Collecting our Belongings

Hello Family & Friends,
No, I didn't lose my camera or anything else for that matter (except a padlock, which was found) but if you remember, we did leave some of our belongings in storage in Topeka, KS --- well, we decided that we needed to move them to Arizona where we will be wintering again next year and so since our year of storage had run out we decided it was time to go get those items!

So on Monday 5:18AM (Arizona time) we headed to Kansas - really this is mostly uneventful traveling pushing to Texhoma, OK to stay the 1st night.  We got on the road by 6:15am CDT and headed to Topeka.  Susan forgot to tell Darrel when to turn onto hwy 56 towards Dodge City so just south of Garden City, we took 156 to Larned and back on the path to Topeka!

It was such a fast trip, we stayed at mom's, visited with sisters and niece, picked up some possessions from friends that were storing and then decided to head to back to AZ traveling through Edmond -- we stopped to see Ryan and grandkids before heading out Thursday towards AZ.

The travel was long as busy through Amarillo and Albuquerque with some construction and lots of WIND!  We had hoped to make it home on Thursday night but called it quits at Winslow, AZ (Take it Easy, Take it Easy....) so Darrel just HAD to have his picture taken with the girl in the flatbed ford....

OK, what do you say, should she take him or not??

It is a painted mural in the downtown area.

Here's the flatbed Ford.....

A couple of other bronze statutes are on the scene

leaning on the lamp post!!!

We took a different highway home out of Winslow and it was a beautiful drive --- there is still snow on the mountain peaks in Flagstaff which I caught hanging out the window of the truck --- I guess that is my new photographer skill!

So we are back at North Ranch with a trailer full of stuff to unpack and store here. --- It was good to see everyone we could --- we plan to be back in the Fall, for a longer visit.

Until the next post,

Love to you all,

Susan & Darrel

Exploring Congress Sites

Hello Family & Friends,
Did you think I dropped off the face of the earth after my 60th birthday?  Nope, not yet -- we just got busy and these next couple of posts will catch you up on our adventures.

On Saturday before Easter, we headed to the trails behind Congress, AZ.  Most of the time, we have headed out the back gate into the vast area to explore, up to Stanton and Yarnell --- now we headed to the mountains behind Congress to visit the water tanks and checkout the sites behind the town.

We had a beautiful day (a little warm when we returned) but light winds and a clear blue sky with a few clouds.  John and his daughter, Jennifer, went with Bob and the Pendergasts.

On the trail headed to the water tanks

First thing we spotted was Mr. Turtle (to be named number 1) and he was an old dude.  Sunning himself along the walk trail and didn't seem to want to move.

I hang out of the UTV alot to capture pictures of the scenery -- fortunately, I have never fallen out!

The rock formations are similar to Yarnell trails.

More rocks!

And more rocks!

At the top, you will find the "water tanks" which we think were used by the railroad at some point.  The tracks have changed their location over the years, but we traveled what appeared to be some of the old line.

We think we might check at the library to see if anyone remembers what these were used for and when. (Remember, a librarian for life : )

The view of HWY 89 headed towards Yarnell -- you can see the start of the climb and the valley below.

Next we saw Mr. Turtle #2 climbing one of the rocks -- he was so intent and then.....

Ruger spotted him and decided to check him out.....

Next thing we know, Mr. Turtle #2 is on a downhill slide to the bottom (which I didn't catch on video) with Ruger pushing him along -- no animals or reptiles were hurt in this journey!

Along the back way out of the water tanks, you can see an abandoned outhouse up along the cliff -- OK, I really wouldn't have wanted to be downhill ---- I guess this is where you get the saying,

"S**t flows downhill"  😆

You can see the outhouse just in the middle of the picture, am I right about the climb??

Next on to more trails toward the town of Congress and looking for the Old Cemetery which the "new" cemetery looks kind of "old" --- we've been to that one and didn't realize there was even an "older" one!  We saw Mr. Turle #3 on the way to the cemetery but I didn't get a chance to snap its picture.  Bob said he has only seen 1 turtle since he has been here (approx 6+ years) and to see 3 in 1 day was a rarity.

Jennifer is in the background of the cemetery sign -- OK, anyone notice that cemetery is spelled incorrectly??

Ruger is always paying attention to something, that day if was a barking dog down the lane from the cemetery.

Old headstones and barely readable lettering is most cases.

Some had fencing around the headstones

Young and old alike, reside in the old cemetery

Beautiful mountains in the background.

Cactus and Mesquite are the landscaping plants.

We had another Awesome day of exploring -- but were hot and tired when we arrived back home.  We traveled with Bob and Ruger and when they dropped us off at the RV, Ruger jumped out of the back and headed to the cool shade under the RV -- it was funny to see him making himself comfortable while we unpacked our backpacks and water cooler.

Easter Dinner was at the community center because, if you keep reading, the next morning, Monday 4/22 we headed to Kansas to get our stuff out of storage...... so keep reading!

Love to you all,

Susan & Darrel

Headed to the Desert in UTVs

Hello Family & Friends,
If you read the first post, you will know that my family visited me in Arizona for my birthday and on day two, we headed to the desert for a sightseeing trip.

Here's some pics from the day shared by my sisters as I was driving 1 UTV and Darrel had mom in the other UTV we borrowed.

Saguaro cactus line the path

This one reminded us of "flipping" the bird??? but not really, when you got close!

Big clumps of the cactus line the trail.

Caught a bird's nest in this Saguaro, we actually saw them take flight, but not too far from home.

Carol snapped a creepy, crawly and I didn't even see it until we shared photos.

Beautiful view of the mountain range that is north of North Ranch

We are really green this season, I doubt we will see it this green again.

Round mountain in the background

We had a really gorgeous sunset on Sunday night as we were walking and biking around the park.

We were all worn out from our trip on the desert (we got lost a little and had to back track).  Chili dogs, and picnic fixings were for supper on Sunday.  We did toast some S'mores over the fire pit to end the day.

Travel back to Mesa Gateway airport meant an early morning wakeup call.  We helped them get on their way on Monday and sighed a big breath of relief where they were back home, safe and sound in Topeka.

It was such a fast trip but we crammed as much into every moment as we could and promised to come back and spend more time seeing the area around Congress.

Blessings to all,

Love, 

Susan & Darrel

Happy Birthday to Me!

Hello Family & Friends,
To help me celebrate by BIG "60", my mom and 2 of my sisters, Carol & Shari, came to Arizona to help with the festivities.  I will try to be succinct as we crammed a lot of stuff into the short time they were here.  They arrived on Friday around 7:30pm in Wickenburg.  We met them at Subway to show them the way to North Ranch and the park model where they were staying.

We were up early on Saturday (of course, they were on CDT which meant 2 hours time difference) and headed to Prescott to do the sightseeing and shopping at the downtown historic square.  We stopped along the way to and from to take pictures.

Cactus blooms greeted me outside our front door for my birthday.

Does this look like a bear? --  See the next picture to decide for yourself?

Yep, you can see the bear looking at a honey pot -- notice the beautiful blue sky without a cloud.

We stopped at Yarnell's shop, the Emporium to tourist shop.  Really beautiful stuff to choose from and very unique from local artists.

The sales lady was Amelia, who lives at North Ranch, too.  She took some family photos of us girls in the courtyard area of the shop.

Carol, Mom in the front

Susan & Shari in the back

See all the beautiful outdoor art, so much to see!

We had beautiful sunny weather as we rested in under the sunshade.

After we made it back to North Ranch, Darrel had dinner going with Silver Dollars and we picked up cheesecake for my birthday cake.  

We settled for a 60 in numbers and candles on each piece of the cheesecake slices.

A big breath in to make a wish and blow out all the candles. --- Yes, I did get them all in 1 breath and hopefully my wish will come true!

Celebrating the big "60"

My sister-in-law, Sharon, sent Darrel and I a game called Relative Insanity which I forced my travel weary family to play.  We did have a great time laughing at the punchlines!  After a few games and stuffing ourselves with cheesecake, I bid them goodnight and very thankful for such a wonderful birthday celebration.

So stay tuned for the next day's desert fun ---

Thanks to all that wished me happy birthday, I always miss my friends and more so at special days!

Love, 

Susan