Blowing Dirt Festival - Still In Full Bloom!

Across New Mexico and into west Texas today. Nice to know that the Annual Blowing Dirt Festival is still in full bloom. On the bright side, the diesel prices are higher along this stretch... because they can (not a lot of options).

A while back I started a "ya know what I hate" thread (even though my dear ol' Mother taught me not to hate) on the HitchHiker owners forum. This month's edition is: pay at the pump fuel stations where you CAN'T pay at the pump. You have to go inside, give them your credit card, a $100 bill, your Mother's maiden name, the pin numbers to your ATM and debit cards, all the passwords to every financial site you've ever visited... and then stand in line AGAIN to get your card back after you pump the fuel. Yeah, I REALLY hate that! :angry: I was second in line at the Flying J in El Paso today, excited about the prospect of giving the indifferent little girl behind the counter all my personal information, when she announced, "This line is closed." No explanation, she didn't even pretend to feign a bit of fake concern... she pulled out her cash drawer and walked away. Yeah, I hate that, too. On the bright side, the three of us who were in line moved to the next cashier at the far end of the desk... who spent 5 minutes (doesn't sound like much time, until you read the next part) trying to figure out how to ring up an employee discount for $2.67 worth of food.

We drove through the clear blue skies, varying wind directions and strengths, and blowing dirt for hours... and we're still in west Texas. ???

But, other than that, everything is fine. Little Izzy sat next to me most of the day - that always makes the drive more pleasant.



Scads of RVs on the road today - people are on the move. Maybe it's the cold weather driving them to the southwest? Or maybe they've decided the economy isn't going to keep them home this winter?

Homeward Bound...

We had a very enjoyable week in Laughlin. The casinos will have to stay open, since they didn't make enough off us to retire and close up. We did a day trip to Oatman, walked along the river regularly, checked out all the casinos, ate well, walked little Izzy plenty, took a boat ride on the Colorado River, and just generally had a great time.



Yesterday, we were back in the Phoenix area to see our little girl one last time. We made it to Deming, New Mexico, today and are down for the night in the Escapees park. It's above 4,000 feet here, and supposed to get down to 23º tonight! Not my idea of fun, but the HitchHiker is well insulated and we have 50 amp to run the fireplace.

Big wind right on the nose most of the day today... not sure how we manage to get that every direction we travel. But, the sun was shining, the conversation was pleasant, and little Izzy took turns giving us both plenty of attention. Not a bad way to travel

Vegas, Baby!

On Wednesday, we did a day trip to Las Vegas. It's been a few years since we've been there, and we knew there have been changes along the strip. Turns out that's an understatement - make that LOTS of changes. New casinos, big hotels, BIG condo projects. We only spent about 5 hours there, mostly wandering on the strip. Pretty sure I embarrassed Joan... hard to control the "Hooooo-weeee!" coming out of my mouth.

A trip out to Blue Diamond Road showed that the RV park we used to stay at was gone. As is: ain't there no more. It was connected with BoomTown, which later became Silverton... which has also grown. Surprising that the land is more useful as a gravel lot instead of an RV park. On the bright side, it's that complex is also the home to a new Bass Pro Shop/Outdoor World.

It was a pretty drive to Vegas and back. We spent a lot of time in this area in our early RVing days. Vegas is fun, but it has really grown into a big city... lots of traffic and a brown smog cloud that you could see from miles away. I guess Laughlin is more our style... and size.

Here's a look at our site at the Riverside...


Baby, it's cold outside! Well, not so much here; it's been daytime highs in the 60s, nightime lows in the 40s, and windy. But most of the rest of the country has been in a real deep freeze. Even at home in the Tropical Tip, the lows have been around freezing! This morning, Izzy was watching reports on the Today Show about the cold and black ice car crashes around Atlanta. Guess it made her chilly...


Take a cue from Izzy, and bundle up out there.

Rolling, and Let It Ride...

We left the Phoenix area yesterday, landing in Laughlin, Nevada. We have a nostalgic fondness for Laughlin - it was one of our first fun places to RV back in the early 90s, and we've come back frequently. We're not big gamblers, but enjoy the walking along the river walk, through casinos, and the easy access to it all from the Riverside RV Park.

Yesterday, we were down a couple bucks for the day. Literally - $2. Some would say that's cheap entertainment, but we make up for it on the buffets. $7.99 for a prime rib buffet. Go easy through the salad part... oh sure, it's part of their "scheme" to fill you up on that stuff... but, I know my way around a buffet: a dab of this, a bit of that. Then get to the good stuff (prime rib, bbq ribs, carnitas); heck, I could eat $7.99 in corn muffins alone.

My goal these days: not to break the bank, I'll break the kitchen. And then go walk it off.

I remember the "good ol' days" in Laughlin: the $1.99 breakfast buffets, and you could get 2 for 1 coupons just by walking along the river walkway at the right time. Oh yeah, they had $1 blackjack tables back then, too.

Why, when I was your age...

Happy New Year!

We rang out the old year in the best way possible: with Steph and Dan... in a fun, but quiet setting... kicking their butts while playing games. OK, we won Wits & Wagers, they won Mexican Train, they won Compatibility, and we narrowly won Trivial Pursuit. It really doesn’t matter who won - it was a fun way to spend the evening. No rowdy crowds, no screaming drunks, no goofy hats. Happy New Year!

We missed the “ball drop”, which would have been at 10:00 local time... we were deep into trying to get through Trivial Pursuit. It’s humbling. We were home by 10:30, in bed before 11:30, and asleep before midnight. I think I heard a little noise as some folks managed to stay up... we are in a 55+ park.



There was a spectacular Blue Moon last night when we drove home. Blue Moons occur about once every two and a half years, which is the origin of the saying “once in a blue moon.” The next New Year’s Blue Moon won’t occur again until 2028. No, the moon isn’t really blue.

As you may know, the last few years we have welcomed in the New Year at anchor... fireworks over South Padre Island, then settling into the v-berth. And then the first sunrise of the New Year. This year is a departure, but the desert sunrise is still pretty nice.


Little Izzy was with us last New Year’s Eve. It was her first overnight on the boat... she’s had many more since then. Her New Year was pretty quiet, too... I guess she didn’t feel the need to go out and howl at the moon.


Speak of little Izzy, I was walking her yesterday when a pick-up camper pulled in. The lady in the camper got out to walk her little Yorkie. I saw the look on Izzy’s face... “Hey, that looks like Snack!” She immediately trotted over to say hi to her friend. When she got almost nose to nose with the little guy (his eyes got BIG when this gi-normous cat came up to him), she realized it wasn’t Snack... and hissed in his face, almost rolling him over! I apologized for her rude behavior and visited with the folks for a bit. Izzy sat off to the side. No photo; I didn’t have my camera with me.

Whipped

OK, there have been more messages about me being "whipped", due to walking the cat with her sweater on. Perhaps karma for all those years of me chuckling at guys walking their little "yappy" dogs wearing sweaters. (No office to our friend, Snack) To those "friends", I said, "You will know I am whipped when Izzy and I go for walks in our matching outfits!"

Yeah, it's a photoshopped joke.

BS...

I've gotten some private messages about... cat clothes.


On the subject of "cat clothes": Unlike Steph's cat who was not pleased at all with her "designer" t-shirt, Izzy didn't seem bothered by the sweater. Joan has been concerned about Izzy being cold. Izzy's fur is fine and silky... and she does not like going out when it's cold. Yesterday (day 2 with the sweater) - Izzy waits patiently by the door when I get the leash out. She seemed fine when Joan put the sweater on her and trotted right outside, even though it was chilly. I am in the "animals don't need clothes" camp. More like: "animals are embarrassed by clothes" camp... but, again I was outvoted. Not sure how that happens, since there are two voting members in this coach... one would think "unanimous or a tie" (I was a math major)... but, no. On the boat, there is the tradition of the sea where the captain's decision is law... apparently there is no such directive on land? Of course, I am kidding... I am frequently outvoted on the boat, too.

When I have tried to walk Izzy when it's cold (BS - Before Sweater), she takes a few steps, looks up at me and says, "Uh, uh," and runs back to the door. May just be coincidence. Apparently, little Izzy has the same tolerance for cold that I have.

This all may have come about when Izzy met Snack (the little Yorkie) this summer on the Erie Canal. Snack wore ribbons in her hair and had a wardrobe that would make Barbie jealous.


Best wishes for a wonderful 2010!