Phun in Phoenix!

We arrived to a cold, dry, sunny Phoenix. The weather man says two days of this and then it will be warmer. We have always had two days of cold wherever we go. . . are those same two days following us everywhere we go? I'd like to know. We could fool them into thinking we were leaving and stay. Hah! We did enjoy the scenery on the way down from Camp Verde. As you can see from the pix, we are back in the land of the saguaro cactus. They are truly beautiful.

We are at the Sunflower Resort in Surprise, Arizona. Very nice park. It is a Can-Am park and we have stayed at Can-Am parks before and had a great time. This park has a special section for "short-term" stays and we were sent all the way to the back (of the bus, so to speak) and parked into one of the 50 side-by-side sites. They are very narrow and on dirt, which is okay. I guess if you are staying a bit longer, they will actually let you have an actual site in the park. We are facing the dry Aqua Frier, which according to our park guide, has not had water in it for at least five years. At least there is a tall chain link fence because I am certain there are coyotes in there. The other night when I was out with Neal, some local sirens kicked off a cacophony of coyote song. That was it for Neal, he was ready to come in. I don't blame him.


The park has lots of rules regarding pets and they will not allow us to set up our ex-pen for Neal. Most of you know Neal is our handicapped Scottie who cannot walk well. We always use an ex-pen for him to "do his business." He understands what he is supposed to do in there when we let him out at night. He also feels very safe and secure. He would be a target for other dogs when they see him stumbling around, they might feel the need to "cull the herd." Our vet has made us aware of this threat and cautioned us always that even dogs who appear to be friendly can be a problem. The pet walk is directly across from our site and that is where we are supposed to walk him on a leash. Leashes are not Neal friendly because he falls so much and gets tangled up in them. We have been allowing him out on his mat and sometimes I take him over and prop him up against the fence. I know parks must have rules, but it's kind of like telling the guy in the wheelchair he has to stand for the pledge of allegiance, no exceptions. I told the park attendant who said I had to walk Neal in the pet area. . . "You make him walk, I'll hang on to the leash." I wonder if there is a ADA for dogs! Hah!


Yesterday we went to IKEA which is one of our favorite stores. As fulltimers, we cannot buy much. . . you know. . . something new in, something of Dale's out. At least that's how it works in this house. But we do have fun walking through the store. We had lunch there which is always good and then traveled back through the city proper. We tried to find the business of one of Terry's high school classmates. We think we found it, but a lot of city redevelopment seems to be going on, so we aren't sure if the address is still correct. On our way back home, we found the Cabela's and did some shopping there. Today we are going to a large flea market. When we stayed in Mesa a few years ago, we went to the Mesa Marketplace. This one is supposed to be larger and west of Phoenix, in Goodyear, Arizona, closer to our location in Surprise.


We are very close to Luke AFB here and the military jets fly over dozens of times everyday. At night they are easy to spot--first the sound, then the flashing lights, then they streak across the night sky. Truly awesome. There are almost always four flying, two by two, but sometimes they flying in formation. On the way back to camp yesterday, we drove by the air base.


It appears to be a clearer day out there today. We sure are having trouble adjusting to the air. We are running a humidifier. I suspect since there is a lot of haze, there is a great deal of pollution in the air. The last time we were here, you could see the smog laying over Phoenix as we approached. Yesterday the mountains around the town were barely visible. So sad. But we are enjoying the lower altitudes. Terry was having problems at the higher elevations. He doesn't adjust as well or as quickly as I do, but I did notice it.


Till next time. . .


Dale