Sun Lakes Kids Chase Me To An Oasis Before Haboob Monsoon

My days of pooling in Arizona during this current visit are drawing to a close.

Due to an 8 in the morning breakfast date with Bruno and Mary, Miss Daisy sent me to the pool well before 7 this morning. That pooling is at the location I call the Big Pool at Miss Daisy's Community Club. The Big Pool is actually multiple pools, not just one Big Pool.

Then later, following that early morning breakfast I decided to go swimming again. But, when I returned to the Big Pool it was full of little kids. Not the usual Sun Lake Ladies. Little kids. Where could so many little kids come from in this elderly desert?

With the Big Pool over crowded I opted to go to the pool closest to Miss Daisy's. That pool is known as the Oasis Pool. It is a small, rectangle shaped pool. I had the pool all to myself, which you can clearly see via the photo documentation above.

There is no deep end to the Oasis Pool. It is only 5 feet deep at its deepest. Due to the time being near the noon hour I did not last long once I was out of the pool, what with the temperature being somewhere north of 100, with some clouds somewhat mitigating the direct sun misery.

Out of the pool I tried to take what is known in Texas as an Elsie Hotpepper style selfie, but I could not see the phone screen in the bright sun, with the result being the photo you see here where everything in the photo appears crooked and it does not even remotely resemble an Elsie Hotpepper style selfie.

Last night nephew Jeremy arrived right on time for his regularly scheduled dinner date with his Grandma. This involves driving to a fast food joint then returning to Grandma's TV viewing room where Jeremy and Grandma have their weekly Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy competition.

Soon after the visiting Uncle's latest correct answering of the Final Jeopardy question Jeremy headed east to Chandler to his current home location.

Jeremy was gone less than a minute when my phone alarm suddenly became alarmingly loud.

MONSOON!

HABOOB!

The phone warning from the National Weather Service said something like "SEVERE DUST STORM IMMINENT AT YOUR LOCATION. STRONG WIND, RAIN, ZERO VISIBILITY EXPECTED."

The phone warning had barely shut up when the wind hit like a slap. With thick dust which made for a thick haze dimming outdoor lights. I tried to make it to the road to drag the recycle bin back under cover. But I was unable to make it to the street due to being slammed by dust which felt like sandpaper.

Soon rain began to downpour. The Monsoon Haboob lasted about a half hour.

And then peace and quiet returned. Except for Miss Daisy asking a few more times what day it was...

Sunday Morning Worrying Arizona Monsoon Swim

You are looking at my slightly cock-eyed morning Monsoon view, post swimming, this third Arizona Sunday of the 2018 version of July.

Miss Daisy did not accompany me to the pool this morning. I think the threatening sky worried her.

Last night, early in the evening, my phone went off with multiple dust storm warnings. Miss Daisy and I had returned to cover shortly before the warnings arrived. We saw the incoming wall of dust on our way back to Sun Lakes.

I am a bit worried my return to Texas may be more adventurous than I like. Both ways, this trip, my DFW connection was less than an hour. No big deal when the plane departs, or arrives, on time. The flight out of DFW was delayed almost an hour. Which really caused no problem, except for the extra wait time for the pickup crew in Phoenix.

The return to DFW is where I may have a problem.

Saturday the Arizona temperature at my location is scheduled to reach around 115. We have this ongoing Monsoon madness. With that, and a high temperature, flights may be delayed out of Sky Harbor Airport.

If there is a significant delay I will not be able to make the connection to the flight to Wichita Falls. Thus rendering a wait til the first flight out the following morning.

I am sure if such a calamity happens someone like Miss Puerto Rico or Elsie Hotpepper will come to my rescue.

Or not.

The photo of me you see here was taken post-pooling this morning, drying out on a lounge chair under a gray sky with cooling drops dripping slowing the drying process.

Arizona Swim Between Incoming Monsoons

This morning I took my feet to the pool for a swim between incoming Monsoon storms.

Yesterday, in the late afternoon, Miss Daisy and I made it back to interior cover a few minutes before that day's Monsoon hit.

Today we are heading north to Scottsdale, being adventurous and risky, what with today's predicted Monsoon scheduled to be a wild one.

The most unusual, to me, thing about these Monsoon storms, is they can include big balls of hail. A temperature over 100 degrees would seem to HOT to not melt incoming ice....

Survived First 2018 Arizona Monsoon Haboob

Last night my favorite Jeremy nephew managed to make it to grandma's slightly ahead of the Haboob Dust Storm.

Soon after Jeremy arrived so did the Haboob.

The blowing dust was quickly replaced by rain, followed by lightning strikes.

Jeremy's uncle Jake called from Scottsdale to let us know he had lost power and was taking refuge in his vehicle in order to keep cool.

After Jake called we located emergency lighting in the form of four flashlights.

We did not lose power, but it was a good thing to be prepared.

Last night's storm did not last too long at our location, Elsewhere, according to the morning news. the Valley of the Sun took quite a Monsoon Haboob hit last night.

Below is video taken a couple minutes after the Monsoon arrived....