Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Retirement

The Time Has Come

ranch.jpgI got a call from my sister in California this morning. She called to advise me that it was just about time to place our nonagenarian Mom in an assisted living facility. Mom had an episode this morning where she fell out of her chair at home and was unable to get up. She called the Fire Department, who had to break into her house, for help.

Mom lives in her house about a block away from my sister’s house. My sister looks in on her once a day, but wasn’t present for the incident.

So, after much discussion between Mom, my sister and I, we decided that it would be best to have her in a place where she can be cared for 24/7. That’s the down side of it. The positive side is that I think we can move Mom to Wickenburg, close to us.

I visited an assisted care facility a mere 1/2 mile from here. We often pass by the retirement ranch going to town. I liked what I saw, what they told me and the people there.

Mom’s a bit bummed about the whole thing, but I’m confident that when she gets here she will love it as much as we do. I sent her a brochure from the ranch along with a letter that states what’s to like about being here:

The little town of Wickenburg is a very good environment. We have clean air, a very low crime rate, it is quiet, has a mild climate and plenty of Western character. The only thing it lacks is YOU!

We hope to have her here for her 93rd birthday, Mother’s Day and many other happy days.

15 Mar 2013 by Arizona Retirement

Reading the Town Plan

Town PlanThe Town of Wickenburg contracts an Arizona firm specializing in planning and economic development to prepare a general plan for the town. Since I subscribe to the RSS feed from the town website, I got notice of the town’s new General Plan 2025, which outlines plans for business, residents, tourism, growth and so forth.

Image – General Plan 2025 Cover Sheet – Click on the image to enlarge.

I browsed through the 168-page PDF document looking for things that may affect our lives and property, both positively and negatively (from our viewpoint). The plan includes background information on climate, topography, soils, hydrology, environmental assets (vegetation and wildlife), air quality, noise, major land ownership and demographics. It is quite thorough in its presentation of those topics.

There is also a section called “Wickenburg Planning Vision.” The vision recognizes Wickenburg’s desire to become a strong, sustainable community that is diverse in economic and employment opportunities, attractive to new employers and businesses, yet faithful to its historic and natural assets.

As I skimmed through the document, there were a couple of things that I note here that attracted us to Wickenburg in the first place. The town and surrounding area are largely isolated from the Phoenix urban crawl by virtue of the Vulture mountains to the south and the Wickenburg mountains to the east. The former isolates us from the I-10 corridor and the latter from the I-17 corridor. That’s all good.

The only fly in the ointment that I noticed is the proposed I-11 “Hassayampa Freeway,” that is supposed to connect I-10 and Las Vegas, which will come through Wickenburg. I don’t like that at all. The only thing about the proposal that causes me a little hope is the time frame; it will take over twelve years to get the project approved and perhaps another six years to implement it. By that time, we may not even be here.

Meanwhile, retirement is good.

09 Mar 2013 by Arizona Environment Retirement

The Dog Park

The Dog Park

Several times a month, we take the dogs to the Wickenburg Dog Park. Yesterday, I snapped this photo of Bob coaxing Beethoven (a.k.a. BayBay) to use the teeter totter. He is OK with going up the ramp, but when it starts to teeter, he jumps off. One of these days he’ll get it. Cabela looks on because there is a treat in store for somebody. Click on the image to enlarge.

07 Mar 2013 by Arizona Critters Retirement

Cactus Hillbilly

cactus-hill.jpg

Damsel took this photo of me during an excursion to the “unimproved” part of our lot. I was up there taking pictures of some of the cacti. Some of them I want to remove, like the several Christmas cacti, which shed their red berries that can roll down to the RV drive and endanger dogs and humans with their spikes and glochids. Other cacti, like a couple of hedgehogs up there, I would like to transplant to the lower yard where their flowers can be appreciated. Click on the image to enlarge.

05 Mar 2013 by Arizona Environment Home & Garden Photography Retirement

Junk Food Thursday

The Hog Trough

Today was “Junk Food Day,” the once-a-month trip to one of our local restaurants to get something decadent, but good, of course. This is the Nearly Famous Hog Trough BBQ and Smokehouse, located in the old downtown area of Wickenburg. Sometimes, when the wind is just right, we can smell the meat smoking from our house and the ‘Trough is a mile away.

Our diet is normally all home-cooked food focusing on nutrition and healthy eating, which is very important to us in retirement. But, every month we break away from the regimen and splurge. Today, it was a BBQ brisket sandwich with Coleslaw and potato salad. Damsel and I split the sandwich between us and shared the side dishes.

There are a couple of other places in town that we patronize, one very good Mexican food restaurant and an outstanding mid-century style drive-in joint with the best burgers, fries and milkshakes in town – Hell – in the county!

Click on the image to enlarge.

28 Feb 2013 by Arizona Food & Dining Retirement

Clear Skies and Good Visibility

Mountains

Since retiring in the sanctuary of the free state of Arizona, I must admit that, as a native to coastal parts of the not-too-free-state of Kalifornia, I am not used to the concept of four seasons. Well, maybe in coastal Kali we had the four seasons of rain, fog, fire and Santa Ana winds. However, here in AZ, we actually have five seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Second Spring* and Fall.

Damsel took this image of the mountains to the north as we were driving to the discount department store and the post office. Other than when it is raining or snowing, most days are clear here (about 300 per year), with beautiful clear views of our mountains and foothills. Click on the image to enlarge.

* A period between the scorching summer temperatures and drooping fall temperatures when cacti and citrus flowers bloom.

25 Feb 2013 by Arizona Photography Retirement

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