More adventures and lots of fireworks

We have been in and out of Internet coverage so have not been able to post a Blog. We could have done it without pictures but decided to just wait and fill you in on all out travels since we left Quartzsite Arizona.

We left the big "Montana Circle" and headed back to Ehrenberg to dump tanks, clean the rig and do a big pile of laundry. We went into the park without reservations and they let us stay for two nights and then we had to move on because the park was full. We decided to go to an Arizona State park but also decided that it would be better to not to head out there on the weekend so it was back to the desert at Quartzsite.


We went back to the remains of the circle where there was still about 8 rigs there. Three more showed up at about the same time we got there. We decided to stay for one night and ended up staying for 4 nights. It was great to see everyone if only for a short time. Some of us spent part of one day out in the desert searching for gold with metal detectors while Dick just wandered around and took pictures.

After 4 days it was time to move on to our planned destination of Lake Alamo State park, about 30 miles out in the desert. This is a lake that was created by a dam that was built for flood control. It's also a location where there are herds of wild Burrows. We were fortunate to run across two packs of over ten burrows each. These three kept checking on us to make sure we stayed away from them.

We took our new Christmas present, an inflatable canoe, out onto the lake and had a good time rowing around and checking out the dam. Another day we hiked over the earthen dam and
here is Jackie checking out the big pile of rocks that held back the lake.

We went out another day rock hounding only to find that because of the rain the lake had risen over 19' and the roads were all under water so took some time to get this shot after waiting for the 30 seconds of sun shining through the clouds to hit onto the winter trees with the mountains still in the shadows. Note that the trees are all in the flooded area.

Looking out our rear window as we camped above the lake we watched the receding storm clouds moving into the next county. The storm has passed and we now have another beautiful sunny day.

Again it was time to hitch up for our next destination. It was off to Lake Havasu City Arizona to see the annual fireworks that are a result of the Western Pyrotechnics Association convention. We found a spot on BLM land where one can camp for free. Several friends had been there for about a week before we got there.

We arrived, set up for a long stay, when the local police showed up and said because this area was leased by the city we all had to pack up and leave. We all packed up and headed for another location that was four miles down the road. No one was happy to have to move but two days later the area filled up again with campers and no one made them move. I think this will be the last time we spend any of our money in Lake Havasu City because of their selective enforcement of regulations.

We moved down the road and five of us were able to find another area on BLM land where we could have a nice fire every night and enjoy the fireworks.

We all headed out one day for another hike into the surrounding mountains. Here is Dick and a friend on the edge of a cliff looking down onto the lake. This photo was taken by another friend.

The reason for the trip was to see the firework show. We watched the first night sitting around the campfire, the second night four couples in our group packed up our chairs and went down to sit under the stars and the fireworks. (Dick's brother, Guy and his wife, Joan joined us for this event.) Dick ended up taking 198 pictures this night and wanted to share some of them with you.

Another shot that filled the sky from from as far as we could see from side to side.

The hardest fireworks to get into the camera was the bright white displays. But Dick lucked out getting these three rockets going off at the same time.

The next evening we stayed at camp and the next three pictures were taken from our campsite that was three miles away. These are just three of over 100 he took that evening.

It's interesting that Dick took about 300 photos in the two nights and was only really happy with about 12 shots.

This was one of the displays that when it exploded the trails went every direction and filled the sky above the park.

We are off in the morning for our two months as volunteer as camp hosts at Arches National Park near Moab Utah. We will arrive in late February and be there for the months of March and April. When we get set up and determine what we have for Internet we will post another Blog. In the meantime Alice and Robbie Simons (our co-hosts at Arches) will be showing us areas of Arizona and Utah they love, which just happen to be on the way to Arches.

To be continued...