Hopefully this post will bring you up to date with our arrival in Quartzsite, AZ at the middle of January 2016. I have been neglectful of taking pictures at some of our stops along the way as well as our present time here in Quartzsite. I hope to add some photos of the Quartzsite area when I start up to date posts.

After our time in Laughlin, NV. We headed south stopping for a few days in Lake Havasu, AZ. We did not do much sight seeing in the area. This stop gave us some time to unwind and do nothing. We did take a drive to Kingman, AZ. and visited the Powerhouse Visitor Center and Route 66 Museum. This stop was in conjunction with dinner at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Anytime we are near a Cracker Barrel Carolyn has to stop not just for the food but for there country store.

The electric car collection at the Power House has many interesting cars powered only by electricity including an early Detroit Electric car with plush interior, Willie Nelson’s Golf Cart with built in bar, a lithium-ion battery powered racer that set a speed record of 320 MPH in 2011, an electric Hot Rod and an electric wheel chair constructed from parts of a WWII B-17,

The next day we did a little shopping in Lake Havasu. With little puffs of white smoke from our truck we went from store to store getting the few items we needed as  we got ready for our next move to Quartzsite, AZ.

What a difference Quartzsite, AZ is in early December. By the middle of January the area we stayed at on Plomosa Rd. will be filled with Motorhomes and 5th Wheels of all types. No many of the vendors were set up in town but we were there to so our traveling companions could have solar panels put on there motorhome. We stayed out on Plomosa Rd. for just over a week and with the solar panels and batteries we have we did not have to run a generator any time during our stay. The only limiting factor we have for our staying here is water and holding tanks.

The Saguaro Cactus and sunsets in this area always provide some great photo opportunities.

Before we left Quartzsite we took a short drive to see the Bouse Fisherman. This is an Intaglio (Geoglyph) just east of were we where on Plomosa Rd. The Spear tip is made with quartz rocks from the area. If you look close at the photos you can see the fish under the water below the fisherman.

While in Quartzsite we visited our favorite restaurant in the area, Crazy Jerry’s. The owners have two restaurants in Quartzsite, The Main Street Restaurant, that is open for Breakfast and Lunch, and is also attached to the local Laundromat, and Crazy Jerry’s that is open for dinner. When we are home in Washington Carolyn plans her week around our local restaurant’s (The Little Gallea) Friday spaghetti special. In Quartzsite Carolyn can still have her spaghetti special but it is on Wednesday at Crazy Jerry’s. Our arrival in Quartzsite was well timed as Carolyn had run out of the six spaghetti specials she brought along from the Little Gallea. (Since our return to Quartzsite in January Crazy Jerry’s had to close do to staffing problems. We will miss them as it is one of our most favorite restaurants in the area. But The Main Street Restaurant is still open. For the rest of this season they will still serve breakfast and lunch but they hope to be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner next year as well as there great Pizzas and Chicken Wings.)

From Quartzsite we headed to Williams, AZ where we were staying for Christmas. We had reservations on the Polar Express train ride on Christmas Eve. On the way to Williams we stopped in Kingman again for a couple of days, Carolyn could not pass up another chance to go to Cracker Barrel. While in Kingman we did get Ginger her first haircut. Now she looks like a Schnauzer.

On the way to Williams We stopped for lunch at the Roadkill Café in Seligman, AZ. We like stopping here for the good food and easy parking for the RV’s. After a healthy serving of Ground Round Hound (Chile Size) I was ready for the next leg of our trip to Williams.

We arrived at Williams, AZ on the 19th of December to a greeting of wind and cold with some snow on the ground. With a light trail of white smoke from the truck we exited the highway and headed to the Grand Canyon Railway RV park. We had headed south to get away from the cold and snow but here we were in more of the weather we were trying to get away from. Williams is a great place to spend Christmas. The whole town takes on a Christmas spirit with decorations, lights, and snow. The Grand Canyon Railway is decorated in lights that takes them a month to put up. In the evening you see people out in pajamas, slippers and stocking hats, many are getting ready to ride the Polar Express but some are just into the Christmas Spirit in the town. In the evening the Grand Canyon Railway runs two trains, one at  5:30PM and one at 7:30PM, to the North Pole. These Polar Express trains have early 1900’s passenger cars. On the trip, a 90 minute round trip, you are served hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies, the Polar Express story is read and many Christmas Carols are sung. If you take this train you need to dress in your warm pajamas and stocking hat to really take in the whole experience. We road the Polar Express on the 7:30PM run on Christmas Eve, the last train of the season. You can not help but laugh and sing during the whole ride. And when on the way  back you can not help but hear Santa’s silver sleigh bell ring for you.

While in town you can even take a ride on the Santa’s Sleigh zip line. Complete with Rudolph to led your way down.

On the 21st of December we drove from Williams to Phoenix to pick up our friends Vance and Kelly who were flying in from Virginia to spend Christmas with us. We left Williams with the truck billowing white smoke (from the cold I thought). When we reached Flagstaff the smoking became just a few puffs and finally stopped as we descended the mountain. We stopped in Camp Verde for a rest stop. As we started to leave Camp Verde the temp on the truck went up and I returned to the gas station. After adding 2 gallons of anti-freeze we were on our way to Phoenix with no more truck problems, not even a hint of smoke. After picking up our friends I checked the coolant level in the truck and added one more gallon of anti-freeze. We returned to Williams with a light snow falling between Flagstaff and Williams. After we got back to the RV park I added one more gallon of anti-freeze.

The next day we took a drive through Red Rock Canyon to Sedona, AZ. There was a light snow on the ground as we left Williams in a trail of white smoke. As we approached Flagstaff the smoke slowed down to a few puffs. Once we started down Red Rock Canyon the white smoke from the truck blocked out the view of the canyon to the cars behind us. We laid a smoke screen through Red Rock Canyon that a large army could advance through without being seen. After a great meal in Sedona we returned to Williams by highway 17. The truck gave us no problems on the return, but I did add another gallon of anti-freeze when we go back to Williams.

The next day we gave the truck a rest and took the Grand Canyon Railway to the Canyon. The day was clear to partly cloudy but cold. Before boarding the train we watch the cowboy shoot out. It is both comical and entertaining. Later, on the way back from the Grand Canyon, when these Cowboys robbed the train, Carolyn and Kelly stopped them in their tracks (more on this in the next post).

When we boarded the train we meet our hostess Becky. Little did Becky know she was receiving a rather lively group. When Carolyn and Kelly get together anything can happen, kind of like Lucy and Ethel (as in I Love Lucy, for those of you to young to understand the reference).

The train ride to the Canyon goes through some very scenic areas allowing for some great photo opportunities along the way.

At the Grand Canyon the train arrives at the Grand Canyon Depot that was built in 1910.  Just a short walk with the hill behind the depot is the El Tovar Hotel and Hopi House. The El Tovar is a great place for lunch upon arrival at the canyon. The Hopi House has a large selection of Native American art for sale as well as souvenir items. Both are well worth a visit as you arrive and depart the Canyon.

As in the old serial movies we will leave you until the next post, which should bring you up to date on our travels. Check in later to see our visit to the Grand Canyon, find out what Carolyn and Kelly have in store for the train robbers, will the truck survive and where do we go next. I hope to have “Bring You Up To Date Part 3” posted in the next couple of days.

Originally we had a blog of our travels starting in 2007 but due to factors beyond our control we had not updated it for some time. We hope to do better with this blog. These first few posts will be to bring our readers up to date on where we have recently been up to the beginning of this blog. This will take you from our leaving Washington State to our second arrival in Quartzsite, AZ. It has been a very interesting time with some unexpected setbacks.

On 15 November we left Washington and headed south to leave the cold and snow behind. Little did we expect that it would have more than our share of cold and snow for the fist month or so. We knew the first part of the trip would require us to keep a close eye on the weather so we could plan our traveling days when it was clear. The day we departed Washington it was clear but a little cold. We had just had a couple of days with some light snow just before our departure. The first leg of the trip took us to Pendleton, Or. We arrived in Pendleton during 15 to 20 MPH winds. We spent a couple of days to let the weather clear before continued on south. We took advantage of this time to visit some of our favorite eating places in Pendleton including the Sundowner for their fantastic thin cut french fries and sandwiches. Our traveling companions also utilized this time by visiting the Montana Peak Western Hat shop, a great place to visit even if you are not looking for a new hat.

We departed Pendleton during a break in the weather. Highway 395 to the south was clear and the weather was fair. We had an uneventful trip that day from Pendleton to Burns, Or. On the way we took a rest stop at Dale, Or., one of several small communities along 395 on the way through Oregon.

The next morning we awoke to a light dusting of snow. The weather report said it would be clear but to watch for ice on the high passes.

By the time we were ready to leave Burns, Or. the snow was pretty much melted and the weather was clearing.  As we were getting ready to leave a problem started developing that we did not know was going to have a major impact on our trip later on. With the temperature around 28 that morning the truck was hard to start and we had some smoke from the exhaust until we were a little way down the road. Once the truck and us warmed up we made good time to Alturas, Ca. and another early stop for the night. We stayed at a small RV park near the city park. Upon check in the owner advised us to watch out for the deer and that there was a buck in rut with his harem that came through the park. As we were setting up we saw the deer next to our site and watch them as they walk through the area.

The next morning we departed Alturas and headed to Susanville, CA. to visit with our friends John and Roxanne.  With some puffs of white smoke from the truck we headed down the road. We arrived at Milford, CA ( a few miles south of Susanville) late that afternoon.  During our stay in Milford we had an addition to our family, a three month old 3 pound Toy Schnauzer. We named her Ginger, short for Ginger Snap. It has been anything but dull with her around.

On Thanksgiving morning we left Milford and headed to Las Vegas and warmer weather, yes we did have some snow while we were in Milford. Thanksgiving night we stopped in Tonopah, NV. were it was breezy with a 10 MPH wind and the temperature was a cool 18 degrees. The next morning the sun was out and in was looking like a great day to travel so with another puff of smoke from the truck we started down the road. After stopping for lunch in Beatty, NV we continued on to Las Vegas arriving in the late afternoon just in time to change into tee shirts and head over to Sam’s Town for the Seafood Buffett. After a night of crab legs, shrimp, and other great sea foods we returned to our rig for a good nights sleep before heading out the next day to see the sights around Las Vegas.

The next morning we took our traveling companions to the Valley of Fire just north of Las Vegas. I have always enjoyed this area. In the early morning and late afternoon the red sandstone of the area looks like the hills are on fire. There are some great rock formations, some with petroglyphs of earlier inhabitants of this area.

One of our stops was at an area called the Bee Hives. Many of the rocks in this area have been eroded by wind and rain forming bands around them giving the appearance of large bee hives.

Many of the large flat rock faces have petroglyphs on them. These have been carved into the desert varnish on the rocks by early inhabitants of the region. The meanings of these carvings have been debated for many years.

In the 1930’s three rock cabins, to be used by travelers, were built in the Valley by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). They are complete with fireplaces and great view of the Valley from the windows. On the rock faces behind these cabins are several more petroglyphs.

The sunsets on the hills in the Valley can provide some wonderful views.

After a few days in Las Vegas and with our rigs freshly washed we headed to Laughlin, NV.  When in this area we stay at the Avi Casino at the south end of Laughlin. Here we have over large spaces and are able to enjoy quite evenings.

From this location we visited one of Carolyn’s favorite places, Oatman, AZ. She loves seeing the wild burros walking through the town. You can buy a bag of small hay cubes to feed the burros but beware they get aggressive once they see you with a bag of their favorite food. Oatman was one of several mining towns in this area. It was also a stopping place on old Route 66 until 1953. The old Route 66 from Kingman to Oatman went through Sitgreaves Pass which is a steep and twisty section of road. To bypass this section of road Route 66 was changed to go from Kingman through Yucca, AZ and on to Needles, CA.

Below is a photo looking west along Oatman’s Main street (Route 66) in the 1940’s. The large building across the street from the Standard Station is the Oatman Hotel. This photo is from my Route 66 post card collection.

The Burros in the area are descendants of the burros used in the mines to pull the ore carts. When the mines closed the burros where turned loose. Wild burros can be seen in many areas along this part of the Colorado River and as far south as Yuma, AZ.

One of the original buildings in Oatman is the Oatman Hotel, one of two larger hotels that were in the town. While filming a movie in the area Clark Gable and Carol Lombard stayed in this hotel on their wedding night. While in Oatman you can visit this hotel and see the suite they stayed in. The hotel is located in the center of the town and is also the location for daily gun fights and other events even including weddings.

Below is a recent photo of the sign at the east end of town giving some history of the area. Below it is a 1920’s photo of this end of town from my Route 66 post card collection.

The burros come through the town in the early afternoon knowing that this is primetime for tourists and some easy food. The locals put stickers that say do not feed me on the you burros because their teeth are not developed enough to chew and they can chock on the food. We saw several burros nosing around motorcycles park along the street, they don’t bother the cars but I guess the motorcycles look like another beast of burden to them.

As you enter Oatman at the west end of town the intersection you come to was the main corner of the town. Located here was the Oatman Drug Store and the Arizona Hotel. Today just the drug store building remains. The site of the Arizona Hotel is now a vacant area with some portions of the original walls and the hotels safe door. Below is a recent photo of the location and a couple of pictures of the area in the 1920’s and 1930’s from my Route 66 post card collection.

So next time you are in the Laughlin, NV / Bullhead City, AZ area take a run over to this fun and historic town to say hi! to Carolyn’s friends.

We continued our day out by traveling east on old Route 66 through Sitgreaves Pass and past the site of Cool Springs. This was a  gas station, coffee shop and a few cabins along Route 66 between Kingman and Oatman. The original owner piped water from a nearby spring to this location to provide travelers a refreshing stop be for taking on Sitgreaves Pass which begins just west of this location.

Today this location still provides a refreshing stop to travels of the old road. It also provides some great information on the history of this location as well as Route 66 through the area.  The original building was blown up in 1991 during the filming of the movie Universal Soldier . Today the building has been restored to much of its original state as seen in my recent photo below and the photo from my Route 66 post card collection.

This brings to an end the first part of bring you up to date on our travels. In the next part I will cover our travels from Laughlin, NV to Quartzite, AZ where we spent a week before continuing on to Kingman and on to Williams, AZ as well as our adventures on the train to the Grand Canyon and Christmas Eve on the Polar Express to the North Pole. I hope you enjoyed this first installment of the update to our travels and I am looking forward to Improvements of this site as it progresses.