After our previous stressful, hot, expensive adventures in southern Arizona, we were glad to be further north where temps were cooler and relaxation was the order of the day. We found the visitors' center very helpful in supplying information about activities, sights, maps, drives etc. etc. After learning that Saturday was National Train Day and that there would be a FREE talk at the historical train station, we decided to attend.


Flagstaff has a long and interesting history with trains that continues to this day with both freight trains and Amtrack coming right through the center of town as often as every fifteen minutes and at a high rate of speed.

We learned that the early town was built up the hill from the present location, but because the trains could not make it around the corner and up the hill from a dead stop the depot was built on the flat. Eventually, the town built up around the depot making it much easier for passengers to get to and from the train. Of course, we heard much more about the history of the town, the trains, the train robbers, the early businessmen, and more....very interesting.


And naturally, we did some Geocaching as well. One of the most unusual sites is the Elden Pueblo very near the RV park where we were staying. In order to claim it as a Geocache find, we had to take our picture there.

S*W*A*G Breakfast

For our last S*W*A*G breakfast John and Rita hosted those of us who were still in Yuma. It was our first Boil in a Bag omelete. What a great way to feed a crowd; fun, too.



Not to mention, delicious.

Wild Burro Romantic Saga

Sad and dejected; not to mention sexually frustrated burro.






The girls are watching the whole process...

Sara enjoyed watching and listening, too.




Even a jack rabbit showed some interest.




And the winner is:

Judy's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Birthday

We left Yuma on my birthday, a sad day for several reasons. No one but the young likes to get another day older not even the young at heart. It was also sad to leave our Little House on the Desert and good friends we’d made in Yuma. However, it wasn’t hard to leave the heat of the over 100 degree days.
After having trouble getting both our neighbor’s, Dick and Linda, fifth wheel and our motor home out of our lots and onto the street we should have known that the rest of the day wouldn’t go well. We drove to Alamo Lake east of Quartzite, AZ for a couple of days of relaxation but…as we neared the State Park, the compressed air in our motor home fell to a low level and we drove on into the park with bells and whistles sounding. At the same time, our frig door came open and fell half-way off, so I had to hold it back in place while all this scary stuff was going on. After finding a parking spot, the air pressure was totally gone, so there was no more moving.
Hee Haw

A mechanic was called from 45 or so miles away, and even with Bob’s good directions (Turn at the ranger station, go past the state vehicles and find us in B10), it took several hours for him to find us. Or rather, for Bob to find him and lead him to our spot. When he finally arrived we found that he was a talker who had to tell us his life history and that of the dogs that he had owned.; all this with the meter running at $75 an hour. He finally got to work and by-passed the air dryer and got us running again. We then moved to a spot by Dick and Linda where we could pick up a breeze and a view of the lake. Did I mention the hot weather; air conditioning was a must!

We enjoyed watching the wild burros scampering over the hills near us. Sara enjoyed watching, too. One male was insisting that another male stay away from his harem. Even at 100 degrees, they ran all over the hills till the interloper finally gave up with much heavy breathing and sad hee-hawing. We took the dogs down to the boat ramp for a cooling swim in the afternoon, and Sara became a retriever for the first time.
We stayed two nights and then drove back to Harcuvar for our mechanic to install a new dryer - translates into BIG BUCKS… Part of the way in, we heard a loud boom and Kerthump, ketchup, ketchup (my word processor changed ketchup to ketchup; see it did it again) that was a signal that a tire had blown. Fortunately it was an inside dually, so we were still able to drive in on the five remaining tires. A call to roadside service at 9:30 am resulted in a tire change (more BIG BUCKS) by 2:30 pm. The RV park that we had pulled in to had only 30 amp service, not enough to run our two air conditioners and not enough to keep us cool. We decided to move to another “nearby” park that promised 50 amp service, but… We didn’t find it in the nearby town that was listed as its address. I asked a UPS man where it was and he told me that it was down the road a bit. How far? Oh, about 8 miles he replied. It was actually 21 mile or so, but at least we got cooled down. We figured that he drives that stretch of road so fast that it seems like 8 miles to him.
Of course I didn’t take pictures of this extended fiasco… I felt like high-tailing it to Vegas and on up through Nevada along our usual route to Teri and Doug’s place near Emmett, ID, but no, Bob still had his sights set on a trip up through Utah and back to Bryce Canyon.

Our next stop was supposed to be at Dick and Linda’s in Cottonwood, but we bi-passed them in favor of getting further north to cooler weather. No further problems except a slight overheating issue on the grade up to Flagstaff. We unhitched the car and all was ok after that.

Good Bye Sunset

This is the view from our backyard on May 4th, the night before we left for the drive north.

Sara on Watch

Sara spent a great deal of her time watching for her BFF, Muffin, who lived across the street. Lying on the hot concrete in high temps didn't seem to bother her, but it did bother me. I would call her into the air conditioned house after a bit.

Always hoping for a sighting of Muffin, Sara was usually rewarded by catching a glimpse of Muffin looking for her, too.

Spring in the Desert

Plants come to life during April and May in the desert around Yuma, Arizona. We have enjoyed blooming cacti, trees and bushes all spring.