Week of December 4 - 10 (Monday - Sunday)

Its been a week since I last posted. After working pretty hard at being tourists we needed to take it easy for a few days. Not a lot to report, but here's what we've been up to:

December 4 (Monday)

Went to Jack in the Box for a burger for lunch then to Lowes. Bought a piece of lumber to build a 2 inch step for the trailer. With the trailer level the step up to the first stair is a bit high. Just a couple of inches makes the steps even height and easier to make that first stair.. 

Then off to Walmart to buy some groceries and look for Christmas decorations. The pickings were slim so we didn't get anything.

Lots of folks have laser lights that shine displays on the side of their trailer of the shine them in the trees. They reflect on the tree leaves. It looks very cool. Just don't shine them in the air within 10 miles of an airport. The Marines might fire on you!

Always a nice sunset around here.....

December 5 (Tuesday)

I walked down to the Southwest Exchange RV Superstore. What a place. Tons of parts and gadgets for home and RV. Prices are fair, selection is huge and they seem to have very knowledgeable staff. I'll be back!

Talked to the lady in the Park office about a new site away from the highway noise. She suggested maybe site 286 near the back of the park. I walked down and had a look but lots of real old and permanent sites there. Also backed against a brick wall. Our current site 6 is noisier but nicer. We'll stay here.

I talked to the Park gardener about the flowers. The big green bushes with red flowers are Bougainvillea. They have thorns nearly 2 inches long on the stems. They grow very fast here and the gardener has been trimming them back, along with the Prickly Pear Cactus.

December 6 (Wednesday)

Didn't go far today. Went to the Fairgrounds to see the Snowbird trade show. We picked up a bunch of brochures. We talked to a Border Protection Services officer who told us a bit about visiting Mexico. He did say the line-ups were longest on Sunday and Monday coming back into the US, so we'll choose another day of the week to visit.

We stopped for lunch at Del Taco (never again!). Picked up a rotisserie chicken from Walmart and then back to the trailer.

We booked a site for Feb 16 - 23 in Mesa at Mesa Spirit RV Park. This is an Encore park and had a weekly special for new customers at $250/week. About $100 off. Also booked a site for Feb 23 - 27 at Lost Dutchman State Park. $20/night. We will be around Quartzite Feb 1 - 16. Still not sure where exactly. Likely LaPosa South LTVA.

December 7 (Thursday)

Book keeping today. We entered all the receipts for the past few months into a spreadsheet. The news is NOT good. Even without USD exchange rates we spent about $4500 in November. Obviously not sustainable! Our monthly budget is $3200, so we have some work to do to get the spending under control. It was our first month in the US so I'm hoping now that the liquor cabinet and pantry is full and much of our towing miles is done for a while that we can keep the credit card in the wallet.

Insurance	$235.21
Camping Fees	$998.53
Medical	$0.00
Fuel Expenses	$595.06
diesel	$595.06
gasoline	$0.00
Parking/Storage	$7.00
Groceries	$610.37
Eating Out	$355.81
Entertainment/Admission	$267.84
Department Store	$109.06
RV/Home Repair	$135.00
Utilities	$0.00
electricity	$0.00
propane	$0.00
Phone/Cable/Internet	$298.65
Miscellaneous	$305.15
memberships	$258.15
hair cuts	$20.00
laundry	$27.00
Big Ticket Items	$218.35
Gifts	$131.13
Liquor	$270.67
TOTALS	$4,537.83

December 8 (Friday)

I found two new favorite stores. Al's RV Service and Supply is about a ten minute walk east and Southwest Exchange RV Superstore is about a 5 minute walk west. Both have a good variety with the largest selection going to the RV Superstore. Given our out of control budget, these stores are not going to help! I did buy two new light switches, but only about $10 total.

December 9 (Saturday)

We had heard about some of the flea markets here so we tried out one that was advertised. Unfortunately it wasn't much. Many of the vendors were closed. Some products were worthy of a look but nothing we needed, so it was a quick visit.

We went looking for a park today. We headed down to the Wetlands Park beside the Colorado River. This is right on the edge of downtown, and a very popular spot for the locals. There were lots of families, birthday parties, wedding photo shoots, and tons of kids. We had a nice walk around and enjoyed the sights.

The mighty Colorado River.

I wish I knew the names of these flowers, shrubs and trees. I'll work on it. So many lovely ones and very different from those in Alberta. And this is December! This place must be amazing in spring.
Remember to click on a picture to enlarge.

This little guy followed me around.

The biggest kids play structure I have ever seen!

Lots of folks having picnics....

 A spectacular sunset tonight....

December 10 (Sunday)

Another quiet day. I washed the truck, got fuel, and went grocery shopping in the morning. Fuel at Fry's was $2.68/gal.

After brunch we went out to some of the local dollar stores to snoop out some bargains. Found a couple.

Just a couple of observations on Arizona drivers (not that different from Alberta actually). Did you know that when they order cars down here that signal lights are an option and that rarely do people check that box! It's either that or I didn't spend enough time soaking up the Sedona vortex energy because I haven't got that knack of reading drivers minds! It's just a guess as to whether they are turning or which way they are turning.

....and that was Our View From Here!