The Desert Bar and More

We had not a speck of dirt gather under our feet last week.  Momma Loi and Kelly were here and we ran everyday.  Between sightseeing and motorhome shopping we racked up the miles, saw quite a few 'sites' as well as motorhomes and nope we have not yet purchased our permanent home on wheels.  Anyway-on one of our drives David spotted this big boy.






And found  this old mine (or what we imagined was an old mine) on a hillside and pulled over to take a look.

 After a little prompting Kelly decided to check it out.  No bats and if there were any gems in the walls they had been mined out.

 Kel had to take a hike up to see what she could see

 And Loi, well she decided to stay safe and look for something fun from down below.

Rather than try to tell it in my own words-which can often be a mumble jumble-I am going to cut and paste from the Desert Bar website.  This is one of the coolest places ever (just ask Kel ).  It is powered totally by solar and is open from high noon till dusk, as the sign says.  The food is great, not very expensive and the beer is the coldest I have ever tasted (well the Odules was cold anyway and Kel reported that yep the beer was as well).  David and I will go back and spend an afternoon some day just to listen to the music and enjoy the people.  So, on to cut and paste.

The "Nellie E Saloon" (DESERT BAR)
is in the Buckskin Mountains,
in Parker, Arizona, on land that was
an old mining camp. The camp was
located on the portion of land that is
now the parking lot


This is just one view as we drive the almost ten mile, barely maintained road back to the Saloon.  The road winds through the mountains so far that you wonder if you will ever get there.

It wasn't easy to get good pictures of the place just because of the hoards of people that were there but this is a view of the band's stage.

The "Nellie E" was completed in 1988.
The inside of the saloon is unique in
many ways. It has windows that are old
glass refrigerator doors, the bar stools
are made of steel and they sway from
side to side. The top of the bar is
brass and the ceiling is made of
stamped tin purchased from a factory
in Missouri. The saloon is powered by
solar energy and is stored in batteries
and run through inverters.

You can see solar panels on the roof of the building top of the picture.  Below is the long line to purchase a smoked tri tip sandwich, or a huge philly sandwich and feel free to add beer batter fries to your order.  The hamburgers are made in a structure up above.  The building with the solar panels is an indoor bar that does have a wood stove for heat on those windy days.  We were told that when going you should get there early because the place fills up quickly.  We were there before 'high noon' and followed a string of vehicles out to find the parking lot full and loads of people already enjoying the day at the bar.  A popular place.

Built in 1981, the covered walk bridge
was the next big project. It was
dedicated in October of that same year.
The church was started in 1993,
completed in 1996 and dedicated in
October

 Across from the saloon is an outside
bar, cooking area and stage.
The tall structures you see on the
property including Ken's house,
located across from the parking lot,
are "cooling towers". They work similar
to an evaporative (swamp) cooler,
except they don't have a fan. When
you wet the pads on top, cool air falls
and you get a nice cool airflow.

Tri tip and philly sandwiches in the making.  And yes this too is powered by solar.

When Ken opened the bar, he hauled
water in a 50-gallon tank loaded on the
back of his truck. Then he purchased
an old fire truck, which he used to haul
water. In 1989, he started using a well
in the canyon as his water source. In
the summer of 1997, Ken drilled a new
well on the north side of the saloon
that operates on solar power, with the
pump set at 360 feet.

Rachel, Melvin and Dezbah joined us for a day.  Melvin and Dezbah taking a walk outside the bar.

The long bumby windy road on our way back to civilization. 

 

Sunday was the day to take Loi and Kel to the airport.  We waved goodbye and headed back home to take our last shower for a week.  We are now parked in the desert in Quartszite living on not electricity, not solar power but a generator and only the water that is in our tanks.   We crank up the generator in the am for coffee and evening to charge our phones etc. and because our water is limited to what is in our tanks we use it sparingly.  I love Quartzsite!

Plunging In The New Year

On The Way To Our Parker AZ Park

 Well then, our road to Parker was a fun ride, we took our time, drove during the day only and actually spent the nights in dog friendly hotels...found some OK ones too.
Driving through the  mountains of CO is pretty awesome

 Especially with the snow capped tops

One of our stops to exercise the dogs and play in the snow ourselves.  All three boys enjoyed trudging through the snow...and not only did the little boys 'pee' but David is off to the trees to do the same himself!

 HA a picture with me in it...doesn't happen very often!

So darned gorgeous.  While driving through Vail I looked really really hard for someone famous but nope didn't spot anyone...isn't Vail where all of the rich and famous go to ski and stuff?

Oh dear and then there is Utah

 This is a state that we really need to spend some time in

 Love those formations and the colors

We spent our last night on the road with Rachel who was kind enough to not only invite us to spend a night but she cooked the first home made meal we had had since our wonderful Christmas meal.  Those that know Rach know she is a great cook...there is just something to be said for knowing what spices to use.  The next morning she sent us off with tummy's full of scrambled eggs and toast oh and coffee as well.  Thanks a ton for the hospitality Rachel.

So the very first thing that we did upon arriving in Parker was to hit the urgent care facility.  I was feeling pretty awful and was sure that I had a great big sinus infection which I am sure was exacerbated by the altitude.  I have been on antibiotics for 6 days and finally, today, I feel better.  I really haven't done much of anything other than wait for this crazy stuff to clear up, but watch out New Year's Eve...here we come haha.  The park has a dinner and dance to celebrate and although we don't dance we do eat.  Our neighbors will join us and maybe, just maybe, we will be awake past midnight....or not.

So, I hope that you all had a nice Christmas and have a safe and happy new year.

Christmas In Minnesota

Before we left for our winter home and Len, Kel and girls went to Michigan to spend Christmas with Kel's family we had our Christmas together.  Great food, good fun, presents and BS and family, what more can one ask.
Grandpa decided we should save decorating the cutouts until we could do them with the girls.

Shelby spread the frosting onto her cookie and then..... 

 Decided it was much better eaten that spreading on a stupid cookie:)

 Here the girls are decorating away

 While Shelby ate her frosting, Julia and Grandpa decorated

 There isn't much sweeter for a grandma than watching her grandkids in their Christmas program.  It just so happened that the girls were on the opposite end of the stage than we were but I did get a few shots

Julia in her skit with her 'classmates'

Shelby did just fine until she spotted her Momma and Daddy.

Lenny in the kitchen preparing another wonderful meal.  Kelly cooked as well she just didn't get in the picture.  We had home made egg rolls stuffed with feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes and something else...what is it guys?  There was home made turkey/cranberry ravioli, shrimp wrapped in bacon, ahi tuna with home made wasabi-oh dear I know I am missing something and it was all good.  Grandma Loi, who is a tad picky, really liked the ravioli.

Speaking of Momma/Grandma Loi here she is opening the wall hanging that I quilted for her.

 And Auntie Kelly playing with the Lincoln Logs that she bought because she never had them when she was a kid:)

 Julia was the official gift hander outer as well as the 'I will help you open your present' gal

Shelby Marie running to Grandpa to show him the cell phone that she got

Even Tigger got into the act

 Shelby's favorite might have been her Elmo and friends set and Julia loved her drawing pad

I cant decide if the look on Shelby's face says that she likes this dolly or if she wonders why it isn't talking to her like all of her other friends at daycare do.

And here they are our two little MN Christmas angels

The night before we opened presents I listened to my son tell his daughter how Santa was going to come down the chimeny, eat the cookies, drink the milk and deliver the gifts-precious.
AND another too good to not share story.  Shelby needed her diaper changed and when she was asked if she did in fact need it changed off she went to the bathroom, moved the foot stool to the toilet, pulled her pants down and hoped up onto the toilet.  Never mind that her diaper was already wet....she's got at least part of the idea.  Oh yes, even though she didn't 'pee' in the potty she did grab toilet paper, wiped, flushed the toilet and asked to wash her hands (by going to the sink holding her hands out).  AND THEN later Kelly caught her pulling her pants down attempting to sit on the itty bitty Barbie toilet in the living room...really Shelby??????  Kids are great, especially when they are your grands.
It was another wonderful early Christmas.  Thank you so much Len and Kel for hosting, now have a great time with Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Tim.

Busy? Hell Yes!

My sewing room and I have become pretty close these past few weeks, so close in fact that I got pretty darned sick of that room.  However the projects are done, and sometimes I think it would be much easier and quicker to get all of our gifts from the stores.  Nah, I really do enjoy my sewing room and creating new things.  Here some of them are:

A Christmas table runner for one of my favorite people

 A soft cuddly blanket for a special young boy

 A Dresden plate quilted wall hanging for a lady who deserves so much more

 And a card table playhouse for two very special girls and because it was on their 'Dear Santa' list

I have decided that I will be starting my next year's Christmas gifts this January....but then I know me, I will start and put them off until next November...dear Mary why oh why did you give me this procrastination habit? 

We don't have much of a winter wonderland this year but I was able to get a few 'sort of winter' shots on a few drives

 A wet snow fall day

 We lured this gorgeous eagle to our back yard with David's deer hide.  We were both surprised that we didn't have a few more of these birds of prey on that hide.

 Cat tails and reeds make for a great winter picture

 Oh and just one more thing that I have been doing....with David's help.  We baked 7 different kinds of Christmas cookies to take to Prior Lake this coming weekend.  Because I wanted to get my gifts done David offered (after i suggested) to help me bake cookies.  A fine job he did do, the cookies look tasty, the kitchen not so much HA.  Those Woelperns are great cooks but they do know how to make a mess in the process.

 Oh yes our auction is set for May 5th 2012.  As my friend Mary says, "It sounds so finale".  We are actually glad to have it all set up.  Our auction folks,the Dauks, will make it a fun day.  They are great people and we both wish we could have gotten to know them sooner.  We have actually been to many of their auctions and some of the things they will have on our auction bill are items that we have purchased at other auctions they have done.  So it seems that after May 5th we will be without a stick house...well we may still have the house but their will be nothing in it.  I suspect that is when we will officially become full timers?  The house itself is not going on the auction block, we are still hoping that it gets sold sooner than later.  It will happen.  We are lucky that we have no mortgage makes this process much easier.

Off to Prior Lake tomorrow to spend a few last days with the Leonard clan and an early Christmas.  Monday we begin our two day drive to AZ.  Yep, we are planning on driving straight through once again.  Crazy is as crazy does.

What Are You Thankful For?

As the dogs and I were walking through the woods yesterday I was thinking about what I am thankful for. I am thankful for so many things; David, our family, our grandkids, friends and our ability to live the life that we enjoy living.
And this year we are especially thankful to a group of caregivers. People who care for others for a career will never become financially rich and we typically only hear about them when something has gone amiss. This past year David and I have gotten to know a team of people that excel in what they do. When David's brother (who lived in a home provided by Shiloh's Hope) came to the end of his life, this team of people went above and beyond so that Ron could live his last days comfortably in the place that he had called home for the past few years. With the assistance of Mankato Hospice and Nicollet County Social Services, Ron's caregivers made the heartfelt commitment to allow him to pass at home. Tammy (the caregiver working at his passing) reported that she was holding his hand when he passed-it doesn't get much kinder than that.
So this year David and I are especially thankful for the above caregivers and others of you that provide care to those of us that need it during critical times in our lives. Please thank your caregivers for a job well done-they deserve it.

I Dont Even Know How To Title This One

I guess the sign says it all. Yep we put our little slice of heaven on the market
This idea started pulling at David when he broke his leg this spring and got almost 2 months behind in his 'projects'. I think it was then that he realized no matter where we were or what we were doing he was always in a rush to get home to finish whatever project was on the agenda at that time. We have been so busy that we haven't had the boat out this year and the only time that we have had it out in the past two years was when Ryan was here in May 2010 (or was it 2009 Ry).
We are pretty remote up here, we drive almost two hours both ways to get to our doctor, to the pet groomers, the dentist and any major town for groceries. Don't get me wrong, we love this place and were proud to share it with the grandkids and kids that were able to spend time with us here as well as friends and family members. We appreciate those that took the time to make the trip but that is just it, it's a trip not just a little jaunt. Darn it Barbie and Lynn, we will miss you even though we didn't get together often, we did get together...thank goodness for facebook:) So David began the, 'What do you think about' talk and as we talk we kept coming up with reasons why it was a good idea. We need to retire from retirement, So I said how about we then spend the summers on our land by StPeter in the motor home (yes we plan on trading the 5th wheel for a much more friendly while you travel motor home) so that we are close to the MN kids as well as family and friends. We are looking forward to playing shoot with my aunts and uncle on a weekly basis (gonna have to save up my dollar bills), babysitting the MN kids at a moments notice, being able to go to any store that anyone ever needed with little effort and as I get older I realize how much I miss my friends and family. I have some very special friends and I miss you all so much.
For those that have not seen our slice of heaven here is the listing- BTW the babe that happens to be in picture 15 does not go with the sale of the house. How in the hell did they manage that little oops.

http://glarmls.fnismls.com/publink/default.aspx?GUID=22483830-88fc-4a0b-a69b-874bcd303cc7&Report=Yes

As I loaded these pictures from last weekend's hunting opener I became a little nostalgic because it was the last time that our MN kids will be here and I think these photos captured a bit of that nostalgia.
Julia is quite fond of her Grandpa Dave and it is pretty obvious

Shelby with momma and daddy walking through the woods

Oh this one really tears at my heart. Julia has always loved to spend time in my garden......My momma loved to garden, I love to garden and Julia loves flowers-a future gardener in the works perhaps?
Our Shelby will probably not remember this place but she is comfortable here, she loves the outdoors and is our adventurous gal.
Julia and daddy spent some time by 'Tackla's' pond
And Shelby spent the weekend being the happy go lucky girl that she is. She makes me smile every time I look at a picture of her.
Julia found Daddy's old trike that his grandma bought for him and I had used for garden art.
The plan is to sell everything-yes my friend Mary, everything...it will be OK. (Mary is my friend who if she were to help me decide what to keep and what to get rid of would put whatever I wanted to get rid of in her car). David does not even want his tools, I know I know that my friends is a heart stopper. He is tired of working and working and working and really does not think that he will get bored...heck we will fish rather than work! Furniture, nope it's going. When we are ready to come off the road we plan on renting an apartment and we can then at that time acquire the 'stuff' that we need to furnish it. My crafting really does need to downsize which is not going to be easy-actually what will be even more difficult is that I will not be able to have the stash that I am used to having on hand at all times. No worries I will get used to it:) Oh yes I see it now, this journey brings much fodder for the blogger....

We are far from our next step in our life's journey. We know that the housing market sucks and of course so typical of us-buy high sell low- but we feel as if something will come along and this will work out.
More to come.