Day 233 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Company, Bullhead City, Arizona

I left Prescott Monday morning and drove north and caught I-40. Then a few miles west I took the scenic and historic Route 66 to Seligman, the beginning place of Route 66. A strange little town…I need to read up on the history of Route 66 and see just how Seligman fits in to the story.

I shot this video in Seligman. It's posted on YouTube.



I made it to Laughlin around 2 p.m., checked in with no problems and settled into my room on the 16th floor…Room 1656. A very nice room. So far, I’m pleased with the visit here.

Last night I was uploading photo and video clips from my Route 66 adventure but my laptop ran out of disc space…not a surprise. So this morning I went to WalMart and bought an external hard drive with 320 GB…that should last a while. Video clips and photos take a lot of space, creating huge file sizes. My laptop is not equipped for a lot of video and picture editing. But the WD My Book drive is so far working great. I’ve spent the last hour backing up my files and cleaning up my laptop hard drive.

The best place to work in the Laughlin area is across the river in Bullhead City (dumb name). The Firehouse Coffee Company has internet access and enough room to spread out and work. All the Starbucks locations are in the casinos, and it's too noisy to get any work done there. So I'm glad I found this place.

After settling in yesterday I walked the northern half of Casino Drive and visited the poker rooms at various casinos along the river front. The poker rooms are small and there was very little action going on. You can read more about my poker playing adventures on my poker blog at www.7Seat.com. Part of the fun of playing poker is writing about the characters I meet and the poker rooms I visit.

A total of 13 casinos are lined up in a row along the Colorado River. I'm staying until Friday at the Tropicana Express. For the weekend I will move to the River Palms where I have a free room thanks to the kind folks in the River Palms poker room. As long as I play for a while each day in their poker room, my room is free.


The Tropicana is the tall one in the back. I'm on the 16th floor. The room is above average, very nice, and the hotel/casino is also very nice (not smoke-filled at all as some had written on the TripAdvisor.com forums).

A look at Casino Drive to the northeast from the Tropicana parking garage.

I like the location of the Tropicana. It's right in the middle of the strip, so you can walk to many of the other casinos without a problem. The Outlet Center (see below) is just two blocks away and has numerous retail stores plus a McDonald's. There are plenty of cheap eating places if you are watching your budget (like me). With free rooms comped by the poker room and eating cheaply, I should be able to get by here with very little out of pocket expenses.

Day 230 on the road.
Wildflower Bread Company, Gatewall Mall in Prescott

I'm enjoying my cup of coffee and bagel this morning at the Wildflower Bread Company at the Shops located in the Gatewall Mall shopping development just east of downtown Prescott. They have free internet access, so I've got my laptop and thought I'd do a little work before leaving town.

I've enjoyed my visit to Prescott. I could certainly live here. It's such a pretty place. The elevation is about 6,000 feet above see level (Phoenix is about 2,400 feet I think), and therefore the temperatures are much cooler. During the summer, I'm told it can reach 90 degrees but "you really don't feel it." I'm also told that people from the Phoenix area come here during the summer to escape the heat. Just a short drive for about an hour through the mountains from Phoenix and you can leave the desert behind and live in the mountains.

I'm driving to Laughlin, Nevada today and will be there at least until Friday. I'll then decide what to do next. I may stay in Laughlin for a few more days if I like it. If not, I'm thinking my next stop will be Mesquite, Nevada, a town to the northeast of Las Vegas. I will probably be in Henderson (suburb of Vegas) in a week or two. Then I'll settle down for while and see what develops. I plan on being in the Vegas area for at least a month, if not longer.

A Visit to a Timeshare Near Sedona and March Madness

Day 229 on the road.
Starbucks on Iron Springs Rd., Prescott, AZ

I drove northeast from Prescott yesterday morning to check out the poker room at the Cliff Castle Casino on I-17 near Sedona. A local man told me the casino was only about 40 minutes away. I drove east on Hwy. 69 out of Prescott, then turned northeast on Hwy. 260 with the idea of catching I-17 just south of Sedona.

Once on I-17, I headed north looking for the casino. When I arrived at the cutoff, I noticed a Starbucks, a couple of motels, some retail shops and gas stations. Of course I had to stop at Starbucks for a cup of coffee. Next door to the Starbucks was a "Tourist Information Center," so I went there first.

In the tourist shop I met Michael. He told me about a resort nearby that was giving tours (to sell timeshares), so I took him up on his offer of a gift ($100 cash "to help me play at the casino") and decided to take the tour.

The clip below is a glimpse of my visit to the Highlands Resort at Verde Valley and the Verde Santa Fe Golf Course.




After the tour I went back to Starbucks for a while, then made it to the casino around 3 p.m. I played cards for about four hours and had a great time. I won $400 in a March Madness pool (my numbers matched the final score of the Xavier and UNC game) and so I was glad I made the trip. I drove back to Prescott to spend the night and plan to take today (Sunday) off and do nothing but do some writing, reading, and hanging out in beautiful Prescott.

Tomorrow I plan on heading west toward Laughlin in the southeast corner of Nevada.

The Rangers Last Game, Garagiola, Mountains, Prescott

Day 227 on the road.

The Rangers and MLB ended Spring Training this week, officially on Thursday. A new record attendance of 1.3 million fans made it to the Cactus League this year. The reason: severe winter weather in the north and east made it easy for many to head south for some baseball this year. An estimated 60 percent of the fans are from out of state.

I attended the last two Rangers home games, one was a night game on Tuesday night. The weather was perfect. The last game was yesterday. It began at Noon so the players could get out of town early.

Joe Garagiola was at the game autographing his new book, "Just Play Ball."

Below is a video clip from yesterday's last game of the 2008 season.

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I met a Rangers Bat Boy at a game when he took the seat next to mine while his mother remained on the lawn in the outfield. I was shooting a video clip when he convinced a player to toss him a ball. I promised him I would post the clip of him on YouTube, so here it is. He was back to work on the bench yesterday with the Rangers, shagging balls and bats.




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After the game I drove through the mountains to Prescott, Arizona. I'm there now. I'm posting this update from a Starbucks north of downtown. What a beautiful town, sitting on the slopes of the mountains and in the Prescott National Forest.


The trip from Surprise was easy enough. I just took Hwy. 69 north to a little town called Wickenburg. From there I took Hwy. 89 north which takes you directly through a mountain range.
Be prepared to take your time if you drive this scenic route to Prescott. The roads curve severely and you must reduce your speed in most cases to 20-25 miles an hour. But the views are breathtaking.











Once you arrive in Prescott, you find a nice sized town built among the slopes of the mountains that surround the town. I've not seen one street that isn't sloped or elevated. The new mall is built in what looks like a hill that was cut out for that purpose.

Downtown has a monumental country courthouse and plaza that is heavily treed and beautiful. I read that this historic town was the first capital of the new Arizona territory under President Lincoln.

Tommy Lasorda, a Blind Man, and Hulu

Day 219 on the road.

It's sunny outside and I'm having my morning coffee and reading the New York Times wondering if Hillary has a chance to overtake Obama. I watched Obama's speech on race relations and admired his attempt to save himself from the quagmire created by his former pastor. I'm sure Hillary was licking her significantly large chops over the whole thing.

But as a conservative, and a reluctant supporter of John McCain, I'm just enjoying the theater of it all. I must give Obama the credit for being an outstanding speaker. But I must not let the elegance of his oratory pontification overshadow the ugliness of his liberal and radical beliefs.

Enough politics.
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I’m not sure what I’ll do today. I’m thinking about just working on my web site and doing some reading, writing, and hanging out without having to drive anywhere too far…give my car and gas tank a day off. I’ll be here through next week, so there’s no need to be in any hurry to see other things in the area. I’d like to check out WestWorld in Scottsdale. And the McDowell Sonoran Preserve is another area I’d like to see. I’d also like to drive east to Apache Junction.

Tomorrow’s Rangers game is at 6 p.m., so I’ll have the day to kill. I will probably wash clothes at the Laundromat in Scottsdale I’ve used before, then slowly head to Surprise Stadium. I've only got three games left before Spring Training comes to an end next week.
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Tommy Lasorda and the Dodgers Moving Spring Training Here Next Year

The Los Angeles Dodgers are establishing a new “Dodgerstown” in Phoenix this week, making plans to permanently move their Spring Training camp to Glendale next year. The team has spent the past 60 years in Vero Beach, Florida. Sighting family concerns, the Dodgers are moving to Arizona. They feel the team’s families and friends will have an easier commute to Arizona than Florida. According to Charles Steinberg, the Dodgers chief marketing officer, “It was so difficult for families to make the trip from Los Angeles (to Florida).” A flight from L.A. is much cheaper to Phoenix, and the drive isn’t that bad, either.

So Glendale, a suburb to the northwest of downtown Phoenix, has another reason to celebrate. They are building a new baseball complex to provide a home for the Dodgers, and it will be completed by next year. They hosted the Super Bowl this year and have already begun to submit an application to get the Super Bowl again the next year it’s available. The city has agreed to spend $500,000 to assure the Super Bowl returns. Glendale is becoming a sports venue powerhouse. Just a few years ago, it was a small town with very little to brag about.

With the popular Dodgers coming to the valley, the Phoenix/Tucson area has more professional baseball training camps than any other place in the country.
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I'm attending an arts festival this weekend: the Fountain Hills Fine Art and Wine Affaire, Avenue of the Fountains, in Fountain Hills. Fountain Hills is located northeast of Scottsdale on the eastern slope of the McDowell Mountains.
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Inspiring Story of the Week: Blind Man Climbs Camelback Mountain

Jeremy Schmidt hiked up Echo Canyon leading to the top of Camelback Mountain last week, and the 27-year old area resident is blind. In less than a month, he went from having 20/20 vision to not being able to spot an eye chart in a doctor’s office. A genetic disease damaged his optic nerves, cutting off the signal from his eyes to his brain.

After two months of trying to deal with the loss of his sight, Jeremy decided he couldn’t just sit around and let his life slip away. Having been an outdoorsman his whole life, he went back to doing those things he enjoyed: horseback riding, hiking, mountain climbing. Last week, his 1.2 mile hike up Echo Canyon along with his father was one step in returning to a normal life.

“I didn’t think my whole life was over,” he said. “Not by far. It just meant it was going be one heck of a challenge.”
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Hulu.com is now up, and it looks great. The site arrives courtesy of NBC and Fox, and it will offer free episodes of shows like Arrested Development and movies like The Jerk. It’s a sign of things to come: television and movies will one day be watched primarily online…or will they? What’s going to happen to the cable companies once the Internet becomes the main portal for delivering entertainment? Will your cable modem one day be obsolete like the 8-track tape and cassette?

Leaving Tucson...but I'll Be Back

Day 215 on the road.

I came back to Tucson for a couple of days to check on my mail and say goodbye to some friends. I've enjoyed my stay here through the Winter, and I can't think of a better spot to wait for Spring while most of the country suffers from bitterly cold temperatures and snow.

I'm leaving Tucson on Tuesday morning and won't be back for a few months. My plan is return in October to once again spend the Winter here. I love the area, and I especially like Scottsdale and the Phoenician valley. Tucson lacks the shopping and sophistication of Scottsdale, but I still enjoy being here. If I had a choice, Scottsdale wins hands down. But Tucson is smaller, has less traffic headaches (except for the construction woes), and seems to be a bit more intimate. It's cheaper to live in Tucson, I think, based on gas prices and motel rates I experienced in both places.

On Tuesday I'll make it to Surprise for a Rangers game and will remain in the area until the end of March. Then I'll be driving north to Prescott. From there, my plan is to spend some days in the Grand Canyon area. I'm not sure what April weather is like along the Colorado River in northern Arizona. It still may be a little cool. So my plans depend a lot on the weather--I don't want to run into any April snows at the higher elevations.

I'm at my "office", it's a Thursday night, and the place is a little strange tonight.

Just across the room from me is a group of people with Middle-Eastern accents discussing a new church they are starting--an evangelical church, not a Muslim one. It's a reminder of the "melting pot" our country is known for, and has renewed my faith in freedom. God bless America (hand over your heart, please).

Then, a woman approached a man drinking his latte and gave him a small button that said, "Accept Your Success." She tells the guy, "I'm with a group that believes to have true success you just have to believe in yourself. Tonight, our members were given the challenge to see how many buttons we can sell. Do you have a dollar? The button is free, but we are trying to sell them for a dollar." The guy sheepishly reached into his pocket. "Sure, I'll give you a buck." If she had approached me I would have said, "I'll give you two dollars if you'll go away and leave me in peace." She ignored me, however, because I quickly put on my headphones in order to send the messsage, "Leave me alone."

Just a recap of yesterday. I spent most the morning and early afternoon at the Fine Arts Expo (where you can hang out with artists while they work on stuff and you can basically bore them to death with questions like, "How do you make that shadow on the horse's head look so real?) I then drove further north to Carefree and the neighboring community of Cave Creek. At Cave Creek, a new western-themed retail and office development is almost completed. They call it "Stagecoach Village" and the development seeks to mimic an old western town.

So far, the only offices currently in use belong to real estate agents. A ReMax residential office is open, although I saw some agents still unloading their wagons and it appeared they were still moving in.

According to the newspaper, it will be another six to nine months before all of the offices and retail spaces are occcupied. It's a beautiful setting among the foothills of Black Mountain.

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That was yesterday. Today, my plan was to take a walking tour of Arizona State University, home of the Sun Devils. I spent about three hours on campus and in the area retail shops nearby.



Sun Devil Stadium is just a couple of blocks north of the main campus.


College Ave. Marketplace (above) is located between Sun Devil Stadium and the main campus further south. The mountain with an "A" on it is in the background. The University of Arizona in Tucson also has an "A" mountain. Why do colleges in Arizona feel the need to place big ugly letter A's on nearby mountains?

The best place to go shopping and have lunch is the Mill Avenue District just to the west of the campus. I found all kinds of places to eat, drink, buy stuff, and just hang out. (Photos below.)

I took the above shot of ASU head football coach Dennis Erickson, his face plastered on banners around the area. He's smiling because he makes over $2 million a year.

I took the photo above from the second floor of an old bookstore that specialized in out-of-date and collectible books like you find in most garage sales. They were going out of business (big surprise since there is a Border's Bookstore just down the street). The owner said I could rent the 1900 square foot retail space for $24 a foot. I told her, "I think I'll just buy these books." I found a drawing book published in the 1950's teaching how to sketch protraits, and a Civil War book of Mathew Brady's photographs.

Photos from my walking tour of the ASU campus:

The palm trees above are called Mexican Fan Palms (Washingtonia robusta). They come from Mexico and are very popular in Arizona for landscaping. The one drawback: they grow so tall you can't trim them without a very tall ladder.

Rangers Lose...but Nolan Ryan Makes a Visit

I began the morning with good intentions: I wanted to find a Scottsdale fitness club to use for the month. I'm losing some pounds, but I need to get some exercise and I thought some free-weight training might firm up the mid-section (I'm old and flabby, you know).

I found a LA Fitnesss facility not far from the Casino Arizona (my home port), so I went inside and met John. John gave me a tour of the place and it was just right for my needs. However, the only rate plan available for a traveler like me was way too expensive.

"Why do they charge so much for guy who just wants to use the place a couple of times a week for a month?" I asked John.

"Uh...I don't know." He looked a little disappointed that I wasn't going to pay a registration fee plus an enormous weekly amount to work on my chest and flabby waist.

So I left and drove toward Surprise for my date with the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. On my way I stopped by an RV showroom and looked at a travel trailer. I found one just the right size for $13,995. I told Dan, the salesman, "Well, let me go see the Rangers play some ball, and I'll think about it." He looked a little disappointed, too.

I made a stop by Walmart to buy some snacks and water before heading for the stadium. Suggestion: take food and water with you when you go to the ballpark. Otherwise, you'll have to take out a second mortgage and sell your bedroom furniture to buy a hamburger and coke at the stadium. The stadium rules for these games at Surprise Stadium: you can bring in food, unopened bottled water (no soft drinks), and your bag must fit under your seat.

Today's photo album is below. By the way, for you photographers who might read my blog (Linda, Jay, etc.), I use a Nikon Coolpix 5200 with 7.1 Megapixels, 2.5 inch LCD screen, ISO up to 1000, and a 3x Zoom. The camera is the size of a credit card, less than one-half inch thick, and easily fits in my pocket. I paid around $200 for it last Fall. The quality of the photos are not that bad for such a small and inexpensive camera.

Banners are hung around the major roadways leading to the stadium.

My seat location is much better today, and I'll have this seat for the remainder of my games. Next year I have made plans to return to this seat...and hopefully see a World Series pennant hanging on the dugout. (Well, we can dream can't we?) I'm on the first row, just behind the Rangers dugout. I can spit on Michael Young if he strikes out. (Notice I'm wearing a Dallas Mavericks shirt along with my Rangers cap. My sweats are red and they have an Arizona University Wildcat logo on them. I looked like a sports dork.)

The view of the dugout from my seat.

Michael Young about to hit a home run. He knocked the approaching pitch into far right center field for a 2-run homer. The Rangers were behind 5-0 at the time. After the next inning, Young and a few other starters left the field. He only played three innings today.

Josh Hamilton on first base. Josh is a fan favorite this spring. Most fans want the former drug addict to make it back and be successful this time around. He says with "God's help, all things are possible."

Former Ranger great and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan was at the game. He was recently hired as President of the ball club, and he hopes to see success here before he retires from baseball for good. He signed a two-year contract. A long line of fans were waiting for him to sign autographs. I asked him to give me his jacket. It's very cool. He told me to get lost.

Here is Nolan biting his tongue before he says the Rangers sucked last year. Maybe this year will be different.

No Surprise...Surprise is Wonderful.

I'm enjoying my usual SCDL at the Starbucks in Surprise Town Center, about a mile from the stadium where I'll be watching the Texas Rangers play.

I drove from Scottsdale to Surprise this morning and took my time. Instead of taking Loop 101 around the north side of Phoenix, I took Bell Road from North Scottsdale Blvd. Bell Road is a major artery on the north side connecting Scottsdale in the east to western communities like Glendale, Sun City, and Surprise. It took about 40 minutes to make the drive.

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As I drove through Glendale on Bell Road I noticed leftovers from when the Super Bowl was in town almost a month ago. Banners were still hanging from lamp posts and a couple of retail stores were still open trying to unload leftover jerseys. Glendale has become a mecca for upscale retail shopping and tourism since the Arizona Cardinals moved to town.

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After you drive through Glendale, you arrive in Sun City, a development by the construction mogul Del Webb. According to their web site, Sun City has "seven recreation centers, 8 golf courses, 3 country clubs, 2 bowling centers, Sun Bowl, and Viewpoint Lake constituting the largest concentration of year round recreational facilities in the United States." Surprise is just west of Sun City.

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Once in Surprise I continued west on Bell Road until I found North Bullard. Surprise Stadium, home of the Texas Ranger's spring training camp, is on Bullard. However, you can actually see the stadium to the south once you get to the Surprise Towne Center at the corner of Grant and Bell. I wanted to find the stadium before stopping for my coffee. I knew a Starbucks would be nearby, and sure enough, there it was nestled among other retail shops in the Surprise Towne Center.

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As you can tell by the photo, there were a dozen motorcycles parked out front. It's not unusual to see a motorcycle group gather at a Starbucks before hitting the road for a day trip.

In an hour or so I'll make my way to the stadium. The weather forecast: 72 degrees, clear, and sunny.

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I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The Rangers play the Kansas City Royals, and many of the regular season starters are scheduled to play. It's also "bring your dog to the ballpark" day, so I'd better watch where I step.

Sculptured Hands, Teriyaki Chicken on a Stick, and a Super Party

Saturday in Super Bowl City was going to be hectic, as I planned to cram as much of the Super-hype surrounding the Big Game as possible into a few hours. The day would indulge some of my greatest passions: art, food, and sports.

My menu for the day: breakfast at the Fine Arts Expo in northern Scottsdale, lunch at the party in Glendale celebrating the Big Game in town, a mid-afternoon snack amidst the hoopla at the Westgate City Center which is "ground zero" for Super Bowl mayhem, and finally a late dinner and some poker at the Casino Arizona.

Fine Arts Expo, Scottsdale

After updating my blogs while drinking a "SKCDL" at Starbucks, I headed for the Fine Arts Expo located approximately six miles north of Loop 101 on Scottsdale Road. The FAE is home to over 100 artists from around the nation who come here for a few weeks to market their works and hold live demonstrations. A semi-circle of white tents surround a courtyard and sculpture garden that features many of the bronzes and stoneworks of various artists. Chairs and tables are available outside for a leisure time of eats, drinks, and relaxation as you watch the artists and patrons co-mingle and visit inside the tents or outside in the fresh cool air. The sides of the tents are open to take advantage of the wonderful weather, making the venue both an indoor and outdoor experience.

The weather was ideal, sunny and just warm enough. I arrived around 10:30 a.m. The FAE is next to MacDonald's Ranch which offers "authentic western adventures" with horse rides and such. Just across the parking lot from the Fine Arts Expo, the ranch has an old saloon, corral, horses, wagons, and lots of dust.


This is the entrance to the Expo. Just inside are booths set up by various artists, an office and ticket counter.

This is the view to the left just as you walk into the entrance.

An example of the live demonstrations which the artists offer to visitors. They actually set up a working studio in their booth area so you can watch them work.

I met Jerald Peterson, an artist from Oklahoma, New Mexico, and San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. He told me he is "self-taught" and began painting full time after retiring from the Central Intelligence Agency. I asked him, "What were you doing when you retired to paint full time?" He said, "I was a spy." Visit his web site at http://www.jeraldpeterson.com/.

I also met Susan Geissler, a sculptor from New York. Here she is working on a set of hands for a piece inspired by imprisoned Jews of the Holocaust. She creates life sized and maquette recreations of birds, animals, and human figures. Visit her web site at http://www.susangeissler.com/.

The wonderful thing about the Fine Arts Expo is that you can hang out and visit with the artists and ask them about their work. When I return to Scottsdale in March I'm sure I'll be spending more time there. They offer classes as well, and I was told that Old Town Scottsdale also has a great art school.

Glendale Super Bowl Celebration

I left the Fine Arts Expo just after Noon and drove west on Loop 101 toward Glendale, an old town that once was nothing but a place to grow cotton and watch the sunset over the valley desert west of Phoenix. But Glendale changed over night when they won the contest to build the new University of Phoenix stadium, home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. The Westgate City Center complex and Jobing.com Arena are located nearby, making a "trifecta" of sports and upscale retail shopping and entertainment. Glendale is quickly becoming a national sensation.

The downtown plaza was party-central all weekend, with outdoor entertainment and food. I parked easily for free a few blocks from the plaza and walked down Glendale Ave. west toward the city center area.

As you can tell by this photo, I was not the only one to check out the fun. The plaza was packed with people from all over the country. Booths were set up selling everything from chocolate-covered strawberrys to clothing and sports memoribilia.

Tables and chairs filled the plaza, and a stage was set up for live music provided by various bands throughout the day. The weather was terrific and the crowd was very friendly and on their best behavior. What a great place to spend an hour and visit with people from all over the country. I met a couple from Sun City, Arizona, who moved there from Michigan for an improved lifestyle. The woman said that in Sun City, "...there are no bugs, mostly sunny days year round, and beautiful sunsets."


For lunch I had some Teriyaki Chicken on a Stick that cost me $4.50.

Westgate City Center

After leaving downtown Glendale, it was a short 15-minute drive west on Glendale Ave. to the Westgate City Center. The Westgate City Center and Jobing.com Arena are across the street from the Unverisity of Phoenix Stadium complex. I wasn't sure what to expect as I parked my car near the AMC Movie Theater.

I walked toward the activity and soon was overcome by the sensational development that is known as Westgate City Center. I could only say to myself, "Wow. What a place."

This photo was taken from the upper level looking down on the plaza that stretches out between the Arena and the rest of the development. The crowds had already begun to gather to spend the evening eating, dancing, drinking, and listening to an outdoor concert by a Tom Petty tribute band from Tucson, The Breakdown. The real Tom Petty was scheduled to perform the halftime concert at the Super Bowl.

The fountains, restaurants, clothing stores and retail shops, huge billboards, and architecture all combine to overpower your senses. On a normal day, the place is just a fabulous venue to enjoy lunch and shop. Add a crowd of thousands to celebrate the Super Bowl and it's almost too much to comprehend.