In yesterday's blog we said that if we could stay awake long enough we would take a picture of the view from our trailer overlooking Las Cruces at night.

Last night was beautiful but today has not been nice - plenty of sunshine but a nasty wind (gusts to 49 mph) creating dust storms. We were not interested in being outside so we drove around some to get a feel for the Las Cruces area (the second largest city in New Mexico). At times the dust storms were so bad that our GPS would blank out because the satellite signals could not penetrate the cloud. We did stop at one of the local wineries - the La Viña Winery - and sampled a few wines.

The winery is located in the Mesilla Valley south of Las Cruces. "Mesilla" in Spanish means "little table" and the wine is named the Little Table Cabernet Sauvignon. There are a few other wineries around but they were not open today. On our drive we crossed over the Rio Grande a few times. It really should be called the Rio de Arena (River of Sand) - not a drop of water in sight.

While driving around we saw thousands of acres of pecan orchards. We have been seeing lots of them over the last several days ever since we arrived in the Tempe area. There are smaller orchards of other trees and vines but nothing like the vast expanses of pecan trees.

The above photos don't show the gusty wind and dust clouds that followed us around. But they kept us in our vehicle trying to stay away from the grit that was clogging our sinuses. The weather is supposed to be much calmer tomorrow for our drive to Midland, Texas. Hopefully the forecast is accurate because pulling our trailer in winds in excess of 40 mph is no fun, and could be dangerous. We will keep you posted.

This morning we visited the Western New Mexico University Museum in Silver City to see their collection of Mimbres pottery (A.D. 1000 to 1300). Like most museums they don't allow photos to be taken of their exhibits so we've pirated a few images off the web to illustrate what they are like.

Lots of animals and people incorporated in the designs. The upper bowl has been "killed" by breaking a hole in the bottom so other people can't use it. This was done for bowls included as grave items for the deceased. It is also argued that killed bowels were placed on the head of the deceased and the hole allowed the soul to depart the body.

We left Silver City before noon and drove an hour and a half to Las Cruces. After setting up our trailer we walked around the RV park, the Las Cruces KOA, and then relaxed in the sun for a while. The high temperature this afternoon was 73 degrees but it was windy (and continues to be) so we used the trailer as a wind break. It is supposed to be really windy tomorrow so we are glad we aren't driving (we are leaving for Midland Texas on Wednesday).

We selected this campground because Sharon's parents, Hank and Shirley, stayed here in their giant motorhome for a couple of weeks about 15 years ago. Their lengthy stay was not planned, but they had to have their Ford Explorer repaired after it was unintentionally towed with the parking break on (it was reported that all four tires were ripped off and sparks were flying - fortunately no one was hurt). They loved the views (and the park is well known for them) and we understand the view is particularly beautiful at night overlooking Las Cruces. If we can stay awake long enough we will take a few images and post them tomorrow.

We drove to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument this morning. The drive itself was interesting through Ponderosa pine forests and much of it above 7000 feet elevation (so there is snow accumulation in the shaded areas). But the road is very narrow with constant hairpin curves so the drive, which is only 48 miles long, took us two hours.

Much of what we saw from the road is in the Gila Wilderness Area - interesting that it was established in 1924 and was the very first wilderness area designated by congress (and inspired the 1964 Wilderness Act). Because of the protection of the Gila River watershed it contains the longest stretch of undammed river in the contiguous 48 states. And Abby sure enjoyed a drink of the fresh Gila water.

The Cliff Dwellings were wonderful. They are one of the very few that still allow people to walk through. It is about a mile walk up and down a narrow side canyon to the Gila River.

There was only one other couple there when we explored the dwellings and there was a ranger there to answer questions. The dwellings were home to 35 to 40 people for only about 30 years beginning in the A.D. 1270's. The reasons they came and went are not well understood other than that was a period of rapid environmental changed after the onset of the Little Ice Age.

We spent about an hour wandering through the various rooms and speculating about life in the 13th century. The exit from the dwellings is by a traditional ladder - fun.

Dogs are not allowed in the main ruins so Abby had to stay behind, but she could take other trails to some of the peripheral sites. We had a picnic lunch and then walked to a small ruin with Abby - her first cliff dwelling!

There are also some pictographs nearby.

It was a wonderful day - bright sunshine and pleasantly cool (in the 50s). Tomorrow we head for Las Cruces for a couple of days then off to Texas to visit our niece Shelley and family. For the return trip back through New Mexico and Arizona we are planning our route so that we can visit many other cliff dwellings and Native American sites. So keep visiting our blog for updates and photos of interesting places, things and people.

We left Benson, Arizona this morning around 10:30 heading east to Las Cruces, New Mexico. We pulled into a rest stop at Lordsburg, New Mexico, for a lunch break and looked at our maps. We had talked about visiting the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument as a day trip from Las Cruces, but while looking at the maps we realized that we would need to backtrack. So we changed our plans, called the Las Cruces RV park and changed our reservations, called the Silver City KOA to make reservations, and drove to Silver City.

(Our trailer at the Silver City KOA RV park)

This afternoon we drove around the historic Silver City (where Billy the Kid lived as a young teenager and was arrested for robbing a Chinese laundry - he escaped from jail through the chimney). We also drove through Western New Mexico University and hope to visit their museum on Monday morning before we leave because they have the largest permanent display of the beautiful Mimbres pottery (8th to 12th century AD). We'll see how much energy we actually have.

We plan to spend tomorrow at the cliff dwellings so we should have many interesting photos and observations to post.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, we spent the afternoon with Stacey walking around a few of Tempe's city parks chatting about anything that came to mind. It was very nice to simply catch up with Stacey's and Eddie's lives and aspirations.

(view across Tempe Town Lake at the Arizona State

football stadium and the Vale of Tempe, the namesake

of the City of Tempe)

We went out for dinner with Stacey, Eddie, Elise, and Eddie's parents at a wonderful Italian restaurant, VinciTorio's. The owner, Mario, is a friend of the Eddies so he came out and visited for a while; and one of the cooks also joined us. He played football for Boise State and his parents live in Twin Falls - small world (or maybe Idaho really is the center of the universe).

We really enjoyed getting to know Eddie's parents - they are gracious people and we chatted mostly about the challenges and rewards of retirement. Before we said goodnight and goodbye we picked a dozen pink grapefruits from a tree in Stacey's and Eddie's backyard (the tree is visible in the center of the picture of their backyard and pool on the previous blog entry). The grapefruit are sweet and delicious and we will enjoy them for several days to come. We both want to thank all the Goitia's for their generous hospitality and exposing us to some scrumptious food - Thank You all! 

Stacey invited us back next year to go to their villa at Rocky Point on the coast of the Gulf of California, State of Sonora, Mexico. Their villa is right on the beach on a point outside of the port area, and it has 4 bedrooms and 4 bedrooms and sleeps at least 14. Anybody want to join us next winter?????

On Thursday, Feb 23, we left Tempe and drove about 150 miles south to Benson, Arizona, where we checked in to the Butterfield RV Resort & Observatory. This park is a lot more spacious than our Tempe digs probably because we are way out in the desert where land is obviously much cheaper.

Lots of cacti everywhere!

The RV park has a large telescope and they host evening programs gazing at the sky, weather permitting. We were too tired last night to participate but we may tonight. Traveling is tiring and Abby gets pooped too (amazing that she can take up our entire queen sized bed).

Today is laundry day for us - all the RV parks that we have visited thus far have very nice laundries for their guests but we have put it off until we were short of clean underwear (the most critical clothing item for everyone involved). Therefore, while waiting for washers and driers to do their job we have hung around the park and chatted with some of the guests. So far on our adventure we have met some very nice people - what seems to initiate a conversation most of the time is Abby. As soon as they see her and and her pleasant, outgoing disposition, they approach and tell us about all the Goldens they have known and/or owned. Something that we have learned from these interactions is that both of us feel very young and mobile compared to most all other snowbirds. We don't know if we really are that much younger than others but it appears that way to us (or maybe we are delusional). Sure makes us feel spry and energetic.

And by the way - just to rub it in for those of you still in snow country it is 3:30 in the afternoon and it is 69 degrees and sunny in Benson. Absolutely perfect weather! And one more item - a large older motorhome just pulled into a slot near us. It looks like all the original decals and decoration has weathered off or been removed and a new one added. It says "just dicken around." Sounds like they are in the same state of mind as we are.

Our niece Stacey was delayed returning from Mexico yesterday afternoon (her Durango lost transmission fluid and she had to be towed to Ajo AZ for repairs) so we didn't get together last night. She picked us up this morning on her way to the airport to pick up her husband Eddie. He was returning from a business trip back east to learn more about improving historic properties (his restaurant, Monti's, is on the National Register of Historic Places and they want to improve their outside patios but not adversely affect the historic qualities of the building).

Eddie's plane arrived around 11:30 a.m. and we drove directly to Monti's for lunch. Sharon had a small filet mignon and Rick had a small prime rib - delicious!!!!! We spent the afternoon and evening at Stacey and Eddie's house.

(street view of the Goitia's home)

We lounged around their pool area for much of the afternoon (temperatures hovering around 78 degrees) then Stacey left to pick up their son Brice (a freshman at Arizona State University) and Eddie who had stayed a Monti's when we left after lunch.

(Sharon and Abby in the Goitia's backyard)

We had Chinese take-out for dinner. Their daughter Elise (a high school senior) was sick with a stomach bug so didn't join us for dinner.

(Goitia's back patio)

The wine we enjoyed at dinner was Ataraxia (Greek for "a pleasure that comes when the mind is at rest") that was produced by the Goitia family in 2011. It is a blend of two grapes - Barbera and Tempranillo, and please excuse the glare - we can probably get a better photo tomorrow during daylight without a flash.

We will get together with Stacey tomorrow and go to a few "quirky" attractions (Shelley's words, not ours) - and "quirky" suites us perfectly. We will update you all tomorrow.

We opted to do nothing but relax today. We broke out the shorts and tevas and sat in the sun for a couple of hours, Sharon reading her Kindle and Rick sampling a microbrew. We notice on the internet that it is currently 18 degrees and snowing in Island Park - well it is 73 and sunny here.

We want to thank all of the Schowengerdt clan for the retirement gift of the Cuisinart BBQ - it is getting daily use. And we want to thank the Atkensons for the GPS - it is amazing how it aids navigation and travel in unfamiliar regions.

We anticipate receiving a call from our niece Stacey later this afternoon after she returns from Mexico. Then we will decide what our next activity might be. Until then we are simply relaxing and enjoying the climate along with the lack of responsibility.

We arrived in Tempe about 3 yesterday afternoon (Saturday) and checked into the Apache Palms RV Park. The RVs are packed in pretty tightly but we have an adequate patio space for the BBQ and our lounge chairs. The weather is beautiful - right now (Sunday 4:30 p.m.) the temperature is 70 degrees and humidity 29%.

We didn't do anything last night - we were both tired, and we are learning that driving with the trailer in city traffic is the most tiring part of RV travel. Today we lounged around all morning and then drove to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument about 35 miles south of Tempe.

(Abby and Rick in front of saguaro cacti

and ocotillo)

The ruins are fascinating and the exhibits are excellent. The site was built and occupied by the Hohokam between AD. 1350 and 1450 and contains one of the largest Prehispanic Native American structures in North America.

It also has a ball court - somewhat different shape than the related Mesoamerican courts of Mexico and Guatemala but it probably hosted similar games.

One of the more interesting things we did today was go to a grocery store that caters to Hispanics. More chilies and spices and (semi)prepared Mexican food than we have ever seen. And the prices! We purchased a couple of heads of lettuce, some avocados and several other vegies for a big salad tonight and the total came to $3.31! But the gas is expensive here at $3.59 or more per gallon.

There is another group of Hohokam ruins nearby which we will probably visit tomorrow. The primary reason we came to Tempe was to visit our niece Stacey who returns from her current journey in Mexico tomorrow afternoon. So we will probably see her and family in the evening (or at least Tuesday and Wednesday). Then we head further south and east for our trip across New Mexico toward Texas.

We left the Zion River RV Resort at about 10 a.m. yesterday (Thursday, Feb. 16) and headed south for Kingman, Arizona. The drive was pleasant except for trying to navigate through Las Vegas, Nevada - stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper traffic most of the way through.

When we are traveling Abby has decided that she prefers to ride in our laundry basket rather than sprawling out over the whole back seat area - go figure.

There was some pretty scenery after we left Las Vegas passing by Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. We stopped at a scenic overlook of the El Dorado Mountains and Lake Mojave and had lunch in our trailer. It is really convenient to travel with your own cafe and bathroom.

We arrived at our destination, the Blake Ranch RV Park and Horse Motel about 12 miles east of Kingman around 3 in the afternoon. We had a relaxing afternoon and since it was Rick's birthday, we made a special dinner of fresh salmon and rice with a bottle of St. Chapelle Huckleberry Wine that we have been saving for a special occasion.

Today (Friday, Feb. 17) we drove down one of the few remaining stretches of the famous Route 66 to a "ghost town" named Oatman in the Black Mountains. Oatman was the center of a mining district which still supports a few active mines today.

The oldest remaining building in town, the Oatman Hotel, was built in 1901 and hosted Clark Gable and Carol Lombard on their honeymoon in 1939 (that's how important the town was when Route 66 was the main auto route between New York and Los Angeles).

Clark Gable apparently stopped there many times because he liked to drink and gamble with the miners. Now-a-days people sign a dollar bill and hang it on the wall or ceiling (we didn't follow the fad). But there are some really old ones that are shellacked on the wall - probably from Gable's era.

One of the main attractions in town is the herd of wild burrows that roam the streets looking for handouts (and there are many people who satisfy them - the town gives away small packages of carrots so at least they are getting healthy food). The main category of tourist there are bikers on their Harleys although we saw a lot of retired folks like us wondering through the shops and eateries.

Route 66 from Kingman to Oatman is remarkably narrow, some stretches are carved into the side of a mountain, and in many places it is barely wide enough for cars going opposite directions to clear each other. There is the rusty remnant of one old car that didn't successfully navigate a hairpin curve.

And there is one of the original gas stations with old style hand gas pumps along the route that has been preserved.

We took a walk around the campground this afternoon just to look at all the plants that we are unfamiliar with. We need to buy a "plants of the desert Southwest" book to satisfy our interests - we plan to visit Saguaro National Park south of Phoenix so we probably can get a good one there.

Tomorrow (Saturday, Feb 18) we will drive to Tempe. It is only about 150 miles from here so we continue to be leisurely about our travels. We will keep you posted on our progress.

We didn't do much today. We called the Kolob Canyons visitor center this morning and they said that the road was still closed because of heavy snow so we drove to St. George to see what the city was like (not having been there for several decades). It is a huge retirement center and it appears that this is where some go to die (insensitive, we know, but this was our impression). We did visit the first Mormon temple built in what is now the state of Utah. It really looks like a Greek Orthodox church, not the contemporary spired buildings of nowadays.

So we didn't do anything of interest today but Sharon took some nice pictures yesterday in Zion NP (shown below):

(the dark spot is a portal in the tunnel that burrows through the mountain,

the tunnel was a WPA/CCC project during the Great Depression)

(driving through the tunnel by the portal shown above)

(looking out of the portal at the cliff across the canyon)

The tunnel is about a mile long and it was interesting to have a few portals to see outside.

Sharon also took a picture of the cliff waterfall that is better than the one I shared yesterday.

We are headed to Kingman, Arizona tomorrow so check back tomorrow night and we will have more info about our journey.

We woke up this morning under a blanket of snow. By the time we went outside with a camera (~10 a.m.) most of the snow had melted in the valley.

(our trailer at the Zion River Resort - Virgin River on the right)

We thought that it would be fun to drive up into the snow and get some photos of snow on redrocks. However, after starting up the Kolob Terrace Road we turned back because of road closure. Then we drove up to the north entrance of Zion NP (Kolob Canyon) but we were also turned back because of road closure. So we went back up the Virgin River Road (where we were yesterday) and had a nice afternoon walking and viewing beautiful sights. We took a long walk along the Pa'arus Trail (the only dog-friendly trail in the park) and took several pictures.

(Sharon and Abby on the Pa'arus Trail)

After the walk, we drove around and found some beautiful views of snow on redrock.

(waterfall emerging from the rocks)

(White Throne and the Virgin River)

We are spending one more day here at the Zion River Resort but we have no idea what we will do tomorrow - perhaps nothing (still hard to appreciate that - we just haven't gotten used to not being in a hurry to do as much as possible). Maybe we will try Kolob Canyon again; but maybe not.

We left Pocatello on Saturday, Feb 11, and stayed with Grandma Shirley that night. We departed for southern Utah on Sunday morning in a snow storm - it was slushy and snowing all the way to Cedar City so the drive took a little longer than expected.

(somewhere near Beaver, UT)

We arrived at the Zion River Resort in Virgin, Utah, in a late afternoon rain and we had plenty of time to set up before dark and dinner. Beautiful place but all the leaves are off the trees so I'm sure it is prettier in the summer. It has been raining off and on all day (Monday) so we spent the morning lounging in the trailer - Sharon read a Kindle book (Impulse by Debra Webb) and Rick caught up on email (we have wifi but no cell phone coverage). In the afternoon we drove a few miles to Springdale and entered Zion National Park. It rained and snowed most of the afternoon but we drove around and saw some sights.

(on the Zion-Mt. Carmel highway just below the tunnels)

We will go back tomorrow and hopefully the weather will be better. There is only one trail that allows dogs so that may be the only hike we attempt (depending on the weather) - but there is lots to see along the various drives (and dogs are allowed in parking lots, etc.) so we will at least accomplish that.