Back to the Sunniest Place on Earth

Yes, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Yuma, AZ is the sunniest place on earth. The sun shines 94% of the daylight hours!

I settled in at "The Q," a fairly new casino on the west side of town. They give you $10 free play if you sign up for the players card. I walked away with a whole $2.50!


The Q is only 2 miles away from the Mexican town of Algodones, and less than a mile from the pet cemetery where Molly is buried. I was happy to see that my headstone held up well.


After my stay at the Q, I moved over to the BLM land behind the VFW on the east side of town, where my WIN friends are gathering for Christmas and New Years.


Next to me is this guy who was here last year in his rig that looks like it's put together with glue and tape. He's a nice guy, though, and very quiet with about 8 solar panels.


Every day, the VFW has a live band, so we get to dance and watch trains go by at the same time.


A few posts ago, I wrote about these automatic fire extinguishers, but the company said they were not currently making them. But Al's RV on Fortuna Rd here has a bunch of them if anyone is interested and in the area.


And last but not least, fellow blogger "Ramblin' River Cat" has 100 days to go until he is fulltime. In the meantime, he is helping all RVers by organizing posts of other fulltimers on various topics. If you are a fulltimer, and interested in contributing, here's his current list of topics.

To see the topics that have already been posted, go to his pages on "Wise Cats," or "JourneyLinks."

A Long Stay in Apache Junction

Well, long for me anyway.... I've been here for more than a month! While here, I went hiking at the Superstition Mountains -


And walked around the neighborhood quite a bit. Saw this unusual cactus closeby.


Went to the Mesa Flea Market where I saw this shirt that Sandie could get Jim for Christmas.


Since we had a huge gift certificate from Filly's, we went back there several times, mostly when Brant and Kerry, my favorites, were there. Once we went with sister Barbara and "brother-in-law" Ron, where I caught this shot of them dancing. I also met up with the aforementioned Jim and Sandie.


I loved the cowboy boot stockings that they had in front of the stage.


We also went to see the Christmas lights at the Mormon Temple in Mesa.


The pictures don't do it justice. There are lights everywhere - on the ground and way up in the top of the palm trees.


And several Nativity scenes.



The best way to see it here is probably on this short movie. If you are in the area, don't miss it!

Perfect Picture Frame for RVers

I've been hanging around in Apache Junction for some time now. One thing I really like about the area is the SHOPPING! I have been looking for a collage picture frame where you could change the pictures without taking the whole thing off the wall. (I used double sided sticky tape to mount it.) I finally found this one at Hobby Lobby.


One small problem was that the pictures could slide down while bouncing down the road. I fixed that by gluing a bead on the bottom of each of the slots.

In the frame, I put pictures of some of my favorite hikes. You can view the original post of each one by clicking on the underlined link.


This one is False Kiva in Canyonlands NP. I had seen pictures of it for years, but didn't know how to get there until my friend Linda took me in 2009.


Twenty Lakes Basin is another hike recommended by a friend. I loved it and can't wait to do it again.


Lake Sabrina, outside of Bishop, CA usually has perfect fall color around Oct 1st. You can drive to the lake, but this shot was taken on the trail around the lake. (I don't seem to have a post on this)


Crystal Mill, near Marble, CO is either a hike or a 4-wheel drive. It's rumored to be the most photographed site in Colorado.


The Little Lakes Valley, also outside Bishop, CA is my very favorite place to hike. The trail starts out at 10,000 feet, but there is not too much elevation change as you hike past lake after lake.


Maroon Bells, near Aspen, CO is another spot you can drive to, but also hike from.


And one of the hardest, and prettiest, hikes I've ever done is to Grinnell Glacier, on the east side of Glacier National Park in Montana.

I would love to hear about favorite hikes of yours - either on your blog or in a comment here.

The Ultimate in Fire Prevention

I've written about some of my ideas for fire prevention back in January. If you didn't read it then, be sure to check it out here.


When an RV catches on fire, most of the time the firefighters get there too late to do any good.


And what you are left with is this. RVs can be replaced, but many times the contents cannot.


So my friend Bill showed me his ultimate fire prevention device. He has 2 of them, one in the engine compartment of his motor home, shown here.


Made by Fire Fight, it is an auto-deploy fire suppression system, which goes off automatically if there is a fire.


He also has a smaller one behind his refrigerator. They are also available for your generator compartment and battery compartment.

A Fun Night at Filly's

Filly's, in Apache Junction, is a very popular spot. They are famous for their wings. Doesn't the chicken look a little nervous?



Of course, we did the Chicken Dance.


And there was a wing-eating contest. (Believe it or not, the big guy did not win!)


And then there was a dance contest! Phil and I didn't even know it until we were picked as one of the 3 couples to compete.


We did our best, but didn't think we had a chance because the other two couples were a lot wilder. The winner was to be picked by who got the most applause.


But OMG - WE WON!!!


Our prize is in this envelope...


WOW - $75 in gift certificates!!! I guess we'll be coming back here often!


But that's not all - these medals are real metal - very impressive.



After that there was more dancing. Here's part of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." The band was great and I loved the fiddle.

More of Trip to San Diego

Usually when I go to San Diego, it rains, but not this time. The weather was perfect, and Mara and Corrie took a kayaking lesson in La Jolla.


After a little instruction, they were ready for a paddle in the ocean - I hope...


Bye-bye!


While they paddled over to the cliff in the distance, Jonathan chased the wildlife -


And played in the waves.


Finally, they returned, with Mara doing much of the paddling. Hmmmm...

They had a great time and saw sea lions, a dolphin, and some colorful fish.


Mara's quite a smart little cookie - she just turned 7 and can already play chess, something I never did learn.

The Halloween Capital of the World

Each year I try to go to my daughter's in the San Diego area. I think it must be the Halloween capital of the world! This is their house - the decorating starts the end of September.


The day before Halloween there was a pumpkin carving party. There were cannoli to eat -


And some black cookies that Jonathan really liked.


The finished product - a howling wolf and a spider web.


Finally, the big day arrived - Mara, the scary vampiress, and Jonathan, the very happy dragon, were ready to go.


Mara even had her nails done appropriately.


Their house lit up.


After trick-or-treating, we all went over to the in-laws house, where we visit the real Halloween capital of the world, complete with a fullsize Halloween tree -


And a Halloween stocking, along with lots of other decorations.


The kids were exhausted from trick-or-treating, so they decided to stay in and hand out goodies. They were supposed to give each trick-or-treater 2 pieces of candy, but when Jonathan saw a really cute girl, he said, "I'm going to give this one 3 pieces."