Farewell Phoenix ... Hello Tucson!

I was going to name this post "potpourri" but that's such a feminine word I didn't want to use it less it raise some unwanted speculation about my manhood. Too bad because it accurately describes the following.

It's Sunday morning. Today we move from Phoenix to Tuscon. We were torn about leaving and actually considered staying another week but the drag strip outside this park at 2:00AM pretty well made the decision for us. For me it's not so bad because I can bury my good ear in the pillow and sleep, but for Jill there was no escape. Too bad because other than the noise it's a great park.

We discovered that we are close to Lake Pleasant. We spent most of yesterday getting El Gato ready to travel...  Jill did laundry and I rearranged our golf bags (tough duty) then we drove over to see the lake. Actually it's a reservoir. It's quite large and pretty amazing to see such a large body of water surrounded by blooming desert studded with Saguaro cacti poking up through the manzanita and tumbleweed.

Here's a little known fact... (any time someone says "little known" what they really mean is they didn't know it and assume you didn't either... so perhaps everyone already knows this but I doubt it. Otherwise what's the point of repeating it?) Sorry I got off track... Saguaro cacti are very slow growing—it takes 15 years to grow a foot... 50 years to grow 7 feet... and the majestic ones with arms are at least 75 years old! Many live to be 150 years old. Okay so that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about Saguaro.

The lake is about 10 miles beyond the developed part of the Phoenix area. On the way back we went north from the lake and came across a Pulte Homes development out in the middle of nowhere (normally I'd say East Jesus but it's Easter Sunday so I'll refrain). The models were spectacular. One's money goes twice as far here as in Bend. For what we have our house on the market for at home, we could buy a 4000 square foot home here plus the HOA and taxes are much lower. Hmmm tempting.

Speaking of square footage, El Gato has about 350 sqft of living space. Several of you have asked if it's difficult to live in such confined quarters. Actually Jill and I, in our previous lives, have lived in far less space for months at a time. A hotel room is usually less than 200 sqft. Our first place in Hong Kong on Wyndham Street was only about 250 sqft. El Gato is like a movable hotel suite. The gym, laundry, and other amenities are common to all parks, much like a hotel. Of course, one of the benefits of traveling where the weather is warm is that we also have a large outdoor space where we dine and relax.

Comparing an RV park to a hotel may be a bit misleading... or perhaps I'm just a snob. The clientele in most parks appear to be in their 70/80's. They are mostly felony fashion violators... if, for example, you believe polyester disappeared from the fashion scene in the 70's you'd be wrong. Colorful poly sports suits are popular although you never see anyone in the gym. Usually they are accompanied by small yappy dogs on leash with the owner toting a Ziplock poop bag to the nearest dumpster. The men lean (no they are far from lean) toward T-shirts with beer logos or the ubiquitous "My Grampa went to the Grand Canyon and..." get the picture? They are, for the most part, a happy group living on social security and enjoying life, shuffle board, and the weather.

Did you know that by clicking on the photos in this blog you can enlarge the size? I didn't until yesterday so I thought I'd pass the tip along. Also please remember to access Amazon through this site. It costs you nothing but helps pay for our gas. Finally... if you want to review any of the books on my bookshelf, just double click on the book. If you want to see more books you can click on next at the bottom of the shelf, or to see the entire library click on Shelfari at the top of the bookcase.

A quick follow-up note on the post about Frank Lloyd Wright. We toured the Wrigley Mansion last week. That's Wrigley as in Spearmint and JuicyFruit. The mansion overlooks the Biltmore Hotel. Wrigley built it to oversee the construction of the hotel because he was an investor in the project. In '29 when the market tanked, all the other investors went belly-up and Wrigley stepped in and bought them out at .10 cents on the dollar. He didn't believe in investing in the market so the depression was a huge opportunity for him as he was siting on a ton of cash. There may be some wisdom there if deflation increases in our current situation.

Picture this... two atoms side by side spinning in the same direction. Take one of the atoms to the other side of the planet then cause one of them to spin in the opposite direction and guess what happens? The  atom on the other side of the earth will automatically sync with the new direction!!! How's that for spooky stuff! No one is sure how this happens but physicists think there may be a dimension... indeed several dimensions... that we do not know about. This comes from a very interesting book called Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku.You will recognize the author as the physicist that often contributes to science stories on Fox and other networks.