Estrella Mountain Regional Park

With all the hiking that Rick and Paulette do serving as an incentive we decided to go hiking at the Estrella Mountain Regional Park, a Maricopa County Park in the Phoenix area. We had a free pass at the park thanks to Paws and Friends, thanks guys. We went with our friends Bob and Wilma.

With plenty of water, hats, walking sticks, sunscreen and sturdy shoes we started out on what would be a three mile hike in the desert. We really like the desert, at least in the winter that is. The weather for the hike was perfect with the temps in the low 70's. We know that we are in our winter home area when we start to see the Saguaro cactus, a large, tree-shaped and tree-sized cactus native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, Mexico and a very small part of California. The Saguaro blossom is the State Wildflower of Arizona which only appears after 36-69 years depending on how much water is available. Also very dependent on the amount of water is the growth of the signature arms which appear at age 55-90. The full height of the Saguaro with long arms usually takes about 200 years.







What was neat on this hike is that we saw the carcass of a Saguaro showing the woody spines that support the giant cactus and the fibrous material between the spines that no doubt store water, showing here:


















We also saw how the arms attach to the main body, showing here:


















After slipping and sliding on the desert trails consisting of sand and rocks and gravel we made it back to the car and it was lunch time. After discussing many options we headed to Dino's Greek and Italian Grill and it was a good choice. Between the four of us we sampled both Greek and Italian fare along with an American entry. Bob had a lamb wrap with a side salad, Jo had a huge calzone that she was only able to eat half, Wilma had a gyro salad that was also huge that she could not finish, and Wilma's Bob had a Bacon Swiss Chicken sandwich and fries. We all commented on how good the food was and how we need to go back. The dipping sauce, the house marinara, for the calzone was excellent so Jo's Bob is already making plans to go back for their pasta.

We went back to the park and sat outside and read the paper and books and worked on the new tablet for awhile. It is so nice to be able to sit outside with our Kindle and Tablet and be able to read the screen. The stiffness and soreness did start to set in so we either have to hike more or less; now which one do you think we will choose? For supper we split the leftover calzone and some leftover pizza from Papa Murphys. That evening we had a pretty sunset.

















Although we enjoyed the hike we are not the hikers that Rick and Paulette are so we'd tip our hats to them if we weren't so dang sore.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Full-timing with cats; A Kodak Moment

Unfortunately without a Kodak. Living with 3 cats is interesting; full-timing with three cats is an adventure. Cats are known to be very inquisitive and an open cabinet door or an open hole in the wall (more on that later) are an invitation they just cannot pass up.

We have tons of photos of our cats getting into the pantry or cabinets or closets but this was a first. Bob was replacing our LP/CO detector and when he pulled out the old one he left a 3" x 6" hole. The connector used was a crimped one and not a removable wire nut so Bob went hunting to see if we had some. Coming back to the doorway where the detector was mounted Bob saw a cat sniffing at the hole and cat hair around the hole. When you live with three cats in 359 sq. ft. seeing cat hair everywhere is not an immediate alarm but we decided to count noses and could only find 2 cat noses. Sure enough Sandra had wedged herself through the hole. Luckily she is a chow kitty so we just had to get the treats and she was ready to come back through. Well what goes through the hole of course does not come back quite as easily. Squalling like a stuck cat for her treats she finally realized both legs had to go through first and then she was back through. We blocked the hole until Bob could finish.

Once we were done we realized we should have taken a picture but we were in a little panic especially when she tried the first couple times and failed. We were not about to let her try again just to get a good photo op. Here are a couple of photos of Sandra's adventures in cabinets.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Day trip to Quartzsite

Or as it sometimes called, the Q (but not the Q from Star Trek). This was our second day trip to Q with our friends Bob and Wilma. We blogged on our first day trip last year here.

When we were planning on full-timing we thought we would spend some time in Quartzsite and do the boondocking thing. But as we full-timed we got so accustomed to the conveniences of 50a full hookup sites that we now consider 30a full hookup sites to be too much like camping. We have a washer dryer combo so we always have the grey tank valve open and have no idea of how long we could go before we filled the grey tank. Because of this we take long hot showers so we are sure it would only be a couple of days before we had to dump the grey tank. Long story short - boondocking does not appear anywhere near the top of our bucket or todo lists.


Then we thought about just staying in Q for the week of the RV Show but being there and seeing all the nonstop traffic (thanks to Sandie for the pictures, or is it Jeri) we now realize that a day trip is about all we can handle. Our hats go off to the adventurous one who boondock and love it and can handle that traffic all day, every day of the RV Show. We can handle big crowds and traffic but only for a short time. As the day wore on we longed for a place where there was not a person within inches of you or cars backed up to the horizon.















We bought some things of course and had a good lunch this year, chicken on a stick, shrimp on a stick, and a pulled pork sandwich. Homemade ice cream on the way out was a treat. We really wished we had read Jim and Sandie's blog on Q before we left because we might have recognized some of the members of their Q group that was working at the Big Tent. We also somehow missed the cord wrappers booth which Bob was going to investigate further. Well have to save something for next time.
















Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Our Snowbird Code of Conduct

Arizona loves our money as snowbirders but always seem to work in a complaint or three; bad drivers, too much traffic, not liking the constant smile on our faces, etc.

There is a 'Code of Conduct' for a lot of things; overnight stays in parking lots, pickup after your pets, etc., so we have adopted a 'Snowbird Code of Conduct' that we hope will counter some of this negativity. We always:
- drive during the day during the week; we'll leave rush hour and the weekend to the locals.
- eat out for breakfast or lunch during the day during the week; we'll leave the happy hours to the locals because it is hard to be happier than retired and living in a nice warm place for the winter. We also rarely eat out for the evening meal because we don't like to drive after dark.
- shop at Wal-Mart, Target, and grocery stores during the day during the week and never before a big holiday; we'll leave the big crowds and long lines to the locals in the evening hours and weekends.
- go to movies during the day during the week; a few times we have been the only people in our movie of choice.
- go sightseeing during the day during the week; generally not a problem because the locals never see the sights where they live anyway.

And finally, we always:
- have a smile on our face; it is easy in this lifestyle so what if it is one of their complaints.

We realize that if you are still working and driving in rush hour traffic, waiting in line to eat, suffering long checkup lines at Wal-Mart that you need something to complain about. With our 'Snowbird Code of Conduct' we know they are not complaining about us.


Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Anniversary and a new tablet

Four years ago on January 22nd Bob went to work for the last time and it shocks us just how fast the time has flown by. Jo had already retired and we spent about 18 months fixing up the house for sale so we could begin full-timing.

This is also the first blog entry using Bob's new Android tablet, an Asus Eee Pad Transformer. Bob wants the tablet and Android cellphone to completely replace his laptop. So far he has moved his tasks and calendar to his Droid3 and is evaluating a finance app to run on the tablet. The one stumbling block he is not sure of is a good label printing app for the Christmas mailing, but there will probably be more before this effort is over. Getting photos off of the camera and onto the blog will have to be figured out.

We want to try and keep up with technology before it gets too far ahead of us. Jo recently got a Kindle Fire and she really likes it. Bob thought about getting a Kindle but then realized he could use the tablet for reading e-books and quite possibly get rid of a laptop.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

This is why we hesitate to recommend food

Believe it or not we don't blog about some of the places that we eat at and like because sometimes one visit can be a fluke and not a regular occurrence. That is why we generally have a rule of 3 visits before we blog about food or add to 'Our Favorite Things! (Food)'. We almost blogged about the new Hash Brown Stacks at IHOP after only one visit because we have eaten there before and generally get good food.

The first visit was a dream, crisp hash browns covered with sauteed spinach and mushrooms, melted provolone cheese and an over medium egg and then covered in hollandaise sauce. Jo just got that with pancakes and Bob added ham to the plate and pancakes. The portions were large enough to take the pancakes home for breakfast the next day. A very enjoyable meal that was blog worthy.



The second visit was vastly different for many reasons; Bob's egg looked like a half moon, Jo didn't have any mushrooms at all, the ham was overcooked and a little dry, and the portions were much smaller so we ended up eating the pancakes there. We did mention about the mushrooms to the waiter and he did offer another portion or sauteed mushrooms but Jo does not like to be a bother, she just wanted to let them know about it. We would have felt bad if we recommended this and anybody got the second meal instead of the first, our reputations would have been tarnished, 'Our Favorite Things! (Food)' would be meaningless. :-)

In spite of all that was wrong with the second visit it was good enough, and the memory of the first visit was still there, that we will try the Hash Brown Stacks at IHOP at least one more time.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

We are famous (sorta)

Our picture from our stay at Rifle Gap State Park this summer has made the big time, it is the cover photo for the Yahoo Carriage Group. The cover photo changes periodically so here it is but click on the link to see it in all its glory on Yahoo.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Whole lotta eating going on - 2012 edition

Seems like these days we are celebrating a birthday month instead of a birthday. Jo's birthday is in January and as we have mentioned before we have signed up for a number of frequent diner programs and a few of them offer free meals or desserts during your birthday month. So far Jo has enjoyed a free hash brown stack at IHOP that was pretty good. Yesterday she got a free dessert, which she shared with Bob, at Abuelo's. The meals at Abuelo's were excellent and we highly recommend eating there if you get a chance as they have numerous locations across the country. Jo had the lunch enchiladas (one guacamole and one spinach) and Bob had the Pasta la Paz (shrimp and chicken and veggies in a chile roasted tomato cream sauce). Both entrees and the flan was excellent and we are already talking about our next visit.

Still on the docket for Jo's birthday month is a free entree at Famous Dave's, free breakfast at First Watch, $25 loaded on her Landry's Select Card that we will use at a Claim Jumper, and a free breakfast at Mimi's that we will use today.

If you are going to get older there at least has to be some benefit and eating your way through your birthday month with free food just might qualify as a benefit.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Historic Gifford House in Capitol Reef National Park

As promised we are catching up on some blog entries, this time on the Historic Gifford House. Located in the historic district of Fruita in the Capitol Reef National Park near Torrey Utah the Gifford House depicts the typical spartan nature of rural Utah farm homes of the early 1900's. The seven room Historic Gifford House serves as a museum, cultural demonstration site and sales outlet. It is the sales outlet that is the purpose of the entry.

You can get the best cherry pie that we have had, along with the best pumpkin pie and one of the best peach pies or strawberry rhubarb pies that you will ever have. They bake a limited number of pies each day so get there early, the first time we were there we went there late in the afternoon and the selection was very limited.

We have updated 'Our Favorite Things! (Food)' with these entries.

We guess you now know why we liked Utah so much!

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Merry Christmas

We just got back from the potluck at the park where we had great food and a lot of it. A lot of the recipes have been their families for a number of years and some were tried for the first time and they were all wonderful. The park provided the ham and we have some great cooks here so the ham was excellent.

We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and may the peace of the Savior whose birth we celebrate today be with all of you.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Avoiding the crowds

We are hanging loose for the next couple of days avoiding the Christmas rush by just staying in the park. We've got enough food and books and DVR'd programs and DVDs so we can avoid the big crowds and long lines.

As promised here is a picture of the truck after the repairs due to us dropping the Cameo onto the truck bed.















Here is a picture of the truck after the accident.












We certainly don't want to go thru this again with the truck so we have revised our hooking up procedures and triple check the connection.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

No longer rationing

We are using our WiFi Hotspot exclusively this winter since the park does not have free WiFi and we rapidly approached our data limit. Hopefully this will not be the case every month as Bob finished uploading a bunch of Utah pictures to flickr.com and Jo got a new Kindle and downloaded a number of books and apps and games and a couple Readers Digests and TV Guides. With no more pictures to upload and the newness of the Kindle wearing off we should be OK data wise this cycle.

So we now need to catch up on blogging and reading other blogs.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Back in the Saddle Again

We finally got our truck back and man it sure looks nice. In addition to the LineX bed liner we also had it detailed. We swear it looks better than when we got it brand new over two years ago.

We are now in the land of riding high, wide right turns and parking far, far away.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Note: Bob is using his Droid3 to post this entry to see how that works.

Still waiting on truck

One of the parts for the truck repair was delivered incorrectly so we are in a holding pattern until it is received and installed. Luckily it is at the end of the repair process with only a couple more things to be done. The shop thought it would be received towards the end of the week but that was not the case, hopefully it will be early next week.

We have slightly mixed emotions; although it will be great to get our truck back it has been fun being able to park anywhere we like and to make easier right turns.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Good news on truck

We 'should' be getting our truck back next week. But that is not the only good news on the truck. Since there was more damage than originally estimated and since the bed of the truck was also dinged up (we bet you are wondering where the good news is) all the stuff had to come out. That included the auxiliary fuel tank and the fifth wheel hitch and a CO2 tank we had added for filling up tires. With all that out it was now a perfect time to have a LineX lining added. We had originally wanted to do this before we added all the stuff but we picked up the truck at 7p the night before we drove to Michigan to pickup the Cameo so we did not have the time.

We will let you know when we get the truck back,

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Learned something new today (and a great product for RVs)

Today proves the old adage that you are never too old to learn something new. We had a big housecleaning day today and we washed the insides of the windows since we are getting the 5er washed and waxed on Monday. We have always had dirty windows screens from our days of living in the old sticks and bricks but it is much worse in the RV since a lot of the time you are parked on gravel and the wind kicks up and you get the picture. We have tried attachments on the vacuum and other techniques that just have not cut it.

Just recently we were in Ace Hardware and we noticed a packet of Clean Screen wipes so we figured what the heck. Well we tried them out and they work great. Advertisement says specially formulated to attract dust and it sure does. Our screens have not looked this good since we picked up the Cameo over 2 years ago.

The wipes are not what we learned today; what we learned is that the screens on our RV pop out for easy cleaning. Our previous inspections of the screens showed what we thought were mounting screws but they turned out to be assembly screws for the screen. Bob learned this as he was trying to clean the outside of the screen from the outside and popped the screen inward. Our cat Sandra who always keeps track of what we are doing was right there and was real interested in the opening created so Jo ran inside. Once we learned the screens could be easily removed from the inside it was a 2 person job to remove and clean the screen and watch to make sure a cat did not try to escape.

As you can probably tell by the lack of blog updates we are settled in at our winter location and with our sightseeing reduced so will our blogging, that is until we learn something new.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

We ran out of words

Utah is our favorite state so far while full-timing. The beauty was so overwhelming we ran out of words to describe what we were seeing. We kept using the same words over and over again.

Beautiful

















Scenic

















Gorgeous




















Amazing

















Magnificent
Spectacular
Beauteous
Very (as in very scenic, very beautiful, etc.)
Simply (as in simply amazing, simply gorgeous, etc.)

Zion was our favorite National Park, although we did not get a chance to see Bryce Canyon National Park, oh well, must save something for one of our next visits to Utah. We would not hesitate to visit all the National Parks again as they were so amazing and left you wanting to see more. Plus the light at different times of the day impacted the scenery. There were two parts of Zion and we only got to see the lower part so we will see Kolob Canyon next time. The two areas of Zion are a ways from each other that each area has their own visitors center.

The towns we visited were neat too. Moab is a great town with great scenery and stuff to do nearby and great food places. Torrey is remote but very scenic and stuff to do nearby and great food places. Kanab is very scenic and plenty of stuff to do nearby but we struggled mightily to find a good place to eat. To be fair the two best places probably to eat in the town are evening only place and we do not like to be out after dark

We would not hesitate to visit Moab and Torrey again but we might find a different location that is more convenient to visit Bryce Canyon the next time.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Update on truck

It is going to take longer than originally estimated to complete our truck repair. In fact it is more than double the cost and time. The adjuster felt that the walls could be pulled up and save on buying two new side wall pieces, that did not turn out to be the case. The tailgate damage was also worse than estimated and will require a new one.

So we will be skimming along on the top of the pavement like a two person luge in our rental car until sometime in December. We still occasionally think the truck has been stolen when we cannot find it in the parking lot and when we see the car parked in front of the fifth wheel we sometimes wonder who is visiting. We are sure that once we are totally used to the rental car then the truck will be finished.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Veterans Day - Flag trivia

We took a tour of Mackinac Island, MI this summer. In this tour you go by the Post Cemetery where the flag is permanently at half staff. In each tour the guide explains that there are only five places where this occurs. 

Post Cemetery On Mackinac Island, MI
Arlington National Cemetery
Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific, HI
Gettysburg
Normandy, France


Thanks to all those who have served we are the land of the free because of the brave!


Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Back into our movie routine

Now that we are back in our winter spot we hopefully are settling back into our movie routine. As we blogged about last winter we try to go to a movie at least once a week when we are at a location for more than a few days. We have developed a pretty good routine as the Gateway Pavilions where we see the movies has a loyalty t-shirt that you buy and then get a free medium popcorn for all of 2011 and also a loyalty cup where we can pop get refills for $1. Just outside the theater is a Yogurtland where you can get 3 oz free with your movie stub, with about 20 varieties and free sample cups it is an adventure. So we have a weekly routine of a movie with popcorn and a pop and then top it off with frozen yogurt.

We just saw "Tower Heist" and liked it so we would give it a 3. Our total rating system is based a lot on our Netflix watching:

1 - sooooooo bad could not even finish
2 - sooooooo bad but could finish
3 - Liked it
4 - Really liked it
5 - Epic, Must See; worth seeing again in the theatre, worth buying the movie and watching again

We would add another rating of 6 to the Netflix rating system and that would be an all time favorites, which we posted in a previous blog entry. One all time favorite we realized we missed thanks to Bob's sister is "The Notebook" so we have repeated the list here adding it.

So here in no particular order is our list of all time favorite movies, although we are sure we may have missed a few:

The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
The Thin Man (1934)
The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Citizen Kane (1941)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
The Sound of Music (1965)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Secondhand Lions (2003)
Rear Window (1954)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
On the Waterfront (1954)
North by Northwest (1959)
My Favorite Year (1982)
Murphy's Romance (1985)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Gandhi (1982)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The King's Speech (2010)
The Notebook (2004)

Till next time,

Bob and Jo