[Paradise Valley, AZ to Scottsdale, AZ] Well, today was supposed to have been from Paradise Valley to Gila Bend. Read on and you'll understand why the change.
As planned, we arose at 6:00a.m. (sharp). Grabbed some coffee and Linda had her Raw Bits Twang Twang. We finished loading Wilma and left before 6:45a.m. after saying our fond farewells.
Pulled into the vet clinic just before 7:00a.m. and Linda went in to see if our CWF could be seen. She came back out and got us right away. The veterinary technician took Maggie's temperature, weighed her and checked her heart. She then went off to find Dr. Soltero, who happened to already be there. Dr. Soltero took a feel of the lump on Maggie's neck and pretty much immediately concluded there was an infection. It was interesting because he had a younger vet come in and he asked him this and that about Maggie and what he should do. John thinks there was a great teaching experience going on.
If you're queasy, skip this paragraph. Dr. Soltero had the other vet get a lance and they lanced the lump on Maggie's neck. Linda said we shouldn't write about all the puss and blood that flowed out, so we won't. Dr. Soltero kept working it and it kept coming out. Finally, he took a hypodermic syringe and filled it with hydrogen peroxide. He put a funny looking curved "needle" on it that wasn't sharp. He shoved it into the lance hole and filled that lump with hydrogen peroxide. It musta foamed for three minutes. He said that was probably one of the best things he could do for her. He had shaved some areas bare before doing the lancing. That made it much easier to see the actual puncture wounds.
He checked her other wounds and they seem to be doing OK. Dr. Soltero also changed antibiotics to a stronger anaerobic one. Now comes the part that shows you how you need to be flexible and roll with the punches when you road trip. We had told Dr. Soltero that we were headed for Gila Bend. He said he really would like to see Maggie again on Wednesday, if possible. Sooooo, we will be spending two days in Scottsdale and going back into the vet clinic on Wednesday for our appointment to see Dr. Rick. We are so pleased with the care Maggie has received at the Saguaro Veterinary Clinic.
Thus, we are foregoing our trip segments to Gila Bend (Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument) and Yuma. But that's OK. It's probably going to be around for the rest of this century, at least. And we have seen lots of cactus by now. We even saw a lot of organ pipe cactus at the Botanical Garden last Saturday. If Maggie's OK on Wednesday, we'll head directly to San Diego for that portion of the trip. For those of you participating in our Mileage Madness Game, the revised itinerary has been posted and is available as a pdf file by clicking here. If, for some reason, we have to further change the itinerary, we'll let you know in a posting and update the Mileage Madness Game itinerary once again. We have the prize for the winner and it is very nice. Here's another clue: The whole time we were in Paradise Valley going out for day trips, we went in Gloria's freebie Lexus (from a Catholic raffle) while Wilma lounged around in the driveway.
After our vet visit, we sat in the parking lot and used our mobile phones to cancel our lodging reservations in Gila Bend and Yuma. We then employed Wilma's marvelous navigation system to list all hotels beginning with the closest to where we were sitting. We were looking for something like a Comfort Inn or Quality Inn as we knew the prices would be good and they have a nice complimentary breakfast. We wanted one close to the vet clinic for Wednesday's appearance. We found one. Good rate. Complimentary breakfast. Nearby. Even though check-in wasn't until 3:00p.m., when I explained the situation, the desk clerk said they had rooms available and we could come over at any time.
John hadn't yet had breakfast, so we used the nav system again to search for nearby restaurants, sorted from closest to furthest. John scrolled down and found an IHOP about three miles away. He had been wanting a chance to go to one on our trip. This was it! Linda had eaten her raw bits, but took the opportunity to get a bowl of fruit, dekaf coffee and a glass of grapefruit juice. John got orange juice, two eggs with hashbrowns, 3 sausages, 3 bacon strips and two pecan pie pancakes. Yes, two pancakes with pecan syrup and glazed pecans on top. Oh, they were good.
After breakfast, we checked into our accomodations. A few minutes into our room and the phone rang. It was the front desk wanting to know if everything was satisfactory. Wonder of wonders, most of the good customer service in the world must have come here.
We worked on some travelogue things and decided to have lunch in our room. We needed some items from the grocery. We used Wilma's nav again to find the nearest Fry's Marketplace (less than three miles). John and Maggie waited while Linda shopped for doggie nurse supplies and a few food items. Went back to our room for a nice lunch. We'll go out this evening for dinner.
We're keeping an eye on Maggie and are expecting that today's vet visit and the new medication will get her on her way to getting well. Even though Misty didn't tear open enough of Maggie's flesh to require stitches, you can feel where she pulled some muscles loose under the skin. That's gotta hurt!
Even though it was not anyone's fault, everyone feels badly about the injury (especially Maggie.... maybe not so much Misty). This incident in no way detracted from our visit with Linda's sister which was an important purpose for the whole road trip.
Depending on how Maggie's doing tomorrow, we might go on a short local adventure. We certainly know one thing. Any vehicle we own in the future will have a navigation system at least as good as Wilma's. Her's is great and they'll only get better in the future.
Sorry, no picture gallery today. Hopefully, we can get out and about a bit tomorrow and take some interesting pictures for you.
Rest well and we'll keep you current on what we're doing.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Day 9 - Paradise Valley, AZ
[Paradise Valley, AZ] Last night, while Linda and Gloria were off partying, John had some popcorn for dinner. Maggie was feeling good enough to try to catch popcorn thrown her way in the air. She caught several. This is a good sign.
Leisurely breakfast this morning and then worked on Botanical Garden photos and Gloria's software until about noon. The arrangement was that Bill would call after church and we would meet him at Pancho's Mexican Buffet. Gloria had never been before and the buzzards were good for another trip. So, off we went.
Got there about the same time as Bill and headed through the line. I think it was even better than when we arrived on Thursday. There are a couple of photos of us at Pancho's. Nothing much, but it does prove we were there. Bill is a former pastor, but we think he could have been a comedian. He currently volunteers two days a week at a local hospital and teaches a Sunday School class for people ready to meet Jesus. His students are in their 70's and 80's. We really enjoyed the time we spent with Bill. He took that long walk at the Botanical Gardens as good as John and John is a few years younger.
John took it easy the rest of the day and just had a chicken sandwich for dinner. John is becoming a fan of the Costco canned chicken. Makes great sandwiches, especially when shredded. Linda and Gloria went shopping. Linda wanted to go by Sally's Beauty Supply and purchase a "better" hair dryer using Gloria's discount. Smart shopping!
As we were getting ready for bed, Linda was checking over Maggie and noticed a pretty large lump on her neck at one place she had been bitten. Also, Maggie had a bad smell about her. Infection, or just gas?
Since we are leaving for Gila Bend in the morning, we decided to go ahead and load our stuff into the van tonight, get up at six and be back at the veterinarian's office before 7:00a.m. We want to get Maggie a "check up" before leaving town.
Just a few pictures in today's gallery which you can get to by clicking here.
Leisurely breakfast this morning and then worked on Botanical Garden photos and Gloria's software until about noon. The arrangement was that Bill would call after church and we would meet him at Pancho's Mexican Buffet. Gloria had never been before and the buzzards were good for another trip. So, off we went.
Got there about the same time as Bill and headed through the line. I think it was even better than when we arrived on Thursday. There are a couple of photos of us at Pancho's. Nothing much, but it does prove we were there. Bill is a former pastor, but we think he could have been a comedian. He currently volunteers two days a week at a local hospital and teaches a Sunday School class for people ready to meet Jesus. His students are in their 70's and 80's. We really enjoyed the time we spent with Bill. He took that long walk at the Botanical Gardens as good as John and John is a few years younger.
John took it easy the rest of the day and just had a chicken sandwich for dinner. John is becoming a fan of the Costco canned chicken. Makes great sandwiches, especially when shredded. Linda and Gloria went shopping. Linda wanted to go by Sally's Beauty Supply and purchase a "better" hair dryer using Gloria's discount. Smart shopping!
As we were getting ready for bed, Linda was checking over Maggie and noticed a pretty large lump on her neck at one place she had been bitten. Also, Maggie had a bad smell about her. Infection, or just gas?
Since we are leaving for Gila Bend in the morning, we decided to go ahead and load our stuff into the van tonight, get up at six and be back at the veterinarian's office before 7:00a.m. We want to get Maggie a "check up" before leaving town.
Just a few pictures in today's gallery which you can get to by clicking here.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Day 8 - Paradise Valley, AZ and Phoenix Botanical Gardens
[Paradise Valley, AZ] This is our second full day (Day 8 on the road trip) at Gloria's (Linda's sister). Had a nice breakfast cooked by Gordon, Linda's nephew. Eggs, sausage and cheese grits. Gordon can be creative. He didn't have any cheddar cheese for the grits so he used some Cheezit's, potato chips and liquid in a blender. Actually, they came out pretty tasty.
Gloria recently became a member at the Botanical Garden in Phoenix. They just today opened a new exhibit on succulents with a special section on agave and aloe. Her membership got her some guest passes and she took us to see the new exhibit. What a wonderful treat this was. I had no idea there were oh so many different cacti. Linda and John took tons of photos which will be posted tomorrow as John is going to work on them tonight. Gloria's gentleman friend, Bill, accompanied us. After visiting the exhibit, Gloria treated us to lunch at Sweet Tomato's (think an upscale Fresh Choice on steroids).
He's doing that while Linda is off with Gloria to a birthday party of one of Gloria's friends. John won't be waiting up. You see, today he put 7,894 steps on his pedometer. The most he's done since he bought it. He's tired. Very tired.
You'll notice we've skipped a couple of days. We'll be backfilling if we actually have anything for those days. We'll let you know when we do.
Today you get a four minute video which we think you'll really like. Each day aroudn 9am and 4pm, Gloria or Gordon grab a bucket of wild bird feed and head for the corner of their backyard fence. Waiting for them are California Gambil Quail and doves. Hundreds of birds. THey throw the bird feed over the fence and chaos ensues. Once in a while an opportunistic hawk will fly over (or Gordon will make a loud noise) and dove fly off while the quail run under a tree. Then the quail scurry back (danger past) and the dove wing their way back. We think you'll enjoy this little video that Linda took this video with her Nikon P5100 point and shoot camera. She did a great job. Here it is...
Didn't write about it in Day 5, but that evening when we went out for Subway, we found a Liquor Barn on the way. Linda got some box wine and John got a bottle of Jack Daniels (on sale!). We've been enjoying a "toddy" before bedtime. Besides, John's doctor told him he would tell him to take a drink a day, but that it would be OK if he did. He usually doesn't but road trips lend themselves to that as you can get pretty tired.
Time to post this and notify all our family and friends. Rest well this evening and we'll have more for you tomorrow.
To visit the photo gallery of our visit to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens, click here.
Gloria recently became a member at the Botanical Garden in Phoenix. They just today opened a new exhibit on succulents with a special section on agave and aloe. Her membership got her some guest passes and she took us to see the new exhibit. What a wonderful treat this was. I had no idea there were oh so many different cacti. Linda and John took tons of photos which will be posted tomorrow as John is going to work on them tonight. Gloria's gentleman friend, Bill, accompanied us. After visiting the exhibit, Gloria treated us to lunch at Sweet Tomato's (think an upscale Fresh Choice on steroids).
He's doing that while Linda is off with Gloria to a birthday party of one of Gloria's friends. John won't be waiting up. You see, today he put 7,894 steps on his pedometer. The most he's done since he bought it. He's tired. Very tired.
You'll notice we've skipped a couple of days. We'll be backfilling if we actually have anything for those days. We'll let you know when we do.
Today you get a four minute video which we think you'll really like. Each day aroudn 9am and 4pm, Gloria or Gordon grab a bucket of wild bird feed and head for the corner of their backyard fence. Waiting for them are California Gambil Quail and doves. Hundreds of birds. THey throw the bird feed over the fence and chaos ensues. Once in a while an opportunistic hawk will fly over (or Gordon will make a loud noise) and dove fly off while the quail run under a tree. Then the quail scurry back (danger past) and the dove wing their way back. We think you'll enjoy this little video that Linda took this video with her Nikon P5100 point and shoot camera. She did a great job. Here it is...
Didn't write about it in Day 5, but that evening when we went out for Subway, we found a Liquor Barn on the way. Linda got some box wine and John got a bottle of Jack Daniels (on sale!). We've been enjoying a "toddy" before bedtime. Besides, John's doctor told him he would tell him to take a drink a day, but that it would be OK if he did. He usually doesn't but road trips lend themselves to that as you can get pretty tired.
Time to post this and notify all our family and friends. Rest well this evening and we'll have more for you tomorrow.
To visit the photo gallery of our visit to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens, click here.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Day 7 - Paradise Valley, AZ
[Paradise Valley, AZ] Wilma's navigation system got us to the vet very efficiently. The Saguaro Veterinary Clinic opens at 7:00a.m. and we were there by about 7:03a.m. The sign above the door says "By Appointment Only". Linda went to see if we could get Maggie some help. John and Maggie waited in the car. Linda came out and told us there might be a 20 minute wait. That was just wonderful. We agreed she would come get us when it was time. Maggie was still pretty traumatized and not moving around much.
Within 20 minutes, Linda came and fetched us. We were ushered into a surgery room where we met Dr. Rick Soltero, founder of the clinic. Dr. Soltero is tall and lanky and wears sandals to work. Our kind of guy! Fortunately, Maggie's wounds were puncture wounds on the back of her neck which wouldn't require any stitches. He said, "I can tell by the wounds that the other dog was definitely trying to kill her". The danger is infection. Dr. Soltero gave her a shot of antibiotics and some pills as well. He also assured us, from his personal experience (he especially remembers a doberman and a cat) that Maggie was in a lot of pain. So he gave her a pain shot (can you say "narcotics?") and some pain pills. He told Linda that he could tell she had been traumatized as well. (When Linda thought about it later she came up with a good example. Gloria had shown Linda that she had put out purple towels for her and brown towels for John. When John was headed to the shower Thursday night he asked Linda to get him a towel. She thought she grabbed the brown one but noticed later that the purple one was what she had given him.) John had been traumitized using a purple towel.
Based upon the above, we had decided that we couldn't have Maggie and Misty together at all. It just wouldn't be safe. We could have stayed in a motel and gone to visit some, but we weren't going to leave Maggie cooped up in a motel room for hours on end. Especially after what she had gone through. Fortunately, Gloria and Gordon had decided they would board Misty for the weekend. That was very kind and generous of them. In fact, they had already started to find a place while we were at the clinic.
When we got back to Gloria's, Misty was still there, but was soon to leave. We just sat in the comfort of Wilma until Gordon pulled away. Now we could safely take Maggie back into the house. Except Maggie wasn't so sure it was safe. She kept crouched down very low to the ground and was looking around for Misty. That lasted for several hours. Fortunately, the previously aforementioned pain killer shot kept Maggie pretty dopey and drowsy for several hours. She slept a lot which is what the kind Dr. Rick had told us to expect.
For the rest of the morning, Gordon and John had been trying to "fix" the internet cable wireless router to make it secure. They fixed it so it wouldn't work at all. It was a Belkin N Wireless Router and John was convinced it had bit the sand (could have said dust, but there's so much sand in Arizona). Soooo, after a lengthy conversation in broken Hindi with Belkin technical support and going through all the same setup that we had gone through before, we finally got an RMA number to return the unit. John does not know when he has had to ask someone to repeat themselves so many times. Gloria and Gordon are to send the router back and Belkin will replace it. That's fine and dandy, but they need internet service. So, an afternoon trip to Fry's Electronics was in order. Fry's Electronics and Fry's Marketplace (grocery store) are both prolific in the Phoenix area. The logo name "Fry's" is exactly the same for both businesses. We're told this is so because they were started by two of the Fry brothers.
We had been hearing about Sweet Tomatoes, the terrific salad bar restaurant, so we went there for lunch. It was great. Huge selection of salad fixings, six or seven kinds of soup from which to choose, cornbread with kernals of corn in it, pizza, biscuits, and on and on. And, for dessert, fresh hot brownies and / or frozen yogurt. The "and / or" is because you can put the frozen yogurt on your fresh hot brownie and add chocolate syrup, caramel topping and soy nuts or granola mix. It's a killer. Of course, there can ba a problem of not having any room left for desert. Oh, well.
Off to Fry's Electronics. Found a nice D-Link N Router (N is the new wireless standard just coming out that is faster and "more reliable"). It is backward compatible with "G". We put the router in Gordon's cart. Gloria had been talking about needing a new computer. She knows what a geek John is, so she asked him to look at what they had and make a recommendation. Little did John know what was coming. We looked at all the desktops and found a nice HP model running the new Windows 7 Premium, 64 bit. Gloria wrote down the model number. Then, Gloria went ahead and bought the thing.
John was in geek heaven the rest of the day. First, installing the new D-Link wireless router and getting it going (after all, we have to be able to post to our travelogue). Then installing Gloria's new computer. Once it was up and playing, John got Gloria's business software installed along with some goodies like AccuWeather. Windows 7 no longer supports Outlook Express. Instead, you get to download Windows Live. There are several component parts to Window Live, one of which is Windows Mail. It takes the place of Outlook Express and seems quite nice. He also installed the Windows Live Photo Gallery, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Publisher, Stamps.com, 7-Zip (Free version of Win Zip), FortiClient (much better than Norton) and possibley some other applications. It all went well. And Gloria really did appreciate the geeky help. Neither Linda or her sister have EVER been described as Techie Chicks! When we were shopping at Fry's Linda had to explain to Gloria what a Propeller Head is when they passed by a display of propeller beanies.
That pretty much sums up Friday. Because of our concern for Maggie CWF (our child with fur) it was a bit of a terrifying day, but it turned out OK and we had lots of chance to visit.
No photos today, but tomorrow we're off to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens.
Within 20 minutes, Linda came and fetched us. We were ushered into a surgery room where we met Dr. Rick Soltero, founder of the clinic. Dr. Soltero is tall and lanky and wears sandals to work. Our kind of guy! Fortunately, Maggie's wounds were puncture wounds on the back of her neck which wouldn't require any stitches. He said, "I can tell by the wounds that the other dog was definitely trying to kill her". The danger is infection. Dr. Soltero gave her a shot of antibiotics and some pills as well. He also assured us, from his personal experience (he especially remembers a doberman and a cat) that Maggie was in a lot of pain. So he gave her a pain shot (can you say "narcotics?") and some pain pills. He told Linda that he could tell she had been traumatized as well. (When Linda thought about it later she came up with a good example. Gloria had shown Linda that she had put out purple towels for her and brown towels for John. When John was headed to the shower Thursday night he asked Linda to get him a towel. She thought she grabbed the brown one but noticed later that the purple one was what she had given him.) John had been traumitized using a purple towel.
Based upon the above, we had decided that we couldn't have Maggie and Misty together at all. It just wouldn't be safe. We could have stayed in a motel and gone to visit some, but we weren't going to leave Maggie cooped up in a motel room for hours on end. Especially after what she had gone through. Fortunately, Gloria and Gordon had decided they would board Misty for the weekend. That was very kind and generous of them. In fact, they had already started to find a place while we were at the clinic.
When we got back to Gloria's, Misty was still there, but was soon to leave. We just sat in the comfort of Wilma until Gordon pulled away. Now we could safely take Maggie back into the house. Except Maggie wasn't so sure it was safe. She kept crouched down very low to the ground and was looking around for Misty. That lasted for several hours. Fortunately, the previously aforementioned pain killer shot kept Maggie pretty dopey and drowsy for several hours. She slept a lot which is what the kind Dr. Rick had told us to expect.
For the rest of the morning, Gordon and John had been trying to "fix" the internet cable wireless router to make it secure. They fixed it so it wouldn't work at all. It was a Belkin N Wireless Router and John was convinced it had bit the sand (could have said dust, but there's so much sand in Arizona). Soooo, after a lengthy conversation in broken Hindi with Belkin technical support and going through all the same setup that we had gone through before, we finally got an RMA number to return the unit. John does not know when he has had to ask someone to repeat themselves so many times. Gloria and Gordon are to send the router back and Belkin will replace it. That's fine and dandy, but they need internet service. So, an afternoon trip to Fry's Electronics was in order. Fry's Electronics and Fry's Marketplace (grocery store) are both prolific in the Phoenix area. The logo name "Fry's" is exactly the same for both businesses. We're told this is so because they were started by two of the Fry brothers.
We had been hearing about Sweet Tomatoes, the terrific salad bar restaurant, so we went there for lunch. It was great. Huge selection of salad fixings, six or seven kinds of soup from which to choose, cornbread with kernals of corn in it, pizza, biscuits, and on and on. And, for dessert, fresh hot brownies and / or frozen yogurt. The "and / or" is because you can put the frozen yogurt on your fresh hot brownie and add chocolate syrup, caramel topping and soy nuts or granola mix. It's a killer. Of course, there can ba a problem of not having any room left for desert. Oh, well.
Off to Fry's Electronics. Found a nice D-Link N Router (N is the new wireless standard just coming out that is faster and "more reliable"). It is backward compatible with "G". We put the router in Gordon's cart. Gloria had been talking about needing a new computer. She knows what a geek John is, so she asked him to look at what they had and make a recommendation. Little did John know what was coming. We looked at all the desktops and found a nice HP model running the new Windows 7 Premium, 64 bit. Gloria wrote down the model number. Then, Gloria went ahead and bought the thing.
John was in geek heaven the rest of the day. First, installing the new D-Link wireless router and getting it going (after all, we have to be able to post to our travelogue). Then installing Gloria's new computer. Once it was up and playing, John got Gloria's business software installed along with some goodies like AccuWeather. Windows 7 no longer supports Outlook Express. Instead, you get to download Windows Live. There are several component parts to Window Live, one of which is Windows Mail. It takes the place of Outlook Express and seems quite nice. He also installed the Windows Live Photo Gallery, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Publisher, Stamps.com, 7-Zip (Free version of Win Zip), FortiClient (much better than Norton) and possibley some other applications. It all went well. And Gloria really did appreciate the geeky help. Neither Linda or her sister have EVER been described as Techie Chicks! When we were shopping at Fry's Linda had to explain to Gloria what a Propeller Head is when they passed by a display of propeller beanies.
That pretty much sums up Friday. Because of our concern for Maggie CWF (our child with fur) it was a bit of a terrifying day, but it turned out OK and we had lots of chance to visit.
No photos today, but tomorrow we're off to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Day 6 - Prescott, AZ to Paradise Valley, AZ
[Prescott, AZ to Paradise Valley, AZ] We just have to suppose that every single Comfort Inn in the country now comes with a complimentary breakfast that includes malted waffles! What a great idea....for the waffle maker / ingredient maker. Though, John claims they are really yummy. He brings his own peanut butter for them. Guess what Linda had for breakfast? No prize involved...
We checked out just after 9:13a.m. and headed off for Linda to attempt finding two Prescott letterboxes. One was on the town square with the old courthouse. It consisted of a series of four clues. John and Maggie parked and let Linda off (in front of a crepe restaurant that sold espresso drinks). While Linda went merrily on her search, John got himself a "pick-me-up" (large mocha with extra shot).
Twenty, or so, minutes later, Linda returned. She found the location but could not locate a letterbox in the prickly juniper. The clue said thigh high. OK, whose thigh? Not Linda's or anybody taller or shorter than her, that she could tell. John assured her that someone must have taken it, because if it was there, she would have found it! Linda still enjoyed the clues and was able to see an interesting sculpture of Bucky on his horse. Across the square we saw a coffee named after him.
The next letterbox was in the Native Pioneers Home Cemetary (supposedly) near the grave of Big Nose Kate. Kate was the sometime girlfriend of Doc Holliday (of OK Corral fame). Now this one was tough. First you had to find the grave of Big Nose Kate (Katherine Cummings). Then you had to do some compass work based on a tree stump across the road from the Civil War Memorial. Problem was neither John or Linda could see a stump. So, they just assumed where the stump should have been and did the compass work from there. Finally, Linda said, "I give up"! Off to Phoenix. But she still enjoyed seeing some interesting graves.
Now, when we say Phoenix, that is techincally incorrect. Linda's sister actually lives in Paradise Valley, AZ which is a town in the Phoenix area. However, Wilma's nav system was not set for Gloria's house. It was set for Pancho's Mexican Buffet. The Pancho's in Phoenix is the western-most of the restaurants. There are, sadly, none in California. Even more sadly, there are none in the vicinity of Morgan Hill. It is one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and we haven't been to one in thirty, count 'em, thirty long years! It is truly a buffet, but cafeteria style. You go through the line and tell them how many of what items you want. The variety is huge! Chile Relleno (with cheese sauce), green and red tamales, flautas, taquitos, chimichangas, red chile, green chile, Mexican vegetables, four different enchiladas (red, chicken, cheese, sour cream), beef and chicken tacos. On each table is a stand with a flagpole and small flag of Mexico. When you need a refill, you just raise the flag and a server takes your request and fetches more food or drink for you. When you are about done with your meal, the server offers you a basket of sopapillas (fried fluffly pillows) and a bottle of honey. The sopapillas are full of holes. So, you bite off a corner and fill the thing with honey. Then consume. All this for less than $8.00 a head. The trick is to not eat for a day before going to Pancho's!
After being wheelbarrowed back to our vehicle (did we mention how nice the servers are?) we drove to Gloria's. Time for Maggie to meet Misty, their Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier. Misty is a rescue dog that they have had for about three months. We carefully planned to introduce them outside of the home so Misty wouldn't feel threatened or "put upon". It went pretty good at first. Misty likes to romp, Maggie doesn't. Misty doesn't like it if Gordon shows another dog any attention (which he was careful not to do). The real problem arose when Gloria and Linda went into the bedroom where we would be staying. This is the bedroom where Gordon usually sleeps and where Misty stays. Now, Maggie was tagging along with Linda and Misty was following behind. Misty jumped on the bed and Gloria made her get down. Within a few seconds, Misty attacked Maggie (what do you think you're doing in MY room? I'm going to kill you!) And, so she tried. Gloria got Misty off of Maggie as quickly as she could.
It wasn't until later that night that Linda noticed that Maggie was shaking more than she'd ever seen before. Upon examination, Linda found some puncture wounds. That night, Maggie hunkered in the back of her doggie crate with her face on her paws and didn't even touch the treats laid before her. We decided that first thing Friday morning we will take her to the vet, one recommended by friends of Gloria's who know him and have had animals cared for by him.
This was really no one's fault. It was just an unfortunate incident brought about by bringing two animals together. For the two old buzzards and Maggie, it is a road tripping life lesson.... don't stay where you have to live with other animals.
No pictures for today. But, future postings will have pictures of Pancho's Mexican Buffet fare. Just wait!
We checked out just after 9:13a.m. and headed off for Linda to attempt finding two Prescott letterboxes. One was on the town square with the old courthouse. It consisted of a series of four clues. John and Maggie parked and let Linda off (in front of a crepe restaurant that sold espresso drinks). While Linda went merrily on her search, John got himself a "pick-me-up" (large mocha with extra shot).
Twenty, or so, minutes later, Linda returned. She found the location but could not locate a letterbox in the prickly juniper. The clue said thigh high. OK, whose thigh? Not Linda's or anybody taller or shorter than her, that she could tell. John assured her that someone must have taken it, because if it was there, she would have found it! Linda still enjoyed the clues and was able to see an interesting sculpture of Bucky on his horse. Across the square we saw a coffee named after him.
The next letterbox was in the Native Pioneers Home Cemetary (supposedly) near the grave of Big Nose Kate. Kate was the sometime girlfriend of Doc Holliday (of OK Corral fame). Now this one was tough. First you had to find the grave of Big Nose Kate (Katherine Cummings). Then you had to do some compass work based on a tree stump across the road from the Civil War Memorial. Problem was neither John or Linda could see a stump. So, they just assumed where the stump should have been and did the compass work from there. Finally, Linda said, "I give up"! Off to Phoenix. But she still enjoyed seeing some interesting graves.
Now, when we say Phoenix, that is techincally incorrect. Linda's sister actually lives in Paradise Valley, AZ which is a town in the Phoenix area. However, Wilma's nav system was not set for Gloria's house. It was set for Pancho's Mexican Buffet. The Pancho's in Phoenix is the western-most of the restaurants. There are, sadly, none in California. Even more sadly, there are none in the vicinity of Morgan Hill. It is one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and we haven't been to one in thirty, count 'em, thirty long years! It is truly a buffet, but cafeteria style. You go through the line and tell them how many of what items you want. The variety is huge! Chile Relleno (with cheese sauce), green and red tamales, flautas, taquitos, chimichangas, red chile, green chile, Mexican vegetables, four different enchiladas (red, chicken, cheese, sour cream), beef and chicken tacos. On each table is a stand with a flagpole and small flag of Mexico. When you need a refill, you just raise the flag and a server takes your request and fetches more food or drink for you. When you are about done with your meal, the server offers you a basket of sopapillas (fried fluffly pillows) and a bottle of honey. The sopapillas are full of holes. So, you bite off a corner and fill the thing with honey. Then consume. All this for less than $8.00 a head. The trick is to not eat for a day before going to Pancho's!
After being wheelbarrowed back to our vehicle (did we mention how nice the servers are?) we drove to Gloria's. Time for Maggie to meet Misty, their Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier. Misty is a rescue dog that they have had for about three months. We carefully planned to introduce them outside of the home so Misty wouldn't feel threatened or "put upon". It went pretty good at first. Misty likes to romp, Maggie doesn't. Misty doesn't like it if Gordon shows another dog any attention (which he was careful not to do). The real problem arose when Gloria and Linda went into the bedroom where we would be staying. This is the bedroom where Gordon usually sleeps and where Misty stays. Now, Maggie was tagging along with Linda and Misty was following behind. Misty jumped on the bed and Gloria made her get down. Within a few seconds, Misty attacked Maggie (what do you think you're doing in MY room? I'm going to kill you!) And, so she tried. Gloria got Misty off of Maggie as quickly as she could.
It wasn't until later that night that Linda noticed that Maggie was shaking more than she'd ever seen before. Upon examination, Linda found some puncture wounds. That night, Maggie hunkered in the back of her doggie crate with her face on her paws and didn't even touch the treats laid before her. We decided that first thing Friday morning we will take her to the vet, one recommended by friends of Gloria's who know him and have had animals cared for by him.
This was really no one's fault. It was just an unfortunate incident brought about by bringing two animals together. For the two old buzzards and Maggie, it is a road tripping life lesson.... don't stay where you have to live with other animals.
No pictures for today. But, future postings will have pictures of Pancho's Mexican Buffet fare. Just wait!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Day 5 - Off to Prescott, AZ
[Holbrook, AZ to Prescott, AZ] Greetings Earthlings! We had a lovely breakfast at Ramada Inn, Holbrook, AZ before blogging for a while. Had to get caught up with yesterday's activities. We did manage to comply with checkout time.Then we packed up and headed out of town.
On our way out we first stopped for gas at Williams gas station. This is now a no brand station, but is pretty unique. First of all, it's a pump before pay gas station. Second, they still use those old style pumps (one octane per pump) where you take out the nozzle, then move a lever across where the nozzle used to be. John keeps thinking how much fun it would be to watch a 17 year old teeny bopper pull into that station for the first time and try to pump gas. Linda observed a still operational Boraxo hand soap dispenser in the ladie's restroom.
At the Dairy Queen (DQ) next door to the gas station, they were kind enough to have named Linda as the Buzzard of the Month. We even have photographic evidence of this in today's gallery.
Next, we went past the dinosaurs and petrified rock store, turned right onto Bucket of Blood Street, made a turn or two more before finding the ruins of the Rancho Motel, built in 1888. After taking a few photos, with the help of Wilma's directional compass, we found the NW corner and Linda made her way to the Get Your Kicks on Route 66 letterbox. It was an excellent find - a good hiding place, an amazing hand-carved stamp in a well-camouflaged container with a very cute logbook. We have photos of all this in today's gallery. If you'd like to learn more about this strangly addicting hobby, click here. Once you come up with a trail name you can do searches for letterboxes in your area (or any areas). There are lots of letterboxes in Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Linda's trail name is Purple Bicycle.
Our drive to Prescott was scenic and included coming upon a recently overturned semi-truck that had dumped bales of green hay for several hundred yards before coming to a stop. Now, we're going to start something we may wish we hadn't... here goes.... "My truck turned over and I dumped all of my hay onto the Interstate", Tom said balefully.
Since all the rest areas are closed we stopped at a Vista Point to take some photos. We were the only ones there, so Linda decided to get even with the State of Arizona and water their plants at the Vista Point. Just before rising from behind the shrub to pull up her accouterments, two other vehicles pulled into the parking area. That was probably not the "vista" they were expecting.
We stopped at Camp Verde for lunch and frequented another Denny's. Linda had Chicken Noodle Soup and John had BFL (breakfast for lunch), a meat lover's omlette. While at Denny's, we learned that the lovely low clouds or fog John photographed was actually smoke from a fire. We could smell it in the air when we left Camp Verde.
Upon coming into Prescott we discovered that the Comfort Inn where we had reservations was in the midst of lots of Ponderosa pines, some distance out of town, but not enough to be inconvenient.
And just how do we entertain ourselves and each other during these long drives? Well, you can only say so much about the beautiful scenery before you start repeating yourself. But, sometimes, things bear repeating. Especially if you have photos to prove it.
And, here's something to try. If you have Google Earth on your computer, fire it up and go to Chinle, AZ. You can get some dazzling views of Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto.
Tomorrow morning after breakfast, we'll spend some time sightseeing in Prescott (probably a lot downtown as they have very nice square). Then we'll be off to visit Linda's sister, Gloria and her son Gordon. We'll do some sightseeing there, but fair warning that it could get a bit slim for a few days. For certain not 155 photos. By the way, only sixteen today, and those include all three of the panoramas that John has taken so far.
To view today's photo gallery, click here.
Sleep well!
On our way out we first stopped for gas at Williams gas station. This is now a no brand station, but is pretty unique. First of all, it's a pump before pay gas station. Second, they still use those old style pumps (one octane per pump) where you take out the nozzle, then move a lever across where the nozzle used to be. John keeps thinking how much fun it would be to watch a 17 year old teeny bopper pull into that station for the first time and try to pump gas. Linda observed a still operational Boraxo hand soap dispenser in the ladie's restroom.
At the Dairy Queen (DQ) next door to the gas station, they were kind enough to have named Linda as the Buzzard of the Month. We even have photographic evidence of this in today's gallery.
Next, we went past the dinosaurs and petrified rock store, turned right onto Bucket of Blood Street, made a turn or two more before finding the ruins of the Rancho Motel, built in 1888. After taking a few photos, with the help of Wilma's directional compass, we found the NW corner and Linda made her way to the Get Your Kicks on Route 66 letterbox. It was an excellent find - a good hiding place, an amazing hand-carved stamp in a well-camouflaged container with a very cute logbook. We have photos of all this in today's gallery. If you'd like to learn more about this strangly addicting hobby, click here. Once you come up with a trail name you can do searches for letterboxes in your area (or any areas). There are lots of letterboxes in Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Linda's trail name is Purple Bicycle.
Our drive to Prescott was scenic and included coming upon a recently overturned semi-truck that had dumped bales of green hay for several hundred yards before coming to a stop. Now, we're going to start something we may wish we hadn't... here goes.... "My truck turned over and I dumped all of my hay onto the Interstate", Tom said balefully.
Since all the rest areas are closed we stopped at a Vista Point to take some photos. We were the only ones there, so Linda decided to get even with the State of Arizona and water their plants at the Vista Point. Just before rising from behind the shrub to pull up her accouterments, two other vehicles pulled into the parking area. That was probably not the "vista" they were expecting.
We stopped at Camp Verde for lunch and frequented another Denny's. Linda had Chicken Noodle Soup and John had BFL (breakfast for lunch), a meat lover's omlette. While at Denny's, we learned that the lovely low clouds or fog John photographed was actually smoke from a fire. We could smell it in the air when we left Camp Verde.
Upon coming into Prescott we discovered that the Comfort Inn where we had reservations was in the midst of lots of Ponderosa pines, some distance out of town, but not enough to be inconvenient.
And just how do we entertain ourselves and each other during these long drives? Well, you can only say so much about the beautiful scenery before you start repeating yourself. But, sometimes, things bear repeating. Especially if you have photos to prove it.
And, here's something to try. If you have Google Earth on your computer, fire it up and go to Chinle, AZ. You can get some dazzling views of Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto.
Tomorrow morning after breakfast, we'll spend some time sightseeing in Prescott (probably a lot downtown as they have very nice square). Then we'll be off to visit Linda's sister, Gloria and her son Gordon. We'll do some sightseeing there, but fair warning that it could get a bit slim for a few days. For certain not 155 photos. By the way, only sixteen today, and those include all three of the panoramas that John has taken so far.
To view today's photo gallery, click here.
Sleep well!
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