Riding, Yoga, Tai Chi, Photo Club and Moxie in the desert.

I started to feel neglectful for not having blogged since we got to the lake last spring.  But who would really want to hear of all the work we did last summer...well, on second thought,

 we did take two weeks "off" and go to Hawaii.  And, I went diving!!  My favorite shot taken while diving...

Other than that we were working on perfecting the lake house for ourselves and guests.  We are pretty much done...only a few projects left to do this coming spring and summer!

Then the season of fall came and along with it cold.  

Our plans to drive south began in earnest!  With all our planning we were still three days late to our first, and longest stay destination, Desert Trails RV Park in Tucson Arizona...and despite our best efforts...we still forgot some things!!

We have gotten into somewhat of a routine here...yoga, tai chi, Tucson loop bike riding group, hiking group, Bryant, wood carving,  me, photo club, and then more yoga!  This is all at the RV Park...two nights a week we drive out to east Tucson and go Square Dancing!  

When we started out riding the trails out back in the Tucson Mountain Park together Bryant's trike was holding up pretty well...except for his hands and tires that were getting too many Cholla holes in them both!  

He has reluctantly decided the trails here are a bit too narrow for him to ride.  I've  gone a few more times and still get a little lost out there...but the ride is so much different than road riding and I do enjoy it as well!  The road riding group is only once a week and is tamer than I usually like...but I have mellowed? and ride with them some days, okay, maybe I haven't mellowed all that much...most days I move on out

Bryant and I try to ride two to three times a week on the "loop" depending on our other planned activities...and depending on rain.  Yes, it does rain here in the desert...not for days on end...but for a day or so...and it is as wet as Seattle rain. 
We have made trips to the Tucson Desert Museum,

old Tucson,

where a lot of the old westerns were filmed,  Madera Canyon,

Whitewater Draw,

Tombstone

where we even toured an old silver mine.  I have been trying to get the good camera out more since I am in the photo club here...and I have learned more and really experimented more with the camera than I ever have. There is a story behind some of those photos!!  
We had two Thanksgivings...one here at at Desert Trails (turkey with all the fixings) and one with friends we met last year in Green Valley (a fantastic  beef dinner with great company and wine).

We have been to Tubac where my underwater photos on metal have been accepted into a gallery there (more on that later after they are on display).  We will be back in Tubac for sure now for 5 days in February for the Arts Festival!  It will be interesting to see if the underwater/ocean theme has a place here in the desert!

We will be back to the lake in December for 5 days to be with family for Christmas.  Moxie will be boarded out .  Both Bryant and I are a bit anxious about that but we are also very excited to see family back home...and to give my mom some extra hugs!  

Getting home...and Tulips...

How time has flown by...

it seems as if I just planted these tulips!  We have been home a week now and they continue to brighten the patios and yard every day!

I planted the bulbs all over in various pots and am so glad the snowy cold winter did not get the best of them! 

So just how did we get home?

At the suggestion of our friends we decided on a different route.  Both Bryant and I were not wanting to take I-10 where the road debris had complicated and delayed our trip by two and a half weeks...we did take I-17 to SR89 to I-84 to I-5 to home.  We stopped at an RV resort in Hurricane the first afternoon.

I thought it was a bit pricey...but we had decided to enjoy the drive and trip home!

We are both amazed at how many RV'ers there are!  We left after tea/coffee and breakfast and got to Rock Creek RV park in Twin Falls Idaho just as it was was getting dark.  It is only open from April 1st to September 30th as the road into it is steep and has a huge curve!  First come, first served, honor pay system...and thankfully there was a spot!

The road is behind the Via on the hill!  Beautiful park, we slept well and were on our way again after breakfast.  We had already decided to spend another night out rather than get home late...so we were in no hurry...

which turned out to be a good thing with the pass weather!  And, as we got closer to Portland...rain...rain like we had not seen in months!  Turn the volume up for the video below!

 We stopped at Ainsworth State Park on the Columbia River for our last night out.  It was dark when we got there..surrounded by the NW trees...and rain!  I never stepped foot outside the Via!  I'm so glad Moxie has trained Bryant to take her on walks!
To home...

where we are slowly getting accustomed again to the sunsets...the fireplace and are not only enjoying the tulips...

but getting some spinach and brocolli planted in the garden!  It is good to be home!  Stay tuned for a "blooper" blog coming soon...and our next adventure(s)..

At Last...

I know there is an old song...'At Last'...not sure who sings it but I have always enjoyed it when I hear it!  Today we were finally able to drive the VIA to a local RV Resort where we will be doing all the chores needed from a week and a half of dry camping!

First a correction...I mis-blogged on the last blog...the VIA was taken to the Peoria Mercedes/Sprinter dealer not the Mesa dealer.

With that being corrected I'll pick up sort of where I left off.  We stayed two nights at the hotel in Goodyear...close to Peoria so we could go back to the VIA to get clothes/dog food/ other things forgotten in our rush...and to be close in case we were needed for some reason.  All the hotels were booked in the Peoria area and so expensive as it is spring training season!  I started searching for a less expensive hotel that would give us something to do during the day which brought us to the east Mesa/Apache Junction area.  After Bryant's foot started feeling better off we went to some awesome bike trails in th Usery Regional Park area.

This is actually the Levy trail...there were other trails that both of us enjoyed riding too... I just didnt get any pictures!  We spent four nights in that hotel.  Then I called the gentleman managing the repairs of the VIA because with Moxie I was not able to find an open hotel room anywhere!  I asked if we could live in the VIA in their parking lot for the weekend and he said yes...and would even park it next to a pole with power!!!  Wooohoooo!  

It was great to be "home"...albeit...not able to go anywhere!  We quickly found a bike trail at Thunderbird Park and then found the New River trail next to the Veterans Memorial Park which allowed us to increase our riding mileage!We had 25 mile days and 12 mile ride days!  Our neighbors arrived to the area in their motorhome.  We met them for lunch out one day and they had us over to their "house" for dinner another evening.  When Monday came around Chris allowed us to continue to stay in our VIA and let us know when he would need it during the week!

We even went to a Mariners Spring Training game!   We didn't feel quite so stranded! 

To today...and "at last".  After a test drive last night and again this morning by Mercedes personnel we were given the green light okay to begin our trek home...yes, we are just heading back to the lake!  We will be doing laundry and clean up here for a few days...then heading out early Thursday morning...Bryants  birthday!  We are both hoping to still be able to watch the tulips I planted last year bloom (thanks Maddie)!

With All Good Things...

We are back in Mesa...in a hotel.  All the hotels around here are very expensive we have found.  It is a much longer story that starts when we left LDSP a couple of weeks ago.

I had arranged for a four night stay at a Colorado River Resort near Lake Havasu FREE.  We did have the obligation to listen to a 90 minute presentation...you know the drill.  And, we truly did consider it...had it not been a six year commitment we might have been "in"...but with this being our first year out we just didn't know...so we opted out.  Moxie loved swimming in the river...and we really did enjoy ourselves for three days at the Resort.  Then the fourth day...we found out that when it rains in the desert it can REALLY rain and the water can REALLY puddle!

So much so that if you step in the puddles, you can sink up to your ankles in mud.  We left the free resort amid the mud and drove to the other side of the river to wait at the Bluewater RV Resort for there to be less running water on the roads before we headed to Alamo Lake.  Bryant had arranged for us to stay there until the end of March.

It was beautiful scenery there...it was warm...but there was very little hiking, no bike riding, and no internet...I mean no service unless we drove to a restaurant 8 miles away.  The lake water was not as advertised either...muddy instead of crystal clear...even Moxie didnt want to go into it swimming.

We did enjoy a couple of days there...the wild burros of course, hiked a little...really enjoyed watching and listening to the group of friends with kids that were camping there.  We decided however to to go check out Yuma for a couple of days in preparation for next year!  So while Bryant drove I secured an RV Resort reservation.  And, then...road debris on Interstate 10.

First and foremost...we are lucky...Bryant kept the RV on the road amidst all the truck traffic!  And, we met a wonderful man that took the VIA to the Mesa Sprinter repair shop.  We found out the extent of the damage this morning and are now waiting for insurance...a bump in the road.

So, as the title says..."with all good things" which refers to our travels since January, the places we have gone to and  how much we have enjoyed...and then a bump in the road...

Goals...

We met a guy on the trail today...he was on his way down...we were going up.  He had completed the Flatiron Trail in 1 hour and 22 minutes (the top of the mountains in the picture below).  I was impressed and we chatted for a few minutes.  He lives around here and comes up once a week to hike this "hard" trail...6.2 miles with elevation gain of 2933 feet!  He was very happy with his time...had met his goal!   He told us of an 87 year old guy that does this hike 3-4 times a week...he didnt say if he timed his hikes!

Back to where we left off last blog...we left Tubac early afternoon and headed back to Lost Dutchman State Park (LDSP).  The new GPS took us a way that was 15 miles shorter...but stop and go traffic and then out in the desert toolies!  A perfect GPS would have let us know... so we would have fueled up BEFORE being out there!  Arghhhh!!  The good news...we made it on fumes to a station with diesel close to LDSP.  We also had the DEF alert come on while we were out in the toolie desert...with none on board!  Enough excitement for the day!We checked into our dry camping spot.  It was higher up than we had been before...with a beautiful view!  We both wanted to ride...and we did.  We also had little things with our bike/trike so Monday our plan was to go back to the bike shop in Apache Junction that Bryant liked so well.  We dropped them off in the morning and proceeded to go to the Resinance Festival.  Well, nooooo...they were closed on Monday!  Sure glad I didnt buy tickets online that are good for any day of the week!!  The good news...traffic in the area was super light AND it did save us over 50 dollars (admission fees)!  We moved the VIA to a full hook up site and then decided to go shopping and relax while we waited for the call that our bike/trike was completed!  They even called early enough for us to get a small ride in!

We found a hiking trail that looked fun...and was a small drive... in the opposite direction of all the traffic...Wind Cave!  A 2.6 mile hike with elevation gain of 770 feet.

Moxie loves our hikes...she gets left home on our bike rides so on this hike she led the way through the rocky switchbacks.

it was another beautiful day and hike!The only caveat...we wish we had brought a small garbage bag with us to pick up after those who had come before us...I mentioned that to another couple...turns out they live near the trail...and he motioned with his hand to the sprawling city below saying it is inevitable with all the people moving here.  I said "no, it is lack of respect...and that should not be inevitable".   They agreed...we chatted a bit more before we moved on.

To the top...

and back "home".  After some lunch and relaxing...we took a short evening bike ride.  Hope to get a short video clip of all of the bike trails we have been on (one of these days) as I mounted the GoPro to the top of my helmet!

Today we decided to stay here for our hike...Prospectors Trail...3.5 miles with elevation gain of 570.We started early for the most shade and with lots of water as Moxie does drink a lot along the trail!This too is a great hike!  We met a lot of people on the trail...one lady took this picture for us...

as I was going to try to take a selfie of us on the bench!  Of course there is...Moxie...the wonder hiking dog...who almost caught a bird this morning!  I wish they would not tempt fate and fly right in front of her!  And this is Green Rock from the mountain side...

So, back to the beginning of this blog and goals.

Both Bryant and I are thinking of hiking the Flatiron Trail...NEXT YEAR!!!

A wonderful time in Tubac

The train woke me up this morning...enough that I was ready for my tea anyway.  It seems the train goes through the area twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.  Until this morning I couldn't really have told you the timing...this morning was 5:20 am.  Enough about trains...

We have done quite a lot here...the town is touted as an artist community with an eclectic flair.  The Opera, the Presidio State Historic Park,  biking and hiking the Anza Historical Trail, a spice shop, the Whipple Observatory, a local winery wine tasting, and a little more shopping that has filled our days with interest and awe.

The Tubac Opera (I mentioned in the previous blog) was a wonderful time!  We were seated with a mid/late eighties couple from Green Valley, a small town just north of Tubac.  What a joy they were to be seated with and share the evening of fun!  They had been to one of the previous Operas at the Italian Peasant and all along the way gave me (as my hearing is pretty good) insights as to how it was going!  He was in law enforcement his entire career, they lived in Costa Rica for 10 years, and he did 2 years in the Peace Corps in the Ukarine.  They are parents, grandparents, and great grandparents!  So interesting  to talk with!  The tenor (in the video clip) was great...and we were so lucky as he was not one of the "usuals"!  They wanted us to come up and visit them before we leave (tomorrow) and we will try!  As a footnote...I had worn my "Tubac" (see previous blog) and when I gave them a hug goodnight they both loved how soft it was!!

The Presidio Historical Park/Museum is certainly worth the visit...a quick video of the history of Tubac and then walking through buildings of artifacts.  Suprising to me that this small town history is so well documented and includes being deserted/abandoned many times due to Apache raiders.

The old schoolhouse had the 1848 punishments on the board...I'll only share one of the two...and then the teacher duties...Only one of the two of those, too!  Both a bit different than current student/teacher responsibilities!!  If anyone is interested the volunteer gave Bryant a hard copy of the rules and responsibilities...and I'm sure he would share!  The picture above of the two of us was taken in the Museum...I'll let you decide if Bryant was putting the hat over my face...or trying to pull it away from my face!!

To the Anza Historical Trail...riding my bike and mostly wide enough for Bryant's trike!He has gotten quite good at getting through tight spaces!  
When we hiked the trail we stopped for a minute and talked with a couple that had just bought a home in the Tubac Golf Resort...they recommended a place for us to go that neither of us had ever heard of before.  It is sort of (or, we can make it) on our way north...looks like a must see kind of a place...it will definately be on the list!

To the Whipple Observatory...that was a WOW!!
The owner of the place where we have the RV outside of Tubac suggested we visit.  Her dad came this area to help build the obervatory.
There was a short video and lots of information on the purpose of the very large yet intricate functioning of searching for galaxy's and gamma rays!
The roads were impassable to the top because of the recent rains so we were not able to see the expansive views ourselves...but we had no idea when we came here that this existed...
.so all we did see was icing on the cake!  We are headed out soon for another bike ride...it is warming up nicely...we are saving the wine we bought for this summer at the lake house...our shopping finds I am so thankful and excited to have...the spices will make a great addition (just ask my kids, and Bryant)...and another train just passed through...maybe it is more than two trains a day...no matter...we have had a wonderful time in Tubac!