Aaah, A Wonderful Rest

Yuma, Az

On Sunday, Oct. 25th we rested. That's the long and short of it. We had gone to bed last night by 9 pm, worn out and grateful for the stop. Mind you, if our Starlink was working, we'd probably have watched tv a bit later. That meant an early rising too. Bill was awake at 4:30, Gibbs stirred and I woke up.

Good morning!
Bill took these this morning
for me.

I was the sunrise photographer though.

The Bougainvilla 
mixed in with the Oleanders
along our fence line.

I don't think he went back to sleep but Gibbs did and I drifted in and out until 5:30 when they both got up. I need 8 hours sleep, usually, and I'd had it. No wonder I was awake! 🤭 I was up at 6. It will take a while, I suppose, to get used to the time changes. We are now 3 hours behind home time.

We're 1 of 2 guests along
this back row so it is nice and quiet.

We had our coffee and tea and Bill made the call to Mudflap to straighten out our account. Or try to. It worked, at least we got an explanation. Seems because we don't use the app back home, for 6 months, it takes a while to get things back to normal. Silly but true. 🥴

Pop!

I captured the sunrise over the Gila Mountains, what a perfect view! Bill and Gibbs had walked first thing, and he took some moonset pictures in the west. I think he knows what I like!! ♥️ Later, after getting washed and dressed, Gibbs and I walked around the park.

For the short time we're here,
I won't be putting my feeder out.
Even though he's asking nicely.
😉

I also walked on my own and went in to the pool area, the clubhouse to check out and drop off a couple of books we've finished and then the laundry room. We need a card here so will do that on Thursday morning rather than wait until we get to Quartzsite. 

The pool and surrounding area has
been freshly painted.
I'll be paying it a visit tomorrow, methinks.
💕

It is a beautiful day, and chatting with Donna, Pat and Dot on text back home, they are having one of the same. Well, not quite the same, (we get 85F/29C and they get 60F/16C) but they are getting some lovely fall weather too. 

Gibbs and I walked down to the
west end of the park where the
mini golf is also revamped nicely.
Then we walked over to the lake
before swinging back home.

I touched base with my friend, Erma, this morning and look forward to their arrival in Quartzsite and a lunch or two while we are there. I hadn't heard from her after our announcement so wanted to be sure they were doing okay and still coming down. 

Lunch was grilled cheese & bacon
on garlic Texas toast.
Yummy!

When I came back from my walk, I got the big vacuum out and cleaned up the Suite, top to bottom. It was pretty dirty. We're still killing flies in here so the windows will need to be washed before we leave the park. With accessible water (from the park) it is a good time to take care of them.

While Bill grilled supper,
I was on time to catch the sunset.

The rest of the day was as lazy as lazy gets. Bill went up and paid the $3/day service fee (?) and filled a water bottle. Then we sat and read. It got warm inside but there was a slight breeze so at one point, I went out to the back side (east) of the Suite and sat in the shade.

Gibbs is always on duty.
A barbecued supper again, yay!

For supper, Bill grilled the last two smash burgers for himself and 2 smoked sausages for me. It was good and easy for me! 😊 Bill finished his book before we ate and I'll be finishing The Bounty by Janet Evanovich soon. This is the most we've both read all year!

For dessert, all 3 of us had 
a cup of frozen yogourt.
Yes, Pat, they got tucked in the freezer
and forgot about!
Good night!

It has been a good day and we don't foresee too much to change until Thursday. I hope you've enjoyed your Sunday as well.

Thank you for the visit.

Day 7 - Meeting up with Arizona Friends

 Yuma Lakes RV Park

On Saturday, Oct. 24th I'd had a fitful sleep. Always dropping back off but awake after midnight on the hour. Every hour but not because of the trains or traffic........excitement maybe? We are so close to a destination. 

Good morning!
This was Bill's morning picture of the moon
saying goodbye at 6 am.

We pulled out of the quiet lot after snagging some beautiful moon pictures (thank you Sweetie) and some sunrise pictures. That was a wonderful stay, meeting the little barkeep, Erica (Erika ?) was a bonus. 

Then I caught the
sun coming up after 6:30.

We all settled in for today's drive.
Gibbs helps by being a backseat driver.
We didn't give him a Gravol today
and he was no different. 🤷‍♀️

We easily got back on the I-10W under partly cloudy skies, more sun than cloud. It is 59F/15C. It was a 4 1/2 hour drive to Eloy, Az so once we crossed into the new state (at 8:15 MST) we'd gained an hour again and stopped for fuel at a Maverick station in Marana, Az.

The mountains are so pretty.
The bottom picture shows cloud shadows 
on them giving them a black look.

Gee! I wonder what he's carrying?

Our Mudflap didn't allow us access AGAIN and finally, Bill is getting so fed up with the app. I was a few days ago, but the savings have been worth it. Kind of. 🥴 

Every year that I can, this
Fraggle Rock is worth a picture.

We paid the still better price of $5.89/gal without the discount (other AZ stns were over $6). He'll call when we are stopped.

More pretty overpasses

The rest area had a rocky landscape.

We were seeing more cacti and I
did my best to get pictures along the way.
I know I'll see lots this winter but this
are our first views.

A stunning view and
a sign picture of places we've
stayed many times over the years.

Gibbs wasn't into the views like I was.

From there, it was 30 minutes to Eloy where we met our friends, Ken and Nancy, from Picacho Peak at Denny's for our traditional twice-yearly lunch. Ever since they moved there full-time from Illinois, we've stopped on the way down and back home. This will be one of our last visits here to see them. 😢

The top picture is one that we might
have to have framed for our new place!

Picacho Peak
(our friends live in the resort here)

It was great, they look great and we filled our faces over laughs and a bit of politics (tsk tsk) which I stayed right out of. 😒 

My Moons over MyHammy omelette
was wonderful!
Last time, Denny's didn't have Ken's tomato juice,
so we brought his own and shared with me!
🤭He is such a card!

Our dear friends,
looking great.
Good luck, Ken!
💕

It was 12 noon when we met up and about an hour and a half when we said our goodbyes - for now. Ken goes in for extensive back surgery in 3 days so we wish him well and ask for prayers on his behalf.

We were pretty dirty.
Look at that back window ledge.

We were next. Bill counted
7 or 8 workers doing an awesome job.
(I wonder who gets the tip?)

Coming out the other side, we got
the wheels detailed on both vehicles.
Looking good for such a decent cost.

Across from the Denny's/Pilot stn, we pulled in to the Blue Beacon for an rv and truck wash. No matter the cost, they both need to be done. We were going to pay at Yuma Lakes RV Park, tonight's destination, for a company to come in this week. This will save us doing that. 

I'm looking forward to spending our
winter with these characters.
I missed that in town.

So, $105 (inc. a $30 tip) later, we pulled out with a couple of clean, happy vehicles and 2 thrilled owners. 🥰 There's no way a mobile wash company would do it for that! Now, the inside truck windows need to be done to complete the job. 

Use your imagination on this one.
I saw a white Grover flying
or Ghostbusters!

We were a bit later leaving Eloy than first thought yet at 4 pm, we pulled into a Rest Area for a last nature break before we stopped for the night. It was a nice surprise about an hour from Yuma to get an email from our rv/blogger friends from MaxxTrails.

As folks back home are putting their 
gardens to bed, Yuma never stops with
their crops. These are the neatest fields
I have EVER seen.

They would be in Quartzsite for a few nights and thought Silly Al's would be a nice place to meet up. It would've been great, however our dates don't match. We've been talking about a meet for a number of years and it hasn't yet worked out BUT we're not giving up. We will make it happen for sure this winter. 

A field of solar panels on top
Bottom pics ared 3 Osprey's off in the distance.
I'm surprised I caught them at all.

The sun was hot beaming through our windows but we aren't complaining. There will be a week of hot days in this park and that means some pool time for you know who. 💕 We arrived at Yuma Lakes RV Park at 5:30 and got parked by 6 pm. 

Our home for 6 nights.
It will be so nice to relax and get the
Suite cleaned up inside.

We were put in a rather unusual site but back by the fence and it was after hours so we couldn't talk to anyone. Bill had to jiggle a fair bit to get the right fit for our big rig. I don't mind this area, it is just small and a bit of a question where a site begins and ends. Oh well, it's not Park Place that's for sure!

We do have a pretty nice view for
sunrises and sunsets.

Kudos to Sue and Fred for having sites raked and ready for guests! We have hookups here, water and electric at least, and will be staying 6 nights, heading out on Friday the 30th. Looking forward to a rest here and then a 5 month rest in Quartzsite. It was a warm day and will be a pleasant, quiet night with windows open.

Earlier, I mentioned all the flies.
Before we closed up, I sprayed the shower stall
skylight. There were about 10 flies buzzing
around. Well, it worked!
Bill counted around 20! Yay!
The Killing Floor (Lee Child's book)

I poured myself a drink once everything was opened up and settled. Yup, Crown Royal and ginger hit the spot. Supper is a question, it was a big lunch and who's hungry? I hope you had a wonderful day, I know back home had some more lovely weather too.

Time for a drink!
It was delicious!
I sat and finished my book instead of my blog.

Don't judge! (haha)
These were our treats from
Paw Paw's Pecans.
I don't like the brittle but the nuts
and fudge, oh my!
Charlotte makes these quilted bowl pads
so I had to have one.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by and your comments along the way.

Day 6 - New State, Southwest Views and a Story

Deming, New Mexico (forgive me for so many pics)

Up and at 'em by 6:30 again on Friday, Oct. 23rd. It was a cloudy start to our day and there was to be some wind today but mostly in Odessa. As we got moving at 8 am, we're consistent if nothing else, we got on the I-20W easily with little traffic.

Good morning!

The clouds thinned out but I missed the real sunrise behind us. We didn't need fuel right away, still sitting at half a tank but we did stop an hour later at Monahans to fuel up. The Mudflap app worked again for us at an Allsups and the price for us was $5.50/gal.

We don't see adornment like this
on our highways at home.
The mountain views were beginning
slowly.

It was a straight forward drive on the interstate, not a lot of construction and none that interfered with our travels. Gibbs had his up and down moments, always panting leaving us guessing as to the reason. He piddled at the gas station and calmed a bit. 🤷‍♀️ 

Ocotillos blanketed the
fields along the highway in Texas.
Another metal water alien-like water tower.

We were starting to see the southwest views we love and it makes us a bit melancholy too. Soaking it all in, we'll be making the most of them this winter. *sigh* We stopped at what I have to call the nicest rest area so far. The Culberson County Safety Rest Area is beautiful and they are still working on it.

Again, overpasses and highways
are colourful and creative.

Back on I-20 and within 15 minutes, we gained another hour and are now on MDT. I-20W is a pretty good highway, as is I-10W. We have no complaints about the driving conditions. We do enjoy seeing the beautiful overpasses and are grateful to be under them rather than ON them.

And in New Mexico, 
their state bird, the Roadrunner,
is included.

Getting through El Paso was right at noon hour but although plenty of through traffic, we went with the flow and came out unscathed.😉 The construction of new overpasses was abundant but surprisingly stopped right before we turned off to a Rest Area that was 1/2 mile before the New Mexico state line.

This rest area just before
we crossed the state line into
New Mexico was tops in
landscaping. All kinds of
cacti, yuccas etc.

Such a pretty rest stop so I got pictures of a few local plants. The Yucca have been seen along our route, quite wide spread, and we've begun to see the lovely tall Ocotillo. Just around 80 miles to our next destination and it is only 12:45 as I write this. Somewhere  back there, around 12 noon, we had lunch on the road.

We stopped at 2 for fuel at a Maverick station and got our Mudflap discount. We were in Deming, NM. The fuel price here was $5.74/gal for us. We carried on to Exit 81 headed to Luna Rosa Winery for tonight's destination. So, things have been going really, really well for us.

And then.........Our gps's were confused and had us turning onto Oasis Rd. Immediately, we questioned 'what the?' We followed it (what else could we do, it was a single lane) and turned right at the dead end onto Ash Dr. There were 4 residences and we knew we were on the wrong path. (oh, it gets better)

Oopsie!!
Stuck!

One home had a huge gravel lot with room to turn in so we just pulled off the road to call the winery host for direction. When Bill went to pull out again, our precious 2-wheel drive Black Beauty decided to dig her heels in and the back wheel found a home in the mud. LOL

I knocked on the owner's door.
80 yr. old Susan was alone and did all
she could to help us by calling neighbours,
driving Bill to their homes, offer straps.
One of the best looking 80 yr. olds I've seen!

Poor Susan, the home owner, who was as sweet as pie, couldn't get her truck started (dead battery) to pull us out so she drove Bill to the neighbour's in her car. The owners there were two young ladies who'd just built their home and had a 4 wheel drive GMC. They offered to try and pull us out.

Snap! Okay, that didn't work. Bill's strap broke. They drove to another neighbour's home on our behalf and he came down with his 4-wheeler (?) and offered to go get his 4 x 4 truck and come back.

This is the 4th neighbour who got
involved. I think it was excitement in
the neighbourhood. Susan said it
was a bright spot in her day.
🤭

Meanwhile, his neighbour, came by in his 4 x 4 Ford and after hearing the problem, they got a rope out of the back and had us out in 10 seconds flat. By now, we've got all the people on the street involved within 30 minutes or less. Such kind folk. 🤣 All eager to help.

With proper directions we thanked each one, offered compensation for damages to Susan's property (refused), and I gave Susan a hug and we moved on. We sure left our mark but they help each other and would take care of ther mudhole. She was not concerned. Just down W.Pine St. we arrived at Luna Rosa Winery around 3 pm. Checked in inside.

When we got to the winery,
settled, we relaxed. There was
some chuckling going on too.

We got set up, the only ones arriving today, and after sitting for a few minutes we went in to meet Erica, the bartender/staff. Of course, what do you do at a winery but taste samples. We received 5 (!!) free and she was very generous. 

This winery is out of the way but
unfortunately right along the busy
highway and train track.
🤷‍♀️

Once more, we had the place to 
ourselves.

After an hour, we walked out with 3 bottles, stickers and a souvenir shirt for Bill. I walked out easily, 🤭😉, but I'm not saying I didn't feel it. I went for the sweeter wines, to heck with all the diet worries. Tonight. They don't serve food and we didn't want to disconnect so found something eat here at home.

Woops, some grapes got missed
in the harvesting.

We read for a while and Bill had a bit of a doze before I decided I wanted to get another bottle of the red wine that we both liked so walked in again to see Erica. Another poor man's meal but garlic toast & beans filled us for supper. We treated ourselves to a taste of fudge from Paw Paw's. That's sweet! 

A quick supper, we really thought
they served food inside. Our 
misunderstanding. Only
Tuesday night's they have pizza.

We did the dishes and sat with our blogs. Still no access to tv so our books are keeping us entertained. The sky tonight was unbelievable. We must be in the southwest! Gibbs was free to wander without a leash but we stayed outside with him each time. 

I knew we were in for a show tonight.

These put my first morning picture
to shame.

This has been a good day with only one exception. No one likes getting stuck in the mud except maybe my little 'red neck' brother. 💕 It was just one of those memories that we can laugh at later and an amazing show of humanity from people who don't know us from a hole in the ground.

Peeking through the grapevine
at the sunset.

Gibbs and I walked around and
around to capture the lovely sky.

We reached a high of 85F/29.4C today and we'll have a nice sleeping temperature of 56F/13.3 overnight. 

Featuring............Our Suite!

There is a train right across the interstate, all very close and probably loud so ear plugs will be inserted by 2 rv'ers! 🫣🤭😉🥴

Gibbs is following his nose.
He's very good at it.
Good night!

Thank you for your visit.