Rainy Pyjama Day

View from our dining table window. Red item is a hummingbird feeder.

Rain started again for real in the middle of the night and is still busy with it now at 11 am! If the rain hadn't awakened us (sounds like being in carwash when you're in a unit like ours), the Flood Alerts on the phone would have!

We enjoyed  a warm bowl of steelcut oats for breakfast and then Rose Lynn enjoyed a Scrabble game (Bill not so much 😉)

Thanksgiving Eating - Part 2!

We invited neighbours Mike & Johanne in for turkey and games. Tried a "small oven" approach to the prep by using what has been called deconstructed turkey. Essentially, the whole meal is layered in a pan with the stuffing and veggies on the bottom, topped with turkey pieces (we used a breast), and all cooked together. The same technique could also be employed on a larger scale with a whole bird so cooking time is seriously reduced!

This not our meal but it looked like this!

Bike Gang!

A great day of cycling with Betty & Mike (closest to Bill in the centre)

 and Anita & Peter, next to the railings.

We're on a bridge across Tempe Town Lake, a recreational body of water created 20 years ago on the Salt River which flows between Phoenix and Tempe (also helps control local flooding). We rode through some of last week's lingering water flow/pooling on pathways in the storm drainage system (Indian Bend Wash) of Scottsdale. Our ride started on the cool side but eventually the cloud cleared and allowed the sun to warm us!

Blue Skies after 3 Days of Rain 👍

Skies are clear this morning.

It was interesting finding indoor activities in what we consider an outdoor world! With only a week in the area, Joan and Barrie were happy to get  in two golf games before the rain started on Tuesday afternoon.

This wasn't your average rain experience we're thinking. The storm came and went with spots of blue appearing occasionally over the duration. There was lightning, thunder, wind, showers ranging from sprinkles to pounding downpours and even some hail!

                    

Looking out onto the Museum courtyard during a noisy downpour

While we were indoors at the Musical Instrument Museum, phones were bleating flood warnings all afternoon. Here are a couple of local weather visuals:

Familiar Haunts 'n' Restaurants

We've spent the last few days before the rain exploring favourite places to ride, hike and eat! Here are some pics from our activities

Think this is an Organ Pipe Cactus that we saw along a bike path

The very large plant (a clump about 10 ft tall) was covered in blooms and fruit. It seems that these particular cactus can live about 150 years and only begin blooming at around 35 years! In the photo you can see the purple fruit as well as a future bloom (located between the top two flowers). The showy, unscented, flowers are about 4" in diameter and seemed to be popular with the bees.

Went looking for wild horses on a northeast portion of the Maricopa Trail that circles the city of Phoenix. Our hiking "guide" Jeanne indulged us with another great hike. Looking forward to more with her!

Love these tread marks in the sand!

More Stories and Pictures to Come....

So, we 've been keeping ourselves busy!

Bill's sister Joan and B-I-L Barrie are in Scottsdale for a week. The weather continued warm & sunny until yesterday when "the rain" started! We're adjusting our activities accordingly 😏

Flat (bicycle) Tire Experience

Of course it was the back tire...always more complicated because of the gearing mechanism! Still, it was an interesting weapon that did us in (and easy to spot!).

Not the sharpest photos, but they tell the story.

Remembering our Time in Benson

Walking with John & Linda in the hills 

above Suguaro RV Park in Benson, AZ

(It's a blooming century plant. Although century plants are quite long-lived -- though not nearly as long as their name would suggest -- they die right after flowering. As soon as flowers set seed and drop, the plant withers and dies.)

Thanks for the fun! 

Remembering on Nov. 11th

Some Arizona Fruit

We're enjoying the citrus (lime & orange) that we picked in our RV Park in Tucson. Even though the orange still appears to be on the green side, the flesh is sweet and tender!

The pomegranate in the middle grew in our Benson RV park. A lot owner left out many pieces of the fruit for passersby to take home. So glad we tried them even though they were not the typical dark red colour; once again, the fruit is surprisingly sweet and tasty.

3,340 km Later!

Yes, we spent 3,340 km getting to our wintering location at Rock Shadows RV Park here in Apache Junction, AZ.

It's very warm - well into the 80sF/hi 20sC!

This welcome greeting made us laugh out loud!

Yes, there is a backstory...

The first year we were here, our neighbour Joy related to their son that they had new neighbours on the next lot; since they had not enjoyed their neighbours the previous winter, his comment was "Hope they're not d..ks too!"

Beauty on our Lot in Benson AZ

Handbuilt dry fit stone arch typical to the area.

Clear mineral chunk - not sure what it is.

Red barrel cactus with yellow fruit

Moving Day

Had a rude awakening this morning...rain, thunder, lightning and even a rainbow! It was all over by just after 8 am.

After a really fun week with Mike & Betty we are moving a little east to Benson to drop in on John & Linda. We met this great couple in west Texas on our second winter out. We've met up with them many times and in many locations over the years, including here, Alberta and Minnesota and riding with them for a few days across Montana when they were cycling the "northern tier" from Bellingham to Barr Harbour!

We'll be here for a couple of days and then arrive in our winter destination of Rock Shadows RV Park at Apache Junction on Saturday.

Roadrunner Day

We spent another day on the loop & enjoyed seeing many roadrunners along the path. Betty snapped this posing one - rare, as they are usually rather skittish and quickly on the move

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Hot Day in the City

Good Morning Tucson!

Today's bike adventure started with a stop at the Cops'n'Rodders* car show only a few blocks from our Park. Bill and Mike are real car nuts (and Betty and Rose Lynn enjoyed the show too!). However it was very hot on the feet wandering the exhibits parked on asphalt!

Hood ornament "cozy"

As we set out to ride the Aviation Park trail after the show, we were all stunned to pass a western diamondback rattler (about 6 feet in length) coiling its way across the route. Rose Lynn wanted to stop for a photo but was strongly advised not to tangle with this venomous snake!

The imagery and name of this snake is very common in Arizona and our cycle path took us later to the "snake bridge". Here are some photos from other photographers.

The evening was just as warm as the day and we were able to enjoy our evening meal outdoors (no bugs!)

 

Good evening Tucson!

* The show is presented by the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Foundation (SALEF) for the benefit of the SALEF police partners:  Tucson Police Officers, Marana Police Officers, University of Arizona Police Officers and Pima County Sheriff’s Deputies. In addition to show vehicles there were also law enforcement displays of the police partners as well as military displays.

Back on the Bikes - yeah!

For the first time in weeks we were able to go for a ride. Warm (80F/hi 20sC) and gently breezy, we all revelled in our good fortune to be back together on the loop.

the loop is a 131 mile network of shared-use paths in metropolitan Tucson maintained by Pima County. We expect to ride a few more of the links in the coming days.