Even with an extra "leap" day, time continues to fly

Trailhead for Romero Pools hike

Time flies in the desert. Here we are on the cusp of March and two months of our winter getaway behind us. This has been one of the warmest Februarys in recorded weather history for Tucson and many days were in the 80s. Other than the two rain days we have been clear and sunny every day.

When last we visited we had a quiet Sunday in the resort and for the most part the last week has been fairly slow, as slow as things get here in Senior Winter Camp.

Our small hiking group ready to head out

On Monday, Joan went to her aquacise class and I went to the fitness center to get in a few miles on the treadmill. It sometimes seems silly to be walking in place at 4 mph when I could be outside enjoying the beauty of the desert, but when I am outside I sometimes take my time and don’t get a good workout. I have a great time sightseeing, but not so much exercising outdoors.

Through a quirk of the day’s activities, we went out to mail our tax information and get new passport photos taken, Joan missed the annual quilt show in the ballroom which she really enjoys. So that was a disappointment.  Later in the day, we invited our Michigan friends, Jerry and Marcia (who are working with us on the Michigan Party) to go to Meet Me At Maynard’s.

Marcia, Joan, me and Jerry at MMM

We all had a great time and they are now fans of the weekly event. In addition, we finally made reservations to eat at El Charro’s in downtown Tucson and the four of us enjoyed a great meal. El Charro’s is one of the oldest restaurants in Tucson and in addition to the good food there is great atmosphere in an old building.

Also on Monday at Meet Me at Maynard’s Joan and I qualified to receive our free hats for attending 15 times. Because we are only here during the winter it has taken us three seasons to finally get our hats. If you remember, we received our free t-shirts last season which signified 8 times at the weekly event.

Next up after the hats is a 50-time pin and then a 100-event t-shirt. Judging by how long it has taken us to get to the hats, I will be dead before I get to another t-shirt. The pin is in range though.

Joan and I cheering to get our MMM hats

Monday brought the funniest moment of the week, at least for me. We ended up going to Walmart to have our passport photos taken. The photographer told us we could smile, but not show our teeth. Something to do with mangling your cheekbones and the State Department doesn’t like mangled cheekbones. So I took my photo first but when Joan was sitting for her photo I stood behind the photographer making money faces at Joan.

As you can imagine she had difficulty keeping a straight face and finally told the photographer: “Tell him to stop making faces.” The photographer turned around and I just acted normal and pretended I didn’t know what Joan was talking about. After one more “monkey” episode I knocked it off so we could finish our business (monkey business?).

We "earned" our MMM hats

On Tuesday I was up early and off on a beautiful hike to Romero Pools in Catalina State Park in north Tucson. The hike is arduous, but with all the high altitude snow, the payoff at the end was worth it. Lots of water running down Romero Canyon and some beautiful waterfalls to boot. The temperatures warmed up significantly in the afternoon so coming down off the mountain was pretty taxing.

Joan spent the day as she likes to do cleaning up the trailer and then making a dessert for the Tuesday night pot luck. Spent some time talking to my friend Hap (another Michigan friend) after dinner trying to encourage him about his recent memory issues which were brought on by a concussion he received last summer when he fell off his roof in Michigan.

A break on the trail

On Wednesday, I went to the fitness center early, but Joan wimped out on her pool class because the morning temperatures were cool and the wind was whipping a gale. Instead she stayed home and then headed over to Market Days with me.

Our spirits were somewhat dashed when due to the windy conditions a number of usual merchants did not show up for the outdoor market. We were most disappointed that the man who sells great bags of oranges for $4 took the day off. We are now running dangerously low on fine citrus and are relying on our alternate orange supplier – Walmart.

We had tickets to the Wednesday night comedian in the ballroom. His show “The Spouse Whisperer” was very funny and we had a lot of laughs.

Lunch at Romero Pools

Thursday morning brought on my Men’s Bible study in the morning and then the afternoon lecture by a University of Arizona political science professor on “The 2016 Political Landscape.” Making sense of the current political clown show was about as possible as the earlier lecture on making sense of what is happening in the Middle East.

But the talk and question and answer period following were very interesting anyway.

Thursday night I attended the latest “Experiencing God” study and as it turned out will be leading that discussion and study this coming Thursday. Lots of work to do on that. Joan stayed home and watched her favorite TV show – Grey’s Anatomy.

More of Romero Pools

Joan was up and at it early with her Friday morning Women’s Bible Study and we spent the rest of the day getting our stuff together for the Michigan Party which is Monday, Feb. 29. (You’ll have to read about that next week.)

Our dinners this week were pretty much salads, Taco salad one night, Shrimp Louie another night, then bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches another and we had breakfast for dinner one night, which is one of my favorite dinners.

I got up early Saturday so I could promote for the last time our Michigan party at the massive coffee and doughnuts presentation in the ballroom at 8 a.m. Each week the coffee and doughnuts has a different sponsor and this week it was one of the local RV dealers who brought along four rigs for us to walk through.  We look at the rigs, but we’re pretty satisfied with our current arrangement, which is long paid for.



Heading down the trail

On Saturday afternoon Joan and I moved outside to soak up some sunshine and I began the long process of calling 300 potential blood donors for my next Michigan blood drive which occurs on Tuesday, March 8. A friend of mine is babysitting the drive for me while I am here, but I did all the work setting it up and making the reminder calls. My favorite call this time was I reached a man who is wintering in Florida, so he can’t make the drive and when I told him I was calling him from Tucson, we both got a good laugh out of that.

About a month ago the resort announced a Western Dinner Show for Saturday, Feb. 27, and when I went to get tickets, they were sold out. They put us on a standby list and we got in. The dinner was great, barbeque chicken, scalloped potatoes, prairie garden slaw, Texas vegetable blend (which was just carrots and broccoli), cornbread and “Linda’s Texas sheet cake.”  Everything was good, but I liked “Linda’s Texas sheet cake” the best.

A trail vista

Entertainment for the evening was performed by a group called Goldwing Express, a father and three sons, who play bluegrass, country AND western, as well as gospel music. They were very funny and very talented musicians and singers. At the end of the concert they called up each veteran by branch of service and it was truly amazing how many men (and some women) have served here at Voyager.

They, of course, called up the Army first, even though everyone knows that America’s Navy was the first real military organization in the country.

Because the rodeo is in town, the whole week is considered “Western Heritage” time here in Tucson and on church everyone was dressed out in their best cowboy garb for services on Sunday. I don’t have much in the way of western garb, so I just used it as an excuse to wear jeans and tennis shoes to church this week.

C-130s in the boneyard

After church we came home and watched a nationally televised hockey game and then I finished what I started on Saturday and called the rest of my blood drive phone list. On Sunday night we ate out at Weinerschnitzel and then caught a cheap movie at the bargain theater. We saw “Bridge of Spies.”

This movie had some very special meaning to me as my stepfather worked for Lockheed Aircraft Corp. in Burbank at the time that Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union in the Lockheed built U-2. I remember at one point during the crisis that my stepfather mentioned that the pilot of those planes were not supposed to survive any shootdowns.

An aerial view of the boneyard

My father would enjoy the U-2 flying scenes, as short as they are in the movie, but the history of a previously untold story would also be of interest to anyone with even a passing interest of the history of that era.

Monday promises to be a busy day with our responsibilities for hosting the “Michigan Party” here at the Voyager. Too bad for you, because you will have to wait for the next post to read all about it.

Just a quick note for my Dad. Every time I pass the boneyard on Kolb Road I think of you. But mostly I wish the thousands of military aircraft sitting in the desert could talk. I’d love to know where they had flown and what exotic missions they had performed. It’s a little sad to see them covered and forlorn sitting in the desert like forgotten heirlooms.

A busy week for the Smiths, Vegas, a hike, a parade and a dance

Love our Tucson sunsets

Life is good in the desert. As soon as Elin flew out of her last weekend (and I got to see her plane bank right over Voyager on its way to Denver) we began preparations for a short trip to Nevada to visit our friends Ed and Betty there.

Saturday was spent washing clothes and packing for a three-day trip to Las Vegas where we met Ed and Betty. Ed and Betty spend a month or more in Las Vegas during the winter and we try to make a quick trip each year to visit them. Ed and I are not gamblers so we always make a pilgrimage to Fry’s Electronic Store which has every conceivable electronic part you could imagine. Want to build your own computer? It’s all there?

At dinner with Ed and Betty

Want to set up an elaborate security system in your home?  Fry’s is your place. Need a drone to fly over your neighbor’s pool? Fry’s got it! Fry’s also has a large section called “As Seen on TV” where they sell all that junk you see advertised on television. Last year we each bought a special bag for microwaving baked potatoes.

It takes us about 90-minutes to cover the store and look at all the new stuff and we usually escape with only minor monetary damage. This time I found a 32 gigabyte thumb drive storage device for less than $9 so I picked that up for use in doing my Navy newsletter.

Ed bought a surprise gift for Betty in the “As Seen on TV” aisle, but it was too big and dangerous for him to fly home with so it is tucked into a storage place in my Tahoe for a future Michigan delivery.

Petrogylphs from ancient grafitti artists

We had dinner with Ed and Betty Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at various places, the most noteworthy the buffet at The Palazzo where we did a lot of damage to the prime rib and lamb windows. Trust me we got our money’s worth that night.

While the ladies were playing on Tuesday, Ed and I drove about an hour north of Las Vegas to the Valley of Fire, which is one of the most unusual geological places I have been. It is so unusual that apparently a number of science fiction movies have been filmed there due to its unusual rock formations.

Ed and I spent several hours driving through the state park enjoying the ancient petroglyphs and not-so-ancient graffiti that some idiots just can’t help themselves from doing. While there we ran into two very nice families. The first was a family of four from South Korea who have been traveling the country for three weeks. They asked us to take a photo of them and I immediately turned that job over to Ed who made a living taking photos and directing the photo department at the Oakland Press.

Ed taking a photo of our Korean friends

We actually ran into them at a couple stops and after taking their photos at each one, they offered us an orange, which I remember from my Asian visits is a very grateful gesture. The husband and father was pretty taken with my big Tahoe and his broken English let me know that such a big car would never work in South Korea. We made sure to make them feel welcome and encouraged them to enjoy the rest of their visit to our country.

The next family we met had a very strong Eastern European accent, but when they asked where we were from they were gleeful that we came from Michigan. They are recent immigrants from Romania and now live in West Bloomfield, Michigan, which is in the coverage are of the Oakland Press where Ed and I worked.

Our picnic lunch spot (my Tahoe)

At one point I annoyed Ed by going on and on to a couple of women who asked us to take their picture and I gushed about the fact they were getting their photo taken by a world renowned photographer who won many awards during his long career as a professional newspaper

photographer.

Ed and Betty are more than just long time friends, Ed was my mentor and confessor at the Oakland Press. My first real professional daily newspaper job was there and Ed took me under his wing, even though I was just a reporter, and taught me what it takes to bring a story photographically to life. He and I shared a number of major and national news events, not the least of which was the “Fatal Attraction” case of Judith Watson.

I got a tip about the fact a woman was stalking a local attorney and showing up to his home and trying to arrange a liaison with him. When we showed up to take photos at her house she met us at the door wearing just a skimpy negligee and when she invited us to come in Ed waved her off and told her she would have to come outside for the photos.

The Telephone Line Trail in Sabino Canyon

Ed was protecting me and him from some future grief. So she posed in her negligee in the front of her condo and in front of some very annoyed neighbors. Later Ed and I made a few bucks selling the story and photos to the Weekly World News. That is just one of many great story memories I have with Ed.

After reading this post, continue to scroll down and view some of the great photos Ed took of me while we were visiting the Valley of Fire.

We were up and at ‘em early Wednesday for the trip back to Voyager RV resort. 

One thing we notice about Arizona that is different from Michigan is the gas prices can vary by dozens of cents in just a short distance. Between Las Vegas and Kingman, Arizona gas prices soared to $2.99 a gallon, probably owing to the fact there were no other stations within 50 miles. Fortunately, I had filled up in Las Vegas so I could wait for a much better deal.

Looking down from my rocky perch

By the time we got to Phoenix the prices were down to $2.09 and by the time I filled up in Tucson they were at $1.29 a gallon, which the news reported are the lowest prices in the state of Arizona.

We arrived home and Joan whipped up some leftovers in the fridge and then we headed to the concert “A Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On,” which was a tribute show to Jerry Lee Lewis and other rock stars of the 50s and 60s. The keyboard player was the same man we saw in our first show and he did an amazing job of dancing his fingers over the keys. We agreed it was one of the best shows we have seen here and as readers of this blog will attest that is saying a lot.

Thursday morning brought my next Men’s Bible study and then we headed to Walmart to fill the refrigerator with food again. Then Thursday night I went to the mixed Bible Study called “Experiencing God” and in a weak moment agreed to lead that class in two weeks when the pastor is away for a family wedding.

Poppies on the the trail

Due to Elin’s visit and then our trip to see Ed and Betty I have missed two hikes, so on Friday I set out on my own to Sabino Canyon to hike one of my favorite trails, “The Telephone Line” trail. This is a 10-mile loop hike that provides stunning views of Sabino Canyon. By leaving from the visitor center parking lot there is a long climb up to the trail, but then about a 3.5-mile almost level (but very narrow) trail that runs high above the canyon.

I purposely did not buy a shuttle tickets so that I would force myself to walk out on the canyon shuttle road which is about a 4-mile walk. On our previous trips this year to the canyon the water has been over the road in several places due to the high snowfall in the Catalina Mountains and I tested my waterproof hiking books by wading through several of those crossings on the way down.

Looking back towards Tucson

They worked just fine and my socks were bone dry when I arrived back to my car. I did manage to develop a blister on my right heel, probably because I didn’t put on my sock liners in the morning. I also drank three bottles of water and consumed a 20-ounce Gatorade when I arrived back to the car.

Back home, I showered and cleaned up for a big night in the resort. But first Joan spent some time trying to find her e-mail account which mysteriously disappeared when she tried to sync her e-mail account to her phone. I proud to say that she restored her account on her own with no help from me.

Every year in the park they sponsor a “Doo Dah Parade” which is basically a silly excuse for old people to act like kids again. People decorate their golf carts and dress in costume and vie for some very tacky trophies.

Rick, the resort manager, leads the parade on his motorcycle, and this year the attendance was down a little, but the entries were pretty good. One group decorated a series of golf carts into “train” cars, including an engine, a diner car, a coal car, a box car and a caboose.

Park Manager Rick leads the doo dah parade

Another group of residents dressed up as clowns and had their dogs on leashes in a performance of “The Hounds of Voyagerville.” They also sang, “Who Let the Clowns Out,” which was a not so subtle play on “Who Let the Dogs Out.”

The winning entry was a group of seniors who had a lawn chair drill team that was very clever and included a very funny poem, which I can’t remember anything about now.

Following the parade we all headed to the ballroom for the “Voyager Night at the Races” which is the senior citizen version of the Boy Scouts “Pinewood Derby.” People manufacture great small cars and race them for prizes. While they do that we eat dinner provided by various organizations in the resort who cook to raise money for their activities.

The Hounds of Voyagerville lead cart

Joan and I had the $5 rib dinner hosted by the Pickleball group, a $2 root beer float provided by a sewing group and a piece of cheesecake provided by I don’t know who.

It was all good and Joan especially liked it because she didn’t have to cook.

Saturday morning dawned with us attending the 8 a.m. coffee and doughnuts presentation in the ballroom. We were there to promote the “Michigan Party” which Joan and her friend Marcia are organizing.

The Michigan Party is Feb. 29 so time is short. After the coffee and doughnuts we met with the activity folks to find out where all the tables, chairs and kitchen supplies are located. The activity office has been very helpful to us.

Some of the race cars

We spent a quiet day around the resort, although Joan took a “break” to do our laundry. A large group of RVers from Quebec are in the park and they also apparently needed to do laundry so Joan had to be patient and wait for machines.

I don’t mean to stereotype folks but in our experience the folks from Quebec are not particularly friendly. It may be that they don’t speak English so they simply don’t engage, but even when you give them the international signal for “hello” like a simple wave, they rarely wave back or acknowledge you in any way.

We attended the Saturday night Reminiscence Dance and the French visitor had three large tables. They seemed to have a good time but they don’t interact with others very much. Again, it may just be that they prefer to stick with their own because of the language barrier.

Our Michigan table at coffee and doughnuts

We had a lot of fun at the dance and Sunday was another quiet day after church, although I fixed the lock on the trailer’s basement door and Joan finished up our taxes and I spent some time at the resort hot spot posting this.

Also if you scroll down to the next post you will see some more dramatic photos of The Valley of Fire.

More dramatic photos from the Valley of Fire

Petrogylphs from ancient peoples

Using a telephoto lens, Ed caught me high up on this rock

Pointing out the obvious

The stairway I had to climb to see petroglyphs

Eureka! I claim this land for France

Ed made me pose for all these photos

I am dwarfed by boulders

There's a pattern of pointing

Pointing out another rock

A pensive look

Time flies when the visitors arrive

A field full of Sand Hill Cranes (some in the sky as well)

What a whirlwind week. We always discover that when we have guests, our weeks speed by at warp speed.

On Sunday, we headed to church already knowing that Elin was well on her way to Tucson. We were tracking her flights before church and she was on final approach as we left church. With our close proximity to the airport we always tell our guests to call when the plane touches down and then again when they have their luggage. The first call lets us know that it’s time to head to the airport and the second call lets us know it is time to leave the cellphone lot and pick them up at baggage claim.

Our resort is just about 15 minutes from the airport so it is very convenient.

Elin made the requested two calls and by 12:15 p.m. we were on our way out of the airport and on to our first adventure. Anytime we have guests I use that as an excuse to head to the Mission San Xavier del Bac which is a centuries old structure south of town.

Meet Me at Maynard's

The main reason I love to go there now is that the Tohono O’odham Indians make and sell fry bread there. Fry bread, which is exactly what it says, is made by rolling a ball of dough into a small pizza like circle and then tossing it into a boiling pot of oil. It is my hope that the boiling oil kills anything that the lack of sanitation might encourage. Once the fry bread is out of the pot it is sprinkled with a choice of honey, cinnamon or sugar. My personal choice is sugar. Joan and Elin chose honey and they soon found that they were hosts to a number of bees.

The mission is still an active Roman Catholic church so we had to wait for services to end to take a peek inside. It is a beautifully restored structure that traces its construction to the early 1700s. After that we headed to the Kino Sports complex for the first of several shopping trips around the annual Gem and Mineral show here in Tucson.

We spent a couple hours looking at rocks and fossils before returning to the trailer for dinner. The Gem and Mineral show is a misnomer. It is really a large number of shows scattered all over Tucson and despite our visits here we have only scratched the surface of the many venues.

Elin picked up a couple souvenirs and pronounced the gem show a good thing.

More Meet Me at Maynard's

On Monday, the ladies got up and went to aquacise together while I got in a quick work out and then a shower. After Elin and Joan returned from the pool we headed to Whitewater Draw to make our annual pilgrimage to see the Sand Hill cranes who winter there. We arrived about 12:30 p.m. just in time to see the afternoon fly in of thousands of noisy but graceful cranes.

We ate a nice picnic lunch and then started the 90-minute trip home to the trailer to get cleaned up for Meet Me at Maynard’s.

We did the two-mile hike around Tucson at MMM and then headed for dinner to Diablo Burgers where we all enjoyed the tasty burgers made with locally grown beef. Once home we crashed from a very busy but enjoyable day.

Tuesday was a get up early day as we were going to spend the entire day at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. We arrived just after it opened at 8:30 a.m. and began the tour of the museum. As Elin noted, it is really misnamed as the museum is more a zoo/botanical garden/aviary than a museum.

Our timing let us see both the 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. “Raptor Free Flight” shows and the 12:15 p.m. “Live and (sort of ) on the Loose” show in the auditorium. Elin fell for an owl that flew at the 10 a.m. show and now calls it her “Spirit Animal.” The owl, which is completely free during the demonstration, confounded her trainers by remaining at various perches long after she was supposed to be flying to her next station.

A Harris Hawk at the Desert Museum

We spent the rest of our time there visiting the javelinas, coyotes, bears, mountain lions, deer and other desert creatures. hummingbirds We also spent a little time looking at rattlesnakes and large spiders.

We left the museum a little after 3 p.m. and then headed home to attend the Tuesday night potluck where Elin was a big hit with the old folks. The food was tasty and Joan brought her famous “tuna surprise.”

An early wake up on Wednesday saw us visiting the opening hour of “Market Days” here at the Voyager where Elin found a very nice opal ring made by a man who I know. Many of the crafters who exhibit at the Market Days are also residents here at the resort.

A little after 10 a.m. we left the resort heading for the Arts Festival in Tubac which is about an hour south of here and about 20 miles north of the Mexican border. Joan had purchased a ring for Elin at the show a couple years ago and Elin was hoping that jeweler would be back so she could sample some of his other wares. Unfortunately, we never found him at the festival but spent a long day visiting dozens of great artisans.

A trip to Tubac

Elin did find a leather purse that seemed to call her name and we bought a few other smaller souvenirs for family and friends. The weather all week has been above average and unseasonably warm with temperatures in the 80s every day.

Elin did purchase a towel that was supposed to have cat ears on it, but when she got home and took it out of the bag it more resembled some kind of gargoyle or other creature.

We ate outside and had a crock pot pork dinner which we ate outside the trailer on our picnic table. The weather was perfect for an outside dinner.

I attended my usual men’s Bible study on Thursday morning and then we headed up to Sabino Canyon so Elin could ride the shuttle up to the end of the canyon and see the incredible beauty of that area. We arrived home in time to eat lunch and attend the weekly Thursday lecture, which was offered by a University of Arizona professor and retired U.S. Ambassador to Oman and a former deputy ambassador to Egypt who talked on “Making sense of the Middle East.”  Even Ambassador Dunford admitted that a one hour talk would never approach making sense of the Middle East, but his talk was very informative and thought provoking. Bottom line: There is no easy solution and no quick solution, but then you all knew that. But his reflections and insights were very good.

Joan (bonnet) and Elin wine tasting at Tubac

When the lecture ended we headed back downtown where we visited the 22^nd Street Gem Show, which is a personal favorite of ours. The 22^nd Street show is in a huge tent and takes up a full block. They have dozens of gem merchants, but also fossil brokers. Every wanted to buy a Tyrannosaurus Rex, this is where you can do that if you have the extreme amount of money to do so. A pair of Alaskan Mammoth tusks could be had for the low, low price of $125,000.

After the gem show redo we headed home for a steak dinner done on our outdoor grill. After dinner, Elin and Joan headed to the bar and grill for karaoke night and I went to my Thursday night Bible study. I did meet up with them at the bar and grill after 8 p.m. and hear Elin sing a Carol King song, “It’s Too Late.”

Earlier she sang, “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips, and “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. She was a popular performer that night and a number of folks kept imploring her to sing more songs.

Eating outside the trailer

With everyone exhausted we returned home about 9 p.m. and turned in for the night. Friday was a quiet day with Elin and Joan heading to the pool for some sun and fun time while I went into town to get the car washed and fueled. In the afternoon we sat out on the resort courtyard and then Elin challenged me to a game of pool and we went to the billiards room where we split a couple of games of 8-ball. (She’s pretty good at pool and I have lost most of the little skill I had some 30 years ago).

After our pool shark adventure we went back to the trailer got fixed up and headed to “Cushing Street Bar and Restaurant” for a final dinner with Elin before she returned home Michigan on Saturday. 

There was a very nice smooth jazz singer at the restaurant and it was a fitting close to a great week.

Dinner at Cushing Street

We had lots of laughs, one especially raucous discussion over Joan’s pronunciation of the term “du jour.” Elin nearly lost her breath laughing because her mother pronounced the term “dee jur.”

I provided some levity because Elin tried to teach us how to use our new phones and she thought it was pretty ridiculous that I don’t know my passwords for any of my accounts and so I carry all of them on a piece of paper in my wallet.

I guess the humorous part (for her) is that I have separate passwords for all my accounts, but that I keep them written on one single piece of paper in my wallet.  Apparently that is some kind of serious breach of security. Works for me.

At my age I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, which is the same every day, so how can I possibly be expected to remember a series of passwords.

A week without a hospital visit is heaven

A view from the trail

So after a week that included a hospital visit this one had to be better – and it was by a factor of four.

Thanks to El Nino our week started with rain and cold weather and stayed there through Thursday. Well, not the rain which ended Monday night, but the cold temperatures settled in for three days which really quiets this place down. Let’s be honest, no one comes to Tucson in the winter looking for a day when they can go skiing on the mountain or stay inside where it’s warm.

Because of the freezing outdoor temperatures and breezy conditions, Joan wimped out on her outdoor aquacise class, but I have to admit the pool was empty so she was not alone in that.

Because of last week’s medical adventure I toyed with the idea of passing on this week’s hike because it is one of the two hardest hikes of the year. The Blackett’s Ridge hike is not long, it’s only six miles, but it has a rise of 1,700-feet in just 1.7 miles which means lots of rock steps and switchback inclines.

Met at the top of the trail

Sometime Monday afternoon, after some encouragement from my friend Jim,  I resolved that I was going to make the Tuesday hike and that I was going to keep a positive attitude and make the climb. Temperatures were in the 30s when we started out at Sabino Canyon but the climb up the mountain warmed me up in a hurry. Joan convinced me that I should start using my rescue inhaler for my asthma again and I have to admit it came in handy on Tuesday.

A smaller than normal hiking group showed up for the hike and we completed the hike in just under five hours including a snack stop and a lunch stop at the trail’s end at a precipitous cliff. The winds came up and after about a half hour on top, we all decided it was time to escape the cold wind and start down.

Those same high rock steps that taxed us going up are nothing but knee breakers on the way down.

Back at the parking lot I felt a great sense of accomplishment and relief that the hike put all of last week’s concerns to rest. Everyone on the hike made it up and down in good shape. When I got home I high-fived Joan and let her know all was well.

In the afterglow of the hike I headed to the showers, got cleaned up and then got a chance to be the flavor tester for Joan’s chili offering for the Tuesday night potluck dinner. I tried to convince her I needed more than one small taste, but she declined. A record crowd of potluckers showed up for the dinner and the variety was terrific, even if a little short on desserts.

Overnight the temperatures dropped to the mid-20s, an unusual event for Tucson, and with our water supply hose exposed to the cold we had little choice but to run a trickle of water in the sink all night to prevent our hose and pipes from freezing. Every two hours (which is not an issue for me since at my advanced age I find I get up at about that interval every night to go to the bathroom) I turned on the kitchen and bathroom sink on full blast to run more water through the system to prevent a freeze.

We didn’t freeze, although others in the park were not so lucky.

The snack stop

The thin walls of our trailer offer only minimal protection from the outside cold and our heater ran nearly non-stop all night. That’s not a problem except that we are using two 7-gallon propane tanks that are on the front of the trailer to supply the fuel. Tuesday and Wednesday night that worked very well, but sometime Thursday night the outdoor valve that switches from one propane tank to the other failed.

No heat from about 2 a.m. until we got up, left the inside of the trailer only a few degrees warmer than the outside temperature which was a Michigan-like 29 degrees on Friday morning. We huddled under our blankets with the mattress heater working overtime to keep us warm. Once I was up, I fixed the valve and unhooked the empty propane tank and took it to a nearby propane station for a refill. So far this winter we are well ahead of our previous stays here in propane use.

OK, back to Wednesday, after a workout Joan and I headed to the Vendor’s Fair at the park and spent just a little time trying to win a raffle prize before heading back to the trailer. After lunch we headed to a barber shop where I got a real close shave and a very short haircut while Joan had a texturize treatment to her hair.

With the loss of hair I’m sure I lost a pound. We did a quick shopping trip to Fry’s so Joan could pick up an antihistamine to deal with her runny nose and then headed back home for dinner and our Wednesday night concert offering at the park. The show was “Men in Black” and was a very, very good tribute show to Johnny and June Carter Cash. We almost didn’t get seats to this show because they were sold out, but they added a few rows of general admission seating to the back of the auditorium and we got in.

After another cold Wednesday night, I was up and early for the Men’s Bible study and after that I headed to town to get an oil change for the Tahoe and then to a car wash to clean it up. When I returned home Joan and I headed to the weekly lecture series at the park, which was given by a representative of the Nature Conservancy of Arizona who explained how his group is locking up desert lands for long term preservation. After that Joan did laundry and I worked on my Bible study for Thursday night, which I really enjoyed.

The lunch stop at the end of the trail

Thursday night was the brutally cold night in the trailer with no heat, but Friday saw continued warming outside and I got in a quick work out while Joan was at the Women’s Bible study. I made the trip to the propane farm to fill up the tank and then lashed down our outdoor mat, which had been blown off its moorings because of the high winds earlier in the week.  I dug out some Michigan flags from under the trailer as I am attending the 8 a.m. Saturday donut breakfast in the ballroom so I can collect reservations to “The Michigan Party” on Feb. 29.

Nothing collects a crowd of seniors like free donuts, bagels and coffee and an overflow crowd was in the ballroom Saturday morning for a run down on the week’s activities as well as a sales pitch from a Nogales, Mexico dental clinic. Many of the folks in the park use the clinic as the procedures are modern and the costs are extremely competitive with prices we pay in America.

For example, a complete cleaning, including x-rays is $35. When I go to the dentist my co-pay for a cleaning is close to $70. Remember, that’s the co-pay. They do advanced implant and other procedures at the clinic and everyone I’ve talked to who uses the clinic is well pleased with both the procedures and the cleanliness.

Jim "the encourager"

We signed up a couple more Michigan folks for the party and I left proud that I had passed up any donuts or bagels. We spent the rest of Saturday re-organizing the trailer for the impending visit of our daughter Elin tomorrow. Joan cleaned and then we went shopping to lay in some groceries for the week.

Not sure when I’ll post next, but certainly by next weekend after Elin returns home to Michigan.

A two-day hospital stay for a man as healthy as a horse

At the risk of burying the lead (lede for my journalism friends) of this story, which I actually started writing last weekend, I’m going to start this week’s journal in the middle.

The "easy" hike group at Pantano Wash

About the time I was starting to write the next blog post last weekend I had a nagging issue that was causing me some concern. On my hike with Mahlon I noticed a real problem breathing. I usually huff and puff, but I rarely have such difficulty that I have to stop and catch my breath. So there was that.

Then there was a nagging slight chest ache that ran through my left shoulder that simply would not go away. About ten years ago I had an atrial fibrillation episode that landed me in the hospital for five days.

So on Tuesday, instead of going hiking, I went to the Urgent Care place to see if they could figure out what was going on. What happened next was a whirlwind of medical tests that culminated with a two-day stay at the Tucson Medical Center where it was determined, tah dah, that I’m just fine.

The Urgent Care thought they noticed that I had an enlarged heart and something about a hardened aorta on a chest x-ray and that’s when all heck broke loose on Thursday.

There is a slightly enlarged ventricle, but it presents no problem at this time. All my numbers are good and a series of tests all turned up negative.

To my friends and family, I apologize for not letting you in on this little episode, but it really seemed like it was a mountain out of an ant hill but in the end I am happy to know my ticker is functioning well and that I have no restrictions on my activities. If there had been something important to let you know about Joan was poised and ready to do so.

Joan said it is now confirmed I have the heart of a 12-year-old boy. The brains and manners too.

We had lots of people in the park praying for us.

I will be more faithful getting my allergy shots and using my asthma inhalers in the future as my lack of consistency in using the asthma products probably led to this event.

Spending a night in the hospital is not how I want to spend my winter time in Tucson and as most of you know there is nothing so unrestful and annoying as being laid up and fussed over. So now back to the post as I was originally writing it last weekend.

While our friends and family back east are buried in snow, Tucson set a record high temperature on Saturday of 81. That’s actually a little too hot for Joan and according to the local weather guys, we were the warmest (even higher than Phoenix which is unusual) in the nation.

Just because

We took Friday off from all our activities, except that Joan spent the morning at her Bible class continuing her work to grow older and wiser. We spent a quiet day and because the dinner show sold out before we even arrived here, we spent a quiet evening at home watching television last night.

On Saturday, we spent our morning walking up and down the resort streets looking for Michigan license plates and dropping off fliers for the Michigan Party that I said I wasn’t going to be part of. So far not being a part of the Michigan Party means I have designed and printed the fliers and announcements and walked a couple miles looking for Michigan residents.

Seriously, we met a lot of nice Michigan folks on our walk and all want to come to the party. We only covered about 1/10 of the park so a lot more walking and talking to do.

This afternoon I spent some time working on the USS Cogswell newsletter, which I am now editor of, and talking to old shipmates and writing stories about them. It is very much fun connecting with my old Navy buddies and hearing great stories.

How about this story: My friend and shipmate from 1966 related this tale to me. In 1967, between cruises he went home to Minnesota and while there applied for an $1,800 loan so he could buy a new Volkswagen when he returned to California after his leave.

He obtained the loan and headed to a VW dealer in Vallejo (that’s where I got off the Cogswell in 1967) and negotiated a deal for the bug for $1,865. The dealer asked whether he was paying cash or financing the car.

“I want to put some money down and finance the rest,” Gary told the dealer.

“How much do you want to put down and how much do you want to finance?,” the dealer asked.

“I want to put $1,800 down and finance the $65,” Gary said. “I never saw anyone so mad as that salesman when he had to fill out all the finance paperwork just so I could make three $15 payments and a final $20 payment.”

There were many laughs during our conversation, but that one was the biggest. The newsletter is due by the middle of next month, but with Elin coming here the first week in February I’d like to have most of it done before she gets here.

For dinner we basically cleaned out the leftovers in the fridge, which meant more yummy crock pot lasagna and salad.

This Meet Me at Maynard's Griffen reminds us of Thing 4

Saturday night was spent watching television and listening to the storm news from back east. On Sunday we went to church and it was Unity Sunday which means they take a roll of states and Canadian provinces at the beginning of services. The Canadian count is way down, probably due to the very poor exchange rate (Canada-wise) on the dollar. The Canadians here said many of their countrymen are delaying visits because they are only getting 70 cents on the dollar here.

In the afternoon, we watched the playoff games and had a quiet night at home. I’ve also been working on my Navy newsletter, calling old shipmates and doing interviews for stories on them and their lives.

On Monday, I went on the “easy” hike which was down Pantano Wash about 15 minutes from our resort. It was a nice hike with nice folks.

I’ve already told you that Tuesday was spent at the Urgent Care, but before they discovered my “problem” I returned home and we attended our Tuesday night potluck.

It was on Wednesday I got the news about the chest x-ray and the need to go to the ER. Stubborn me I decided I would wait a day so we could attend “December ‘63” a Frankie Valli tribute group that we already had tickets for. If I’m going to check out, I want to check out on a high note and this concert was certainly that. Great music, great performers and a wonderful time.

On Thursday morning, because I was on deck for the Men’s Bible Study I went ahead and led the group and then promptly headed to Tucson Medical Center with Joan to follow up on the “enlarged heart.”

The next two days were a blur of tests, nurses, doctors and eventually discharge.

With a clean bill of health and after fasting for two days with little or no food or drink, I told Joan we are stopping at Jack In The Box and I’m getting a Jumbo Jack and fries, which I did to celebrate my release.

Hey, if I’m going to be accused of clogging my arteries, I’m going to give them a reason. We never do fast food, so it was a real treat.

We arrived home about 7 p.m. and I promptly took a shower and we headed to the Albert Galli dance in the ballroom, but only stayed about 90 minutes as both of us were exhausted from two days with no sleep or food.

A Tucson sunset

Saturday was a quiet day although we did take a little walk and distributed more “Michigan Party” fliers to folks in the park. We are methodically making our way through this massive place to make sure we catch most of the Michiganders living here in the winter.

Except for church at the resort, we had another quiet day around the trailer and I continued work on my Navy newsletter.

Church was fun as they were celebrating 30 years of services at the park. The original developer of the park was on hand and we got to meet him at the reception. Joan came home and made us a wonderful pork roast for dinner.

Sorry for the dearth of photos this week, but I failed to take the camera to the hospital which would have made for some very interesting camera fodder.

(Don't know if it is still there, but this morning following my posting of this journal there was an ad for "The Four Signs of a Heart Attack" right below this post.)