October means it is time to head to our "other" home and we are very excited to be doing just that.
It is a little different this year as I am following the Taj-mah-hauler in the Jeep.
October 15th we pull the Taj-mah-hauler out of her barn and hitch up and start west to Arizona.
Bronco is helping her dad drive in Big Bertha.
Chuck had planned for us to spend the night in Santa Rosa, NM. and we did just that.
The Albuquerque Balloon Festival was just ending so I called the RV site in the afternoon as I was concerned about getting a spot.
I am glad I did, as it really did fill up for the evening.
We hadn't eaten at Joseph's in a long time so I really wanted to go there.
Well, the service was terrible....and it was kinda funny when the waiter asked us if we were ready to order, and he had already taken our order not 5 minutes before.....it was a sign for sure.
It even became an issue to pay!
Sadly, we probably won't go back next time.
October 16th
On to Holbrook AZ.
We have reservations for a couple of nights at the OK RV Park.
The park is quite large and have very long sites, so the length of your rig isn't an issue here at all!
As you can see the site can accommodate any size rig :)
Our first night we ate at a little place called Tom & Susie's.
As we sat and ate our food a gentleman that was sitting in a booth across from us commented on my turquoise ring.
Funny thing was I had noticed his beautiful bracelet he was wearing.
He was a very interesting man, and we were sworn to secrecy as he told us he was known as the "Turquoise Mafia Dog".
He apparently has several stores in and around the area.
We enjoyed talking to him about the general area of Holbrook.
When we got back to the trailer the sun was setting and it was an interesting sky due to the large fires that were out west.
October 17th
The reason we spent an extra day in Holbrook was to go to the
Petrified Forest.
I had never been there, and since we drive that way every season, Chuck wanted for me to be able to mark it off the bucket list. LOL
He had been there as a child and as he tells me, he didn't really find it spectacular then.
I would love to say it was the best thing I had seen in a long time, but it was a bit disappointing to me.
Chuck even remarked that it was very picked over.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad I got to see it, but it just wasn't what I expected!
We drove to Winslow, AZ for a "not" disappointing lunch.
As we stood on the corner of Winslow, AZ and of course got our picture taken, we noticed a cute little place to eat just down the way.
The one thing we noticed was that there were a few outdoor seating areas, and since we had Bronco with us, it looked like the perfect place for lunch.
So glad we stopped there.
Our waitress brought out a small bowl of water for Miss Bronco and got us hooked up to the Taco Tuesday Special.
The little place was called RelicRoad Brewing Company and I would highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in Winslow.
We also were entertained by the people stopping and getting their moment of "standing on the corner of Winslow Arizona".
One couple that had been eating when we walked up, finished and got onto their Indian Motorcycle with a side car.
The lady had a selfie stick and she videoed their moment of driving to the corner.
We return to our trailer and enjoy another beautiful sunset.
I was trying to get a good pic so we walked over to an open area.
We met a very nice lady that was doing the same thing and she tells us she
had been traveling for about 6 weeks.
She was by herself (so impressed) and she had been traveling around seeing friends, and was on her way back to California.
You can sure meet some interesting people as you travel.
October 18th
So excited to make it to Florence, AZ today.
We actually have a new stop light on the main drag...times are changing :)
I couldn't believe how different Dessert Garden's looks this season due to all the new park models that have already been brought into the park for this season.
So nice to see our next door neighbors Ken and Bev as we drive up to our lot.
The trailer is parked and now begins the unpacking of it.
We were loaded pretty heavy with the 20 or so bags of clothing that we brought.
These aren't to wear, but to take to the local consignment shop and sell.
The Jeep had a few pieces of furniture that I had decided to get rid of as well.
We accomplished a lot today, and I have to say we are both worn out this evening.
It was 96 today feels pretty toasty for sure.
Seems it has been unseasonably warm in Arizona this year.
So nice to be back...can't wait until everyone else shows up.
My mission on October 19th is to get the bags of clothing and the furniture taken to Kim and her mom and get them out of my hair!
By 1pm, that was all done :)
It is another hot day so we worked outside getting all our stuff out of the shed and getting things set up until it got too warm.
We chilled inside with the air running full blast until around 5pm.
It starts to cool down quite nicely after that.
So nice to be in the dessert.
With things fairly set up it is time to check out the plants that made and didn't make it this season.
Due to the lack of rain this year, a lot of the small plants didn't survive.
It is just a survival of the fittest around here.
My bougainvillea didn't survive, but I will be replacing it as I enjoy the pop of color they add to the beige landscape.
Jerry and Konni had one of our cacti they babysat, and I am told by Jerry that it did survive and grew quite a bit.
Things are pretty much set up outside, so it is time to move inside to the cool and get the rest of the things set up in the trailer.
The changes to the back part of the rig have been great.
I am so glad that we have been able to turn the toy box area into a working area for us.
We had never really used to toy box area as part of the living space, and now it just feels like it is supposed to be used.
Having an area for the computers and all that stuff that goes with them is great.
The coffee bar is set up back there as well, and the Berkey has a home with the Keurig.
10-28-17
Bev and I went to a craft show that our friend Martha was participating in.
It was so much fun running around with Bev....sure we had no idea where we were going, but we figured it out.
It was fun to walk around the craft show and see what they had to sell.
I made a couple of purchases and just love my cactus leggings I got.
I think if someone was trying to follow us on a GPS they would see that we probably made a big ole circle and ended up back where we started...but it was so much fun!
We even stopped at Moody's Nursery to check out some plants.
Truly had no idea that the plants were so expensive there.
It was a real eye opener to us for sure.
The guy told us that some people have to have a helicopter transport their plants to their homes....well, we didn't have the heart to tell the guy that we lived in a trailer park out in the middle of the dessert...LOL
It didn't take us long to get in the vehicle and head to Home Depot.
It was where we were headed when we took the detour...LOL
Now these plants are more our price range, and we don't even need a helicopter to get them home.
They fit fine in the Jeep.
10-29-17
We had a fun happy hour this evening and we got to meet some of the new neighbors.
I think Ryaan and Carol are a great addition to our little neighborhood.
It was also our first Ice Cream Social of the season.
It was fine but our new activities director decided to sing a few songs which I think ruined to social part of the afternoon.
It is just my opinion but I thought we were all getting together to chat and meet others.
Can't do that when someone is up there singing....
10-30-17
Our new neighbors Ryaan and Carol had mentioned riding somewhere today, and we met them and did just that.
Ryaan lead us to Mt. Lemmon.
This had been something we had wanted to do last season, but didn't get around to it, so we were excited to go on this venture with them.
The ride up the mountain was very pretty.
It is amazing how large of area this mountain range occupies on this earth.
We were really enjoying it all until all of a sudden we top a hill and there is a county sheriff waving for us to pull over.
Ryaan is lead bike so we follow him and pull into a parking area.
The sheriff comes briskly walking towards us and asks Ryaan if he knew how fast he was going.
Ryaan tells the officer he really had no idea....and then the large officer starts ranting about his speed.
Long story short of this little incident was that the officer spoke to us and acted very unprofessional in my opinion.
The officer went back to his car and ran Ryaan's drivers license, and some fellow officers had pulled up to talk to him as well.
He sure wasn't in any hurry to get this thing over....so we waited.
The officer finally came back and somewhat apologized for how he had come on to us.
But no sooner than he gets the words out of his mouth and he is spouting stuff at us again.
I have never in my life felt like an officer would talk and act like this.
His ego was reallllllly big is all I can say.
Finally he lets us go, and doesn't even ask for Chuck's information.
What a strange encounter with an officer of the law.
OK....take a deep breath and proceed to find someplace to park and eat.
Believe it or not, but during one of the kinder moments the officer told us that the Sawmill just down the road was a nice place to eat....so we took him at his word and pulled in.
We sit down and talk about the experience we just encountered.
Sadly Ryaan did get a ticket.
The speed that the officer said he was going seemed in excess to us, but hey, we weren't going to argue with the guy....he had told us he could take us to jail....during one of his moments....so looks like Ryaan will be paying a fairly hefty fine for what was to this point a lovely day!
Our ride down the mountain was ever so slow, and we made sure we didn't even go 2 miles over the posted speed limit.
Have to say that it made a lot of people quite upset with us....but they had not just been through what we had experienced.
The pulled pork chili was a nice warm meal to chase the chill away from the high elevation temperature change.
Although our day plans didn't include a grumpy Sheriff we made the best of it and had a truly nice ride with some of our newest neighbors.
I am sure there will be many more rides in the future.
Sorry Ryaan got the booby prize and got the ticket, but he handled it quite well.
We finish the month of October with a get together at the park.
October 31st we all meet at the activities center and we were supposed to bring either beans or dessert.
The hamburgers were being cooked as a welcome back to the park.
Our table was filled with our friends and we enjoyed the get together.
Lots of different kinds of beans were there to try...and yes.....so was the desserts.
We have enjoyed the last two weeks in the park and it is so nice to see most of our friends back and ready for a fun season.
Time to close the books on October 2017 and move on to November.
Cash and Cooper have a sleep over with us and Cooper had to try out her creativity with the Cricut. 
December 24th is a busy day for us. 
Church, and again the kiddos got to sing with the children's choir. 
It was a bit cool that evening but we all had our fire pits out and it made for an interesting evening.
All in all the New Year came in without a hitch.
It was a bit cool that evening but we all had our fire pits out and it made for an interesting evening.
All in all the New Year came in without a hitch.
