Coke Floats + Remodel Status

That was scrumptious!  We had coke floats for a break this afternoon.  Fun!  Thank you to Brandy, MaryAnn, and Ed for doing the labor for us.

 

 

We definitely appreciate our summer events and love an excuse to get together.

 

 

We met some "newbies" here too. 

Say hello to Buzz and Bev Rodgers.

 

 

We just met Phyllis and Charles too.  They never even stayed here but were shopping for a home and stumbled upon Palm Creek.  Welcome these new comers.

 

 

MaryAnn was our cheerful and outgoing waitress.  So outgoing....that we got a blurry picture.  LOL

 

 

She's anxiously awaiting the completion of the activities office where she'll be busy at work during season.

 

 

 

This photo was taken inside Brandy's new office.  Notice the nice crown molding around all doors and windows.

 

 

Outside the library/computer lab is a nice outdoor area that will have benches and/or tables so we can enjoy some outdoor wifi.  Till now, this has been a relatively unused area.

 

 

The billiards room is nearing completion.

 

 

The ballroom has a long way to go yet.  Here's Neal, Eddy, and Jim discussing what comes next.

 

 

 

New spray painting gizmos at work wherever we look.

 

 

WOW!  Check out the new paneling on the wall behind the front desk! 

 

 

They're really dressing up the place for us this summer!

 

----------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don's Books now available on Amazon Kindle

Pardon me as I digress from the regular newsy park articles and take a moment to give credit to my hubby.  As many of you know, Don has started writing again.  I love it because it keeps him from annoying me in his spare time and I can go "guilt free" to play cards with the girls in the afternoons! 

He has finished his first big project, a rewrite and combining of his Frontier Justice series of books and made it available on Amazon for kindles, PCs and tablets...anything digital, really. 

It’s a series of 3 books:

Book One: INDIAN TROUBLE,

Book Two: BALD HEADED WOMAN, 

Book 3: OLD MEN YOUNG GIRLS AND A BEAR

If you have some time this summer for a good read about the old west, you can check out his books here:

Amazon Kindle Books - Don Hepler

 

P.S.  How much do you think I should charge him for the advertising??

 

 

 

Just stuff

It was a nice quiet morning on our rounds today.  We saw Jesse hard at work and stopped to chat with Fernando to get the latest news from landscaping.  Jesse is making his way all around the park to pick up dead plants and large weeds from all the sites.  I think it is awesome that the park does this even when you are away.  It certainly keeps the park looking nice.  Many of the pretty plants you leave behind don't survive our hot summer.  The place would look abandoned if left that way.  Soooo.....we say "Thank You, Jesse!"

 

 

A new logo was installed at the band shell in Palm Park.  Really looks nice!

 

Any time we stop up at the north end of the park, we take time to admire the view.  Very pretty!

 

 

 

Our avid golfers never miss a morning on the links.  They're out there every day (early though before it gets tooooo HOT.)

 

I keep an eye out for "unusual" plants around the park so I think this one gets some kind of award too.  This cactus looks like he has a bad hair day.  It looks nice and soft....but let's not reach out and pet it! 

 

 

Larry Gray sent me this photo this morning.  We finally see a roadrunner for a change.  They seem to have made themselves scarce for a while.  They certainly are fascinating to watch.  This one is used to getting a friendly handout from Avis and Larry.

 

 

I went up to the pool for a lovely swim last night and found this golf cart parked out in the street.  Hey (Ed Brown)......remember to use your parking brake!  LOL

 

_________________

 

Mark Nelson sent me this photo of the first stealth bomber to appear in the Davis Monthan boneyard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 25 dust storm

We had another dandy dust storm Friday that made big news stories on the weather channel, but thankfully, we PC Creekers were spared from any damage.  All of us "house watchers" were up at the crack of dawn to tour our homes and check for damages.  We even talked with Ranger Bob to see if he had information for us. 
 

 
  No damage to report.  It appears we just got "dusted".  As per a typical monsoon storm, the dust was followed by plenty of lightning and thunder but only light rain.  Leaf blowers sounded loud throughout the morning as folks came outside to clean up.

We talked with a rep from Tri-Cor air conditioning repair this morning.  He said their office was inundated with incoming calls begging to get their AC fixed after the storm.  APS (local power company) had to restore electricity to about 10,000 homes.  No problems here though....not even a flicker.
 
Those who left their RVs here need not worry as so far this summer, we've had enough rain to wash off most of the grime and grit.  The rigs that have had a nice wax job look great.
 
The news channel was showing video of the storm as it moved across the area.  I tried to take some pictures from the TV for you.
 

 

 

Where was I at the actual time the storm hit???  I was at a surprise birthday party at Francisco Grande with a group of WONDERFUL friends.  Don promised me a romantic dining experience with just the two of us..........but when we walked through the door......SURPRISE!  It was awesome.  Made me cry happy tears.

 

 

 

It was quite an exciting day as my fellow Pegs players surprised me with lunch and cake in the afternoon too. 

 

 
What a wonderful place to call home and be surrounded with so many friends.  Thank you to everyone.  It was a fantastic birthday.
_______________
 
Back to business:
 
The photos I posted about the harvesting drew quite an audience and I received some outstanding emails from readers.  Several wrote and asked about exactly what kind of crop it was.  I believe Bob Tasler answered it well.  He wrote:
 
"Hi Sue, thanks for your timely photos of progress at Palm Creek. I believe the field machines you showed are chopping silage as feed for cattle. It's made from chopping the entire plant, usually corn or sorghum. After it's fermented it becomes a "delicious" food for animals. They really like the smelly old stuff.
Bob
 
_____________
 
My favorite email came from Joyce Curtis (formerly Site 316)
 

I  thought you might  like  to hear from this  gr  gr ma  who  has  been one of  those  truck  drivers.  Our operation  was not  as large  as  that one  but you have not lived until  you have  driven one of  those  trucks  in a  warm  truck  with  a  toddler  who  desperately  needed  a  fresh  diaper.  Can't  roll  down  the  windows but  ordinarily  it  would  not  be  too hot  as most of  our  cutting  would  be  done   when it  was much cooler.   Our kids  grew up  "helping" -a  baby  sitter was not  thought of  or in the budget..  Joyce  Curtis  formerly  from #316

 

__________________

 

I haven't been taking a lot of photos of the remodel projects because to the camera and the casual observer, it all looks the same.  Ladders, paint buckets, tool boxes, etc.  It's hard to tell what's happening until the room starts getting put back together.  We can see that progress in the new library/computer room.

 

 

 

 Electricians have put in many hours here this summer as they wired the ballroom and installed all those ceiling fans.  They rewired the billiards room so new lighting can be installed....and, of course, this library/computer lab requires LOTS of rewiring.  Many many improvements are coming our way.

 

_______________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Harvesting

There wasn't much to photograph up in the admin building yesterday.  The pool room is moving along but the rest all looks the same except for more ladders, more equipment, and paint buckets.  We try to stay out of the way as we carefully walk through.

 

 

 

Don and I took a whole bunch of photos of the harvesting in the fields along the east wall of the park.  I haven't been around this kind of equipment so found it fascinating to watch. 

 

 

One machine cuts, chops, and grinds, then shoots it directly into a truck that drives alongside. 

 

 

 

When that truck fills up, he beeps his horn, and the next truck drives up to take his place. 

 

 

 

 

With all this truck traffic going up and down that dirt road, plus the loose flying debris, the pickleball courts will be covered in dust.  Our volunteers will be back out cleaning again once harvest is done.

 

 

 

 

 

We had to stop for a covey of quail crossing Granite Drive this morning.  While there was quite a string of them in a single file line, I could only get two in one photo as they were moving at a good clip. 

 

I love this close up showing that their cute little feet don't touch the ground between those long strides.  Run Forrest, Run.

 

 

_______________________