Munday's the Arizona Roadrunners

Want to wish you all a very Happy Holiday season! Our plans are to share this holiday season with friends Joyce & Dave who are spending time in Scottsdale. Special friend Mary Lou has invited us to join her for Christmas dinner, so looking forward to spending time with her. It is so great having brother John with us so we are not without some family. Wishing you all the best...

The Grand Canyon is about 147 miles from our place here in Cottonwood and because we have had a lot of snow in the mountains around us we thought it would be the perfect time to show off the Grand Canyon to brother John and a work mate of Cyn's - Sheryl. So we all packed up nice and warm and off we went for the day! Roads were fairly clear and the view s were magnificent! Only thing we did not bank on was the 'WIND CHILL' - BURRRRRR

He re is the "Housekeeping Crew"! It has been a lot of fun being here in the Verde Valley this fall. I have enjoyed working with this crew and learning how much goes into keeping up these parks! Now that I know more I'll be keeping my eye on other parks as we travel around. ha! I have one more day of work and then we'll just sort of be hanging out here until after the 1st when we hit the road again.

Always happy to see family, we took advantage of a few days off and drove over (in car only) to see daughter Mary and her family in Las Vegas. We stayed in rental cabin at Thousand Trails which was much more cost effective than driving rig over... wonderful to see them as always. Jason had never been there before so we walked our legs off visiting the various "shows" and hotels. The grandkids loved it and we loved seeing them. This is picture from Sam's Town where they have a waterfall show in afternoon.

Always wonderful to have old friends drop by for a visit! Friends Herbie and Sarah were just up here at Cottonwood when they received our email that we were here in park. Just so happened his sister Kathy and her hubby Steve were here at same time soooo back they came for the day! They look great and it was certainly good to see them again.

Being in this park for several months has been enlightening; and have to add this is not a bad scene to wake up to in the morning! It is a bit of a surprise to see how often these balloons fly early in the morning. This a view right out our front window which is a little unusal but usually see them up on the hill above us... very nice!

Our hope is for all to have a very Happy Thanksgiving! We will be taking a short trip to Las Vegas to visit with daughter Mary and family. They will only be here a few days and we'll be back in Cottonwood on Thanksgiving - late in day.

There is a place called "red rock crossing" just south of Sedona by a few miles on Oak Creek. This is a favorite spot for photographers and artists as evidence of the scenery in galleries in Sedona! Wanted to go see for ourselves so made a special trip over there... very easy walking paths and stunning views! Wow! Who could ask for anything more... This time of year the leaves on the cottonwoods were all yellow so quite pretty. Imagine wildflowers in the spring must be a pretty time too.. There is a path on other side of river but we chose not to take it this time. One of the workers advised there is a hike up above to look down on the area too but didn't make it there this time... always an excuse to go back for more.

Our plan has been to get out once a week or so and do little hike since there are so many wonderful hiking paths in this area! One of the "pickle ball friends" suggested we all go to the Airport mesa in Sedona for a hike around it.. only about a 200' climb so not much elevation change.. We (Jim & Tracy, Oland, Tom and Margey, Earl and I) all hoofed around this mesa with fantastic views of Sedona... Only drawback was that was the 1 day the clouds moved in just at sunset... ugh... no pretty sunset from the mesa but we did have a good hike and found a neat place to take others... We will have to try to get over there another day when the sky is blue!!!

Being bird lovers and enjoying them as we do, we have several feeders hanging about our place... so one sunny morning this poor little gold finch flies smack into our front window and crashes to the ground... can't have that now so of course I ran out to see what could be done. Picked the poor little thing up and held him in the sun until I could see he would probably be okay as long as he stayed warm. I took a warm rag and made a little bed for him in the sunshine and after a while he got up and flew away... hopefully to live out his little life without smacking into any more windows!

Cottonwood is located about 20 miles south of Sedona and "Red Rock Country" here in Arizona... and just north out of Sedona is a stretch called "Oak Creek Canyon"... this is a lovely drive in Spring and fall - Our 1st experience on this canyon with 15 mile an hour hairpin turns was in the motorhome pulling the car! Needless to say, we do NOT recommend this highway to RV's... However, this is a wonderful place for hiking and scenery! Yesterday we drove to the top of the the road to the Overlook then stopped along the way at various spots for 'photo ops'! One of those happen to be Slide Rock State Park. We were warned not to wear a bathing suit here for the rock will tear it up and the water is about 50 degrees... It was so pretty though with the water running over the red rock... loved it...this is just one of the 142 pictures that were taken but gives an idea of who inviting it would look on a very warm day (mid 80's) after hiking...

While here in Cottonwood, we are work-camping for our site. Actually I should say, Cyndy is working for our site. Earl is happy being a "kept man" for a few months. He gets to come and go as he pleases and fraternize with the other folks. They have quite a few activities lined up here now so we are happy. There is weekly cribbage (one of his favorites) and pickle ball and bingo which is always a good time for all... besides getting about and getting to know other folks too. One big surprise was Earl meeting a 3rd cousin - David and Lovey Munday from Calhoun, MO! What a surprise and they are wonderful folks. So glad to have this opportunity to get to know them a little. Had to put in a picture of my work cart... this has a surry on top and is so cute. Runs on elec so has to be plugged in each day but what a kick. Barely makes it up some of the hills here but as Earl says, I could always go backward up the hills - humppp I don't think so

We had noticed some strange scat and were told it was from skunks! Well, we have been full-timing now for 8 + years and never had any skunks that we knew of in our camp... so last night after hearing some strange noises from outside, Earl gets up to look and what does he find but 2 little skunks out under our bird feeder! We had seen signs of digging but no idea what it could be so now we know... didn't scare them enough for them to spray - thank goodness! The one took off immediately under the rig and the other I m anaged to grab this picture but he ran off too ... so cute...

Our drive over from Vegas to Cottonwood was long but fine. Typically we have always taken two days for this trip but this time Early wanted to push it so we did and took turns driving and although it was a long day of driving we did fine. Of course we had to go through the inspection station again at Hoover Dam and then stopped again outside of Kingman for fuel (thankfully at 3.75 a gal for diesel). One of our favorite things about the Thousand Trails park in AZ is all the wonderful birds... yes, our feeders are all out and we do have a few visitors already. Haven't seen this little guy yet but hopefully will before too long. Just love seeing the cardinals - Plans are to start work camping now on 6th until 12/19 so we'll see what happens.. meanwhile getting things set up and checked out here at this preserve. They have a lot of activities planned and quite a number of folks in the park so should be fun..

Las Vegas can be a fun place to visit. John had never been on the "Strip" before so we took him down to a few of the free shows and spent several hours walking around seeing the sights. These casino/hotels are all like tiny cities and require a lot of walking but we don't mind that part of it.. It was warm too so no need for coats or sweaters. ha! Another night we all went down to the Fremont Experience in old downtown Vegas. They have a light show every hour over head that varies and although we have seen it a number of times, this time it was different as we had expected. The best part of Vegas I guess I would have to say for us at least is all the wonderful buffets in town. Went to a seafood buffet on Saturday night at the Fremont that was very good and since then have visited a few others... hard on the waistline but when it's your only big meal for the day it's not too bad and all the walking helps too.

It was so wonderful to see the family again and to spend a little time visiting... all too soon we were back on the road (brother John and us) to Las Vegas for a little R & R before starting work in Cottonwood on October 1st. It is just a temporary position to cover our campsite for 3 months but even so it's nice to have a little break from working. Alex and Katy drove the car back and we each headed back to the land of the sun .... the new bridge over Hoover Dam is not yet completed as you can see from this photo. It does appear to be completed on either end and looks good from either side until you get to the gorge. Wow! This bridge work began shortly after 9/11/2001 and here we are 7 years later and still going.... Of course how do you finish this part? Am sure they can do it but no doubt it is tough. Hey, looking at how high this monster is - I for one have NO desire to ever cross it... am sure Early will feel diffently though. The road is much straighter and if th

The setting was at the Pouquette Homestead (outdoors in a lovely pine forest). This is a very special place for Reisa and easy to see why after arriving and taking a look around. Wonderful ponderosa pine trees and a cute little homestead that has been closed up for some time but wow, beautiful setting although a little rugged. The day was perfect with no threats of thunderstorms so that was truly a blessing. The wedding was not due to begin until 5:00 pm so did a little more decorating in the morning and resting up for the evening party. The wedding was truly lovely and fun. Reisa was a beautiful bride and Roy was very handsome too and they made a lovely couple. It was so great for us to have all 3 boys together at the same time and place! A long time coming and we had a few of our grands there too. Earl III brought both Karl and Amanda so we were able to visit some with them. Afterwards the reception was held at the "Sultana" in town on Main Street. Again, this is

Our ride over from Las Vegas to Williams was different. I rode with John and Bubba while Earl was joined by Katy and Alex. A stop at a Love's travel center outside of Kingman, AZ provided fuel for 3.75 a gallon! Wow! That was GREAT news... can you imagine that being good news... we are sick.. Be that as it may, we were happy and arrived early afternoon in Williams. Our new daughter-in-law is a wonderful girl raised for generations in Williams and is surrounded by her family and friends. We have visited this place before but now we get to see it with new eyes! Her family found a great place for our rigs to park side by side just on the other side of their horse pasture, so we were close to the action... After getting set up we did go into town and over to the Homestead for the rehearsal. Afterwards, helped out some with the decorations and then over to Reisa's family's place for a magnificent supper put on her Dad! He is one great BBQ Chef! Loved it and appreciated their hos

It has been a few years since we have been in good ol' Las Vegas... only thing that seems to keep happening to this town is the building continues on and on.. this place is so spread out and so huge! Nice and warm though... daytime temps running in mid to high 90's and lows in the high 60's to low 70's. Goodness, who would think it could be so warm this late in the year! It is a dry heat though so bearable although you can surely tell the dryness by skin reaction and sinus reaction... everything dries up! ha! I don't really mind just notice each time... did manage to get out to Ethel M's for a tour of her chocolate factory. She is the mother of Mars candy bars and is well known in this area. There is a nice botanical garden there on the premises too so enjoyed seeing how that has grown over the years too. Our stay here again was only 1 night as we were to meet up with son Alex and his friend Katy. They are traveling with us from Las Vegas to Williams, AZ for

Our stay in Reno was very short (overnight only) and then we had a fairly early start (again before 8am) heading south to Las Vegas. Normally this would have taken us several days a least to make this trip but we were on a mission... to get from Washington to Arizona in less than a week for a wedding on the 20th... so here we are zipping along at about 62 south on Highway 95 heading to Las Vegas... again Early and I switching driving seats every couple hundred miles or so.. this gave us all a little break to get out and stretch our legs. This was brother John's maiden voyage with his bird Bubba and he needed the breaks as much as we did or more. ha! The weather was nice and hot so no trouble there. Funny note, Earl and I were just talking about how cars used to heat up in hot weather. Guess that's one improvement they've made over the years that has really been beneficial but probably not noticed by many... Our trip was going along just fine until we arrived in Las Vegas

The Park here at Bend is so nice. Always enjoy our stays here. The weather was warm although this park is at 4000' so cool at night. Lovely setting though... a little later than last year so no sightings of all those frogs we saw last year - ha! It's tough when it's only a 1 night stay but at least we were able to get a bit of a good walk in around the park. Back on the road again and making fair time (from Bend, Or to Reno, NV), switching off the driving so I can get used to it again and Earl gets some relief too... Actually this rig is fairly easy to drive and although large it rolls along nicely. I love the jake brake! Going down a winding hill is not nearly what it used to be in the Bounder. This brake helps your other brake and it's very cool. We traveled a different road south this time and it was much easier. Love these back roads as long as they are paved with a little bit of a shoulder! Went through town of Alturas which we have never done before. Looking a

Although the campground did not officially close until Sept 21st we began covering signs and closed off driving access to the Island and boat launch on the 14th. One of our duties was to cover signs for the winter and lock things up. It has been a very fast 4 months of living here in the National Forest. A great adventure. Making new friends and meeting new people and learning a lot about how things are run out here in the campground world. The 15th we were up early and on the road a little before 8 am and heading south towards Bend, OR. A fairly easy drive although there was detour because the bridge we chose to cross over the Columbia River was closed. The detour did not add to our time unduly though so we went from cool temps in Washington down to very hot temps in Bend! Purchased new house batteries ( 6) before continuing to the Thousand Trails camp south of Bend at Sunriver.

The water is nearly gone from the channel now and the leaves are beginning to change color. Fall is here and the nights are much cooler. Our plans are still to hit the road again on Sept 15 and head south. The boat launch has been dry a few weeks now and although we have heard from others we have a little cinnamon colored bear, we have not seen him ourselves. We have also heard from others there are a flock of wild turkeys but we have not seen them either. The lake is still dropping but not quite as much each day. Not sure how much more they will drop it since growing season should be about over but then it is warmer in Yakima then up in our neck of the woods.

It was such a nice day when Joyce and her cousin Jan came to visit for the day. We showed off our little place and then took a ride up to Salmon la Sac and Cooper Lake. Cooper Lake is a very pretty little Alpine Lake with a walk in campground - very quite and peaceful. Enjoyed their company immensely and do hope next year we can convince Joyce and Dave to come up for a few days camping with us.

This little guy was very cute but oh what a little buggar! He insists on jumping on our little table whenever we sit out for snacks... he really is cute but I don't want him climbing up my leg and he will do tha t if given the opportunity! fun little guys but I am happy to leave them behind when we leave for the winter.

After having the little boys it was their older sisters' turn to come for a few days camping. These girls are really growing but we loved having them both. They too helped with chores and ran around climbing tree s and rummaging through the meadow looking for some sort of critter. They wanted to catch a squirrel so bad and bring him home. We knew their parents would flip besides it being dangerous handling wild animals (even little squirrels) - they were too much... what a ball we all had though and we were so glad they came for the few days.

Finally after months of waiting our little grandson Micah came to visit for a few days with his cousin. We loved having the boys. They helped us with chores and played down by the lake and generally ran around and just had a good time being little boys. We roasted hot dogs and they climbed trees and rocks and played kickball and ran after each other...

One of the many project is to keep the tables in shape by either grinding out the damaged spots or replacing boards... this is a lot of work since these boards are 3" thick and long. They have to be specially treated and as you can see by this picture the boards do get worn down with time. Earl helped put a few new ones together for Wish Poosh and hopefully next year we will be able to get a few more done. A lot depends on the weather for curing the sealent.

Lake Cle Elum was created as an irrigation dam for the farmer in the Yakima Valley. It is one of 3 lakes... before this lake it was just a river. Now, and we do not know when this dam was made, however the process now is to allow the lake to "fill up" with snow melt in the spring and then gradually release the water for the farmers in the Yakima Valley. There are actually 3 lakes intended for this purpose however we have learned that Lake Kachess is not releasing water any more as more people have built docks on the lake and our guess is they are fighting the irrigation thing. Anyway, our lake filled up later than normal this year about 2 weeks due to the heavy snow pack and the high water was around July 2nd... no sooner had the lake filled (10 mile long lake) they started letting out about 2 feet a day (a lot of water considering the lake is 10 miles long)... The water fills in the channel and goes up a stream which is what is reflected in this picture. This picture wa

Had to share a picture of Nicky! She belongs to our Managers however since they live in our park at Wish Poosh we see her almost daily. No one greets you with as much enthusiasm as Nicky. Her whole body shakes when she gets excited and thinks she is going to get a cookie or a pat from Earl and Cyndy... She has been great fun ...

It is always nice to have visitors especially family and friend... We have had many this past month including sister-in-law Therese and the girls along with the newest addition to the family Hamilton! They only stayed a few hours but it was wonderful to see them as always. It hardly seems possible but last we had seen them was in Yellowstone a few years ago.

This summer has been quite an experience for us Campground Hosting. We are employed by a branch of Thousand Trails called TTMSI (Thousand Trails Management Services Inc.) who contracts with the National Forest service. As hosts we are given our site for the season along with full hookups (sort of) and as consessionairs we are earning min wage (State of Wa highest in Nation).. anyway because we do earn a stipend we also have more duties than just greeting guests and keeping campground need and tidy... We also have to stock and clean restrooms, are responsible to be sure all fees are paid appropriately and have weekly meetings with our employer... we report any mishaps and do light maintenence on grounds (blowing streets clean, weed wacking along roadways to keep fire danger down... trim branches that overhang drive ways and roads also to keep fire danger down when they get whacked at and dried... We have 3 restrooms in our campground with another out at the boat launch site and one o

Here is a doe who came visiting one day. It is always great to have a deer come out of the woods for a little visit. She didn't stay long.. sort of took a look at our site then walked up the street and nibbled on something green and then vanished.. we have heard by a few others there is a new fawn in the campground but have not seen it yet. Hopefully we will but know they stay hidden most of the time.

Ever since we have been here at Wish Poosh we have heard about how the water in our lake is temporary. You see, it is a reservoir to be used as irrigation water for the Yakima valley and it's orchards and vineyards (which have steadily grown over the years)... Our water did reach our road from campground to our picnic area leading out to the boat launch. It took about 6 weeks for the snow to melt to fill our 10 mile lake but now it is going down much faster! They are dropping the lake about a foot a day so expect it won't be too much longer before we are able to access our island again by foot! The down part is all the mosquitos the water has helped to generate but we are hopeful that now the water is going down the mosquitos will go away too. The boaters are out in force on the weekends trying to take advantage of boat launch while they can. Guess the lake is still here which is a little longer than normal. Don't expect it will last too much longer but fortunatel

Isn't he a pretty little guy? Love the birds and we have not had as many as we had hoped although we have had a few different ones including a flock of these evening grosbeak's. This is daddy of course as he is much more colorful than mama.. ha! This campground hosting has afforded us a wonderful opportunity to see many phases of wildflowers, birds and other wild growing things... besides the different people! We have loved it all and worked much harder than we had initially thought we would but what is not to like... hum.. let me see... the variety of ants, little mice that want to come in and share our home and the little biting mosquitos! Just to name a few.. however, those seem to be few and mild compared to all the wonders we have experienced!

We were happy to have Scarlett and Kenny visit us one weekend. They made a day of day hiking and seeing the area before coming to stop at our place for the night. Always wonderful to see our children!

No, we do not know this person... we were only interested in this beautiful fish! He was caught in our lake Cle Elum by this guy at about 130 ft. Quite a lake trout and what most people are looking for that fish from this lake. There are other fish as well but these lake trout are the ones most people want. We have heard of larger and smaller but were just lucky to be at the boat dock when he came in and was happy to let us take a pic!

Here is a picture of Earl on road leading to our island. It is mostly covered with water now and fun to watch as water is rising daily. Really see the impact as it is getting closer to the main road...

Was thrilled the other day to be out at the boat launch and see this wonderful bird flying so close to our shore! He was in the bay between our road and picnic island and we just happen to see him. A 1st for us here... We have been told the nest on other side of lake so feel fortunate to have seen him at all .... If you double click on picture to see enlarged you will see dam at other side of lake... we took a ride over to see dam but due to "high security" we were not allowed to tour... was okay by me since it was very windy and cold that day anyway.. ha!

Here it is Father's Day weekend and finally a few campers! ha! We have had a very slow week figure it is due to bad weather. Very cold with snow on the pass at 3000'! Hey, what is with that? but then when you consider what the rest of the country is facing and earthquakes in Japan and China, I'll take the little bit of snow we had and wind for that matter! This weekend has been worth it all. Very, very pretty with sun shining in all it's glory and the water on the lake sparkling like a zillion diamonds and the smiles and laughs on the people's faces make it all worthwhile. We had a glorious Saturday and expect today to be just as nice. This really is a very pretty place and I LOVE my yard as Earl is tired of hearing me say... ha! The strange and wonderful wildflowers, birds of different sorts and heard the wild turkeys are starting to come into camp now too. We have not seen them yet but one camper did and told us about it so we are hoping to see them soon. I can

It has been a few weeks now and have to say yes, things are getting better. A little better all the time. Ha! We now have things up and running and a few weeks under our belt. This campground hosting is great. Earl finally had a dry enough day to climb up on a ladder and clean off the roof tops of the restrooms and blow more debris from the roadway. Just in time too, the rain began late last night! We are finding we are getting beautiful sunny days and some wind on occasion but overall the weather has been pretty good. Our tired and weary bones are getting in shape and we are getting our routine set. There have been a few instances that are unpleasant but then something really good happens and makes it all more than worthwhile. Like having super nice campers that leave their spot clean and neat and are polite. Most folks are polite and neat so that is a plus too. Only a few that insist on doing strange and bad things like finding the largest log they possibly can find and haul over to

Isn't our little cart cute? We even have a trailer we sometimes use. Here is picture of elk out on Picnic Island. This meadow gets covered with water once it rises all the way - suspect this is last time we see elk this year but we never know..

We have made it through our 1st weekend and are looking forward to a day off… It has been a very interesting experience. Happy to say we had a good group - Campers arrived early Friday (the day we opened) and we had about 50% usage. Saturday we had a larger percentage of campers along with very warm weather! A lot of boaters. A nice surprise visit from Cyn’s brother Mark and his son Jim and his friend Teresa. They took advantage of the boat launch and took the kayak out into this very pretty lake that just happens to be rising very quickly. Our day begins early with checking things over 1st thing. We are responsible for the cleanliness of the campsites and bathrooms besides the roads and boat ramp area and picnic island. Our bodies are rebelling some what due to the work out they have been getting but we are so glad to have this opportunity. It has been a bit quite since we don’t have cell phone service but we’ll get a system worked out I’m sure. Had satellite installed on Frida

Our 1st days at Wish Poosh have been busy and exciting. Yes, there is still a few spots with some snow and yes, we are all hooked up for the summer season! Our 1st day we spent mostly setting up and meeting the folks we will be working with while here. Took a walk out to the island picnic area that will eventually be a real island (once all the water fills in) and saw 8 elk so that was very exciting. The water is still quite low so imagine the next few weeks will be fun to watch as the lake fills up. Our 2nd day here we awoke to “TIMBER” as the forest service contracts out to a logging company to take down the dead or hazardous trees. It was advised we stay close to home as they knew where we were that way and we were probably SAFER that way. Ha! Our bird feeders are out and after much buzzing around we finally saw a little hummer land on the feeder. Since we just put the feeder out a few hours before we feel that is a good sign. They have piliated woodpeckers here and no ste

How wonderful to be with my two girls on Mother's Day! They are both very special ladies and I'm so pleased we were able to spend the day together! Mary's life is taking a big turn as her husband Jason will soon be taking over as Pastor of their church. Scarlett is doing great and getting ready for a move into a new condo here on the west side of the mountains.

It's all over now! Here we are with shorter hair and ready for the warm weather.. ha! It was an interesting year plus a few months for me since I grew up with long hair as a younger person but now that I am older I really don't care for it anymore. I can tell you it was like taking a great weight off my shoulders with that cut from the hair operator!

It was a long year but we finally did it and now those long tresses are gone - gone to Locks of Love! Granddaughter Bekah and I grew our hair to at least the 10" required and we are happy to say it is now over and we can both enjoy our shorter hair!

It is customary for the Kindergarten class to go to Whitby Island for a day's outing to learn about sea life and play. This year I was able to join the class in their exploration and we were honored to have a few guys there from NOAA. They took a net in the breakers and came out with all sorts of sea life like a few dungeness crab, little shrimp, bottom fish, and flat fish to name a few. The children loved it.. it was so cold and windy though which put a damper on the day but of course once inside and toasty warm we can say we did have fun!

It is always good to see good friends and to share a meal... Joyce was a gracious hostess as always and dinner was fun as always too..