Thursday, November 25, 2010
Not The Thanksgiving We Were Planning...
We were planning to be at Zion River Resort in Virgin, Utah this weekend with my cousins from California. Late Tuesday night we checked the weather for that area and realized it was going down to 11 degrees there last night. We decided that was just too cold for our rig (and us) and we headed back to Ehrenberg, Arizona. We cancelled our reservation at Zion River Resort and are still trying to juggle the rest of our reservations. We will be having Thanksgiving dinner at the clubhouse at the park here. We are so sad that we aren't going to be with my cousins and also that we won't be able to visit Zion National Park. At least we'll see my cousins in February when we head into California for a few weeks. HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Las Vegas, Nevada
We spent all day yesterday in Las Vegas and did not step foot in ONE casino! We just really don't care for Las Vegas since it has become such a zoo. It's just TOO MUCH of everything now. We were really there to have Bob's hearing aids repaired and my wedding rings repaired. We had to wait 4 hours on my rings because once they reantique the wedding band, it has to dry for at least 4 hours. So, we went to lunch, went to Sam's Club and a few other stores. We were very happy to get back to Pahrump and the slower pace!!! We went to the Nugget Casino for their excellent prime rib buffet for the 3rd time this week. You just can't beat a good buffet that's only $10.70 (including tax) for 2 people! I'm sure I couldn't make a meal at home for that. When we first got there, I went into the restroom and Bob dropped $1.00 in a penny machine while he waited for me. When I came out, he had it up to $10.23. So, he cashed it out and we went to dinner. After dinner, he put that slip in a poker machine and ended up cashing out $249.23. YEAH!!! It's about time he carried his own weight! Especially since I didn't have a good night...I lost $45.00. :-( I apologize for some of these pictures not being centered too well. I was on the phone with a friend as we were crusing through Vegas and trying to take pictures at the same time. :-) At least I wasn't driving at the time!
This snow was on the side of the
road between Pahrump & Las Vegas.
YUCK!!! It was in the higher
elevation, but I didn't need to
see it that close up!
Red Rock Canyon between
Pahrump & Las Vegas
This snow was on the side of the
road between Pahrump & Las Vegas.
YUCK!!! It was in the higher
elevation, but I didn't need to
see it that close up!
Red Rock Canyon between
Pahrump & Las Vegas
Pawn Stars, Baby!!!
While we were in Las Vegas, we just HAD to visit the "Pawn Stars" store. If you don't watch Pawn Stars, you don't know what you're missing! It's very entertaining and educational. We learn a lot about history by watching this show. The Old Man, Rick, Big Hoss & Chumlee were all there yesterday, but they stayed in the back room. The place is a zoo! It's not very big and it was wall-to-wall people. About 1/3 of this small store is devoted to selling t-shirts, mugs, etc. now that they are so "Hollywood".
We remembered this saddle
being purchased on the show.
me of the one that was at the
Amvet Hall when I was young.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Pahrump, Nevada
We've had a great time in Pahrump, NV. We've done our share of visiting the local casinos and have actually done quite well. The deals on dinners here are about the best we've found anywhere. The Nugget Casino has a prime rib buffet with an excellent variety of salads, entrees, sides, and desserts. All this is included as well as beverages for $9.99 for TWO!!! For both of our dinners it is only $10.70 including tax!
Tomorrow we are going to Las Vegas as Bob has an appointment there to have his hearing aids repaired. We have a few other stops to make while we are there. We really don't like Las Vegas, but we need to get some things done that we can only do in bigger cities.
We will be leaving here on Wednesday and travelling to Virgin, UT to meet up with my California cousins for Thanksgiving. There will be 19 of us there. The campground we will all be staying at is just outside Zion National Park, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in this country, so we're really looking forward to it. We're just hoping that it doesn't get too cold there and we certainly don't want any of that white stuff to make an appearance while we are there!
This was a tree in our campground
that was changing colors and I thought
it was pretty.
This is a view from our campsite of
a snow-capped mountain. This is the
way I like to view snow...far away on
a mountain top!
Another snow-capped mountain
behind our RV resort.
Tomorrow we are going to Las Vegas as Bob has an appointment there to have his hearing aids repaired. We have a few other stops to make while we are there. We really don't like Las Vegas, but we need to get some things done that we can only do in bigger cities.
We will be leaving here on Wednesday and travelling to Virgin, UT to meet up with my California cousins for Thanksgiving. There will be 19 of us there. The campground we will all be staying at is just outside Zion National Park, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in this country, so we're really looking forward to it. We're just hoping that it doesn't get too cold there and we certainly don't want any of that white stuff to make an appearance while we are there!
This was a tree in our campground
that was changing colors and I thought
it was pretty.
This is a view from our campsite of
a snow-capped mountain. This is the
way I like to view snow...far away on
a mountain top!
Another snow-capped mountain
behind our RV resort.
Scotty's Castle at Death Valley National Park
While at Death Valley National Park, we took a tour of "Scotty's Castle". This castle was built in the 1930's by a wealthy Chicago insurance executive, Mr. Albert Johnson. It seems that Johnson had invested in a Death Valley gold mine that Walter "Death Valley Scotty" Scott supposedly owned. Scotty was quite the con man and his life was very colorful. Somehow, these two men ended up being very good friends and Albert Johnson didn't mind Scotty claiming that the castle was his. It was actually the vacation home that Johnson built for himself and his wife when he realized that the desert climate was good for his health. The stories of Scotty & Albert are almost more interesting than the castle. The guided tour was extremely interesting. Unfortunately, it was pretty dark in most rooms of the castle and my speed light was in the truck, so I didn't get pictures that were as good as I would have liked them to be.
Scott's Castle
A view of Death Valley from the castle
1933 Packard in the garage
Scott's Castle
A view of Death Valley from the castle
1933 Packard in the garage
finished entertaining the Johnson's
guests with his tales, he would retire
to his bedroom. Then he would exit
the castle through another door at
the other end of his bedroom and
go to his little cottage that Johnson had
built for him on the property. Scotty's
bedroom was really just a prop.
This trunk is the most valuable antique
in the castle. It was made in Spain in
1491. It has carvings of King Ferdinand
and Queen Isabella on the front. This
was the year before they funded Columbus'
journey to America.
Death Valley National Park, California - November 21st
We spent today at Death Valley National Park in California. I was really pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the park is. I don't remember seeing any pictures of Death Valley that weren't of the desert and not really pretty at all. It truly is beautiful and it seems that each mountain range has a totally different look to it. Death Valley is the hottest, driest and lowest place in North America. We travelled through elevations of 190 feet BELOW sea level to over 3,000 feet ABOVE sea level and the temperatures changed accordingly.
The entrance to the park
One of the beautiful mountain views
Another beautiful mountain view
The entrance to the park
One of the beautiful mountain views
Another beautiful mountain view
different and interesting
that carried borax from Death Valley
to the neighboring town
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park
Yesterday we took a little road trip to Yuma, AZ. Our GPS (aka: The Bitch in the Box) routed us across the border into California and down through CA to Winter Haven and then back across to Yuma. It was nothing but hay fields and a few cotton fields on the drive there. We took another route back, up 95 through AZ and it was much more scenic. We stopped at the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge just before dusk. The road was terrible and we didn't see any sign of wildlife, so we left.
While in Yuma, we visited the Territorial Prison State Historic Park. It was really interesting! I must say that the City of Yuma was nothing like we pictured it. It is much larger and more modern than we imagined. I guess we've watched to many westerns (3:10 to Yuma, etc.)
Entrance to the park.
The base of this is an 85,000 gallon
water tank to supply the prison. The
water was dissapating in the hot, dry
weather, so they covered it with a guard tower.
Bob in a cell. I've finally
got him where I want him. ;-)
While in Yuma, we visited the Territorial Prison State Historic Park. It was really interesting! I must say that the City of Yuma was nothing like we pictured it. It is much larger and more modern than we imagined. I guess we've watched to many westerns (3:10 to Yuma, etc.)
Entrance to the park.
The base of this is an 85,000 gallon
water tank to supply the prison. The
water was dissapating in the hot, dry
weather, so they covered it with a guard tower.
Bob in a cell. I've finally
got him where I want him. ;-)
Bob inside the cell. Not much
room for SIX prisoners!
room for SIX prisoners!
filmed at the prison. This entry
was lowered to make Alan Ladd,
Gene Autrey, etc. look taller. :-)
It's only 5' 3", the other side is 6' 4".
It's only 5' 3", the other side is 6' 4".
to-Coast bridge. It was named
that because once it was completed,
you could drive from the Atlantic to
the Pacific without using a ferry to
cross the Colorado river.
Yuma High School Criminals...
after the prison closed, the library
and some of the other buildings were
used as the Yuma High School and
the students were known as the
Yuma HS "Criminals"...and we thought
the Waterford Twp. HS "Skippers" was
funny!
U. S. Army Proving Grounds
north of Yuma
The big (over 175' long), white,
unmarked blimp north of Yuma...
it is a surveillance radar system
used to watch for drug runners
coming across the Mexican border
on land and in the air.
Miscellaneous Arizona Stuff
Here's some miscellaneous pictures I've taken in the past few days.
Arizona Sunset last night
Airzona sunset last night...north of Yuma
Beautiful sunset!
Arizona Sunset last night
Airzona sunset last night...north of Yuma
Beautiful sunset!
Why Arizona ROCKS!!!
Beautiful Arizona views!!!
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