New Years Catch-up!!!

January 7, 2016 <== Really ??  2016???

Boy there’s been a lot going on here and I’ve been somewhat remiss in posting updates.  I could blame it all on a bogus problem with Windows 10 Updated Live-Writer which apparently no longer likes Blogger – but I won’t..  Well, not completely… But I did need to re-write this Blog entry in Open Live Writer (a new Open Source version of Live Writer)..  Microsoft screws up again… 

As I write this, El Nino storms are pummeling the area for the 4th day in a row.  Good time to try and update the Blog!

Most of us have come to love the cute, colorful and exceptionally fast cartoon bird as The Road Runner.  Little did we know that we have many Road Runners living right in our RV Park..  This little fella was sitting in the shade under our camper (probably waiting for a UPS Delivery from ACME) until I accidently scared him out.  As quickly as I could, I grabbed my phone from pocket to snap a pic.  He stopped in mid-stride about 20 feet from my and smiled as I snapped his picture. He immediately made a funny sound which I could have sworn sounded like “Beep-Beep-thub thub thub!” and he took off across the gravel lawn and off into the sunset leaving a trail of dust in his wake..

On December 10th, we went on a pretty long ride through the desert to a town named Superior and had a great lunch in a restaurant there. The scarves we are wearing on our necks are actually raised up over our faces just below our eyes for us to breath through.  The dust in the desert is as easily as fine as powdered sugar and very bad for you. These scarves filter out most of that – although they can be somewhat uncomfortable at times.

It’s cool at night here (30’s). Our furnace and oven run off of propane gas. The day after the ride to Superior, I was changing out the ~60# propane bottle in the front of the camper and managed to throw my back out. Since we still did not have our Health-Care cards, I tried to tough it out and try to pop it back into place with exercising, stretching etc.  It did not work.  Finally I relented to the urging of others and went to a Chiropractor’s office near the RV Park here in Gold Canyon.  Well, as it turned out, all they really wanted to do is to put me on a therapy table with a TENS device (electrical shocks) taped to my lower back..  No adjustment, no nothing..  I left there in more pain than I arrived with and they thought they were going to set me up with a series of these therapeutic visits..  Not bloody likely!  I continued to stretch and exercise – getting marginally better over the next week or so, but still very uncomfortable and hard to sleep.  A fella in the park here recommended another Chiropractor in Apache Junction (not far away).  Another guy had overheard that recommendation and said “Yeah – whatever you do – don’t go to those quacks in Gold Canyon – this guy that Charlie recommended is GREAT!”..  I made an appointment for the 23rd of December and got immediate relief.  I was not 100% though and had to come back a few days later for a follow-up.  I am happy to report that my back is BACK!  We have also contracted with a local Propane supplier to have a large bottle of propane delivered that will stand outside the camper and will be replaced when empty.

Pics below – CoCoa taking a snooze on Momma’s lap. Out like a light and having sweet puppy dreams where she lightly barks in her sleep and her paws and legs twitch as she runs in her dreams.  The Bible-Study group that Dar belongs to had a reading of the Nativity scriptures.

You have to love our sunsets here. I took these by the fountain at the entrance to our park on 12/23. The Saguaro cactus is such a majestic old man watching over that entrance.

As I said in a previous blog entry – we ordered new bicycles from Walmart and they had to be shipped to the store in Mesa. After waiting a few weeks, we finally get the delivery advice and brave the crowds just before Christmas to pick up the bikes.  We were both very excited and could hardly wait to bring them home.  Our bubbles were soon burst when they pulled out two bikes that were both Lady’s bikes and not the ones we wanted. We got our refund and left the store – our bubbles burst.  After days of going through all the ads and looking on Craigslist, we found one of the two bikes. This one is mine (Randy) and we continued the search for Dar’s new ride..  While I am not as steady as I should be yet, I was able to ride it a little ways. A little more than a week passes by and we find Dar’s bike on the rack at the same Walmart! Home it came!  She was delighted to find that after all these years (25 or more) she could still ride!

January 1 – HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!  We spent New Years Eve with a number of people here in the park in our big meeting room – sharing food and munchies (don’t try to get me to say/spell those French words that I always flub-up)…  Music and visiting was the order of the night.

New Years Day – Randy and his friend Jerry head out with a bunch of other guys..  While we made a number of interesting stops, I chose to document the return visit to the abandoned Turquoise mine where we find bits and pieces of turquoise laden rocks that we brought back with us.  There are lots of treasures in the desert. Some of the most beautiful land you’ve ever seen.

With the rains upon us over the last week now, there has not been a lot we could do outdoors.. After going shopping for a little bit of wood, I built this small shelf to Dar’s own design / plans.   I will probably add another shelf layer in the big open spot.. Not too bad when you consider I don’t have a lot here for tools ((yet)).  I am also doing a little wood carving to make a sign for the front of our lot here.  This is just a beginning, but you have to start somewhere.

Okay – now you have to use your imagination here..  For years, Dar has wanted us to learn how to dance. Our professional lives and just life in general made for really handy excuses to NOT do this.  Well, it finally happened.  Yesterday we had our first dance lessons where we learned the Two-Step, the Vine, the Square and a couple of others that I can’t remember right off.  Dar’s toes got their abuse with size 14 waffle-stompers being guided by less than graceful me..  This picture was staged, but I had to do it…  While we’d like to be like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers once we’re finished with the classes – I think we’ll both be happy to just have fun and not look stupid..

Well – that’s it for now.  We’re having the time of our lives here and we can’t thank our friends back home that are keeping an eye on things enough.  We both agree that having a week that consists of six Saturdays and a Sunday is agreeing with us more and more.  Coming up this weekend is a Swap-Meet and Car show on Saturday in Phoenix. Hopefully the rains will be gone by then and we can get in some good bike riding too!

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