Monday to Thursday, March 19 to 22, 2018 (Big Bend of the Colorado State Recreation Area, Laughlin, NV)

After all of the "playing" over the last couple of days, today we had some shopping and errands to take care of.

We made our way over to a new Walmart in Fort Mohave via the AVI Casino...crossing the Colorado River and then turning south onto hwy 95. Once the shopping was done, we filled up with diesel, $2.64 per/gal...also at the Walmart. Should have checked Gas Buddy as it was $2.54 down the road. We then went north on 95 towards Bullhead City in search of Joann Fabrics and Crafts. Steve picked up some velcro to secure his RC planes in the truck box and then we decided to continue on north to hwy 163, making a big loop back to Laughlin and the park. I took some pictures along the way. Looking across the Colorado River from the Arizona side at the casinos in Laughlin, Nevada...

 The Edgewater and the Aquarius...

 Looking to the right just before we cross the river back into Nevada...

 Looking to the left as we cross the bridge....

Back home by early afternoon, Steve got right to work re-sealing another window. While he did that, I put the groceries away and puttered around a bit and then got things organized for dinner. We have invited Steve, Debbie, Craig and Jo over for dinner...one final gathering before they leave in the morning. Enjoying a pre-dinner drink...me, Steve (M), Debbie, Craig and Jo...

It was a very easy dinner tonight...I already had ribs and salad in the fridge, so I picked up a family sized roasted chicken and potato salad while shopping today to add to the meal. I did the ribs in my Instant Pot...unfortunately, I cooked them too long, so the bones literally fell off, as did the meat as I tried taking them out of the pot. I managed to finish all the pieces in the oven...they didn't look pretty but they tasted great!

After dinner, we moved down to Craig and Jo's for a campfire. The firepit at our site is obviously not used because there are bushes growing right beside it! 

Jo brought out a "make it yourself, cook over the campfire" dessert. A roll of Pillsbury pastry...you roll and wrap a piece of pastry around a campfire fork and slowly cook it on the fire. It puffs up and once brown, roll it in butter, then cinnamon sugar, and if you like drizzle some chocolate and/or caramel syrup on it. This was Steve's creation...yummy! 

Tuesday morning Steve did some more maintenance on the trailer...this time re-sealing around the over-hang. On their way out, Steve and Debbie and Craig and Jo stopped by to say goodbye...great seeing you again, Steve and Deb! And wonderful meeting you Craig and Jo! Thanks for chauffeuring us around, safe travels to you all!

Shortly after 12, we headed off into town...my brother and sister-in-law, Dennis and Suzanne, are staying at the Aquarius for a few days and we are meeting them for lunch. I took a couple of pictures as we approached Laughlin. As you can see, it's a cloudy, breezy day...

 We parked in the Riverside Casino parking lot, met Dennis and Suzanne and walked next door to the Aquarius.

 Lunch at the Outback Steakhouse...

 A quick visit up to their room...nice view!

Steve and I made a "donation" to the slots...and then we wandered back to our truck. Great getting a chance to see you again...safe travels as you head north!

As we entered the State Park, we decided to take a drive down to the scenic overlook area and check it out...

Huge day-use area that extends on either side of the road out to the overlook...

 Click and drag for panoramic view...

Steve spent most of Wednesday editing all of the pictures he took of our hike last Sunday. While he did that, I walked down to the fee-station to pay for another couple of nights. What started to be a 3 night stay when we arrived last Friday has turned into a week's stay. We were going to leave tomorrow but a look at the weather forecast over in California made us decide to put off our departure for another day. Lots of rain happening over there!

When I got back from my walk, Steve had the door shut along with all of the windows...and the air conditioner running. It was a hot one out there, 85F/29F..nice to have full hookups! He continued to edit pictures well into the afternoon.

Well, we said goodbye to Dennis and Suzanne yesterday but since they were still here another day, we invited them over for dinner tonight...they arrived just before 4:00. We started sitting outside but the wind came up and it started spitting out...so inside we went....

I used my Instant Pot again, cooking pork tenderloin...serving it with garlic mashed potatoes and salad...

Around 7:00, we said goodbye to them again...I think that is the third time since we saw them for lunch in Quartzsite! That should be it, though...they leave tomorrow.

After breakfast Thursday morning, Steve went out to put the solar lights and chairs away...then emptied the grey/black tanks, and flushed the black tank. The gate valves were getting a little stiff, so he added half a bottle of baby oil to each tank, then added 2 minutes of water to each one. After that, he worked the gate valves back and forth until they were moving easily. He also sprayed silicone on the gate valve handle rods.

The rest of the day was pretty much spent working on blog updates. Steve was calculating our time and distance to each stop for his notes on the iPad. It was a cloudy, but warm day, 74F/23C...with light rain starting close to noon and continuing off and on for the rest of the day.

We also hitched up...in preparation  for tomorrow's departure. We have four long travel days ahead of us to get us to Vancouver, Washington and an appointment with Tough Top Awnings. The slide topper on the big slide that Steve replaced 3 years ago has a tear starting along the stitched seam, so they are going to replace it...for free! That's great customer service as we weren't expecting that. It will cost us $75 for the install though.

So that's it for now...the next update will not likely be for another week, once we get back home to BC. Wow...that was a fabulous...and fast...(almost) 6 months "down south"!! But we are looking forward to seeing family and friends back home!