200 Ruthie is feeling way to comfortable here!

     March 2017
     Only four days in in the park and the seemingly normal folk in the park had turned into celebrating, parading cross-dressing celebrants.   And we have signed up for 40 days.  Will their behavior continue to escalate?   What's the cause?  Is it the water supply?  They all seem to fill their jugs from a common source for a quarter.   We shall keep a wary eye and not jump to any conclusions. 
After all the bulletin board listed pickle ball so it can't be all bad.  In addition shuffleboard, a swimming pool with spa, horseshoes, nondenominational church service on Sunday, a community center for varied exercise activities,  cards, games and billiards.  I think we will be okay here, we will just keep our guard up and watch for any erratic changes in their behavior.  After all we are just temporary what can possibly go wrong.
       A text from our traveling friends from Minnesota Dave and

Notice the view out the
window. 

Sandy brought back some fond memories of past visits and one humorous one of Sandy hanging out the window of their car on a chance encounter in cave creek.   They were within riding distance and we arranged a meeting.    
March 8, 2017   We mounted the trike and headed out to Fort McDowell park where they were set up.  A beautiful remote desert setting.    
 Who could have guessed when we built a trike for this nomadic couple that our own gypsy ways would let our paths cross if even for brief moments in time.   Many years ago I remember an acquaintance of my fathers telling me he was a gentle man.  That description had never crossed my mind, evidently people are perceived differently in public than in the privacy of family.  If someone were to question me about Dave and Sandy that's the way I would describe them "gentle, interesting souls" I'm always pleased when they reach out to us.   I don't think they have a tracker on us however they always seem to know where we are.          A phone call from our "Harley" friend Wes, let us know we had 

A sad case,  I don't think even
the little blue pill will
 help this fella!

other friends from Minnesota in the Mesa area.   We reached out to Roger and Marilyn, they were renting a small cottage just East of us off the main street and soon we were in their car exploring one of their favorite roads.    Roger drove  from Apache Junction East along route #88, a winding road thru the rocky, hilly desert, just this week had seen 3 cars go off the cliff.  Scary!   It was the kind of road we would love to do on the trike.   At times I try to think back and visualize how in the world a stagecoach 

could have traveled the road we were on, seems impossible.  My infatuation with our neighbors the cacti continue.  Like snowflakes and people each one is unique.   Passing a beautiful lake nestled in the canyon we soon arrived at our destination.

 

I don't know if he was yesterdays
entertainment or not.

     Tortilla flats was once a stagecoach stop and frontier town established for freight and visitors during construction of the Roosevelt dam.   Now billed as the tiniest village in Arizona,  the six residents swell with visitors and support staff in the gift shop, restaurant and bar.  During our stop we were entertained with country music.        
     On the way home we made a quick stop at Goldfields Gold mine.  Just in time to see a shoot out on main street.    It was a fun day,  we found out they like to play cards so hopefully we can meet up again. 

     We try to relax and check out the facilities in our little community.  I try my hand at yoga in the community center, I found out just how inflexible I am.  I suspect she's referring to my attitude.  

      Ruthie is starting to worry me just a little.  She is making settling down sounds, like this would be a nice place to live, I feel safe in this park, everyone sure is friendly here.  I'm getting a little worried about her.  Maybe an evening out will make it go away. 

That evening we decided to check out a café just down the road from us.  The Wildberry's hospitality was impressive.  The owner met us as we came in, grabbed Ruthie by the arm escorting her to a table. He handed me the menus and said follow us.  I think there marketing is right on the money knowing it is the ladies that decide where to go.  On this particular evening they had a couple from Wisconsin singing and playing old folk and German lullaby's,  Can you hear edelweiss from the sound of music??  "Bless my homeland forever!  I'm sure we will return. 

    If you go out the back of our carport it connects to our back door neighbor.  Norm and Louise, from Canada, they have been coming here for years.  They were nice enough to invite us over for dinner, drinks and a get together with their friends.   The ages normally range upward from 65 to ?  to polite to pick a number.  As often happens some in the park have lost a spouse and now have found a life partner with similar circumstances.  The look of senior citizens and heart of teenagers, one youngster mentioning she had a 24 point checklist for her next mate, her newly wed husband met them all 16 months after they wed he still holds her and tells her he loves her daily plus a massage, he is a gem.   At the other end of the spectrum one young fella said he told his wife he loved her once and would let her know if anything changed. That was over 50 years ago, I suspect he was just being funny.  I was a little surprised at the tone of some of the perhaps risqué stories that floated around the circle. I wish I could remember jokes , what was that one, something about a prosthetic leg or was it an aspirin.

     An interesting evening indeed, it seems no matter where you go people are the same.  We walked the 6 steps back to our tiny rental.  It was a fun night, I fall asleep thinking that perhaps a motorcycle ride tomorrow will take Ruthies mind on other things rather than settling down.