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Fall and Winter
2024-2025
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Return to "Spring -
Summer, 2024"
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Tuesday, December 17,
2024: Once each month the park invites vendors to a
farmer's market and craft fair. About half the vendors
come from the park residents. A local bike shop also
attends to fix resident bicycles. He seemed really
busy. I not actually seen anyone buy one of the
metal animals although I was tempted. I also have not
seen anyone buy from the residents. Some of the resident
crafts are quite nice but I wasn't tempted by anything
from them. Click both photos to see the craft room with
talented crafts-people. |
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Monday, December 16, 2024: Gwen,
our neighbor Helen, and myself visited the Tucson Mall, one of
the largest in the Tucson area just to watch the shoppers and
learn what stores are in the mall. I haven't been in a mall this
size in years. Today's experience has convinced me of the reason
why this type of shopping is old fashioned and dying. The new
method of shopping, online shopping is so much easier and
informative. For example, it took nearly an hour of driving
through traffic to get to the mall. While in JC Penney Gwen
decided to search for socks. After 15 minutes of searching she
asked a clerk for directions. She spent 10 minutes looking at
the difference choices. Once the choice was made, she had to
walk to the far side of the store to checkout. Total time was 30
minutes to buy socks. Maybe due to my age, I found nothing to
buy. I did enjoy watching others shop and buy. The Sears store
in this mall is closed. JC Penney had few customers. The photo
on the right is JC Penney trying to move inventory. No one was
shopping in that area, JC Penney can't even give their inventory
away. |
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Friday, December 13, 2024: The
management at Rincon Country often uses the Voyager RV Resort as
a reason to increase our rent and/or charge for services. Gwen
and I finally decided to tour the Voyager RV Resort. It is about
3 times the size of our resort and 5x the number of buildings
devoted to theater, crafts, hobbies, exercise and dining. The
lot size is identical to Rincon however the prices of the park
models seem less expensive for example a nice looking park model
(older) with Arizona room can be purchased for $49K.
Still, we are on a cul-de-sac with virtually no traffic, a dog
park across the street and direct access to the desert and we
saw nothing like that at the Voyager. They do have an active
bicycle group which is not afraid to ride the road or go for
distance. Here is one
of their rides. |
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Tuesday, December 10,
2024: There has been zero precipitation in the area
including the mountains. Gwen and I took Abby for a
short picnic hike on the Green Mountain Trail. This was
like Disneyland for Abby. We are at 8,000 feet so it's
much cooler but still no sign of precipitation. We drove
on to the top of the mountain to visit the tiny village
of Summerhaven. It is a cold place to be during the
winter months but ideal during the summer. It can be 110
in Tucson but only 80 in Summerhaven. It has one general
store, two restaurants with one at the ski area, one
coffee shop, a couple gift shops, cabins to rent, and a
lodge. There appear to be about 50 homes scattered on
the mountain. The ski area is one mile up the road.
Summerhaven is at 8,000 feet with the top of the
mountain at 9,000 feet so the runs are fairly
short. Click all the photos for more views. |
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| Monday, December 9, 2024:
The CFP (College Football Playoffs) have been announced.
Four teams have a first round bye, Arizona State
(because they won the Big12 conference), Oregon (because
they won the Big10 conference), Boise State (because
they won the Mountain West Conference) and Georgia
(because they won the SEC conference). These promise to
be some tough, tough games. I am rooting for Arizona
State, Oregon and Boise State. Oregon had a tough time
with Penn State and they haven't played teams like
Georgia and Texas which may have them begging for mercy!
Both Oregon's offense and defense need to improve if
they hope to defeat the SEC teams. |
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Saturday, December 7,
2024: This was a big football day! It started with
Arizona State winning the Big12 conference. Then came a
very tough game between Texas and Georgia. Both teams
had nearly perfect defensive teams. The was a low
scoring game with Georgia finally pulling ahead. The
game between Oregon and Penn State was another tough
game but opposite of the Texas/Georgia game with high
scoring. Oregon better work on their defense before the
next game. It is going to be interesting to learn how
the CFP Committee works out the playoff schedule. |
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Thursday, December 5, 2024: While
Gwen play cards with the girls, Abby and I take ourselves for a
driving toward Mt. Lemmon. We can reach the mountain drive in
only 30 minutes. These are beautiful mountains full of unique
rock formations and if we had any precipitation, mountain
streams. We were also exploring the campgrounds along this route
for a possible night stay. We learned the Arizona Trail passes
through this mountain range. Abby and I should explore that
further. I have been on the Arizona Trail 8 years ago as it passes
the Four Peaks Area. Abby and I hiked only a short
distance because we needed to return for fuel before returning
home trying to time our return when Gwen gets home. Click the
three photos for more and larger views. |
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Wednesday: December 4, 2024:
Tonight was our monthly photo club meeting. We had an hour
long demonstration of editing photos using our iPhones. I was
able to edit these three photos mostly by cropping differently
and adjusting exposure. From the left is the Harris's Hawk
sitting on a branch in our back yard. The Northern Cardinal is
next where I cropped closer and still did not lose the sparkle
in the eye. Last is the Abert's Towhee looking straight into his
reflection on the camera lens. |
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Sunday, December 1, 2024:
While we are having a heat wave here in Tucson, the
49ers and Bills must play in a snow storm in Buffalo New
York. The Bills know how to play in this weather but the
49ers are learning. This
video will help you understand how hard this game
must be. |
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Saturday, November 30, 2024: Today
was the final game of the season for the Arizona Wildcats. Their
final opponent was Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils have
a much better record than the Wildcats, in fact they are going
to the Big12 Championship game. They easily handled the Wildcats
with a 49 to 7 win. After returning home we watched Oregon win
against Washington. Oregon is the only team to go 12 - 0 this
season and is ranked number one. They will battle Penn State in
the Big10 Championship game. Here is a short video of
the Arizona Wildcats Marching Band. |
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Thursday, November 28,
2024: Our table at the Rincon Country East Thanksgiving
had plenty of food, lots left over for another day.
Every table was active with plenty of food. Click
here to see a short video of the room. The room
was loud with conversation. You will here that on the
video. Click both photos for more views. |
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Wednesday, November 27,
2024: Our Thanksgiving day will be in the RCE Clubhouse
with many others. Gwen and our neighbor, Mary, are the
captains at our table of nine. Today was table
decoration day. We have been given instructions for the
decorations to be a tropical theme because this whole
RCE season is a tropical theme. Gwen did all of
the decoration. She created the surf boards from
unfinished plywood. One of the guests at our table
supplied the plates. All the food will be put onto the
table in the background and served as a buffet. Each
table must supply their own food with the park supplying
the turkey. The meal will be at noon tomorrow. Here is a
short video of the table. |
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Tuesday, November 26,
2024: I learned that the brake light on the left side
was not working. I have replaced bulbs like this
on other vehicles but wanted to be sure the bulb was the
problem. I removed a working bulb with the idea or
replacing the failed bulb to learn if that side began
working. However, I couldn't get hold of the failed bulb
mount. Smaller hands were needed so Gwen tried but
unsuccessful. My neighbor, Daryl, tried but also
unsuccessful. I drove to O'Reilly Auto Parts, the
closest parts store. Chris is the manager. I asked about
an LED replacement. He grabbed a package and went to the
car. He easily popped out the failing bulb and replaced
with an LED bulb. He did the same on the working side.
The LED bulbs have a lifetime guarantee. Thank you Chris
for doing something I couldn't. |
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Sunday, November 24,
2024: Both our feeders were very active today. It seems
the Sparrows come to winter here in Tucson because we
don't see them in the late spring and summer months.
Maybe they fly into the mountains. This one is a
Rofous-winged Sparrow as Identified by the Merlin Bird
ID APP on our phones. The APP identifies birds by photos
and by their song. Just turn on the recording button,
the APP listens then identifies the bird. The APP is
free from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab. Click
the photo to see a short video of the Sparrow feeding.
To get the APP go to your Apple APP Store, for Android
go to the Google APP Store. Search for the Merlin Bird
ID APP.
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Saturday, November 23,
2024: Gwen got a gift from her daughter, a smart bird
feeder. It has a built-in camera to take photos as the
birds arrives. It will also notify Gwen's phone when
there is activity at the feeder. The Cardinal and the
Woodpecker seem to like this food better than the seed
pod we have on our other bird feeder. All the birds like
the birdbath we maintain. We also had a visiting Harris's Hawk
today. Unfortunately, the Harris's Hawk was not
interested in seeds but in the birds eating the seeds.
Here is a short video of the Gila (hela)
Woodpecker selecting it's favorite from the many
choices. I will add more bird photos as we learn
to use this new feeder. Click on the photos for more
views.
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Friday, November 22,
2024: Gwen had a good idea of inviting friends to join
us at one of our favorite restaurants in east Tucson,
The Barnyard. Much of the seating area of this
restaurant is outside. Since this was a warm day, we all
sat in the patio area. We had a very good time with good
friends. Click the photos for more views. |
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Monday-Thursday, November
18-21, 2024: Another camping trip by the camping group
from the park. We drove to Benson, Arizona for breakfast
the first day. Our favorite restaurant, The Horseshoe
Cafe. Our goal was to reach the Elks Lodge in Willcox,
Arizona. We got there early enough to drive around and
view the Sandhill Cranes located nearby. Next on the
list was to visit the Chiricaha National Monument. It
was a cold but clear weather day. The monument has
amazing rock formations. Finally we visited a
historic homestead called the Faraway Ranch settled in
1883 after the surrender of Cochise and Geronimo.
This had to be rough life. Click all photos for more
views. |
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Sunday, November 17,
2024: Our neighbor, Mary, had some extra tickets to the
Broadway production of CLUE and invited us to go with
her. She took us to the Centennial Hall on the
University of Arizona Campus, our first time in the
hall. This play was by professional Broadway actors so
very well performed. We took Mary to a restaurant she
recommended after the play, The Flower
Child. |
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Saturday, November 16,
2024: My friend Wes and I attended the Arizona Wildcats
game against visiting Houston. Houston was not playing
to it's potential so Arizona won 27 to 3. This was the
2nd Arizona conference win. The first was against Utah.
Click the left photo for a wider view of the band. Click
the right photo for a short video of the band. |
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Friday, November 15, 2024: Our
photo club makes the first excursion to the Amerind Museum and
Texas Canyon Nature Area an hour from our park. Without the
guidance from the photo club we never would have found this
interesting geological and historical area. This museum
has an extensive exhibit of the inhabitants of this area to
10,000 years ago. The Texas Canyon Nature Area is full of
unusual rock formations with trails through the area. Click the
photos for more views. |
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Thursday, November 14,
2024: We used the annual pass given to us by my sister
to visit the Desert Museum again today. This trip we
were more interested in the art inside the gift shops at
the museum. It was very nice to visit on a week day with
no live bird flight. Far more relaxing with a few
visitors, no lines and helpful volunteers roaming the
trails. Click the two photos for more art views. |
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Wednesday, November 13,
2024: Gwen and I visited Gates Pass on the west side of
Tucson. Gates pass was built in the late 1800s and never
improved except to pave the road. It is a popular
cycling route because of the steepness of the grade on
both sides of the pass. It is accessed by a narrow two
lane road with a view point and hiking trails at the
top. The Sonoran Desert is to the west and Tucson is to
the east. Click the photos for more views. Here is a short video at the top of the
pass. I did not take this video. |
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Tuesday, November 12,
2024: Gwen, Abby and I started off this day with a
morning hike in the nearby nature trail. There is a city
dog park about a mile down the road. Abby doesn't care
for the other dogs in the park and gets very nervous
around these dogs. But there is a mile long nature trail
accessed from the same parking lot. She likes that hike.
This was after Abby and I made a run to the park
dumpster with garbage. Abby got in some good walking
today. Click the photo for another view of the nature
hike. |
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Sunday, November 10,
2024: Gwen and I attend "Scrooge" at the Gaslight
Theater. It is a musical comedy based on the Charles
Dickens story "A Christmas Carol". Of course Scrooge was
converted in the end and saved little Timmy. Plays at
the Gaslight are always fun and can include a meal if
you wish. I had a pizza while Gwen has chicken stripes.
At the end, birthday and anniversaries got free ice
cream. These plays always seem to sell out. Click both
photos for more views. Here is a very
short video of one of the cast tunes.
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Saturday, November 9,
2024: Today was the "Walk-Around Sale" in the park. Both
our neighbor Daryl (and Mary) and we have lots to sell.
The number of buyers were lite but we still sold about
half. We hauled the leftovers to our favorite thrift
store. As I walked around the park looking at what
others were selling, I saw lots of interesting items but
only bought a $4 cowboy hat. Gwen was also going to buy
one but couldn't find her size. Click the photo to see
what we took to the thrift store.
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Friday, November 8, 2024:
Once each month the resort has a "Walk-Around Sale"
where residents sell or give away the items they no
longer want or need. This time we have much to get rid
of. The sale begins at 7:30 tomorrow morning but
we got everything ready tonight. I hope I have a chance
to circle the park looking for treasures too. |
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| Wednesday, November 6,
2024: Rincon Country Resort has a morning meeting for
announcements every Wednesday. On the first Wednesday of
the month the Desert Boys entertain for 20 minutes
before the meeting begins. Today was a selection of 50s
- 60s themes. They promised Christmas themes on December
4. From the left it is Dennis, Paul and Wally. |
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Friday - Sunday, November 1 - 3,
2024: This is our first try at a "camping club" at the Rincon
Resort. Jane was the only one brave enough to want to drive an
hour to Sierra Vista and park in the Sierra Vista Elks Lodge RV
Park. It was our first time at this lodge. The folks were the
friendliest of any Elks Lodge we have visited. They made us feel
at home and part of their group. We had dinner with them on
Friday night. The RV park was mostly gravel and dirt with water
and power for only $15 per night. However, the plants under our
parking spot contained goat heads. If you don't know what a goat
head is, it's a seed with thorns which stick to the bottom of
your shoes and must be wiped off before entering your trailer.
They are also awful for dog paws. Both Jane and we laid down a
mat to protect the dog paws and we made sure to walk them only
in the gravel. As nice as the folks welcomed us, we won't be
staying in their RV park again. Our first tour on Saturday was
to Fort Huachuca (pronounced Wa-chuca). It is an US Army base
still in operation and we had to get passes to enter. The
fort has been here since 1846 so has a long history. Our second
tour was the Brown Canyon Ranch House, also with a long history.
It is an adobe house with only four large rooms. None were a bathroom.
We ended our day with a meal at the Landmark Cafe because they
had outdoor seating where we could take our dogs (Jane has two
dogs). Jane then treated us to a Culver's Custard.
Sunday morning was windy with a storm approaching. We had a
final breakfast together at the Caffe Ole (yes, spelled
correctly). It turned out to be a local hang out on a Sunday
Morning so very busy but good. Click all photos for another
view. |
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Thursday, October 31, 2024: We
followed our friend, Jane, to Nogales Mexico. Jane had a dental
appointment at Dental Laser who had advertised at one of our
Wednesday morning RCE meetings. She has been to Nogales many
times where we have never been to Nogales. We were not impressed
compared to our visits to Algodones south of Yuma.
Still, we did buy a couple items. Gwen bought this little man which
sits about 12" tall. I bought some numbers for the front of our house.
They are about 5" tall. Click on all three photos for more
views. |
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Tuesday, October 29, 2024: Daryl
has been wanting to trim this Mesquite tree for a few weeks. We
decided to visit Home Depot for an electric saw on an extension
pole and share the cost of the saw. We found a Black and Decker
saw, wired electric and heavy but affordable. The cordless saws
were much better but out or our price range. The saw we
bought was essentially a chainsaw with a pole attachment.
We did not want to lose the shade from the Mesquite so we were
careful to only trim the branches which leaned over our houses.
Daryl and I were already partners in the ladder but this was our
first time to use it as a step ladder. It took us about 30
minutes to figure out how to unfold and extend it. It is a
wonder, strong ladder but very heavy and complicated. Click
these two photos for another view. Gwen also made a short
video of our adventure. |
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Monday, October 28, 2024:
Will with the Gate House was here before 8 to pick up
the queen sleeper couch. It has gone to a good home.
I'm riding Zwift in my car port. I have a small TV which
came from our trailer. I am mirroring Zwift from my
tablet to the TV but the TV stalls occasionally. I
installed this WiFi extender to bring a strong Wifi
signal to the patio. Adding the extender has solved the
TV problem .
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| Sunday, October 27, 2024:
Just wanted to show you my stadium seats. This is my
view of the halftime show and often my view of the
football game. These turned out to be awful seats. In this photo you
can see all the folks above us. All those folks must
come up our isle and often stop to talk, look at their
phone to find their seat or just stop to watch the game
blocking our view. These are horrible seats. |
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Saturday, October 26,
2024: Gwen and I attended the Wildcat game against the
West Virginia Mountaineers. The Wildcats seem to be
setting up a pattern of showing up only in the third and
fourth quarters. They came from behind but still lost
31/26. The most fun for us are the flyers at the
beginning of the game as well as the military aircraft
which fly over during the national anthem. We also enjoy
the fireworks. It would be nice to hear and see the band
but it is often blocked by people standing in the isles.
I'm already planning different seats next year. Click
these photos for more views. |
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Friday, October 25, 2024:
Now that we have a new loveseat
recliner we have a perfectly good queen sleeper
sofa to give away. I have advertised it on two Rincon
Resort Facebook pages but no takers. I walked to the
office to find Laurie who often knows of people in need.
But she knew of no one. Rachel asked if I had asked "the
Pastor". I had no idea what she was talking about. She
handed me a small printed page telling of "The
Gate House". I knew nothing about The Gare House
but was happy to donate to folks in transition. I know
nothing about incarcerated individuals but can imagine
how difficult it must be to transition to a life
accepted by society. It must also be very difficult to
help those individuals. Will answered the phone when I
called and will pick up the sofa on Monday. I hope
our sofa helps!
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Wednesday, October 23,
2024: Joe continued to work in Phoenix this week but is
returning to Reno tomorrow. We volunteered to meet him
with Casey at the Culvers restaurant in Casa Grande,
Arizona, a place familiar to us. That saves him at least
2.5 hours of driving time. We enjoyed visiting with Joe
and Casey for the week he was in the area. It is a long
drive back to Reno, fortunately Joe has a nice car and
likes to drive. Click this photo to enlarge. |
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Saturday, October 19,
2024: My son Joe is visiting so we attended the Arizona
- Colorado football game. Arizona was pathetic so they
lost another game. The couple in front of us wanted
their photo taken because today was their 33rd
anniversary. They have had these same seats for ten
years.
The band always wins.
Click both photos.
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| Friday, October 18, 2024:
Finally some clouds and some serious cooling. I actually
turned the heat on. Unfortunately no rain but low
temperatures were in the 40s. |
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Tuesday, October 15,
2024: During Amazon Prime Days, just a few days ago, I
ordered a new vacuum to replace the awful vacuum which
came with our park model. It arrived today. I did not
even unpack it from the box because it was obvious it
would not work in our situation. I immediately returned
it then drove to WalMart to learn what my options were.
Whatever vacuum we have must be able to clean up pet
hair and their are plenty of vacuum which advertise
"good for pet hair"! It must have a powered floor head
which will not tangle the hair. That eliminated about
two-thirds of the vacuums. It must also have a HEPA
filter to catch pet dander and dust. It must have enough
suction power to catch everything. It must work on both
carpet and hardwood floor. Then it must have the right
attachments to catch corners and sofas. Finally, not
necessary for convenient to be cordless. As it
turns out, each of those requirements raises the price
just a bit more. The photo shows what I bought and so
far I am very pleased. I had to dump the dust container
several times as I tested it around the house. This will
be mainly for the bedroom/den because we have our robot
vacuum for the main part of the house. |
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Saturday, October 12,
2024: Gwen and I decided to replace our refrigerator
with a slightly larger Kenmore model from Lowe's. It was
scheduled to be delivered on October 22 but we got a
call today saying they wanted to deliver as early as
tomorrow. The opening for the refrigerator needs to be
5" taller for the new Kenmore. I scheduled the delivery
for Wednesday. I began working on the opening today but
the Oregon Ducks game against Ohio State took most of my
afternoon. The new refrigerator has French doors and
will be more accessible and more storage. Except for the
taller height, it will be the same dimensions as our
current refrigerator to the right. |
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| Friday, October 11, 2024:
Our park installed a dog bath last year. We used it once
last year and today used it again. It looks like Abby is
enjoying her spa day. |
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Monday - Thursday,
October 7 - 10, 2024: We had promised ourselves a
camping trip to make up for the camping we missed on the
way south. We chose Pine Grave Campground because that's
the campground we had reservations last September.
It turned out to be a very good choice because it is one
of the nicest campgrounds we have visited. At first I
was not going to make a reservation thinking few would
be camping this time of year. Pine Grove actually closes
for the season on Monday. We are at 6,900 feet looking
for cool air after the weeks of 100+ in Tucson. It is
perect 70s during the day and 40s at night. We are 15
miles from Flagstaff which we visited on Tuesday. Gwen
had some grocery shopping to do while I found a used
sporting goods store and purchased some ski boots for
$39. I guess this mean I must go skiing this winter.
Click these photos for more views. |
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Saturday, October 5, 2024: Gwen and
I bought season passes to the Arizona Football team. This was
our first home game. Arizona's opponent is Texas Tech from
Lubbock, Texas. I purchased the seats opposite the student side
of the field because the band always plays to this side of the
field. My hope was to get a good view of the band during the
pre-show and halftime. As it turned out, our isle seats were
almost always blocked by traffic in the isle and the sound from
the band was always muffled by the fans in the stands around us
always talking. We won't purchase these seats again.
As for the football game, the Arizona offense did not show up
until the 3rd quarter. By that time Texas Tech had a substantial
lead. Arizona actually made enough scores to pass Texas Tech
only to allow TT to score again in the fourth quarter. Click on
these photos for more views. |
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Thursday, October 3,
2024: We planted this Mexican Petunia last year and
fortunately our neighbors kept it watered during the
summer months. It was half this size when we planted it.
It is a marvelous plant, continues to bloom with new
blooms each morning. All blooms are dropped in the
evening but somehow new ones appear each morning. We
purchased a second one this week and planted in the
backyard. Unfortunately some animal ate half of it so it
now has a guard fence around it. |
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Wednesday, October 2, 2024: The end
of our block in the park are Daryl and Mary on the east side of
us. (Single) Mary is on the west side of us. I have been seeing
the ads for the play, "Dial M For Murder" for a month.
I got the idea for all of us to see the play together and
everyone though it a good idea. We chose the matinée because we
didn't want to be out past our bedtimes. :-) Photos during
the play were forbidden but you will see inside when you click
on the center photo.
We all enjoyed the play from the Arizona Theatre Company with a
bit of a twist at the end. They we took ourselves to Rose's for
an early dinner afterward. This was recommended by (single)Mary
and she surprised us by paying for our meal! It was great
Mexican food from a restaurant owned by one family for many
years. Click on all photos for more views. |
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Tuesday, October 1, 2024:
While on my bicycle ride this morning I came across the
Praying Mantis and Grasshopper. I'm not sure if
the Mantis is thinking this of a big meal. I suspect the
grasshopper would be too big of a bite. |
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Monday, September 30,
2024: Yesterday, while shopping at Costco I
spotted this cordless Spin Scrubber. Today I used it on
the shower tile, walls and floor. I was really impressed
with the quality of the tool. I always day of my
woodworking skills, if I don't have a power tool to do
the job it generally doesn't get done. Now I can say the
same for my cleaning tools. |
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Sunday, September 29,
2024: On this hot day I first drove to the car wash
followed by a visit to Costco for gas plus a few items
from inside. My Oregon Costco in Roseburg would love to
have half these customers over a week. Our Tucson Costco
was very crowded. After Costco I drove to our water
store for five gallons of water. The water store
sits only a few feet from Fry's grocery store. I
needed creamer but also found some Greek Yogurt. |
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| Saturday, September 28,
2024: Tonight we participated in a catered lasagna
dinner followed by September trivia. Nate's, a local
restaurant, made two lasagnas for us. One with meat and
the other meatless. Both were very good. This was
followed by a 30 question trivia challenge concerning
"Italian Night". Gwen and I were surprised by how much
we knew about Italy. |
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Friday, September 27,
2024: I walked to the Rincon Country East office
today to pay our annual rent. A couple of landscape
workers are preparing the ground for all new landscaping
around the new fountain. I saw this person working in
the sun with no hat and a heavy shirt or jacket over
another shirt. It is 108 degrees our warmest day since
we returned to Tucson. I was wondering what his secret
is. |
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| Thursday, September 26,
2024: Today is a SPA day for Abby so Gwen and I
celebrate by taking ourselves to First Watch breakfast.
I like their coffee and Gwen likes to break all the
rules by ordering biscuits and gravy. |
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Wednesday, September 25,
2024: This Lazy Boy recliner is going to the thrift
store on Monday unless you come and get it before then.
Gwen decided she wanted to save the cover so you will
get it coverless :-) . |
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Tuesday, September 24,
2024: We purchase some new plants because we wanted to
get them in the ground so they would have 3/4 of a year
of us taking care of them to get them established before
the next summer heat. We bought a Mexican Petunia last
year which has done really well. It was planted up
front. These are planted behind our house. We are hoping
they will attract humming birds, butterflies and
bees. I hope they do as well as the Petunia. |
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Monday, September 23,
2024: We did go shopping today at Hobby Lobby for Gwen
then Costco for the both of us. We also bought some
plants at Home Depot.
The big deal for us was a 5 gallon water dispenser and
our first 10 gallons of water. We have never purchased
water this way so something new for us. Very interesting
water company. It is drive-up with the bottle in the
trunk. A hose reaches the bottle so you never have to
pick up the 5 gallons until you get home.
The water is very good.
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Sunday, September 22,
2024: Gwen and I hired Mark and Angel to pressure was
the entire house to get rid of all the summer dust,
spider webs, leaves and debris. They also washed the
outside of the windows and pressure washed the carport
and patio deck.
Later, I hired our friend Wilson to repair the
insulation which was dropping from under the floor of
the dining room.
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Thursday: September 19,
2014: Abby and I started early this morning with three
tricycle rides to the garbage bins. Three loops around
the park for Abby is more than she normally does. Click
the left photo to see the load.
This is Thursday night football night. I'm anxious to
see Aaron Rogers in action. His first half performance
was very good. Even the commentators admire his return
to football. Click on Aaron for another photo.
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Wednesday, September 18, 2024:
Every Wednesday the residents in Rincon Country East meet for
announcements, music, and sometimes food and drink. The "Summer
Buddies" continue on Wednesdays in the summer but in a more
intimate setting. Today we joined with the Summer Buddies for a
breakfast potluck. There was plenty of food, visiting, jokes and
a 50/50 raffle which we did not win. This morning it was 60
degrees and several were complaining about how cold it was.
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Monday and Tuesday,
September 16 & 17, 2024:
We arrived home about noon on Monday. We parked in front
of our neighbor (they aren't home) to make it easier to
unload the trailer. It wasn't long before we learned our
air conditioning was not working. The same as last year.
It cost $500 to fix last year. Everything you see on top
of the car is for Tucson. The car was grateful to have
it unloaded as well as most from the back of the car.
Our HVAC guy, Ramon showed up mid-day on Tuesday. After
a good discussion we decided to replace the heat pump.
That will cost more than we spent on the kitchen remodel
last year but you can't live even a few weeks in Tucson
without a reliable air conditioning. |
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Saturday and Sunday,
September 14 & 15, 2024: Traveling from Beatty,
Nevada where we spent the night with full hookups. Very
strong headwinds again but beautiful country. We burned
15 gallons of a 19 gallon tank to drive from Yerington
to Tonopah, Nevada due to the wind. On the drive from
Beatty to Kingman I noticed the "Check Engine" light.
Our plan was to spend the night at the Kingman Elks
Lodge but stopped at Autozone to check the meaning of
the engine light. The report came back with a strange
report of a drive shaft sensor. Click both photos for
more views. Behind the right photo we are sitting next
to the Elks Lodge wall to stay in the shade. After a
short discussion we decided to cancel our planned week
of camping near Flagstaff and drive home. We drove
another two hours to Congress, Arizona where we have an
Escapee Park to get full hookups for a shower. |
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Friday, September 13,
2024: Joe took Casey, Abby and me on a walk around the
Sparks Marina Lake. The length of the walk was at my
limit. It was very enjoyable for the dogs because they
have a lakeside dog park where the dags can swim then
roll in the grass. Click the photo on the right for a
photo of Abby swimming. |
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Thursday, September 12,
2024: Gwen and I have been parked in front of son Joe's
house since Monday. Joe has been on a business trip but
returned this evening. I picked him up at the Reno-Tahoe
International Airport. We had a good evening
dinner together before returning home. Then we watched
the dogs play before turning into bed ourselves. |
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Wednesday, September 11,
2024: Here are two more good reasons to visit the
Reno area. Chloe and Noah got to stay home from school
today due to the wildfire nearby. After I arrived we all
decided to visit Chipotle for lunch. That's where
I got this photo. After lunch it was off to Barnes and
Noble because Chloe had a book she wanted from a
favorite author. Someone mentioned "ice cream" so
the Rolled Mountain Creamery was chosen. However, only
Noah could bring himself to order. Click both photos for
more views.
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Tuesday, September 10,
2024: Here are two good reasons to visiting the Reno
Nevada area. My granddaughter Lucy on the left and
granddaughter Elise on the right. Click both
photos for enlargements. |
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Monday, September 9,
2024: This is a travel day from Klamath Falls to Sparks,
Nevada. Before leaving, however, I has SumoSprings
installed. These are simple but expensive spacers
installed between the coils on the rear suspension.
These help support the load when towing. It only took
about 15 minutes to install on both sides.
The Red Barn was new for us because we took a route
suggested by Lesa. It is in the town of Bieber,
California. Literally in the middle of nowhere, northern
California. It was a beautiful two lane road drive. The
Artisan Coffee shop is about ten miles south of
Susanville, California where we stopped for a lunch time
smoothie.
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Sunday, September 8,
2024: Today is our last breakfast together as a family.
We took ourselves to Starv'n Marvin's because the owner
is one of Lesa's friends. Gwen and I decided to
share a 5 egg omelet. When it was delivered we quickly
learned we should have split a 3 egg omelet. We both had
enough left over for another meal tomorrow morning.
We hope to be on the road early tomorrow for Sparks,
Nevada.
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Saturday, September 7, 2024:
The girls took Abby and me on a 2 mile hike around
the neighborhood and through Sportsman Park. I was wearing
sandles so lagging behind most of the time. |
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Friday, September 6,
2024: To stay cool we drive an hour to Lake of the
Woods. The girls brought a picnic lunch which we are
quickly to spend more time sitting next to the water.
Abby has never had the chance to swim free in a lake but
she took to it quickly. The three of us took turns
throwing sticks for Abby to retrieve in the lake. We
spent three hours staying cool next to the water. Click
the photos for more views. |
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Wednesday, September 4,
2024: Gwen and I do not subscribe to HULU but Lesa
does. I began watching Martin Short and Steve Martin in
the series "Only Murders in this Building". It
turned into binge watching where I made it to episode 10
when there are 12 episodes in the series. Steve Martin
is being murdered by his girlfriend, :-0
Unfortunately that's where I had to stop watching so I
don't know who saves him. Surely someone will save him
since he is a star in the show.
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Tuesday, September 3, 2024: Abby
and I took a walk around the block and found this giant Weeping
Willow tree. It is significant to us because we planted a
Weeping Willow tweg about six years ago on our lot in Sutherlin.
It is now a full grown tree providing lots of shade and
atmosphere. This tree made me think of our tree and wondered if
it will become something like this some year in the future. |
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Monday, Labor Day,
September 2, 2024: While everyone else is asleep,
Abby and I go exploring and found the Common Grounds
Coffee Shop in downtown Klamath Falls. After coffee we
take a walk across the street into the city park. Abby
enjoyed the most green grass she has seen in months.
I only ordered a large house coffee for $3 but noticed a
refill was another $1. Seemed a little high for a shop
in Klamath Falls. :-)
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Sunday, September 1,
2024: This is moving day from Sutherlin, Oregon toward
Tucson, Arizona. Our travel plan will take us nearly a
month. Our first destination is to Klamath Falls, Oregon
to visit with Gwen's children.
I wasn't going to hang the bike off the back of the
trailer but changed my mind since the inside of the
trailer is already crowded with stuff.
The top of the car also became the place for stuff going
to Tucson. We sent six UPS packages to Tucson already
but the roof cargo would be too difficult to ship.
I stopped at a weigh scale thinking the worst.
Fortunately the trailer is still within the maximum
towing capacity for the Highlander. Once we get rid of
all the Tucson stuff, we will be lighter.
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Thursday - Wednesday, July 11 - 17, 2024: Gwen and I found
the Camp Lite 21RBS in Spokane, a very special light weight
travel trailer. It is special because it is entirely made of
aluminum, frame, floor, roof, sides. No wood, the walls are
a material called Azdel, Azdel is 50% lighter than wood, it
has no mold, mildew, rotting or warping. It is far superior
to wood. Our Highlander is limited to 5,000 lbs so this
trailer is perfect for us. |
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Our trip south from Spokane ended in a fairground near Colfax,
Washington on the first night. We had power and water and a large
field for Abby to run. There was a cow show happening the next day
so the fairground became busy. We continued on our way south
following 395 which crosses 3 states, California, Oregon and
California from Mexico to Canada. Our goal was the Clyde Holliday
(yes, that's the correct spelling) State Park where we spent 3
nights. The Highlander did well pulling the trailer. Click all the
photos for more views. |
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Monday, July 1, 2024: We like our
Tucson Park Model and expect to spend much of our time there
but not yet during the summer months. We still want to
travel. But not in a giant motorhome. We are downsizing by
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motorhome and purchasing a much smaller travel trailer to tow behind
the Highlander. We already have a travel trailer in mind. It's
called a "Camp Lite" manufactured by Livn Lite, a company which does
not exist any longer. The Camp Lite is very special in many ways. It
takes a seasoned RVer to recognize what makes it so special. I will
explain more once we have the trailer in our possession. We are
expecting to have it by July 12. In the meantime, the trailer does
not come with a weight distribution hitch. I searched Facebook
Marketplace and found many. I was lucky to find one for the right
price right here in Sutherlin. I'm cleaning it up and painting. The
hitch in the photo on the left is upside down because it came with
the wrong size ball, much too large. I need to put on a 2" ball. I
need a 1-3/4" wrench to remove the large ball. I don't have one that
large and neither do the friends I've asked. However, I suspect the
park shop will have one, I'll check tomorrow. A weight distribution
hitch is essential for stability with towing. It distributes the
towing weight among all axles including the front wheels of the
Highlander. I would not tow without one. We are needing the trailer
before selling the motorhome so we can unload our personal items
into the trailer then sell or donate what's left.
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