Merry Christmas from Lake Havasu City, AZ. I took Betty and Billy to meet my old friend Santa Claus today. He was looking pretty good, but a little tired as he has been getting ready for Christmas Eve. Santa assured me he and the reindeer will be ready for Saturday night. I hope all is well with you and wish you the very best for the holiday season.
Here are a couple of photos from our site at Colorado River Oasis Resort in Ehrenberg, AZ. The top photo is of a sunrise one morning last week and the botton photo shows the motor home site with the nice grass area behind and then the Colorado River in the background. The river is only about 75 yards beyond the motor home. Beyond the river, of course, is California. Sami likes to swim in the river, even though the water is a little cool.
Warmest regards, Gus
I met Iron Mike at Mike and Ellen McAlister's home in Camp Verde, AZ. I can't believe how much Jack Daniels Iron Mike can drink.
Here are Andrew and cousin Ken (below) putting new fabric on the chairs at Denny's in Camp Verde. 
I can't believe it--I went to Denny's in Camp Verde for lunch and got put to work!
My friends Dan and Andrew from Colorado and cousin Ken from Colorado Springs were in Camp Verde to put new fabric on the booths and chairs in the Denny's restaurant. First, I had to help Dan work on some bids for future jobs. There is always the paper work to be done.
Last Friday, I went to Out of Africa in Camp Verde, AZ, and watched Zion play in the pool. He loved the prey (toys) that the handlers used. It was still pretty hot, so many of the tigers were not too active, but Zion loved the water and the chance to cool off.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit Mount Rushmore. As you can see in the first picture, I wore my Park Ranger outfit, and was a big hit with the park rangers on duty.
ving the presidents on Mt. Rushmore. He is 90 years old and going strong. Yesterday he was signing copies of his book detailing the hardships, and the joys, of working on the mountain.
I spent today in Deadwood, SD, and managed a trip up to Mt. Moriah Cemetery to see the graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Actually, this is quite a cemetery, with lots of Deadwood's characters buried here. The town itself has lots of history, dating back to the post-Civil War period when gold mining was rampant.
I spent today hiking some of the trails in Badlands National Park, South Dakota. However, I did not get to see all 244,000 acres! What at first glance seems to be desolate, the park does have biological diversity. But it is easy to see how the area got its name.
Here I am with Cornelius, in front of the world's only Corn Palace, located in Mitchell, South Dakota. The corn palace was recently decorated for the Corn Palace Festival; the booths on the street made it hard to get good pictures of the palace, but up close the use of corn and other products does make for interesting murals. During the festival, there was entertainment each evening inside the auditorium, which seats around 3,000 people.
On Sunday, I attended a car show in Spring Green, WI. They had over 350 cars and trucks on display. Here are just three examples of how much work people put into restoring/maintaining their cars.
I hope to have fun on the way!
Last week I had the chance to visit the House on the Rock, just south of Spring Green, WI. The location is spectatular, even though the house itself is not very practical. What is really impressive about the place is the "stuff" that Alex Jordon collected over the years to put on display in the house and other exhibit areas.
Since my last blog, I left Manitowoc and traveled to Fond du Lac to visit my friends Jerry and Jane. We had a great two days of visiting and touring the southern end of Lake Winnebago. In this picture, I am sitting in front of the light house on Lake Winnebago.
Last week I was in Manitowoc, WI, and Sami and I visited a beach on Lake Michigan between Manitowoc and Two Rivers. Sami was retrieving her duck and I am sitting on a rock and watching the ferry in the distance.
The ferry runs from Manitowoc to Ludington,MI, and the boiler is fired by coal. There is controversy about using coal; there is pressure to convert the engine to another fuel. I don't think wood is an option.
Last week I was visiting the Wisconsin Dells area and took a trip on the "Joliet" viewing the Upper Dells area. We had a very nice trip through a beautiful stretch of the river. I was the Captain for awhile--while we were tied to the dock!
Today, I went to the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI. This is the former winter headquarters of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. In addition to the museum, with lots of history of various circuses and a large building displaying restored wagons, there are circus acts in the Hippodrome. It is well worth spending four-five hours on the grounds.
Yesterday, Sami got to go visit Dorey, a yellow Labrador Retriever, near Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. They had fun retrieving Sami's toys.
Betty and I met "Muttnik" last night. He is the mascot for the Mankato Moon Dogs. His jersey # is K-9.
