Today is February 1st and is our last day here at Valley del Oro, and Deane's birthday. We are busy packing up the RV and getting ready to spend one last evening with friends to say good-bye and celebrate Deane's birthday.
The past four months here have been busy with so much to do. I have had fun in the lapidary shop, learning something new and making jewelry I will actually wear. This is the longest we have stayed in one place so far, we're getting a bit antsy and are looking forward to getting back on the road. The one thing we will not miss is the 'sweet smell of dairy cows' or as people who live here call it, the sweet smell of money!. This valley used to have many dairy farms that have sold out to builders, but there are still enough around to put the aroma in the air. We are about 3 miles from a large dairy farm, and there are some days when you cannot open your windows. And of course those would be the warmest days! A few pictures of Valley del Oro: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=552815967407%3A309129868&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
Arizona is having a 'cold snap', temps are suppose to be no higher than 48 tomorrow and of course, that is the day we have to hook up and pull out. We are headed to Green Valley Arizona, which is about 30 miles south of Tucson. It is higher in elevation and therefore will not be as warm, but is still sunny, not rainy and of course no snow. We are looking forward to seeing friends Karen and Bill Woodrow, and Emily Mallory as well as doing some site-seeing in that part of the state. We will be in Green Valley for about 6 weeks before our cruise to Italy, Greece and Turkey. When we return, we start our trip back to the Northwest for our first hosting job of the year at Champoeg State Park, just south of Portland on May 1st.
While we were here in Mesa, we managed to see a number of plays, took some great hikes and found some good restaurants. To see pictures of our hikes: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=319327967407%3A492826571&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer
Our last hike was up Silly Hill. A hill just east of Mesa with about 8 different trails around and up it. We have had some incredible sunsets while we were here, and decided to climb the hill last Monday to get some last pictures of the sunsets from a higher perspective. We hiked the hill to the top, broke out the cheese, crackers, water and wine, and waited for the sun to set. And as all good plans sometime happen to go..... the dark clouds rolled in and gave us less than we had hoped for. The view from the top offered us some great vistas to the North of the Superstitions, and to the south of the San Tan Mountains.
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One of the best plays we saw was RESPECT, and if it ever comes to your city, be sure and go. It is a history of women through music, even Deane enjoyed it. The last touristy thing we did last week was ride the Verde Canyon Railroad Train. The Verde canyon is where Sedona is, and the train followed the Verde River for about 25 miles through the red rocks of the valley. We were lucky enough to see a couple of bald eagles, cliff dwelling remnants from around 1400a.d. and were served cucumber margarita's that proved to be quite tasty. http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=219327967407%3A895616757&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
If you would like to see our schedule for this year, you can click on the link in the Guest Book that says Return to Web Page. We are posting pictures on the Family and Friends link, of those we visit during our travels. We missed getting pictures of some of you last year, but we will get them next time we are together.