was a tough paddle , but somebody had to do it. ( We actually had about a 4 mph current)

HAPPY TURKEY DAY

This beauty is curteousy of Penny and Vicki. Good friends in Apache Junction Az. Mom, Dad, John and I spent the day with them and their family.

Ohooo Roadtrip

Jim and Chris are only 200 miles away.....ROAD TRIP!


We had to see for ourselves just what they are up to when we aren't playing.
It seems they can't stay off the road, Palm Creek is so large they had to give Jim and Chris their own cart just to help everyone with their wifi questions.
It was a too short but great visit topped off with a Sunday morning hike....straight up.





Gotcha(getting me, getting you, getting...)
Ahaa another Treasure! (We're pirates at heart)


What goes up must come down.

Last night we had the first Topaz Ave street party of the season


Brenda and Edy were busy cookin' and carving while the rest of us were busy...tellin tales.


and waiting to eat.
Joannie and Howard had stopped by on thier way to Phoenix.

They have been good friends since our times in Tahoe. No matter where we live or what we are up to we always keep in touch... Another couple of "Keepers".
Here's Joannie doin what she does so well.


They are moving from Palm Springs to Northern Idaho. Soooo cool. Literally cooler!! Did I say we all used to live in Tahoe?

Progressing Nicely

The "Project" is coming along quite well.

A wall here would be nice.


Patch in alittle drywall.


Start reassembling your shop.


And some paint ..... Who moved a window???

HALLOWEEN

Mom letting her creative juices flow.

SMILE!! or I'll make you!
Even Ariel has a a pumpkin.

BUGS

MMMM we are finally eating those pesky little bugs we've been traveling around the country with.


And John did a fine job BBQ-ing them!! In fact they disappeared so fast I didn't get any more pictures.

Back at the Cabin

A short 9 months and 22 days ago we left Mom and Dad at the cabin in the capable hands of Jim and Chris and now we are all trickling back.
First Mom and Dad finished thier summer workcampers job in Mammoth Lakes Ca.
Now us.
And soon Jim and Chris, Dan and Monna,Dick and Carol.... well you get the idea.
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

We are back in the prime spot.
We have Dish TV this year.
I've signed up for a month of RVLogon(must stay connected)
And the projects have begun!!!
Yesterday the lumber arrived.

and today the switching of front slider door with side windows is well underway.


Out with the window here.
In with the door.

E.T. Highway

We are on the road again. Next stop Mesquite Nv. close to Utah on the Arizona border, but here's the good part... via "The Extraterestial Highway".


It takes you south thru the center of Nevada past (the non-existant) area 51.
If you pass that way don't forget to stop at the Little A'Le' Inn , Rachel Nv. , check out the pix of UFO's from all over the world and maybe grab a bite to eat.

KAYUBA...NO REALLY KAYUBA

Now can I have a Kayuba sticker???
It's the end of the summer season in Tahoe and Steve (Kayak Tahoe) has new and used kayaks of all types for sale. DID SOMEONE SAY SHOP?
Check em out?


With the aspen at Spooner Summit as a backdrop that's my Scrambler XT on top of Johns' Sidekick. Till we hit the beach it'll be much easier to find the car in a parking lot.

Lake Tahoe Nevada is the one place that John and I call home, mainly because it is where we have spent the majority of our adult lives... bummer huh?
Now when we return we get to play tourist,
Visiting friends like Lois

Enjoying local celebrations: Like the Outhouse races in Virginia City(any excuse for a party)

and turning Jack on to our new plaything the GPS and geocahing. Here he's outside the old cemetery in Virginia City.

but thats not to say we didn't break out the tools. Jack let John build the steps off his deck.

It's Not That Cold

All our years at Tahoe I had tried to avoid prolonged time spent IN the lake but now that I have the skills to breath under water I'm always looking for someplace new to do it.
Thanks to the gang at Strictly Scuba in Carson City Nev. and a chance meeting with Dan from Indiana I now have a high altitude dive and can honestly say"It's not that cold!"
Here s Dan, Dive Master Barnacle Bill and I at Sand Harbor before our dive.

Woody's RV Park and Spa

We are back in Nevada and there is no better place to start out the winter season than here with good friends.

Our site here outside Virginia City Nevada at Jack and Anita's is so cool.


Bright blue skies and mmm the smell of sage, something I always miss when we are back east.
The wild (or not so wild mustangs come right up to the house)


And of course thier are all the recreational activities.
Quad riding

and exploring a mountain of petroglyphs.

The Buffalo Returns

Before leaving Evanston this morning we did a bit of geocahing (Jim and Chris have created monsters). There are great hiking and biking trails. The perfect blue sky , fall colors and cool air didn't hurt the overall good vibes.




This is a hint. We found the cache , had a nice stroll and are now snugly tucked in for the night at the Wally World in Elko Nv.
Tomorrow we will be" livin la vida loca" at Woody's RV Park and Spa in Virginia City Nv. EEEEE HAA!!

Independence Rock

Hwy 220 heading SW from Casper takes you past the same red bluffs, along the Platte River to Independence Rock and Devils Gate , the natural points of navigation for the thousands heading west along the Oregon and Morman Trail .


Its amazing that even after all these years the names carved here are still so easy to read.

Visitors are encouraged to climb up the rock (thats where most of the names are) and experience a most awesome view! That is the west behind me... The Promise Land ( sorry I guess I am a" west coaster" no matter what)
Tonight we are in Evanston Wy. (almost Utah). The Chargers are playing tonight so although we don't need to clean-up or out we do have our creature needs.

1st National Monument

99 years ago today Teddy Roosevelt created our 1st National Monument, Devils Tower.
What does that mean? Well for one thing it was free park access and even tho it was a little smoky because of control burns , we hiked around and found another Geocahe.
This is a favorite of John and I but being here late in the season the KOA that shows "Close Encounters of the Third Kind " in the evenings was already closing for the season..
The sky is grey and we are trying to get to Casper Wyoming by nightfall.