SKP in Casa Grande

December 14, 2010 - @ Feb 1, 2011

The terrain south of Phoenix was quite different...mountainous craggy hills, and very little vegetation on the desert lands.

The entrance to the SKP (Escapee) park in Casa Grande gave the first look at the vegetation that "could" grow in the area.

Several sheep farms on the road out of Casa Grande, as well as on Montgomery Road leading to the SKP park. The grandchildren will be happy to know that we found "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" [First sheep pic.] He was so cute!!!!
The land is sectioned off for irrigation. The Alfalfa (the prevalent crop for feed) is cut for the cattle...then the sheep are put on the sections to trim the crop down to the dirt. Move the sheep to another section, plow, re-plant, and the cycle repeats.

We're on lot #10...plenty of space for RV and car side by side...with a little patio inbetween. We got covers for the wheels, since we'll be parked here for 6-8 weeks, a protection from the sun.

We've met several who live here "almost" all of the time...and they have planted cactus on their lots.

Ron was happy to see that they had a woodworking shop...it houses most of the tools he gave to the kids...plus a few more. Jean has gotten into line-dancing three mornings a week, and enjoys the "exercise." [They don't stop to rest between songs...except at the 45 minute mark...half-way through the session.] We've met some really nice people...mostly from Washington State, and Michigan...and several from British Columbia. More to come...

The Great Train Robbery

December 14,2010

At 3:30 we headed back to Williams, AZ.


Almost home, and "OH, NO...what's happening?"

Masked Cowboys on horseback approaching the train!

The cowboys are dismounting. The train is coming to a stop.

And here they come.

It seems that the cowboys are still looking for money to go to McDonalds for breakfast.

But, once again, the Sheriff has it all under control.

Another spoof just to add another chuckle to the day. It was hilarious.

Two funny stories came out of this:

1. Jean sent a "Help! Our train is being robbed by masked Cowboys on Horses" to the 4 kids...followed by pictures and a Ho Ho HO. Well, the follow up to the "Help" message didn't get sent, as we were in a low phone reception spot when the train stopped. Brenda called to make sure we were ok...and as she did, the gunman grabbed Jean's phone and said to Brenda "She's ain't got time to talk...she's being held up." Brenda said" Are you cute?" He didn't answer, but said " Can you make biscuits and gravy?" She said "Yes." and he turned to us and said"You jest got yerself a new son-in-law" (Funny on so many levels.) And no...he was the old one...not the cute one.

2. After things settled down and we were on our way back into Williams, the conductor got on the speaker and said: "Some one asked...Why did the train stop? It could have outrun the cowboys on horses! Welllll...even with the economy the way it is, it's down right impossible to find a cowboy who will jump from a running horse to a moving train for minimum wage." :-)

The Grand Canyon

December 14, 2010

After the shootout, we all boarded the train headed for the Grand Canyon - a 2-1/4 hour trip.

There was a snack car behind ours, and we had coffee in the morning and played cribbage...and a little bottle of wine and cheese and more cribbage on the way back in the late afternoon.

Clarence Clearwater, a Navajo Indian, serenaded us with Navajo songs, and a beautiful song about the Grand Canyon...as well as songs from Cajun country, Germany, France...quite a variety.

He moved from car to car.

The terrain on the way up to the canyon was, at most times, bleak.


And there it was!!! Awesome! Astounding! Unbelievable! Use any words you want to use...but (as the song said) You just can't imagine until you've seen it " for the first time." Our views that follow are from the south rim...and the west rim. Enjoy! We surely did.

The Colorado River and category 8 rapids.

Hopi Indian Nation crafts building in the Grand Canyon Village.

The Shoot Out

December 14, 2010

The morning started at 9:00. Some cowboys were gathered in the street, and lookin' for breakfast. The diner was closed..."ma" got picked up and put in jail for solicitin' - so there was no one to do the cookin' at the diner.


It was quite a dilema...none of THEM knew how to cook...they talked about goin' to McDonalds, but, ya know, all their money was spent at the saloon last night.

They pulled a bystander out of the crowd which had assembled. The plot was to beat him at a couple of games of poker to get their money for breakfast.
However, as it will often happen, one of the cowboys, thinking only of himself, decided to cheat by coming up with a hand which held 5 Aces which he had stored in his hat.

The Sheriff came on the scene and settled the conflict with his 6-shooter. :-)

We didn't know at the time...but, there would be more to the story.

St Louis and the Big Surprise

Nov 29-Dec 4, 2010

We traveled from Lawrence KS (Wendi and Chris's house) to STL and stayed at Brad and Sheila's. Our reason for being there was to spend some time with Jenn and Justin...Jenn came to KS for 1-1/2 days, but Justin had to be at work on Friday and Saturday. We had breakfasts and lunches with friends on Tues and Wed...but, then came the "surprise." Justin proposed to Jennifer on December 1st. Woohoo!!! We're looking at a fall wedding. :-) Mid-September, most likely.
December 2nd - we had a celebration brunch with Jenn and Justin, and Jen (Justin's mom) and Mike (Justin's step-dad)

Later that evening we went to a "rock-a-billy" concert in downtown St. Charles. These guys were a blast...a little bit of acrobatics mixed in with the good old rock-a-billy music.

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

December 9-10, 2010

We moved to Sam's town in Las Vegas - our month was up at the Escapees park. We took a day and went to Hoover Dam. Oh, wow. Jean had been there in '79...but everything was really changed. We caught pics of the new bridge...and had the opportuntiy to drive over the bridge as we headed south to Kingman, AZ on December 11th.

Followed by pics of Lake Meade. We saw where the water level of Lake Meade is diminishing...a concern for all of the people in the area.

17 generators in all. They supply electricity for many of the western states.

Lake Meade from the Lookout.