Visited our airplane happy place and broke the Internet

Hiking at Empire Ranch

One of the things that soaks in when you are here at Voyager is how old you are. Even though Joan and I are in the shallow end of the age pool here at the resort when you look around you do see a lot of grey hair.

Some of that grey hair is located on my head. Even Joan has a little.

But as I looked around the dance last night and then again at church on Sunday it struck me that we have entered that part of our life that qualifies us as senior citizens, which is a nice way of saying we are getting old.

That in itself is not a bad thing, but it can be sobering. I remember visiting my grandparents when they were the age I am now. As fond as I was of them I recall being amazed at how “mature” they were. They had wrinkles, spots and light colored hair that I didn’t have.

A hiking buddy standing next to our new winter home

Now I can only imagine that my own grandchildren look at me with that same wonder and questioning about my silver hair, wrinkles and spots. That said I wouldn’t go back one day. As the song says, “regrets, I have a few, but then again, too few to mention.”

At my age I think you earn the right to be bold, to be frank and yet you learn a certain sense of proportion that lowers the importance of things that aren’t as critical as you once thought and make you realize those things are truly important. Joan and I realize there is nothing more important than family.

Somewhere out here I punctured my tire

 We make nearly all of our monetary decisions based on what is best for our family. If we can spend money and bring our family closer together or help them, that’s what we try to do whenever possible.

Our travels and visits (even coming to Tucson puts us closer to our California children, grandchildren and cousins) are 90 percent centered on family. We know there will come a time when the children and grandchildren will have more important pursuits than being with parents and grandparents, but until that time we want to be as close as we can for as long as we can.

Didn’t mean to get all sniffly on y’all, but we are blessed that we have the means and health to do all the travel that we do.

A quilt made here at the resort

Now, to lighten the mood a little, there was a cute couple at last night’s dance. We have seen them at every weekly dance we have attended here at the resort. They are in their 80s and they really love to cut a rug. (For younger folks “cut a rug” was a term than meant dance)

Last night when they played Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” the two of them were on the floor twisting like there was no tomorrow (which in their case could be true) and I said to Joan: “Their grandchildren have no idea what grandma and grandpa are really like.”  Joan thought it was very funny.

The truth is our grandchildren probably will never imagine that we have a lot of fun dancing and laughing in ways that would probably embarrass the heck out of them.

We were excited to hear and see that our daughter Elin had a big story written about her in the local paper. She has taken a new job with The Family Literacy Center organizing child tutoring programs and keeping track of our annual auction and she is really doing a great job.

More of the beautiful quilts made by resort residents

Previously I’ve mentioned meeting a lot of nice folks here. With this being our third trip to the resort (the first was only two weeks) we have started to form some fond relationships with the regular visits to the park.

The part of the secret to this place are the activities and amenities of the park as well as the seasonable weather, but we’ve figured out the real draw is the many nice people we have met and formed friendships with here. As our Pastor Dave says back home, “It’s all about relationship.” That is so true.

A decision to come or not come back here is heavily influenced by the thought that if you don’t come back, you will not see some nice people that you have met and gotten to know. 

My favorite sign in downtown Tucson

The ‘easy’ hike Monday was to the Empire Ranch. This is the second time I have hiked at the 42,000-acre ranch. The ranch, which once covered 1 million acres is probably best known as the setting of several Hollywood western movies, including ‘Red River’ with John Wayne and “The Last Train to Gun Hill” with Anthony Quinn back in the 1950s.

The ranch house is in a long range process of renovation and is open for self-guided tours, which we did following our 5-mile hike along a dirt road/wash. Only six hikers showed up but we had a very good time.

When I arrived home from the hike I picked up the mail which included a packet of tax information from our accountant and a very nice tax refund. We did the “happy dance” all afternoon.

After doing some very minimal grocery shopping we headed downtown to the Congress Hotel where we made our virgin hike at the “Meet Me At Maynard’s” Monday downtown exercise hike. We pre-registered online and joined about 300 fellow walkers for the trek downtown.

Meet Me at Maynard's walking route in Tucson

You can do 2 miles, 3 miles or 4 mile hikes and you get your hand stamped for nice discounts for dinner at local restaurants. They also have live music and $2 beer, which is wasted on me because I don’t drink.

We met up with several new friends from the Voyager Resort and had dinner at a place call “World of Beer” which again makes no sense for me because I am a non-drinker. Joan and I had soup and salad for dinner and then spoiled all the good we did with the walk by stopping at Dairy Queen on the way home for a Blizzard.

The hard hike on Tuesday was one of my favorites – The Telephone Line – up Sabino Canyon. Last year I did this hike alone so I was looking forward to doing it with the group. Last year I started in the parking lot at the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area and headed up the trail. At the end of the trail I hiked down the paved tram road.

Riding to the trailhead

This year the group took the tram to the upper trailhead and we marched back to the parking lot. So now I have done this trail in both directions.

What I particularly like about this hike is that it is on a narrow trail that winds high above the canyon floor. I have always been one who has been afraid of heights. The more I hike in the mountains the less fear I have of high places.

Today for the first time I got up the nerve to dangle my legs over the edge of a rock high above the canyon floor. Now, to be honest, I was very, very careful in moving my legs over the edge but it was a really nice perch and I took a picture of my boots hanging over the rock.

The folks on a narrow trail (right-center)

This is a hike that I will do every year that we come here for as long as I can. The trail has steep sides and if this makes any sense feels like a real hike.

Last night as we were coming home from the event in downtown Tucson – “Meet Me at Maynard’s” – I got a warning light telling me that my right rear (driver’s side) tire was dangerously low on air. When I arrived at the park I used the free air station at the resort to inflate the tire, but by morning it had dropped a significant amount of pressure.

I decided not to drive the car on the hike and take care of the tire problem in the afternoon. When I arrived home from the hike I filled the tire up again and headed to a local Goodyear dealer to have them check the tire. This is the same tire I have had to put plugs in before when I picked up a nail or two.

My knees hanging over the cliff

This time the injury to the tire was not circular and very close to one of the previous repairs which means I’ll have to replace the tire. I’m currently driving on the full-sized spare and the dealer is having a replacement tire delivered tomorrow. Unfortunately I’m about 10,000-miles from needing a complete new set of tires (which ain’t cheap with the SUV) so my plan is to get home with the one new tire and the three old ones and then get a complete new set and use the new tire as the new spare.

Anyway, that’s the plan now, a rock, a nail or some other road hazard could change those plans before they come to fruition.

Our lunch rock perched on a cliff

I got home from Goodyear in time to attend our regular Tuesday night potluck. Joan made a delicious crockpot dinner called Tortellini Florentine. Florentine, as it turns out, means it has spinach in it which I usually don’t like but in this case was OK.

For the first time in the two months we have been here there is a real chance for rain here. That would be good as they are in a moderate drought and so far Joan and my reputation for bringing torrential rains has not worked out.

The funny thing is that the weather forecasters are near giddy over the prospect of a quarter inch of rain. The ooh and aah about the possibility of the coming storm. Considering what is going on back east it seems a little over the top.

Heading back down

One of the funnier things that happens at least once a week is that Joan will recognize a woman who shares the same aquacise class with her and she’ll say “Hi, Shirley.” In almost every case “Shirley” or whoever the person is will look with puzzlement at Joan and say, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember how I know you.”

“We’re in the aquacise class together,” Joan will answer.

Then “Shirley” or whoever will say, “Oh, of course, I don’t recognize you without your bonnet.”  How anyone would recognize her without the bonnet is a mystery as the bonnet covers her entire face.

Joan admiring an airplane

Boy did I wish I had my camera this morning when I went to get our new tire put on the Tahoe. On the way home I saw the best sign spinner I have ever seen. The guy was spinning a sign for a glass business in a strip mall along Kolb Road.

This guy put on a show. Not only did he spin the sign, he threw it in the air, caught it, threw it in the air again and caught it behind his back but then did kind of a crazy dance all the while pointing at the business and encouraging all of us to stop by.

Heck, I don’t need glass, but I was tempted to stop in and buy some. Love to see a guy who loves his work. As I drove by him I gave him a “thumb’s up” and he gave me a big smile and a deep bow.

Me standing by a "Super Guppy"

After arriving home from the tire excursion we went to “Market Daze” in the resort and again purchased a few trinkets for the folks back home. Didn’t bother to take any new photos as it is pretty much the same vendors each week.

Of course the trip through Market Daze was filled again with people admiring Joan's bonnet. 

With my membership to the Pima Air and Space Museum about to expire we headed to the museum for the afternoon to walk around. I have two free passes, one to the museum and one to the Titan Missile Launch Site, which we will use Friday on the day the passes expire.

The museum is pretty much as I last saw it although they have spruced up a few exhibits and it looks like they have more docents than they had last year. My father is a docent at the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum at Dulles in Virginia, so once you’ve seen that it is tough to compare other museums.

Pres. Kennedy and Johnson used this "Air Force One"

One of the airplanes - a Super Guppy - was a one-of-a-kind aircraft that may have been at an airshow at Edwards Air Force Base and which makes a cameo appearance in one of our family's home movies. I'm going to watch the film closely when I get home and see if I can determine if this is the exact airplane in our home movies.

We did have a nice docent in one of the hangars who gave us some insight on a couple aircraft there and while he was good, he was not my Dad. Took a few photos and you can see some of them here.

With several partial meals in the fridge, Joan decided this was the night to clean out some space so we had a COR dinner (Clean Out Refrigerator) and we finished up the chicken salad, the potato salad, the green salad, etc. Joan finished up the Tortellini dish from the potluck and we have lots of room in the fridge now.

On loan from my Dad's museum

Initially we hadn’t planned on going to the Wednesday concert as it was advertised as a Marimba band, but at the last minute we decided we would give it a try. How happy we were that we did. Paul McDermand put on quite a performance and we left singing and dancing from the place.

In addition to the wonderful music, Paul told us the history of the steel drums and how they were a leftover from World War II. Natives in Trinidad were poor and found a way to conform waste oil barrels into these unique instruments.

For his part, McDermand has played with Tony Bennett and a host of others. If you Google him you can see more about him and even hear his music.

One of my Dad's favorite aircraft

Unfortunately, our home Internet in the trailer has failed. In talking with the technician (always a good time) on the phone he now tells me that you are not supposed to leave the device plugged in more than four hours.

 Well, ours has been plugged in since January, which in doing the math, is much more than four hours.

Told him it might be a good suggestion for the company to add that to the instruction book so others might not also make that same mistake. Anyway, after a negotiations, party in English and partly in whatever language the technician spoke we agreed that he would send us a new one for free and that I would return the bad one in a pre-paid envelope.

Joan poses with a nuclear bomb (not a real one)

The long and short of this is that our Internet access will be somewhat limited over the next week. We’ve been staying more off line anyway so not a big deal.

On Thursday morning I led the Bible study and will be leading it again next week.

It's back to Tucson for Winter 2015

"Easy" hike scenery in the Rincon Mountains

It’s been an interesting few days around here in Tucson. Most of the activities are pretty normal, the hikes (more on those later) and Joan’s aquasize, Tuesday night potluck and a gathering of “seasonal RVers” for the announcement of next year’s rates.

The long and short of it is that we will be coming back to Voyager again next winter. It’s hard to beat the weather and it’s especially hard to beat all the activities that are offered here. As I mentioned previously, we will not be buying an annual membership as it makes no sense for people only staying here three months.

The "Easy" hike trail is actually a road

By reserving early we are guaranteed our same spot next year. We like our location as we are close to both the shower rooms and trash compactor and within walking distance of all the activities.

My ‘easy’ hike Monday was in the Rincon Mountains. The hike was on a dirt road that had some gentle rolling hills (except one). The scenery along the hike was both attractive and interesting, including a large cow that was grazing near the road.

We had about 8 folks on the Monday hike and we covered about five miles in about 2 ½ hours.

"A cow"

After attending the “seasonal rate announcement” I suggested that we head to the cheap movie theater to see “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” The theater, as I have described before, is a very nice 12-screen movie house and on Monday the cost to see a movie for senior citizens is only $2 each.

I’m sure they are hoping we will buy popcorn and soda, but we don’t so it is a very cheap date.

The movie was funny and very loosely based on the Thurber book by the same name.

We arrived home in time to eat some of Joan’s really fine chicken salad (which was made from the Fry’s chicken we bought last Thursday) and then spent the rest of the night watching the Olympics.

Heading into Ventana Canyon

On Tuesday, I was up early to meet the Tuesday hiking group for a 6-mile hike up Ventana Canyon. I did this very hike alone last year and it has truly stunning views, especially as you climb up 1,100-feet to Maiden Pools.

Once again we had more than two dozen people on the hike and we had to split into two groups so as not to hog the trail. The trail winds gently up the canyon for about a mile and a half and then sharply heads up for the last part of the hike. Most of the ascent comes in the last mile of the hike, which was a challenge as temperatures rose into the 80s today.

We ate our lunch on some huge granite rocks at Maiden Pools, which had just a trickle of water in them unlike last year when I was there.

The game & fish guy is in center/right of photo

The most interesting part of this hike was running into a young man with a backpack and binoculars and a very official looking hat. When he passed by us we asked if he was camping out.

Not exactly, he said. An employee of the Game and Fish department he was on his way up the mountain to check on three of those Bighorn Sheep that I have been writing about and that have been much in the news since we arrived here.

About 20 miles from the original release site, three of the Bighorn Sheep have traveled to Ventana Canyon where they apparently have decided to live. The young man was armed with binoculars (really, really big binoculars) and a GPS device to help him locate the sheep and make some observations.

Heading up the switchbacks

About 20 minutes later we saw the man climbing off the trail almost straight up the side of the canyon to a remote rock near the top. We lost sight of him as we continued on the trail, but ran into him again a couple hours later when we were coming down.

He was friendly and answered our questions about the sheep and said that from his high perch he had seen two of the sheep grazing high up on the other side of the canyon. While he was sure the other sheep was alive and well he said he never was able to put eyes on it.

“I admit I have a pretty good job,” he said. “I get paid to hike.”

Jim giving his usual "Thumbs Up"

We agreed that he had a wonderful job.

I arrived home from the hike to find that Joan had spent her day resting in the morning and then cleaning the trailer while I was gone. When I suggested I felt badly that she is working while I was gone, she made it clear she enjoys the quiet and uninterrupted time she has when I’m away.

So I guess that’s good.

While I was off conquering Ventana Canyon again, she also whipped up a tasty beef stew in the crockpot which we took and shared at tonight’s potluck supper. We have met a number of nice folks through this activity.

Unfortunately we returned home with an empty crockpot so no leftovers for me.

Another Wednesday, another workout and Joan’s aquasize class. After my workout I got cleaned up and headed to the wood carving shop where I am putting the finishing touches on my first project – an Eagle.

Me at the lunch stop rock

I find it increasingly interesting how much the discussion here focus on the weather back home. Sometimes I want to stop people and say, you came all the way here to escape winter weather and yet while you are here it is all you talk about.

Not to mention the obsession the television weather folks have about the snow back east. They do about 30 seconds on the local weather and then five minutes of clips and news on the weather back east.

Now a little update on the Girl Scout cookies we bought almost two weeks ago. We have stuck to the plan to eat one thin mint and one dos-i-do each night and we still have a little less than half the cookies left. I don’t care who you are two people hanging on to two boxes of Girl Scout cookies for two weeks is an unprecedented feat of willpower.

Looking down into Ventana Canyon

“December 63” was the concert at the resort on Wednesday night and boy was it a good one. The concert, a TAD Management Production, was a tribute group and band of Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons.

They covered on the great songs from “Jersey Boys” and the Frankie Valle singer was top drawer. The band was engaging, friendly and really got the audience into the program.

We have seen some very good entertainment at the resort for very little money. Another reason we will come back here next year.

Joan hiking with Picacho Peak in the background

On Thursday I went to my Bible study in the morning and a lecture in the afternoon. A professor from the University of Arizona came to the resort and led a discussion of the ongoing issues in Iran. He helped clear up a number of misconceptions I had about the controversy and also reminded me of the storied and controversial history of relations between Iran and the United States. A very worthwhile hour.

Next week I’ll be leading the Bible study again.

We left the resort about 3 p.m. and paid a visit to an historic spot that I have been hoping to see for more than three years.

One of the battle memorials

Each time we come to Tucson we pass by a very distinctive mountain just off I-10. It is called Picacho Peak and after a little research a couple years ago I found out it was the site of the only Civil War “battle” in Arizona. The Battle of Picacho Peak would be more accurately described as a skirmish, but three Union soldiers were killed in an encounter with a small Confederate detail (the Confederates briefly claimed the Arizona Territory as part of the Confederacy) almost where I-10 passes by the peak today.

In my study of the battle it was a miscalculation by the Union officer, who was not supposed to engage the enemy until a larger Union force arrived from California, who made the decision to attack the small Confederate force at a stage coach depot.

It was a brief encounter that resulted in the deaths of the three Union soldiers and the capture of three Confederate soldiers. The remainder of the 10-man Confederate force retreated to Tucson and when the larger California force arrived they ended up withdrawing from there back to New Mexico.

Me and the replica cannon Picacho Peak is behind me

For the Union it was one of those “lost the battle, but won the wars” kind of thing.

There are several small monuments from both sides of the battle on the site. We also took a little hike on an easy trail which Joan negotiated quite well in shoes not really designed for hiking. Before we left she asked me if she needed hiking shoes and I said, “no,” so she was a good sport about it.

The 1,500-foot Picacho Peak is luring me into a hike. This would be a very difficult hike as the last mile is nearly straight up and uses cable lines for hikers to pull themselves up. This one I won’t do alone so I’m looking for one of my hiking buddies who wants to make the hike with me sometime in the next month.

Joan at the end of the short trail

It is a six-mile round trip, but the last mile up is a killer. Some of the reviews say the hike down is probably harder than the hike up.

I’ll keep you posted on the hike.

Then the real purpose of our trip Thursday night was to have dinner with our friend in Michigan’s daughter. We met them twice last year in Casa Grande at Mimi’s Restaurant, but they suggested that Olive Garden would be a better place as Mimi’s has changed its menu and not for the good.

Chelsea, Ryan and you know who

We had a great dinner catching up with Chelsea’s teaching job in Tempe, Arizona and Ryan’s job as a Border Patrol Agent. Arizona is a hot bed for illegal immigration and Ryan has been busy hiking into the desert looking for those trying to enter illegally and dodging rattlesnakes.

Chelsea and Ryan, who are engaged, are wonderful folks and we always enjoy catching up with our Arizona “niece.”

We lingered over dinner and then said our good-byes with plans to get together again before we head back to the frozen north.

Me "up on the roof"

Friday was a very full day. It started with a fitness room workout at 6:15 a.m. for me and then for the rest of the daylight hours it was all about cleaning and waxing the trailer. Last year I had to rent a ladder to get on the roof, but this year I was able to borrow a good ladder from one of the men in my Bible study.

Getting on the roof of the trailer has its perils. Last year a guy fell off a wet RV roof and killed himself and everyone who passed by me today as I was cleaning the roof of the trailer felt a need to remind me of that.

  

Me: “Yes, I know a guy fell off a roof last year and died. Thank you for your concern, I will be very careful.”

My view from the roof (Near Pebble Beach)

Joan was at her aquacise class (no matter how I spell that word the spell check says its wrong) and although I semi-promised to wait until she got back to get on the roof I was burning daylight so I took a chance and made it on top without killing myself.

I did wait for her to come home before I came down as I needed her guidance to make sure I had my feet firmly on the ladder which I could not see as I back over the edge onto it. It took me about two hours to clean and soften the caulk on the joints and mop and clean the roof.

The annual maintenance has kept the roof in pretty good shape. We made a pretty major investment in our trailer and we want it to last for many years to come.

Joan on the Arizona Trail

After coming down from the roof I washed the trailer and then spent most of the rest of the day waxing our 33-foot winter home.

We had dinner, something called boudin, which we have wanted to try. Not really all that good in my opinion, but passable for dinner. Joan liked it better than I. It looks like a sausage, but is made with pork and way too much rice for my liking.

Joan by the sign

Tonight’s resort concert featured Mark Preston, a one-time member of The Letterman, who put on a fantastic show singing a lot of standards. Lots of great songs, jokes and he was truly a polished entertainer who knows how to sing and perform. Judging by his schedule on his website he does a lot of cruises in the summer and then visits all the haunts of old folks in the winter. Next winter he is pretty well booked up through Florida. This winter is pretty much all about the Southwest.

As is the case for most of these concerts, the main entertainer plays off the age of the audience so there is usually a Viagra joke. After the concert Preston stayed around to take pictures and sign copies of his CDs, but we forgot our camera and decided to head home.

On Saturday we lingered in bed and then headed off for a hike together. This is a real treat as Joan’s knee pretty much prevented any such activity last year. I took her on a small section of the 800-mile long Arizona Trail which runs from the border of Mexico to Utah through the state.

Fairy duster flowers on the trail

The section we did is a relatively flat section with a few rolling hills and some very nice trails. From the trailhead on Highway 83 you quickly leave behind any signs of civilization and can enjoy some beautiful cactus and blooming flowers along the very nice trail.

We did about a 2-mile hike in two hours, so it was pretty much a stroll, but Joan finished with very little discomfort and excited about her improved knee. The new hiking boots we bought her were perfect for this trail. She also tried my trekking poles which she seemed to like.

Back at the resort we had a leisurely day and plan to attend tonight’s resort dance. I’ll let you know how that went in the next post.

Joan with the Ricon Mtns in the background

Now here’s a few odds and ends:

The short term RV lot here at the resort is pretty open. The spaces are gravel and close together. We have almost double the room in our space. But the entire short term area, which holds hundreds of RVs is affectionately referred to as “Pebble Beach.”

One of the hikers I went with this week related a call he got from a friend who was sitting at one of the four pools here at the resort. The man suggested his friend hustle over to the pool area as there was a “WOW” woman sunbathing by the pool.

“What is a ‘WOW’ woman,” I asked.

“Oh, that’s what we call a woman “With Out Wrinkles.” 

Any evidence of last week’s Gem and Mineral Show is pretty much gone and the digital signs on most of the area motels reflect a sudden lowering of nightly and weekly rates. We have been watching one motel sign in particular and it jumped from $59 a night to $89 a night when the gem show was in town and it dropped back to $59 this week.

And that, as they say, is all he wrote.

A 'gem' of a weekend

The outdoor gem show on Ajo Highway

When we last met here we had seen a not-so-good program at the resort ballroom, only the first program we didn’t really enjoy so no big deal. I had attended Bible study and we were about to go hear the resort manager speak in the Catalina Room.

The new manager at the resort has seemingly restored a lot of confidence in this place among long time residents. When we were here last year, as you may recall, there was a great deal of complaining about the new manager and his lack of “people skills.”

Another tent full of stuff

Since we were here last year, the company who owns the property made a change in leadership and what a difference one person has made. The complaining has turned to compliments and there seems to be happiness on the horizon.

In answering questions, the new manager said one of the biggest challenges for the company is keeping the older residents, the ones who moved here 30 years ago when they were 60 happy along with all the new residents who are now just 60. Different interests and concerns.

Lots of cases just like this

It is clear this is a resort in transition. Currently there are more than 76 properties for sale in the resort and a number of older folks have left, or are planning to permanently leave because of the death of a spouse or the need to be closer to family for health reasons.

For now we have abandoned the idea of purchasing a property here as the $4,800 a year lease agreement with the resort only makes sense if you are going to stay here five or six months out of the year. For us it makes more sense to pay the $1,800 to rent a 3-month space. Maybe down the road, but not now.

They are selling park model homes, which average about 1,100-square feet and most are fully furnished, for around $12,000 (up to $30,000) which is a pretty good deal, but again that only makes sense if you stay here a lot longer than we do.

I don't know that the upside umbrellas are for

Joan got her nails done Thursday afternoon and I did some stealthy Valentine’s Day buying while she was at the mercy of an Asian nail tech. Unfortunately, Joan spotted me carrying one of her packages as I was not so stealthily crossing the parking lot.

On Friday we both got our morning workouts in and then headed downtown to visit one of the numerous gem and mineral tents scattered throughout Tucson for the two-week Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.

It’s not so much one show as a series of shows spread out all through Tucson. The vendors vary from the high end jewelry and fossil dealers to low end flea market offerings. We picked up a few things for family and friends back home.

Lots of beautiful rocks and minerals

After about three hours of shopping we headed home to rest up for our big Valentine’s Day dance Friday night.

At home we had cold cut sandwiches for dinner and then headed to the dance. The resort musicians have a group called Reminiscence and they play a variety of songs from 30s big band to 60s rock and roll. We always enjoy them.

At the dance we got acquainted with a new couple, Dave and Linda, who were from Michigan but recently relocated to South Dakota to avoid all the new Michigan taxes. They save $800 a year simply by registering their motor home in South Dakota rather than Michigan.

Here's some we didn't see

They explained that to become a South Dakota resident you only have to spend 24 hours in a motel, go to the local government driver’s license office and you will be outfitted with a voter’s registration, vehicle registration and driver’s license. Voila! you are now a resident of South Dakota and immune from all the taxes back home.

They are full time RVers so it works for them.

We closed down the dance, which sounds good, but really only means we stayed there until the last dance at 10 p.m. The sidewalks roll up early here at the resort and a lot of folks were leaving the dance at 9 p.m.

The Tourmaline on the right is only $134,000

On Saturday we got up sort of early and after my workout we cleaned up and headed to the main Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Convention Center. This is the main attraction and is only open this past weekend.

The high end jewelry, fossil and mineral dealers come to this event and there is a $10 admission charge with no break for seniors.

In addition to the vendors there are many interesting display cases full of expensive and unusual jewelry that you can look at between the shopping times. Some of those items are valued at more than my 401k and many are guarded by Tucson police.

We spent three hours wandering through seemingly endless vendors who were doing everything they could to part you from your money. I feel blessed that I got out of there just $9 lighter for a copper bracelet that Joan didn’t think she could live without.

A headpiece worth more than my 401k

I’m not much of a shopper, but it’s a small price to pay for all the nice things Joan does for me, but every so often I would make eye contact with another husband and we would each give each other a knowing nod that we were both suffering the pains of an endless shopping excursion.

Joan started feeling badly that she hadn’t donated to the local Native Americans here for a few weeks so we headed to Desert Diamond Casino and she spent a couple hours donating back reparations to the local Indian tribe. Actually, she doesn’t spend much and she looks at it more as entertainment than a chance to win a fortune.

While we were there we bought tickets to the Doobie Brothers on April 4 and bought tickets for my sister and brother-in-law as well as they will be in town that night. As a veteran I get a 50 percent break on the concert tickets and free slot play twice a month up to $10 each time. So that was a nice surprise.

If you need Russian nesting dolls, he's got 'em

After Joan’s “entertainment” we headed home and decided to eat at the resort restaurant which is reported to have some of the best hamburgers in Tucson. They were darned good hamburgers and we enjoyed eating outside on the patio with temperatures in the high 70s at dinner time.

We watched a little of the Olympics and went to bed.

Church and a little grocery shopping took up most of Sunday, as well as watching a little golf.

A little word about church. When we first came to Tucson we looked for a local Anglican church, but were unable to find one, although we tried one Sunday.

Dinner outdoors

We have come to appreciate not just the worship, but the convenience of having a “church” within walking distance. That comes with a little peril as the golf cart exodus at the end of church can leave one dodging the silent little machines as you walk home.

Golf carts are a way of life here and it pays to look out for them because they do very little looking out for you.

A couple hikes and a day at the market

Monday's "easy trail"

Sunday was quiet, real quiet and the evening was spent watching The Beatles special on CBS. The choice was Beatles or Olympic ice dancing, which one do you think I would rather watch?  Actually I’d rather pull my fingernails out one by one with pliers than watch ice dancing. There’s your hint.

Monday was easy hike day and this one made the word easy seem inadequate. This was a walk in the park. Most of the “trail” was along a paved bike path so the only excitement and exercise came dodging the speeding bicyclists who snuck up on us like a submarine to merchant ship. “Run Silent, Run Over Hikers” would be the name of this movie.

The only other excitement came when a bicyclist stopped and told us he had just seen six coyotes crossing the trail about 200 yards from where we were. We figured six humans versus six coyotes made us even and pressed on without ever seeing any coyotes.

A friend we met on the "easy" trail

The hike was about 3 miles total and to be honest I didn’t even break a sweat. I would have had a better workout if I had walked the park. But the company was pleasant, the view wasn’t horrible and the weather was perfect so not a total loss.

We were back before noon and I cleaned up before lunch.

The afternoon excitement was picking up the mail at our postal drop and Joan’s excitement was doing the bed linens at the laundry.

While she was there she noted that one of the women was ironing her husband’s t-shirts. The idea sent her head spinning as to why someone would waste a beautiful day outside ironing t-shirts in a stuffy laundry.

Starting the hike up Pima Canyon

“She probably just really loves her husband,” I said. That, by the way, was probably not the right response, but Joan let me live anyway. Joan’s reaction was that she probably hates her husband and that ironing his shirts simply provided her more time away from him.

One thing I have forgotten to mention, and this is primarily for Joan’s niece, Jessica, and daughter, Elin, is that Joan’s bonnet continues to draw ceaseless comments. All of them positive and if I were to guess, my guess would be that Joan is on the verge of starting a new fashion trend.

Of course, when anyone comments on the bonnet, Joan goes into a long litany of how and where she bought it and the fact that originally it was purchased to keep her dyed hair from fading into its natural silver-blue color in the sunlight. The story only varies slightly with each telling and takes only slightly longer than a full length feature film to finish.

Taking a break on the way up

But for all the ribbing Joan has taken for wearing the bonnet I am happy to report that hundreds have regaled her with positive comments even if they were sorry for doing so after enduring the lengthy explanation. 

So Monday night we went and caught “The Book Thief” at the budget theater. The 12-screen theater offers movies that have been and gone from the regular theaters, but at a really good price. Normal price is $3, but on Monday it is $2 for senior citizens. I’m such an old person now.

We enjoyed the story and the movie. Because we have seen a series of action/adventure movies I did my best to convince Joan on the way out that this was technically a “chick flick.”

Joan’s response: “There were Nazis, bombs, fights, I don’t think that qualifies as a ‘chick flick.’”

Big rock on the trail

My response: “There was gentle kissing and talk of love,” i.e. “chick flick.”  Don’t think I convinced her.

Tuesday’s hike was up Pima Canyon. This was a pretty hike that had a rise of 800-feet over a 3-mile trail, which is not too bad. In spots there were steep stone stairs which make for aching knees, especially on the way down.

We had 25 hikers today and except for getting hopelessly lost on the way to the trailhead, the day was a big success.

While was out enjoying the sunshine, Joan slept in, stayed home and paid the bills. (Yes, they continue to come and demand to be paid.)

Lunch on a rock

Joan also cooked up a great crockpot “lasagna” which we took and shared at the Tuesday potluck. We sat with our new friends, Ann and Hap (the man who is teaching me wood carving) and had a very enjoyable evening.

Here’s a little update on the long horn sheep saga here in Tucson. Just to recap, a month ago the wildlife folks here in Arizona released 31 long horn sheep into the Catalina Mountains. The hope was to reestablish a colony of long horn sheep that once were very common here.

Unfortunately for the plans the mountain lions suddenly realized they had a tasty buffet released into their habitat. Doing what mountain lions do (and maybe an occasional bobcat) they are having a feast.

Evidence of Native Americans in the rock

So far in the first month, 10 of the long horn sheep have been killed and eaten. All of the long horn sheep are equipped with satellite tracking devices so I guess when they suddenly stop moving for more than a few minutes, the local wildlife folks head into the mountains and locate why the sheep aren’t moving.

In every case so far they weren’t moving because they had become lunch. The mountain lions are then tracked and if located shot and killed simply for doing what comes naturally to mountain lions.  Then again maybe the mountain lions have figured out a way to use the satellite technology to find their food.

As you can imagine there is much gnashing of teeth (pun intended) by critics of the release program as more and more of the sheep turn up as mountain lion food.

I’ll keep you posted.

Heading down the Pima Canyon trail

My favorite TV line from the Olympics so far was this breathless comment by a local Tucson reporter who is in Sochi covering the games: “People are gathered here from all over the world.”  Really, people from all over the world come to the Olympics. Who knew?

Then on Wednesday night’s Olympic coverage came this gem from an announcer for the women’s half pipe competition. (Not a sport I really even care about): “She was a machine gun of awesomeness.”  Not sure exactly what that means but it made me laugh.

Also on Wednesday Joan did our separate exercise programs and then we went to “Market Daze” at the resort. Bought a couple more trinkets and Joan found a couple gifts for some of the folks back home and a nice reversible jacket for herself. Oh, yeah, and more positive comments on Joan's bonnet while we toured Market Daze.

Market Daze at the resort

The concert on Wednesday night was “Old Time Radio” which was an interesting look at what old time radio might have been like. The singing was great, but the presentation was just a little disjointed and not one of the best shows we have seen here. It was still fun and entertaining though.

On Thursday morning I went to Bible study and when I got home I turned on some of the Olympic coverage hoping for some luge competition. Instead they were running coverage of "curling" which to me is like having dominos as an Olympic sport. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I just don't get that sport.

This afternoon we are going to a presentation by the current general manager of the resort and then Joan is going to get her nails done. Another fiery day in the desert for us.

More Market Daze

Everyone comes here pretty much to escape winter weather. What you don’t escape is the almost constant fascination with what the weather is back home. Almost every discussion with new folks starts with not the current weather in Tucson, but what it is like back home.

We do hope and pray for relief from the bad weather back in Michigan and elsewhere. We take no pleasure in knowing we have great weather when so many have such bad weather.

Just to bring you up to date on the latest from the Long Horn Sheep news, they reported last night that two of the sheep have given birth to lambs. So far the mothers have kept the lambs in some pretty inhospitable areas and safe from the mountain lions and bobcats.

It's just a matter of time until the mountain lions realize they have a wonderful midnight snack on the way.