March 15, 2013 - Blythe, California, United States
Hello all !!!
It has been a few weeks so I thought I would spend a bit of time writing this morning. Although I view my journal as both therapeutic and a good way to keep in touch with friends and family ..... it is still a bit of a chore, so I really needed to take the time and get it done. When I have finished I am always pleased with the comments I get and feel good about doing it. I don't have a lot of pictures this time, but some really good ones nevertheless.
Spend quite a bit of time keeping in shape by riding bike. I have this great 25 miles available to me that is "fairly" safe. I ride into Blythe and back. It has a pretty wide shoulder most of the way although some of it is not .... so that is hairy. I have kind of "set" stops to water, etc. and it usually entails stopping at some of the water canals and looking for giant catfish that lurk on the bottom. Acutally saw a guy catch one the other day.
Been buying tamales from local Mexican woman that are just fabulous ..... she puts one black olive right in the center of each .... not sure if that is tradition or flavoring or ???? She also makes salsa and I just started getting that also ..... Mmmmmm. very hot.
Had a really windy day the other day .... blew really hard, like 40-50 mph which is kinda rare here. Mowed down my satellite dish and moved my wood box ..... trailer was a rockin (not what you are thinking!)
Got some nice emails and messages from Dan and Ginger ..... miss them both. Nice to hear from friends and listen about the parts of winter I like ..... ice fishing, etc. Thanks everyone.
Had a great time out with Valerie ..... she is showing me interesting parts of Phoenix. We went to a place called Third Base (beautiful lakeside tavern) then went to Dos Amigos? and had margaritas. Great conversation with a great gal.
Found some wood for my campfire. Howie was looking in the local paper and saw an ad that the local golf course had put in selling firewood. We went over and loaded the old pickup .... nice. Good job by Howie. Stopped at a stained glass store on the way back to see what they had. It looked kind of small from the outside but inside it was huge and was very, very well stocked. Nice also that it is so close to Howie's house. Howie made Stroganoff ( MMMMM) that night and we enjoyed a nice evening together. Penny was having another surgery on her throat to help open up her throat so she can eat normally. It is working and she looked forward to having the help although not looking forward to the additional surgery. Surgery went well and she is doing really well now. I tease her that she is now going to get fat. (She had been just eating lots of candy because she could swallow that and if she keeps eating the candy and adds regular food she will balloon up) She takes teasing well.
The next day I visited a place I thought I might never go to ..... a dog park. Valerie heard about this "world famous" dog park in Gilbert that she wanted to go to with Sammy. It was amazing .... with doggy playground equipment .... a complete dog lake to swim in ..... all the extras. Never saw anything quite like it. Sammy had a blast and we both enjoyed watching her play although the "big dogs" did frighten shorty at times. I tried to get her in the water with "limited" success.
Went out that evening with Val. We went to Mesa and I got to meet Kim 1 and Kim 2. (We call them that) Kim 1 is a friend of Val's that met and is dating Kim 2. Kim 2 is an ex professional rodeo performer. (Val calls him a rodeo clown) It is so funny that they both are named Kim. We had a great time .... so much so that we had to take a cab back to Val's place. Better safe than sorry, right?
Finally it was back to camp in California. Had dinner of meatloaf that Howard had made me and caught a couple more mice. (I've got to get some steel wool and get those holes plugged)
One day was a blast ..... did my taxes.
Got an email the next day from Brenda in Northern Ireland. Our good buddy Ted was in an accident. He was in a bicycle race and swerved to miss a down rider when he went head on into a car. He had multiple injuries and appears to be paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal trauma. It was devestating news. At this time Ted has had a few surgeries and is recovering well. Ted is a very active and physically fit person who is very involved in marathons and racing in his 60's. He does have one of the most positive attitudes of anyone I have ever met so we are all wishing the best and feeling good about his chances to move forward. More to follow as I learn more. Just horrible news.
I think Valerie knew I was feeling really bad so although I was planning to visit her in Phoenix, she said that she was going to come to me. It was so nice of her. We had a good time just relaxing by the river and it helped keep my mind off the Ted situation. We decided to take a trip up to Parker to get ice, water and stop in to see what the local casino there looked like. I also wanted to see if I could find the Colorado river crossover shortcut for future use. About halfway there I remembered that I forgot my wallet. Val just laughed. We got into Parker and got the water ..... while I was filling up Val saw some "fire ants". She had told me how painful there bite was and how she got bit a couple times. She has really scared me about these critters. Well, at least I know what they look like now. We stopped at the casino and ordered a beer at the bar when Val got a call from her grandson who was having his birthday. While she talked to him I proceeded to look at the video poker machine in front of me. I didn't have my wallet so couldn't play but it kind of appeared there was money left in the machine. I hit the max bet button and sure enough, it began to spin. I didn't win, but then I hit it again and got a straight dealt to me and it awarded me 40 quarters. I cashed in. Val laughed ..... and on our way out I told her that I had not paid for the $10 so lets let it ride on blackjack. Put the $10 down and won so now had $20 and had never paid anything or brought any money to the casino. Now, that is the way to play at a casino, eh? Again ..... Val laughed and was amazed at my luck.
The Coyotes woke us up the next morning .... sounded like they were right outside the camper. Oh, and the vultures have been swooping down and hassling poor Sammy ..... she barks and growls at them.
Cleaned up the camper and I am ready for my buddies Don Fluegge and Howard tomorrow.
Flight Delay today .... poor Don will have a long day. He finally arrived in Phoenix but way too late to come all this way with Howard so they will be her tomorrow.
The boys arrived by 9am. Lucky Don brought the coldest and drizzliest day I have ever had in Phoenix with him. We spent the day resting up and catching up. (a few drinks too)
Notice the sweaters.
Later in the afternoon Howard took a nap, so Don and I went exploring around the area in the Pick Up. I showed Don the Intaglios and he agreed ..... a hoax and probably hippies in the 60's built the figures. We also climbed the mountain nearby that has communication towers on it. Lots of fun and great view.
Just got back a minute ago from visiting with my neighbor Mike. He is camped about 3/4 mile up from me on the river and had a dog named Katie. I saw him on his morning walk and was hearing coyotes so thought I would check it out. He told me he was on the road that is next to me and a coyote came out and barked at the two of them and the coyote wasn't stopping as we were standing and talking. It didn't show itself but must have been with 50 yards of us and barking up a storm. I am sure Mike is keeping Katie close to his side now.
Howie made us some fabulous Chicken Salad and Tuna Salad sandwiches which Don and I gobbled up. Fire and Stars at night.
Beautiful morning on the River the next day. Packed up a cooler and headed to Ehrenberg to rent an ATV and go out into the sand dunes of the desert today. The ATV was a Rextera 4 man machine. Got the machine and got out to the desert only to find an accident in progress as we arrived. Two vehicles had collided and medics were there. Kind of sobered us up as to the dangers. We had a blast. I and Howie were definitely the more skilled drivers ...... at one hill Don tried several times to make it to the top and was unable to. Howard and Dave did it the first time. We didn't tease Don. (too much)
Had Mexican food for dinner, stopped at the Legion, then the Horny Toad Saloon and back to our fire on the river and good drinks.
The next day we headed up for a night in Laughlin, NV. Stayed at the Tropicana and had two rooms. Don and Howie had slept in the same bed while here so were happy to have their own beds today. We met good friends ..... Gary Niedfeldt and his wife Gail along with our buddy Al Anderson and his wife Deanna. We had a great time, pizza, conversation, etc.
Learned a bit more about Craps. ( I am trying to learn the game) Did n't make any money but didn't lose any either I think. Fun game, but you can go through a lot of money quickly .... can make a lot too.
Don and I had a buffet breakfast the next morning while Howard combed and dried all his hairy creviches. Down the road we went along the AZ side of the Colorado river. We stopped for bloody's at a great view bar. Stopped at a smoke shop so Don could get a few more cigars. I bought a new cigar lighter that is one of those "torch" types. I think I could weld steel with that thing. Wheeewww.
Met Howards sister Linda and friend Steve in Fort Mohave at the VFW. WE then went down to Havasu and had nachos lunch at Charlies. Our next stop was a martini bar that had a "long board" so we played some great shuffleboard matches as we had a few beers. Got Ice, Water and back to camp. Howie cooked Ribs for us tonight .... unbelievable !!!! So good. We put out the rib bones and true to form ..... the lizards and mice had them cleaned and put away within minutes. The boys were amazed.
The next day was "Margarita Day". It is Don's last day here so we decided to enjoy it relaxing riverside and so we got out the margarita machine and all the fixins and set up outside. I made my world famous margaritas (as directed by Valerie) and we just sipped, smoked and talked the day away. What a great day. We solved all the worlds troubles today. Put a big fire up and late at night shot off a few fireworks over the River.
Notice my "holiday lights" ???
Although nameless ..... one of my buddies had a little "shit" problem today. Seems he went for a walk and "didn't quite make it back in time". We had fun making fun of him. He shall remain nameless of course. Somewhere out there in the desert is a stinky pair of underwear and a t-shirt. EEeeeeewwww.
Howie cooked steaks on the grill tonight and of course they were the best ever. Lizards and Mice ate the fat trimmings of course.
The next morning the boys had to leave ..... I truly enjoyed their visit and will miss them. Don had to go back to icy and cold MN. Me? I did paperwork, rested a bit, rode my bike and settled back into life on the River ...... aaaahhhhhhhh.
Love to all of you,
David