Memorial Day has come and gone....officially ending the winter season. This week was like a mass exodus as those last few RVers/snowbirds left for their summer nests. The neighborhood will be a lot quieter now that the happy hour gang has left. Mike & Bev Connolly and Larry & Donna Kraft headed out today for cooler climates. Am attaching pictures of their departure.


It's business as usual now that the holiday is past. Landscapers are busy aerating the golf course, trimming trees and shrubs, and pulling up the pretty flowers that just can't take the summer sun.

Construction flourishes at lots of sites. New park models arrive almost daily. Here are some pictures of the latest village home to arrive. Our guess is that its headed to site 1312 since there is a mighty big hole back there. Hope I'm around with a camera when it comes time to move to the site.

The cactus plants continue to bloom in all their glory. The blossoms are truly amazing even though they last only a day. While I can't detect any odor from the blooms, it's obvious that the bees certainly can as they flock to each blossom and excitedly roll around in the pollen until their little bodies are covered in what looks like fairy dust.


Rumor has it that the hotel across from the resort entrance is going to be an Extended Stay America. That should be a great boon to the hospital for family and temorary employees.

That's the only news from the resort for now. I have some personal exciting info on the Hepler blog. See the link in the sidebar of this page.

We're having a rather hot spell this past week of 100-104 each day. That's about 10 degrees over normal for this time of year but we're not complaining yet.

We also had a dandy dust storm which is rushing the season. We usually only get them during the monsoon season but this one was a tad early. As usual, it came with little warning...you could just see a huge yellow cloud on the horizon. Don and I were sitting out on the patio as we watched it approach. Our patio view (when all the snowbird RVs are gone) is a straight shot to the north wall and the mountains beyond. Our first hint that the dust is headed our way is when the mountains disappear. As you can see from the photo I'm posting, visibility is quite "cloudy". Our neighbors were out of town for a few days so we had to run next door to collect their flower pots, rugs, knickknacks, and anything else they had on their patio because it was blowing down the street quite rapidly. Never a dull moment.


Construction on new park models continues at a steady pace. Three new houses are now placed on the north west end of the golf course. I think there's only one open space left down there. The add-on guys are booked through next year. These three houses alone will take them a while as each one is putting on huge additions. From the photos I'm posting, you see the three houses to the left and two more that just pulled in down to the right that are still on wheels. Lots of activity in the building trades.

Am also attaching photos of the two village home models. The big house now has its awning and shed constructed. I'm wondering if they're going to leave the overhead patio cover the way it is with those slots. Doesn't seem like it would be sufficient shade or shelter. It's not all done yet so I won't speculate.


The landscape crews are busy as ever also. I didn't get pictures fast enough, but they were up on ladders along the road as you enter the resort trimming the trees along the boulevard. Looks very nice. They're also aerating greens and reseeding some areas of the golf course.


Another construction site you'll definitely notice is the hotel being built on the corner of Henness and Florence. Don't know the name yet, but it sure looks big thus far. Will keep you posted as work progresses.

The Golden Corral is finished and open now. Haven't been there to eat yet but it should be a popular eating spot when you return.

Denise Klein is holding stained glass and glass fusion classes through the summer. I took some photos of her and one of her very enthusiastic students--Donna Kraft. Donna made some great pieces so far and has plans for more before she departs for summer travel. If you haven't toured through the stained glass room, be sure to do so. Even if you're like me....untalented and nonartistic...its still a fun place to explore and marvel over all their creations.

Sunday afternoon, May 14.
Happy Mother's Day!!
104 degrees but it still cools down to the 60s or 70s at night. Another month from now and it will only cool down to the mid 90s. That huge swimming pool at the club house will see a lot of us!





Must keep up with the Jones. There seems to be a trend in getting a face lift for plain old concrete patios that have become stained and cracked. They make some beautiful coatings now so we joined the bandwagon for an upgrade. Here are some before, during, and after shots.


Installation took four consecutive days. Day 1: Etch concrete with muratic acid. Day 2: Apply adhesive and colored paint chips. Day 3: Scrape surface and apply first coat of acrylic. Day 4: Apply second coat of acrylic. Then wait two more days before you can walk on the surface plus four additional days before its safe to drive on it. Garage Floor Coatings, Inc. did a beautiful job and their customer service is outstanding.




Don and Frank Cichon had to supervise the operation from the shade in the comfort of their lawn chairs.













Here's the finished product. Floor really looks nice. Gives the house a whole new look.






The "inconvenient" part of the process is the fact that our house has but one door so the only entrance is in and out the kitchen window. It brought laughter to friends though....after all, how often do you get to do that.

The fun part is watching our friends climb through the kitchen window to enjoy happy hour indoors. Donna Kraft in action.





Frank & Joan Cichon at Site 1705 had their patio done as well. It really looks nice! Here's Frank enjoying his new surroundings.

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The merry month of May holds a lot of beauty in Arizona. Hope you can see the pretty colors of the oleanders alongside the shuffleboard courts.









The drive past the shuffleboard courts down to the dumpsters is one of the prettiest in the park right now.









All the cactus plants are blooming too. The prickly pear seem to be loaded with hundreds of blossoms this season. Some are yellow, some red, some pink. This picture is from site 1078 on Cole Circle. Very pretty.


Construction and maintenance never ends. Remember that strip of blacktop down the main drag that was so broken up? The street was closed for a week while major repairs were done. Now we have a much more efficient water runoff channel down the road. Should work much nicer. Maybe it will rain sometime this summer so we can test it out.



That's all the time I have today. The clock tolls for Happy Hour so must get ready. Drop us a note and let us know where you're spending your summer.

Greetings to all Palm Creek Friends!

This is the first installment of my proposed Palm Creek update making it easier to keep in touch while you are away. Please leave your comments, questions, or snide remarks here in the blog to share with other readers.

May 1 has come and gone and with it came our first day of 90+ degrees. It still cools down nicely in the evening though so early morning PickleBall definitely remains on the agenda. We were down to 8 players this morning which made for some great games. Don, Terry, Orla, Jerry, John, Nancy, Judy, and I had some fun matches this morning.

The RV sites have really thinned out so I can see all the way to the back wall and the mountains from my patio. Our resort is truly like two different towns....a busy bustling community in winter and a quiet serene spot in summer. We get the best of both worlds.

Park model home construction continues with more new units arriving each week. We just happened to be nearby when they were positioning a ground set house this past week. How fascinating to watch! Sure wish I would have had a camera with me but I'll try to catch another one soon. They had dug a hole to "plant" the house and then just drove the semi trailer with house attached down into the hole. I was amazed that the tractor was able to drive out again but the driver has obviously had plenty of experience as he managed just fine. Once the house was in the hole, workers put slides under the house so they could maneuver it by hand and get it perfectly situated and leveled. Quite an impressive operation.

A bus trip is scheduled for this week to see the Diamond Backs vs the Chicago Cubs. Another bus trip is planned to tour the Olive Oil factory this month. A BBQ dinner and dance is also on the agenda so there are still a few activities to entertain us.

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