Mount Lemmon

Since last post we have been to Chandler (where Jill and family are) more than we thought we would. One of the girls had strep throat, another wasn't doing good either, and so had to stay home from school - which meant could we help out? Spent a couple of days there keeping the kiddos comfortable and doing what comes naturally in a home - laundry, straightening up house, errands, cooking, dishes, etc. Was fun - but we both felt once we left that we like our little RV - not as much to do or pick up. We were still looking around and seeing best fit for next winter and have found that Picacho Peak RV Resort is our best of the best, we will be back here next winter for sure - have already talked to the folks about it. And an exciting thing will happen in about 5 weeks - a Civil War reenactment will take place and we plan to be there to watch the activities. We witnessed a reenactment at East Harbor State Park in Ohio and that was really cool. We hope this one coming up will be just as interesting and educational. Did we tell you that this is Arizona's 100th year anniversary? So - not only will there be things going on at the Peak but also celebrations for the statehood. Yesterday after running some errands in Tucson we drove up to Mount Lemmon, over 9,127 feet tall and the neatest thing - we can see this mountain from our campsite. And it's snow covered to boot and we can also see the snow from our campground. We went too late in the day and didn't make it to the top but knew that when we go back, there will be an entire day looking around, hiking, seeing the town. We found out that the ski resort at the top is the southern most ski destination in the continental US. Amazing! We saw a rapeller on one of the hoodoos (look closely - you can see him on top of that hoodoo) and were amazed that he could get up there. As he laid down to rest after climbing up, we saw 2 turkey vultures flying over him and I think he got a bit miffed and decided to then repel down. No lunch for those vultures! This mountain will definitely be on our list of things to do when guests come in. There are two towns at the top of the mountain and they say there are ski lifts and some restaurants and stores - looking forward to going up there again. Very pretty, waterfalls, lots of hiking and camping, although I don't think we would ever take the RV up there - too scary and steep. In one of the pictures above you can make out the road which snakes back and forth at very steep inclines. We did see at one of the campgrounds a number of RVs - bet it gets pretty cold at night! But to hear the coyotes again - would be worth it in the spring/early fall.

Lazy Days in AZ

I survived the bachlorette week in Picacho last week, Dave was in Oshkosh, Wisconsin conducting training for a company. I felt sorry for him because he was not used to working long hours and the snow and cold really got him. He said he thought he was retired, and now he says - he really is done this time. Enough. When you spend the last 6 months dodging snow and cold and then you spend a rough week in it, you will get your butt kicked big time. He's still recouping today, will take at least a week to get warmed up and caught up with his sleep. While he was gone I made good use of the time to do some quilting, reading, sitting in the sunshine, and visiting with the girls in Chandler. It is fun being this close to the girls. I spent this past weekend living at Jill's house with the oldest, Lia, while the rest were in Tucson for a soccer tournament. Lia and I had fun, even took in a cute movie. Good times.

Last Thursday I wanted to do some grocery shopping and decided to head in the other direction (east on I 10) towards Tucson to find a different store. I got off on the wrong exit and decided to just kept driving, keeping Picacho Peak always in view, knowing I wouldn't get lost as long as I could see it. I found some interesting campgrounds and lots of hiking and biking trails just east of here. And I got closer to Mount Lemon which we can see to the east of us. That day was 69 degrees and there was lots of snow on that mountain. We had rain two days ago and there is even more snow on it. We have been told there are ski lifts/trails on the mountain and also a restaurant there - will have to look into that further. So - yes, we can get to snow if we want - but right now - NO!

We are really enjoying our time here in Picacho, lots of sun, and no given time frame to get going again. Our tentative plans are to leave sometime the beginning of April heading towards Montana for the summer. I don't have the hitch-itch yet even tho we have been here now 6 weeks and in Arizona 9 weeks total. As we looked back at this time last year we were just heading to McAllen Texas from Sinton, near Corpus Christie. Ah, what memories!

Tarantulas and Such

Since we are sitting tight here in Picacho Peak for a couple of months, we haven't done alot of sightseeing. However, I realized yesterday that between Dave and myself, we have put over 2000 miles on the vehicle! Yikes, so what have we been doing? Besides visiting with the grandgirls at least 3 times a week, we are still looking at other campgrounds to make sure that Arizona is the best fit for us in the winter. We have been up to Flagstaff area and down to Tombstone area and west to Tonopah (about 90 miles from Yuma) and east as far as Apache Junction. Florida? Don't want to go back there for many reasons: too expensive, too many old people, too congested, too many Quebecians, way way too many people from New York , and of all the campgrounds only 2 were acceptable enough to go back to. Texas -wonderful. But, only if you can get to way south near South Padre Island (Brownsville) and McAllen/Mission areas. The downside is that Texas is huge and you drive and drive and drive to get going again on your journey after your stay. We loved Texas and will go back there in the spring or fall, not summer when it's too hot, to see the rest of the western state, someday.

Lots of observations about where we are. Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Washington are the typical license plates of most of the cars and trucks here. Which makes sense - it's a straight shot down the interstate to here. Weather - beautiful! Day temps about 70 to 75, nights down to 40. Sunny, light breeze if any, clear skies. Nice. But have to say I am missing some things. Like: green grass, maple/elm/oak/hickory - for that matter - any hardwood trees would be nice to see, my family in Cleveland although I will get to see my sister and husband when they come to Lost Wages (Las Vegas) late February but miss the rest of the nutty group of family and friends. I miss seeing the birds and waterfowl of Lake Erie, miss my church family in Lorain Ohio.

Now - here's what you miss by not being here. Tarantulas. I saw a baby the other day - baby size was 2 inch body with the hairiest legs. One acquaintance here said that she saw an adult - body size of 6 inches, walking down the roadway, just loping along. She said - common sight. However, by having these spiders around, the scorpions stay away. And get this - at night we are invited to scorpion hunts here in the park - they take a special blue light and go looking for these boogers and kill them. I don't think so! Also found out that you will not die from a tarantula bite, just get pretty sick. And scorpion bite? Well, if you are elderly or sick to start - not a good thing - your days are numbered. Rattlesnakes - they have killed 3 in the park in the last year - but usually they come out when there has been alot of rain. Note to self - stay inside after a rain! I used to wear flip flops ALOT and now I wear my tennies everytime I go outside the RV. We are supposed to stomp our feet at night if we are walking around. And javalinas - wild pig like animal. The manager said that at night they tend to roam through the park. But like pecking order - they hunt the snakes and tarantulas, and of course any other small animal. I have heard coyotes singing a couple of nights ago - a lovely, lonely sound. Birds? Lots and lots of hummingbirds, saguaro loving woodpeckers (flickers), roadrunners, small cactus birds. These guys make pretty sounds. All in all - I like this area we are in. And if I need snow - Flagstaff.

Shootout!

Tuesday we drove down to Tombstone to see the shootout at the OK Corral and any other cowboy stuff there was to see. Cutesy town, thriving on us tourists, lots of places to buy trinkets or jewelry or junk, or nice stuff, lots of eating places, hotels, historical sites. We spent about 5 hours there, could have spent more but the sun was getting low and we had to drive the 2 hours back. We did see the reenactment of the shootout at the OK Corral which depicted the story of how 3 ranchers were gunned down by Wyatt Earp, his brother, and Doc Holiday. I am not sure how the entire story goes so I will have to rent the movie to get more in depth information.

We started off our visit to Tombstone - by the way, it is known as the town too tough to die because it has survived 2 fires, copper mining and bust where the town's population at one time was over 12,000 people!, the movement of the county seat to another town, etc. - by visiting Boothill Graveyard where 250 graves of outlaws, criminals, victims, hangings, Indian attacks, sickness, prostitutes, upstanding citizens, and a sundry of others lay. Some of the headstones were quite explicit - like, Lester Moore - "Here lies Lester Moore, Four Slugs from a .44, No Less, No more." Cute! After this visit we then went into the town and parked and started our visit. We went to the Helldorago Shootout which is a comical look at cowboy shootouts.

At 3:30 the arguments and fighting started down the main street, prepping the tourists to follow along and by 4pm you were brought along to the actual place where the shootout took place at the OK Corral. After this show we then watched a movie on the history of Tombstone and some of the confusion of the shootout was explained. On our drive back to Picacho we were treated to a fabulous sunset - the sky looked like it was on fire, the peach and melon colors were amazing - reminded us alot of the sunsets while we were in Santa Fe. Fun day and we know our guests really enjoyed themselves.