February 18, 2019 Monday

Two weeks since my last post.  We have welcomed Gloria for a weekend and walked more trails.

Gloria came out on Friday the 8th late in the evening.  We met her at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix.  That in itself was an adventure. We hadn't been there before and it was after dark so we had to find our way around.

On Saturday the 9th there was a craft fair in our park.  Lela and Gloria visited it and purchased a few items. Then we headed to Old Tucson Studio, about an hour and thirty minutes south.
http://oldtucson.com/

Dressed for chilly weather

 

Old Tucson is one of Arizona’s top Wild West attractions, featuring live action stunt shows, musicals and live entertainment, vintage rides for the kids, genuine southwest BBQ and special events throughout the season. Step back in time as you make your way through town, walking the same streets made famous by movie legends such as John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Elizabeth Taylor, Steve Martin, Sharon Stone and Martin Short.
Immortalized in more than 400 films and commercial productions, Old Tucson remains the region’s premiere film location
We took a walking tour.

Denizens of the park

 

The Mission

 

Hotel Del Toro

 

Pouring one in the saloon

 

 

G'ma & G'pa

G'pa Prisoner

Gloria Prisoner

 



The Palace

Inside at the bar

 

 The stage

 

 

 

 

Inside the Palace

There were a couple of attractions we went to, one was the haunted gold mine.

Old Miner?

We took the stagecoach tour, too.

 

Gloria, Lela & Charlie

 

I hope this is readable.

 

It happened to be the Civil War weekend at Old Tucson with reenactors.

Company of Union Troops

Private someone and Lela

The Reno Train

 

Before we left, there was a show put on by some stunt men who actually work in films.  They were very entertaining

.

We had a really good time, though the weather was cool and windy.

Sunday we took her to the Mesa Market as everyone has to experience it at least once.  She found some treasures and mementos of he visit here.

Sunday afternoon at the Ranch

Monday she left to go back home.

G'pa & Gloria

Mom & Daughter

 

The Sky Harbor trip wasn't nearly as adventurous in the daylight.

I got my golf game back on track on Wednesday.  Eleven fairways and ten greens made for an 83 (41/42).  It's a much easier game when you play from the fairways.  I hope to keep it going this Wednesday.

Wednesday evening was off to Bible study in the Book Of Nehemiah.

Thursday was Valentine's Day.  There was a dance in the park with an American Bandstand theme.  I had been putting off a haircut so I could comb a wave and a duck butt. As it turned out, we didn't go to the dance, so I took a couple pics and got a haircut on Friday.

tryin' a style

Duck butt

Not like it used to be!

Saturday, we hiked a trail out of Apache Junction, AZ in the Usery mountains.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/meridian-trail
Meridian Trail is known by the locals as Medicine Wheel Trail and the mountain is known as Goldmine mountain (We saw no gold).

The objective

Lela on the trail

Lela

G'pa

beautiful day

Saguaro forest

On the trail 

Sunday we went to church and were invited to Charlie and Sue's house in Chandler, AZ for lunch.  Sue is an accomplished stargazer and collector of stars, so you might expect that she and Lela would become fast friends.  Charlie is a man of many talents including a history of building and racing cars. he is also a knowledgeable preacher and somewhat of a philosopher. 

So, today I am trying to catch up here.  Our weather this winter has been cool and damp by AZ standards, but it is better than at home. When the warm weather "pops" here there will be more activity to report.

 

February 4, 2019, Monday

Today would have been my Uncle Dan's birthday.  He was one of my favorite Uncles.

Today is Anastasia Elizabeth's first day in pre-K.  She is so excited.  Grandma and I are praying for a great experience for her.

I know I have been falling down on my blog for awhile, but there wasn't much to report. Lela has been fighting the head cold, so we haven't done much of any interest. She did contact her doctor this morning so I am waiting to get a call from the pharmacy for her. Z-pack in her future.


Saturday was also the anniversary of my brother Michael's death.  I miss him greatly.

My golf has taken a turn for the worse. I shot the two worst rounds in four years, in my league. But, hope springs eternal.  I'll do better this week because I can't be any worse.

Back on Friday the 18th we went to Mesa market/swap meet.  We purchased two sconces, one for the front door and one for the back. I installed them last week.  They wouldn't fit over the existing fixtures, so I needed to buy new ones that would fit inside.  Mission accomplished.

Saturday I met with three of my friends from church to hike in the Superstition mountains again. We had planned to hike The Siphon Trail, but because we had a chance for rain and that trail involved climbing, we changed to The Peralta Trail.  It was pretty difficult.  The reward at the saddle is the view of Weaver's Needle, another landmark in the Superstitions.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/peralta-trail-to-fremont-saddle

I can see I need to do something aerobic to get into better shape.  The trail rises almost 1700 feet in altitude and 5 miles in length. I was huffing and puffing for part of it. I'll post a few pics at the end. When I got home, I stood in a hot shower to ease some pain in my lower back and plopped down on the couch for a couple hours. I was pooped.

Lela spent the day preparing food for a pot luck meal at Desert Sands Church of Christ on Sunday.  She fixed a ham and multiple layer salad.

For supper Saturday, we had already planned to go to Outback steak house in Gilbert, AZ for our annual Groundhog Day Celebration.  Those who know us know that we celebrate Groundhog Day instead of Valentine Day as the restaurants aren't nearly as crowded. They advertised Steak and Lobster on special. The wait was lengthy as was the service.

Sunday we went to church and enjoyed the pot luck lunch. then it was home to watch Ricky Fowler nearly blow an unsurmountable lead in the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament.  He won with a three over par performance.
We peeked in on the Super bowl as well.  I was interesting to watch the two teams I hate the most put on a pretty lackluster performance.  It was a shame that both of them couldn't loose.

Here are some pics from the Peralta trail.

At the trailhead

Pretty rough climbing

Bill in the foreground and Andy in Background

Wilderness

Ross

Called Geronimo's Lookout (2 caves)

Andy on the trail

When we finished that round boulder in the background was below us.

 

Can you see the "ant?"

Looking back to where we started

Round rock

Can you find the saddle formation

 

Caption this!

G'pa at the Fremont Saddle

Weaver's Needle in background

Looking back

Ross

 

 G'pa, Ross, Andy and Bill climbed Peralta trail to Fremont Saddle, 2-2-2019.
The pictures in no way can show the grandeur of God's beautiful creation.