Notes

November 15/06
Well we made it down the mountain!! Fortunately the long way down was
on the other side of the road so didn’t seem so bad! No traffic so just took
our time. Goodbye mountain roads for awhile. The drive to Bakersfield was good
although the freeways in California are in terrible condition. Lots to see in this area
of Kern County, mile after mile as far as the eye can see of grapes , every kind of
fruit, nuts, cotton seed, oil, the free worlds largest producer of Borax, agriculture of
all kinds and the list goes on and on - very interesting to see it all.

November 16/06
We head southeast to-day and enter into the Mojave Desert, first experience in a
desert and it’s just so hard to explain, certainly has a beauty all of it’s own. We also
had our first look at the Joshua trees. We passed by Edwards Air Force Base, not much
to see as it’s so far back from the road but interesting to know where it is as we hear
so much about it in relation to shuttles etc. We did see lots of smoke trails from what
we assumed were planes doing maneuvers. The highway is great to-day, four lanes in
perfect condition. The motor home heated up on the elevation through Tehachapi but a
brief stop fixed that. We stayed at another overpriced KOA , Copper thinks the desert is
great, the dog run at the campground is the desert and she can run forever! Of course
I’m on the lookout for snakes! We spent the afternoon touring an old restored mining ghost
town, kind of fun, had lunch in one of the saloons.


November 17/06
We left early for Vegas and as we travel along are just speechless at the scenery.
A camera cannot capture the beauty and I’m sure anyone who has been here can relate.
Desert all around and then the Mojave Mountains in the distance. It is very strange to
gradually elevate to almost 5000 ft. and still be in the desert! The highways have been
so good the last two days that we have decided that Nevada must pay for them to entice
people to Vegas! We crossed into Nevada and I must mention to my friend Jane that the
first big casino we saw was offering Corona at 99 cents from 3-5pm but Doug wouldn’t
pull over and wait! We arrived in Vegas, drove by the strip and even from the freeway
and in daylight it looks pretty amazing. We got settled in our RV park in the north end
and then took a drive up and down Las Vegas Blvd. Doug showed me all the spots he has
stayed and visited. I suppose some would say it’s rather cheesy but here we are anyway
and I think it’s rather exciting at the same time. Cheryl, you always tried to get the crazy
eights here, sure wish you were all here with us! On the way back we had a vision of the
other side of Vegas by mistakenly getting on a street called Main. Saw all the homeless
laying out their pallets on the street, rows of them sleeping on the street. We have since
learned it’s not the only place they are and that it’s against the law to feed them . I guess
the city wants them in shelters. Quite a sight to go a few blocks from the glitter of the strip
and millions being spent daily to that, a rather unsettling sight.

November 18 /06

We spent most of Saturday shopping for redecorating our “Bedroom”. We spent the evening on “Fremont Street Experience” which is the old Vegas Strip. It’s about 4 large blocks long, and no traffic is allowed and is covered with a barrel vault roof. Every hour there is a sound and light show the entire four blocks long! There are entertainment and bars right on the street - thank-you, we’ll have a margarita to drink as we go along !! Lots to see, lots to buy, lots to be amazed at!! Won and lost alittle slots and supper at Tony Roma’s Rib Place.

November 19/06

We took a driving tour of the “Valley of Fire State Park” so named for the red sandstone formations formed from great shifting sands dunes during the age of dinosaurs - very beautiful. We are rapidly running out of
Are We There Yet?Are We There Yet?
Are We There Yet?
adjectives for the sights we are seeing ! Then on to Lake Mead, low at this time of year but a beautiful colour of turquoise blue and strange to see in middle of a vast desert. Thanks to Doug I now understand the creation of Lake Mead. We had a great picnic, complete with a bottle pf white wine, well chilled, in the middle of nowhere by Lake Mead. What a great tour !

November20/06

We spent the day redecorating the bedroom in the motor home, took out the head board and decorative boards around the window blinds, then removed the blinds and replaced with slat wood venation blinds and new bedspread, Curtain are next. It look great !! We decided at the last minute to head to the strip for dinner, couldn’t get in at the Stratosphere so we ended up at the Sahara Casino. Had a good meal and lost a few dollars to the slots.

November 21/06

We took another driving tour to Hoover Dam area. How amazing is that! Actually learned a lot from Australian parking attendant, whom wouldn’t stop talking for a least a half an hour. Hoover Dam is half in Nevada and half in Arizona, so not only did we change states we also changed our clocks ahead one hour and then back an hour when we returned into Nevada.

November 22/06

We went down town to the “Strip” to a great show called “Legends In Concert” and dinner. Another try at the slots, this time we didn’t lose any money, we broke even, the smoke in the Casino’s is too much. I asked one of the casino dealers if there are any non-smoking casino’s and his answer was “ There was one but it went ankrupt” Oh well !!

November 23/06

It”s Thanksgiving Day again for us. So we are celebrating with “Football” all day and then Doug is making Rock Cornish Hens for supper! I wanted to go to one of the Casino’s that is offering Thanksgiving Dinner, with everything included for $3.99

November24/06

So we leave Las Vegas this morning. The weather for the week was in the 70’s every day but tomorrow they are predicting only the low sixties, which is normal for this time of year. Phoenix to be in the high 70’s. So it’s off to Lake Havasu City today to see the “London Bridge” reconstructed and then on to Phoenix by Monday.

November 25 & 26/06

We relaxed at a nice clean campsite called Havasu Falls RV for a couple of days. We went to see the London Bridge which was reconstructed here in Lake Havasu City some years ago. Did some shopping and some laundry, but generally did nothing.

November 27 to 30/06

Left Lake Havasu City for Phoenix. We are going to scout out a site to stay at for a couple of months. We spent the first two nights on the west side of Phoenix at a suburb called Goodyear. We visited a couple of site s that afternoon but nothing to our liking. The next day we went across town, that’s 90 KM, and visited a site called Canyon Vistas RV Resort, it seemed to be perfect. Paved roads, concrete exterior slab, crushed stone site, lots of space, each site is 60’ x 35. So it’s here we’ll stay for the next two months, we’ll be in touch later in December.