International Space Station Sighting, Up Before the Sun and Haircuts

Thursday, Mar. 2^nd had us up and outside at 6:18 am. We were awake and wanted to see the ISS. First time in a very long time that we have been able to catch it zip across the sky, this time for 6 min. from SWS disappearing ENE. The sky was also displaying some stars including Venus and Mars off to the west.

No sunrise visible yet but it was shining on these mountains to our south

While waiting for some sun to appear on our portable solar panel, we read a few blog posts and checked emails. At 8 am the Keurig kicked on meaning the batteries were charged enough for coffee. I’m so glad we have good wifi here at least as it is a connection to home. We’ve called a few people on Google Hangouts since we’ve arrived here but no one can call us or text us if they need to.

My favourite mountains here
The one on the left is either a gloved hand or a Brontosaurus raising up from the earth

Bill and I decided we were not going anywhere today. We are finding that the closer we get to the end of this winter’s journey, the less running around we need or want to do. It is nice to see nearby attractions for sure but we also realize that this is only our first year. I like that we are getting a ‘look-see’ at different places because it helps us to know where we’d like to come back to next winter.

Weber Q is smoking hot

Around 9 we started the barbecue for breakfast and Bill fried up our bacon and eggs. It was a beautiful day out there, full sun and a light breeze. The temperature rose to 72F this afternoon and we spent time outside reading with the awnings out.

My view from our site and this one happens to have my sweetie in it

Bill has talked about needing his haircut for a few days now and I have been tossing around the idea of getting out the clippers to do it for him. I had some encouragement back at Borrego Springs when Sue Green said “you can do it!”. Bill has let me cut his hair once before, back at the house in London and it turned out okay. I did a post about it at the time and mentioned that the second time would be better. He got ‘shaved’ pretty good the first time.

Front - before

Back - before (I hated to cut this off, I love this length)

So, after his shower I moved a chair outside under the awning and we set to work. I watched a couple of YouTube videos for some guidance, since I’m certainly no pro at this. Bill was very patient with me and wasn’t too concerned how short it was as long as it was neat.

Front - after

Back - after (yes, still room for improvement)

When I finished, he was happy with the result and feeling much cooler. I need to keep at it so I can become more confident. Next was Clemson’s turn. Bill once more got out the pet clippers and cleaned up his paws with somewhere between minimal and maximal protest today. At least it is a start and will help for his visit to Pet Smart next week. The last time he wouldn’t let the girls touch his face or his paws.

"Help me, Mom"

No, my hair wasn’t on the list but sitting and relaxing outdoors was. When my hair needs trimming, I can do it myself. I finished my first J.A. Jance book, Taking the Fifth. It was really good, a 2-day read.

this is what Clemson did today

Here is what Bill did for part of today

And here is what I did for a lot of the day

When Bill moved inside to catch the London news at 4, I took Clemson for a short walk around the area. There is a fair bit of loose gravel in some spots and it was hard on his little paws, not to mention hard for a couple of rv’s to get through.

This truck struggled in the gravel pulling this Big Horn

Steak is on the menu tonight with broccoli as my side and Bill opts for a salad instead of a baked potato. It turned out pretty good, not mouth-watering but tasty all the same. After supper, we decided to watch The Voice at 6 when the batteries were topped up rather than record it and watch it later.

We think this lady painted her trailer herself

The Lake Havasu hummingbirds found my feeder

This meant dishes would wait until the show was over. When we are boon-docking and conserving our hydro the tv goes on for an hour or two at the very most. Tonight, we turned it off at 7 and got on the laptops and into our books.

After the sun sets, it does get dark really quickly. Last night after we were inside for the evening Bill heard a vehicle pull up behind us. This is concerning when you can’t see a think in the ‘black’ night so we turned on our scare lights just to get a visual. Two vehicles had pulled in quite close to us but it was obvious they were there for an overnight stay only.

Last night's arrivals

No comment, Lorne, they arrived after 9 pm and pulled out before 9 am this morning. 

this guy slept in his truck with his little pooch

We don’t even think they were travelling together. It was another great day out here in God’s country and we enjoyed the peacefulness and beauty that surrounds us here.

Tonight's sunset

Southern view at 6:30

I hope you’ve had a wonderful day as well. Thank you so much for reading. I love to see what you have to say in your comments.

Free Camping, Sunshine, London Bridge, Found some Cacti

Wednesday, Mar. 1^st we woke up at a new place. It is gorgeous up here on the hill overlooking the highway to Lake Havasu. We’re glad that we parked on the most southern point of this blm area as we get the sun first when it comes up over the mountain to our east. For us early risers, it means our solar panels don’t get hit until around 8 am.

When we are boondocking, we try to manage strictly on solar for as long as possible and that means waiting for the sun before we turn on our Keurig for morning coffee. Today we were up and at ‘em by 7 so we didn’t have too long to wait.

Beautiful Lake Havasu City ahead of us

Reading blog posts and because it is a new month, Bill set to work paying bills and moving money from our Canadian pensions to our U.S. account. It is hard to believe that in a month we will be close to entering Canada.

It is unfortunate that while our home province of Ontario is experiencing some fantastic winter weather this year, they are also undergoing some drastic infectious bugs in many retirement and nursing homes. Mom is in Rockwood in Durham and has not been allowed visitors for over a month even though she is one of the lucky ones and has not been sick.

ThuMar 2

A mix of sun and clouds

28°F

 16

 19°

 30%

 -

 <0.5 in

 22 mph NW

 4

FriMar 3

A few flurries

25°F

 14

 18°

 40%

 -

 <0.5 in

 19 mph NW

 5

SatMar 4

Mainly sunny

32°F

 27

 18°

 20%

 -

 -

 9 mph N

 8

SunMar 5

Chance of a shower

45°F

 39

 37°

 40%

 trace

 -

 12 mph S

 5

MonMar 6

Cloudy with showers

50°F

 45

 41°

 40%

 0.1-0.25 in

 -

 12 mph S

 1

TueMar 7

Chance of a shower

52°F

 45

 27°

 40%

 trace

 <0.5 in

 31 mph W

 3

WedMar 8

Mainly sunny

36°F

London, Ontario's 7 day forecast

Bill’s Dad in Stratford is also in a retirement complex and they have had an influenza bug as well for about a month. This means cancelling a lot of their daily programs. They might need a really good cold snap to kill all those bugs but you hate to wish that on them. Plus, we want April to be ready and starting to welcome spring by the time we all return!

After a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast we cleaned up and drove into Lake Havasu City. There was something special to see there. The view driving back south into the city is so pretty but I tried to refrain from taking tons of pictures…this time. We turned off I-95 onto London Bridge Road which was nice and much less busy even though it didn’t take us across the London Bridge itself. Misleading for sure.

We found a place to park behind the London Bridge Mall and I first saw this neat brewery silo and had to take a picture. It is a real ritzy type of tourist place and we weren’t interested in the shops anyway. We walked down to the walkway along the Bridgewater Channel and got lost in the story of how and why the bridge was moved here.

Harley Davidson shop for Gerry, my brother-in-law

The attraction here is that the London Bridge was actually moved in pieces from London, England.  Each piece was numbered as it was disassembled.

Wikipedia: London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It was built in the 1830s and formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England. It was dismantled in 1967 and relocated to Arizona.

If you are interested there is more to read here.here

This picture was taken after the bridge was moved in 1970 before they opened the channel.

We took the pictures we wanted and drove through the city until we came across this shop with classic cars, as well as rv’s and fork lifts for sale. It was worth going back to take a look. Not only did Bill enjoy these, but I found three that I wouldn’t mind driving out of there in.

California Roadster

Dune buggy with Alberta plates

Love this '55 Ford pick up

Bill would love this one

Bill needed to top up the diesel in the truck and we needed to visit a bank and a grocery store. After visiting Food City for a few things we went into Big!Lots, a store I’d never heard of let alone been in. It was one of those ‘everything’ stores but Bill had spotted a cute little 0.9L deep fryer. It was perfect for us.

When we returned the temperature had risen from 55F to 67F and the sun was just as hot as ever. We grabbed a bit to eat and I sat outside for a while when Bill and Clemson went for a snooze. I was intrigued enough to walk a short distance out in front of our Suite and found some cactus plants on the hill. I don’t know the names of them yet but hope to find out by researching them on Google.

When I got back I joined the boys and dozed for a good hour. This fresh air tires us out. Bill noticed that the speaker for the tv had come loose and was preventing us from lowering the television into the cabinet. Our tv can be hidden away in the cabinet behind the fireplace when we aren’t watching it. We love it as it frees up a window on the back side of our unit.

It freaks me out how close he is to the embankment

An old school bus turned into a camper bus

It didn’t take long for us to remove the tv so he could tighten the screw, reinstall the tv and voila! We aren’t really surprised when things like this happen especially when we consider how much bouncing around we do on our travels.

looks like this one is in flower mode

Cholla

This has been a great day and tonight’s supper will be what was originally planned for last night. Leftover chicken with lettuce and mayo on a Kaiser. I splurged and bought some Chelsea buns today from the sale rack so it will either be one of those or Tillamook ice cream for a later dessert. Bill has a choice of cream cheese, cherry or pineapple filling.

At a  storage building for boats, we saw this sweet little Chevy II SS

My first car was a baby blue 1966 just like this, Paid $400
and my Dad taught me to drive in it

We watched our show The Hunted at 6 o’clock, they are down to 3 couples left and only a few days. Excitement builds! It has been a great day with a little adventure and some lazing about too. The sun is dropping in the western sky so I hope to include yet another Arizona desert sunset picture for you.

Good evening everyone!

I hope your day has been a great one too. Thank you for reading along. I love to read your comments if you care to take the time.