Cattail Cove State Park (Thursday, October 8th, 2015)

Today we took a break from the jet ski world championships, to spend some time just hanging out.  We loaded some coolers, chairs and towels into the truck, and headed down to Cattail Cove State Park. It is accessible from highway 95 about 15 miles south of Lake Havasu City, or from the lake, which is how we have always gone to this area in the past.

They have nice camping spots ($28 per night) with lots of big trees for shade, and a day use area as well for picnicking and swimming that are free if you have an Arizona State Parks Pass. 

The day use area, with a swim beach and picnic tables

A great boat ramp, and not busy at all

The camp ground with big shade trees (a must in Arizona)

 We packed ourselves a great little lunch, which we enjoyed at one of the picnic tables.

Our little picnic with Lake Havasu and California behind me

After lunch we decided to check out the hiking trails, and see where they went. 

The first thing we saw on our hike was a Road Runner, they are really shy birds and tough to get pictures of

And then of course, he immediately ran and hid

The rest of our hike was great, and lead us up a steep trail, to a point overlooking the lake.

Looking back toward Cattail Cove as we climbed

A beautiful boat going by probably in excess of 100 mph.

Check out the hiking attire, swimsuits and flip flops were all we had...it was hot out!

Looking north toward Lake Havasu City.  You can see our trail and the park off to the right

Our view from the top, looking north

View from the top looking south, if you look closely you can see the southern California Aquaduct coming from the lake (See Parker Dam post from September 19th, 2015), which supplies water to all of southern California

It was a really nice relaxing day at the park.  We enjoyed talking to the other visitors and hanging out in the really warm water for several hours after our hike.  It was so refreshing, considering that the temps are still in the low 100's!

Jet Ski World Championships (Wednesday, October 7th, 2015)

The World Jet Ski Championships are an exciting part of fall in Lake Havasu City. They are held at a resort called Crazy Horse on the island side of the London Bridge, for a full week every year. 

Competitors come in from all over the world to compete in many different classes. All the different classes are either with stand-up or sit-down skis.  In general terms the stand-up machines are smaller and lighter weight.  The sit-down machines are much larger and faster in the water.  

Admission to all of the events is free, but you have to park outside of the resort and walk in. They do run a shuttle for anyone who would prefer to ride from the parking area down to the beach. 

Exhibitors come from all over the world as well to demonstrate all of the latest and greatest technologies and products associated with the industry.  There are also plenty of food and drink vendors to keep your tummies full throughout the day.  They definitely aren't cheap but the food is good!

Steve drooling over all of the merchandise the vendors have to offer

And seeing what great new inventions there are

The starting line

And they're off, just their holders left behind!

The flag stand, and a great view of Lake Havasu City in the background

The view back toward the pit area

Spectators are free to roam through the pits and talk to the riders and crews, which gives a very personal feel to the races.  We met a very nice racer from Canada who talked about the rules and the complexities of the skis, and the physical shape the riders have to be in to be competitive, which makes sense since these are the best riders in the world.  He told us that he was coming off of an injury, but since he qualified for the finals he decided to ride.  He didn't expect to do well, but wanted to try.  He ended up coming in second to last in the race we watched that day.  It was really helpful having so much insight as we were watching the races.

This is not a comprehensive list, but some of the countries that we heard being announced for the races we watched this year were:

• Brazil
• Netherlands
• Qatar
• United Arab Emirates
• Good ole USA
• Argentina
• Canada
• China
• Japan
• Kuwait
• England/UK
• Germany

Many different states within the United States were also represented, they were from all over the country but there was definitely a large contingency of the Americans that were from the southwest part.

After the races were over for the day, we went up to the announcers booth to talk to them for a minute and see the view from their advantage.  They were very nice and enjoyed the fact that we had interacted with them and cheered on all of the riders all day.  

Fall is in the Air (Tuesday, October 6th, 2015)

As we left Colorado once again, fall was definitely in the air. Our garden was full of beautiful vegetables that had come on in the last few weeks, and we couldn't bear to leave them all behind, so we packed our selves a little care package.  We really weren't quite sure how to get the package
 through airport security, so we decided a checked bag would be our safest bet.  

We had a great flight from Colorado to Las Vegas, but the best part was seeing the progression of fall through the Colorado Rockies, and out into the desert.

The foothills of the Colorado Rockies, with their beautiful golden aspen trees

The snow capped mountains as we got further west

And Lake Meade as we approach Las Vegas

And when we finally made it to Arizona and unpacked our bag, we had this waiting for us after a 1,000 mile flight, not bad! 

Tomatoes and jalapeños from our garden in Colorado

We are looking forward to enjoying these delicious little treats during our desert stay!  It feels good to be back in Lake Havasu City!

Catching Up with Family (October, 3rd and 4th, 2015)

It's always good to be back in Colorado, although this time of year it's getting chilly already.  It was still in the low 100's when we left Lake Havasu City, and the highs here have been in the high 60's and low 70's and rainy.  

I have worked quite a bit since we've been back.  It's really nice having a job that can be done from multiple locations, especially now that Steve is retired.  And the best part...  he's becoming a really good house husband when I am working!

We've had a great time catching up with our oldest daughter.  She stays really busy with work and school, but always makes time for us when we're here, which we really appreciate!  I had a chance to help her make decorations for a bridal shower she is planning, and we've just spent a lot of time talking.  

And we also had a chance to get together with Steve's parents. Some friends of ours introduced us to Hendrick's Gin a few months ago, and we really liked it, so we took our oldest daughter out to dinner the other night, and then on our way home, we stopped by the liquor store and we picked up some Hendrick's, and our daughter grabber a six-pack of Not Your Father's Root Beer (hard root beer). We had our daughter call Steve's parents to see if they were home.  They said they were free, so we stopped by their house and made some Gin and Tonics and root beer floats.  It was a lot of fun to see them, and to have a fun low-key night.  They are both doing really well, and enjoying the cooler weather.  Steve's dad surprised us with his new garage sale purchase....a singing fish! Very funny!

Today Steve, our oldest daughter and I traveled up to Fort Collins to see our youngest daughter and her boyfriend.  We made plans to pick them up at 9:30 for breakfast.  But since we're getting older, and our memories are slipping, we forgot that we said 9:30 and thought we said 9:00.  When we got off of the highway, we texted her to let her know that we were getting close.  She replied "sounds good", and we continued toward her apartment.  When we got there, she and her boyfriend came out to the car right away, but her hair was wet, so we all teased her about not being ready.  And then she reminded us that we said 9:30.  Oops.....our bad!  

But anyway, we took them both to a (new to us) restaurant called "The Backporch Cafe".  What a fun place!  They are only open for breakfast and lunch, but are always very crowded.  When we got there at about 9:30, we had a 20 minute wait.  So we took a few minutes to look around.  It is an old house that has been converted into a restaurant, so it is broken up into lots of rooms in the main restaurant.  And the funniest part of all...  there was still a bathtub in the women's restroom. They also have a large patio, but unfortunately it was too cold to enjoy it today.  

Our oldest daughter looking cold at the restaurant entrance

One section of their beautiful patio

When they seated us, they actually walked us outside, and seated us in their "Stone House", which is a little, one room cabin on the property.  It only had two tables in it, so it was a really fun place to sit.  The other group that was in the stone house had very young kids so it was fun for Steve and I to think back about those days.....nice to think about but glad to be where we are now!

The rest of the patio and the "Stone House" straight ahead, behind the pond

Our cozy table in the Stone House

It's so nice to be in Colorado with some of the people we love!

Getting to Colorado (Wednesday, September 30th, 2015)

We traveled back to Colorado so I could get some work done, and of course to see everyone!  Even though Steve is retired, I'm still working part-time, and that means being flexible with our location. 

So we made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Las Vegas to catch a flight on Southwest Airlines.  We have been flying on Southwest for as long as I can remember, so we have built up a lot of points with them, and luckily for us, this trip was booked completely on points for both of us.   

We planned to get to Las Vegas early so we could have time for a trip to Costco and a quick lunch before heading to the economy lot. 

There isn't a Costco in Lake Havasu City, so everyone goes to either Las Vegas or Phoenix for their big shopping trips.  We had never visited the Costco in Las Vegas, so we stopped on our way into town in the suburb of Henderson.  It was a zoo!  It is one of the most heavily used Costcos we have ever been to.  It took us quite awhile to find a parking spot, and then the store was just as crowded.  There was also a line of about 10 cars per lane waiting to fill up with gas, which we learned was about $.35 per gallon cheaper than the other gas stations in town!

We also wanted to find something new and healthy for lunch.  As we were driving down Tropicana Boulevard on the way to the airport, Steve looked over and saw a cute little restaurant called El Fish Taco.  So we turned around and headed back to see what they had.  

We were very pleasantly surprised.  They had a nice selection on their menu, and the service was great.  Our server brought out a courtesy sample of one of their soups for us to try, and then we each ordered their lunch special which was any two tacos (except for lobster) and a drink for $4.99.  So we each had a fish taco and a shrimp taco and a horchata (a rice and cinnamon drink).  It was very good!  The owner came over and talked to us when we had finished our tacos, and said that they had been open for two months.  

Cute new restaurant in Las Vegas, on Tropicana Boulevard

After lunch we still had a few minutes, so we walked over to a Mercado, called Marketon, that was in the same parking lot.  They had so much nice looking produce, but one thing really caught our eye.  When we were in Puerto Rico about a year ago, a guide that we hired at Cuava De Indio introduced us to these little fruits that he called sea grapes.  They are tiny little fruit that you peel and then suck on until the seed is clean.  There isn't much meat on them, but they are pretty fun and tasty.  And to our amazement, they were selling them at the Mercado.  

Sea Grapes, you sure can't find these just anywhere in Las Vegas

Then off to the airport we went.  As we were sitting in traffic, a jumbo jet flew right over the UCLA stadium, and looked like it was going to land on it.  And then a few minutes later a smaller jet flew over the road we were on.

Not as big as the first one we saw, but still fun to see while sitting in traffic

The flight from Las Vegas to Denver usually takes just under 2 hours, but this time we made it in 1 hour 35 minutes.  Our oldest daughter was waiting for us at the airport.  What a great day and easy way to get home! 

Where Are You Mister Moon? (Sunday, September 27th, 2015)

We planned our evening around the full lunar eclipse that would be happening tonight. Since we are in Arizona, it would start very early, so we ate an early dinner to ensure we were ready for it. We headed out into the back yard at about 6:30 to make sure we could find the moon. We knew that it should be southeast of us, but to our surprise, it wasn’t there, so we jumped in the truck and went looking for it. 

Since Lake Havasu City is built on a hill, we figured that there were houses blocking our view of the moon. We finally found a wash that ran toward the southeast, and as we pulled into it, we could see the moon just coming up on the horizon. It was still bright, but already partially eclipsed. 

The moon finally coming up, already partially eclipsed

The clouds came in and gave the partially eclipsed moon a pretty cool look

Almost at full eclipse

All I had was my little point and shoot camera, so I figured I would do the best I could to get some pictures of this rare phenomenon. I didn’t even have a tripod, so we had to improvise quite heavily. 

My cute husband took a picture of me, taking a picture of the moon.  Love Him!

But we did get to see the beautiful lunar eclipse, and we did get a few pictures for you. My dad got the best picture by far, from Colorado, so with his permission I will include it in my post as well. 

My dad's gorgeous lunar eclipse picture from Colorado

My lunar eclipse picture from Arizona

It's getting brighter again

And much brighter, with clouds adding another interesting effect

We're almost back to a full moon

Thank you to my husband for his patience as we watch the entire eclipse.  He is a very patient man as it took approximately three hours for the entire event!

Slip'n and Slide'n in Havasu

Because of the beautiful weather, and the amazing community in Lake Havasu City, it attracts so many fun events.  There seems to rarely be a weekend without some type of community event and often you have to chose which event to attend.  The latest was a fund-raiser for a local new pediatric oncology facility.  Currently all pediatric patients either have to travel to Las Vegas (2.5 hours each way) or to Phoenix (4 hours each way).

Today, they closed Main Street, and set up a 1,000 foot green slip and slide, and a much steeper blue slide in the park as a huge community event. Tickets were sold for $35 unlimited rides, or $10 for a single ride.  The entire community got involved, and there wasn't a tube to be found for sale in the entire city.  

This has been a warmer than usual September, so the temps are still in the low 100's.  It's perfect if you're on the slide, but a little hot for just walking around.

Unfortunately, Main Street (McCulloch Blvd) wasn't quite steep enough for a slide of this size, so the sliders weren't able to go all the way down the entire slide.  Businesses all the way down the street were out with their hoses adding extra water to help the tubes along.  Most people ended up getting off early and starting again, or walking their tubes down to the bottom.  There was also a group of kids just playing in the pool at the bottom of the slide.

Looking down the slide from the top

Looking back up the slide

Lake Havasu City firemen at the top, hosing down the slide

And the tall blue slide was the biggest hit.  It was a fast one!

The tall blue slide.  Stairs are on the left, with two slides on the left

A view inside the slide

Maybe it would have worked better if they had combined the two slides so that you started out fast on the blue slide, and kept going down the street on the green slide, just kidding as one was a body slide and the other was a tube slide.

Regardless of any issues, I think the entire community had a great time, and we hope they raised the money they were looking for.