Hiking Lake Pleasant

We have been wanting to visit Lake Pleasant, just northwest of Phoenix, for more than a year now, but until now had not made the trip over there.  We were lucky to have our friends Ed and Lynn staying in the Phoenix area and we all agreed to meet at the lake.  We decided to hike a new trail, Yavapai Point trail.  It was completed and opened only in 2014 and is said to have nice views of the lake from above.

We arrived at the Pipeline Canyon Trailhead and started to get ready for the hike when we heard a commotion in the brush coming towards us...  Gari gets a picture of the intruders!

To our delight it was three wild Burros just as curious about us as we were about them.

Then Lynn and Ed arrived and we got all excited to see them again.  The last we saw of Lynn and Ed was in Newark, MD this summer when we were on the Eastern Shore.  We both stayed at the same campground and had a great visit there.

Steve's turn with our pals.

At the intersection of Pipeline Canyon and Yavapai Point trails.

Steve and Ed heading up toward the Point.

We called this the Hugging Cactus.  You may not want that hug!

A peek of Lake Pleasant behind the Teddy Bear and Elk Horn Cactus.

Ed and Steve stop at a switchback overlook and break out the field glasses for a little extra surveillance.

Lynn and Ed pass by the large Arm Twisted Sagauro.

 Gari stops at the Arm Twister.

Lots of Saguaro and Teddy Bears on this slope.

Looking back to the north, that Half Dome looking rock is another hiking area in the Lake Pleasant park.

Looking back to the south we could see the Scorpion Marina where we got a bite to eat and a cold drink after the hike.

Ed, Lynn & Steve at the Yavapai Point on top!

Gari leads the way back down from the top.

Steve is coming up on the big Arm Twister Saguaro.

On the way back we had two more Asses cross our path!

Dueling Faucets

We agreed that a faucet upgrade was in order at Shilo's (Gari's mom) house.  We had replaced the kitchen faucet a couple years ago with a pull out model, but it didn't hold up well.  Even though that model sold for over $100 at the time the construction materials were mostly plastic, which surprised me.  Not surprisingly the plastic wore quickly and the handle wouldn't sit well in the retracted position.  In pictures we replace the worn faucet below.

Photo below of old worn kitchen faucet and the Reverse Osmosis drinking faucet to the left, which we will ultimately replace also this year.

New in the box Moen faucet, this a pull down model vs the existing pull out style.

It's what's in the box!

Steve has his fancy new faucet wrench he picked up at Walmart one day, too bad it wasn't usable on this job!

I see progress, the new faucet is on the counter, but Steve is still under the sink 30 minutes later.  It looks like he is installing the retraction weight on the supply line now.  That is what's in his hand.  Get in there fella!

Test Inspector #1 seems pleased with the water spray, this is encouraging!

Manager of the Inspection Department, Shilo runs the new install through it's paces and returns a seal of acceptance!

 The new kitchen faucet, the R.O. drinking faucet is next for replacement.

The new R.O. faucet installed.

Finished evolution of the kitchen plumbing fixtures 2016.  Happy New Year!

A Bowl of Snew

He said:  I went to the town cafe today and had a delicious bowl of Snew.
She said:  What's Snew?
He said:  Oh not much, what 'snew with you?

We continue to enjoy our time in Sun City, Arizona and our visits with Shilo and her furry boyz Alex and Hunter.  We are keeping busy with this and that and share a few pictures below as we knock around Sun City and Sun City West.

We visited with the local Veterans for a pancake breakfast on Veteran's Day.  The Vets on the front line served up the hot cakes.

The queue led inside to the sausage line, yummy.

 God Bless America and our Veterans, Amen.  Breakfast is served, enjoy!

We take care of our medical and dental needs while we stay in Sun City.  Below is a place Steve is spending lots of time and money, Elegant Dentistry.  The latest project is an implant that Steve calls his Bionic Tooth.  

Gari looked at new shoes.  The last time that happened was too many years ago.

We like to ride our bicycles around town.  This day we rode to the Safeway grocery store for a few supplies.  Gari has a basket on the back rack of her bike.  The Styrofoam cooler fits perfectly into the basket.  Gari can fit and carry quite a few groceries in that rig, even the cold goods!

All three of us, Gari, Shilo and Steve made an appointment with Gary at Happy Trails to see the RV Resort.  Happy Trails sells RV lots, some people build sheds or even "Arizona Houses" on the site with their RV.  An Arizona House is a local name for a small Casita or small house, usually under 1,000 sq ft.

Happy Trails front gate.  We enjoyed the tour, but don't think we are buyers quite yet.

Next project on tap is what Steve calls the Sheik of Arabique Curtains.  Steve demonstrates the installation concept below.

But first a bourbon planning session...

OK session is over, cut him off!

Gari gets to work pre-assembling the curtain rod brackets.

Measuring...

Marking, under surveillance by the job bosses...

Drilling the stucco...

Installing the curtain rod brackets...

Final installation, inspector returns.

Finished product.

Area light is out of service...

Lamp shade says it uses a 12 Volt, 3 Watt LED light.

Below is the LED, right in the center of the printed circuit board.  It turned out that no voltage was getting to the board and we corrected the problem buried in the stones near the base of the lamppost.  Once again the patio is bathed in light.

We snuck in a battery replacement job in Shilo's Honda.  November is a good time to replace old batteries before it turns cold and leaves you stranded.

Next project, cleaning of the Fantastic Fans.  These things get nasty dirty after a few years of use.  Below is a picture of our rear fan opened on the roof of Penelope.

Fan assembly is removed in one piece and is on the table ready for disassembly and cleaning. White vinegar and little Clorox will do the job.

Gari removes the dirty lid.

Lots of mold and mildew on the inside of the lid.

Separating the control board from the fan.

There's the plug.

Fan all cleaned, reassembled and reinstalled.  Gari points the remote control and smiles; it must be working!

Last project we will save for a day while we are in Yuma, AZ.  This is the inside view of the Solar Power junction box on the roof of Penelope.  The two busses connect the output of the solar panels to the input of the solar controller.  The busses are corroded, no dielectric grease was applied during installation.  The stranded wire is also pretty messy, many of the wire strands did not tread through the buss openings and are just frayed back.  We will find or rebuild the buss board, dress up and grease the wires and connection points and reassemble the box as it should be.