If it's July 24th ~ It must be Kaneke's Birthday

Anyone and everyone who knows Kaneke ~ is quite aware that she enjoys celebrating her birthday. As you might have guessed, Kaneke woke up the morning of July 24, 2006 with the enthusiasm of a 5 year old.

Before we go forward ~ let's take a look back. In early June I traveled to Singapore on a 10 day business trip. It was my plan while in Singapore to find Kaneke something unique and exciting ~ and what better for Kaneke than jewelry ~ especially "Purple Gold" jewelry!!!

So, upon waking on the morning of her birthday Kaneke was greeted by Molly and Me, a cup of Pumpkin-Spice coffee, and the ring from Singapore.

Later in the day we went to the mining town of Jerome Arizona and had a fabulous meal at the "Asylum Restaurant" in the old hospital transformed into a hotel/restaurant and tourist attraction must-see.

The views were beautiful, the service was 5-star, and the food was the best that we have had in recent years. In fact, the experience was so positive that we just might make it an annual tradition... time will tell.

http://www.jeromegrandhotel.net/

Gotta Love Those AZ Sunsets......

Happy Jack Arizona

Kaneke, Molly and I went to Happy Jack, Arizona last weekend for a weekend RV excursion. This was officially the 4th outing for our 5th wheel and we are starting to get more comfortable with our setup.

Our camping trip started a little rough. When I connected the water hose to the trailer and turned it on ~ water started flying out of the bathroom. Apparently ~ and for some odd reason ~ a fitting on the water supply line to the back of the toilet developed a split. No place in Happy Jack had the fitting so I called Malcolm and Melissa and asked them to bring me one from Flagstaff. The water leak was soon fixed and we settled down for meal of Brats, baked Beans, and corn-on-the-cob. Melissa stayed the night and Malcolm picked her up the next day at noon.

Happy Jack is at an elevation of 7,700 ft ~ which translates to cool days and cooler evenings. While there, Kaneke and I decided to snoop out some primitive camping areas in the tall pines for future trips. Most of the land in the Happy Jack area consistes of tall pines and is owned by the Federal Government. You can just pull your rig off the road into the forest on the dirt roads and drive back 5 to 10 miles for seclusion. While back in one area Kaneke and I discovered a very old corral and took a picture to share with our blog buddies.

Molly had a great time chasing ground squirrels in the campground and took up residence on a rock so she could keep watch for the little varmits..

Arizona Century Plant.....

Kaneke and I were on a recent trip to visit one of our buddies in the Bradshaw Mountains and came across a Century Plant that someone had chopped at the stalk but somehow managed to lose out of the back of their truck. The Agave (Century Plant) is a protected plant in Arizona but left in the road it would have been destroyed by vehicle traffic, so we brought it home and placed it in the house to dry. These plants are beautiful from full bloom to a dry stalk. I took these pictures to give family and friends a closeup view of this beautiful plant.....