Older than dirt!

Thank You all for the many messages wishing me a Happy Birthday!  I am lucky to have found so many friends with the blog and facebook.  Isn't this an almost unbelievable way to communicate and meet so many folks?  I appreciate each and every one of you taking your time to read these ramblings.

So it was my birthday, and we had to do something that was more fun than sit here in this motorhome.  I proposed that we drive to Payson, Az.  That is about 75 miles North of Mesa, but also is up at 5500 feet.

Its is amazing how the elevation makes such a change in the climate.  As we climbed from the desert floor, we lost the saguaro cactus first, and then the prickly pear disappeared.  We began to see real trees, and the sagebrush gave way to small evergreens.

As we climbed the last 1000 feet and entered Payson, the trees began to be tall evergreens and real trees that had leaves.  Of course they were brown by this late in the fall, but actual trees just the same.

From the street in Payson, you can see in the distance that more mountains are to the North.

Loyce had a little surprise up her sleeve, as she now had and address for me to find in Payson.

Now what does she always want to find?

You can't read it but the window says "Quilters Outpost"  Now imagine that!  She wanted to come up here because there was yet another quilt store.

So I got to hang out in the car while she went inside and did what ever girls do in quilt stores.   But not being trainable, I wandered over to the neighboring shopping area, where there was a health store.

In front of the store I found a tractor.

This is a model B IH Farmall.  International Harvester.   Some study has yielded that letter tractors began in 1939, and model B tractors were discontinued in 1948.  During WWII the production went to the war, so I'm betting that this one might be rather rare.  The lady in the store knew nothing about the piece, other than that the store owner also owned the tractor.

It is very different up here than down in Phoenix.

Most of the trees are evergreen, but this was across the street from the shops in town.  It didn't look much like late November.  We drove on to the East into the Tonto National Forrest. 

We would have gone farther, but we decided that it was getting late, and that we would repeat this trip when we leave the area to go back to Kansas next week.

As it was getting darker by the minute, we headed right home to Mesa.  Pictures were no longer much of an option, with the little point and shoot camera.

As we traveled the hour long distance, we hatched a plan that we would have a birthday dinner at Texas Road House on Stapley and the Superstition Freeway.  This is just like all the other Texas Road Houses that I have been in.  They appear to be carbon copies no matter where they are built, but the meal was also a good carbon copy of what we have come to expect.  So all was well.

I had the rib eye, and so did Loyce.  We get the smallest one, because with a potato and a salad, I am so full at the end of the meal, you could roll me on out to the car!  We did not tell them it was my birthday, since the waiters all come over to your table and Hollar "HEE HAW!!!!" about four times and then sing happy birthday with no particular tune.

Since I can't eat the dessert anyway, it isn't worth suffering thru the humiliation!  Even Loyce agreed.

Ben and his house full of bandits called as we were headed to the restaurant, and they all yelled happy birthday together on the phone.  And later, I found that Melissa had Clair put a voice mail message of herself singing happy birthday, too.

Wow, all this fuss just because I am now old enough to collect social security, and more importantly get the America The Beautiful Senior Pass!  Wow!

Retired Rod