Snow on the Cacti, Say it's Not So!

This morning we got up to see snow falling. Hard to think a couple days ago it was 80 plus degrees here and today snowing. The snow did not accumulate on the ground. The mountains are whiter since more snow fell during the night.

Gradually the snow peeked out from the clouds for a brief moment and then the dark clouds moved over the sun. This peek-a-boo playing between the clouds and sun continued all day. It is cold probably we'll be lucky to see temperatures above 50 degrees, if they get to 50, here in Congress today.
We went into Wickenburg to have lunch at the Tumbleweed Restaurant but it was closed on Monday. Then we decided to ride up to Yarnell, about 12 miles north of Congress. Yarnell is at the top of the mountains that are snow covered. As we wound our way up the mountainous road the ground covering of snow was thickening. The roads were clean. Saquaro cacti had a covering of snow and looked strange as they were white instead of the normal green. Yarnell had 4-5 inches of snow on the ground and it was about 10 degrees colder than Congress. From there we could see the next group of mountains, that would have been on the way to Prescott, which appeared to have a much heavier layer of snow. We stopped at a little diner in Yarnell for a lunch of burgers and cream of green chili's soup. Soup was flavorful but not spicy hot. After lunch we turned around to return to North Ranch.
Back at North Ranch we walked to the Activity Building to check on the wood carvers. This week there is an Escapee gathering of wood carvers here. There were many folks busy working on projects in the building from relief carving, cypress carvings, bark carving, wood burning and caricature and bird carving.

Each type of carving had an area where a group were working and there was a leader or expert in that specific type of carving instructing or helping. Looked interesting.

What a Change in the Weather

Friday and Saturday we stayed in the Congress/Wickenburg areas. Friday we took a dirt road that went passed a few ranches but was mostly land covered with mesquite trees and cacti. There were some hills and curves in the road. And it was pure dust all the way. So after that little jaunt we had to go into Wickenburg to the car wash.
Saturday morning the campground had a sausage and pancake breakfast that we went to. In honor of St. Pat's day they had blueberry pancakes that looked kinda green but were good. And then for lunch we went into Congress for a corned beef and cabbage dinner at the fire hall. The meal was only served from from 12 noon until the food ran out. We got there about 12:30pm and shortly thereafter the serving stopped as the food had run out. They had very large servings of corned beef, potatoes, carrots and a small serving of cabbage. The food was good but I would have like more cabbage and less potatoes and carrots but at least I didn't have to cook.
We have had really nice warm weather until last night when it seemed the bottom fell out. During the day yesterday it was cloudy but comfortable. As the day went on the clouds were building and then we had some wind (not as bad as was predicted), then some thunder and lightning could be heard and seen in the distance and finally the rain started. It rained hard all night. This morning, Sunday, the rain has been coming in showers off and on. The worst part is the temperature has dropped- it was 38 degrees about 7am and is not expected to get much above 50 if that warm today. It's been in the 80's. Mountains north of us are snow covered and further north on I-40 the road has been closed because of snow. And spring is to start this week!! We have been hearing that the weather back east has been wonderful all winter. Hopefully, if this system moves east it will be gone by the time we get home in a couple of weeks.
Close to noon we began to see patches of blue sky as we drove to Surprise, Az. to meet friends, Margaret and Don Phillips for lunch at the Irish Wolfhound Restaurant and Pub. Actually in Surprise the sun was shining and the bright blue sky had lots of big, fluffy white clouds. But as we sat in the restaurant enjoying the company and food the clouds thickened and the sky darkened. It was somewhat breezy and chilly when we left the restaurant a little past 3pm. Driving north toward Wickenburg we had a shower of rain and to the east the most beautiful rainbow occurred. It was an entire rainbow arch, not a partial that is most often seen, plus a second rainbow on the northern side. When we were just about to Wickenburg we were hit with hail for a short spell and then just rain until we got back to the motorhome. It was a nice afternoon being with friends and catching up with one another.

Prescott and Lake Pleasant

It seems I have been neglectful in writing this blog so it is time to catch up on our happenings. I received word over the weekend that a cousin, Barbara Garity, was in the hospital in very serious condition and then I learned that she had passed away. Barb was the oldest (70 years) female cousin in the Little family, my dad's family, and the first of our generation to pass on. She and her husband, Malcolm, lived about 10 or 12 miles from our home in Maryland. In addition to her husband she is survived by 2 daughters and their husbands and 2 granddaughters and a brother. My heart goes out to the family. I will miss her phone calls and hearing about her family.

Tuesday we drove to Prescott. Trader Joe's opened a new store in Prescott a few days prior that we wanted to go. So after stopping at Home Depot for a floor mat and then getting my haircut we went to Trader Joe's. While at Trader Joe's we spied a Five Guys hamburger restaurant, a favorite of ours. A quick stop at Sam's Club we then returned to Five Guys for lunch. Both Trader Joe's and Five Guys were doing a bang up business as the parking lot was so full that finding a parking spot was difficult.

Wednesday we ran into Wickenburg to go to the grocery store and the hardware store for a few articles. We had nice lunch at the Chapparel Cafe that offers sandwiches and homemade ice cream. In the evening I made some tortellini salad and a pan of brownies in preparation for Thursday and a trip to Pleasant Lake.

Today, Thursday, after breakfast I fried some chicken and then packed the cooler with the tortellini salad, chicken, dates and brownies. We were then off to Lake Pleasant Regional Park about 35 miles south of Congress. We stopped at the Visitor Center and walked a short trail by the Center.

              The cacti are beginning to bloom in the desert out here and they are really pretty.

We then drove around the park. There are several campgrounds with electric and water hook-ups and dump stations. These campgrounds appeared to be near capacity.

        We finally drove to the Pipeline Canyon trailhead where we had our lunch at a picnic area.

After lunch we hiked the Pipeline Canyon Trail which is 2 miles of a well defined trail with some loose stones and some hills.

                               The trail crosses the water via a floating bridge at Pipeline Cove.

As we walked we saw much evidence of the presence of wild burros with the droppings left behind. We met a lady and then a couple of young boys going in the opposite direction that told us the burros were up ahead. So we continued on hoping to see the burros. Just when we thought we should turn around we spied the burros.

One burro was off to himself with 5 more were in a group. Initially we only saw 4 burros in the group and then saw one lying stretched out surrounded by the other 4. We even wondered if this burro was alive but eventually they began to move on and we saw that this burro was in the group and appeared to be a younger, smaller burro. We went most of the 2 miles before turning around to return to the parking area that we had left from. We saw small lizards on the trail but, thankfully, no snakes. It was a beautiful day with temperature in the low 80's, clear bright blue skies but the sun still was hot.

The weather forecast for this weekend is for a strong winter storm which means wind and precipitation- rain or snow depeding on elevation. We should be in the rain area. The temperature is also to fall into the 50/60's for this area. Quite a change from the 80 degrees. Rain levels are down so this rain is much needed.
North Ranch has a small park called Saquaro Park that has a variety of cacti and other desert plants. A large saquaro named Methuselah, one of the largest saquaros in Arizona, is in this park.

Properties here in North Ranch also have desert vegetation planted and there are some beautiful cacti blooming at this time.

We enjoying walking about the park and through Saquaro Park seeing this different style of landscaping from that in the eastern part of this country.

Gypsy Gathering and Congress

Tuesday we attended a few seminars at the Gypsy Gathering in the morning. Then at lunchtime we went down to the old section of Yuma for lunch at DeBoyz restaurant known for their pizza. Of course we had to try out a pizza and agreed it was worth the praise that we had heard. A farmers market had been set up in the street outside of the restaurant so after eating we had to walk through the market and make a few purchases of fresh vegetables. Before returning to the fairgrounds and rally we stopped at a date farm to get some dates. For evening entertainment on this evening David Bradley, a cowboy singer, filled the bill. He had a difficult time getting his sound system to work but once that problem was fixed David Bradley did a fine job of entertaining.
Winds started kicking up Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday was a cold day for Yuma. I don't think temperatrures reached 60 degrees that day and for this being the warmest area in Arizona was cold. Again this day there were seminars to attend and a vendor area to walk about and spend money. This evening there was a pizza party in the evening. Piles of Dominos pizza (120 pizzas) arrive at the campground and within less than 10 minutes everyone was served 2 slices of pizza (choice of cheese,pepperoni and sausage) and then if anyone wanted more they were welcomed to return.
Thursday morning the wind had subsided and the sun soon warmed up making for a more comfortable day. Again we attended seminars most of the day. We did go out for lunch at La Fonda Restaurant and Tortilla Factory, a favorite of ours from previous visits and after this visit still remains so. Apparently, we are not the only ones that like this restaurant because it is always busy. In the evening there was a wrapping up of the rally. Door prizes had been awarded throughout the week with this night being the final give away night. Eventually, everyone or rather each RV unit receives a door prize of something and on this night our name was finally called. We, or I should say that I since it was my size, got a tee shirt with the cover of Nick Russell's latest book "Big Lake Lynching". Nick Russell, in addition to publishing "The Gypsy Journal" newspaper and along with his wife, Terry, have 2 Gyspy Gathering Rallies a year, has taken to writting books. "Big Lake Lynching" is a follow to his first book "Big Lake". Tom and I have read the first book and I have begun reading the second book, they are available on Kindle and are quite good reading.
Friday morning after breakfast we packed up and left Yuma. The rally was over and it was time to move on. We really were unsure where we wanted to go and decided to return back to North Ranch in Congress. We got to North Ranch a little past 1pm and the office was closed for their lunch break. We just unhooked our Jeep, left the motorhome in the area for parking while registering and drove into Congress for our lunch. Returning to the campground we got registered and then parked in a site. I had pulled something in my back this morning so we just laid low the remainder of the day.
Today, Saturday, was "Yard Sale Day" here at North Ranch. We walked about the Ranch checking out the sales. I did buy a Rada cheese knife for a dollar, something I have at home but not in the motorhome before today. We then went into Wickenburg for lunch at Anita's Cocina and a stop at Safeway to replenish our food supply. We plan to be here for a little more than a week before going to Phoenix.

Yuma, Arizona

Yesterday, Sunday, we packed up and left Congress a little past 10am and moved southwest to Yuma.  Our travels took us on rte. 71 out of Congress, to rte.60 , then I-10 to rte. 95 into Yuma.  It was a scenic trip through wide open spaces of rural country.  The road was so straight that it seemed we could see miles ahead.  We traveled through some areas that were cultivated, irrigated and had crops growing.  One segment there were groves of nut trees- seemed to be too short for pecans, maybe pistachio?  We went through Quartzsite, easily, as the season for RVer’s to be in this area is drawing to a close for this season.  Just before getting into the city limits of Yuma we passed large fields of vegetables ( lettuces, cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli).  We got to the fairgrounds where the Gypsy Gathering was being held about 1:30pm.  The parking for this rally could not be started until sometime after 12 noon due to another rally needing to be cleared out first.  RV’s were staged in a large parking lot outside the gates and were just being started to be parked when we arrived.  Mistakenly, we were placed in a row with units needing to parked in the handicap area.  When the park crew realized their mistake they told us to just continue on in with this group.  On the good side of this mistake we were parked quicker than if we had been placed with the general parking group.  We did get parked in the area of general parking, not handicap parking.  Since we had not eaten any lunch soon after getting set up we went out to eat at a German restaurant, Das Bratwurst Haus.  It was a mediocre German restaurant.  Yuma has too many really good restaurant for us to want to return to this restaurant.  We stopped at Walmart to pick up some cereal for breakfast.  The utilities at the rally consists of 20-amp electric which adequately keeps the batteries charged but not sufficient to run microwaves and coffeepots and such so no oatmeal for breakfast.

This morning after getting up and eating breakfast Tom went in search of a technician to install the Electrical Monitoring system that we had had in our Newmar and wanted it now in our Phaeton.  The technician spent several hours this morning working on this project getting it installed.  This system monitors the electric coming into the coach and is to shut down the system before  faulty electric can damage appliances within the motorhome.  We then went out for lunch at a favorite Mexican restaurant, Mi Rancho, and unlike yesterday’s meal we were very satisfied with our food.   In the afternoon, the rally was officially opened with a session introducing the vendors and a question and answer session with some so-called experts.  Free ice cream bars were distributed to the attendees.  Later in the evening the attendees again congregated in a large building for door prize drawings but unfortunately we did not win anything- oh well, there will be more drawings throughout the rally.  The weather in Yuma has been rather warm with temps in the mid to upper 80’s.  We wouldn’t want it much warmer without being able to run air conditioning.  Tomorrow there is to be some change in the weather with high winds predicted.

La Fiesta at North Ranch

Today is La Fiesta at North Ranch, this is a celebration of the opening of this park that occurred in 1992. At 9:30am there was a parade through the park complete with a fire truck, percussion band, dancing ladies, vintage cars, floats(actually ATV's)with candy being thrown from, a search and rescue group and a few bicyclists. Actually for a campgroud it was a nice 15 minute parade.

Then it was to the Activity Center for the craft sale displayed around the outside porch. There were some very nice craft items for sale. Tom and I then made a quick trip to Wickenburg to get batteries for the lock key fob for the motorhome, Tom had worn his batteries out. Returning from town, we again went down to the Activity Center for lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, and brownie. The pork was very good but the cole slaw lacked some flavor and the brownie was a good brownie. We checked out the silent auction items and placed a bid but doubt that we will end up with purchasing anything.
The weather today is much improved over yesterday. After I posted yesterday's post the wind kicked up again last night and was blowing to beat the band again as we were going to bed. Sometime during the night it quieted down and today is a warmer day, temps in the 60's. It is to be getting much warmer the next several days with temps in the 80's.
Today is our last day here at North Ranch as we pack up in the morning and head for Yuma. We will be at the Gypsy Gathering at Yuma fairgrounds so don't know if we will be internet connected while there.

The Wind Strikes Again

Yesterday, Thursday, I did some laundry and Tom washed the Jeep. We did our walk about the campground in the morning and again in the late afternoon. We ate dinner in the motorhome. We had to make a run to the grocery store to pick up milk and juices. It was a nice sunny fairly warm day (60 degrees). Tom and I both like to read and on days as this we do just that. There was a jam session in the clubhouse in the afternoon that Tom went to while I stayed back and took a little nap.
This morning about 4:30am I was awakened with the rattling of our slide awnings due to wind. The wind continued blowing all day and finally began to settle down at sunset. It was also cold with temps staying in the 40's. Even though the sun was bright, the wind and chilliness made for an unpleasant day. We did walk about the campground but certain directions proved to be a challenge with the wind. We went into Wickenburg around noon. After walking through a small area of shops called Mecca and not finding a thing that I could not live without we went to the Hog Trough for a barbeque lunch. The Hog Trough food is much to our liking, the meats are well cooked and flavorful and the beans are the best that I have ever eaten. After our lunch we walked to the Chapparel ice cream shop as there was some local musicians playing there this afternoon. We got some coffee and sat back to enjoy the music but then we felt we should probably get some ice cream so we each had a small cup of their homemade ice cream. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
Tonight is to be a cold night but then tomorrow the temperature is to start rising into the 70's and Sunday into the 80's- sounds good to me.

Hiking to Dana's Arch

This morning we drove out on Vulture's Mine Road and took a dirt road to a parking area where we left the Jeep. With walking poles in hand, we set out on a trail that went back to where we could see Dana's Arch above us on a ridge of volcanic rock.

The hike was rated moderate. We walked along hillsides that were covered with saquaro cacti.

Some areas along the trail had colonies of teddy bear cholla, a fuzzy looking plant with nasty needles.

We saw evidence of wildlife but the only animals seen were a couple small lizards and many birds. It was a pretty hike but we had to watch our steps on the loose stones as we walked up and down hills.

The hike was a little more than 1 1/2 miles and it did took us about an hour and half to complete.
Afterward we went into Wickenburg and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. A stop at CVS to pick up a few items before returning to North Ranch completed the afternoon.

Hitting the Backroads and Wind

Monday morning, taking the Jeep, we left the campground and ventured out on some of the backroads around Congress. Back off the beaten path is an old cemetery, Pioneer Cemetery, where the gravesites are dilapidated.

                                        Some graves had headstones but were very hard to read.

It really looked to be in need of some clearing of the junk that has gotten accumulated, structures built around graves were falling down. Vegetation appears to have gotten out of hand although signs warn that nothing should be removed. Dates on graves that we were able to be deciphered were in the late 1800's, early 1900's and ages were those of children or young adults, mostly.

After visiting the Coon Hound cemetery in Alabama this winter and seeing how well that cemetery for dogs is cared for, it is sad to see a cemetery for pioneers of this territory so poorly cared for.
Moving on we traveled on a road that passed a gold mining camp, and continuing on, driving across a stream and up some steep mountainous road we eventually came out in Yarnell.

We returned from Yarnell by way of the main roads and then continued over toward the Vulture Mine. Getting close to lunch time we kept on driving what we thought was toward Wickenburg but actually it was away from Wickenburg. Finally in Tonopah, 50 miles southwest of Wickenburg, we saw a restaurant and were able to get a bite to eat. The weather forecast for the day was calling for some strong winds and sure enough the winds became stronger as the day went on. The dust was flying everywhere but luckily it did not become so dusty that it interferred with being able to see as we drove. After lunch we did return to Wickenburg, stopped at Safeway for a few groceries and then returned to our campsite at North Ranch. The winds continued most of the night and the temperature dropped to the low 40's.
Today, Tuesday, the winds have calmed but the temperatures have remained chilly with the high only reaching the upper 50's compared to the 70's of a day or 2 ago. It has been a quiet restful day, today. We didn't drive anywhere. Walked about the campground twice, did some reading, ate in the motorhome and took a snooze.

Fountain Hills Art Fair

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to the city of Fountain Hills, east of Pheonix, for an Art Fair. There were reported to be about 500 artisans selling their wares. Thankfully it was a pleasant day for walking around and looking at everything that was being sold. Fountain Hills does have a fountain that every hour on the hour shoots water 300 to 500 feet up, depending on the windy conditions.

The fair was adjacent to the park in which the fountain is located so we saw the display a couple of times while we were walking about. We stopped at a Chili's restaurant on our way home for an early dinner.


Today, Sunday, after breakfast we hiked through the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) area next to North Ranch.

We met up with a couple that had a ATV with a wagon that they used to go out into this area to clean up cactus that people had tried to dispose of. This area could be closed off from being used if this practice continues. This is a desert area but aside from one lonely Saquaro there are no cactus growing here.

Mesquite trees and creosote bushes are plentiful. We did see some flowers scattered through the area.

                              Hoping to see some wildlife we did encounter a small herd of steers.

Free range cattle are common in this on BLM land. The remainder of the day we just chilled out. This evening we will go to the clubhouse for the Sunday evening ice cream get together. It has been getting windier as the day goes by and tomorrow the winds are predicted to be much stronger.

Beautiful Sedona

Wednesday was a day of running errands- picking up mail at the Congress postoffice, a little grocery shopping in Wickenburg and lunch. The weather here has been just about ideal- bright sunshine and temperatures in the 70's. At night the temperatures drop into the 40's but when that warm sun comes up so do the temperatures. We only need a little heat in the mornings for about an hour and then soon some windows are opened and by afternoon some exhaust fans to keep us comfortable. Without open windows and fans the inside of the motorhome can get quite warm.

Thursday after eating breakfast we took off for Sedona, about 110 miles northeast. We traveled through Prescott onto Sedona on rte. 169. This was our third time going to Sedona but it still is breathtaking to drive into that area with the bright red rocks. I do think this is the prettiest Arizona area. We stopped at the National Park Visitor's Center to obtain the necessary permit that allowed us to park in designated National Park parking areas.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross built into the mountainside was our next stop. After finding a parking spot on the hillside we continued our ascent up to the Chapel on foot- it is quite a climb.

Once up to the Chapel the views are just magnificent.

                       Just below the Chapel is a "mansion" that has most everyone drooling over.

                            The Chapel has a very small sanctuary but is an interesting structure.

A few stops to take pictures and then we were downtown Sedona and it was lunchtime- how convenient! We ate at Open Range Grille, a restaurant that has big windows with views of the surrounding red rock mountains and the food was good, too. Before returning to the car we went to a camera shop to have my camera checked out, the lens cover had been balky at opening and on this day was not opening at all. The battery was found to be okay so the recommendation was that I should get another camera rather than to have this one repaired. (As it turned out Tom was able to get the camera functioning as it should when he worked with it later at the motorhome.) Getting back in the jeep we continued on through Sedona and up through Oak Creek Canyon. The rock structures change from the red rock to yellow rocks as we went through the canyon. The Oak Creek was flowing well- one of the few creeks in Arizona that actually had water. As we climbed up the canyon we saw patches of snow along the roadside. The canyon is covered with pine trees that does not allow the sun to penetrate to melt the snow. There is a viewing area that overlooks the canyon.

 Native Americans are at this area selling jewelry, pottery and other handmade items. I had to check out everyones' wares as I walked by. It was about 3:45pm and the vendors were packing up their wares to head out by the 4pm time of closing the viewing area.

From Oak Creek Canyon we returned back through Sedona where we picked up rte.89A that took us over a scenic route over mountains through the town of Jerome and onto Prescott. Jerome,a town created by a copper mine and now a artsy community, is situated on a mountain with narrow streets. We passed a truck pulling a small 5th wheel coming into town and wondered just how he was going to maneuver through those streets that was barely wide enough for cars. Driving along the sun was setting and the views were gorgeous. The eastern sky at one point was various shades of pinks and purples and then several minutes later the western sky had bright streaks of red and orange. Just beautiful. The roads we were traveling over were full of curves and had signs posted about anything over 40 feet not traveling over these roads. (In spite of the posting we passed a large, 40 plus foot, motorhome with a trailer hauling a pick-up truck. Can't people read the signs?) It was a great day full of beautiful scenery.

Today, Friday, we went into the town of Wickenburg and wandered about the shops, not looking for anything special. Wickenburg is a cowboy town and most shops have cowboy stuff- clothes, gear and housewares. We stopped at the postoffice in Congress again today to pick up some medical supplies we had sent here. Back at the campground we had a late lunch and then we went for our almost daily walk around the campground.