Plans for Fall Travel

 August 18 - 31, 2025

Tombstone, Arizona

When you could still drive on Allen Street in Tombstone. 

Apparently I was so convinced there was "no excitement" at the beginning of the month I completely forgot a couple minor mentions.

On the porch with Tessa one morning I hear a loud voice in the driveway "Down on the ground! Arms out. Now! Do not get up." Uuumm, okay? 

Clearly not something I need to move closer to. Of course I move closer. Staying along the garage, I peek out. A small car is pulled over on our side of the street, a Marshall's car is parked blocking both lanes, and the officer is pointing his gun at the ground in front of him. Immediately another officer walks over, cuffs the person on the ground who looks like a youngish woman. They're stood up and moved to the second vehicle behind the first one. They leave.

Even the old dog knows something's going on. She's satisfied they don't require her assistance.

You know the neighbors think we're up to no good!

Car searched, sheriff shows up, more dialog mumbles. I only hear one other comment "You can see right there where she side-swiped the house." With our history, this the last person I need coming near my house!

Eventually the sheriff goes and picks up a man with his dog (why?) who takes the small car away. Gotta love small towns. No towing away the subject vehicle in this apparent crime, just find the owner and go get them to take the car home!

The other mentionable is that PJ came home from the shop. I'm happy with the work RV City did, and happy our warranty covered everything less the small deductible. Camping World never fixed the furnace after three trips to Tucson for it, so I've again moved on from them. Furnace is now fixed, wobbly commode secure, and the bent awning arm replaced. They also install and program all the tire monitors for me - because I just didn't want to do it :-) I left her there for a few weeks, and it's nice to have her back.

Welcome home!

In addition to the state and national parks, there are 19 National Monuments (NM) in Arizona, second only to California. I've been to all but eight of them. I should remedy that so I've started planning a Fall adventure! Fortunately all but one of these are 150 or less miles apart, making for a perfect route ending near the New Mexico border. 

Pipe Spring NM is in the northwest corner so not practical to include.

Hohokum Pima NM is on the route, but no longer accessible. I'll wave as I go by!

Heading out on October 13, I'll see the following monuments:

Ironwood Forest NM near Marana

Aqua Fria NM near Black Canyon City

Sunset Crater Volcano NM near Flagstaff

Wupatki NM just north of Sunset Crater so both at one stop

Navajo NM near Kayenta

Canyon de Chelly NM near Chinle

The last two are first come, first serve which I'm not a fan of. Both are dry camping which I've not done in PJ, and not much in the Tuscany. I'll be stretching outside my comfort zone which I'm confident will give me more opportunities on future trips.

It's a couple months away, but as always the planning is lots of fun!

While I hookup PJ back at home, Tessa confirms she's ready to go when I am :-)

I'm usually the last person to worry about my accounts being compromised. I use unsecured wifi servers in RV parks, and rarely ever use multi-layer security on logins.

Not anymore. I'm waiting for a new debit card. For the second time in three weeks! I'm grateful my bank catches the iffy charges and notifies me quickly. But it's a HUGE pain to redo several accounts when the cards are cancelled. It's the only option for "fixing" it. 

My blog posts get more and more bot-hits each month. The last post had over 2000! Looks great when you check to see how many people are reading you until it's clear the large number is from trolling bots. 

I expect the latest large breach at Google will result in a lot of compromised accounts and information. Add to that the access the government now has to my medical and personal information, and really there's nothing of "me" that's protected.

I'll take all the recommended steps and hope for the best moving forward <sigh>.

Our Gravel family NFL fantasy league includes Big M this year! At nine years old he also drafted the team most likely to win the league :-) No help from Dad, he did his homework, and had some of the fastest pick times during our draft. Fun times - but I'm still planning to beat them all!!

The team to beat!

Early morning strolls are timed by Tessa's endurance. It's always a lovely time of day in the desert. Walking slow by necessity encourages me to appreciate our little hilltop world.

Makes me smile when she still makes the jump onto the porch.

Our aggressive Rufus hummers rarely share.

Quail families continue to arrive for breakfast each morning.

The gift of a brilliant sunrise.

Jeff and I make a rare trip to the east side of Tucson. After his appointment we enjoy lunch at Saquaro Corners where their large floor-to-ceiling windows overlook old growth trees with several wild birds. The Northern Cardinal is huge - but no pics.

Born in a great year, I highly recommend!

You may have seen photos of the Haboob that hit Phoenix this month. It was epic! The last day of the month our phones arw going off with emergency warnings of an approaching dust storm - and then it is here in seconds! It's a doozy, much stronger and "dustier" than the last one. 

Haboob arriving in Phoenix - looks cinematic!

Our Haboob from the front porch - amidst the flying chairs.

Amazingly PJ holds on to her tire covers :-)

Later we're rewarded with beautiful moody skies.

A dramatic ending to August.

In addition to the back-to-schoolers in the last post, we have two new kindergarteners! 

Penelope Ann

Henry Miles

And two more August birthdays!

Big M's party is video game heaven with his friends.

Guess how old Little M is?

No matter the occasion our grands always make me smile :-)))

Playing in the sprinklers can be chilly even on a hot day. Elliott figures his parka is the right fix!

Or instead of water, Oliver takes a sand bath!

Desert Rains

 July 27 - August 18, 2025

Tombstone, Arizona

Have I done anything in the last three weeks? My first thought is no, nothing. Certainly nothing exciting, maybe nothing blog-worthy. Let's see.

A positive highlight that extends beyond the immediate, Bill's last hand surgery seems to have done the trick. He's very happy to be 99% pain-free. Happy to be off the pain killers. Happy to get back to long sleeps each night. So yay!

I'm moderately optimistic that my own three-month-long health issue has finally been diagnosed with the outcome of treatment pending. Nothing serious, just annoying. You know, like old age.

Staying in one place, it's especially appreciated that Mother Nature continues to bring us daily pretties and funnies. 

The eastern skies on fire at sunrise.

Adding a single curtain allows me to read and watch the birds during the two hours the sun rises from mountain top to above the roofline.

There's something so mesmerizing about a fluttering and waving breeze.

Tessa and I take short walks each morning when she's feeling most "perky". We go until she starts to lag behind then turn around for home. She enjoys exploring with her nose while I keep an eye out for snakes. The waking desert is most beautiful.

Pre-walk zoomies on a cooler morning.

We have several large beaver tail cactus on the property.

Desert Bird of Paradise, a favorite for bees and hummers.

The forecasted "heavy" monsoons have yet to materialize on our little hilltop, but we continue to have daily storms around us with occasional rains landing here. On the hottest days we have ribbons of blue rain creating fringe over the horizon, never touching the ground.

Male rain comes down in powerful torrents creating streams that race each other to low, dry spots where they stand together for a short time before being soaked in, swallowed or evaporated. One seeks shelter.

Female rain falls lightly, hesitant to disturb what it touches, slowly soaking in where it lands. When they last long enough, small puddles eventually form before being soaked in, swallowed or evaporated. One is invited to walk among the drops and drizzles. 

The former washes while the latter cleanses. I'm grateful for both. There is no shortage of water in the desert. Just a shortage of common sense on how to respect the resource.

Jeff captures this micro-dump in the distance. 

Blue rain-fringes to the south.

A light afternoon breeze carries female rain onto the porch. Later in the week a stronger male rain drenches the porch in seconds. 

Another awesome shot from Jeff's evening walk.

What do family members Cassidy, Ezra, Bill, Jeff, Big M and Little M have in common? August birthdays! From two to 69!! Four down, two to go as of this post. No pics for the "not kids"!

Miss Cassidy enjoys her special day.

Turning 10 is a big deal for Ezra who did something special each day for a week - starting with Universal Studios on his birthday. School started the next day.

BFF Janis and I read The Last Woman Standing, a novel loosely based on the life of Josephine Earp - my favorite "character" in the saga that defines Tombstone. It's fun to read about places that are remembered or still exist today. I collect a few pics to send to Janis. Just because.

After living (in sin!) with Sheriff Behan, Josephine moved to the San Jose boarding house. 

Josephine spent her days here with her good friend Mollie Fly. They were both at the back of the gallery during the famous shoot-out that happened next door.

Tombstone had two newspapers during the Earps' years. The Tombstone Prospector supported the Cowboys and Sheriff Behan while The Epitaph was a friend to the Earps. Note which one still stands - and prints a monthly historical edition.

The intersection of 5th and Allen streets includes the Oriental Saloon, originally owned by Wyatt. The Crystal Palace on the NW corner included the office of Marshall Virgil Earp on the second floor. Virgil was shot in this intersection, losing the use of his arm.

It's interesting living in a town on the historic register - one that celebrates it's story all year long. Our property is on the corner of Curly Bill and McLowery (no idea why they misspelled McLaury).

Walk-downs are a local tradition for honoring deceased locals and those recognized for having an impact on the community. During the Val Kilmer Tribute weekend, over 100 locals and visitors participated in the walkdown for "Doc". 

So no, not very exciting. But amazingly the kiddos are heading back to school already. Exciting for sure. Milestones are happening. Memories being made.

Elliott starts pre-K - how is this possible?

Day two haircuts for Elliott and Ezra.

Sisters Penelope and Magnolia send Reese off on her first day of kindergarten - wow!

Big M and Little M ready for another big year.