“Make hay in May for you may never know what June is coming with and you may never know what July will present! When you see May, make hay!” ―Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

 Sabino Canyon is one of the most popular hiking and recreation areas in Southern Arizona. For more than a century, Tucsonans have made their way into the Catalina Foothills to picnic and play in the scenic canyon. What is nice is thar it is a National Forest, so if your old like us you can use your National Park Pass to get in at no cost.

On May 1st, we hiked on over to Sabino Canyon, Also known as An Oasis in the Desert. We have been to Sabino Canyon a few times last year and this year, as it’s a great spot for hiking and taking in the scenery.

Hiking on familiar roads and paths we’ve been on before.

Hiking now off the familiar path. Sabino Canyon is a unique place where there is mountains and water in the desert.

We noticed the nest above, is right inside a cactus’s branches. Ouch!! It’s the nest of a Cactus wrens, they are skilled at slipping through the sharp spines of cactus thickets, choosing to build nests and raise their young there.

On a hot day in Tucson, we did what Tucsonans do. Go for a hike and find the nearest water spot, take your shoes off and enjoy. It felt really good.

Sabino Canyon is located in the Santa Catalina Mountains in the Coronado National Forest. The Santa Catalina Mountains began forming 12 million years ago. There is evidence in pieces of pottery, or shards, and pit house foundations that the Hohokam people lived in the canyon between 300 and about 1400 AD.  With the Gadsden Purchase in 1854, Sabino Canyon became part of the United States.

In 1890, the Forest Preservation Act was passed by the United States Congress and in 1905 the Forest Service was created.

In 1938 two ladies relax in Sabino Canyon and in 1959 University of Arizona students are doing the same.

In 1992 two guys runnung across the top pf the dam and people swimming at the bottom of the dam in 2010.

Cars were allowed to drive up the canyon through the 1950s and 60s.

In 1978, the first shuttlebus service began in the canyon. Soon after cars were no longer allowed. Today, trams take Sabino Canyon visitors to the end of the road. In addition to riding the tram, people hike, bike, swim, and picnic in the Sabino Recreation Area.

A great hike at the canyon.

What a great way to end our hiking trip, with a stop at Little Anthony’s for a chocolate shake. We also had chicken fingers and fries. It was very good.

If you like the color pink, this is Little Anthony’s Pink Flamingo. All hitched up and ready to go.

Jennifer my sister and Doug her husband gave us a restaurant gift certificate forour anniversary in February and we used it at

It advertises Real Southern Smoked BBQ in Arizona.

We started out with a bottle of Vodka which Dave is pouring in our glasses, Actually it’s water.

Dave had a pulled pork sandwhich and fries. I had a Smoked Zucchini & Grilled Cauliflower Steak, which was cauliflower and zucchini grilled with roasted cherry tomatoes, onion, pepper and a bit of cheese then smoked in tomatoe-vinaigrette, It was really good! Who needs meat?

It was fun and the food was delicious! Thank you Jennifer & Doug.

How Exciting, Fat Willy’s restaurant at Voyager now has what is called “Wednesday Night Bar Bingo”

What the heck, me and a couple of my friends from Voyager have been going.

During the busy season Voyager has Tuesday night Bingo in the Ball Room. The place is big and it’s packed, with money prizes in the $300 & $400 range. We don’t go to that cause it’s well . . .boring.

On May 20th we left Voyager RV Resort to head back to Niagara County NY to see our families and friends.

Our first stop was

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Then

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And then

It took seven years, $13 million, and 43,226 tons of stainless steel to build the Gateway Arch. The Arch is 630 feet high, situated in St. Louis, Missouri. On June 2, 1987, it became listed as a National Historic landmark, being the world’s tallest arch and the tallest human-made monument in the western hemisphere. They say on a clear day you can see a 30-mile views over the St. Louis skyline and the Mississippi River. We didn’t go inside this time but maybe next time.

When we were staying at St. Louis we heard this very, very loud noise we thought it was from a factory we could see, but it was the cicadas! You know those bugs you’ve been hearing about on the radio & tv.

This spring marks the first time since Thomas Jefferson was president 221 years ago that periodical cicada Broods XIII and XIX will emerge in the U.S. at the same time. There could be as many as 60 billion cicadas in St. Louis city alone,” said Nicole Pruess, invertebrate keeper at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House. Cicadas are the only insects capable of producing such a unique and loud sound. They can produce a call in excess of 120 decibels at close range. This is approaching the pain threshold of the human ear!

But. . . It might not be as bad for some people who might have an inkling to eat one, as cicadas are high in protein, fiber and minerals. Anything you can make with shrimp you can make with cicadas,” said Pruess, who said it’s best to collect them just after they emerge and have molted, so their exoskeleton is still soft. “I’m very excited to try it.” I know we’ll pass on that.

We also stayed in

This one “humanized deer” was close to where we stayed .

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Stayed overnight in Willoughby Ohio

We stayed at our friends Bill & Barb’s house.

Bill & Barb took us to a brand new ice cream parlor by them. Because of the location of Jojo’s I know it will do good and people will continue to keep coming back, I know I would. 😊🍦

Jojo’s is by Osborne Park a lakefront park located on the shore of Lake Erie in Willoughby. It has a great swimming pool that has really tall water slides, plus a lot of other amenities. The pool is huge, we could do our laps, me with a big noodle underneath my arms like I do at Voyager.

We truly enjoyed ourselves visiting our dear friends Barb & Bill. Thank you again for your time, hospitality and great memories. You guys are the Best. 🥰

May 25th arrived in North Tonawanda, NY , where we’re we staying until September.

One of my cousins had a Memorial Day Party

How many of you have tried Weber’s new mustard potato chips? Weber’s is a big name in mustard in Western NY. We all thought they were good.

It was a nice day so how about tossing water balloons at each other?

Only a few brave people joined in.

And then the heavy loaders came out . . .

We had a fun day and it was really nice to see some of our family.

Welcome

On June 3rd we helped our dear friends Beth & Fran move to Tennessee.

It didn’t take much time at all and they were loaded up and ready to go. We’re going to miss them not being in the area 😒, but we know for sure we’ll see them in our travels.

“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.” – Paulo Coehlo.

If by chance your planning a trip to The Canadian side or American side of Niagara Falls make sure you have the correct paper work to get you across both borders. It’s definitely better to see the Falls from the American side as you can see Horseshoe Falls (also known as the Canadian Falls) Which is definitely the largest falls. Nearly 90% of the Niagara River flows over these falls. Goat Island separates the Horseshoe Falls from the Bridal Veil Falls, which is on the American side. If it’s a nice day you have to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist.

June 4 th

Nestled in the corner of the Niagara Region just beyond Niagara Falls, the picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake definitely has old town charm, you feel as though your walking thru a 19th century village. It’s only about a 20 minute drive from the Canidian falls. It has much history and is bordered on both sides by waterfront among lush gardens.  Wander along the streets and you discover boutiques, antique shops and bistros, wineries and even a horse drawn carriage or two.

My friend Marcia, from Tucson also was in the area, so we visited Niagara-On-The-Lake.

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Marcia & myself lived in the area so we both new about Niagara Home Bakery. The bakery was eatablished in the 1960s and has contiuned to make awesome bake goods. We just had to stop in and buy some sweet treats.

Niagara-on-the-Lake is also hot spot for film makers. In fact several popular movies and television shows have been filmed here such as Dead Zone, The Ref, The Old Feeling, When Michael Calls, Canadian Bacon, etc. and TV shows like, Kings of Napa.  Looking like a little village that’s straight out of a Christmas movie, it’s no coincidence that Niagara-On-The-Lake has been used several times as a location for Christmas movies. Including he Holiday Calendar, Christmas Inheritance and a few Hallmark movies as well.

the clock tower they have as been in different movies.

We went to Niagara on the Lake when I was little and I remember it looking like these pictures. So check it out in the winter too.

 Father’s Day, in the United States is the (third Sunday in June) to honour fathers. Credit for originating the holiday is generally given to Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, whose father, a Civil War veteran, raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth.

We all love our Dads, and miss them when their no longer here, you can have a father figure in your life that can be uncles, grandfathers, god fathers, elder brothers, family, friends, father’s of dogs, etc.

Someone you connect with on a emotional level. Actually there were two fathers there but lots of other “father’s” like Dave were there. It was a good time.

（づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～（づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～（づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～（づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～

I can’t believe that it’s the end of June already, and what have we been doing? You know when you get older you go back home because of doctor’s appointments, we’ve been doing such.

We would like to express our sincere concerns for our dear friends Bill, Mike, Mary and Jeff, and their families as they have been going thru their own specific health concerns. They are all brave, awesome individuals that are going thru a rough bout but will make it thru being stronger, confident while always being the priceless folks they are. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

The roses are blooming all around Voyager, boy do they smell nice.

Voyager has a flute circle in the park. A group of people who play the flute, teach the flute and plan events.

Each year they have famous flutist’s play at Voyager.

I went again this year, I like listening to the flute players. The sounds it makes can be both soothing and inspiring, or like this last guy in the picture upbeat and lively.

We went for a walk across the street to the desert.

 Checking out the Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) above. The color is so vibrant and pretty.

Walking on a trail and suprise!

And suddenly there was a bunch of them checking us out. We figured we best get out of there. The cattle are wild and we didn’t want to press our luck. We’ve walked all different paths here, how neat to see the herd of cattle roamng about.

We took another hike to Saguaro National Park West to hike a different trail to see Petroglyphs in a different area.

At Red Hills visiting center

We started hiking down the Manville Trail to Signal Hill, then to Encinas Trail and back on to Manville trail. A good trail lots to see.

The first picture is Dave hiking on the trail and then a Saguaro is giving us the peace sign. The one next to him is rather nosey.

We’re on Signal Hill where the Petroglyphs are.

We also saw Cristate or “crested” saguaros. The growing tip of a saguaro’s main stem or arms form cells in the growing stem and begin to divide outward, rather than in the circular pattern of a normal cactus. This is an unusual mutationform in the cells is which result in the growth of a large fan-shaped crest that looks like broccoli.

How about a visit to the Tucson Botanical Gardens! On Tuesday April 23rd, that’s what we did.

On Tuesday morning we went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens, and found it to be an amazing 5.5-acre area in busy midtown Tucson. It has impressive collection of plants spread across a variety of 20 themed gardens, including a rose garden, zen garden, herb garden, shade garden, and cactus and succulent garden, etc.

Tucson Botanical Garden began as Rutger and Bernice Porter’s family home (built in the 1920s) and their business, Desert Gardens Nursery. When Rutger Porter died in 1964, Bernice donated the property to the City of Tucson, but she continued to live in the house. Bernice passed away in 1983, and the city deeded the property to Tucson Botanical Garden.

The Ocotillo is Dave’s favorite cactus cause of the way it looks, the color and it’s sharp spikes.

I know we’ve all seen these very neat but shocking sculptures. Each sculpture illustrates the tragedy of plastic pollution and aims to encourage conversations about how individuals can reduce the amount of single-use plastics in their lives to help improve water quality. The Washed Ashore artists have intentionally placed familiar items like buckets and shovels at children’s eye level to convey the importance of keeping beaches clean.

What Defines a Botanic Garden? A botanical garden is not merely a collection of plants but a meticulously curated space dedicated to studying, displaying, and conserving plant species. These gardens serve multiple purposes to Research, Conservation and Education.

Strolling through the many different cacti.

In this area they had cacti in pots, a kind of a look and touch section.

It’s fun how the cacti are named like the Bishop Cap cactus, Boxing Glove Cholla cactus and the Mexican Old Man Cactus each resembeling their names.

We knew that Barrel Cacti look like a barrel. We didn’t realize that there is different types. Each type has its own unique characteristics, but they all share that classic barrel-like shape. The first picture is a Hatpin cactus, then a Red cactus, followed by a Fire cactus, and then a Fish hook cactus, the spines are curved at the ends to look like a fish hook. Last is a Golden cactus. When they bloom they all have beautiful flowers.

Moseying once again thru various cacti.

There is a lot of Mesquite trees in the deserts.

I love Grapefruit, I don’t know about you but I’m glad they came into being.

The Floral Patio is a really nice spot with all the beautiful flowers and their wonderful smells.

The Herb Garden was very nice too. With all kinds of herbs different herbs. These are some of the ones I use, First herb is peppermint, spearmint, rosemary and lemon grass, Plus lots more that I shpuld use.

We liked the names of these plants in the Desert Ramada. Like the Melon Spurge, Snowflake, Baseball, Live stones, like the green ones, Green ice, Lady Finger and the Horse Clipper Cactus, I wouldn’t want to be the horse that stepped on it.

The Kitchen Courtyard had a nice sitting area, as most of them did.

Tranquil Oasis in the Heart of the City

Dave is sifting the sand in the Zen Rock Garde. It is a special place is given to every plant, rock and the sand in an effort to create harmony, tranquility and balance. Zen gardens are designed to create sense of balance and harmony.

Uncluttered spaces help unclutter the mind, invoking a kind of meditative state

The act of raking and sifting the sand and creating patterns is a meditative practice that can help promote mindfulness and inner peace. In addition, the color and texture of the sand can affect the atmosphere of the garden, creating different moods and emotions.

 

I really enjoyed the The Barrio garden, it is where the landscape reflects a traditional sense of place where family and heritage guide the growing of plants that nurture both body and spirit. Often hidden behind sheltering walls, these gardens remain an integral part of Tucson’s Hispanic cultures. Hispanics recycle family momentos like the bikes, tire swings and spikes, things that a family member used as well as recycle items like chairs, bathtubs, sinks, pots, etc. to put in their Barrio Gardens. Do you have any handed down things like silverware or lots of keys in a drawer, how about making some wind chimes.

It seems every where you look there’s a picture to take.

They have a Butterfly & Orchid Pavilion too! All kinds of beautiful butterflies and orchids. The big muti-colored moth that’s brown with other colors is called an Atlas Moth, she lives in the forests in Asia, her wingspan is 9 inches across. She is a big & beautiful moth.

We both enjoyed the botanical gardens, with all the different types of flowers, cacti etc.

My mom loved gardening with her different flower beds all around our house. Her fondness for gardening didn’t get past down to me. A lot planning and work go into gardening, my bestie Mary has beautiful gardens surrouning her house, also my friend Cindy.

Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.

~ Liberty Hyde Bailey

Dave found a new place in Tucson to get Chicken Fingers, Raising Cane it isn’t in NY yet but it is going to be soon. I have to admit I like it too.

April was a great month, good weather for hiking in lots of scenic places and also visiting awesome places and taking part in activities here.

Avast ye! hearties and scallwags we be singing a shanty cuz we found our doubloons. So grogfilled we be feasting on our salmagundi at the galley. That’s pirate talk for well . . . I’m not saying.

On Tuesday March 12th, we went to the Gaslight theatre, our third time there, to see The Curse of the Pirate’s Gold. “There’s romance and adventure a-plenty as the buccaneers search the Spanish Main for the Lost Pirate’s Treasure. Our merry pirate band encounters sea-shanties and rip-roaring action as The Captain and his mateys tirelessly try to avoid the infamous dreaded curse as they go in search of The Pirate’s Gold”

It was a lot of fun and laughs.

I just want to be a pirate…But I couldn’t get my ship together. May your anchor be tight, your cork be loose, your rum be spiced and your compass be true. Captain, can I bend your ear? Not for free; it’s a buccaneer.

After The Curse of the Pirates Gold, they did a spinoff on the “Hee Haw Show” it was just as good and corny as the show on TV, if your old enough to remember it.

Hee Haw was an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971. It was hosted by country music stars Buck Owens and Roy Clark. It was really corny but lots of fun to watch and the Play they did was just as memorable and funny as the show.

Our “Hee Haw Olio” is a hoot! 🤠🌽 Part of the fun! If your ever in the Tucson, AZ. area you should stop and see a show at The Gaslight Theatre.

We ventured once again to Sweetwater Preserve, south all the way down Tortolita Road you’ll hit a dead end, a parking lot and you’re at Sweetwater Preserve.

Sweetwater has 15 trails so we headed to the Desperado Loop to NightHawk then Oxbow to Red Tail, Red Canyon, Ocotilla Hill up to Wildflower then Roller Coaster and we were done.

We went for a lengthy hike in the desert but it was fun for us two old codgers.

This sign is at the enterance tells about Joseph Conrad Fraps. He came to Arizona from North Carolina in 1908 and was a railway machinist. To fulfill the requirements of the 1862 Homestead Act, Mr. Fraps built his house right in Sweetwater Preserve. He dug a well, built and lived in a one-room wooden shack with a metal roof and raised goats on the land, and paid $18 in fees and commissions. He was there from 1927 until he died in 1963. He was 90 years of age.

You can’t built anywhere in Sweetwater now, but people build their mansions as close as they can to the Preserve to look at the great views. So much for Joseph Fraps one room house.

“If seeds waited for perfect conditions to grow, there would be no plants in the desert.”

– Matshona Dhliwayo

On Thursday March 31, We finally got to see the Voyager Wild Dogs softball team in action!

Voyager Wildcats are a co-ed softball team, players have to be 55+ to play, they are sponsored by Voyager RV resort. They have games on Thursday mornings here at Voyager. There is one lady on the team and I have to applaud her because she is good and she still plays the game. I couldn’t be out there playing it’s been so, so, long since I played on a team.

I always liked that song. We got free fresh baked chocolate chip cookies that were delicious and a Sonoran hot dog from the food truck, yummy. It was a fun morning for us but we don’t know if they won or lost because we had to leave before the game was over. Hopefully we can attend another game.

Arizona National Scenic Trail

We were on a small portion of The Arizona National Scenic Trail. It is a trail that goes from Mexico to Utah that spans the whole north–south length of Arizona. The trail begins at the Coronado National Memorial near the US–Mexico border and moves north through parts of the Huachuca, Santa Rita, and Rincon Mountains.  The lenght of the trail is 800 miles.

We started our hike at the Gabe Zimmerman Davidson Canyon Trailhead.

The trailhead ” Gabe Zimmerman Davidson Canyon,” is a memorial for him. On January 8, 2011, at a Safeway in Tucson a gunman killed six and wounded 13, Gabe Zimmerman was one of the six who died. He was 30 years old and was a well known congressional aide and social worker. He hiked all around this area.

It’s a nice trail and it was great to see all the greenary along the way, Walking along we came to small area with water and then we came to where we had to cross a wide area of water. Dave & Cooper were all for it but . . . Not me. All I could see was myself getting all wet, not a pretty site. So we turned around and went down the Bicycle Bypass which didn’t take us where we wanted as we wanted to hike by the railroad trestles and bridges.

It was a great day for a hike, the temperature was perfect and we saw a lot of green scenery. And they say Arizona isn’t green.

On Friday March 29th we went Saguaro National Park, West. Both East & West parks are in Tucson and are home to the nation’s largest cacti. The giant saguaro is the universal symbol of the American west. These majestic plants, found only in a small portion of the United States, are protected by Saguaro National Park, to the east and west.

We were greeted by a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. He didn’t have much to say.

We took the Kings Canyon Trail Wash that follows the sandy wash bottom between the canyon walls to the junction and return via the King Canyon trail (an old mining road). There were several rocky “stair-step like” sections in the wash bottom. There is also an old stone building built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930s on the trail.

Dave & I both like Saguaro Park West the most, due to it’s rocky terrain.

About a mile up the trail on both sides of the wash by a small damn, there were petroglyphs. Created by the local Hohokam people, who called southern and central Arizona home from approximately 450 to 1450 AD. The petroglyphs are believed to have been created during that time.

Petroglyphs are created by removing part of the rocks darker surface patina or desert varnish. There are multiple techniques thought to have created these petroglyphs, and it’s believed most of them here have been pecked out through indirect percussion, meaning a second rock is used like a chisel between a stone and the host rock’s surface.

The cabin the CCC built.

“National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”

Horace McFarland, president, American Civic Assn., 1916:

Ironwood Forest National Monument is located in Marana in the Sonoran Desert. The monument covers 129,055 acres and contains a significant system of cultural and historical sites covering a 5,000-year period. This also includes several desert mountain ranges including the Silver Bell, Waterman, and Sawtooth, with desert valleys in between.

A large number ironwood trees Olneya tesota) are found in the monument area, along with two federally recognized endangered animal and plant species. More than 200 Hohokam Indian archaeological sites have been identified in the monument, dated between 600 and 1450.

The ironwood tree is notable for its slow growth rates and extremely dense wood. Its wood even sinks in water. While scientists consider ironwood to be the “old growth” tree of the desert, standard tree-ring dating of its wood is difficult. Estimates show some trees to be 800 years old, and it is likely that they live even longer.

Titan II Missile Interpretive Site

Located in the mist of The Ironwood Forest was once a full operational Titan Missle Site. Which thet say many Arizonans don’t know about, it was dedicate on November 17, 2016. The U.S. Air Force and the BLM partnered in the conversion of Titan Missile Site 570-3 into a historical interpretive site. They took out or buried whatever was in the site.

Signs and ground where it once stood are all that remain of the Titan ll Missle. This site is one of 18 surrounding Tucson Arizona. The Titan II Missile sites were located in three places in the U.S. as a deterrent to nuclear war during the cold war period. They were also in Arkansas and Kansas and they were manned 24/7 for 24 years, from 1963 to 1987.  Each site was capable of launching a Titan II Missile in 58 seconds in case of attack on the United States from Russia. The Titan II missiles were capable of 25 times the speed of sound and had a target range of 5500 miles. Russia had the same weaponry aiming at the United States at that time. Scientists say that if a missle hit the US or Russia nothing in the area would have survived.

People can come here now to check out the Sonoran desert plants and get an informative tour of a piece of military history.

Dave & I visited the Titan Missile Museum which is in Green Valley AZ. on November 17th, 2023, which is the only preserved Titan II missile site, officially known as complex 571-7. It is all that remains of the 54 Titan II missile sites that were on alert across the United States from 1963 to 1987.

 

Since we were in Marana we read about a cactis that had 80 arms! So we had to check out.

Dave is counting her arms.

Here is ‘Shiva” the Saguaro and her 80 arms. The name “Shiva” references a Hindu god often depicted with many arms.

They say it’s a normal, large saguaro, well over a hundred years old.” “Probably something to do with one of the hormones in the cactus that control that kind of stuff.” “It’s not rare to have an arm grow an arm, but it’s not ever as common as this.” Shiva is a healthy and happy saguaro that could be around for long time if it isn’t disturbed.

Different views of Shiva.

We hope everyone had a Happy Easter.

We had a great March here in Tucson. Took great hikes and saw beautiful scenery.

Words that describe Arizona

The Talented Quilt Makers who pick out the material and use their kownledge and imagination and time to create these masterpieces are awesome!

Characteristics of Quilting: Quilting is a method of stitching of layers of material together. The use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvistional pieceing, minimalism, expansive negative space, and alternate grid work.

Just a sample of the quilts that were in the show. Another great quilt show, and I won $100 at the raffle they had!

A quilt will warm your body and comfort your soul

I‟m a material girl – want to see my fabric collection?

We celebrated Dave’s Birthday February 27th at our friends Garth & Sharon’s house.

Garth made this really nice wooden bowl for Dave’s snacks.

This cacti has eyes, a nose and ears on top of his head.

I know, it looks kinda like a Teddy Bear?

More beautiful sunsets in Tucson from the park.

Dedicated in February 2011, the Julian Wash Greenway is part of the Chuck Huckelberry Loop. The Huckelberry Loop is 130+ miles of paved pathways all around Tucson. So bring out your bike, your sneakers, skate board, scooter even your horse and enjoy the scenery.

The trailhead parking lot where we started is near Voyager at 7501 S. Kolb Road (one mile north of I-10). The trailhead parking areas have a restroom and drinking fountain, so that’s nice. Also on The Tucson/Huckelberry Loop trail is an impressive lineup of art and sculptures along the path to enjoy. The Loop connects parks, trailheads, bus and bike routes, workplaces, restaurants, schools, hotels and motels, shopping areas, and entertainment places. Visitors and Pima County residents definitely enjoy The Loop. It was Voted the Best Recreational Trail by USA today in 2022.

Artwork on the Loop.

The Loop connects parks, trailheads, bus and bike routes, workplaces, restaurants, schools, hotels and motels, shopping areas, and entertainment places. Visitors and Pima County residents definitely enjoy The Loop. It was Voted the Best Recreational Trail by USA today in 2022. It’s a really nice path to walk or ride whatever.

How about some good old Blues Tunes.

A fun blues concert in the late afternnon and the hot pretzels were good too!

We hiked at the The Sweetwater Preserve. It is a 880+ acre preserve located in the eastern foothills of the Tucson Mountains. It’s only 1/2 mile from Saguaro National Park West) our favorite and Tucson Mountain District. It is a biological research preserve owned by the University of Arizona.

We started at the marker to the Saguaro Vista Trail to The Roller Coaster Trail then followed Wildflower Ridge Trail to The Spine Trail and back. Great walk with lots of great scenery.

It was nice to see the flowers blooming in the desert. Dave & I have like and admire Saguaro Cacti. It’s kinda like the saguaros have personalities cause their so different looking with all their arms and legs. Like in the fifth picture it looks like the cactus grew legs and is ready to start walkin in the desert.

There are quite a lot of old and wise saguaros here. They only place they grow in the world is in the Sonoran Desert in Tucson Az.

What is nice about Sweet Water Preserve and other desert areas you can mountain bike. We came across a few people riding their bikes some of them had their dogs running behind them. It definitely woldn’t be an easy task on most of the trails they have here, you really have to be one with your bike to handle the rough terrain especially going through and over the rocks.

Voyager has concerts in the ballroom every Wednesday. They have actual groups or singers, Dave and I have gone to some. On Wednesday March 6th, was Listen to the Music a Doobie Brothers Tribute band. They weren’t the real deal but the band sounded just as good. My friend Marcia had an extra ticket and I am so glad she gave it to me.

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC is a tribute to the Doobie Brothers which has some of the best musicians and singers in Canada. These very talented musicians. They definitely give their audiences a true experience of seeing and hearing the Doobie Brothers band perform live. If you like the Doobie Brothers Music you will want to see this amazing show . As Listen to the Music travels out and about all over the USA and Canada.

Dave & I wanted to check Hotrods Old Vail for something to eat. It is a racing themed bar, restaurant and a restoration garage located in Tucson. Where you can eat and and watch the retoration of cars behind the glass windows.

Hotrod’s likes to honor America’s love for the automobile. The design of the building has a working custom body shop garage with a high-volume split level restaurant.  Multi-use spaces are used to have backdrops for car shows, bike rallies, drag races, and special events. It also has an elevated patio to watch the car races.

Dave is looking at the menu and to his left you can see the classic cars that are being worked on thru the glass windows.

it was a neat building, It would be a great place to see a race, bike rallies, etc. and the food was good too!

On March 17th, I went on a birding trip with my friend Marcia, the bird lady. We met up with a lot of other birders as it is an important event for watching hawks in Tubac AZ. Actually this event attracts bird watchers from all over the world. Hundreds of bird watchers come here daily from March 1st -31st.

“Several thousand raptors (bird of prey) migrate north above the Santa Cruz River to the delight of birders from near and far.  Among the hawks that migrate through is the Common Black Hawk.  Over half of these southern hawks enter the United States through our valley, many roosting in our cottonwoods overnight before continuing their journey.  March 2024 will be the 12th year that Peter Collins will count the hawks over Ron Morriss County Park.”

It was a nice morning and I got to see the Tubac area which Dave and I want to go and spend a day here. It is the oldest Spanish settlement in AZ. with lots of history, shops and resturants. Lots of things to see and do. At the bird watch today we saw a Black Hawks which are only seen in the canyons of the lower Southwest states and Mexico.

           ”In the desert, we’re all thirsty for adventure”                “Wanderlust and desert dust.”

Everyone had a great time and the ivory keys were smokin.

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Society proudly presents the 69th Tucson Gem and Mineral Show from January 25- February 11, 2024

“Pegmatites – Crystals Big and Beautiful!”

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is the world’s largest gem and mineral show, and it has been held annually in Tucson, Arizona since 1955. The show is produced by the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, and it is held in February.

These gems are huge.

The first Tucson Gem and Mineral Show was held in a small elementary school in 1955. The show was a success, it kept growing and growing, it’s now in the convention center and in large tents all around Tucson. The Show is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tucson. The show attracts over 50,000 visitors each year, from all over the world and it features over 2,000 dealers from around the world. The show has a huge variety of gems, minerals, fossils, jewelry, and other items.

We went to the 22nd street exhibit that is in this huge, huge tent.

Lapidary Dave is showing us what Lapidary is. It’s the art of cutting a stone, gem or mineral seeing what it looks like on the inside and then polishing the item.  It takes different kinds of machinery and tools to look like the end result. Lapidary has its roots in prehistory, as early humans began fashioning tools and weapons from stone. In time, these techniques were also used for items of personal decorations. Stone carving has evolved as an art in many cultures throughout the world. 

The apple-green gemstone is called an Australian Chrysoprase and it had it’s first debut at the 2024 show. It’s a rare and highly prized. 

Gemstones according to history and archaeology tell us that gemstones have been appreciated for their spiritual powers and their beauty since they were first taken from riverbeds and sandy shores.

Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans decorated themselves in protective good luck charms, pendants and bracelets made of stones and gems not only for their magical powers but even for the journey into the afterlife.

With the arrival of the industrial age and modern medicine you would think it would be over for healing crystals but I hear they are probably more popular now than at any time in history. I even have some from our trip to Sedona a few years back. If they help along the way I can’t say.

I guess people instead of taking pills or seeing a doctor they turn to gemstones for physical and emotional healing. People say that a gemstone’s spiritual meaning is the emotional and physical benefits that it can bring into your life.

We think these Pyrite crystals are so unusual because they are all square without being cut that way. It’s cubed pyrite crystals are formed through a process called cubic crystal growth, which occurs when the mineral is in a liquid or aqueous solution and is in a state of supersaturation. The process is driven by the natural tendency of the mineral to form symmetrical shapes and the presence of sulfur and iron ions. The temperature and pressure conditions, as well as the presence of impurities, also play a role in the formation of cubed pyrite crystals. These crystals can be found in a variety of environments and are often associated with other minerals. I know, I know, what the heck are they talking about? However they are definitely a neat looking crystal.

Some unusal items they had at the show. 

Figures it was sold as we wanted to purchase it for inside the RV. 😂

Some more items at the show. It was a very insterting show we learned things and had a good time.

       *****************************************************************************

It rained a full day so that’s a good time to go to the canyon, when the water is flowing. We’ve been there a few times, once when it was completely dry and again after it snowed in the mountains. We went to check it out and hike.

Times have changed in Sabino Canyon. It’s been a long time since you could drive a vehicle in Sabino canyon, they have shuttle you can use now if you choose and the driver tells you about the history of the canyon.

In Tucson’s early days, people took picnics to Sabino Canyon. In 1887, there was a big earthquake in Mexico, 150 miles away from Sabino Canyon. Many of the huge boulders you see in the canyon fell from the canyon walls or were moved in that quake. In 1890, the Forest Preservation Act was passed by the United States Congress and in 1905 when the Forest Service was created, Sabino Canyon came under its care.

You can see the dam flowing because of the rain.

The Scarecrow : Pardon me, this way is a very nice way.                  Dorothy : Who said that?                                   The Scarecrow : [points other way]  It’s pleasant down that way, too.           Dorothy : That’s funny. Wasn’t he pointing the other way?                    The Scarecrow : [points both ways]  Of course, some people do go both ways.

“Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley”. –  Theodore Roethke

On Tuesday February 13, In Fry’s parking lot, there sat the Wienermobile!

We were excited to see the Wiener.

There are presently 6 “Wienermobiles” traveling around in the Untited States. They are used to promote and advertise their products in the United States. The first Wienermobile was created by Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl G. Mayer, in 1936.

It’s new space age design.

The driver of a Wienermobile is called The Hotdogger. The Hotdogger’s job is to “meat” and greet people around the country. The duties of a Hotdogger are sharing photos and videos on social media, answering questions about the brand and the vehicle.

Only college seniors who are about to graduate are eligible to be Hotdoggers, Oh darn it all, sounds like a great job. Applicants should be graduating with communication skills. A Hotdogger’s assignment is for only one year. Recruiting for each year’s new Hotdoggers quad involves current Hotdoggers and Oscar Mayer recruiters visiting college campuses across the country. In 2018, 7,000 people applied to be Hotdoggers. As each Wienermobile carries three Hotdoggers, only 24 Hotdoggers are selected each year.

We talked to the Hotdogger we saw and she mentioned that Oscar Meyer treated them very well as to where they ate, their accomodations as well as spending money.

I think the 1952 has a lot of class.

Remember The song (Oscar Mayer Weiner by Richard D. Trentlage) that aired in 1963?

🎵Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Mayer wiener. That is what I’d truly like to be.

‘Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener, Everyone would be in love with me.🎶

I don’t know about you but I’m hungry for a hotdog.

Tucson Mountain Park was established in April 1929. The Pima County Parks Commission, with C. B. Brown as its chairman, was established to oversee the park. At approximately 20,000 acres, the park is one of the largest natural resource areas owned and managed by a local government in the U.S. The park has approximately 62 miles of non-motorized shared-use trials.

Around the area of Tucson Mountain Park there is Gates Pass and Kinney Roads that are very senic with many pull offs for picnics and taking pictures. Also Saguaro National Park (West District), Old Tucson, and the Sonoran Desert Museum are amongst Mountian Park. 

From the Camino de Osete Trailhead we took the Yetman Trail, the trail takes you into desert hills with plenty of cacti. There are other interescting trails along the way which are sometimes marked. The trail takes you to the “Stone House” which is what we came to see.

“If seeds waited for perfect conditions to grow, there would be no plants in the desert.”

– Matshona Dhliwayo

In this remote valley is the remaining stone walls of this 1930s ranch house built here. The Bowen Homestead, also called the Bowen Stone House, was constructed at this hidden and out of the way location in the early 1930s by Sherry and Ruby Bowen. At the time, Sherry was the city editor at the Arizona Daily Star. They decided to move out West for Ruby’s health, as she had heart problems. They started a homestead in the Sonoran Desert Mountain Park and eventually expanding their land to some 2,000 acres.

The above picture is what is left of the bathroom, their bathtub.

What is left of the stone ranch house is only the foundation walls. But they have withstood the desert winds, heat, and storms for more than eight decades. You can see traces of old fireplaces, and the empty frames of what were once huge picture windows where the Bowens would have looked out at the cacti and mesquite trees that cover this rough landscape, also looking at the wild horses, deer, sheep, and other animals that came to nibble in their valley. It provides a look ito the family’s somewhat rugged existence during the Great Depression and World War II.

The only photo taken of the house when they left with the walls and ceiling still remaining.

Mr. Sherry Bowen and his dog Penny. Their trusty mule.

A neat place to find out in the middle of knowwhere and imagine how they lived.

February 22nd George Washington’s birthday, and Martha Washington came all the way over to Tucson to put on a show for us. We were so glad she did.

Martha first talked of how the women dressed in the 18th century with corsets or ‘stays’ as they were called,  A conical shape that pushed the bust right up to the top of the dress.  The back of the corset was cut high to keep the back as straight as possible.  Strips of whalebone (Mary, you were right) were used to give the structure to the corsets/stays and it had some flexibility to it while keeping a rigid look.  The production of stays was a male industry because of the heavy work involved with cutting and inserting the boning into hand-stitched channels. How uncomfortable was that. Martha passed around a ‘stay’, which wouldn’t be pleasant to wear, and padding they wore underneath their dresses. She also mentioned the additional layers of clothing that had to be put on. It had to take a good amount of time just to get dressed.

Martha then spoke about her life before George, with George and after George. She mentioned that George was a handsome gent and Martha was very pretty. She talked about George being 6’2″ and she was 5ft tall. George had bad teeth all his life and he was always in pain because of it. He didn’t have wooden teeth as everyone thinks. Aware of his failing dental health, George kept several of his pulled teeth and in the 18th century buying human teeth or using animal teeth was used for making dentures.. Despite all his attempts to save his remaining teeth, Washington was down to just one tooth at the time of his inauguration as the first President of the United States. Martha mentioned that his one front tooth held on his dentures. The poor guy had ill fitting dentures which he was very self-aware of the impact that ill-fitting dentures had on his appearance. The dentures made him less wiling and able to speak.

Alisa was excellent at being Martha and listening to her she made you forget that she really wasn’t the real Martha Washington.

On the path across the way, we found some additional rock formations by Karen, the rock art lady.

We found Labyrinth a circlular patternin used as a walking meditation or spiritual practice. When you see one you have to walk in it and out ir right? You just can’t pass it by.

Thios rock creation is of a Publeo Indian’s dancing costume.

On Saturday January 27, we went to a resturant in Tucson called,

Pinnacle Peak Opened in 1962 and became popular for it’s Mesquite-Grilled Cowboy Steak. It’s decorated with an old western type of atmosphere.

When you enter the restaurant you notice all the ties on the ceilings and walls. This is because of their “No Ties Allowed” policy which is to relax and enjoy without a tie. If someone does wear a neck tie, a singing cowboy comes along, cuts your tie off and gives you a small sheet of paper to write your name and the year and off it goes to the wall or ceiling. I wanted Dave to wear a tie but he didn’t bring one with him on this trip.

We have been to Abe’s on Lincoln Street in Savannah, GA where you draw a picture of Abe Lincoln on one of their napkins and they put it on the celing or wall and also No Name Pub in Pine Key near Key Largo, where you can put a dollar bill on the celings and walls too. These placs have thousands upon thousands of napkins and dollar bills just like these ties. I wonder what other places have hanging on their ceilings and walls.

Pinnacle Peak it located in what is called “Trail Dust Town” which contains Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse and the Silver Dollar Saloon, plus local shops, amusement rides, stunt shows, and the Savoy Opera House. We all said we’d mossy down to Trail Dust Town at another time to check out all the doings.

Sunday January 28, Marcia from Voyager had a Wine, Cheese and Chocolate party for us girls. Three of my favorite things!

“The desert, when the sun comes up, I couldn’t tell where heaven stopped and the Earth began.” – Tom Hanks

Pictures of decayed wood and new growth (xerophytes) in the desert.

Thursday February 1st, we went to Mission Garden.

Mission Garden is a living agricultural museum of Sonoran Desert-adapted heritage fruit-trees, traditional local heirloom crops and edible native plants. They are a non-profit, volunteer-based educational organization. Their primary mission is to preserve, transmit and revive the region’s rich agricultural heritage by growing garden plots representative of more than 4000 years of continuous cultivation in the Tucson Basin.

Mission Garden was an enjoyable and learning experience.   The mission was established in 2012 and has been growing ever since. It’s in the site of the original Mission San Agustin garden set out by Spanish missionaries near the banks of the Santa Cruz River.  

Flowers growing in the Mission.

Dave is playing a Maracas (rattle or rumba shakers) made out of the fruit from the higuero or calabash tree.

In the various plots of the different nationalities besides having the food they grew and how they did it, they also had how their plot would have looked like with a house and chairs and different items that were outside.

The Mission Garden represents all the eras and cultures of Tucson’s history, through growing plots that contain — as nearly as possible — the precise varieties of vegetables, fruits and grains that were grown in the eras being represented,  It also contains about a dozen plots representing the diverse groups and cultures that have farmed the Tucson basin through the centuries. They include the Mexican Garden, O’odham Garden Before European Contact, O’odham Garden After European Contact, Territorial Garden, Chinese Garden, Africa in the Americas Garden and several more.  Volunteers were all over keeping the place looking good.

As you drive around the downtown area of Tucson you notice a mountain with a big white A on the front of it.  The “A” was built by University of Arizona (UA) students in 1916, It’s known as both Sentinel Peak, and “A” Mountain.” You can see it clearly from where we were at Mission Garden and from the city.

“A” Mountain is a noticeable landmark, hiking trail, park and sunset-watching destination in the Tucson Mountains on the west side of Downtown Tucson. You can drive up to watch the sun-set from a couple of parking areas alongside Sentinel Peak Park.  

Hiking our way to the top of the “A”

The 2,897-foot mountain is made up of several layers of rock the same kind of rock as a volcano even though it’s not volcano. Sentinel Peak and the surrounding Santa Cruz Valley have a rich archaeological history dating back over 4,000 years. The area’s first inhabitants grew crops at the mountain’s base along the Santa Cruz River, which is known as Tucson’s birthplace. Sentinel Peak was used as a lookout and for signal fires by native Americans prior to and since 1692 and later by early settlers as well as soldiers during the Civil War.

How Tucson got it’s name with a picture taken from “A” Mountain. Looks a lot different today.

The view is great hiking along the way to the top.

We’re looking down to see the big “A” on the top of the mountain.

“Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.” – Barry Finlay

We were excited about this hike cause we haven’t done a lot of it lately. Fun day for sure!

The Big “A” isn’t always white. It’s been red, white and blue, all black, all red, all blue and all yellow on different occasions and the big “A” has been painted green every year for St. Patrick’s Day from 1993 on. We’ll have to take a picture of it when it’s green. They definitely like the “A” on the mountain.

We Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas

We celebrated at our friend’s Garth & Sharon’s house here at Voyager. We were treated to a delicious turkey dinner with all the fixins. With pecan and pumpkin pie for dessert. yummy

Dave’s Christmas present was Birch Beer, which he loves. And unknown to me birch beer isn’t sold in these parts. I had our friend Garth getting it for me so Dave wouldn’t find it. Poor Garth had a hard time finding it, Calling us “Dam Yankees” what the hell is this stuff🤣. He had to order it from where else Amazon.  I also got him Dean’s chip dip which is the closest to Bisons Chip Dip, which is better and a Lays bag of chips, he usually doesn’t get Lays because there expensive. His Christmas present was delicious. 

We also had a very 

            Best Wishes for all the adventures that lie in 2024!

How about a traditional Black & White New Year’s Eve party at the Voyager Ballroom.

 

Dancing & Singing with our friends and the Jukebox Junkies

It was a great party fun had by all.

For my birthday I wanted Italian cusine so we went with our friends Sharon and Garth to Trattoria Pina. It’s a very nice restaurant on Swan Road where you could see the beautiful mountains from our seats. Both the food and the scenery were awesome. 

 

Our walk around the perimeters of the rv park. It’s nice to see the plants with flowers and the green grass.

We go by a house where Eve changes her sign everyday.

We visited the desert across the street to see if the lady made any new formations in The

One of her new rock creations, “Walking Gals”

Right after we saw the hummingbird on the tree, we saw the hummingbird on the ground.

Here are some of her newer creations, Dave dancing in the circle followed by a flower pot, a road runner, , a person with a stick, scorpin and a Mission front.

We picked the perfect day to visit The Reid Park Zoo. We both were really impressed as we didn’t know what to expect. While it is extremely small compared to other zoos found in the United States this zoo has just about everything that a visitor would want to see. It is home to about 500 animals including all the big named ones like elephants, rhinoceros, polar bears, lions, and tigers.

The bears name is ” Joaquin the Andean bear.” Joaquin has the cutest face so I wanted to tell you about him. Andean bears are also known as “spectacled” bears due to the tan coloration often found around their eyes, resembling spectacles or eyeglasses. He weighs about 400 lbs. Diet: Most of their diet, however, consists of herbivorous material such as bromeliads, palm trees, cacti, and flowers. Only about 5% of their diet consists of meat, mostly small mammals. This makes them one of the most herbivorous bears, second only to the giant panda.

In the Wild: Andean bears are the only bears found in South America. They are arboreal, using their long claws to climb up trees, where they build leafy nests for resting and feeding. This, coupled with their elusive nature, makes it difficult for researchers to study them. Because they are rarely seen. Andean bears do not hibernate because food is available year round in the tropical regions where they live.

Reid Park Zoo

The Reid Park Zoo, founded in 1967, is a 24-acre city-owned and -operated nonprofit zoo located within Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona. The zoo features more than 500 animals. It was unofficially established in 1965 by Gene Reid, the parks and recreation director at the time.

The Randolph Park Children’s Petting Zoo was first opened in the 1960s as a children’s petting zoo. In 1978 it was renamed The Reid Park Zoo. The zoo was initially funded primarily by the City of Tucson. In its first few years, it had rabbits, billy goats and a variety of domestic animals that were donated. It also had Prairie Dog Town, which had a loop road that went around it where people could drive their cars to view the prairie dogs. It is now home for polar bears, lions, jaguars, giraffes, rhinos, anteaters and other creatures. The zoo has come along way.

Birds in various places thru out the zoo. The first one I have no idea what it is only that it’s face is so cute, The other two on top are Crested Partridges, followed by a King Vulture, Scarlet Ibis, Yellow-knobbed Currasow, Southern bald Ibis, King Vulture, white-faced whistling duck, parrott and last but not least the Black Neck Swans. Just a teeny tiny glimpse of the hundreds of birds in the zoo.

Wesley is a Capybara who is 6 years old. Capybara are the the largest members of the rodent family and share similar characteristics to their smaller relatives like squirrels and mice. They can grow to 150 pounds, two feet tall, and up to four feet in length – so they really are the world’s largest rodents. He looks like he would be a great pet.

What is neat about the tapir is that it’s nose and upper lip combine into a flexible snout like an elephant’s trunk. They use it like a snorkel when they hear or see a prediture they go underwater and can’t be seen.

Above it’s Billy a Lar Gibbon Monkey. It isn’t really a monkey because it doesn’t have a tail like a monkey, but why it’s called one who knows? It is under a class called “Lesser apes.” They are found in tropical rainforests of southern and Southeast Asia. What makes him so special in the zoo is because he’s 51 years old, very rare for the species, he outlived both his wife and daughter who were here at the zoo with him. When your walking anywhere in the area of the zoo, if Billy feels like making sounds you’ll definitely hear him. First soft, repetitive one-note sounds, whoop, whoop, whoop, that build to a buildup of long, sustained trills, whooOOoo, whooOOoo. They can produce sounds much louder than any human being can make. What is really sad is that the gibbon species include the most endangered ape species, they also include the most endangered species of primates in the world.

I’m tickling a monkey and another monkey is in their swing contraption on the right.

What is neat about Black & White Ruffed Lemur is the word “lemur” means “ghost” in Latin. It’s the call/shout of theirs that sounds ghostly. Also, their eyes are a bright orange or yellow.

Gwen is a Linne’s Two-Toed Sloth. She didn’t want to wake up but we found out some interesting facts about Gwen. They move really slow and like to sleep a lot and sloths spend most of their lives on trees in an upside down position.  They do most everything upside down including eating, sleeping, mating and giving birth.

Unfortunately, We didn’t get to see ,

We did get to see these more common zoo animals

Jasiri, is the zoo’s male giraffe. He became a father on Monday January 15, 2024. Both, Penelope his wife and the male baby calf are fine.

Fireball the Rhinoceros was a tired guy.

Ttortoises Ferdinand the Galapagos.

The elephants were in their far pasture so we didn’t get to see them close up. Semba, Nandi and Penzi, are some of their names.

Bayou, the American Alligator got mad after I sat on him and went after Dave’s foot!

Herbie one of the Aldabra Tortoises, he’s over 100 years old.

Anna the Grevy’s Zebra gave birth to a daughter Malaika. 

 Their names of the Africian Wild Dogs are Grommie, Cricket, Terra and Sandy. Unfortunately, this species is critically endangered.

When I was younger and went to the zoo I felt sorry for the animals behind their cages. Now I feel greatful to the zoo’s for taking care of the animals and getting them to reproduce because a lot of them are endangered.

We got this album when we were kids, I always to see CSNY but it never happened.

I’m glad we got to see Five Way Street Band at the voyager ballroom, as they sounded really, really good. When David Crosby met the band he was impressed and said they sounded as good as they did. 

Everyone was singing, dancing, clapping and whisteling, a great time was had by all.

It was a perfect day, so myself, and my firends, Alicia and Jan went to the Desert Museum.

We all thought the leafs on this tree called “Alluaudia procera” looked really neat and unususal. We were told that these trees were rare, only grow in the desert, are very hard to take care of and very expensive to buy. That leaves me out of getting one.

A couple of places we visited at the museum. 

A great pcture of the tree and cactus shaking hands.

When we went into the Hummingbird Aviary this hummingbird wouldn’t leave Alicia alone. We told her she must look like a relative. 😂

It was my second trip to the Desert Museum and I still didn’t see all of it, It’s a great place. As The Arizona-Sonora Desert Desert Museum is ranked on TripAdvisor.com as one of the Top 10 Museums in the country and the #1 Tucson attraction.

After our adventure we went to the Coyote Pause Cafe for lunch, the day and lunch was

We would like to Congratulate our friend Bill for winning a Gold Metal in the intermediate mixed doubles pickleball tournament in Mesa.  Way to go Bill !!!

In

A lot of Christmas celebrations in Voyager RV Park as well as all over Tucson.

Walking around the park with our dog Cooper, which we do all the time, We’ve noticed that if you have a cactus in your yard you should put a Santa hat on it.

Just a few of them.

The Mica Mountain High School Band came to Voyager and put on a Christmas Concert and sing-a-long. It was a lot of fun and they were very good. Talented students that put a lot of hours practicing amongst all their other activities.

Our good friends Bill & Sandy came down from Mesa to visit.

Sandy & I went to Sabino Canyon

Located in the Catalina Mountains and part of the Coronado National Forest. Sandy & I took the shuttle bus tour because we didn’t have a lot of time. It gives you an overview of what this beautiful canyon offers. there is also hiking, swimming, biking and picnicking.

Dave & Bill went to The Pima Air & Space Museum

The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world’s largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 400 aircraft spread out over 80 acres on a campus occupying 127 acres. It has also been the home to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame since 1991.  They enjoyed their visit seeing all the planes, etc.

More Cactus . . . . . I told you there were plenty.

We went to see A Smaal Town Christmas with Sharon & Garth at the Gaslight Theatre in Tucson.  It’s Christmas time in 1961 in a Smalltown, U.S.A. No one seems to be in the holiday spirit except for one girl who won’t give up and goes through some obstacles and with some help along the way, with singing and dancing, of course she saves Christmas. After that show unexpectedly the Grinch with Cindy lo and the rest of the Whos in Whoville burst into song and dance and a sing-a-long with the audience. And they all have a Rockin time doing so. Yes it was a bit corny but lots of fun with audience participation is always a fun place to go.

The Gaslight theatre is part of Little Anthony’s building so you can get food and drinks for the show and you get free popcorn that keeps on a commin, which Dave likes very much.

And last but not least Santa stops by. 

Dave & I went to the Driving Range here at Voyager. 

Dave played golf about a century ago and considering the length of time he has played, I think he’s stance and swing looked good. After all he hit the ball straight and far.

I have played put-put a few times before but never went to a driving range. My stance and my swing, well I need a lot of practice. . . but I did hit the ball and at times it went straight, other times? Next week we’ll try the golf course?!

How about Christmas parties . . .

Our friend Norann had a fun party at her house a nice time had by all.

Alicia had a great party outside by the fireplace.

What no Santa Hat? Don’t panic garland and ornaments will do. Or how about red cowboy hat? If you happen to have a cactus in your front yard, I think wherever you are you should decorate it.

Friday night, Girl’s night at Fat Willy’s in Voyager, celebrating our friendship and Christmas. 

I would have liked to say we’ve been traveling all over but . . . I can’t. I decided to make stain glass ornaments for my family, so that took time as well as some of the important things like swimming, golf pickle ball, stain glass and of course walking Cooper. OK I know there excuses but wait till next year.

Decorations inside & out of our home.

Last but not least, a right jolly old elf, Dave and Cooper

November is known mostly for Veterans Day and of course Thanksgiving Day. Here in Arizona people love this time of year, with the highs being 70s and the lows being 40s. “It’s an invigorating month of sparkling days and cool nights.”

November 1st, The dog park is open! It was closed prior because they were watering the grass. And there’s Cooper. . . .

The golf course has been watered, so it’s time to bring out the golf clubs.

I went bird watching with my friend Marcia, who gives bird watching tours at different locations. We went to Madera Canyon. I went there last year but wanted to go again cause it’s a fun place to watch the birds coming and going plus listening to the birders yell out the names of the birds, while I just watch.

Madera Canyon in Green Valley AZ, Is a well known spot for bird watching, It’s the resting place for migrating birds. The canyon area has an extensive trail system for hikers and it’s 5,000 feet above sea so that makes it a great place to go when it’s hot and your looking for some cooler weather, actually it’s a great place to go anytime. 

The last two pictures are of humming birds, and a fairly decent picture of a bird I took. I don’t know what the names of the birds are, but I knew when I was taking the picture.

In November our minds head to turkeys so let’s go.. Arizona is home to three subspecies of wild turkeys: Merriam’s, Gould’s, and Rio Grandes. The turkeys are found primarily in the ponderosa pine forests of Colorado, New Mexico, and northern Arizona. We got here just in time to see about 30 of these turkeys file into the bird watching area. The one on the bottom pictures flew up on top of the bird feeder and tried to eat the bird’s food. It was fun to watch it as it mainly just tried to keep it’s balance from falling off the top of the sloped roof. Wild turkeys have been known to fly up to 55 mph in short bursts. For domesticated turkeys, this is unfortunately not the case. They’re bred to be heavier in weight, almost twice as much as a wild turkey.

I also found out by Marcia, that when a bird watcher is so happy they spot a bird they’ve never seen, are now called a Lifer – a Birder that has seen and identified a bird in the wild for the first time. Someone decided that after you see the bird for the first time you get to have a piece of pie. Other birders after seeing a bird for the first time do some kind of a dance. In the Birding world you should do one or even both.

What made my day and a lot of other people was seeing a Coati !! Your probably thinking it’s a bird of some sorts, that’s what I thought until I saw it. Actually a Coati, also known as Coatimundis are mammals originally from Tupi, that now live in South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. Coatis enjoy wide-ranging habitat types including tropical lowlands, dry high-altitude forest, oak forest, mesquite grassland, and forest edges. they love eating fruit and insects.

I t was really exciting to see my first Coati up close. I think they are so cute.

3-2-1-0 – LAUNCH Titan Missile Museum

On the 17th of this month we went a little south and visited the Titam II missle launch facility and museum. It was kind of an eye opener and a great history lesson. I mean at the time these were active and I was just a kid. In school we would always have drills to duck and cover under our desks. YA right as if that would have saved us. The government has us hoodwinked for sure. Anyway, this site is the last remaining fully intact Titan II missle launch complex, there were 54 of them built between 1959 and 1963, when they all became active. Surrounding the air base here in Tucson there were 18 seperate missle launch complex’s, the other 36 were located in two other states. All 54 were active between 1963 and 1983., then 53 were demolished and decommioned, and this one saved for history as a living museum. This was all part of an agreement between President Regan and the Russians, to reduce the amount of nuclear weapons each of us had. The Russians also saved one of three bases for a museum, not sure where it is though.

The museum offers a one hour tour down into the complex, yes it is all underground about 50 feet or so. Before I talk about the tour a little about why these were built. Before the Titan II, the Titan I was our go to rocket in case of a necular attack on us. However, the Titan I could not be readied for launch before enemy missles would hit us. They were more of a offensive weapon, not a deterent as the Titan II was. The Titan I was housed in a underground silo, but when it was readied for launch it had to be eleveted out of the silo, then fueled, then launched. This took well over 30 miutes and by that time enemy missles would have already hit us. With the Titan II that all changed, it could be launched in under a minute, Why, because of the two types of liquid fuel it used. These fuels meant the rocket could always be fully loaded with fuel and ready to go in there underground silo’s. Also upon misture of the two fuels, it self ignited, so no need for an ignition source, which could fail, and did at times with the Titan I. Below the rocket they also developed ways to get rid of the blast flame and gases. So just like that an enemy had to think twice about attaching us as we could strike back within 5 minutes. This was what was called now in history as MAD or mutual assured destruction era. No one would win. OK, now let’s go for a tour.

Actually this incredible amenity was built as a Deterrent. Something that makes someone decide not to do something

Below is a picture of the underground missle complex.

Below is a couple pitures of construction

Our tour started at the main gate, this is where the four man crews would arrive every morning at seven a.m.. First thing you notice is that there is no security around the base but a chain link fence, no MP police nothing, that was by design. The four man crew consisted of a Crew Commander, A deputy commander, and two technitions. Upon arrival at seven a. m. the commander would call down to the crew inside, give his secret password, and the gate would be electronically opend, After the gate was closed the crew had 3 minutes to get to the portal stairway and call down to the control center. Anything over that time they would not be allowed in and the security police would be called. The m. p. police patrolled three bases each never more that 20 minutes away from one. Once they reached the portal entry, which looks like a strom shelter door, the commander would go down a flight of stairs and call into the complex. He again would give the password, if correct the door and gate would be unlocked.

The crew would enter and the doors closed and locked behind them. From here you decended down a stairway about six flights to the bottom, here you are greeted with another gated door, again the commander would call in and give the correct password for entry. Now you are about 40 feet deep in the ground and at the end of the portal entry way, which was not built to survive a blast. One last call from the commander with correct pass word, would now unlock the door and 4 rams would retract pins on each side. Now a crewman likely the youngest and strongest would pull open the door. Below, me making the call and the blast door open

Once inside, the door would be shut and locked, now directly in front of them is another blast door, they are in the air lock area now. Here they are on video camera from the inside crew. Each of the new four man crew would give his name, rank and serial number, also they could now be seen so if someone had them at gunpoint they would be noticed. After all is correctly done, this second blast door opens , the crew enters and the door is shut and locked behind them. Now you are in the blockhouse area, about 30 feet by 30 feet. This has 4 foot thick walls, floor and 5 foot thick roof all made of reinforced cocrete and steel. The blast doors which there are seven in total are made of solid steel pieces welded together with steel rebar within. Each door weighs 6000 pounds. To the left and right are blast doors, they are now open but in the day they both would have been closed, the right one is access to the 229 foot raceway to the missle silo and the left one you enter the control complex, which is where the crew would go.. Once the crew was inside the blockhouse, the control complex blast door would open and the new crew on alert duty would come in and greet the crew on duty who were preparing to leave. We entered the control complex first, this is domed shaped and about 60 feet in the ground. The walls are 4 feet thick at the bottom and go to 10 feet thick pretty close to the surface, all reinfroced cocrete with massive amounts of rebar inside. The control area itself is three stories high ,and independantly suspended inside the dome itself by eight giant springs and shocks. The pictures below are of the control center which is on the second level and where the crew enters. The first level is the kitchen area and sleeping area all very small. Each crew member had 4 hours of off duty on a 24 hour alert. The third level contained all the equipment to power the complex, batteries ,generators ,radio systems and the like.

I never heard of or saw a Coati so I was excited, and I think that they look so cute. It was a fun to go along birding with all “Twitchers.”

So now are crew is safely locked into the missle complex, pictue above shows typical crew. For the next 24 hours they would be on alert ,receive secret messages ,decode them and hope they never had to launch. A lot of stree was created with this job, never knowing if this could be the end ,and in that time it was real possiballity.

For us though, we now exited the control complex and headed to the missle silo through a 229 foot cableway, which is also suspened from the 4 foot thick concrete wall which surrounds it. The silo is 55 feet round and about150 feet deep. The walls are 4 foot thick at the bottom and increase to 10 feet thick at the top. The Missle silo door is made of steel and reinforced concrete and weights 760 tons, operated by a hydraulic ram, which the door glides on railroad tracks to open and close. Now the door is open halfway and is permanent with the other half open with glass enclosed roof to peer down into the missle silo. When we got to the end of the cableway another blast door greeted us, we went in and walked around the missle by gangway. there are seven levels to the silo, each one has it’s own purpose, but we were only allowed on the one level. The missle itself is surrounded by another steel wall which goes top to bottom, this is about 20 feet round. Another blast door puts you into this area, which we could not access. At the time only the blast door was the way to see the rocket, now they have big windows of glass where you can peer into to see the missle.

Above, walking down the cableway

Entering the silo blast door, with the missle blast door ahead.

The missle in it’s bay

missle door

Peering into the abyss of destruction

The Missle. The missle is 10 feet round and 103 feet high, and at the time the most powerfull rocket of it’s time. The titan II went on to power the Gemina and some mercury speacecraft into orbit. Two rocket motors take it from liftoff to about 50 miles up, then cut off and are jetisioned and one rocket motor ignites and takes it to 200 miles up and a speed of 16,ooo miles per hour all in a litlle more than 5 minutes. then that is jetisioned and only the nose cone with the warhead travels on to its target 6000 miles away.

The Warhead. The warhead was housed in the nosecone, which upon entry into the atmosphere would slowly shed it’s metal to dispurse heat. upon reentry the warhead was about all that was left speeding to it’s target. It was nine megatons in size. How big is that about 25 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. About nine million tons of TNT and would require 90,000 boxcars. The train would be 1,534 miles long and would stretch from Tucson To Lexington KY. The blast would destroy about 30 miles by 30 miles or 900 square miles of the earth. This is just one Titan II missle with a warhead.

Nosecone and warhead.

That ended our tour, none were ever launched. If they had, the crew could launch the missle in 58 seconds, after that there work was done. They would have known full well the meaning and could onl;y hope they would survive, or would you want too. If a warhead exploded more than a mile away they would survive anything closer they woul not make it, so all they could do was to have waited. thankfuly it never came to that.

How about a dance, A Share the Bounty Dance.

All you had to do was bring nonperishable food items to the ballroom to see the band and go dancin..

A lot of fun dancing with our friends Diane and Ken

Moby’s Restaurant has a beach themed decor here in the desert. It is located in Casino Del Sol. It was a nice place to eat and the food was good. Plus we beat the crowds getting there about 2:00.

I know it’s still November, but we wanted to check out this one-lady show and get in the Christmas spirit a bit early. We were glad we did as Alisa did a great job performing and making all the characters in “A Christmas Carol” come alive.

It was a good time and she even left everyone with a copy for making Smoking Bishop. In a Christmas Carol Scrooge undergoes a transformation. He becomes a more generous and compassionate man, and he begins to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. As a result, he no longer drinks gruel (an awful tasting drink) and he instead prefers to enjoy more flavourful and festive beverages, such as Smoking Bishop, a type of mulled wine. So if your serving fifteen guests or more and want to make a different drink, why not try this?

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It’s November 29th and it’s a great morning with temperature of 68, why not take a walk thru the desert?

It was nice to see new growth on the cacti.

We got here on October 1st so we’ve been here a whole month. We are getting familiar once again with our surroundings and meeting our friends from the last time we were here. We’ve also reacquainted ourselves with the pool, hot tub and sauna and of course Fat Willy’s restaurant.

I just love taking pictures of the sky here at Voyager.

We haven’t been out site-seeing yet, we’ve just gone to the usual places to grocery shop, etc. But we have enjoyed the shows they have here like the fashion show.

Sharon and I went to the Injoy fashion show that was put on by volunteers from the store and the park on Wednesday October 11th.

The fashion show in the ballroom at Voyager. People from the park were the models for the show. They had a lot of fun putting it on and we had fun watching. After seeing the show Sharon and I had to go to Injoy and check it out.

Myself, Sharon and Marcia went to see “She Came to Me.”

It has Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones and Anne Hathaway. We all thought it was good, it had an off beat kind of story line.

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On Oct. 14, 2023, We got to see an annular solar eclipse this happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, but when it is at or near its farthest point from Earth. Because the Moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the Sun.

This eclipse will be total for viewers along a narrow path which starts in the south Pacific, then runs through Mexico, the U.S. from Texas to Maine, and southeastern Canada, and finally ends in the north Atlantic. Tucson is about 560 miles from this path, which is why we’ll see a partial eclipse at this location.

They said to look at the eclipse you should have special 3-D glasses, we didn’t so what we did was put a pin prick in a sheet of paper. That wasn’t the best way cause you couldn’t look long at all. But I did manage to take the first picture. The other three were taken by someone else but it is exactly what we saw using our pin prick sheets. It was a neat thing to observe.

Tuesday the 16th I went bird watching with my friend Marcia from Voyager who is a certified audubon bird person who gives tours and knows so much about birds is amazing. I went twice with her last time we were here and I enjoyed it. Not only because of the birds but because of the scenic places I have been to like Madera Canyon and The Historic Canoa Ranch great places to visit and hike.

This time we went to Chuck Ford Lakeside Park, it’s only about 15 minutes from the park. Marcia & I met eight people there who knew a lot about birds too, and then there was me who can only recognize and name a few.

The group was finding all kinds of birds. The first one I knew and recognized was a Blue Heron. If you look real hard you can see one on the shore across from the lake. Below is a picture of what they look like closer.

In the first picture you see water fowl and also mallard ducks, like the one on close to the edge on the 2nd picture. I learned that male mallards mate with all kinds of ducks, so for it to be a true male mallard it has a dark, iridescent-green head and bright yellow bill. The gray body is sandwiched between a brown breast and black rear. Two central black feathers that curve back above the tail give it it’s characteristic curly-tailed appearance.

We saw a total of 32 spicies of birds. What cracks me up is most of the names of the birds. Like the Griseotyrannus aurantioatrocristatus also known as The crowned slaty flycatcher from South America. One of the birds we saw that I remembered is the Lark Sparrow. It was on top of the lights and it’s picture is below.

Tours that Marcia gives are for anyone as well as for people with disabilities and other health concerns. We went on this bird venture on Birdability week 2023 Oct 16-22. Birdability is a non-profit organization founded by Virginia Rose, who fell off a horse at the age of 14 and has used a wheelchair since then. She began birding 17 years ago and wanted to share her passion and joy with others with disabilities. Virginia founded Birdability in 2020. Birdability’s vision is that birding is for everyone—including those with disabilities and other health concerns. It is supported by National Audubon in the U.S. and many other organizations and businesses. In our group of birdwatchers we had a person with oxygen, one with a cane and anotherin a wheel chair, they were excitied to go on the tour. It’s a way to get outside, see, learn and trek along.

It’s Saturday October 28th, how about dressing up for a Halloween party?

 Argh! Rrrrrr Shiver me timbers ya landlubber. Avast ye, ye hornswaggled my booty ye Son of a biscuit eater, I‘ll Crush Ye Barnacles and make ye walk the plank, SAVVY. Do you know what he said! I do you better run.

“Going so soon? I wouldn’t hear of it. Why, my little party’s just beginning.” — The Wicked Witch of the West, “The Wizard of Oz”

And thats what we did. Got our costumes on and went to the Voyager Halloween dance party with friends, ghosts and goblins.

Everyone had an awesome time. The costumes were good and the Raw band was great playing songs from the 60s & 70s.

Hope you had deFRIGHTful Halloween! and Hope all your SCREAMS come true!”

Went with friends to a Porch Fest, for a few hours this Sunday in the Garden District Neighborhood of Tucson. The neighborhood opened itself up to the community with good tunes and good eats. It’s the annual Porch Fest event which has been happening on the northeast corner of East Pima Street and North Alvernon Way, since 2014.

Just in case you didn’t know …. Porchfest music festivals began as a means for neighbors and local community members to highlight their music on front porches. These events are held across the United States and Canada. The concept was to find musicians and porches on which they would play. The original event in Ithaca, New York, started with about 20 musicians but has since grown to over 100. Way to go Ithaca!

People were dancing and singing in the streets together. They had eight residents who volunteered their porches and bands that played for an hour-and-a-half each.

It was really a lot of fun and really good musicians that played a variety of music from Irish, country, folk, blues and good old rock-n-roll. We didn’t get to see all of them, maybe nextyear.

The food was delicious. BOCA is located in the heart of Tucson and was featured on the Food Network, the New York Times, and the Travel Channel with excellent reviews. The award winning chef is Maria Mazon. If your ever in the area and have a yankering for Mexican food go there for sure.

All for of us enjoyed our Mexican food!!