Jean at their motorhome for New Years Eve. Bob and Marlene joined us as we drank, ate, played Pegs and Jokers and drank......Did I say that twice? :-)
hospital in Phoenix after undergoing two brain surgeries within 12 hours of each other. He seemed to be doing better and the day before Christmas was transferred to a hospice care facility after being taken off the ventilator at the hospital. About 4:45pm today we received the call I dreaded to hear. Gary had passed away at 4:20pm.
to each other a day before Christmas (Christmas Eve Day). I decided to get Peg a new recliner so she would not have to sit sideways on the couch to watch TV. we had talked about new recliners but we did not commit to the furniture. I ordered the chair online in hopes it would get here by Christmas. After several calls to the store I ordered it from and to a trucking company delivering it to UPS for local delivery, I finally located the chair. It was delivered right to our motorhome in Sunscape. I assembled it and when Peg came home from work,she was VERY surprised!
Christmas day we traveled down to Tubac, AZ to cousin Cathy and Marshall Geisy's house. They were having a large gathering of friends and family for the Christmas Holiday. As the cars came rolling in, we gathered outside under the warm sun and began telling tales of our travels as well as where we all were from and how we got there.
around the table enjoying a variation on American and Mexican foods. It was fun to meet and visit with Cathy and Marshall's friends and relatives. The table was barely big enough to accommodate all the guests but we all squeezed in and made it happen. The fixings were really tasty and I think we were all hungry!
bring a gift and we let the kids pick a gift for each person. If you did not want to pick a gift, you could take a gift that was already opened from someone else. It took a while to get all the gifts delivered and opened and some of the presents were quite interesting! I think everyone enjoyed the event and getting together for the holiday.
sky diving facility about three miles away from where we are staying. It was a nice day with little wind, so we figured they would be jumping today.
we decided to go outside to the landing field and watch several people jump from perfectly good airplanes!
game or two of Pegs and Jokers. It was the boys (Myself, Bob and Rod) against the girls (Peg, Marlene and Jean). The guys triumphed with a win of the first game which, by the way, was probably the longest single game I have ever played! The second game the girls won, but not without a fight!
football game. They got interested in the football team this fall when Gary had a shunt put in his head to help the fluid drain from his brain. He was laid up for a while, so football kept him occupied. He recently got the go ahead from the doctor to be able to travel in the motorhome, so they headed out. While at their coach, Peg got a call from work that they needed her to come in, so she left, went to our motorhome to change, and came back. Gary, Patsy and I had a nice visit while the game was on. I stayed into the evening for a while.
and Lillie to their house for dinner and a few hands of Pegs and Jokers. I guess this is fast becoming THE GAME for all of us. I guess it is one of the games I understand and like to play (along with dominos).
summer RVing, and some wonderful side dishes and of course dessert, we all settled in for a night of card playing.
night for Jean and I. We won one game (I think)! Peg and Rod did really well and won most of their games.
excitement to the written page!
The climb went well except for a few bumps and bruises and at one point Peg and Elaine get stuck on one of the steepest parts of the trail as they were climbing using the provided cables. Pegs fanny pack got hooked into the cable and she could not go forward. Fortunately, Chuck was behind her and managed to unhook the pack so she could continue. Elaine got her backpack stuck between the two cables but managed to dislodge it and kept on climbing!
the photos, a clear day as well. Not sure if Peg will go on up to the pinnacle again, but at least she can now say she did it once! Notice you do not see anywhere in this accounting that I attempted to climb that beast. I know better!!
unique house that reminds me of a castle. It is a large home with several rooms. So many things carry the southwest theme as well as some Mexican influence in the house. It is not completed as yet, so I look forward to visiting to see what new portion of the house has been finished since our last meeting. Here is a picture of the kitchen, as an example, to show some of the style.
They have two very large dogs. Luna, who has been with them for several years now and a new comer, Flynn who has been there just a few months. When you drive into the parking area and the dogs run out to meet you, their size will startle you at first. I was used to Luna, but I did not know about Flynn. I thought Flynn was Luna when we arrived and I guess he did not take well to me calling him by the wrong name! I realized what I had done when I went inside and saw Luna. I think they both forgave me!
around that huge table, seen in this picture.
Since we combined two sets of dominoes, we now had to separate the sets and here is a picture of that fiasco. I think it took almost as long to separate the pieces as it did to play the entire game. Well, maybe not quite as long! We said goodnight to our new friends Gwynn and Gunther and Russell and Barbara. We hope we see them again sometime.
before), to the 39th annual La Fiesta de Tumacácori being held on the grounds of the local mission. They had dancers, food, and a Mariachi Band (see photo) playing for the crowds. As Peg and Cathy enjoyed the festival, Marshall and I worked on getting their e-mail program set-up and working for several e-mail accounts. About three hours later when the wives returned, we had just finished the process! At least they brought us back some food.
This evening we went to Apache Junction to see the Arizona Opry. We have heard from several people how good the show was, so when our new friends and neighbors here at Sunscape, Stan and Betty Jo, asked us if we wanted to go see it with them, we said sure! So they made the reservations and around 5pm we jumped in their new diesel Ford truck and headed for the highway.
who we saw briefly a few days ago, have now returned from Yuma and are going to be back in this area (Casa Grande) for a while. Bob and Marlene put together a dinner party so they, Peg and I, Rod and Jean and Hank and Lillie could catch up on what each of us were up to lately. Unfortunately, Rod and Jean did not pick up on the fact we were all getting together and Marlene finally called them to make sure they were on their way. Good thing, since they were not. It all did work out and we all had a great time. Bob cranked up his camera to capture the moment as you can see here!
for a short while before setting up the camera equipment and starting their interview. They are really nice, laid back folks who have full timed for a lot of years and continue to love it. They travel to Mexico every year for the winter in their truck camper and live at the Escapee park in the spring and fall in their class C RV.
This was a nice way to celebrate her birthday since no one had to cook and we could all enjoy being waited on.
Hey but check out the cool shirt!
having a cookout with sausage, peppers and onions. Who came you ask? Stacey and Gail, Bob and Marlene and Hank and Lillie. Everyone brought something and Marlene made one of my favorites, carrot cake!
Marlene also brought some party hats and since we are all party animals, we put them on! It was a good day for me and I am glad everyone could share it!
the "saddle" of the mountain. The saddle is about half way to the top and not as physically demanding as the second half of the journey to the top. It is still quite strenuous, especially for those of us who do not exercise as much as we should! Because of my ankle problem, I declined to go but Peg did go with Chuck, Elaine and Conrad, some of our close neighbors.
Apparently on this climb you need to "carb up" before you start your hike. Peg did not, so about half way up she ran out of steam and had to eat a granola bar and rest a short while. She did get her second wind and made it to the saddle. It took an hour to get there. It also took an hour to climb back down.
cables in places so you can pull yourself up and you have to be careful of the loose rock. It is a long way down!! Hopefully, after conquering the saddle a few times, I'll attempt going to the top!
Dave and Marie Ostrander so we decided today, Sunday afternoon, would be a good time to go and check it out. Marie was not in town, visiting with their daughter in Boston, so it was good to give Dave some company.
the amenities the Saguaro Co-op has to offer. The first thing we noticed is how wide the individual sites were. A pleasant change from many other parks. We saw the club house, the office (pictured), wood working shop, dining room (where a jam session was in progress) and the various sites. Each is on its own tier. This is nice because you can then have a view of the valley below.
Casa Grande and the Sunscape RV Park. This will be our new home for the next two months. It is nice to be in a familiar place. We of course have friends here in Casa Grande as well as in the park itself. Topped off our diesel and propane at the Flying J in Eloy, so we are good for a while.
the side and parked and we got the coach in to the service department for the windshield repair. Glen, the service manager, knew of a place we could get the brakes replaced so he called and set it up and, after checking in to get a spot for the rally (being held at the same place), we carefully traveled about 6 blocks to the repair shop.
drove it to our site (after paying our $500 deductible that is). About another hour later, Beaudry called and said the car was ready and they could take us back to the brake shop. That worked out well since we had just completed our set-up of the coach on site #1371 and we were ready to go.
on American RVer show #42, December 2009. We became reacquainted with Rosalie and Mike Mahr (parked in the next row behind us), Les and Letha Lollar, Lee and Vicky Dillard and John and Christine Fraiser. Bob and Marlene Rea and Hank and Lillie Corbitt drove down from Casa Grande to see the vendors and to visit with us for a while on Wednesday and we all went out to a Mexican lunch...See Photo.
(where our house is) and Carol had mentioned that she was going to be in Camp Verde/Cottonwood area once again this fall with her husband Sal. They made a pact to get together when we got there. Peg called and Carol and Sal came over and we all went to lunch.
We tried to get into the restaurant at the local golf course but it was closed. We later found out that it had gone bankrupt and someone else had bought it and would open it soon. That did not help us today for lunch, so we went to a little sandwich place near there called Cricket's. Sal and Carol had eaten there once before and enjoyed it, so we thought we would try it.
just liked working here! She was also a big fan of the TV show One Tree Hill seen on the WB network. I told her we lived about 35 miles away from where the show was filmed, in Wilmington, NC. She really wanted to go there and see her favorite stars in the show. I said she should go sometime. I think she just might!
Stacey and Gail, were staying at the Thousand Trails park a few miles away. We got together today and decided to take a short ride to the hill town of Jerome on Rt. 89A. We took our car and I drove up the winding road into the mountains where Jerome is found. As you know, I love driving the roads with steep drop-offs and so this white knuckled adventure was just my cup of tea! (NOT).
is located near an abandoned gold mine and the locals say the mine is haunted! Makes for a good story I suppose. This town was also known for its bordello's and houses of the ill repute. With all those miners, business was certainly good! Here we see a sign to that effect where you can "get a piece" at Belgian Jennies.
With all the "stuff" and the colorful items, it looked kind of cool. There are other "collectors" here as well. We went into one winery shop and they were perched on the edge of the hill. They have large windows overlooking the valley. I must say it was pretty spectacular.
haunted hamburger. It was Wednesday and each Wednesday they have a special 2 for 1 burger price. Gee, could it be we knew that? We ate on the top floor and again had a view. By the way, the jail in this town used to be on an upper street and in the 1800's the rain came and washed it from its foundation down the mountain to its current resting place, about 250 feet from its original location! Can you imagine being a prisoner in the jail that day???
bowl, so we paid our $5 fee at the Camp Verde Western Horizons Park and went to work to clean things by 8am! We washed the motorhome, the motorcycle and the car. I used my deionizer tank, since I know how hard the water is here, and my little pressure washer. I started with the roof and ended up with the tires and wheels. At least we do not have to be embarrassed with any of our vehicles any longer!
We have heard good things about Montezuma Castle and it was quite close to this park, so we decided to go there a little after 3pm. The signs in the park said the gate closes off the road at 5pm, sharp, so we lost no time in getting into the 1/3 mile paved walkway to see the castle.This national monument was a five story, twenty room pueblo, sheltered within a cave, high on a limestone cliff overlooking Beaver Creek. It was the home of the Sinagua people for many years. It was abandoned after A.D. 1400.
which the Sinagua also occupied and that was a six story dwelling, although it is quite deteriorated.
opposite direction from yesterday's trip and go to Monument Valley. We took highway 191 to Rt 163 and that took us into Monument Valley. As you can see by the sign, we made it!
Goulding Museum and Trading Post (and hotel, restaurant, car wash, grocery store, etc. etc.). It was a small museum but it was neat to look around and see what the area looked like many years ago. "Harry" and husband Mike Goulding made this area come alive with their foresight and hard work, developing the ground we stood on. There is a memorial to the couple for all they did in this valley. A cabin John Wayne stayed in was also on the premises with several movies of his playing on a large screen TV.
a good place to stay. When we arrived at the entrance, there were 3 large RV's waiting to get in and the place was filling up quickly for the middle of October! It was a decent park and the sites were fairly well thought out. The view was excellent there! When we turned around and started heading back towards Gouldings, Peg took this cool shot, a real postcard view of the valley!
