It's Starting To Warm Up In Mesa

Well, it's been more than a week since our last blog. I guess we're either getting behind, or nothing exciting has happened.  As the title says; it's starting to get warm here. This weekend we should see 100 degrees. Time to start planning on heading north at the end of the month.

Last Monday, the 9th, we had dinner will Glen and Carol Sue Dare here in Apache Junction. They are returning to Iowa on the 18th. We had a nice visit and Glen and I quizzed each other on trivia for the old TV westerns (*they will test your knowledge/memory later on in the blog!). We're both western fans. And then we ran into them at Wal-Mart on Friday the 13th! Decided to get together for supper that evening in Gold Canyon. You guys have a beautiful home! Glad we were able to spend time together! Thanks for having us! Safe travels!

Sally & Carol Sue (First Cousins)

 Planting (some) roots in Arizona:

We decided to get our annual physicals here in Mesa, rather than fly back to Maine to visit our old family doctor. (maybe next summer, when the ship is launched! Fingers crossed!). Blood work has been done and our physicals are this Thursday.


Flea Market

Mesa Flea Market

Mesa has a huge flea market on the weekends. The market is a series of four long covered areas that stretch about two blocks long. This time of year most of the snow birds have left and so it's not quite as crowded as earlier in the spring. Sally and I split up after arriving and went our separate ways to find bargains. I found a set of autofocus Bushnell binoculars. Should be handy for sightseeing and baseball games. I just couldn't pass up the shamu chamois 6 for $4.00. Two braided stretch belts, and a Gilligan hat. We spent about an hour and a half; I got through all four buildings, Sally only made it through the first building. Just before leaving, Sally spotted some small cactus arrangements. We purchased two little kits, which I had to plant after we got home. I've watered them, and they haven't grown a bit in the last two days. Don't know what I did wrong?

Cactus Exploring

For some reason I've become somewhat fascinated by the different species of Cacti in the area. Of course after the flee market purchase, we decided to venture out to the area where Glen and Carol Sue lived to take some pictures of the different species we'd noticed. I've tried to do some research on the different types, but I keep finding conflicting names, pictures, and information?

Seguaro Cactus

Prickly Pear Cactus

Barrel Cactus

Another Barrel Cactus

Cylindropuntia Whipplei

Cylindropuntia Bigelovii 

Cylindropuntia Whipplei

Cylindropuntia Cholla

 Parish Cholla

Rumor is that the tree cholla type was used by the mexicans who would cut branches off and throw them as weapons! Hate to get hit by one of those!!!! And of course the prickly pear are used to make cosmetics, and jam/jellies.

So that's my cactus picture collection; bottom line is there are a lot of types, sizes, and all are scary to think about falling into!

Monday 16 April

Yesterday I got up early and we packed up the rig; pulled in the slides, and raised the levelers; it was time to head to the Ford dealer to have a recall notice taken care of, and our first oil change.  This had all been scheduled two weeks ago with the dealer. In addition, last week Sally and I drove over to the dealer to see where it was at and find out how long it would take. Well, I got to the dealer, sat there for two hours and the service manager came out and say your good to go! The he asked how long we were going to be in the area? I said another two weeks. "He said good; we didn't perform the recall service, we didn't have the parts to perform the job".  I bit my tongue; he said it would be a couple of days to get the parts and he'd give me a call.  He called today, and left a voice mail saying they'd received the parts, and ready to install them! 

Monday Night

D'Backs Baseball Game (Arizona vs Pittsburgh)

Another nice evening for a baseball game at Chase Field!      D'Backs 5  -  Pirates 1

Homerun # 3

Sally will be flying to Arkansas this Saturday, to help with my mother, who will have cataract surgery on Monday next week. So I'll be on my own, unsupervised; but on my best behavior! She'll return on next Wednesday.

New Feature

Classic TV & Movie Trivia

1. Who played the "Ramrod" in the classic TV western Rawhide?

1. Eric Fleming
2. Sheb Wooley
3. Paul Bringar
4. Clint Eastwood

2. Who played the two lead parts in the TV classic "The Deputy"?

1. Henry Fonda & Roy Rogers
2. Bob Hope & Bing Crosby
3. Allan Case & Henry Fonda
4. Laverne & Shirley

3.  How old is James Darren and could he really Surf?

1. 82 & Yes
2. 72 & Yes
3. 75 & No
4. 75 & Yes

4. Who played the role of "Jim" in the 1955 TV classic "Fury"?

1. James Arness
2. Peter Graves
3. Bobby Diamond
4. Dennis Weaver

5.  In the 1971 TV series "Alias Smith and Jones", who played the role of Hannibal Heyes?

1. Ben Murphy
2. Geoffrey Duel
3. Roger Moore
4. Pete Duel

6.  In the 1972 TV series "Streets Of San Francisco", who played the role of LT. Mike Stone?

1. Michael Douglas
2. Karl Malden
3. Ruben Collins
4. Broderick Crawford

7.  In the 1960 TV show "Coronado 9", Rod Cameron plays the role of a ___________?

1. Medical Surgeon
2. Community Organizer
3. Lawyer
4. Private Detective

8.  In the 1961 TV classic "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in which town did Rob and Laura Live?

1. Los Angeles, CA
2. New Rochelle, NY
3. Cincinnati, OH
4. Boston, MA

9.  Who created the 1968 TV show "Adam 12"?

1. Jack Webb
2. Dan Rather
3. Roger Ebert
4. Aaron Spelling

10. In the 1972 TV show "The Bob Newhart Show", Bob played the role of a __________?

1. Sports Announcer
2. Psychologist
3. Physical Therapist
4. Hotel Owner/Operator

Bonus Question!

What was Trigger's Horse's name in the TV western Roy Rogers?

*The Answers can be found on our new website. I still working on the website, which is still needs to be organization and tweaks. But from now on, you can go to the website to get to the blog also!

Website:   happylifetrails.com