17 Inches of Snow

According to the local news channel we had 17 inches of snow yesterday.

It was 8 degrees this morning...........brrrrrrrrrr!

Our neighbor tried to venture out yesterday and got her van stuck at the bottom of our road. We didn't try to go anywhere.......maybe today.

We are done with snow for now but it is supposed to be cold today and on the weekend. I have a feeling that the masons will not be sawing the concrete today.

Happy New Year to All!

Snow!

It's been snowing since noon time today. It didn't stick right away but it is now. All house project action has stopped due to the snow. Hopefully we will resume on Friday or Monday.

This is a shot of the backyard of the rental house.

Front yard.......

My car........hasn't seen a garage for over a year. We have used garage space for box storage.

Randy just went to the feed store and enjoyed driving in the snow. The birds needed some seed for their feeders. The cats are restless as they have not been outside much today. They don't know what to do in this white, wet stuff.

Concrete Floors

The concrete floors were poured in two days. Downstairs first and then upstairs. Most of the upstairs will be wood floor but they poured the garage, office, greenhouse and laundry/mud room. We were going to have the office and laundry room be stained concrete but changed our minds and now think we will put wood in the office and a tile in the mud room.

The guys went over and over the floors to get them just right. It took many hours.

We are going to leave the concrete downstairs and stain it to finish it. We'll see how we like it. If we don't, we can always put carpet or wood over it.

The downstairs area includes two guest bedrooms, bathroom, exercise room, office nook for me and a storage area.

We are expecting snow today and tomorrow with temperatures in the 30's so we got this done just in time.

On Friday, the guys will put saw cuts into the concrete......makes it look like tile once it is stained and prevents it from cracking.

Mom is safely back in California. We had a great visit and she got to see the house project from the beginning.

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park

Tucked away in a tiny valley surrounded by a forest of pine trees, Tonto Natural Bridge State Park has been in the making for thousands of years. This area is about a 20 minute drive from our house. (Note: You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

One can stand on top of the bridge or hike down below to capture the true size and beauty of this geologic wonder.

The trail is steep and sections have wooden steps. Mom needed a little assistance from Jake but she made it all the way down and all the way back up. Not bad for almost 90!

It is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world.

Water runs all year round and creates a waterfall effect in front of the bridge. There are a number of great looking swimming holes at the bottom.

The bridge stands 183 feet high over a 400-foot long tunnel that measures 150 feet at its widest point. (Note the people in the lower right hand corner for scale.)

Here's Jake......he climbed father into the bridge over some very slimy rocks.

The story goes that the area was discovered by David Gowan, a prospector who stumbled across the bridge in 1877 as he was chased by Apaches. Gowan hid for two nights in a cave inside the bridge. On the third day he left to explore the tunnel and green valley surrounding it. Gowan then claimed squatter's rights. He persuaded his family to come over from Scotland and settle the land permanently. After a week of difficult travel from Flagstaff, they arrived at the edge of the mountain and lowered their possessions down the 500 foot slopes into the valley by ropes and burros.

Photo of water gushing over the rocks below. This place is quite a treasure!

Happy Holidays!

Season's Greetings to you all from the top of the Rim. My mom and son Jake are here for Christmas. We didn't get any snow in Payson but the Rim did at 7000 feet.

It was a beautiful day today.....such a blue sky. This photo proves that we are not living in a desert which is what most people think when you say...."I live in Arizona."

Randy set up his tripod and put the camera on "timer" and ran to get into the shot.

If you are reading the blog.....sign up and be a follower. I really would like to have more than 29 followers, and based on my emails, I know more folks are reading the blog.

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Have a wonderful holiday! We miss all our California friends and family scattered over the U.S. A special greeting to all the kids at Silveira Elementary......I really miss you guys!

Subgrade Plumbing

This is Pat, the plumber getting ready to work.

Here he is working on the grinder.

He had to use a generator for his drill. We still don't have power to our lot.

All the subgrade plumbing is done and Mike can start filling up the ditches.

The masons will be returning sometime next week to pour slabs for the floors. We had rain on Thursday and so we couldn't pour today.

The Grinder

This lovely thing is a grinder. The city building codes require that we put one of these babies in. It's purpose is to grind food and all other waste and pump it into the sewer system. It cost us $6000.

When Mike was digging the hole for the grinder he ran into rock in the last six inches. He had to hook his hydraulic hammer up to his backhoe to break the rock up so that we could complete the sewer system installation.

The grinder is buried but it has a fake fiberglass hollow rock on top that can be removed if the pump needs servicing.

As far as I am concerned this is just one more reason to compost (and avoid the grinder).

Shaping and Rocking the Driveway

Mike, the excavator, has spent the last several days doing some finishing work including shaping and rocking the driveway. Here is a before photo.

We needed several dump truck loads of rock to do the sides of the driveway. Mike used his shovel, but rocks were also moved and placed by hand.

This is the side of the driveway with all of the rock in place.

Here is what the finished driveway looks like. We will be putting a concrete pad in front of the garage and then crushed granite down to the road.

Fireplace is Done

Barry and Jeremy finished the fireplace today. It looks gigantic! We will, of course, put natural stone over the cinder block it in the coming months.

Here's Mike's Dad, George, getting a ride in the bucket with the "Thumper." Hold on, George! George is 77 years young.

They have at least two more days of filling in and packing down dirt. Mike is also going to work on the driveway as well. Concrete floors could happen next week!

A Dirty Day!

Here is a rare photo of excavator, Mike, holding a shovel. He prefers to use his equipment to do everything.

Mike is starting to fill in the areas so that we can pour the floors.

Andy put tar on the block walls for water proofing.

Barry is waiting for fireplace supplies so that he can finish. He'll be working again on Thursday. We hope to be pouring concrete floors early next week.

Payson's Christmas Light Parade

The first Saturday evening in the month of December is reserved for the Light Parade. Judy, our neighbor, was in charge this year. The parade had everything from llamas decked with lights, a serenading cowboy and his guitar, a kazoo and bedpan band (health center entry) to floats from the various businesses in town. (I apologize for our photos as we only had Randy's iPhone.)

The whole town comes out for this festive event. The float below is from Home Depot.

Waste Management even put a float together.

Many entries had music......some live! The Payson High School Band also played Christmas songs.

I thought the Girl Scouts did a great job on this entry.

Denny's was not to be out done by the other businesses in town.

Santa and Mrs. Claus were at the end of the parade in a sleigh drawn by a Shetland pony. The pony kept trying to eat the garland around his neck. Sorry.... we didn't get a good photo of Santa. Santa went to Mo Jo's, a local restaurant, after the parade to have fun with the kids.