Old Town Scottsdale

"You only live once but if you do it right, once is enough."

Scottsdale has a name that usually is associated with money.  It’s not a town that houses lots of housing projects.  Matter of fact, the homes in this town are at the opposite end of the big bucks.

         

Scottsdale is to Arizona what Palm Springs is to California.  Car dealers around here include not only the Benz and Beemer's but also the real cars – the Maserati's, Bentleys, Jaguars and the Ferraris.  It’s not a cheap place to live.  Just being in this established high end town, adds many dollars to the value of the home, the stores you shop, the places you eat.  It’s a prestigious address. 

Thus, since it was so prestigious we decided that’s exactly where we needed to stay.  Our temporary address was in Scottsdale.  It wasn't a high end park but it still was Scottsdale. We decided to hobnob with the other half for a while.  So, what was the name of the upscale resort with the prestigious address we decided to set our levelers down in?  It was the Scottsdale Elks.  All the premier shops are just a short drive away from the park.  Now the Elks  may not be high-end but we certainly had a high-end address. 

Wednesday was a really busy day.  Remember all the buying Terry had been doing recently for himself but yet saying it was for my birthday?  Remember those manly things?  Well, yesterday was my birthday so it was really my turn.  He offered to buy me a drill and this time I turned him down.  I absolutely have no desire for a drill or a hammer or a screwdriver or anything else he might want to buy me like that.  Instead ….  I bought myself a bike!

Now I had wrestled between two bikes.  I really, really wanted the red one because it was RED but the other one had everything I wanted on it including the 700cc tires and didn’t need to have a few of it’s parts replaced.  It was in near new condition.  I figured that would be the logical one.  Oh, we really looked at some fancy bikes but justifying one of them for me wasn’t going to happen.  I don’t plan on riding it in the desert or racing in a race or anything like that.   This little Trek is certainly much lighter than my Adventurer folding bike but not as light as a couple of the other ones I looked at.  I wanted a bike with suspension but I don’t know what the heck for.  I thought it looked pretty spiffy with it.  Besides if I ride along side Lee or Tammi with their bikes, my bike would look like it might fit in. That was important!  This baby has 24 gears ….. I’m thinking I’ll probably use 3 or 4 of them.

My folding bike is at the consignment shop in Quartzsite.  Feel free to walk in and buy it. I would like that.  Would I buy another folding bike?  Absolutely not.  There are definite advantages to them though.  Folding bikes will fit in smaller places easier.  However, they are usually heavier than a bike of the same size.  You also have to work harder to accomplish as much as a non-folding bike.  Unless you’re interested in a top-end folder, I’d definitely look at a non-folding one unless you only have a small space, don’t care about the weight or the extra workout. Of course, my knowledge of folding bikes is limited to the one I bought for $180 and know it’s pretty close to the bottom end of the market.  It had 20” tires which meant each rotation of that wheel put me down the road only about 58 1/2”.  A bike with 26” tires would have put me down the road about 81 1/2 inches.  My new bike has 700cc tires and each rotation of those tires gets me a little over 85 inches.  It’s amazing how much farther it seems I can even coast. 

Check out my new bling valve stems !

Tammi popped into Phoenix on business.  How about the timing on that one?  I took 3 pictures of her at dinner with my phone.  Two were fogged out and the third so dark I couldn’t see it so there you go with that one.  She finished up about 5:00 at work so we picked her up at the airport and headed to Cracker Barrel for my birthday dinner. .  We both had nummy catfish while Terry had his normal vegetable plate with dumplings.

Happy Birthday to me!  Buying birthday presents is over.  I’m going to buy like Shoeless Joe does now and start looking at Christmas presents.  For now on it's going to be Merry Christmas to me!

‘Tis life on the road.

Shopping For A Bike

"Each day is a new life. Seize it. Live it."

Who would have thought shopping for a bike would be so difficult?  Who would have thought there were so many options?  Who would have thought that bikes could get to be so expensive?

Pick your price

 It used to be simple buying a bike.  You just needed to know what size you needed and sizes usually meant size of the tire.  You didn’t have to consider tire size and frame size.  There were specific bikes for boys and specific bikes for girls.  Over the years all of this has changed.  You almost need a bike consultant to help you get the right one.

There was a time that having a Schwinn bicycle meant you had one of the top bikes on the market.  Having a heavy sturdy bike was the ideal.  Even that has changed.  Buying a bike is like buying car.  We visited one bike shop that was working on the final touches of a $28K bike!

There are high end bikes and high end parts.  You can find the hybrids, the mountains, the cruisers, the comforts, street bikes, racing bikes and the list goes on.  The price of a bicycle can run into the thousands.  It all boils down to what you want and how much you’re willing to spend.

Even after you get the bike you want, you still might want to change parts.  Bikes today come with more than just tires, seats and chains.  They have shocks, gears and even disc brakes.  You can spend pretty much what you want.  It’s like having a Ford or a Mercedes.  I want the Mercedes bike but I want the price of a smart car bike.

My current bike is an Adventurer bike that folds.  I thought that would be ideal.  I didn’t stop to think if I went riding with someone else, that my bike required more work to get those small tires to cover the same territory as a bike with bigger tires.  I could ride half as far and work twice as much.  Well, if you know me, that wasn’t going to happen.  I decided it was time to find another bike and that’s when I discovered I had no idea what I wanted.

6 Speeds and small 20” tires

I’ve tried some bikes out.  I can vouch for the fact that there is definitely a difference in shifting, riding and pedaling.  Again, how much difference was I willing to pay for ….. well, not that much.  Obviously, money isn’t too big of a problem.  I got an email today from someone at my bank.  I know it was someone at the bank because that’s where they told me they were writing from.  Anyway,  $37.5 million was being deposited into my account.  I’m sure it was real.

Even Terry had to get into the act. This is more his style of a bike. It has a motor on it. He may have taken it for a ride but he didn’t take it with him when he left the bicycle shop.

I’ve been to bike shops and more bike shops.  However, Craigslist is probably my favorite place to shop for a bike. One reason for that is I don't have to run all over town.  I’ve learned more online online than I have at any bike shop.  The search is on. 

This is what I have it narrowed down to … the decision will come tomorrow ????

PS ... Terry bought me another birthday present.  He bought me a little TV so he could watch it while he played with the little sander he bought me last week.  Isn't he a gem?!!  I may buy him a bicycle I could ride for Christmas.  I'm thinking most of you see how our presents work by now.

  ‘Tis Life on the road.

Saying I'm Sorry

The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and for deeds left undone.

Being addicted to blogging, there are some days I just don’t have too much to blog about but feel a big push to write about nothing.  Those days come more often when we're sitting still than when we're moving.  When we're moving down the road we have lots to write about.  When we're sitting still it's harder to come up with topics.  Sometimes we write about our personal feelings and experiences.  Other times we write based on concerns of others and thoughts we've shared with them.  I have fill-in blogs for times I don't fell like blogging.  This is definitely an old one and my last one ... so here goes.

Blogging gives me something to do and keeps me inside where it’s warm and cozy (or cool and cozy depending on the time of the  year).   Sometimes those days are well deserved after running around most of the time.  It might be a day that’s a little chilly outside or downright nasty and we’ve sat in the motorhome most of the time playing computer games, watching TV, reading a book or sewing.  Or, we just might be on the road moving from one location to another. Who wants to read about a TV show or the book I just finished?  So, here goes something else ….. again.  Actually, this was written almost a year ago and has just been sitting as a draft waiting until I had nothing to post.  I had forgotten all about it and have no idea now what was on my mind when I did.  However, here it is.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the little saying that the ONE most important word in the English language is Please.  The TWO most important words in the English language are Thank You.  The THREE most important words in the English language are I am sorry.  Saying Please and  Thank You show manners and are almost automatic words out of many mouths. I am sorry is so much harder for many to say.  When I first wrote this I had some examples to post but we all know when those little words would make a difference.  We don't need examples.  Sometimes they'll just make someone we care about feel better. Just sometimes they are more important to say than other times.

There's one sad truth in life I've found
While journeying east and west -
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.  

The devil made me do it!

Sometimes we go through life and disagree with our parents,  our children, our siblings and our co-workers or friends.  No one wins. Everyone ends up in turmoil.  Sometimes we do things we don’t intend to do and someone we care about gets hurt.

We tend to view apologies as a sign of weak character. But in fact, it is just the opposite.  Being able to apologize is actually a very powerful skill.  It has the power to restore damaged relationships, be they on a small scale between two people or on a grand scale between groups of people and even nations. If done correctly, an apology can heal humiliation and generate forgiveness.  An apology can also improve our own health.

We’re all wrong at times.  Hopefully, we’re also all right at times.

Some relationships are worth saving and maybe others just might not be.  Figuring out what relationships are worth saving and what ones are not might be the hard part.  Sometimes it is just best to walk away.  Sometimes we lose if we do and, therefore, we can’t. Sometimes those three little words can do a lot of mending.  That’s a decision we all have to make.

Pride can definitely get in the way.  If one waits too long to mend a fence ..... it just might be too late.  Life is short. Sometimes we may not have many chances to say those three little words.   When it's too late, it's too late.  Living with regrets and wishing we had do-overs is all that's left.

This is my last fill-in blog so now that means I need to get busy and get some more together I guess.


'Tis life on the road. ... 

Thanksgiving Weekend Is Over

"If there were dreams to sell, what would you buy?" -

Holidays are a busy time.  Thanksgiving is no exception.  There are lots of family folks to spend time with, food to eat and shopping to do.  Normally, I would say .. not necessarily in that order but actually it was in that order.  To say it was a busy time would be an under statement.

Sabrina always comes up with some unique artsy crafty items.  This was her turkey for Thanksgiving.

Traveling on a holiday weekend doesn’t always work the way you hope. It didn’t for me – remember?  Once Tammi and Robert picked me up and delivered me to their house I went straight to bed. I was beat. It had been a long day that started in Phoenix, stopped in Texas on the way to my final destination – three hours north of where I had thought I would be heading.

Computers and games

Ceramics

I had to rest for the next day because it was the BIG day.  We had a fantastic meal.  Everything was so good and I proved it by eating so much.  I love those dinners with all the trimmings and that’s exactly what we had.  We had it all.  Once we had stuffed ourselves and the food was cleared away everyone got busy talking, messing with computer games, football, ceramics and checking out the Black Friday ads.

Black Friday ads

More ads

After dinner Mike and Sandi started decorating for Christmas.  Check out this tree …. it was my Mom’s tree from about 40 years ago.  The stand is from an old piano stool.

Friday was Black Friday. Sabrina, Jordan, Sandi and I tackled the mobs. Believe me there were mobs. Sandi and I had the job of holding off the crowds while the other two dashed for treasures. I must admit with crowds like that it’s hard to hold them off. Besides Sandi and I were smaller than most.

Black Friday crowd.  Sandi and Sabrina watch while Jordan tried on boots.

Later in the day it was off to visit Aunt Jenny at her new little home. Well, it’s an assisted living center .. kind of.

As I said .. it was a great couple days. The time flew by fast and it was  time to head back. Flights were really full. The good thing is that I was the first one on the standby list at the airport. However, I  didn’t make that first flight.  I was prepared for a long day rolling from one flight to another.  I had my computer, a Nook, a phone with lots of apps, an iPad, books, eBooks, audio books …. you name it, I had it. I had everything except a confirmed seat on a flight. That’s my life story. Been there, done that … lots.

Flying around a holiday is different than flying at other times.  There are fewer business travelers changing and canceling flights.  These were holiday travelers who rarely change.  The best you can hope is that someone would miss their flight and you'd get their seat.  Now I wouldn't wish that on anyone .... or would I?     

The Portland airport is set up for people waiting.  Check out the service center which is equipped with free Wi-Fi, free desks and plug ins.  It’s like having your own little office.

My fingers and toes were crossed and the prayers were going up.  It must have worked because I was only rolled over on one flight!  I figured it might be a full day of waiting but it wasn’t.  I even got one of those roomy exit row seats on the first flight and upgraded to FIRST on the second flight.  Things were good.  

Thanksgiving is over.  The holiday is now behind us.  We have no plans to take to the airways again over Christmas.  We’ll probably be on the highway instead.

‘Tis life in the air.

Thanksgiving Plans -- Portland or Seattle ??

 
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

 

My father was a big football fan.  The Dallas Cowboys was his team.  Thus, part of our day  was spent watching football, enjoying a warm fireplace and feasting.  We usually gathered around the dinner table about 2:30 to 3:00.  Some folks eat at lunch time and others much later but with all the food around it was impossible to be hungry.  With a full belly nodding off for a good long nap was also a possibility.  Ohhhh …. the memories!  However, we spend the day it’s usually a great day.

Terry’s mom is spending the day in New York City.  She’s going to the Thanksgiving Parade!  Needless to say, she was pretty excited about having the opportunity to see the parade in person and not on TV.

Terry’s plans …. he’ll be having Thanksgiving dinner with my cousin, Shelley, feasting at one of the casinos.  Most of them offer fantastic Thanksgiving buffets and that's where he'll be.

 

My plans … those were a little uncertain.  The plan was to spend Thanksgiving with the kids in Washington.  Traveling over the holidays – any holiday – is a bit difficult.  When I started out Tuesday morning I wasn't sure that I'd make it. I was thinking I might actually be making a round trip that day  --- Phoenix to Dallas to Phoenix.  Oh .. I knew I'd make it to Dallas. The challenge was getting a seat on a plane out of Dallas to Portland.  When I checked in for the flight there were only 14 open seats for the whole day and 33 people standing by for those 14 seats.  My fingers and toes were crossed as I had no desire to spend the night at the Dallas airport.

Dallas Airport --- Feels like home!

I can tell you that it was certainly a very long day.  It was very long.  The flights to Portland turned out just as I figured -- over full.  What was the option?  In Dallas I decided to take a flight to Seattle instead of Portland. At least I had a chance to get there by making the change.  Tammi and Robert offered to drive to Seattle and shuttle me back. The traffic wasn't just with people trying to get flights.  The freeways were stop and go.  The trip took them 3 1/2 hours when it should have taken 2 hours or less. 

I've always found it difficult to know what to take when changing from one climate to another.  In Arizona the weather is warm -- almost hot -- and in Washington it definitely is not.  Matter of fact they have had more than their fair share of storms lately.  Storms usually mean turbulence.  I've been on hundreds of flights but when that pilot comes on and warns passengers of a turbulent ride ahead, I always squeeze that seat belt just a little tighter and such was the case this time.

Several years ago Terry and I were flying into New Orleans right behind a thunderstorm.  Actually, we were flying extremely low to avoid it.  It seemed we were barely clearing the trees.  That was probably the roughest ride we have ever been on.  People were screaming and barf bags were coming out .... obviously, that wasn't a fun flight.  When I think of turbulent that's the one I'm reminded of.  The flight into Seattle didn't even come close.  Thank goodness!

Remember not so long ago I mentioned that we had left our little blue boy up north by accident.  What do you think the chance is that the airline would let me check it back???   I'm thinking not.  They might let a new one fly but not one that's been used -- think of fertilizer residue.

Terry went shopping Tuesday. He bought me a birthday present since my birthday’s just around the corner.

This is it!!  This is what he said was my birthday present.  Just what I've always wanted -- a little sander!  NOT

I’m going to bet  he’ll be using this plenty while I’m gone.  He’s probably going to say he was just trying it out for me.

The following was a sign at a restaurant in Quartzsite.  Notice anything wrong with the menu?


‘Tis life on the road.

Off to the Big City -- Scottsdale

"Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise."

Quartzsite was left behind on Thursday.  We were on our way to the Big City.  Sometimes it’s fun being in a Big City.  There are many more places to go, a better selection of grocery stores or anything else you might need or want is normally available.  Besides it's much cheaper to buy fuel, food and just about everything else.

Toni took this picture of Parker,  from their RV in Quartzsite.  I loved it so decided to borrow it.

Definitely an Arizona landscape.

Along with big cities also come big freeways.  We all  know what’s on the big freeways …. lots of traffic.  Our trip for the day was only about 140 miles.  It was a good trip and uneventful.  With all the problems we’ve had recently, we’ve come to really appreciate the uneventful travel days.  We still weren’t quite sure where we were going to end up.  There were so many options we were considering.  We figured it might be best if we just found a temporary place to stay while we tried to decide where to go.  That’s what we did.  Scottsdale sounded like a good option.  At least in Scottsdale we were saving another 30 or 40 miles from traveling through Mesa and Apache Junction.  We've never been fond of big city traffic.

Once parked and set up we met friends, Jim and Sandie, at the Texas Roadhouse for an early dinner.  It was sure nice seeing them again.  With all the health problems and operations Jim has had recently, he looked great.   Well, Sandie looked good too.  She’s spent so much time in the hospital waiting rooms recently that she’s almost calling them “home”

.

 

We tried to decide what RV park to settle in so the next day we drove around a bit checking some of our options out. We're not fond of small tight RV parks with spaces so close you can look in each other's windows.  We're not fond of the big, big parks with hundreds of people.  I guess that really limits us when we go to town.  We did have reservations at an Encroe park in Apache Junction though our Thousand Trails membership.  However, we did discover there has been a recent change to the specific sites they allow the transients to be in.  We looked at some of the sites that were available to us as members and decided that's just not where we wanted to be.  I guess we're just too used to the wide open spaces in the desert.

One of the places we visited was Usery Mountain Park.   We’ve stayed there before and absolutely love that place. The spaces are big and in some you can't even see your neighbors!  The problem is no weekly rates are offered and you can’t even stay longer than 14 days.  Usery is part of the Maricopa County Park systems.  We love  their parks.  I'm sure if they didn't limit the stay, every one of them would be packed all winter.

We didn’t make any decisions.  We ended up putting out our mats, chairs and awning and then just paying for a week where we’re at.  That gives us more time to be confused I think.  We certainly didn’t make a decision.   We were the first here so have the end site and it feels like we're someplace else and not even close to the big city.   When we open our door and sit outside we can't even see another RV because the other 7 sites are on the other side of us.   For now we're good and instead of making any big decisions about other RV parks,  we took off to meet Terry’s mom and head to Cracker Barrel for dinner.  We both love that place and I especially love their catfish dinner. 

Usery Mountain Campsite

And, another one there.

Sunday was casino day.  Terry’s mom loves going to the Arizona Casino but hasn’t been since Terry’s dad died in September.  That’s where we went.  We’re still not sure what we’re going to do and where we’re going to settle in for the next couple of months …. or, if we’re going to.  Terry’s mom has been so excited to see us and made us promise we’d do things together over the next few months.  Oh ... ohh ... we really didn’t figure we’d hang around here too long but now we know we’d feel pretty guilty if we pulled out and went someplace else.  We’re not sure what we’re going to do.

In the meantime, our little JAG is sitting on it’s trailer.  It’s not being used.  We would like to find a park where we can ride it but that may not happen around here.  Having a JAG may not work for us .... hmm.  Sure, Scottsdale is full of Jags but not the kind we have.


Thanksgiving is coming up.  I have another dilemma there.  Should I try to head north for the holiday or just hang around here?  I'm certain you know how full those airplanes can be at holiday time and I'm not overly fond of sleeping at airports.

 Don’t you just love dilemmas?

‘Tis life on the road.

Virus Attack !! Dead Emails

"The trouble with life in the fast lane is that you get to the other end in an awful hurry."

If you have one of the newer versions of the iPhone, you’ve probably already figured out what an amazing gadget it is.  You have your own little computer lady that talks to you, answers questions and assists in sending emails or texts.  In addition your own little weatherman resides inside.  However, I must admit he certainly isn’t as accurate as we would hope he would be.

My little phone is amazing.   In a pinch and in addition to a communicator, it can also be a  GPS, a radio, an entertainer, a book, a camera, a photo album and the list goes on. It almost instantly receives a copy of my new emails.   The mute button is also a favorite app because I certainly don’t want my phone to  “ding” every time new email is received and especially at 3:00 AM.  I am content to discover any new emails after I wake up and not before.

Wednesday morning I noticed a ton of Mailer-Daemon emails had arrived in one of my email accounts.  Now this email account is the oldest one I use and it’s mainly one I’ve used with family and “old” friends.  However, my contact list is merged with the one I use with others.  It seems sometime during the night my email account was busy sending out emails to some people in my contact list … not everyone but some.  I’m thinking the ones who didn’t get it may have had their own server ambush the virus laden email before it hit their inbox.

This mess started with an email from a friend I used to work with.  When I first received it I didn’t open the link.  Everything was fine.  The   next day I went back and wondered what this friend might have sent.  Now that was the wrong thing to wonder.  I opened the link.  It never went to a page and I closed it but alas …. too late.  Now my messages were going out similar to the one I had received.

Trojan Horses hide everywhere

This Yahoo account had been set up about 8 or 9 years ago.  At that time we also had a DSL line through SBCGlobal (now AT&T).  My SBCGlobal  account forwarded mail to the yahoo account.  Easy … I thought. 

It seems when Yahoo and AT&T decided to get together they merged these two accounts.  Thus, my Yahoo account became an Yahoo AT&T account.  We eventually moved and the DSL line  cancelled.  I learned that normally an email account was deleted after about 100 days.  Well, not so in this case. It must have slipped through the cracks.

No virus is fun 

Wednesday I tried to change my password on the Yahoo account but was forwarded to the AT&T website.    I couldn't change the password because the account in their system no longer existed.

AT&T has a customer care center in the Philippines.  How do I know?  Well, over the last five days I'm sure I've talked to all of the employees there.  Some I could understand and others not so much.  I've been told all sorts of things, been transferred everywhere including busy lines and even been disconnected.  Every new person I talked to assured me they could help.  Every new person I talked to meant I had to start from scratch explaining the situation.  When I did get someone who could help, case numbers were established with a promised return call.  The two return calls came when we were driving and then walking the dog.  Phone numbers left to return the call were to a switchboard and not to someone who could access those case #'s.

Proceed with caution

All in all I have probably spent several hours on hold trying to get these accounts unmerged.  It'll be interesting to see my cell phone bill ... or maybe not. 

Saturday .. I decided to try again.  First in the morning ... no help. We even went to the AT&T store.  No luck.  I thought one more time in the late afternoon.  Did my luck change?    This time I managed a little luck.  I found someone who transferred me to a 2nd tier maintenance person.    I'm thinking I just might have hit pay dirt.  However, fixing the problem required taking the yahoo accounts off the server and closing them.  It's a scary thing to close old email accounts especially since everything you have is attached to them.  Supposedly, things should be up and running again on Monday.  I'm hopeful.   In the meantime, I have had to set up a new email account ... just in case.

It wasn't a virus that caused this.  The little email that selectively went out to some and not others was just something that triggered my attempt to change the password.  It seems an old dial-up phone still attached and an old webhosting account may have been the culprits .... may have been is key.  The billing portions had been closed out but not the accounts ..... my fingers are crossed.

That's what I've been up to!

‘Tis life on the road.

Gold Mines on the BLM

"Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold - but so does a hard-boiled egg."

 

After our little outing from the day before where we discovered the rock cabin perched on one of the hills above La Posa Tyson Wash, we figured Wednesday would be a good day to visit the gold mines.  We had high hopes of finding lots of treasure ….. NOT!





What we had high hopes of was just having a wonderful ride in the desert on a near perfect day.  Now that is what we had.  Finding the mines was just an extra treat.



We also discovered that covering some of the back trails in ATVs, UTVs, Jeeps and even pickups is something other folks do too.  What fun!

The three gold mines we visited are several miles behind the BLM boundary.  It’s a beautiful ride through the desert.  The many trails wrap around the mountains with lots of cactus in the background.  It’s exactly what one expects Arizona to look like.

Gold Mines …. I wonder when the gold really stopped flowing.  There didn't appear to be any left for us.  Besides ..... no way was I going down in those mines ... no way whatsoever!

 

Our last evening in the BLM until January was spent sharing a campfire with our neighbors, Toni and Doug.

The next day we were heading east.  The “Jag” was loaded on the trailer and ready to go  We’ll be back though! 

My little GoPro Camera was mounted on the front bar. The result …. more pictures.

Gold miners guarding their mine ? No worry from us!

Arriving at mines on the right.

We wanted to say "See Ya" to Barbara but she wasn't out and about so .... Barbara, See ya!

‘Tis life on the road