Rain, wine, ranches, worship and socks, a full weekend

Just call us the Rainmakers. If there is such a thing as a rain complex, I’m starting to get one. Last year on our winter trip to Texas we drove into the Lone Star state during what we were told was an unending, lingering drought.

That rushing stream has been bone dry until Saturday

By the time we left two months later, the drought was history and the state was water logged.

So we arrive in Tucson on one of the coldest January days in recent history and then things turned good.

Until today (Saturday, January 26) when we woke up to a monsoon, or as they call it here in Arizona – a Sonoran Soaker. The rain came in waves and it was heavy. A little ravine, which has been bone dry since we got here was a running river by this morning.

Nearly an inch of rain fell just this morning, which is about 1/10 of a total year’s rain for this area. If your state needs rain, just call us for a visit, we’re ready to help.

Look hard and you'll see a rainbow

With the day pretty much a wash out we decided to take a car trip to the Sonoita wine region south of here. There are about a dozen wineries in Vail and Elgin, Arizona and they have a few surprisingly good wines. Not that I would know, because I don’t drink, but Joan found a few she brought home.

While Joan was wine tasting at Callaghan Winery I shot the breeze with a group of guys from the Southern Arizona Mustang Club who were spending the day driving Mustangs through the wine country. They told me there would have been a lot more Mustangs but many of the club members decided not to take their vintage cars out on a rainy day.

We are also collecting wines for our annual donation to the Family Literacy Center auction. So we took care of one of our little jobs and made a productive day out of a gloomy one.

Joan tasting wines in Elgin, Arizona

On the way back from the wine country I took a dirt side road to Empire Ranch, which is a National Monument to an 1800s ranch in the beautiful hill country south of Tucson. At one time the ranch covered 49,000 acres of grazing land and the farm house was added onto over the years by several prominent families who lived there.

Actor John Wayne shot a movie here and supposedly stayed at the ranch. Anthony Quinn also visited the ranch and possibly stayed there during the filming of one of his westerns.

Although it was home to some wealthy folks it was a large, but modest dwelling by today’s standards. There were several rooms at the home that were dedicated to the ranch hands and cowboys who lived and worked at the ranch.



Another fine Arizona winery

The beautiful mountains ranges that surround the ranch are spectacular.

We got home just in time for dinner and a quiet night at home in the trailer.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

With the unsuccessful trip to church last Sunday we opted to try the chapel in the RV Park. We didn’t know what to expect, but when we arrived we were one of about 400-plus in the ballroom for the service.

The music was great and out of a hymnal with songs we both recognized and didn’t. Some of the tunes we recognized from our Anglican tradition, but the words were different.

The many lives of Empire Ranch

It was “Christian Unity Sunday” at Voyager Community Chapel and they start each service with the posting of the American and Canada flags. Then they take “the roll of the States and Provinces” and it was truly amazing to see how many states and Canadian Provinces are represented in the park.

The message was good – “Five Smooth Stones” – and was based on the story of David and Goliath, which is a significant part of the study Joan and I just led at the senior complex in Davison.

A collection was taken but it goes to a local charity rather than a church.

After church Joan did the laundry and I helped by being the pack mule that hauled all the dirty clothes to and from the laundry. While she was working on the clothes I finished reading my Shaara book, which I was sorry to see come to an end.  If you like historical fiction “The Final Storm” is a great book about the invasion of Okinawa to the dropping of the Atomic bomb on Japan.

Joan looking at one of the renovated Empire Ranch rooms

With the laundry and book done we headed to the local REI store so I could buy some hiking socks because I left my good ones in Michigan.

From there we headed back to the grocery stores where I filled up the Tahoe’s tank (first time since we arrived here) and Joan picked up a few groceries and we headed home for a dinner of Shrimp Louie salad. (By the way, I got gas for $2.79 a gallon today).

Scroll down for more photos of yesterday's adventure.