Tucson

After we had been in Casa Grande for a bit we worked out a time to go visit our long time friends Dave and Karen in Tucson. Bruce has known Karen since 4th grade and Dave since 11th and we have crossed paths many times in the 45 years since I met Jo-Anne.

 

It was about an hour's drive to Tucson and to their place high up in the Catalina foothills overlooking the city. The view from their living room out over the hot tub to the mountains in the distance is spectacular. The one peak on the left side actually has some snow on it which had just fallen.

 

Here's the three high school buddies in their neat backyard nestled right into the desert landscape and colorful foliage. After the photo shoot they took us to a really neat Italian restaurant near where they lived and we continued our yakking about old times.

A week or so later we reciprocated by having them up to see the Palm Creek RV park where we are staying. An obliging neighbor was happy to shoot all four of us in a fairly sedate pose ...

... and then he said, "hey you four how about a little more jovial, eh."

It was great to be with them again as we don't get this far west that often; in fact it was in the spring of 2012 when we attended a rally in Phoenix that we were over here before.

Good friends and great fun!

Palm Creek and Casa Grande

 

The Palm Creek Golf RV Golf Resort in Casa Grande is a spectacular tribute to us in our time and generation. Over 2,000 RV and park model units with a wonderful golf course and scores of planned activities and crafts.

The entrance above reminds us of some of the security at our military installations but without the millions of flowers and stately palm trees. The picture below is as you pass through the gate in the evening with all the palms lit up.

The landscaping, water features, and the most perfect grass we've seen are everywhere on the property. Keep in mind that just outside the gate it is typical Arizona flat sand and little else.

There are several bronze figures depicting the original owners and farmers of this area which, which with irrigation, is a huge agricultural region. Just beyond the palms below is the central activity building which holds the ballroom, class rooms, Bistro, main pool, etc., etc .... wow.

As we explored the small town of Casa Grande, which is about half way between Phoenix and Tucson we attended a car show which had a large number of antique autos that were beautifully maintained. In the 1903 vehicle below the skeleton has a sign around its neck saying, "Original Owner."

And finally here are Jeanette and Jo-Anne deciding on what to offer for the new RV we are planning to acquire.

Some things have changed quite a bit in the last 50 years of mobile travel ... and some things haven't. A  fun day but a bit chilly in the breeze. So far here it has been unseasonably cool and rainy, but as of this week it is to be more of a sunny 70's cloudless sky more typical of this time of year in Arizona.

Rolling Again!

 

On the 8th we were happily heading westward again and rolled in behind the big grey dog and were on our way to Arizona.

 

 

After about 300 miles from the Weatherford area we landed between Midland and Odessa at the Midessa Oil Patch RV park. This was an old KOA and the lots are very basic without much improvement since the place lost its KOA sponsorship. The hosts were friendly and at $30 and a free case of bottled water, not a bad stop in west Texas.

Oh, by the way, the bus ran perfect without any more of the overheating that had plagued us for so long ... happy RVers!

The next morning we were on the road again at 9am and after a longer 395 miles came to a dusty halt in Deming New Mexico. Beautiful 60ish weather and very little wind made the longer drive quite nice, especially with the starkly beautiful west Texas and New Mexico scenery.

Below is the Little Vineyard RV park we have stayed at before and it is mainly a large gravel parking lot with RV hookups. Again about $30 and a convenient spot to spend the night no matter how big your rig is.

Off on the 10th for the final run across the border to Arizona.

And after another 300 mile day reached our destination of the Palm Creek Golf Club and RV Resort in the small town of Casa Grande halfway between Tucson and Phoenix. We'll post more pics of the park itself which is quite the oasis in the middle of the Arizona desert.

 

We never regarded this place to be located at the end of the rainbow but the Flying Scotsman proves us wrong. These are really large compacted gravel sites where you can build permanent structures to add to your RV living space and amenities.

Time to relax in the coolish rainy weather and take in what our surroundings may offer.

Westward Ho!

(sort of)

 

On the 3rd of January we got Jo-Anne's allergy shot so she was good for the month and then on the 4th we fired up the Flying Scotsman and hit the road for Arizona. Nice 50 degree day and only the desert to slow us down. Not so fast!

 

Ten miles later as we approached Fort Worth the RV heated up rapidly again ... wait a minute, didn't we just pay $1400 to fix that? Oh well ... off to the side of the freeway, call a repair shop (different one this time) and slowly creep down city streets to the place trying to keep the temp below 215 degrees. So that was the extent of the westward trip for that day.

 

We crept into the Freightliner garage on I-820 in Fort Worth and lined up with the other ailing machines. They got to us about 1pm in the queue and started the process of diagnosis, part ordering and hopefully repair.

 

As the Flying Scotsman was tucked into the garage with some of its new friends ... the fire engine, the garbage truck, the ambulance, etc ... we then tried to find a hotel that would take us as well as the cat ... not easy .... but fortunately the Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth was about 10 minutes away on Lake Worth and would take all the homeless. Pack the cat and the clothes into the car and go. Definitely need the wine!

We spent nights of the 4th, 5th, and 6th on the base which was really great as they had a Navy Lodge similar to a mid-range hotel but with a full kitchen and quite pleasant and very pet friendly. Oh yeah, the weather. The first night it hit about 22F and I asked the repair guys to tuck the bus in to an empty bay for the night as it wasn't winterized and it leaks enough without busted pipes.

The next 48 hours it remained below freezing actually hitting 14F and staying there. The picture below is out of our room on base with the new sleet/snow covering the grass at about 14 degrees and the 22 MPH wind ... brrrr.

We checked out of the base hotel on the 7th with the promise that the bus would be done sometime that afternoon ... pack the cat ... pack the clothes. About 4pm the repair guys finished up the repair and we hit the road again after paying another $3100 for a fan clutch ... oh plus the hotel.

The afternoon of the 7th turned out to be quite pleasant at about freezing and so motored about 40 miles to Weatherford which is west of Fort Worth and came to rest at the Oak Creek RV park pictured above. Very nice place with super management.

On the road again!!

Happy New Year 2017

 

And we are off on another year of travel, eat and drink, and blog; as well as planned and unplanned repair and improvement to the Flying Scotsman.

 

As the first couple of days of the new year were a really nice sixty degrees we decided to install some new shades over some windows, replacing ones that had become pretty beat up.

 

The old ones were the cardboard accordion type of shade with the strings that constantly broke and were impossible to clean behind. Below with the view of the lake is one of the shades as it was cut down .... neat! Ah ... dumpster time!

 

Below is the new one that we ordered from Bradd and Hall in Elkhart, as they have done excellent work for us in the past. They arrived and really looked super ... but no mounting instructions; oh well. Note the flex bit on the drill/screwdriver; this project couldn't have been done without it.

These clips below were screwed into the valence and theoretically you just then snapped the shade into them. NOT. They are pretty strong spring clips to withstand the pounding of the RV life so as you blindly push the shade up into them it took all my strength with a hammer and screwdriver to seat them and only once they were exactly positioned. Whew.

Once in and the swearing over, the finished product is really attractive. These are the two layer Automotion shades; one as you see below for the daytime privacy, and then an opaque one for nighttime total blockage. One touch of the hand and they go up or down .... how easy.

This was a really great project that we had talked about doing for several years. The three windows you see here plus the one over the dinette cost about $1400.00 so as time and money permit we will slowly do the remaining windows.

Last Post From 2016

 

This is a culinary wrap-up for 2016 as we hosted Leigh and Brooks and grandson Ev out to the Flying Scotsman for New Year's Eve.

 

The blogger above in our spacious kitchen whipping up breakfast crepes that after many tries have become quite good.

Then below, on New Year's Eve knocking out some sizzling fajitas with the wonderful Lake Grapevine view off the patio.

And Everett manning the bug zapper to keep the wasps from enjoying the meat before us.

 

And after the eating, the party houseboat made a pass by our lot blaring Christmas songs as well as rock numbers all at 5,000 watts with 10,000 lights flashing to the beat.

 

And of course, at the Astoria, a meal without wine, is just breakfast.

 

Maybe a mimosa, eh. 2016 was a great year for travel, food, and blogging, so here is a toast to 2017 and further adventures!