December 12, 2014

November 30, 2014

Yesterday we took a drive up in the mountains to Payson, AZ.  Or, at least that's the way the day started.  The drive and the day got extended a bit to say the least.

On the way up to the mountain, we stopped for breakfast at Biscuit’s restaurant in Glendale and had a very nice meal.  After eating way too much, we headed up into the mountains.  The higher we climbed, the more beautiful the landscape became, passing huge rock formations and finally getting into Lodge Pole Pine forests.

Our first stop was at Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  Joyce had forgotten her hiking shoes so we didn’t get to hike down the very steep trail into the canyon, but there are several points along the rim for viewing the bridge.

After spending some time there, we drove back into Payson with all intentions of walking around town for a while and then having lunch before heading back to Surprise.  Well, our plan’s changed.

We did drive around town some but since we weren’t at all hungry and after all, it was a beautiful day, we decided to drive the 90 miles up to Show Low, AZ.

I have been reading and hearing about this mountain town for years and had always wanted to visit there.  In fact, I have had a picture of what the area would look like in my mind for a long time.  If you read Nick Russell’s Big Lake series books (which I highly recommend), you will already have a feel for the area.  Even though Nick’s books are works of fiction, they are somewhat based on Show Low and the surrounding area.  Nick and his wife Terry lived in Show Low for a while where Nick owned the White Mountain Weekly newspaper.  Nick is now an acclaimed author and also publishes the bi-monthly newsletter, The Gypsy Journal. 

There is a great story about how the town got it’s name.  Read about it here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_Low,_Arizona

By the time we got to Show Low, breakfast had pretty much worn off so we checked Trip Adviser and found Licano’s Mexican Food & Steakhouse where we had their Saturday special, Prime Rib Carne Asada.  Delicious!  The salsa that came with the basket of chips was so good we bought some to take home.

For the return trip back home, our GPS said to go back through Payson to get back to Surprise but what fun would that be?  So, we headed south on Highway 60 through Glode then down into the north Phoenix area then back to Surprise.  All total we drove 395 miles!  What a day.

December 4, 2014

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Joyce and I had Thanksgiving dinner at the Elks Lodge with Rich and Joanne Martin.  The Lodge put on a really good spread and of course, we all ate way too much.

It’s raining here in Surprise this morning?  Surprise!  Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.  This little storm, if you want to call it that, is supposed to move through in a couple of hours and then by 2 PM, you will not know it rained at all.

December 5, 2014

Yesterday Joyce and I drove down to the Lost Dutchman State Park near Apache Junction to visit Willie and June Beck.  We hosted with them at Valley of the Rouge State Park, OR a few years back and even though they host in Oregon state parks every year, we have missed seeing them several times.

After catching up all our travels, we had lunch at Filly’s Roadhouse, a great little joint near the park.  Best darned chicken strips I have ever had.

We hope to take our rig down to the park soon and spend a few days.

After saying goodbye to Willie and June, we headed to Gilbert and the Hale Centre Theater where we had tickets to see the musical, “A Christmas Carol”.  This production was outstanding with some beautiful sets and music.

December 7, 2014

Caught me a dose of the flu and it kicked my butt yesterday.  I woke up about 1 AM with chills, dizziness and a heck of a fever.  Joyce gave me some aspirin and in about thirty minutes my fever broke and the wooziness went away.  All day yesterday I just laid on the couch like an old lump of coal and slept some.  By 6 PM I was feeling better and was able to eat some of Joyce’s delicious stew.  This morning I feel much better but will take it easy and drink plenty of water.

Joyce didn’t want to sit around the house and listen to my whining about how terrible I was feeling so she with to Luke AFB to do some shopping and brought home my Christmas present, a new iPad Mini.  I have an iPad II that I have used for a few years but sometime ago I dropped it and ever since, the darned video intermittently turns into a negative.  If I turn it off and leave it for a day or so everything works fine for a while.  The new one is much smaller than the larger iPad but this one will actually work better for me.

Things have been going well here at the resort.  I spent the last two weeks in the Tiki Bar, working from 3:30 to 7:30 Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Joyce did food preparation Monday and Tuesday from 9 AM to 3 PM.  This week I will be doing the food prep and she will be in the bar.  We hope to keep that schedule for the rest of the time we are here.

December 10, 2014

Joyce has been busy in the Sewing Room working on a couple of projects and me, I’ve just been vegging a lot.  I think I will rap this one up and get it posted.

Everyone have a great day!

Barry & Joyce

November 28, 2014

November 7, 2014

We have been at Sunflower Resort for almost two weeks now and have almost fallen into the routine.  We did another couple of days in the kitchen preparing the food for the Tiki Bar and then last week we started training to work there as well.  We were supposed to start learning the Bistro next week but the manager is going to be off so that will is being put off until week after next.

Yesterday the park put on their annual Salute To Our Veterans program.  Music was provided by the West Valley Pops, an orchestra composed of retired music teachers and music enthusiasts from the local area.

The Colors were presented by local chapter of the Marine Corps League and then later they did a moving presentation for our POW/MIA’s.

Our son Justin finally got home for his latest deployment to Afghanistan last night.  It’s good to have him back.

November 13, 2014

On Friday night, the 7th, the park hosted a Veterans Day dance here in the park.  Although we didn’t have a great turnout, those that did attend had a good time.

On Saturday night there was a 50’s/60’s dance with the 56 Band playing.  Man, those guys could play!

November 23, 2014

It’s been way too long since I last wrote.

Joyce and I trained in the park’s Bistro last week.  We both agree that is not where we want to spend much time while we are here.  Not that the work is hard, it’s just not our cup of tea.

This week we start working in the Tiki Bar.  Actually, I will do the first two weeks and Joyce will be doing food preparation.  Then we will flop and I will do the food and she will work the bar.  We’re not sure how long that will be but we’re looking forward to getting out there.

On the 20th, we drove down to Gilbert, AZ to see a production of “The Sound of Music’ at the Hale Center.  The music was beautiful and very good acting.  While there we scored tickets to see “A Christmas Carol” in December and “My Fair Lady” in February.

Yesterday we went to see the Arizona State Sun Devils play the Washington State Cougars at Sun Devils Stadium in Tempe.  It has been many moons since I last saw a college football game live and it was a first for Joyce.  The game was pretty even until half time then is was all Sun Devils.  To be honest, I’ve seen some high schools play better football.  Not only were there a lot of physical errors but both teams made some serious mental errors.

November 28, 2014

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all!

On Sunday past, we had a little get together with some to the work campers here at Sunflower.  We had a great time eating, drinking some great wines and of course, telling a few stories.

Yesterday we went to the Elks Lodge with Rich and Joanne for a Thanksgiving meal.  The Sun City Elk’s put out a very nice spread.

Barry & Joyce

November 2, 2014

October 25, 2014

This morning we hooked up the C-RV, jumped of the I-15 and headed south to Las Vegas and the Desert Eagle RV Park on Nellis Air Force Base.  It was a fairly easy day except for the road constriction in the area where the highway was washed out.  We were in one-lane traffic at 45 MPH for about 15 miles.  They say it’s going to take until September 2016 to complete all the work and looking at all the damage, I can believe it.

October 29, 2014

We had a very nice stay at Nellis.  We made the usual Exchange and Commissary run and then hit the Class IV store.

As most of y’all know, I’m a huge fan of Big Dog t-shirts.  Some years ago, the company closed all of their stores throughout the US so I thought I would never be able to find them again.  Then about three years ago the corporation started opening them again, which I discovered in Orlando, FL.  Well, the shirts that I bought there were getting very worn around the necks with some stains on the front so Joyce said they had to go or she wasn’t going out in public with me anymore.

One of the places the company has opened a store is in Las Vegas so on Sunday I got me some new shirts.  All is now right with the world!

On Monday we mad the drive 272 miles south to the Sunflower RV Resort where we will be spending the winter.  Sunflower, one of the eleven Cal-Am Resorts in Arizona, has over 1100 RV sites, most of them filled with park models.  If you don’t know what park model RV’s are, here is the sales page for Sunflower:  http://www.cal-am.com/resorts/resorts_home.php.  If you check out the web site you’ll see that there are a lot of amenities in the park and activities every day.  If you get bored here, it’s your fault.

Joyce and I have been assigned to the Food Service Department which consists of the Tiki Bar and the Bistro.  We’ll also be doing some food preparation as well.  Our commitment is to put in twelve hours a week each to pay for our space rent of $825 a month plus electrically, water, sewer and taxes.

Yesterday we met with Jeff Cantor who is in charge of food service.  He gave us the run-down on our jobs and then we prepared pulled pork for the Tiki Bar, which was the special last night.  That might sound like a lot of work but in reality it was easy.  Jeff ordered the pork in already smoked and partially cooked so all Joyce and I did was cut the packages open, put it all in pans, broke the large chunks up, heated it and then mixed in some barbecue sauce.  Ninety-nine percent of the food that is served here is ordered in already cooked so the preparation is fast and easy.

As it stands today, our days off are Saturday and Sunday but that is going to change later in the season.  We will probably have another day off during the week as well.

Home for the next  five months.

 One of the places we will be working.

 The entertainment lineup at Cal-Am Resorts for this winter.

 I want one of them!

October 30, 2014

You know those Hawaiian style shirts you bought al long time ago that you just had to have and are now hanging in the back of your closet?  Well, we need them!

Our “uniform” here at Sunflower is black shorts and bright, flowery button-down shirts.  So, yesterday we spent six hours running all over town trying to find some, finally finding a few at one of the several Goodwill Stores.  Of all places, we found some really nice ones at The Luke AFB Exchange as well.  What a pain in the backside!

While we were out at Luke, we stopped by Tickets & Tours to see if they had any discount tickets for attractions in the local area.  They didn’t have anything going on right now but the lady behind the desk told us about discounted tickets that we could get online to see the Arizona State Sun Devils play the Washington State Cougars in November 22nd.  That should be fun!

November 1, 2014

We have been at Sunflower for a week now and have pretty much got in the routine of things around here.  On Tuesday we made pulled-pork for the Tiki Bar special and then on Wednesday  we did taco’s.  Then yesterday we fried chicken wings….a lot of chicken wings!  Over 1300 chicken wings.  Did I say a lot of chicken wings?  Yup, that is a lot of wings!

A tad blurry but you get the idea.

 

This next week we will be training in the Tiki Bar for three days and then on Saturday we will be helping with the USO Dance.

November 2, 2014

Today we went over to the Sun City Elks Lodge with Rich and Joanne Martin for their Sunday brunch.  This Lodge is very active with something going on just about every day including bingo, dinners three nights a week, trips and much more.

We met Rich and Joanne at the Tillamook, OR Elks Lodge campground back in September.  Rich is working in the Security Department escorting RV’er to their sites and Joanne is working in the Sales Office.

More next time.

Barry & Joyce

October 24, 2014

October 20, 2014

Our trip to southern Utah just keeps getting better.  Today we visited Bryce Canyon National Park, another treasure of the United States with beautiful vistas and rock formations that will absolutely take your breath away.

Here are some pictures, but as with all the parks here is southern Utah, they don’t even come close to portraying the actual beauty of them.

Bryce National Park

After touring the main part of the park, we decided to take a short hike to Mossy Cave.  The parking area for this beautiful section of the national park is actually ant five miles east on Highway 12.

Highway 12, east of Bryce National Park

After that, Joyce had seen a sign that pointed to Pine Lake so we thought, what the heck, let’s do it.  After driving fourteen miles on a paved road then another seven on gravel, we made it to the lake and camping area.

During the drive out we saw several deer camps and when we got to the lake, there was one lone boater battling the winds with a small electric motor.  When he got to the boat ramp, I asked what he was doing and he said he was hunting for Muskrats.

October 21, 2014

We had an easy 87 mile run over the mountains and down to Red Ledge RV Park in Kanarraville yesterday.  The weather was beautiful most of the way but we did run into some strong headwinds when we turned south onto I-70.

After getting setup in our parking site, we drove up to Cedar City to do some shopping.

Since we have been on the go for almost three weeks, we plan to just relax today.  I have a few maintenance issues that need addressing and then we may drive up to Cedar City to get haircuts.

October 23, 2014

So much for relaxing!  Heck, there is too much to see in this area of Utah so you just can’t sit around and waste the day away.

One of the purposes for us visiting Kanarraville is to tour Zion National Park.  There are actually two sections of the park and yesterday we visited Kolob Canyons, the northern section.  There is a short five mile scenic drive with several pull-outs and places to park if you are doing any hiking.

Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park

While we were having lunch the other day, we were told that we shouldn’t miss seeing Snow Canyon State Park which is just west of St. George.  Since we had a lot of day left, we headed down that way.  And, we are very glad we did too!

Snow Canyon State Park

October 24, 2007

Yesterday we drove down to Zion National Park, one of the most visited parks with over 2.5 million people a year.  Even in October and on a weekday, the parking lots were very full.

After going through the visitors center, we then boarded the shuttle bus for our trip into the canyon.  Yep, ya gotta ride the buses here, all the way up to the 26th and even on weekends in November.  Not a big deal and I can understand why they do it that way. There are plenty of them running to make the waits very short however, we didn’t like it as much as driving our own car.

Our first stop was at the museum where we viewed a twenty-two minute film about the park.  One of the facts about the evolution of the canyon that really got my attention was that, what is now called the Virgin River, removes 165 million tons of silt out of the canyon every year.  But what really is surprising is that it does that in just a few days as year during flooding.

After that stop, we jumped back on the bus and and road it all the way to the end where we ate our lunch and then took a short two mile hike into The Narrows.  After that, we road the bus to several stops and then called it a day.

All-in-all, Joyce and I both thought that Zion isn’t as pretty as Bryce NP but in it’s own way, it does have a lot to see and do.  If you like to hike, and are in good shape, there are some long trails that take you into Zion’s back country.  Oh, to be twenty-five again.

Zion National Park

More later.

Barry & Joyce