End of Month Expenses and Trail Climbing

January Expenses

January expenses weren't too bad, higher than I would like but then we're in Arizona, not Texas! Since we're staying at a campground that doesn't have a weekly or monthly rate that category is high for this month. I also updated some items in the RV - new rug for the front door, the bathroom rug and toilet seat cover and some new towels. We also bought some things for the RV at the Mesa Fleamarket. Enough said on expenses. They're a fact of life no matter where you live or what you live in.

This morning was even colder than yesterday but only by 1 degree. I did my usual walk and got in a run as well.

Gordon left before sunrise to take the truck in for service. This was an expensive one so February's expenses won't be pretty! It also looks as if we're going to need front brakes. The dealership quoted $500 so we're hoping we can get a better price than that.

While he was out I washed the dishes and wiped down all the wood with an oiled duster rag. It didn't take long, just a tedious job. Things dry out quickly here in the desert, ask my skin, hair and nails!

This afternoon I started reading "Kill Me" by Stephen White. It's one of the books I bought the other day at the Half Price Bookstore. So far, it's really good!




Around 5:00 p.m. we started out to do some walking on a trail. We started out on Pass Mountain Trail that starts from the Horse Staging Area. It was too rocky. I had to watch every step.

So we went to the Wind Cave Trail and walked quite a ways on it until it started to get too rocky for me. Wind Cave Trail goes up Pass Mountain to Wind Cave. You can just about see Wind Cave in the photo above where the shadows are on the mountain.

We then drove over to Bulldog Cliffs (right) to take photos of them in the setting sun. Above is a grouping of barrel cactus that we saw on the Wind Cave Trail.

View from Wind Cave Trail


Wind Cave Trail path

This is where I stopped!

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Not Busy...Not Busy...Not Busy...

Just as a follow up to yesterday's posting, I've had requests for details on the dentist I went to. Here they are: The dentist is Angela Pelletier, DMD, Family Dentistry at Ellsworth and Brown Road in the Bashas' Shopping Center, 1145 N. Ellsworth Road, Mesa, Arizona 85207, 1-480-830-7801. Don't forget to mention my name if you happen to go to them.

The photo above was taken on our walk just before sunset. Lots of birds in this tree, there were more but I cropped the photo to make the birds larger as it was taken from quite far away. Today was bright and sunny but colder than yesterday at 37F (3C) when I got up. I went for my usual walk and walked on both trails within the park as well as on the paved road. No running this morning as my foot was still unhappy from all the pressure put on it yesterday. I read for most of the day and was on and off the internet. Gordon went out to do a trail but I decided not to go. The day was sunny and cool reaching a temperature of only 54F (12C).

Just before sunset we went for a long walk around the park. The end of another fine day at Usery Mountain!

Busy....Busy...Busy...

This morning was partly cloudy and a little cooler than it has been at 41F (5C). I went for my walk, first the 1/2 mile Buckhorn Trail where I took a photo of the Superstition Mountains this morning and a lot of doves sitting on this old cactus. Then onto the paved area where I finally managed to start running again, three bursts for the first time in about 8 weeks. Felt good!

Superstition Mountain this evening

When I got back I proceeded to get ready for my dentist appointment. I was only having my teeth cleaned however they insist on doing x-rays. I thought okay a couple of x-rays, no sweat. I don't really like all that stuff in my mouth as I have a strong gag reflex. Guess what? Eighteen, count them 18 x-rays. I've never in my life had 18 x-rays done on my mouth or anywhere else I don't think. Talk about major mind over matter. With a lot of deep breathing I managed to get through it. Then got my teeth cleaned. He was very happy with my lack of tartar and said I was really good at taking care of my teeth however my mouth needs major restorative work. After the cleaning, he and the dentist went through my mouth and showed me on computer what needed to be done and provided me with a written estimate of the most pressing things. Wow! So for anyone who has asked about going there, I can tell you they're very thorough and very good. They said to mention my name when you go in. Cool!

From there I had planned a day for myself shopping so off I went to the Superstition Springs Mall. There I managed to find my gold bathroom rug and toilet seat cover that I've been looking for. Thanks J.C. Penney Home Store! It was also on sale!

Other than that I just looked around and had an amazing lunch at Paradise Bakery there, 1/2 turkey and cranberry sandwich and a bowl of potato soup. They throw in a chocolate chip cookie with all sandwiches. Yummy!

I then proceeded next door to Ross where I picked up some gold towels. Our bath towels are plain gold but I also got two large towels to hang by the sink. I don't like small ones as they get wet too quickly and don't dry fast enough in the RV when you're using one bathroom all the time. Where are my three bathrooms I used to have!!! Anyway here's a photo of one of the bathroom towels and my new rug. Our theme in the RV is gold and burgundy. According to Titanium it's a 'rose' theme but there's no real rose anywhere that I can see. Now I'm finally color-coordinated!

As I was heading north on Power Road to go home, the sky was very dark and the sun was shining on Red Mountain. It was so pretty but with all the light standards and the fact that I was driving, no photos.

When I got home, I told Gordon so we headed out to Red Mountain and took some photos. Unfortunately the sky wasn't as dark in that area any more but it was pretty dark over our own mountain and the sun was shining on the Superstitions. Every time you look at the Superstition Mountains they look different!

The Salt River with Red Mountain in the background

We also had a fairly nice sunset!

Meeting New People!

After our rain last night I thought that we would have some pretty clouds this morning but the sky was clear and sunny although a bit colder than it has been. I walked around the perimeter of the park and as I was approaching the Buckhorn Trail I saw a coyote run through the desert behind the RVs. I wasn't able to get a photo of him as there is quite a bit of vegetation around. The people at site 37 were just coming out to take their dog for a walk and he said that one passed by when he was sitting outside last night only about 10 feet away from where he was sitting. That's the first critter that I've seen so close to the campground (other than birds) since we've been here although there are some in the park outside of the campground that Gordon has seen on his morning and evening photo sojourns.

This morning I made a stew. I like it to sit for a day before we eat it so since we were going out for dinner tonight, I decided to get that ready.

We had made arrangements to meet fellow fulltime RVers, Bob and Molly at the restaurant that we wanted to go to with JoAnn and Doug on New Year's Day. Chilero's is a fairly new restaurant in the Bashas shopping mall at the corner of Ellsworth and Brown in Mesa, not far from Usery Mountain Regional Park. Click on their name to go to their blog site.

We met Bob and Molly at 6:30 p.m., had a good dinner and had a good visit. It was great to finally meet these folks after chatting with them in the rv-dreams chatroom almost nightly for a few months. Actually Bob is usually the one in the chatroom with Molly looking over his shoulder. We had a nice evening, took a few photos, then home to wind down and get ready for another day - tomorrow is the dentist for me!

Left to right - Bob, Sandra, Gordon & Molly

A Sort of Typical Day for an RVer

I woke up to sun! But the sky wasn't clear, all kinds of interesting clouds were around. I tried to get some photos of them on my walk but I couldn't get the angle I wanted without getting RVs in the photo so I walked the trail here in the campground again and got some photos from there. Oh well! Gordon had again gone out before sunrise to shoot and came back with his lower back out of place. Looks like a trip to the chiropractor might be happening soon!

This morning I did manage to vacuum without stepping on the hose and damaging my foot further. I had to carry the hose over my shoulder to be sure that it wasn't on the floor within easy reach of my foot.

When that was done and I had lunch I started out for the Superwalmart on Southern where I had gone when we were here two years ago. I'd been to every other one in the area so thought I may as well try this one too. On the way I found the Big Lots and Dollar Tree that I had been in two years ago as well but the building that housed the crafts that I was looking for a couple of weeks ago has been torn down. It was right near the mall with the Dollar Tree.

On to SuperWalmart which I found without a problem, got most of what I needed, drove by the Silver Ridge RV Park where we stayed last time. Everything looks the same except the bridge for Loop 202 over Southern Avenue is now in place and it was under construction last time.

The sun on the Superstition Mountains at sunset


A few photos at sunset, the rv-dreams chatroom and the end of another beautiful day in the Sonoran Desert!

Around 10:00 p.m. the rain came down really heavily and knocked out the satellite so the end of my chatrooms. Tonight I was chatting in three separate chatrooms, rv-dreams.com, the Titanium chatroom and MSN Messenger with my niece, Danica.

More Rain in the Desert

I woke up this morning to rain on the roof again so I wasn't in a hurry to get up. When I did finally manage to get myself out of bed at about 8:30 a.m. the rain had stopped for a bit so I went for my walk. I wasn't back inside long when down it came again. It rained quite heavily on and off and in the afternoon the wind came up. It wasn't really windy but you could tell the wind was blowing from watching the branches of the Palo Verde tree beside the living room window.

I read, played with Yahoo Messenger on the computer and tried to figure out how to add people so that I can talk to them on Messenger. A few people were showing as being available but either they don't know what to do when I send a message, the program isn't working or they didn't want to talk to me! Rain continued on and off all afternoon.


Bulldog Cliffs

Just before dark we took a drive to see if we could see if there was any flash flooding. It was still raining. We saw a lot of water along the roads but no flooding. I took some photos of the Bulldog Cliffs in the rain and fog.

Water along the road

A wet desert

Beautiful Day in the Desert

Today was my brother-in-law, Garth's birthday. Happy Birthday Garth!

I got back to my walking this morning. We are very close to the .5 mile Buckhorn Trail now so that's where I started out this morning, then did a little walk around the park. I'm back to doing my 30 minutes again. Can't wait till I can start my short burst runs again.

Today turned out to be a beautiful day around 70F (21C). I sat outside for a while watching the birds as Gordon had put out some bird seed for them. Here's a little cactus wren that was sitting outside with me.

I needed a few grocery items so I went out to the closest Basha's to pick them up then came back and sat outside again reading my book.

Not a very interesting day but it sure was nice!

Mesa Fleamarket and Just Hangin' Out

I woke up this morning feeling less than wonderful, I think, from allergies. I don't know why some days are worse than others. My eyes were all blurry even with my eye drops that I use for allergies and I felt kind of weak. No walk this morning as the plan was to go to the Mesa Fleamarket.

Gordon was out taking photos at sunrise and had gone as far as Weaver's Needle which is north on the Apache Trail toward Torilla Flat. By the time he got home, downloaded photos and put up his Photo of the Day on his pbase site, had breakfast and dressed, we arrived at the Fleamarket around 10:30 a.m.

I took the photo on the right above of the view beyond our 'yard' and the pretty clouds just before we left for the Fleamarket. Here's a better photo of our new site that I took this morning in the sunlight also before we left. It always looks better in the sun!

Our first purchase were three new Arizona baseball caps for Gordon. He's turned into a capaholic! When he took those to the truck I went my own way but didn't find much to buy, not being in the mood. I did buy a couple of more pairs of sunglasses as I liked the ones I bought the last time. Other than that, I walked around for a couple of hours, looked at some jewelry and was back at the truck around 12:30 p.m. Oh, the other thing I bought was a giant cookie as I was hungry and their fast food didn't appeal to me for the prices they wanted. The cookie wasn't the best thing in the world for me but it sure was good!

We arrived home and I lay down to read and dozed on and off all afternoon. Too bad as it was a nice day.

There was a fairly nice sunset so I took a couple of photos from the living room window and that was about the extent of the day.

I decided to have some 'medicinal' brandy to see if that would cure what ails me. My grandmother (on my mother's side) always swore by it!

I was reading another fulltime RVers blog, Karon. She's very philosophical and writes an interesting blog however it was the photo of her dog, KD under her blanket that made me think of my dog. Here's a similar photo that Gordon took of him when he was alive that we affectionately call "Quilthead".

I still miss my poor little puppy.

We Move....But Not Far

I awoke to a cloudy day. We did have some rain overnight. Gordon was over at the entrance booth at 6:00 a.m. to see if we could get another site here. At that point there was only one RV in overflow and their log said that 15 people were to be leaving today so it was looking good for us to get another site. We had to come back at 9:00 a.m. I went for my walk, had breakfast and such then we drove around the campground to see who was leaving. Ah, site 74 is empty. That one was on our list of preferred sites so away to the entrance booth we went for 9:00 a.m. Now there were 3 RVs in overflow but we had no problem booking site 74.

This is a dead barrel cactus.


Here's our new site.

After packing up, going to the dump station, getting back to our new site and getting set up it was 11:50 a.m. So, we're here for another two weeks! We did have some sunny breaks this morning but when we were setting up it started to get cloudy and about an hour after we were set up it started to rain lightly. Since the campground showers aren't right beside us anymore and it was raining, we drove down to the shower house. Hopefully we won't have to do that often.

We weren't set up for very long when Mr. & Mrs. Gila Woodpecker arrived at our hummingbird feeder. Here's Mr. Woodpecker. They are so funny! The hummingbird feeder is right outside our dining room window in the palo verde tree.

I made some bracelets this afternoon. I had purchased some wooden beads at Michaels last week so concentrated on using them.

Around 4:00 p.m. the sun was coming out and the rain had stopped so the sky was interesting. I went out and took some photos, lots of the Superstition Mountains with the sun shining on them and lots of pretty little birds sitting in the ocotillo. The ocotillo are very pretty now all green with their little red flowers on top.

The mountain looked so pretty today with the sun shining on it.

This little cactus wren was cute all puffed up and sitting at the top of an ocotillo.


Nature's group of three barrel cactus.


Gordon took off to climb the Merkle Hills to get some photos of the pretty skies but I stayed
behind as from our new location I can see the sunset from my recliner!

More Shopping and Preparing to Move

Today's walk was under only partly sunny skies although some sun did come out later in the morning. I walked around the park, then did the .5 mile Buckhorn Trail.

This cute little bird posed for me on top of a teddy-bear cholla.

The skies were cloudy this morning.


I just hung around for the rest of the morning, surfing the internet and reading. After lunch I decided to go to another Kohl's to see if I could find a new bath mat. The rubber is wearing off the back of the one we have and every time I wash it, it gets worse! So off I went to the one at Signal Butte and Baseline. The bath mats have been on sale so they were all picked over and they didn't have the color I wanted. I also went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and couldn't find anything I liked there either. I've already looked at Walmart but looked again, no luck. I stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things I couldn't get at the one on McKellips yesterday. Still couldn't get my cereal. On the way back to Usery Mountain, I stopped at Safeway. They didn't have my cereal either, so stopped at Walmart on Apache Trail. They had lots of it so I bought two boxes. Hopefully that will last for a while.

On the way back into the park there was one trailer in overflow and a sign saying that the park was full so Gordon and I drove around and there are about 16 spots where people are scheduled to leave tomorrow. However if they haven't been here for two weeks, they can renew. There was still only one RV in overflow so hopefully we'll be able to stay here. I called the park in Gold Canyon and they don't have any sites for Passport America and I don't really want to pay $230 for a site for a week so hopefully we'll luck out and be able to stay here.

Gordon also climbed to the top of one of the Merkle Hills to get photos of the sunrays at sunset tonight. I took this from the desert floor. Not a great photo, oh well!


I spent the evening being hostess/gatekeeper on the rv-dreams chatroom. Howard (rv-dreams co-0wener) had a scheduled chat on Internet on the Road which was very well attended. In my "job" as hostess, I direct people to the scheduled chat room. This is the fourth scheduled chat that Howard has done and probably will be doing more in the near future.

Laundry and A Trail Walk

Another walk to start my day. There's another trail within the park that starts out near where the camp hosts are parked and eventually puts you into a wash which comes around by where our 5er AKA fifth wheel is parked so I walked around the park first then did the trail and cut across the desert to get back to our RV.

This morning's clouds

Walking in the wash

There was no getting out of it, today was laundry day so I was packed up and on my way by about 10:30 a.m. and back around 12:30 a.m. One dryer I had didn't dry as well as the others so I hung the stuff outside for a while when I got back. Another mundane task overwith. It's been two weeks since I did laundry so couldn't put it off much longer. Luckily we have lots of underwear and socks.

After putting it all away and getting the bed remade, I sat outside for about 1/2 hour as it was a beautiful day, then decided I wanted a nap so came inside and succumbed to a nice sleep with the window open just a crack.

When I woke up I asked Gordon if he wanted to walk the other end of the Blevins trail that we started on Sunday so away we went. We met a bunch of guys on mountain bikes trying to bike up a rocky hill, only one of them made it on the bike without putting his foot down. Here's a photo of a couple of them in the parking lot on the way back with their bikes loaded. We also walked for a very short distance on the Moon Rock Trail before returning to the truck on the Blevins Trail.



The Blevins Trail

Picnic ramada
Me in another wash off the Blevins Trail

Looks like we're in for some weather over the next few days. We're supposed to have some rain on Thursday when we have to move. Not our favorite thing to do in the rain but here we have no choice. We have to either move sites or move out and we need to dump the tanks after two weeks. The thought right now is that we'll stay for another two weeks if we can. We have to stay at least one week for my dental appointment and Gordon is having fun here and I enjoy it too so why not? We don't have to be anywhere at any particular time and have a good two months before we have to start heading back to the land of ice and snow!

Here's a photo from tonight's sunset.

Not a Very Interesting Monday

I didn't realize this was a long weekend for some nor did I know Martin Luther King Day was a holiday. No wonder the campground was full this weekend.

I started out my day with my walk. I didn't stay out as long as I knew I had to go for groceries and would be walking a lot then. After breakfast, I got ready and first went to Sprouts where I got some supplies, then I stopped at Kohl's where I finally found a new rug for the front door (inside). I think it's quite pretty. They had lots of good sales on. I was also looking for a bathmat and toilet seat cover but couldn't find what I wanted there. Maybe I'll try another Kohl's.


My final stop was Walmart on McKellips where I picked up the groceries I needed. There were a few things they didn't have so I'll have to make a trip to the one on Apache Trail. It was a busy store today but checking out didn't take as long as usual. I really hate standing in line to give a store my money! The lady forgot to put through my water refills so she marked it on the bill and said I didn't have to pay for it as it was her mistake even though I offered to pay her cash. That was nice of her.

When I got back I read, had a nice hot shower and that about covered my afternoon.

I also learned how to put my photos side by side but unfortunately I didn't learn how to resize them once they were side by side so that will have to be a lesson for another day as when I posted them they were too large and you could only see half of the right hand photo.

Just before sunset we drove to the Staging Area where the trails start and walked for a while on the No-So trail. Here are some photos I took along the trail.

Just Another Sunday

Boy was that sun bright this morning. I wasn't wearing my ballcap as it was sort of windy and I sure notice the difference when I don't have it on. I actually got off my behind and went for my morning walk. Since I hurt my foot I've gotten out of the habit. Here's a HiLo trailer that's hi instead of lo.

My morning walk in the desert - didn't tangle with a cholla today.

Siamese twins ha ha

I spent some time this morning working on my blog. Note I've added a photo that I took while in Tucson to my header behind nightly news. I also worked a bit on centering some wording in the sidebar using html code.

For Gordon's update, click here.

I spent some time outside today sitting in my chair and reading, then came in, read and had a nap. Gordon and I went for a sunset walk and that's my day in a nutshell.

Moon photos from our walk this evening,


The campground was full this weekend but lots of people leaving today.