The phone rang this afternoon. Not unusual. Lots of people want us to vote for them. Others want to sell us new windows, security systems, credit cards and other stuff we don't listen to.
But this was Heath. From Skagway. He is the new owner of Southeast Tours who almost had us going to Skagway in June.
When last we spoke, I agreed that if he found a new bus in the lower 48 and needed it, I would drive it up there for him. He called to see if I would still do that. After talking to me, he spent the day on-line and on the phone, trying to find a desirable bus in Arizona. No dice. But he will keep on looking. If he finds one in the next month, he still wants me to bring it up. Then he wants both Peggie and I to agree to come work for him in 2013.
So, I hope he finds a bus. That will be a fun adventure driving it up there.
He has been having a good season, and expects next year to grow even more. I think he will. He is eager, hard-working and imaginative.
So we are still heading for the hills tomorrow, and staying flexible.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Head fer the hills!!
In response to my critic:
Yes, I admit to not posting for a week. But, nothing was happening!
We went the entire time with no adventures of any kind.
Peggie is having a wonderful time experimenting with all kinds of creative ideas. But I have not tried to do anything that could turn adventurous. I haven't been on the roof, haven't used any power tools, haven't driven anywhere, and haven't attempted any home projects.
Tomorrow we will return to the White Mountains. We will try to be adventureless. Casey will join us over the weekend, maybe she will provide blog fodder. We have selected a spot that, while slightly more accessible, is still remote enough to be peaceful.
We will be back in town mid September. Pesky appointments!
Yes, I admit to not posting for a week. But, nothing was happening!
We went the entire time with no adventures of any kind.
Peggie is having a wonderful time experimenting with all kinds of creative ideas. But I have not tried to do anything that could turn adventurous. I haven't been on the roof, haven't used any power tools, haven't driven anywhere, and haven't attempted any home projects.
Tomorrow we will return to the White Mountains. We will try to be adventureless. Casey will join us over the weekend, maybe she will provide blog fodder. We have selected a spot that, while slightly more accessible, is still remote enough to be peaceful.
We will be back in town mid September. Pesky appointments!
Monday, August 27, 2012
World's laziest Grandpa
Grandparents have unlimited rights to brag on their offsprings' offspring.
So, I refer all to the GaT blog. Read the entry from Aug. 25 and look at as many videos as you can. Specifically, the piano and "guiter" performances.
If this isn't the laziest way to brag, you tell me what is.
So, I refer all to the GaT blog. Read the entry from Aug. 25 and look at as many videos as you can. Specifically, the piano and "guiter" performances.
If this isn't the laziest way to brag, you tell me what is.
Monday, August 20, 2012
A welcome change in perspective
We have been catching up on some TV shows recorded while we were out of town. Some of the ads we fast-forward through are for upcoming new fall shows. Last night, for the first time, I realized that Sept. is right around the corner. By the time we return from our next mountain retreat, the new shows will be starting.
The new perspective? Summer will FINALLY be over!
For what seems like forever, summer was always over WAY too soon. You just get your classroom cleaned up and ready for summer, you spend a few days catching your breath, you attend a workshop or take a class, you take a trip, you read something for pleasure, and then you go to your classroom to prepare for a new group. Summer was ALREADY over!
While we were spending the summers working in Skagway, the season went from May through September. Five whole months. The final month was lo-o-o-ong. This is the first summer since '08 that we have endured the (dry) HEAT!!! The last ten days have been so lo-o-o-ong. (that stretched word is pronounced HOT)
All of our still-teaching friends have been back at work so long that their lunch room conversations no longer mention what they did in June or July. Their summer is already over. They are deep into routine and are anticipating fall break.
Peggie and I are definitely enjoying the view from our new perspective.
The new perspective? Summer will FINALLY be over!
For what seems like forever, summer was always over WAY too soon. You just get your classroom cleaned up and ready for summer, you spend a few days catching your breath, you attend a workshop or take a class, you take a trip, you read something for pleasure, and then you go to your classroom to prepare for a new group. Summer was ALREADY over!
While we were spending the summers working in Skagway, the season went from May through September. Five whole months. The final month was lo-o-o-ong. This is the first summer since '08 that we have endured the (dry) HEAT!!! The last ten days have been so lo-o-o-ong. (that stretched word is pronounced HOT)
All of our still-teaching friends have been back at work so long that their lunch room conversations no longer mention what they did in June or July. Their summer is already over. They are deep into routine and are anticipating fall break.
Peggie and I are definitely enjoying the view from our new perspective.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Happy Birthday, Bill
I woke up this morning and already had an email greeting from Margie and a blog greeting from Greg and Ariana in Germany. Today is supposed to only be in the 90's, so it will be a "cool" one.
Monday, August 13, 2012
We don't even have to leave home.....
Usually we think we are going for adventures when we leave home. But, sometimes adventures come to us.
Maybe you remember the time lightning struck the tree that used to be in our front yard.
Well, last night we were enjoying the closing ceremonies from the London Olympics when electrical power was lost. We checked outside to see if it was just us. Strangely, only 13 houses on our street were affected. Everybody else still had power. There were no electrical storms in the area. No cars had crashed into any thing. We called TEP and reported the outage via an automated system. At 5 am we were awakened by truck noise. TEP had a crew at a transformer two houses down from us. Our utilities are all underground, and they were digging with a backhoe. At about 6 am power was restored. Shortly thereafter we received a phone call from the automated system informing us that power had been restored. Just in time to make coffee.
The silver lining is that since we had no TV, we were not annoyed when NBC cut away from the ceremony to air the premiere of a new show that we are not going to be watching. Did they learn nothing from the Superbowl/Heidi fiasco?
We had to go to Scottsdale today for some doctor appointments. It was 111 degrees there. That temperature is "in the shade" in a specially constructed box at the airport. We spent all of our outside time "in the sun" walking on asphalt. I think they should report those temperatures.
Maybe you remember the time lightning struck the tree that used to be in our front yard.
Well, last night we were enjoying the closing ceremonies from the London Olympics when electrical power was lost. We checked outside to see if it was just us. Strangely, only 13 houses on our street were affected. Everybody else still had power. There were no electrical storms in the area. No cars had crashed into any thing. We called TEP and reported the outage via an automated system. At 5 am we were awakened by truck noise. TEP had a crew at a transformer two houses down from us. Our utilities are all underground, and they were digging with a backhoe. At about 6 am power was restored. Shortly thereafter we received a phone call from the automated system informing us that power had been restored. Just in time to make coffee.
The silver lining is that since we had no TV, we were not annoyed when NBC cut away from the ceremony to air the premiere of a new show that we are not going to be watching. Did they learn nothing from the Superbowl/Heidi fiasco?
We had to go to Scottsdale today for some doctor appointments. It was 111 degrees there. That temperature is "in the shade" in a specially constructed box at the airport. We spent all of our outside time "in the sun" walking on asphalt. I think they should report those temperatures.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Back in Tucson, for a while
We have appointments and stuff to do. Even in retirement.
So we are in Tucson for as long as we can stand it. The heat, that is.
Since I have access to the computer, I posted the last two entries which were written the old-fashioned way (pen and paper) while we were sitting in the cool pine country.
I am sweating away at the keyboard this evening because, once again, the A/C is on the blink.
When we started hitting the outskirts of Tucson, we had to stop twice for school buses discharging children.
We are soooo happy not to be back in the classroom.
So we are in Tucson for as long as we can stand it. The heat, that is.
Since I have access to the computer, I posted the last two entries which were written the old-fashioned way (pen and paper) while we were sitting in the cool pine country.
I am sweating away at the keyboard this evening because, once again, the A/C is on the blink.
When we started hitting the outskirts of Tucson, we had to stop twice for school buses discharging children.
We are soooo happy not to be back in the classroom.
Company? No, thank you.
Aug. 6, 2012
Last week, just a couple of days before we headed back to Eagar for recharge and restocking, a couple of other campers (trailers) moved into our area. The area is probably five acres of scattered trees with lots of open grass. Fifteen or twenty good parking spots are available. These people were very friendly. They were from Eagar and Springerville. They told us that by the weekend there would be between 50-100 people joining them. And we were welcome to stay. They didn't want to run us off. But, they have been holding a family reunion at this spot for the last 38 years! And really, we were welcome to stay.
Thank you, but NO!!!
We agreed that it is the perfect spot for a large group like that, with lots of kids. There is plenty of open area for games, and lots of forest to explore, the spring and creek to play in. But, we do not go to the forest to have that kind of noise and activity.
So, on Thursday, when we returned to the forest, properly recharged, restocked, and looking for some peace and quiet, we selected a different place. It is only two miles from the spring, but the nearest neighbors are 1/4 mile away, and it is just two people. Two quiet people.
Today, we went for a long drive. We have been camping in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest since our kids were little. Last year while we were in Skagway, we heard of the Wallow Fire burning through the forest, and how big it was, and where. We were very concerned about our camping area. We took a drive through in October, and we were pleased at how much had NOT burned. Today, we specifically visited two of our former campsites. One, on the San Francisco River (it is barely a creek at this point) within a stone's throw of New Mexico, showed that the fire had raced through, burning along the ground, but leaving the top half of most of the trees green. It would still be a nice spot to camp. It isn't destroyed. The second one, about ten miles south of Alpine, and about two thousand feet lower, is at the confluence of Turkey Creek and The Campbell Blue. There are probably half a dozen Turkey Creek's in Arizona. This one is a perennial stream that can be jumped across at any point, or waded without getting you socks wet. The Campbell Blue is a nice stream with trout. Again, the fire swept through, but left the large trees only scorched at the bottom and green at the top. The damage here was from flash floods created when the more severely burned canyon slopes could not hold the falling rains and the spring snow melt. The narrow portions of Turkey Creek showed evidence of very deep water. The camp area was coated with obviously fresh sand that had washed down the canyon. But, again, as long as it doesn't rain while you are there, it is still a nice place to camp.
Last week, just a couple of days before we headed back to Eagar for recharge and restocking, a couple of other campers (trailers) moved into our area. The area is probably five acres of scattered trees with lots of open grass. Fifteen or twenty good parking spots are available. These people were very friendly. They were from Eagar and Springerville. They told us that by the weekend there would be between 50-100 people joining them. And we were welcome to stay. They didn't want to run us off. But, they have been holding a family reunion at this spot for the last 38 years! And really, we were welcome to stay.
Thank you, but NO!!!
We agreed that it is the perfect spot for a large group like that, with lots of kids. There is plenty of open area for games, and lots of forest to explore, the spring and creek to play in. But, we do not go to the forest to have that kind of noise and activity.
So, on Thursday, when we returned to the forest, properly recharged, restocked, and looking for some peace and quiet, we selected a different place. It is only two miles from the spring, but the nearest neighbors are 1/4 mile away, and it is just two people. Two quiet people.
Today, we went for a long drive. We have been camping in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest since our kids were little. Last year while we were in Skagway, we heard of the Wallow Fire burning through the forest, and how big it was, and where. We were very concerned about our camping area. We took a drive through in October, and we were pleased at how much had NOT burned. Today, we specifically visited two of our former campsites. One, on the San Francisco River (it is barely a creek at this point) within a stone's throw of New Mexico, showed that the fire had raced through, burning along the ground, but leaving the top half of most of the trees green. It would still be a nice spot to camp. It isn't destroyed. The second one, about ten miles south of Alpine, and about two thousand feet lower, is at the confluence of Turkey Creek and The Campbell Blue. There are probably half a dozen Turkey Creek's in Arizona. This one is a perennial stream that can be jumped across at any point, or waded without getting you socks wet. The Campbell Blue is a nice stream with trout. Again, the fire swept through, but left the large trees only scorched at the bottom and green at the top. The damage here was from flash floods created when the more severely burned canyon slopes could not hold the falling rains and the spring snow melt. The narrow portions of Turkey Creek showed evidence of very deep water. The camp area was coated with obviously fresh sand that had washed down the canyon. But, again, as long as it doesn't rain while you are there, it is still a nice place to camp.
July 31, 2012
We are at the end of our third week up here in the White Mountains. Most of our adventures have been weather related.
At the end of our first week, we retreated to Bear Paw RV Resort in Eagar. It is necessary to recharge batteries, drain holding tanks, refill fresh water, do laundry and restock groceries about every week or so.
When we returned to our beautiful, isolated campsite near the spring and creek that feed Carnero Lake, the shady spots held piles of hail reminiscent of springtime in snow country. (Carnero is Sp. for sheep or mutton)
When we pulled into our camping area, both the site we left and the new one I had selected to get better runoff from our awning, were under six inches of water. Apparently, the previous day's rain storm had been far wetter than any of the previous ones. When we went a little ( 75 yards) farther to another spot, it was obvious that our first place was the low point of the immediate neighborhood. While parked in our new location over the next two weeks, the "pond" reformed several more times. We were amazed at how quickly the porous volcanic soil absorbed the water. It never lasted overnight.
Today, at about 10:30 a. m. it started, slowly at first. Then, lightning began. It was so close, we went inside, hoping that it really is safer in a vehicle of some kind. Several times the thunder sounded simultaneously with the flash. That's close! Through the door I saw one bolt strike the "pond" just 70 yards away. Strangely, it did not strike any of the dozens of trees within that same zone. Most of the hail from that storm was pea sized, but there was a significant amount of grape sized.
Following this storm, we had ground fog for quite a while. Fog is eerie in a half-dark forest!
At the end of our first week, we retreated to Bear Paw RV Resort in Eagar. It is necessary to recharge batteries, drain holding tanks, refill fresh water, do laundry and restock groceries about every week or so.
When we returned to our beautiful, isolated campsite near the spring and creek that feed Carnero Lake, the shady spots held piles of hail reminiscent of springtime in snow country. (Carnero is Sp. for sheep or mutton)
When we pulled into our camping area, both the site we left and the new one I had selected to get better runoff from our awning, were under six inches of water. Apparently, the previous day's rain storm had been far wetter than any of the previous ones. When we went a little ( 75 yards) farther to another spot, it was obvious that our first place was the low point of the immediate neighborhood. While parked in our new location over the next two weeks, the "pond" reformed several more times. We were amazed at how quickly the porous volcanic soil absorbed the water. It never lasted overnight.
Today, at about 10:30 a. m. it started, slowly at first. Then, lightning began. It was so close, we went inside, hoping that it really is safer in a vehicle of some kind. Several times the thunder sounded simultaneously with the flash. That's close! Through the door I saw one bolt strike the "pond" just 70 yards away. Strangely, it did not strike any of the dozens of trees within that same zone. Most of the hail from that storm was pea sized, but there was a significant amount of grape sized.
Following this storm, we had ground fog for quite a while. Fog is eerie in a half-dark forest!
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