We drove out of the campground today and headed toward Wickenburg, AZ. We had a great time in Phoenix at the NRA convention and afterward just relaxing and camping.
The picture below shows typical scenery along Arizona SR74 en route to US60 on the way to Wickenburg, where we currently are camping. Among the several varieties of vegetation seen here are Saguaro cactus, Cholla, Ocotillo, and mesquite. We think these are very beautiful and many are flowering. Click on the image to enlarge.
One of the interesting things about crossing our southwestern deserts is the large variety of vegetation. One such variety is the desert tree known as palo verde – green wood, literally. In the springtime, it sprouts tiny yellow flowers. Click the image to enlarge.
Tonight we’re going to relax at the RV Park and plan to head to the convention sometime tomorrow. We have the dog with us and need to get her into day care.
We’re on our way to the 2A Blog Bash and NRA Convention in Phoenix. Tonight, we’re camping along the Colorado River in Blythe, CA. Here’s a photo Damsel took of the river from our campsite just as we arrived.
Cruise ships normally destined for sunny Mexico are diverting to Santa Catalina Island to avoid possible exposure to the Swine Influenza Virus at Mexican ports like Ensenada and Puerto Vallarta. Cruise ship traffic to the island is normally three to five ships a week, depending on the season.
Through May, the island now expects 25 cruise ship calls, possibly more. With one ship in the harbor, it is our personal experience that the foot traffic in town and the island’s attractions become quite busy. Now, according to the Catalina Island Company, there are likely to be several more instances of two ships in the harbor at the same time.
Image: a 2005 photo of Avalon Bay taken from Island Express Helicopter.
Our anniversary is in September and, as usual, we’re booked in to the Hotel Metropole. We hope that the rush is over by then.
We’re still working out the details, but in a month, we’re going to head towards Phoenix to attend the NRA Convention and the Second Amendment Blog Bash.
We liked our winter cruise that we took this past December so much, that we decided to rent a motorhome again for this trip. That way, we can do some spring break sightseeing and camping with the convention and Bash as the centerpiece.
There are a few logistical details that still need to be resolved. We’re bringing our dog, ‘Bear,’ with us, so we need to find a kennel to leave her while we’re doing the convention/bash thing. If any Phoenicians out there have any ideas, we would welcome them.
Second, we’re not sure where we can park our RV near the convention center. We have a space reserved in a local RV park, but will have to drive to the convention center each of the two days we plan to attend. I’m sure that there has to be some accommodations for bus/RV traffic, but we just haven’t figured that out yet.
We’re looking forward to the trip and hope to meet many like-minded Second Amendment supporters and firearms enthusiasts. We can hardly wait.
I started making some of the plans for our trip to the NRA Convention and the Second Amendment Blog Bash. Just the act of doing so induced a wave of nostalgic wanderlust. I dug out this picture that Damsel took along I-10 in December while we were on our winter cruise.
I still have to figure out where the dog will stay while we’re at the festivities. I’m looking into which kennels are in the area. We also still need to make the RV Park arrangements and finalize the RV rental.
We’re looking forward to it . . .
We got this view of the El Tovar Hotel while standing near the famous Lookout Studio at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The hotel is about a quarter of a mile away on the next point extending into the Canyon. I took this picture in December while on our winter vacation – it was cold, too, about 13 degrees F. or so. Click on the image to enlarge.
