Tag Archives: hiking

Prairie City

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We left John Day at the stroke of noonish and made the “grueling” drive to Paradise City where we will spend just one night. The drive was 13 miles, but it was on our list, so we stopped. It’s a really nice facility but right off hand I cannot remember much about it. My mind doesn’t seem to retain anything for a useful amount of time. It’s there, then it’s gone.

So, I’m just going to share what’s in my head right now.

First, we mad it to Farewell Bend State Recreation camp ground located a few miles from where Cliff’s Grandpa used to live. It’s a small town of 450 residents and has no gas stations. While he and Susie toured the town, Diane drove us to Nampa for a visit with Jim, Donna, Steffani, and Bob. Diane was excited about the drive because once you cross the border into Idaho, the speed limit rises to 80 MPH. It gave her an opportunity to burn out the carbon she’s been accumulating in the engine.

It was a nice visit. Short, but nice, and we got lunch!

Before leaving Nampa for our return trip “home”, we stopped at Costco to fuel up. The last time we didn’t do that and ran over 125 miles on an empty tank in the motor home. True story. We drove all the way to La Grande. The next morning was our checkout day so I had the pleasure of emptying our holding tanks on that way out of the park. It took a while and I’m happy to report that I didn’t spill even one little drop, then we went up the side road to Huntington to visit a museum.

There was a lot of interesting things inside, most interesting the curator who grew up in Huntington and knew where Cliff’s Grandpa lived (2 blocks from the museum). I think she remembered the color of the house, too. She knows the history of Huntington.

The railroad was something that touched everyone’s lives in some way, as did river traffic on the Snake River. There’s information about the time a steamboat captain sails his way through Hell’s Canyon.

The rest of the items are typical for a small town, except for this guy.

It’s not often that you run across a gun-toting preacher.

The next stop was at the “A Frame RV Park” in Baker City. It was a fairly easy drive. Actually, it was very easy for me because Diane is doing all of the driving. The only thing I do is park the truck and trailer on arrival, and hook it all back up when it’s time to leave. Easy peasy, right?

We checked in for a 2-day stay so relaxed after getting things connected then the next morning we took a trip to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center that resides on a hill just outside of Baker City. Actually, it was just 4-5 miles from our current residence.

This was an excellent stop. The displays and stories are awesome. We stayed long enough to be the last wagon remaining in the parking lot. If you’re ever in Baker City, this is a must to visit.

On the way back to the ‘ranch’, we were assaulted with a rock hitting the windshield thrown by a little car going the other way, The glass chipped and cracked and will require replacement. We decided to celebrate this assault by eating dinner out at the Latitude Forty Five restaurant. Great people, excellent food.

Bsck at the A Frame Park, I took Max for a walk in the 9-acre dog park they have. He really liked the freedom and he met many congenial dogs.

I got the TV working by searching local channels. It’s almost as good as Dish TV but there are only 66 channels. We did, however, get to watch AGT for the first time on this trip.

This day, our last one here in BC, we spent looking around town for thrift stores and cheap places to shop.

Tomorrow we leave for Elgin hoping they can accommodate the two of us for a couple of days. From there we’ll be going to Hell’s Canyon.

Day 162 – Sunday – Elks RV Park Florence, OR

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We drove to Florence with no mishaps the, following the GPS, we drove a few miles beyond the city to the RV Park located in the country somewhere. It was one of those moments where you feel like you’ve accomplished your goal, then you pass it by, looking over your shoulder as it fades away into the distance. You want to reach back and grab it so it won’t get away. But it does, and you must move on down the road.

Eventually, we made it to Mercer Lake Road, and were rewarded with a sign leading to the elks park. It’s like a surprise because just when you think it’s never going to reveal itself, there it is. We pulled into the area, stopped to check in, and Hayden came to meet us and get it done so we could park.

The park has nearly 50 sites and there were very few in use so getting a spot wasn’t a problem. That’s good because it’s first come first served. As it turned out, #19 was open and it was about 50 feet across the parking lot from the office. An added benefit was it has sewer. Not many of them do. That was a good thing because we needed to dump.

Hayden is a character, and we got along great. He’s a retired Army Sgt Major. He said the job of managing the park was his first trip off the mountain in the last 20 years where he lived on a farm with his wife. He said he didn’t have to leave the ranch because his wife did all the shopping. With his new job for the elks, he said dealing with people is a newly acquired skill since he sold the ranch and moved down to sea level. He’s a great guy and reminds me a lot of our friend Larry, right down to the mustache.

Another added benefit it space #19 is that it has a southern exposure which means we have access to the Dish satellites. That’s very good because it was out intention to watch the super bowl this afternoon. So, the first thing I did, after getting the bus hooked up, was dial up the satellite and get it connected. It did all that and the reception was excellent.

Diane chose to cook since I’ve been driving a lot lately and she figured it would be a nice break for me. It was indeed. She made us ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, and cherry turnovers. It was pretty awesome.

Just before we sat down to eat, Diane paused the Dish just as the pre-game festivities started. That way we could sit and watch it together. It was paused for about 30 minutes and was working really well through the festivities, and through most of the 1st quarter of the game before it just froze. It was very perplexing. None of the remote buttons worked and I eventually had to restart the Dish receiver. That was the only way to get it going again. Start over.

Thankfully, the picture came back and we had missed about one quarter. When it froze the Eagles were up 7-0. When it came back it was 17-0. All we missed was another TD and a FG by the Eagles. We were surprised that KC hadn’t scored yet. Then, after watching their offense get pushed around by the Eagles it was evident why they hadn’t.

In the end, we were happy the Eagles won. It was more fun to watch than many of the previous SB games because there was a lot of scoring. Most of the old games were all about defense and kinda got boring when no one scored. Since we were rooting for the Eagles, this game was right up our ally.

After the game I took Max for a long walk in the woods. He was very appreciative. We walked all over the place until my feet got cold enough that I couldn’t feel them. I suspect Max’s feet were numb, too, so we went back to the bus.

That was the day. It was a good one. We will be here for two nights to recover from all the arduous driving we’ve been doing. Jennifer, our daughter, has been following us and sent a text that “… we’re only 2 hours away so why is it taking so long to get home?” She added that”…we could have driven down and had dinner with you.” Funny girl.

Everybody back home has been concerned about the knock I took on my noggin and questioned my ability to drive safely since the accident. But I’m doing just fine. Diane has confidence in me to get us home safely, so that’s what I plan to do,

That’s the spot!

Day 158 – Wednesday – Mendocino Redwood RV

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It appears that I’m going to survive my fall. For a while there I’m sure Diane wondered if the damage was permanent. The damage to my glasses is certainly permanent. I do have a spare set of spectacles thanks to Jennifer. The only drawback to using the spares is they were calibrated for computer use. Therefore, distance vision, though a little fuzzy, is better than having the glasses fall off my face at a critical moment. So, we’re going with them. Besides, Diane said she like them better than the bent glasses because they don’t make my face look mean.

We’re heading north, finally, up Highway 101, west of the snow. The snow was a concern because neither of us wants to be driving in that stuff. I do have chains for the bus, which I purchased years ago in the event the road rules dictated that travelers must carry traction devices. Well, I’ve got them, but I have no intention of ever installing them. My plan, if I’m ever in a situation where chains are required, I’d simply turn everything off, hand my keys to some lucky devil, and catch a ride home. I know, that’s a tad radical, and I probably wouldn’t do that, but it’s an option.

Thankfully, though it’s a little chilly outside, it’s a cloudless sky. The sun is shining all over the place. Quite different from the typhoon welcome we got yesterday. That was miserable. My fuzzy shirt is still dripping from that episode.

Thinking back on that fall, both of us are a little bewildered because when I’ve fallen in the past, my knees always took a hit. Like lots of skid marks and sometimes bloody spots. This time, I had on new jeans and there wasn’t a mark on them from the fall. I studied the area where I fell for a long time. The spot where I hit the ground was evident by the dried blood.

At the time, I had Max with me, and he was attached to the long cable tether we use when he is out alone. That’s not ideal for walking him because it doesn’t retract. I figure that had something to do with the mishap, too. So, bear with me and see if this makes sense.

I lifted the dumpster lid with my left hand and deposited two bags of trash with my right. I remember that part. Then I turned to my right and took a step with my right foot. At this point Max found something interesting to my right and lunged that direction. I took another step with my left foot that ended close to the blue bumper. When I tried to keep up with my right foot the bumper was in the way and caused me to go down on my left side but somehow my knees didn’t hit the ground. They must have encountered the white bumper, and the remainder of the impact was absorbed by my right arm which should have caused me to roll left. But, considering the size of the blood spot, I must have laid there a while before getting up. Diane said I was gone about 1/2 hour, and the dumpster was only a couple of minutes away. I obviously did not tuck and roll like I’ve been trained to do.

It’s still very confusing and the mystery remains about why my pants didn’t get dirty. Not even one littler speck to commemorate the event.

Therefore, I proclaim that for some reason I was saved from catastrophic damage at the last second and time stopped for a bit.

Simple as that. Then I got up and went back to the RV, but I have no memory of that trip. My first semi-sentient moment was in the bathroom when Diane was cleaning me up and I suggested she take a photo to document this event. These memories were fleeting as was the trip to the hospital. I recall part of the trip and by the time we got to the first doctor I feel that I was aware of my surroundings just fine. It was weird but it didn’t bother me at all. Also, the pouring rain washed away all the evidence I left in the parking lot as if nothing happened at all.

The doctor wanted to keep me for observation in case something else happened, but we had places to be, so we talked him out of it

Now, about Mendocino County. That’s where Willits is located, our next destination.

The trip very nice, rolling through hundreds of acres of vineyards. It’s very peaceful and easy on the eyes after all the high desert sand. It was nice to be surrounded by fields of green grass interspersed by all those grapevines so perfectly lined up and so well-tended.

It rained a bit toward the end of the 2-hour trip which we drove non-stop. We found the RV Park easily and we were the first people to show up this day. Others arrived later, but the park is practically empty. It’s a very nice park and it’s a little sad we’ll be here for only one night.

After getting everything set up, we left Max in charge of the TV remote and headed into town for something to eat. The chosen destination was Lumberjacks Restaurant. It’s apparently a chain restaurant and it was really good. Diane had a hamburger, and I had a chicken-fried steak. Here’s the only photo taken inside the restaurant.

Diane took this to show everyone how well my eye is looking. I’m mending quite well, and it should be invisible by the time we get back home in Oregon.

The weather looks pretty good so it’s on to Eureka tomorrow.

Day 139 – Friday – Palm Springs

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Today we took a trip off the base to visit Palm Springs. We stayed there for a couple of weeks years ago and found that we really like the city and the people. So, we were looking forward to visiting again.

We were concerned about smoke blowing in from the LA area and as we started down the road into the Palm Springs area, we could see it. Diane’s health was our primary concern for this trip, and we monitored each other as we got lower into the valley where Palm Springs lives. Good so far. No sign of smoke yet.

The closer we got, the more evident it was that the smoke had indeed made it to the city. At this point, however, we could not smell it, so we kept going.

The road took us north of the hundreds of wind turbines that cover a lot of acreage west of town, then took us down the middle of the array to the main road into town. All of the turbines were turning full blast, faster than we’ve seen them turn at other wind farms. You can see where the strong winds created havoc along the foothills which isn’t a good thing because much of Palm Springs is in that area.

We almost made it to the center of town before the smoke became heavy enough that we decided to turn around and head back “home”. The above photo looks OK, but the smell was in the air and Diane’s lungs started objecting. It was time to vacate the area. We stopped first, however, to let Max leave his markers. It was the right thing to do. It was a 3-hour round trip so we couldn’t just turn around and leave without doing something in town. No photos, of course because although he’s not shy about PIP*, he’s very concerned about his on-line image. I honor that as best as I can.

Going back up to Twentynine Palms was a relief as the air cleared quickly, but we could see the smoke being blown over the mountains to the west. The wind was blowing very hard from the west, just like the news folks said it would.

Heading for the hills the air looked much better.

We thought about stopping for a sandwich somewhere but decided to just go back to the bus and cook something. Then we got routed to the main gate which meant we would have to drive right by Carl’s Jr. on our way to Twilight Dunes. Stopping for another hamburger just seemed like the right thing to do, so we stopped. Turns out we really like their food.

We took our food home and had a good late lunch. Max had his, too. Before eating mine, I diced about 1/2 a pound of his new favorite refrigerator food. He still did his prairie dog trick for a couple of French fries, but he finished off all his food.

It was good to be back in the clean air but there was a moment when we were reminded that maybe we should have left Diane at home. Thankfully, she got past a coughing spell quickly.

Now I must quit before I get in trouble. Again.

*Poop In Public

Day 136 – Tuesday – MCAS Twenty-nine Palms, CA

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We vacated Quartzsite early this morning and headed west to California. Our next stop was the Marine Corp Air Station at Twenty-nine Palms. When we pulled out of our RV park, a left turn would take us to Parker on Highway 95 and a right turn would take us to I-10. Diane’s GPS had her turn left, and mine had me turn right so we got separated in the first 2 minutes of today’s trip. Diane thought I was going to follow her, but the RV GPS is a trucker’s Garmin that computes routes based on the size of our RV. That’s why I turned right. It was a risky move on my part and caused considerable anguish for a while.

We both stopped within a few minutes and started calling each other to find out what to do. We eventually reconnected before getting free of Quartzsite and got headed the same direction.

The road was long and mostly straight all the way to Highway 177 where we turned right and headed north to Highway 62. Had we both turned left from the Quartzsite RV Park, and driven to Parker, we would have turned left on Highway 62 and arrived at the corner of Highway 177 and Highway 62 fifteen minutes sooner.

Highway 177 was very straight also, and I could see how the road slowly climbed on the other side of the valley. It was about a 20-mile stretch, straight as an arrow. If the wind hadn’t been blowing so hard, I probably could have taken a short nap or two.

Once on Highway 62 Diane took the lead and got us to Twenty-nine Palms at 1311 (1:11 pm) and drove on base about 1331. The park is adjacent to some of the base housing and is pretty nice. We’re in space 72 next to the only dog area which is handy. Max was more than ecstatic to have grass to run on for the first time since September. His little toes have got calluses from walking on rocks and asphalt all that time. Poor little guy probably couldn’t tell how soft the grass really is because of his crusty feet.

Each parking space has a small Tuff Shed and a carport. So, we have a place to park the car our of the sun and we can empty the car and all the basement cubbies into the shed just for fun. I could also install a rack to hang clothes and use the shed as a closet.

Our supper was from Wendy’s which is on the base. Back in the Bone Yard they had Burger King. After the Wendy’s meal we learned that it has BK beaten for flavor.

I don’t know if I mentioned that Diane lost one of her favorite earrings on Luke AFB. We searched everywhere for it but it just wasn’t there. So, guess what! She found it here in California. Isn’t that amazing? She was pretty happy, as was I.

Getting the bus into its assigned parking space involved a lot of bouncing around because of the curbs we had to cross. This caused a great deal of commotion with everything that wasn’t tied down inside the coach. It was just nature’s way of shaking things up to get everything on the same level, and filling spaces that needed filling. It was very annoying but nothing broke, which is amazing. It was a very noisy process. Amongst the tosseled items were many containers of various spices that escaped from one of the overhead cupboards. Two of the small ones saved themselves from the terrifying fall by hanging on to the shelf and allowing the cupboard door to hold them in place until they could be rescued. Boy, were they lucky.

I took a few photos of the trip but none of them were interesting. Just a bunch of cars, trucks, and lots of desert. So, I looked back a couple of days and found this one of Diane sewing up Max’s favorite toy, a long green worm. She’s done this a few times. He finally wound up destroying the first one and I was happy to find an exact replacement which he adopted right away. It’s his favorite, as you can tell as he waits patiently for Diane to finish so he can commence destruction once again.

This day is done.

Day 116 – Wednesday – Merry Christmas

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Here we are, counting down the days until we begin our trip North, to home. Only 2 weeks left here in the Bone Yard. We’ve been here for so long that everything seems quite normal. This is the longest we’ve ever parked in one spot.

Yesterday, we took a vote to see what our future travel plans might look like. It went something like this:
All in favor of camping in the future cover your left eye: 2 to 1 (Max abstained)
All in favor of not being full time Snowbirds blink 6 times: 3 to 0
All in favor of going to the beach any time we want bow your head: 3 to 0
All in favor of selling the RV nod your head vigorously: 87 to 2
(we used some proxy votes for this one)

So, next stop is Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix.

From there on we will continue moving north as the weather allows.

Should be fun.

Here’s Christmas morning in Tucson.

After a lunch of eggs and toast, we took a leisurely drive around the Tucson Mountains. To do this required that we transit the road to Old Tucson and Saguaro National Park West, roads we’ve been on before. Diane was actually hoping we were going to a park where Max could run freely. It was a really nice ride and it was fun to see all those Saguaro cacti again, but the end of this trip, according to the GPS, was Gilbert Ray Campground.

We drove around inside the park for a while but didn’t find any place where Max could run freely. The park is smack dab in the middle of Saguaro National Park West. Well, maybe not in the middle, but it’s imbedded in the park because Saguaro cacti are everywhere.

Since there wasn’t a place for Max to jog, I got out with him and prepared to walk along the exit road. First, I stopped at an empty campsite to check the electrical hookup and found that it was both 30- and 50-amp service. Diane did another search and discovered that this campground is only $35 a night. There is an RV dump and there are no showers in the restrooms. But when the sun goes down I don’t think there is any light pollution so star gazing must be incredible.

As Max and I walked to the back of that first site, a coyote calmly walked across our field of view about 20 feet away. I was a little astonished. Max didn’t see it. If he had I may have lost an arm is he’d taken off to chase this guy. Within seconds he disappeared in the underbrush. What fun. Max and I continued our walk while Diane followed along behind us. We quit about 1/2 mile down the road then got back in the car and headed out.

Instead of returning the way we got there, we took Gates Pass Road that goes over the Tucson Mountains back to the town proper. It was a very scenic trip.

This is about halfway up the road from the valley.

This is closer to the top, looking back to the valley, before heading down the other side.

Going down the Tucson side, looking at the north side of Tucson.

When we got home Max wanted to stay outside after that long ride This is how he communicates that desire.

When asked if he wants to go inside, he drops to the ground immediately if he wants to stay outside. He’s pretty creative that way.

That’s pretty much it for the day, except for the spaghetti dinner we made. No pics so you’ll have to trust me it was really good. It’s the first time we’ve had spaghetti this trip.

Since supper we’ve been binge watching NCIS from 2012. We’ve always liked the show but these are so old if we watched them then, there’s no way we’d remember. So they’re all brand new to us. Nifty.

Now I must stop.

Day 99 – Sunday – Tumacácori National Park

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We left the bus not long before noon, and we only made it about 10 feet before Diane stopped and told me to get my keys.

I’ve done this before. So far, no harm has befallen us because of my mismanagement of the keys.

The park is about 55 miles away, a bit south of Green Valley, so we had to traverse familiar territory to get there. That was OK, because it’s actually a nice drive. It’s even better because I don’t have to drive. More accurately, I’m not allowed to drive. Max and I just sat there enjoying the ride.

Getting there was simple but when we approached the park there were cars parked all along both sides of the road. At first glance it was apparent that getting to the park itself could involve a long walk. Not knowing exactly where the entrance was, Diane kept driving until she spied a handicap spot and took it. As it turned out, that spot was directly in front of the entrance door into the park. Amazing, right? It gets better.

The entrance sign was very specific that no pets were allowed so I went inside to see if Max would be allowed to enter as a Support Animal. I made it clear that Max was a work in progress to be a Service Animal. To our benefit, the guy sitting behind the desk was a retired Command Master Chief with over 40 years of service so wearing my navy hat paid off. He only gave me a little grief about only making Senior Chief and for quitting the Navy after only 26.5 years. We chatted a bit and It was a good talk. He handed us off to a fellow ranger gave me the drill for service animals to ensure I understood the importance of not letting him desecrate the buildings or grounds. We understood. That actually isn’t a problem with Max because he’s the best little dog in the world.

There was a fiesta going on, the reason for our trip, and we could hear the music and singing in the distance. It was very pleasant.

We followed the fiesta signs that led deep into the park, behind the old church in the photo. Since it was on the way to the music, we had to stop and to see it before finding the source of the music.

Work on the church began in 1800 and the church was dedicated in 1822.

This is a rendition of what the interior looked like when it was in use.

This is what’s left

This is a rendition of what the altar area looked like

Here’s what’s left.

Now that you’ve seen my photos, you need to check out the park’s web site for better ones. I’m sure you will enjoy it.

The festival was a venue for many church, youth groups, and individual artists who sold items they made to support their groups. Scattered amongst the crafty people were many opportunities to by an incredible array of food. I bought Diane a bottle of water and a small Christmas tree ornament made out of string. Here are a couple of photos of the festivities. It was a busy place.

On the way out of the park we stopped for a while in a shady spot.

Here’s where we parked – the car on the right. That dark spot to the left of the car is the entrance door.

We drove back to Green Valley before hunger struck so we stopped at Arby’s for a fill-up. Max wasn’t offered anything to eat so he was a little bummed.

He stood like that the entire time I was eating my sandwich, so he got his way and wound up with quite a few bits of roast beef. It was only fair.

As soon as we got home, I took Max for a walk. We wound up talking to Chuck Berry, a fellow who drives an older RV with Oregon plates. I’ve been waiting to meet him, but he was never there when we went by, until this time.

I introduced myself and asked him which part of Oregon he had escaped from. He looked me right in the eye and said, “have you ever heard of St. Helens?” That was a true shocker. He and his wife live in St. Helens less than a mile from where we live.

Small world, right?

Needless to say, we had a nice visit and plan to have another before they leave this week.

Imagine that.

Day 74 – Wednesday – Bisbee, Arizona

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I ate oatmeal again this morning and it was good. This may become a habit. One of my good ones.

Our first stop of the day was a visit to Fort Huachuca, or Kombucha for Diane, to see what it was about. It’s an enormous Army base in Sierra Vista and it’s one of the nicest bases we’ve been on in a long time. I took a lot of photos as we drove around the base because there were trees. The base housing units look pretty nice. Many of the ones we saw appeared to be empty.

One thing stood out for us was that none landscaping for any of the buildings involved tons of rocks. Davis-Monthan AFB is nothing but rocks for yards, but Fort Huachuca has actual grass yards. They were brown, but they were grass. There are also tall trees on the base.

One of the reasons for the different kind of landscaping is probably the altitude difference. It’s about 2,000 higher than the Bone Yard. Yeah. That’s it. The elevation.

Turns out there’s an RV park on the base which has reasonable rates and is very nice. We took a look see and really liked it. It’s well away from the main base in a very quiet corner. I took Max for a walk and encountered Paul, an Army guy. He said he’s been staying the winters in Fort Huachuca for the past 3 years. We got along nicely, and he let it be known that if we’re there in the next few weeks, for the Army vs. Navy game, he’s going to give me some s**t. He was an officer, too. What a guy. I really liked him.

From Fort Huachuca, we drove to Bisbee for the day. It’s only about 20 miles away and is a mile high city. Diane labeled this trip a “Foodie Day” on the calendar because Bisbee has a lot of places to eat. It’s a town built in Tombstone Canyon near the Copper Queen Mine which is the reason there’s a town.

Before lunch we stopped at the Visitor center for the Copper Queen Mine so this was really our first look at what the town might be like. The visitor center was also the place where excursions into the mine begin. I wandered around outside and saw the vehicle that takes people on the mine tour. It’s a very narrow-gauge rail track about 18″ wide. The vehicle people ride on are the same one’s used by the miners before it closed in 1975. We didn’t take the tour because we’re not fond of delving into large holes in the ground. We’d rather stay outside and just look around, which we did.

The visitor center was also a very large gift shop featuring mostly geological items. They also had a movie about how copper is mined and the entire process of making sheets of copper for making everything copper is used for. It was very interesting.

Getting to lunch required a drive almost all the way through town. It’s a curvy road through the canyon with buildings growing up the banks on both sides. It’s quite an amazing town. When we found Thuy’s Noodle Shop, there was parking right in front which was awesome because the town is narrow, and parking is sparse.

The restaurant is small, but they had outside tables which worked for us because we had Max along. Many places won’t let 4-legged animals inside, only the 2-legged animals are allowed. We didn’t see any of those today. Sitting on the patio was nice until the food showed up and the flies were waiting. They were a nuisance, but not terrible. The big thrill was when an enormous wasp landed on the table in front of Diane, and she darted away at least two feet, while I broke a chop stick killing it. All the other patrons were well entertained. I’m really glad Diane didn’t get stung.

The dish on the left is Beef PHO and the one on the right is a pork salad. These are actually two meal choices so you can probably say I over ordered a little. But I ate almost all of it. One thing for sure, to Diane’s delight, I got my share of protein today. Vegetables too. I’m sorry I don’t have a picture of Diane’s catfish. She said it had an orange flavor to it, and she liked it a lot.

After lunch we went down the hill to Patisserie Jacqui for a couple of their world class croissants, but it was closed. So, we won’t have world class croissants tomorrow. Dang.

Next, we tried to get dessert at Pussycat Gelato. It was closed, too. So, only 1 of 3 locations were available for our use. Thankfully, lunch was good.

After missing out on dessert, we headed back to Sierra Vista. As we made our final pass through the town, Max saw a cat run across the street. He was sitting in his throne on the console between our seats and launched his little self almost out the passenger window. He only made it halfway because Diane grabbed one hind leg, and I grabbed the rest of him. We managed to get him back inside, but I about broke Diane’s shoulder in the process. He was going to get that cat, by golly. It was pretty exciting. We can only assume that chasing cats was something to do with his past.

Once back in Sierra Vista we stopped at a DQ where I got Diane a Peanut Buster Parfait and myself a chocolate malt. Then we returned to the hotel for our last night.

Day 67 – Wednesday – Jerrie’s Echo Cardiogram

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1015 – My appointment was scheduled for 1100 and I was asked to be there by 1030. That meant we’d have to leave home no later than 1015 to make it on time. We knew that was true because we did a test run yesterday to make sure. As it turned out, timing on Tucson streets in the afternoon are not at all like the reality of Tucson streets in the morning. So, we were between 1-2 minutes late.

The early check in process involved registration into the Houghton Hospital system. My test was ordered by the VA Hospital, but they couldn’t get to it in a reasonable amount of time, so they sent me to a private hospital off the reservation. It was a good decision because Houghton got me an appointment within 3 days.

After checking in with the receptionist, I waited until 1111 before they finally called me into reservation room #2. The registration person told me her name, but I don’t remember it. I do remember that the tech assigned to do the testing was Vanessa. I didn’t get to see her until about 30 minutes after the registration was complete. The delay, I was told, was related some difficulty with surgery. That’s all I know.

Vanessa took me back to her testing room somewhere deep into the innards of the main floor. Once in the room she told me to strip, which I did. All the way down to my belt, as directed. All she needed access to was my chest, where my heart lives. Then I laid down on the table, on my left side with my left arm under the pillow supporting my head. That was comfortable for about 20 seconds before my left arm started making noise in my head about the pain. My left arm and shoulder aren’t my favorite body parts for that reason.

We talked throughout the test that took about 30 minutes. I was surprised I was allowed to speak but she said it was OK. So, I learned that she was an Air Force Brat who grew up in Ohio after her dad left the Air Force. She graduated from Ohio State which was evident because of the red and gray stocking hat she was wearing. Kind of odd for Tucson, I thought, but she looked good in it. She said her boyfriend also graduated from Ohio and said they went to Pittsburgh to see the Ohio vs. Pitt football game recently. It was a “hectic 3 days”, in her words. She’s not a football fan. Being from Oregon, I had to point out that I’m a fan of the Ducks who knocked Ohio out of the #1 spot on the NCAA ratings list. She was OK with that.

Diane, by the way, dropped me at the front door of the hospital then parked in a spot nearby. I knew that because she texted me. She could have come inside but was OK sitting in the car, waiting for me.

When I was done with the test, I was released into the wild without having to gather any papers regarding the service provided. So, I walked out and reconnected with Diane. She was glad to see me even though I had been gone long enough that she didn’t recognize me right away.

She gave me a choice. Home, or Lunch. I voted for lunch. She picked two places near each other about 30 minutes away. Oddly enough, they were close to the VA Hospital. We drove to the first one, parked, and entered expecting a good lunch. But we were totally ignored at the order window, so we left and found #2 about 3 blocks up the street. It was Rollie’s Mexican Food.

At Rollie’s were greeted with open arms and it smelled great. Diane had an order of rolled tacos and I had my routine burrito. Diane loved hers and mine was OK, and it was really big.

We ate it all, then went back to free Max from his jail. He needed a walk.

When we got home, Max was actually up, walking around. That’s rare. He’s usually laying in the driver’s seat so he can look us in the eye without raising his head letting us know he wasn’t happy about being left alone. This time he was showing his happiness about our return. He came all the way down the stairs but didn’t leave the bus. He came back up the stairs with me and stayed really close until I adorned him with his harness and attached the leash. Then he was happy.

We took the promised long walk then returned home so I could rest. It’s been a busy day.

Day 66 – Tuesday – Mt. Lemmon

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Yes, that’s a real mountain. I looked it up and know it’s true. To prove it, we packed a couple of sandwiches and took a drive in that direction. It’s only about 20 miles away and we can see it from our home in space 261.

That’s it. the one with the snow on it. The news told us that during the rainstorm we had a couple days ago the mountain got 5-8″ of snow. Yup. Right here in Tucson. Well, not in, but nearby.

Diane had the mountain on our list of places to go and today seemed like the one, so we went. On our way out of the back gate, we saw a meeting of the minds warming their tiny little feet on the powerlines.

Since today is Get Out and Vote Day, we thought perhaps they were discussing what life might be like with a new president. Then I saw the lone bird below the others and thought maybe this was choir practice and the loner was the leader. Perhaps he was tutoring the alto/tenor section when we drove by. We didn’t have time to stop and listen because we had a destination.

On the way up the very curvy road, we were fascinated by the rock formations.

As we neared the top, around the 8,000′ level, we encountered snow. We got out to investigate and to see what Max thought about it.

He wasn’t sure about it at first, then he did some zoomies as far as his leash would allow. He had fun and seemed to be fascinated with the white stuff but got over it quickly.

Diane was attempting to get Max still for his photo op.

Just below this area is a village of many cabins and a cabin hotel. The cabins were quite impressive as was the hotel that lined the street.

This next photo is looking out into the valley to where all the Tucsonians live.

Here’s a snap of the information provided for one of the stops. It came out pretty good, showing the very crooked road we took today.

On the way down we ran into a little bit of snow, and I asked Max if he’d like to stop and take a walk. This is what he gave us …

I took that as a “nope”.

When we got back to the saguaro cactus fields, we were amazed at how these guys can grow in such desolate conditions. Pretty amazing.

As soon as we got back to the RV, I took Max for his walk, because he was such a good little guy, and took another photo of the airplanes that live on the other side of the fence from the RV park.

Now it’s time for Max’s evening walk. I’ll see you tomorrow.