Covered Gold Mine

Donna came back Thursday night after spending a week visiting her parents in Bennington, Vermont. Her connecting flight in Chicago was delayed, so she didn’t make here until midnight.

We’re trying to think about what items we’ll need to pack back into the coach when we leave here. This is different – for the last eight years, everything we had was in the coach and cargo trailer. Now we have some things in the coach and most of our stuff here in our park model home at Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort. We haven’t made any firm commitments or real travel plans. We know we want to leave here soon – sometime next week – as hot weather will drive us out of the Valley of the Sun.

We plan to be back here in mid-September. I looked for options to store the coach when we return and the options weren’t too good. There are two nice RV and boat storage yards nearby. One told me there was no chance I could find a spot there in September, the other – 202 RV Valet – where we currently have the coach, said it was possible they would have a space available, but highly doubtful. There are other storage facilities in Apache Junction but most of them are just gravel lots with a chain link fence surrounding it. Not very secure.

We decided to keep our covered space at 202 RV Valet year ’round. That means I’ll be paying $200/month all summer just to ensure we have the space when we return. That’s what most of the people with RVs and boats stored there do. What a gold mine. I think they told me there are 193 covered spaces, about 120 open air spaces and around 80 enclosed climate controlled spaces. All of them are paid for, but currently about half of them are empty.

Covered storage at 202 RV Valet

The facility at 202 RV Valet is modern and secure. It’s surrounded by a tall block wall, has several security cameras and every renter has a unique code to enter the gated entrance. They keep a record of who comes into the yard by their code. We can access the coach 24/7.

Speaking of security, last week I installed a dead bolt on the shed door. When we leave here, I’ll have tools and equipment in the shed and I want to have them there when we return. Now I’m thinking I should install dead bolts on the back door and side entrance to our home as well.

Last Saturday, my middle daughter Jamie and her life partner Francisco visited us and we had dinner here. We didn’t eat out on the deck though. It was hot and breezy so we dined inside. Donna made shrimp kabobs seasoned with tare sauce I made. I added Japanese fried rice to the meal. It was excellent.

Shrimp kabob with Japanese fried rice

We’ve started watching a Netflix series called Midnight Diner. It’s a Japanese TV series about a diner that is only open from midnight to 7am. The characters that come to the diner vary but they are always interesting. There are a few regulars as well. We’re enjoying the series.

The temperature has hit the 90s every day since Donna’s return. The forecast is calling for more of the same for next 10 days. People are getting up early to hit the pickleball courts around 6am to beat the heat. I don’t make it until 7 or 7:30.

Blazing sunset framed by one of the pineapple palms behind our deck

The last cool day we had was last Wednesday when we had a few rain showers and the thermometer only reached 78 degrees. It’s doubtful if we’ll see temperatures that low until late fall. That’s why we plan to head north next week.

Today is Cinco de Mayo – the fifth day of May. That makes it our 15th wedding anniversary. We plan to celebrate with dinner at a Mexican restaurant tonight.

*Just so you know, if you use this link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

7 thoughts on “Covered Gold Mine

    1. Donna Kuper

      Thank you, Diana! We love our new little place, but we don’t love the summer heat here. So off we go!

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