First Week at Catalina State Park

Monday December 23 started out as most of the days here have; cool, even frosty, some mornings, but once the sun comes up it warms up quickly with most of the highs being in the 60s.  Also we have been fortunate that the skies have been mostly clear, and virtually no wind, however, once the sun starts to go down, it cools off pretty quickly, and as a result, happy hour is moved up to 3:00 PM, instead of the standard 4:00 PM.

Also, Ann was back to work using our mifi 4620 showing 4 bars of signal when cradled in our new wilson sleek for her internet connection.  When checking our christmas tree repair job, the epoxy had not held, so after work we went to Michael's to get some glue used for making models.

Then it was back up Oracle Road with a stop at Safeway for a couple of things.  We ended up spending about $93.00...I am glad we only needed "a couple of things".  :)  As a side note, the Safeway we stopped at was the same Safeway where Gabby Giffords was shot.

Once again heading north on Oracle Road, I had to make a somewhat abrupt stop for a red light, which caused one of the grocery bags to tip over, and a container of blue berries to fall out and spill all over the floor in the back seat.  Oh well, we will clean them up when we get back to the park.  Our next stop was an In and Out Burger, across from the entrance to the park, then before returning to the RV, we did some nearly final Christmas shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods that is in the same shopping center as the In and Out Burger.

On Christmas Eve Ann was done working by Noon Iowa time, so she decided to get her car washed and detailed at Mister

Carwash before we headed up to Phoenix later in the afternoon.

While waiting for the car to be finished, we went across the street to an Arby's for some lunch.

Not this one.  I took this pick of an Arby's sign we saw on the way back just because it was an older Arby's sign.

On the way back to the park I took a few more pics of this beautiful area, while Ann drove.  No abrupts stops this time!

On the way I noticed these birds gathered on an electric line.  Legend has it that when birds gather like this, it will frost in six weeks, but I think Ann and I had disproved that legend earlier this year when back in Iowa we saw birds on a line like this in late July. :)

 I finally got around to taking a pic of the entrance to this beautiful park, and also a pic of some snow up on Mt Lemon.  This is a close as we will come to having a while Christmas, and that is fine with us!

Before going back to the RV and setting up our newly repaired Christmas tree, and getting ready to head to Phoenix, we stopped by to visit our friends Randy and Debby who had arrived at the park while we were out.  It was short visit, but we will catch up with them tomorrow.

Then it was off to Phoenix to help celebrate my sister Mary's birthday, and to visit with other family as well.  After meeting at my niece's place, we decided to go to The Saddle Ranch in the Westgate Entertainment District near University of Phoenix Stadium.

The food was delicious, and no one went away hungry.  Because we were such a nice group, the owner provided complimentary shots to everyone in our party who wanted one.

One of the attractions of this restaurant is that it had a mechanical bull.  I dont believe this guy made the full 8 seconds.

 

The meal was followed up by cotton candy.  I dont think I have ever seen that before.  Here are pics of a few in our party who tried the cotton candy.

After dinner it was out to he plaza to check out some of the other places, but most were closed or closing because it was Christmas Eve, but I did get a few pics.

Also, got this short video of a type of Christmas light I had not seen before.  Quite pretty and interesting.

By time we finished touring the plaza, it was past 9:00 PM, and time for the two hour drive back to Catalina State Park and prepare for Santa's arrival.

On Christmas morning we didnt get up too early, and we really dont make too big a deal out of Christmas present exchanges, since during the year, if we want something, we buy it, however, we did have a few presents under our repaired tree.

After opening the presents, Ann put on some Christmas  music, and began preparing a roast beef dinner that we would share with Randy and Debby.  Ann's recipe for the roast beef includes a fourth pound of butter, and some pepperocinis.  Very spicy, and flavorful, and the gravy made from it is equally delicious!  Randy and Debby brought a bottle of wine, and a bottle of sparking cider to complement the meal.  Nothing, like sharing good food with good friends!

After a rest after the meal we joined the others for "Happy Hour" where there was more good conversation, and friendship, and then that evening Ann I went to the nearby movie theater to see "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".  I had read the short story by James Thurber when I was in grade school, so I had some idea what the movie was about, but it was obviously updated for current times.  All in all is was a decent movie and a good way to bring Christmas Day 2013 to a close.

Thursday December 26 was another frosty morning, and as our Kozy World heater had stopped working a couple of days before, we used our small electric heater and our on board furnace to warm the motorhome.  I spent a good deal of the day trying to set up our satellite dish, but to no avail, as the glue I had used to hold the pvc pipe together started letting go, so it became impossible to get the base level, in order to properly align the dish.  After giving up on that project, Ann and I went for a walk around the park, something we do too little.  Maye we will make a New Year's resolution to exercise more next year.

At Happy Hour the group decided to go to Red Lobster, that is in the shopping center just across the street from the entrance to the park, for dinner.  There were seven couples, and the food and service was great.

 Tomorrow several more couples will be arriving, and it will be good to see and visit with them again.

On Friday December 27 Ann and Debby went shopping at Costco.  I have never been to one, but evidently they have quite a variety of products, as Ann bought a new electric heater, and new toaster oven, and some new clothes hangers, and some new chairs for the dining table.

We all know that shopping builds quite an appetite, so for them it was off to Waffle House for after shopping lunch.

After returning to the RV park, the next job was to unpack the purchases, and get rid of the packaging.  One nice thing about this park is that they have a place for recycling not only for card board and paper products, but also plastics, and steel cans, in addition to aluminum cans, about the same as home in Iowa.

At Happy Hour on Friday we met those that had arrived that day, most we had not seen since Quartzsite last year.  While conversing with one couple, Ray and Liza, we discovered that they had not only a Winegard tripod for a satellite dish they wanted to sell, but also a new Kozy World heater, identical to the one of ours that had stopped a couple of days ago.  A deal was quickly struck, and we took the new items, along with the sign that marks where the RV Forum groups meets in Quartzsite, as we will be arriving there before Ray and Liza.  A quick look at the tripod reveals that the shaft that the dish mounts on will have to be sleaved in order for our two inch mounting on our dish will fit on the one and five eights shaft on the tripod, but that is a job for tomorrow.

For dinner some of the group decided to go to a restaurant called Maricuso Chihuahua.  Although, it is Mexican food, other than chicken fajitas, everything else on the menu is seafood, and  a very large selection of it.  The decor was also quite interesting, as they had a shark coming out of the wall.

Here is a group pic of us, thanks to Rene.

Most of us were pleased with our meal, however, a couple of couples were somewhat disappointed with the menu, as they expected it to be a traditional Mexican restaurant. Then it was back to the motorhome, where we set up the new electric heater, and called it a early night.

On Saturday December 28, the first project was to get the satellite dish set up, but putting a sleeve over the shaft of the tripod so the base on the dish would fit.  Since I had some 1 3/4" OD pvc, which is slightly under 1 5/8 ID, I cut a chunk to length, and them split it length wise to fit over the base, and then mounted the dish.  Pretty good fit!  After doing that, and rechecking the satellite settings, it only took a minute to tune the satellite in, and voila, we had Directv again!

After the satellite was set up we went to do laundry at a place we went to two years ago when we were here.  The place is decorated as if you were in an ocean; lots of fish on the wall, and the bottom of some water skis on the ceiling.  While the laundry was washing, we went to a nice little cafe next to the laundromat, that we had also been to two years ago.  The owner is also an artist, and has artwork for sale throughout the place, but no pics of them were allowed.  After our lunch, Ann went back to tend to the laundry, while I went to a nearby Circle K to fill the car with gas, fill a couple of water jugs, exchange a propane tank, and get some cash.  While doing this a couple stopped me, and asked if I really was from Guthrie County Iowa.  When I answered in the affirmative, they asked me if I knew a couple from Panora, as I did know them, we then talked about other people that we both know.  Once again, it is proven how small the world is.

When I finished at the Circle K, I went and pick up Ann and we returned to the RV, and after putting some of the laundry away Ann went on a 10 mile bike ride.

When Ann returned it was about time for Happy Hour again and at Happy Hour a group of us decided to go to Maricuso Chihuahua again for dinner, but this time at a different location, that is close to WinterHaven; a section of Tucson where everyone decorates their house for Christmas.  During most of the time when the homes are on display, the streets are closed and you walk around the neighborhood looking at the houses, however, the last couple of nights, they let you drive your vehicle through the neighborhood.  That sounded good to us.  So we set out for the restaurant.  This chain has several locations in Tucson, and Ann's GPS on her phone locked on to the one on Grande St, and not Grant Street, but once we realized we were at the wrong location, it was only a short drive to the correct one.  Again, we had a good group, fifteen, this time, and everyone liked their food, but paying our bills was a little slow.  This is my dish of a combination of sea food in a chipotle sauce with salad, rice and French fries.

Here is Ann's dish which is shrimp in oyster sauce.  We all liked the fish shaped dishes our food was served on.

And here is a picture of the group.

After we finally got our bills paid, we loaded up in our vehicles and headed for Winterhave, however, upon arriving in the area, it was obvious that lots of other people had decided to come to Winterhaven tonight, and driving by several different entrances to the neighborhood, and seeing the long lines, we decided the wait was not worth it, and headed home, but stopped at Safeway, and a Basha's to get a few things we needed.

Another successful day of RVing!

December 29 is our thirteenth anniversary.  Happy Anniversary, honey!  We started the day by exchanging cards, but then the mundane chores of RVing reared it ugly head, as we had to dump our tanks.  We could go a few more days, but not another week without some serious scrimping, so we chose just to do it today, while Ann is not working.

Since we only have Directv, and no locals, we couldnt get any of the NFL games, so while Ann prepared a turkey for our anniversary dinner tonight, I spent time on the computer aggravating people on some of the forums I frequent. Ann was initially taken aback when the turkey would not fit in the oven with the rack made for the oven, but then took the rack from the new toaster over, and the turkey fit just perfect!

Then once again, it was time for Happy Hour where Betty, one of our group had made an egg nog pie.  It was awesome!  Ann's Happy Hour was interrupted periodically by have to come back to the RV to check on the turkey.   By time Happy hour was over, the turkey was done, and with some gravy for the stuffing, and some green beans with bacon, we had a very nice anniversary dinner!

We did not get a pic of the dinner before we ate, but here is what was left after we ate.

After watching one of the dvds that we carry with us, we called it a night.

Today, December 30, has been a pretty quiet day, with Ann back to work an me working on this blog post since Noon.  It is time to wrap it up as it is 3:36, and we are missing Happy Hour, where plans for New Years Eve with be made.  Better get over there, before we miss out!

Thanks for reading!

Paul

A Week at Sunscape RV Resort Casa Grande, AZ

Here is our home while at Sunscape RV Resort.  This is the biggest RV park we have stayed at.  There are over 500 spaces here.

However, one thing we did notice that there seems to be a lot of signs like this all over the park.

Perhaps the reason is that recently the park became a 55+ park, that is at least one half of a couple must be 55 to stay there.  They even want to put your birth date on your application, and sign it, so if a couple owned a lot here, and both were under 50, I would guess they would have to sell.

When we arrive at a park, or where ever we stay, one of the first things we do is check out the Verizon signal, and this park, like the one we left in Apache Junction, had a very poor Verizon signal, however, this park has it's own wifi, and it was very good, so Ann signed us up for a week at a cost of $15.00.  Money well spent for a strong internet connection.

The first  project Monday morning was to get a new end for the water hose.  A search for "hardware stores" on my cell phone located an Ace Hardware in Coolidge, AZ.

It was about a 15 minute drive up to Coolidge, and find the store was no problem, Gotta love the style of architecture in this part of the country.

Although I wanted a metal connector, all they had in the size I wanted was plastic.  I guess it will have to do.  Here is the finished product.  No more leaks!

After getting the water hose fixed, my next project was to set up the Directv dish.  Over the summer we had upgraded our receiver to a dvr, and it will not work with our crank up dish on the roof of the rv, so I made a base for the Slimline-5 dish that we use while we are staying at Cutty's Campground near Des Moines, IA.  I had used this setup once this summer while weekend camping with friends, and it worked fine, but try as a might, I was not able to get my dish aimed properly.  Hopefully, at our next stop, I will get it to work.

While trying to get the dish aimed, a neighbor came over to chat.  One topic we discussed was the nearby airport, and the sky diving that goes on there.  On nice days there is almost a constant drone of airplanes as they take the sky divers up to about 11,000 feet so they can jump.  I had heard of this world renowned sky diving airport, and it made the news recently when two sky divers died after colliding during a dive.

While chatting with the neighbor, the Welcome Wagon lady for the park stopped by to welcome us to the park, and give us a nice cookbook put together by park members, and a packet of information about local attractions.  This is a very friendly park!

After Ann finished her work for the day, we headed into Casa Grande for some grocery shopping.  We just drove west on Hwy 287 until we saw a Fry's grocery store.  They are great stores, and we have shopped at their stores many times when in this part of the country.



After returning to the RV, we put the groceries away, then watched some TV.  With the limited number of channels we can get over the air here, and no Directv, we dont watch as much tv as we used to, so we called it a night.

On Tuesday we decided to have our mail sent here, so I went to the office to see what it would take, and to verify the address of the park.  They have a setup quite similar to a post office, and required a $10.00 deposit for a key.  Hopefully, it will be here in a couple of days.

Today was the nicest day we have seen so far.  Expected high of 78!  First time wearing shorts, and looking forward to many more warm days.  I worked on trying to get the Directv dish setup again today, with the same amount of success, and since we cant get NBC over the air, we wont be able to watch the finals of  The Voice", so after Ann made a delicious dinner of chicken parmesian and green salad, we ended up finishing the evening by watching "Baby the Rain Must Fall" on one of the few channels we get here.

 Wednesday was a pretty slow day.  Ann and I went for a walk around the park, and noticed even more lots for sale than we had noticed before.  This is a nice place, but I dont think I could live in a place like this,  the lots are too small, and it seems so crowded.

Later in the afternoon, one of the residents stopped by to say hi and to tell us he is from Linden, IA, a small town only a few miles from where our house is, and of course, we knew several people that he knew.  Truly, a small world!  That fact was again proven Wednesday night when we went to play darts in the Activity Center.  There were 8 other dart players, and one of the couples was from Newell, IA, another small Iowa town about 80 miles from our house, and about 25 miles from the town in Iowa, that I grew up in, so again, we knew several of the same people.

The dart games lasted longer that we thought they might, mostly because none of us are very good dart players, and it was after 9:00 when we finished.  As Ann operates on Iowa time, it was time to call it a night.

Thursday was even slower that Wednesday.  It was a windy day, and you could tell the weather was changing.  During the day I went to the mailbox to see if our mail was here, as it usually takes only two days for our mail to get here from Iowa by Priority Mail, and I was surprised it wasnt there.  Just so it is here by Saturday, so we can have it before we leave on Sunday.

In the afternoon, I took back the recycling we had accumulated.  As was the case in Apache Junction, they  recycle cardboard and paper products,  However, here in the park, they have a place to recycle aluminum cans as well.

Friday brought us thunder showers in the morning, and over cast and cool the rest of the day.  Of course, "cool" being a relative term, compared to the temps in Iowa.

We decided to head into Casa Grande for lunch, and on our way out of the park, we checked our mail, and again, no mail.  Once in Casa Grande, we found a Cracker Barrel on the east side of town, and had a delicious lunch with plenty of left overs. On the way out, I saw this mirror, and decided it was worth a pic.

One of things we want to do this winter, is to replace our kitchen chairs, as our current ones are worn out.  We had seen an Ashley's Furniture Store while at Fry's grocery, so we went over there to see what they had.  They did have a style of chair we liked, but not in stock, and as we will be leaving Sunday, they wouldnt have time to get them before we left, however, we did buy a new area rug, so it wasnt a total shopping failure.

On returning to the park, we again checked the mail, and again no mail. This could get serious, if we dont get the mail while here, and have to drive back up here from Tucson!

For dinner, we had left overs, and finished the evening by watching an old Western movie starring Glen Ford, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edgar G. Robinson.

On Saturday, the first thing I did was to check on our mail  by having the tracking number checked.  It showed our mail had been delivered the day before.  Evidently, those that sort the mail here in the park had a very long day, at is must have been pretty late in the afternoon when they got it all sorted.  I went up and got the mail, and then there is the process of separating the good stuff from the rest.  We received some very nice Christmas cards, and of course the usual bills.

About noon I decided I had better go into town to the post office and mail some cards that I wanted delivered before Christmas.  Sometimes the days go too fast, so I ended up mailing then Priority Mail.  They should be delivered by the 24th.  They have a beautiful new post office in Casa Grande, and the employees were very courteous and helpful.

On the way back to the RV, I took some pics of a cotton ginning operation.  Not a very nice building, but evidently still did the job.

And here is the ginned cotton.  Not sure why there are three different piles.

I also took some pics of where you turn off the hiway to the RV park.

Here is where you stop and park when you check in.

Once I got back home, Ann did laundry in preparation for tomorrows departure.  The park in Tucson does not have laundry facilities.

For our last evening at Sunscape we planned on going to the Community Center for karaoke, but upon entering the Center, we realized this was not our kind of karaoke.  There were about a dozen people singing Christmas carols along with the karaoke DJ.  We only stayed a few minutes, and then headed to Casa Grande to find some real karaoke.  A couple of places that advertised karaoke on Saturday nights were not.

So it was back to the RV for another quiet evening.

Once back to the RV, I decided to try and find out why we couldnt receive very many tv stations.  In  my search I came across a website called TV Fool .  A very interesting website as it showed mountains between the broadcast tower of the NBC station in Phoenix and our location.

Another day of snowbirding, and we will be on the road again on Sunday heading toward Tucson.

Sunday morning was mostly preparing to head out.  Check out time is 11:00, but check in time at Catalina State Park was not until 2:00, so we were in no hurry to get going, as we knew we would have time to kill.  A little after 10:00 I pulled the motorhome out in the street to load the car on the dolly.  We use a safety chain with a padlock on it, in addition to the straps that go over the wheels to hold the car on the dolly.  I unlocked the padlock on the safety chain and placed them in the tool compartment in the RV before I pulled out on the street, however, when I got the chain and padlock out of the compartment to attach to the car, part of the padlock was no where to be found.  After several minutes of looking, we gave up and went to plan B.  We pulled out of the park about 10:45 after turning in our post office key, and getting out $10.00 deposit.  Just a reminder as we were leaving.

Our route took us mostly south to the town of Eloy, and across Interstate to the Flying J.

After filling up with gas, we parked the motorhome, and at the the Denny's.  The food was average; the eggs were undercooked, and the hashbrowns were overcooked.

While resting after lunch in the motorhome, as we were well ahead of schedule, the driver of this nice looking Rose Air by Rexall asked us if we would move ahead a few feet so he could get by.  Ann pulled the motorhome ahead out of his way.  The first time she had driven the motorhome with the car behind.

Shortly after that we got back on the road, heading toward Tucson.  Here is our route.

We arrived shortly before 2:00, checked in and got set up.  Here is where we will be for the next couple of weeks.

We were welcomed by a member of the  RV Forum who had arrived a few minutes earlier.  Looks like there will be about 20 of us RV Forum members here for New Years Eve.

I missed the sun going down, but I did get some pics of the mountains to the East with the sun still shining on them.

This is one of the most beautiful parks we have ever stayed at! 

One more thing that needed to be done was to get the Christmas tree out.  This is a small tree that I have had since 1986.  When I got it out of the storage compartment, I noticed one of the legs on the base was broken, fortunately, we had some epoxy with us, and repaired the leg.  Hopefully, it will hold.  I will take a pic of it when we get it set up, and the lights on.

After a dinner of left overs, we watched some TV, and I started working on this blog update.  It has taken me way longer that I expected, but I hope it enjoyable for those that read it.

Until next time,

Paul