Thursday, February 19,2015

Someone in the Sundance 1 RV Park's photography club told me that the town of Florence, AZ, had a picturesque downtown that was worth a visit. It was only a 30-mile drive and it was a nice day, so we loaded up Sam and headed out. It was a really small town and I have no idea where the people were, but there were a few nice picture opportunities. The State Historic Park/Museum/Visitor Center had some interesting history.

I regret passing on this delicacy!

Just to prove that it was real, they listed the scorpion in the ingredients.

The walls were about 16 inches thick.

Evidence of the buildings past life.

Florence is the county seat of Pinal County, AZ.

I love old Coca-Cola ads. This one looked like it was painted yesterday.

Florence was a nice destination for a short drive from Casa Grande that was a welcome diversion from all of the recent maintenance work on the coach - life is tough when you're hiding from the cold winter weather!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

There was a get together at the pool for "Fat Tuesday" where I met Ray, the founder of the Photography Club. He invited me to join the group for an outing to Sabino Canyon. I believe there were 8 of us in all. I opted for the hike up Bear Canyon to Seven Falls with Darrell and Laura (I apologize for any misspelled names).

Just after starting out we came across the sign below. I have seen a lot of wildlife in the past two years on the road, but no Mountain Lions. I am just fine with saying I have still never seen a Mountain Lion. Oddly enough, there were no notices of bear sightings in Bear Canyon.

The tram was not running until later, so we walked from the Visitor's Center to the trailhead - a nice little 1.5-mile warm-up.

Desert hiking is not like anything that can be experienced in the East. There is a beauty here that is unique to the Southwest. It was a nearly perfect day for hiking and the trail was well used (especially considering it was a Wednesday). I felt a little bad for all of those stuck in the cold and snow while I found myself a touch sunburned after the hike!

The Photo Club assignment was "Tall." Their challenge was to find a composition that evoked a sense of tall. I believe that anyone viewing the picture below would immediately think "look how tall those Saguaro are!"

Doesn't the Saguaro below look like it is trying to get me to go left? I didn't fall for it and stayed on the trail.

The Staghorn cactus looked like it could have been the inspiration for barbed wire.

The trail crossed the creek at least a half dozen times and as you could probably guess, I put my foot in the water a couple of times.

The falls made the hike worthwhile. I didn't actually count seven falls, but I am sure they were all there. After two and a half miles of pretty strenuous hiking, it felt good to pull off shoes and socks and soak our feet in the cold water.

On the return hike, I saw this Saguaro long past its prime and it made me think of Kokopelli.

I guess I was a bit dehydrated from the hike. Later that evening, I had a little bit of cramping in my legs (I was probably just a little out of shape to just jump right into 6.5 miles of desert hiking). Plenty of water, a few Advil and a good night's sleep and I was ready for another hike - maybe the next one could be a bit less strenuous.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Mac the Fire Guy does fire safety seminars at a lot of rallies and we highly recommend you attend if you ever have the chance. This was the fourth time I sat in and I have learned something new every time.

Of course, we were not at a rally, but our park (Sundance 1 RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ) invited Mac to give his presentation to its residents.

Mac tricked Linda by giving her an old, non-functioning extinguisher. Of course, she couldn't put out the fire so "neighbor" Joani was called in quickly.

Linda's first mistake was standing WAY too close to the fire.  And then a non-functioning extinguisher was her second mistake.

The BC extinguisher made a mess and drove the crowd back, but she put the fire out!

Mac demonstrated the new technology foam extinguisher (manufactured in Fayetteville, GA) and it was clear why it was the proper choice for fire protection. We learned this many years ago in another of Mac's seminars so we have three in our coach and one in the car. This time I learned I should also have one in the propane bay - since it is never locked it is always available in an emergency.

Mac uses diesel fuel mixed with gasoline in his demonstrations. You can really feel the heat when he gets a big conflagration going! Thanks again to Mac for sharing and educating.

New information gleaned from our fourth seminar: feel free to spray yourself with the foam to minimize burns while trying to escape a fire.

Friday, February 13, 2015

I took Sam on a long walk and returned to another project. Joani had pulled the arms off of the couch so their height could be reduced like we had previously done on the J-couch (one of our favorite improvements).

When David returned, it looked like someone had ransacked our little abode!

This is what it looks like when we are in the throes of a project.

Since we had already worked through exactly how to make the modifications, the job went pretty quickly. I managed the framework, while Joani had the tricky job of cutting the material and stapling everything back together.  Sam hates to see me pull the compressor out of the basement and really hates to hear the staple gun, so he and I took another long walk while Joani finished the job.

 By lowering the arms on the couch, we gained 9 inches (from 63" up to 72").

The arms fit so tightly, we decided to not bolt them back in place. They can now be easily removed to clean up spilled messes.

We both can now fully stretch out on the couch.

Tuesday, February, 10 2015

Another package came in the mail - this one was a new water pump and connecting hoses. I realized projects were piling up and thought a picture was in order. You can also see the new diode for the brake lights on the Honda (when it is being towed), a new water filter, a heavy-duty magnetic catch for the screen door and some clips to mount rope lights under the coach.

Some of the other chores around the coach have included finding a loose power connection in the radio, sealing a leak in the living room window, fixing the Fantastic fans (all three had issues), and fixing the awning latch. Of course, there are the normal things like airing up the tires, adding water to the batteries and checking engine oil and radiator levels. Joani also found a Blood Drive in town so I could donate a pint. It feels like we are staying busy even if we are not hiking or seeing new things. I think that is the norm during the winter hibernation season.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Casa Grande, AZ, has a small street fair and auto show on the first Tuesday of each month. Last year we were here for the first Tuesday of the year when it was a much bigger deal. While there were fewer cars, they were still pretty nice. Sometimes the level of detailing was astounding - note the chrome plated hinges on the hood of this old Plymouth. 

Down one of the side alleys, there were more artists including this guy plugging away on his guitar singing some classic oldies.

We had never seen anything quite like this young ladies work. I suspect people wondered when she was little just what she would do with her childhood fascinations of both ballet and dinosaurs. 

Very unique paintings by Leah Kiser

Of course, this '57 Ford Fairlane was one of my favorites. My first car was a '57 Fairlane - although it never looked this good on its best day.

Monday, February 2, 2015

We spent nearly a week working on little things around the coach while at Sundance 1 RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ. I had generated quite a long to-do list. We also made a trip to Phoenix for shopping during the 48 solid hours of rain. I am absolutely not complaining about the rain - it makes us appreciate how lucky we have been with the weather over the past two years. We are looking forward to a desert full of blooming wildflowers in the next month.

 Sundance 1 had a remote control car track.

 The car owner was letting newbies have fun with his $360 toy. I think he started to doubt the wisdom of his generosity.

 Future NASCAR fan.

 Mike and Cindy trained Jake to announce the arrival of neighborhood dogs so Mike could bring them a treat. Sam looked forward to his visits every day.

 This retention pond was fleeting evidence of the previous day's rain. It returned to a dry dirt bed within a couple days.

 My research says this is a Peruvian Apple Cactus bearing fruit. It is the size of a small Nerf football.

So many Canadians flee the cold winter months and stay in Arizona. The Canadian flag is a common (and welcome) sight.

OK, so this was with a discount at Fry's (aka, Kroger in this part of the country) but I could have gotten the same gas for 7 cents less per gallon a few days earlier. It sure was nice to fill the tank for less than $12! 

Sundance 1 RV Resort had a lot of organized activities throughout the week. The "Jam Sessions" drew quite a crowd on Monday nights. There was a lot of musical talent among residence which was evident by the well-attended jam sessions.

I opted for a little ping pong. It had been at least five years since I had a paddle in my hand and I was the least experienced player at the tables but it was a lot of fun. I worked up a sweat and moved and stretched more than I thought possible. Looking forward to some aching muscles in the morning.