It's Halloween

A lot of people in Havasu are dressing up for Halloween. I met this young lady at lunch and complimented her on her outfit. She returned the favor by saying my costume was much more frightening. Unfortunately, I was not wearing one...

Signs of Aging

I'm back in Lake Havasu City for the winter. There is a large retiree population here which got me to thinking about ways you can tell you are not getting any younger...

• You meet the guys at McDonald's every morning for coffee
• You consider anyone who stays up past 10:00 p.m. a "wild party animal"
• Everything hurts and what doesn't hurt doesn't work
• The gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your bifocals
• You feel like the morning after and you haven't been anywhere
• Your little black book contains only names that end in M.D.
• You turn out the lights for economic rather than romantic reasons
• Your knees buckle but your belt won't
• Your back goes out more than you do
• You get your exercise acting as a pallbearer for your friends who exercise
• Your best friend is dating someone half his age... and isn't breaking any laws

Well, I've got to go... am late meeting the guys for coffee at McDonald's. Feel free to add any other "signs" in the comment section below.

Jeep Crashes

Here's a short video on "how not to drive a Jeep"...

A number of these crash sites are in Moab

Sherp ATV

All Terrain Vehicles continue to get better and better at going places you think you would never drive. The Sherp is one of the more impressive machines I have come across lately. It is made in Russia and appears to be distributed in North America via Canada for ~$100,000.

Las Vegas

Throwing caution to the wind and without a bullet-proof vest, I have returned to Las Vegas to see some shows and do some shopping before heading to Lake Havasu for the winter. I am not much of a gambler but I do like to go to casinos off the strip for relatively inexpensive meals and entertainment. Most visitors, who stay on the strip or downtown, see the glitz and glamour of Vegas. Unfortunately, you do not have to wander too far from those areas to see a less attractive side of the city. The vagrant population appears to be getting worse every year...

I stay at a RV park off the Boulder Highway which is gated and has excellent security as it is in an area that you do not want to go for long, romantic walks after dark. Tonight, I had dinner at Sam's Casino and once again, was struck by the number of individuals in wheel chairs, breathing oxygen through a tube while smoking, drinking and playing the slot machines. It was depressing.

Stool Bus

Last night I stayed at the Pie Town RV Park (full hook-ups and excellent Wi-Fi for $25/night). The owner, who also runs a septic tank business, apparently, has a unique sense of humor. Here's his service truck...

Alamogordo Attractions

White Sands National Monument - If you enjoyed playing in the sandbox when you were a kid, then this is the place for you as there are miles and miles of beautiful, gypsum sand dunes...

Click on photos to enlarge

You can even "toboggan" down some of the steeper slopes...

A few shrubs like skunkbush sumac grow dense, deep roots that form a pedestal after the dune moves on...

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New Mexico Museum of Space History - Contains exhibitions ranging from Robert Goddard's early rocket experiments near Roswell to a mock-up of the International Space Station...

If I can figure out how to keep the front wheels on the ground, I am thinking of putting this engine in my RZR...

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World's Largest Pistachio -  After six years of traveling as a full-time RVer, I finally got to see the world's largest pistachio...

Flash Flood

Heading west on Highway 82 from Artesia to Alamogordo, NM, I noticed the creek beside the road kept getting bigger and bigger until it was a raging torrent of water over-flowing its banks and flooding the surrounding pastures. A couple miles later, I come around a corner and see that traffic had come to a halt where the water was crossing the road. It took about a half hour for the water to begin to recede and after watching a couple of other high clearance vehicles make it through, I decided to try it...

Oversize Load Crash

While driving west on I-10, I watched a truck with an oversize load slam into the underside of an overhead bridge and was able to capture it with my dash cam...

As you can see in the slow-mo portion of the video, there was a lead truck with a vertical pole to check for overhead clearance. It appears he did not give the other trucker enough time to stop before hitting the bridge. I suspect someone is going to be looking for a new job after this.

Luckenbach

If you have never been to Luckenbach, TX, then you may be surprised to learn that it is basically a one store town out in the middle of nowhere. I can understand why Willie and the boys like to play here as it is a casual, laid-back venue surrounded by magnificent, old oak trees (some of which are almost as old as my cousin Chris).