About That Nevada (February 17 - 23)

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from Las Vegas!

We left Davis Monthan and Tucson, on Sunday morning. Our trip was a short one to Tolleson, Arizona. It is one of the bedroom communities of Phoenix and houses our favorite Freightliner dealer. We have been there several times in the past for routine maintenance on the chassis of our Tour.

Leaving Davis Monthan with a view of the Catalina Mountains in the the picture.

                                   

 This picture shows a World War II hangar that sits on the grounds of DM.

 Tucson has been very busy this week with the Rodeo and Gem Show.

 Our trip along I-10 was uneventful.  We pulled into our slot at Tolleson early Sunday afternoon. Our coach is second from the right as you are looking at the picture. This is a major service center for trucks and RVs. Last year they installed an area for RVs, complete with full hookups.

Several months ago we noticed that our coach seemed to be out of alignment. Though we had it checked out, nothing was found amiss until a Freightliner employee in Amarillo, Texas, just happened to see the alignment problem. They could not do a three axle alignment there, but we knew that we would eventually be in Arizona and could have it done in Tolleson. Gino, our technician,  found our drive axle alignment to be off by almost four inches. It took two days to have the work completed and we were on our way by Wednesday afternoon. We drove several miles down I-10 to Goodyear where we opted to stay for two nights because of inclement weather in Kingman. (Our trip plans called for us going through Kingman)
Thursday morning was cloudless in Phoenix, so we decided to leave for Las Vegas and do the drive in one day. Our trip began on the 303 in Phoenix, that was under construction.

                                     

Once we got to 60/93, our drive was beautiful. Lots of Joshua Trees dot the highway as you can see from the pictures below.

                                   
                                      

 Our drive into the Kingman area revealed snow in the peaks of the mountains. We were glad that we did not have to drive in rain and 40+ mph winds, that this area experienced the previous day.

                                      

We continued along 93 into Nevada. The picture below shows the new Hoover Dam bridge. High profile vehicles (that would be us) must use the inside lane.

                                      

The Colorado River pours into the Hoover Dam.

                                   

 Once we crossed the bridge, we were in Nevada.

It took a little under an hour to drive through Las Vegas and north to Nellis Air Force Base. Avid blog readers will know that this is a return for us. We will spend the week at Nellis and head to Zion National Park on Friday.

Bear is ready to play in the dog park at Nellis. His toy of choice is the Boomerang and he loves to carry it in his mouth to the park.

                                      

 Our site at Nellis

Thank you for checking in with us. We appreciate your interest in our travels. We treasure this lifestyle and do not take it for granted. See you next week from Zion.

About That Last Week In Tucson (February 10 - 16)

Dear Family and Friends,

Our time in Tucson has flown by and we leave Sunday morning for Phoenix (RV chassis work), then on to Las Vegas. What a wonderful time it has been to see family and friends in the area. In addition,   getting back on the bikes in the beautiful Sonoran Desert has been so much fun. Last week's trip to Park City was certainly a great way to get our ski fix for the year. However, it is time to move on and we are excited about the plans we have made for the coming year.

Roger has spent the week getting the coach in shape for our departure. In addition, we learned that we are now on the list for the Alaska trip that we signed up for last July. We happened to meet the group (about 24 coaches) heading out from Coeur d'Alene on last summer's trip and were so enthralled with the idea of going to Alaska with the same tour company, that we signed up immediately. This 60 day trip through Canada and into Alaska will be a highlight of the RVing experience for us.

                                      

Roger with Bear is busy making plans for the summer and fall.

 Bear went to visit his favorite groomer Anne while we have been in Tucson. He insisted on showing off his new "do."

This is a short post, but the next one will come to you from Las Vegas. We appreciate your interest in our RVing lifestyle. We do not take this life for granted and are grateful for this experience.

About That Park City (January 27 - February 9)

Dear Family and Friends,

First of all a big thank you to our friend Rick (who is an avid blog reader) for taking Roger to see a University of Arizona basketball game. They had so much fun watching U of A devastate USC. Tucson is a huge basketball town!

We spent a quiet few days in Tucson before heading to Park City, Utah on Friday, February 1st.

                                       

A surprise snow in the Catalinas really got us in the mood to ski. This picture was taken two days before we left for Utah.

Our trip to Park City, Utah was wonderful. We left Tucson early on Friday morning, spent the night in St. George, Utah and arrived in Park City on Saturday. We stayed with my brother Warren and his friend, Lea. That night we drove to Deer Valley to watch the finals of the Dual Mogul World Championships. What a thrill to watch mogul skiers (think lots of knee action and two full jumps that involve tricks) from all over the world. The pictures do not convey the thrill of seeing this sport in person, but they give you an idea of the course.

We skied five days before heading home. This sport has always been my favorite and I am lucky to have married Roger, who loves it as much as I do. Utah snow is great!

 Disney is preparing the half pipe for a movie.

 You can barely see the myriad of cameras and lighting for the shots that will appear in the movie, "Fire Ice."

 Roger and Warren as we head up the lift.

 Warren volunteers as a doctor for the ski patrol at Park City. He is an incredible telemark skier.

 Nothing like having the concierge (Warren) apply fresh wax to my skis.

 Roger, Bear and Andie (Warren's airedale) take a break.

 Lea's Boynton spaniel Poppy displays the spaniel sprawl.

 Andie and Bear always have fun wrestling.

In addition to being a great downhill skier, Lea loves ski skating. Warren's condo backs onto the golf course which is the town's cross country track in the winter.

We left Park City early on Friday morning to beat the snow scheduled to fall all weekend. Thank you Warren and Lea for an incredible trip. We had so much fun with you and look forward to seeing you soon.

We arrived back in Tucson on Friday afternoon. We look forward to a catch up week in Tucson with lots of cycling. Hope the weather cooperates! Thank you for checking in and your interest in our RVing lifestyle.