Quartzsite and Boulder City

It has been many, many years since Rick and I traveled in an RV but two of my sisters invited us to travel with them to Quartzsite for the Sellarama.  We thought it sounded like fun so we rented an RV in Vegas and drove it to Arizona with a group of four other rigs. We stayed in Avi the first night where they have hookups and then on to Quartzsite for five nights of dry camping. 

We had a great time with unlimited shopping at the Sellarama and huge campfires each night. One of my favorite things was the sky lanterns. You light a paper lantern and it fills with heat and air that lifts it up into the sky. 

They burn for a few minutes and then a piece of bamboo eventually falls back to the ground some where. 

Another favorite was the ice cream from Thrifty.  Everything is double scoops for $3 or $4.

Here is a picture of the three sisters.

Rick and myself in a chair outside the beer garden. 

We stopped in Lake Havasu so that we could get a picture of the famous London Bridge and and one of Rick in Parker Arizona.

Our next stop was in Boulder City to drop off the RV and to spend a couple of days with Rick's brother Randy.  These are some big horn sheep that eat all of the bushes in the neighborhood. 

We took a bike ride that is a 33 mile loop from Boulder to Henderson and around the mountain. It ended being 38 miles for us because we took a wrong turn. The trail was beautiful and quite impressive. 

We took an awesome hike with Randy to the top of Red and Black Mountains. There was a great view of Lake Mead and the bridge that goes over Hoover Dam. 

We ended the day with dinner at Bachi Burger. It is a restaurant that I found a few years ago and wanted to find again. Randy had been there also so we went for tasty hamburgers and French fries.  Bachi Burger has been on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri who went to culinary school at UNLV.  

Rick and I both had the burger made with beef, pork and shrimp.  It was so yummy!!!

Mazatlan in November and December

Rick and I were able to spend four weeks in Mazatlan this year. I was a little worried that we would have too much time on our hands but that was not the case. We definitely had time to exercise every day, read lots of books while we relaxed around the pool and to take many walks on the beach. We did not ever get bored. 

We went to church each Sunday and met lots of wonderful people. We met Gary and Bobbi Packham from Pocatello and went to church with them our first Sunday.  Bobbi and I were visiting at the pool and discovered that we were both from Pocatello. Of course we had a connection quickly because they live in the same ward as the Heiners who we had just traveled with to the Copper Canyon. 

The program at church was the primary program and this is a picture of the children and their leaders. The program was about families and each child is wearing a cute little pin that has a picture of their family. They sang I Am a Child of God in English for the closing song. It was wonderful!

We were meeting friends in Mazatlan who we met last year, Bart and Cindy Wilde.  We also met their friends the Wagstaffs who are all from Utah.  The Wagstaffs invited us for Thanksgiving dinner along with about 100 others. It was quite a meal with all of the fixings just like we would have had at home. The dinner was on the 15th floor of the Inn at Mazatlan in a suite where they had tables and chairs set up with seating for 100!!!!  The dinner was wonderful as so was the program with singing and the new church video He Is The Gift. 

It seems that each week we would meet someone new to spend some time with. Fanny and Rod Thelan from San Diego were at the resort for a week.  We also met Don and Pauline Harry from Seattle.  We were able to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional with them by the pool  on a beautiful Sunday evening.

This is a picture of Rick enjoying retirement in Mazatlan!  He is quite relaxed. 

This is a picture of some of the beautiful flowers at the resort.

One of our favorite places to eat in Mazatlan is at the Playa Bruja, we especially love their coconut shrimp so we try to have it a few times while we are down there. This is a picture from that beach.

One other couple that we met at our resort was from the Portland area - Wes and Pam Grant. They both had fun at the exercise classes like we did and enjoyed the resort. 

This was a fun day when we rented bikes and cruised the Malacon which is a sidewalk along the beach.

Any one need a hat?

Mazatlan was wonderful but we decided to return home for Christmas and to see friends and family.