http-equiv='refresh'/> Tin TeePee/Log Cabin: April 2008

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Snow in April

After two beautiful days of 70 degrees and sunshine, we woke this morning to snow--just a dusting, but snow all the same. A bitter wind blew all day making us wonder what happened to spring--welcome to Montana!
We spent today unpacking and putting away stuff and Michael cleared a garden spot for me and dug a hole for compost. We put our phone on vacation while we are away and I had to re-setup the voice mail.
And, best of all, I ordered a new computer today. Ours is almost 4 years old, slow as molasses and starting to have some problems. I ordered another Dell and can't wait for it to get here.
We both gained some weight over the winter, I think all we did was worry about Jazz and eat, so we are trying really hard to lose it. We take a 2-3 mile walk every morning on the major hills around our place, it is really a workout!
I also spent a large portion of the day guarding the birdfeeder, chasing away the squirrel and the red wing blackbirds.
We are so thankful for this Montana home.
Jazz wanting to come in out of the snow
That pesky squirrel
Pesky red wing blackbird


Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Out of the Tin TeePee into the Log Home

It is so good to be home. While we love to be out in the RV, we also love to come home and I guess that says we are not ready to fulltime although by the time I get that RV unloaded, I think I will be wishing I was fulltime!
We made it home Monday afternoon after stopping in Bozeman, MT and buying out Costco to restock the cupboards. We also stopped in town and visited with Nat, Michael's 85 year old father. Jazz was so glad to see him and he her--he has been very worried about his "little black friend," as he calls her.
Everything in the house works, no water leaks or other disasters. Our little creek is running, the horses look great and the weather is wonderful for today--70 degrees and sunny. It is spring in Montana and as you can tell from the photos, it is a little bleak still. We have the beginnings of green grass and buds on the trees but we won't really be warm until the end of May.
A squirrel has taken up residence with us, hanging out on my bird feeder literally! The bird feeder hangs out over the creek on a wire to keep it away from the bears in the summer but the squirrel is smarter; he climbs a little tree next to the feeder and helps himself to lunch! Today, we had our first Cassin's Finch--we saw lots of them in AZ and we usually have a flock that hangs out here in the summer time. Our resident Downy Woodpecker visited today, too. We also are expecting our little Lazuli Buntings, they arrive every year between May 1 and May 15.
We made many, many trips from the RV to the house today and both of us are exhausted. Michael also went over to the ranch his son manages and helped him with a water pump problem so it will be early to bed for both of us tonight!
Our Log Home, notice there are no leaves on the trees, yet
Cassin's Finch
This is what spring looks like in Montana, notice the snow covered mountains and the lingering snow drift!
Downy Woodpecker



Sunday, April 27, 2008

Traveling North and Boondocking

Yesterday, Saturday, we packed up and pulled out of Parhump stopping at Terrible's for breakfast and to cash in my $1.75 gambling ticket I won there on Friday (I'm a big spender gambler). We started out to make it to Wells, NV and decided on the way to try boondocking on BLM land. We found the perfect spot about 6pm, drove about 1/2 mile off the highway and parked in a grove of cedar trees with awesome views of all the mountain ranges around us covered in that nasty white stuff. After a long day in the truck, we were ready to take a walk and set out up the road toward the mountains. Jazz was in heaven, off the leash and running everywhere, smelling and doing her thing. After our walk we came back, had a great spaghetti dinner and toasted our boondocking experience with a glass of wine.
We have always talked about boondocking and had made tentative plans to do a lot of it next year while down south in warm country. We enjoyed the scenery and quiet so much last night, I am sure we will try it again.
It was a very cold 24 degrees this morning when we woke, took the furnace a long time to heat us up. We took another long walk, had breakfast and started up the road again. We were trying to make Dillon, Montana tonight. We stayed off the freeways and on back roads, much more relaxing. In Arco, ID, we saw a hillside covered in white painted rocks with the date of graduating classes. We picked out 1927 as the oldest date we could see--they have been doing that a long time, there were lots of dates up there. We took lots of rest breaks and arrived in Dillon about 5:30pm, ordered pizza delivered and relaxed with a glass of wine. There are two other miniature Schnauzers here in this RV park who used to be black and are now mostly silver. They and their owner had been in Helena, MT competing in agility trials.
We will make it home to McLeod tomorrow, we are both ready to see home but not all this white stuff!
Jazz exercising Dad on one of our rest breaks

The view from our windows while boondocking outside Wells, NV
Graduating class numbers on the side of the hill in Arco, ID

Friday, April 25, 2008

A Drive and RV Shopping

We slept so well last night. In Montana, we live 22 miles from anything; no gas station, no grocery store, nothing. We can't see nor hear neighbors. It is absolute silence at night except for the coyotes and other animals. We try to seek out quiet RV parks and absolutely hate to stay in one near a freeway or railroad track unless we are just traveling. This park, Charleston Peak RV Resort has been very quiet at night, it borders BLM land on one side and a neighborhood on the other.
After our walks and a couple loads of laundry, we headed out for a drive stopping first at Terrible's Town Casino for their Friday seafood buffet and it was actually very good. After lunch we made a stop at another RV park we wanted to check out, Seibt Desert Retreat KOA. Oh, my!! What a swanky place. It is entirely asphalt and concrete with big sites, lush plantings of greenery and flowers including rose bushes, and even a dog bathing station! At the dog bathing area, they had a fire hydrant set into recessed concrete with a flush like a toilet after you convince your dog to potty on the fire hydrant! The grounds were amazing, the pool was gorgeous. It was probably the fanciest resort we have ever seen. They have lots for sale too, starting at $83,000.
Then we took a loop drive around the Pahrump area out through some very desolate desert, getting back to Pahrump in time to go to the KZ RV dealership. We have always wanted to look at KZ Escalade and Montego Bay toy haulers. They had a 37 foot Montego Bay with cherry cabinets that I have put on my wish list.
We are heading farther north tomorrow having seen as much of Pahrump as we want.
Life is good.
The view out our back window--I think that is Charleston Peak with the snow on it

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Pahrump, Nevada

Blooming Cactus


At least Desert Palms RV Resort was quiet, we both slept like babies. It is a beautiful place with lots of BLM land around for hiking but their pet policy put a damper on our enthusiasm for the place. When I checked out, I discussed the pet policy with the person at the front desk and explained that making pet owners feel like lepers was not going to encourage repeat business. As usual, I got the , "well some pet owners spoil it for everyone," statement and while I know this is frequently true, don't penalize those of us who do follow the rules with our furry children, penalize the culprits by not allowing them to stay in your park. OK, I'll get off my soapbox!
We pulled out of Salome, AZ about 9:30am and headed for Pahrump, NV. We have always wanted to visit here and decided to make it one of our stops on our way home to Montana.
Charleston Peak RV Resort and Winery is a beautiful spot; a Western Horizon resort but with our new CampClubUSA membership, we can stay for 2 nights at half price. Our site backs up to the desert with a beautiful view of the mountains which have snow on them! There are great places in the desert to walk the Jazz dog, too. Tonight we went to the ever present Nevada casino and tried out the Mexican buffet. It was not too bad. There is also a RV resort at Terrible's Casino that has a beautiful setting on a small lake with sites that back up to the lake. We may try there after our 2 nights are up here at the Winery if we decide to stay and explore the area some more.
We drove through beautiful desert today, lots of Joshua Trees and blooming cactus--another wonderful day.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Heading North

We spent many hours researching traveling in Mexico, reading forums, blogs and books. We discussed at length whether or not we could endure the noisy culture of the Mexican people and whether or not I had the patience for the slow pace of Mexico. In December, we left Montana with high hopes of finding a warm, sunny place in Mexico to spend the winter. Alamos, Sonora, Mexico was our first stop and turned out to be our last stop on that trip. Jazz, our 7 year old miniature Schnauzer became very ill in Mexico but even without that major problem, I don't think we would have lasted the entire 4 months in Mexico. The weather was perfect, the town of Alamos quaint and, the American population there was welcoming. But, we could not get past the incredible noise from loud music, roosters crowing night and day and traffic without the controls we have in the US. I could not get past the multitudes of starving dogs, the dirtiness and the poverty. We came back into the States with Jazz in early January and got her on the road to recovery again and returned to Alamos, this time renting a house. While the house made us more comfortable, the same noise, poverty, starving dogs and dirtiness was still present. I don't think we are cut out for Mexican travel and it is a disappointment for both of us.

While the granddaughter Laci and her friend Brittany were visiting, we rented a house in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. The neighborhood where the house was located was a largely American establishment with large beachfront homes and was cleaner, quieter and there were no starving dogs to speak of, only a huge population of feral cats. But, it was still Mexico in our eyes--in the downtown area of Puerto Penasco there was the filth, starving animals, loud music and guys trying to sell my granddaughter pot!! I guess we are still on a quest to find that warm, sunny and now quiet place to spend winters.

I took the girls to the airport at the ungodly hour of 5am this morning, returned to the RV and began packing up. We pulled out of Beaudry's about 9:30 and headed to Salome, AZ, an area we had read about with multiple RV parks. Well, we hit the jackpot when we discovered Desert Palms RV and Golf Resort. The park is a palm tree oasis with large sites, a few park models and a golf course. Its only drawback is its very restrictive pet policy; more than one half the park is totally off limits to pets. The park is very empty this time of year but the people we did meet were very friendly and welcoming. It could make a very nice place to spend some time in the winter. Salome is a small town with not much in the way of stores. Wickenburg, AZ is about 50 miles away and the outskirt of Phoenix is about 100 miles east of Salome.

I could not believe how beautiful this cactus was here in the RV park at Salome
The Puerto Penasco feral cats were very brave and came right up to the screen, Jazz would just go crazy! Here she is waiting for the next one to appear.
Seagull on the beach in Puerto Penasco
We are starting home to Montana, today was the first leg of the journey, hopefully I can keep Michael on a slow and easy trip north, reminding him that we are retired and in no hurry to shovel snow!

Monday, April 21, 2008

A Day on the Beach

We awoke to a beautiful morning in Puerto Penasco. Everyone was on their own for breakfast and early morning activities. After enjoying our coffee, Mike, Jazz and I headed to the beach for a long walk. Jazz ran and ran, found something extremely stinky to roll in and just acted like her Schnauzer self before her illness.
The girls elected to go shopping this morning so we dropped them off downtown at the old port and Mike & I took a little driving tour of some of the neighborhoods deciding that the one where our rental house is located is the best. We picked the girls up and came back out to the house for lunch. After lunch, the girls headed to the beach for some intensive sunbathing--you know they must have some color of some sort before going back to Montana. I think my lecture on sunscreen went out one ear and in the other as we say in Arkansas. Mike played on the computer and I took a wonderful nap--I could get used to this beach living!!
After Laci & Brittany came back, we headed out for more shopping, this time on Rodeo Drive, Puerto Penasco style.
Dinner and another long walk on the beach finished out our day. Laci and Brittany definitely have some color as in red as lobsters in places. We tried to fly our kite on the beach this evening but there was not enough wind. Tomorrow we pack up and head back across the border--much too short beach time!

A Dolphin, we think

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Puerto Penasco, Mexico

On Saturday morning, we got up early and tried to get out of Tombstone before the wind started blowing hard. We pulled out about 9am and reached Tucson and Beaudry RV Resort about 10am. Our granddaughter Laci and her friend Brittany arrived at the Tucson airport about 4pm. We were to have traveled on to Puerto Penasco, Mexico after they arrived but Delta and its usual "wonderful" customer service had other ideas. Delta lost the girl's luggage and could not confirm the arrival of the luggage on the next flight so we made the decision to stay in Tucson for the night and travel to Mexico early Sunday morning. The luggage arrived about 8pm, we had pizza delivered and turned in early so we could get an early start.
I rousted everybody out before 5am and we were on the road by 6am and in Puerto Penasco, Mexico before 10am. Our little house we rented is great with a beautiful view of the Sea of Cortez. We walked on the beach, did a little shopping, had dinner in a resturant with a "to die for view" and walked on the beach again. We could get used to this! Jazz ran and ran on the beach off the leash, it is such a joy to see her with so much energy.
Life couldn't get much better we don't think tonight!

Laci (our granddaughter on the left) and Brittany
Sunset in Puerto Penasco
Captain's Casa for Dinner
One happy dog on the beach


Friday, April 18, 2008

Busy Friday

After a shorter than usual walk this morning, we both headed off in different directions. Mike and Jim went for a motorcycle ride and Jim's wife Linda joined me here at our RV for another computer lesson. At one time, I caught her sending an e-mail to a mutual friend that said, "Janna must have been a drill sergeant, she is mean." Guess it is a good thing I chose nursing instead of teaching as a career!
After Linda departed complaining that her brain hurt, I began to pack for our journey on Saturday. My back has been cranky the last few days so it was slow going but I got a lot done.
Mike and Jim got back around 4pm. We loaded our motorcycle onto its carrier on the rear of the RV and then headed over to Linda and Jim's for dinner. Linda knows how to cook and feed you well, we left waddling from all we had eaten. We said our goodbyes as we will not see them again for a while
It is always sad to leave friends but know we will run into them again down the road.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Groceries and Poor Jazz

I was to have given a friend a computer using lesson today and her husband and Michael were going for a motorcycle ride. We got up this morning to very cool temperatures and the usual, constant wind so we decided to postpone all activities until Friday.
Because I had some free time, I went to Sierra Vista on a mission. I would love to have something new to wear but I think my credit card is safe if all clothes in stores look like the ones I saw today. I ended up buying 2 plain t-shirts at Target. The next stop after Target was the grocery store. I stocked up on loads of junk food because starting Saturday afternoon, we will have 2 hungry teenagers accompanying us. Michael was glad to see all the junk food, we have been trying to diet and lose some of the winter weight we both have gained, so the teenagers are giving us a short reprieve.
We will leave Tombstone, gratefully, on Saturday and hope that our next destination does not have this incessant wind. Diamond J RV Park in Tucson will store the rig for us and we pick the granddaughter and her friend Brittany up at the airport Saturday afternoon and head for the beach at Puerto Penasco for 3 days.
Poor Jazz, she absolutely has always hated a bath and today was no exception but we got it done and she looks and smells so much better--she is not convinced. She is improving so much, she is walking over 2 miles every day and eating like a horse.
Michael accomplished a chore he meant to do while we were in Mexico, he built a bracket under the front of the RV to hold the spare tire that used to ride on the back bumper until the motorcycle started riding back there. He was quiet proud of his job and I was glad he finally got it done! He has moved that tire in and out of the storage compartment many times this winter.
All in all, it was a great day.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Pinaleno Mountains

In Montana, we live 22 miles from anything (no grocery store, no gas station, etc.) and we like to be private and quiet. We have always meant to boondock as you are usually in more scenic, private and quiet places; it just seemed that hookups were always convenient. So, this year, we have been scoping out places to boondock. When we traveled over to Portal from the Chiricahua National Monument last week, we found great places to camp but that area may be a little too high in elevation for a January stay. Today we took a road trip to Safford and went up into the Pinaleno Mountains. One of the roads was much too steep and had too many tight switchbacks to haul the rig up. It was beautiful up there as the attached photos show. We even encountered snow--yes, snow in Arizona! The other road has some great boondocking spots if you can get over the fact that just down the road is a federal prison!
The wind blew so hard today, the mountains and valleys were hazy with dust, even obscuring the mountains at times. But we all had a great time, even Jazz.

Slithery critter
Snow in Arizona!
Us in the Pinaleno Mountains
Arizona creek, a rare site
View from the top, see how dusty the valley looks?


Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Arizona Critters

We saw critters today on our hike, some in the distance and some way too close. We usually pack the camera along but today of all days, we left it behind. Just as we started out, we saw a coyote slinking through the mesquite. As we walked along the abandoned railroad bed near the river, we got way too close to a rattlesnake stretched out across the trail. He ignored us, thankfully and never coiled. Mike and I had to calm our hearts and catch our breath before we could continue our hike--YIKES!
It was another very hot and WINDY day in Arizona, we are looking forward to our trip north, soon.
Linda and Jim came over for dinner and we enjoyed our visit as usual. Linda made an awesome chocolate cake and brought ice cream which she dished up in Linda sized portions.
We received disturbing news today, a friend from last year at Lake Medina is facing serious surgery tomorrow and a young friend with whom we used to shoot has died.
Let us live life to the fullest and be grateful for our blessings.

Arizona Flower
Cactus can grow anywhere, even out of rocks


Monday, April 14, 2008

Madera Canyon

Our adventure of the day was to take a very secondary road to Madera Canyon located west of Soniota. The map showed the road as a dotted line and it proved to be worse than a dotted line, narrow, dusty and teeth rattling. After about 8 of the 17 miles we were wondering what possessed us to want to take this road. The reward at the end was Madera Canyon, a very narrow, scenic canyon and birdwatching mecca. We enjoyed our picnic lunch and were visited by this little guy.

An Acorn WoodPecker
We traveled home on a paved road, we couldn't face the teeth rattling road again. It was 92 degrees when we arrived back at the RV, so we turned on the air conditioner, popped some popcorn and relaxed.
That teeth rattling road

Tonight we talked to Mike's son and daughter-in-law. Their daughter, our granddaughter and a friend of hers are flying into Tucson Saturday afternoon and we are heading to Puerto Penasco, Mexico. We were getting all the instructions such as, "take their cell phones when you cross the border." Cell service in Mexico is beyond expensive and their parents don't want a nasty surprise when the girls get back. We are really looking forward to this trip.

Madera Canyon Mountains

After dinner, we sat outside where it was cooler and I practiced the flute--it is the most relaxing thing to do and Michael relaxes just listening to me. Life is great!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Sunday, Peaceful Sunday

We started out on our walk this morning to beautiful, clear blue skies and absolutely no wind. Fifteen minutes later, gale force wind which continued until dusk. Mike has been saying we might as well be back in Big Timber, MT where our home is located--the wind blows there all the time. But at least it isn't snowing.
We spent a lot of time today researching weather on the internet in "warm" locations such as Florida, California, and Arizona. Yuma, AZ has the warmest temperatures and the most sunshine but there are more scenic places in the US for sure!
I practiced the flute for a while and learned that you cannot play a flute outside in a wind storm; the wind takes the notes away.
I finished machine quilting "stippling" the pieces to a handbag I am creating. When you are "stippling" you are controlling the speed and length of the stitches and it is very hard to get it just right. This is the first piece I have been brave enough to try stippling. It turned out well if I do say so myself!
Jazz spent the day outside on a lounge chair,
talking to all the dogs that dared to wander by
her RV site. It is such a joy to us that she is so
much better.
The photo at the right is of the Fort Huachuca Army Base surveillance blimp. It is
also our wind indicator; when we see the blimp
up, it usually indicates that the wind is not
going to blow as hard.
I have had a Canon Powershot S2IS camera for 3 or so years and we are talking of getting a digital with interchangable lenses. The Canon takes very nice photos but it would be great to get some even better closeups with a stronger telephoto lense. Some of our new friends we met this year have awesome cameras with mega lenses for bird watching photographs.

Today was a beautiful, restful Sunday, the way Sunday's are supposed to be.
Arizona Sunset

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Lazy Day

Is it our imagination or what--does the wind always blow in Tombstone? It would be a good place to be using a wind generator!!! As I write this, I can see the flag flying over the clubhouse and for the first time in over 5 days, it is hanging, not standing straight out informing us of the wind direction.
Jazz and Janna took a walk around the perimeter of the park early then we walked out into the desert without Jazz; she just doesn't have the strength yet to accompany us on a long hike and we have been getting in 5-7 miles a day.
We took a motorcycle ride to the new Cowboy Action Shooting range near Tombstone to visit friends with whom we used to shoot. There were very few people there we knew, faces have changed.
After leaving the range, we went into Benson to pick up a few groceries and had a very sad experience--the Dairy Queen has closed! We both had our hearts set on Blizzards; guess someone was watching out for our waistlines.
Janna wore a red shirt today and the hummingbirds think she is food. The birds keep buzzing her. While sitting outside this afternoon, she tried to get a photo of one sitting in the tree but no cooperation from the hummingbird.

Friday, April 11, 2008



Michael doing one of his favorite things!

Mike took a motorcycle ride with our friend Jim today, they went out to Patagonia Lake State Park. Jim's wife Linda and I went to the library in Tombstone so I could teach her how to get online in a public place. Linda and I enjoyed a great lunch in Tombstone, too.

Jazz is much better. She got up this morning wanting to play and eat. She accompanied us on our mile and a half walk with lots of rest breaks but it sure beats what she was 2 weeks ago when we were carrying her out of the rig to do potty breaks.

More practice on the flute today, let's just say I am not ready for a recital as of yet! Now, the machine quilting is improving.

The wind was a little less today but it was still cooler than we like this time of year. But, we shouldn't complain, in about 2 weeks, we will be back in snow country.

A great day!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

A Breezy Day

The wind has blown gale force for the last three days. It starts up about 9am and doesn't stop blowing until after dark. I worry that little Jazz may take off like a kite! Hopefully tomorrow it will let up.
Mike visited by phone for a long time with his son and daughter-in-law. They live near us in Montana and are calving and have lots of snow and mud.
We took a long walk again out into the desert on our favorite trail down to the oasis we discovered. Mike is still gathering glittery rocks, if we weren't overweight when we came out here, we sure will be on the way home!
After lunch we drove over to a RV dealership in Huachuca City hoping to look at toy hauler fifth wheels. We can't make up our minds whether or not to keep our 8 year old rig or to upgrade. Maybe when we find the perfect rig, that will make the decision for us-HA! This dealership had ONE 5th wheel toy hauler, it had no slides and was used, so I guess we are keeping the old Alumascape for now!
Janna practiced the flute a lot today and has gotten it to sound like a flute most of the time. I also practiced my machine quilting techniques--when I watch experienced quilters do stippling it looks so easy, not!
Our RV park is starting to look a little lonely, all the winter visitors are starting to pull out and head north.
A great, relaxed day!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

High Spirit Flutes and Wind

Yesterday and today have been very windy, rocking the RV. It is also cooler than it has been in days and today was cloudy, something you don't see very often this time of year in AZ. We were just lazy yesterday, laundry, computer work and in the evening we had pizza with our neighbors from Colorado, Troy and Sandy, who will be heading back to snow country Thursday morning.

Today, we took a long walk in the desert first thing, had an early lunch then took a drive over to Patagonia, AZ. On Saturday while I was sitting outside, I began to hear this beautiful flute music, so peaceful and pleasant. Mike was in the RV and heard it too. We asked Troy and Sandy if they heard it, and yes, Sandy was the musician! She showed us her flute and told us she purchased it in Patagonia from High Spirits Flutes. They make Native American style flutes from a variety of woods such as cedar and walnut with different ornamentation and in different keys. Sandy does not read music but was making beautiful sounds! The location of High Spirits Flutes gives pause when you are driving up to it--dirt road, mobile home, shipping containers but their staff and flutes are awesome. The young man who helped us was knowledgeable and assisted us in choosing a flute in the key of "A". It came with an instructional DVD and song book. Now, we will see if Janna can make music with it!

The area around Patagonia is beautiful; mountains, live oak trees and some evergreens. The town has a population of 818 and has a busy little downtown area. We came back through Sierra Vista and purchased a few groceries.
A Little Practice!
Jazzy was cold this morning!
The Jazzy girl is improving greatly each day. She even got a toy from her stash and wanted Sandy to play with her today--what a beautiful day!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Chiricahua Mountains

We took an awesome drive today from our RV park to Portal, AZ via a road just to the east of the entrance to the Chiricahua National Monument. It was 23 miles of gravel/rock/dirt/narrow road, but oh my, was it scenic. At the summit of 7600 feet, the temperature was very cool as compared to the temperature at our RV park when we started out. There are live oak, cedar and some type of spruce trees. Many of the creeks have running water. As we were driving along slowly with the windows open, we heard a strange noise--it was a flock of wild turkeys! Jazz got to "go fishing" in one of the little creeks. There is boondocking type camping and developed campgrounds on the Portal, AZ side.
Jazz is better! She walked with me this morning farther than she has walked in many days. She is eating better and seems to have more energy and interest in what is going on around her.
The Chiricahua Mountains

Wild Turkeys

Mike, Janna and Jazz in the Chiricahua's




Photos from our hike on Sunday.

Arizona Oasis



Arizona deer


Sunday, April 6, 2008

There's gold or silver or something in those hills

We took our long walk again today and we have noticed that some of the rocks along the edges of the road are shiny and glittery. Mike decided to pack some of the rocks back to the RV today and as I had to carry the backpack at times, I weighed it when we got back--20 pounds of rocks!! No wonder my back hurts!
We walked far enough again today to reach the oasis. We climbed down to the river bed to take some photos. Such a pleasant place!
We saw two small whitetail deer and several jackrabbits. This desert is so different than the desert around Tucson, much drier and brown here. There are not as many cactus, only these terrible bushes covered in evil thorns.
Our friends that fulltime, Linda and Jim, invited us over for late lunch/early dinner today. Linda is a great cook and we enjoyed ourselves tremendously as usual when we spend time with them.
Blogger is not working well tonight, we will post photos later.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Chores

Isn't it amazing that even when you live in a tin teepee, you have to clean. A little laundry, vacuum, clean, change sheets, etc.
We took a long walk this morning, there is a great path on the other side of the road from this campground. There is a concrete tunnel under the road and then a path leads to an abandoned railroad bed that follows the Babocomari River. At times as you are walking you can see and hear water in the river. We walked far enough today that we came to what used to be the bridge over this river; it is now gone and you cannot walk any farther without climbing down into the river bed. At the old bridge, there is a small Arizona oasis--pools, small waterfalls, rocks and water. It was such a pleasant surprise. So nice and green.
There is a good size palo verde tree at our campsite and we had two hummingbirds arguing with each other in the tree today.
We enjoyed an extended happy hour this afternoon with our neighbors, they are from Colorado.
Life is good.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Off to Tucson

Janna, Mike & Jazz in Montana in
November before we headed south.











Thought we would post a photo to get started with this blogging business. More photos to come!

We took a walk in the desert this morning, shorter than we normally do because we were headed to Tucson. We did see a bright red cardinal and lots of those scurrying lizards.

Our little dog, Jazz has been very ill this winter and we still do not have a firm diagnosis. About a week ago, the veterinarian thought she could have a "protozoal infection." We are probably grasping at straws but it does make sense. In layman's terms, it means she could have a disease from eating birds and mice, yes she is a dog, not a cat, but when she hears a bird hit the window at home and she is outside, her first thought is "oh yea, a playmate." Of course the poor bird doesn't survive the play! The vet started her on a heavy dose of antibiotics and continued her steriods. She improved significantly over the week following the start of the antibiotics.

Thus, our reason for going to Tucson today was to get more medication for Jazz. We made the Costco run of course and had late lunch/early dinner. And because we had to go to Tucson, Janna took that opportunity to get a haircut at her favorite place.


Tin TeePee time is almost over

Why do we want a blog?? Is the answer: "cause everybody else has one?" or "we think we have something to say?" No, probably we are doing it because we thought it would be something fun and entertaining to do while retired. After a few weeks of blogging, we will let you know if our reason has changed!
The reason behind the blog name--several years ago, Janna and Jazz (the miniature Schnauzer) convinced Mike to purchase a recreational vehicle (Jazz refers to it as her private dog house), much against his better judgment and we have never looked back. We started traveling south to Arizona in 2003 in a small, no slide fifth wheel. The next year, we graduated to a longer fifth wheel with one slide and the following year, we really moved uptown to a Holiday Rambler Alumascape 34 foot fifth wheel with three slides. Mike has always referred to RV's as tin teepees: "I wouldn't have one of those tin teepees." When his daughter-in-law, LoraLee found out he had purchased a tin teepee, she found it hard to let him forget his earlier remarks. When we are not enjoying the warm weather in Arizona, we spend the rest of our time in a log home in a beautiful mountainous region of Montana.
Every fall, we can't wait to get moving in our RV out of Montana winter. About this time of year, we can't wait to get moving back toward Montana and that log home in spite of the fact it is still cold and snowing there. So, our tin teepee time is almost over for now.

Yesterday, we toured the Kartchner Caverns near Benson, AZ. Oh, my!! We took jackets as we rode the motorcycle over and expected to need those jackets in the cave--not! Neither of us had ever been in a cave that was warm and humid, very humid. The cave was discovered in 1974 by two cavers. These two cavers kept the cave's discovery secret for 14 years, fearing vandals would destroy it. The cave has been preserved meticulously to allow it to go on being a "live" cave. The sights were breathtaking, huge stalagmites, stalactites, columns and soda straws. Great care has been taken to allow visitors to see this wonder and to also preserve it.

Isn't life great??