I’m Baaaaack!

It’s been a long dry period for this blog, and it’s high time I got back to writing. Thanks to all those faithful readers who have continued to check for a new entry. Just a reminder: you can either Follow or Subscribe and be notified automatically when a new post is published.

Don and I are heading west after spending most of the winter in southern Arizona. A quick review:

We made it to Quartzsite in mid-January in time to join the Escapees Happy Hour group for a few days. Several of us parked our coaches in a big square leaving an open area for the gathering that was held the afternoons of Jan 18-19.

We moved to Boomerville a few days later. The Boomers held the popular Geraldine contest with several ‘beauties’ vying for the 2012 title.

Shadow enjoyed the desert sun on his own personal turf.

Dennis practiced his supervisory skills at the RV Driving School gathering in Quartzsite.

The school was recently purchased by George & Valerie Mayleben, and two cakes celebrated the transfer of ownership, following several pots of chili and accompanying dishes (there always has to be food!).

We solved some of the world’s problems during happy hour discussions and shared potlucks.

Liz & Craig spent some time with us and Shadow enjoyed a little extra attention.

We had a few campfires.

And enjoyed beautiful sunsets.

In February we went to Winter Blast in Lake Havasu City and saw lots of friends, and attended “Ed’s Birthday Party” (really Duane’s – a long story).

It was warm in Yuma in late February where we spent some time on Dick Reed’s lot in the Foothills. His bus was there while Dick drove his car to Auburn for a week, so parking was a bit tight but we made it work and enjoyed some good times.

The Gypsy Gathering Rally was held at the Yuma Fairgrounds in early March. Nick and Terry Russell are dear friends, and their RV rallies are always fun and educational. Here, Judy Rinehimer (CoolJudy) presents T-shirts commemorating Nick’s two highly successful e-books.

The Cactus Beauty Queen contest is a favorite event during the rally.

We went back to Benson for a few days for an appointment with Don’s kidney doctor where he got a clean bill of health. Hurrah! So it was back on the road to North Ranch, an Escapees park near Congress, AZ. Don went for a ride in Dennis’s new Razor.

Bead Week at North Ranch was fun and I improved my jewelry-making techniques.

One of the projects was this Tsunami bracelet. Hope mine turns out as well as the instructor’s.

Cacti were blooming throughout the park, enjoying the sunshine along with us.

Now we’re at Edwards AFB, California, linked up with friends Frank & Gloria King, to go to the Pacific coast and make our way to Lodi for the Western Area Rally for Escapees (WARE).