PICKING UP THE LAZY DAZE, LAS VEGAS AND GETTING TO PHOENIX.

May 2nd thru May 6th.

Today, May 2nd, is the big day. We got to the factory at 8:30 for the walk through and paper work. The only issue we had was the factory  had forgotten to install the battery disconnect switch. It was 10:30 before we could leave with the ICC driver driving the coach and us following behind in the Subaru. It was about 2:30 when we got into Primm, NV where we had to sign the paper work showing that we took possession of the motorhome out of the state of California in order not to pay CA sales tax. Then it was off to Oasis RV Resort in Las Vegas where it was 95 degrees while we unpacked the Subaru and loaded up the RV.

Here is the new Lazy Daze. The outside looks the same, but the inside has light maple wood rather than the darker cherry interior of the 2011 coach.



Saturday we did some running around and picking up supplies in the morning so we could be ready for Gil and Nancy coming over about mid afternoon. We had made arrangements earlier for Nancy to pick up tickets for the four of us to see the Donny and Marie Osmond Show. Gil and Nancy also have a Lazy Daze so they were interested in seeing what changes have been made in the last few years.
 
Later we left for “the strip” where Gil and Nancy treated us to a magnificent buffet at the Cosmopolitan. Thanks, Gil and Nancy. Later we walked around sightseeing before going to the show at the Flamingo. The show was fantastic. Sandy had seen a Donny Osmond concert before back home and this show did not disappoint. Both Donny and Marie are excellent singers and performers with a wide variety of music, comedy and dancing. Before the show we stopped at the Bellagio to watch the fountain show and we returned after the concert to watch the fountains again. The “Dancing Waters” at the Bellagio are probably the best free show in Vegas. By the time we got home at 10:30 we were tired and ready to hit the sack.

Here are Gil and Nancy and us at the Conservatory in the Bellagio.









Gil took the next 7 pictures.

The Bellagio.



5 pictures from inside the Venetian, Encore, Wynn, Palazzo and Bellagio casinos.


 
These parasols move slowly up and down.







Gil took this candid photo of us and Nancy in the Bellagio Conservatory which was filled with spring flowers.







Sunday morning after breakfast Sandy did some more arranging on the inside and I put on the step cover and a bug screen to keep the bugs from plugging up the radiator fins as we are driving down the highway. Gil and Nancy invited us to their home for dinner then later took us back into town to see the Palazzo and Wynn Las Vegas hotel casinos. These hotels are extravagant beyond description.



This is Elvis.  I wanted to say their “dog”, but I don’t want to hurt his feelings.  Elvis has a little bell he rings when he needs to go outside.  He also has a little bell outside that makes the doorbell ring when he is ready to come back inside.  Sandy tried to get a picture of Elvis ringing his bell, but he was way too fast for her to snap the picture.



On Monday, the 5th, we were on the road again and drove from Las Vegas to Ridgecrest, CA where we are had tire valve stem extenders put on the motorhome. It was another  windy drive  so I kept the speed down to under 60 MPH. Even so, we got in early so Chuck said to pull into a bay and he would install the extenders on the front tires now, leaving just the rear tires for the morning so we could get a earlier start tomorrow.
Chuck came by the RV about 6:30AM to drop off some coffee. It’s a  good thing he had told us he was going to do that or he would have caught us in our PJ’s. He said he would be back at 7:45 to take the RV and put the extenders on the rear tires. While he was putting on the extenders we went for breakfast and picked up some supplies. When we got back to the shop, Chuck was finished, so we were on the road by 10:00 heading for Phoenix, AZ. We ended up stopping in Parker, AZ and spent the night at Pirates Den Campground where we backed up to the Colorado River. We got the feeling it could be a busy and noisy place during the day with jet skis and water skiing on the river.







Now it’s off to Phoenix.

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy

Wally Park’s NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Museum

April 30th

On Wednesday April 30th we were excited to get to the Lazy Daze factory to get a look at our new motorhome. When we got there we could only look at it from a distance as they were still working on it. It appears they had to do some repainting. One of the things I wanted to do was visit the Wally Parks NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) museum in Pomona. So after stopping at the factory we went to the museum and spent a couple hours there. There were salt flat racers, dragsters, drag bikes and street rods on display.



This is for our neighbors back home.



Nothing sounds better than a smooth running V-8 flat head.






















This is for our friend Terry S. Enjoy!

























Until next time,

Dave and Sandy

DRIVING TO CALIFORNIA TO PICK UP OUR MOTORHOME

April 26th – 29th.

On Friday, April 25th we packed, or should I say jammed packed, the Subaru for our trip to California to pick up the new Lazy Daze Motorhome. We could open the side doors with only an item or two falling out, but there was no way the back door would get opened until we were ready to unload it into the motorhome. After everything was packed we decided to leave Saturday instead of Sunday. As Dinah Shore used to sing, we are going to “see the USA in a “Subaru?”. Oh how times have changed.



We left for California at 7:15 AM. The winds were horrific, but at least the wind was to our back which helped us average 30.6 MPG on the first day of driving. I normally get 29 driving on the highway. Our stop for the night was 470 miles later in Alliance, NE.
Our drive on Sunday took us from Alliance, NE to Green River, UT. The big decision of the day was when we got to Denver if we wanted to go on I-70 west or take I-25 south and catch I-40 to go through Flagstaff. Our concerns were based on very bad weather reports along I-70 at Vail Pass. After further review of a couple of weather apps we decided to take a chance on I-70 and ended up glad that we had. We ran into some snow, but nothing a Minnesotan couldn’t handle. We probably saw a 50 degree temp along the way today. We had eaten a late lunch so we were not hungry for dinner so instead went to a place called Ray’s for a couple beers and an order of fries. Although we did not have a burger it looked like their specialty was hamburgers. A rafting group that came in had preordered 26 bacon cheese burgers with fries and it seemed that they and everyone else was happy with the food. I know that beer was good. I had a couple different local pale ales.

The next few pictures are on I-70 west of Denver.





This was taken just after the Vail Pass high point at 10,666 elevation.



This is for Jane. That’s snow on top of those kayaks. Perhaps they are used as bobsleds in the winter!!!



The weather got better as we got past Vail and temps were in the low 60’s when we got to Green River, UT.



Monday, our third day had us leaving Green River and heading to Capital Reef NP. We are taking the back roads today to get in some of the scenery. Unlike our last trip through here, we did not take time to drive back into the park.







After following the scenic state highway 12 we drove into Bryce Canyon NP and stopped at most of the scenic overlooks. This is still high on our list of national parks.



There was still a little snow at the higher elevations. The temperature was 40 degrees with high winds so we didn’t stay out of the car more than a few minutes. It seems that one of us “Dave” did not bring sweatshirts or a heavy jacket. My excuse is that we are going to California and Arizona.













After leaving the park we drove to Kanab, UT where we spent the night. We grabbed a couple brochures at the motel to plan a trip here in the future as it looks like an interesting place to spend a few days. Many western “cowboy for you youngsters” movies were filmed in the area.

We left Kanab the morning of the 29th heading to Zion National Park then over to St. George, UT where we picked up I-15 that would take us thru Las Vegas and then to LA. We finally got to the Aryes Hotel in Ontario, CA around 5:30 PM. The trip was 2060 miles. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of todays journey, as I "Dave" accidentally erased them much to Sandy's disapproval.

Until next time

Dave and Sandy