Shakedown cruise

The L. Y. Southwind Storm took it's maiden voyage with me at the helm this week. It was a simple cruise to Tularosa, New Mexico from my homeport of Apache Junction, Arizona - a journey of just over 400 miles. I departed on Monday morning at about 0700 and arrived at my sister Christine's house just after 1600.

No leaks, punctures, creaks or groans were reported. The trip was uneventful with the exception of spotting a desert tortoise alongside Highway 79 just south of Florence. It is a rare thing to sight a tortoise. I wish there had been shoulders along the roadway to allow me to take a picture. This file photo will have to suffice. At first glance it appeared to be a cement statue, but when it moved it's head to look both ways for traffic, I knew it was real. I hope it made it across safely.

One animal that didn't make it across the highway safely was a dove. It started across in front of me, I was sure it would make it, but it turned around and hit the A-pillar on the driver's side and dove guts oozed down the side of the rv.

Chris has full rv hookups, so I was comfortable in my own bed for the three nights I was there. We spent Tuesday driving around, running errands and eating. The Waffle and Pancake House in Alamogordo was friendly and comfortable. The kind of place I want around the corner from wherever I'm staying. I can also recommend the Cajun pasta at Cheddar's in El Paso, Texas, our lunch stop. We were too full for pecan pie on the way home as planned.

No pie on Wednesday either. We got up early and got to work on some things that Chris had been wanting to get done - weed eating, kitchen flooring, learning how to use the gas barbecue. By the time we finished, the pie place was already closed. That's okay, we were both too sore to go anyplace.

The return cruise to AJ was also uneventful - no tortoise, no doves, no breakage.

I'll be leaving AJ on Monday, headed for Flagstaff. Dave and I hope to ride around red cliffs near Sedona. From there it's on to Monument Valley.

Golf and other lies

John, Miriam and I decided to play golf today. My goal was to shoot lower than the temperature. I figured that was attainable since it's another hot day with the predicted high of 107.
We played at a lovely course that normally charges $52 for 18 holes in the winter months. In the heat of the summer, they are anxious to attract golfers and we played for $26 and that included a cart.
I haven't played in a while and it showed, but I shot an 85 and didn't embarrass myself too badly.
With the temperature reaching 100 today, a record has been broken for the most days in a row in the month of May over 100. It is supposed to continue until the weekend.
All together now - "But it's a dry heat".

Life in the slow lane

Apologies to Steve Miller.

Multiple days with temperatures over 100 degrees brings life to a much slower pace. The majority of my day is spent inside with the air conditioner running. It is 7 a.m. and the thermometer reads 80 degrees. It does cool down enough at night to open the windows and get some fresh air. The term cool down is relative. There is a 30 degree temperature swing, but that just means it's a comfortable 70 degrees as I sleep.
How hot is it? It's so hot that the birds don't fly in the heat of the day. They find a shady spot and sit still. They make up for it about daylight (4 a.m.) and all of their racket affects my sleep quality.
It's 7:30. Time to close the windows and turn on the a/c.