Last night, I decided that the rash on my stomach needed to be looked at by a doctor. I had no appointment at the clinic, so I used the walk-in option. I met with Dr. Tom Myers. He used to work at the Grand Canyon North Country Medical Clinic and co-wrote the book, Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon. Had I know that he was working at the Williams clinic that day, I would have brought my book for autographing!
Two things came out of my medical walk-in --- Dr. Myers submitted a referral for a cardiac evaluation because my pulse was abnormally low and I was given a low dosage of steroids to stop the unidentified rash from itching. Last week, I almost was not able to give blood because my pulse was under 50!
While in the medical center parking lot, an idiot light came on. Battery Not Charging. I called James at JJs Automotive and made an appointment for the next day.
Early Friday morning, I walked the dogs over to Cataract Lake. The wildflowers are in full bloom. Love the yellow sunflowers!
I have been enjoying my Amazon Prime membership. The two-day delivery is so much fun! During the past few weeks, I have been thinking about a welcome sign for the front door area. There are local wood carvers with Welcome Bears, but I decided on a ceramic version on the Amazon website. It arrived!
James from JJs Automotive called and said that my truck was ready to be picked up. And yes, a new alternator was required.
Saturday, I told Tom that it would be fun to go hear Omar sing at the Best Western Plus. Before leaving, we had an adult beverage and a shrimp cocktail appetizer. Omar was happy to see us and we enjoyed his music variety.
On Sunday, I told Tom that I wanted the two of us to take a day road trip to parts of northeastern Arizona that I have never visited. We decided to get an early start on Monday. The rest of Sunday was some of the usual --- church for me, pickleball on the tennis courts, and a Netflix movie streaming in the evening.
I walked and fed the dogs early. Tom and I left Williams at around 8:30 am. Our 8-hour road trip was going to be a loop that included the Mogollon Rim. We drove through the beautiful Ponderosa pine forests from Flagstaff to Mormon Lake to Happy Jack. Then, we dropped down to the towns of Strawberry, Pine, and Payson. It was another 30 miles from Payson to the Mogollon Rim Visitor Center.
At about 12:30 pm, we stopped in Snowflake, Arizona, for lunch. TripAdvisor rated La Cocina de Ella as the best restaurant selection. It was good Mexican food, promptly served. The place was busy with retirees and office workers.
The town of Snowflake was settled by the Mormon pioneers. It was Mr. Snow and Mr. Flake --- who were asked by Brigham Young to go and colonize this area. There is a large Church of Latter Day Saints Temple on a hilltop.
I had never been to the Mogollon Rim or Snowflake, Arizona. There is another town I would like to visit at another time --- Show Low. If we had gone there too, it would have been too long of a day. As it was, we didn't get home until 4:30 pm. The dogs were ready for a walk!
On Tuesday, our Pickleball coordinator Kerry-Lynne Moede made arrangements with the City of Williams Parks & Recreation to open the Rodeo Building. Six of us arrived at the building around 10:00 am. We were going to see if this enclosed venue would be a good place to move our pickleball play. Tom and Gus measured the court and I helped with the taping. The floor is cement and the ceiling is low, but it seemed to work!
The Rodeo building has events and activities on most of the weekends until October. So, Sunday pickleball will have to remain on the tennis courts until then.
Roy Henderson recently contacted me. Roy and I worked together at Union Bank over twenty years ago. Roy and his wife, Mel, live in Anthem, a community north of Phoenix. Roy wanted to know if we could meet for dinner in Flagstaff. I said "YES!" Roy was driving up to Salt Lake City. One of their granddaughters was getting married. Mel was already in Salt Lake City. So, Tom and I met Roy for dinner at Horsemen Lodge.
Wednesday afternoon, we had some some heavy showers. The clouds were beginning to congregate around noon.
Another Amazon Prime purchase was a package of copper mugs for the Moscow Mule drink. When we were in Bend, Kai made some very tasty drinks in these mugs. So, the mugs arrived and the drinks were made. Mine was made with vodka and Tom likes his whisky.
On Thursday, I took Ramsey to Flagstaff for his appointment with Dr. Miller at Canyon Pet Hospital. This was an annual wellness exam, in order to renew his muscle relaxation prescription. It was diagnosed last year that Ramsey probably had distemper before I adopted him in 2010. Later in life, the condition in dogs is similar to multiple sclerosis in humans --- the brain, spinal cord, and legs are sometimes not talking to one another.
Later that day, I went to my gym, Results Fitness, for the 5:30 p.m. exercise class with Lucas. I am not a self-motivated gym person, so I like the "Simon Says" format of trainer Lucas.
August 24 is my mom's birthday. She died in December, 2005. This year, she would have been 93. All of my siblings texted one another acknowledging the date. My sister Wendy shared a photo she had of mom --- probably in her late teens/early twenties.
On Saturday, Tom and I went to the Garden Market in Williams. It was the first time we visited this place. We bought some organic zucchini and squash to barbecue.
I wanted to walk Kelsey and Libby in the historic part of Williams. Tom dropped us off near the cemetery and the three of us walked up to Buckskinner Park --- about two miles. There, Tom had his fishing gear and was seeing if any of the fish were biting. He did catch one fish, but did a "catch and release" action.
Since it was Saturday, there were a number of other people fishing on the shore of the lake.
Amazon Prime is contagious. The hand-held shower head bracket in the guest bathroom broke.
So, I ordered a replacement from Amazon --- delivery on Tuesday!
On Sunday, after church, was pickleball outdoor play. The Rodeo building is not available for Sunday play until October. It was not too windy, but the clouds rolled in and the monsoon rain began after only an hour of play.
There was a full moon early Monday morning. When taking the dogs out for their first walk, I took a photo of the moon against the blue sky.
Monday morning I had a hair appointment with Shawna at Tirzah Salon. Near the completion of my appointment, Lisa D'Arpa showed up for her hair appointment. It was fun to see her! Lisa was tan from spending a lot of the summer at her parent's home in Southern Florida. Unbelievable that her oldest daughter, Shasta, is starting high school. I remember when she was born! The D'Arpas, Jeff and Lisa, worked at Zion Lodge with me and Richard.
I enjoyed a 90 minute healing massage with Natanya Nagy in the afternoon. She was massaging my lower back, near my sciatica. Near the end of the treatment, she suggested that I go to a chiropractor for some additional work. I knew of one in Flagstaff that seemed to get good reviews.
Tuesday was another day of walking the dogs. I still walk Ramsey about two miles a day, but Kelsey and Libby get the full five miles.
Eight of us showed up for indoor pickleball at the Rodeo Building. So, we finished taping off a second court. Nice!
The Moen hand-held shower kit I ordered through Amazon Prime arrived Tuesday. It was a perfect fit, and the guest bathroom shower/tub is back in working order.
Jan Chumley, a neighbor in Highland Meadows, suggested that a group of us go to the Flagstaff Arboretum on Wednesday. I have never been to the Arboretum, so that sounded fun. It turned out that three carloads of us met there at 10:30 a.m. Tom and I drove one of the cars. The last four miles of the road to the Arboretum was dirt. Interesting! We spent a half hour in the visitor center before going on a 45 minute tour of the grounds.
At the conclusion of the guided tour, several of us walked out to a 1934 log cabin --- built by the McAllisters --- who eventually donated the land to the arboretum.
The last exhibit we saw was the butterfly room. It was active with live butterflies whose life span is only two weeks.
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