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……
