Mesa and Anthem AZ

Thanks to Trish this month for identifying the mystery bird from the last entry as a Cactus Wren. Throughout the next two weeks, we spend quite a bit of time aimlessly driving around or watching sports on TV or generally lazing around, so all the days are not covered. On one such adventure on March 16 we ended up at Frys Electronics where Larry had spotted a mouse on sale for the computer. The place was amazing. It was like four Best Buys packed into one. When we went to check out, we were directed down a long aisle where there was a line-up. Turns out this lineup was for the spotter to direct you to one of 46 checkouts.

On March 17, there was a St. Patrick's Day parade through the park. This included many vintage cars, decorated golf carts and pets. Some whole streets in the park were represented as well as some clubs.

On March 18, Maureen met Valerie and her daughter-in-law, Susan, and her friend, Susan at the Desert Botanical Gardens. Friend Susan works at the park and gave us some tips for enjoying it to its fullest and also joined us for lunch. The park was incredible as you can see by the photos. After that we went to Fairytale Brownies which make wonderful brownies. Valerie had been bringing them back from Phoenix for years and sharing with the staff at PACS, so it was Maureen's chance to sample first hand and of course buy a supply to bring home.

On March 19 we visited the Mesa Air Force Museum. The highlight of this museum is the restored B-17 bomber. Volunteers have spent 20 years restoring this beauty and are almost finished. It is planned to offer rides to visitors this summer. Imagine Maureen's surprise when she saw it fly over the campground later in the afternoon. Turns out this was a maintenance run. Larry had the same opportunity a few days later.

The next few days we toured a few 55+ adult communities where it is possible to buy a single or double wide manufactured home on leased land. Nothing really jumped out at us. Prices are coming down somewhat down here but the construction continues. There's a mall about every five miles now. We went to the weekly fish fry at the park on March 21. On March 23, we drove to North Phoenix to check out campsites for future use. We also stopped at the Scottsdale Resort where Larry had stayed a couple of years previous and picked up some of their plastic drinking cups. Easter was a little bit of a letdown with no Easter baskets to hide this year but we managed to survive. So did our kids. They got together with some other "abandoned" children and cooked a salmon. Larry had steak and lobster, Maureen had lamb chops. It was all about the food!

On March 26 we finally were able to meet up with Ian and Gail from White Rock for drinks. Everyone is always so busy - that's why we stay in Active 55+ Communities!

On March 27 we drove up to the area behind our RV Park - Usery Mountain Regional Park. The wildflowers were really in bloom. Maureen walked a half mile trail to get all the photos. She also saw a number of geckos and apparently the rattlers were beginning to be out and about but she didn't see any.

We drove up towards Anthem on March 28 (also North of Phoenix) to check out where we might stay Saturday night when we visited Jim and Marie. We found a beautiful lake but they were having a huge fishing derby on the weekend and had no room. Then we checked out Wal-Mart and another campground as possiblities.

On March 29 we headed to Anthem to park in front of the house where Jim and Marie from White Rock are staying. We were not allowed to sleep in the motorhome so we had a great visit and a wonderful steak BBQ, slept inside and left in the morning.

On to the Grand Canyon!

Larry and Maureen

Mar 30, 2008

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