Merry Christmas

I would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family including our new friends in Blogland.  We are feeling truly blessed this year.  It has been a year with lots of highs but, as life usually is, balanced with one very low point.  We were so fortunate that Lori's mothers' heart surgery was so successful that she is now experiencing an energy level she has not experienced for a few years.  That was unfortunately balanced by the passing of Lori's fathers in August from a massive heart attack.  Lori retired in June and has enjoyed every minute of her new life.  We headed south to spend the winter in Arizona and we have truly enjoyed this new experience.  While we have missed not seeing our friends and family in person, technology has allowed us to stay connected and share experiences by way of word and picture.  Thanks Carrie for posting all those wonderful pics of our Grandsons.

I have included a few Christmas themed pictures which show that while there is no snow on the ground we still have Christmas in our hearts.

We brought our Santa hats on our hike on
Dec 24th.
Was quite comical trying to find a spot for us all to pose and set up my tripod and camera all the while staying clear of those Jumping Cholla's.

Do you see Mickey Mouse.  We added a Santa Hat to provide some Christmas atmosphere.

 Out interior Christmas decorations

As we exited the trailer we saw that Santa had left us a very appropriate Welcome mat.











Again, we wish all of you a truly great Christmas and a happy new year.

The Attack of the Cholla

One last hike before Santa arrives.  After a grocery and bathing suit shopping day on Monday and a visit to the gym and steam room on Tuesday we decided to do the Hieroglyphics trail on Wednesday.  It was rated easy to moderate and only 2.9 miles so we figured it would be an easy couple of hours.  It shared a trailhead with the Lost Goldmine Trail (11.7 miles roundtrip) and we saw a sign for it on Sunday on our way out to the Peralta Trail.  That trail had some good signage so we weren't too concerned about directions.

We turned off the highway onto Peralta Rd which is 7 miles of ruts to get to the trailhead.  We had Charli with us today as many of the trails in the area permit dogs.  This way when we got back to the RV we wouldn't have to deal with a dog full of energy when we had expended all of ours.  The start of the trail had rather poor signage but the trail was pretty obvious so we set out.  The main trail was Lost Goldmine and the Hieroglyphic trail would branch off after a short walk.

An hour later we were starting to doubt we were on the right trail but decided to keep going.    

The hike was filled with the usual beautiful views.









Lots of caves which were easy to see from the desert floor.  Would have been interesting to climb up there and explore.  Perhaps 20 years ago with 2 good knees but not today.

The vegetation is much heavier here than in Tucson.  Almost looks like home, except of course, for the Saguaro.

Pretty easy to see that these mountains originated from volcanos.

This is one very confused Saguaro.

The cute fuzzy little guys are Cholla Cactus.  They are nicknamed Teddy Bear Cactus which makes some sense given their appearance.  They also have the nickname Jumping Cactus, the reason for which was not initially apparent.  After we brushed past a few of them we understood.  It seems that small branches consisting of dozens of long needle sharp thorns simply jump onto your pants as you walk by.   Their thorns, which we discovered are barbed, imbed into your skin and become very difficult to extract.  I think they should be named Porcupine Cactus.  I'm packing needle nose pliers on the next trek and perhaps some of those kevlar hockey socks.

Once we hit 2 hours we knew something was wrong and decided to head back to the truck.  So a planned 2 hour walk turned into almost 4 hours and we never got a chance to see the Hieroglyphs.  
When we got back to the trailer we checked our the trail map online.  We discovered that we had started at the wrong end of the Lost Goldmine trail.  The shared trailhead was infact only a few miles of paved road from the RV Park.  At least we will know where to go next time.

Back in the comfort of our home on wheels.  Charli reflects how we all felt after our wondering in the desert for 4 hours.  I don't know how the Israelites did it for 40 years.










Got to get to bed now so I don't startle Santa.  Have already put out the milk and cookies for Santa, twice.  Ate the first batch myself.

Later.

Apache Trail and Peralta Trail

On Saturday we headed to the Gym for a morning workout which, it turns out, is a very popular time.  We had lunch and then decided to head out to see the Apache Trail.  Its an old stagecoach route through the mountains and while some of it is paved a good portion is a narrow, rutted, often one lane  dirt road with numerous hairpin turns taking you up and down canyon walls.  I would have gladly swapped out the truck for a short wheel based Jeep.  The views were some of the most spectacular we have seen to date but you will have to take my word for it, at least for the time being.  Just as I was about to take my first picture I realized I had left my cameras' memory card on the table in the trailer.  Nice move Einstein.

The trail is a huge loop starting in Apache Junction and ending up going right past our RV Park.  It took us about 4 hours and that was without many stops so I'm thinking next time we will make a full day of it and leave early in the morning, with a fully functioning camera.

Sunday we decided to try another trail and we chose the Peralta Trail.  We noticed a road sign for it just a couple of miles from our Park.  We turned off the highway and the road turned from asphalt to another rutted, washboard dirt trail.  The local road crews need to get some graders and smooth out these roads.  My truck is great for pulling the 5th wheel down the highway but the suspension is not built for handling rutted back roads.

We got to the parking lot and it was full.  Had to backtrack to an overflow lot and walk back to the trailhead.  There was a map with all the trails in the Superstition Wilderness Area with cross-sections of each trail showing the elevation change.  Peralta has an elevation change of about 1400' so we knew we were in for a workout.  We started along the canyon floor amongst a heavy growth of trees and shrubs.  As we moved up the rock walls towering above us we would soon be back in the  familiar surroundings of sand, rocks and cactus.  For a native Arazonian or perhaps someone used to the Canadian Rockies this trail probably seems pretty tame but for a Prairie boy it was quite exhilarating.

The trail was well marked and there were lots of fellow hikers so no danger of getting lost.  At times the trail was only inches from a sheer drop off and surprisingly the heights didn't bother me too much.   As we neared the top the complaints from my hiking partner started to increase in urgency and we decided to stop just short of the peak.  You can take the girl out of the prairies but you can't take the prairie out of the girl.  I was a little disappointed but Lori's caution proved to be a good thing as I was doing an impression of a peg leg pirate by the time we got to the bottom.

 On the right the trail meanders through the boulders and takes us up the canyon wall.  Eventually we almost get as high as those peaks in the distance.

 

Columns of volcanic rock "needles" show how these canyons were formed.

This shot shows the many different colours of the rock walls.   A nice contrast to the blue sky with wisps of white cloud.

 Looks like someone placed the rock on a pedestal.

 Up and Up we go.

 We started off way down there at the bottom of the V and beyond the canyon walls

 If you look closely you can see a hole in the rock at the top of the picture.  See the little speck of blue.  This is called Weavers Needle.

Got to wonder how long this rock has been perched up there.  Looks like just a little breeze would blow it off.

 Lori picks her way down the trail.  Going down is much more difficult than than going up.  Its so easy to step on some loose gravel and have your foot slide out from under you.
This huge boulder was just sitting there begging to be a backdrop for a picture.







As we started the decent the swelling in my knee made the climb down a bit of a challenge.  My range of motion was down to about 30% of normal so bending it to step down off boulders became impossible.  I managed with one good leg but I'm sure I looked a bit comical to other hikers.

 The old man is just a bit tired.

  We made it back to the truck and, as Lori had signed up for a Yoga class at 7:00, we headed back to the trailer for a well deserved rest.  This little fella was sitting on our newly acquired feeder waiting for us.

We have to go get some groceries on Monday as we have signed up for a Pot Luck Christmas dinner and Lori is making a Greek Salad for 18 people.  Good thing we got the double fridge.  We will probably spend the next few days around the RV Park.  It seems we have been on the go every day and we both need some R&R time.     Hard to believe its Christmas in 3 days.  No snow and temps in the low 60's.  Just doesn't seem right but we will cope.

Later.

Silly Mountain

Why a mountain would get the name Silly is beyond me but thats what the sign said.  Its located only a mile or so from our RV Park and consists of a few relatively short trails.  And very importantly, dog friendly.  We ventured over there on Thursday and started up the trail with Charli leading the way.  It was a fairly easy walk with some good views.  One trail was very aptly named Huff n' Puff as it was a short but rather steep climb.

A view of Superstition Mountains from atop Silly Mountain.

 The contrast between the blue blue sky, white clouds, the changing colour of the vegetation as your eye goes up the mountain side and the tan and red rocks make for a most dramatic view.

Friday morning we went to the Buzz.  The Park serves coffee and donuts and reviews all upcoming events, activities and makes announcements to the park residents.  Similar idea to what we experienced at Rincon in Tucson.  After that was over we went back to the trailer to pick up the Laundry basket and Lori spent the next 1 1/2 hours doing laundry and reading her book.  I went to the gym and spent 25 minutes on the treadmill (like I haven't been getting enough walking in) and another 40 minutes or so lifting weights.  The facility is very nice with all the equipment being in excellent condition.  There were only a few other people using the facility and shortly I had the place to myself so I could grunt and groan as loud as I wanted.

The temp was only in the low 60's but the skies were clear and the sun warmed us right to the bone.  For most of the afternoon we sat outside in shorts and t-shirts, catching up on some reading and placing an order on Amazon.  Lori wanted a Yoga bolster and Amazon had a deal on before Christmas for free shipping and 2 day delivery.  We'll see if they show up on Monday as promised.  After I placed the order I found out that the free shipping option enrols me in their  Amazon Prime service.  Its free for 30 days and then they'll charge my credit card $99 for an annual membership.  Sneaky devils!  Its not something I really want so now I have to make sure I cancel it within the next 30 days or those are going to be really expensive bolsters.

After a nice relaxing afternoon we decided to take Charli on a walk to the residential development across the highway.  Its a 55+ community but not the usual park models that we are surrounded by.  They are either detached or semi-detached houses from 1400 up to 2400 sq ft and priced in the mid-$200,000's.  Its a very pretty area with a beautiful 18 hole golf course and fully equipped clubhouse and community centre.  Much like the park we are in but on a much grander scale.

One habit that Lori and I have developed is that whenever we are away somewhere and we like the neighbourhood we start looking at real estate listings.  I don't know why we do this to ourselves.  I guess its harmless curiosity and we haven't put any offers on anything, so far.

Later
 

Gold Canyon - Our new home.

I have been mostly offline for the past few days as our only WiFi access was by way of the hotspot on my IPhone and I didn't want to burn through my data plan.  After some initial problems we now have our Cable TV and Internet hooked up and in addition to over 80 TV channels we have an advertised 15Mbps download speed through the Cable hookup.  I ran my Net Analyzer app on my iPad and it shows that the download speed at our site is just over 5Mbps so, not as advertised, but still faster than what we have at home.  Speed is certainly addictive and we are going to enjoy this while we are in Gold Canyon.

To catch you up we spent most of Sunday, Dec 14, packing and getting ready to make an early exit on Monday morning.  I even hooked up the truck so we could just unhook the utilities, pull up the landing jacks and we would be off.  Monday morning I was out disconnecting the utilities and one of our neighbours dropped by to wish us safe travels.  He's a nice fella from BC who really likes to chat.  At one point he says to me "don't you hate it when you are trying to get packed up and hit the road and someone stops and starts talking to you".  He paused very briefly to take a breath and kept right on talking about their travels.  We finally got in the truck and pulled out.  I'm sure if I looked in my side mirror he was still there talking to the back of our trailer as we rumbled down the road.

We had been having a problem with our Sidewinder Pinbox/Hitch setup and I had diagnosed the problem, I think, so we had made an appointment at the service dept of LazyDays RV.  Its advertised as the biggest RV Dealer in the US, with locations in Tucson and Tampa.  I'm thinking they have seen our problem before and should be able to diagnose and fix it quickly and we should be on the road by noon.  Our appt was for 9:00 and we arrived on time and after some paperwork and a few minutes to track down their Hitch expert he confirmed that the wedge had slipped, which was my diagnosis.  He said that many installers simply tighten the bolts with the supplied lock washers however with all the vibration they soon loosen.  He readjusted the wedge and this time applied some "lock tight" to the threads of the bolts which act like a cement, locking the bolts in place.  I didn't ask but I'm hoping that the bolts aren't locked in place permanently as I'm sure that another adjustment will be required at some point down the road.  We were on our way shortly after 10:00, ahead of schedule, a great start to our trip.

The highway we took wasn't an Interstate, but rather a 2 lane highway winding through the desert.  Because of traffic and construction it took us a little longer to get out of Tucson and the sprawling suburbs but once we cleared civilization we had a very relaxing drive.   Not being on an Interstate provided us with an up close and personal view of the desert.  At times it felt like we could open a window and reach out and touch the cactus.  I set the cruise at 50mph and enjoyed the scenery.  One of the advantages of having nothing but time.  We arrived at Gold Canyon RV & Golf Resort at about 12:30 which gave us lots of time to get setup and still relax and explore a bit.

After clearing the front security gate we were greeted with this pretty drive up the main street.
At the end of the street we were greeted by the main building which houses the administrative offices and all of the activity facilities.

 This is our little piece of heaven, complete with adornments for Christmas.  We have a few more decorations inside and Lori promises me she is done.  We'll see.

This is the view outside of our door.  This mountain is part of the Superstition Mountain range which is just a few miles away and I am sure a hike or two will take us for a closer look.

 The Golf course weaves its way among the park models.  Its a short 9 hole par 3 course.  Given the quality of my golf game I fear my ball may end up firmly embedded in one of the Park Models windows which appear far too close to the fairways for my liking.

 Gold Canyon is a bedroom community just southeast of Apache Junction which is just outside of Mesa which is outside of Tempe which is outside of Phoenix.  You get the idea.  The sprawl of the greater Phoenix area is HUGE.  And, as we discovered, they have some pretty efficient yet intimidating freeways.

On Tuesday we had to get some groceries and a few other items so we set the GPS and drove up Hwy 60 into Mesa.  Pretty easy to get around so Wednesday we decided to drive all the way over to Glendale which is on the other side of Phoenix and about 100km from our RV Park.  Our destination was Cabela's (the only one in Az) and also to see the Gila River Arena, the home of the Coyotes.  We are going to see them on Jan 8 when the Jets are in town and wanted to get an idea of where we were going.

In the past few years we have heard all about the financial woes of the Phoenix, now Arizona, Coyotes as well as the financial problems of the City of Glendale.  Glendale kept cutting cheques to the NHL to keep the Coyotes in Arizona until the NHL could find a viable owner.  After driving through the area I can see why Glendale City Council kept writing cheques.  Its a great development with the Arena, the absolutely huge white domed football stadium (home of the NFL Cardinals) numerous baseball parks which are the spring training home to various Major League Baseball teams and the Cactus League Spring training games as well as condos, restaurants and shops.  I'm sure the development was a great idea until the 2008 Financial Crisis hit and brought into question the financial viability of not only this development but the City of Glendale itself.  We will get an up close and personal view of this area on Jan 8th, decked out, of course, in our Jets gear.

The ride home was a real adrenaline rush.  It was rush hour and we were on the freeway with thousands of other cars all going somewhere in a real big hurry.  For much of our journey its a 12 lane highway, 6 going one way and 6 going the other.  Speed limit is 65mph and no one, except me, travelled at less than 80mph.  A multitude of On Ramps, Off Ramps and Overhead Crossing Ramps kept me pretty focused and we were doing pretty well until we took one off ramp and while waiting for the next set of directions as the road in front of me forked, I heard, "RECALCULATING".
Ever since we updated our maps program a year or so ago and had to add a SIM card to handle the larger file, our GPS has been a little slow and, shall we say, wonky.  Like for no reason at all it will go from a friendly womans' English voice to some angry dude speaking Afrikaner.  By the time we had recalculated we were on the wrong off ramp and had to take a little detour to get back on the right freeway.  We made it home and only one wrong trun so, all in all, a successful adventure.

Lori gets quite mad at the GPS lady and some day I would not be surprised if I see it flying out of the window.  I'm thinking we will stay off the freeways for a few days so we can all relax a bit.        

Later.