Sunday, May 21, 2017

Good-bye Cottonwood, we're gonna miss ya!

After leaving Sedona, Katie and I went back to Cottonwood to camp for another 14 days on Forest Land.  The Rangers have done a great job of policing these free camping areas, and the "homesteaders" who have been staying for months in one spot and leaving all their trash when they leave - well, they're GONE.  The campsites are clean and there are many more available vacant sites than there were before.   But because of all the problems some of these people caused, there is talk of them closing these local dispersed camping sites to RVers in the future.  :(

When I was in Sedona I was talking to a man camped nearby.  I mentioned that I needed to have Katie's teeth cleaned and it was going to cost me around $500 - and that's if she didn't need any x-rays or teeth pulled.  Since she's 11, they won't clean her teeth unless she has an exam and blood testing.  Katie is worth it, but really?  Minimum $500?  I called a number of vets in the Camp Verde and Cottonwood areas, and they were all around the same.

So when I was talking to this guy, he said he has never had his dog's teeth cleaned, and his dog was older, 14 I think.  He said he gives him those marrow bones that are available in the meat section of a lot of grocery stores.  The next time I went to town, I got Katie some at the Cottonwood Fry's grocery store.  Her teeth all looked good except her canines, the two fangs on the top - they were covered with plaque.  A month later, after giving her a new bone every few days, one of the canines is clean, and the other has about half the plaque gone, and hopefully it will all be gone soon.  Obviously I'm going to keep giving her those bones. 😏

Sure saved me a lot of money - and she loves them!




The cattle were grazing around our site again, and there were a bunch of new calves, one looked like it was only a few days old.  They were interested in our site and the fencing I used to put Katie in sometimes.  She watched carefully and barked at them when they got close to her fence.


These three were so funny.  They walked around the fence, looked over at each other, looked down inside, like they couldn't figure out what in the heck this little cattle pen was for and even worse, what's that weird red thing inside?  Obviously something for teeny-tiny cattle.  Look at their faces.  LOL


This little guy was very interested in the pen, and I finally went out and shooed him away when it looked like he was going to knock it down.


So then he walked over to my little chairs and started trying to eat the shoulder strap.  I finally had to shoo him away again.  They're really curious creatures and fun to watch.

Another critter - during a walk, I saw this pretty lizard:


Then one day Diana and I drove up to Jerome and walked around the town.  Below is the Jerome Grand Hotel up on a hill overlooking the old buildings.  Wouldn't it be fun to stay there?


We went into a shop called the Nellie Bly - Kaleidoscopes and Art Glass.  Some really beautiful things!  One of the sales women offered to take our photos with our phones - through a Kaleidoscope.  It made us part of the design.  If you look closely at the photo below, you can see me around the darker spots.  Like petals on a flower.  Just call me Petal, Sir.  LOL


When I'm spending a lot of time in the desert, it's such a gift to see (what I consider) REAL flowers, like in a regular environment.  Don't get me wrong, I love the desert and the yellows, purples, blues, pinks, etc. of the desert blooms, but what can beat a trellis that's covered with fragrant old-fashioned pink roses?  Not much!  They smelled so good, I wanted to eat one.


We walked past a shop that had vinegars and oils and I wanted to get something to dip French bread in, and to use for salad dressings.  The shop's called Verde Valley Olive Oil Traders.  The man behind the counter, Bob, came out and concocted a couple of different combinations for me.  I was expecting a piece of bread to test out the blending of oil and vinegar, but he mixed it up in a small cup and gave it to me to taste.  I cautiously sipped it - and then sipped again, and I ended up DRINKING it.  Wow, it was soooo good.


Then he asked us to look at the different flavors and choose another two, so I did, and he blended the second vinegar and oil.  It was almost as good as the first blend, and I bought all four.  These are the ones I got.  I haven't use them for dipping yet, but the salad dressing has been delicious, and I've even mixed a little of the blend with some other creamy salad dressings, and they were really good.

And that's about it for this area.  I've since moved on and will post about my new adventures soon.

From me and Katie, have a great day, everyone!  😊❤😉😎

Hey, I just noticed, this is my 800th blog post.  Happy 800th birthday to Me and My Dog ...and My RV!  

13 comments:

  1. I can make a whole meal of French bread dipped in olive oil and seasoning. So good! Thanks for posting, wondering where you will be next.

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    1. Yes, me too. Both on the bread dipping dinner, and also wondering where I'll be next. LOL :)

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  2. It's always fun watching how any animal investigates something they have never seen before.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. You're right! If they could talk, I would have loved hearing their conversation about the fence and the folded chairs. :)

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  3. Those calves were adorable!! They sure were curious!!
    What great information regarding Marie's teeth cleaning. Out little Shih Tzu is also 11 years old but he's lost a lot of his teeth. That, unfortunately, is a trait of Shih Tzu.
    Take care!!

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  4. I am so sorry....I typed Katie and for some stupid reason it was changed to Marie!! I am so sorry Katie!!

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    1. Ha! That's funny. I hate it when that happens. :( But of course I knew who you meant, LOL.

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  5. I wish I knew somewhere to get bones like that for our dog. He is 10 or 11 years old and I really don't like the idea of him being sedated to clean his teeth.

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    1. Martha, I noticed today that Katie's other canine was clean, so those bones really did the job. I got ours at Fry's grocery store in the meat department, but I'd guess that Safeway, Walmart and many others sell them. It makes sense, if they are cutting up the meat to sell, why throw out the bones when they can sell them. Check in the meat department where you shop, and if you don't see any, ask the butcher. I paid between $2 and $3 per package for 8 bones in each, depending on the size of the bones.

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    2. That sounds like a really great price. They charge a lot more for them in my area - you're lucky if you get 2 for $3. I was quoted $6-800 for my old dog's teeth, depending on if they find damaged/abcessed teeth when they start cleaning. (Granted, this is a 70lb dog, not a 7 lb one.) That kind of money is not in our budget right now. The groomer suggested bones as well, so we'll be trying that promptly. I feel bad we haven't been giving bones more frequently.

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  6. Congratulations on your 800th post! I've added the Verde Valley Olive Oil Traders to my saved Places to Visit map on Google. Thanks for the recommendation.

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    1. Thanks, Judy! Who would have thought, huh? 800, wow.

      FYI, there's a Verde Valley Olive Oil Traders in Old Town Cottonwood, too, but they were charging $1 more per small bottle than the guy in Jerome, which surprised me. I didn't check prices on the larger bottles.

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  7. Tha cattle love to check things out and you gave them things to see. Love Cottonwood such a funky town. Flavour infused olive oils are so tasty and good for you at the same time.

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