So much has happened since we arrived at North Ranch several months ago, I just don't know where to begin. One of our first projects was to do some landscaping. We modified our patio and planted some cacti and other desert plants. They're not much to look at right now, but with time they will be beautiful. We also put in a ceiling in our Studio ( the little building in the back of the lot in the photo below). The picture on the right shows one corner of the Studio. That's were we practice our music and Jean sews and paints. We also have some storage cabinets and a freezer in there. It's handy to have during the winter to help curtail cabin fever.
It's not sunny and warm all the time in Arizona.
We really enjoy this small lot. It's not very big, but we aren't here most of the time. And we don't want another house, yet. We don't want to worry about a house while we are on the road most of the year. Been there and done that! We can now pack up and leave in a matter of hours for 6 months or more, or we can just stay put if we need to. It works for us.
Below is a picture of our small young cacti garden and storage trailer where Willard also works on his jigsaw puzzles and does his woodcarving.
My sister came for a short visit. We managed to get a lot done in the three days she was here. We took her out on the desert for a 9 mile ATV trip to Willard's gold claim where we put her to work moving material and dry washing. We managed to recover some gold for her to take back home. We took walks around the park, and celebrated her birthday with a hamburger cook-out and birthday cake. For supper on Friday night we grabbed our neighbors, Graceann and Charlie, and all went up to Yarnell to the American Legion Hall for a Chicken Fried Steak dinner and to meet some of our friends from Stanton. Not much was going on, so we came back early. On Saturday we spent the day in Prescott just goofing around. On the way back home we took the back road and visited Stanton. On Sunday Charlie came over and we played music while my sister danced with the shovel and broom. It was so good to have her here, even if it was such a short time.
Photo: My sister climbing into our motorhome.(Photo below) We captured this rainbow one afternoon in November. It was a complete rainbow and just beautiful. Willard prospects for gold out on the desert at the end of this rainbow. And there is gold in them there mountains.
We are involved in a lot of activities here at North Ranch. Jean line-dances three days a week, Willard prospects for gold and attends woodcarving workshops. Besides developing new friendships, we play music when we can and attend pot lucks, Saturday breakfast and Sunday Ice-cream Socials at the Activity center. We have had a yard sale since we have been here. And we've enjoyed visits by several of our Stanton friends. We have been out to Stanton a few times, too.
Last week we went to Ogden, UT in our truck to visit our son and his family (13 hour trip). To our surprise, we encountered a ground blizzard on the pass between Beaver, UT and Filmore, UT. It was dark and NOT fun. A car even slid off the road was upside down in the ditch. By the time we arrived at Scipio the road was clear, so we continued our journey. While in Ogden we did some shopping, attended the light exhibit at the Temple grounds in SLC, attended a basketball game at Weber State University, and played some music with Joey. We also exchanged gifts. It was great visiting with Joey's family for a few days. We had a short visit with Dan and Anna on the way home. We didn't get to see the kids, since they were all in school and we were running from another snow storm. Dan said it started snowing right after we left and there was about 3 inches on the ground by night fall. We arrived back home about 10:00 pm, bringing the storm with us. It has rained every day since. We are on a flash flood watch at the present. We are on high ground at North Ranch, so not to worry. I'm just glad we are settled in for the winter. It looks as if it will be a cold one this year. We will be here for Christmas and New Year's. In January we will be spending a week at an Alfa Roadrunner's Campout in Quartzsite, AZ . Never a boring moment.......
