Friday, June 21, 2013

Movin' on Up: Pinetop, Arizona

 Double rainbow over the RV Sites at Blue Mountain Motel & Cabins

In my last blog post, we were staying at the National Forest Service campground in Lakeside, Arizona, a few miles south of Show Low on Hwy 260.  But we were having problems.  We'd been counting on using our generator to run the air conditioning once in a while if necessary and to keep our batteries full.  When we tried the generator, it smelled like something was burning.  We tried getting by with the small solar panel we'd brought with us, and that just wasn't enough.  The afternoons were very hot, and there wasn't enough power for me to sell on eBay.

So I called around to find someplace we could stay that had full hook-ups.  Boy, that's hard to find in this area!  Most RVers that come to the Show Low/Lakeside-Pinetop area stay for the entire summer.  A lot of RV parks only accept reservations for the whole season, and some of those are very selective:  No RVs that are more than 10 years old, or even 5 years!  

Fortunately, we'd met somebody local who recommended Blue Ridge Motel & Cabins, which also has RV spaces.  They are pretty much booked up for the summer, too, but they happened to have one space available for a month, so we took it.  The price was right--$295 per month, which includes electricity.  We moved as soon as the site opened up and have been here about a week-and-a-half so far.

We're parked very close to our neighbors, but fortunately we have quiet folks on both sides.  We like the resort.  The owners are a nice family, and they keep the place very family-friendly, so there isn't any conspicuous consumption of alcohol or anything else.  Most days the only noise I hear from other people is the happy sound of kids playing.

We're also more comfortable temperature-wise than we were in Lakeside.  We're just a little bit higher in elevation, and we are on the front edge of Blue Ridge, where we get some nice breeze.    

We're still right off of Hwy 260, so we can still take the bus, which is handy for us, since we opted not to tow a car this summer.  We've been able to take the bus to the Post Office, to various grocery stores, and to take care of some business.  Since the bus runs on a circular route that takes about an hour, there's often quite a bit of wait time, but that's okay.  I just bring a book and find myself a cup of coffee.       

 A great almond croissant and cup of coffee at "Baked in Pinetop"

Some of my readers who have been with me since the beginning of my travels in 2011 might remember that, when I started out on the West Coast, I reviewed all of the almond croissants that I found along the way.  I ate them in several places in California, but then after I took a left turn and headed through the Southwest, almond croissants became very hard to find!  So I was sure delighted to find a really good one the other day at a little shop called "Baked in Pinetop."  It had just the right amount of almond paste inside--enough to taste really good and to be moist inside, but not so much to affect the lightness of the pastry on the outside.  I'll definitely be going back there again before I leave this area.

While we have hookups and fairly reliable Internet, I'm working on two goals:  To make some money on eBay and to get some paintings done.  I've started work on a new series of paintings inspired by my travels.  They're based on road signs and they are fantasy "what if" situations. 

 "Watch for Tie Dye Cows on Road"
16 x 20 inches, acrylic on canvas

Lucky for me, right after I started working on these new paintings, I got a call from Grapes Gallery in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, asking me for some new work.  So I hope to get five or six paintings done within the next several weeks, and I'll mail them to the gallery in time for the July Second Saturday Art Hop.  

Also lucky for me, my friend Bridget immediately bought the tie dye cow picture!  I mailed it to her yesterday at her little ranch in Guadalupita, New Mexico.

Okey Dokey Smokey
16 x 20 inches, acrylic on canvas

Steve had some sad news right after we moved here to Blue Ridge.  His friend Bob, with whom we'd stayed a few weeks earlier near Ramah, New Mexico, died of a heart attack.  We had just put the money down on our month here at the resort, and we decided not to go back.  Fortunately, Bob and Nancy's grown kids, as well as other family, friends and neighbors, will all be gathering tomorrow to celebrate Bob's life.  I'm glad Steve got one last chance to hang out with Bob.

We'll be here another two-and-a-half weeks, and then we'll head a little ways west, maybe to Overgaard.  We'll probably find ourselves another place to roost for a while in the White Mountains.  It's nice and cool here in the mornings and evenings, and it rarely gets hot enough for us to need the A/C in the afternoon.  There doesn't seem to be much reason to move very far or very fast.      

3 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this series.

    Move far, move fast - these are foreign and unpleasant concepts.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice life you two live! I am glad to see you are doing the pasty sampling and give us good reports...I think I'll start a notebook so I know where to go...lol. One of my favorite things to do on the road is eat in little local places along the way....keep up the good work.
    Really nice Steve was able to spend time with his recently deceased friend...that is so important for us all.

    Stay well and happy...
    Bri

    ReplyDelete