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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Thursday - back in the desert again

First off, let me apologize for any incomplete posts, duplicate posts, or any other odd communications from me on this blog for the last few days.  Our internet service was intermittent and quite quirky, so I wasn't really able to see what I was sending.    I just held my breath and clicked "publish" and hoped it would...



We checked out of our lovely site at Buckskin Mountain State Park this afternoon, one day early.  Nothing wrong with the park, as a matter of fact we will keep it on our list of places to come back to.


view of the campground entrance from the trail high above



we saw these signs all over, do you think they knew we were coming?
and  were they talking about me or Dave?


as we were packing up this morning, this guy flew by us (behind a boat of course...)



  I had seen an outdoor chair at the Quartzsite show last week that, after way too much procrastinating, I  decided would be good to have, so we headed back to our boondocking site on Dome Rock Road.    Nina and Paul (Polly, too) were still there so the dogs had a happy reunion in the desert.  We hurried into the show site and walked around looking for the chair - no luck - but I did manage to find out who makes it, so I'll track it down on line.

Nothing lost though, we have our beautiful site, friends to catch up with, dogs to enjoy and another Silly Al's wondeful pizza.

Paul plays with the dogs while Nina gives Dave a MiFi tutorial

what a view out Beluga's windshield


Back to yesterday at Parker.....We played 9 holes at a super golf course called Emerald Canyon.  Good name for the place, it is literally carved out of the surrounding mountains and canyons.  It was an absolutely delightful course for both of us.  Dave said it was an extremely challenging one with narrow fairways, on some holes maybe only 25 yards wide, and the beautiful Arizona desert coming right up to the greens.  It was in perfect condition, emerald green grass highlighted against the red canyons.  Lots of wildlife and the flowers were beginning to come to life again.   We only played 9 holes because our tee time was later in the day, but neither of us can wait to try the whole course next time.   Dave played well, one of his better scores.


after the first three fairly normal holes, we headed for this tunnel under route 95 and the next 3 holes....


the other side of the tunnel
4th fairway to the right, 6th to the left (the hardest hold on the course)



Dave walking back to the tee after determining his "target"
the "target" - 5th green, about 150 feet below the tee...holy s hit!

lush grass bumps right into rock walls
As I was sitting in the trolley while Dave was putting, I felt like someone was watching me.  No one else around, but I had that feeling.  I looked behind me and this Roadrunner was standing there silently, watching me.  I slowly reached for the camera, trying not to spook him away.  I got the shot, whew.   He must be paid to pose for tourists, because he walked slowly along side me, stopping to look at me every few steps, as if to make sure I got the perfect picture.   I did!


ever get the feeling that someone is watching you?

what a beauty he was

I know this picture is out of focus, but I was so thrilled to finally get a picture of this Phainopepla I had to show you.
Have you ever seen one of these Robin?

so beautiful and so nasty


So, thats all for our golf outing,  another wonderful afternoon together.




Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wednesday - Burros and the Bridge

The actual London Bridge, moved stone by stone and reassembled here over Lake Havasu
Don't ask me why though, tourist attraction probably....

steep stairs leading from road surface down to the water

the underside of the bridge is lined with these interesting bank swallow nests
they all look like potential muppet characters to us


I tried to cut out all the junk shops, jet ski rental places, Hawaiian Shave Ice stores, tee shirt shops, etc. from these pictures.   It was a hard job.
So, now you've seen what the London Bridge looks like in Arizona.   As far as we're concerned, no reason to come back to Lake Havasu City, period.....



On our way home we decided to take the golf shop lady's advice and cross over Parker Dam and drive along the California side of the Colorado River back to Parker.   Why not, my phone is displaying California time anyway!
narrow road across the top of Parker Dam.   here one side of the river is California and the other is Arizona
 

sounds interesting....hope we see some!

first two burros we saw were grazing on some freshly irrigated grass along a golf course, not on the road
I made Dave slam on the brakes and we pulled over to watch the two young burros grazing.   As soon as they saw us on the other side of the road, they slowly stopped eating and started walking straight toward us.

I was worried they'd get hit by a car, crossing, but I gather they're fairly street savy and have done this before...
geez ,more tourists to satisfy

so sweet and calm - this guy looked at us quite a while before he and his buddy decided to cross the center line and get a better look


don't you just love his red crew cut!

he all but tapped on the window....his breath fogged the glass
When these two realized there wasn't any food coming forth, they slowly ambled away down the road and back to the golf course grass.   I won't bore you with all the pictures I took yesterday, but here are just a few more.  Cindy, you'll have to get your mom to the computer to see these pictures....
the wood posts were perfect height for scratching on
this guy doesn't look like a burro at all, more like a small mule, don't you think Cindy P?

this youngster was so intent on his chin scratching I think I could have gone right up to him

what a face....
Tired of Burro pictures?   Sorry, but I couldn't resist them,   You'll be happy to know that there were many more that didn't make the cut.   We were so glad we decided to take that little detour from Arizona to California.

Today we played golf at an interesting course in Parker, Emerald Canyon golf course.  Pictures tomorrow, I don't want to press my luck with the Google G ods.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Tuesday

 view in front of me,  as I write this


So, we'e sitting on the beach in Lake Havasu City, Az. eating lunch on a picnic table in the sun.  I just talked with Barb Sullivan and Dave finished his call to Jesse.  Pretty good signal here, so I'll try to do the blog right now.

yes...that is another  In N Out burger and fries, you got a problem with that?

this coot kept an eye on us, hoping for a hand out


It was very chilly when we got up this morning, frost on the grass chilly, but we still took our second cups outside, hard habit to break and the dogs really enjoy their time outside.   Lake Havasu City is only about 20 miles north of us and Dave wanted to check out the London Bridge spanning part of the Colorado there.  Years and years ago friends of ours bought property there, right near the bridge and we've wondered about it ever since.  Look for a picture tomorrow, because we haven't gotten there yet!

Last evenings skies were very dramatic, brilliant sun and some pretty dark clouds in the distance.





So now more pictures of our cross wilderness trip for a beer....

all modes of transportation were employed to  make the trip



The Desert Bar, a.k.a. Nellie E. Saloon, is only open on weekends, from "high noon" until sunset and only October through April.  No checks or credit cards, just cash - thats it.  It is a completely off the grid joint, completely solar powered with two big cooling towers to provide natural air conditioning if needed.   Live music always and plenty of beer and burgers to go around.  We were surprised at how many people (easily a couple hundred souls of all ages) were there when we finally arrived.   Almost a full parking lot and everyone was having a good time, all in their own ways.

Who knows why this totally metal church facade is here....long way to go for a wedding or funeral...
This is deep in old gold mining territory, see the abandoned equipment in the hills behind the "church"?

jumpin joint!  we could hear the music from our car.



As I said, all were enjoying the experience

even the diaper set danced their own dances

the sun was starting to drop as we headed back the long, dirt road home

drove right on past these folks, that girl is using a 44 magnum for target practice....

Did I mention it was a long, long road?
Totally worth it drive, haunting scenery, challenging road, interesting people, and a beer to boot!