It is obvious that we are just killing time until it is warmer up North! You can see that I am still playing around with new things I have learned about Photoshop Elements 12, and I am like a kid with a new toy! I think I need some mental help! I get ideas and they become huge projects that consume me! The latest project is scanning all my favorite stickers and scrapbook papers onto my computer, several hundred! I learned how to make my own “cut-outs” so I never have to buy stickers and paper anymore! Doug is glad about that because I can even lighten our RV load some more! I do have lots of my craft supplies on MY side of the RV!!! My grand daughter is going to LOVE all my extras!
It is indeed warming up. We have already had a few days in the upper 90s! Now it is hanging around the mid 80s to the mid 90s. HOt!! HOT!! HOT!! But at least we don’t have high humidity. I would like a little bit cooler weather, but that will come as we head north. We do get to see the Superstition Mountains in the distance as we drive around town.
The legend of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine centers around the Superstition Mountains. According to the legend, a German immigrant named Jacob Waitz discovered a mother lode in the Superstition Wilderness and revealed its location on his deathbed in Phoenix in 1891 to Julia Thomas, a boarding-house owner who had taken care of him for many years. Several mines have been claimed to be the actual mine that Waitz discovered, but none of those claims have been verified. Some Apaches believe that the hole leading down into the lower world, or hell, is located in the Superstition Mountains. Winds blowing from the hole are supposed to be the cause of severe dust storms in the metropolitan region. There is also an Indian legend about a flood, similar to our Bible flood, sent to destroy the Indians because they were behaving so badly and only one good couple was saved. People have been killed or lost going up into the Superstition Mountains looking for the old gold mine. Lots of mysteries make the mountains seem a bit scary!
We had lunch a week ago with some new friends, John and Lora, we met at the RV park in Tucson. They were here in Mesa buying a more permanent lot and we took them to Tom’s BBQ. Yep, any excuse for that delicious BBQ! It was really nice getting to know them better and hope to see more of them this summer and fall because they are headed in the same direction to the northwest that we are. Then a few days ago, we met up with our other good friends in Apache Junction. Jim and Sandie have a permanent lot in an RV park, so we visited and then went to dinner. What a nice couple! We met them 4 years ago while traveling up the Pacific coast to Washington. We even visited them again in their home town of Billings Montana, plus going to a fair and rodeo with them. Then saw them again back in Mesa 2 years ago. Sandie is the sweet lady that helped convince me to do this blog. She was so helpful with getting me started. We have made some really nice friends in our travels and manage to keep in touch. It is also nice to add new friends to our list. It is like the old Girl Scout motto: Make new friends, but keep the old, One is silver and the other gold.
We hit the big Mesa Swap Meet. That was one of the things on my list while here. It is HUGE and takes a few hours to roam up and down the isles. It is all covered, so you are not out in that hot desert sun. I managed to pick up a few things I was looking for. It is also nice that there is usually a band or singer to entertain while you shop. I think it is mostly for the husbands while the wife spends his money because it is mostly the guys you see sitting at the tables listening to the music!
So we are still walking in the big mall and buying fresh food, which is a treat. The Superstition Ranch Market has great prices. We can get strawberries at 3 pounds for $1, I got huge red grapefruit last week at 3 for $1, cabbage is only 15 cents a pound, and the list goes on… I will miss those prices when we leave! And I am ready to leave! We had things to take care of here in Mesa, and will be here a couple more weeks, but I am ready to move on get back into the ‘Explore’ mode. We are making plans, checking campgrounds, and planning routes. We have been north several times and we still find the beautiful scenery just amazing!
We were at Ranch Market (the one here in AJ) yesterday. I had a craving for fruits. It is warm but it's not 100 yet so that is a good thing. I know what you mean about wanting to be on the road. My hitch itch is so bad and I'm trying to keep it tamped down because I know we can't leave until after May 12. And the weather up north is still pretty lousy which does help a little bit.
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