"Today is a Good Day to Drive!" .....Van-Go

November 4, 2006 Sipping coffee we walked the wash trail near where we parked. We came to a cave up on the rocks but were not dressed for the climb. At the Red Hills Saguaro National Monument visitor center we watched a short video that was about the great circle of life from the viewpoint of the Tohono O’Odham Indians. Several Indians were set up to show their crafts: basket weaving with horsehair and grasses, silver work, beadwork and weaving. The beader told us of a Brazilian seed that washes up on Atlantic coasts that are used by his people to ward off evil. He incorporates the seeds Anglos call hamburger seeds because of the resemblance in his beadwork. We walked around a bit and learned about the saguaro cactus roots from one of the rangers. She told us that the roots are in the diameter of the length of the cactus is tall and that they are shallow, about 4 inches below the surface in order to get as much of the rain that may fall as possible. She told us how the Indians still co...

November 3, 2006 Lazy morning sipping coffee and watching the people come from golf carts, cars, and on foot to let their dogs relieve themselves. The library just a few miles away had good wifi so we did that a while then headed into town. We had the tires checked at Discount Tire, checked on solar panels for the roof, made an appointment with the tech guru of solar for next week, did some shopping, and walked around the Reid Park Zoo. The zoo is divided into four areas all connected with walkways. The African Animals featured our favorites giraffe and elephants. The marabou stork is a big wild looking bird with no feathers on its head. The two white rinos were laying in the shade. In the Asian Animals section we caught a glimpse of a very large tiger pacing. Then on to South American Animals where we saw the Giant Anteaters pacing, Llama and Capybara, the largest of all rodents at about 150 pound, resting. The black jaguar was spectacular and even called out to us; give a listen by g...

November 2, 2006 We got a call this morning early from Jessica; she and Kathy talked about a lesson she is doing with the theme of “hello” If you have any ideas let her or us know so we can pass them along. She is doing the lesson with K-5 grades. The sun is warm and the misty mountains become clearer as the sun gets higher in the sky. Karen and Herb brought us out to Desert Museum; their friends had given us free passes. Now this was not the museum you might think; it is a renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden. There were interpretive displays of living animals and plants native to the Sonora Desert region. There were hundreds og animals and more than hundreds of plants on display. We walked the miles of trails and pathways with something special to see at every turn. We started our day watching trainers with birds. A roadrunner, raven, ferruginous hawk and a barn owl came with in feet of us so we got a really good look at these magnificent birds. The Hummingbird A...

November 1, 2006 We woke and took our time preparing for the day. The vista from the pass was grand. The pass was the Old El Capitan Pass used by Kit Carson. We sipped coffee, read and puzzled and watched the little silver and black dots streak the sky sometimes leaving white trails and always the sound of engines working hard, and the practice of four or more planes doing maneuvers. It was ten in the morning when we started down the other side of the mountain through rock, mountain, canyon, valley and all they while going down at a 8% grade we coasted to the lower valley past two runaway truck ramps to an elevation of 2500 from 4900. Then we wiggled through the hills; there is more greenage out here. We past Christmas Mine; wonder what they mine? Then down into the valley with the Gila River running though it. There were clusters of trailers, little ranches, and small towns. Once in a while we pass a suburban type house that looks out of place. We left the mountains behind and came in...

October 31, 2006 This morning we woke to sunshine after a cool night We enjoyed breakfast; yes the flies and bees were again out in full force. We read and puzzled a little until we were over whelmed with swatting. Then we decided to take a walk up the draw, the wash, the place where water must run when rains come to the dry places here in the mountains. When we got back we decided it was time to leave the flies and bees. We packed up and crawled slowly out of the hole we were in. We made it to the road and slowly worked our wayon the narrow dirt road filled with washboard. It was a slow drive which suite us just fine. The views were worth it. A vista at every turn. Apache Lake far below, the snaking road we had just transversed. Our top speed has been nine miles per hour; try that some time! We drove a paved side road to Burnt Corral Campground; over 70 sites, restrooms, water on a stick and views of the low water of Apache Lake.. After the lake we traveled along the hillside flowing ...

October 30, 2006 We left the population area behind us and went on Apache Trail, the route Teddy Roosevelt took when he came to dedicate the dam named after him. This route would keep us to the inside on the narrow dirt road part. Our first stop along the way was Goldfield, a ghost town. Well, it was a simulation of a ghost town with old building constructed on the side of an old gold mine town. We paid our $5 and went into the mine and learned about gold mining back in 1893. There is also an open car train you can take for $5; The train makes a half hour loop tour of the area. The old saloon now serves drinks and meals; the mercantile store sells fudge and souvenirs. The road meanders around the hills, goes up and down, and wiggles. The view is of craggy rocks, rocks covered with yellow lichen, saguaro cactus, ocotillo all in green leaf, prickly pear, chollas like the teddy bear cholla, a few mesquite trees and creosote bush. It must have been a grand summer with rains as the century ...

October 29, 2006 Today was a shopping day. After Walmart we went to Borders where Will found a new Kukou puzzle book and Kathy found a fantasy adventure book to read. Then we watched the Steelers loose in football at Buffalo Wild Wings and played a little trivia.BWW has free wifi so we internetted and between puzzled and read. We spent the night at the large parking area with all the pretty flowers. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was our movie.