Kit and Carol on the Road

We went up the Catalina highway to check out a campground for Kirsten who is coming on Wednesday. Found a nice hike from the camp to a WWII era prison camp.

Can you believe we have snow in Tucson. Here is our car Jaz with a dusting. We have moved to a new spot in a park model row to be closer to the pool.

I went on another Guemian outing today. Rode with Roz and Joan down to Green Valley to hook up with Jim and Jacque. We ended the day with a short hike in Madeira Canyon where there real trees. The alligator junipers are cool.

Kit had back trouble today so I went hiking alone more or less. There were lots of hikers on the trails and for awhile I was in the middle of a hiking club from another RV park.
After pool time we went to a wine tasting and bought 3 colors of Bordeaux. Not really roughing it here.

We came back to Far Horizons to find out the power went out at 2 this afternoon. 7 hour later it is still out. Even on Guemes the power company does better than that. Not only power but it turns out we are on a well here so there is no water either. We in the RVs are lucky to have battery ,propane, and water on our tanks. The park models are really dry and on the dark. There has been truck activity in the wash behind us so Kit went to investigate. Turns out it was the cable TV setting up a generator to keep TV going. Go figure.

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We decided we needed a vacation from our vacation and have come to camp one night at Gilbert Ray county park in the desert. Had a marvelous late afternoon hike--5.6 miles up and down hills, across ridges with awesome views, and home on a flatland trAil. Late afternoon light perfect for plant watching. More photos later.

Saturday. Definitely blustery. The wind is whipping everything around. The pool is empty of people. This morning was very hot and almost humid. The weatherman says to expect a thunderstorm this afternoon. Sure is hard to second guess desert weather.
Friday we drove out to Pima Canyon which is still one of my favorite hikes. The last time we did it we had to make 19 creek crossings. Now they are only dry washes. The trail is lined with jojoba. The leaves were so dry as to be brittle. With all the oil in this plants the fire danger seems a bit scary. This is a year of drought. The tiny leaves on the mesquite are falling--even more so with this wind today. It's a long drive from here to Pima. I could see the tops of the Palm Trees planted here and there --they are all brown. That is from the Big Freeze. The freeze got all the citrus fruit trees too. What next I wonder.

Today we took Don and Anne out west to see Roz's new place and had a nice short hike with Roz and Joan. We went for lunch at a snazzy new Marriott Resort. Gorgeous setting. Not many people around.

We took a traditional bike ride down to the U with the idea of visiting the State (historical) Museum. Closed on Sunday. So we had early lunch at an Indian kebab place and rode home on a nice bike trail. Almost 23 miles. 3people from this park left the same time as us and returned the same time. They did 44 miles--with hills. Oh well.

The Hope camp trail where we were hiking today is home to some real saguaro giants. This is a relatively new addition to the park. The cowboy trail

Here you see a Chicago Aero Motor windmill circa1910. We went this morning on a guided hike of cowboy country. Super. Then Kit and I continued to a favorite lunch spot on the hope camp trail. No water in the creek this year.

Today we went riding along the "river" trail. Found a nice rest stop.

Just when I think we are leading a rather boring life here in Tucson--what do we do but mundane tasks, hanging out in the pool, and some occassionally sunny hikes and bike rides. The big excitement here at Far Horizons was a city wide shuffleboard tournaments. Shuffleboard is not a spectator sport.

Just when our spring was planned and settled we get thrown a loop, quit the ORPI volunteer job and are now struggling to figure out how to use our time until the ferry comes back in May.
Just when we thought our daughter would find a nice job in Canada, she's waiting for an interview in Wisconsin.
Just when we were planning an RV trip to the midwest in the fall--we get invived to a wedding --in Sweden. Our youngest exchange son Lars is getting married on August 20. How can we not go? How can we go? Our passorts and credit cards expire in the fall so I was actually planning to stay at home in 2011. So here we are wandering and wondering.

I have been waiting for a decent photo to post. Today we had an awesome hike up the Esperero trail--up being an operative word. I got a phone call from Anne P in the wilderness but couldn't get a good photo from this phone. Blustery was the forecast and blustery it was. Back to the pool.

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This poor senita cactus in our park suffered the freeze. We had 2 morns below 20 degrees. Didn't keep us out of the hot tub but not doing much else.

Fred and Sue stayed in town until Wednesday and we had a second hike in Saguaro NP. That was the day of low of 26 and high of 42. Chilly but not bad for hiking. The usual gushing Bridal Veil waterfall was only a trickle.

Wednesday was my relax day. Yoga in the morning,then the hike, then the hot tub--a mad dash to get into the warm water. Finally I had a massage. Not a bad life despite the cold.

This morning it was 18 degrees--and the wind chill dunked it down below that. We're a bit above freezing--I can tell because of all the broken pipes and water running down the street--but the wind is still icy. Did shopping and laundry and try to keep warm. I think we may still try the hot tub later. We are hardy folk. or NOT?

Fred and Sue stopped by today. We went for a short hike in the National park. Then had dinner at out favorite Vietnamese restaurant.