I never did finish the 2019 trip. Beyond Las Cruces we got our stabilizers fixed in Deming by the company that had installed them incorrectly, then traveled thru the White Mountains via Glendale New Mexico and Alpine AZ and eventually arrived back in Peoria.
A stressful tax season in 2020 - the Covid-19 scare didn't help, but we made it thru and both declined the offer to continue doing taxes after the government extended the deadline until July 15.
The start of our travels was again delayed, first by the epidemic, then by a doctor appointment for Vicky, but now we're on the road, so let's get you up to date.
We left Peoria on May 2nd. We had hoped to stay at Thousand Trails where we are members, but they weren't taking new arrivals for health reasons. I found Rio Verde RV Park, a real gem on the Verde River just at the northern end of Cottonwood on AZ 89A. Lots of shady cottonwood trees (what else) and easy access to the high desert.
In the middle of this we drove the RV back to Phoenix to have some repairs done to the valves in the sewer system. It was covered under the extended warranty but we had tp stay in a Residence Inn for 4 nights until the shop got approval from the warranty company whose computers were down for 2 weeks! Quill enjoyed the small suite, sleeping on the bad most of the day.
This period included our 41st Anniversary and it turned out that The Melting Pot opened that day after the mandatory closure. We'd decided not to eat out for fear of exposure but The Melting Pot has private booths (with curtains, even!) so we could be isolated. It's a fondue restaurant we had discovered for my birthday, and we went for the 4 course dinner. A cheese fondue with veggies and bread to dip starts you out. . With several choices we opted for one with Hatch green chilies (which you'll remember I had trouble finding in Hatch New Mexico last year. It also included several exotic cheeses whose names escape me now.
Second course a choice of salads - all fresh. Mine included blue cheese and bacon. Then a choice of meats and/or seafood - we did the combo - beef, pork, chicken, shrimp and salmon. Everything is served raw and you cook it yourself. They have several broths you can fondue it on but we chose to grill it ourselves at the table. It comes with small new potatoes, asparagus, squash and peppers which you also cook yourself - the chefs were great!
For dessert, a choice of chocolate fondue - we went for the yin-yang, a mixture of white and dark chocolate artfully displayed with the yin-yang symbol. We destroyed the art by dipping an assortment of fruits and cakes into it. A great way to celebrate, although we'll be limiting restaurant meals for a while.
Back in Cottonwood e took evening walks each day, either in the desert or just along the road into town - 1.5 miles each way. Not a lot of social interactions because of the pandemic, but wee did make friends with Karen and her cat Willie in the RV next door. I should say Vicky made friends with Willie - he doesn't like men and even the Phil charm didn't work! We also ventured out to a local restaurant - Bocce Pizzeria and shared a light 3 meat pizza (Meat Pie Pizza!) as well as a wonderful ravioli salad (don't knock it until you've tried it!).
I'm writing this in Springville, Utah. I'll post this now and write another post to tell you how we got here.
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