ASU Orientation Day

The entire day yesterday for Patty, Mark and Jordan was spent at ASU. It was Jordan's orientation day as an incoming Freshman. From the report we received, it was a very long day but well worth the time as Jordan has a good idea now of what it will be like beginning in August when he begins his time as a student at the University:

It was also a wrap-up last evening of Patty's visit as Brian and Amy were to meet them in town for dinner while dropping Brandon off to spend the final night in Phoenix before leaving for Chicago today. Their visit officially ends this morning.

The next big event for us is the preparation for our trip to Jackson. There is lots to do to get ready and we have several issues to resolve before leaving. We will address each of them as the time goes on in April. The plan now is to leave around the 14th of May to allow for time to travel and acclimate in Jackson before beginning work on May 22...

Final Day and Departure

The day following our "extreme" hike was spent in a relaxing mode. We all started out at the pool in the morning and Josie and I came home at around noon to escape the sun. Patty and family stayed until 2 PM. The rest of our day was a relaxing one sitting outside and preparing for our final visit with Brian and Amy and family. That occurred at their home following Jason's baseball game at around 6 PM.

It was a short but very nice visit with everybody and gave us a chance to see George and Cheryl again and to say goodbyes to Amy's folks. The plan is for the boys to stay at Brian's house and Patty and Mark will swing by this morning to pick up Jordan for his scheduled orientation today at ASU. That has happened according the Facebook post from Patty this morning They will spend the day at the University and meet up with Brian and family again tonight in Tempe and have a final dinner before Patty and Mark and the boys depart for Chicago tomorrow AM.

It was a wonderful visit and always reminds us of how much we miss being near them. Hopefully, all will work out in the coming months and we can rejoice in reuniting permanently in the Phoenix area before the year is out...

Days 6 & 7 of Visit

There was no entry yesterday because that was the day we had our scheduled hike to Yarnell where the Granite Mountain Hotshots perished in 2013. Before getting to our big day yesterday, I'll just summarize our day on Wednesday. We pretty much just hung out and spent most of the day at the pool:

and the boys also had some relaxation on the patio at home:

Now, for the main event of the day yesterday. We left the house at around 8 AM and arrived at the "Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park" at around 9 AM. We all totally underestimated the amount of effort required to hike the 2.6 mile trail to the end and also the almost 1 mile trail to the Fatality Site below the main trails' end. The hike was 1245 feet of elevation change. Below is a copy of the trail map to show the markers that were present all along the trail, one for each of the 19 hotshots that perished:

The shots below were taken along the way. It didn't take us too long to realize that the boys and Mark would make better time than myself and the girls, so we let them go ahead to meet us at the top.

Starting with our departure:

and a shot of Patty taken about 1/4 of the way (notice how high we are on the mountain at this point):

We finally made it to the top:

 while Mark and the boys had already taken the additional 1 mile trail to the Fatality Site and were waiting for us:

We were not going to make it any further, so they came back up to us after taking some terrific photos of the site:

 This shot is of the location where the remains of the leader, Eric Marsh were found.

 Each of the markers were placed in the exact location of the remains:

I took this photo of the Tribute Wall located at the top:

It was a very emotional scene and contained items left by firefighters from all over the world plus items left by folks that were moved by the story.

The hike back down to our vehicle wasn't much easier than the climb to the top. Once again, Mark and the boys went ahead and the entire hike totaled about 6 hours. I almost didn't make it back as my legs were so weak from the hike that I fell very close to the bottom. Fortunately, I wasn't hurt, but it reminded me of how much extra weight I have been carrying around and drove the point home that it is time to do something about it.

What a wonderful, intense and satisfying day. It is something that we will always remember and feel blessed that there are men who are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect us...

Days 4 and 5 of Visit

Monday was a busy day at the lake at the Lakeview Rec Center where the boys took out a rowboat and did some fishing while we watched from the bank and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It took the boys a while to figure out how to row the boat:

No fish were caught although Jordan had a couple on his line but lost the fish before he could boat them. We followed that up with some golf and visiting on our patio.

We were so busy yesterday I didn't get the opportunity to post an update. It was Patty's birthday and there were several activities planned. Patty wanted to spend most of the day at the pool and we combined that with other Rec Center activities for the boys. We actually went to two different Rec Centers to try the pools and the boys played miniature golf at each of them. These shots were taken in the morning at our house and at the pool at the second Rec Center visit which was our home Center (Bell):

Josie and I each forgot our phones at the first stop and had to pick them up between Rec Center visits.

The birthday celebration was then wrapped up with a terrific dinner at Oregano's Italian Restaurant. The day was a special one!

Day 3 of Visit

The plan for yesterday was to join Brian and his family and Amy's parents and, of course the boys at Lake Pleasant for an afternoon. It was a perfect day, weather-wise, and we arrived at around 1:30 PM and had a terrific visit all afternoon - and had a great BBQ in the evening. These shots were taken during the day:

We missed George and Cheryl who had a conflict and couldn't make it. I believe that Brian was staying overnight with Traeger as their kids ended Spring Break yesterday and had to return to school today. It's too bad that the Spring Break weeks don't match so that the kids could enjoy more time together. That should change when Patty and Mark move down to Arizona and we can ever get all the boys together from college and from Illinois.

Mark will arrive today following a visit to his office in Scottsdale and we have a fishing date scheduled with the boys. I hope we have some photos of fish for tomorrow...

Day 2 of Visit

It was another fairly hectic day yesterday. The boys were spending the weekend - except for a brief time hanging out at our house yesterday - with Jason at his house. This shot was taken on Friday afternoon and I forgot to post it yesterday.

The boys getting a taste of the Arizona sun:

Patty, Josie and I had a list of things to do while the boys were gone. Starting with a visit to Lowes to try to find a nice lime tree to plant in our yard. They were sold out. Our next attempt was at Home Depot - they were also sold out. Finally, we wanted to get some fishing equipment for the boys so we stopped at Walmart. Bingo! They had some lime trees in there garden department and we found a nice one to bring home and plant. We also got the fishing equipment - poles, tackle and a tackle box - and they are ready for the big day on the lake tomorrow.

While out on our shopping trip, we stopped at the Lakeview Rec Center to show Patty the Lake where we will be fishing and also the other miniature golf course that is fun to play. We also stopped at the Mountain View Rec Center to show her the better pool for us to use for swimming with the boys.

Our next activity was to plant the lime tree. It will take some time before we can get to enjoy any limes, but we wanted to complete our citrus plantings as soon as possible.

Today is the day we will meet Brian and his family (including George and Cheryl, we hope) at Lake Pleasant for a BBQ at his motor home site. They were planning to go out on the lake with his boat, but the water is still too cold and it also would involve another trip for Brian to bring the boat. I'm sure we will have a great time at the BBQ, visiting with everybody.

Safe Arrival

Patty's flight arrived ahead of schedule and we met her at the curb outside baggage claim at around 6:45 AM. The ride home was not without incident as the freeway was closed about two miles south of where we needed to exit - a stabbing death and auto crash. We sat for almost an hour before the police were able to get traffic moving again. At any rate, we made it home safely and started the visit with a round of miniature golf:

We all enjoyed the round and hope to play a few more times this week. There is so much to do and the passes for our family visitors are all ready to use. We took the boys to Brian and Amy's house where they will spend the weekend visiting with Jason. The plan is to meet up again tomorrow at Lake Pleasant following their day out on Brian's boat.

In the meantime, we will do some shopping and go to the different rec centers to get procedural information on the boats to use for fishing on the lake and to get some fishing equipment for the boys to use. We are looking forward to that activity either Monday or Tuesday.

We enjoyed our first night sitting out on the patio and being entertained by the birds and bunnies. This morning, Josie "raided" one of the orange trees and gathered some fresh ones for our breakfast:

They are from our neighbor's tree who has given us permission to take whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. His tree still has lots of tangelos left where our trees are pretty much empty now except for being loaded with new blossoms for the next crop.

The fun has started and we will try to keep up with our activities by reporting them each day...

Phone Scare

Josie was asked to perform a delivery yesterday following work. The normal delivery person had to leave, so Josie was elected. The delivery was to the Banner Boswell Hospital which is just down the street. I went with her so she wouldn't have to locate parking and I could just drop her off at the main entrance to make the delivery. She decided to carry her phone in in case she needed to call me for anything. Well, we got home from the delivery and Josie discovered that she didn't have her phone.

As you know, her last phone was stolen and we were not looking forward to having to replace another one. We did everything we could to locate the phone using the phone software and calling AT&T for help. No luck. As we were getting ready for bed we got a call from a nurse at the hospital saying she found the phone. Of course, Josie had no sleep at all during the night and with all that we need to get done to be ready for our company that is arriving tomorrow and working all day today, she was a bundle of nerves. We picked up her phone this morning before she went to work so the day has started with some good news.

In talking with Patty this morning, they are going through some tough moments at their house. Their dog, Oakley, will be put down this evening after suffering with illnesses during the past several months. I'm sure they will be glad to get away and have some good moments in Arizona over the next week...

More Prepping

We did a lot yesterday to reorganize certain areas of our house and getting some preliminary shopping done. Of course, our garage is getting further abuse with the reorganization of the inside. There just may come a time when we will light a match to the entire garage. We have a few more days left until Patty and her family arrives on Friday but Josie is now back to work until Friday. So, whatever we expect to accomplish now will have to take place at night or, if it is just errand related, I can take care of during the week. For the most part, we are ready.

The weather looks pretty decent for the foreseeable future. There is a possibility of some light rain on Wed-Thu but starting on Friday, it is clear sailing. Also, the temperatures will range anywhere in the high 70's to almost 90. Perfect weather...

Some Golf and Workout

We went to the rec center in the morning yesterday for a workout on the treadmill. Our plan to be in better shape for our big, planned hike in Yarnell next week is moving along. On Thursday, March 28, we plan to take the hike in the Weaver Mountains where the Granite Mountain Hotshots lost their lives several years ago. You may recall that the last time we were there it was very hot and we were out of shape so we bagged the attempt after about a mile into the almost 3 mile rugged hike. We'll be ready this time.

Our workout at the fitness center was followed by another round of golf on our mini course. Josie scored the best round she has had so far on this course but I still beat her by 5 strokes. She is getting much better. Soon, she will be a tough opponent every time.

We did some yard work in the afternoon and took this shot of our nice backyard looking toward the 15th green:

The weather is now getting to where we can sit out and really enjoy the sun, the birds, the bunnies and the views...

New Growth

It looks like this year will be a banner year for our oranges. While doing some weeding in our back yard, we snapped a couple shots of our smallest orange tree that is full of new buds:

Of course, all of those buds don't produce fruit, but there is a good chance that the tree will be completely loaded this coming year. Our season that is just winding down was very good, but with the fertilizing I did last Fall, we should see a big improvement.

Still no word on our RV repairs. I know this is the busy season for RV work in the shops, so we will be patient. While out yesterday, Josie and I stopped by the RV shop to get an update and they indicated that they haven't been able to get to the estimate yet because of the volume of work they have. Early next week is OK.

We stopped and had a nice breakfast yesterday at Ji-Michael's following my lab appointment in the morning. I'm sure I'll also get that update early next week.

Lab Work Scheduled

When my annual physical last month revealed high cholesterol, my doctor put me on a Statin. I have a follow-up lab appointment this morning to check the effectiveness of the medication. I expect the results to show my cholesterol in the normal range, but will most likely remain on the medication. We'll see.

I still have not received word on the estimate for my RV repair work. That scares me a little bit as it may be an indication that there is some question about how to do one or more of the items on the list  at a reasonable cost. There are only two areas that might cause concern - the refrigerator repair and the hydraulics repair. Either or both could be a problem. If I don't hear something by this afternoon, I will call and chase down the guy who is responsible for the work.

Other than that, we are doing business as usual and dealing with the winds that have replaced the rain...

Dealing With Rain

It rained pretty much all day yesterday. I'm hoping that we are about done with these winter drenching's. The forecast now shows a drying out period and temperatures returning to the 80's which indicates that we may be done with the worst of winter. As we are in the middle of March, I certainly hope so. Josie snapped a neat photo (during a sun break) of a couple of the palm trees we have in our yard which is pretty cool:

That gives a different perspective of these nice trees.

Our RV is still in the shop and we are still waiting on an estimate for the repairs. I got a call yesterday from the service people who indicated that an estimate will be forthcoming soon. I'm holding my breath on that number.

Speaking of holding my breath, I have what I originally thought was a small cold. I say originally thought, because I haven't had any chest or throat issues, but only nasal problems. I'm thinking now that it may be allergies. I've never dealt with them before but I guess there is always a first time. The secret, probably, is just don't get old...

Rv Into Shop

We had to go to Home Depot yesterday and rent a generator. The batteries in the RV ran down and we had no way to open the slides or raise or lower the unit without some power. Of course, there are no power hookups in the storage unit and I started out by attaching the power cord from the unit into the truck. That would have worked if we had all day to wait for the trickle charge from the truck to power up the batteries sufficiently. There were several things we had to check before taking it in for service. The generator did the trick.

The unit was dropped off at the repair facility this morning. There is a list of 7 items to be repaired and I just have to wait now for a phone call giving the estimate of costs for those repairs. That should be interesting.

Josie and I then went to a couple places shopping for chaise lounges for our patio. I never thought that would be such a tough assignment. Most places have just the basic lounges which is probably what we will end up buying. We'll keep you posted on that...

Fun Discovery Day

We spent the entire day driving around to the other Rec Centers in Sun City to see what different amenities they had. We have only done activities at our closest Rec Center (Bell) which is also one of the most complete as far as activity offerings. What we discovered yesterday was some terrific options to use when Patty and her family come to visit at the end of March.

We wanted to find another pool that would be geared more toward open swimming rather than the lap pool and "walkaround" swimming pools that we have at our Bell Center, and another miniature golf course option. We found that and more. The Mountain View Center has another mini golf course that Josie and I played:

It is an easier course than ours and Josie and I both shot the best rounds we have played on any course. We agree that our course at Bell is better, but this offers another option.

While discovering this Center, we ran into a Group of people with stands set up in the parking area. They were the group called "Sun City Rockhounds" and they were selling rocks from all around the world:

This Center also had the best pool we have seen and there were lots of people - including kids - taking advantage of the nice day.

The biggest surprise though was at the Lakeview Center. In addition to another mini golf course, they have a huge lake. I have several shots of this beautiful lake which is available to all Sun City Residents. They offer different types of boats for use (free) and offer fishing - without a license - for trout, bass, crappie and a couple other species. There is a 3 fish limit per day. Check out these photos of this beautiful lake:

There is a big gazebo sitting on the top of a hill overlooking the Center and the lake:

with great views of the whole lake:

Oh, and a selfie is included:

The mini golf course looked nice, but had lots of damaged areas from a nest of rats that have been feasting on the golf carpet, leaving ugly tears on some of the holes. They know where the rats are nesting and have traps set in that area and will do the repairs after the rats are exterminated. Overall, it presents a great option for us for one of the days that Patty's family is visiting.

Our day didn't end there though, We had dinner with our Jackson friends at their condo in Sun City West and had a wonderful visit. I am getting so absent minded with my camera during these occasions and must apologize again for not getting any pictures of our fun evening. I get so into our conversations that the thought of taking photos escapes me. Maybe next time.

Our goal today is to visit our RV in the storage facility to make sure we have a complete list of the items we want repaired before taking in the unit tomorrow...

Back to Winter

Once again, just when you think the weather has turned around, we go backwards. After having the first day of 2019 in the 80's just a few days ago, we have entered another stretch of storm tracks that will keep the temperatures in the 40's at night and in the 60's and low 70's during the day. Honestly, I can't remember a winter like this since we have lived in Arizona which is now 19 years. Well, this has been our home base even though there have been long stretches when we were out of the state.

Tonight is our dinner with our friends that work with us in Jackson. Betty and Chuck Mulcahy are volunteers while we work as full time employees. As volunteers, they only work for 20 hours per week and get their space free as compensation. They are also the couple that gives presentations and demonstrations with and about snakes. They have several of their own that travel with them. Some people like dogs and cats, they happen to like snakes. I'll try to remember to get some photos tonight.

We will most likely make a visit to our RV sometime over the weekend to check out things that we want to have repaired. The list may grow - or shrink - depending on that visit. Monday AM is when we take it into the shop...

Local Discovery

While at the Rec Center yesterday for my usual exercise, I discovered that there was a Farmers Market at the far end of our parking lot. I stopped there to get information and found out that it is held on Thursday's every week. It is a nice market and filled with all kinds of goodies that you find at Fairs, along with the normal food booths. This is a shot of the event:

I'm sure we will be making visits to this nice event.

Josie was called into work again today - on her day off. They will miss her reliability when we leave for Jackson. That is, if they approve of her summer leave. She will be finalizing those arrangements before the end of March.

It was a mostly nice day yesterday and we are facing some more storms (3) that are going to bring lots of clouds and possible rain. At any rate, here is a picture of our sunset last evening:

They just keep getting more beautiful...

RV Appointment Set

I stopped at the RV Repair facility yesterday and discussed the items that needed to be repaired and checked. The service advisor (of course) indicated tat they could perform the required work and it would take about one week to complete. I made the appointment to take in the RV on Monday, March 11. The concern I had was whether or not they had Lippert Hydraulics expertise as we have had poor results from a couple other sources. The original plan was to wash the fifth wheel before taking it in but I see we are expecting a big storm on Monday so I nixed that idea. It has been sitting in storage for a long time and is full of dust and grime, but we'll take care of that after the repairs are complete.

We completed the documents for the Grand Teton Association "onboarding" requirements. We are slowly getting all the ducks lined up for our trip in May. There are several key events that have to have a positive outcome - Josie's approval of the request for the summer off, successful RV repairs, a good plan for the house closure and a solution for the second car disposition. We prefer to not have to store the car in the garage for the summer. That has become an issue since Josie decided she didn't want to follow the truck/RV anymore and take a chance on more horrible weather like we had the last time. We are confident that everything will work out and we will be going to Jackson according to plan...

Planting Progress

Yesterday we went to a couple places to shop for planting containers and plants. We ended up buying several nice pots from Sam's Club that were a better bargain than those at The Pottery Place. We also bought several bags of planting soil which were also a great buy at Sam's Club.

Our next objective was to locate some nice plants to fill them. The best selection and prices were at Home Depot. So, we purchased a Pygmy Date Palm, (2) Common Myrtle 'Compacta', and a Trumpet Bush. You can see the details of these plants in the links provided. All of these can be controlled for their height by the container and by trimming. These plants will all be connected to our sprinkler system so that we don't have to be concerned about their watering schedule.

These are some shots of our plants and containers:

It will be fun watching them grow and bloom. We still have some maintenance to perform on the other plants that have been damaged by the winter frost.

That gives us a head start on some of the projects we need to complete before May...

Lining Up Priorities

There are lots of things that need to be done before we leave for our planned trip to Jackson in May. Starting with the RV that needs some repairs. We will stop at the RV store down the street (Orangewood RV) which is up the street from our RV storage and set up a schedule for the repairs. Then, we need to finish up on some touches around our patio to be completed before Patty's visit at the end of the month. Finally, we need to do a little reconfiguring to the inside of the house to make it more comfortable for our guests.

Our goal today is to begin to tackle the final touches on our patio which includes acquiring a couple planters and loungers to place on the extended part of the new patio. Shopping for these items is always fun, the purchasing is not always fun.

Josie's schedule has her off this weekend and we also have a dinner date set for this Saturday night with friends that we work with in Jackson who recently bought a condo in Sun City West.

There is no shortage of things to do and we just need the time and some cash to make it all happen. Lottery anyone?...

Fun Golf Outing

It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday and a perfect day to be outside. Our golf outing with George and Cheryl was lots of fun and we had a great lunch at George's Café at the Rec Center following our round. I must apologize for not having any photos of our fun outing. I was so into our golf that I forgot to take pictures and also didn't get any shots at the Café. My bad. It was obvious that George and Cheryl hadn't played in awhile although Cheryl improved on the back nine and did beat George. I won't divulge any scores, but next time we all will do better. It is also difficult trying to get the proper feel if you haven't played in a long time. The important thing is that we had a nice visit and a fun time on the course. We will definitely do this again. Meeting like that following church services is very convenient, especially since their church is so close to us.

Josie and I spent the rest of the day working on projects that we have started some time ago. She is working on crocheting afghans and I have a cross stitch project that I am trying to complete for this year's Teton County Fair in Jackson. Every year we go, I enter new piece and have been successful each time which adds to the incentive to complete another one. There probably aren't enough days left to complete it, but I'll give it my best shot.

The work schedule for Josie this week is crazy as she has every other day off. The owner is very unpredictable and is causing scheduling problems for us. Without having the same days off each week, it is difficult to schedule appointments. It's all part of the challenge to make things work...

Call to Duty

Yesterday was another occasion when the shop owners at Josie's store called her to come and work for the day (her scheduled day off). It's not that we had any pressing plans, but they are beginning to see that Josie is the "go-to" person when they need emergency coverage at the shop. Of course, Josie likes her days off, but she also understands - as a former shop owner - that there are times when you get slammed and need backup support. I just hope they remember these occasions when raise time rolls around.

Today is our scheduled miniature golf outing and lunch with George and Cheryl. We plan to meet at the Rec Center at 11 AM following church services. Following the golf round, we will go to George's Café at the Rec Center and have lunch. It should be a fun day.

This will otherwise be a day of relaxation and a chance for Josie to rest up for her regular schedule beginning again tomorrow...

Rolling Into March

It's hard to believe that March is here already. It seems like yesterday that we were complaining about the many 100 degree days and hoping that Fall and Winter would soon arrive. Now, we are on the road to those hot days again and we will arrive there sooner than later. Our weather starting out in March will be in the mid 70's and I see a day in the 80's in the forecast. That, after going through weeks of high temperatures in the 50's. Can't win this game.

Josie was granted the entire week off from work while Patty and her family visit us at the end of March. That is great news as we have some fun activities planned and want to make sure we can all enjoy the time.

Our golf outing with George and Cheryl is on for this Sunday. We will meet at the Rec Center, play golf, and have lunch at George's Cafe at the Rec Center. We are looking forward to that fun time. I can't help thinking that perhaps 30 years ago or so we could be meeting at the first tee of the real golf course for 18 holes. This will be a terrific substitute.

I have started some outdoor projects that will take some time to complete. I began preparing the underside of our patio cover for painting. The old paint has been flaking off the metal underside since we moved into the house. I took the blower and got all the loose paint off the metal and we can probably paint over the rest. I hope so, as that is all I'm going to do. We are also starting to help our plants recover from the frost episodes we had earlier in February. There are lots of things happening now...