Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It – Escapees North Ranch, Congress, Arizona

April 23, 2020

Temperature 92 Degrees

Thinking Positive, We Re-booked Our Trip For The Third Time

Shopping At Safeway

We Went To The Garden

Ah, the sun’s coming up and the sky is a deep blue.  The morning holds all the signs of yet another beautiful day.  There is also a strong north wind that is blowing through Elvira keeping us comfortable and cool despite the day’s heat.

Breakfast was an all time favorite.  Barbara fixed up a big batch of cheese potatoes for both of us.  She also fried up some Spam which really hit the spot.  A glass of juice and a couple of cups of coffee and once again breakfast was a winner.

I am never one to give up easy.  For instance, I made yet a third travel plan for the summer and actually began booking campground reservations beginning in June.  Again, for the third time, Barbara booked

our reservation on The Grand Canyon Railway.  Let’s hope the third time is really the charm.

A little later in the morning the guys

in the receiving department informed me that some new goodies had arrived.

The flying insect screens were needed for the exhaust vents on the propane furnace.

I figured it was only a matter of time before a wasp would build a nest inside the vents if I didn’t cover them.  One possible future problem resolved.

Now about the fly swatters – it wasn’t more than a few hours and we somehow had a horsefly in our house.  Suffice to say I dispatched him with one quick swat.

Late afternoon we went foraging for meat at Safeway.  We put on our masks and I put on gloves since I would be pushing the cart and away we went.  Once inside the store I immediately noticed a few things:  hardly anyone was wearing a mask – seems to be the norm for this area; hardly anyone practiced social distancing; and, oh happy, happy, joy, joy the meat case was full.

However, perhaps the attitude of most people in this area regarding the virus can best be summed up in this exchange between Barbara and another customer.  The store has arrows directing people up and down aisles.  In essence you are only supposed to go up one and then down the next.  Barbara encountered a woman going the wrong way in one aisle and jokingly said to her you’re going the wrong way.  To which the woman replied Who cares I’ll do what I want.  Of course she wasn’t wearing a mask and pushed right past us.  Six feet, you have to be joking.  Sad, just so sad.  The way they act you get the unshakable impression that they believe the virus is fake news.

Once we were back home we decided to go for a short walk.  This flag has been flying for weeks over the campground and it always brings a smile to my face.

Continuing on we went for a walk in the garden.  The bush in the back is a bottle bush.  In front of it is an Easter cactus.

A strawberry hedgehog.

A regular hedgehog.

Not sure what these are called.

A young cactus just beginning to bud.

One more.

As I said we always believe that a bunny is a sign of good luck for us.  Well, if one bunny is a sign of good luck

then imagine how lucky we felt when we discovered this field of them.  Could this mean we’ll really be leaving here on June 9th?  We can only hope.

Yet another day on The Road of Retirement has come to a close.  As you may have noticed by the temperature in the heading things are really heating up around here.  They say that this is a bit abnormal this early in the year.  They also say that the temperatures within a week or so will drop back into the 80’s.  OK, we’re not suffering so we’re not complaining.  Overall, we had another good day in so many ways.  Our wheels may not be rolling right now but we’re making the most of our self imposed isolation.  That’s all we can ask for right now.

On the lighter side.

Thanks for joining us again today.  We really do appreciate your company and your comments.  Keep them coming.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

 

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It – Escapees North Ranch, Congress, Arizona

April 22, 2020

Temperature 89 Degrees

If The Bear Can Go Over The Mountain, Well I Guess We Can Too

The Joshua Tree

Burro Creek, True Social Isolation

Cabin fever hit in a big way today and we knew we had to do something.  But what?  How about going for a ride?  Excellent Idea!

Since we had mail at the Post Office we figured we would kill two birds with one stone.  We would, first, go to the Post Office.

Next, knowing we would be going to

Kingman when we left here we decided to take a run part way up Route 93 to get a feel for the road.

What’s that old song?  The Bear went over the mountain and what do you think he saw, he saw another mountain . . .running Route 93 definitely brought that song to mind.  It started out easy enough but then came that first thirteen mile stretch

where we started to climb,

and continued to climb,

and just kept going up.

Of course what goes up must come down,

and down,

and down some more.  Just when you think the worse is behind you, off in the distance you can see the road going up and over yet another mountain!  But darn it if that old bear could go up over each and every mountain I’m sure we can too.  Thankfully, the road is in good condition, the lanes are wide and smooth, there are wide shoulders should you need to pull off, and there are also pull off’s all along the way.

We also discovered that Route 93 had another name

which is Joshua Forest Parkway of Arizona.  

It get’s this name from the Joshua Tree’s that line part of the roadway.  A little internet investigation reveals the following:   The Joshua tree was named by Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-1800s, the tree’s unusual shape reminded them of the Bible story in which Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer. … They used the leaves from the trees to make woven baskets, sandals, and other useful items, and ate the seeds and flower buds.

Today, the Joshua Tree which thrives in harsh, arid environments is viewed as a symbol of faith and hope in the midst of adverse and challenging times.  A fitting symbol for us today.

Running another section of the road we were reminded of City of Rocks National Park.

I’m always left wondering How did that one last rock get up there?

Like some giant kid piled all his rocks in one place.

Halfway to Kingman we discovered Burro Creek Campground.  A quick internet search tells us that:  The Burro Creek Recreation Site is situated along Burro Creek within a very scenic Sonoran Desert canyon at an elevation of 1,960 feet. This peaceful area has long been a favorite stop of travelers on nearby Highway 93.  In addition we discover that:  The recreation site features a campground, picnic area, and desert garden containing a large variety of native cacti. A large area of scenic wildlands are located upstream, providing day hiking and backpacking opportunities.

No hookups here.  But at least a nice concrete pad to park on.

The only occupant of the campground that we saw.  This is what I would call practicing extreme social distancing!  I believe it is safe to say he is way more than six feet from anyone else.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  Starting today the heat is beginning to crank up.  Yet, we still haven’t had the desire to run the A/C.  There is always a nice breeze blowing through Elvira so we are cool and comfortable.  Time to wrap things up and go get my PJ’s.

Food for thought.

Thanks everyone for coming along with us today.  We always enjoy your company and love reading your comments and suggestions.  Keep safe, stand six feet apart, wear a mask, and remember to wash, wash, wash those hands.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

 

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It – Escapees North Ranch, Congress, Arizona

April 21, 2020

Temperature 80 Degrees

I’m Beginning To Feel Like Gumby

Yup, You Have To Be Flexible

OK, not much going on today.  Really, believe it or not there was not one project on the radar.  A quiet day all the way around.  Both for Barbara and myself.

We had another great supper.  Spaghetti and meatballs one of my all time favorites.  It ranks right up there with potato pancakes.

Here thought, is who I’m beginning to feel like.

I’m beginning to feel like my friend Gumby.  You know, stretched in every direction.  OK, I realize we don’t have it nowhere near as bad as a lot of people.  I’m not complaining just stating.  A week ago I drew up a whole new travel plan for the summer. It had us back on the road again as of May 30th.   It looked really good and salvaged most of our summer.   We were both anxious to get started and rolling down the road again.

Then the email came today that threw that carefully crafted plan right out the window!

Once again the opening date of the Grand Canyon Railroad RV Park and the Grand Canyon Railroad had been changed.  It was now pushed from the end of May to the middle of June.  All I could do was grab a bottle of brew and laugh my head off.  Once I finished I got down to work again.

We’re now on plan C and it looks pretty good.

We’re going to be here a bit longer than I really wanted to be.  Nothing wrong with this area, like I said I love it here but I want to be on the road.  Honestly,  I have a really bad case of hitch itch.  So as of now the bottom line is, we’ll miss about a half of what we had planned to do and see this summer but so what there is always next year, or the year after, or – well you get the point.  You just have to be flexible.  I keep telling myself that again and again.

So, when will we be on the road again?  As of now we’re going to have jacks up, slides in and we’ll be back on the road as of June 9th.  We’ll either be doing some abbreviated  touring in this area or we’ll be heading back to Florida.  Either way we’ll be rolling again.  You can count on it.

That’s a wrap on our day today on The Road of Retirement.  It was good to just sit around and do – almost – absolutely nothing.  After all no need to rush into things since we now know we’re going to be here two more months.  Oh that hurts just to say that.  I don’t do well when I have to sit around.  My home has wheels under it for one good reason, it was meant to roam.  Ah well, this is just a very small bump in the road compared to what others are struggling with.  Truly, my heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones, who are struggling to put food on the table, and who are wondering how they’re going to pay their bills.  May God be with them.

Something to consider during these challenging times.

Thanks for being there today for us.  It’s good knowing we have company on this journey we are on.  Comments and suggestions?  We always appreciate them.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It – Escapees North Ranch, Congress, Arizona

April 20, 2020

Temperature 79 Degrees

Receiving Department Is Open

Simple Projects Today, Floor Maintenance and Adding More LED Lights

This morning I went on a trip.  Don’t worry it was only in my mind.  I watched the sun come up through the front window and as I did so I was transported back to Lubec, Maine.  We were there two years ago more or less and it was a fantastic experience.  We parked Graybead backwards, meaning we pulled in as if going in a driveway.  This of course put all our utilities on our right front bumper.  Oh but was it worth it.  Every morning the sun like a big bright red rubber ball came streaming through the front window and absolutely took your breath away.  Ah, those were the days.

Guess what today was?  National Lima bean day!  Of course I had a bowl full for supper.  I absolutely love them.  The rest of supper consisted of cabbage, mashed potatoes and Kielbasa.  My sweetheart knows how to make a feast fit for a king.  I definitely became a member of the clean plate club this suppertime.

Projects for the day.

I began by digging out the Swifter and cleaning the floor.  I then vacuumed all the runners and the bedroom carpet.

Just as I finished

the guys in the receiving department informed me that we had received some new products.  I tore the box open with glee and discovered that inside was what I had been waiting for.

These are the new three watt LED reading lamp bulbs.  I’ve never come across bulbs before that you have to assemble first.  We’ll see how long they last.

We had four reading lamps that needed the new bulbs.  Two lamps are in the cockpit, one each over the passenger seat and the drivers seat.  The other two are in the bedroom, one each over each side of the bed by the headboard.  These lamps originally had halogen bulbs and if you left them on for any length of time they became really, really hot.  Now, with the LED bulbs we have a lower current draw, a brighter white light and the big bonus the lights stay cool to the touch.

Next on the list was replacing the halogen lights over the kitchen counter and our recliners with new cool white LED lights.

These are the old halogen lights, the one at the far end didn’t even work.  That prompted me to replace all three with LED.

The old halogen light – manufactured in 2003 – is on the right; and, the new LED light is on the left.

The new LED lights installed in the kitchen.

The new LED lights over our recliners.   As with the bulb change, swapping the old halogen lights for new LED lights gave us lights with a lower current draw, a brighter white light and the big bonus the lights stay cool to the touch.  I have four more halogen lights that I will also eventually swap out for LED.

Barbara was also busy today.  She scrubbed our two kitchen sinks with cleanser and they have never looked as white as they do now.  Silly me, I forgot to take a picture.  One would think that they are brand new.  She also did two loads of laundry.  Let’s not forget as well the terrific supper she made for us.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  We had another incredible day from start to finish.  We each had enough to keep us busy and out of trouble, and just as importantly out of each other’s hair!  What more could one ask for.

This says it all for me.

Thanks for traveling with us today.  We always enjoy your company and your comments as well as your suggestions.  Till tomorrow, keep safe, wear your mask and wash those hands often.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!