My Trails

It is hard to believe my youngest son is 30. Karen says wait until her kids start having babies and then I will be a great grandpa. That’s even more unsettling to get my head around. I wish someone would discover a formula to reverse this aging process.

I called Dave yesterday for his birthday. We had a good talk. Karen and Jenny traveled to Rochester for a surprise party for him, but I’m pretty sure he knew all about it before hand. I would like to have been there to see David on his birthday and meet my newest granddaughter Harper, but a trip back east will have to wait for a while.

We are into our third day of rainy weather. The sun has poked through the clouds a few times today but it still remains cold and windy. Before long, I will need to get to town for supplies. My shopping list is growing each day. Most of the items on the list are not important except for one – silicon caulk. During the night I noticed that Minnie has a leak around the front window. At first I couldn’t tell where it was coming from and thought it was maybe condensation, but as it rained harder I saw the unmistakable drip from the glass to my bed. I knew that the previous owner had replaced the window and apparently the repair was not done well.

The weather tomorrow is forecast to be better. I have to admit I’m beginning to come down with the first stages of cabin fever. There are quite a lot of van campers here, and although I sometimes miss the freedom and simplicity my van gave me, When the weather is nasty, It’s nice to have room to move around and stand up like a modern ape.

Except for the wind, which continues to blow every day since I pulled in here, the weather has been beautiful. I like temps in the 80’s. It is great for motorcycle riding and exploring the shady side of my camper. The nights get a little chilly but a sweatshirt in the morning for a couple hours is all you need. I talked with two other RV’ers here and they said a lot of people left last week for higher territory because it was getting too warm.

I had some visitors this morning. The cows we share this land with a very tame. I could swear they wanted to say hello as two of them walked near my rig and took up a curious pose.

Today I rode to Jerome, a little town on a hillside above Cottonwood, all but abandoned years ago when the copper mine ran dry. Now, a few hundred people live there, most making a living from tourism or some type of related activity. I didn’t walk through the shops in town but went to the Jerome State Historic Park and toured the Douglas Museum. This was the second time there for me. When Karen and Noah were out last year we went there too. I have to say it was more fun when I went with them but I still enjoyed learning more history.

Eating lunch in Jerome

On the ride back I got something in my eye. I don’t know how it got by the helmet visor and my sunglasses but it did. Maybe a piece of copper got in my eye. Tonight it feels better. It might be scratched and just need some rest. I’m sure it will be better in the morning. Last night I had tacos for dinner and tonight I’m thinking of making some fish sticks.

I took a ride around four of the campgrounds here at Windy Hills Recreation Site and there are only a handful of sites left. This weekend is going to bring a mob of people to this lake. Quite a few campers have boats. They usually pull out early in the morning, drive to the boat ramps, and spend a few hours out there playing in the water. I’m not sure how good the fishing is but more than a few fishermen must be throwing their fish guts in the dumpsters – I’m camped by one that really reeks!

Hold your nose!

I haven’t been doing a whole lot since I arrived here. I sort of hurt my back when I tried to lift my motorcycle last week after I had a flat tire. The only time it feels good is when I lay flat on my back, so I’ve been doing a lot of that. Today it feels much better, thanks. I did make a tripod of sorts for my satellite dish. It is still in the experimental stage and I have some more modifications to make on it. That’s why you see rocks doing most of the work of holding it up.

I also decided to load my motorcycle without dropping it into the slots for the tires. The whole purpose of the slots is to secure the tires so nothing will move, but getting the bike raised up and out of the slots has become too much work. I figure I can use more tie-downs to hold it on. I hope it works – the last thing I want to see is my motorcycle sliding down the shoulder of the road as I glance in my rear-view mirror.

A short drive from Mesa to just east of Superior, rewarded me with 15 degree cooler temperatures. It is 97 in Mesa as I write this and a relatively moderate 82 degrees here at Oak Flats Campground. What a difference a couple thousand feet make. The campground is quite full, comprising many sites of cobbled together tarps and tents and ropes, giving the appearance that some of the occupants have been here for quite some time. I chose a site on a side spur that had a couple of tenters nearby but seperated by some trees. As I was setting up one of my neighbors began chanting and singing in what I assumed was native Indian song but sounded more like someone confined to a mental institution against their will.

I will stay here for a couple days and then go over to Roosevelt Lake. One of the drawbacks to this place is that the cell signal is slim to none, but I can make do for a little while.