March 05, 2009 Thursday
Our route today takes us from Organ Pipe National Park up 85 until it runs into Interstate 10. It is a new way for us to go. We are not sure that we have ever been to Oregon Pipe National Park unless it was with Johnny in 1991. Going west on Interstate 10, our GPS, Nuvi, suggests that we go up the short cut at intersection 45 straight to 72 that takes us to Parker through the Bouse Wash. We just know that we have never been to Bouse, have you?

Our groceries are low, our US currency is almost nonexistent, our credit card does not work…..probably because we didn’t use it for 3 months and they think someone stole it, and we need to do laundry. The drive up the state line was really nice though. Andy enjoyed the no traffic and nice and easy road to drive. He stopped twice for cat naps and felt better for it. We aimed for the KOA campground at Needles, CA. and NUVI navigator took us right to the spot that she says and we do not see anything like a KOA. Across the street, however, is the park that we ended up in. It is a beautiful and quiet place right on the Colorado River named Needles Marina Park. We called the bank and found that our VISA card has expired. We paid cash for the night stay. Tomorrow we will try another card and/or an ATM. Andy BBQed steaks and we did all of our laundry. Our day ended with a walk around the little lagoon that was created from the river and the river bank beach and the grassy areas along the edge. We may jump into the Jacuzzi before we retire into our house bus.

March 9, 2009

There was another fabulous reunion of family in Utah on the weekend. The BBQ at Deb and Lin’s happened just in time to catch Kate and Graydon coming in from Salt Lake and before they move to Florida, Rick from Henderson, and Graydon’s parents, Mike and Tanya, as they were swinging through from Kanab with little granddaughter, Brylee, and Lin who flew into Las Vegas and let us pick him up at the airport after he had been away from home for over 2 months. The Barbecue included four of Lin’s high school friends from Iowa that are staying in St. George. Many of the other Drake friends came for the barbecue, including Steve Couts and his family that had come to visit Central Park in 1987 before either of his daughters were born and before Kristen, too. Time really flys, huh? Patti and Kristen came from St. George and Thane from Minersville.

We stayed at and met Patti and Kristen near the Lake Mead Parkway Walmart for the night of 6 March. Those two stayed that night on our bus couch bed after we had spent the day with the satellite man trying to figure out our computer satellite dish. The picturesque village of Lake Las Vegas was so near as to attract us for dinner at a fine Italian restaurant, the same one we had a Mother’s day brunch at one time a long while ago (I recognized it from the waiter doll that we had posed with for pictures…..he looks so real that I expected him to say something to me!). With much debate about the safety of snow conditions in Cedar City, our bus made it’s way up to the parking place above Deb and Lin’s house for the nights of March seventh and eighth. Because we hit on a weekend, it was a marvelous visit with everyone. There was breakfast at the Main Street grill before we left this morning. It was really lunch for Deb as she had to go to work today early. For Andy and I, the rest of today was spent driving to our destination of Primm, NV, setting up in the parking lot and then dinner in the casino, dropping only a dollar into a one armed bandit, and doing a long walk inside for exercise. It is still a little cold here, although warmer than Cedar City. There was a strong wind all day and it made the drive harder

for Andy

y.