Texas Country Oaks Dance Hall, Edna, TX, New Years 2012

Friday, February 20, 2015

February 20, 2015

January 31, 2015

Joyce has been looking at vacuum cleaners for sometime now and yesterday Costco got in the exact make and model she wanted; a Dyson DC59 Motorhead.  The thing is very compact which is important giving the space we have for storing stuff and very powerful.  Joyce said that I don’t any any excuses for not keeping our floors clean.  LOL!

Yesterday we drove down to Gila Bend, AZ to checkout the Famcamp at the Air Force Auxiliary Field.  The base, if you want to call it that, is pretty darned isolated and the RV park isn’t anything to write home about, but at $10 a night for full-hookups, what the heck.  I wouldn't call it a destination park but it’s good for a few nights while enroute somewhere else.

On the way back through town, we stopped to check out the Gila Bend Elks Lodge.  The Lodge just finished a $1 million dollar renovation of the facilities and I can tell you that it’s beautiful.  We met the gentleman who designed and was the general contractor for the remodel who gave us a complete tour.  He is very proud of the work as he should be. 

Where does a Lodge get that kind of money?  Well, the state took three acres of land for the new freeway exit and paid them $1.2 million for it so they put that money to good use.  Did all of those bucks pay off?  Time will tell but they are initiating 28 new members at next weeks meeting.

The lodge has a very large open parking lot where you can park your RV for $5 a night donation.  Plans are in the works to put in electrical and water hookups in the future.

February 1, 2015

Last night the park threw a dinner/dance for the folks who have been residence of Sunflower for twenty years or more.  Eleven of the attendees have been here since the park was first built back in the 1970’s.

February 7, 2015

Yesterday we took a drive down to Oracle, AZ along with fellow work campers Ed and Cindy Kopic to see the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 facility (Biosphere 1 being planet Earth).  You might remember that between 1991 and 1994 several Biospherians were sealed inside, the first group for two years, to measure survivability.

Our tour started with a short film about the facility’s history and present ongoing projects.  We were then lead on on a guided tour by a very enthusiastic docent who told us more about the facility and what is being done there now.  I took a lot of pictures but here is a great site to see more:  https://www.google.com/search?q=arizona+biosphere&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=MzHWVIrYKYGZNsiVgMgK&ved=0CDsQsAQ








 The Lung


February 11, 2015

Last week Rick and Patty Stills returned to the the Phoenix area from Yuma and are now in an RV park in Goodyear.  We all went to Patty’s sister, Judy Boone’s home in Sun City the other day for a great BBQ supper.  It’s always nice to spend time with good friends and to make new ones too.

Yesterday Patty, Judy and Joyce did a girl day and drove up to Cave Creek and Carefree.  From all reports, they had a great time.


Things have gotten busier here at Sunflower with the arrival of a lot of new folks.  We can definitely tell the difference in the Tiki Bar as our business has picked up in the past week.

Gettin' Back To Tulsa Time


February 16, 2015

Last week was very busy for us here at Sunflower.  Several events were scheduled and then we have had a lot of new snowbirds show up.

02/20/2015

After a lot of thought and talking, Joyce and I reluctantly left Sunflower RV Resort and made our way southeast to Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction.  I don’t want to use this forum to bloviate (how’s that for a great word) about why we left early, but suffice it to say the BS got to be way too much.  Rest assured, we will not volunteer in a park that big and with that many workcampers again.


Jim and Jeanne Glaspey came to Lost Dutchman the day before our arrival and it was great to see them again.  I think I mentioned a while back that our friends Wille Beck and June are volunteering here so after we all spent some time catching up, we drove down to a joint called Filly’s for supper.  After supper we sat around a nice campfire for a couple of hours.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Jim and Jeanne, who are headed up to northern California to visit their kids.  Joyce and I hated we only had a short visit but we will see them the last week in April.

After goofing off for a couple of hours, we drove down to the Apache Junction Elks Lodge to check out their RV parking and to see what they had going on for the next few days.  The lodge has several dry camping sites and tonight they are serving Prime Rib for supper.  The parking there is only $10 a night so we will be moving down there today.  No idea at this point how long we will stay but we don’t have reservations again until the 25th so we’ll just wing it for a while.

Last night we went to the Hale Centre Theater in Gilbert to see a production of My Fair Lady.  Before the play, we had an outstanding meal at Joe’s Real BBQ just a block away from the theater.  The food was very good there and we highly recommend Joe’s if your in the area.

Well, that’s enough for now.  Until next time.

Barry & Joyce

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Janurary 29, 2015

02/28/2015

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone!

On December 10th, Joyce slipped on the “non-slip mat” in the Tiki Bar and hurt her right foot.  The next day she was having a lot of pain so I took her to an Urgent Care clinic where she saw a Physician’s Assistant.  After taking and x-ray, the PA told her that the small bone on the little toe was broken, the same toe she broke back in 2007 in Texas.  The PA sent her home in a walking boot and crutches and said that they she would refer her to an Orthopedic Surgeon.

Since this happened at work, we felt obligated to inform the park about the problem which turned the whole thing into a workman's compensation claim.

It took a few days to get into see a orthopedic doctor but when we finally got an appointment, he said that her for wasn’t broken after all.  What the PA at the urgent care place saw and thought was a new break was actually the healed one from 2007.  Very good news indeed.

On December 19th, I rented a car and drove to Fresno, CA to visit my mother for a few days.  On Monday my brother John Mark and his wife Ronna, who lived in Ozark, MO, surprised mother and stayed for several days.  By the way, John and Ronna have since moved to Goodyear, AZ here in the Phoenix area.

The New Years Party here at Sunflower was very well attended and we were very busy.  I worked the bar for the evening and Joyce helped out in food service and believe me, there wasn’t much time for us to enjoy the festivities.

Joyce and I welcomed Gary and Marcia Stevenson from Oakridge, OR for a visit earlier in the month.  Since they had never been to Sedona, we made a drive up there for a day.  They loved the area just as much as we do so I’m sure they will make another trip there sometime.



During January we opened the Tiki Bar on Sundays for the football playoffs.  Joyce and I both worked those days making the Bar Manager Trevor’s special Bloody Mary’s.  Although very labor intensive, they were a hit!

Also this month, I spent a day with some friends from the park at the Scottsdale Barrett-Jackson Automobile Auction.  If you are into cars, you need to see one of these.  This time company had been contracted to auction off all of Ron Pratte’s collection.  Ron owned some of the most amazing vehicles on the planet and the whole shebang was going on the block.

Cobra's, Cobra's and more Cobra's.  Shelby American is building 50 of these.
They sold out in the first 48 hours of unveiling.

















The the 22nd thru the 24th, we packed up the motorhome and drove over to Quartzite, AZ to meet up with Rick & Patty Stiils and Art & Kandi Jones at the Sports, Vacation & RV Rally.  This annual event turns the sleepy town into a megalopolis and is the “Woodstock” for RV’ers.  You want something that is made for an RV, you will find it there.  In addition to RV stuff, there are several flea markets all over town where you can find just about anything you can dream about.

Also joining us were our good friends Ron & Katie Cutler from Payson, UT.  

Circled up in Quartzite!

 The things you see in the desert!





Crazy Hat & Sweater Night at the Tiki Bar










That’s enough for now.

Barry & Joyce