Sunset over Phoenix

Sunset over Phoenix
Originally uploaded by JB Bar

Well our stay at Usery Mountain Regional Park is coming to an end. We will be on the road tomorrow heading first for the Freightliner folks to get our bus serviced on Monday morning and then on south towards Picacho RV Resort where we will meet up with Dennis and Denice. They were down there today and scouted out both the RV Resort and the State Park. It appears that the State Park is pretty full up and getting a couple of spots there will be challenging so we opted to stay down the road in a private park. A little more cash but full hook-ups and we have been on water and electric for the last couple of weeks so FHU's have an appeal all their own. We have enjoyed our time here and especially being able to reconnect with my cousin Mickey and her husband Jeff. Nice folks who we hope to see again. We only live 3 hours apart back home but it seems the odds are better of us catching them when they are down in their Gilbert house than up there where everyone is busy. So if we don't see you before we'll catch you in Arizona next winter Mick.

The weather has been fantastic here the last couple of weeks and it looks like it is just going to get warmer and warmer from now on.

Happy Birthday Luke

I haven't had the camera out of the case the last couple of days until these two bright lights appeared in the sky tonight. Looks like Venus is just heading home from a meeting with the Man in the Moon. Wonder how that went.

Things have been pretty relaxed around our camp the last couple of days at least for me. Yesterday Brenda wrenched her back so she was pretty stiff yesterday and only a little better today. But it is improving hour by hour so there is hope for tomorrow. I did some running around today, a trip to the Flea Market, Wal-Mart, and then Auto-Zone to pick up some more stuff to polish the bus and then finally over to get the Jeep washed.


And with Brenda down for the count so to speak I even got to do a little grocery shopping, not often that I am trusted with that job.


Today is my oldest grandson's birthday and I am sure that back home in Calgary there will be a very loud and riotous crowd celebrating that this weekend. Happy Birthday Luke.

Saguaro Lake

It's been a couple of days since I wrote a missive for this blog. We haven't been doing much exciting and actually the last two days we did much the same thing and saw the same places so I thought one entry would suffice for both. A couple of days ago we decided we should head out to Saguaro Lake and see that part of the country. It was a nice drive but there were signs about every 500 feet saying you needed a permit to stop anywhere so other than a few quick stops to capture a photo or two, the one above is of the Salt River just below the dam, we kept moving. Strangely, although there are a couple of commercial businesses, the Tonto Forest people have seen fit to not sell permits in the actual area. You have to run back into Mesa or Fountain Hills to buy the day use permits and that is 12 or 14 miles once you realize you need them. We thought that we would just scout around and actually get the permit when we get back to town and come out the next day.

We did also run up and look at another Maricopa County campground at McDowell Mountain north of Fountain Hills. It is nice, not quite as nice as where we are, but a pretty good spot also. It is a little farther out of town and the vegetation is not as thick as here either.

On Wednesday we, with permit in hand, headed back out to Saguaro Lake to actually stop and enjoy sitting beside the lake. We had found the perfect spot the day before so headed straight there. We had a view of the lake and were able to watch the fishermen, quietly, go about their business. They seemed to be catching a bucket full of little bluegills and tell us they are good eating but they are more bite size than I would like. Once we got set up in our quiet little inlet on the lake we set back to read our books and enjoy the peaceful setting. Not to be though. A few minutes after we got there a group with 5, count them 5, little girls showed up. Having only raised boys from babies I was unaware that almost every thing little girls do at the beach is accompanied by ear piercing shrieks. They fought and screeched their way through what I am sure when they look back from adulthood was an idyllic trip to the Lake but also managed to drive all the fishermen back to town and not long after, us. It was a beautiful spot anyway and I am sure I will remember those shrieks for a long time.

Once we got back to town we ran over to the Kona Grill and had Happy Hour with Mick and Jeff. It was a nice spot with a great table on the patio. They had the misters going so the 80+ temperatures were actually just about perfect. It was a nice time with good company.

We are able to stay here until Sunday and then we will be moving across town to the Freightliner dealer to get the bus serviced first thing Monday morning. They tell me they have 30 Amp electric there so we will move in the morning and then in the afternoon we are planning on dropping up to George and Shirley's in Peoria for a visit.

Once the bus is finished on Monday we are heading for Tucson, probably either Catalina State Park or Gilbert Ray park and stay for a few days. After that we are thinking we should head down towards Bisbee to see that part of the state. No idea where we are going to stay down there but hopefully something will come to light before we move.

The photo below is yet another sunset photo from our camp at Usery Mountain Regional Park

Carrying On

Yesterday was another relaxing day in Usery Mountain Park. The weather is turning warm here, in fact the last couple of days we have had to run the air conditioner off and on all day. Nice to have power for these warm days. We had Mick and Jeff over for supper last night. Hot dogs sound like pretty poor fare but with the price of wood in Arizona it is no small investment to cook a few dogs over the fire. And of course Brenda had to make a little potato salad, the best, sorry Phyllis, that I have ever eaten as well as doing a few of those Puerto Penasco prawns on the barbie.

Earlier in the day we got some cleaner from Mike and Michelle in the Discovery next door to us and used it to spiff and polish the bus. It is called the Solution and I have no idea what is in it but it sure works. In fact it does the windows and stainless steel so well that Brenda claimed it for her own and I had to get another bottle to keep for myself. Mike also had some polish that seems to do an OK job of polishing out the scratches that we have acquired heading out into the desert this winter.

Today I ran over to Mesa and bought some polish of my own and then came home and worked on those scratches for a while. Didn't get them all done but it will certainly give me something to do on these slow days. This afternoon we ran over to Dairy Queen for some emergency ice cream to help ward off heat exhaustion. That managed to hold us until supper. I had read in Rod's blog about the Organ Stop Pizza place and Nina from the Discovery newsletter recommended it again today so we figured what the heck today is as good a day as any to try another pizza place. The pizza was great but the big attraction is the Wurlitzer organ that they play there for the customers entertainment. It is a massive instrument that seems to take over the large room that was custom built for it. Here is an excerpt from their material that does a pretty good job of describing it.

"In the theatre, the organ was a style 260, having a three-manual console and 15 ranks/sets of pipes. Organ Stop purchased the instrument in the early 1970s and undertook the mammoth task of rebuilding the instrument. Several additions were made to the instrument by acquiring parts from other ill-fated Wurlitzers. The resulting 23 rank organ was installed in our original facility in 1975. The enlargement and improvement of this instrument has been an ongoing project... In 1997, a larger four manual console was added to the instrument. The new console is an exact replica of a "Fox Special" French case, ornamented to match the famous Brooklyn Paramount Wurlitzer. This is the largest console type ever designed and built by Wurlitzer. Through the years, several rare sets of pipes have been added to the organ, including a massive set of 32' wood diaphones (visible from the front of the building). As of 2006, the organ boasts nearly 6000 pipes. The massive quantities of wind required for operation are provided by four huge turbine blowers (visible from the outside of the building in the blower complex). The resulting instrument is the largest Wurlitzer theatre organ in the world!"

The patrons tonight seemed to be in large part Canadians and as we were entering the restaurant the organist was doing a fine job of playing our national anthem "Oh Canada" followed off course by the "Stars and Stripes" but by the look of the license plates in the parking lot and the reception of Oh Canada it seemed it the election was decided here tonight Stephen Harper would be the President.

Rambling On

It was laundry day today so we hauled all the dirty stuff down the street and exchanged it for clean stuff. At least from my viewpoint that’s how it looks, you put the stuff in, twirl it around, and it comes out clean. Probably a little more involved if you are more involved, but my function is as driver and packer as other jobs to do with laundering appear to be beyond my capability.

We are just enjoying the beautiful campground we are in and the abundance of birds that are flitting about. Off in the distance is the constant pop of small arms fire, either Afghanistan is just over the hill, or there is a gun range down the road. It goes on from dawn to dusk on the weekends but usually doesn’t start until mid-afternoon on weekdays. Also there is an Archery range just across the road but that is a much quieter sport so other than the dozens of trucks parked there it has little impact on our peace and quiet.

On days like today it is difficult to conjure up something exciting to write about and I am not going to bore you all our comings and goings just the exciting ones, like laundry, come on who doesn’t like clean clothes!

I have read a lot of blogs over the past few months and it appears that amongst RV’ing bloggers talking about where they ate and how it fit their usually tight budgets is second only to how much they paid for their last tank of fuel. Hey thinking of that has anyone noticed how when the price of oil tanked, the stock market did too, Maybe if we drive the price of oil back up our investments will follow suit. Well, it was just a thought and my bet is it will work as well as the plans Obama, Harper and their lot are implementing.

I don’t spend as much time talking about eating out as others for a couple of reasons, first Heather teases me when I do, and secondly a more important reason. I am traveling with what has to be one of the best cooks on the continent and we’ve been to 4 provinces as well as 2 territories in Canada, 26 states in the US and a couple or three states in Mexico. We have eaten in local favourites all along the way and even in some famous “cooking” folks establishments such as Paul Deen’s, and Uncle Bubba’s in Savannah, Georgia, but they all come up short when I compare them to the cooking I get back at the motorhome. I guess it is selfish, but eating Brenda’s culinary delights is my favourite food. Her repertoire covers all the popular food types from Mexican Quesadilla’s to her own downtown Dogpound “Frozen Peanut Butter Pie.” We only pop out for a meal when we happen to be doing something that stops us from getting back to the RV or on those rare occasions when I can talk her into taking a break and letting someone else do the work. Even the best cooks need to take a break now and then and those that love them just have to suffer through those breaks.

Hot and Sunny

Today broke out hot and sunny and just got hotter and sunnier as the day went on. We went into the Mesa Flea Market and had a look around. Mostly the same products in the same places with the same people looking at them as last year. Not much changes around here, the hair just gets bluer or thinner and the crowds a little slower. But nobody here is in a hurry anyway. After the Flea Market we headed for that old crowd favourite, Wal-Mart, where we bought a few things we needed for the larder. Then we took a trip down towards Gilbert and stopped at that fancy French department store, Tar-get', and got some more minutes for the phone. $0.08/minute and call waiting and messages, long distance included, eat your heart out Telus. What a difference 300,000,000 more people makes for things like cell phone competition. After a quick lunch at Panda Express we stopped by Mick and Jeff's place. They were floating in their pool enjoying the day so we had a nice visit and then headed home so we could enjoy our yard at the campground. Nice day.

South Mountain Regional Park and Preserve

Today we took a spin around town and stopped in at Camping World. Apparently we need some stuff there, new sheets and a mattress cover, who knew. They apparently have ones specially built for RV beds so they will work better than the ones we drug along from the house with us. After the shopping of course we had to head for lunch and just so I don't sound like to much of a retired person I won't mention how cheap we managed to eat (Heather) or where, you'll have to figure that out on your own. Then we were off to the South Mountain Park and Preserve on the south side of Phoenix. This is apparently the largest municipal park in the world and at over 16,000 acres that is not hard to believe. Although it is pretty rugged so I am not sure what it would be if it wasn't a park. You get quite a view from up here and this is one of the viewpoints that have been constructed over time out of what looks like native rock.

Now from this viewpoint you can look out over the whole Phoenix complex, a lotta folks down there (3.5 to 4 million), and way off to the top right of the photo is where our outfit is parked in Usery Mountain Regional Park. It is hard to imagine all of those folks living down in that valley where they need to import almost everything except the sand to build their foundations.

Now this is a much better shot of the Arizona I have come to love, not a person in sight.

Saguaro
Originally uploaded by JB Bar

Fatman's Pizza & Grill

Today was one of those days that come along where you do nothing and seem busy all day. We had to run into Mesa to Wal-Mart to stock up on provisions. Don't want to skirt starvation you know. And then just to prove that the famine is a long way off here we went into Apache Junction tonight for a pizza. Found a place called Fatman's Pizza and Grill on Apache Way. The restaurant was small and the crowd was building but we got there soon enough to get seated right away. The pizza was excellent and the service couldn't have been better. Definitely a place we will head back to next time we have a hankering for a pizza. The wings looked great also.
Other than those exciting forays into town we just chilled here in camp and enjoyed our surroundings. This is truly a beautiful spot, thanks Sandra for the tip.
A view of the mountain they call Scarface here or Pass Mountain.

Another view of the site we have with Scarface in the background

That is Superstition Mountain far off in the distance.

And another look at Superstition Mountain

Shots across the desert in Usery Mountain Regional Park

Usery Mountain Regional Park

Today was a move day. We packed up our outfit and moved about 12 miles down the road to the Usery Mountain Regional Park. It is a great spot just north of Mesa, Arizona. Far enough out of town to miss out on all the sirens and traffic but still just a hop, skip and a jump for shopping and accessing the things we like about the Phoenix area. Hmmm, have to figure out what those are, other than the friends and relatives, we have that seem to like the warm smoggy air of the big city. It looks like this place might just be high enough on the hill that we will be able to look down on the smog rather than through it as we were in Apache Junction. When you don't stay in town very often it is surprising how much you notice that thick air.

This park is run by the Maricopa County and has a lot more space between rigs than most RV Parks. There is power and water at every site and there is a dump site centrally located so we should be OK here for a week or two. There are clean washrooms and showers available as well. It is nice to hear the birds and set out amongst the desert flora and fauna and enjoy the warm afternoon sun. We have signed up for a week and have the option of adding another week after that if we like, so I guess we will just have to see how it goes and how long it takes us to recover from the big move.

Apache Trail

Today was the day we decided to take a tour of the Apache Trail. We left from our camp at the KOA in Apache Junction and headed out on Highway 88. It is a truly spectacular drive although some parts of it may not have been graded since the last Roosevelt administration. However that keeps some of the tourists off of the road and makes it that much better for those of us who are willing to brave the rough spots. It takes you from Apache Junction up to the Roosevelt Dam along the Salt River. En route we passed Canyon Lake, Apache Lake and the Trail terminates at Roosevelt Lake. The Salt River project as they call it was constructed to control the Salt River and store water from the heavy runoffs for use at a later time. Now they say that this project is what enables the Phoenix metropolitan area to exist in the form it is today, so I guess I have my doubts whether that is a good thing or not. HaHa. As I mentioned it has some great scenery but it seems that Arizona has a somewhat hodge podge planning process for its power transmission lines and it is really difficult to get a good photo without having a criss cross maze of power lines strung through it. I have tried to get a selection of shots without wires.



This is looking down from the Apache Trail into the Fish Creek Canyon.

Some of the vegetation along the way. In the bottom of Fish Creek Canyon the sycamores were getting new leaves for spring. And in some of the high country there was a dusting of that white granular stuff you northerners call snow.

Above is another look at Fish Creek.

Below is the road dropping into the canyon and although it is narrow it certainly is not as steep as the guide books tell it. You would have no trouble negotiating it with an ordinary car.

The Apache Trail was constructed to give access for supplies to the folks constructing the Roosevelt Dam back in the early 1900's and quite a trail it was. Must have taken a while for a team of mules to make its way to here. When we stopped at the overlook there was a learned fellow there who was explaining to all the tourists how this dam is unique in that it doesn't let much water flow into the river. The reservoir is only released to generate power and then the water is recaptured and pumped back up into the reservoir to continue the process. Interesting concept and maybe it explains why there are not large transmission lines taking power from here to Phoenix, but me thinks the reason there is limited release of water has more to do with the last few years of drought than some Arizonian form of perpetual motion. In fact I read in the newspaper just this week that they will be releasing water at a higher rate as they have had a good run-off this year and have reached the point where they let water go so as to have some storage capability for flood control. You have to wonder where some folks get their information from? Here is the dam. It was just recently reconstructed as until a few years ago it was much shorter and actually made out of blocks rather than poured concrete.

Cliff Dwellings

This is a room with a view along Roosevelt Lake at the Tonto National Monument. It was quite a climb up there so we opted to let the lense do the walking.


It is certainly a beautiful drive one that should be on every visitor to the areas to do list. And just imagine what a quaint little village Phoenix would be without the Salt River Project.

Apache Junction

Took a run out on the Apache Trail last night to the Lost Dutchman Regional Park and got a few shots as the sun went down. This is Superstition Mountain.

The photo above here is actually a metal cutout that is on the "Welcome to Apache Junction" sign with the Vulture Mountains west of Phoenix below the arch. The sun had just set so the sky was a great background.

It is a very pretty spot out there and there is a camp area that has sites but no hookups as well as some trails that ramble around the area.

Today was a camp day, I had to pick up some shirts at the local laundry and ran downtown into Mesa to look at some mapping software. Nothing appeared to be compatible with the software I run "Oziexplorer", so I picked up an Arizona Gazetteer that has most of the areas we camp and defines where the BLM land begins and ends. Old technology but it still works in a pinch.

Mickey and Jeff came over tonight and Brenda cooked another of her great meals. We took some pictures but none made it through the approval process so sorry no pictures of that cute cousin tonight. While we were eating our dessert Micks nephew Bradley called to let her know that he and his girl Megan had gotten engaged today, so that caused a little excitement. We will see what tomorrow brings, tomorrow.

Now What?

Today was one of those days when you wake up in the morning with a plan all laid out for the future and then life happens. We were heading over to visit George and Shirley this evening as we will be leaving the Phoenix area in a couple of days and this may be our last chance. We also needed to stop by Costco and pick up some of those rib-eye steaks that we like so much and resupply our water cupboard, their bottles fit the fridge perfectly.

On the way to our shopping trip we thought we'd take a run north of Mesa to check out the Usery Mountain County Park that Sandra had told us about a few days ago. We drove into the place and fell in love, it was a beautiful sunny, crisp morning and the birds were singing and the vistas were perfect. Once around the campground and we changed our plans. We will now stay where we are for another few days and then Monday we'll move over and try to get into the Park. It has beautiful big sites that have water and power, and a dump site centrally located. I am going to try to upload a bunch of photo's I took there this morning. Right at the moment the park is full and there are a few rigs in the overflow, but it is a long weekend here and I imagine all the folks celebrating Presidents Day will be moving on back to their jobs next Monday or at least I hope so. I would imagine if we are successful getting into this park we will be in the Phoenix area for another week or ten days before moving on.

That meant we could reschedule visiting George and Shirley till next week on a day that is more convenient for us all. But nevertheless we picked up some of those steaks as Mick and Jeff are coming over tomorrow night for supper and we wouldn't want to run out.

It really is a beautiful spot that the camera can't do justice too.

Jeff and Mickey

Well we got out of Why pretty early Tuesday morning. Monday night the wind was howling and kept blowing the dish out of line so we folded it up early and even had to pull in one of the big slides to stop the slide awning from popping and banging. When we got up Tuesday morning there was ice all over the Jeep so it must have been cool overnight even though at 7:00AM it was above freezing by at least a couple of degrees. Luckily we had managed to put everything away the night before so there was no wet stuff to pack up.

We rolled into the KOA right at noon and got set up here. Later in the afternoon we headed over to Gilbert but no one was home at Mickey and Jeff's so we came back and our dinner. Mick called and I decided I'd pop back over and have a visit with her, Jeff and Uncle Brent. Uncle Brent left Wednesday morning to head over into the Palm Springs area to do some visiting over there.

After getting caught up on our grocery shopping at Wal-Mart this morning, Brenda and I went back over and spent the afternoon with Mick and Jeff and did a lot of catching up. We had a great visit and didn't even review to many of those old childhood stories.

Why Leave?

The harbour at Puerto Penasco


Well it is time to move on. We have been here for just one week but want to get up to Phoenix and have a visit with my uncle before he heads over to Palm Springs to see his sister, my mother, who is visiting with some friends over there. Sounds like the whole family has headed south to escape the cold, but never fear we still have all our kids and grandchildren left in the North Country. We are not sure but we will probably come back and spend some more time here after we get done visiting with Uncle Brent and my cousin Mickey in Gilbert and hopefully get to pop over and see George and Shirley in Peoria. We'll probably hang our hats at the KOA in Apache Junction at least for a little while.

We have certainly enjoyed our time here though, the desert is wonderful for my walkabouts and it is pretty peaceful as well as picturesque. We ran in and watched some of the Old Time Fiddlers contest in Ajo over the weekend and even managed to catch up on our laundry.

Today, Monday, we headed south to Puerto Penasco down in the Mexican state of Sonora. It is about and hour and half south of our campsite and you need to insure your vehicle for driving in Mexico, but there are vendors in almost every nook and cranny in Ajo, Why and also in Lukeville right at the border crossing. It is always an eye opener seeing the differences in ways of life that a small black line in the desert makes. There is a lot more visible poverty on the Mexican side than on the American side of the border, I guess that is one of the big drivers for the illegal immigrant problem. There certainly has to be a huge difference in government programs north of the border and it makes one wonder what the Mexican government spends the money they generate on. Certainly not roads or picking up garbage.

Here are a couple of the storekeepers along the Dirt Mall in Puerto Penasco.

That said the people are friendly and although it is much different we like to run down and do a little shopping and especially pick up some of those great fresh shrimp. Every time I go I say I am going to learn Spanish so that I can converse or at least figure out what they are saying about me. The locals speak excellent English as a rule and certainly make a better effort to understand me than I do them. The shrimp really are an oxymoron as you can get BIG shrimp down here for a pretty reasonable price. Needless to say we will be eating shrimp for a while now.

Here is a shot of the Organ Pipe National Monument just north of the Mexican border

Why Now?

They grow their hummingbirds big around here!!

February 2, 2009

We left Quartzsite this morning after stopping in town at the Post Office to pick up our replacement Pressure Pro controller. The one we have sets off an alarm once the tires warm up and reach their operating temperature, or at least it used too. Like a lot of mechanical things once the replacement was in hand the other one worked perfectly all day. Well I will change it out anyway and test the new one on our next move. Not sure when that will be though.

We headed east on I-10 over to Buckeye and then caught Arizona 85 south to Gila Bend. Once we got there we pulled into the Shell station and emptied our tanks as well as filling up on fresh water, propane, and diesel. The diesel and the propane were a little higher than down the street but what the heck it's a good company and needs our support. Any place that has a free dump station and fresh water can use a little support from the RV crowd.

Once we got everything filled that needed to be filled and everything that needed to be emptied empty we continued on down 85 towards Why. We stopped in Ajo and Brenda picked up a couple of things that we needed for supper and I unhooked the Jeep. Why is 10 miles south of Ajo and there is a great spot here for boondocking, one problem, no internet. But we have good phone coverage so the internet will have to get along without us for a while. I will try to keep this blog up to date and post it when I get a chance.

We got our outfit all setup complete with solar array deployed and hummingbird feeder filled. You barely get stopped in these areas before these little beggars are looking in the windows wondering where the feeder is.

February 3, 2009

Tuesday was a camp day. We never left our site other than when I went for my morning walkabout. I do love the desert here. There is not a lot of vegetation but the creosote bushes and the barrel cactus are all over the place but there are still openings so that you can walk for miles with no destination in mind. Off to the south of our site there are a lot of saguaros so it is really quite picturesque especially this year as it appears there has been a good amount of rain and the desert is really quite green. The sunset last night was pretty spectacular also, but I am not sure whether I will be able to get a photo uploaded or not.

February 4, 2009

The connection out here is non-existent but we are heading in to Ajo to pick up a couple of things so I will try from there. Well that didn't work, apparently Sprint is not to concerned about missing out on our business as we are are around the Ajo area. Well I believe it is possible to live without internet.

February 5, 2009

Not much happening today, we ran into Ajo and had lunch at the Estella Street restaurant, great food, big portions and low prices what more can you ask. The weather is still warm and sunny although in the afternoon the breeze picked up a little.

February 6, 2009

Once again into Ajo and scouted out the location for the "Old Time Fiddlers" contest this weekend so that is probably going to be our exciting outing for the future. The wind was up today and it was a little cool out there, nothing to bad 16C or so but cooler than we are used to.

February 7, 2009

Today we are off to the fiddling and are hoping to be able to hack into some free wi-fi and get this blog posted. Not having internet is a nuisance but we are surviving.

Why Not?

We arrived back at Quartzsite on Friday night about supper time. Dennis and Denice had looked after our outfit while we were gone and also had a great bowl of soup ready so we didn't need to fire up the stove and figure out what to eat. When I had left I had cleaned out most of the perishables in the fridge as I wasn't really sure how long it would be till we got back south.

All was well with the rig and the solar panels had everything charged up to 100% as expected. It was in the high 70's Friday but dropped down to about 4C on Saturday morning, coincidentally the same temperature it was in Cremona when we were leaving for the airport Friday. There is a Chinook happening there are I believe it was up into the double digits Celsius later in the day. That dark line across the sky is a Chinook Arch and it means that we will get a warm dry wind that always breaks up the winter. Now if that white stuff was sand it would be warmer all year.

Saturday we ran over to Dome Rock Road to see Bill and Margaret but they were out and about so we visited with their neighbours Dennis and Diane for a while and then headed over to Blythe to restock the fridge. There is a new store, Ranch ?, near the K-mart but the quarter master wasn't pleased with their stock so we ended up going back to the Albertsons store at the other end of town. I managed to get the Jeep washed up while the shopping was going on. After a week in Phoenix it was covered in some sort of sooty grime, kinda scary that is what is in all the lungs of the people who live there. Well it is all shiny now and hopefully it will be a while until we head back into the big smoggy city.

Dennis, Diane, Bill and Margaret and Dennis Lang joined us for Happy Hour later in the day on Saturday and Brenda as usual had a variety of snacks there to appease all our appetites. Even a cold beer (root) for me. We had a nice visit and everybody went home shortly after sunset.

Sunday was laundry day, lucky for me Brenda got that caught up as the lions share was mine, hers was all clean from making the trip home. Dennis and Denice pulled out this morning and are heading for 29 Palms over by the Joshua Tree National Park to see the sites and maybe visit some relatives over that way. They had to get a medical exemption to stay in this site any longer as they had overstayed their permit while watching our rig. We are also over our limit and are planning on hitting the road tomorrow after we pick up the replacement Pressure Pro device at the Post Office in the morning. At this time we are thinking of heading down south of Ajo towards Why, Arizona. That is a beautiful 14 day area down there and it is also close to Mexico, for a shrimp run. The only issue with it is last year when we were there we had trouble with our phone so once we get there we will have to see whether or not we have communications. It is not so bad of either the phone or the internet works but not having either is a pain in the butt in this day and age. Even when we are dropping out of the rat race we still like to keep in touch with those that are still on the wheel. So if we disappear off the edge of the earth that will give you a hint where to start looking.