ATVING, READING AND COMPUTER STUFF

Old Blue, 80 years old and still having fun

Lunch in the desert

Lulu's mine cabin - note the fridge door on the wall. It opens to a shelf in the dirt bank.

Door of Lulu's mine cabin

Square coke ovens

Lots of rock work at the the coke ovens

Cochrane area east of Florence

They have a weiner roast every trip

The group yesterday with South and North Buttes in the background. Florence is beyond them

Along the Gila River

South Butte and the Gila River

That seems to be my life these days. I’m glad to report that Aileen is perking up again. She is back swimming although we are having to go further afield to find pools that are warm enough. Our pool was only 76F for several days. The warmest pool was of course the furthest away which meant we had to drive the truck there. She did get her cookies baked and made it to the cookie exchange on Monday. I think her cookies were among the best there as I got to try quite a few of the others that she brought home. She’s been off to Coolidge a couple times on her own in the truck, too. I’ve been visiting the library and bringing large print books for Aileen to read as well as reading quite a bit myself.

My aunt Eleanor and husband Ron arrived a few days ago from Salmon Arm to spend three months in our park. She is my Mom’s next younger sister. They seem to be pleased with the park model they have rented and are finding their way around. Wendy and Randy have friends from Parksville staying in their trailer at present.

I went out with the ATV group last Saturday, Thursday and again this Saturday. I’m getting to see a lot of the back country. I am amazed at how many old mine workings there are scattered around the desert. Some of them still have some equipment etc lying about while others are just mounds of dirt and rock or holes in the rock. Often there are holes or shafts in the ground that one could walk or drive into as there are no barriers or warnings. I have been very impressed with the ATV group. They stick to existing trails and do not go roaring through vegetation. The existing trails can be enough of a challenge for most people and since most of the riders are older than me, they are more into cleaning up and protecting the wilderness rather than being naughty. At least one of our regulars is 80 years old and there are others not far behind.

I have been instructing a basic photography class and have now been asked to help mentor a Photoshop Elements group. Wouldn’t you know, they are both in the exact same time slot so I will have to try to reschedule my group. It never rains but it pours, as the old saying goes. Speaking of which, we had a dandy storm come through a few nights ago. It dropped close to an inch of rain in a few bursts and the wind was quite something. I saw on the net that Quartzsite suffered some damage to the flea market vendor’s stalls.

We put up a few Holiday lights so now we are helping to brighten the streets. Some of the residents really get serious about their decorating so we have some fine displays to look at. I will try to remember to bring more of our lights down from Salmon Arm next winter as we hope to not use them there for quite a number of years. Many of the neighbours are making plans to go home for Christmas. Most of them aren’t looking forward to putting themselves back into snow country but they do want to celebrate with their families.

Aileen is off to church at the club house and I will take Mitzy for a walk in the desert shortly.