May 9, 2006 - Bakersfield, CA - Aptos, CA

Today we arrived back home to beautiful warm weather. This is unlike the weather when we left. During our trip we received emails from our California friends with pictures showing us snow, and hail in Santa Cruz. For most of our trip we were very fortunate to have had great weather.

After two months and 3 days, we traveled through 15 states and put 10k miles on Big Red. During our trip, Big Red had two oil changes, one ignition coil replacement and has 4 new tires.

After we got home the first thing to do was fix Taylor. Within a week we have replaced the panel, and cleaned him up.




Taylor went back home today (May 17, 2006) and we would like to thank Sabrina and Jeff for allowing us to use him for our trip.


Taylor going home

Our trip has so many memories that we will treasure forever. We hope you enjoyed the blog during our travels.

The End

May 8, 2006 - Laughlin, NV - Bakersfield, CA

We are coming to the end of our vacation. After packing everything up, we headed over to the casino for our .99 cent Ham & Egg breakfast. While at breakfast we played Keno for the first time. The .99 cent breakfast turned into being 1.99 breakfast. We left with full tummies but empty handed. We fueled up and headed to Bakersfield for our last vacation stop. We were driving through Tehachapi pass, where there were signs for high wind warnings. At one point I looking in my rear view mirror and saw the inside insulation of Taylor. I told Johnny he needed to pull over right away, Taylor was falling apart. When we got out to investigate the damage, the wind was so fierce we could hardly stand. Luckily the panels that came off were still partly attached to the trailer. We managed to cripple our way into the town of Tehachapi and found a hardware store. Went into Ace Hardware and bought 40 screws, electric drill and good ole duck tape. Three hours later Taylor was ready to go again. It was night fall by this time, so we drove to Bakersfield and camped out at our last Wal-mart for this trip.


OOPS!!!!!!!!!!




ALL BETTER

May 7, 2006 - Laughlin, NV

Today we just relaxed at the trailer and I played catch up on the blog. In the afternoon we played golf at the Mojave Resort golf course. Boy was it HOT!!!! Our tee time was at 3:08pm, we did not start cooling off till we made the turn to the back nine.
We ended our last evening with another bargain at the casino. They had $3.99 all you can eat Spaghetti and Meatballs. It was just ok.

May 6, 2006 - Laughlin, NV

This morning we went over to the Casino for .99 cent all you can eat Ham & Egg breakfast. What a deal, it just wasn’t Ham & Eggs, they also served hash browns and toast.
We spent the day at the pool with Amy and Todd and their Parrot Head friends. The weather has been awesome and getting hotter as each day passes. Today was a perfect day for the pool. The pool had several beach balls, inflatable sharks and a lot of Parrot heads. The four of us played pass the beach ball, we started with one and graduated to passing two at a time. Let’s put it this way, after awhile, we started creating our own beach ball games. The pool is in a horseshoe shape. Later on, Amy and I wandered over to the other side where we found beach ball dodge ball going on. Well I got right in the middle of the action and had a blast.

Amy and Todd mentioned to us that they were going to participate in a silent auction today. Todd was interested in a neon sign for his bar. So, around 4:00pm, they went to check on the auction. Amy stood by the table of the item they were interested in winning and she went back and forth with another bidder and finally, Amy won the bid….right on “Parrot Head Chick rules”. After the auction we meet up later for Prime Rib dinner. Thank you Amy and Todd for inviting us to be a part of your event.

May 5, 2005 - Laughlin, NV

This morning we showed up for our early tee-time.



We were paired up with a couple, Amy & Todd from Marina Del Rey, CA. They are here for the “Phins to the West” party week-end. This is a group that puts on an event for Parrot Head clubs of Jimmy Buffet. The party has been here at the AVI Resort & Casino for the past three years. This year there are Parrot Head clubs from 33 states attending the charity event. We overheard someone saying there are about 700 Parrot Heads here. The event cost $175.00 per person and includes an upon arrival gift pack, all meals and lodging for 2 nights, 2 live evening concerts (this years concert had two horn players from the Coral reefers appear), $1.50 Corona’s and Margaritas, silent auction, vendor booths and much more. These organizations are non-profit and funds raised are donated to charities. Amy & Todd are members of the San Diego Parrot Heads and their charites goto the Special Olympics. If you are interested in joining a parrot head club in your area, go to http://www.phip.com/. If you don't find your location listed, contact them for the closest one in your area.


Amy & Todd (San Diego Parrot Head club members)

We were thankful we had an early tee time. By the 17th hole we were all feeling the heat. After our round, the four of us had lunch in the clubhouse. We then meet up at the pool in the resort with all the other Parrot Heads. The “Phins to the West” had their own Tiki bar set up and like I said earlier they were serving up the $1.50 Corona or Margarita’s. After a couple of Margarita’s I felt right in with the Parrot Heads and they made us feel welcome.

May 4, 2006 - Sedona, AZ to Laughlin, NV

Our destination today is Laughlin, NV. On our road map, I had mapped for us to drive along the historic route 66 on our way back home. The route was from Ash Fork, AZ and ended in Seligman, AZ, which is about 16 miles. The road ran pretty much parallel to Interstate 40. We did not find any historic sites till we drove into Seligman. But, it was a pretty drive and the road was in good condition.






We arrived in Laughlin at the AVI Resort & Casino RV Park at 4:30pm. The RV Park, just changed names within the last two months to KOA Campgrounds. The RV Park is across the street from the Resort & Casino. They have a golf cart that will take you over there, which is what we did. We were told by the cashier, if you have an Advantage card, tonight is two for one buffet. What the heck…the card is free and we filled ourselves up on buffet food which was pretty good.
Afterwards, we drove over to the Mojave Resort golf course to checkout the driving range and booked our tee time for the next day.

May 3, 2006 - Sedona, AZ

Johnny drove me out to Oak Creek Winery, which is one of the two wineries near our RV Park. I wanted to try one of their Merlots. The only Merlot they had was white, which I was not familiar with this type of Merlot. After sampling this Merlot, it was sweet, bubbly and berry tasting. It reminded me of an after dinner wine and not for me. So, I guess I’ll just have to try a few and pick one that I like. After tasting about 5 wines, I selected a very nice smooth red wine, which consisted of 35% Merlot and 65% Syrah.
When she handed me the bottle, I was surprise it did not have a label of the winery. I asked her about the wine and she told me this particular wine is made at their sister winery; Don Gabezas wine works in Cochise County, AZ


Oak Creek Winery

After my wine tasting we had lunch just down the road at Page Street Restaurant. The restaurant is located on the Oak Creek River. After a very nice lunch we headed out to play some golf. We drove to the Oak Creek Golf course and we were told they are having a tournament. They also informed us the other golf course we wanted to play, which was Sedona Golf Resort, was also having a tournament. Well dang it….what are we going to do. We checked out our tour map and found another course, Mesa Canyon country club. This course is surrounded by a retirement community and is a 9 hole executive course. They had no driving range, which we really needed after not playing golf in over 2 weeks. OK…well give it a shot. Let say we enjoyed ourselves and both played very well for not having any warm-up.

May 2, 2006 - Grand Canyon, AZ - Sedona, AZ

Today we are on our way to LoLo Mai RV Park in Sedona, AZ. The RV Park is located about 12 miles from the town of Sedona, AZ. The trip seemed very short to us. We arrived around 11:30am and had the whole day to do sightseeing. This area of the country is called “The Red Rock Country”. We unhooked Taylor and set out to do our sightseeing adventure.


No matter were drove there was always a picture to be taken. I think we took well over 100 pictures with a lot being duplicates. You never know how the pictures will turn out with the constant changing of the sun against these rocks. Here are just a few of those pictures.


View going into Sedona, AZ


Chapel of the Holy Cross

Courthouse Butte

Cathedral Rock

Bell Rock

May 1, 2006 - Grand Canyon, AZ

The South Rim offers FREE shuttle to 3 different sections of the rim. The green line, takes you east to Desert View, blue line takes you west to Bright Angel trail or east to Canyon View information center. This line is what we called the middle line. These are the only two areas that are accessible by private vehicle. The 3rd route, the red line is picked up at the west end of the blue line at Bright Angel trail. This route can only be taken by shuttle and goes as far west as Hermit Trailhead. This is the furthest western point you can go by vehicle.

We took the Blue line shuttle to Bright Angel trailhead.


Trail Beginning
We started our hike at 10:00am with the temperature in the mid 70’s. We were hoping to hike to Plateau Point, but after hiking down a very steep canyon 1.5 miles we had second thoughts. The trail consisted of loose rocks, a lot of stepping from boulder to boulder and very deep steps. This made the trip down the canyon very rough on ones knees. We decided to go to the next rest stop which was another 1.5 miles, eat our lunch and head back up. We believe we would have had another 3 miles before we arrive at Plateau Point. The weather was much hotter coming back up but the hike seemed easier than negotiating our way down. We estimate the trip to have taken us 5 hours. We were two very tired and very dirty people after this hike.


View from the top, looking down to Plateau Point (flat greenish area below)

View about 2 ½ miles down the trail

Me on the way back up the trail…OMG…am I there yet!!!

April 30, 2006 - Lake Powell, AZ - Grand Canyon, AZ

Today we took our time getting ready for our next destination into the Grand Canyon. On our way, we had a little bit of rain just outside of Page, AZ. Johnny and I were talking about how fortunate we have been during this trip as far as the weather. We arrived at the Desert View entrance of the Grand Canyon around 3:00pm. We are still 30 miles from where we are staying the next couple of days in the Grand Canyon. Since we are not coming back out the way we came in, we decided it would be best to stop at the vista points along the way. WOW!!!! This place has amazing breath taking views.


Navajo Point

Lipan Point

Moran Point

Grandview Point

Our destination is the South Rim which is the most popular region of the canyon. The north rim seems to more isolated and harder for us to get to. We stayed at Trailer Village which is the only RV Park in the South Rim with full hookups.

Taylor at the Grand Canyon
We were some what surprised that we could not get cell phone service, but not surprised with no internet service. After we settled Taylor into his spot, we drove into town and saw the Grand Canyon movie presented in IMAX. This film is the most view IMAX film ever, and we can see why. Some of the scenes make you feel like you are flying though the canyon, it was really cool. This saved us a lot of money from having to take the helicopter trip through the Grand Canyon.

April 29, 2006 - Mesa Verde, CO - Lake Powell, AZ

Left Mesa Verde for our ultimate destination of Lake Powell in Arizona. But, first we had to stop at the four corners. The “Four Corners”, is where Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico meet. After talking to a Native Najavo Indian at the Four Corner, he provided us with valuable scenic information in getting to Lake Powell. And of course, I had to buy some jewelry from him.




Let me tell you, the scenic route was awesome. Johnny and I could not believe the rock formations and colors, especially in Utah.

Below are phots of Monument Valley




We arrived at Lake Powell, AZ., very late in the afternoon at the Lake Powell RV Park. It struck Johnny’s interest when he found out there was a golf course near by. So, we went to the golf course to check out the fees and the scenery. Fees where reasonable, but what you are paying for is the view of the Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. We headed out to the visitors center which was closed. Nearby is the Glen Canyon Dam. From the bridge that crosses Lake Powell looking down into the dam is approx. 500 feet. “Glen Canyon Dam is the key storage unit in a far-reaching water development plan called the Colorado River Storage Project. When the dam was completed and Lake Powell was formed in 1963, the irregular flows of the Colorado River were brought under control. The now-steady flow from the dam and Lake Powell makes water developments possible throughout the Upper Colorado River Basin and provides a regulated supply of water to meet downstream commitments.”; information provided from http://www.desertusa.com/gc/gcd/du_glencaydam.html. The views are spectacular.

April 28, 2006 - Mesa Verde, CO

Today we went on a guided tour of the Cliff Palace which is to have been the largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde. The park reflects more than 700 years of history. What we toured represented the Classic Pueblo Period (A.D. 1100-1300). The natives of this area were given several names, i.e.: Anasazi, Basketmakers, and Puebloans to name a few. Our ranger referred to them as “The People”, because nobody really knows where they originated. In the late 1200s within the span of one or two generations, they left their homes and moved away. They can only guess as to why they moved. Either drought, easier way of life, and or depleted their food source.

Photos of Cliff Palace



Kiva (Kee-vah) - (ceremonial room)

We continued on to the Spruce Tree House which is the third largest cliff dwelling and visited the Museum. We ended our day with several hundred pictures and lots of walking on our legs.



Underground Kiva

April 27, 2006 - Chaco Nat'l Park - Mesa Verde, CO.

After our continental breakfast, we ran a few errands than headed to Chaco National Park. This park was recommended to us by our neighbor Brian. We knew that 16 miles of the 21 miles was going to be dirt road, so we thought we would give it a shot since it was dry weather.


But, when we got to the dirt portion, we started down it and the road was to rough (washboard), for Big Red and Taylor. So, we turned around and decided to head to our next destination, Mesa Verde, CO.

16 Miles to go on a road that Red and Taylor would not be happy to travel on

We arrived late at Mesa Verde RV Park which is ½ mile away from the park entrance. We drove to entrance and the ranger told since it was so late, we would be better off in just doing the rim loop, which is 6 mile loop with several view point of cave dwelling, canyon views and exhibits. The park was so beautiful; we took a ton of photo, too many to put in this blog.

Mesa Verde (Green Table)

Vista View

Fire Temple

Oak Tree House

Sunview Point