Author: bearcruzer

July 7th – July 12

Visit with Mom & Dad

We have spent the last few days visiting with Mom and Dad and getting the animals accustomed to their new home.  Dad has built Dusty a ramp from their deck to a little enclosed yard so she will be able to go outside unsupervised.    We spent time walking with her around the lake near my folks home and spending some quality time with both Dusty Dog and Archie the Cat before we say our goodbyes for a while.  

We also took a really great bike ride through the Dells, a rocky outcropping near my folks home.  I should say it was a ride/hike as I ended up with a flat tire and no spare tube so I had to hike out for a couple of miles while Mike rode on back to my folks to form a rescue squad.  We mapped out the route I would take out of the park and they met me on the road, (all of them, Mom, Dad, Mike, & Dusty.) 

We got to visit with Mom’s Aunt Mary Lou Lewis and her cousin Ginny also and had a rousing game of Mexican train dominos.   We also had a visit with Mom’s & Dad’s Friends Pat, & Martha Ann & Gordon and keeping in the tradition of game night with my folks Pat introduced us to Scrabble Slam a fun word game but we finished up the night with Mexican Train dominos. 

We left for SoCal on Sunday morning and it was just as difficult to say goodbye to the animals as it was to say goodbye to Sage.  They are our children too. 

July 5th – July 7th 

Upon advice of our wonderful friend Lori – we decided to bypass the tourist area of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Travel along Forest Service dirt roads for 20 miles.  We had no map but followed USFS Signs out to a place that listed Vista Points.  We found our way to a place called North Timp Point, 20 miles off the main route between Jacob Lake and the USFS Fee Station.   We traveled the dusty forest service roads past an area where there was a control burn going on.  The smell of smoke was heavy in the air and we did not meet up with any other traffic.   We just kept driving  in the general direction of the canyon and followed the few small signs we saw until we reached North Timp Point.   One of about 6 points along the North Rim.  This was Michael’s First visit to the Canyon and we arrived in the late afternoon and set up our motorhome without incident.   We were just  in time for cocktail hour.   Mike and I enjoyed a glass of wine and watched the sunset over the canyon.   The temperature and weather was terrific.   We had the area to ourselves for most of the 2 days we spent there.  We took photos and enjoyed the evening.   As spectacular as the sunset was, the sunrise was even more beautiful.  We hiked along the rainbow rim trail, a trail that connects the other USFS points along the Rim, for 6 miles before breakfast and we were relaxing back in camp when Michael remarked that he hoped we could see a California Condor.  They are large vultures with a 9 foot wingspan.  They were almost extinct and have been bred in captivity and reintroduced into the canyon.   There are only about 100 being monitored in the wild with another 100 being bred in captivity.  That’s all.   About Mid – day we were just finishing taking outdoor showers when I looked up and yelled to Michael that his Condor had arrived.   It flew over our camp and landed in a tree about 50 yards from our camp.  We took pictures and then he took off and circled around our camp again and flew out over the canyon where he was joined by a 2^nd Condor.  Both Condors then spent the next 30 -40 minutes circling our camp.  We realized that the reason that they circled for so long was that our Corgi dog Dusty, who had hiked with us that morning, was lying outside of the motor home asleep and wasn’t moving.  They probably thought they had a free lunch.    It was quite the show.    We were visited later that day by a couple from Prescott who had come out to enjoy the canyon for the day  and then by a natural history group of about 15 that were studying goshawks and kaibab squirrels.   We  chatted with them for a while and then had another lovely sunset on the rim.   We snuggled into our Motorhome bunk and  slept soundly with a spattering of rain tapping on the roof.   The next morning we woke early in time to see the full moon setting over the canyon.   We took a last walk along the Rainbow Rim Trail before climbing into to motorhome and heading to Prescott to visit with Crystal’s parents and drop off  the dog and cat for them to care for while we are traveling.

There are no pictures to include in this post as there was barely time to breathe.  We had only 11 days to pack, sort, and sell the majority of our belongings as we had found  long term renters for our house who wanted to move in on July 1st.   We felt lucky to have  found them in this down market but they wanted the house unfurnished.   He purchased a few of our larger pieces of furniture but we had to get rid of the rest of it.   We had a successful garage sale and what didn’t sell in one day we ended up giving away to friends or the thrift store.  It is amazing how much stuff a couple of people can accumulate in just a few short years.   We then proceeded to transfer our respective businesses and wrap up loose ends.  I sold my Mitsubishi Eclipse.  We packed our keepsakes into a 4 x 12 ft space, and prepared the Motorhome to become our “HOME” for the next few months.   We cleaned the house for the new renters including have the carpets cleaned.  It looked very strange to see the house so empty,  but we will be back someday.     We moved into our Motorhome  on July 1st along with the Dog and Cat that we will be taking over to Prescott to live with Crystal’s Parents Pat and Martin Sperry.    We parked it by the 14th St. Townhomes and became Unit 10 for the next few days.  Jim Kelly wanted to charge us Association Dues.   We spent the next few days wrapping up loose ends and saying goodbye to many wonderful friends.  On July 5th we Dropped off Mike’s Truck with Hi-Mesa Auto Sales for him to sell on consignment and said a final tearful goodbye to Sage.  He will be staying with his father this summer prior to entering the US Air Force in the Fall.  We miss him already.  We climbed into the Motorhome and headed for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.   The adventure begins.