Happy Holidays (01-04-18)

Yep, that’s just what we had, happy holidays!

Over the last 6 weeks, we have had lots of people come and go, here at the PPP.  Some came for a few days, some stayed the whole 6 weeks, and some came, left, and came back!  Some people brought their rigs and some chose the B&B option and stayed in the house.

Thanksgiving was the first holiday on the horizon…

…and apparently I didn’t get my camera out during the meal because I can’t find any pictures of it!

It was awesome that the weather was warm enough for us to laze by the pool !

We sure kept ourselves very busy. In addition to Teryx rides, swimming, eating, hot tubbing and shopping, we managed to fit in a few games of Farkle.

After Thanksgiving, Paul and I made a trip to Phoenix, in part to buy some necessities at Costco. I love the way the lake looks at sunrise, even though I am not happy being on the road when the sun rises!

Before we knew it, the Christmas crowd arrived- including our daughter Jessica.

Actually, we were lucky enough to have Jess with us for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love it when Jess is here at the same time as my friend Carol, since I usually end up with some great pictures of her! Thanks, Carol Dwyer!

When people are staying for more than a day or so we don’t eat all of our meals together, but we are usually happier if we can laugh our way through a group dinner….whether it’s inside…

or out…

What’s that old saying- “many hands make light work”?

With our friends, everyone pitches in and no one is afraid to take over the kitchen, making it very easy to feed so many people!

After a group breakfast Christmas morning we all took some time to relax and to video chat with far away family members..

The day after Christmas is our annual “girls’ day out” which we spend shopping and eating at one of our favorite restaurants.

Lest you think the guys were bored, sitting around waiting for us to return, don’t worry. They took the Teryx out into the desert and spent the afternoon target shooting.

Not coincidently, Girl’s Day Out takes place on Julie’s birthday, and that night we were happy to toast the birthday girl with our margaritas (even though I didn’t quite get her in this picture, haha).

We do like to have a good time, and New Year’s Eve was no exception! Does it say something about our age that we are all happy the “midnight” takes place at 10 pm here in Mountain Standard Time?

Our last night together as a group coincided with the Super Moon, which you can see rising up over our house.

The following day there was a well orchestrated Porter Shuffle, as most of the rigs left, and the remaining ones repositioned themselves.

Being busy with the holidays, we weren’t working on too many projects, but we did manage to get one done.



Soon after Thanksgiving, the weather turned much colder and it wasn’t worth trying to keep the pool warm. Our “pool guy” has been telling us that we really need to drain it and put in fresh water.  The water is so hard here that over time, the minerals build up, and ours was off the charts.

So, sadly, we turned off the heater and freshened the water. We hope to start heating it again when we get back in February.

November-ish 2017

Now that winter was arriving, and the holidays were just around the corner, our friends started arriving as well.  The first to arrive were Mike and Julie, mid November.

We tested out a new restaurant for Taco Tuesday- Blondies- and all agreed if the weather was nice enough for sitting outside in the Tiki Bar, it might be worth a second trip.

Paul’s brother Tom and his wife Sue arrived soon thereafter,  for a short visit. They have joined the world of RVers and brought their “new to them” motorhome.  Of course there were a few projects for the guys to work on!

There’s usually something going on in Havasu, and the holiday season is no exception.  Once again this year,  we headed to the lake for the Parade of Lights.  We arrived early enough to cook dogs on the fire pit before the boat parade started.

The weather was perfect for the parade.














The English Village area near the London Bridge is always well lit for the holidays and was actually was voted one of the best displays in Arizona.

Paul and I have been to the Desert Bar in Parker many times. The bar is unique and fun. It’s in the middle of the desert and runs completely on solar energy. It’s only open on the weekends in the cooler winter ,and they also have live music.  Although the main road it is 5 miles of washboard dirt, which is challenging enough, there is also a back road that is not accessible by most vehicles, and that’s the one we wanted to try.

After downloading the maps to my phone (no cell service out there), we towed the Teryx down the highway to the trailhead.

The views were amazing and the trip was a total blast. There were several mines to explore on the way back, and we all would do the trip again.

The four of us took the Teryx out several times and one of the most memorable trips was to “the Cabin”. The cabin is just that, a cabin, and like the Desert Bar, its in the middle of the desert.

Unlike the Desert Bar, there is no solar power here. No electricity at all. And contrary to what you would think, looking at this picture, there is certainly no mail delivery.  Someone clearly has a great sense of humor.

After relaxing for a bit and having lunch, we headed back the way we came, with a couple of detours.

Any time there is a mine to explore, Paul is totally on board.  He and Mike checked out this one, near the cabin, while Julie and I chatted.

There is off-roading and then there is off-roading. On the way home we decided to take a side “trail” and give the Teryx a work out.

Actually, we all got a bit of a work out as well, and our road building abilities came in to play.













The trail got rougher and rougher, and we began to wonder whether we should turn back.

 


While the guys navigated an “interesting” section of the trail, Julie and I scouted ahead.










 


What we found had us whistling for the guys to come and look. After a very short discussion it was decided that we did indeed need to turn around.  Oh well, we had a great time.

On the project side of the equation, there was also plenty going on.  Mike and Julie helped us decorate the house, and of course, Christmas gifts were bought and needed to be wrapped…

We bought electric sunshades for the back patio,which will extend our use of the yard.
 Not only will it keep the hot sun from beating on us in the warm months, it will help keep in the heat from the propane heater, allowing us to use the deck in cooler weather.  Although they were professionally installed, Paul did the electrical himself.









And, with the holidays looming ever closer, we had to get to work on cookie making!  I say we, but I actually mean Julie and Paul, haha.









At the end of the day, whether we’ve been working, or playing, we like to take time to enjoy the incredible sunsets that Arizona has to offer….