While Donna was at the dentist Wednesday morning, I walked over to the Towerpoint pickleball courts. It began to sprinkle rain before I got there. The rain didn’t last, it was just a brief, light shower. It was enough to keep everyone away though – no one showed up to play. I practiced serving for about 20 minutes, then Donna stopped by on the scooter on her way home from the dentist and we rode home.

My day became busier when the dentist offered a 1:50pm opening in the schedule for an exam and cleaning. I took the appointment. I hoped to have the new front tire mounted on the scooter before I went to the dentist, but the tire didn’t arrive at the shop until 1pm.

I went to Steve’s Motorcycle shop after I was finished at the dentist and had the new tire mounted and balanced. By the time I got home from the shop, it was already time for the early dinner at Towerpoint. The power was out at Sun Life RV Resort while the transformer upgrades were being completed. A free dinner was arranged at the neighboring Towerpoint resort to compensate for the loss of power. Both parks are owned by Cal-Am corporation. We enjoyed the dinner and met three other couples we shared a table with. Coincidentally, one of the couples was from our adopted home town of Madison, South Dakota. We’ve met other RVers on the road that use the Madison mail forwarding service (MyDakotaAddress.com), but this was first time we met someone who actually lives there.

Donna and I hit the pickleball courts at 7:30am the next morning. We played several games, then came back to our site at 9:30am to pack up and hit the road. I didn’t have anything loaded in the trailer. We arranged for a late checkout and set our sights on leaving by noon. I managed to get everything packed, take a shower, dump and flush our tanks, pull the slides in, retract the jacks and hook up the trailer in the allotted time.

Our destination was a short drive away – Usery Mountain Regional Park (map). We booked a pull-through site here until Monday. We stayed here last year in site 14, this time we are in site 13. The park has 30 and 50 amp electrical hookups and fresh water, but no sewer hook up at the sites. There’s a dump station near the campground entrance. The views and natural desert landscape are stunning. There are great hiking and mountain biking trails. Road biking is good too – the road outside the park takes you down to the Bush Highway along the Salt River or you can go the opposite way into town.

Back among the saguaros

After setting up, I decided to ride the scooter over to Lucky Lou’s for a last cold one with the guys. Everyone has plans for the weekend and we won’t be getting together again until we return to Mesa in February. On the way there, I had a frightening experience on the scooter.

I was stopped at a red light in the left turn lane on Power Road at the junction with McKellips. I heard a car with a loud exhaust system rev and downshift as it stopped a couple of feet behind me. The driver of a Camaro ZL1 revved the engine a few times, then did a power-brake burnout! Power-braking is where the driver steps on the brake with his left foot and floors the accelerator with his right foot. The front brakes are locked so the car shouldn’t move while the powerful engine overcomes the rear brakes and the tires spin madly and begin to smoke. This was going on two feet behind my scooter at a stop light! When the light turned green, I gassed it hard and heeled the scooter over through the turn like I was riding my old Ducati Superbike. I was glad I had new rubber on the front. The Camaro was squealing the tires through the turn right behind me. I pulled into the parking lot at Lucky Lou’s and the Camaro followed me in. I found a parking space – the Camaro parked next to me. I was mad as can be and had a few choice words for the driver – he said, “I wasn’t going to hit you.” What an irresponsible moron.

The ZL1 has a supercharged 580 horsepower engine and can light up the tires at will. This doesn’t mean it should be driven without regard to the safety of others on a public road. When I was leaving Lucky Lou’s, the guy with the Camaro came out at the same time. He got in his car, then motioned me to go ahead of him. I said, “No chance, I’ll wait here until you are clear of the area.” He lit up the tires again in the parking lot and left.

If you see a Camaro ZL1 convertible with this plate, I advise you to stay away.

I came home to a beautiful sunset and watched the NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.

Soft light on Pass Mountain at sunset

Lately, Ozark has been amusing herself by picking nuggets of dry food out of her dish and hiding them under the living room rug. Sometimes she burrows under the rug to retrieve them, other times we have to clean up after her.  I don’t know what brought this behavior on.

Ozark looking under the rug

Today we expect clear, sunny skies and the temperature should reach the low 80s. Donna has a lunch planned with Lana Jansen. I have a couple of projects to take care of.