Wednesday March 11th 2020

It rained overnight and into the day today. I had to pack, dump the tanks and travel in the rain. Fun is not a work I’d apply to today’s move.

I took my time packing trying to stay inside during the harder rain showers. It was just before the noon checkout when I vacated my site at Lake Pleasant Regional Park. There wasn’t anyone else at the dumping station when I arrived so I took my time dumping the tanks. It will be another two weeks before I will dump again. I finally left the park and started my journey around 12:30.

The rain wasn’t bad during the first part of my journey. I only had the windshield wipers on the low intermittent setting. As I got closer to Phoenix the traffic picked up and I encountered a construction zone. Traffic was slow, but it kept moving. Not long after I finished with the construction zone, mother nature decided I needed another challenge. One of the heaviest showers in this storm system passed overhead. The wipers got cranked to full on and I started to watch for standing water on the roadway. Heavy rain doesn’t seem to be something the desert dwellers are very familiar driving in. Many motorists slowed way down, so I had to slow down to keep good spacing. Luckily by the time I had to get off the highway onto the surface roads the rain let up. The only remaining problem was dodging flooded sections of the road. The water never covered the entire road. It was just necessary to wait for on coming traffic so you could go around the water.

I arrived at the Lost Dutchman State Park northeast of Apache Junction after 2PM. There was a line up of other RVs waiting to check in. For the first time today, it wasn’t raining. It took a good ten to fifteen minutes to get checked in which was really only a question of telling the lady my name and getting my car pass. I paid for the campsite about a year ago. The rain returned while I was setting up.

Tuesday March 10th 2020

The sunny weather that I’ve been enjoying since I arrived here at the end of February has gone away. Last night it began raining. By morning it had stopped, but the sun did not return. It remained very cloudy and threatening all day. As darkness approached so did the next wave of rain. This one is expected to last into the morning. Hopefully it will stop early enough that I don’t have to pack in the rain. Tomorrow is a travel day.

I got my grocery shopping completed by early afternoon. I want to keep a few extra days supply of food in case concern about the COVID-19 virus escalates in this area. So far there are only a few identified cases in Arizona. People have already made a run on some of the “basics” on Walmart’s shelves. The toilet paper aisle was empty and the cleaning supplies aisle looked sparse as well. Stocking up on toilet paper would never cross my mind. Of course, I don’t have room to store lots of extra roles.

At the campground this afternoon I got started on some of the packing tasks for tomorrow’s travel. I only have about eighty miles to travel from the north side of the valley to the east side. Checkout time here is at noon. I’ll try to leave as close to that hour as possible so my site at the new campground will be available when I arrive.

I also used some of the time before the rain returned for another walk around the park. The saguaro cactus are starting to show some white fuzz on the tops. That’s the first step toward blossoms. Unfortunately, I won’t be here to see them. I don’t think there are as many, if any, saguaro in the area I’m moving to. The pictures in this blog entry are from my walk today.

Monday March 9th 2020

The first three quarters of the day was sunny and warm. The temperature made it into the low to mid seventies. As the sun got lower in the sky the clouds associated with the next weather system moved in. It is forecast to start raining tonight and continue off and on for the next three or four days. Between one and two inches of rain is possible over the time span.

Today’s big event was another Spring Training game at the Peoria Sports Complex. The teams in today’s contest were the Los Angles Dodgers vs the San Diego Padres. Since the Dodgers have been in the post season the last few years, I actually recognized the names of more than a couple of players. At the previous three games the name recognition has been low.

There were more than 7,000 people in attendance. Once again it seemed like there were more fans of the visiting Dodgers than the home Padres. The MLB network was covering the game, so there was a little more ceremony today. A local high school ROTC group provided the color guard and another high school girls choral group sang the National Anthem. The first part of the game was competitive, but the Dodgers really took advantage of the Padre’s bullpen.

The final score was Dodgers 14 to Padres 2. I didn’t make it to the end. I left at the top of the ninth inning. The extended family that was sitting behind me most of the game finally got to be to much. They spread out as people left. By the top of the ninth I was surrounded on three sides with conversations going right through me. I could have moved again, but it was easier to just leave.

Back at the campground I was provided with a hot air balloon show. At least nine balloons were floating in the moderately still air over the desert to the south. I don’t think there was enough air to allow the balloons to cover much distance from their launch point. As darkness settled in they all returned to the ground.

Sunday March 8th 2020

The above normal warmth of the last few days didn’t return today. It was only an average day for the area. After the overnight clouds dissipated the temperature climbed into the low seventies. Tomorrow is forecast to be warmer, but the middle of the week has rain in the forecast. Just what I don’t want for my moving day on Wednesday.

This morning began before the sun came up. It was time to make another reservation for next February in Florida. It is difficult to make reservations all winter in Florida, but February and March are the worst. On Saturday I checked to see how many sites were going to be available at each of three possible state parks. There were only two or three at two of the parks and none at the third possible state park. For my best chance at securing a reservation I had to be online when the reservations open at 8AM Eastern Daylight Time. I got up at 4:45AM local time and was back in bed by 5:15AM after successfully booking another two week stay. I’ll need to repeat the process on the 22nd of March.

After the planned disrupted sleep, I was a little slow getting started this morning. Breakfast was slow and lazy. Shortly before noon I started on today’s big hike among the Saguaro. At the wildflower presentation on Friday, the rangers had indicated that there were a lot of flowers in bloom along the trail. They were right, but be out among the Saguaro was just as impressive. I took lots of pictures along the way. Using the camera not only captures the things I’m seeing, but it slows me down. At a slower pace I don’t get tired as quickly and enjoy the hike more. All of the pictures in this blog entry are from the hike.

Saturday March 7th 2020

The nice weather with above average temperatures continued today. There was significantly more wind than Friday which probably prevented a new high temperature record. Even so, it was in the mid eighties today.

I returned to the Peoria Sports Complex for another Spring Training game. Today the Seattle Mariners were the home team taking on the Oakland Athletics. The previous two games I’ve attended at the complex were hosted by the other team sharing the facility, the San Diego Padres.

It was interesting to observe the differences between a Mariners home game and a Padres home game. The first thing I noticed was the different graphics on the scoreboard. Mariners blue was the dominant color along with their logo. In fact, it turned out that the software keeping track of the score on the video screen was different. Both teams line ups were displayed all the time and different information was emphasized. It was much more informative than the system used at the Padres games.

The similarities were in the way the game was managed by the sports complex. The national anthem at both home team games is ten minutes before the game. The ads, prizes and events between innings are the same. The announcer even had to correct himself after calling the team the San Diego Mariners.

There were more people at this game than the others I’ve attended at the sports complex. The 8,274 people in attendance were 2,000 more than attended the Giants vs. Padres game last Sunday. Another difference is the make up of the audience. I think there were more people supporting the Mariners than the visitors. At each of the Padre games, I think the visiting team had more supporters in attendance.

I enjoyed the game. There were a number of home runs and a couple of interesting fielding plays to go along with the usual Spring Training mishaps. One Mariner outfielder didn’t stop a runner from advancing from second to third after he caught a fly ball. He apparently thought he made the final out of the inning.

Today was my day to get annoyed with the people around me in the stands. The guy in front of me was tall. His head was right in my line of site to home plate. I’d lean to the side to watch the play and he invariable managed to move his head the same way. It’s not like he was trying to block my view. He just couldn’t keep his head still. One more row in front had a very large gentleman that couldn’t stay in his seat. Every few batters he got up and made all his neighbors get up so he could go for a walk. He didn’t even wait between batters let alone between innings. All of them were gone by the sixth inning.

Friday March 6th 2020

Today broke yesterday’s record for warmest day of the year so far. The temperature peaked a little higher in the mid eighties. A little more wind made for a more comfortable day than yesterday.

I went to the ranger presentation on the areas wildflowers at the Discovery center at 2PM. I got there early and enjoyed some of the other exhibits while I waited for the presentation to start. There are a number of displays on the history of Lake Pleasant and the wildlife that lives in the park.

Two park rangers gave the presentation on the wildflowers in the park. It was basically a Powerpoint presentation with the rangers tag teaming the description of the blossoms and the locations in the park where they can be found. The pictures of the blossoms were very pretty, but I felt like I was on the receiving end of a fire hose. They showed pictures of more than thirty different blossoms. The differences between some varieties is so subtle you could stare at them side by side for an hour before you’d see it. I’d never pass the test after the lecture. The rangers even admitted that they have difficulty identifying some in the wild when they are leading hikes to view the flowers.

I came away with some good information. We are in the middle of the wildflower season. This year is an above average year for wildflowers. The cactus blossom season follows the peak of the wildflower season starting in the middle of April. The bush with yellow flowers that look a little like daisies is a Brittlebush. They are plentiful in the campground, but just about past their peak blossoming season.

It is disappointing I didn’t learn all of this information last week. I only have a few days between now and when I leave here that I’m not attending a baseball game to hike the trails with some of the other flowers they mentioned. I’ll give at least one of the trails a try on Sunday and many of the same wildflowers will be around at my next stop in the east valley.

Thursday March 5th 2020

Today was the warmest day of the year so far in this area. Tomorrow is forecast to be warmer. The temperature peaked in the low eighties which is nothing compared to highs in this area come summer. I enjoyed the nice weather day.

I spent some time today with more hiking around the Lake Pleasant Regional Park. My focus today was on all the colorful blossoms around the desert. Since I arrived last week the ground cover plants and bushes have become very colorful. The brown desert was green when I arrived, but now there are pockets of yellow with a few purples and oranges mixed in. The only thing missing is blossoms on the cactus, but I think they are close. There is a ranger talk at the Discovery Center tomorrow on desert flowers. I hope to learn more from the talk provided I don’t forget to attend.

The rest of the day was occupied with reading and some more travel planning. My next winter of 2021 reservation in Florida needs to be made Sunday and I’ve still got August, September and October of this year to figure out. I’ve got to get back in the right frame of mind and lock in some of my travel options.

Wednesday March 4th 2020

The good weather trend continued today. The overnight temperature was warm enough that I kept a window open. It was in the mid fifties when I woke up this morning. Today’s high temperature was in the mid seventies under a sunny sky.

I returned to the Peoria Sports Complex today to watch the Kansas City Royals take on the home San Diego Padres. Even heavier weekday traffic I got to the stadium quicker than my first visit on Sunday. Knowing where you are going sure helps. I was in the stadium by 11:30 for the 1:10PM game. The place was close to empty. Members of both teams were visible on the practice fields, but there wasn’t even a grounds keeper on the stadium field. Gradually the crowd grew and a few of the grounds crew started to work on the field. The crowd never got huge and many of the vendor booths never opened.

The final attendance was around 3,500. Sunday was in the mid six thousands and that looked empty. There were many empty blue seats today. Most of the fans in attendance were routing for the visiting Royals rather than the home Padres. Considering that San Diego is the closes team to the valley that isn’t the resident Diamondbacks, the lack of support for the Padres is surprising. On Sunday the Giants fans seemed to out number the Padres too, but it wasn’t as lopsided.

There was a lot of scoring and lots of pitching changes. Just to get out of the top half of the first inning the Padres had to use two pictures. The Royals scored six runs in the first. The final score was Royals 9, Padres 7. All the scoring made for a long game. It was after 4:30 when I started home.

On the way home traffic was heavy, but there were some interesting sights. After I left the populated areas and reached open desert, I passed several hot air balloons getting ready to lift off. Back at my RV home I saw the balloons in the air while I was cooking supper. I kept running outside to attempt to get a picture of the balloons. There were about five in total, but I didn’t get any good pictures.

Tuesday March 3rd 2020

The last hurrah of yesterday’s weather system came through just before 7AM this morning. The wind woke me up. It rattled the antennas on my roof and flapped the slide room awnings. In addition to the howling, the strength of the gusts rocked the RV. For more than an hour it kept me awake. Once I decided to get up, just after 8AM, it started to abate. By 9:30 it was calm outside. It was a very rude start to the day. The remainder of the day was sunny and seasonal. The temperature peaked in the lower half of the seventies.

With my legs recovered from my first excursion on the hills around Lake Pleasant, I took advantage of the nice weather to make a longer hike along the banks of the lake. Many of the desert plants are starting to bloom. There are lots of yellow flowers with some blue and orange blossoms thrown in for good measure. The remainder of this blog post contains some of the pictures I took on my hike.

Monday March 2nd 2020

The early weather forecasts for today had the cold front and low pressure system through the area by early in the day. It wasn’t as fast as predicted. The overnight hours were calm and mostly clear. The day dawned with a mostly blue sky. As the day progressed massive cloud formations moved through the valley. It seemed like there was always some blue visible across the broad sky over the valley, but we experienced all kinds of weather under the clouds. There were a few brief showers under dark clouds and others under bright sun light. There were periods of absolute calm and times when the wind threatened to knock the RV over. It was a day of extremes. The temperature peaked in the low sixties.

I spent the day at home watching the strange weather. During my walks around the campground I tried to take landscape pictures that caught the various cloud formations. I didn’t really succeed in capturing the intensity and drama of the sky, but it was fun trying.

The good news is my leg muscles aren’t complaining anymore as I walk up and down the hills around the campground. I was encouraged to walk deeper into the park, but the weather had other ideas. One of the longer rain showers decided to occur when I was well away from shelter. The shower ended long before I got back to the shelter of my RV, but I was wet enough that I needed to dry out for a while. The last walk of the day was during the less than impressive sunset. I cut the walk short because I wasn’t dressed for the rapidly dropping temperature. Tomorrow is forecast back in the low seventies.