Thursday, December 13, 2012 (Eagle View RV Resort, Fort McDowell, AZ)

Well, today was a work day...so much to do to get ready for our departure to Victoria tomorrow.  I had “saved” laundry for the past couple of weeks just so I would have A TON to do today.  Steve loaded it all into the truck and drove me over to the laundry room...there was just too much to carry.  So after four double loads and about two hours later, it was all done.

In the meantime, Steve had called the shuttle service and made arrangements for transportation to the airport in the morning.  It is going to be an early day tomorrow...the shuttle picks us up at 7:40 and that means that we have to be up early, finished packing and get the rig moved over to the storage area and leveled off for the fridge before then.  To top it all off, there is apparently a rain storm moving in tonight which means that the move in the morning is not going to be very pleasant...good thing Steve got his rain gear and boots ready.

While I was doing laundry, Steve also worked on emptying the greywater tanks and flushing the black water tank...then started packing things away so that we wouldn’t have too much to do in the morning.  That means no satellite TV for us tonight.

Once the laundry was all done, I put it all away, made up the bed and then it was time to start packing our suitcases.  By the time all the packing that could be done today was done, it was after 4:00...time to sit and relax...we both had had a very busy day.

By this time, dark clouds had moved in...still no rain yet, but the stage was set...just a matter time. They are calling for a possible thunderstorm and 0.8 inches of rain...that's just a heavy mist when your from the BC coast! Hopefully, it won’t be too bad in the morning when we have to move the rig.

Well, I’m going to sign off for now...we are heading back to Victoria to spend Christmas with our family and catch up with friends.  Steve and I wish all of our friends...old and new...a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

We’ll be back January 3, 2013...so stay tuned...

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 (Eagle View RV Resort, Fort McDowell, AZ)

We had our usual start to the day...and as the sun came up, there was a beautiful blue sky; although quite chilly.  It’s nice to finally be able to turn the fireplace on to warm the place up.  This is looking out from our side window...

Today we are going to go back to Superstition Springs Mall.  The new sunglasses Steve bought yesterday snapped at the nose bridge...sheesh...he wasn’t very happy about that!  So we are going to take them back and get them replaced...there is also a BatteriesPlus store near the mall and we want to go and see how much a replacement battery for our laptop will cost (since Best Buy doesn’t stock them).

We left just after 11:00...where do the mornings go??  Mind you, we did do our exercises this morning!  Our first stop was at BatteriesPlus...yes, they have a replacement battery in stock at a cost of $89.  Hmmm...that’s a little steep and I’m sure I had seen the same battery on Amazon for a lot less....we’ll think about it.  Back at the truck, I went on my iPad and sure enough Amazon had the battery I needed for $26....me thinks me will order it from there!

We stopped at the mall where Steve exchanged his sunglasses...interesting, another pair had the lens pop out when he was cleaning them...little worried about the quality but for $25, we figured they shouldn’t be too bad.  Steve figures he is going to have to treat these glasses with kidd-gloves!

On our way back too Fort McDowell, we drove through the beautiful town of Fountain Hills...we really love this area.  I took a few pictures as we drove through but unfortunately, we missed the fountain—it only goes off for fifteen minutes every hour (on the hour)...so our timing wasn’t good!

Suzanne...here's the home of the great Blue Cheese Burger you had last year...

It's a beautiful park with a walkway all the way around it...

We stopped to top off our propane tank...got to keep the fridge on while were gone  It was after 2:00 by the time we got home and after a quick bite to eat, we walked down to the office to see if we could get all of the paperwork done for putting our rig into storage on Friday.  Unfortunately, Sandy wasn’t working today and the fellow manning the office today said that we would have to come back tomorrow.  He did end up taking photocopies of our truck/trailer registration so that Sandy would have everything ready for us when we return tomorrow.

Once home, Steve relaxed outside taking in some sunrays while I updated the maps on Serena (GPS).  I was going to wait until we got home to Victoria but since we had free wifi here at the resort...why not use that!

We had our nice little happy hour outside taking in the last of the sun...and then headed inside as it got quite cool out.

Shortly after 7:00 we walked over to the office area and called for the shuttle to come and get us...we are going over to the casino for the evening.  Part of the welcome package upon arriving at the resort, are two certificates each for $10 to spend on the slots.   Would you believe that we played on the slots for over 2 hours and only used their money?  How about that!  Well, I used $1 of my own as I waited for Steve...as usual, I was out of $$ before Steve!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 (Travel to Eagle View RV Resort, Fort McDowell, AZ)

The alarm woke us up at 5:45 this morning...and I was in such a sound sleep...sheesh!  Just over a half hour later we were ready to go...it was still dark...and cold!  We joined the morning rush hour headed for RV Traders in Mesa to have a couple of things taken care of in the fifth-wheel...it was shortly after 7:30 when we arrived.

Brian, a service tech with RV Traders, met us and once all of the paperwork was done and the trailer unhitched, we headed to Denny’s near Superstition Springs Mall for breakfast.  It was just after 9:00 when we were finished breakfast and driving across to the mall to spend some time...”walking the mall”.

I picked up a few things at the Hi-Health Store, we both got new polarized sunglasses, and other than that, the only other thing we were both looking for were new shoes.  With no luck finding shoes, we looked up where the nearest Sketchers shoe store was and decided to drive there. 
It was a bit of a drive to Tempe Marketplace...a huge area of stores...from Best Buy, to Barnes & Noble, to Target, to all sorts of trendy shops and restaurants.  We both ended up with new shoes...yay!  A pretty cool outside mall...Steve relaxing on the couch in front of the fireplace.

After a stop at Best Buy to see if they had a battery for our laptop...they didn’t...imagine that ..they sell laptops but don't carry batteries for them. So we headed back to RV Traders.  It was going on 1:00 by this time.  Apparently they were just about to call us...all work had been completed.  We now have a brand new toilet...how exciting!  It's an upgrade from what we had before so we had to pay an extra $60.00...but what a difference with the pressure of the flush! They also replaced the element and blower assembly in the fireplace (that they replaced 10 months ago) as well as the anode in the hot water tank.  Luckily most of it was covered under our extended warranty...with the $100.00 deductable of course. We were amazed at the amount of calcium deposit they took out of the hot water tank. It looked like rock salt all over the ground...Steve regrets not taking a picture.

We arrived at Eagle View RV Resort at Fort McDowell at about 2:30.  This is the same place we stayed and left our rig at last year when we went to both Los Cabos in November and Victoria in December.  We are staying here 3 nights and managed to get our favorite site that we had “cased out” last year.  Site #122 is the best site in the park...a premium end site so we have no neighbours on the awning/door side.  In other words we have a big yard...very nice!

Monday, December 10, 2012 (Pleasant Harbor RV Resort, Lake Pleasant, Peoria, AZ)

Wind, wind, wind...wow, it was an incredibly windy night last night.  The trailer was just rocking and rolling...and shuddering with the high gusts.  Consequently we didn’t get a very good night’s sleep... awake at 4:30 and up at 5:00!

The high winds continued for most of the morning...Steve got some great pictures of the blowing dust...

It was just before noon when we rode our bikes over to the office to let them know that we were going to stay another night but instead of our site, we would like to dry-camp.  We have to leave by 6:30 tomorrow morning so decided to pack up today and dump our tanks at the sani-dump and then just park in the large dry-camping area...not far from where we were camped for the past week.

At the office, we explained what we were going to do and they said that we could stay in our site until 2:00 and after going to the sani-dump, we could park anywhere as long as it was 75 feet from the grassy areas...the cost was $6...sweet!

After our visit to the office, we went for a ride around the campground.  We came across a couple in one of the sites whose awning was completely ripped off their new trailer. They had been in Phoenix last night visiting friends and decided to stay the night after having a couple of drinks and had left their awning out...a big no, no here in Arizona because the wind is so unpredictable.  We stopped and gave them a hand as they tried to get it wound back up...they had a call into a mobile RV company to come and fix it.  When we walked by later on that night, it still wasn’t fixed...I would imagine the RV places were pretty busy after all the wind last night.

Back home, we took our time getting packed up and were ready to head over to the sani-dump at 2:00...along with a couple of other rigs who were ahead of us.  So that took longer than anticipated but then we really weren’t in any hurry since we weren’t travelling anywhere today.  After that was all finished with, we went back and parked in a level area not far from our old site.  Of course, I had to set up the inside since we still had the rest of the afternoon and evening.

After dinner and dishes, we headed out for a walk around the campground to see all of the Christmas lights.  By using his tripod, Steve captured some great pictures...this first picture is taken at the park entrance.  Unfortunately, all of the decorations weren't lit up, probably due to the wind last night...I think some maintenance was required...

 

On our way home, Steve took this picture of the marina...

We packed up the inside before going to bed so that there wouldn’t be much to do in the morning...all we would have to do is put the sliders in and go.

 

Sunday, December 9, 2012 (Pleasant Harbor RV Resort, Lake Pleasant, Peoria, AZ)

We were out of the trailer just before 10:00 this morning...we thought we would go for a hike up the mountain on this beautiful (but chilly) morning.  Just before we left, I downloaded some geocaches into Steve’s GPS.  There is one on our way, so we’ll see if we can find it.

Well, that proved to be pretty darned easy...

We were hoping there would be more geocaches on our way up the mountain (ok...big hill) but there weren’t.  We’ll have to go on the hunt for more in the area another time.  Up we go...

And then it was time to head back down...Steve says I look like I am trying to fly.  Too funny!  But I need to keep my balance somehow...should probably have taken my walking stick with me...

 

 

About an hour and a half later we were back home.  We’d had a good hike...it was pretty darn hot when in the sunshine but there was a definite chill in the air...the thermometer didn’t go above 72F/22C and the breeze cooled it off even more.  Yes, I know...poor thing...only 22C, but it has cooled off considerably from what we had been experiencing.  I guess the temps are becoming more seasonable for the time of year.

While researching campgrounds in this area, I found a Regional Park east of the I-17 (Lake Pleasant is west of I-17).  We decided to return to Pleasant Harbor because we knew the park and liked it.  But I still wanted to go check out Cave Creek Regional Park.  So after lunch we headed out for a little drive.

At the park entrance, Steve told them that we just wanted to check out the campground so we were given a half hour free pass.  Like the other Maricopa County Regional Parks (we have been to McDowell Mountain and Usery Mountain), there is not only a campground but day use areas with miles and miles of hiking trails (and biking/horse trails) as well as picnic areas.
This is the Visitors Center...

After driving through the campground, we determined that none of the sites would accommodate us...other than a few so-called pull through sites which are just sites on the side of the road.  So we wouldn’t stay there but we were really impressed with all of the hiking trails...perhaps another time, we would return for a hike.

A busy hiking trail...both people and people on horses...

Picnic and kids play area...

I want to go on a trail ride!!

We stopped at Home Depot on our way home where Steve picked up another piece of foam...we needed replacement pieces for the bikes when loading them onto the bike rack—a little more protection for the bars.

Once home, we spent the rest of the afternoon outside in our chairs reading our books...until it was time to make some Sunday afternoon calls to family.  We had a great FaceTime chat with Dave (Steve’s brother) and Kerry...Happy Birthday, Kerry!  We learned that it is -40 (which is the same for both Celsius and Fahrenheit) with the wind chill in Thompson, Manitoba...brrrr!  We had a quick chat with Suzanne and Dennis (my brother) and then Rob and Angie called us on Skype.  We’ll see them next Friday when we go “home” for Christmas...can hardly wait!  We didn’t have a chat with Chris today but I exchanged a number of emails with him...he has a very bad cold and...as he says...”feels like poop”.  Get better soon, honey...looking forward to seeing you when you come over to the Island in just over a week.

The sun had gone down by the time we had finished our calls and it had cooled down considerably...time to head inside.  Not long after that, the wind started up...hmmm...we haven’t experienced any wind so far this trip...I think that is about to change!

Saturday, December 8, 2012 (Pleasant Harbor RV Resort, Lake Pleasant, Peoria, AZ)

It was another gorgeous day today...although the temperatures are definitely getting cooler.  We did our exercises, had a big breakfast and after getting all cleaned up, Steve went out to offload the quads.  He decided that this was a good spot to wash them...we’ll just take them onto the grass...therefore watering the grass for them at the same time.

While Steve was washing his quad, I went for a walk.  I stopped at the office to see what time checkout time was.

We have to be at RV Traders in Mesa at 7:30 Tuesday morning and are thinking of driving to Mesa late Monday afternoon and spending the night in a parking lot near RV Traders (since they won’t let us stay in their lot).  However, we have since re-thought that idea and think we will have everything packed up Monday night and stay here.  It just means we will have to be up really early and leave by 6:00 a.m. for the hour plus drive. 

We’d much rather do that than stay in a parking lot on a busy street in Mesa.

Shortly after I got back from my walk, it was my turn to wash my quad...

Just before 2:00 we donned our swim suits and rode our bikes over to the pool.  Such a beautiful day...clear blue sky...but the air was a little chilly once out of the pool and wet.  It didn’t take long for the sun to dry you off and then it was lovely.  There weren’t many people taking advantage of the pool today...

After about an hour and a half, we headed back home.  We got changed and then relaxed a bit until it was time to walk down to the Marina Bar & Grill...we’re going out for drinks and dinner tonight! 

On our way down to the restaurant, we passed this very cool car...a Cobra (427 hp!)...

It was open and very busy...not like Thursday night when we had walked down.  We had a lovely evening...




...and after a few beer and dinner, we headed home...the restaurant is nicely lit up...