LAKE HAVASU~AZ

Monday: We pulled stakes early this morning, and headed towards Lake Havasu.

Leaving Quartzsite-AZ for Lake Havasu-AZ.

We hit the road with high expectations.

Holland had been to Lake Havasu several times (8 yo, 27 yo, & 28 yo); his mother lived there 1993 and he spent a few weeks her and her husband, and his younger siblings - and he went back to visit again, the following year.

He had memories to revisit.

I had never been there … but I had friends who had been there and raved about it as being "the place to be!"

I was curious.

And I wanted to see the famous London Bridge, which had been purchased, shipped from London, and erected in a desert portion of Arizona State ;-)

How London Bridge Came to Lake Havasu-AZ: https://travelthruhistory.com/london-bridge-lake-havasu-arizona/

As we got closer to Lake Havasu, we crossed a river that had palm trees and what looked to be reeds growing along the banks. The further we drove, the thicker the reeds got - and the thinner the water course became.

I was curious, so Holland pulled over so I could get a closer look.

A contrast of Nature; Saguaro Cactus & Cattails sharing the same space.

Desert Pupfish: (https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/fish/desert_pupfish/natural_history.html)

Bill Williams River is getting choked by cattails.

Cattails: the river was being choked off by acres of cattails! I was surprised because I did not know that cattails grew in the desert.

That was an interesting learning curve ;-)

Bill Williams River-AZ: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Williams_River

Cattails/Southren Cattail-AZ: https://cabezaprieta.org/plant_page.php?id=2449

When we finally got to Lake Havasu, it was nothing as we imagined :-(

NO WHERE did  see even a sign advertising any type of RV Park: nada.

Everywhere are high-rise condos, sprawling summer homes for the rich and famous, and hotel resorts everywhere you looked: it was a claustrophobic atmosphere of hollywood proportions.

Lake Havasu City is now a tourist trap oozing classless society rank: money reigns.

Not at all what I was looking for, for relaxation.

Not at all what Holland remembered.

Holland remembered swimming in the lake, and he wanted to show it to me. We drove down towards the lake, not knowing that it was a State Park - Holland remembers being able to just walk down to the beach and enjoy a swim without fanfare: today, we encountered a Park Entrance with a snarky Park Attendant. Once you enter the Park you cannot get back out again without going through a Pay Station (that's okay - I have a State Park waiver card), and the attendant lunged at the truck, barking, "Do you need to dump your RV?" Holland said, "No, but we are looking for a place to stay …" She didn't even let him finish talking before barking, "We're full." Holland calmly said, "I read the sign - what I was going to ask you is, 'do you know of any other RV Parks to recommend?'" She said she didn't.

We were both surprised at her tone, stance, and total blow off; it was still early in the day (10:30 A.M.) - her work day couldn't have been {a rough day} already to put her in such a sour-puss mood.

So, we drove through the Park to the exit, saying in unison: "Wow."

With no signs at all advertising RV Parks, and no useful tips from snarky inhabitants, we decided to check out the bridge … and head to Yuma.

And that was perfectly fine with me.

I didn't see - hear - or feel a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. in, or about Lake Havasu, that made me want to stick around.

The most interesting sight in the whole city …

The London Bridge - the city took license with the rebuilding.

20 minutes in Lake Havasu … and we turned towards Yuma.

About an hour later, coming into Yuma, the saraguo cactus were very tall and plentiful: in places they were as thick as a forest.

The ground was so hard-baked by the sun's heat, that at times - when the sun rays hit just right … that furnace-heat-baked patina made the rocks look like broken, shiny, glass shards spread across the desert landscape.

When Holland spotted the huge military tanks heralding the YPG, he gave me a rundown on how the Ford Company uses the grounds to test their vehicles for strength and endurance.

Yuma 'Proving Grounds'; Test Branch, Army Corps of Engineers. 21 miles from Yuma-AZ

The Yuma Proving Grounds was first used by the military in 1942 for training desert troops. The mission changed in 1943, when the site began to be used as a testing ground for bridges and river crossing equipment, boats, vehicles and well drilling equipment under the designation of Yuma Test Branch, Army Corps of Engineers; it's purpose is to the determine the durability and probable life of a piece of equipment.

YPG is approximately 830,000 acres (1,300 square miles) and is hemmed in on the west by the Colorado River, and on the south by the Gila River.

I was hyped up to see Yuma. Yuma is an old west town.

It was a little after 3 P.M. when we made Yuma. We had been up very early in the day; we started looking for a place to park our 5th wheel for the night. Holland had done some research the night before and we had settled on three possibilities ... so, we started calling around.

The 'Del Pueblo RV Resort' was our 1st pick, so we called; and then drove over there. The layout was nice - but the host was not. After taking down Holland's entire life history before telling him the monthly rate (and watching him count the $$$ out in front of her), she told him, "We don't accept cash." So, Holland picked up the $$$, and came back to the pickup frustrated and pissed. He got in Betsy and said, "They wouldn't take cash - they want a Card; we'll go to Wal*Mart and get one … but we won't be coming back here; the lady's attitude sucks."

We called the other two places, but Offices had closed for the day :-(

The RV Parks here will not take cash … up North, everyone wants cash, not cards; down South people only want Cards, not cash; that's nutty.

So, we started looking for a Casino parking lot; and found one.

We hunkered down in their sandy back lot, and enjoyed a peaceful rest: Holland just kicked back and relaxed until we turned in, Bleu ran all over the place until we turned in, and I started a new Clive Cussler novel - and read 200 pages before turning in (I'm a speed reader & Clive adventures keep you turning the pages) ;-)

Paradise Casino; we spent a peaceful night here.

Quechan Indian Tribe "Paradise' Casino~Yuma-AZ:  (https://www.indiangaming.com/quechan-indian-tribe-reveals-new-expansion-plans-for-paradise-casino/)

MY SOUL IS IN A HURRY - A Poem by Mario de Andrade

BAD VIBES

We've met all kinds of people on our road trips; some good, some not so good. The meeting with this man has not been good: I immediately picked up bad vibes and wanted nothing to do with him. Holland immediately took offense to that, and a full-on-spiritual war was engaged.

This entire past week has not been fun.

For anyone; including Bleu.

Bad vibes were seriously ricocheting off our walls.

Holland does not have a discerning spirit, and a bad spirit was trying to attach itself to Holland … and Holland was bringing it into our home after every visit. Because Holland wasn't aware of it, he was innocently giving it free rein; and it was creating impish chaos. We had a major verbal blow-out Monday morning concerning this fella, around 2 A.M.; it was so intense with anger from Holland's end, I wasn't sure we could rebound from it; I wasn't sure I wanted to, after everything that had been said. We didn't speak to each other again, until Friday afternoon, while pulling stakes to move the 5th wheel into town. The healing didn't begin until yesterday afternoon.

And it's still a touchy topic.

The Oak Point spiritual war fiasco last Fall/Winter is still a sore topic (when Holland brings up his {friends} jeannie, dan, dawn, don, grady, ect.; these people were not friendly towards me … and eventually they were not friendly towards Holland): Holland does not have spiritual discernment. This causes issues between us.

I agreed to go with Holland this afternoon to settle an agreement he had made with the man, but I wasn't happy about it: and as soon as I saw the red and black feathers bundled on a stick - and a skull on a stick shoved into the guy's front bumper, my thoughts said, "santeria religion. Now I know why my spirit was picking up bad vibes from him every time he came around; now I understand why Holland has been picking fights with me when I say I'd appreciate it if he didn't hang out with that guy." 

Evidence of santeria religion - voodoo cult.

My mother had trifled with just about every religion on the face of this Earth, so I'm more sensitive to paganism, and fringe religions (like Bethel 'christianity' - another hot topic we can't talk about civilly), than Holland is.

Even though this guy's phone number is in Holland's phone index ("call or text me when you get to where you're going man, I'd like to hear about it"), I really hope we never have anything else to do with that man and his voodoo religion.

And I am really hoping he will also drop the people from Oak Point, so we can stop dragging that bad vibes baggage around.

Holland says I'm unChristian.

Yeshua tells us to "shun evil and those that practice it."

Yeshua tells us to seek the spirit of discernment so that we are not deceived and put our souls in jeopardy.

I'll stand with Yeshua, and pray my 9-month-marriage survives this spiritual onslaught of bad vibes.

RELATIONSHIP

There is relationship in everything, and with everything.

Relationships take many forms …

Holland likes to cook - he likes to treat me with tasty dishes; he has a relationship with food … and shows his love for me - and to me - by cooking for me.

Holland preparing chicken to air-fry for lunch.

Holland cooking garlic bread toast (chicken will follow) in the DO-IT-ALL convection, air fryer, toaster & broiler Oven.

SO GOOD! The chicken tastes like it had been deep fried; YUM

While Holland was cooking, I checked with my Blogging friends - and saw that one of my Posts had been featured on one of the Hops :-)

My 'Wednesday WOW!' Post had been 'featured' on a Blog Hop; I've been doing these Blog Hops for decades - we are friends :-)

Aging gracefully was the theme of the Blog Hop …

FASHION OVER 50 Post: (https://roadgypsiesvalandholland.blogspot.com/2023/10/fashion-over-50-blog-hop.html)

We were supposed to have been on the road this afternoon, but Holland had an appointment, so we stayed another day here.

While we were out and about, I was driving; the 4x needed diesel, so I did that … and I also learned about Def (important information), and where I needed to pour it: short as I am, I did okay ;-) 

When we got back home, I noticed a big, fat, saguaro cactus growing in close proximity to the tree out front of our RV: this cactus is a towering giant!

Until tonight, I hadn't noticed the HUGE saguaro cactus growing up into this tree …

It's a beefy cactus, with beefy 'arms; and it has a good sized  hole in it, where some type of bird is nesting.

There is relationship in everything, and with everything ;-)

THE LORD'S DAY IS UNFOLDING~Israel Today

I am not including any {news} source with this article because they all are slanted towards a chosen political viewpoint.

I stand on Scripture - Old & New Covenants.

I stand with Elohim' Word.

I stand with Israel.

***************

We are living in the days the Prophets & Apostles longed to see.

We are living in the days where we well may HEAR, 'Come up here, daughter' … 'Come up here, son' (The Rapture): WHY anyone would WANT to ignore that Call is beyond my understanding.

E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. is in place for that occurrence.

We are living in the Days that may well kickstart the Banquet of The Lamb - which will LEAD TO the Second Return of Yeshua Ha'Mashiach.

The only thing needed for that is the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (everything is ready; except the building permit).

We are living is exciting times.

Isn't it ironic that chaotic islamic terrorism will usher in the Jewish King that will destroy islam; and replace hellish evil with peace, love, and joy?

EXCITING DAYS!!!

That said … I will add this: I BELIEVE IN THE RAPTURE. I have waited for it all my life: for this time to arrive. IF the CALL comes I intend to answer it. So, to family and friends I say: "I love you. If you are saved, sanctified, and sealed - I will see you at The Banquet. If you STILL have not come to your senses … I hope you soon WILL; I want to see you in that Celestial City."

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Ha’Olam, Sh’hecheyanu, V’Kiyemanu, V’Higianu LaZman HaZeh.

Translation: Praised are You, the Eternal One our God, Ruler of the Cosmos, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this moment.

SHABBAT SHALOM~Last night in Quartzsite-AZ

Yesterday afternoon, we pulled stakes from our Quartzsite-AZ desert spot … and drove into town to rent a spot there; to get laundry done, dump & flush the black water holding tanks, and enjoy a leisurely shower. It's a nice graveled spot with a little shading and two permanently vacant spots on either side of us: we enjoyed a quiet night, and Bleu enjoyed freedom runs :-)

Where we are until tomorrow afternoon; Quartzsite-AZ.

This morning, Bleu was missing his freedom runs.

I was drinking my morning coffee, and Holland was fixing to take the garbage out when, I said, "Wait a minute - let me get the garbage bags from the bathrooms." He said he'd go get the bathroom bag from the upstairs bathroom, near the bedroom: when he came back downstairs,  he said, "Wait 'til you see the surprise your furry son left for you in the bedroom."

Alarm bells rang in my ears.

We've been under a lot of stress since Monday morning … and just like a child in a house filled with tension, he has felt the stress that was ricocheting off the 4 walls.

The stress was defused yesterday, but as with all stressful situations: the effects linger for a while. What did he do?

I asked, "Did he poop on the floor?" Holland said, "No." I asked, "Did he pee on the floor?" Holland said, "No." 

The alarm bells stopped ringing … and I went to investigate - wondering what on earth Bleu had done.

Out of boredom, the little brat had shredded a spare bed pillow :-(

This is a new thing - hopefully this type of things will not happen again.

So, into the trash bag it went; and I got dressed and took Bleu for a loop walk around the RV Park here in town. When we got back, Holland said, "Why don't we drive up the road to Hi Jolly and let him run awhile?"

So, that's what we did ;-)

We have a Blue-Heeler … they are good watch dogs, and they are loyal dogs; they are also high energy herding dogs bred to run. He can't run in a town RV Park. But he could run in the desert, up the road a bit.

Interesting paint job on this jeep …

'Calypso Pink' Oleander Bush.

Our space; clean and comfortable.

Hi Jolly BLM Campground; Quartzsite-AZ

A 'run free' hop down the highway to Hi Jolly BLM Campground-AZ

Looped back to Holland & Betsy.

Plomosa Mountains; Quartzsite-AZ

When Bleu had run himself long enough, we left Hi Jolly, and  Holland said, "You need to get out of the house too, why don't you drive up the road a bit and see what there is to see."

So, I did.

The town, itself, is very small - a shot-gun town; but over the overpass is wide-open country with several BLM Campgrounds all the way to Yuma, which is 80 miles away (a little over an hour and a half). I didn't want to go all the way to Yuma today: we will be driving to Yuma in a couple of days … but I did want to explore a little more of the desert here.

I'd rather be driving backroads instead of highways and freeways: thankfully my husband is in agreement.

We saw some interesting sights as we drove along :-)

Some of these sights were new things, to me.

I saw a curiosity, so I drove off-road to get a closer peek. Holland said 'Looks like a mine of some sort …

'Neil Young - 'Heart Of Gold' song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNq6AVSns-M)

I had crossed from one campground to another via a connecting background; 10-mi. out of the way.

Pretty rough going …

A BIG bird's nest in a cactus; Holland said, 'Hawk nest'. He was right. Harris Hawk (internet picture).

Saguaros start life slowly, reaching an inch to an inch and a half in height in eight years. A saguaro doesn’t start flowering—providing a vital food source and reproducing—until it’s more than 35 years old. Around age 50, the cactus starts growing arms, which also flower. The saguaro’s pleated trunk won’t accommodate a woodpecker cavity until it’s about 8 feet tall, or 80 to 120 years old … and likely won’t host a raptor nest until it’s about 150 years old.

WOW

I kept driving

And rubber-necking :-)

After a while, we noticed the road was getting quite a bit rougher. And there are no road signs - just miles of desert and choking desert dust. Eventually, we decided to head back homeward; and started looking for a highway access road.

The way we took led to a little steep drop off before we hopped back onto blacktop. The little drop off concerned me because Betsy has a low-rider front end. But Holland said, "Just tip toe down that little drop off and it'll be okay." I was skeptical … but I followed Holland's instructions (slow and easy - drive forward at an slight angle): this was a new experience for me, and everything went okay until I heard the back end hit solid ground. Hard. I shot Holland an {I'm sorry!} look, and he said, "It's okay Baby; there's no damage - what you heard was the trailer hitch catching the drop-off edge as we creeped forward. It's okay."

But I didn't feel it was "okay" until we were home and I checked the situation out ;-)

We turned left, here; hoping we were turning towards the main highway.

A dying cactus … it reminded me of trees in Dr. Seuss books ;-) The base looks like a beaver was gnawing at it - but there are no beavers in Arizona. Internet pic of Weeping Giant Sequoia Trees = Dr. Seuss Trees.

Dead Saguaro Cactus 'skeletons'; Holland thinks heavy mining minerals is the culprit. All the dead & dying cactuses are in, or along, washes.

Low rider front end.

Eric Burdon (War) - 'Low Rider' song:

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5ZIDoHaCg0)

No muffler damages either.

We all took a little siesta before Supper.

Napping in the middle of the day is a new thing for me: but it's life-saving here in the South where temperatures soar into 3-digets (heavy work, cooking, ect. gets done in late afternoon to evening hours where the heat is not so intense). I like it.

Starland Vocal Band : "Afternoon Delight" (1976) • Lyrics: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taSa16bSPvY)

When we got back up, I baked some brownies (Holland wanted to make fried chicken: YUM!); and I was glad he said that because I was missing fried chicken, and was thinking before we got up - that fried chicken would be the perfect meal for the close of this week's Shabbat :-)

I made brownies for evening snacking ;-)

This combo oven is a new thing in my life; and it reminds me of the kiddie cook oven from the 1970's.

Today was a great day, all the way around.

And all the praise and glory goes to Elohim, for His mercy and faithfulness never fails us :-)