Seeing a Different Side of Sedona...

We've visited Sedona a number of times, enjoying it's beautiful red rocks, great restaurants and unique shops, but we've rarely taken the time to explore the history of Sedona.  We were here for a full week, the weather was lovely, it was the perfect time to explore!

Our first stop was the Sedona Heritage Museum where the Jordan Family began a farm in the 1870s, eventually planting almost 1500 fruit (apple and peach) trees.  By 1931 they had a one room cabin and a tractor shed and by 1937 they were the largest employer in the area.  The Jordan's success brought the construction of the fruit packing shed in 1946, and a new car and another house addition in 1947. 

 The museum also had the first ever "teal" McDonald's Arches (c1993) to go along with Sedona's "natural decor"!

Along with the Jordan's farm buildings, the museum showcased the film history of the area as well.  From the 1920s through the early 1960s Sedona's red rocks made an ideal setting for Western movies.  In 1945, a movie set was constructed for John Wayne's film "Angel and the Badman", which featured a Telegraph Office.  It was relocated to the Museum in 2014 and restored to it's 1945 movie prop condition.  "The Call of the Canyon" statue by James Muir pays homage to the spirit of the settler in Oak Creek Canyon in the early part of the 20th century documented in Zane Grey's novel of the same name. 

Nothing tells the history of a place like it's cemeteries.  This small town has three!  The oldest is the Schuerman Red Rock Cemetery started in 1893.  The first soul buried on this part of the Schuerman property was that of their 5-year old daughter, Clara, who died in 1893 of cholera.  Standing apart from the other graves, under a couple of stately juniper trees, one can see the simple gravestone marks a place that you can imagine might have been a favorite of a young girl, with its magnificent view of Cathedral Rock.   The cemetery is a veritable who's who of original Sedona settlers: the Schuermans, the Thompsons; the Purtymans, a Baldwin and Owenby; you'll find these iconic Sedona names on homesteads, crossings, trails, residential streets, buttes, and irrigation ditches throughout the town. 

Sedona's second oldest graveyard, the Cook Cedar Glade Cemetery, which is the final resting place of Sedona Schnebly and many other original founding families. This pioneer cemetery was established in 1918 with the death from the Spanish Flu.  Henry Cook homesteaded 160 acres that included this site.  

The last Cemetery was the Sedona Community Cemetery.  This is the newest cemetery, dedicated in 2019 providing the same stunning views after death that they enjoyed living here.  These are definitely graves with a view!

 Of course we did our requisite shopping at Tlaquepaque and eating at our favorite spot (Thanksgiving at The Hudson) along with some new ones (a great lunch at the Hideaway House) and even enjoyed listening to an evening of jazz while we had dinner at Sound Bites Grill on our first night, which was new for us!  All this just goes to shows that one can go to the same place again and again, and still find new adventures to discover! 

As we ended our delightful week's stay, we topped it off with a wonderful visit with a dear friend we hadn't seen in many years!  I had posted a quick snap about enjoying the jazz player in Sedona, and she caught it and shared that she was not far away, in Prescott!  It is so delightful to be able to catch up with lovely people, to reconnect and share again, it's what makes life so special.

This will be a trip long remembered as we hunker down to our "winter routine" here at the resort.  Christmas is just around the corner, and the annual Theater Production's rehearsals take up all of January and February, along with my Board of Director's duties...so this little respite needs to last me awhile!

Until the next one...Marie

If you would like to see all the photos from this trip, just go to my flickr account at:  https://flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Celebrating in Saint Martin!

Jack turned 80 this year, so we decided that this Birthday needed some "extra fun".  It had been a rough year with him being in the hospital in March and an extra hot summer, we both really needed a break!  After our planned trip to Spain got cancelled, it was time to look for something a little closer and someplace a little different.  We have a time-share, so I let my fingers do the walking and I was able to find us a really nice stay in Saint Martin!

American Airlines was nice enough to give us credit for our cancelled flight, so we decided to use it and add a small amount more and upgrade it to first class.  There is no direct flights to Saint Martin, so we decided to break it up and fly into Miami and spend the night and fly out the next day to the island.  It sure beats trying to catch that second flight "on time" dashing from one plane to the next (especially at our age!)

It had been a long time since we had flown first class, and what a luxury that is!  Being waited on every minute, good food, good leg room and comfy seats...one could really get used to this!  The flight was great, and the shuttle to the hotel was right on time.  Arriving in the evening in Miami, a bit tired, left us no time or energy to explore Miami, unfortunately.  Our room was nice, but cold...our first introduction to the tropical solution to dealing with the humidity!  Welcome to Miami! 

Like good travelers, we checked the airline's schedule before leaving the hotel, and everything was still scheduled "on time", so we left to be there the required two hours before boarding.  When we got there, I checked again, printed our boarding passes, and proceeded to the proper gate.  Fifteen minutes later the gate attendant announces that due to high winds yesterday, Saint Thomas closed their airport, and all their flights were cancelled and those flights were delayed until today....so, all OUR flights were now delayed!  Our 10am flight would now be 7pm.  What?  That said, "we could leave, however, there is always a chance that the flight could get moved up, so be watchful..."  

We were not happy.  All this could have been told to us either last night, or earlier this morning, since the flights were cancelled the day before.  At that moment, there were only three of us sitting there, and we went up to the attendant and asked her if she could let us into the AA Lounge?  "No, because it's not AA's fault!"  and she walked away.  Wow.  Great customer service.  The other gentleman went to the lounge and offered to pay the day rate and was told they didn't have one, "that it was only for Business Class and above." So, we all sat there all day long...;-(

 

We had prearranged for a taxi pick up to the hotel, but had little hope that it would still be there for us nine hours later!  But there was Ritchie, holding a sign with my name on it, standing in the rain, with a big smile on his face!  I was never so glad to see anyone before!  Thus began our island vacation!

Our room at the Flamingo Beach Hilton was spectacular!  I actually think it was as big as our home is, only with a better view!  The balcony faced the beautiful sandy beach and wonderful ocean.  I loved listening to the sound of the waves and sat outside on the balcony every time we were at the room.  The only downside to the room was how cold it was!  Being from Arizona, our blood has thinned out so much, that any temperature lower than 80-85 is cold to us.  It was set around 70, so I turned it off!  The next day everything was wet...the floors, the walls, counter tops, our bedding was damp, it was awful.  Jack went down to the front desk and told them.  Minutes later the maintenance man came knocking.  He quickly realized it was the thermostat and explained that it HAD to be set at least at 74 to keep it dry!  After that, we kept the sliding door to the balcony open and also wrapped a blanket around us when we were inside sitting!  Wimps, lol

 

Our days were a mixture of sun, clouds, and rain and always humidity.  The ocean was lovely, always warm and mild with smooth sand to walk on.  The pool area had a much cooler breeze though, so it made lounging around more comfortable and the pool itself was cooler than the ocean.  Music was played there and the bar was there too!  ;-)  It was to hot to lay in the sun itself, but we both still got quite tan, just hanging around, amazing!

 The next day was Jack's Birthday and he wanted to go to the nearby restaurant, which was a sports bar!  It just so happened to be the final playoffs between Philadelphia and the Arizona D-Backs!  Well, since the  Caribbean Islands are closer to the east coast, it was no surprise that the bar was full of "Philly fans"!  Of course I made it known that the D-Backs were a sure winner and for them not to put their hopes up!  We left before the game ended (to be on the safe side), but it was probably a good thing anyway, as we would probably gotten napkins thrown at us! lol  

On our third day, we booked an all day sailing trip on a catamaran called Quality Time.  It was a beautiful day, great for sailing and snorkeling.  They stopped at four or five different locations for us to swim and snorkel.  The water was so delicious, nice and warm and smooth...but nothing to see, unfortunately.  A couple of the guys swam about 1/4 of a mile away and said they saw a couple of small fish and some small coral, but that's pretty far against the currant for a couple of fish (at my age!).  Each stop was about the same.  Nice swim, but nothing to see.  No matter, the crew were great and the food was fantastic!  We were the oldest aboard, but the young people were delightful to be around, not drunk, rowdies at all.  It rained a couple of times, and Jack sat outside and enjoyed the rainfall while the rest of us dashed inside (like we weren't already wet!)  We stopped at Maho Beach where the planes fly just over your head and watched a couple take off, which was fun too.  All in all, a great day.  

 There was a free shuttle into Philipsburg sponsored by a jewelry store that we took.  Jack bought me a couple of earrings (of course!) and almost a new diamond and sapphire ring!  But I talked him (and myself) out of it, as I would rather use that money for travel!  ;-)  We then enjoyed walking around the town, and all to soon it was time to go back to the resort.  

 

Later, we called our favorite taxi driver, Ritchie and had him take us to Marigot, which is on the French side of the island.  It was quite different than Philipsburg.  Philipsburg is Dutch, very busy, bumper-to-bumper cars and the stores are mostly jewelry, with restaurant and others mixed in.  In Marigot, it's less traffic, with an Open Market along the harbor, while the rest of the stores are more up-scale clothing and shoes with cafes and bakeries mixed in with some restaurants.  While we wished we had more time to walk around in Philipsburg, we were done with Marigot in two hours and that included breakfast.  I did find some fun things there though!  A cool license plate (I collect them) and a very pretty beach cover-up.  While we were there, we discovered their cemetery, so I got to take some different pictures too!  

 

 We were on a Caribbean cruise years ago and it stopped in Marigot, but at a completely different location, so it was really neat to see not only a different part of the Capitol, but of the island itself and to get to know some of the local people.  One of them was Enoh.  She was a waitress at Juliette's Bistro, which was across the street from our hotel.  Jack and Enoh really hit it off, joking with each other and having such fun teasing together.  She had such a wonderful laugh and sweetness about her, we all felt like we had made a new friend by the time we left.   

 

Like all vacations, in a blink of an eye, they come to an end.  Our flight out of Saint Martin was delayed by a flat tire.  Then our flight out of Miami was delayed by a medical emergency.  I had to laugh.  They were all fairly short in comparison to the first one, but all of them?  Wow.   

I love to travel, I really do, but sometimes it just feels good to be home again...

...back in Arizona,  Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my photos, you can on flickr: https://flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Cooling off in Flagstaff!

As the summer heat in the Arizona valley continues to be relentless, Jack and I decided it was time to give ourselves a break, if only for a week, and escape to the local mountains and our favorite campground in Flagstaff.  Months of triple digit heat, no matter how many times you go to the pool, or "play inside", it gets old, and you (or I should say I) need a break...or more accurately, need cool mountain air!  

I love it up in Flagstaff.  It's still unpretentious, yet big enough to have (more than) everything one needs and at 7000 feet have pine trees, cool clean air...and space!  The campground that we have been coming to for a number of years is "basic" - nothing fancy, just full hook-ups - and trees!  We don't need pools, or BBQs, or cabanas, or cable, or any of the other stuff that the other places offer (and charge for), just a nice quiet, clean spot to relax and enjoy the outdoors in.   I like that when we make our reservation and arrive, they remember us and welcome us back, always treating us like we are regulars, even though we probably only get up here once a year.  They must keep good records because they "remembered" where we were camped before and that we liked it and put us in that spot again and commented on that when we arrived.  Nice. 

 The weather has been so nice (one never really knows up here and needs to expect rain at any given time) that we decided to take a short drive and visit Winslow.  We hadn't been there in many years and I was wondering how it looked now, so off we went!  

You can't be a fan of the Eagles band and not heard of Winslow.  They made it popular with their song "Take It Easy" with the lyrics "Standin on the Corner in Winslow Arizona"... and the town has certainly taken advantage of it!  The song was actually written by Jackson Browne who was a good friend of Glenn Frey in the band.  Browne was in Winslow and did stand on a corner and saw a girl in a flat bed Ford look at him - so those lyrics are true to form.  

In 1999, a group of locals got together and formed the Standing On The Corner group (SOTC) to raise funds to create a Park (corner).  They sold "bricks" and raised enough money to hire a renowned sculptor (Ron Adamson) to create a bronze balladeer who now permanently stands on a corner in Winslow Arizona!  Additionally, they also hired artist John Pugh to create an amazing trompe l'oeill style mural that graces the brick wall of the Park.  It makes a fantastic "picture spot" to say the least!  In the middle of the road is a HUGE painted Route 66 as well.  That 4-Corner area is the heart of Winslow.  Across the street a musician was singing and playing his guitar and the two most prominent stores and an ice cream parlor are on those  corners as well.  After that, there wasn't to much else to see, unfortunately.  We spoke to one of the store owners and she said while they had been having a very good summer this year, COVID had really hurt the town and many of the other small businesses just couldn't make it through it.  It was really sad to see.  It used to be a thriving little tourist town before, now we could just about count the number of places on one hand.  We bought a couple of things, stopped in to the ice cream shop (had to help the town out!) and then headed on back.  

Bookstores and antique shops are the other thing we can't pass up here...so we made sure we visited our favorite ones...and sure enough we found some bargains we just needed to bring home!  Don't you just love it when that happens?  ;-)  

Won't my plants look great on these?

Well, the sun has been good to us during our stay.  I was worried that it would rain the whole time, but other than a couple of short, light showers, and one evening with a very loud thunder storm, it's been delightful.  The weather report kept "predicting thunderstorms" but then would revise it the next day to "partly cloudy with a high of 76-77".  Worked for me!  That was "sitting outside" (and reading) weather, and loving every minute!  It's going to be tough to go back down the mountain...but the high temp's can't last forever (can they?) and it IS almost September for goodness sake!  Pretty soon it will be cool enough for me to try and replant all the potted plants and areas that died because of that miserable heat (who says I'm not an optimist?)!  

...kicking back in Arizona,  Marie

New Adventures in New Mexico!

We've been all through New Mexico...and just when I thought "we'd seen just about every town", our friends informed us that they had moved to one we hadn't been to before!  Well, we couldn't pass that opportunity by!   We gave them a year to get settled in...and this summer when the Arizona heat was just to much, we decided it was time to check out this "new town" and see if they were up for a visit!  

So, off we went to Silver City New Mexico, altitude, 5900, South West corner...a 5 plus hour fairly easy drive.  When we left Surprise it was already pushing past 80 degrees at 7:30 in the morning and it would reach 118 that day.  We were looking forward to much cooler weather for the next two weeks along with some nice visits with our friends that we hadn't seen in a few years.  

It didn't take us long to find out, that like many other parts of the U.S., they too were having "unusually hotter weather"!  Ugh...It had been, and was going to stay, right around 89-90 with mid-humidity.  Cooler than our area, but not as cool as we had hoped...oh well...

Our first stop (as usual) was the Visitor Center.  Even though we were here to see our friends, that didn't stop Jack; that's the one place he goes into and gathers up all the info he can find and chats with people.  ;-)  Their outside was very interesting...beautiful artwork, all done with tiles.  Found out that the town had a history of making tile and still does some.  There was also a replica of Billy the Kid's boyhood home.  Seems Ron Howard filmed a movie in 2003 there called "The Missing" and built this 1870 cabin and gifted it when they were done.

We quickly discovered two things about Silver City...it's very "artsy", with tons of small art shops of all kinds, along with fun thrift shops and book stores to mix it up some.  The second thing was the crazy hours all of them have!  Every store, shop and restaurant opens and closes on different days and on different hours, with no rhyme or reason to it.  So, if you go on a Monday, you might find two places open from 7am-2pm (coffee cafe and someplace else), then if you go on a Wednesday, you might find three different places open, at three different times!  Crazy!  It was a good thing we were there for the full two weeks, because we needed it to get to all the places we wanted to see, with their funny hours!

If you have read my blogs before, you know I love taking pictures of murals.  Well this town has plenty!  They have a special "Youth Mural Program" that they started in 2003 to teach students about the history and culture of their community through the arts, engaging students in beautifying their community.  In addition, students learn problem solving, working collaboratively while creating something that they can be proud of.  I couldn't have agreed with their philosophy more, and as for the "art", they are fantastic!

I read about a wonderful little coffee shop to visit called Tranquilbuzz that we decided to check out.  What an incredible find!  I have to say, it was the most eclectic, "natural", relaxing, fun place I have ever been to.  As you enter, all the outdoor seating is created to look as natural as possible with smoothed limbs of trees as backing to long boards cut from them interspersed around a small pond and fountain with koi.  Paths and bridges lead you to different nooks for tables and seating areas, one with two bent metal swings (for two) with lovely cushions.  Then you go on up inside to more seating that has comfy chairs and a sofa, along with more wooden tables and chairs.  There is where you order your wonderful coffees and goodies.  They have a "music corner" that has every kind of instrument imaginable available, and a calendar of artists who come and perform.  Along the walls and hanging from the ceiling are all sorts of fun pieces of art, etc to catch your eyes and entertain you. Such a magical place.  Our friends had never been, so of course we came back again and brought them!  

When we were there the first time, we engaged in a delightful conversation (while swinging in one of those wonderful swings) with several local ladies and they suggested that we drive out to Pinos Altos to have dinner and listen to the music at the Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House.  We told our friends about it and they agreed it was a "must do", so we set a date for the following Friday night and I made us a reservation. 

What a wonderful evening we had!  The Buckhorn did not disappoint!  Great looking, and the food was wonderful!  At first I was afraid that our table was a bit far from the music, but once they started playing, I was glad it was where it was because we could see them and hear them just fine and still hear each other!  If we would have been any closer, we couldn't have had any conversation at all.  ;-)  

That night, our friends suggested we should take the scenic drive up through the Gila Wilderness Area.  I asked about seeing the Cliff Dwellings and they said it was about a mile hike and with this heat, it might not be a great idea, but to stop at the Visitor Center anyway.  They gave us a route up and back and to do that would be an "all day trip" that sounded perfect, so we planned it for the next day.

We left around 8am to get an early start and headed out.  It didn't take long to start to see the lovely scenery.  We had seen some of it the evening before when we had driven to Pinos Altos, but the trees just got denser as we climbed and entered the Gila National Forest.  By then we were surrounded by ponderosa pine, spruce, fir and oak and about 7000' up. 

At the Visitors Center for the Gila Cliff Dwellings we talked with a ranger about hiking back to see them.  The temperature was already over 90 degrees and the tour wasn't going to start for another 45 min.  She looked at me and gently smiled and said that they had a great film of the cliffs here and artifacts...I took the hint, and watched the film.  They had a nice Geromino Monument outside.  Seems he was born at the headwaters of the Gila River in 1820.  I've seen other cliff dwellings before...

We went on to see Lake Roberts.  Beautiful fishing lake.  Only two other folks were there while we were there, one still out somewhere on the lake, and one bringing in their boat.  So peaceful and quiet, the sky was so vivid, it left wonderful reflections on the water as I watched a mama duck gather up her little ducklings.  

Next stop was a visit to the City of Rocks!  We had no idea what to expect.  All our friends told us was "you have to swing by and go see this place!"  So, we followed the signs and turned when it said to...paid our $5. to the State...and found out it is a picnic and campground!  ;-)  HUGH boulders, the size of buildings (hence "city") in weird shapes that (may?) suggest buildings, chairs, monsters, creatures...who knows?  Let your imagination soar!  They certainly are fun to look at, and I bet camp at and picnic beside (in cooler weather).  There were a couple of campers there, but otherwise, the place was pretty empty.

We did try and stop at a place for a bite to eat, but they were closing, so all we had was some ice cream.  It was ok...but we had a place we really liked in town that makes homemade ice cream, called  Ice Cream Emporium, that we've fallen in love with!   We made it back home around 4pm.  Nice, wonderful day.   

All to soon our two weeks came to a close...wonderful lunches, sweet ice cream treats and dinner visits with our friends, fun excursions and even a great time at the RV park.  Manzano's turned out to be a delightful spot!  Nothing "fancy", which is fine by us, we just need nice hook-ups, clean place, level spot, shade, some breathing room...and it's nice to meet friendly people.  This place had all that and more!  John and Barbara gave you all that and host a complimentary BBQ on Saturday nights with all the "fixings"!  Great way to not only enjoy good food, but to meet super nice people.  If we didn't have appointments and obligations to come back when we did...we would have stayed longer...even if to have another BBQ!

 

....back in the Arizona heat....Marie

Life happens...and then you make U Turns!

 It's a good thing I write everything in pencil!  Life is full of surprises, and you just never know when the next one is going to happen, do you?  We were all set to go to the Escapee's Rally in Tucson, packed, paid for, etc. when Jack came down with COVID - big time.  Instead of of fun time camping, he spent a not so fun time in the hospital!  (Much to our surprise, they gave us a full refund they will have my loyalty forever!)  It has taken him quite awhile to bounce back to his "normal" lively self, so no "trips" for him. 

Me, on the other hand, besides my usual "duties" on the Board here, and the fun stuff of line dancing, swimming at the pool, ladies coffee days, bingo, etc. decided it was a good time to fly off to visit family in Washington!  Didn't want to leave the dear one for to long, so only went for a week...but the family managed to pack a whole lot in during that time!

I no sooner arrived and my sister, niece and her friend whisked me away for a two day visit to Westport Beach - a place I had never been before!  I was "forewarned" that this area only gets "sunshine and nice weather 12 days a year...so don't expect much".  I tallied back that I bring it with me!  ...and I did!  It was cool, mostly by the breeze, but the sun shone both days, and it was lovely!  The tide was way, way out, and we even drove onto the beach.  Sand dollars and jellyfish were scattered all across the sand along with a few shells and driftwood. The clouds left beautiful reflections on the waters edge.

Afterward, we went into the small town and walked along the harbor and watched an oyster boat unload his catch of oysters into a truck.  Westport is known for their oysters and crab (of which we saw lots of crab traps stacked up for later use).  We took advantage of their wonderful fresh seafood at every meal!

That night we were able to find a place that had three rooms, each with it's own bathroom along with a small living room and kitchen.  All for a very reasonable price.  The next day, after having a wonderful breakfast, we continued to drive along the coast and spotted Gray's Harbor Lighthouse.  It was closed, but that didn't stop me from walking around and getting a picture! Pretty thing, with a green top.  Never saw one with a green top like that before.  ;-)

The following day my sister and I were meeting up with one of her friends for dinner, so we had the morning to ourselves, which means, we played cards!  She (and I) love to do that, and every time I come to visit, that's what we do every spare minute.  ;-)   I get up earlier than she does tho, and so does my nephew (whom she lives with) and we talk, and when the weather is nice, which it was this trip, and walk his garden.  He's really proud of the work he does in his garden.  Each year it's fun to see what he's added.  I must admit I miss having one like I used to, one with all the roses and flowers and multiple vegetable bins, but I know in my heart that I'm in a different place now and it's "OK".  

That night we ended up going to dinner at Da TiKi Hut for dinner.  At first our friend wasn't very thrilled with it, as the menu was a little confusing.  But once we all understood it, and even got a sample, we enjoyed it.  It was all decorated in Hawaiian and the food and drinks were Hawaiian (on one side of the menu while the other side were burgers).  It was fun and delicious!

Saturday was one of my niece's youngest daughter's graduation from Nursing School celebration party.  She went all out with fun food and cute drinks and decor!  We drank from "specimen cups" and had drink choices of "Blood Draw", Urine Analysis" or "Code Blue" along with "Rescue Meds" in syringes.  What a hoot!  We are all so proud of her as she starts her new career at Kaiser.

Sunday was Father's Day and my nephew did a wonderful job at the BBQ!  It was chilly, but sunny and we enjoyed the day on his lovely patio playing cards, eating and enjoying each other. 

Monday, my last day (where did the week go?) my other sister's three girls took my sister and I out to lunch out along the dock.  The day was beautiful, the sun was shining, the food was fantastic, the company was wonderful.  We sat there and talked and laughed for hours and hours, then we moved to one of their home's and continued for more hours!  The best way to end my week...

The day I left, it started to rain...

Did 2022 even happen? ...and now it's 2023!

 Transitioning from "Full-Time" (12 months traveling on the road) to "Part-Time" (6 months on the road) was one thing...and that took an adjustment, but this last year was what?  "Part-Part-Time" (once in awhile on the road)?  We put more miles in the air than we did in the RV!  I'm not complaining, it's just hard to write a "year-end blog" about a year that hardly happened!  I kept putting it off because I didn't really know what to say, even though I wanted to say something! 

Do I like it?  I don't know, I'm still adjusting to it...like my age.  Inside I feel like I can and want to do so much more...but when I go to do it, funny how my body doesn't seem to cooperate like it used to!  I'm also finding myself being pulled in a lot of different directions now that we are here in the Resort more.  I'm on the Board of Directors now, liaison to a couple of committees and in several clubs - all of which take time and commitment...and makes it harder to get away for any length of time.  

Belonging to the RV Club has been a wonderful blessing because they really help get us out and about without us having to do much of the pre-planning and work.  They've also introduced us to places that we hadn't heard of before and might not have ever explored.  We hope to do even more with them in 2023.  

Even with barely traveling in the RV this year, we still managed to put over 1000 miles on it with another 6100 miles on our Toyota.  Enough to keep the engine running and serviced and the tags kept up to date anyway!  ;-)  

We have reservations for March on the books (to go to Tucson for the Escapee's 64th Escapades) for a rally and then I will be looking into little jaunts for us here and there to keep us more active this year...so stay tuned!  

Until then we will just be...kicking back in Arizona,  Marie

Trip to Tubac, last campout of the year!

Our RV Club organized a great rally to the small town of Tubac AZ for four nights to enjoy their Annual La Fiesta de Tumacacori and Lumnaria Nights de Tubac Celebration of the Holiday Season.  16 rigs as well as 3 additional couples (that stayed in cabins) came, making for a great group gathering.  

We all stayed together at a nice park called De Anza RV Resort that was close to everything we wanted to attend.  The first night our wagon master had reserved for us to go to the local steak restaurant, Longhorn Grill & Saloon.  They had a nice large tent set up outside filled with heaters, so it was warm and cozy.  The food was great, but alas, the servers didn't have a clue what they were doing and they jumbled simple orders continuously (we only had 3 choices), took hours to figure it out, we were there longer to pay, than to eat!  Sad because it put a damper on the evening that shouldn't have.  Felt sorry for the chef!

 

The next day we all pitched in and had a fantastic pot luck breakfast held in their large meeting room.  Wow, so much great food!  One of our members is a retired baker, so you can imagine what his cinnamon buns are like!  Yum!  When we were finally able to roll ourselves out of there, we all went on our own ways - us to Tubac to check out the town and see what to expect later for the lighting of the lumnarias.

Well, I have to share, I didn't know what to expect...Tubac is fairly close to Mexico, small and "out in the middle of nowhere"...so I didn't have big expectations...boy, was I surprised!  What an incredible arts and crafts community!  We have been to Sedona, Aspen, Santa Fe, etc. and I have to say, Tubac is right up there with them, if not surpasses them!  Their art was across the board in diversity, not just Mexican, not just Southwest, not stuff you've seen everywhere else, but their own.  I don't know how they attracted the artisans there or their work, but if I ever win the lottery and need to furnish another home, I'm shopping there!  

 As the sun went down, the lumnarias began to be lit.  Some shops went all out, with tons of them, all over their place, many served nibbles and small drinks as well.  It was all very festive and fun!  Several artists demonstrated and talked with shoppers, musicians played, people strolled around and everyone took pictures.

The next day was the Fiesta de Tumacacori held at their National Historical Park.  Locals set up a variety of booths selling everything from handmade items to fruits and veggies, and of course lots of good food.  The Park Rangers had several booths with handouts with information of several of the parks in Arizona.  They were also giving tours of The Tumacacori Mission Church.  They had a stage set up and about every 45 minutes different dancers and musicians performed.  

 

We roamed the booths and enjoyed talking to some of the various vendors and sat and watched several of the dancers for a bit.  Afterward, we walked over to the Mission and took our time to wander through all the nooks and crannies of the old buildings.  It was the first mission to be located in Arizona, founded by Jesuit Father Eusebio Francisco Kino in January 1691.  This building was constructed in the early 1820s and never entirely completed. Abandoned in 1848 under pressure of Apache raiding, Tumacacori began falling into disrepair; it became a National Monument in 1908.  

The storm was threatening to start, so we left and decided that "indoors" would be a safer bet to grab a bite to eat.  Recommendations had been given to go to a local favorite called Wisdom's Cafe nearby.  "Easy to find" we were told, "just look for the big chicken, you can't miss it!"  They were right...and about how good the food was too!

De Anza RV Resort treated everyone to a free Margareta Happy Hour later that night as the rain came down.  It rained on and off the rest of the weekend, but cleared up just in time for all of us to pack up and head on home (wasn't that nice?).  All in all, it sure was a super trip and a wonderful new place that we'd  like to come back to again!

...kicking back in Arizona,  Marie