55… still Laughlin… but who shot the baby burro (donkey)

With snow at the Grand Canyon and night temperature around -10C and gas (petrol : ) at £2 a gallon we decided to ‘hole-up’ at our favourite Casino in Laughlin, Nevada and use our newly acquired skill at the Blackjack tables. (We have downloaded a casino rules Blackjack trainer as part of a master plan to get back on budget)

Laughlin is on the Nevada side of the Colorado river with the twin town Bullhead City sitting on the opposite bank in the no gambling state of Arizona. Laughlin is evidence that the American dream was once a reality even if the word reality is a little lost on Laughlin. The story goes that in 1966 a 33 year old Don Laughlin a Las Vegas card dealer bought an isolated, run down motel for $35,000 across the river from an expanding Bullhead City. Arizona could not get enough of Laughlin’s ‘casino’ with its free river taxis and low cost meals and accommodation if you needed it. Business was so good that over the next 40 years Laughlin built a complete 24hr mini Vegas with over 10 major casinos (including one he still owns), 12,000 residents and 3m visitors a year. The packaged motel /alcohol /gamble model worked so well that he has become a very rich man… so rich that he has personally funded $1m of road improvements, built a bridge over the Colorado ($3m) and $6m to expand the airport so he could use the big jet airliners to market fly/gamble packages across the US. This is America!

Before you think we have won the lottery or lost it…

We are staying at the Casino… but in the RV Resort (which doubles as the Car Park :) for the week because at $5 day it’s a cheap, safe place in the centre of town while we do a bit of people watching after so long being surrounded by rocks and cacti. To add insult to injury the Lonely Planet quote… ‘Laughlin a down-home gambling type of place – think burgers, Budweiser and penny slot. It attracts an older, more sedate crowd- the kind of folks looking to gamble in a city without all the sin’ OK, YES - I know I am 55!

So Den’s 55th Birthday… a bit of present opening in bed with a camping lamp balanced on your head (as you do). Then off down the famous Route 66 road to Oatman, Arizona. Oatman is straight out of a Western movie… but it’s for real (well mostly – back to America and reality). It was a successful ($36m @ 1930 prices) gold mining town with a population of over 12,000 when in 1942 Congress decided that Gold mining was no longer essential for the war effort.

The population declined to around 250 who make a living out of our interest in the past. It’s a low key place with an authentic ghost town (shabby chic) look and feel (more Thorpeness than Disney) that manages to attract 500,000 people like us who come for the Route 66 association, a daily gunfight and wild burros.

The burros descendents were supposedly abandoned when the mines closed) who roam the main (only) street and can attack visitors on sight (or smell) of food.

The gunfight is hilarious even down to the warning (especially for California’s : ) that they are firing blanks and there is no danger or any need for anyone to fire back.

Unfortunately when the guns come out someone gets hurt - this time an innocent bystander - poor little baby burro : (.

After lunch and Birthday cake (coffee and walnut… made from scratch… no packet… a very, rare thing in the US - Thanks Jane X) in this one horse town it was home (RV - car park) for mojito’s and Italian meal in the Casino. These places are huge and the Tropicana Express (ours) has 7 restaurants’ to choose from! Den’s 55th Done.

As it’s my Birthday and I am allowed to be as long winded as I wish…

Gambling… we just don’t get it. Why do people do it??
Some sit with their credit cards in the slot machines and play hour after hour… after hour. If you must gamble Blackjack (think pontoon with hand signals) is your game. The house advantage is only around 1% (it’s up to 20% on many other Casino games) but if you count cards [think Dustin Hoffman… film, Rain Man] you can even tip the odds in your favour… and then they kick you out… for WINNING. What the… Our final analysis? Counting cards is virtually impossible without cheating (computer etc)... if you gamble you loose – it is only a question of when and how much.

Visiting or just driving through towns like Oatman is just like revisiting the Wild West we all read about as kids or watched as Hollywood turns fact into entertaining fantasy. In these places the classic ambush oozes from behind every boulder, with burly men and dusky voices carrying on the wind as imaginary gunfire echoes down the canyon - but only at 12:00 and 3:30pm – extra performances at weekends : ) Seriously you could have a really great holiday (fly / drive) just tracking down and touring the context of the really interesting Western history or even just Hollywood’s take on the folklore. It is possible to visit the jail that Billy the Kid broke out of or follow the travels of Wild Bill Hicok or see where Jessie James was assassinated. Tombstone still has an OK Corral for the budding Wyatt Earp’s – most of it still here (although this is America so someone will be cashing in somewhere). History comes alive in this young country in a way we are just not used to or prepared for… When Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was made (St George, Utah - not far from here) in 1969 Butch’s sister, Lula Parker Betenson, was 86 and talked to the cast and even endorsed the film much to the delight of the Studio as the critics slammed the film – what did they know – Great film. With no TV we have been reading and watching some DVD’s and revisiting some great old films etc.

Thank You all for my Birthday wishes.

Please note no burros were hurt in the making of this blog.

Den and Jane X

California – cool… but Valentine pyjamas save the day

After 5 months dodging the cold fronts one finally caught up with us in California and we froze for 3 nights. Although the days were warmish the nights were a killer. The 1st night we were at over 4000ft and it was a shock as the temp went way below freezing (-7C?) and the following morning (it was a long, cold sleepless night) everything was frozen even inside… even water in the kitchen sink. A look at the forecast resulted in a trip to Walmart to buy more layers… and we ended up buying each other Pyjamas for Valentine ’s Day.

Romance can only start when your teeth stop rattling in your mouth : )

We were not the only ones suffering everyone was a bit shell shocked by the cold including the 2 lads who parked next to us in the car park… using our RV to shelter from the biting wind while they cooked themselves breakfast (stove on the tarmac) after a night camping on the mountain!
California… we are undecided about it. If Texas was a big, brash, friendly used car salesman then California is more your smug, tanned, good looking guy sitting in the corner with shades on and perfect teeth. He says he an out of work actor but you know deep down that he will still be serving up Big Mac’s in ten years time. California looks good and in many ways is too perfect… its expensive and cold behind that polished smile – bit too much up it’s own arse maybe?



So where have we been… Few days in Joshua Tree National Park (Cottonwood)… down to Salton Sea (salt lake - smelly)… Anza-Bortegga State Park (primitive camping – miles from anywhere / anyone)… back to Joshua Tree (Black Rock Canyon – cold!)… Mojave Desert National Park (Kelso Dunes… sand)… Death Valley (6 days split between Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells).

Death Valley is unique – if you have been you will know what we mean. A totally alien landscape... it is like no other place on earth. It’s hot 80F, over 200ft below sea level and staggeringly beautiful. It seems remote - you can walk / drive all day and see hardly anyone and yet go back to your camp for a cold beer and watch a marathon race finish at the campground – only in America.

We both agreed that for sheer scale (you can see for over 100miles), scope (every rock and colour under the sun) and wow factor Death Valley was our clear Californian favorite.

Good News - Uncle Sam has extended our Visa so we can stay until the end of Aug 2011.

As it’s too cold to go further North for a month or so we are going to cross into Nevada and head towards Las Vegas (to gamble the rest of the kids inheritance : )… more next time.

Den and Jane X

New Mexico and into Arizona

From Texas the plan was to mess around in New Mexico for a couple of weeks but when we got there the cold front that prompted a quick exit from Texas was threatening to force us into jeans again… so we stayed one night at Rock Hound State park and then into Arizona. Incidentally it is called that because unlike other parks you can legally collect up to 12 lbs of rock from the gem encrusted surrounding mountains… our visit was too brief to find a single diamond - but it was a stunning location.

Arizona was fantastic… no other word for it fantastic!


Take the saguaro (Sa wah roo) cactus - a universal symbol for desert in North America. They look like forests of people standing around on the hills and mountains as far as the eye can see cutting human silhouettes against the sunset sky. The local Indians respect them like people, having just one word for both people and saguaro’s. To them we come from the earth and go back into the earth so they are all part of us and we are part of them – cute!

They are symbolic in many other ways not least patience and passage of time – very little happens quickly in the desert. It takes a saguaro 50 years to grow to six foot and 75 years before they sprout an arm as the grow to a 50ft maximum (200+years)… storing 200 gallons of water from a single rain storm.

Just like most people they can be as prickly as hell if you push for that photo opportunity!

Much of Arizona is a desert and bound to be hell in summer but let’s face it for the 2 weeks that we were there it was warm, in the high 70’s, wall to wall sunshine set in a deep blue sky with just amazing sunsets – every day! What more can one ask for? Occasionally when you travel you can be lucky enough to witness the most unbelievable sunset.

We were lucky in Arizona, the pictures do not do them justice… For the second sunset, by good fortune, we decided to have a BBQ that night as we were camped only 10ft from the Colorado River. We enjoyed a glass of wine (no insects, just perfect)… watching the sun go down with California just 100ft across the river. This RV life has its good and not so good points but it does gives you access to views from your bedroom window that you could never find (or afford) at any hotel anywhere.

We have followed the following route… Kartchner Cavens (Benson) Tucson Mountain Park, Saguaro National Park, Organ Pipe National Monument (Mexican Border issues again), Usery Mountain Park (Phoenix… sunset 1), Alamo Lake (very remote and close up with the coyotes)… Cattail Cove (on Colorado river), Lake Havasu City (think old London Bridge SOLD (moved and rebuilt) by some yanks in the 60’s) and finally La Paz near the Parker Dam on the Colorado again (sunset 2).

After 5 months some stats from Jane’s diary… over 8000 miles across 12 states, staying in 10 National Parks and too many state parks for Jane to count tonight, while spending 25.7% of Chris, Kate, Taryn and Logan’s inheritance… only joking closer to 23% :)

After peering across the Colorado river into California for a week we have taken the plunge after a final look at how strange and quirky Arizona can be by a trip to the world’s largest RV Rally turning the small 4000 population town of Quartzsite into a sea of RV’s parked for miles and miles into the desert… bringing over 300,000 people in them and yes you are right Bob and Mabel’s ville was not for us………………

Arizona we love you!

Jane and Den x

Texas...

We leave Texas more baffled than we would have expected. It started all so stereotypically – cowboy hats, boots and that larger than life southern drawl but it hasn’t really panned out like that after our month long journey in the USA’s 2nd largest state.

It is true to say that Texas is big… very BIG, dry, dusty, flat (mostly), with endless dead straight roads where the perspective offers a shimmering, hypnotic infinity, distorted only by an ever present heat haze. However, scratch below the surface and the almost universal image of Texas as the iconic representation of all things American is just too simplistic. In the Rio Grande valley in December you are more likely to find a Canadian Snowbird or a Mexican drug runner than a Texan!



The remote south and western areas of Texas hide an uncomfortable truth from much of the rest of the USA. The rugged, quiet (and often mountainous) Rio Grande river border is stunningly beautiful but an increasingly unsettled area as the USA comes under attack from drug cartels across the border in Mexico. We heard gunfire everyday (and night) over Christmas at Laredo but everyone tells you the same story – stay on the US side and you are safe – DO NOT go into Mexico! So we didn’t, although we did go within a few inches on a couple of occasions.

The border is the river and at this time of the year you can walk across and illegal immigrants often do. Up until 2002 you could walk across the border – have lunch – and return virtually anywhere. Now the penalty for crossing and then re-entering illegally is 1 year imprisonment!

However, the more significant and subtle attack on the USA from my point of view is the creeping Hispanic influence – most people here are of Mexican extraction and Spanish is the language of the majority of the people in south Texas. The US may have taken Texas from Mexico in 1848 but from what we have seen that may not be the end of it!

Jane has just read the above and said “What a load of pretentious twaddle” - Don’t you just love her!

So after a month in Texas where have we actually been…

We made our way down the Gulf Coast to Galveston Island, Brazos Bend (near Huston), Lake Texana, Lake Corpus Christi, Padre Island, Mustang Island, Kingsville (largest remaining cattle ranch in Texas), Rio Honda for a bit of walking and birding (what us Brits call bird watching :). Then we travelled West along ‘the Valley’ (Rio Grande river valley) from Brownsville to Mission. We camped at two, 500+ private ‘Winter Texan’ full facility type RV resorts. More like an OAP rally and not really us in this hot and heavily developed few miles… but excellent for a bit of Christmas shopping!

Then North to Falcon Dam, Lake Casa Blanca (Laredo, Christmas) then further North to Garner State Park (Concom) and on to Seminole Canyon (New Year).

From Seminole it was West on the 2nd Jan into Big Bend National Park. The park consist of 800,000 acres that includes an entire mountain range and looks likes God’s playground with every geological anomaly you could wish for and a night sky that you could only imagine. It’s a remote park, we were alone for most of the time – not even radio here, no mobile or internet… in fact we did not have any electric or water hook-ups either. We didn’t see any bears or mountain lions – just as well because it’s bad enough when the coyotes start howling (at dusk). It was a good feeling to be able to lock the RV doors and go to bed…

From Big Bend, North again along the Texas Mountain Trail – Alpine then Marfa where we spent all night at the Marfa Lights Viewing Centre watching the unexplained lights. Not sure about aliens but it spooked the RV to the point where the battery died and we were then stuck at the centre alone the following morning – another story.
Finally Fort Davis in the mountains (dinner at mile high Indian Lodge) and the following day a trip to the McDonalds! McDonald Observatory - 7,000 ft, mountain top site to visit worlds 3rd largest telescopes and attend a ‘Star party’ that evening. Amazing – cold, as the party was all outside but included viewing the night sky through several large telescopes… from Orion’s nebula and star nurseries to Jupiter and her four moons – just one word - amazing!

What were our favourite bits of Texas?



Jane…

it had to be Big Bend – clean, clear air, unbelievable night sky and incredible mountain vistas including our hikes to Hot Springs and Santa Elena Canyon in the warm winter sunshine.









Mule deer at Fort Davis (including one particular doe who was keen to have tea with us) and road runners – beep, beep… zoom!

The pictographs (rock paintings) at the Fate Bell shelter in Seminole Canyon.










Den…

Big Bend’s remoteness, little one horse towns and McDonalds Star Party… naturally … Oh and driving the 10 ton tank, 13 miles down the mountain in the dark afterwards in a clean pair of trousers and bicycle clips!






We are now off to New Mexico for a flying visit and then into warmer Arizona as we attempt to out run a cold front (freezing day and night in the mountains and high plains of central USA) Even if we can put up with the cold for a few days the RV's water system can't!

Cheers

Den and Jane X

Christmas Day 2010

In the end our Christmas day was much like any other year…

phone calls to absent loved ones, too much food, drink and sunshine : )

Cup of tea, presents opening in bed, a walk around the lake,









detour to the local church,









Christmas dinner, odd glass of champagne.



We watched the sun go down with the Christmas tree slowly taking on the role of providing the warm glow. Then a bit of a picky tapas tea and that carefully selected DVD – Inception. It was excellent – one that we need to watch twice… just as well as we don’t have that many and there is only so much Mexican radio anyone can take.

Then bed listening to the fireworks (Mexicans across the border we assume)





Christmas – DONE!

Thank you for your Christmas greetings and messages. It was great to get so many emails and to speak to the children (bless ‘em) and family.

We are thinking about you all at this special time.

On the 27th we go further north (Garner State Park, Cocan, Texas) and then on the 29th off west to Seminole Canyon State Park (Constock, Texas) for the New Year including a tour of the renowned? Fate Bell Shelter - ancient Indian pictographs (cave paintings to us).

Jan 2nd 2011!! will see us venture into the mountains (Big Bend National Park, Fort Davis, Guadalupe NP etc) and a rather cold awakening we think – jeans and socks are washed and ready.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Den and Jane X

Our Christmas Day 2010 ?

**** MERRY CHRISTMAS ***
and a HAPPY NEW YEAR ***

So you have the turkey, telly (Strictly Special – damn!) and that old Bond movie to watch in front of a warm fire with a few flurries of snow to help complete a picture postcard Christmas. Our Christmas is likely to be a bit unconventional this year – but to give you an idea of our options for the festive period...
Watch the sun go down – again!

Decide if it is shorts or jeans and socks… only joking it’s ALWAYS shorts : )

Look at the picture of when we met the Queen on her visit to the US

Get into another argument with Lasko (long story) about Den’s age

Try on our Christmas hats and pull our Christmas crackers (all handmade as neither is available over here)


Feed the local alligators

Do yet another page for the blog – haven’t we got anything better to do?

Visit Mr President… he was out last time

Pretend we are interested in when the last Space Shuttle is actually going to take off


Marvel at how cheap the Chinese can manufacture stuff (everything) for the US markets… take our amazing $15 Christmas tree for example

Open our presents under the Christmas tree…

Try having a Christmas chat with anyone in the US… without getting into an argument about the Obama Health reforms.

Watch that old Bond movie we bought in the $5 bargain bucket at Wal-Mart’s

Pray that the RV’s little Combo oven and Dr Who’s tardis both operate on the same fundamental principles governing time and space

Go swimming in the lake - not another 'gator pun :(

Go to Wendy’s etc and watch any waitress’ face when you order regular coffee… with the 'SUPER size me' culture it's only 10 cents more for large - only an idiot orders anything regular.

Ride our bikes – without a Queen sing-a-long “We like to ride our bicycles’…

Microwave that ‘Betty Crocker’ Festive Eggnog and Pumpkin Yuletide cake mix – scary!

Drink cheap Californian Champagne and toast your good health

Do our laundry and make out that it is all part of trimming up the RV for Christmas?

Invite the Mexican(s) that have just appeared, in for a glass of sherry… we are only 3 miles from the border and yes Chris you are right - Laredo is bandit country!

Make ourselves ill by eating another piece of that bloody huge Key Lime Pie Jane insisted on buying… I said it was too big for our little freezer (he was wrong!).


What we actually did… sorry but you will just have to wait until Boxing Day for those pictures

Have a wonderful Christmas Day - Cheers! Jane and Den

SatNav Suzie goes ‘Off Road’…

We are in Texas - Ye Ha!… after a couple of cooler nights we decided to make a run for the Mexican border and the Valley (Rio Grande river valley) to become ‘Winter Texans’

There is a complete industry made up of people like us, known as Snowbirds – RVers from the frozen north of the USA going south to hide from the worst of the winter. Texas loves RV's and welcomes Snowbirds with open arms (and open cash registers) making them all honouree ‘Winter Texans’. We have not yet got to the centre of the Snowbird migration (south of Corpus Christi and along the Rio Grande eastern valley) but this area looks more like our Christmas location.

So far we have resisted getting the cowboy boots, chaps and hat (Stetson) but are already feeling a bit out of place when filling up at the gas station. Texans are a pretty friendly lot but not keen on vegetarians… ‘I knew a vegetarian once… welcome to cattle country son’ : )

We have continued to travel along the Gulf Coast though Alabama (Mobile) then into Mississippi (Gulfport) and Louisiana (Lake Fausse Pointe). The things that stick in our minds are wet lands, hundreds of bridges (very long bridge on route into New Orleans) and hurricane damage. Hurricane Katarina may have been in 2005 but the damage in some areas was total and everything, literally everything is either lost, wrecked, waiting for repair or new. The state park we stayed at experienced 146MPH winds, inches of rain and a huge sea surge and had only just partially opened after loosing all of its buildings, infrastructure (roads, power, water etc) and over 8000 trees… this area was just one giant building site.

From Louisiana we crossed the Texan border and on to Galveston Island… where we watched the sunset over the lagoon with the pelicans fishing from our bedroom (no not the pelicans fishing from our bedroom, us watching the sunset from there….) and moaned about SatNav Suzie.

SatNav Suzie? Mother named her when she nearly lost it in the Blue Ridge Mountains ‘recalculating’ herself to a standstill and finally giving up totally lost. Well Phyllis, she is still up to her old tricks. Don’t get it wrong, Suzie is a fantastic tool and we would not be without her. She gets it right 99% of the time but that 1% can be scary.
En route to a fairly remote State Park in Louisiana she took us down a 20mile dirt track. Even at 15MPH it virtually shook the RV apart. The continuous vibrations for over an hour turned the milk in the fridge into butter fat… another 5 miles and we could have scooped it out with a knife! Then yesterday we were happily driving towards the bridge over to Galveston Island when we were forced to stop in a queue with some official looking guy asking us to make sure our LPG (Propane) was switched off? The first we know about what is going on is when Suzie who had been silent for the last 20 miles comes out with… ‘board ferry’ ???

In the valley of the blind, the one eyed man (or woman) is king : )

Finally… ** Happy Birthday Ronnie **, gone but still in our thoughts and hearts...

Take care - stay warm.

Den and Jane