Rally day 3

Our ribbons from the rally

September 30 – We didn’t need to be at the main rally building until 10:15 today so we slept in a while and had breakfast and arrived in plenty of time.  This morning was the Beanbag Baseball.  Bill and I couldn’t be on the same team because they put team color tickets in a hat and you pick on and that’s the team you’re on.  So I was green and he was blue.  We only had 6 players and it was 4 men, me and a woman who had never played but she did really well.  They play 9 innings, which it long and have a 6 run rule per inning.  I didn’t do so well the first game but got on base twice and scored runs.  Our team won first place and I even had a home run and several doubles! 

Once of the chapters was selling egg rolls for lunch so we stayed and had some and they were pretty tasty.  The Bean bag toss (corn hole) was at 2:30 and at first Bill and I were going to be partners and they decided to play as singles and made us play each other.  I was horrible but Bill ended up winning 3^rd place, so we had a really good Rally!  Once I lost to Bill I went in and bet on the horse races but didn’t win. 

Our table decor

We took a break back at the RV until time to get ready for the final dinner tonight.  We wore our Lake Eola vests and were assigned the Connecticut table with 6 other people.  They mixed everyone up so they could get to meet new people. Dinner was nice with pasta, chicken, meatballs, salad, green beans and dinner rolls.  It was all part of your registration fee, so that was extra nice.  There was cake for dessert. 

Once the entertainment took a break they did all of the door prizes

Our prize

Oand we won an outdoor rotating light and they named all of the game winners, ours came up 4 times!!!!  We gave our information to several couples who will be in Florida and want to meet up with us.  It was really a good experience and we wish our friends Ron and Barbara could have joined us. 

Time to wind down, watch some TV and read before packing up tomorrow to start heading south!

Rally day 2

September 29 – We had to be at the pavilion before 9 this morning for the Bocce Ball

During Bocce

Lake Eola First Place Team!

competition.  We had leftover red velvet pancakes, bacon and fruit and headed over in the drizzle.  It took asking several people before we found someone who knew where the game was being held due to the light rain.  We caught a ride in a golf cart to a grassy area where the court was set up, but it was just staked down tape.  Playing in the drizzle, on wet recently cut grass (meaning clumps of grass) was a challenge.  I was the only woman to brave the elements and they had 2 person teams instead of 4 due to the small turnout.  Of course Bill and I were teammates.  We started off kinda slow but once we got going the first game, which we were behind 10 – 3 in an 11 point game and each throw we each scored a point or 2 until the last throw and at 10 – 9 and Bill threw a 2 pointer to win.  We took first place winning 11 – 3 with me throwing a 2 pointer.  I think everyone in Florida probably heard me once we took first place!  My camping friends know I get rather excited!  They gave us First Place ribbons.  Not sure if they give the small plastic pins at the closing like they do in Florida.  Oh well, it felt awesome to win!

Since we didn’t sign up for Bola Toss (Ladder Toss), we didn’t hang around too long.  I wanted to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond and after that stop we pulled into the post office to drop off a couple of things and then had lunch at Black Eyed Pea.  We had seen it when we exited the interstate for Canon City and decided we were going to eat there.  We used to go pretty often when we had them in Orlando but it’s been years.  We qualified for lunch from the “Senior” menu.  I don’t think it’s changed in all these years!  Bill had Chicken Fried Chicken with slaw and onion rings and I had Liver and Onions with Sugar Peas and Cinnamon Apples.  They brought each a big dinner roll and a small corn muffin.  So yummy!  I miss Black Eyed Pea!

Working our way back to the fairgrounds we stopped so I could go to Bath and Body Works and it was next to JC Penney and I saw big sale signs, so of course I had to take a peek.  I found a top on clearance for $12.59 that matches an unusual color of pants I have and when she rang it up it was only $2.99 plus tax.  What a deal for a $36 top.  This weekend is 50% off all clearance and she didn’t know why that went so low but who am I to complain?  I called Bill and he came in and took a look but didn’t find anything but I did find a pair of capris and some uniform bottoms for Shiloh on clearance so I did pretty well.  There was just too much stuff for me to go though.  I have a short attention span after a while of looking!

Further on the way back was the library.  We had received a brochure when we registered about a big book sale at the library so Bill wanted to go.  I ended up going to the computer lab and using the free computer since we have no wifi at the fairgrounds and he went for books.  He was excited to find 2 of his hard to find authors and a couple other books.

The rally provided dinner tonight: choice of brats, burgers and 1/3 pound hot dogs and choice of potato salad or slaw and a piece of pie.  My brat was a little underdone but the pie was excellent.  We stayed for a while but wanted to get home in time to watch the season opener of Hawaii 5-0 and Blue Bloods.

I did find out at the dinner that the fairgrounds does have wifi and got the code but it hasn’t been very good for me tonight.  Up and down the minute I try to send anything.  Maybe it will be better tomorrow night and I can post some blogs.

Time for reading a while!

Rally day 1

September 28 – There wasn’t anything really going on this morning at the rally as today is actually the first day.  After breakfast we battled cold and rain and went to Wal-Mart.  I dropped my prescription to be filled and while they worked on it I picked up the items on my short list.  We were in and out in 45 minutes!

Our parking space

More RV’s arrived while we were out.  It was such a nasty day!  We read until time for lunch.  Then we went up to the “First Timer’s” meeting which followed with a wine and cheese reception.  That was really nice and everyone just socialized.  It was still drizzly after so we stopped at the main hall and I entered several raffles.  Maybe with fewer people my odds will improve!

We came home again and went back to our books until dinner time.  The sun finally came out at 4:45 for the first time in 3 days.  Then it got dark and cooled off.  I didn’t feel much like cooking so I made those delicious grilled cheese sandwiches.  Fast, easy and delicious!  The opening

Some of the other rally attendees

ceremony started at 6 so we went over and got seats.  There are 82 RV’s here and they normally have about 160.  Kansas is having their state rally this weekend also and they attribute it to that.  The staff procession was nothing compared to how long a Florida procession takes.  We were recognized for being from Florida and there was also a

The entertainment

couple from Illinois, so the other guests were states surrounding Colorado.  There was a western duo performing right after.  They played well but didn’t sing so well.  We left at 7 so I could see the season opener of Grey’s Anatomy tonight.  It was a 2 hour show, awesome!  Then we watched a lot of FOX which after a while I get tired of the commentator and guest speaking over each other and just sounding rude.  Too much for me to comprehend!  Time to turn it off and read!  Much more relaxing!

Rally Time

September 27 – What a day!  There was no rush to get up and ready to leave since we were only going 45-50 miles.  Just over to Pueblo, CO for the Colorado State Good Sam’s Rally.  It was a rainy dreary day, which didn’t make us want to move any faster!  We decided to driver separately rather than hook up the car for such a short drive.  Bill led the way and shortly called to tell me he needed to stop for gas for me to go ahead.  We had seen the road to the Colorado State Fair Grounds when we arrived so knew where we were headed.  Well, Bill called the fairgrounds for directions and called to tell me the road we saw was closed for construction and to go into Pueblo to I-25 and go south, exit at 97B and go west.  I thought Bill would catch up with me rather quickly but he didn’t catch up until I had exited and the street was small with overhanging trees, not a good thing.  He called and I couldn’t answer but then I called him back and he told me where to turn left and right but I didn’t see the street but saw a big parking area on the right.  I pulled in and told him where I was.  I waited for him and he led me through a residential area with MORE low hanging trees and he stopped and asked a guy where the fairgrounds were and then he pulled into a church parking lot.  We both googled the fairgrounds and we were only 1.7 miles away but I told him to drive it first and make sure I didn’t get stuck in another residential area.  He came back and said the coast was clear so we finally reached our destination.  The one hour trip turned into over 2.

We weren’t sure what to expect for parking as they didn’t guaranteed full hook up.  There are full hookups around the perimeter of a huge enclosed parking area.  Then across the center of the lot are numerous electric hook-up.  They won’t have a full house so we got full hook up.  Yeaaa!

Once we got settled, we had some lunch then Bill tried the satellite and it churned and churned and I had a bad feeling about it.  It could have hit a limb on the trip in.  Not good!  When we left to go up and register we looked at the dish and it looked broken on one side.  Definitely not good! 

We got registered and talked to some really nice folks.  One lady has a place in Bradenton.  There are not a lot of people here yet.  It’s really different than our Florida rallies.  We got the Colorado President to sign off on our last space to get a Century Patch from the National Good Sams!  We got a nice goodie bag at registration and checked out some of the vendors that were set up.

The weather has continued to be terrible.  I got on the roof and checked the satellite and there is no reason for it not to work, so I turned it on again and all is well!  That saves over $600! 

We opted to have dinner and stay in tonight.  We spotted places on the city map that we might want to visit while we’re here.  I made pasta with Italian sausage and salads.  It hit the spot!  Then we both worked on our computers and watched our new TV shows!

Road Trip

September 26 – After a leisurely breakfast the plan was a trip to Cripple Creek.  On the way out of the park Bill stopped and retrieved the missing driver’s license so he’s legal again. 

Lake along drive

The drive to Cripple Creek was nice except for the road work.  Luckily we arrived at the stop just as they were allowing our lane to go.  It’s a nice ride over small hills and valleys with ranches dotted along the way.  Once we started ascending higher and closer to Cripple Creek the beautiful yellow clusters of aspen trees stood out among the

Aspens in front of mine tailings

evergreens.  So beautiful but with the 2 lane road and no pull offs we didn’t get to do much stopping for photos.  There seemed to always be a car coming behind us.  Cripple Creek was pretty much as we remembered except now there were more casinos and fewer shops and restaurants.  We drove through town, which didn’t take long, and at the far end I spotted a small

My new friend

herd of donkeys roaming free.  We stopped and opened my window and one came right on up to me.  I think he expected a treat but we didn’t plan on donkey snacks.  We found out later that they have 15 in town.  They just had the first baby in 20 years.

It looked like a slow day in town and we easily found street

One block of town

parking.  We went into a shop and I looked for Bill to show him something and he was gone.  I went out and stood by the car and called him and heard his phone ringing in the car.  He had left a rear window half way down so I just stood there and waited for him to return.  He was in the shop next door.  He opened the car, got his phone, rolled up the window and realized he didn’t have his wallet but he did have a license.!!!  We stopped in the first casino we came to and he needed the restroom and I need to

Bill won big!

donate $10 to the casino.  Further down the street the Bronco Billy’s takes up the whole block and Bill wanted to go in.  The first machine we saw was a Big Bang Theory machine and after a photo session Bill wanted me to give him $1 so play.  I could not believe he put $1 for 1spin and won $20.  He had the appropriate “Bazinga” pop up and it gave him a spin of the big wheel and it landed on $20.  Of course the one next to it was $100.  It was almost enough to buy lunch! 

We stopped in a nice shop with lots to offer and I found the most beautiful, perfect slippers!  I tried them on and left with them.  I’d been watching for some new ones for in the RV and Bill was shocked that I

My new slippers

paid the price but they are SO nice.  We asked the clerk for a lunch recommendation and she said Maggies.  Lunch was excellent.  The soup of the day was White Cheddar Broccoli so we each had a cup and we each ordered the Chicken Fajita Appetizer.  Wow, it was much larger than we each expected but Bill managed to knock his off.  I got a take home box (which I discovered later I left on the lobby counter while I waited for Bill to go to the bathroom)!  We drove up around some of the old mines which was interesting.  They mapped out a couple of walking trails with placards telling about each stop. 

Victor is only a few (literally) miles away so we headed there. Between the towns is the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine Company which is a VERY

Three mines in Victor

active and huge mine.  We were told they take millions of dollars of gold out still.  That place is huge with mounds and mounds of tailings.  They stagger them in a pyramid and leave a road all around it to continue building it taller and taller.   It is unbelievable! 

Victor had no casinos, so is much smaller but has lots more shops.  We didn’t stop at any but picked up a map at that showed us

Staggered pilings

around.  We drove by the Lowell Thomas house.  He was an American writer, broadcaster and traveler.  He narrated movie reels until 1952 and that’s what most people know him from.

On the way back to Canon City we stopped again for the road construction and once again were lucky that we didn’t have to wait.  We visited a used book store in town and boy did she have the books.  They were EVERYWHERE.  Such a nice lady and she lived and taught in Mt Dora when she got out of college in Tennessee.  She’s a Coloradoan, born and raised, so in a few years moved back.  We turned in a big bag us books we’d read and got a much better deal on our purchase than in Tucson.

Back at the campground as soon as we got out of the car a teenage boy was standing by a car in a spot 2 away from us and he was screaming to beat the band!  We came inside and you could clearly hear him.  I realized his mother was sitting in the car on her cell phone and he kept screaming to please let him have his things from the car.  I stuck my nose in the situation after she got out of the car and told her to please get him to stop.  She told me he is special needs and she had the crisis line on the phone.  Then the campground manager arrived and she got him inside her RV and things got quiet.  I felt bad for her but after 10-15 minutes it was hard on the nerves. 

The good news is the water was back on!  I made steel-head trout, mixed rice and steamed broccoli for dinner with a brownie for dessert.  Later we watched NCIS, Bull and NCIS New Orleans.  I also worked on my health insurance papers.  

Work Day

September 25 – I made a Sunday big breakfast on Monday of sausage, eggs, fruit, we shared a the remaining sweet roll from Darlene and I made him an over easy egg for Bill.  Then we got into the Monday ritual of cleaning and laundry.  Bill dusted the entire RV while I changed the bed and cleaned the bedroom carpet and all the tile floors. Bill vacuumed the rest of the carpet. 

I had a couple of “projects” so I put 2 clamps on the “over the door rack” that we have on the outside of our bathroom door and I had one clothes hook that I put in the bedroom for Bill to use.  Then I moved on to baking a batch of brownies that should last several days. 

After lunch we had our showers and I made the dreaded call to Directv.  The call took 50 minutes to have them get our local channels working.  The call went to the Philippines and I asked to be sent back to the US and they said they couldn’t do it.  I don’t believe it but at least now we can watch our shows that start back up.

Once that was settled we headed into Canon City to Dollar Tree, Walgreens and Wal-mart.  We had to wait a bit but we both got our flu shots.  Glad we did as we heard from Bill’s sister and she has the flu and the department head at my mom’s facility is out with it also.  We only needed a few things so Wal-mart didn’t take long. 

Then the fun started!  We found we had no water from the land hook up.  Bill could not find his drivers license.  He checked the car and all of his pockets and remembered the last time he had it was when we checked in here.  I called the emergency contact number for the park and was told they had the water on an on and off schedule since “the guy” hadn’t come to repair it.  It “should” be back on in the morning!  I told him it would have been nice if someone had let us know.  He said he guessed they should have given out notices.  I asked if he knew if Bill’s license was in the office and he said he saw it and someone tried to deliver it twice and we were gone!  I guess the long questionnaire they require with our info got lost so they couldn’t call! 

I made baked chicken, a rice dish and leftover veggies for dinner and of course we had brownies for dessert.  We watched the season opener of Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon and Scorpion.

Trip through the Royal Gorge

September 24 – We were up early and had some bacon, fruit and half each of the huge rolls

Boarding the train

Royal Gorge Engine

Darlene brought for us!  We were ready to go when they picked us up at 8:15.  We arrived at the train depot for our Royal Gorge Train trip in plenty of time to park, pick up our tickets, check out the gift shop and people watch!  The train left at 9:30 and we bought tickets for one of the Dome cars.  We had a table for 4 so we could easily converse while travelling the 11 miles to Parkdale, population “3”.  There was some concern before boarding that there would be too much fog and cloud cover for a good experience but that was no problem.  There were rafters and many lost paddles scattered along the river.  Clouds were hanging low over the gorge walls.  All along the river is a wooden pipeline built

Clouds in the Gorge

Rafters

from 1908-1910 by convicts from the Territorial Prison in Canon City.  This brought water into the city until 1972.

The train route was built in 1879 and this section closed in 1967 as a passenger line and reopened in 1999 as a tourist route.  It grew from humble beginnings with 5 passenger cars and a cooler for drinks to vista Dome cars, open cars and regular cars and serving first class meals.  Many special events are hosted annually as well as weddings, etc.

Foot bridge over the gorge

Seeing the Royal Gorge Bridge above was exciting in itself, both on the way up and back. 

Wooden pipeline through the mountain
along the gorge

We also saw the housing for the “gatekeeper” who managed the water flow in the water pipe.  At the end of the ride in Parkdale is where we stopped and headed south again.  That is also where the rafters put in.  Today was too cold for me to be rafting but I’m sure they enjoyed the numerous rapids along the river.  The train stops on the way back for viewing rock formations and

Hanging bridge train tracks

explanation of the “hanging bridge” which is a section of the tracks that are not on land.  A hanging bridge was built suspended out wide enough for the train tracks.  It was pretty amazing!  On part of the ride back we went out to the open car to get better photos, especially of the bridge overhead.

When we arrived back at the station the 12:30 crowd was at the gate awaiting our exit. It was a bit expensive but most likely a “once in a lifetime” thing for us. 

Lunchtime!  Knowing we would be eating out for dinner tonight, we chose something more reasonable for lunch, Wendy’s. We arrived just before the rush, but it’s the way we arrived that kept us laughing!  Mike has been doing the driving since our car is packed with

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

holey boards, water and other paraphernalia in the back seat.  He was making the left turn onto the side street of Wendy’s and stopped as there was a car approaching,  suddenly he made the turn to our amazement, then as he turned into the lot at Wendy’s he ran over the curb (he said he didn’t see it!) and we were still clamoring about his turn onto the street and then he just about shot back out onto the main road and we were all alarming him to stop and he whipped into a parking spot and then proceeded to jump out of the car and not turn it off!  It all happened so fast, and Darlene and I busted out laughing uncontrollably!  Phew!  Once we got our meals and “calmly” had our meal, I got tickled about it all over again and could barely contain myself!  I warned Mike it was going in the blog, but maybe you had to be there to really experience it!

Dinosaur tracks

View of Canon City from Skyline Drive

After Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride we were hesitant to have Mike drive us all on Skyline Drive.  The drive is a 3 mile one-way narrow road up and across a crest 800 feet up with “hogbacks”.  The vote was to give him another chance!  The view was spectacular and there are dinosaur tracks in the rocks to view.  We stopped several times along the way for the view and photos.  It was really a nice drive with great views of Canon City. 

Mike took us back to the RV park where we all took a siesta until time to head out for dinner.  They picked us up at 5:30 and we headed to El Capitan, a Mexican Restaurant.  Timing is everything and once we were seated the crowd was backing up in the lobby.  The service was very good and we all enjoyed our meals.  However, we all had just enough space left for junior Frostys from Wendy’s.  We picked them up at the drive-thru and brought them back to the RV and enjoyed our dessert.

Unfortunately the fun (and exciting) day had to end and we said our good-byes tonight since Mike and Darlene are leaving early in the morning!  We certainly enjoyed our time with them and look forward to the next time. It has been 2 years since we last saw them for a quick breakfast while we were on the road.

Bill and I watched some TV and settled down to read for a bit!

Arrived in Colorado!

September 23 – It has started getting cooler out.  It’s making up for the heat we had down in Arizona!  We had another quick breakfast and got on the interstate easier than getting off yesterday.  We chose a much better route!

The drive today was mostly high plains dessert and very boring.  Little traffic and fewer

Scenery

towns along the way.  I guess it does beat Phoenix for sure!  I was so bored that the first time I spotted an antelope I started counting them.  I actually counted 51 along the highway and luckily none on the highway! 

From the driver's seat

We stopped in NM for fuel, thinking it would be less than in Colorado and later stopped at rest area for lunch.  As soon as we crossed into CO the rain started.  Light rain, then heavy, then light then heavy.  I got tired of changing the speed of the wipers after a while. 

We arrived at Prospectors RV in Canon City about 4.  Our friends Darlene and Mike had a much shorter drive from Kremmling, CO and arrived at noon.  They rented a cabin in the park and were not impressed with it at all!  She brought us homemade HUGE sweet rolls from their breakfast place in Kremmling where they stopped on the way.

They came over and we visited for a while and discussed our dinner plans.  We landed at the 8 Mile Bar & Grill just a couple miles up the road.  It had continued to cool down and they have garage doors for their wall so we went to the back corner as far from the opening as possible. The food was good as the guys both went with the buffalo burgers while Darlene enjoyed her cheese steak basket and I had the chicken fried steak that Mike REALLY wanted!  We took our time and enjoyed a leisurely dinner and conversation before heading out to find DQ.  I thought I’d seen one and Mike was SURE he’d seen it but we didn’t see it all the way to the end of town and so we turned around and were considering Wendy’s or McDonalds and I just happened to look to my right and there it was, a block off the main road, so Mike did a quick right and another right and there we were!  They were good and only had plain cones but Bill and I each got a mini Blizzard.  Yum!  I would have settled for a cone but wanted to challenge them to see if they’d turn it over like in the commercial and they did, so no free Blizzard today!

Mike dropped us on and they headed back to the cabin.  We were pretty beat so didn’t stay up long but I did turn the heat on before going to bed since it was going into the 40’s tonight!

Headed north

September 22 – We had a quick breakfast of cereal and fruit.   When we left Camp Verde today and were to meet up with Carole and Herb by 9 at the casino while we hooked up the car.  Getting ready to go was pretty quick but we had some error codes on the leveling legs when we retracted them.  It gets rather frustrating and no one can tell us what the problem is! 

I texted Carole when we left.  Bill was going by Bryan’s in the car and meet me after he picked some pomegranates for Carole and us.  He got to say his good-byes again to Bryan and by the time he got to the casino I was parked and then Carole and Herb arrived.  It was a very sad good-bye for me.  They are as much my family as the one I was born to.  From the first I met Carole in December 1987 I felt at home in her home and a true kindred spirit.  She’s my friend as well as my sister and mother.  How special to have someone like that all rolled into in person!

We hooked up the car and retracted the legs a couple more times and the legs held in place but the error codes were still there.  Since we couldn’t do anymore we headed up I-17 to Flagstaff. 

Accident on I-40

Our first stop of the day was Flying J and later we stopped for lunch at a rest area.  We passed a tractor trailer accident on I-40 past Holbrook.  It was in the middle of nowhere but a number of truckers had

Scenery along the way

stopped immediately and they had the driver out on the ground with towels.  He appeared to be in better
condition than his truck.  Miles up the highway a patrol cars passed up with his sirens going so we assumed he was headed to the accident. 

Once we crossed into New Mexico we lost an hour.  These time changes are getting confusing!  We arrived in Bernalillo around 6:00 where we parked at Wal-mart after the GPS took us on a neighborhood routing.  That was exciting!  We had our leftovers from Babe’s last night and headed into Wal-Mart to restock.

I managed to post one blog and after the drive I was bushed so I only managed a few pages of reading!

Happy Birthday Carole!

September 21 -  Happy Birthday Carole! 

We are parked much too close to the interstate as I did not enjoy all the trucker noise all

Birthday lunch:  Bryan, Carole, Herb, Bill, Kelly, Janet

night!  Since we are meeting the family at 10:30 to drive in to downtown Cottonwood for lunch and we have to be there by 11:15 we just had fruit for breakfast.  We arrived timely at Bryan’s and we rode with them and Carole drove her car to Cottonwood Tavern Grille.  It was formerly the movie theatre and the restaurant took it over in 2005.  It’s very nicely decorated and has some nice outdoor seating but we dined inside.  We had a very leisurely lunch following by a fancy birthday dessert in honor of Carole’s 84^th birthday, the first in too many years to count, with her brothers!  The food was excellent as was the service.   I had an ahi tuna salad and didn’t leave a crumb!

When we got back to Bryan’s Bill stayed there while I went back to the RV to re-order my slide topper parts, work on my missing prescription, print the 39 page land contract we received, and do a load of laundry.   I went back to pick him up at 3:15 but we didn’t leave until 4:30.  He tightened the hook on the mud flap while I hung the laundry and put things away for our departure tomorrow.

The plan for dinner was to meet at Babe’s and on the way we drove to the casino to check out a spot to stop in the morning to hook up the car. Babe’s is a bbq place and it’s OK.  My brisket was tough and the sides selection had no vegetables.  I eat a lot of veggies!  After dinner Bryan and Janet came over to see the RV.  They stayed quite a while to visit.

Once company left I got on the computer and posted 2 days and started writing more.  Once we get on the road it’s really difficult for me to keep up!

Rough road trip...

September 20 – We started the day with some issues with the leveling legs – again!  Bill packed up all the utilities and he took the garbage down to the back of the park and came back for me.  Today we leave for Camp Verde to visit Bill’s brother Bryan and his wife Janet.

Bill has asked at the office if we could line up in the main entry and exit area to hook up and was told that was fine.   As we were stopped and about done hooking up the car, another motorhome towing a jeep wanted to turn up the lane but was too impatient to wait so he decided to go around and back down the row in front of us and turn right and go to the exit gate.  Bad decision on his part!  He couldn’t make the turn and couldn’t back up towing so he got out and unhooked the jeep and they drove back around.  By the time they were back behind us we were headed to the gate.

The plan was to meet Carole and Herb along the road to the interstate where trucks pull off.  I had no idea she was right in front of us when we got to the turn and she thought I knew it was her and went on up the road.  Once she realized I didn’t follow she came back and pulled in and finally, off we went.  The drive to Tempe was extremely stressful.  It’s more so when you’re leading or following someone else in super heavy traffic.  Then you have the )who think you can stop on a dime, heck, I can’t stop on a dollar! 

Doug, Bill, Kelly, Carole and Herb (Shannon took the picture0

The stop in Tempe was so we could see Carole’s son Doug and his wife Shannon.  I had last seen them in 2013 on a girls trip out west.  I’m not sure how long it had been since Bill was there, I think November, 2010 was his last trip there.  Shannon and Doug had lunch fixings for us and we all sat and ate and visited, which was really nice.  The drive to Camp Verde was not as bad as the drive to Tempe, however I thought we’d never get out of Phoenix!

Carole pulled into the casino there she and Herb were staying and Bill and I circled around and back down to Krazy K RV.  It’s a small park of only 35 spaces and this was our 3^rd stay there as it’s super convenient to Bill’s brother Bryan’s house.  When we got out to unhook the car we saw the mud flap was down on one end.  Luckily it was only the clip that holds it on came unscrewed and the driveway in was rather bumpy and bumped it off.  Phew! 

Once we got parked and set up we went over to Bryan and Janet’s for dinner with everyone.  Bill and Bryan picked up some rotisserie chickens which we had with salad and a variety of cookies for dessert.  Everyone visited and then we went our separate ways.

I was too tired to do much but read!

Caving and visiting

September 19 – Road trip!  We had a small breakfast since we were meeting our friend Newell down in Sonoita, AZ for lunch today.  First though, we had tickets for the 10:00 tour of Colossal Cave which is 14 miles outside of Tucson in Vail.  Bill went before we were married but didn’t really remember it.  I’m sure things have changed from the outside in the last 30 years.

Cave entrance

The visitor center and gift shop area was all built by the CCC back in the 1930’s.  They also did all the work inside the cave installing lights (a lot of which are still in use), stairs, hand rails and enlarged some of the walkways.  Everything they did is still in use today, with exception on some of the lighting.  We had a great a guide who was a fountain of information about the cave’s interesting history

Very pretty formation

as well as the animal life in and out of the cave.  Of course since it was privately owned in the beginning, there has been extensive damage to the formations.  So many broken off stalactites and stalagmites, very sad!  There are many unusual formations and the normal soda straws, columns, cave bacon and cave popcorn.  At the end of the cave tour there are some exhibits of tools and equipment used by the CCC and a couple of historical items left behind by the native Americans who first used the cave.

After a stop for gas we headed to Empire Ranch outside of Sonoita where our friend Newell has been the caretaker for the summer.  He finishes his tour the end of the month so our timing to see him was good.  We couldn’t tour the ranch house as they closed it a month or so ago for repairs and renovations.  It’s certainly way out there!  After visiting for a while we went into “downtown” Sonoita for lunch at The Café.  It’s a very nice place in the middle of nowhere

Newell and Kelly

and appeared to have a nice wine selection but I’m not much of a lunch winer!  We all had one of the lunch specials from the daily board and I was stuffed and Bill was too.  Unfortunately, all good things must end, so we said our good-byes to Newell and followed him to the turn off for the ranch.  Newell was a great host and bought us lunch and I’m sending out at big “Thank you” to him.  We had a great visit and we hope to continue keeping up with him.  We met during our summer in Colorado I think in 2013.  We had some good laughs then and a good visit today.

On the way back in to Tucson we stopped at Camping World and returned one of the parts we got the other day that won’t work in our sink and then went to ACE Hardware who had a better selection of what we needed.  They had so many to pick from that we didn’t know which was the right size so Bill dropped me off at home and he went back there on his way to Wal-mart for his script. 

He stopped at Carole’s on the way home to visit a bit while I was paying bills, balancing the checkbook, and getting some things ready for our departure tomorrow.  He brought home the chop saw that Carole was giving me.  I am excited as mine is wearing out.  I had to clear out a spot under the RV to put it and managed to move a few things to the back of the car and fit it in nicely.  I didn’t get all of the things done I had hope but packaged up the slides ends to send back that are the wrong ones and have all the info ready to call and order the right ones tomorrow.

We had leftover bison roast and veggies and I did a load of laundry.  We tested the wand sprayed down the toilet and the fittings all fit and we’d like to think it cleaned the tank a bit.  Now to get it down the shower!

I posted some blogs tonight and now it’s time to pack up Dell and read for a while!  

Variety of activities today

September 18 – Dentist day!  While Bill waited for the RV guy I left at 10 for my 10:30 appointment.   The staff and Dr. Allen were super nice folks.  Unfortunately he didn’t really find a specific issue that he could fix.  He did xrays and tapped all over but when you don’t jump out the chair, then there’s no way for him to know what’s really wrong.  He felt I was a bit stressed (ya think:  hurricanes, mom issues, RV issues) and that I might be grinding my teeth or clinching my yaw and the tooth that is bothering me hits a bit on the upper so he filed it down some and we’re hoping for the best.  It felt OK the rest of the day!

While out I stopped at World Market and got some great bargains on clearance items.  My way to shop!  There was also a Target near by so I stopped there for a couple of things and picked up some brats for my turn to cook tonight.  Carole has a little George Foreman I can use.

When I got back the RV guy was done and gone and we think we are back to square one.  Bill had arranged for us to meet Carole and Herb for lunch at Brushfire.  It’s a BBQ place that they like and it was very good.  You order at the counter and they bring it to your table.  Bill had brisket with fries and I had grilled

Barrel cactus

pork belly with caramelized onions and molasses BBQ sauce.  My side was sweet potato.  It was not a good as the one I had in Ennis, MT but it was very tasty! 

Next door they also own a homemade ice cream shop so after we ate and visited for quite a while, they left for shopping and home and we left for ice cream.  I had java chip and Bill had salted caramel.  Yum!  Then we went to Bookman’s, a huge used book store in addition to musical instruments and music, videos, DVD’s, games, the list goes on.  We left with a BAG of books.  We should be good for a while!

We rested up for a while at home and I packed up my brats and some kale slaw mix and took 4 huckleberry ice cream bars.  I also packed my laptop with plans to catch up on my journal and input our expenses but Bill watched TV and I ended up talking with Carole. 

I grilled the brats and got out Carole’s leftover potato salad and mixed up the kale salad and we enjoyed our dinner.  She didn’t know about the ice cream until later when I got them out.  Everyone enjoyed them and she told us about their visit to her son’s “summer home” in northern Idaho where the ladies all pick the huckleberries and freeze them.  She said they had them every morning in their pancakes and how good they were.

When we got home we watched a little TV and then we both settled in to read.

The Mission and family time

September 17 - It was a wicked night!  Molly got me up, Bill’s phone got me up and my phone got me up!  So at 7 I gave up and got up!  I made scones, bacon, cantaloupe and an egg for Bill this morning and then got on the computer while Bill went to Wal-mart to get a prescription filled. 

I showered and posted 2 blogs after downloading photos.  Straightened up a bit and after lunch Bill and I went out to the San Xavier Mission.  There were more people in the square and walking around than when Karen and I were there a few years ago.  We headed right

Bill was feeding the one in front

for the ladies who make the Indian Fry Bread.  We both had ours with cinnamon and butter.  Yum!  Then we checked out the jewelry/gift shops but didn’t buy anything.  Bill was curious about land ownership of the tribe lands so he had a nice talk with the shop owner.  We had someone take our photo in front of the mission holding a copy of our hometown newspaper.  We send it in and they "might" put us in the paper!

Yes, Indian Fry Bread

We didn’t tour the mission, as we’ve done it several times before.  On the way back into Tucson we stopped at La Mesa RV but the store part was closed so we went around the corner to Camping World.  We needed a new accordion stand for the sewer hose

In front of the mission with our
local paper!

and we got a sprayer contraption to run down the toilet to help clean the black tank and I hope we find a way to run it down into the gray tank also as the sensors are not working correctly and that’s a pain!

Carole was doing dinner tonight so we headed there and she and I talked crafts and while the guys watched TV.  She served rotisserie chicken and potato salad and we all had our fill.  Bill loves potato salad so he was a happy camper.  We stayed until 9 and planned to get home in time to watch Chesapeake Shores but there was a glitch and it had come on at 7 on Directv so I guess we missed it.  Oh well.  Maybe next week.

We didn’t last long after that and Bill fell asleep on the couch and I sent him to bed and shortly after I followed.

Repairs, well not exactly....

September 16 – The RV mobile tech was due at 9 this morning so we had our breakfast out of the way by the time he arrived.  When we went to Carole’s last night we picked up the two packages of parts we had ordered for the RV.  Well, one wasn’t even close to be what I ordered!  I ordered a valve for the igniter on the stove and what came was an outside reflector!  Then the tech reported that the 2 end caps for the slide toppers were not the correct ones!  So he went to work on the fresh/house water valve (which we had purchased prior) and he said he didn’t think that was the problem but since he had it halfway apart he’d go ahead and put the new one in.  His determination is that it is probably an issue with the pump.  So we really didn’t make any headway $170 later.  On top of that, we have water leaking (which it did not do before) from the valve he replaced AND when we try to use the water in the fresh water tank there is no pressure and it just sputters!  Needless to say I called and left a message that now we have a leak we didn’t have before.  He also said he would see if he could get the parts that were wrong before we leave Tucson.  So will see what happens!

Once he left Carole and Herb came over to see the RV since they hadn’t seen it.  Then Bill and Herb went to their house while Carole and I went to JoAnn’s and Walmart.  Bill and Herb went to McDonald’s and the car wash and were watching TV when we got home.  We stayed a while and then headed home to put my stuff away and put the clothes in the dryer.

Later we showered and met them at Casa del Rio for dinner.  That’s Bill "go-to" place when we come to Tucson.  It’s OK.  They’ve been around since 1976.  We said our good nights and I think they stopped at Joann’s and we stopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond for a new cylinder for our soda stream machine.  I also got some stocking stuffer items for Christmas!

I set up my computer but didn’t really do much on it.  I needed to catch up on my posting and download photos but ended up leaving part of it for tomorrow.  I’d rather start on a new book!