Calumet County Park 4th of July Outing

Made reservations for our annual July 4th celebration at Calumet County Park. We'll be in site #6 this year. 1st turn-in after you come down the hill (before the marina).
Here's the map. We'll see you there if not before.
Click on map to enlarge.

"Card Bingo"

Last evening we played "Card Bingo" which as it turns out isn't in any way related to "Bingo" except for the winning cry. At any rate it cost $5.00 but I won $5.00 so I broke even which was a good thing. However Teddy took the $5.00 which was a bad thing as I'm still out $5.00.

Pegs & Jokers

We played games in the clubhouse last night. I played "Pegs & Jokers" and Teddy played "Mexican Train".

A lot of the "Snowbirds" are leaving weekly for points north; lots of hugs and promises to "see you next winter". Starting to seem a little lonely here with a lot of folks already gone. We have decided to extend another 10 days so won't be leaving till after Easter. Plan on popping over to Oregon before heading back east and don't want to take a chance on running into snow or freezing weather in going over the mountain passes.

Saguaro

Sunset

Took this pict of a georgous sunset last evening. Life doesn't get any better than this. Daytime temps are now hovering around the mid 80s. Sounds hot but in reality it feels quite comfortable; must be because of the low humidity. I'm sure, however, that in mid July when it is over 100 it feels hot. Folks are leaving here every day like rats leaving a sinking ship. Within a month this park will be a ghost town. We are leaving on April 8 to wiggle our way bact to WI/MI, stopping along the way to visit cousins, Kit & Morgan Benson in Utah and Alaska friends in Southern Oregon.

Exploring

Yesterday afternoon we took a long drive to explore the area. Drove into some of the older areas of Lake Havasu City with with the older small modest homes and then into some of the new developing areas with the huge homes with 12' door RV garages. Then we drove a few miles south of the city and found this road into a park that goes back into the desert.
We stopped at the entrance to a hiking trail and met Teresa Hellermann from Marionette, WI. We are always amazed at how small the world seems as we seem to meet people with mutual ties over and over again. Teresa kindly took this picture of us and we were on our way.

Bread

Spring is definately here. Yesterday was gorgeous with highs in the 70s and warmer yet today, in the low 80s. I was out walking with Teddy a few minutes ago and remarked that it felt like a July day in Appleton. Was going to go for a drive but Teddy had bread rising and couldn't leave it.
Oh well...we can alwalys take a drive tomorrow and I'd rather have a slice of her homemade bread hot & fresh from the oven anyway.

Coyotes

We could hear the coyotes howling last night at 11PM when we went to bed. Was cold last night. 45F when I got up at 7AM with snow on the mountain tops. Cold snap is over though...it got up into the 70s today...a beautiful sunny day. Sposed' to get into the 80s next week.

“Farewell to Snowbirds”

Sunday evening the park hosted a “Farewell to Snowbirds” party. With margaritas, pizza, music & dancing…all complements of the park. Had a real good time.

A warm Saturday in Arizona!

I love Saturday mornings...breakfast at the clubhouse. (grin) Scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits & gravy, waffles, pancakes, juice & coffee.
After breakfast we just lolled around and Teddy worked on a jigsaw puzzle while I read and occasionally transported used coffee to the bathroom.

Cactus Flowers

Teddy took this picture of a cactus next to our trailer. We had rain in the night last Tuesday and it must have triggered the plant to blossom.

Corned Beef & Cabbage

Was warmer today, highs in the 70s...the cold front has evidently passed on.

Tonight the park hosted a St. Patrick's Day corned beef & cabbage dinner in the clubhouse. A real fun time was had by all.


Afterward we played "Mexican Train" with two other couples, this time I won.

Snow on the mountain

A cold snap hit Arizona this week. Woke up to temps in the 40s. Teddy took this picture of snow on the mountains. It had burned off by noon though.
That's me toolin' down the street on my Segway.

PullRite SuperGlide

This is exciting news only to me and/or others who pull 5th wheel trailers.
A guy that no longer is going to tow his 5er offered his SuperGlide for sale here in the park. He originally asked $2000 but then since it was nearing the time when he was leaving he reduced it to $1000 and then to $900. I offered $800 and he took it.
This is a hitch that cost $3500 installed. It is a specialty hitch for short box pickups that incorporates a cam system that automatically slides the hitch backward in the truck bed during turns, thereby eliminating the danger of the front of the trailer hitting the truck cab. I figure that it will pay for itself if avoiding just one accident.

Class of '56

A classmate of Larry's from the Manistee, Michigan High School class of '56 visited us here in Havasu City over the weekend.
Jerry Ayres and his wife Sally had been staying in their Bounder MH at a park near Phoenix and were en route to Laughlin, NV.
Larry and Jerry had not seen each other since graduating 50 years ago. The amazing thing is, they both look exactly like they did then. :) We had a great time renewing friendships and reminiscing about Manistee.
We will be getting togather in August with many other classmates at the MHS Class of '56 reunion.

The Bloomin' Desert

Teddy went for a walk in the desert yesterday and took this photo. We had a slight rain one night last week and this is the result. It didn't rain very much...folks here say that if we get a real good rain the desert will explode with a dazzling display of desert flora. Hope we see it before we leave next month.

Mexican Train

Teddy and I played "Mexican Train" in the clubhouse last evening. I had not heard of it before, it's a game played with double twelve ceramic domonioes.
I lost!

London Bridge

Since 1971, Lake Havasu City, Arizona has been the new home of the London Bridge.

In 1962, it was discovered that the London Bridge was "falling down," sinking into the Thames because it was not adequate for the increase in traffic. The City of London decided to put the 130-year old bridge up for auction, and construct a new one in its place.
Robert P. McCulloch, founder of Lake Havasu City, AZ, and Chairman of McCulloch Oil Corporation, submitted the winning bid for $2,460,000 in 1968. McCulloch spent another $7million to move the London Bridge to Lake Havasu City which took a total of three years. The bridge was shipped by boat 10,000 miles to Long Beach, California. From there, it was trucked to Lake Havasu City where it was stored in seven-acre fenced storage compound. On September 23, 1968, the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Gilbert Inglefield, laid the corner stone. Robert Beresfornd, a civil engineer from Nottingham, England was in charge of the reconstruction of the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City. As a guideline, he had a copy of the original plans drawn by John Rennie. During the reconstruction, Mr. Beresford drew sketches of the bridge in different phases of construction. There are a limited number of these prints. When Mr. Beresford returned to England, he gave exclusive right to D & P Antique in Lake Havasu City to sell these prints. Each piece of the granite bridge was marked with four numbers: the first indicated which arch span; the second noted which row of stones; and the last two indicated which position in that row. It was discovered while dismantling the Bridge, that there were code numbers on each stone when it was originally built: Rennie must have used the same system when the sections left the quarries. Construction of a new bridge over the River Thames coincided with the dismantling of the old London Bridge. The new bridge was built directly over the old bridge. This new construction was managed in such a way so that London never lost one day of traffic while transferring from the old bridge to the new one. Reconstructing the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City was done in the same manner as the Egyptians built pyramids. Sand mounds beneath each arch were carefully formed to the profile of the original bridge arches, serving the same function as molds. When work was completed the sand was removed. A one-mile channel was dredged and water was diverted from the lake, under the Bridge, then back into the lake. The reconstructed London Bridge was dedicated in Lake Havasu City on October 10, 1971 with many British and Arizona officials participating in this event that drew 50,000 spectators.

Our friends, Rod & Sharon Cranson are back in Lake Havasu City from the Baja. They came over last night and showed us their pictures.

Here is one of their picts showing them enjoying a dinner in the Mexican Baja.

View from our front door

Went to Lake Havasu hospital today for my routine blood test. The hospital here is a real nice modern facility...all went well and they will fax results back to Dr. McKee in Appleton.
Here is the view that we have from our front door. Those mountains in the background are across the Colorado River in California. The river, not visible in this picture, is in the valley in the foreground just beyond the buildings.