Many, Many, Many Trails

Here we have Dan and Sam at a park in Verde Valley on the banks of the Verde River. Nice park.

With the purchase of our Camelot came an offer to stay 3 days at a Thousand Trails. We had planned this Arizona loop to include Keepers of the Wild, Williams (to check out a future job), the Grand Canyon, Cottonwood, Verde Valley, and Sedona. As Dan was reading Nick's blog (Gypsy Journal), he noticed that Nick and Miss Terry are staying at this TT.

"Are you up for another membership park sales pitch" asked Dan. "Sure", I said. Even though we are OK with boondocking where we can, stayed in field across from Grand Canyon RR station and across the street from Cliff Castle Casino, it would be nice to have a park to use as home base for a couple of weeks and explore the area---beautiful scenery , steeped in rich history.

Always on the lookout for great places to dine, we took Nick's advice and visited Hog Wild in nearby Cottonwood---absolutely great BBQ. Several other places were added to the list by Greg, the TT salesman. When can we come back here?

A Glimpse of the Past

Montezuma Castle National Monument-WOW-This ancient cliff dwelling dates back to 1150. The Castle stands in a cliff recess 100 feet above the valley. The Sinagua Indians lived in this valley along the banks of Beaver Creek which, along with Montezuma Well, provided water for daily living as well as for the farming. The natives grew corn, beans, squash, and even cotton.

Bits of pottery showed evidence of their artistic skill. The ranger attempted to play the flute, which he said was "really quite easy", but did a poor job of it. He did, however, weave a tale of life as it probably was in the days of the Sinagua Indians who lived in the great house up on the hill.

There is much of interest to see in the Verde Valley.

Just on a Wild Chance....

Our love of animals-big, wild, cats in particular, led us to the gate of an animal sanctuary that is literally the "last chance" for unwanted animals. Keepers of the Wild is home to 150 who would have otherwise been destroyed.

At one time Jonathan Craft was an illusionist, but seeing the abuse that was happening to the big cats used in the shows, decided to find a solution to the problem, rather than be part of the problem.
The story of how Keepers came about is indeed a tear- jerker for animal lovers. Johathan is truly my hero.

Keepers moved into their new home in Valentine, AZ where they have about 17 acres of land. Nice big habitats have been created for the 2 remaining lions, 4 or 5 cougars, and many tigers! Our adopted cats include Bobcat Angel, and Lynx-Kitty. There is a large pack of wolves and hybrids. We heard how many of the residents came to live at keepers and wonder what people are thinking when they attempt to make a pet (for a child) of a wild animal.

We were on hand for "snack time" about 2-ish, chicken bits designed to get the residents up and at'em. The cats would sleep the day away if you let them. The real meal, an 8-12 pound chunk of beef tossed over the fence, was quite a production. A team of workers placed pans of meat into spaces within the enclosures--teamwork is a must for safety. I could, would, love ,.to work here.

Over the years of travel we've spent the night where we could hear the crashing of waves, the babble of a brook, the wind in the trees, a train in the night. But this was the first time we've been able to hear the ROAR OF A LION!! Life is good.

A Chance to Visit

Today I had a chance to visit with friends we worked with in Skagway, AK. After a nice lunch at the local Red Robin, they came up to the house, where we sat outside at the new patio furniture that sits of the extended patio area, surrounded by the plants that adorn the new plant stands, and looked out over the gravel yard that was formerly-just dirt.

It was sort of like a class reunion. It's fun to catch up and hear about mutual friends, what they are doing and where they are headed to work this summer, and where they worked this winter. We are all hard working folks who have retired form "regular" jobs and enjoy shorter term work that take us to different parts of the U.S. What a beautiful country we have, so many wonderful places to be/work/live for a period of time. Sometimes I wish we had stared this life-style sooner....so much to see, how much time?? There is a question to ponder.

Bob and Vivian are headed to New York to work at a big campground in the Adirondacks, an area of the country they have not visited before. I hope this will be a positive experience for them. Bob and Jeanette plan to spend most of the summer in Oregon where two of their kids are. They promise that if we visit, they will take us to Agate Beach, a place I've heard about but never been.

It was good to visit with friends, in our nice back yard and patio.

Home Again, Home Again.....

It's good to be home. I forget, when we are traveling, how much I like our house here in Lake Havasu. While the house is not large, I enjoy the space. Even though, technically, we've lived here 5 years, we are still in the process of landscaping the yard and decorating the house.

It's expensive to be home--all these little touches that we don't have (or need) on the road, are "must haves" here. The large dirt area we have in the back now is covered in gravel, the patio area has been extended. When we travel, we are tickled to have a picnic table at our site. Now we "had to have" patio furniture on that extended patio area. And even though the old BBQ worked just fine, we "had to have" a new BBQ to go on that patio area. Now the plants we've lugged across the country, back and froth from Alaska, can not longer sit on the patio. No they "must have" a plant stand. Actually, those very plants are special, they are spider plant babies that are descendents of the mother plant that was given to us as a wedding present 28 years ago!

I like the town/city...a new shopping center is soon to open with a Super Wal-Mart, Penney's Dillards, Theaters, Michael's and a Pet Smart---what more could ya ask for? I like the lake and the walk there. I even like cleaning this house.

Most of all, I love our neighbors. They have 10 cats and two dogs. I just have to look over the fence and watch the kitties play. Sami likes to watch the cats too :).
I miss our Tera that traveled with us and gave us so much joy for 18 years.

We'll be here about 4 weeks before we do a mini trip. Not sure where all Dan intends to take us, but I know it will be fun.....

A Chance to Grow up Cowboy

These two little boys, being part of the "rodeo family" will have a chance to grow up to be real cowboys. There was a event for the little kids with stick horses--so very cute-all decked out from hat, western shirt, Wrangler jeans belted and complete with buckles, down to the boots. Some even had spurs. There was a steer head on a bale of hay for future ropers to practice on.

It was a beautiful day-hot, not a cloud in the sky--and even though we are bone tired, I'm kind of sad to see the end of the 83 Annual La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, February 16-24, 2008 It's 8:45 and all the horses, bulls, calfs, and sheep are gone from the pens. The arena is empty. The vendors have taken down thier displays, and most of the trash has been removed. All is quiet on this western front.

Chance Customers

As I was saying----I've never worked where the customers come up to my counter on horseback, but as you can see, it happens here at La Fiesta de los Vaqueros aka Tucson Rodeo. Now, of course, I have apples ready for when the horses and riders return. Glad I had my camera with me. This is a hoot.

Apparently Tucson is bursting at the seams with celebrity events going on: Tiger Woods is in town for a huge purse tournament. Championship riders from all over come to compete here. Tuscon has lots to offer.

I've observed that the "rodeo circuit" family is pretty close, which you don't see in many sports.

Always really nice folks at rodeos, mostly hardworking and honest.

Tomorrow Laila and her friend Hannah will get to see the rodeo, hope she wears her cowgirl outfit---think I'll have to visit one of the vendors who have real cowgirl hats.