Yeah!  This post will get you caught up to date… here we go:

On Wednesday morning, we puttered around at the Elks Lodge in Parker until sometime around noon – did some more laundry, and topped off the water tank. Then we headed on up the road to meet our Alpine Coach group for the Fireworks Rally in Lake Havasu.

Here’s our spot in front of the Elks Lodge.  This picture was taken after our neighbors had already left for the day.

It’s a very scenic drive up US 95 after the town of Parker heading into Havasu.  Here’s a few pics to try and prove that claim… what do you think?

There are several scenic turn-outs (view areas) that can accommodate big rigs but we’ve been through here a few times before in the past, so we just cruised on by and snapped pics out the windows.

Here’s the entrance to the rodeo grounds.  We turned off of US 95 just south of town onto the loop that surrounds the park.

We were greeted at the parking area entrance by volunteers or park employees that confirmed we were pre-registered.  I had to put the Coach in neutral and set the air brake so I could jump out and step into a trailer parked alongside the makeshift entrance in order to check-in.  We got a “welcome packet” of sorts that included info on the park and it’s activities along with local advertising flyers, brochures, etc.,

Then I was told to follow the guy on the ATV… he would direct us to our site.  That’s him way-ahead of me in the picture below – I think he was in a hurry to get me there.

There are several tiered levels of parking areas here at the SARA Park Rodeo Grounds.  We chased the guy on the ATV to what I think is the second level from the end – where he stopped to indicate our spot.  Here’s a couple pics of the surrounding parking area:

According to this website; ” SARA (Special Activities and Recreation Area) Park is an 1100-acre park with spectacular mountain views and access to Lake Havasu. The park’s facilities cater to a wide range of recreational activities and also serve as venues for events such as the popular Winter Blast firework display, obstacle races and concerts throughout the year. SARA Park has a network of hiking and mountain bike trails, ballfields, dog park, rodeo and fairgrounds. Other activities include BMX and motocross racing, roller hockey, RC plane field and a shooting and archery range.”

The same website goes on to say in another paragraph; “The park is also home to Havasu 95 Speedway, an ASA-sanctioned paved oval track which is one of the biggest attractions in Lake Havasu City…”

Our parking site was on a slope and we couldn’t get quite level without the HWH leveling system telling me were maxed out on one or more of the jacks.  The HWH display panel indicated an “excess slope” warning and one of the front tires was 4-6 inches off the ground.  So I turned the coach around and moved over closer to one side in our allotted space and it leveled alright.  We found out later that the fireworks are going to be behind us now… hmmm – might have to rethink this if we want to sit in the Coach to watch any of the fireworks out the front windshield.

The coaches and rigs continued to file in throughout the rest of the day and into the evening.

At last count… seventeen Alpine Coaches were in attendance!

After all the rigs had filed in, we found out by the end of the day that we are all alone… no one has the spot on either side of us.  The other Alpines are mostly next to each other and are in the next two rows over from us.  Oh well, we probably need the exercise anyway when we join the others for our scheduled activities.

We had an impromptu “Happy Hour” with our Alpine friends.  There was lots of meeting and greeting going on.  Some folks we haven’t seen for quite awhile – since St George, UT a few years ago even – others we saw as recently as the Desert Rat Rally in Quartzsite just last month.

On Thursday, we drove into town in the morning to pick up a few additional grocery items to get us through the rally and then we just kind of hung out at the park until it was “Happy Hour” time again.  The rally doesn’t officially start until Friday but that doesn’t stop anyone from getting together.  There was more meeting and greeting and then there was a small sample of fireworks after dusk.  Most of our Alpine group gathered at our designated meeting spot between the Host and Co-Host Coaches… will post pictures later.

Little dog “Coach” did fairly well with the little sample of fireworks so far, but he wasn’t without problems… he appears to be limping now while favoring a front paw.  We couldn’t find any stickers or thorns, so we have to assume he jumped off the couch and landed wrong or something like that when we weren’t looking.  He’s already better this morning (Friday) as I’m finishing up this post.

Let the Rally begin!   Stay tuned for more of our Alpine SoCal “WINTER BLAST” rally fun… coming soon.  I’ll try not to get behind again for a while 🙂