Birthday and on the road again!

We're on the road again!    Dave's last Dr. appointment was Tuesday, and he was released from PT (weeks early) so we climbed in old Beluga and left Wickenburg on Friday.   

Before we left, however, we took some time to celebrate Dave's birthday.  We enjoyed a birthday/farewell dinner on the Lowes beautiful back patio.     MonaLiza made Lumpia!

One day we drove into Phoenix to take care of a few last-minute errands and celebrated with another dinner at the Sicilian Butcher.    Mmmm, pizza and meatballs and Venetians!

love these pizza shears!

These were yummy but JoAnn's were still the best

We toasted his happy day on our patio with a bottle of one of his favorite "table" wines.

Sweet Annie sent papa a very personal birthday card that made him smile.

Steve and MonaLiza invited us to the Club Grille at Rancho De Los Caballeros right before we left for the summer.   It's been getting really hot, but we were able to sit outside and enjoy the lovely breezes and a good, cooling meal, complete with a cookie sandwich a la mode for the birthday boy.    A special visitor clicked his birthday wishes to Dave as we ate our meals.   

all gone

a very opinionated Roadrunner

The desert heat brought out some beautiful colors in our front yard.    Dave enjoyed their fragrance...Oh Dave!

oh Dave

Color in back also....we watched a couple of Scott's Orioles and a couple of Hooded Orioles enjoy our offering of oranges and grape jelly daily.

male Scotts Oriole

Taos gave Dave some of the most important things he has to offer....his belly and his big red Jolly Ball and his smile.

So, birthday celebrations finished, we packed up Beluga and pointed her nose north towards Flagstaff.    No particular reason for stopping in Flagstaff except that we needed a bit of cool, refreshing air and a few days to come down from atleast a week of busy packing, organizing, and taking care of a few minor but nerve-racking repairs (Beluga's entry step was acting up.....).

We're staying at Woody Mountain RV Park, deep in the tall pines. 

 It's quite windy but delightfully cool and quiet.    This park has a cute coffee shop, a wine lounge, and live music Saturday nights on their patio.   None of which we will go near, we're here to decompress.     Oh, and the stairs are still acting up so this gives Dave (and Taos) a little time to fiddle.

repairman and his supervisor

Taos offers suggestions

Today is resting, reading and watching NASCAR and NHRA on tv.   Oh, which to watch, which to watch.....

Stay tuned, we're moving on Tuesday - next stop Peach Springs!

Here's Annie!

 

Friends and refrigerators

 It's been three and a half weeks since Dave's knee replacement surgery and he's pretty much back to normal.   He's tossed aside the walker and regularly forgets to use the cane he's been given.    PT folks are very happy with his progress, and he continues to work hard on the at home exercises.  

Last week Pam and John came down for a few days to visit and help Dave with a project that required more manpower.    

Long story, sort of short.... Beluga's refrigerator died and we've been going round and round with Best Buy, Spencer's, Lowes, etc., trying to get a replacement.     One is promised, paid for and scheduled for delivery.    As that date approaches and arrangements are made on this end, the store emails that the delivery will be delayed - often by MONTHS.    We cancel the order, place another somewhere else and the same thing happens again.   

 We can't leave for the summer with no refrigerator, so we settle on a different brand, open box one that will fit well enough, and drive into Phoenix to pick it up (using Steve's truck.....).      This story has gone on long enough so suffice it to say Home Depot finally came up with the original exact match unit and delivered it immediately!     Now we have two new refrigerators sitting inside Beluga's garage, an out of order one inside Beluga and a man with a fresh knee replacement!   

This is where friends come in, dear friends.   John and Pam arrived on Wednesday with the traditional delicious Chinese dinner from Boulder City's China Bistro.   Steve and MonaLiza came over and we all enjoyed the nice weather and company outside on the patio.  We ate and talked until the moon rose.....

 Taos is as happy as he can be, all his favorite people were here and one of them had a pocket full of treats.....

The next morning Dave and John loaded the "just in case" refrigerator into the Jeep and drove it back into Phoenix for a return.     One down, three to go.   Pam and I prepped the evenings dinner while they were gone.   

Later in the day Steve and MonaLiza came back over, but before dinner was served, they helped take the dead refrigerator out of Beluga and put the nice new one in!    

In addition to her physical help, MonaLiza brought over a colorful veggie salad to eat with our Pork Tenderloin and cheesy potatoes.

Once again I say, these four are such good friends.

I didn't take any photos at dinner, we all just ate and laughed and enjoyed the company and a job well done.  

After Pam and John left our luxurious, campground on Friday, Dave and I loaded the "dead" refrigerator and took it to the salvage yard!     All done......

the site is tight but the owners are nice....

Now we're set to leave as soon as he gets the all clear from Dr. Campbell on June 2.  Dave says it will be his best birthday present!

Meanwhile, here's Annie!

    

March and April....where does the time go?

Spring has sprung in the desert.  The weather has been just beautiful, sunny warm days and cool nights.   Dramatic sunsets and sunrises...... Sheets drying in the sun......Sorry, you folks in the East, I feel your pain.

sunset

sunrise lighting our blooming Argentine Cactus

 

the sound of bees in this PaloVerde is so loud it sounds like a motor running!

Birds have been busy building and filling nests in the palm trees.   Some do a better job than others, unfortunately.  

spring wind knocked this poor baby and his nest right out of the tree

One day Taos found a very dry, almost skeletal body of a baby bird and two large, recently removed Pidgeon wings in one corner of the yard.   He was horrified but couldn't keep himself from creeping slowly up to the murder scene, every time he went outside......even after the area was cleaned up.......just in case.

 The out-of-town ropers and cow people (is that the correct word for cowboys and cowgirls?) have loaded their horses in various trailers and left for home.

Dave has been helping Steve with his recent Tam project.    They've made some good progress.

I've been busy making arrangements and rearranging the house to facilitate safer and easier ambulation......

We've had some nice visits with friends.   Mona Liza and Steve had us over to enjoy her fabulous Pancit one evening.

Taos photobombs

mmmmm

Gay and Joe drove their motorhome up from Tucson for a first time visit to Wickenburg in March.    They came over for dinner on their first evening in town. Their sweet pup,  Lucy, was taken aback by Taos size, and she rebuffed all his invitations to play by screaming and jumping into Gay or Joe's lap.    Taos was confused; he'd learned to play with another little dog (Kayce) and didn't understand this dog's reticence.   Taos being Taos however, he accepted her feelings and left her alone for the rest of the evening.     She warmed up eventually once she realized he was no threat.   (I can't believe I didn't take any pictures!)   You'll have to check out Gay's blog, I guess.    good-times-rollin: March 2026

Another day we all (Taos and Lucy too) piled into our Jeep and headed for lunch at Scorpion Bay Marina on Lake Pleasant and then a desert drive back to Wickenburg.

There is always at least one feral Burro working the parking lot there.   People must feed them from their cars because one unusual looking young man made a pest of himself as Dave tried to get Taos out of the Jeep.

To get down to the floating restaurant from the parking lot we had to ride a rather steep funicular (or take a long staircase) to the docks below.   Taos had done this before, but it was a first for Lucy.   She was a good girl!       

We snagged a great waterside table, our meals were good and the dogs behaved like the well-traveled canines they are.

After lunch we continued home via Castle Hot Springs Road, a graded dirt road through the desert, the dry Hassayampa riverbed, through the mountains, across small arroyos and past lots of wild burros.   Again, I've shown you this route many times and you've seen those burros more than once.

The rest of March and April have been a blur for me.     Dave had a total knee replacement on April 9 and Taos and I spent the day with him and stayed overnight in Phoenix to be nearby and to bring him home.     Things went well; he's recovering nicely with relatively minimal pain (although I think the honeymoon may have ended last night......)  Taos and I are taking good care of him as are the prescribed drugs.    He's taking PT here at a wonderful place (Champion PT) in Wickenburg three times a week.   Hard work, but he's never shied away from that so we're looking forward to the end of brain fog inducing medication, fingernail shredding compression stockings, ten million staples, walkers, canes etc. and to getting back on the road!

ewwww

 

 

exercises at the kitchen table

 

ski installation, sans tools...

 Using a hint from a dear friend, Dave made a few adjustments to his sturdy steed, and it made motoring round with a walker so much easier!  

Always under the watchful eye of you know who....

Just in case he needs to use his newly learned "brace" skill ya know...

It's hard work taking good care of someone you love....but he's worth it!

And....here's Annie giving Papa their special greeting.....