Nevada again

We left our spot at the fairgrounds in Tucson reluctantly. We liked the place, liked the action, and liked the low price! From there we drove directly to Phoenix, to our usual parking spot at the Lone Butte casino. We stayed for a couple of nights, mainly so we could do some shopping at World Market (our favourite olives), and have some dim sum breakfast, which we have been missing for 5 months! Both missions accomplished, we packed up and drove northwest to Laughlin, Nevada.

The wind held off, but about half way there it returned, and we fought it all the way. We'd visited Laughlin for a few hours some years ago, and thought we'd stay for a few days and enjoy the cut-rate casinos and the river walk. We first pulled into the Harrah's oversize parking place, and used their sani-dump to empty our tanks and fill up with water ($10). We were going to park here, since the lot was almost empty, even though they charge $7 a day just for parking. Unfortunately, when I went to register I was told that I would have to unload the van, unhook the trailer in order to park. Couldn't understand that since the place was empty, and we would save them one whole parking space by doing so, but the fellow was rude, and I wasn't about to stay anywhere where I am not wanted, so we left.

Next stop was the Golden Nugget oversize lot. Again, mostly empty. Here we were supposed to register our arrival with security, but no payment required. I trekked to the casino, and announced our presence to the security desk, and was told that someone would come and see us the next day to register. Great!

Next morning a security guy arrived, and told us we'd have to unload the van, and unhook the trailer. Deja vu! I told him that we would save less than a parking spot by doing that, and he agreed and said: "look, don't say I told you this, but just stay as you are. No one will bother you until tomorrow, since I'm off tonight." So that's what we did.

We took Ben for a nice walk along the river. Later we went and visited most of the casinos (which weren't doing a lot of business). On returning to the rig at around 1:00 pm, we found another security guy hanging around. He told us to unhook and move the rig if we want to stay. I went through the same routine with him as with the guy in the morning, but he just shook his head and said: " I don't care. The rules say you have to unhook." Marlene and I were both pissed off now, so after a quick discussion we did a lightning pack-up and hit the road for Vegas. We won't stay where we aren't welcome! We'll also never go back to Laughlin... their loss because we were going to spend some money there.

The drive from Laughlin is uphill, 10 mile stretches of 7% climbs. For the first time in 3 years the motorhome engine got hot, and I had to turn off the A/C and stop for a while to cool down. We lumbered our way over the mountains, and down into the valley, finally spying the great view of Vegas that you get as you approach from this side. We pulled into the RV park at Arizona Charlies, and lined up to check in. I thought the crowded conditions were due to the NHRA race to take place here at the weekend, but it was just hundreds of Albertans, BC residents and the odd Saskatchewan rig all making their ways slowly home after a winter away.

Since we've been here we've done laundry (still a great deal at Arizona Charlies), had the $3.99 steak and eggs in the restaurant here, had several $1 draft beers, and listened to the band in the casino. Same band as a year ago, and no better! Last night we went to the Asian buffet and pigged out on 150 items of seafood and other Asian delights. I had two plates of just Sushi for starters!

Today we went to Lake Las Vegas to see how things are there. The golf courses and casino are closed, and most stores and restaurants are now empty. Still a beautiful copy of a Tuscan village, just sad that no one is there. Tonight we'll barbecue some burgers, and tomorrow we'll head to the strip for a little fun.

Surrounded by Action

On St. Patrick's day we got going early, to get downtown and find parking close to the St. Patrick's day parade. It was an interesting parade, and everybody was dressed up for the day in green. One strange thing was seeing all the local visible minorities dressed up in their finest Irish duds!

Marlene and I were accosted by a slightly drunk participant in the parade. You can see her in the picture above (in pink) just before she rushed up and hugged us.

On one of the passing floats they were handing out beads, but they were all drinking beer. A guy threw me some beads, and I yelled out that I'd prefer a beer. Before you know it a young lady has jumped from the float and ran back to me with a nice cold beer! Only in Tucson.

Enjoyed the Shriners in their little cars and trucks, and all the restored old service vehicles (police and fire vehicles). Check out all the pics above. You'll even find one of me in my St. Patties gear. I really like the old Metro milk truck.

Weather turned bad, and we had rain for 2 days, then cold. People were freaking out because the temp was dropping to near freezing. In some parts of the Tucson area there was snow, which many people told the various TV news shows they had never seen before. We had hail here on the East side of Tucson, and frost in the morning.

Thanks to the very heavy rain we found several leaks around the windshield, that's the one we replaced last summer! I'll be talking to the installers when I get back to Alberta.

We continue our shopping, stocking up on deals. This weekend there has been lots of activity around here. There's been a rabbit show, and a Dirty Kiss run, where girls and women race through a muddy obstacle course, to raise money for some charities. There's some pics above.

And last night Nitro Jam started over on the dragstrip. We couldn't see anything from here, but we could sure hear the racing. Unfortunately they were plagued with cars breaking on the track and leaving oil on the surface, requiring 45 minutes of track cleaning every hour. We could hear the pauses in action. The main event of all the nitro cars as well as the jets and wheelstanders began very late, and then they too had problems on the track and caused huge delays in the action. They finally finished racing just before 2 a.m.

Tomorrow we must leave here, because they are setting up for next month's huge fair. We'll stop in Phoenix for a day or two, and then on to Laughlin, NV. We'll really miss Tucson, it feels like home to us.

We do some needed maintenance

Over the past week or so we've performed some maintenance on our rig. First, I had to change a tire on the trailer. The right side tires are wearing on the outside, one of them too far to use anymore. I found the wheel bearings were all improperly adjusted, and I hope that solves the wear problem, because the only other reason would be out of line frame or bent axle. With only 6000 miles on the trailer the tires should not be worn out.

For the last 100 miles or so on the motor home we had smelled the sweet smell of antifreeze, and found the coolant reservoir was fractured and leaking under pressure. $160 for a new reservoir at the Ford dealer, and the parts man was surprised to find they had the right one in stock. An awful price to pay for a plastic jug! Replacing it should have been an easy job, but it was installed with three tiny headed bolts that over the years had rusted solid. Despite heavy application of WD40, the bolts broke, and I had to drill them out and replace them. I used full sized bolts.

Our generator had developed a leak in the muffler, and I attempted to weld it but found the whole muffler was rotten with rust. I had to cut the old stuff off, and used the rest of my WD40 on the manifold bolts to get it apart. The local generator shop where I'd bought parts before had everything needed in stock for another $125, then we went to an auto repair shop and got a length of 1 1/2" pipe for the tailpipe for $12. After a lot of dirt in my eyes, and cursing and grumbling, I got the new exhaust system installed.

Today I had to remove the motor home dog house engine cover (between the seats) and re-attach the sound insulation which had fallen off. Always something.

In the pics above you can see me with the just-removed reservoir and the newly installed one too, as well as me with the old generator exhaust.

We went to the drag races next door here last weekend, but we were disappointed to see few fans there to watch the sportsman racing. On March 23 and 24 the IHRA Nitro Jam show comes to Tucson, and Marlene offered to stay on here for the extra day or two so I could go and enjoy the craziest vehicles to run on the dragstrip, but the idea of watching the jet cars run just made me sad.

We`ve been doing some shopping, stocking up on things that are cheaper here, like shoes, lingerie, etc. We ordered a new electric wok from Amazon to replace our defunct 25 year old one, as well as some filters for our vacuum cleaner that we could not find locally.

Today a big RV show started here on the grounds, and we went for a first look around. We were not really impressed by the new coaches or trailers. It seems that construction materials and methods have not improved in the past ten years. The best rigs (over $200,000) seem to have better materials and finishing, but still are poorly designed and executed. The build quality of the coach bodies is poor even when compared to the cheapest of new cars. Lucky the chassis builders take their work more seriously.

After being accosted by several hungry salesmen looking to find the best trade-up for us, we still did not see anything that caught our fancy, but we did enjoy the free hot dogs! We might go look again tomorrow... I hear they`re making burgers!

We see the strangest things sometimes in RV parks, but the guy living in his boat while towing it around on the trailer was pretty strange. See pic above.

Marlene had an eye exam at the optometrist ($39), after which we went to the Sher-e Punjab restaurant where we enjoyed a nice lunch buffet of curried beef, curried chicken, tandoori chicken, curried eggplant and potato, naan bread, salads, samosas,basmati rice, and several vegetable dishes, as well as rice pudding, fruits, and little deep fried dough balls in a sweet sauce. Very tasty at $9 a person.

Back in Tucson - Feels Like Home

We left Fort Stockton after a good night, and started the climb into the hills. Suddenly we were caught by a severe crosswind (later reported to have been 55-60 mph). We fought that wind all the way to Las Cruces, New Mexico. I had to keep a quarter turn of left steering just to stay on the road. The gusts were enormous, tossing us about like a ship at sea. We made it to the Walmart in Las Cruces, and snagged a good spot, put out our hydraulic levelers, and sat amazed as the wind continued to rock us, even here sitting still!

The wind died down overnight, and we set out on the final leg to Tucson. We arrived here with no incidents, thankfully the winds were more manageable, and set up camp at the Desert Diamond Casino, a nice place we've visited before. On Thursday we went to check out a few RV parks, and were not impressed. They seem to make the spaces as small as possible, to jam you in like sardines in a can, then charge you $600+ electrical for the privilege. We finally settled on a place we sleuthed out online, the RV park at the Pima County Fairground property. This is a no-frills place that offers the same size sites as all the others, but charges only $100 a week including everything. After deciding to move to the park we'd chosen, we celebrated by enjoying a nice Italian buffet lunch in the casino, for just $7.49 each.

Friday morning we moved to our site at the fairgrounds, and found that this weekend there would be a gun show here, as well as ongoing horse shows. By staying here we save on parking charges if we want to go to an event. It was very peaceful here Friday night, but next weekend there is drag racing at the track on the property so it might be noisy then.

Saturday morning we visited the swap meet, and bought some very reasonably priced veggies and a new bed cover set (an anniversary gift to ourselves). Check out the picture above to see what $9 buys you in vegetables here. From the swap meet we went to Safeway and picked out two nice rib-eye steaks and some asparagus to go with the multi-colored baby potatoes and the portabella mushrooms we got at the dollar store. Topped that off with some mussels in garlic butter sauce, and we had the makings of a nice anniversary dinner.

After our shopping expedition, I went to the gun show, while Marlene stayed home with Ben. I'd never seen anything like it... a big flea market full of every kind of gun, and every kind of gun accessory. In addition to guns, there were purveyors of knives, ammo, leather goods (holsters), militaria, antique arms, books, pepper sprays, knuckle dusters, combat batons, stun guns, etc.

There was a mix of dealers (who fill in paperwork for each sale) and private sellers, where no paperwork is required. One enterprising fellow was selling a LAWS rocket and launcher, just in case a tank gets loose in the neighbourhood and needs to be destroyed. There were quite a few fathers shopping for a first gun for their kids, and one old lady in her eighties trying to decide between several revolvers, each of which had to be test fitted in her purse. I bought a neat switchblade knife for $5. The scene was amazing to me, a citizen of gun-hating Canada. Sorry, the pictures above don't do it justice.

Saturday night we feasted on our steak dinner, and it was fabulous. Never had those purple potatoes before, and we were surprised how different they are. Well sated, we retired to bed and had a peaceful evening. Stay tuned...

Exploring San Antonio

Tonight we are reporting to you from Fort Stockton, Texas.

Yesterday we took in some of the culture of San Antonio. It's a very large city, and 60% of the inhabitants are Mexican in origin, giving the place a distinctively Hispanic nature. Our first stop was Mission San Jose, one of 5 missions here. San Jose was built in the 1750's and it is remarkably well preserved, and serves as an active church today. We had to hurry our interior tour because mid-morning mass was about to begin. It is interesting how the Spanish missionaries built these places and brought the local Indians into the European way of life, even if they served as the labor to grow crops, build things, and everything else. The Indians gave up a hard life, with plenty of leisure time, for a life of even harder work and obedience to the priests, in order to have a stable supply of food.

After touring the mission we went downtown to the Riverwalk, a series of miles of lovely winding paths along the San Antonio river, lined with shops, restaurants and bars. It is a lively place, and a great way to showcase the river which is such an important part of the city. We walked for miles, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but we decided to forgo a meal in any of the restaurants due to the high prices.

After walking til we had blisters, we went back to the Walmart and shopped for some fresh meat and veggies for dinner. Then we took Ben and went to visit Mission Conception, the second of the missions. Also an active church today, it is not quite as impressive as San Jose, but still remarkable in the way it still stands. Ben enjoyed a stroll around the grounds, then we took a drive by the Alamo, another mission and famed for the routing of the Texans by the Mexican army that took place there. We didn't stop, because there is not much left to see there, and parking is atrociously priced. We returned to the motorhome and made a fine supper of country style pork ribs, corn on the cob and baked potatoes, all accompanied by a nice Shiraz wine. It was yummy, but I ate too much! Still, it cost only about $12, far from the $60 to $80 we would have spent in a restaurant.

After our active day, we were tired out, so we loaded the van on the trailer and went to bed early. The drive went well today, even though it rained most of the way, there was little wind. The rain stopped about an hour before we arrived here this afternoon, and we enjoyed some desert sunshine and warmth for the first time in a while. We secured a parking spot in an empty lot next to the little Walmart here. The store being a small one, and the lot full of 12 or more RV's, we thought it prudent to sit out the night somewhere other than the crowded parking lot.

Tomorrow we head for Las Cruces, New Mexico, where we've stayed before. It is a hilly drive, and we'll take our time getting there. Stay tuned...

Go West, Young Folks

Well, we're not so young, but we're headed west. On Monday we went to downtown Mobile to see a historic house. It was closed due to parades, so we went to another Mardi Gras parade instead! Had a great time, collected about 50 pounds of beads and enough Moon Pies to keep us alive for months. This parade was for Joe Caine Day, to celebrate the man who revived Mardi Gras in Mobile. Notice in the picture above how Marlene is dressed in parka and toque. The temperature was 58 and the humidity high. Some people were wearing shorts and tank tops. We have truly become woosie Southerners!

After the parade we went to a local landmark restaurant, Wintzell's Oyster House, where we dined on a plate of fried green tomatoes smothered in crawfish sauce, followed by the house fried fish plate. What you can see me devouring in the picture above is a platter of fried oysters, shrimps, fish, crab claws, stuffed crab, coleslaw, hush puppies, and sweet potato fries. And that's a local amber beer you see in my glass. As you can also see from the picture, things were already a blurr!

On Tuesday we took one last trip over the HIGH bridge to Dauphin Island and the beach. Hadn't seen this many people here before. Check the pictures of the bridge and the beach scene.

On Wednesday we said a somewhat sad goodbye to our RV park in Mobile. This was a nice, relaxing and fun month. We filled up with propane, said our goodbyes, and hit the road for the 60 mile drive to Biloxi, Mississippi. We wanted to see how the place had recovered from hurricane Katrina, so we pulled into the truck parking at the IP Casino, set up our rig, and caught the casino hopper bus to the Beau Rivage hotel and casino, where we had stayed some years ago. The hotels have been rebuilt to their former glory, and the main roads have been rebuilt too, but the residential areas show the signs of the storm in the empty lots everywhere.

At the Beau Rivage we found that the Wednesday lunch buffet was half price for seniors, and we qualify being over 50 years old. Not sure we like being seniors, but we did enjoy our lunch! Marlene took Ben for a walk around the area of our rig, and he led her to a tiny cemetery in the middle of the residential area. This was the oldest Jewish cemetery in Biloxi, started in 1855. There was only one visible grave marker, but if we looked closely we could see the remains of several others. Check out the pics above. After a night interrupted by the sounds of multiple trains passing on the nearby tracks we packed up and headed west.

We arrived in Lake Charles, Louisiana after fighting 40 mph cross winds all the way, and found our way to the Walmart SuperCenter. We snagged a good spot and settled in. Unfortunately this Walmart is close to the Interstate highway and the noise annoyed us all night. We also were rocked by howling winds all night. Friday morning we woke to extreme wind warnings on the TV, so we decided to stay put for the day. The Walmart was too noisy for another night, but with some online research we found that we could overnight in the parking lot at L'Auberge Casino. This is a really nice casino on the waterfront, but has very high prices in the restaurants and the blackjack tables have a minimum bets of $25. No playing for me here!

By this morning the wind had died down to only 10 mph, and we hit the road after taking advantage of the casino's free RV dump station. We battled rough roads across 1/3 of Texas as we passed through Houston, and such places as La Grange (the ZZ Top song of the same name being a favourite of ours). We arrived at a Walmart in San Antonio around 4 pm, and set up for the night. We hope to stay here a couple of nights so we can explore the sights here. Stay tuned....

Sightseeing around Mobile

Hi everyone! In the past 10 days we've seen more of the Mobile sights. We toured the USS Alabama, a de-commisioned WWII battleship. It was a really cool self guided 3 hour tour. Amazing what those sailors accomplished with such primitive technology. Included in the tour was a second tour of the USS Drum, a submarine from the same period, as well as a static display of war planes. My favorite was the SR71 Blackhawk spy plane. This huge black bird cruised at 2200 miles an hour at 70,000 feet while taking pictures of the old USSR and China.

Another interesting tour we took was of Fort Gaines, a civil war fort on Dauphin Island. This well preserved place was one of two forts defending Mobile Bay during the civil war. The Union navy attacked the fort in the war, in an attempt to close the bay to Confederate shipping. This battle of Mobile Bay was where Union Admiral Farregut is supposed to have uttered those immortal words: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" after one of his ships sunk following a hit from a Confederate torpedo. One of the saddest exhibits was the series of handwritten letters between a 19 year old soldier and his family, and a later letter from his commanding officer informing the family of his death in battle.

Notice in the pictures above a shot of me sitting in the latrine. At high tide each day the water would rush under the latrine and wash it out to the bay. We've also included pictures of various parts of the fort, as well as some of the recovered pieces of sunken Union ships. Marlene can be seen standing in front of the ovens in the fort bakery.

We've also visited the big flea market in Mobile, which we found to be a lot better than the last one we went to in Florida. After the flea market we had lunch at a highly rated little restaurant called the Jerusalem Cafe. We enjoyed lentil soup, lamb and beef gyros with rice, and the required Alabama sweet tea. Total cost: $17.34.

We had a dinner out at the Golden Corral buffet. We've been to one of these in Arizona, and they are a remarkable value. Just $10 gets you a huge selection of food including fish, shrimp, steaks, pork chops, ribs, pot roast, salads, pastas, and on and on. Only problem: now we're more mature we just can't eat as much as we used to!

For Valentine's day we cooked up some delicious rib eye steaks and a couple of lobster tails, accompanied by rice, portabella mushrooms and a salad. For desert Marlene baked a triple chocolate cake (see pic). It was a great meal, and a nice way to celebrate the day together.

Yesterday we took Ben for a walk on the south side of Dauphin Island, below the fort. The wind was whipping pretty good, and the bay was all grey whitecaps, so after a walk there we moved on to the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. We didn't see a single bird, but we did have a nice stroll through the sanctuary to the small lake in the middle. After the bird sanctuary we went to visit the Shell Mound Park, where in the 12th to 15 centuries the local native inhabitants would come to live seasonally, cooking up oysters and fishing in the bay. We thought we'd see the actual mounds, but they've been covered up by dirt and growth over the centuries. Check the picture of me and Ben standing below a great old tree festooned with Spanish moss.

Check out the tall thin houses we saw on Dauphin Island. Maybe intended for tall, skinny people?

The Mardi Gras season is building to its finale on Fat Tuesday, and we hope to take in a Mardi Gras party before we leave here next Wednesday.