Highs and Lows, and Again

 March 1 - 18, 2025

Tombstone, Arizona

So far March has brought us everything including snow, and a little bit of much-needed rain. From 54 degrees one day to 82 degrees the next, and calm days followed by high-wind-warning days, it's been a roller coaster of weather. Definitely not the brutality experienced in some areas.  Our forecast looks mild for the remainder of the month (as of today!).

Also a roller coaster has been Bill's health, with new complications as well as returns to past issues. Good and bad days with some just-blah days in between, I keep hoping he's going to feel better again with a return to more independence. Poor dude!

Fortunately he's still feeling pretty good when we welcome our world-traveling pals for a couple days of getting caught up. I've been traveling vicariously around Europe for years with Steven and Linda in their sweet little "Bijou", while missing getting to see them in person. I'm so happy they include us in their Spring travels to Texas! And glad we added the RV spots on our property to accommodate our pals with traveling homes. Following each other's blogs, and even before we met in person, there's always been a special bond with these two. It's wonderful having them here.

They're really here!

Watching Steven's video of their bicycle ride across South Korea - across a country!!

Casa de Gravel Resort

Thanks Steven for the great shot of our humble abode.

Plenty of room for Ruby Red and a fluffy dog.

Linda and Jodee in Arizona again.

Yaaay.

On our one snowy day Rebecca and I venture to the Copper Brothel Brewery in pretty Sonoita with a stop at the Rune Winery. My favorite area of southeastern Arizona, the golden plains are even prettier under dramatic skies.

Glad to be eating inside the brewery today!

Rebecca checks out the merch with a glass of Rune rose.

While the tasting room is simple, they have taken full advantage of their stunning views with paths and seating areas.

From the same location looking north.

And west.

The final step for my being able to take PJ on any adventures is getting the Jeep hooked up. Jeff gets the Blue Ox installed on the RV, and Bill instructs me on connecting it between the vehicles. That sucker is heavy! But after a couple tries I'm able to successfully put it together. 

I got this!

Several days later I'm able to quickly unhook it at Camping World where I hang out for seven hours while they install the Invisibrake on the Jeep. I leave PJ there for the automatic levelers' installation and a few quick fixes to make her completely adventure-ready. It all comes with a hefty price tag, but I know I'll be happy with the additions. 

Hard to believe many of the crafts group are already making plans to head out for summer travels - seems like we just got together again :-) Rebecca and Michael head out the first week of April and I'll definitely miss our day trips. 

Making pretty things.

We haven't been to the Amerind Museum/Gallery this year so on an especially chilly and windy day it's a good time to see what's new.

Set in the beautiful Texas Canyon area, the outside is as artistic as the inside. No photography allowed in the gallery or exhibits. I'm happy to see numerous people visiting and supporting this lovely site. 

Ezra and Elliott make the best of a snow day in their play fort - hours of brother-fun!

 

Our adventurous Miss Penelope :-))

Little M lights up the room.

Fun in February and in the Future

 February 15 - 28, 2025

Tombstone, Arizona

I was pretty busy the last couple weeks, but took very few photos - often it's just the opposite!

With no schedule of any kind I should be able to get to Tucson for a massage more often. I've been accruing sessions since COVID, and could get an hour of pampering every day for three weeks with my current balance! So I'm happy to say that I did make it happen twice in February with a third one scheduled in the near future. 

Tessa's age of 14 (!) brings signs of slowing down including being almost completely deaf and a cataract in one eye. Sadly it has also increased separation anxiety so we are now each other's service animal. She has to know where I am at all times although her groomer can still keep her calm through most of an hour's grooming appointment. Her nightly zoomies still happen, but she slows down significantly on walks longer than a block or two. Fortunately, most days she's still a healthy and happy pup.

Broadway in Tucson has several great productions throughout the season and I have tickets for Rebecca and I to see "Some Like it Hot" on the 22nd. Easy parking a couple blocks away, no line at the door, and good seats at the Centennial Hall in Tucson means we'll do it again for sure. The production is excellent, Broadway quality, that we both thoroughly enjoy. It's been waaaay too long since I've been to live theater!

Prior to the play we stop at Grandma's Spinning Wheel for felting wool. They have a huge selection and a fun staff, we always enjoy a stop here.

There's a whole other room for yarn and thread!

The following Monday Rebecca and I join Vicki and Kris (from crafts and dear friends) with their daughters for lunch in Patagonia and an afternoon of winery/meadery sampling. The weather is perfect as is the company. After a great lunch at Gathering Grounds  we enjoy the eclectic outdoor seating with ducks and goats and a little pig at AZ Hops and Vines in Sonoita - one of several wineries in the area - with delicious sangria.

Vicki, her daughter Rhonda, and Kris. The photo of the other three washed out in the sun :-(

Unfortunately one of their party has tummy issues so Rebecca and I make the stop at the Meading Room by ourselves. Rather than a tasting or a flight we each have a glass (she mead, me cider) and chill on their lovely patio for over an hour appreciating the golden-grass views.

On previous drives we've seen pronghorn on those plains.

Plans are coming together for some RV travels. I have to postpone the Camping World appointment for some installs and fixes, but will get those done next month. Fingers are still crossed that Bill can make modifications to sleep comfortably. 

Just as exciting, and before we head out, we have visitors stopping by for a couple days! It has been too, too long since we've seen these global jet-setters and I can hardly wait to get caught up. Thankfully they are much better at remembering to get pics!

Reservations are made and clinic scheduling is underway for our annual April reunion in Laughlin, NV.

Bill and I are both happy that we'll be returning to the Avi Casino that has a nice KOA on the property.

Finally, and really, really exciting are the plans for the first week(s) of May in Santa Fe meeting up with a dear friend and fellow-blogger, and my first solo-RV adventure. She has lots of experience, and I'm looking forward to learning a bunch! 

It's smart to avoid a windy day for controlled burns, but when there isn't even a breeze the smoke can be it's own menace. This one in Sierra Vista.

The day after the floating smoke above, we have our first big wind day with reduced visibility due to so much dust. The last day of the month we're under fire-watch due to the extreme dry conditions, but thankfully the wind has subsided. 

Warrior Princess Reese

"Both ways to school..." for Ezra and Elliott (really just a day trip).

Oliver prepared to drive the train and repair it!

Failure to Launch

 February 1 - 14, 2025

Tombstone, Arizona

Lots of "well crap" times include equal amounts of "thank goodness" when escalating to "holy crap" is avoided.

You can quote me.

Neuropathy is part of the diabetes package. Bill has had it for years in his extremities, rarely more than an occasional annoyance. With the addition of the dialysis fistula in his forearm he's had increasing pain in that hand as well as the other. Always worse at night, he finds some relief with the adjustable bed and prescription pain meds. 

It dawns on me, almost too late, that the bed in the RV is not adjustable and there is no recliner option for getting comfortable. A trial overnight stay in our yard seems prudent. 

He lasts an hour.

The "thank goodness" is that we didn't drive six hours only to find out Bill can't sleep in PJ with the current conditions. It would have been the same with the bigger rig. Our friends already have a houseful so figuring out any changes after the fact would have been a hassle, or even not available. 

The "well crap" is obvious. We stay put.

Reservations are made for a week in SoCal next month so we have to figure out something before then. 

During preparations the last couple weeks I've learned a few more of PJ's "things". Being a basic unit means I spend time trying to figure out how something works only to learn that something doesn't exist.

Want to confirm you're successfully hooked up to 30 amp? Check the microwave. If it works, you're hooked up. There is no read-out or light, etc.

PJ has a typical RV frig with both AC and propane power sources. What her frig doesn't have is the option to run on the house battery. Soooo on travel days the frig is off unless we want to leave the propane on, which we absolutely do not. 

A couple large ice blocks will work, and it gives me another excuse for short travel days!

The drawers all fly open at the slightest curve in the road, after-market magnets don't line up, child locks don't hold, it's a work-in-progress with a bungee cord temporary fix. 

Great news when we take PJ to the new Maverick truck stop in Benson where they have a very accessible dump station. And I learn I can do it easily. This is more of a big deal than one might think, as I could never dump the Tuscany. The outgoing pipe didn't line up with the hole in the bottom of the compartment, and after many attempts over several years to hook up the sewer hose I finally admitted defeat. Bill was able (obviously) to tweak it just right, but I was never going to make it happen.

So knowing I can handle this important detail opens up opportunities I never had with the bigger rig. 

I finally remember to get some overdue PJ interior pics. She's pretty cute!

The only kitchen outlet is beside the door to the left of the sink which isn't great.

A couple large windows make it very bright with the shades up.

The only slide unfolds the queen bed with walk around access. Both side shelves have phone chargers and USB ports.

The upstairs bedroom.

Plenty of bathroom space. The medicine cabinet is huge.

The large closet above two large drawers give us plenty of storage options in the bedroom.

I can't wait to live in her for a few nights!

As is often the case, our February starts out with higher temps. 80 degrees on the back porch does not feel like Winter! When I finally make it to Tucson for a massage, it's nearly 90!! Fortunately it's short-lived and although no rain, we do return to colder.

February!

I prefer a moody, cloudy winter day.

Clouds paint the western skies at sunset.

Dare I say I loved the Super Bowl halftime show? Just wow!! Clearly the game was horrible. I can't even..... 

I thought the commercials were better this year than in the last several years - the Budweiser colt pushing the keg and the Doritos UFO were my favorites with their writers consistently bringing the best. Harrison Ford's Jeep commercial was pretty good too. With all the money spent on those spots I imagine many were missed by Chiefs' fans who bailed before the end of the game. Myself included. I'm not a masochist!  

My choice for MVP.

Rebecca is unable to get the last two episodes of Yellowstone for some reason, and they are SO brilliant that I really want to share them with her. Friday we get together at the house to make that happen and enjoy a little lunch. The winds have returned and it's especially nice to be tucked inside with friends, fun and food!

Our sweet, sweet Penelope and Reese.

Little M is always cool :-)

Ezra loves being a mountain-kid, especially on Snow Days!

Elliott's little snow ball is very special.

January's Done

January 22 - 31, 2025

Tombstone, Arizona

Our summers on the road included smoke whenever we were in the west. It became it's own season and a consideration for routing. Prior to our fulltime travels, living in SoCal, fears from drought and fires were a part of our reality. 

Before we got on the road I wrote a post about that reality Holding My Breath As the Wind Blows. All these years later I'm holding my breath miles away.

About the same time the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County is seeing slow containment, a new fire breaks out in the Santa Clarita area. Where most of our kids and grand kids live. Normally it is Ezra and Elliott's family we are concerned about, living on the mountain, surrounded by forests and canyons. But M and M's family live on the "edge" of the suburbs near dry hills and canyons, and Oliver's family is only a few miles away. 

The Hughes Fire starts in the middle of these family locations and grows fast and far. More high winds means it can go in either direction, threaten any of them. 

We're in contact throughout the day and watching the fire maps. By afternoon M and M's house is in the pre-evacuation area, with the evacuation perimeter 10 houses away. Their cars are packed, plans are made. We wait.

Before the next morning dawns the evacuations are all lifted. A fire that doubled in size in a couple hours weirdly seems to lose momentum and crews are able to get it controlled. It's sitll windy so we're beyond grateful.

Being California, the following week there are flood warnings and several feet of snow in surrounding mountains. 

At Ezra and Elliott's house - yay moisture!

We're excited that another of our high school pals and his wife have moved to the area. Marc and Vicky rented a house in Sierra Vista to spend a year "trying on" a new place before buying. Smart! We have them and mutual friends Donne and Anna over for dinner one evening - great fun and of course we all insist we must do it more often!

Also of course, I fail to get any photos. But it really did happen :-))

A little yard maintenance, breakfast in Bisbee with Jeff, craft group, a Rebecca trip to Tucson, NFL playoff games (go Chiefs!), and January is done. No need to comment on how fast it flew by, it was that way for all of you too.

Tucked in "behind" Tucson's downtown is this wonderful maze of artisan shops and eateries.

One of those places you need to leave bread crumbs to find your way back to where you started - so many cute, artsy, shopping options.

The restroom signs are so fun.

One of over 100 murals in Tucson, I love this (hard to capture) historic depiction. 

On the walk to our favorite Cafe a la Carte a couple blocks away there's more wall art.

Not as friendly as others, I still like this furry guy in the nearby parking lot.

PJ's maiden voyage is coming up for Super Bowl weekend. A long drive to and from Kingman on both sides of the event, we'll have two nights of moochdocking to live in our new traveling home. With good friends, food and fun, it should be a great "first".

M and M having Disney fun.

Oh Henry I wish I had those glorious curls!

The youngest, Cassidy, is getting so big, and so cute!

Oliver shows great restraint waiting for the first bite.