Thursday, October 26 - 4 Days Gone By (Gold Canyon, AZ)

 

On Monday we went to Walmart to do our shopping. It was very busy and the shelves we a little empty. I think we will try the Walmart in Apache Junction next time.

Tuesday was the wine tasting.

I made dinner before we went to the Multi Purpose Building, that way all I needed to do was heat it up when we returned.

It was supposed to be outside on the patio under the sails. I guess it was too hot for outdoors, because it was held in the ballroom.

It started at 4 pm (Happy Hour). We were to bring an appetizer to share and our own glasses. There was so much finger foods that looked and tasted so good.

When we arrived we were directed to the wine tables to pick up our bottles. We chose one white wine and one red. Then we took a seat at one of the round tables. We were joined by Rita and her niece Sue and another couple Dave and wife Debbie. Nice people!

The whole idea is to mix and mingle and walk around and try different wines. Many people came to our table to share theirs and to try ours. It was much fun and I look forward to the next one in November.

When we got home we were not hungry, we sat outside for awhile before going inside for the evening.

Wednesday we just hung out at home and Thursday we decided to go to the mall and walk around. We went in a few stores and window shopped. Had lunch in the food court and watched all the children. It must have been Halloween Day, as there were many little children in costume. Soooo cute.

Sunday, October 21 - Lazy Days (Gold Canyon, AZ)

 

Thursday was just a hang out at home early in the day.

After we fed the boys we went over to the Chinese Restaurant about 1 mile up the road and had dinner.

It was okay, I don’t think we will go back. Jesse had his usual shrimp egg foo young and I had pineapple chicken. We each got a cup of egg drop soup which was the best I have had. The egg rolls were not edible as far as I was concerned, although Jesse ate his and mine.

We brought our left overs home, walked the boys then walked over to the Multi Purpose Building.

Tonight was the night for “Pies and Smiles”. It was held in the ballroom and there were about 50-60 people there. They had so many different kinds of pies to choose from. I chose apple and  a bottle of water.  Jesse chose blueberry for his 1st piece and rhubarb along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for his second with coffee.

2 other couples were at our table. 1 was from Indiana and the other from Idaho. After eating our pie they gave each table the game Left/Right/Center to play. I think we played 4 or 5 games. I won 2 and Jesse won one. We were told that someone from the table could take the game home after we were done. Since we already have the game the other 2 couples rolled the die to make it fair and Idaho won. (Sorry can’t remember the names)

Friday we decided to go see the movie “ARGO” We went to a different theater then earlier in the week. We had to sit in the seats in front because it was so crowded. We both liked the movie, I was surprised that there was no action.

After we went over to Home Depot. I have been looking for a dust mop which I have been unable to find the kind I wanted, but I settled for one they had. Jesse needed to get some plumbing items.

For dinner we had left over chicken parmesan and pasta.

Saturday I did laundry and just read and watched movies. I never left the rig.

Jesse went over to the store to get some rolls so I could make Philly chicken subs for dinner with French fries. He also brought ice cream home for dessert.

Sunday I did more laundry. For lunch I made shrimp fried rice with the left over steamed rice from the other day. I put shrimp, peas, carrots, onion and red peppers in it and it was mighty tasty. We also ate the entrée from the other night.

We mostly have been reading today although Jesse watched football and Nascar racing.

We look forward to our shows tonight on TV.

Our friends depart Missouri tomorrow and we wish them a safe uneventful travel days!!!

Wednesday, October 17 - Eating, Relaxing, Movies, Grooming and Shopping (Gold Canyon, AZ)

 

It’s been several days since I wrote, so I plan to catch you up-to-date.

Starting with Saturday. I did laundry and we hung out at home.

We had decided to go to “Day of the Cowboy”. It was suppose to be a fair like event being held at Gold Canyon Golf Resort which is a few miles down the street from us.

It was an all day event but the events we thought would be interesting were from 4-8pm with fire works at 8pm. The grass was really pretty and I had to have some pictures.

I especially like this one of Jesse between the saguaro’s. Note the mountain in the background and more saguaros in the background to the left.

More greens

We walked around but was not too impressed. It was mostly booths from local churches, banks, a face painting booth and some other things that we were just not interested in.

They had a food booth and live country music.

They were to have a gunfight show in this small town they had displayed, but we didn’t see the show.

I guess these were some of the actors from the show

They also had these characters of funny little people that were on “America’s got Talent”  They were very cute and funny interacting with the people.

We didn’t stay long and just decided to find someplace to have dinner.

We let Henry (the GPS) look for restaurants in the area. He found Mining Camp Restaurant and we decided to try it.

They had two different dining areas. The Dutchman’s Hideout was the regular type of restaurant and then the family style dinning room.

We chose the family style for senior rate of $15.95. We got baked beans, cold slaw, rolls and raisin bread with butter and jelly. (The cactus flower jelly was homemade and what ever you didn’t eat from the jar you could take home, it was very good).

You also got ham, baked chicken with stuffing, BBQ beef ribs, green beans and coffee, iced tea and or lemonade. For dessert they bring you an oatmeal raisin cookie.

It was all very good and plenty to eat. You sit at long picnic tables and the dinnerware is all made of tin like in the old days.

During the week they have shows while dinning and I hope we can come again and bring our friend when they get here. I think it will be much fun.

When we got outside Jesse offered to take a picture for a family group that was here, so I took a picture of Jesse taking a picture.

We drove around and found a coyote taking a stroll

 

We stopped at the red box to rent some movies and went home to relax. We could see the fireworks from the rig later that evening.

We didn’t do anything but hangout on Sunday.

Monday we went to the movies to see “Taken 2” I enjoyed it, it was just what I expected, lots of action. Before we left for the movie I made some macaroni salad for dinner. I steamed shrimp for dinner and we enjoyed the rest of our day.

Tuesday the boys had a grooming appointment at 9am in Apache Junction. We dropped them off then  went to the bank to take care of some business.

Then we went to some RV repair places. I can’t explain this and have asked Jesse to write about it. We have a problem with the frame of the rig. In the FRONT when we are connected to the hitch the frame seems to be separating. It’s ok while be are parked and not hitched. Jesse called Keystone and they gave him three places he could take the rig to.  We have an appointment on Nov 14th to have it looked at.

After we had just enough time to stop at Walmart to pick up a few items before picking the boys up. We came back home and just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Wednesday I decided to go shopping. I went to Ultra to pick up a few items, then on to Kohl's. I wanted to buy some new bath towels. The ones we have been using which are still in good condition are 6 years old and I just wanted a new set. I also shopped in the sale racks and found a new outfit.

I was going to go to Hobby Lobby after, but was just too tired. I was up this morning at 2:30am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I came home.

We grilled turkey burgers for dinner and watched TV.

Friday, October 12 - The Buzz and Flee Market (Gold Canyon, AZ)

 

We we showered and dressed to leave at 8am today. We drove over to the Multi Purpose Building for the Friday morning coffee and donuts followed by Friday morning Buzz.

As we were entering the Ballroom we noticed they were selling ticket to attend the wine tasting on October 23. $10.00 pp and everybody gets a bottle of wine.

They were also selling tickets to Pie & Smiles on October 18th. The cost for this was $1.00 pp. It’s kinda of a meet and greet with pie followed by “Right Left Center tournament.

We purchased tickets for both.

Then we walked into the ballroom and Jesse got a pastry and coffee, I brought water.

Promptly at 8:30am the Buzz starts with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Donna (The resorts program director) does announcements and up coming activities. That takes about 30 minutes and then everyone go there separate ways.

We came back to our rig, Jesse walked the boys and then we were off to the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet.

Our 1st stop was to the refreshment stand to get the $2.00 breakfast. You get 2 eggs anyway you like with fried potatoes and toast and coffee.

You sit on nice picnic benches and listen to live music.

This was laid out like the one in Yuma, AZ. It’s right next to the shopping center where Walmart is located.

It is on blacktop, but has covers over the isles so you are not in the sun. We walked the four rows of booths. There are a lot of repeat booths, but we didn’t want to miss anything.

It was very nice weather today with a light breeze and about 70 degrees.

We purchase new rugs for our patio.

We stopped at the red box in Bashas to pick up a few movies and some salad fixins.

We grilled a steak for Jesse’s dinner and I made a pork chop and sauerkraut for mine.

We watched movies and just enjoyed the evening.

Thursday, October 12 – Exercise and Rest (Gold Canyon, AZ)

 

Wednesday Jesse and I decided to get some exercise.

1st we played tennis, Jesse won both matches.

Then baseball, we only played a couple of innings.

Then on to bowling. Now this is my game I beat Jesse 2 out of 3 games, and his one win was only by 1 pin.

Jesse was tired after all our “WII” exercise and he took a nap.

We had happy hour outside on our patio with the boys. It’s been hot here mid to upper 90 everyday, but it’s nice sitting outside in the evenings in the shade.

I noticed last evening we saw a few humming birds, so I put out the feeder on the dinette window.

From my chair down the street

For dinner we had leftover Salisbury turkey steaks and vegetables, and watched the hummers feeding.

 

Today was really a lazy day, we were resting from all the exercise from yesterday. LOL

It rained lightly off and on during the day and thundered towards evening and we had several 2 to 5 minute downpours.

I did several loads of laundry and made a pot of chicken chili for dinner.

We spent the day reading and watching TV. Jesse did several naps.

Not too much more to write about, so I will says so long for now.

Tuesday, October 9 - Day to Day (Gold Canyon, AZ)

 

As we sit in one place for a long period of time two things are ever present in our every day lives.

1st- I love having things settled and just living our lives day to day.

2nd- It makes it much harder to write a blog. It hard to write the same things every day. We get up in the morning. Have coffee while computering and watching the Today Show. Do a few chores then get dressed for the day.

That’s what we did on Monday. We decided to go to Chick-fil-a for lunch. I love their original chicken sandwiches. When looking on line the one I thought was the closest was in Queen Creek.

It’s 30 minutes away and not so close, but it was okay because we were able to see more of this area.

The shopping center had a few other stores that we had not been in.

“Potato Barn” was billed as a “Unique Home Furnishing” and even though we were not in the market for anything we decided to take a walk through. It had lots of sofa, chairs, tables and cabinets and most were very unique.

Then we walked through the “World Market” which was again very unique.

By this time we were hungry for lunch. As usual my sandwich was delish!

After lunch we drove back to our area to go to Walmart. This store puts the one in the Valley to shame. It’s large and clean, but still lots of people.

We did our shopping and headed home.

We planned to sit out on the patio for happy hour, but it was just too hot. I was not hungry for dinner, but I made Jesse a big salad with tuna in it for dinner.

Today we did the usual morning routine.

We got the call we had been waiting for from Las Vegas. We will be working at the Clark County Shooting Park starting January 1, 2013.

When I got dressed I left and went to get a mani/pedi. There is a shop in the small center just down the road a mile. I had to wait 20 minutes to get started which was no problem as I took my Kindle with me.

After I finished I went over to the Basha’s Food store to pick up a few items I forgot yesterday and to purchase some chicken. (I usually don’t buy chicken in Walmart).

When I got home Jesse said he walked down to the Multi Purpose Building just to look around. He talked to the lady at the concierge desk and he gave him more info, but he relayed very little to me.

We grilled chicken and I made a salad for dinner tonight.

The park is only about at 20% capacity. As the weeks continue more snow birds should be arriving and of course we can hardly wait for our friends Ed and Marilyn / Bob and Janet to arrive. 

Sunday, October 7 - Beth’s birthday (Gold Canyon, AZ)

 

I never left the RV today. We shared coffee while computering and watching TV.

We called our beautiful daughter to sing Happy birthday to her. Today she is 41 and we are very proud of her.

On Saturday I had made a coffee cake so I warmed that and we finished it off for breakfast.

Then I gave Buddy a much needed bath, he is now white again!. I got cleaned up and did some laundry.

We continued to watch TV, Jesse watched Football and Nascar I went into the bedroom and got caught-up on “Days of our Lives”.

Jesse then went out to return the movies we had rented yesterday. He also took the car through a badly needed car wash.

When he got back I made us a sandwich for lunch.

The afternoon was just lazy hanging out. I read - I am on the third book of the Fifty Shade trilogy.  I baked an apple crumb pie for dessert. Jesse napped and watched sports on the TV.

I made Salisbury turkey burger with gravy, mashed potatoes, corn and green been casserole for dinner.

We watched a few movies then Amazing Race and The Good Wife, before going off to bed.

Saturday, October 6 - A Tour of the Resort (Gold Canyon, AZ)

 

This morning we were up early. It gets light here early in the morning and gets dark early in the evening.

Anyway we had our coffee while computering and watching the news. It was nice not to be in any hurry to do anything.

I made the bed and put some laundry in the washer. Jesse went outside to put up my plant stand and I thought our flag. But the flag is not up yet he took the bikes down and was working on them.

He also got the totes out of the truck of my fall decorations. I stayed busy inside get out all the things that make our home on wheels homey along with fall decorations.

I am very pleased with the way everything looks even though it is hot outside is feels like fall inside.

Around 10:30am we got cleaned up and took a tour of the Multi Purpose Building. (This is my name for this building. I am not sure what they call it, but all of the follow is in this building)

                                          Lounge                                    Meeting room                               Billiard Area

                                Smaller Meeting Rooms                         Library                                    Exercise Room

These are just a few.  There are other smaller meeting rooms on the bottom floor that you access from the outside of this building along with the laundry room.

Outside in addition to the golf course which we didn’t see there is a swimming pool and shuffle board courts.

We also drove over to

Ed and Marilyn’s site

and right behind them is Bob and Janet’s site

Our site

                                      The front                                         The rear                     The patio (Plenty of room for happy hour)

 

After all the pictures we went into Apache Junction to the bank to get some cash.

We stopped at Jack in the box for some lunch. Jesse also stopped at a RED BOX to rent some movies for tonight.

Then we went back toward the Resort to check out the shopping center and the food store closest to the resort. The shopping center has several places to eat, a hair salon, a UPS store, cleaners, Chase Bank, coffee place along with other places I can’t remember.

The food store was quite nice with reasonable prices called “Bashas”, they even sell liquor there.

After returning home I put the groceries away, finished doing laundry, made dinner and relaxed and watched the movies.

It’s so nice to stay in one place again!

Friday, October 5 - 2 Travel Days (Gold Canyon, AZ)

 

Yesterday we left Monument Valley around 10am, traveled 194 miles and stopped in Munds Park, AZ for the night. Seems like a nice park. We got a water/electric site for $32.00.

Today we left about 9:30am. Again we traveled without incident (165 miles) and arrived at Gold Canyon RV Golf Resort about 12:30pm. Keep in mind we are in Mountain time, but they do not have daylight savings time.

We went to the Guest Services (Multi Purpose Building) to check in. Check in was very easy, we had to sign a few papers and received our auto passes, laundry card, gate entry card and a large packet of information.

We were then escorted to site #58.

It’s a back-in site and Jesse had no problem getting us parked. I will take more pictures to post tomorrow.

I was more interested in getting things set up. While Jesse did the outside things I got busy and scrubbed the whole RV floor on hands and knees. The floor really needed it. 

One thing that really was surprising, I was trying to fill the boys water bowl but could not get cool water, only warm water. I had to put ice cubes to cool it down.

After traveling for the last 3 weeks it’s nice that everything is where it’s suppose to be. We will be here until late December so I am really happy to be settled.

By the time I got all that done it was 4:00 and I need a shower. When taking my shower I was able to use only the cold water faucet as the water was warm.

Jesse took the boys to the dog park while waiting for me to get dressed.

We drove around the park a little and I took this picture of an egret in a pond behind the Multi Purpose Building.

We decided to go to Garcia’s for dinner which is in Mesa about 25 minutes from the park.

We had a wonderful dinner and drinks.

 

When we came out of the restaurant at 6:30 it was dark outside. Not too happy about that, but not much I can do about it.

We are in for the night and just relaxing, computering and watching TV.

Yea Orioles!! they move on to the play-offs.

Wednesday, October 3 - (Monument Valley, UT)

 

This morning we decided to tour the Navajo Tribal Park.

World famous red rock buttes surrounded by sandy plains; the epitome of a Western landscape, featured in many movies and commercials. The movie staring John Wayne “Stagecoach” was filmed here among many others.

The view from Lookout Point is spectacular enough, but most of the Navajo Tribal Park can only be seen from the Valley Drive, a 17 mile dirt road which starts at the visitor center and heads southeast amongst the towering cliffs and mesas, one of the most famous being Totem Pole, an oft-photographed spire of rock 450 feet high but only a few meters wide. The road is dusty, steep in a couple of places and rather uneven, but does not need 4WD - unless after recent heavy rain, the journey is suitable for the majority of family cars, and small to medium sized RVs, though the surface is perhaps not improved too much in order to increase business for the many Navajo guides and 4WD jeep rental outfits, which wait expectantly by the visitor center - typical prices are around $75 for a 2 hour trip.

These were our transportation choices for the 17 mile tour on a dusty, unmaintained, rocky, rutted road:

We choose the following:                                                       Our Car

It was a really rough road but my man did a great job and the rock formation were really interesting:

The sky was really beautiful.

It took us 2 hours to tour the 17 miles.

Our site and views from the site

Wild life on the roadway

We were home for lunch and had a relaxing afternoon and evening.