Apache Junction, AZ High 99 Low 72
To blog about that is. We haven’t done a thing. Jim’s boat is in the boat hospital so he’s not even fishing. Weather is in the 90’s and much more bearable. People are returning to our park.
Scooter is doing much better. Still has a few issues with her back legs but don’t we all. Jim is feeling great. Another round of tests next week.
So if you don’t hear from me for awhile, everything is good.
Apache Junction, AZ High 104 Low 71
Wanted to answer a couple of comment questions about Aunt Happy.
Happy is a nickname but I was in my 20’s before I found out her name is actually Norma. Her parents started calling her Happy when she was a child because she was always happy. Still is. Not much gets her down and she won’t let it stay around very long.
She doesn’t drive anymore. She decided about 7 years ago that it was time. She only drove to the store and over to Leisure World where she used to live – about three blocks, but she realized even that was too much. She gave her car to a younger friend who will now pick her up and take her someplace if she doesn’t have us to help her out.
Jim’s appointment with the Oncologist went well. Needs to go back in two months and have a cat scan. He’s also having problems with his leg and we are going to have a bunch of tests done on that. One thing after another.
On our way home after the doctor’s appointment, we stopped at the Superstition Ranch Market, my favorite store in this area. They’re prices are incredibly low, i.e. red bell peppers 4/$1.00.
I wish I had taken a picture of everything that we got for $17. Apples, pears, strawberries, grapes, lettuce, cucumbers, green onions, red and green peppers, squash and I don’t remember what else.
Our most expensive item was a watermelon for $2.40. This is the best watermelon we have had this summer.
I think the following pictures will give you an idea of why we like this place.
We had a salad last night with a stir fry. Tonight is a wonderful fruit salad. Love it.
Apache Junction, AZ High 102 Low 69
Monday morning we actually found Aunt Happy at home. She twisted her knee on Friday so that was slowing her down some so we could catch up.
She turned 99 in August and is still doing great. A friend had given her a new telephone for her birthday and Jim showed her how to get her messages off the answering machine. She also had a few other chores for him like reaching things up on a shelf.
We had a fun visit and she is very happy that we are back and close by.
Monday night we got together with Jeri and Terry for dinner. I’ll have to post a picture later after I “borrow” it from Jeri. They were in town for a few days and it sure was good to see them again. They are headed back to Washington but will be getting ready to bring the motorhome south for the winter.
Tuesday was the first doctor’s appointment and it went even better than we expected. The doctor had him cut his high blood pressure medication in half. We knew he was doing good but that is wonderful.
It’s hot. 102 here and the same for the next couple of days. Next week it’s down to 98 and everybody is excited that it’s not going to be triple digits.
In spite of the heat, I am really glad to be here. It truly felt like coming home. I think Scooter agrees.
Skittlez is happy as long as Jim has a red cup because she knows it has milk in it and she gets to finish it up.
Definitely a happy kind of day for all of us.
Lake Pleasant, AZ High 94 Low 72
We left Kingman and continued down Highway 93 to just past Wickenburg where we turned onto Highway 74. The last time we took this route, construction was the name of the game. Not this time. We sailed right along with nary a stop.
There are two RV parks at Lake Pleasant. One is a private RV Park. We spent one night there and will not go there again. Any place that charges extra for animals is not going to get my business more than once. If I have to pay extra for the girls, then I would expect the resort to be doing the pick up duty. Sorry, that’s a real pet peeve of mine.
The other park is a Maricopa County Regional Park. It has beautiful sites that look out over the water with water/electric and a dump station. The sites are $25/night with a 14 day stay limit.
The view from our site.
We are here because on Saturday morning Jim had a guided fishing trip scheduled. (Love those Groupons.)
The fishing trip was a great success. These fish are called stripers (striped bass) and are almost as good eatin’ as walleye. They are now in our freezer as filets.
Wild burros wander around Lake Pleasant. They are beyond cute – BUT – they are really noisy at night when they are outside your rig braying and it’s 2:00 a.m. I’ve learned to sleep with highway noise and trains running along side the RV parks, but I haven’t mastered sleeping through the braying and the coyotes singing.
Scooter is very happy to be back in the desert where she can lay her old body on the hot rocks and soak up that sunshine. (I can so relate.)
Good evening.
Lake Pleasant, AZ High 91 Low 68
I’ve already shared most of our Las Vegas Adventure with you. After swimming our way home from the Vet’s office, we left the girls snug and dry and went to visit our friend Steve. Turns out he had parent-teacher conferences all evening (he teaches Special Ed) but Peter was home and we got to catch up with him for a couple of hours.
Went to Dessy’s for dinner (they have a fantastic salad bar) and back to the rig. Left the next morning and stopped at the Blake Ranch RV Park about 12 miles east of Kingman, AZ.
It was early afternoon and I just can’t pass up a chance to do some exploration. We drove out Route 66 to Hackberry.
Hackberry is a former mining town that became a ghost town when I-40 by passed the town in 1978.
In 1992 the Hackberry General Store was reopened as a Route 66 information post.
If you're a fan of historic Route 66, a visit to Hackberry should be a "must-do" if you're visiting this part of Arizona.
We headed back down Route 66 to the Route 66 Museum on Andy Devine Blvd in Kingman, AZ.
Only problem is, we got there about 4:45 and they close at 5:00. They let us in without paying the $3 entrance fee and we made a quick dash through the museum. It’s not very big and there is a lot of reading which we skipped.
Here are a couple of pictures that we took.
Next stop – Lake Pleasant, AZ.
Pioche, NV High 88 Low 54
In the 1860s Pioche, Nevada was the baddest town in the west; badder than Tombstone, badder than Dodge City. It was so bad 72 people were killed before one died a natural death. The only law in town was the gun. Today, Pioche is a living ghost town.
William Hamblin made the first discovery of gold and silver here in 1863. The site produced $40 million in ore. However, the town was developed by a Frenchman by the name of F. L. A. Pioche, a banker from San Francisco, to whom Hamblen sold his claims. Mr. Pioche never did visit the town named after him.
Pioche’s Boot Hill contained the first "Murderer's Row", a section set apart from the rest of the cemetery, containing the graves of over 100 murderers. Most are unmarked.
The view from Boot Hill.
Pioche is known for its Million Dollar Courthouse which was built in 1871. The original cost of $88,000 far exceeded initial estimates and was financed and refinanced with bonds totaling nearly $1 million. (Does this type of situation sound familiar with our current government?) The Lincoln County Courthouse was condemned in 1933, three years before it was paid for. It has since been restored into a museum.
A trial being held in the courthouse.
The jail is outside the back door on the second floor.
Hey Gary – here’s a law library for you. (And this is only part of it)
How about a typewriter or adding machine?
During the 1920’s and 1930’s an aerial tramway carried buckets of ore from the mines to the Godbe Mill.
You can see the mill at the bottom of the hill in this picture.
The tram was gravity powered. The weight of the ore in the full buckets going to the mill pulled the empty buckets back to the bin. The cables still stretch across the town and ore buckets still hang from them.
We also visited the Pioche Museum. Packed full of fun stuff.
CATHEDRAL GORGE
After exploring Pioche we stopped at Cathedral Gorge State Park on our way back to Caliente.
This area used to be covered by a freshwater lake nearly 1 million years ago. Over the centuries, the lake began to gradually drain. Erosion began working on the lake bottom. Rainwater and melting snow carved rivulets in the soft clay and created this truly beautiful gorge.
This is definitely worth a visit and offers lots of hiking trails.
Caliente, NV High 84 Low 48
Scooter is doing much better. Good meds can do that for you. Her hind legs still won’t work to help her up the stairs but that’s okay. She’s learned to wait for us to lift her up. They work just fine coming down the stairs and also when she’s out chasing critters. She still isn’t back to feeling great but she isn’t in any pain most of the time and that’s a good thing.
Back to exploring.
I used to spend time in this part of Nevada when I was much, much younger. I had three friends (well more than that but these are ones that belong in this story) and we spent several years together. There was my roommate, Rose; my classmate from business school, Steve (I’ve written about him before – he lives in Las Vegas and we sometimes park in his driveway); and our friend, Phares.
Phares is from this area of Nevada. We would often take the train out of Salt Lake City, get off in Caliente and spend week-ends exploring this area.
Caliente Train Depot (now used for city offices)
I haven’t seen Phares is probably 30 years and the last I had heard, he was a Ranger in Nevada. He was raised in Panaca, so my wonderful husband stopped at the grocery store there and asked the clerk if she knew Phares. She said the last she knew he was living in Caliente. I was ready to give up but not Jim. Back in Caliente he went in the hardware store and found a clerk that knew him and the general area he lived. Also knew he drove a green Ford Explorer. We drove around and around looking for the vehicle with no luck.
Jim stopped a guy on the street and he had only lived in Caliente for two years so no go. We drove around another block (Jim’s doesn’t believe in giving up) and there was another gentlemen walking down the sidewalk. Jackpot! He pointed two houses down the street and told us to go around to the back door.
Yes! We found Phares. However, he had a terrible cold and looked miserable so I didn’t bring out the camera. Hopefully when we get back through this way again he’ll feel much better. Had a short visit and now have his phone number.
We also visited Pioche and Cathedral Gorge, but that will be a separate post.
Love those clouds.
Las Vegas, NV - Pouring Rain
This picture is from the news station here in Las Vegas. They said that 50 people needed to be rescued.
Well! What an experience this was today. We’re at the Road Runner RV Park. Had some rain this morning but it was mostly just a long ride.
Vet appointment at 2:00. At 1:15 it started to rain. But it didn’t just rain, it RAINED!!!!!! I have never seen the water run like it did today. They said on the news tonight that they had over 2” of rain in less than two hours. It was incredible. I was certainly happy we had the high clearance vehicle. The streets were flooded and people were getting stranded in their cars. It was coming down so hard you couldn’t see which lane you were in or what the street signs said.
We left for the Vet’s just as it was starting to rain. Should have taken us about 20/25 minutes. At 2:00 I called the vet’s office and told them we were trying to get there. Took us over an hour. Because of the RAIN!!!
Scooter’s back is better today unless she happens to twist the wrong way. She is on an anti-inflammatory, a muscle relaxant, and a pain pill for the next week with restricted movement. Back issues are a problem for doxies with their long spines. They also have very shallow joint sockets which can cause more problems.
The rain has moved on and tomorrow morning, so will we.
