Back in AZ

After my whirlwind trip back east, I'm settled back in our winter house in Mesa. (I keep stressing that it's only a winter place hoping all will go well and we'll be on the road in April like we are planning.) I thought I'd share a few recent pictures.

Although I'm a little embarrassed to post a bird shot that can't compare with the beauties that Sondra posts, here goes. This little guy (or girl) is a verdin that comes to the hummingbird feeder on occasion. You can barely see his chestnut shoulder patches, but the yellow face is obvious.

Ron just loves to snap pictures of me in full leaf-blowing gear. Here he caught me out the kitchen window.


While Ron's brother Mike and sister-in-law Mary were here, we went to see Elvis! In this case, Elvis's real name is Gene Styles and he is simply amazing! He certainly has the looks.To hear a sample of his talent, click here for his website. Listen to his 'Are you Lonesome Tonight' and you will swear Elvis has returned.

He was nice enough to pose with Mary and me, but I meant to ask him to do the 'lip thing' which I call a sneer. He did it during the performance and everybody loved it. He doesn't look as much like Elvis when he smiles.


And I know I'm the last of the bloggers in this area to post pictures of the snow that fell on the Superstition Mountains late last month, but here goes. Here we are hurrying to get closer before it all melts. This is one of my 'through the windshield' shots.


There were a lot of people with the same idea and this was a popular spot.


But what I really wanted was some poppies blooming in the foreground like these in my neighbor's yard.


Now if I was really clever like my sister, I could cut them out and add them to the shot. How's this, Diana? LOL! (I know everybody says that, but I actually do 'laugh out loud.')


Or maybe a whole field of poppies ?!?
By this time the snow was pretty much gone, but it was fun while it lasted.

More PA

I still have a few pictures from our trip to Pennsylvania that I'd like to share.

When Diana and I arrived, we enjoyed two days of 70 degree weather. The snowdrops were just making an appearance. I thought I would get a better picture another day, but then they were buried in the snow.

On a walk up the road, we got a chuckle out of this decorated tree.


Being city girls, we had no idea what the heck this was referring to.


Laura was determined to find one of these special cattle.

One morning I opened the curtain to this wondrous sight.


And here comes perfect neighbor Steve who plows my father's driveway every time it snows. What a guy!


I love the snow (as long as I don't have to go anyplace.)


Diana and I worked hard cleaning off the rental car.


My father gave me a note I had written when I was young. Read how adorable I was.
However don't be too impressed. My mother had written the date on this precious note and I was 9 1/2 years old!!! Just how stupid was I ?!?!

Happy 90th!

Last week, my sister Diana and I flew to Pennsylvania to help our father celebrate his 90th birthday! Our wonderful cousin Linda and her daughter Rebecca, along with their spouses who are both named Terry, planned and executed the most wonderful party ever! The food was amazing, the decorations were very clever, and over forty people attended.

This must be the place - his picture is on the door.


Here's Rebecca putting the finishing touches on the refreshments.


Linda's husband Terry really did a fine job printing some old pictures of my father to set the mood. Terry really married into the right family being a camera buff himself. I believe Linda was the creative scrapbooker who put the pages together that decorated each table.


My father had a great time and never sat down. You can see him in the background 'working the room.'


We managed to get a picture of him with his direct descendants who were there. From the left, we have my daughter Christine, me, my father, Diana, and my daughter Laura. We missed seeing Diana's son Mark and daughter Corrie, and the great-grandchildren (Corrie's two.) I know what you're all thinking - "Wow! What a small family."


Here's his baby sister Beatrice looking cute as always. Middle sibling Millicent lives in Florida.


On the way home Laura was buried under all the balloons.


Since he was busy at the party, he waited until he got home to open his loot.

I can never thank my one and only cousin and her one and only daughter enough for putting together this special and very memorable celebration. Let's do it again at 95!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Quartzsite

Quartzsite, Arizona, is a sleepy little town in the desert most of the year, but in the winter and especially in January, it hosts hundreds of thousands of RVers. Maybe host is not quite the right word, since most of those RVs are parked willy-nilly on BLM land outside of the town proper. Ron and I decided to pack up the RV and go for ten days. We met up with our WIN friends - about 175 of them. The WIN gatherings are always busy with activities, but we still had time to shop at the various swap meets that spring up around town during this busy time.

This was taken a few years ago when we climbed 'Q' mountain to get the bird's eye view. In the distance you can see some of the RVs that take over the area in late January.


You just never know what you're going to find for sale. These skulls didn't do much for me.


And although I'm not much for hanging dead animals on the wall, I did think this fox was kind of cute.


The WINs had their annual desert golf tournament. You get one golf club and a tennis ball. Good form, Ron!


And just look at Carolyn's follow-through. I was the slacker on our team.


This seems to be a good place for ultralights. Almost every day they buzzed right over our rigs.


In addition to seeing all our WIN friends, we even met up with fellow RVers Carol and John for lunch at Sweet Darlene's. To check out their blog, click here.


Ron was too busy shopping, but I joined Phil and Diana for a 4-wheel trip to Swansea - an abandoned mining town.


Although we missed the arch on the way, we did see this mountain that looked to me like a monster. Is it just me, or do you see the eyes, nose, and mouth?


Our first sight of the ghost town rally surprised me. What's with the modern-looking buildings?
It seems the BLM people have erected tin roofs over the buildings to help preserve them. I'm not wild about the reconstruction mindset. At what point do they stop being ruins?

Ah, this is more like it. This was the train station.


I think I found my new truck - it's a fixer-upper.


We also drove down to the river along this very pretty canyon.


Ah, water in the desert - always a welcome sight.


Most of the others saw wild burros along the way, but the only animal we saw was Bubba and he wasn't too wild.


Although pictures never look as scary as the reality, but this was the worst part of the road.


It's the end of another day (and year) at Quartzsite with sunset over Phil's rig.
For lots more on Quartzsite, see Diana's blog - click here.

2010 Year in Review

The 2010 year was very challenging for Ron and me.  It began fine with multiple hikes in the Superstition Mountains.

As well as one with Ron's son Jim during his annual visit.

But the most ambitious hike was with friends John and Carol when we climbed formidable Picacho Peak.  The hike ascends to the very peak seen here in the distance.

After two miles of a steep climb with chains in the most difficult sections, we were happy to reach the top.

The mighty foursome.

We also did a fairly difficult hike to Fremont Saddle on the Peralta Trail.  From the top is a good view of Weaver's Needle.

Unfortunately, during a volunteer cleanup in our community, Ron picked up some cactus needles in his finger which became infected.  To fight the infection, he was given ever stronger antibiotics.

We were unable to leave on our annual RVing travels, but he toughed it out and we flew to Corpus Christi to attend his nephew's wedding.

Perhaps the only advantage to staying in Mesa for the summer was the chance to see some beautiful cactus flowers.  This is the saguaro bloom which required a ladder to capture.

This is my favorite.  I think it was a night bloomer.

In August, we escaped the Mesa heat and visited our friends at 7000 feet outside of Show Low.  Ron even helped Ted to build a pump house.

We also spent some time along the Mogollon Rim.  No, Ron, don't jump!

After a cool 3 weeks, we returned home until mid October, when we ran to gorgeous Sedona for two weeks.  Wow!

We took a ride up Oak Creek Canyon for more spectacular views.

And we did manage to join the WINs for Thanksgiving in Borrego Springs.