Wandering in Arizona - Rallies, Friends and Family

Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Friday, March 15^th, when we arrived back at the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona. We left here two weeks ago after a great rally with one of our FMCA Chapter rallies. Now we are back for the big Escapee's Escapade rally. The Escapee's RV Club is one of the largest RV owner's organizations in the country. Since they have always allowed trailers, fifth wheels and other non-motorized RVs, they are a much more eclectic crowd than the members of FMCA which until recently was only open to motor homes. We have been to three other Escapades, which is the club's big annual rally, including one in 2017 which was here in the same place.

Saturday, March 16^th, was a free day. We arrived a couple days early and since the rally doesn't start until tomorrow we could do some running around. We went out after lunch and Jackie got a haircut. We then did a little geocaching, getting three new finds and one DNF. After caching we went back to the fairgrounds and relaxed until 5:00 happy hour with the Bullock's, who are parked right next to us. After cocktails we did some burgers on the BBQ, along with some coleslaw. After the Bullock's left we watched some TV and went to bed. I finally seem to be on the mend, getting a good night's sleep last night for the first time in a week. I hope the trend continues.  The photo is one of the stranger RVs on the fairgrounds for the Escapade.  A real "do it yourself" project.

Sunday, March 17^th, Happy St. Patrick's Day. It finally warmed up a bit and the wind quit, yea! Today was the official start of the Escapade. About 10:00 or so we went down to the events area to check out the various activities and the vendors. Peggy and Jackie also wanted to see what craft sessions were being offered. After about 90 minutes we had pretty much gone through everything, so the four of us

left the fairgrounds and went out for a quick lunch. After lunch we did a Walmart run and then came
back to the fairgrounds. At 3:30 we went down to the entertainment hall for the opening ceremonies. All of the executives of Escapees talked and they recognized the various individuals responsible for this year's Escapade, as well as the volunteers that were present. Surprisingly, a very large majority of those in attendance were first timers, that is, coming to their first Escapade, and most of those were also fairly new members of the club. After the opening ceremonies we went back to the coach. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 and then at 6:30 we had a great Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes. I had been cooking the corned beef all day in the crock pot. We had a wonderful meal and then after the Bullock's left we watched TV and went to bed.

Monday, March 18^th, I went to an 11:30 seminar put on by Winnebago Corp. They are one of the sponsors of the Escapade and the presentation they did was an interactive session where they were looking for ideas in terms of design and construction of RVs in the future. They had a number of executives from manufacturing and design departments and it was a very interesting seminar. After I got back to the coach Jackie and Peggy went to a craft session where they made some greeting cards and got some other design ideas. I had lunch and then did some office work while they were gone. We had cocktails with the group at 5:00, then did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner for the four of us. After the Bullock's went home we watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, March 19^th, there were no seminars today that I had any interest in attending, so about 10:30 Vernon and I left to go to lunch and then visit the Pima Air and Space Museum. We had a nice breakfast/lunch at the nearby JerryBobs restaurant, then drove to the museum. This museum, founded in 1976, is one of the largest non-governmental, privately funded air museums in the world. There are over 300 aircraft on display in the 80 acre facility. While most are military, there are a large number of civilian aircraft on display as well. Two thirds of the aircraft are outdoors, mostly in non-restored condition, with the rest on display in four different hangers. Most of the indoor planes are at least partially restored. The museum has a close relationship with the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and it's “boneyard” of out of service military aircraft, so many of the aircraft at the museum were obtained through “loan” from the base. It has been at least 25 years since I visited this place and it was great to see all the planes.

While Vernon and I were at the museum, Jackie and Peggy also went out to lunch, going to a place near downtown to have lunch with an old friend of Peggy's. We were all back at the campground by about 2:30. At 4:30 Jackie and I went down to the events area for a meeting and social put on by the Escapee Elks BOF. BOF stands for “birds of a feather” and is one of the types of groups in Escapees, based around common interests. Since we are Elks, we joined the BOF quite some time ago. After the business meeting they had a social, but we didn't stay for that as we had not brought anything to eat or drink. We went back to the campground and had cocktails with the Bullock's. After cocktails we went back and relaxed in the coach for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, March 20^th, the Vernal Equinox and First Day of Spring! Winter is over! I got up and out early so I could attend an 8:30 seminar on Full Timing in your RV. I wanted to listen to how the Escapee's presented the topic since this is one that I am involved with in the FMCA organization. There presentation was similar, although put on by a single presenter rather than a panel. They also put much greater emphasis on cost of living comparisons. After the seminar I went back to the coach, and then about 11:30 Jackie and I went back to the events area for another seminar, this one on geocaching. Some caching friends of ours were putting it on, and there were a number of other cachers we know in attendance. After the seminar we went out for lunch at the nice Italian place down the road that we had gone to two weeks ago when we were here. Again the food was great and we ate way too much. We did find it odd that a guy we presume to the owner of the place was seated behind the bar in the same place he was two weeks ago. Not only that, at the height of the lunch rush he lays his head down on a pillow on the bar and takes a nap, right out in front of all the customers. He reminded me of some of the owners highlighted on Gordon Ramsey's TV show where he confronts owners who have lost interest in their business.

After lunch we went back to the fairgrounds and at 3:00 I went to a seminar on Veteran's benefits. After that seminar I went back to the coach and Jackie I went back to the events building for a social with the Geocaching BOF, which is the other BOF we belong to. A lot of our caching friends were there and we had a good time and some light snacks. After the social we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while, having cocktails with the Bullock's outside. Then about 7:00 we went to the main meeting hall for the evening entertainment. The first half hour was giving away door prizes and announcements. At 7:30 they started the entertainment, which tonight was “Escapees Got Talent” a talent show put on by attendees to the rally. There were a dozen or so acts, mostly singing and playing guitar, but there were a couple of dancers and one really funny skit created around an old joke. Three guys, including one friend of ours, acted out the joke. The joke is about a Scottish guy in a kilt who gets drunk and passes out on a park bench. Two young ladies walk by, notice him asleep and wonder if it is true that Scots don't wear anything under their kilt. They lift it up and find it is true, to their shock. They decide to tie a blue ribbon around the Scots private part and leave. When he wakes up he looks down and says, “I don't know where you've been but you won first prize.” It was a very clever skit and well done, probably the best act of the night. After the entertainment we went back to the coach and watched TV, then went to bed.

Thursday, March 21^st, the last day of the Escapade. We had a relaxing morning and a little before 11:00 we went down to the events area to watch the pet parade. As you might expect, it was all dogs, but some were in really cute costumes. One of the cutest used a prop we got in the goody bags upon arrival at the rally. There was a small, red thermal lunch bag size cooler bag with “Winnebago” on the side, provided, of course, by Winnebago. They had cut the bottom out and put it over their Chihuahua and were calling it a “Minnie Winnie” which is one of Winnebago's model names. Very cute. After the pet parade we went out to a local Thai restaurant for lunch, then did a few geocaches, getting four new finds and one DNF. We then went back to the coach and relaxed for an hour before going down to the main hall at 3:00 for the final door prize drawings and the closing ceremony for the rally. We didn't win anything, again. At 5:00 we had cocktails with the Bullock's, but because of the big, late lunch, we didn't do any dinner. After the Bullock's left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, March 22^nd, when we signed up for this rally we elected to stay one day after the close of the rally, mostly because we could and we were in a full hookup site. We had thought that the Bullock's had done the same, but they didn't sign up for the extra day, so they left this morning, along with about two thirds of the people who were at the rally. They went to the same RV park in Arizona City that we will be in for the next week, they are just going a day early. After lunch we went out and had Thai food again, then did some geocaching. We were able to get five new finds in an hour or so. After that we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. I did a few minor chores getting ready for our departure tomorrow.

Saturday, March 23^rd, another travel day. We are only going 76 miles northwest to Arizona City, a small town just outside of Casa Grande. Since we didn't have far to go we didn't leave until 10:30. We also filled up the propane tank at the fairgrounds since their propane station was right across the street from where we were parked and was easily accessible. We had an easy trip and arrived at the High Chaparral RV park right at noon. We got parked in our spot, right next door to the Bullock's, and did our set up. About 5:30 we had cocktails with the Bullock's and were able to have them outside because the weather has finally turned nice. I was even able to put on shorts! After cocktails Jackie served dinner, a nice chili relleno casserole. We had a nice dinner and afterwards the girls played cards for an hour or so. When the Bullock's left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, March 24^th, we left the RV park with the Bullock's about 11:00 and drove to the Pinal County Fairgrounds for the county fair. Today was the last day of the fair and, although the exhibits, vendors and carnival were still in place, by the time we got into the fair, close to noon, most of the animals and the 4H kids that were showing them, were moving out. We got to see a few pigs and goats, but almost all the rabbits, chickens and other small animals were gone. That was a bit disappointing as that is our favorite part of the small fairs. After an hour or so we left the fair and drove into Casa Grande to have some lunch. We ended up at Big Wa, one of our favorite Chinese places and the four of us had a great lunch. We then went to Walmart for a few things and then back to the RV park. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30, but no dinner as we all were full from lunch, plus most had leftovers. After cocktails we went into the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, March 25^th, we had a stay at home day. About 2:00 my brother Ken and his wife Susan came over for a visit. They live in Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb on the west side of Phoenix, but this weekend they were camping at the KOA campground near Picacho Peak, only about 5 miles from our RV park. We, and the Bullock's, sat outside and talked and visited for several hours. The weather was nice in the shade and we had a great visit. About 6:00 we did some burgers on the BBQ and all ate outside. Ken and Susan left around 7:30 and went back to their trailer at the KOA. We will be in Goodyear in less than a week, so we will be spending more time with them next week. After they left we watched some TV and went to bed. Tuesday we went to brunch with the Bullock's about 11:00 to a place just down the road from the park called the Cotton House. We learned that the place just changed hands this year and is now owned by the same person that owns the RV park we are in. We tried it and found it to be a five star lunch and breakfast place. Great menu, great food and great service. After lunch Jackie and I went out and did some geocaching, getting eight new finds and one DNF in a couple of hours. After we got back to the RV park we had cocktails with the Bullock's and then Peggy served dinner, a nice penne pasta dish that is one of my favorites. We ate and then visited until about 8:30 when we went back to our coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, March 27^th, was a stay at home day for the most part. We did some chores and did some relaxing. We did make one quick trip to a nearby market. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30 and then we did a rack and a half of baby back ribs on the BBQ. Vernon cooked because he has a technique that works. I manage to screw up ribs whenever I try. The ribs were great and we had them with beans from Peggy and coleslaw from Jackie. We visited until about 8:00, then went home and watched some TV before bed. Thursday morning I helped Vernon put up some outside colored lights over his patio, similar to we have. Unfortunately, the adhesive wasn't working, so we will have to come up with a better plan on a later date. We left the coach with the Bullock's about 11:00 and drove into town to have lunch at the Big Wa Chinese restaurant again. Tomorrow is our last day here and I really like their food. After lunch we stopped at the mall and went to Petsmart and Kohl's for a few things. After shopping we went back to the RV park and stayed in for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30, but no formal dinner as we all had leftovers from lunch today. After happy hour we spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Friday, March 29^th, we went out after lunch to do some geocaching. We were able to get six new finds, and one DNF, in a couple of hours. We also stopped at a couple of stores looking for some solar flamingos to add to our collection of birds. We finally found them at the Dollar Tree at the mall. After our fun afternoon we went back to the coach. We had cocktails with the Bullock's, then did dinner on our own. We watched TV and then went to bed. Saturday was another travel day. The Bullock's left early as they are going nearly 200 miles to Quartzsite today. We are only going 112 miles to Goodyear, outside of Phoenix. We will meet the Bullock's again in a week in Las Vegas, but for the next week we will be on our own in the Phoenix area. My brother, as well as my kids and most of the grand kids, live in the Phoenix area. We arrived at the Cotton Lane RV Resort around noon, got parked and set up then spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Sunday, March 31^st, we left the coach after lunch and went out to do a little geocaching. We were only out for less than an hour and got two new finds. We then drove over to my brother Ken's house in Goodyear to visit with them. We spent a couple of hours sitting in the kitchen chatting with Ken and Susan, and Susan's mother Helena, who lives with them in a “mother in law” apartment. They have a very neat, multi-generational house with a three bedroom suite upstairs, a one bedroom apartment downstairs on the other side of the garage, and then a great room in the middle with a shared kitchen, dining and living room.

Ken and I took a little field trip while the women visited and drove to the Goodyear airport to see where Ken is working now. Until recently he worked for the City of Avondale, right next door to Goodyear, as a Code Enforcement Officer. He worked for them for about 15 years and decided that since he was now vested in the Arizona State Retirement System, that he would leave Avondale and go back to being a flight instructor. He had done that a few years ago as a part time pursuit and he loves to fly, so he wanted to do something that made him happier than being a pseudo law enforcement person. He is still only working part time, but seems happy and making decent money. He showed me around the flight school and we looked at some of their planes on the ramp. Being Sunday it was pretty quiet. After Ken and I got back to the house the four of us went out to Red Robin for dinner. Helena didn't want to go out. We had a very nice dinner and talked for another hour and a half. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Monday, April 1^st, April Fool's Day. I have always hated April Fool jokes. Today was a chores day for us. We left the coach about 10:30 and stopped first at a local jewelry store. Jackie's wedding ring has a loose prong she wanted fixed, but they wanted too much money and too much time, so we didn't leave it. We have a good jeweler in Pahrump and will be there in less than two weeks. We then went to In N Out for lunch. Yum! After lunch we went to a laundromat in Avondale and did our laundry. By 1:40 we were done with laundry and went to the Avondale Costco to pick up a few things, then headed back to the coach. After we got everything put away we relaxed, had dinner, and then watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, April 2^nd, we left the coach after lunch and went out to do some geocaching, getting three new finds in about an hour. Caching is taking more time here because we have already gotten most of the caches near the RV park, so we have to drive long distances to find new caches to get. After caching we stopped at a couple of Ross stores looking for a new comforter for our bed. We accidentally left the old one at the laundry and it was gone the next day when we went back for it. It was a couple years old and getting spotted, so no big deal, just annoying. After shopping we stopped and both got haircuts. We then stopped at Walmart for some supplies and then headed home. We had dinner and then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Wednesday, April 3^rd, we left the coach after lunch and went out to do some caching. We found an area in Buckeye, a few miles west, where we hadn't cached before, with a number of caches hidden in a very nice residential area. All of the caches were in parks, but we had a hard time with some of them, ending up with four new finds as well as four DNFs. Sometimes we just get humbled. After caching we made a quick stop at Walmart for a couple of things and then went back to the RV park. We had dinner and watched TV for the rest of the night. Thursday we went out after lunch and both got pedicures, then we went to Sam's Club for a couple of things. After our errands we went back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the day.

Friday, April 5^th, our last full day in Goodyear. We left the coach around noon and drove to north-central Phoenix, a shopping area known as Metro Center, to have lunch with my son Roy Jr. Roy lives not too far from Metro Center. We had lunch at a nice Taquaria called El Pueblo. We sat and ate and talked for about an hour. We dropped Roy off at his condo, then went out to run some errands. We stopped at a couple of stores, including another Sam's Club because Jackie was looking for some specific brand of pants. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed for a little while, then went out again and met Ken and Susan for dinner at a local brew pub, Saddle Mountain Brewing. We had a nice dinner, then the four of us went back to the coach and sat and talked for a couple hours. They left around 7:30 and we watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, April 6^th was a travel day. We were packed up and on the road by 10:00, heading 180 miles northwest to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. We stopped at the Lake Havasu RV Resort, one of our RPI membership parks, got checked in and set up for a one night stay. After we got set up we just stayed in and relaxed for the rest of the day. Sunday we were up and on the road by 9:00, continuing north 150 miles to Las Vegas, Nevada. We arrived at the Oasis RV Resort, located at the far south end of the Las Vegas strip, about noon and quickly got set up. We are here for a week long rally with Monaco International, one of our FMCA Chapters. The rally doesn't start until Wednesday, but we wanted a couple of days in Las Vegas on our own, so we came early. After we got set up we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Peggy and Vernon Bullock also came in today from Bullhead City, where they had been staying with some other friends of ours, Ray and Suzi Babcock. The Babcock's were originally going to come to this rally also, but they canceled a couple of weeks ago. About 5:00 we had happy hour with the Bullock's and several other couples who are here for the rally also. We sat and talked for a couple hours, then we went back to our coach and watched TV until it was time for bed.

It has now been almost three weeks since we published, so our arrival in Las Vegas for a rally marks a good spot to close this chapter and get it published. Until next time remember, if what you do is stupid, but it works, then it really isn't stupid after all. Mission accomplished! See ya soon.

A Break Between Tucson Rallies

Hi, welcome back. Our last episode ended on Friday, March 1^st, when we left Tucson, Arizona after a wonderful rally, and drove 200 miles east to Deming, New Mexico and the Low-Hi RV Ranch. Saturday was a day of rest for the most part. The 10 day rally in Tucson was VERY busy and the travel yesterday was also tiring, so we were ready for a slow day. We did a few chores around the house and did go out briefly to do a Walmart run. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30 and then dinner. Jackie made a chili relleno casserole that was very good. Peggy made some rice and we had a nice meal. After dinner the Bullock's went home and we watched some TV until bedtime.

Sunday, March 3^rd, we left the coach with the Bullock's in our car about 10:30 and headed north out of Deming towards Silver City, New Mexico, a little over 50 miles northwest. Silver City is located in a valley in the foothills of the Mogollon Mountains of Southwestern New Mexico. The city was founded in 1870 after silver was discovered in the area, although the general area had been mined for copper decades earlier by the Spanish who were the first Europeans to visit the area. The silver played out after a few decades, but the area is now again active with modern copper mines. The city has a population of about 10,000 and sits at nearly 6,000 feet in elevation. I have never been to Silver City and wanted to visit it since we were so close in Deming. I was curious about the town because back in 1970 I joined the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Phoenix. When I went to the academy later that year one of my classmates was Mike Bethea. After the academy Mike and I found ourselves on the same patrol squad in adjacent beats and became pretty good friends. Mike's wife at the time was from New Mexico and sometime around 1974 Mike resigned from MCSO and moved to Silver City. We never had any contact after that, however, we did hear that a few years later, sometime in the late 70's, he was elected Sheriff of Grant County, of which Silver City is the county seat.

When we arrived in Silver City we found a high desert mining town which was very reminiscent of areas in Arizona we are familiar with, like Cottonwood and Clarkdale, where my brother Dennis lives. We went into the old downtown area, which dates back to the turn of the century, and went to the Little Toad Creek Brewery for lunch. The place had good ratings and it turns out the food was very good. Three of us had what they called a New Mexico Reuben sandwich, which added onions and green chilies to a Reuben and the flavors were excellent. Jackie had Baja fish tacos and said they were good too. After lunch we drove around downtown and did some sightseeing in the area. The altitude was a little too much for Jackie to do much walking around. It is a very picturesque town, although being a Sunday it was pretty quiet. We found that the Elks Lodge was open, so we stopped in and had a drink and got a lodge pin for our banner. We also picked up a couple of easy geocaches in the area before heading back to Deming. After we got back to the park we stayed in the rest of the night. Peggy was not feeling well, had a bad cold, so we just stayed in and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Monday, March 4^th was another relaxation day. We got a few chores done around the coach and Jackie and I went out after lunch and got our toes clipped. I just get trimmed, Jackie went full pedi. After the pedi we went back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the day. Peggy was still not feeling well, so we had cocktails on our own and Jackie made dinner for us. We then watched TV until bedtime. Tuesday we had planned to go to Puerto Palomas, the Mexican border city about 30 miles south of Deming, however, Peggy's was still not feeling well, so we decided to put the trip off a couple days. Instead we met the Bullock's for lunch at Irma's Mexican Cafe, our all time favorite New Mexico Mexican restaurant. It is located right in the heart of downtown and we have been coming here whenever we pass through Deming for about the last six years. As always lunch was wonderful, and filling. After lunch the Bullock's went to run some errands, including a trip to the pharmacy for Peggy, and we went out to do some geocaching. We first dropped off some stuff at the local St. Vincent De Paul thrift store, then did some urban caching. We were able to get seven new finds in about 90 minutes. After caching we stopped at a local Mexican food store for some frozen chili rellenos that Peggy said she got last year and loved. We then went back to the coach for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with just the two of us, some light dinner and then watched TV for the rest of the night. As a side note, today marks the one year anniversary of when we had to put our beloved cat Smokey to sleep. RIP Smokey!

Wednesday, March 6^th, Peggy was still not feeling well, so after lunch Jackie and I went out to do a little geocaching. We were able to get three new finds in less than an hour and then we were pretty much out of caches in the area. There is apparently not a big caching community here. We did have a lot more caches on the list I printed out the day we got here, but two days later the owner archived all his caches, which were the majority of geocaches in Deming. Although most owners will not go out and pick up the containers when they archive a cache, it does no good to go find it because the website will not let you log an archived cache. After our caching we did a Walmart run, then returned to the RV park. We did have cocktails with the Bullock's, outside for the first time in a while since the weather was mild and for the first time since we have been here the wind was not blowing 30 mph. After cocktails we went back to our coach, fixed dinner and then watched TV until it was time to go to bed.

Thursday, March 7^th, our last full day in Deming. Peggy still didn't feel like going out, so about 10:00 Jackie and I left and drove south 39 miles to the border town of Columbus, New Mexico. We parked in the visitor's parking at the border station and walked across the border into Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua, Mexico. We have been here once before, probably six or seven years ago. The U.S. Customs and Immigration border station here is brand new, and in fact it appears they are just finishing up the landscaping and some road work around it. This new crossing is huge, multiple lanes for traffic, a huge secondary search area, several large buildings. Given the number of people we saw walking around town after we crossed over, I am not sure why they wanted such a big facility. It is not even the commercial vehicle port, that is down the road a ways. When we crossed into Mexico there was a big, new building there too that you had to pass through to get into town. Palomas is basically one long street, maybe a mile, with some short cross streets. Only two tourist type shops, the Pink Store and a market. Everything else appeared to be geared mostly towards the locals. There were a couple of eye doctors and dentists, but a tiny fraction of what they have in Algodones. Based on what we saw there were probably fewer than a hundred tourists in town while we were there. There were no street vendors, or outside shops like in Algodones. Frankly, I suspect this will be the last time we visit because there just isn't that much there. It's only real claim to fame is that it is the town where General Pershing crossed when he invaded Mexico chasing Pancho Villa back at the turn of the century.

We walked a couple blocks on the street and then went into the Pink Store, which has an acre of kitschy Mexican crap and a nice restaurant. They do give you a free drink while you shop. After a half hour of looking around the store we had lunch, which was excellent. After lunch we picked up a wheel of white Mexican cheese, which we were told was made by members of a Mennonite colony that lives nearby, on the Mexican side. We also stopped at a pharmacy so Jackie could get a couple little things. We then walked back to the American side. Unlike Algodones, there were only two people in line ahead of us and we walked right in, checked in and walked out. The biggest drawback is that the customs facility is so big it's a quarter mile walk from the Mexican side of the fence to the building where the inspectors are, and then another quarter mile out of the facility. After we got back to the car we drove back to the RV park and stayed in for the rest of the day. Just as we were leaving Mexico a big windstorm, which was also very cold, started blowing and we listened to 40 mph wind blowing the rest of the afternoon and evening. By bedtime it had calmed down, but they were predicting tomorrow to be more of the same. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, March 8^th, we were up early, packed up the coach and were on the road by 8:00 a.m., heading west to Wilcox, Arizona, about 140 miles. We left early because the weather forecast was for high winds again starting in the early afternoon and we did not want to be on the road in the kind of winds we had yesterday afternoon. We made Wilcox and the Grande Vista RV park, just before 11:00 and got parked and set up. We had occasional light winds and some gusts on the trip, but, just as was forecast, by 1:00 the winds were howling again, 40 mph steady with higher gusts. Our getting up and out early was a good idea. Since the weather was bad and we were tired anyway, we spent the rest of the day in. We had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon and then Jackie made some Chinese chicken casserole for dinner. After dinner the Bullock's left and we watched TV until bedtime.

This is our first time staying in Wilcox. We had stayed several times over the years in the next town West, Benson, but not here. Wilcox is town of about 3,500, founded in 1880 as a stop on the new Southern Pacific railroad line. Then, as now, it was mainly a ranching community and exists to support local ranches as well as the occasional tourist. The town is best known as the birthplace of 50's cowboy singer and actor Rex Allen. One of the main streets is named after him and there are several museums in town dedicated to his life, as well as a large stature in the old downtown area. We are going to be here for three nights, so we have a couple of days to explore. The weather is supposed to be better for the next few days.

Saturday, March 9^th, we left the coach with the Bullock's about 11:30 and went to a nearby cafe, the Hitching Post Cafe, for lunch/breakfast. Peggy and I had lunch, Vernon and Jackie had breakfast. After breakfast Jackie was not feeling well, so we dropped her off at the coach to rest while Peggy and Vernon and I drove to the Chiricahua National Monument about 35 miles southeast of Wilcox in the Chiricahua Mountains. The monument is a little over 12,000 acres in the Chiricahua Mountains, including most of the range's Bonita Canyon. Although the limestone formations in the park are very beautiful, the monument also includes a lot of history. This part of the Chiricahua Mountains was where the Chiricahua Apache Indians used as a stronghold in their fight against the white settlers and U.S. Army from the middle to the late 1800's. These were the tribes led by Cochise and then later Geronimo. These Apache tribes were some of the last native Americans to finally make peace with the U.S. government. We spent some time at the visitor's center and then drove around the monument sight-seeing. After our visit we drove back to Wilcox and I spent the rest of the day helping Jackie, who was having a really bad spell of stomach problems.

Sunday, March 10^th, Jackie was still feeling bad, I woke up with a renewed cough and fever, and Peggy was still sick. Vernon is the only one holding out to feeling half decent. I did go out and make a run to the grocery store to pick up some stuff, mostly medical supplies. We spent the rest of the day in the coach just trying to not be too miserable. Monday was another travel day. I was feeling just a little bit better, although I woke up with my own stomach issues. Fortunately, I already had the Pepto Bismol that I got Jackie yesterday. Today we are continuing west, going 90 miles to South Tucson. I had been worried about the weather as the forecast was for rain today, but the skies were partly cloudy and it was only a little windy, so an easy trip. We arrived at the Mission View RV resort about noon and got parked next to Peggy and Vernon. After we got set up we just relaxed for the rest of the day, still trying to get better. We did get together for a little while at 5:00 for our first cocktails together in a few days. After that we went back into the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, March 12^th, we woke up to the predicted rain with expectations that it would be raining on and off all day. After lunch we went out to do some shopping, hitting Walmart first and then Costco. At both stops we had to walk through rain to get to the stores. After shopping we went home and put everything away. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30 then Peggy served up some clam chowder she had made. The chowder was very good. After dinner we went home and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Neither of us is feeling well yet, I hope these colds or whatever it is will relent soon. Wednesday, my son Roy Jr's birthday! It was also laundry day for us. We went out after lunch to a laundromat and got all our clothes and bedding washed and dried. On the way home we stopped at Fry's for some items that went on sale today, particularly stuff for St. Patrick's Day, which is this coming Sunday. We picked up everything we needed for corned beef and cabbage. After we got home we put everything away and then later had cocktails at the Bullock's. Peggy cooked again today, making meat loaf and roasted potatoes and carrots. It was a great meal. After dinner we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, March 14^th, still a sick day for me, although Jackie seemed to be a bit better. We left the RV park about 10:30 and drove to a cafe called JerryBob's. We ate here a couple years ago and enjoyed it, so we went back. We met Peggy and Vernon there and had a nice breakfast/lunch. After lunch we took a drive to Sam's Club. I needed to return something, and the only store in Tucson, up on the north side, was closer from here than it would be from the fairgrounds. After Sam's Club we drove back to the campground and relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with the Bullock's, but no formal dinner. We watched TV until it was bedtime.

Friday, March 15^th, another travel day. We were only going about 27 miles east, back to the Pima County Fairgrounds that we left a week ago. This time we are going for the Escapee's RV Club annual Escapade, a very large RV rally, similar to the big FMCA Conventions that we go to. We didn't even hook up the car since we had to unhook before we parked anyway. We left Mission View about 9:30 and by 11:00 we were in the fairgrounds and parked. We did the basic set up, mostly inside because the wind was blowing about 40 mph outside. I was still feeling poorly, so after we got set up we just stayed in and rested. We didn't even do cocktails or dinner. Just watched some TV and went to bed.

It has been a couple weeks since we published and our arrival here at another big, week long rally, marks a good place to close out this chapter and get it online. Until next time remember to just be yourself because everyone else is taken. See ya soon.

Off to Tucson for a Great Rally

Hello there, welcome back to the story. Our last chapter concluded on Tuesday, February 19^th, at the end of our last full day in Yuma, Arizona. Wednesday morning was a travel day. We are heading from Yuma, Arizona to Tucson, Arizona for a rally with one of our FMCA Chapters, the Overland Trailblazers. Today we are driving 175 miles to Arizona City, a small community just south of Casa Grande, Arizona. We were on the road about 10:30 and arrived at the High Chaparral RV Park about 3:00. We had to make a fuel stop along the way and while we were there we had lunch. The Bullocks are also going to the same rally and were traveling with us. We got checked in and parked and did a minimal set up since this is just an overnight stop. The Bullocks were parked right next to us. We had cocktails together, the first time Jackie has enjoyed happy hour for several days. After cocktails Peggy served up some tortellini soup that she had made a couple days ago. It was great. We had dinner, talked for a bit, then went back to our coach for the rest of the night.

Thursday, February 20, we were up and out early as we wanted to get to the Pima County Fairgrounds, where the rally is being held, before the threatening weather moved in. There is a terrible, very cold winter storm heading in from California. As we were packing up we had some very light rain, but it passed and by the time we left at 9:00 it was cloudy and windy, but no rain. We were going 75 miles southeast to the Pima County Fairgrounds on the outskirts of Tucson. We have been there for rallies before and it is a pretty nice venue. We arrived about 10:30 and the parking crew got us into our full hookup spot and we began to set up. As it turned out we didn't get any rain at all, but it was pretty cold. After we got set up I took all my sound equipment down to the rally meeting room. I am the “sound guy” for the rally, except for tonight because they have a band which has it's own sound equipment. I just took my stuff down and put it in the corner so it would be there tomorrow when I go down to set it up for the rest of the rally.

About 5:30 we went down to the rally room for our welcoming dinner. The rally hosts and some other volunteers had done a bunch of tri tip on the BBQ, along with all the fixings. It was fun seeing a bunch of the same people we hung out with in Indio in January. The dinner was good and after dinner they had a country band perform. It turns out that the band leader is the brother of the president of the Overland Trailblazers Chapter, so they came cheap, as in free. They were actually quite good, although we left about halfway through the show because Belle, Peggy and Vernon's little dog, was not feeling well and they wanted to get back. After we got back to our coach we relaxed with the TV and went to bed early. Both of us are fighting colds and didn't feel a hundred percent anyway.

Friday, February 22^nd, we woke up not to the expected rain, but snow! And not just a little snow, a full fledged snow storm. We got an email from the rally hosts that all three of the events that had been scheduled for today had been canceled due to the weather. We had been scheduled to go to Karchner's Caverns, an Arizona State Park featuring a cave system that had only been discovered about 25 years ago. We were told that the trip was being rescheduled for Monday. Peggy and Vernon were going to visit a big cattle ranch, and the other choice was the Pima Air Museum. Because of the bad weather and icy roads, everyone stayed home. I went down to the meeting room during the day and set up my equipment and the pot luck dinner scheduled for 5:30 was still on since the meeting room was very close to the RV parking. We went to the dinner and had a big selection of really good food. The snow continued until late evening, leaving about 2 or 3 inches on the ground. After dinner they had some organizational stuff for the next day, then we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Saturday, February 23^rd, we had a full day of activities scheduled, all occurring on the campus of the University of Arizona in downtown Tucson. The rally committee had set up three different tours, a visit to the University's Richard Caris Mirror Lab, the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, and the Laboratory of Tree Ring Research. The rally was split into three groups and each group was scheduled for each of the three activities, just at different times. The group we ended up in was scheduled for the Mirror Lab first, then the Planetarium and then the Tree Ring Lab. We elected to skip our first activity for several reasons, it was too early, we would have had to leave at 8:00, it was too cold, still below freezing at sunup, and there was still a lot of ice and snow on the roads. It would have been interesting as the Mirror Lab is the countries premier “factory” for making very large concave precision mirrors for large telescopes. They are currently working on mirrors for an observatory in the mountains of Chili.

We left the coach about 10:00 when it had warmed up a bit and the roads were clear. Apparently those in our group who did leave early were stuck in traffic on the freeway for a while due to a weather related accident. We arrived at the Science Center and Planetarium for our 11:00 tour and joined our group. The Planetarium show was very interesting and well done, they have recently installed new digital projectors and computers that allow some very fun displays of the solar system and the universe in general. After the sky show we took a guided tour through the Science Center, which includes displays about all kinds of things, including sharks, geology and minerals, and several other physical sciences. It was a great tour and we were glad we took the time to go. After the tour the group walked through the UofA campus to one of the dormitory complexes and the Highland Market and Cafe that is part of the complex. They had a wide variety of lunch items and a nice coffee shop and the group all had lunch. Lunch was not included as part of the rally, but we were all there at the same time and sat together.

After lunch we walked a short distance to the Laboratory of Tree Ring Science. This is a one of a kind laboratory dedicated to the science of dendrochronology, or the dating of trees. Our very knowledgeable and entertaining docent explained that this is a fairly recent science, dating back to the early 1900's, which was actually created right here at the UofA. dendrochronology is used as a technique in many scientific endeavors, especially archaeology and anthropology. We had an hour long tour with lots of information and demonstrations. After this tour we were done for the day, so we picked up one geocache that was right next to the tree lab building, then drove back to the campground. We went down to the rally room at 5:30 for dinner, which was provided by an outside catering company tonight. They had lasagna, salad and bread and it was filling and tasty. After dinner they had a local historian give a talk on the history of Southern Arizona, with an emphasis on Tombstone, one of the places we are scheduled to visit during the rally. He talked about 45 minutes and was very interesting. After the talk we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Sunday, February 24^th we left the RV park with the Bullock's and drove the 56 miles southeast to Tombstone, Arizona. Now all of us have been to Tombstone a number of times in the past, but it is always interesting to see some of the stuff again, and now that the weather has cleared up and warmed up a bit, it was a pretty drive. Lots of snow on the ground still and the mountains were all white. The rally had also arranged for two tours, a tour of the old silver mine in town, and a trolley tour around town. We got to Tombstone a little early and went to lunch at one of the Mexican restaurants in town, Cafe Margarita. The service was good, but the food was not much to talk about. I had red chili and the meat was so tough it was almost inedible. The others had different types of burritos and no one was happy with

the food. The only thing I had that was good was the tortilla soup. After lunch I went on the mine tour while everyone else stayed above ground. Peggy doesn't like being underground, Jackie didn't want to do the 60 steps in and out of the hole, and Vernon got winded early and left right after the tour started. I thought it was an interesting and informative tour and was glad I went. After the mine tour we were supposed to take the trolley ride, but the trolley broke down, so it was canceled. We walked a little bit on the main street, then got back in the car and drove back to the fairgrounds. We went to dinner at 5:30, which was hamburgers and beans cooked by the rally staff. After dinner they had a local cowboy singer come in and do a 45 minute musical show that was very good. After the show we went back to the coach and watched TV.

Monday, February 25^th, was supposed to be a free day for the rally, but it turned out to be the day that they rescheduled all of Friday's activities for. Jackie and I left the coach about 11:00, went out for a quick lunch, then drove to Kartchner Caverns State Park for a tour of the Kartchner Caverns. The Bullock's went the other way for a tour of a working cattle ranch south of Tucson. As I said earlier, Peggy doesn't do caves. The Kartchner Caverns tour was one of the things that I was really looking forward to, as it is something that we have never done. This cavern system is one of the most recently discovered large caverns in the United States, having only been found in 1978 by a couple of amateur spelunkers. They went to the land owner, a doctor by the name of Kartchner, and told him about the cave and that they thought it should be protected and preserved. Kartchner agreed and they went to the State of Arizona which took the necessary steps to purchase the land and create a State Park. In 2003 the park opened to the public for the first time.  They did not allow any type of phone or camera to be brought into the caverns, so the photos are from the Internet.

The big draw for this cavern is that it is pristine, having never been vandalized or looted, and it was a “living cave” in which the various formations were still growing due to the water in the area and the fact that there were no large openings to let in air, which would dry out the cave and kill the growth process. The State did a great job putting in nice, smooth concrete walkways and railings, as well as lighting, without doing too much damage to the cave. They also installed steel air lock doors at the entrances to keep out the external air, thus keeping the cave alive. It is the first, and only, fully wheelchair accessible cave system in the world and the tour was not strenuous at all since there was very little up and down. The cave system is under a series of large hills and doesn't' go very deep into the ground, only a few hundred feet at the deepest. You just walk into the hill and then you're in the cave. We have been to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, which is, of course, much larger more grandiose, but this was a very nice tour and a great facility that the State has built. The tour was about 90 minutes and we had spent about an hour before the tour going through the visitor center.

After the tour we drove back to the fairgrounds, rested for a half hour, then went down to the rally room at 5:30 for dinner again. Tonight they provided some very tasty chicken soup that they got from Costco. The food was good and we had a nice time visiting with people. After dinner they had another speaker, this one a docent from the Mission San Xaiveir, south of Tucson. One of the tour options for tomorrow is the mission. He gave a talk for about 45 minutes, but was not an especially good speaker. After the lecture we went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, February 26^th, we left the coach with the Bullock's about 11:00 and went to lunch at a nearby Thai Restaurant called Lucky Thai. Peggy and Vernon had eaten there the other day and said it was very good. I thought the food was good, but not fantastic. The flavors were not as big as I would have liked, but it was still good. After lunch the four of us drove to the other side of Tucson for a visit to Mission Copper Mine, also called the Pima Mine. This was another of the tours set up by the rally group. The Mission mine is a large, open pit copper mine which was started in 1960 by the American Smelting and Refining Company. It is one of three such mines the company operates in Arizona. The company is now called ASARCO (basically the initials of the old name) is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, a large Mexican industrial conglomerate. They have a very nice visitor's center and gift shop and we spent a half hour or so walking through it and looking at exhibits. Then a tour guide takes you on a bus on a tour of the facility. The first stop is at an overlook on the very top of the facility which allows you to look down into the pit and see the operations. This part of the tour was

very reminiscent of the tour we took last summer in Gillette, Wyoming of the open pit coal mine. The actual mining operation is nearly identical, the only thing different is what they are digging up. The tour then went down to one of the mill buildings where we went inside and could see the huge milling machines which are used to crush and pulverize the ore into dust and then the facilities where the copper is removed from the ore dust. This was new to me and was very interesting. The tour was about 90 minutes and was very informative. After the tour we drove back to the Fairgrounds, just in time to go to the rally room for another dinner. Tonight was pizza and salad. After dinner they showed a movie for those who wanted to stay. Jackie and I both stayed for the movie, which was Coco, an animated Disney film which had won the Oscar for best animated feature and best new song in 2017. It was a very good movie, very heart warming and funny. After the movie we went back to the coach and watched some TV before bed.

Wednesday, February 27^th, our first free day of the rally. We left the coach after lunch and went out to do laundry. We had quite the pile as it has been almost three weeks since the last time we washed clothes. After the laundry we stopped and Jackie got a haircut, the first one she has had since the end of December. She usually goes about once a month, but was hesitant to go until the cut on her head she got when she fell in January was all healed. While she was getting a haircut I went into the Safeway next door and got a few supplies. After our chores we headed home and put everything away. At 5:30 we had cocktails with the Bullocks, just the four of us, and then did some steaks on the BBQ, along with some potatoes and creamed spinach. After dinner we talked for a while, then went home and watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, February 28^th, my brother Russ's birthday. Happy Birthday Bro! Today was another free day, at least for us and the Bullock's. There was a tour, for those who wanted to go, of the Sonora Desert Museum on the west side of Tucson. However, the Bullock's have been a couple of times, I have lived in the Sonoran desert most of my life and didn't need to see what it looked like, and Jackie didn't feel up to all the walking. So, we decided to have another mostly free day. The four of us went to lunch at a nice Italian restaurant just a few miles south of the fairgrounds which was called Argenziano's. We had eaten here a couple of years ago when we were last at the Fairgrounds for an Escapee's rally and remembered the food as being very good. Our memories were correct, the food was very good and plentiful. After lunch we went out, with Peggy along for the ride, and did some geocaching around the area. We had a good afternoon, getting 15 new finds, and one DNF in a couple of hours.

After caching we went back to the coach and did some chores. I put away most of the outside stuff in preparation for our departure tomorrow. At 4:30 we went down to the rally room for the last night's dinner and entertainment. In keeping with the generally Southwest theme of this rally, the host's had brought in a Mariachi band from Pueblo High School, one of the local Tucson schools. The band was called Mariachi Aztlan and over the years the group has won numerous awards and contests and have appeared all over the United States. When they started playing and singing it was easy to see why, they were fantastic. They played for about an hour and put on a really good show. After the show there was a nice dinner of chicken enchiladas and Mexican rice, which had been provided by La Mesa RV, one of the rally's sponsors. After dinner everyone said their goodbyes, I packed up my sound equipment, and we went back to the coach for the rest of the night. This has been an extraordinary rally, one of the best we have attended, but now I am ready for a few days of relaxation.

Friday, March 1^st, the start of the “meteorological spring.” Today was a travel day and we were going 205 miles east to Deming, New Mexico. Since it was a fairly long trip we got an early start, getting on the road at about 9:15. We arrived at the Low-Hi RV Ranch in Deming at 1:00, got checked in and parked, and spent the rest of the afternoon getting set up. At 5:00 we had cocktails with the Bullock's and Jackie and Peggy played cards for a while. They went back to their coach about 7:00 and we had a light dinner on own, watched some TV, and went to bed a little early.

Finishing this wonderful and exhausting rally marks a great place to get this episode posted. After a week here in Deming, New Mexico we go back to Arizona, spend a few days in Wilcox a few days in an RV park in South Tucson, and then it's back to the Fairgrounds for a week with the Escapee's RV Club Escapade rally. Until next time, remember as you go through life that there are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family. Make some new family. See ya soon.

A Chilly Month in Yuma, Arizona

Hi there, welcome back to our story. Our last episode concluded on Monday, January 21^st, Martin Luther King Day, when we arrived in Yuma, Arizona for a month long stay. Tuesday was laundry day. We had a huge stack of laundry because it had been over a month since we did all of our laundry. We had done a couple of loads in Cathedral City and then a load in Quartzsite, but that was only sheets, towels and underwear, stuff we needed to wash. We both have so many clothes that we can go for a long time with most stuff. After laundry we went back to the coach and got everything put away and relaxed for a while. We went over to the Bullock's for cocktails and then had a nice spaghetti dinner that Peggy made. We talked for a while then went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, January 23^rd, we left the coach around 11:00 and drove to our favorite taco stand in all of the world, Tacos El Cositas. We have been coming to this family taco stand for the last five years or so and when we are in Yuma we have lunch here at least once a week. The stand moved last summer, from an empty lot on Foothills road to an empty lot on 32^nd Street, right along the freeway. It is an open air taco stand, but the food is wonderful. Peggy and Vernon met us there and we had a great lunch. After lunch we went to Fry's market for a few things we didn't find at Walmart the other day. The Fry's store in the Foothills is one of the big “Marketplace” stores and is really nice. After lunch and shopping we headed back to the coach and we stayed in the rest of the day. I spent a little time putting up some of the decorations outside, including my flagpole. We had cocktails with the Bullock's about 5:00, then did some pork ribs on the BBQ for the four of us. We also had beans and coleslaw and we had a great meal. About 7:30 we went back to our coach and watched some TV before going to bed.

Thursday, January 24^th, we left the coach after lunch and drove to the Yuma Marketplace, the outdoor shopping area about five miles from the RV park. We always make a couple trips to the Marketplace when we are in Yuma. We bought a couple of little things, some garlic that Jackie likes and a new hat for me. After walking around the Marketplace for about 90 minutes we left and drove to downtown Yuma to the Discount Liquor store to pick up some vodka. For the last three years this store has had the best price on Three Olives vodka, which is a good brand. If you buy it by the case it is less than we pay for the house brand stuff at Costco or Sams Club. We bought a case for us and a case for the Bullock's, along with a bottle of bourbon for the Bullock's. We headed back to the RV park, stopping at the Dollar Tree to pick up some Valentine's decorations, the unloaded our booty. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the coach. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 and after they left we had dinner on our own. After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed.

Friday, January 25^th, we had pretty much a stay at home day. I started a batch of chili colorado in the crock pot in the morning. After lunch Jackie and I went and got our toenails clipped, she gets a full pedi, I just get a trim. We had cocktails with the Bullock's around 5:00 and then later a very nice Mexican dinner of chili colorado, rice and beans. I have to say that I make a pretty decent chili colorado and everyone seemed to enjoy it. After Peggy and Vernon left we watched some TV and went to bed. Saturday we left the RV park with the Bullock's and drove to downtown Yuma for the annual Date Festival street fair. Other than a half dozen booths from date farms in the Southwest it was pretty much the same as all the Yuma street fairs, about two blocks long with not a whole lot of interesting stuff. We did manage to get a geocache that was located on the next street north of the street fair. After walking the fair the four of us went into Da Boyz pizza place downtown for lunch. Jackie had a chicken parm sandwich and I had a calzone. They give you lots of food in this place and it was very good. After lunch we got back in the car and went back to the RV park. We spent the rest of the day hanging out. We had cocktails with the Bullock's, but no dinner because of the big lunch. After the Bullock's went home we relaxed with the TV until bedtime. Sunday was a stay at home day as Jackie woke up not feeling well. We stayed home all day, got a few chores done and just relaxed.

Monday, January 28^th, we left the house about 11:30 and went out to run some errands. We were going to go to our taco stand, but when we got there we realized they were closed on Sunday and Monday. We went to the nearby Denny's and had a nice lunch. After lunch we did a grocery run at Fry's, then headed back to the coach. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach. About 4:00 Peggy and Vernon came over and the four of us watched a movie we had on the DVR. The movie was called “A Dog's Purpose” and is a very touching movie about a dog that keeps getting reincarnated until after a 50 year period gets reunited with it's original owner. A very nice movie. After the movie the four of us had dinner, a nice shrimp and asparagus risotto that Jackie made. After dinner the Bullock's left and we watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, January 29^th, we left the coach about noon and drove to the Yuma shopping mall to go to the movies. We have not seen a movie in a theater in nearly a year. There is no movie theater (yet, hopefully) in Pahrump, which means when we spend a lot of time there we don't get to go to movies. It doesn't make sense to drive 60 miles one way to a movie in Vegas. We saw The Upside with Kevin Hart and Bryon Cranston. It was based on a true story about a multi-millionaire who becomes a paraplegic in a hang gliding accident, then loses his wife to cancer, and becomes despondent. His corporate assistant, played by Nicole Kidman, is hiring a full time, live in life assistant to take care of him. Hart's character is a ex-con on parole who has to get signatures on his job search form to show he is looking for work, or his parole officer will send hem back to prison. He shows up at the interview, thinking it is for a janitor position. Cranston hires him on the spot, not in spite of his lack of experience, but because of it. He has a “do not resuscitate” order and assumes that Hart will probably do something to cause him to go into distress and then he can die. He can't kill himself because he can only move his head and neck. As it turns out, Hart is very bright, learns the job and the two become extremely close. It is kind of a romantic comedy, very touching and quite funny. We really enjoyed the movie, although I noted that the critics didn't think much of it. Not complicated enough for them. After the movie we went back to the coach, then had cocktails with the Bullock's at happy hour. We had left over spaghetti for dinner with Peggy and Vernon, then went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, January 30^th, we left the coach about 11:30 and met Peggy and Vernon at Daybreakers, a restaurant about a mile away that is actually a truck stop cafe. The food is very good and we like to go there from time to time. The four of us had a nice lunch, although Vernon had breakfast. After lunch the Bullock's went out to run some errands and we did a little local geocaching. We had two that we determined we couldn't get to with our new car because they were out in the desert. We found two and had two other DNF's. After caching we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. Our friends Ray and Suzi Babcock, and Clark and Judi McKay arrived today and were parked just down the street from us. They were moved in but still getting set up. Around 5:00 we had our first Yuma 2019 Happy Hour with the Group. Our four couples have been coming to Yuma for one or two months every winter for the last five years. Occasionally another couple or two will also be with us, but the eight of us have always been here together for at least some period of time. Ray and Suzi got a new dog, a little female called Nikki. Their old dog, Casey, died last year. They had Casey for as long as we have known them. Ray is a real dog person and we knew it wouldn't be too long before they got a new one. We had a good time catching up with everyone. We have seen Ray and Suzi several times over the last few months and traveled with them last summer. We hadn't seen Clark and Judi since last February when we were here in Yuma, although we stay in touch through social media. After happy hour we went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, January 31^st, we left the coach about 11:30 again and met our friends from Pahrump, Dick and Millie Duffin, at the taco stand for lunch. They always come down to Yuma for a couple of months in January and February and have a spot in the Foothills area not too far from our park. We had a nice lunch and talked for an hour or so. After lunch we stopped at another RV park, right next door to the taco stand, and visited with Len and Debbie Forrest, also friends of ours from Pahrump. They also come down to Yuma in the Winter for a few months. After that visit we went out and got the two geocaches that we had to DNF yesterday. The cache owner sent us some hints by email and with that help we were able to quickly find the caches and fix our DNFs. Yea! We then did a Walmart run and went back to the coach. We had happy hour with the group at 5:00 and then we had a steak BBQ. We all ate in the Babcock's coach because it got windy and cold outside, but we had a great dinner. Everyone provided and cooked their own steaks and then we had sweet potatoes and salad as well as dessert. After dinner we went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, February 1^st, already a month into the new year. We left the coach about 10:30 and drove West into California, then south for our first visit this trip to Algodones, Mexico. Every year we go to Algodones for dental work, glasses when we need them, prescriptions, and even just for lunch. Who knew Mexico had great Mexican food? This trip we only needed to get our teeth cleaned. We into Mexico about 11:00, walked around and shopped for a while, although we didn't buy anything. Over the years we have pretty much gotten all the Mexican stuff we need. We walked up the hill to our dentist and got our teeth cleaned. Jackie was all good, I need some work done, but am going to put it off until next year when we are here longer. After the dentist we went across to the street to a restaurant for lunch. It was the La Parilla and is one we had not been to before. We had a drink and ordered lunch, which was very good. This place has a good menu and we will come here again. While we were eating we saw some friends of ours, John and Rita Ham, come into the restaurant. We waived them over and they sat with us. We have known John and Rita for probably ten years, mostly from FMCA as they have a Monaco coach and belong to several of the same Chapters as us. We used to see them at a lot of rallies, but they now have a house here in Yuma and don't travel quite as much. John is also an avid geocacher, so we have that in common as well. They ordered lunch and we had a good time talking a catching up. The last time we saw them was last summer in Wyoming at the FMCA rally. John and Rita come to Mexico a lot, John even has a number of geocaches hidden in and around Algodones, and they drive their car in. They asked us if we wanted to ride with them to go back to the States, and we said sure. Sitting in an air conditioned car for an hour beats standing in a line for an hour. We had a nice ride and when we got back across the border they dropped us off, we got in our car and drove back to the RV park. We will see them quite a bit over the next couple months as they are going to some of the geocaching events we are going to, as well as a couple of motor home rallies. After we got back to the coach we relaxed until happy hour with the group at 5:00. By 6:30 we were back in our coach for the evening. We had some leftover risotto for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, February 2^nd, we left the coach about noon and went to Arby's for lunch. They sent me a coupon for a free sandwich for my birthday, so we had lunch there. After lunch we went to the Yuma Marketplace, finished what we missed the first time last week, and then a few more aisles just to kill time. We bought a few little things. We stopped on the way back home to pick up one geocache near the marketplace. We had cocktails with the group, then we and the Bullock's did some hamburgers on the BBQ. After the Bullock's left we watched TV and went to bed. Sunday, Super Bowl Day! We had a stay at home day. I did some chores and mostly relaxed. The game started at 4:00 and we watched it in our coach with Peggy and Vernon. As I think most people would agree, the game was a bit boring. It was mostly a defensive game, turning out to be the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever. I was a little bummed that the Rams lost, as I was rooting for the west coast. Jackie is a Patriots fan, mostly because of her friend Helen's love for the team. We had various snacks and goodies during the game, so no formal dinner. After the game Peggy and Vernon went home and we just watched some more TV before going to bed.

Monday, February 4^th, we left the coach about 1:00 and went out to do some geocaching. In about three hours we were able to get ten new finds, along with one DNF. This is the first time we have done a real caching afternoon in a while. After caching we went back to the RV park and had happy hour with the group at 5:00. After happy hour we went over to the Bullock's and had dinner. Peggy made a pot of chili, very much like mine, along with corn bread. We had a great dinner and talked for awhile. About 8:00 we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, February 5^th, Happy Birthday to me! Yea, I finally reached room temperature, 72. We had a quiet day at home for the most part. Around 3:00 our group of eight gathered for an early happy hour, along with Dick and Millie Duffin, invited by Jackie, and Pat and Tammy Kight invited by Peggy. Tammy is a friend of Peggy's from the sixties, and we have met them on numerous occasions at RV parks and at the Bullock's house in California. About 4:30 dinner was served. Ray cooked a big turkey on the rotisserie, Peggy made stuffing, Judi provided the potatoes and gravy, Jackie made a green bean casserole. It was like Thanksgiving all over again. We had a great dinner and it was a good thing that we started early because around 6:00 the winds kicked up and it got really cold. By 7:00 the party was over and everyone headed back to their own RVs. A very nice day indeed.

Wednesday, February 6^th, we went out after lunch and drove into town to Sam's Club to pick up a few things. After Sam's we went back home and relaxed for a while. About 5:30 we left again, dressed up and ready for our date night. Yesterday was my birthday and tomorrow is our 15^th anniversary, so we decided to go out tonight to celebrate. We went to Julianna's Patio, a nice restaurant here in Yuma, to have a fancy dinner. We had an appetizer, and Jackie had lamb and I had Asian short rib. The meal was wonderful, the service was great and they gave us a free dessert for our celebrations. We had a really nice time with just the two of us. After dinner we went back home, relaxed for a bit and went to bed.

Thursday, February 7^th, our 15^th Wedding Anniversary. We left the coach after lunch and went to the laundromat. After we had our clothes done we did a quick Walmart run, then went back to the coach. We put away the clothes and made the bed and spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing. We had happy hour with part of the group, the Bullock's and the Kight's then went back to our coach and had dinner on our own. We spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Friday, February 8^th, was a busy day. First of all, it was another anniversary of sorts for us. On February 8^th, 1998, I reunited with Jackie after not having communicated with her for over 21 years. For me she was the long lost love that I finally got back. Today was also day for getting together with geocaching friends. For background, there is a large geocaching community in the Yuma area, probably because there is a huge number of retired people who live here, or spent the winters here. The group calls itself the Southwest Arizona Geocaching Group, or SWAG. Every February SWAG holds a geocaching event. When we first started coming here in the winter, about eight or nine years ago, the SWAG event was big, but was not considered a Mega Event, which requires over 500 caching teams to attend. At that time they provided a nice meal provide by the club. About five years ago the event got big enough for Groundspeak, the company that “controls” organized geocaching, declared it a Mega Event. They got so big they had to stop providing food, but they still have a lot of activities over the entire weekend of the event.

The actual event is Sunday, but today there was a meet and greet event at Martha's Date Garden, which is only a few miles from our RV park. The Yuma caching weekend draws close to a thousand geocachers and many of them are people we have met along the way and made friends with. One couple, Russ and Nellie, are from Grants Pass, Oregon. We met them in Quartzsite about six years ago at a geocache we were both trying to find. We have since crossed paths with them many times, and visited their home in Oregon. They are here for the event and we met them at Day Breaker's restaurant for lunch. We had a nice lunch and caught up with them. It has probably been a year or so since we last saw them, although we stay in touch. After lunch we went back to the coach and continue to visit for a bit, then we drove to the meet and greet event. There were several hundred cachers there and there were at least a couple dozen that we know well enough to consider them friends. Many of them we haven't seen in a while, others we saw as recently as this past summer. It was a great event and we made a few more friends. After the meet and greet we picked up a couple of geocaches in the area, then drove downtown to attend another event, this one a Flash Mob event in the Yuma Mall area. The Flash Mob event is another regular occurrence for the SWAG caching weekend. One year it was everyone blowing bubbles, another time everyone walked around with a banana acting like it was a phone. It is just a quick, silly get together for a bunch of senior citizen teenagers. Today everyone had a balloon and we all walked around the traffic circle in front of the movie theater complex waving the balloons in the air. After a few minutes the music stopped and everyone popped their balloon at the same time. That was it, the event was over. We drove back to the coach, had cocktails with some of the group, then went back to our coach for the rest of the night.

Saturday, February 9^th, we left the coach a little after 11:00 and met Peggy and Vernon and Pat and Tammy at the taco stand for lunch. After lunch we drove to the Palms RV Resort for the annual Boomer Bash car show. They hold this event every February and we have been going for about five years. Two different years we won big raffle prizes, one year a huge booze cart with about $600 worth of liquor, and then the next year a $300 Ashley Furniture gift certificate. We entered a bunch of tickets this year, but didn't win anything. I got the requisite tee shirt and we spent a couple hours looking at the cars. They had over 150 cars this year, some really nice ones. After the car show we did a little geocaching, getting a half dozen new finds. We then went back to the RV park and relaxed for a bit. We had happy hour with some of the group and then we, the Bullock's and Kight's, did hamburgers on the BBQ along with beans and cole slaw. By 8:00 we were back in our coach watching TV and then going to bed.

Sunday, February 10^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and drove to the downtown area of Yuma to the West Wetlands park on the banks of the Colorado River. We were going there to attend the annual Southwest Arizona Geocachers (SWAG) Mega Event. There were somewhere between 600 and 800 people at the event and they had the usual activities. There is a poker run, where you go to five temporary, and very easy, caches inside the park to collect five playing cards sealed in envelopes. You then have to take them to the booth where they take out the cards and see what kind of hand you get. In the past we have always gotten crap, a pair at best. Same old crap today, an ace high junk hand. Not high enough to win, not low enough to get the boobie prize. We bought a few caching trinkets, some containers, a shirt, a hat, and had some pizza for lunch. This is mostly a social event and we did a lot of cachers were were friends with and even more with whom we had some acquaintance. We stayed for about three hours, then left and went back to the coach to relax. We had cocktails with the Bullock's and the Kight's, then went to our house where we all had dinner. Jackie made a chili relleno casserole and we had it with rice and beans. We had a nice dinner and everyone left about 8:00. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, February 11^th, we were up and out early, a little before 10:00, heading to Algodones, Mexico for another geocaching event. This was the closing event for the geocaching weekend and was a lunch at one of the larger Mexican restaurant's in town, El Paraiso Cafe. There were several hundred geocachers there for the event and we sat with some of our friends at a table for eight. The lunch was very good, as were the beers and margaritas. After lunch we walked around town for a while, getting a couple of the new geocaches that have been hidden down there, and doing some shopping. We picked up a very pretty new name sign for the front of the coach. Our old carved one is getting old and junky, the new one is very nice and was only $20, inexpensive given the skill it took to paint it. Unfortunately, the line to get back to the States was the longest I have ever seen it in the seven years we have been going into Algodones. It was a two hour wait, but we were in line with friends, so we just talked and killed time. After we got across the border we drove back to the coach and just crashed. It has been a busy and exhausting weekend, fun but it wore us down. We didn't even get together with anyone from the group. We put on our jammies, had cocktails and a light dinner and relaxed with the TV the rest of the evening. Tuesday was a stay at home day. We got a few chores done, but mostly relaxed. We had cocktails with the whole group at 5:00 and then we and the Bullock's did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner. They left around 7:30 and we watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, February 13^th, we left the coach about 11:00 and met the rest of the gang of eight at the Love's Truck Stop for lunch. That location was selected because the truck stop has a Chester's Chicken fast food place and Chester's, unlike KFC, Churches and the other chicken places, has chicken livers and gizzards on the menu. Most everyone got chicken livers, or fried chicken for lunch. I didn't feel like chicken so I got a Subway sandwich since Subway was also in the food court. We had a nice lunch and then everyone went their separate ways to run various errands. We drove to downtown Yuma to the liquor store that has the great price on Three Olives vodka and picked up another case. We are leaving Yuma next week and won't be able to find that price anywhere else. We then stopped at Sam's Club to put some gas in the car after almost two months. Our average for the not quite three quarters of a tank of fuel was over 90 mpg. Yea! After fueling the car we went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the day. We had happy hour with the group and then we went back to our place and watched TV until it was time for bed.

Thursday, February 14^th, Happy Valentines day and Happy Birthday to my granddaughter Courtney, whose middle name, not surprisingly, is Valentine. We had some plans for lunch and exploring today, but we woke up to rain. It was the same storm that was soaking California, but fortunately for us it was only a light but steady rain here. Later in the afternoon the winds came up, causing a few issues with crap flying around, but at any rate it was enough for us to just stay in all day. We did a few light chores, but mostly just relaxed. Friday we left the coach about noon to go to lunch. We had to wait a bit to leave because today was propane delivery day and we were running low. We drove to near downtown to a restaurant called El Charro. According to this morning's paper it was just voted number one Mexican restaurant in Yuma. We met Peggy, along with Linda and Ernie Ellis, some other RVing friends of ours. We met Linda and Ernie in 2009 on our Alaska caravan, which was also where we met Peggy and Vernon. Linda and Ernie are square dancing fanatics and base their travels around that hobby. We run across them frequently at various FMCA rallies, including the Indio rally every January. Vernon was doing some work on the motor home and didn't come, so the five of us had a nice lunch and talked for a while. After lunch Peggy went off to run some errands and we took Linda and Ernie in car and did some nearby geocaches. Linda has always been interested in our hobby and likes to go, even if just briefly. We found three caches nearby before we dropped them off at their car and said goodbye. We then headed back to the RV park. I helped Vernon with his project, removing their old sleeper sofa from their coach to make room for a new sofa. We had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon at 5:00, the other two couples had other plans for tonight. After cocktails we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, February 16^th, we left the coach about 12:30 and drove about a mile east in the Foothills to the RV lot that Millie and Dick Duffin rent in the winter here in Yuma. She was having another of her “Dilly Muffin” parties, and it was her birthday. There were a dozen people there, half of them Canadian snowbirds. Our other friends from Pahrump, Len and Debbie Forrest were also there. We knew about half the group from previous parties of Millie's and everyone brought food and snacks to nibble on. We played a few games and talked and visited with everyone. The party went until about 5:00 when everyone started to pack up and head for home. We went back to the RV park and sat outside for an hour with the group at happy hour. We then went into our coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, February 17^th, Jackie woke up sick with a cold or really bad allergies. As a result we had a stay at home day, I spent a couple hours in the afternoon taking down the screens and putting away all the outside decorations. We are not leaving here until Wednesday morning but we are getting the coach washed and waxed tomorrow morning, so I had to take down everything on the coach and figured I would just get a head start and put everything away today. Monday Jackie was still sick. About 10:00 the contractors arrived to wash and wax the coach. That only took a couple of hours. After they left I went out and ran a few errands, to the bank and to Walmart for a few things. After I got back and put everything away I finished our income taxes and got them filed, then just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. At 5:00 I had cocktails with the group, but Jackie didn't feel like going. After cocktails I came home, made some dinner and we spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Tuesday, our last full day in Yuma. Jackie was still sick, so we really didn't do anything. We stayed in all day and got a few chores done, but mostly just relaxed. I had cocktails with the group and then went back to our coach and fixed dinner. After dinner we watched TV and went to bed. Our time in Yuma for this year has come to an end. It was a cold winter and it looks like it is going to continue to be colder than normal in the Southwest for the foreseeable future. However, it is still way better to be chilly than ass deep in snow. This marks a great place to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time, be crazy, be stupid, be silly, be weird. Be whatever, because life is too short to be anything but happy. See ya soon.