RED ROCKS of SEDONA

Our time in Arizona continues with our amazement at how much there is to see in this state. We drove through and around Sedona, and although this touristy town is booming with development, commercial and housing, civilization has not blocked the impressive views of the fabulous red rock formations. This is me at Red Rock State Park. Photos are a record of the trip, but one has to see the beauty in person!

Ben did some trail hiking, and the rest of us drove around looking up and out of the car windows, as our jaws remained dropped nearly to the floor.

The best quote came from Mica who cried "No more rocks!!!"

Lots of Vortex and spiritual healing stuff going on here. The area is indeed mystical. We also drove up to Slide Rock State Park, where Oak Creek has a flatter spillway that has been a natural slip'n'slide for decades.

Our last stop was at Rainbow Trout Farm, where dinner was caught by Ben. Mica did throw a big ball of bait in for the grateful trout, so some enjoyed a risk-free treat. The attendant was kind enough to replenish our bait supply, allowing Ben to land 3 more. That night Ellen did the trout in foil in the oven, as we are prohibited from having a charcoal grill fire.

Thought for this day: Nothing dies harder than a bad idea.

No Harley, but Mica's here!!!

Well, I goofed on posting my brackets for March Madness, so I cannot win that Harley. Good thing I guess, because now we don't have to worry about how to pack it on our rig as we travel. In another bracket contest, I am in the 73rd percentile. Ellen, always one to point out the positive, remarked she knew I always was above average.

No Harley, but Mica is here!!! Jenn, Ben and Mica arrived a few days ago, and we have been delighting in having family around for Easter. We have also managed to spend most of a day at "Out of Africa", a wild animal park just north of our campground. Feeding carrots to a giraffe with a huge tongue was a fun event. This was at the open side window of a converted school bus. Our driver

was from South Africa complete with a cool accent, and he was able to give a very, very bumpy and dusty ride. We also enjoyed the "Tiger Splash", where park staff lured beautiful Bengal Tigers into leaping into a pool of water, making a giant tiger splash.

We spent some time at a National Monument, Montezuma's Castle, a well preserved dwelling system built into a cliffside. This was home to some 35 Sinaguas, from about 1000-1400 A.D. Sinagua translates into 'without water'. They had to hoist up water from Beaver Creek in the valley below where the peoples also hauled up their harvested foodstuffs from their valley fields. This group of peoples were part of a civilization of thousands of others along these valleys in North Central Arizona.

Mica had his first Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, and he really got into it, exclaiming "there's another egg!!!" several times. He was genuinely excited each time he spotted another bright plastic egg.

We hope all had a nice Spring Break and Easter Celebration!

Thought for today: The best way to make a long story short is to interrupt.

Grandma Ellen having fun with Mica at the Camp Playground.

Belated Happy St. Patrick's Day

Ay and begorra (sp.), the day after Saint Patties Day...



Yesterday, I did not...

1. drink any green beer (nor amber)

2. eat any Irish stew (nor any kind of stew)

3. dance a jig (nor even a waltz)

I did...

1. wear green (actually a pretty dull shade)



We are in Camp Verde Arizona, enjoying the valley of the Verde River, which is rushing just to the rear of our site. This is higher country, mountains and mesas all around. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of daughter Jenn, with Ben and Grandson Mica, all of whom we haven't seen since the second week of December. It promises to be a fun week, including Easter Weekend. They are driving down from Minneapolis, which is an awesome thing for them to do!

We did have Jim and Judie over for snacks and a game. They are fulltime RVers from Michigan who actually planted the bug in us to do this full time. We are SO glad they did, because this fulltiming is something not many people get to do---travel, nomadically, seeing this great country every day, every week, every month up close and firsthand...it is like a vacation but done so leisurely, with no worry about getting back 'home' to do the lawn or whatever. It is our own pace, and we get to do things when we want to.

By the way, the four of us played another game of Settlers of Catan, a board/tile/strategy game that we are hooked on...we have this long term series going. Lots of interaction, ups and downs, and at least 3 hours of fun.

Speaking of games, one thing I do miss is the March Madness Bracket Pools at school. Pools and watching results online at work is supposed to cost American Business about 2 billion dollars. They should just make these tournament game days national holidays! I did find 5 bracket contests online, but it just ain't the same...unless I win that new Harley Sportster!!! Although if I win it, I can't figure a way to tote it on our rig. If I win the $100,000 we may trade up for some RV that can handle a motorcycle! Wish me luck!!!!

Quiet Times

Rving isn't all glitz, tourism and glamor. Witness this week where the days have passed and it doesn't look like we've done much. But, hey, that's OK, because we're retired!

We have started tackling our taxes, which is a daunting yet thrilling experience. We have found it more challenging in our little home on wheels, because in years past we spread all kinds of paper piles on at least two tables. We don't have two tables!!! Ellen handled it very well though...actually she did the much larger portion of this painful ordeal, and for that I salute her.

It should be an interesting return, with part of the year in Iowa and part in South Dakota. Interesting too because we are not sure if we can deduct some things "on the road". I respect our tax lady, she is up on everything tax related, and we are glad she takes all our subtotals and then usually tells us we're going to get a much bigger return that I thought humanly possible....and the Government has promised to make it even better with our rebate! I can't wait to jump start the economy!

We still have several piles to deal with, but we are still having fun aside from that...for example we played bridge tonight, went on a ride earlier and saw some very beautiful wildflowers---lots of lupines, and Mexican poppies. I also was able to finish carving our wooden sign to hang in front of our abode. When I get it stained and hung up, I promise to post a photo of it. I am just so thankful I haven't cut myself again!!!

Thought for today... Leap and the net will appear.

A Road Trip to ATV!

We are hooked on ATVing. We've been going out on excursions with Jim Pearce of Apache ATV out of Tombstone. So we decided to make a road trip to Sierra Vista for two days of it! We drove 100+ miles to get there to renew friendships in sharing time with Jim, Dave and Joyce from Colorado, and Pat and Charlie from Indiana (who winter in Sierra Vista). An added enticement was the promise of more of Pat's homemade cookies!

Our Thursday trip was to Cochise' Stronghold northwest of Tombstone. This area is where the Indian Chief hid out for years, and we can see how. High and rugged rock formations, along with a spectacular view of the surrounding valleys...making it really easy to spot approaching cavalry. The rock formations are nothing short of stupendous.

Atop Cochise' Stronghold

We had done this trip a while ago, but were happy to see it again--and even though we were there before, it looked totally new to us! This day was grand, and we enjoyed excellent weather.

Friday, on to Ash Canyon

Our Friday trip was to J-6 ranch and Ash Canyon, several miles north-northwest of Benson. This trip was our FAVORITE!!! Unbelievable changes of topography. From rolling hills to rocky small mountains, we followed the canyon, crossing a stream at least 7 times. We finally reached a flatland of the canyon floor, thick with majestic western sycamores and, unbelievably, grassland! After a lunch and camraderie with the other ATVers we approached a rutted steep downgrade. That was when Ellen decided she had driven enough! She had done such a great job driving, as this was the first time she taken over as pilot.

We then climbed some really rocky trails to the 'top of the world' where the view was 360 degrees of beauty---the vast valley, the mountainsides, the aerial view of the feathery white branches of the sycamores along the valley stream, and a mountainside of beautiful pristine saguaros. It is unbelievable that these saguaros are on these hillsides, fairly thick and many that are apparently very old, with several appendages reaching for the sky. Add to this that all but a few are unblemished. This state is amazing in the variety of beauty to be seen, and on this particular ride, that variety was changing every few miles.

We headed back to Casa Grande, dusty, tired, and smiling ear to ear...this road trip was definitely worth it.

Saguaros and Ostriches

A Visit From Friends

We have had the pleasure of meeting up with our new friends, Don and Connie, Full Timers from northern Ohio. This intro sentence is my excuse for not having made a new entry until now.

We have had a ball, catching up, sharing and seeing some new and different things. One day trip was to Saguaro National Park west of Tucson. What natural beauty! These big things are huge and stand like an army of prickly soldiers on the hills and mountains. Amazing to know that the cactus is 75 years old before an 'arm' is grown! Even more amazing is that I learned how to pronounce the name, which is "Sa-Whar-oh".

We also went to Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch at the foot of Picacho Peak, about 25 miles south of Casa Grande. This is an excellent stop for anyone with kids, as you can feed ostriches, emus, donkeys and deer. Rooster also has an aviary with lots of Lohrikeets, cousin to the parrot. They light all over you and peck a bit, looking for the hand with the cup of nectar. Beautifully and brightly colored birds.

Don and Connie are heading for Albuquerque, NM, and we look forward to catching up with them again, maybe on our way to Colorado in April.

We are staying at a park aimed at Snowbirds-- lots of activities, outings and get togethers. It is a great park, but when we look around, we feel very young. To make my point, at the Monday Night Music Singalong, we didn't know most of the songs until they sang a newer tune called "Honeycomb". Do you remember when Jimmie Rodgers made that famous??? I think it was 50 years ago.

We are playing bridge tonight, that will be fun. Lots of nice people, and a lot of folks from the upper Midwest, including 20 or 25 couples from Iowa. In all, we feel so very lucky every day to be able to be doing what we are doing...and that is being on vacation all the time.

Thought: "If you come to a fork in the road, take it." Yogi Berra