Our site - #111 at Distant Drums RV Resort, Camp Verde, AZ

Meeting New People!

This morning Gordon was out taking sunrise photos while I had a slow start and after our walks took another nap. I knew today would be a busy day as we had made arrangements to go to the home of one of the guys that Gordon has met through pbase.com, another photographer who lives in Sedona. We were to be at their house for 2:00 p.m.

We left at noon not because it’s far away but because Gordon wanted to scout out photo opportunities. There are certainly a lot of them in this area. Sedona itself is a very pretty little city surrounded by red rock mountains of different shapes. The adobe architecture is beautiful! There is not much by way of shopping here but there are all kinds of galleries and craft places. After our photo scouting mission, we arrived at the home of Nan & Fred on time and enjoyed our afternoon, the guys talking photography and places to photograph and the ladies talking about painting and crafting. Nan is taking both oil and watercolor lessons and has done some excellent paintings. She enjoys doing portraits and is really good at facial features. We then went to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants, Judi’s in Sedona.

Gordon and Fred are getting together tomorrow and heading over to Jerome while Nan is at one of her painting courses and I’m being a drudge and doing housework and spending some time with Bib as he was all alone all day.

Tonight is TV!

Photos today are of a Sedona scene and the four of us at the restaurant.

On to the Sedona Area

After yesterday’s cloudiness and last night’s extraordinary sunset, today dawned bright and sunny in Mesa. We only had two cloudy days in the three weeks we spent in Mesa.

We got packed up and were leaving the park by 9:15 a.m. and got through Phoenix by about 10:10 a.m. There was a lot of traffic northbound on I-17 just on our way out of Phoenix but that was only for a short while then it cleared out. We stopped at a rest area at Sunset Point and took a couple of photos but other than that the trip was good. We arrived at our campground, Distant Drums RV Resort at about 11:45 a.m. and got set up in good time. Distant Drums is a new resort, 2 years and 4 months old and unlike Mesa, we’re back in the country so it’s only a short walk for sunset shots.

After we were set up we took a drive to Montezuma Castle which is very close by. We had seen the sign on I-17 at our exit. Montezuma Castle is cliff dwellings that were built by the Sinaugua farmers early in the 12th century and then were abandoned in the 1400’s. No one seems to know why. A photo of the cliff dwellings is posted above.

After that we drove into Camp Verde to have a look at the town. It looked very much like we thought a western town should look and we’ll probably take some photos of it another day. We then returned home and I read some of the literature that we picked up at the Chamber of Commerce in town and had a nap.

We walked out to the vacant land beside the park (I think it’s their expansion area) and took some photos of the sunset. It wasn’t as impressive as last night’s and my battery was about to give out so I came back and took Bib out for a walk. He hasn’t wanted to go outside much when in Mesa due to all the noise so he seemed quite keen here.

Tonight it’s hamburger stew for dinner and TV.

Highway Art

A few days ago I commented on how beautiful the retainer walls were along the highways of the Phoenix area. Here are just a few photos that I managed to snap on our way through today. Some might not be very clear but you get the idea.

Our Goodbye to Mesa Sunset!

Since Friday had been cloudy all day we were very happy to have this beautiful sunset for our last night in Mesa!

Mesa Market

Today dawned cloudy but it’s managed to get to 65F. I had decided yesterday that I was going to the Swap Meet on Baseline Road today so after the usual walks this morning, we got ready to go. It’s only a short distance away and I happened to see it the day we drove to Globe. You can see it from US Route 60. It’s actually called Mesa Market. It consists of some 1600 booths and is one of Arizona’s largest covered swap meets. It is housed in a type of warehouse and has free parking and free entrance. Unlike the one we attended over in Phoenix when we first arrived here, this place actually had some really good stuff. We were only there for two hours (that’s usually all my back will allow) so although I walked the whole market, I didn’t go into every shop. They had everything from lawn ornaments to cactus to clothing and also a restaurant and a few snack food counters. Both Gordon and I bought a couple of things each. I saw lots of things I would have purchased if I had still been working and still had a stick house!

When I got back I fell asleep watching the History Channel’s uncovering of the Scorpion King Tomb.

Since we’re heading north from here to the Sedona area, I decided when I was out shopping for groceries yesterday to make my hamburger stew so today I put it all together and it’s now simmering on the stove. I always like to have something ready for us to eat when we get to a new place. I don’t usually feel much like cooking after riding all day and then setting up. Tomorrow’s drive shouldn’t be very long. Probably the worst part will be getting through the city.

We still have some breaking down to do today as we want to get an early start tomorrow so will be putting away the barbecue and lawn furniture and emptying the tanks today.

We’ve enjoyed this area very much but the traffic is starting to get to Gordon so it will be fun to move on and see some different things. I’m not looking forward to the weather change, but who knows, maybe the warmer weather will follow us north. Reports are that there will be snow in Flagstaff tomorrow but Camp Verde is not at a very high elevation so the weather should be much better. Our plans are to go to the Grand Canyon sometime this week so we’ll probably see some snow anyway!

The photos today were taken at the market.

Laundry, Groceries & Dinner Out!

Today was a busy day for me. Again Bib wasn’t interested in going out this morning so we ambushed him right off the bat and I took him down to a grassy area by one of the dumpsters. We ran about half way there just to keep him going in the right direction. Then on to my own walk.

When I got back I collected the dirty laundry and got that done and while the clothes were drying, I took a shower. One of the showers is right next to the laundry room so I was able to ‘multitask’.

After putting the clothes away back at the RV, I had lunch and got ready to go out to get groceries. I wound up stopping at an Albertson’s because I hadn’t been able to get a seasoned salt at WalMart last time that didn’t have either black pepper or something that Gordon is allergic to in it. Then I stopped at Dollar Tree to get something to put some of my junk in and on to WalMart on E. Southern. After returning to the RV and putting away groceries I lay down for a while to rest my back, read my book and then had a brief nap and watched some TV.

Tonight we went out to a place that was recommended in one of the park newsletters. It’s called Villa del Sol on Country Club Drive and was supposed to be a quaint and charming Mexican restaurant. As it turned out, we were the only customers in the place other than people coming in for take out. It was located in a small strip mall and the ambience left a lot to be desired but I didn’t have to cook, that’s the good thing. The food was okay and that’s about all I can say about it.

The photos are of Gordon and I at the restaurant.

More Photography!

Today dawned bright and sunny again. Bib has decided he doesn’t like going to the doggie park because of the construction noise, I guess so it took forever to get him to go outside this morning so I went for my walk first then eventually Gordon and I ambushed him and took him outside. Lucky for Bib we’re only here for another three days. Our next site, I think, will be more rural.

After computer games and watching TV, I decided that since it’s going to be much cooler where we’re going I shouldn’t be wasting a nice sunny day so went outside with my book for a couple of hours.

At about 3:30 p.m. Gordon came out and said he was going out shooting photos so I decided to go with him so got the dog fed and loaded in the truck and we headed toward Saguaro Lake taking some photos along the way of the Bulldog Cliffs and Salt River. There aren’t many places to pull over around Saguaro Lake but it was nice to look at. We also stopped and walked a bit on the Great Western Trail.

The Great Western Trail is a 3000 mile shared-use backcountry route from Canada to Mexico. Arizona’s 800 mile portion of the trail uses back roads that traverse rugged and beautiful country with many points of discovery along the way.

Then back home for dinner and TV and to get my blog done before Lost comes on!

The photo today is of a couple of Saguaro Cactus at sunset.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We don’t do anything special for Valentine’s Day. It’s just another day to us. We’re happy to be doing what we want to do and being together.

We had a bit of cloud today but it still managed a respectable 79F so after lolling around most of the morning I sat outside and read for a bit but feeling a bit under the weather, came in and rested inside so not much to report today!

The photo today is of a cactus in the park decorated for Valentine's Day.

Shopping!

Palm Tree Gets Mooned

Another slow start today but I had decided yesterday that I was going to go to the Superstition Springs Mall today so I headed out around 11:00 a.m. It’s only a few blocks away. It looked like a really large mall but once I was inside it wasn’t that big even though it does have lots of anchor stores-Sears, Penney, Robinson-May, Dillards and Borders is just being added as well as a large theater complex. I did come home with one item but I can’t say what it was as it’s a gift for someone. Other than that I had a nice free chair massage at GNC which revitalized me so my back wasn’t nearly so sore when I got home today. Usually all that walking on a hard surface is a killer for the low back. I also had a peaceful lunch in the food court.

Gordon and I had talked about finding a different way to go north out of Mesa rather than using the route we came in on so today we headed out around 2:30 p.m. to take the new 202 which is a new loop road that is partially built. They are actually building the south-east portion right behind the park where we are staying. It looked like 202 joined with I-17 but in fact it ends at I-10 and takes you through a very busy part of the city so back to the drawing board there. We did however come back on another loop road – 101 and I think this is the road we’ll take north to I-17. Traffic was very busy today for mid-afternoon on a Monday. Couldn’t believe it and it didn’t appear to be all snowbirds as most of the license plates were Arizona. Our question is always – doesn’t anyone work anymore?

This area has some very pretty artistic walls that border the freeways. Some are the red adobe and others are gray and beige but nearly all of them have some design, either an Aztec type or some type of animals, Indians, cactus or lizards usually with some sort of inlay. It makes our boring freeway walls look just that…boring….I’m going to try to get a photo. Maybe I’ll be able to take some on the way out on Saturday. Hopefully it won’t be so busy.

When we got back I took my walk around the park then came back to find that I had an email from the park at Camp Verde called Distant Drums. I had sent an email this morning to see if they could accommodate us for next week and they replied in the affirmative so I’ve just emailed them back to say that we’ll be there. So on Saturday morning we’ll be heading north to Camp Verde which is about 20 miles south of Sedona. There’s not much in the way of RV parks in Sedona and the one that is there is VERY expensive.

Another TV and internet/computer game evening.

A Really Really Lazy Day!

Finch on our feeder

After our trip yesterday, I was tired today so called this my lazy day. After walks and breakfast, I sat outside and read for a while. While I was out there I returned a phone call to my younger sister, Margie and got to talk to her and my niece, Danica. It was sunny and cold -21C in Ottawa compared to our 80F and sunny here in Mesa.

After reading for a while, it was getting hot in the sun and I don’t like to sit in the sun long. Our site gets a lot of sun and even with the awning up it doesn’t help much so I came inside and had a nap and read some more.

I just got back from my late afternoon walk. Gordon has gone out to take photos of the moon which is rising before sunset so thought I would take this opportunity before dinner to get my blog updated.

I think the high point of today will be my phone call with my sister and my favorite TV night!

Our Saturday in Arizona

Our day pales in comparison to Danica’s news above.

Today we decided to see some more of the country. We have mentioned that we’ve gone to Tortilla Flat a couple of times and that the road beyond SR88 becomes a one lane gravel road however it does continue onward and joins up with SR188 out of Globe, AZ at the Roosevelt Dam. So today we decided to see what the other end of SR88 looks like.

Hwy 60 which is a freeway going through Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa becomes a four lane road and then a two lane road just outside of the city. The Renaissance Festival which takes places yearly here just started today so the traffic wasn’t that great but we got through it and on our merry way. We drove east on Hwy 60 through a few small towns.

We reached Globe, AZ around 11:00 a.m. and visited the Tourist Information Centre. These places are always a wealth of information. There was a lady at this one who gave us all sorts of information about the three copper mines which also mine turquoise and how only one is now in operation. She recommended visiting rebuilt Indian Ruins at Globe called Besh Ba Gowah. I didn’t go into the ruins but Gordon did and he will be posting photos on pbase at www.pbase.com/merriwolf. I did take some photos from outside the gates.

After that we continued north on Hwy 188 to Indian Cliff Dwellings. Again Gordon climbed ½ mile straight up to the dwellings and I stayed with Bib. My back doesn’t like these kinds of climbs. I prefer my walks around the RV park. Then we drove to Roosevelt Dam which is at the north end of Hwy 88 or Apache Trail. They have a beautiful bridge there called the Roosevelt Lake Bridge which is pictured above as well as Roosevelt Dam also pictured above.

Then we headed back to the park arriving home around 4:20 p.m., had dinner and I just returned from my walk around the park. Now it’s an evening of Law & Order!

Danica Wins!

Last week I got an email from my sister telling me that her daughter, my niece won a $500.00 scholarship so I got an email from that niece today telling me that she had gotten her picture taken accepting the cheque and referring me to a website so I have downloaded the information and picture for my blog.

Danica, we are so proud of you!

Both our niece and nephew are doing so well. Must be thanks to their upbringing so congratulations Margie and John, you’re doing a great job!

Here’s the writeup from the website. The photo is above.

PIERRE POILIEVRE PRESENTS SCHOLARSHIP TO DANICA DE JONG
February 9, 2006 - Pierre Poilievre today presented the Youth Scholarship for Crime-Fighting contest winner with a $500.00 scholarship sponsored by Scotiabank. Last August when Poilievre was working as an assistant to a police officer to learn more about crime fighting and community safety, he announced a scholarship contest for the student who submits the best community safety idea to his website. Poilievre, the police officer judges and Scotiabank are pleased to present Danica DeJong as the winner.

A Much Nicer Day!

Today dawned bright and sunny but only 47F when I got up. Gordon had gotten up and headed out before sunrise for photography so Bib and I got our walks over with as well as breakfast and then I did some interneting and TV watching until he returned at around 11:00 a.m.

He had gone back to Tortilla Flat and beyond but 5 miles past Tortilla Flat the paved road ends and about two miles past that goes down to one lane so he didn’t go any further. One lane mountain roads are reminiscent of going to see the elk in the mountains near Waynesville, NC. Not fun especially in a one ton truck!

I had a fast lunch and then headed out to get some groceries. Almost out of orange juice again! I stopped at the Goodwill Store to see what they had. Sometimes they have great bargains but this one had junk, then on to the 99¢ store. Picked up a few groceries there and then on to WalMart. I had a pair of jogging pants to exchange or return and I wound up returning them. I got my groceries and then headed back to the RV arriving around 3:00 p.m. Traffic was really heavy on Southern Ave. outside the RV Park. Had to wait for a long time before some nice person in a truck stopped to let me turn left.

My back was not in good shape when I got back so I lay down for a while and it’s much better now.

Gordon went back out for sunset and I decided to stay here and relax some more.

Temperature today got to about 75F, just beautiful.

TV and internet on the agenda for tonight.

Photos today are someone’s idea of decorating for Valentine’s Day and sunrise on the cactus. You can see the outside edges reflecting the sun.

Not much going on today!

Wow! When I got up this morning at 7:20 a.m. it was 67F but cloudy! There was a bit of a breeze blowing so Bib and I headed out to the doggie walk area. It is near a construction site and with all the noise of booms lowering etc. Bib, my wimpie little dog gets scared so we had to come back and go down the street to a grassy area near one of the dumpsters. All comes with dog ownership! I went for my walk after that and came back and got ready for Gordon and I to take the truck in for its 78,000 km check. That only took about an hour so since we had taken the freeway to get there, we took the scenic road back along Baseline (yes, there is a Baseline Road here too). Lots of shopping and office areas along Baseline but hadn’t been in that area before so since we were there anyway…….

Other than that, I played some word games on the computer this afternoon. I’ve downloaded Scrabble and Flip Words, both good word games.

It’s been cloudy all day today and the temperature reached about 77F late this afternoon. The wind picked up for an hour or so around 3:00 p.m. so I decided to take my afternoon walk early in case it got worse or blew in rain. I always take my camera and today I was looking at someone’s grapefruit tree when the owner opened the window of his park model and told me to pick some grapefruit for myself. He and his wife are on cholesterol drugs so they can’t eat grapefruit. So I picked two and brought them home. They are huge!

It’s been 114 days here without rain and there was none in the forecast, but you never know! It’s so dry here that you can see rainclouds but the rain never hits the ground. Amazing!

When Gordon and I got back to the RV this morning, he didn’t have a picture of the day for his pbase photos so we walked around the park a bit and he took a few photos. His photo gallery can be found at http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf.

The photos for today are of a red rose, one of many on a beautiful rose bush and an orange tree.

Tortilla Flat

Today we dropped Bib at Smoochie Poochie, the dog groomer for 9:00 a.m. He wasn’t impressed and neither were we but they seemed to have lots of clientele. There were three lady groomers in what looked like a small red barn (a sort of shed). I gather from when we picked him up that he was not a good boy. The one groomer commented “he really doesn’t like to be groomed, does he”. Anyway he’s trying to make up by being cute and rolling around on the couch. One of today’s photos is of Bib after we got home from the groomers.

Anyway, while Bib was at the doggie spa, we again headed north on the Apache Trail, our destination being Tortilla Flat. We hadn’t taken any photos of the small town (population-6) when we were there last week as there were too many vehicles in front of the buildings. We got there early enough today so there weren’t so many. Another of today’s photos is of the restaurant/gift shop where we each had a $2.00 cup of coffee. It must have been the ambiance! The restaurant is kind of neat. People from all over the world have been there and the waitress will put a dollar bill (or whatever you want to give her) up on the wall. Consequently, the walls are covered in money! They claim not to know how much is on the walls but now you need a ladder to get to an empty spot. We took lots of photos of the town and Canyon Lake and the area. Another photo for today is of Canyon Lake and the mountains behind it. The other photo is self explanatory.

History of Tortilla Flat

Prior to 1906, this location was a welcome stop for travelers on the Yavapai Trail which connected Tonto Basin with the Salt River Valley. In 1906 the trail, now known as the Apache Trail, was completed as a freight road for the construction of Roosevelt Dam. Tortilla Flat became an important water and supply stop on this road. The Apache Trail is now Arizona State Route 88, but Tortilla Flat remains a welcome stop.

On our return to the RV after picking up the dog, I decided to get laundry out of the way. I’ve been putting it off far too long so that’s done.

We’ve also been trying to decide today if we wanted to follow through on our plan to go to Tucson on Saturday, to head north to the Sedona area or stay in this area. We decided to stay where we are for another week as we still have things to see in this area and maybe by then Sedona will have warmed up a bit more.

It was another bright sunny day here – about 85F at the high point. It also got to be 90F inside the RV but we haven’t turned on the air conditioning since we’ve been here. Dry heat is so much easier to take than humidity. I’m sure I’ll remember the dry heat next year when we’re dripping from the humidity in Florida.

A Very Pretty Sunset!

This morning Gordon left before sunrise again to do his photography. Since Bib had gotten up really early and Gordon let him out about 5:00 a.m. he actually let me sleep till 7:45 a.m. Then we did our walks and breakfast.

Gordon came in mid morning just as I was getting ready to vacuum. So I got the cleaning done and sat outside and read for a while. I bought a cheap AM/FM radio when I was out yesterday to help keep me entertained when I’m sitting outside and also for walking. I didn’t bother with a CD player as we don’t have that many music CDs and no room to store them so good old AM/FM will have to do!

After lunch I decided to go and find the Dollar Tree (it’s an American dollar store similar to our Dollarama in Ontario) where everything does cost $1.00. Amazing how dollar stores have turned into $1.00 and up these days. Also like Dollarama, their merchandise is usually very good. This is where I buy my bags for doggie walking. They are actually for diapers but work well for dogs too. You get 100 for $1.00 unlike the actual doggie bags which are about 40 for between $3.00 and $4.00. The quality isn’t as good in the ones I get but they work for us!

So I found Dollar Tree, got my bags and a few other items and also went to Big Lots. I picked up a few things there as well. There was a Crafters Market too and I toured that but didn’t buy anything. If I still had my craft room though………

Came back and packaged up all the meat I bought yesterday. They put meat in such large Styrofoam containers these days and with my small freezer I can pack in much more by repackaging.

As I was sitting down to write tonight’s blog, Gordon said he was going out for sunset photos so I decided to go along. We headed north to Hwy 87 looking to photograph Red Mountain from the north side. Then we drove through a very high end part of Scottsdale. Very nice houses! Almost felt like we couldn’t afford to drive through the place. Then we headed back toward Mesa on the Bush Hwy taking some photos of the sun shining on the mountains and then stopping just before coming in to Mesa and took photos of sunset, one of which is shown here. Then to Taco Bell for dinner.

When we got back at about 7:30 p.m. I went for my walk and then we settled in for a night of TV.

Off to Wally World!

This morning it was quite windy but almost 55F when I went to walk Bib so it was quite pleasant. Also on my walk this morning I got to talk to the owner of the other Titanium here. They are from Stratford, Ontario and are here till February 19th. It’s the first time I had seen someone around their RV.

Yesterday I had decided that I needed to shop for groceries today. We ran out of lots of things this morning including bananas and orange juice so off I went to Sprouts as I’ve been told that their fruit and vegetables were good. Their store is much like Rainbow Foods in Ottawa except it has a large produce section and meats as well but does have the vitamins, breads and some gluten free foods as well.

After I finished there I headed to Wally World to part with lots of $. For some reason every time I go there for groceries I come out with over $100 of stuff. Where do I put it in an RV? Who knows? I decided to drive myself today as Gordon doesn’t enjoy grocery stores and sitting in the truck today waiting for a couple of hours would have been very hot. It reached 78F today on our indoor/outdoor thermometer.

When I came back I read for a while (inside) and tried to take a nap. I was trying to rest my lower back as it gets sore when shopping these days. Decided I wasn’t tired so made potato salad for dinner tonight and then we went to take our showers.

I need to go back to the recreation centre to their library and turn in three books and get some new ones. I love the lending libraries at RV parks. Some of them are huge. The one here is quite large but I think the largest one was in Surrey, BC.

Not much new and exciting today!

The photo today is of some of the palm trees in the park. These are very tall.

A Cactus Forest

This morning started as usual with walking and breakfast. I was happy to see it was 51F this morning, unusually warm. In the morning the birds are singing and it sounds like spring in Ontario.

We had planned to drive to Saguaro Lake but it was cloudy so since I was still tired I went back to bed and read for a while and then back to sleep. I woke up shortly after noon and felt lots better.

It was looking a bit sunnier so we decided to drive up to Saguaro Lake anyway. On the way we stopped at Michaels and I bought the wood plaque for our names to hang on the front of the RV when we’re in a park. When it’s done, I’ll take a picture of it but don’t expect it any time soon.

We headed north on Power Rd which turned into the Bush Hwy and into the Tonto National Forest. There are some very pretty mountains and lots of cactus of all kinds. The picture today is a forest of chainfruit cholla cactus that we saw. There are a number of recreation areas along the Bush Hwy but all of them require a $4.00 fee. Since we’re only going to take a few photos and move on, we’re not interested in paying $4.00 to do so. It would be different if we were spending the day of part of the day there so we left. We saw Saguaro Lake but there wasn’t really much place to take photos of it and besides the light wasn’t right so Gordon has now headed out (5:30 p.m.) for sunset to take some photos. I decided to stay behind and get dinner ready. I expect we’ll be going back up there this week.

We’ve noticed in the west that people use cattle guards often in place of fences. For those of you who have never traveled to the great west, cattle guards are horizontal steel rails placed at fence openings on highways to prevent cattle from crossing. For some reason the bovines will not step on the guards, probably because they fear getting their feet caught between the rails. We’ve seen these in British Columbia, Arizona and last year in Texas. I found it quite interesting that these things would keep cattle where you want them.

On our way back to Mesa a young coyote crossed the road in front of us with a small animal in his mouth. That’s only the second one we’ve seen, the other one being from our picture window over the fence at Catalina Spa at Desert Hot Springs. I would have thought we’d see them on BLM land at Brenda.

When we got back I went for my late afternoon walk again and took a few more photos around the park. There’s a bush of light pink roses in front of someone’s park model that are very pretty but people were outside so I didn’t photograph it. There are so many flowers out here, it’s just so beautiful!

I don’t expect much to happen for the rest of the day other than Desperate Housewives and Gray’s Anatomy!

Canada Day in Mesa, Arizona

Today after my morning walk and breakfast, I decided to go to the pool and spa. Gordon was busy interneting so I walked up to the pool and was just going through the gate when my sister, Betty called from Toronto. She said it was cloudy there but not cold but they are looking forward to their trip to Spain which is coming up shortly. We had a nice chat and then I sat by the pool for a couple of hours. I spent some time in the spa and then in the pool returning in time for lunch. While I ate lunch I sat outside in my lawnchair and read. It reached 83F today but very pleasant with no humidity!

Mid-afternoon we went for our showers to be ready for the potluck at 5 p.m. Canada Day is a yearly event here and apparently at most parks in the area. Each year it is hosted by residents from a different province and this year was hosted by Manitoba. We had a great meal. I’m still stuffed! They handed out information pamphlets about Manitoba and then we had a quiz. It so happened we had a retired teacher from Bell High School in Ottawa at our table so although Gordon and I completed the quiz for the table, Chad marked it and we got 100%. At our table was the couple from Ottawa, Aggie & Chad and Ken and Joyce from Regina. These potlucks are only for Canadians in the park. Apparently each state also has a potluck between now and the end of March.

When we got home I decided to take the garbage out and go for a walk. I didn’t walk nearly as far as I usually do in the late afternoon but it was nice walking in the evening.

After returning to the RV I checked my email and I had two emails from my nephew, Nicholas, one sending the promised pictures of his paramedic team and the baby they delivered which is my picture for today! My handsome nephew is the farthest on the right. Thanks for the photos Nick and it was great to hear from you!

Hot and Sunny!

This morning started as usual, Gordon left before sunrise to get photos, I walked the dog, walked me, and had breakfast. I had decided yesterday I wanted to go to the SwapMeet over in Phoenix. I had picked up a card at the tourist information place at the RV office giving us free admission. Sure glad we didn’t have to pay to get in! Mostly tacky junk, probably worse than Quartzsite. We saw the place (they claim it’s 3 acres indoors) in an hour and then headed back. I wanted to go to Michaels to get some wood to start our plaque but couldn’t find it on the way back. I checked on line when we got home and now I know where it is.

This afternoon I again sat outside. It was quite hot in the sun today and it probably got to 78F. Very nice day! The only difference was I didn’t have a nap!

When I came in I asked Gordon if he wanted to go to the tourist information place over on Apache Trail so we loaded the dog and ourselves in the truck and headed over there. It wasn’t much either so we continued on to the overlook that goes to Weavers Needle. I only had sandals on so I stayed with Bib. Also it was too hot to leave Bib in a closed up truck so Gordon walked the mile or so to take photos of the Needle.

Then back home and I again went for a long walk around the park. I can see a difference in myself when I do these walks twice a day. Other than my back, I feel better.

Gordon is now barbecuing some burgers for dinner. Tonight is one of my favorite TV nights – Ghost Whisperer and Close to Home.

Photos today are of a flowering cactus and a bottle brush tree.

Sunny and Warm!

This morning after walking Bib, I went for another long walk around the park by myself, then came back to do some internet and watched some TV before heading out for our showers at the park. I like to use the park showers if they are clean, less cleaning for me although when we do use them, Gordon is the one that uses the squeegee to wipe down the walls.

This afternoon I had my dentist appointment. Very nice people, lots of forms to fill out. I even had to have an x-ray as the dentist wanted to be sure that there was no fracture. Apparently an old filling has chipped and in his opinion the tooth needs a crown. He said he thought it could wait until I get home but no guarantees so I’ve decided to take my chances and wait as I don’t really want a crown. I’m hoping my dentist in Ottawa can remove the old filling and just put in a new one. Since I saw the ad in the magazine they have here at the RV park which had a coupon for free examination and free x-rays – NO CHARGE! I had visions of hundreds of dollars.

We stopped at a grocery on the way back so I could get some beans to make my Calico Bean recipe for the potluck on Saturday. It’s better made ahead of time so I’ll do it tonight.

I sat outside and read for a while when we came back, then fed & walked Bib and then Gordon and I went for a walk around the park. He wanted some bird photos. He did get a couple of shots but they weren’t close enough for me to photograph with my little camera.

It was another beautiful sunny day and it reached about 75F. It also hasn’t been getting so cold at night and was 47F when I got up this morning. Lots better than 32F that we had some mornings in Quarzsite!

Nothing else happening around here today!

Photos are of some flowering trees around the park.

Not Much Happening Today!

Today's photos-top to bottom:
Bird on a cactus
Bunny seen on my walk this afternoon
Sky view from my lawnchair

Gordon got up before sunrise and headed out to take photos. Bib and I went for our usual walk and after I brought him home I went for a real walk. I think I’ve covered most of the park by now. It’s interesting to see where people are from either from their license plate or plaque that they have hung somewhere. I haven’t seen anyone else here from Ontario but I have seen people from Manitoba, B.C. and Alberta. It will be interesting to see how many people are Canadian that turn up for the Canada Day potluck on Saturday.

I made an appointment for next week for Bib to get a haircut at Smoochie Poochie and made myself a dentist appointment for tomorrow. I chipped a front tooth before Christmas but we haven’t been in one place long enough or in an area that has dentists that can take you right away so I was lucky to find this dental office and close by. Let’s hope it’s a minor repair at least until I get home.

I had planned to go to the Mall but decided I was too lazy. There’s a SwapMeet this weekend that I’d like to attend and I think I’ll check that out first.

I’ve also been thinking about making a plaque for us with our names and where we’re from. I had hoped to find someone who would make one at Quartzsite but the only one that looked like it might make signs to order was never open when they were there. So, I thought I could go to Michael’s and get the wood (after all the wood I practically gave away for crafting when we sold the house), I have my paints. We have the expertise! I even have a wood burning tool if I decide to go that way rather than paint. Anyway it’s still in the planning.

Most of the morning I did interneting and watched TV. This afternoon I sat outside in the sun for a while where it was really hot although only about 70F and then moved to the shade where it was quite cool. I took another walk around the park and back to internet.

Today Started Out As Ho Hum!

Today started out very slowly. I was up early to walk the dog but still felt tired so after my walk around the park and breakfast, I lay down on the couch and read for a while and fell asleep. I got up and went to sit outside but it was a bit cool so I took my blanket and sat out and read and napped again.

This afternoon was partly cloudy and a bit windy and not a good day for sitting outside so we decided to go “scouting” for pictures. We wound up driving north on Apache Trail to a little bit past Tortilla Flat about 20 miles away. We saw some very pretty sites and took lots of photos. Mine are posted at: http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smerrikin/album?.dir=9ae2 . Some of them haven’t been named yet as I haven’t found out the name of the mountains. We got back about 5:30 p.m. in time for a shower, walk the dog and make dinner.

I got an email today telling me that we have been named RVers of the month for February by RV Resources. Here’s the link: http://www.rvresources.com/links/rv_travelogues.php

RV Resources is an internet directory specializing in information on RV's. It has links to dealers, manufacturers, suppliers, rentals, service, insurance etc. The site is focused on providing the best information about RV's available on the internet.

Tonight is internet and TV!

Today’s photo is of Bib and I with Canyon Lake as the backdrop taken by my husband, Gordon.

Beautiful Day in Mesa!

When we arrived on Saturday we were to go to the office on Monday at 8:30 a.m. to get registered. So we showed up but were told that the office computers had locked up and to come back later.

Since groceries were the next on the list and Gordon wanted to do some more scouting for photos, we went to the WalMart on Apache Trail where he dropped me off. I got groceries, finally got my watch band resized and got my blood pressure reading to keep my doctor happy.

When Gordon got back from his scouting trip, we had coffee at the Subway at WalMart, then came back and unloaded the truck.

After putting groceries away, we headed back to the office but they were closed for lunch so we hung around, finally got registered and paid. While I was waiting I noticed they are having a “Canada Day” potluck on February 4th so I signed us up. More food!

It was such a bright, sunny and warm day when we got back to the RV, I put together my new folding table that I bought at WalMart to go with our outside chairs, sat outside and read and yes, again took a short nap. I spent about 1 ½ hours in the partial sun. Gordon had put the awning out but it didn’t keep all the sun off me so I lathered up with sun block. Then I took a long walk around the park looking for a photo to take to put on my blog. So, today’s photo is of the swimming pool and spa. I may spend some time there tomorrow as it’s supposed to be another beautiful day and even warmer than today.

We had a treat for dinner tonight. Gordon got out the BBQ and cooked chicken breasts. It’s been a long time since the BBQ has been out as by the time we eat dinner it’s usually too dark. They were yummy!

Now it’s back to the internet and TV for this evening.

Saturday Night and Sunday

When I uploaded my blog yesterday I thought that other than dinner and TV we were finished for the day but Gordon got his second wind and we headed east to see some of the sights. He was particularly interested in photographing the Superstition Mountains so we headed in that direction and wound up at the Lost Dutchman State Park where we took a few photos then to an “authentic” reproduction gold miner’s town called Goldfield Ghost Town which might have been authentic except for the phone booths, signs for jeep sightseeing trips and prices for the sightseeing trips that you would have been able to buy a farm for back in the 1800’s. Anyway, when we left I told Gordon that I didn’t have anything ready for dinner so he suggested we find a Taco Bell. I checked the internet before we left and found two on Apache Trail which was the road we were taking over to the mountains. So on our way back, we stopped there for dinner and watched the beautiful sunset. I did take a picture but with all the wires and signs, it isn’t much of a sunset photo.

This morning we were slow moving. After getting showers and sitting outside to read for a short time, it was noon! This afternoon, I again took my book outside and read a bit and I will admit had a short nap in the sun. It was very nice in the sun with a gentle breeze. Then I came in and asked Gordon if he wanted to drive over to the nearest WalMart SuperCenter so I could see where it is. I usually don’t mind driving as long as I know where I’m going. The traffic is bad getting out of the park and you do have to make a left turn on a 4 lane road. That will probably be the worst part. We found the WalMart and also a large shopping mall that I just might have to check out. If my back was the way it was five years ago I would walk to the mall, walk around and walk home but about two hours walking is all it can take these days and then it’s tightened up for a few days.

After we located WalMart, Gordon asked me where I wanted to go and I said I didn’t care so we headed for downtown Phoenix to see what it looks like. It’s about 20 miles away but we found it. Lots going on there, also lots of construction so Gordon took a few photos and then we headed south on I-10. I-10 is quite puzzling here and I don’t really know how to explain it but we had to double back and then came in on the new 202 Loop which isn’t finished so we took the last exit and came north to the park from there. We saw a lot more of the area anyway.

So tonight it’s hamburgers for dinner and my favourite shows – Desperate Housewives and Gray’s Anatomy.

Today’s photo is me at the “authentic reproduction” jail. I’ve posted a couple of other photos on my yahoo photos website at: http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smerrikin/my_photos

For our original website go to: http://web.newsguy.com/gordonw/News/News.html Links to both our photo websites can be found here as well.

From Countrified to Citified

Today we packed up and hit the road about 9:55 a.m. heading for Phoenix. We had reservations at the SilverRidge RV Resort in Mesa which is a very large suburb of Phoenix and I’m told is the third largest city in Arizona. We arrived after getting through Saturday Phoenix traffic at about 12:30 p.m. and were set up by about 2:00 p.m. There was some hassle with our check in. We were guided to two sites by the little man at the front booth and both were taken (by seasonal dwellers) so don’t know where he’s getting his information but we finally ended up on site 630 which is very close to the doggie walk area.

The doggie walk area is through a gate and into a back street near where the city keeps their vehicles so it’s not a place where you can let the dog run. Our site is nice, quite large but not as large as Black Rock, also no picnic table again but we do have two concrete slabs, one for our patio and one to park the truck. The nice thing about this park is that the streets are paved so hopefully I’ll get out and get some exercise.

When we left Brenda it was mostly cloudy although the sun was bright when it first came up this morning. As we continued east it became more sunny and here in Mesa it is very sunny with a slight breeze. I tried sitting outside for a while but only got one chapter read. I need to go and check out the facilities. I always like to see if the showers and washrooms are clean so I know if I’m going to use their showers or ours. I’d rather use theirs, Gordon would rather use ours.

As the office isn’t open till Monday, we haven’t checked in yet so don’t have a map of the park so will have to wing it. We do have better cable here than we had in Brenda, I should say we have more stations.

It's quite a difference going from Brenda, in the country where you're surrounded by BLM land to Mesa, in the city where you're surrounded by freeways and shopping malls but we're here for two weeks!

Looks like 72F today for a high.

The photo today is Gordon sitting outside our RV at our new location.

We’re Headin’ On Out

Today I was up earlier than usual so got some photos of the sunrise from the farthest east part of the park. Bib and I walked in the wash that goes under the Hwy 60 bridge just east of here. Also discovered a 9 hole mini put golf course in the desert on the Black Rock RV Village property that I didn’t know about. It doesn’t appear to be advertised the way the 18 hole golf course is.

After getting my act together I decided since we are leaving the area tomorrow, I would get the laundry done as I’ll have to get groceries when we get to our next stop and didn’t want to have to do two things. That took most of the morning as there were only three washers and one was being used and three dryers and one was out of order and one was being used. With that out of the way, I got back just in time for lunch.

It was a nice sunshiny day so Bib and I took another short walk, then I dropped him off and went for a longer walk by myself with my camera. Didn’t see anything worth photographing. Came back and sat in my chair outside for a while with my fleece jacket on but even that didn’t keep me warm enough. The sun was warm but there was quite a cool breeze. Must be coming from Canada! I came back into the RV with cold hands so decided to read and of course, had another nap.

All in all, not a stressful day!

Now it’s time to find something for dinner and another usual TV and internet night.

Tomorrow we’re headed for SilverRidge RV Resort in Mesa, AZ where we’ve booked two weeks, buy one get one free! I like those kind of deals. Just hope the park is decent. I usually don’t like booking that much time sight unseen!

Today’s photo is of the morning sunrise.

Thursday's here again!

Today, as usual I walked the dog first thing. I don’t usually mention it because it occurs daily usually between 7:15 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. After feeding him and me, I usually do some internet surfing. Gordon is usually either out taking sunrise shots or sitting in his chair already on the internet since he got up usually somewhere between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.

Today we decided to head west toward Blythe, CA as we hadn’t gone far in that direction. We saw the Colorado River again and that’s about all. Not much of note going west. On the way back I took some photos of the sea RVs on BLM land and this is my photo for today. I wanted to take one from a distance so you could see the expanse but my camera isn’t equipped for wide angle or distance.

After we got back and had lunch, it seemed cool outside so I lay down on the couch to read and of course, fell asleep for a while. I then got up and headed for the campground shower and realized it had gotten nice and warm so when I got back from my shower I sat outside and read and let my hair dry naturally.

Then Bib and I went for another short walk around the park. I will miss this park in some ways. It’s the first park we’ve had in a long time where the sites are so huge! You actually feel like you have some space to yourself rather than being so close to your neighbor you’re sitting on his septic system. It’s also fairly quiet here and a short walk to the BLM area making you feel like you’re in the country, which you are. The price is pretty good - $125/wk less Good Sam Discount. The minuses for this location are lack of good grocery stores, all the roads in the park are gravel and dusty.

Since we’re leaving on Saturday for points east, we have to make some arrangements for a new park……..

Now I’m thinking about what to have for dinner and am leaning toward sandwich steaks and rice so I’d better get to it, then another night of TV and internet. The exciting life of the retired!

An Uneventful Wednesday

A slow start this morning. Gordon went out before sunrise and got the truck filled with diesel before the rush in Quartzsite. There are no gas stations in Brenda. Then he went south on SR95 to see if there were any photos to take. Most of the scenery there is the same as on the BLM land that is right next to us.

I decided that I needed to try out our new beater brush before the RV Show ends in case there is a problem with it. All in all, I’m pretty happy with it. It seemed to do a pretty good job on the rug, not as good as the vacuum cleaner I had when I had the stick house but it’s better than the brush we had for the rug.

After that we went for a walk on the BLM land and I took some photos of the 18 hole desert golf course. Pictured here is the first hole. There is no putting green as there is no green so you chip up onto the area around the flag. Must be difficult playing with all the scrub around. I think you’d be forever looking for balls but every morning the guys are out there early playing. We also saw some guys with model airplanes but they weren’t flying when we were out there. I also walked over to the rec hall area where the lady was selling oranges and grapefruit on Saturday. She was to be here again today and indeed she was so I bought four more oranges and she threw in an extra orange for $1.00. She says she'll be back on Saturday so I'll probably buy some more oranges and possibly some grapefruit before we head out to wherever our next location might be.

After lunch I tried sitting outside but there was a bit of cloud cover so it wasn’t all that warm even with a sweater on so I came in and started to read and fell asleep on the couch. Bib woke me up at 4:00 p.m. for his dinner.

After more interneting, I’m trying to get caught up with fulltimers Howard & Linda’s website: http://www.mytripjournal.com/rv-dreams. I’m starting January 2006 so I’m almost caught up. This will be a daily site visit for me along with Susan & Rick who are from Ontario : http://www.coulsoncastle.ca/index.php. Susan & Rick were the ones that invited us to stay at Catalina Spa at Desert Hot Springs in December for the 5 days for $25.00.

Bib and I went for another walk this afternoon to the east end of the park. I had never been there before and found the Laundry Room #3 has lots of washers & dryers. I may do another laundry before we leave here on Saturday.

At home in Ontario and most other places other than in the desert when you cross a bridge on a highway, you usually see a river or lake. In the desert when you cross a bridge, you see a wash. It’s a gravel ditch which takes the flash flood waters away when they have heavy rains. There are all kinds of them and you see them often when traveling on the roadways. They do have some irrigation canals but other than that you don’t see much in the way of water. Also pictured is the wash behind Laundry Room #3 which goes under Hwy 60 which is the highway where the campground is located.

The exception around here to this is the Colorado River which divides California from Arizona. It is a well used river for irrigation and hydroelectric purposes.

Also pictured are my duck boots. Note how dusty they are. Walking in the BLM and even on the crushed gravel streets of the campground is very dusty! Just wanted to mention the names of the streets here. We are on Los Coyote. Other street names are Which Way and Easy Street among others. Cute names!

Tonight again is TV and internet, our usual fare!

Happy Birthday Garth!

Just wanted to acknowledge our brother-in-law’s birthday today, while he’s in the ice and snow, we’re in the sun!

Today we headed back into Quartzsite. I decided I wanted to get a hummingbird feeder as in the last few places we’ve been there have been lots of these little creatures flying around. I purchased one, now just have to figure out how to get it to work with a suction cup on the window and also find some nectar or make my own. I’m also looking for beads for my niece. When I talked to her this weekend, she said she didn’t have any green beads. The ones I looked at today didn’t do anything for me and most of them need to be restrung and a catch put on them. I don’t want to do that as I’ve gotten rid of all my beading supplies so I’ll have to keep looking.

On our way back, we stopped at a little place in Brenda called Kathy’s Kitchen. It’s little more than an aluminum shed with patio tables and chairs. The front of the shed/garage is open so some tables are outside and the kitchen is just to the side of it in a small trailer structure. The breakfast was excellent and has agreed with my husband. For those of you that don’t know him, he has Celiac disease and can’t tolerate anything with gluten so if there is any cross contamination it will cause a reaction like cooking pancakes on the same grille with bacon and eggs.

Today’s photo is of Gordon and I having breakfast at Kathy’s Kitchen.

This afternoon I sat in my chair and read and napped for about 1 ½ hours. It was a beautiful day in the sun and got up to about 75F. The breeze came up this afternoon and although it’s not bad, the sand is masking most of the mountains around. I took a walk with Bib and Gordon to see what sunset might be like with the blowing sand and didn’t look like it would be much so Bib and I came back to the RV. I also updated our expenses, hadn’t done that since the end of December. December was a wash but January seems to be doing okay. We’re still under $2000.00 for this month.

I don’t have much to comment on yesterday's Canadian Federal Election. The Conservatives got in with a minority government. Maybe it’s time to give them a chance, the Liberals have been in power for a long time!

Another quiet night of TV and probably spending some time on the internet.

London Bridge Isn't Falling Down!

But it is under construction. Looks like they are about to repave it.

We left the campground this morning at about 9:15 a.m. and made one stop at the Parker Dam on our way to Lake Havasu City. Lake Havasu City is home to the real London Bridge which was purchased from England in 1968, disassembled in London and reassembled in Lake Havasu. The bridge was reassembled on dry land and the Bridgewater Channel was dug out from beneath the bridge causing the peninsula to become an island. There is a lot more to the history of the move of the bridge but I won’t bore you with further details.

Other than London Bridge, there’s not much more to Lake Havasu however I did go grocery shopping as Quartzsite is very busy and I’m told expensive for groceries. We also went to Home Depot and got a very tiny shop vac. We need something to be able to keep the truck clean and thought a shop vac might come in handy. It’s very cute but has lots of suction!

On our way home we stopped at all the scenic lookouts to take photos and arrived home around 6:00 p.m. in time to get dinner ready.

So now we are settled down to a night of interneting and TV watching.

The photo today is of me at London Bridge. I have on a T-shirt, a cardigan, my jean jacket as well as my fleece jacket. It’s not that it was that cold, but very windy. It was about 59F at the time the photo was taken.

We Attend the RV Show

Today we got up thinking that we might go to Lake Havasu City but decided to put it off for another day. Instead we thought we’d go to the RV Show in Quartzsite. The traffic in Quartzsite has been horrendous and with the RV Show starting yesterday we expected it would be much worse.

When we were in the office signing up for another week I noticed that they had a sign up sheet for a shuttle to the RV Show for free. We hadn’t signed up for today so at about 9:45 a.m. we headed up to the office to see if we could get on the 10:00 a.m. shuttle. We were in luck and we left for Quartzsite in the shuttle at about 10:15 a.m. Indeed the traffic was not something we wanted to drive in let alone trying to find parking so we were very happy to have the shuttle take us there and drop us off.

We spent about 2 ½ hours there. There is a huge tent with all kinds of exhibitors from Passport America to clothing. Of note was Armand from 3i Communications was not there. His booth was empty but the company name was on the booth. We bought our internet satellite system from him when we were in Lindsay in June 2005. Guess he was too busy wiring up the buses for the Canadian Federal Election tomorrow.

Some purchases were made. Our Passport America expires at the end of February so I signed us up for another year and got my temporary card. We saved $5.00 US signing up at the show. For those of you that don't know about Passport America, it saves us 50% on campgrounds that are listed with PA. We also got some shorter bars that we use to keep things on shelves and found a beater brush for our vacuum at the Dirt Devil exhibit. I’ve been talking about going to a vacuum cleaner store to see if I could get one as the rug brush that came with the vacuum just doesn’t ‘cut it’. Ever heard of cutting the rug or are most people that read this to young for that phrase? Anyway it means dancing which is entirely different from vacuuming (to me).

The shuttle picked us up at about 1:15 p.m. and we returned to the park where Bib was anxiously awaiting us. After doing some interneting and having a nap, Bib and I went for a walk on the BLM land next to the park where he got some sort of burr like stuff in his fur so he got a brushing tonight.

Oh, and by the way, I did get the freezer defrosted last night. It doesn't take long once you get started, it's just getting at it.

I’m starting to get comments on my blog. Cool!

That’s all for today – photo of the day is of the RV show.