A desert first...

 

Yesterday.  Out on the patio.  Murphy and I were out there and I saw him bat at something... I went over to check.  Yep, a scorpion.  No, I didn't get a photo.  But, I did dispatch the critter.  Murph is not worldly enough to know what he shouldn't poke at.

Speaking of that, I was on the phone yesterday and got "knifed."  Not an actual knife attack, but a furry boy with claws like Wolverine.  He and I will often play at the arm of my chair: I tease him a bit by running my hand along the edge of the chair and he will jump up and try to swat it.  It's a fun game when we both know what we're doing.  In this circumstance, I didn't know we were playing... didn't even know he was there, stalking.  He jumped up, went for the swat, and I didn't pull back.  He got me with one of his claws...

 It was not malicious.  And if you look close, there are plenty of other scars on the back of my hand, with each of our previous cats having left a mark.  Not to mention that my skin is thinner these days.  (Not talking about being easily offended.). ;-)

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Family Time...

We had a home inspector at the house today - we are coming up on 11 months with the house and will be turning in a list of things to be addressed before the one year warranty is up.  All very minor things - the inspector (who seemed very thorough) said, "This is as good as it gets on a one-year inspection - it's a nice house."  That's reassuring.

That took the whole morning.  Steph and Dan had taken the day off to attend a ground breaking for a new school in the district where they used to work... the school is being named for one of their friends (Loretta) who has been with the district for 39 years.  I think it is great to honor one of their teachers instead of a "public official."

The four of us went out for lunch afterwards - another treat.  I missed having time with Steph and Dan while we were gone this summer.  Time to think about this past year and all the changes for all 4 of us.  It has been a good move; we truly appreciate getting to see "the kids" almost every day.  We love the house and are very happy with the neighborhood and where we are located in the Phoenix valley.  We've adapted quite well to "life in the big city."  The blazingly hot summer weather is tough, but we are supposed to get below 100º for a daytime high by Sunday.  We may have been a bit too soon in getting back here.

It's Still Rock 'n Roll To Me...

 

If you said, "Billy Joel, 1980, from the album Glass Houses," you get 15 bonus points.

I got together with my music buddies today; first time in a couple months.  Five of us for today's session: Mark, Ron, Danny, Gil, and me.  Even though we haven't all played together in a couple months, it was easy getting back into it.  We're all about the same age, meaning same music era, and somewhat similar tastes in music.

Joan came with me today, and she and Cindy (Mark's wife) went out for lunch while the guys had pizza and got going with some music.  When they got back, they were an appreciative audience for the music we were making... Mark even talked Cindy into playing her "rain stick" on a couple songs...

 Joan took photos while we played - I think she got everyone in some photos...

A good time - I missed seeing my friends while we were gone.

And, a short video snippet...

 

Oh What a Beautiful Morning...

 

If you said, "From the musical Oklahoma, 1943, by Rodgers and Hammerstein," you get 2 bonus points.  Two?  Two lousy bonus points??  What's up with that?  Hey, I have used this one in the past, so it's a "gimme."

I was up shortly after 6:00 this morning and saw that it was 76º in our courtyard.  76º!!  I couldn't wait to get Murphy out there... and he was pretty excited about it, too...

 I saw a couple new additions to the yard...

Vine purchases that were delivered while we were out this summer.  Joan is still in the deciding process about what all will go out in the courtyard.  I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying this cool, comfortable respite - it is forecast to get to 109º again today.

Spa Day and Together in the Shower...

 

"Is this going to be another TMI/oversharing post, Jim?"

Well, not intentionally.  I am speaking of Murphy - he sat on the floor just outside the shower while I was in it this morning.  When I shut the water off, I opened the door and he walked right in... water doesn't seem to bother him.  That said, I haven't let him in the shower while the water is running.

When I was done shaving and brushing my teeth, Murphy was having a "spa day": a thorough brushing, nails trimmed, ears cleaned, and teeth brushed.  Yes, he goes along with all of that with very little fuss.  You may remember that early on when we got him, we made repeated trips to the vet to cure an ear infection.  The vet thought it might be a food allergy (inclusive), I think Murph came to us with that ear infection.  No sign of it (ear scratching or head shaking) until a regular exam at the vet turned it up.  All good these days and we want to keep it that way.

Murphy also got some outdoor time this morning.  Joan was up before me (unusual), and she fed him and got him some time in the courtyard.  After I got up and took care of my morning routine, I took him out again for some more time in the hot fresh air.  (Predicted to be 108º for a high today.)

Murphy has his own bar stool, with a cooling pad.  He likes to sit on that looking out the patio door.  Well, in that photo above, he is being cute for the camera.

Show Biz...

 

RV Show, that is.  We made it to the State Farm Stadium yesterday to check out some Class B campervans.  It was an interesting expedition.  When we arrived at the stadium, there were about 10 Class B vans outside...

 These are what we came to look at, but I thought this might be all there is for the Class Bs, since they were outside.  I was pleasantly surprised when we went inside, where it is blissfully air conditioned, and there were a bunch more Class Bs.  There were other RVs inside, but the campervans are what we came to see.  LaMesa RV is the dealer who is putting this on... I have joked that everyone knows you can sell RVs cheaper by renting a huge football stadium and paying people to move them from your sales lots to the stadium and then back at the end of the show.  No, it doesn't make sense, but it does bring people out - there was a pretty good crowd there.  It didn't hurt that it was free parking and free admission.  ;-)  So, definitely some non-RVers who were out for an afternoon lark in air conditioned comfort.

Quite a few manufacturers and models were available to check out.  Enough that it was hard to keep track after a while.  Joan and I each picked out a favorite... and it was the same one.  3 different chassis manufacturers (Ford Transit, RAM, and Mercedes/Sprinter), and it looks like the designers all went to the same school... and copied off each others' homework.  3 or 4 basic layouts, mostly because there is only so much you can do with that little bit of floorspace.  A lot around...

The floorplan/interior that caught our eye...

Only 2 manufacturers who offered a mascerator (pump) for the black and gray holding tanks...

I have to say that I really like the premise of that mascerator (inside that compartment that is closed), especially for this size RV - no 3" sewer hose that you have to haul around - the mascerator chews up your waste into a poo-puree (pun intended) that can even be run uphill, if necessary.  "And, why would that be necessary?" you ask.  Well, if every RV park would put their sewer connections at ground level, it wouldn't be necessary; but that's not the way most of them do it.  Excrement does not run uphill, and if your RV's sewer outlet is fairly low to the ground (as most of them are), it can be an issue.  TMI for you non-RVers?

You know what sucks about getting older?

 

Yeah, there's a lot of things.  At this point, some people will tell you "It's better than the alternative"... maybe if that alternative is drinking the blood of a young person.  Whoa - a bit dark this morning, aren't ya, Jim?"

Someone woke me up at 1:30 am to tell me that "the wind is really blowing."  Thanks for the weather update.  The concern was: that pop-up kiosk we put over the hot tub may blow into the next county.  Honestly, Maricopa is a big county.  Besides, after I used the hot tub last night, I had lowered the legs of the kiosk, in case the forecast wind did come up.  It did.

And now, this post's episode of "What Sucks About Getting Older": every time you do something that requires physical strength or agility... you get hurt.  Even if you're trying to do something good.  Well, especially if you try to do something good.  Joan wanted the kiosk to be folded up and laid down... she asked, "How do you collapse it?"

"You get underneath and pull the puck-thingy that is in the middle.  This, of course, is more easily accomplished if the legs on the kiosk allow you to have standing room under it... at this juncture, they did not.  Joan got whacked by something under the kiosk (my fault, apparently) and got herself trapped under the short height of the kiosk.  Realizing the situation was dire, I held back the urge to laugh.  And, I came to a solution: "I'll life this side of it and you scoot out from under."

It worked.  Neither of us were unscathed.  My shoulder hurt like a son-of-a... well, it hurt.  We put the weights we had on the feet of the kiosk on top of the folded structure and went back inside.  Sleep did not come easy.

This morning, I used the TENS machine on my shoulder.  Took some ibuprofen.  Went out for a morning soak in the hot tub, being sure to get that shoulder in front of the jets.

Joan was done in the shower when I came in, so it was my turn.  I discovered how much of an RVer I am: standing in front of the toilet, there is no pedal to flush it with your foot.  You have to use your hand and decided "Is it a full flush or a half flush?"  That decision made, I turned on the water in the shower before I got in.  (No photos - you're welcome.) Damn, these house showers use a lot of water; no button to push to stop the flow of water to the shower head.  And when I got out to shave, I found myself turning the water off between each stroke of the razor.  Really, if everyone would spend some time as an RVer, society would use a lot less water.  On the bright side, I let the warm water from the shower run onto my shoulder for a while... it felt decadent.  And, my shoulder felt better.

Now, we're heading out.  First to the motorhome, where we'll return some things that came inside to get washed.  Then, from there, we're going to an "RV Show" at the stadium.  That's in quotes, because it is one or two of the RV dealers in the area who have moved their inventory from their sales lot to the stadium (they rented), because we all know that it is less expensive to sell an RV that way.  Or not.

Just out to look around a bit.  Research.  And not do any heavy lifting.  ;-)

 

I remember this...

 

The heat?  Hard to forget that, but thanks for asking.  A new record today: 116º.  That's for Phoenix, which is measured at Sky Harbor Airport... it may be hotter downtown, and a mere 112º here at the base of South Mountain.  That is splitting hairs, though - any way you measure it, it's hot out there.

After getting stuff done around the house this morning (and Joan making a run to the grocery store), she let me take her out for lunch... "How does Oregano's sound to you?" she asked.  I can't believe she had to ask.

Off to the east... Orgeano's, Costco, PetSmart, and WallyWorld.  The pizza and pasta at Oregano's were as good as I remembered.  And the A/C in the Equinox was able to keep up with the blistering heat.

I was getting a bit rusty on swamp-ass...

 

Some things come back to you pretty naturally.  TMI?

We got the bikes unloaded from the cargo trailer this morning; emptied out the rest of the riding gear in there and took the motorhome and trailer to our storage place.

Back home, we opened one of the Vine "purchases," an 8'x10' pop-up gazebo...

 

That gives us plenty of shade over the hot tub, since cleaning it is at the top of today's to-do list.  This is the first time since we got this hot tub that I did an empty/fill/sanitize/reprogram procedure.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but we did buy a sump pump to make the draining go faster (always used the "gravity method" on previous hot tubs, but we need to push the water over that concrete block wall that surrounds our property (into a conveniently located dry creekbed on the other side of the property).

Based on past experience, I expected it to take 3 to 4 hours to drain and about the same to refill, with whatever cleaning time in between.  The whole job today: just under 4 hours.  Of course, that is in the blazing desert heat  (107º as I was finishing up), so that is like "dog years"... every hour of working out in the heat takes two hours of hydrating and cooling down.  Kidding: I plugged straight through it, with a short lunch break while it was draining.

The sump pump did better than I expected, and the refilling (with a special filter) happened in a little over an hour.  And testing the water as soon as the tub was full: right on with ph and alk.  The owner's manual tells you how to overcome an airlock after refilling, but the guy who set it up last November told me what to do to avoid that and it all worked as hoped.  The water temp when I first plugged it in: 92º.  Now, you may say, "That's warm," but the hot tub was 107º when I first checked it before emptying... and that was with the heat set at 80º while we were gone.  And, yes, 107º is way to warm to comfortably soak.  And that is the reason for that white pop-up gazebo.

While I was doing the hot tub stuff, Joan was working on "opening up" her patio: getting the big umbrella set up, getting covers off all the furniture, cleaning what needed to be cleaned (but the covers she ordered did a great job of keeping things clean out there while we were gone.

"So, in another 6 months or so, it might cool down enough for you to use the patio, Jim?" you ask.  Well, this morning when we got up, it was 83º out - Joan got Murphy some outdoor time (without a leash) - they were both very happy to get that in.

There is still all the plants, flowers, and yard ornaments that will need to come out and get put in place.  Sometime.  Just not now.

Be it ever so humble...

 

... there's no place like home.

If you said, "On every Grandma's framed needlepoint," you get 25 bonus points.  If you said, "Home! Sweet Home! is a song adapted from American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne's 1823 opera," you get 5 points for knowing how to use Google.

We pulled up in front of our house just before noon.  About 1:20 pm, we had the coach unloaded, fridge turned off, propane turned off, 12 volt power turned off.  It is going to take a while to put all the stuff away, but we can do that at our leisure... in our lovely air conditioned house, because it is now 103º and expected to reach 108º later this afternoon.

I will post more when I get a chance, because it was a pretty scenic drive through Payson and down into the Fountain Springs area; and then another 40 minutes of big city driving.  I was a little rusty on that; oh, sure, we drove through Oklahoma City, Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville on the way there and back, but the population of all those added together is still smaller than the greater Phoenix area.  With Joan navigating I threaded the motorhome and cargo trailer through the Loop 202 to the Loop 101 to the Loop 202, around the south side of South Mountain and then finally to our home...

 

Joan took a bunch of photos as we drive through the mountains in the Tonto National Forest; here is a bit of a preview...

The plan is to get the scoots unloaded tomorrow and get the motorhome put into our storage place.  Plenty to be done around the house and getting things put away.

Yes, Murphy remembers his house... he said, "It doesn't move and I have LOTS of room to run!"  He's a happy boy.

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About 2 minutes after we rolled up in front of the house, we got a text from Steph: "I see you!  Welcome home!"  (security cameras ;-) )

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All things considered, I think we did pretty good with the heat today.  There were a bunch of trips from the motorhome to the house, but we had the a/c on in the coach and the house... so, it was just that to and from stuff.  There is a good chance of breaking some heat records - the weather weasels like to talk about that.  Today was day 100 of "100 straight days of 100º or more."  Yep, that's a record.  And there have been 54 days of "over 110º" this year.  Another record.  Yippie!

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Here's a short video from today's drive (hand held camera, no external mic, no editing)...

One More Sleep...

 

We're in no hurry to get out of this RV park this morning.  It was a good afternoon and evening here at the Route 66 Casino and RV Resort: we both came out ahead at the casino and had a nice meal.  Then a walk to the hot tub, which was decent... until a family with a bunch of kids got in (kids and hot tubs are not a good mix).  The sites are big, it's quiet, far enough from I-40 that there is little road noise.

Only 215 miles to our next stop, in Arizona.  We could make it the 450 miles or so to home, but that would put us in the thick of returning traffic at the end of a 3-day weekend.  Better to take our time and come in on Tuesday.  There will be plenty to do to get the coach unloaded.

We're looking forward to being home... see Steph, Dan, and the kitties... get our patio set up (we put everything away or under cover with Monsoon Season concerns)... get the hot tub cleaned and refilled... having our own car again... and just settle back in in the house.  It's been a good trip, but we are ready to be home.

Yeah, I remember home...

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A photo of our site at the casino...

Nothing particularly interesting about this leg: I-40 all the way.  Joan did take about 300 photos to get this shot of the "historic Route 66 bridge" just outside the casino...

And, of course, I am exaggerating - it was more like 270 shots.  It is not always easy to get a "clear shot" when you're shooting from a moving vehicle.  Especially a lumbery vehicle like a motorhome.

Out on the Interstate, traffic was heavy; both directions.  Yes, I know it is Labor Day and people are heading home.  Lots of semi-trucks out there, as well.  I did take a couple photos through the windshield...

Not as pretty as yesterday's drive through the mountains, but an occasional "painted desert" kinda cliff here and there.  The GPS was showing we would arrive at least an hour early (before the check-in time at tonight's campground), figuring in the time zone change as we came across the border...

Yes, we are officially back in our newly adopted home state.  Amazingly, we had a tailwind most of the way - quite unusual going west in New Mexico and Arizona.  I eased off on the gas pedal, and we got the best fuel mileage of the trip: 10.74 mpg.  Whoohoo!  Double digits!

We fueled up right before pulling into tonight's stop - all the gas stations in this town along the Interstate were packed... people sporting "crazy eyes" with heavy cases of get-home-itis.  We did our best to avoid the crazies, got ourselves into the campground, and we are down for the night.  We'll dump holding tanks before we settle in for the night, and head for home with just a bit of fresh water onboard.

Joan checked traffic on I-17 (south from Flagstaff to Phoenix), and there is a bunch of red on the Maps app (meaning traffic is stopped).  More than likely, we will take "back roads" to get to Phoenix and bypass the Interstate from here; we'll check the traffic app again in the morning.  We have a plan and we're workin' it.  :-)

Oh yeah - Murph is stretched out for a nap.

Well, I've Never Been To Spain...

 

But, I kinda like the music.  If you said, "Written by Hoyt Axton, but made popular by Three Dog Night, 1971," you get 20 bonus points.  If you said, "Spain?  Did you take a wrong turn somewhere?"  No, but thanks for asking.  We did, however, go through Madrid today.

Leaving Taos.  To make sure we didn't forget the town and their lousy drivers, a guy driving a tank truck with Taos Volunteer Fire Department on the tank pulled right in front of us, causing me to slam on the brakes... contents in the overhead compartment may have shifted while enroute.  No shit.  It wasn't the first time someone pulled in front of us like that while in Taos, whether in the motorhome, the rental car, or on scoots.  Shit drivers or inconsiderate?  Yes.

We took the "high road" on the way into Taos last week, we're taking the "low road" on the way south today.  It is a beautiful drive.  Plenty of fun mountain roads...

 I enjoy driving these kinds of roads... well, when some asshole doesn't pull out right in front of you, but I digress.  There were a bunch of river rafting businesses along this road, and we did get several views of rafts in the river...

And, some interesting rock formations...

Traffic was light on this holiday weekend, but probably because we took a "back road" once we got close to Santa Fe.  This road took us through the town of Madrid (and the reason for the "Spain reference" earlier).  If that doesn't ring a bell, it is the town where Maggie's Diner is in the movie Wild Hogs...

This town of about 200 was bustling (can't tell that from the photo above, as we were just coming into town).  It is known as a "hippie town," with little shops and art/craft galleries of sorts.  I think I would have enjoyed walking around, but there was no place to park the motorhome.  So, we pushed on.

Plenty of motorcyclists out enjoying this beautiful day...

No, we didn't miss being out on our bikes; we're happy to be working our way towards home.  More fun mountain roads...

This road eventually dropped us onto Interstate 40 east of Albuquerque.  We passed at least a dozen casinos along the way, and our planned stop for the day is at the Route 66 Casino and RV Resort... if that sounds familiar, it is the place where I left a bunch of skin on the cement pad on our way heading east (day 2 of this trip).  Yes, it was raining, and we were on the shuttle that takes you to and from the casino, and I ran ahead of Joan so I could get the door of the coach unlocked so she wouldn't get too wet from the rain... I tripped on the edge of the cement pad, and tore up both knees and an elbow.  No PTSD as we pulled into the site, but when I let Steph know where we are down for the day, she said, "If it is raining when you come back to your site, DO NOT RUN!"  That reminder was not necessary.

After we go to the casino for a but of gaming and a meal, we plan to take advantage of the hot tub (and swimming pool) that they have here at the resort.  I would have used the hot tub last tine, but you aren't supposed to go in it with an open wound.  Yeah, that really isn't that funny.

I wanted to stop here, not for the hot tub, but this is one of the nicest RV parks we were in this entire trip... and the only one with a hot tub.

Since you will be wondering: Murphy did fine with the trip today.  He spent most of it in his carrier with the door open, on the floor by our seats.  No fuss.  He did get a good walk this morning before we left Taos.  And, a good meal when we got to this park... and now, he is down for a nap...