A short tour and a relaxing dinner

Joan staying warm IN the trailer

The day after the big hike we hung around close to home in the morning (I did get in a pretty full workout at the fitness center) but my legs were feeling a little bit of the 8-mile hike the day before.

Joan went to her aquacise class Wednesday and I stayed in (it was pretty brisk outside) watching a local murder trial in Phoenix.  We took a couple pictures of ourselves huddled up inside the trailer trying to ward off the  cold while the heater got going.

One of the outside lights on the trailer, the one that illuminate our entrance stairs at night has been burned out since we started this trip. I tried to find the bulb at the RV park store and at Walmart but was unsuccessful.

Casa Grande National Monument

So on Wednesday afternoon we headed to an RV store to find the bulb. Before that we headed to a storage lot to check on a possible place to store our trailer when our time here is done in April. We found one covered storage lot, but we are going to continue to look for a cheaper place.

It only cost about $15 in gas to find an 82-cent bulb. But at least we can see our stairs in the dark now.

After looking at the storage lot and then picking up the bulb we went to a local “Play It Again Sports” store so I could pick up a used day hike back pack to replace my free Walgreen’s backpack that came apart on my long hike to Wasson Peak.

The “Play It Again Sports” store was recommended to me by one of the other hikers and it worked out pretty well. I found an LL Bean “Stowaway” pack and it was only $15. They are about $40 new and this one looks like new.

A four story ancient "palace"

Back home we had what my mother would have called a “CORe” dinner. The C-O-R standing for “Clean Out the Refrigerator.” After a dinner of odds and ends leftovers, which were all quite good we got ready for the Wednesday night concert.

Performing were “The Alley Cats” and they were very good. They sometimes open for Jay Leno in Las Vegas and along with some really impressive Doo-Wop singing (the songs Joan and I grew up with) they are very funny and entertaining. All too soon it was over, but we did buy one of their DVDs for $10.

They offered a great deal on their CDs and DVD. You could one for $10 or 2 for $20. I’ve posted a you tube video of them here (not from our performance) but if you go to You Tube and search for “The Alley Cats” you’ll see plenty of examples of their work.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Another view of "Casa Grande"

I’ve been wanting to attend a Men’s Bible Study here at the park and this morning I got up at 6 a.m. so I could still get in my workout and yet get to the 8 a.m. study.

The men, about 15 of them, welcomed me into the study and as it turned out it was the first day of a new study on Philippians so my timing was pretty good. I will miss the next couple weeks while we are in California but I’ll keep up on the study and continue when I return.

The study book is focused on finding “Joy” in our lives no matter our current circumstances.

By the time I got home from the study Joan was up and around. Today she washed the towels and I helped by being her mule to and from the laundry.

The quiet, but Historic Downtown Casa Grande

Tonight we were to meet the daughter of a friend of ours back in Michigan. She and her boyfriend live in Chandler, Arizona and we set up a meeting about halfway between our two locations which happened to be in Casa Grande.

With a few hours to kill this afternoon I went online to see what there was to do in and around Casa Grande so we could spend a little time playing tourist before our 6:30 p.m. dinner time with Chelsea and Ryan at Mimi’s Café.

There are some ruins of a compound built by some ancient Sonoran desert people (that’s what their ancestors prefer them to be called). The ruins at Casa Grande were the first such ruins ever protected by the federal government was back in the 1800s.

Before they were protected travelers and sightseers did a lot of damage taking souvenirs and leaving behind graffiti.

What remains are the now protected walls and remaining structures of the once thriving desert civilization. They are similar to ruins we saw in Northern Arizona 18 months ago as well as those we saw near Cancun at Tulum.

The once thriving compound apparently dissolved with 100 years of the building of the large structure – dubbed “Casa Grande” by a Catholic priest traveling through the area in the 1600s. We spent a couple hours touring the grounds, watching a movie and visiting the exhibits in the visitor’s center.

It is truly amazing to see how advanced some of these so-called “primitive” civilizations really were.

Dinner with Chelsea and Ryan

Then with a little time left to spare we drove to Historic Downtown Casa Grande only to find that the sidewalks had been rolled up promptly at 5 p.m. We decided to walk a couple blocks anyway and grab some photos in case we never get back here. It looks like there are plenty of antique and second hand stores here that might be fun to visit.

With the photo taking complete we made a quick gasoline stop and then headed to Mimi’s Café for our dinner date with Chelsea and Ryan.

They arrived on time and we enjoyed a 90-minute meal and catching up with a very nice young couple. Chelsea is an elementary school teacher and Ryan works in law enforcement here.

The food at Mimi’s was good and we headed home, arriving back at the trailer about 9:10 p.m.  It’s always fun to meet someone you know from back home while on the road a long way from Lapeer.

Hopefully we’ll have another chance to meet with Chelsea and Ryan before we head back north. There are more pictures in the post below of Casa Grande.

Additional photos from Casa Grande

It's even cold in the trailer

Casa Grande ruins

Close up of Casa Grande ruins

An ancient ball court

Restored theater in downtown Casa Grade

Mimi's Cafe

A good movie and a really, really long hike

A morning moon

With stormy weather in Tucson on Monday, Joan and I stuck close to home in the morning although I got in a good workout at the fitness center in the park.

The full moon was up and beautiful when I was out about 6 a.m. headed to the fitness center so I came back to the trailer and did my best to take a picture of it. The photo does not do it justice.

In the afternoon we decided to head to the movies (it was Senior Citizen Day at the theater – only $5.75 if you are 62 or older all day) to see Les Miserables. The movie was long but good. On the way to the theater we saw the most vivid rainbow that either of us had ever seen.



Me at the top of Wasson Peak

The bands were wide, bright and lasted for a long time. Of course I left my camera back in the park, so no photos of the rainbow. Actually there was a double rainbow, but the secondary rainbow was nowhere near as beautiful as the main one.

Before we left for the movie Joan put a pork roast in the crock pot and we had a delicious pork roast, simmered in cranberries when we got home. A couple twice baked potatoes and some dinner rolls rounded out the meal.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The challenging hiking group always has a hike on Tuesday. So I was up early and ready for today’s hike, which was billed as the season’s most difficult hike. It was cold overnight (30s) and there was snow on many of the higher peaks in the Tucson bowl.



A view from the trail

I met up with the hiking group at 8 a.m. and I offered to drive myself and four of the hikers to the trail head which is in the Saguaro National Forest.  Two of those who rode with me were “Stan and Jan” who were kind enough to drive me to the hike last week.

We headed out on the hike about 8:45 a.m. for the 8-mile round trip. The geography was simple. The first four miles to Wasson Peak – our destination – was uphill and the final four miles on a loop trail was pretty much all downhill.  Wasson Peak is the highest point in the Tucson Mountains, although there are other higher peaks in other ranges near here.

The climb was steady and at times on loose rocks so it was not a simple hike. When we reached the higher altitudes the temperatures were chilly and the wind was blowing very strongly (30-35 mph gusts).

Looking down at our "down" trail below

But once on top of Wasson Peak the views were spectacular (be sure to scroll down after this post to see some additional photos) and well worth the effort to get here. We were on the peak a little after noon and we spent about a half hour eating lunch and drinking in the vistas.

When everyone was done eating we headed down a very steep trail, which included a long section in a gravel wash, and we arrived back at our trail head about 2:20 p.m. The trip down, as you can imagine, was much quicker than the “up.”

Despite the chilly temps I worked up a pretty good sweat so I visited the shower when I got home and Joan had spent the day cleaning up and making a “Tuna Surprise” salad for the RV park potluck dinner tonight.

Everyone in the hiking group is very nice and despite the hard work, we share a lot of laughs and experiences.

Petroglyphs on the rocks (look hard you'll see them)

The potluck was fun. Everyone places their dish in front of their place setting and then everyone walks in one direction around two rows of tables picking samples of food until you arrive back at your spot and sit down.

Lucky for me, a little (just a little) of Joan’s Tuna Surprise was left so maybe, just maybe, I’ll get a rerun on one of my favorite dishes tomorrow night.

We met a couple new people and had an enjoyable dinner conversation with them. Lots of great dishes and plenty of wonderful desserts.

By 6 p.m. we were back at the trailer and ready for a quiet night at home.

More photos from Tuesday's hike to Wasson Peak

Getting ready to hike to Wasson Peak

Our first rest stop on the trail

Another stop on the trail

I hiked ahead to take a photo of our group resting on the hill in the middle of the photo

A view of the trail

A view of North Tucson from the trail

On the last leg to Wasson Peak

Another outstanding view

My gear resting on a rock on Wasson Peak

A view of the snow on Mt. Lemmon from Wasson Peak

Somewhere in this photo is a coyote who was stalking us

A 120-year-old Saguaro

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

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

That rushing stream has been bone dry until Saturday

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

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

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

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

Look hard and you'll see a rainbow

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

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

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

Joan tasting wines in Elgin, Arizona

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

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

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



Another fine Arizona winery

The beautiful mountains ranges that surround the ranch are spectacular.

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

Sunday, January 27, 2013

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

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

The many lives of Empire Ranch

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

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

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

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

Joan looking at one of the renovated Empire Ranch rooms

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

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

Scroll down for more photos of yesterday's adventure.

A day of wine and ranches

It was a dark and stormy night in Tucson

You can't see it, but there is a rainbow in the rear view mirror

Sign at the first winery (the building it is on is in next photo)

Maybe you can see the torrential rains

A picture of John Wayne when he was at the Empire Ranch

Some of the original roof beams uncovered in one of the rooms

Part of the Empire Ranch corral

Planes, plains and plans

With Davis-Monthan Air Force Base nearby every day is a mini-air show around here. On Wednesday morning a flight of A-10 Warthogs took off about every three minutes flying into a beautiful desert sunrise. I could only imagine what a view those pilots had of the mountains and desert coming to life for a new day under them.

Two A-10 Warthogs taking off from the Air Force Base

We’ve been waiting a week for our permanent RV identification cards and today we found out the reason they hadn’t found them is that they filed them under “Petersen” rather than Smith. Joan’s hyphenated last name is a frequent target for confusion.

But now we have our cards and no longer look like the new kids on the block.

Joan went to her first water aerobics class and although it tired her out she really enjoyed it. As a reward for her work, the instructor told all of them to hit the large Jacuzzi next to one of the pools. She really enjoyed that.

After she returned home and got cleaned up we went and enjoyed the large Farmer’s Market and Craft displays that come here every two weeks. We were surprised at how large and diverse the market was and Joan entered two raffles for two separate quilts. Donations are going to the Ronald McDonald House charities.

Sunrise in Tucson

This afternoon Joan sent me to ATM as our cash is running short and there is a fee free one about nine miles from here. So I drove there and found that the machine was broken. So we burned up $4 worth of gas and had to use the ATM at the resort with its $2 fee because of the broken machine. From now on we’ll save the gas and just top off the wallet at the park ATM.

Joan went to the spa here at the resort and had her nails done. I stayed home, soaked up the sunshine and nearly finished my book.

On Wednesday night we had tickets to the Arizona Symphonic Winds concert at the resort and it turned out to be quite good. The 56-piece band/orchestra is all volunteers and the director/conductor, Laszlo Veres, was an entertaining and engaging personality who really made the night.

The music was a mix of recognizable show and classical offerings with a lot of patriotic music mixed in. Veres, who speaks with a marked Hungarian accent, was a refugee from the Communists in 1956 and is a retired public school teacher who keeps busy leading three different musical groups in Tucson.

Just a small part of the Farmer's Market at the Resort

He reminded Joan and me a lot of Flint’s Symphony director/conductor Enrique Diemecke who mixes a thick accent with jokes and humor to entertain the audience along with the music.  Veres is probably not on the same level as Diemecke, but in this area he is beloved music provider.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

After an early workout I returned to the trailer, woke Joan so we could get ready for an early start and a trip to make a donation to the Arizona Native Americans.

We signed up for a casino bus trip and that trip left at 9 a.m.  We arrived at 8:50 a.m. and found we were the very last folks to show up. The bus was one of those huge double decker luxury buses, but the tickets were only $5 each. On arrival to the casino we got $20 in free play at the casino so it was a pretty good deal.

Heading off on our hike

We spent four hours at the casino and then caught the same bus for the return trip to the RV resort. Joan made hamburgers for dinner and then we went to our next adventure, which was a Reminiscence Dance in the ballroom.

The musicians are all volunteer musicians who stay in the park and they were very, very good. We danced a little and then headed back to the trailer about 9:15 p.m.

Friday, January 25, 2013

On Friday, the weather predictions sounded like my “easy” hike day might get washed out, but the rain held off and I left with a group of seven for a hike in the “High Grass Desert” south of Tucson.

While I was off hiking, Joan took part in her water aerobics class and she seems to be enjoying that even if it is leaving her a little tired out.

Someones Federal Mining Claim along the trail

The hike was very easy and almost entirely on a well graded dirt road that alternated between public and private lands. We were accompanied on the hike by a very well-behaved Yellow Labrador Retriever, which always reminds me of our old dog, Colby.

We walked 2.5-miles in and then hiked the same route back out. Brad, our fearless hike leader, suggested that we had finished early and that a little driving detour could have us hike into Kentucky Camp – a former 1880s gold mine camp – in time for lunch.

So we headed off on a rough and tumbled dirt road for a three mile-trip to the trail head for the Camp. The trail head is part of the Arizona Trail, which you will remember was our easy hike last Friday.

Lunch at Kentucky Camp

The hill down to the camp was steep, which meant the climb back to the vehicles was equally steep in the other direction.

The camp is undergoing renovations back to what it looked like in the 1880s and for a fee you can stay overnight in a cabin, which has a sign out front that says: “Bed and (no) Breakfast.”

We ate our lunch on a picnic table at the camp, spent some time looking around and then hiking back to our vehicles. Brad then took us out an even rougher road (I almost had to switch into four-wheel drive) to get us back to the main highway.

After a very enjoyable day we arrived back at the resort and then Joan and I headed to a local grocery store for our weekly stocking up trip.

At the trailer we had breakfast for dinner (pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast) and settled in for a nice evening at home. It is supposed to rain – and rain hard – here starting about midnight and through Saturday and Sunday. We’ll let you know.

More photos from Tucson

The view from the casino bus

Waiting for the bus to pick up our group

Heading out on a 5.5-mile hike

That's Brian from Nova Scotia leading the way

This is either a very large hawk or a Golden Eagle

A blooming Staghorn Cholla cactus

The preserved remains of an 1880s gold camp - Kentucky Camp

We were back on the Arizona Trail for just a bit at Kentucky Camp

This is the restored Kentucky Camp headquarters

We entered a drawing for one of two quilts

This is the other one

A view from the back of the upper deck of a luxury casino bus