Eastbound and Down

Hello again, welcome back to our travels. Our last chapter concluded on Sunday, April 30^th when we officially began our summer travels by leaving Santa Maria, California and starting east. Those of a “certain age” will recognize the title of this blog as the theme song from Smokey and the Bandit. Our first night was in Bakersfield, California where we stayed one night. Didn't even unhook the car, just relaxed for the afternoon and evening. Monday was another travel day, 150 miles east to Newberry Springs, California, just east of Barstow. We stayed at this same RV park last week when we were going West to the coast. Again we left the car connected for our one night stay and just stayed in and watched some TV for the day.

Tuesday, May 2^nd, we left Newberry Springs about 9:30 and continued east on Interstate 40, heading to Needles, 120 miles away. We arrived at the Needles Elks Lodge just before noon and got settled in for a two night stay. After we got set up and had lunch we went out to explore just a little and get at least one geocache so we could get the souvenir that they are giving for finding a cache today. This is the 15^th Anniversary of the sport of geocaching. We were able to find two quick caches and stopped at a store for a couple of things. We were going to make a Walmart run, but it seems that Needles doesn't have a Walmart, or any other grocery chain store for that matter. The closest Walmarts are in Bullhead City, Arizona or Kingman, Arizona. We drove around for a half hour exploring Needles and then went back to the coach for the rest of the afternoon. Today it was going to hit 100, so we are going to stay inside.

Wednesday, May 3^rd, we had a non-travel day for a change. Since it was going to be well over a hundred today we decided to go for a drive to Laughlin, Nevada, which is only about 30 miles north of Needles. We have not been to Laughlin in at least eight years, if not longer. The drive took about 40 minutes and our first stop was the Harrah's Casino. We gambled for an hour or so and then went to the coffee shop for lunch, although we both had breakfast. We then drove up to the Golden Nugget and gambled for another hour or so before leaving and making one last stop at the Riverside, the original Laughlin Casino. Laughlin is named after Don Laughlin who opened his casino and hotel in 1966. There are now ten casinos in Laughlin and it is listed as one of the top five RV destinations in the U.S. We didn't win anything, but between the two of us we only lost less than a hundred dollars for the day, and had a good time. When we finished at the Riverside we crossed the bridge into Bullhead City, Arizona, and stopped at Walmart for some supplies. We then went home, getting home about 5:30, before the cats even missed us. We spent the rest of the evening in the coach.

Thursday, May 4^th, Star Wars Day. (May the “fourth” be with you) This was another travel day, and was going to be as hot as yesterday. We got out around 9:30 and started east on Interstate 40 again. We are going 178 miles to Williams, Arizona. After 11 miles we crossed the Colorado into Arizona, leaving California for at least six months if the current travel plans stick. We made a fuel stop but still made it to Williams just after 1:00. Because Needles is 500 feet elevation and Williams is almost 7,000 feet, it was pretty much uphill all the way. I was really having to work to keep the coach from overheating, but we made it with no problems. Williams is considered to be the “Gateway” to the Grand Canyon and the old steam train that goes up to the canyon leaves from here. We are staying at the Grand Canyon Railroad RV park, which is right next to the tracks for the canyon train. We are going to be here for three days, so we took a little longer to get set up. Once we got set up we relaxed for the rest of the day. Jackie will need a quiet evening to acclimate to the altitude anyway.

Friday, May 5^th, Happy Cinco de Mayo! Not Mexican Independence Day as many believe, but certainly a day when everyone is Mexican. In the spirit, we went out to a local Mexican place called the Fiesta Grill for lunch. The food was good, not the best ever, but good, solid Sonoran Mexican food. The salsa was the best thing, the cost of the drinks the worst. My tequila driver and Jackie's margarita totaled more than our meals. After lunch we did one geocache, only because it had been put out the day before and we would be able to get an FTF (first to find) on the cache. Since we are not really early starters, we rarely get FTFs, so it is fun to stumble into one. After our cache find we went to the one laundromat in town and did our laundry, the first time since Ehrenberg. While unloading the car we were checked out by a Coconino County Sheriff's Deputy. It seems a few days ago an elderly couple were murdered and their car, a white Jeep Liberty, was stolen. The cops are looking at all white Jeep sedan's. Once our laundry was done we went home and put our clothes away and relaxed the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Saturday, May 6^th, we left the coach after lunch to do some geocaching in the Williams area. We had a good afternoon, getting 15 new finds, along with four DNFs, before quitting about 3:30. One of the caches was another milestone, number 8,500! Yea! We then went back to the coach and relaxed the rest of the day. Sunday was another travel day. There has been a storm system setting over the southwest for the last couple days, and, although we didn't have any rain like Southern California, we were having very strong winds. The winds blew all night long and we were a little worried about traveling, however, the other side of the coin was that we were at 7,000 feet and the storm was predicted to bring snow to as low as 5,000. Decision made, we were on the road about 10:00. We continued east, about 100 miles to Homolavi Ruins State Park, just north of Winslow, Arizona. We stayed at this park a couple of years ago and liked it. It is only about three miles out of town, but it is up on a mesa and very quiet and pretty. The winds on the trip were strong, but never got into the scary range, so we had a pretty good trip. We are going to be here in Winslow for five nights. We got everything set up and then we just relaxed the rest of the day.

Monday, May 8^th, we went out after lunch to do some geocaches. We got four new finds, and two DNFs in about an hour, then the rainy weather that we had been promised looked like it was moving in. We quit caching and went back to the coach. As it turned out, the rain bypassed us except for some very light sprinkles.  Nonetheless, we had a nice, relaxing afternoon and the weather didn't spoil our evening BBQ. About a year ago our friend Ray Babcock brought back a bunch of Mahi from a Mexico fishing trip and it has been sitting in our freezer since. We got it out today, BBQed it and had some great fish tacos. Yum. Ironically, just as we were finishing dinner Ray called, the first time I had talked to him in weeks. Of course, we thanked him for dinner. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV.  The picture is of one of the geocaches we found today was at a 9/11 Memorial on Old Route 66.  It was built with two of the steel beams from the World Trade Center.

Tuesday, May 9^th, the promised rain finally came in early in the morning. About 4:00 a.m. the thunder came and we had a series of brief thunderstorms and rain showers until about 9:30. There was a break in the weather so I had time to get my walk in. We left the coach after lunch and went to Walmart, which is on the far west side of Winslow. We are just east and north of town. When we came out of the store we noticed a very heavy, black storm over towards the west. We drove through town, just sight-seeing a little, and didn't hit any rain until we turned into the drive for the State Park. We were right under the thunderstorm and the rain was very hard, and there was small, pea-sized hail. Fortunately, it was small and soft, so I don't think it could cause any damage to vehicles, but it was piling up on the ground like snow. Oddly, when we turned into the drive for the campground the hail stopped. The storm track was such that the hail was falling only about a quarter mile north of the campground, so the coach didn't get any at all. We spent the rest of the day around the coach. We did get a little more rain, but by evening it had cleared up. We did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner and relaxed the rest of the night.

Wednesday, May 10^th, we went out after lunch to do some geocaching. It was still very cloudy, but the storm system was moving out to the east. In a few hours we were able to get eight new finds, and one DNF. About 3:00 we finished caching and stopped at the Winslow Elks Lodge. For whatever reason, we did not come here when we stayed in Winslow for the first time two years ago. The Elks are in their original old brick building, built in 1923, just a block or two from old downtown on Route 66. It is a two story building with the club room and a large ballroom on the first floor and the lodge hall taking up most of the second floor. The bartender took me up to the lodge room and it was very pretty and very typical for lodge rooms in the older lodge buildings. Very big with lots of seating. The entire Winslow Lodge is about 300 people and I think you could sit half of those in the Lodge Room. Clearly built for a different era. We had one cocktail and talked to the bartender, who was the only other person in the lodge while we were there.

One interesting bit of history is that the Arizona Elks were responsible for the introduction of the first actual elks into the State of Arizona. In 1913, a year after Arizona became a state, the Department of the Interior determined that the elk herds in and around Yellowstone National Park were too large. The Arizona Elks organization, with members of the Yuma Elks serving as spokesman, made application to capture and relocate elk to Arizona. Later that year 86 elk were captured and shipped to Winslow, turned over to members of the Winslow Lodge, and eventually located in the nearby Sitgraves National Forest. Many of the elk in Northern Arizona today are descendants of that original herd. The entire story can be read on the Winslow Elks website. (link here) After our visit at the Elks we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. Thursday was finally a clear morning. We had a stay at home day today, getting a lot of little chores done.

Friday, May 12^th, another travel day. We left the Winslow area about 10:30 for the 126 mile trip east to Gallup, New Mexico. The trip was uneventful and we arrived at the USA RV park in Gallup about 1:30 local time. When we crossed the Arizona-New Mexico line we lost an hour, going on actual Mountain Savings Time rather than Arizona Mountain Time. We quickly got settled into our space for our two night stay. After we got set up we stayed in for the rest of the day. Saturday we left the coach about 11:00 and went out to lunch at a little restaurant called El Matate. It is a small, converted house in an old neighborhood near downtown that we discovered two years ago when we were here. We came then with the Babcock's and Bullock's and we all enjoyed our meals. We were not disappointed, the food and service were excellent. After lunch we did some geocaching and were able to get eight new finds and two DNFs in a few hours. We then did a Walmart run and returned to the coach where we stayed in for the rest of the night.

Sunday, May 14^th, Happy Mother's Day. Both of our mothers have passed away, so we don't really celebrate Mother's Day. It was another travel day for us. We left Gallup about 10:00, continuing east about 135 miles to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We made a fuel stop and then arrived at the Enchanted Trails RV park about 1:00. We have stayed at this park numerous times in the past. We quickly got parked and set up. The park is right next door to a Camping World store, so we had to make a quick run there after we got set up. We didn't buy much, only a reflective sun shade for the front window of the coach. However, we did run into some old caching friends, Robert and Diana Knight. It turns out they are also staying at the same RV park as us, right behind us in the row over. They have been in Albuquerque for several weeks getting some repairs done to their coach. After Camping World we went back to the coach, made cocktails and went over and had happy hour with Robert and Diana. We have known them for several years, meeting them while geocaching. After happy hour we went home and had some of the chili I made. We then stayed in and watched TV the rest of the day.

Monday, May 15^th, Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife Jackie, as well as our little cat Benji. Benji is five today, Jackie isn't. We went out after lunch to do some geocaching. We kind of got off to a slow start, with a few caches that we couldn't get to for one reason or another. However, it got better and we ended up with ten new finds and one DNF in a couple of hours. We then went back to the coach, relaxed for a bit, changed clothes and went out for dinner. For her birthday Jackie wanted to go to PF Changs, so that's where we went. We had a great meal, Jackie had salmon, I had surf and turf. For her birthday they bought her entree as well as gave us a desert to take home. We were back home about 7:30 and stayed in the rest of the evening.

Tuesday, May 16^th, we left the coach about noon and went to lunch at an interesting place called the Monte Carlo Steakhouse and Liquor Store. It has been featured on Chef Guy Fieri's TV show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and was recommended to us by a couple of friends. We have been to at least three other “Triple D” restaurants here in Albuquerque over the years, some good, some not so much. The restaurant is in the same building as a large liquor store, however, contrary to what you read, it does have it's own entrance in the back as well as access through the store. When we first walked in the first thing that came into both our minds was that it reminded us of Cactus Jack's in Indio. Lots of wood, low ceiling, red leather booths and chairs and bar decorations. Jackie had a cheeseburger, which she said was good, but nothing special. I had Louie's Special, which was kind of a cheese steak without the peppers. It was outstanding. Like Cactus Jack's, the portions where very big, lots of fresh cut fries on mine, lots of onion rings on Jackie's I would recommend the place, and it will be on my list of “go backs” the next time we are in Albuquerque. Speaking of Cactus Jack's, we just learned yesterday that the original Indio location is closing down this month. We have heard rumors for a year or more, but apparently the owner George has had issues with the landlord and is not going to renew the lease. He is making good money on the new store in Palm Desert. It is too bad, because the place holds a lot of memories for Jackie and I and a lot of our friends.

After lunch we drove to Costco for some things. It was a stormy day, on and off rain and wind, so there would be no caching. We needed to go to Costco because we are heading east and needed to stock up on vodka. The only states in the country where you can buy liquor at grocery stores and Costco without really high state taxes and fees, are California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Once we leave here we are at the mercy of State liquor stores and high prices. We bought enough to get us about two thirds of the way through our summer trip. After Costco we headed back to the coach and relaxed the rest of the evening. Wednesday we went out after lunch for one more day of caching. In a few hours we had a dozen new finds, and one DNF. We went back to the coach so that I could do a couple things to get ready to travel tomorrow. We spent the rest of the day in the coach.

Thursday, May 18^th, we packed up the coach and headed out about 10:00, continuing east 185 miles to Tucumcari, New Mexico. We parked for the night at the Elks Lodge, water and electric for $15. Hard to beat. Since we were only going to be here for one night we didn't even unhook the car. We spent the rest of the day in the coach. Friday, was yet another travel day. The storm fronts that have been coming through the Southwest the last few days are moving out, but there are some strong winds in their wake. We only had to go a little over a hundred miles but it was a rough ride because of the strong cross winds. We arrived in Amarillo, Texas about 1:00 local time. When we crossed from New Mexico into Texas we lost another hour, moving into the Central Time Zone. We checked into the Oasis RV Resort and got our spot. We are going to be here for a week. I originally had it set up for five days, but the park's weekly rate is cheaper than the daily rate for five days. That was a no brainer.

Our arrival here in Amarillo, Texas, marks a good place to close out this episode and get it published. We are now 1,200 miles almost due east from where we started in Santa Maria, California less than three weeks ago. We are now out of the mountains of the Southwest and onto to the prairies of America's Heartland. We are also crossing Tornado Alley, so keep your fingers crossed. Until next time I leave you with the words of Billy Joel from his song, Keeping the Faith. “You know the good ole days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.” Later dudes.

A Quick Trip to the Coast

Hi there, glad to see you are back. Our last chapter ended on Saturday, April 15^th, when we left Camp Verde in Central Arizona and traveled south to Buckeye, a western suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. Sunday was Easter morning. Happy Easter. We got a Sunday paper and had a relaxing morning. We then went out to do some geocaching in the area. We were able to get nine new finds before we stopped because it was getting a little warm. Normally warm wouldn't bother us that much, but the air conditioning in our Jeep Grand Cherokee quit. Again! This makes the ninth time the air has stopped working in this car. It has literally been an annual event until this time, it lasted exactly two years, the length of the warranty of the part. It is very frustrating, but Jeep corporate has no interest in making us happy because the car is nine years old. We stopped and had lunch at a very nice Chinese restaurant. We had checked a couple other places, but they were closed or closing early. After lunch we went home and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach, in the A/C.

Monday, April 17^th was another travel day. We were packed up and on the road by 10:30, heading west to Ehrenberg, Arizona, on the Colorado River right across from Blythe, California. We got into the park and got set up, and then we stayed in the rest of the evening. For dinner we had the rest of the great Chinese food we had on Sunday. We are going to be here for three nights. We stopped here because Jackie has a doctor's appointment in the Coachella Valley on Wednesday. We didn't want to take the coach to the valley because we are headed to the California Central Coast, Santa Maria, after we leave here, and I will not drive through the Los Angeles basin during the week. We will drive the car into the Coachella Valley from here and then go north out of Blythe to Interstate 40, thus avoiding the LA area.

Tuesday, April 18^th, we went across the river into Blythe about 11:30 and had lunch at one of our favorite places. There is a little Mexican place called Garcia's in downtown Blythe that has wonderful homemade Mexican food. We have to hit it any time we are in the area. After lunch we went back to the park and did our laundry. There is a nice laundry in the clubhouse and the park is nearly empty this time of year, so there is no competition for the machines. We finished our laundry about 4:00 and spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the coach.  You have heard of sock monkeys?  Benji is our sock kitty, this is he on the bad as I was putting away my socks.

Wednesday, April 19^th, we left Ehrenberg, in the car, about 8:45 and headed west for the hundred mile or so drive to the Coachella Valley. Jackie had a follow up appointment for her knee today. We arrived with time to spare, and the drive wasn't too bad with no air because it was still fairly cool that early. Jackie got in to see the doctor and talked to him about the on and off pain in her leg. It is not so much the knee now as it is the muscles. The doctor didn't have too much to offer except to say keep exercising the leg and taking anti-inflammatory. At the very end he did suggest another cortisone shot, which he gave her right in the knee.

After we left the doctor's office we stopped and both of us got haircuts at a Great Clips in Rancho Mirage where there was a guy working who had done Jackie's hair a couple months ago. She really liked the haircut. I had my first haircut in about four or five months. We then drove to the Cactus Jack's in Indio and had lunch. By 2:30 we were on the road again, headed east toward home. We arrived back at the coach just after 4:00, not even an eight hour day. The cats never even missed us. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach.

Thursday, April 20^th, a travel day. We were packed up and on the road about 10:30, heading north to Needles, California. Within the first mile of the trip we crossed the Colorado into California, the first time the coach has been out of Arizona since January 15^th. The trip was about 100 miles, but U.S. 95 is a bad road, very curvy with lots of dips, in very bad shape, and, to top it off, the wind was blowing pretty hard. We arrived at the Needles Elks Lodge about 12:30 and I was glad to be off the road for the day. This Elks has full hook up, 50 amp sites, but Needles is not exactly a tourist destination. We didn't even unhook the car as we are on the move again in the morning. We did a minimal set up for the night and then spent the rest of the day relaxing in the A/C.

Friday, April 21^st, we were on the road again about 9:30, heading west on I-40 to Newberry Springs. It was 120 miles, most of it on freeway, so other than some gusty winds it was an easy drive. We arrived at the Newberry Mountain RV park around noon and quickly got parked and settled in for another one night stand. Today we decided to unhook the car and go do some exploring. Newberry Springs is an unincorporated community of about 3,000, although in our exploring I would be hard pressed to say where most of those people were. The bulk of the buildings, which line the National Trails Highway, the two lane road running parallel with the freeway, were vacant and falling down. This two lane road used to be a part of old Highway 66, the Mother Road.

We had lunch at a run down, but VERY interesting diner called the Bagdad Cafe. It seems that in 1988 this was the location of a movie called Bagdad Cafe, a German made comedy. The inside of the place is covered in money, tee shirts, cards, stickers, placards and other memorabilia. We actually had lunch, a couple of cheeseburgers that were OK, but while we ate there were a dozen people who just came in, looked around, took some pictures and left. Apparently the film is a bit of a cult culture hit, especially with European tourists. After lunch we did some geocaching along old 66, getting five new finds, and one DNF, before deciding it was getting too hot to drive around with no air conditioning. We went back to the coach and relaxed the rest of the day.

Saturday, April 22^nd, we were on the road about 9:45, continuing west towards Bakersfield, about 120 miles away. The drive was pretty routine, no wind, just a bit of a grade up and down over Tahachapai Pass. We arrived at the Desert Palms RV Park about 12:30, quickly got parked and set up for our last one night stand for a while. We didn't unhook the car today, so we just stayed in the coach the rest of the day. Sunday was the last travel day for this sprint to the coast. We were on the road about 9:30 heading west 130 miles to Santa Maria, California. We arrived at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge about 12:30 and got parked in our spot. We did the initial set up then went out and got an In and Out for lunch and did a Walmart run. After we got back to the coach we finished getting set up and then relaxed the rest of the evening. Our primary purpose for coming here is to see Jackie's Aunt Donna, who is 91 and lives in Pismo Beach, just north of Santa Maria. We will be here for a week.

Monday, April 24^th, I headed out about 7:30 and took the Jeep to the local dealer to get the air conditioning fixed. The service rep told me that his A/C guy had a couple of other jobs ahead of me and that it would likely be after lunch before they had a diagnosis of the problem. I had the shuttle take me back to the coach and we hung around the coach the rest of the day. We did a few chores and played some cards. About 4:30 I got a call from the dealer that it was, in fact, the condenser again, the same issue as the last seven times. He also said I had a minor oil leak in one of the rear axle seals. I gave him our extended warranty information and he called back a little later to tell me that the office for the warranty was closed and he couldn't call until tomorrow. Since it made no sense to pick up the car tonight just to drop it off again first thing tomorrow, I told him to keep the car and get on it first thing in the morning. We checked to see if Jackie's Aunt Donna and her grandson Corey wanted to come over and visit, but Corey said Donna was not feeling like going out. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

Tuesday, April 25^th we were stuck in the coach with no car. The dealer called in the morning and said that the extended warranty company had approved the repairs and that they would get the part that day. However, in the mid afternoon the service guy called and said the part had just come in and it was not likely that the repairs would be done before the end of the day. We spent the rest of the day playing cards and relaxing. Wednesday the dealer finally called about 1:30 and said the car was fixed and ready to pick up. The shuttle came and picked me up a little while later and by 2:30 I was in the car and traveling with air conditioning. It only cost the $250 deductible and I plan on writing Chrysler Jeep again to try and get that refunded. I stopped at KFC and picked up some chicken for dinner and then went back to the coach, got Jackie and we drove over to her Aunt Donna's in Pismo Beach for the first time this trip. Regular readers will remember that she lives in a very nice house on the hill overlooking downtown Pismo Beach and the pier. A great view of the beach and the ocean. We had a very nice visit with Donna and Corey, her grandson who lives with her and is her caretaker. Donna is 91, soon to be 92 and is doing pretty well for her age, but she is still frail and needs someone to watch over her. We had the KFC for dinner and left about 7:30 to head back to the coach for the rest of the night.

Thursday, April 27^th, we left the coach after lunch and drove to San Luis Obispo to do some shopping. We stopped at Dick's Sporting goods because for the last couple of months Jackie has been wanting to get one of the patio rocking chairs that sit flat on the ground and have shock absorbers on the back legs so you can rock the chair. We have checked a couple of places before, but everyone was out of stock. This store had a bunch of them, so we were able to get her one. Yea! We then did a Costco run since the stores were right across the street from each other. After shopping we went back to the coach and unloaded our stuff. About 5:30 we drove up to Nipomo, the next town north, to go to Jocko's for dinner. Jocko's is a local steak house that is, as far as I am concerned, the best steak house anywhere. Corey and Donna met us there and we had a great meal, with lots of leftovers. After dinner we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Friday, April 28^th, we were invaded by dogs. The Elks is hosting a dog agility competition this weekend in the park area between where we are parked and the Lodge building. There are all kinds of RVs coming in and people setting up tents and shelters as well as the obstacle course that they run the dogs through. This is the second or third time we have been here when this dog event is going on. We left the coach about 1:30 and drove up to Donna's to spent the day with her and Corey. We just sat and talked, had some cocktails and snacks late in the afternoon, and just had a good visit. We left a little before 7:00, went back to the coach and had a light dinner. We then watched TV the rest of the evening.

Saturday, April 29^th, was a stay at home day, although we did make a quick run to the grocery down the street for a couple of things. Corey and Donna came over around 1:30 to spend the afternoon. Jackie's cousin Pia, who lives nearby in Grover Beach, also came over. We pretty much just sat and talked, although Corey and I did go outside for an hour or so to watch the dogs on the agility courses. They had everything from Chihuahuas to German Shepherds running the obstacles. The only thing is that for the little dogs the jumps were lower. Corey brought over a lasagna and we had that for dinner with the five of us. Everyone left about 6:00 and I spent an hour or so cleaning up so we could leave tomorrow. After that we relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, April 30^th, another travel day. For the next four days we will be back tracing our route over here to Santa Maria. Today we traveled 130 miles to Bakersfield. We got into the RV park about noon for our one night stay. We didn't unhook the car, so we just stayed in for the day and chilled. Since we have now completed all of our winter travel and our spring family visits. As of today we are officially starting our 2017 Summer Tour, which will take us all the way across the country to a series of rallies in the Midwest in July and then on to the far Northeast part of the U.S. We are working to cover the eight states in the continental U.S. that we have not been in, all in the Northeast. From today until we arrive back in Pahrump in November we will have traveled almost 10,000 miles if we stick to the current plan. All of this means that this is the perfect place to close this chapter and begin the first of many episodes covering our summer odyssey. Until next time I leave you with this very apropos quote from Robert Louis Stevenson. “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” See ya soon.

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.

Winter RV Rallies in Central Arizona

Regular readers of our travel blog will notice a new look, and some new features starting with this episode.  This is the first time since 2007 when we started this story that we have changed the look of the blog. We learned a few new tricks at the recent RV rallies, which are the main topic of this episode, and are trying to integrate them into the blog. We hope you enjoy the new look, and the new features. For instance, the map below shows our travels during the period covered by this chapter. The map is interactive, if you click on one of the markers a box will tell you what it is. There are also links associated with some of the places, organizations, or people mentioned in the blog.  Clicking the links will open a new window with more information.  Enjoy!
  

Hi there, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Sunday, March 5^th, when we arrived in Chandler, Arizona, near Phoenix, for another Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) International rally. Monday was kind of a free day, as the rally doesn't really start until Tuesday. We left the coach about noon and went to a local Greek restaurant for lunch. The place was called ZK Grill and was quite good. After lunch we went to the local outlet mall, not too far from the rally site and spent a couple hours walking around shopping. We didn't buy much, but enjoyed being out and about. We were back at the coach around 3:00 doing some chores. About 4:00 the crew from Redlands Truck and RV arrived at our site to put new shocks on the coach. I had been making inquiries while we were in Yuma, trying to find a shop to do the work. Everyone was telling me it was an all day job and would run around $850. In addition, I had to take the coach to them. Redlands came out and all I had to to do was run the jacks up high enough for them to get under and the two guys went to work. It took them a little over an hour and only cost me $560. Considering the amount of work and tools needed to change out eight shocks, it was well worth it to me. About 5:30 we had cocktails with the Minard's and the Bullock's and about 7:00 we were back in the coach watching TV.

Tuesday, March 7^th, the first actual rally day. We were up early because Jackie had to be at the event center around 7:00 a.m. to do sign-ups for the two craft classes she is doing later this week. Yes readers, that said “Jackie” and “7:00 a.m.” in the same sentence. After I dropped her off I did some chores and relaxed for the morning. I picked Jackie up at noon as she had filled both classes. We went to lunch at a nearby On the Border Mexican restaurant. The food was fair, but they were out of chili relleno at noon! After lunch we went back to the rally grounds and did a walk through of the vendor area. We then went to a couple of Chapter meetings, the Military Vet Chapter and the Elks International Chapter. The two chapters held a joint reception after the meetings, but we were still full from lunch so we only stayed for a half hour or so and then went back to the coach. We had cocktails with the Minard's and the Bullock's until about 7:00, then went into our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, March 8^th, I took Jackie and Peggy down to the event center about 12:30 for their craft class. After I dropped them off I walked through the vendors again, still not buying anything. After Jackie's class we stayed in the events area and went to the Full Timing Seminar. I was not on the panel this year, so we just watched. We then went to the Full Timer's Chapter meeting and after the meeting they had a pizza party. We got back to the coach a little before 7:00 and went over to Peggy and Vernon's for a cocktail. We were back in our place a little after 8:00 and watched TV the rest of the evening.

Thursday, March 9^th, I took Jackie and Peggy to the events area about 9:30 and dropped them off for their second craft class. I went back to the coach and did a few chores. Around noon Vernon and I drove back to the events area to pick up the girls. We had a hamburger there at one of the food booths before heading over to the ice cream social. We ran into some geocaching friends Karen and Riley Caton and talked to them over lunch. Peggy and Vernon had gone off to the vendor area to shop. Normally we would have worked the ice cream social, handing out ice cream. The Full Timer's Chapter traditionally does that job. However, because Jackie's craft class was timed the way it was, we just went and got our ice cream sandwich and ate it for dessert.

After ice cream we drove back to the coach and relaxed for a while. Later in the afternoon Jackie cooked up a taquito casserole and about 5:00 we drove over to another get together with the Overland Trail Blazers. This one was a pot luck with lots of great food. We stayed for about 90 minutes, had a great meal and visited with friends. We then went back to the coach and had a cocktail outside with the Bullock's and the Minard's. After that we went into our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, March 10^th, Peggy and Vernon left the rally today, a day early, to go back to Casa Grande. They have been having problems with their on-board water pump not working since the day before they came to the rally. We are dry camping here, so without a working water pump they can't take showers, do dishes, anything with water. Vernon has been working every day on it, I have helped, Clark has helped, but we just can't get it working consistently. They are going to go to a service center in Casa Grande that says they have a pump and hopefully that will get it working again. We went down to the events center after lunch just to go through the vendors one last time. We had no scheduled activities today except for a happy hour in the evening. We did the vendors and also stopped at the office and picked up Jackie's money from the craft classes. They did pretty good, making some decent money. After the vendors we stopped at Clark and Judi McKay's coach to say goodbye. They are not going to Tucson with the rest of us after this rally, so we won't see them for a while. We sat and talked with them and Ray and Suzie, who were parked next to them, for a half hour or so. We then went back to our coach and about 4:30 went to a nearby coach for a happy hour with some people from the Monaco's in Motion Chapter. We took Sharon and Curt with us since they belong to the Monaco International Chapter. It was a small group and we sat and talked until about 6:00 when we went back to our coach for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, March 11^th, a travel day. People started moving out of the rally grounds at daybreak and by the time we left at 10:00 there were very few coaches left in our parking area. We said goodbye to the Minard's, who are heading up to Parker on the Colorado River, and started south on I-10 towards Tucson. It was about a hundred miles and we made a brief fuel stop, arriving about 12:30 at the Mission View RV Resort just south of Tucson proper. We quickly got checked in and parked next to Peggy and Vernon. Ray and Suzie were supposed to be here too, but they called about a half hour before we arrived and said that the park didn't have a record of their reservation and they had no spaces. They were pretty upset and I am not sure if they are even going to stay in Tucson to go to the Escapees rally with us next weekend. After we got parked I got setup for the week long stay and we then relaxed in the cool air conditioning for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails with the Bullock's about 5:30 and then Peggy served dinner, a nice Asian casserole. We stayed until about 8:00 and then went back to our coach for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, March 12^th, we had a Sunday paper with our coffee for the first time in a few weeks. About noon we went out, stopped for a quick lunch at Carl's Jr., and then did a Walmart run. It has been a week or so, so we ended up with quite a bit of stuff. We went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon about 5:30 and were going to BBQ some meat, but we all had big lunches and weren't really hungry, so we just sat and talked until after sundown. We then went in the coach and watched TV the rest of the night.

Monday, March 13^th, we were out of the coach about 10:00 and on the way south with Peggy and Vernon, heading to the little community of Tubac, Arizona, about 40 miles south of Tucson. Tubac is mostly an arts community and walking around it kind of reminded you of Sedona, without the red rock mountains. We had lunch at a little Mexican cafe, did a little shopping, and then continued on the last 20 miles or so to do a quick tour of Nogales, Arizona. Peggy and Vernon had never seen this little border town, so we did a drive through tour, drove along the border fence for a bit, and checked out old downtown. We then hit the freeway and went back to the RV park. We had cocktails at 5:30 and then did the BBQ we were going to do yesterday. Jackie and I had pork chops and Peggy and Vernon had steak. We ate at our house and had a nice dinner. Peggy and Vernon went home around 8:00 and we relaxed the rest of the night.

Tuesday, March 14^th, we left the coach about 10:00 and took Jackie to her first PT appointment here in Tucson. We are going to be here for two weeks and she will be able to get four more appointments in before we have to leave. After her PT we came home and had lunch, then later in the afternoon we went to visit my granddaughter Crystal and my great granddaughter Zoe, who live here in Tucson with Crystal's dad, my ex-son in law. We had a good visit with Crystal and her boyfriend Orlando. Unfortunately, Zoe, who is in the middle of the terrible two's, didn't want to have anything to do with either of us. We also got to briefly visit with James, Crystal's dad, who came home just before we left. After our visit we went back to the coach and had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon. The four of us then did some burgers on the BBQ and had a nice dinner. By 8:00 we were back in our coach relaxing with the TV the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, March 15^th, we left the coach about 10:00 and drove to a breakfast place nearby called JerryBobs. It is a fairly small place, although there are several in the Tucson area. It is probably the best breakfast place I have ever been too. I had steak and eggs with fruit. The steak was large and perfectly cooked, and the fruit bowl was a meal in itself. Jackie had an omelet that was huge, taking up the entire plate. We left very satisfied. We then drove to Oracle, Arizona, a little community about 30 miles north of Tucson to visit the Biosphere 2 site. Biosphere, which is now operated by the University of Arizona, was built in the 80's with private funds as a sort of experiment in self sustaining life in an enclosed and isolated environment. The structure itself is basically a huge glass greenhouse enclosing 3.14 acres and rising 95 feet at it's tallest point.

The structure is, or at least was originally, able to be completely sealed air and water tight. Inside are several “biomes” or environments, including a rain forest, a desert, a savanna and agricultural areas. The first experiment took place in the early 90's when eight “crew members” were sealed inside for two years. They grew their own food, tended livestock, recycled water, and tried to live as if on an inhospitable planet. The second experiment started shortly after the first, but only lasted a few months before the private venture went bankrupt. Neither experiment was completely successful due to unforeseen elements of environmental science, but a lot was learned. In the early 2000's the property was acquired by the University of Arizona which now runs it as a science laboratory for environmental studies. It is no longer used as a sealed environment, but more now as a controlled one. After paying the $18 admission we were shown a film and then given a tour of the facility by a very knowledgeable docent. The tour is very strenuous, over a mile of walking and several hundred stairs, so we were worn out by the end. We were in there almost three hours and found it very interesting.

After our tour we started back towards home, stopping at Kohl's for a bit, getting some fuel, and then stopping at a motel in downtown Tucson to see another of my granddaughters, Courtney and her two sons. Courtney lives in Texarkana, Texas, and came out here last week on the train to visit with her mother and other family in Phoenix. She has her two sons, two year old Josiah, and six month old John Jr. She also brought her stepdaughter Trinity to help with the kids. Trinity is 14 years old. Today my son Roy Jr. drove them down from Phoenix so they could catch the train in the morning to go back home. Passenger trains no longer go to Phoenix. We visited for an hour or so and then went back to the coach. We had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon and Peggy made dinner, a nice pasta and shrimp dish. We had a good dinner and by 8:00 were back in our coach resting until bedtime. A busy and strenuous but fun day.

Thursday, March 16^th, we mostly stayed home. After lunch we did our laundry at the RV park and then did a few chores around the coach. Peggy and Vernon went to the Tucson Desert Museum. We had cocktails with them about 5:30 and then Jackie made dinner for the four of us, a nice chili relleno casserole. We ate and then visited until about 7:30 when they went back to their coach. We watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, March 17^th, Happy St. Patrick's day. We left the coach about 10:00 and took Jackie to her PT appointment. Her knee is feeling better, now they are trying to loosen up the muscles in her leg. After PT we stopped at Costco for lunch and a few things. After that we went home and did some chores and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. I did go out and get the car washed for the first time in a while. It was pretty grimy. I also had a nice corn beef brisket cooking in the crock pot. We had cocktails at 5:30 and then dinner about 7:00. I made dinner tonight, Corn beef and cabbage, very traditional. We had a great meal and after the Bullock's left we watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, March 18^th, a travel day, albeit a short one. We left the RV park about 9:30 and drove to the other side of Tucson, about 28 miles, to the Pima County Fairgrounds. Today we are going into another RV rally, this one put on by the Escapees RV Club, another large, national group. Unlike FMCA, the Escapees allow any type of RV owner to be members, so their rallies include trailers, campers, fifth wheels and the like, as well as motor homes. Since we went full time we have been to two other Escapades, as they call their big, national rallies, one in Stockton, California and one in Sedalia, Missouri. The trip took less than an hour and the parking crew got us parked very quickly. By 1:00 we were completely set up and relaxing. Jackie and Peggy went out about 2:00 to get pedi's and to do a Walmart run. They got back about 4:00 and we had cocktails about 5:30. We had leftovers for dinner and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.

Sunday, March 19^th, Jackie and Peggy had to go over to the craft room and sit from about 9:00 to 2:00 to sign up people for their craft class on pop top lanyards. There were no other events going on, so after I dropped them off I went back to the coach and did some office work. At 1:00 I went over to a jam session and played guitar with a half dozen other players for an hour. It was a lot of fun and I will probably go to another one while we are here. I picked up Peggy and Jackie after their thing and we went back to the coach for a while. The electric here is very poor, constantly cutting in and out because there are too many people on the line and it is hot. We had to run the generator for a couple hours just to keep the coach cool. At 3:00 we went to the main auditorium for the opening ceremonies and prize drawings. We didn't win anything. After that was over we went back to the coach again and had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon at 5:00. At 7:00 we were back in the auditorium for more prize drawings. Still no win for us. We didn't stay for the entertainment, which was a local Indian dance group called Native Spirit. We went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, March 29^th, Winter is over, Happy Spring! We left the coach a little before 10:00 and drove to Jackie's PT. It took just about the same amount of time to get there today as it did when we were on the other side of Tucson. After PT we stopped at Chick-Fil-a for a quick lunch, then went back to the fairgrounds. About 12:30 I drove Peggy and Jackie down to the events area so they could put on their craft seminar. I went over and walked through the vendor area for a while. I was going to go to a seminar put on by Verizon, since we have a Verizon plan, but it was canceled. I ended up sitting with Jackie for the last hour of her seminar, just killing time.

After the seminar was over we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. About 5:00 we had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon and then went in and had a great chicken salad that Peggy put together for dinner. About 6:30 the four of us walked over to the auditorium for the evening entertainment. They stated with door prize drawings, still no wins for us. Then a group called “Woody and the Longboards” came on to entertain. They were both a Beach Boys tribute band and an Eagles tribute band. The first set was as the Beach Boys and they were OK as the Beach Boys, didn't sound authentic, but they were still good. They took a break, more door prizes, no wins, and then they came back and did an Eagles set. They were much better as the Eagles, with some of the songs sounding very close to the real thing. The Eagles were all about harmony and guitar rifs, and this group had both down pat. It was a two hour show and we enjoyed it a lot. We went back to the coach, watched an hour of TV and then went to bed.

Tuesday, March 21^st, we finally had a morning where we could sleep in a little bit. We had lunch at a little cafe on the fairgrounds called “The Cantina” and the food was pretty good, and moderately priced. Most of the time we have found fair food to be expensive and not so good. After lunch we walked around the events area, taking in the “row,” where all the different Escapee chapters and BOFs (Birds of a Feather) set up booths to recruit new members. We belong to several BOFs, which tend to be non geographical, such as Elks, Geocachers, and a group called Boomers, for the baby boomers. We don't belong to any chapters because they tend to be tied to geographic areas. We also went through the vendor area, buying a few little gizmos and gadgets, but nothing major. The majority of the vendors had been at the FMCA rally in Chandler just a week earlier, so we had already seen their wares. We also went to a seminar put on by some people we know who have a company called “Geeks on Tour” and they specialize in helping people with computers, tablets, smartphones and the like.

After our time in the event area we went back to the coach and had a brief rest. We had cocktails about 5:00 and sat outside with the Bullock's. We then cooked some carne asada and chicken on the BBQ for a nice Mexican feast. About 7:30 I went back to the events area for another jam session. There were more players in this one and it was not quite as much fun because most of the players were much more experienced and better players than I and I had trouble keeping up with their songs. We played until a little after 8:30 and then I went back to the coach and we watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, March 22^nd, we left the coach about 9:30 so Jackie could go to PT. After PT we stopped at a fast food place called Culvers, a place which we had never been to. The food was very good and I was impressed by their menu. We may have to go again sometime so I can try some of the other menu items. We both had fish sandwiches, but I had cod and Jackie had walleye. I have never been to a fast food place that gave you a choice like that. We then went back to the fairgrounds and then walked back to the events area where we went to another seminar by the Geeks, this one on smartphones, and then a geocaching seminar put on by some friends of ours. After the seminars, and another quick run through the vendors, we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then a dinner of leftovers from last night. We sat and talked for a while and by 8:00 we were back in our coach watching TV.

Thursday, March 23^rd, the last day of the Escapade. There was a fast moving storm that came through the area overnight, so we woke up to rain, wind and really cold temps. Where it has been in the 90's every day for a week, this morning it is in the low 50's. Vernon and I went down to the events area about 10:00 for a seminar on resources that you can use when you travel to find out the historical locations, local myth and lore, and other weird and wacky about any area you are going into. It was very interesting and I picked up a couple of hints. Jackie and I are always looking for interesting things when we travel. Geocaching helps a lot, but now I have other resources as well. After the seminar we went back to the coach and then the four of us went out for lunch. We went to a nice Italian and pizza restaurant in a newly built up rural area south of the fairgrounds, out in the county area. It is called New Vail and is quite a large area of very nice homes on large lots. The restaurant was great, with great food and service. I was in an old Circle K building, so the acoustics in the place were terrible, it was very loud, but that would be the only bad thing I could say about it. It was called Argenziano's Italian Cafe.

After lunch we went back to the coach and relaxed for a bit, then walked down to the auditorium for the closing ceremonies. They gave away some more prizes, but none of us won anything, boohoo. After the closing ceremonies the Escapade is officially over. We are staying here at the fairgrounds until Sunday, but there are no more rally activities. We spent the afternoon doing some chores and at 5:00 had cocktails with the Bullock's in their coach. It was really cold and windy all day today, so we didn't go outside. After cocktails Peggy served a nice pasta dish for dinner. We stayed until about 8:00, then went back to our coach for the rest of the evening.

Friday, March 24^th, a free day for us. We left the coach about 10:00 with Peggy and Vernon and went out to do some geocaching. We have not done a lot of caching since Jackie banged up her knee, but it is slowly starting to heal, so we took advantage of the free time. We were able to get 18 new finds, and one DNF, in about three and a half hours, including taking an hour or so for brunch. One of the finds was another milestone for us, find number 8,400! Yea us! We went back to the coach about 2:00 and spent the rest of the afternoon doing some chores. We had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon about 5:30 and then had dinner. I had cooked up a nice pot of chili, and Peggy made some corn bread, so we had a great meal. About 7:30 they left and went back to their coach and we relaxed the rest of the evening.

Saturday, March 25^th, another free day. Peggy and Vernon pulled out this morning, heading for Apache Junction, up in the Phoenix area. We are also going there tomorrow, but we are going to a State Park and the Bullock's are going to an RV park. The fairgrounds are just about empty now as people pull out. This is the last day that people can stay as part of the Escapade, although the fairgrounds RV park is open all year, so I guess you could stay longer if you went to the office and paid for extra nights.

We went out after lunch and did some errands. We stopped at Camping World for a couple little things that we were unable to get at the rallies. We also did a little geocaching, getting eight new finds. It is good to be caching again. We then did a Walmart run and headed back to the coach. I spent an hour or so cleaning up the outside decorations, getting ready to hit the road again tomorrow. We had cocktails and dinner on our own, then watched some TV until bedtime.

Sunday, March 26^th, a travel day. We were packed up and on the road a little after 10:00, heading north back to the Phoenix area. Today we are heading to the far eastern part of the “Valley of the Sun” to Apache Junction. This town sits at the edge of the Superstition Mountains, which I personally think are one of the prettiest mountain ranges in the country. Although most people think of Apache Junction as part of the Phoenix metro area, it is actually just over the county line in Pinal County, not Maricopa County. It is a small town, about, about 36,000, with lots of retirees and snowbird RV parks. It was about 150 miles to the Lost Dutchman State Park just north of Apache Junction. We have never stayed in this Arizona State Park before and found out about it from some friends we met geocaching who are spending the winter working as camp hosts at the park. Russ and Nellie Reichert live in Grants Pass, Oregon and have a nice motor home and like to get out of Oregon during the winters. They are also hot air balloon enthusiasts, having owned and flown one in the past. Russ has retired from piloting, but they still love to go to balloon rallies.

We arrived at the park about 2:00 and got parked and set up. We are going to be here for six nights before moving to the far West end of the Valley, to the Sun City area. This park is named the Lost Dutchman because of the legend of Jacob Waltz, a German emigrant who is said to have found and mined gold in the back country of the Superstitions. Some say it was not a mine, but a cache of gold that he stole from the Apache Indians who lived in the area. He died 1891 without telling anyone where his cache of gold was. People have been searching for for the Lost Dutchman's Mine ever since.

About 5:00 we had cocktails with our friends Russ and Nellie, the camp hosts in this campground, who are parked just one site over from us. After our social hour we went back to the coach, had dinner and then relaxed the rest of the evening. It has been over three weeks since we published a new post, so our moving from Tucson to Apache Junction marks a good place to close out this chapter and get it online. Until the next time remember the words of Eleanor Roosevelt. “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” Get out there and taste life! See ya soon.