MAC Attack!

Bill has gone down the rabbit hole of acquiring a MacBook Air computer!!! After a career on PCs and over three decades of PC ownership, this is a big change for the Pettys. We do have an iPhone, so it's not a huge stretch...but Rose Lynn is happy to have him get us set up. He's spent a lot of time on it so far getting all the music accessories etc to function in the new medium and still has a way to go.

LAS NOCHES DE LAS LUMINARIAS

Once again this year we were able attend LAS NOCHES DE LAS LUMINARIAS* a magical night for all our family (us, our daughter and family and Colin's parents and brother's family). Not only are the lights enchanting, but there are many musical groups performing outdoors in various alcoves throughout the gardens. We all chose our own flavours of entertainment and our grandboys found a place to build their own Enchanted Garden Village using elements like stones, moss and other enchanted accessories. Warm drinks such as hot chocolate were a welcome treat as the day had been rainy earlier which made for a cool evening with a few puddles and muddy spots!

*A LUMINARIA is small paper lantern (commonly a candle set in some sand inside a paper bag), particularly in the broader Southwestern United States at Christmas time, especially on Christmas Eve. It is especially significant in New Mexico, where they are cultural hallmarks of the Pueblos and Spanish of New Mexico. Luminarias are traditionally lit during Las Posadas a nine-day holiday running December 16–24, recognizing the trip Mary and Joseph took to Bethlehem and their search for accomodation. The hope among Roman Catholics is that the lights will guide the spirit of the Christ child to one's home.

Fun Christmas Day

 

          

This cartoon speaks to the day we had with daughter Janine, Colin, Magnus & Zach - nothing fancy, just in the moment! 

First, we hiked on Silly Mountain* just east of Apache Junction. Found a couple of geocaches along our routes. The trails are typical of this area, rocky and rubbly, but everyone scrambled up and down without a stumble. The elevation of the mountain is 652 meters (2,139 ft), and the prominence is 109 meters (358 ft).

                        

Many areas along the trails were just rock - no granular material like here

The grey hairs in the group watched as the the family clambered up the trail to reach the top. Unfortunately, the trail ended before the summit and attempting to summit would have been too dangerous (especialy on the descent) for everyone.

  Snack break on a hewn stone bench

The g'boys relaxed from the hike by using up their remaining screen time for the day! The rest of us enjoyed adult bevvies and chatted.

Trying out a new Christmas game "Zombie Kittens" 

 (part of the Exploding Kittens franchise)

The day wasn't over - we then enjoyed a pasta meal and a stroll through our Park to check out some Christmas lights.

* Why is it called Silly Mountain?

Simply put, when Pinal County decided to create and pave "Silly Mountain" Road, a local landowner (and county employee) requested, and was granted permisssion, to name the new road; it's not clear how he decided to use that name!

Oh Happy Day!

 

Colin, Magnus, Zach & daughter Janine

They sure look happy as they ride to the Calgary airport, leaving the frigid weather behind for a Christmas vacation in Arizona and California!

We met them at the airport and took them to  Colin's parents in north Phoenix for a joyful reunion of laughter and food. They will stay there except when taking a three day adventure to Disneyland. 

Evening Delights

 

Dramatic SW sunset as we drive into Mesa 

to visit the Mesa Temple* Christmas Lights

After a five-year hiatus, the Mesa Temple Christmas Lights returned this year to the renovated temple grounds.  It is one of the largest known volunteer-driven Christmas lighting displays in the country and has been a beloved community tradition in the area since 1979.  We were happy to be able to enjoy this spectacle once again!

Life-sized camels & the wise men

* The Mesa Arizona Temple is the seventh operating temple of the 

       Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Wave Cave Trail

Wave Cave Trail is east of Apache Junction, near Gold Canyon, AZ in the                                  Superstition Mountains 

Length  3.0 mile / 4.8 km

Elevation gain  869 ft

Route type  Out & back, generally considered a challenging route,
Our neighbours here in the Park, Boyd & Janice, invited us along with them to explore this trail. It was a challenge, no doubt, but so satisfying to complete it on such a pleasant day with their encouragement!

Janice & Boyd with cave above them - we're almost there!

The "wave" in the cave

Bill posing under the "wave"

Looking into the cave - we're having lunch at right

Looking down from the cave

Christmas Fun

Today we joined Calgary friends, Walt & Jan (up from Yuma AZ), at her cousin Eric and Beth's place just a few blocks from here. They were in town to pick up their daughter, Melanie, flying in from Calgary.

We had a lovely afternoon visiting together with other local cousins, Bruce and Roxie and anticipating our evening activity - a Christmas golf cart parade in Eric & Beth's neighbourhood. Our mode of transportation was an off-road vehicle trailer decked out in lights with a Christmas tree, music, a bar (!), and a patio heater! Too bad we didn't take any pictures of our trailer or the other vehicles in the procession.

Jan & Walt

Guess Who?!

Beth & Eric

The sun set just as the parade began and we were happy for our warm gear and the patio heater! The fish chowder that Jan served after our ride was very welcome and then we played games. It was all good!

Trail Decorated for Christmas

 

Look what we found along the trail of our hike with Jeanne today!

Cool Temperatures Expected to Persist

We're in a spell of unseasonably cool, dry weather with early morning temperatures in the 40sF/5C range and reaching to late 50sF/mid teensC in the afternoon.

   

It's been a good Petty* temperature (43) several mornings!

(the upper readings are the outdoor temps)

*

Richard Lee Petty, nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth/Pontiac for Petty Enterprises.

Here's an amusing memory that we have that is related to Richard Petty. Several years ago we were leaving the Unser Racing Museum (a racing competitor family) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, just as "Big AL" Unser and his wife were coming up the steps; he greeted us, introduced himself and Bill responded that he was Bill Petty! Without missing a beat, Al responded "So does he send you any money?!" 

Rose Lynn & Bill’s Excellent (Train) Adventure

 After having a tour company present at our Park, we were reminded of a bucket list item – riding the Verde Canyon Railroad that runs out of Clarkdale, AZ, (north of Phoenix in the Black Hills on the Colorado Plateau).

After booking our trip, the rainy weather forecast became discouraging, but worked out quite well!

Day 1: Drive and Hike

The day dawned clear and cool – perfect for a drive. Once we reached the Sedona area, we chose to hike the Baldwin Loop Trail (thank-you Jeanne for trail tips). It was a good choice and the weather was sunny, calm with temps in the 50s F/mid teens C.

Hard to pick just one image to tell the Baldwin Loop story!

Trails varied from smooth granular surface to rocky rubble like this

Walking though a low wash area - the leaves are Sycamore

Cathedral Rock

Popular mountain bike trail

More rock confugurations

Visible erosion layers

The needle projection looks like a chess knight?

Not all the rocks are red in this area

Dramatic sky visible from our AirBnB patio

Day 2: History All Day

After wind and rain overnight, the day cleared off and warmed up nicely. From the patio of our rural AirBnB, we looked out over the Verde River Valley to see snow on the mountains to the west!

We spent the morning at the Tuzigoot National Monument, the preserved remnants of a pueblo village built by the Sinagua between 1000 and 1400.

Our photo of some of the remaining room walls 

(looking south to the verde River from the hilltop the village was built on)

A borrowed beautiful early winter morning view

 towards the hilltop (same walls as our photo)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuzigoot_National_Monument

We spent our afternoon on the Verde Canyon Railroad

The 26 mile line was built in the mid 1890s to move copper mined & smelted in the town of Jerome to an existing branch of the Santa Fe Railroad system (rather than by horse & wagon).

The copper smelter was eventually moved to Clarkdale and the copper business operated until the early 50s. After that, the line was used to ship cement from Clarkdale until the line was sold in the late 80s. The new owner set about making the line a tourist attraction, finding vintage engines and cars to make the trip along the scenic Verde River Canyon a real adventure!

More photo memories!

Our car for the day - Wickenburg

Wickenberg interior - we had a table for two as on the left

Outdoor viewing car - complete with interpretive commentary

Sinagua Cliff dwelling (long way down to water in the Verde River!)

Verde River panorama

In this photo the Verde River lives up to its green name

Our locomotive for the day

Day 3: Mingus Mountain Scenic Road

This is the day we got to experience the snow that we had seen on the mountains yesterday morning!

Our drive took us from Clarkdale, through Jerome and on to Prescott before we returned to the Phoenix area in late afternoon. So, the elevation at Clarkdale is 3545, Prescott 5367, and Apache Junction 1722! We covered a lot of changing terrain on our drives.

In Jerome, only a few miles from Clarkdale, 

we were already seeing signs of winter

The two-lane Mingus Mountain Scenic Road winds through the steep canyons of the Black Hills. The summit was 7073 ft where the temperature had dropped to 23F/ -5C. Snow was everywhere but we were grateful that the highway was cleared and dry.

Prescott

Prescott, now the Yavapai County seat, was founded in 1864

 on Granite Creek a source of placer gold.

Courthouse on the square in downtown Prescott

Real Snow!

 

Prescott is home to the oldest saloon in Arizona, The Palace.

Snow falls as we enter The Palace

Interior entrance

Sitting at the magnificent bar after viewing memorabilia

 and the bullet holes that remain in the metal ceiling tiles (!).

The weather was not done with us yet as we drove back through rain, sleet and snow before finding dry roads again close to Phoenix. About an hour after our return home, there was another downpour that did a fairly good job of cleaning off the dust we collected reaching the trailhead for our hike!