NATURE AT OUR SITE AT TT VERDE VALLEY

Jul 05-19 - We are back at TT Verde Valley for two more weeks. This time we chose site A39. We're at the end of the road, so there are no neighbors on our patio side. Sitting on our patio (which we don't do very often because it's too hot), or looking out of our window, there is beauty everywhere.

These beautiful flowering trees provide morning shade. There are four on the perimeter of our site -- three white and this one pink.

And the birds love to sit in the trees. Here is our finch feeder. We have seen as many as nine finch on this one feeder at the same time.

Hummingbirds love the hummingbird feeder; and we love the hummingbirds. They are fluttering around here all day long, just outside our window.

And our beautiful garden!! Ken planted some summer Vinca and other beautiful flowers. Of course, there is our Purple Shamrock, and a pot of basil for salads and cooking, and some mint for Mint Juleps whenever the horse races are on TV!!

A better view of the basil plant!! How it has grown!

It will really be hard to leave this site on Tuesday for our "week out"!!

JAVELINA REEK HAVOC AT TT VERDE VALLEY!!

We NEVER get to see the Javelina here at TT Verde Valley. We know they are here, but do you think we'd ever see one?? NO!!!

Well, this poor guy, a Thousand Trails member, had his trailer parked out on the free BLM Land outside the TT Verde Valley gate. Seems his wife had been in the hospital in Cottonwood for about a month, suffering with cancer. He, himself, was not in the best of health either.

The other day when he returned to his trailer, there was a ticket on the windshield. He had gone over the 14-Day limit for free parking on government land.

That evening he was moving the trailer to the Thousand Trails park for storage. Driving down the dark curvy road, a herd of JAVELINA darted out right in front of his truck. He swerved to avoid hitting one of them. His trailer jack-knifed into the ditch and turned onto it's side, causing the axle on the truck to break!! What a disaster!!

The next morning, Ken was on his way to town and saw the truck and trailer still overturned in the ditch. He talked with the ranger and learned the above story of the gentleman's bad luck.

Later in the afternoon Ken took me up to see for myself. We happened to arrive as a large flatbed trailer was across the road; workers were attempting to raise the trailer with a large crane and load it onto the flatbed.

And we never see the Javelina!!

VCU RAMS WIN ESPY AWARD!!

This is so Amazing!!!

On Wednesday this past week, the VCU Men's College Basketball Team won the ESPY Award for Best Upset due to their impressive run in the 2011 NCAA College Basketball Tournament!! VCU, seeded No. 11 capped a string of upsets by beating top seeded Kansas and went to the Final Four!

Back in March, I had posted several articles about the VCU Rams as our home-town team thrilled us as they upset one opponent after another all the way to the Final Four!! GO RAMS!!

TACO BELL AND THE DIAMONDBACKS HAVE A DEAL!

July 10 - Harold and Marion invited us to go with them for FREE tacos at Taco Bell this afternoon. FREE tacos!!??!! Seems the Diamondbacks and Taco Bell have a deal for the public!! Whenever the Diamondbacks score six or more runs in a game, Taco Bell gives three free tacos to its customers. All we had to do was purchase a large drink! Harold offered to buy the drinks for all of us!! We laughed and thanked him for his generosity!! Even a complete stranger joined in the teasing and commented on what a Big Spender he was!!

Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our FREE tacos. The price was right!!

SUMMER AT TT VERDE VALLEY, COTTONWOOD, AZ

July 06 - 10 - Back at TT Verde Valley, after our "week out" in Prescott, AZ, we actually found some Pickleball players!! Harold and Marion (left) were still here. We had gotten together with them before we left (see article posted June 28). Another couple of players came in. Linda and Roger (middle) had blown a rod (or something really bad) in the engine of their motorhome, so they will be staying here for an extended period while repairs are made. We had met them at TT Chesapeake Bay and TT Forest Lakes in 2008. We invited the group over for Happy Hour on Friday. Here we are in front of one of the flowering trees on our site!!

Everyone was happy!!

A few days later, another Pickleball couple came in. We had met Mike and Ed at TT St. Clair, MI a year ago. Here some of the group gathers on the courts.

Later, Roger and Linda and Mike and Ed challenge each other to a match!

ADDENDUM TO: OUR "WEEK OUT" IN PRESCOTT, AZ

4th of July - We were still in Prescott on the Fourth of July, so we celebrated with Ofe and Chuck and friends of theirs. We had Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and Corn-On-The-Cob at Ofe's home followed by home-made Ice Cream and Red Silk Cake, brought by her friend.

After dinner we drove over to a hill top in a residential neighborhood close to the Fourth of July Fireworks. A good location to watch the Fireworks. A number of other locals had the same idea. That was fun!!

There was thunder, lightening and heavy dark clouds all around us, but we lucked out. No rain over the Fireworks!!

Here we are in our Fourth of July tees from Walmart - $3.50 each!! What a deal!!

Thanks, Ofe and Chuck, for entertaining us royally during our week in Prescott, plus a very nice Fourth of July celebration!!

OUR "WEEK OUT" IN PRESCOTT, AZ

June 28 - July 05 - Time for another week out of TT Verde Valley. This time we went only about 45 miles to Prescott, AZ (the locals say "Pres'cutt"). It's a beautiful area up in the mountains. We are actually in the valley -- Prescott Valley. We are staying the week at the Elk's Lodge which has about 12 sites with full hook-up. It is quite a nice set-up. (We're the coach at the far end.)

Our Pickleball friends, Ofe and Chuck, live in Prescott in a 55 Plus mobile home community in the middle of a National Forest. The area is really nice and their home is beautiful!! Ofe and Chuck invited us for a morning of Pickleball, followed by Mexican lunch of tacos with Ice Cream for dessert. It was a lot of fun!!

In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we went for more Pickleball the next morning.

They have solved the problem of too many players and not enough courts!! They play with three on each side!! They have tweaked the rules a bit to accommodate six players. For instance, each team only gets one serve. The server serves until he looses serve, but always serves from the right court. When he looses serve, the other team rotates players and serves (the previous server moves to the center, the center player moves to the far left, and the left player moves to the service position). They usually play that the two outside players get to net while the center player stays back. It was different!! And fun!!

Ru and Pickleball players at TT Chesapeake Bay, notice the net pole stand above!! The wheels make it a lot easier to move for setting up and taking down!! They painted narrow red lines to mark off the Pickleball courts at each end of the tennis court.

It was great seeing Ofe and Chuck again. The plan is to tailgate with them for 4th of July Fireworks.

THE WORLD'S OLDEST RODEO, PRESCOTT, AZ

On Friday night we went to the World's Oldest Rodeo. We waited too late to buy our tickets and did not have much selection. We could have sat up high but at the extreme ends of the arena. We chose the Arena Section, more in the center and closer to the action. I asked if there was anything to block our view!! She said, No, nothing to block our view!!

Well, not if you don't count the chain-link fence, the white fence, the red fence, and all the advertisements!! HA HA!! Anyway, it was a beautiful evening and we were close to a lot of the action. All of the riders entered and departed through the gates to our left! And, the area behind the rider without a flag was the Roping Chutes for Calf Roping and Team Roping. That was exciting!! Unfortunately, all of the bucking events - Bareback Bronco, Saddle Bronco, and Bull Riding - were closer to the other end of the arena. But, thinks to the big screen across from us, we could see all the action up close!!

There were numerous participants in the Opening Ceremony!

The presentation of the Flag!

It was a most enjoyable evening at The World's Oldest Rodeo!! A very special event!!

CORRECTION: HAROLD AND MARION COME TO TT VERDE VALLEY

Mon, Jun 27 - We were on our way to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Old Town Cottonwood when Ken noticed an Overland motor home in one of the sites. He remembered that our friends Harold and Althea had an Overland just like that!! We knocked on their door to say "Hi".

Harold welcomed us with open arms, but when we went inside we saw an attractive lady who was not Althea. Harold told us the sad news that Althea had died from cancer a few months earlier. We were dumbfounded!! Althea and Harold had just come to Wilderness Lakes to see us in February! Then Harold introduced us to Marion who is his neighbor in Mesa and traveling companion. (Note: Her name is Marion, not Marilyn as I had stated earlier.)

She was so friendly and easy to talk to. They asked us to join them for a before-dinner drink and we invited them to come with us for Tacos at Conchos.

Here are Marion and Harold at Conchos, voted the Most Authentic Mexican Restaurant in Cottonwood. Nothing fancy but the Tacos are really great and the price is right! (Sorry the picture is so fuzzy!)

UTE AND GUENTER COME TO VERDE VALLEY!

Mon, Jun 20 - We met Ute and Guenter on the Pickleball courts at TT LaConner in Washington years ago. They are from Germany and have told us so many interesting things about their country.

Ute was just starting a little business at that time -- well, she thought it was going to be a little business. Today, the focus of the business has changed and it has grown by leaps and bounds!! She started her business, Silk Painting Is Fun with dying silk scarves and silk strings for jewelry. She even taught some classes to Thousand Trails members at various campgrounds. I dyed a silk scarf myself!! Now they concentrates solely on dying the strings -- thousands of them in various colors -- which she sells to wholesale buyers. In fact, they now have a warehouse in Arizona that they keep stocked with plenty of dyed strings to fill all the orders.

I thought this was interesting. Ute said they had an order from Kelloggs for a quantity of strings dyed "K Red". Kelloggs was having a conference and they used the strings to make bracelets for all the attendees!

Ute and Guenter spend their time between Arizona and Germany. In fact, on their last trip to Germany they bought a beautiful home which they love. They are planning to return to Germany next month for a period of time.

We invited them over to dinner last Monday afternoon. It was great getting together with them again! We wish you guys continued success with Silk Painting Is Fun!!

STIEG LARSSON THRILLERS

We are still at TT Verde Valley! Boy, is it HOT!! But, I found the perfect pastime -- reading thrillers!!

A few months ago, I stumbled upon the paperback The Girl Who Played With Fire at one of the Thousand Trails exchange libraries. I had heard about the books written by Stieg Larsson on TV, so I decided to give it a try.

Inside the jacket was a list of the complete trilogy: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest! Well, I couldn't read the second book with reading the first one! I'm a member of the Yavapai Library Network, so I went to the Cottonwood Library and borrowed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Larsson was Swedish. The books were translated from Swedish to English. The books take place in Sweden. It was not easy for me at first -- reading English with a Swedish accent!! But I stuck with it and after about 100 pages, I really got into it!

Then I read my own book, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo! It is great, from Page One! I can't take my nose out of the book! It has the same cast of characters and makes frequent reference to events in the first book. I am so glad I decided to read the trilogy in proper sequence!! Next is The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest!!

Sad news. It seems that Stieg Larsson died in 2004, shortly after turning in the manuscripts for all three books.

HOW TO SAFELY REMOVE A TICK!!

A friend sent me this hint on how to safely remove a tick. It sounded good to me. In fact, it sounds good enough to share. The next time we find a tick, let's remember how to remove it!! Let me know if it works!!

This method is great because it works in those hard to get to places: ex. between the toes.

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20). The tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away.

ARIZONA WILDFIRES

Jun 08 - Jun 10 - Many of our family and friends have contacted us, asking if we are all right out here in Arizona with the massive wildfires. Thank you all for your concern. We are very fortunate that we are about 200 miles west of the fires. The winds seem to be taking the smoke and ash to the east, away from us. So far, we have not seen any evidence of the fires here in Cottonwood.

I read in The Arizona Republic Wednesday 8th that authorities believe the fire was started by an unattended campfire near the area of Bear Wallow Wilderness, thus it is known at the Wallow Fire.

The Wallow Fire is now the second largest in Arizona history, covering more than 380,000 acres. The blaze has cast smoke as far east as Iowa and forced some planes to divert from Albuquerque, about 200 miles away. Haze and smoke also were visible in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas!

It has become the No. 1 firefighting priority in the nation due to the rate at which it has been spreading, the resources at risk, structures threatened, the evacuations in effect. And there is no end in sight.

Please keep Arizona in your thoughts and prayers.

Update Friday, Jun 10 - This afternoon we took a drive about four miles up the mountain side to the historic mining town of Jerome. Looking out to the East, the skies were hazy and there was the distinct smell of forest fire in the air!

VERDE CANYON RAILROAD WILDERNESS TRAIN

Jun 08 - We spent a delightful afternoon as pampered passengers on the Verde Canyon Railroad Wilderness Train. This historic train travels slowly through the Verde Canyon, affording a unique view of its beauty accessible only by rail.

We left from the old Southwestern-style depot in Clarkdale, AZ, only a mile from the Clarkdale Elk's Lodge where we are staying for our "week out".

Our coach was known as the Scottsdale.

The train passes towering crimson pinnacles.

Ancient Indian ruins. Here, a cliff dwelling.

Below, a cave containing ancient artifacts.

The route follows the Upper Verde River as it meanders through the canyon.

Here is a rain gauge that measures the depth of the water in the river; thereby providing pertinent information to determine the amount of water available for irrigation.

This is known as the Table Bridge because it was built using an old railroad turntable.

When we left the station, the Scottsdale car was near the front of the train. We were able to get this picture of the Caboose as it crossed the Table Bridge behind us.

Here we are entering a tunnel. Pictures inside the tunnel were black!! Imagine that!

And the Verde River flows on.

It was such a beautiful day, we spent some travel time enjoying an open-air car.

Among the red rocks, this is known as the Lincoln Rock because they say you can see Lincoln's forehead and nose. Look near the bottom of the cliff, far left.

This formation is easier to find. This is Turtle Rock.

Wow! This is cutting it a little too close!!

The four hour rail journey travels from Clarkdale to the Perkinsville ghost ranch and back. At the ranch the train stops for a short time while the engine is taken from the front of the train and moved on a second track to the rear of the train for the return trip.

A picture of the depot at the Perkinsville Ranch, taken through the opposite window.

On the return trip, the Scottsdale car was near the rear of the train, so we were able to get this picture of the engine in front of us.

We had a great time on the Verde Canyon Railroad. Our only regret -- we did not see the Bald Eagles that reside in the canyon!

TUZIGOOT NATIONAL MONUMENT, CLARKDALE, AZ

Jun 09 - Tuzigoot Ruins are located on the summit of a long ridge that rises 120 feet above the Verde Valley. This National Monument is only about a mile from the Clarkdale Elk's Lodge -- a treasure right in our front yard.

This Sinagua Indian village was built between 1125 and 1400. The original pueblo was two stories high and had 77 ground floor rooms. Unlike the Shoofly Village Ruins in Payson, much of these ruins were stabilized during the excavation process and you can see the outlines of many rooms.

As we were leaving the Tuzigoot Ruins, we could see the historic mining town of Jerome perched on the side of the mountain in the distance. It is only about four miles from Clarkdale.

UUMMMM, GRILLED CORNISH HEN BY CHEFS KEN AND FAYE

Sun. Jun 05 – This article is dedicated to Mitch and Barb, Keith and Marie, and Joe and Pam, the best RV Chefs we know!! It is also for everyone else who wants to prepare an elegant, delicious entrée on the grill– and it’s soooo easy!!!

I know our favorite RV Chefs mentioned above have probably prepared Cornish Hen many times, but Ken and I have never even thought about it, believing Cornish Hen was beyond our skill level! One day in WINCO, we saw frozen Cornish Hen, and we thought the price was right – we should give it a try! The plan was to have them for Easter Dinner, but something else came up.

We finally prepared the Hens this Sunday afternoon. This is the recipe we used. I got it from Cooks.com. It was wonderful!!!

Grilled Cornish Game Hens

Quote on the website: “I love grilled game hens. In fact, I won't cook them any other way. In this recipe you split the game hens in half which makes them easier and quicker to grill. Splitting the game hens is easy, just cut through the breast then flip it over the cut down one side of the backbone. It is really easy if you use a pair of kitchen shears.”

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 65 minutes

Yield: Serves 2

GRILLED CORNISH HEN RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2 Cornish game hens (1 to 1 -1/2 pounds each)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Remove giblets and reserve. Split game hens in half lengthwise. Rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl combine lemon juice, pepper salt and olive oil. Place hens in a shallow baking dish and pour marinade over. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat grill and prepare for indirect grilling. Remove hens from marinade and place on grill, skin side up away from the direct heat. Baste with remaining marinade during while cooking. Hens should take about 45 minutes. Test for doneness before removing from grill.

Note: We used gallon Ziploc bags to marinade the hens, The recipe did not call for flipping on the grill but Ken flipped the hens for the last 15 minutes of grill time.

This is a picture after we had eaten our fill!! I didn’t think of taking a picture until too late.

We were quite impressed with our own success!! Give it a try – you’ll like it, too!!