Time winding down, time to put Arizona in the rear view mirror

Time, as it always does, conquers our visit to Arizona. As I write this we are methodically packing our things and preparing for the long trek home. As our time winds down I often get a little melancholy because I really love the mountains and the activities here at Voyager, but deep down I know that I wouldn’t enjoy the 114-degree summer days.

It is also good to get home and see family and friends in Michigan.

Cactus blooms along the Bridal Wreath trail

During the past week the temperatures have slid back to the more normal 60s and 70s of this time of year. We have done a number of fun activities including our annual wine tasting trip (I’m the designated driver and Joan is the designated taster) and this year we did it with our new friends, Mike and Susan.

Mike has lived all over the world as a plant manager for GM and his wife is delightful. We had a really fun day with them while touring the Sonoita wineries near here. We picked us a few selections for the Southwest Wine Package that we annually donate to the Family Literacy Center auction which occurs very soon after I get home.

We also attended a nice party for my friend Frank, of Elko, Nevada, who at 90 continues to hike with the Tuesday hiking group. He is an inspiration to all of us as he climbs up and down the mountains at his age. The party was fun and Frank was surprised by the appearance of several out-of-state family members.

Tonight (Wednesday, March 29) will be our last show and it’s a presentation here at the resort by a large part of the Arizona Symphony Orchestra. Last week was another great show – Paper Back Writer – a tribute to the Beatle’s. Some of the older members of the park weren’t as impressed, but at least they didn’t walk out after intermission like they did with the Beach Boys show.

I’ve done two more hikes – Hutch’s Pools – which is a moderate hike into the bowels of Sabino Canyon, but it was made a little more difficult because the temperatures in the afternoon as we completed the hike were in the low 90s. Water became scarce and many of us spent a lot of time hydrating when we got back to the trailhead.

Frank's party on the patio

The second hike was supposed to be to the Chirachua National Monument, which is one of my favorite hikes, but we woke up to rain on Tuesday (March 28) and an advance group of hikers from the park who were staying at the monument texted that it was still snowing there into the morning.

So we aborted the three-hour drive there and did a more local hike to Bridal Wreath Falls in Saguaro East National Park. It was a good hike, but only five of us made the hike, and it certainly was not comparable to the Chirachua hike. This is the second year the Chirachua hike has been aborted so I’m hoping that next year will be the year.

In all seriousness, if missing that hike is the worst thing that happened this trip, I’m a blessed man.

Joan continues to volunteer at the health center (her last day is tomorrow) and my last chair set up was today for the orchestra show tonight. After the show I’ll help put away the 500 chairs and then I’ll be done for this season.

We’ve signed up to host next year’s Michigan Party again. The rhythm of the resort is slowly winding down and the bulletin board where all the week’s and month’s activities are listed, is nearly bare now. We’ve already said good-bye to many of our good friends here, a couple of them apparently for good, as they feel they are no longer able to travel. While it is sad to see them go, it has been a pleasure to get to know them.

Meet Me at Maynard's March 27

We were invited last week to attend a private dinner for volunteers who helped with the chair, table and kitchen set-up crew. This was different from the all volunteer party, which includes many more people who help around the park.

Because we are involved several days a week, the park hosts a special dinner just for us and it was very good. The park could not operate as it does, for the prices it does without all the many volunteers who help out here.

Although I’m not a card player, there are several groups of folks who play cards here every week. Bunko, poker, euchre, bridge, you name it, just about every kind of card game is played here.

There is pickleball, tennis, bocce ball, shuffleboard, softball, volleyball and other sports which are popular here as well. All have gone pretty quiet this week as people depart for home.

On Friday, March 31 (Joan’s birthday, by the way) we will head out of the park about noon and drop the trailer at Camping World in Tucson so that it can be winterized for storage. Later that evening we will start the trek up the hill to Flagstaff and drop the trailer off early in the morning and then head to California to visit friends and relatives there.

At some point I’ll post again, but I can’t say for sure when I will have time for that. So stay tuned. Thanks for joining us on this year’s voyage and we look forward, God willing, that we will do it all again next year.

Hikes, jewelry, shows and more, much more

Life remains good, but very hot in the desert since we last visited. Temperatures are unusually high for this time of year and we have just gone through a stretch of consecutive 90-degree days that promise to continue into the first of this coming week.

On top of Mt. Wrightson

We have enjoyed another wonderful concert, “Mr. Boogie Woogie” (feel free to Google Mr. Boogie Woogie) which was a tribute to Fats Domino and several other artists. Next year’s lineup appears to be just as good so we have reserved our same seats for next year.

Some of the older residents in the park are not thrilled with some of the shows as they would prefer more Lawrence Welk type music, but such is the challenge of the activity office in trying to please a population that ranges from 55 to 95.

I have been teaching the Thursday night coed Bible class for the past three weeks as the park chaplain has had his hands full with a wife recovering from hip surgery. He comes to the class and helps, but has asked me to take the lead. It has been a lot of fun and very instructive as well.

Joan continues her volunteer work at the health clinic at the resort and I continue to schlep tables and chairs as needed in the ballroom. As a result of that we were both treated to a free lunch for volunteers on March 15 and then we get a special dinner on the 23^rd because of my service with the setup crew.

Summit sign

On Saturday, March 12, we got up early and headed to Madera Canyon for some bird watching. Madera Canyon is home to hundreds of bird species and many of them you can only see there in Arizona. We got there about 7 a.m. and sat at the Santa Rita Lodge bird feeding station for a while watching birds. We took a short hike on a nearby nature trail, but heard a lot more birds that we actually saw. Then we drove down to Proctor Road in the park where we walked a mile loop to see if we could see more birds, which we did, but the human traffic on the trail seems to limit the birds.

It's a trip we’ll do again.

Because I’m a veteran I signed up for a “Tribute” card at the Desert Diamond Casino. I don’t gamble, but Joan dabbles in it for fun. As a “Tribute” member I get 12 free nights in the hotel a year and just for something to do away from the resort I booked two nights for us to stay there. It is nice because we can spread out a little and our shower is only 20-feet away instead of a short walk in the resort to the shower house. It’s a nice break and we have one more night booked before we leave.

Desert Diamond also has a nice eating place, “Agave Restaurant” that has a Prime Rib for two dinner on Sunday night for $29 so we usually take advantage of that as well.

Joan continues her polymer clay jewelry class and has made a couple more beautiful pieces she can wear.

Resort church was excellent Sunday (March 12) as a string quartet from the Arizona Symphony Orchestra came and accompanied the choir and then did a few numbers on their own. I love a good string quartet and this was a very good string quartet.

My truck is parked way down at the bottom

Another thing we did during the current time was attend the “One Act Plays” performance of the Voyager Theater Group. At least one of the plays was written by a park resident and all were performed by park residents. All very entertaining, but sitting on a hard, folding chair for two hours leaves my butt frozen.

Last Monday, we led a group of about 14 people, which included a number of friends of Marcia and Jerry to the Meet Me at Maynard’s event in downtown Tucson. About half of them had never been to Meet Me at Maynard’s and I think most of them had a good time. We all ate at “Fired Pie” 

afterwards. Fired Pie, if you don’t recall, is the place that makes individual pizzas and salads and they have an array of toppings for both. It is only $7.99 per person and with the Meet Me at Maynard’s discount we save 10 percent on top of that.

We’re all about the discounts.

I have done a couple great hikes since last we met. One of them is a repeat and that was to Josephine Saddle in Madera Canyon. Actually, this was the third time (the fourth we’ll talk about in a minute) I had been up this trail this season as I had done this hike with Mahlon, our friend from Michigan, when they were here in January.

The Tuesday hike group headed up there and while we initially had plans for some of us to continue up to Mt. Wrightson, those plans fizzled when a number of folks had to bail out for more mundane issues like doctor appointments and closing on a house in the park.

Snow on the trail near the summit

The hike to Mt. Wrightson for those who wanted to go to the summit was rescheduled to Thursday (March 16) but I had Bible study obligations in the morning so I couldn’t go.

So I decided to get up early on Friday and head up there myself. I tried to find someone to go with me, but that didn’t work out either. The trail is pretty well traveled so I was not worried about going alone. If you crash and burn on the trail you are never more than 20 minutes from someone coming by.

I arrived back at Madera Canyon about 7 a.m. at the trailhead and made a bad decision to take the Super Trail to the top instead of the Old Baldy Trail which I have always used. Someone told me that Super Trail to the top is more scenic (which is correct) but it is also three miles longer which may not seem like much but those three miles make this a 14-mile hike instead of a 10.5-mile hike which by the end of the day is a lot.

Looking towards Mexico

The Old Baldy Trail is steeper with lots of switchbacks but it cuts about two hours off the hike time from the Super Trail. Also, the Super Trail has not been maintained for a while so my legs got scratched up for the overgrowth of sticker bushes that grow on both sides. A number of large trees have fallen over the trail as well and those you can’t walk around you have to climb over, which gets tiring.

Toward the top of the trail I encountered snow left over from the early season’s snowfall, but it wasn’t icy and not an obstacle.

After the long slog to the top I finally arrived at the summit along with a few other folks, including quite coincidentally a couple from the Voyager RV resort. Dave and Deb also hike with the Tuesday group and like me decided to make up the hike on Friday. They were excited because they were going to go down the mountain on the Super Trail and asked if I might go with them. I declined, as I didn’t want to add another three miles to what had already been a long hike. So I went down the Old Baldy Trail and beat them back to the parking lot.

It took 4 ½-hours to get to the summit (9,453 feet) from the trailhead which is at 4,500-feet but only 2 ½-hours to get down to the parking lot. I arrived back at my car at 2:43 p.m. and immediately let Joan know I was down and safe.

I took two quarts of water up with me, but with the high temperatures that was barely enough. I drained my last bottle of water about a mile from the parking lot and then headed to a convenience store where I bought a bottle of apple juice and a large 20-ounce bottle of water and downed them as well just to start the re-hydration process.

Dancing in the courtyard for Frank's 90th

Once home I showered and took Joan to dinner in the resort at the restaurant. They had a St. Patrick’s Day special of corned beef and cabbage which she loves. Not being Irish I settled for a fat juicy steak and potato dinner.

On Saturday I helped set up the Catalina Room for an author book signing (see below) and then later helped set up a 90^th birthday party for fellow hiker (yes, he hikes very well at 90) Frank who hails from Elko, Nevada.

The temperatures were in the mid-90s, but in the shade where we set up the tables it was very comfortable. The dancing went on into the wee (well, wee hours as defined in a 55 and over park) and I got the chairs and tables cleaned up and stored by 8 p.m.

Author J. A. Jance was the best selling author that we set the room up for and I picked up two autographed books for the Family Literacy Center auction.

In my last newsletter I mentioned that we had lost our space at the storage lot. Susan called and said a space had opened so we got our spot back. It’s a little more expensive, but it’s closer to Tucson and it has been very convenient so we snapped it up and that’s where we will be in two weeks.

Well, I did a little better in keeping you up to date this time and there will probably be just one more posting before we leave here in two weeks. I’ll try to post as we head to California and then home.

Better late than never, our next post

Rattlesnake bridge on Meet Me at Maynard's

Despite my resolve to keep track of these posts and our activities our full calendar has left me once again way behind in recording what we have been up to in the Old Pueblo, as the locals call Tucson.

It’s been three weeks since I posted so I have a lot to cover, but I’m going to miss some things I’m sure.

Anyway, here are the highlights as best I can remember them with help from Joan’s calendar. When we last visited here we had just attended the Valentine’s Dance here at the park on Feb. 18.

We always attend church on Sunday so that never changes. One of those Sundays was Western Heritage Sunday and coincides with the rodeo being in town. Everyone is asked to wear their best cowboy outfits to church (leave the guns at home, though).  I continue to volunteer on the table and chair set up squad and have met many great new friends doing that. Joan is happily volunteering at least one day a week for four hours at the Voyager Health Clinic where she diagnoses illnesses, gives shots and prescribes medicine for folks. Just kidding, she arranges for appointments and makes sure the office is running well.

The tail of snake at the bridge's end

The chair and table set up crew has been very busy, as there are events in the ballroom almost daily now through the end of March. I can’t make them all, but I have been on hand for about 80 percent of them. No one can make them all.

We’ve seen two more Wednesday concerts here at the resort (there was no concert on Wednesday, March 1 because that was Ash Wednesday, but we did go to services in the ballroom). The first one was one of my favorites (Feb. 22) because that was the Beach Boys Tribute “Catch a Wave”

so that was two hours of music that I grew up with and loved.

On Wednesday March 8 we went to the “How Great Thou Art” Concert which was a tribute to the gospel music of Elvis Presley. Two hours of really good music left us pretty happy. The singer, Robert Shaw, is one of our favorite entertainers here. This season has been excellent and we’ve already reserved our concert series next year so we will have the same seats.

Wyatt Earp killed a guy at this spot at the Tucson train station

We continue to attend the Thursday lecture series at 1 p.m. (Joan is forced to miss her favorite soap opera but finds the lectures are well worth it). We’ve heard many science based lectures (space exploration and this week (March 9) was a really interesting presentation on the state of Internet Security and privacy. The bottom line is that you might as well consider everything you write or post on the Internet to be read and saved by someone you wish didn’t have it. Another lecture (March 2) was on the effects of climate change and the current drought situation here in Arizona.

Another lecture (Feb. 23) was on the ongoing mission to reach an asteroid that has a near earth orbit. The project, which is being supervised largely by the University of Arizona, is a seven-year round trip to the asteroid. The space probe is supposed to touchdown (only briefly) on the asteroid and collect samples from the surface and then return them to earth.

You can lock your love on one of these kiosks

The lecturer brought lots of great photos and models and it was a really fascinating talk.

We’ve been to a couple Saturday night dances in the interim, including another Reminiscence Dance and then a really rocking good time at the Retro Rockets Dance on March 4. Retro Rockets is a popular dance band that plays exclusively music from the 50s, 60s and early 70s. They go from one song to the other and the female lead singer is extremely talented.

Joan has continued her classes in “polymer clay” and has been busy making pretty jewelry. Every Friday she goes to her class and continues to learn new techniques that she can take home and use there.

Joan's jewelry

She enjoys creating the jewelry and can design them in colors and shapes that go with her clothes. She is getting very good at it too. On Wednesday, March 1, she and other members of her jewelry class set up a table at the “Show and Tell” event in the ballroom. All the shops and activities at the resort display what they have been doing all season and try to convince others to sign up for next year. I am very proud of what she is doing.

Part of the reason I have been tardy in keeping up the blog is that I have been writing and producing my 24-page Navy newsletter for the USS Cogswell DD-651 Association. I finished it just on deadline on Feb. 28.

One of the big highlights of the last few weeks was attending the musical “Motown the Musical” at Centennial Hall on the campus of the University of Arizona. It was the story of Barry Gordy and the rise and proliferation of the music now known as Motown.

Me on top of Blackett's Ridge

Every Monday (except March 6 when we hosted the Michigan Party – more on that next) we continue to go to Meet Me at Maynard’s in downtown Tucson. Our Michigan friends in the park, Marcia and Jerry, have started going with us and they also seem to enjoy the activity. You get a nice walk, you get to sit outside and enjoy the warm night air and some local music and then eat dinner out, what could be better?

Recently, we've been taking a different route, one that takes us over "Rattlesnake bridge." You can see a photo above and if you look carefully you can see the eye of the snake and the root of its fangs in the upper left part of the photo. The metal work looks like the skin pattern of the snake and the tail rattles when a bicycle passes by.

One of the tasks I need to perform here every year is the wash and wax of the trailer. It is always a daunting job that causes me to have to go on the roof of the trailer and endure the constant taunts of everyone walking by reminding me of the death of an RVer years ago who did a swan dive off the top of his RV.

Dressed for Western Heritage Sunday

I was just about to start that process when I learned from our RV repairman (yes, we finally had a reason to call him to our RV for a malfunctioning propane gas valve) that there is a young Tucson man who has an auto detailing business who washes and waxes RVs for a very reasonable rate. So I called Alex and for just a little over $100 I saved myself from a full day of miserable work and the constant lectures from passersby. Money well spent and the trailer looks great.

So let’s talk about the Michigan Party. Just a little background in case you forgot. Nearly all the states and Canada have annual parties where the folks from those areas get together and celebrate not being where they are from. The only state missing from that list during the first few years we came here was Michigan. Joan and Marcia took it on themselves to fire up the Michigan Party.

In the past, the party was a swanky affair with a price to match at a local restaurant and banquet center. The poor folks that organized it got burned out doing all the work, making reservations, picking a menu, selling tickets, etc. and finally dropped the event when the attendance fell to an all-time low in 2012.

Pins in the Michigan Party map

Enter Joan an Marcia who decided a simple potluck, in the park with a few party games would be just as good. Last year’s event on Feb. 29, drew more than 60 people. We anticipated a similar turnout this year, but were surprised when nearly 80 people showed up in the courtyard for the party March 6.

Everyone brought a dish to share and the food could not have been better. We invited our Canadian neighbors in the park because they drive through Michigan from Ontario each year on their way to and from the park. Besides, we’re doing the party so we can invite whoever we want and they are very nice people. Everyone had a great time and we gave out a number of door prizes, including a grand prize of a $25 gift certificate to the resorts bar and grill and a large bottle of Michigan maple syrup in a beautiful Maple Leaf bottle.

Our total expenses, including the prizes, was $125. We put out a donation basket and collected $127, so we came out $2 to the good which we put in the bank to add to the $200 the former committee left us in the Michigan Party account. We had each person put a pin in the Michigan map showing where the were from. Most are from around Grand Rapids. We are the only ones from Lapeer.

Picacho Peak Saddle looking down

We’re searching for a date to do the party again next year. Of course I forgot to take photos. Arrgggh!

My biggest highlight of the past three weeks was finally crossing off the Picacho Peak hike  off my bucket list. Every year we come down here we drive by Picacho Peak on our way to and from Phoenix as well as on our way down here.

We have been to Picacho Peak State Park several times, including when we have visitors, but hiking to the top of the peak has eluded me until this year. The hike is considered very difficult as it is nearly straight up in some places and requires the use of cables to pull yourself up the several steep sections of the hike.

Cable climbing to the top

In the past I had considered doing it alone, but always deferred to Joan that it would not be wise to head up there without someone with me. Finding someone in a park full of old people who want to pull themselves up a mountain is not easy. A couple weeks ago a few of the Tuesday hikers asked who might be interested in scaling Picacho Peak. I jumped at the chance and by Friday, March 3, 12 hearty folks signed up for the hike.

We drove the 45 minutes to the park and then headed up the steep Hunter’s Trail near the face of the Peak. It is about a mile up to the saddle on a steep switchback trail. Once at the saddle, defying all logic, you then descend down a pretty steep 250-foot rock formation using cables. It is always frustrating after climbing up a steep mountain, to give back that much altitude, knowing that you are going to have to regain that altitude again and then come back up that same rock after you reach the peak and start back down.

Me on top of the Peak

As we headed up the back side of Picacho Peak the trail gets steeper and that’s when the real cable work begins. Toward the end of the trail there is a very narrow wood bridge next to a sheer rock that one has to walk across to get to the final switchback trails that lead to the top. I’m not a big fan of heights so I crossed the narrow (about 8 inches) bridge hanging onto the cable and not looking down.

The long and short of it is that we made the summit and enjoyed the incredible views from the top. You can see Tucson to the south and Phoenix to the north from the summit. We had lunch there and spent a little time taking pictures. I had a great sense of satisfaction finally making it to a place I had only dreamed about for five years.

Coming down the mountain is more strenuous and nerve wracking that going up. Going backwards down the steep rocks (using cables) means trying to find a place for your feet without being able to see where you are putting them.

Lunch on the peak

The worst part came when we arrived back at the 250-foot rock section that we had come down after reaching the saddle. Going up that steep incline as tired as we all were taxed both heart and spirit, but we got it done.

We passed a lot of folks coming up the mountain in the heat of the day and we would learn the next day that one of them had to be rescued off the mountain because he had a heart attack.

As a reward we headed to a state area that holds petroglyphs from Native people who lived in the area 1,000 to 1,600 years ago. Consider it ancient graffiti but it was eerie to consider where those people had lived and played so long ago.

Climbing Picacho Peak was a reminder that we are never too old to try and achieve our dreams. I hope to do that hike someday with my son Tim. Not this year though.

Ancient petroglyphs

I also hiked on Pontatoc Ridge and Bog Springs/Kent Springs as well as Blackett's Ridge trails. I know I'm missing a couple, but that's what I get for waiting so long to post.

Last Sunday (March 5), after church, we headed to Sweetwater Park, which is a nature area using reclaimed water from the sewer system. There are lots of birds and critters that live there and Joan loves to go there to look for rare birds. We didn’t have a lot of luck seeing too many birds, but we did see a Roadrunner, a quail, a hawk and plenty of varieties of duck. A couple turtles and a huge frog.

I think the name "Sweetwater" is clever considering the source of the water. Which reminds me I saw a truck who apparently picks up dog poop and other waste and the sign on the back of the truck said "We're No. 1 in the No. 2 business." 

Joan  and bonnet at Sweetwater Nature area 

Joan continues to receive constant comments on her bonnet whenever she wears it. Perhaps we should buy a bunch and sell them as we travel.

We are making our final plans for leaving in three weeks and ran into a little snag when the place we usually store our trailer let us know they don’t have room for us this year. I have found another storage place in Williams, Arizona, near Flagstaff that has room so we will have to drive an extra half hour. It’s $12 a month cheaper so that was good.

I’m going to try to keep you up to date better on what is going on here, but no promises.

One more thing, in the interim since our last check in we have signed up and put a deposit on our stay here next year, so it looks like Arizona has really infused itself into our blood.