Kings on the Road

HOMEWARD BOUND

2009-06-12T14:26:00.001-07:00

On our journey home we visited the Deming, NM SKP Park and saw this Smart car being hauled up in front of the 5th wheel. I had to have a pic of it! (3/08 and left on 3/15/09).

We also stayed at the Trapark in Pecos, TX, which is the home of the world’s first rodeo back in 1883 on July the 4th. In 1881, the Texas & Pacific RR arrived in Pecos. It was on the Ft. Worth to El Paso route. The Texas & Pacific RR dining cars served the sweet Pecos cantaloupe bringing its nationwide fame. And while Ken was filling the truck up with diesel at the local truck stop, I spotted a couple Rascal Flatts semi trailers and had to have a pic of their truck. I'm sure it was one of their setup trailers but I thought it was cool. I love their music. (Left on 3/17/09)

While in Hondo, TX, we drove up to Fredericksburg (considered TX Hill Country) to attend Trader Days: Six barns and acres of antiques, collectibles, tools, crafts, etc. Also in Fredericksburg we toured Wildseed Farms. It is one of the nation’s largest working wildflower farms. All kinds of flowers growing-they were beautiful. Then the store had the seeds available for sale. I had to buy a few packets.

Then we went through the National Museum of the Pacific War that’s located right on Main Street with parking across the street. I got to see some of the things that my Father might have seen at Iwo Jima. It’s a place to see for anyone that might be traveling through this area.
Very Important: We had the best chicken fried steak at Bill & Rosas in D’Hanis-Just west of Hondo. Ask anyone at the park and they will tell you. It’s great and the waitresses are friendly. We will eat there every time we go through Hondo. (Left on 3/23/09)

3/25/09-Spent the day with my brother, Al, and sister-in-law, Judy, in Broken Arrow, OK. We spent most of the day visiting and then Judy and I had to get a little shopping trip in. My niece, Angela, and her husband, Larry, came over with their babies-Nicholas, Kaitlyn and Lauren for a hamburger cookout. We all had a great time. Kaitlyn and Lauren are winking at me. :)

Then it was finally home for us to Bella Vista, AR on Thursday, March 26, 2009. We got back just in time for the last snow storm of the season on the 28th. Boy where is that AZ sunshine??

COUSIN DON

2009-06-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

This is my cousin, Don Crow, and his dog, Ladybug. Don and Ladybug live in Tucson, AZ.

We always have to give Don a call to get directions from I-10. We can get close to the right exit but then we can never remember how to get down to his neighborhood. So, when he knows we are coming, I’m sure he has his phone ready to answer because he knows we are going to call him saying, “Don, we are lost. How do we get to you from where we are?” He just laughs and I give the phone to Ken.

As we visited with Don sharing stories about our winter travels, we got to show him some of our travel photos on his computer. He had been to most of the locations that we had been to but we got to hear his interesting stories, as well. He saw that I had gone on a hike in Borrego Springs, CA, to see where the Indians had ground grain on top of big boulders. So, he gave me a stone that he had gotten on one of his trips that was actually used by the Indians to grind the grain. Thank you so much, Don, I will always treasure it.

Don also told us that he was writing his own personal memoirs. Way to go, Don! We asked for a copy when he was ready to share and encouraged him to keep it going. We had told Don that we wanted to take him out to eat. So, he picked a nice steak restaurant not far from his home. The food was really good and we all really enjoyed it. But, Don wouldn’t let us pay for the meal. He did make us a promise that next time he would let us pay. We love you Don.

Thanks again, Don! We enjoyed it very much and we will see you next time we are through Tucson.

MAINLY SEDONA, AZ

2009-05-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

02/20-02/29/09

PHOENIX/CASA GRANDE/MESA:

Our AT&T phones did not work in Tonto National Forest. We had to drive into Phoenix for Ken to get a phone connection to communicate with his work contacts. This made getting his work completed in a timely manner a little difficult. So, we decided to relocate to the Escapee Park in Casa Grande, AZ.

Saturday, February 21st, we met back up with Sam and Carolyn Kidd in Mesa, so that Carolyn and I could attend the Fountain Head Crafts Fair in Scottsdale, AZ. Ken and Sam did their guy stuff in Mesa. Carolyn and I had a blast at the crafts fair. Lots of vendors with neat merchandise and good food booths but it was hot!

SEDONA:

On the 22nd of February, Ken talked me into driving up to Flagstaff, and Sadona, AZ. I don’t normally like long day trips. But this trip had its good points. We did have lunch at a neat little sandwich place in Sadona, which had tables out back behind the shop in a small garden area that was very beautiful and quaint. Then, we drove through Sadona. It was so picturesque that I kept making Ken pull over so that I could take a picture.

BACK TO PHOENIX:

The 24th of February, we drove into Phoenix and went to the Ikea store. It was amazing! For those that don't know, this is a Swedish owned store known for their design and quality on furniture and home décor items. Their slogan is: “Work a little. Save a lot.” They choose manufacturers who can deliver quality at a low price and then they buy in bulk. Then they save on transportation and storage by packaging things flat. Then the customer picks up the furniture or items and takes them home and assembles them. This store (more like a big warehouse) in Phoenix had two floors where you could choose, compare and test all the things in the showroom before you decide to purchase the item. I loved this store! I think the closest store to my home, Bella Vista, AR, is probably Dallas, TX. So, I’m going to have to make sure our next trip through Texas takes us through Dallas, so I can check out that store.

REUNION-MARTIROSSIAN FAMILY

2009-05-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

03/01/09:

Whenever we are in the Phoenix area, we always contact our good friends the Martirossians and arrange a time to visit them. Ken and Raz used to work together at Citgo Petroleum Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for more years than either one of them would probably want to admit. But, they forged a great friendship and throughout the years have kept in contact with each other and from time to time they call each other just to keep up with what’s going on with the other one and their families. And when we meet, it’s like we are all family. So, we got to spend Sunday afternoon with Raz, Stella, Garren and Tallin. Garineh, their eldest daughter was away at college and we missed seeing her but hope to see her on our next trip.
It was so good to see Raz and Stella and the family. We could not believe how grown-up their children were: Garren is now 21 years old and their youngest daughter, Tallin is now 19. Their eldest daughter, Garineh, is now 26 years old and has a fiancée, named Chris. We are so proud of all the Martirossian children! They have always treated their parents with respect and are so well mannered but they have also known education was very important. This year, Garineh will have completed all her educational requirements and will become an Optometrist. Way to go Garineh!

Also, we got to meet the family dog, Goldie, and two of their cats: Pishy and Coco. They said the third cat, Shiba, was probably in its favorite sleeping/hiding spot up on the roof.

We got a tour of the Martirossian’s new home which was gorgeous. Stella had her home beautifully decorated and Raz had done some beautiful interior remodeling. (Raz, now we know you’ve got potential for a second job-Ha! You did a very nice job.)

All of us sat around talking, laughing and eating while enjoying hearing stories that Ken and Raz told on each other when they worked together. We all laughed so much you would have thought we were all crazy. Raz and Stella, as always, made us fell so welcome and Stella had plates of fresh fruit and the best homemade Armenian pastries that Ken and I couldn’t quit eating, but we knew they were taking us out to dinner and we knew we better quit but it was just too good. You know, it’s really hard laughing so much on a full stomach but we did and it hurt.
Anyway, with some restraint, after a few more stories and good memories, we left for the restaurant, the Black Angus. It was very good. I can’t believe we ate again but we did. Raz and Stella’s son, Garren, went with us. Their beautiful daughter, Tallin, had a friend over and she was also on a diet so she stayed home.

On one of our visits many years ago, I can remember Garren making me and his Father a cup of Armenian coffee and he was very young. That was one of his favorite things to do. I can remember the coffee is very strong and it’s served in very small china cups. I remember Garren did an excellent job. Well, after our dinner at the Black Angus, we went back to Raz and Stella's home, Garren asked if I wanted a cup of coffee and I had to pass but he fixed his Father a cup. It brought back good memories. What a nice young man!

Here is a nice pic of the guys together:

Thank you Martirossian family for your hospitality and for dinner. We enjoyed our visit. It was great! See you next winter unless you come to OK or AR before then-HA.

TONTO NATIONAL FOREST

2009-04-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

MESA, AZ
02/14 – 2/21/09

We traveled with Sam and Carolyn Kidd to Mesa, AZ, which is just north of Phoenix. We camped in the Goldfield Recreation Area. Carolyn picked this area because she was told it had easy access to several lakes-(Canyon, Saguaro, Apache, and Roosevelt) and she had just purchased Sam a two-person inflatable kayak for his birthday and wanted to get it in the water.

Tonto National Forest encompasses almost 3 million acres of spectacular country, ranging from Saguaro cactus studded desert to pine forested mountains. Elevation of the forest ranges from 1,300 to 7,900 feet.

Tonto is the fifth largest national forests in the US, and is one of the most-visited “urban forests” with approximately 5.8 million visitors annually. It is bounded by Phoenix to the south, the Mogollon Rim to the north, and the San Carlos and Fort Apache Indian Reservations to the east and the Gila River Indian Reservation and Salt River Indian Reservation to the West.
Our time here was very enjoyable. We saw wild horses running across the desert near our campground, we saw
an eagle nesting not far from our campsite; and we were within walking distance of the Salt River. We explored several walking trails and saw several large Saguaro cactus. It was beautiful!

As for Sam and Carolyn, they had one day that they might say wasn’t all that enjoyable. It was the day they put their kayak in at Saguaro Lake at Butcher Jones Recreation Area. This was another beautiful area and the lake was gorgeous. Their launch went well. They paddled out with another couple and spent the morning exploring the lake. They came in for lunch and then headed back out to enjoy the lake a little bit longer. Then it happened! Carolyn got a leg cramp and started moving her leg around to get it to quit hurting. In doing so, she turned them over… Not Good! Cold Water-Wet Camera-Lost Sunglasses, etc.

Well, after Sam and Carolyn got dried off and speaking to each other again-(just kidding), we all went out for pizza in Mesa, at Organ Pizza. It was an amazing place. They had an organ coming up from the basement into the center of this restaurant on a platform and all of the pipes and horns were all built-in around and above the eating areas. And the organist would play requests. The music was beautiful. It was a neat experience.

The pizza wasn’t the best we’ve ever eaten but it was a neat place to go for the atmosphere.

Our table was right under these horns.
They sounded great!

GYPSY JOURNAL RALLY-CASA GRANDE, AZ

2009-04-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

2009 WESTERN GYPSY GATHERING

02/08/09 - 02/12/09

We attended Nick Russell’s Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande, AZ. This was an RV rally where RV’ers had an opportunity to meet up with fellow RVers to learn more about RVing and relative topics from Nick and other special speakers.

Nick and his wife, Terry, have been RVing for many years and are fulltimers. Nick publishes an RV newspaper. He has written several books and has websites and blogs that he maintains with a “tell it like it is” style we all like.

Nick and Terry take their readers meandering with them wherever they go. They want you to go with them and see and do the things they write about. They also take awesome photos. They have a great following of RV’ers. And I can see why after meeting them both. They are good people! I hope someday that maybe one of my readers will be able to meet them. If so, I don’t think they will be disappointed.

Back to actually pulling into the Casa Grande fairgrounds on 02-08-09, in the rain with our fellow Boomer friends: Sam and Carolyn Kidd and George and Janice Olsen. The fairground was muddy and they parked us all in a mud puddle. I think Sam got the worst parking spot. He had to hook up his electric standing in water up to his ankles. Not Good! But we were able to all park along side each other.

Parked along the front row of RV's was this unique 1965 White 3000 with a 1946 Trailmobile owned by Bob and Jan Vanden Berge. Ken and Sam got a tour through their RV and they thought it was very nice.

Ken really wasn’t feeling well when we pulled into the fairgrounds and he just didn't get better. And the weather just wasn’t cooperating-windy and cold-and raining. He missed the welcome and vendor introductions by Nick. The next morning Ken gave up and went to the urgent care center in Casa Grande. He had bronchitis.

The first evening of the rally, all three of us ladies won door prizes. There was music-jam session-cards and games after the session.

Every morning of the rally donuts and coffee were served in the community building. Our good friends Jerry and Suzy LeRoy sold raffle tickets there each morning for daily cash drawings that were drawn each night of the rally. They were so much fun.

Then it was time to attend the seminars of your choice. At check-in everyone was given a list of daily seminars and another handout giving a description of each seminar. There was a wide range of seminars some funny, some related to hobbies, some technical RV related, insurance, photography, scrapbooking, and you name it topics.

There were one or two daily seminars before lunch and then one or two seminars after lunch. Then an evening performance was given with door prizes and a raffle ticket drawn.

The last evening performance had the “Rally Queen Contest” which had a twist-As you can see from the photo. The winner was a real beauty!

Nick and Terry made it a blast!

TUCSON WITH THE BRAKERS

2009-03-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

TUCSON, ARIZONA
2009 GEM SHOW

02-03-09

Our good friends and next door neighbors, Hank and Edna Braker, drove out from Bella Vista, AR, to visit us. We met up with them in Tucson, AZ.

Hank and Edna stayed at a hotel right off of I-10. Let’s just say they were not impressed with their room. And it wasn’t the best hotel but one of the only places they could find.

We camped at the Cactus Country RV Resort on Hougton Road. Little did any of us know that one of the largest Gem Shows in the world was being held in Tucson the same weekend we were there. Lucky us!

Well, Edna and I thought we were lucky once we started shopping. I don’t think Ken and Hank thought so. Ha.

02-04-09

The day started with us shopping at one of the Gem Show buildings. Edna bought a beautiful paperweight at a very good price. She knows how to talk with those sellers. I bought some beautiful African beads for beading into some of my bracelets and necklaces.

After we stopped for lunch we had to take Hank and Edna to a Trader Joe’s for a few grocery items. They loved Trader Joe's.

Later, it was back to the hotel for a game of Mexican Train.

SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK WEST
& SABINO CANYON

02-05-09

Hank and Edna picked us up and we drove through Saguaro West National Park.

A saguaro's growth is very slow. By the end of a year the saguaro may measure only 1/4 of an inch. After 15 years, barely a foot tall. At 30 years saguaros begin to flower and produce fruit. By 50 years they can be as tall as 7 feet. Somewhere around 75 years old it may sprout its first branch, or "arm".

It was amazing to see how old some of the these "green giants" where. We started counting the arms but gave up after a short time.

After Saguaro National Park, we went to Sabino Canyon. I think Edna fell in love with every rock she saw there.

We all enjoyed our time together. It just wasn’t long enough.

We had to say goodbye to Hank and Edna because they had family to see the next day in Phoenix. See you guys when we get home.

QUARTZSITE,AZ 2009

2009-03-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA

We left Borrego Springs, CA., on Monday,
01-12-09, and headed
up I-10.
Windgenerators were dotting the highway all along our journey
up I-10 to Palm Desert, CA.-Go Green!

Before heading to Q=Quartsite, where we knew we were going to be boondocking or dry camping (not hooked up to water or electricity), we needed groceries and clean clothes. So, we stopped at a laundromat and on to the local Wal-Mart and Sam's to stock-up.

Finally, we made it to Q on 01-12 or 13-09.

Here is a shot from Google Earth. At one point, there were 140 units parked at
Boomerville.

Our location is just on the south side of I-10-represented by the purple box that is drawn on the map.

See the red pointer? That's our New Horizon 5th wheel. We parked up toward the front of the pack with fellow Boomers that we had met up with at Lake Mittry in December.

The hosts and co-hosts for Boomerville 2009 were John and Julie Black and Ken and Sue Pace. Also assisting were Bryan and Susan Lavender. (Susan loved to give Ken a hard time. They had a good time joking with each other every time we got together.)

Here is our good friends from Alberta, Canada:

Brian and Nancy "Hat Lady" Wilde (And Baby)
Nancy always had a big hat with a big flower on it. What a character she was. Lots of fun!

And from Long Beach, CA:

Bruce and Kathy Johnston along w/pets (4 dogs & 2 cats) Note: The pets get the bed above the cab!

Kathy was our chief cook and organizer for our troop. She is a great cook.

Both Bruce and Kathy gave us a lot of good

information on full time RVing and places to see. They have a lot of knowledge to share and they were willing to share some of that with us. Thanks guys.

Some of the other couples that we didn't get photos of but had a great time with are: Doug and JoAnn and of course their dog, Fillmore, Sam and Carolyn Kidd, Dave and Darleen Neer, Tom and Nancy Doyle, who hosted the Lake Mittry Boomerang and Olen and Marilee.

Almost every night we had a community dinner around the campfire at the end of our row of RV'ers. We were all like family. For instance, if someone was making a run into town, they would ask if anyone needed anything and they would pick it up. It was a lot of fun. And a lot of good eating!

We had a blast with everyone here and are looking forward to Q 2010.

We attended the Escapees Ralley on Wednesday 01-14-09, and met up with Carolyn and Sam Kidd.

01-15-17-09:

There was plenty of daily activities planned and a daily happy hour. We just had to check the schedule of activities to see what we wanted to participate in each day.

We mostly just hung out around camp with our gang of new boomer friends and ate and talked and soaked up some sun. Oh, Did I mention we ate?
One evening a DJ played music and we all danced out under the stars until well after midnight.

01-8-09: BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL in BLYTHE, CA

We went with Sam and Carolyn Kidd to the 22nd Annual Blythe Bluegrass Festival for the day. We got to hear several really good bands like: Cedar Hill, Arizona's Burnett Family, Sawmill Road and the Martin Family. But, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage was the main attraction. She was really good and she is a Missouri girl. She stayed around and signed autographs. We got to take a photo of her and her bus.

After the festival, we returned to Boomerville @ Q.

Our gang had planned a fish dinner night. Carolyn and I stopped and picked up pies for our contribution. It was a great meal with crablegs, salmon, squid, abalone and I'm not sure what other fish was brought. But it was well attended. I lost count of how many people were there.

After the meal, a fire was built and then it was singing around the campfire. Bruce and Kathy's friends, John and Erica, came out from another campground. They ate and visited with us. They were a neat young couple. He was a pilot and she was a professional singer.

01-19-09:

We went to the big vendor tents today with Sam and Carolyn. We spent the whole day looking through the tents. Wow! Lots of stuff to see. Just about anything and everything you could want is here or they can get it for you.

01-20-09:

Inaugural Day-President is sworn in. Tom and Nancy Doyle had a brunch to celebrate the swearing in ceramony of President Obama. They had a television setup outside their rig and everyone brought food, drinks and their chairs. It was a well attended brunch. Very historic.

That evening, our small community of friends got together for our evening meal with everyone contributing something. It was wonderful, as always.

01-21-09:

Doug and Ken volunteered to take the Boomers trash to the landfill this morning.

Ken and I went to Tyson Wells vendor tents to shop and we also went to the big tents, again. Ken bought some LED lights for our 5th wheel. The LED lights will save a lot on our battery draw.

I bought a hat to keep the sun off my nose and the back of my neck. I was starting to feel like a crispy critter. That's not a good thing! I also bought a tye-dyed sweatshirt. It's pretty colorful. You'll see me coming-ha.

We also stopped by a car lot that had "oldies but goodies" cars. This was my pic. Of course its pink!

CALIFORNIA 2009

2009-03-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

We left Lake Mittry 01-04-09, with Doug, JoAnn Dubrouillet and their Standard Poodle, Fillmore. And we traveled to Borrego Springs, CA., to meet up with some friends of Doug and JoAnn’s. So we said goodbye to the our Boomer friends but most of them we will see again in Quartsite, AZ.

Well, we arrived in Borrego Springs sometime after lunch and we had no trouble finding the town. Al had given great driving directions to JoAnn.

We stayed on the right side of Highway S22 at milepost #27. It was on private property but has been open for years to anyone that wants to camp here.

Here we are. And it looks like we are just parked out in the middle of nowhere. But, there are other rigs parked in the same area.

The road just to the south of where we were camped was called Rockhouse Road. Ken and I drove down to the very end to see what was down there. This amazing rock stood at the entrance to a sand and gravel company.

We met Doug and JoAnn’s friends, Al and Karen. Al gave us a tour of downtown Borrego Springs, CA. And they had even picked us up some maps and brochures of things to do while in and around Borrego Springs.

Al you gave us a great tour of the town and we all used the maps and brochures. Thank you both for making us feel so welcome.

Doug, JoAnn, Ken and I went into town for dinner later and ate at Albertos which was a Mexican Restaurant which Al suggested. Good suggestion Al.

01-05-09:

JoAnn and I drove into town to the Visitors Center and visited with a neat lady by the name of Rosemary. She has been volunteering for 20+ years at the Visitors Center and still loves working there. She was so neat to visit with.

While we were at the Visitors Center, we picked up additional brochures, maps, and etc. We also watched a film on the Marshal South family that moved to Borrego Springs during the depression. He raised his family on top of a mountain in Blair Valley and they packed everything they needed in on their backs. The history on this family is worth reading. I think he was an actor and writer and she was a poet. I think their children is still alive but they do not live in the area. Anyway, it was a neat story to hear.

One of our stops on the way back to camp, was to the Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association (ABNHA) where we visited with another nice lady and signed up for a guided hike on Wednesday to see pictographs in Blair Valley.

We were to meet up with a group of fellow hikers at the Blair Valley Nature Center on the east side of town. JoAnn and I signed the guys up but told the nice lady that the guys may not go with us. She understood and said that was fine. They would rather over count than under count. JoAnn and I were excited that we had all gotten on the list.

Later in the afternoon, Ken and I drove thru the Galleta Meadows Estate to see the Sky Art. The art is of vertebrates of the past which inhabited the Anza-Borrego region during the Pliocene-Pleistocene and Miocene eras. This art is located on Borrego Springs Road.

A man by the name of Dennis Avery purchased miles of Borrego Springs property in the 1990’s known as Galleta Meadows and commissioned a Mexican artist, Ricardo Arroyo Breceda to create ‘Sky Art’. Here is some of our pics:

For more information you may visit:
http://www.galletameadows.com/ or http://www.ricardobreceda.com/

From the brochure the artist gives his motivation:

Ricardo Breceda states that a few years ago when the movie “Jurassic Park” came out my passion for dinosaurs began. I began with small sculptures until my daughter motivated me to create a big sculpture that would capture everyone’s attention.

Six months later I finished my first T-Rex and Spinosaraus which both measured about 20 ft. tall by 35 ft. long! Like the ones that fought in the movie.

Once I placed them on the side of the freeway, the traffic stopped bumper to bumper! People, newspapers and TV reporters stopped by wondering what the new sensation was all about.

That motivated me to turn my hobby into a unique, fun business.

For anyone going to Borrego Springs, don’t forget to drive by and see these animals-A must see!

01-06-09 :

We found the hamburger joint in town called Jillburtos. We had lunch and then headed back out to the campsite.

We met Butch Holt, the neighborhood welcome wagon, and his dog Kapeesh. Butch invited us to Happy Hour at his place this evening.

Here is our pic of Happy Hour with our neighbors at Butch's place:

01-07-09:

Doug, JoAnn and I drove to Blair Valley for our hike to see the pictographs. Ken was working and didn’t get to go on the hike. So we met up with 18 other hikers at the kiosk on the east side of S2 at Mile 22.9 approximately 6 miles south of Scissors Crossings. From there we drove about 5 miles back to the trailhead.

The hike was led by volunteers, naturalists Mary Ekelund and Paul Larson of the Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association (ABNHA).

It was a moderate 3 mile round trip hike thru a beautiful desert valley to a panoramic overlook.

Here's JoAnn enjoing the shade. It was getting warm!

On the hike, I learned the names of a few plants that I hope I can remember when I see them again like the Mormon Tea, Jojoba and Creosote.

I saw the rock art. It looked like a sun and a teepee to me.

There are several holes worn down into the top of this rock. These are called morteros, Indian grinding holes. This is where the Indians would grind their corn and/or grain.

After the hike, we met Ken in town for lunch at Calicos Restaurant for an Egg Pocket and walked around town.

JULIAN, CALIFORNIA & BACK TO BORREGO SPRINGS

01-08-09:

Doug, JoAnn and I went to Julian and shopped. Too bad Ken had to stay at the trailer and work, again! He really missed a fun day of shopping.

Julian is about 25 miles from Borrego Springs and it is up over a winding mountianside. But it is beautiful. We ate lunch and of course we each had to have a piece of the famous pie at Mom’s Apple Pie Place on Main Street. It was great!

For more information on the beautiful town of Julian visit: http://www.julianca.com/ or chamber@julianca.com.

BACK AT BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

01-09-09:

Ken and I attended the Farmer’s Market which was held on Christmas Circle in the center of town. It had lots of local produce and plants.

Ken was interviewed by a local newspaper reporter. He was asked if he had broken any of his New Year’s resolutions, yet. It was funny. He said, No, because he had not made any. Sounds like Ken, Huh?

TO OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA & THEN BACK TO BORREGO SPRINGS

01-10-09:

As we traveled S22 up the mountains out of Borrego Springs, on our way over to see my nephew, Joel and his wife, Nadia, in Oceanside, CA., I got to see several bighorn sheep- Borrego Cimarrons on the mountainside. They were amazing creatures to see. Now I know where Borrego Springs get's its name-from the bighorn sheep.

Our nephew, Joel is with the USMC and lives in Oceanside. We are so proud of him! His wife Nadia is a student at Texas A & M at College Station, TX.

We were lucky that we got to see Nadia because she was on a break from school. She is a lovely young lady and we think her and Joel are going to enjoy a very successful life together.

We all had a nice lunch together at Joe’s Crab Shack right on the ocean. What a view! It was beautiful. We hated to leave them but we had to head back over to Borrego Springs.

NEW YEARS EVE BOOMERANG AT LAKE MITTRY

2009-03-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

During our December, 2008, visit at the Escapee Saguaro SKP Co-Op Park in Benson, we met so many interesting couples that we wanted to stay in contact with each other so we all exchanged cards. The cards are like business cards except they contain personal contact information along with blog and/or personal webpage information. Most cards have the individuals’ photos and some have photos of their rigs.

The photos really help us to remember couples that we might have met before; and we can put their names and faces together. Card exchanging goes on at most social functions.

One of the couples we met at Benson is now our good friends, Sam and Carolyn Kidd. They have been fulltime RV'ers going on their 8th year. They are also members of the Boomers.

Carolyn invited us to join them and fellow Boomers for the New Year’s Eve Boomerang (get-together) at Lake Mittry, which is just north of Yuma.

The Boomers is a BOF (Birds of a Feather or a club within a club) social group of the Escapees RV Club where the members are of baby-boomer age and have RVing in common. They are such a fun group to hang with!

Happy Hour is held each day at 4:00 P.M. Eveyone is invited to bring a snack and whatever they want to drink plus their chairs and meet up at the campfire. We all go around the circle and tell our names and where we are from and a little bit about ourselves. This is a great way we can all get to know each other a little better. Then we all sit around and a host normally speaks for a few minutes and then opens up the circle for discussions on whatever topics comes up. And boy can the topics fly and we can laugh away the hours...

We arrived at Lake Mittry on 12-28-08. Met a few people but nothing was really going on. No schedule of activities, yet.

12-29-08

Carolyn and I left the guys at camp and went into Yuma to do some shopping. We did mostly grocery shopping but we had her car packed by the end of the day. However, we did find time to stop for lunch at our favorite restaurant, MiMi’s.
We purchased a pizza for dinner and Sam and Carolyn showed us how to play Pegs and Jokers which was a lot of fun.

12-30-08

Ken and I got to watch the Yuma Areo Modelers flying their radio controlled pontoon airplanes on Lake Mittry which was right around the bend from where we where camped. One of the club members told us that they come out to Lake Mittry and fly every Tuesday morning. We enjoyed watching them so much that we stayed for quite awhile and visited with them.

I think watching these guys might have made Ken want to get back into this hobby which he did when he was much younger. He used to fly radio controlled airplanes. But, I guess he would prefer to spend his money traveling.

You can see a white speck in the sky that's the model plane.

Our first official Boomer activity was a group luncheon at The Brown Bagger in Yuma. There was a great turnout and we all caravanned. The hamburgers were HUGE! The smallest burger that you could order was 7oz and I couldn’t finish it. Ken didn’t have any problems eating his. They were good. And from what we heard the shakes were great but we were so full we didn’t have one.

Our AT&T cell phones did not work at Lake Mittry so we had to go into town when we had to use our phones or the computer. Since Ken is still doing some work from the trailer, this made his life a little more challenging.

We seemed to always make it back to camp in time for Happy Hour.

And I have no idea what I was talking about here but thought this pic was good for a few laughs during Happy Hour-Ha!

12-31-08 New Year’s Eve

Brunch-Everyone brought dishes and it was amazing. Carolyn made a fantastic Raisin Bread French Toast Casserole with Apples and Cream Cheese and it was served with hot syrup. Oh my gosh, it was so good and it was gone in a flash. I’ve got to get this recipe from her.

Carolyn gave me her recipe for Sausage Stratta and I made it. It also went fast. So, I think I should raid Carolyn’s recipe box. I do thank you Carolyn for sharing your recipes. You are a great cook!

The activities for the rest of the day were:

2:00 P.M. Boon docking Talk-which was very informative with lots of Q & A.

3:00 P.M. Solar Discussion-with a representative from a solar store in Yuma.

4:00 P.M. Happy Hour

7:00 P.M. Z Circle Get To Know Each Other-

Several hosts opened their trailers/motor homes and two couples would meet with Host A and get to know each other with their hosts.

After 30 minutes of visiting the couples would leave and the couples would split and go to Host B to meet up with two other couples, etc.

It was a lot of fun and we did get to know a lot of couples that we probably wouldn’t have met otherwise.

After the Z Circle, everyone was to meet back at the campfire to welcome in the New Year.

Well, we must have gotten out too early because there was no one at the campfire. We thought everyone had decided to go on to bed since it was so cold. So, we went on to bed.

Boy, the next morning did we hear about how we were such party poopers! Everyone was just running late from their circles and they all rang in the New Year without the Kings.

Welcome 2009!

SABINO CANYON NOVEMBER, 2008

2009-02-28T09:43:00.000-08:00

We drove from Benson to Tucson, AZ to visit Sabino Canyon. Several people told us that we should really go up and hike into the Canyon and check it out. They all said it was worth seeing. And they were right.

We got to Sabino Canyon early and no one was at the gate entrance so we drove on in. The parking lot was fairly full with a lot of day walkers. We checked-in and bought tickets for the tram at the museum. Sabino Canyon is a desert oasis where over twelve thousand years ago Columbian mammoth roamed. About 1,200 A.D., irrigation dams were placed in the creek by Hohokam Indians. In the 1870’s pony soldiers from Fort Lowell enjoyed horseback excursions to the “ol’ swimmin’ hole” still in use today. In the 1930’s, 180 C.C.C. workers built bridges and 3.8 miles of road up into the Santa Catalina Mountains. Many varieties of birds, deer and other animals make their home here in the Coronado National Forest. Hiking trails and picnic areas abound in the canyon.

This deer walked right out in front of us and didn't give us a second thought. Do you think he might have seen a few humans before?

The shuttle bus operates 365 days a year. A narrated round trip is 45 minutes and travels the most camera worthy scenery in the Tucson area. Moonlight rides three nights per month are available by reservation.

We enjoyed the bus ride into the canyon with the guide giving us details of the park. There were nine stop-off points along the ride up to the top of Sabino Canyon. We could have gotten off at any point and walked up or gone to the restrooms. Note: Only a few stops have restrooms.

We made the decision to ride all the way up to the top of the canyon and then on the way down we got off at stop seven and walked the rest of the way back to the museum and the truck. This gave us numerous opportunities to take photos.

This Saguaro Cactus is growing right out of the top of the boulder in very little soil. It's so amazing, I had to have a its photo.

From stop seven, it was over a 3-mile walk back. It was mostly down hill BUT right before you get to the museum, there is a steady incline that sneaks up on you. It didn’t look that bad but it was tough on me. I thought I’d never make it up! But I did and the truck never looked so good.

CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS 2008 AT BENSON, AZ

2009-02-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was a blast! There was a brown bag gift exchange at the clubhouse with lots of food, drinks and laughs. Participants were to bring appetizers and a $10.00 item wrapped or put in a brown paper bag with a label of M=Male, F=Female or U=Universal. We call this Dirty Santa back home. Anyway, once the item is taken for the third time it’s found its final home. Here are some of our favorite pics:

Stella dyed her hair with red food coloring just for this special night! She was the "gift caller". What a gal! Here is another pic:

Christmas came into Benson with snow flying and the wind howling. It was really cold! I think it was warmer back home in Bella Vista, AR than it was here. But it didn’t keep the festivities from commencing in the clubhouse as we had a 10:00 A.M. table decoration planned and then our Christmas Dinner started at 2:00 P.M.

Everything came together as planned and our table was decorated beautifully.

And then at dinner, everyone brought tasty covered dishes and our turkey was so good and it was hand carved at the table by our host. Our host and hostess did an excellent job

After eating, we all visited and enjoyed being with each other.

DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS-LEFTOVERS CELEBRATION

Everyone brought their leftovers from our Christmas Dinner. The turkey was so good that very little was left for leftovers but what was left our hostess combined with the stuffing and it made a great dish. Thanks again to our hostess for being such a great cook. I know everyone enjoyed it as much as we did. After eating, we all visited for a while and then helped cleanup.

GHOST TOWNS RATTLESNAKE CRAFTS & TOMBSTONE, ARIZONIA

2009-02-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

It was a week or so before Christmas and we were still at Benson, AZ., when Sam and Carolyn Kidd asked us to go ghost towning with them. We drove out East on I-10 Highway to Exit 331 and then took US Highway 191 through Sursites, Pearce and over to the ghost town of Gleeson, AZ where we found Rattlesnake Crafts & Rocks.

Rattlesnake Crafts & Rocks is owned by John and Sandy Weber and is open every day from dawn to dusk. It is located at 10630 North Double U Ranch Road, Gleeson, AZ.

Over 150 rattlesnake items are for sale in the Weber’s vintage trailer which is surrounded by an acre of over 5,000 primitive and western collectibles on display. Many of these relics were found in or near the ghost town of Gleeson.

They say that nearly every part of the rattlesnake is used in making the crafts including the vertebrae, ribs, fangs, skin and rattles. Even the meat is made into jerky.

After our rattlesnake exhibits, we were starting to get hungry so we headed to Tombstone where we ate lunch and shopped until we got cold and decided it was time to head back to Benson.

OUR WINTER ESCAPE 2008

2008-12-16T18:03:00.000-08:00

Dear friends, family and interested parties visiting my blog, this is my first attempt at blogging. So, readers are warned.

At this point in our lives, we are just snowbirds. Ken would like to be a fulltimer but I still have to have my house so we are compromising and traveling four or five months this year.

Thanks to meeting our new friends Jerry and Suzy LeRoy here at the Saguaro SKP Co-Op Park in Benson, AZ., I am blogging. Jerry and Suzy were nice enough to share their knowledge of blogging with me over happy hour and pizza. We had a nice evening getting to know each other and it was great for me to learn how to setup our "Kings on the Road" blog page. Jerry and Suzy are great teachers.

Jerry and Suzy were also co-chairs and hosts of our table #7 for the Thanksgiving Day Dinner which was held in the clubhouse here at the Benson SKP Co-Op Park. They did an excellent job and made everyone feel right at home, even to a couple of "snowbirds".

Of all of the tables that were setup, which I think were about 10 tables seating approximately 200 people, I think that our table was the most decorated and festive. But of course, I could be prejudice.

The food was wonderful! Everyone brought covered dishes with ham and turkey being provided by a couple of ladies with excellent cooking skills and then we all made a small donation for the meat. We had a great assortment of food to select from. Oh my gosh did we eat! You know us...food is us.

Okay, to tell you a little bit about our trip and get everyone up-to-date with our travels. We left Bella Vista, AR, on November 11, 2008. Our first major stop-over was in Corsicana, TX. Ken had to visit a jobsite in Frost, TX, which is near Corsicana, so we stayed there for a few days. It was cold and windy. We didn't get to do any sightseeing; however, we did find a bakery that everyone should stop at if they are in town, so I am making a special note here in my blog.

NOTE: A great place to stop when in Corsicana is the COLLIN STREET BAKERY established in 1896. They had the best pastries I've ever eaten! And they had a large assortment of cakes, pies, cookies and just about anything you could want. They have a small coffee shop with limited seating and a menu offering sandwiches. The bakery will also ship their bakery products. I could definitely stop here again.

Heading west, we stopped at the SKP Rainbow Park in Deming, NM. While we were there, we met Roger and Sue Bell from Westminster, CA. The Bells are New Horizon owners like us. They are very active in and with the New Horizon owners' group. We hope to correspond with the Bells and are going to try to attend one of the groups' meetings. They are supposed to be very informative and fun.

Finally, we arrived in Benson, AZ, tp://www.cityofbenson.com/ on November 17th. We really enjoy this area and this park so we have decided to stay here through the end of December. The weather here has really been nice. The mornings and evenings are a little cool (jacket/sweater) but the days heat up in the 70's. The mountains around Benson are beautiful and the sunsets are awesome.

We try to walk around the park at least once a day. Ken does walk more than me. I knew I had to put this statement in before he reads this and says he walks more than I do. So, here I've confessed.

I took this picture one evening when we were walking around the park together after dinner. It's not the best pic because I took it with my phone but in future blogs; I hope to have some better photos of the area.

Since Ken does most of his work during the week, we do most of our sightseeing on the weekends. One of the neat places that we've visited is the town of Tubac, AZ. It's a town south of Tucson, featuring over 120 local merchants showing arts, crafts, neat shops of all kinds and restaurants. It's really neat.

Ken liked this old Hudson Hornet which was out in front of one of the neat shops. Plus he also enjoyed holding down the benches-lots of benches. And we both enjoyed an ice cream cone at a neat sweet shop in the center of the town. He did enjoy some of the shops, once he got off the phone. Here is the website if anyone wants to see more info on Tubac: http://www.tubacaz.com/ .

Here is our favorite pic for the day at Tubac and we took it because we have a friend back home that just loves armadillos - NOT. Glenn this one's for you.

We have been staying busy. The park has a monthly Calendar of Events and there is something to do every day. It's up to us to decide what we want to do each day. This is really the best park we have stayed at, thus far. Some of the activities that we are participating in are:

I do beading on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Movie Nights-(They sell hot dogs & popcorn what a cheap date!)
Fish Fry’s-(I don't have to cook and the food is good.
Genealogy-Which I hope to get to the next class.

The activities here are numerous. All are welcome which is what is so nice and everyone is willing to show you how to participate. I think we are going to try our hand at "Pickle Ball". Will update later on how we do. That is, if we survive.

Also, for our good friends back in Bella Vista, Glenn and Clara, they have LINE DANCING here. However, I have not even suggested to Ken that we try this class-Ha.

On Sunday, 12/7/08, we visited the Benson Assembly of God Church and enjoyed meeting the minister and a few couples in the church. We will try attending again while we are here in town.

After church, we drove to Tucson and visited with my cousin, Don Crow. He is my cousin on my Father's side of the family. Don is retired and has lived in Tucson all of his life. Don's parents moved him to Arizona from Arkansas when he was a baby. He had really bad breathing (allergy) problems and his doctors suggested that they move him to Arizona, and he has been living here every since. We really enjoyed our visit and we will be visiting with him again right after Christmas.

I think we will leave you guys for this month but we both wish everyone peace, love, good health and a very Merry Christmas.