Flowers at the Bellagio in Las Vegas

  

Ceiling at the Bellagio in Las Vegas

This is all glass - beautiful  

Red Rock Canyon

  

Red Rock Canyon

20 miles west of Las Vegas  

Us at Red Rock Canyon

Wearing our Hawaii hats from Bill and Carol  

Connie dancing on Stage

After the show at Menopause  

Las Vegas

We arrived at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas on Sunday. That day we did some shopping at the commissary and BX and borrowed a couple of DVD's from the base library since we don't have any TV. On Monday we went into the 'Strip' and took in a show at the Imperial Palace. The show was 'Legends in Concert'. It was a great show where some well known singers are impersonated. Included in the impersonations were the Blues Brothers, Whitney Houston, Prince, Celine Dion and of course, Elvis.

On Tuesday we went into the strip again and saw the Bellagio and the statues at Cesear's Palace Forum shops. We then went to the Hilton where we saw the musical 'Menopause'. This was a really entertaining show. The music was all parodies of some fun music from when us baby boomers were growing up - like Heat Wave, I got you babe, Puff the magic dragon, I heard it through the grapevine. Of course all of the words were changed and had to do with a women's change of life. We had seats very close and one of the actresses came into the audience and sat on Bob's lap. He was having his own heat wave. At the end of the performance the women were invited to get up on stage and dance - which Connie did! Also, as part of the show we were each given a ticket to participate in a slot tournament. So, after the show we did that and Bob won $50.

On Wednesday we went to Red Rock Canyon which is about 20 miles west of Las Vegas. We stopped at the visitor center and then did the 13 mile scenic loop drive. While on the loop we took a couple of hour hike.

Today, Thursday, we're again headed to the strip. And tomorrow we head to Utah to meet up with some friends from Tacoma, Washington.

Connie feeding the Burros in Oatman

These burros are really aggressive when they realize that you're holding carrots  

Famed London Bridge

Lake Havasu, AZ  

Prickly Pear Cactus

Saw these beauties on our desert hike  

Buckskin Mountain State Park

The park in the foreground, the Colorado River, and California on the far shore.  

Buckskin State Park and Lake Havasu, AZ

We finally left Mesa on Tuesday morning after getting the needed work completed on our truck finished on Monday. We drove through Quartsite, Az and then headed north to Buckskin Mountain State Park. It's located in the mountains on the Arizona side of the Colorado River. It was a really beautiful campsite and we enjoyed staying there two nights. We took a desert hike of about 4 miles. Saw lots of prickly pear cactus in bloom.

On Thursday we drove to Lake Havasu and stayed about 7 miles north of there on BLM land (free camping on Bureau of Land Management place). We drove back into Lake Havasu and saw the famed London Bridge. It was a warm day, but when we got back to the RV there was a nice breeze blowing. We visited with some fulltimers from Illinois who have been on the road since 1992.

Friday we drove to Laughlin, Nevada. We stayed in the RV parking lot (free) at the Ramada Express Hotel. Friday night we went to the Ricky Van Shelton show (country). He sang some of his tunes, plus sang some other songs that were really great - like Tennessee Waltz and 16 tons. He has a really great voice. We sure enjoyed his show.

Saturday we drove to an old mining town called Oatman. Years ago burros were released there and roam the streets looking for handouts(carrots). Of course, we took some carrots to feed them. They are very aggressive when they realize you have carrots in your hands.

Saturday afternoon we went to the movie 'Failure to Launch' a romantic comedy. It was pretty fun - Terry Bradshaw, Mathew McConaughey, and Sara Jessica Parker were in it. A couple of weeks ago we went to the movie 'Eight Below'. Now that is a real tear jerker and a great movie. If you love dogs - they steal the show! And no we didn't win any money in Laughlin. But, with our two free nights camping there we figure we came out ahead.

We're now at Nellis Air Force base in Las Vegas. We'll be here until Friday morning when we head towards Zion National park. More on Las Vegas in our next blog.

Goodbye to Mom and Dad & Casa Grande

Another week has sped on by with us still in Arizona. Monday evening we had dinner out with square dance friends who are staying in the park in Casa Grande. Tuesday was Bob's birthday. Mom and Dad took us out to a nice dinner in Chandler. Wednesday morning we said goodbye to Mom and Dad and drove to Mesa to a new RV park. That evening we went to the Mining Camp for dinner.

During our few days here in Mesa we've been looking at different RV parks hoping to pick where we might stay next year when we come south. We've come up with a couple of possibilities. Friday night we visited with square dance friends and went out for pizza with them. Saturday night we went square dancing.

Today, Sunday it rained pretty good. We did some shopping for groceries and Connie cooked several dinners. I think we ate out enough last week to last us awhile!!

We had some work done on our truck. Our extended warranty company was slow in approving some of the work, so we're hoping to wrap it up on Monday. We're then headed to Laughlin, Nevada. More on this in the next blog.

goodbye to Mom and Dad

  

Note the doves on the motorhome ladder

Oh I wish I could get those birds!  

Brother, Steve, and mom on her three wheeled bike

  

Connie's mom

  

Buddy - he is a beauty

  

Buddy - Yes I can too fit in this container

If it's a box or bag he wants to get inside. We took this picture several months ago.  

Casa Grande

We're still here in Casa Grande. We head to Mesa on Wednesday morning. This past week we didn't go anywhere special. On Tuesday evening the park had a Washington party. It was a potluck and an opportunity to get to know others who are here from Washington state and staying in the park.

On Thursday we went to Casino school. This is where we received some coupons for Laughlin and Las Vegas and where we learned about the slot machines and video poker machines.

Friday we drove up to Chandler and went to see the movie 'Eight Below'. This is a great movie. Also, Friday morning I worked on my photo album.

Saturday it rained all day and it rained a lot. A good day for doing laundry and staying inside. Since we didn't take any pictures during the week, I thought I would post a couple pictures of our favorite cat, Buddy.

Steve, Connie,and their mom

Enjoying music at Mardi Gras  

Nice kitty!

Ocelot at the Desert Museum  

Desert Museum beauty

  

Suguaro National Park

  

Desert Museum and Mardi Gras

We spent another week here at Palm Creek Golf and RV resort. On Monday, the 27th of February, Connie's brother, Steve, flew into Phoenix. We picked him up at the airport. Steve did some golfing with mom and dad. On Tuesday, we went up to the Mardi Gras party near the swimming pool.

On Wednesday, we took mom up to Tempe for her to look for a new swimsuit. She found just what she wanted, so it was successful trip.

On Thursday, we went to the Desert Museum while Steve golfed. The museum has a variety of animals, birds, and cactus. We spent about 3 hours touring the area, and then drove a short distance to Saguaro National Park.

On Friday, we went to the Mesa swapmeet. This is a huge indoor swapmeet with lots of vendors. We were able to buy some new chairs that have a side table.

On Saturday, we delivered Steve to the airport and then went to visit some square dance friends in Mesa. Now it's Sunday and time to clean house. Even living in an RV we have to stop and do house cleaning, organizing, etc. The weather was beautiful all week - no rain, no wind, and mainly in the 70's and 80's. It's hard to take, but someone has to do it.