Places We Have Called Home In 2020

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

April 7, 2020

Temperature 71 Degrees

Getting Our Staples Sorted and Packed Away

Around the House

Around the Park

Another beautiful day.  Alas, the last it appears for the next couple of days.  Weather report indicates a cold front coming through with a bit of rain and possible thunderstorms.  We’ll see.  They’ve said this before and nothing ever happens.

Still eating like Kings and Queens.  Breakfast was cheese potatoes, juice and coffee.  Supper was a big plate of ravioli and teeny weeny meatballs.  Since we originally could not purchase chop meat we ordered – sight unseen – a bag of frozen meatballs.  What we ended up with, suffice to say a ping pong ball would be bigger.  If your meatball rolled off the table it would probably disappear for good!  Ah, but the overall meal was good.

This morning UPS delivered our staple storage boxes.  Time for me to organize what we had accumulated and put it in order.

Boxed and documented.  We have six boxes, each with their own label – Box One, Two and so forth.

Moving inside to the computer I made a master list.

It lists the meat that is in our freezer.  It also lists the six different boxes and the contents of each.  Now, we know where everything is and when we use an item we just cross it off.  This will help us to manage our inventory and as things are crossed off it will alert us as to when we need to go shopping again.

Barbara was also busy.  She made tuna and chicken salad for the days ahead.  She also made Cranberry Muffins for our morning coffee time.

She also went to the Wishy Washy.  The one in our bedroom.  Oh this is the greatest thing since sliced bread!  No more laundromat.  No more fear of catching the virus from someone or something.  We’re thrilled that we were able to install the washer/dryer this year instead of next.

Late afternoon we went for a walk and I finally found my turtle!  Two of them to be exact.  It’s amazing when you are in self imposed isolation what gets you excited.

A little bit of this and that.

with this as the centerpiece.

A few more decorations.

Another park within the park.

Small and inviting.

A sign at the entrance bids the visitor to Come Sit A Spell.

So we decided to sit a spell and soak up some sun.

On the way home this rig caught my eye.  What colors and graphics.  Stunning.  Not too surprising it is a forty five foot Foretravel.  

Well, that’s what we found to do today on The Road of Retirement.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to so many who are suffering in so many ways in these challenging times.  Our lives have been interrupted but so what that’s nothing compared to those whose lives have been totally turned upside down.   Someday we’ll all be back to normal, but what that normal will look like I don’t believe a one of us knows right now.  Keep safe, keep a safe distance, wear a mask when in public, and wash those hands often.

On the lighter side.

Thanks for checking in with us again today.  We really appreciate your company and your comments and suggestions.  Till 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 6, 2020

Temperature 65 Degrees

I Do Love The Mountains, Until That Is I Have To Drive Over Them

Walmart Staples Run

Watson Lake

Cabin fever had gotten to us and we knew we had to get out.  Where to go?  What to do? Well, why not make a Walmart run and do some sightseeing at the same time.  Excellent idea!  To bad I can’t take credit for it.  Barbara was the author of this day.

Yesterday she worked up an order for pickup and today she was able to place it and receive a pickup time of 4 pm today.  However, rather than go to the Walmart in Surprise

 

we were going to the Walmart in Prescott, AZ.  We went in this direction for two reasons:  fewer cases of the virus in this area; and, this is the route we’ll be taking when we leave here so I wanted to see what it would be like.

 

The mountains are indeed grand and I never tire of looking at them.

Today I got my first taste of driving through them, up and over them

and then down the other side.  A most interesting experience and I was only driving the car this time.  The highest point we reached was just a tad over six thousand feet.  Next time I will be driving Elvira and I can’t say I’m really looking forward to it.  By the way if you ever plot a route in Google Maps and want to know what elevation change you might encounter, just click on the bicycle icon.

Our route today also took us through a town with an interesting name.

Welcome to Skull Valley.  Of course I wanted to know how in the world it got its name.  A little internet research revealed the following:  There are several different stories, but we stick to the one detailed by Will C. Barnes in his book Arizona Place Names.  In March of 1864, a company of the First California Volunteers, led by Captain Hargraves, was escorting Coles Bashford to Tucson. While passing through what is now Skull Valley, they found piles of skulls, which were left behind after a battle between Apache and Maricopa tribes.  Believe it or not.

Along the way we passed the turn off for this State Park and resolved to return to investigate before we leave this area.

Any one need a room?  The once thriving Kirkland Hotel.  At one time it was a top rated Bar and a Steakhouse as well as a Hotel.

Then there was this.  To think that someone pulled over to the shoulder, jumped the guardrail, and then took the time to paint this on the mountain side – well, what can I say.

Arriving in Prescott too early to pick up our groceries we purchased sandwiches from Subway and then went to

Watson Lake for a picnic.  Watson is a man-made lake created in April 1915 with the completion of the Granite Creek dam.  Most people come here to picnic, fish or boat.

That’s my sweetheart practicing safe social distance.  From who I’m not sure since there was not another soul in the immediate vicinity.

 The area around the lake is formed of huge, rounded granite boulders, some of which are semi-submerged forming tiny islands or narrow promontories.  Take a look.

 

Now how did that get up there?  I wonder how long it will stay there?

Picnic finished we went over to Walmart to pick up our order.  I was amazed when I saw a packed parking lot.  Plus, few people were wearing a mask.  Forget keeping a safe distance.  Once again based on what we saw today I believe the worse is yet to come for this state.  I hope I’m wrong but unfortunately I don’t think so.

The good thing is once back home we discovered that our local supermarket has now decided to offer a delivery service.  Meaning, we should not have to go back out for groceries in the future.  We’ll let them come to us.  But then again, we’re not going to need much of anything for a good long time.

We also made some reservations today based on a departure date of May 31st.  We’ll be heading to Williams, AZ and then to Lake Powell.  Then?   Time will tell.  Of course this could all change once again.  We’ll just wait and see what happens over the next couple of weeks.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  It was great to be out and about but even better to get back home and away from so many people who don’t seem to really care.  I think we’ll stay put for a little while before we decide to try and get out again.  We do hope everyone out there is keeping a safe distance, wear your mask, wash those hands, and stay healthy.

On the lighter side.

Thanks for checking in with us again.  We always appreciate your company and comments.  Till 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 5, 2020

Temperature 70 Degrees

Always a Train

Never, Ever, Let Me Pick Up A Caulking Gun

Air Conditioner Maintenance

No More Shaky Ladder

Ah, another wonderful day.  I so look forward to the sun streaming in the living room window each morning.  I will never tire of it.

You may not hear it, but

if you lay real still in bed in the morning you’ll feel it.  It’s our train.  We both chuckle because it seems no matter where we go there is always a train somewhere in the vicinity.

Please, if anyone ever sees me pick up a caulking gun again in the future, tackle me and rip it from my hands!  This was supposed to be the fool proof way of caulking a window without making a mess of things.  You put painters tape around the window, caulk, and then remove the tape.  Well, even this didn’t work.  I guess some can caulk and then there are those like me.  I’m going to have to step back from this for a day or two and rethink the whole process.

I figured it was high time I took a look at my Air Conditioners.  They both work but how well they will work during the heat of summer I’m not sure.  They’re both the original units and I’m sure no one has looked at them for years.

I popped the shroud on the back unit and based on what I discovered sure enough I believe both units are going to need some attention.  I’ll need to replace all of the foam tape.  The units will need to be cleaned.  Finally, I’ll have to clean the condensers and straighten the fins.  Eventually, both units will need to be replaced.  Actually, I’m going to try and keep the back one going as long as possible but sometime in the future I’ll upgrade the front unit to a 15,000 BTU unit.

Going up and down the back ladder I noticed today it was a bit shaky.  Time to investigate.  Sure enough there were several bracket screws loose.  What else is new.  So I backed them all out a bit more, re-caulked (yea I got this right!) and then re-tightened all the screws on the ladder.  It is now solid as a rock.

Our plan for now is to hunker down here through the month of April and most of May.  Hopefully, by May 30th we’ll be back on the road.  We’ll try to complete as much of our summer plans as we were originally going to do, with shortened stays at several locations.  That’s the plan for now.  However, who knows if we’ll actually be able to go.  It will all be contingent on what happens nation wide during the next couple of months.  If we have to stay here for the summer, oh well, that’s what we’ll do.

Another day on The Road of Retirement has come to an end.  It’s been a great day in so many ways.  We were able to attend our home church this morning through a virtual connection.  It’s great to feel connected again to our home congregation.  We relaxed, napped, had a wonderful afternoon meal and watched one of our favorite Christian movies.  I also had a wonderful phone conversation with Dennis, a really good friend of mine. Like I said, a great day in so many ways.  We are so thankful for each and every precious minute of every day that God gives us.

On the lighter side.

Thanks for checking in with us again.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  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 3, 2020

Temperature 71 Degrees

About the Park

A Modern Day Ghost Town

The Jail Tree

Today was another absolutely beautiful day.  A day in which we did a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Late morning we first walked over to Cactus Park and took some more pictures.

We continued our walk around the park and took a few more pictures.

We still haven’t found a turtle other than the one we have out front of our rig.

Once our walk was over it was back to

the Post Office in Congress for a few more misplaced packages.  We keep getting emails stating we tried to deliver but no one was home.  Come on now, we haven’t gone anywhere in two weeks.

We made a quick stop for peanut butter.  We’re both using masks when we go out now and we’re keeping our distance from everyone.  It also helps that stores like these are essentially empty when we go in.  Moreover, call us crazy, but when we get home we also take a shower.

Next we headed to historic Wickenburg.  Which today is for all intents and purposes a modern day ghost town.  We had the town all to ourselves.  We saw one person, just one in the hour that we were there.  This is a town with some amazing looking stores and restaurants and we hope some day to be able to visit again when it is open for business.

A little internet research reveals the following:  Founded in 1863, Wickenburg saw its population swell after gold was discovered in the nearby Vulture Mine. Wells Fargo stagecoaches spread the news and new settlers moved to town as gold fever swept the country. Henry Wickenburg, the town’s namesake, was among the first pioneer settlers.  He came to the area in search of gold. He was rewarded with the discovery of Vulture Mine (1863-1942), where over 340,000 ounces of gold and 260,000 ounces of silver were found.

A statue in tribute to Evert Bowman.  He was born on July 12, 1899  and died on October 25, 1971.  He was was an American rodeo cowboy who competed from the 1920s to 1940s. During his career, he won the Rodeo Association of America All-Around Cowboy championship in 1935 and 1937 and was second three times; he also won eight titles in individual disciplines.

This, though, is what really brought us to Wickenburg today.  According to legend:  Wickenburg’s early years were rough. The town had run-ins with gold-mad miners, vengeful Indians, and the usual Wild West gunslingers and outlaws — which makes the backstory of The Jail Tree a little suspect. According to a sign next to the Tree, the lawless town, which sure could have used a jail, didn’t have one until 1890. Criminals were simply chained to The Jail Tree until the sheriff from Phoenix could ride down and collect them.  Believe it or not!

Out and about one thing is clear, there are still many who must think the virus is all a big hoax.  We found group after group in parking lots all along our route to town and back.  Sometimes just a few, sometimes a group of ten or more.  It just boggles the mind that this is still happening.

Back at the park I snapped this picture

of a camper that is supposed to be able to go anywhere and never get stuck.  Nope!  According to its owner just last week he got it hung up in a wash on BLM land.  He stated it took him over an hour to get it unstuck.  

In closing, it’s mind boggling and unnerving as to what is happening in our country today.  Listening to the news tonight I was reminded of what one of our distinguished  Washington Senators said last week (I’ll paraphrase) Our country was founded by a group of geniuses but today is led by a bunch of idiots.  As I watch the news night after night this point seems to be driven home over and over again.  Why are there states that still have no stay at home orders?  Since when is a golf course an essential business?  Why are we so far behind in producing and getting the necessary critical  medical equipment needed in the hands of our health care providers?  Something is seriously wrong at a leadership level if you ask me.  Just my opinion.

Another day is over on The Road of Retirement.  Once again we got out and about, out of necessity.  I also had a wonderful conversation with William in Canada who owns a 2005 Newmar Kountry Star.  We shared what we’ve both done so far to our rigs but I’ve also been doing a lot of listening.  He has made extensive modifications to his rig and he is a wealth of information and knowledge.  I’m sure we’ll be talking again in the future.  Hopefully, some day we’ll also be able to get together.

On the lighter side.

Thanks again for coming along with us today.  We sure do appreciate your company and always appreciate your comments and suggestions.  Till 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!