TRAK's New Look!

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TRAK has a new look. We added a 2-piece removable bonnet (hardtop) to TRAK's top notch and a touch of Moloka'i for comfort. She has a 2" receiver on her tail for our bike rack and lots of storage area when we put the back seat down. She tows beautifully and likes her new TOAD responsibilities when we arrive at our destination. TREK and TRAK seem to be getting along just fine right now! We both enjoy having her in our family.

Sequim, WA (July 7-10)

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The weather was perfect, so on the spur of the moment, we decided to head to Sequim, WA for our TREK and TRAK maiden voyage. We got a late start in the day and arrived at Diamond Point RV Park which is about 7 miles south of Sequim off HWY 101 about 3:30 PM. We got a great camp site for only $10 a night with full hook-ups. After getting settled, we jumped in TRAK and headed north to Sequim. We drove around Sequim and then out to Marine Drive which goes through the beautiful lavender fields and along Sequim Bay. It was a spectacular drive and we enjoyed traveling through the farm country. Before heading home, we decided to stop at the Seven Cedars Casino for their fantastic buffet and try our luck on the slot machines.

The next morning we headed to Sequim again. We went to the John Wayne Marina and hunted down a couple of caches. We then headed out to the Dungeness Spit that separates the Straits of Juan De Fuca and Sequim Bay. We ran into a lot of very successful people crabbing. They were able to get six crab per person and they were pretty good size. After spending some time at the spit, we headed along the bay to the “Three Crabs” restaurant just to see where it was located. We decided not to eat there because it was so terribly expensive. We headed back to Sequim because we wanted to visit the famous “Railroad Bridge” Park. Now, you can ride your bike from Diamond Point all the way to Port Angeles. Most of the trail is now paved. There are some very challenging hills along the way, but it certainly is a great opportunity to see some very beautiful country.

The last day we wondered around the lavender fields and spent time relaxing at many of the small parks along Sequim Bay. We finished up the evening having the Prime Rib buffet at the Seven Cedars casino for only $14.00 each. What a meal finished off with peach and banana Flambe. The weather could not have been any better and we certainly got to see why so many people decide to retire in this community. We love having TRAK as it provides a whole new dimension for us to see and enjoy the countryside.

CLICK HERE to view our picture slideshow from the Sequim, WA trip.

God Bless America - July 4, 2010

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Give thanks and show appreication to all of those special people that have helped to insure our independence and freedom in America today - be thankful! Have an enjoyable, happy, and safe day with family and friends. Remember the foundation blocks that America was originally built on and let's work hard to get those principles and values back into our government before it is too late!

If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he would NOT be happy celebrating July 4th -- because America is no longer free. The truth is, we have given up our freedoms to power-hungry politicians, liberal special interest groups, and the secret wealthy elite who are doing everything they can to maintain their power forever.

Independence? Let's get it BACK!

"Let FREEDOM Ring, Let FREEDOM Ring"

Cowboy Dinner Tree Restaurant

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This restaurant is a MUST when ever you are around Silver Lake, OR (Central Oregon). It is on your route to or from Reno, NV. The Fort Rock Park National Monument is about 21 miles away, so there is a lot to do in the area. In order to get a place to eat at the dinner table, you must have a reservation. They only serve two entree's - a whole BBQ chicken or a 2 lbs. BBQ sirloin tip roast. It all comes with a huge bowl of salad, their famous bean soup, homemade yeast rolls (12 per table), special desert, and all of the fresh lemonade or ice tea you can drink. They do not serve any liquor, but you can have all the wine, beer, or beverage of choice in the tepee outside the restaurant before dinner. There is no electricity, credit cards are not accepted, but they do have flush toilets. The Christmas lights hanging on the building are run off their truck battery. This is one of those "once in a life-time experiences". What a BLAST - GUARANTEED you will be haul'in some "grub" home!

CLICK HERE to see the menu for yourself and how to get there!

TRAK - Our New Toad

TREK is happy to have a new companion to drag along on our adventures. TRAK is a 2002 Chevrolet Tracker 4x4 that will be hauling Nancy and I to those high mountain meadows and lakes, streams, and desert oasis. TRAK will not replace our feet, kayaks, or bikes, but will add a 4-wheel dimension to exploring new pursuits and help us get to those more distant geocaches.

HEAD'N HOME - Sunriver, OR

We met Brianna and went to IHop for breakfast. She looked great and it was fun talking to her about her college life. Brianna recently was nominated and received the "Sweetheart" award from a local fraternity. She was the first freshman to receive this honor. It came as a complete surprise to her, but getting to know what she values in life, it was no surprise to us. After breakfast, we got to visit her dorm room and meet her roommate. We then got to take Brianna to her 1:00 P.E. class and she looked very cute all dressed for her activities. Brianna is very well organized and to see her in this realm made us feel very proud of her. She is a very special person and has a very strong set of values. Nancy and I were upset with each other, as we forgot to take our camera with us, but left with very fond memories of our beloved granddaughter.

We headed west toward the Colorado River and spent the night at the Avi Casino RV Park, near Needles, CA. We had previously spent two nights here at the beginning of our trip. Our route was to get to I-5 ASAP as we were not feeling any better. We made it as far as Visalia, CA and spent the night. "Up an at em" the next morning, we drove to Corning, CA and spent the night for FREE in the Rolling Hills Casino truck parking lot. We had dinner at the casino and had a good night sleep before leaving for Sunriver, OR early in the morning. We needed to make a stop at Gordy’s in LaPine, OR to dump our black, grey, and fresh water tanks. The temperature was still in the low 20’s at night in Sunriver and we wanted to make sure that TREK would not freeze up. We arrived safely at our home around 2:30 in the afternoon and could not wait to get a hot shower, a soak in the tub, and to sleep in our bed.

Although we had to cut our trip short because of weather and our health issues, we really had a great time, saw some absolutely beautiful country, and met some very interesting people. More important, Nancy and I really enjoy having the opportunity to travel and see the country together in our cozy quarters. We continue to learn so much about our diversified population and cultural heritage of our country. Being out in the real world truely exposes you to what makes America such a great place to live. We both place a very high value on our relationship and getting to spend this time together is very important to both of us.

Thank you all for following us during this time period in our lives. We both hope you have enjoyed seeing the pictures and traveling with us. We have enjoyed hearing from many of you and your prayers. You inspire us to keep our blog rolling and updated with our adventures..

We appreciate and love all of you!

Skip and Nancy (2 Drifters)

Montezuma Castle - Camp Verde

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Our next stop was to be Flagstaff, AZ and to see Brianna, our granddaughter, who is in her first year at Northern Arizona University (NAU). This was something that we both were looking forward too. Checking the temperatures in Flagstaff (6,903'), which were in the low 20's, we decided to spend the night in Camp Verde (3,133') and drive up the following morning and have breakfast and visit with her.

We also were starting to deal with another issue - our health. Neither of us were feeling that good, plus we both had similar symptoms - sinus allergies, nasal drip, coughing, sore throat, clogged ears, itchy eyes, but fortunately no temperature. It look like it was the FULL MEAL, SINUS DEAL! The pollen counts in Arizona are at the highest levels during this time of the year, and we both had been stomping around in the desert for days admiring the cactus bloom.

Our plan, after visiting with Brianna, was to head to the northeast corner of Arizona and visit Monument Valley, then to Four Corners and to Mesa Verde, and on to Moab, UT and the Arches. We checked the weather in those areas and the temperatures were still in the 20's with snow predictions on the way. So considering this and our health issues, we decided to head home after our visit with our granddaughter.

Before leaving Camp Verde, we both wanted to visit the Montezuma Castle. It is not a castle nor was the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II ever present. Montezuma Castle is a pre-historic American Indian structure that is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in the United States. Rising 100 feet above the Beaver Creek floodplain, Montezuma Castle is a testimony to the resilience and innovations of the "Sinagua" people. The castle is 90 percent original despite years of unauthorized excavation, visitations, and even one attempt to blow apart a wall to collect artifacts.

The castle was a small and dramatic part of a large community of people spread up and down the waterways of the Verde Valley. As many as 6,000 to 8,000 people may have lived in the valley in small villages no more than two miles apart. The 19 rooms could have housed 35 to 50 people, conserving precious farmland and the huge Sycamore Tree groves near the creek. There was a feeling of security as the series of ladders used to climb to the site could be pulled in for the night and the panoramic view of the valley gave advanced warning of anybody entering the area. Historians feel that it was the final leg to a major trade route from northern Arizona. People following this trail were seeking salt, cotton, argillite, and other minerals.

Were the residents of Montezuma Castle keeping watch on traders or other visitors entering the area, or was it simple a very nice place to live? No one really knows.

CLICK HERE to see our Montezuma Castle pictures. Go back in time and place yourself in one of the small rooms of the Castle and think about why you would be there.

Back To Tucson!

Bill and Janice Hendricks with Nancy

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After waking up and discussing our diesel smell problem, we decided to drive north to HWY 10 and then west to the Safford, AZ cutoff. Our original plan was to visit Safford, AZ and then come in from the east to Superstition Mountain, which is in the Apache Junction area. Once we got to the cutoff, if we were still dealing with the diesel smell, we would head back to Tucson and the Dodge dealership. Well, we got to the cutoff, and there was still the diesel smell coming off the engine, so we continued west on HWY 10 to Tucson. When we got back to Tucson Dodge, they discovered that the new fuel filter they had installed was cracked. While we waited for two hours, they replace it with a new one and we headed north towards Apache Junction.

We got to Gold Canyon in the afternoon, which is east of Apache Junction, and decided to stay at the Canyon Vista RV Park. Our friends Bill and Janice Hendricks have a home in the Mountainbrook development, which was right across the road from the park, so we got to see and visit with them. We also got to visit and have dinner with Tony Steeneck, his wife Gayla, and their daughter McKenna at their beautiful home in Mesa. Tony was our manager when we owned and operated Leisure Sports and Ski in University Place many years ago. We had not seen Tony for several years, so it was fun catching up on what has happened in our lives.

Rodeo, NM

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We left Bisbee and started our trek to Rodeo, NM and the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. We traveled to Douglas, AZ and then north on HWY 80. While driving, we became concerned because of a constant diesel smell coming off the engine. This was not customary for TREK to stink like this while driving her. We decided to find a campsite and then figure out our next move. We wanted to camp in the Chiricahua National Monument area, but this portion of the national park system has been closed due to the economy. We drove up into the mountains only to see that the maintenance of roads and facilities normally provided by the park service were non-existent. This was very disappointing to both of us as we were looking forward to hiking and spending some time in this area. There had also been several crime issues committed by illegal aliens in the Portal, AZ area and for the second time on our trip, safety became the priority. We ended up staying one night at Rusty’s RV Park in Rodeo, NM.

Growing up as youngsters, we were exposed to many different stories about the Native American people in our country. To be able to relive some of these stories and discover the many truths of what really happened is always beneficial. Just south of Rodeo is a memorial monument dedicated to Geronimo, great Apache warrior and leader. It was just a short distance from this memorial that Geronimo, and his small band of people finally surrendered on September 6, 1886.

Prior to this final surrender date, on March 27, 1886 Geronimo agreed to surrender to General George Crook on the condition that he and his followers would be returned to the reservation after two years’ living in exile. Crook agreed, believing that he had secured the most favorable terms possible. President Cleveland and General Sheridan were infuriated. They both informed Crook that the conditions were “unconditional surrender” and that sparing their lives was the only condition of the bargain. Feeling betrayed, Geronimo and his people bolted the encampment on March 29th and fled to Mexico.

In mid-July General Nelson Miles heard that Geronimo and his people were again reconsidering surrender. Miles dispatched Lt. Charles Gatewood from Ft. Bowie with orders to seek out Geronimo. Gatewood crossed over into Mexico and on August 23, 1886, his scouts picked up Geronimo’s trail.

On August 24th, Gatewood met Geronimo and his people on the banks of the Bavispe River, which is in Mexico. They were told to surrender and that they would be sent to Florida with their families to wait out President Cleveland’s final decision on their fate. Geronimo was visibly shaken when informed that some of his relatives and friends had already been taken to Florida. On August 25th, Geronimo said he would go to the border and surrender to General Miles.

On September 6, 1886 Geronimo and a small portion of his original people agreed to the surrender terms. At this time there were only nineteen men and twenty-eight women and children left in his band of warriors. Six Apaches (3 men and 3 women) refused to accept the surrender terms and fled back to Mexico, where death at the hands of the Mexican border guards awaited them. The picture above is the actual site of Geroimo's surrender and is located in Skeleton Canyon just a short distance from the monument, which is off HWY 80.

The surrender of Geronimo in Skeleton Canyon on that historic day, forever ended Indian warfare in the United States.

CLICK HERE to see the pictures of this area.

Bisbee, AZ

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With much hesitancy, we headed east towards Tucson on HWY 86 Sunday morning. We had scheduled an early appointment for Monday morning at Tucson Dodge for TREK to get an oil change, new fuel filter, and a new air filter. We wanted to keep her purring! We spent the night in the Tucson Mountain Park and enjoyed the surroundings. After completing TREK’s appointment, our plan was to head to the Cochise Stronghold and spend the night. We drove to Sunsites, AZ where we talked with a very interesting fellow in the Chamber of Commerce office. He advised us not to spend the night, as they had been having big problems with the illegal aliens in the area. The stronghold has a very small and unattended campground and he felt that our safety might be an issue of concern. We took his advice and headed to Bisbee, AZ.

Bisbee, AZ was founded in 1880 and named after Judge DeWitt Bisbee, a financial backer of the Copper Queen Mine. It became the county seat for historic Cochise County. This old western town proved to be one of the richest mineral sites in the world, producing nearly three million ounces of gold. It also produced more than eight billion pounds of copper, not to mention the silver, lead, and zinc that came from these rich Mule Mountains. By the early 1900’s the Bisbee community was the largest city in the southwest between St. Louis and San Francisco.

At its prime, Bisbee had a population of over 20,000 people and became the most cultured city in the southwest. Despite its culture, however, the rough edges of the mining camps could be found in the notorious Brewery Gulch, with its saloons and shady ladies. In 1908, a fire ravaged most of Bisbee’s commercial district along Main Street, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes. Reconstruction began immediately and by 1910 most of the district had been rebuilt and remains completely intact today.

Activities began to slow as the mines played out and the population began to shrink. The mining operations became unprofitable in 1975 and the Queen Mine operation shut down. Queen Mine has seven levels, 143 miles of passageways, and natural ventilation due to the many shafts and drifts. The average temperature inside the mine is 47 degrees. In 1954, the mine operations opened Lavender Pit. For 20 years, they extracted over 351 million tons of material which covered 300 acres and was over 1,000’ deep. They closed this operation in 1974, one year before closing the Queen Mine operation when copper prices plummeted.

CLICK HERE to take the Queen Mine video tour and learn more about this historic area.

CLICK HERE to see our Bisbee and Queen Mine pictures. The town is very historic and cultural, but the surroundings are not very appealing as a result of the devastation.

Organ Pipe National Monument

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We left the park and headed south through Blair Valley, which was just beautiful. We will be going back here someday and doing some real exploring. We spent two days in Yuma relaxing, doing our laundry, and enjoying the $5.00 dinner specials put on for the 55+ community of RV’ers. We went swimming and soaked in the hot tub, where we met some very interesting people. We could not wait to head to our next destination.

Organ Pipe National Monument is located just south of Why, AZ. Interesting fact - this community was originally named"Y" because of the intersection of highways 85 and 86. The spelling later changed when residents petitioned for a post office. Organ Pipe National Mounument is surrounded by the Mexican border to the south, the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Gunnery Range, and a very large reservation, which is the home of the Tohono O’Odham Native American people. This entire area is some of the hottest and driest desert land in the USA. This entire area is very densely covered with over 28 different varieties of cactus, including the famous Saguaro and the much rarer Organ Pipe Cactus.

The Organ Pipe Cactus grows in the far south of Arizona and can only be found exclusively in this pristine area of the desert. The Organ Pipe is much more common in Mexico and is distinguished from the Saguaro by having thinner stems that branch from it’s base. The Saguaro branches higher up it’s central trunk.

We took a wonderful hike to the Victoria Mine. This was a center for gold and silver excavations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ruined stone buildings, rusting pieces of iron equipment, and sealed off mine shafts can be seen. Perhaps, the biggest attraction of the hike was to see the abundant Sonoran Desert plants and the expansive views of the Sonoyta Valley into Mexico. The “night sky” was brilliant as we viewed the “Milky Way” and the many constellations in the clear, cold night sky from our $6.00 (nightly fee) Twin Peaks campsite.

CLICK HERE to see our pictures of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument area. This is one of our most favorite places that we have been so far in our travels..

Anza Borrego State Park (CA)

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“Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present, you will never find it” (Thomas Merton – Monk)

After spending three wonderful days at the “Fountain of Youth Spa” we headed south to Brawley on HWY 111, then northwest to Anza Borrego State Park. We really wanted to stop and see "Salvation Mountain", which is now a national monument located in Slab City (CA), but the road was closed because of the big rainfall the night before we left. This state park is the largest in California. The park is named after Spanish explorer Juan Baustista deAnza and the Spanish name “Borrego” which means Big Horn Sheep. Borrego Palm Canyon is the third largest natural palm oasis in California. It is a beautiful, well-watered oasis, tucked away in a rocky V-shaped gorge. The hike into the palm grove is about 3 miles and there are over 800 palms in the canyon. Although were did not see any Big Horn Sheep, it is a very popular hike to view them perched high above the canyon floor on the rocky cliff shelves. We did see many ocotillo cactus and several other types, which were just starting to bloom. Here, is where we both discovered Arizona “Lavender” and its wonderful fragrance.

The campsites are very primitive and spread out, with water and power provided. The first nights stay in the park was pretty stormy, with very high winds. We hiked the canyon on the 2nd day and the weather was spectacular. We highly recommend a visit here, especially when the cactus are just starting to bloom.

CLICK HERE to see our pictures of the canyon and take the hike with us to the Palm Grove. The creek that we followed up the canyon was still very full of water. We had to cross it on four different occasions, without any foot bridges.

Fountain of Youth Spa (Salton Sea)

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After leaving Joshua Tree National Park, we decided to really indulge ourselves. We thought that we were headed to "SLAB CITY", but found the “Fountain of Youth Spa" RV Park just east of the Salton Sea and north of Niland, CA. The Salton Sea is over 200’ below sea level. Driving south on HWY 111, you think that you are in on the moon, except for the many scattered mineral springs each creating its own oasis of plant life. Here at the “Fountain of Youth Spa” RV Park there are 7 separate pools of different sizes and temperatures. There are even two huge bathtubs that you can fill with mineral water and soak with the Jacuzzi jets running. This is a remarkable get away for people that stay here for 4-5 months at a time. There are over 600 individual sites with 67% of them filled with our friends from Canada. There are so many activities going on daily that it is impossible to get bored or find nothing to do with your time. We will definitely come back here in the future and recommend this to anybody that needs healing and enjoys water therapy.

CLICK HERE to the see the pictures of this wonderful place in the middle of nowhere. Remember we were just east of the Salton Sea and we will be going back to this heavenly place sometime next year.

Cottonwood Springs (Joshua Tree National Park)

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We left early and headed to Indio, CA to find a Wal-Mart and buy some leveling blocks for TREK. We found what we needed and then headed east back into Joshua Tree National Park and the Cottonwood Springs campground which is located at the south end of the park. We found a great campsite and also met up with our new friends Bill, Anne, and Sara (sheltie) from Victoria, BC.

Cottonwood Springs was an important water stop for prospectors, miners, and teamsters traveling from Mecca, which is on the north end of the Salton Sea, to the mines in the north. Water was necessary for gold processing, so a number of gold mills were located there. The remains of an arrastra, a primitive type of gold mill, can be found near the springs.

Cottonwood Springs was first mentioned in a gold mine claim filed in 1895, indicating that the trees are native. Huge Fan palms first appeared around 1920, perhaps from seeds deposited by birds or coyotes.

CLICK HERE to see the pictures of Cottonwood Springs and the Fan Palms. We enjoyed this hike with our Canadian friends Bill and Anne.

Wall Street Gold Stamp Mill

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The hike into the mill was fun. This was an area where gold miners would bring their ore to be processed and stamped. The mill was very well preserved and we enjoyed role playing while exploring the many relics still present. We met Joey and Justin, who had been Eagle Scouts in the past and friends forever when we arrived at the mill site. They were both very familiar with the history of this area, as they both helped build the “Boy Scout” trail in the park which is 13 miles (roundtrip).

CLICK HERE to see the pictures we took of the Wall Street Gold Stamp Mill. Go with us through time and meet Joey and Justin.

Keys View and Barker Dam

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From an elevation of 5,185’, you overlook a stunning and expansive view of the Palm Springs area, the San Andreas Fault, and the Salton Sea to the southeast. The view is spectacular and you can even see the wind power mills in the valley. Barker Dam and lake were built around 1900 to hold water for cattle and mining use in the area. The dam today forms a small rain-fed reservoir used by wildlife and birds. This was really an amazing area to hike. We saw petroglyphs in a rock cave dating back many years ago by native american people which told a story of the past.

We took a very short hike through a Joshua Tree forest which was very interesting on our way to Barker Dam. The trees are spread very far apart because they need to survive in the desert and there is only so much moisture and nutrients in the soil.

CLICK HERE to see the pictures we took of Keys View and the Barker Dam area. The lake was a very special place and you would never have know it was there unless you saw it for yourself.

Joshua Tree National Park

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Joshua Tree National Park is a completely separate eco-system between the Mojave Desert (3,000’ or higher) to the north and the Colorado Plateau (3,000’ and lower) to the south. The San Andreas Fault, Palm Springs Desert strip, and the Salton Sea can be viewed from the mountain tops in Joshua Tree National Park. The Joshua tree is neither a tree nor a cactus and received its name from the Mormon people that discover this unique environment. They named the tree after the prophet Joshua because it resembled his outstretched arms to those who believed in God. They say that ½ inch represents one year of the trees lifecycle. Many of these trees are extremely tall. They survive in the desert and grow quite a distance apart from each other because of the lack of moisture and nutrients in the ground. We have heard that this is the only place in the country where the Joshua Tree exists.

The geologic landscape of Joshus Tree is spectacular. How did the rocks take on these fantastic shapes? What forces sculpted them?

Geologists believe that these granite rock formations were formed more than 100 million years ago. Molten liquid, heated by the continuous movement of the Earth's crust, oozed upward and cooled while still below the surface of the overlying rocks. These plutonic intrusions are a granitic rock called monzogranite.

We stayed at the Jumbo Rocks campground (4,400’) for two nights. We paid $5.00 a night for our campsite. We had a fire ring, table, and very clean pit toilet’s available to us. The nights were very clear, beautiful, and cold (30 degrees). We were able to see many different constellations in the dark sky. Here we hiked the Skull Rock, Keys View, Barker Dam, and the Wall Street Gold Stamp mill trails which take you through the many magnificent rock outcroppings. We spend a lot of time just wondering around among the Joshua Trees enjoying the weather and looking at cactus, birds, rock formations, and wildlife. It was very difficult to leave this area, but we needed to move on to the Cottonwood campground (3,000’) located in the park and see the Fan Palm Oasis area. While we were staying at Jumbo Rocks, we met our new friends Bill, Anne, and Sara (sheltie) from Victoria, BC. They are both very nice people and we have shared some very memorable experiences with them so far.

We saw so many beautiful sites and took so many pictures that we have separated our three days at Josuha Tree National Park into three picture albums: 1) Jumbo Rocks, 2) Keys View, Barker Dam, Wall Street Mill, and (3) Fan Palm Oasis (Cottonwood Canyon).

CLICK HERE to see the pictures we took of Jumbo Rocks. Look for the many different images in the rocks as you view the pictures. You may need to go through them a couple of times.

Buckskin Mountains - Colorado River

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February 25th to March 1st

On Wednesday morning (Feb. 25th) we decided to head north to Bullhead City, AZ. We have never been to this area which is right across the Colorado River from Laughlin, NV. Some people that we met at the Avi Casino told us about an opportunity to stay at the Sunrise Resort RV Park in Bullhead City for two nights at a total cost of only $19.95 with full hook-ups. Yes, the catch was a one hour presentation about their national campground network. We met a very nice salesman named Bob Smith, but as many of you know we are both a very hard sale at this time in our lives and headed south with just our memories. We were not really impressed with Laughlin, NV because it is primarily a gambling area.

We headed towards Lake Havasu and along the Colorado River. South of Lake Havasu City, AZ there are three very scenic Arizona State campgrounds. We decided to spend two nights on the Colorado River at the River Island State Park. The park is located at the base of the Buckskin Mountain Range in AZ. This is a very beautiful spot that is tucked away in a small cove on the river. This particular area seems to be a very popular hangout for RV’er who like to spend a few months at a time on the river. There is a lot of hiking in the area and we scrambled around in the Buckskin Mountains for a day. We hiked into the Skinner copper pit mines and got to see some of the cactus just starting to bloom.

We left the campground and headed south to Parker, AZ so we could find an internet connection and pay our bills online. We found a hot spot and will be able to keep the “wolves” away for another month. Our plan was to head west again into CA and spend the night at 29 Palms, CA which is the gateway to Joshua Tree National Park. We needed to do some laundry, grocery shopping, and reorganized ourselves. We ended up spending two days in 29 Palms before heading into the national park.

CLICK HERE to watch the slideshow of pictures taken during this portion of our trip. You can change the viewing time by increasing the seconds once you launch the slideshow. You can also click on the pictures above to enlarge them.

Week 1 - Southwest TREK 2010

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Week 1 – Feb. 17th to Feb. 25th

We left Fox Island and headed south to Champoeg State Park, just south of Portland for our first night. This is a very historic and scenic campground on the Willamette River. There are over 5 miles of bike paths in the park so we decided to go bike riding and hunt down some caches that were close to the park. It was a very beautiful day and we would highly recommend this area for overnight camping. One of our goals was to take advantage of any opportunity to have a seafood buffet. The next day we headed south to Canyonville and the Seven Feathers Casino and RV Park. We arrived early enough to really enjoy ourselves and took a swim in the indoor pool and soak in the spa at the RV Park before heading over to the casino to enjoy their famous buffet. Yes, we stuffed ourselves full of king crab, shrimp, prime rib, and all of the trimmings that go along with a buffet. We both received our “players club” cards when we arrived at the casino. They gave us each $5 to play with and we both decided to go home early as Nancy won $40 and myself $15 – not a bad night for the two of us gambling on their money.

The next day we headed south of Eureka, CA to a little town called Fortuna, CA. We traveled by “Trees of Mystery” on HWY 101 where “Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox” still reside. I last visited this area when I was a very little boy with my family. Obviously these huge statues have had a few coats of paint since then, but look the same as I remembered them to be. Located just outside of Fortuna is the Bear River Casino, which is small and very nice. We again indulged ourselves in another seafood buffet, which had lobster, crab, shrimp, prime rib and all of the trimmings. We got our “players card” and were given $10 credit each this time. We did not break the bank, but Nancy again was the winner going home with $25 and myself with $10. What a good time with an abundance of good food and would recommend both of these casino stops for travelers.

We woke up early Saturday morning and headed to Indio, CA and spent the night at a place called French Camp which was very nice and quiet. Our next stop was in Barstow, CA where we prepared to spend our first real “boondocking” (dry camping) adventure on the desert in Mojave National Preserve. We woke up to light snow and howling winds. We headed to the preserve and an old historic town called Kelso where the train still rolls through every now and then. We toured the old train station and then head south to the Kelso Sand Dunes hoping to find a spot to dry camp. When we got to the sand dunes the wind was blowing very hard and it looked like rain. We had lunch and after discussing the weather and not wanting TREK to get sand blasted decided to head to Needles, CA. Here we stayed for two nights at the Avi Casino which is south of Laughlin, NV on the Colorado River. There is a KOA campground at the casino and we had so much fun here we decided to stay for two days. This casino is south of Laughlin, NV and located on the Mohave Indian Reservation all by itself on the river. As you can see from the pictures, there are many amenities and fun things to do. We were not as lucky with our rookie gambling skills, but lost only a small portion of our previous gambling winnings so we are still ahead.

CLICK HERE to watch the slideshow of pictures taken during this portion of our trip. You can change the viewing time by increasing the seconds once you launch the slideshow. You can also click on the pictures above to enlarge them.

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