It's Spring in the Desert

We've noticed that the cactus in the area are starting to show some signs of blooms...There's a bromeliad (?) in the park with a HUMONGOUS stalk coming out of it (photo above)...almost like a yucca that sends up a tall stalk in the spring. The stalk is taller than the house! We're taking bets on how long it will be till it blooms....it will be nice to see something flowering in the city besides the landscaped greens in the park we are staying in....

I had no idea that the blooms in the cactus were going to come out so pretty...these are little ones at people's permanent residences at Palm Creek in and around the park....the one on the bottom has a very pretty pink stalk coming out of it. It will be interesting to see what color the flowers will be....

Today, we took a drive to Mesa, AZ, to check out the Camping World store...always fun to go in there and see what we can't live without..of course, by now, we have storage worked out inside and outside the coach in the bays, have tried lots of different gadgets designed with the RVer in mind...like plate separators to keep your dishes from crashing against each other on rough roads (don't need them, use rubber shelf, cut to fit lining sold on a roll). We use that shelf liner to line all our shelves not just the ones in the kitchen. For anyone just starting out RVing full time, it's hard not to buy all these gadgety things they sell in the Camping World store. So if you have any questions about what to buy and what not to buy, email anyone who blogs and we'll be happy to tell you if it's something you don't need or something you do! I remember when we first starting RVing, we'd pour over the Camping World catalog at least a couple times a week, and make lists of things we thought we needed to buy...A couple of things off the top of my head that have been ESSENTIAL have been a surge protector for the post where you hook into the park system's electric, and a non-kinking hose. People will tell you there are more things you need of course, such as a water regulator and filter on the fresh water hose line, tire gauge pressure monitoring systems, and other great things...we're just taking it slow and gradually adding things to protect our motor home investment. 

These are very sturdy tables w/adjustable heights

Eldy's chair

Sparky's chair--

We managed to do a little damage at Camping World. We bought a rocker for Eldy. Our first set of rockers only lasted about six months. They had plastic clamps that you had to lock down by pushing down with your thumbs on each side of the chair and the plastic clamps broke just from normal usage. This new rocker seems to have a little better construction on it. Eldy LOVES to rock all night long--on the dance floor and off, lol....so he's a happy camper. We also bought a couple of little side tables that are indispensable for putting a grill on, (a very reasonable 20.00 each) or crafts, or just the extra stuff you like to surround yourself with when you sit outside. Instead of a rocker, I got a cushy tub chair I can use inside the motor home or outside, I like that wrap around feeling it gives me.  Oh, one more thing we bought...a portable fire pit. Unfortunately, as we are in the Casa Grande city limits, no outside fires are allowed. We can't use our portable fire pit with logs unless it's propane fueled. (That's not a campfire, says Sparky!) So we're just going to wait until we get into a park that allows fire pits...this one even has a screen lid to keep the sparks inside, and a grill should we decide to grill marshmallows or cook dinner.....time to go sit and relax in my tub chair for awhile.....temperatures may be hot during the day, (high 80's) but it cools down quickly starting in late afternoon, with a nice breeze that comes in late every afternoon  and so early evenings are our favorite times to sit outside....see you outside....