OWAV:) 02/24/11, 6am, 48°, Cloudy/Sunny

Yesterday we did laundry, (washer and dryer in our condo) skipped breakfast and had an early lunch at "Paradise Bakery and Deli" on our way to Cabelas, where we wandered around the store for two hours.  Herb at his leisure and me at mine, going in opposite directions, meeting later at the checkout stands.  Herb had checked the map and is very good at directions so he is getting pretty good at navigation on the outskirts of Phoenix, going back to places we have visited in previous years.

We will go North to Carefree on Friday, visit the farmers market, thrift stores and maybe yard sales.  The weather is supposed to turn colder with possible rain on Saturday.  On Saturday we will be inside watching a performance at the Arizona Broadway Theatre, "Man in Black".    We tried sitting by the pool yesterday but the cold breeze and cloudy conditions chased us back into the condo.  Late afternoon Herb BBQ'd pork chops and I freshened up the leftover potato salad and added lettuce to the green salad.  Toward evening we finished off the applesauce cake.  Today I will have to plan more menu's for the rest of the week.

❝Back to the 1964 camping trip.  We arrived at Lake Mead, just south of LasVegas and checked into a campground, near the boat launching area.  It was a shaded area and the temperature was in the low seventies.  Balmy compared to the weather we had experienced getting there.  After the trailer was set up we found a grocery store and stocked up on groceries as we would be camping in this spot for ten days.  Herb's Mom was a very good cook even with the limited facilities of the camp trailer.  I don't remember much day to day but I know we spent as much time out of doors as possible soaking up the sun.  We took long walks investigating our surroundings.  In the evenings we sat around a campfire or played innumerable games of cards, canasta or pinochle, one of our favorite pastimes.  One day, Bobbi Jo stayed with "Nana and Poppy" and Herb and I visited the casino's in Vegas.  He not much of a gambler and I having never seen a one-armed bandit before didn't know how they worked.  So we mostly watched people and looked at the sights.

Soon our time was over and we resumed our trip with plans to see the Grand Canyon.  It really wasn't a good time of year to see the Grand Canyon so decided we would go to the south rim and at least get a glimpse of it.  We camped at the south rim and woke up, next morning, to six inches of snow covering the ground.  We pushed on, heading north into Utah.  I remember Herb coming down with a cold and flu which slowed us down for a couple of days.  We got into a bad snow storm near Heber City Utah, seems like we were pushing snow with the front bumper of the Jeep Wagoneer.  We made it to  Porterville, Utah where we spent the night at Loraine and Steve's (my sister and brother-in-law).  We set up the trailer in their back yard,  had a short visit as we were late arriving there.  That night we shared their one bathroom with their family of ten.  On the last day of our trip, driving through Payette Canyon, north of Boise, we again encountered blizzard conditions.  Herb and Dad had to chain up the four wheeled drive jeep so we could continue on.  We were about sixty miles from McCall, Idaho, which was home for Mom and Dad.  We arrived home safely and had very fond memories of this trip.  In later years, after Herbs parents retired they bought their own travel trailer and spent several winters in the Lake Mead area of Nevada.  I don't recall that they repeated the adventures of the 1964 trip.❞ Stay tuned, OWAV:)  

OWAV:) 02/21/11

Herb fixed bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast, I caught up with the scrabble games, then we finished up our grocery shopping at Costco and Albertson's.  

Arizona Sunset

In the early afternoon, we took our books and sat pool side to read for awhile.  Not warm enough for swimsuits but the sun feels good shinning on ones back.  Later in the afternoon, Herb took the car to have the oil changed and I fixed dinner.  We had a simple dinner of deer steak, brought from home, with texas toast and raw veggies and fruit.  So good to have home cooked food even if I do have to fix it.  Doesn't take long to get tired of restaurant fare!   I always find it fun and a challenge to cook in a strange kitchen without all of the usual utensils.

Mona and Jerry will come for dinner tomorrow, then maybe on Wednesday we will drive to Carefree and check out the thrift stores for reading material.   Stay tuned, OWAV:)

02/22/11  4am

Early to rise---------❝Many times on our trip to Arizona, thoughts of another trip kept running through my mind.  In March of 1964, we, (Herb, Me and two year old, Bobbi Jo), took a trip with Herb's parents.  They had a Jeep Wagoneer station wagon and we rented a small travel trailer from a friend.  The plan was the five of us would take a trip to Arizona to see the country and check out places to stay so that Mom and Dad could spend time in Arizona or Nevada in the winters.  It was to be  a way for them to leave all of the snow and cold weather of McCall Idaho, which would be better for Mom's asthma.  We left McCall, early March for the three week trip.  The trailer and car were packed with all the essentials of a three week trip including the potty chair for Bobbie Jo.  It was situated behind the back seat of the station wagon.  I guess we hoped this would save time so we didn't have to stop every hour for a "two year olds potty breaks".  All went well the first day and we arrived in Twin Falls, Idaho late afternoon, found a trailer park and set up for the night.  That nights dinner was ham, scalloped potatoes and asparagus.  That is the only meal I remember.  We visited with my Aunt Carrie and Uncle Harold who lived in Twin Falls.  I was nervous about that because both Herb and Dad smoked and I was afraid they would light up a cigarette in Aunt Carries immaculate house that had never had the smell of a cigarette any where near it.  My worries were for naught and the visit went well.  We left early the next morning for points south.

I'm not sure of the time frame or how many days it took us to get to Lake Mead, Nevada, but we stayed at least one more night on the road.  That day we had driven through a winter storm on very slick roads and a strong wind, not a good thing when you are pulling a travel trailer.  No trailer parks were to be found that night and after asking around we were directed to someones house, that had a lone space for rent and we would have to use the bathroom inside of their back door.  The wind was blowing a gale, it was dark and it was bitter cold.  Again we fixed something to eat and were soon in bed, snuggled under all the covers we had, to keep warm.

Travel trailers in those days were a far cry from what they are now, with all of the convenience's of home.  The trailer we had was about 15' long with a double bed in the back end, a fold down bed made up each night where the dinette was and a hammock overtop of the dinette.  A small gas stove, with oven, for cooking and to take the chill off of the cold nights, before we went to bed.  It had a small refrigerator but there was no furnace.  To say the least it was a very cozy arrangement.❞   To be continued.  OWAV:)

Have a potato salad fixed for dinner, email answered, blog copied into blogspot.  Will  get the scrabble caught up.