Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

I've said it before, Ron and I are easily amused.  For those of you who fast forward through commercials and miss the little gems, here is one that makes us laugh every time we see it.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/76ko/sears-black-friday-sale-turkey-chase

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Home Again

We arrived back in Mesa the end of October and are all settled in for the winter.  As usual, I won't be posting as often while we are hibernating, but I do have a couple of things to mention.

First, I flew to Pennsylvania to visit with my father.  We had a nice time, as always.  It's just so great to see him doing so well.  A few days before I arrived, he said the leaves were just spectacular.  Then came the rain, followed by high winds that quickly stripped the trees.  He did take me to this scenic covered bridge where there was one tree still hanging on.

And I have some news.  I am one of the 20 million people who will lose my current health insurance because it doesn't meet the criteria for Obamacare.  Yep, I am one of the masses.  But the reason is what I find truly remarkable - my policy doesn't cover me for pregnancy.  Humm, at 61 I really wasn't planning anything like that.  Also amazing - my carrier seems to be psychic since they said I could keep my policy until the end of 2014 BEFORE Obama asked the insurance companies to do that.  Of  course I'll be paying an extra $50 a month.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Agua Fria

On our way back to Mesa for the winter, we stopped at a place I had been curious about for years.  Agua Fria National Monument is only about 40 miles north of Phoenix and while driving past, we always commented, "We should stop there sometime."  This was the time.

Since it is a national monument, we were surprised that there is no visitors center, just a board with some maps.  We headed out Bloodly Basin Road and had our second surprise - after about 5 miles, the road worsened.  Made us glad we had splurged for a high-clearance vehicle last winter.  Our destination was the remains of a prehistoric pueblo.  See it?

Well, it's no Tuzigoot, but this is what happens when no restoration is done.  I've always been critical of all that repair work, but I think I might be changing my mind.
This structure probably had 100 rooms and was multi-storied, but we'll never know.

What was really cool, though, was the amount of pottery shards all over the ground, making it feel that the natives had just left.

Ron even found one that looked typical of the Zuni tribe who lived a couple hundred miles east.

The location was perfect for defense with 360 degree views.

And it was not far from the river if you didn't mind a climb.

We discovered later that there are petroglyphs in another part of the monument - we'll save that for next time.

Finally, just before arriving home, we stopped at a very unusual RV dump.  This one seems to have some mental problems.



Sunday, November 3, 2013

Ron Sighting

We understand Ron made the Viewfinder section of the November/December Escapees magazine.  The theme was Dizzying Heights.  We haven't received our magazine yet, but here's the picture.

We were at a viewpoint above the Hoover Dam and Ron's hat blew off.  The crazy guy promptly climbed over the guardrail and down the cliff to retrieve it.  I didn't think to snap the picture until he was almost back up.  I was too busy having a heart attack.