Traveling in Your Own Back Yard!

As "adventurers" we tend to seek out places far and wide to visit, but often times forget what we have in our own back yard.  It's easy to do.  I never gave it much thought about it before as my career as an Event Planner made it my job to see and do everything "tourest" in San Diego while I worked there.  Now that I'm no longer working, and now live in Arizona, I have a new "back yard".  

My birthday was yesterday, and so I decided that with the weather being so beautiful right now, it was a good excuse to explore Phoenix a little bit.  We have only been there for business reasons and never have taken the time to see anything fun, so I asked Jack to take me to see the State Capitol and the Japanese Gardens - two of my favorite things to visit when we travel.  So, he made the plans for the day!

First stop, the State Capitol.  Seems, like a lot of places, it got to small, so they built larger "wings" on either side of the original building and then moved in there, making the original building into a museum.  

It's a pretty building, not as fancy as some, but not drab either.  Four stories with a rotunda and topped with a lovely copper dome (AZ is the copper state) and it also has an unusual feature in that the angel on top is also a wind vane!  She's called "Winged Victory" and is actually older than the state of Arizona.  It was purchased in 1898 for $150.00 at the time the Arizona Territorial Capitol was under construction.  She sits on a rotating pedestal and spins when the wind hits her wings.  She's 17' tall, so it's easy to see her.  It's actually pretty cool to watch.  

 Inside they had several displays.  The ones I enjoyed the most were on the WWII Japanese American Interment Camps (I have visited the one in California at Manzanar).  I didn't realize we had two in Arizona.  One in Butte Camp - Camp Rivers and one at Poston in Yuma.  

The other display was on the Merci Train.  It was a great display of gifts from France & Italy to Americans, in response to the trains that we sent to them full of food and other items during the aftermath of WWII.  It was so interesting to read the notes and see the sweet items that people parted with from their heart in hopes that they would be shared with the people of America.  Each item was precious and given with love.  I'm sure the same was sent the other way, as we were in a great depression and any food we gave was food off of their table, out of their own pantry, knowing that they too were starving just like us here.  They too had lost husbands, fathers, sons and brothers - all were sharing the same loss, the same tears.  It was a very heartwarming display.

 There were other displays of art, and one large one of a 6.8' by 10.25' LEGO Arizona State Flag made from 113,998 blocks, including custom colors shipped from Denmark just for this flag!  ;-). 

 

Outside the Capitol is the Governmental Mall where a number of various statues and memorials are.  It's quite impressive, actually.  I only stopped at a couple as we were anxious to move on to the Japanese Gardens.  I did pause at the (very large) Navajo Code Talker's statue as I have a fondness for those people.

 After leaving the State Capitol, we went to the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix.  I'm fond of Japanese gardens and have visited a number of them around the states as I find them not only beautiful, but so peaceful and soothing.  

This was quite a small garden, but the fact that they are in the heart of Phoenix and still thriving, says a lot.  To be able to create an oasis, albeit small, is quite a feat here in this desert city where the temperatures can reach upwards of 110 degrees in the summer months. 

The first thing you see when you enter is a large Kasuga Lantern (which makes for a great photo opportunity).  From this lookout point, it is easy to view the three defining elements of the Japanese gardens: stone, water and plants.  

The Koi Pond is visible from everywhere in the garden and holds 550,000 gallons of water which is filtered in a closed system through their nearby pump house.  It holds hundreds of koi fish and many western mosquito fish. 

They have a Tea House here as well, but it's only open for their monthly chanoyu experiences.  It's tucked in an area they call the Roji style garden that's like a small forest with a meandering stream.

Along the pond are several features - a lush waterfall surrounded by hand-picked boulders brought from Congress AZ.  The largest boulder weighs 25 tons and the water cascades from a height of 14'.   There is also a Beach Region which depicts the classic landscape of pebble beaches found along the island coasts of Japan.  Their beach represents a sand bar jutting out into the sea, with the stones meant to mimic the scales of a koi fish.  

The pond itself has two bridges - a curved bridge called a talko bashi, which resembles a talko Japanese drum and the zig-zag bridge called yatsuhashi, and is a famous motif in Japanese literature, art and garden landscapes.  

Throughout the garden were meandering pathways filled with trees, both flowering and pine, various grasses, statues and pagodas, wonderful birds to listen to and places to just sit and take it all in.  We even watched a mother duck with her babies for a bit.  All very enjoyable and peaceful in this busy city. 

After all that walking, we were hungry!  Jack had pre-picked out our restaurant and headed right for it.  A popular city eatery called The Arrogant Butcher where we promptly enjoyed a birthday drink!  I had something called a Blood Orange Paloma, a very refreshing drink that had Tradicional Tequila Plata, Blood Orange, Fresh Lime, and Fever Tree Grapefruit Soda.  Yum!  Then we settled down to a nice lunch...Jack said his hamburger was "the best ever!" and I enjoyed a club sandwich (which I couldn't finish) They treated me to an apple cobbler which I took home to enjoy.  ;-). 

No RV was needed, but much "adventuring" was enjoyed!  As we are aging, our trips are getting less and less, but that hasn't stopped us from seeking out places to discover and short trips to enjoy.  As the "snow birds" fly out of our resort to their other homes, the amenities here become even more enjoyable as they are less crowded.  We've become true "Desert Rats" as the saying here goes, and that's alright.  

Until our next adventure...Marie

 

...more pictures on my flickr account, if you like...

 

Traveling to Tombstone!

 Our first RV trip of the new year!  For a retired couple we sure do keep busy, or so it seems anyway.  Every time a camping trip comes up, we look at our calendar and see if we can fit it in!  Our RV Club had this short little trip to Tombstone and we barely had time for it, but we squeezed it in anyway as we really wanted to get away for a few days and hadn't for quite awhile.  

The week before we left here the weather had been fantastic, in the low 80s and clear.  Wouldn't you just know it, the week of our trip, everything changed completely - here and there!  Temps dropped by 20 degrees and windy!  Dang.  Out came the Ugg boots and sweats to pack!  Threw on the flannel sheets and comforter and packed the extra heater just in case.  ;-).  Bought extra soup and hot tea...I was covering my bases!

We hadn't packed up in quite awhile and I was just hoping I hadn't forgotten anything, but decided we had done this for so many years, "aw, we got this!".   We had friends joining us that had just purchased their first RV that were really excited about making their first trip, that were going to caravan behind us.  We gave them the "leave time" as we each had a specific check-in time at the campground due to their unique location (right downtown on the main street, so didn't want to block traffic).  We calculated the drive to be 3.5 hrs.  So, we were all set, ready to pull out...and waited, and waited, and 45 minutes later...we finally got on the road.  Ok, it takes some people longer to do things...we made a note of that....

Tombstone greeted us with cold, blustery winds and low 50+ temps!  To people who have lived in Surprise "year 'round" our bodies have adjusted to higher temps...that's COLD!  Getting together...outside for Happy Hour was fun, sweet and short!  Our Wagon Master, Cheryl was hoot, so full of energy, enthusiasm and even had goody bags for each of us.  Of course there was more food than we could all eat, but that's what makes it great.  We had 21 rigs plus 2 extra folks staying in hotels, so a total of 43 people at this rally!  I probably knew only about 6 of those, so this was a whole new experience for us, and that was also true for most everyone else as well!

The following day Cheryl had several tours prescheduled for us to sign up for ahead of time.  We had already been to Kartchner Caverns as well as the OK Corral several times, so we just decided to walk around town and browse.  It turned out to be "First Friday" so many of the shops had extra stuff happening like music and food and wine, which was fun.  We got to chat with a number of shopkeepers and folks and ended up really enjoying ourselves.  

That evening Cheryl had arranged a group dinner at the Longhorn BBQ Restaurant for all of us which was fun too.  Great food and good company.  Our "instructions" were that we were to sit next to people we didn't know...well, that was easy!  We met Mark & Lori who are both musicians and Mark plays the Sax at a number of locations around Surprise and Phoenix!  Super fun couple and very interesting.  They are only renting this year, but I do hope they return next year.  

Saturday, we had signed up to do the Bisbee Copper Queen Mine Tour and the Bisbee Gin Tour.  We didn't bring our Toad, but our neighbors, Jeff and Nancy volunteered to drive us as they were going as well.  Both of these were new to us.  

We'd been on mine tours before, but this one was quite different from the others.  We first were gathered together for an overview of what to expect, then given our "gear" - a bright vest, a hanging flashlight and a protection helmet, then off we went to the "train" that would take us down, down, down into the mine itself.  Our guide was very informative and knowledgeable about what miners in the early days and what they had to go through to mine the copper out - the long hours, the equipment they had to use, the lack of light, and air, the small wages (.25 a day), the loud noise the machines made, etc.  He demonstrated many of the things he talked about, including how they had to drill or pound out the holes so they could blast the walls.  It really made you appreciate your copper pipes and copper pans!  The mine operated from 1915 until 1975 and was one of the most successful copper mines in North America until the price of copper just bottomed out.  

 

We then went over to the Old Bisbee Brewing Company and met Brendon who is the Brew Master.  You could tell he absolutely loves his job!  It's a small beer distillery, making about 6 types of beers at a time, only serving them locally in Bisbee.  They have a tasting cafe where you can buy it by the crowler or growlers to take home as well as their Bisbee Blue Gin.  The Gin is actually sold in Phoenix and Scottsdale as well.  

We tasted all his products and, as I am not a beer drinker, I found two of them quite good because they didn't really taste like beer to me!  People who do like beer, found the other ones quite good as well.  I'm not a gin drinker, so all I can say is that his gin, tasted like gin.  I did see quite a number of bags leaving the tasting cafe, so many of our group liked his products!  They also serve hot dogs, chips and popcorn - which many of us purchased and enjoyed.  All in all, a delightful visit!

While we were hanging around Bisbee we had a few minutes to take a look around and I spotted a walkway between a couple of buildings that caught my eye, so walked over there.  It turned out that all along the wall on one side and the fence on the other, people had hung (screwed in) art work!  This went on for several blocks!  It was really quite something to see.  All sorts of art too.  Fascinating.   Also caught an old "ghost ad" on another wall, which are always fun to see.

 

The following morning was to be our group potluck breakfast.  Since it was so very cold, Cheryl had scurried around and found us a building that we could use so we could be indoors!  Such a sweetheart!

So off we went, bringing our goodies down the street, along with our folding chairs, to a great old building to have a marvelous big breakfast!  All 40+ of us!   After filling our tummies, we all shared who we were, where we came from, etc. and some stories about other rallies past and future to encourage the new folks to not only continue these trips but to consider being a Wagon Master themselves.  

Later that day, Jack and I talked, and with the weather so cold and windy, and the fact that we had already seen Tombstone before, along with the fact that I needed to be at a luncheon at home by 11am the next morning...we would go ahead and leave later today rather than super early tomorrow.  Turned out our friends felt the same way, so we all arranged to leave at 1pm and they would caravan out with us as well.  

So, at 1pm we were ready to leave, and Jack walks over to help them back out...well...1:30 we finally got out of there.  ;-). 

It was a fun trip and I'm glad we went!  So nice to meet so many new people and am looking forward to traveling again...where and when, we are not sure...but, that seems to be our "M.O." these days!

 Back at home in Surprise....for now!  Marie

...more pictures on my flickr account, if you like...

 

My Happy Place!

Do you have a favorite camping spot?  One that is different than all the others?  Brings you joy, that you look forward to, that maybe you go out of your way to stop there, even if it's for only a few days?  

I do!

We have camped in all the lower 48 states, more than once in many of them.  We were on the road, full-time for almost 8 years and mostly moved about on a weekly basis, so to say that we have camped in a lot of campgrounds would be a pretty true statement.  

To be honest, we are not good at "boondocking" nor "Walmart parking" - so our type of camping is at official campgrounds.  That said, we've tried all types, from Casino to Farms, from KOA to Beaches.  We've been to "fancy" upscale resorts and ones we wondered how they even got a license.  

Some we've only stayed one night, other's a month.  Some, we liked so much we either asked to stay longer, or we made a note to return as soon as we could.  Some, we noted "never to return", but honestly, those were rare, and usually not because the campground was so terrible, but the weather or the location was not to our liking.  

Then, once in awhile you come across a gem.  In our case 2 of them, and both by accident.  One was along the California Coast near Ventura.  It was just luck that we happened to find a spot that was available along the Pacific Coast Hwy (yes, boondocking!) and we grabbed it for the night. 

The second has become our "happy place".  It's in Riggins ID.  We landed there because in August, as it turns out, is their "Mulberry Festival" and every place where we were trying to book, was full! After numerous phone calls, we found this tiny campground.  It turned out to be unbelievable!  Most of the sites are right alongside a swath of soft green grass that lines right up to the Little Salmon River.  It sits above it by about 8', but you can walk down to it via some rock stairs.  Across the river is nothing but trees and a beautiful hill to look at.  Each site has a big shade tree with a picnic table.  Full hook-ups and WiFi. Talk about peace and quiet!  

 We don't even bother to un-hook the car, as you can walk into the small town and shop or eat at the half dozen cafes or restaurants.  We actually did walk into town each day (can't sit all day, every day!) and poked our head into a couple of cute shops, even though most were closed when we were there (only open for a few hours a couple of days a week) but saw some fun things, like a tiny old refrigerator that was turned into a free book stand, as well as a nice mural of the map of the Salmon River which gave one a good perspective of how the river travels. Everyone, including the owners are super friendly.  One of our camp neighbors has caught several fish while he's been here too. Mostly though, I just sit back and read and enjoyed the wonderful sounds of the flowing river.  To me, there is nothing more soothing. 

They have different shade trees along the strip, and this time we found out we were under a walnut tree!  When the wind blew, we were graced with an abundance of walnuts!  Most of them are ripe and ready to gather, so I did, a big bag full to take home...bonus! 

To soon it will be time to leave, but it's always nice to know it's here, and that we have found such a wonderful place to come to...

...on the road...Marie

Celebrating Life at 90!

 Celebrating someone's birthday is celebrating life itself - not only the fact that they were born, but all the wonderful times shared together.  

Depending how old someone is, the celebration takes on a different meaning.  My oldest sister, now my last sibling, is turning 90 at the end of September.  She's healthy, has a bright mind and still a delight, so having a celebration was a "no brainer" as the saying goes.  

Her children jumped right into action, planning, making all the necessary reservations, contacting caterers, musicians, printing invitations (save the date and the invitations), making various decorations, ordering her a special dress, etc.  They made the date a little earlier than her actual birthday for relatives coming in from out of town, so the weather would be better for travel.  

She has a large family, with 4 children, all with children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of their own.  Additionally, we have nieces and nephews and their children as well.  Add friends to all that, and you have a party large enough to fill a barn...which she did!!

 We decided to come three weeks early and spend some time with her and the family prior to the "big event".  I knew it would be chaotic the days before, so wanted to spend some quality time with her alone before that, which we were able to do.  They were just quiet days of playing cards and sharing stories, going out to lunch and cooking together.  Sister stuff. 

She wanted to host a "Thank you brunch" for all the out of town guests the day before the big party so that she could spend more time visiting with each of them, knowing she wouldn't get a lot of time at the actual party.  As usual, she had been pre-cooking and baking for days to put on her usual spread!  It's what makes her happy.  

That Saturday, all the nieces and nephews, along with myself and Jack came over to a wonderful spread of 3 kinds of quiches, 4 kinds of sweet breads, a large ham, brats, 2 fruit bowls, along with a variety of drinks!  Each of us got a "thank you present" of 3 handmade crochet covered hangers. That's my sister! 

The next day was The Big Celebration!  You would never know that lady was 90!  She was all smiles and ready to party!  The place was FULL, she was beaming, people were happy, food was great, music was playing, place looked wonderful and the drinks were flowing.  We even got her up to dance!  I made a short speech, tried not to cry...don't remember much of it,..forgot a lot of what I wanted to say, but I'm sure it didn't matter. She knows I love her.  To say the party was a success, would be an understatement...

When I reflect about this, I think about all birthdays...and how all of us should celebrate every one of them! So much better to celebrate life, than to talk about it afterwards at a funeral...

...on the road again, Marie

The many colors of Montana...

We have been to Montana a number of times, and during different times of the year.  As we drove through this year, I got to thinking how different the colors are from mile to mile.  It's late August and early September, to early for the fall colors, to late for any spring flowers...pretty much during the late summer when it's the hottest and driest.  Yet with all that, each area seems to have it's own look, it's own set of colors.  Mountains, hills, meadows, wheat fields, rivers, lakes, and lots of forest trees.  Each turn in the road brought a different sight.  

I decided to just take pictures as we went, some are a bit blurry as we were driving, but one can still get the idea, the view.  We saw a few deer here and there, some cattle, horses of course, but the only pictures I took were the bison herd I found at a waterhole, which I found enjoyable to stop and watch for a few minutes. 

...and this was only a small corner of the state, but one can't help but love it's diversity and wide open spaces!

...on the road,  Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my pictures, they are on my flickr: Marie Beschen, Album: Montana

Paling around in Polson Montana...

For years our friends Emily, Pat and Ian lived in Missoula Montana and every time we traveled nearby, we would be sure and carve out some time to pull into that area and visit.  A few years ago Ian married, and then eventually moved to Polson and had a couple of children...so, of course "grandma and grandpa" quickly followed!  Now, we make a day visit to Missoula because there still are a couple of shops we like, and then travel on to Polson for our visit!  Polson is the home of the beautiful Flathead Lake, and it's a little more pricey, so we ended up camping out a smidge further, but still close enough for easy access.  

We actually have another friend who also lives in Polson, one of our Happy Trails folks who used to just be here during the summer months and winter in Happy Trails (and was in Theater with me and along with Jack in the Sawmill) but last year decided to move back to Polson year 'round.  We were super lucky to catch up with Charlie as he had just gotten back from a two week fishing trip in Alaska just before we left, and got my phone message that we were in town and wanted to see him.  He called me back and we got together at his lovely home for lunch and a great afternoon of "catch-up".  After spending his first winter back in Polson, he's not so sure he wants to do it again and is looking at places to take off for at least a few weeks this year to someplace "without snow"!  I think Arizona spoiled him!

 We spent several days with our friends Emily and Pat, including our anniversary.  They were kind enough to take us to a lovely dinner to celebrate our 29th wedded year (forgot to take a picture!) as well as a great home cooked one the next day, yum!  We all drove together to tour Bigfork and see their beautiful Swan River community area.   

When we weren't with them, we were checking out Polson! Well, let me tell you, they have the most unique museum we have come across so far.  The Miracle of America Museum has just about everything ever made or even thought of, from the late 1800's to the 2000's!  ...and in all the details!  Over four acres outside, and I would guess over an acre inside as well.  It took us just about all day to look through it and I'm sure we didn't see everything.  I asked the hostess how long the owner had been collecting all this and she said since he was a very young child, and of course has gotten donations as well. The number of vehicles (of every kind) and weapons alone was mind boggling.  Jack said some of his WW2 collections were things he had never seen (and he's been to numerous museums) and worth quite a bit.  I took a ton of pictures, but here's just a few to give you a little idea...

Once again we lucked out in finding a great "food place"!  I had read some blog somewhere about "what to do and where to go" etc in Polson and it mentioned Betty's Diner, and being a diner, I knew we had to try it.  Just reading the menu, I knew it would be a "winner", and boy, oh boy was it ever!  One of the best burgers we've had in a very long time! YUM!!

Well, all to soon our visit needed to end, as there are only so many days until we need to get to Washington, so hugs were given all around and thanks to Polson for the nice sunshiny days!  We were off on a scenic route following the Bitterroot River along Hwy 200 through the rest of Montana to the eastern side of Washington...

...on the road, Marie

If you would like to see the rest of my pictures, they are on my flickr: Marie Beschen, Album: Montana

Beautiful days in Buffalo with a side trip to Sheridan Wyoming...

We've visited Buffalo a number of times, but always just for a day or two.  This time we took our time and stayed for five leisurely days at our favorite campground, Deer Park RV.  It's beautiful here, with lots of trees, grass and a swimming pool if one wants.  There is a KOA right down the road at a much higher rate that isn't nearly as nice (we stayed there our first year out) and I'm always surprised at why people choose it, when this one is so much better.

The weather has been absolutely delightful!  It's been so wonderful to be able to just sit outside and read and relax or to work (yes, I still have HOA work to do!). Even sitting on the couch looking out the door, the view has been incredible!  

Our first night was a visit to the historical Occidental Hotel (circa 1908). Wyoming is "beef" country so I was ready for a good steak, and they didn't disappoint!  Looking up, there were taxidermied animals all over the walls - mostly elk and deer, but a sure whole lot of them! 

The next day we took our time and started with the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum.  Jim Gatchell was pharmacist in the early 1900s and became a trusted friend to the region's Native Americans.  They brought him many gifts over the years, which are now in the museum.  You are not allowed to take pictures of any of that collection, but you could of the rest. They had wonderful dioramas of the cattle ranch war, the history of Tom Horn and other scouts.  A beautiful Northern Cheyenne Tipi called "The Water Bird" stands out front as you enter, along with a US Marshall's Wagon.  It was all quite interesting...

Afterward, we just wandered the streets and enjoyed the shops and murals.  Buffalo is the home of Craig Johnson, the author of "Longmire", if you are a fan.  His wife has a store here, full of all his books, posters, shirts, caps, you name it!  They have "Longmire Days" in July that is suppose to be quite something, the actors come and a ton of fans, a parade and all the fuss!  He writes about two books a year now.  ;-)  The other cool thing that people probably don't know about Buffalo, is that it used to be, was sheep country!  Early in the 1900s the Basque moved here and brought their heritage of raising of sheep with them! 

The following day we decided to take the drive over to Sheridan and check it out.  We started early so we could have breakfast there.  We ended up at the Cowboy Cafe.  I decided to try their Bison sausage & cheese omelet - good choice!  Yum!  Great coffee too, wish we would have asked them the brand... Jack liked their cups so much, he bought his!  

Afterwards, we just walked the streets, going in and out of all the shops, up one side and down the others.  Talked with the nicest people.  My favorite was the Crazy Woman Trading Co.  The owners were a hoot and the shop was decorated with so much fun.  I not only bought a shirt ('cause I am a Crazy Woman) but also had to have her other "label" Picky Bitch".  She shared that B.I.T.C.H. actually is a compliment and told me what each letter stood for...and dang if I've forgotten!  I have to contact her and get it again....;-)  

We ended our day there at a great hand-made ice cream stand called Cowboy Creamery "Western Style" and came on back to the rig.  It's been such a delight to just take our time and visit here.  Tomorrow we are off to Jack's favorite Wyoming stop - Cody!

...on the road in Wyoming...

Marie