More Time in Central Arizona

Hello again, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Sunday, March 26^th, when we arrived at the Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, Arizona (AJ to the locals), after traveling from the Escapees Escapade RV Rally in Tucson, Arizona. We have a great site with a magnificent view of the Superstition Mountains and the surrounding Sonoran desert. Monday was primarily a chores day. We left the coach after lunch and went into town to run errands. The State park we are in is about five miles northeast of Apache Junction proper. First Jackie got a haircut, then we hit an RV supply store, an office supply store, Costco, and finally Walmart. We then did a couple of geocaches, getting five new finds.

About 4:30 we went to an RV park in Apache Junction to visit with Peggy and Vernon Bullock. They had come to AJ on Saturday from the Escapade and have been traveling with us since late January when they joined us in Yuma. They had tried to get into the State park, but by the time they got around to trying it was full, so they had to go to one of their membership parks. We had cocktails and then did some hamburgers on the BBQ. We had a great visit and a nice dinner. We left about 7:00 and got back to our coach just after dark. We watched TV the rest of the evening. Tuesday we left the coach after lunch and went out to do some more geocaching. We were able to get 19 new finds, along with two DNFs, for the afternoon. After caching we went back to the coach and relaxed there the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, March 29^th, we had a stay at home day. We did a few chores around the coach and relaxed some. About 4:30 Peggy and Vernon came over to see our campground. We had cocktails about 5:00 and were joined by Russ and Nellie. About 6:30 we BBQed some steaks on the grill, and had them with some sweet potatoes and a salad. The six of us ate outside because it was a wonderful evening, great temperature and the wind had died down. Everyone left around 7:30 and we spent the rest of the evening in the coach. Thursday we left the coach a little after 11:00 and drove down to pick up the Bullock's for the day. We first stopped for lunch at a deli in downtown AJ called The Meat Slicer. We had found it on Yelp and it had very good reviews, well deserved as it turned out. They have deli sandwiches which have to be the biggest I have ever seen. Both Jackie and I were only able to eat one half of our sandwich, and that filled us up. I had an Italian that had two pounds of meat and cheese, and Jackie had a turkey and avocado club that was equally as large. The Bullock's were smart and split a pastrami sandwich. If you like deli meats, and find yourself in Apache Junction, you have GOT to try this place.

After lunch we drove north on the Apache Trail as far as Tortilla Flats. The Apache Trail was originally a stage coach trail but in 1903 it was turned into an actual graded road to connect the Phoenix area with the site of Roosevelt Dam being built on the Salt River at the time. The Apache Trail, State Route 88 runs 60 miles from Mesa to Roosevelt Lake and only the first 20 or so miles are paved. Shortly after Tortilla Flats it reverts to gravel again. Tortilla Flats was a stage stop and mining town on the original Apache Trail. It is now a tourist stop. Being tourists, we stopped. We had an ice cream cone and did a little shopping in the gift shop. Jackie got a nice bracelet for $20. While we were traveling we stopped for a couple of geocaches, getting three for the afternoon. After our tour we dropped the Bullock's off at their coach and we drove back to the park. We had cocktails with Russ and Nellie at their place, then went home. We had the other half of our sandwiches for dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, March 31^st, we stayed around the coach most of the day. I put some things away in the afternoon, getting ready to hit the road again tomorrow. About 2:00 we went down to the amphitheater at the park for karaoke. Russ and Nellie had told us that one of the other camp hosts had some karaoke equipment and set it up every Friday afternoon. It was mostly other camp hosts that were there, with only about eight people, but every now and again some of the campers out walking around would come in and listen for a while. There were only four singers, so I got to do about eight songs, including a couple of duets with one of the ladies who had a really good singing voice. We left about 4:30, went back to the coach, and cleaned up for dinner. A little after 5:00 we drove down to the Apache Junction Elks Lodge for drinks and dinner. Russ and Nellie, who are not Elks, went with us as our guests. We also met Peggy and Vernon there. Although we were in AJ for a week last year too, we never got around to visiting the Elks. They have a very nice, large building, with lots of RV parking looking out onto the Superstitions. Right now there are no hookups, only boondocking,
but they are considering putting in at least some water and power sites in the future. The lodge was very busy, but we had cocktails and then dinner. I had a steak, the Bullock's and Jackie had prime rib, and the Riechert's had fish. Everyone really enjoyed their dinners. By 7:30 we were back in our coach and we watched TV for the rest of the night.

Saturday, April 1^st, April Fools Day. I have never been a big fan of April Fool jokes, so Jackie and I have agreed not to prank each other. Today was another moving day. We were packed up, hooked up and on the road about 10:30. We are only going about 67 miles, from Apache Junction to Surprise, Arizona, but it is literally diagonally across the entire metro Phoenix region. That is one of the reasons we arranged for the trip to be on a weekend. Except for a few miles at the beginning and end it was freeway travel, and, as I had hoped, traffic was fairly light. We got into the Sunflower RV Resort in Surprise about 1:00 and quickly got settled into our spot. We are going to be here for a week, so we didn't do too much in the way of decorating and by 3:30 we were all moved in.

Although in Surprise, the RV park is only a quarter of a mile from Sun City, Arizona, where I got my start as a Sheriff's Deputy back in the early 70's. During my career I was a patrol deputy out here, then later a detective, and in the mid-80's was the District Commander, running the substation a mile from where we are right now. After we got setup we relaxed for the rest of the day. We had a nice pork loin for dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, April 2^nd, we started the day with the Sunday paper and coffee. After lunch we loaded up our clothes and went to the laundry facility at the park to do our laundry. They have a really large and well equipped laundry here and it was not very busy this afternoon. We finished our laundry about 3:30 and went back to the coach and put everything away. About 5:00 we left again and drove south to Goodyear, another suburb of Phoenix, to have dinner with my brother Ken and his wife Susan. Ken is the youngest of the five boys in our family, and is 20 years younger than me. He works for the City of Avondale and Susan works for Southwest Airlines. We met them at the Texas Roadhouse and had a nice dinner. After dinner we went back to their house and visited with them until about 8:00. We went back home and then relaxed the rest of the evening.

Monday, April 3^rd, we left the coach about 12:30 and drove to Central Phoenix for lunch with my daughter Tye and granddaughter Jordan. We met at the original Garcia's Restaurant location, one of my old favorites. Tye is my oldest daughter and Jordan is my youngest granddaughter, however, she is now 17. We had a great lunch and visited for about an hour and a half. After our lunch we did a Walmart run and then headed back to the coach. We relaxed in the coach for the rest of the day. Tuesday was a stay at home day. We got a lot of little chores done around the coach and had a really nice day.

Wednesday, April 5^th, we left the coach about 12:00 and headed out to have lunch with my son Roy Jr. Roy is the youngest of my three kids. He has never been married and has lived here in Phoenix his entire life. We had lunch at a nice sandwich shop in North Phoenix that had very good Yelp reviews. The food and service were excellent, perhaps not to quite the extent that some of the reviews raved, but good nonetheless. We had a very nice visit with Roy and talked for about an hour and a half. After lunch we did some shopping errands and also did a few geocaches, getting four new finds and one DNF before heading back to the coach. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the coach. Thursday we spent most of the day around the coach doing some chores. About 5:00 we drove over to the Sun City Elks Lodge with some friends of ours, Ed and Rea Molinsky, for cocktails. We know the Molinsky's from the Full Timer's Chapter of FMCA and they are here at the same park for a couple of weeks. When we got to the lodge we were joined by some other Full Timer's Chapter friends, Howie and Pat Bates. Howie was the president of the Chapter just prior to my terms as President. They have cut way back on their travels and bought a home here in Sun City. We spent an hour or so at the Elks, having a couple cocktails, and then the six of us went to a local restaurant, Tivoli Gardens, for dinner. It was a very nice place, great service, and the food was OK. Not outstanding, but good. After dinner we went back to the park, visited for a little longer with the Molinsky's in their coach, then went back to our place and relaxed the rest of the night.

Friday, April 7^th, I got up early and went to get a blood test. I had my annual physical in January and the labs for that physical showed that my blood glucose was right on the edge of being considered diabetic. The doctor told me that I could probably address that if I exercised some, lost a little weight, and cut back on carbs and sugars. He then gave me an order to get another blood test in three months. If the blood sugar was still high, I would probably have to go on some kind of medication. Since then I have been walking almost an hour every day, mostly eliminated sweets from my diet, and cut back on breads and potatoes and the like. In three months I have lost about 23 pounds. On the way home from the lab I stopped at the Sheriff's Substation in Sun City. In 1984 I had just made Lieutenant and was assigned as the District Commander here in what is known as District Three. A very accommodating admin deputy let me in and showed me around. It has not changed too much, although the small jail that was attached to the station is no longer used. The deputy who showed me around said he remembered my name because he had started just a couple years before I retired in 1991. He is now planning retirement in a couple years. My how time flies. After I got back to the coach we had lunch and then did a Costco run and few other chores. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at home.

Saturday, April 8^th, another travel day. We were packed up and on the road by about 9:30, headed north to Camp Verde in Central Arizona. The trip was about 88 miles, most of it on freeway, but also including the Black Canyon Grade, a ten mile six percent grade from Black Canyon City north to Sunset Point. We arrived at the Verde River RV Resort about 11:30 and quickly got parked. This used to be a Western Horizon's resort, our home park in fact. A couple years ago it was sold to the same guy who has bought three other old WHR parks, in Indio, Casa Grande and Pahrump. He is in the middle of remodeling the park, but it is going to be a while because this was, by far, the most “rustic” of the four old WHR properties.

Peggy and Vernon Bullock rolled in right behind us, having spent the last week in Apache Junction. They are parked a few spots down from us. We got with them about 5:30 and had cocktails, then we did some carne on the BBQ for the four of us. We will be here in Camp Verde for a week and during that stay we hope to be able to see my brother Dennis, who lives in Cottonwood, about 12 miles north of here. About 8:00 we were back in our coach relaxing for the rest of the night.

Sunday, April 9^th, I went out and got a couple of Sunday papers and we had a quiet morning. About noon we left with Peggy and Vernon in our car and went out to do some geocaching. We were able to get five new finds, with no DNFs, before we ran out of caches in the immediate area of Cottonwood. We have cached a lot in this area, so unfound urban caches are getting scarce. We stopped at Walmart for some supplies, then headed back to the park. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, and then about 5:30 had cocktails with the Bullock's. We then came down to our coach and had a nice BBQ. I had steak and the other three had lamb. We had a really good dinner and then, after Peggy and Vernon left about 7:30, we watched TV until bedtime.

Monday was a stay at home day. I spent a good part of the afternoon working on trip planning for our summer trip back east. I did get a phone call from my doctor's office about the blood test from Friday. My doctor told me that my blood glucose was in the normal range and I would not need any medications. Yea! We had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon about 5:30 and then dinner at our place. Jackie made a chili relleno casserole and it was wonderful. The Bullock's left about 8:00 and we watched TV until bedtime. Tuesday we left the coach about 10:00 with Peggy and Vernon and drove to the nearby ghost town of Jerome. Jerome sits on the side of a mountain

overlooking the Verde Valley and was a mining town in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Now it is mostly an artist community with some great restaurants. We had lunch at the Haunted Hamburger, a restaurant in Jerome that occupies an old boarding house near the top of the hill. Supposedly when it was being remodeled hammers kept disappearing from the work site. We have eaten here before and the food is great. It is a little on the pricey side, but then most everything in Jerome is. We had a great lunch and then did some geocaching in town, getting four new finds. After caching we went back to the RV park and stayed around the coach the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30 and then went back to our place and watched TV the rest of the night.

Wednesday, April 12^th, we left the coach about 10:30 with the Bullock's and drove into Cottonwood to have breakfast at a very nice local cafe called Randall's. We have eaten there just about every time we are up this way. The food and service are both great. We had a nice breakfast, lunch for me, then headed north the 20 miles or so to Sedona in the Red Rock country of Arizona. Back in the 60's I used to come up here with my high school friends camping. Then later I brought my own family up here a couple times a year at least. We did a little shopping and some geocaching, getting seven new finds and one DNF before we left and headed back to Camp Verde. We made a stop at the grocery store in Camp Verde and then went back to the RV park for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon at 5:30 and then Peggy made some chicken and dumplings. The food was wonderful and we had a great dinner with friends. About 8:00 we went back to our coach and relaxed the rest of the night.

Thursday, April 13^th, Jackie and Peggy went out for a girl's day about 10:30. The went to get pedicures, do some shopping and have lunch. I did a few chores around the coach in the morning. Mid afternoon my son Roy Jr. drove up to spend the day and evening. He would have been here earlier, but he had some trouble with his truck and had to go back home and fix it. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and visiting. About 6:30 my brother Dennis, who lives here in Cottonwood also came over, and the four of us had dinner. At the table was the entire male bloodline of the Holt name. Roy is my only son, and he never had any kids. Dennis only had two girls, and the other boys in our family have the Disch name, so no more Holt's in our line. Jackie made a nice meatloaf for dinner and we had it and some potatoes and broccoli. We had a great dinner and talked until about 9:30 when Dennis left to go home. We watched some TV and talked some more until bedtime. Roy stayed the night on our couch, him and the cats, of course.

Friday, April 14^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and took Roy to breakfast in Camp Verde. After we ate he left to go home and we went into Cottonwood to walk through some antique stores and do some shopping. By 3:30 we were back home and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. At 5:30 we had cocktails with the Bullock's then the four of us BBQed some hamburgers. We had a nice dinner and talked until about 8:00. This would be the last time we are with the Bullock's until the end of the year. We are going back East this summer and they are going home. After that we went home and watched TV the rest of the night. Saturday was another travel day. It is also our cat Smokey's 17^th birthday. We got him as a feral kitten, so we had to estimate his age, and Tax Day seemed the easiest to remember and was probably within a week or two of his actual birthday. We left Camp Verde about 10:00 and drove back south to the Phoenix area, ending up in Buckeye, a western suburb. We stopped at the Leaf Verde RV park, just off I-10 and quickly got parked for a two night stay. After we got set up we just stayed in the rest of the day.

 It has been about three weeks since we published, so our moving today marks a good place to close this chapter and get it online. We will be working our way towards Santa Maria, California for the next week or so and then a week there visiting family. Once our stay in Santa Maria is done we will officially be starting our summer travels. Yea. Stay tuned for great adventures this year. Until next time, I leave you with a thought from George Burns. “I'm very pleased to be here. Let's face it, at my age I'm very pleased to be anywhere." See ya soon.