Arrival in Phoenix - An ATV RV Park

A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.

Isn’t it amazing that when we go to bed knowing we have to get up early that we wake up often and many times very early?   I had a flight to catch Wednesday morning.  It was an early flight.  I used to like early flights but now even though I get out of bed early, I don’t like getting ready before it’s even light outside.   Just to be sure I wouldn’t oversleep my iPhone alarm was set for 3:00 AM, 3:15 AM and 3:20 AM.  That should do it.  Right?

My intended flight departed from the Portland airport at 6:00 ... about 40 miles away.  I still had to park and go through security and that obviously takes time.  At least that’s what I planned.  I’m sure you know about my planning and sticking with the plan.

First of all, by 2:30 AM, I was wide awake.  It wasn’t too much after that that I was on the way to the airport.  By the time I arrived at the Portland airport I had decided I didn’t want to fly to Phoenix via Dallas.  My task was to find a flight that would go non-stop and move my arrival time up by several hours.  Not a problem.  I found one flight after another.  Just as soon as I put my name on one airline’s list, I’d find another I liked better.   By 10:30 AM I had arrived in Phoenix on Alaska Airlines.

I took a picture of the picture on the wall of a prior ATV event.  This was a photo of everyone getting ready to take off from the back of the resort.

Sometimes it pays to be flexible.  It took four separate airlines and four separate listings to secure myself a seat but I was flexible and obviously it paid off.  What a morning that was but I was several hours earlier than planned and everything worked out.

As mentioned a few days back, we had originally planned this trip to check out a couple winter destination RV parks.  This is what we wanted to do.  There were several reasons for changing our mind about wintering in Arizona over Texas.  One of those reasons was that Terry would be close to his mom.  You know what they say about the best-laid plans.  Well, our original planning for the trip was changed and Terry was already in Phoenix when I arrived due to a medical situation with his father.

Yes .... the temperature was a chilly 103 !

The temperature was HOT.  It was certainly a bit warmer than we had been experiencing in Washington State. 

Gold Canyon is just a tad east of Apache Junction.  Now Apache Junction is a tad east of Mesa and even a bigger tad east of the Phoenix area.  That’s actually not a bad thing.  This time it is exactly what we wanted.  We wanted to be outside of all the traffic.  Gold Canyon is definitely outside of all the metropolitan traffic.  That’s where we went.

A little putting green at the park ..... the green will be greener once the temperatures go down.

There are a few other RV parks in the Gold Canyon area and lots of them in the Apache Junction area.  If one were to choose Apache Junction over Gold Canyon, there would be so many choices from super fancy to super drab.  And, as you might guess, the monthly cost varies according to the park.

We had a few necessities and a few wants.   As you know by now, we were actually looking for a park where ATVs were welcome and there were lots of areas to ride without loading and unloading them all the time. On top of that I really wanted a pool and a hot tub plus a paved road for riding my bike.  That’s a few of the things we were looking for.  Well, the park also had to welcome Duchess.  Perhaps, that was our #1 priority.

Yippee!  A pool and a spa is available.

We were also hoping our first stop would be our last stop.  And, it was.  We visited the Arizonian.  Actually, everything listed above was at this park.  Perhaps, that’s why it was first on our list.  With temperatures over 100 degrees, you could guess that it was certainly empty at this time.    Not much was there.  Well, there were a few folks who had already moved in but most were smart and were still up north where it was cooler.  However, winter is just around the corner and this place will be full in a few months.  In addition to rows set aside for RVs, the park also had a dedicated row just for ATV trailers.  We thought that was pretty darn cool because we hadn’t thought of that but definitely needed it.

There was a new recreation building under construction.  Not that there wasn’t already a nice one because there was but  the new building will be huge when completed.  At the rate they are going, I’m sure it will be done way before we get there.  

Will we have to take up tennis since there is a tennis court ??? 

We were happy.  We were pleased.  It was time to pick out a spot in the pet area.  Now that took a little doing.  It’s not often we really have this much of choice.  It took a while but we finally selected one on a corner across from the ATV trailers and close to the pet walk.  Actually, Terry picked it out.  You always have to have someone to blame and he wanted the trailer close.  The only thing left to do was plunk down the bucks.  We did that too.  Whee!  I’m glad that’s behind us!  Mission accomplished.

Inside the de la Cruz Restaurant

We also found a little “hole in the wall” Mexican restaurant just a short distance away.  It was de la Cruz.  We loved it.  The food was great and cheap!  Obviously, in a few months we’ll drag Jim and Sandie there and maybe even talk Doug and Toni into joining us.  Who knows?

 

Speaking of Toni … guess what I found for her?    I believe these are close to her favorite little refreshers.  Well, we’ll throw a couple at her as they pass by us on their way south … maybe.  Since I never check luggage on an airplane, do not ask how I got them to Washington for her from Phoenix.  What we do for people!!

Later that evening it was more food.  Terry’s mom had her heart set on Olive Garden so that’s where we went.  If we’d known that, we probably wouldn’t have had lunch.  Well, maybe we would have.   On Thursday I HAD to make a stop at IN-N-Out.   I couldn’t imagine leaving the Phoenix area without a stop at IN-N-Out.  That would have been horrible.  

Leaving Terry behind, it was to the airport to catch a flight back to Portland.  This was definitely a whirlwind two days for me.    Come to think of it, it wasn’t even two days.  The trip was uneventful.  I love trips that are uneventful.  In another six days we have another trip on our schedule.  This time it will be to Chicago to watch Justin "graduate" from bootcamp.  

Terry and his mom

Settling on a Winter Destination

The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Remember this picture that I posted the other day. Perhaps, it’s time to explain it. There are no helmets because this photo was staged. How staged was it? It was very staged. Actually, there are really only two different ATVs in this photo. The rest of the photo is a Photoshop creation. Everyone was taken one at a time and put together on a different colored ATV.

One thing that certainly defines this part of my life is that I know I can make a decision but I know I don’t have to stick with it.  I’ve discovered chalk.  It erases easy.  Plans are written in chalk and never in ink.

 

We had been determined that this year our winter destination was going to be in south Texas.  We were really determined that this is what we were going to do.  We went so far as to make reservations in Corpus Christi.  The reservations are still in place but only because I haven’t thought about canceling them until now.

That has been #1 lately on our “to do” list … trying to decide where we’re going to be.  In the past it didn’t really matter so much.  This year is a little different.  For one thing since both are kids are now in the Portland area, we do plan on driving back in the Jeep over the Christmas holiday.  That makes it a little more difficult to go too far.  We would fly back except Duchess doesn’t fly.

 

Then, by now you all know #2 on our list.  We’re going to pulling a trailer with two ATVs and are hoping to find an ATV friendly park to stay for a few months.

We’re not real keen at booking a place to stay for a few months sight unseen.  In the last few years we’ve discovered there are many RV parks that we really don’t want to stay for a night or two let alone for a few months.  Thus, we have decided to check out a couple parks before we actually pass along the money and make the commitment.

We’ve come up with three contenders and have placed them in the order that we think we prefer.  So, on Wednesday we had already planned to leave the driving to American Airlines and hop a flight to Phoenix (via Dallas) and check them out. We felt if we were lucky, we’d only have to visit our first choice selection and not have to run around any more.  That’s what we were hoping for.

Jim, Sandie, Jeri, Terry

Sandie and I have discussed it won’t be too bad having each other around for a little while.  Obviously, you know that’s a joke!  I think we’ll both enjoy spending another winter within restaurant distance of each other!!! 

Then, Terry’s father had a stroke and Terry went to Phoenix on Monday instead. I still plan on flying down Wednesday morning. Sometimes with advancing age there are other issues that aren’t necessarily life threatening but definitely big issues. Right now those issues seem to be bigger than the stroke.

That’s our plan and for now we’re sticking with it  ---- well, for now.

It’s a Family Affair

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.

Here’s another ATV adventure.  ‘Tis a family affair ... or is it ?

Just a bunch of big kids .... forever young!  Now where is Sabrina, you ask?  We figured she was out shopping when this picture was taken on Saturday.  Michael and Sandi missed the picture too because they let their folks out of the house without them.

First of all, we bought an ATV trailer.  We got a fantastic deal on it.  However, you know how those fantastic deals go.  Usually they require a lot of work getting them like you want them.  Or, you discover something isn’t quite right.  After all, why else would it have been a great deal.

This ATV trailer was just like that.  Evidently the North Star Trailers are partially put together and partially not put together.  When you buy it, you need to finish the job.  The person we bought it from had.  The sides were supposed to fold down on the hinges.  Thus, you should have been able to load ATVs from each side.  Well, not so in this case.  It took a little tweaking to fit the ATVs and get the sides to lower enough that the ramps would work without being too steep in loading.  We are definitely getting it ready for our trip south.

Next, we found another ATV on Craigslist.  It needed a lot of TLC but it was a 4x4 with a great price and exactly what Terry wanted.  When we discovered it, we didn’t have the trailer with us.  Robert was close so we called him to load it.  However,  since we didn’t have ramps that would fit, it was loaded into the seller’s pickup and transferred across the tailgates to Robert’s.  Pretty neat job, huh?

We also checked out some trails at Jones Creek in Washougal.  They are pretty cool trails.

This was definitely junk and it was being removed from the ATV park.

Yes, I did come up with a helmet.  I had to be coordinated!  It was just like when we bought our scuba diving equipment.  Then, everything had to be all pink.  This time everything had to be all red.

I'm making a "fashion statement" as you can see.  There are little red goggles tucked inside the helmet.  However, a red top and red pants are definitely OUT!  They will probably be black .... certainly don't want them to clash!  Now would you?

Okay, so what if the helmet doesn’t have the roses on it like the other one I saw?  This one does match (it's red) and it was a few hundred dollars cheaper than the other one too.

Wanna go for a ride?

----------------------------

Note:  We had actually planned on taking off to Phoenix on Wednesday to check out some Snowbird ATV parks for this winter.  However, plans have a way of changing and flexibility is the key.  We just received a call that Terry's father had a stroke and is not doing so well.  So, while I am getting ready to post this.  He is getting ready to catch a flight there today. 

And, at the same time Lee is at the doctor's office with Sabrina who passed out exercising!  What's up with all of this?!

We'll keep you posted.

---------------------------

More Toys, So Little Time to Play With Them

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not

This has been a very different summer than most would be.  We’ve not had a boring day.  Most of it has been because we’ve had a lot of playmates.  First of all, Justin was hanging around us before he left to assist Uncle Sam.  We were entertained and kept pretty busy.

Lunch on Friday at Who Song's & Larry's .... Gorgeous day at the Columbia River restaurant.

    Our son, Lee, has been off work due to surgery so we’ve had him to entertain or rather, he’s had us to entertain.  Then, our daughter, Tammi, ended up transferring to the Pacific NW only to find out a few weeks later that the position she was here for was actually going away.  Thus, with Lee not working and Tammi and Robert not working, we’ve been pretty busy people.  It’s actually been pretty wonderful.  Well, wonderful for us that is.  Poor Sabrina as she's had to work.

Between hanging around with Lee and running around with Tammi to all the garage sales, craft and fabric stores, keeping a blog up hasn’t been easy.  We have thoroughly enjoyed all the free time they’ve been able to spend with us.  Actually, it’s just like old times. 

I had seen the Tater Baker in use before and wanted one for myself.  These amazing little padded pouches can cook two spuds in the microwave to perfect fluffy baked potatoes in less than 10 minutes.  This was one of my many, many projects.  I made myself one.

I did buy a pattern for a hipster bag.  That’s still on my “to do” list along with a zillion other things.  Tammi’s got some other patterns she picked up.  I figured I’d just copy her patterns when she’s done.

Then, of course, you can imagine what we’re doing.   Obviously, we aren’t at the beach and we aren’t crabbing any more this year.  You know by now, that we’ve been doing a lot of shuffling around with ATVs. 

Check out these photos.  Same Jordie, same quad … just a few years later.

Obviously, you know that I have many more photos to come.  Remember how I bombarded you with crabs?  Well, I’ll be doing the same with ATVs.

Guess who is covered in mud?

Another photo Lee pulled up to remind us of our past adventures.

RV Show and Gun Show

How many roads must a man walk down before he admits he’s lost?

No.  This isn't really a man from outer space.  This is Terry trying on a new helmet before he actually purchased it.  So, if you see someone that looks like this, you'll know who it is.

I’m doing a little backtracking with this one.  There was a 4-day RV show at the Portland Exposition Center.  Sometimes these are really fun things to go to.  It’s not so much looking at the same ole type of RVs as it is checking out the different vendors and unique RVs.  Tammi, Terry and I went.  The parking lot was packed with trailers, 5th wheels, tent trailers and motorhomes.  Two huge exposition halls were also packed.  However, there were so few vendors you could count them on your fingers.  We were a tad bit disappointed.  Terry did find the sewer extension he needed without running all the way over to Camping World on the other end of Portland to buy it.

This unit had an outside patio.  I guess that's if it's muddy, you don't really have to step outside.

The only unique RVs we found were those that had added porches and outside “kitchen” areas.  Not sure why these would be popular but obviously everyone likes different things.  Thank goodness!

We also intended on going to the Gun Show in Centralia.  We had intended on going to the one in Las Vegas too when we were there.  This one was just like that one.  Something else came up and we never made it.

Remember a few weeks ago I had to visit Fry’s in Portland to get the receipt for the Sony camera I had purchased just a tad less than a year ago?  It was under warranty and I needed to mail it to the Sony repair center before that year was up.  Well, yesterday I received a call from their technician.  They wanted to make me an offer.  Oops …. I was waiting for them to ask for my credit card number.  They didn’t.  Since they had taken so long and the needed part was still on back order, they were going to offer to BUY it back from me at the original price I paid!!  No way!!  Talk about customer service … I was ecstatic especially since I was so happy with the new little purse-sized camera I had purchased. “Send the check”, I said.  I didn’t tell them I had already planned on selling it via Craigslist.  

Guess what I embroidered on a shirt?  The more I do this, the better I get.  It's just finding the time to do it.

I certainly know where that Sony refund will be applied.  It’ll go to all the ATV stuff I want.  It’s amazing how expensive everything is once it becomes a specialized item.  We all know the same products are at Wal-Mart for less than half the price. 

Today?  Well, now we’re off to visit the State Patrol for an inspection of the Polaris.  It's never been titled so that's on the calendar for today.  Then, another doctor’s appointment in Portland.  It’s certainly been a busy summer.

UPDATE:  Tammi starts her NEW position on Monday!  Yippee ... in this market having a job is a good thing.

Birthday Déjà Vu and Jordie’s New Car

Inside every older person is a younger person -
wondering what the hell happened.

Sometimes it’s so hard to keep current with a blog.  I can tell you I’m certainly having trouble doing it now.  When there’s lots of free time writing stuff to post on a blog is easy.  Well, we haven’t had a lot of free time.  It seems we’re always busy and always doing something.

The birthday kids!

This week we had birthdays.  There were three of them within a five day period.  Terry’s birthday was on the 15th, Robert’s birthday was the 17th and Sabrina celebrates on the 20th.  We used to celebrate all of them together when we lived in Texas.  This was déjà vu and it was wonderful.

I took a few pictures of all of us together.  Everyone was instructed to wear black.  It was the BIG birthday for one of us but I won’t mention the name or the year.  I would post the pictures but they need a little tweaking first and I probably won’t get to that for a while.  Remember … I’m busy!  Here is the extra piece of cake we cut for Justin.  He wasn’t there to enjoy it with us but we did save him a piece of the cake.  Well, maybe we cut a piece but we really didn’t save it.

Can you tell what else we were doing? Here’s Michael on our ATV checking it out for us.  Now he wants his own.  This one’s mine.

We have been riding ATVs and quads around a little.  We’ve also been trying to find great places in the South to take them just for a little excitement in our winter adventure.

Remember the car accident Jordie had?  She totaled two cars in less than a few minutes.  She had been driving around Longview looking for a job.  Well, the insurance company paid off and now she has another car.  This time she doesn’t have to go looking for a job.  She actually has one.  She also has a great car and bought it from a private party that hadn’t even advertised it yet  …. it was the same fella we bought the quad trailer from.

ATVs and Quads and RVing

I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way.

We got out Lee’s Polaris 500 Scrambler and practiced in his yard trying to maneuver it.  Actually, it’s an easy toy.  The thing is automatic and drives just like a car without power steering.  Next thing we’re going to do is find some ATV places to ride around here.  We’ll give it a good workout for him.

When we lived in Texas we rode around with them a few times.  That’s when he had two.  It’s always more fun to ride with someone than to go by yourself.

 

Check out this gorgeous helmet.  It’s definitely for the girls.  Lee found it for me at the motorcycle shop.  I didn’t say he bought it for me.  He found it and showed it to me.  Red is my favorite color and the roses just added to it.  However, when I looked at price I just about gagged …. $375!.  I knew instantly I wouldn’t be taking that one home with me.

Now on to the problem.  How does it work to take a couple of ATVs with you when heading south for the winter?  We’ve not done this.  We’ve seen others with quads but also know that riding is restricted in many places.   Maybe we’ll take two and maybe we won’t.  We just need to try to figure out where the parks are that allow the ATVs to enter and exit  attached to riding areas other than the BLM.  We’re certainly looking but still don’t know the answer yet.  If we find a place, it will most certainly change our plans for what we thought we might do this winter.  

Right now we’re trying to figure where others spend the winter with ATVs?   Hmmmm …..   There’s nothing like making travel plans more difficult.  I'm certainly good at it.

Beaches, Quads and Lingcod

It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

We were thrilled and I do mean thrilled when Monday rolled around and the temperatures didn’t reach 90.  It was only in the 80’s.  It felt so good and comfortable for a change.

To celebrate we were off to Beaches for lunch.  Actually, we were off to Who Song's and Larry’s which was right down the road.  We just got sidetracked a little when we got close.  We decided to save that one for another day.

Beaches is a great restaurant with fantastic ambiance that sits right on the edge of the Columbia River.  We just had to sit outside.  We just had to.  This was a first-time trip for Terry and I to the restaurant.  However, Lee had been there before.

I know I have mentioned this in the past but I only have seen lingcod on menus in the Pacific Northwest.  I’m usually tempted when I see it and have ordered it many times.  Lingcod is an ugly fish but my dad didn’t care how it looked, he was always happy when it was on his fishing pole. Monday was no exception.  The fish was fabulous, just fabulous.  I’m going to share with you.  Well, I’m sharing the picture.  You’re just going to have to take my word for it that it was fantastic.

Not long after we got back to the motorhome, Jordie showed up and needed a ride into Woodland.  She had a job interview!!  Remember, she no longer has her own car.  It’s sitting in the wrecking yard along with the other car she totaled.  We gave her the ride and Figaro’s Pizza gave her the job!!  It’s going to be interesting now how she’s going to be able to shuffle soccer around the job …. or IF, she’s going to be able to.  Only time will tell.

Now back to picture number one above.  Terry thinks that should be our motorhome.  After all, it has a motor and a home!  The tent folds up and fits in the back of this quad.  It is a quad.  Isn’t it?

Speaking of quads …. guess what else we found?  Now we’re rethinking everything else we planned for this winter …. especially if we decide to take a quad or two with us.  Hmmmm. 

Once we found it in the corner of the garage, guess what we did with it.  Well, it’s a rotten picture but my phone isn’t known for taking good shots.  You just might be reading more about this topic in the next few days.  Hang around and see if we bag our idea or ….. if we don’t.  We definitely have to think about it and what problems might come up should we decide to haul a couple of these around with us.  Terry wants one for his birthday .... it's in a couple days -- on the 15th --  so not sure we'll be able to oblige him on it.

In the meantime … we also drove around car lots and looked at different cars.  We took pictures and Lee put them on his big screen TV for Jordie to check out.  Remember, she totaled her car.  She’s in the market for another one. 

Then, it was off to a soccer game.  

-- September 13th

Soccer Fields and Great Seafood Buffet

When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty.

Tuesday night was Jordie’s first official soccer game of the season.  We made it a family affair as all of us watched from the bleachers.  Jordie is a junior and it is her second year on the high school varsity team as a first string starter.  She’s number 16!

It was a beautiful evening especially as the temperatures started to cool off from the highs of the day that were in the 90’s.

The ending score – 3 to 1.  They won!

Temperatures are still running in the 90’s.  Tammi and I had planned on heading to the Gorge to view the waterfalls … again.  However, we didn’t expect it to be so hot when we made those plans.  Thus, we decided to postpone the trip until it cooled down a little.  Perhaps, this will be something we’ll do next week

I mentioned a few days ago the quirky little issues I was having with Firefox.  After downloading and installing the newest version of Firefox over and over again, I finally just reset all the options to default.   I had disabled the plug-ins previously but that didn't work.  However, resetting it back to the default options, did.  Obviously I had picked something along the way that was causing a problem.  Whatever that was is gone now.  Thank goodness!

When soccer season starts it really starts.  Jordan had another soccer game on Saturday.  Her school didn’t win this time but they did play a good game.

My brother had a tow dolly he no longer needed since he had recently sold his motorhome.  So, we took a trip on Sunday to deliver it to my cousin who lives in Port Angeles.  Our point of contact was the casino just south of Shelton – about the half way point.

Selecting a casino as the meeting place was certainly smart.  It meant we had one fabulous buffet lunch.  It was a seafood buffet.  Tammi and I pigged out on clams and crab and shrimp and everything wonderful.

 

Hopefully, our temperatures will dip into the 80’s tomorrow.  At least that’s the prediction.  It’s been hovering in the mid-90’s for way too long.  We’re certainly ready for it to cool down.  We hope the weatherman isn’t wrong this time.  We need him to be right.