Yuma

As I said, Yuma was not what we expected. There ARE mountains (contrary to what we had been told) and there is much agriculture in the area. We learned quite a bit through our friends, Ed and Loretta, who took us on a tour of the area. The farmlands are irrigated by the Colorado River and the area produces 90% of the nation's winter produce! They rotate five crops a year, and we just missed the broccoli/cabbage season. Durum wheat is grown this time of year, shipped to Italy once harvested where they make pasta and return it to the U.S. for sale.

On our tour through the countryside, we were pleased to see much green. Interestingly, in the middle of this land, we encountered the prototype to the Golden Gate Bridge! Who would've thought?

We visited an RV Park on the Colorado River behind a dam (the Imperial Dam?) and it was so good to see water in a river! The water shortage in that area is serious business, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of farms. So to see the life-giving water in somewhat more abundance was reassuring.

From there, we stopped at a local date farm and treated ourselves to a date shake. Yum! Dates are called 'nature's candy' because they are so sweet. Here we are with Ed and Loretta at the date farm:

While in Yuma, Fritz got involved in the park's lapidary class, continuing to learn about his new hobby and develop his skills. I committed to going to the pool every day to try to swim off the pounds I had accumulated this trip. The tan was just a bonus! While on my daily morning walks, I marveled at the desert beauty busting out in blooms. Who would have thought that such a vicious-looking cacti could become such a thing of beauty? Here are some examples:

Prickly pear

Bougainvillea in a Ficus tree

Blooming Ocotillo

Bottle Tree

We took a day trip to the old Yuma Territorial Prison, set on the banks of the Colorado River. It was a beautiful setting in an otherwise dreadful place. Fritz was briefly incarcerated, trying his best to look mean.

Yeah, right....!

Yuma Territorial Prison grounds. Colorado River in background

Having seen all we came to see, and getting increasingly hungry for home, we decided to leave Yuma early. Highs were expected to be in the 90s the following week, and the cool of home sounded inviting (not to mention the people of home!!). We decided to return to Wickenburg on our way and see our friends there and in Sun City West one more time. Sharon (in Wickenburg) is simply the warmest hostess I've ever known and always makes us feel so welcome. If it weren't for the lure of family, we would probably live there!  A day trip over to Sun City West with our treasured friends, the Todds, and another shopping spree in their

Sharon in Wickenburg

orchard, wrapped up our time in Arizona.

The Todds in Sun City West

We are blessed to have such dear friends there, who have all left the porch light on for us if we decide to return.









We decided we probably wouldn't return to Yuma, favoring Wickenburg and Green Valley, but we saw a lot more of the beautiful and varied state of Arizona and feel quite comfortable there. However, there's no place like home, and with anticipation urging us on, we headed north. I will pick it up next time to share our return trip adventures. Until then.....

Quartzite Recap article printed in BOB Newsletter

Recap: RV Tent Show, Quartzsite, AZ

In late January, Dr. Lynn Martell, D.Min, Director of Special Services at Loma Linda University Health, Aaron Laudenslager, Senior Development Officer at Loma Linda University Health, Matt Miller, Senior Development Officer at Loma Linda University Health, Tricia Murdoch, Senior Development Officer at Loma Linda University Health’s School of Medicine, BOB member and RV enthusiast Vern Haase of Omak, WA, and his wife Sandy, BOB member and avid outdoorsman Scott Wilcox of Morro Bay, CA, as well as 21 other BOB member volunteers, many with their spouses, set out to host a booth at the 32nd Annual Sports, Vacation & RV Show in Quartzsite, AZ. Their goal was to spread the word and educate attendees about proton therapy for prostate cancer and other illnesses.
Scott sent us a recap:

January in Quartzsite, Arizona, is like no other place on earth! The little town of 3,400 swells to over 1,000,000 from January 17th to 25th, with RVs as far as the eye can see. The main show was held in “The Big Tent,” with an estimated attendance of over 150,000, most of whom are retired and in the age group that may have experienced cancer or know someone that has.

This year there was a new booth in “The Big Tent”— the Loma Linda Proton Beam Therapy/BOB booth. Vern estimates that thousands of people were personally contacted by BOB members and LLUCC staff members and hundreds of copies of proton therapy brochures and information sheets were handed out. In addition, any man who told us he had untreated prostate cancer or a rising PSA was given a copy of Bob Marckini’s book, “You Can Beat Prostate Cancer: And You Don’t Need Surgery To Do It” as well as an LLUCC DVD about proton therapy.

Vern and Sandy Haase spent hundreds of hours on the phone, emailing, and making sure the booth was staffed for this event and deserve special thanks for their efforts. They are another great example of BOB advocates dedicated to helping others facing cancer to get the information that might save lives.

Vern told us that he and Sandy felt the event was an “invaluable way to educate men, women, and their loved ones on the merits of proton treatment at LLUCC.” Vern and the other volunteers met and spoke with thousands of people, young and old. They learned that some had never even heard of a PSA test. Vern said, “We encouraged and even consoled many who were either experiencing cancer themselves or had a loved one who was ill.”
An event attendee told Vern, “I don’t know what you guys are doing there, but normally the old guys sit around the campfire talking about new parts for their motorhome. This time everyone was talking about prostate cancer and proton therapy.”
The new “Team Proton” has great expectations for next year. They already have ideas for improving the booth, making new connections, and are working on gathering even more volunteers for the January 2016 event. If you’re interested in attending, please contact Vern Haase at 509-826-4931 or email thevernandsandy@aol.com.

I have been remiss in keeping up on the blog! Now I'm behind over a month. May have to break this into two entries....

We have had no further mishaps (praise God!), and enjoyed our final month in Green Valley. One day we took a drive in a loop south to Nogales, then East and North up to Patagonia Lake. I just liked the name and wanted to see what a 'lake' looks like around here, as the rivers are all dry!

On our way, we stopped in an artsy town called Tubac and wandered around before having lunch. Nothing quite caught our fancy, so we resumed our trek. 

Interestingly, the landscape on the east side of the mountains we look at every day is entirely different from our side! The west side is desert with typical desert plants, but the east side is more like a plain, only hilly! It had an abundance of grasses and looked much like E. Central Oregon with fir trees and fewer cacti. Patagonia State Park was a couple of miles off the highway, but a lovely drive. We were rewarded with views of water! It is likely a dammed river, but there was actually WATER in it! 

Patagonia Lake

We stopped in a parking area and took a brief nap before resuming the loop back toward home.

About a week later, we made plans once again to go to Tombstone with our friends, Bill and Virginia, but Fritz and I both came down with a mild case of the flu and our plans had to be canceled. We figured there's a reason we weren't supposed to go to Tombstone this trip, so it remains on our bucket list.

We were playing cards with another couple, Paul and Amelia, when Amelia exclaimed that 11 was her lucky number. I asked why? It's her birthdate! I asked what month, and she replied "October"! We were all surprised to find she and Fritz share a birth date. Just out of curiosity, I asked Paul when his birthday is. "September" was his reply. I asked what date. He answered, "the 16th"! MY birthdate! Thereafter, we referred to one another as our 'twins'! How unlikely is that??

One of our final events at Green Valley was a ladies luncheon and fashion show. Amelia coerced me into signing up as a model. You pick your own clothes from the sponsoring store, and because I hadn't felt well that week, I missed going with the rest of the 'models', so struck out on my own. I decided to get something I would 'never' wear. However, I was so strongly encouraged to buy the outfit, I did! (Any ideas on where I'd wear this???) It was great fun!

 On our way to Yuma, we stopped in Maricopa and drove to Sun City West to see our friends, Carolyn and Burton Todd. They are such a delightful and generous couple and we enjoyed a wonderful home-cooked meal. Afterwards, they loaded us up with five bags of citrus from their little orchard. Lemons and oranges and tangelos and grapefruit. Yum! Here is just a sampling of the bounty! We plan to stop again on our way home, and they have promised to load us up again. Chewelah folks, we plan to share!

It rained on and off that day, and the desert mountains were beautiful with the dark sky and occasional rainbow in the distance! I was driving while Fritz napped, so was unable to capture the beauty.

We arrived in Yuma March 1st, and I will pick up our tales from here another day. I'll just leave with the teaser that Yuma is NOT what we expected! Til next time on down the road.....

Our return from Quartzite culminated in a week-long stay in Apache Junction, where cool, rainy weather awaited and our friend, Anna, was down and out with the flu. One day I walked a few hundred yards to the clubhouse to play Scrabble, and nearly needed a boat to get back to our motorhome a few hours later! Water 3" deep rushed down the middle of the roads from heavy rains while I was inside, and there was nothing I could do but soak my sneakers traversing them. 

January 31st, we left Apache Junction, and were supposed to go across the mountains on a 2-lane highway to see our niece, Delann. Probably due to the heavy rains, I'd not had good feelings about it since the day before. We were headed over there in spite of my ill feelings as there was no evident reason not to; but God intervened. Just before we left, I checked the status of our route online and the roads were open, but as we traveled, a highway sign flashed just before our last opportunity to exit that the road was closed further ahead due to poor visibility. (Interestingly, the AZ DOT map still only shows an advisory, not a closure!)  I insisted that this was a validation of my ill feelings, and we rerouted to Tucson instead. As we entered Tucson, Fritz began to notice the steering becoming more difficult and the engine temperature rising. We pulled into a mall parking lot to find we had lost all the hydraulic oil that provides for power steering and engine cooling! I shudder to think what would have happened had we lost steering on our original route. Praise God!!!

We called our Emergency Roadside Assistance company and they sent a mobile mechanic, who could not diagnose the problem. $110 later, Fritz decided he could limp to our destination in Green Valley, where he could troubleshoot and not have to do so in the rain (did I mention it was still raining???) Before doing so, however, I had to find a car wash as the car was covered in the 2 gallons of power steering fluid that had mysteriously leaked out.

We got underway, but on our way to the freeway, had to traverse a railroad crossing with a very uneven track. Driving behind Fritz, although he approached the track slowly and cautiously, I saw the motorhome heave and yaw across the tracks. We weren't on the highway but a few minutes when I started seeing smoke come out the engine compartment. Before I could call Fritz, he pulled over. Apparently, when crossing the tracks, a bottle of wine catapulted from its 'secure' place on the counter, the cap bounced off and it flung its contents across the breadth of the motorhome. Yes, of course, it was red wine! The same action caused my coffee maker to jump off the counter and hang by its cord. Fritz saw something fly forward and heard the crash, so pulled over to investigate, unknowing that I was about to call him about the smoke coming out of the engine compartment!  But, wait, there's more!!!

Fritz studied the engine compartment but could not find a leak, though the engine was heating up again. After a cool-down, we proceeded once again. About five miles further down the freeway, smoke and oil billowing out the engine compartment, Fritz pulled over again. This time, he was able to spot the general location of a leak and set about to repair it as best he could. By this time, he was an oily, wet mess, as was the car. Happy to have found and temporarily fixed the problem, we got underway yet again. But not very far. Another five miles and he pulled over again. The engine compartment is under the bed, so he immediately lifted the bed and discovered the leak was actually in the hose NEXT TO the one he repaired! We limped off the exit and parked in a WalMart parking lot for the night. Fritz, for one, was just glad he finally found the problem, and it's a problem HE could fix quite inexpensively (he will replace the hose).

So I began making dinner and opened the cupboard to retrieve a plate, only to have a glass tumble out and crash onto the floor, shattering into pieces. I did not respond well to the latest hiccup in our day, I must admit. The rest of the evening got better as I drank the remaining wine in the bottle! The following day, we made it within a few miles of our destination when Fritz's repair failed, but we limped into the park, dripping oil all the way. Once we got situated, we made a trip back into Tucson to have a hose made-to-order, which Fritz replaced and tested. W-h-e-w! 

We had a week to recover from that event, then took the motorhome to Tucson to have the engine compartment steam cleaned and the oil changed on our way to Safford. It took all day for that to be done(!), but it's done!

Safford is a decent-sized town northeast of Tucson, home to several mining operations. The WalMart there provided comfortable dry-camping, and it was so good to see our niece and her boyfriend, and sister Sue and husband Don had driven down from Chewelah too! What a pleasant piece of home! We celebrated Sue's birthday in the park with a BBQ and made plans to head out early the following day for Tombstone.

As we drove back to the motorhome, the "Low Tire Pressure" light flashed on the car's dash. Fritz got the compressor out and checked all the tires, and one we had previously had repaired was low. He aired it up and headed for bed. The next morning, the tire was nearly flat. He eased it across the parking lot to the WalMart Tire Center and awaited their analysis, which was 'not repairable'. Knowing we needed to replace the tires soon anyhow, we bit the bullet and ordered up a set of tires. By the time they were installed, it was too late to go to Tombstone, so we drove out Interstate 10 to Texas Canyon, then drove down to see the 'Cochise Stronghold'.

rock formations in Texas Canyon

Cochise was an Indian Chief of the Apaches who holed up where he and his party couldn't be found and was the last group of Indians corralled onto a reservation. His stronghold was a beautiful, lush canyon where scouts in the hills above could easily spot anyone approaching. Don, Fritz and I took a short hike to examine some of the beautiful rock formations in the canyon.

Fritz and Don observing something in the distance

Look at all the green!!!

In the parking lot of the Cochise Stronghold

Little did we know we would have to traverse several streams to reach the stronghold!  Woo Hoo!

So the day was not lost. Sue and Don went to Tombstone the next day as we headed back to Green Valley, and we'll make a day trip there some other time. It felt SO GOOD to return, take a shower, swim, and ease back into our routine! We have nowhere else to go now in the motorhome until Yuma the end of the month. Ahhhhhhh......

It's been a tough month, financially and emotionally with all the failures we've experienced, but I frequently praise God that Fritz is such an excellent troubleshooter and skilled at all kinds of repairs. He has saved us so much money over the years!

Spending time with Sue and Don, Delann and Derek, helped curb my homesickness for the time being. I can't believe our adventure will be wrapping up in a few months! Let's hope all the system failures are behind us so we can hit home full of energy! 

Til next time down the road.........

desert plants in bloom

Wow.....what a couple of weeks it's been! We arrived to a lush Apache Junction Jan. 12th, still damp from nighttime rains. Superstition Mountain was beautiful in the mist, and as the sun rose, Fritz and I enjoyed a hike up the hill to view the surrounding area.

Superstition Mountain

 We connected with our friends there, Jim and Anna, before continuing on to our next destination en-route to Quartzite: Wickenburg. We are always royally treated there, provided free parking, water and electricity by our dear friend, Sharon Pearson, while parked at her house. Sharon outdoes herself as a hostess, and gives generously of her time and resources whenever we drop by. The morning of January 15th, we pointed west toward Quartzite.

Quartzite. Mom always taught me that if you can't say anything nice about something, don't say anything at all. Let me just say I am not a fan. It is a very small town that throws up a  jumble of temporary buildings for this big RV event every January. To the town's credit, their roads and facilities are well equipped to handle the influx of RV and ATV enthusiasts that descend upon them in the winter.

The event for which we came is billed as the biggest 'flea market' in the west (I believe). What it reminded us of is the state fair. Under the 'big tent' were scores of booths with people hawking every kind of item but geared primarily toward RVers. We had volunteered to man a booth on behalf of Loma Linda University Medical Center to promote proton radiation therapy. Our booth was small and well-manned. However, Loma Linda invested very little in terms of signage or current materials, so the first day Fritz made a sign to grab the attention of the fast-moving throngs, then made two more in the following days. Our encounters with people were touching; some for whom the message came too late; others that were encouraged to know there was another option. It was emotionally exhausting, and we only manned the booth four mornings for four hours each morning! At lunch, at our RV park, and elsewhere out and about, we had opportunities to talk about our mission there and share hope. 

Fritz ready to share hope with passersby

The last day there, we went to a gem and mineral show, but frankly, I was so 'peopled out', I couldn't enjoy it as much as I might have. Our biggest surprise of the week came when we encountered five people we knew from the Chewelah area, and some we didn't know! Who would have thought??? In fact, we met a couple at the gem and mineral show from Valley, WA selling the serpentine rock that we have been landscaping with! They'll probably come buy some from us when we all return home.

I was happy to leave the dusty, sparse desert of Quartzite. Here's a sample of the 'scenery' on our trip back to Wickenburg:

This is not the pretty desert to which we'd become accustomed!

It was like a desert oasis to return to Wickenburg! Once again, Sharon opened her heart and home to us. Sharon and I enjoyed hiking around the BLM land across the road from her house and taking in the views. Fritz and I agree we could live here (of course, we've never been here in the summer!).

Wickenburg

We're now back in Apache Junction for a week, then will head over to Thatcher to see our niece, Delann, for a day, then back to Green Valley. Somewhere in there we'll also sneak a trip to Tombstone.

I'll leave you with this beautiful shot of a rainbow ring around the sun our last day in Wickenburg. We've seen some beautiful skies in Arizona that, no doubt, the dust helps create. 

Will catch you later on down the road.......

Well, the first round of our Green Valley experience is coming to a close, as we leave day after tomorrow.  We have enjoyed the people, the games, the experiences, the weather (for the most part) and the down time.

Fritz's blood pressure has slowly come down, which is the big plus. He plays ping pong nearly every weekday while I'm doing water aerobics. On rainy days, I'll play ping pong and must confess it is a more thorough workout! However, my hip just doesn't like that much activity, and I love being outdoors and in the water, so I'll stick with what works!

We haven't played any more pickle ball or shuffleboard as our friends went back home to Wyoming for the holidays. We'll try those again when we return in February. Haven't done much sightseeing, either, as the weather has been uncharacteristically cool and wet. Yes, we've even had lows down into the mid 20s! Fortunately, such days don't last long and soon the sun is shining and the temperatures creep back up, seeming warmer than they are in contrast to the cool weather.

I've taken pictures of nothing but scenery. The facilities here are nice, but who can beat God's paintbrush? 

Moonrise at sunset

 The sunrises and sunsets here are spectacular!

Mountains ablaze!

I am disappointed that I haven't seen any javelinas; a peccary that is a distant cousin of the wild hog. However, I don't really want to encounter one as they can be vicious. Here is what they look like:

We are visited each evening by a huge horned owl that appears very well-fed, and woodpeckers claim their territory by tapping on the flag pole in the mornings. Jackrabbits and cottontails are also frequent visitors in the park.

We've sharpened our skills at Euchre and a mid-west offshoot called 'Pepper'. Last night we learned a new game called "Oh, Hell!"....and it was, ha! Can't wait to teach it to my siblings at the family reunion in May!

From here, we're headed up to the Apache Junction area for a few days, then Wickenberg on our way to Quartzite, where we'll spend a week. Unlike many die-hards that dry camp in the desert, we're staying in an RV park. I understand this town of 1,000 becomes a metropolis of 500,000 people during this particular time of year, as there is a huge RV show and flea market. We are manning a booth to promote Proton Radiation Therapy for cancer. We'll have plenty of time to browse around as well. After our week there, we'll head back to Apache Junction for a week then return here to Green Valley for the month of February.

As I write this, many in my family are suffering with the debilitating cold, and I confess to feeling a tad guilty that we have escaped the grip of winter. Yet, God has allowed us to be here for some reason, and our job is to do His will wherever He places us. We have much to learn and some perhaps to teach. I just pray we are faithful as we enjoy His pleasures.

Til next time.....God keep you warm!

 

                                                                                           

Remember in my last post I talked about being flexible? Well, that's us! As we settled into our spot here in Green Valley, AZ and began planning our trip to California, Fritz confessed that his blood pressure has been too high and he really needed to just stay put for a while. So we canceled our plans to California and extended our stay here in Green Valley til the middle of January. 

Sunset at the RV Park

The Santa Rita Mountains

Virginia in the Santa Rita Mountains

We are really enjoying our stay here; our friends have been great hosts, showing us some of the beauty of the area in Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita mountains, teaching us how to play shuffleboard and pickleball. Their energy puts me to shame! Of course, I just finally went to the doctor last Friday to get antibiotics to finally kick whatever I have in the teeth, and have been slowly feeling better and getting my strength back. However, my months of relative sedateness caused me to wrench my hip on my first efforts at pickleball. So we're scaling back; Fritz is playing ping pong in the mornings while I do water aerobics.

The area is beautiful desert, just about 20 miles south of Tucson, alive with a number of cacti and scrub trees. Recent unusual winter rains have greened everything and some cacti are blooming. I've done a poor job of remembering to take pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it! This community is largely 55+ which has its pros and cons. I miss the age diversity, but it's also nice to have so many activities geared for the senior age group! The slower pace, compared to Tucson, is very welcomed but it's nice to have the big-city conveniences so near.

It is quite a bit cooler here than I expected. We're at an elevation of 3,000 ft. and have been seeing lows in the 30s at night, with highs ranging from the low 50s to the low 70s. We're also benefiting from the remnants of all the rain California has been getting. But generally, the sun is shining, and when the sun's out, Fritz is happy!

So Green Valley is where we'll be for Christmas. We'll be thinking of all our family and friends scattered throughout the world, wishing each of you the joy of the miracle of Christ's birth. May the New Year find each of you healthy and happy. Til next time....