New Laptop, New Problems, Possible Solutions…

After having issues with my Open Live Writer Application I resorted to using Google Blogger's service to publish the last two blogs. I did so because for some reason my photos quit showing up in Open Live writer once published.

We weren’t doing much more here in Mesa Arizona that I had already mentioned so I paused blogging because of the issues with Open Live writer and I also was having issues with my laptop keyboard. The space bar would work intermittently making it a pain to pen a new blog.

Then a few days later my laptops screen started acting up until one day I opened it up and the screen was a scramble of lit up pixels and nothing was discernable. Well, that meant it was time to buy a new laptop. Fortunately for me Best Buy had one that suited my needs for a 50% discounted price.

Now all I had to do was get everything off my old laptop’s hard drive. I took the back cover off to get to the hard drive so I could remove it and read it with a cable adapter I own that reads older hard drives. However, little did I know that this hard drive was the type that is hard waited to the motherboard. This SSD hard drive is nothing more than a small circuit board.

With a little research I found a device at Amazon designed to read such drives. For less than twenty dollars I was able to read the drive and retrieve all my files. Now all I had to do was install all my software on the new laptop.

However as we all know those of us he have dealt with Open Live Writer and new laptops know how tricky it is to get Open Live Writer installed and working as we want. Well, my new laptop is configured now and this will be a test post to see how it works.

NOTE: Adding this Java script:to the template for Open Live Writer forces a page refresh that loads the image. Not a perfect solution but one that works.

<script type="text/javascript">
//Get all the doc img
var imgs=document.getElementsByTagName('img');
//Defines
const srcA='drive.google.com/uc?id=';
const srcB='drive.usercontent.google.com/download?id=';
const srcBRemove='&authuser=0';
const targ='drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=';
const suf='&sz=w200';
function reWriteIMG()
{
//loop though the img if it contains the index of the string to replace
for (var i= 0; i < imgs.length; i++)
  {
  if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcA) > -1 )
     {
     imgs[i].src=imgs[i].src.replace(srcA, targ) + suf;
     }
  else
     {
     if (imgs[i].src.indexOf(srcB) > -1 )
        {
        tmp = imgs[i].src.replace(srcBRemove, '');
        tmp = tmp.replace(srcB, targ) + suf;
        imgs[i].src = tmp;
        }    
     }
   }
}
setTimeout(reWriteIMG, 5000);
</script>

Granite Reef Recreational Area, AZ

 

Near our park is another wonderful stunning natural landscape located in the Tonto National Forest in Arizona. A mere 15minute drive from our park we find ourselves in the Granite Reef Recreational Area. 

The area is best known for its access to the Salt River, where we often see people picnicking, kayaking, or fishing. The river is always flowing giving us an ideal place to escape our citified enclave or the Arizona heat.

We generally bird/hike one of the several trails within the park most often choosing the riverside ones..Across the river from Granite Reef Rec Area is the beautiful Red Mountain along with breathtaking views of other surrounding mountains.The river reflections of these mountains are also stunning. We love to visit after colder weather blows through as we can take pictures of the mountains with snow atop them.

The park is also a gateway to some nice desert hiking. We have hiked several of the trails near this area amongst the saguaros and other cacti typical of the Sonoran desert.

Birding the area means you will see various birds typical of riparian zones, deserts and open water. Ducks are always abundant on Salt River and near the dam which  can be accessed from one of the trails. This is a great spot for taking in nature and enjoying the great Arizona outdoors.

Some things we see and do here...

 

Rather than post some stories about our routine winter life here inMesa AZ I think I’ll post pictures with small stories about interesting and unique things we have seen and or done during our stay. Expect anything from seeing photos of birds, critters, scenery, dancing events and anything else we found fun, interesting or quirky.

I’ll start with a few bird pictures. The first is of a Cooper’s Hawk who we saw simply chilling in a stream at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve. This super chill bird simply sat in the water for at least 10 minutes while we watched and clicked photos. It wasn’t bathing or splashing at all. It was just chilling… and maybe wondering why we watching it.

Another day we were at the preserve and a rare bird had been sighted at the preserve. We were luckily enough to see it one afternoon. The bird, called the Streaked-backed Oriole, is a rare stray from Mexico. It sure was fun seeing this colorful rarity in the winter.

When we hike in the Riparian Park we see these spotted ground squirrels who are often digging for tasty morsels. They are not bothered at all by the people walking by.

Every weekday we don our workout clothes and head over to the fitness room at Towerpoint Resort. Our RV park has a nice gym with nearly everything we need. Even better is the view of our resort's pool while working out. As we rest between sets we use this view to relax our minds while also burning calories.

One of the best things about wintering in the state of Arizona are the spectacular sunsets and sunrises. This morning sunrise greeting us one day and started off our day in a grand fashion.

The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert AZ

Vermillion Flycatcher

The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch is a 110-acre wetland and wildlife sanctuary in Gilbert, Arizona made solely by utilization of recycled effluent water. Seventy acres are part of  the seven water recharge basins which are filled on a rotating basis with most of this water allowed to percolate back into the aquifer for future use.

Coopers Hawk

With over 4.5 miles of trails in this preserve and nearly 300 species of birds which have been identified there, it has become our favorite hiking and birding site. We visit this park at least once a week during our winter stay in the greater Phoenix area.

Spotted Ground Squirrel

You never know what you will see at the preserve. Since we are close to Mexico it is not uncommon to see species of birds known to Mexico who wander across the border to this park.This year we were lucky to see a Streak-backed Oriole. The bird is a rare stray into the desert Southwest and has been historically spotted  in Arizona and southern California.

Lesser Goldfinch

With the preserve being close to the cool little incorporated town of Gilbert AZ we often finish up the day with a visit to the entertainment district in its downtown area. There is a big selection of fun happy hours to choose from.

Verdin

Our favorite still is Joyride Taco House. Their 3-5 happy hour offers $6 32oz beers as well as $6 margaritas and house wines (until 6pm). Even better a basket of hot chips and salsa is served to everyone for free. Finishing the evening with 2 or 3 of the street tacos at $2.50 apiece makes for not only an inexpensive dinner but a great night out on the town. Joyride is always an energetic, happy place to be.

Starting a New Year in a Familiar Place…

We certainly enjoyed our brief stay in Tucson Arizona but it became time to go. If Tucson wasn't a little bit cooler in the winter than Mesa I could see us staying there for the season. However those extra 5° of temperature on the cold side keeps us away.

We arrived in Mesa earlier than expected and as a result we had to go to a different site. Someone was in the one we had reserved starting January 1st. Since we arrived December 22nd we picked a site across the street from the one we had reserved.

It was a bit tricky getting in since it was beside a park model but we made it in just fine. The office gave us the option to stay there instead of moving. However, after setting up we quickly decided that we would probably move over to our other spot on January 1st since this was too close to the park model on our driver's side.

It didn't take us long to get settled into our Mesa routine for the winter months. We started taking our strolls and hiking in some of our favorite places as well as visiting our favorite happy hour spots.

Sharon and I also began visiting the gym every morning to get in a good workout. Evenings we attend the live music provided by the park now 6 days a week.

On January 1st we moved over to our reserved site right after the people there moved on to Yuma Arizona. We are happy to start the new year and look forward to having fun in our winter destination