February, 2002
We spent the first several days of February in Lake Havasu City, Arizona...home of the London Bridge.  We were at one of the "Colorado River Resorts" and attended a membership sales presentation to qualify for a free stay.  It was a nice park and we participated in some of their activities.  One was a boat ride on Lake Havasu and a stop at an Indian casino on the California side of the lake for lunch.  It was a nice ride and a good lunch, but the casino wasn't any bigger than our living room in Ohio!  We enjoyed some dinners in the park clubhouse and played some Mexican Train Dominoes one evening.  In town, we spent some time in the wonderful computer room of the beautiful public library.  And, of course, we visited the London Bridge.  The shopping areas and hotels near the bridge all have an "Old English" theme.
From Lake Havasu City we moved on north to Bullhead City, AZ which is just across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada.  Both towns, just like Lake Havasu City, are just clumps of buildings surrounded by desert, sand and gravel.  However, Laughlin's main buildings are glitzy Las Vegas style casinos.  Our RV park, Ridgeview, is perched on a hill right near the river and the bridge.  Of course, we visited the casinos.
The London Bridge at Lake Havasu City, AZ
We enjoyed our stay in Bullhead City/Laughlin, but there wasn't much to do outside the casinos.  We did go to the park clubhouse one night and learned a new game, "65."  We searched out a winery we'd seen listed in a guide and were surprised to find a small plot of vines growing in the desert near Kingman, tended by an ambitious retired couple from Massachusetts who must haul water from town for their plants and animals and for their RV home.  Their wine was great!  On Wednesday, Feb 5, we drove on north to Las Vegas.  We will be going back through Laughlin at the end of our stay in Las Vegas because RVs are not allowed to drive across the Hoover or Davis Dams across the Colorado River, so we'll have to drive back to Laughlin to cross a regular bridge to head east again.  Our reservation at the Thousand Trails Preserve didn't begin till the 9th, so we spent three nights at the Castaways Casino RV Park.  It was quite nice, and we were within a few yards of the casino.  The Castaways claims to also have America's largest bowling center.  There are 106 lanes and there was a large military tournament going on while we were there.  The bowlers also played a lot of blackjack!   The weather has continued to be pleasant...sunny and in the high 50's to 60's during the day, but cold enough at night to run the furnace (35-40*)                      On Saturday, the 9th, we moved down the street to the Thousand Trails Preserve.  There weren't many empty spaces and we found one that is near the laundry, clubhouse and also the rental units that Ann, Matt and the girls will use when they arrive later in the week.  We began scouting out places that we might want to take them (and  also found a few that we don't!)  We're looking forward to their arrival on Valentine's Day (Close Ann's 3rd birthday) and also Reid's arrival on Sunday the 17th....some family fun in the sun.
Fun in the sun it was!!!   First, we finally had some consistently sunny weather.  Then, the granddaughters arrived, each with a bundle of energy, late on Valentine's Day.  For nine days we didn't have much silence, but did have lots of good times.  Tom and I occasionally stayed behind at the campground with a sleeping child or two or three.  But, we did tag along on trips to Red Rock Canyon, the Tropicana bird show and the Bellagio water fountains.  Matt enjoyed his conference at the Mandalay Bay and he and Ann got to taste a little of Las Vegas' night life.  They also took the girls to see Hoover Dam, the chocolate factory at Ethel M, the lions at the MGM, dolphins and tigers at the Mirage, and on rides at the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus.  Uncle Reid was a hit with the girls during his four days with us and he and Tom spent some time at the blackjack tables.  We all ate too much at the buffets!  The Bounder was a little crowded with all of us inside at once, but Ann and family did have another RV to stay in just across the way from us.  We needed two cars to all get around and we moved car seats back and forth.  Tom and I were able to meet Ann and family at the airline gate, and also to go with them on the day of departure right to the gate.  I guess the airlines didn't want to take a chance on one of the girls "getting loose" somewhere as we toted car seats, stroller, baggage, 3 girls and backpacks through the terminal.
Ann and family flew back to Columbus on a 7am flight on Saturday, Feb 23 (that meant we were AT the terminal by 5:00 :-)).  Once they were in the air, Tom and I restocked on groceries, cleaned out the rented RV, packed up the Bounder and made a last visit at Thousand Trails with some Ohio Bounder friends, Ron and Elizabeth Millet, who happened to arrive and park near us earlier in the week.  Around noon we took to the road and drove in a fierce wind to Laughlin.  We parked in the parking lot at Harrah's with many other RVs - no hookups, but free!  We visited the casino and ate at the buffet, but by 7:00 we were both in bed and sound asleep.  It had been a busy two weeks and and a long day following a short night!

On Sunday morning we headed to Arizona, driving as far as Casa Grande and arriving at the Desert Shadows Resort just as they locked the gate for the evening.  We spent two nights in a regular site, and a third in their "dry-dock" area as they were expecting a large caravan and needed all the sites.  On Monday we drove around the city of Casa Grande and visited several RV Resorts.  We've been thinking that perhaps next winter we'd like to stay in one place for two or three months rather than continually moving around, and are looking at places we've seen advertised or have been told about, that have various activities and amenities.  The Palm Creek Resort in Casa Grande is a definite possibility!  On Tuesday morning, we drove to Mesa and looked at a few more RV parks, then returned to Sun Lakes to tour their model homes.  If we were to decide to buy a "real house", Sun Lakes has a lot to offer, and we really like the area.  We then had dinner at the Sun Lakes home of old friends, Nancy and Rex Wilsen (who we had also visited last month).  It was great fun sharing old times and new adventures as we have all changed our lives dramatically in the last two years.    Wednesday it was on to Tucson.  Once again, we visited some RV resorts, but parked at the Beaudry RV Dealership's Resort.    We took a drive to find the home of Tom's cousin, Joanne Blair and her husband, Don.  Unfortunately, they were not at home, but did call us later in the evening to tell us that they were leaving town early the next day to attend a convention in Laughlin.  So, perhaps we'll get together another time.  We finished up the month of February with a drive from Tucson to Deming, New Mexico.  We visited the "Steer-Safe" factory for a one-year checkup on our steering stabilizer (all is well) and then checked in to the Escapees RV Park, the Dream Catcher, where we did laundry and enjoyed an evening of dominoes with some friendly Rivers.

Uncle Reid with Coffey, Merrick and Close
The Dancing Waters at the Bellagio Hotel
Ann, Matt and girls at Red Rock Canyon
Our frustrations for the month included trying to get our prescription medications.  Our provider had been changed at the beginning of the year and apparently it has not gone smoothly.  Through numerous phone calls trying to trace packages that had not arrived, we found that our orders and new prescriptions had been lost, but our check cashed.  Several more calls had to be made to doctors in Ohio, drug companies in 800-land, pharmacies in Las Vegas, and to Ohio STRS before we got things at least temporarily straightened out.  A second mystery to be solved was a large box that Ann had sent from Marysville to Las Vegas in advance of their trip.  It contained toys for the girls, clothes, and a few other things to make their stay easier.  It never arrived.  We checked at the Post Office every day but finally left a forwarding order when we had to move on.  Time will tell how these two ordeals work out.  Stay tuned!