DESERT BLOOMS

After all the rain we've had this year in Arizona, the desert has really come alive with color this spring. I just want to share some of these beautiful colors and textures with you.

The one picture is a desert field of yellow flowers. Definitely not brown here in Arizona this year.

MATT'S BIG BREAKFAST

We are always looking for different and unique places to eat. Jim's favorite meal of the day is breakfast. Now don't get me wrong, he loves his other meals too. But breakfast food is his favorite.

I found rave reviews for this restaurant on the internet and we decided to make the trek into Phoenix to try it out. It was almost 40 miles from our home to the restaurant and we were doing this in rush hour traffic. I was pleasantly surprised at how well traffic flowed and we got to the restaurant about 8:45.

There was already a line of people waiting to eat so we signed in and waited about 30 minutes for our table. (If you look real close you can see our reflections in the window while we waited.) The restaurant is quite small but they keep everything and everybody moving nicely.

Jim had the hog and chick breakfast. Notice the size of the servings. The food was good but we both agreed the potatoes and the eggs were undercooked. I think they were trying to get people in and out too fast. The bacon and ham were wonderful and so was the toast.

This was a "do once" place for us unless we happened to be in downtown Phoenix (which I can't imagine why we would ever be in downtown Phoenix for anything).

SOUTH MOUNTAIN

We took a Sunday afternoon drive up to the top of South Mountain. It's in the south Phoenix area and our neighbor recommended we take the time to go up and see the view. And it is a gorgeous view.

South Mountain park is over 16,000 acres of Sonoran Desert country. Dobbins Lookout is the highest point in the park accessible to the public.

I'm sure the sunsets from up at the Lookout are beautiful, but there were so many families there with children that we didn't stay to find out. We see beautiful sunsets every night here in the desert in our rv park.

JIM

Two of Jim's favorite things - fishing and NASCAR. He has been able to enjoy both of these things while we've been here in Apache Junction. This is the bait shop where he hangs out trying to figure out how to out smart those fish.


The fishing hasn't been very good this year at Saguaro Lake But this was a nice looking bass that he hooked. It was all catch and release so maybe this bass will be waiting for him next year and will have gotten even bigger.


The ducks were also really happy with the weather and decided to keep Jim company while he was fishing.

He went to the NASCAR race last Saturday night out at Phoenix International Raceway. He left about 12:30 and didn't get home until almost midnight. But what a great time he had. His driver (Dale Jr.) didn't win but the green, white, checker ending kept everybody near their seats. I say near because nobody is sitting down for this part of the race.









He definitely wants to do it all over again next year.

ANOTHER GPS TALE

One of my readers commented that it looked like we went to Africa when we went to the zoo. And that is where we did spend most of our time. The zoo is divided into different habitats and we need to go back and spend time in the other areas. But with both of our guys being diabetics, it was time for us to find some food for them.


I had found a hot dog place on line that got rave reviews and we all love hot dogs. So Jim programmed the address into the GPS and off we went. Well I have no idea where it was trying to take us but we ended up in an area of town that most people never see. That was after taking a tour of the Phoenix airport thanks to the GPS. I finally said enough is enough. We got back on 60 and I told Jim to just pick an exit and we'd find some place to eat. He took McClintock and as we were driving down the street, we come up the intersection with Broadway. Don looks over and says "There's the hot dog place." Sure enough. There was Ted's.


We pulled in and went inside. There was a long line but we weren't going to give up at this point. They have every kind of hot dog from regular dogs to polish sausages to Italian sauages. They also offer hamburgers but I'm not sure why you'd want a hamburger in a hot dog joint. Jim and I both had polish's and they were fantastic. Jim also had a vanilla shake and it was really great. We shared an order of onion rings and they were okay. Next time I'll have the fries. Notice the next time. We will definitely go back again. I want to try their hot dog next time.

But we definitely won't be using the GPS to get there.

BORROWED BLOG POST - IT'S A DOG'S LIFE

I've mentioned before how much I enjoy the blog postings of my friend Jeri and this time she outdid herself. So I am going to borrow her blog post because I want it to be in my blog book when I have it printed up.

Of all the dogs she mentions in her post, I've met all of them except for Titan, the Great Dane. Therefore, they are all a part of our rving world and also a part of Scooter and Skittlez's life. Well maybe not Skittz because she's my coward.

Here's to you Duchess:

I started to title this Duchess' friends but then realized that these are really her acquaintances.

She'd like to make them all her friends but some just don't play the way she wants to play. She especially likes cats. She likes to chase them. However, she didn't even realize cats existed until last summer. As a then 8-year-old dog, she hadn't been exposed to any cats until then. That also marked the first time she didn't turn around and come right back to us when we called too. It was like a kid in love. She was in love with discovering them. About the same time she discovered squirrels. Thank goodness they can run up a tree and she can't.

She also tries to be friends with the little dogs but that doesn't always work either especially if the little dog is a dachshund or even a Boston Terrier. They just kind of ignore her. Dachshunds are actually the alfa dog. Well, at least two out of the three she has met are. People would tend to think that the Doberman is the aggressor. Not so with many small breeds. She's actually afraid of some. And, if she's not afraid of them they are afraid of her. Two dachshunds, Scooter and Belle, totally ignore her but she certainly knows they are boss. Skittlez (the third) wants nothing to do with her . . . ever.

Many pets allow their RV families to travel with them. That's actually how it is and not the other way around. You've got to admit that in most cases coming back as an RV dog is really a dog's life. The ones we've met are certainly catered to, pampered, fed, loved, offered lots of travel, provided with shelter and they don't even have to work until retirement. They start out being retired. What a life!

We've met many on the road. We've even met Bella. Bella is a cat that allows Paul and Marsha to accompany her on her travels. When she takes her daily walks she actually requires one to hold on to her leash so they don't get lost. Duchess doesn't play with Bella. We won't allow it.

Some dogs travel and do tricks for their owners. Duchess knows how to sit if food is being offered. And, most of the time she knows what stay means. Those aren't the only words she knows. She knows hot dog, walk, eat, go and ready plus a few others that have a special meaning to her. Obviously, these weren't words we taught her. She learned the meaning of those pretty fast. As most pet owners know, some words have to be spelled at times so the pets won't know what we're talking about.

Along the route Duchess has attached herself to some real playmates. She's been able to romp in the fields and have a super good time. However, these dogs are about the same size . . . or bigger, as in Titan, a Great Dane. Now with Titan she does try to be the alfa dog. He's the male and she's the female. She also tried to pull the same trick with her other boyfriend, Parker. Parker let her get away with it also.

Duchess met Millie in Arizona but didn't get much of an opportunity to play. She's an active dog with lots of energy. However, she had just had surgery so playing wasn't such a good idea at the time.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the relationship with Bandit and Kora. The dogs seemed to tolerate each other well. After all, they did spend some time together, but we didn't get to see them running around and acting like foolish school kids. They actually seemed to ignore each other . . . or did I miss something? Well, Bandit lost a lot of food and snacks when Duchess visited her place. Most dogs lose their supply of treats when she's around. Their treats are always better than her own.

These are just a few of the RV friends who Duchess has met on the road this year. Even dogs have a group they look forward to seeing again as the seasons change. And, last year there was a whole other group of them. Who knows what new friends this year will bring.

A TRIP TO THE ZOO

We decided to brave the hoards of children once again and go to the Phoenix Zoo. What a delightful experience that was. Other than the parents who don't know how to be parents. Or cell phone users. (In fact, I finally told one gal to talk quieter on her cell phone because I couldn't hear the tour guide.)

I wish I could post all of the pictures we took here on the blog but since we took almost 100, I'm not going to do that. I picked a few that I like the best and you'll just have to visit the zoo for yourself to see all the other wonderful animals.

I really love the giraffes. (Maybe it's because I'm so short and have no neck. )









Aren't these animals just magnificant?

This fellow is one you want to stay away from. He is a Komodo Dragon. They are the largest and heaviest lizard in the world. They will grow to 10 feet and weigh up to 200 lbs. They can climb trees, swim and run very rapidly despite their size. He has a phenomenal appetite. He will eat pigs, deers, has been known to bring down an adult water buffalo and small or injured humans.




The squirrel monkeys are in a large area that humans are allowed to walk through and experience the monkeys up close.



Judy and Don thought this baboon would make a great addition to their house but couldn't figure out how to free him from the zoo.