4th of July

When we arrived on the 4th of July, the stem wall was much taller than the previous week. 

Also a little garden seemed to be sprouting in front of the "casita," A testament to nature's regeneration.

We were invited to the Stowes (the only full time residents in phase 3) for dinner, so we just had time to set up before we needed to clean up and head over.

Tom and Linda, who bought the home that used to house the phase 3 sales office were there, so we got to meet them for the first time. They hadn't been in residence since March. There were also several area residents, many of whom served on the board of the Yarnell Historical Society. What a great group! We had so much fun! Three of the men, including Don Stowe, wore flag shirts, so Kathleen took a picture of them all waving.

The crew from the Historical Society, including the Stowes, had to get up early because they were in the parade in Prescott the next day, so we left early and went back to camp where we watched great forks of lightening rake the sky. It was better than any fireworks.

We went to bed just as it was beginning to rain and fell asleep listening it drum the canvas above our heads.

The next morning, you couldn't tell it had rained. But the clouds made the dawn so beautiful.

With the collapse of our tent, Gerald bought a sturdier screen room and spent Saturday morning putting it up--and cursing the Chinese for not including directions.

Then we waited for 10 a.m. when a local contractor was supposed to meet us to talk about solar. He never showed up.

Disappointed, we ate lunch and headed for Prescott in the afternoon to meet with a potential framer. We were a little worried when the store he told us to meet him was closed. But he showed up on time.

Afterward, we met some friends for dinner. As we were driving back, not far from our place, a herd of javelina burst out of the brush at the side of the road. There were maybe three adults and two babies. I scrambled for my camera, but by the time I got it out, they were long gone.

It had rained again while we were in Prescott. Fortunately, we had put our chair cushions in the pickup. Unfortunately, we had left the flaps on the pop-ups open, so our bedding was a little soggy, but not enough to prevent a good night's sleep.

The sunset was beautiful. Sadly, it was nearly gone by the time I thought to get the camera. All in all, it was a banner holiday weekend.