Amado Day 5

Amado, Arizona
De Anza RV Resort
Site 91

I heard Bill speaking with someone this morning around 7:30 am.  I walked downstairs and it was Curtis from RVillage.com introducing himself.  He and I shared emails about the Amado Rally and he was suppose to arrive on Tuesday.  We all know things happen and he had some mechanical problems so he got up and left for Amado about 5:30 am this morning.  We visited for a while and then went over for breakfast that was cooked by De Anza staff.  

Breakfast was very nice and everyone lingered for a little bit while we set up the dog races for CARE.  

I asked John and Karen Knoll if they could help with the ticket sales.  Of course, they had no problem helping out.  Thanks again for John and Karen for your help.

Bob, owner of De Anza,and Bill set up the track on the stage and even turned on the spotlights.  The dogs all had names representing Escapees.  The names were, SKP to My Lou, Boot Camp, Rainbow Park, Escapade, Captain Kay P. and Happy Hour.  

There was a lot of cheering for the dogs.  Bill called out the dogs names as they advanced.  

Hank Whitney came over and helped me move the horses down the track.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the game.  There was over $300 donated to CARE.  

After the races, we walked back to the meeting room to hear a presentation by Curtis.  He explained the advantages of the free RVillage program to RVers.  I think he explained it so that everyone could see how it would benefit them.  

John and Karen came by and asked if we wanted to go to Tubac with them.  We walked around for awhile.  There were a lot of stores that went out of business. 

Happy Hour was changed from 4 pm to after the Sky Med presentation.  Everyone sat outside and visited.  I had some margarita popsicles I shared.  I only had a dozen but it seemed to be enough.  

The potluck dinner started at 5 pm.  Everyone seemed to have a good time.  The Happy Hour was scheduled after the presentation, but we went didn't stay through all of it.  

Turtle Safely......

  

   

Amado Day 4

Amado, Arizona
De Anza RV Resort
Site #91

John and Karen Knoll were the first to arrive today.  As they were pulling in they asked if we wanted to go to lunch with them.  They were set up in no time and we took off to Green Valley.  There was a restaurant that was packed and we could see why.  

The sandwiches were so big, you could hardly hold it in your hand.  I ordered a number 51 and that was only halfway down on the menu.  We came home with enough for another meal.  

We walked around the Farmer's Market which was much more than that.  There were some beautiful, pots, Navajo rugs, paintings, jewelry, metal art and of course produce. Bill bought me a nice pair of "turtle" earrings.  

By the time we returned to the park we sat outside for awhile. Karen and John came over and handed us a gift. 

This t-shirt is one of those "magic" ones that changes color.
Bill received a turtle brain teaser.  

 Polly and Vern were having trouble with their truck and they were near Sells.  That's a very lonely two lane road.  

We walked over to the clubhouse for Happy Hour just as the Vints and Folger's arrived.  

We walked from our private meeting room, to a lasagna dinner that was held in the De Anza Restaurant.  Linda and Don Greig volunteered to serve the dinner. 

Visiting and gabbing followed the dinner until everyone left after a busy day. 

Turtle Safely....... 

Amado Day 3

Amado, Arizona
De Anza RV Resort
Site 91

Bill and I ran up to Green Valley, to pick up a few groceries this morning and to make sure the truck was running fine.  When we returned, Linda and Don Greig arrived.  No sooner had they arrived than Joe and Alice Knox arrived. As soon as we were finished saying hello, Hank and Joyce Whitney pulled in.  They came over and said hello and then went back to set up.  

Everyone grabbed a chair and set in front of our coach.  

From left to right, Hank and Joyce Whitney, Joe Knox, Don Greig, Alice Knox and Linda Greig.

We never even brought out any snacks or drinks we were so busy visiting.  It seems like everyone never ran out of things to say.  

Left to right, Bill Mains, Bob Moritz, Nick Schmidtz

Notice that Allegro Bus in the background.  That is Jeanne and Nick's new home.  They lost everything last May when their Dutch Star caught on fire.

Hank and Joyce

Hank and Joyce left for a little bit to fed the dogs.  When they came back they were carrying two items.  They showed us all around the Custer, SD area last year.  It's all Hank's fault, because he introduced us to Lintz Bros Pizza in Hermosa.  Since then we haven't had any pizza.  Nothing can compare with this pizza.  They brought not one, but two pizzas for us.  

 Dave and Sherry were the last to pull in and everyone started leaving to get dinner.  Our original plan for dinner was to visit Maria's Restaurant in Tubac until I found out it was sold.  But since we have a special delivery of LIntz pizza........ 

Jeanne invited me over to see their new to them home.  It's absolutely gorgeous.  I know we were laughing a lot when they called us telling us about the things they were learning to operate and how they found out about all the controls.  

Nick and Jeanne look very comfortable and happy in their home.

We came back to the coach and guess what we had for dinner.  It was just as delicious as I remember.  I can even remember the weather the last time we had a Lintz pizza--a hail storm.  

Tomorrow is the official start of the rally.  There are only 13 rigs expected, but it promises to be another fun time.  Sometimes a smaller crowd is more fun as you get a chance to visit with everyone.  

Turtle Safely.........

Amado Day 2

Amado, Arizona
De Anza RV Resort
Site 91

Another gorgeous day!  I called the local auto repair which is next door to the park to see if they could look at our sick "Big Red".  They said, "No problem, bring it right over."  Bill went out to start it and it wouldn't start.  I called the auto repair back, and the fellow says, "wouldn't start would it?"  He said he'd be over in a few minutes.  We immediately felt confident in the professional looks and manner of the two men who came over.  They got it started and Bill told them to go ahead and do an oil change, while they were repairing the truck.  

Bill spent some time working on the greyhounds for the race which will benefit CARE.  Our daughter, Misty, made the template for the greyhounds.  We used some Escapees language for the dogs names.  

The good news of the day is that we have the truck back.  Luna's Towing and Auto Service returned it just before 5 pm.  They left the bill and said to come by tomorrow and pay it.  

I'll tell you, I never enjoyed a sight as much as to look out and see our truck back.  

Turtle Safely.......

Amado, Tucson

Amado, Tucson
De Anza RV Resort
Site 91 Pull Thru

Another calendar malfunction.  I was talking to Karen about the Chapter 45 Rally in Amado telling her I thought we'd stay next weekend at the Pima County Fairgrounds as there was a show and then head back to Casa Grande next Sunday. I was anxious to see what the new sites looked like. She called me later to give me the correct dates of the rally.  Oh well, another calendar problem.  It's not that I don't write down the dates, it's just the problem of what the present day is.

We got up this morning did some laundry and decided to go ahead and leave for Amado anyway.  It didn't take much to pack up as all the meals are provided.  

We stopped for diesel at $3.09 a gallon and went and picked up the Montana.  I told Bill I didn't want to drive today as I had a dream that I didn't allow for the tail swing and clipped someone.  I also know this park has blind side back ins with strategically placed light poles and concrete slabs.

While we're driving down I hear a beep and the warning says to check your gauges.  Our charging gauge shows we aren't charging.  We turned the AC, radio, GPS and camera off but it didn't seem to make any difference.  I'm a worry wart, and wondering where we can pull off going through Tucson.  Bill made the turn onto I 19 and the shoulder was closed for construction.  Not a comforting thought to me.   All I could think of was the truck quitting and no where to pull off.  

We made it down to De Anza and I ran in to find out what our site was.  There was a couple ahead of me that were discussing storage.  I finally said, "excuse me, we have a tow vehicle problem and I need to know our site number and I'll come back to pay."  Amy was wonderful.  She gave me a site number which happened to be a pull thru.  I went outside and gave Bill the site number and we unhitched.  No way did I want him to turn the truck off, in case we couldn't get it started again.  

Of course there isn't anything that can be done on Sunday so we'll deal with it tomorrow.  

Bill and I went over to the clubhouse and played billiards and Bob Moritz arrived shortly afterwards.  We went out and tried to do what we could to help him set up.  He is one of those people that never complains, even though he seems to have had his share of bumps in the road.  

He'd e-mailed yesterday that he forgot his walker and was at Roosevelt Lake.  I went over to my Dad's and borrowed his, which he never uses.  Unfortunately, I didn't think about the size for an RV bathroom.  

Bob, Bill and I enjoyed margaritas trying to solve all the world problems.  Not sure we got them all solved as the bottle was empty before we got the world straightened out. 

For those of you who were at the MOC rally in Goshen in late September, we found another stink bug.  How long before we are rid of them?

Nick and Jeanne are arriving tomorrow since they didn't come today.  We're anxious to see their new home.  

It promises to be a good time. This is really a beautiful part of Arizona and we love the views from here.  Usually they have the fifth wheels backed in so the rear window faces the mountains and the motorhomes are backed in to face the mountains but even with the pull thru sites we have some terrific views of the mountains and the weather promises to be excellent.  

Turtle Safely.....

A little catch up

We have been very busy the last few days and I've had a few comments that I haven't blogged.  

I drove the first half when we left Columbus, NM.  It didn't start out well, as I couldn't find my way out of the RV park.  The state park had placed big huge rocks on the road we used last time.  I found the dump station OK, but circled around twice before I found the exit.  Oh well, I told Bill to wave to the rest of the rally attendees, as we went around again.  They must have thought we couldn't tear ourselves away.  Actually, it was a great time.  Never had any time to revisit the museums and was much nicer having a real room than an open pavilion.  The highlight was the happy hour and dinner at the Pink Store in Palomas, Mexico.

By the time we got back, we were exhausted.  The 90 degree temps were probably some of the warmest weather we had all summer.

We traveled 11,800 miles in the seven months we were gone.  Other than Bill's episode with the chiggers we had no problems.  Bill and I both agree this was the best summer ever.  

Judy and Luke Rinehimer came in on Monday and stayed at the park near us.  We went to dinner at the Creative Cafe and I'd say it was about 5.  They weren't very busy and when I looked it was near 7.  The staff was just sitting in a booth waiting for us to leave as there were no other customers.  It was nice seeing them as we hadn't seen them since last year.  We look forward to meeting up with them again at the WARE.

Oh, I almost forgot, anyone that reads this knows about my calendar malfunctions.  Well, Judy said they were in site # 130.  I said no problem, I knew exactly where site #130 was as we had friends stay in that site.  As Bill drives up to site #130 there is no one on that site.  Were they trying to tell us something?  No problem, we still found them anyway.  

I ordered something from Amazon and clicked through it like I usually do.  I went to track it yesterday and saw that it was being delivered to Polly and Vern's house in Chandler.  That wouldn't normally be a huge mistake other than they are in Mexico and will not be going home until after we see them at the rally in Amado, AZ.  We drove up to Chandler and retrieved the package, wondering if any neighbors would be calling the police if they thought we were stealing someones package.  I had previously ordered a gift for Polly and had it sent to her house and Amazon defaulted to that shipping address.  I went into my Amazon account and deleted all the other shipping addresses I had used this summer.  Glad it only went to Chandler, it could have been much worse.

I had another calendar malfunction.  I told Bill that I had made our GP and Cardiologist appointments on the same day so we could get it all done at once.  On April 24, we had our last doctor checkup before leaving town.  I had the appointment card right by my calendar.  When we visited the doctor, we never came back, just headed down the road to meet Don and Sharon Del Rosario.  I saw the card for the Cardiologist as the 22nd.  I told Bill I must have made a mistake, as our family doctor appointment was on the 24th according to the card.  I received a call from the family doctor wanting to make sure everything was OK as we'd missed today's appointment.   It seems, I checked the card which had 2014 written at the top but skipped over the April and just saw the 24th.   

And folks, if anybody ever thinks I'm a detail person, you're thinking of Bill.  I'm the one that says "that's close enough."

On the positive side, Bill got a great report from his heart doctor.  I told Bill the good thing about missing our family doctor appointment is we have a little time to try and shed the 2 or 3 pounds we gained.  

Turtle Safely......

Mexico--Pink Store

Columbus, New Mexico
Pancho Villa State Park
#32

It must be Friday, we're in red.  

Last night we had a wonderful pot luck.  Instead of having the pot luck in the open shelter, it was held in a room up by the office.  It was so much better because flies didn't seem to be a problem.  

Today was the last day of the Chapter 21 Rally.  It's hard to believe how fast these days have gone by.  

The chapter meeting was held at 10 am this morning.  I was impressed by how much input the members gave.  Bill and I were VCR's for the rally and I gave a short report. 

Did I mention that I was chosen to pull a number for the 50/50 drawing?  Guess who's number I pulled?  Yep, mine.  I donated my share back to CARE. 

Happy Hour was suppose to start at 4 pm at the Pink Store.  For those of you who have never stayed at Pancho Villa State Park, the border is about 4 miles straight down the road to Palomas, Mexico. There is a parking lot at the border and about a block away is the Pink Store.  The Pink Store is where all the Americans go when walking across the border.  There is an Escapees emblem as you enter the door to the store. 

 If you want glasses or dental work you can get it in the square behind the Pink Store.  I noticed the pharmacy also has an Escapees emblem on the door.  

They really go out of their way to please you.  Even last year when there was a mix up on the menu, and they had a Thanksgiving meal instead of Mexican they quickly corrected the problem.  Happy Hour was suppose to start at 4 pm but we found most everyone was there early and ready to order dinner.  Roland and Suzanne Lajoie and Betty Dawson, and Don Dement and Bill and I decided to wait a little bit before we ordered dinner.  

Betty and I checked the store out to see if we could find any turtles.  There weren't many and nothing I liked which was a good thing since I was drinking a margarita while shopping.  Sometimes you buy some things that look good when you're drinking their margaritas and the next day you wonder why you liked the article.

Last year we were the last four to leave and this year we were the last six to leave.  Everyone had a great time and there was much laughter.  

As we were crossing the border, the border guard asked if we had been to the Pink Store.  He said he could smell the margaritas.  

This is typically our last stop before returning to Casa Grande.  While we've spent 219 days in our coach so far this year, we're ready to return for a little while before we get another case of hitch itch.  

Turtle Safely........



  

Columbus--Day 2

Columbus, New Mexico
Pancho Villa State Park
Site #32

It's always nice to meet up with people you know and find out what they've been doing since you last saw them.  One of the beauties of RVing.

It was nice to see Don and Betty again.  It seemed like we were close this summer, but not that close that we saw them.  

This morning was another perfect day.  No wind, no rain, no clouds, just perfect temperatures.  And what better thing to wake up to than breakfast.  I guess the only thing that would have made it better, was to serve us in bed.  They did the next best thing.  Naturally, Bruce Ratcliff was manning the pot of boiling water.  Eggs in a bag--the perfect breakfast for a group.  Now if you aren't into RVing, here's what you do.  You put your name on a zip lock bag, add a couple of eggs, and anything else you can think of.  Bacon, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes or whatever you can think of.  Drop your sealed bag into boiling water and 4 to 5 minutes later, you have breakfast in a bag.  

When we registered we picked a number and signed the corresponding number with your name on a game sheet.  This way no one picked partners.  

We played washers first.  Now I know everyone that knows me, knows I'm not coordinated or athletic in any way. Believe it or not, I made it to the finals.  Sharon and I were trying to break a tie.  They finally asked if we wanted to change the rules.  We kept playing sudden death.  Finally, Jean said, whoever is the first to land on the box is the winner.   Sharon finally landed on the box.  I was never so glad to lose.  I thought we'd be still playing after dark. 

Mike tried giving me pointers, but I guess it didn't help.

Horse shoes were next and the women and one man got a five foot advantage.  Ann showed them how to pitch.  Once again, they decided to change the rules, so we wouldn't be still playing at happy hour.  Everyone really enjoyed themselves, whether they were playing or doing the cheering.

Bill and I really enjoy this group.  There are 11 rigs here and it's the perfect size.  Everyone gets to know one another. 

All of a sudden Betty jumped up and said she heard some sandhill cranes.  She spotted a bunch and pointed them out to everyone.

 Before we knew it, it was time for Happy Hour.  What a feast we had. 

Bill and I skipped the campfire and called it an evening.

All in all, it was another great day.  

Turtle Safely...... 

Covered a lot of ground

Columbus, New Mexico
Pancho Villa State Park
Site #32

I've had a few phone calls wondering if we're doing OK.  We're fine.  The last time I blogged they were expecting some terrible wind, rain, and hail.  While we were in Dallas, the storms came during the night.  Luckily there was no hail.  By the time we got up in the morning, we both had had enough of Dallas.  

We seriously, thought about heading to Livingston for an offer that was hard to turn down, but we were headed west.

When we left Dallas, we found out that I 30 was closed due to an accident, so we detoured around it.  Traffic was normal for Dallas, but not what I would call normal.  

I thought we'd stop in Abilene, but we were into an audio book and it wasn't over until we reached Sweetwater.  Two RV parks that we saw, had sites too short for us.  The third one was a poor excuse for a RV park.  I dropped a check in the door slot and we tried to find a semi level site.  They were all so short, we hung over on both ends.  Did I mention how much I love the level ups?  There was no where to park the truck nearby.  

The following day I drove and that was the day the head winds were so bad.  You could just watch the gas gauge go down.  We do love having the security of the auxiliary fuel tank.  Finally decided to call it a day and pulled into Van Horn.  Stayed at a different RV park this time--the Desert Willow.  Price was right, $13.50 a night for 50 amp full hook ups, cable and wifi.  

The following morning, we got an early start (for us) and pulled into Dreamcatchers in Deming by noon.  Bill went to town where there was a stripped pole and a no appointment needed barber shop.  He came back looking much better.  

It has been busy days driving, stopping and getting up the next day and doing it all over again.  Not our typical type of RVing.  We've been over the same roads quite a few times, and there just isn't much to see or do.  So while we don't like driving every day, the alternative to staying in an area, we don't feel comfortable in wasn't a better option.

Today we traveled 31 miles to Columbus, New Mexico.  The Escapees Chapter 21 rally is being held in the Pancho Villa State Park.  $14 per night for water and electric and a nice large sites.  

Registration started at 1 pm and I believe I heard that 11 rigs were registered.  

Here's our rally hosts who have never attended a rally before but stepped up to the plate when the original host had medical issues.  

The weather is perfect and everyone seemed to enjoy happy hour.

Roland and Suzanne were presented with bibs as this is their first rally here.  We met them while we were at Dreamcatcher.  

Betty and Don were happy.  They went to Mexico today and got their teeth cleaned, new glasses and a good lunch.  

Bruce might have a story to tell.  

Do you think?  Can you see the dents in the canoe from this picture?

One thing for sure, there is never a speck of dust on Bruce's fiver.  

We'll be visiting the Pink Store for dinner later this week.  I wonder if they will serve turkey? 

Turtle Safe........