A 3-state day...

 

Been a while since I posted that title... but this was a pretty easy: leaving Laughlin (Nevada), south through Needles (California), then into Arizona for our way home.  Different routing from what we took to get to Laughlin.  This route ran along the Colorado River for parts of it, taking us through Lake Havasu City and past Parker Dam.

More nostalgia for us, as we had traveled all around this area back in the 90s.

We didn't take any photos until we were past Lake Havasu City.  That town has grown a bunch since we were there last.

South of there, we came across the first boondockers along the way...

Lone campers (above) or groups (below)...

 What are boondockers?  Thanks for asking.  There is a lot of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land in western Arizona - you can stay on BLM land for cheap (or free, depending on the location).  No hookups, no defined sites, you just pull out into the desert... and there you are.  Not our style, but a lot of people take advantage of the cheap living; or, they just like being out on their own in the desert.  There are some LTV (Long Term Visitor) areas that have a dump site and a place to get fresh water - you will pay something for that.  Other areas, you are just out there on your own.  If you are into that sort of thing, a trip to Quartsite (about 10 miles from the California border, on I-10 in Arizona) sees a couple hundred thousand boondocking visitors over the the winter, with January being the "high month," with a giant RV show, swap meet, gem show, bringing in the crowds.  We also did that a time or two back in the day... even in our younger years, we preferred more amenities than just parking in the dusty ol' desert.

But, I digress.  South of Lake Havasu City, the terrain turns rugged, and there are plenty of resorts along the Colorado River, on the California and Arizona sides...

 We bypassed Quartsite, taking a diagonal road that put us on I-10 further east.  Nothing much else to talk about with the Interstate traveling.

Home around 2:00, unloaded the RoadTrek and put it away.  For a while.

Murphy seemed happy to be home.  Definitely happy to have his "domain" (our courtyard) again.  I did take him out on the leash once while we were in Laughlin, but he wasn't happy about it.  Joan is glad to be back in her home.  I kinda missed the Christmas tree.  But, I really enjoyed being out and about in the van for a few days, and revisiting some some of the places we enjoyed in our "winters away" time in the bigger motorhomes.

The RoadTrek isn't big.  There are people living full-time in Class B campervans ("VanLife"), but that would not be us.  The first night out in the van felt like real close quarters.  After that, you get used to it again... to the point where it feels very comfortable.  Not sure Murph ever got to that point this trip.

 

Down By The Riverside...

 

If you said, "An African-American spiritual, whose roots date back to before the American Civil War," you get 15 bonus points.

The Riverside Casino is alongside the river here.  The Colorado River, to be specific.  Our planned activity for the day was a walk along the riverside, past the casinos.  You can't go as far as you used to be able to.  (Explanation coming."

This is another nostalgic thing for us - when we first came to Laughlin, during the winter, after leaving South Dakota, you could wear shorts while walking along this riverside walk.  It was another beautiful day here today, with a high near 80º.

Leaving our site...

We started at the Riverside Casino, heading down river...

 

Next along that walk is the Aquarius Hotel Casino Resort.  Most consider this the nicest casino in Laughlin...

 We stopped and played for a while.  Next up is the smallest casino, the Regency, right next door to the Edgewater (another highrise casino/hotel).  Things have changed: what used to be the least expensive buffet along the river is now a bingo hall in the Edgewater.  Obviously, bingo makes more money than a buffet.

Next up would be the Colorado Belle hotel and casino... except, it closed down in 2020 when Covid hit, and never opened up again...

 The Colorado Belle was designed to look like an old river boat.  I always liked this place.  No plans to re-open it.  As you can see in the photo above, the river water level is way down - it would usually go right up to that seawall (the corrugated looking wall).

With the Colorado Belle closed, the entire property is closed off, so you can't walk any further along the river.  In the past, you could get to the New Pioneer, the Golden Nugget, the Laughlin River Lodge, and then finally Harrah's Laughlin.

So, we walked our way back "up river."  The Aquarius has a new river boat...

 Meal service onboard, live music, and a river tour... when the water allows.  The dock is covering the lower portion of the boat, which looks to be an enclosed cabin space, probably where the meals are served.

The shuttle we took from the RV park to the Riverside was driven by a young lady who is a boat captain; with the water level low, she was happy to have work driving the shuttle van.

The Laughlin/Bullhead City area has two seasons: summer, when it is hotter than Phoenix, but the river is hopping with boats and jetskis; and winter, when it is cooler and more comfortable and the snowbirds start showing.  We have done the riverboat at the Riverside Casino several times - an interesting two hour tour along the river.  No doubt this new boat at the Aquarius will give them a run for their money.

We had lunch at the Outback Steakhouse in the Aquarius, picked up a sandwich at the Subway there for the drive home tomorrow, then back to the Riverside, where Joan needed to cash in a voucher.  If we don't go play at the casinos tonight, I think she might be close to even (I don't ask).  I am down $11 - not bad for 3 days entertainment.

Back to the van this afternoon, we need to dump our holding tanks.  Since we had pulled in straight forward in this back-in site, we needed to do an "about face" so our macerator pump and hose would be on the side by the campground sewer connection.  No big deal.  We are rotated, tanks dumped, and enjoying some chill time...

 Murphy's silhouette, looking out the back windows of the RoadTrek, towards the casinos.  While compact, this van is comfortable and easy.

We've had a good time here.  A selfie while waiting for the casino shuttlebus...

 

Damn...

 

If you said, "What does a fish say when he runs into a big wall of concrete while swimming?", you get 15 bonus points for laughing at a kid joke.  If you said, "That is dam, not damn," you lose 20 bonus points for having no sense of humor and being the Language Police.

After cleaning up, we got our day off to a good start with the breakfast buffet at the Riverside Casino.  I may not come out ahead after a bit of gaming, but I make up for it on the buffet... especially when there is bacon involved.  And besides all the usual breakfast fare, they had lunch stuff, like a taco bar, Italian dishes, BBQ pulled port, brisket, and beef burgundy.  In the words of the philosopher Arby's: we have the meats.  So, I came out even more ahead, especially with that $2 off we got for flashing our casino players' card.  ;-)

After breakfast/brunch, we did a bit of touring around - all the high points: a drive along Casino Row (this is obviously not high season here, judging by the number of open spots in the parking lots), a stop at Sam's Club for cheap (well, less expensive) gas, a trip to Wally World... and then some actual sight-seeing.

It has been a while since we went to Kathryn's Landing and Davis Dam (no "n") - rugged scenery and blue water...

 Yes, I enjoy the curvy roads, even when we aren't on the scoots.

Lake Mohave (I thought that was supposed to be a "j" instead of the "h'), formed by Davis Dam across the Colorado River...

 There is a plan for a walk along the casinos on the river, but that might have to wait until tomorrow - the wind has kicked up (not unusual here) today.

We have reservations for the Prime Rib Room this evening.  Another nostalgic stop here.

 

And, we're off...

 

Some would say, "About half a bubble."

I was feeling nostalgic... one of the first motorhome outings we did back in 1990 was to Arizona.  We got turned away from RV resorts in Mesa because... we weren't old enough.  Who knew there were RV resorts that discriminated because of age?  These days, I am just fine with a 55+ park - we had never heard of that back then.

The first place we felt welcome: Laughlin, Nevada.  Some would call it the town that Don Laughlin built, and he welcomed RVers.  By the thousands.  Over the years, we've been back many times.  It has changed over those years, but it has been about 5 years since we've been there, and I was looking for any kind of escape in the RoadTrek.  And, Joan was onboard.

Murphy looked at us while we loaded the van this morning: "We're going somewhere, aren't we?"

 The boy knows.  He was the last thing loaded into the van, and he wasn't happy about it.  If any neighbors were outside, they would have thought he was being abused.

He settled in quickly, and we headed northwest.  We have driven this road a time or twelve over the years.  I am traveling "lite" with camera gear this time: only the Sony mirrorless and the DJI Pocket 3.  Each can handle the obligatory selfie-in-the-van...

 Sony above, the DJI Pocket 3 below...

 The traffic seemed heavier than usual as we left the Phoenix area.  Once past Wickenberg, it dropped off...

 The route takes us past the Joshua Forest Parkway of Arizona...

 Then, into the rocky higher desert terrain...

 And, of course, road construction and stopped traffic...

 But, my favorite part of the drive is climbing, then descending, the mountain between Kingman and Laughlin...

 Great silhouettes with the terrain, then the view of the Laughlin casinos.  Neither of us are hopped up about gambling, but we will "try our hand" while we're here.  Again, it is for the walk along the river, and getting a site at the Riverside RV park that re-kindles that nostalgia of our early visits here.  We didn't book a site until an hour out of Laughlin, and we were able to get one with just the view I wanted...

 We pulled forward into the site (it's a back-in) so we'd have that view out our windshield...

 Settled in, we're chillin', giving Murphy some time to catch up on his meals, and then we'll take the shuttle that picks you up at your site and takes you to the Riverside Casino.  Maybe get a bite to eat.  See if Joan can win us enough to pay for the trip.  ;-)

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A bit of gaming this evening - trip not paid for, yet.  A couple nice night views...

 And from our site...

 

Monday, Monday...

 

If you said, "The Mamas and the Papas, 1966," you get 10 bonus points.  Only 10??  Oh, come on - this was probably the easiest music trivia question ever.

"Can't trust that day?"  Yeah, back to the lyrics of that song.  We're retired, so Mondays are no big deal.  We do have some tasks today, but it is for the fun of it...

 Well, there was some work involved (the RoadTrek got a bath and is getting loaded), but not on a schedule.

We were going to get away for a few days a few weeks ago, but the excrement hit the fan with some HOA stuff and Joan said, "You're going to be on the phone dealing with this, so let's do it another time."

It's time. 

 

Photo shoot...

 

Yeah, I was a photographer.  Retired from that almost 20 years ago.  That industry and the world has changed.  I enjoyed that career while we were in it, but like the time, I have moved on.

So, you can imagine what went through my mind when I was asked to do a photo shoot a couple weeks ago.  This has been a long-time "client."  Oh, and blood.  The fruit of my loins.  Yeah: Steph.

She asked if I would take a photo of them, with all the animals.  In matching pajamas.  That's two adult humans, three cats, and one big black dog.  In matching pajamas.

I agreed.  Because she is "the fruit of my loins."

Today is the day.  They were ready on time, told me what they had in mind, and I set up my minimal gear.  Minimal?  Yeah.  Available light.  My Sony a6700 mirrorless camera on a tripod.  And the little bit of gear that makes this all come together: a wireless remote for the camera.  Once I have the shot set up, all I have to do is press the shutter release on the remote; the camera focuses and sets the exposure.  Yeah, the industry has changed.

Steph knew what she wanted, so they assumed the pose.  Joan helped with wrangling cats and getting them to look in one general direction.  I had to hit the shutter when the timing was right.  Two humans, 4 critters.  Truth be told: it went relatively easy.  It probably helped that the cats were in pajamas, which made them less prone to run off.  Or even move much.

The request: "Get us one good pose, and then we can do one that is total chaos."  I can do that.

The results...

 And...

 My payment for the shoot: I got a cookie and a hug.  Yeah, we're square.

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A few images I got with my phone while waiting for cats to get pajamas on...

That's Alfie above.  He looks like a big boy, but it is mostly fluffy fur; you see his real physique in those pajamas (above).   Dan and Dicha looking on while Steph gets Tango into his PJs...