Restoration Cowboy Style

We left our Arizona home on a Monday morning heading for northern Arizona. We used a couple new to us apps in an attempt to find a boondocking spot without much success. Our first night out due to the large number of rigs/people camping on BLM and USFS land, was spent in a gravel pit with gorgeous views–it will do!

It was a chilly morning, we drew straws as to who had to get out of bed to start the coffee and the furnace. After a leisurely morning we headed for our ATVing destination–Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (pronounced PAIR-uh-shont) in north western Arizona right on the border at St. George, Utah. The Monument is over 1 million acres in size making it nearly as large as the Grand Canyon National Park. But, the Grand Canyon sees about 6 million visitors per year, Parashant sees about 77,000 per year–big difference! Parashant is unusual in that it is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the USFS and the National Park Service.

In early March I happened to read an article in a August, 2022 issue of the magazine Arizona Highways about Parashant National Monument. The article stated, “As one of the last truly wild places in the American Southwest, it offers zero cell service and road conditions range from “rough” to “extremely rough.” The Monument stresses preparedness–you will need a high clearance, four wheel drive vehicle with all terrain tires–not street tires. The Monument recommends you take not one but two spare tires, and a jack that will work in rocky or sandy surfaces. Other recommendations include taking more food and water than you think you might need as well as a GPS device of some sort–we used ONX. It is recommended you not travel alone and that you leave a detailed itinerary with someone who knows when to expect you back. I for one felt very confident–we travel with three men who can fix anything and pack along a lot of tools to do that fixing!

There are no amenities in this Monument–there is a guest ranch deep within the park but that’s the only lodging. There is no gas station, no dining options, nothing! We were intrigued as were our ATVing friend from Montana who were game to meet us in northern Arizona for this adventure and hopefully some warmer weather.

Our job was to find a camping spot hopefully at least 20 miles into the Monument. The Grand Canyon overlooks and other sites are deep within the Monument making for long driving days. Unfortunately we found the road leading into the park way too rough to take the RVs more than five miles in.

Every state wants to get their $$$ and I had preordered OHV (off highway vehicle) Arizona stickers for everyone. Nowhere on any website did I find any reference to a fee for entering any portion of Parashant. Take note of the next photo–

The gang got up bright and early to travel through Salt Lake City in the wee hours of the morning. They arrived, set up their rigs and we took a short ATV ride before supper–

We knew it was almost 80 miles to one of Parashant’s most famous overlooks–that meant Friday’s ride would be over 160 miles round trip. Much of the travel was on wide, very well used rough gravel/rock/sand roads–we traveled 45mph for miles and miles on these road each of the five days we rode in the side by sides. There are many privately owned out holding ranches within this park which was established in 2000. The BLM land within the park is leased to ranchers as summer pasture for cattle. So, the main roads were busy not only with people doing the same thing we were doing but with local traffic–and it was dusty!

The really rough–need two spare tires–part of the road didn’t happen until we were within six miles of the Toraweap overlook on the north side of the Grand Canyon. And that overlook took our breath away–some more than others due to height intolerance and no guard rails anywhere!!  This view is why we rode 80 miles one way!

Now back to the photo of the sign above–the part where it states, “advance permit required.” A very friendly, eager volunteer stopped our vehicles at the “entrance” to Toraweap to tell us that almost two years ago the Park Service had created an advance fee, $2 per vehicle, only 30 vehicles per day were allowed out on the Toraweap overlook–the only site in the Park managed by the National Park Service.  The volunteer immediately put our fears to rest by saying, “you will still be allowed in,” but in the future you will need that $2 permit. Whew!

We were without cell service almost the entire time we were in the Park boundaries. We could make calls, send and receive texts at the campsite but internet surfing had to wait until we were on the road heading to Montana. I searched the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument website–no mention anywhere of a fee.  I finally found reference to this vehicle limiting fee in an obscure spot under the “Plan Your Visit” tab. Not under the “Fees” tab where it should have been. Good grief!

Saturday and Sunday we traveled 102 and 172 miles respectively seeing deep canyons, wide vistas, red rock bluffs, old mining sites and wildflowers. It was windy Saturday but on Sunday it was windy and COLD–dang COLD! I was wearing every stitch of clothing I had with me and was still cold.

On Monday we rode 174 miles to find Twin Points, another overlook into the Grand Canyon on the north rim. And one of the best parts–at every overlook we visited there were no people!! Maybe one other vehicle at each site. So unlike the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

And on Tuesday we saved the best for last, Whitmore Canyon overlook. We took a little side trip to a line shack named Pa’s Pocket, used by cattlemen in days past. And our GPS program failed us, showing a loop road on the map. There was no loop road, it had been closed by the BLM a long time ago judging by the terrain.

So, we backtracked and when Peggy stepped out of their side by side at Whitmore Canon overlook to take in the view, she said, “oh guys, we saved the best for last.” And she was so right!

The view took your breath away–literally if you have a fear of heights. I have wanted to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for years. It finally happened, took a little bit of driving but the miles of dusty, rocky, rough roads were worth every minute. The scenery was stunning everywhere you looked. I am so glad we took this trip and so very glad the Montana gang joined us. I’m leaving these photos full size as this spot was so spectacular–

At the Whitmore Canyon overlook we were 1000 feet above the river and could see rafters on the river (with binoculars). The Bar 10 guest ranch flies a helicopter into the Canyon to retrieve weary rafters looking for a comfortable bed. And there is an airstrip near the Bar 10 operated by the BLM I think.

A trip of a lifetime, we had the best time! Evenings were spent grilling, serving up the most delicious food and visiting. We did grow weary of all those miles but as I said above, it was worth every minute!

Two rigs headed out on Wednesday, both toward Montana. There had been one heck of a spring snowstorm in Montana closing I-90 on the Bozeman Pass for almost 24 hours. People were stranded in their vehicles on the pass for 12 to 15 hours. The road was so blocked by the massive amount of snow and the wind plus truckers who ignored “chains required” signs that rescue services used ATVs to reach people to provide food, water and blankets. We managed to miss this disaster but another sort of disaster was awaiting us at home.

First issue–there was still about 6 inches of snow in our driveway and we were not able to get the RV up our steep driveway. The RV spent a couple days all by itself at the foot of our driveway. And then the disaster–We never leave the water pump on in our house when gone for any length of time. Without the pump no water can flow into the house if there should be a pipe breakage. Our house is heated all winter, pipes should not break. The Cowboy turned on the water Thursday evening after we arrived and water was suddenly everywhere in one room of the basement. We obviously had a broken pipe or plural broken pipes. The Cowboy managed to get one sink and two toilets working that night–no shower. On Friday he repaired a broken pipe in the guest bath shower–which is accessed through an opening behind paneling in the wall of the basement stairs!! Which meant he had to build scaffolding before he could even begin repairs!!

As I am writing this blog the pipes to the master bath shower are being repaired–they were easier to access. What a mess and we have no idea why this happened!!

We’ve been talking about dogs and puppies for a while now. We have talked about how much more freedom we have without a pet. But, we realized we love dogs more than we love our freedom. So, on the way home, the breeder met us in Butte, Montana and we brough Kayce home with us. She is a 12+ week old mini schnauzer who so far seems to have been potty trained by the breeder–no accidents. She is a puppy, sharp teeth, full of energy and trouble–and we are so glad to have her in our lives. She has four white feet, a white blaze on her chest and a smattering of white hairs under her chin–so, so cute!

And last but not least–many of you saw the northern lights on Friday and Saturday night–we slept through them. The lights were even visible in Arkansas and in our county in Arizona. This photo was taken by our Montana friend Sarah and she graciously allowed me to share.

Happy Mother’s Day and have a great week! Life is indeed so good!

We are on the road, busy, and have lousy cell service. Will post a blog when we finally stop rolling!

Last Sunday evening we journeyed over the hill and through the woods–not quite–we journeyed about 30 minutes from our house over the highway and then the rocky road to the ranch belonging to friends Robbie and Pam. We never tire of the scenic drive to their house nor of the side by side ride we always take around the ranch before dinner–creates an appetite! The lingering mountain snows are still causing the creek to flow and it’s always awesome to see water in the desert! Pam served us beef fajitas with seared vegetables and it was awesome! But before we dined the four of us consumed a ton of chips and Pam’s homemade salsa–it was so, so good!

Monday it felt as if I spent the entire day in the kitchen. I was cooking for our upcoming journey to parts north and for the next round of company arriving on Tuesday. Spaghetti sauce, a lemon meringue pie and refried beans for the Cowboy. He used the beans to pre-make bean burritos which he freezes then reheats on the exhaust of the Can-Am when we are out riding.

Tuesday morning I was on the road very early as in just after 6am! The next round of visitors arrived in Tucson at 8:35am!! So, you know how early they had to rise in order to make their flight in Arkansas!

Not the greatest photo but cool nonetheless! This nest is huge and located over in the small town we can see from our house. Kelly and I spotted the mama owl then on Friday evening the Cowboy and I spotted one baby in the nest but he/she was camera shy. On our way home from a fabulous dinner at Dan and Louanne’s on Friday evening Niki captured this photo of one of the babies in the nest.

It’s been a fabulous week with my Mom, sister Ann and niece Niki. Eating, hiking, eating, sightseeing, hiking, eating–it’s been a busy, awesome time spent with people who are near and dear to my heart.

After retrieving the family from the airport we headed to Cup Cafe in the Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson for a delicious breakfast. The Botanical Garden was a big hit–lots of blooming cactus, butterflies and a “trash from the ocean” exhibit. On the way home we drove through Saguaro National Park where we saw more blooming cactus–even a few saguaro were blooming.

Wednesday morning we were out the door (except for the Cowboy–no surprise there!) heading to the Chiricahua National Monument. Mom stayed home and knitted. Lucia, my friend from the book club suggested the Echo Canyon trail as a good one and it did not disappoint! The Monument is an amazing place! The hike was almost 5 miles with an elevation gain of 500 feet. The hike took us four hours because we stopped often to gawk and take so, so many photos–

The Cowboy and I don’t eat a huge breakfast every day but the family usually eats a cooked breakfast–so we made breakfast every morning and I even made biscuits!! After breakfast on Thursday everyone with the exception of the Cowboy was in the truck heading out for a day of sightseeing. First stop was Douglas to see the Gadsden Hotel and the border wall. We stopped at Walmart to purchase jalapenos which the Tucson Walmart I used for grocery pickup on Tuesday did not have! Again, no jalapenos! Oh MY–it’s a jalapeno shortage!! When I questioned a fellow Douglas Walmart shopper about the hotness of jalapeno versus serrano peppers, he sent me to the Douglas Meat Market for jalapeno peppers. Score!

On to Bisbee and lunch at the Bisbee Breakfast Club which is always so good! Jodee recommended a favorite Mexican restaurant but a Mexican casserole was on our menu for dinner Thursday night–so Bisbee Breakfast Club it was. We drove some of the streets of Bisbee–Mom doesn’t walk well and Bisbee sidewalks are not wheelchair friendly.

Tombstone was our last stop on Thursday and Mom walked on the boardwalk for a bit then the two of us sat and people watched while Ann and Niki wandered into the shops.

Friday Ann decided she had had enough hiking and sent Niki and me out on our own. Our destination was the Cochise Stronghold just a few miles from our home. We were searching for pictographs and were successful using Louanne and Linda’s directions. The hike was steep but short and we were both so thrilled to find the drawings. There are more pictographs but the trail became very steep and we decided to be glad we saw the ones we did find!

Friday evening we enjoyed a fabulous meal (as usual) at Dan and Louanne’s. They had met Mom but not Ann and Niki. It was a great evening with the best of food and best of friends!

Saturday we were to have left for Tucson and the airport by noon but American Airlines had other ideas! GRRRRR!!! They delayed their flight by just enough time for them to miss their Little Rock connection. The next flight was too soon for me to get them to Tucson so—-we were up and out of the house by 2am Sunday for their 5am flight. UGH!! And the saga continued! Their early morning flight departed Tucson but their next flight from Dallas to Little Rock was cancelled! They spent the day sitting in the Dallas airport exhausted from their early, early flight and finally were boarding a flight at about 5pm their time. I’m guessing the delays were caused by weather.

It’s almost time for our wheels to be rolling. Life is good!

 

 

 

I’m out of the house early last Monday, heading for Tucson and the airport. My long time friend (29 years) Kelly is coming for a visit. She’s waiting in baggage claim by the time I’ve parked the truck and gotten inside. Long, good hugs, her bag arrives and we are out the door.  Our lunch restaurant of choice is El Charro and we are soon seated on their porch. Kelly’s meal is great, mine is awful–I need to remember how far we are from fresh seafood!!

We dawdle over lunch and decide to make tracks toward home with a stop at Trader Joe’s. I never shop at Trader Joe’s and when I do find myself in one of the stores I wonder why I don’t shop there! Cheap fresh flowers, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, inexpensive and fresh produce. I would regret those dark chocolate peanut butter cups–and not just in weight gain–I wore white jeans to Tucson. The little flakes of chocolate attached to the paper cups flaked off onto my white jeans and when I attempted to brush away the chocolate, it left streaks of dark chocolate–at least we were headed home!

Tuesday we all enjoyed coffee and conversation on the porch before Kelly and I walked three miles. Our agenda for the day was Bisbee. First stop was the Bisbee Breakfast Club which was delicious as usual! It was a beautiful blue sky day and Bisbee’s steep, crooked streets shone–

The shops in Bisbee are a little/lot eclectic but Kelly and I did find a few treasures to bring home. In the upstairs of one shop we found these beautiful stained glass windows that actually still open according to the owner–

By the time we had strolled the streets of downtown Bisbee it was only 2pm and we decided Kelly needed to see Tombstone which was unusually quiet on this beautiful afternoon. We did find some stunning items in Arlene’s but decided to leave the jewelry in the case!–much easier on the pocket book! Back home we spent the evening chatting/laughing/knitting.

Wednesday morning we were on the go again–heading for Tucson. We are too early for some of the shops–so we indulge in a Starbucks while waiting for the stores to open. That’s a covid thing which has never reverted–stores always opened at 10am prior to the pandemic. When finding employees became so difficult, opening time was pushed to 11am and that’s where it stayed. We drive out to the Catalina foothills to shop at La Encantada–one of Tucson’s nicer outdoor malls.

Lunch on Wednesday was at a favorite spot of mine, Café à la C’Art at the Tucson Museum of Art. We sit on the patio and enjoy fabulous meals and good conversation. Kelly likes my choice of restaurant! By the time we finish lunch it’s time to check in at our hotel. Kelly catches up on emails, I relax and read–then it’s time for supper–Dairy Queen!! And a quick stop at Lowes for the Cowboy. I had planned to make a Costco stop after taking Kelly to the airport on Thursday. Kelly suggests we also complete this task before heading to Dairy Queen–our hotel rooms have full size refrigerator/freezers.

Thursday morning we “enjoy” the free breakfast offered by the hotel and deliver Kelly to the airport for her flight back to Kansas City. It was so good to see her again!!  Because we all ready did the Costco run, I stop at Walmart for a pickup order and I’m home by noon. The Cowboy has been working on my “old” barbecue grill–we bought a new to us grill when the old one died and I don’t like it–too many burners, not enough heat. So, the Cowboy ordered new parts and this afternoon my “old” grill is now working again.

Saturday Louanne joins us and we attend the Fireman’s Barbecue Cookoff–good food and fun visiting with neighbors and friends.

We are packing, cooking, and completing last minute tasks–it’s getting way too warm in Arizona for us. But first we have guests to entertain and I can’t wait!!

 

 

Last Monday morning on the day of the solar eclipse we woke to cloudy skies–in Arizona!!  The Cowboy calmed his wife by telling her the clouds were to dissipate by 8am–and they did. We had viewing glasses and filter material for my camera. I was ready! We only saw about 67% of totality but it was still awesome!

My family in Arkansas were in the path of totality. My cousin Tanya took these next two shots in Arkansas.

My niece Niki and her daughter Elizabeth took Mom for a drive seeking the least cloudy skies and the fewest people. The eclipse hype predicting massive crowds didn’t materialize in Arkansas and they had a great day!

I’ve been cleaning–as in washing windows which is one of my least favorite chores. Without fail (except for this time) if I wash windows it rains. I tried to make it rain but wasn’t successful this time!

And we had this happen–I started out of the house and looked toward the mountains–yikes! Back inside I did a little Facebook search and found it was our wonderful government agency, the USFS, doing a prescribed burn. Notice the tops of the trees–it was windy but I guess they had enough people up on the mountain to keep the fire contained.

When we had book club meeting last month it was at Lucia and Steve’s home. The Cowboy and I needed to go to Sierra Vista after the meeting so I didn’t have time to get the full tour of their home and property. Friday the Cowboy and I drove out to their house for the full tour. They are both highly energetic people and also very talented. Their garden is amazing–fencing extending two feet into the ground to discourage gophers and snakes, tight perimeter fencing eight feet tall and even roof fencing to keep out the birds. Lucia said she was not sharing with the critters, only people she wants to share with! Steve is a mosaic tile artist and his creations pop up everywhere outside and inside. They built this straw bale house hiring out only the metal roofing and the kitchen countertops. Steve built all the cabinets and built-ins. They collect all their rainwater, they have a huge bank of solar panels and storage batteries. It’s a lovely, creative home and we so enjoyed the tour!

Friday was also our spring Lion’s Club garage sale. We both found a few small treasures and also found lots of friends to visit!–it’s the best garage sale in the area!

I think my feet are growing. My Oboz hiking shoes have started to hurt my toes plus they have some miles. New, good hiking shoes are expensive–I wanted to try Hoka’s having been told their shoes have good room in the toe box. The style I wanted was $180. So, I searched eBay finding a pair in my size that was advertised as “new, without box” and the shoes would be sent to an authenticator before being shipped to me–who knew counterfeit shoes were a thing??? The shoes arrived on Thursday and I really like them other than the fact they make my feet look huge! And they cost $94 and that price included shipping.

A special visitor arrives tomorrow–life is good!

The wind continues to blow and Sunday morning our temperature was 26 degrees!! The weather man on one of the local TV channels said, “it’s not February, it’s not March, it’s April in Arizona–where’s the warm weather!”

Our county has a Facebook photography group and twice this week one of my photos has been featured as the “cover” photo on the group’s home page. These two photos were “cover” shots. The rainbow photo isn’t the best as its taken with the iPhone zoomed in to far. But I love the poppies shot.

When we had Easter lunch at Dan and Louanne’s house, the gathering ended on a crash! Clint was sitting in a rocking chair and the next thing he knows, he’s on the floor. One of the “rockers” had broken loose from the chair that had belonged to Dan’s grandfather. The Cowboy to the rescue–he asked Dan and Louanne if the chair had antique value to them and they said no, they just wanted to be able to use it. So the Cowboy fixed the chair and it’s back in use–it’s the chair I always chose when it’s just the four of us in their “den” area.

We aren’t big TV watchers but do watch more TV in Arizona than we do in Montana because we can get local channels with our antenna. No antenna TV in the Montana mountains. We can watch PBS documentaries and other shows without commercials using the antenna. This is the antenna we use–

When we finished painting the garage, the Cowboy moved the RV back onto the RV pad on the west side of the garage. Up until that time the RV had been parked on the east side of the garage, sort of out in the yard.  Suddenly after a severe wind storm we no longer had the local NBC station which is where we get our local weather forecast. I lifted the Cowboy up onto the roof with the backhoe and we adjusted the antenna thinking the wind moved it enough to lose those stations. Nope–still no local NBC stations.

This went on for several days with me hoisting the Cowboy onto the roof for more adjusting–nope. Then he told me a story–a Montana rancher friend had a local antenna and got great reception until he moved a huge piece of farming equipment–he then had no reception–his antenna had been bouncing the signal off that piece of equipment. So, the Cowboy’s brain is whirring and he thinks maybe the RV is blocking the signal–he moved the RV and we now have all our TV stations! Weird!! Our antenna is on the roof and it would seem to be high enough to get signal over the roof of the RV but I guess not!

In 2019 at some time the Cowboy installed track lighting in our main house kitchen. When installing the fixtures he realized you could not change the bulbs??? Who makes a fixture that has bulbs which cannot be replaced?? We decided to proceed with the fixtures as they were LED lights and we all know LED lights last forever–right!!?? Shortly after hanging those lights one light began to blink occasionally. In the last month the lights became non useable. That light became a strobe light. This fixture wasn’t our only kitchen light so it was OK but it made the Cowboy mad because the track lights were not inexpensive!! He finds the book for the lights–yes, he keeps books for everything–and read that the fixtures have a 5 year warranty. I find the receipt–yes we keep all our receipts for this house remodel and find we purchased the lights in October, 2019.

I call the manufacturer, get a return authorization number, call Lowes and they tell us to bring the fixtures, our receipt, and the RA number. We did this on Friday. Lowes did not have these fixtures in stock and we would not have accepted them even if they did. Because the fixtures were purchased almost five years ago, Lowes would not return our money but would give us a Lowes gift card with the amount of purchases loaded onto it. We were happy with that. The Cowboy found almost identical fixtures for less money and changeable bulbs on Amazon. He installed those fixtures and we once again have nice lighting without the strobe light feature!!

Friday morning before we headed to Sierra Vista and Lowes, we went to a garage sale finding a waffle iron and a very nice set of binoculars. Sunday morning breakfast was waffles and bacon.

The Cowboy installed a vent in the gable end of the garage to let heat escape in the summer. I’ve been cleaning in the guest house–in about a week we have a guest coming and four days after she departs we have another set of guests coming. We’ve used the guest house all winter as a catch all plus I’ve been sewing leaving threads and little bits of fabric all over the floor–and I’m a neat sew-er, it just happens.

Our neighbor/friend Matt came over to “pick the Cowboy’s brain” this morning and showed me his photos of the Space X launch we meant to watch last night but forgot–mighty good photos for a cellphone!

We have our eclipse glasses and eclipse film for the camera lens–we are ready to see the eclipse. Unlike the 2017 eclipse when Montana was almost in the path of totality, southeastern Arizona will see about 67% of the eclipse. My family–well some of them–are excited to see the eclipse as Arkansas is in the path of totality. Here are some photos I took of the 2017 eclipse–

Life is good!

We ended last week with wind, gusty wind, rain and wind and that’s how we are ending this week. The days in between were warm, sunny and just a touch breezy. As I start typing this blog on Easter morning the wind is howling and is to bring us rain–we will take the rain but this wind can depart with March for our part!

This was a week of those mundane chores that always seem to need doing–laundry, vacuuming, mopping the ever dirty kitchen floor. I’ve decided I must be a messy cook these days or the tile in this house must show spills more readily–let’s go with that excuse instead of my being a messy cook!

When we head north for the summer we aren’t just heading north almost nonstop as the Cowboy is fond of doing!! We are stopping in northern Arizona, our ATV friends from Montana are joining us for an exciting ride!! The various articles we have read about the location of this ride say having a spare tire is a good idea. We and all the people we ride with do not carry a spare tire. We carry a tire repair kit (which we have used) and an air compressor which we have also used at times. Over the last month the Cowboy had noticed an ad on Craigslist for a set of new, never on the ground tires and rims that would fit our CanAm. We contacted the guy and he took the much lower price the Cowboy offered him. So, Tuesday we journeyed to Tucson, picked up the tires, stopped at Costco for just a few things, ate lunch and picked up the groceries at Walmart.

Now, lets talk about lunch in Tucson. I realize I sound like a broken record about dining out but—–We ate at Eclectic, a place we liked during covid and when Emmi was alive–they have an outdoor patio with heaters. The tab was $52 which included the tip. The food was not good, the service very good, and the bathroom was disgusting. If the Cowboy tells me the bathroom is dirty, it’s really, really dirty!! Don’t get me wrong–since covid, I’ve cooked so, so many meals and I love to eat out when we have the chance. But geez!!

On Wednesday I did something I haven’t done in years–I took a hike with friends from the book club, one of their spouses and another couple in the hiking group. We did Middlemarch Pass trail. All “pass” trails are uphill and steep at times as was this one. The leader of this hike, Lucia, had hiked this trail in the past and could not believe how washed out/basically gone the trail was. We hiked up deep chasms filled with big rocks where the rain water from summer monsoons had destroyed the trail. It wasn’t a long uphill hike but enough to make me winded and it certainly increased my heart rate!! It was a spectacular day spent with friends!

If you click on any of the photos in the blog posts you can see an enlarged version.

The Cowboy has started painting the trim on the garage, he’s installed the new tires on the CanAm and tried to fix our grill without success. The grill was one we purchased used in 2016 while living at North Ranch in the winter. It was a great grill but when the Cowboy went to replace the propane line the “venturi” tubes just fell apart. We felt the grill was too old to spend money replacing parts so on Friday afternoon we journeyed to Sierra Vista and purchased a new to us gas grill with way more burners than I will ever use and an additional cooking type burner on the side. Happy cook! And there is a nice Dairy Queen in Sierra Vista–:) :)!!!

Friday morning was book club day for me. I absolutely love my book club and the members! And Shauna was there–she lives in Wyoming but had come to visit this week–she sold her parents condo this past summer I think and hasn’t yet decided to purchase another property in this area. The meeting this week was held at Lucia and Steve’s beautiful home they built with their own two hands. It’s a straw bale house and just stunning! Book club meeting was stimulating and I now have another list of great book suggestions. Again, this book club is just the best group of ladies–I am so glad I had the courage to seek out a book club and that I landed in this one!

Here’s a list of some books I have read over the last month–

Solito by Javier Zamora. I listened to this non fiction book which was read by the author. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, hands down. It’s the story of a nine year old boy who is sent alone via a “coyote” and in the company of several other adults and one child from El Salvador through Guatemala and Mexico to be reunited with his mother and father who fled El Salvador years previously. The boy had lived with his grandparents in El Salvador and at age nine was deemed old enough to make the journey alone!! The stamina of this child and the people accompanying him was mind blowing! He did not complain, ever, in spite of being tired, hot, hungry, etc. Eighteen hours in an open boat with wooden seats across the ocean, hours and hours of walking in the night and in the heat, running out of water. This is a must read book!!

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. Again I listened to this book and loved it. Ruthie, a 4 year old little girl is told to sit on a rock and wait for her mother, she disappears into thin air . Her six year old brother was the last person to have seen her. The book is set in Maine where this family came from Nova Scotia every year to pick blueberries. The mystery isn’t solved for 50 years and that’s all I will tell you so as not to spoil the story. It was a really, really good book!

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict. Based on historical facts this is the story of a African American woman who with her children are light skinned enough to pass as white in New York City. One of the daughters is highly intelligent and is determined to succeed on her own merits without a husband. She scores a position as personal librarian to JP Morgan and does indeed become highly successful, buying rare books and paintings for Mr. Morgan’s library. Passing as white was fraught with danger–read the book–it was excellent!

Leave The World Behind Rumaan Adam. I listened to this book. A doomsday novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the ending–and longer–I have thought about this book for weeks. A young couple with two teenagers rents a luxurious AirBnB on remote Long Island, New York. In the night someone knocks on the door. It’s the people who own the home and they beg to be allowed to enter their own home. They’ve been in New York city attending a concert when every light in New York city went out, totally dark.

The Women by Kristin Hannah. The main character Frankie, a pampered daughter of wealthy California parents, becomes a nurse and after her brother is shipped out to Vietnam she follows, joining the Army Nurse Corp. As green as the soldiers sent to Vietnam in droves, she is overwhelmed and sees all the horrors of war in an operating room tent. Surviving Vietnam she comes home to be scorned by so many people in opposition to the war. She suffers from PTSD ( not even a diagnosis in the late 1960’s) and can find no help–nurses weren’t eligible for care at the VA hospitals. While infused with the usual love stores in Kristin Hannah books, this book is good, very good.

Easter Sunday we joined other friends for a delicious meal at Dan and Louanne’s. My contribution was a fresh strawberry cake. We dined so well–the food was amazing and the conversations the best!

Life is good!

 

 

Our yard is a carpet of poppies as is the field across the county road from us–where well drilling continues to happen. We haven’t seen poppies like this since 2020.

Last Sunday we enjoyed lunch at Dan and Louanne’s and in the afternoon drove all the way to Hereford to buy a security screen door for the garage. We made a circle of the trip and came home through Bisbee because—there is a Dairy Queen.

Monday we started painting the garage early hoping to beat the wind–we were partially successful. We finished painting on Tuesday. It looks great and we are pleased. Thursday while in Tucson I purchased some trim paint and the Cowboy will paint what little trim there is on the garage around the window and both doors.

I baked bread this week–not sure why as we are both trying to drop some pounds–but we were out of bread and homemade sounded better than store bought.

On Thursday mid afternoon I retrieved Louanne and we headed to Tucson. She was having a minor surgical procedure on Friday. Her surgeon is extremely busy and at her appointment last week told her he would try to work Louanne into his surgery schedule. The office called her on Monday saying they had an opening on Friday. Dan was all ready scheduled for an appointment in Willcox–he had been waiting a couple months for this appointment and didn’t want to have to cancel. So I agreed to be the designated driver/contact/etc.

Louanne and I stopped at Home Depot purchasing flowers for our outdoor spaces and more paint for the garage. We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Locale on Thursday evening–an Italian restaurant in Tucson. Our hotel was a brand new Marriot Springhill Suites which has some issues they will need to resolve–seems they don’t have enough rooms with queen beds. Louanne had requested a room with two queen beds–our room had one king bed and a trundle bed type couch–the twin mattress pulled out from underneath the couch and rested on the floor–not acceptable for two women as old as Louanne and me. The hotel was oversold that night–no more rooms–but we survived!

Friday at 7:30am we were at the hospital and when they took Louanne back to the pre-op area I headed off to find breakfast. I ended up at First Watch where the coffee was great but the breakfast was mediocre–runny scrambled eggs, undercooked bacon and potatoes. And it was $20 for breakfast. My next stop was Costco where I just wandered not wanting to purchase anything that needed to be refrigerated or frozen as I didn’t know when Louanne would be ready to travel home. I still managed to find things to purchase in Costco–as always.

When the Cowboy and I stopped at the quilt shop the other day I noticed a couple  interesting shops which included a yarn shop. I would have been pressing my luck to ask him to wait while I wandered both the quilt shop AND a yarn shop so this shopping center was on my list for Friday. The boutique was a bust but the yarn stop was delightful–helpful people and beautiful, squishy yarn. I purchased enough yarn to knit another summer sweater.

By this time I was done with shopping and headed back to the hospital. It was a beautiful day–sunny and high 70’s. I found a bench in the shade, read, people watched and waited for the post-op folks to call me. Louanne and I were heading out of Tucson by about 2:30–she did very well with no issues. Dan drove out later in the afternoon and brought me roses for taking such good care of his wife–he’s a good guy!!

Holey, moley!! Did we ever have a storm Saturday night and the storm continued all day today with rain squalls and wind! I talked about the wind in last week’s post but this wind was even worse–awful!! And it rained–which is good for the poppies!

I continue to walk three miles a day–Thursday I saw and heard a meadowlark. Our neighbor shooed a small mountain lion out of her backyard on Friday!! The coyotes are singing night and day–I think it’s mating season.

Life is good.

And today I finished another quilt square–6 down, 100 to go–at this rate I may not live long enough to finish this quilt!!

 

 

Cochise county is windy much of the time without a doubt, sometimes we think we are back in Montana it’s so windy but Mother Nature has outdone herself this past week–whew, the wind blew!! We came home from Tucson on Wednesday to find garbage cans, buckets  and doormats scattered across the yard. I even refused to walk one morning due to the high winds.

But, the wind creates dust and our days were also partly cloudy making for gorgeous sunsets.

The Cowboy has been getting the garage ready for painting. In spite of the fact we neither one are fond of painting we just decided having stucco applied to the garage outside walls was just too cost prohibitive. Our stucco guy has become very busy and as a result his prices are much higher. And we found a deal on the paint!

I had a medical appointment in Tucson on Wednesday. We had paint we had purchased at Home Depot that matches the house and wanted to use that same paint/color but needed way more than the half gallon we had remaining. It’s been our experience that any good paint department can mix paint types and colors no matter where the original paint was purchased. We had reason to be in Lowes and attempted to get their employees to suggest a paint that would have the same qualities as our original paint but got nowhere. One employee even said, “why don’t you just go to Home Depot and get the paint?” Seriously?? So we did!

We hit the jackpot at Home Depot! Great employee and he said, “we are discontinuing that paint and it’s 40% off right now.” So the Cowboy being the frugal person he is purchased double the amount we needed! We left Home Depot with smiles and two five gallon buckets of the paint we needed. It’s the color of our house so the paint will be used at some point in time.

A friend mentioned a restaurant in Tucson and we decided to try it. We left without ordering. Enough said. And once again we ended up at Five Guys. Yes, we are in a rut. Costco and my appointment where the physician only kept me waiting 45 minutes this time instead of a hour. We left Tucson at 4pm and traffic was moving but heavy. When we exit I-10 one of will always say, “ahhhh, so glad to be off the racetrack!”

We cut the cord! As in the Amazon Prime cord. The membership fee was $139 per year and lately had us questioning just exactly what were we getting for those dollars. Our packages are sent through the post office which means we have to drive to the post office, nothing comes to our house now and Amazon’s claim of “fast and free” shipping is a misnomer–our packages are not sent via the “fast” method. The videos/movies/TV shows we watch have ad after ad–we might as well be watching network TV. So we cancelled our membership. I’ve placed two orders through Amazon since cancelling and both were sent with free shipping and the packages are supposed to arrive in the same time frame as that quoted when I had Amazon Prime. So, we will see what happens and I will let you know the results.

And lastly, we lost another dear friend this week. Years ago when we were traveling to Arizona in the pink motorhome pulling the yellow jeep we met a Canadian couple in the desert–John and Brenda. We became friends, visiting each other’s respective homes and RVing in the winter. When covid hit, they did not journey to the US for about 3 years I think. John died this week while hiking near Phoenix. Such a gentleman, so knowledgeable about anything–politics, religion, the oil industry (his career) and such a giving person.  We will miss that big tall cowboy, his beautiful photographs, his wit and his laugh. Rest in peace John, you are missed.

Our poppies are blooming, there is a sea of yellow/gold in our yard. We went to Dan and Louanne’s for Sunday lunch–spectacular Guinness stew, fruit salad and Mexican cornbread. YUM! Saturday Roma and Doug joined us for happy hour–it was warm enough to sit in the sun as we enjoyed adult beverages, great conversation and appetizers.

Another week gone by, life is good.

 

 

 

The Cowboy and I married in the fall and when Christmas time came I went shopping in Livingston, 55 miles away. I can remember it was snowing, the town of Livingston and the stores were beautifully decorated for the holidays. The Cowboy had given me suggestions about various stores and had mentioned Sax and Fryer–a book store. When I stepped inside Sax and Fryer that December morning I was enthralled and made many trips into this store over the years. It wasn’t just a bookstore–containing bestseller books, Montana history books, cards, pens, books, newspapers and magazines everywhere, maps, and the smell–divine! Sax and Fryer closed recently after being in business for 140 years. Two of the employees had worked there for 54 and 46 years. The last surviving owner, Johnny Fryer, died in December, 2023. It’s the end of an era in Livingston and the news made both of us very sad.

Because you see, I have a Sax and Fryer story. My first trip to the store almost 30 years ago I purchased $125 in books and other items. I remember the total. When I attempted to hand one of those above mentioned employees my credit card, she said, “we don’t take credit cards.” Oh dear, I had just written my last check in another store. I offered to go to the bank and get cash but she then said, “oh don’t worry honey, just give us your address and we will bill you.” What????? She didn’t know me from Adam but promptly packaged my purchases and out the door I went with a new respect for Montana. After all I had moved west from Houston, Texas where if you wrote a check they wanted your first born child!

Thirty years ago in our Montana small towns many stores had “store credit.” I was the new face in our community and it amazed me in those early months of our marriage how many people knew I was the Cowboy’s wife. I would walk into a store, select an item and the person at the cash register would say, “charge this to Mike?” I loved it!! The hardware store, the lumber store, everywhere had “store credit.” And once a month the Cowboy would usually spend a day in town paying all those accounts in person. Different world, different times.

I borrowed these two photos from the internet–

Remember from last week’s post–the microwave had died. The part arrived, the Cowboy worked his magic, and the microwave now works again. He is amazing! The hardest part at least for me was helping him re-install the heavy microwave over the range!

Last Sunday evening we were invited to dinner at our neighbors–Matt and Barb’s. That woman can cook–we both agreed that was some of the finest Mexican food we had ever eaten! Beef enchiladas, rice, refried beans–all so good!

The Cowboy has been struggling with his “free” garage door openers. The first opener he installed worked–until it didn’t–and became possessed by something or someone! The garage door would partially raise, then go back down, then not open at all. The Cowboy changed remotes, rewired, ordered new remotes and still the possessed garage door opener would not behave. So, he removed the motor and installed the other “free” motor. This time the door opens as it should–success!

On Tuesday we had a treat–we traveled into the Tucson area to visit Joe and Gay’s lovely home in what was a golf community in its heyday. Their house backs up to what was once a fairway but is now desert with an added bonus–paved golf cart paths that are now walking paths. We met their sweet Sally pooch who is a mature girl but doing very well. And we traveled into Green Valley enjoying Mexican food and great conversation for a couple hours. It was a refreshing change to meet up with friends, have lunch and go home–no marathon shopping trip!!

I actually completed some quilt blocks this week–one too small and two the size they should be. How did that happen you might ask?? Quilts are traditionally made using a precise quarter inch seam. Sewing machines and sewing machine feet don’t always sew an exact quarter inch seam. If your block has many seams such as the blocks I am making, that exactness is very important or you end up with a block too small or too large. I have to move my sewing machine needle one click over to the right in order to get that precise seam and I have to remember to move that needle one click every time I sit down to sew if the machine has been powered off. Five blocks finished–101 to go!

Louanne has been gone this week leaving Dan home alone. He came out for Sunday lunch today and I served grilled burgers with homemade buns and caramelized onions. I also made french fries in the air fryer–they are so good that way–and coleslaw. Dessert was homemade cookies from friend Sandy’s recipe. We do eat well in this house!

A stick killing Emmi dog. I vacuumed inside the trucks yesterday and told the Cowboy it made me sad–we don’t use the big Dodge often and I found an Emmi blanket and lots of poop bags. The Cowboy said his trip to the transfer station on Saturday made him sad–Emmi loved to go to the dump with him and always wanted to ride with her head out the window no matter the weather.

It was a beautiful Sunday–warm and sunny–just how we like it!