Saturday, February 2, 2019, AZ

On Thursday, we took a drive along the Apache Trail, pas Goldfield Ghost Town, Lost Dutchman State Park, and Canyon Lake to Tortilla Flat where we strolled the boardwalk and stopped at the restaurant for a bite to eat.  The place is pretty cool, with the walls lined with autographed dollar bills and historic photos. Our lunch was good and we stopped to hear the band play a tune before we headed back out on the road. After a few miles, the road became dirt and we slowed way down to avoid the washboard and to enjoy the beautiful scenery. It had been about 3 years for me and probably 10 since Tom had driven that route.  It is always a joy to me and it felt good to get off the beaten path again.

I finally found an Oreck handheld vacuum at a price that I felt was reasonable (didn’t want to spend too much since I already have one in my storage in Minneapolis). It was in northern Phoenix, so it took a good 45 minutes to get there and it was well worth the drive and $20.  I put it to good use when I got back home and Tom was impressed with the suction and efficiency.

We met up with Pat and Roger and Jim and Sue (they arrived at Val Vista Village today) at the Dog Run Saloon and had some good fish fry. Jim even ordered an Old Fashioned and thought it was pretty good. It was great to see them again and we had lots of good laughs and reminiscing.


This morning, our park had patio sales, so I walked around and checked everything out but came back home empty handed.  We decided to take a hike through the desert, the first time in several weeks and it was a very nice walk.  The nice thing is that we can drive a mile and hop on a trail and get a nice walk in through natural desert terrain.  It ended up being about 1.7 miles, just enough to get us back in shape gradually.  My butt cheeks were hurting later on.

I went to see Arlene at her new home this afternoon. She, her daughter Sharla and son-in-law bought a home in Las Sendas (Mesa) that would accommodate all of them, as Arlene’s vision continues to worsen and she felt that she couldn’t live by herself any longer.  Her home is sold and Tom and Sharla have theirs on the market.  The house is very nice and she is feeling happy with her decision.