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
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