No photos to commemorate our arrival in the new park today, because they seem to be having a dust storm and visibility is bad. I might have a picture from the road to illustrate. Once we got parked, we got comfortable and decided to just hang out inside until it all passes. Tomorrow promises to be nice.

I’m sure the wide open night sky will burst alive with stars and sunsets will look like God’s paintbrush colored them magnificently. We are surrounded by mountain ranges, but none as close as Picacho was. The neatest looking town on the map of the surrounding area is called The Foothills. Stores, restaurants, and medical facilities can all be located here. Wellton,-where we are currently staying- is a small town outside the resort, and then Yuma is about 30 miles from here. About the same as Tucson from where we were in Picacho.

I was advised by Julie and Wes (my friends in Ft Worth) to get a date shake in Dateland on our way here, so we stopped and I got a chocolate date shake. Super yummy and sweet, with chewy bits of dates. Muy delicioso! I don’t like dates alone, but in other things, they are sweet and delicious. When I followed a Paleo diet, I used to use them as sweetener in lots of dishes.

The taste and mouth feel was more like a malt. Next time, I’ll try pineapple, I bet it’s really good with the dates.

Our site is very sandy, so add in the wild wind today and you’ll understand us wanting to keep the windows closed for now. Plus it’s chilly and when the sun goes down, it’s going to get downright cold! I’m looking forward to exploring as soon as it’s nice. The welcome was warm and helpful, Dave was escorted to his site after Gail, the manager, checked us in and told us about all the fun activities. She said it’s a very fun group here and invited me to join their Facebook group.

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Bloganuary prompt.

Who is your favorite author and why?

My favorite author is and always has been Stephen King, yet I have not read his books in a long time, until lately. About a month ago, I downloaded Billy Summers by Stephen King to my Libby app and I’ve had to recheck it out once already. They think you have all the time in the world to read! I only read at night before bed. I can’t finish a book in 2 weeks.

Anyway, I started reading King when I was young…in my teens, the first being the best; The Shining. I read everything I could get my hands on after that, but The Stand was by far the hardest one to get into and stick with, but it paid off. It was an epic novel, one of his best in my opinion. I love Stephen King because of his wit and humor, and his ability to scare the heck out of you and inject a heft dose of humor as well. I have my periods of reading his books for months and then I switch around and read other favorites. King just keeps cranking them out though, and I’ve been a loyal fan all these years. Currently, Fairytail is his top book -I think Billy Summers was written just prior to that. It isn’t scary, it’s just a good story. Like all good mysteries, he keeps you guessing til the very end.

Billy is a very likable character, even if he doubts it himself. His job as a hired killer and his haunted past as an infantry solder in the suck, as well as his sad childhood make his story compelling and fascinating. I cannot wait to find out how everything turns out!