Drive to Saguaro Lake

 Got out of bed at 8:30 this morning to start my day on this cool, cloudy day with sprinkles and rain.  March has been much cooler than normal.  Usually around 80 degrees for a high instead of the 60s and 70s we've been having.

Yuma and I had our breakfast inside this morning.  It was around 11:15 when Yuma and I took our test drive and I decided to head north to Saguaro Lake.  Turned out to be a beautiful drive.  Started out with rain,

but, as I rounded the Goldfield Mountains into the Salt River Valley, the rain stopped, but still had dark clouds.

This is horse country.

Salt River.  Usually, just a little creek.

The drive was beautiful, even with the dark clouds.

The lake is very popular.  Even on this horrible on the lake day, there were boats, kayaks, fishing, biking and people just driving around taking pictures, like me.

Saguaro Lake

Today is Kay's son, Gary's 38th birthday and they are heading to dinner and then to a casino for a little gambling.  Happy birthday, Gary!

Tomorrow will be a busy day packing the Jeep for my trip back home.  The Jeep ran fine today and had no problems, so I'm guessing the right front pad was tight and adjusted itself.  No matter, it is ready for the 1566 mile trip home.

Thanks for stopping by.

Day of Rest and Jeep Problems

 This morning, I was awake, but not up yet.  I had to make a phone call to Brakes Plus right at 8 o'clock.  On Saturday, coming home from Lone Mountain, the front end of the Jeep would wobble at 50+ mph.  When I got home, I checked the wheels, and the right front wheel was to hot too touch.

Made an appointment to take it in at 11 o'clock.  I took it in and as I was walking home with Yuma, Kay, with Gary and Lisa drove up the street and asked if I would go with them to Mesa.  Kay was on a hunting trip to get something replaced and so Yuma and I tagged along.

The battery light was red and I think I went along to help push the car off the freeway if it quit on her.  She had jumper cables and an extra battery with her just in case.  So, we were prepared!  Nothing happened, and we made it the 50+ miles to Glendale and back without a hitch.  Phoenix with the surrounding cities is huge.  It was interesting to see a train of transient carts parked along the sidewalk.  

Kay said, they would park them there during the day and then move them to their sleeping grounds at night.

Brakes Plus called while we were out, so Kay dropped Yuma and me off and I picked up the Jeep.  They said they checked it out and drove it and could find nothing wrong with it.  Tomorrow, I will drive it for 60 miles or so and if the problem happens again, I will take it right in so they can check it out.  Hopefully, it somehow adjusted itself and I will never have the problem again.

Hot tub home and ready to put on the patio.

I was very sore this morning and could hardly walk, but as the day went along, I started feeling much better and now feel pretty much back to normal.  Still have the old bounce back!

My plans at this point are to pack on Wednesday and leave for home on either Thursday or Friday.  I'm only packing what I need this time and leaving the rest for my return in the Fall.  No U-Haul required.

Thanks for stopping by.

Moving a Hot tub!

 This morning it was 7 o'clock straight up when I looked at the time.  The brain games went quickly this morning, so I will have a smart day.😁

At 8 o'clock, I got a call from Kay wanting to know if I wanted to go with her to look at a hot tub that someone was selling.  Sure, I said, never dreaming what the day had in store.

We went to look and there was this huge 5 person hot tub full of water and ready to hop into.  Kay, loved it and told Jim and Linda, two retired Chicago police officers, we would buy it. 

Our plan was to take Kay's trailer full of wood to the dump tomorrow and come and get it.  When Kay called, Dean to make sure he would be available tomorrow to help, he wasn't able too.  But, he could at 2:30 today.

So, Lisa , myself and a neighbor, emptied the recently filled trailer to get it ready to haul a hot tub today.

I say, light her up!

We grabbed some boards, a 4X4 plywood, straps, piano dolly and a regular dolly and off we went around 3:30.

Just to let you know, moving a 500 pound hot tub is no fun.  It took us three hours to move this thing from their backyard out to the driveway and into the trailer.  Maybe 60 feet.

The crew was Kay, Dean, Lisa, Jim, Linda and their daughter's fiancé and me.  We managed to do it without anyone getting hurt, thank goodness.  Dean was the brains of the move and did an excellent job, getting the job done.  

I was so happy to get home.  Personally, the job completely wore me out.  Kay, made the whole thing worthwhile, by buying pizza for all of us.

Now, I'm watching TV, eating pizza with my good buddy, Yuma.  Soon, it will be bedtime so I can rest my weary bones.

Thanks for stopping by.

Short late afternoon drive up Apache Trail

 Been waking up at 6:30 lately, and that is okay.  Gives me time to relax and wait for it to warm up a little while I play my games.  This morning it was a little windy, but not bad.

We had our breakfast outside in the partly cloudy and breezy morning.  Going to be in the low 70s this afternoon.  Just perfect!  For the rest of the morning I did nothing but lay outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Late in the afternoon, I made a run to Walmart to get some dog food because Yuma just finished his last can today.  I also wanted to pick up a couple boxes of Stroopwafels but they did not have any.  I bought a substitute.  Have to see how those taste.

Then, Yuma and I decided to head up Apache Trail just a short way to see if we could find some things interesting to take pictures of.

Superstition Mountains is always prevalent and hard to miss.  Always beautiful!

We found a sign saying scenic view of Weaver Needle and drove up.  We're seeing it from the north side.

On the drive home I stopped to take a picture of Elvis Chapel.

Elvis Chapel

The best I could do for a sunset picture.

Time to fix dinner and rest awhile before bed.  Thanks for stopping by.

Lone Mountain

 This morning I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't go back to sleep, so I did my brain games and then got up to see how the day looks.

Beautiful!  This is going to be a day to get outside and go on a hike.  Checked my Google and found a trail in the Usery Mountain Regional Park, just north of Apache Junction.  So nice there are so many trails within 15 miles of Kay's house.

This is what I have to listen to each morning as I sit down with my breakfast.  I believe they are Great tailed Grackles.

After coffee and breakfast, Yuma and I headed out in the Jeep at 11:30 to do some hiking.  Didn't take long and we were driving through the park.

We pulled into a very crowded parking lot.  Hiking the trails is a very popular exercise in this area.  And many are from out of state just like me.

In case I get lost.

Like to buy that house.

Other side of the Goldfield Mountains.  North side.

I slipped a number of times on the sandy trail, but as I got near the bottom coming back down, I managed to take a hard fall.  My feet and pole slipped from under me and I landed flat on my back.  Nothing broken, but I will probably be sore tonight.  Had about 8000 steps today and we arrived home around 2:30.  There were a number of mountains, so I wasn't sure which one was Lone Mountain, but I was certainly tired when I returned home and put my feet up.

  

Watching Gold Rush now and will have potatoes and pork chops with beans a little later.

Thanks for stopping by.

Silly Mountain

 I woke at 7 o'clock this morning and this time I did not go back to sleep.  Did my brain games and then stepped outside to see what the day will be like.  We had lots of rain last night and this morning there were lots of white and black puffy clouds, but there was some blue in there too.

It was warm enough to sit outside for breakfast.  It was around 11 o'clock that I decided to check out Silly Mountain.  I had Googled trails around the area and this place is nearby.  I wanted to check it out to see if it was a good place to take pictures of the Superstition Mountains and sunrises and sunsets.

Pulled into the parking lot just off Highway 60 and found that it is a very popular place for hikers.  It is leased by the city of Apache Junction and made available to everyone.  Yuma had to be on a leash.

Lots of hikers ahead.

Yuma and I heading up.

It's not really a mountain, but a large hill overlooking the valley.  The views are pretty, but a line of dark clouds were streaming across the valley and surrounding Superstition Mountains.

Path down below.

Family at the top.

Pretty flowers everywhere.

Superstition Mountains

Looking out over the Valley of the Sun!

Heavy dark clouds over the Superstition Mountains.

Late this afternoon, Kay stopped by and we had a happy hour of small talk.  She has such a sense of humor that I'm either laughing or blushing.  

Tonight a cheeseburger and chips for dinner and watched a little TV before calling it a day.  

Thanks for stopping by.