Dancing to Dr.'s with Medicare

     We made one last trip to Salt Lake City, UT, to visit with Gary's family before leaving Wyoming.  It's only 75 miles from Evanston, so we make several trips during the summer.  While it's always hard to say goodbye, but we'll look forward to seeing them again next summer.  While there  I stocked up on several 12 packs of Vanilla Diet Pepsi.  We bought several pounds of our favorite bacon at Ken's Kash in Oakley, UT, several packages of Kluski noodles at Smith's, and got some Henna lip balm at Anita's Hair Salon.  These are all items that we cannot get in Arizona.  On the other hand, Arizona does have Trader Joe's.  We understand they are opening a store in Salt Lake City next year, so we'll look forward to that.
      In the couple weeks before we left, we bid farewell and good wishes to two grandsons' heading for college. Cory was heading to Northwest Comm. College in Powell, WY for his second year and Keegan was heading to University of Wyoming in Laramie, for his first year.   It will be fun to hear from them during the year.  I know they will both do well.
     We enjoyed Cowboy Days over Labor Day weekend and the PRCA Rodeo's in town.  At one time it was our favorite weekend with all the country dances.  Now we enjoy seeing and getting together with old friends at the rodeos.

     One of our last activities was helping the local Volunteer Fire Department with their annual fundraiser, the demolition derby.  We have done this the past several years, in Robert's memory.  We enjoy it and it allows us to stay involved with the fire department.
     A couple days before we were set to leave Evanston, we got a message from old friends who would be coming through on the same day we were scheduled to leave.  Since our plans are fairly fluid, we postponed leaving by a day and enjoyed the visit with Mabel and Lloyd, old managers from RoVer's Roost, our RV park in AZ.  We even got to meet their two new furry traveling companions. 

Geocahe #2,525

     Our trip South was fun and uneventful, considering we were traveling with an ill car.   The Warrior performed just fine, but our Honda was without the ability to charge.  Having been told, after diagnosis that the problem was the alternator, we ordered one and Gary spent a whole day taking the old one out and putting the new one in.  While this is a 2 hour job in a mechanic's shop, when you don't have the tools, or the experience, it easily becomes an all day event.  When it still wouldn't charge after Gary finished, it was really disappointing.  Rather than delay our leaving and deal with mechanics we didn't know in a Honda dealership, Gary decided we could leave anyway.  Since we were towing the car, it worked out fine.  We charged it with the motorhome when we got where we were going and only drove it minimally, recharging it after we got back.  It all worked out and we were able to see everything we really wanted to see.  It restricted us slightly on our geocaching, but we still managed to get 25 caches on our trip.   Back in Casa Grande, we took it to Gary's favorite mechanic, who diagnosed a bad alternator.  We ordered another one, exchanged the one Gary had put in, and after Bill replaced a fuse, it is back in working order.

     We started off in Richfield, Utah where I visited their quilt shop and Gary enjoyed the golf course.  We stayed at the Elk's, which is right on the course.  From there we went to Lone Rock Beach, UT, just north of Page, AZ.

We had stayed here last Spring and really enjoyed being able to camp on the beach, despite all the sand in the rig.  It takes a really, really good sweeping when we leave, to get all the sand out.  While there, we toured Upper Antelope Canyon.  This had long been a goal of ours, but we had always put it off.  This time we made the reservations and really enjoyed the tour.  It's on Navajo reservation, so you need to go with a Navajo guide or tour company.  We spent about an hour in the lower canyon.  It was all level and only about 1/4 of a mile long, so Katy could handle it.  I'll include a few pictures, but they don't really do it justice.  There is also a Lower Antelope Canyon, but it has more elevation change, with ladders, etc.  We'll tour that one another time.

t s

     From there we went on to Meteor Crater, AZ to visit with friends from 7 years ago when we worked there.  As usual, it was loads of fun to catch up with Paul and Faith and hear what all they had been doing.  After two days, we went on to Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ.  We stayed at Scotty's Reservoir there.  Its a nice campground that is free, with a five day stay limit.  There were volunteer camphosts there this time, so things were in great shape.  We visited the local quilt shop, or course, and friends from the Roost, Frank and Suzanne.  We really like this area and hope to spend more time there in the future.

     Then it was back to the Roost, a little early, but we wanted to get things opened up, unpacked, and settled in before Katy's  Dr. appt. on Oct. 1st.  Bandit did pretty good on the trip south.  Like most kids, everything goes in his mouth.  It will be nice when that phase is over with and he has his permanent teeth.  Although he was a little young, his fur had gotten soooooooo long and heavy that we just knew he  had to be miserable in the heat, so we took the plunge and had him groomed.  While Katy will most likely do it in the future, she thought it would be easier to keep up with it after having it done professionally once.  They did a beautiful job and it was fun to discover there was a real dog under all that fur.  He looks just as cute and is still just as mischievous.

     Since everything goes in Bandit's mouth, I cleaned out all the books and magazines under our coffee table.  Within a few minutes Bandit decided it was a pretty good bed.  I added the cushion from his night time bed and now he has a day time bed too.

    Well today is October 1st, as I write this section.  It is a momentous day, as it is my first day on Medicare and it has been put to good use already.  I met with my ankle surgeon today and had 3 x-rays there.  He agreed with the previous two Dr.'s that an ankle replacement is the best option for my right ankle.  We discussed three different devices and which would be the best for me.  Then he ordered a CT to evaluate the structures and bone around my ankle to make sure all the devices were suitable or weed out any that would not work.  He'll call me with the results of that and then we'll schedule the surgery.  Most likely it will be in 2-4 weeks.  It's scary, but exciting to finally be doing something to end the pain.

     I've had a lot of people ask me what caused my ankle to deteriorate.  In the research I've done, I found out that an ankle that has had severe trauma &/or been broken is 70% more likely to develop post traumatic arthritis.  I broke my right (bad) ankle in 1984 and  my left ankle (no problems so far) in 1987.  Other than that, who knows why these things develop.  I learned long ago not to say, "why me?"  The only answer is, "why not me?"  I know we've been very fortunate over the years to have good health, so I'm not complaining.  I may not run again, but look forward to walks, hikes, and especially dancing.  I'll post on facebook when the surgery date is set, but will probably not do another blog until a month or so after surgery.
     RoVer's Roost fell victim to a 100 year flood this summer on July 4th.  A few sheds were affected, but the main damage was to the clubhouse.  Although there was only a few inches of water inside, it soaked up the sheet rock inside and ruined all the carpeting.  In a flood, it's never clean water, but very dirty.  Repairs are underway, with the sheetrock having been replaced and the painting finished last week.  What a mess for our poor summer residents.  Here's a picture from near the entrance to the park.

     I almost forgot to mention the excitement that awaited me the first time I did laundry at the Roost.  I'd had gone over to change loads from the washer to the dryer, parked my scooter and gone inside.  After a few minutes I came back out to wait for the other load to finish.  I stepped outside and then heard a funny noise.  I started looking around and saw the rattler about 2-3 feet away from me.  I must have stepped over or next to it as I came outside.  Lord only knows where it was before I went inside.  Even with a bad ankle, I moved quickly away, screaming and hollering for Gary as I went.  He got Francis, our Manager, who removed it from the park.  I guess I must have momentarily forgot to breathe during this, as I was gasping for air when Gary got there.  In the picture, the snake is in the same coiled position, he was in when I first saw him.  You can see the door sill to the laundry.  He hadn't moved for at least 10 minutes (guess, my screaming scared him).  The next Sunday Gary was doing laundry and found a scorpion behind the laundry, so definitely beware of the creepy, crawlies back there.

    That's it on this end.  Until I write again, I'm dancing to the Dr.'s with Medicare........................
     Hugs, Katy, Gary, Rusty, and Bandit too!

Dancing Through 2012 Summer

     It's been a jam packed summer & I've neglected my blog terribly.  As a result there's lots to include here, so I'll apologize if this is too long.   I mentioned Gary and our daughter Riki playing in the National Fallen Firefighter's golf tournament, but forgot to include that Gary won the men's long putt and Riki won the women's long drive.
      I told you in the last blog that our beloved Spicy had been ill, but we were still hopeful.  Unfortunately, after four weeks of force feeding him, his little heart just wasn't strong enough for him to recover and we had to make the tough decision to let him go on June 29th.  Those of you who have been there know how tough this is.  Thanks so much for all the kind words, emails, facebook sharing, cards, etc.  They really helped a lot.  Although we knew we'd get another dog, we wanted to give ourselves time to grieve and heal before jumping into another pup.  More on this later.
     We spent two weeks in the forest, one in July and this past week.  In July we were hit with almost daily thundershowers.  They seemed to hit right at suppertime each day.  Our trip this past week was a complete turnaround with only one rain storm, at about 3am one night.  We enjoyed the river with Gary's sister, Pam and her family.

Pam & Jim Cooking Breakfast

The Leffler Family

Joe and friend Julie with Hank

Chad missing his girls

On August 18th, we celebrated International Geocaching Day, by all going to visit the Fairy Forest Pot of Gold, a geocache located behind a campground.  It started about 10 years ago with painted rocks in a "Pot of Gold."  Since then it has been added to by hundreds of people and now is about an acre in size.  There is everything from small villages, to eyes in the trees, to waterfalls & lakes, to Stonehenge, and much, much more.  It is really amazing. I've included a few pictures, but they don't do it justice, since there is so much.

Gary at the Pot of Gold Geocache

Stonehenge in the Fairy Forest

     I have to include one last picture of Gary and Rusty relaxing.  In the background is the very low Bear River.   Of course, we enjoyed the sunshine, food, great company, campfire stories, and fun times.  Right behind where Gary is, we spotted a nice bull moose crossing the river, the next day.

     Summer is fair time in Uinta County, WY.  I entered 6 quilts and 2 pieces of jewelry.  It's the first time I've ever received all blue ribbons.  In addition my bracelet I learned to make at Escapade last summer won the Reserve Grand Champion Ribbon.  Needless to say, I was pretty proud.  The gals at a local quilt shop (R & V Quilt Shop) had asked me to teach a class, so it was exciting when the quilt I taught turned out to be a Grand Champion winner.

Escapade Crystal Bracelet

Grand Champion Quilt

      Gary decided to enter the Wyoming Senior Olympics this summer.  They were held in Cheyenne, Wyoming the first week of August.  The Wyoming Quilt Shop Hop was also going on, so I was able to convince Gary it would be fun to do the Eastern loop.  Because the Quilt shops are so spread out in Wyoming, they organized three loops.  You needed to complete one loop or 14 shops to qualify for entry for prizes.  Since we were in Cheyenne, the Eastern loop was the shortest (only 460 miles) to visit Casper, Douglas, Lusk, and Torrington.  We had gone through Laramie on our way over and were staying in Cheyenne.  We also stopped at Green River shops on the way over.  All together, we visited 11 quilt shops on the trip (four of them twice).  It was great fun seeing new shops and of course, I had to get some new patterns, kits, and fabric.  I think I'll have plenty to do this winter. 
     In addition to all the quilt shops, I arranged for us to get out yearly blood draws done while we were in Cheyenne.  We usually get this done in Evanston, in conjunction with their annual draws at the State Hospital where I retired from.  This year, the timing didn't work out, but since they have weekly draws in Cheyenne, we were able to get them done there.  It turned out to the morning of Gary's singles billiard tournament.  While I'd given Gary plenty of excuses should he not do well, he wound up a two time gold medalist, winning his age group in both singles and doubles.

Two Time Gold Medalist

      Like most of you, we also enjoyed watching the Summer Olympics whenever we could.  While in Cheyenne I wandered into a pet store and of course, ran into some puppies.  In talking with Gary, we decided we were ready to add another puppy to our family.  On August 22nd, we brought the cutest ball of fluff home.  He's an 11 week old male Shih Tzu.  We weren't sure of the a name, so I posted his picture on Facebook and asked our friends to suggest  names.  The favorite turned out to be the one we selected, "Bandit".  I think you can see why.  Other great suggestions included Zorro, Trooper (like a black and white patrol car), RoVer, Rider, Scamp and Cowboy. 

Bandit's first day home

Bandit drinking from the lickit faucet.

     Of course, the downside to a puppy is the housebreaking, chewing, etc.  He's so darn cute though that it's worth it.  He'll be anxious to meet all our winter friends in another month.  Hard as it is to believe, it's time for us to plan our trip South.  We plan on leaving Wyoming around Sep.10th.  We hope to make stops in Richfield, UT;  Lone Rock Beach at Lake Powell, UT;  Meteor Crater, AZ; and Scotty's Reservoir by Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ.

  The other exciting news from the Summer was receiving my Medicare card and information.  Since I will become eligible on Oct. 1st (turning 65 on Oct. 31st),  I called to make the initial appointment with the ankle surgeon and have it scheduled for 9:30am on Oct. 1st.
     I think that's finally it, so I'll just tell all our RVing friends to travel safe, so we can see you soon in AZ and to our WY-UT friends and family, we'll miss you, but look forward to seeing you again next summer.

Soon to be Dancing Our Way South................................

Hugs, Katy, Gary, Rusty, and Bandit too!

Dancing to Pomp & Circumstance.....

     With our grandchildren getting older, high school graduations will abound for the next few years, as we'll have six over three years.  After a short break, we'll start with college graduations. They are fun years though and it's great to see the grandkids recognized for their hard work and efforts.
     We started with Jentry's graduation from Herriman High School in Herriman, Utah.  It is a  new high school and his class was the second to graduate from there.   Jentry had many honors in wrestling, both in Alaska and this last year in Utah.  He was a regional champion but had the bad timing and misfortune of having appendicitis and going into surgery the day of the state tournament.  With 490 in his class, and at least 10 tickets each, they needed a really large place, so it was at the Maverick Center in Salt Lake City.  They made a neat entrance with the fellows in burgundy and the gals in navy blue, then walked down a red carpet to their seats.   It was an exciting night to be a part of!  Jentry's future plans include college in Salt Lake, & a mission for the LDS church.

         Because we were in Evanston we were able to attend choir concerts, awards banquets and the Awards assembly at the high school, the week before graduation.  Keegan received several honors including the top 10% of this class, with 4 years of a 4.0 GPA, a Marine Corps award for Scholastic excellence, department awards for outstanding college English, and Political Science, as well as honors for student council, National Honor Society, and Spanish Honor Society.   His sister Meghan (a Senior next year), received awards for 3 years of a 4.0 GPA, Highest PSAT score in the school, as well as highest ASVAB score, (military pretest).  Keegan had 172 in his class, so they were able to hold the ceremonies in the high school auditorium, with graduates getting 4-6 tickets each.   Keegan and his mom, Riki, kept a special surprise for all of us, until we saw the program at graduation. Keegan was a graduation speaker and spoke of taking advantage of every opportunity coming your way.  He did a great job!

     Riki had helped organize a post graduation party with 17 other Moms of Keegan's friends.  Most had gone to school together since kindergarten and wanted to go to each other's parties.  They rented the recently renovated Roundhouse in Evanston.  Each graduate had a table with pictures of them growing up and their awards displayed.  There was no limit to the number of family and friends that could attend and with 400 hamburgers, 200 hot dogs and side salads, cakes, and other desserts brought by all families, there was plenty of food for all. Best of all, the new graduates could celebrate with both their friends and family!

     Keegan's future plans include attending the University of Wyoming (Go Cowboys!!!) on a full academic scholarship;  Although he was accepted at several other colleges with scholarships, this was the only one offering a full ride.  The idea of graduating without student loans, was too appealing to turn down.  He'll be in the  honors program with special housing and registration status, majoring in engineering.  Besides all the graduation activities, we're staying busy with the seniors in town.  Gary's playing pool every morning and I'm in the water at the Rec Center for water aerobics and water yoga 5 days a week.  My back still twinges now and then , but is getting stronger and hurting less all the time.  Here's a shot of the beautiful pool in the Evanston Rec Center.  Seniors can get a pass for $39 for June, July, and August.  It's good seven days a week, includes all classes, and is only about a mile from us.

      The only downer we've had has been Spicy getting sick.  Spicy is the younger of our two Shih Tzu's, at nine years old.  We learned a year ago that he had a heart murmur and now a valve is not pumping effectively, leading to congestive heart failure.  We've been able to get the water off his lungs with medication and  stabilize the pumping, but he stopped eating.  After two weeks of force feeding special dog food with a syringe every 2-3 hours, we're still hopeful he'll regain hi appetite and start eating again.  I"m sure all our friends with pets understand how hard it is to watch one go downhill so fast.  Rusty at 14 continues to do well.  Here's Spicy in one of his favorite spots in our 5th wheel, over the heater vent.

     Gary and Riki joined the Evanston Fire Department team to play in the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation golf tournament in Utah.  These have become major fund raisers across the country.  Utah's is held at Thanksgiving Point, a beautiful course in Lehi, Ut.  We went down a couple days early and parked at the local Cabela's.  They have a huge parking lot, with dedicated RV parking, water, and a dump station.  We really enjoyed our time there and were able to find 19 geocaches in the area, to get to 2,401 total.

      It looks like we'll be staying in this area for the rest of the summer.  We'll be spending some time in the forest, camping with family, as well as the usual festivals, golf tournaments, quilt classes, etc.  Once again, if any of you are in SW Wyoming or Salt Lake City, Utah area, give us a call.  We plan on being here through the beginning of September. 

Dancing on down the road in Evanston........................
Hugs, Katy and Gary, Rusty and Spicy too!

Dancing toward Wyoming 2012

      After the usual packing of the Motor Home and "summerizing" of the 5th wheel, we were ready to head North.  We left on May 5th and drove through Phoenix (getting the worst part of the drive over on the first morning has some advantages), toward Flagstaff.   There is an area where the Saguaros are really thick, just before we climb higher and out of their growing zone.  It's as if there's one last chance to bid them good-bye.

     From there we climbed to Flagstaff, and at 7,000+ feet it is a climb.  When we stopped the temperatures were cooler and we looked forward to sleeping with blankets once more.  We decided not to use our usual stop at the Page Elks, but to instead investigate a new place we'd read about called Lone Rock Beach.  It's on Hiway 89, just across the state line into Utah.  Camping is allowed on the beach for $10 a night, but with our Senior Access Pass, it's half price.  There are restrooms, water, and dump available.  You can see our rig parked on the beach.  This was the night of the "Super Moon,"

and was it ever
beautiful, shining
bright over Lake Powell.  For those not aware, the moon was closer to Earth than usual and
appeared much bigger and brighter than usual.  Along with the others, we enjoyed a campfire on our beach.  With many small fires up and down the beach, it was quite a sight.   While unhitching the car, Katy suffered some muscle spasms in her back as she bent over.  There was no traumatic injury, but the spasms in the unusual position apparently resulted in a few pulled muscles.  We decided to rest a second day, hoping that would be enough to cure it.  Two weeks later, we know it's going to take a little longer.  It is getting better slowly but surely.  The good news is with the painful back, I don't notice the bad ankle nearly as much.

     From there, we headed further North, driving through Red Canyon and past Bryce National Park, where we visited a couple years ago.  We followed Utah Hiway 12 from Hiway 89 all the way East to Torrey, Utah, over the next several days.  We've been told it is one of the prettiest drives in the Western US and we are believers.  The first night was spent at Kodachrome State Park, just outside the town of Escalante and completely inside the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

 There are many sand spires or chimneys throughout the park and campground.  One of the theories on their formation is that they were geysers that solidified and then the outside softer rock, wore away leaving the spouts frozen in time.  I don't know if that's the most accurate theory, but it's the one I liked best.


 Driving about 10 miles outside the park, but still inside the monument, we visited spectacular Grosvenor's Arch.  If you look closely at the picture taken from a distance, you can see Gary standing at the bottom, wearing a brown jacket.  that gives you some idea of the huge scale of the Arch.  It's really magnificent.  I also included a more close up shot of the double arch at the top.

      
    Driving out of Escalante the next day, we came across this old pump, with an appropriate sign.  While it was red in color, surrounded by petrified wood logs, I couldn't resist playing with my camera phone to produce an appropriate toned picture for the time.

       The next day we headed for the Burr Trail.  One of the most intriguing areas is the drive over  "Hog's Back."  This 1/4 mile two lane stretch of road falls away on BOTH sides to spectacular drops offs .  Wouldn't you know it, someone in their infinite wisdom had placed a geocache there.  Gary was a lot more sure than I was, that there was room to pull over and park, just before we started over.  The stop gave us a chance to look at it closer, (not sure that was a good idea).   It was hard to take a picture of it, as I could only get one side or the other.  One of those things you just have to see in person.  Trust me, it was beautiful, although a little nerve-wracking.  Here's a shot of one side to give you an idea.

       We spent the next night at Duffrey's Mesa, a dispersed camping area on the Burr Trail.  We spent one afternoon exploring that area, although it would take much longer to really see it.  The next morning we visited the Anasazi State Museum in Boulder. After that we headed along the side of Boulder Mountain up to 9,600 feet and then down into Capital Reef National Park.  Of course there were some more geocaches along the way.  One particularly interesting one was placed by a photographer at a spot where there was an especially good photographic opportunity.  The container was an old Polaroid camera. 

     Capital Reef is a National Park we had been all around, but not visited.  It is beautiful red rock country with lots of vistas and a nice campground that is full most of the time.  We lucked out the day we arrived and got one of the last spots.  If you visit make sure you try some of the homemade pies for sale at a restored farmhouse in the park.  Later that night, several deer visited us.

     Finally it was time to head for Goblin Valley, where we were to meet Gary's sister Pam, and her husband Jim.  They had made reservations there several months ago.  It's a very popular park and difficult to get into without reservations. There is a lot of dispersed camping available about 10 miles from the park. 

    The next day we visited the Goblins, a valley full of spherically shaped rocks, many resembling mushrooms or ET.  Your imagination can run wild here, and create all sorts of meanings to the shapes.  Yup, there are geocaches here too.  This picture is of Gary, Pam and Jim returning from a hike through the Goblins to claim a geocache on the other side of the valley.

     While we were there, Jim and Pam wanted to show us an old cabin they had discovered.  Although we were assured there was a "good" dirt road, we took a more scenic route (at least I'm assuming that's why we followed the cow path for several miles), coming out on the correct road just a 1/4 mile from the cabin.

     After four days with Pam, Jim, and the Goblins, it was time to head further North to Price, Utah.  Gary had wanted to play the golf course there last year, but it was too hot at the end of June.  The last time he played there (1957), it was a nine hole course.  55 years later it is now an 18 hole Country Club.  He had a fun afternoon and shooting a 72 didn't hurt.
     One more night, and we headed for Evanston, WY.  Most of you know this is where we lived for many years and started our fulltiming adventure from in 2000.  Our daughter and son's families are still there, along with six grandchildren.  Our other four children, along with 12 more grandchildren live in the Salt Lake City area, only 75 miles away.  Gary has several great-grand children there as well. We are looking forward to two high school graduations in a couple weeks, as well as end of the year concerts and banquets.
     Gary has started playing pool with his buddies at the Senior Center and I've visited with quilting friends and signed up for a class next month.  I'm also looking forward to joining the senior water aerobics and water yoga classes as soon as my back feels better.
     If you are in the area, either Wyoming or Utah, give us a call.  It's easy for us to drive to Salt Lake and we'd love to see you. 
     Dancing in Wyoming for the summer................................
     Hugs, Katy, Gary, Rusty and Spicy

Dancing Back to Work!?!?

     We returned from Quartzsite to the Roost in time for our February Follies, a fun-filled week of activities, games, skits, meals, and our general meeting.  It's basically a fund raiser for the park.  This year was no exception and a great time was had by all.  I made my While Chile, which fetched a good price at our food auction and Gary bought Mary Stuart's spaghetti sauce (as usual) for a good price.  Gary coordinated the billiard tournament and then took first place in it, although dead-eye Dennis gave him a run for it.  He also won the golf tournament.

 This photo is all the chairpeople for the many, many activities of February Follies

  The highlight of the week was  Victor's Fashion show, when  men of the Co-Op strutted the runway.  All dollar bills went to the funds raised as well.  We do have fun, as you can see by Chuck, the Bachelor (note the rose), and yours truly with her dollar.  


 The next week was the health fair and blood draw.  You can see me cooperating with this task.

      Once again our winter season here had a surprise ending.  The Park Managers resigned earlier than expected and we were asked to fill in temporarily, until the park could go on summer hours.  I started training March 4th and Gary the following week.  As of March 18th, we were on our own, although the assistant managers, Nancy and Bob were always available for our questions and to help in any way they could.  We worked four days a week from Sun-Wed.  After the training, it turned out to be a fun seven weeks.  I enjoyed learning the computerized program for the front office, from site assignment to billing, for propane, electric, and rent.  Gary handled outside chores of maintenance, parking and cleaning.  I also got to learn some of the back office with quick books, thanks to Ken's patience.  Of course the fact we were working with Escapees meant most of our customers were among the friendliest people you could find.  We finish our TEMPORARY job May 2nd.  New managers have already been hired for next Fall.

      One of the expenditures of the park this year was to buy two pool tables.  While not new, they were of much better quality than the previous ones.  Gary and a couple other pool players did the searching and arranged delivery.  It was fun watching them being set up, as they come in sections and were glued together.  The pool players all liked the new tables and are looking forward to playing on them next season.
     Working has severely impacted my time to quilt, but I have beaded a lttle more.  A few of us gals made a beading sojurn out to shop for beads and of course have lunch. Here you see Bonnie, Gwen and myself checking out the beads.  Thanks to Carol for taking the picture.

     The weather has been great this winter, with many, many days in the 70's. and nights in the 40's.  Those coincidentally are my favorite temps.  We did have a couple cold spells and once again awoke to snow on Table Top, a 4,000+ foot mountain about 25 miles from here.  Now we're helping break records for the earliest high temps, as it was 100+ yesterday.  It is supposed to go back down later this week, thank goodness.

      The Saguaros are blooimg and although they're beautiful, it's also a sign it is time for us to head north.

     As friends started to leave for the season, get-togethers were the norm of the day.  We were fortunate to have friends Doug, Toni, Joan, and Ken over one evening with Ken playing guitar and all of us singing along.  Unfortunately wind, prevented a campfire that evening, but we had many fires on our patio throughout the winter.
      We attended a local geocaching event last week and picked up some new caches as well as meeting some of the local cachers and getting a chance to put faces to the names we see in the logs.  Leap day found 10 of us from our park caching out at North Mountain Park.  What better to do with an extra day of the year than geocache?

     Now our focus is on packing and getting ready to head North.  Please do not mail anything else to our Casa Grande address.  We plan on leaving here May 5th, heading north.   You can either use our SD address or Riki's address, 401 Twin Ridge, Evanston, Wy 82930.  We're going to boondock our way though Flagstaff, Lake Powell, Bryce, the Burr Trail, and Capital Reef on our way to meet Gary's sister Pam, and her husband Jim at Goblin Valley State Park in Utah.  They're our favorite camping buddies and we look forward to spending several days with them.   
     Graduations will the the start of our summer, as Gary's grandson Jentry graduates from Herriman High School in Salt Lake City on May 31, and my grandson Keegan graduates from Evanston High School June 2nd.  To our many Elk's friends, we say thank you, as Keegan was awarded a Legacy Merit scholarship from the Elks.  We don't have any set plans for summer, but are looking forward to visiting old friends and family.  If any of you get close to Evanston, Wyoiming, or Salt Lake City, Utah, please give us a call at 307-679-8818, or send an email and we'll meet for coffee.  We always enjoy showing our area of the country off, if you can stay a few days.
    

  This time of the year is always difficult.  Thanks to our many friends who remember us and send little notes.  Today would have been Robert's 46th birthday.  It's hard to believe we buried him 7 years ago today.   This picture is one I love, of the National Fallen Firefighter's Memorial at night.  It's such a peaceful scene.  You can see more of the Memorial at their website, www.firehero.org.

Dancing toward Summer, 2012,................,  Hugs, Katy, Gary, Rusty, and Spicy