We're Taking Off

The new weather station that Don installed on our roof says it was 115 here today. Whew. That's hot. The weather man says he predicts the monsoon season will start next week. Don and I both enjoy summers here as its really interesting....but....opportunity beckons so we're departing tomorrow on a little adventure.

If you go to the Hepler Journal website located to the right on this page, you'll see that we are the proud owners of a new 2007 Forest River Lexington 29ft Class C. We traded in our 2001 Itasca motor home. In other words, we downsized since we have no intentions of full timing any more. Our new coach is perfect for getting us from Point A to Point B and be very comfortable along the way. The unit even has THREE slides. It's really nice. Pictures posted on the Hepler Journal site.

Anyway....we're off to Ohio to visit our two sons and our brand new precious daughter-in-law. We're not looking forward to the 2000 mile journey to get there, but I want to see the kids and Don usually let's me have my way. He sure groans and moans a lot, but he gives in eventually. That's quite a trek to break in a new unit but we'll enjoy the adventure.

I will probably be off line for a few weeks so won't be able to update the blog on a regular basis but do check back occasionally.

There's so much going on here at Palm Creek this week!! New homes are springing up everywhere. They dug out two ground sets for village homes at 1310 and 1309. There are quite a few concrete slabs that are marked for removal which means more homes are on the way. There are four village home sections parked out there waiting for their final destination. Sites 1285 through 1289 are being dug up for village homes too. Lots of digging and moving gravel. I am sorry to miss the action but will update you as soon as we return.

Ken & Rosemary--This second picture is yours!

Also wanted to post this picture of Everette. He's a true fellow Wisconsin fan. Go Packers! He and his little buddy Gizmo stop by to see us while we sit on the patio for coffee in the mornings. Hey Everette....keep an eye on the place. Our neighbors, Ralph and Peggy Cooper, are caretakers for us while we'll be gone.

Well....adios Amigos. Hope you're all enjoying your summer. I'm off to see my kids!! Yahoo!!

A new village home has arrived...well, at least half of one. This is parked way over on the west side of the park near the wall and has no name on it so we're not sure whose it is yet.


Congratulations to Ken and Rosemary! They dug the hole today for Site 1310...is that your house half waiting for you?? I assured Ken I would be here to take lots of pictures for him as his new home gets moved in. The concrete slab at 1309 is marked as "remove". I imagine that means another home is on the way. How exciting! I heard a rumor yesterday that the park has sold 84 park models since September of 05. How about that! The joint is jumping!



-----
Don is such a Gadget Freak. He likes all kinds of electronic toys, computers, and gizmos. His latest acquisition is a complete professional weather monitoring system so we can track the Arizona summer temps and the monsoon winds and rain. This gizmo he mounted on the roof measures wind direction and velocity, temperatures, humidity, and rainfall (ha). It has been fun watching the temperature go up and down during the day....mostly up. As I type this at 5:40 p.m., the temp is 114 with 4 degree humidity. Like they say, "Its a DRY heat".


If you haven't checked my Journal lately, you may want to click on the link in the right panel of this page that takes you to the Hepler Journal. I posted some info there about our new rig.

Life is Slower in late June

With the daily temperatures steadily over 100 degrees, life gets a little slower here in Arizona. There's still plenty of activity in the early morning as the die-hard pickleball players start at 6:30 and there's always at least one tennis court in play. The remote control airplane guys are busy flying their planes in the still morning air, but by noon things are really quiet as we all retreat indoors to our air conditioning.

The doves don't seem to mind though. They're out in great force regardless of the temps. As plentiful as they are, they're still cute to watch as they raise their young. Some people go to great lengths to discourage doves from visiting their patio while others build nesting places for them. This picture shows is a cute platform that was built just for mama dove and she really appreciates it by the looks of her two chicks.



Our friends (George and Jan) win the award for hosting the most devoted dove mama of them all. We've watched this poor dove build her nest in the same spot for the last two years. She devotedly sits on her nest to hatch her young even in the most blistering heat. What wins her the award is that her nest is on top of a hot tin roof. I couldn't get close enough for a great photo, but at least you get the idea of what she endures. Maybe she is the source of the term "bird brain"???



BJ and Len recently resurfaced their driveway which greatly enhanced the appearance of their Palm Creek home. The color of the new surface nicely blends in with their pretty brick wall and patio. Congratulations on a very pretty home!

DUST STORM

Wow! We had a monsoon-type storm this afternoon and it's not even monsoon season yet. Typical of these storms, it came out of nowhere without warning. We went from a hot sunny 106 degrees to a thick stormy 82 within 15 minutes. The huge yellow dust clouds came barreling through and completely blocked the sun. This storm made the evening news as they had to immediately close all the airports and wait for things to clear. The storms pass as fast as they come so within the hour we were in the clear again. We actually had some rain with this storm. Granted, it wasn't much, but at least there was some. That's the first time in months and months and months. It was quite something to watch the rain drops hit the hot pavement as they evaporated almost the moment they touched ground. This is an awesome state. You never know what the weather will throw at you next. Love it here!

These photos were taken within 5-10 minutes of each other. You can get a feel for how quickly the dust storms pass. There are still huge clouds of dirt passing over but at least the sun can shine through again.

This next photo is phenomenal. At first I thought my lens was broken or something but then I realized that all the "crystals" you see are actually the reflection of the camera flash against all the dirt that was blowing through the air. If you look closely at the center of the photo, you can make out the headlights of a car that was coming down the street. Wonder if I could win a photo contest with this one!
Of course, tomorrow morning you'll see me and the neighbors out sweeping and vacuuming and washing all our outside furniture, golf carts, and cars as everything gets covered with grit. Oh well....it gives us something to do.

More Palm Creek news! This double-wide village home was put in place yesterday afternoon. This is the new home for Roger (Yogie) and Linda Balzan at Site 1310. I'm sure they'll be watching and monitoring its progress.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LARRY KRAFT!!

Some folks may think Larry is calm, cool, and somewhat sophisticated as he is past president of the Lawn Bowls Association and is quite well known in the Palm Creek community. Bah Humbug. Gotcha Larry.

Here's the scoop: There was a drive-by shooting at our house...and guess who was responsible! It was the sly expert sharp shooter, Larry Kraft. As Don and I were resting peacefully on our patio, Larry went speeding by on his bicycle and hit poor innocent Don with rapid fire projectiles from his homemade blow gun. Okay...so the projectiles were miniature marshmallows, but none the same, it was a direct hit. And then...he drove by and got him again!


As word spreads, I foresee the future where Larry may be asked to mass produce these blowguns for sale in our "retirement" community. Some folks may want the guns for their grandchildren...but knowing the mindset of some of us "retired folks" we may want weapons of our own for self-defense.

Be sure to see Larry this fall when you return and rib him about his devious antics. Until then, we make plans for sweet revenge.

Have a GREAT day Larry. We miss you. Honest we do. And Donna....you get a gold star for staying with the guy!

fSummer seems to be a tad early this year as we had a HOT one today and temps are predicted to be in the triple digits all week with near record breaking highs. Thank goodness for air conditioning! I'll gladly accept donations from anyone wishing to assist with our electric bill. :) All kidding aside, I'd still rather endure this than go back to 20 below back East.

Hot as it may be, the cactus and flowering shrubs are in their glory. I took a couple pictures today of some of the prettiest ones I came across. That new section north on Cole Circle really looks nice. These pretty flowering trees appear down there. Even the lantana in our front yard are full of blossoms.

Early mornings are still very pleasant. There were six of us at pickleball this morning and several of the guys are still out flying their remote control planes in the cool air.