Another active month in our desert paradise

  It’s been a busy few weeks in the desert since Dad left at the end of January. The weather has been a little bit of a roller coaster (a very mild coaster, one that most youngsters would be allowed to ride). We had a couple days in the low 80s, a bunch in the 70s and a couple in the 50s.   We also had two days where it rained, but again, not so much.

   After Dad left it was a bit of a letdown for us as we had kept pretty busy with fun activities (if you call falling out of an airplane fun) while he was here. So after a couple chill days we started back on our normal activities.

   Joan has resumed her volunteer receptionist duties at the Voyager clinic and I have been busy with table and chair duties as activities have picked up as the Covid numbers have gone down.

Me and my shadow

   The Wednesday night concert series has been really good this year. The three concerts while Dad was here were great and the ones since have also been very good. The night after Dad left we saw the Chicago tribute show, which was terrific.

    The following week was The Spouse Whisperer, who we’ve seen here before, but he showed up with a lot of new and very funny material. That show contained an unplanned heckler but the entertainer dealt with it with great humor. At one point the woman heckler shouted out that “I live alone!”  The comedian shot back, “Ma’am I think we can all be thankful for that.”

    Shortly after that she stumbled her way out of the concert (I think she was just a little tipsy) and tripped and fell over a chair in the dark room creating yet another interruption before she finally made her way out the door.

    On February 9 we say the show “O Canada” which celebrated the many musical artists that have come from north of the border. Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Anne Murray, a band called Tragically Hip (never heard of them before) and several others. Mercifully, they did not include any musical offerings from Justin Bieber.

Steel drum fun

    The last night, February 16, we saw “Trio,” which was a really good “girl” show with Tribute artists doing songs from Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. All three women singers were great. Interestingly, Mindy Ronstadt, the niece of the famous singer, reprised the songs of her famous aunt.

   We’ve been attending the Thursday lecture series, one on the Sonoran Desert Museum and Joan went to the Thursday lecture today on the new Art Express Theater here in Tucson. (I stayed home to write this blog post).

Hike thru Rattlesnake tunnel

    On Saturday, February 12, along with our Lapeer friends Bob and Karen who are staying in the resort for two months, we headed to Tubac for the annual arts festival. While Joan and Karen shopped for unique items at the arts festival, Bob and I went and toured the nearby Tumacacori Mission. After that we met up with Karen and Joan and had lunch. On the way home we made a detour and drove up Madera Canyon.

   Bob and I also made a trip to Huachuca City and did a nice hike at the San Pedro House. We also did a short hike to the remains of the house that once was the residence of the Clanton family of the famous "Shootout at the OK Corral" fame.

   In early February we went with Bob and Karen to a show at the Gaslight Theater in Tucson to see the Tributaries perform “Woodstock.”  The show also included Mindy Ronstadt singing and was really, really good.

   I’ve done a couple great hikes, Tanque Verde Ridge, Bridal Wreath Falls, Seven Falls, Brown Mountain and Cactus Forest Trail in Saguaro East National Park. We also attended another of the monthly Market Daze art sales here at the Voyager on February 9.  I dropped Joan off at the Tucson Gem Show on Saturday, Feb. 5 and picked her up a few hours later.

Tucson Roadrunners hockey

  Along with Bob and Karen on February 7, Joan and I went to the Gaslight Theater (first time we’ve gone there) to see the Woodstock tribute show that also included singer Mindy Ronstadt.

   We’ve also done a couple of Saturday dances here at the resort, the RAW Band and then the local dance band made up of musicians who live here.  We always have a good time at those.

   On Friday, February 4, we attended the Voyager talent show, which showcased some of the incredible talent that resides here at the Voyager.

    Another night we went with friends to the nearby town of Sahuarita and saw a great free concert with a local steel drum band. The outdoor setting was beautiful and we had a great time with our friends.

Remains of Clanton ranch

    Joan continues to make polymer clay jewelry on Friday, works out in the ballroom Monday and Thursday with her Zumba classes and her aquacise classes on Tuesday and Saturday.  So she is certainly busy. My hiking schedule is pretty much Monday and Friday. We both continue with our Bible studies here as well.

    Our weekly Meet Me at Maynard’s event continue with the addition of our friend Deborah Peterson who just arrived her from Minnesota. Deb and her husband, David, used to go with us down there in previous years. Sadly, Dave died last year so we were really glad to see Deborah make it down this year. This past Monday Joan and I won tickets to see the Tucson Symphony Orchestra perform Duke Ellington’s “Harlem” this coming Sunday.

    As well as the volunteer and fun activities we are currently waiting for some major maintenance work to be done on the trailer. More on that in a future blog post.

Brown Mountain trail

    Friday night, February 18 we went to the second Voyager dinner show. The entertainment was the Tributaries (the same group that did the Woodstock show at the Gaslight Theater) and again for the third time this season Mindy Ronstadt was here to perform in their “Good Morning, Vietnam” show.

    On Saturday, February 19 we headed to downtown Tucson with friends to see a Tucson Roadrunners AHL hockey game. The Roadrunners are the farm team for the Phoenix Coyotes so of course I wore my Detroit Red Wings Darren McCarty sweater.

     It was a great game and the Roadrunners won it 4-3 on a shot with 15 seconds left in the game. A great night and fun to see hockey in the desert.

   The music, singers and musicians were all terrific and we are truly blessed to have such talent available to us here.

    So as you can see (and I’m probably forgetting a thing or two) we have been busy out here in Arizona. We’ll be back soon with further adventures.

The circle of life, and death, at the resort

   If you are a frequent reader of this blog you know how much we love being at the Voyager RV Resort in Tucson. Over the 8 years we have been coming here we have made so many good friends. Truth be told one of the main reasons we keep returning is the friends and relationships we have made here.

     Each year when we arrive we have many happy reunions with old friends. Sadly, because of the nature of the resort we inevitably have to say good-bye to some of those friends. This year has been particularly difficult as two close friends died over the summer and fall.

RIP Don and Walt

     In the previous year it was the same thing, except one of those we lost was not from dying but from health reasons that kept them returning. Hap and Ann were the best and it was Hap that taught me how to do some simple wood carving.

    This year Walt, the man we always closed the season by having dinner with before we left and Don, died during the off season. Today, Sunday, January 20, we attended back-to-back memorial services for both men. We had a chance to meet their families and listen to more details of their lives than we knew previously.

    One of them, Walt, was 10 years older than me, and Don was a year younger and like me had served in the Navy. Both men were part of the Men’s Bible Study here and if you recall the story, it was Walt that always lent me his long ladder so I could get on the top of my trailer to do the work I needed to do before storing the trailer.

A Roadrunner at Sweetwater

    It was also Walt who used to ask me to come and pick the lemons off his prolific lemon tree. He would give us a couple and donate the rest to a local food bank. The picking always left me with shredded skin as the thorns of the tree tore through my thin flesh like a hot knife through butter.

   As I get older these memorial services seem to come at an ever increasing rate.

   But the week wasn’t all sadness as life goes on in the desert. On Monday, I went on the easy hike and Joan got checked out for volunteering at the Voyager medical clinic.  Monday night we attended Meet Me at Maynard’s and I won a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant in the drawing.

   During the afternoon Joan and I went shopping  - separately. Joan planned this shopping trip like a military maneuver. She had her list for Walmart and gave me mine for Fry’s (Kroger). I picked up some really good meat bargains and she got the rest of the groceries.   I picked up some nice steaks, pork roasts, ground beef and some produce that was on sale. The receipt said I saved $63. More important, Joan said I did good.

    I returned to Walmart where Joan had completed her shopping and we headed home making the most of the limited time we had.

Seven Falls

    On Tuesday, the hiking group went on a 7-mile trek along the Wild Burro Trail near Dove Mountain. It’s a bit of drive there, but the hike is well worth the drive. Tuesday night Joan made her wonderful scalloped potatoes and we brought them to the weekly potluck.

    Wednesday we kind of hung around the resort. Joan did some laundry and then on Wednesday night we went to the concert at the resort. “The Cowboy Way” turned out to be a pretty good show even though Joan’s favorite music does not usually involved country or western tunes. The three musicians were excellent on the guitar and the music was wonderful and “not twangy” which is the kind of country and western music Joan doesn’t like.

    Thursday brought my Men’s Bible study and later the Bible study I teach on Thursday night for a mixed group of people. Joan has been faithfully attending her aquacise class on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as well as her Friday Woman’s Bible study.

    A small group of new people in the park asked if I would lead them on a hike to Seven Falls on Friday. Two couples and four singles, including me, headed out early Friday for the Falls, which is in Bear Canyon, which is part of the Sabino Canyon National Park.

Cotamundi wanting snacks

Despite the current government shutdown the trails are open and accessible although the recent rains and snow in the mountains have made the seven water crossings along the river very difficult for some folks to do.

     We took our time and only a couple folks got a little wet during the crossings. The payoff was that the Seven Falls were full of water and everyone enjoyed eating lunch in such an idyllic spot. We plan to do some future hikes together as well.  At the Seven Falls area we spotted two cotamundis (weird looking racoon creatures) begging for snacks. I told the group I charge extra for finding wildlife.

    Some folks don’t enjoy hiking with the Tuesday group because of the speed of the group. There is often not time to stop and take pictures at the pace we go so these extra hikes give folks a chance to move a little slower and stop and smell the cactus.

    For once we had a quiet Friday night with no organized activities planned so when I got home from the hike Joan announced we were going to the resort restaurant for fish fry. The fish fry was good, but certainly not up to Buffalo fish fry standards. But Joan didn’t have to cook and I didn’t have to wash dinners so there’s that.

Wild Burro hike

    Joan has been wanting to get back to the Sweetwater Nature area north of Tucson so we made time Saturday for that.  Joan is still hoping to see the bobcat that I saw there last year, but we are going to have to go earlier in the day to see it.

     We did see a Roadrunner, a ruddy duck, a plethora of coots, a hawk, a mallard, a green heron and a small woodpecker, so it wasn't a complete bust.

    We stopped at Walmart on the home to do a little grocery shopping and then went to the Retro Rockets dance Saturday night.

    The Retro Rockets are a very popular group down here and they packed the ballroom with 350 people for dancing.

    Sunday was church and the two memorials already discussed here.  In case you’ve been wondering the weather here is turning for the better and on Sunday it was 76 degrees and sunny.

Hikes, hikes, jewelry and friends!

At the end of an 18-mile hike

It’s been busy here again, but then it is always busy here. Our friends, my former boss and his wife, Roger and Jessica, are almost at the end of their visit and two weeks from this Friday we will also be wheels up and on our long trip home.

But until then there is much to tell and much to come.

The shows at the resort have been top caliber this year and since we last talked we have seen some really good shows, including an Eagles Tribute Show and a singing comedian and impressionist, Scott Record.

One great view from the long hike

The latter was very good and was once a close associate of Rodney Dangerfield (he did an outstanding Rodney Dangerfield impression). The Eagles concert was likewise very good, but the loudness drove some of the older audience members home at intermission.

 Just last week we saw “New Odyssey” a group of three men who play (and play well) 30 different instruments. It was an incredible performance with a lot of humor, and of course, music.

As I have mentioned previously in this 55-plus park you have a variety of musical and entertainment tastes. With ages varying over three decades it must be a challenge to offer up entertainment that keeps everyone happy. When the Rap tribute concerts start being booked I’ll know that it’s time for me to stay home. I would welcome a Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin tribute show, but it would likely not be popular with the older folks here.

Blackett's Ridge Memorial Hike for Dave

This has been my best hiking year here ever. I’ve been average more than 2 great hikes a week (in part due to the visit of my friend Mahlon) and about 10 days ago a group of us here in the park set out on a hike I have wanted to do for a long time.

The hike starts in Bear Canyon and goes past Seven Falls (I’ve been there twice already before this season) and continues on up the mountain into the Sycamore Reservoir area in Catalina Mountains and then circles back on the Hutch’s Pool Trail and finishes on the Telephone Line hike.

Joan showing her jewelry creations at Show and Tell

We were told that it was a 14-mile hike. When we finally finished the GPS devices carried by two of our hikers logged us in at 18.8 miles for the day, which was more than 9 hours of hiking. The last four miles of the hike was pretty quiet as we were pretty exhausted in the heat and just wanted to put one boot in front of the other to get to the end.

Hockey night in Tucson

The views were outstanding and there was plenty of water in Bear Creek and Sabino Creek so that was refreshing to see. Most of the other hikes were in the 7-8 mile range and all are in preparation for next week’s adventure as we hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, stay down in the bottom of the canyon for two days and then hike out on the fourth day. I think I’m ready, but I know it will be a grind.

Joan has been working hard at the health clinic, as long as doing her jewelry making.

She showed off her creations at “Show and Tell” here at the resort and I manned the Bible Study table at the same event. There are some very talented people here and they all showed off the stain glass, silver jewelry, stained glass creations, quilts, wood carving and other great activities offered here.

I know it probably sounds like bragging, and I really don’t mean it that way, but this park offers more activities both indoors and outdoors than any park we have ever stayed at. People here for the first time simply are stunned by the range of activities offered here.

Also since I last checked in we have attended a dance and a dinner show.

Lunch on the Bug Springs hike

Joan has been faithful about attending her aquacise class and I recently was asked to come on  board as a hike coordinator for the hiking group here which means I will be leading a couple of the hikes during our stay here next year.

It had been three years since we had our trailer carpets cleaned and the desert dirt and dust had taken a toll on our floor despite Joan’s constant attention to cleanliness. So we called the man who cleaned them before and he came out and cleaned them again.

However, because the carpets need time to dry, we decided to visit a new casino resort in the Apache lands north of here overnight to let the carpets dry. When Joan booked the hotel she thought she had lodged us at Apache Sky Casino which is about two hours north of here. As soon the carpets were done, we left for the resort arriving about 6 p.m.

Lunch on the rocks (with my friend Jim)

As we drove up the new driveway I was pretty confused to see the casino, but nothing that looked like a hotel. Inside we asked the clerk where the hotel was and she said “there’s no hotel here.” That’s when we discovered that Joan booked us into Apache Gold Resort, which was another hour north of Apache Sky.

We asked if they had a restaurant at the new Apache Sky Casino, because we were really hungry, and she happily replied “There’s a food truck out back.”  Not what we were looking for so we caged our hunger, got back in the car and headed to Apache Gold where we checked in and grazed on a nice prime rib.

The next day we returned to Apache Sky used up the free $30 free play they gave us and then headed back to Tucson in a small rainstorm because we had tickets to the Tucson Roadrunners hockey game. A number of our friends from the hiking club were also going and because it was $1 hot dog night we feasted on those.

A really bad hike selfie

We were also supposed to go on a Boneyard Tour (that’s a tour of the aircraft being stored in the desert at Davis – Monthan Air Force Base, but the Pima Air Museum really dropped the ball and never got back to us about the reservation we made for the tour. Not sure what is going on with the museum, but their customer service, at least in this instance was really lacking.

Well, another week went by so I’ll add an additional two great hikes, one at Bug Springs and another 13.2-mile hike to a back country campground in the Catalina Mountains. All of these hikes are in preparation for my big challenge coming on Wednesday, March 21, when 18 of us hike down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and spend two wonderful days along the Colorado River at Phantom Ranch.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, our friends Roger and Jessica have left the park to start their long amble home. They were stopping in Albuquerque to visit friends and I know they probably hit some pretty cold weather when they arrived there.

Arizona sunrise

They took us to dinner on Wednesday as they were going to be locked up with grandchildren for the last two days they were in the park. After saying good bye to them Saturday morning, March 17, I felt pretty sad when I returned an hour or so later and saw that there motor home had left. Safe travels friends!

So look here in a week or so and there should be some wonderful Grand Canyon photos to view. Looking forward to seeing our son, William, my cousin Cynthia, and sister Laura on our way home.

Talk to you all soon.

Visitors flood into Tucson and fun ensues

Elin hiking high above Tucson

No, I’m not dead, just a horrible procrastinator. Hard to believe it has been way over a month since I last posted and now I’m going to struggle to remember all the wonderful things that have happened in the month since I last wrote.

As a reporter I was loathe to ever miss a deadline, but as a retired writer on my own, I clearly have issues with deadlines.  So mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa. No excuses, but we have been busy.

But here goes. Joan continues her quest to design and perfect her polymer clay jewelry making (she is doing very good at it) and I continue with my Bible studies and table and chair work her at the resort.

Joan has also started her volunteer service at the resort health clinic.

The Wednesday show entertainment has continued to be top notch and just to shorten this all up a bit here is the lineup of what we have seen in concert since we last met here on the blog: Piano Men, a tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John (fantastic show); Corrie Sachs as Reba McIntyre (another  great show even though neither of us are big country fans); An Evening with the Music of the Carpenters (great show and even greater because daughter Elin was here to see it with us – more on that later); The Spouse Whisperer, a really, really funny comedian who we have seen here before.  If you see me in person ask me about the joke “Why can I prove women enjoy sex better than men?”

Joan, Elin and me on a hike on the Zimmerman trail

We continue to attend Meet Me at Maynards each Monday and enjoy most of the Tuesday potlucks.

Last year, we had only brief visits from friends and no family. This year our visitation cup runneth over. 

In just the past three weeks we had Elin come and stay with us for a week, Mahlon and Colleen friends from church in Flint who have been here the last 10 days and last week my former editor, Roger and his wife, Jessica, have arrived in our park with their RV and will be here through March 17.

A Kitt Peak sunset with a telescope (and Joan's bonnet)

Let me tell you how this last visit came down. Roger knows we winter in Tucson, but he was not aware of where. He wrote me in early January telling me he was coming to Tucson and was staying in the Voyager RV park. Of course, we were elated as that is where we stay.

Later in our email discussions he was asking me about mail service here and I asked him what site number he would be at. Now mind you there are more than 1,500 RV sites here in the park. When he sent me his site number we both learned he was two spaces away from us.

Inside a Kitt Peak telescope

But let’s go back to Elin’s visit starting with her arrival Feb. 6. First night we ate outside at the Voyager Grill and then on Wednesday we headed to Tubac, Arizona for the arts festival there. Joan and Elin enjoy looking through all the vendors and we spent an enjoyable day in the warm sunshine. I just endure a day of looking at sparkly stuff I care nothing about.

That night Elin joined us at the Carpenters’ tribute show, which we all enjoyed. I’m sure that Elin will have a hundred stories about her stay in a park filled with senior citizens. She was polite enough not to laugh at us too much during the week.

Jewelry by Joan

On Thursday, I dropped Joan and Elin off at one of the Gem show sites in Tucson so they could marvel over more shiny objects while I spent a quiet day back at the resort. I’ve done the Gem show several times and no longer have the desire to spend an entire day looking at shiny rocks. Actually I would rather watch stars in the daytime than spend another hour at the gem show.

My favorite part of Elin’s visit came Friday when she and I headed to Sabino Canyon for a hike. Elin has been making some very positive changes in her life and part of that involves exercise and the great outdoors. So armed with snacks, water and proper hiking equipment we headed to the Telephone Line trailhead in Sabino Canyon.

This hike has gotten me in trouble before as I have underestimated its difficulty for people not used to hiking. But Elin was a great sport, even when she twisted and hurt her hand in an awkward position.

Me being the high point in the Tucson Mtns. on Wasson Peak

We had lunch on top of a large rock along the trail and generally had a wonderful time hiking together. She is a great sport. One of my favorite moments during our stay here.

On Saturday morning Joan, Elin and I did a relatively easy hike on the Gabe Zimmerman trail just east of the resort. This is a beautiful desert trail named for the Congressional aid of the Congresswoman Gabby Giffords who was shot by a deranged man at a shopping center in Tucson. Gabe Zimmerman died in the attack along with several other people.

Roger and me at Empire Ranch

Over the weekend we gave Elin some time to relax by the pool but on Monday we headed to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum to take in the free flight raptor show and tour the museum. That night we all went to Meet Me at Maynards and them celebrated by having a nice dinner at Downtown Kitchen. Elin enjoyed her pork belly donut appetizer. I guess they were better than they sounded.

On Tuesday we went to the night program at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Unfortunately, the bad weather that was to come was making its way into Arizona and we could not use the telescopes that night because of the cloud cover. Instead we got unique tours of some of the telescopes on the mountain and had a great time talking to the astronomers working in them. They had plenty of time to talk to us because they couldn’t work while the clouds were obscuring the sky.

One of the astronomers is part of a project trying to find “PHA”s. That stands for Potentially Hazardous Asteroids. He mentioned one that had just been located, but chuckled and said privately the astronomers often refer to PHAs as “Practically Harmless Asteroids” because most, if not all of those discovered so far are well out of danger range for earth.

The next day after we visited Market Daze in the resort Wednesday morning, we dropped Elin off at the airport and waited around and picked up our friends Mahlon and Colleen who arrived at the same time Elin was leaving.

Joan and Roger wine tasting at Sonoita Winery

Since I last wrote I have climbed to the top of Wasson Peak twice, once with friends from the resort hiking group and once with my friend Mahlon from Flint. Mahlon and I also did a fairly difficult hike in the Catalina Mountains on the Bug Springs Trail. That is a tough 10-mile slog over a couple small mountain peaks with a 2,000-foot climb.

I have probably logged about 100-miles on Arizona trails so far this year, by far the best hiking year ever here in Tucson. I should admit that my left knee is slightly complaining about all the recent uphill (and of course, downhill) hikes in the past few weeks. All of this is leading to a major hike at the end of March when I will be descending into the floor of the Grand Canyon on foot for a three-day adventure with many members of the Voyager Hiking group. More on that later.

Ventana Canyon hike

Also in the past month the weather in Arizona has done a major flip flop. In January we were greeted with the warmest January on record. That means for more than 100 years this was the warmest – and driest – January since man has recorded weather here.

Starting with the day Elin left to return to Michigan we have had temperatures way below average and rainfall way above average. In the past 10 days there has been about 3-inches of rain (that’s an entire winter season here) with snow in the high altitudes.

Earlier this season I hiked to Seven Falls only when I wrote about it I referred to Seven Trickles. No more. The water is running quite high and the falls are in full faucet. Our Voyager hiking group had some difficulty crossing swollen creeks (there are seven crossings in all) to make our way to the falls.

Of course with all these wet weather we have very excited weather people on TV acting as though the apocalypse has arrived in southern Arizona. If rain is on the way they immediately declare a “Weather Action Day” which means only that you need an umbrella.

We’ve had a lot of fun with Roger and Jessica as well. Roger was my first city editor at the Flint Journal staring in 1989. He was a great editor and has been a great friend as well. I can’t tell you how much fun it has been to have them with us here in the resort.

Into every life a little rain must fall

They went to the Spouse Whisperer with us and on Friday, Feb. 23, we went to the dinner show that included the doo-wap group MC6 in the ballroom. They will be going with us next Wednesday to the “One of These Nights” concert, a tribute to the Eagles.

On Saturday, Feb. 24, the four of us went on a trip to visit Empire Ranch, which is the location of nearly a dozen famous western movies, but unfortunately the ranch is undergoing a $1 million renovation and is closed for tours. We did spend some time walking around a couple barns on the ranch and then took an afternoon drive to several wineries in the Sonoita area of Arizona.

Jim & Jim on a hike

We ate dinner on the way home at a really good Mexican restaurant near the resort. My sister-in-law Diane sent us a half a case of Andersen’s Split Pea Soup and we have been enjoying that gift now that the weather has turned chilly here.

Planning for the March 5 Michigan party is in full swing and I’ll report more on that after the fact, if I don’t get caught in a major procrastination episode again.

The Larry Nasser story (the pervert doctor who molested so many young girl athletes) came home to us in Tucson when it was announced that the creepy doctor had been sent to a federal prison that is just about ½ mile from the resort as the crow flies. We can see the lights of the prison from the resort.

Time is slowly inching its way towards our eventual return to Michigan, but I promise to write again soon to keep you up to date. I know I have forgotten something important, but that’s what happens when I let too much time elapse between posts.

Mountain lions and Bingo, all in day's rest

Happy New Year! We welcomed in the new year in the Voyager ballroom to the tunes of “Two’s Company” a local duet that appears here at least once a month during the winter.

Joan at Meet Me at Maynard's

The night was not without its drama though. One of the party goers, who had obviously partied a little too much, somehow went to his knees on purpose during a song just before the midnight countdown. The tipsy man was apparently reacting to lyrics in the song that indicated being on a knee or knees.

Anyway, once he was down on his knees he then had to get up. I watched this whole horror in slow motion as he worked himself up to a crouch and then stumbled two or three steps backwards finally losing his balance and going over backwards striking his bald head very hard on the seat of a folding chair.

Meet at Maynard's scenery

Then he hit the hardwood floor with a thud and blood started draining out of a cut on the back of his head.  A number of people immediately went to his aid, including a retired nurse and he laid on the floor for a few minutes and then a couple men lifted him into a chair where the nurse applied a bandage to his head.

The musical duet never missed a beat and the midnight countdown went on without any further distractions.

It did get me to thinking that we have seen death come in many forms at the resort. According to a number of folks, a man plunged to his death while cleaning the top of his trailer a few years ago. A fact I know because I am reminded of it by every passing resident when I am on the roof of my trailer cleaning it.

Another man died while playing pickleball (a very popular sport that roughly looks like tennis and ping pong) but that was attributed to a heart condition. I nearly got killed by a senior citizen driving a speeding golf cart through a stop sign. So it would not have completely surprised me to have a “death by dancing” incident. Fortunately, the man is probably walking up with a massive hangover 

combined with a concussion this morning. Not a great way to start the New Year’s.

On the patio at Meet Me at Maynard's Super Moon in the back

On Sunday we went to church after I started my exercise regimen at the resort fitness center. I also reconnected with the table and chair committee and have already helped tear down church, set up the New Year’s party and then stayed late to tear down the tables and chairs after the party was over. 

Next up the Ella Fitzgerald tribute concert on Wednesday.

After church Joan and I went shopping to fill the cupboards and then returned to the resort to watch NFL football. The Lions pulled out a meaningless victory over the Packers on Sunday. This team is so frustrating. They win the games that don’t matter and lose the games that mean everything.

Seven Falls selfie

In addition to watching football, Joan did our travel laundry while I made up some burgers and bacon and cut up some fruit for a snack to pass at the New Year’s party. The weather has been outstanding since we’ve been here with much of the same predicted at least a week into the future.

One sad thing about Arizona is that you know you are here because you immediately notice one or more homeless people on nearly every major intersection seeking help. Probably a function of the good weather than keeps them here.

Now here’s an observation I made in Fort Smith (or Port Smith as Joan calls it). We spotted a story called “Sofa City.” Over the years I have see a number of businesses who use the “City” as a formal business name.

That is just stupid. If you can’t come up with a better name than that, you should not be in business. I’m sure somewhere there is a “Car City” or a “Taco City” but just stop it. It’s dumb.

New Year’s Day (today) will be a time of football and then Meet Me at Maynard’s tonight.

So we went to Meet Me at Maynard’s and continued our Monday tradition when we are here. We walked our two miles, returned to the courtyard. We failed to win any prizes and then had dinner at Fired Pie, a custom pizza and salad place we really like. It would have been better if we had won a gift certificate to go there.

After returning home we watch Alabama dismantle Clemson and then went to bed.

A very small amount of water at the base of the falls

The Tuesday hiking group was off because of the holiday (not sure what holiday Jan. 2 is, but they were not hiking today) so I went alone to Sabino Canyon and did the Seven Falls hike. This is a good starter hike for the season as it is an 8.2-mile out and back hike with just a 1,000-foot elevation.

Because of a lack of rain and snow, the falls at Seven Falls was more like Seven Trickles. Last year we couldn't even hike this trail until March because of high water. There is almost no water right now.

On the trail with my new hat

Coming from Michigan I need a week or so to acclimate to the altitude and climbing so this was a perfect chance to do that. Although Joan doesn’t like it, I love hiking alone sometimes because it gives me a chance to have a little solitude and enjoy nature.

A volunteer at the park told me that a mountain lion had recently been spotted in the canyon, so that added an element of adventure to the hike. I figure with tasty Big Horn sheep in plentiful supply the mountain lions would probably not bother with an old man.

While I was off playing in the mountains Joan was at her Aquafit class and she spent some time walking through the park for exercise. We live and eat healthier down here for sure.

At 5 p.m. we attended our first Tuesday potluck dinner and caught up with a number of our friends from previous stays here. Joan then stayed and played Bingo until 9 p.m. and was about as successful at winning there as she is at the casino. She was only out a couple bucks so no big deal.

Yes, we are still alive, but wet in Tucson

A Tucson sunrise over our trailer

A lot has happened in the ten days since we last visited here and I apologize for the long absence, but we’ve been very busy. I do appreciate the folks who have left messages for me on Facebook and in emails wondering what happened to the blog. I will try to be more consistent in the future.

When we last visited I had just given myself the shins of an 8-year-old boy by tripping on the non-moving treadmill here at the resort. The wounds are healing nicely, but still continue to be the topic of conversation whenever I wear shorts, which is all the time.

We’ve had some mail issues at this end as the forwarding paperwork we did with the USPS as they neglected to include our space number on our forwarded mail. For most folks here that’s not a problem, but when your name is Jim Smith – it’s a problem. Currently there are three Jim Smiths staying here (that’s actually down one from last year) so the three of us end up sorting each other’s mail when it comes without our space number.

The Postal Service is working on correcting the issue, but for the next week or so it’s going to be fun.

OK, going back to Friday, January 6, Joan attended her first Women’s Bible Study and met with a number of folks she knew from last year. Because of the advanced ages at the resort we are often met with sad news about old friends and new who have either passed or who are struggling with major medical issues. We pray a lot here.

Our lunch spot in the Catalina Mountains

Then on Saturday, January 7, Joan attended aquacize “boot camp” which was much more intense than what she is used to at home. But she seemed to appreciate the workout and plans to continue that and two other days of aquacize while we are here.

Last year I talked to the man who coordinates the volunteers who set up tables and chairs for the many events here. Carl welcomed me to the team and while I initially volunteered only for set up for church on Sunday, I quickly got whirled into helping out with concert set-up on Wednesday and table and chair set-up for Donuts and Coffee on Saturday morning.

One thing I am qualified to do is set up tables and folding chairs. With the size of the set up team it rarely takes more than 45 minutes to set up the ballroom, even when it involves 600 chairs for the Wednesday concerts.

I began that last Saturday and then continued during the week during a couple set ups. I’ve met a lot of new friends doing this so that is a plus as well.

The rest of Saturday was used up reading outside in the sun and watching NFL football.

More from the hike

Sunday was church and just about every day, except for days that I hike in the morning I visit the fitness center. I’m not going to bore you with each of those visits unless I decide to mutilate myself by falling, dropping a weight on my face or other stupid injury there. More NFL in the afternoon rounded out the day.

Not sure I’ve mentioned our new eating plan on the blog, but Joan and since early October have been following the Whole 30 food plan. We used to use the “Cookie Diet” but Dr. Siegel went out of business and so we switched over to this plan, which has succeeded beyond all our expectations. Our daughter-in-law has had great success with it and after seeing her results we heartily embraced it.

It does involve a lot more cooking than we are used to doing and so Joan spends a lot of time prepping meals for us to make sure we don’t violate the tenets of the plan. Basically (and it is a lot more complicated than this) involves eliminating sugar, bread and dairy from your diet. I’ve shed nearly 30 pounds since I’ve started and Joan has shrunk her waistline, but mostly we just feel much, much better than before we started.

A crane in Tucson decorated for Christmas

I had to learn that many things that I never suspected would contain sugar, does. Bacon, for gosh sakes, most bacon for sale at the grocery store has sugar in it. We have found the rare brands that don’t include sugar and so now we can have bacon, eggs and hash browns for breakfast, so that’s good.

For butter, Joan processes regular butter and filters it through cheese cloth to get rid of the dairy in the butter. Tastes the same so not a problem for me. We’ll keep you posted on the progress of this. Our daughter is also on the same plan and reports good early results.

So where were we?  OK, it’s now Monday and I was off to hike with the easy hikers. I haven’t been doing as many of these in recent years because they are not very challenging and sometimes fairly simple. But I received new hiking boots for Christmas and wanted to give them a few miles before I hit the heights on the Tuesday hike.

My hiking gear - notice no water

On Monday I did a level hike – more like a leisurely walk – along part of the paved loop hike/bike trail that surrounds Tucson. We walked a three mile stretch between Irvington and Valencia roads which totaled six miles by the time we finished. The boots were comfortable and I felt ready for Tuesday.

That night we went for our first Meet at Maynard's walks around Tucson and then had dinner at Thunder Canyon Brewery and watched the College Football Championship. Glad to see Alabama get beaten.

Tuesday morning brought my first chance to head out on a real hike this time a moderately difficult hike in the Dove Mountain area of the Catalina Mountains. There were 23 people on this hike and we broke into two groups and just to push myself I went with the first group and did really well. This was an 8-mile loop hike and I got to see a lot of my friends from previous years.

I should not admit this, but for the first time ever I forgot to take water on the hike. It was such a rookie mistake that I was embarrassed to the point I didn't mention it to anyone. Fortunately, it wasn't so hot that it resulted in me getting cramps, but a mistake I will not make again.

A walk on a level bike path

Once back at the trailer, Joan and I headed to the Tuesday potluck dinner in the ballroom and again the turnout was incredible, one of the largest potlucks we have attended in all the years we’ve been here.

Because of the Whole 30 food plan we had to be a little more selective on what we took, but by avoiding the dessert table we left full, but mostly in compliance with the diet.

After working out Wednesday I headed back to the resort courtyard early on a mission to snag a bag of the most delicious oranges we have ever tasted. We first started buying them last year from a vendor at “Market Days” but as they caught on they were selling out earlier and earlier each week. So I got over to the booth as he was setting up and bought my $4 bag of oranges.

When we came back a couple hours later to actually do all of the Market Days the booth had already sold out of oranges. The vendor had at least 100 bags when I bought my oranges earlier than morning, so apparently, the secret is already out this year.

Sunset over downtown Tuesday at Meet Me at Maynard's

Spent the rest of Wednesday helping to take down Market Days tables and helping to set up 600-plus chairs for the evening concert and doing my Bible study work and reading and Joan was busy paying bills. After dinner, we headed back to the ballroom for the “Motown Magic” concert which was really good, as are most of the concerts that come here.

At my Thursday morning Men’s Bible study I had to be prepared to teach lesson 2, but we barely finished lesson one so I’m on deck next week, with all my preparation already done. So that’s good.

One of the nagging issues at this end is that we have a lot of trash (bills, statements, etc.) that come here that need to be shredded. At home, we have a pretty good sized shredder, but we don’t bring it with us to Arizona as it would take up a lot of space.

The only shredders we could find locally with pretty large ones that we didn’t want to put in the trailer. I found a $8 small shredder on sale at Best Buy online that you use over a trash can. So last week I ordered that and it was delivered to a local Best Buy and Thursday morning about my Bible study and Joan’s aquasize we went to pick it up.

Weather forecast for our first week here

While we were out we stopped at Payless Shoes so Joan could pick up a new pair of loafers to wear around the park. Trust me this took way, way longer than I could imagine. When I go to pick out a pair of shoes, it takes me longer to park the car and go into the store than it does for me to find my shoes. After Joan tried on at least 1,000 pairs of shoes (I only slightly exaggerate here) she claimed a cheap pair of shoes and we headed to Food City to pick up a dish to take to a party Friday night.

Our friends Barry and Darcel (these are the folks we go wine tasting with each year) invited us to their beautiful home in the Cove along with 10 other folks, mostly from the hiking group, for dinner and a game of “Name that Tune.”

For a bunch of old folks we had a raucous good time, that included dancing, singing and generally acting like teenagers. We barely got home in time for the 10 p.m. news, so a relatively late night for us out. If our grandchildren could see us partying like this they would likely be mortified. But it is good to kick back and enjoy life a little.

A resort sunset

Earlier on Friday I met a Flint friend of mine, Mahlon, who is in Tucson for two weeks with his wife Colleen for some more hiking. Mahlon is a former marathon runner who is in really good shape and likes to do some serious hiking while he is here. He had never been to Seven Falls in Sabino Canyon so we decided to get that hike in before some predicted rain this weekend. (That Pineapple Express that has been drowning California is making a brief but welcome visit here this weekend.) I picked Mahlon up at 8:30 a.m. at his Air BandB and we were off to the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area.

The weather could not have been better, it was cool and dry and the trail was not heavily traveled on Friday so it was a great time. This trail has seven creek crossings and the water was as high as I have ever seen it, but we made all the crossings (14 in all) up and back without getting wet, always a plus.

We spent nearly a half hour at the falls which were particularly beautiful this year. Because of the hike I did have to miss the table and chair set up for the donuts and coffee event Saturday morning. I did make it over to the ballroom to help them clean up the tables and chairs after the donuts and coffee was over.

I picked up our mail, which included a beautiful Hawaiian shirt with aircraft carriers on it that was a belated birthday present from my Dad. He had put the correct address on the envelope, but the postal service somewhere along the line changed the zip code for him which delayed the package for more than a week. But the shirt looks and fits great so there’s that.

As if dancing with our friends at their house on Friday night wasn’t enough, we headed to the resort dance Saturday night to dance the night away in the ballroom. We met up with our friends from Canada, Ron and Kathy and also met another Canadian couple. During my conversation with the older gentleman he asked if I had heard of NHL player Chris Chelios.  “Heard of him,” I said. “He autographed my Chelios jersey a few years back.”

“Well, I coached him as a junior player on my traveling team many, many years ago,” he said. So you can just guess that I had a very interesting time talking to this man.

Joan and I still danced the night away, but what great fun to talk to a man who coached one of my all-time favorite hockey players. Life is soooo good sometimes.

Sunday morning means church, but now for me it means getting up really early to head to the ballroom to help with setting up 500 chairs for the chapel service. I’m enjoying getting to know the men and women who set up the church and the more friends we make here the more our experiences are enhanced here.

After church we headed to Desert Diamond Casino in Sahuarita to take advantage of a free night’s stay in the hotel that we were offered. Unfortunately, we forgot to check which Desert Diamond facility the hotel was in and we went to the wrong one. We already had dinner reservations at the Sahuarita restaurant so Joan stayed there and played until after dinner and then we drove the 15 miles to the right facility for our night’s stay.

The weather took a sudden, but hopefully brief turn for the worse yesterday as that Pineapple Express that has been drenching California has finally moved into southern Arizona. It doesn’t rain much here, but when it rains, it comes down in buckets. It was even cool enough this morning that I wore a sweater and jacket to church, which is extremely unusual.

Joan made her contribution to the Tohono O’odham Indians and we enjoyed a nice night in the fancy hotel.

This week we are expecting our friends from Michigan, Pam and Greg, to fly into Phoenix and we will no doubt be catching up with them and later some other Michigan friends, Barb and Dave who fly in a couple days after Pam and Greg. More on that later. You are now officially caught up.