Auto-Fill Line Added

Today when we got home, they had added the line to auto-fill the pool and keep it level. In the first picture, you can see the tub where the float goes and the pipe sticking through the wall where it will fill. I'm guessing after they get ready to put tile back on, they will cut the pipe to proper length.



In the second picture, you can see where they tapped into the water line and put an anti-siphon valve on the line.



I also removed all of the cleaning jets from the floor and took them to Shasta to replace the o-rings with fresh ones. There is also a little plastic piece in there that they replaced which helps the head rotate. I used the wire brush to clean them up before putting them back into the pool.

No Skateboarding Tonight

Well, I had invited Brett over to do some skateboarding in our empty pool, but that won't work now. These pool remodelers are fast. Here are the pictures of the pool when we got home from work tonight.

They Stole Our Pool Water

Well, Marcia and I came home from work to find our pool was drained. Someone had came and pumped all of the water out. I just hope they come back and refinish the surface while they are at it.



The worst thing was Marcia had really been looking forward to do some swimming. She got in the pool anyway and made due without the water.



Also, here's another progress picture of my block fence around the pool pump. I have the foundation set and the first row is roughed in and ready for mortar. I should be able to finish this weekend on it.

Quartzite Flea Markets

This weekend we went camping south of Quartzite. Marcia and I left Friday night after work and met Dave and Kathy who had been there since Wednesday night. We spent most of Saturday in town looking at all the vendors. It's still pretty early for all the snowbirds. In January and February, the whole flat area where we camped is packed with RV's all the way to Quartzite about 6 miles north.

Looking west from our camp site:


Looking east from our camp site:


The biggest purchase of the day was when Marcia finally got a new camping chair. It is sturdier and more comfortable than the last one. It has a table on the right side and a pouch for magazines and drinks on the left.



We camped right next to a wash and I went exploring around down there. I picked up some nice rocks to put in our yard back home.



Both nights we could hear coyotes howling as soon as it got dark. When I was out walking around, I spotted some tracks. This may be from some old fart snowbird walking their dog, but I think it is from the huge pack of coyotes that tried to attack us each night.

Thanksgiving

Marcia and I spent the day by ourselves. For lunch we cooked a ham with mashed potatoes, corn, and dressing. Marcia also made a batch of snickerdoodle cookies and helped me mix up and bake a lemon meringue pie. We used the Betty Crocker Cookbook and made this thing from scratch.

Good Guys Car Show

On Sunday, we went to the Good Guys Car Show. They had the whole tent filled up with vendor booths, the huge field below was packed with cars, and up on the hill to the south was a whole row of people selling used parts at the swap meet. We must have walked miles looking at all of the cars. The temperature outside wasn't that hot, but the sun was shining down bright and sucked the energy out of us. We did get to see alot of awesome cars.

Landscaping Update

I've been slowly making progress on relandscaping our back yard. Dave came up on Saturday to change exhaust on his Jeep and helped me remove the last 3 post footings. Here is a picture of the aftermath.



I've also dug down where the block fence is going to go around the pool pump. In the picture below, I have the first row just roughed in to show me where to dig and get an idea of how big it is going to be. I need to remove those and level the first rown now before I can mix up some morter and put the blocks in permanately.

Superior - Boyce Thompson Arboretum

This weekend we took highway 60 east to Superior. As you enter town, Superior RV Park is on the south side of the highway. I had called ahead to save a spot, so we pulled in and setup our camper. Here is a picture from our camping spot looking to the north.



After lunch we headed back west of town a couple miles to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. We started by looking around the visitor center for a little bit and then headed out to walk on the 1.5 mile main trail. They were having a music festival this weekend and right outside the visitor center were two guys with one playing a harp and the other was using a bow and playing a saw. It made an interesting whining noise. We walked a little further down the trail and entered the hummingbird and butterfly gardens. Can you spot the hummingbird below?



We continued on the mail trail and came to some greenhouses where they were growing rare and endangered species of cactus. After that, we passed another group playing music before coming to the larger cactus gardens outside. A little further down the trail, we came upon some prickly pear cactus that were the size of trees.



From there, we hiked up the hill to the small lake. They had many signs here to help identify the different varieties of ducks that frequent the lake, but we only saw one duck on the far side of the water.



From the lake, we continued our climb up the hill before coming to a vista where you could see towards the east and also look at the mansion on the property. Then the trail begins a fairly steep decent down the hill into a small canyon where a nice stream flows through. At the bottom, the trail turns and begins heading back to the west. At one point, it is very narrow and clings to the side of the cliff above the stream. Marcia stopped and posed for a pictre here.



Soon after, we came to a bridge that leads to the high line trail on the south side of the stream. Marcia stopped to look around as I took pictures.



From the bridge, you can look back east and see where we just came from and also spot the mansion sitting on the top of the hill.



We continued on the main trail and came to the herb gardens before entering the flat area where massive eucalyptus trees are growing. There was another band playing music in this area.



We walked around the band and saw the signs telling us we had entered the Austrailian camp. They have a windmill, some corrals with an old truck, and a cabin where they shear sheep.



The main trail heads back into the hummingbird and butterfly gardens and back to the visitor's center from there.

We went back to the campground and relaxed for a couple hours. Wanting to do a little more exploring, we hopped in the Jeep and headed 30 miles east to Globe where we ate supper at Judy's Cook House. It's located on highway 60 at the junction of 188 that heads to Roosevelt Lake. We had a nice window seat facing west and watched the sunset as we ate supper.

AZ State Fair and Steve Miller Band

Well, this is the 5th year we've lived in AZ and we still hadn't been to the state fair. Brett and Melissa invited us along Saturday to go to the free concert. We walked around the fair for a couple hours and checked things out. We bought a fried twinky, fried Coca-Cola, and fried cookie dough. Very interesting indeed. After that we went on the massive ferris wheel that towered over everthing else.

The Steve Miller Band was awesome! They played a 2 hour show and it was FREE! Besides most of their hits, they played quite a bit of blues music. Man, those guys can really play the guitars and harmonica. They said this was their last show of the year, but if you have a chance to ever see them, it would be worth it.