We had lunch, I napped with Sully, then we drove across the river to Bullhead City to run some errands. As we crossed the bridge over the Colorado River we saw RV’s in a park along the river. We went to take a look at the very lovely Davis Camp County Park before driving into Bullhead City. We did some shopping at Walgreens. We found the Dodge Dealer.
I will return tomorrow to buy a brake caliper bolt. We did some grocery shopping at Safeway.
We returned across the river to Laughlin and the Riverside Hotel & Casino RV Park. We took Bo for a long walk, and found our RV park’s “dog park”. It wasn’t great ! We gave Bo a bath. We had supper and … WOO-HOO … watched Amazing Race. And Undercover Boss. DARN … I forgot about Celebrity Apprentice !
We are located on the back row of the highest tier of this RV park. We just went for a late night walk to the front row of this upper tier, to see all the lights of the casinos down below on Casino Drive. < blink blink > WOW !
Monday ; Today was sunny and very warm. It was “one of those days” when things did not go so well.
This morning I made pancakes for brunch, then we went to the Laughlin Post Office to pick up the batch of forwarded mail from home. < sigh > It wasn’t there. Every year for the last seven years we have one batch of mail each winter go awry. And every year for a different reason. We returned to the trailer and I got online to attempt to track the XpressPost envelope I was expecting. The tracking information didn’t show much. I phoned the Keremeos Post Office. Yes, yes … < sigh > ... the package of forwarded mail was there, having been returned to the Keremeos Post Office by the Vancouver Post Office … twice ! ! ! Apparently it’s “overweight”. Despite there being no weight limitation specified on XpressPost envelopes … AND … despite never having an XpressPost envelope returned in seven winters of forwarding batches of mail on a monthly basis, so the envelopes have always been approximately the same weight. There’s no point arguing with the Keremeos Post Office. Or any Post Office ! Arguments with the Post Office can not be won ! I told the Keremeos Post Office to hold the XpressPost envelope for me until we return home in three weeks. And I won’t hold my breath waiting for a refund of the $15 cost of the XpressPost envelope / service. “Refund” doesn’t exist in Post Office vocabulary !
In the afternoon we drove across the Colorado River and went to the Dodge dealer in Bullhead City to buy the correct brake caliper bolt. < sigh > They were out of stock. So we went to about half a dozen auto supply stores in Bullhead City and Fort Mohave, the next town over, about 5 or 6 miles down the road. No luck ! I’ll just stop at every Dodge dealer from here to Keremeos until I find one that has the bolt that I need. We shopped at Wal-Mart in Bullhead City. We crossed back over the river at Fort Mohave, which allowed us to see the Avi Casino, which is on Indian land, away from all the other casinos in Laughlin.
When we were in Quartzsite in January we picked up a coupon for a $5 food voucher at The Tropicana here in Laughlin. We went to The Tropicana tonight to have their “bottomless pasta bowl” special for supper. It was excellent ! We joined their player’s club to get our $5 food voucher, so supper cost $7 + $7 - $5 = $9 for both of us. And joining their player’s club earned us $5 each in promotional play / pretend money for casino games play. We played out the $10 in “pretend money” on penny slot machines and ended up with a buck fifty-five in real money. HA HA HA … big spenders in the casino, as always.
Tuesday ; Today was sunny and hot.
I spent the morning and half the afternoon getting caught up on some deferred chores including monthly maintenance and backups of computer files and reconciling last month’s investment statements. Mid-afternoon we went over to see the Riverside Hotel & Casino Resort’s two classic car museums. Well, that explains why the Ford Model A & Edsel Club meets here. Don Laughlin, the owner of the Riverside Hotel & Casino Resort and founder of the city of Laughlin is a collector of antique and classic cars, including some Model A Fords.
Wednesday ; exploring Oatman and Chloride, Arizona
Today was sunny and very warm. This morning Joanne prepared a picnic lunch and we set off for a day of exploring Oatman and Chloride. We drove across the Colorado River to Bullhead City and found our way to Fastenal near the airport. Fastenal is an industrial fastener supply company and I was still looking for the correct brake caliper mounting bolt. The replacement bolt I bought a few days ago was half an inch shorter than the original. Fastenal had the right length of bolt but it was a lesser strength grade than the original. I bought it and will install it. I will consider it temporary, like the first one, but I would rather have a temporary bolt that is the right length but the wrong strength grade, than one that is too short.
We drove south of Bullhead City on Hwy. 95 to Boundary Cone Road then west across to Historic Route 66. Route 66 wound its way up and over and around, through the mountains to Oatman, an “Old Wild West” mining ghost town, renowned for the wild burros that roam its streets. When the miners abandoned the town they left behind their burros whose descendants now roam the streets of Oatman mooching off the tourists. HA HA HA … it’s pretty cute, especially at this time of year when there are babies. We wandered around town, interacting with burros, taking photos, browsing in the shops, and watching re-enactments of gunfights.
Thursday ; Today was sunny, warm, and a bit windy. This morning I removed the first temporary brake caliper bolt, the one that is half an inch too short, and installed the second temporary brake caliper bolt, the one that is a lesser strength grade than the original. And I will still be looking for the exact correct one !
Around noon we headed out for the Avi Casino’s Thursday 2-4-1 buffet lunch special in their Native Harvest Restaurant. While driving south on Hwy. 95 towards Avi Casino we passed Big Bend Of The Colorado State Park. We were interested in seeing their campground as a potential place to stay in the future, but when we approached their entrance gate and asked to drive around the campground to take a look, the Ranger refused to allow us to enter without paying the daily use fee. **** you, pal ! We’ve driven around hundreds of state park campgrounds just to take a really quick look, without ever having to pay an entrance fee if we’re in and out within a few minutes. Today’s experience left a very sour taste in our mouths and strongly influences our willingness to stay in Nevada State Parks … and leave our money behind to pay the salary of an a*****e like that !
To take advantage of the 2-4-1 lunch special we had to join the Avi Casino’s Player’s Club, as we did at the other casinos. And, as before, joining resulted in $5 worth of “free play”. We had a very nice lunch in the Native Harvest Buffet. The dessert was especially noteworthy. It was a prepared to order, fresh fruit flambé served over ice cream. MMMMM ! ! ! After lunch we played slot machines until we blew off the $10 in “free play”. And that resulted in winning $6.73 in real money, bringing the net cost of the afternoon to $1.91 ! HA HA HA HA HA !
There was a classic car show at the Avi, on their manicured grounds alongside the banks of the Colorado River. We walked around in the warm sunshine, and the natural beauty, admiring beautifully restored classic cars, most from the fifties but ranging from the twenties to the seventies. We crossed over the river on the southern bridge near the Avi, to Fort Mohave, Arizona where we shopped at Safeway for a bit of groceries, then drove north a few miles to Bullhead City to refill with diesel before crossing the northern bridge back over to the Nevada side of the Colorado River and return home to Riverside Hotel & Casino Resort RV Park.
I downloaded and processed yesterday’s photos. We took Bo for a long walk. I worked on learning a new magic trick that I bought at the Yuma County Fair a couple of weeks ago. I mastered the essence of the illusion, but it needs a lot of practice and fine tuning. Nevertheless, Joanne was very impressed, and she’s not that easy to impress with magic. And, finally …
< sigh > … I started working on my income tax return. I haven’t yet received all of our income tax information slips … some are in the batch of forwarded mail that’s stuck at the Keremeos Post Office … but I have some of them and have decided to get started on our income tax returns.
Friday ; Today was a lovely, sunny, hot day.
When we checked into the Riverside Hotel & Casino Resort RV Park for a week, we received two vouchers for breakfast in the buffet restaurant. Today we went for breakfast, making the long downhill walk to the casino, but taking the RV park’s shuttle bus back up to our site afterwards. Breakfast was okay. We’re not big breakfast eaters, so a buffet breakfast is somewhat wasted on us. We enjoyed the freshly made to order omelettes.
I spent the rest of the morning doing minor maintenance chores and working on the computer. And after much urging, I “revealed” to Joanne the “magic” in my new magic trick. She remains impressed. Much to Sully’s great delight, I napped with him. He thinks I haven’t been fulfilling my afternoon nap obligations. HA HA HA !
We had a somewhat lazy afternoon. We cleaned the Fantastic Fan in the kitchen. Yuck ! It’s a very effective kitchen fan but it sure gets greasy. Joanne did laundry. I did some online research, looking for Chrysler dealers and Fastenal locations around Las Vegas. We took Bo for a late afternoon leisurely walk, all of us enjoying the “no shirt necessary” weather.
We spent the evening watching TV. We had an opportunity to watch the Celebrity Apprentice episode that we missed last Sunday.
Saturday ; Laughlin to Las Vegas, Nevada
Today was sunny and hot, temperature in the 90’s. Welcome to Vegas, Baby !
This morning when I was checking the fluid level in the truck batteries I had some sulphuric acid splash up into my face. Good thing I wear glasses. Good thing I have a beard ! It took a minute or two for the acid to get through my beard and start burning the skin underneath. OUCH !
We departed Riverside Hotel & Casino Resort RV Park and headed west out of Laughlin on Hwy. 163 to Hwy. 95, then north on Hwy. 95 all the way to Las Vegas. I think many movies, TV shows, and commercials have been filmed on this stretch of Hwy. 95 south of Las Vegas. Very scenic, very lovely drive through the desert, on a “straight as an arrow” road that very slowly dips then very slowly rises, so the road ahead is visible for many, many, many miles.
We arrived in Las Vegas and found our way to Arizona Charlie’s Casino & RV Resort on Boulder Highway. A few months ago in Quartzsite we had picked up a discount coupon for Arizona Charlie’s. Very nice resort ! We checked in, got set up in a site, had lunch, and I napped briefly with Sully. The afternoon was hot so we went to cool off in the swimming pool. Afterwards we went into Arizona Charlie’s Casino to join their Player’s Club and check out the restaurants. We decided to return later to have one their advertised specials for dinner.
I went into the clubhouse attached to the RV park’s office to use their Wi-Fi. It was very slow. Tomorrow I’ll use my ReadyBroadband USB modem. It will probably provide a faster Internet connection than the RV park‘s Wi-Fi. Back at the trailer I worked on our income tax returns for awhile. I’m trying to work half an hour to an hour per day on our income tax returns.
Early in the evening as the sun was setting we took Bo for a long, leisurely walk around the large RV park then went into the casino to have supper at Sourdough Café.
DSK
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