NORTHBOUND WANDERING BEGINS

It’s time to go.  Northward, that is, as we only have just over ten days to get back north of the border before our health insurance runs out.  We spent the past few days slowly getting things organized and this morning it only took a few minutes to get the motor home out on the road and the car hooked on.  We met friends, Ken and Marie and Ernie and Atha at a restaurant in Florence for a late breakfast.  We had one last good visit with them and hit the road about 10:15. 

We were only driving to Camp Verde so an early start didn’t matter.  Including a stop for lunch (and a nap for me) we arrived at Camp Verde RV Park shortly after 2 pm.  We have three free nights of camping but will have to sit through a sales presentation Wednesday morning. 

Aileen and I took a drive through Florence Gardens Saturday admiring the cactus blooms.  We just caught the beginning as it appears the bloom will be incredible in a few more days.  One of the neighbours had told me about the roadside bloom south east of Florence so we went out there on Saturday as well.

We had games sessions with Ken and Marie and Ernie and Atha both Wednesday after supper and yesterday which was followed by a delicious potluck supper.   I got the ATV ready for its summer vacation and locked it away in the shed.  We left Aileen’s scooter in the shed again as it wouldn’t get used much where we think we’ll be this summer.  We did take the batteries out and bring them with us.

The other night when I went to the hot tub, I was joined by several other Canadians. One couple was from Nanaimo, the guys sister was from Calgary and another younger couple were from Victoria.  The Victoria guy works for UVic in the Tsunami warning research project.  They were all visiting their father Angus, who is 87 and winters in Caliente.

I got to go on the delayed tour of Florence Copper’s site Friday morning and that was interesting.  In the later afternoon, we went to an ATV happy hour type party so we got to see some of our ATV friends again. 

We plan to visit Jerome, Cottonwood and Sedona while we are in this area then hope to catch a day or two at the Grand Canyon before making our dash for the border.

Note.  I wrote this last night and tried to upload it but the signal wasn't strong enough to take my pictures so I cancelled the post.  I will attempt to add the pictures after posting this text.

WINDING DOWN IN ARIZONA FOR 2013

 The hills near Apache Junction were covered in yellow flowers which I think are Brittlebush

It’s that time again.  Time to put the park model to bed for the summer and try to fit everything back into the motor home for our summer travels.  Yesterday was my last ATV ride of the season so it will need to be parked away ready to face the hot summer weather.  We came south later last fall so we could stay later this spring to catch more of the wildflower bloom.  Unfortunately, winter decided to be longer and cooler thus I didn’t see many more flowers so far in March than in February in past years. 

We had some more friends of friends stay in our park model for the past five nights.  They are also from the Grand Junction, CO area and we had a games afternoon/ evening including a potluck type supper with them and our other two couples from Grand Junction one day.  Interestingly, Aileen and I didn’t manage to win a single game that day. 

We were up to the Mesa/Tempe area twice last week.  We wanted to revisit a few stores we’d been to earlier which we did on Wednesday then on Saturday we went to the huge Mesa Market followed by lunch with the Celiac Support group at Buon Gusto over in Tempe.  It used to be a Picazzo’s Pizza and the resulting meal was every bit as good.  They still have a separate kitchen for preparing gluten free meals.

Last Thursday, Aileen and our neighbour Carol went for a tour of the Queen Creek Olive Mill and they thoroughly enjoyed that.  We went there this morning for a few more of their products.   On Friday, I went for a tour of the controversial Florence Copper Project.  This is a subsidiary of a major Canadian company that is facing stiff opposition from the Florence city council for some reason.  I was impressed with the presentation we attended and it seems to be an interesting concept.  There would be no large excavations, no underground tunnels, just a series of wells.  The plan is to pump water down with a mild solution of sulfuric acid, equivalent to household vinegar, which would eventually dissolve the copper particles enabling the copper to be sucked up an adjacent well.  The question was raised about what the city plans to use the property for if they manage to expropriate it.  One use was to access the water for drinking use and the other was to put in sewage lagoons.  I thought I was hearing wrong so I asked if he said they planned to draw drinking water out from underneath the sewage lagoon.  The short answer was, yes!    We were to have a driving tour of the property but the chartered bus had problems closing the door which prevented the brakes from releasing.  After waiting on the bus a while, the tour was cancelled.  It has now been rescheduled for this Friday.

While I continue to visit the hot tub and pool nightly, the season is over for Aileen as the pools are all too warm with the warmer weather.  That contributes to her willingness to head north which we will do on Monday, the 25^th.  We’re planning to spend a few days north of Phoenix and hope to get to Jerome, Cottonwood and Sedona.   If the weather co-operates, we will get a day of two at the Grand Canyon south rim then make tracks up through Nevada to our home base in the Shuswap area of south central BC.

One of the few Ocotillo blooms this year.  They are late and just starting to come out

Desert Globe Mallow

Close up of a different mallow plant

Fairy Duster

Brittlebush

I had my first ride on the trail named "Highway to Hell"  It is a little more challenging than most trails as Dave found with his RZR when he fell in this hole.  4x4 and heavy throttle got him out

AIR CONDITIONING TIME

At mid afternoon today it is 29C (83 or 84F)and Aileen has fired up the air conditioners to stay cool inside the motor home.  We were up to Mesa this morning for several things.  We’re going for lunch on Saturday up in Tempe and had planned to do everything the one day.  When we got to thinking about all we wanted to do, it made sense to make two trips instead of a marathon one day session.  They are forecasting 90F for Saturday then settling back into the mid 80’s.  Our plan was to stay here until March 25 then wander north but if it stays warm we may leave by the 21^st.

We’ve been zipping around to various towns finding last minute items we wanted to get before heading home.   We’ve been trying out different restaurants that provide gluten free meals.  We went to a Red Robin today for the first time and we’ll see how Aileen makes out.  It takes several hours for a reaction if there happened to be any gluten contamination.  We had a couple good meals at Olive Garden recently.

I rode with the ATV group Monday and Tuesday this week since my riding days are really numbered now.  The only problem with the warmer weather is the hot leather seat reacting with the denim covered butt.  It tends to get uncomfortable.  I haven’t decided if I’ll ride with them tomorrow.  Otherwise, next Tuesday will be the last ride probably.

We had two couples over a few nights ago for a games night in the park model and had a great time.  Aileen and I play Sets most evenings and last night she was not happy with my play.  In the last hand, without buying any cards, I went out with just twelve cards.  You needed to have two sets of six, which I did.  That’s the second time I’ve done that in three weeks.  When I went out I caught her with 350 points which destroyed her score and enriched mine immensely.  I was not very popular!

We went to a joint birthday party for two of our neighbours on Monday evening.  Bud and Jim both turn 85 this week and they are both great guys.  They both stay very active caring for their spouses and in Bud’s case, supervising construction on our block.  It is great to know people like them.

Red Tailed Hawk leaving a saguaro perch

The Thumb with the top of the world trail partly visible

A few poppies

A horned owl is sitting on it's nest

A closer shot

GREAT WEATHER FOLLOWED BY SOME WIND AND RAIN

Well, once again the blog has suffered because I have been too busy to get to it.  I don’t know how these other people can manage to post every day.   There are just too many other things that seem more interesting or important.  You know, things like ATVing, geocaching, games, laundry, parties, drives, walks, reading, pool, hot tub – the list goes forever.  And we’ve been enjoying some gorgeous weather lately.  I knew there was some inside weather about to happen today so I have been intending to catch up several things when today arrived.  Doing good so far.  Got the bank book up to date, did some printing for Aileen, cleaned up my work area, paid our yearly park assessment etc.

Last Wednesday, the 27^th of February, we decided to go on a road trip south of Tucson.  We went through Coolidge then down to I-10 and past Tucson to Houghten Rd.   We followed it down to Saqurita  then east to #83 which we drove down to Sonoita.  My destination was Sierra Vista but I wanted to follow less travelled roads to get there so I selected a circle route that looked perfect. Not!!!  I noticed we would go through a settlement called Fort Huachuca but didn’t pay much attention to it as we don’t usually stop at historic sites.  Well, it turns out not only is it a historic fort but it is also a very active one.  Bottom line was that when we got to the west gate, we were denied access because we were foreigners.   So, we had to turn around and drive many miles back and take a different route to get to Sierra Vista.  We’d noticed a primitive road a few miles back that pointed to Nogales, Patagonia and a few others so after consulting our trusty Arizona atlas, decided to go to Patagonia.  One of the best things about our plans is that they are usually just something to get us started and they can be radically changed along the way.  So instead of going east, we went west and saw some interesting country.  We really like driving these little used roads and not having to be constantly watching for traffic.  We saw lots of hawks, some of them very close to the car.  Aileen spotted the closest one and I managed to get one shot through the sunroof as he flew.  The other thing we saw lots of was Border Patrol agents.  This trip none of them bothered us.  In the past they have stopped us or sent us on our way when stopped. 

I have led all the Tuesday rides since returning from Quartzsite as the other leader has been in Hawaii.  I went on one Thursday ride as they were going somewhere I hadn’t been.  I managed to keep out of the dust although there wasn’t much from the storm dampening things down.   I did get out twice on my ATV to do some geocaching.  I did a couple short runs in the car geocaching too.  I lent my ATV to an 83 year old friend whose son was visiting so they could go putter around in the desert behind the park.  Last Tuesday, I was able to borrow a machine from another 83 year old friend Blue, for our friend Ernie from Grand Junction, CO.  Ernie had ridden lots in Colorado but never here and seemed to really enjoy the trip I took him and the group on this past Tuesday.  I understand he was a little tired and sore for a couple days though.  He is 77 but very fit.  He had no problems wherever I took him.

We went to Doug and Corrine Johnson’s 65th anniversary party Monday and what a blast.  There was lots of food and drink and a hilarious skit to top off the evening.  The actual date isn’t until July 22 but they wanted to celebrate with their winter friends.  We all helped dismantle the seating before we came home.  Yesterday we went to neighbours, Daryl and Bonnie who with Sylvan and Rita put on a fish fry.  Boy was the fish good!!!  The other guests all brought a dish so we had a great feast.   Next Monday is a party for two of the old guys on the street, Bud and Jim who both turn 85.  At least two other guys in the same block are older, one being 89 and he is still doing great.  He just bought a new Equinox and is ready to drive home to Spokane, Washington when it is time.  I don’t know if it is being here that helps people stay younger longer or it is the type of people who move here.  The majority of the people in this park do seem to keep very active and mentally sharp.

Mitzy had a down spell recently.   We’d given her  a little bit of canned salmon a person from Alaska had given us in appreciation of the ATV ride I’d led showing them some of the highlights of our riding area.   Mitzy was having difficulty at both ends and we finally ended up fixing it with Kaopectate.  She has recovered from that but today is traumatized by a bit of thunder that came with the storm.  I had to drive her out to the desert with the car twice today as the route we normally take was under water.  Neighbour Daryl had ¾ inch of rain in his gauge when I checked a little while ago and we’ve had a couple more showers since with more black looking sky approaching.  The desert will appreciate the moisture and hopefully it will promote more flowers to come out before we leave.  It is getting pretty out there already with quite a few different flowers blooming.  The poppies are the most spectacular.

When we were over in Quartzsite, Aileen had mentioned to Jerry and Donna she’d like to see what it was like to ride in a RZR side by side ATV and they offered to lend us their machine to try some after we got back to Florence.  This Wednesday we took them up on the offer.  We took a lunch and went out through Box Canyon and over the Little Spline.  Aileen wanted shade for lunch so I took us up the Martinez Rd a short distance.   While there, another RZR came along and he started chatting with us.  He had a border collie/Australian collie cross and Mitzy got along fine with him.   It turns out the guy full times in a 31’ Class C.  He has a 16 foot trailer and puts the RZR on crossways at the front and his Tracker behind.   He has kids and grandkids in Nanaimo along with his ex-wife.  He recently spent quite a bit of time working in Kelowna.    He mainly boondocks all year and mostly in forestry campsites when up north in BC and AB.

The back side of the ridge I had poppy pictures earlier 

Poppies are pretty this year

Aileen spotted this Ocotillo flower, the first I've seen this year.  They are really late as I've seen them November through February in past years

Aileen and Mitzy in the borrowed Polaris RZR

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SOUTH OF TUCSON ROAD TRIP PICTURES

The land is a little higher in elevation so snow lingers

There was quite a bit of metal art on display in this area

The pup seems to think he might get a treat from the store

There was a small herd of longhorns close to the road

The sign says welcome but the gate was locked and there was a big no trespassing sign

We were turned back by the military just at the end of the four miles

Redtailed Hawk through the sunroof

Arizona ranch land

Sycamore trees

For the train buffs

South entrance

North entrance

EVERYBODY (WELL ALMOST) LOVES A PARADE

Every year around this time our park has what’s known as Spring Fling which is an excuse for normally sane people to get way outside of normal.  We tend to avoid most of the activities but since we were here this year, took in the parade as it went past our motor home.   It was huge and very colourful.   After the parade we went to friends Ken and Marie’s for a great potluck style lunch.  Their friends (and now ours) Ernie and Atha also from Grand Junction, CO joined us.  Later, we played Spinner, another domino game which I managed to come last in both games. 

Aileen and I went for a drive in the car out into a bit of the area I ATV in.  The Fish and Game or someone has graded several roads out in the desert making them more easily accessed by car.  We went up to where there is an overlook of some petroglyphs.  We’d taken a picnic lunch which we had down in a wash out of the wind.  We’ve had quite a bit of cold wind this winter.  We are back having mornings right on the freezing mark but they are promising some warmer weather soon.

I’ve been out a couple times geocaching, once in the car for a short while and yesterday with the ATV where I managed to get about four hours in and found 34.  I really enjoy caching either on the
ATV or my bike.

On Sunday, our Campbell River friends, Gay and Doug, spent the day with us.  We did a tour of the Greek Monastery just south of Florence then wandered over to Casa Grande for a late lunch.  When we got home, Aileen had a little rest while I took Doug and Gay up to our park’s cactus garden which has name tags with all the plants.  Aileen had supper partly ready in the crockpot and just had to cook rice and carrots.  Before we knew it we were sitting down to another meal.  After an enjoyable visit, the guys left about 7:30 for their drive back to Mesa where they have rented a condo.  Gay and I had a good time sharing photo talk.

Jacquie and Jim left Friday morning for Yuma for a few days then on to Quartzsite for a few more days.  From there, they will head straight home to BC.  Cousin Terry who had a liver transplant in the fall is doing very well and is in rehab getting her strength back.  She could be going home by the end of March.  She was very sick for a long time. 

Some of our local hookers

Some Caliente flashers

Giving a closer view

Followed by ......

This year's theme was Mardi Gras so a good excuse to go a bit crazy

Lots of thought and effort went into many of these golf carts

Two of our clowns, Lovey Dovey and Rats

The greenest I have seen the desert

We saw the sheep again in Box Canyon this afternoon.  I think there were a dozen and first time I have seen them jump

WE GET A TASTE OF WINTER

It was 9.6C (just under 50F) yesterday morning at 8 am and by 10:30 it was down to 3.2C and we had snow flakes mixed in the rain.  When I went out in the car later, the snow was way down the hills.  Only six of us went riding the ATVs today and we went up where there was still a bit of snow on the ground.   We had a great ride, the weather was chilly to start but turned quite pleasant later.  We saw at least nine bighorn sheep in Box Canyon which is always a thrill.

We had arranged for Campbell River friends Doug and Gay to visit yesterday but on seeing the forecast a couple days ago, we rescheduled for Sunday.  Yesterday morning was pretty nasty with heavy showers and strong wind gusts. 

Friends from Palisade, near Grand Junction , CO, Atha and Ernie wanted to play cards last night so we invited them over for Sets.  The three of them weren’t too happy with me as I won all three games.  I had been way behind in the last one and stole it in the last hand when Aileen went out and caught Ernie with a mitt full.  He seemed to have an insurmountable lead on me but I had enough down when she went out and caught him with lots of points.   On Tuesday night Aileen and I played and I won the first game by a little over 300 points.  In the second, Aileen beat me by over 1,000!!!  

I went for a few books at the library Monday morning.  Randy, Moris’ friend had come looking for me so Aileen sent him up to find me at the library.  Randy wanted to go out in the desert a bit with his Jeep so after lunch he and Pete Moris came by and away we went.  We went out past the diversion dam then came back and went up 7 mile road to Cottonwood Rd.  From there we went to the petroglyphs.  After wandering around there for a while, we headed out to highway 79 then home.   While I was doing that, Aileen was at the Celiac Support meeting learning all sorts of new things.   When I got home, I edited more pictures.  I seem to spend a lot of time editing pictures then sending them into cyberspace!   Carol from next door had an article from the Cheboygan, Michigan paper about her Mom’s 100th birthday.  Aileen managed to download a copy then tidied it up some so it was more readable.  When it was done to their satisfaction, I printed off 18 copies.

I bought a new GPS the other day and after some great tech support from brother in law, John, I have it working and it is a real step up from my old system.   This unit allows paperless geocaching which will save me lots of time and agony.  I was spending hours copying and pasting data into a word doc then manually inputting the co-ordinates and title into the GPS which took many more hours.  This new system allows you to download a large number of caches directly into the GPS.   Now I just need to find time to get out to use it.  I think I will have to scale back my ATV riding to just one day a week with the group.

Aileen and I with Gay and Doug on the right

Looking up to the Thumb from just outside the park yesterday

The poppies are blooming when the sun shines, I think they sucked themselves back into the ground yesterday

This is the dam that diverts the Gila River into an irrigation canal

I climbed up here for a geocache and admired the views

A closer view of the Thumb today 

This gate should be awarded some type of prize.  I think if a cow nudged it that would be the end of it.

Some of the sheep we saw today