Spring has finally sprung (05/23/2021)

And the flowers are in bloom. Yes, this plant is in our yard!

I was hoping that the weather would go from cold to hot, but it has been taking its sweet old time getting there. Ok, I will stop whining.

The projects continued, as they usually do, with more of them being outdoor projects.

 Several years ago Paul and I replaced the decal on the nose of the trailer. This time it was Mike’s decal that needed replacing.

My favorite project was the new Dozer Memorial Bocce Ball court.

All the guys worked together on this project, which was very much appreciated.

Paul and I played Bocce Ball for the first time last year and we both really enjoyed it. We were glad we found room in the yard to put in a court.

We’ve used it quite a bit already, and those who aren’t actively playing, enjoy relaxing in the chairs and watching.

I was very happy to welcome my friend Steve to the PPP for the first time.  Since he is working remotely, he was able to stay for two weeks.  Steve and I have known each other since I was 14- lots and lots of years, haha.

He fit right in with the gang, and we had a great time showing him many of our favorite things to do.

Probably one of the highlights for me was the day it was finally nice enough to take the boat up through Topock Gorge. It’s such a beautiful ride.

May brought with it a final visit from Jess, and the realization that summer is fast approaching.

Mike and Julie left in early May, and Liz and Randy weren’t far behind.

They did wait until after the last race of the season at Havasu Speedway, however. After all of the car races were done for the night, there was one more, special race.

A waterless boat race.  Yep, these cars, about a dozen of them, drive around the track, dragging a boat.  Not a boat on a trailer, just the boat.

This race is hilarious. The winner is the one whose boat outlasts the others.

Once Paul and I were alone at the house, we focused on getting ready to leave for the summer. We are headed to Massachusetts, so we were looking to leave a little earlier than usual.  Part of our reasoning was that the weather STILL wasn’t good- windy almost every day, and not all that warm.

We took time out to do our favorite things …

..the Jet Ski got a few more hours put on it….

And we ate at our favorite restaurants one more time…

Once the trailer was packed and the house “summerized”, it was time to leave.

Late Winter of Early 2021 (04-22-21)

First of all, overall, this was a crappy winter, weather wise.  The wind literally never quit. Seems like it was blowing 20-30 mph almost every day. That can make temps in the low 60s seem really cold.

At least we have numerous places we can congregate when the wind is blowing- sometimes the best place is the front patio….

 and other times it’s the back deck, with the screens down and the heater on.

It’s great that the sunsets are not affected much by the wind, and can be amazingly spectacular here in Arizona.

Weather aside, we always find fun things to do:

February brings with it the Super Bowl, and this year we had the pleasure of entertaining our friends Deb and Al, from Michigan. Deb is a diehard Chiefs fan, and of course I am a diehard Patriots/Brady fan.

Tom and I were both smiling at the end of the game! 

It took me a while to decide what I wanted to get to commemorate the win, but I finally made a choice.

The guys always have projects to work on, and they are great at helping each other getting them accomplished. Many hands make light work, as they say. And yeah, I guess we are spoiled a little, that we could set the saw up outside and use it there.

Keeping mostly indoors, “puzzling” became a favorite pastime, as did cooking, eating, and drinking.

When our favorite wine went on clearance, we all bought some.

We planned and cooked lots of meals together, with our most complicated one being the Mexican dinner we made.  

We tried 3 new recipes- tamales, made from scratch, a Mexican salad, and Mexican rice. Other than the salad, which was just ok….everything else was awesome!

Many times the guys would help us out with meals, especially if it involved deep fat frying, or using the grill.

Towards the end of February, Paul turned 65. We had planned on having a huge party for he and Mike this year, but Covid caused us to cancel. 

Our daughter Jess did come, and brought her boyfriend, Mike, so we still had a great time. 

She is always fun to have around.

Taking advantage of a nice weather day, we drove down to Quartzsite to go on an ATV ride with Deb and Al, before they left for home. The last time we were on this trail, we were in our Jeep and it took us almost an hour to navigate this one particular turn.

Much easier in our Teryx!

 

Ride over, it was nice enough out to grab a burger at Beer Belly's . It definitely feels good to be able to go out to eat once in a while.

Blowing off the Cobwebs (02-14-21)

 After being hunkered down for quite a while over the holidays, we had a brilliant idea. Let’s go somewhere (preferably somewhere warm).

Liz and Randy had made a bunch of modifications to their 5th wheel, and we hadn’t towed ours with the new truck yet, so all of a sudden we were all antsy to get outta here and test them out.

Death Valley is only 4 hours from here, and it’s one of my favorite national parks- so I investigated the possibility of exploring and hiking there. The campgrounds are closed, but the hiking trails are open, so the 4 of us booked a spot in a nearby RV Park, and took off.

The weather was too cold to sit outside, so we were happy to find our own personal bar inside the casino at the RV park. It made a great place to hang out, and the drinks were good too.

The first time I came to Death Valley, I was stunned by how beautiful it is. I have been here several times now, and I still feel that sense of awe.

Our first stop was Dante’s View- its a great first view of the park and it never disappoints.

 Following the road, our next stop was Zabriskie Point. Liz and Randy have never been here, so we wanted to make sure we hit all the highlights and this is definitely one of them.

Continuing on, we headed down to the valley floor and Badwater Basin.  At 282 feet below sea level, this is the lowest point in North America- it was named for the taste of the water- apparently it isn’t “good”. Since the white stuff we are standing on is salt, I guess I can see why.

Speaking of white stuff- Death Valley only gets 2 inches of rain a year, spread out over about 20 days.  And yet it has rained every time I have been here.  None of my family would be surprised.  Bad weather tends to follow me but this time, mother nature outdid herself.

The following day as we drove through the park we started seeing white stuff falling from the sky. Not in the mountains- but just above the valley floor.

 Of course it “never” snows in Death Valley, so it was a real treat to be there for it. We stopped several times to enjoy and and get some pictures.

The following day the snow was gone from the valley floor, but there was still plenty on the nearby mountains.

We all wanted to get some hiking in, so on our final day we headed to Mosaic Canyon. 

Paul and I have hiked this several times, but I forgot how much bouldering there is. 

Randy and Liz were good sports though, and we made it in about 1.5 miles before turning around.

By lunch time the weather had warmed up enough for a picnic.

From Death Valley, we moved along to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. 

It’s easy to see where it gets its name. 

We spent a few days exploring this park- but the weather was still pretty chilly, so we didn’t do much sitting outside.

From bright red to pastels, to white, this park has rocks of all colors.

I love hiking on rock- its particularly fun for me-I am not sure why- but anyway, this park has plenty of it.

Twice we saw bighorn sheep- first it was a herd of females and then later we saw a bachelor group.  Turns out the two groups don’t hang out together unless its mating season.

After a few days exploring, it was time to head home.