Off We Go, Finally! (07/17/26)

 July 4th done, we were ready to hit the road for the rest of the summer. That doesn’t mean we move fast, it just means obligations are done and we are free to meander. We always try to stop by and see friends when we can, and this summer is no exception, so we didn’t get too far after leaving Green Valley- we only made it 2 hours down the road where we stopped overnight to see friends.

It’s always great to see them and this time we were able to be part of their support system. Our friend Dianne is going through Chemotherapy, and we, along with friends Jeff and Tina, very ceremoniously gave her a buzz cut to make her inevitable hair loss “easier”.  Its a difficult journey she is on but she is doing awesome and has a great positive attitude!

As antsy as we were to get to the San Juan mountains of Colorado(Telluride, Ouray area) to drive some 4x4 trails, it looks like half of the state is dealing with wildfires this summer so we had to tweak our plans.

We changed our first destination to Pagosa Springs, and found a route  there that brought us past El Malpais National Monument, outside Grants NM. We have driven past it many times but never stopped. Until now.

El Malpais means badlands in Spanish. In this area it refers specifically to the lava flows. There isn’t just one volcano that erupted in this area, there were at least 5, and they erupted at different times, so there is old lava and new lava.

We hiked along the Lava Falls Trail, which is on the youngest lava flow, the McCarty Flow, a mere 3900 years old.

These Colorado signs crack me up. Could they have picked a more boring color for the “Colorful Colorado” sign?

Arriving in Pagosa, I was hoping we could repeat the tubing trip we took down the San Juan River, but one look at the water level dashed that hope immediately.

Instead we found some trails to hike and drive. Not every day trip is a perfect 10, and our first venture out was an example of that fact. 

We drove the forest roads up to Eight Mile Mesa, where eventually we had some scenic views.

The most fun we had that day was chatting with the firefighters. We ended up running into them several times during our stay. These particular guys were brought in from Wyoming to help with fire spotting.

The following day was a little better, but still nothing exciting.  We drove around the Williams Creek reservoir, had some nice scenery, and hiked 3.5 miles down Poison Park Trail.

As happens frequently in Colorado, the skies turn ominous in the afternoons so we cut our hike a bit short.

The following day we hiked my favorite trail in a while- the Piedra River Trail.  The trail was awesome, walking along and above the Piedra River…

and through some really pretty meadows….the smell of the pine trees never gets old for me.

Speaking of ominous afternoon skies, that day was no exception. We were trying to make it to a foot bridge that everyone says is picturesque, but we turned around at the 2.5 mile mark and headed back.

Unfortunately we didn’t make it before the heavens opened- we were drenched and dripping wet. Even our hiking boots had water dripping into them. You can see how much it bothered me!

The Summer of the Bronco (07-01-26)

 The spring of 2026 was filled with  our usual events and a lot of working on the new house. And, of course, making plans for the summer. Paul and I both have doctor appointments in early July in Phoenix, which affects our summer plans, since we can’t go as far as we usually do. Taking the camper and Bronco instead of the 5th wheel makes travel more flexible, and Paul really wanted to revisit some 4x4 trails in Colorado that we did with the Jeep.

The summer was divided in two sections essentially. Pre July 4 and post July 4. 

When we bought our Bronco, we did a full day “off-roadeo” training session, learning about the capabilities of the vehicle. That was done in Nevada but Paul wanted to take the class that they teach in Moab as well. It’s a different class, a half day class called Extreme Offroading. 

 

We left Havasu in early June, with a goal to get out of the heat. We headed to nearby Prescott, which is only a 3 hour drive, but sits at a higher elevation, so is cooler. We have been here before but didn’t have much chance to hike, so we rectified that this time.

Our first adventure was a trail that goes part way around Willow Lake. Everyone raves about this trail and I can see why.

The sky was incredibly blue that day…

Our second hike was also around a lake- this one was the Flume Trail at Watson lake, and it was just as pretty.

While plotting our course to Moab, we realized that Dolores, Colorado is not too far out of our way- so that was one of our stops on the way to Moab. Why? Because our friends Liz and Randy are there.

In addition to just hanging out, we went to an evening of music in town, and took some scenic drives.

Arriving in Moab a few days before our class, we had time to do some exploring. We wanted to do some trails with the Bronco so that we (he) would have the vehicle’s capabilities fresh in his mind.

The first trail we drove is called Chicken Corners. It’s only 48 miles long but took us 6 hours.

Like a lot of these drives, the roads are what they call shelf roads, which usually means there is quite a drop off on one side.

I am kind of a fair weather Trail passenger and there was one spot where Paul just kept saying “breathe”.  We made it through ok but I was not a fan. To me it looked like the tires were going off the edge. This is and out and back trail,  so we had to come this way again. Since I figured we would live through it, I video taped it the second time through.

The following day was the Bronco ride, which started after lunch, about 1:15. Once we were all gathered, we drove into the desert to the trail we were going to do.

Being an Extreme Off-roading class, it was more technical than the original class we took. It was all about how to handle obstacles, and where to place your tires.

I didn’t get much footage of our Bronco because I was either in it or directing Paul as to how to get over an obstacle.

Unfortunately the Bronco in front of us got extremely stuck trying to make it up over some boulders. It took 45 minutes, lots of rock moving, and a winch, to get him out of there. By then it was time to go back. So although we learned a few things, it wasn’t as good as it could have been. What it did do is give both Paul and I a little more confidence, because we had no issues figuring out how we wanted to tackle the obstacles.

The other trail we did in Moab is Onion Creek trail. This trail had all the beauty of Chicken Corners Trail, but none of the hair raising drop offs.

Unfortunately  this picture, in addition to showing the gorgeous countryside, also shows one of the things we have had to dodge this summer. Wildfires. This is the beginning of the Snyder Fire, which ultimately burned 28,000 acres. We have changed plans several times this summer due to the Colorado wildfires.

Our final day in Utah was really hot. We had planned on repeating a hike we have enjoyed before, but realized a) it’s too hot and b) we have never been to nearby (ish) Goblin Valley State Park.

We drove out there, not having a specific plan, other than to check it out.

As hot as it was, we still managed to hike the 3 mile trail to Goblin’s Lair. Luckily, there was a little bit (not much though) of shade along the way.

We stayed off the trail that was completely in the sun…

On the way back we elected to take the scenic route (ie gravel road).

Although the views were great…

…The rocks were apparently sharp, because the Bronco got a flat tire. Luckily Paul carries no less than 3 options for taking care of that type of problem. 

Winter 2025-2026 (5/20/26)

 Winter is typically not a time when we do a ton of exploring. That was even true when we were full time RVers, but its more true now that we have houses.

Highlights of the fall and winter include the following:

Paul’s close friend Kirk turned 70 and had a blow out party at his cabin near Shaver Lake in California.

The weather was perfect. and the live band was awesome.

In October we joined our daughter Jess for a weekend in Palm Springs. We hadn’t seen her in months, and it was a destination we could all easily get to.

The rest of the month was pretty much spent packing up some stuff from the house in Lake Havasu.

We were supposed to close on our new house in Green Valley at the end of October, but it was delayed a week. Not too bad though.  We aren’t selling the Havasu house at this point, so in addition to packing some stuff, there was some shopping going on.

We are lucky enough to have very good friends. Once we closed on the house, Liz and Randy came to Green Valley with us and helped us move stuff into the house and install a bunch of things like light fixtures.

Of course, it wasn’t all work and no play!

Thanksgiving was in Havasu- a pretty quiet one for us, with Liz and Randy and my brother Ray and his wife Dawn.

Most of the winter was spent going back and forth between the two houses, with the holidays being in Havasu.

Christmas was also more quiet than usual with just a few friends. What was different was that Liz and Randy’s daughter and granddaughter flew in for the holiday, which added to the festivities for sure.

January and February brought more back and forth between the two houses, and also some prep for a big party in Havasu.  Paul turned 70 in February, and wanted a birthday bash. So he got one.

Friends came from all over the country- and even though quite a few couldn’t make it, we had a blast!

Along with the invited guests, we had some UNinvited guests. A swarm of bees decided to plop themselves down on our bougainvillea bush for the afternoon. And they did NOT like the band warming up. Might have been the bass.

The fire department was called, but of course they couldn’t do anything about them.  I was getting nervous because all bees in AZ are Africanized and usually aggressive. I was hoping we weren’t going to have to move the entire party inside. It turns out they settled down, much to my relief.

So the party moved forward, with much eating, drinking, and dancing….

Because most people came from such a distance, we actually partied for several days before saying goodbye to most of the guests- but not all of them. We sort of just moved a smaller party down to the new house in Green Valley so we could show the house to our friends Mike and Julie, who had flown in from Florida.

We hadn’t been there very long when I got a devastating phone call from my brother Ray, who has a winter place in Mesa AZ and was at our party.

 

Our younger brother Richie had gone into cardiac arrest and we initially got no more details. Richie lives in Massachusetts and was born with intellectual disabilities, so Ray and I are his guardians.  We both got the first flights out that we could. We went straight to the hospital and met up with our sister.

Unfortunately the news was not good. After determining that there was no brain activity, we made the only decision that felt right. We decided to donate his organs so that others could live longer and healthier lives.

 

That is the only reason I really shared that personal story. I have been amazed at how many people realize of course that organ donation is a thing, but never really thought about it in terms of themselves or other close family members. Although the decision was an easy one, it was not an easy thing to go through. However.....

Thinking about the people he helped, helped all of us cope with our loss. His kidneys went to two different people in their 50s, and his liver went to a woman in her early 20s. His heart was used for researching valve transplantation.

So, anyway, if there is anyone out there who has thought about organ donation but hasn’t done anything about it per se, it would be a great idea to let your immediate family know what your wishes are, and to find out what Their wishes are.

After spending a couple of weeks in Massachusetts, we all returned to Arizona.