January 2019- the "quiet month"

Once the holidays were done, we settled into somewhat of a routine- for about 10 days.
Marilyn and I hiked on a regular basis. Sometimes Paul came with us, sometimes he didn't.

We still had a lot of shared meals- our "Chinese" night was particularly memorable and delicious!
















Havasu has a balloon fest each January-last year the weather was so bad, they didn't fly at all during the 3 day event. This year the weather was much better and they flew every day. My favorite event is the night glow, when the balloons are tethered, but light up. Sometimes they play music and have the balloons glow on and off to the beat.

Once balloon fest was over, it was time for us to leave town. Most years we head to Quartzsite, AZ where we hang out in the desert with a bunch of friends. When we were fulltimers, this was a lot of fun, and we would stay in Quartzsite for a week or so.
Now that we have a house just 90 minutes away, it doesn't have quite the allure, but we still went, so that we could see friends we hadn't been able to see for a while.    Here the guys are learning how to split wood properly, haha.





Of course, we did manage to host our annual Margarita/Quesadilla night!

Our trip to Quartzsite usually  lines up with our annual doctor appointments in Phoenix. This year we only spent a couple of nights in Quartzsite ( may not go at all next year, just a heads up) and then we headed to Phoenix and the Mayo Clinic.


 The Phoenix area has some awesome regional campgrounds, and we managed to snag a spot at Cave Creek, very close to the Mayo Clinic. We did some hiking after our doctor appointments and had an awesome sunset.

Done with our appointments, we headed down to Tucson to meet up with our good friends Mike and Julie.
We've been to Tucson many times, but we always find something new to do and explore.  And when we are done exploring, we relax!
















 Our first adventure was a trip to the Richard Caris Mirror Lab. The Lab produces light weight mirrors for use in optical telescopes. The process they use is revolutionary and they are the only company in the world who produces these particular mirrors.






















Made of glass, the process of melting the glass
into the proper shape involves baking it in an oven that is 40 feet in diameter, until it reaches 2130* Fahrenheit.  After about a week of heating, the cooling process takes another 90 days. And then they have to polish it! Oy!








I have been hearing about the town of Tubac for quite a while now, and was very happy to actually get a chance to check it out.  Its an artsy kind of town, with restaurants, galleries, and all kinds of things for sale. Paul and I saw a life size cactus water feature, made of metal, with an LED light shining out the top. We really wanted it, but the woman told us if the LED died, there was no way to replace it.  Oh well.

In addition to shopping, we visited the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, the first state park in Arizona. This park preserves the oldest Spanish presidio site in Arizona, established in 1752. It also preserves one of the oldest territorial schoolhouses in the state. We sure did have fun playing "school"!







Being a fan of football in general, and the New England Patriots in particular, I am always happy when my team is still playing in January!

November into December 2018

November was a relatively quiet month for us- we did some stuff around the house, and our daughter Jess came to visit for a few days.

That was actually pretty "exciting".
She had never been to the Desert Bar but had been hearing about it for ages, so we decided to take the Teryx there, using the back trail. Sadly, as you can see from the picture, we tipped it over.

Luckily no one was hurt and we continued on our way to the bar for lunch.
















After that excitement, things calmed down for a week or so.  As Thanksgiving approached we realized that other than Jess, we wouldn't be having any company for the holiday. That's unusual, and we got to thinking that there was no point in staying home if that was the case.

We threw out some ideas of where to go, and landed on Joshua Tree National Park.  Jess had never been there, it is only about 2 hours from her and about 3 from us. So, we packed up the trailer and took off.

We had cooked the turkey before we left, and decided to have our family's traditional Thanksgiving dinner- Turkey Enchiladas. We had a great day and had even found a spot in an RV resort with 4 pools and 6 hot tubs!







Joshua Tree National Park is obviously named for the unusual Joshua Trees that live inside the park- but I think its misnamed.

It should be called Boulder Park because the real fun of the park is climbing all over the boulders!

Joshua Tree is a small park and isn't as well known as some other parks, so it never dawned on us that it would be so popular the day after Thanksgiving!  We waited in line for over an hour and a half just to get into the park!

 We decided we might as well wait it out, even though we knew that parking would be an issue. Instead of parking at the hiking trails, which was our original idea, we parked along the roadway and explored the boulders nearby.













It wasn't exactly the outing we had hoped for, but we had a great time, and got to show Jess at least a little bit of the park.







Once Jess left for home, we had no intention of doing the same. Since we were out and about already, we kept going.

Our next stop was El Paso, to check in on Paul's mom.  Since it was a two day drive, we broke the trip up with a stop in Tucson, where we met up with our friends Dave and Nancy.

 After a couple of days with Paul's mom, we headed for our next destination- Bisbee, Arizona.











Our objective was to tour the copper Queen Mine.  We have toured quite a few mines in the past...so many that I could probably have passed on this one, but off we went.

After donning our hard hats, we boarded a small train that took us 1500 feet into the mine.

The tour was actually very interesting, and was conducted by someone who used to work for the mining company.

When I think I am going to be bored, I try to pay attention and find one or two bits of information I can come away with on a tour. I wasn't at all bored on this tour, but still, my favorite take-away was how they would use dynamite to blow an area into rubble. They set an ever increasing circle of dynamite sticks, and connect them together with fuses.
When they are done, they light it and walk around the corner. They don't have to go too far, because the way it is set off, it implodes, instead of exploding. They also needed to stay nearby so they could count the explosions and make sure there wasn't a misfire.

Once we were back on the surface, we drove past the mine on our way to our next destination.










Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has been on our bucket list for quite a while, and we finally made it there. This national monument is in southern Arizona and shares a border with Mexico.
Pictured is the Organ Pipe Cactus that it is named for.








Our plan was a simple one. Relax, explore, relax some more. And that's what we did. There are two scenic drives- we drove both of them. There are numerous hiking trails.... and most had incredible views.....

At night the weather was perfect for sitting by a campfire watching the sun set.

Once we had had our fill, we headed back home.

And yes, I am on a mission.

Let The Summer Begin! (06-12-18)

On June 5th we had everything “summerized” in the house, and the camper all packed up ready to go! Ordinarily we would take the trailer on a trip this long, but not this time! Our plan for the summer is to combine exploring with genealogy research. Much of that research will need to be done in major cities, and we decided that driving a dually would get very old very fast, so we are taking the camper and towing the Jeep behind us. 

Before we left we sat down and made a list of the states and provinces we need to visit in our search for information. Our basic route will be Texas /Mississippi /Tennessee /Georgia /Alabama /Virginia /Massachusetts /Nova Scotia.Then, if need be, we will reverse the order on the way home, depending on what we learn along the way.

We are determined to keep our pace as leisurely as we can, even though we know that won’t always be possible. With that idea in mind, we stopped several times before we got to El Paso to visit Paul’s mom.

Our first stop was Colossal Cave, just outside Tucson.  We have seen the highway billboards for this cave for years. It has been a tourist attraction since the 1920s!



The underground temperature is about 70 degrees, which we figured would be a  welcome relief from the 107 degrees on the highway.

The only problem was the cat.  We couldn’t leave him in the camper for 3 hours without air conditioning, so for the first time ever, we paid for an rv spot with electricity, even though we had no intention of spending the night there.

There are several different tours you can take, and although I am NOT a fan of being underground, we chose the 1.5 hour long Ladder tour, which involves some scrambling and climbing. I figured as long as I was going to be underground,  it might as well be fun.

The pictures came out fuzzy because pretty much the only light we had was our headlamps, which made it more interesting, but more challenging for pictures.


We’ve been in quite a few caves over the years, and other than the hiking aspect, this one doesn’t rate in the top 5.  The formations are quite dusty and dirty, and not all that pretty ( admittedly, we are spoiled).

Our next stop along the way was Wilcox, AZ, the closest town to Chiricahua National Monument.  We have hiked many of the trails here, but we were again hoping for some relief from the heat by hiking at an elevation of about 7500 feet.

We chose the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail- its only about 3 miles long, and we tried to get an early start to beat the heat. There are great views wherever you go in the Chiricahuas-one of the reasons we like it so much.

After a quick picnic lunch we meandered through the town of Wilcox, thinking we would check out the museum that we somehow have never taken the time to investigate. We chatted with the woman operating it, (not pictured here) and she was warning us that she might get an urgent phone call that would require her to leave, and sure enough, the words were barely out of her mouth when her phone rang, and the “closed” sign went on the door.  Oh well, maybe next time. At least the ice cream parlor was open!

We spent 4 days with Paul’s mom, and dang it, I never took a single picture! I am great at taking scenic shots, but horrible at remembering to get the camera out when I am with other people.

Tucson (03-14-16)

After finishing our doctor appointments in Phoenix, we moved on to Tucson, for More doctor appointments.  But at least here we got to visit with friends, too. 

And what’s better than visiting with friends? Visiting with friends that have their own grapefruit tree!  Yummy!!! Thanks to Tom and Dianne I have all the grapefruit I can eat!





Although we only had a few days, we did manage to cram a lot in.

I have always wanted to do the scenic drive up nearby Mt. Lemmon, and when the weather forecast called for temps in the high 80s, we packed Mike and Julie into the truck and headed for the hills. (Thanks for the pic, Mike)

As we climbed to higher elevations (Mt. Lemmon stands at 5000 ft higher than Tucson) the weather got cooler and cooler, and the highest elevations had snow on the ground! 

There were lots of viewpoints where you could get out and admire the view, go for a hike…..














…or get your exercise by pushing some rocks around.

     Gee, can you tell which way the wind comes from??

We started getting hungry for lunch so we bypassed some of the turn outs and bee lined for the restaurants at the top of the mountain, in a small town appropriately named Summerhaven. 
There are only a few restaurants, so we chose the Cookie Cabin (no surprise there!) and had a reasonably good lunch before heading back down the hill into the warmth of Tucson.







Our other major outing was to the Marriott Starr Pass Resort.  It sits high on the mountain pass and has a nice view of the sunset.




We first came to this restaurant last year with Mike and Julie, and came away with a new favorite toast.  Most of our friends have heard it from us-  “Arriba, Abajo, Al Centro, Al Dentro” (Up…Down….Out…In ….)

Every day at 5:30,  after telling the story of Pancho Villa, a toast is made, using a complimentary shot of tequila served by the restaurant. The full story is quoted below, from the restaurant’s Facebook page.

This year we were joined by our friends Tom and DIanne, who are in Tucson, waiting to close on a new house!

After a short time enjoying the company of our friends, we continued our trek towards El Paso to see Paul’s mom.

The Legend of Arriba Abajo:

“the legend of Arriba, Abajo  goes back to a traditional Mexican custom where a prospective groom that wants to marry his beloved asks for her hand in marriage through her father.  Now, Pancho Villa, the great Mexican revolutionary, wanted to marry his dearest Juanita, and in ritual custom he asked for her hand in marriage through her father.  Her father, knowing whom Pancho Villa was, refused the offer, but…he offered a very interesting contest.  He said… if you can drink more tequila than me…than you can marry my daughter.  Pancho Villa scratched his head at that request, but he loved Juanita, accepted the offer, they sat down at the table and the tequila was brought out.  They started doing shots, but after a while Pancho Villa noticed that the father was doing one shot for every two of Pancho Villas.  Pancho Villa takes his shot glass, slams it on the table and says from now on we drink together.  He toasts Arriba, Abajo, Al Centro, Al Dentro.  A couple more shots are taken, a little bit more of the bottle goes by, and the father ends up face down, passed out on the table, and that’s how Pancho Villa won the hand of his dearest Juanita.”

Tucson’s 2nd Part (01-11-15)

After taking leave of our friends, we headed all the way over to the northern side of Tucson.  We had booked this week at Catalina State Park a long time ago because we knew we’d be in Tucson for doctor appointments. We’ve never stayed here and wanted to check it out.



 
The colors of the sunset lit up the surrounding mountains. And yes, that is snow on the hills.








 

Although there aren't that many hiking trails inside the park, several of the trails were accessible from the campground, which made them very appealing.

Talk about a healthy saguaro cactus!  We've never seen so many with so many arms.

 
Still keeping our focus on hiking, we hiked the Canyon Loop trail twice.  Round trip from the campground it’s a 5 mile hike.

In between all that exhausting hiking, we still managed to find some time to spend with Mike and Julie.  One night they came over for dinner, and another, we met them for drinks at a Tequila bar in the Marriott Resort overlooking the city.

They have a neat tradition, every day at 5:30 they have a toast, and they provide the tequila! 


We also took an afternoon and headed up to……

Biosphere 2

I remember way back when the Biosphere 2 “experiment” originated.  Building of the complex began in 1987 and was finished by 1991. 
Biosphere 2 is modeled after Biosphere 1- the earth.

“Under the Dome” there are 5 miniature ecosystems that mirror ecosystems here on earth.  There is a mini ocean and a mini rainforest, among others.

The biosphere was a fully enclosed and sealed system. The roof has several “lungs”  that regulated air pressure.













In 1991 8 people were sealed inside the Biosphere, with their only access to the outside world being a window with a phone.

For the next two years they ate only the food provided at the start of the experiment (goats, chickens etc) and what they could grow.

  
Each one had their own private space, but they shared one kitchen, where they took turns cooking meals.

There were many challenges along the way. One of the biggest was that although they had enough nutrition from their food, they struggled to consume enough calories, and were hungry all the time.



Also, it took about 2 weeks to grow enough harvest-able coffee beans to make enough coffee for all 8 people, and several participants were frustrated by the lack of caffeine.


Years later the entrepreneur funding the experiments sold out and the biosphere sat idle.  Eventually Columbia University purchased it and used it for experiments, and they eventually sold it to the University of Arizona.



The Biosphere is no longer a closed system but has numerous doors and windows and is open to the outdoors.  Nowadays it is being used by scientists from all over the world to research carbon.

Specifically, they are studying carbon, water and air cycles, how they interact, and what that tells us about climate change.

I enjoyed the tour, but I was hoping to hear more about the original mission of Biosphere 2, and the tour concentrated on the current research being conducted.

And then we moved on to Phoenix………