Dog Races and Dairy Queen

Friday night March 7th,
the Bills, Custins, and Vangos meet for dinner and gambling at Valley Race Park.

Kathy and Will, Bob, Lavonne and Cliff.
Sitting next to the windows we have a good view of the action.



The Dogs walk down the track and stop for our inspection before continuing on to the starting box. We like to view this "parade" before placing a bet , checking to see if anyone is limping or acting up.

the Requirements: A Program with names and information we hardly understand, a pen for notes and of course Money.. We do not make large bets nor do we win much. We are there for the company and a good time. At least that is what we tell ourselves.


Dairy Queen
Saturday night, March 8, After our bus trip to Pepes..

Bob, Connie and Mary travel across town to see who has brought their cars to the Dairy Queen.
There we meet up with others from our bus trip earlier today.

Connie liked the looks of this car, Oh no, Leave no fingerprints.

Bob, Davey and Ron pointing out a rumble seat, maybe??



Connie, Shirley, Pat and Mona decide on the Ice Cream choice..

More Laughlin - [part 3] And then the storm came

Strolling along the walkway there are many sights to see. The Frontier Casino has spring flowers in February and benches to sit and enjoy the view.



The Colorado Belle is quite unique , almost like being on an old time Paddle Boat.

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The view of the mountains and the airport. It is fun to watch the planes, big and small take off.

Birds on Sand bar when the water is low.

A plane leaving the runway in Bull Head City as seen from our room in Hotel.

The weather changes quickly.

Wednesday after we got back from our Boat tour the clouds started rolling in and the water in the River changed color.

The winds started to blow. Boats were in a hurry to get back to their docks,. The sky got very dark and the rain blew sideways. Then we see the Port of Laughlin Boat Tour, that had left the dock after our tour, coming to its mooring in the downpour with the top flapping in the wind. They had been gone 30 minutes of a 90 minute ride. Nice and dry we catch all this from our 7th

floor window.

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Even the Water Taxis quit running.

The Captain and first mate gathered some workers and went back to remove the canvas before more damage occurred. Early the next morning a new top was in place and all were ready to resume the River Tours again.

Pretty soon the sun came out , it seemed to light up the Home Depot and then....

The Rainbows Appeared.

We could see both ends of the rainbow, but like our gambling luck no pot of gold .

--Again the Home Depot seems to be the blessed spot today.

Thursday morning breakfast with Peggy and Heide, friends of Connie's from South Padre Island who made the trip to Laughlin with us.. Thank you Heide!!!

Mary and Peggy

Connie and Heide

Homeward Bound

Goodby to Laughlin and Bull Head City.


Shadow of our plane ..

In a little more than 2 hours we are back in Harlingen where Cliff and Lavonne Custin are waiting for us.

And yes, we got to experience the famous Sun Country Cheeseburger.

Getting to know Laughlin [part 2]

The look of the Laughlin Casinos from the River. A walkway goes in front of the Casinos along the river for a nice place to stroll and watch activity on the water while behind you just through the doors ,the slots are calling , ding, ding, ding....


Saying goodby to Kim,
Connie, Bob and Mary stand on the Riverwalk and wave, wave, and then wave again to Kim until she is out of sight. We stand and watch the river for a while and decided to walk to another Casino to try our luck .. Looking at all the slots we can not find the one labeled "winner" so we move on .

Another "two for one" dinner buffet is the best we can do.

Wednesday Afternoon ,

Feb 20, 2008 we climb on the PORT OF LAUGHLIN river boat for a tour of the Colorado River and the Davis Dam.

More than 20 dams have been built on the Colorado and its tributaries, As a result, the river rarely reaches the Gulf ...

Four of the Dams on the Colorado River, which is the life line of the West and Southwest, are Glen Canyon , Hoover, Davis and Parker Dams..

The primary purpose of Davis Dam is to re-regulate Hoover Dam releases to meet downstream needs, including the annual delivery of 1.5 million acre-feet of water to Mexico. This is in accordance with the 1944 water treaty with Mexico.

Just below Davis Dam are campgrounds on the river . It seems like an inviting place to camp and spend a few days on the AZ side of the Colorado River. There is a launch for your boat or Jet Ski.

The water below the Davis dam is monitored very closely. We are told every drop is accounted for so if you are thinking of dipping out a bucket of water , it will be known and you may be ask to account for it!!!!!!!!

On the Boat is a very entertaining fellow who loves to flirt with all the ladies, and he is very good at it!!!. So good , that Connie's hat suddenly got very tight. He sang songs with us and to us, delivered our beer , danced with us and posed for pictures. Needless to say there was a very large tip jar on the upper level of the boat.

The Riverside Boat Tour has its own special beer [courtesy of Miller Lite]. If you drink too much there is this map of where you are.

This couple followed the cruise boat to the dam and seemed to be the "official escort" .. They were observed following the Port of Laughlin on its other trips also. They waved and circled us laughing and having fun .
Connie's hat getting tighter..

Let me see,,,,, hummmm,, a condo here and the yacht ,,could I talk Mary into this?

This water taxi takes you from one Casino to another if you are not inclined to walk the Riverwalk. Most people do the walking..

The water level on the River changes high to low in just a short time. Witness this tree at the "shore" . Yesterday I seen this same tree with a boat behind it with the water back where the brush is now. I would never have believed this.

Our favorite 'First Mate" making it safe to debark back at the dock.

Leaving the boat there is one last chance for information .

Laughlin, NV. part I

Monday Feb 18, 2008 at 8:30 AM ,destination ,Valley International Airport

Our faithful shuttle driver , Cliff ,pick up Bob and Mary and headed down Agate to the next stop at the Dotsons. About half way down the street we hear a noise and look behind and Bob and Mary's luggage are scattered about all the way down the street. It seems the conversation overshadowed the need to shut the back hatch of the van. If this was not bad enough , a group of six men on bicycles happened to be following and witnessed the mishap. A lot of laughing and teasing ensued. "Great way to start out." " "Hope you have better luck with the slots".. Dang.

Almost 3 hours on the plane sees the group in Laughlin and boarding the 3 buses to our Hotel, The Riverside. Getting off the bus we spot Kim waiting for us with smiles and hugs.








We check out rooms 766 & 786 and head down to the Casino. Connie and Bob check out the poker room where they are going to try their luck and skills.


View of the pool and hot tub from the 7Th floor rooms

Looking straight across at the dock from our room ,where the free water shuttle runs every 10 minutes 24/7. This is where many of the people who work at the casinos "park and ride". It saves congestion on the only Bridge across the Colorado River from Bull Head City, AZ.







The water taxi coming across from the AZ side and Docking at Riverside.



e.



The first night we walk to the Aquarius to try the buffet dinner. Two for one Coupons have been handed out to our group on the bus ride. It was VERY good..But it is early and there are more Buffets to try.
We decided to go to the River Palms Casino for a comedy show tonight. It was a fun show with 3 comics , some slots were played, Mary turned $1.00 into $4.00 on a penny machine. Then we come back to the other end of the "strip"..


Tuesday morning we meet up for a great breakfast buffet at the Riverside. Then it is talk , talk, and more talk.. Too soon 3 PM comes and Kim heads out for California.

At 10 each morning Connie and Bob report to the Poker room for the Texas Hold Em tournament. The game is fast and the luck is elusive so they are usually out of game in 30 minutes. They both said it was fun and different from the Poker games in Paradise Park.


Next comes Part 2 ,, the River Boat Tour of the Colorado River and Davis Dam.