Phoenix Sun, Heat, Sunsets & More Friends!

CAVE CREEK, ARIZONA

Since our last post we have been staying pretty busy!
We haven't even had time to get the toppers on our slide outs replaced. That may have to wait until the next time we come down here in the fall.

We really enjoyed our time in Cave Creek (north side of Scottsdale). Here are a few more pictures of that area.

The spring desert is beginning to bloom!
Grasses, plants & flowers are coming to life!

It won't last long, the hot summer is coming!

Most of our days are in the mid to high 80's F.

We also headed out to a li'l place that is an old mining town.
Its called Jerome. 

I'm not sure my description can do it justice. It reminded us of Italy as the town is built into the side of a mountain. 

The mine is no longer operational but many people still reside here. The shops have transformed from the usual small town businesses (and at least one Brothel) to little shops and restaurants. Lots of souvenirs and copper trinkets to be had here! 

A Town that time forgot?
This is the actual US Post Office sign.
She's a tad in need of a face lift!

A few Law Men have been killed here over the years.

This was an old Brothel.
Read the notes.

The Ladies who worked at the Brothel.

As you come up the mountain road you can see the town.

Amazing they engineered & built this place so long ago.
Right into the side of the mountain.

Times were good a long, long time ago.

The "Hood"

Some interesting old vehicles left behind too

Lots of views from up here at over 5000 feet

Walking the narrow little streets

I ran into a old friend here from the early 1980's. Back when I worked in Vancouver.
It is a small world!

The Mine - Mostly Copper it seems.

Its a big hole!

Had a great lunch here at the Haunted Hamburger.

We survived it too! 

I NEED WATER, COOL WATER!
The other day we wanted to see what Lake Pleasant was like. Wow this was really nice! An oasis right in the middle of a very hot desert!

Marina, restaurant & boat sales
What more could you want!

We tried to get lunch here but it was packed with a line up.

I wanted to rent a boat too!

Lots of camping around this lake.
I would recommend that you go to the State Park side.

APACHE JUNCTION
One day we were out doing errands and ended up over in Mesa and Apache Junction. One of my favorite chicken wing places on earth is here in A.J.!
So off we went to Filly's for a feed of breaded wings.
Sometimes the service is a little slow, they get really busy. But the quality of their wings makes up for it!

Filly's Roadhouse, Apache Junction
Have the "Breaded Wings!"

Cow Pokes really do ride in here for a meal!
They have live bands & dancing too.

If ya can't bring your horse, then bring your
favourite tractor!
An elderly couple drove these here for dinner!

All at the base of the beautiful Superstition Mountains!

BOUNDER GETS A TREAT!

For quite some time now we have been discussing replacing the old TVs (2) in the motor home with some new technology. So yesterday (March 11th) we moved over to Apache Junction and checked in at our usual resort there called Golden Sun.

Today (March 12, 2014) I got at it!
I started the chore of replacing the front TV. The old one weighs at least 75 lbs! It works very well and has a great picture. But... Barb was always scared that one day we would hit a bump going down the road and the TV would come bouncing out of its cubby above the dashboard. She was sure it would kill us both and make a mess of the motor home as well. 

The old Panasonic Boat Anchor was given notice to move out!

So, after three years of much thought and putting it off we decided now was the time.

The Master Carpenter at work...

As most of you know, I am no finishing carpenter and things like that scare me. I can stud walls, build basements & garages but fine detailed wood work is not one of my skills. Really it doesn't even excite me to attempt it, but I had run out of excuses.

After removing the old TV and pulling a muscle. It was time to take the cabinet apart. I sat and thought... How to make this work. We got a new TV (Sharp, 32",LED, 1080p) and a multi directional mounting bracket.

After a lot of thought the design began to take shape. Some wood found here and there, a few things borrowed from a few friends and we were well on our way.

I won't bore you with all the details but it went pretty good. I even got the job done. I just know our motor home will get much better gas mileage after getting rid of that old boat anchor of a TV!

My next phase of this upgrade is to install an "Inverter" so the TV and related equipment will run off the "House Batteries" (2 X 6 Volt, Golf Cart Batteries). This way we will not have to run the Generator when we are dry camping or "Boon-docking" somewhere without "Shore Power" (a plug in). It will save us a lot of money in generator fuel.

So you may be saying where is the finished photo of the new TV?
I'm not done yet but when I am I will try to remember to post it for you. We love it!!

OUR PHOENIX FRIENDS
For the last two winters we have come to this same resort and have friends here as well. It was great to get together and see them and share some laughs and a few meals.

Bonnie & Rob are from BC and we met them last year. Unfortunately Rob was ill but Bonnie was able to join us.

Ruth & Don live full time in their huge motor home. Their summer home is up in Whitehorse, Yukon. Their winters are right here. They have travelled extensively over the years and know most everything to know about living in your rig. We have become great friends over the years so it was great to see them as we almost missed each other this year. They just got back from a winter down in Mexico with their rig!

L to R: Ruth and Bonnie.

Barb and Donny!

Ruth, Bonnie and Barb - Happy Hour Daily at 330pm!

Cheeko!
Ruth & Donny's dog. Born in Mexico on a beach. Now their Happy RV Companion!

Well that's all the news up to March 12th.
We expect to be heading west either tomorrow or the day after. (13th/14th).

I think I know where we might go next? One really never really knows for sure with us. As you may have noticed, often we only plan 15 minutes in advance. That's all part of the adventure of "Bounding the Borders!"

Phoenix Feels Like Home! March 4th, 2014.

With reference to our last post many days ago, fear not, we are still here!

CASA GRANDE
We had never stayed in Casa Grande before. It is located just a few minutes south of Phoenix. We really enjoyed it there and may just go back. Nice small town feel!

VISITORS!
We love having visitors and to our surprise Carol & Cliff showed up!
They are originally from Calgary and now live near Edmonton.

Cliff's Mom and my Mom were best friends since they were wee girls. They stayed that way all their lives. Needless to say Cliff and I go a long way back too!

Carol & Cliff

At the Pima Air Museum and Bone-yard
Cliff, Carol & Barb

Lots of cool old Choppers and Aircraft!
If you click on the pics they get bigger.

arrrggghhh

Reminds me of  WW11

Thousands of mothballed aircraft in the desert.
Some can be put back in service, others are for parts.

They stay dry and preserved out here!

These pictures are just a sample of what we saw.

The famous SR71 Spy Plane!
A great day looking at fast things that make big noise!

We got to spend two days with Carol and Cliff and had a ball!


DRAG RACING - NHRA!
The track here in Phoenix is a 1/4 mile and was recently renamed from Firebird to "Wild Horse." Lots of remodeling has been done with the new owners and the NHRA hosted their National Points meet here with everything up to Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars, The BIG Guys!

As you know I like things that are fast and loud. Race cars and fighter jets baby!

Barb and I spent the day there for the final qualifying and got to see lots happening. I just know Barb gets so excited when the cars are so loud they pound your chest when they go by. The concussions of 8000 horsepower engines, 3 second times and speeds of over 300 mph in a quarter mile! It's almost as good as NASCAR stock car racing!

Here's some pics from our fabulous day!

It all started with line ups!
If you are an Allied Veteran you get a better price though!

Top Fuel Dragsters!

Burn Outs to heat the tires.

Pit Action in the Pro Stock Pits.
I was recently offered a job to work for one of these Teams.

More Burn Outs!

A Top Fuel Dragster at Speed!

Top Fuel Funny Car Burn Outs

Another one!
These guys have to totally rebuild their engines between runs.

These Guys Fly!

Note the fuel burn coming out of the exhaust!

A Drone with a Go-Pro Camera above us.
I want one!

The pounding on your chest and the noise!
So cool!

These guys are more than fasssst, They are mean!

The day ended with Jet Cars!

PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
We moved into the campground at the race track at Phoenix International Raceway on Monday last week. Two weekends in a row of car racing!

These Grandstands hold more than a few people!
By NASCAR standards this is a small venue.

The back side of the grandstands at PIR

Sun Lane is our turn off for registration & new home for the next week.

Coming in towards the check in and camping fun!

A handful of RV's arrived earlier on Monday morning.

It was quiet at first as usual, then by the end of the week a ton of RV's and Motorhomes had moved in!

This camping area is all "dry camping." There are no hookups for anything so we run on our own water system, propane and the generator for our electric needs. We still love doing this!

We found a nice quiet corner to set up.

We love camping desert style!

Another awesome Arizona sunset our first night!

The camping area at PIR turns into the 3rd largest city in Arizona when NASCAR comes to town!

MORE FRIENDS!
On Tuesday our good friends from "So Cal" (Southern California) arrived with their new 5th wheel! Steve and Kathy were able to get away from the big city and come join us and we had a great time together. Can't wait until next year!

Steve & Kathy
Steve is thinking what should I say?

Barb & Kathy

I think the girls are planning my next meal?

Now they tell me... no we are not cooking for you!

So Steve cooked for us... with the girls help of course!
You can tell he was hungry, he cooks fast - the photo is a bit fuzzy!

Our Hi-End Fire Pit - No Ground Fires Allowed in the Desert.
Fred donated this garbage can lid last year.
Note Steve's Tongs! A great idea for moving logs on the fire!

We all had a great visit with time at the racetrack and showing them what happens with NASCAR events as they hadn't been to a race before.

The four of us also went into Mesa and had lunch with a bunch of our friends from back in Cochrane who were down here wintering too.

The Cochrane Connection
Our great neighbours/friends from back home!
Front: L to R: Barb, Sue, Bev, John (Duke) and John.
Rear: L to R: Jim, Don and Janice!

L to R Jim, Barb, Kathy & Steve.

After lunch we hit a Casino for some fun and to check out their camping area.

Great friends, meals, car racing, evenings with campfires and great sunsets too. You can't beat that life!

Thursday night Fred and his son Ryan arrived from L.A.

Kathy & Steve had to leave the next morning (Friday) and we are already making plans to meet them at the track again for next year!

Fred is my longtime friend from way back in school days.
We became roommates after school when we were Bachelors. We seemed to have survived those years and then we helped each other along the way into marriage. :)

We've stayed close friends ever since!

In 1986 Fred and his Bride (Janet) moved down to the Los Angeles area from where we were living in the Vancouver area. There they raised their family. Fred and I try to get a visit in every year or two and for the last few years this has been a yearly event at the races in Phoenix.

It was through Fred that I met Steve who for a short time lived back in Calgary, when he was very young. Steve's Dad worked for Shell Oil and later they transferred back to the same area in southern California. Steve and I have lots in common and one such example is that we are both retired Police Officers. We have been friends with Steve & Kathy since 1986.

L to R Jim, Fred and Steve

Fred and Ryan were able to stay through the weekend and attend all of the races. When we get together some say we are like teenagers again having fun and laughing about the old days which are becoming far too long ago. Barb and Ryan seemed to put up with our antics, hahaha.

We took Fred's brand new Jeep and got a little mud on the tIres.
Somehow it ended up with a decal on the window!

Someone placed a small sticker on the bottom left of Fred's rear window indicating that he was a Danica Patrick fan! She's the only girl racing in NASCAR Sprint Cup. I have no idea who would have done this but if I ever found out...

By the way the trailer parked beside us ended up becoming the new owner of the Danica decal. It was still on their trailer when they left. :)

We spent the weekend going to all of the races, practices and other events at the track. We all had a great time. Barb made us some great meals too. We thank her!

After the races on Sunday Fred & Ryan had to drive 6 hours back home to Huntington Beach, California.

On Monday Barb and I packed up after a nice relaxing coffee time on the patio.

CAVE CREEK
Barb found us a camp spot in Cave Creek just a few minutes north of Scottsdale and Phoenix. After a couple of stops we made it to the Cave Creek County Park and got set up.

Click & Learn More About Saguaro Cactus Here.

Saguaro Cactus

The desert offers much to see.

We love desert camping.

We recommend Cave Creek County Campground.
Huge camping sites and very scenic!

30+ hours later I have to say this is one nice location!
We love it here! It's a nice natural and rural area close to the big city. Lots of scenery, hiking, trails, mountains, cactus, plants and wildlife.

Ten minutes after setting up we had to leave and head over to Scottsdale where our Cochrane Neighbours were having dinner and a get together at Bev & Johns winter home. We had a great dinner and an evening of fun. Coming down here just keeps getting better every year!

We are here in Cave Creek for four nights until Friday morning.
At this point we haven't been able to find a place to camp around here other than the over-flow camping area. We like this area so much we may just stay there?

We are still hoping to get together with some of our RV friends from last year. Add to that we have another couple from back home who have just arrived in the area. Wow, we have a heavy social calendar down here!

BARB'S BREAD!
I married a really good cook. Her homemade bread is my favorite.
She is still making it and experimenting. I love it when she does that!

Barb's Home Made RV Bread!
I'm a lucky man!

A HERD OF MONSTERS!
Monday night Barb woke me up at 2:20am.
It seems she heard something outside our window. It was an attack!

A small herd of about 8 Javelinas (the "J" is promouced with a "H"). were out on our patio. Two of them were babies. We could hear them chewing on something and soon learned it was Barb's tasty patio plants. I was sure there would be nothing left but as it turned out they only nibbled around the edges.

The Javelinas left a few leaves on the ground after having a snack!

We are hoping they will come back again so that we can try to get pictures of them like we did with the Racoons in Florida.
(We won't get too close as they can be dangerous).

Click Here: Everything you wanted to know about Javelinas.
(Watch the video and see these wild 50 lb. creatures!).

ARIZONA SUNSETS
I know I have mentioned this before. Some of the best sunsets we have seen anywhere in the world have been here in Arizona. Tonight was no exception.

We hope that you have a good night too!

Sonoran Desert Sunsets! 

Good Night Y'all!

PS: I have to apologize if the text or pictures get weird.
We are having a problem with this program formatting properly when it is saved to the web.