Gin Rummy

I just got back from a wonderful evening at Cathy's. She made a super meatloaf dinner. Her meatloaf is a bit different than mine, but delicious nonetheless. Everybody seems to have their own version of meatloaf. She made hers with ground chicken and ground beef with spices and veggies mixed in. I don't think there is a correct version for meatloaf. It's one of those dishes that you can make many different ways and it usually is good. Hers was delicious. I tell you!

I have got to be one of the worlds worst Gin Rummy players. I remember playing with the guys at the golf course in Federal Way and I always got beat. I remember playing with my friends in Winona, Mn., my hometown, and I always got beat. I play with my Dad when ever I'm at home and I always get beat. A few weeks ago, I taught Cathy to play. She beats me regularly now. Sheesh!

We played four games tonight and we came out even. She won two and I won two. That's like a big victory for me! Well, at least I don't try to make a living at it.

No hiking for me recently. I flushed my water heater tank. It's one of those chores you have to do a couple of times a year. The sediment builds up in the tank. It has to be cleaned out for it to work efficiently. Also, you have to check the anode and replace it when it is close to gone. The anode keeps the tank from rotting out.

Another little chore down the drain for me was finding a ladder. I want to go over the trailer and detail it out as a winter project this year. I also have a need to check the roof line periodically to make sure there are no tears around the edges. I have a tear now that I repaired when I was in Idaho.

I picked a ladder up from Lowes for $69.00 today. It extends to 13 feet and should be just right for my 10 foot roof. It also makes into a 5 foot step ladder and folds up to fit into the bed of the pickup without any rearranging back there.

The park is beginning to fill up. This morning we had an impromptu park meeting at Dave's place. There were 12 people that showed. Next Monday the meetings will be arranged at the clubhouse. From there we will be doing some things as a group.

Another day in the lifestyle!

Tubac

Today we were headed for Tubac. Our friends, from our camp ground last year, Sam, Pat and Hollanders Syril and Donna met us at Cathy's park for the ride to Tubac. Tubac, I recently read, was rated as one of the top five small towns (less than 5,000) most livable in the US.

It is one of those old towns in America that has recently been revived by the artsy community. It is actually the oldest town in Arizona. It was a town in 1765. It had history of civilization for a hundred years before that. There are some ruins there that support the dates.

Cathy loved this old car. It looks as though she wants to make a deal.

Cathy and I welcomed a slow, relaxing, enjoyable day with friends. The town is only about six blocks square. There is a nice museum there that I haven't visited before. I am not a museum guy, but I am very interested in the history that built this country and I knew this would be great to see.

The day was perfect for this sort of activity. It was warm, but it was also cloudy. When the sun is behind the clouds, shopping and seeing the sights are so much more pleasant.

One of the many colorful shops that dominate the down town.

Like a lot of times when people get together to experience things like this old town, we split up and went our separate ways soon after arriving. Cathy even left me for some coffee while I toured the museum. She had already been through it when she was here last year.

 This is the press that produced the first newspaper in the state; The Weekly Arizonan.

I did my little tour and I rejoined the group briefly before Cathy and I stopped under a ramada for a picnic. We toured the town for the remainder of the day. I bought some pepper light covers that I wanted, but was never able to find. Cathy seriously considered buying a woven rug. That idea was set aside when it became clear that matching her color scheme needed a sample of her couch for comparison.

I had to get a pic of this aristra. We have come across ruins of these out on our hikes.

It was a nice day. I got to spend it with a special lady too!

Strike Two at Elephant Mt.

Dave and I went back to Elephant Mt. to hike the trail we found the last time we were there. This time Cathy joined us. We got on the trail quickly. We wanted to be ahead of the heat of the day. It was overcast the day before and was supposed to be at least partly cloudy today. The temps have recently been in the 90's. Today was no exception.

Once we got over the saddle, this was our view.

We made it to the saddle between the closer mountains and we still could not see Elephant Mt. We hiked over the saddle and continued on our way along an old mining road. It was about a mile and a half from the trail head when we got to a fork in the road. One way went uphill to a place called Quantrill Mine. The other continued down the valley and was what we believed we saw from our trip out here a few days ago.

The granite monolith of Elephant Mountain.

We took the down hill route. It was a 50 - 50 chance we had the right trail. We continued on until we could see the mountain. We were looking for the trail to turn in that direction. It never did. We came upon some ruins of what once was the Elephant Mining Company. The BLM placed a metal sign with a brief history of the site.

 

A few adobe walls are all that remains of Elephant mine.

It never amazes me of the effort that was made way back when, to do mining in these remote regions. The road we were walking on is now tough to negotiate on foot. It had to be a huge effort of hand labor to build it well enough for turn of the century vehicles to drive on.

We found a lot of these bright orange beans. Cathy collected them for a future project.

Our hike took us over 5 miles closer to the mountain. But we could not find a rout to it. Cathy is convinced the fork to Quantrill mine will take us to the mountain. She pointed out a tell tail trail high on the mountainside that stretched to the right direction. That 50 - 50 chance we took with our route at the fork seems to be the wrong one.

That's okay, well give it another try next week. By the way, the clouds never came today and the sun exaggerated the effect of the 90 degrees temps. There is little shade on this hike. We rested when ever we  found a few mesquite trees large enough to provide the relief of shade from the sun.

We turned around and headed back. One of those shaded spots was at the fork to Quantrill mine. This is where we ate our packed lunches and had a good rest. After lunch, Dave and I scouted the Quantrill trail to see if it was what we had seen from the valley. We came upon more ruins. This was one of the larger mine ruins I've come across.

There are remnants of a stamp mill. We found fire brick too. They must have smelted their ore and poured ingots out here. From the little write up we came across earlier, there were 11 mines in this valley. They produced gold, silver, lead, and zinc.

We got to the truck and finished the last of our water. I took a half gallon with me and I wished I had more. The next time we try to get to Elephant, I hope the temps and sun cooperate.

Rocky

It's been a sad day today. I have a new neighbor a slot down the line from me. He is from New Jersey and his wife is Canadian. This is the first time they have been in the desert. The back of their trailer abuts 40,000 acres of desert wilderness and all the critters in it.

Last night they let their pet cat outside. It's the last they ever saw of it. I awoke the next morning to them knocking on my door, asking if I had seen Rocky. I didn't let them know of the coyotes that come every night into the park to drink from the pond. I helped look for it, but I knew there was practically no hope to find it.

Small animals left unattended at night in a place like this has virtually no chance of survival. I am looking at my neighbors now. Mike is in his chair, staring at the cat bed he brought out of the trailer, his hands clasped in his lap. It's so sad to see.