Saturday, August 1, 2020 through Monday, August 24, 2020: Williams, Highland Meadows Neighborhood, and New Friends

On Saturday, I decided to drive over to nearby Kaibab Lake and make the three mile hike around the lake. It was beautiful day.On our way to pickleball Sunday morning, Tom's Subaru panel showed a slow leak in one of its tires. Tom dropped me off at the courts and he went over to Sandoval's Tires. They were backed up, so Tom returned to the courts. At around noon, we completed pickleball and drove back over to the tire shop. They were able to take us right in.  Fortunately, the tire could be repaired.

On Monday, Tom and I were having our usual cocktail hour on the back porch. It was then that I figured out that August 3 was the one year anniversary of when Jamie arrived into our life. I took his photo and texted it to Jamie's Foster Dad --- Andy, a Las Vegas Fire Chief.

It seemed on Tuesday that there were not enough people to play pickleball. Tom had a doctor's appointment at the North Country Health Center in Williams. So, I walked from the health center to Buckskinner Park. The lake at Buckskinner is small. But, I walked around the lake anyway.

Wednesday was the return of Colleen Hatton. Colleen will clean our home on a regular basis. It will be nice to have someone do this thoroughly!

Soon after Colleen's arrival, I headed off to pickleball. Unfortunately, only Gus and I showed up. So, we each went our separate way. Tom and I headed to Flagstaff. Tom picked up some new shorts at the Flagstaff Mall. We then returned some defective flashlights at Harbor Freight. We had lunch at The Lunchbox --- two doors down. Tom had a teeth-cleaning/dental appointment. I had an appointment at Northern Arizona Dermatology. Dr. Sara Risner was performing minor surgery --- taking a basel cell carcinoma off my neck. It took four stitches. Nice bandage!

Early Thursday morning, I walked up to the "North Forty" Highland Meadows neighborhood. There, I saw an unusual sight --- a javelina!

 

 

I had a 9:10 a.m. appointment at Canyon Pet Hospital with Kelsey. Dr. Jen Sullivan evaluated Kelsey's neck. She is making great progress!

Tom's son Jon returned early from a two-month trip to Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, South Dakota, Montana, and Utah. It is nice to have him back!

After pickleball Friday morning, I walked the dogs over by the Torrey Pines Drive area of Highland Meadows. Beautiful wild flowers!

Saturday morning, we played pickleball. It was a larger than usual group. Jena, on the left, practiced social distancing. 

 

Also that morning, Jon was able to sell a shed to neighbor Gus Beatty. Gus is going through a divorce and his "soon-to-be" ex-wife took the one shed that Gus bought from Jon last year.

 

Early Sunday morning, I did a walk around the neighborhood's golf club --- Elephant Rocks. There were some beautiful cloud formations.

 

Tom and I had a lunch date in Flagstaff with Jill Dillon and Greg Klos. Jill and Greg are long-time friends of Jeff and MJ Rankin. Jeff introduced us to Jill and Greg --- as they sold their home in Durango and bought a new Airstream trailer and an F150 truck. Jill and Greg recently retired and they want to wander the United States. It was a fun lunch at Josephine's Modern American Bistro.

Tom and I were impressed with the amount of preparation Jill and Greg made in order to embark on this RV journey. We did give them some of our ideas --- like buying a tire pressure monitoring system for the trailer.

Monday morning, there was no pickleball play. So, I went walking in the neighborhood, including a visit to Cataract Lake.

Tuesday, Sherri and Tom Morrison dropped by to play pickleball. They have a home in Lake Havasu City and are looking to buy a mountain property. Havasu is hot, hot, hot in the summer. 

 

 

Sherrie and Tom recently sold a mountain home in Wrightwood, California. The interesting thing is that Tom, previously an engineer, created a pickleball paddle design in the early 1980s. Tom was suffering from tennis elbow when playing pickleball. So, he created and patented an ergonomic paddle! Sherrie and Tom have a website that sells their paddles.

Over the weekend, I ordered a dog DNA kit. Over the years, people have asked if Kelsey was a purebred Dalmatian or a mix. I decided to invest in the kit and find out!

I had to swab her cheeks and return the kit. We'll see what they find out!

Friday, Tom attacked two home projects. One was getting rid of outdoor cobwebs.

The other project was washing off accumulated yellow pollen on the outside of our home. Thank you, Tom! My walking project on Saturday was Kaibab Lake. Parking was a challenge --- being a busy Saturday. I ended up parking just outside the entrance and walked around the lake.

 

 

Since the weather has been fairly hot --- in the low 90s --- I have tried to take the dogs out in the early morning. Wednesday, I caught a beautiful early morning sunrise.

 

 

Tom's Subaru is overdue for an oil change. Jon was kind enough to come over to our house before pickleball and help Tom change the oil. Since Jon used to own this SUV, the project went smoothly.

 

 

Currently, the Williams Pickleball Group are playing pickleball on the City of Williams Tennis Courts. Several players from Bullhead City have friends and family who rented a home in our Highland Meadows neighborhood. It is 120 degrees in Bullhead City! Jack's wife doesn't play pickleball and Linda's husband plays golf but doesn't play pickleball. It is always nice to get a chance to play with new players.

 

After pickleball, I joined Tom, Jon, and Gus for lunch at a relatively new Williams restaurant, El Comedors Cardenas Mexican Food and Cantina. The restaurant used to be Kick's on Route 66. It was nice trying a new place. The food was good, and the service was even better!

The Williams Pickleball Group is hoping to return to the Rodeo Barn. On Thursday after lunch, the four of us went to the barn to measure a new court. The Parks and Recreation Department said that we can no longer move the bar in the barn. So, a compromise was to have the stage moved seven feet. This would allow us to have two courts.I ordered white tape that should come in next week. Friday, I had a pedicure and manicure fill. Jennifer did my pedicure. She always is so thorough!

Williams had an afternoon monsoon of rain and hail. I waited in the salon until it slowed down.

On Saturday night, there was a special event. The Junior Senator from Arizona, Martha McSally, came to Williams to speak at Miss Kitty's Steakhouse. Tom didn't want to attend, so neighbor Gus and I went to the event. Our Mayor John Moore introduced Senator McSally.

For each table, the restaurant served a crudité platter with chips and salsa. Martha McSally gave a great speech.

I even got a photo with President Trump!

On Sunday, we had a nice group of pickleball players. The weather is cooling down somewhat.

On Monday, I received the results of Kelsey's DNA sample from Wisdom Panel. She is 75% Dalmatian and 25% Terrier. That explains why she is small for the Dalmatian breed. I was very pleased with the results!

Since Kelsey's neck injury, when we go for walks, I have had her leash secured to a harness. I decided to get Jamie a similar harness. It came in the mail on Monday. So, now both dogs have harnesses.

Monday, July 13 to Friday, July 31: Heading Back to Williams and Being Home

After leaving Bend, our first stop for the evening was Winnemucca, Nevada. We stayed at the Silver State RV Park, formally know as Hi-Desert RV Park. Richard and I stayed in this park five years ago.

It was a hot evening. While I was walking the dogs, I met a gentleman from Alaska. He was admiring my black and white spotted dogs, as he was traveling with his daughter, his son-in-law, and a two year old Great Dane.

The Great Dane was remarkably black and white and spotted as well! I asked them why they are not in Alaska. I was told that with Covid-19, there was no tourism in Alaska. They live in Skagway and own a tour business. It turns out that Tom and I used their company last year for our day tour on the Skagway train up to the Yukon. Small world!

The next morning, we headed to the Pony Express RV Resort in North Salt Lake City. A shorter route would have been through Nevada --- one less night's stay --- but, Nevada is really, really hot in July! It was another 350 mile day, mostly on Interstate 80. We arrived at about 4:00 p.m. This is a nice park and we had a nice pull-thru site.

Fortunately, it was a little cooler in Salt Lake City. Early the next morning --- after walking the dogs around the RV park --- I took off on adjacent bike/walking path along the Jordan River. The entire trail is 41 miles, but I only walked a total of 3 1/2 miles.

Our next day's travel was to Kanab, Utah. It was another 350 mile day. While we are on Interstate 15, we stopped at a Flying J Rest Stop for fuel. The city was Scipio. A young man, Brandan, from the on-property tire shop came over to me. He commented that our trailer had a very bad tire. He also said that a equalizer coupling, holding the two axles were shot. When Tom came back to where we were fueling, Brandon showed Tom is concerns. Tom knew that the tire was getting bad, but he was unaware of the equalizer coupling. Needless to say, safety is first. We authorized new tires and axle repair.

While Tom and I waited, the dogs were comfortable in their air conditioned garage.

The three-man crew was fairly efficient, and we were "in and out" in just over an hour. We arrived at the Kanab RV Corral at about 4:00 p.m. When I was being checked into the park, I asked the cashier about Mexican restaurants in town. She answered my question and then she mentioned that her favorite restaurant in town was Wild Thyme Cafe. Tom and I decided not to cook tonight. And, we went to Wild Thyme Cafe.

Our meal was outstanding! Tom had a bacon wrapped meatloaf dish that was a house specialty. Wow, so very tasty! I had shrimp tacos. This dish was exceptional too!

The next morning, we left Kanab at about 10:00 a.m. When we crossed the Arizona border, we gained an hour. We drove through Page and refueled there. We continued on Highway 89. Near Mile Marker 517 --- between Bitter Springs and Gap, the tire monitor screamed at us. We had a fast leak in one of the trailer tires. One of the new tires!

I was driving. I pulled off the highway as best I could. The tire monitor just paid for itself! I called AAA at 11:20 a.m. We were located 33 miles south of Page and 109 miles north of Flagstaff. I told AAA that we needed a tire changed. According to their maps, Mile Marker 517 was Cameron, Arizona. That meant that Flagstaff was going to be handling the call. Darn! Two hours away.

It was 89 degrees outside. We had no data service, but the truck's air conditioner was okay. Fortunately, we had cell service! Tom called AAA on his own and spoke to a supervisor. Apparently the Page tow company declined the service call. So, Economy Tow in Flagstaff arrived at 3:15 p.m. We were sitting off Highway 89 for four hours! Tom was the flagman for traffic while the fellow changed the tire.

Whew! What a relief to be heading back to Williams. We arrived home at about 6:00 p.m. Weary and tired, we just parked the truck and trailer on the street. The next morning, we emptied the trailer.

Tom took the trailer over to Sandoval's Tire. The punctured tire could not be fixed, so a new trailer tire was purchased.

On Saturday, the trailer was backed into the RV barn driveway.

There are some projects that need to be done on the trailer before putting it back into the barn. Tom worked on the storage door under the bed. Longer and heavier bolts needed to be drilled into the board.

Unfortunately, the gas struts that help open and close the door were extended too far and are no longer functioning. Tom will call the company on Monday. Tom also washed the truck. Thank-you, Tom!

Sunday morning, I could tell that Kelsey was in pain. If I touched her, she yelped. So, I took her to Canyon Pet Hospital. We were there when they opened at 8:00 a.m. There were three folks/pets ahead of me. On Sunday and holidays, it is a walk-in clinic. Dr. Sullivan evaluated Kelsey.

Kelsey's neck is inflamed. So, the pain is in her neck spinal area. She is unable to lift up her head. Dr. Sullivan gave me three medicines that should help Kelsey heal. One was a steroid, one was an anti-inflammatory, and one was a muscle relaxant. Fortunately, she started to feel better in 24 hours. We'll go back for a check-up in ten days.

Tom tackled washing the trailer as well.

There are a lot of birds that use our backyard water feature as a large bird bath. I decided to order an owl decoy to place nearby. Maybe it would scare the ravens and other birds. The scarecrow owl decoy arrived mid-week. I filled it with cat litter and placed it near the two waterfalls.

It is recommended to occasionally move it around, like a real owl. We'll see if it does the trick!

Thursday evening was the Williams City Council meeting. Tom and I drafted a letter that I was going to read at the meeting. It was addressed to Mayor John Moore and the City Council Members. The Williams Pickleball Group was asking to resume playing pickleball in the Rodeo Barn. The barn has begun hosting other activities like the Gun Show and Rodeos.

We struck gold! I read the letter and the Mayor and City Council unanimously approved our request. The Mayor stipulated that we needed to comply with CDC guidelines.

 Friday night, we went to the Best Western Plus for dinner and to listen to music by Omar Mondragon.

Friday and Saturday nights, the Western View Steakhouse has a prime rib special. So, Tom and I enjoyed that dinner special. When we were leaving, there was a beautiful sunset!

On Saturday morning, I played pickleball. There were just five of us, but it was fun play. A new fellow, Perry, joined in on the play after the 9:00 a.m. yoga. He had never played pickleball, but was an active racquetball player. He caught on very quickly.

That afternoon, Tom worked on putting the spare tire back under the trailer. It was not very well designed and proved challenging.

Tom noticed that one of the water feature water falls was not working. I took out the pump and found it to be functioning improperly.

It was over five years old, the usual life span. So, I ordered another pump from the same company in Tucson. It will be delivered on Wednesday. No pickleball on Monday. Not enough players. So, I walked from my house to the dry Holden Lake in the Kaibab National Forest and back again. It was about four miles.

I never tire of views of Bill Williams Mountain! Later in the afternoon, I took Kelsey back to Flagstaff for a recheck. Dr. Sullivan takes great care of her patients.

Kelsey has made significant progress, but Dr. Sullivan wants to keep her on the prescribed medicine for another seven to ten days.

Another five of us played pickleball Tuesday morning.

That afternoon, I went for a walk in the neighborhood to get my fitbit to celebrate. The clouds in the sky were gorgeous!

On Wednesday, Brian from Wired-Up Systems came to install a new smoke detector. Hopefully this will eliminate future false alarms.

Later that afternoon, I picked up the Rodeo Barn keys. Tom, Gus, and I went over to the barn. We are no longer allowed to move the bar. So, we were trying to figure out how to get a second court.

Tom ended up sending an e-mail to Sylvia Lopez of the Recreation Department asking if the stage could be moved seven feet toward the main door. And, Sylvia said yes! Awesome!

On Thursday morning, a Safelite AutoGlass technician came to our home to replace the windshield of my Dodge Ram. A rock hit the passenger side of the windshield when I was heading to Flagstaff earlier in the week. The crack was about a foot long. Robert was very professional.

Also on this day, I installed the new pump for the water feature. The second water fall once again flowed beautifully.

Tom received the new struts for under the trailer bed. He installed them too. It was a productive day!

Friday morning, I connected my truck to the trailer and Tom helped me backed up the trailer into the RV barn. That evening, we enjoyed adult beverages on the backyard patio and enjoyed a lovely sunset.