Nice weather has returned to Lake Havasu City Arizona and Judy and I are taking advantage of the sunshine and doing some nice bicycle rides. We have done 67 miles in the last five days including another trip up to the BLM office. Now we know that we can camp “free” on BLM land as long as we get their $140 annual permit. We have also learned how to connect up to the wi-fi net at the Mohave County Library. We just put on our bicycle trailer and run all over town. Yesterday we tossed in the push broom, and rode along the bicycle trail sweeping up broken glass and clearing away the flood washed gravel and sand.

Each evening Judy and her sister Sonja have been working on a big, two sided quilt. I think the project has grown beyond all rational bounds. They are trying to get several more yards of fabric for a bed skirt and pillow shams. At this moment they are trying to decide whether to machine or hand quilt the finished product.

We are staying in Windsor Beach State Park, right here in the middle of Lake Havasu City. A few yards from our front door is Lake Havasu, and behind us is the city. The sky has been clear and we have very little light pollution here in the park, so this morning I dug out the telescope at six a.m. mountain time and set it up in the dark. Venus and Jupiter were shining brilliantly. By the time I got the finder telescope lined up with the observing telescope the sky was lightening significantly with the impending dawn. Still I was able to observe Jupiter and see the four principal moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. As the dawn filled in I switched to much brighter Venus and I was able to track it until the sun was well above the mountains. Long after I could no longer pick it out in the sky with the unaided eye.

It was also interesting to watch the wild life wake up as the dawn came. I was startled by the whirr of wings as the Mourning Doves flew out from under a nearby bush. Soon the Gambal’s Quail came boop-ety booping across the road in their fast stepping dash. After that three bunnies came along and they stopped to watch me for a while before resuming their browsing on the low bushes.

Now the time has come for us to move on. We will take the next few days to drive to Gilroy California to be with our son, Glen and his family, Barb, Cody, Patrick and Bryce.

Tonight we expect to be in Boron California. It will be about a 225 mile drive. We are at the moment in a rest stop on I-40 about half way from the California border to practically nowhere. The sun is shining brilliantly in a clear blue sky and there is lots of high desert to watch as we roll by. Judy is fixing us a nice lunch.

Bye and lots of love from Gary and Judy near Barstow California.