Guitarzan

"Jane", to Tarzan on left

The Monster?

Wyatt Earp-Carrie's Visit; Jan 2013

January 2013

My friend Wyatt Earp

We were pretty busy this month with social events.  We went to Prescott to see Wyatt Earp’s “Life on the Frontier” performance again and talked to him about his up-coming performance at Apache Wells.  I offered to combine two introductory CD’s of his into one for his convenience and we made arrangements for him to come to our site so I could copy them.  113 residents at the park attended his performance here and all enjoyed it.  I helped him set-up and gave the introduction.

Les Miserable comedy at Silver Star Playhouse

Events this month also included the plays “Forever Plaid” and “The Hit” at the Hale Theater, “Dream Girls” at the Mesa Art Center, “Les Miserables” (a comedy) at the new Silver Star Playhouse, and the John Denver tribute at the Arizona Opry.  Daughter Carrie and fiancé Mark came for a 4-day visit this month too.  We did the Apache Trail trip stopping at Tortilla Flat, the Olive Mill, and the Arizona Opry.  We hope that was enough of a taste of Arizona that they want to come back.

And I got the 2013 Apache Wells Residential Directory completed and out to the printers.  Everyone has been very complimentary about the new format and style.  It did take awhile to put together, but it should be easier next year.

Havasu Falls; Molly Butler Lodge; Nov-Dec 2012

November 2012:



Havasu Falls Trailhead w/ Lorraine  and Dee Dee

Havasu Falls

Horseback Ride Out

One of the first activities back in Mesa, was to get ready for another hike into the Grand Canyon.  This one to Havasu Falls on the Hualapai Indian Reservation.  It was an 8 mile hike to the Indian Village of Supai  where we stayed in the “lodge”.  The next day Molly  hiked another two miles to Havasu Falls and I went on to Mooney Falls another two miles.  These hikes were the result of Dee Dee and Lorraine (ladies I met on the Grand Canyon crossing last spring) encouraging us to do the hike with them.  I encouraged Molly by saying if she could hike down, she could take the helicopter out.  But realized too late, the helicopter didn’t run the days we were there, so we rode horses out instead.  The falls were beautiful; the azure color due to the minerals that the water flows through on it’s way down the canyon.  Molly enjoyed the horseback ride out since she could look around at the great scenery and didn’t have to keep an eye on the rocky trail.

December 2012:

During December, friends Pat and Susan stopped for a few days on their way back from Texas.  And of course, Pat and I did a little letterboxing.  There was a Christmas lighting contest this month in the park.  We bought a bunch of lights and thought we looked pretty good, especially being the only ones with luminaries, but didn’t even get an honorable mention. 

Molly at Molly Butler Lodge

For Christmas, Molly and I went for on a trip to the White Nountains.  We stayed at the Molly Butler Lodge in Greer, AZ.  It is the oldest lodge in Arizona, dating back to 1910.  Notables that have stayed there include John Wayne,  novelists Zane Grey and James Willard Schultz, and PresidentsTeddy Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover.   In fact, during his stay, President Hoover gifted Molly with the White House Cook Book from which she derived her now famous Prime Rib recipe which we had to try!  Other than we were both getting colds, it was a great relaxing stay in the snow at 8700 ft.

The Sheriff and his girl

The social activities in the park picked up this month with block parties, potlucks, and happy hours.  We even went on a birding trip to one of the wetland preserves in Gilbert.  I started a new activity; shuffleboard.  I’ve got a long way to go to do well, but it’s fun socializing with the other players.   During the Western Dance this month, Molly and I got all outfitted at Cal-Am's costume store.

   I was asked to do the annual park residential directory this year, so started collecting the slips handed in and putting them in a formatted database.  This was, of course, in addition to putting out our weekly park newsletter.

Fall Cruise to Quebec City; Sept-Oct 2012

September/October 2012:

When we returned to Port Angeles in September, we spent another night and then drove to Vancouver, WA.  We were invited to stay in Tom & Sue’s driveway (full hook-up) for a couple weeks to help out after Sue’s reconstructive surgery after her breast cancer.  While we were at Tom & Sue’s (Pat & Susan were also there to help) almost everybody caught some kind of 24 hour bug.  We weren’t much help when we were spending most of the time in bed trying not to infect the healthy one’s among us.

One reason we were invited to Tom & Sue’s was to store our RV while Molly & I flew to New York for our 10-day Fall Cruise to Quebec City and return.

10-Day Fall Cruise to Quebec City from New York

Central Park

We left on that trip September 28 by flying from Seattle to New York.  We spent a few days in down town Manhatten where we walked to a Broadway play “Good Work If You Can Get It” with Matthew Broaderick.  We also took a bus to Central Park where we walked around and found several letterboxes.

Good Bye New York

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse
Nova Scotia

Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City

We boarded the Norwegian Gem on Sept. 30 and headed down the Hudson River past the New York skyline, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty.  Rather than bore you with the details of the trip, let us just include the destinations along the way.  Our first stop was Halifax, Nova Scotia where we visited Peggy’s Cove, then on up the St. Lawrence Seaway, marveling at the fall colors, to Quebec City.  We took two shore excursions during the two days there.  One was to St. Ann’s Canyon to see waterfalls and over to an adjacent island to a winery, and the other excursion was a city tour of Quebec City which included a horse-drawn carriage ride.  The city was magnificent! 

Norwegian Gem in Corner Brook Newfoundland
from Capt Cook Memorial

Scottish Highland Village
Nova Scotia

Then is was off to Corner Brook in Newfoundland where we took another city tour that included Captain Cook’s Memorial over-looking the city.  Another day at sea brought us back to Nova Scotia at Sydney.  There we took a bus tour to the old Scottish Highland Village.  After another day at sea, we arrived back in New York and flew home to Seattle and drove back to Vancouver.

The next day we drove the RV to Salem, where Molly and sister JoAnn headed off for a three-day quilting retreat in the Cascades….I rested!!!  When she got back, we packed up the RV and headed back to Mesa, Arizona to warmer weather.

Olympic Peninsula RV Trip-Aug. 2012

August: 2012:

This was the month for my Captain license renewal and all the medical documentation to go along with it.  I was a bit concerned when after double checking all the documents that I needed and calling to check with the Coast Guard, I got there and they informed me I had used a medical form that was two years old and that I would have to go back to the doctor and have the information transferred to the “new” form.  They were nice about it, but I just couldn’t see the reasoning to transfer the same information to a newer form.  I didn’t need any more medical information from the doctor, just the newer form.  I guess that’s why “the government” gets a bad name!
 

Rafting the Deschutes River

Molly and sister JoAnn went to an all class reunion in Hood River this month and I joined later for a family reunion.  Then Molly & I were off to Maupin the next day to go whitewater rafting on the Deschutes River.  It was a Groupon thing and we didn’t expect much but was pleasantly surprised with the length of the trip, the whitewater we experienced, and the helpful “no problem” guide.  It turned out to be a wet trip with class 4 rapids.  Molly lost her hat on one dunking, but found it later in the raft.  We also found a snake in the raft when we stopped for a lunch break.  Who knows when it got in the raft, but we were glad we didn’t find it when we were going through some of the rapids.

The month ended with the annual Cruisers Rendezvous in Cathlamet, WA.  Just another party of cruisers reminiscing about past and present cruises around the world.  And, of course, a little drinking and a lot of food.

Lake Quinalt Lodge

This weekend was the kick-off for our next mini-vacation of circumnavigating the Olympic Peninsula with Pat & Susan and Tom & Sue in our RV’s.  We started with our first stop in Ocean Shores for two days exploring the coast.  Then we moved up to La Push, a small Indian village at the mouth of the Quiliute River with a stop at Lake Quinalt for lunch and a few more letterboxes.

As we approached La Push, our over-heating alarm went off.  I didn’t think too much about it until we left two days later when it occurred again and we weren’t adding any AMPs.  Long story short, we had to go back into Forks and get a new fan belt.  The place that worked on an RV, “didn’t work on RV’s”, but they were just great.  They ordered a new belt, it arrived at 8:00 am the next day, and we caught up with our group in Clallum Bay almost before they got up.  The situation did not stop or create a bump in our trip at all.

Boardwalk trail to Cape Alava

During our three days in Clallum Bay, we made a day trip to Neah Bay to go through one of the best, in our opinion, Indian museums in the Northwest, and took a hike out to Cape Fattery to view Tatoosh Island, the furthest Northwest point in the U.S.  The next day Tom & Sue had to return to Vancouver.  Pat & Susan took a drive to the Hoh Rain Forest, and Molly & I went on a 6.5 mile hike on the boardwalk path from Lake Ozette out to Cape Alava.  

 

The McGaffney's

The Malcomson's

We then headed off to Port Angeles for three days.  After exploring the area, Pat and Susan left for the Wooken Boat Festival in Port Townsend, and Molly & I stored the RV, took the car over to Vancouver Island, and visited some Apache Wells friends.  We drove to Port Alberi to spend a few days with Al and Linda Malcomson and then took another ferry over to the neighboring island, Denman Island, to visit Frank and Marion McGaffney for several days.  Needless to say, we had a great time with our friends showing us the exciting areas that they see every day.

 

Grandson's Wedding-July 2012

 
June 2012:This month was a laid back, rest month.  We did, however, do some letterboxing and went to a casino near Centrailia, WA with sister Jodene to see Randy Travis in concert. We also went to our Sauvie Island Yacht Club picnic at Blue Lake Park.  It was a month of see friends, and family.  Molly wanted to be close to daughter Jeanette this summer because grandson Travis was getting married and she wanted to help if needed.

July 2012:

BBQ with Hanson's & Berry's

Tom and Sue Stose brought their RV over to our park for the Fourth of July and we had a great BBQ on our lawn.  Sister Jodene then arranged a visit with our Uncle Harold (we always call him Uncle Book…long story) in Coquille.  It was really great seeing him as he is in his late 90’s, and cousins Roy and Ruby.  We had another surprise BBQ with a fellow letterboxers (Howard and Linda) that we met in Mesa but lives in Hillsboro.  He is a good friend with Rich and Kathy Berry, who I used to work with and hadn’t seen for many years.  Howard arranged the BBQ without informing telling Rich and Kathy who the surprise guests were.  We had a great time reminiscing.



Meghan,  Travis, and Tika

The big event this month, however, was our grandson’s wedding.  It was a beautiful sunny day in the mountains around Sandy where they live, with Mt. Hood in the background.  Meaghan and Travis were just a perfect couple and made the rounds of all the guests.  The only thing that was of concern was that WE AREN’T OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE A 25 YEAR OLD GRANDSON GETTING MARRIED!!!

Letterboxers, South Jetty

We ended the month by taking a little mini-vacation to the Long Beach peninsula to visit friends Pat and Susan Caniff and Nancy and Herman Ford who were also visiting and Tom and Sue Stose also came down for a night.  With all these letterboxers present, most of the weekend was spent finding letterboxes.  One group of 8 letterboxes was on a 1.5-mile hike and was carved by one of our favorite carvers, Stormrider.  The whole theme was of pirates and the carved stamps were in such detail they should be considered a work of art.  While letterboxing on the South Jetty of the Columbia River, we surprised a group of four lady letterboxers that we had corresponded with several times.  It was nice putting a face to the correspondents, and we had a good time comparing notes.