Springtime Comes to Pahrump

Hello again.  Our last chapter concluded on Monday, March 31^st, while we were in residence at our wonderful retirement community in Pahrump.  Tuesday, April 1^st – April Fool’s Day!  I hate April Fools jokes.  Anyway, today we had a planned event starting at 1:00 that was intended to substitute for the usual Spring camping trip for the Lucky Rollers camping club here at our Co-op.  The club always has a Spring and a Fall campout somewhere within a couple of hundred miles of Pahrump.  They had planned for an event at the Avi Casino, which is an Indian casino a few miles South of Laughlin, Nevada.  About two weeks before the campout the plans sort of collapsed when the RV park at Avi wouldn’t honor the rates and conditions that the people from the club thought had been set up.  The club just decided to cancel the outing and hold a one-day party in our park instead of a four-day campout.  It didn’t bother us too much since we don’t have a movable RV anymore.  We go to most of the campouts, but we stay in a nearby hotel instead of the RV park.  A couple dozen people showed up at 1:00 in the open air “Quail Run” picnic area at the back of our park for the event.  However, it was cold and windy, so about 3:00 they decided to move the event into the clubhouse and restart at 4:00 with the potluck dinner.  The potluck went well, lots of good food.  After dinner we had some drawings for a couple of door prize gift baskets, one of which Jackie won.  They also had a brown bag drawing where you bring a gift in a bag and people buy tickets for a chance to win one.  We both got one of those as well.  We didn’t get the 50/50.  After all the drawings I played guitar and sang for the group for about an hour.  The whole thing wrapped up about 6:00.  Not quite the usual campout, but fun, nonetheless.  After the party we went home and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Wednesday, April 2^nd, I had my guitar practice session with my music friends, and Jackie had her Pokeno in the clubhouse.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home for dinner and a night watching TV.  Thursday was a busy day.  I had a 10:00 meeting of the By Laws Committee.  Jackie had an 11:00 mani appointment.  I also had a 12:00 meeting with the Board of Directors where we met with the employees of the Co-op.  The current Board tries to do this at least once a quarter.  I then had another Board meeting at 2:30 for some financial approvals.  That meeting was pretty short.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and had dinner.  We watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, April 4^th, we went to the China Wok restaurant about 10:30 for another one of our MASA lunches.  MASA is a sort of medical transport insurance and we have a lifetime membership.  They periodically put on lunches to try and get new business and they always welcome current members to attend.  Free Chinese food, why not?  After lunch we went home and spent the rest of the day relaxing and doing things around the house.  Saturday, Jackie went to play cards at 10:00 while I did some work on Board issues.  At 5:30 we picked up our friends Dale and Sue Vice and drove to the Pour House restaurant for dinners.  We had a pretty good visit with Dale and Sue but were a little disappointed with the quality of the food.  The place is in the process of converting to a brew pub and they seem to have lost their edge with the food.  After we dropped Dale and Sue off, we watched TV for the rest of the night.

Sunday, April 6^th, we did another “Sunday-Funday”.  We left the house about 1:00 and drove to the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge for a visit.  Although the Refuge is only about 28 miles from Pahrump, we have never been out here.  At last night’s dinner Dale and Sue talked a lot about the place, so we decided to go out there.  One reason we hadn’t gone out there since we stopped traveling in the motorhome and settled down is that our car, our old Ford Cmax hybrid, had a very low ground clearance and all the roads going to, and within, the Refuge are gravel.  Now we have our Buick SUV with normal clearance, so we were not hesitant to go ahead and drive out there. Back in the 50’s and 60’s this area was largely developed farming and ranching land.  The Armargosa River runs through (and beneath) this part of the Armargosa Valley.  By the 70’s the water was getting more and more difficult to get, so the area was pretty much abandoned and left as desert.  In 1983 http://The Nature Conservancy purchased 12,613 acres that had been slated for development to protect Ash Meadows. The Nature Conservancy transferred the land to the Fish and Wildlife Service  and the refuge was created on June 18, 1984, to protect this extremely rare desert oasis in the Mojave Desert.

Ash Meadows is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Ash Meadows provides a valuable and unprecedented example of desert oases habitats, that have become extremely uncommon in the southwestern deserts. The refuge is a major discharge point for a vast underground aquifer water system, reaching more than 100 mi to the northeast. Water-bearing strata come to the surface in more than thirty seeps and springs, providing a rich, complex variety of mesic habitats.  The Point of Rocks Springs in the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is home to the Amargosa River Pupfish.  Virtually all of the water at Ash Meadows is fossil water, believed to have entered the ground water system tens of thousands of years ago.  Numerous stream channels and wetlands are scattered throughout the refuge. To the north and west are the remnants of Carson Slough, which was drained and mined for its peat in the 1960s. Sand dunes occur in the western and southern parts of the refuge.

Endemic plants and animals.  Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge was established to provide and protect habitat for at least twenty-six endemic plants and animals, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world.  The concentration of locally exclusive flora and fauna that distinguishes Ash Meadows is the greatest concentration of endemic biota in any local area within the United States. It has the second greatest local endemism concentration in all of North America.

We went to the visitor’s center first, where we learned all about the history of the Refuge.  It was a very nice center with lots of exhibits and information.  We then drove to some of the various highlight areas.  We went first to Devils Hole, which is a natural fissure in the earth at the base of a small mountain range.  The fissure is an opening to a huge underground reservoir that is estimated to be more than 500 feet deep.  You can look down into the hole and see the water about 40 feet or so down.  The first five feet or so of this underground lake is home to the Devils Hole Pupfish, which is a tiny minnow that only exists in this place.  At one time the population of the fish declined to 35 individuals.  However, the Refuge has nurtured the population by creating a hatchery where they take the fish eggs every year and raise them until they can be returned to the hole.  There are now more than 200 of this species.  We also drove to a natural spring at a place called “Point of Rocks” where there is another species of Pupfish, the Armargosa River Pupfish.  In this spring fed pool, you can see a variety of species of pupfish and minnows. We took several pictures of the bright blue Pupfish.  We had a really nice visit and were glad we went.  After we drove home, we had dinner, which we had cooking in the crock pot while we were gone, then watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, April 7^th, we had nothing on our schedule today.  I spent most of the afternoon in the shed office doing some work related to my position on the Board of Directors.  I had to get a number of proposals written for the open Board meeting next week.  We skipped happy hour and just relaxed with the TV for the rest of the night.  Tuesday the cleaning lady came.  We had a stay-at-home day.  Wednesday, we had a lunch at the clubhouse at 11:00 put on by MASA.  After the presentation they had lunch catered by Panda Express.  After lunch I had my guitar practice group and Jackie had Pokeno.  We went to happy hour, then home for dinner and night with the TV.

Thursday, April 10^th, we left the park about 9:30 and headed to Las Vegas so Jackie could see Dr. Nishiyama about her knees.  After the exam and the x-rays, she was told that she really didn’t need any sort of surgery.  They gave her cortisone shots in both knees, and we were done.  We had lunch at the Omelet House in Summerlin, then went to Costco to shop.  After Costco we headed back home, getting back in time for happy hour.  After happy hour we went home and watched TV for the rest of the afternoon and evening.  Friday, we went out for a late lunch at El Jefe’s, then came home and did some chores.  We went to Bingo at 5:30.  Both of us won one small pot, but we had fun.  We went home and spent the rest of the night with the TV.  On Saturday, Jackie had her ladies’ lunch out at Living Free Café, and I went with the men’s group to Tower Pizza.  After lunch we ran some errands and then came home and relaxed with the TV for the rest of the night.

Sunday, April 13^th, we had a stay-at-home day and did some chores.  We had our friends Mike and Rhea, and Max and Nancy, over for cocktails at 4:00.  After that we had dinner, then spent the rest of the night watching TV.  Monday, I had a Board workshop at 9:00.  About 11:00 we went to the Lakeside Casino for lunch with the Lucky Rollers camping group from here at the park.  After lunch we went home and spent the rest of the day there.  Tuesday was a stay-at-home day.

Wednesday, April 16^th, I skipped guitar practice and did some chores.  Jackie went to Pokeno.  After Pokeno we went to the physical therapy place because Dr. Nishiyama had suggested that Jackie might need some PT.  This is the same place I went to after my hip replacement.  She had her consultation with the PT specialist, and he told her he didn’t think she needed any PT, so we left and went home.  We had dinner and watched TV until bedtime.  Thursday was a busy day.  I had to go to the regular Board Meeting since I am now a Director on the Board.  After the Board Meeting, I had to set up the jam session in the clubhouse.  At 1:00 we had the jam session and had a really great group.  Some of the people I play with weekly came, as well as a couple of people from the park.  Jackie had an 11:30 mani appointment but made it back for the last half of the jam.  After the jam we went to happy hour, then came home for dinner and night with the TV.  I also had my first shift of Security Duty at 8:00.  Friday,  we ran some errands and spent most of the day home doing chores and the usual stuff.

Saturday, April 19^th, we ran some more errands.  I also spent an hour or so helping the Lucky Rollers group clean out their storage shed.  We are now working on getting things together for our cruise through the Panama Canal.  We leave here on Wednesday, the 30^th at 3:00 in the morning.  Our flight to Florida is at 7:00 am in Las Vegas.  We went to happy hour, then relaxed for the rest of the night.  Sunday,  Happy Easter.  This was a stay-at-home day.  I went over to the clubhouse to help with the cooking and serving of Easter Dinner.  Jackie stayed home and made sweet potatoes.  We had a really nice dinner with both turkey and ham.  After dinner we went home and watched TV until bedtime.  Monday was mostly a stay-at-home day.  Our house cleaner came, and we did a bunch of chores.

Tuesday, April 22nd, I had a calendar meeting with the Silver Seekers group.  Although I am not on the Silver Seekers board anymore, I still do their calendars and take care of the Electronic Bulletin Board.  After the meeting I spent several hours doing office work for the calendar.  Since we are leaving in a week, I had to get it done early.  Wednesday, I skipped guitar practice and did a bunch of chores, getting ready to leave for our cruise.  Jackie still went to Pokeno.  We went to happy hour, then came home for dinner and TV.    Thursday, I had a 10:00 meeting with the Policy and Procedures working group, of which I am the facilitator.  Afte the meeting we ran some errands.  Spent the rest of the day at home.

Friday, April 25^th, I had a 10:00 meeting of the By Laws Committee and then at 1:00 I went with a bunch of people to help clean up around the park’s Quonset hut.  There was a lot of hording going on, so a lot of junk to throw away.  After clean up time we went out to eat a late lunch at Rubalcabas Mexican restaurant.  We went home and then to Bingo at 5:30.  Neither of us won anything tonight.  After Bingo we went home and relaxed with the TV.  Saturday, we went out for haircuts at 11:00, then we both got our toes clipped.  Jackie got a full pedi.  After we got home Jackie made some pea soup in the InstaPot for the potluck.  At 3:00 we went over to the potluck and had a nice dinner with friends.  After dinner we came home and watched TV.  Sunday, we got the suitcases out and started packing for our trip.

Monday, April 28^th, I went over to the clubhouse at 10:00 and helped my friend Don install a new TV on the wall.  We had to take the old TV down, put up and new bracket for the bigger TV and get it mounted.  We were done in about two hours.  We spent the rest of the day at home, getting ready to cruise.  Tuesday Jackie had a manicure appointment at 2:30.  We spent most of the day doing our final packing for our cruise.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and had dinner.  Because we were being picked by our ride service at 3:30 am, we didn’t go to bed.  We just stayed up and watched TV.  Our ride service is a private ride sharing service, the driver, Debbie, has been used by a number of our friends and fellow members at the Co-op park.  It’s $80 each way, which makes it cheaper than driving and parking a car somewhere in Las Vegas.

That is the end of this month’s chapter of our personal history blog.  Until next time, be safe and have fun.  Bye.