Greetings from the Grand Canyon

We left San Diego on 8/16 and headed to Laughlin for 2 days - where Gary had a lucky streak, in about 2 hours time he hit a Royal Flush!!! and then a 5 of 5 on Keno, and I won $200 on a Black Jack table. After leaving Laughlin, we then moved on to Grand Canyon where we stayed at the Trailer Village for two nights - it was very nice with full hookups plus cable TV and internet, but we decided we like Mather Campground better (no hookups, but prettier sites amongst the trees). Rexie is much happier in this climate! Below are some pictures from Grand Canyon including a couple of mule deer who walked through our campground and kept their eyes locked on Rexie. Rexie gave them some good growling and posturing so they knew he's a big tough predator. I don't think he knew what they were - but they were big, and they were close, so they needed to be growled at.

Speaking of Rexie, traveling with Rex and Gabriel is like having a couple of kids in the back seat. The cat constantly wandering from one window to the other (are we there yet? are we there yet?), or insisting on sleeping on the center console right in the way, and Rexie periodically complaining - "he's touching me!!! he's touching me!!!" They have a huge area and big cushy padding across the whole back seat - but like a couple of kids they can't seem to share that huge space peacefully for more than a few minutes at a time.

We have changed our plans for Grand Canyon area. We were not happy staying in the "parking lots" they call RV Parks here, so will be staying in Williams at Grand Canyon Railway RV Park for only one week (8/20 - 8/27). Then we are heading to White Horse Lake Campground, which is 20 miles into the mountains, on a beautiful lake. We drove the truck out there today and were thinking we did not want to take the 5th wheel on that gravel road! But when we saw the campground and the lake, we decided this is the place we really want to stay. We will be staying for 2 weeks; it is remote with no hookups, so we will have no TV, no internet - but it did appear to have good cell phone reception. And I have some good books to read, plus we will be enjoying the kayak on the lake.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai/recreation/fishing/whitehorse.shtml

Then on 9/10 we head back to the Grand Canyon South Rim for another 6 nights. Then it will be on through the Petrified Forest and into Albuquerque.

Chargers - Cowboys game, La Jolla Caves

We went to Qualcomm stadium to see the Chargers trample the Cowboys - woo hoo! It was a fun event - we took the local train / trolley (MTS) to the game - which was much better than parking at the stadium for the $25 parking fee!


We took the kayak out to La Jolla to snorkel and explore the caves. We had lots of fun, had fun paddling into and through the caves. The snorkeling was good, most clear water I've ever seen in SoCal - and finally, we swam with the sharks!!! We saw 3-4 sharks at a time - leopard sharks just swimming around below us. They are just off shore - you can simply walk into the water and there they are - best of all, it's free! If you enjoy snorkeling, I highly recommend La Jolla.

Mission Bay, Coronado, Del Mar

Gary has been having a good time cruising in the Zodiak around Mission Bay.
Rexie enjoyed our visit to Coronado and the dogs beach. Ever since he caught a grunion in Newport, he is very excited to run through the water trying to catch fish. He seems sure that every bit of white foam is a fish. We also have been to Del Mar a couple times to watch the horses.

More pics from the zoo

SD zoo has to grizzly cubs from Idaho; I got some good pictures of them. Also love the snoozing sun bear.

They were walking a wolf through the park so I got several shots of this beauty, who was a little nervous.

San Diego Zoo

Loved the zoo! Although we were sad for some of the animals whose enclosures seemed much too small. Some of my best pictures were of "non-zoo" animals, such as the humming bird. Gary was carrying a plastic bag with water bottles, snacks - and all the animals seemed very interested in it, so we got animals coming right up to us. Except the koalas, who were all napping.

San Diego wild animal park

Went to the Wild Animal Park on a 5-day, 2-park pass which included the park and the SD Zoo; really enjoyed the "Journey into Africa".

Mission Beach

We've taken some nice bike rides around the bay and the beaches (riding everywhere, better than running the truck and much easier than trying to PARK the truck, anywhere near the beach!). Pacific Beach has what I think is the only Hotel ON a pier - you sleep with the waves banging away at the supports beneath you...for only $300/night in the summer...yikes! Mission Beach has Belmont Park (amusement park) and the Wave House where we enjoyed watching guys riding the wave makers. I also rode my bike over to a local dentist I found through 1-800-DENTIST - (after all that dental work while I had dental insurance, the $1000 crown I got just last year broke!) - The amazing thing is, the dental visit - work and all - was only $45! The dentist charged less per hour than the RV repair guy!!!! That really is unbelievable. Anyway, NEVER put a porcelain crown on a back molar, especially if you occasionally, absent-mindedly, accidentally chew ice! Doh!

So far in San Diego...

It has been a very busy couple of weeks in San Deigo, with the Zoo, Wild Animal Park, visiting all the beaches, riding the endless bike trails, plus Chargers stadium for Fan Fest (free parking, free admission, autographs from the players!). We've also had some unexpected expenses due to problems with the generator installation (propane leak due to a wrong fitting along with an electrical fire due to the wrong size wire nut and loose wires in the transfer box); we are hoping the installer will do the honorable thing and reimburse us - particularly considering how lucky they are that it did not burn down our new RV - with us in it!!!

We have visited La Jolla Cove area several times. I absolutely LOVE La Jolla beach, it is beautiful. The water temp has been hovering around 72 here - which is very warm. We are awaiting good visibility to go snorkeling in the reserve.

The squirrels are everywhere and have no fear - this one let me get a nice close-up. The "Children's pool" here behind Gary always seems to have Harbor seals hanging around. A couple blocks north at the cove there are lots of Sea Lions. Can't wait to get in the water to see the garibaldi, kelp beds and leopard sharks.