Little brother comes to visit...a short respite from the cold

After our fun time with Steve and Debbie from Down the Road, it was time for my brother and his SO, Nancy, to get out of the cold in Illinois and come visit us in AZ. The weather this winter has been a lot different than in the past 4 winters here but Kent and Nancy happened to hit it just right. Highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's and mostly sunny skies.

They flew in late to Mesa Gateway Airport on Thursday so we didn't get together until the next day. They came to the RV park and we took them on a tour of the park. I think they would love to find a place in the area to spend some time during the winter and get out of the cold and snow.

The park happened to be having an open house event that day so we checked out some of the homes that were for sale or rent. They enjoyed the tour and I think they'll probably be considering some thing next winter. Maybe not in this park but in the Phoenix area.

After our tour and some conversation and snacks we took a drive to Tortilla Flats and had some ice cream. They really enjoyed the desert landscape as we drove along the winding roads.

 After our drive we had dinner at our place and even got to eat outside under the awning at our little table. I grilled some chicken breasts and Glenda made a grape salad. We enjoyed some wine and beer with dinner and after.

Since the weather was good we planned a hike the day. We thought that since they were staying a little further to the west of our place we could hike at South Mountain Regional Park. We picked them up and drove to the trailhead. We had a great hike and saw some wonderful landscape.

Enlarge the photos for better viewing

Nancy and Kent

After our hike we stopped at our son's house so they could visit a little with him and Kendra. Chris and Kendra are getting married in April but my brother won't be able to attend. Kent and Nancy had not seen his house either. They enjoyed catching up with Chris and Kendra. After our visit we took them to a restaurant in Gilbert called Joyride. It's an upscale taco joint with great atmosphere, margaritas and delicious tacos. Downtown Gilbert is a cool 4-5 block area on Gilbert Rd. A big tourist area with several different restaurants of varying cuisine. After dinner we took them back to their hotel. They had plans to visit some former neighbors of Nancy's that moved from Illinois to Goodyear, AZ. Their friends took them on a hike and they also went to a couple spring training games. First game was to see the Cubs and the second game the next day was the White Sox's. The weather was perfect for the games and hiking.

Then it was back to finish the visit with us in Gold Canyon. They got back to our area in the late afternoon on Tuesday so we picked them up and took them to The HUB Grille and Bar. They have several different craft beers and very good food. Burgers, tacos, sandwiches, salads and comfortable atmosphere.

Knowing that my brother was coming I asked Chris if he would be able to get us a tee time to play golf. Of course, he was able to get us on a nice course and had a friend join us to make a foursome. How cool to play golf with my son and brother. Lowry's rule, others drool.

The round started very well for me a birdie and a par then as usual it was down hill from there. My only take away was I was able to eek out a better score than my brother. Brotherly competition as expected.

Kent teeing off on 18

Chris was killing the ball

Even though we(Kent and I) didn't score well, we had a fantastic time. Now that Mom and Dad are no longer with us, it's important to keep up our contact and relationship. 

So good to see him and Nancy and have them see what we have been experiencing the last 4 winters. After our golf game Nancy drove to our park to meet us and we had dinner at the Grill here in the park. Just so happened the band was still playing at the end of happy hour. We got some grill food and spent some time talking about the things we've done while they visited. I know they had a fun time and no doubt they will be back this way again. 

We came back to the motorhome and said our goodbyes and made sure we got the shameless selfie.

Kent and Nancy had an early flight out the next day and unfortunately they were flying back to some not so good weather in the Midwest. Always fun to catchup with my brother and looking forward to more visits. Thanks for making the trip to the SW. 

Thank you for following along

Friends come to town, rain, snow and beauty in the mountains

Yes...we made it back to Canyon Vistas RV Resort after our stay in Quartzsite and all the fun we had with Steve, Debbie, Steve(Debbie's brother) and Diane. Again we had a great time and continue to feel good about our dry camping skills. We got back into our activities here like Pickleball and Line Dancing. Now the weather has changed some and we've been experiencing some unusually cool....cold temps here. Like highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's. I know....for our northern friends and family that's not bad but we come to AZ for better weather. We've also been experiencing some unusual rain amounts....like 1-3 inches over a 2-3 day period. That has kept us in a little more than we like so Glenda and I took a drive to Tortilla Flats on Hwy 88 past Canyon Lake. Tortilla Flats is a tourist area where years ago gold mining took place. The road also past by Tortilla Flats however when we were there the rain had caused some flooding over the road. Many high clearance vehicles were able to make it through to the other side and beyond but our Ford Focus sits low and we didn't feel good about chancing it so I took a couple photos of the flooded road. 

We took a walk around the nearby Tortilla Campground but I didn't get any photos. The campground has water and sewer but you have to provide your own electrical power like a generator and/or solar.

The campground was about 3/4 full. We've thought about coming up to the campground but the road to Tortilla Flats is pretty narrow and winding. We have seen other trailers, 5th wheels and motorhomes come up the road but we haven't decided that we would do it....yet.

We've been patiently waiting for the day when Steve and Debbie from Down the Road would arrive to share in some more hang out time. They booked a week at Lost Dutchman SP near by. They got in late the first day so we talked to Debbie about going on a hike the next day on the Butcher Jones Trail at Saguaro Lake. Unfortunately, Steve had to work so it was just the 3 of us. It was a cool and cloudy start to the hike but the sun started to come out as we hiked around the lake to Burro Cove. It's about a 5 mile out and back hike on the trail. I don't why but the trail on a Tuesday was very busy. We had a great time with some wonderful views of the lake and mountains around it.

Shameless Selfie

It's always amazing to see so much water in the desert. We got a great work out and enjoyed the landscape around us.

We enjoyed a great sunset as we arrived back at our RV park. 

The next day we picked Debbie up again at the State Park...Steve again had to work and headed to the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert. It was a like walk around the ponds with numerous birds, rabbits and quail around us.

We walked out of the preserve and across the canal to a home where the gentleman had set up an animal rescue. He had a couple donkeys and cows and several goats. We also saw a giant tortoise too.

Glenda and I had been by there previously and we knew Debbie would enjoy it. We had a great time.

After our walk around the Riparian Preserve we headed to the Queen Creek Olive Mill for some olive oil tasting and some gelato. Debbie and her sister used to own an olive oil store in CA so we were interested in her thoughts about the olive mill in Queen Creek. We love the store and the olive oils there but what would an expert say? Well it turned out she had a good review of the oils there but I don't think she was overly impressed. She used to get her oil from a supplier that imported the oils.

Later that afternoon we took Debbie back home. Steve was getting done with work so we headed home and Steve and Debbie came over later and of course, we played some cards and drank some beer. We recently taught them a new game called Dave's Game. Not that Dave. You know who you are. Steve was the big winner that night.

I'm sure I have the chronology mixed up on some of the things we did and that's what I get for waiting so long to write this blog post. Any way....We did enjoy a trip to the Hub Grill and Bar in Mesa off Sossaman and Guadalupe. They have delicious burgers, tacos, burritos and many craft beers. We even happened to see some friends that moved to the area last year at the restaurant....Todd and Corrine Abeling. We had a quick conversation while we waited for Steve and Debbie to arrive. We promised to contact soon for a get together.

The food and beer was fantastic and a place we'll go back to in the future. Well on Thursday it was a very rainy day and Steve had to work and I believe they had other plans so we hunkered down in the motorhome except for a quick trip to the Superstition Springs Mall so Glenda could get her steps in for the day.

We met Guy and Sue, who are friends of Steve and Debbie and part of the 2014 full time RV dreamers clan at Quartzsite last month. They had moved from Quartzsite to the Arizonian RV park just a few miles down the road from us. We also found out through Steve and Debbie some other friends, Dale and Ruth were at the Arizonian waiting for some repairs on their truck. They've had some issues recently with both the 5th wheel and truck and were ready for some fun and a get together.

We planned to meet everyone on Friday at Rosati's Pizza about 5 pm which was central to where everyone was staying however when we got there, they were extremely busy and it was going to be a looooong wait and they didn't have much room to stand to wait. So I suggested we go to a local Mexican restaurant in Apache Junction just down the road, Los Gringos Locos. Everyone agreed and we all headed there. Well.....it was National Margarita Day and it was also very busy. We got our name on the list for 8 people and headed to the bar area. Steve and I finally got the attention of the bartender and got a beer then Guy made his way to the bar and ordered Margaritas for all the wives except Glenda and she had a Diet Coke. It was a long wait but at least there we could stand around a small table and eat some chips and salsa.

Finally after about an hour wait, we got our table for dinner. Everyone was having a wonderful time and a couple Margaritas didn't hurt either. You can tell everyone was having  great time and the folks at the table behind us at one point had to ask us to keep it down a little. You know you're having a good time when that happens.

Glenda and Debbie

Sue and Glenda

Debbie and Ruth

The Margaritas are beginning to take hold now. 

Steve, Guy, Dale and Yours truly

Steve was on his second or third Margarita...I couldn't keep track

Debbie and Ruth....No comment needed

Wow.....that was fun and we got to know some new friends even better. Looking forward to future opportunities to hang with these folks.

We only had aa couple more days before Steve and Debbie would be heading a little future east to Surprise. AZ to visit his step mother so since the rain was over and the temps were beginning to warm just a little we decided to get a good hike in around the Superstition Mountain. Now with all the rain the last few days and colder temps the moisture that fell on the mountains around our area was in the form of snow. An event that rarely happens in this part of the desert. As we drove to pick up Steve and Debbie at thee State Park we saw numerous folks parked along the highways and streets near the mountain to get incredible photos of the snow event. This is what we were able to capture.

Glenda took this photo out the window as we drove along Goldfield Rd...amazing

Flat Iron

Four Peaks Mountain pure white in the background...enlarge the photo to really see it

Hoodoos on the mountain

We decided to hike from First Water Trailhead toward Massacre Grounds and see the waterfall....we didn't make it that far but still got in some great views and a wonderful workout. We ended up with about 5 miles total and then it was time for some food.

Glenda and I had been to a place called the Cornish Pasty and thought Steve and Debbie would enjoy it too. What is Cornish Pasty, you ask? Well follow this link to find out more. Here's a snippet...This warm, melting short crust pastry is packed with meat and vegetables creating a filling, hearty comfort food. It has been copied so many times throughout the British Isles over the years that its true origins have slowly disappeared. 

So we found a location near us in Mesa and got a table. They also have craft beer along with the great food. Steve and Debbie had been to a restaurant similar to this and introduced us to the Scotch Egg.
What is a Scotch Egg you ask? Follow this link to find out more.  

The Scotch Egg was delicious and I found a recipe on how to make them my self. Follow this link for more. I certainly want to try this one day. 

OK...this is where my memory is sketchy...I believe this was the evening we stopped at their place and again had a rousing round of Dave's Game. I was a winner that evening. 

At the end of the evening we had to say our see you later's with big hugs and a few tears. The good thing is they're not too far away and we do plan to get together again for lunch somewhere between us before they head back to CA to help with the clean up after the storm at Debbie's brothers place.

I'll just leave you with this photo and you can make up you're own caption

Fast and Loose

Thanks for following along.