We have pretty much finished up Christmas shopping (lots of Amazon this year) and have no pressing home chores. Weather is cool and windy interfering with the primary draw here in AZ, boating. We are getting the itch to start our house search. We pivot from plans to stay out west for the winter and pack up to head to Tennessee now.
Brian has to experience the Desert Bar
It is a bit of a drive south to Havasu City but we feel like Brian can’t come this far and not check out the Desert Bar (Nellie B Saloon). 
We have been and enjoyed this place several times but it is a bit different every time. Well worth another visit. The last 5 miles or so of the drive is dusty and bumpy, like always. But wow, when we get there, we find the place nearly doubled in size. There are official restaurants, in buildings not food trucks. Lots more seating surrounding new stages and a huge new bar being built. They have added restrooms, necessary of course but very boring and mundane compared to the original rustic ones. There is live music and the band is pretty good – country and oldies rock. Our first trip to the bar is a bit odd. What we assume was a stand-in barkeep makes Kent a Margaretta, sort of. Tequilla and soda water, yuck. We climb around on the grounds to check out desert views and to scope out the place. Food is pretty good and the atmosphere fun but I think too developed and the rustic charm is really diluted. Probably won’t be back this way again.
We stop by Havasu City on
our way home to show Brian that “Yes, the London Bridge is really here”. We stroll, gaze at the lake a bit, shop a little and have dinner out at Burgers By the Bridge. It is all lovely at twilight as holiday and city lights come on.
Hello burros
Another can’t miss when you’re ou
t here, Oatman AZ. Burros are plentiful today and of course we have to feed them. We cruise all the shops then take in the gunfight. It is a little underwhelming. Just two guys show up and it feels a little unorganized but it is fun all the same. The mics aren’t working so well making it hard to catch all the silly quips and repartee. We enjoy lunch at the hotel restaurant…still love those burros ears potatoes, then head on home.
Down day
It is windy and cold. No boating today. Brian takes the opportunity to wander Fisherman’s trail until the winds whip up dust and bring him back home.
Fishing – even a little catching
We finally get a nice day to get out on Mohave Lake. The sun is bright and warm and we manage to find a couple spots out toward Princess Cove where the fishies are biting. The lake views are lovely and we hear a (makes me laugh every time) burro bray from across the lake. It is a fun outing.
Spiders and snakes tortoise
We take Brian out the hike to Grapevine Canyon
to see the petroglyphs.
The resident desert tortoise makes an 
appearance as do a number of large tarantulas. We explore a bit more of the area while we are out. It is a fun outing.
Who builds labyrinths anyway?
We head into Laughlin just to see what’s happening and check out an out of the extraordinary attraction, labyrinths. We stroll the riverside walk. It is a not-so-spectacular path between the river and back side of casinos but it does have a few nice benches to enjoy the river view. Worth the steps but not worth repeating, I suppose. I spot a sign for Pink Box Donuts. Can’t skip that! We (Kent and I do, Brian shows more restraint) choose from the assortment of elaborately decorated donuts and snap a pile of pictures.
Now we head to the edge of
town in search of the aforementioned labyrinth(es). After a little stumbling around with directions we come a long a flat spot in the desert to our left, a little parking area, and a tiny sign announcing we have arrived. We stroll the area to find a half dozen or so elaborate rock paths. It is all wonderfully done and pretty impressive. Brian and I cannot resist walking several of them. Ok, that was fun.
Thanksgiving
I haven’t made a full-blown Thanksgiving 
dinner in the motorhome since our first year (2010). Today we have roast turkey – just the breast and carefully chosen so it fits in the 6 ½ clearance of my oven! Homemade cranberry – thanks Kent for the suggestion, it is delicious. Mashed potatoes and gravy (thanks Kinder bone broth gravy mix) of course, stuffing – bummed that can’t make any in the bird, and asparagus for our low carb guest. It is all delicious. I search out a keto friendly dessert, baked marscapone with blueberries. That is a disaster – it separates into a water-logged spongey layer topped with congealed grease. Awful!
Early birthday
Brian flies out on his birthday
and we are in town tomorrow so we celebrate early with delicious grilled steaks and of course a cake. Keto makes cake baking a challenge so I go with a mix this time, Duncan Heinz low carb brownie and premade keto icing. It looks great and is actually pretty good. Whew, not another dessert disaster.
Vegas Day
We head into town for the day and overnight to ease the early morning start to Brian’s travel day. Our main event, Postcard from Earth at The Sphere at 2:30. We have all morning to explore the strip and Brian is checking out a Marvel Comics attraction/exhibit. Scaffolding and light towers still litter the strip causing the suspension of the fountain and other streetside attractions. That is a bit disappointing but the walk is still lovely.
The Sphere is impressive. 
First just the structure, then the AI robots the crowd chats with, plus demos of the technology while we all wait in the atrium. Crowds are too thick and lines too long to get scanned for our avatars…. Brian is the only one of us who actually regrets that! We find our seats, section 405 isn’t bad, and anxiously await the show. It is visually spectacular as the screen seems to wrap around us bringing creatures close and seemingly alive (spoiler alert, the spider does jump at you) and soaring mountain views are breath taking. Sound plus theatre hepatics pull us further into the experience. I do recommend it. I am not certain how this all augments live music performances, perhaps?
We end the day with dinner at Peppermill Diner a Las Vegas Strip classic/landmark. Neon lights and blue upholstered booths create a fun atmosphere. Diner is delicious and a fun way to end Brian’s visit. If there is a next visit, we might check out their retro cocktail bar. It looks fun. We crash for the night at Arizona Charlie’s, an old school Vegas establishment well off the strip. The focus is definitely the Casino. It is difficult to even find the hotel lobby/registration desk. In room amenities are sparce but the rooms are clean and pretty comfortable. Oddest thing, a Rube Goldberg HVAC using plastic pipe and what looks like a planter box to divert air from the unit in the main room through the wall to the second bedroom. Very weird and according to Brian not particularly effective. An easy drive to the airport and comfortable enough for a one-night stay.
Happy Birthday and bye!
Brian is off to Texas to rest up a bit before it is back to school for the marathon schedule that falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Visits from the kids are wonderful!
Brian is getting out of Texas for a week and he’s coming to spend that time with us.
We allow extra time for the trip into the Vegas airport. The Formula 1 Grand Prix starts tonight. Many streets are closed and horrible traffic is predicted……luckily, none of it affects us. We arrive in plenty of time to catch him at baggage claim. We stick with our plan to save in-town tourist time for next weekend once the crowds have cleared. It is a smooth ride home as well with a stop for BBQ along the way. We end the day relaxing and getting Brian settled in.
High winds kept us off the lake over the weekend but the forecast for the start of the week is much calmer.
Monday: A bit lazy this morning, we hit the lake around 9:30. An early light chop evolves into a smooth lake by noon. We cruise a few miles north to Princess Cove, one of several coves where fish attractants have supposedly deployed along the east shore a little north of camp. Kent scans the lake bed looking for claimed attractants but is never certain he spots any. Fishing is pretty quiet, one tiny striped bass and 3 or so little (maybe tiny) bluegill.
We are surprised to spot a coyote napping contentedly on the bank of one of the coves. He raises his head a couple times to check us out but we leave him just where we found him when we motor off. Look at those giant ears!
Tuesday: Maybe fishing is better earlier? We are up and on the water by 7:30. We float fish a couple coves, try our hand at trolling, and even make a couple passes through the marina area where several fishermen have reported seeing “fish boiling”. Nope, fishing is not better in the morning. We return to camp with not as much as one bite. I run a few errands and it is a quiet evening. It is dark by 6 or so.
Waffles for breakfast this morning! Thank you, Kent. It is a quiet day in camp puttering and planning for Brian’s Thanksgiving week visit and the family Christmas get together. Its windy for boating and actually a bit windy for hiking. We check out a section of the lakeside trail and nearly get blown off our feet when it crests onto open ridges. The Kingston grandkids check in on a super silly video call. Hazel has the phone. I love the well wishes even if it is all a bit dizzying. Tonight is dinner out, Mohave Steakhouse in Bullhead City. It is a local establishment and has great reviews. I’m happy with it. Artichoke spinach dip, tomato-gouda soup and a wonderfully seasoned, perfectly prepared, DelMonico steak. Kent’s short ribs are pretty tasty too.
Yeah, happy birthday to me. 67, that’s not old!
On the water
Mornings have been coolish and the sky a brilliant blue making it perfect boating weather, as long as we remember the sun screen. We have been out two mornings so far. The big horn sheep have not shown themselves yet and fishing has not been impressive, just two small bluegill between us. Looks like we might need to try different bait/lures and maybe get out a bit earlier. We’ll see.
Out on the trails
Canyon trail.
It is a short walk but pretty great from a wildlife standpoint. First, we actually stopped in the middle of the dirt access road to watch this huge spider, tarantula I’m pretty sure, cross the road.
On the trail, we check out great pictographs near the canyon entrance then boulder climb back the canyon to explore.
Moseying along in the rock shadows we spot a desert tortoise. It is one of 
only two or three of these threatened fellows we have ever seen in the wild. Very cool.
Fisherman’s Trail
I enjoy trails that are walk-out right from camp without having to drive anywhere. This trail departs from behind the boat maintenance area (kinda weird) and follows the lake shoreline to a lovely sandy cove. Along the way we pass two backwater ponds where ducks, coots and herons are hanging out. There are views of the marina and toward the end, out over the lake toward the dam. I’ll likely take this walk again.
The motorhome has only been in storage 3 weeks so picking it up is a cinch. Batteries are still charged, tires all aired up, and the engine fires right up. Easy peasy with the exception of piles of dust along the slide and curb side windows….. Kent had seen that they had a big dust storm while we were gone. Guess this is the result. I see vacuuming time in our near future.
We want the boat too this trip and that is a bit more of a challenge. It has been here in the big trailer storage since April. Tri-axle trailer tires are all low and its batteries are dead. Thankfully we can get the tailgate down and boat out without moving the big trailer. Still, removed batteries to charge and aired up all the tires so we can see what’s needed before we do need to move it. No issues un-trailering the boat and trailer lights even work after just a couple thumpings. Next, a new experience for me; I tow the boat with the pick-up through town to camp. It is only about 12 miles but the forward distance isn’t what’s on my mind! Every intersection, every turn, every lane change, don’t even talk to me about the stop for fuel; I’m thinking about how to be certain that I don’t get in a position that I need to back up, not my thing. All is well. I have arrived, safely waiting in a huge empty parking lot just above the boat ramp in camp quietly practicing my trailer backing skills.
We are settled in at Katherine’s Landing on Lake Mohave in the very site we left early last month B48. It is sunny and quite warm, the high 80s. That is immeasurably better that the 100+ that we ‘enjoyed’ here earlier this fall. We are charging batteries, checking out fishing gear and organizing the grocery restocking that happens whenever we store and turn off refrigerator. It’ll feel like home again soon.
The are kisses and hugs as the girls head off to school and daycare then end of trip laundry and packing. We are heading back to the motorhome in Bullhead City Arizona. Mike drops us at the Albany airport around 3:30PM to start off our 12-hour journey. There is some airport preboard time, a short hop to BWI, a nice chance to stretch our legs, then a fanny numbing segment on to Vegas. Baggage takes forever, as usual, and we have a couple hour drive on to Bullhead City. Nothing note-worthy, except maybe the Cinnabon in Baltimore! We collapse in a hotel in town for the night after 1 am. We can’t get into storage until 8 in the morning.
The girls are all dressed up. 
I don a spider hat and Kent a Jafar-guard sword and face paint and off we go with Mom, Dad and a couple of the girls’ friends joyfully collecting candy across the neighborhood. It is a great evening.
The kids had new kitchen
countertops installed over the summer. A final detail is installing a backsplash. They selected a rustic green rectangular tile to be laid in a square pattern. Check out Kent’s handiwork. Walls also go from a dark mustard yellow to misty fern (sort of mint). A last touch is repainting the floor pattern in the heaviest wear area in front of the sink. It all looks great. 