Last Week at McDowell

 

It’s been a busy last week here at McDowell Mountain Park. Alex and Ellen came back to stay in overflow for a while, Mark and Bobbie showed up to join them a couple days later. We had a nice visit with Dave and Sandy, Lazy Daze owners who are staying here. And Hans and Lisa arrived Tuesday. We also had a couple more doctor appointments, a cat day, and a car problem. Still managed to squeeze in some bike rides and a hike.

Sad news to report that at happy hour the other night I went to show someone the hummingbird nest and it was gone. We looked all over the ground but it wasn’t there. Guessing maybe a raven came and took it for the eggs but who knows.

I forgot to mention in the last post that a good friend of ours from Indiana died after suffering a skull fracture and brain bleed from a fall. We’ve known Doug since the 80s, and last visited him in Indianapolis back in 2011. He and Jim had been emailing about some things just a week or two before the accident. Hard to believe he is gone, and at the young age of 58. He was a very good artist, and had a booth at an arts festival when we visited.

Last year we met Kurt and Toni, fulltimers from the Phoenix area, and had a few beers at a brewery in Ketchum, Idaho in August. When we arrived here at McDowell in November they happened to be here, also. Just read on the blog that Toni died last month, at the age of 56. It is so easy to take things for granted, but we just never know when our time is up on this earth.

On a happier note, the flowers are putting on quite a show around here. Bobbie, Mark, Ellen and Jim on the Scenic trail.

Some photos from a 30 mile bike ride with Mark and Bobbie, and Ellen. Jim missed the ride due to an issue with the Subaru, and Alex was in the middle of removing and replacing caulk on their RV. They missed a fun and beautiful ride through McDowell Mountain Park and into the McDowell Sonoran Preserve around Granite Mountain.

Nice, fairly easy trails.

Poppies everywhere!

Ellen and Bobbie taking a break.

Mark admiring his bike.

Found another crested saguaro but couldn’t quite get close enough.

The Subaru problem turned out to be a sensor in the gas tank. The check engine and various other lights came on and stayed, and the gas gauge read empty. Luckily it was still driveable, but it took three trips to the dealer to get diagnosed, take it back when the parts came in, and to pick it up yesterday. They did give us a loaner but it was still a hassle and a bit unnerving wondering if it would get fixed before we left today. And cost a whopping $700! We first thought it was rodent damage, as the day it happened Jim looked under the hood and found droppings and pieces of insulation chewed off from under the hood, but apparently they were just gathering some nesting material.

Tuesday was our last day at Fearless Kitty. Four months and we are not leaving with another cat, although we’re sure some of you were betting we would. I think Elvis and Sophie cured us of wanting any more cats while we live in an RV, although there is no shortage of cute ones out there needing homes.

Oro is one of my favorites, but I love them all.

                                                                                                                                                          

This is Jim’s buddy, Zorro. No danger in us adopting him, as he likes to pee in inappropriate places, but he’s been doing better.

Our last happy hour, with Lisa, Mark Jim, Bobbie, Alex, Ellen, and Hans.

Today we’re heading to the west side of Phoenix for a long-awaited face to face meet-up with virtual blogging friends. It will feel good to be on the move again.

Spring is In the Air

 

We’re down to our last 9 days here at McDowell Mountain Park.

All of the rainfall this winter is making it a good year for flowers and turning the brown desert green. These were found along the Scenic Trail.

We’ve hiked this beautiful trail many times over the years.

But just last week we spotted a saguaro that looked a bit odd.

A closer look revealed it was a crested or cristate saguaro that we had always missed seeing along the trail.

We taken several hikes on the Bluff trail, which is also a nice trail to bike on. There was a fire in this part of the park back in 1995, which is why there are so few saguaros.

Jim and Ellen taking a little break.

We’ve had a lot of activity at our site. The woodpeckers find creative ways to drink.

A couple of javelinas stopped by for a nice breakfast of grass the other morning. One of the camp hosts said they haven’t seen javelina in the campground for a few years.

I tried to quietly open the window to get some better photos but they ran off when they heard me.

We have a huge palo verde tree at our current site that is home to a very small nest.

This cute little hummingbird spends most of her time there. It’s too high for us to see how many eggs are in it but they usually lay one or two.

I read that the female not only sits on the eggs, but she also builds the nest and takes care of the babies without any help from the male. Hmm, now that doesn’t sound right!

Hope the chicks will hatch over the next week.

We have company coming this week and next, a couple of appointments, and two more work days at Fearless Kitty before we leave. It’s been a good winter.

Not Much to Report

 

We’re still here at McDowell Mountain Park for another few weeks. This is the view from our current site.

A little late for Valentine’s Day.

A few of his friends.

That’s a hummingbird patiently waiting for the Gila woodpecker to get off its feeder.

It’s official, I am now a geezer and have the pass to prove it. Still $10 for the lifetime pass. I asked the gentleman at the Tonto National Forest office when the price increase was to take place, but he said they haven’t yet gotten the word. He also kindly told me I looked like I should be going clubbing instead of buying a senior pass. I suspect I am not the first woman he’s used that line on!

Same old, same old here, mostly biking, a little hiking, and volunteering at Fearless Kitty.

Some shots from the trails.

We saw a bobcat run across this rocky hill but he was too fast to get a photo.

This saguaro was happy to see me.

Learned that the holes are not just used by birds.

This one has a very active bee nest inside.

We have a huge ocotillo next to our current site. No flowers yet but hope to see some soon based on how green everything is becoming.

We’ve been chipping away at little projects around the Lazy Daze. Jim inspected and added some caulk to the roof, replaced the burner tube on the hot water heater, and installed a new propane detector. There is always something to be done.

Last Friday turned out not to be a good night for viewing the full moon, eclipse, and comet, but it was still pretty. Until next time…

Addendum: Can’t believe I forgot to mention this but Sophie finally got adopted on Valentine’s Day. Only took six months for the right people to come along, a family with two older boys. At least maybe they will keep her in line!

Not Ready to Give Up a Good Thing Just Yet

We are still at McDowell Mountain Park near Fountain Hills, AZ. Our departure date was to be January 20, when we planned to meet up with the Lazy Daze group in Quartzsite. As the time was drawing nearer we weren’t really feeling ready to move on, and it just so happened some friends here had to leave early due to family issues, and were planning to cancel their reservations. Since they had sites reserved until March 10, we decided to go ahead and grab their sites as they cancelled them, which is what we did.

So now we can spend more time biking, hiking, and volunteering at Fearless Kitty. The first two and a half months here have flown by, so I’m sure our next six weeks will, also.
Jim, Ellen, and Alex, resting up before we continue our bike ride. The old cover over the picnic table collapsed during one of the several rain/wind storms we’ve experienced.

Since my last post we’ve met some more Lazy Daze owners, Rebecca from Washington traveling with her kids Joshua and Matthew (thanks for the movie tickets!), and Steve and Adele from Colorado.

Last week we were happy to see none other than Box Canyon Mark and Bobbie show up on their way to the Tucson area. They arrived on a beautiful sunny and warm day, the only nice day of their stay. We were able to do one fun bike ride with them, and the rest of the time had to resort to cold hikes under cloudy skies. 

Biker Bobbie.

Cowboys Mark and Jim taking a break from the saddle.

I led Mark and Bobbie on an 8.5 mile “death march” through a wash on a very windy day. Mark was a bit concerned I got us lost as the sun went down behind the McDowell Mountains. Since we have felt the same way on many of the hikes they’ve taken us on, it was fun to have the tables turned for a change.

Lots of rain over the weekend meant lots of snow for the surrounding mountains.

On another cold and rainy day Mark and Bobbie joined us at the movies in Scottsdale where we met up with Alex and Ellen. We all really liked Hidden Figures, the story of the African-American women mathematicians who worked for NASA in the 60s. Conveniently, McFate Brewery was just up the road, so we had pizza and beer after. The Gingerbread Stout and Orange Brownsicle on nitro were really good.

Other than that we’ve had a few more doctor appointments. Jim had a crown fall off and can attest that it’s not easy finding a dentist office open on a Friday afternoon, but finally found one in Mesa who cemented it back on. He also saw an ophthalmologist in Mesa who specializes in corneal transplants, which Jim may need one day due to his hereditary Fuch’s dystrophy. He was having some blurred vision in one eye, and Dr. McKee thought it wasn’t due to the Fuch’s but to dry eyes. Since he is already using hot compresses and Restasis drops daily, which have helped, he suggested trying punctal plugs, tiny plugs that block the tears from draining down into the tear ducts. They seem to be making a big difference, but they dissolve within three to six months and have to be replaced. When he goes back in March he will ask about permanent plugs so he won’t have to find an eye doctor to put them in again after we leave here.

We filled in for quite a few extra shifts at Fearless Kitty over the past month. With the move to the new larger building there are extra rooms to care for, and they didn’t have time to train new volunteers during the move. Things have settled down now and we worked yesterday morning for the first time in a week.

Jim the cat whisperer.

I’m sure there have been other noteworthy things we’ve done lately but since I haven’t been taking many photos I can’t remember what they are. Clearly I need to go back to carrying the camera and blogging more often.

Hope our friends in Quartzite are having a good time, and that the weather there is better than what it’s been here. We’re ready for some sun and 70s!

Addendum: Six hours later and I remembered something else that happened last week. I had my 62nd birthday, one I was actually excited about for a change since I am now eligible for Social Security and the Senior Pass, which is still $10. Have to get one soon before the price increase.