October 23

We are now in Huachuca City, AZ and will be here until October 27 when we head to Tucson (60 miles) Voyager RV Resort, where we will be thru March.  The first thing here in Huachuca City was the Arizona Chapter,  Heartland Owners Club Rally thru Sunday.  We had 16 Rigs attending, mostly from Arizona but we did have a couple Colorado members and a California member.  Rallies are fun times gathering with other Heartland owners, socializing, eating, and seeing the local sites.  This is a great chapter and we've made new friends every time we attend a Rally.

Some of the rally attendees swapping stories.

Beautiful sunset here in Arizona


 

Garry Gilbert, Arizona Chapter Leader preparing us for the door prize drawings

One of the area highlights is Tombstone, Arizona - about 12 miles from the RV park.  During our stay Tombstone was celebrating their annual Helldorado Days.  Locals dress in period costumes and stroll around town just like it was in the day.

 

The Erps strolling town to kleep the peace



Wyatt shooting down at the OK Corral



And entertainment in the street all day.

We had a good time in Tombstone. Lunch at the Longhorn Saloon where we ordered the special of the day, which for me was a steak sandwich and June ordered the shrimp basket.  After or order was placed, the waitress informed us along with the meal we got a pink T-shirt promoting breast cancer awareness. A nice gesture.


One day after the Rally, June and I visited the Coronado National Memorial located South of the RV park about 20 miles on the Mexico border.  During the 1500's Coronado and his band of nearly 1500 marched thru the area during the exploration of the time. 

 

Being on the border signs like this remind all to be aware of your surroundings

 

The eye in the sky - Border Patrol Blimp could be seen frequently. Basically a communications antenna so agents radio signals are not blocked by the mountains.

 

 

We talked with this young man on the Coronado peak. Turns out he was raised in the area and is a local Firefighter.  He patrolled the terrain on this bike looking for hot spots left by illegal immigrants.  Seems they cross the border at night and don't put out their camp fires.

 

This is the road we took to get to the top of Coronado Peak.

 

The black line is an Arizona/Mexico border fence

 

Another interesting site was the town of Bisbee, Arizona. A town just a few miles form the border and known as the oldest, authentic western town. Their claim to fame is the open pit copper mine that was once a huge operation here. Called the Lavender Pit in honor of Harrison Lavender, an executive with the Phelps Dodge Mining operation.

 

Part of Old Town Bisbee

 

 

We'll be off to The Voyager RV Resort on Monday, October 27 where we'll spend the winter. Voyager is a large resort with over 1500 sites, about 550 RV sites and the rest Park models and manufactured homes. Voyager has lots to do and we look forward to getting involved.  I'm already on a shuffleboard team and signed up for a tournament in mid November.  Stay tuned.

 

October 14 - Arizona

After Vegas we stopped for a few days at Prescott Valley, AZ. Arizona, like so many other Western States, has its' own character. It's pretty here.  18 miles from our campground is the old Copper Mining town of Jerome. Population today is about 450, but at its peak, about 15,000 miners lived here mining and raising hell. Seems that the town of Jerome was a pretty lawless place, but when the copper mining stopped, most left.  The town today is listed on the Historic Town register.

Jerome, AZ streets are very narrow.  Several turns can only handle one vehicle at a time.

The view from Jerome looking down to the Valley below. The town of Cottonwood at the bottom.

Remains of one of the Copper Mine sites

Steps from one street to the next, as the town is built on the mountainside.

This double rainbow from our site in Prescott Valley.

As I write this, we are in Lost Dutchman State Park, near Apache Junction, AZ.  We're about 40 miles from the Phoenix airport - we know because yesterday we drove to the Arizona State Fair, which was advertised starting October 10th thru November 2nd.  So, we're here and decided to pay a visit.  40 miles later we arrive and all the gates are closed.  No fair Monday or Tuesday - Closed - Doh! ..... Back to Apache Junction for dinner at The Hitchin Post Restaurant.

We rely on the GPS to get us where we want to go.  Today, we were directed to turn onto Mountainview Road.  About a mile down the road, pavement disappeared and we're on a dirt road, going down hill where ruts are in the road due to the recent rains.  This lasted about 2 miles and we were back on pavement. 

The Saguaro cactus are everywhere around this part of the State.

Our camp site looking at Superstition Mountains

Saguaro Cactus - These things get really big

Temperature today about 90, with 5% humidity

Today, Oct. 14, we took a drive on Rt. 88 which goes from Apache Junction to Roosevelt Lake.  It's a gorgeous drive - narrow, winding mountain road. Bumpy in most places, 10 mph curves.  We stopped  to visit a place I've heard of in movies, Tortilla Flat.  Restaurant, Museum, and a gift shop.  A couple miles beyond, the road became gravel, then one lane. It was there we turned back to the State Park.  Beautiful ride...

Tortilla Flat

 

Rt 88 - Tortilla Flats; This is the whole town.

Road Views - Rt 88 to Tortilla Flat

 

 

From here we head South to Huachuca City, AZ where we are attending another Heartland Owners Club Rally. This is the Arizona Chapter first Rally and we have about 20 rigs signed up. After the Arizona Rally, we head to Elephant Butte, NM for a New Mexico Chapter Campout - Looking forward to that one as well.   Check back for updates......

 

 

 

 

 

September 30 - October 8: Las Vegas

About Vegas, They say 'What Happens Here, Stays Here" .....  I think they are talking about your money.  If you happen to gamble, most will leave their money in Vegas. We've been here before, but I can say that this time we left with $30.00 more than we had when we arrived.  At one point we were up a little over $180, but with a few days left we had to slide the money back into those machines.   We stay at Sam's Town Casino RV Park on Boulder Hwy.  That's about 7 miles from the Las Vegas Strip where the big Casinos are located. Sam's Town runs a free bus/shuttle to the strip, so we did take advantage of the ride.

You don't see this speed limit too often

Inside Sam's Town Casino

No shortage of places to gamble

This Wheel was taller than most of the buildings

We watch on TV the show Pawn Stars, so had to visit their shop.. None of the "Stars" were in and the shop looked like a pawn shop... actually not too impressive - they had a  big parking lot.

We saw this cruising on the interstate at about 65 MPH.... Original engine?

Hoover Dam - This is a most impressive Dam and area. Lake Mead was formed as water backed up when the dam was completed.  The Colorado River was tamed and provides water to millions as a result of this and a few other dams on the river.  Probably one of the most important projects ever undertaken.

This bridge was added in recent years to divert traffic from the dam.  Pic taken standing on the dam.

Views in Dam area

Lake Mead was formed when the Dam water was backed up

These stairs led to the entrance to the Dam visitor center.  In order to enter, we had to go through a security checkpoint, just like the airport.  I always carry a small knife on my key chain, so I could not enter unless I got rid of the knife. I wouldn't do that, and the walk back to where we parked the truck was a very long way, uphill.  We left without getting in the visitor center... I guess my 1" blade was pretty intimidating to those guards carrying 9mm hand guns.  Federal Government common sense?  I could do more damage with my ball point pen........


 

We had a good time in Vegas, and with another $30 in our pockets we're heading to Arizona.....