We arrived in Arizona on November 1 as planned. We shoe-horned the motorhome into our space with inches to spare on either side and the rear at the Sundance West RV Park in Apache Junction. On the driver side, we were inches from the sewer cap and on the passenger side we were inches from the cement patio. We were backed up against a tree and had to remove the tow bar assembly to back in far enough so the front mirrors weren’t in the road. We are parked directly across from the dog park area. At first you might think, OH NO… but it turned out to be a blessing. The park is the focal point for all the residents and we met so many people at the park. Sarge wasn’t too sure about being this close to the park, but as you’ll see, he got used to it.

So what do we do to occupy ourselves having returned ‘home’ with no jobs to occupy our time and take up the day in an area we know so well? I ride my bike daily and am getting ready for spring racing season. There are several repairs and improvements we wanted to do to the motorhome that we didn’t want to do on the road. Reacquainting with old friends and family and getting ready for the holidays took up a lot of our time.

We found an Arts and Crafts Festival being held in Fountain Hills. We have never seen or attended a festival as large as this one. So many booths and presenters, it was an all day affair.

The C4 – Captain Cosmo’s Crazy Challenge mountain bike race was held in Cave Creek. A 25 mile course through Cave Creek Regional Park and the SpurCross Conservation area. I finished in 2:25 which beat my time goal but not near good enough for a podium spot. There were some strong riders out there. We reconnected with old friends and made new ones, Rick and Roxie, Votaire, Kaolin, Laurel, just to name a few.

We meet with friends, Joe and Richard each Tuesday morning for breakfast in Tempe. Joe is a former NBA/ABA basketball star and is in the ASU Basketball Hall of Fame. Richard is a former co-worker from the college and we developed a strong working relationship at the college that has carried over into a good friendship.

The dreaded annual doctor and dental appointments took up a large portion of the first several weeks after we arrived.

We spent an evening at the Gilbert Days Festival. This was held at one of the local city parks with a concert presenting many of the local bands, multiple local vendors, games for the kids and food trucks. We spent a day fishing at Lake Roosevelt with nothing but fun to show for our efforts.

Throughout the summer you may have learned that Sarge is not an indoor cat. He loves to be outside and becomes obnoxious when he doesn’t get his outdoor play time. We have an Apple AirTag on his collar so we can attempt to keep track of him. Generally it works pretty well, until he travels too far. He is pretty good about coming back to the coach when we clap our hands and sound the signal on the tracker. On this particular day, Teri was out running some errands and I was trying to find Sarge. He had wandered outside the tracker range and wasn’t responding to hand clapping. There was a group of 4 people lounging in chairs with 2 dogs sitting with them across the road from our motorhome. They were snickering and actually laughing as I finally found Sarge and convinced him to come home. I went over to them in a huff at being laughed at…. not really. It was a great ice breaker. Devin and Megan (who you’ll hear more about), Derrick and Chris were all sitting around. Copper, a brown dachshund and DaKota, a grayish australian shephard were with them and started barking furiously as I approached. Copper belongs to Chris and Kota belongs to Devin and Megan. They became good friends and joined us in our shenanigans. The dogs warmed up to me immediately and became our surrogate pets. Sarge still isn’t too sure, but he’ll sit under the coach or on the steps and stare down the dogs.

Next up was the 12 Hours of Fury mountain bike race held at McDowell Mountain Regional Park in Fountain Hills. This is, as you’ve probably guessed, a 12 hour relay race in which many crazies will ride solo. A 16ish mile loop completing as many laps as possible inside 12 hours. After 4 laps, I was in 3rd place in the 60+ age group. As I completed lap 5, I was astounded to see Teri, Megan and Devin at the lap/finish line yelling their heads off and holding signs urging me on. The sign that drew my attention was the one with the words ‘Don’t Suck’. Hahahahaha. As I pulled into my pit area for a short break, I almost fell when I put my feet on the ground, the legs were that tired. My nose was running constantly and the last lap was one to remember. The race started at 11am so guess what, we were racing until 11pm. Lap 6 started around 5:30pm and lights were required as the sun was setting and it was getting dark, especially in the desert where there are no street lights. I had 1 light on my handlebars and 1 on my helmet. I finished the lap and got ready to head out for lap 7. I was checking the status of my competitors. #1 and #2 were a lap ahead of me and there was no way I was going to catch them. #4 was a lap down. As I watched the live online results, I saw #4 just finished his lap 6. It was time to go and I hoped he’d stopped for a break as well. He had been an hour behind me on previous laps but was closing in. I checked the battery on both lights. I thought I might have enough juice to finish the lap, but I put another light on the handlebars as a precaution and threw a second helmet light in my pocket just in case. The lights are not interchangeable due to the mounting systems so I couldn’t put a helmet light onto the handlebars. There are a couple of reasons for riding with multiple lights. One is the adage that 2 is 1 and 1 is none. The other is that the handlebar light shines directly in front of the tires on the trail and the helmet light allows you to see further up the trail when approaching turns or if you hear unusual noises in the dark. :). At about mile 5 the handlebar light starting flickering and a mile later it died. I turned on the spare bar light, but it was dead. I had taken it off the charger when I left home to head for the race, so I don’t know what happened. I’m down to my helmet light. It’s not as bright as the bar light and I had it on the brightest setting but it was still not as bright as I would have liked. I tried the spare helmet light but it wasn’t any brighter. Remember, the lights are not interchangeable so the spare helmet light couldn’t go on the handlebars. Onward I went. My mantra at this point was ‘just get to the finish line’. I didn’t know who #4 was and I didn’t know where he was. As riders passed me (I was dead tired) I tried to keep up to use their brighter lights, but I just couldn’t. They were all younger and were racing on relay teams so they were much fresher. Onward I went, just staying on the trail, keeping a steady pace in the black, quiet, desert night. With 100 yards to go, the helmet light blacked out. I rolled across the finish line in 3rd place, ultimately I beat #4 by about 15 minutes. Yes, I learned a few lessons. 7 laps, 108 miles and 3rd place with the pleasure of standing on the podium made it all worthwhile.

Then I was back to training for the next race and doing some cross training by hiking and walking with Teri. We learned that although Devin is working remotely and therefore tied up during the weekdays, Megan is available to cause trouble with us. Teri and Megan went for a hike looking for the Broadway Cave in the Superstition Mountains. They didn’t find the cave and Teri’s proclivity for going off path became evident. They didn’t get lost and they didn’t find the cave but they had a great hike and story to tell. Next they went to Fat Mans Pass on South Mountain while I rode the Desert Classic trail there.

Teri’s story: Fat Man’s pass is my favorite hiking trail. There’s a mile long road for admiring pets and socializing before you ascend the actual trail. Near the end of it, there are rock building ruins left over from the trading post era. Then you climb to the National trail, mostly flat, until you reach the signs for Fat Man’s Pass/Hidden Valley. Then a lot of boulder climbing and a wide valley until you reach the actual Fat Man’s Pass. Usually, the climb is just gnarly and a steady push to get warmed up. On this occassion, however, Megan and I had to stand off trail several times as crazy mountain bikers came down the trail at top speed, often without much warning. We saw probably 6 waves of 10 or more bicycles all the way to the turnoff for the valley. While hiking through the valley, I think Megan thought I was kinda nuts because when we came to the boulders, I’d take a different route from the trail. But in my defense, it made for some amazing views and better workout. When we reached Fat Man’s Pass, as expected, Megan was pretty sure she couldn’t squeeze through. Everyone I’ve taken has said that no matter how slender they are. We were briefly stalled by a church group and preist who were sliding down that rock face. Then we passed through to the other side and started the return trip.

One weekend, the 4 of us went to Natural Bridge State Park north of Payson. This is an amazing natural rock bridge. The trail is not long in mileage but it takes time. It is a slow hike. At the bottom of the valley as you are progressing under the bridge, you are traversing the natural stream bed and the natural terrain. Climbing over tree limbs and rocks, snaking your way between large rocks, trying to stay out of the water, sliding down a steep, slippery rock face that is made further slippery by the naturally falling water from the bridge you finally reach the ‘out’ and a climb out of the canyon. It is a must do type of hike if you’re in the area.

We all planned a surprise birthday party for Chris who was completely unsuspecting. A banner on the front of his trailer greeted him when he awoke in the morning of his birthday. Later that evening we all had ‘Better Than Sex’ cake that Megan had made. As a single young man, this was one of the highlights of his birthday.

Devin and Megan were gearing up to end their months long stay in AJ but Megan wanted to get to Sedona before they left. Teri and Megan took the day and drove to Sedona where they saw the sights and went for a hike. About this time you should be playing the tune for Gilligan’s Isle. Yep, they started the hike with a destination in mind and planned, however they deviated and ended up doing about 3-4 miles more than planned. They both had a great day. They were feeling it in their leg muscles the next day.

Teri has always loved playing Texas Hold ‘Em poker and plays constantly online for practice (no money involved). She has played several live games and generally does well even in she doesn’t make final table. As a way to take up her time, she started playing poker tournaments at the local casinos a couple of times per week. Imagine my surprise and pride when she called and said she had made final table and won $500. That more than made up for her buy-ins for the week and several more tournaments. A week or 2 later after several games, she won another $400.

One weekend I volunteered at the MBAA Enduro Race at the Hawes Mountain riding area. It was a gray colored day but I didn’t expect any rain. A pair of shorts, t-shirt and a fleece-hoody should be fine for the day. I was teamed with 2 others to record the finish times of one of the multiple legs of the race. The first racer came through at about 9:30am. That is about the time the rain started. It was never a heavy rain, but it was non-stop until we trudged back to the car at 2:30pm. My clothes were soaked. It rained for 2 straight days. When the rain stopped, I had to re-level the motorhome as the stabilizing jacks had sunk into the ground.

As a surprise birthday present for Teri I had purchased tickets for us for the Trans Siberian Orchestra Christmas concert. We had attended the concert last year and it was amazing. As the date approached, she suggested we get tickets for my kids and grandkids as a gift. When she saw the weird look on my face, she said ‘you already bought tickets, didn’t you?!’. Yep, so much for a surprise. Oh well, I tried. As it turned out, all 11 of us attended. It was another fantastic show.

As my birthday expired, Teri offered me a chance to start working with a trainer. I knew I needed some accountability for keeping a training/weight workout routine as well as a nutritional program, so I accepted. Kevin became my new trainer. 2 days in the gym, 1 day discussing nutrition and planned riding progression was on the list. To further up my game, Teri suggested I talk to the trainer about a single speed bike. She’d talked to a few friends who found training with a “struggle buggy” made them a stronger mountain bike riders. So just before Thanksgiving, we started the program and ordered a single speed.

Thanksgiving was a time for the family to get together and relax and enjoy everyone’s company. We went to Culinary Dropout in Gilbert as a family and just enjoyed the company and food.

I had been working with Kevin for about 2 weeks when it was race day again. Dawn to Dusk, another 12 hour relay race. I had high hopes of finishing well but also knew there was tough competition. The race started at 7am in the dark, cold morning at a temp of about 36 degrees at McDowell Mountain Park. Same park, similar course but the opposite direction from the 12 Hours of Fury. I finished lap 1 in 9th place of 13 in my age group. My legs were feeling unusually tired. Lap 2 and I wondered how I was ever going to get my goal of 8 laps, much less the 7 I had done previously. Out for lap 3, still in 9th. On lap 4, Teri sent a text and asked me to call her when I could, nothing urgent. The next text said she was going out to an event with Megan and Devin for the evening. I finished lap 4 just dead with legs that ached in a way that I don’t usually feel this early in a race. I called Teri and I told her how I felt. She asked if I was having fun. I told her it’s always fun riding my bike, but this was not particularly fun. It hurt too much. We chatted and I decided, there was no training value to continue and I definitely was not going to be in the top 3 finishers. I also knew that if I continued, I was just beating a tired body into the ground. I called it a day with 4 laps, 65 miles, 9th place as a finishing place. She met me in Scottsdale with a change of clothes at the Planet Fitness where I showered and cleaned up and then joined everyone for a night on the town. Megan and Devin had invited Teri to join them and his nieces at the Medieval Times for dinner and a show. Medieval Times is an event venue that features Knights competing in skill events as well as sword fights and jousting. The young men and women actors were quite entertaining and provided 2 hours of entertainment. Dinner consisted of a 1/2 chicken, baked potato, soup and a dessert. The kicker is that you eat with your fingers, there are no eating utensils. It was a wonderful evening with great friends.

As November came to a close, Megan and Devin began preparations to leave AZ. Their last stop was Bisbee where Devin had to do a job. After a bit of easy discussion, we agreed to accompany them south for a few days. We all packed up and headed south and spent 2 nights in Tombstone and a day drive to Bisbee. We didn’t want to pull the motorhome out of our site so we rented a cabin at the RV park while they were in their 5th wheel trailer. The skies were dark with clouds and there was snow in the forecast. On our 1st day, we walked the streets of Tombstone checking out the various stores that were open. It was a Monday and many of the stores were closed as they cater to the weekend tourist crowds. We took a quick drive to Bisbee and walked the streets of Historic Bisbee before heading back to Tombstone. The next day, Devin had to work so Megan, Teri and I headed back to Bisbee. There was about 1 inch of snow on the ground in Tombstone that was doubled in Bisbee. Who knew that Bisbee is a mile high city at an elevation of 5300 ft? The snow plows were out as we drove into Bisbee and our first stop was the Queen Mine where we took a mine tour into the old mine. This is another must-do in our book if you get to the area. This was our 3rd trip into the mine and our guide provided some information that we hadn’t learned on the other trips. A drive to the south side of the mountains took us to several communities that are part of Bisbee that we had never seen before. Our final stop was the historic Erie St in the Lowell community. Several motorcycle shops which included Indian and Harley Davidson models, some antique cars, the old Police Dept and Greyhound bus depot are all part of the attraction. We then drove to the overlook of the open pit mine. The size of the open pit mine is mind boggling and just reading about the old time mining and the strength and determination of the miners of that era is awe-inspiring. No ‘safe space rooms’ for those generations and they are not offended by words.

Teri and I headed back to AJ on the 3rd day while Megan and Devin headed east. We will be connecting up with them in 2023 somewhere on the road.

Just so you don’t think all is rosy I came down with a cough and stuffy sinuses post race. Several days later Teri came down with the same. A week later and I was starting to clear up. Another week passed and I was just about over it, but Teri was still coughing. A trip to the Dr. determined it was not covid or the flu. It certainly affected our ability to breathe, but we pushed through.

As we are parked for a few months, it was time to do some annual maintenance on the motorhome. We have a tankless water heater system that also heats the motorhome. It runs on electric and/or a small diesel generator. It requires annual maintenance and didn’t seem to be operating as efficiently as expected. A mobile RV repair business, Cruz RV Repair arrived as planned and serviced the unit. He found that the controller was not working properly and ordered a new one for us. It’s nice to not run out of hot water now.

Remember the dog park? Well we met more friends, Sheri and Gary, Piper and Terry. Teri and Sheri took off for a hike on the Petroglyph Trail. With Sheri in the lead, Teri didn’t have the opportunity to stray off path. Teri’s breathing was hampered by the illness but she pushed on.

Sarge still stares down the dogs in the park and dares them to come on his property. Copper tried to one day and scampered back behind Chris when Sarge raised the hair on his back and hissed.

As Christmas Eve arrived, we all met at my daughter, Melanie’s house and had a wonderful family Christmas Eve brunch. Melanie, Tom, Kennedy, and Brooke. Nichole, Landon and Cooper. Monica and Tim. Teri and I. The grandkids all tore into their gifts with glee while the adults watched and were entertained. As the party wound down, we took our leave. Teri, Monica, Tim and I went for a Christmas Eve dinner and invited Sheri to join us as Gary and their daughter were both out of town. A nice, quiet evening with family and friends was a wonderful way to spend Christmas.

As 2022 rolls to an end, we hope you’ve enjoyed our journey as much as we have. We finished the year having visited 34 states, 11,000 miles and made new friends and re-acquainted with family. It was an amazing trip. We have realized that we did too much too often. We have vowed that when we identify our destinations next year, we will spend a minimum of 2 weeks before moving on. We will be re-visiting several areas where we want to explore more as well as visiting new areas. We look forward to the new year with excitement and anticipation. Thanks for traveling with us.

Happy New Year.