Sept 27th to 29th - Mesa

Sept 27^th – Fri

Chief sent a text this morning saying it was only going to be 80 degrees at noon and asked if we still wanted to float the river.  We weren’t too enthusiastic since there were only 5 of us planning to go so after a quick check with Jerry & Becky we decided to cancel.

We went to Big 5 to check out inflatable tubes since we probably will fit in another float trip.  We got 2 tubes with little head rests, water shoes for me and sandals for Terry.  At 3 we went to the courtyard to listen to music.  “Recollections” was 2 guys who seemed kind of corny at first but turned out to be OK with “costume” changes to go along with some songs – think Elvis & Alley Oop the caveman.

Sept 28^th – Sat

We got up early to shop for fruit to make up a platter to take to Jerry & Becky’s “biscuits & gravy” breakfast at 9 this morning.  They got a party wagon and had tables & chairs set up in the unoccupied space next to them.  We all enjoyed vodka & OJ or Bloody Marys before gobbling down the excellent biscuits & gravy.

We inflated our tubes to make sure there were no leaks and joined Gloria in the pool for a while before dinner.  At 7 we went to a dance here in the park.  The band was Exit 40 and the turnout was dismal.  There was a prime rib dinner yesterday with a band for entertainment & dancing so I think there are just not enough people here yet to fill both events.  For once you didn’t have to worry about bumping into people on the dance floor!

Sept 29^th – Sun

We went for another float on the Salt River today.  The company (SR Rec) that rents tubes & runs shuttle buses will close tomorrow as the water level gets too low.  Jerry & Becky and Chief came with us and Al & Linda (owners of the trailer that Terry re-parked) followed.  We went to the park where everyone starts a float right now, unloaded & inflated all our tubes & coolers.  Then Terry & Al drove the truck & car back to SR Rec to park and took the shuttle bus back to the put-in point.  Terry was a little nervous about leaving the truck at the park and it would require a recreation pass which we didn’t have.

We expected the water to be cooler but it was still lovely.  Our new tubes with headrests were wonderful and the little inflatable cooler obediently tagged along with Terry.  We stopped a couple of times to regroup & eat.  Since it was Sunday, there were a lot more people on the river which was fun.

When we reached the take-out spot, we carried everything up the hill and deflated tubes while Terry & Al took the shuttle bus back to the parking lot.  We barely had time to get organized before they returned.  We got back to VVV just after 3.

We were just finishing an early dinner when Bruce & Ann dropped in to return our camera charger and visit a bit.  At 7 we went to Jerry & Becky’s to play Pegs.  For the record, the girls beat the guys 5 to 3.