Tuesday, March 10 through Sunday, March 29, 2026: Appointments, Sightseeing, Pickleball, and Leaving Palm Creek Resort

Early Tuesday evening, there was a beautiful setting with the nearby pond and fountain.

 

On Wednesday, March 11, my niece Lauren Carroll gave birth to a baby girl --- Callie Mae. What at joyous occasion!

 

Thursday morning, I played pickleball with the 3.75 ladies group. I took this opportunity to have a photo taken with friends Merilee McCartney and Colleen Loebs.

On my first walk of the morning on Friday the 13th, Preston and I saw a hot air balloon take off on the field across from Palm Creek Resort.

For dinner, Tom and I went to the Angry Crab Shake for a fix of oysters. Yummy, yummy!!

Wendy, the manager, verified that the oysters are flown in from Chesapeake Bay. Amazing!

 

Later that evening, there was a gorgeous sunset over the golf course.

Saturday morning, my friends Becka and Rick Simpson were walking through the park. Unfortunately, there dear dog Joey had to be put down earlier in the week. Such a difficult decision!

And yes, there was another hot air balloon looming over Palm Creek.

At my home in Williams, I have four outdoor cameras at various locations. This morning, my neighbor's cat Dutch was photographed.

Sunday morning, Preston and I had a meetup with Dalmatian Ares and Sherri Pea. While we were in the park, my friend Fred Anderson came with his retriever Bree. It was fun getting some photos.

On an afternoon walk with Preston, neighbors Jeanne-Marie and James Taylor drove by in their golf cart. Jeanne Marie recently helped us post a "For Sale" ad on Next Door --- for our travel trailer.

My sister Carrie was in Georgia for the birth of her second grandchild. Both Carrie and Lauren posted some updated photos of baby Callie. Callie's brother Colter is excited for this addition too.

Monday, I played pickleball with Fred Anderson and Mike Loebs.

 

Tuesday, Tom and I dropped Preston off at Paw Ranch Pet Resort. We then drove south to Willcox, Arizona. We had reservations at Sunset Inn & Suites. Down the street, I noticed that there was a winery tasting room. There, we met Tyler representing the winery Aridus Wine Company.

 

Tyler said that 75% of all wine grapes in Arizona are produced in the Willcox area. We enjoyed all of the wines --- so we bought a case of reds and whites.

The next morning, Tom and I had breakfast adjacent to the motel lobby. It was amazing! There was a menu of breakfast options and the cook personally prepared each of our selections.

After breakfast, I drove a few minutes away to secure a geocache. It was my first cache find in 2026.

 

Willcox is 40 minutes from Chiricahua National Monument. 

 

Near the entrance of this national monument is Faraway Ranch. Our friend, Libby Beatty, highly recommended that we stop and see this site. Faraway Ranch used to be a working farm and ranch.

 

Tom and I visited the Visitor Center and then we drove out to Massai Point --- twenty minutes up the road.

After leaving Chiricahua National Monument, we headed northwest to Sierra Vista, Arizona. We stopped in historic Tombstone, Arizona, for lunch.

Tom and I had reservations at Gateway Studio Suites. Our friend, Libby Beatty, moved to Sierra Vista in August. We went to her home for dinner. Libby has a new dog, Star Lillie.

 

After dinner, Libby took us to a hilltop catholic chapel for a nice "after dinner" walk.

 

The next morning, Libby and I went to Kartchner Caverns State Park. It was about a 30 minute drive north of Sierra Vista. We had reservations for a cave tour at 9:30 a.m.

The cave was amazing. The tour of the Rotunda/Throne.was just over an hour long.

That afternoon, Tom and I headed northwest. Our home in Palm Creek was our final destination, but we drove through the towns of Sonoita and Patagonia.

My nephew Blake and his wife Nicole enjoyed visiting newborn Callie --- their new niece.

On Friday, I picked up Preston at Paw Ranch. Fernando is such a wonderful fellow! Our final destination was our home in Williams.

The weather in Casa Grande has been unseasonably hot. The forecast was for 103-104 degree days on Saturday and Sunday. This is too hot for me and for Preston. So, Tom and I drove up to Williams for a three night visit. The next day, Preston and I walked in town. We visited the red Santa Fe box car bridge.

Saturday, February 21 through Monday, March 9, 2026: Pickleball, Sunsets, Friends, HVAC Project, and Tom's Birthday

On my first walk in the morning, I heard the blowing sound of the hot air balloons overhead.

 

 

 

Today, Jan Miller and I are going to Happy Trails Resort in Surprise, Arizona. Jan is leaving Palm Creek and wants to find a great place to relocate. My longtime friend Linda Ostiguy and her husband Mark really like Happy Trails. They spend the winter months there --- almost six months of the year.

 

At 9:00 a.m., Jan and I dropped Preston and Lacey off at Danx for day care. We then drove the 1 1/2 hours to Surprise. My friend Linda did a great job showing us around the Happy Trails property.

Jan had a specific RV site she wanted to see. Jan lives in the desert year round --- in her motorhome. This site has a cover for her RV and a casita with a washer and dryer.

 

On our tour with Linda, we saw some people I know from my life in the Thousand Trails system --- like Dean Loveland!

 

We had lunch with Linda at the Happy Trails restaurant before heading back to Casa Grande to pick up the dogs. 

Terry and Peter finally made it to Argentina. One of my favorite places - Iguazu Falls!

 

 

 

Tom and I watched very little of the Winter Olympics in Italy. But a highlight was Team USA winning the gold medal in ice hockey --- beating the Canadians. Outstanding!

 

The Palm Creek Can-Am Games are now completed. Two of my friends participated in the corn hole contest, Eileen and Betsy.

 

The American teams won more events than the Canadian teams. But, it was good fun for those involved

The Palm Creek Pickleball Club had its Members Only Tournament February 26-March 1. My next door neighbor, Marilee McCartney won a bronze medal in the 3.75 Women's division.

Tom and I went to a Sock Hop at Fiesta Grande RV Resort. My favorite dance band was playing there --- Come Back Buddy. It was great seeing Janine and Mike Randall again.

On Friday, I watched some more pickleball at the Members Only Tournament.

Two more friends of mine finished with a silver medal in the 4.0 Women's Division, Roxy Larson and Susan Gibbs.

That evening, we went to the Angry Crab Shack and had fresh oysters in the half shell. Yummy, yummy! 💗💗💗

On Saturday, Preston and I did some walking around the golf course walkways.

We even enjoyed feeding Koi food to the fish in the first pond.

That evening, there was a gorgeous Arizona sunset.

On Sunday, March 1, Sherri and I had another meetup with Ares and Preston.

In the evening, the skies did not disappoint!

My Highland Meadows friend, Pam Hill, celebrated her 66th birthday on Route 66. Very cute!

On Monday, at noon, I played some Challenge Court Pickleball with Fred Anderson and other 3.75 level players. I even had the opportunity to partner with Jon!

That evening, there was a full moon on display over Palm Creek Resort.

Tom decided to sell the tri-cycle bike that I bought for him. He was right. It is not practical for life in Williams. It was amazing how many people were interested. He sold it quickly --- for $20 more than I paid for it!

Jon stopped by to chit-chat. He has a friend who used to own a bike shop. Jon wanted to take Tom's road bike to this fellow and have the brake settings fixed. 

Wednesday morning, Preston and I once again enjoyed a hot air balloon.

Nearing the end of our last season at Palm Creek Resort, Preston and I walked along the 10th hole pathway.

That evening, Tom and I had an early dinner at Hideout Steakhouse & BBQ. It was the first time this season. Nice!

Matt, the owner of Norris RV, came to our Palm Creek site to see our trailer. We want Norris RV to take our trailer --- on consignment. Matt markets used RVs on his website as well as RV Trader and other online sites.

Friday, I had to drive to Williams. Manny of 1 Source Mechanical scheduled an afternoon walk-through at my home. He needed to walk me through all of the work that was done to install my new HVAC unit. This is necessary--- in order for Manny to get paid by the finance company. Jan and Lacey joined me and Preston on this two-day journey. We left Palm Creek at 8:00 a.m. and arrived in Williams at noon. Manny arrived at my home at 2:00 p.m.

Manny and I went up to the garage attic. There, he showed me the new heating unit.

While installing the heating unit, 1 Source Mechanical had to turn off the gas to the house. The pilot light for my fireplace went out. Fortunately, Manny knew how to re-light it.

Manny replaced the two thermostats. Both are now applications on my phone. The cleanup crew had to clean the attic and all of the ducts THREE TIMES. Thank-you, Manny!

It was cold in Williams. The temperatures were high mid-40s and low in the low-30s. That night, Jan brought out several doggy sweaters --- one for Lacey and one for Preston to borrow.

 

My sister Carrie and her husband Brent visited Palm Creek and our mutual friend Betsy Scherr. Unfortunately, I missed them as I had to be in Williams. Betsy was kind enough to post a photo of the three of them.

Jan and I and the dogs had a lazy Saturday.

But, we did walk over to Cataract Lake.

Jan and I headed back to Casa Grande on Sunday. Preston and Lacy once again shared the back seat area of my truck.

Monday, March 9, was Tom's 79th birthday. I had made arrangements to have Palm Creek resident Laurie Brixey house sit Preston for the day. Laurie was recommended to me by my friend Becka Simpson.

 

Over a month ago, friends Sue and Scott Svejcar invited us down to their home in Green Valley. Sue and Scott built a home in one of the Robson Ranch properties. We arrived at their home at about noon. Sue and Scott showed us around the beautiful Quail Creek. They have a roomy golf cart where everyone faces forward. We eventually had lunch in the main dining room. 

 

Sue and Scott have a lovely home with excellent views of the Santa Rita Mountains.

We left Green Valley around 2:30 p.m. On our way back to Casa Grande, we wanted to stop at the Robson Ranch property in Eloy. It was time to have a "birthday celebration" drink for Tom. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed for some remodeling. Instead, we went to Mission Royale Golf Club.