Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Summer Plans




We finally have a plan for most of the summer, which we hope will be a nice change from traveling in the Lazy Dazy. Terry and LuAnn have done some house sitting over the past year through House Sitters America, which costs $30/year to join, so I signed us up and put our profile on the website. Within a short time we got several emails from people looking for sitters but they were not in the right time frame. After searching the ads I found a three month sit taking care of two cats in Albuquerque, NM from mid-May through mid-August and contacted them to say we were interested. We had a Skype interview with the homeowners a couple days later, and after checking our references they let us know the next day that they would like us to come. We are very excited about living with cats in a "real" house for a few months. It's close to the mountains and just a mile and a half to the Sandia Peak tramway where there are lots of hiking trails. We've been to Albuquerque a few times but never got over to that part of town so we will have plenty of time to explore. There are also numerous places to play pickleball, both indoors and outdoors, and many breweries, within about ten miles of the house. 

After that we are not sure, but I suspect three months in a house will spur us on to make a move out of the RV, or we may miss it so much we continue on as is. We will see how it goes.

The weather has been perfect for being outside lately, so here are some photos from a hike we did with LuAnn the other day in Anza Borrego on the Pacific Crest Trail.


We missed the turn and realized as we were rock scrambling that this couldn't be the PCT.

We hiked over 3.5 miles from Scissors Crossing north towards Warner Springs. It was surprising that there was no PCT signage.




Agave in various stages of bloom.







                                                                                                                                                                        
     Many cacti are already flowering.
                                                                                                                                                             




There were flowers, flowers, everywhere.






   We spoke with several section hikers and two through hikers on the trail. At this point they are 80
   miles into their 2,650 mile hike.





Chia plant





The painted lady butterflies are still migrating so Jim had to wash the front of the car when we got home.



On another note, Jim spotted this balloon out the window one morning last week. Little did we know that just a short time later the world-renowned pilot would be killed during an accident upon landing about 20 miles from Jojoba Hills. Here is the story if you're interested.



23 comments:

  1. Sounds like you will have an interesting summer house sitting and the cats.

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  2. Happy for you two! Sounds like a good change. Hope to see you before you leave. Maureen and Eric

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    1. We'll be at White Spar from April 28 to May 7. Hope you'll be around then!

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  3. Almost every tip to Borrego involves passing thru Scissors Crossing, but we've never really hiked along there. Thanks for the tip.
    Hope you enjoy your house sitting experience, our usual couple was not available this year, so my kid brother will be spending much of the summer here, unfortunately not all of it.

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    1. Although we've also driven by there many times we didn't realize that the PCT crosses the road at Scissors Crossing. It's a little tricky to find the trail since it isn't marked.

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  4. What a good plan. We enjoyed house sitting in Tucson, except when the coyotes would howl and dog would bark at 2 am.

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    1. We're looking forward to the house sitting job. At least the cats don't bark!

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  5. Sounds like a great plan for the summer. Looking forward to seeing you in Prescott in a few weeks. We'll probably be looking for some house/cat sitters for several weeks next summer!

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    1. We're looking forward to visiting Prescott again, and seeing your new place!

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  6. That sounds like a wonderful summer plan! We've thought about doing some kitty care/house sitting, too. We're not ready to give up our traveling ways yet, but I think it would be fun to stay put in a place like Albuquerque for a bit. Looking forward to hearing about how it works out for you!

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    1. It should be fun to live in a house for a few months. I think our full time RVing days are winding down.

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  7. Sounds like a great plan to get out of the heat and see what you think about being stationary. A sticks and bricks has its good points like an endless supply of water and toilets that can be used for a long time with no dumping. You won't even know if the wind is blowing!! Can't wait to hear what you and Jim think! Having cats to hang with will be fun.

    The desert is gorgeous, isn't it! We are loving the green everywhere and the huge variety of wildflowers and cacti. Your photos are awesome.

    What a sad situation to hear about the balloonist after seeing his balloon.

    We need lots of posts of hiking in Albuquerque. We are thinking of spending more time in New Mexico at some point.

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    1. I know Jim will miss the tank dumping :-) And we will both enjoy having a couple cats around the house.
      We'll definitely check out the Albuquerque trails. Stay tuned!

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  8. Sounds like an interesting plan for the summer. Being I've been house sitting for almost a year, I'm ready to back in the RV. Of course I'll be taking the cat with me. Beautiful flowers on this hike/scramble.

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    1. It's been a great ten years but we just couldn't bear another summer in the RV trying to outrun the smoke and heat, which seems to be the new normal. We hope it will be a nice change of pace, especially since we will be living with cats!

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  9. House sitting with cats sounds good since you can be gone all day. From that side of Abq you can go up to Santa Fe once it gets hot. Nice hiking around the ski area at 10,000 ft. and some cultural stuff too. Chris

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    1. Yes, much easier than caring for dogs! I'm sure we'll make a trip to Santa Fe at least once while we're there. It's been quite a few years since we visited that area.

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  10. So happy that you two are going to experience housesitting. I am thinking you will enjoy it and the summer in Albuquerque. The desert is so beautiful right now. Glad we were able to enjoy a hike together.

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  11. Great plans for the summer!!! Your pictures are great and the desert is coming alive now!!! Enjoy Albuquerque!!

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  12. So beautiful when the plants start blooming in the desert!

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  13. Always fun to do something different - and we love the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area. The blooms are beautiful!

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