The B&B II is history, very good history!

On Wednesday Judy organized a trip for 34 of us to visit Rooster Cogburns Ostrich Ranch and take the monster bus ride. The trip was a success and everyone really enjoyed it. On the way home Judy & I went to 6 big name stores in Casa Grande to find a new camera, ha! None of them had a good camera in stock we wanted to buy and I wasn't too picky! If you want a simple $100 or $150 camera you stood a chance. The advantage of a sticks & bricks store is to see the product and take it home now. Seems no one is stocking a $300 to $400 camera so I'm going to have to find one on the Internet. While we were gone Jesse installed a new set of entry steps for us as the old ones had a broken weld and some rivets didn't look too good so I had ordered a replacement from NuWa. Wednesday evening was a potluck supper. On Thursday we relaxed until the evening when we had a chili contest, I was a judge. Then we had the birthday party which is always the rally highlight. Everyone brings a wrapped gift and numbers are drawn to select a gift. You can either take an unopened new gift or steal one you like from someone who already had selected one. That person then selects another new gift or steals one. A gift can be taken only 3 times. I had an ostrich egg in a box on Easter grass with some peeps and jelly beans. Judy brought two weird bottles of beer and a book "Sex over 60" which we got at the West Yellowstone rally. We all had a good time. This morning we had the bag breakfast, we cook eggs and whatever goodies you can think of smashed together in a plastic bag cooked in boiling water. It really comes out good. Later there were games and Judy was a judge while T talked and investigated RVs with a few of the guys. This evening we had the final potluck followed by door prizes, songs and farewells. Most are leaving tomorrow but several of us are holing up here over the Easter holiday.

Sheriff Joe's Tent City

Clayton & Pat pulled out Sunday morning headed to Lake Havasu on their way to CA. It was really great to be able to spend time with them on their first RV trip! If we are lucky we'll meet again in NV or UT a month from now when they are returning east.

Monday Judy organized a trip for 18 of us here at the B&B II HitchHiker Rally to have lunch at Sweet Tomato's (had a great soup & salad bars meal) and then a tour of Sheriff Joe's Tent City. Have you read or heard about Sheriff Joe's Tent City? Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, AZ has a well known reputation, people love him or hate him, depend which side of the law you are on. In 1993 he obtained some military surplus tents and set them up beside the county jail to house inmates rather than give some an early release due to overcrowding. This solution (with cement pads, fencing, heat and some fans) was MUCH MUCH less expensive than a bigger jail building & he can now house 2,000 inmates in the Tent Jail. He did add more security, electric fences, watch towers, K-( units, and a facial recognition computer system. If our troops in Iraq can live in tents so can Arizona inmates.

When towels, bedding and clothing started to disappear when prisoners were released (they are criminals after all) he dyed their underwear and stuff pink to deter them from stealing it, it worked.

Illegal immigrant supporters REALLY hate him, but that's OK with me. He's finishing his 4 term in office and is 77 years old.

Our camera has died, after upteen times being dropped so I'm depending of pictures from our friends until I have a replacement.

Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch & Bye Bye Clayton & Pat!

Can you see Clayton & Pat throught the dark windshield as they pulled out Sunday morning? Yesterday we returned to Rooster Cogburns with Clayton & Pat. Althought we had to wait quite awhile we really enjoyed the off road monster bus ride & fishing for ostrichs. Judy and I were here 2 years ago and enjoyed it just as much as the first time. We stopped at the Table Top Tavern on the way back to get a jump on happy hour and the locals were getting wound up so we returned to the CG and our HitchHiker RV friends who arrived today while we were gone. Pat made a real nice shrimp, rice and (oh boy!) lima bean supper for all of us while Judy brought the rubarb pie.

B&B II Rally has started!!

We had three reasons to head west, the B&B II HitchHiker Rally, warm weather, and visit NV & UT which are the last two states to see so we can say we've RVed every state west of a line from MI to FL. We are 2 of 3 so far. The B&B II stands for Babes & Balls, several of our friends are going to some spring training baseball games in the Phoenix area. It's a follow-up to the B&B I (Beer & Beans Rally in 2007).

There are 50+ of us here and well over 20 HitchHikers. It's an opportunity to visit with HitchHiker friends we haven't seen in months and meet new ones we have only communicated with on the forum.

Clayton & Pat in Maricopa

The large group picture was at Casa Grande one evening during the cocktail hours. Most of us will be going to the B&B II rally next week. It got a little chilly after the sun went down so we had jackets on.

On Wednesday Clayton & Pat arrived in Maricopa in his motorhome and came down to visit us. We went to Eva's for a late Mexican lunch and checked out a local CG that we liked 2 years ago, & still do. After Clayton & Pat left about 4 couples that arrived from Maricopa (they are in for the rally a little early too) came down to visit with the Casa Grande group so we went out with them for supper at Eva's second Mexican restaurant.

Today we made the 20 mike trip to John Wayne RV Campground in Maricopa where Clayton & Pat are staying for a couple days. Judy's nephew Todd came down from Phoenix too so we all had a nice lunch of kielbasa, German potato salad & red cabbage. Todd spent the afternoon and we all had a nice visit. Todd's the young dude in the picture with us old farts. You can see our fifth wheel parked next to Clayton's motorhome here in the desert.

RV friends are gathering

We have been doing some socializing since Wednesday. On Thursday we drove across Casa Grande and met Nolan & Joann and their Little Blue Truck (a BIG Kenworth). JV & Carolyn Evans went with us and we all went to Eva's for a nice Mexican dinner. That's Nolan, JoAnn, Carolyn & JV above in the right picture.

Friday we drove to Phoenix and had lunch with Stacy & Sharon Wise (left picture), we met them 2 years ago here in AZ. It was real nice meeting new HH friends, Nolan & JoAnn, and getting together with HH we have met in the past like JV & Carolyn and Stacy & Sharon.

On Saturday Dave & Trish Wood (AND Tank) arrived here at Desert Shadows along with Trish's brother Bill. We all had a steak or chicken dinner here at the park last night.

The weather has been pretty consistent, 70s and 80s with all the sunshine you want. Judy & I have noticed in our travels that the desert is MUCH MUCH greener than it was when we were here in 2008. We are looking forward to lots of desert flowers this spring.

Mountains, Lakes, & RV friends

Happy St Patrick's Day to you all. We drove up to Mesa this morning and met Ray & Barb and Rudy & Linda. We were all together in Gulf Shores, AL back in January before everyone left looking for better weather. By the way, it was 88 today, that's getting plenty hot. They are in a very large RV & snowbird park with over 1700 sites for RVs and park models. Patches made out like a bandit with all the goodies she received from Ray & Barb's cats. We spent some time walking around their park before we drove up to the Usery Mountains & Saguaro Lake for some sightseeing and lunch. Thanks for lunch Ray! It was a beautiful ride through the desert and then into the mountains to the restaurant on the lake. The pictures do not do the scenery justice & we had a very enjoyable day.