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?
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!)
Looks like a great hike. Nice about the flowers for your brother. Thanks for the shout-out.
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