VEGAS STRIP

BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Tuesday, April 3rd

What a gorgeous day we woke to! Sunshine and no winds! Felt like God was giving us a respite from the wind storms, so took advantage and headed into Vegas on our bike. It was a bit chilly on the ride in (one hour away), but we layered-up and leathered-up and off we went!

One sad thing we have discovered about Nevada, their economy seems to revolve around and strive on gambling. There are Casinos on every block, literally every block. And they don't call it gambling, they call it "Gaming". The money that is poured into these machines is mind boggling.

A funny "small-world" thing happened once we arrived on the strip. Mama had remembered that my best friend from elementary school, Janet, currently lives in Vegas and she happened to have her phone number. So, I called her and she met us to catch-up...really catch-up, since we had not seen each other for over 40 years!!! Fun stuff!

WINDS, WINDS, WINDS!!!!

Saturday, March 31st

Arrived at our next destination, Preferred RV Resort (www.preferredrv.com) in Pahrump, Nevada. Nice park, with over 300 lots, and great facilities. Looks like a good spot to call home for a week, however, the winds are still relentless! They are so strong, that the full time residents are saying they have never seen anything like this. They say that March winds are very normal in the dessert, but these gale forces are not! Everyone is ready for a calm day!

After checking the internet, we ventured out on the Harley to locate a Baptist church to attend the next day, we were buffeted around a bit, but located one a couple miles away. Worshipped with them Sunday AM. Another very small congregation, maybe 20 there. Greeted warmly and enjoyed participating in their fellowship. It is good to start our week here in God's house with HIS people!

Monday was yet another day of really strong winds...too strong to enjoy being on the bike, so we spent the day doing some organizing inside the RV. Finding a permanent home for some of the items we still had in boxes. Just like moving into a new home, takes a while to figure out where you want the things to reside. Not many spaces to choose from...but there is certainly a space for all of our earthly treasures! Steven even checked off a few chores off his Honey-Do list!

Not sure what blessing God is gonna bring out of this storm. But we will be patient and wait on HIM. We were hoping to see the Vegas strip, since we are so close. We obviously don't gamble, but mainly just curious. Have seen the lights in pictures and have been told by friends who have been here, that you have to see it to believe it. So, if the winds stop...we will. If the winds continue to reek havoc...we will know we should stay put in Pahrump!

HOOVER DAM

An Incredible Engineering Masterpiece!

NEVADA BOUND!!!

Left Davis-Mothan to head toward Nevada. Our drive was challenging to say the least, because Arizona/Nevada are having severe wind storms. The weather is headline news here, with wind gusts up to 50 mph! One newscast even reported 70mph! The winds are so strong that our 33,000 pound RV rocked and shook the whole journey from Tucson to our next stopping point.

Again Steven's driving skills were tested as he had to really fight to keep the rig rolling. These winds are predicted to last several days, so that will prove to be interesting!!

Saturday 31st... HOOVER DAM!!!

We hiked the trails that lead to the Dam...6 miles, to be exact. It was hot and very windy, but well worth the view when we made it!!

GALLERY OF MEMORIES

Good Sam RV Rally, Phoenix, Az

BONEYARD, Davis-Mothan AFB, Tucson, Az

DAVIS-MOTHAN AFB, TUCSON, AZ

March 26-30th

Arrived in Tucson, Arizona at Davis-Mothan Air Force Base to stay at their "FAM-CAMP" on post for a week. The scenery on the drive here continued to be breath-taking as we were surrounded by majestic mountains on every side. The dessert is desolate, only holding cactus and tumbleweeds. It has been amazing to see so many miles of empty land.

The military campground was the most impressive one I have ever seen. It was pristine! Very well manicured and every single building, including the base housing appeared to have been freshly painted. There was not one area in the entire base that was not "outstanding". There were over 190 camping sites, so plenty of lots to call "home" for a week! The Arizona days were very hot and dry and the nights were cool. The sunsets were incredible with so many beautiful hues of color, and mighty mountains as a backdrop, a hand-painted canvas by God!

The warning signs for rattlesnakes were prevalent most everywhere. The camp manager warned us it was rattlesnake season and to be careful walking around, especially at night. Forgot to mention, that while we were in Phoenix, the mountain that sat next to the raceway was called "Rattlesnake Mountain"!

Steven's friend Larry (met him Kyrgyzstan) picked us up on Thursday morning and took us to a section on the base known as the "Boneyard". It is the graveyard for all the old aircrafts that no longer fly. Miles and miles of aircrafts!! Currently we were told there were 3,954 planes there and next month they were expecting 1500 more!! Will try to upload a few pictures soon, but I can promise you that the pictures don't even come close to the "WOW" factor of seeing that many planes lined-up wing to wing. What a sight! Larry then took us to a local Mexican restaurant that is the hit of Tucson. In fact, they boast about President Clinton eating there when he was in Tucson. Not a fact that was terribly impressive to us...however, if it is the place where they take the President of the United States, we figured it must be pretty good! And it was definitely authentic Mexican! It was a great day and we are appreciative to Larry for being such a great host!

So many neat experiences and good people as we RV out West. We have been able to worship at a different church every Sunday since we left on our adventure. We made a promise that we will not travel on Sundays, but will make sure that we are in a campground somewhere on Sunday mornings so we can always find a place to worship. We are planning on keep a log of every church we attend. Will be neat to compile them as we make our way from state to state! We are reminded that there are so many of God's children serving HIM and sharing HIS message and that the fellowship we encounter is the extended hand of our Lord. We may be a stranger in their town, but we are always made to feel like family! It is so good to be a part of HIS forever family!

OUR FIRST RV RALLY!

GOOD SAM RV RALLY March 22nd-25th

Since we began to toy-with the idea of "full-timing" (living in our RV full time, we have read about, heard about RV Rallies. They are held three times a year in various locations. Steven thought it might be a good idea for us to experience one, first hand. So our long trek to Phoenix Arizona, has ended up at the Phoenix International Raceway and we (along with 3,894 other RVer's) packed in 4 days of fun and entertainment!

I have never seen so many RV's! It was sorta' like Bike Week in Daytona, except the motorcycles were replaced with huge rolling homes!!! :-) The days consisted of many seminars to attend, according to what interest you had. Many on the care, maintenance of the RV's, many on places we could visit/tours we could take, many on items and products that work best in small spaces! So much knowledge from so many sources. Definitely a learning experience.

Over 124 vendors selling their wares, and many, many RV dealerships hoping to sell their 2012 models to those in attendance! We were amazed how many people did buy brand new RV's! Bought them right there on the lot, transferred all of their belongings out of their current "house" and stocked their new one! Pretty amazing! So glad we are still very happy with our 2006 model!! Don't need that kind of debt now since we have no active source of income!! :-)

The nightly entertainment was fabulous! Bill Cosby, at age 75, still has his dry-wit and kept us all laughing hysterically at his satire. Martina McBride was obviously fighting some throat issues, but was a trooper and belted out her incredible hits, despite having to drink water throughout her performance. She has always been my favorite female country singer and the main reason my sweet husband booked this Rally! The final evening we were entertained by a group called, "Ticket To Ride". They are a group who not only sing all the Beatles tunes, but have obviously studied them, because you would have bet they WERE the Beatles! Their looks, mannerisms, British voices, costumes...everything was choreographed perfectly! All of the acts were a perfect way to end a super-packed day! All good!

Seeing so many who have chosen this lifestyle gives assurance that it can, indeed be done and that we can have a great life doing it! I made a couple of good contacts with some gals who have been on the road for several years and am anxious to contact them through their e-mails and "pick their brains" as I begin this journey!

Hoping to post a few pictures later, once Steven downloads the camera to the computer. But for now, we will pack up and once again hit the road. This time we head to Tucson, and will stay at Davis-Mothan Air Force Base to meet up with one of the Airmen that Steven served with in Kyrgyzstan. Bye for now!

CAMPING

IN THE

WEST!

The night before we arrived in Phoenix, for the Good Sam RV Rally, we stayed in a campground in St David, Az. It was called "Western Horizons" or as the locals referred to it, "Two Lakes RV Park". It was "so western"! Very old West! I was like going back in time. The amenities were very modern, but the decorations certainly made you feel like you were back in the old west...kinda' fun! We were only there over night, but it was on a Wednesday night, so we hopped on the Harley and sought out a Baptist church to attend. The church was the First Baptist of St David, but it was a very small church and we brought the attendance up to a grand total of seven people! The few there were very impressed that we would join them, since we were on vacation and knew no one there. The pastor was genuinely appreciative. We stayed after and chatted with him and feel like we were able to encourage him to keep on being faithful, despite the low attendance. Sadly the biggest church in that city was not even a church, but a Mormon facility. So sad and scary. We affirmed what he already knew, that God would use him to share the "Truth" and that his presence there mattered.

Our hope for living on the road is to "do ministry" as we go and I definitely feel like we did here. We packed up our little caravan and headed for Phoenix the next morning.

"Do Over"

Since the blog entry on Monday was not readable, I have had a few friends ask if I might try a re-post. So, here it is again...this time legible!

Our Monday began and ended with us praising our incredible God! We arrived at the RV Repair Shop, to find out that our new tire had come in (first praise), the guys there were great and got the the tire on so quickly and efficiently. Which meant that we could get on our way and not be delayed another day (second praise). We had to call our Insurance company to verify that they would cover the cost of the tire, which they did...all but $5.00. That was our (third and biggest praise), because the one tire cost $890.00!!! Yep, read it again, $890.00. Unbelievable! The scary thing is that there are 10 of them on our RV! So, we are praying hard we won't have anymore tire issues for a long while!

We went back to our campground to re-hitch the trailer (with the Harley & our bikes), while we were re-hooking and getting the coach ready for travel, Maverick, (our Maine Coon cat) got out of the RV without us realizing it. A couple walking their dogs spotted him UNDER our coach (fourth praise) and I was able to retrieve him before we accidentally ran over him! Once he had escaped outside, he realized it was not a smart move and was trying to climb up inside the undercarriage of the coach. I don't know who was more upset, Maverick or me!

Finally got on the road and headed down I-10 West. After driving for a while, we ran into a storm with rain and high winds. Not great weather to travel in, but we trekked on, hoping to out run the mess. We made it as far as Kerville, Texas and ran into an incredible hail storm! The hail was the size of golf balls and they were bouncing off our RV like rubber balls. The rain was relentless and the winds so strong, that it was shaking the rig. This stretch of Texas is nothing but barren land with cactus and rock everywhere, but NO place for a 40 Ft motorhome to find respite from a storm. Steven did a remarkable job, keeping us steady on the road and we both prayed that God would protect us and our "home". In reality, we were both sick to our stomachs as we envisioned what our Harley and Monaco Coach was going to look like after this beating was over! Once we were through the nasty weather, we pulled into a Rest Stop and got out to assess the damage. Amazingly, (fifth praise) there was not ONE scratch or dent on either!! Isn't our God amazing!!! Praising Him is so easy, even in the storm. We just marvel at how much He loves us!

Decided to stop for the night at a Rest Stop. We were emotionally spent from the day's activities and ready to just relax for a few hours. But, let me just leave you ladies reading this with a little tid-bit. At most every Rest Stop we stopped at in Texas, there were signs that read, "Beware Of Snakes." Now, there is something to give you sweet dreams! More tomorrow!