FOURTH OF JULY, COTTONWOOD, AZ

Several friends have asked why I have not posted anything on the Highway Runner Blog!! The truth is, nothing is happening around here!! We are still in Cottonwood, AZ mostly at TT Verde Valley. Everyone else has already left. It has been soooo hot that we have turned our motor home into a Library and basically read all day long to stay out of the heat.

We are still here because in early June we had check-ups with our doctors in Cottonwood. Of course, there were follow-ups and follow-ups and follow-ups. Ken is finished with his appointments, but I am still waiting for two shots scheduled for next week. After that we hope to be gone!!

Here is my new little friend. He and some of his siblings exercise with me every morning!!

We heard on the radio that Cottonwood was having it's annual Fourth of July fireworks and they were some of the best fireworks in northern Arizona! They were also having free food, etc. etc. etc. We decided to go. As we arrived the roads and fences were lined with American flags. Got everyone into a festive mood!

We arrived a little after 5 o'clock and immediately went to the tent where Hog Wild (a local BBQ) was serving free hamburgers!


Followed with all you can eat watermelon!

They really went all out with fun things for the kids!! Fun Houses!

Huge Water Slides!!

This is some of the crowd!

We met a nice couple with five kids while we were eating our hamburgers. She told us the fireworks were surprisingly impressive for a small town. They also told us where to sit so the trees would not block our view.

After we had eaten, we took our lawn chairs and found an excellent place to sit! It was about 6 o'clock!

After about forty-five minutes of people watching and trying to read our books, we began wondering how we would wait another two and a half hours for the fabulous fireworks.

We decided we had come to the event far too early!! We would never make it to 9 PM.!!! You can all see this coming!! We gave up on the live fireworks in Cottonwood, AZ and went home and watched the fireworks in NYC!!

They were spectacular but not as great as the real thing would have been!! Next time we'll arrive quite a bit later to watch the fireworks.

MUSEUM AT CAMP VERDE, AZ

Jun 19 -  The Camp Verde Historical Society runs a Museum - Research Center on Main Street in Camp Verde.  We have stopped by there a number of times but it is only open on Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  We were always there on the wrong day or at the wrong time!   Today we finally timed it right and were able to tour the Museum - not the Research Center.

The Museum is the former Camp Verde Elementary School built in 1914.  The Museum is housed in the two front rooms.

We followed the various displays around the room.  Settlers of the Verde Valley often traveled by wagon pulled by Oxen.  Here is Ox Yoke and Wagon Wheel.  The comment card stated that oxen were a good choice by the settlers because in an emergency the oxen could be eaten!

Calvary man shown with western saddles.  The third saddle is designed for ladies to use with their long skirts.  It is still in use today and will be used by one of the local ladies during Camp Verde Days.

Entertainment:  Guitar and fiddle.

The lady of the house.

The still for making moonshine!!

The exhibit of Bolo Ties was fascinating.  There were so many of them with different kinds of ornaments.  We were told that the Governor of Arizona has declared the Bolo the Official Tie of Arizona.

SOME INTERESTING CHARACTERS:

Robert Mack Rodgers and Clint DeWitt Wingfield moved to Arizona in 1877 and 1875 respectively.  Together they bought the Suttler’s Store in 1893.  On July 2, 1899 they were both shot dead by Black Jack Ketcham causing one of the most famous manhunts in Arizona history.

While being pursued by the Yavapai County Sheriff and his Posse for the murders of Mac and Clint, Black Jack robbed a Union Pacific train.  The conductor shot his arm off below the elbow with a shot gun.  Black Jack was found by the posse, lying beside the railroad tracks.

Black Jack was taken to the gallows in Clayton, NM where he was caught to be hanged for his dastardly deeds!  The executioner left too much rope and Black Jack was decapitated!  The undertaker reattached the head before parading Black Jack through the streets for the crowds to see.

Black Jack at the gallows.

PONY EXPRESS:

When a Post Office was established in Payson in March 1884, a mail contract was let to Ashton Nebeker to carry the mail by horseback from Camp Verde.  Later post offices were added at Pine and Strawberry.  Over the next 30 years more than 60 men served as mail carriers, making the 50 mile run three times a week.  Most of the time they carried a sack of mail over the saddle horn but often needed to use a pack horse when the mail order houses sent out new catalogs.

C. C. Tuffy Peach made the last mail run on June 30, 1914.

I was particularly interested in the Pony Express from Camp Verde to Strawberry because our Pickleball friend Paul said he road the Pony Express from Scottsdale to Strawberry.  Obviously that was years after the last run from Camp Verde!!  I don't think Paul is THAT OLD!!!

OMELETTES AT COFFEE POT RESTAURANT, SEDONA, AZ

Jun 17 - Father's Day - Earlier this week, we got a phone call from Rockey asking if we could join them for omelettes at The Coffee Pot Restaurant in Sedona.  Of course we could -- have you ever know us to turn down a meal??!!

We met at The Coffee Pot at 11:00 a.m.  It was great to see them again!

It was a beautiful day, so we chose Patio Dining.  It was delightful!!  Dick, Ken, Faye and Rockey

We all really enjoyed our meals!!  Faye's Fresh Spinach and Cheese Omelette; Dick's Corned Beef Hash with Eggs; Rockey's Triple Something Omelette; and Ken's Tomato, Mushroom, Sausage, Etc. Omelette!!

Everything was scrumptious!!  Thank you Rockey and Dick for thinking of us and inviting us to join you for this special treat!!

Dick said they are leaving for Vegas tomorrow morning.  Dick is scheduled to take a pool lesson from some pro in the area.  Rockey has gotten into pool, too, and she may take a lesson herself!!  Have fun guys!!

ALERT!! WE HAVE CHANGED OUR SCHEDULE!!

We have changed our schedule to spend the summer months at Rancho Oso, Santa Barbara, CA and spending our "week out" at Soledad Canyon, Acton, CA.

See Our Itinerary in the Right Column of Highway Runner Blog.

THE PICKLEBALL GROUP TOGETHER AGAIN, AND AGAIN!!

Jun 10 - Sandy and Ed invited the Pickleball group to a dinner of meatballs, potato salad, etc. on Monday afternoon.  However, Sandy had to change her plans and moved the dinner up to Sunday afternoon. I thought she was truly amazing!!  After a morning  of Pickleball and an afternoon of water aerobics, she was all ready at 5:30 to entertain us!

Eating again!  Ken, Tony, Ed, Trudy, Marilyn, Sue standing, Jack, Alan and Faye.  Sandy is the photographer!

Great meatballs Sandy and Ed.  That was so nuch fun getting together!!

DINNER AGAIN!!

Jun 11 - Would you believe it??  While we were still enjoying Sandy's meatballs, Marilyn and Tony invited the group to their site on Tuesday afternoon for hamburgers and chicken tenders!!  Of course, we were all for that!!

Tony grilling the burgers!  Note his RV apron, specially ordered and sent to him by their daughter in Korea.

While the rest of us were having fun!!  Ken, Sue, Trudy and Alan.  Notice Trudy's new "Hair Style By Marilyn"!!  Looking good, Trudy!!

Marilyn, Jean in front with Steve and Susan (new Pickleball players) seated behind.

Jack, Donald and Ed (Sandy is away).

Delicious hamburgers and chicken, guys!!  And what a lot of FUN!!  

But, tomorrow, six of our group will be leaving for Clint's Well and the next leg of their travels!!  We will surely miss all of you!!  May our paths cross again down the road!

WATER AEROBICS AT TT VERDE VALLEY, AZ

Jun 10 - Sandy, Trudy and I have been going to the pool for water aerobics every morning, right after pickleball.  It's so refreshing!!  But, today we did our water aerobics in the afternoon.  We had two other women join us!  That was a lot of fun!!

Here is the group playing for the camera!  (Ed is the photographer.)

Here are the bathing beauties!!  (From upper left, clockwise)  Sandy, Phyllis, Anita, and Trudy.  I'm in the center managing the Billie Jo tape!

NEW ROD MEMBERSHIP HAS SOME SURPRISES!!

Resorts of Distinction [ROD] is a membership camping club that has many RV parks across the country under its banner.  Members pay an initiation fee to join and annual dues in exchange for almost FREE camping at those RV parks. Many Thousand Trails members joined ROD through one of the Thousand Trails campgrounds.

As many of you know, Thousand Trails terminated it's relationship with Resorts of Distinction in 2011. If we joined ROD through one of the Thousand Trails resorts, that membership would expire on your next anniversary date. Our membership in ROD expired as of January 01, 2012.  

At TT Palm Springs, we met up with a number of other TT members, former ROD members, who were in the same boat as we. Word quickly spread that Lighthouse Marina, Isleton, CA (located in the Delta between San Francisco and Sacramento) was offering membership in their resort as well as ROD Plus membership at a very reasonable price. Lighthouse Marina would be our "Home Park" for ROD. Many of us took advantage of that offer.

I still think Lighthouse Marina membership was a good deal, but I have run into some "Surprises" when trying to make reservations using my new ROD membership.  I thought I'd share my new-found knowledge!!

First of all, we had planned to spend our summer up in the Delta, going to Lighthouse Marina, then to a few of the other ROD campgrounds in the Delta.  I was surprised to learn that the other campgrounds in the Delta have opted into something called the "100 air mile rule".  That means we cannot stay at those ROD campgrounds because they are located within 100 miles of Lighthouse Marina!!

Before joining, I had asked ROD about the 125 mile rule and how it affected using other ROD campgrounds in the Delta area.  I was told that there were only a couple of campgrounds up there that we could not use because they were within 100 miles of Lighthouse Marina, our home park.  Little did I know they were the ONLY other ROD campgrounds in the Delta:  Delta Shores, Canyon Creek, and Duncan's Mills!!

Consequently, ROD members who have Lighthouse Marina as their home park can only stay in the Delta using ROD for a total of 14 nights!!  Lighthouse Marina only allows us to stay 14 nights, and we cannot use the other Delta campgrounds, under ROD.

We are not driving all the way to the Delta for 14 nights!!  Changed our plans!!

Second, because Lighthouse Marina does not accept other ROD members during a Holiday, ROD members with Lighthouse Marina as their home park cannot use any other ROD campground during a Holiday!!  I found this out when trying to make a reservation at Ridgeview RV in Bullhead City, AZ.  I was told that many ROD campgrounds have "Blackout Periods" when they do not accept ROD members.  That's funny!  That was not mentioned in the joining process or in the ROD Directory!!  Surprise!!

And third.  (And this has nothing to do with Lighthouse Marina)  If we stay seven nights or less at a ROD campground, we can go directly to another ROD campground.  However, if we stay more than seven nights, we must be out of the ROD system for a week before going to another ROD campground.  Actually, this is not so bad when we consider that under our previous Thousand Trails ROD membership we could only stay one week at a particular ROD campground, two times a year.

We still think our Lighthouse Marina membership, including ROD is a great deal!  Just a few Surprises!!

If anyone has had additional Surprises, or knows more than we do, please make a comment!!!

BACK AT CONCHOS MEXICAN!

Jun 05 - Tom and Becky, recently new to Pickleball and new to TT Verde Valley, were planning to leave on Wednesday to continue their traveling.  Sue suggested that we all get together at Conchos again to bid them farewell.  Of course, we all thought that was a great idea!!  And, it didn't matter at all when Tom and Becky announced that they had decided to extend for a couple of days!!

We got together for happy hour (drinks only) at Sue and Jacks before going to Conchos.

Sue and Jack welcome us to their site!

Here is the group!  (I'll name the ones I can see.  Left of the table - Trudy, Sandy, Ed, Jack.  Right of the table - Tony, Marilyn)

 And here we are at dinner:  On the left:  Tony, Becky, Alan, Trudy, Jean, Donald.  On the right:  Marilyn, Tom, Sue, Jack, Faye, Ken.  And in the Center is our terrific waiter.  He did a great job keeping up with all the different orders!

The food was delicious, but apparently not quite enough for some people!!

Because the group (minus Faye and Ken) met up again at the local DQ for Blizzards,  etc.

Everyone had a terrific time.  Hope we meet up with Becky and Tom (and the rest of the group) again down the road!!

KEN FLIES HIS NEW TIGER JET HELICOPTER

Ken has been fascinated with remote control planes and helicopters for a long time. This winter he talked to our friend Dick (and Rockey) and watched with envy as Dick maneuvered his own helicopter through some neat moves. So, recently when we were in Penny's, Ken bought himself a 3 channel remote control Tiger Jet Helicopter with Gyro. Gyro is a stabilizer for precise omni-directional flight. Very realistic flight: hover, up/down, right/left, forward/backward. Really neat!!

Ken quickly realized our Allegro Bus was a little too compact for him to practice maneuvering his new helicopter, so he goes to the lodges where there is plenty of room.

He has gotten very good at manipulating the controls to put the Tiger Jet through its paces!

Taking off!

Flying to the right!

And to the left!

Now it's up at the ceiling!!

Now it's coming in really close!!

Oops! Attacking the camera!! And the camera operator!! Help!!!

Time to put the Tiger Jet away for the evening!!

Until next time!! That was fun!!

LUNCH AT CONCHOS MEXICAN RESTAURANT

May 24 - Ken and I have been to Conchos Mexican Restaurant a number of times and always enjoyed their tacos.  The food was plentiful and the price was right!!  And, they always had a Mexican Beer of the Month for only $2.50.

Several of us decided to go to Conchos in Old Town Cottonwood today for lunch.  

Alan, Sue and Jack each ordered something different.  Alan ordered the soft taco which we had recommended.  Sue had the chimichanga plate and Jack ordered the shredded pork special.  All looked delicious, but as Sue cleaned her plate she said she didn't like the Chimichanga!!  HA HA

(Sorry about the picture color.  My camera was on the wrong setting.)

 Ken and I had our usual -- the chopped steak soft taco (Carne Asada).  The tacos are so large and come with two tortillas so we make two tacos.  Trudy had two of the steak tacos, the same as Alan.  And, of course, the Mexican beer.  This month it is Victoria -- very good!

 The staff at Conchos were so cordial and friendly and really seemed genuinely happy that we were there!!  They were delighted to pose for a picture with Trudy and Alan.  We believe the lady is the owner, and the waiter has been there every time we have gone!   So happy to serve.

Thanks for joining us today for Mexican!!  We really enjoyed it!!

AMAZING LITTLE BUTTERFLIES!!

I was sitting in our yard at TT Palm Springs in early April.  I found myself mesmerized by a little red thing flitting over a plant in our neighbor's yard.  It looked like a little butterfly but it kept flying around and around in the same place.

I couldn't stand it any longer so walked over to get a closer look.  My neighbor was sitting on his patio.  He explained to me that it was a Solar Powered Butterfly!!  He said he bought several of them at a little place at the mall in Palm Springs in front of the theatre.

You have heard the phrase "It's not Rocket Science"!  Well sometime it's more than Rocket Science!!  I'll explain.  As we talked, my neighbor said, "I'm a Rocket Scientist and I can't figure out how the inventor was able to calculate the exact amount of solar strip, wire, weight of butterfly, etc. to create the little butterflies to fly like they do!"

Ken and I have really enjoyed our Amazing Little Butterflies!!

DISAPPEARING PICKLEBALL BAG!

May 19 - This is unbelievable!  But it actually happened!!

On Saturday we played Pickleball at TT Verde Valley.  When we were finished, Ken announced that he was going home.  I had planned to do some water aerobics at about 11 o'clock so I stayed.

Sunday morning when we went to play Pickleball, we did not have our Pickleball bag at home.  I thought Ken brought the bag home yesterday when he left.  He thought I would bring the bag home.  Neither of us did!!

Oh, well.  When we get to the courts, we'll pick it up.  We knew exactly where we left it!  But, the bag was gone!!  We checked with all the players and no one had taken it.  We check with maintenance personnel who were nearby.  They called the Ranger.  No one had turned it in!!  We waited for someone to bring it back to the courts, but that didn't happen!  We have checked with the Ranger again, the store, the office, and maintenance several times.  No one has turned it in!

 We had a number of our Calling Cards in a pocket on the bag, so we hoped someone would call us and let us know they have our bag.  But no calls! It is apparent that someone took the bag with the intention of keeping it!

The bag had three Pickleball paddles in it.

Ken's old purple Champion (went well with his purple hat).  The paddle had a label with his name on it.

My well worn silver paddle made by Spike.  My paddle had my address label stuck on the face of it.

 

 And most upsetting of all, it contained Ken's relatively new Yellow Champion!  His favorite paddle!  This paddle also had a label with Ken's name on it.

So, if you see anyone playing with paddles that look like these, maybe you could take note and try to determine if they could be our paddles.   Perhaps there would be some indication that the label had been removed.  If you do happen to find the paddles, please send us an e-mail to let us know.  Thank you so much for keeping your eyes peeled.