Time to leave Mississippi! We always enjoy our time parked in Jane’s yard, but it is time for Dave, Boo and I to get back to our style of living, on the move. Our first stop was Simsboro, Louisiana, after packing, hooking up and pulling out at 9AM on December 29 (2020).
Prior to checking into our site in Simsboro, we drove a short distance out of the way to tour the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in Gibsland, LA. The museum is in the same building as the restaurant where the famous couple ordered their last lunch. The museum is a bit cheesy but it was a fun stop and felt like we are getting back to OUR way of life. Getting there was a bit challenging because an early morning accident was still causing a detour 12 hours later. It took us an hour to go the last 5 miles.
Antique Village RV Park 
December 30 brought us to Route 66 RV Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. We had planned a different route about mid way across Texas but a snow storm was scheduled to hit for the next two days and could drop 10-12 inches of snow. So, we changed route to head further north and circle around the storm. It was dark by the time we pulled into our site so I could not take a picture. This is the first time I haven’t gotten a picture of one of our stays.
December 31, found us in Deming, New Mexico. We planned a quiet evening with a bottle of champagne. We were both tired so decided to celebrate as if we were still on Central time and got to bed at about 11:05 Mountain time!
LoW-Hi RV Ranch 
First Bloody Mary of 2021. 
Black eyed peas for luck.
New Year’s Day brought us to Tombstone, Arizona where we planned to stay for two nights. This is the location of a gun fight involving the Earp brothers at the OK Corral. The entire town is a National Historic site and well worth the visit. It is a place we have wanted to see since last winter but it is too far from Casa Grande for a day trip.
Stampede RV Park 
Big Nose Kate’s 
Crystal Palace Saloon 
December 3 found us in the parking lot of Gander RV, now Camping World. We thought we had an appointment for some warranty work on the 4th but had made a mistake. The appointment is really on the 5th! Oh well, the afternoons were warm and sunny and staying here is free.
The work on the trailer was completed in early afternoon and we headed to Leisure Valley RV Resort in Casa Grande, to begin our 3-month stay.
Dinner out at one of our favorite places in Casa Grande, Mi Amigo Ricardo.
I spent some time working on the puzzle Dave gave me for Christmas, along with a roll up mat. He knows my taste. The puzzle is different flowering cactus of the desert.
On January 20, we drove to Yuma. We had two reasons. One reason was to visit some of our friends that we had met two years ago. Tom and Roxi, Beth and Todd are in a campground there. We stayed overnight with Todd and Beth (the toy hauler room turns into a cute, comfy bedroom). They took us to a couple of places they like to frequent in historic Yuma, Prison Hill Brewery and Lutes Casino. Roxi made a delicious homemade chicken soup for supper and Beth made an apple pancake for breakfast the next day. It sure was fun to see them again.
Prison Hill 
Lutes 
Bernie joined us at Lutes.
The other reason we wanted to go to Yuma was to check out several different campgrounds because we are considering going there next winter. Since our visit there, we have almost decided to head to Florida again next winter. Our other full-timer friends plan to go there. After two winters of just Dave and I, it will be fun to hang out with friends on a more regular basis.
There is a large fire ring in the park, to be used for group gatherings on Friday evenings. We went to it a few weeks ago but no one was there and there was no fire so the next Friday, we went and started our own fire. No one joined us!
Dave had been busy painting the corn hole boards that he made while we were in Mississippi. We have had a lot of fun playing that. He also found a way to mount the dart board that I gave him for Christmas.
Because we could not get the playoff game at the campground, we found a large sports bar to watch The Bucs vs Packers, on Sunday, January 24th. The bar was generously social distanced and each booth had its own TV, in addition to all of the TVs around the room as well. We were happy Tom Brady and the Bucs won the game and are heading to the Super Bowl.
We drove up to Goldfield Ghost Town for a return visit because we had enjoyed it last year. We didn’t really explore but enjoyed a beer and appetizers. I did a little shopping and found some delicious Bloody Mary mix to try. We also visited the Lost Dutchman museum, a short distance away.
Lost Dutchman 
Goldfield Ghost Town
A few days later, we went to Florence to see their museum. What an excellent, well done museum. A dust storm was starting so we didn’t spend much time in the outside portion. Instead, we went across the street to a cute Mexican restaurant for a couple of Mexican beers. The drive home was very windy and dusty!
The weather in Casa Grande is not as warm as last year. We sure don’t have the same tans! We have only been able to get to the pool a couple of times and even sitting out in the sun is limited to a couple of hours in the afternoons.
February 7 took us to the Cardinal Stadium in Mesa for our first Covid shot. We didn’t have any adverse reactions except I had a sore arm for a couple of days.
For my birthday, we finally had weather that worked for a pool day. Dave surprised me with hurricanes! They have been part of my birthday celebration every year. He also treated me to a surprise pedicure, my first since Fall of 2019.
A week later, I looked outside one morning and there was Mike and Rebecca! Our Minnesota friends came to Arizona for a few days away from cold Minnesota and to celebrate Rebecca’s birthday. Dave and Rebecca had worked hard to make this a surprise for me and they succeeded. We had a great 4 days with them, although their first day was the only warm, pool type day.
Our third anniversary was February 23. Dave surprised me with a pretty bouquet the day before. On our anniversary, we drove to Gilbert because I wanted to do some shopping at Hobby Lobby. Later we had a nice dinner at Applebee’s, using a gift card we had been given more than a year earlier.
On Sunday, the 28th, we met my friends Donna and Scott Ites at O.H.S.O. Brewery in Gilbert where we spent a couple of hours reminiscing. What a neat brewery.
Later, we headed back to Cardinal Stadium for our second Covid shot. This time, I had icky symptoms for a couple of days but that is certainly better than getting Covid.
On March 1, we were lounging in the sun, with me not feeling well. We looked up at an incoming RV and it was our friends Tom and Roxi! They had made a change in plans and headed to Casa Grande, forgetting the name of our park but happened upon us, so parked two sites away with the site in between empty. We all woke up early the next morning to an RV fire behind Tom and Roxi. They had to scramble to pull their trailer out. Park residents worked to get the fire out before the fire department arrived. That RV was empty and no one was hurt but what a welcome party to Tom and Roxi.
We took Tom and Roxi to one of our favorite spots in CG the Airport Bar. They liked the atmosphere and we all returned several times over the month. One of the favorites in their Friday night Fish Fry.
I got my hair cut one day, sort of a whim although I have thought about it for 6 months. The stylist didn’t do a great job but I like the shorter hair. I had not wanted to cut my hair but it was getting to be unmanageable.
Dave and I took in a Spring Training baseball game on March 8. We were in row 11 behind home plate where the Cubs beat the Rangers 9-0. What a fun game and great to see baseball again.
We took Tom and Roxi on an outing to Goldfield and Tortilla Flat. What a fun day we all had, enjoying the beautiful scenery. When Dave and I were at Tortilla Flat last year, it was closed so we couldn’t see any of the buildings. We were surprised at how many dollar bills were on the walls, 4 deep in some places. We were told the owners estimate there are over 400,000 dollar bills on the walls.
Here are a couple of random pictures of a beautiful full moon and the park owls.
A few days later, we drove up to Show Low to visit Meg and Denny. We had met up with Denny a couple of times but not Meg. It was great to visit with them and spend the night. The drive up through Glob and Salt River Canyon was beautiful. We tried to get to Roosevelt Lake but were only able to see it from a distance. When returning to CG the next day, we drove back through Heber and Payson. The landscape was different and there was a lot of snow on the ground (but not on the highway). We also saw burn areas from last summer’s fires. To see the burn area better, we took a small detour to Jake’s Corner, a spot we had liked last year, for a quick beer.
Roosevelt Lake 
Salt River Canyon 
Boo and Mia checking things out. 
Boo with Aunt Meg.
We tried to see the Ruins monument with Tom and Roxi but it was a Sunday and it was closed Sundays and Mondays. What a disappointment. We hope to get back there before they leave on the first of April.