MOTORHOME CHECKUP GOES WELL

Monday, April 16 – We had an appointment at the Freightliner Service Center in North Las Vegas this morning. 
 



To avoid early morning rush hour traffic through Vegas, we decided to travel to the Service Center Sunday evening and spend the night in the parking lot. The night went well, and we were ready to pull into the service bay at 7 am. Unfortunately, they weren't ready for us until about 7:45.
 






Our 12 month/48,000 mile service went smoothly. The service manager was concerned with oil on our front suspension. We had the front bearing seals replaced in South Texas this winter, and it appeared they over-filled the oil reservoirs. He felt this job should be repeated to be sure it was done correctly. Paul authorized the work, even though he felt confident about the previous replacement. Well, after pulling the hubs and checking the seals, the service technician felt the seals were replaced correctly and only a clean-up was necessary. That saved a few hundred bucks!
 


Poor Bella was having a pretty tough day, so Marsha decided to take the car and return to the Elks Lodge in near-by Boulder City, NV. She took Bella to the park so she could play in the grass. That was a much better environment for her rather than the noisy service center area.
 
Paul arrived back to the Elks Lodge by mid-afternoon and got the motorhome re-established in site #12. The Lodge campground is filled to capacity. Several RV's drove through the parking area looking in vain for a site. This place is jumping!
 
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.

BOULDER CITY ELKS LODGE…NICE PLACE TO PARK

Friday, April 15 – With hugs and goodbyes to our friends, Louise & Duane, we pulled-out of Escapee's North Ranch bright and early and headed to Boulder City, NV.

We drove through Arizona State Joshua Tree Park.

A bit blurry, but Joshua Trees.

Crazy, beautiful.

Approaching Boulder City.

We had a great and uneventful trip arriving at the Elks Club campground around noon. They have fifteen full hook-up campsites to the rear of the Lodge. The Lodge is on a busy street, making getting in difficult, but with the campground around back you are very secluded and it's nice and quiet. We have learned a back way in and out of the campground, so we avoid the traffic on the road out front.

Site 12

Looking right.

Looking left.

Looking behind.

We came across the new Hoover Dam Bridge on our way here. We'll head back there in a few days for pictures and to see it from the old road across the bridge.  The new bridge is so wide with high guard rail walls that you hardly realize you are on a bridge. That “dam” bridge is amazing (sorry, I couldn't resist).

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

ARIZONZ'S WILD WEST…WICKENBURG

Thursday, April 12 – We drove into Wickenburg, AZ, today with Duane & Louise.

We planned on a rendezvous with friends, Sheryl & Jeff, but their motorcycle spent an extra day in the shop, and they were unable to meet up with the gang.

What a delightful surprise downtown Wickenburg turned-out to be. With numerous restaurants, saloons, and a large assortment of quaint little shops, there's something for everybody.

One finds an assortment of streetscape bronze sculptures scattered along the sidewalks including roadrunners, gila monsters (lizards), Tarantulas (spiders), and diamond back rattle snakes. When seen out of the corner of your eye and if they catch you by surprise, some even startle you!

"Louise, look out…that is a tarantula!"

What was she thinking?

There are about a half dozen full-size bronze sculptures of various cowboys, period business women, travelers, and even a drunk old fellow chained to the “jail tree” scattered about that tell you the story of Wickenburg's past (you push a button on a near by wall to get the recording).

Vaquero….Hispanic cowboy tells the story of how Wickenburg got started.

This talking miner explains the importance of early mining in the area

Miner Leading Donkey

Another one of the talking statues is the Felon and Jail Tree. The Jail Tree is a 200 year-old mesquite tree that once served as the town jail. From 1863-1890, outlaws were chained to this tree.

Felon and Jail Tree

If Marsha lived back in the 1800's, she said she would have been a dance hall girl. She just loves to dance…not sure she understands what was expected from a dance girl.

Cowboy and Dance Hall Girl.

Inside the saloon.

They had signs up in the bar that were so funny, but this was Marsha's favorite by far.

Not as big a town as the more famous Prescott, but in many ways we enjoyed this “cowboy” town more. It just feels homey. According to Duane, the bars and saloons fill up on most weekends. Nice places to get together with friends and have a few “cold ones.”

The Desert Caballeros Western Museum is on the square. In front of the museum is the famous Thanks for the Rain statute.

After returning to the campground, we took a walk down toward the desert entrance at the rear of the park. We took the opportunity to stop at Pat & Mike McFall's home to say hello. We've been following Mike's blog, Mike and Pat's Travels, for several years and wanted to meet them and see the kitty, Megabyte.

What a beautiful place they have here in North Ranch. They've been reporting there remodeling, decorating, and landscaping in there blog, and they sure have a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the winter here in the desert. They also have a place in Custer, SD, (near Mount Rushmore) where they will be heading in another couple weeks.

They have a beautiful rock garden out front. These flowers looked fake.

Megabyte, their “angel kitty” was enjoying relaxing on Pat & Mike's bed when we arrived. She came out on the porch to check us out. We must of past inspection, she permitted us to give her a few pats on the back of the head!

What a wonderful, warm couple. We were sorry that we were leaving on Friday, or we would have enjoyed talking with them much longer.

Well, that concludes our days in Arizona, It's off to Boulder City, NV, tomorrow. We'll be staying at the Elks lodge for a while to see the sights in that area.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!