It looked like a rattlesnake, but had no rattle. Rhonda said it was a good snake, a Bull Snake. There is no such thing as a good snake in Becky's vocabulary!
Rhonda and Becky then headed over to the area of town where there are some fast food restaurants and motels near Interstate 40. Plenty of trash over there --- and no snakes!
That afternoon, Becky received a text from Tom O'Dell. One of Tom's sons is hiking the 800 mile Arizona Trail. Jon and his hiking friend started at the Mexican border and were almost to Mormon Lake. Tom was traveling in a 21 foot Class C motorhome --- providing hiker support, rest stops, and pick-up service. Becky and Tom worked together at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon the season of 2006. Tom checked into the Kit Carson RV Park in Flagstaff for a week. Becky and Tom met for lunch at Kick's Route 66 Restaurant. It was a nice reunion.
Becky decided it was time to get back into playing pickleball on a regular basis. In February, she met a Flagstaff resident who told her about the two venues of pickleball play there. John Grahame wintered in his motorhome at Voyager RV Resort in Tucson. Becky went to one of the venues, the Flagstaff Aquaplex, to play indoor pickleball. At $2 a day, it was an easy investment!
Tuesday was an appointment at North Country Medical Center in Williams for Becky's last PAP smear. She had one five years ago, and after age 65, PAP smears are not required. Christy, a Physician's Assistant, did the procedure. She mentioned that it was time to get an updated dexa scan. So, an order was sent to the Flagstaff imaging group. Becky also met with Dr. Gibula to go over recent lab results. All was all in normal range except the usual cholesterol. Becky has high "good" cholesterol.
Northern Arizona had several days of freezing, rain, and slush. Tom O'Dell texted Becky. He had picked up the two Arizona Trail hikers near Mormon Lake. They were going to just hang out until the weather improved. So, Becky invited all three to her home for dinner. She made it easy --- a tossed salad and pizza from Pizza Factory in downtown Williams. Becky had met Tom's son, Jon, in 2006.
His hiking partner, Dana, is married and lives in Missouri.
Becky went back to the Aquaplex on Wednesday. There, she saw Flagstaff resident, John, who told her about the Flagstaff pickleball play.
One of Becky's friends used the genetic testing of "23andme.com." Becky decided to take advantage of a $20 off coupon for Mother's Day. She ordered the kit, spit into the vial, and mailed it to the lab. Apparently, it will take 4-5 weeks to obtain the results. Let's see if the results tie in with what Becky thinks her heritage is --- English, Scottish, and Norwegian!
Friday morning, Becky received a text from a Flagstaff pickleball player, Teresa. Teresa said it was a beautiful day and she was going to play pickleball outdoors at the Continental Country Club. Becky agreed to join her at 8:30am. So, an early walk with the dogs, and off to Flagstaff for more pickleball. The country club has six courts. Teresa mentioned that in the summer, all courts are full and there are 20 people waiting! Only two courts were used this morning.
Saturday, the First Baptist Church of Williams, had a Women's Tea and Fellowship. For a mere $5, Becky signed up. The sanctuary was transformed into a tea setting with eight round tables, sitting six. The theme was "Singing in the Rain." Becky won the first door prize drawing --- a cute silver colored bangle bracelet.
Tom texted Becky that the hikers were placed back on the Arizona Trail Saturday afternoon. Becky was in the mood for some live music at the Best Western. She invited Tom to join her. Omar sang and played the guitar with a wide assembly of fun tunes --- from Johnny Cash to Elvis to Jim Croce.
Donna and the Bernstein family sent Becky roses for Mother's Day. It was a very thoughtful gesture!
Sandra and Ed Smith are Thousand Trails RV friends and Pickleball players. While they live full-time in their motorhome, they have a rental property in Flagstaff. Becky invited them over for lunch and a walk with the dogs. They used to have dogs, but now just get puppy fixes from the dogs of friends. Becky made her chicken curry salad recipe which is always a winner!
Monday morning, Becky drove to Flagstaff and played pickleball at the indoor Aquaplex. Then, she headed over to Tirzah Salon to get her hair cut and colored. Becky's stylist, Shawna, is always a colorful person!
It was time to finally get Kelsey's teeth professionally cleaned. Several years ago, she did get a dental cleaning, but she has never had the "deep sleep" teeth cleaning. Dr. Jacoby, at Williams Veterinary Clinic, was the fellow to do it! Becky dropped her off at 8:15am.
Tom O'Dell, who moved from his RV site in Flagstaff to an RV site in Valle, was up for a hike. Valle is just 35 minutes from Williams, so Becky picked Tom up there. Becky suggested that they hike Red Butte. Red Butte is the highest point near the South Rim. It is a 2 1/2 mile hike, but has a 1,000 foot elevation climb. The last time Becky did this hike was in 2009. There is a fire look-out station on top.
As Becky and Tom walked toward the tower, lookout guy Bruce Hill came out and greeted them. He was the artist Becky and Pat Wheeler had met eight years ago. Bruce spends 8 months out of the year at the tower and this is his 17th year!
It was fun seeing Bruce again. It was nice to also have him take a photo of the two Red Butte hikers!
Becky picked Kelsey up at the Veterinary Clinic at 3:30pm. Kelsey had one tooth extracted. It appeared to Dr. Jacoby that it was an original baby tooth that should have fallen out years ago.
Wednesday morning, Becky took the dogs to Wags & Whiskers Pet Resort. It had been recommended by the Williams Veterinary Clinic. It is conveniently located on the west side of Flagstaff. Becky decided it might be a good place to take the dogs for three nights or less. It is in an industrial park, with no access to forest walks.
With the dogs settled, Becky headed off to Zion National Park. She was meeting Orange County friends Sherry and John Phelan there. On the way, she stopped in Kanab at Perry Lodge. Patricia Wheeless was the front desk manager there. Becky and Patricia worked together at the South Rim in 2007 and 2008.
While at Perry Lodge, Becky made a reservation to stay there on her way back from a Park City getaway next month! She found out that the property was owned and managed by Forever Resorts out of Scottsdale. Forever Resorts is the current concessionaire and operator of Bryce Canyon and the North Rim properties.
Becky met up with rainy and slushy weather as she approached Zion National Park and Springdale. She arrived at her Quality Inn Motel at around 4:00pm. John and Sherry arrived at their Desert Pearl Inn about thirty minutes later. Good timing! Becky walked the .2 miles to their motel and shared adult beverages with them. The Phelans had a beautiful room right on the Virgin River.
Becky, John, and Sherry had dinner reservations at King's Landing Restaurant. It is located on the Driftwood Lodge property. The dinner was excellent!
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