What does a workamper do all day anyway?

Soooooo, just so ya know, today is July 31st, and we have left the Refuge.  (Insert frowny face here, and yes, it was a bit more emotional than we/I had anticipated.)  But, since I hadn't really been keeping you up to date while we were ON the Refuge, I thought I would share a bit of what we were doing during the time of self-isolation and quarantine.  (Jennifer, please be patient, you've already seen most of these photos, but none of our friends have...)   Btw, let's all welcome our Volunteer Coordinator to the blog - hellloooo, Jennifer!  And Candice, too...our neighbor from Crystal River, FL, whom we miss dearly - howdy, Girlfriend, 'sup??!!  Ok, let's get back to work now...  So, the Refuge Visitor Center has been closed since mid or end of March (can't remember, and it really doesn't matter, it's been quite a while now), and the staff has mostly been working from home.  I say mostly, 'cuz if you're a fireman or maintenance specialist, it's darned near impossible to telecommute, and so they have been coming onsite to do their work.  However....their work does not include making things presentable and pretty, sooooo, that falls to the volunteers! The Russian Sage bush is way overgrown and the butterfly garden is full of weeds, so off to work we go! 

And here is the railing - all poopy and chipped, and just generally not pretty.  Since I have to use it to get up the steps, I wanted to spiff it up some.

And so, we waited till a Friday night, prepped it with our fancy recycled box spatter shields, and our spray painter extraordinaire got busy.

When all was said and done, it was shiny and looked brand new!

The next morning we trucked on over to Marble Falls, about 23 miles away (only 11, if you go by crow), and picked me up a hand pruner to make it easier for me to work in the flower bed.  That's the closest Lowes Home Improvement store, and the ACE Hardware that is in Lago Vista doesn't have a pruner worth a dime.  We know, 'cuz we bought the one they had, and pardon my French, but it sucked.  It got returned the day after it was purchased.  While we were at Lowes, we found a rack of scrawny, half-dead, dried up tomato plants.  For a dime each.  Ever searching for the perfect homegrown tomato (yes, STILL), Driver just couldn't resist.  We came home with two!  And a couple bags of compost and dirt.  There was a discarded pallet on the burn pile, so we salvaged that and turned it into a planter box.

And planted our 20 cent tomato plants.

Later that night, we still had some energy left, so we signed up for a Zoom square dance.  This would be our second one, so, thankfully, we were better than before.  We still had a time or two where we stepped out of camera range, and while muted, we had a discussion about where our phantom corners should have been.  Darn those phantoms, they could sure use a few lessons!  LOL, probably us, too, ya think?

Remember that Quilt of Valor I did a dedication block for?  If you don't just click on that there link, and you'll go right to the post that contains the original block.  I'll wait.  Well, apparently, it, and its quilt, turned out so well, the maker was tasked with recreating the whole thing for another Veteran.  In a month's time. So she sent me some more fabric, and as soon as it was received, I whipped out this little puppy.  I thought maybe we should change up the motif at the top, to more accurately reflect the land-based Army, rather than the ocean waves of the Navy, but she said the stars and scrolls were find, so who am I to argue.  Besides, I still had all the threads selected and readily available, so, BAM, plug in the new dude's name, and Save and stitch away.

The next day, or maybe another day, I don't really remember, but it was a working day, so it was Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, we decided we were going to work on an area of the Refuge that was open to the public, but was about 15 miles from our campsite area.  To get there, we traveled down Cow Creek Road, and we got to see this beauty.  

and a baby....

So, you see here, there is a sign posted, suggesting that the area behind the sign was closed to the public.  No trails were here at Shin Oak Observation Deck.  This area is basically just a gazebo to shelter the crowds from the hot sun or sporadic rain showers that might pop up.  The area is dedicated to the Black Capped Vireo, a small and endangered songbird that nests exclusively in this area of central Texas. People come from all over the world to catch a glimpse of this shy little bird.  We never did see or hear one. 

But, we did fix it so that people would know to stay out of their territory.

While we were there, we got to see one of the Prickly Pear flowers up close and personal.  (Actually, Driver got REALLY up close and personal with one of the prickly parts, and it's a good thing I have tweezers.....)

This is how we found the boardwalk to the Observation Deck...

And this is how we left it...

This is how the parking lot looked when we arrived (you see all that trash around the edge??)...

And this is how it looked after we did our thing...

Back up at Warbler Vista, another area that is open to the public, we found another hidden sign....that we uncovered...

And, again, back at the Visitor Center, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the hedge trimmer to take care of these bushes around the foundation...

It was hard, strenuous work...

but so very rewarding in the end...

And, speaking of rewards...remember back when I was making all those masks, and I got a kit of 50 from our MagneShade friends?  I had agreed to sew them all up and return some or all back to them in North Carolina.  Well, the kit came, and I put out a Facebook notice to all our friends that I would have masks available in a week or so, and just let me know how many they needed of blue or pink.  John and Lora asked for 2 (I'm pretty sure I made them 2 each, but it's been so long, I just can't say for sure) to be sent to them at Happy Trails, in Arizona.  They offered to pay me for them, but, since this whole project was a charity thing, I didn't feel right accepting money for the masks or shipping.  I suggested they just buy lunch for a cop or a bag of dog/cat food for their local animal shelter.  Well, in typical Lora fashion, she told me that there would be a surprise waiting for me at the Marble Falls Post Office when we arrived here.  It.Never.Came.  First we went there (remember, it's not even close!), TWICE, and there was never anything there....and finally, we started calling.  And calling..and calling.  And there was never anything there for us.  Eventually, Lora ordered another surprise for us, and lo and behold, this one ARRIVED. And, boy, what a surprise it was!  While we were in Sedona, AZ, we had the pleasure of tasting freshly-squeezed Prickly Pear lemonade, remember?  I rather liked it, Driver was on the fence about it. (but if you pressed him, he would admit to liking it better than the mineral water lemonade of Mineral Springs, CO) Well, now I can make my OWN Prickly Pear lemonade!  Or, pour the syrup over pancakes.  Or make my PBJs with the jelly she so generously sent.  Oh my, what a prize this surprise was!  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lora and John!!

So now you've seen a little of what we did the first couple of weeks we were on the Refuge.  There's much more to be done, so stay tuned!

Stay well and safe out there!

What the heck IS that? And where did they go today?

What the heck is THAT?  We left our Meteor Crater RV Park (after collecting a small bag full of Granny Smiths, that just so happened to be hanging low enough to reach), and headed west.  You know what they say, Go West, young man, go West.  And being as we're still young, we heeded the sage advice.  Besides, it got down to 48 degrees the night before, and I had to break out a coat, so it was time!  Sooo, we only got about 3 miles down the road, and look what was in our sights!  Holy crap!  If I am correct, that is Humphrey's Peak, elevation 12,633 feet.  And we're headed that way!  We turn South when we get to Flagstaff, so we can only hope that stuff stays in place!

 It wasn't too far along, shortly after we passed by Flagstaff and turned south that we began to see warning signs.  Warning for what, what could possibly be coming up on such a pretty ride?  Well, steep grades, apparently.

And sharp curves, with short little guard rails.  And looooong drop-offs!

Lovely views, when I had enough courage to peep out the window.

I know you can't read that sign....even if you blow it up, you can't read that sign.  Or maybe you can, I dunno.  Personally, I find the letters pretty blurry.  But, as I recall, they warned that there was a runaway truck ramp, 10 miles ahead.  How comforting.  Only 10 hair-raising, white knuckled, pants-pooping miles ahead.  I'm soooo glad we didn't have to use it!!  It was only a couple of weeks ago that RV Newsletter had mountain-driving tips, and we had the discussion about how and when to apply the brakes.  And, after having just replaced those in the car, I'm doubly glad we don't have to replace those in the coach!  Pretty sure I'd rather use that money for ice cream!

Here we are back up in the mile high club...

And, please enlighten me...what kind of animal is this majestic beast?  We never saw one off the signs, but we were definitely on the lookout!

Someone had a sick sense of humor...Only 14 miles to go!

 Oh, yay, Sedona!  That was one of the places I was hoping we could go to.  Just like Garden of the Gods, I had been there AGES ago, but only in passing through, hardly remember it, but know it was someplace I would like to return to and see again, this time, paying more attention.  And with a camera.

The campground was pretty easy to find...it was right at exit 233, just as the GPS indicated.  Only it was LEFT, not right, as she said.  Thankfully, my Driver knows to listen to ME, not her whenever there's a discrepancy.  So when we pulled it, it appeared to be still under construction!  There were a couple of guys building a stone column out front, there was a metal structure being welded, the trees were newly planted, and none of the roads had names or directional indicators.  Hmmm...but there ARE a few other campers in place...let's see.  Last week, when we had to change our reservation date, we (and I'm using that term loosely!) also discovered that the park takes Passport America discount card, but only for 7 days.  Well, we are only staying 7 days!  Soooo, we called back, after changing our arrival & departure dates, and asked if we could also use the Passport America discount.  She suggested probably not, but she would give it a go.  Surprise!  It worked, so when we checked in, we only owed a grand total of about $22!  And she neglected to charge us the $25 early check-in fee (before 2 pm is early, to them!) or the $20 pet fee!  Yippee, we scored!  Saved us almost 200 bucks!!

What we did NOT know is that it only opened up in August!  We had made our reservations way back in June, I think, so I guess it was just lucky that we found the place!

That's Dick, heading in to the clubhouse.  They have a lovely water feature out front - it's that silver globe...there is water bubbling out the top and coating the globe as it falls into a rock basin.

The pool is heated with a beautiful paver deck with a huge firebowl and TWO sunken hot tubs!

Inside is spacious and has every amenity you might want.  Billiards, shuffleboard, magazines, cozy seating, full kitchen and eat-at bar, double sided fireplace, a full fitness room, with brand new workout machines, not someone's old castoffs, card room, bathrooms, laundry, big TV's, cable and internet.  FREE internet and cable, throughout the park!

Here is our site - plenty long enough for us to stay hooked up to our tow dolly, and plenty wide enough for us to walk on either side, even with our slide outs extended.

This is the view out our front window.  Nice, wide street, and then a field.  Off in the distance are the mountains.

Soooo, I know y'all didn't come here for an RV park review.  You want to see where we go and what we do, right?  Yeah, I hear you, loud and clear.  And, so, you ask, I shall provide.  We came up with a plan that we would tour Camp Verde (the town and the Fort) Saturday morning, and then head on over to Montezuma Castle and Well.  

So, Fort Verde, here we come!  But first, a geocache was in order. We started out ok, finding a geocache right away....well, we found where it WAS, but it's not there any more.  We also found the cache owner, who is also the store owner, and he 'fessed up, yup, that's where it should have been hanging.  He was also easily distracted and had some fuzzy math, when it came time to pricing the 2 bolo ties we found for sale in his shop.  Even MY math was not as fuzzy as his. And after that...we stumbled on a parade!  A parade of antique cars!  

If you're reading this in your email, you can click HERE to view it directly from YouTube.

On to the Fort, which is now an Arizona State Park.  No Golden Age pass, no military, no old geezer discounts.  Only discount is for AZ residents, and even though we plan to be here the next 3 months, that didn't count.  Oh well.  

So here's a little story on how this Verde Valley came to be.  Interesting stuff!

Then the Park Ranger, who was dressed in period costume, encouraged (coerced!) us into our own costumes.  Poor Dick, his was wool.  Mine was a simple cotton frock, that I couldn't button in the back, so it kinda hung off.  Bailey was barely cooperative, but we did get one good sit out of her!

The adobe walls are 16 inches thick, making the buildings pretty cool, even though the day was already warm.  Yes, farther south, lower elevation, warmer already!

This was the Commander's quarters.  And only as long as he was the highest ranking officer on base.  If a higher rank came to visit or stay, HE got the Commander's quarters for as long as he was stationed here, and the previously ranked officer had to move into the married soldiers' quarters.  Sometimes, they had as many as 10 families bunked up together.  The only other two buildings remaining from the Fort's prime were the married soldiers' quarters and the surgeon's quarters.  Both were quite a bit simpler and less ornately furnished than the Commander's quarters.

On the other side of the picket fence, at the end of the field, was what they call a "power shovel," the precursor to today's backhoe, I guess.  This particular one was used in the Salt Mine down the road (that is an excursion for another day!).

As we were walking back to the car, we passed by a small rock building which was identified as the Camp Verde Jail, built in 1933, by the Civil Works Administration, serving as a jail until the early 60's.  It's available for rent, today, just in case you're interested, but it's only open to the public on Tuesdays.  That would be Yesterday, for those of you keeping track.

So, back to the plan.  Except for one thing.  I had woken up with a splitting headache, taken some ibuprofen, and still had my headache, only it was worse.  I was getting confused and tired, and really didn't feel up to touring Montezuma Castle at the moment.  I wanted to be clear headed and be able to enjoy the trip, so we looked on my phone and the Geocaching app indicated there was one not too awfully far away, down at Clear Creek Church.  But, first we stopped back in at the Museum, which had been closed the first time we tried to enter.  It was open now, and I totally forgot there were signs posted all over saying NO PHOTOS, and yeaaaah.... I took a couple.  I knew we were going to the Church, so I snapped a couple for you..

And here's the real thing.  Cute little church, also available for rentals today.

Lo and behold, the cache.  Being guarded by someone with more legs than I have.

We still had time, and my headache was slightly subsiding by now (maybe the stuffiness/moldiness) of the old artifacts and garments in the Fort were exacerbating things??) so we decided to head down the road a bit farther to Clear Creek Vineyards.  Turns out, there is only one owner, an older gentleman, and he has turned an old(er!) schoolie into a party bus!  It, too, is available for rentals!!  Cmon, I know you want to go for a ride!!

Here he is demonstrating how he has to push air down into the grapes to keep the fermentation going.  One of us got talked into a tasting, but we took the smaller one, only 3 wines for $6.  A little pricey, but we sort of felt obligated after getting the tour and taking up his time.  I would have preferred to buy some of his free range eggs, but he trades them (and wine) for food.  Yeah, he's not indigent, but he is single, and he doesn't cook.  So he trades veggies, wine & eggs in return cooked dishes every night.  Nope, didn't buy any wine.  Didn't find one we liked, sorry.

So, the rains hadn't started yet, actually, haven't even appeared on the horizon yet...and we still had some GO in us, so we headed up to Alcantera Vineyards.  We crossed over a cattle guard, so we shouldn't have been surprised...but, we were surprised to see them so very close to the road!  There were several heifers just chowin' down, but this was the prettiest and only one that showed her face.  Didn't think you'd be all that interested in pictures of cows' butts.

Can you see the terraces going up to the top of that mesa?  THAT's the vineyard!

 

When we wound our way down to the river (Verde River), we saw this stately structure.  Actually, truth be told, we knew the tastings would be over shortly, and we knew we would want to return on Friday or Saturday, when tours were available, but the road was so darn narrow, and windy, and STEEP, there just was nowhere to turn around safely, so we just kept going.  All the way down to the actual winery, where we could turn around in the parking lot.  Then we had to go back UP the windy, narrow and STEEP road.  Thank God it was paved!!Apparently, it wasn't always, and the asphalt was a recent improvement.

 You can see all the work that went into making these stone walled terraces.  Wow.

By now, though, it was time to head home.  Three little (HA!) bellies were beginning to voice their opposition to staying out any longer!

A big shout out to Lora & John, who left for Iowa yesterday, for her mom's wedding to a 93 year old suitor!  Lora & John are the reason we've come to this part of the country, and they'll be back in town a couple of weeks after WE get in town, then they'll be able to take Dick on all those hikes he wants to go on.  And Lora is big into the photography club, and he has the same brand of camera as hers, so she can show him some tricks.  Or at least how to work it.  Or maybe just get it back to default settings so he can see what he's doing.  We'll see.

Tomorrow we will visit another vineyard or maybe go up to Jerome and Clarkdale.  Or maybe Montezuma Castle and Well.  Who knows.  Just load up the car, suit up the pup, and let's ride!