Gone to Arizona!

Casa Grande Ruins, Arizona, dating to ca 1350

Thanksgiving in Colorado was over, we'd celebrated Xmas early with the Kids and grandson, Jonah, before they all headed off to Florida to further celebrate with Drew's family; and soon we were off to Arizona.  We left on a Monday (Dec 16th) expecting it might take three days, depending on weather.  Fortunately the frigid weather that had gripped Colorado, and much of the rest of the country, earlier in December, had stabilized and warmed up.  We made good time down dry freeways, going 500 miles the first day before stopping at a KOA in North Albuquerque, New Mexico; 500 miles to go.  We took care of that the next day, Tuesday, 2 days, 1,000 miles. 


It was kind of strange going through Flagstaff, Arizona, which sits above 6,000 feet elevation, finding several inches of snow on the ground from the recent winter storm, and driving for another thirty miles down through the mountains of Northern Arizona, with snow still on the ground (but, thankfully, not on the freeway) until suddenly emerging into the great Phoenix Valley, greeted there by 80 degree temperatures.  We soon had the truck air conditioner turned on for the first time in, like, seemingly forever.  And, other than a thunderstorm that very first night, the weather was great the whole three and a half weeks we spent in Arizona, daytime temps in the high 60's to low 70's, clear blue skies, cooling down to the 40's overnight; perfect, especially for January!  Early on we also discovered that we had marvelous sunsets to watch on the Western horizon from our  Tempe "home."

Our "home" was a quiet little park, Tempe Travel Trailer Villa, on East Apache Blvd near ASU, AND, most importantly, youngest daughter, Emily.  Emily is in her first year as an English teacher at Chandler High School, but was on Holiday break; so, just as we had with Sara and Drew in Colorado, we were able to spend a whole lot of quality time with her.  On Christmas Eve the three of us headed out to nearby Papago Park and the Phoenix Zoo for "Zoo Lights".  It was a spectacular light show set in and among the zoo exhibits, well worth the price of admission.

We had a nice, small Xmas gathering of three in the 5th wheel and caught up with many of our favored restaurants during our stay.  One of those was breakfast at the Farm at South Mountain, a unique dining experience, particularly outdoors in early January.

Elaine and Emily at the "Farm"

Breakfast on the outdoor terrace, Tempe, AZ, January 2014

 Before that Elaine and I had spent a quiet New Years eve in the 5th wheel, as usual going to sleep well before the "Ball fell in Times Square".  The Kid (Emily) went partying! And the next day, while we stayed near the trailer, she drug herself up Camelback Mountain, a favorite, fairly rigorous, hike in the Valley, with several friends.

New Years morning on top of Camelback, Emily kneeling at front, Pat and Elaine still back at the trailer

 The days passed quickly, and Emily was getting set to head back to her classroom, by the time we got ready to head to Texas and beyond during the second week in January.  Before leaving, we briefly adopted Homer, a wild pigeon who had a wounded wing; I think he might have taken a BB, or pellet, to the shoulder.  I found him quite suddenly fluttering in the dirt in back of our 5th Wheel.  I thought he was mortally wounded, but he surprised me by scrambling to his feet, and walking a few feet away quite alertly, when I approached him.  But he obviously couldn't fly, and stayed behind our trailer most of the day. I tried to get help... really I did... but by the time I finally connected, via phone, with a very understanding young woman who worked with local Bird Relief agencies in rehabilitation  and actually welcomed the chance to help a mere pigeon (a lot of folks wouldn't take on the "common pigeon", preferring instead to deal with hawks, eagles and such, the elite "upper 2% of the bird population"), Homer had walked away on his own accord, destination unknown to this day.

Homer, wounded warrior... one of the 98%

Homer had appeared, however briefly, in our lives the day before we headed out of town.  On Friday, Dec. 10th, like Homer, we were out of there, headed South for Texas and ultimately Florida.  We had greatly enjoyed our Tempe home and, most especially, all the quality time with Emily.  And we'll be back, eventually!

Our Home in Tempe, AZ