Christmas Time is Coming

 Here we are celebrating the shortest day of the year with a campfire.  Fortunately, the fire is for fun and for some bush pies rather than to keep warm. 

 It's so great to be fortunate enough to sit here, in the midst of winter, enjoying some camaraderie on a December evening.  I must say that the temperatures have been pretty well perfect - sunny and warm.  We sure do enjoy not having to cope with the cold and the snow that many of you get to endure.

We are still in Yuma at Gary and Marleen's as we prepare to celebrate Christmas together.  Marleen and I have been busy planning our Christmas activities - this year there are no fancy charcuteries - I guess we are getting too old, or maybe too lazy to make them!

This past week had a bit of excitement.  We started the week by celebrating a birthday - Gerry completed another trip around the sun.  No candles but we did have cake and some fun.  He cooked up some great steaks and then we enjoyed a few games of fast track!!

We are not far from Algodones, Mexico and since we had not been there for five years, we decided that we would scoot over.  We met friends, Rick and Chris who were having some dental work done and we all enjoyed a great taco lunch. 

We walked around a bit but the vendors are quite aggressive this year and I found it gets old really quick to have them constantly hound you to buy their wares.

Last night was Marleen's turn to cook and she thought that we could use a little refining so she made some pea soup.  I had to share this photo of Gerry and Gary as they took their first spoonful - they didn't seem to be totally impressed. 

From here on the days start stretching out so we are over the hump.  May you have a great week as you prepare for the holidays!!

Heading West

This week it was time to change our address so we decided to move further west.  Our next stop was Fortuna Foothills (east end of Yuma and pretty much a suburb of Yuma) and spend some time with our friends, Gary and Marleen.  Some of you may remember that late last winter Gary was very sick and we were concerned about his health.  Well, I must say that it was a terrific surprise so see how well he has recovered.  He is looking quite fit and is doing great.

We are parked on their lot so we eat our evening meal together and Marleen and I have a special arrangement  - each day, only one of us cooks which is like being on a holiday - at least every other day.  The bonus - when it is my turn to cook, I just double the quantity, but when it is not my turn to cook, it is most enjoyable to just sit back and relax.  Plus Marleen is a great cook so it is just like having a personal chef.  I tried to convince her that she should cook on any day ending with "y" and I will do all the other days but she would have none of that!!

Each day at 3 p.m. is happy hour when the next door neighbours, Gene and Janice come over with their drinks and we all share stories.  Each day is a different subject (usually) and often ends up with lots of laughs.  How things have changed as the general drink of choice is water!!!

The weather has been pretty decent.  Most days have been real pleasant but on occasion, there is a fairly strong wind which makes it quite nasty feeling.  Bonus is that a north wind is blocked so all is good.

We try to get out for a daily walk and one never knows what might be in front yards.  Here is a combination of Halloween and Christmas - I guess you decorate once and it can be used for a number of months.

This past summer was particularly dry and this poor cactus is definitely showing signs of stress.

A quiet week visiting and catching up from last year.  Have a great week, enjoy the predicted nice weather and hopefully next week will contain some interesting news and photos.

 

Final Week in Tucson

 Another week of absolutely perfect weather - clear skies, no wind, and temperatures in the mid 20's - we have been so fortunate.  Remember, if you double click on the photo, it should make it full page!!

Our friends, Chris and Rick, are our neighbours so we are able to enjoy our outings with them.

Off on another drive through the Cactus Forest which I think is absolutely stunning.  We did get to see a crested Saguero - quite a rarity although this fellow looks like perhaps life has not been easy as his crest has been damaged.

There is a glider port very near to us and this week the military have been practicing their skydiving skills.  There are groups of jumpers between 6 and 12 people and they would jump all day.  One day we drove out to the glider port to watch the landings.  Now that is definitely a skill that needs to be perfect.  Some of them land on their feet, and take a couple of running steps and are done.  Some, however, hit the dirt - on their stomachs, knees, butt, which I imagine may be quite uncomfortable.  But as with all things, practice makes perfect.

We do see a variety of sports and activities  - some fun, and some not so much.  There was a young couple that were paragliding.  I had seen something similar where there was a frame on wheels.  These two took a quick little run and they were in the air.  The same with stopping - they came down  very easy, and on their feet.  The fellow did a few tricks as he twisted and turned in all directions.

The other day on our way to the grocery store, we passed a fellow on a recumbent bicycle.  He was towing a little trailer and his two dogs were running along side him.  I don't know if he was exercising the dogs, or if that was his mode of transportation and he was moving locations. 

Then at the grocery store, that had the best idea ever and it would be great if more adopted this idea.

We went into Tucson and toured the historical area of downtown Tucson.  We started with the old railroad depot where we got a guided tour of an old steam engine, went through a transportation (railroad) museum, and then went into the Amtrak station. 

In the Amtrak station, there is a ticket agent.  In chatting with him, we found out that there is one train a day except on Thursdays when there are two.  Now that is a stressful (or boring) job!

Just waiting for the train

We then had lunch at the Congress Hotel where the police arrested the Dillinger gang.  Then off to the Old Pima Country Courthouse which has amazing architecture,

and a lovely park in behind with some sculptures and a fountain.  The fountain is certainly being used as there was a fellow washing some clothes in it!!

There is an area called The Annex.  This area is made up of old shipping containers that house little restaurants, boutiques, coffee shops, etc.  How unique and a great way to use these old containers.

We did a bus tour which was a great way to see some side sights, plus it sure saved the feet.  Some of the bus stops have these plaques in the sidewalk.  Also, it costs nothing to ride the bus - how great is that!

So many buildings have murals - many are bright and colourful and beautiful.  We even got the chance to see one in the making.

 I am also including a couple of random photos that I thought were rather interesting.

There was a crooked little man in a crooked little house

Stay on your side!!

Elf on the Shelf - 4 floors up

We have been putting out our game camera to see what kind of creatures come through the night.  This is what comes to visit several times through the night.

I hope you all have a great week!!

Hanging Around Tucson

 We are still hanging out around Tucson enjoying the lovely weather.  The days have been pleasant, mostly sunny, no wind - one can't expect a whole lot more!

The motorhome has been washed and cleaned up so now we can carry on with just enjoying life.  Well mostly anyway.  We did have to go into town to do some laundry.  Of course, while the machines are doing their thing, we usually go for a short walk instead of just waiting.  Right next door to the laundromat was a dog grooming place and a young gal came out with her freshly groomed pet.  I must admit that I did a bit of a double take - you can see why I am sure.

Whenever we drive somewhere, we try and take some side roads and just enjoy the local countryside.  Here, harvest seems to be pretty well winding up.  Cotton fields are being combined

as is milo (or sorghum) which is a cereal crop.

One day on our drive, we were taking some back roads and whoa - what is this in the middle of the road.  I guess we were a bit surprised to see the amount of water on the road.  But by looking at the tracks, others go through so we just forged ahead. 

Actually it ended up not being very deep.

We then cut across country to take a trip through the Cactus Forest.  In the past we have stayed here but it can be difficult getting a spot as there are not a lot of spots and very few would be big enough for us.  It still is a very pretty drive.  As we are driving past the various campers, there was a fellow standing beside his camper and go-o-olly - he had on a wide brimmed hat to protect his fact from the sun and that was it.  It was a bit shocking and what is a person to do. Should you stop to grab a photo, or just try to grab a quick photo, or hope the dashcam had a wide enough view.  Well, it was none of the above so it shall remain just a memory!!

When folks want to go out camping, they seem to be able to come up with some fairly ingenious ways to make things work.  As we with this camper, he has a very small fifth wheel and no truck.  No problem!!

Today our friends Rick and Chris from Ontario arrived - so nice to see them again.  I cooked a turkey (I know, late US Thanksgiving) and with another couple we had just met (Saskatchewanians) we enjoyed a nice turkey supper and some great conversation.

There are often different animals out in the desert that we don't often see.  We set up a game camera and here is what came around to see if there were any leftovers.  Unfortunately, no luck for him. 

We will leave it out to see if we have any more visitors.

I have sent some warm weather up north so hopefully your temperatures will moderate some this week.  Until next week. take care and stay warm!!

Leaving The Snow Behind

 Once more we are fortunate to leave the snow and cold behind and spend several months in the United States southwest.  This year, we delayed our departure  somewhat and planned to hit the road on November 19.  But Mother Nature had something else in mind and Mr. Weatherperson was forecasting some heavy snow for that day so Gerry picked up the motorhome as planned on Monday and a couple of hours later we were on the road. Not only was packing done quickly, so was unpacking.

We make a final check of the weather to decide which direction we would head and off we went.  Our border crossing was likely the easiest we have ever had.  Generally the customs officer comes in and checks, asks about what we are taking with us, etc.  This year, it was like "the weather is going to be bad so hit the road".

Day one the roads were good although we did have rain on and off throughout the day. 

We stopped for the night, and shortly after the wind blew, and there was some snow throughout the night.  With the wind and rain and snow along with -5 temps, the door was frozen shut.  Morning came early as Gerry decided that there would be no traffic at 4 a.m., and he was right.  The roads had some intermittent icy patches but on the whole was not horribly bad.  But it sure made for a long day because we decided to bypass Denver (a city that Gerry prefers not to have to drive through) so we went on a number of two lane highways and some of them were not in very good condition.  With driving slower than normal (because of possible ice and some poorer roads) we didn't seem to make very many miles considering the length of time that we drove.

On the upside, we did see some interesting things.  Driving through Nebraska, corn was being harvested and we would see huge piles of harvested corn alongside the road. 

Then in Colorado, we saw one of the biggest wind farms - it stretched for miles and miles and miles. 

And then along the way we passed a pickup truck towing a car, towing a car. 

In one of the towns, there were putting up Christmas lights.  At home they would block a portion of a street in order to do this.  Not in this town - you just drive right under the bucket truck.

We are currently just outside of Tucson.  This is an area I have always liked.  There are still some cotton crops waiting to be harvested.

We had decided to spend a week or so just north of Phoenix.  Well, that didn't happen.  Instead, we decided to go to Tucson, and spend some time at a place where we had spent some time with friends, Dave and Bonnie, several years ago.  That is likely when we are asked where we were planning to go this year, we always said "south".  

For all you folks in Saskatchewan that are being hit with a second snow storm this week, hopefully next week will bring sunshine.

Have a nice weekend and a good week ahead.  Until next week, take care.