Where Have We Been?

I have been terrible in posting where we've been since January.  Well, we've been having a great time and on quite an adventure.  The biggest reason I haven't posted to our blog is that we have to have decent internet to post and we've been to some great places but have had horrible WiFi and we don't have a hot spot.  I'm trying to convince Roger that we need one, but to no avail so far.  Here are some quick pictures of where we've been since leaving the Pumpkin/Christmas Tree Lot in Simi Valley.
We had a bonfire in the desert with our friends Christine and Bob Johnson in Blythe, CA.  Took a trip to San Diego,

Mountains on the way to San Diego

We took the tour of the City of San Diego

View of Downtown San Diego

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Navy Pier

San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoot

How we felt after walking the San Diego Zoo

On to Sea World, which was a huge disappointment!  We were way overcharged for what we saw at the Park.  We paid full price and only half of the Park was open. 

Do I have to stick my hand in here?

Having a great time!

Seal and Otter Show

Shamu I and Shamu II

On to Arizona:

Can you spot the ram and her baby?

Road to Roosevelt  Bridge 

Roosevelt Bridge

Cliff Dwellers 

Tonto National Forest

Tonto National Forest

Tonto National Forest

Very Old Saguaro Cactus at Cliff Dwellers in Tonto National Forest

Grand Canyon of Arizona

New Mexico;

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Living Desert Zoo

Desert Plants at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

Roger at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

Barrel Cactus found in Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico

Can you spot the Roadrunner

Javelina

 

Tortoise

 

Prairie Dog

New Mexico Mountains on the way to Roswell

Aliens that landed in Roswell

White Sands National Monument

Yucca at White Sands National Monument

Ben marched in the reenactment of the Bataan March at the White Sands National Monument.
On to Texas;

Dedication to the Alamo Heros

Alamo

 

Japanese Gardens, San Antonio

Blooming Yucca plant at Japanese Gardens

Riverwalk, San Antonio

Riverwalk, San Antonio

Riverwalk, San Antonio

Mission San Jose'

Mission San Jose'

 

Mission Concepcion'

So. Padre Island, view from our site at Isla Blanca County Park

 So. Padre Island, view from our site at Isla Blanca County Park

 

Wind Surfer on So. Padre Island

Wind Surfer on So. Padre Island

Ocean going vessel going past our site at Isla Blanca County Park

Man-O-War at National Seashore on Padre Island

Jelly Fish at National Seashore on Padre Island

Pier at IB Magee Beach Park in Port Aransas

Jettie at IB Magee Beach Park in Port Aransas

Canal at IB Magee County Park

Site at Gulf Waters RV Resort compliments of our friends Judy and Steve Taylor

Windsurfers at Port Aransas

Port Aransas Ferry

We leave for the Dallas Ft. Worth area tomorrow.  Happy Trails!

Christmas Tree Lot and Beyond

When we finished with the Pumpkin Lot, we had a couple of weeks rest.  We were able to do a little touring of the Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks areas, meet friends for lunch and go back to Canyon Country and meet up with a couple of our employees from when we managed the Christmas Tree lot there.  Before we knew it, it was time to start setting up for the Tree Lot in Simi Valley.

Roger and our Zone Manager, Patrick Delaney

Trees

We repainted the Pumpkin Cashier booth for Christmas

The tree is "fresh cut"

A hole is drilled to screw the stand onto tree, customer pays for the tree and then loaded into their vehicle

We stayed at the tree lot until December 29 cleaning up and "closing up shop" till next year.  Yes, I did say "till next year".  We already told the owners that we would love to come back and manage both the Pumpkin and Tree lot.

Off to Blythe, CA.  We rested for a week and then took off from the Phoenix airport for Minnesota.  Lucky us, we landed at MSP for the coldest days that Minnesota has had in 20 years.  We froze!!!  Our stay was lots of fun and very eventful.  Not only did we get to see our newest Grandson Leo, but we celebrated Christmas with all of Roger's kids and had lunch with my Aunt JoAnn, Uncle Verle, Cousins Debbie, Diane and Joe and their families.  We stayed with friends Kittie and Terry; and "babysat" Roger's daughter Denise and her husband Tony's house while they took the kids to Disney World; had lunch and with friends Lee and Pam and assorted dinners with family.  Whew!!  It was good that we rested before coming to MSP because we were very tired when we left.

Grandma and Grandson Leo

Son Scott with his nephew Leo

Grandpa and Grandson Matt

Daughter Jen

Daughter Amy with Linus, son-in-law Tom in background

Granddaughter Faith with Leo and Grandpa

Grandsons Kyle and Blake

Grandson Jarod

Grandson Leo with Daughter-In-Law Lisa

Uncle Verle, Aunt JoAnn, Cousin Joe and Kerry

Cousin Debbie and her son Ryan

Cousin Diane her husband Dennis and daughter Katie

When we arrived back in Phoenix after our whirlwind trip, we were greeted at the airport by good friends Pat and Son.  We spent a wonderful day/evening visiting with them and left after breakfast to return to our home on wheels in Blythe.  We didn't exactly let any grass grow under our feet when we got back.  Our friends Bob and Chris, who own the Riviera RV Resort where we are staying, gave us tickets to go see the Bluegrass Festival in Blythe.  The festival featured Bluegrass bands from all over the US.  We had a great time!

The big Quartzsite RV Show started that weekend, so we decided to wait until Monday to go check it out.  Quartzsite AZ is a tiny town about 17 miles from Blythe.  The town is basically a ghost town during most of the year; but when all of the RV'ers appear during the winter months to camp on Bureau of Land Management Land out in the desert; it becomes a metropolis.  The RV show is huge and really fun.  We were only going to go one day and we've been there now 4 times and we're going again on Friday.

We'll be leaving Blythe on the 29th and heading to San Diego.  I made reservations to stay for a week at the Chula Vista RV Resort.  Talk to you all then!

The Pumpkin Patch

Halloween is done!  After selling over 4,000, yes 4,000 pumpkins, Roger and I are going to take some time to relax before we get ready to sell Christmas Trees.  I have to say that we had a lot of fun managing the Pumpkin Lot and we were very fortunate to have GREAT employees.  Here's a few pictures of our lot complete with not only pumpkins but squash; baking pumpkins; goats, bunnies, chickens and a duck; a bungee ride, Tubs of Fun & Mindwinder mechanical rides; an inflatable jump house, an inflatable obstacle course; and a giant slide.

Train Trip to and from the Grand Canyon

Today we went on a train trip on the Grand Canyon Railway to the Grand Canyon, toured the Grand Canyon and rode the train back to Williams, AZ.  The pictures tell what kind of a day we had.

Prior to the train trip a Wild West show

One of the actors and Sue

The trip to the canyon included a musical show

Bright Angel Mule Trail

View from Visitors Center

West of Mather Point

Hoppi Point

Thank God that there was a railing!

The Grand Canyon Train Station

Hoppi House

Train trip back to Williams again included music,

 a robbery,

and beautiful scenery

The End