Our Last Three Weeks of 2019 In Pahrump

Hi there, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Thursday, December 5^th while we were still in our hometown of Pahrump. Friday we left the coach early, about 9:30, and drove over the hill to Las Vegas so Jackie could

get the MRI that the neurologist she saw ordered. This is all still in connection with the fall Jackie took back in January where she hit the back of her head. She is still getting headaches all the time. We were done with the MRI about 11:30, and, of course, the results wouldn't be available for a week or so. We stopped at a place called Distil, a Vegas chain of restaurants with an interesting and fun menu, and had lunch. After lunch we drove to a nearby Costco and did some shopping. Once we were done with Costco we headed back over the hill, getting back to the coach about 4:30. We were both a little tired and I wasn't feeling 100 percent. On Thursday I had a bout of chills in the afternoon and a slight fever, but after taking some ibuprofen it went away. I once again had a low grade fever and was just tired. We decided to forgo the Friday happy hour at the clubhouse and the Christmas singalong that was to follow. We watched TV and went to bed.

Saturday I woke up feeling worse and was fighting a fever all day. By mid-afternoon I was throwing up and feeling really bad. I went to bed about 6:30 for the night. I threw up a few mores times along with a couple of dozen bathroom trips, but when I woke up on Sunday the nausea was mostly gone. I still had a light fever and didn't feel too good, but I was pretty sure I was on the backside of whatever I had caught. We stayed home all day, waiting for the predicted rain which finally showed up about 7:00. The rain was very light. We spent the day and evening watching TV, including re-watching the old 1980 Stephen King thriller, The Shining. We wanted to see it again because the new movie out, Dr. Sleep, is a sequel to it. We went to bed at our normal time and I had no nausea episodes all day. Even had some chicken soup.

Monday, December 9^th, I woke up a new person! No fever, no sickies, just hungry. Although I felt great, sadly, Jackie was now complaining of feeling yukky. Oh dear, I shared my sickies. She did throw up a couple of times mid day, but late afternoon and evening she was just feeling poorly. Fortunately, she was not showing any fever, so I thought she only got a light case. Needless to say, we didn't do anything today either. I did go out after lunch by myself and went to the UPS store to pick up some mail and packages we got on Friday. Other than that we just stayed home, rested some more and worked on getting better. Tuesday Jackie was feeling OK again, so we were both healthy! Yea! We went out after lunch and ran a couple of errands, stopping by the Escapees RV park to see if we moved up on the list. We are still number 19, but there are supposed to be three openings coming up in the near future. We had some hamburgers on the grill for dinner, and watched TV until bedtime. I did contact the dermatologist's office and learned that the mole they cut out last Monday was benign, so no further treatment needed. Yea!

Wednesday, December 11^th, I left the RV park about 10:00 and drove to the DMV office to renew my drivers license, which expires this coming February. I had expected a long wait, but was surprised that there were very few people there. From the time I went in until I had my temp in hand walking out it was 30 minutes. Try that in California. However, there was one thing that happened that kind of astounded me and renewed my faith in the ability of a bureaucracy to operate beyond the limits of logic and common sense. As with all states, Nevada has had to come up with a process to issue what the Federal Government has labeled a “Real ID” card/drivers license. This is supposed to be a card issued based on verified documentary evidence of a persons identity and nationality. At least for now the only use for it, other than as a regular drivers license or state issued ID card, is that it can be used as the sole ID to board a domestic airline flight. It is not sufficient for international travel, not even Mexico and Canada.

A couple of years ago the Nevada legislature amended the various statutes and the state now gives you the option when getting your first Nevada drivers license, or renewing a Nevada drivers license, to opt for either a regular drivers license or the new, enhanced “Real ID” one. Now I have a passport and have for 30 years, so I don't really need a card to fly domestically, a passport works too. Not that I fly anyway, haven't been on a plane in 20 years. However, I figured that since it didn't cost any more than a regular license I would go ahead and get the enhanced one. I had my birth certificate and documents to prove my residency and social security number, all in accordance with what I read in the statutes. I give my paperwork to the lady, she looks at the birth certificate, then looks at the Federal 10-99 I presented to prove my Social Security number, and said, “sorry, these documents aren't acceptable because you are a “Sr.” but your birth certificate doesn't say “Sr.” I was so shocked I just stared at her for a bit before I asked, “how would that be possible?” She told me that she didn't know, she just knew that the “book” said that the name had to be exactly the same and having Sr. after my last name on the other documents meant that it didn't match the birth certificate. I asked a couple of more questions about how my mother could possibly have known in 1947 that I would name my son Roy Jr. in 1974 so she should put Sr. on my birth certificate, but all I got was an expression of “I don't care, I don't make the rules, I only look at the papers.” Now, I didn't have my passport in my possession because I just applied to renew it and to do that you have to send the current passport with the application. Since I didn't need the damn enhanced card anyway, I just gave up and got a regular drivers license. Bureaucrats!

After my fun at the DMV I went back home, then we went out again about 12:30 and had lunch at the Red Sky BBQ place. We love their ribs and always get the full rack so we have ribs to take home. After lunch we ran a few errands and then went back to the coach. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at home.  One interesting thing we saw is just down the street from the RV park there were four wild horses hanging around on the street and in the yards of some of the houses.  My guess is that they came down from the foothills because of the cold weather and snow, and found they liked the bushes and grass in the yards.  They didn't seem to be especially spooked by people or cars, but we saw either them, or the evidence of them (HUGE piles of poop) for the next week or so.  The RV park is right at the edge of the undeveloped desert, so they weren't far from their regular environment.

Thursday, December 12^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and drove to the South Pointe Casino in Las Vegas to see a movie. We went to see Knives Out, the new “whodunit” with Jamie Lee Curtis, Danial Craig, and several other bit stars. It was an excellent mystery comedy, one of the best movies I have seen in several years. Right up there with the classics like Clue, Murder by Death, and the Pink Panther. After the movie we stayed and gamed for a little while. The place was VERY busy as the National Finals Rodeo is in town and the place was filled with folks in western wear. Haven't seen that many cowboy hats in one place in a long time. We both lost our $20, so we headed out for Pahrump. Although we have been to this casino a number of times because it is the closest movie theater, we never noticed until this trip that the parking garage has electric car charging stations. They are on the other side of the garage from where we normally park, but because the place was so busy we had to go over there. They are high speed stations, so we plugged in and when we came out three hours later the car was fully charged and ready to go. Yea, free miles. After we got home we had leftover ribs for dinner, then went down for poker at the clubhouse. Jackie had a good night, about five dollars up, I was about the same in the other direction. Still had fun though. After cards we went home, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Friday, December 13^th, we went out after lunch to run a couple of errands. We did a Walmart run, then went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. About 6:00 we went down to the clubhouse for karaoke. It was about a seven person rotation until towards the end of the evening, so I got to do a lot of songs. Most of the singers were pretty good and we had a great time listening and visiting with friends. After karaoke we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed. Saturday we went out after lunch and did a few errands. About 5:30 we left and went to Terrible's Roadhouse Casino for dinner. They have really good daily specials. We met Dick and Millie Duffin and had a great dinner. Tonight's special was prime rib and it was pretty good. After dinner we gamed for a half hour or so, then went home and watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, December 15^th, we had a stay at home day. I did leave and drive down to the quickie market for a newspaper. We had a relaxing morning with the paper, and did some chores in the afternoon. Monday we were out of the coach about 9:30, heading back to Las Vegas so Jackie could go see her neurologist one last time before we left Nevada. We got in to see the doctor, actually a PA, and she went over the results of Jackie's MRI. There were no abnormalities detected in the scan at all, except for one very small, old calcified benign growth. No evidence of scarring, stroke, bruising, or anything else. The doctor told her it could take up to two years or more for all the issues from her fall to completely go away. She renewed her prescriptions, the one of which she takes at night seems to help. After the doctor we stopped at the Lazy Dog restaurant for lunch, a great lunch by the way, then headed back over the hill to Pahrump. On the way back home we stopped and took a picture of a Yucca plant on the side of Highway 160 just outside the Pahrump town limits.  Someone had decorated it for Christmas, complete with lights. We relaxed for a bit and then went down to the clubhouse at 6:30 for poker. Jackie did well, winning about eight bucks, I lost two. We then went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, December 17^th, my brother Russ and his wife Zen drove up from their home in Las Vegas for a visit. He knew that we were leaving in a few days and wanted to visit before we left. We sat and talked for a couple of hours, then the four of us drove down to the Lakeside Casino cafe for lunch. We had a great lunch, then drove around a little bit. We took Russ and Zen over to the Escapee's RV Park so they could see where we were trying to get a permanent place. We then went back to the coach and sat around and talked until about 4:00. Russ and Zen left to drive back home and we spent the rest of the evening in the coach.

Wednesday, December 18^th, we went out after lunch and ran a couple of errands. After we got back to the coach we stayed in, did a few chores, and relaxed for the rest of the day. Thursday we left the coach about 12:30 and went to Chat Thai, our favorite Thai restaurant here in town, for lunch. I had what they called Sake Shrimp and noodles. It was sauteed shrimp in a coconut milk sauce with peppers, scallions, pineapple, mushrooms all over skinny egg noodles. It was the best Asian dish I have ever had! Jackie had Pad Thai, which she has had before, but today she said it was bland and the chicken was tough and overcooked. She didn't enjoy her meal, but I sure did mine. After lunch we did a couple of errands and then went back to the coach. We relaxed until about 6:30 then went down for our last session of Texas Hold'em for a while. We didn't have a stellar night, Jackie was down about nine dollars and I lost four. But we had fun. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Friday, December 20^th, was mostly a chores day. I spent a couple of hours outside taking down the screens and putting stuff away in preparation for our travel tomorrow. This is our last day in Pahrump. After lunch we did a mail run and then went back to the coach and did some more chores. At 5:30 we went down to the clubhouse for karaoke. Most of our friends were there and the rotation was short enough that I got to do about 10 songs, some with other singers. It was a great night and by a little after 9:00 we were back in the coach and watching TV. Saturday was a travel day. We were on the road by 10:00, headed south towards Hesperia, California. Our ultimate goal is Indio on Sunday, but we always stop in Hesperia on the way. We stopped for lunch at the Mad Greek restaurant in Baker, then headed to the Hesperia Elks Lodge. We arrived at the lodge about 3:00 and got parked. We are only overnighting here, so we didn't unhook the car or do much setting up. After we got set up we just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Sunday, December 21^st, we left Hesperia about 10:30 and headed for Indio. Traffic was pretty heavy, but except for some brief periods of wind the weather was OK. We arrived at the Indian Waters RV Resort about 1:00, got checked in and parked. It has been a couple of years since we stayed here at Indian Waters. It is owned by the same company that has Wine Ridge in Pahrump, but because of the Coachella Valley location the rates are quite a bit higher. We got parked and the basics set up, then left and went to lunch at one of our local taquerias. After lunch we went back to the coach and finished getting set up. We spent the rest of the day and evening in the coach. Normally I close out a day's entry when we go to bed, but I need to add an addendum to this evening. About 2:30 I got up to go to the bathroom and while there I heard a strange bump. When I went into the living room I saw Benji lying on the floor by my chair. He has been getting progressively worse for the last month, losing weight and having trouble breathing. The vet visit a while back didn't help any, so we have been feeding him a liquid diet and trying to just make him comfortable. We knew he was dying, but he seemed to be dealing with it and did not appear to be in pain. As I watched he gave out one last meow, trembled a little, and then lay still. It broke my heart to watch our little fur kid die, but at least I don't have to worry if he is hurting now. I wrapped him up and put him in his bed one last time.

Monday, December 23^rd, when I woke up I made some phone calls and found a nearby veterinary clinic which would take Benji and arrange for a cremation at a reasonable cost. About 11:00 we left and took Benji in and said goodbye. Like Fuzzy and Smokey before him, we were not going to get Benji's ashes back, we just wanted a respectful disposal of the body. After sending Benji off we went to La Casita Mexican restaurant to meet Jackie's Godson Shane Ryan for lunch. Shane is now 25 years old and lives and works in the Coachella Valley. He is about 6 foot 4 with lots of tattoos, but he is still the same well spoken, polite Shane we know. We had a great lunch, catching up with what is going on in his life. He hasn't had it easy because he has Type 1 diabetes and has struggled to stay healthy. After a nice lunch we went to Walmart for some things, then went back to the coach. We spent the rest of the day and evening in the coach.

It has been about three weeks since we last published and we will be here in the Coachella Valley for about three weeks, so this is a good place to close out this episode and get it published. Until next time, ponder the words of author John Grogan. “Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” See ya soon.

Another Three Weeks at Home in Pahrump

Hello again. Our last episode ended on Tuesday, November 12^th while we were parked at the Wine Ridge RV Resort in Pahrump, Nevada. Regular readers and friends will know that Pahrump is our official “home” even though we are full time travelers. Wednesday was mostly a stay at home day. Thursday the RV service guy came by about 9:00 to install the new water heater that I got through Amazon the other day. It took them a couple of hours, but now we have a brand new, non-leaking heater that works on 120 volts again. Yea! About 12:30 we left and went to the medical center so Jackie could see a neurologist. She had an appointment with this doctor on December 12^th, but they called her the other day to say they had an opening today at 1:00. We went in and although Jackie didn't get to see the doctor, she did spent a good half hour with the doctor's PA, doing a pretty thorough workup on what might be going on. The PA scheduled a blood test and said she was going to order an MRI as well. She also prescribed some pills to help her sleep at night. Jackie has had two CT scans, but the PA said the MRI was much more diagnostic. Jackie got her blood drawn right away and she is to keep the 12/12 appointment to discuss the results of the tests. After the doctor we went to Johnny's, a local Mexican restaurant for a late lunch. We then went home and relaxed until 6:30 when we went down to the clubhouse for cards. Jackie was up a dollar and I was up five at the end of the night. We went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, November 15^th, we went out after lunch to the local community center for the annual holiday craft show. Our friend Linda was one of the exhibitors with her jewelry made from old silverware. After the craft show we picked up our mail and then went to one of the local thrift stores to just look around. We then headed back to the coach and relaxed until after dinner when we went down to the clubhouse for karaoke. There was a very small crowd and only three singers, including me. Not many people listening, but I got to do a few songs I haven't done I a while, which is good practice. By 9:00 we were back in the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed. Saturday we went out about 3:00 and stopped at the Pahrump Nugget Casino for a little gaming. Jackie lost $20, I ended up $30 to the good. After gaming we went to the Red Sky BBQ restaurant and met our friends Len and Debbie Forrest and Millie and Dick Duffin, for dinner. We had ribs, filled up and still had enough left overs for another dinner. After dinner we went to the Elks Lodge for karaoke. Len and Debbie also went, but Millie's knee was acting up so they went home. As usual, the rotation to sing was very long and I only got two songs in. However, most of the singers were good or very good, so it was still an entertaining night. About 8:30 we left, went home and watched a little TV then went to bed.

Sunday, November 17^th, we had a fairly quiet day. We had the Sunday paper with our coffee and in the middle of the afternoon we went out and did a Walmart run. After shopping we returned to the coach and just relaxed for the rest of the day. Monday was also a stay at home day. We did some chores, played cards and watched TV. We didn't even go down to play poker because Jackie was a little under the weather with stomach issues. We did have a nice pot roast for dinner that had been in the crock pot, then watched TV until bedtime. Tuesday we spent the day at home. The first poor weather in the area since we arrived has brought cold winds, low clouds and rain. It is supposed to be snowing at the higher elevations, but we haven't seen the mountains in almost two days. Jackie spent a good part of the day trying to set up some doctor appointments for her head. We did play some cards and watched some TV. Wednesday the weather was still with us and we never left the house. Jackie was finally able to finalize all of her appointments to get her head issues checked out. Going to Vegas for the MRI in a couple weeks and then again a week later to meet with the neurologist.

Thursday the weather was still a little cloudy and cool, but the weather guy assured us the storms will blow out tonight and we will just be cool. We went out about 2:00, stopped at the medical center so Jackie could check on a couple of things, then did a mail run. We then went to the Lakeside Casino for lunch and after lunch a little gaming. I won a $130 on a penny machine after striking out on a couple of poker machines. I ended up $70 to the good. Jackie only lost ten. We went home and a 6:30 went down to the clubhouse for Texas Hold'em. I didn't do well, losing seven. Jackie was down six. Oh well, we had fun. We went back to the coach, watched some TV and went to bed. Friday we left the coach about 3:00 and did some grocery shopping at Walmart and Albertsons, and then picked up our mail. At 5:00 we met Len and Debbie Forrest at the Japanese Steakhouse here in Pahrump called Ohjah. We have heard good things about it and have been talking about going there, so tonight we had our chance. Their specialties are sushi and their hibachi grills. We didn't do the hibachi tonight, but everyone had sushi except me. I like certain limited types of sushi, mostly tuna based, so I had the beef short ribs which were excellent. I also had a couple of pieces of Yellow tail sushi and we shared a tempura calamari appetizer. It was a lot of food, but very good and we plan on going back next trip here. After dinner we stopped at the coach to unload groceries, then went down to the clubhouse for karaoke. We had a good time, many of our karaoke friends were there and the rotation was short enough to get in a half dozen songs. At 9:00 karaoke shut down and we went back to the coach. We watched a little TV and went to bed.

Saturday, November 23^rd, we stayed around the house until about 3:00 when we left and went down to the Escapee's RV Park for a party. Our friend Linda, who moved to the park last year, was doing karaoke and this would be the first time I had a chance to see her new equipment and do music while she was the KJ. It was also a pot luck and there was lots of good food there. It was open to anyone in the park, actually any Escapee from anywhere, and there probably fifty people there. We had a great meal and Linda started the karaoke. There were only four singers, so we all got to do a lot of songs. The party broke up just before 8:00, we helped clean up then went home and watched some TV until bedtime. Sunday I was up early, left about 8:00 and went out to do my annual qualification shoot for my Federal concealed carry permit. After I was finished I went back to the coach and we spent the rest of the morning with coffee and the Sunday paper. After lunch we went to the laundromat and did our laundry. After we got home we put away the clothes, made the bed and relaxed the rest of the day. We had some nice steaks on the grill for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, November 25^th, we went out after lunch to run some errands. Our first stop was a bar and grill called the Pour House, which is located inside of the Best Western Hotel here in town. We have wanted to go here for several years since the restaurant became a well known East Indian food place. I don't care much for Indian food, however I had looked at the menu and noted that they had a lot of regular Western food too. Jackie had the Indian buffet, which was a lot of curries with lamb, goat, and chicken along with some other selections. She really liked the food. I had a pizza, which turned out to be the best pizza I have had here in Pahrump. We had a great lunch and afterwards we went to the Sheriff's Office so I could get my CCW permit renewed and then went to the UPS store to pick up our mail. After that we stopped at the Saddle West Casino and gamed for a little while. We were playing the nickle poker machines and I hit a natural Royal Flush for $200, my first Royal in a number of years. I cashed out my $200 and we went back to the coach. About 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse for cards. I had a really bad night at cards, winning only one hand in the whole two hours, and that was a tie for a split pot. I ended up down $10 and Jackie was up almost that much, so all in all it was an OK day for gambling. We went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, November 26^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and drove over the hill to Las Vegas and the South Pointe Casino to see a movie. We saw Ford vs Ferrari, with Matt Damon and Christian Bale. It is based on the true story of race car driver and builder Carroll Shelby (Damon) and his close friend engineer and driver Ken Miles (Bale) as they partnered with Ford Motor Company in the mid 1960's to build what became the Ford GT40 supercar. The reason was to beat Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. Ferrari had dominated the race for decades and Henry Ford II became obsessed with beating the Italians. As a car fan I know that there were a lot of liberties taken with details in the story, it was still basically a true story in the broad sense and was a very good movie. If you like cars and racing I would recommend it. After the movie we stopped so Jackie could get a haircut, then went back over the hill to home where we stayed in for the rest of the evening. Wednesday we had a winter storm move in from California. The wind was blowing really hard all night and we woke up to temps in the high 30's and clouds and by noon it was raining. We didn't get real heavy rain, but it was steady all day until just before we went to bed. We never left the house, just watched some movies, played cards and relaxed.

Thursday, November 28^th, Happy Thanksgiving. The local mountains are all covered in snow, fairly light at the lower elevations, but still pretty. No snow for us, just more rain. Today the RV park is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner pot luck. They provide the turkey and everyone else brings side dishes. Jackie made a big bowl of sweet potatoes. The rain started again about noon and it was still raining when we went down to the clubhouse at 2:30. Again, not a downpour, but still wet. We sat with some of our RVing friends that we know from this park and see every year. The dinner was wonderful and there were about 80 people there according to the park manager Paul. About 5:00 we headed back to the coach, in the rain, and stayed in the rest of the night. Tonight was supposed to be a poker night, but we texted our friends who aren't in the park, and told them that we would not be there because of the weather. The rain finally let up about 8:00 but it was still cold. We spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Friday, November 29^th, it was still cloudy and cold, but the rain seems to have gone away. We went out after lunch to run some errands. We stopped at the Japanese restaurant to get a gift certificate for the couple that puts on the Texas Hold'em games twice a week. Jackie took up a collection from the regular players and got them a $75 certificate. They had mentioned a few weeks ago that they liked the restaurant. We picked up our mail and then did a Walmart run. We really weren't there for the Black Friday stuff and by the time we got there the crowds had

thinned out anyway. We did our shopping and went back to the coach. About 4:30 we went down to the clubhouse for the happy hour pot luck. We were hoping for turkey leftovers, but they had been put in the freezer. However, there were plenty of other things to chose from and we had a pretty decent meal. Normally Friday's are karaoke nights, but tonight the park had booked a local three piece band. Because of the weather they couldn't use the outside stage, so they set up indoors and we were afraid they would be too loud. We were pleasantly surprised that they were actually very good. Lots of classic and soft rock tunes and the guy who normally does karaoke, Bryant, joined them for a few songs playing his saxophone. We ended up staying until the second band break about 8:30. We went back to the coach and watched a little TV until bedtime.

Saturday, November 30^th, we had a stay at home day. Watched a couple of HBO movies, relaxed and enjoyed a quiet, cold, day. Sunday was another movie and relaxation day. Got the Sunday paper in the morning, other than that we stayed in all day. Monday we actually got out of the house for a little bit after lunch. We both went to the dermatologist for our annual skin checks. Jackie had a couple things looked at, but nothing that needed to be removed. I had one suspicious dot on my back that they PA we saw was concerned about, so he cut it out and sent it off to be biopsied. After our doctors appointment we ran a couple of errands. We picked up mail and stopped at the drug store for a couple things. We went back to the coach, had dinner and then went down to the clubhouse for poker. Both of actually won tonight, I was $5 up and Jackie was $3 up. Yea. After cards we went home, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, November 3^rd, was mostly a relaxation day. We did go out in the afternoon and do a Walmart run and also stopped at another store for a couple of things. After that we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV for the rest of the day. Wednesday the rain was back. This wasn't a cold storm like the last one, but it rained a bit more than last time. We even had a little water come in the coach by one of the slides. I need to check the seals. We spent the entire day in the house because of the crappy weather. Thursday we went out to lunch at the China Wok restaurant. Today was a free meal since we were there to listen to a presentation for Medical Air Service Association (MASA) MASA is a program that we bought into in 2007 and once you pay the initial fee it is a lifetime membership. It is not insurance in a legal sense, but it basically covers the cost of any medical transport, ground ambulance, helicopter, or fixed wing. The pay anything not covered by insurance. They have annual sales presentation here in Pahrump and they always invite anyone, even those who are already members. We sat with our friends Dick and Millie Duffin and both they and us are members. At least a third or more of the people at the lunch were members. The presentation runs about 45 minutes, then a great lunch.

After lunch we went to the nail salon. I got a toenail trim, and Jackie got a full pedi. While waiting for her I went to the mail store and picked up mail. After mail I waited for Jackie, then we headed back home for a while. About 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse for cards. Had an OK night, ending up $4 down. Jackie was even for the night. After cards we went home, watched some TV and went to bed.

It has now been three weeks since we last published, so it is about time to get this chapter online. We will be here in Pahrump for two more weeks, so the next time we publish we will probably be in the Indio, California area. Until next time, remember to treasure your best friends. They know how crazy you are and still choose to be seen with you in public. See ya soon.

The First Three Weeks at Home in Pahrump

Hi there, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Tuesday, October 22^nd, when we finally arrived back in Pahrump, Nevada, our home of record. We have been gone for almost exactly four months on our summer travels and will be back here in Pahrump for two months before starting our winter travels. Wednesday, our first full day at home. We left the coach after lunch and went out to visit old friends and run some errands. Our first stop was the Escapee's RV park here in Pahrump, Pair-A-Dice. Regular readers will know that last year we applied and got on the list to get a lot here at the Escapee's Coop park. We are now number 22 on the waiting list, probably still looking at a year or two at least before we can get a lot of our own. However, we already have several friends who have moved in there in the last year. We first stopped and saw Dick and Millie Duffin. Millie is the head of the “Dilly Muffins” party group and frequently has parties at her place for friends. We actually saw Dick and Millie in Oregon this summer while they were up there at the REV (Fleetwood RVs) service facility. They had a rough summer with health issues, a number of coach repair issues and Millie also lost her brother over the summer. They are also happy to be back in Pahrump among friends and seemed to be in good spirits. We visited with them for an hour or so, then stopped in to see Linda Creatore, another of our former Wine Ridge RV Resort friends who got an Escapees lot. Linda is also a karaoke nut and a great singer. We visited with her and her two new kittens for a while.

After visiting friends we stopped at the veterinarians office, one recommended by Linda, to make an appointment to take Benji in to see about his wheezing and coughing problems. I suspect an upper respiratory problem. We will take him in on Monday to see what's wrong. We then went to the nail salon were I got a trim and Jackie got a full pedi. After the nails we stopped at the UPS store to pick up our mail in person and say hi, then did a Walmart run. After shopping we headed back to the RV park, put everything away and relaxed in the house the rest of the evening.

Thursday, October 24^th, we had a stay at home day. We got a few chores done around the coach and relaxed. We also did most of our packing for our weekend trip to Las Vegas tomorrow. We did go out about 6:30 and walked down to the clubhouse for Texas Hold'em. Jackie ended up down a few dollars, I was dead even in regular play at the end of the night, but I did win $23 for the high hand of the night. Yea! After cards we went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, October 25^th, we closed up the coach, made sure Benji had plenty of food and water and a clean cat box, and headed down to Las Vegas in the car. We were going to the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort for a couple of nights. Jackie's best friend Helen, who lives in Massachusetts now, comes out to Las Vegas and the Mandalay Bay at least twice a year, in February for the Super Bowl and in October for her birthday. Today was actually her birthday. She is a pretty active, and successful, gambler and is considered a high roller by the casino, which is part of the MGM family of resorts. When she comes out they comp her a two bedroom suite and all her drinks and meals for the time she is here. They also don't restrict who she brings to dinner. She invited us to come down and stay with her for a couple of nights.

We arrived at the resort about noon, picked up the keys for the suite and took our bags up to the room. Helen was already on the casino floor and had already participated in a slot tournament, having arrived in Vegas about 9:00 this morning. After we got settled we went down to the casino and found Helen. We gamed for a while, then went to lunch at one of the many restaurants at the resort. We had a taco buffet at the House of Blues, which Helen had obtained as part of the slot tournament but she didn't want to eat. After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon in the casino gaming. I had a pretty good day and gambled all day without losing any money, I was even at the end of the day. Jackie also had a good day. About 7:00 we went to a place called Fleur in the Resort, a nice, high end restaurant. I had a steak which was probably the best steak I have had in many years. Jackie had lamb which was also excellent. The meal was expensive, but since it was comped it didn't come out of our pocket.

After dinner the three of us went to the Michael Jackson: ONE show, which is one of the many Cirque de Soli productions playing around Las Vegas. We had gone to the same show last year when we were here in October, but they are always making changes. The first half of the show was pretty much the same, but they added a lot of features in the second half that we hadn't seen before, including a great holographic production featuring the image of the real MJ, both as a young boy and a grown man. Really a great show, and again, comped by the resort. Yea! After the show we gamed until about midnight when we went up to the room and to bed. Our room was on the 23^rd floor, about a third of the way up the tower, and it overlooked the airport and the new football stadium under construction. The night time cityscape was really pretty.

Saturday we slept in, had coffee in the room and relaxed for a while before going down to the casino. We gamed a little, and Jackie and I went out onto Las Vegas Boulevard to get a couple of geocaches that were not too far from the resort. We had lunch at one of the restaurants in the Mandalay Bay and spent the rest of the day gambling. We didn't have as much luck as yesterday, but we didn't lose more than we planned either, and we had fun. About 6:30 we went to another of the up scale restaurants in the resort and had another great meal. After dinner we gamed some more before hitting the room just before midnight. Another great day in Vegas! Sunday we got up and had coffee and talked with Helen for a while. About 11:30 we had our bags packed and we went down to the car and left the Mandalay Bay. We stopped at an In N Out for lunch, then headed over the hill towards Pahrump. We got back to the coach around 1:30 and spent the rest of the day unpacking and relaxing.

Monday, October 28^th, we left the RV park after lunch and went out to run some errands. Our first stop was the doctor's office to try to make some appointments. Jackie is still having problems with head pain stemming from January when she fell on her head. We both also need to get our prescriptions renewed for the year. Jackie made an appointment to see one of the Physician's Assistants (PA) tomorrow afternoon. We then went and picked up our mail, dropped off some donations at the Salvation Army, and headed back to the coach. We did some fish on the BBQ for dinner, then about 6:30 went down to the clubhouse for poker. We both had good nights, with Jackie winning $25 for the high hand of the night, four of a kind, and I ended up $6 to the good despite not winning a single hand for the first hour of playing. Yea! After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed. Tuesday we went out after lunch so Jackie could go to the doctor about her head. She spent some time with the PA, who said she was a little concerned that the headaches have lasted almost a year. She ordered another CT scan of Jackie's head. She had one at the time of the fall in January, but the hospital said it didn't show any problems inside of the head. Jackie went to the imagining center, which is in the same building, and they told her she could get in for the CT today, in about 45 minutes. We waited, Jackie got her CT and they told her they would have the results in a couple days. We then headed to Walmart, did some shopping and then went back home. I made a pot of chili for this cool day, we had dinner, watched TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, October 30^th, we went out after lunch to run a couple of errands. We stopped at a local second hand store where I had left one of my hand guns for sale on consignment back in May. They had not had any takers, so I wanted to take the gun back so I could take it to the local gun show this weekend. It is an antique, a 1903 Colt Hammerless Automatic chambered in .32 cal. It is in pretty decent condition, manufactured in 1921, but it is not a practical daily carry weapon. After I got my pistol back we went out and did one of the two new geocaches in town, a travel bug hotel on the north side of town. We found the cache and were able to swap out eleven travel bugs, almost our entire inventory. Yea! After finding the cache we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day inside.

Thursday, October 31^st, Halloween! We didn't do a whole lot, we went out after lunch and drove over to the Escapee's RV park to visit with Dick and Millie Duffin for a while. While we there several other people we knew came over and visited too. We left about 4:00, picked up some KFC for dinner, then at 6:30 went over to the clubhouse for Texas Hold'em. Neither of us did real well tonight, both losing about $3. After cards we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV until bedtime. Friday was a stay at home day. Did a few chores but mostly just relaxed. I went down to the clubhouse about 6:30 for karaoke. Jackie had a bad headache, so she stayed home. It was a light crowd, so a short rotation and I got to do a half dozen songs. It was over at 9:00, I went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Saturday, November 2^nd, we went out after lunch to run a few errands. The first stop was the community center where the gun show was supposed to be. Evidently, the internet was wrong, there was no gun show in Pahrump this weekend. Oh well. We then stopped and picked up our mail and spent an hour or so checking on a few of the geocaches we have hidden here in Pahrump. As the owners of the cache we are responsible for maintaining them. One was missing and we had to replace it, and one had a broken container that we replaced. The others we checked on were in good shape. While we were at one we had some old friends of ours, the Knights, who are also geocachers, who just happened to be in town for a couple days and were doing some caching. They were coming out to look for the one that we were checking on. Fun coincidence. We then made a stop at Smith's grocery for a couple things, then went back home and relaxed for a while. Around 5:30 we left again and drove to the Elks Lodge for karaoke. Most of our friends who do karaoke were there and we had a great time. It was a pretty long rotations, so I only got to do three songs, but most of the singers were pretty good and it was great to be able to spent time with friends. Karaoke finished at 9:00, we went back home and watched a little TV before going to bed. Sunday was a stay at home day. I went out first thing in the morning and got the paper, then we stayed in for the rest of the day.

Monday, November 4^th, we left the coach about 1:00 and went to the laundry to wash clothes. We were done with the laundry in a couple of hours and we ran some errands, including a stop at Walmart. After shopping we went back to the coach and put everything away. We went down to the clubhouse about 6:30 for poker. I lost four dollars and Jackie lost three, but we had a good time. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed. Tuesday was another stay at home day. I got a lot of chores done including cleaning out the storage bay a little, getting our spare set of drapes for the front window of the coach out of the bay so I could put them on, and some office work. I was also able to get an RV mobile service guy to come over to look at the water heater. During our summer travels the 110 volt heating element went out and we have had to rely on propane alone to heat the water. After they got the water heater pulled out they found that the water leak I have been trying to find for over a year was a leak in the hot water heater tank. The tank had a small crack or corroded spot. Of course, this means a new water heater. I told them not to bother with the electric element in the old one, just put it back in and hook it up for propane and I would get a new heater for them to install next week. Jackie also got some chores done, including cleaning out some of her closet space. After all our work we had burgers on the BBQ for dinner, watched TV for the evening and went to bed.

Wednesday, November 6^th, we left the coach about 1:30 and drove over to the Escapee's RV park to visit with my son Roy Jr. Roy recently sold his condo in Phoenix and bought an RV and plans on being on the road for a few years seeing the country. He was on his way to South Dakota and decided to stop in Pahrump to see us for a little while. He has an older 34 foot class A motor home and is traveling with his dog and two cats. Actually, the motor home is the same year as ours, 2005, with half the miles, so I guess I shouldn't say old. We sat and talked for while and caught up, then about 5:30 left and went to Mom's Cafe for an early dinner. We dropped him off about 7:00, went back to our coach and spent the rest of the evening with the TV. Thursday I had to go out after lunch to try and get a tire on the car fixed. Last night on the way home the low tire warning lite came on. When I checked the tires this morning the right front one was quite low. All the others were OK. This had happened about a week ago too, so I figured I had a nail or something in the tire that was causing a slow leak. I aired up the tire and went out in search of a tire repair place. The first store I went to told me it was at least a two hour wait, so I went to the tire center at Walmart and was ignored for ten minutes. I finally stopped at the second tire store in town and they told me they could get me in within 45 minutes. It turned out to be about 30 minutes, he took the tire off and found a small screw stuck in the tread. Within 15 minutes the tire was repaired and back on the car. The best part was when I went to pay they told me that tire repairs are always free, even for people who had not been previous customers. Nice! I drove back to the coach and then Jackie and I left again to run some errands. We stopped and picked up mail, then did a Walmart run, then dropped the drapes that cover the front windows of the coach off at a dry cleaners. We have a spare set and every two years we swap the drapes and get the old set cleaned. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. We had dinner then went down to the clubhouse for poker. Not a bad night, I ended up being seven dollars to the good and Jackie was up three. After cards we went back to the coach, watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, November 8^th, we left the coach around 1:00 and drove to the Escapee's RV park to pick up Roy. We went out and checked on a few of our caches, both to do maintenance and to give Roy, who is also a geocacher, an opportunity to get a couple of caches. After looking at four or five caches we stopped at the Gold Town Casino to game a little. Roy was actually the one who suggested it, saying he wanted to spend twenty bucks to see if he could win in Pahrump. He and Jackie both lost and I broke even, which I consider a win. We stopped at the grocery store so Roy could pick up a few things, then dropped Roy off at his coach. We went back to the RV park and relaxed for a while and had dinner. Around 6:00 we went down to the clubhouse for karaoke. Although there were quite a few people in the clubhouse, there were only three singers at the beginning. After a little while it grew to five in the rotation, but I still got to do a lot of songs. At 9:00 karaoke ended, we went back to the coach and watched a little TV before going to bed. Saturday was mostly a stay at home day. I got a bunch of little chores done. We went out for a late lunch at the local Chinese buffet, then went back to the coach. About 5:00 we drove to the Elks, thinking that there was the usual Saturday night karaoke, but it had been canceled due to Veteran's Day, so we drove back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the night with the TV.

Sunday, November 10^th, the 244^th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Ooh Rah and Happy Birthday. About 1:30 I went out and picked up Roy at the Escapee's park. I failed to mention that at this time he only has his 34 foot motorhome, no tow car, so to avoid him having to take his house everywhere, I have been doing the Uber thing. We went back to the coach and spent the afternoon visiting and catching up. About 5:30 Jackie served a nice Mexican dinner, chile relleno casserole with rice and beans. About 6:30 I drove Roy back to his coach, came home and we spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

Monday, November 11^th, Veterans Day. We had a fairly quiet day in the park. I drove down and got Roy about 2:30 or so and at 3:30 the three of us went to the Clubhouse for the Veterans Day celebration and dinner. They had the room very nicely decorated and there were quite a few people there. They started the ceremonies with a group of kids from the local Air Force Auxiliary Corps who came in and presented the colors with a very nicely done color guard. After they left they played the National Anthem and did the Pledge of Allegiance. By 4:15 they were serving dinner, which was a salad and spaghetti. The food was OK, not the best but edible. After dinner we talked for a while and about 5:30 I drove Roy back to his coach, came back and made some cocktails and went back down to the clubhouse for our poker night. Jackie had just stayed there, helping to clean up and buying a very nice painted wine bottle with the Marine Corps Emblem on it for me. At 7:00 we played cards. Jackie was up a dollar and I ended up seven dollars ahead. Yea! After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, November 12^th, we went out after lunch to run some errands. Stopped first at the Post Office to mail out my passport renewal then picked up our mail, including the new water heater for the coach that I ordered on Amazon. We then did a Walmart run and stopped at the Dollar Store for a couple of things. After we got home and put the groceries away I went down and picked up Roy and brought him to the coach for dinner. He is planning on leaving tomorrow and going back down into Arizona, so we wanted to have a last dinner with him before he left. We did some burgers on the BBQ, along with some cole slaw, french fires and onion rings. We had a nice dinner, talked for a while, and about 6:30 I took him back to the Escapee's Park. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

It has now been three weeks since we last published, so it is time to close this episode and get it online. We are here in Pahrump for another six weeks or so. Until next time, remember, don’t stress the could haves. If it should have, it would have. See Ya soon.

A Sky Full of Balloons and Then Heading for Home

Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Tuesday, October 8^th when we arrived at an RV park near Socorro, New Mexico. On Wednesday we were up and out of bed about 6:00 a.m. so we could get on the road early. We are going into the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta today as part of a rally put on by the Monaco International Chapter of FMCA. Monaco International has done this rally every year for about 20 years. They are always in one of the VIP parking areas directly adjacent to the fifteen acre park where the balloons are launched, so the access and views are outstanding. We have been to the Fiesta with Monaco three times before, with the most recent being in 2015. Our plan was to leave about 8:30, trying to time our arrival at the Fiesta grounds so we got there at 10:30, the earliest time you are supposed to show up to get parked. This is because the Fiesta actually has two sessions over nine days, the first starts on Saturday and ends on Wednesday, the second starts on Wednesday and ends on Sunday. We are in the second session, so Wednesday is the “switch” day when the people where were in the parking lot for the first session leave and those for the second session, us, go in and get set up. The balloons do a final morning fly on Wednesday, but there are no other activities on that day.

On two of our previous times at the rally Jackie and I were part of the team that put the rally on. I helped with parking and Jackie helped with cooking for the social events. When we signed up for the rally this year it was late in the process and they didn't need any help, so we were going in again as just spectators. However, as we were getting ready to leave to head to Albuquerque we got a text from the guy who is heading up the rally asking us if we can come in early to help with parking. Some friends of ours, Pat and Jim Goetzinger were on the advance team and apparently Pat had gone to the hospital early this morning with chest pains. It didn't look too serious at this time, but it meant that Jim needed to be replaced on the parking team. We sped up our departure and started north about 7:45 and arrived at the Fiesta grounds right at 9:30. We got right in and got a parking spot right on the front row, primo parking! We got the basics set up, which didn't take too long since this rally is all dry camping, no utilities at all. I then went out and relieved Jim so he could go to the hospital and I helped get the remaining 70 coaches parked. Jackie did the set up inside the coach while I was working.

By about 2:30 we had all but a handful of stragglers parked and my work was done. We relaxed in the coach until 4:00 when we had our first social gathering with the group. Everyone gathered outside and the rally master gave a talk detailing what would be going on for the next four days, going over the various safety rules and regulations and just bringing everyone up to speed. Probably three quarters of the attendees are first timers. We then had some presentations by two of the balloon teams that are here for the Fiesta. They talked about ballooning and showed off their equipment. We then had a catered BBQ meal. Jim brought Pat back from the hospital and we had a chance to talk to her. It turned out to not be a heart problem and she was feeling better. She is still not sure what the pain was, but she was relieved that it wasn't a heart attack. After the social functions we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the night relaxing in the coach.

Thursday, October 19^th, we were up at 6:00 to see if the balloons were going to fly today. Most of the weather forecasts said that there was a winter cold front moving through the area today and that the winds were going to be too high for balloons to fly. Well, it turned out that they were correct, the winds were so high that the balloons didn't even inflate to stand up. About 11:00 or so we took walk down on the balloon field so we could go through the various vendors and get a little exercise. We also thought we might be able to get lunch, but since the balloons didn't go up this morning, and probably wouldn't even set up for the glow tonight, most of the food vendors were closed for the day. We did get to see some really great wood carving.  After a couple hours walking around on the field we went back to the coach, got in the car and drove to a nearby cafe for lunch. We ate at a place called Jimmy's on Jefferson and it was quite good. After we ate we did a little caching, getting three new finds. We then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The group got together for another happy hour at about 4:30, and after cocktails they served another meal of heavy appetizers. One thing about this rally, you won't go hungry. We sat out for a while, but after the sun went down it started to get pretty chilly. As predicted the winds really picked up during the day and it started to get colder. The winds were so high that they canceled the sky divers for the evening as well as the “glowdeo” for the special shapes balloons. Most evening they have what they call a glow where the balloons inflate, but stay on the ground. That way people can see them light up after dark. Most hot air balloons are not certified to fly at night. However, the winds were too high for them to even set up on the ground. The only thing that did happen on schedule was the fireworks at 8:00. They have a great fireworks show here every night and tonight's was really good too. After the fireworks we watched a little TV and went to bed.

Friday, October 11^th, we again were up at 6:00 to see if the balloons would fly. There was a little bit of wind, but not real bad, so most of the regular, normal shape balloons, did inflate and fly. The winds were still a little high for the special shapes, which are usually bigger and are more difficult to fly because of the way the wind acts on the envelope. Some of the shapes inflated, but stayed on the ground. Nonetheless, we still had a lot of balloons in the sky. The only down side was the cold front had come in and it was COLD! It was 34 degrees on the field when we got up. I went outside a couple of times to take some pictures, but I didn't stay out long. Fortunately, where we are parked we can see most of the activity from the warm comfort of the inside of our coach. Yea! About 11:15 we left the rally area and drove to the El Pinto Mexican Restaurant for lunch with the group. The Monaco Balloon Rally has been going to El Pinto during each rally for most of the time they have been doing the rally. They set up a big, private room for us and put out a very nice, and very tasty, buffet lunch. During our previous

rallies they also did a lunch at a local country club, but the rally master told us that the prices had gone up too high, so they no longer did that activity. We had a great lunch and some margaritas and visited with people while we ate.

After lunch, about 1:30, we left the restaurant and drove to a nearby Costco. The last few evenings we noticed that the screen on the TV in the front of the coach was getting progressively darker and harder to see. I did a little research and concluded that the backlights in the TV were going out. These new LED TVs have strips of lights in the back that illuminate the screen. For the most part, these new flat screens are not economically repairable, so I made some calls and found that Costco had a replacement, exactly the same size, in stock, and it was on sale. So we went to Costco and for $159 had a new TV. We went back home and it took me just over an hour to swap out the TVs and now we have one that works. At 4:30 the group got together for happy hour again. They had food out, but most people were still full from lunch, so not too many people ate. We didn't. At 5:00 the sky diving team made their jump and we watched them come down. We then went back to the coach because it was still pretty chilly. The special shapes did go onto the field and inflate tonight for the glow, so we took some photos from the coach. We didn't feel like going onto the field in the cold. At 7:30 the sky diving team did another jump, in the dark, this time with fireworks packages which they shot off as they came down. Something I have never seen before and it was pretty neat. The fireworks show came again at 8:00 and it was another great show. After that we watched a little TV, shut the generator off at 10:00 and went to bed.

Saturday, October 12^th, it was still cold when we woke up at 6:00, but it was not quite as biting as yesterday since it was about 10 degrees warmer, in the low 40's instead of the 30's. There were no clouds and very little wind, so the balloons flew. By 8:00 the sky was filled with balloons of every shape, size and color as far as the eye could see. In addition, the “Albuquerque box” was working. The box is when the surface winds are blowing south, but the upper altitude winds are blowing north. This lets the balloons float to the south, then gain altitude and float back to the north. We saw some balloons make the trip three times. A number of balloons went out, came back and landed right back on the field, within yards of where they took off. The rally provided huge breakfast burritos this morning for the group. One of the traditions of the Fiesta is the breakfast burritos, normally egg, potato, bacon, andgreen chilies. The ones we had today were just eggs, bacon and chilies, the best kind. I can do without the potato. After all the flying was done we had the rest of the day off, so we just relaxed around the coach. At 4:30 we got together for happy hour and heavy appetizers again, watched the sky divers come down, and socialize. After we went back to the coach we watched another glow on the field and then the nightly fireworks show. Today was a perfect Balloon Fiesta day, everything worked!

Sunday, October 13^th, departure day. However, we were still up at 6:00 because even on the last day they have one last “mass ascension” and launch all the balloons that come out onto the field. The wind was perfect again and within an hour the sky was full of balloons. The rules of the park say that no vehicles are allowed to move or leave the area while the balloons are flying, so we all just watched the show again. The rally provided coffee and a light breakfast of fruit and muffins. After the balloons were all launched we went back to the coach, showered and started packing up. By 10:00 we were packed up, hooked up and headed for the road. It took a half hour in traffic to get to the freeway, but we were soon on our way, headed back west to Gallup, New Mexico, about 150 miles. We arrived at the USA RV park in Gallup about 1:00, got checked in, parked and set up. Now we have time to relax. We are here for two nights, then on into Arizona and another four stops before we arrive back home in Pahrump next Tuesday. We picked up some fried chicken for dinner and relaxed with the TV the remainder of the night. No balloons to look at tonight, but it was a full moon.

Monday, October 14^th, we went out after lunch to try and get a couple of geocaches, but the only two caches in town we haven't already found were inaccessible. One had road construction right next to it, the other was way out in the boonies on a trail that we didn't want to tackle. We then went to the mall and shopped for a while. Got some great bargains on clothes at Penny's and Beales. After the mall we did a Walmart run, then went back to the coach and relaxed. I made stuffed bell peppers for dinner, we watched some TV and went to bed. Tuesday was a travel day. We were packed up and on the road about 10:00, heading 120 miles west to Winslow, Arizona. We arrived at the Homolavi State Park about noon, got parked and set up for a one night stay. Since we were only here one night we didn't even unhook the car. We just chilled in the coach for the rest of the day and evening.

Wednesday, October 16^th, was another travel day. Since we were only going to Williams, Arizona, about 100 miles west, and the park we were going to had a strict 1:00pm check in time, we took our time leaving. We left Homolavi State park at about 10:45 and drove a couple of miles to the Flying J truck stop in Winslow to get fuel. After fueling the coach we parked and went inside to Denny's for breakfast. We were back out and on the road at noon and arrived in Williams at the Grand Canyon Railroad RV Park about 1:30. We got checked in, parked and set up, then relaxed for the rest of the day. We did go out briefly to scout a laundromat because our plan is to do our laundry tomorrow. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach.

Thursday, October 17^th, we left the coach after lunch and went to do our laundry. After a couple hours we were finished, so we did a little geocaching in Williams, getting four new finds. After our caching we went back to the coach, put everything away, and stayed in for the rest of the day and evening. Friday was yet another travel day. We were packed up and on the road by about 10:00, continuing west 110 miles to Kingman, Arizona. We arrived at the Sunrise RV park in Kingman about 12:30, got checked in and parked, and had lunch. After lunch we went out and did some exploring and geocaching. We haven't stayed in Kingman very often so we haven't seen much of this city of nearly 30,000. Kingman was founded in the late 1800's as a railroad town and was the home for a major Army Air Corps training base during WWII. After the war the base served as one of the largest reclamation centers for surplus military aircraft.

Today the town's economy is mainly tourism as it is the largest city between Flagstaff and Barstow on Interstate 40 and also serves as a sort of gateway to the Las Vegas area, which is only about 90 miles northwest. It's most famous “favorite son” is actor Andy Devine, whose father opened one of the largest hotels in town in the 1940's. It's most infamous “celebrity” was Timothy McVie, the Oklahoma City Bomber, who lived in Kingman for a couple of years just prior to his bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The city was also the scene of the 1973 explosion of a rail car propane tank which killed 11 firefighters, a rail worker and an Arizona State Highway Patrolman, and injured dozens more. The car was parked on a siding near downtown when static electricity ignited gas escaping from a small hairline crack in the side of the tank. Firefighters responded and were fighting the fire by trying to cool the tank, however the expanding gas first caused a valve to fail, increasing the fire to the point where the propane boiled and finally caused the tank to explode. The explosion was felt and heard five miles away and created a brief, 1000 foot fireball which enveloped the entire rail-yard. This remained the worst Arizona public safety employee tragedy until 2013 when 13 firefighters were lost in a forest fire north of Phoenix.

We explored the historic downtown area and did some geocaching, getting six new finds and no DNFs. We then visited the Kingman Elks Lodge, which is number 468, chartered in 1899. Their old, classic three story stone Lodge building is still located downtown, however some years ago the built a new lodge building in the northern fringe of the town. There were quite a few people in the bar and they were very friendly, one of them giving me a tour of the building. They still have a dedicated lodge room in the new building with the furnishings and decorations from their old place downtown. It was a very pretty lodge room, which are becoming more scarce. Most lodges today have their meetings in multipurpose rooms. We had a cocktail, visited with some of the members and actually got a new lodge pin for our banner. After our lodge visit we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, October 19^th, we left the coach about noon and went to lunch at a nearby Jimmy Johns sandwich shop. We have been wanting to try one of these places for a while. The food was quite good, better than Subway in my opinion. After lunch we did some geocaching, getting eight new finds and one DNF in a couple of hours. After caching we did a Walmart run, then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Sunday was another travel day. We left Kingman about 10:30 and headed northwest towards Boulder City, Nevada, about 90 miles. The drive was a bit hairy as the wind was blowing pretty hard, but we arrived at the Boulder City Elks Lodge around 12:30. We had a reserved spot, so we quickly got parked. This is a nice lodge in a building built in the 30's as the terminal for the first commercial airport in the Las Vegas valley. They have 15 full hookup sites with 50 amp. We got the basics set up and went out to an IHOP in nearby Henderson for lunch, then went to Great Clips where we both got haircuts. After our errands we went back to the coach, finished setting up the inside, then relaxed for the rest of the day.

Monday, October 21^st, we left the coach about noon and drove to central Las Vegas to meet my brother Russ and his wife Zen for lunch. Russ lives here in Las Vegas and has since the 80's. He works at the Golden Nugget Casino downtown and has Sunday and Monday off, so we thought it would be nice to see them since we were here in town. We met at Applebee's and had a very nice lunch talked for a couple hours. After our visit we did some errands. We first stopped at the Sunrise Hospital to pick up the video disk and records from Jackie's angiogram earlier this year. We then went to the Costco in Henderson to pick up some stuff. There are no “big box” stores in Pahrump so we have to come down to Vegas to get anything from Costco or Sams Club. After our Costco run we went back to the coach and we stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday, October 22^nd, another travel day, but our last with the coach for a couple of months. We left the Boulder City Elks about 10:00 and headed on the last 77 mile leg across Las Vegas, over the hill and into our “home town” of Pahrump, Nevada. Yea! We left Pahrump almost exactly four months ago in June to start our summer travels. We arrived at the Wine Ridge RV Resort about noon, got checked in and parked. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting set up for our two month stay. We love to travel, but we love to just be in one place for a while too, especially Pahrump.

This officially closes out our summer travels for 2019 and is a great place to close this chapter and get it published. Until next time, ponder the words of baseball great Yogi Berra. “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” See ya soon.

 Just some of the great photos we took at the Fiesta.