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!



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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.

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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