Monday, May 2 through Saturday, May 21, 2022: Pickleball, Life in Williams, Walk in Woods, and 70th Birthday Celebration

Monday morning, there were five of us ready to play outdoor pickleball. The wind condition was perfect.

We have a new addition to our competitive pickleball group --- Roland from Hawaii. Roland and his wife Christine are staying in Williams until October. Roland is a very good player!

On Tuesday, I arranged for Jamie to have his nails clipped by Cheyenne Williams.

In the afternoon, Kelsey and Jamie had appointments at Williams Veterinary Wellness.

Wednesday was a day of service people. Jerry from Appliance Service Today came to adjust the washer again.

A gentleman from Rotech came to service Tom's oxygen machine.

Thursday was Cinco de Mayo. There was very little wind, so Tom and I took the boat out on Cataract Lake.

Tom has a fishing license.

I just go along for the ride.

Jon and Tom bought this boat several years ago.

It is perfect for the nearby lakes and reservoirs.Tom was fortunate and caught a Rainbow Trout!

Cataract Lake has a family of Bald Eagles nesting near the shoreline. There is a mother, a father, and one eaglet.

To protect this Bald Eagle family, wildlife biologists are monitoring the birds from the shoreline.

On Friday morning, six of us played pickleball again on the outdoor courts.

That afternoon, Jon came by with his newest trophy. He found it in the woods very near our Highland Meadows community.

Saturday morning, Tom and I went to Pine Country Restaurant for breakfast. There, we saw Jordana Kelley --- one of our pickleball players and daughter of Pastor Joe Kelley of First Baptist Church.

In the early afternoon, I took the dogs on a walk in town.

Tom always enjoying watching the Kentucky Derby. This year was the 148th one. I watched it with him.

This year, Rich Strike --- with a 80 to 1 odds --- won the race!

Earlier in the week, I bought a viewing of the World Premier of Denish De Sousa's movie 2000 Mules. It is a documentary about the 2020 Election. Apparently, I shared this World Premier viewing with 80,000 individuals.

Tom was very helpful in setting up his computer with the movie link. This allowed us to see the movie on our television screen.

Monday evening, I drove to Prescott for a Sleep Study test.

This was my first Steep Study test --- ever. Richard had several and so did Tom. The technician told me that if I stopped breathing 15 times, she would bring in a C-Pap mask for me to wear. My two sisters, Wendy and Carrie, told me that they each have C-Pap machines. So, at 12:28 a.m., Mindy brought in a mask.

I slept with the mask until 5:25 a.m. --- when it was time to end the study. I will follow-up with my Sleep Doctor --- Dr. El-Harakeh --- in several weeks. I drove home to Williams. At noon, our Highland Meadows ladies group went to a new restaurant in town --- Obregon City Taco.

The food was okay, but not that special.

Wednesday morning, Colleen Hatton came to service our home.

Colleen is a treasure and does an excellent job cleaning our house!

On Thursday, Tom and I went for a walk in the woods --- looking for shed.

We found no antlers, but we did catch the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe train 😁😁😁

That evening, Tom made salmon cakes for dinner and he cooked them outdoors on the barbecue's burner.

On Friday, I received a belated homemade Easter card from Karol and Joanna from Warsaw, Poland. Karol and Joanna worked for me at Zion Lodge in 2004.

On Sunday, May 15, I contacted Highland Meadows resident Linda Reynolds. Linda is a seamstress. I have a dress I bought last year with an uneven hemline. I took the dress to Linda to have her make an even hemline.

Earlier in the day, I drove to Kaibab Lake for a three mile walk.

There was an unusual sight --- Turkey Vultures feeding on dead fish!

These birds are not very attractive.

It was time for a full moon. This one was the Blood Moon. One of my friends had more than a cell phone to capture its beauty!

Randy Thomas from Wired-Up Protection Systems came to install a new alarm box. My old alarm system was 20 years old and Randy was unable to buy parts for needed repair.

Neighbor, Linda Reynolds, texted me that my dress was hemmed. Boy, is she a fast worker!

Tuesday, there were six of us who wanted to play pickleball. I had Jordana Kelley take a photo of me and Roland from Hawaii. Roland and his wife are staying in Williams at Railside RV Park until October.

The rest of the morning was excellent pickleball play.

Wednesday morning, I dropped the Kelsey and Jamie off at Grand Canyon Railway Kennel.

The manager of the kennel and RV Park is my friend, Debbie Funderburg.

Tom and I were headed out to Pine, Arizona, for my 70th birthday celebration. It was only a two hour commute to the town of Pine and our three-night stay at a cute Airbnb cabin.

The reviews for this cabin included mention of wildlife. That evening, Tom and I saw almost a dozen Elk. One was even camped out next to our driveway!

I took a photo of Tom on the front porch of the cabin, looking at our cow Elk.

That evening, we stayed at the cabin and had adult beverages and ribs and broccoli for dinner. Yummy! 

 

The next morning, I was a year older --- happy 70th birthday to me! Ugh! 😲😲😲

 

The first adventure of my birthday morning was going to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.

In the early 1930s, a lodge was built down by the natural bridge.

Tom had been to this state park five years ago. It was a first for me. The first stop was walking down the Waterfall trail with the weeping rocks.

 

The Tonto Naturad Bridge is the largest natural travertine bridge in the world. The bridge stands 183 feet high over a 400-foot ong tunnel that measures 150 feet at its widest point. Tom and I walked down the Anna Mae trail.

Wow, what an amazing geologic wonder.

Our next stop was driving to Payson, Arizona, for a birthday lunch. TripAdvisor rated Fargo's Steakhouse as the #1 restaurant. We were not disappointed! I had Sea Scallops.

Tom had Osso Bucco.

The restaurant had a very nice bar area.

 Our server was kind enough to take a photo of the two of us.

After lunch, we drove out to Water Wheel Trail. My manicurist told me about this trail to view waterfalls. We saw the water wheel.

We also saw some of the falls.

That evening, we had adult beverages on the back patio with a beautiful view of the Mogollon Rim.

What a fun birthday celebration in nature!!! 😊😊😊

The next day, we went to visit the Blue Ridge Reservoir. My hairdresser, Shawna Ritter, told me about this. My GPS took us along the Rim Road in the Coconino National Forest. We did arrive at a back area of the Blue Ridge Reservoir, but it was not the right place. I walked a few minutes and took my first photo.

Tom and I had to backtrack the way we came and finally found the Rock Crossing Campground and the Blue Ridge Reservoir boat ramp. Can you say "three hour tour"? But, we finally made it to the right place.

This body of water was dammed in 1963 to provide water for some nearby Dodge Phelps mining operations. It has very little walking shoreline. It reminded Tom of lakes in Tennessee. 

That evening, we stayed at the cabin and enjoyed another parade of Elk.

We bought some steak at Pine's Ponderosa Market and Tom barbecued it on the back patio.

The next morning, it was time to pack up and head back to Williams. The Elk said "good-bye" to us from the home across the street from our cabin.

We got back to our home in Williams at about 1:00 p.m. We unpacked and picked up the dogs at about 2:00 p.m.

That evening, we went to the Best Western Plus and listened to Omar Mondragon.

Both Omar and I turned 70 this year. So, I had Tom take our photo on one of Omar's breaks.

Happy 70th birthdays to us both!!!