December 2025 – ROADS OF DISCOVERY

On November 14th, It was time for the Nacho party! Everyone got a huge plate of Nachos and fixings.

Everyone filled up on nachos and listened to the fun DJ. It was yummy and fun and you didn’t need dinner that night.

The weather was great that Saturday morning so we walked Cooper around the neighborhood community sale. It was a great way to see people we knew from last year and meet some new people.

On Saturday November 16th, Alicia, Dave, Cathy and myself went out to Dinner and the Theatre. We went to Mama Louisa’s Italian Restaurant for dinner which was delicious! I couldn’t decide what Italian dish I wanted so I got the Mama’s Combo platter and I’m so glad I did! It had lasagna, tortellini and eggplant parmesan plus we got bread sticks with our dinners.

Then off to Gaslight Theatre to ” See Race to the North Pole.”

Our dear friend Cathy treated us to see “Race to the North Pole,” anytime you go to the Gas Light Theatre you know your going to have a great time. Thank You Cathy!

Can it be true? Did the mean and treacherous Wilhelm really steal Santa Claus’ list? Does this mean that children everywhere will wake up to find no presents under their Christmas Tree? We just had to find out and see what was going to happen! Especially with the crazy cast of characters as they began their journey to retrieve Santa’s Christmas list before it’s too late! It was a rib tickling and hand slappin fun!

In case your worried they got Santa’s List back! It was a fun time and after the show they even came out and sang Christmas songs.

On Sunday the 16th, My friend Darlyn and I headed out to the Pima County Fairgrounds for the Coyote Classic Dog Show.

The show is a yearly event and this year they had 3,841 entries over the four day period beginning on Thursday Nov. 13 and finishing on the 17th. It was at the Pima County Fairgrounds representing 142 different breeds. Competitors and Exhibitors include some of the top professional dogs and handlers in the country, including some of the top winners from the Westminster Dog Show.

The Coyote Class Dog Show is open to spectators, like myself and Darlyn. The show had food booths, and vendors selling dog-related products. We saw the different breeds and learned about dog shows.

The first dog was met was Cookie, a very nice dog getting his picture taken, “smile for the camera.”

Then we saw this dog having no trouble balancing on these four blocks.

It was fun seeing the dog Handler’s showing off their dogs.

Another very nice dog, I think it might be a Giant Black Schnauzer but I’m not sure. I sure wouldn’t want to clean up after all the shedding.

This dog is being judged in it’s final stage.

Darlyn was a huskie dog handler in the Iditarod dog race in Alaska and another famous race there. It was a neat experience going to the show with her and hearing her stories.

They didn’t have any Short Haired Collies like our dog Lee, but there was rough haired collies there. Collies, who doesn’t love Collies, Remember Lassie?

When I was little I wanted an Old English Sheep Dog for a pet. We never did get one, I can think of a couple reasons why.

We both thought this dog was so adorable!! It stayed perfectly still for awhile and then just moved slightly. It was definitely posing for the camera.

It was fun watching the Dock Diving Dogs do their thing . . .

I like this picture of Darlyn I took taking a picture of the dogs.

These Toy Russian Terriers are definitely all ears about the show.

This Pomeranian dog looked like a bronze puff ball with a tiny face and legs.

This Dalmatian is thinking, aren’t I handsome?! This poor dog is thinking. . . Where am I ?…I can’t see!

I thought this dog, which I believe is a Bernese Mountain Dog, had a really neat looking coat of hair.

I think dogs laugh at poodles behind their backs they way their cut and groomed. Seriously, doesn’t the poodle in the second picture look adorable without a silly poodle cut?

This is Dash, he’s a sweet heart. We thought he was a sure winner . . . unfortunately not this show but wait till the next show.

This dog is a Borzoi or Russian Hunting Sighthound. It’s a greyhound with long, long hair.

I only saw one Greyhound like our dog Taylor and not any whippets, we weren’t there on the day they were.

But I had to include Cooper in this post after seeing so many great dogs like him.

It was a neat experience going to the dog show and seeing how they prepare their dogs for the show. We were behind the scenes into the grooming are training areas. I watch the Thanksgiving Day Dog Show and sometimes catch The Westminster Dog Show and now I have an idea of all the work and preparation that goes into a show, especially behind the scenes.

Our beautiful table setting Denise put together.

It was a delicious Thanksgiving Dinner – complete with great friends, side dishes and desserts.

It was nice to greet other people we knew and didn’t know and say “Happy Thanksgiving” to them as well. We figure there was about 240 people in the ballroom. There was approximately 142 people at the very first Thanksgiving.

On November 30th, I went with my friend Marcia to the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon to Bird Watch. I’ve been there a few times with her and her followers. It’s always a fun time to learn about birds and be outside.

Santa Rita Lodge It is located in the Coronado National Forest and is a world-renowned bird watching location at an elevation of 5,000 feet. This morning we had to wear layers of clothing to keep warm until the sun came over the mountains. Over 250 species of birds have been identified in Madera Canyon.

The bird on the sign is a Mexican Jay . . not a Blue Jay.

They have all kinds of Humming Birds here, this one is a male Berylline Humming bird. They are really pretty and frequent the lodge.

A neat fact I learned about Hummingbirds is that they consume about 3-7 calories per day. If you scale them up to the size of a human, it is 155,000 calories PER DAY! We would need wings that go as fast as theirs do to be as skinny and little like they are.