Friday, February 5, 2016

Heart on Training Wheels and the Wave Cave.

 

It’s difficult to believe that we have been in Arizona less than a month!  These three plus weeks are chocked full of changes. Where the story ends is right before Bloggerfest.

There have been lots of great photos of the event.  Here’s just a few more.

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The hubby looks pretty good here.  It is three days before his heart procedure and neither of us is thinking about it!  The worry starts the next day as we head for Phoenix.  I manage to fall down and bloody my knees three times within 24 hours! Just distracted, I guess.

Dr Wilbur Su is cardiac electrophysiologist who does a procedure called cryoballon ablation. I stumbled across his name while reading a blogger, Allison, who wrote about him giving her life back.

My husband’s heart has been out of rhythm for a year.  I call Phoenix and the appointment is scheduled.  The procedure is eventually scheduled for the Tuesday after Bloggerfest.

That morning we bravely drive the 16 miles to Banner Hospital in downtown Phoenix during the scary rush hour.  The procedure takes a bit over 3 hours and it all goes as the doctor expected; his heart is back in rhythm!  But his heart may misbehave, the doctor explains.  It is like his heart is on training wheels and must learn again to beat appropriately. 

David’s discharged the next day with instructions not to pick anything up or exert for the next three days.  We return to his daughter’s back yard for the rest of the week. 

Each morning I reach for his wrist and feel his pulse.  And now, for the past 9 days, the beat is slow and strong.

On Sunday we move to a nice rv park in Apache Junction, not far from the Superstition Mountains.  The weather forecast is not good…rain, wind, lows around freezing. Seems like a good place to heal and weather the storm.

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The front approaches.

We run errands on Monday morning.  It is raining and the winds cuts like a knife. Breakfast is at Mickey D’s Cafe…no, not McDonalds!  We even see 15 seconds of snow while exiting Walmart!!

With 2 more days of cold weather and staying inside predicted, we journey to Camping World and buy a tv antenna.

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Not sure what to expect!  The channel scan reports 69 channels but many are in Spanish and many are garbled.  But it’s fun to have the distraction from the cold.

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Sylvester improvises and finds a bed with a view!

David hangs a recent gift.  No, the T is not for Texas.

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Later I take a very short walk.  It’s COLD!

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Tuesday is much better.  The sun comes out making it easier to continue with the trailer waxing.  Beginning to get that shine back.

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Wednesday is a take care of me ‘cause I deserve it day!  It is way past time to get up into the Superstitions. A friend who likes to hike lives close by and we make plans to see the Wave Cave.  (We met John and BJ through his Blog while in Alaska.)

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You can see the cave in the above photo…it’s the dark slash in the middle of the picture.

The beauty of the area surrounds me.  Different shades of green are everywhere: palo verde, octotillo, saguaro and barrel cacti, cholla.

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The trail head parking is on the right side of the photo.

Finally we make it and now it’s obvious why it’s called the Wave Cave.

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Not too much left to say.  The hike was fun but rather treacherous.  After three falls the previous week, my steps were carefully placed.

Coming up tomorrow is another doctor appointment in downtown Phoenix. And the day after will find us heading back to Quartzsite for a huge fiberglass rally at Dome Rock.

Stay tuned for more fun!

Monday, January 25, 2016

Going West…at last!


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After 4 days of sitting with Mom in the hospital, we leave early Friday morning, January 8th, 2016.  Mom’s recovering nicely from her surgery and we can get on the road, guiltfree.
We leave our Chattanooga home and hope to make Meridian, Mississippi before dark.  There’s a little RV park, a Passport America, that’s 16 dollars with full hookups including cable. We watch tv for the first time in our new to us Escape.  Dinner is leftovers.  

It is raining as we leave the next morning. I’m thinking that we will have a wet day, all day. We head for Jackson and turn south toward the Gulf.  The misty precip disappears, the sun comes out, and by the time we hit I-12 it is a sticky, muggy 72 degrees and I’m wanting to turn on the a/c.
I have picked Beaumont, TX as our destination for the night. It is a totally insane plan, for us, as it is over 400 miles!   Around 4 PM we give up and pull into a casino in Lake Charles. It is leftovers, again, after we take a great shower!  The next morning we treat ourselves to a loaded breakfast buffet at the casino hotel before hitting the road.


San Antonio is the destination for day 3 and, luckily, we have a driveway waiting on us.  It is great to catch up with friends and spend time in a real livingroom!
Last year we ducked into Fort Stockton RV Park as we were running from a icestorm. The park has a little cafe, the Roadrunner, that serves up some great home cooking.
All the leftovers are gone and if we don’t make it to the Roadrunner Cafe, it will be peanut butter sandwiches!
We make it! It is fried catfish and mash potatoes for dinner. And another night with cable TV!  If it sounds like this is making a big deal out of the cable, consider we have less than 10 channels on our home TV.

Deming, New Mexico is our next place to sleep.  It’s over 300 miles away but not too bad of a drive.  The Deming Road Runner RV Park charges us $13.50 for full hookups with the Passport America membership.  Not the nicest place but just fine for the price. Another night with cable and a makeshift meal of roasted chicken from the Las Cruces Walmart.

After 6 long days of travel, it is time to be back in nature.  We celebrate our Arizona arrival with a night at Gilbert Ray campground in the Tucson Mountain Park. The park is beautiful and it is WARM! …. Shorts and tee shirt warm until the sun goes down!

After a short visit with the relatives in Phoenix, we head west to Quartzsite where many of our buddies were already having a great time.
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Been missing those spectacular sunsets for a year.  Now we are back in this magical and weird place.
We have a surprise waiting on us. Two of our close friends, the ones who had sold us their Escape, are planning to marry the next morning! It is party in the desert time!
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So this is how we spend the week.  Shopping, eating, visiting…enjoying winter in the desert.
Bloggerfest is tomorrow…hope to see some of you there……..

Friday, January 1, 2016

2015’s Full of Changes!


2015 brought us a new camper, a new tow truck and a new home!!! Well, not brand new, but new to us.
The first two were totally unexpected and, at this time last year, the downsizing project did not seem possible.  Way too overwhelming!
By using Google Photos and the new Open Live Writer, we are presenting our last year in photos.



Picacho Peak State Park was our first night in Arizona after a harrowing trip west.  The setting sun lit up the mountain across I-10 from our campground and we were back in our winter home.



Our happy place…..at the foot of the Superstition Mountains in Lost Dutchman State Park.







Boondocking on Dome Rock Road in Quartzsite….We were climbing the hills behind camp.


Bloggerfest 2015



Lynne and Sylvester at Clark Dry Lake, Anza Borrego SP in CA



John, BJ and Turk at the Dome Rock Egg Rally in Quartzsite



Theodore Roosevelt Lake, Arizona’s largest lake.  We swapped the crowds of Quartzsite to almost complete isolation of this lake east of Phoenix.

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Salt River with Four Peaks in background…..close to our favorite parking lot at Phon D Sutton Rec Area.

Tucson Mountain Park

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And that’s the end of our winter trip!

The remaining photos were selected to show the important happening of that month.


March: Green Eggs and Ham Rally in Montgomery, Alabama


April: Sadly said good-bye to our faithful companion of 5 years.  Sooo many memories!



May:  And said “hello” to our new home!


June:  Our house sold!


July:  Remodeling on our new home begins!


August: Time to rest, time to take a deep breath!



September: Land Between the Lakes Rally in Dover, TN.




October:  Cherokee Rally in North Carolina and our new truck!




November: Gulf State Park at Gulf Shores, Alabama



December:  David on the Tennessee Riverwalk after record setting rains.  Whole area underwater two days later.

Fireworks are sounding in the distance!  Another year is coming in! 
Hope everyone will have a wonder-filled 2016…HAPPY NEW YEAR!

PS  This blog was edited 4 days after publishing as the author mistakenly deleted all the photos!