Friday, November 29, 2013 (Midland LTVA, Blythe, California)

After our usual start to the day, it was time to get to work. Steve wanted to wash the mud off the truck which means finding a car wash in Blythe with a bay large enough to accommodate us. We headed off just after 9:00...my role in this is to plug quarters into the meter when required and help wipe the truck dry afterwards.

Steve did something different at this car wash...we stopped at the park and filled the blue water containers with water and he used it to fill his bucket. This way, he was able to use his own soap and control when he wanted the metered water on and off. This worked well, and we also used a lot fewer quarters!



Two and a half hours later, we (or should I say, Steve) was done and we were on our way home. We had a bite to eat for lunch and then got ready to go to the Blythe I-10 Race Track.

Dennis and Charlene picked us up at 1:45 and we headed to the track to watch the race cars "try and tune" in preparation for the races tomorrow afternoon. There were four classifications of cars getting out on the track today.
Bandolero class that run Briggs & Stratton engines...







This driver is 7 years old and it's his first time driving!

He spun out a couple of times...

These are Legend cars that run 1200 cc motorcycle engines

Legend car spins out...

This is the Pinto class...yes, the old Pinto cars...this one spins out...

The fourth class trying out the track today were the Stock cars. Only one showed up...I guess the rest are all "tuned" and ready to go tomorrow!

The track closed at about 4:15. We had been the only ones in the stands watching...it was nice because Dennis was able to ask the "flag guy" lots of questions about the cars, drivers and the track. We were invited to stay for the dinner afterwards but after a lot of humming and hawing, decided against it...mainly because the food wasn't going to be served for another 30 to 45 minutes, the sun had gone down and it was getting chilly...besides, I kind of felt that we would be intruding...the dinner was being hosted by Lucas Oil for all of the drivers, pit crews and their families.

So we headed home...where Charlene invited us over for homemade bean soup...nice! We enjoyed another evening...cocktails, a delicious hearty soup...and great company! Thanks guys!





Thursday, November 28, 2013 (Midland LTVA, Blythe, California)



We were up at our usual time this morning...6:00 seems to be the norm lately! Oh well, at least we aren't having to rush to work...LOL!

I chopped the cabbage, put it into a ziplok bag and also put the rest of the ingredients for the salad into baggies. After making the dressing, I put it into a small plastic container...there...the salad is all ready and I'll just have to mix it all together when we are there. Charlene and Dennis invited us to join them at a Thanksgiving gathering at their friends place in Bouse, Arizona. We had been to another gathering at Jim's place the "Eagles Nest" last February for Valentine's Day...quite a gathering and lots of fun!

Dennis and Charlene picked us up at 10:00 and just over an hour later, we were at Jim's place (it was just after 12:00 in Bouse because Arizona is an hour ahead of California).
Everyone in the little community was busy preparing for Thanksgiving Dinner...dish after dish...so much food...was being set out. They even had to set up another table, there was so much food!


Time to eat!


After a delicious meal, the dishes were taken away, and everyone relaxed in their chairs, chatting and listening to the band.

Mike the guitar player on the right is a former customer of Steve's...small world.

I love this...these two little dogs had their own chairs to sit on (Suzanne, I think you should get one for Dunkin!)...

It was going on 4:00 when we got home. We had spent a lovely day enjoying the American Thanksgiving with great friends...thank-you, Dennis and Charlene, for including us in your day!



Wednesday, November 27, 2013 (Midland LTVA, Blythe, California)

It was shortly after 11:00 by the time we were ready to head out on an ATV ride. We stopped at Armand and Ann's place to see how they did getting their satellite TV going. They also use ShawDirect (they are from Alberta) and were having troubles getting a signal. As it turned out, all that was needed was just a bit of an adjustment and all was good.

We then stopped to introduce ourselves to Rod and Jan from Quesnel BC. Apparently while researching areas to stay on BLM lands they came across our blog about the Midland LTVA...so here they are.

We dropped our garbage off at the bins and were then on our way. I had downloaded local geocaches to our GPS's but for some reason mine wouldn't give me directions. I'll have to sit down with it and figure out all of the settings...I did have it all set up for geocaching at one point but lost all of the settings...sheesh!

This is a wash that we stopped at last year...there is a geocache here but we think it may have been washed away.



It's a windy day today...



We tried to carry on through the canyon where we rode last year but came upon a sign that said Wilderness Area...no ATV's, motorcycles, jeeps, etc...so we turned around. We then tried to get through the mountains on another trail but there were a lot of deep washouts so we ended up turning around and taking the same trail we were on the other day. Today, we planned on going along the base of the mountain, around to the other side. We had done that last year but we must have missed a turnoff because next thing we knew were were headed southwest towards the highway.


We ended up taking a trail that paralleled the highway...and came across these palm tree stumps...

Before we knew it, we could see the LTVA in the distance...and then we were home. We hadn't planned on being back so soon...it was only 1:30.

After putting all of our riding gear away, I settled in with the Garmin Montana 600 user guide (on my laptop) while Steve decided to go out and finally install the new air toggle switch for the rear air suspension in the truck that blew apart last September. Can't rush into these things! We have been using a large paddle type air switch from a Kenworth tractor that doesn't fit into the dash.

Just after 4:00 we headed up to Charlene and Dennis's place for cocktails...and had another lovely evening chatting. Tomorrow is the American Thanksgiving and we are going with Dennis and Charlene over to Bouse, Arizona to join in a big celebration...looking forward to it!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of our American friends!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 (Midland LTVA, Blythe, California)

We had another very lazy start to the day...as usual! After breakfast and getting cleaned up, Steve headed outside...time to pump the two 5-gallon containers of freshwater into the trailer. While he was doing that, I called a hair salon in Blythe that Charlene had recommended, and made an appointment for a haircut this afternoon.

Charlene picked me up at 11:30 and we left Steve relaxing in the sunshine as we headed off into Blythe. We started our afternoon off by going to Rosita's for a lovely lunch....good food, good conversation...good company! After that we went over to The Dollar Store and wandered around, gathering a few interesting things as we went. Then it was time to go to Angel's Salon for my much needed haircut.

After a stop at Albertson's for a few groceries, we headed  home...it was going on 3:30 and I had had a great afternoon!  Thanks so much, Charlene...it was great having a "girls afternoon"!

While I was gone, Steve decided to go into town and get propane, more fresh water and also check out the local tire stores to see if he could find a spare wheel/tire for the fifth-wheel. Looks like we are going to have a tough time finding a spare...apparently 17.5" wheels are an unusual size...hmmm....

Just before 6:00, we received a Skype call from Rob and Angie...and a very active little boy.  Sounds like Conner is going to by-pass crawling and go right to walking! It was great seeing and chatting with them!

Steve grilled burgers on the barbecue and after dinner, we settled in for another evening of TV. Ahhh...the end to a great day!

Monday, November 25, 2013 (Midland LTVA, Blythe, California)

I opened the blinds this morning to see clear blue sky! YAY! The forecast for today is for a high of 68F/20C...now, that's more like it!

We had our usual start to the day...then got our exercises over with, showered and had breakfast. Our bedroom TV started acting up again last night...the sound keeps cutting out. It was doing it awhile ago but has been working fine for the past couple of months...until last night. So Steve researched TV repair places in Blythe. Sears was all that came up so he tried calling...well, to start with all he got was voicemail...then after that, ringing with no answer...and then it was busy.  It took him well over an hour to get through to someone, only to find out that they don't to repairs there...they would send it away and it would probably take a month. That's not going to work for us. Hmmm...I guess we'll have to figure something else out.

After lunch we decided to go out for a quad ride...

These pictures are probably the same as the ones we took last year...but it is our day :-)









We stopped for a rest at an old calcium carbonate mine site...white as snow...









And away I go!




After a great couple of hours out in the sunshine, we were back. Time to get ready for our guests. Dennis and Charlene are coming over for happy hour.

We had a another great evening chatting with our good friends...