Being close to a casino was fun…someplace to go every night if I wanted. I didn’t go every night, but 3-4 times a week I’d bike over there and wander around. The place also had a theater on the grounds so I caught up on my movie watching. In mid January, there was an exhibit from Italy in the main meeting hall. The da Vinci exhibit. Very interesting. Suggest you visit if it comes to your area.
Ooo, cool. Lookie there.
The exhibit was of both his artworks and his inventions. The artwork consisted of authorized reproductions of his famous works and the inventions were scale models and full sized models of his inventions. All created by Italian craftspeople. Exhibit has been traveling around the world for years. I got lucky that it was here in tiny Parker, Arizona.
Scale model of a lifting machine.
A scythe designed to cut through the legs of the enemy.
Neat, but dangerous.
What a great exhibit. I spent 3-4 hours wandering around and looking at everything. Interesting. Shear genius.
Ooo, first helicopter. Didn’t work, but, whatever.
Can’t remember what this was for…
After enjoying that fine exhibit, I wandered out of the casino.
Front of casino.
And off down the hill to the Colorado River to explore.
Nice and calm.
These ducks are semi-tame and are looking for a handout.
Kind of built up here.
In the above picture you can see the riverside bar off in the distance…part of the casino which has it’s main building like 2-300 feet to the left of there. The casino has a 3 story glass wall facing the river and inside is a water park with 3 story slides and pools and such. Kind of cool. I’ve never been here when the weather was bad but I’m thinking it would be interesting to be enjoying the water slides and pools while it’s snowing outside. If it ever snows here. If I’d just turn 90° here, I’d be facing the RV park where I’m staying.
I like the colors in this shot.
A couple weeks later, I notice a bunch of RVs and cars have started to accumulate alongside the river. They seem to be settling in. And there seems to be some activity inside the casino’s fenced area.
More ducks, but they’re nervous.
See all those people? I’ve been here for weeks and ride down here every day and it’s usually deserted. Kind of fun having all those people around.
Ahh, here’s what’s going on. Boat races.
I couldn’t get any closer, either through the gate down here by the river, or via the path from the RV park to the casino…it was blocked by people taking tickets! Lucky, though, the RV park part is open to us and the public and you can see the end of each race. The shot above is a practice run.
And thar they go!
Zoom…
Not quite as exciting as the hydroplane races in Kennewick, Washington where I grew up, but interesting. Much smaller boats. River isn’t as wide so no turns, just straight away racing. Fun though.
So I hung out here in Parker for a few weeks, enjoying the great weather, watched the Seahawks win the Super Bowl on a 17′ screen, got to see a boat race, and one weekend, visited 40 or so RVs that were for sale up the road from the casino.
All in all, had a great time here. But, I needed to get back to Rosamond and a more reliable WiFi signal so I could arrange my European trip. Headed back to my brothers place the first week of March. And that’s where I’ll start the next posting. Thanks for visiting!