News From Other Places

WASHINGTON STATE ROCK SHADOWS GET TOGETHER

First time get together for all Washington residents of Rock Shadows and their family and friends. Save this date, August 1, Saturday, NOON. Please RSVP to Patti Strickland, 8705 Steamboat Island Road NW, Olympia, WA. 98502, or call 360-239-7180. You may also contact Warren and Darlene Holzapfel, 40632 N US HWY 101, Lilliwaup, WA. 98555, or call 360-877-9333. We need a head count, meat will be furnished, need you to bring salads or side dishes. We will be collecting $5.00 from each person to cover the cost of the meat and other items. Location will be at the Strickland address. Please send her your address, she will then be able to send you directions and other needed information regarding August 1st. See you there. We are hoping for a good turn-out this first time.

Phoenix Reality

Only someone from the Phoenix area would understand and the really funny thing is, that a lot of this is so true!

1. 'Phoenix' actually consists of Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, Tolleson, Avondale, Goodyear,
Litchfield Park, Sun City, Sun City West, Sun City Grand, Sun Lakes, Surprise, Laveen, Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, and
half of the Mexican border.

2. The morning rush hour is from 4:00 am to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 9:00 PM.
Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.

3. The minimum acceptable speed on most freeways is 85 mph. On Loop 101, your speed is expected to match the highway number.
Anything less is considered 'Wussy'.

4. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Phoenix has its own version of traffic rules. For example, cars/trucks with the loudest mufflers go first at a four-way stop; the trucks with the biggest tires go second. However, in the East Valley, SUV-driving,
cell phone-talking moms ALWAYS have the right of way.

5. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear ended.

6. Never honk at anyone. Ever. Seriously. It's an offense that can get you shot.

7. Road construction is permanent in Phoenix. Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day's driving a bit more exciting.

8. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, dogs, barrels, cones, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, rabbits, vultures, javelinas, roadrunners, and the coyotes feeding on any of these items..

9. Maricopa Freeway, Papago Freeway and the 'I-10' are the same road. SR202 is the same road as The Red Mountain FWY.
Dunlap and Olive are the same street too. Northern and Shea are the same street. Also Glendale Ave.. becomes Lincoln Drive.
Jefferson becomes Washington, but they are not the same street. I-17 is also called The Black Canyon Freeway as well as The Veterans Memorial Highway. The Superstition is also known as US 60. The 101, 202 and 303 remain a large mystery to most of us.
It is not yet determined if there is a Red Mountain and a San Tan or just a Red/Tan Mountain. The SR51 has recently been renamed to Piestewa Freeway because Squaw Peak Parkway was too easy to pronounce. SR101 is also the Pima FWY except west of I-17, which is also The Black Canyon FWY, and The Veterans Memorial HWY. Lastly, Thunderbird Rd. becomes Cactus Rd. -- but,
Cactus Rd. doesn't become Thunderbird Rd. because it dead ends at a mountain.

10. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been
'accidentally activated.'

11. If you are in the left lane and only driving 70 in a 55-65 mph zone, you are considered a road hazard and will be 'flipped off' accordingly. If you return the flip, you'll be shot.

12. For summer driving, it is advisable to wear potholders on your hands.

13. Please note that there are many, MANY more issues to the phenomenon of driving in Phoenix-- like the
4-cars-through-a-red-light rule -- but these will at least get you acquainted with our unique life on the road.

News from Prescott Valley

It has been a cool cloudy week here in the Prescott area but no rain. The temps have only gotten to the low 70s. Not much new to write about in our domain. I did not receive much from other places around North America.
The price of gasoline at Costco in Prescott is $2.21.

This is getting old. Well, they did it again Sunday evening. The D-backs were playing the San Diego Padres and were ahead 6 to 1 in to the bottom of the ninth inning. The Padres had two outs and then got five runs to tie the game 6 to 6. The game went another nine innings for a total of 18 innings when the D-backs got a home run with two on and finally won the game 9 to 6. How can the bullpen allow five runs in the bottom of the ninth then go nine innings with a no hitter? Go figure.

The Diamondbacks have now won 26 games and lost 35 games for a .426 average. They are now fourteen games out of first place and in last place in the National League West.  

Send me news from your home area. Send all news to Chuck.  Just click on Chuck or send to chuck@rockcomp.org. When you include pictures send them as an attachment rather than inserting them in the body of the message. It makes life much easier for me.

Chuck