Monday

Have patience with me...I just typed this whole post and lost the entire thing, pictures and all - GRRRRRR


Yesterday we took I-17 north, a familiar route for us.  We've traveled this way many times from Phoenix to Sedona.  This time we saw that Phoenix has really expanded north.   The weather was clear but very windy and as we gained elevation we encountered a long, slow moving military convoy.  We also encountered a biker with a very bad attitude, but I'll let that one go.

Exit 287 of I-17 took us on AZ 260 toward Cottonwood and about 7 miles out we made a turn onto FR 360 (as per instructions), a rutted, bumpy dirt track.  The "Beast" was waiting for us.

the big "B's"

all alone - can you see us?

the spring storm gave us spectacular clouds

our closest neighbor

We greeted our friends, settled into our spot and sat down outside to enjoy the beginning of our Anniversary evening.   Paul and Nina made Pisco Sours from liquor they had brought all the way from Peru,   What an honor to share it with them, and it didn't disappoint - Mmmmm.

a "special" greeting"?

Paul serves Dave a Pisco Sour

After our special cocktail, Dave set up the grill and cooked our dinner.  We topped it all off with slices of Nina's famous flourless chocolate cake.   We slept the sleep of babes.    Early in the morning, however, we were awakened by the sounds of things moving outside that shouldn't be moving.   Mother Nature was shaking Beluga and rearranging our chairs and grill with ferocious wind.  Dave lept up and went outside to batten down the hatches.

Lewis loves all the space to run, he doesn't care about the wind

The sky was mixed with dark clouds and sun, dust blowing around everywhere.  Dave moved the jeep to the front of Beluga to try and make a bit of a wind break so we could sit outside with our second cup.

first try.   not quite out of the wind....

second try, much better

Nina and Paul joined us when we got the seating just right.

this is what a tennis ball becomes in the desert......

they want that dirty, dirty tennis ball real bad.....

Nina loves the wind?

The front went through, the wind changed and it got pretty chilly, so we all retired to our respective days plans.   Dave and I took the dogs and drove around to get the lay of the land.  We explored another boondocking site, but agreed there were too many other people there.  Not enough privacy.  We drove down to the Verde River, then up to Sedona, then back to Cottonwood and our next stop, Dead Horse Ranch to see where out site will be.   Back to Beluga around 4:30.   We had pulled the slides in before we left to make Beluga ride out the wind more easily.  Its a bit tight inside with them in, but not really a problem. Nina, Paul and Polly came over about 5 for cocktail hour and it got just a bit tighter.   But, hey, we're all friends, right!    The two young dogs even managed to empty the toy box and play a bit, we're nothing if not flexible.

I threw all last night's left overs into a quiche (Judi's versatile recipe) and we enjoyed our Anniversary meal all over again.  Especially that chocolate cake!   (NO - don't be ridiculous, I didn't put it in the quiche, we ate it with rasberries and whipped cream.)