LAKE ACTION

With the boat in the water for the next several weeks, many of our coming days will be spent out on the lake. We picked up Bob & Diana a little before noon, and drove down to the Lake Havasu Marina. When we cruised out of the protected marina, the wind was blowing enough where the lake was a bit on the choppy side, but not enough to create whitecaps.

There's something going on almost every weekend, and now that we're starting spring break, the activities will only increase. Yesterday, we watched a whole bunch of Hobie Cat Sailboats, that were taking advantage of the moderately windy day. They were tacking around a course that was set up near Windsor Beach.

After watching the little sailboats, we cruised into the channel, and parked at about the same location as we had the day before. The kids were starting to gather, and the party, with the music? was getting cranked up. The channel was relatively empty when we beached the boat, but by the time we left, about an hour later, parking places were at a premium.

We watched Lake Havasu City's finest pull this boat over right next to us. There were 18 kids in the boat which is about 8 over it's limit. When they were asked how many life jackets were in the boat, they came up with about 9 or 10. The driver wasn't ticketed, but 8 kids were left temporarily on the beach.

Across the channel, the kids and the boats were gathering in about the same spot as the day before. The stereos on some of these boats would put a rock concert's sound system to shame! When one of the boats started to play some music? where almost every other word was the F-Bomb, I decided it was time to check out some other scenery.

I pointed the boat south out of the channel toward Thompson Bay, and decided that the wind wasn't bad enough to keep us from going across the lake to Copper Canyon. Before we got out of the no wake zone in Thompson Bay, we spotted this guy dressed up like an astronaut. It looked like he had a jet pack on his back, so, with more than enough curiosity, we stuck around to see what was up.

After he got in the water, we noticed that he was attached to what appeared to be a floating pump, that took lake water, and sent to the contraption on his back. For a short while, he was completely in the water, cruising slowly around this pontoon boat.

Then, he increased the amount of water being pumped through the jets on his back, and he began to rise farther and farther out of the water. There were a few times when his feet were way above the lake surface.

None of us had ever seen anything like it, and it almost reminded me of one of those James Bond Movies, where all kinds of high tech contraptions are blended into the story line of the picture.

This was kind of cool to watch, but I thought that if I wanted to get some elevation above the lake, it would be a lot more of a thrill to go para sailing behind a boat.

From water jet man, we rode over to Copper Canyon where there were a few boats rafted together, but it wasn't a huge party scene. One of the attractions of Copper Canyon is a vertical rock that rises about 50 feet above the lake, and for the thrill seekers, it's a popular spot to jump into the water.
When we first got there, we watched one kid who didn't quite have the nerve to jump. As more kids climbed the rock, especially with lots of people watching, he knew that eventually he would have to make the leap, and he finally did. There were a half dozen kids who jumped while we were there, and it's some action that we've seen many times before. One of the more daring youngsters did a front flip off the top of the rock.

The last jumper was a young gal, who got an "A" for bravery. "No guts, no glory".

From Cooper Canyon, I drove around Friendly Island, then headed back to the marina. We spent about 4 hours in the boat, and it was another beautiful, sunny, warm day.

Today, the installation of our residential solar system is due to begin. It will take a few days to complete the job, so I should have some pics of the project as it unfolds.

SPRING BREAK 2012

Even though we were paid up for the entire month of March at the marina, the boat didn't go into the water until yesterday afternoon. It was a warm, sunny day, and as we drove across the London Bridge on the way to the marina, I could see that there were lots of boats cruising in the channel under the bridge.

After a spin around the island, we're approaching the world famous London Bridge from the north.

During spring break, and on summer weekends, the south channel is party central for the boating crowd. There are times when it's wall to wall boats on both sides of the channel, and finding a place to park is next to impossible. Yesterday wasn't too bad, and we found a place on the west side of the channel, across from where all of the action was.

"You can address me as Ms. Captain, and if you're not doing anything, you can swab the deck"

We took a lunch with us, and after beaching the boat, we had a birds eye view of the passing boat traffic, and of all the kids across the channel. If you like to people watch like we do, we had the cat birds seat, and we vicariously enjoyed the party that was happening across the channel. The only downer was some of the music that the younger generation seems to enjoy. I guess it's the age old generation gap, and our parents probably said the same thing when rock and roll became popular during our younger days.

With temps in the upper 70's, low 80's, some of the clothes were on the skimpy side.

We watched one kid pushing a shopping cart to the party. Guess what it was loaded with?
If you said lots of beer, you would be right.

'While we were eating our lunch, this boat pulled into the beach next to us, and their four legged critter was this Pembroke Corgi. I've made no secret about the fact that my next dog will probably be one of these guys.

When we left the channel, it was wall to wall boats, and it looked like the party was about to hit the next level. With enough rap and hip hop in our ears, it was time to go, so we cruised over to the marina, and put the boat into it's slip for the next 3 weeks. We had an invite to Bob & Diana's for dinner, so we hurried home, parked the trailer, and headed over to their house. Diana cooked a delicious chicken pasta dinner, and we sat around visiting to well after dinner. Today, we're picking them up, and we'll cruise the lake for most of the afternoon. It's supposed to be another low 80 degree day here in paradise!

THE DRIVE HOME

Passing the entrance to the U.S. Army Proving Grounds on Hwy 95, north of Yuma, AZ.

We said adios to Nancy, as we both pulled away from the Yuma Fairgrounds, and the end of the Gypsy Journal RV Rally. Nancy was headed over to La Mesa RV to drop off her 5th wheel trailer, and we pointed the motor home north for Lake Havasu City.

Approaching the Border Patrol checkpoint on Hwy 95 between Yuma and Quartzsite.

The drive home from Yuma is about 150 miles, and pretty much a straight shot up Hwy 95. We stopped in Quartzsite for diesel (4.20.9), and at the Pit Stop to empty our holding tanks. Their dump fee is up to $15, and I think next time, I'll just wait until I get home.

Every time I pass through these Border Patrol checkpoints, I have mixed emotions. I'm really glad that these attempts to stop smuggling, both human and otherwise, are very visible, and proactive. However, I can't help but wonder if they ever catch anyone. I know an older couple in a big motor home doesn't exactly fit the profile of a coyote (person who transports illegal aliens), but we are never checked, just waived through. Now, if I was in the business of moving illegals north from the border, this is exactly the vehicle I would use, with someone like us driving. Sometimes the Border Patrol has a drug dog sniffing vehicles when they pass by, and with that resource, perhaps a few bad guys are caught with their pants down.

When we approached Quartzsite, I couldn't help but wonder where have all of the RV's, and people gone? A little over a month ago, this place was the center of the earth for folks in RV's, and now, it was like a ghost town.

We stopped in Parker so I could get my burger fix, then the drive continued north next to the Colorado River. At a little after noon, I was backing the motor home into the backyard. We did our usual routine of emptying lots of stuff out of the house on wheels, and by late afternoon, it was parked under the shade cover in the backyard.

With the 2 weeks in Tucson, and the 1 week in Yuma, we were gone a little less than a month, and it's always good to return to our big house. We've got lots to do in the next 3 weeks before we're off again, when we'll be picking up our Granddaughter, and taking her on an Easter week vacation to the San Diego area. In the meantime, the boat's going in the water today, and will stay at the marina for the rest of the month. Spring Break has started here in Lake Havasu, and the kids are here in full force.

We got a call from Nancy at 7 pm, and she had just arrived back home in Atwater, having driven about 500 miles. We'll be seeing her next week when she flies back to Yuma to pick up her brand new 2012 Tiffin Phaeton motor home. I think we might be just as jazzed about her new toy, as I'm sure she is!

This latest adventure provided us with a few surprises, and a few firsts. For the first time, I volunteered to help at the Gypsy Rally, joining my pals Tom Westerfield and David Cross on the parking crew. I became an instructor of sorts, moderating a seminar on boodocking that went quite well. We became involved with Nancy's unexpected purchase of a new motor home, and shared in her excitement. Each time we attend Nick & Terry's rally, it feels more and more like a family reunion, as we meet, and get to know more people. I'm already looking forward to the next one!

GYPSY DAY 4, & A NEW MOTOR HOME

Signed, sealed and almost delivered. Nancy's new 2012 Tiffin Phaeton motor home.

The morning started off with me moderating a seminar on Boondocking, with no thought that the day would end up the way it did. I had a pretty good crowd, and the discussion touched on all of the tricks that people use to extend their RV stay in places off the grid. The hour flew by, but we covered a lot of subjects that included everything from water conservation to solar power. I thought I knew most everything about dry camping, but I learned a few things myself. The opportunity to learn about this lifestyle is one of the benefits of attendance at an RV rally, and the Gypsy Rallies are among the best, when it comes to a variety of seminar subjects.

OK, now what do we do? There were other interesting seminars scheduled for this last day of the Gypsy Gathering, but Cracker Barrel won the flip of the coin. Nancy wanted at least one meal at Cracker Barrel before we left Yuma, and who was I to argue. We had an early lunch, then drove out to the Market Place Swap Meet, where Nancy exchanged a dog harness that she purchased earlier in the week.

There were no seminars on the afternoon schedule that were of particular interest, so Nancy suggested that we go back to LaMesa RV, and take another look at the 2012 Phaeton that we checked out yesterday. It didn't take long to figure out that this lady was more than interested in just taking another look, she was ready to pull the trigger!

When the negotiations ended, she got a really good price that was equal to about 25% off MSRP, and LaMesa took her 5th wheel trailer at a decent trade in price. When ever you trade something in, you never come out as well as if you sell yourself, but their offer, sight unseen, was fair. We negotiated a 7 year warranty at the dealer cost, and that will give her years of coverage beyond the manufacturers warranties. All in all, I would have been very comfortable with the deal, and was just a little bit jealous, because this is really a nice motor home. The floor plan was almost exactly what she was looking for, and the coach is pretty well optioned out. Except for writing the check, I think she's pretty excited about the prospect of becoming the owner of a brand new, beautiful Phaeton Motor Home.

With a purchase like this, there's always lots of paperwork.

Within a couple of hours, all of the preliminary stuff was taken care of, and Nancy was a brand new motor home owner.

This was the hardest part I'm sure - writing the check.

OK, now what to do? Nancy is in Yuma, AZ, and in possession of a new motor home, a 5th wheel trailer, and a Chevy diesel pickup. The plan this morning is to take the 5th wheel to the dealer, where her Winegard Satellite dish will be taken off the trailer, and put on the new motor home. A few other things will be taken care of on the motor home, while she drives the pickup back to CA. Sometime next week, she'll fly back to Yuma, and we'll meet her at the airport. When she takes possession of the new rig, she and I will do some driver training, and Patty will follow us back to Lake Havasu, where Nancy will get a chance to become more familiar with the new motor home. Then, she'll take off on her own, and drive back to CA. She's been able to maneuver that trailer like an expert, and even though she has some anxiety, I know she'll soon be driving the new rig like a pro.

The grand prize winners of the Sea Eagle Kayak.

The Gypsy Journal RV Rally ended last night with a bunch of door prizes, and a farewell from Nick and Terry. They rewarded all of their volunteers with gift certificates, and Miss Terry was given a standing ovation for her tireless dedication, and hard work toward making the rally a fun time for everyone. Nick & Terry are special people, who have a lot of friends in the RV community, and I'm glad to say that Patty & I are part of that circle.

GYPSY RALLY DAY 3

Everyone is waiting for the pizza party to begin.

Yesterday morning, Patty and Nancy went off to Greg White's seminar on "10 things to never do with your computer", while I stayed lazy in the motor home with Sami & Gracie. When the girls got back, we went to lunch at a Mexican Restaurant on "B" Street (El Papagayo or something like that), and the food was excellent. From there, we decided to go motor home shopping. No, not for us, but for Nancy who will soon be in the market for a diesel pusher. She has kind of narrowed the field to a Tiffin Phaeton, so we drove out to LaMesa RV, and walked through a 2012 model. It had the floor plan she was looking for, and it was a really nice motor home. If I was in the market for a new one, I would definitely look at the Tiffin models first.

My guess is that there is about 300 people registered for the 2012 Gypsy Journal Rally, and this picture shows most of them just prior to the pizza being served.

When we got back from looking at new motor homes, we had enough time to feed our dogs, then we headed over to the main hall for the pizza party, and the cactus queen beauty contest. When the pizza arrived, and people started through the lines, according to Nick, it took 5 1/2 minutes for everyone to get their pizza. Miss Terry has perfected a system that gets warm pizza onto every one's plate in just a very short time. Dominoes Pizza is not exactly my favorite, but if you want a good seat for the after dinner spectacle, the pizza party is almost a prerequisite.

When our kids would do crazy or what we considered stupid things when they were growing up, I'm sure many parents would just shake their heads like I did on many occasions. By posting these pictures, I'm now allowing my kids to get some payback, and do the same thing.

Last night, 5 perfectly normal, male, senior citizens, attempted to dress like the opposite sex, and as in the past, it was hilarious. With Nick playing the beauty contest master of ceremonies/ comedian, the laughs were coming at a fast & furious pace.

Men don't normally cross their legs to conceal anything. This was not a pretty sight!

The "ladies" did their best to convince the audience to vote for them, but in the end, their was only one winner.

This cactus queen hopeful was trying to convince Nick to just declare her (him) the winner.

When the voting began, the audience had the final say, and this beauty was declared the winner of the 2012 cactus queen beauty contest. These 5 guys deserve a lot of credit for putting on a show that was more than a laugh a minute. Would I ever do anything like that? I've done some pretty crazy things in my life, but the answer to that question is a big fat NO!

GYPSY RALLY, DAY 2

Yes, these are really TWO Crazy Ladies.

Yesterday was the first full day of the rally, and day #2 if you're keeping track. There were 27 seminars on everything from escorted RV Tours, to Geocaching Basics. Patty and Nancy went in one direction, and I sat in on an excellent presentation on RV Solar Charging, presented by Larry Crutcher from Starlight Solar, located here in Yuma. I'm kind of up to speed on this particular subject, since we have 3 solar panels on the motor home, and we're having a 4.7 kilowatt (twenty 230 watt panels) solar electrical generating system installed on our home when we get home. Having said that, I still learned quite a bit from attending this seminar.

Nick & Terry Russell, getting ready to hand out a bunch of door prizes.

At 1 pm, I went to Nick Russell's Gypsy Journal FAQ's seminar, and got caught up on the history of Nick & Terry's journey, (both business & travel), and learned a little bit about where they hope to go in the future. The Gypsy Journal has about 15,000 subscribers, and I think mostly due to Nick's tell it like it is writing style, this full timing, gypsy couple has a very loyal following. We've been subscribers from almost the beginning, which goes back about 13 years.

While in the main building, I met a fellow named Jerry (I hope I remembered his name correctly), from the Okanaggen area in British Columbia. He recognized my name tag, and is one of my regular blog readers. We had a nice conversation, and I'm still amazed at some of this social media stuff, and how far reaching it can be.

Nick's calling out door prize winners, and the door prize runners are waiting to distribute the goodies.

At 7:30 or so, and after fixing an electronic glitch, David Bradley took the stage for about an hour of delightful entertainment. This guy sings, and plays the guitar so well, that he got a standing ovation when he was finished. Two years ago, he performed at the Gypsy Rally, singing mostly cowboy, and country/western songs. He is a former member of the Sons of Pioneers, and the range of his voice is incredible. From high to low, and everything in between, including some yodeling, I would pay a lot more than the $20 I put into the hat, to listen to David again.

Today is another full day of seminars, and tonight is the pizza party. Right after the pizza party is the Cactus Queen Beauty contest. This event is worth the price of admission all by itself. I hope my pictures come out OK, because they should capture a little bit of what I'm sure will be total insanity!

THE RALLY BEGINS

We finished getting the last of the rally goers parked yesterday, and at 3 pm, Nick & Terry Russell opened the Gypsy Journal Rally with a welcome ceremony. The vendors were introduced, and we took a break with free ice cream bars compliments of the "too crazy ladies". We decided not to stick around for the "ask the experts" round table discussion, and came back after dinner for the door prizes. Nope, we didn't win any of the mostly gift certificates to local restaurants, but there's still lots of stuff to give away.

A first happened this morning, when I thought I was down loading pictures from my Nikon Camera. They disappeared! The routine went normally, however, they must have disappeared somewhere into cyberspace, cause they weren't in the camera anymore, and not in any of my picture files. Darn, there were some good shots of the Marine Corps Ospreys taking off right across the road from the fairgrounds front parking lot. That was one of the perks of working on the parking crew. We watched everything from the Marine Corps Ospreys, to their Harrier Jets taking off and landing. As Nick says, "Those jets are not a noise disruption, they are the sound of freedom".

This morning, the rally kicks off in earnest, with a full schedule of seminars, and other activities. We'll be sitting in on a few seminars today and tomorrow, then on Thursday morning, I'll be moderating a seminar on dry camping, or boondocking. It's going to be a busy next 3 days!

EARLY BIRD PARKING

The RV's started rolling into the front parking lot of the Yuma Fairgrounds early yesterday morning. The Gypsy Journal RV Gathering begins today, and our parking crew still has a few more hours of work before the rally officially kicks off at 3 pm. I'm not sure how many RV's came through the front lot staging area, but it was a bunch. Getting all of the rigs separated into handicapped, vendor, and general parking went like clockwork.

Everyone was supposed to understand that because there was a Good Sam Rally that didn't end until noon, we couldn't start parking anyone inside the fairgrounds until 1 pm. We all know that there's always a few who don't get the memo, and yesterday was no exception. We had to deal with a couple of impatient people, but all in all, it went very well.

Tom Westerfield and Dave Cross waiting for the next rig to pull into the fairgrounds.

The fact that I had my scooter with me, turned out to be a good thing, as I was able to have rigs follow me to where we wanted them to line up. The extra mobility of being able to quickly go from A to B came in quite handy, and I found myself zipping all over the parking lot, and even into the fairgrounds a few times.

It was a bit on the warm side yesterday, with the temps reaching into the low 80's. I was glad lots of sunscreen was available, and running around on the scooter kept the wind in my face. We had the parking lot cleared out by about 4 pm, and my scooter duties came to an abrupt end. We'll all be back at it this morning, until about 3 pm, when the rally starts.

PRE EARLY BIRD DAY

After 4 nights at Pilot Knob, we moved into the Yuma Fairgrounds yesterday, joining all of the other members of the parking crew. We first parked in the front lot of the fairgrounds, then about mid afternoon, we all moved inside the fairgrounds.

Just after we got settled, I called Nancy to see where she was on her drive to Yuma from CA. It was good timing because she had just turned off I8 in Yuma, and was on her way to the fairgrounds. When she arrived, we had a chance to visit a little before Nick Russell had a parking crew meeting. During the meeting, we learned where we will be working from Tom Westerfield, who is heading up the volunteer parkers, and we learned from the Nickster, that 145 RV's are registered for the rally. According to Nick, that number will grow a little from the drive up folks who are not registered.

After the meeting, many of us headed over to EAT, a Chinese Buffet in the WalMart shopping center, where we had some pretty darn good food. We were joined by Tom & Barb, and enjoyed the company. This morning, our group of 8-10 rigs will move to parking spots with electrical hookups, and I'll join the parking volunteers in the front parking lot/staging area. Today is early bird day, and when the Good Sam Rally is over at noon, we'll start parking the Gypsy Journal rally goers inside the fairgrounds.

I have a feeling that Patty and Nancy will be heading back to the Market Place Swap Meet, or some other place where the word for the day will be "Shopping".

Almost forgot.............I got a call from Deputy Meyer at the Yuma County Sheriff's Department. She related that after consulting with her supervisor, the false advertising statute in the Arizona Administrative code does apply to the Yuma Lakes billboard and marketing flyer. However, and it's a big however, the statute requires proof of "intent to defraud". That's a deal breaker, and Deputy Meyer said that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to prove intent. I agreed and so what started as an inquiry about where to lodge a complaint, that turned into a short criminal investigation, has terminated with a dead end. I just hope that my cage rattling has caused CRA to take a closer look at their marketing practices.

A DRUG RUN

These bars are part of the U.S./Mexican border fence at Algodones.

Like countless other folks, the daily migration south into the Mexican border town of Algodones, is usually for one of three things. The mostly American & Canadian pedestrian stampede is headed toward either a pharmacy, a dentist, or an optometrist . Algodones, just west of Yuma, has become a senior destination for services, or products, provided by one of the three mentioned above. Sure, there are the usual trinket stores found in other border towns, but the vast majority of businesses in Algodones fall into one of these three medical categories.

Patty and I have been making one or two trips a year into Algodones, and I have had some major dental work, we've both purchased numerous pairs of glasses, and Patty can get a years supply of a thyroid prescription for $12. That's way less expensive than paying the co-pay through our health insurance plan. Despite all of the chaos in Mexico regarding the drug cartels, we've never felt threatened, or uncomfortable in Algodones.

Yesterday morning, we parked at the Quechan Indian Tribe parking lot ($5), and walked across the border. We picked up a few things at the purple pharmacy, and we were back in line at the border within 15 minutes. There have been times that we've waited in line to get back into the U.S. for as much as 2+ hours. The wait yesterday was only about 15 minutes, mostly because it was early in the day.

From Algodones, we drove into Yuma, and walked through the Market Place swap meet on 32nd street. This is still a pretty good flea market, but the number of vendors was down considerably from last year. Sign of the times I guess. We picked up a few things that we couldn't live without, and headed back to the motor home. I spent several hours working on the new computer, transferring files, and getting used to Windows 7.

Today, we're moving the motor home into the fairgrounds, where we'll dry camp with the parking crew volunteers, and tomorrow, we'll start getting the Gypsy Journal Rallygoers parked inside the fairgrounds for early bird day. Later today, our pal Nancy will be arriving from CA in her fiver, and we're both looking forward to seeing her. We were at Nancy's home in Atwater, CA last October, and it will be good to catch up on everything.

A NEW COMPUTER & MODERATOR

Armed with some excellent advice from our pal Barbara Westerfield, Patty and I picked up a new Dell laptop at Best Buy yesterday. We also bought a cradle point router, an external hard drive, and switched our Sprint Data Card to a USB port model. Our old data card served us very well, but it was about 6 years old, and new computers don't support that technology any longer. When we walked out of the store, we weren't shocked by the total price, and received excellent service from Joshua, who walked us through some of the more technical issues.

When it comes to new electronic technology, I admit, I'm perfectly happy to remain a dinosaur, as long as what I have serves my needs, and works. I recently upgraded our primary cell phone to a newer version, but resisted the temptation to jump into the smart phone arena. A lot of folks say that the new smart phones are great, and if you have one, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Perhaps they're right, but I don't text, checking my emails once or twice a day on the computer is more than adequate, and I don't need to carry around a GPS device in my pocket. Having said that, like most folks, Patty and I have become quite dependent on access to the Internet. After about 6 years, our old Dell laptop that served us well, was becoming problematic, and it's speed and storage were back in the dark ages. I have no doubt that we'll make the transition to Windows 7 with only a little trauma, and soon we'll be comfortable with the new computer.

On a different front, we got a phone call from Barb, just after we left Best Buy, asking me if I would moderate a seminar on boondocking (dry camping), at the upcoming Gypsy Journal RV Rally that starts on Monday. Nick Russell had asked Barb to call me, since there was an unexpected withdrawal by the original instructor, and I guess my name came up during one of their planning meetings. We later stopped by the fairgrounds, after quickly hitting the Market Place Swap Meet, and Barb told me a little more about what was expected regarding the boondocking class scheduled for Thursday morning. I told her and Nick that I would give it my best shot, and that Patty and I had a ton of experience on this very subject. In fact, we just left the Tucson Rodeo Grounds, where we spent exactly 2 weeks parked without any utility hookups. There are lots of tips that make dry camping much easier, and perhaps we can share some of our experience with other folks. Should be fun.

A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

After being turned away from the Yuma Lakes RV Resort day before yesterday, we ended up at Pilot Knob RV Park west of Yuma. We've stayed here before, as this is an RPI park, and it's real close to the border town of Alogodones, Mexico. We'll be moving to the Yuma Fairgrounds on Saturday.

First thing yesterday morning, I was burning up the cellular airwaves, trying to find out what local agency was in charge of regulating business advertising. I also placed a call to the Yuma Lakes RV park, and after listening to the same recorded message, I once again left a message that I would like to speak to the manager. I guess no one ever picks up the phone at this place, and they have never returned any of my calls. One of the next calls was to the corporate office of Colorado River Adventures (CRA) in Parker, AZ. I actually spoke to a live body, who passed me off to the voice mail of Mark Wade, the CRA Operations Manager. My message to him was that there was a problem with Yuma Lakes, and he needed to call me back A.S.A.P. That call was returned at about 5:30pm yesterday, more on that later.

We drove into Yuma, and I decided to stop at the Sheriff's Office, to see if someone there could direct me to the proper agency that has some oversight regarding business advertising. I met with Deputy Meyer, and explained the whole story about Yuma Lakes. Yesterday's post explains the entire situation if you're not up to speed. Deputy Meyer made copies of the flyer, which offered an RV site, and a $100 gift certificate from WalMart, then did some research in respect to business advertising. I made it clear that I was simply trying to find out where the best place was to lodge a complaint against this business, so that perhaps, other folks would not be subjected to the experience that we went through.

Deputy Meyer admitted that this was the first time she had taken a report of this nature, but after checking the Arizona Administrative Code, she found a misdemeanor statute 13-2203, that regulates business advertising, and more specifically, addresses the issue of "false advertising". She wanted to consult with her supervisor to make sure she wasn't misinterpreting the statute, and asked me if I wanted to pursue the investigation. My answer was unhesitatingly "yes", and she logged the case number as 2012-14530. She also made it clear, that if it was determined that the criminal code wasn't applicable, the Sheriff's Department would not get involved with a civil situation. She agreed to get back to me as the investigation moved forward.

We left the Sheriff's Department, driving over to the fairgrounds, where we visited with Tom & Barbara Westerfield, our friends from the FMCA Golden Spike RV Chapter. We also chatted with Nick and Terry Russell, the proprietors of the Gypsy Journal, who are putting on the RV Rally that begins this weekend. After a nice visit, we agreed to meet later for dinner, and we then went computer shopping.

When we arrived back at the fairgrounds around 5:30, I got a return phone call from Mark Wade, the Operations Manager of CRA. I won't get into a lot of details, but suffice it to say that after hearing my story, Mr. Wade apologized for the way we were treated, and his emphasis was that it was more of an employee problem. We should have been allowed to stay at the $10 advertised rate, and he was going to address the problem at Yuma Lakes today. He thanked me for bringing this to his attention, and assured me that it wouldn't happen again. After the conversation ended, I thought to myself that he said all of the right things, hopefully it wasn't just BS.

We had a nice dinner & conversation with Tom & Barb at Cracker Barrel, and today, we're off to buy a new laptop.