What a long day! Rob and I were tired of the desert and the wind so we went over the mountains to see what we could see... and saw an amazing change in the geography. From barren desolate desert to huge orchards of oranges and olives. The sweet aroma from the organge groves is devine. To me it almost smelled like clover but Rob described it as almost like wintergreen. There are little fruit stands along the way selling everything from oranges, tangerines to olives and almonds and honey. We stopped at one and picked up a huge bag of navel oranges and some jars of olives. The oranges are as big as grapefruits and so succulent you have to have a napkin to catch the juice.
But it was a long trip... we didn't reach the campground until almost 7:00 pm. Too Long a day!
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Sunday, 24 April 2011
April 23/ Barstow California
We had quite a chat with one of the residents of the campsite. Flo was her name and she seems like quite the character. She originally came from northern California and was a fountain of information on the area. She even gave us maps that she had and told us of the interesting places to visit. Sounds interesting!
So we put the camper back on the truck, packed up again and headed west. It really was gusty and dusty. Can see why no one lives out there. Very barren and arid with mountains off in the distance. At one point we thought there had been a huge grass fire but apparently it is cooled volcanic lava from about 20,000 years ago. Not even much cacti or even scrub bushes.
California's rest stops leave alot to be desired! There was only 1 open in all the miles we travelled. I guess because they are so out in the middle of nowhere that they are hard to keep an eye on. The only one that was open had the doors taken off all the stalls except one and the hand driers were all broken.
When we finally made it it to Barstow the wind and dust was awful. We had to sit behind our camper and finally with the plastic bags and garbage flying around we retreated to the inside.
Supper was fun though! We went to a 50's diner called Peggy Sue's. The place looked like something out of the 50's with the waitresses dressed in costume of the old uniforms, right down to the caps on their heads! Quite the place... filled with memorabilia of Elvis, Betty Boop, Lucy and even the Wizard of Oz. It sure was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside.
So we put the camper back on the truck, packed up again and headed west. It really was gusty and dusty. Can see why no one lives out there. Very barren and arid with mountains off in the distance. At one point we thought there had been a huge grass fire but apparently it is cooled volcanic lava from about 20,000 years ago. Not even much cacti or even scrub bushes.
California's rest stops leave alot to be desired! There was only 1 open in all the miles we travelled. I guess because they are so out in the middle of nowhere that they are hard to keep an eye on. The only one that was open had the doors taken off all the stalls except one and the hand driers were all broken.
When we finally made it it to Barstow the wind and dust was awful. We had to sit behind our camper and finally with the plastic bags and garbage flying around we retreated to the inside.
Supper was fun though! We went to a 50's diner called Peggy Sue's. The place looked like something out of the 50's with the waitresses dressed in costume of the old uniforms, right down to the caps on their heads! Quite the place... filled with memorabilia of Elvis, Betty Boop, Lucy and even the Wizard of Oz. It sure was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside.
Saturday, 23 April 2011
April 21/Las Vegas
Beautiful sunny morning, bit windy though. Left nice and early for the 11/2 hour drive to Las Vegas. Spent at least 1/2 hour trying to find a parking spot. Didn't realize Vegas was so big! Did a walk up 'The Strip" with Daisy, used the bathroom at the Venetian, turned around and drove back! All and all I figured out it was at least 4 hours to use the potty! This is what I call the "Billy Bob Economy Tour".
But it wasn't a total loss... we stopped at the Hoover Dam.... were told that Daisy wasn't allowed out of the truck and couldn't be left alone so we drove over the dam got lots of pictures from the truck! I don't think I would have been comfortable anyway, way too HIGH for me! The winds were really gusty too, so it was a good thing we didn't have the camper on! They even had wind warnings posted on the highway!
So wer're going to spend tomorrow hangin' at the campsite. Catch some sun and do some quilting (sorry Amy still haven't got the new one's quilt finished yet).
But it wasn't a total loss... we stopped at the Hoover Dam.... were told that Daisy wasn't allowed out of the truck and couldn't be left alone so we drove over the dam got lots of pictures from the truck! I don't think I would have been comfortable anyway, way too HIGH for me! The winds were really gusty too, so it was a good thing we didn't have the camper on! They even had wind warnings posted on the highway!
So wer're going to spend tomorrow hangin' at the campsite. Catch some sun and do some quilting (sorry Amy still haven't got the new one's quilt finished yet).
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
April 20/ Lake Havasu and London Bridge
After freeing the truck from the camper we decided to head south about 60 miles to see Lake Havasu and the world famous London Bridge.
The weather is still unbelieveable with sunshine, no rain but the odd gust of wind. Very much the desert climate.... dry, dry and hardly any grass.
Lake Havasu was just a small spot until this very wealthy man decided to buy London Bridge, disasemble it, ship it over here and reassemble it. It took about 3 years and 7 million dollars! Lake Havasu is now a vacation destination especially for Californians.
London Bridge was smaller than we anticipated and connects an island with the mainland. When you see it you think that it's a canal or a short river with sand beach shores and walkways all along. Lots of condos and resorts but they have kept 2 public waterfront parks for the common folk. There is even a doggy park but being over proctective 'parents' we wouldn't let Daisy loose.
It was very busy today with lots of families, college age kids and boats, boats, boats. All shapes and sizes! both in bodies and boats.
We walked the waterfront walkways enjoying the sights. Daisy of course making friends all round. What is it about beagles that everyone like. All in all it was relaxing day.
The weather is still unbelieveable with sunshine, no rain but the odd gust of wind. Very much the desert climate.... dry, dry and hardly any grass.
Lake Havasu was just a small spot until this very wealthy man decided to buy London Bridge, disasemble it, ship it over here and reassemble it. It took about 3 years and 7 million dollars! Lake Havasu is now a vacation destination especially for Californians.
London Bridge was smaller than we anticipated and connects an island with the mainland. When you see it you think that it's a canal or a short river with sand beach shores and walkways all along. Lots of condos and resorts but they have kept 2 public waterfront parks for the common folk. There is even a doggy park but being over proctective 'parents' we wouldn't let Daisy loose.
It was very busy today with lots of families, college age kids and boats, boats, boats. All shapes and sizes! both in bodies and boats.
We walked the waterfront walkways enjoying the sights. Daisy of course making friends all round. What is it about beagles that everyone like. All in all it was relaxing day.
April 19 Getting our Kicks on Route 66
Going from Williams to Kingman we decided to take the historic route of Route 66. Seligman is near the beginning, just off of Interstate 40. My, it's quite the spot! From the old gas station to the dairy bar and several other businesses in between. What a riot! Thank goodness, for I fear that the town would really have died. There were 2 or 3 buses of sightseers that stopped at the same time as us. Rob stopped at a hot dog stand, chatted up the woman working it and found out she had worked at Red Lake for a summer. You just never know! Got lots of pictures then hopped in the truck and continued on to Hackberry which consisted of many, many old relics of vehicles plus one hot looking corvette!
All in all it was quite the road trip!
Now we have set camp up in Kingman, even taking off the camper!
All in all it was quite the road trip!
Now we have set camp up in Kingman, even taking off the camper!
Monday, 18 April 2011
April 18th Grand Canyon
When we left Phoenix yesterday, it was a sunny 85+. Then we headed west and started climbing. By the time we arrived in Flagstaff we had hit an altitude of 7,000 ft. What a change in scenery and climate. Still sunny but cooler. Surprised though, that there was still cacti out there. Now it's pines and thin pastureland.
We ended up at a KOA just outside Williams yesterday. They have an indoor pool but so far haven't tried it out.
Today we headed to the Grand Canyon.... we've seen pictures, movies, T.V., ... even watched an IMAX movie at the National Geographic visitor's centre today... but nothing prepared us for the real thing!!!!
It is mind blowing!! It is so overwelming you just want to cry! I've never seen anything that compares to it! And we only saw a small part of it!! TOTALLY AWESOME!!
It was very busy there but it's National Parks Week so it was free admission and also a lot of the kids are on Easter break. So parking at some of the look outs was next to impossible for us but we still managed a few stops. Have the pictures to prove it!
Tomorrow we are heading along Route 66 to Kingman. We are looking at camping out there for a few days to take day trips to see more of the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, London Bridge and the Hoover Dam!
We ended up at a KOA just outside Williams yesterday. They have an indoor pool but so far haven't tried it out.
Today we headed to the Grand Canyon.... we've seen pictures, movies, T.V., ... even watched an IMAX movie at the National Geographic visitor's centre today... but nothing prepared us for the real thing!!!!
It is mind blowing!! It is so overwelming you just want to cry! I've never seen anything that compares to it! And we only saw a small part of it!! TOTALLY AWESOME!!
It was very busy there but it's National Parks Week so it was free admission and also a lot of the kids are on Easter break. So parking at some of the look outs was next to impossible for us but we still managed a few stops. Have the pictures to prove it!
Tomorrow we are heading along Route 66 to Kingman. We are looking at camping out there for a few days to take day trips to see more of the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, London Bridge and the Hoover Dam!
Saturday, 16 April 2011
April 16
Can't believe we've been on the road 3 weeks already! It seems at times that we've been travelling for months. It's hard to think that it's still cold and snowy at home. Right now it's about 75 but will keep dropping to about 56 by morning. It was in the 90's here in Phoenix today. This is one of the most different camp grounds we've stayed at. There are so many different varieties of cacti. Some of them are even flowering. I guess this really is desert country!
Yesterday we left Benson to visit Tombstone and surrounding area. The wind had quit blowing and was very pleasant. As you can see by the pictures it is quite the place to visit. Daisy was quite the hit with everyone including the cowboys!
In the morning we had chatted with a lovely couple visiting from Australia. They had camped next to us. They told us about a place south of Tombstone called Bisbee that had a special campground for Air Stream trailers with an authentic '50's diner. This town is down close to the Mexican border and has a huge copper mine. So we decided to check it out and see if there was a campground that we could stay overnight at. After a missed turn or 2 we found the little campground of Air Streams. They have redone several of the models and rent them out as units. Unfortunately the diner was closed and so was the little campground. The town of Bisbee is really quaint. It is literally built into the sides of the hills. We did a little tour through but the streets were very narrow and made parking impossible for us. The houses were painted different colours and were quite colourful. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures. I would like to visit again and get a better view of it. I did manage to get a couple of pictures of the mine..... it's HUGE and still operating!
So long story short we ended back at the campground in Benson.
Oh yeah.... we were stopped by the Border Patrol... they even had a canine unit! We had to show our passports and the young lady made a fuss over Daisy!
So today we headed to Tuson and then on a scenic route north to Phoenix. We are camped at a KOA 40 miles east of Phoenix called Apache Junction.
Tomorrow we are heading north to Flagstaff. It's supposed to be a little cooler, so today we soaked the sun up and even went for a dip in the pool.
Yesterday we left Benson to visit Tombstone and surrounding area. The wind had quit blowing and was very pleasant. As you can see by the pictures it is quite the place to visit. Daisy was quite the hit with everyone including the cowboys!
In the morning we had chatted with a lovely couple visiting from Australia. They had camped next to us. They told us about a place south of Tombstone called Bisbee that had a special campground for Air Stream trailers with an authentic '50's diner. This town is down close to the Mexican border and has a huge copper mine. So we decided to check it out and see if there was a campground that we could stay overnight at. After a missed turn or 2 we found the little campground of Air Streams. They have redone several of the models and rent them out as units. Unfortunately the diner was closed and so was the little campground. The town of Bisbee is really quaint. It is literally built into the sides of the hills. We did a little tour through but the streets were very narrow and made parking impossible for us. The houses were painted different colours and were quite colourful. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures. I would like to visit again and get a better view of it. I did manage to get a couple of pictures of the mine..... it's HUGE and still operating!
So long story short we ended back at the campground in Benson.
Oh yeah.... we were stopped by the Border Patrol... they even had a canine unit! We had to show our passports and the young lady made a fuss over Daisy!
So today we headed to Tuson and then on a scenic route north to Phoenix. We are camped at a KOA 40 miles east of Phoenix called Apache Junction.
Tomorrow we are heading north to Flagstaff. It's supposed to be a little cooler, so today we soaked the sun up and even went for a dip in the pool.
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