Heading up in elevation

Long before we knew that fuel prices were going to escalate this summer, we had decided to try staying in Arizona for the summer instead of driving long distances as we have each summer. There are two places that we had heard that friends stayed in the summer -- Show Low, or near Prescott, AZ. So, we booked two months at each location, starting at Show Low.

Since we replaced the Jeep with the Honda CR-V, and since it is not towable, we drove separately -- I was driving the CR-V that is in front of Gracie, and at this point, there was another vehicle between us. We had our Family radios so we could communicate as we drove (there wasn't cell service available for the whole drive). We decided that, for the future, it might be better for Gracie to be in the front and the CR-V following as it is easier to see the motorhome from the car, the motorhome is impacted by climbs in elevation and it was hard for me to gauge how fast to take the hills, and the car has the capability of catching up more easily.

We are staying at a park called Venture In (our winter location is Venture Out -- and the realty company at our winter park is called Venture In -- so we may be a little confused at times!). It is an Encore park, part of the overall Thousand Trails system, though we are not staying under our membership.

Our site at Venture In. We are anticipating that more folks will be coming to the park in the next few weeks as the summer season ramps up.

There are lots of things to do at Venture In (not as many as Venture Out, but we're happy to have a little less scheduled on our calendar). Show Low, AZ is at about 6200', and has temperatures that average about 20F lower than the "valley" around Phoenix.

Trying out Shake Shack

Carl's daughter, Pamela, had shared that her favorite burger place is Shake Shack. When we were out and about one day (picking up new prescription glasses for Carl), we saw one and decided to stop and try it out...

Shake Shack

Ordering area

We both got burgers (me a single, Carl a double) and we shared a chocolate shake.

It was pretty yummy! 

Celebrating with friends

Our friends, Don and Linda, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. We were glad to be able to go out for dinner with them at Famous Dave's -- and we bought a whole Baker's Square French Silk Pie from the restaurant to take home and share.

We forgot to get pictures at Famous Dave's (and for our continued celebration at their house),

But we got a picture of a slice of the pie before it was all consumed!

Happy anniversary, Don and Linda!

Venture Out Amateur Radio Club - Summer

The Venture Out Amateur Radio Club continues meeting on Saturdays through the summer, but they meet up at the community center rather than in the Oasis room, which is closer to where our lots are located. (I think that the Oasis Room is not used in the summer at all so the resort can save on air conditioning costs.)

One recent Saturday, the attending club members watched a video on a topic of interest to Ham Radio aficionados...

The group enjoying the video

The Venture Out group also has weekly "nets" at 1pm on Wednesdays -- during the season, these nets are on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1pm. Usually folks join via their radios when they are in the park, but since many people are absent during the summer, they have a way to connect in via EchoLink (https://www.echolink.org/), that allows in-park residents to be on their radios, and out-of-park residents to connect in via the internet or an app on their phones.

It is nice to keep up with our VO Ham friends through the summer and hear what summer adventures they are having! 

Gracie in her spot

We're getting ready to leave Venture Out for our summer adventures.

This is Gracie on our RV lot with the new Honda CR-V in front.

Things to note: 

• The CR-V is not flat towable (or towable at all except on a flat bed trailer -- cannot use a tow dolly either), so we'll have to drive separately as we travel in the RV this summer. Neither of us is looking forward to that!
• We had moved all the patio furniture off the RV lot. Some of it fit into the shed, and the last few pieces were moved to the covered patio of the casa next door.
• You may be able to see a "For Rent" sign on the lot. We have renters for January-March, but if you know of anyone who would like to rent an RV lot in Mesa for October-December or April-May, please let us know! The casa is also available those months. I will mention that October (until the end) is pretty warm, and May can get warm, especially as you get later in the month.
• Note that we'd love for friends and family to come during the times that the casa and/or RV lot are not rented. 
• You also may be able to see things that look like dead branches in the palm trees. I don't know what kind of palm trees we have in our community, but they bloom (? I think) in early May and produce "Arizona snow" -- almost as annoying as cottonwood trees "cottoning". There are fine beige things that are all over everything -- really bad on the top of the pools and hot tubs -- the skimmers can't keep up with them. The things that look like dead branches are those bloom stalks. 

An interesting story on how the RV lot got rented... Our friend, Laura, has an RV lot on the other side of our casa. She has had a For Rent sign up for several months. One day, we were going to be taking her and her daughter to the airport, and Carl went to pick them up -- but there was someone there looking at her RV lot so they waited a few minutes until that was completed. Carl happened to mention to the RV couple that we have the RV lot just two doors down, and if they had friends who would be interested in renting it, to have them contact us. They did have a friend, and the friend did contact, so friends will be staying in the two RV lots on each side of the casa! 

When we were staying on the RV lot, friends Liz and Jerry were on Laura's lot, and we were using the casa for visiting friends and family, we had space for lots of get-togethers for our block on one or the other RV lot or under the patio of the casa if it was rainy. For the rental of the casa, friends of the tenant came to look at the casa for him, and we let them know that, if he wants it to be, he could be in the middle of party-central, but that it would be up to him to decide!

Closing up for summer

As we prepare to leave Venture Out, we have been "summer-izing" our two park models and protecting the items that we will be leaving behind.

The patio for the casa is the place for our patio furniture for the RV lot and the casa to be stored. Our golf cart is also covered and stored on the patio.

I wanted to cover the two patio tables (one from the casa, one from the RV lot), so washed the glass tops before covering them so they won't get additional scratching.

We got things covered and secured. Our neighbors across the street, Don and Linda, are year round residents and are so kind to let us know if something goes askew.

Many RVers winterize their RVs if they are going to be in freezing weather. To summer-ize, we do things like cover upholstered furniture with sheets, pour mineral oil into water traps to keep them from drying out (and allowing smells and bugs to come into the house), putting RV antifreeze into the dishwasher and clothes washer. I put signs on things as they are treated ("closed for the season") so we will know we have already done that one, and instructions on the washers and dishwasher to run an empty load before using them for their intended purpose (just so I make sure anyone who might use it first in the next season will know what to do to un-summer-ize it -- and to remind myself in case I'm the first one to use it!).

Miss Kitty's private Golden Corral buffet

Miss Kitty is getting pickier and pickier on eating... one day she might eat one type of canned food; the next day, she will sniff it and walk away. 

One day recently she had a veritable buffet set out before her... and none were acceptable!

We give in to her whims more than we should because she is constantly losing weight (a little less than an ounce per month). Carl says that if she keeps on losing, gravity won't hold her down anymore and we'll find her floating up at the ceiling!