Ford Bronco Off-Roadeo (6/20/24)

 The Off-Roadeo is an all day event sponsored by Ford Motor Company. It is offered to Bronco owners, both those in possession of a Bronco, and those who have one on order (we technically qualify in both categories, lol). There are 4 or so locations throughout the U.S.  Paul chose Las Vegas because it has more of the terrain he is interested in.  The goal is to learn what the Bronco is capable of in an off-road setting. Let me start right off the bat by saying this organization is absolutely top notch, and I had a great time.

Our two leaders, who were with us all day, were Mike and Dani-girl (called that because there is a Danny Boy).We started the day with some outdoor classroom training.  Mike spent about a half hour describing the parts of a car that pertain to driving, and what each one does.  He was looking for audience participation, and of course Paul was happy to oblige. Anyone who provided a correct answer to a question got a sticker. Mike ran out of stickers, and Paul has most of them.

Once that portion was done, we walked a nearby trail. Here there was one driver, and one Bronco. We all walked along side as Mike and Dani told the driver what to do, and explained what drive setting was being used and why. 

The Bronco has a center knob by the center console, labeled GOAT- Goes Over All Terrain. Each turn of the dial brings up a different mode- rock climbing, hill descent, Baja mode, sand, etc.

They took that Bronco through a short course, with different challenges along the way, and changed drivers a couple of times as well.

Naturally Paul volunteered, and took the vehicle over some interesting rocks. At this point Mike had me spotting Paul, letting him know which way to turn the tires etc.

He deliberately had Paul drive up onto a boulder, to showcase how much of an angle the Bronco can handle. Paul had it at a 19 degree angle, and Mike says Ford is comfortable with 25 degrees.

Once we finished that course, they took us to “our Broncos”. They provide all the Broncos for the day. Each one is equipped with a walkie talkie, so that the instructors could tell all the drivers what mode they should be using and how to approach each obstacle. 

Once we were all situated in vehicles, they took us on what they called the “bunny trails” They insisted that by the end of the day we would agree that they are easy trails.

After an hour or so, we headed back to base camp, where they provided a very decent lunch for us all.

And then it was on to the “real” trails.  I could have shared the driving with Paul, but we elected to have him do it all, since that’s the way it would be in our own vehicle.

Paul was the “tail gunner”, always in the last position, I think because Mike realized that he had more experience than most.  It was our job to let the leaders know when we were caught up after running through a course.

The first time they took us over a large boulder to show us a) how to approach it and b) what the Bronco is capable of, Mike was outside, directing each driver.

Once the Bronco was on the boulder, he rocked it to show how far off the ground the tire was. The second time we had that type of obstacle, we did it on our own.

It didn’t take us too long to figure out that Mike and Dani were experts at what they do, and we could trust what they told us to do,  even if it didn’t feel comfortable.

One of the neat settings is Trail Control- we used it on a very steep hill. Once the vehicle is in that mode, you set the speed you want – using the up and down buttons of the cruise control. You don’t touch the brake or the gas- the Bronco does whatever needs to be done to maintain that speed, including using the brake. It was very impressive.

 

After a very full day, we headed back to base camp, where they fed us dinner before we left for the day. Both instructors were on hand to answer questions.

If I sound like an advertisement for the company, its an indication of how impressed I was. I came away feeling much more comfortable taking the Bronco off road.

Gone Fishin' (06/15/24)

 

Not actually- we haven’t fished since hitting the road 15 years ago, but we have gone off exploring for the summer. Once the memorial day crew departed, we were in hurry up and wait mode. We wanted to prep to leave for the summer- taking the truck camper and the Bronco- but we couldn’t leave until June 6. Both of us had More medical tests, some here in Havasu, and Paul's in Phoenix starting the 7th. It gave us time for one last visit to El Paraiso, a favorite restaurant of ours.

We still packed the camper pretty quickly and put the boat into storage for the summer. Because we aren't taking the fifth wheel, it needs to be in the garage, and the boat won't fit, so we rented a storage unit.

Moving to Phoenix for 4 days in June with temps in the 105 range didn't sound like fun so we elected to stay in a federal campground near Jerome AZ, about an hour and a half from our doctors.  At 7500 ft. It was still pretty warm, but not as bad as the city. On the weekend we managed to fit in a 3.5 mile hike in the forest, and lunch at the Haunted Hamburger in Jerome. Its a well known restaurant and very busy, but we managed to score excellent seats.

We have been to Jerome several times. It’s an old mining town that sits on a hillside. Its hard to believe this town once contained the second largest JC Penney store in the chain, back in the day. It closed when it started sliding off the mountain (which has happened to more than one building).

On Monday, June 10, we got the all clear to leave for the summer. We couldn't go far, however, because we had signed up for something in Las Vegas that doesn't happen until the 14th. There is an event called the Bronco Off –Roadeo, an all day lesson on how to drive a Ford Bronco off road.

Having a couple of days to kill, we decided to explore some of those things close to home that we never seem to find the time to see. The town of Searchlight is small and is best known for their police. The speed limit on the main road thru town goes down to 25 from 45 mph and believe me, they take that 25 mph limit seriously. Its well known that its a bad place to speed. We have never tried it, nor do we want to. Nearby,  there are several things to explore.

Using the Boulder City Elks as our base, we first headed to the ghost town of Nelson NV. There is a tour you can take of El Dorado gold mine but it requires a reservation and a minimum of 4 people. Silly me, I thought with temps well over 100, Nelson would be deserted but it was so busy there was even a tour bus there. Yikes.

We wandered the property, enjoying the owner’s sense of humor as well as his collection of "stuff". 

The water to the sink outside the single bathroom was shut off, with just hand sanitizer available:

 He freely admits to being a hoarder. The RVs were interesting to look at (he builds them himself) but we decided to stick with what we have.

 

Having the whole day to kill we spent a fair amount of time talking with Tony, the owner, and learned a bunch about the mine and his family. And, we Did get to take the tour of the mine, which was given by his daughter and son in law. She was full of stories about her family and the mine. They bought the property 30 years ago after it had sat dormant for 100 years. The mine entrance was filled with 100 feet of silt, which was cleared out, with bucket and shovel, by child labor.

That's right, every weekend the owners’ 5 kids spent their days crawling into the mine pulling out dirt. I guess to say she wasn't happy about it would be an understatement, since according to her she ran away twice. All seems well now though.

Tony and his wife Bobbie decided to leave the mine much like it was back in 1863 when the original miners were digging it out by hammer and chisel. Still, it took them 6 years to get the mine ready for tours.

Back in its heyday there were 200 miners working this mine. There was no need for a town, since this was very early days and most of the men were single. It was very much still the wild wild west. In fact, the first 70 people who are buried in the cemetery did not die of natural causes- at least that's what they say. The mine was active until World War 2.

We learned a little more about the use of a canary in the mine. They were used as an early warning system to alert miners to potentially lethal gasses. The cage was left on the floor since gas would be heavier than air, and only male canaries were used. Apparently male canaries that don't have a mate sing complex songs incessantly, to attract one. With all that singing, the miners didn't have to keep looking to see if the canary was still alive. We also learned that they would trim the bird's nails so they couldn't dig in to the perch. I guess a canary with nails remains upright on the perch even after its dead.

Anyway Paul thought it was one of the best mine tours we have ever been on, and that's saying something because we have been on a LOT.

Also near to Searchlight there are two national monuments, one of which, Avi Kwa Ame, is fairly new. Not having much time left we chose to explore Castle Mountain National Monument. 

We know there isn't much there to see but we are easily entertained. Driving the dirt roads, we were surprised to find they are in pretty good condition, since I doubt many people explore here. Its very remote and not much to see. We found out why the roads were so good when we arrived at Castle Mountains gold mine- a very active gold mine, complete with fence and guard. 

She kindly told us where we had made a wrong turn, and how to find the national monument.  Once we did, we found a few ruins of some old mining equipment, but nothing substantial.

The roads in this area were not nearly as nice as the ones leading to the mine. This land was made into a national monument to preserve the flora and fauna (from the gold mine maybe?).

Exploring done, we moved on to Las Vegas a day early. The daytime temperatures in Las Vegas right now are over 100, so as soon as we arrived we looked for a way out. We were really interested in hiking, so we packed a lunch and drove up nearby Mt. Charleston, where the temperature was in the high 70s. We did a six mile hike, Lower Bristlecone Trail, in the Spring Mountains Recreation Area.

It wasn't the greatest trail, it was probably an old logging or mining road, and the views were just ok. But, it was exercise, and killed some time. The following day was our Bronco Off-Roadeo day!

"Blink" (06/12/24)

 I swear that’s what happened- I blinked and the first half of 2024 flew off, never to be seen again. Overall, the last 6 months have been spent going back and forth from the house in Lake Havasu to El Paso, Phoenix, and several places in between.  It seems that anytime we were home, we had company either coming or going. Always a fun time, but also a whirlwind. We were lucky that our friends Liz and Randy had their rig parked in our yard for the duration- they shared hosting duties, cooking, and held down the fort whenever we were gone.

So, without further ado, here is a brief (ha, I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be brief) synopsis of how the first 6 months went.  I write this post now because are on the road for the summer, in the camper, and that’s the stuff I really want to write about but I have to get this over with .

January

 

Pretty much the first thing we did in January is buy a 2023 Ford Bronco. We actually have one on order but it doesn’t seem like it will ever show up, and Paul got tired of waiting. This one is very similar to what we ordered, but also was used, with about 10,000 miles on it.

Every January brings with it the Havasu Balloon Fest, and this year was no different. What Was different is how we attended. We elected to take the boat out before sunrise, so we could watch the balloons go up from our position on the lake.

The weather was absolutely perfect, and watching the sunrise from the lake was a real treat. Randy had made breakfast burritos for us all so we ate breakfast while waiting for the balloons.

Inside Bridgewater Channel, near the London Bridge, the balloon pilots like to perform “touch and go” or “splash and dash”.  They lower the basket down to the water’s surface and then take off again.  Very cool to watch!

The weather for this event can be very iffy, but this year it was perfect.

Part of our running back and forth to Phoenix was for several minor surgeries for Paul- in January he had his first cataract surgery.

February

February brought more minor surgeries for Paul, which meant more trips to Phoenix.  Every time we went to Phoenix or El Paso this winter, we were also looking to check out places for our next home. We knew Lake Havasu was not going to be our Final Home, and when we don’t feel up to boating anymore, we will probably move. Our next place is likely to be in a 55+ community, so we are checking them out when we can.

Every once in a while the 4 of us have a date night, dressing up (much) more than we usually would. This time the excuse to dress up was mine and Paul’s 24th wedding anniversary. I think its very cool that next year, when we celebrate our 25th, our friends Randy and Liz will be celebrating their 50th.

Winter Blast (a fireworks festival) also occurs in February. In keeping with the Balloon Fest idea, we did things differently this year. Usually we book an RV spot at the site of the fireworks so we can either come and go as we please, or stay there for a few days. This year we didn’t. 

We decided to drive in and sit in the grandstands. We were very happy we did it this way. We always knew we were missing the low altitude fireworks, but we didn’t realize how awesome they are and we thoroughly enjoyed watching them.

February wouldn’t be complete without Paul’s annual visit to El Paraiso Mexican Restaurant for his birthday, where they always make him feel special.

We closed out the month with a trip to California. Paul’s sister-in-law, his brother’s wife (also named Sue) was celebrating her 70th birthday with a 70s themed bash.

We had a smaller family party the night before, in a gorgeous suite on the ocean, a suite that Tom and Sue gifted to Paul and I for the night. It was incredible.

March

Usually the weather in March starts to warm up in Havasu, but this year it took its sweet time.  We got so annoyed with the lack of boating weather that we elected to have happy hour in the boat anyway- in the garage.

Another trip to El Paso was necessary but we broke it up by visiting our friends Tony and Marguerite  in Green Valley, and combined that with looking at more 55+ communities. The only picture I got of them isn’t great, so I am being considerate and not posting it, lol.

Back home, our activities included visits to the Desert Bar to meet up with friends (if you have never heard of the Desert Bar, check it out https://soos-ontheroad.blogspot.com/2014/02/whats-desert-visit-without-visit-to.html )

…and visits from Paul’s fraternity brother, Kirk, and his wife Karen.

The weather also finally warmed up enough to swim for a couple of days.

April

 April was a little different than usual. It started off with new visitors to the house. Robin and his wife Kim came to see us for a few days from their home in California. What is really cool is that Paul and Robin were boy scouts together (both made Eagle Scout) in high school, but they have not seen each other since then. Paul always talks about having helped Robin’s dad build his house when Paul was in high school- it was the beginning of his house building skills. They became friends on Facebook and Robin was interested in making the journey to Havasu. 

We had a great few days with them, and the weather even cooperated enough to take the boat out.

Soon after they left, we did too.  This was a special time for me actually. My brother Ray and his wife Dawn decided to retire, and within a week of their last day, they flew out from MA to spend 3 weeks with us in Arizona. 

 We spent the first two weeks in a resort in Mesa, AZ.  This place has RV spots and park models, so we were able to have our own space (we brought our 5th wheel), but be next door neighbors.

I would say they took to retirement like ducks to water....

After two weeks there we brought them back to the house for 10 days, where we continued their “education” with Side by Side trips, boating, floating in the pool, and Bocce ball. Oh, and we made ice cream one day too.

They liked the resort in Mesa so much that they booked it for next year already. Awesome!

It was a bonus for us that during their visit, our daughter Jess was able to come from California for the weekend, bringing her fiancé Justin with her. 

 It was great that Ray and Dawn were able to see Jess, and meet Justin for the first time.  We are always happy when Justin comes to visit- he pitches right in and makes himself at home.

May

Ray and Dawn flew back to Massachusetts in early May, a few days before Paul and I had to head to Phoenix, yet again, for more doctor appointments. We knew when we decided to settle in Havasu that we would have a 3 hour drive to our doctors at Mayo Clinic, but we are not willing to give up our doctors, so we live with it.

The rest of the month was relatively quiet- I had a low key celebration of my 65th birthday and spent some time on the computer making sure I had navigated all things Medicare correctly. Looks like I did, whew.

Now that Paul’s eyes have settled after his cataract surgery, I have to get re-acclimated to seeing him without glasses!

Memorial Day weekend is traditionally our last blast before taking off for the summer. My cousin Linda from Phoenix brings her friends for 3-4 days- and it is one wild and crazy time!

They bring all the food to cook dinner, leaving us to just provide breakfasts- nice and easy.

 

Most of the weekend is spent on the boat (along with a million other people) in the pool, and playing all kinds of games.  Of course, there may also be drinking involved.  It usually takes us a day or two to recover, but it’s all fun!

And now, we have left for the summer and I can resume my posts about our explorations