Warming Back Up

They think that I need one of these

Rocks and wild flowers

The desert is begining to bloom

" The Hiker". Proof for Kristin!

Desert Horned Toad (Horny Toad) on the hiking trail. About 4" long and camouflaged.

The temperatures will be back up in the 80's in a day or two. It's been in the comfortable mid 70's the past few days which suits me just fine. Hopefully the temperatures back home start heading for the 70 range, as we will be back in 4 weeks.

We've been relatively busy all week with baseball last Tuesday, 4 wheeling (for me) on Wednesday, a 7 mile hike on Thursday, and a golf game (for me) on Friday. Either today or tomorrow we will be taking a road trip. Monday we are going to visit friends that we met here, who just bought a house in the area. Tuesday is the last Spring Training game, and we will probably go see that. We may also see the game on Sunday if we're here.

Yesterday's golf game went relatively well. I shot a 43 on a par 32. I managed to shoot par on several holes, but shot 4 over on the first hole. It's amazing how bad you can hit the ball when you have a group of people watching. We (Joyce and I) may get out with another couple from the park next week on a nine hole course. I found that it's a lot easier to play with a couple of people than with a large group.

It's hard to believe, but 3 weeks from today we will be heading out. We will be taking 5-6 days getting home with a stop in the Bay Area for a couple of days. From there we will be heading up Highway 101 up into central Oregon, then cut over to I-5. With a little luck the weather will be decent along the way. We've only seen rain 2 or 3 times since about the 19th of January.

The park here is really beginning to thin out now, as people start leaving here around the middle of March. Quite a few are leaving the first of April, and by the time we leave on the 16th there probably won't be more than about 20 left. The park holds 120 rigs. Right now we have 2 empty sites next to us. That's all for now, Ernie

Cooler Weather

Geosetti's grocery in Winkleman AZ

Ichiro warming up

Felix on the mound

Ichiro rounding 2nd and heading for 3rd

Tater Tot lost his shoes, but won the race!

The temperatures dropped out of the 80's over the weekend, and Monday was low to mid 60's with rain. People here seem to get about as excited about these rain events as we do when the sun comes out in western Washington!

On Friday we took a short day trip to the small town of Winkleman, which sprung up because of the copper mining in the early 1900's. We noticed an old grocery store called Geosettis, so we had to go in to check it out. The grandsons of the original owner now are running the store and butcher shop. We thought that this was a strange place for Italian immigrants to end up, but the storekeepers told us the whole story. We must have been there close to an hour. The copper mines in the area are now huge, and are owned by Asarco.

Today (Tuesday) we went to see the Mariners play the White Sox. We left after the 7th inning to beat the traffic, with the Mariners leading 7 to 3. Tomorrow I am going with the 4 wheelers again somewhere into the Arizona back country. The Thursday hike may be back on the calendar as the temperatures should top out in the mid 70's. On Friday I will be golfing with the group from the RV park. I'm hoping that it will be a better experience than last time. Joyce and I got out to the driving range last weekend, and we will probably get out again Thursday afternoon.

Ernie

Saint Patrick's Day Hike

The 5 Coke Ovens

Taking a break along the trail

Horseback riders along the hiking trail

Hikers enjoying some shade before heading back out

Cactus begining to bloom on the hiking trail

Today we went on what probably was the last hike of the season here. The temperatures are getting up there, and with that comes the snakes. We did approximately 5 -6 miles today, but didn't venture off the Jeep road. No more walking through the narrow trails and climbing over the rocks. We finished the hike today at noon, and the temperatures were approaching the mid 80's. It's been in the 90 degree range the last few days.

Yesterday I got to go with the off road group again as one of the invitees had to cancel at the last minute. We went back into a canyon to an area known as the Coke Ovens. There are 5 kilns that were built in 1882 to produce charcoal from the mesquite trees that are abundant in that area. The charcoal was used in the nearby smelters to process the ore. It amazes me how they built the structures without any type of power equipment. The stone blocks are approximately 18 inches square, and the structure are about 30 feet tall.

Our friends Ron and Jan headed back to the rain of the Seattle area on Wednesday. We had a pretty busy schedule the week that they were here, and after today's hike we just pretty much kicked back for the day. We may take a little road trip tomorrow as the temperature are supposed to be cooling off by about 10 degrees for the next few days. Our next baseball game isn't until next Tuesday, and hopefully the temperatures will be comfortable.

Ernie.........................

Fun in the Sun

The view of the valley on Thursday's hike

Hurst SC Rambler. Rare, Rare, Rare.

Goodguys car show. Love those Mercs!

Joyce, Ron, and Jan at the Wrigley Mansion

Wrigley Mansion complete with tourists (Ron & Jan)

The temperatures are rising supposedly into the 90's this week. It will be in the upper 80's today, and we've got baseball tickets for the M's / Cubs game this afternoon. Our seats are not in the shade, so I'm sure that most of you are feeling sorry for us now! After the game we are going to Joe and Lindy's for dinner.

Yesterday we went with Ron and Jan to the Wrigley (gum) Mansion in Phoenix. Very interesting. It always amazes me how much money some people had during the depression. After the tour we went into Scottsdale and had dinner at a very good Mexican restaurant. Then we rushed back so as not to miss the amazing race.

Saturday, Ron and Jan and I went to the Goodguys car show in Phoenix. That show is HUGE. Then, that evening Ron and Jan came over and we barbecued one of the salmon fillets that we brought down with us. After that it was a few games of Mexican Trains.

Friday I played golf with a group from the RV park. It was the least fun I've had playing golf, as I was teamed up with a couple of "serious" golfers. Tom played on his college golf team in his day, so is a very good golfer. He shot par on the nine that we played, but wasn't happy that he didn't do better. I on the other hand was 18 over par for the nine. I don't know if I will try golfing with the Friday group again.

On Thursday I went hiking, but Joyce opted out. It was getting pretty hot, so we only went 5 or 6 miles. It was a little less than 3 hours. We didn't see any rattle snakes, but with the temperatures climbing, that becomes a concern. We're not sure if the hike will happen this Thursday. This brings us up to date.

Until next time, Ernie

London Bridge

Joyce and the London Bridge

London Bridge

Ron, Jan, Joyce and the London Bridge

Yesterday (Wednesday) we ventured over to Lake Havasu City with Seattle friends Ron and Jan. This was the first time Joyce and I had been there. The area is a little different from here, as there is more color to the surrounding hills. The bridge is pretty amazing in itself, and to think that they dismantled it, shipped it over and reassembled it is impressive. This coming weekend is the beginning of spring break for most colleges, and Lake Havasu City will have thousands of college kids.

Today's temperatures are supposed to be creeping into the 90's. We have our weekly hike scheduled for today, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's cancelled. If it's still on, I'm thinking it will be a little shorter than the last two 8 milers.
Ron and Jan are going to be in the area for about a week, and we will probably be squeezing in another day trip. On Saturday Ron and I will be taking in the Good Guys car show in Scottsdale. So, next week you can expect more car pictures!

Our air conditioner was repaired (under warranty) on Tuesday. Just in the nick of time as the temperature forecast is in the 90 degree range for the next several days.

Ernie

Midnight at the Oasis

56 Lincoln Very unusual custom

64 Plymouth Sport Fury Gorgeous in black!

49 Merc I wanted one of these way before I was old enough to drive

60 Buick LeSabre

59 Oldsmobile 98

56 Chevrolet Bel Air

4 Speed Dual Quad Positraction 409 But those wheels need to go!

58 Plymouth Belvedere

56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

54 Mercurey Monterey I had one of these once

Joyce and I went to Yuma today (430 mile roundtrip) to visit my brother and sister in law today. My brother and I went to the "Midnight at the Oasis" car show for about 2 hours. So the text will be short, and the pictures will be a little longer than usual.

Enjoy, Ernie
P.S. These are just a few of my personal favorites

Baseball, Hiking, Road Runners, and BBQ

Why did the Road Runner cross the road?

Rick the Peanut Man

We're going that way?

Clayton, our hiking leader pondering.

Cactus, Rocks, and Joyce

Busy week! We started out with a baseball game on Tuesday the 1st. We actually saw a Mariner win over Texas. It was a sunny day with the temperature in the mid 70's. We don't have another game scheduled until the 8th, but may work another in between.

I got in one more round of golf on Monday, but now that Tary and Wayne are on their way back to frozen Montana, I am golf partner less. I need to convince Joyce to join me. If we get the last tee time of the day, we don't need to worry about somebody breathing down our necks.

There were a couple of Road Runners in the RV Park on Tuesday. Managed to get a couple of pictures before they made their break. This is the first time I've seen one outside of Texas.

We did another 8 mile round trip hike into the back country today. Temperatures were getting in the 80 degree range on the way out. Good workout!

We did a 11 pound Beef Briskit overnight cook last night. We had a couple of our neighbors over and we managed to take care of most of it.

Ernie