August 13 -- In Tucson and Supplies for Rural Living

I'm staying with my sister-in-law Barbara and her daughter Rachel in Rachel's small apartment here in Tucson; my brother Richard is back in Sierra Vista, where he's a civilian lawyer working on the Fort Huachua army base. My main reason for stopping at Tucson, on the way "home" to Portal (172 miles, or about 3 hours' drive from Tucson) was to spend time with them, and stock up on groceries and refrigerated items to bring to "Faranuf". The temperature has been HOT here -- it's only gotten down to about 85 degress at best at night, and averaging about 105-plus during the day. Thunderheads are a common sight; here's one I captured with my Canon 7D landscape lens while coming into Tucson on Wednesday --

It's been a pretty wet monsoon season both, here and in Portal. A friend and neighbor in Portal said the landscape is incredibly green - and she's been living there since 2002. On the way to Tucson Wednesday, the scenery along Northshore Road, along the north shore of Lake Mead, was spectacular with clouds and color -- 

So...yesterday the 13th was spent mostly at Costco, where Barbara and I went on a "shopping spree". I bought a lot of bulk groceries -- mayo, mustard, salad dressing/marinade, Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix (well, we all have our guilty pleasures), chicken breasts and thighs, prime quality small steaks, pork medallions for my indoor grill... the list goes on. So we end up at the checkout counter and give them my Costco card, and the checkout girl said my membership number has been changed, and I can "go right around the corner" at the entrance to get a new one; meanwhile, she plugs the new number in. So Barbara and I take out VERY loaded carts to membership services, and the guy at the desk gives me a new card. But....WAIT a minute...I'm NOT an "Executive Member" - and my name isn't spelled "Stephan". So I show them -- and they're puzzled. Don't I live on -- and said an address I've never heard of. "Isn't your telephone number..." and say a phone number that isn't mine. Long story short -- but someone else has been paying for my membership all these years, and my membership was combined with his. After about 20 minutes, we finally get things straightened out, and I decide to upgrade to "Executive Member" as I get money back -- and I'm able to apply that day's transaction to my new card. All's well that...yadda yadda yadda. Once we get back to the apartment, Barbara stuffs all my refrigerated items into her fridge, and I'll be getting block ice for the cooler tomorrow for the trip to Faranuf. There are still a few items I need to get today, probably at Home Depot -- wasp spray (my friend Helen says there's a particularly "pissy" wasp nest in my outside utility box) and a gas can for gas for my weed whacker. Tonight it will be dinner with good friends at a local restaurant (well, the ONLY local restaurant), a I brought a few bottles of Malbec wine for the occasion. I'll probably be spending the next few days unloading stuff from Tundra Dos (my name for the 2nd Tundra) -- and hopefully not encountering any rattlesnakes...