OCTOBER 2010

The first week we were in Arizona it was 104-107 F every day. We had a storm on Tuesday evening, the 5th, with high wind, heavy rain and some hail. We survived the storm OK but one RV here lost an awning and a few carports were damaged. One of our neighbors lost their Saguaro cactus. There was a lot of damage in the Mesa and Tempe area with power poles and trees lying on roofs.

On Wednesday morning, there were 8 tornados around the Flagstaff area. One small town, Bellemont, lost 30 homes and a large number of RVs. The local news showed a picture of a Mobile Suites on its side. The door was against the ground so they had to rescue the couple through the back window. Was really sad to see a 5th wheel like ours destroyed. Luckily there was no one seriously injured in these storms.

The storms brought some cooler weather and the forecast is for no more triple digit temperatures until next spring – Yeah!

We bought a storage shed from another resident of the park. We were not sure how we were going to move it to our site. The park maintenance guys told us we could use the dollies the park has to store and move the big tables in our main hall. Rex levered each side of the shed up and Nancy pushed the dollies under it. Then down the road we went pushing and pulling. One of our neighbors came out and offered to use her golf cart to pull it. Boy did that help – it made it almost too easy!






On the 14th we drove to Payson and visited the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  This state park is truly a gem.  The natural bridge is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world.  The bridge stands 183 feet high over a 400 foot long tunnel that measures 150 feet at its widest point.  The view from the top was spectacular.









Hiking down into the canyon gave us a wonderful view of the waterfall.








And then looking into the cave you can see all the way through it.










The view from the other side was also spectacular.  Arizona almost closed this beautiful state park last year because of budget deficits!





The temperature hit 100 again – so much for the weatherman’s promise of no more 100s!


Rex has been busy fixing up the shed we bought. He tore out all the flimsy shelving that was in it and built a nice work bench on one side. He had to replace all the boards around the roof and reseal the roof and base. He now has a workshop to tinker in besides a place to store some of our stuff.




We started taking Bailey, a miniature poodle mix, on our daily walks. Bailey belongs to a neighbor, Mary Jane, who is not able to walk him. He is a good dog and really enjoys getting out every day and taking walks with us. Cody and Camille grudgingly share their walks with him.


 
We drove to Tucson on the 30th to attend one day of the Desert Bluegrass Festival held at the Sol Casino. Nancy’s parents were at the festival so we got to see to visit with them. They will be coming to Apache Junction on the first of November. Our friends, Jinx and Leroy, from Benson were also at the festival. We had a great time visiting and listening to great bluegrass music and were sorry we couldn’t stay for the second day – Rex had to work on the 31st.
 



Our park had a Halloween dinner and party on the 31st. We had great “ghoulash” and lots of delicious goodies brought by park residents. Rex got home from the Dolly just as the party started so he went as “Captain Rex”. Nancy went as herself - not very creative!. We had a good time and, of course, ate too much good food.


The weather has been great the past couple of weeks – 80’s and low 90’s – just about perfect!

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