Wishing you and yours a very safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving.  We are thankful for all of you!

Great Day And Great Visit!

We slept in again today and waited for the clouds to blow out and the rain to finally stop.  After breakfast, we braved the elements and headed out for a hike.  Although the path was wet, we were able to get in a good hike and see some wild life as well.

Clouds and Rain!

We found a tarantula moving slowly down the trail in our direction, so it gave us a chance to get a picture. Ranger Mark at the Visitor's Center told us that he was a male and was looking for a mate. He also said that following the mating process, the female kills and eats the male. Puts a bad marriage into a whole new perspective. 

Marching to his death:-(

We saw that Rene and Jeanette were headed to Lake Pleasant today and they were just too close to our location to not stop by and say hello. I have followed their Blog for quite some time and we were so excited to meet them in person. They are such a warm and welcoming couple and we enjoyed great wine, snacks and conversation in the living room of their beautiful 5th Wheel.  It was so great to meet and learn more about them and their wonderful family. There was only one thing that would have made the visit even more perfect, and that would have been if their beautiful Grandson Easton was with them, so that we could have met him in person too.  What a great day with a wonderful couple, we hope your time in Arizona is enjoyable. We look forward to getting together with you both again very soon!

Rene and Jeanette

Thanks for stopping by for a visit and we hope that your upcoming Thanksgiving week is a safe and enjoyable!

Rain, Rain And More Rain!

Due to work commitments, we don't get many opportunities to get out and enjoy our RV during the year. When we do decide to get out, I sit at my computer using the online reservation system to guess which weekend would be the best. 

I am about 50% successful with my guessing, hitting either excessive heat or even snow in April, freezing cold in October or non-stop rain in November, which has been what we have had this weekend in Cave Creek Arizona. 

I waited most of yesterday to get out between the downpours and was successful getting set up before it was time to head home to pickup Tracy after work. We drove back up to the campground in the dark and pouring down rain, neither of which I enjoy driving in. 

We cooked our hamburgers on the stove , sorry George, no Weber last night, and settled in for a long night of rain tapping on the roof. I know that some folks like that sound, it just keeps me awake. :-(

Well our normal routine is to pack up and head home on Sunday, which normally is the most beautiful day of our stay, but not this trip.  We decided to fool the elements and head out on Monday. It will be interesting to see how our plan works. 

The great news is that we get all of the local stations, so we can watch the ASU Sun Devils win tonight and hopefully catch the Cardinals game tomorrow as well. 

Either way, we are just happy that we can be out and about and I will sign off now because the sun just peaked through the clouds, which may mean that we get a hike in today. Thanks for the visit and enjoy your day wherever you are and whatever you are doing!

A Rose By Any Other Name...And Great News!

I couldn't resist bragging about our roses this year.  Many of you may remember our visit to the International Rose Test Garden, while in Portland Oregon a few months ago and my pictures of some of their award winners.  Well I have to say that our roses this year are just as beautiful (in my opinion only) and smell good besides!

Rose Garden Rose!

Our Rose!

Well enough about roses.  The real exciting news came last evening while we were Skyping with Stephanie.  When Steph and Randy got married three years ago and then moved to Oregon, we found out that they would only be spending every third Christmas with us, because they would spend one year with Randy's Dad, one year with Randy's Mom and the third year with us. :-( Well I don't specifically remember making that agreement, but anyway, that's the way it has worked.  

So Steph and Randy were with us last year and Tracy and I were sad to think that we wouldn't be seeing them for Christmas for two more years (remember the rotation above), but Stephanie surprised us and said she will be joining us this year for Christmas!!!

Seems that Randy's Mom wants to celebrate on the weekend following Christmas, when everyone was going to be available, so Steph will arrive on 12/23 and head back 12/27.  We couldn't be more excited! We are sad that Randy won't be able to join us because of work, but it will be so great to have at least one of them with us for the big day.

So we will be busy getting ready for what I know will be a wonderful Christmas this year, with both Sarah and Stephanie at home.  I got so excited that I already set up the Christmas Tree, much to my wife and daughter's dismay, but we will be busy, busy, busy over the next six weeks, so there is no time to waste.  

I hope you have some exciting plans for the holidays and thanks for stopping by for a visit!

God Bless Our Veterans!

Thank you all for your sacrifice!

Beautiful Arizona Weekend!

Well we were able to slip away early on Friday to McDowell Mountain Park for the weekend.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed hiking and biking over the two days we were there.  

Space 70 - One of our favorites!

Our Beautiful View!

Our friends from church had never been to the park and enjoyed their time as well.  Tracy and I enjoyed having them with us, even though we didn't have as much alone time as we usually do. 

Our Friends in Space 69 across the street

We were packing up yesterday morning and a car came by to tell us that the electrical was out in the park.  I had just unplugged the rig, so the timing couldn't be better to head down the hill to home.  

Enjoyed watching football, snacking and napping yesterday afternoon and I am back at it today.  

I have been helping Sarah's boyfriend Jake with finding a replacement car for his Mustang which was involved in a hit and run accident.  I did most of my research on cars.com and helped him to locate a 2012 Hyundai Veloster at the same dealership where we bought the Silver Streak in July.  I put him in contact with our salesman who was great during our purchase and he was able to do a deal and seems very happy.  The car would be a little small and a little too sporty for me, but I am not 21 years old anymore!

Jake's new ride!

I received an email from the salesman yesterday thanking me for the referral and letting me know that he had dropped a check for $100 in the mail.  I sure didn't expect to be paid for the referral, but it was a nice surprise.  So we will use the referral bonus to take Jake and Sarah out to our favorite Italian place for dinner tonight, that way we all benefit!

That's it for now, glad to hear that our southbound friends are making it to Arizona and places elsewhere safely and thank you all for the visit!