A little farther south

After leaving Buckskin Mountain State Park, we drove down to Brenda, AZ and spent a couple of nights at Black Rock RV Village where we caught up with friends Bob and Brenda.  They had spent the summer working in Yellowstone NP and then spent a month in Moab so they had lots to share.  It was nice to spend some time with them.

From Brenda, we headed to Picacho which is about 20 miles south of Casa Grande.  We had spoken with the owner in July about a possible winter job but decided not to take it which was a good thing what with Melissa buying a condo.  Frankie requested that if we came by the area, that we stop in so true to our word, we did.  Frankie and her husband recently had to take the RV park back from the previous owners who pretty much neglected the facilities and customers.  So Frankie and her husband have had to do a lot of grounds work, remodeled the on-site restaurant where Frankie cooks home-style meals five nights a week, remodel the meeting room and just freshen up most everything else.  They are now left to also rebuild their client base.  With what they have gotten done in just a few months, I think they'll be able to do just that.  The new name of the park is Arizona Hideaway.

Yesterday, we took a drive into Casa Grande and took in the movie Red at their new mall.  Movie started a bit slow but did improve as it progressed.  While we did enjoy the movie, I'm glad we paid matinee prices and not full price for it.  We drove around Casa Grande and when we were here in 2008, we don't remember it being as built up but then again maybe we didn't get to the newer side of town.  Had a good lunch at Eva's Fine Mexican Food on N Pinal.  We both enjoyed our lunches, the restaurant is beautiful inside and it didn't break the bank.  The complex the restaurant is in is a little confusing as we almost walked into a State Farm office thinking it was the restaurant.  We were going to get fuel after lunch and noticed a station showing diesel at $2.99.  When we stopped after lunch at Eva's imagine our surprise when the price read $2.89.  Whoeee! That just doesn't happen. 

Today we went to Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch.  Admission is $5 per person and you get a large cup of food to feed the critters and a small container of nectar to feed the Lorikeets.  We enjoyed ourselves in 2008 so we decided to go back.  It is a fun thing to do that won't break the bank.  Lots of parking and if you are just driving by, exit 215 and take the frontage road until it dead-ends at the ranch. 

Guys and their trucks

 I'll be your best friend as long as you give me food.

Ostriches are a bit intimidating when they have their necks stretched up long and are focused on the food in your hands.  They sometimes try taking your fingers as well as your hand in grabbing the food.

 

John getting fawned over . . . lol.

These goats were so funny as they practically crawled out of the holes in the wall to get to the food.  

John sure looks awfully happy with the Lorikeets.  They are very colorful and aren't bashful about getting to the nectar.  The attendant said they could take the lid off the container and I believe that they could.

 The birds will land anywhere -- not on my head you don't!

 

I took a short video (my first) of a Lorikeet that really got into his bath.  I wish I had filmed him for a longer period of time because he would go from the bird bath to the trough to a waterfall that you can't see and back again making sounds all the while.  I don't think he could have flown because he was so saturated.  It was mighty cute.

We are planning on arriving in Tucson on Monday.  Looking forward to being able to "nest" and bring out the bird feeders.

A little exploring

Last night we visited again with Art and Connie.  We had invited them over to play some Pegs and Jokers but we never got to the game as we were too busy talking.  Art and Connie left this morning for Yuma.  Safe travels you two.  

The park is doing some work on their water well and the guys started bright and early at 7 a.m.  So much for sleeping in. 

We decided to take the river drive on the California side of the Colorado River.  We didn't realize that there were so many mobile home/RV parks on both sides of the river not to mention some very nice looking homes.  The view from the California side was more attractive to us than looking at California from the Arizona side.  

We did get to see some wild burros.  Not surprising, they look just like the Custer, SD burros lol.

Next up was the Parker Dam which supposedly is the deepest dam in the world as 73 percent of its structural height of 320 feet  is below the original river bed.  The reservoir behind the dam is Lake Havasu.  Here is a link if you would like to read more about Parker Dam.

                                        

We were going to drive over the dam but the barriers were so close that we were concerned about scratching up the wheel fenders so we went back the way we came.  We did stop at one RV park that said $10 a night for full hook-ups.  What was the catch?  Well, the offer was good for three nights but you had to listen to their membership talk.  No thanks.

We stopped for lunch at Crossroads Cafe in Parker.  Actually, the service was good as was the Taco Salads which was a pleasant surprise. 

There is a RV/Marine store in Parker that is called Spanky's which is one of the best stocked RV stores we have ever been in.  We stopped in to browse and didn't see anything that we absolutely needed but we did have a nice conversation with the clerk about the area.

The rest of the day was just spent taking it easy.  Life is good.              

Buckskin Mountain State Park

The drive from Needles to Buckskin Mountain State Park on Tuesday was less than a two hour drive.  Gotta love that.  The state park sits along the Colorado River and is approximately 12 miles north of Parker, AZ and 27 miles south of Lake Havasu City, AZ.  Our site is nice and long and we can see the river from the kitchen and living room windows - very nice.  Bad thing is that we have no cell phone coverage.  Thankfully, we have our satellite so we do have internet and TV.

Just a short distance up the river is the Parker Dam so the river is slow flowing and very clear in the shallows.  Across from the campground, on the California side, there are a number of mobile home/RV parks that fill up with snowbirds (northerners avoiding the snow).  Right now, the area is in between the summer water crowd and the arrival of the snowbirds so vacancies are high. We aren't sure what our opinion is of this state park yet but I'm sure we wi'll have a better idea after this weekend. 

John was out taking some pictures for the blog when he heard John?  His first thought was that it didn't sound like my voice and then he heard, John Prather?  That really surprised him and  when he turned around he saw a couple of familiar faces - Art and Connie.  What a pleasant surprise.  We first met Art and Connie in Custer, SD in 2008.  At that time, they were doing extended travel but have since gone fulltime.  We follow their blog and last read that they were in Nevada and had no idea we would land at the same state park.  We spent the evening getting caught up while it rained.  We decided it was best to head home during the lull and it was a good thing we did,  as we had some real close lightning strikes and it just poured for a while. 

Needles, CA

After months of going to sleep in well lit rv parks, we had forgotten what a treat total darkness is.  Maybe that contributed to an excellent night's sleep in Bakersfield.  Our travel day to Needles was just another drive through the Mojave desert.  We found along I-5 and I-40 that the state (CA) does not bother to advise travelers that rest stops are closed so you pass up the one that is open thinking that the next one further down the road will be available.  Would it be so difficult to give travelers a heads up by putting up a closed sign over Next Rest Stop x miles sign?

When we pulled into the KOA in Needles (the only KOA we stay at), we were shocked at how empty the campground was.  Far cry from the number of rigs we saw in February.

Bakersfield bound

Bakersfield is not what we consider a destination spot but it is always our stop for the night on our exodus out of California.  It sure felt good getting back out on the road after spending two months in Sacramento.  Our trip was uneventful (thankfully) except for going through a short spurt of rain that got the truck and trailer filthy.  So much for cleaning them up before heading out.  With possible showers tomorrow, John said there wasn't any point in cleaning them up as they could get trashed again tomorrow on our way to Needles. 

Finally done

After 3 1/2 weeks, the condo remodel project is done.  It was a lot of hard work on everyone's part but the condo looks 100 percent better now than it did.  

Once the painting was done, Melissa had laminate flooring installed everywhere except the bathroom.  When we looked from the hallway to the bathroom, it quickly became apparent that the linoleum had to go.  Melissa chose to have the bathroom floor tiled and with her Dad's free labor, it didn't break the bank.  Thankfully the bathroom isn't large and Lowe's was nearby as it required several trips for tile to be cut.  John's brother-in-law has a tile saw that he offered to loan us but between the thought of hauling it up and down two flights of stairs as well as the mess it would make in the common area, we decided Lowe's was the way to go.

While John was busy in the bathroom, Melissa has a bistro set that really needed a paint job.  I offered to paint it if she bought the paint.  Not one to hesitate at getting a job done, soon Melissa had me priming and painting the set.  It looks pretty good sitting out on her balcony.

We are happy that we were able to assist Melissa in making this condo her home.  What this experience has also taught us is that we really don't miss owning a house and all the maintenance that goes with it and we are getting older lol.  Now that Melissa is settled in, we can now turn our attention to heading back out on the road that we will do next Sunday.