Busy Times in Arizona: Dogpaddle, Racetrack, Border, Friends & Wicked Weather

Wenden, Arizona

Alamo Lake State Park 

Let's see, where did I leave off?  Ah yes.  We pulled into Alamo Lake in time to watch the sun go down and have some dinner. The starry skies and steak were amazing.  You could also hear the donkeys as they settled down for the evening.

Steak, twice baked potatoes and some Asparagus.

Here's what we woke up to.  The best site in the campground!  E44, $15, no utilities. They have different sites offering different choices and prices.  This is the closest site to the water.  The lake is quite full but even if it were totally full, you'd still have to put your kayak in at the marina. 

This site is very deep and has a couple of nice trees near the fire ring.

Here we are from a distance which shows how much privacy we had.  This site is at the end of a turnaround.

The lake sits in the Buckskin Mountains surrounded by the Arrastra Mountain Wilderness.  This is a very popular ORV area.

I have heard Bass fishing is fantastic here.  Next time we'll have to try that out.  Our visit here was quite short since we already lost a day due to a leaf spring repair in Needles on the way here.

We drove in to Quartzsite for a visit with some RV friends.  I made a wrong calculation and what I thought was 1/2 hr. drive in was actually 1 1/2 hours one way.  Oh well.  That's how special these friends are.  :-)  Above is Jim & Barb, Vickie and Steve.  After dinner at Silly Al's, we went back to Steve & Dianne's rig for a Tasting Event.  Classy stuff.

Harry, Steve & Dianne above.  Everyone brought some different beer and the tasting began.  Jim brought some very yummy Peach Moonshine.  Boy did those peaches pack a punch!  The Apple Pie Shine was a close second.

We talked and laughed and had a great time.  Most of our Fulltime RV group has gone off the road or bought properties and become Half Timers.  Even Steve & Dianne have some big changes ahead as they downsize.  They are usually here every year but now it may be every couple of years.  So glad we stopped by.

We'll miss Steve and Dianne's big 'ol truck!  It made for an easy way to spot them out in Q as well as a great windbreak.

 

One thing we really looked forward to was getting Hurley in the kayak for what may be his last time on the water.  He loves it.  The weather was perfect with no wind.

Traffic ahead.

He snoozed in the sunshine.

Somewhere under the water is the old ghost town of Alamo Crossing.  Built in the 1800s and flooded over in 1968.  The coordinates for the town are: 34.2605757 -113.5827076  Apparently the road to the town is still there and disappears into the water.  I'm not sure if it's even clear enough to see down under 80 feet, but I guess you could scuba dive down there.  The town is supposed to be in very good shape.

There are areas with a lot of trees and brush in the water.  Sure makes me wish I had my pole.  We saw a couple of others fishing but not doing too well.  Guess it's still a bit muddy.

Plenty of Pelicans on the lake.  Cracks me up to see them in the dessert instead of the beach.

This bush just glowed compared to the other drab green plants.

All lined up.

Our rig from the water. What a great place and one that we will return to.

Surprise, Arizona

Happy Trails Resort

Our two weeks here was very busy taking care of Steve's stepmom.  The time flew by but we did get out for one short hike to an interesting place.  It's right next to the Phoenix International Raceway.  As you drive down S. Avondale Blvd, you run right into it.  I was surprised how big this racetrack was.  Look for some parking near the Tres Rios Trail.  Follow the trail around and up Monument Hill.

 It's a short but steep hike up with great views of the racetrack and the valley below.  The elevation is 1155.

A memorial for a loved one along the way.

steep spot with loose rock.

If you are on the trail next to the racetrack, you are on the wrong side of the hill.  We took a wrong turn at first.

The Salt River with the Gila River nearby.

The top!  What is this marker you ask?  Turns out the Salt River was the original border between Arizona and Mexico. At the time of the Gadsen Purchase, it marked the northern boundary of  Mexico.  When it became part of the Arizona Territory the government used it as a starting place for surveys. This marker was set in 1851.  The border has since moved quite a ways south.  This survey marker designates the zero-point tied to almost every legal property description.

 

 

The Valley can be clearly seen from the top of Monument Hill. To the north is Avondale, to the south is Estrella Mountain and to the east and west is a line that seems to go on forever. That is Baseline Road. The road got its name for the Baseline and meridian survey that helps mark the center spot. If you travel 115th Avenue straight north you would end up at the North Pole.  So they say.

The racetrack looks pretty amazing from up here.  They do allow watching the races from the part of the hillside right above the track.

Our time flies by and we need to be back in Placerville.  This lovely sunset was a perfect ending.

The next morning as we drove off the previous nights cold storm dropped some snow on the White Tank Mountains.

Casa Grande, Arizona

Pinal Fairgrounds

We wanted to visit with Curt and Glenda on our way back so we spent a couple of nights back at the Pinal Fairgrounds.  W/50/dump, $25, It was super windy again so good to have a safe spot to wait for the winds to pass.  Our entire time in Arizona was very cold, windy and rainy while we were here.  I never wore shorts and we never were able to take our favorite, daily bike ride.

It was a short visit, but we enjoyed our time as always.  Curt made Smashed Burgers and Glenda had other goodies and a dessert of Apple Pastries with homemade ice cream.  Delicious.

We played a new card game called Skyjo.  It was fun and I actually won a couple of times.

See him peeking over?

Our departure day got held up when Steve had several important conference calls to finish.  I took Hurley out for a walk so it would be quiet inside.  Funny thing is that it is Round Up (practice lifestock fair) and everybody was unloading.  A trailer with a cow and another one with a meat goat pulled in next to us.  That goat was NOT happy and what a racket he made.  I was sure hoping all the noises weren't coming through on his call!

Moo!

Quartzsite, Arizona

Boondocking

It was a late day, so we just pulled over in Quartzsite for the night.  We were up early and on our way.

One last stop for cheap gas before crossing the border of California where prices jump at least $1.00.  The race car of Austin Kregle pulled in next to us. He is a Formula Drift racer.

There were no winds along our drive and before you knew it we were approaching Palm Springs where our friends John & Tina were staying at the Thousand Trails. We stopped by for a quick hug as we were pressed for time.

Who are those homeless people and what are they trying to sell?  It was our friends with gooodies!  They knew I had had a very stressful few days so Tina brought me a Mimosa-to-Go and John dropped off some of his famous pasta sauce.  What great friends we have!  We chatted for a bit and met their good high school friends, Teri and Mike, and continued on.

Tina, Mike, Me, John, Teri and Steve.  They just got a new trailer and were here to try it out.

The peaks of the San Jacinto and San Bernardino mountains were covered in snow.  It was magical.  Normally you can't even see these through the smog. It was such a beautiful sight.

Lancaster, CA

Elks Lodge

One last overnighter and we push on to Placerville.  This is the 2nd 7 hour drive and we are pooped.

We had hoped our drive home would coincide with the poppy bloom.  Not with all that cold wet weather though.  We only saw a tiny patch here and there.  In a few more weeks these hills will be coated with bright orange poppies!

It was a pretty drive none the less.

The blossoms followed us along Hwy 99.

We stopped in Fresno to a little hole in the wall place called Grandma Jane's Kitchen.  Great food but the service was very slow.  They have Mexican specialties.

A few more hours and just a little rain and we were back in Placerville.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Nicolaus, California

Lake Minden RV Resort 

We were able to visit some friends and family on our way out of California to spend a couple of weeks in Arizona.

THE GOOD...

The small lake here at Lake Minden is nice to walk around.

We had a couple of nice dinners.  One with Mike and Rose to celebrate Roses's birthday.

Another with Rick and Angie.

And yet one more with Scott and Nesha.  We had sushi and then went to a new brewpub.  It's part brewpub and part axe throwing called Axe Me.  Kind of a scary combo, right?  Here we are with our throwing weapons of choice.

Steve

Scott

And Nesha.  We all had our own way of throwing.  Nesha's was the most dramatic! It was lots of fun.  There are many different games/challenges you can play.  We had fun with our scoreboard names too.  Kiss My Axe, Molly Hatchet, Axe Kicker, etc.

We've been on a shrimp cooking roll.  Dinner tonight was Garlic Shrimp with Pasta and Broccolini.

Hurley waiting for his treat.

Sadly as some of you know, Hurley's tumor on his leg has spread to his muscle, nerves and lymph nodes.  He is now on comfort care.  He may have 2 weeks or two months.  So far he is doing very well and other than being a little restless at night, is back to his old self.  He is taking Prednisone to keep the swelling down and a pain pill for the night time.  It will be a very sad time when he lets us know he is ready to leave us. :-(

  

On our way to San Jose, we saw this guy dressed up in a French Maid's outfit walking back and forth along a busy road holding a sign that said, "I SUCK at Fantasy Football - Last Place".  His buddies were sitting in lawn chairs on the grass next to him drinking beer.  What a good sport!

Morgan Hill, California

Morgan Hill RV Resort

We spent a few nights at the Morgan Hill Thousand Trails RV Resort.  It's a pretty nice place and we will stay here again when visiting friends and family.

We spent some time watching Jaxon and he's still crazy about his cars and his Teddy Bear. I can't believe he'll be 3 already in March.

Back on the road a few days later and we saw these cute doggies going through the drive-through!

Driving up and over Pacheco Pass along San Luis Reservoir gave us beautiful views of the green hills and beginning of the wildflowers.  Perhaps on the way home we'll see the poppy bloom.  It ought to be fantastic with all the rain.

The water level is way up in the lake.

The sun was starting to set when we pulled into our next campground.

California City, CA

Borax Bill County Park

THE BAD...

We've been to this small park before and it is a really nice stopover.  They have a complicated fee schedule depending on if you're there during the week, weekend or holiday.  If you choose not to hookup, it's free during the week.  We had the place to ourselves.  We were watching the weather closely as the winds were up already and were expected to increase the next day.  They did get pretty crazy during the night so we brought the slides in.  The next day they were steady at 40 with gusts up to 60 expected.  We decided to move the rig in the morning so we were facing into the wind and protected some by a cement wall.  As soon as Steve was able to finish work, it was leave now or wait until tomorrow.  So off we went.  We only had a very short time before we were on Hwy 40 heading dead east.  Crazy winds but at least we had a nice tailwind that helped with the gas mileage.

The only problem was the dust and sandstorms which made terrible air quality and pockets of bad visibility.

Needles, California

Needles Elks Lodge

One last stopover before we get to a new-to-us state park in Arizona that we have been wanting to try out.

The 9 sites here are quite nice and separated by hedges and some trees.  $25 for FHU.  We had a nice time in the bar visiting with some locals. 

MORE BAD...

     As I was doing my walk-around I noticed something.  Steve verified we had a broken leaf spring.  Darn it!  We are on a tight schedule and Needles isn't the biggest town for RV repairs.  We stayed a second night at the Elks Lodge while both of us were busy calling to find both parts and someone who could repair it.  This is something that Steve would normally do himself, but he was going to be busy with conference calls all day.  We were able to find one person that had the size springs we needed and a nearby shop that had the time to put them on.  Pretty lucky.

Our new set of springs for the trailer.  We have dual axles and have had one set replaced before in our 9 years of fulltiming.  You gotta be flexible in this lifestyle.

All done and back on the road a couple of hours later.

Finally crossed over into Arizona and just a couple of hours away.

AND THE UGLY...

We are 60 feet long with the truck and trailer.  Just before the above picture was taken, that guy who was also in a truck pulling a 5th wheel trailer, passed us (we were going 65) with a car coming head on.  He did not have enough room!  Steve slowed and pulled as close as he could to the pavement edge while this idiot cut over just missing our truck.  The poor guy in the car had to go off the road into the sand.  We didn't get a chance to see him, but I think he was able to pull off without damage.  This is a busy road with many 18-wheelers.  We are all so lucky nobody was hurt.  It would've been a bad pile up!

Crossing the Colorado River.

We pulled into our lovely site at Lake Alamo State Park as the sun was setting.  Our truck hit 200,000 miles as well.   It's a 2013 Dodge RAM one ton dually that we bought new in 2014.  It has pulled us all over the (contiguous) US, every state, in the past 9 years that we have been Fulltiming. Hoss is getting old but still hauling like a champ!