Some Time In North-Central Arizona

Hello again. Our last chapter ended on Thursday, March 22^nd when we left Yuma, Arizona, after a month long stay, and moved to the High Chaparral RV Park in Arizona City, near Casa Grande. We are only here for three nights and our friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock are parked right next to us. Friday was a chores day for us. We met Peggy and Vernon at the Big Wa Chinese restaurant for lunch. This is one of our favorite places when in Casa Grande. After lunch we did our laundry and then did some shopping. After we got home we put everything away and relaxed for a while. We had cocktails with the Bullock's then relaxed for the rest of the night.

Saturday, March 24^th, we left the coach after lunch and went out with the Bullock's to do some geocaching and go to a couple stores. The wind was blowing really hard and it was very dusty. We still were able to get six geocaches in about an hour before we decided we had eaten enough dust for the day. We went to the grocery store, then headed back to the coach. I had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 but Jackie had an upset stomach and stayed in. After I got back we fixed a light dinner and watched TV the rest of the night. Sunday was another travel day. We left Arizona City about 10:30 and started north to Prescott Valley, Arizona, about 150 mile trip. Prescott Valley is in the mountains of Central Arizona, north of Phoenix and you have to drive through the middle of metro Phoenix to get there. We arrived at the Prescott Elks Lodge around 1:00 and got settled into our spot. We are going to be here for a week. Prescott Valley is at about 5,000 feet elevation so it is MUCH colder than Yuma has been.

The biggest reason we are here is that Troy Bullock, Peggy and Vernon's grandson, moved here after he got out of the Marine Corps. Troy is the one that was stationed at Yuma Marine Corps Air Station. He and his wife Makayla moved here and Troy is going to Embry Riddle University working on an aeronautical degree and getting his helicopter license. He wants to be a commercial helicopter pilot. Peggy and Vernon also just found out that Makayla is pregnant with their first great grandchild. Yea! After we got settled in we relaxed for a bit. Troy and Makayla came over for a visit and dinner about 5:00. We did some burgers on the grill and had a very nice dinner with the kids. We have not seen Troy since last February when he was still in Yuma. They left about 7:30 and by 8:00 we were back in our coach watching TV until bedtime.

Monday, March 26^th, was a stay at home day for me. I had a lot of office work to do including putting together the quarterly newsletter for the Full Timer's Chapter of FMCA. I took on the editor job and this is my second edition. It takes most of a day to get everything put together right once everyone who contributes information gets it to me. Jackie went out to lunch with Peggy and Makayla to a Prescott restaurant and then they went and got haircuts. Troy and Makayla came over about 5:00 again and we had cocktails and then Jackie served a nice chili relleno casserole, along with rice and beans. Makayla also brought an enchilada dish. We had another great meal, this time eating in our coach. By 8:00 everyone had left and we spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Tuesday, March 27^th, we left the park about 11:30 and drove to the local In-N-Out hamburger joint for lunch. After lunch we did some shopping, first at Walmart, then down to the Costco, then finally Kohl's. After our shopping spree we went back to the coach and did a few chores. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 and then Peggy served dinner. Tonight was salad, shrimp cocktail and a Southwest Chicken soup. We had a great meal and hung around talking until about 8:00 when we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime. Wednesday we left the coach about 10:30 with Peggy and Vernon in our car. We drove into the City of Prescott for lunch, stopping at a place called The Local. It was an upscale, yuppie sort of breakfast and lunch cafe. Lots of local sourced foods, healthy preparation sort of stuff. The menu had some very unusual selections, but as it turned out the food was great. I had a breakfast that was a couple of green chili and cheese enchiladas, scrambled eggs and chirizo sausage and it was probably the best breakfast I have ever had. Jackie had a kind of eggs Benedict thing that she said tasted good, but she didn't like that it had both hot and cold elements combined. Vernon had a simple eggs and sausage breakfast that he liked a lot. Peggy wasn't happy with her burger because she said the meat was tough. I would go back, not so sure about Jackie and Peggy. After lunch we did some geocaching in Prescott, getting ten new finds and one DNF. About 3:30 we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. At 5:00 Jackie and I went over to the Elks Lodge for a cocktail and dinner. Peggy and Vernon had Troy over and the three of them went off to have wings somewhere. Makayla had school tonight. We have never been in this lodge before. It is a nice big building with several large rooms and a big bar. They have 645 members. Tonight was taco night and they had dollar tacos and five dollar taco salads. Everything was very good, lots of meat and cheese, well worth the cost. We had a drink, dinner and got a new lodge pin for our banner, all for about twenty bucks. By 6:30 we were back in our coach in our jammies watching TV for the rest of the night.

Thursday, March 29^th, was a stay at home day. I got some office work done and a few little chores done around the house. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 and then we had dinner at our place. We had Asian style country ribs with rice. We had a very nice dinner and Peggy and Vernon stayed until about 7:30, after which we watched TV. Friday we went out after lunch to Walmart for a few things, then stopped at a couple of local thrift stores just to look around. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:00 then I served everyone chili for dinner. Troy and Makayla were going to come over, but Makayla wasn't feeling well, so they stayed home. After the Bullock's left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, March 31^st, we left the coach about noon and drove to a very nice, newer community just inside the City of Prescott.  We were coming to visit Steve and Gail Schmidt, some old aquaintences of ours from when we still lived in Indio.  Steve and Gail were members of the Indio Elks RV club and we traveled with them on many outings from 2000 to 2005.  A couple years ago they sold their home in the Palm Desert Sun City community, bought some land in Prescott, and had a house built.  Although we have kept in touch with them on Facebook over the years, we have not seen them in person since shortly after we went full time in 2005.  We arrived at their very nice home and were given a tour.  They have a big piece of land, nearly an acre, and a really big house with a great outdoor rec area and killer views.  We sat and had some wine and talked, catching up after all these years.  Gail served some nice grilled sourdough sandwiches for lunch and we had a very good time.  We spent a couple hours with them before saying our goodbyes. 

After leaving Steve and Gail we went to Walmart for a few supplies. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing around the coach. At 5:00 we got together with Peggy and Vernon, and Troy and Makayla for happy hour. Peggy then served an early Easter dinner with ham, salad, and bread. Jackie made some asparagus and some mashed sweet potatoes. We are having an “early” Easter dinner because tomorrow is Easter and it is a travel day for us. We are leaving in the morning and going up the road a little ways to Camp Verde, Arizona. Peggy and Vernon will celebrate actual Easter with the kids tomorrow. We had a great meal and by 7:30 we were back home relaxing with the TV.

Sunday, April 1^st, Happy Easter and NOT April Fools. We packed up the coach and were on the road about 11:00, heading to Camp Verde. The trip was only 35 miles, so we didn't hook up the car, Jackie just drove along behind me. Normally when we go to Camp Verde we stay at the old Western Horizon's park, but they were not taking reservations for this Spring because they were doing renovations. Instead we are at the Distant Drums RV Resort, which is just the other side of the Verde River, just off the I-17 Freeway. The resort is part of the Indian Casino, which is on the opposite side of the Freeway from the park. It is a nice park, but a little pricey. We got in about noon and check in wasn't until 1:00, so we parked in the overflow area for a little while. Eventually we got checked in and parked in a very nice pull in spot overlooking the Verde River Valley and the mountains. It took us quite a while to get settled in, mostly because our satellite dish is blocked by a big tree, so I had to set up the spare, on the ground dish. That is always at least an hour and a half job. I finally got reception and we got pretty much moved in by 3:00 or so. I still have to wash the windows and put up the shade screens tomorrow. After we got settled in we had cocktails and then a dinner of leftovers from last night. We then watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, April 2^nd, I got the rest of my set up completed in the morning. I got the windshield washed, the dust knocked off the shade screens and the screens put up. After lunch we drove into Camp Verde to the go to the grocery store and drive around town a little bit. We then went back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Our friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock pulled into a spot about four down from us this afternoon. We let them get set up and then they came down to our coach, because we have the nice view, and had cocktails. After happy hour we had a BBQ with the three of them having rack of lamb and me a nice juicy T-bone. We had a great dinner and talked until about 7:30 when they went back to their coach and we watched TV until bedtime. Tuesday we left the coach about 10:30 and drove, with Peggy and Vernon aboard, to the old mining town of Jerome, in the hills above Cottonwood. We have a favorite restaurant up there called “The Haunted Hamburger” which is in an old 19^th century hotel that has been converted to a restaurant. We had a great meal, as always, with killer views of the Verde Valley to boot. After lunch we drove back down the hill, stopped at the Post Office in Cottonwood, then headed back to the RV park. Peggy was working on her taxes, so she couldn't stay out and play. When we got back I found that the motor for our outside steps on the coach had arrived. A few days back the steps stopped coming in and out, the second time that has happened since we had the coach. I ordered the motor and it came in two days. I spent the next two and a half hours under the front of the coach installing the new motor. It was hot and dirty, but I got it done and the steps work again. Yea! Jackie did a few things in the coach while I was working outside. We had happy hour with the Bullock's, but no dinner tonight because of the big lunch. It was nice being able to have happy hour outside again in the nice weather. After the sun went down the Bullock's went home and we watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, April 4^th, we spent most of the day at home, relaxing and getting a few chores done. About 4:30 we left the park with Peggy and Vernon and I drove to Cottonwood and the Blazin' M Ranch for their dinner show. Jackie and I had been to this place back in November 2013 with our friends Mike and Darlene Neighbours and some of Mike's family. We thought Peggy and Vernon might enjoy this place as we did, so we suggested coming here tonight. This is a family owned and operated business that started back in the mid 90's and provides a light “western experience” for tourists. The ranch has a strip of old looking wooden buildings housing a bar, several gift shops, shooting gallery, photo gallery and a few old west exhibits. There is also a very large, barn-like building that is the dinner hall and showroom. They open about 5:00 and you spend an hour and a half walking around looking at things in the shops and buildings and just enjoying the atmosphere. At 6:30 everyone goes into the large building and sits at family style picnic tables for the dinner and show. The room holds several hundred people and it was packed tonight.

We had a good time with the people at our table, which included a couple from Richmond, Virginia with two teenage kids who were out here exploring Arizona on Spring Break. Very nice people and very well mannered kids. There was also a young couple from New Jersey and I correctly guessed that he might be in law enforcement. He is an investigator for financial crimes for the State of New Jersey. Once everyone gets seated they start to run everyone through the “chow line” military style. You get a metal plate and go through the line, picking up a baked potato, beans, prickly pear slaw, chicken, pork ribs and a biscuit. Once you have your food you go back to your table and eat. They give you a lot of food and for the most part it is all very good. The meal was nice, we visited with our new acquaintances and had a good time.

After the meal they serve desert, ice cream and apple crumble, then the show starts. Two guys and a woman play a bunch of western music from a whole variety of eras and styles. They were pretty good musicians and OK singers. They also had a comedian, “Otis” who came out and did some jokes and a funny song or two. He later came out without the costume and it turns out he is a long-time professional singer who did movies and Broadway shows. He had an excellent singing voice. They close the show out with the song Ghost Riders, during which they turn out all the lights in the building and a horseman dressed in a ghost costume rides around the outside of the building with some spooky lighting effects. The sides of the building are all windows, so you can see the guy riding. It is the same finale they had five years ago and I enjoyed it just as much this time. Peggy and Vernon told us that they really enjoyed the experience tonight and were glad that we suggested it. After the show was over about 9:00 we drove back to the RV park, dropped off Peggy and Vernon, and went to our coach. We watched one half hour TV show just to unwind and then went to bed.

Thursday, April 5^th, Peggy and Vernon left this morning to continue their own travels. They are heading to Texas to visit some other friends. We will be pretty much on our own now until we meet up with our friends again in Wyoming in July. We left the coach about 10:45 and drove to Sedona to meet my brother Dennis for lunch. Dennis is the next brother in line, eight years younger than I. He is also my only full brother, all of the other's being half brothers. He has lived in Cottonwood since the late 70's and is a Regional Manager for a small, New York based boutique bank called AmTrust Bank. They have two branches in the Sedona area and Dennis manages both. We met him at Szechuan, a local Chinese restaurant not too far from where he works in West Sedona. We had a very nice lunch and talked for an hour or so. After we said our goodbyes we did a couple of caches in the area. We were able to get two finds and one DNF before deciding we needed to get back to Cottonwood to do our shopping. We stopped at the Cottonwood Walmart, then headed back to the coach. We spent the rest of the evening in the coach, with just us and the cat, no friends, no visiting dog.

Friday, April 6^th, we left the coach after lunch and drove across the freeway to the Cliff Castle Casino to do a little gaming. The park gave us vouchers for ten dollars in free play since the park is owned and operated by the Tribe. We each put in $20 for a total of $30 each and it didn't even take a half hour before we had finished our gaming. We seldom have any luck in Indian casinos. After gaming we drove into Camp Verde and went to a couple of antique stores just to kill time. We also got two geocaches which get us to within 10 finds of having 9,100. We got back to the coach around 4:00 and relaxed for a bit. We had dinner around 6:30 and about 7:00 my brother Dennis came over for a quick visit. Friday's are a late day at his bank, so he came directly from work. We fixed him a quick dinner and talked while he ate. He stayed a couple of hours then said he needed to get home because he had to go down to Phoenix early in the morning to fix the water heater in our parent's old house, which is still in the family. Hopefully someday it will get sold so we can share the proceeds among the five brothers. After Dennis left we watched TV and went to bed.

Saturday, April 7^th, we left the coach after lunch and drove into old town Cottonwood to walk around and do a little sightseeing. Old town is only about three blocks long, so we walked both sides of the street, going into a number of shops and antique stores. On our way to downtown we stopped at a couple of geocaches in Cornville, a little town along the way, and got a couple of geocaches. We also got one in Cottonwood for a total of three finds for the day. After our shopping adventure we headed back to the coach. I spent a little time putting some stuff away because tomorrow is a travel day. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach. Sunday was another travel day. We were packed up and on the road about 10:45, heading south to Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. The trip was about 110 miles and we arrived in Goodyear, at the Cotton Lane RV Park, about 1:30 after a brief stop for fuel. We got parked and spent a couple of hours getting set up. It is pretty hot down here, in the 90's, and will likely be so for the whole week we are going to be here. We hope to see some family and friends while we are in the Phoenix area. After we got set up we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing.

Our arrival here in the Phoenix area marks a good point to get this episode published. Until next time, remember that life is too short to be serious all the time. If you can't laugh at yourself, call me and I'll laugh at you. See ya soon.