LUSH GREEN TO DRY DESERT

We are loving this weather. It is giving us the opportunity to do so many things outside. Yesterday we played golf at The Pines in Marana, Arizona. We had a hard time concentrating on the game with such beautiful scenery around us...good excuse for our not so good scores-huh? The front nine holes are a links design typical of the courses we are use to. But the back nine holes are cut out of a canyon, requiring more precise shots and less forgiving. These pictures are a few of the back nine holes.







Today we took a 2.5 hour, 23 mile guided tour into the Sonora Desert on ATV’s. We are still amazed by the size of the cactus and the beauty of the arid desert terrain. The cactus were enormous, the trail was rough and the day was amazing...we had a great time. We are hoping to be back in the spring during the blooming season.





Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron

Sunny Tucson

Front entrance of San Xavier del Bac Mission


Known as the Sistine Chapel of the North due to its ornate ceiling paintings and original murals.

Started our first full day in sunny Tucson by attending Mass at Mission San Xavier del Bac Mission. It is one of a trail of missions starting in Mexico in the 1600's and is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona. It is an active Franciscan mission located on the Tohono O'odham Indian reservation and primarily serves the tribal members. As it turned out not only is it a church where we could celebrate Mass but a National Historic Landmark. So we attended Mass and toured at the same time. It is known as the White Dove of the Desert because of its architecture blends of Moorish, Byzantine and late Mexican Renaissance influences.


Very ornate alter



Hand carved wooden Nativity Scene. You can see a strong Indian influence in this artwork.

A long line formed after Mass at one of the side alters, so we had to see what was going on. A wooden replica of San Xavier lays on a platform covered by a blanket with only his head exposed. The tradition is to rub his forehead then lift his head a couple of times. Although we weren't exactly sure what the appropriate procedure was or the purpose, we followed the proceeding parishioners and said a prayer. Seems a bit pagonist but sure the intent is good.



The complex consists of a museum, plaza where the natives were selling Friedbread, a thick tortilla, fried then filled with your choice of beans, cheese etc, or sugar & cinnamon as a dessert.

We are still in awe of the arid plants native to this area.


Mission grounds.


Ron getting stuck by a cactus. I hope he was just joking. Ron's 6'1" and is dwarfed by the plant.

At the top of a rocky hill stands a white cross marked with graffiti and signatures. The hill is meant as a religious/ceremonial sacred place to the people of the area and is known as Grotto Hill. No we did not climb the rocks to the top but did walk the path.


Grotto Hill. Over 200,000 visitors come each year, so it is hard to get a clear picture without people in the foreground.

After we left the mission we had lunch at a local Mexican restaurant-Little Mexico. We have had more Mexican food in the last 2 months than we have had in 2 years...it kind of grows on you.

Had to stock up on supplies at Office Max then relaxed the rest of the day and evening.

Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron

Brrrrrrr I want Sun

When we woke up yesterday morning the front of our coach was 47 degrees. I guess our newly repaired furnace really has not been repaired. We will have to find an RV dealer or repair shop at our next extended location.

Our original plan was to take it slow and make one more stop in Lordsburg NM before entering Arizona, but we are so tired of the cold weather that we drove through and arrived in Tucson around 4:00 pm yesterday. The predicted temperatures this week are in the high 60's - mid 70's and the low in the 40's. We can tolerate that!

Found another nice RV resort with swimming pool (that is actually open), hottub, putting green, catch & release pond(which we won't use), nice lounge and library. The front desk where you check in looks like a hotel.

We are staying here 5 days and then will travel to Phoenix for a week. We have our travel set up for the month of January and are thinking about coming back here the month of February. Haven't decided yet. Getting ready for Mass.

Hope all is well.

Joan & Ron

New Mexico amigos

Arrived in New Mexico Saturday, January 2nd after an uneventful trip. Since neither one of us has ever been to New Mexico we were awed by the scenery during the drive in. Many experience RVers take the smaller highways rather than the interstates but it is all new to us and we are more comfortable driving on the better roads. Someday we may feel the same. We finally found a campsite that is really nice located in Las Cruces which is just over the Texas border. The sites are large and made of compressed gravel as opposed to dirt. The facility offers a continental breakfast and has a nice lounge and hot tub. There are alot of larger motorhomes here and it appears many use this RV resort as a stop over on their way to Arizona. It seems everyone is going to Arizona.

We were able to get one round of golf in at the New Mexico State University Golf Course. It was a pretty ugly round based on our performance but the course was nice and we were thrilled to finally have a day where the weather cooperated.

Spent another day at the Village de Mesilla which is within walking distance of the site. It is the older part of Las Cruces with many unique shops, a Basilica & restaurants. That day the square was full of local artist with their creations.

We have met several nice couples here and had dinner with Ken & Julie from Litchfield Illinois. Everyone either looks at your license plate or the T-shirt or ball cap your wearing to strike up a conversation. You do meet interesting people...this couple owned Schutt Manufacturing, a sporting good company that provided bases and helmets to all to major league baseball franchises. They designed the bases for the All-Star game in St. Louis.

The highlight of our trip was our visit to the White Sands National Monument. It is 275 square miles of white gypsum sand, which is so white that from a distance it can be mistaken for snow. It is a registered national park and very uncommericialized.
There are 3 trails and we chose the 1.5 mile self-guided tour through the dunes.

This beautiful desert is surrounded on 3 sides by the Organ, Sacramento and San Andres Mountains. Over millions of years, gypsum washed off the sides of these mountain and has formed the worlds largest white sands desert.

Wildlife abounds in the night but foot prints of kit fox, roadrunners, pocket mice and various lizards can be seen during the day.

We completed our day with a Sunset Stroll guided by a park ranger. The temperature during the day was in the mid 50's but was so dry it felt much warmer...until sunset and then it was very cold.







Not sure which mountain range this is. White Sands is surrounded by 3 ranges.


Ron next to a desert pedestal. Rosemary mint is the foliage on top.




The start of sunset


Sunset


Ranger guide during Sunset Stroll. Do I look cold? I am!!!



Hope all is well.

Ron & Joan

Holidays

We had a great time visiting with John, Kandy, Ali and Jack over Christmas eve and Christmas day. We missed our traditional events with Ron's family on Christmas eve and Ann & John on Christmas day, however, feel really fortunate to have been able to spend the holidays with family. Especially our first holiday away from home.

Last Saturday we had our first overnight guest. Jack spent the night and part of Sunday with us. We have a sofa sleeper that expands to a RV Queen. , We played games, (I think Jack beat Ron at Backgammon, but I was afraid to ask). Sunday morning we enjoyed a pancake, scrabble egg & bacon breakfast,attended Mass, stopped for a burger & milk shake at Freddy's (much like Steak & Shake) then went to watch Ali play volleyball. It was a practice scrimmage not a game, but we were able to see her play in 5-6 games. She is very, very good at all positions. I love volleyball...it brings back good memories.

Our plans were to leave early this morning, but they were predicting snow & ice in the direction of our destination, so we decided to lay over another day. We also, wanted to have our furnace looked at again....I'm not a hvac expert but I'm still convinced it is not cycling the way it should.

The repairman came out again this morning and of course everything worked just the way it was suppose to for him. He was a little late getting here and the weather here is rainy and dreary, so we decided to stay again tonight and leave tomorrow.

We are trying to get to an event in Quartzsite, Arizona by January 22nd....at this rate we may not make it.

Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron

Holiday Lights

Over the weekend we met John, Kandy, Ali and Jack for dinner at Rudy's. We have been wanting to try this infamous barbeque spot. The food is good and the atmosphere casual and fun. You order your meat by the pound and it is served on butcher paper.

After dinner we took a tour of a couple of neighborhoods to view the holiday lights. One subdivision has a contest for the best of many categories including the best decorated mailbox. They go wayout....

We also toured Incarnate Word High School (where Ali attends) and the University for their light show.


There really is a mailbox in there somewhere!


I bet the letter carriers love this.

Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron

GOLF...finally!

Last Friday was a beautiful day....70 degrees and sunny. So we re-arranged our plans and hit the golf course. We played at La Cantera Resort. We teed off at 2:00 pm and was able to get in 17 holes before dark. We were thrilled to finally swing a club.

The course is beautiful with more than enough hazzards. Even at this time of the year when most of the foliage is dormant, I like the rock and cactus.




When you get in the rough....it is really rough


Taken from the elevated tee box. Six Flags amusement park in the background.



Sunset at La Cantera. We had to find the club house in the dark. Why don't they put headlights on these carts?

Hope all is well!


Joan & Ron