Fall in the Desert

We arrived here at our 2nd home on October 1st. It has been beautiful weather, 80s in the daytime and 50s at night, until this past week and it climbed back up to 100 every day and just gets to about 70 at night. Unseasonably warm for the second week in October, it's just regretable that we couldn't capture that and bottle it up for the second week of January when we sit around with coats and long pants on!

Betsy got a much needed bath form Dave's Auto Detailing and we got busy and gave her a complete rub down with Dri Wash and Guard, and all the maintenace issues are done for another season. The oil and lube job for the year was obtained at the Freightliner Shop in Flagstaff on our way across the top of Arizona.
We are finally getting our ducks in a row to leave this paradise on Monday and return to the land of corn and pheasants. The freezer is empty and defrosted and the last of the laundry was done this morning. I have made up my mind not to tote hardly anything back this time. As I look around tonight, I think it's matter over mind instead of the other way around! Many little piles to get loaded. So I may have to do a second ditch effort to pare it down! I have been really good about going to the gym every day, walking two miles on the elliptical and lifting on the weight machines every other day. We have enjoyed floating in the pool and sitting in the hot tub when we thought the pool was a little too cold! We both have had our flu shots, KayCee had her vet visit and she's caught up on her boosters.

They are walking in the desert every morning to get in shape, or DH walks and KayCee runs. We have an irrigation ditch right behind the park, currently running pretty full, and this morning, KayCee thought she would get a drink and she went over the edge and slid down in! Scared her, DH was ready to go in after her, he said she did swim in a circle and her long nails saved the day! She climbed back out, and he said he don't think she'll do that again. DH has been hitting the golf course pretty steady. A couple from Montana that we know showed up and we had a nice visit. They brought their coach down here and went back home on Wednesday. Now they will come and go all winter too!The guys went golfing a couple days and we had fun at the pool. They met up with some Airforce C130 technicians that are on rotation here for a few weeks with their planes...they have golfed with the old guys a couple times. Every day we watch the jets fly, the Ospreys and Helis do their manuevers and drills. I never tire hearing it or watching them take off and land.

I would much rather listen to them in the air than the sirens that pierce the early morning quiet and jolt me awake. Must have been a wreck up on the Interstate this morning. We went for another long walk around the park tonight after supper. It was still really warm. Every day there's more folks showing up. When we got here there wasn't hardly anybody here, which was kinda nice. It will just get busier and busier from here on out.

There's quite a lot of construction going on and it's really bustling during the day. The Grounds keepers are busy pruning, fertilizing and getting things spruced up for the winter visitors.

This park is completely full for the month of January. We have tickets for some shows that will be happening when we return here about Christmas time. I'm looking forward to seeing family and enjoying some cooler temps for a while, but will be ready to return here to our oasis in the desert.