OK.......Back On Schedule.........

as we left Bullhead City a bit earlier than planned, bypassed Edwards AFB and continued on until we got to Harris Ranch about 1700.......this is where we originally planned on being today. Looks like gas is running about $4.19 a gallon until we get closer to civilization. Think I'll put enough in the tank to reach Woodland and then fill up at Costco for $3.85 a gallon. Think we're going to have to quit stopping at Harris Ranch.........well, we'll stop and park in their parking lot; but, will probably skip overpriced "beef" for dinner. It wasn't nothing to write home about.........reasonable good; but, for the price they charge I certainly expect a better cut of beef. Just filled up my little Honda generator so it'll run until 0800........then up and down the road again. We'll take our time getting to Woodland. Later. W&B

Still in Bullhead City............

and may be here for another day. Becky feeling a little under the weather so will give her a little more time for innards to settle down before we leave. Had dinner at the Colorado Belle last night and apparently her's didn't agree with her. No problem as we've got time.............not much money after contributing yesterday....... but plenty of time.

There's a Polaris shop in town so I might make a run up there and see what kind of RZR goodies they have. Didn't have a time for caching yesterday after we picked up the Jeep..........got new radiator, hoses, cap and anti-freeze........ so I might venture out and try to find a few that are nearby.

Well, we'll take it easy for awhile and probably be back on the road tomorrow. Later. W&B

CRAP.... !

....got to the Avi Casino yesterday afternoon, had a nice buffet dinner, left a few dollars for my Red Brothers and this morning we stopped for breakfast, got some of my money back, and then we were heading out to do a little geocaching. Got down the road a few miles and the old temperature guage pegged all the way to the right on the Jeep. Limped into a repair shop and they pressure tested the cooling system and I have a leaking radiator. Fortunately, there is one available in town so I think they can get it fixed today.........anyway, the shop brought us back to the M/H so looks like we'll be here until they call.

Not too bad, hooked up to the casino internet and it's pretty fast, plus TV is working. I guess we'll survive. At least we weren't half-way to Barstow when the leak was discovered.

WOW..........the first thing we noticed was the gas prices when we arrived in Needles.........$4.59 a gallon. In Bullhead City we paid $3.52...........lotta difference between Arizona and California. With car fixed we should be on our way tomorrow as scheduled. W&B

Looks Like We'll Be Leaving............

old Yuma town tomorrow morning sometime. Weather reports ses Corning to be "sunny" all week long......well kinda; but, at least rain not coming down in buckets as it has been. Should stay dry until we get home.

Not going to mess around too much on the way North, first stop at the Avi Casino near Bullhead City (we haven't given them any money this trip), then to Edwards Air Force Base for an overnighter, Harris Ranch next and then should get to Woodland sometime on Friday. We'll leave Woodland on Sunday and get to Corning Sunday afternoon.

Got everything packed up and tied down.........just need to unhook water, electricity and TV, stop for propane and gas and then we're good to go.

Made a run to the Outback for dinner yesterday and had a great steak..........last one of the season and they got it cooked just about perfect! Later......... W&B

Friday Morning...........

and looks like I really gotta get busy and finish loading up the trailer and rearranging stuff in the M/H cubby holes.

Picked up the RZR with all goodies installed, the 4 pt seat belts are really nice, turn signals looking good and it's serviced......good for another 50 hours or so. I even had side mirrors put on it........which was a bad idea. I drove down highway 95 to get home and as soon as I hit about 55 on the road the mirrors flopped down and pointed toward the road. When I got home I straightened up one mirror and it fell off into my hand. I took them back and told the M/C shop owner that I couldn't recommend them.............he just laughed and refunded my money.

Picked up my prescription from my other "witch doctor" and I'll be damned........the stuff really works! I dabbed some on my knee and shoulder and in about 30 minutes I could really feel the pain relief...........and the insurance paid for it! Got some refills too and the pharmacy said just call and they'd mail out the refills to me as needed.

Went out to dinner last night at Julieannes with JJ and Char. We had lunch there a couple of years ago; but, never tried dinner. JJ and I had prime rib, Char had a New York steak and Becky tried a big old pork chop. All of the food was really good!! They even had an atmosphere......check Becky's Blog and I'm sure she posted pics of the Peacock that was strolling around the outdoor patio. Prices were a little above "average"; but, well worth it. We'll be back.

Looks like it's still raining up Corntown way so still no leave date. At least we'll be ready to go if I can get all stuff loaded up and when the weather clears up, or trys to, at home we'll be outta here. However, right now, it's pretty nice with temps running in mid 70s. Beats the heck out of rain.

Well, gotta go get busy............doesn't look like I'll have any help outside even though I gave "B" a list. W&B

Still Trying to Make Up Our Minds About............

a "leave yuma" date.........keep looking at the weather at home and still looks like "duck" weather
until the end of the month! Guess we'll have to get out of here by the 31st as the utilities will be shut off on our lot and everyone will be gone.

A little cooler here, a few showers the other night; but, gone now.........just enough to mix up the dust and make the M/H look crummy again with dusty rain spots (does that make sense). Oh well, it'll have to stay that way.

RZR still in shop getting 4 point seat belts, turn signals and being serviced. They thought they would be done today; but, still had some things to do so I told them to take their time.......no rush for it. I'll pick it up tomorrow afternoon sometime.

Stopped at the casino briefly and made enough $$$s to buy a late lunch............... Larry, we stopped at Sonic and tried your favorite "chili dog and tater tots"..........well, I thought I had ordered the chili dog; but, instead got chili tater tots.........Becky took her's back and they brought her a chili dog for no charge, nice of them since it was my mistake when I placed my order. Anyway, it was good; but, I couldn't exactly give it the rave reviews that you do.........then again maybe I ordered the wrong item ??????????

Saw an ad for a coffee maker at Kohls........$17.00 and that didn't seem right; but, we stopped and "B" picked up a five cupper for the sale price of $17 and then got an additional discount of 15% for Old Folks day. All together she "saved" more than the total cost of the pot! Such a deal.

Slowly getting things sorted out to load up the trailer; but, still gotta get the RZR loaded before I can continue.

Stopped at the Doc's office today and he changed my prescriptions since my old joints have been getting worse particularly in the mornings. He also gave me a prescription for some "ointment" that I can apply directly to my knee and other areas where I'm having problems. He said the "ONLY" place that I can get the stuff is in Yuma. I stopped at the pharmacy and they said they would have to "make it up".........it also contains some DMSO and I asked the Doc about it. He said his rheumatology patients tell him the DMSO really "works" so he threw it into the mix. I'm beginning to think I'm seeing another "witch doctor". Oh well, I'll give it a try and hope my insurance pays for it.

Later..........when the weather clears up. W&B

Got The RZR Back..............

and the shop couldn't find the problem. They checked all wiring and connections; but, couldn't duplicate the problem I was having. I picked it up Thursday evening and ran the snot out of it on the way home. No problems???? Yesterday Becky and I were out running it and everything was fine. Another mystery I guess.

Old Nate and Phyl took us out to the Golf Course for breakfast on Friday morning and as always the gravy is still the best. They'll be leaving and heading back to Utah on the 27th and they'll be in Oregon about the same time we are..........in Tualatin so if we pass through there on the way to the beach we'll stop and visit. Told them if they come through Corning they should stop; but, he generally takes a different route...........he said he might stop in Corning some day because he figured we'd be good for a "Free Dinner".

Did a little shopping Friday afternoon..........trying to stock up on stuff at the Commissary since there's no military facilities close to Corning. Need to load up on Pepsi too since there's no charge for the cans in Arizona. Good thing we got a bigger trailer!

Yesterday we had the RZR out and got a call from "JJ".........he said Char came up with the idea to go to El Centro so we could finish up a series of caches we started last month and then have dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant......Grassos. We said, why not and grabbed the Jeep and headed to California. We finished up the series in time to get to Grassos when it opened. Robert and Char have been going there since high school and said it hasn't changed a bit. Robert said his grandfather took he and his cousin there when they were about 10 years old and he's been going ever since. Not a "fancy" restaurant.........they have a front and back dining area the back is served "family style" and you get bigger portions in back.........so where do you think we sat? We had a big family style salad, fried chicken, dish of pasta and a large pizza. The food was ample and very good! They have a "secret recipe" for their salad dressing and it was quite flavorful.............I'm not that much into salads; but, I pigged out on this one, mainly due to the dressing. Got home kinda late, for us, but it was a fun afternoon and we picked up another 25 or so caches.

Been looking at the weather at home...........rain, rain and more rain. We may delay our "leave date" from Yuma as we watch the hometown weather..............and it's cooled down here too so another few days in the 70s won't hurt us either.

Later. W&B

Cooling Down in Yuma............

after a couple of days in the 90s and more in the higher 80s. Good thing 'cause we gotta get started in packing up all the stuff we have laying around........don't want to be doing that when we have HOT temps. Still looking at a leave date of the 25th; but, that could change by a day or so.

Just got a note from Larry and Audrey and they expect to be in Corning tonight, or was that last night, anyway it sounds like we really need everyone to "Send Gas Money". At one stop he said he paid $4.29 a gallon. Be the first on your block to send us some $$$s for gas........or at the very least make up some signs for us that read "Need Help Getting Home.....Outta Money......Anything Will Help" We can camp out at rest stops along the way and display our signs.

RZR still in the shop..........they can't figure out what the problem is because it was running OK when they test drove it...........figures. I told them to drive the wheels off and get it good and hot, that should cause the problem to appear again. Hope to hear from them today.

Well, it's St. Paddys Day so guess we'll go out early and try to find some corned beef and cabbage. Last year we stopped at several places before we found any........some needed "reservations", some didn't serve CB&C and when we finally found some it wasn't all that great. Maybe we'll get lucky this year.

Getting tired of listening to this "radiation" talk by the media.........hell, no one was concerned about radiation when we dropped the A bombs on them.

So it goes..........later. W&B

Caching In California Today...........

with JJ, Beagle, & La8. Started with breakfast and then on to Californy. We went to the Black Mountain area, a place where Becky and I hadn't been before. It's on the way to the Glamis Sand Dune area, only you turn right instead of left at the main highway. The Glamis Sand Dunes are visible as the light colored band in the last picture.

Nice day for being out and about, no snakes today; but, I guess they are starting to come out of their hidey holes. The guy who placed the caches up here in the hills said they saw one when they placed the caches a few days ago. Check Becky's Blog, I'm sure she's posted more interesting pictures of where we were today.........if not she will.

We were going out with the RZR's today...........until I washed mine on Friday, took it around the block to dry it off and the "check engine" light came on. It was still intermittent yesterday so just left it at home and will take it to the dealer on Tuesday.

Long day today, over a hundred miles to find 17 or 18 caches; but, we saw new country so it's all worth it. Still warm; but, not so hot today........or else the breeze made it seem less warm.

Later. W&B

HOT, HOT AND HOT............

and getting hotter in Old Yuma Town! Nearly broke 90 yesterday and the next few days doesn't look any better. Of course if it wasn't hot we'd be bitchin about the cold......hard to please us old farts.

Went down to the annual Lettuce Festival yesterday for a while........it used to be held on Main Street; but, this year it was moved from February to March and now it's being held at the old Army Quartermaster Depot. Difficult to find parking very close and there seemed to be fewer venders. Maybe someone stepped on their crank when they made changes......time will tell. We browsed the booths and displays for a little while and Becky found a place serving crab cakes.........I try to tell her that a land locked area isn't really the place to look for sea food delights; but, she tried one anyway. I didn't think it was that great, of course, if it isn't made with fresh dungness crab it can't be much good.

Went out to the casino after the festival to get our "fix" and lo and behold, we both left with some extra casino money.........enough for lunch and even a little for a rainy day.

Thursday Larry and Audrey took us all out to dinner at the Outback and we had a nice meal and lottsa pleasant conversation recalling our season geocaching adventures. Despite some medical bumps in the road we've had a good stay this year and it seems to have whizzed by much quicker than normal. Larry and Audrey may be leaving to head back to Portland next week.....it depends on what the weather is doing over some of the passes for them. We'll be in their area June to August so I'm sure we'll get together up North.

This afternoon Robert and Char are hosting a "Celebration of Life" event for one of our local cachers who passed away in January. A time for remembering, partaking of good food and saying our goodbyes to our friends in Yuma........some of whom we may see on the road and others we hope to see again in November.

Think I'll dust off the RZR and we'll drive it over to JJ's. Later...............if the heat doesn't melt us. W&B

Still Warm and Windy in Sunny Yuma........

......at least a breeze keeps it from feeling too warm. Got the M/H washed and waxed on Tuesday and the Jeep's oil changed and a tune up today.........well, new spark plugs is what they call a tune up and supposedly they ran it through diagnostics. All they told me was to flush the transmission, brake system and a bunch of other stuff for a 60,000 mile check up.........it would only cost about $1,100.00 to do everything they suggested! Don't think so.

Got my turn signal kit in the mail and waiting for Crow to send seat restraints for the RZR. Should have the belts by end of the week. Talked to my M/C guy and made an appointment to have things installed next week and do an initial service on the RZR.

One more doctor appointment and then we are good to go back North. No leave date yet; but, it'll probably be the last week in March. With the price of gas going up everyday, or so it seems, we probably won't be making any side trips.........still talking about going to Laughlin even if it is sorta out of the way to get there........it might add 80 miles to get back home.

Not much else going on.............. later. W&B

A Bit Warm Today...............

and yesterday too. Our geocaching find streak came to an end the other day.........don't even remember when it happened. Our gambling streak didn't end though and we stopped by the casino yesterday and again today. Managed to pick up a few dollars yesterday and today they got their revenge.........dropped about half of my previous winnings back to them.

Slow weekend, we did a bit of shopping yesterday at Sam's Club and didn't even venture out of the rig until this afternoon. Asked B if she was ready to go "crusin" in the RZR and naturally she beat me out the door. Picked up a couple of geocaches and went crusin downtown and then came home back through the desert. We took one road (?) that we drove in the Jeep yesterday and chugged along about 15 mph because it was so rough. Today we probably averaged 40 in the RZR..........it really smooths out the road!

Gotta get some 4 point seatbelts.......so when we got home I ordered some on line and outta get them in 6-7 days. The "automobile style" seat belts on the RZR are positioned when they can really rub into your neck.......not too much fun when you're bouncing down the road and they tighten up on you. Gotta order some turn signals tomorrow and hope to have everything installed before we leave Yuma........plus 25 hour service. We've put 311 miles on the RZR as of today.

All for now. W&B

MATO.........Which Stands For.........

Midnight At The Oasis.........Yuma's version of Reno's Hot August Nights. Lottsa Classic Cars in town for the weekend......not as big as Reno's HAN; but, quite a few nice looking cars were showing off.

Had a slow leak on RZR tire so took it to my MC Shop to get it fixed. Dropped it off and "B" and I went looking for some of the old cars. Saw a few on the street, headed to the Mall in hopes that some of them might be there.........no luck. Close to casino so stopped there and I actually left with $35.00 of their money. Then we went to the Yuma Convention Center which is home to the car show. A lot more cars were doing their Show and Shine in the parking lot so we walked around and "B" took a few pictures. They were charging admission for entry into the stadium area so we didn't go in there. More happenings, booths and shows going on later this evening......plus they set it up for a Drive In Movie. By then we were close to the Cocopah casino so naturally we headed that way. They had an area of the parking lot roped off so we thought some of the cars might show up.........went in to "contribute" and I actually won another $15.00. When we left more cars were showing up so checked them out.

Getting later so we headed back to Old Town and feasted on our favorite clam chowder and split a grilled cheese sandwich. Still waiting for M/C shop to call and it was about 1600 so decided that we may as well travel to California and try our luck at the Q Casino. I left with an additional $18.00 in my pocket. I should do this more often.........quit when I'm a little ahead instead of continuing to gamble with visions of breaking the bank. Don't know what "B" did........win or lose?

Went back to the M/C shop about 1730.........hung around as they were still working on my tire. They finally drove it out of the shop and "B" headed for home. Big line at the shop with customers so while I was waiting the owner said...."Wayne, you're good to go, no charge". I thanked him and headed for the barn. When I dropped the RZR off I told the owner to go ahead and try it out...........there was an extra mile on the odometer when I got in so he probably took it for a little spin. Good trade off!

Warming up.........upper 70s today and maybe 80s for tomorrow and Sunday. We may have to think about heading North in a few weeks.

Later..........W&B

Went To The Bombing Range Today...........

with Larry........speedo crept past 70. Guess Polaris was correct when they made claims about the Polaris RZR XP 900. Gotta change skivvies now. Nuff said.