Red Rock and New Year’s Eve

This morning we decided to pack a picnic lunch and drive over to Red Rock Canyon which is about 22 miles from the Thousand Trails Las Vegas preserve. What a beautiful place. Of course we put the camera through a workout, 141 pictures! After driving the scenic loop and stopping a number of places along the way, we found a picnic area and ate. Great scenery to go with a New Year’s Eve lunch.
This evening will be quiet at the Montgomery house…we went down to TGI Friday’s for dinner, yummy baby back ribs, and we’ll relax the rest of the evening.

We hope 2009 holds wonderful things for you and your families! Happy trails…

Dave & Lori

Photos: taken at Red Rock Canyon, NV

A few more pictures

We did a little driving around in Las Vegas doing some errands today. I wanted to stop at a craft store for some cross stitch stuff and Dave wanted to stop at a camera shop. While we were out we had lunch at Panda Express and then it was back to the trailer. Dave spent the afternoon reading about our new camera and taking some pictures, I spent it stitching. I did get a few pictures ready for the blog tonight too... imagine that!

Bad day/Good Day

Dave wanted to get the oil changed and breaks checked on the pickup so he took it to a shop that is next door to the park. Very handy. Well, the front brakes needed new pads and the front rotors had to be replaced, they also had to replace a seal on the rear axle, that was the bad part of the day.

The good part of the day was we finally got our new camera Dave ordered in early December. With the traveling we are doing we wanted to get a nice camera so we finally decided on a Nikon SLR digital camera. So, after we got the pickup back we decided we really should go somewhere to take some photos…so back to Ethel M’s to the lighted cactus garden!

Sam’s Town

Neither Dave nor I had ever been to Sam’s Town Casino so this afternoon we decided to visit. It‘s a nice place…the hotel is built around the “Mystic Falls Park” which is an indoor park with water features and animatronic critters. The Christmas decorations are still up which made it all look very festive. There is a show a few times a day in the park, it was billed as a laser show but we watched the 2:00 p.m. version and there were no lasers just dancing fountains. It was good, not Bellagios but fun. The casino was fine, clean and a little more upscale than Boulder Station. Definitely a place we will visit again.

Photo: Sam’s Town
Video: Mystic Falls Park in Sam’s Town

To Henderson

This morning we drove to the Post Office in Henderson, NV hoping to get our mail. We did one letter but it was a piece of mail that they couldn’t find when we were here in October! Evidently this letter took the scenic route to Nevada! Unfortunately the other mail hadn’t arrived yet, probably Monday.

Camping World happens to be just down the road from the Post Office so we made a stop there also. I’ve been wanting to get some type of rack for our wine glasses and they advertised one online. Sure enough, it was just what I wanted so we got it. I’ll have to find a little bungie cord or something to put across the opening for when we travel or I’m afraid the wine glasses might fall out. After my mess with the Corelle I’m not going to take any chances!

Photo: Entry to Thousand Trails Las Vegas
Video: Slide show of Thousand Trails Las Vegas

Some Shopping

Today there were a few errands we needed to run; go to the bank, get some dog food, and we stopped at Barnes and Noble and the Family Dollar Store. We both enjoy looking around at books and ended up getting a book on digital photography and a box of 50% off Christmas cards at Barnes and Noble. The Dollar Store netted some candies, Coke and a travel mug as mine was in sad shape after having it at least 14 years!

It was sunny and about 55 degrees today here in Vegas, but the wind came up again and it was a very cold wind. So the rest of the day was spent inside reading, surfing the ‘net, answering emails, stitching and an occasional outside walk for Cheye's sake! :o)

Photos:
Top: our site in a fairly empty Thousand Trails park
Bottom: our favorite buffet stop; Boulder Station

Merry Christmas!

We went to a breakfast buffet at Boulder Station this morning and left stuffed. They had quite a layout for Christmas breakfast. Cheye got a big rawhide for her Christmas treat. The rest of our day was spent at the trailer. We played Christmas music, read, surfed the ‘net, took Cheye on walks and called family to wish them a Merry Christmas. Tonight we were going to bbq steaks but it’s pouring rain and gusty wind here in Vegas so we will go to Plan B and cook them under the broiler.

It’s been a lovely Christmas and we hope yours was the same!

Video: Slide show of the Christmas lights at Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve was fun, we relaxed at the trailer and then this evening we went over to the Vegas strip for dinner and a show. We saw Le Reve at the Wynn…very good! The show takes place on what they call an “intimate aqua theater-in-the-round” and includes lots of acrobatics, fountains and aerial feats. We enjoyed it.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope your holidays are fun and safe! Happy trails!

Dave & Lori

Photo: Our trailer decked out for Christmas, with a little help from Photoshop Elements
Video: A little of Le Reve before and after the show was finished…they don’t let you video during!

Vegas

We arrived at the Thousand Trails Las Vegas preserve about 10:00 this morning. We were hoping to park somewhere close to the site we were in last October and we actually got the exact same space! The park is emptier than in October but we were told it is supposed to fill up next week.

After getting set up we headed over to Boulder Station and had lunch at the buffet. I really need to learn to pace myself at that place, I was stuffed when we left. The afternoon was spent catching up on some emails and some internet surfing.

We decided to go to the lighted cactus display at Ethel M Chocolates this evening. It was beautiful!!! You can go through Ethel M’s botanical cactus gardens anytime of year, it’s free, and at certain times you can even view the chocolate factory in production. At Christmas they cover the cactus with lights and it is amazing! If you ever find yourself in Vegas at Christmas this is definitely something to see.

Photos & Video:
All taken tonight at Ethel M's in Las Vegas, NV

To Bullhead City, AZ

We left Cottonwood, AZ at about 9:30 this morning and made it as far as Bullhead City, AZ which is just across the river from Laughlin, NV. We are at Ridgeview RV Resort, it is a Sunset Resort park but also allows ROD members. Seems like a nice park but we didn’t really look around a lot and are only here for one night.

We are both rather tired today, Cheye was a bit sick beginning yesterday, through the night, and most of this morning. She seems to be fine now but we had to make one emergency stop on the road for her to “use the grass”. The entire time she was still bouncy and happy, just sick. Poor baby.

Short drive to Las Vegas tomorrow. Yep, back to Vegas for a couple weeks. We thought we would see what it’s like to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Vegas style!

Photo: View of Laughlin, NV from our site at Ridgeview RV Resort
Video: Video from today's trip - Cottonwood, AZ to Bullhead City, AZ

Au revoir Cottonwood

Our friends packed up and headed home this morning. After our good-byes Dave & I sat outside and soaked up some of the wonderful sunshine, Dave read and I stitched. It was a beautiful morning. After lunch Dave decided to start packing up our outside stuff as we leave tomorrow and want to get a fairly early start. We also took Cheye up the hill beside our trailer so she could have a little run today.

As I mentioned we leave Thousand Trails Verde Valley tomorrow. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the Cottonwood area. Between making new friends, staying at a couple great campgrounds and seeing some interesting and beautiful new country it’s been terrific. There is no doubt in my mind that we will be back.

Photos:
Top: Our site
Bottom: A cute wooden Christmas tree
Video: Good byes and a last view of the campground.

Fun Weekend

It was a fun day with all our new friends. Early today Marilyn, Rodney and I went into Cottonwood, AZ to pick up a few things and stopped at a really fun shop, The Gingerbread House. It’s a cute gift shop that also had wonderful fudge. From there we went to Walmart for a couple items and then back to camp.

Rodney made chili and Marilyn made cornbread for our lunch. We ate, talked, laughed and soaked in some sunshine. Some friends of Ron & Marilyn’s stopped by for a little bit. They were on their way back to Phoenix after taking their kids up to Flagstaff to play in the snow.

This weekend is our last get together with our new found friends, at least for a while. So what better way to mark the occasion than a feast, and that’s what we had… Ron bbq’d a Prime Rib, Dennis & Rodney brought broccoli/cauliflower along with a rice and bean dish. Dave & I brought a Caesar salad and bread pudding for dessert. We had a fabulous dinner and a really terrific time.

Photo: Cheye running taken a couple days ago
Video: Visiting and dinner today

Sunshine!

Ahhhhh, blue sky and sunshine today, even up to 55 degrees! It always surprises me how much having a sunshiny day improves the way I feel.

We started the morning by having breakfast at the Lodge here at Thousand Trails Verde Valley. There were a few errands to run so we took care of those before lunch. After lunch was spent cleaning, baking, walking & brushing Cheye and soaking up the sunshine.

Ron & Marilyn and Rodney & Dennis are all coming up, they will be here this evening. We’re all going out to dinner at La Fonda in CampVerde… yum!!

Snow in the hills

It was a rather stormy night last night, rain and gusting winds made sleep difficult. Even Cheye came over for comfort when the wind shook the trailer. This morning, as we drove in to Cottonwood (Arizona) and saw what came down as rain in the park came down as snow in the nearby hills. The wind has continued most of the day, but it was much calmer than the gusts we had during the night.

We were expecting mail today so we went to the Post Office but it hadn’t arrived yet. From there we went to the store for a few items and then back home stopping to let Cheye out to run in the Forest Service land by the park. Our day was spent mostly inside computing, reading, cross stitching, walking Cheye and making up for lost sleep with a nap. :o)

Photos:
Top: A dusting of snow on the top of the hills
Bottom: A rainbow over the park today

Rain, rain, rain

You guessed it, more rain. This morning the campground staff came by to inform us of flash flood warnings for the Cottonwood, AZ area. It rained most of the morning. We computed, watched TV and I did some cross stitch. During one break in the rain I took Cheye out only to have it start up again so we both got soggy. The rain really slowed down this afternoon, this evening it’s hardly even drizzling…so I don’t think we will be getting the flash floods.

Cabin fever struck after lunch today so I broke out the Wii and played golf , bowled and played tennis. Later in the evening Dave and I played a few games of tennis against each other and then had a bowling match. It was quite fun, we have to do that more often!

…uh-oh, rain started up again….. :o(

Photos:
Top: wet walk
bottom: soggy doggy
video: Today's interesting clouds

Another Inside Day

Still rainy, but warmer here in Cottonwood, AZ. We went into town this morning, Dave wanted to get a haircut and we needed to get the mail. On the way back to the trailer we stopped at Walmart for a few things and then it was home for lunch.

With all the rain it was another day inside, I worked on my cross stitching this afternoon, Dave did some computing. Hopefully the sun will find it’s way out from behind the clouds some day soon.

Photos:
Our very unspoiled dog.... :o)

Cleaning

It was cool and cloudy today. Not that I’m complaining about mid-40 degrees and a little rain. My friends in the Yakima Valley in Washington are freezing, my Mom & Sister in Vancouver Washington are very cold and even our friends in Kauai Hawaii are having horrible rain and wind! So 40’s and a little rain are just fine with me!

Since outside wasn’t real nice I did some inside cupboard and storage cleaning/rearranging. Dave got to help too. I had saved boxes from things, like the Wii, so those were all thrown away and we found some items to take to Goodwill. We rearranged and got rid of stuff so we now have room to store more stuff! ;o)

Photo: Cloudy day today here in Cottonwood, AZ
Video: Thousand Trails Verde Valley - Section H, by the Lodge

Very Quiet Sunday

Today was a pleasant quiet day. I listened to an audio book, relaxed, wrote Christmas cards to a few family members & a few friends. Dave sat outside soaking up the sun while it was out and did some reading. Later I put together a beef stew in the crockpot for dinner. Basically a pretty typical Sunday for us, even back before we were full-timers.

Photo: Tonight’s sunset
Video: Slideshow of photos taken at Tuzigoot National Monument

Wine Tasting

Today Ron and Marilyn came up from Phoenix and the four of us went wine tasting. We went to 3 different wineries; Javelina Leap, Oak Creek and Alcantara. Javelina Leap and Oak Creek are in the Cornville, AZ area and Alcantara is in Cottonwood, actually Alcantara is right next to the Thousand Trails campground we are at.

We all had a good time and bought a couple bottles of wine. I think we all liked Alcantara best, not just the wine but the atmosphere and the staff. Once we got back to camp we enjoyed lots of conversation and food. We snacked on sour dough bread, cheese, crackers and salami then Marilyn fixed ribs, baked potatoes, green salad, broccoli and apple crisp. Oh, and Ron bbq'd some lamb! Another day of fun and friends!

Photos:
Top: Javelina Leap Winery
Middle: Oak Creek Winery
Bottom: Alcantara Winery

Chilly

It was chilly today here in Cottonwood, AZ. I finally broke out my long sleeve t-shirts. I was thinking of how cold it was (low 50’s and cloudy) when I got an email from my friend Robin who lives in the Tri-Cities in Washington, just down the road from where we used to live. She sent me the weather forecast for back home:

"In today’s paper this is the five day forecast…
Today: chance of showers late
Saturday: colder with snow showers
Sunday: very cold, snow showers
Monday: bitterly cold with a few flurries
Tuesday: mostly sunny, unseasonably cold"

So I am now exceeding glad to be here in the 50 degree weather!

Besides a quick trip into town for a couple items and doing laundry, not much went on today. We plan to go to the campground’s Lodge for dinner tonight. Just another pleasant day full-timing.

Photos:
Top: View from Jerome, AZ
Middle: More of the view from Jerome, AZ
Bottom: Roadrunner by our trailer taken yesterday
Video: Jerome AZ from yesterday’s trip

Tuzigoot

I’ve been wanting to go to the Tuzigoot National Monument ever since a couple we met (Bud & Pat) at Thousand Trails Chehalis told us about it. Tuzigoot (Apache for “crooked water”) is the ruins of a village built by the Sinagua. It’s an amazingly well preserved village that was discovered in the 1930’s. Here is a website if you want to read a little more about it. We are about 12 miles away so we decided to go this morning. Glad we did, it was interesting. The entrance fee is $5.00 per person but they are a National Monument so they accept the Senior Golden Pass too which Dave happens to have. Besides the ruins they have a small museum of artifacts.

From Tuzigoot we were about 8 miles from Jerome, AZ. We have had a few people tell us we should visit there so we did. There are a number of galleries and quite a few shops so we did some wandering. Jerome is up on the hill, actually we were above the 5,000 ft. level there! Great views and a really cute town.

After we got back I got some stuff I needed to mail so I went back into Cottonwood and braved the crowds at the Post Office. I also stopped at Walmart, replaced the dishes that broke on our move a couple days ago, and bought groceries. Whew!! A lot of running around this week!

Photos:
Top: Tuzigoot up on the hill
Middle: View from Tuzigoot
Bottom: Tonights moon
Video: Tuzigoot National Monument… I’ll do a video of Jerome tomorrow!