Bend, Oregon

July 6, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

We rolled into Bend after the beautiful drive up the 97 from Klamath Falls. We wound through valleys and the Fremont-Winema and Deschutes National Forests. The road varied between 2 and 4 lanes, and there were trees, trucks, and trailers. Several of the little towns were clusters of mobile homes comprising housing areas and small businesses. We listen to an application called Autio that uses our location to describe some of the parks and the history of the areas we drive through. There are over 10,000 stories, and we learned a lot of interesting facts.

*Althea and Jed (and Cheryl) hanging out in Bend*

The main reason for the visit was to spend time with the Barab Family. Caryn and Clint have known each other since birth, and we enjoy seeing them as our travels cross and as we get together for events. They split their time between Eugene and Bend, and since Clint had never been to Bend, we made this a “must-stop” destination. We were fortunate as both of their adult children were in town. We also got to spend time with Beckham, their first grandchild. We went to their house after work the first night and played for a bit. We then hit a food truck park for some great eats. Clint and I got sloppy Joe sliders, and we shared a lot of Mac and cheese with Beckham. We’d brought him a tie-dyed shirt (something we often give to little ones), and he had happily put it on before we left the house. A band started playing at the truck park, and Beckham was one to dance. He is a future Dead Head in the making as he feels the music and dances with abandon. At one point, one of the musicians played the trumpet, and his 3.5-year-old hands went to his mouth and mimicked the trumpet-playing motion. It was very clever and sweet. We will enjoy watching him grow up.

South of Bend, a volcanic caldera erupted thousands of years ago and was made a national park. It is called Lava Land, and as you drive past it, you see piles and piles of lava rocks that look like lava dunes. We went to that park on Friday when we finished working for the day. We used our National Park Pass for admission and were able to drive to the top of the crater. We walked the rim trail, and in addition to scenic views of the crater, we had amazing views of Mt. Bachelor and the Sisters Mountains, which still had snow at the top.

After Lava Land on Friday, we went to the Barab’s for dinner. Doug grilled some amazing kabobs, and we brought the dogs. They have an 11-year-old labradoodle named Remy, who was unsure about Dani and Denzel’s tag teaming. Throw a 3-year-old boy into the mix, and watch what happens. Even better, their son showed up with his extremely sweet 6-month-old Labrador puppy named Birdie, and there was just enough chaos to be entertaining. Needless to say, all dogs slept well.

On Saturday, Caryn and her son and daughter-in-law played golf. Clint, Doug, and I went to Smith Rock State Park. As we approached the park, huge rock faces appeared to grow out of the ground. But when we got into the park itself, a deep canyon with a flowing river dropped hundreds of feet below us. We chose a hiking path opposite the rock walls that seemed less traveled. As we walked along, our eyes focused on the various climbers affixed to the steep walls. Smith Mountain is well known for its varying degrees of difficulty in the rock climbing community. We were amazed at the beauty of the rock and the fearlessness of the climbers. Heights and slippery rocks are not our cup of tea, but it was very cool to see. We wandered close to a golden eagle nesting space but did not see any. After making our way along the trails, we found ourselves in a section of the park called the bivouac area. We said bivouac as many times as possible the rest of the day.

We met Caryn and the others at Deschutes Brewery for a light lunch and beer sampling. Then, we walked through downtown and one of the parks along the Deschutes. A Juneteenth celebration was going on, and we listened to some musicians as we strolled. We returned to the RV to freshen up and grab the pups, and then we were back at the Barab’s for another great evening.

We left fairly early the next morning, and we think we will be back in Bend next summer.

-Cheryl

And Now, After that Short Intermission

July 6, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

Uh, hi!

It’s been a few weeks. Whoever said that travel was relaxing hasn’t traveled with us. Part of it is that we’re both working while we buzz around the country. Long drives, good friends, and lots of meetings have conspired to prevent us from updating RodeNoise. Actually, that’s not true. Cheryl has drafted several posts that have backed up in my inbox as I struggled to keep up with the photos.

Well, we’re getting towards the end of the trip and I have more time on my hands. I’ll be posting Cheryl’s stories and the pix over the next several days.

Stay tuned.

-Clint

Petaluma and Wine Weddings

June 8, 2024June 11, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

After arriving in Petaluma, docking Althea, walking the dogs, and working the rest of the day, we set up our chairs and the fire pit to enjoy sitting outside for the first time on the trip. We’ve been here before and really enjoy the park. The park is large but has lots of woods, a big pool, and some awesome sites. We’d snagged one of those awesome sites at the end of a row with a paving stone patio, fire pit, table, chairs, and our own patch of grass for the canines. This was the first park of the trip that was entirely overrun with kids. They were everywhere: on bikes, on scooters, bouncing basketballs, running around, screaming, and basically doing what kids do in the summer.

The weather was cool, we were comfortable, we had a beverage, streamed some good tunes, and watched the campground parade of characters. We always enjoy this part of our travels. It’s a nice way to relax and see some interesting things. Cheryl has already written about the RV Show experience of wandering the campground. This is even better because you’re sitting and watching the world go by instead.

73947601144__2450d112-bc25-4465-a7da-e33105cc5c32 — *Entering the Petaluma KOA*

Saturday morning, we woke up and got the dogs ready. They were heading off to puppy boarding so we could get wedding ready. The getting ready part consisted of purchasing more wine and a brief stop at a purveyor of products unavailable in most southern states. We returned to Althea, and after a nap and some lunch, it was time to put on the wedding clothes.

Today was the purpose of our trip west. My eldest Goddaughter was getting married in Sonoma wine country. Her parents moved to Santa Rosa decades ago, and she was raised among the beautiful rolling hills. It was only fitting that her wedding was at a winery, so she chose St. Francis. It is a stunning venue, and she rightly requested attendees dress semi-formally for the event.

Now, semi-formal and RV-life don’t tend to go together. We specifically planned to have appropriate clothing, with Cheryl packing a beautiful sequined dress and I a clean suit that I hoped fit (spoiler, it did). Cleaning up and getting dressed was pretty straightforward, but I realized I’d forgotten my dress shoes. While I had a pair of black slip-ons, they sorta looked like I was wearing a pair of bedroom slippers. We were running early and figured we could stop in Santa Rosa to look for shoes.

I’m going to take a short pause here and comment about Althea. She’s quite a striking beast with bold blue, black, and white graphics all over. At 40 feet long and 14 feet tall, she definitely stands out, especially in an RV park full of beige and white boxes. We always get a lot of attention and many comments about what a good-looking rig she is.

So anyway, Cheryl and I are all dressed up and stepping out of Althea to get into Jed for the drive to the winery. A woman standing in the street looking at Althea watched us come out and said, “You know, that’s about how I would expect people to dress coming out of that rig.” We both laughed.

Since we got an early start, we stopped in Santa Rosa at a DSW to alleviate my shoe mistake. The problem was fixed with a nice, shiny pair of Rockports. Surprisingly to no one, Cheryl also found a sparkly pair of shoes for the wedding. Wearing our new shoes, we quickly visited World Market and Total Wine for more, well, wine.

Even with the stops, we arrived a few minutes early to the wedding. As we walked in, there was a table of sangria to get things started. Cheryl and I mingled, exploring the grounds, checking out the tiny grapes on the vines, and catching up with old friends. The wedding was beautiful (as was the bride), with her father officiating, where he didn’t miss the opportunity to slip in a few dad jokes along the way.

img_4050-1 — *St. Francis, an amazing venue*

img_4052-1 — *St. Francis, an amazing venue*

We drank great wine and ate some delicious food. We did a quick bit of dancing and then slipped out so we could get some sleep. There was more wine to explore tomorrow.

-Clint

Moss Landing

June 7, 2024June 10, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

After three weeks of desert and increasing heat we made it to Moss Landing, which is just north of Monterey. We have some great friends who relocated there and wanted to spend some time visiting. Everyone had to work but we made the most of our afternoons and evenings.

Moss Landing is a little peninsula that is carved out of the coast. It houses marine research and ocean recreation oriented businesses. The KOA Express campground was a postage stamp sized lot with 36 spots tightly aligned. It was beautifully maintained and very convenient to where we needed to be.

The dog park was located in a communal parking lot shared with the marina. It was a five minute walk that involved dodging seagulls and walking past barking sea lions. Our dogs seem to respond to every dog in a five mile radius that even thinks about barking. They had no clue about the sea lions’ noise. Somehow nature must have relayed the message that they were snacks in the eyes of those massive mammals. The ones we saw each day looked like they hadn’t missed any meals.

Sea Lions barking away in the marina

The temperature ranged from mid-50s to almost 70 degrees. It was warmer when we went inland to Marty and Christina’s place in a town called Marina, but only by a few degrees.

We met up with them and five year old Maya to catch up. We’d last been together when we took our previous RV to visit them in Denver two years ago. Since then they’ve adopted two poodles. A toothless toy named Peaches and a standard named Piper. Imagine the energy of Dani, Denzel, Peaches, Piper, and Maya. Maya is a beautiful kid who is engaged and curious. The dogs all have their personalities and when they decide to run around at the same time, it’s quite frenetic. Everyone mostly got along when we threw them all together Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

We went to a fun seafood restaurant on Tuesday in Moss Landing. Christina had been telling us about an eco tour through one of the sloughs where there were many types of birds and sea critters including otters. When we finished dinner one of the tours was returning in an armada of canoes. A big sea lion was swimming out to meet them. It was also sunset so it made for the perfect picture of life in Moss Landing. Clint was tickled by the otter crossing signs that are posted. We saw a lot of birds and sea lions, but didn’t spot an otter. It gives us a reason to go back.

img_3992-1 — *Jed watching the kayakers*

img_3993-1 — *Jed watching the kayakers*

On Thursday Clint, Marty, and I went to a winery in Carmel called Folktale. The setting is beautiful, the wine is drinkable and the food was tasty. Christina had to make a day trip to Sacramento and couldn’t join us while Maya was hanging with her grandma. After catching up on technology, ransomware attacks, our friends, and Marty’s buddies, we decided to go to another place for one more beverage. We were headed to the Baja Cantina, but wait, there is more.

img_4018-1 — *Cheryl and Clint at Folktale*

Marty and I share a passion for racing and fast cars. He executes on acquiring cars more effectively than I do. His latest toy is an 8 cylinder Lexus LC (I think that is the model) that has somewhere over 500 hp and the engine takes up 1/3 of the car. He is lucky to live on the rim of Laguna Seca and takes the car on the track about once a month. Clint went ahead to Baja Cantina while I climbed in with Marty. We waited for the engine to reach the right temperature and operating conditions and then we went to warm up the tires. We hit 110 mph in the blink of an eye and the car stuck to the road like it was paired with the pavement. Needless to say we made it to the restaurant quickly. (The last time I rode with Marty, he picked me up at DIA in a blue version of an earlier model of this car and hit the gas going around the entrance ramps to a few highways. I barely stayed in my seat but we totally stayed on the ground).

The Baja Cantina is like a car museum with hundreds of pictures, posters, and signage that pays homage to motorsports. There was a band outside and we hung around for a single beverage and called it a night. If you get the chance, visit and wander through the place. It’s pretty cool.

We left Moss Landing first thing Friday morning and drove to Petaluma. We use an RV friendly app that tells us which roads are safe for RV travel. We drove the 1 to the 17 which takes you into San Jose. Having lived there and having driven that route in various cars we thought we were used to it. Driving a 26,000 pound Freightliner RV like a race car had me paying attention the whole way. Clint was really helpful by saying things like “wow, there is nothing there if we fell off the cliff, we’d roll all the way down, there is nothing stopping us.” It’s a beautiful drive if you can ignore the peanut gallery.

img_4014-1 — *The (now defunct) generating plant at Moss Landing at night*

img_4015-1 — *The (now defunct) generating plant at Moss Landing at night*

The route continued by taking us through the East Bay and crossing over the 580 through Richmond and past San Quentin Penitentiary. The whole drive took about 2.5 hours and we settled in to work the rest of the day.

We took the dogs to the Kamp K-9 doggy relief area and a couple was throwing a tennis ball for their puppy. After chatting about where they are going and where we are going we discovered that this woman has played golf with our friend we will be visiting in Bend, Oregon next week. It’s a small world after all.

-Cheryl

Dead at the Sphere…the Videos

June 6, 2024June 7, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

So, I’d planned on uploading videos from the show along with the images. But, well, sometimes on-the-road WiFi just isn’t fast enough. OK, truth is that I set all the videos to upload at once and then went to take a nap. When I woke up, all the uploads had failed and we were setting off to do something else. Hey, I’m in road mode, so it just took a couple more days. Of course, it didn’t hurt that we visited a friend’s place in Monterey and he had blazing fast Internet, so I shot those videos up to the cloud between beers.

The Sphere is an amazing venue. These vids only capture a sense of what it was like. As we’ve said, if you get the opportunity to see your favorite band here, do it!

What we thought was the “backstage” was actually just a fanciful image that split along Stealie’s lightning bolt and slid open

After the wall opened, we found ourselves on Haight Street only to take off into space

I never got to experience Bill Graham’s Wall of Sound, so it was cool to watch it grow and get a sense for the experience

This type of stuff is what the Sphere is made for…if you listen carefully you can hear Cheryl scream mid-way through

Gotta have a spiral of dancing bears (yes, I know, they’re marching, but I prefer to imagine them dancing)

All those different tickets, posters, and passes; hallmarks of a storied career and history

Another of those “Spehere-only” experiences as we traveled from one famous venue to another

DrumSpace…maybe the only time I actually didn’t get up and go to the bathroom. No drums here, but it’s cool to watch Mickey play his Blaster Beam.

You just can’t get enough of the visuals, often forgetting to look at the stage

Just look at that stage; it seems so small against the image wall

Skeletons…never enough skeletons

Well there you go, more skeletons on motorcycles

Eventually we had to return to earth, but it sure was an amazing four hours

Leaving Las Vegas

June 3, 2024June 10, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

Years ago we learned that if you are driving out of Las Vegas on the 15 headed south, don’t do it on Sunday. The cars are bumper to bumper and you double your trip time. We’d planned to drive about 5+ hours on Monday to the town of Lost Hills, CA. We got up at 5:00 am, walked D and D, and rolled out. I mentioned we had a major project go-live on Friday, so on Monday we opened a command center to track and resolve issues. I put the call on speaker (6:00 am local time was 8:00 am Midland time) and I drove above 25 minutes to Nevada Exit 12 where we stopped for gas, coffee, and White Castle burgers-yep 6:00 am.

Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) off I-15

I kept the call on while I ran inside and Clint fueled up. With coffee and burgers acquired I hopped in the passenger seat, opened up the laptop and worked issues for the entire drive. While I don’t directly work on the system itself, I problem solve and escalate with vendors. If you have ever worked with me and I needed your attention, then you know that tenacity is one of my super powers. Even rolling down the road I chased down half-interested vendor resources. Ask me how much I LOVE to hear someone we pay a metric buttload of money and with whom we’ve been meeting for months in preparation for this project tell us they have other customers and fail to act with any sense of urgency. And really ask me how much restraint is displayed after claiming “it’s not their problem” and we discover it is. But let me back up.

Our project, merging two separate versions of the same electronic health record system (EHR), was fairly complicated. One system was used by a large orthopedic organization and a large cardiovascular group. The other system is used by the rest of Midland’s outpatient doctor practices. Even though the basic systems were built on the same platform, each was customized for their specific workflow and business practices. When the groups were acquired the plan had always been to consolidate systems and business operations. Easier said than done.

Our go-live started on Thursday night at 5:00 pm. All the main work happened with the EHR vendor and with the 12-15 integrated vendors (lab, imaging, pharmacy, dictation, echo/stress, etc.). The work was planned so the team could log into the consolidated system early Friday morning. They’d closed the practices so the system work could be completed.

That was a great plan until a historic hail storm rocked Midland on Thursday night, ripped holes in the business office roof (see video), pummeled cars with grapefruit sized hail which rendered them un-drivable, and caused damage to many houses. As much of the staff that was able, showed up Friday morning. They had to relocate to dry offices with working computers and with the stress of the system merge and acts of nature-they worked throughout the day and weekend so patients could be seen on Monday morning.

Just another rainy day in Midland

Imagine being a vendor with an attitude on a call with this team on Friday or Monday. Then imagine being their boss or senior executive. I used every phone number and email available AND made sure they understood how to properly provide service. It really doesn’t take much to do what is expected.

We registered 49 issues and closed 33 on Monday. We had a few storm related things that got fixed on Tuesday. There were no showstoppers and we added and resolved 20 more issues Tuesday. Probably more than you wanted to know, but working on the road is part of the adventure.

The drive across the CA-58 was beautiful. We drove past Edwards AFB and through the hills of Tehachapi. We saw the plane graveyard and many windmills.

The road descended into the Central Valley and flattened out. We landed in Lost Hills before noon on Monday so I finished up the day in a stationary spot. The Lost Hills KOA is like a big parking lot off the 5 and 46, and is behind 4 truck stops. It was our last desert stop and topped the day at 90 degrees. The KOA was surrounded by farmland and included chickens-which Denzel was unhappy about (early puppyhood rooster encounter made him afraid of feathers)-and a herd of goats. Dani got to touch noses with a goat through the fence. It was pretty cute for both creatures.

We left Lost Hills early Tuesday and made it to Moss Landing (near Monterey) by 11:00 am. It never got above 70-degrees and we had the windows open. We will fill you in on Moss Landing next.

-Cheryl

I’ll Meet you at the Jubilee

June 2, 2024June 4, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

After a long week of work that included a major project go-live, we made our way to the Venetian Hotel. The main reason we chose Las Vegas as a stop on our adventure was to see a Dead and Company show at The Sphere.

If you haven’t been to Las Vegas since The Sphere was built, you need to visit. The dazzling lights dancing across this giant dome is a great add to the already fascinating skyline. The lights and patterns rotate with programmed content. They’ve been displaying a beautifully massive Stealie for months. Last night it acted as a beacon, calling all Heads to the show.

Clint said he had to create a new category for favorite shows. His favorite regular arena show was 31 Dec 2015 at the Forum in Los Angeles. Of course Bill Walton was in front of us for most the show, and then he was on stage as Father Time, welcoming the new year and the Doobie Canoe. Clint’s favorite digital show was last night.

Our tickets were in Section 106, Row 22, Seats 3 and 4. We were eye level with the band and we had about a 60% view of the whole Sphere. (If you go, try for tickets in rows 1-10). The stage is on the floor at the front of the auditorium. The backdrop is a very industrial scene that depicts backstage areas. After sitting for a few minutes I told Clint I thought it was a picture. After he looked and thought about it, each band would be creating their own theme. A woman sat down next to us. She’d been at one of the U2 shows and confirmed what we had been thinking.

Let me back up for just a minute. We’d received a warning that the bridge from the Venetian to the Sphere would be closed due to some convention. They hadn’t really thought this out too well as that is the primary method of access. The hotel had people with signs about every 50-100 feet showing the alternate route. This very inauspicious route had us walking to the farthest end of the Palazzo, through the lobby of the theater there, along the empty concession stand, and down some fire exit stairs to the street. We joined a small sidewalk that runs between the Palazzo and the Wynn on Sands Ave. We dodged convention ride share chaos and climbed over no less than 20 curbs, boxes, and grates to get to the last intersection. Everyone patiently waited for the traffic lights and we were underneath the closed walkway and herded toward some outside stairs. Once we climbed the stairs and got inside, it was really nice. We had to do a similar walk back, but they had closed some of the lanes on Sands Ave so the crowd could get to the Venetian a little more safely.

Back to the show. It advertised a 7:30 pm start time and the band came out about 7:40. We were totally expecting a Vegas style half show that most of the residencies produce. Instead, they played until 11:20 pm with about a 30 minute intermission.

To sum up: If you have the opportunity to see one of the shows, DO IT! Hop on a plane, grab a friend and do it! I would recommend this venue for any of your favorite bands that get the chance to play here. It is SO worth seeing.

The music and sound were great, the environment was stimulating, and the graphic, visual, and physical effects are unbelievable. For some of the show I felt I was in a VR set, especially when it felt like the whole place was moving. They started with Shakedown Street and the industrial backdrop opens to the Haight Ashbury house. The we lift off above San Francisco and the world. At the end you land back in front of the house and they finished with Casey Jones and showed a lot of pictures from their history. You can see some of the pictures and clips we shot at the show, but you should really see it for yourself.

The other observation I have is the graphics created visuals that one or more of us may have experienced as younger Heads who’d ingested various chemical or natural experience enhancements. It was very cool to feel like you were in a lava lamp, or when the marching swirl of dancing bears circled the whole place you watched them grow. It was really cool.

One last note, they paid tribute to Bill Walton several ways. They had tie dyed 32 decals on their guitars, had a video of him drumming during drums, showed a graphic of his arms outstretched, and had a great 32 and roses graphic to walk out to.

We have one more hotel day before we are back to Althea and heading west. We pick up the dogs from Camp Bow Wow tomorrow. We will spend today putting around some of the art exhibits that have been installed. Some are in a pop-up Dead Experience area and others are in some storefronts. Tonight we will meet one of Clint’s brothers for dinner and call our time here a total pleasure.

They’re a band beyond description, but for a taste, take a peek at the following videos (well, once Clint gets them uploaded).

-Cheryl

Viva Las Vegas!

May 29, 2024June 3, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

We arrived in Las Vegas on Monday morning after an easy 2 hour drive from Lake Havasu. We got an early start to avoid some of the heat and what we figured would be some Memorial Day traffic. We traveled on AZ 95 to I-40 to CA 95 which included some of historic Route 66. The rolling backroad was scenic and uncrowded.

As we approached Las Vegas we encountered acres and acres of solar farms. We’d seen similar farms along I-15 but these were fascinating. They were installed just above the soil and ran close to the bottom of some hills. There were people racing dirt bikes, dune buggies, and rock crawlers between a cleared area close to the highway. Unlike the ones on I-15, these didn’t blind us and they had some interesting little house-like structures every 50 ft. We figured they were management huts that housed monitoring gear.

We checked into the Oasis RV Park, got settled, and decided to run errands. We went to Camping World to get a new water filter for outside and we picked up some black tank treatment. We try to keep the black tank from getting stinky-no one wants a poo palace. We grabbed some tacos and picked up a few items from an outlet mall. While we don’t need clothes we read the venue information for the Sphere-which we will visit on Friday night. They have a no bag policy. I have clear stadium bags that we travel with but this says 6x6x2 inches. So, we got Clint some cargo shorts and he can sherpa anything that might have gone into a purse.

We have a busy work schedule this week. People try to fit 5 days worth of work into 4 days when there is a holiday. It’s also really hot. The RV park has patches of grass, which delighted Dani and Denzel. They also have gravel and sand doggy relief areas. We walked them early in the mornings and then again between 6:00 and 8:00 pm. We let them out to take care of quick business 2 to 3 times during the day and at bedtime.

After 2 days of that and not wanting their little paws to melt on the pavement, we made arrangements for them to go to Camp Bow Wow a day early. They were already going to board so we can do our entertainment adventures without worrying about them and this way they got an extra day playing in a heat safe environment. We get to watch them on the Camper Cam. Their play yard is called Circus Furcus. Very Vegas. Earlier today they frolicked. This afternoon they and all their friends were lying low. We pick them up on Sunday and will head to cooler weather on Monday.

Meanwhile we plan a little exploring today in prep for our fun weekend. Tomorrow we will do some chores while working and the meeting count stands at only 6 right now. I have another system upgrade going live tomorrow night for our outpatient facilities. Keep your fingers crossed and we will send more pictures from Las Vegas this weekend.

-Cheryl

Beware the giant bugs in downtown Vegas

Tucson, AZ to Lake Havasu City, AZ

May 25, 2024May 26, 2024 · 2 Comments ·

img_3736-1 — *Althea all hooked up and baking in the Lake Havasu sun*

We’ve been on the road for over two weeks, and I haven’t written a thing. It’s pretty odd behavior for someone who makes a living as a writer. What can I say? Working road trips can be exciting, but when you’re in front of the computer all day, it’s hard to sit down in the evening and write some more. Enough of my complaining; let’s get on with the fun.

We arrived at Havasu Falls RV Resort in Lake Havasu, AZ, in the afternoon, five hours after leaving Tucson. The day started out dramatically as Cheryl expertly extracted Althea (a 40-foot-long, 8-foot-wide beast) from her 42-foot-long, 9-foot-wide parking space. Who thought planting giant palm trees beside the RV pad was a good idea?

Since the RV park was all narrow roads and tight turns, we opted to forgo hooking up Jed, and I followed Cheryl out to I-10. Along the way, we passed Davis-Monthan Air Force Base with its Historic Aviation Bone Yard and the Pima Air and Space Museum. It was fascinating seeing all the parked planes. We’ll have to visit both places on a future stop in town.

After stopping for fuel at Love’s and reconnecting Jed, we got into serious work-driving mode, with both of us attending meetings at the same time. Luckily, there was little talking on our end. Along the way, the landscape remained deserty and inhospitable, with lots of nothing. We took the loop around Phoenix, which neither of us had done before, and marveled at how much traffic we avoided.

Eventually, we exited the interstate and dropped onto two-lane roads up through Vicksburg, Bouse, Parker, and finally into Lake Havasu City. Along the way, we passed many cows and the country’s second-largest egg producer. We were also passed by many people eager to get in front of us and arrive at their destination four minutes sooner. Sadly, we also passed a lot of roadside crosses making me think that I wouldn’t want to drive along those roads at night. Arriving in Havasu ahead of the long-weekend crowds meant very little traffic and a smooth setup at a nearly empty RV park.

After resting, we met Janet and Bob for dinner at Barley Brothers Restaurant and Brewery. Janet made a great choice, as we had a window table looking straight at London Bridge and the boats motoring through the channel beneath. It was my first viewing of the bridge and elicited a somewhat jaded, “That’s it?” comment from me. I mean, it’s a stone bridge. It’s not like it’s the Tower Bridge or anything. We enjoyed great conversation, good food, and some tasty beers.

The next day, we worked the morning, then met Janet and her friend Angie at the London Bridge Resort, where we proceeded out to the docks and boarded Bob’s boat. He’d already been out fishing early in the morning with Angie’s son Trevor. The six of us set off on our tour of the lake, river, and gorge area just north of the lake. We had an awesome time, speeding across the water and leisurely floating.

It was smart being out on the water on Friday before all the weekend warriors launched. Even still, we had lots of party barges and go-fast boats to watch. There was even a bit of fishing when Bob and Trevor spotted a largemouth bass and tried catching it with bits of my turkey wrap and fresh cherries (no success).

Realizing we needed to release the hounds from their crate incarceration back at Althea, we returned to the boat ramp and extracted the boat. After spending a few minutes back at Althea after walking the mutts, we headed off to Janet and Bob’s house up in the hills. Many twists and turns later, we arrived at their beautiful home and made ourselves comfortable in their amazing backyard around the pool shaped like a gingerbread person. In addition to the crew from the lake, we met next-door neighbors Lori and Brandon, as well as Mark and Cheyanne. After soaking in both cool and warm water, lots of pizza, and some wine, we made our way back to Althea, ready to sleep and wake up late (like 7:00 am or so).

-Clint

Born in the Desert, Raised in a Lion’s Den

May 22, 2024May 25, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

Tonight is our last night in Tucson. We’ve had a great week working and hanging with friends. On Sunday, Janine and Bryan came to the RV park. They recently acquired an RV so we shared some experiences and advice with them. Our other friends Carol and Jess joined us as they also shared tips and tricks on RV life. We all went over to Carol and Jess’ and cooked burgers. They have a yard built for a party and the dogs all got to play together.

Work has been very busy and meetings start between 6:00 and 7:00 AM for us since it’s a 2-hour difference to Central Time. The good news is we finish early too. We just did chores and upkeep on Monday evening. Yesterday the dogs spent the whole day at Carol and Jess’ hanging with Oliver. We decided it was time to invade their pool after work. We grabbed some beverages and hopped in. The water was super chilly and refreshing. Of course Dani wanted to be where we were so she went swimming. The boy dogs wanted nothing to do with that. We did a salad night and made our own salad bar. Cool food helps keep us feeling cooler.

Today we visited one of Tucson’s best attractions, Saguaro National Park. If you’ve never seen these beasts up close, this is the place to do it. Most of them think it’s spring and have flowers blooming on them. Many of the other cactus types have already passed peak flower time, but we got to see yellows, purples, reds, and oranges throughout the plants. There is one very rare and special crested cactus. His arms look like a fan shaped crest instead of being straight and tall. It’s a beautiful plant and amazing to see it up close.

After the park we had lunch at a local cafe. It was nice enough, bordering on hot but we sat on the patio with the pups. Carol and Jess drove us back and we hopped on our afternoon meetings.

We washed the dogs at the dog wash and are putting away what we can tonight so we get a reasonable start in the morning.

We are acclimating to the heat which is good since we have another 12 or so days in the desert. Hope you enjoy the Memorial Day weekend. We will be in Lake Havasu. Should be great fun.

Enjoy some images from Saguaro National Park: