Sunday, December 20/2015 - Saturday, December 26/2015

This week found us busy again!!
I managed to find out the name of Tom's surgeon and made a much needed appointment for him for suture removal so on Monday, the three of us piled into the truck and headed into Phoenix.
 It was a bit of a gong show trying to find the joint but we managed to get there and then proceeded to "hurry up and wait"!!
Eventually Tom and I were called into the plastic surgeon's office and I finally got to meet Dr. Andrew Blount.  He was so very pleased to see Tom as I truly believe he did not ever expect to see this man again.  He was happy with the progress of the hand and thanked me for looking after it for Tom.  I said that once Tom arrived, he really didn't have much of a choice as he now had a second "adopted" Canadian sister!!  Anyway, all went well and we now have to see him again in three weeks.  Lord only knows if Tom will be around for that long but time will tell.
Christmas arrived and John was right on his game when it came to the trash can turkey.   It was cooked to perfection and everyone enjoyed the bird and all the fixins!!  We now had enough left overs to last several days!!
The park clean up continues and the Mexicans are all over the place like little ants, scooping up whatever they can.  It is almost comical until they start eyeballing some of the paving stones I want!! It is everyman and woman for themselves around here!!  LOl

The Christmas full moon

taken

through the noose

 Hogan continues to hang on but I fear the decision is coming all too quickly.  Not going there today!!
The weather has turned chilly and there is threat of rain.  The frost has all but killed most of our summer plants so things are looking pretty bleak in the north forty.
Mr. Roadrunner seems to be a daily occurance this year and that is awesome.  I was talking to the old fellow who lives next door and he tells me he has been feeding it so I will have to look into the possibility of me doing that as well.   They are meat eaters so not sure what that should be.....liver perhaps???
Life is good.   Oh and Merry Christmas to All.

Sunday, December 13/2015 - Saturday, December 19/2015

This week was marked by the arrival of Kay's brother Tom.  As predicted, he ended up back in hospital for a few more days with this infected hand.   This time around however, he perhaps realized that he was not capable of taking proper care of this hand and decided to actually make an effort to get out here to Wickenburg.  He arrived on Tuesday along with Kay's dad "Pops".  It was good to see him again and we had a quick chat before he had to return home before it got too dark.  He is well into his 90s and probably should not be driving but, one certainly cannot tell him that !!   LOL
We soon got into the routine of soaking Tom's hand twice a day and smearing it with antibiotic ointment and before too long, it was looking much better.  My "nurse's" eye told me that at some point it must have been a real mess and it was a very good thing that Tom had arrived out here for some much needed care.  Being homeless with two hands is probably hard enough but being homeless with only one good hand I imagine would be much harder.
The activity in the park continues to increase and there has now been a few trailers moved out.  It is quite interesting watching the show as the double wides are separated and moved out.  There has been some trimming of trees as well in order to get the units around the park.  Man, it is going to be pretty darn empty here in the near future.
In the meantime, we are on cleanup duty around the park and continue to collect firewood.  Tom has been helping and John is busy building the new back porch.  We managed to salvage a really nice "porch" from on of the abandoned trailers so that will be used for our back deck.  It should look quite nice when we are done.
There  is plenty of "salvage" going on in the park as the new owner has got the word out that if anyone wants these abandoned trailers, they are to simply come and get them.  Make arrangements to have then hauled out and they are their's for free.  The Mexicans are all over that like stink on a skunk!!
Anyway, it has been a busy week with Tom's arrival and all the activity in the park.   We have had awesome fires each evening and Tom is settling into our routine.  He is a carpenter by trade and is very handy when it comes to anything like that so we will use his skills as we continue to care for his hand.    Life is Good......

Roadrunner

Back deck getting built

Sunday, December 6/2015 - Saturday, December 12/2015

This week Kay and I headed into Surprise to do some much needed shopping.  One day we did the Walmart thing and the next day we headed to Sam's Club and Bevmo.  Now that our shopping is done we can relax and enjoy our days here in the park.
I have the hummingbird feeders out and we watch the antics of the little birds daily!!  Man, they are still as mean and aggressive as I remember and we are often the witness of many a battle.
The Javalina arrived back and they too are as cute as ever!!  They love the potatoes and the carrots that I throw out to them.  Hogan is still not pleased with the whole process but he too will get used to them again.  I looked out the window the other day and saw Hogan and one of the pigs nose to nose!! They were both pretty brave considering there was a fence between them!!
This week, we had a rather unique visitor as well.  A roadrunner was sitting on the neighbour's fence then jumped up on their roof.  He then jumped down and checked out the deck on the camper and then jumped up on the windowsill.  He could see his reflection in the window and was pecking at the glass!!  They are quite territorial and I think he was just trying to make a point with the "other" bird in the window!!  He was quite entertaining for a while!!

Roadrunner came to visit

On the window sill

Time for a new fire ring

The bar is open!

Chowing down

Heading out to the China Wall

Kay and Marie in the big Cat

In the canyon

Beverage at the wall

Another great AZ sunset at the end of the day

Awesome

Time to head home

We headed back out into the desert again this week with a trip to the China Wall.  We tagged trail along the way and decided that at some point, we had to clear some rather nasty branches off the trail. Dodging the claws and barbs of the desert flora is just not the way I wish to spent our trips so one day next week we will clear trail!!
We had a great trip to the wall and once again got back late.  God, is it even possible to get back before dark!!  I am thinking NOT!!
Kay and I started a bit of clean up in the park as there is plenty of wood around that can be collected to use in the fire pit although that fire ring is on its last legs.  Kay and I are going to have to haul the new one down to the welding shop and get some adjustments done to it as the new one (Kay had it made in Utah) is too big.  That will be next week's project for sure.
Hogan is still holding his own as far as the cancer goes but he is getting skinnier by the week.  One of these days, we are going to have to make the looming decision.  Sooo not looking forward to that.
The weather has been great so far but I am sure the winter chill will be upon us soon enough.  It is a good thing we have lots of firewood!!
Kay's brother Tom was in hospital with an infected hand at the end of November and he was supposed to come and stay with her for a while but he has not arrived as yet.  Tom is "homeless" and lives on the streets of Phoenix and really has no way of looking after his hand so we are hoping that he is going to arrive soon.
All in all, it has been another good week with the activity in the park starting to increase as people move out and trailers are moved.  We finally got to meet the new owner and he seems like a reasonable fellow so are hoping to continue here at the park for several years to come.  Time will tell!!   Life is Good.

Sunday, November 29/2015 - Saturday, December 5/2015

This week we had company.  Actually Kay and Ray had company but we too enjoyed them.   Kay's sister Kim,  her brother Neal and his wife Tammy came for a visit.  A couple of their kids came too and one of Tammy and Neal's grandchildren, Kevin arrived.  We all piled into the quads and we took the jeep  and headed for Box Canyon where we spent a few hours enjoying the scenery and catching up on all the family news!!  It was nice to finally meet Tammy and her kids.  Kevin was a delight and for some reason took to John like a long lost friend,  It was Kevin who decided to join John in the side by side for the trip to Box Canyon.  Tammy was pretty astounded by this as Kevin apparently is pretty quiet and standoffish.  There was no shyness today and he loved the ride!!
Ray got a fire going and we got the hot dogs, smokies and farmer sausage on the wiener sticks and had a classic "Box Canyon Feast"!!  It was great and enjoyed by all.
All too soon, it was time to head back, as the company had to return to Phoenix and one of the boys had to be on a plane back to Canada where he works at the Drumheller Tyrell Museum.
This week also found Kay and I helping Ray replace the flooring in one of the rental properties that he looks after.  It was Pergot flooring and went together well.

John and Kevin - headed to Box Canyon

In the canyon

Lots of people around the fire

Food and Beverages -  does life get any better?

John has the side by side tipped over to install the new skid plate

John ordered some parts and pieces for the side by side and once they arrived, he got busy putting them on.  The skid plate was installed and now we should be good to go as far as protecting the bottom of the machine as best we can.  The stock one really was rather useless.
The new tires were taken down to the tire shop and put on the fancy new wheels.  Once they arrived back in the yard, it didn't take too long before John had them on the quad!!  We now have lots of ground clearance so shouldn't be banging off too many rocks!!
John also bought a fancy new light bar so that too was installed and now we are truly ready to head out onto the trails.

New tires and rims

We did get out on the trails once this week and that was to do the Wickenburg Mountain Loop.  Kay and I took her side by side and John and Hogan took ours.  We headed into the wash and before too long we were at the newly renovated Train Bridge as the old one took a hit when the Hassayamppa River flooded during the monsoon season.  Now it is made with steel poles and we have a fancy new gate to go through.   In fact, we had three gates to open and go through and it was at the third gate that Kay and I ran into some mechanical problems.  Apparently, the cooling fan was not working and we bubbled out all the antifreeze from the radiator.
We waited for John to return and "fix" the problem and by the time he got back to us, the motor had cooled down and the issue was dealt with.  Apparently, the fuse that controls the fan had blown so once that was replaced, we were good to go!!
With the mechanical issues behind us, we carried on and actually had an awesome ride.  Hogan, well, I am not sure he totally appreciated the ride as I think it was a bit much for him.  I think he was pretty darn tired and was glad to get back home!!  We were out late enough on the trail that John got to try the new light bar and I must say, it worked very well.
Most of Kay's and my flagging was still up on the trails so it really was helpful in finding our way back to our "home" wash and eventually home.
Mitch arrived in Arizona this week as well.  He too is done for the season so it was good to see him again and catch up on his news as well.

New 1/2 inch thick skid plate

Installed skid plate

Heading out onto the trails

Hood up - not a good thing!!

Radiator fan not working so once the fuse was replaced
we were good to go!!

Speedometer shows 110 mph!!  We were actually sitting still!!
Gremlins in the engine!!

Back in the wash and onto our last leg home.

Another good week has come and gone and the weather has been more than cooperative.  It has been cold back home so both John and I are happy to be here enjoying the sunshine.  Hogan too is thanking his lucky stars as well.   Life is Good!!!

Sunday, November 22/2015 - Saturday, November 28/2015

This is the week of the United States Thanksgiving so it is all about this holiday and of course the start of the Christmas shopping  with the infamous "Black Friday".  Fortunately, I will not be any where near the stores to witness this phenomenon!!  I have no desire to fight the crowds and come out with bruises just to get a few bargains!!
We have finally got most of the stuff in from the camper and the trailer is well on its way to being back into livable accommodations.
The windows still need a good cleaning but I think I have most of the dust and cobwebs gone!!  Time to sit and relax although idle hands often get into trouble.  I started helping Ray around the park this week and although I was stiff and sore from all the bending, it felt good to be actually doing something again.  Man, I think I got soft on the trip down here!!
Kay returned to Arizona this week and she was certainly happy about that as the weather in Nephi and area was getting down right nasty with chilly winds, snow and freezing temperatures!!  So not a good time to be there.  She is done for the season so her and I can now muck around here at the park doing odd jobs and cleanup.
Hogan continues to hang on, chasing the occasional cottontail bunny rabbit and the ever present road runner.  I am sure that thing just walks by to bug him!!   It is a good thing he has this wildlife to keep him occupied!!
This weeks weather was definitely cooler than last weeks but I guess that is to be expected.  It is definitely campfire evenings because when the sun sets, the chill of the evening sets in.  There were a few nights where the temperature got down to freezing!!  Almost time to get the sweats out!!

Hung some new signs up

Found the elusive white can!