Happy New Year from Arizona

Hope all of you have had a great Christmas and New Year. We missed everyone and hope next year we will be nearer to you. Our Christmas was quiet. It was just the two of us. We went golfing because we needed to do something more than spend the day in the trailer. We met a father and son who golfs every year on Christmas. The son is a professional golfer on the Pepsi Tour and the dad was celebrating one full year cancer free. It was a gift to see them spending time together knowing what the alternative could be.

Our New Year's Eve  was spent with friends we know from Vancouver (Jack and Janet Harold). They had a gathering at their house with friends. Janet was celebrating her 75th birthday so that made it special. Again, we met some really nice people. After the ball dropped in New York everyone said their good nights.and we were home and in bed by 11:30 (this is the retirement community after all).  The next day we were invited to participate in what some Canadians (and Aussies) call a "Walk About". It is similar to a progressive dinner but it's only appetizers. There were 6 couples involved so we stayed at each place for about a half hour. It was not only a good way to get to know some other couples but we also got to see how the other half live. Two of the couples travel in a motor coach (a house on wheels). One of the couples has a 5th wheel trailer (roomy) and the last couple lives in a "park model" which is a mobile home with a carport and storage unit or an addition added to the mobile home.

Our time here has been spent mostly doing things out doors so it has been a treat to have the sun shining. Paula went on her first desert hike. Compared to the Northwest hikes, this place is very beautiful in a different way, with all the bare rocks and the cactus. She met some wonderful people (21 out of 24 people on this hike were from Canada). Most of the people here are from the north some further north than others.

A few of the fellow hikers

Unusual beauty of the desert

Amazing rock outcroppings

We traveled south to visit with some friends in Sierra Vista for a few days. It was a nice change to sleep in a house. Our friends were great.  They took us to their friends house for a Christmas party where we were entertained by a really talented guitar player and singer from Bisbee, an opera singer from Culican, Mexico, and the  Swedish hostess who is an accomplished pianist. It was truly an international affair. Everyone was so friendly even though we felt like we were party crashers.

 On that same trip we visited the military museum at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista. They have a part of the museum dedicated to the famous "Buffalo Soldiers". After lunch we drove about an hour to Bisbee, an old mining town in Southern Arizona that has been turned into an artists haven, where we toured an old copper mine. It was raining and cold that day but when we went in the mine it was actually warmer because there wasn't the wind chill.The mine is a constant 47 degrees. We wanted to walk around Bisbee but it was just too cold and rainy.  All and all it was a very interesting day.

At the old copper mine in Bisbee, Arizona

Paula standing next to a "Buffalo Soldier"

One of our outings was out to the Desert Museum located in the Saguaro National Park. What a beautiful place! The cactus are scattered everywhere amongst red rock outcroppings. I fell in love with the scenery. On that same trip we visited the Old Tucson Studios where a lot of John Wayne films were created as well as High Chaparral and Little House on the Prairie. I guess they had productions out there for 70 years. Now it's just a tourist attraction but it's still really fun to walk down the streets of an old west town.

Warren standing in front of the Desert Museum

Paula reaching in a rock crevice (watch out for the scorpions and snakes!)

Some of the beautiful rock formations

On that same trip we visited the Old Tucson Studios where a lot of John Wayne films were created as well as High Chaparral and Little House on the Prairie. I guess they had productions out there for 70 years. Now it's just a tourist attraction but it's still really fun to walk down the streets of an old west town.

Warren pretending to be a cowboy

Paula "playing dead"

From the set of High Chaparral

(the mountain in the background can be seen in many western movies filmed here)

The reenactment from the "Quick and the Dead"

Warren in the General Store

More amazing red rocks

Our friends from Sierra Vista came to visit us. Bob and Warren went golfing. Mari Luz,her son, Manolo, who was visiting from Spain and I went shopping and out to lunch. Then all of us enjoyed dinner out.

Paula, Warren, Manolo, Bob, Mari Luz

The Trailer

I have heard that some of you are curious about our living quarters. Well, here are a few pictures that probably say it all! It's 24 X 10 feet which rounds out to about 240 square feet. It can be cleaned it in about 15 minutes. Everything has a place and if it doesn't we probably don't need it. We're really enjoying it because it has what we need. Besides most of the time we are out doing something so we only use it to eat, get ready in the morning, and sleep. 

The sleeping quarters

The kitchen

The eating area

(also where the television sits and door that opens to the bathroom)

There's a couch behind me in this picture where we watch the T.V.  It isn't terribly comfortable so we aren't watching much T.V. (which is a good thing).

Palm Springs with friends...

Desert Hot Springs, California was the place we set our trailer down to explore the Palm Springs area. The short term residents of this RV Park were warm and friendly. We met a nice couple at the church service held at the park. They were from Canada (most of these residents were). We biked, hiked, and golfed. We also spent our evenings swimming, playing pool and shuffle board. The evenings were clear and cold but the night sky was incredible!  

Warren on on hike up Lykken Trail

One of the days we played golf with our friends from Vancouver. It just happened to be the very windy day that created all the damage in the Los Angeles area. The wind was pretty strong and things cooled down a lot but it wasn't raining at least.

Camille, Paula, Cathy at lunch in Palm Desert

Another day we visited Pete and BJ Marsh who are living in Borrego Springs (90 miles southeast of Palm Springs). The day started out fine until I realized that we were 30 miles past our turn off. Warren was not excited about turning around and driving an extra hour to get there. He eventually decided to make the trip and it turned out to be a pleasant day with our friends. We were both glad we went.

Pete, BJ, Paula, Warren after dinner in Borrego

Finally the sun!

We left L.A. and headed to Palm Springs. We found a reasonable RV park near the town of Palm Springs and decided to stay a week which entitled us to 2 free days. The weather will be unusually warm (80 to 84 degrees all week). The wind blew the next morning (no mystery they have all those wind mills near the freeway), but it died down by the afternoon. We went for a hike in the mountains and then drove around the town looking at houses (our favorite past time still). The golf here is more money than we are used to paying but there are coupons in the paper that make it reasonable for the area.

Indian Canyon Golf Course

A very creative mailbox!

L.A. for Thanksgiving

We drove to L.A. and the traffic was great until we hit Santa Barbara. Then it became a stop and go mess through to Los Angeles. It was quite tense pulling the trailer in the heavy traffic. We hoped that the driver behind us noticed our red tail lights in time to stop.

The next day we met Warren's sister and mom for Thanksgiving lunch at the local Denny's. Sandy (Warren's sister) was concerned that she couldn't get Mavis (their mom) into any restaurant with her wheel chair. The food was fine and we practically had the place to ourselves. We visited for about 2 hours and then said our good-byes. Warren and I drove around a little while seeing the local tourist traps like Grumman's Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We also drove around the famous Mulholland Drive with it's spectacular views. We took pictures of the Hollywood sign and drove through Beverly Hills. I've never seen so many Rolls Royce's and gated homes in one place in my life! However, no celebs there either. I guess they were all away for Thanksgiving.

The ride around Mulholland Drive

The Hollywood Sign

Grumman's Chinese Theatre

Sacramento and friends...then to Monterey

Our next stop was Sacramento, California to visit with our dear friends, Lee Ann and Basil. We became acquainted with them through golf in Vancouver. They are wonderful hosts and we always love seeing them. We played golf on Saturday and spent Sunday relaxing and preparing for an early Thanksgiving. It was a welcome feast.

Monday we awoke to beautiful sunshine. Lee Ann and I (Paula) went for 4 mile walk with one of Lee Ann's friends. It was great to finally get some exercise! Instead of staying another day and possibly driving the in rain we decided to head south. Our destination was L.A. to have Thanksgiving with Warren's Mom, sister, and nephew.

We took a slight detour and went by way of the coast and the Monterey  Peninsula. We hit the weather just right. The RV park was next to the beach. After setting up camp, we went for a walk along the ocean and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Then we drove into Monterey and walked along the area called Cannery Row. There are a lot of neat shops and eateries. We had dinner before returning to the RV.

The next day we loaded our bikes in the car and drove to Monterey to ride the famous 17 Mile Drive. If you go the whole way you pass by the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course and end up in Carmel. Needless to say, we didn't finish the whole ride (but our rears thought we did).

 We had a nice lunch and then drove into Carmel. What a quaint little town. We didn't see any celebs but had a nice "happy hour" and then drove back to our little RV. The next day we headed to L.A.

Our Journey Continues South

Thursday, November 17th we arrived in Chico, California. The drive through the pass was dry and clear. Praise the Lord! The forcast was for snow over the weekend. We figured the faster we went south, the more chance we had at missing the snow storms. It seemed that our plan was working. The snow was behind us now and now we were looking for sun and warmth. Let's see how far south we need to go to find it....

While in Chico, we did some sightseeing.We went to the Bidwell mansion. John Bidwell turned out to be a fascinating fellow. He was only 22 years old when he led a group over the California Trail. He then discovered gold in the Feather River. With his new found wealth he bought a 26,000 acre parcel and built himself and his wife a beautiful 26 room mansion, several orchards, a 25 acre park, and a lot more. His wife ended up donating the house to the Presbyterian church and later was used as a dormitory for a teacher's college. The property is now a University. The grounds are a public park and the orchards are still producing great fruit and nuts.

Starting out

We left Vancouver on Wednesday, November 16, 2011. It was a cloudy and rainy day. Our goal was to get over the mountain passes before the snows hit. As we traveled south the weather improved. We arrived in Medford about 4 PM and set up camp for the first time. We did okay for our maiden voyage. However, we chose an RV park next to a truck stop. Note to selves, do not stay next to truck stops unless you like the sound of diesel engines starting up at around 7 AM!