Community News

Best Western

Best Western will hold their groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning.  The facility will have 68 guest rooms plus some meeting rooms, etc. but it also lists an "onsite bar".  Hmmm.....can't wait to check it out after its built.

"On Site" Gun Shop

On Sight had their grand opening at their new location on Florence Blvd. across from the Promenade Mall between Cane's and Culvers in the old Mattress Firm location.

Thirsty Donkey (again)

Don and I had such a good time at the Thirsty Donkey Wednesday night with the big Palm Creek group tour that we decided to try out their new steak dinner menu.  On Thursdays through Sundays, they are offering steak dinner.

Because we have gotten to know the friendly bartenders and the new owner, we sat at the bar for a while.  They opened the front wall exposing the great outdoors.  They must have some kind of super air conditioning unit installed up there as it was over 100 degrees but it stayed cool indoors.  It provided a nice view!

Have a great weekend!!

Thirsty Donkey Day & Goodbye to Veronica

We bid adieu to Veronica at our front desk in Guest Services.  She is moving up north so must leave our beautiful resort.  Thank you, Veronica, for your service here.  You have been a great help to many of us.  Good luck in your future endeavors.

Our summer activities people scheduled a fun event at the Thirsty Donkey establishment.  14 of us attended and had a FUN time.  

As part of our event, we enjoyed some delicious appetizers and a sampling of three different brews from their vast selection.  

These tater tots covered in cheese and meat were my favorites.  Yum!

Boneless wings with several dipping sauces were a close second.

Richie was there to talk about the different kinds of beer and brewing methods.  There are over 40 different beers to choose from.  You can sample them by the ounce or take a glass of your favorite.

I counted over 24 TV sets from where I was seated.  On a game day, the place is abuzz with eager patrons.

We also got a brief tour "behind the wall" of taps.  It is a maze of tubing and kegs in well refrigerated rooms behind those tap walls.''

Say Hi to KD and Shauna.  KD is one of the day shift cooks and Shauna was our fun bartender for the afternoon.  The restaurant is owned by Greg Mauer.  He loves to do some of the cooking along with his daughter Taylor.

The bar will now be serving three kinds of steak dinners Thursdays through Sundays.  Once snowbird season starts, they will also have a soup of the day as they expand their menu.

Shauna tells us that "Manny" is the entertainer on Thursdays and is really great.  Music Bingo will be held on Tuesdays with Karaoke on Mondays and ladies night on Fridays.  

When visiting a public place, you don't often talk about the restrooms but I thought these sinks were fascinating adding to a nice decor.

Season tickets for activities went on sale yesterday.  Phone or fax your orders in soon.

Another Tapas Tuesday

We met again for our weekly Tapas dinner in the San Tan room.

 

Our new Assistant Manager, Gabrielle Gonzales, was present to say hello and announce that the laundry rooms are now fully functional with the cell phone app and the use of quarters.  If you aren't into the cell phone technology, start saving up your quarters for the laundromat.  The front desk will also be stocking up on quarters to have them available for you.

I went from table to table and asked folks to smile for the camera so you could see who among your friends is still here enjoying our desert climate.  (or should I say enduring our desert climate!)

  

Here is the August  calendar created by our "summer events team".  

Uh Oh..........looks like a trailer trash party on the horizon.

Last night brought us another thunder storm and some short lived rain.  It left us with a cloudy sky for the morning.  It was our first morning without sun glasses in a long time.

Not much else to report for this morning.  Kat and I sign off for the day.

First storm of the season

We had our first storm of the monsoon season last night.  It brought some wind, a substantial amount of rain, and LOTS of lightning and thunder.  It was fun to watch.  This morning we awoke to a cool 80 degrees with 62% humidity.  What a change!

Don and I took a long ride all around the park this morning to look for any storm damage.  Other than the typical palm tree debris in the streets, we only found one sign of damage.  This palo verde tree lost a HUGE limb.  We reported it to the office so owner will soon be notified.  (site 1440)

Our son (Anton) enjoys nature as much as we do so always sends me a quick photo when he spies something new or unusual.  Yesterday, he spotted a tarantula hawk....one of the scarier members of the wasp family.

The female tarantula hawk wasp stings and paralyzes a tarantula, then drags the prey to a specially prepared brooding nest, where a single egg is laid on the spider's abdomen, and the entrance is covered.  Tarantula hawk wasps are relatively docile and rarely sting without provocation. However, the sting is among the most painful of all insects, though the intense pain only lasts about five minutes.^[8].  One researcher described the pain as "...immediate, excruciating, unrelenting pain that simply shuts down one's ability to do anything, except scream. 

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Awww.......Kat fell asleep on my arm.  Didn't have the heart to wake him so sat a little longer at the computer.

Mouse was being his usual devilish self.  He knocked the laundry basket off the bed and proceeded to empty it for me.

When I yelled, he promptly and wisely headed for cover under the bed.  Here is his parting view.

Dwarf Car Museum, Bugs, and Clouds

A group of desert rats gathered together and caravaned out to the Dwarf Car Museum in Maricopa.  Car buffs truly enjoyed the outing.

My son recently moved back to Arizona and came across his first palo verde beetle.  

These beetles lay their eggs in the roots of the palo verde and/or olive trees.  Their larvae can live there for 3-4 years before they develop into the full-fledged beetle.  Beetles come out during summer monsoon season.  They fly around to find a mate and then die off within a month or so.  They can grow to 5 inches long.  Motorcycle riders....beware!  Lower your face shield.

Our weather forecast looks tame for this time of year.  We have had 0 rain so far this summer and no haboobs!!  (maybe I shouldn't brag!)  Other parts of the country are having some severe weather.

Check out these cloud pictures sent to me by JoAnne Maurier from Alberta.  Her message read:  Sure wish I could send our wet weather to Palm Creek! We've had 2 & 1/2 inches of rain since Saturday. It can stop anytime.  Sending you photos of the clouds we've been getting this week!  Some places have had hail. We've had thunderstorms & more rain!

Ice Cream Social & Acrylic Pour Class

Our staff from Activities sponsored a free ice cream event this week.  Yum!  Say thank you to our servers!

MaryAnn Brown, Terri Wellman, Ashley Delgado

Had to laugh when the Schwan's delivery man came to the door.  I thought I had a large watch but his is higher tech.

Interesting story in the Dispatch last week.

14 eager students attended an acrylic pour class with Julie Baker instructing.

Julie opened a can of paint with her teeth.  Can you tell?

Chip Milner with his creation.

Laurie Dale working on her southwest acrylic pour.

Kathy Ramer hiding behind her creation.

Julie Wolf's bird.

Next month our crafters will be doing beaded serving utensils.  Sign up starts Tuesday at our weekly Tapas event.  (Photos by Barb Poole)

Oh how true!!