Steve and Sandy... on the Road With Yoda

Mothers Day 2010

2010-05-10T20:11:00.001-07:00

Before I continue with Mom’s Day I want to post some Pix of the day after the wind storm & how calm the beach usually is.

A Tug & Barge W/ Vancouver Island, Canada in background Of Pix with the tug & barge

Steve work-camping @ Corey’s :-)

Sat. & Sunday Mom’s day weekend we had beautiful weather. Corey got Kathy a new swing for the patio. Below are pix of putting it together

Steve, Cailey (Kyle’s friend), Kathy & dog Chelsey - Project done. Cailey, Kyle & Corey & our MH in back

Corey enjoying some quiet time Yoda wanting in with the rest of us

My mom, Steve & friend Debbie having desert- Kelsey finishing a book for a school project.

We had a quiet relaxing day @ my brother’s. His wife Kathy made a very nice dinner of Lasagna & Salad. Mom brought desert. In the morning Steve went to town & visited with his Mom & Dad because we were having dinner with my mom @ my brothers.

Later Love & Hugs, Sandy, Steve & Yoda

A very Windy Day @ West Beach

2010-05-04T11:11:00.001-07:00

Steve finished the fence @ noon & by 3pm April 30th we headed back to Oak Harbor. We’re parked @ my brothers. He has full hookups that we can use.

May 3, 2010

A day with gusts up to 53 mph. We drove out to the beach house to see the wave action. Below are some Pix of the beach. We enjoyed watching from the car. As you can see looks like Yoda is getting a good wind brushing. It was all I could do to keep from blowing away.

You can click on the pix to view bigger.

The beach from the south & the north from up stairs.

The beach from where the kids played a few weeks ago. Some wind surfers to the north. My guess some Navy guys or High scholar's with nothing else to do. It was fun to watch them. Berrr it was also only in the 50’s

We came back about 7:30 to see again & ck out the sunset. This is north of the house. There was not a good sunset but the waves were amazing.

This is a part of west beach that has very strong wave action & can’t be developed. It is south from the beach house. Note the foam from the strong winds. It was blowing across the road.

We really enjoy this part of Whidbey Island. Not much else going on right now. Just relaxing & spending time with parents.

Till later, Love & Hugs, Sandy, Steve & Yoda

Day trip to Lake Tyee

2010-04-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

April 24, 2010

Today we took a day trip to our lot @ lake Tyee. There was supposed to be a vote today for new board members. As it turns out that was cancelled. There is currently a few challenges going on with the managing of this community. Won’t go into that here.

It was a cold drizzly day but took a few pix of where we’ll move back to later in May when things warm up.

Below is our pole-cover that we park the MH under & the Creek that runs behind our lot Todd & Janet’s & Gary & Karen’s. It used to be 6+ft down but 2 yrs ago there was a slide event way up on the hill side that has washed a lot of gravel down & filled the creek.

The Creek Todd & Janet’s

Andrea’s Gary & Karen’s

My brother Corey & Kathy’s Harriet’s

these are some of our friends that we spend time with @ Tyee. Looking forward to some camp fires this summer. And if any of our on the road friends come this way please call & stop in.

Till Later Love & Hugs Sandy & Steve

Just every day stuff

2010-04-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

April 12 – 17,2010

The week since trip to beach has been busy with every day stuff. Spent visiting with family. Not doing anything special. on Thursday 15th brought Leanne & kids back down to Pennies. Friday Leanne & kids went to the Aquarium & Pick Place Market in Seattle with sister Carrie. (Sorry no pix. of that)

Sierra, Brandon, Spencer having snack

Saturday got to see about an hr of Spencer’s baseball game before taking Leanne & Kids to Sea-Tac Airport to return to warmer weather & her lonely hubby. She had a good visit with her grand parents & Sisters.

Now Steve will be working on the fence @ the house before we return to O.H.

Till Later Love & Hugs, Sandy & Steve

A Day @ the Beach House

2010-04-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

The kids all came up on Sunday to see grandparents. We got Kentucky fried chicken & made some salads & Berry cobbler. Went out to the beach house for the afternoon. It was a little sad as Grandma Allgire could not come. But the grand-kids kept things lively.

Jim, G-Pa John, Steve, & Brittny & Kids on the beach

Brittny with broken foot & Jami Brandon Sierra & Spencer on beach

A resident Eagle that spends time on the house top. We just missed getting a pix of him catching a fish right in front. Spencer & Brandon

All 6 G-kids Haley 14 3/4, Brittny 17, Jami 13, Sierra 9, Spencer 9 & Brandon 7.

After lunch we went to see Grandma A. & I didn’t have our camera. Will have to get some Pix. from Leanne.

Till Later Sandy & Steve back in PNW.

Back in the PNW

2010-04-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

We’re back in the PNW. Arrived here 4/7/2010 after 3 long driving days. Our Daughter Leanne wanted to come back up with us to see family. She & kids will fly back on the 17th. It’s been awhile since she & kids were up. Daughter Pennie’s kids are on their Spring Break that’s why we travelled so fast. They wanted time to visit. Somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature it’s spring. Woke up this morning to 38 deg. & a dusting of snow on the cars. going to be in the mid 40’s today.

We left Avondale Monday about 11:30 & headed west on I-10 to Blyth, CA. then north on Hwy 95 to Needles & west on I-40 to Barstow. Had head winds most of the way. Stopped in Barstow for the nite @ Flying-J. The G-kids first time to spend the nite in MH Boondocking. Left Tues Morn.about 8 & headed NW on Hwy 58 to Bakersfield & up Hwy 99 to Wasco. west on Hwy 46 to I-5 & north the rest of the way. Tues stopped in Redding @ the Elks lodge had 50 amp & water for $20. It’s a very nice lodge. There was of course a train very near but no whistle as there’s no intersection. & didn’t here it all nite. Just in the evening & after 6 in the Am. We were on the road by 8 am Wed. arriving @ Pennie & Jim’s by about 7 pm. In our travels Wed. we were behind a semi that had a tire blow. Wish I was in front with my camera to get a pix. Brandon was having his turn @ co-pilot. Today Steve saw that our fender on passenger rear tire is loose. I think we ran over part of his blown tire & it did some miner damage.

From Avondale, AZ to Snohomish WA. The MH computer says we got……..

7.4 MPG (those darn head winds)

50 MPH average speed (That rocking & Rolling hwy. 95)

9% idle time

1620.6 miles traveled

32hrs 24 sec. driving time

220.3 Gallons of Diesel used

We had originally planned a slow trip up Hwy.101 but ya know plans are set in Jello. That’s the nice thing about living in an RV.

We are staying here @ Pennie’s another nite. Relaxing after 3 long days & seeing all 6 of the G-kids together. And also because there are wind gusts up to 50 predicted for the Whidbey Island area & we’re not interested in any more wind or being on Deception Pass Bridge in a gust with a MH. Will head to Oak Harbor tomorrow & stay @ my Brothers till the weather warms up enough to go to Lake Tyee.

below are some pix. of our trip up. Last day @ Bev & Charlie’s The Hot air balloons went over.

We had wind for 2 days.

Snow @ Pennie’s & Damage from a truckers blown tire. Steve got some screws & fixed it. We we’re lucky.

on our way up to Oak Harbor we cut through by Laconner to see the Tulip fields

Deception Pass & NAS Whidbey

That’s it for now.

Felicity, California

2010-03-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever driven just inside Calif, from Yuma on I-8 & wondered what the little church & spiral stairs are along the Hwy. I always thought they were the stairway to heaven? Well not so! It’s the town of Felicity. And the spiral stairs are the 12th section of stairs from the Eiffel Tower. Go to http://historyingranite.org for the full scoop on this interesting town.

Glad we took the time to stop. The web site gives more perspective on this place. It’s another interesting stop along the Hi-ways & Bi-ways of this great country.

Foothills & Dodson Museum

2010-03-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

After leaving Tamarisk we stopped to see friends Gill & Elaine. They have a place in the Foothills. We stayed on there neighbors lot Jerry & Arlyne’s. Below are pix of us on there lot & Jerry & Arlyne with puppy Tag. heading out to there place in Calif.

While in Yuma we took a trip to The Dodson Museum. It’s east of Yuma. There are no signs to get there. It’s a word of mouth type of place. Full of Antiques. The lady takes you through her house & out buildings. Below is a sample of what she has. It’s in Tacna, AZ. 1-928-503-0168

To show what a small world it is we went to this museum with friends in Yuma & it turns out one of the couples we were with is from Bellingham, WA. & worked with Steve’s cousins Tiny & Dale in Bellingham. After Museum we went to this restaurant for a great lunch. It’s not far from the Museum.

Ted & Steve

That’s it for now

Leaving Tamarisk

2010-03-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

We stayed @ Tamarisk from March 12th to the 22nd. Below 4 of the 5 rigs @ Tamarisk. & Charley & Nancy leaving.

Yoda trying to play with Sandy B’s cat TT & Sandy helping Mike with a project

Our fire the last nite. We had smores & Yoda got to lick some fingers.

Barb, Karen, Ken, Reynold, Nancy & Charlie- Mike, Sandy B Yoda Sandy A & Barb

We had a nice time @ Tamarisk & enjoyed our time with Reynold & Karen They are the camp hosts @ Tamarisk

Till later

A day in the Dunes

2010-03-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

March 21, 2010

Reynold took Steve & Mike to see the Plank Road, The Border fence & the American Girl Mine.

Reynold & Mike @ the Border fence by the Imperial Dunes west of Yuma just inside Calif.

Steve thought this was nice to see it being preserved.

And of course they had to stop @ Paradise a cafe in the dunes off Gordon Wells Rd. exit. I-8 Below is the parking lot @ the cafe.

Some pix of the dunes

Mine Junk & Desert Flowers

Looking forward to more Desert Flowers.

Niland, Calif. Imperial Valley

2010-03-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

This is long but it was a busy & Fun day. Sorry some of the pix have spots. looks like my camera had some dust on the lens.

Yesterday March 19, 2010 we took a drive about an hr. away to Salvation Mountain, The Slabs Bombay Beach & The Mud Pots. This is all up on the southeast side of The Salton Sea & west side of Chocolate Mountains.

Below are the Pix of Salvation Mountain. It is @ the entrance of Slab City. Salvation Mountain. is being built by a man named Leonard Knight

Below is us girls Nancy, Sandy B. Sandy A. & Karen up on the top of the mtn. & the other pix is of Leonard Knight.

Slab City from top of Salvation Mountain.

On to Slab City it’s an old abandoned Military Base. During WWII it was called Camp Dunlap & was used to train Marines. At the end of the war it was closed & the buildings were eventually torn down. Leaving The Slabs. In 1961 the land was returned to Calif.

Below is the entrance bldg. & a pix of Nancy’s Garmin

As you can see there is everything from tents to expensive rigs.

The community Bulletin Board & one of the live band stages.

It’s a well rounded community Church & all. We even found this Jag.

It was an interesting place I have been wanting to see. But I will take it off the list of places to spend the nite.It was a sad looking place.

We stopped in Niland for lunch. Don’t remember the name but the food was good It’s right next to the post office.

Mike, Charley, Steve & Reynold Sandy A. Sandy B. Karen & Nancy

We took a run up to Bombay Beach. it’s a very dumpy community a little more north of the slabs. We went to see the Salton Sea & some of the area that was flooded in about 1905 ?? It’s 225 ft below sea level. They have built an earthen dam to keep the Salton Sea away from community.

Done there. I’m not showing the town It’s sad. We then drove south on Hwy-111 past Salvation Mtn. to the Mud Pots. The Salton Sea Mud pots or Davis-Schrimpf Seep Fields {geothermal Mud Volcanoes} are off Hwy-111 on a dirt road. They are a bubbling volcano of mud that make blerping noises as the gasses bubble up from beneath the ground. It’s (70 meters) over 200 ft below sea level. We were able to park on the road & walk out to see them. It reminded me of Death Valley @ it’s lowest point.

That was the end of our day. It was a long day but great fun to venture into a new area of the USA with friends.

To see more pix of our outing go to Mike & Sandy's blog She has a YouTube link of the Mud Pots Bubbling.

Got home in time to do some more Cross Stitch. Steve finished a house he has been carving out of Cotton tree Bark. Here are some pix. This is his first 3-D carving. I think he has done a fantastic job. Thanks Reynold for sharing your teaching talent Steve is looking forward to doing more carving.

That’s all for now.

Finally Back To Blog’ing - We’re @ Tamarisk BLM

2010-03-19T07:57:00.001-07:00

It’s taken too long to get back into Blog-ing.

I will try & do a recap of the last year but not all @ once. For now we are spending some time here @ BLM land called Tamarisk (bureau of land management). It’s located just inside Calif off I-8 mile marker 143. Right next to the All American Cannel. Were a few 100 yds from Mexico.

We are here with 4 other couples. Reynold & Karen, Charles & Nancy, Mike & Sandy & Barb & Ken. Below is Mike & Sandy with one of there cat’s TT. Yoda loves TT. And Charles & Nancy’s rig. Were not very crowded. I’ll have to get some better pix. This area is surounded by Tamarisk trees so it’s protected from a lot of the wind.

We’ve been here since the 12th & the guys have tinkered with something on all the rigs. Mike & Sandy B. have a new to them coach & are learning all the new gadgets it has. We’ve had a camp fire several nites. Not because we’re cold. But for evening gatherings & desert. This evening & 7 pm it was 83 out.

Sandy B, Nancy & I have been working on different needle work projects. I’m working on a cross stitch I started about 17 yrs ago. It’s a baby sampler I was going to make for Brittny our first Grand daughter. She was 17 in Oct. Guess this will be for the first Great Grandchild? We’ll see?

This is all for tonight, computer is running on the inverter.

later Sandy

A Visit with Class Mates

2009-04-28T21:21:00.001-07:00

April 4th -

While in Quartzsite meandering around the venders Steve heard his name called. Low & behold it was a “young” school friend we haven’t seen in 30 yrs. They live in the Peoria area & were in Quartzsite with some of there friends. Had a short visit & planned to stop & see them @ there place. After our stay with grand kids we headed north & stopped @ Bev & Charlie's.

A dove has nested in the back yard & Bev is trying to teach my dogs to be as good as her Bailey. Each evening she goes out in the back & throws a Frisbee for Bailey to bring back.

They have a huge back yard with room for us to park with full hookups next to Charley’s shop.

A toast to more great times. Bev & Charlie are now retired too. While there I taught Bev how to bead a bracelet.

Bev & Charley in front before we left.

Had a great visit. Hope to see them when they come to Wash. this summer. And will see them next winter when we come south again. Hope we can plan some travels together on our next trip.

Time With Grandkids

2009-04-28T21:03:00.001-07:00

While down in AZ we enjoy the time we can spend with 2 of our grand kids Sierra & Brandon. And of course Leanne & Jeff too. Leanne home schools so while we were there we were able to go on a couple field trips. the first was to The Heard Museum.

After getting ck’ed in, the class was taken around the museum & shown the culture of several different Native American tribes. Then to a craft room to make a box decorated with Native American symbols.

Then some time to run & play before we could go back into the museum to roam on our own.

Below are some of the art we viewed inside & out of the museum. Click on the pix to see bigger.

Then of course there was game playing.

The US Air Force Thunder Birds were in town.

Sierra, Grandpa, Brandon & B boy with his Toby

Jeff, Brandon & Sierra.

Of course Steve has to make a stop @ Cabela's & an afternoon in the park.

Yoda & Rhythm say this is too hot Leanne did good

That’s all for now. Just a part of our time with the kids.

Death Valley

2009-04-26T18:45:00.001-07:00

March 11 – 18, 2009 To view pix bigger Click on them.

Death Valley was amazing. We spent a week there & only saw about 1/2 of it. Plan to go back another time & see the rest. We started @ Scotty’s Castle & spent first night @ Grapevine camping. Nice grounds but not high profile RV friendly. Left there & stayed @ Stovepipe Wells Village the rest of the week. It’s a little more central in the park. With golden age pass $6.00 a night dry camping dump & water near by. Also a small store & gas. But just a parking lot. Below is Mike & Sandy’s Airbus & our Phaeton. We went sight seeing in the early day & relaxed, read, did beading or played Mexican Train in the afternoon. The VW camped in the row in front of us. The couple was about our age from Idaho. The camper truck was interesting in that it all folds down flat. And the 2 black plates on left side of the roof are solar panels.

Our first trip out was to Badwater Basin. Lowest elevation in the U.S. 282ft. (86m) below sea level. Steve & Sandy Standing out on the salt flat.

Below is a ramp you can walk out on to the salt @ Badwater Basin & the other Pix is of the white sign up on the hill that says sea level.

Natural Bridge

After a short walk up a narrow canyon you soon realize you are standing in a dry riverbed that water and flash floods have carved out . It has left behind a rock arch it has carved out that weighs thousands of tons. The high canyon walls are a hundred feet high in areas. Equally dramatic is the view overlooking the valley.

Devils Golf Course

The floor of Death Valley covers more than 200 square miles and over the years the rains bring down from the hills all the minerals and salts. As they evaporate, the salts and minerals remain leaving jagged formations as sharp knife blades or ocean coral reef. This process took place over 2,000 years ago.

Mike & Steve @ Devils Golf Course

Artist Drive – These don’t really show all the color in the rocks.

The geology can change quickly as mother nature will layer different minerals causing the colors to change during the day with different lighting.

Furnace Creek Visitor Center-

There is a Museum here & another campground. There is also Wi-Fi @ this location. As well as a restaurant, store & gas.

Zabriskie Point

Wind, rain, and sand have eroded these hills into a maze of valley’s and gully’s to form an ever changing landscape of carved mudstone hills.

Harmony Borax Works

Over 120 years ago the mineral Borax was mined and refined to allow it to be transported 120 miles out of death valley to the nearest railroad line. They could produce 3 tons of semi-refined product a day. The famous 20 mule team and men could average 2 miles per per hour and the round trip took over 30 days and covered over 340 miles. Anyone interested in a “outside” job?

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

The winds of mother nature will blow in specific patterns and directions and in specific areas will create blowing waves of sand that will accumulate in just a few spots. They can be as high as 150 ft.

Critter tracks above & a lone flower in the sand

Mosaic Canyon

Carved out of hard mineral rock is a canyon that is the slender bottle next opening into a vast valley. Water, sand and rock have been eroding and polishing this narrow canyon for thousands of years. The result is canyon walls that are only a few feet wide and have held back the rushing water carving away on the walls

Mike & Sandy Bubar

Charcoal Kilns @ about 8000ft. Steve standing by the snow @ the kilns.

These kilns were made to produce charcoal used for processing silver at a mine 25miles away and at the elevation of 6000ft. Loaded with 42 cords of wood each, they would produce 2,000 bushels of charcoal . It would take a week for each kiln. No chain saws or modern equipment for this job. Just back breaking hard work.

Steve, Mike & Sandy Bubar friends we met with the Escapees class of 2007. There from Minnesota & travel with evil cat Stormy. Yoda’s good buddy.

All this & we only did part of what Death Valley has to offer. We look forward to returning & see the rest.

Scotty’s Castle

2009-04-03T08:16:00.001-07:00

March 12,2009

A 2 story Spanish Villa in Grapevine Canyon, Death Valley. It was a Desert retreat of Chicago Ins. Executive Albert Johnson, Wife Bessie & friend Walter Scott. It is a 25 room mansion with guest house, stables, cook house, gas tank house, patio apartment, courtyard, chime house, power house, solar water heaters & planed swimming pool. Albert had a degree in Civil Engineering. He had great interest in “modern technology” & new inventions. Scotty’s Castle was self-sufficient with 1920’s technology. Construction started in 1925 & continued until 1931 when the effects of the depression & complications to the title of the Castle land materialized. This location was chosen because of it’s abundance of fresh water springs & it’s 3000 ft. elevation, that gives the castle a temperate climate. The young woman was our tour guide.

The cross on the hill is where Scotty is buried with one of his dogs. One of many water falls in the house to help cool it & Scotties bed that he didn’t sleep in.

Dining room these dishes were from Spain. The kitchen sink, The tiles were depicting Ferdinand the bull Story.

Baskets made by the local tribe. The bathroom in the house. It was on the 2nd level.

This is a organ that on the dark wall when it plays the baffles move & you can see light through.

Another one of the bedrooms & an interesting piece of furniture. The windows all had heavy drapes to help keep out the heat & damaging sun.

When Mr. Johnson died he set it up that Scotty could live out his life there. Then it went to a trust managed by a church. When the church decided it was too much to handle they sold it to the parks dept. & donated All of the original furnishings.

The side yard & The start of the swimming pool that wasn’t finished. The tiles were ordered & are now stored in the underground part of house. The pool will never be finished.

The Basement tour Mr. Johnson had all the pipes dug up & dug a tunnel system to lay the pipes & wiring in.

This is some of the tiles for the pool They will be stored here forever.

These are the batteries used to give the house power. & the generator room

Google Scotties Castle to find out more. There was so much to learn & how modern the Castle was.

On the Road to Death Valley

2009-04-03T08:12:00.001-07:00

March 11,2009

Left Bolder City Elks after having breakfast @ Mc Donald's. If your ever in Bolder City you might want to stop for a snack there. It has walls of water & Brass figures of children playing. Very nice & fancy for a Mc D’s. Sorry no pix. [Remember to click on a pix to see it bigger.]

We drove up Hwy. 95 through Indian Springs & saw the snow on Mt. Charleston

Took Hwy 95 all the way up to the north entrance Scotty’s Junction hwy267. It’s 26 miles in to the Castle. We followed Mike & Sandy. The road was narrow in places & a little windy. The White cement posts are fence posts put in to mark the boundary of the Castle property. They have a J & an S molded into each post.

There is ample room for an RV to park & go through the tour. There are 3 tours one of the Castle, one of Basement & tunnels under the ground & one of the outside area. We took the Castle & the Basement tours.

We got there late enough in the day & decided to stay @ Mesquite Spring camp ground near Scotty’s Castle. To do over again we wouldn’t stay there just because there were several low branches not very High Profile RV friendly. But it is close to the Castle for an early start.

This campground has very spacious spots. There are a lot of tent campers & people that sleep in there cars. It’s $12 a night or $6 with golden age pass. Which Steve has. They have Bathrooms & dish washing places but no showers. View out front window & MH & Toad

Tomorrow Scotty’s Castle

Lake Mead, Nevada

2009-03-29T20:10:00.001-07:00

When we left Laughlin we stopped @ Bolder City Elks. We had full hookups. Spent a few days. Took a drive out to see Lake Mead. We have herd so much about it. I wasn’t really impressed. But Steve could do some fishing there. The lake is very low. They do come in with graders & grade the road’s out to the lake.There are several roads that go down to the lake that RV’s go down & park on. In the pix you can see the white water level showing how low it is.

This is one of the boat launches. And there are some flowers out there.

These are some of the RV’s out there across from the road we took down to the lake. They are boondocking on BLM land.

Several miles up the road are condos & RV park you can see how far there boat launch goes down. The foot high fence is a Turtle Fence. An area there is a protected area for Turtles & they have this fence to keep the turtles from getting on the road.

Lake Mead was ok but don’t really have an interest in spending time on the BLM land.

Laughlin, Nevada.

2009-03-29T20:04:00.001-07:00

Sunday March 8th Headed to Laughlin.Stayed there a couple nights. Steve tried his hand @ Black Jack & did ok. I lost some on the penny machine. Guess I just don’t understand how they work. We ate out @ the buffet. Steve & Mike liked the cheep breakfast.

This is where we parked @ the Tropicana Hotel & Casino. It’s pretty much a parking lot & the generator hrs are from 7am to 7pm. It’s free.

This is a casino farther down the road that offers parking up on a hill with a great view. You have to pay there but it wasn’t much.

Left Laughlin we headed for Bolder City Elks. We thought about going to Lake mead with the MH but changed our mind after driving out to see it & decided to head for Death Valley instead. Next post will be pix we took @ Lake Mead.

Back on the Road

2009-03-29T19:53:00.001-07:00

We have spent just over 2 weeks in Tucson. We got a Tucson Az. Attractions Passport book. It’s a discount book (2for1) to see several attractions in the Tucson area. Left Tucson March 3rd. & drove about 130 miles to Gila Bend Elks. Not far from there is a Shrimp Farm. We drove out there in the morning & watched there video of how they raise the Shrimp. To see more go to there web site www.desertsweetshrimp.com Questions or to place an order 623-393-0136.

Then off to Hi Jolly in Quartzsite. It’s a 14 day free area. We stayed there a couple nights & Sandy & I did some shopping @ the bead store. This was our space & of course Mike & Sandy’s cat Stormy keeps ck’ing out the diesel pusher. (Mike drives a gas Air bus) The pix below in Stormy coming out of the Generator space.

Two nights here & then off to Laughlin, Nevada

Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley

2009-03-28T15:18:00.001-07:00

On Feb. 26th. we went up to Mt Lemmon. It’s a long drive, 30 miles from Tucson & 30 degrees cooler. The road up has a lot of switchbacks & places to stop & take pix of the valley. It has pine, fir, & aspen forests. At 9,154 feet, the sky ride offers a panoramic view of the forest, rocky cliffs, & mountain ranges. There is restaurant @ the top of the drive. But we didn’t stay & eat there. I forgot to wear sox in my sandals & it was cold there so I bought a $10 pair of sox. Good thing I remembered my coat.

Some of the views going up

Going up the chair lift

View from top & Mike & Sandy getting ready to get off @ the top

Heading down & Some of the equipment used to groom the slopes when they have Snow. They we’re skiing up till the Monday before we went up. They we’re expecting another opening before the end of the season. They don’t make snow because of water shortage.

It was a beautiful drive & as you can see the wind had been blowing so the distant views were haze (smog).At the top the trees had been burned. Don’t remember how long ago but was just a few yrs. back. That’s it for Mt. Lemmon.

a Little Catching Up

2009-03-27T22:16:00.001-07:00

We got a Bug in the computer & have had to re-du the computer. We first put our blog together with a different e-mail. I had too much trouble getting it to work so decided to try & restart from scratch since the original blog was short. To view out travels from January-Feb. 24,2009 you can go to http://www.allgire.blogspot.com

So now here goes with the new blog address.

Before leaving Tucson Steve & I went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens. It was a private residence & in March 1975 it became a garden open to the public. www.tucsonbotanical.org . The top left pix was a model train village set up in the gardens. There were also areas to sit & relax & enjoy the gardens. & a place to rent for a party.

click on the pix to enlarge.

There was a Butterfly exhibit there to see. Below are some of the Butterfly’s. The 2nd pix down on left is a pix of a very big butterfly it must have been as big as 4X5 card. I’ve never seen a butterfly that big.

That’s all for the gardens. They are beautiful & well kept.

Later Sandy & Steve