Thursday, April 15 to Friday, April 30, 2021: Woods, Friends, and Renewal

Tom and I decided to go out in the woods to hike and to look for shed. There was a particular area Tom has always wanted to venture. It was up behind a tank off of Forest Road 122.

We walked several hours. We saw some Elk scat, but we found no antlers. It was a nice day and good exercise.

Friday morning, I tried to awaken my cell phone. It appeared to be dead. I called Verizon and spoke to several tech folks. They walked me through some steps to try to start up my phone. The last suggestions was to plug my phone into my computer for three hour. No luck. So, I called Verizon again --- using Tom's cell phone --- to try to buy a new phone immediately. The only way I was going to get a new phone today was to buy it online at Best Buy and pick it up in Flagstaff. Done!

This option was not a Samsung phone, but it did have the Verizon Android system. Tom's son Jon bought a phone like this. The price was reasonable, but I did have to learn some new techniques. I was pleased to find that I had a Verizon Cloud back-up that was active and up-to-date. So I was able to retrieve photos and contacts. Phew!

On Sunday, a group of us played pickleball in the Rodeo Barn.

One day soon, we will move our play to the tennis courts. But, it has been very windy and the nets are not up yet on the tennis courts.

Jon and Dana are hiking the Pinhoti Trail in Alabama. Jon posted a nice photo on his Facebook page.

On Monday, I walked from our house to Cooper Ranch --- passing by Cataract Lake. This ranch has some different view of Mt. Humphreys.

After the walk, I had a nice 90 minute massage with Natanya Nagy at Gods Gift of Healing Hands. Wonderful!

Tuesday morning, I played pickleball in the Rodeo Barn. There was just five of us.

In the afternoon, I took the dogs to town. We parked at Safeway and walked up to the Santa Fe Dam. I have not been there for quite some time. Jamie has never been to this reservoir. We walked less than a mile along the western shore. We turned around before completing the trail.

On Wednesday, we were supposed to go to Cottonwood and attend a Happy Hour at the home of friends Becky and Tom Poremba. Unfortunately there was a severe wind advisory in effect and the event was cancelled. After I cancelled kennel arrangements for the dogs and the Best Western hotel reservations, some other friends decided to move the Happy Hour venue to Verde Valley Thousand Trails. I decided to pass on this change. They did get together and had a good time.

Our Wednesday plan was to stay in Williams. I suggested to Tom that we go back to the Santa Fe Dam. I wanted to see how much further the trail goes.  We parked at the dam parking lot and walked across the dam. The dam was built in 1892 to provide water for the Santa Fe Railroad locomotives passing through Williams.

Tom and I walked along the western shore of the lake.

The trail ended just over a mile. We then turned around and walked back to our car.

That evening, the deer wandered into our neighborhood and grazed on an empty lot across the street from us.

Thursday morning, Tom and I moved our old sofa and our old loveseat into the garage. This is in preparation for the arrival of our new furniture on Friday. I used Overstock.com to select a new sofa and loveseat.

Tom went on Facebook Marketplace to advertise our old furniture --- free if picked up. A twenty year old young man from Winslow, AZ, took us up on our offer. He and his father will come to pick up the sofa and loveseat on Friday or Saturday morning. Yeah!

The living room looks so empty without those large pieces.

That afternoon, Tom tackled the project of cleaning the BBQ. A little Spring cleaning indeed!

On Friday, Tom and I waited for the delivery of our new furniture. The truck driver called around 11:00 a.m. He was arriving in 20-30 minutes. I mentioned to him that we have a low bridge off Exit 161 and that he should use Exit 163. He was very appreciative!

The driver and his associate took the two boxes out of the large trailer and brought the boxes into our living room. The new furniture does require some assembly --- a project for the weekend!

Several weeks ago, one of the spa jets plastic fixture broke. I finally sent an email to Jeff at Summit Spa in Flagstaff. I sent him a photo of the 5 1/2 inch diameter jet that needs to be replaced.

Later in the afternoon, I walked the dogs around our Elephant Rocks Golf Course. There was a nice photo opportunity of Bill Williams Mountain.

Saturday, I drove to Flagstaff for a hair appointment with Shawna. Flagstaff is a very liberal city and mask mandates are still in full force.

I stopped by Safeway on the way home and picked up some sushi and Asian appetizers at the Safeway Sushi Counter.

On Sunday morning, I played pickleball. That afternoon, Tom and I went for a walk in the woods north of town.  We parked our car at a location near where Jon had previously found shed. So, we did a 2 1/2 mile loop. It was a very windy day and there was not much shelter.

Monday afternoon, after a nail appointment, I came home to a new loveseat. 

Tom unpacked all of the furniture pieces and cleared out the two boxes. He needed my help with the sofa, as the pieces are larger and heavier. Tom said that the assembly of the two units were easy --- probably the best experience he has ever had. 

Now, I have a new sofa! Thank-you, Tom!

We also rearranged the living room furniture to better accent the couch, loveseat, and two recliners.

Tom's oxygen concentrator machine needs to be replaced. It is making loud humming noise. The Prescott Rotech Medical Equipment company delivered the new machine on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Kelsey and I went to Flagstaff. I picked up the new spa jet. Kelsey had her acupuncture appointment at Canyon Pet Hospital. While she has that procedure, the Veterinary technician gives her peanut butter. She loves it!

My sister Carrie and her husband are significantly remodeling a second home they have in Bend, Oregon. The project is very complex, so Carrie and her two dogs are living in a Bend full-time. They rented a small house nearby.

Friday night, there was a concert on the Visitor Center stage. It is a build-up event for "The Moving Wall" exhibit coming to Williams June 5-7. The warm-up band was Black Elk. The headliner was Ryan Weaver.

Tom and I decided to have dinner at South Rims Wine & Beer Garage. Our friend, Kerry-Lynne was performing on the patio.

Kerry-Lynne has a beautiful voice. It was a nice way to finish up the month of April.

Thursday, April 1 to Wednesday, April 14, 2021: April Sunshine and Bisbee Getaway

It is April and the weather is exceptional. Jamie and Kelsey spent some time sunning on the side of the house.

In the afternoon, Kelsey had an acupuncture appointment with Dr. Amstutz at Canyon Pet Hospital.

Governor Ducey signed an Executive Order to eliminate any mandatory mask wearing in the state of Arizona. But, the Flagstaff City Council voted to keep Flagstaff under a mask mandate. Stupid liberals!

Friday morning, there was no pickleball play. So, Tom and I went for a nice walk in the woods off of Spring Valley Road.

Unfortunately, it began to sprinkle and we took refuge under a Pinon Pine.

The sprinkles did not last long, but we cut our walk short. Later that afternoon, the weather cleared up and it was nice enough that Tom and I had adult beverages on the patio. Yeah!

I had a hair cut and color appointment Saturday afternoon in Flagstaff. I came home early enough to see Jamie and Kelsey enjoying the sunny day.

Sunday was Easter. My sister Carrie and her husband Brent headed up to Bend, Oregon. They live in Coto de Caza, California, but are building a second home in Bend.

That evening, Tom and I had a date night. We went to DJ's Wild West Junction to listen to music by Rick Remender.

It was a very nice venue --- sitting on the outside patio.

The restaurant serves BBQ. I had beef ribs! They were delicious --- but full of calories. 😮😮😮

Monday afternoon, I had a manicure and pedicure appointment at 66 Nails Spa. Will gave me a pedicure and Jennifer did my nails.

Tuesday evening, Tom and I met up with Penny Tidwell and Gene Galloway at the Red Raven Restaurant. Penny and Gene live in Las Vegas, but they were taking daughter-in-law Diane and granddaughter Kelly to the Grand Canyon the next morning. We had a nice visit.

Wednesday afternoon, Tom wanted to find a hidden canyon near Cedar Mountain. It took us about 40 minutes to get to the location. The canyon was surprisingly beautiful --- with pine trees and lava-based rock formations.

I have never seen this kind of beauty in the woods north of Williams.

We only had to do one rock scramble --- heading in and out of the canyon.

Before leaving the canyon, we noticed an Eagle's Nest. It was lodged in the rock formation and was huge! Later, we found out that our pickleball friend Chris Peterson calls that canyon Eagle's Nest Canyon. Very appropriate!

Thursday afternoon, I had a facial appointment in Flagstaff and Tom had a barber appointment in Williams. Since we did not play pickleball that day, I later took the dogs on a long walk by Cataract Lake. It was a beautiful spring day!     

On Friday, Tom talked to his son Jon. Jon and his hiking partner, Dana Phillips, had started their long-distance hike in Alabama and Georgia. The first section was the Pinhoti Trail.

Dana's husband, Rick, is supporting Jon and Dana on the trail. Dana had a serious bout of breast cancer several years ago. So, Jon and Dana are hiking just ten miles a day until Dana gets acclimated to being back on the long-distance trail.

On Saturday, I dropped the dogs off at the Grand Canyon Railway Kennel. Then, Tom and I hopped into my truck and we started the drive to Bisbee, Arizona. We took a picturesque route, so it was going to take eight hours. With this, we made motel reservations in Globe, Arizona. I have never been on this route past Payson. Our route took us by Roosevelt Lake and we stopped at a scenic lookout.

It was very windy. The bridge is quite magnificent.

We arrived at our Globe motel at around 3pm. The motel sits on top of a small hill.

For dinner, we went to a local sushi restaurant in Historic Globe. The restaurant was Bloom, an Asian Concept. Globe is not a large city, but it has a nice variety of good restaurants. The sushi was very good.

The next morning, we checked out of our motel and we went down the road to Judie's Cook House for breakfast. It was an old fashion diner.

The drive down to Bisbee was three and one-half hours. We rented a darling 1905 cottage through Airbnb. Check-in was a front door lockbox with keys inside.

The front porch had two rocking chairs --- right on the main street, Tombstone Canyon Drive. There home had a barbecue in the side yard. So, we decided to go to the local Safeway for steaks, potatoes, and mushrooms. Tom and I had adult beverages on the front porch and we watched the world go by.

After our adult beverages, Tom prepared the potatoes and mushrooms and then he began to barbecue the steaks.

On Monday, I walked all over the town. Bisbee is an old mining town. We were fortunate to fine a place to stay right in the Historic District of Bisbee.

The town of Bisbee was built on many hills. There are many outdoor staircases connecting various streets. At the third weekend in October, there is a famous stair climb attraction.

The mayor of Bisbee is a liberal Canadian. The town of Bisbee has a strict mask mandate. The mask mandate includes indoors and outdoor. I complied with wearing a mask inside public buildings, but no way would I wear a mask outdoors! Crazy!!!

 

Tom joined me for some walking around the town. We visited the historic Copper Queen Hotel. Unfortunately, the dining room has not yet opened for the season.

For dinner, we went to a highly rated restaurant called Bisbee's Table. We had a very nice meal. I had steamed mussels and Tom had BBQ pork ribs.

 

Tuesday morning, we had tour reservations at the Queen Mine. It was easy to walk from our cottage.

We arrived early and explored the facility.

Ten minutes before the tour, we had to put on vests, hard hats, and lights.

The tour involved getting on small train cars to enter in the mine.

The tour was about 1 1/2 hours long. We had a tour guide for the twenty of us. At various sections, we got off of the train and walked to certain sites. It was very informative!

The mine was active until the mid-1970s. Throughout its history, there were six ores mined --- including gold, silver, and copper.

After the tour --- and before turning in my hat, vest, and light --- I posed for a photo.

After the mine tour, we had lunch at a highly rated restaurant called Cafe Cornucopia. It was a small restaurant with good food.

After lunch, I took our lunch leftovers back to the cottage. Tom went across the street to a Gelato store for a small ice cream.

Tom and I met back up at the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum for a 1:30 pm reservation. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to go through the museum exhibits. Then, we walked back to the cottage.

That evening, we had adult beverages on the porch and consumed some leftovers from dinner and lunch. This was our final night in Bisbee.

The next morning, we had some breakfast and then we departed the cottage. It was time to head back to Williams. We decided to take the fastest route home --- through Tucson and Phoenix. At lunchtime, we stopped in Black Canyon City for a meal at Chilleen's on 17. Tom had never been to this restaurant. It had been over five years since I dined there.

I was first introduced to this restaurant on an episode of Bar Rescue with Jon Taffer. Richard and I went to Chilleen's on 17 for lunch several times. Good barbecue for sure!

We arrived home at about 3:30 pm. Tom and I went to the kennel to pick up the dogs. All is right with the world.