miura-adventure.comLife should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!!!"

We are now happily back in Mexico, enjoying the sun and surf.  Our return to this wonderful country started with a few days in San Carlos, a small town on the Sea of Cortez.   While we have visited San Carlos many times, this time was extra special as my mom was with us.  She slept in our camper for 3 nights which turned out quite well.  It was fun to hear her and the kids chatting before turning off the lights to go to bed.  Mom and I took a tour of the area, including a visit to a former Club Med spot and a walk along the beach front homes of the marina.  We were happy to see our “chli rellano” man come by our RV and we stocked up on these homemade goodies.  San Carlos is a geographical wonder as the mountain tops are jagged and like nothing we’ve ever seen.  A stop here is a perfect way to start off a few months in Mexico!

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We vowed to our kids to be in Anthem on Halloween so they could go treat-or-treating with their buddies.  We arrived in time for them to come up with some makeshift costumes and off they went to their friends houses for the weekend.  Andrew lucked out as his friend Austen had a HUGE Halloween party with many of the kids Andrew knew from Diamond Canyon School.  Andrew picked up an afro wig at Walmart,  drew a peace sign on a plain white t shirt and became a hippie.   Poohnut became a super model  as she wanted a reason to wear her VERY high $5 resale shoes, and went hunting for candy with her friend Hannah Montana (better known as Natalia).  Nikki transformed into a pirate thanks to a costume loan from her friend Peyton.   Ken and I enjoyed the childless weekend (first time in 17 months!) and loved not having to deal with the details of costumes  – not my favorite of tasks! 

This time we camped not only at the Cave Creek Regional Park (on of my favorite campgrounds of all time) but we also enjoyed a stay at Lake Pleasant. It was so nice to wake up with a view of this beautiful lake. 

I spent time with my dear friends and had such a wonderful time catching up with each of them.  Darcy and I trekked all across the valley, busy with both business and fun.  Carrie took me to some new places in Scottsdale as she is always the  tour guide extraordinaire.  Jill and I spent time catching up on our emerging business lives as well as other fun topics.   Carolyn and I enjoyed tea and Karen and I enjoyed a glass of wine while got caught up on all the happenings.  We had a great dinner at the Jonathan and Jamie’s home and the kids had a great time with their kids while we adults enjoyed just hanging out with each other.   I visited my friend Joy and got to meet her darling baby daughter while hearing of her exciting upcoming plans to go to nursing school.  We only briefly got to see Luz Maria and wished we could have spent time with her and Gus.   I got to spend a little time with Laurie and Phil and hope we can see more of them on our next visit.  Thank you to all the parents of our chidlren’s friends as our kids had a great time with your children!  We left with great memories of friendship and wishing we could gather up all these special people and have us all live in the same place! 

Ken took Andrew out for a “boys night out” and boy did they have fun!  It was ALL about the FOOD and the two of them devowered 1 1/2 pound hamburgers EACH!  They had this cholesterol laden feast at none other than the “Heart Attack Grill” in Chandler AZ.  Of course they had to include veggies with their meal so they enjoyed some french fries, cooked in LARD!  They ended their feast with two well endowed waitresses wheeling Andrew (dressed in a hospital gown) out to the van.  What do they do next?  Topped it off with chicken wings at Hooters of course! 

Ken and I spent many days preparing for our upcoming return visit to Mexico.  We had our doctor visits, orthodontist visits, vet visits, RV mechanic visits and so on and on and on!!  Much to do since we’d been in the bush for so many months prior to our pitstop in Anthem. 

Near the end of our time in Anthem, my mom Ellen,  and sister Robin,  flew out for a girls weekend in Scottsdale.  The three of us haven’t hung out together in a relaxing atmosphere for a very long time and we can’t wait to do it again.  It really made me realize how much I missed my mom and sister!    We had so much fun and got caught up on everything happening in each other’s lives.  I bid a tearful goodbye to Rob at the airport and mom stayed with me as she is heading into Mexico with us in two days. 

With ALL the work behind us, we are ready to transition to the peaceful beauty of MEXICO!!

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We had a few days before heading to the Anthem area so we made a stop near Laughlin on the Colorado River.  We had a spot almost IN the water and the girls enjoyed building forts while Andrew tried his hand at fishing.   The wind picked up and seemed almost to be of hurricane force (undoubtedly not even close) but it made for a wild weather experience.   Beautiful spot and time well spent. 

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Viva Las Vegas! From the peaceful solitude of Death Valley to the blinding bling of Las Vegas, it was a tough transition to say the least. Our RV park was quite nice though and out of the main stream of Vegas. Ken and I had a great dinner out at Sushi Samba in the Venetian Hotel followed by drinks at a variety of other venues. I can’t say anymore as you know what they say, “What happens in Vegas STAYS in Vegas!”

We just HAD to enjoy a buffet one night as the word buffet seems synonymous with Vegas.  So,  we worked up a big appetite and headed to the Rio for their famous “‘Round the World Buffet”. It was quite an amazing set up with so much food it verged on making you a big nauseous before you even started. The kids LOVED it though (especially our foody son, Andrew) and they ALL wished we could go there everyday. (Ugh!)  What cracked us up most though was Poohnut and her insatiable appetite for seafood. We were all enjoying our dessert when Poohnut left and returned with some clams. Then she left and returned with some shrimp, then clams, then shrimp. Alright already Poohnut! We all left about 10 pounds heavier but much happier for the experience!

I took the girls shopping one day at Caesar’s Palace and we had a great time walking around the Forum Shops and watching a bunch of cheezy statues come to life in the shows. That evening, we all walked along the strip and watched as volcanoes erupted and pirates battled. Three nights is MORE than enough to experience what Vegas has to offer so we were happy to be off to the calm beauty of the Colorado River. 

On our way to the Colorado River and the Laughlin area, we made a stop at Hoover Dam.  A few weeks later we would see the water in AZ which came from the Hoover Dam.  Cool bit of hands on education for the kids. 

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On our way to Death Valley, we stopped at Manzanar.  In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II.  It was a surreal experience to walk the actual grounds where these people were held prisoner.  It was made even more surreal to see Ken’s uncle’s name, Donald Nishimura (just a boy at the time)  on the list of people detained at this camp.  These good families lost their businesses. their homes and many,  their pride.  In 1988, Congress and President Reagan passed legislation that granted a formal apology to Japanese Americans who were incarcerated.  It was a real eye opener for the kids to visit this place and know the difficulties that are part of their heritage.

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Death Valley is  world renowned for its colorful and complex geology.  I envisioned Death Valley to be somewhat desolate but it was far from it.  Peaceful, beautiful and wide open are just a few adjectives to describe this amazing place.  Ken got inspired one evening and made a FIVE pound burrito for dinner! 

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We spent some time at the Mesquite Flat Dunes.  The kids came manned with plastic trash bags ready to slide down the side of the 150′ dunes.  The tiny grains of sand were actually grains of quartz and feldspar and were so fine that they didn’t make for good sledding.  Andrew decided to trek across the sand field to hike to the top of the tallest dune in the area. We took a picture of him at the top and he looked like he was a teeny tiny ant on the top of an anthill!

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We took a tour of Scotty’s Castle, “a remarkable and exotic edifice that rises from the dust like a desert mirage”.  The story of the castle was as fun as seeing the castle in person.  The castle takes its name from Walter Scott, better known as “Death Valley Scotty”, an ex prospector and performer at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.  Scotty met Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson, who had been urged by his doctors to spend time in a warm dry climate.  Scotty roped Johnson into investing in a fictitious gold mine on this property.  Despite the fact that gold was never found, Scotty and Johnson became friends for life.  Johnson, having lived a very sheltered life,  was able to live the wild west life through this friendship and hearing Scotty’s stories. 

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At 282 feet BELOW sea level, Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America.  Two to four thousand years ago, the basin was the site of a 30 foot lake that evaporated and left a one to five foot layer of salt in its wake.  A briny pond, four times saltier than the ocean, still remains in the basin during the winter.  A really amazing site! 

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Ken and I both grew up in Southern California and we remember hearing about Mono Lake and how Los Angeles was dependent on this beautiful lake as a big water source.  Having now learned the story of Mono Lake, it  makes one wonder why more effort wasn’t made by Los Angeles to assess other water sources.  Here is the low down. . .in 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began diverting Mono Lake’s tributary streams 350 south to meet the growing demands of a thirsty Los Angeles population.  The volume of water in Mono Lake was cut in half while its salinity doubled.  The ecosystem of Mono Lake began to collapse.  In 1978, Mono Lake Committee was formed to help protect Mono Lake.  Much has been done since 1978 to help bring Mono Lake’s ecosystem back to its delicate balance with more work still needed to ensure its ultimate survival. 

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My sister Robin, husband Steve and son Paul have visited the June Lake area for many years.  I have seen many a photo and hoped one day, we too would find ourselves in this beautiful place. Finally we arrived at the June Loop and feel in love. We reached our campground, Oh Ridge State Park, and found a spot overlooking June Lake. The day was unseasonably warm (75 degrees) and we relaxed with the beautiful backdrop of the Sierras.

On Saturday Andrew went fishing and we all took longs walks around the area. The autumn leaves were ablaze in gold and when the wind picked up, it was as if the air was filled with golden snowflakes. There were photographers everywhere taking in these amazing fall colors. Sunday we awoke to fierce winds and cooler temperatures. The weather (as my sister warned us) could change on a dime in the Sierras and we felt like we were entering winter. The kids really wanted to play a game of volleyball on the beach of June Lake. We had a blast as the wind was a strong factor on where the ball ended up going. It was parents against  kids and we were beat badly. This was due in total part to my complete inability to dig, spike or serve. Fun nonetheless! We had some young guys camping out in a tent next to us and it was hard to watch them try to endure the strong winds with their wimpy tent. We brought them over homemade warm banana bread at night as we felt we wanted to do something for these poor guys. When we woke up, they were gone and their tent, while still there, was badly shredded.  We assumed they took off for a place with wind protection. Snow was forecasted for the next afternoon so we packed up Monday morning and headed to dry and warm Death Valley.   

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We had our mail and other items sent to Reno as we knew we would be passing by en route to the Sierras. While I picked up our mail at an old historic post office in the center of Reno, Andrew spent some “alone” time at an RC (radio control) shop. When I picked him up, he was so excited he could barely speak. Andrew loves to read RC magazines and the winner of a recent rock crawling RC contest was the OWNER of the RC shop. He now only met the guy (Jake Hallenback) he even got his autograph! Time well spent for my son! 

After leaving Reno, we reached a state campground in the middle of seemingly nowhere. During the drive, we wondered where in the heck we were headed but when we arrived, we were so happy! It reminded us a lot of Cave Creek. One of the most remarkable features was the potent smell of honey throughout the air. We found out there were more than 20 kind of sage bush in the area and they give off a distinct smell of honey. We loved it!

We were happy to be anchored down as we knew a big storm was coming. The reports were touting winds in excess of 120 mph. Yikes! The storm arrived early evening and it lived up to its billing. We were whipped around so much that in the middle of the night, we rearranged the sleeping set ups and pulled in the slides. Needless to say, we all barely slept but we weathered the storm with no harm done. 

When we ventured outside the RV in the morning, we couldn’t believe our eyes. Those same mountains that just yesterday were bare, were now covered with snow. A breath taking sight. The wind died down and we enjoyed walks around the park, taking in the sweet smell of honey. Now onward to camp in  those same mountains covered in snow!

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We were fortunate to have arrived at this small and special state park during the week as by the weekend, it was packed. It was dry camping so we we pulled our RV in forward (no need to worry about what side the water and electric was on) and overlooked the crystal clear river. There was a long walking/biking path along the river. We enjoyed many a stroll and the girls enjoyed “making their houses” along the path. Seems they are anxious to build a stick house sooner than later!    We took a bike ride to the Logging Museum which was a huge area filled with logging artifacts. Poohnut loved to pretend she was manning one of the big old caterpillars.  Could this be in her future?

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The next day we ventured to Crater Lake National Park.  Crater Lake combines a deep, pure lake, so blue in color and sheer surrounding cliffs, almost two thousand feet high.  Crater Lake is located  on the crest of the Cascade Mountain range.   It lies inside a volcanic basin created when the 12,000 foot high Mount Mazama collapsed 7,700 years ago following a large eruption.   It was clear to see why this special place has a national park status. 

On the way home from this amazing experience, we let the kids loose to play in the snow along the road. They were desperate to have a snow ball fight and we think they got it out of their systems, for the time being!  The day we left, it was a mere 28 degrees. Yikes!  The days warmed up nicely so at least we get to thawout  throughout the day! 

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We planned on staying at another state campground in Newport but found a really cool private RV park right next to the marina. It was essentially a big parking lot but it had great views and it was nice to have asphalt as opposed to dirt! Ken and Andrew did some fishing and the girls and I visited the historic marina district. At night, Ken and I took walks down the docks and saw many a boat filled with people enjoying living on board. It was fun to imagine living on one of these boats as this is one of our ultimate dreams.

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