Mass at a Casino and Moving Further South

Sunday, November 24, 2019

We had taken a ride one of the nights we were here and I never posted the pictures of a couple of casinos I took pictures of with all their lights.

Top picture: is the Riverside we are in their RV Park.
Bottom left: the Colorado Belle, we could see this one
from our front window when we first got here.
Bottom Right: the Tropicana we get an end view from
our front window.

We had heard from a friend that there was a Catholic Mass at the Riverside Casino. When I googled it to find out the time I found out that there are in fact three different Mass times at the casino. The are held in Don's Celebrity Theater.

The priest, Rev. Charles Urnick, says Mass three times here on the weekend.  He is the pastor of  St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Laughlin, NV

I do not think I have ever included a church's mission statement before but I really liked theirs:
To serve the needs of the growing faith community in this part of Southern Nevada, composed of residents, weekend visitors, and snowbirds who pray together, work together so as to build up the body of Christ; to be witnesses likewise, to the historical legacy of the first recorded Catholic Mass in Nevada celebrated in Laughlin in 1776 by Father Francisco Garces, a Fransican missionary.

They have a table in the back were they sell a small selection
of religious items. One of the things that caught my eye
were the poker chips. Both sides pictured above.

Looking out the dining room window at the Aquarius.
the sun reflecting on its windows as it sets.

Looking out the same window to the back the Riverside Casino.

The Tropicana out our front window.

Monday, November 25, 2019

After spending eight enjoyable nights here it is time to move on. We had the opportunity to get together with friends for lunch, and then drove over to Kingman for a lovely evening with friends. We experienced a first, Mass at a casino, and got to see a couple of shows in their theater, The Midway and The Good Liar. Plus, we got all the collected dust cleaned out of the Stinger "B" and caught up on our wash. Always nice to spend some time in a park with full hook ups.

Last view out our front window.

Pictures as we drive down Casino Drive towards US-95,
the Needles Highway.

Leaving Nevada in our rear view mirror and entering California.
This is the only picture I took along this road today. Did
not realize this until I was going through the pictures I had
taken. Probably just as well; this highway between 
Laughlin, NV and Needles, NV is probably the worst road 
we have ever taken with the Stinger "B". Enough said. 

A short few miles on I-40 and we turned South on to US-95.
Part of  Historic Route 66, 

This part of US-95 is a decent road.

We are going mostly up and following this truck
as he goes slower and slower.

This adventures first Ocotillo.
I may have mentioned it a few times in the past,
my absolutely favorite desert plant. 

Then there was quite a few out Ocotillos in the distance.

We are now on CA-62 headed towards Parker, AZ

Noticed quite a few washes, as we drove along today, filled
with water on US-95 and now on CA-62

We can see Parker along with dust in the distance.

We have seen dozens of signs warning about different animals.
This was the first time we actually saw the animals.
Several Burros up on the hill.

Train Bridge over Colorado River.

Picture taken out of my side window through the screen as
we cross the Colorado River and drive into Arizona.
(One of a couple of bad pictures I am including
for us and the memory.)

A familiar street and sign; we are driving through Parker.

Plomosa Road, we have dry camped on this road.
Right now we have friends out there.
Waving Hi to Melissa and Lyle as we went by.

This was the first Saguaro I spotted this adventure.

Pulling into Dome Rock BLM for the night.
We have an appointment at RV Lifestyle in the morning
to have our refrigerator looked at. Parked here so
we will be close by in the morning. 

Tonight's sunset.
There is a lot of dust in the air.

One more of the sunset out by Roadrunner BLM.

Except for the miles on Needles Highway between Laughlin and Needles the ride here was enjoyable. We are here to take care of a couple of things and will talk about them as they come up. Also, it will be really nice to spend time with those friends I mentioned out on Plomosa Road. Plus, we are looking forward to sitting in the quiet of the desert.

 Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Up and moving early this morning before the sun and I still missed it coming up over the mountain.
We had an 8 o'clock appointment at RV Lifestyles  to have our refrigerator looked at, since, it has decided not to be a refrigerator and keep things cold and frozen. Looks like there are two possibilities or both a defective thermaster and a bad cooling coil. They have sent all the necessary information to Norcold, as this refrigerator has been in the Stinger "B" less then a year, and now we wait because it is the Thanksgiving Holiday. Just really frustrated about the whole situation.  I keep thinking about the refrigerator that we had in the basement at our house that was at least 70 years old and was still still running. Oh well,,,:) we moved out to Roadrunner BLM and will enjoy our time parked out here it is what it is and there is nothing we can do about it right now.

Our first sunrise in Quartzsite, AZ this year's adventure.

Looking out towards the Southwest
this morning.

After dropping off the Stinger "B" we met friends, Melissa and Lyle, for breakfast at the Main Street Cafe. The food was good but the conversation was wonderful. Lets just say we met around 8:30 and the waitress asked at one point and she was laughing, (there were empty tables so they did not lose business because of our stay), if we would like to see the lunch menu. We will see them again on Thursday as they have offered to celebrate there "sister" country's Thanksgiving with us. Hopefully, we will remember to take a picture.

As I write this Tom and my thoughts go to Suzie and George, Our Awesome Travels, who we have had the fun of being parked by the last couple of years during January. Lots of good memories of our time together with them and other friends parked out in the desert. Lots of wonderful Happy Hours filled with stories and laughs. Our prayers and positive thoughts continue to be sent across the miles.

We are so glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Where We are Now and Valley of Fire State Park (Part 1)

(Clicking on the pictures will open them larger in a new window.)

Thursday, November 7, 2019

We are presently in Death Valley National Park. We arrived here Sunday afternoon and joined Shirley and Ken, Seeing America with Ken and Shirley at Sunset. The Stinger "B" and its occupants have found the warmth.

As most of us who blog I write this blog for us as a memory of where we have been and what we have done. Plus, I like to think our children, grandchildren, family and friends enjoy seeing what we are up to. The next several blogs are going to be a mixture of where we were and where we are. I am guessing, I should be honest, there will be lots and lots of pictures. This is a beautiful country and pictures evoke the memories we want to keep with us for a long time to come.  If you read my words and enjoy the pictures that is a bonus for me. It is nice to think there is a possibility someone found  something to smile about or it brought back a memory of visiting the same place when reading our blog.

Before the catch up a quick overview of our last week. We spent last Friday driving through Valley of Fire State Park and what a beautiful place that is. Saturday we went to a local festival always fun to go to a local event. Sunday we drove to Death Valley National Park . We then spent three Happy Hours and two days seeing sights with special friends Shirley and Ken. During our time with them, besides the talking  and we did a fair amount of that, we visited Dantes View, Artists Drive, checked out Harmony Borax Works, drove through Mustard Canyon, and finally took a ride up and through Titus Canyon. They had to leave Wednesday morning and we sadly watched them drive away thinking the time went by way to fast. At the same time thinking how great it was to have this time together. (Thank you, Shirley and Ken for taking the time to drive down and visit with us.) Today we got in the Jeep and took a ride over and through the Panamint Range and Valley then back through Wildrose and Emigrant Canyons.

Now to start the catch up posts with Valley of the Fire State Park in Nevada.

Friday, November 1, 2019 Valley of Fire (Part 1)

Valley of Fire State Park is a public recreation and nature preservation area covering nearly 46,000 acres located 16 miles south of Overton, Nevada. The state park derives its name from red sandstone formations, the Aztec Sandstone, which formed from shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago. These features, which are the centerpiece of the park's attractions, often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun's rays. It is Nevada's oldest state park. It was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1968.

Prehistoric users of the Valley of Fire included the Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, who were farmers from the nearby fertile Moapa Valley. Their approximate span of occupation has been dated from 300 BC to 1150 AD. Their visits probably involved hunting, food gathering, and religious ceremonies, although scarcity of water would have limited their stay. Fine examples of rock art (petroglyphs)  left by these ancient peoples can be found at several sites within the park.

The creation of Valley of Fire State Park began with transfer of 8,760 acres of federal land to the state at Nevada in 1931. Work on the park was initiated by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. During the years of their employment, which continued into the early 1940s, the CCC workers built campgrounds, trails, stone visitor cabins, ramadas, and roads. The park opened in 1934; it achieved official designation by the state legislature in 1935. (information found on the internet)

Coming in the East Entrance

First stop, the Visitor Center.

Became a National Natural Landmark in 1968.

Leaving the Visitor Center we headed up White Domes Road.

Our first stop.

Tom took these pictures 

of the walk in.

The water tank.

Continuing on.

Our view as we ate lunch.

Some of the views as we continued the ride down White Domes Road. I took quite a few pictures some with my camera others with my phone. I did my best to get them in the correct order. I do know all these pictures were taken on White Domes Road.

The views and colors never seem to end. We were lucky that on the day we choose to take this ride the sky was a beautiful blue and made such a wonderful backdrop to what we were seeing.

To be continued in our next post.

We are so glad you stopped by!

If you have a moment to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.