We had a nice day getting caught up on a few things, then doing a nice hike at Lost Dutchman State Park, and wrapped up with an awesome dinner at Organ Stop Pizza.
I woke up at my usual time, and as I was getting coffee made, Bia got out of bed saying she had a tummy ache and went to the bathroom. She got out and got started with school, and soon after that Bella was making noise saying she was awake, so she came down and started school work. That’s a first, by 7:30am both girls are doing school work. Nice.
Bia was complaining her tummy was hurting and asked for a warm bean bag to help. I got her one of those bags you fill with hot water, and she was laying down with it, she was on the dinette seats. Not much later, she said she felt like puking and I gave her the garbage bin, and she did puke. Some food she ate yesterday, peanuts and ramen. Not sure if it was due to eating late and going to bed right away, or if something just didn’t sit well and was stuck there not processing. But, after that, she started feeling a bit better. We moved her to our bed and took her computer there, so she continued on her class while laying down. Around 9:30 she said she was feeling a bit better. Bella was all chatty while doing her school work, but was also distracted doing stuff that was not school work. But she stayed at it and was all done before noon. Very nice! It was a smooth morning for the most part, with both girls finishing all their school work before noon.
Carol took care of laundry, went grocery shopping and organized the pantry. She also gave Maggie a bath late in the morning. And she did some work on videos, she’s almost wrapping up another one, this one is a cooking one.
I was interrupted all morning and had a hard time staying focused long enough to do any writing, so… I worked on getting reservations booked. We are pretty much booked for the rest of the trip, with only 3 stays not booked yet. Two of those are Thousand Trails sites and I can only reserve 2 months in advance, so I have to wait until the exact 60 days to book. One is a one night stay the day before we get home, and I’m thinking I’ll leave that one so we are flexible to drive wherever we want and just book a last minute overnight. As is, our current date to be back home is 5/24. When I was done with the reservations I wanted to make, I decided to go outside and try to get some work and writing done. I first got the screen up with the awning, and was able to do it all by myself this time, so I think I have a system down. Then I went outside, while the girls were inside doing school work, and was able to finish writing the post from the day before, and was able to get a little bit of work done as well. We were all pretty much done with most of our stuff by noon.
We had lunch together outside, and started just doing other little projects. We wanted to go by Superstition Mountains, back to Lost Dutchman park, so we could do a hike there, but it’s warm out so we chose to actually wait until about 3:30pm to leave, so most of the heat was over and it should start cooling down from there. I decided to fix the bike tire that was flat again. Bia and Bella were playing outside with bubbles, then cleaning the truck and putting away all the rocks they have all over, then playing with bubbles more. Hahahah… they were making bubbles then chasing them and trying to pop them with their tongue. Crazy kids.
When I got the bike tire out, there was a bigger hole basically on the same area but other side of the stem, so likely when I put the tube back, I just had it the other way, so whatever caused the hole did it to the other side. I got the tube patched, waited 10 minutes and put if back in. Pumped to 65 and parked the bike where it was before, right at the end of the trailer, in the sun. I put all my things away and it was time to just sit and wait until 3:30, so I just watched the girls play. Then, all of a sudden I hear this loud hissing… like an air hose was going, and I look at the bike, and the tire was going flat. WTF!!! The thing popped and emptied out completely within seconds. I’ll deal with it tomorrow, but whatever is causing the tire to get flat, is getting worse. More on that tomorrow maybe.
As we approached 3pm, we started getting ready to go. Carol cut some apples, I got water and shoes, we all got ready and left to the park. It’s about a 25 minute drive, straight shot from here just going east. We got to the park, paid $7 to get in and had a nice quick chat with the super excited Ranger, who was excited to be checking in people from Wisconsin. hahahaha… and with our map in hand, headed to Treasure Trail.
I had read about a few trails and written down Treasure Trail or Siphon Draw Trail. They were actually both longer than I think the kids could handle, so we picked the one that said “moderate” and family oriented, which was treasure trail. They had nice restrooms by the parking area, and those were quite big too. The trail starts out mostly flat, but as we go towards the mountain, it starts going uphill and gets a bit steep as we get more and more into the mountain.
We decided we’d at least go a mile into it, and that’s exactly when Carol and the girls were tired of going uphill. I have to say, the last quarter mile was making me breath pretty heavy too. The views from up there, maybe half way or less up the mountain, were pretty amazing. The temperature was perfect at that time as well, just warm enough. As we walked up, Bella and I were in front, and at some point she wanted to just get done, so she started walking faster and faster and wanted to beat me to the end (not knowing we’d not make it to the end hahahah). Right about when we hit a mile, she said she wanted to stop and rest. We stopped, and I got the apples out, so we sat there for a bit and had some apples.
Carol and Bia made their way there soon after and that was our rest spot.
I walked up a bit further as I saw a bench just above us, and Bella came behind. There was not much more up there, but even better views from a little higher. Bella and I stayed there a bit, took some really cool pics and then went back down a bit further with Carol and Bia.
As we were all rested up, and had finished the apples, we started our way back down. We were taking our time going back as it was a bit more slippery with rocks moving under our feed on the way down, and the sun was setting and the views were awesome. Bella was going in front again, but twisted her ankle a little and then I stayed behind with her just going slower. Bia was excited about the sunset and wanted to get some pictures too, with the sun behind her, so she found a spot and I took a few and think they turned out awesome.
As the sun was setting, the needles on the cholla cactus were looking pretty awesome. They were lighting up and glowing, it was really amazing. I tried to get some pics but not sure it shows what I was seeing in real life. We got quiet a few pictures of the amazing views from there, and I was enjoying the sun setting way back and the glow it was creating… not to mention the great conversations with Bella.
When we got back to the truck, we decided to check out a place Roger recommenced for dinner, so we went to Organ Stop Pizza. The place is not that far from our campground, so it was a great spot from that perspective too. As we got closer, we saw it was kind of in a strip mall, and the outside did not look that impressive as a restaurant, or as an entertainment spot, especially because the road was under construction and it was all dirt and holes… but, was that deceiving!?!!?
Organ Stop Pizza is AWESOME! So, we parked, and could see a few people waiting by the door, but it looked like people who worked there. We walked towards them, and they were just making sure, outside, that everyone had masks and knew about the house policies and how they operate. We were escorted in by a guy, and he had a tray with our plates, silverware and napkins, and he told us how the house works. They sit us, then we come back and place our order and pay, cash only (but they have an ATM), you get your drinks separately, and they give you a number for the food. Once you are done, you go wait at your table, and they have two huge boards on the right and left walls, and when your number lights up, you go get your food. They have pizzas, as the name suggests, and they also have salads, sandwiches, pasta and some desserts. Now on to the organ part. The seating is actually in a way that everyone is kind of facing the front of the “stage”, and they have a balcony area as well, which is where we were placed. In the center of the stage, there’s a circular organ, with four levels of keyboards, tons of other keys and buttons, which is how the player controls all the mechanical and semi automated instruments all over the building. There are drums, pianos, trumpets, etc. The sounds is so amazing, it’s loud but not too loud, and its sharp, crisp and amazing. It is quite a cool show, with lights as well, and some funny stuff added in between, with puppets and flags. The guy just plays the music, plays the organs and somehow controls all the rest. His seat and organ also spin around, it’s a very cool show to enjoy while you have your food. The music and entertainment value is awesome, Carol and the kids loved it, I did too, it’s very cool. The pizzas were very good, simple, but good. Great crust, light feeling and just tasty. Here’s the score on the pizza… Carol and the kids got a small each and I got a medium. When we were done eating, ALL FOUR plates were empty. WOW! Bella ate the entire pizza for the first time ever. Bia had done it before. But wow. It was fun and the food was great. Bia wanted Ice Cream, so I went with her and got another beer. The guy plays 45 minutes, and takes a 15 minute break. We were there until 8 something, as they closed at 8:30, but I’d say we could have easily stayed another 30 minutes enjoying the beer and ice cream more slowly. Service was really good too. So overall, totally awesome place, and highly recommended for the pizza and the enterteinment. Bia had most of the two scoop ice cream… and started feeling sick just as we left. She had eaten a lot, and had most of the ice cream… no wonder she was feeling sick.
We got back home and started working on showers. Bia felt more sick and ended up puking. She then showered in the trailer while Carol and Bella went to the campground showers. I helped Bia get ready and then had her just sit by the dinette, kind of straight up. Then Carol got back and I went to shower. When I got back, Bia was laying on my side of the bed, which meant I had to sleep in her bed, but ok… at least I know she’ll have a good night of sleep. And that was our day.
We had a great day today, nice hike at an awesome park with great views, then super great dinner with really cool entertainment to top off the night.