Another Do Over

Today we skipped the noon luncheon, and the country store meet at the activity center. Loyce had taken Brandy out to get her groomed at a very early hour for us. They arrived at 8 AM but were told they should have been there at 7.

Loyce had told them she would be there at 8 but they had intended for her to come, as they had told her at 7. Well she had the grooming just the same, and she looks like a nicer puppy now.

Once back at home, we got ready and went out to the Mesa Swap Meet. I had written this up Here on November 16th last fall. And we have been out there about three or four times since.

Today will be the last time that we will go and spend several hours looking through all the booths. From here on out, if we go we will be going directly to a specific store to purchase specific items that we know are for sale.

The good thing about knowing what you are after, is that you can park somewhat close to the store you are interested in and walk directly there. That makes a big difference in the time it takes. Since this place is bigger than a football stadium, with four parallel buildings side by side. There are 250 booths in each of the four concourses. Many stores take up lots of booths but still I’ll bet there are 400 businesses all together.

You have to watch the quality of some of the things you buy at these meets, and I had purchased a billfold that was made in India last fall. In only 4 months, it was looking shabby, so today I got a replacement.

The new one was made in the USA, and the sales lady was familiar with the first one I had purchased, and guaranteed that this new one is much better and will last significantly longer. Time will be the test of that!

After a few purchases, and passing on some of the things we thought we wanted, but did not come home with, once we looked at them again, we were out of there by about 4 PM.

Tonight, we went back to Cracker Barrel for supper. Shouldn’t do that, because I always come away feeling like I ate the whole building.

No call from the RV repair facility today, concerning the awning either. I have a feeling that our time here will expire and the Jayco folks will not have provided a solution. Again, time will be the test of this too.

Retired Rod

Do Overs

As we spend the last week or so here, we are now like residents of the area.  We have been to the same old restaurants several times, and back to the Wal Mart almost daily for the last 8 weeks.  So we are beginning to see the same sights over and over.

So today we went back out the Apache Trail to Canyon Lake.  Only two miles beyond is Tortilla Flat, but since we were not going to the restaurant or looking for an Ice Cream, we turned around at the marina at the lake.

It was late in the afternoon, and we stopped at the visitor overlook.

The Salt River comes into the side of the lake, so it looks like there is a lake in a canyon without any source.  From the road it is hard to see where the water comes from.

The explanation sign was quite faded, but you can see the water comes from the top right, and the dam is across the river outflow to the left.  It backs up back into the canyon to the lower right.  The loop off of the road right of the big red blotch of something spilled on the sign, is the campground.  Tortilla Flat is just out of the picture to the right on the road.

This is the Tonto National Forest, and you have to purchase a day pass for $6 if you plan to stay anywhere and leave your car parked while you hike, or fish.  And the pass has to be purchased back in Apache Junction.  So if activities are planned, get a pass before you leave town.  If you have an America the Beautiful Sr. Pass, you can buy a $3 day pass and then display both cards in your window while parked.

See the little fishing boat, that is about a 14 foot row boat, so the size of the lake is deceiving with all the rock walls around it.  This place is a definite do over, and over.

The road turns to gravel and winds for 26 more miles, and ends up at Roosevelt Dam.  We were over it years ago, but have not taken a car over it this year.  Others have said it is passable, but then one of the ladies here in the park said it was washed out in places, and didn’t make her too comfortable.  So Loyce is not going over it, at least not in the car.

I went this morning, and checked with the RV dealership, to see if they had heard from Jayco on our broken bracket.  They had not.  The repair counter fellow said he would call Jayco and call me back.  I am still waiting for this return call.  But then he didn’t say what day he would call me back.

I did find the bracket that we need, on the wall of parts next to the counter.  If worst comes to pass, and we do not have time to get it repaired, I will purchase the bracket, and install it myself before we leave.

The high here today, recorded at the airport was 77, and that was for several hours in a row.  That sort of a day can be a ‘do over’ for the rest of the time we are here as far as I’m concerned.

Retired Rod

Fountain Hills

We went to Fountain Hills today, and let Geo the GPS lead us up there. It is North of Mesa across the Salt River, and then North on the Beeline Highway.

You can see the Fountain for several miles, since it sprays up into the air about 500 feet.

It is in the center of the town, that is almost brand new. I believe this was just desert several years ago, as there were no old buildings anywhere. I reminded me of Beverly Hills, as there were not many main streets other than right downtown. But big dollar houses were all around in the hills. The one thing they had in common was looking down the hill at the lake park and the fountain.

Since I wasn’t impressed that I wanted or could afford any of the real estate, we went directly to the lake park. This statue was really different.

I decided to just stand here and not move too much, and the coots started to run for the water. But then they just went back to pecking for grubs.

I was out in the shade of a small point in the lake, under a palo verde tree, and had to take another shot of the fountain.

I was trying to take the birds pictures without scaring them off, and they were actually beginning to come back towards me.

And all of a sudden the fountain just stopped! I wasn’t prepared to have it quit. So I walked back to the car. We drove around the park, and enjoyed the birds and the people walking their dogs. Loyce ate her lunch, and then I got a call from the stock broker in Des Moines.

So the pleasant enjoyment seemed to come to an abrupt end. Discussions of available interest rates and the overall weakness of the market killed the mood.

But for a while there, we had a nice time enjoying water, green grass, 87 degrees, the birds, and the fountain. Things that are not all that common here in the desert.

The fountain seems to run for 15 minutes at the beginning of the hour, as it began again after we were driving around town looking the place over. Its all nice and new and such, but still an overpriced suburb, that is out in the hills East of Scottsdale.

Retired Rod

Caution rambling post

We had another one of those boring 83 degree days here in the RV park. We seemed busy for most of the day, but didn’t do anything of much importance.

I got busy and took pictures of the broken awning bracket to email to the repair place, since they wanted $25 to sent a fellow over here to take a picture. Got to thinking about that and decided that I could do the work for them and save the $25.

So after waiting until around 11 AM I called and asked if I could send him the pictures, since his day was looking so complicated. (Just a guess on my part) And he said, “could you?” So I documented an email to him, with all that he would need to send to Jayco. You know just forward this and see what they want to do. Saved $25 and I am still at the top of his pending customer list.

You can see the broken bracket at the top of the part above the bolts. Surely that isn’t much of a fix, but time will tell.

Then the insurance adjuster called from Kansas City, wanting to settle some of the claim on the medical, so we played phone tag for a while, until we finally decided how to proceed.

Next we went to Wal Mart to make some prints of the photos of the quilt show. Loyce needs evidence of all her hard work for her brag book. Just kidding dear!

Then this afternoon a bunch of us guys 'needed' to sit over under an awning in front of the neighbors motorhome, from Alberta. Just to see if the beer stayed cold in his new small refrigerator in the wheel locker. He found that about two weeks ago, on sale and it was stainless and matched the color of his coach.

A few stories were swapped about everything imaginable. He has a new stripe job on his small trailer pulled behind the smart car, and it matches the car in color. His wife wanted a butterfly, and he wanted flames, so the butterfly has flames coming from its wings. Doesn’t look too bad.

Now its dark, and we have the door back open to enjoy the temps that are still in the 70’s. It is about like July in Iowa, or late June in Kansas. Ahhhhhh!

Retired Rod