Random pics

Our traveling home.

Here are random pictures from January and February.  We left Cool on Jan. 4th and spent the 1st night in Roseville.  Then we headed south and stayed a few nights in Patterson, Ca and then to Acton, Ca and spent a few nights there.  We wanted to take our time because we had worked our butts off getting packed and moved in Nov. and Dec.  We spent January here in Arizona just relaxing and getting settled in and organized.  We kept to ourselves mostly.  Then as we were starting to do things etc., Feb 5th we were hit with the flu and that lasted four weeks.  I have never been sick that long.  The cough and lethargy lasted forever.  

Gracie chilling.

Sunrise south of Patterson, California

We loved this RV park.  Reasonably priced, well maintained, large sites and can walk right out to the desert.  We loved it until we were hit by the SMELL a couple days in.  We discovered that a commercial egg operation is mere blocks away and when the wind is wrong...OMG!!!  As bad as any cattle feedlot, think Coalinga if you've traveled south on I-5 from Sacramento.  Some days we don't smell it but most days we'll get short whiffs and others...we run around closing up the trailer.  The ammonia is the worst!  

Our site in Tonopah, AZ

We have since learned that though the owners here have been building this RV park up for the last 15 years and taking months and years to get the various permits for everything they have done.  The chicken farm's permits just breeze through.  It had 3 sheds last year and this year there are 9 and they are putting in another 18 this next year as we understand it!  I have researched and learned that the way the "civilized" world raises it's food is cruel and nasty and toxic, toxic, toxic.  This isn't just animals by the way, even the "vegetarian" crops.  The community here in Tonopah is trying to stop the operation, the few businesses are dying, it is sad, sad, sad.  

one of the many awesome sunsets

Me with a gigantor crystal cluster from Arkansas

Oh, did I mention that each of these sheds houses 315,000 chickens!!!  If the 9 they currently have are all occupied at the same time...that's over 2 million!!!  Laying eggs and then after 90 weeks, into the grinders they go to become fertilizer.  I will have to share more later.  I didn't mean to take up this much space in this post about it. :)  The flys, the smell and sometimes the feathers!!!  Oh my!!!  We now know we don't won't to live anywhere that there is big time agriculture or AG Business as they are calling it.

a real Roadrunner

We've ended up staying here because we found a good dentist in Buckeye and are getting necessary stuff done.  We'll be here into the second week of April.  We still aren't sure where we'll be going after then.

This is a phainopepla, no common name.  Sounds like a cardinal to me so I searched black cardinal on Google and there it was....hahahaha.

Saguaros.  They are at least 15 feel tall and decades old when the have arms.