2/24/12 Hello again from Phoenix. This morning we drove our rig back to the Xantrex technician to fix our inverter problem. Turned out it was just a loose wire and we were out of there in record time and with no added expense. Hooray!
The last time we posted, we were at The Steps, near Lake Havasu City, for the Winterblast. While waiting for that event to start, we managed to visit Del & Connie Nixon, former members of Park Sierra who now have a home there. After a nice chat with Connie, we went several blocks over to the mobile home Cliff bought, where Del was helping him put new outside boards on. Cliff is a current member of Park Sierra. He got a fabulous deal on his place considering it is on a nice lot with a good view, but the work he will have to put into it before it is habitable is rather daunting. Judging by what he has done already, it will be super when he finishes it.
There were also several gatherings of the RoVing Rods who were camped near us. One event was a dessert potluck on Valentine's Day. Here is a picture of some of the treats:

In attendance were John & Vi Primmer, Chuck & Betty Goehring, Donna and Ron Gibson, Tom and Margie Malony, and Cotton & Betty. Betty made the most delicious chocolate cheesecake, which totally interfered with our "drop a few pounds" plan, but it was worth it! Here are John, Vi, Elaine, Betty, and Betty

Almost everyday we went for a long walk in the area. There was a gravel road that lead down to the Colorado River and it made a very nice 4 mile walk, round trip. Here is a picture of Elaine down by the cove at the River:

There were even camping spots there for boat people. Here are the walking friends at the picnic table there: Pat, Mary, Jan, Connie, Elaine

Another event that takes place for the Boomers at The Steps is Ed's birthday party. It really is Dwayne's birthday, and the party is put on by his partner, Betty Anderson. But one day about 5 years ago, when she went to get a cake, the only cake available was printed with "Happy Birthday Ed". It was available for 1/2 price because Ed had died and his party was off. So Betty got that cake and Dwayne's party every year is now called "Ed's Birthday Party". They served about 120 hot dogs this year and we all brought side dishes, so you can see it has become a BIG event. Here is a picture of some of the Boomers, with Dwayne in the middle:

And here we are with both Dwayne & Betty:

Of course, the main reason we all go there is for the fireworks shows. They have them 4 nights in a row but we only went Friday and Saturday nights. In past years it has been free, but this year they charged $3 per person and $5 per car for parking. Here are a couple of pictures but of course, pictures can't even come close to the fabulous performances.



The last day we were there, we managed to get together for pizza with Kirk Bowles, and his partner, Severina. He was with us for part of or 10 month RV trip down to the Panama Canal and back in 2004. Since then these 2 have been selling time shares and vacation packages all over the world, most recently in Thailand. So it was great to catch up with them and have a good visit.

Our last stop was in Quartzsite again, where we met up with old friends Lee & Susie Blattner and camped together for 2 nights. Then Marilyn and Mike Harrison showed up too. Here we are socializing in our rig:

Tomorrow we leave here and head to Tucson where we will be staying at Elaine's Aunt Marion's place, and having good visits with her sister, Penny. And the weather has been HOT - today it was 83 here in Phoenix!!!!