Season winding down.

The end of this season will soon be here. Already some residents are packing up and heading home. The huge exodus will begin about the first week of March. Don’t know why because it is still cold and snowy in most parts. Some say it’s because of taxes, and others say they have “work” to do…Ugh, that awful four letter word! We will truly enjoy April when it is quiet and warm/hot (very few will be left here then).

This last week our temps have fluctuated from the very high 80s (90 on Sat) back down to the high 70s. Actually, it dropped to 71 with a low of 48 on Monday (brr). We have also had some extremely high winds which is fueling a fire in the Tucson area. Really don’t know much about the fire, but the winds are making it very hard to fight. There is a statewide high wind warning through tomorrow morning. Now what AZ considers as high winds (gust range 30-60 mph) is much lower than what we get in Oregon, but what we have here blows all the nasty stuff around….dust, pollen, and even valley fever fungus (not a fun lung disease). It is always a good idea to stay inside (with doors and windows closed) when the wind blows like this.

Since last posting, there have been three dinners and even a geocaching event that we have been to. The caching event was held in the desert about 38 miles south of us. It was hosted by a group of geocachers from Apache Junction (A.J.A.C.S.). This was the fifth year the Apache Junction Area Caching Society has hosted this camping event. It was a weekend (three day) event, but we drove down on Saturday and spent the whole day visiting and having a great time with everyone. Here we all are sitting around during the drawing of raffle tickets.The group hid 25 new caches for everyone to go look for, but since it hit 90 degrees that day, we opted to wait for a cooler day to go in search. Besides, the rattle snakes are out and we didn’t want to tangle with anymore of them. Several cachers did run into snakes and even a Gila Monster (yikes)….

Like I said earlier, our season is winding down, but the rock shop will remain open until mid April, so Ken is staying just as busy as usual. He did find some time to make a necklace, bracelet, and earring set for a lady here in the park. She had an old Amethyst and Turquoise bracelet that she loved, but it was hard to hook up, so she asked Ken to put on a new clasp for her….well that new clasp ended up in being a whole new set. As they were checking out her old bracelet, Ken showed her some crystal Amethyst beads from Swarovsky and she liked them better, so decided she wanted a new bracelet made, plus a necklace and earrings to go with it. Yes, she did keep the old bracelet, but she will be wearing the whole new set instead. They really did turn out nice!! Pretty aren't they!!Ken now has 15 pendants ready for next year’s craft sale and will be adding more crystal type necklaces to his list. He plans on using only the best crystal and Sterling Silver for his jewelry.

Pinto Valley

Since my last post, our daughter and son-in-law, Leigh & Tim celebrated an anniversary. So glad we had a chance to talk and glad to hear you were doing special for your day. Hope you guys had fun! We love and miss you!!

Our Saturday evening was spent in Globe attending a geocaching event. The event was held at a small Mexican restaurant where great food and drinks were served. We especially enjoyed the Margaritas (yum). Globe is an hour east of Queen Valley, so of course, we managed to find 7 caches while on the way there. There was a great turnout and everyone had a great time visiting with each other and exchanging all kinds of cache stories. We are hoping that they will hold more in the future.

Monday was a quiet day after our weekly morning coffee social. Ken worked in the rock shop as usual and probably will be involved there through mid April. He is president of the club and spends a great deal of time involved in rock shop stuff... but he too has had more time to work on his own stuff and hopes to have a lot more jewelry done for next year's craft sale.

On Tuesday the 17th, we led a small group out on a back road trip to show them how we geocache. They had their own GPSes and had previously checked out GC.com, but hadn’t really done anything on it. Our trip took us east towards Globe where we turned south on a dirt and rocky road called Pinto Valley Road. The road was really in a lot better shape than we expected, but the drive still involved many steep ups and downs, plus some hairpin turns all the while climbing towards an 8,000 foot high mountain (Pinal Peak). Along the way, we all managed to find 8 caches and all had a great time. We even found a nice shady spot to have lunch.This is a view from where we had lunch.Our last cache was at a junction where we could either try to reach the mountain top or head back down to the town of Globe. A couple weeks ago, we would never have had the choice because that area was then inches deep in snow. However, when we got there on Tuesday, it was clear (and warm) and no snow in sight, so we decided to travel the next 3 miles up to the top. However, as we made our way up there, we encountered some snow on the sides of the road, then about 1/2 mile from the top we had to stop because the road was covered with snow and we could see where someone had recently slipped off the road.We knew we could make it to the top, but coming down may have been much trickier and we didn't want to take the chance, so we stopped and just played in the snow there. It was a beautiful sunny warm day, but there it was quite cool and refreshing. Coda (the shepherd) loved it!! She played in the snow and even caught scent of a wild animal, but thankfully, she was on a leash and couldn’t run after it.
After our own playing in the snow and taking pictures, we decided it was time to head back down to town (Globe) and then head back to home.

That is Globe in the distance.
It was a great day to be out with friends and enjoy some country we hadn’t had the chance to explore before.

Rattle Snake

Oh boy, this is going to be the season of lots of snakes....

There was a 41 inch Rattle Snake killed in the storage area of our park a couple days ago and just today, three more were spotted by a group of ATVers from our park.

We also saw another Diamond Back (coon tail) Rattle Snake today. This guy wasn't very big, but he was extremely irate.


When we first saw him, he was stretched out on the gravel road enjoying the nice warm sun. When he sensed us, he started to crawl off, but we got to him before he got to the edge of the road. Ken stopped the Jeep, and quickly grabbed the hiking stick while I grabbed my cell phone (I forgot the good camera). Ken got near him and used the hiking stick to pitch (toss) the little guy back into the middle of the road. As soon as he landed, he coiled and shook his rattles warning us not to get too close. He was ready to strike if we were stupid enough to get close (we weren't).

I took several pictures, and then got back in Jeep so we could get closer to him. He sure was not a happy camper!! The pictures above are from the Jeep because we just couldn't get a good shot of him any other way. No, we did not kill him, we left him on the road and alive....

The road we were on is just north of Apache Junction in an area called Bull Dog Canyon. It is a locked area and controlled by the Mesa Forest Service. Hikers can go in without a pass, but motorized vehicles have to have a pass (free) and must stay on well marked (primative) roads. We had the permits (and combo) to get in through the locked gate, and had a great time traveling the sometimes very rough road. The drive is only 7 miles long, but can take a long time depending on how good your clearance is. We had no problems, but the road did get pretty steep and rocky in places. We stopped along the way many times and found eleven caches. At one knoll (hill top) Ken quit searching for a cache because there was a nest of bees and he didn’t want to tangle with them.


Again, these pictures were taken with a cell phone, so the quality is not that good, but you get an idea of what the area looks like.

Today was supposed to be 74 degrees, and I think it got pretty close to that, but the breeze was still cool. In the canyon, it was warmer because there wasn't much of a breeze.

Box Canyon

Friday was Ken's 66th birthday, and to celebrate, we went on another Jeep ride. This time we traveled with "The Rough Riders" through an area called Box Canyon. Of course, we had to drive through some pretty scenery and rocky roads before getting there, but it was all worth it. After we finished the ride through the canyon, I took Ken out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Florence about 19 miles south of where we park the coach. Their food is always a treat after a long, dusty, day of Jeeping. It was a fun and satisfying day for both of us!

Here are some of the pictures I took along the way. As always, you can go to "Our Web Album" on this page to see all of the pictures I have uploaded from other trips and outings.

This is near the beginning of the drive.

We are going down there!
There was lots of scenery and "Arizona Wildlife" to see along the way.





This is the group starting into the canyon.







The worst of the drive really was through the narrow canyon, but with Jeeps, no one had a problem. We all got through without any scrapes or hang ups which made it a successful trip! After everyone was through, Ken and I branched off and did a cache before heading for L&Bs (the mexican restaurant). Never can pass up a close cache (grin).

Like I said, it was a nice day and Ken survived his 66th year! Happy all this next year babe, I love you!!

Rock Shop Event

Like I said in the last posting, Thursday night was our annual Rock Shop "Chili Dinner" and Stage Play.

The club started preparing the chili about 9:30 in the morning and let it slowly cook all day. The chili recipe has been handed down for many years and is always a major hit and huge "funding" source for the rock shop. I, of course, always add extra hot sauce and Jalapinos to my chili, but others said it was "warm" enough for them. The evening was a "sell out" and all had a great time, plus lots to eat.
For dessert "many cakes" were provided. This is just a small portion waiting to be cut up and served.
The play is written by one of our own park residents, and the actors are all from the park. The hit of the play were three "gentlemen" who performed the song "Ally Oop." What a hoot seeing three grown men dressed up in cave men attire!!
This is the cast and crew who all worked together for a great (and funny) performance.

The raffle for 83 items was held after the play. The club raised over $600 from the raffle of these donated items.
Here are two of the bolos that Ken made and donated.
Another item donated was a beautiful hand made quilt by "Linda" a member of the park's quilting club. The club raffled it off separately and raised $452 on it. This is Linda (still in costume) standing on stage with Ken just before she drew out the lucky number.
Unbelievable, but we (Ken & I) were the lucky ones to win the quilt. After finally realizing we were the winners, they had me come up on stage and they wrapped the quilt around both Ken and I as Linda explained how much love and happiness was placed in it with each stitch.
I was totally blown away with the win and will cherish it for a long time!!

Now, I can't wait until next year to see what happens then.

Coach Bay Door

It's Tuesday evening and still 75 degrees. It never did hit 90 yesterday, but did get to 86. Today was only 83 with a low of 62. During the next few days, it is expected to cool down to the mid 70s.

The other day Ken discovered the lower latch on one of the pass through bays wouldn't open all the way. Seems he could get the upper latch to release and it would pull out about 2 inches, but the lower latch would not budge. Thankfully it is a pass through, so he crawled inside from the driver's side and had to remove the loop from the bay floor so he could release the piece holding it. The portion that flips over and holds tight to the loop of the bay was broken, but we can now open and close the door. Yes, it is driveable that way and lockable. The bottom latch was just to keep the bay door from pushing out away from the bay, but the main latch is holding tight.

On Thursday we have a Rock Shop Chili Feed and Play taking place. Everyone in the rock shop is expected to donate finished items for the raffle during that evening. So far, Ken has donated two beautiful pendants with ear rings, 2 bolos, and 2 belt buckles. All of the pieces are made out of Mahogany Obsidian and are gorgeous. No, I didn't take pictures, but will try and remember the camera the night of the event.