Time passing quickly this winter....in other words we're keeping busy

The holidays have come and gone and here we are in January 2017. Wow...can't believe we're into another year of full time RV'ing. We're still loving it and the opportunity we have to spend our winters in warmer climates than when we lived and worked in IL. We had a wonderful Christmas with our son and his girlfriend, Audrey. We had a nice gift exchange and dinner. We also took a drive over to the Latter Day Saints Mesa Temple to see the Christmas lights again. This is the 3rd year to go and continue to enjoy the way the LDS Church celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. .

We're still doing our usual activities here with hiking, Pickleball and line dancing. We also were able to help Chris with a home project. He stripped wallpaper off the walls in his laundry room just off the garage and painted the walls a nice light gray. He needed some shelves hung so Glenda and I went over to help. He also had a light fixture and vent to be replaced too.

We got to work hanging the supports and made sure they were level and one by one the shelves went up. We got the washer and dryer back in their places and that was done. Next we got to work on the light fixture.

Before

After

A much better LED light with more style. The light is supposed to last up to 45 years without burning out. Great fix.

Then we got to work on the vent above the dryer that circulates air in the room. Easy fix...just take the old vent down and up with a nice new one.

Of course all this entailed a trip to Home Depot for all our supplies. While we worked Glenda was baking some cookies. They were a wonderful treat after our hard work. We tried to work on a vent connection for the microwave hood and did get to the point of installing it after we had to move the electrical outlet over because it was in the way of the vent tube. Then we couldn't get the hose tube to go over the fittings so we gave up for the day and Chris finished the next day on his own.

Now we're getting close to New Years Eve. Chris and his girlfriend had a party to go to that night so we got together with our friends, Ron and Patsy. We had a nice dinner at Olive Garden and then back to their home for a full night of cards. I think we must of played 7-8 rounds of Spades until after 1:30 am. Way past our bedtime but so much fun.

We did stop long enough to go outside and see some fireworks in the nearby communities in the distance from their rooftop patio. We always appreciate their hospitality and friendship.

We also had the opportunity to have a visit from some IL friends that we have camped with before. Todd and Corrine and their daughter Alecia flew into to Phoenix to visit with Todd's brother and we made arrangements for them to come to the RV park so we could show them around and took them to lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. We then took a drive to Saguaro Lake for some beautiful views.

 You just don't expect to see this much water in the desert. It was such a wonderful time to spend with good friends. We really appreciate them making the effort to visit. So glad to see them.

Well then we had some more hiking to do with our friends Ron and Patsy. We drove to Hieroglyphics Trailhead and hiked the Lost Dutchman Trail. A nice 5 mile hike with spectacular views. We even got a glimpse of a rock formation we called Gargoyle Rock. See if you can see him.

See the gargoyle?

We came across a very interestingly shaped saguaro, took our typical selfie and the girls got a little crazy with their poses. Never a dull moment with our friends. Life is good.

Patsy has a Fitbit activity tracker and we use it to keep track of our steps, floors climbed and miles we hiked. Glenda wanted to have the same way of tracking her activity so we ordered on from Amazon for her and we decided that would be her anniversary gift from me. We got it yesterday so Glenda and Patsy did some walking and today they were going to go out again and Ron and I were going to go hike some on Silly Mountain. Well the girls decided they would rather go with us than just walk around the park so we drove a short way to the trailhead and got some great exercise. We all got in over 10,000 steps and with the ups and downs of the trail we had about 10-15 floors climbed. A fun way to get our exercise. The sun was shining, there was as cool breeze and you can't beat enjoying the day with friends. We even played some Bocce Ball this afternoon.

Flatiron in the distance

5057 peak

More Flatiron with great foreground

Last night we had the opportunity to have dinner with our SIL. Paul, who was in the area on business and our son, Chris. We found a really delicious Mexican restaurant near his hotel and had great conversation and tried to get him to consider moving the family to the Phoenix area since he does have a branch for work here. I think he really enjoyed the weather compared to what is going on in IL right now. We'll keep putting a bug in his ear. :-)

We have about 6 mores weeks here in Gold Canyon, AZ before we start heading back east. Of course we'll be staying south as long as possible until the weather improved up north. We love having family visit and having family close. Time is passing quickly and we're having fun keeping busy.