Wednesday, September 1 through Sunday, September 19: Williams, Appointments, Patriot Day, and Kaibab Lake Getaway

Late Wednesday afternoon, we had another bout of Monsoon rain.

We need the moisture, so it was very nice indeed. The next day, I took Kelsey on a long walk in the Highland Meadows neighborhood. She was so happy to out and about again.

Hopefully, Jamie will be able to join us in several weeks. His next x-ray is scheduled for September 13.

On Friday afternoon, I went on a walk in the Kaibab National Forest adjacent to our neighborhood.

Saturday, I had a 2:00 p.m. appointment to donate blood. The Vitalant mobile blood donation bus was parked in the Sherwood Forest neighborhood's fire station.

The last time I tried to give blood, my hemoglobin (iron) was too low. But, I passed the test this time.

Later, Tom and I went to the Canyon Club to listen to live music.

The band is local and is called Killer Wail.

The fellow on the left is Pete. He plays lead guitar in the band. Pete was the fellow who tried to fix my laptop. Unfortunately, my laptop was too damaged to retrieve data.

On Labor Day, Tom and I drove by the tennis courts. The city took down the fence, in preparation for refinishing the surface.

Tom and I then went to Safeway to buy food for dinner that night. I decided to walk up and down our town's Route 66 and walk home. I like that Williams flies flags along Route 66 on patriotic holidays.

Tuesday morning, fourteen people showed up to play pickleball in the Rodeo Barn!  We only have the two courts, so it was a sloppy day of play. I need to determine a better way of organizing who plays when. After pickleball, the Highland Meadows Ladies met at Wild West Junction for lunch.

That afternoon, I went for another walk in our neighborhood Kaibab National Forest. The Black-Eye Susan sunflowers are still blooming.

Later, Tom helped me drain the spa. It was that time of year to add fresh water. We used a pump Tom got with his recently purchased boat. The pump worked great!

A neighbor and pickleball player, Phil Whisnant, asked the owner of the Grand Canyon Brewing Company if we could use some of his large parking lot to tape a pickleball court. John said yes! So, Phil taped a court with bright yellow tape for play Wednesday morning.

Kelsey had an acupuncture appointment that afternoon at Canyon Pet Hospital. Today, her veterinarian was Dr. Sullivan.

Thursday afternoon, I had an appointment in Flagstaff to get my Basal cell carcinoma stitches out. Earlier, I got a call that the margins were clean. For dinner, I stopped by Whole Foods Market and bought fresh sushi. It was very good!

On Friday, it was time to fill the spa with water. It takes about a half-hour by garden hose.

I also took the time to clean the spa cover.

There was a beautiful sunrise on Saturday morning.

Today is the 20th anniversary of 9/11. It is hard to believe that it was 20 years ago. My sister Kim and I were in Seattle that morning. We were visiting my Great Aunt Helen. Last year, our town of Williams had its first Patriot Day Parade on this day. So, Tom and I attended the second Patriot Day Parade with the theme "We remember, never forget."

We sat across the street from the parade announcers. There were flags galore.

There were patriot floats.

There were Williams Mountain Men mounted on horses.

There were veterans and historical characters.

There were active duty color guards.

It was a very nice one hour parade.

After the parade, five of us played pickleball on the Grand Canyon Brewing Company court. It was a partially cloudy afternoon, but we had two hours of fun.

Donna and John Fry came up from Wickenburg for several days. 

Sunday morning, six of us played pickleball at the Grand Canyon Brewing Company. 

Donna and David posted on Instagram that they were on a one-week RV trip around Colorado. They are really enjoying their little Airstream trailer. One photo was of the two of them at Rocky Mountain National Park.

I drove to Flagstaff to take Jamie to Canyon Pet Hospital. He had a 10:00 a.m. slot to get x-rays of his toe and determine whether it was healed enough to take off the bandage brace. The veterinarian thought that his broken toe was healed enough. Yeah!

Monday afternoon, Tom's electric bike was delivered. My bike is not going to be shipped for another week. Then, we get to assemble them. 😊😊😊

We had two courts full for Tuesday morning pickleball in the Rodeo Barn.  Several of us then went to The Little Chicken Spot for lunch with the Highland Meadows Ladies group. This was the first time that I have eaten there. Our table was in the adjacent Sultana Bar. The food was excellent and the proprietor, Rick Gonzales, was very friendly.

Over the past week, I made daily phone calls to our friend Annie Evans. Her husband, Brian Burdikoff, was in a car accident on September 4. He has been in the Intensive Care Unit at Flagstaff Medical Center. On his way home from Flagstaff, he lost control of his truck and it flipped over several times. This morning, Annie informed us that Brian passed away last night at 11:30 p.m. What a shame. He was only 51 years old.

Tom and I and the dogs have reservations at Kaibab Lake Campground. We packed up our travel trailer and headed 6.7 miles for four nights of fun.

 Last year, I spotted the ideal site --- #28. So, when we make reservations, I always reserve Site#28.

At about 5:00 p.m. we enjoyed adult beverages and later, Tom barbecued tri-tip steaks. Yummy!

Thursday morning, I took the dogs for an early morning walk at about 6:30 a.m. The sun was just coming up over the lake. Because we did not have a lot of snow this past winter, the lake is very low. But, it is still nice.

Fall is in the air. The morning low was 45 degrees. Tom needed our blanket to keep warm. 

The Kaibab Lake Campground has nice paved RV pads, but no electricity or water. We did bring Tom's generator for brewing our morning coffee, toasting our bread, and microwaving our breakfast bacon.

Jamie and Kelsey are adjusting to life in the trailer.

Since we are so close to our town of Williams, I played pickleball in the Rodeo Barn. I came back to the trailer, had lunch with Tom, and then I walked counter-clockwise around the lake. It is about a three mile walk.

The wind was such that about seven Osprey were flying and gliding over the lake. I wasn't able to get a good photo, so I googled this picture of an Osprey.

In the evening, Tom barbecued chicken thighs with our favorite rub and I sautéed broccoli and onions in olive oil and garlic.

Friday morning, I played pickleball once again in the Rodeo Barn. Then, I picked Tom and the dogs up to go back to our house. There is a memorial service on Saturday for our friend Brian. Tom and I volunteered to bring sandwiches and drinks. So, we left the dogs at home and Tom and I went to Safeway to get the food and drink supplies.

In the mid-afternoon, I walked around Kaibab Lake again. This time, I walked clockwise.

We invited Tom's son Jon to join us at the campground and have dinner. We had adult beverages for an hour or so.

At about 6 p.m., Tom barbecued beer bratwursts and cheese jalapeño poppers. We added some delicious red and blue potato salad. Safeway always helps make us a perfect meal!

Early Saturday morning, I took a walk with the dogs. We came back to the trailer and Kelsey and Jamie curled up for a little more sleep before their breakfast.

Tom and I and the dogs went back to our house. Tom and I made finger sandwiches for today's Memorial service. 

Our friend, Brian Burdikoff, was a volunteer fireman at the Sherwood Forest Fire Department for six years. So, his Memorial Service was a "Fire Service" style tribute at the Fire Station.

Under the tent were pictures of Brian's life --- including his firefighting gear.

He was married to our friend Annie Evans for over 25 years.

Brian and Annie were very popular and loved by so many. The small community of Sherwood Forest Estates came out to pay their respects.

Also in attendance was our Williams pickleball group. Brian and Annie played pickleball with us for several years.

When the Memorial was to begin, members of the Fire Department lined the road leading up to the Fire Station. Annie was brought to the service in a Fire Truck procession.

It was a beautiful ceremony honoring Brian's life. Tom and I even clean-up well.

After the memorial, Tom and I picked up the dogs and we went back to Kaibab Lake.  Tom made some killer toasted cheese sandwiches for dinner!

Sunday was our departure day from campsite #28. 

I took the dogs down by the lake for our good-byes.

We returned home at about noon. Such a commute of 6.7 miles!!! 😃😃😃

That evening, we had barbecued Omaha Steaks hamburgers, corn on the cob, and heirloom tomatoes. Very delicious, indeed!