Two more weeks in Paradise!

Hey there hordes and throngs of friends and admirers!  Whatcha been up to these last couple of weeks?  I hope you haven't been holding your breath till my next post - that's never a good idea, just sayin.  I follow Cat Patches (formerly Three Cats Ranch), by Barbara S, and she's awesome about posting...at least once every day, and she ALWAYS has something interesting and funny to say.  Me, not so much.  Things happen, and life sometimes gets in the way, and sometimes, I just think our laundry days or grocery shopping would bore the socks off you, so I just let the days slip by.  However, the last two weeks have been busy as crap!  First off, I got started on Betty's garden flags (Betty is Dick's sister, and she ordered two double-sided garden flags - one for herself, one for gifting to her best friend.)  So, here's the start.  Santa swinging on an ornament and wishing a Merry Christmas, and the next photo is Dona's Spring side.  They both got a pumpkin holding Fall flowers on the reverse.  

The flags had to be put aside for a few days, though, because SOMEone is a glutton for punishment, and signed up to vend at the RV park's annual craft show.  I saw this as an opportunity to make some money for the fuel tank, and get rid of some of the stuff I've been carrying around for a year or so.  However, since I had signed up for TWO tables, and I really only had enough stuff to cover ONE table, I had to bust my butt and get some things made.  I found some pretty cactus material at the quilt shop we visited in Tucson, and the Kokopelli fabric exactly fit that design. (or did the design fit the fabric?)  (or does it even matter?)  And then, of course, it's getting close to Thanksgiving, and most of the residents here are from parts northern, so maybe they would be missing the turning of the leaves, right? 

 The Kokopelli wall hanging was sure to be a big hit, right?  I see lots of them done up in metal art and hung on the outer walls of the sheds/Arizona rooms down here.  Barbara A will recognize those two tote bags as the ones she didn't purchase from me in Silver Springs, and maybe, just maybe, that table topper will move.

And, of course, my smart-a$$ embroidered toilet paper.  EVERYbody needs at least one roll of embroidered tp to round out their Christmas decorations!

Well, surprisingly enough, Kokopelli came home; Lora says it's because people here seldom buy for their own homes - they buy gifts for relatives in other states, and Kokopellis just don't go well outside of AZ.  Not sure what's going to become of him....I like his colors, and I must admit, the stitching on him is some of the best I've ever done...but, he is certainly NOT my usual sea-side relaxed spa-inspired style!  The tp, as expected, sold well, plus I had to make 2 more.  Luggage handle wraps went well, and about half the towels are gone.  The totes, again, didn't sell, nor did that blue and yellow quilt, nor did the star-shaped table topper.  Several people admired them all, even told me the prices were reasonable and the quilting was beautiful.  But then, they just walked away.  ???  Cheapskates, all of 'em!  HA!  There's another show in Rockport, in Feb, I guess I'll trot everything back out for that!

And, while we were at the craft sale, we received a phone call from a local florist, trying to deliver some flowers.  Driver turned all sorts of red when I thanked him, but he 'fessed up that he didn't send 'em.  Thought he was pulling my leg, as he knew for the last couple of weeks, I'd been wanting to get some flowers to brighten up the camper.  Well, nope, the card indicated they were actually from my brother Charlie, and his lovely wife, Nina.  Yup, for reals!  That was mighty sweet of them, don'tcha think??  And they really are so very pretty!  They do brighten up the place, and it's nice to have a bit of color among all these brown rocks!

The day before the craft show, I had a follow-up with the spine doc, to check on how well (or not) the shots worked.  Well, *I* thought they were awesome, and life-changing, so that's what I said.  So he said, great, then we'll schedule you for the RFA.  Ummmm, What?  Well, turns out, the blocks were basically just TESTS, to see if they were in the right area, and any relief received would be only temporary, and would be wearing off within another week or so.  Ummm, WHAT?  Somehow, I had the impression that the blocks would be good for about 6 months to a year....and I was really excited when they seemed to be doing the job so well.  Ugh.  Only to find out that a more permanent solution is the RFA, and I needed one for each side for it to work best.  Ten days apart.  Uhhhhhhh, depending on their schedule, that might be an issue.  Our reservation is only through Dec 31st, and we already know there's not another site available in the area after that, so we cannot simply extend or move to another park!  Luckily, there was a cancellation at the surgery center and I got on their schedule for Tuesday, and I was instructed to call in every day to check if there was another cancellation I could slip into.  Well, before we got home from the appointment, I had a phone call, telling me that they were able to slip me in again, on Dec 4, but it was at 6:20 AM.  AM!  Like, o'dark twenty!  Oh well, it was available, and so now I know where we'll be on Dec 4th!

So, as it turns out, Monday is a free day.  Finally!   (Tuesday is procedure day, Wed we either move or pack up to move, Thursday & Friday we are getting the engine hood repaired, and hopefully, the Oasis hot water system too), Saturday or Sunday, we probably return to camp.  That's pretty much the whole week booked up, but, Monday was a free day.  John and Lora had gone to White Tank Mountain Park a couple of weeks ago and they reported that the Waterfall Trail was accessible for most of the way, and not too strenuous, or high, for the rest of the way.  So, likely, I could make it.  Time to go see for ourselves.  Besides, I was ready to see a waterfall!

The road up to the trail was pretty much like any other here in Arizona.  But hillier.  There is a campground here in the park, with lots of availability.  But, the hills were so steep, and so close together that we couldn't bring our rig in.  We'd bottom out for sure!  Or worse, we'd get stuck between hills and be unable to come or go!  We try hard to avoid situations of that nature.  We do NOT want to be the campers that other people take pictures of and caption it with, "how'd they do THAT?  and how are they gonna UNdo that?"

We learned that these are Teddy Bear cactus, so named because they look so cuddly and furry.  But they are neither cuddly nor furry.  They're prickly as all get out.

Of course, our shadow selves came along for the ride hike, as did our faithful geo-pup.  Yes, I had to borrow Driver's hat, so that I could see my phone screen to take the picture.  Don't worry, I gave it right back to him so his ears wouldn't burn!  The weather was hot and sunny, with the slightest of breezes, so it was just perfect for a hike.  The sky was bright blue, with not a cloud in sight.  It was hard to believe that we are expecting fierce rainstorms and flooding for the next 3 days.

Now, that is one tall Saguaro!

I know it's really hard to tell, but that hill was pretty darned steep, about 45 degrees up.  And rocky.  Don't worry, we didn't stray off the trail.

We found more petroglyphs just off the trail.  It is believed these are at least 700 years old, and were chiseled out by the Hohokam Indians that roamed this area so many years ago.

And more dire warnings.  This sign was relative to the cliff face in the picture below this one.  No worries, Jack, mama had absolutely no intention of climbing, rapelling, or off trail hiking.  Not today, not tomorrow, not the next day, not this lifetime.  You all know how I feel about heights!

These are the famous "white tanks" for which the mountains and park are named.  It's thought that the Hohokam, who were primarily farmers, built these sluices for irrigation purposes, using only rocks and sticks, fashioned into hoe-like tools.  It's hard to tell, but the water that ran through here for years (not today, apparently) has polished these immense boulders, exposing their white granite interiors, shining brightly, even in the shadows.  

I actually had to lean way back to take this picture, as the cliffs towered above.  No worries, though, again, we stayed on the trail!  No climbing for us!

This boulder appeared to be precariously perched, but when I gave it a slight push, it didn't budge.  Thankfully.  I don't know WHAT I would have done had it given way and tumbled down into the ravine below.  I know a couple of years ago, a group of Boy Scouts (Boy Scouts!!) got into BIG trouble for pushing a rock off its pedestal; I can only imagine what penalties and fines (jail time?) would befall an old lady from Florida for doing the same. 

There were two sets of concrete and stone steps leading upwards.  I have to assume the trail was rough and steep prior to the steps being installed.  From what I gathered, this is a relatively recent (like, within the last two years) installation.  I'm glad they put 'em in - it sure made my climb a lot easier!

Once we'd gotten up both sets of steps, we noticed it was remarkably cooler.  We saw why, once we reached the pinnacle, which was more like an open cavern.  With a pool in it! We didn't know if the pool was a foot deep or forty feet deep, but it was definitely dark in the middle!

You could see where water flowed at one point.  Perhaps, with the upcoming rain, it will flow again soon?  I dunno, but right now today, it's dry as a bone,except for that pool at the base.

After resting and cooling off a bit, we turned around and headed back to the car, where we knew granola bars were waiting.  It was only a hike of .9 of a mile (one way), but doggie had insisted on being carried for the last third of the way up.  Of course, uphill.  Downhill, she seemed to do much better, but we did make sure to stop every now and then, and she never refused a proffered drink.

So that's been OUR two weeks, what about yours?  What's up for next week?  Well, tomorrow, Tuesday, I get my first RFA (that's Radio Frequency Ablation, for those of you that don't already know), which will pretty much knock out the rest of the day.  Wednesday, we'll either pack up in preparation for a move early Thursday, or we'll pack up and make a more leisurely move over to Apache Junction, where they'll start on repairing our rear engine cover/struts.  And hopefully, diagnose and FIX our Oasis hot (not hot!) water system.  It may take a few days, and if we're still there on Friday night, we may as well stay over till Sunday, 'cuz DeeDee Daughtery will be calling a dance on Saturday night.  And we all know, life's a dance, right?  And if ya can't sing, you might as well dance!  (and NEITHER of us can sing a note!)

Cave Creek Wild West Days and Scavenger Hunt

Sooooo, after I published last night's post (WELL after I published), I realized that I had neglected to explain the other two shots in the post's title.  Sorry 'bout that.  In case you were wondering, they were blockers and steroids, put into the facets around L4, in an ongoing effort to mitigate the effects of that fractured vertebrae.  The first one went great - I don't really remember much about the walk out to the car, nor the ride home, and there's absolutely NO recollection of eating a granola bar, but I did see the empty wrapper, so there's also no denying it, but the pins and needles were significantly reduced, as was the pain in my lower back.  So, we waited the requisite week and went back for another one.  THAT one was different.  I remembered more about the aftermath, and while the pain has been reduced to just about nothing...I now have two vertical rows of hives, courtesy of the 4 bandaids they slapped on me!  Oh.My.God...but how they itch.  Why can't we just fix one thing without breaking or impacting something else??  Benadryl cream to the rescue!  So that's my 3 shots - 2 in my back to fix a break, and 1 in my arm to prevent any more breaks.

And now, Cave Creek Wild West Days.  Y'all know my brother and I never really got along well, right?  Did you even know I had a brother?  I know I don't mention him often; pretty much, he is out of sight, out of mind.  Last time we really had any dealings was at my mother's funeral, back in Feb 2000.  By my math, that's 19+ years ago.  No biggie, by my thinking, but Driver thinks it's weird.  Well, he (brother, not Driver) and his lovely wife, Nina, live out here, northeast of Phoenix, in a little town called Cave Creek.  At some point last summer, I had occasion to talk to Nina (probably about my dad) and happened to mention we had planned to come out here for part of the winter.  She was mighty receptive and even inviting, and insisted they would want to see us.  I can believe that of HER; probably not so much for brother.  Funny, that originally typed out as "bother."  

Well, further discussions have ensued over the course of the last couple of weeks, and we even went and visited them for dinner one Sunday.  Turned out very well, surprisingly enough....brother was even nice to me, didn't hit me, nor did he call me any names!  She obviously is a good influence on him!  This weekend, she (she is the manager of the Cave Creek Tourism Bureau) was hosting a town-wide scavenger hunt.  Remember the shop hop Driver and I went on a couple of weeks ago?  Sort of like that.  We were to get a list of clues, and find 12 participating businesses, visit them, and collect a business card from each one.  At the end, we were to turn in our checkoff sheet, get our cards verified, and we were entered into a drawing, where the prizes were 3 $100 bills.  Yup, cash money, not even gift certificates that we would be hard pressed to spend.  So, off we went!  Because Nina was in charge, she had to stay in the Bureau offices for the day, but Charlie (brother) came with us to help us figure out where we were going and what businesses were to be visited.  First up, though, was one that we wanted to go see, just because we like that sort of thing...

Two bottles of oil later, and we were off in hot pursuit of our business cards.  We found The Duke at the Hot Sauce store.  Yes, Real Men Rub Their Meat.  Or so they say.

And, I'm pretty sure this is Marilyn, trading cooking for sex.  Not likely, from what I know of her...but, hey, that's definitely an idea for my embroidered aprons.  Wonder how well they would sell at the upcoming craft fair?  I sure don't see either one of them moving at a square dance campout!

Ghost pepper jelly, but there were no samples, so there was no purchase. 

Now, THIS would make a good tea towel for our camper/dancers!

 What's that chili pepper fabric hiding?  Can you read the sign?  It says Adult Language...

And, lo and behold....yeah, I wouldn't want these products just sitting around in plain sight either.  But, again, no samples, so no purchase.

Off to the next stop!  Yeah, it's The Creamery!

First we scan the options.

Then we sample a couple.

Then we select Wedded Bliss, a chocolate base with caramel swirl and pecans.  I'm told it was good, but not the best ever.  Not very rich or dense, so only about a 6 spoons out of 10 rating.

Onward, to Bryan's BBQ.  Oh my, this place smelled good!  And the flying pig outside reminded me of Bill Chesnut, and his lovely bride, Mary, and their little pet pig.

After we wandered around town for another hour or so, we had all our required cards turned in and we had visited all the other shops we wanted to see, we still had some time before the drawing for the prizes, and Nina wasn't quite ready to leave the office yet.  So we ventured down to the local rock shop.  Oh.My.God.  When we parked in front of this set of crystals, I cautioned Dick about not going too far - we surely didn't want to bump it and topple it down onto our car - we would be crushed!  Not to mention, bankrupt, after having to pay for damages!

Stepping inside, we were immediately greeted by this striking collection.  I'm sure not gonna spell it out, but do you see it?  How can you not?  All I could do to just move on and move away.  But, yeah, I might have set the display up a little less....umm...provacatively?  Less risque?  OK, less explicitly.

There were lots of other pretties in that little rock shop.  Most of them rendered me speechless when I saw their prices.  The geodes ran about 12 to 30 thousand.  THOUSAND.  The sinks were running around 25 thousand, tables around 27 thousand.  A small (and, boy, was it SMALL) rose quartz soap dish was only 98 buckeroos.  No, we didn't purchase any souvenirs at this particular shop.  Definitely, no room in the camper (or budget!) for any of those trinkets!

We moved on to another little junk shop, where we found yet another little piggy for Bill and Mary.  But, I know for a fact, they are trying to trim their pig collection, so he stayed on the shelf.

After all that, we went back to the Tourism Bureau, where Nina and one of Cave Creek's council women were waiting to draw the three winning tickets.  First one pulled was Nikko's - a little boy, about 10 years old, who also happened to be present.  (there was only Nina, the council woman, Nikko & his mom, brother, Driver & I.  And Bailey.)  Yeah, that little boy about came unglued when his name was called out!  Second ticket was pulled, and guess whose name was called next!?  Yeah, baby, it was Dick & Karin!!  Right after I retrieved our prize, another little girl and her mom walked in, a little late to the party, but ready to claim a prize anyway.  Too bad, hers was NOT the next name called.  Too bad, so sad, sorry little one.  Maybe next time.  But, meanwhile, yahoo!  Drinks all around!

While Nina was trying to close the office, a group of moms came in, with babies and children in tow.  Looking for bathrooms, and complaining how there were no bathrooms in all of Arizona.  They were from Michigan, and they had bathrooms in Michigan and couldn't understand why there were no public bathrooms in all of Arizona.  Bless her heart, she opened up the office and let 'em in.  Finally, we got them all out and on their way, and we 5 can set off for that long-promised Mexican dinner that Driver has been anticipating for 6 weeks now.  Onward, to Hacienda's Mexican Grill, a bit down the road.  Along the way, we saw this odd outcropping of rocks, just popped up out of nowhere.  Nothing like it on either side.  I tell ya, the landscape here is nothing short of freakish and bizarre!

I wish I had thought to take photos of our dinner plates, sorry.  They were very pretty.  I had grilled avocados with shrimp, on a bed of field greens.  Only I requested the avocados not be grilled.  They were drizzled with a sweet/tart balsamic vinaigrette, and they were really tasty.  Unfortunately, there were only 6, so there was no sharing of shrimp this time! Dick's chimichanga was huge, but it was covered with 2 slices of Kraft American processed cheese, so it was a bit disappointing for him.  Charlie's dinner was a generous serving of nachos with lots of toppings, and Nina's looked to be something similar to pulled pork barbeque.  I will say, the margarita was a little shy in the tequila department....and probably a whole lot more costly than the ones we get down in Nuevo Progreso.  Ah, yes, we are looking forward to crossing the border in January.  And thank you, Cave Creek, that hundred bucks will help us get there!  We figured it will take us all the way to Tucson!  Sure hope I can sell enough stuff at the craft sale to get us the rest of the way!!

Till next time - y'all stay safe! 

3 Shots, Mail Call, Cold Showers and Food Truck Friday

So, it's so easy to get busy then forget to fill you in on the day's activities, and then everything just piles up and it gets overwhelming, and wham!  Three weeks go by before you know it, and you are in the dark, not knowing where we are or what's going on.  I know y'all wait with bated breath for my every post, so I apologize up front for my radio silence.  So, we've been in Surprise for a month and a week now, and we have done absolutely diddly squat!  Well, that's only partly true.  We've had LOTS of doctor appointments, and I've gotten THREE, count 'em, THREE shots!  You know about how hard it was to get that Prolia shot done - if you don't, just trust me when I say, it was HARD.  A royal pain, to be honest.  But, finally, after many hours (yep, not a typo!) on the phone, and traveling between offices, I finally got it.  Took all of about 10 seconds to administer, and I can already see the difference in my fingernails.  I tell ya, that stuff works miracles.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure I got in in time to prevent a cracked toe.  Yeah, if it ain't one thing broken, it's another!  Speaking of broken, didja notice the title?  Notice that "cold showers?"  

Now, Dick is pretty handy, and can fix just about anything and everything.  But, see, this here coach is still under warranty, and if he goes taking too much stuff apart without schematics (and permission!), we just might void said warranty, then we'll be in a heap o'trouble.  So, cold showers?  Yeah, what's up with that????  Ever since we took possession of this puppy, our showers have been wonderful.  Endless streams of super hot water.  And then, one day, we tested the hot water on the furnace mode.  Seems now, we get in there, the water's good and hot, but only for a moment or three.  Then, it goes icy cold!  And usually STAYS that way!  What the heck?  More than once, we've both been caught, all soapy, and with only cold water to rinse off.  That is MOST unpleasant, lemme just tell ya.  This Oasis hot water/furnace system is all new to us, so we did a little research, came up with nuthin' and called Newmar Customer Service for advice.  Sweet Erica (love that girl!) suggested we just use the furnace option when we wanted to shower, then turn it off when we were done.  Ehhhh, noooo, that's not the way we understand it's supposed to work.  But, we did as directed.  Ummmm...still cold water after a minute.  If we're lucky, it goes back to warm, but, personally, I'm never lucky!  So, today, we called Newmar again and spoke with Mike this time.  He said we could just add it to the list when we take it in to Apache Junction to rectify the hood shocks.  And in the meantime?  Well, quick, lukewarm showers, I suppose.  But, today, we got another clue.  Hot water remains at the sink, even when the shower water is cold.  Hey, now, THAT could be important.  By my logic, that narrows the problem down to the shower handle/regulator thing, not the actual heater element or the lines bringing the water to the back of the bus.  I don't know how they're going to take that thing apart, but I do know that there's one dude gonna be watching when they do it.

And, in other news....check out Bailey's new wheels!  (That is a BIG box of fabric, batting and embroidery supplies, sent to me, courtesy of Kelly, my dear friend from Ohio.  She had two quilt tops pieced together, but needing quilting, and I (foolishly?) volunteered to do so.  In return, she sent me rolls and rolls of stabilizer for embroidery, dozens of pre-wound bobbins and some specialty threads.  Twenty six (26!) pounds, sixty two (62!) bucks to ship.)  But the wagon is from Sam's Club and is collapsible, for easier transport.  She loves it!  And she sure stays a lot cleaner this way!

So here is the box, just opened.  You can see, it is packed full and right up to the very top.  I got everything stowed, but it took some creative arrangement.  I went up to the quilt room, to make arrangements to "borrow" their tables so that I could put these quilts together properly, but would you believe, I am not even allowed in the room until or unless I cough up 10 bucks to join their guild.  They told me it was only 10 bucks dues, but that was for the whole year, and lets me use the room any time there wasn't a class in it.  I told them we'd only be here another month or so, and I was planning to leave them 3 finished quilts, but they said, Nope, can't be in here.  Literally dropped my jaw on that one.  Oh well, their loss.  

Sometimes, we get a really pretty sunset.  This is the view out Driver's front window the other night.

Every Friday, a group of food trucks come and set up outside downtown Sam's Club.  They range from Mister Softee to soul food (?) to waffles and cream, bbq & Korean.  I understand there is a different lineup every week.  Here's Lora, setting out on her first trip around the lot, checking out tonight's offerings.

This poor pasta truck had some cute sayings printed on its side, but they didn't serve many people the night we were there.  I don't know if they had a bad rep, the food was bad, or what.  But there were long lines at the other trucks, and nary a sole at this one.

Here's Driver, with our appetizer of spicy shrimp, fresh pickled cuke slices with jasmine rice and field greens.  YUM!  I'd guess most people would call this a dinner entree.  We split it and could have easily each had another full order.  Maybe 2.  Each.

John (Lora's hubster) got an Indian Burger, served on what they call Frybread.  It's kinda like a pizza crust/pita cross.  Two burger patties, pico de gallo, guac, and cheese over it all.  He enjoyed it!

Lora found a fellow Iowan, serving genuine Iowa Black Angus, wrapped in a corn flour patty, smothered in cheddar cheese.  It was definitely a generous portion, eh?

Dick and I each got a piled-high bbq sandwich, with both sliced beef brisket AND pulled pork, with a bit of homemade slaw on a brioche bun.  Gotta admit, it was pretty darned good.

Oh, crap.  I'm just now realizing, I didn't get a single photo of dessert!  Naturally, with this bunch, you know ice cream was involved.  Remember, I mentioned Mister Softy?  Caramel, chocolate and wet walnuts, with maraschino cherries managed to all find their way to our table.  We ate well, that's for sure.

So, during all these weeks, we've gotten the car serviced (twice!), gotten the floor tiles repaired, visited Tucson & Gila Bend, seen doctors all over the West Valley, been out to Cave Creek to see my brother and sister-in-law, danced with DeeDee Dougherty once, gotten Bailey to the vet (all good, doesn't need dental just yet, no heartworms, so we could refill her preventative meds), gotten her a set of wheels, visited the commissary a few times, and have experienced our first food truck dinner.  Oh, yeah, and there was a happy hour thrown in there too.  I tossed some apple slices in brown sugar and cinnamon, wrapped them in thinly sliced pie-dough strips and baked them, and there weren't any left to come home, so they must have been ok.  I was originally going to make them for the Halloween party and put eyeballs in between the strips (you know, to make them look like mummies), but the party was the same day as my first injection, so you know we didn't get to go to that.  Oh, and I did get my sewing machine serviced (for FREE, no less!!) while we were in Tucson.  

It has been a busy month, and we've not really done any sightseeing, but we've gotten a lot of other things accomplished.  Every day is a new adventure..Wait till you hear what happened today!  Coming up next...Cave Creek Wild West Days.