HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIA!!

We want to wish our granddaughter Mia a very happy fourth birthday today.  We love you and hope you have a great birthday, and hope you have a good time at your party on Saturday. 

I WAS TOLD THERE WOULD BE NO SNOW!!!!

Saturday John went down to the Vulture Mine near Wickenburg  for a photography workshop.   Sunday the workshop continued here in Prescott.  You can read about it here.  It was a really great workshop and Rich is a good instructor.  Rich has been undergoing some medical problems, but like any good instructor didn't let it get in the way.  His posts on Sat. and Sun. will give you a little taste of what we worked on.

We have been in Prescott for a week and have really enjoyed it.  Except.... it's too cold.  Even though we are only 70 miles north of Phoenix, we are also 2000 feet higher and the temps are between 20 and 30 degrees cooler.  Which also means when it rains in Phoenix it snows here. 

This morning we awoke to more snow and blowing wind.  It's the kind of day you just want to spend inside.  You know, the kind of days we are used to back in Michigan.

We were planning on driving north to Jerome and also going on a scenic train ride, but it's just too darn cold.  So we are heading back south in the morning.

We are going to go back to Lake Pleasant Regional Park near Phoenix for a few days before heading west.  We will probably stop in route at Quartzsite for a day and then spend several days in the Borego Springs area. 

We really like Prescott and the people here, and can't wait to come back....when it warms up!!

The last couple of weeks have been stressful for us.  We love this RVing life style but you sometimes feel disconnected from friends and family.  Two weeks ago we got a call from some close friends back in Michigan.  The wife had undergone surgery for cancer last year.  Well, it looked like it was back and more surgery was necessary.  Then last week our son called with news that his expectant wife was in the hospital with serious complications related to her pregnancy.  Once again we have been reminded, that life is so fragile and so precious.  Good health is a gift and something we need to be thankful for every day.

The good news is that after our friend had surgery, it appears that it wasn't cancer after all, and our daughter in law may be home from the hospital this weekend, although they are going to induce labor a month early.   We want to be there to welcome our 5th grandchild into this world so we will be back in Michigan towards the end of April.

Until later.

MOLLIE GETS A HAIRCUT AND WE GET PAIN AU CHOCOLAT

We made the 75 mile trip north yesterday with only minor problems.  Soon after we got on I-17 the refrigerator started beeping.  Judy got up to check it and it said low dc.  We were not in an area where it was easy to pull off, so she turned the refrigerator off.  After getting checked in at our new campground, it was time for John to play refrigerator repair man.  After checking all the obvious things and plugging to AC, it still insisted on beeping and giving us a low DC warning.   The manual was of course no help beyond saying to check the voltage and call for a repair man.  It was time to head outside and check connections.  At first glance everything looked ok.  Then I remembered that we had taken the coach in for a recall notice on the refrigerator and that they had added a new part.  Checking further I noticed the new part, which is a thermal overload safety switch.

You can see this part in the picture.  The small red round part between the wires is the thermal breaker.  I pushed on it and heard a click.  I put things back together and came back in and turned on the refrigerator and all was well.  I won't bore you with my theory on why this happened but I did save on a service call.

After getting our little camp set up, bird feeders out, and our new chairs from Cabela's set up, we turned to the challenge of finding a place to get Mollie groomed.  The internet sure is wonderful.  A five minute search turned up 3 places.  The first one we called could take her this morning, and we had a $5 off coupon as well. 

After dropping Mollie off, who wasn't happy being left, we headed downtown to have breakfast and do a little grocery shopping.  I also wanted to stop by and meet the photographer that I am doing a workshop with this weekend .  When I was doing a goggle map search for his gallery I noticed a bakery cafe next door to him.

We walked into the Pangaea bakery and the smell of fresh bread and coffee greeted us.

We shared an omelet and a Pain au Chocolat.

And no it wasn't a pain to eat it.  We fell in love with these during our boat trip in southern France last year.  While we were sitting there we could see the owner putting baguette dough into the oven. So naturally we enjoyed a very leisurely breakfast, and when we left it was with a fresh baguette right out of the oven.  And to Bob and Linda,  it really was as good as in France!!!

We picked up Mollie and headed back to the RV for an afternoon snack.  Fresh french bread with goat cheese and fig jam.  Life is good.

Until later.

CREATION GREAT AND SMALL

We have been enjoying our stay at the Road Runner Campground in the Lake Pleasant regional park just northwest of Phoenix.

Tomorrow we move on to Prescott just a couple hours north.

The hummingbirds have been fun to watch.

We sometimes have three fighting for the two feeding spots.
Last night we had a beautiful sunset.

I sometimes just have to sit and stare.  I can't explain it but I know His Hand is in both the little hummingbird and the grand landscape.

Until later

TRUST BUT VERIFY

Yesterday we made the 190 mile trip from Puerto Penasco, Mexico to Lake Pleasant Regional Park on the northwest side of Phoenix. 

After carefully maneuvering out of the crowded park we followed Bob and Linda north to the border crossing at Lukeville, AZ.  In spite of a long line we were through there in 10 minutes. 

Since Bob and Linda were going to stop in Organ Pipe National Monument for a few days we pulled over to say our goodbyes.  We enjoyed our time in Mexico with them and are grateful that they took a couple of novices under their wings for our first trip to Mexico. We are going to miss their company and wish them safe travels as they start a slow trip north to Alaska.  You can keep up with their travels at Linda's blog. 

We originally were going to stop in Gila Bend for the night because we needed to pick up our mail.  But we got there early, picked up our mail and decided to move on.

We got another lesson in why not to blindly trust your GPS.  As the saying goes,"trust but verify".  Our GPS routed us 20 miles out of our way and we ended up on a dirt road with no way to back up.  So we unhooked the Explorer, turned the RV around and headed off in the right direction.  A quick check of local maps showed that there are two roads with the same name.  Oh well.....

We found a site and were soon settled in even though we couldn't get the coach level.  We try to be careful using the leveling jacks because a few years ago we cracked the windshield trying to get level.  We settled for tolerable.

This morning we went on a scouting trip and found a much better site.  Since we are going to be here until next Tuesday we decided to change sites.  We went through our normal departure routine, but I got in a hurry.  While the TV Satellite dish was lowering, I unhooked the power.  There was a brief power interruption before the inverter kicked in.  It was off long enough to screw up the dish.  A trip to the top of the motor home and checking connections proved useless.  I came down and called Motosat to see if they could help, since we couldn't move with the dish partway up.  After a 5 minute wait on hold a young man was able to help me get the dish down.  It turns out that I corrupted the memory by unplugging the power.  He walked me through reprogramming the controller and 10 minutes later we had the dish down.

I stopped by the dump station while Judy went on ahead to make sure someone else didn't take our new favorite spot.  The sites here are all "first come, first served".  This new site is very level and has great views of the valley and distant mountains, complete with Saguaro cactus.

We settled in and set up the bird feeders and soon had 2 hummingbirds at the feeder.  This afternoon Mollie took us for a walk and we met some nice people who had a little dog that Mollie liked.  They invited us to sit for a while and we had a nice visit. They are from Montana and had just purchased a new to them 5th wheel. Nice folks.

We enjoyed a glass of wine watching the sun slip behind the mountains and then cooked dinner on the grill.  All in all a nice day.

Until Later.

mañana

Please don't say mañana if you don't mean it
I have heard those words for so very long
Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong

Yes I guess there is a bit of a Parrot Head in Judy and Me.   

Well, mañana is almost here and our time here in Mexico is coming to an end.  We have enjoyed our first stay here.  We have not encountered any problems during our month long visit and look forward to coming back. Yesterday we went to the market and picked up fresh scallops and still warm tortillas to put in the freezer.

This morning a crew showed up to wash and wax the rv, polish the wheels, and wash and wax the explorer.

Then we went out to our favorite restaurant La Casa Del Capitan which sits on top of Whale Hill for a farewell meal with Bob, Linda, Earl, and Lynda.

Here are a few snapshots of our last week here.

Oh, one word of wisdom if you find yourself headed this way.  The fermented, distilled juice of the Blue Agave Plant packs a wallop, so be careful.   

P.S.  If you aren't tired of seeing pictures of us and Mexico check out Linda's blog as well

CHOLLA BAY

Yesterday we went with Earl, Lynda, Linda and Bob out to JJ's Cantina at Cholla Bay.  Cholla Bay is an old fishing town which also is home to Americans looking for a cheap place to live.

JJ's is an institution in these parts.  An old tavern with inside and outside seating right on the bay.  This is very much a self serve type place.  Since it was such a beautiful day we opted to sit outside.

After an opening round of margaritas we all ordered fish and chips.

Doesn't sound very Mexican but it was local fish.  We all agreed that the fish was excellent.  The girls decided it would be fun to feed a gull who was keeping an eye on us.

Of course when you feed one gull you soon have lots of gulls.  Later we wandered down to the shore to watch the unique way they pull out their fishing boats.  When you don't have a pier, you make do with what you do have.

They would drive this contraption out into the water pull the boat trailer, hook up the boat and drive back to shore.

We noticed a flock of pelicans who were keeping guard on the breakwater.  Soon one of the fisherman showed up to clean their morning catch.

He would quickly fillet the fish and flip the remains to the pelicans who would fight over it.  We suspect that these fresh fillets found their way into today's fish and chips baskets.

One of the things you come to appreciate is the simplicity of these people's lives.  I know it's not easy and most of them are probably living just day by day, but it does make one stop and think.  As I listen to CNN and FOX  today going on and on about politics and weather, I do envy this simple life style.  Could I trade places with these simple fisherman? Probably not, but it is a lesson in being thankful for all that I have.

6 MORE WEEKS OF WINTER

Well according to Punxsutawney Phil we're in for 6 more weeks of winter.  Not that it matters much here.  But for our friends back in Michigan here's a suggestion.  Build a fire, snuggle up and watch a good movie.  Here's a recommendation.

As for us.  Well we are going with friends for a sunset dinner.

Until later.