Apricity West 3

January 27, 2023 - Friday 

Had a nice conversation with Dale at the Elks last night. He played hockey as a goalie in high school, college and semi-pro. Three years ago he stopped playing and starting reffing. He started skating when he was 6 years old on double runners (as we did too). His father claims to have skated on the Missouri marshes for a month and a half in winter. His love for hockey took Dale to Buffalo, NY and other parts of New England. His wife passed about 18 months ago - they had planned to build a house in Wickenburg, but without her, he started looking for something else. He drove to many areas, but ended up in Congress, pulled into (you guessed it) North Ranch and a man had just put a For Sale sign on his property that day. Dale stopped and bought it that day. It turns out he lives a hundred yards from our campsite - I can literally see his house out the back window! He mentioned that he has lived his life following the Hand-fasting Rule (One year and a day), which I had never heard of. Simply put, it is after a year and a day the commitment in mind is considered “legal.” Dale is an avid golfer and dog trainer. He is very fond of and proud of his chocolate lab. His father was a fireman for 11 years and trained firefighters after that. His grandson is following in his father’s shoes. Rich was a fireman for 10 years so they shared stories. 

January 28, 2023 - Saturday 

Put our hardly-used bikes on the racks and hung out all day waiting to go to dinner at 5 with Regina and Mark. I feel like we are doing a lot of waiting - to eat and drink. Soaked up the sun for a while protected from the wind. We went up to Ramblin’ Dan’s - a biker/cowboy bar a couple of miles up the road...

 

January 29, 2023 - Sunday

Bloody Mary’s and a midday meal. We are trying to change our big meal to midday so we don’t go to bed with a full belly! Soooo we have to start eating and drinking earlier! Visiting with as many folks as we can, preparing to leave in two days. Popcorn for supper... 

 

January 30. 2023 - Monday 

I went to line dancing to give a little painted rock to my 2 teachers and watch the dancers dance one last time. 🥹

 

Went to Joanne’s for a rock painting session with Alison and her 3 kiddos - Catkin (7), Brody (5), and baby (10 months). The older children are home-schooled and very adept at painting. It was fun to see their creativity at work. Their father is Danny, who played guitar and sang in our jam sessions last year. He has a teaching job on Thursdays now, so can’t jam. 

 

We met with Karen at the Elks for lunch today. She is the bar manager and we really like and appreciate her. Today was a rough day as her heater tipped over in the night and burned through the flooring in her RV AND her mom had a heart attack and was hospitalized, but home now. Thankfully, she woke to the toxic smell of smoke!! She too was a firefighter, EMT, Rescue in Oregon and was the only woman trained in airplane rescues at the time - she never had to use it.

January 31, 2023 - Tuesday

Rich went into the Art Club with Tom. Dot stopped in to say goodbye and we ended up sharing stories for an hour (emoji). Yakety Yak!  

Back to Ramblin’ Dan’s for dinner with our neighbor, Nancy. Her son-in-law Cory’s son is bartending there tonight. Meet Lane with Grandma Nancy…

February 1, 2023 - Wednesday 

Good morning sunshine…

Unhooked water and electric, hooked up Gracie - and we’re off.  Nice easy 3.5 hour ride to Crazy Horse RV Park. Some sights along the way:

 

Lots of warehouses going up - replacing farm land…

Lots of housing for the workers/shoppers.

Palm tree nurseries for landscaping. Then saguaros...

Also saw the Glendale Cardinal’s dome in the distance where the Super Bowl will be played. 

 

Now in Tucson, the song birds are singing; quails are chasing one another; the sun is shining bright; it is much warmer; and the pool is heated to 85 degrees. However, the sites are VERY narrow and we literally have 8 feet between our door and our neighbor.

 Our rug goes under their slide out. AND it costs $195 more a month than North Ranch. We think a lot of the folks here are working the Gem Show as they aren’t here during the day. I did find a shiny penny and a quarter outside our door looking up at me - sign of good fortune!

February 2, 2023 - Thursday

We waited in the parking lot for Harbottle’s Brewery to open an noon. 

It was a favorite spot for us last time here. We had hit 19 other breweries in 2 months (even though I don’t drink beer), but frequented this one the most. Got to know the folks there on either side of the bar and they welcomed us back. Today there were a bunch of Mikes present. One of the regulars threw down a heavy metal coin with a bang, causing a loud cheer. All of a sudden the other patrons were putting their coins in front of them. Rich and I had no idea what was going on, so I asked Mike to my right what was happening. He showed me his Harbottle coin and explained that this was a challenge. If you have one of the coins, you put it on the bar and you get a free drink on the challenger. If you have a coin and don’t have it on you, YOU buy the round. So what about Rich and I? We don’t have a coin so we are out of it. Kind of fun to see who carries their coin with them at all times...

They do a Yahtzee roll - you put up $2 (one for the payoff, one for the house) and roll the dice. I won $5 on my (our) roll. 

 

Mike to my right mentioned the history of Harbottles which I did not know. So Mike the owner brought his laptop over with their website and here it is (read at your own risk - their words not mine):

 

The Official Story...well...Jessica's "Drunk History" version. But it's all accurate!

“Captain John Harbottle was born in England in like 1779 or something and did a bunch of cool shit. He sailed as part of  one of Captain Cook's expedition to the South Pacific as First Mate on the H.M.S Jackal and did some more really cool shit while he was on that ship. But the coolest  was probably when this one time, after sailing to the Sandwich Islands (that's what they called Hawaii. they must have made some killer subs or some shit) but anyway, while he was there, he met this Hawaiian chick that he thought was pretty hot. Her name was Papapaunaupu (no kidding, that was her real name). But she had a pretty nasty husband, who was Chief of the island they lived on, and she really didn't dig him that much. He was always starting fights and wars and stuff with the other islands. Her dad, Kamehameha, was actually Chief on another island too! One of the times Papapaunaupa's  crappy husband decided to attack another island, John Harbottle got hurt real bad. So bad, he almost died. He did manage to kill her mean husband before he got all jacked up by him though. She was so happy that her mean jack-wagon of a husband was dead that Papapaunaupa took John in and nursed him back to health and ended up falling in love with him. So Kamehameha said, "You know what? You should marry that awesome John guy! He seems pretty cool. Plus, he's got a great job in the military. I'll bet he could be good to have around."  And she was like, "Yeah", So she did. John ended up doing a bunch of even cooler shit with his new bestie, Kamehameha. John helped Kamehameha defeat all of the other nasty war-loving Chiefs and unite all of the islands, making Kamehameha become the very first king of the new country, Hawaii and everyone loved him and their new kick-ass country. Kamehameha was so happy that John helped him become King, that he gave John his very own island to live on and made him part of the royal court.  So, from the first day of the first king, to the last day of the last monarch, when Queen Liliʻuokalani was  overthrown by the United States and tossed in prison because she wouldn't just give her county away to a bunch of a-holes, there was always a Harbottle by the side of the King or Queen. Everyone in Hawaii was pretty pissed that their Queen was arrested. The Harbottles were especially pissed! So they said, "Fxxk this!" left, and never returned to Hawaii. Then, over a century later, we opened this bitchin' brewery named after our great-great-great-great-great-great grandpappy, Johnny, who helped form a country. Now we make kick-ass beer in his name, because we think he was pretty cool. Cheers! 

Terri called and said she was home if we wanted visit. I told her where we were and she laughed. It seems that her hubby, Jim, had predicted that we would hit Harbottles before we saw them!! True that - they work, we play! 

Apricity West 3

January 20, 2023 - Friday

Went to the Congress Mercantile, a cute shop full of interesting items, to get my t-shirts decorated with glitz and glam lettering.

There is a shirt on the wall that says, A Group of Baboons is Called a Congress - gotta love it. Also, I have never seen anyone packing a holster and gun until today and it was a woman. 

 

Once again, a first time conversation discloses so many coincidences. We have seen Abe in the Elks many times, but never had the opportunity to talk with him. Well, he sat to my right, asked us where we were from and that was the beginning of a 1/2 hour conversation. When I answered Lee, MA, he said, “I was just there in September!” Really? Why? Where? He went on to explain that Dennis, a barber in Wickenburg, is a good friend who had business to take care of in Becket, MA. His wife inherited 2 houses on a lake there. While in the area, they toured around and ended up at Alice’s Restaurant/Guthrie Center. 

Well, who should be there for a board meeting but Arlo Guthrie himself! They had a nice conversation and Abe got a picture with Arlo.

Well, now it was my turn to share that I was an extra in  Arlo’s movie, Alice’s Restaurant! The fact is, it was the revival scene which was shot in a tent on a freezing cold February day for 8 hours. I was wearing a big furry white coat and hat to stay warm and the heaters were shaped like cannons. They made so much noise that the whole shoot was “cut to the editing room floor” and needed to be redone. Well, I couldn’t make it that day, so my sister, Leslie, filled in for me wearing the same coat and hat. Ah well, it was a fun experience. Here is a link to the song Arlo Guthrie wrote and sang about the entire event making the movie so wonderful. By the way, my friend, Debbie and her father, were in it too as he was the actual Clerk of Courts and said, "All Rise" in the courtroom scene. It’s worth a listen as it tells the whole hysterical story… (click the link)

https://youtu.be/m57gzA2JCcM

Of course I asked Abe if he knew about Tanglewood (where I proudly sold tickets) and it turns out in 2008 he went there to see Garrison Keillor of “Prairie Home Companion.” Most of the people I talk to out here in the Wild West never heard of Tanglewood, so this was a pleasant surprise.

 

More conversation revealed that Abe worked as a nurse (psych and traveling), making good money, until Covid hit. Then he retired and took a river cruise on the St. Lawrence River in the opposite direction that we (Leslie and I) sailed years ago - Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, Prince Edward Isle, Quebec City, Montreal. As a traveling nurse, he had the privilege of spending a year in St. Croix. When Rich heard this, they went down memory lane about their time spent there. Tres’s roommate married Peter from St. Croix so Rich and their young family spent many vacations there over the years. Abe’s motto is: “No horse, no dog, no wife! Free as a bird!”

 

Stocking the coolers for a big event tomorrow night - many trips bringing in the provisions.

January 21, 2023 - Saturday

Congratulations to Nancy’s son-in-law, Cory, who won a beautiful saddle and money in today’s roping.

What a happening night at the Elks tonight! It was Ropers’ Night which is a steak dinner fund raiser - $25 per wristband at the door for a ribeye, cowboy beans, a roll and slaw to the music of Desert Heat, followed by an auction of many unique items including a handmade saddle. They sold around 250 wrist bands and there were wall-to-wall hungry cowboys and cowgirls.

Lisa is the secretary, bartender, and oversees the operation - does a great job!

The preparation, planning and execution of this event made it seamless - they had set up a full bar in the back of the room, as well as a tub of iced wine and sodas. Pretty impressive…

Logan graced us with his music…

This is the philosophy of the Elks:

💗

 

January 22, 2023 - Sunday

Just chilling today - literally. This is the coldest winter that anyone can recall. The nights are in the 30’s and warms up to 50’s in the day. We have a small ceramic heater, but have had to use the propane furnace several times. Worked on a puzzle today and went to the ice cream social with Nancy.

 

January 23, 2023 - Monday

Woke up this morning to a dusting of snow!

Lunch at the Elks, then cardio drumming, and music prep. 

 

January 24, 2023 - Tuesday

Went to the Art Center with Rich this morning.

Then to John and Eileen’s for a delicious lunch. A special dessert by Nothing Bundt Cakes… They have 3 shops in the West Valley of Surprise. There is nothing but bundt cakes there (and accessories) and they make wedding cakes too. Unique!

January 25, 2023 - Wednesday

Our last practice at Dot and Harvey’s. 😢 We gave them crafty gifts which they enjoyed. 

They had a fun time in Quartzite last week with 250,000 other RVers who gather for gem shows, campfires, music, parties while boon docking…

Spunky lady...

January 26, 2023 - Thursday  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LESLIE (my sister)😘 🌹

The wind howled last night - 25mph! We were rocking all night long.

Today was my last jam session 😢 before we leave for Tucson💗. I sang more than I played and Harvey was my lead accompanist. Miss Ellie came without her equipment and Denny loaned her his wireless mic so she could sing backup with me on House of the Rising Sun and Summertime. I started with Jolene. See the video in the body of this email.

Rich gets the Best Roadie Award 💕- he lugs Gary’s equipment and mine. It is a LOT! He gets a break now until we find another jam on our journeys. John Randazzo - anything happening at Crazy Horse? 

Apricity West 3

January 13, 2023 - Friday

Called Tuscon Orthopedic Institute where I went last year for my broken fibula to see if they could give me a cortisone shot for my hip. I have an appointment on Feb. 3 - thank heaven. Hopefully, there will be a cancellation here in Wickenburg before then, but at least I have a back up plan. I gimp around like an old lady and Rich has to put my socks on for me too! 

 

Friday Fish Fry at the Elks again - this week the special is Chicken Parmesan which we both had - it was very good. 

 

MaryLee was bartending tonight - love her T-shirt slogan “Elkalcaholic”!

There was an open stool next to me and a 50 something woman asked if it was taken. I said no and she hopped up on the stool, put her hand out and said, “My name is Stinki!” Well you can imagine (with my curious mind) the conversation that followed, especially after I told her my name. At birth, she was going to be named Charyn whether she was a boy or a girl. Her grandmother didn’t go along with it, and called her Stinki. When she was in elementary school the teacher was taking attendance and called out Charyn. No one answered and she called again. All of the class was looking around, including Stinki! The teacher declared that she should be called Stinki from thereon as she didn’t even know her real name. She got a kick out of it when I said that I was supposed to be a boy named Raymond, so my parents added an “A” to make it feminine. One topic led to another and we had a lot more in common - she owns a house painting company as does my son. She has bad hips as do I. She is an artist as is Rich. She was a widow as am I. At the end of our dinner, I asked her what her last name is - CLARK!! Both of my kids married Clarks - that was just crazy. I know there are a lot of Clarks, but I always say, “If you talk to someone long enough, you will find a connection.” She pulled out her credit card to prove it to me - Stinki Clark...

 

January 14, 2023 - Saturday  HAPPY 75th BIRTHDAY TO ME...

I enjoyed opening up my cards and reading birthday wishes on Facebook. I got out the paints to do a little rock painting; then chilled out until dinner at Charley’s Steak House in Wickenburg. We both got rib eye and shrimp with baked potato and cowboy beans. It was so plentiful that we brought half home for tomorrow’s dinner. Had to save room for dessert - lemon meringue for me and apple pie a la mode for Rich.

January 15, 2023 - Sunday

Bloody Mary Sunday - after on-line church and laundry. A crafty kind of day. Rich is whittling away to build dioramas…

Just saw Dot and Harvey leave the park in their RV, towing his jeep heading to Quartzite for the week. This is a big affair where thousands of RVers go and boon-dock (no power, no water) to basically party! There are many different groups that park together around their campfire, entertainment, drinks, and food. Dot makes a delicious soup base with 9 pounds of seasoned-by-her hamburg and others who eat it provide cans of beans, tomatoes, etc. She also has a Margarita Party on Friday night and the band (including Harvey) entertain the crowd.

 

January 16, 2023 - Monday   Happy Martin Luther King Day

Teresa, one of our line dance teachers, had recommended me to see Dr. Wagner (orthopedic surgeon) in Wickenburg. Well I couldn’t get in there or at a clinic that they suggested before we leave. When I told Teresa this today, she said she was going to the clinic right here in Congress and she would try to get me in for a cortisone shot. Low and behold, she called me from their office to set up an appointment - Wednesday at 9:40! Now that is amazing...

 

We had a lot more people at the cardio drumming class and it felt sooooo good to drum to the music and get my heart rate up pronto!

 

It rained all day again and the water was flowing. We got 1 3/4” rain which is a LOT here in the desert. 

January 17, 2023 - Tuesday

Nancy is back from her cruise around Australia. It sure is good to have her back even though we are only here for 2 more weeks. She is understandably exhausted, but did come over for a little bit after dinner.

 

January 18, 2023 - Wednesday

Off to the clinic for my shot. As it turns out, they did not have the 7-inch needle needed to hit my hip joint, but they did have smaller needles for a steroid and another for the bursitis - and it did help. 

 

Rock painting results...

January 19, 2023 - Thursday

Frost on the pumpkin and VW bug this morning...

Chair Yoga today followed by our 2nd to the last jam session here at North Ranch. It actually went quite well - I played and sang, In the Still of the Night, Rock Me Mama, and Singing the Blues. They went over pretty good. A returning participant was Marti who plays Appalachian with fiddle and guitar. She has a nice powerful voice mic-less.

Afterwards, we went to Nichols for our last dinner there before we leave for Tucson. They certainly have larger wine glasses than anywhere else here😳🍷💤

Apricity West 3

January 6, 2023 - Friday

Friday Fish Fry at the Elks - the special tonight was stuffed pork tenderloin. The place was hopping but Karen and Nicole handled the bar with ease...

And of course Logan, the guitar playing, super singing, grandson of the Desert Heat Band, was along for the ride.

January 7, 2023 - Saturday

Wally Krainer invited us to his wife, Val’s, 60th birthday party - he built their house 17 miles out in the desert, complete with a pool and party hearty back yard. 

The ride out is tough on Gracie (VW bug) as it is a

dirt, washboard-like road, although much of it had been graded recently.

The landscape starts out with huge rocks hugging the mountains. I am taken with the contrast of them and the perfectly straight and flat railroad tracks that interrupt this desolate space. Makes me think about the brave, strong people who cleared the land and laid those rails with hand tools and a whole lot of sweat. 

Then there is more vegetation, wildlife and hunters in camouflage with binoculars… a mule deer crossed the road and jumped the fence on the other side. He was too fast for a picture. 

The entrance to their property, Wrinkle Ranch...

A few inside shots...

PVC plastic piping to construct Christmas tree…

Trophy wall, with rattlesnake skin to the fat right…


Bathtub with a gorgeous desert view…


Heated swimming pool with Rich’s sign hung above…

These are friends and neighbors from their church, North Ranch and nearby areas. A video clip is in the body of this email. Wally is at the very end of the clip making homemade shoestring fries - yummy!

The DJ played his tunes throughout the afternoon.

Maloy, pictured here with Spike, made the metal leaf pieces this morning for a gift. 

This is the North Ranch Workcamper Crew that worked with Rich back in the day….

Wally gave Val a 2004 black convertible, turbo, automatic VW - it is a real beauty (forgot to get a picture). Our Gracie is a gray 2005 standard bug and looks pretty beat up in comparison. But we love her just the same...  

 

When we first arrived in Congress, Val told us about an injured young saw-whet owl they were trying to rehabilitate. 

Stock photo

This inspired Rich to give her one of his owl paintings for her gift - she was thrilled!

January 8, 2023 - Sunday

Beautiful sunrise today...

January 9, 2023 - Monday

I have had to stop line dancing due to my right hip (bursitis and arthritis). Tried to get a cortisone shot, but can’t get in before leaving here on January 31. I still go watch and the class is growing!

Today was January Crafternoon and I was the leader for Rock Painting 101. I was happy to see 11 ladies show up to share my resources with and create their own unique specimens.

Jane Moline is the coordinator for these events and has accumulated a treasure trove of supplies in the closets. She has been here for 30 years and made the top quilt square over her left shoulder in 1993.

January 10, 2023 - Tuesday

Went to Chair Yoga today - it really makes you feel good to stretch and bend your body. 

Then to Dot and Harvey’s to practice for the jam session. Robert has a lot of singing experience and he joined us today. 

January 11, 2023 - Wednesday

Joanne and I practiced ukulele this morning. Then the Elks for lunch and grocery shopping. 

 

January 12, 2023 - Thursday

Chair Yoga again - the group is growing so we might have to move to the Activity Center for more room. This started up by a retired teacher who needed to work out some kinks in her body, really liked this yoga CD teacher, got permission to have a class from the managers, and put a sign up sheet in the club house. That's how things roll here. She is only here until the end of March, but others who enjoy it have already volunteered to continue it...

We had a GREAT jam session today with 2 new guitar players and Robert, the singer we have been practicing with. Mel and Louise from Whitman showed up - he plays mandolin and she sings and plays guitar. They heard about the jam from a couple at the Elks who lives at North Ranch - can’t believe we haven’t run into them there. 

Then Jesse Taylor sauntered in with his guitar only - no amp, no mic, no tablet or songbook. He was amazing! Come to find out he has traveled the world entertaining and has a CD out which I bought immediately. He wrote 9 of the songs and his Dad wrote 2. WOW!  JesseTaylorMusic.com

When we got back to the RV the sun was shining warm and bright and we were enjoying our cocktails. I was in my daily call to Mom when Rich got a call. He said "I'll be right back," went to the clubhouse office and returned with this gorgeous upcoming 75th birthday bouquet from Mom, my sisters and their husbands! Perfect size, perfect colors, perfect surprise,  perfect Mom, sisters and brothers-in-law❣️

Joined our neighbors with their dog, Pippa, also basking in the sun.

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