Reporting in and catching up

KT here reporting, Nacho is too tired; he is being lazy this morning.  So much to report, so this could be long and Mom said she took lots of pictures and Dad took even more.

When we last reported we were all in Tucson, staying at the Lazy Days KOA for the Aluma Fiesta rally. Mom promised pictures of some of the Airstreams so here they are:

There were rows and rows of Airstreams, but Nacho and I know exactly which one is ours; we have good noses.  

 

 

Mom and Dad participated in some of the seminars, catered breakfasts and dinner and attended a few of the evening programs.  Going to everything that was offered would have been too much, a couple things each day made for an interesting day but not overwhelming. One interesting tour was of the Mirror Lab on the campus of Arizona State where the Astrological department is making a giant lense for a telescope to be placed in South American.  Another day they toured Lazy Days RV and did comparison shopping of Fifth Wheels. An enjoyable tour that we got to ride along on was the Saguaro Cactus National Monument.  There were seminars on safety and another on repairs and one on rehab or refurbishing of old trailers. On Friday, they had some area food trucks come to the park: ,Mexican-Asian, German and Indian.

 

 

Mom also participated in the Aluminum Chef cook-off, though she didn't advance to the next round.  She made a Spicy Raisin Garlic dip; her required 5 ingredients were: cream cheese, pumpkin, maple syrup, raisins and navy beans.  Everyone seemed to really like it as the plate was empty after sampling.

 

 

Here are a few pictures of the National Monument west of Tucson:

 

 

The rally was over on Saturday, but we stayed another night so we could spend Sunday visiting with Mom's cousin Holly and her family.  We got to go along again, and WOW, it was so fun.  They have 5 acres out in the country, the desert, and it is all fenced so Nacho and I could run and explore to our hearts content, which was great!!!! We haven't been able to run and explore for a month!!!!  We miss running loose and investigating smells.   They have three dogs also, two Australian Shepherds and a Bloodhound.  The Bloodhound was our defender as the other two dogs didn't like us very much.  Go figure!

 

I, KT, got in some trouble when I wandered into the donkey, Rosie's pen.  She took exception to me being in there and tried to trample me!!! I was really scared!!!!  So was Mom, Holly and Bonnie, they were all yelling at Rosie and at me to get out of there.  I did, but Mom said she thought I was going to be a dead dog as it was really close!

 

Then Nacho tried to lick a goat and got head-butted.  He didn't learn very well, as he did it again about 30 seconds later and got head-butted again.  That finally taught him to leave the goats alone.  Next we went to visit the Emus, but Nacho didn't like them as he barked and barked and barked. I didn't care for the Ostriches, but I just turned my back on them and didn't bark like Nacho does.

 

Holly's family had so many animals, but I was fascinated by the turtles, but they wouldn't let me in to investigate closer.

 

Tim showing Mom one of the turtles

A few of the goats, though not the one Nacho had issues with  :) The white one is an earless version.

 

Here is Bonnie and Holly with Rosie, who I had problems with

 

This is Tim's workshop, cool right, looks like the Old West, which is really how their whole property is landscaped. 

 

This wagon is in their side yard

 

Mom was very happy to spend the day with her cousin and family.  We all enjoyed ourselves a great deal.  Hope we can go back again. 

 

The next morning, Monday, we got up early and drove south near the Mexican border.  South of the town of Ajo, AZ to the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Dad says it was even neater than the Saguaro Monument.  We took a 21 mile, dirt and very bumpy road, also narrow and hilly in some areas, to do a back country tour of the Monument.   The campground at this National Monument was really, really nice even though it was dry camping.  The restrooms and showers were the nicest and cleanest of any we have ever seen. Each campsite was incorporated into the natural surroundings and they were paved. 

 

The cactus for which the park is named:

 

 

Views along the route we took:

 

Flowers were starting to bloom:

 

This is our campsite:

 

Sunset over the desert:

 

 

After spending the day and night, we were up early for a morning hike around the perimeter of the park (only space us dogs are allowed) and packed up quickly for the return trip to Casa Grande.  Mom has cleaning, laundry and some chores to do before we head out with friends to boondock (dry camp) in the desert on BLM land near Quartzite, AZ.  Guess that is the "thing" to do at least once, so we will do that for a few days.  Dad is having the truck inspected as we have had oil issues the last couple days, and we don't want to break down along the road.  We did that last year and it was no fun!!!!!  We will check back soon with our adventures in Quartzite. 

 

Stay warm, we are!!!  Sorry, couldn't resist!  :)

 

Kisses,  KT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunning in Tucson

Aussies here checking in from sunny Tucson, though it was only a high of 56 today, it was still a nice day.  Much better then the cold and snow in IA and IL!

Well, on Saturday we took a drive on our last day in Casa Grande and drove to Picacho Peak State park.  Airstreamers from the Four Corners unit recommend this state park and have held some rallies there.  

It was a nice park, with some roomy sites with electricity.  After getting a few groceries we headed back for our last evening at the Escapees Co-op.  Folks were friendly, the sites spacious and extremely quiet after the noise of being in a park in the city in Mesa.  Beautiful star filled nights out in the desert. Only negative is the cattle finishing lots.....the smells drifting our way at night left a lot to be desired.   

We are now back in the city, Tucson, in a park that we believe is the largest we have ever stayed in.  There are bigger ones around the US, but we have never stayed at a park this large.  The sites are full hookups, roomy with patios and a patio table and chairs. We even have an orange tree!  :) We are located between the Air Force base and the International airport.  Lots of planes taking off! 

I need to get some pictures to post, but here is the main building. 

Met up with my cousin Holly on Monday and we are hoping to get together on Sunday, so I am really looking forward to spending time with her family.  Today, Tuesday, was the first day of Aluma Fiesta.  The park has LOTS of Airstreams, some new and some really old.   Ours is in the middle, not the oldest, but definitely not a 2014 like the one two sites down from us. 

The activity that I registered for was a introductory class on glass blowing.  I had the privilege of having the director of the school give me my lesson.  He was great.  Really young, 36; he told me he started learning the craft in high school and has been blowing glass for 20 years.  So I am going to share a few photos, in order of the process as he works with me on a bowl.  The furnace has a temperature of 2050 degrees!  It was a bit warm standing near it grabbing glass and warming it.  

First blow

Warming again,

Gathering color,

First shaping,

Adding more hot air!  :)

He left me alone to shape while he got more glass for the base.  Scary!

Adding the base,

Shaping the bowl,

Final heating, (someone has a sense of humor, notice the drawing around the furnace?)

The final shape before it comes off the pole.

The bowl now goes into a 910 degree oven, to slowly cool it.  The temperature in the oven drops 50 degrees every hour until it reaches room temperature.  A slow cooling is necessary to keep it from cracking.  It should be ready for me to pick up on Friday!  It was fun and very educational.  The instructor was great about explaining the steps, and answering my questions. 

After the class we rushed back to the rally for the last half hour of announcements and drawings for door prices. Dave won a book published by Airstream Life.  

Otherwise, it has also been busy with phone calls related to the new house.  Since we have accepted an offer on the house (it was a busy day Sunday, moving to Tucson, talking multiple times with our realtor regarding an offer and our counters and then acceptance of the offer). We needed to reconfirm our building loan, talk to the builder with a couple questions and attempt to get another storage unit, so we can move out before 28 March.  Whoa, busy!  Dave is so prepared, we hopefully will have smooth sailing once we get started.  :)

That's it for the last three days, but should have more to share from this week with over 150 other Airstreamers.   

Another fun little thought though..... Our sweet Aussies are real attention getters here in the park.  On every walk we get stopped multiple times by people inquiring about the breed or just to say how handsome and cute they are!  So proud!   :)

Stay warm and safe!   We'll check back soon! 

Hello from Casa Grande, AZ

Nacho checking in here after a long absence.   Other than some long weekends, we didn't take any trips with the Airstream after the return from our trip in July. 

After some cold weather in Iowa, Candy & Dave decided we should head south for a time, while we wait for the house in Cedar Falls to sell.  So with details arranged, we headed out on 15 January, Wednesday.  By late afternoon it was clear that Candy was sick with a flu and cold.  

Our first stop was in Kinsley, KS, which was further then we originally planned. We saw large wind farms along the way. 

 The second night we made it to Tucumari, NM.  Along the route in NW Texas we saw acres of cattle lots.  

These seem to stretch for miles. 

On the third night we made it to Holbrook, AZ.  We knew we would have a short drive the next day into our destination of Palm Gardens in Mesa, AZ.  

The RV parks we stopped at were on the old Route 66, and were near rundown old motels, or old junk shops, abandoned when the interstates went through.  

Here's our first RV park, where we stayed from Saturday through Saturday, Palm Gardens in Mesa,  AZ. 

You can see our truck and the Airstream at the end of the street.  This was an immaculate park, but right in the middle of town and our site backed right up to the 4 lane road; it was never quiet.  Sites were nice but close together.  I do not believe we will stay there again.  We had to walk along the busy street to do our doggie business, no dog areas inside the park. 

While in Mesa, Dave had a chance to hang out with a buddy from Cedar Falls, who was out visiting his son, in Med school in Tempe, AZ.  One day, while Candy was sick, Dave and Harvey took us to this neat park in Fountain Hills.  Lots of people take their dogs there for exercise. 

Saturday, the 25th, we packed up and moved south about 40 minutes to the Escapees' Co-op called Rovers Roost.   A small park, very well maintained and nice size sites.  We will be here for eight days and hopefully make contact with a couple Candy used to work with in Davenport.  They have sold their home in Blue Grass and settled in Mairicopa.  

This is the view out of the front of the Airstream at Rovers Roost. 

This is our home for eight days.  We are finally recovered from the flu, so hope to get some exploring done the next few days.  Weather has been beautiful!  In the high 60's and sunny with no clouds in the skies.  The nights get down into the 40's, so we need out little heater.  

That's the update for now but check back as I'll be updating frequently with our adventures.