Rain Aftermath

The storm that came through last Sunday (and part of Monday) dropped several inches of water (some snow) all over the state, but it’s now sunny with lots of wind (of course) and some clouds. Today was only 59, but the wind made it feel much cooler. The next few days we are supposed to be up in the 60s where it should stay for a while. There might be a little shower/sprinkle during the Super Bowl on Sunday, but that shouldn’t hamper either the football game OR the FBR Open Golf Tournament that is going on in Phoenix this weekend. After this week, things should be just getting sunnier and warmer (we can only hope).

Once again the washes ran full of water and in some cases flooded many roads and fields. We didn’t have much of a problem here, but the back entrance to Queen Valley was closed for a while because the creek flooded the back road.

The pictures below are of the creek/wash two days after the storm. The water is way down from where it was Sunday night and Monday!



The water flows very swiftly here and after we took the picture, we were able to drive through it. However, on Monday, this was a raging river and totally impassable.

Ken is back making more and more pretty stone pendants in the rock shop, and we wanted to make them showier, so I signed up for a “wire wrapping” class (LOL). I’m not artistic, but hope to bend gold and silver wire around the stones to better show them off. We will see….it should be very interesting!

Here it is almost February and we haven’t done much but watch the weather. Yeah, there were several days of sun, but the winds prevented us to really sit outside and enjoy it. February should be much different. We have a lot of things planned! The park has scheduled more entertainment along with some tag-a-longs and various other social activities. On Friday, Feb 8, we are tagging along on a day trip to eastern Arizona (Morenci) to tour the workings of a huge Copper mine, and of course, we will incorporate a little geocaching during that trip.

There are several geocaching events coming up where we plan on showcasing our personal “Snobird & Mountain Goat” geocoin.


We made these coins last last year and have sold and traded many of them. The face of the coin is a “toon” of us caching, and the back is a 3D picture of our Grand Cherokee. We have had a lot of fun trading our coins for other geocacher’s personal geocoins. So far, Ken has quite a collection.

Hope to have more to talk about after the first of February.

Just another day!

Not much going on today because it is once again raining. This rain is from a storm that just came in from the south west and is covering most of our state. We are under a severe winter storm warning which should end sometime Monday. There are flash flood warnings everywhere with the worst hitting more north of us. So far, the Cave Creek area (north of Scottsdale) is supposed to have had almost two inches of rain. Queen Valley hasn’t had that much rain, but the clouds are very dark and threatening.

Ken took this rainy day opportunity and is spending it in the rock shop getting some stuff done. I on the other hand am just enjoying the day by reading a good book and posting this news update. What else is there to do on a rainy day (LOL).

We have been busy the last couple of weeks, but really haven’t accomplished much. We did go out geocaching a couple times, but still haven’t done any back road stuff because we are still having problems with the power steering pump on the jeep. Ken finally took it to a Jeep service center in Superior and found out it will cost $800 to replace the whole unit along with belts, etc...(yikes). He said no thanks and has ordered just the pump from a national auto parts store and will put it in himself (much cheaper). Problem is, will it work or won’t it?? We will find out.

Several days ago, we activated another cache that we hid in the area. It is called Ruddy 3 after a military jet plane that crashed near here in 1960. The cache requires a very long hike to a hilltop that provides great views and is also a place where cachers can still find some very small pieces of the jet that crashed. Yes, the pilot got out safely! Ken took some pictures from the hilltop and I am posting a couple of them.

This first picture is east of the hill (and town). As you can see, there is a lot of mountainous area around here.


Here is our little town nestled among the hills. The closest area in the picture is our RV Park.






This last shot is of a small community on the west side of our hills. As you look higher in the picture, the next small town is Gold Canyon, and near the top of the picture at the base of the larger hills is Apache Junction (18 plus miles from us).


Friday night (the 25th) we attended a performance by The Dutton’s at the Apache Junction Performing Arts Center. The Dutton’s are a large family group who perform in their own theater in Branson during the summer months. They recently purchased property near Phoenix and plan on spending the winter months here performing and just enjoying the sun (when we have some that is). Some of you may recognize their name because they were one of the top ten finalists on the TV show called “America’s Got Talent.” Boy do they have talent! The family consists of the parents and 7 adult children (and spouses) all the way down to children as young as 5. The judges on America's Got Talent told them to lose 1/2 of their goup and they would go far... Well we saw the whole troup perform, and they are great just as they are!! We sat front row center and had a marvelous time.

In the next couple weeks, we will be doing more geocaching, attending more functions, and in general just having fun. We love Arizona even in the rain...

"COLD" in Arizona!

Hard to believe, but when we got up at 7 this morning, it was 29 degrees outside and there was ice on the Jeep's windshield. The ice didn't last long and now it is up to 50 degrees heading for a high in the mid 60s.

See the ice!




On the 15th we had to go to Superior (a town east of us) and make an appointment to have Jeep worked on, so while in the area we found two caches. Those two finds finally got us to the 4,000 mark for finds.....something we should have had way back last year when we were in Salem. Oh well, taking care of our friend was more important than caching.

Wednesday, we had the day free, so slept late then went into the Mesa area and found 20 more caches and had dinner. Now that we don't have our friend's house to work on, we have the time to get out more. We haven't been on any back roads yet because of the Jeep's problematic power steering fluid line, but once we get the leaky thing fixed we plan on hitting more back country. Right now, Sunday, Monday and Thursday are our only busy days.

Last night, we attended a dinner and show here at the park, and after dinner we were entertained by a trio playing double sets of Steel Drums, or Pans as said in Trinidad. They were fantastic and even took the time to explain the history of the drums and how they were made and tuned. Such a simple instrument, but so very hard to make and tune. Each person had two drums because only 15 tones can be tuned on each drum. The drum is a standard 55 gallon barrel end (cut down) and pounded into a bowl shape. Once the bowl shape is formed, each tone is pounded out in a small portion of the bowl and as the steel thins the tone is formed. Once they do one tone, another tone is formed in another part of the bowl. This is done for each of the 15 tones. Once they get close to the tone they want, they then have to fine tune each tone. These tones can last up to five years, but they like to have the drums re-tuned every year to keep them in tip top shape. So much more information was given, but it is way toooo long to relate here.

Today, we are lazing around and catching up on needed things to be done around here. More later.

Sun, Sun, and Sun!

Things are going well and we are getting back into the swing of RV Park life. Ken is spending two days a week (Mon & Thurs) in the rock shop and enjoying every moment of it.


I, on the other hand, am just enjoying being back in Arizona and doing as little as possible. However, I have started an exercise regime which will help me out on those long hikes in the desert and up those awful hills when/if we ever get the chance to go out caching again. I have noted many caches in the Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert areas, but still have to work out a time that we can head out that way to hunt them.

In the meantime, we are just enjoying the sun and mid 60 days (cold 40s nights). Yep, the rain is gone and there is nothing but sun, sun, and more sun.....oh yeah, a little wind too (what else is new).

Should anyone wish to write us, our site number has changed, so here is the new address:
50 W Oro Viejo Dr #167
Queen Valley, AZ 85218

Our phone number at the coach is 520-463-0198. Remember, while in the rv park, we have NO cell phone service, so PLEASE use the coach land line because we have no idea how long it could be before getting out of the area and checking cell messages.

More later and hopefully soon, I will post more pics from around the area.

Wind, Rain, and Sun

After our arrival in QV on Wednesday the 2nd, we heard reports of several storms heading for California that would bring lots of wind, rain and even snow our way. That rain didn’t come until late Saturday the 5th. When the rain arrived, it poured hard and didn’t quit until sometime late Monday night. The washes were running full and some roads were flooding and even closed. Flagstaff got lots of snow which revitalized their ski season. They are now hopeful about the chance to keep their ski season open until late April. If they don’t get a sudden warm up and have the snow melt, they should be able to stay open for quite a while.

Saturday the 5th started out cloudy and windy. It was cold enough to have our heater running and neither of us really wanted to go out and do anything. So I spent the entire day sorting through tons of pictures on an external hard drive and getting most of them labeled. The pictures I have on the drive go back to 1999. What a job, and I'm still not done!! I am using a program called Picasa to sort, organize, and label all of my pictures. I can ‘batch re-name’ them which really saves time. The program is also great for doing simple edits on pictures, like crop, straighten, brighten or sharpen the contrast.. I have cleaned up and fixed many, but still have lots more to do.

Sunday, after listening to wind and rain all night, we woke to find our phone dead (land line). Because there is no cell phone service in the park, we drove out to the highway so I could report the problem and was told that they would dispatch service right away and have it fixed by 7 that evening. We were going to go to church, but thought we should be at the coach in case Qwest needed to talk to us, so we came straight back to the coach and waited. At 1 pm the phone repairman called and said he had the problem fixed. As it turns out the line was being affected by all of the heavy rain, and we weren't the only ones in the park having problems. Because it was so nasty outside, we stayed in and played lazy for the rest of the day.

Monday was another day of rain, rain, and more rain. At 9 am we braved the weather and went to the park’s weekly coffee social. The park is full and so was the activity hall! Couldn't believe how many folks were willing to brave the rain and come up for coffee and a donut. While there, we get reports on weekly activities and up-coming events and tours. Plus it is a great time to visit with old (and meet new) friends. It rained all day long and didn’t quit until sometime late in the evening. Ken spent the rest of the day in the rock shop and I was mostly on-line.

Yea, Tuesday the sun was shining and the skies were clear. Ken went for a long hike checking one of the hills behind the park for a place to hide a cache. He is excited about the history of an old plane crash that happened back there and wants to hide a cache in the vicinity. Anyhow he was gone most of the day which gave me a chance to go through the back closet and some of my bedroom shelves. It is amazing the amount of “stuff” a person can accumulate in such a small area. I was able to toss a bunch of junk and get other “stuff” put where it really belongs. Oh yeah, it got up to 65 today!

Today was another beautiful day. We took a drive out on the back road and the dips were still full of water, but dispersing fast. Also did a mile hike checking on one of our very elusive caches (named Marky 34) in the area because the latest cacher to look for it couldn’t find it. We could have driven the Jeep in to it, but we just got it washed and we didn’t want to muddy it up. The walk was good for us and we quickly found the cache and saw that it was just where it is supposed to be and in great shape.

We are well and happy and hope every one else is the same!

Arizona for the Winter

Once again, we are back in sunny Arizona--well, it's sunny now, but there is supposed to be a storm coming through this weekend, and the temps will drop down in the 50s with rain, wind, and more rain. That is still better than the “freezing” temps we had in Salem.

Monday the 31st, we got up early in hopes of leaving Salem before the traffic got bad. At 6 am, Ken made a run to Safeway for some dry ice and found out the morning fog was freezing, and the streets were a sheet of ice. After considerable thought, we decided to wait in hopes things would thaw……well they didn’t, so ended up leaving on icy streets at 8:30. The fog and 28 degree temperature stayed with us all the way to Eugene. It was incredible to watch our radio antennae become a blob of ice as the fog froze to it. We watched the ice build and break off several times during that ride to Eugene.

Once in Eugene, we stopped for breakfast and I got on the Internet, via my cell phone, (how great is that??) and viewed the road cams on the Siskiyous and Willamette Pass to see which way we could/would travel. The Siskiyous looked good but we really didn’t want to go that way. Willamette Pass was packed snow and required chains from mile post 52 to 70. However, vehicles under 10,000 lbs, not towing, and with traction tires could go through without the chains. Since the worst area was only 18 miles and was only packed snow, not ice, we decided to head over highway 58 and through Willamette Pass. Thankfully, just south of Eugene the fog disappeared and we had sunny skies from there on.

Willamette Pass was a lot easier than we thought it was going to be. The snow was packed hard and covered with gravel which made great traction. The only trucks we saw were parked, either chaining up or unchaining, after they crossed the summit. Because of the hazardous weather warning, not many people were traveling that way, so we had most of the road to ourselves. At the summit, the temperature dropped to 18 degrees, but it still was sunny and clear. I took a couple pictures after we crossed the summit. These are taken through the Jeep windshield and not the greatest shots, but you can see how pretty things were.

Look, peaceful solitude...






This truck is unchaining after crossing the summit.


The rest of the day was uneventful. We drove through Chemult to Klamath Falls where it was 21 degrees. The lake was a sheet of ice, but the road was clear with lots of snow in the fields. We had snow all the way to Susanville, but roads remained clear. We arrived Susanville at 5 pm and stayed the night. It was New Year’s Eve, but we were way too tired to stay up and watch it come in. Plus, it was way too cold to go out anywhere (18 degrees outside).

Tuesday, January 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We were up really early and on the road at 6 am. Temperature was 20 degrees, but the further east we went, it bounced between 12 and 18...brrrrrrr. We drove on through Reno (20 degrees) and east to Fernly where we fueled up at $3.01 a gallon. As we traveled further south, snow was less and less, and finally gone a little south of Goldfield around Scotty’s Junction (Death Valley area). By this time, the temperature was in the 40s. Again, we took the side trip through Pahrump (west of Las Vegas) and this time stayed the night in a really nice motel. At 5 pm, It was 45 degrees...it was so nice we actually went out to dinner and enjoyed the evening (we didn't even need our coat).

The hotel where we stayed in Pahrump had a great buffet breakfast for its guests. There were scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, bisquits & gravy, along with fruit, toast, cereal, and a variety of drinks. We ate at 6 am and were heading out of town by 6:30. The day before, we did some geocaching from Beatty to Pahrump (found 11). Today, we started caching just outside of town and all through west Vegas on the old Las Vegas Boulevard to Jean on I-15. Even picked up a couple more caches near Searchlight. Even with picking up 32 caches, we still made it to Searchlight (north of Laughlin) before Noon. We fueled up there at $3.09 a gallon.

We quit caching at Searchlight because we still had a long way to drive to reach Queen Valley and wanted to get there before dark (didn't happen). Just south of Wickenburg, we cut across to I-17 then went off on the 101 east. We made great time until getting caught in 5 O’Clock traffic in the Scottsdale area. It took us an hour and 20 minutes to get from the Cave Creek exit (Cave Creek Rd) on 101 to exiting on the 202 near Tempe. After exiting on the 202, the traffic was much better, but still heavy. As we neared the end of the freeway at Power Road in Mesa, the going was much faster. Before going on to Queen Valley, we stopped for a bite to eat in Apache Junction, then fueled up at $2.97 a gallon. Also, we stopped for groceries in Gold Canyon and finally got to the coach at 7:30 pm.

It didn’t take long to get coach aired up to move the slides out, but unloading the car took a while (we were very loaded). In fact, we didn’t finish unloading until the next morning (Thursday).

Today, Friday the 4th, after running some morning errands in town, we are totally settled in and ready to get back in the swing of QV living. It is sooooo nice to be baaaaaacccccckkkkk!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!