Chillaxin' at the Tohono O'odham Nation

Playing cards with Janice and Misha in TorC

So in my last post, I was about to head off to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, for a solo art show at January's.  

I knew my Geo Tracker needed some work.  Specifically, I wanted to get a relay replaced so that the air conditioning would work on my trip.  But then the mechanic warned me that, if it was his vehicle, he wouldn't drive it on a trip that was 1000+ miles without first replacing the CV axles.  

Well, there simply wasn't enough time to do this repair before I had to leave, so Steve drove me to Tucson where I could rent a car.  I got a very good deal through Priceline--less than $200 for about 10 days' use with unlimited mileage, and Enterprise upgraded me to a very comfortable, brand-new Chrysler 200 because it was the only car they had on the lot when I arrived.  I enjoyed driving that baby!  Great A/C, great radio, comfortable seats, and, unlike the vehicles I usually drive, this car could drive as fast as the speed limit.  

So, with a nice new car to drive, the trip to TorC was easier than I'd anticipated.  I had a great time staying with my friend Janice and trying to catch up with as many friends as possible over just a few days.  

My opening went very well, and I had so much fun!  Many of my friends came and some spent the entire evening.  When January closed the store at 9 pm, a few of us stayed a little longer for tarot readings, and it was great fun. 

I went home by way of Phoenix where I won my stupid MVD hearing.  Now I will be entitled to title and register my Tracker in Arizona, as soon as I get the judge's order that removes the restitution lien from the car.  Any day now.  That's what he said.  A couple of weeks ago.  

I really enjoyed driving the back roads from Bowie, AZ, up north to Phoenix, rather than staying on boring I-10 all the way.  The highlight of my trip home was stopping at the Apache Gold Casino Resort in San Carlos, Arizona, just five miles east of Globe.  I had a beautiful king room for $59, and I took a dip in the hot tub and watched swallows flying around as the sun set.  Really nice.  For joining the players' club, I got a free breakfast and $20 in free slots which took all of about 4.5 minutes to lose.        

Since getting back home to Why, it's gotten up into the 90s, but we're not ready to leave this area yet.  Steve has to update his insurance eligibility at this time each year--always right when it's getting too hot to want to stay here any longer--and now I seem to be on the same cycle, as I'm waiting to hear (any day now) whether I'm covered by AHCCCS, Arizona's medical assistance plan.  So we are waiting around, because we need to be at a residential or street address (rather than, say, a PO box) until our insurance matters are settled.  The State is not flexible on stuff like this.  Recently I got a form asking for more information, and, if I hadn't received it and filled it out and returned it immediately, I would have been up a creek.  So here we sit for a while.  Weeks or a month or how long, we don't know.

This is the first year I've been in Why, AZ, late enough to see the saguaros in bloom.

But the really good news is that we've moved to an RV park just down the road from our home at Coyote Howls, a primitive campground with no electrical hookups and hence not enough power to run an air conditioner.  Now we're hooked up at Hickiwan Trails RV Park on the Tohono O'odham Reservation.  I would strongly recommend this park to folks who are interested in traveling in this area, but maybe aren't set up to provide their own electricity with solar panels and/or generators.  It's inexpensive ($85 per week or $285 per month for a full hookup site, including electricity) and it's very pleasant.  It's particularly nice right now, because the snowbirds have all gone back north, and there are just a few of us stragglers still here.  

It took me a few days to turn the Beluga back into a place to live, after using it all winter as an art studio.  I packed up a lot of stuff and then we took the short drive to the new RV park, stopping for propane along the way.

This receipt tells it like it is

Now that we're settled again, Steve has taken off for his monthly visit to see friends and relatives in Tucson, and I'm here by myself for a few days, beginning work on new projects.  The pieces you see throughout this blog post are mixed-media panels that will be part of a larger installation in December.  It's going to be an art production kind of year.