River Walkin' ~ Phone Stalkin' ~ Duck Gawkin' Fools

So, I was up all night tossing and turning over this stupid phone call. I wouldn't be so stressed out about it if I knew our phone was going to still be on for the next week or so, but it's supposed to be shut off either today or tomorrow because we are switching phone companies...so the stress remains. I woke up this morning at 6:30 to start with my phone stalking once again, we are three hours behind the company I am trying to get in touch with.

[caption id="attachment_2395" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Impatiently waiting[/caption]

I was finally able to leave a message on the full voicemail from yesterday, I guess they clean it out the next morning, anyway ya slice it, I got my message in, so now... I wait...again. I laid in bed until my sleepy babies got up and we all went out for a walk around town. We walked down the sidewalk and across the street to the backlot of the Tropicana. We found that they had self-contained parking back there, you have to get a pass from security (I'm sure that means running your ID and all of that) but it was free parking on asphalt for 14 days. I thought it was pretty nifty. We also saw one of the coolest 5th wheels/pull behind I've ever seen.

[caption id="attachment_2396" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Free 14 day parking[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2397" align="aligncenter" width="300"] We'll take it![/caption]

I wish all cities were as RV friendly as Laughlin is, but I guess that's where the 'adventure' comes in...right!? We walked around the Tropicana, relieving the Bug and sipping on our coffee. We found the pool...totally empty of people but it is November!

[caption id="attachment_2399" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wanna go for a dip?[/caption]

We walked back to Joon to put Nana in her crate, it was pretty overcast with a nice little breeze so we figured it was the perfect day to see the inside of the casino's, take our time and enjoy the time we have without baby.

We are still leaking oil, not enough to be a huge problem but enough to be a bit of a concern. We'll just have to go buy some and keep it on us...just in case.

[caption id="attachment_2401" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The cutest mechanic everrrr[/caption]

Yesterday while I was geeking out over the phone call, J' had taken a walk over to the Golden Nugget to stretch his legs and strolled around inside, he wanted me to see it so we walked on over to have a looksie.

[caption id="attachment_2402" align="aligncenter" width="300"] I want a golden goose to lay golden eggs for Easter~ Veruca Salt[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2403" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Am I in Hawaii? haha[/caption]

We hit the potties in the Golden Nugget, nothing else to really see here so we moved down the line to the Pioneer. The Pioneer seems a bit older of a casino, almost looks like it was the first one on the river but maybe it was just the old western style decor...?

[caption id="attachment_2404" align="aligncenter" width="300"] If the boot fits...you must be a giant![/caption]

As soon as we walked in, we saw doors that went out to the Riverwalk so we just walked on through to the outside. I don't know whether it's the time of year, the time of day or that it's super overcast today, but no one was out...seemed like we were the only ones walking around.

[caption id="attachment_2421" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Monkey see, Monkey do[/caption]

We walked down as far as we could go, the Riverwalk is closed off at certain parts, for what...I don't know. On the opposite side of the Riverwalk there was a team of people setting up stages, lights and a sound system for the Veterans Day festivities that are starting tomorrow. As we were walking, J' said look 'black ducks', we walked down a ramp to have a closer look. I was super stoked because I had just seen these 'ducks' in one of my girlfriends' blogs and thought they were so beautiful... now we're seeing them!!

We were talking about how cool they were and I was snapping pics left and right and this guy walked up and started telling us alllll about them. They are actually called Coots or Mud Hens as the locals call them, they migrate here for the Winter. It was a very educational 2 minutes, then just as he came, he disappeared...well, that was neat, thank you Mr. 411! I counted 48 all together...oh and I love their little white beaks.

[caption id="attachment_2408" align="aligncenter" width="300"] They actually run across the water![/caption]

We started walking back to Joon and on our way back I smelled just about every single flower on the path! I even made J' smell a few, they smelled like candy!!

[caption id="attachment_2410" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Always stopping to smell the flowers![/caption]

Thought I'd try the phone call again while J' was chit chatting with a boat tour guide guy...

[caption id="attachment_2411" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Grrrrr....[/caption]

Trying to not let it get to me as much as it did yesterday....but still pretty aggravated no one is calling me back OR picking up the damn phone.

We walk.

We walked back to the van and just hung out the rest of the day. We played the guitar a little bit too, J' has decided he is going to learn right along with me...now it's much more fun. Maybe it's a little bit of that competitive streak I have in me too...it just pushes me to practice a little more than I have been...it's a good thing! I think where we are staying is a pretty good spot, we know we're not going to get hassled due to The Pioneer actually advertising their dry camping. We were wondering why everyone looked like they were at a camp site, they have tables and chairs sitting outside of their campers/RV's...now we know why!

It has turned into a beautiful night, let's hope the weather stays nice and we don't get hit by any big storms or anything. I hope you have a wonderful evening...we will catch ya on the flip side yo'!

[caption id="attachment_2414" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Goodnight![/caption]

PEACE

(128 ) 'Black ducks' aka Coots by Ayevangabond

Standing by...

Being up on this hillside has been really nice. It's pretty private up here so we have been able to take showers without feeling any peeping eyes...but who knows really! It always feels nice to get that full-on shower in though, that most times it doesn't even matter if there were. Yesterday we talked about driving into town (today) due to a phone call I didn't want to miss and our phone signal strength has been in and out roaming. We left the mountain at about 9:30 this morning. As we drove down the trail to the main road we saw some animals, at first I thought they were Burro's because of their color, but as we got closer we saw that they were just little babies. Babies of what, you ask!? Baby Bighorn Sheep...although these were Babyhorn Sheep...haha so freakin' adorable.

[caption id="attachment_2373" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Helloooo Baaabae![/caption]

While we were in the mountains we decided to bungee our trash to the top-side of the van to keep it off the ground in case animals were around. We figured if we didn't drive like crazies, we would be able to drive with the trash still up there...haha It lasted for a couple of miles until we lost one of our towels that was under the solar shower, so we pulled off onto what looked like a trail down into some other BLM land (but a little too treacherous for Joon). While J' went to secure the trash, I saw something across the desert move. I looked up and there was a big ole' Coyote. I thought to myself, if he's that big from way over here, he must be friggin' huge up close!! He turned and watched us the entire time until J' got back in the van and we started driving away. Again I wish I could get a better focused picture zoomed in, but this is what ya get...

[caption id="attachment_2375" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Hey big boy[/caption]

So...now we know they are present. Like I said before, when you go so long without seeing any predatory creatures, it's kind of like they aren't around...well there ya go! Down the road we go. We weren't really sure where we were going to go just yet, so we drove through town looking at parking lots, for grocery stores and a good place to park for the day. I just wanted to get my phone call done and out of the way and then the rest of the day would be for play...hooray!!

[caption id="attachment_2376" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Thank you![/caption]

We drove through town and up to the top of this big hill where we saw a bunch of RV's parked in a 'vacant' parking lot...they had a great view.

[caption id="attachment_2377" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Parking lot with a view[/caption]

We pulled into one of the spots to take in the Laughlin scenery from above. The guy we parked next to, Butch, was just stepping out of his 42' footer when we pulled in. We had a pretty long conversation with him about different places him and his wife had been, where they were going, where we've been, etc. He told us that one of the casino's used this lot to park the bigger RV's for $7.00 a day (dry camping).

 We parted ways after a good 45 minute convo. We were going to go check out the parking lots we passed when we drove into town, there were a bunch of RV's in all of the lots. We parked under a tree (for the shade, it's much warmer down here and not as windy) to be able to take my phone call. J' took Savannah on a long walk, while I waited. After waiting and waiting and waiting, I looked down at the phone...I had a voicemail. What? My phone didn't even ring. I tried calling the lady back, no answer, her voicemail was full. I called her 23 times, finally deciding to call another number and another number and another. After being transferred back to the full voicemail 9 different times and being transferred to unhelpful people I can say I was on the edge of losing it...okay I was waaaay over the edge. I had already lost it. All I needed was a confirmation on this one phone call and could go about the rest of my day. I clinched that damn phone like it was a life for the rest of the day with no one ever calling back. J' still tried to make me enjoy my day, he's such a good hubby! We walked around the different casino's, the first one we went into was the Colorado Belle but before you enter into the building you walk on a bridge over a moat. I walked up to the wall to look over and instantly part of my day had been reignited with excitement...KOI FISH!!! Oh.My.Gosh. I LOVE Koi Fish... I mean I have one tattooed on my neck for Criminey Sake's....so excited!

 They even had fish food...now who's smiling? This girl!

[caption id="attachment_2381" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Fish Frenzy[/caption]

 We walked through the casino pretty much just to get through to the Boardwalk/River Walk. It's so smoky in the casino's that if you're not playing, it's kind of hard to just walk around inside, so we headed out! The casino's sit on the Colorado River and even though the river is super low, it's still very cool!

We popped into a Mickey D's for lunch and splurged on the new "Threemendous" CBO sammies they have (Cheddar, Bacon, Onion). I got the chicken and J' got the beef...they are actually pretty darn good especially alongside a couple of apple pies! haha

[caption id="attachment_2383" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Better not be the price![/caption]

Due to the stress of the phone call we went back to the van to find a spot for the night, no sense in going back just to come back down tomorrow morning. We pulled out away from the tree, we needed sun on our panels but as we were getting into the van a guy (looked like he worked there) stopped me and told me allllll about the birds pooping on your car if you park under the trees! haha Thanks dude, very helpful. We moved over to the Pioneer parking lot, it looked like that was where the most RV's were parked.

After finding a good spot with good reception for Fox (which is thee hardest channel to find good signal for, for some reason) we took Nana on a walk around town.

[caption id="attachment_2385" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Big City[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2386" align="aligncenter" width="280"] ♫ I'll take you to the Candy Shop...let you lick the lollipop! ♫[/caption]

This is a fun little place. Hopefully I can get that phone call finished tomorrow, so I can stop thinking about it and get on with the fun stuff already! I'm just glad Savannah's not worried about it...

[caption id="attachment_2387" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Hakuna Matata[/caption]

PEACE