Meandering around Arizona (02-20-12)

Well, Sedona was disappointing, but only because the weather was so cold we didn't really see it. Pretty much every morning there was fresh snow on the nearby hills. We spent one day driving over the mountain to visit my aunt and cousin, and passed two snow plows headed in the other direction. There were some icy spots but not too bad at that point. However, by the time our visit was over, we could see the precipitation that had already started again in the higher elevations, so we took the slightly longer way home and avoided it.

We gave up on waiting for the weather to warm up and left earlier than planned. We had plans to meet Elaine and Robert in Quartzsite on Saturday, which gave us two days to kill, so we went to an Escapees park near Wickenburg AZ. It was somewhat warmer there, due to the lower elevation, and we were able to explore the town of Wickenburg.



 We happen to hit it right for their Gold Rush Days, which is like a local county fair. There was a classic car rally, numerous craft booths and carnival rides. The local ice cream parlor had live music, so we listened as we ate. Wickenburg is pretty historic but the admission fee to the local museum was too steep so we took the cheap way out and wandered around looking for the strategically placed mannequins. Each one "tells their story" via an audio box that you push a button to activate.
Saturday we landed in the desert at Quartzsite and waited for our friends to arrive. They found us with no problem, and in no time we were sitting around, catching up on the latest news. It doesn't take too long to set up in the desert, with the wide open spaces you just stop where you want to be, and there is nothing to hook up. We just have to disconnect the truck, which doesn't"t take too long.

Paul has wanted to check out a place called Palm Canyon, that sounded intriguing to him, so the next day we all packed a lunch and took off. These palm trees are in the crevices of the rock and the sun only hits them for a short time during the day. Luckily we happened to be there when it did. In the end, it was a short hike into an interesting canyon, and a pleasant way to kill a day. We also walked around downtown Quartzsite a bit, investigating the venders that are still here. 

After that excitement, we spent the next day relaxing, doing nothing but talking. Elaine and Robert have never been to Quartzsite and wanted to see what it is all about, and actually, sitting around in the middle of the desert socializing all day is a pretty good idea of what people come here for.  Of course there are the vendors and the RV show, but mostly I think people come here for the friends and the camaraderie.  Naturally, we did go to Silly Al’s for pizza, but then we came straight back and got a campfire going.

Paul and I were originally going to head to Joshua Tree National Park with Elaine and Robert, but we made a last minute change.  We are in Desert Hot Springs for a week so I can get some physical therapy.  In the meantime we are getting our mail forwarded so we can get our tax information sent off.

Hiking again (01-29-12)

                                                                          I’ve finally reached the point where I feel somewhat comfortable hiking again, although not the trails we originally intended to hike.  I had to do more research to find trails that are less difficult and don’t involve boulder scrambling.

We started off slowly with a 3.5 mile trail in Lost Dutchman State Park.  There was a fair amount of elevation gain, so it was still a work out.

Everywhere you look around here, there is another pretty view. 

That hike went well, so we tackled a more difficult hike the next day-the Ballentine Trail. It was more of a challenge, to say the least.

We started off among the Saguaro Cacti.  When most of us think desert, we think barren, but the Sonoran Desert is full of life and is very green at certain times.  The beautiful Saguaro (pronounced Sah-wah-row) can live to be about 200 years old and doesn’t start growing arms until it’s about 70 years old. Their root system is just beneath the surface and extends out up to 70 feet, to collect what little moisture there is in the ground.

  This picture shows a little bit of why this trail was challenging.  Paul is standing near the top of the rise. It was a 7.5 mile trail, with 2000 ft of elevation gain.

The views from the top made it worth it.  This area is appropriately called Boulder Flats, since it was strewn with huge boulders.  Paul climbed around them, I didn’t. 

The other day we moved from Mesa, where we had been staying in a “4 star” RV Resort, to Lake Pleasant Regional Park. The best part about the resort was that we had a grapefruit tree on our site, and could pick as many as we wanted. YUM! Our trailer is the one in the middle of the picture. This is the kind of place we really like to stay.

We debated trying to get the boat out to take advantage of this beautiful lake, but the coolish (it hits the low 70s but only for an hour or so, then it gets cool) weather and the fact that its a two person job to “deploy” it, changed our minds.

We tried another hike at Lake Pleasant, but not every hike turns out the way we want it.  After driving 7 miles down a primitive “road” to get to the trailhead, the road dead ended at the water’s edge, with no way to get across.  The road was an interesting trip, making us glad our truck has 4 wheel drive, and very high clearance!

We haven’t given up on that hike- we have better directions and we’ll try it again tomorrow.

In the meantime we are enjoying visiting with friends and family.  Yesterday we visited with Elaine and Robert, our friends from England.  Since they are hikers too, we combined the visit with a 7 mile hike.  As usual, when with friends, I don’t take many pictures.  I’ll try to do better with that in the next week or so.  We have plans to see Robert and Elaine several more times in the next week or so, as we are all staying in and around the Phoenix area.  Tonight we are having dinner with my cousin Linda and her husband. Looking forward to that- we don’t see each other very often!

The other night we had one of the most spectacular sunsets we’ve seen in a very long time, and we see some great ones!

Oneonta, NY (05-28-11)

         The last few days have flown by. Paul and I met up with Elaine and Robert, our internet/blogging friends we had never met in person until now. They are from England, and travel in their RV throughout this country for a few months at a time, flying home to England for a few months between visits. Like us, they are having such a good time living this life, they have no concrete plans for ending their journey.
We were so  busy exploring, hiking and visiting, and it's hard to believe we have already left them!  As usual, whenever I am with people, I forget to take pictures. I'll try to do better while I am in Boston, but I hope nobody holds their breath.
             Our first day of exploring started with Cooperstown, home of Baseball's Hall of Fame. We meandered through the downtown and waterfront area, but all 4 of us were in agreement that the Baseball aspect of the town didn't capture our interest. I, of course, am a Red Sox fan, but I just like to watch them play, I am not interested in collecting signed baseballs and trying out different styles of bats.






        We soon headed to the "Beverage trail" which consisted of two wineries and two breweries, so there was something for everyone- except Paul, who doesn't drink much wine and won't touch beer at all. But, since he was our driver, that worked out perfectly for the rest of us!  The first place we stopped had a cider mill, with a small room that had exhibits explaining the process of making cider etc. It was the biggest of the venues, with a large store and a small restaurant.



Ommengang Brewery beer lesson


From there we moved on to the nicer of the two breweries, Ommegang.  Their beer is brewed in traditional Belgian ways and I admit I really liked a few of  them. There are two ways to infuse bubbles into beer, and Ommegang uses the natural method as opposed to injecting CO2 into it. We toured this brewery and found it to be well-run, clean and interesting.  After the tour,  the guide taught us a little about each beer before giving us a taste.  It was all well done. 



They were having a few issues that day because the storms we had the previous evening had knocked out the electricity, and it hadn't been restored yet, but they were up to the challenge.

 The second brewery that we went to wasn't up to the same standards as the first one, but we still enjoyed it, as well as the 2nd winery.  Our plans were to go over to Elaine and Robert's for dinner that night, but we didn't get around to eating lunch until the 4th stop on our route, so no one was really hungry for dinner.
     Saturday was a different story however.  The four of us spent the day at Gilbert Lake State Park, hiking around the lake, finding geocaches ( I think we found 3) and dodging raindrops.  We hiked about 5.5 miles and along the way came across some downed power lines.  We managed to walk around them but we could see where they had scorched the grass when the lines fell, which made it a bit spooky to walk over them. 


hiking with the power lines ( they were not "live")

      Dinner was at Elaine and Robert's that night and we were all pretty hungry.  Homemade pizza.  I gotta say, it doesn't get better than that!  The special beer from the brewery did add to the ambiance as well though.  After a great night of food and conversation, we called it a day.
        Yesterday Paul and Robert worked on a problem Robert was having with his motorhome for a while, after which Paul and I did some errands, and in general just goofed around for the afternoon.  Dinner was at our "house" this time.  Paul made his Chile Rellenos and once again the food and conversation were great.
    This morning we took off and arrived in Massachusetts early this afternoon.