La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 10 & The Da Vinci Exhibit

The Da Vinci Exhibit at the Blue Water Resort & Casino

Wednesday, January 15, 2014, La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 10 - 0 miles 4,878.8 For the Trip

I waxed part of the roof after breakfast, but it was a little too sunny to do the side facing the sun. My next door neighbor told me there was a free spaghetti dinner all day for seniors at the Blue Water Resort & Casino. I had wanted to see the Da Vince exhibit that was at the casino, so I decided to combine the two for dinner.

Well, I did get to see the exhibit. $20.00 admission, worth it if you are interested in Da Vinci, which I am, probably not if you aren't. It consists of wooden models of many of his inventions, a time line of his life, and a bunch of poorly reproduced copies of some of his artistic work. Part of the problem is the lighting was terrible. I suspect since I spent a lifetime working with theatre lighting I might be over critical, but with fixtures aimed next to an exhibit rather than at it, a single spotlight lighting only the middle of a large painting, many items in darkness, etc, someone could have put a bit more effort into the presentation. In any case, it was interesting to see the drawings of his inventions brought to life. I have always been fascinated by the man - amazing inventive mind combined with tremendous artistic talent. More photos of the exhibit at today's LakeshoreImages page.

As to the spaghetti dinner, when I walked past the thousands of slot machines & found the restaurant, I discovered that every senior in Parker decided to take advantage of the free dinner. The line circled the floor & then some - the wait was between 1 & 1 1/2 hours. I decided it wasn't worth waiting, so did a little shopping & headed back to the campground. Dinner was a grilled chicken thigh & a Koor noodles, cheese & broccoli side. Not free, but I'm sure I ate well before I would have if I waited at the casino.

Until tomorrow -

La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 9

Rising Moon

Tuesday, January 14, 2014, La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 9 - 0 miles 4,878.8 For the Trip

Today was a busy one. I met Micah Smith getting set up to wash a trailer across the street from me, discovered he charges $2.00 per foot including the roof, tires & windows and decided $34.00 was a good deal. Another reason for having a small trailer! He doesn't have a web page, but if you have a trailer between Parker & Lake Havasu City, he can be reached at 602 677 9892.

Only one problem - as he was getting started on the 1st trailer the water went off. I asked him to wash mine if the water came back on and headed to Parker to do laundry. There is a laundromat even if Matilda, my GPS doesn't thing so. The Kofa Laundromat was quite crowded - I couldn't get any of the front loading machines, so it was a couple of old fashion washers. When the clothes were done there was only one dryer left open.

On the way home I stopped at Walmart & picked up a plant hanger that may work as a hummingbird holder. Back at the campground I found a freshly washed trailer, so the next step was to wax it. I only did the shadow side since the sun was pretty hot. Because it is a small trailer, it only takes about 2 hours to do the entire thing. After that I used the trailer as a wind blocker and read for a bit. The last 3 days have been pretty windy, although it seems to be getting less each day. After a shower I read a little more, then decided to try the restaurant next to the campground for dinner. I got a fried shrimp dinner that was excellent. Even included three fried mushrooms, a favorite of mine.

After dinner I waxed the other side of the trailer. Didn't do the roof - that will have to wait until tomorrow. The rising, almost full moon was surrounded by some color from the sunset - the photo doesn't do it justice, but it was pretty.

Until tomorrow -

La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 8

Monday, January 13, 2014, La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 8 - 0 miles 4,878.8 For the Trip

Another windy day. I tried sitting outside, but just couldn't find the right combination of sun and shade while hiding from the wind. I took a couple of walks, then headed for the trailer. I have a new addiction - a friend decided to help with my complaint of being bored & introduced me to Candy Crush. I added the app to my iPad, and have already wasted at least an hour playing it. It is fun as long as you don't start ordering extra plays, etc. I suspect an addictive person could pile up quite a bill at iTunes since they sell all kinds of add ons, just at the time you need them!

No photos today. Dinner was the last of the meatloaf & a salad.

Until tomorrow -

La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 7

Strange Cloud

Sunday, January 12, 2014, La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 7 - 0 miles 4,878.8 For the Trip

A typical Sunday morning - read the Syracuse Post Standard newspaper on my iPad. I much prefer it on paper, but it would be tough getting it delivered here in Arizona! I have to read it on the iPad 4 days a week anyway even at home; like many newspapers in the US, the Post Standard went to 3 days a week on paper & 7 days on line.

I took my daily 2 mile walk around the campground in two sessions today. The second walk was along the river in the section of the campground that is water only. Even that is pretty near filled - they have a sign at the entrance stating dry camping only. I'm lucky I showed up when I did - the sign has been up most of the week & during my walks I haven't seen any empty spaces in the electric & water sites, either the permanent or 2 week sections.

Some of the trailers & motorhomes in the water only section are here for the duration, and have 200 - 400 watts of solar on the roof, most tilted to improve the collection of solar energy in the low winter sun. At least one motorhome is really prepared for dry camping - it had over 1000 watts worth of panels scattered across the roof. A few also have portable Honda & Yamaha inverter generators (the quiet kind). The row starts about 300' from my trailer & I've never heard a generator, so I'm guessing there are no construction specials in the collection.

While it was quite warm today (at 3:30 it was 75°F) the clouds moved in & the wind picked up. I don't have a wind gauge, but it is enough that it shakes the trailer, and puts a bit of a chop on the river. I managed to sit outside until about 4:30, then decided to come inside.

Just before I came in I noticed a strange cloud - well before sunset one small cloud decided to show some color. If I remember from what little meteorology I've read, it is caused by ice crystals - in any case it only lasted for a couple of minutes before it went back to a normal cloud. You may have to look at the large version to see it...

Dinner will be left over meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and snap peas.

Until tomorrow -

La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 6

Water Skiing on the Colorado River

Saturday, January 11, 2014, La Paz County Park, AZ, Day 6 - 0 miles 4,878.8 For the Trip

Today's excitement was the Swap Meet. Every Saturday an empty field next to the campground fills with 100's of vendors selling just about anything you can thing of (except the Shepard's hook I'm looking for to hang my hummingbird feeder). All I bought was a bag of kettle corn - very good! I did find a Shepard's hook at the local hardware store, but it was made of 1/2" steel, too big & too heavy for traveling, plus a bit more expensive than I wanted to pay. I'll keep looking.

I took some photos of the different boats cruising on the river. All kinds of boats - I'll try to get more examples. My favorite today was the guy that went by 4 times on water skis. He, unlike the lady the other day, was wearing a wet suit. Photos of a couple of other boats at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Dinner was meat loaf & a salad.

Until tomorrow -