Well, we've been here for 4 days now and are beginning to get in the swing of things. At least Mary is. I came down with an achilles tendon problem - tendonitis? plantar fasciitis ? that has really prevented me from walking and doing most anything. Quite painful. Lots of sitting, icing, ibuprofen. Meanwhile Mary has got right into it: Water Aerobics on Mon-Wed-Fri, she joined the sewing group, and we cannot forget the laundry thing.
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| Mary enroute to the laundry room |
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| Molly watching her off |
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| The return |
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| The return with someone waiting anxiously |
Nov 6
Foot a little better thanks to one of Mary's Healing Touch sessions. This therapy really seems to work. Still spent the day sitting, icing and ibuprofening. Mary did another load of wash in the am and then sewing class in the pm. With me laid up and staying off the foot, she gets to walk Molly. Needless to say, with all the trips to the doggy area, the clubhouse, the pool, the laundry, she is getting a lot of exercise. A good thing. Today we signed up for the saturday morning breakfast.
Nov 7
Friday- busy day ahead. Mary up bright and early - 43 outside, 51 inside the trailer. High today supposed to be in the low 70's After Molly walk, breakfast we are off to grocery shopping(Walmart), Post Office for our first mail delivery and then back to Airstream to put all groceries away in time for Mary to get to Water Aerobics class. Also, at 4 pm today is welcoming Happy Hour.
While at Walmart I happened to notice a car with Vermont plates, so I went over and said hello. Jim & Kay from Burlington area. They are staying at San Pedro Park, adjacent to Saguaro Co-Op where we had stayed. Been coming here for 18 years. Still go back to Burlington for the summer. Seems Jim used to work for Merrill Transport and when I asked him if he knew a guy named Bud Holcomb- he was kind of stunned. Bud had been his boss. I knew Bud from my days with IH when I was in Burlington,
Nov 8
Saturday! This marks 1 week here at Butterfield and so far we have been thoroughly impressed with site, facilities, neighbors, pretty much everything about the place.
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| A view down one of the streets |
This morning we attended the breakfast, sat with immediate neighbors Terry & Dave(Texas), Judy & Ken(Nebraska), Dave & Terry mentioned that just a week or so ago they had to have park maintenance over to remove a 3' rattlesnake from along wall behind their motorhome. This really got my attention. Temp supposed to get up to 75 today with mild winds. At 6 PM I joined Dorann & Keith outside to view their Saskatchewan Rough Riders play the Edmonton Eskimos.
Molly is starting to settle down. Anything new usually gets her wound up pretty tight, but after a week here, she is doing good. As these photos will attest to:
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| Hanging out with us |
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| Looking for cookies |
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| Begging for cookies? |
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| Molly in her very own spot |
11/13/14 - Thursday
Day began with a trip to The HorseShoe Cafe for breakfast. When all the locals go to a restaurant, you know it has to be good. We were not disappointed. Was the place busy. And I know why now. Definitely will not be the last time we feast there!
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| The HorseShoe Cafe |
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| A Fabric Shop - What else! |
When we got back it was time to relax. We had planned on going up to the pool for a swim, but got waylayed by neighbors and ended up sitting and visiting........
Friday 11/15/14
Another good day. We talked with our neighbor Sarah, and she had previously mentioned that she kept a horse at a nearby ranch and went trail riding. When I asked her about this, I opened the gates. She told us the whole story of her horse, Zeke, who was a rescue horse that had been taken from drug runners. He had been horribly abused- loaded to the limit with drugs and had his ears twisted when he didn't perform. She said he is still touchy about his ears, and said it must have been extremely painful for him. She was very proud of him and his progress back. She and the vet guessed his age at about 16. After about a half hour of bragging about him, she said that she was just on her way up to the J-Six Equestrian Center, where she keeps him, to drop off a lock for one of their trail gates, and that if we wanted, we could tag along and meet him. We obliged gladly.
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| Zeke |
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| Zeke, with Sarah and Mary |
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| Catherine, the Center's owner, giving a riding lesson |
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| View from J-Six Equestrian Center |
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| Guard dog - Charlie |
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| Guard dog JD - the 3 legged dog |
11/15/14 Saturday
Day started with a trip to the local AZ Visitors Center where we loaded up on brochures and maps of local offerings. Also couldn't pass up the deal on post cards - buy 4 get 1 free - for $1
From there we were off sightseeing. Took a trip down AZ 80 to Tombstone, got a look at the town and made a promise to return for a little more extended visit(after leaving Molly back at the trailer). Just north of Tombstone we saw another roadside Border Patrol Check- northbound. Not very far - was about 25 miles. From there we continued south on 80 until we hit AZ 90 which took us in to Sierra Vista. Mary wanted to experience Fry Store- which is one of the state/local grocery store chains. She came out relatively pleased. From there, since it was lunch time, we decided it was time for some Mexican food, so stopped at Rudolfo's Taco Shop, where we had a great lunch. Then it was back on 90 headed to Benson, but not before another stop at the Border Patrol checkpoint. We got a quick look, a smile, a "have a nice day", and we were waved through.
Saturday night was welcoming party/meal. Pulled Pork, Hot Dogs, Hamburgs, all the fixings. Time spent with new friends. Had a couple with matching Seattle Seahawks jerseys on. You'll never guess, they were from Washington. Next to them was a couple from British Columbia, and next to them, a couple from Texas. It was a fun night.
11/16/14 Sunday
Sunday was NASCAR race day and football day. For some of us it was a good day, and for others not so good. Bob, down the road from us- 2nd cousin twice removed from Denny Hamlin, had to be disappointed. His man lost. Kevin Harvick won. Good race. The Seattle Seahawks got beat, the Saskatchewan Roughriders got beat(ending their season), and the New England Patriots kicked butt, winning in Indianapolis 42-20. Good day for me at least.
11/22/14 Saturday
Today was a special day. At 8:30 we left with our neighbors, Keith and Dorann for a trip to Tucson. The plan was to take an "off route" and enjoy the scenery in the Tucson area, go to the Walmart that Keith got his glasses at so that he could get some adjustments made and then to go to Biosphere2 in Oracle and then finally a stop at Camping World on the way home. Everything was going great until we got to the immediate Tucson area and ran in to "El Tour de Tucson". We got caught up in the event as vehicle traffic that found us sitting and waiting for the competitors at different spots during the event. Turns out the event for the serious covered 104 miles and that in total, there were over 6700 entrants!
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| Our friendly cop! Actually came over to us and apologized for the inconvenience! He bears a remarkable resemblance to one of the Mud Dux. |
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| An Elliptical! Now you talk about work....... |
What a tremendous experience. We did the guided tour with Claudio....
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| Claudio imparting his wisdom |
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| Mary and an OLD friend |
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| The Tropical Rain Forest |
When the tour was over, we caught an unsuspecting girl who was looking for an excuse to rest after negotiating the many steps back up to the main level, and asked her to take a picture of the four of us. She was happy to exchange this little bit of "work" for a little rest.
On the way home, we made a quick stop at Camping World(there is always something you need). And then it was home. We didn't get back until after 5:00 so it was a long day - but enjoyable. A good day with good friends. Doesn't get any better!
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