We Are Off for the Summer of 2016!

We pulled out of Picacho at 10am in 82 degrees.  Watched the temperature climb to 92 when we checked into North Ranch Escapees RV Park which is Congress, Arizona, a mere 152 miles from home.  This is the earliest we have moved out for the summer, 3 weeks ahead of our past trips. Why? Why not?  I ended up having arthroscopic knee surgery on March 11th and was amazed at how fast I recovered!  We also had some changes in our personal lives (see below the explanation) and just decided that we needed to get going and heal our sadness.

Bye, bye Picacho!  See you in the fall!

Skirted around Phoenix as we headed north

We are in the desert!

We have made it a point in the last 4 years to go not too far our first time out, we need to relearn the RV all over again.  Did not have any problems setting up the rig once we were assigned a spot, did have a little trouble with the water hookup and Dave had to put in new washers.

We are just north west of Wickenburg and visited this same campground 4 years ago.  Nothing has changed since then but our last visit, we were the only ones here.  This time we are 2 weeks earlier than the last visit and I can see about 30 rigs surrounding the area.  This is a private campground for Escapee members and it is very clean, cheap rates, full hookup, and sits in the basin that overlooks Granite mountain range.

Hello North Ranch Escapees Park

We are one mile from the Granite Mountain fire base.  As we passed this building, we remembered The Yarnell Hill Fire, a wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona, which ignited by lightning on June 28, 2013. On June 30, it overran and killed 19 City of Prescott firefighters, members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. The wildfire was fully contained by July 10, 2013.  This event resulted in the highest wildland firefighter death toll in the United States.  Very sad indeed.

Seems hard to believe - this was Grace and Buddy just 4 months ago.

We are traveling only with Buddy this year, we had to find a home for Grace.  How we loved her, but she attacked Buddy about 3 weeks ago and he almost lost his eye. We were so torn about moving Grace out of our house but she had tried to attacked Buddy a couple more times after that initial one that we felt she had to go.  Buddy needed 7 stitches in his cornea and I had lots of battles with him with eye drops 3 times a day and also oral medicine to be pushed down his throat.  But he got flying colors when we went for his 3 week checkup and we decided to hit the road.

The afternoon of his surgery - Buddy did not like this cone!
Had to wear it for one week.

Buddy told Dad - my eye hurts!

How I miss Grace - she was with us for 11 years.  Always wanted to be outside, she was a feral cat prior to her coming in and now she has returned to being outside.  She lives on a farm now with other cats and dogs and horses and cows and chickens.  Gregg, the man we gave her to, says he sees her around and knows she's there.  But we can't worry about her, she is again living how she was at the beginning of her life, hunting and being outside.

Have a good life, Gracie.  We love you!

Our plans for the summer are to head to upper Washington to see North Cascades National Park, located on the border of Canada and Washington, has 321 glaciers, and some of the highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and just enjoy seeing and experiencing the great United States.