So Long September...

Friday, September 27, 2013

It inconceivable to me that it's Monday evening already...the last of September. We left Benson, AZ Friday morning and soon saw the scene below.

At noon we arrived in Apache Junction and went directly to our house. On the road pictured below we drive east toward my beloved Superstition Mountains. Rich was unhooking the car while I took this photo.

After turning north from there and heading toward our house, I could see the Man in the Mountain. See his face in the rock formation at the top left? I wake up to him watching over me every morning.

The girls were so excited to be going into a house...a house! We can run! (Although Bella still knows to take it easy" We can nap on the couch! We can hide in the closet!

While Rich and I unloaded the car and motorhome, the girls were watching out the front door.

We unloaded and unpacked for nearly five hours, even though we knew the whole family was coming out to help. There were still things for them to do but we just wanted to relax and visit with them while we all ate the dinner they brought. Shelby brought two suitcases full of stuff she will need since she is staying with us for a week. Their fall break began today.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

The first thing Rich did this morning was hang the gorgeous wreath that two of my childhood friends had sent after Mom died. We are so thrilled with the painting that was completed while we were gone. The house is so much brighter that it looks cleaner and more spacious. The wreath is perfect in the living room!

Shelby and I were still shopping for a huge cart load of groceries and supplies when Sandee and the boys got here. Sandee did some cleaning in the kitchen and unpacked/put away all the boxes of stuff that belonged in the cabinets. You cannot imagine how grateful and thrilled I was to come home to that! Jackson stayed the night; with 7 a.m. football practice every day except Sundays during break, he can only spend the night on Saturdays. Shelby and I swam in our chilly pool; actually, I swam but Shelby made it almost all the way in! Jackson declined.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

I started the day very early to have Monkey Bread baked for Jackson before I had to leave.

After I fixed breakfast for Rich, Jackson, & Shelby I left to go to Dylan's 9:20 a.m. hockey game. Their new jerseys are not in yet so he was wearing a borrowed #16 for this game.

Twice he spent time in the penalty box! We were so proud! Seriously. I have never seen Dylan play like he did on Sunday. He has a great coach and the hard work they are doing is really improving his game.

After the game, I came home to get Rich, Jackson, & Shelby then we met Sandee, Shawn, and Dylan at a great restaurant, BJs.

The guys switched gear between our cars; Jackson went home with his folks and Dylan came home with us for a couple of nights.

Monday, September 30, 2013

We went shopping today at what must be the greatest furniture store ever! I wish I had five houses to furnish instead of just two more bedrooms! Shelby loved all the kids' beds, and there were a lot of different styles.

Dylan rode around in my cart for much of the time.He was cool and had fun trying out all the motorized beds with his sister but shopping just isn't his thing.

I did buy a night stand, for me! Rich got one in the spring and now I'm glad I waited. It reminds me of the buffet in our living room back home.

Not only were there four of us plus this night stand and all the emergency gear we always keep in the back of the car but then we stopped at WalMart and picked up another ton of supplies. You should have seen the way stuff was packed around the kids!

While we put everything away, Shelby sat with the girls for a while.

Later this afternoon we went swimming. Rich and the kids had put the solar cover on the pool yesterday morning while I was at hockey and by this afternoon the water temp had risen a noticeable six or seven degrees.

After Shelby got out of the pool, Dylan was spraying me with water by blowing it through a pool noodle!

After dinner we played the Monopoly game that we bought at WalMart today. It is so cool because it is a really fast game. There are so many different versions now; I'm glad we picked this one though. I'll close by assuring you that Kunu has returned home. They brought him back when they came out Friday evening and Rich has placed the solar lights around him that we got from Ted & Johanna for Christmas a couple years ago. We brought all kinds of stuff with us this year!

Lovin' Life ~~ Getting Settled

We Are In Arizona!

After a long day of driving, 410 long miles to be exact, we are parked for the night about 175 miles from our AZ "home." We left our Roswell, NM RV park at 6:00 this morning...yawn...that's EARLY for us! I took lots of photos today of our beautiful drive so let's see just a few!

Running the checklist at 6:00 a.m.

Forty-five minutes later we were watching the sun rise in our rear view mirrors!

As it continued to rise, the sun bathed the hills ahead of us in an orangey-goldish glow.

This flat cloud was fascinating.

Between Ruidoso and Tularosa we caught our first view of the White Sands, with the San Andres Mountains in the background.

As we drove through Tularosa, something certainly caught the attention of The Girls.

We don't see a lot of water on this route but this pond was lovely with the San Andres Mountains behind it.

We had passed the entrance to the White Sands National Monument when I took this photo. This is the first time we have driven this route and not stopped there but we were anxious to make our goal of reaching Benson, AZ today.

This is the north-eastern side of the Organ Mountains which overlook Las Cruces on the other side. We didn't stop in Las Cruces today either.

Moving on, we parked at a truck stop lot in Deming, NM for lunch. One of the many things we love about traveling like this is having breakfast and lunch in the motorhome. That gives Rich a break from the road where he can relax. As we started to pull out of the lot, Rich noticed this...

We've put all but 4,000 of those 40,000 miles on this motorhome in the last three years...and great miles they have been! 

We saw lots of dust devils racing across the flats of western NM but luckily they all dissipated before reaching the interstate so Rich only had to battle the crosswinds that came up again this afternoon. It was difficult getting shots of them since they were all approaching on Rich's side and I couldn't block the reflections in the window.

This next scene was taken 15 miles from the New Mexico/Arizona border. Seeing the blue, navy, purple outlines of mountains in the distance is always a thrill for me. Isn't this gorgeous?

And then...

Fifteen to twenty miles east of Benson, AZ we pass through Texas Canyon. These enormous rock formations are another favorite sight on this drive.

Soon we dropped down into Benson. After hooking up the facilities and feeding The Girls, Rich was still feeling a bit road weary so he's lying down. I'm going to finish this post and make some dinner for him.

Lovin' Life ~~ On The Road, At Home, Anywhere Together!

A One Day Vacation in Roswell

It's no secret that we LOVE Roswell. That's been well documented here on previous trips. Last night Rich found the most incredible radio station, you can stream it online at http://www.q971fm.com We stayed up so late reading, singing along (me), and talking while listening to the great music selection of old hits. We love the museums, the restaurants, the UFO kitsch, the shopping, and lots of other activities in Roswell. Something about the place, we always have such relaxed fun while here.

Of course we always visit the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, our favorite small art museum and we have seen a few on our travels. I've posted favorite works here before so took broader shots for you today.

See why we love this museum? For grins I'm going to also post a few special pieces...

This is a new piece titled "V-8 Hot Tub". The V-8 engine being fueled by gasoline from the military-style gas can to warm and pulse the water entering the tub, which is missing one leg so is supported by a concrete block. Totally amusing; we loved it!

I've never posted this piece in its entirety but any of you who have used the guest bath in our home within the past year will surely recognize one section of it!

This one had me laughing out loud. It's a hug pile of polyester-filled felt tubes. Here's part of the description on the artist card, "It is about materializing the...physical digestion...that make[s] up the cycles of daily life." Have you figured it out? It cracked me up wondering if Bella was trying to create a work of art by digesting all that "stuff" of her daily life.

From there we did a little shopping, then ate at what might be our favorite smoked meats restaurant, the Rib Cage. Yummm...they know how to do meat! I didn't even pick up my camera when the plates were set before us. I did take a photo of this though. Rich uses that phrase "Pie-Hole" so it was funny to see it on a table menu. That Blackberry Cobbler was delish too!

What would any visit to Roswell be without a few photos of the aforementioned UFO kitsch?

Lights along Main Street

We're out of here at the break of dawn tomorrow morning for the next to last day of travel...

Good night all!

Lovin' Life ~~ And Light Days of Laughter with MOAO