Have you enjoyed dessert in the desert lately? I have and that is this week’s Sunday Stills theme, “dessert or desert.” Pick one or the other or enjoy dessert in the desert like we did!
I had thought of this theme before we embarked on the road trip but hadn’t assigned a date to it yet. It worked out for me to share the rest of our road trip since most of July was spent in the deserts of Arizona and Nevada.
Disclaimer—this may be a wordy post as I share experiences about the rest of our road trip. I won’t be offended if you just want to look at the pretty pics and comment on them 😊
I hadn’t mentioned last week that we also visited my other brother’s home in the San Diego area. He and his gaggle of girls (5 adopted daughters) and my beautiful sis-in-law benefitted from the sale of our family home in 2020, and they secured a new-to-them home. A huge space for their wonderful family.
July Itinerary
We spent June 20-July 4 in Northern and Southern California.
- July 5 depart San Diego; arrive in Prescott, Arizona (6 hours).
- July 5-7 Prescott with Marsha
- July 7-10 depart Prescott; arrive in Fountain Hills, Arizona to stay with my brother
- July 11 back to San Diego for a quick overnight
- July 12 depart San Diego; arrive back to Sacramento Delta, 2 nights camping in RV
- July 14 depart delta and drive to Verdi (Reno) Nevada (3.5 hours)
- July 14-18 KOA Verdi, Nevada. Camped in KOA campground (with AC!). Stayed here to visit with my dad to celebrate his 86th birthday with family in Reno
- July 18 depart Reno area, arrive in Emmett (Boise) Idaho. (7.5 hours and time change) 2 overnights here
- July 20 depart Emmett, Idaho, and drove HOME! (8 hours)
This map may give you an idea of our destinations.
Off to Sunny Arizona
After a week in San Diego, we drove 6 hours to Prescott, Arizona, home to my good friend, Marsha, and her husband.
Honestly, we were giddy with excitement to hang out with fellow retirees and enjoy the company of seasoned adults! Vince and Marsha’s hospitality knows no bounds. To help accommodate our dogs, they had us stay in Vince’s sister’s condo. We had our own space, which was delightful and so unexpected. Oh, and the air conditioning was top-notch!
They treated us to wonderful meals, like homemade Reuben sandwiches upon our arrival, and lovely dinners in the cute downtown area of Prescott. We spent Wednesday at Watson Lake playing on paddleboards described in this post!
On Thursday, Marsha and Vince traveled with us to the Scottsdale area, about a 2-hour drive from Prescott. We had made plans to meet up for lunch with three other bloggers (more about that next week). We also took a quick tour of Vince and Marsha’s lovely AirB&B condo. Then it was off to Fountain Hills, a few minutes northeast, where my brother and partner live.
We spent four days at my brother’s house. They purchased this home in August 2020 during the pandemic, so we had not been here yet.
My brother-in-law is Mr. Hospitality. After all, his degree was in marketing, and he’s spent almost 20 years in the business. Not only is their house amazing, but he prepared delectable meals and desserts. Marsha shared some of their home photos in this post.
Not only that but he also scheduled an in-home masseuse to give all four of us massages, and Sunday, their yoga instructor came to the home as we enjoyed sunrise yoga overlooking the desert.
Did you know that, although Arizona is not the official “sunshine state,” (Florida gets that distinction), Yuma is the sunniest place in America? Not surprising!
“And may sunshine and happiness surround you when you’re far from home.” -Rod Stewart
On the Road Again
On Monday, July 11th we said our goodbyes and drove back to San Diego to spend a quick night, then left early Tuesday to drive back to the Sacramento delta to camp in the RV for two nights before heading to Reno for my dad’s birthday celebration. Whew! After the oppressive heat earlier in Arizona, the delta was wonderfully windy and cool. Hans got in some windsurfing, and we spent our last night having a wonderful BBQ with friends before we said farewell.
From the Sacramento Delta to Reno, Nevada was about a three-hour drive. We drove through the North Lake Tahoe area, passing Donner Lake, and checked into the Boomtown KOA in Verdi. Reno is in the high desert of the Eastern Sierra Nevadas and yep, it was hot! Guess what, our RV’s A/C worked amazingly well! Relief!!
Family Celebration with Dessert in Reno’s High Desert
This entire road trip was calculated to be able to celebrate my dad’s 86th birthday on July 15th, which was the climax of the entire road-trip experience. As dad ages, none of us know when we might see him again. None of us live close to him any longer, but it is easier for us to travel to him in most cases. For this occasion, my brother organized the event at the hotel in Reno. My dad and step-mom had only to drive 2 hours to Reno from their home near Auburn, California.
Dad was so touched and surprised to find his kids and grandkids waiting for him when they arrived Friday afternoon at the hotel.
We cherished every moment we could spend with dad and the rest of the family! We spent four nights in the Reno area and left early Monday morning bound for Boise, Idaho.
The Long and Windy Road to Boise, Idaho
We got a nice start and were excited to travel further east on Hwy 80, where neither of us had driven before. Forty miles south of Winnemucca, Nevada, Hans asked me to look out the passenger window at the RV tires, which I could not see. He pulled over and sure enough, a flat tire on the trailer. Groan. He fixed it on the side of the freeway.
Apparently, it is not a Schrandt signature road trip without a flat tire.
We grabbed another spare at good ‘ole Les Schwab tires (I highly recommend them) and they got us back on the road in 45 minutes!! Just like the TV commercials!
After leaving Winnemucca, we drove northbound on Hwy 95 into Eastern Oregon and then into the Boise area. I was struck by just how much Boise looks like Sacramento. A wide agricultural valley surrounded by mountains. Our brother-in-law Vince and his wife, Teri (confused yet with these names?) hosted us in their amazing house on their 5-acre property. We were simply going to camp in their driveway, but they insisted their guest room would be perfect…and it was! Once again, hot weather was on tap and we enjoyed the AC in their home for two nights.
I was touched by their heartfelt hospitality, and we had a blast getting to know them better. Sure, we see them on family holidays when they travel to Spokane to be with the other 40 family members, so this was a real treat to spend quality time with them! Speaking of treats, how about dessert for breakfast with her homemade waffles and syrup?
All Roads Lead to Home
All good things must come to an end, as they say, and we wearily drove from Boise back to our home in 8 hours! We came home to heat (of course) and managed to unload everything. Then we had to water the trees and backyard lawn. I wanted to kiss the ground, but oh, the weeds!
That’s for another story.
Inspiring Photo Challenges
Each week I am inspired by my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I find it fun to incorporate these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.
- Hammad’s Weekend Sky desert sky images
- Johnbo’s CellPic Sunday
- Marsha’s Writers Quotes Wednesday: Sun and writer’s choice desert’s endless sunshine
- Whatsoever is Lovely
This Week’s Featured Bloggers
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared photos of deserts and desserts. I add these all week as new links are posted. Thank you to everyone who consistently links to Sunday Stills each week!
- YOUR BLOG’S NAME HERE!
- Always Write
- Calling All Rush Babes
- Cee’s Photo Challenges
- Equipoise Life Image shared in comments
- Geriatrix Fotogallery
- Graham’s Island
- Heaven’s Sunshine
- Hugh’s Views and News Image shared in comments
- Loving Life
- Natalie the Explorer
- One Million Photographs
- Now At Home
- Philosophy Through Photography
- This is Another Story
- Wide Eyed Wonderings
- Wind Kisses
- Woolly Muses
- Working On Exploring
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
Sunday Stills weekly challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.
- Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
- Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
- Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
- Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
- Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
- I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.
Next week, we’ll start off August with the theme of “Summer.” What does summer mean to you? Here I will share more about our blogger meet-ups! Stay tuned!
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