After an almost leisurely breakfast at the Best Western in Albuquerque, we stepped outside into the clean, sunny, almost warm 10 degree air and pointed our van westward. We decided to take a route into Gold Canyon that we’d not done before: We left Interstate 40 just before Grants, New Mexico, and headed south through the El Malpais National Monument and Conservation area. What gorgeous scenery! Almost like Sedona. Once again, simple two-lane highway, virtually no traffic, and interesting sights. Quite a bit of climbing on Hwy 60 up to Show Low and Globe, and then down into the valley towards “home”. And by 4:00 we could see the familiar profile of Superstition Mountain, and, as we got closer to Gold Canyon, Dinosaur and Silly Mountain too. An odd feeling of “home”. We stopped at Bashas to pick up some beer and wine to bring to the Bishops for supper, then checked into the Best Western on King’s Ranch Road. We called the Bishops to confirm — we’d be about 15 minutes late for our 5pm supper. I called Sue’s brother Dave for an update about our sunroom issue back home. I’d received a few photos of the project from one of the Krentz guys, who had called Dave to come take a look as well. Now Dave explained what they found and how they had ‘fixed’ the leak. It sounds like everything went better than expected. That’s a relief.

We changed into shorts and sandals, YES, shorts and sandals! Then we drove around the corner, through the security gate, and parked on the driveway of our ‘new’ Gold Canyon home. The Bishops met us at the door — they were very friendly and greeted us warmly. And the place? Well, for all the ‘what-ifs’ and fears and trepidations we’d worried about in the last couple of weeks, the place was perfect. Exactly what it looked like in the photos. And the Bishops made us feel quite at home.

We toured the outside of the house. The Bishops had spent much of the past two weeks painting the outside, 2 coats, hard work — but they had the tans to show for it. And it looks like new. Inside, the extra bedroom closets are empty, ready for visitors. The Sony TV in the living room has Shaw cable hooked up, lots of sports channels including Jets games. Susan was cooking in the kitchen, and ended up barbecuing the chicken because John was too busy showing me around. We enjoyed a delicious supper, visited a bit, discussed plans for the next 5 months. We left just before 8pm — they gave us the keys to the place, and we’re welcome to move in after they leave tomorrow afternoon at around 2:00.

Back in our room at the Best Western, we opened up the balcony door to let in some cooler Arizona air and shared our last Fort Garry beer from home. Fell asleep early. Tomorrow we’ll wile away the morning after a breakfast in the hotel. Maybe we’ll go to the Fruit and Vegetable Market in Apache Junction before going back to the house and moving in.