Carson City, Reno, home today, and a change in travel plans

Tuesday morning we set the alarm for 0500 so we could get the day going early.  Visited with our blogging friends and had our coffees.  I made us some breakfast and we actually hit the road near 0800.  Had a nice drive to Carson City, stopping by a trailer place in Dayton to see if they had a tire and wheel for our 20 foot trailer.  They didn't.  We then stopped at Discount Tire in Carson City and they had both in stock.  We left it,and then ran over to Wal Mart to do some shopping. I went my way and Ken went his as we were buying different things. 

After leaving a decent deposit there, we went back to Discount Tire and got our new wheel.  From there we headed over to Reno so we could stop by the bank and get the pink slip for the Money Pit and then to Total Wine for my wine I like to drink (decent deposit there also) haha.. 

We were nearing 1300 so back to Carson and visited our favorite Chinese place there.  Wonderful Hot and Sour Soup and then a great lunch.  Some of mine came home with us and Ken will have it with dinner tonight. 

Talking about food reminded me that the spinach/mushroom lasagna I made the other day was AWESOME!  We both loved it and will definitely make it again. 

After lunch yesterday we headed home and unloaded stuff.  Time to call it a day and enjoy a happy hour together.  Ken didn't want dinner but i had a little of the lasagna. YUM.

This morning (Wednesday) we didn't wake till almost 0700!  Our regular morning and it was slow going, just because we weren't going anywhere.  I decided to head for town and mail a special envelope and then see if I could get my hair cut which I did. Ken was home working on changing out the tire on the trailer, so we've got 4 good tires on the trailer and 2 spares with a little tread. We'll be heading to CA Saturday to say bye bye to the Money PIt.  It was a nice day with warmer temps than we've had for quite awhile. The wind came up this afternoon and cooled things off.  We're both inside now and I'm getting ready for our own Happy Hour. 

Well, we've had some changes to our travel plans this winter.  Ken finally called the surgeon to do the shoulder replacement surgery.  He's been trying not too call but it's time.  At this point he can't reach across his chest to touch his other shoulder.  When driving he has to use both arms to put the truck/car from drive to park. It's just too painful.  Today we got a call for an appointment with Dr. Cummings on January 24th.  So here's how it stands now...We won't be leaving for AZ until after that, depending on the surgery date.  If they schedule like they did for his hernia last year we won't be leaving at all..:(  WE'll just have to wait and see.  

Just remembered...9 years ago today we both retired! Best thing we ever did!!

Have a wonderful evening everyone. 

Grandson, Jacob is playing his last year of high school basketball, so I had to steal these from Facebook. 

One of the rare pictures where you don't see him
smiling!  I so see his daddy, Russell in this pic

There's that smile

Jacob 2nd from the right top row..:)

Breakfast with neighbors, movie watching and veggie lasagna

Sunday morning we got up at about 0500 and turned the coffee on to perk.  Did our visiting with our blogging friends and got ourselves ready to head for Dini's and some breakfast visiting with Joe, Stacey, Rylee and Stacey's mom, Susan.  Had a lovely time and before you know it was time to go so some of the wait line could sit down! 

We came straight home and then I left Ken at home while I ran to Raley's to pick up a few things. 

The wind was howling about 1300 and it was really cold outside.  Ken came in and actually sat down. He'd had enough. I grabbed a little lunch and joined him.  John had given us the cd series of Lonesome Dove (which we'd watched some) so the afternoon was spent being lumps on a couch watching cowboy movies :)  Around 1700 we had a surprise visit from John and Karen bearing goodies, fresh eggs and a big piece of brownie she'd made. They visited for awhile and then headed home to get some dinner. 

We had our dinner and then bedtime.  

I saw on FB that Eric and the boys had gone up country to play in the snow yesterday so I stole a couple from Facebook. 

Mason and Seth having fun in the snow

Seth's Jeep did really good in the snowstorm..

This morning (Monday) we slept in until after 0700!!  Coffees, blogging and a little piece of brownie and we were ready to get the day started.  Yesterday on Pioneer Woman she made a zucchini, mushroom and spinach lasagna so I thought why not today?! That's how i spent my morning making it up..Looks yummy, we'll see in a bit how it tastes. No noodles, the zucchini strips are the noodles. 

The layering process...

It looks delicious 

I took Karen an egg carton, gloves John left and the cds they loaned us. Turned into about an hour visit.  Ken worked on his checkbook and stoking the fire here at home. Time to wind down the day now. 

Have a good evening.  Looks like we're running into Reno tomorrow for some running around :0 

Trip Home, Cleaning, baking and Money Pit ready to head to CA.

Thursday morning we slept in till about 0700 or so! We were at the Tonopah Rest Area so we knew we only had about a 2 1/2 hour drive or so to home. Had our showers and breakfast and pulled out about 1000.  

A beautiful drive all the way, not too much traffic going our way which was nice. A lot of people heading south! 

We pulled into the driveway a little before 1230.  I spent the rest of the day cleaning the trailer and unloading stuff. Ken did his thing with the truck and trailer too. Once I was done with the water in the trailer, he pulled it over to the dump here and then winterized it.  Even though it's only sitting for a week or two, with these temps here, it's got to be done.  16 degrees here this am. 

About 1600 our neighbors called and said they had started a fire, so we headed over for Happy Hour or two.  We called it quits pretty early, came home and pulled out leftovers for dinner.  Watched some Lonesome Dove and called it a night.  

Friday was spent taking down Christmas decorations and cleaning house. Loads of laundry were done too! Ken took down the lights on the bunkhouse and outhouse and kept himself busy. Karen had mentioned that she wanted a HUGE fire on Friday night so Ken went over there to split some firewood for them since we were going to be enjoying the fire too. John is able to get telephone poles from his work, so it was cut to length, so Ken just had to split it. 

Close to 1700 we headed over for a few hours. Very nice way to spend the evening. Home for a late dinner and then bedtime. 

Saturday morning, we got up near 0600 and checked in with our blogging friends.  All good there! Watching Pioneer Woman now and her healthyish cooking this am. 

Time to get the day going! Today's plan to take down the bunkhouse decorations inside and get clean sheets on the trailer bed. Before you know it, the day is done!! 

Have a wonderful day! 

UPDATE Later in the day...

Well, I wanted to get this posted this am..didn't happen! Ken got the Money Pit loaded on our trailer so we can take it to CA next weekend (as long as weather cooperates)..OUr friend K.C. is buying it.  Bittersweet, but again it is named Money Pit for a reason. He knows the issues and still wants it. 

The Money Pit is loaded and ready to go to CA

I did some baking after getting the trailer bed made and the stuff traded out in the bunkhouse. All back to normal for 11 months or so. I made some soup/stew for the next few days. We're not really soup people, but because it's so cold salad just doesn't seem to cut it. Banana bread made for Ken's coffee in the am too.  

Ken's soup..fresh veggies, potatoes, low sodium white beans
(I didn't take time to make fresh)..potatoes and andouille sausage.
Mine had the fresh veggies and a little sausage..I'm not eating
beans or potatoes right now. 

Skinny banana bread for Ken

I was trying to decide what to have for dinner and then it hit me..haven't had George's tuna melts in a long while.  So made up two..Ken was having leftovers from camping and this along with a small salad hit the spot! Jalapeños, under the cheese. YUM! One left over for tomorrow night. 

Tuna melt with hot sauce..YUM

Have a great evening everyone.  We've got 0815 breakfast plans with our neighbors, Joe Stacey, Rylee and Stacey's mom Susan..so better call it a night at almost 2300!! 

Leaving Parker, not going to Death Valley, Tonopah, NV

Wednesday morning we set the alarm for 0430 Arizona time..or so we thought. Either way I was awake before it went off.  We wanted to do a load of laundry before we left the park since we were headed to Death Valley NP.  Got ourselves up and then somewhere in talking we decided to just head home. We've got some things we want to do before heading back south and I have the time to get the house cleaned up from Christmas.  

Since we were up anyway, we took our time and got ourselves going slowly. With all those hours we were actually out of the park by 0800!! We never do that, but since we didn't do laundry we were ahead of the game.  Said our goodbyes to John and Karen and headed out.  They weren't too far behind as they caught up and passed us along the way. 

Near Buckskin Mountain State Park..

Lot's of boondocks along the way..

Lake Havasu

The wind was not fun once again as a lot of cross winds. Long story short, it was a good drive and this morning finds us at the Rest Area outside Tonopah, NV.  A good place to spend the night and we were the only ones here.  

Our sunset near Tonopah, NV

Our view out the window this am..clear and cold!

We turned the heater down before going to bed as we prefer cooler to too hot when sleeping.  I woke up about 0400 and it was freezing!! Went to turn the heater up and found we were out of propane.  Not really out, but Ken had to go outside and switch bottles over. Outside temp was 13 degrees! Inside didn't feel much warmer.  Had some frost on the windows inside! We're nice and toasty now. :)

After visiting our friends online, showers and breakfast we'll head home. We're only a couple of hours from there. 18 degrees there now and warming to 49! 

Have a wonderful day everyone!  

Parker, AZ..Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! How time flies even when you're not doing much! Our last day in Parker before heading towards home.  After showing Ken the temps at home (12 degrees with a high of 35) I don't think he's in such a hurry anymore. haha. It's been pretty chilly here in Parker too.  WE've got clear beautiful skies  today and a wind 48 degrees but feels like 40.  

We've had a great few days with Karen and John.  Karen's daughter, Isabel came to visit Saturday and Sunday. She brought her boyfriend, Casey and her kids Cameron and Sophia.  Was really nice see and spend some time with them. We ate too much and drank too much. Oh well.

Our site with the flag blowing..

Looking down the row

Honestly don't think we'd stay here again..too crowded

John and Karen's site..

A Christmas gift from a friend..haha

Cameron

Mugsy..

WE've been putting our Little Red Campfire to good use every afternoon and evening.  Bundled up like Eskimos but we're enjoying. 

New Years didn't make it to midnight but that's ok.  Karen and John bar b qued some excellent chicken and veggies and before that we both made snacks and enjoyed those too.  

Sophia...she loves getting her picture taken

So does Mugsy..

Sophia and her Papa John

Cameron, Sophia and Ken

Today we took our time getting up and getting going. We'll meet up with our friends and take them on the CA side up to Parker Dam just for something to do out of the wind. 

Tomorrow they'll head home and we're thinking we'll head to Death Valley for a few days just because...I tried to talk him into South Padre, Texas..but didn't get that one to work :(  haha. 

Hope you all have a wonderful first day of the new year!!

Amargosa Valley to Pirates Den RV Park, Parker, AZ

Believe it or not we got ourselves going at just about 0800 yesterday morning. Had a nice night's sleep but by 0430 I was wide awake so got Ken up at 0500 for some coffee and visiting with our blogging friends. 

Our boon docking site at the rest area..Amargosa Valley

The Brothel across the street a bit..

The Brothel..

My husband saw this sign and said "And the more positions you
know  the quicker you'll get hired" :0

There's a restaurant and gift store.  There's a gas station too
$2.87 a gallon for gas and lots of room for big RV's.  

Pink Jeep Company coming from Vegas to Death Valley...
Not cheap

Had a lovely drive all the way with a tailwind pushing us down the highway.  Gas got cheaper as we headed south, so that's always nice too.  Pulled over just outside of Lake Havasu for a bit of lunch in the trailer. Continued on and just enjoyed the views.  Always love this part of the country.  

Love these roads! 

Joshua Trees

Vegas

Traffic wasn't bad at all..

Crossing over the Colorado..

We got checked in and found our site.  Ken did his thing outside and I did mine inside. The sites here are typical for an RV Park, pretty close together but oh well, it's just for a few days til after the new year. There's no cable or satellite and no tv reception. Of course we don't come camping to watch tv so that's ok. Wifi seems to work pretty well. 

We waved at the hand as we went by!

Lake Havasu..

The flag at Lake Havasu

John and Karen arrived around 1730 (Arizona time) so they missed checking in, but they found their spot before dark and he got backed in. Wish i had a picture of that! He does a good job getting that huge 5th wheel into these spots! We let them get set up and then they came over for a little Happy Hour.  Ken took our little red campfire outside and that certainly helped with the chill.  Temps are chilly for sure, but definitely warmer than home! 

We called it a night fairly early and they went home to relax.  They did the drive in one day, where as we took two. Nice to be retired! 

We awoke this am at 0500 or is it 0600?  We are so close to the river that our phones aren't sure what time it is.  Does it really matter? Nope.. Every Saturday through March there's a Swap Meet here at the park, so we'll head over later to see what they have that we don't need. 

Karen's daughter and family will be here later today to spend the night, so that'll be fun.  The party's at their house tonight. Hahah. 

Have a great day! I'm sure we will enjoying the beautiful Colorado River and even though cool, warmer temps than at home.  Waking up to 42 degrees here (feels like 35)..brrr...but home is 15 degrees at home. BRRR...

Yerington, NV to Amargosa Valley, NV..Cold temps and wind

We left home Thursday morning around 0900.  We set the alarm and i was awake anyway before 0400.   Seems to be my time lately..oh well.  Had our coffees, checking in with blogging friends and the worked on getting ready to leave.   On our way out around 0900 we stopped in to see Karen to let her know we were gone.  

The last fire for the year with lights on the bunkhouse and outhouse

Ready to head out!

Had a very nice drive from Yerington to Hawthorne where we stopped to get some gas, not much as we thought (wrong) that it would be cheaper in Tonopah.  Great drive, with some bits and pieces of different weather. We watched the skies change from blue, to clouds to what appeared to be snow. Gave us something to watch for sure.  We got gas in Tonopah (3.69) and then pulled into their trucking area for lunch. I made a simple salad for me and Ken had the last of the roll ups from his mom's house.  

Near Walker Lake, NV

Just love the different skies over the lake

The largest flag in NV....Hawthorne

On the road again about 92 miles to Amagosa Valley and their rest area.  The wind was crazy! Some winds pushed us down the road nicely, but as we neared our destination turned into a crosswind, not fun for the driver. 

Looks like we might be running into snow..but it didn't happen

Coming into Tonopah, NV

Out our dining area window...we got nothing but wind
and cold!

The view out our back window..yep there's a wind!

There is an RV Park just behind us, that we have stayed several times but decided instead of $27.00 for the night or FREE here we decided on here.  

Ken was able to run the generator for a few hours as it's so noisy outside with the highway we weren't bothering anyone.  We watched the movie Lawless which was based on a true story and very good!   Had some dinner and now Ken's sleeping and I thought I'd get this narrative done.  

Should be about 250 miles tomorrow so we'll be up at a decent time, but not setting the alarm. 

Thursday morning...I woke up at about 0430, got up nearing 0500 and started the coffee.  Visiting our blogging friends is done, coffee too so now we'll continue getting ready and head down the road after some breakfast.  We do have a few RV's and cars around us.  Temp is 22 degrees! We'll be out of here soon (well, soon for us).  Have a wonderful day everyone!