Caldwell to Rawlins, Wyoming

This morning we woke up at a Flying J truck stop in Rawlings, Wyoming. Altitude here is over 7000 feet and as we aren't yet aclimitized to this altitude we didn't sleep well. They say that it take from 3 to four days. The drive here through Northeastern Utah & NW Wyoming was spectacular.

We passed Devils Slide near Salt Lake







and then in to the Rockies and over the "Continental Divide"

Klamath Falls to Caldwell

After leaving Harlan & Shirley's we traveled north to Bend, Oregon and then took route 20 east to Caldwell, Idaho

Along the way we saw this "Shoe Tree" near Burns, Oregon but didn't pick any as they weren't quite ripe yet.

Klamath Falls

After leaving Dugway we traveled NW through Utah's famous Bonneville Salt Flats to Klamath Falls, Oregon to visit our friends Harlan & Shirley Weise whom we had met on our 2003 trip to Alaska.
Teddy at the salt flats. It crunches when you walk on it.
They treated us to a day trip to Crater Lake however at some 7000 feet in altitude, we found that it was still snowed in. The lodge was buried under snow.
Since the restrooms were also buried, they had tunnels under the snow that led to them.

Larry, Harlan & Shirley

There were 15 foot snow banks on either side of the road. Not to be put off though, Teddy managed to climb up on the snow and get this pict of Crater Lake. The ranger that was there warned her not to get too close to the edge or she would slide down and never be seen again. As usual she makes me nervous when she takes it in her head to do such things. :-(

Tonight (4/27/06) we are in Jerome, Idaho and slowly working our way back to Wisconsin/Michigan.

Dugway

Last weekend (April 20 - 23) we visited my cousin Kit and her husband Morgan Benson at their home on an Army base in Dugway, UT. Morgan works for the U.S. Goverment as a civilian contractor.
While there we went on a day trip into the desert and searched for geods, visited old pony express stations and explored an old abonded gold mine.

Despite the warning signs, Teddy had to explore this abandoned gold mine




Teddy & Kit

Larry & Morgan

On the road again

We left Lake Havasu City Tuesday for the drive north to Dugway, UT.
Joshua trees like this abound on Rt. 95 south of Las Vegas.

The drive up I-15 to Salt Lake from Las Vegas is beautiful. On tuesday we came through this pass by the Virgin River in northern Arizona.We spent Tuesday night in St. George, UT and Wednesday night at Nephi, UT. This is the sight that greeted us coming into Nephi.

Last post from Lake Havasu City

Well...the time has come to leave Lake Havasu City for the season. Yesterday we took advantage of the nice weather to enjoy our last day here.
Spent some time in the pool.
Then in the afternoon we went down to "The Bridge" and explored the shops along the bridge walk.


Took some pict of the birds there.
...and a fish under the bridge
One last pict of Teddy and it was time to leave.

We have enjoyed our time here in at Havasu Falls RV Resort and look forward to returning next fall but in the meantime there are more roads to explore and friends & family to visit.

The Morning Walk

Pat Martenson and Teddy out for their morning walk. Pat & her husband Dan are from Escanaba, Michigan and along with us are the only "snowbirds" left in the park. They are leaving to go back to Michigan next Tuesday. Teddy & I have been playing a card game called "Nine Hole Golf" with them the past few evenings.

Update on Avian Motorhome

Teddy managed to snap this pict while mama was off the nest. However the next day the owners came back and evidently were not amused as we found the nest and broken egg on the ground and the car was gone. :-(

Temps going up in Arizona!

Not much happening at Havasu Falls RV. We are the last of the "snowbirds" still here. We will be pulling out next Wednesday to go up to Utah ant visit Kit and Morgan.
Afternoons are quite hot now in Arizona; we have been running the air conditioning the last couple of days for the first time this winter which I guess means that there is no more "this winter". It's now "this spring".
It cools off quickly when the sun goes down though for nice nighttime sleeping weather.

Avian Motorhome

Another camper in the park has went away on a cruse leaving their car; since they aren't using the car, this Mourning Dove feels that it is a good place to start a family.

Pegs & Jokers

Most of the winter "snowbird" residents have now left on their annual migration north. The four couples of us left are still playing "Pegs & Jokers" and "Mexican Train" in the evening and two of those couples are leaving tomorrow. The park is now mostly populated by transient travelers that come in and stay two or three days and move on. They generally are younger, have small children and spend their days lounging around the pool.
Here we are last night at the penultimate game night in the clubhouse.

Left to right: Kay Burkholder, Bill Burkholder, Jim Babcock, Carol Babcock, Lois Garrett, Larry Page

(photo by Hugh Walford)

Atrial Fibrillation

Pretty big word for what happened to me!

I was a guest of this establishment for the past couple of days. Wednesday evening at about 11:30 pm my little ol' heart started to go pitty-pat. It's a heck of a weird feeling and a little scary but I had it once before a couple of years ago and it cleared up after a few moments. However, this time it didn't seem to quit and my pulse shot up to around 130. Over Teddy's protestations I decided to go to bed in the hope that it would pass by morning. But...by 1:30 it was getting worse and I was developing pain in my left arm and shoulder so I gave in and decided to drive to the local hospital. They soon got me stabilized but decided to admit me. So, I got me a Doctor and he got me another Doctor who was a heart guy and I got hooked up to all of the expensive machines that the hospital had. There was a machine that went "pingg", another one that showed wiggly lines on a TV and a big machine that sucked me inside and than slowly spun around me. Needless to say I was very impressed as I like electronic gadgets. Oh yah, there also was a nurse that would wait till I was sleeping and then come into my room and give me a shot in my belly; I didn't object though 'cause she was a pretty good looker. BUT...then...on Friday morning the fun stopped when they made me walk very fast on a treadmill till I was so out of breath that I could barely stand. Then they sent me back to my room while they all stood around and talked about me. That afternoon my first doctor came by and told that they couldn't find anything wrong and for me to go home as they couldn't afford to feed me anymore.
So...here I am, back at the RV park. Everything is back to normal EXCEPT now Teddy says I have to go on some crazy diet that she found in a book store. BUMMER

Even in Paradise there is an occasional bad day

Not such a nice day today. sprinkles of rain off and on, colder and VERY windy. Stayed in the trailer most of the day and read.
Teddy took this picture of it raining across the river in California.

Burrowing Owls

Teddy discovered a family of Burrowing Owls nearby in a wash below the park. I managed to get this long telephoto shot of one of the parents with a fledgeling. You can tell from the "whitewash" job on the post that this seems to be a favorite perch.

Teddy was able to climb down and got this shot with her camera.

Teddy's Hike

Today Teddy went on a three hour hike into the desert & foothills with friends Bill & Kay Burkholder whom we met here at Havasu Falls. She said that it looked to be deceptively easy at the beginning but that the terrain got progressively more difficult. Hmmm...this doesn't look too bad!
Looks like some hills ahead!
Yup, definately hills!
Bill leads the way through this wash.
Oh oh!
They had to rappel down this rope to continue.
Teddy made it down.
Bill & Kay too.
Terrain is getting a bit easier.
This view of Lake Havasu makes it all worth while.
They saw these flowers along the way
If you look closely, you will spot a lizard hiding under this rock.
Now, how do we get back without having to climb up that rope?