Hike around Saguaro Lake, Arizona, Butcher Jones Trail

There are 3 or 4 new posts below this one. Chris has been very bad about keeping up, so she is trying to make amends and worked all morning posting on the blog.  She has taken some heat from folks about not posting.  She takes this well as it means that people are reading and interested.  She will try to be better.

Right now we are in Palm Springs, California after spending almost 3 and a half months in Arizona.
Our plan is to hang around southern CA while it warms up in the north.  Then we will take a couple of months to travel along the Pacific Coast all the way up through Washington state.  Any suggestions on where to go and what to see is much appreciated.  Now on to the hike.....

We took this hike and we think it was around 5 miles.  Nice easy hike with some incline so you got a workout here and there.  It was a cloudy day, which Chris was thankful for as it would have gotten pretty warm.

Saw a pair of Eagles fishing in the lake.  They were looking very healthy.

Click the link, select slideshow, enlarge the screen:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/ButcherJonesTrailSaguaroLake?authkey=Gv1sRgCJeCnbrNotKruAE#

Everett's Birthday

Alex's brother, Matt, has a one year old grandson.  We helped celebrate Everett's birthday last week and got some pretty cute pictures.  Everett is a very sweet baby and we have enjoyed spending some time with him.  It was good practice for when our grandson arrives in May.  We love you Everett!

Click the link, select slideshow and enlarge the screen:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/EverettSBirthday?authkey=Gv1sRgCLOoq4iw3oauoQE#

Family and Friends in Arizona

While in Arizona this winter, we spent a lot of time with family.  We had Christmas dinner with Alex's brother Matt, and his wife, June and extended family.  We think we got a few great pictures of the family and want to share with you.  Also, a few pics of our other family members here in Arizona.

Click the link, select slideshow and enlarge the screen.

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/FamilyInArizona201112?authkey=Gv1sRgCOmg5IeyyI7IZg#5717603538042217858

Better Late than Never or Arizona 2011/12

Bad Girl for not posting in over a month.  Sorry about that.  No excuse really.

Here's the pictures from our visit to Quartzsite (see post below).  We had a great time with the other Tiffin owners and met some fantastic people.  We were camped out in the desert with no hookups. 

Quartzsite the town is like no other place for RVers.  It's crazy busy in January.  Crowded but fun.

Click the link, select slideshow and enlarge the screen.

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/Quartzsite2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCPfh5r_t1Z2EogE#

Quartzsite, Arizona

We are off to join about 60 other Tiffin motorhomes, and their owners, in Quartzsite, AZ.  During January about 50,000 RVers meet in the desert, gathered in different groups or off by themselves.
As you can see below, they have something they call "The Big Tent Event".  There, you can buy just about anything.  Especially, if it has anything to do with traveling around in your RV. 

We will be parked out in the desert about 2 miles from the Big Tent.  We won't have any hookups, so we will have to be careful with our 80 gallon water capacity and run the generator if we need to charge our batteries.  There won't be a lot of TV viewing, etc., while trying to conserve electricity.

There will be a few cocktail hours and pot lucks.  We'll go over to the big tent and check out what we may want to buy. 

Why?  Because it's there and everyone who travels around in a RV needs to go at least once.  It's considered the "Woodstock" for RVers.  We'll take some pics and post them after we get back to Fort McDowell at Eagle View RV park for the month of Feb.  Off we go!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

                        FORT McDOWELL INDIAN RESERVATION

We hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.  We are staying at Eagle View RV Resort here on the reservation.  The picture above was taken from behind our motorhome.  It's a beautiful place and a wonderful area to walk out in the high desert.  The Verde River is also right behind us and you can see the trees that line the river are changing colors. 

We will be celebrating the holidays with Alex's brother, Matt and his family.  We will also be throwing a birthday party for Chris' Uncle Gene on January 1st.

In case we missed telling someone, (and we can't believe we would have missed anyone) we are going to be Grandparents sometime in May.  Bill and Heather are having a baby boy.  They are in Bogota, Colombia and we will be visiting them soon.  To say that we are thrilled and excited would be an understatement. 

We still love our new lifestyle and can't believe that we will be starting our third year on the road in April.  We hope that there will be a summer in Alaska in the next year or two.

Please keep in touch and, again, Happy Holidays and a wonderful 2012.  Chris and Alex

Here's a few more pictures of the area.  https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/EagleView2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCPbiveSqqPDY_AE#

Tucson and Saguaro National Park

We've spent a couple of weeks in Tucson.  We stayed at one of the highest rated Military Campgrounds,  Davis Monthan AFB.  It is very nice and we both enjoyed our stay there. 

While in Tucson, we did a lot of everyday chores and planning.  Two notable events were visits with family and a day trip to Saguaro National.   We got to visit with our niece, Jill and her husband, Dean.  They met us for dinner in old downtown Tucson to celebrate Alex's 60th birthday!  We had a great time with them.  Alex is coming to terms with his new decade.

Our drive through Saguaro National Park had a purpose.  We were collecting information and pictures for our friends in Japan, Kenji and Junco.  They wanted us to send something interesting to their grandaughter, Moeka.  We went to the park's visitor center to get some of their printed material and we bought post cards and other items to send along.  We are hoping she can share all of this with her classmates.  We took about 100 pictures while we were there.  Unfortunately, our computer blew up with smoke pouring out.  So that delayed sending out pictures to Moeka.  We were able to save our hard drive from the old computer and had some geeks transfer all the info.  So, now we've sent the Picasa album to her. 

We thought you might like to take a look.  If you are ever in the Tucson area, you should try to take a drive through this beautiful park. 

As usual, click the link, select slide show and hit F-11 to enlarge the screen.

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/SonoranDesert2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKzMw5eHqKSNCg#