SharivilleLife stories from Shari

What a totally wonderful drive from Carson City to Chico.  We have done this drive so many many times, but this time was different.  It was different because after having been to so many beautiful places so recently it could have been a very mundane trip.  Instead I noticed many many things that I might not have paid all that much attention to.  This time the drive was bringing us back home after such a long absence.  All the lovely places we have recently been to were no more beautiful than the drive thru that Feather River Canyon on Sun.  We have been out of the state for 6 + mos. and coming home was, for me, somewhat bitter sweet.  Was I so sure that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” It was thought provoking but  the canyon was glorious.  All the deciduous trees were beginning to unfurl their leaves, the Red buds and yellow Sweet Brooms were beginning to bloom.  In the lower areas the California Poppies and Lupins were starting to show their spring best.  The  waterfalls are starting to glide down the walls of the canyon, bringing wonderful new life to the canyons flora and fauna.  I began to get more and more  excited about getting home to Chico.  As we passed thru  Portola, and Quincy and further on down past Belden Town,  the Stone House and Yankee Hill, I was very in tuned to my surroundings.  Spring in the Feather River Canyon is such an awe inspiring sight to see.  The Feather River, I love that river, was meandering, as it has from time immorial  through the canyon floor  carrying  life giving water to all in its path. Of course when we crossed over Lake Oroville I was at a loss as to just where all that meandering water was, because it was obvious where it wasn’t.  Oroville lake looked like it was an extension of the Feather River, except it was full of moored houseboats strung out along the way.  I’m hoping that all those wonderful waterfalls pick up speed and fill up Oroville Lake.  The trip to Chico from Carson City took us 4 hours.  We were coming home with our family of 3 cats, Sophie, Ziggy, and Scooby Doo and our new puppy, Teddy, after 6 mos. We have had a wonderful last 6 mos, some good and some not so good.  We have had the good Lord riding sidesaddle with us and the angels were our constant companions.  And we had Angie and Tommy for the best support possible.    As we drove in I realized how happy I was to be coming home, Chico is my hometown and we live on the property I grew up on and yes, I was excited.

 We drove down our private road and it was plain we had missed almond blossom time, but the trees are filled with baby almonds.  When we turned into our driveway I could see my georgous yellow Lady Banks rose in bloom.  It’s a climber and has really spread out.  It’s climbed into my bamboo and is splendid.  My yard is what you would call rustic landscaping, I don’t do a lot of pruning except around the house.  My birds are very appreciative of that.  In fact my little piece of Paradise is” for the birds.”  I have about 10 bird feeders, and everything planted here on our 6+ acres has been planted by Jerry and I, and all of it benefits the birds.  We design, Jerry digs, and I plant, and together we take care of it. We have lots of fruit trees and citrus, even a pink lemonade tree.  Yes, when you cut the lemons open they are pink. While Jerry was parking the trailer and hooking it up in the yard, Teddy and I took a walk around the house and property.  I was wondering if  Teddy had any idea about the big responsibility he would soon be taking on.  This would soon all be his to protect, I think he will be up to it.  The first thing that happened is he spotted my garden gargoyle and came unglued.  It took me some time to get him to actually approach and see that it was only concrete,  he looked so foolish when he figured it out.  But then Teddy is still not 5 mos old until the 30th of this month. All of the fruit trees have blossomed and have tiny fruit on them. The wonderful wisteria and Lilacs are in full bloom, so sweet smelling and delightful. My purple in really popping and the white Lilac, that Kathy gave me , it starting to bloom out too. My lavender made it thru the winter and the Japanese Maples are mostly leafed out.  I feel one cannot have to much lavender or to many Japanese Maples.

My yard looks marvelous, despite the need for some serious attention. The pink and white crab apples are in bloom , the Red Maple is leafing out.  All the cherries are in bloom.  Jerry’s avocado tree looks like it finally bit the dust, too much frost in Dec.   Liz had her gardener out to mow the lawn and weed eat and spray around the house.  It all looks great.  I see the trellis needs fixed and the pump house needs painted, looks like lots of pruneing needs attended to.  I think we will need some help this year.    I look around and I am so glad to be home  again, and to my peaceful garden.  Got to get it all in order because we have to all be ready to travel again in the fall. There’s still a lot of my America to see and we will be there to see it.

  Remember, “Never Give Up.”   More later,   Hugs S and J.

I think that I am deliberately dragging my feet on getting home to Chico.  Must be some kind of psychological thing.  I am so close now and not so really excited.  I guess 6 + mos. is a long time.  I’m scared to get home and back into a routine………..maybe.  Time will tell.

So meanwhile, we shall endeavor to carry on.  So today we woke up to a powdered sugar sprinkling of snow on the ground.  Its cold in the mornings but jumps up into the 50s during the day, a real heat wave. So when it warmed up so extensively, we proceeded to drive up to a cooler place in more ways than one. Lake Lake Tahoe, and it was about 37 degrees up there, and the folks were still into snow stuff.  In fact I have a picture of Teddy with snow on his snout.  He uses his nose like a snow plow.  It was so beautiful up there.  We crossed the summit at over 7000 ft, and the town is at about 6500.  We had lunch at the Bear Beach Cafe.  Its was such a cute little diner directly across from the lake.  Such a gorgeous view.  The omelette’s were gourmet.  We didn’t stop at any of the Casinos, by now I could afford to miss them, once again,  in more ways than one.  After Vegas, nothing compares.  We drove around and took some photos, let Teddy play in the snow, and just really enjoyed the area. The magnificent alpine scenery is world  class.  We checked out the M.S. Dixie  2  paddle wheeler at Zhphyr Cove.  There is a mile long sandy beach at the cove.

We then drove back to the Carson Valley, and over to Genoa. The Carson valley is so picturesque, it’s surrounded by scenic mountains, some snow covered, esp the ones to the west, which would be called the Sierra Nevada’s. Vincent would be glad to hear that its said to be one of the nation’s top soaring locations.  The Mormon Station State Park is located in Genoa, and is the site of Nev. first permanent settlement, est. in 1852.  There is a very fine regional museum in the old historic Genoa Courthouse.   There is also some quaint shops and galleries there.  But what I love, love, love about this little village is their herd of White Tailed deer.  We were hoping to see them this time of year, as last time we were here it was in the fall.  We were not disappointed in the least,  in fact we even saw an albino deer.  The herd traveled so fast across the road that I didn’t get the albino in a picture.  I’m sorry.  But as we drove around the houses we found lots more of them.  Teddy’s first sighting of deer.  But then after all he’s only 5 mos. old on the 30th of this month.  He got a close up of a cow, he growled and gave a couple half hearted barks.  Come on Teddy, you were bred to handle these cows.

So as not to waste time we then toured the State Capitol in downtown Carson City. Very nice architecture and lovely marble floors Lake Tahoe,  We talked to the governor’s secretary and she said Nev. governor, a republican, is probably one of the governor’s who will have their Attorney’s General file suit over Obama’s heath care plan.  Interesting.  We drove around the town of Carson City, it’s close to our hearts, as close to 38 yrs ago Jerry and I got married here.  It was in a little chapel called the Victorian Chapel.  We drove by there and took a picture , its now an insurance office.  appropriate .  When Jerry and I got married some of my customers, I was still a waitress at Studio Inn, commented that I had a concrete deal.  At the time Jerry was a concrete truck driver,  how funny……we had a small wedding family and a few friends.  Angie was our flower girl and she was precious. She was not yet 5 yrs old. At the time her hair was so long she could sit on it. She looked so cute.  My girlfriend Judy, and my matron of honor made her dress.  We had our reception at the Ormsby Hotel which was newly opened.  We made prior reservations at the Ormsby.  This was one of the funniest things that went on.  We had a choice of blue rooms or red rooms.  Since red is my favorite colors and I was looking forward to a colorful wedding night, I chose a red room.  The  newly opened hotel had the swimming pool on the 4th floor and were still in the process  of building it.  So I asked for any floor but the 4th as I figured it would be noisy.  So we arrived and our room was on the 4th floor and it was a blue room.  By then I was so stressed over the wedding and all that we just lived with it.  It turned out just fine. After the reception the wedding party drove up to the lake, Lake Tahoe,  to Harrah’s  for the Dion Warwick show.  She was big in the 70s.  So we have some real ties to this area. It always makes me happy to be here.  More tomorrow, I’m enjoying a mighty fine Bloody Mary and getting ready to  relax for the night…………………..Hugs,     S and J

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Let me tell you, if I don’t keep up with these blogs daily, I find things going on so rapidly that it’s difficult to keep up.  It was after midnight last night by the time we got home from cruising the “Strip,” in  Vegas last night.  We were disappointed yesterday to find that we could not extend for a few days longer.  Seems that Las Vegas if a popular place and they were already booked up in advance.  I know I got my reservations several days in advance.  So we decided to just tear down and head further west. 

So yesterday we caught up with some of the things we wanted to do.  We started out with toast and coffee for breakfast, so we could go down to Skyline Casino and have a delicious shrimp cocktail, and a margarita.  In fact they were so good we had two.  Tom and Joann really like those shrimp cocktails too.  It’s one of the  best deals in the area, each one is only a buck. Came home and had a much needed nap.  Oh what a life.  Then we headed for the “Strip,” that’s Las Vegas blvd. where all the fab casino’s are.  I love to cruise the strip here like I used to like to cruise the Esplanade yrs ago.  The news reports Vegas is hurting and maybe it is, there does seem to be fewer players in the casinos, but everything else seems to be going full blast. In fact there are a couple of humungous buildings going up right now along the strip.  Well another place we like is “Roxy’s Diner”  at the Stratosphere Casino.. its just a fun place  where the server’s take the mic and walk around the diner singing the old “Rock and Roll” songs. These kids that sing are really very good.  Being  in the theme of Old Rock and Roll, naturally it’s a burger place.  That’s what Jerry had, a burger, fries and a chocolate shake.  I had chile cheese fries and and a  banana split.  Oh my. Naturally they serve way to much food so we couldn’t eat it all but we certainly did our best, it will be forever  before I go for another banana split.  That’s what Vegas does to us, we throw all caution to the winds and just enjoy ourselves.

The lights along the “Strip” were as awesome as ever.  We even happened along as the Bellagio was starting their water show.  How fantastic it that.  Teddy was riding in my lap looking out the window and some woman in the car next to us says,” is your dog a mutt?”  I almost took offense, but laughed and told her,” no he’s a Red Heeler.”  I really wanted to tell her that he is a coyote puppy.  I’m dying to do that to someone because he does look a little suspicious now and then, depends  on the angle you’re looking at him.  But here in the desert people are suspicious.  Maybe it’s the shifty eyed look he gives them.  Jerry calls him “a shifty eyed varmint.” We did manage to get some neon photo’s.

This morning we hit the road north west.  It’s not the most interesting scenery on Hwy 95 headed for Carson City.  but then  one can find beauty anywhere if they look.  We did see some Joshua Trees, but only in a small area, they are particular where they grow.  We say some wild burro’s and horses along the way.  We stopped at a fairly nice rest area and had a picnic.  The weather has been so wonderful, nice clear blue Sky’s with wispy clouds. We had our picnic with the background of the snow caped Sierra Nevada’s.  When they came into view I knew I was getting close to home.  We found a nice RV park in Hawthorn, Nv. called Whiskey Flats.  It’s a newer park and nice.  We won’t unhook as we are headed for Carson City tomorrow for 3 days and then home.   More soon……….

Hugs, S and J

Today after a great breakfast buffet, oh, did I say go easy on the buffet’s, well really a breakfast buffet shouldn’t count.  Jerry’s favorite meal is breakfast, mine dinner.  His kind of food,  simple straight forward, mine gourmet.  That’s the only way we differ.  But he indulges me most of the time, but occas. I have to capitulate and eat a breakfast buffet.  This I can do.  At least I don’t overdue.

After breakfast, we drove out to Red Rock Canyon.  Four yrs. ago we buried Domino, my precious cat, out there.  He died the day after Angie’s wedding.  Jerry woke me up that morning, grabbing my foot and saying, “wake up, Dommie is dead.”  It seems like yesterday. Dommie was ours since we picked him up, homeless in Ore. about 1992.  He chose us by wading across a stream to beg us to take him.  We were picking blackberries at the time.  He traveled many many miles with us as far back as Memphis Tenn. and all the states in between.  He was inseparable from me.  He had been suffering from intestinal problems, which I think was a blockage, and his little heart just could not go on.   We drove up to Red Rock Canyon and buried him.  He is buried in a beautiful place.  Red Rock is a horse and burro sanctuary.  He hated the cold, it was approp. to bury him in the warm desert.  Domino was about 14 yrs  old and did have the most fab life with Jerry and I who loved him with all our hearts.  Even after 4 yrs. I still cry for him. We usually visit him whenever we are here in Las Vegas.The only sad part is that we couldn’t  bury him on our property where all our babies have been buried.  It would have been more comforting to me.

We visited the visitor center and gift shop.  I love the visitor centers for these attractions.  There is so much educational info available.  There is info about all the flora and fauna and pictures and usually a movie about the area.   We took the 14 mile loop drive. It is a gorgeous drive.  Seems this was a terrific cold winter, lots of cactus and yucca plants bit the dust.  Altho they say don’t count them out, they may still come back.    The mt. in the background of the canyon still have a sprinkle of snow.  It looks like someone sprinkled powdered sugar over them…….we have done this drive several times before, but never get tired of it, we will do it again I am sure.  Like I said before Las Vegas is a special place to us………….more later from fab Vegas.   Hugs,   S and J

What a day we had today. What a great adventure.    Good thing we had a quiet day yesterday .  We drove in from Laughlin, Nev. a total of 90 miles.  That’s a record.  We settled in at Sam’s RV park on Boulder Hwy.  We love to come here.  We like the casino and the food and they have an outdoor show complete with wild animals, almost think they are real.  Its beautifully done complete with a bear and a howling wolf.  If you bring an RV to Las Vegas, you would like this place.  We had a great buffet dinner last night and then decided we better slow down on the buffet’s.  It was so good we had to waddle out.

Today we did something we haven’t done in 17 yrs.  We drove about 50 miles NE of Vegas to Valley of Fire.   It has to be one of the most beautiful places there is.  The only drawback was, we forgot how far out the Park was, it’s a state park, and we didn’t bring a picnic lunch like everyone else did.   The park has changed in the last 17 yrs. they now have a visitor center, complete with a gift shop,  Joann,  and many more pull offs, and signs indicating a good picture site, and lots and lots of covered picnic tables.  They also have a small campground with complete hookups.  It was Sunday and not all that crowded.  It’s an out of the way place and that’s just fine.  The fewer people who know about it , the better.  Less chance of spoiling the area as sometimes happens.  Vince and Mike, you would love this place for photo’s.   We were there in the middle of the day, but mornings and evenings  would be great for picture taking.

There are the most unusual sandstone formations weathered by the eroding forces of wind and water. I esp like the beehive formations. Valley of Fire was formed during the dinosaurs age, 150 million yrs ago. To me that just seems unreal.  Other formations in the park include lime stones, shale’s and conglomerates. At one time the Anasazi Indians, the Pueblo farming Indians known up around the 4 corners area, farmed the nearby Moapa Valley. We have been to the 4 corners area and looked at the pueblo’s, fascinating.  The 4 corners area is where  Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico join at the corners.  It’s reported that occupation dates from 300 B. C. to 1150 A. D.  History dictates that a scarcity of water would have limited the length of their stay. The annual rainfall is four inches, usually in light winter showers and summer thunderstorms.  But I am here to tell you that those arroyos where the water runs off are deep and looks like the streams run fast and furious when the water does come.  They have desert tortoise’ here and visitors are asked to please leave these like able and harmless creatures alone to live its life in peace in it’s own environment.  People steal them and take them home and these guys live long long lives and should stay where they live to begin with.  This breaks my heart, like I said, let this wonderful place remain a secret.There are historic stone cabins that were built with native sandstone by the CCC in the 1930′s  as a shelter for passing travelers.  The drive into the park from the north end isn’t as pretty a drive, but the south entrance on into Henderson with the view of Lake Mead  is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever been on.  I am so lucky to have such a loving and patient husband who will stop on a dime, turn around in impossible places and do it without question, just so I can snap a picture or two.  The other plus is Jerry loves to drive, so I get to go everywhere and enjoy the ride.  Along the way the desert Marigolds were beginning to bloom.  They bloom in  spaced out clusters and are spectacular.

We came home and I fixed cold cuts with macaroni salad and pear wine.  We got the pear wine up in Oregon last yr.  There is a wonderful winery along the Hood Canal that specialize fruit wine.  Our very fav is their Rhubarb wine.  Now that’s an idea maybe our next trip should be up in that area, esp. with summer coming on.  I think I was born under a wandering star……….more to come, Hugs,  S.   and  J.                                                                                                                                                    

This is known as elephant rock, can you see why?

Hello from “Sin City.”  Jerry and I have an affinity for this riotously unrealistic city.  We come here at least once a year, more often if Tommy or Angie have special business here.   Since those two are the worlds greatest entrepreneurs, Vegas is usually a place to come to.

But aside from that we all four have a special bond with Las Vegas.  It was just a tad over 4 yrs ago that Angie and Tommy got married here  850 ft above the strip at the Stratosphere.   Leave it to them to pick such a remarkable and memorible  place to be married.  The guest list was remarkable to, as guests came from all over the USA.  I have to say it was the best wedding I have ever attended, and it was my daughters.  We were in Texas for the holidays  that yr so I was privileged to be able to help them plan the wedding, guest list and all.  We had about 7 come from Chico.  One of which was her God Mother, Kathy.  She has been attached to Kathy from the time I was a waitress working at Studio Inn.  Kathy and her father were the owners.  Kathy was always there for the two of us and is close to Angie’s heart.

The wedding was what every mother wants for herself and her daughter.  It was a delight.  Jerry was able to walk his daughter down the isle, which greatly touched his heart.  She has always been his delightful little girl and Angie is very close to her dad.  I guess you can’t raise a child without a loving attachment. Jerry looked so good in his tux. The absolutely hilarious part was that before he ran her down the isle, and I say that because he did, he was so nervous and the tears were on the edge that he must have been thinking a marathon. It was not your normal slow trot, that’s for sure.  Anyway, Angie and Jerry were waiting to go down the isle, and Angie said to her dad,” I won’t cry if you don’t,”  well check out the pictures, Jerry was pretty red eyed.  It was emotional for all of us.  Angie was marrying her “Soul Mate.” It was and is a marriage made in heaven. It seemed like we were almost up there near heaven  too.  What a wonderful view from the top of the Stratosphere. Angie and Tommy and Jerry and I were lucky enough to find our “soul Mates.”  They had the most scrumptious sit down dinner reception, lobster bisque and all.  After the wedding dinner party the entire group was invited to the Bellagio, where Tommy had arranged to have a suite, and we did the wedding cake and champagne.  What a beautiful setting that was.We all watched the dancing waters show from way up in that  great hotel.  They had a full bar and fun was had by all.  It was of course hilarious with the cake cutting , but was done in good taste, and lots of laughs. Its so neat to sit here now and think about  how it all went down, and we are so happy with the results.  We could not love Tommy more if he were our own, well now he is.. My little girl always did have good taste.

Like I said, whenever we come to Las Vegas we wax nostalgic because it was all such a fantasy come true for all of us. They make such a gorgeous couple and my beautiful granddaughter Felecia was maid of honor and Tommy’s brother Vince was best man.

Two days after the wedding Angie arranged to have a catered lunch for all her Chico friends held at their Bellagio suite. A lot of the guests were able to stay a whole week after the wedding. It was so special and so thoughtful and we got to eat some more of that special wedding cake .  Thank God for little girls, because they grow up to be such wonderful women.  We love our little girl and woman with all our hearts.  Now you know what happened Feb. 26, four  yrs ago.  It’s called, “MEMORIES.”

Well Whoop de Do, what a day this was.  Good thing we rested up yesterday from all the wonderful things we did in Tucson.  Cause today was  a day to remember.  We started out here in the RV with bacon, cheese, onion and avocado omelettes.  That  I was  Jerry’s request.  Then we loaded up Teddy and took about a 3 hour drive all around the Laughlin area.  It’s really a lovely area.  Of course it sits right on one of my favorite Rivers in the USA. The mighty Colorado. I got some fair pictures, but, Judy Lou, not to many of the wild flowers.  I may have  better luck tomorrow on the way to Vegas.  I think we were here a couple of yrs ago and this place has grown so much in that time.

Tonight, being Friday night we had to hit the sea food buffet.  Since Jerry had gotten tickets for the Tribute to Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper and Richie Valens, at the Riverside Casino, we just went to the buffet there.  Got a seat by the window right on the river.  We watched the river taxi’s.  One was crisscrossing the river to pick up people from the Arizona side,  Bullhead City, and bringing them over to the Nevada side to eat, see the shows and spend their money.  The other one was running up and down the river from casino to casino so people wouldn’t have to walk so far.  A great idea, as this place thrives on seniors. Jerry, bless his sweet heart, loves shrimp.  They had peel and eat shrimp and those who have spent time with us eating where they have these critters know that I always peel them for him, which I ordinarily dont’ mind, but tonight he put blue cheese dressing all over everything and I was up to finger licking blue cheese all the while.  Thank goodness he only wanted to do that once.  They had my favorite, crab, but it never tastes like it does on the Oregon coast, does it Judy Lou?  But it was very relaxing to sit and eat and watch the beautiful blue Colorado flow by and the ducks enjoying their life.

Then we wanted to walk off some of that great food, so we took in the antique auto show on the 3nd floor of the Riverside.  Jerry always likes those old car shows, me I really enjoy the gift shops.  In fact I found a hat I liked  and ended up buying 5 of them in different colors.  That helps with the traveling to cover up my hair. I always have that wind blown look, even if the wind isn’t blowing.

Then the peace de resistance, the tribute show.  It was sooo good.  The Big Bopper is actually the real Boppers son, who was born 3 months after the accident.  The Richie Valens singer was excellent and of course the Buddy Holly singer looked and sounded just like the real one.  The show was one and a half hours long, they did all the songs that these 3 ever did.   They all 3 died way to young.  I was 16 and a junior in high school when the plane went down in Feb, 1959.  I remember how broken hearted I was.  For us Rock n Rollers its marked as the day the” Music Died.”  And in lots of respects it did.  The singer who did Richie Valens was really a mover up there on the stage and kind of made the show, lets say he had all the right moves, just him and his electric guitar,  but I was so crazy about buddy Holly when I was 16 it was, for me,  that time all over again.  One thing Jerry and I share is our love of entertainment.  Guess that’s why we’ve been to Branson, Mo 6 times.  Jerry  has a couple of yrs on me, in fact a whole generation, but you would never know it.  He gets into that “ Old Rock n Roll ”  feeling right along with me.  It was a wonderful show, brought back many memories and we left with a happy feeling.  I didn’t know that The Big Bopper wrote the song,”White Lightening,” the song that launched George Jones career.  Now that’s the one person that I still have to see to make it 100% of my favorites.   It has been a good few days here in Laughlin, but it’s time to move along , and along to a great favorite  of ours Las Vegas.

If you have not driven in the desert southwest in the early spring you just have to find the time to do it.  We left Tucson around 9 AM today, stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast, they do breakfast really well.  We will soon be out of range for Cracker Barrel as they are not in California.  We will miss them, they always have nice big parking lots for RVs.  The food is good too.  Anyway back to the desert.  The further north we drove the warmer it got and we started noticing that the desert is in bloom.  The wildflower are everywhere and cactus is blooming too. The further north we drove the more flowers we saw. The Lupins are in bloom along with yellow, orange and white flowers, and mostly pink cactus.  We drove from 72 degree weather during the day into 88 degree weather.  Thank goodness for the air conditioner. We ended up with about 370 miles today. It was much better driving and we whipped right along as we had a tail wind for a change.

We did a change of plans, since we have spent time on several occasions at Emerald Cove near Lake Havasu, we decided to drive on further north and spend a couple or 3 nights in Laughlin, Nev.  It also sits directly on the ever so beautiful Colorado River, I love this river.  It reminds me of a sidewinder in the sand the way it makes its way thru the desert. It brings life’s blood to so much and so many.  You just don’t want to let your dog swim or drink from this river.  Its very alkaline and from prior experience its like feeding your dog a bag of prunes and this goes on for days.  So beware.  So no, we will not be letting Teddy go for a swim here.

We found this really unusual RV park.  Its all terraced on the hill above Casino row.  So tonight we can sit here and look out our big back window at all the bright lights down on the Laughlin strip.  Its really a sight to see.  Very cheery and seems to be beckoning us to come down and play.  Maybe tomorrow.  It was a long day and I am sorry I didn’t take any pictures of the wild flowers, maybe tomorrow………………..Hugs    S and J

Today was a more laid back day for us.   Tomorrow  we head out for further west.  We plan to drive to at least  Quartsite.  The next day we pull into Emerald Cove on the Colorado River for 4 days.  We were there last year only in April.  That’s one of our fav places.  I love to see that gorgeous blue river running thru the desert.

Today we visited the Mission San Xavier Del Bac.  It sits outside the city of Tucson, in the flat desert and can be seen for miles around.  It’s called “The White Dove,” of the desert.  I have to say, It is much prettier than our missions in Calif.  Its very ornate inside, very beautiful.  I just sat on one of the benches inside and felt consumed with peace.  Then a bus load of people arrived and that feeling quickly disappeared.    This mission was founded in 1692 by Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino. The foundation was laid in 1700.  Lots of stuff around here bears the Kino name.  This church took 14 yrs to build between 1783 to 1797.  Boy that seems like a long time ago.  I think they have come a long way around here since then. It sits in the middle of an American Indian reservation.   The floor plan resembles a Latin  Cross.  It has chapels at each end.  The dome is so beautiful looking up from the inside and also from the outside.  It’s 52 ft. high, looks higher to me.  The dome is supported by arches and squinches.  While we were there there was a woman on a rising type ladder doing some restoration work on one of the inside walls.  Most of the paintings are original, altho some what faded.   This church is the oldest Catholic church in America still serving parishioners to which it was founded.  I got some really nice picts.  The lions on either side of the communion rail  represent the ” Lions of Castile,” a tribute to the  reigning family in ‘Spain  during the time the church was being built. They have been redone and re-carved in wood to look like the original. 

The gardens around the Mission are of course cacti.  It is so very lovely and peaceful.   There is every kind of cactus I have ever seen represented in the gardens.  The entire Mission is cared for with the upmost respect.  It was such a pleasure to visit here. We came back to the rig and had pears, apples with crackers and cheese and wine. A very relaxing day.  Have to get prepared for tomorrow.  It should be a pretty drive, the cactus are beginning to bloom…………..Hugs,           S  and J.

Today has been quite a day and I just finished a nap with my feet up.  I think we must have walked for miles.  I need to go home and arrange with Dr.  Morris to do my R knee, then I will really be able to enjoy all the walking this life style demands. Today we walked the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

When I say museum don’t think of a musty smelling, dimly lit, building with lots of antiques, this was the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  Most all of the activities were out doors.  Since the weather here is about 74 degrees with a mild breeze it was the perfect setting for a wonderful day. After we stopped at Phoebe’s Coffee Bar for a “pick me up, and a muffin or stone as Jerry calls them, we started out with a bird and rapt0r demonstration and how to preserve these wonderful birds.  There were hawks, owls and ravens that were the highlights of the show.  Very educational.  From there we took the far outback desert loop trail.  Along this trail we were fortunate to find several Javelinas, these some people think of a part of the pig family, but in reality they are not  they are peccaries. Look that one up. They are really quite the cute animal and in the desert probably would not be a danger to humans unless forced to protect themselves.  They are very social and live in groups.  We caught a picture of a  Javelina washing another’s foot.  Sweet.  Further along the trail we spotted a coyote, they have a really nice large area and they use invisible fencing to keep them from mingling with the tourists, which could be inconvenient.  We visited Cat Canyon and Jerry saw a Bobcat. We toured the cactus garden and we checked out life on the rock and visited a Prairie Dog town, which included a very nice and friendly Roadrunner.  These guys certainly have a personality, not to say those fat little Prairie Dogs don’t, they are really cute.

By then we had walked for miles it seemed and had worked up an appetite.  So we went to lunch at a really lovely place called The Ironwood Terrace.  It was cloth table cloths and napkins and had a very nice ambiance. First they brought us a basket of warm bread with cilantro pesto, and cactus pear…. ice tea.  Jerry had guess what?  You got it, a Kobe  hamburger with steak fries and I had a Cob salad with all the usual ingredients, except they used jalapeno bacon, nice and spicy and imported Klamatta olives.  It was a delicious lunch and we agreed we would definitely eat here again.  That’s how we judge the food, would we do it again?

From there  it was off to the walk thru aviary to see, up close, the desert birds of the Soronian Desert.  They sure have some lovelies and some sang and chattered as we walked the path thru. There were over 40 different varieties present. We stopped to rest in the shade along the way, close to the stream, and just enjoyed the wonder of nature.  This place has lots of benches of all kinds, drinking fountains and rest rooms.  They have made it a truly wonderful place to come to.

We saw beautiful Mt sheep with great big horns. We went thru the Riparian Corridor and were lucky enough to catch a playful ottor strutting and showing off.  They are the cutest creatures and always you come away smiling after seeing them. We didn’t get to see a Coatie or a Beaver tho, I was a bit disappointed but they were hiding out. A water hole in the desert is a very special place, and they say they do exist.

We walked by the Pollination Gardens which included the Humming Birds, moths and bees and butterflys.  We checked out the snakes,  some really bad fellows, bet you didn’t know that the Majove Rattlesnake was the most poisionous of all the rattlers.Thats because their venem attacks both the tissues and is neuro toxic.  Leave it to a Neuro nurse to be interested in that.   We saw scorspins and terrantula’s, and lizards, they even had black widows on display. There were some pretty impressive lizards there too.  Of course all along the way was a true desert, only an organized one.  There are over 100 varieties of cactus and other desert plants.  All of the area is tenderly tended to insure a pleasant experience for people to enjoy and get the maximum benefit of. All in all we had a really incredible day. Anyone who knows me knows I have an afinity for museum’s and this was” The” most special. On the way out we had to forego the ice cream store darn, we were still to stuffed from lunch.……….This saguaro, with the fan top is abnormal and occurs once in 200,000 plants they don’t know why…… Angie this turtle made me smile.