Mc Dowell Mountain Regional Park, Fountain Hills AZ

Before I go any further I have to wonder about the crazy “Zonies”.  Why do they walk around town with guns strapped to their hips? Who do they think is going to attack? Yes, it is legal here and they LOVE to exercise that legal right. Too much sun I think.

Mc Dowell was a beautiful park.  Fountain Hills is a beautiful city. Our son Garrett and the wonderful woman I will now refer to as my “daughter-in-law, the snake wrangler”, Carrie, live in a beautiful home.  Our visit here was all about spending time with them.  Carrie  is a fabulous cook had us over for a wonderful meal our first night.  The following day they came over to the park and we took a nice easy hike.  Garrett was in the lead watching for snakes and Carrie was like having a tour guide of the Sonoran Desert.  She is a true desert girl and desert lover and very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna. A nice lunch back in the motorhome and they headed  for home while we took care of banking and groceries. 

Carrie is also a business owner so we went to see her new office, drove over to Sheriff Joe’s house (yes, he lives in Fountain Hills), did a bit of sight seeing and landed back at their house.  So now you have to be wondering why I call her the “snake wrangler”.  Some time back a beautiful (non poisonous) snake made it’s way into their house.  One of the dogs is snake trained and had been trying to tell them all day but they just wondered why she was acting so weird. When Garrett came home from work around 1am ( for those that don’t know he is a photo-journalist for NBC in Phoenix) he spotted it laying near the dogs food dish.  It was a good size snake.  He grabbed his camera, woke up his beloved Carrie and the fun began.  While no one is really fond of snakes in the house Garrett takes after his father in that he REALLY isn’t fond of them anywhere much less in the house!  Carrie, in her pj’s, got the pool skimmer and while Garrett had the camera rolling proceeded to wrangle the snake. It was not an easy job and it took a while and there were a number of screams and some jumping on the dining table…but she was successful.  Garrett interviewing her the entire time like the calm  professional that he is.  It was Emmy winning in my opinion.

It was a great visit and it looks like they may hook up with us again at the end of our trip in Lake Havasu and again at Thanksgiving in Borrego Springs.  We can’t wait!

Off to Homolavi Ruins State Park……