And We’re Rollin’ . . .

Our next destination is in western Arizona –  a town called Parker. The Colorado River runs through it. We got a sneak peak of it between our Lake Havasu trip and our Surprise stay. It’s still summer weather so it will be a great drive. This is only the second week that we didn’t have reservations. JP wants to check some places out before we settle in. So off we go!

La Paz County Park, Parker AZ

We are all settled in after looking over some other State Parks and some private RV parks. It was a long day on the road but luckily we are getting faster at setting up camp. We are actually 8 miles from Parker and about 45 minutes from Lake Havasu.

Our spot is right on the waters edge which is lovely in the late evening but busy during the daylight hours. The birds are really really REALLY noisey – but what can you do? I’m anxious to get out an about and I’m guessing we will try to put the pontoons in and give fishing a try. I’m hoping for a little night fishing since its only steps from our campsite.

Winding Down

Today was a kick back and relax day.  Jeanie treated us to haircuts and JP and Randy played a little Pickle Ball. We spent some time at the pool and hot tub and finished off the day with pizza and margaritas. Just what the doctor ordered!

We have been here for a week and have been out and about almost every day! Randy and Jeanie are amazing hosts and guides. We had great meals, full days and lots of time to visit. Our visit here simply couldn’t have been better!

The Simple Things

We spent today catching up on a fun stuff like laundry and groceries. Later in the day  Jeanie and Randy came up to our campsite for dinner and a campfire. Its been really windy the past few nights, but we got lucky and the evening was just a little cool with almost no wind. The city lights lit the horizon and the stars were out in full force. Nothing like friends, food and a campfire to make a perfect evening.

Now That’s a Shopping Day!

We headed out toward Phoenix in the early afternoon. We made a stop at the Kick Ass Hot Sauce Store and did a little browsing and taste testing. They gave a quirky sense of sense of humor!  There were some donkeys in the corral out front so we will add them to the wildlife list even though they weren’t wild. Then a quick stop at Grunge Galz, a very cool store that had unusual items (think piano keys neatly bundled with a textured blue ribbon and a buffalo head hanging on the wall) as well as some great clothing. 

Then we were off to the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet. That baby is a huge shopping oasis! 1600 shop spaces with more than 1¼ miles of shopping! I’m thinkin’ if you can’t find it there – you won’t find it anywhere. We did the whole loop and worked up an appetite. A really good lunch at the Talking Stick Casino and we were done for the day.

We Covered Some Country Today!

First stop of the day was the cutest little store called Charming Charlie’s. The fellas took a walk so Jeanie and I could browse for awhile. Really fun, colorful apparel and accessories cleverly displayed by color. I hear there is one in Bridgeport Mall in Oregon and I’m thinking Amanda and I will need to scope out the one in LA.

Then on to Carefree to visit The Boulders, a Golf Course and Resort artfully worked into the boulders of the Sonoran Desert. It has all the amenities you could possibly think of and the resort rooms are individual casistas. I never thought of boulders as beautiful until I saw them in this setting. The grounds were built around the rock which I’m sure was no easy feat!

On our way out of The Boulders we were able to spy some custom homes cleverly designed into the rock. You have to look closely at the two pictures to see the houses in them. We took a short drive to look at some of the homes that were easier to access. Each one was unique but my favorite was the home with copper doors, trim and garage doors. To tie things together their rock wall was laced with copper faced stones. So very rich looking and a really original idea for a contemporary home.

We stopped to eat at the Horny Toad where the chicken is “plucked and fresh – not frozen” in Cave Creek for a yummy meal on the patio followed by strawberry shortcake that was so large it would have been embarrassing if it hadn’t been for the 4 of us to share.

Next Randy took us to Lake Pleasant, It was pretty but I cant get used to seeing lakes without trees around them. We drove around and scoped things out before heading back to Happy Trails for an evening hot tub.

 Kansas City Royal and the Texas Rangers Practice Game

Well the day couldn’t have been sunnier or hotter! We had seats behind 3^rd base, second row – no shade! So it got scorching hot for awhile but being good Oregonians we kept the SPF 50 flowing all through the game. JP said it was a pitching game and it ended in a tie. Jeanie and I split the messiest meal I’ve ever had the “Monster Dog” but that didn’t ruin our appetite for dinner at Dillon’s (outside the Zoo) after the game. We didn’t do the zoo but did peak in on the flamingos. A perfect day always ends with a pool and hot tub. A winner in my book!

Fun with Friends Week!

We had a windstorm like crazy last night but the day turned out to be sunny and warm. We had a great day with our friends at Happy Trails. Lunch at the Cafe, swim (as in wrap a tube around yourself so you can bob and visit simultaneously) and then a drive out to Verrado a new town not far from Surprise.

Verrado is lovely and all the homes have the same style and color scheme to compliment the gorgeous backdrop of the nearby mountains. The golf course is stunning and the restaurant looked first class in every way. The community has its own downtown with everything you could possibly need.  Its all fresh and new! A whole brand new town. Crazy!

We mapped out a plan for the rest of the week and had a great dinner then headed back to camp to rest up for tomorrow.