Demolition and Restoration

While I was in California, Michael removed all the inside sheetrock, yesterday he started on the outside—removing the stucco, porch roof, etc.  We won’t have a door on this end of the house so there will be no need for that ugly little porch.

WOW—that’s quite the opening—Larry and Geri came over this afternoon to lend a hand (thank you so much guys!)—that huge window is very heavy!  It is actually four individual windows that raise and lower independently—Michael had removed all the windows but the frame still weighed a bunch and it was good to have some more man muscles!! 

Quite the difference!  We love the view we now have and the windows are low enough Ms. Emmi can see out. 

While Michael was demolishing a wall, I washed one side of the motorhome—the side in the shade!  I then washed all the inside windows and mirrors—we are squeaky clean! 

It’s very quiet here at North Ranch—many of the residents haven’t returned yet—our temps have been very pleasant, we can only hope fall has arrived in Arizona and the triple digit temps are gone.

It’s Good To Be Back At North Ranch

Last spring we purchased this lot and house right before heading back to Montana for the summer.  We were quite pleased with our purchase but looked forward to getting back this fall to start the remodel.  The house is oddly built with some real quirks—we are removing some of those quirks and working around others.  For some strange reason, the house has very small windows set high into the walls—if you are sitting in a chair, you can’t see out and we have a lovely view. 

So, the cowboy was a one man demolition crew while I was in California—we are removing a whole wall of those tiny windows and replacing it with a bank of huge windows so we can see out over the desert to the mountains. 

Ms. Emmi was very glad to see me when I rolled in this morning—getting home from the airport was a whole lot easier than getting to the airport on Monday—holy smokes, Phoenix has some nasty traffic!!!  I managed to find the jeep in the parking garage without any problems and the trip back to North Ranch was without incident!

Rollie and Gina along with Larry and Geri took a trip out into the desert today—with all the rain we’ve had (over two inches probably) their rigs were a touch muddy as were the people! 

Nothing much going on here today—we made a dump run and went to the post office to make sure our mailbox was still active.  Larry and Geri joined us for a quick happy hour and now we are relaxing—I feel my bed calling me—I had some late hours in California!

This is the dry wash behind Jim and Ellie’s home—it was a raging torrent on Monday after the monsoon roared through.

I Guess We Were Lonesome

After all the riding we did in Moab area with the gang you would have thought we would be tired!  After taking the day (Wednesday last week) off for a jeep drive, we left Moab at O dark thirty on Thursday morning heading to Blanding to meet up with the gang once again. 

Our tanks needing dumping and in the dark we found a RV dump in Moab—it’s a dang good thing my husband has excellent trailer backing skills and that I’m an excellent director with a flashlight!!!  That spot was just a little tight!!! 

We found a beautiful and quiet boondocking spot on the road leading to the ATV trails just north of Blanding at Devils Canyon in the Abajo Mountains.  Shortly after we had unloaded the jeep and CanAm the gang were all present and off we went.

Absolutely some of the most beautiful country with trails/roads for miles and miles and miles.  Once again the fall colors were outstanding!

That hat has to go!!

At times we were at an elevation of almost 10,000 feet and it was much cooler.  The cowboy and I slept the “sleep of the dead” after all the noise of our previous nights’ boondocking spot. 

On Friday we headed to North Ranch arriving in a rainstorm—somehow we managed to sneak in to North Ranch being seen by no one.  Not wanting to go out for dinner, we decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary with a pizza from the Congress Depot—perfect! 

Saturday we scooted over to Wickenburg for a garage sale and stopped by the Habitat for Humanity Restore scoring a used dryer.  Our house came with a washer but no dryer—the laundry room is tiny in this house and eventually we will purchase a stackable washer/dryer unit to save space—so for the time being, this dryer is working well!  The rest of the day we unpacked, and unpacked. 

Michael and the rest of the gang at North Ranch have been deluged with monsoon storms—the streets and washes were running with water after the storm yesterday morning and it’s raining again today.  Should make for a beautiful blooming desert this coming spring! 

La Sal Mountain Trip

Wednesday morning the ATV gang (without us) left the Moab area and headed to the Monticello/Blanding area for more riding.  Michael and I decided to remain in Moab for one more night so we could take a trip around the La Sal Mountain—good decision!!

We didn’t expect a paved road—bonus!!  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen oak trees with fall color—oaks don’t grow in Montana. 

Views for miles and miles from atop the mountain—and it was brisk—while sitting on rocks in the sun eating our picnic lunch I was wishing I had brought a jacket!

We’ve been boondocked in a BLM parking lot off Mill Canyon Road north of Moab—not our usual kind of spot but OK for a few days.  We had neighbors come and go during our stay but when we came back from our mountain jeep ride the place was packed—a group of people in various types of RVs had circled the wagons in the middle of the gravel lot.  There were RVs parked on the perimeter and RVs kept coming all the way until midnight!!  The midnight folks were those kind of people who don’t realize how far their voices carry or how bright their lights are.  So, we didn’t feel too bad when we started the big diesel motor at 6am the next morning for our departure!! Sounding the air horn crossed our minds but we decided the whole group didn’t need punishing!

More adventures to come—we are now at North Ranch, arrived Friday afternoon.  I am flying to California Monday morning leaving the cowboy a long list of honey do’s! 

Our Twenty-First

Today the cowboy and I celebrate our twenty-first wedding anniversary.  We met later in life after two failed marriages each—there was much doubt among friends and family regarding the longevity of this marriage—we’ve proved them wrong I would say!  We are very, very happy together, we spend almost 24/7 together and still life couldn’t be better.  Do we fight—rarely—do we fuss/snip—sometimes—still life couldn’t be better.  I give thanks every day for this man who found me—life is good!

Balcony and Picture Frame Arches

Tuesday we headed off to find some arches—another great ride—a little less challenging which was great!

First up was Balcony Arch—along the way we found some sand dunes--

Just around the corner from Balcony Arch was Picture Frame Arch—two of the guys, I won’t name names (Michael & Mark) decided they could climb up to the base of the arch—they didn’t get far before deciding that wasn’t a very smart idea!

See the upside down face??

A certain someone (Rollie) asked if the cowboy had a new hat—yes, unfortunately!  Back home in Montana I saw a used Stetson hat on the local Facebook online garage sale site for $5—that’s a bargain—until I saw the hat.  He was only going to wear the hat for ATVing and Michael said he could make it work—well, it’s not working—his wife dislikes it intensely but it’s been great entertainment for everyone!

We were almost back to the truck and trailer Tuesday afternoon when a fellow stepped out into the road and flagged us down--

This guy was from Australia—rented this strange van in California, drove to Utah and decided to go off roading in a vehicle with no 4WD.  Doyle and RE hooked their RZRs to the van and pulled him out—the guy was intensely grateful—that would have been an expensive tow job!

Last night we enjoyed a delicious meal with all the gang, high above Moab at the Sunset Grill.  More adventures to come! 

We’ve Been ATVing—Surprise!

Wow—have we ever been ATVing!  Friends of Larry and Geri who have homes in Casa Grande, AZ arrived on Sunday.  There are four couples all with side by side RZR ATVs—Henrietta & Elmer, Doyle and Karen, RE and Sue plus Mark and Barb.  They spent Saturday night in Grand Junction, CO and were privileged to see the  USAF Thunderbird show.  They arrived here at our boondocking spot about 10am and we were off!

We wandered in the Moab desert for several hours--Notice the white strip on the slick rock in front of our yellow CanAm—those are trail makers.

Some steep climbing!

Elmer needed to heed the call of nature, wandering off out into the desert—look what he found—dinosaur tracks!

Determination TowersIt looks as if that vapor trail originated from the towers.Today we woke at “O dark thirty” and we were off again, trailing the ATVs back up the River Road heading for three destinations, Pole Canyon Ridge, Top of the World and Dolores River Overlook. Again, the word of the day was, “WOW!!”

The Colorado River.

We are really enjoying our side by side CanAm—there were many places on the trails yesterday and today where I would not have felt comfortable or safe riding my 4-wheeler.  The CanAm just crawls up and over the rocks—not to say we didn’t rock and roll at times but we didn’t feel unsafe—I did close my eyes at times!  Today’s trails were probably the most rugged we’ve ridden.

Larry and Geri out there on that skinny outcropping.  The photos don’t do justice to the height—we were WAY up on Top of the World looking down on Fisher Towers.

WOW—what a fantastic two days with more to come!