Queen Creek Adventures

Mon Dec 27
We volunteered to clean up trash from Ivan and Milo's property today. We and Milo collected three large garbage bags full, much of which gets carried in by the wind and floods. Milo came to live with Ivan recently and prior to that Ivan's health is such that he is not able to do this kind of physical work. In the afternoon we took the brothers with us to visit the Countryside RV park where we will be staying and looked at our site. It is a nice park with lots of palm trees and a close-up view of the Superstition Mountains. We are excited to get settled for the remainder of our winter here. After that we drove back from Apache Junction into Mesa to the Mesa Temple grounds. On the way in we witnessed a most gorgeous sunset. The temple grounds are decorated with the most beautiful display of lights and Christmas scenes you can imagine. At 7PM we listened to a Christmas concert put on in Spanish by a local choir and orchestra that added a very nice spirit to the experience. After the concert we had dinner at a Chick-Fil-A and headed for the barn. Today was over 80 degrees but record cold weather is predicted for later this week.

Renewing Family Ties

Fri Dec 24
We hit the road early and arrived at Dad's cousins' place near Queen Creek just after noon. His cousins from his Uncle Lowell Walker (Grandma Lewis's brother) and Aunt Florence are Ivan, Ruby and Milo. Ivan and Milo are now single and living together on three acres of land pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. It is quiet and we now have reliable internet until we move into our park January first. Milo's oldest son and his family are here for the weekend from the Salt Lake area and Ruby's daughter Alayne and her kids, who live in the area, came over in the afternoon. We had a wonderful pot luck dinner and played games until we laughed ourselves silly. The two favorites were "Mafia" and "What if." Our kids will relate to Mafia. In "What if" everyone writes a question that begins with, "What if...." The papers are then shuffled and redistributed and everyone writes an answer to their question. Then we go around the circle with each reading their what if question and the next person reading their answer (which was to a different question). Most times the unrelated answer coincidentally answers the question in a very funny way. We would all have a great laugh and then proceed until all questions had been answered. Try it some time and you will be surprised how fun it can be. We then all retired to wait for Santa's arrival.
Sat Dec 25
Christmas day! We woke up and let the families do their Christmas thing before going in for another delicious pot luck dinner. We then sat around and visited and got better acquainted and the kids had fun with our ladder golf game outside. We also got on Skype and talked with all our kids to check out their Christmas.
Sun Dec 26
We all attended church meetings with Milo and Ivan and Aaron's family in the morning. It was amazing to be back in a "normal" congregation with multiple babies fussing, few seniors and all Aaronic priesthood youth administering to and passing sacrament. When we got home we rested a while and then drove into Chandler to visit Dad's Aunt Eula who has been very ill and was just released from the hospital. She is 87 years old and is his Uncle Leland Walker's wife. Uncle Leland, who is already deceased, is another of Dad's mother's brothers. Aunt Eula is still not doing well but we hope her health improves. After that we drove on into Mesa to visit Dad's cousin Norman Walker and his wife Kathy. Norman is the son of Leland and Eula. We visited them when we were in Arizona with Lindsy about ten years ago and Lindsy and one of their daughters, Katy, became friends. We had a nice visit.

Yuma and Mexico

Wed Dec 22
Happy birthday today to Emilia and Avery! They look soooo cute and have really grown. Betty invited us over for breakfast to start the day. We then did some shopping and Dad and Keith went to glean broccoli and cabbage from fields already harvested. They then bought fruits at amazing bargain prices directly from the orchards. They came home with lemons, tangalos and grapefruit. Keith, Dad and I squeezed several pints of orange juice. Weather wise it has continued to rain off and on today but not a lot.
Thu Dec 23
We woke up to a bright sunny day and went with Keith, Betty and Paula to Los Algodones, Mexico just across the California border. We parked in a huge parking lot and walked across the border. There was absolutely no security check into Mexico. The streets were lined with sidewalk barkers for dental work, pharmaceuticals, liquors, jewelry, blankets, clothing and many forms of art and craft works. I bought some antibiotics at a pharmacy and four silver necklaces. Dad bought a custom-painted, personalized ammo can for his dune buggy tool box. We then sat and watched about a half hour while the artist painted it. He used spray paints and fire and dobbed what looked like sprayed paper with very little brush work for the details. It turned out absolutely beautiful. To me it looks too nice for the intended purpose. We had lunch while listening to live music under a huge tree in an open area surrounded by shops. Then to get back across the border we waited in a long line to go through customs. Upon returning back to Yuma Dad and I went to visit the Old Yuma Territorial Prison State Park in town. It operated from 1876 through 1909. To begin with it was built by the same inmates that were imprisoned there. There was a short video and many exhibits in the museum with much detail about inmates, their crimes and punishments and prison life in general. It is located on the banks of the Colorado River and the area is quite scenic with a couple of historic bridges across the Colorado River next to the prison. Toward evening we bid Betty and Keith adieu, started for the Phoenix area and stopped at a rest area just before dark for the night.

Checking Out Yuma

Mon Dec 20
This was a day of breaking camp and preparing to leave tomorrow morning for Yuma. We have made plans to meet with Betty and Keith Tilley (Evan's mother and step dad) there and spend a couple of days exploring the Yuma area before moving on toward Phoenix by Christmas Eve. This afternoon, even though it was a little breezy, we took a five mile hike around town from camp and back. We also visited a large RV service dealer west of town and noticed some miniature Christmas trees that were decorated around the store. I made the comment that I had been looking for a small Christmas tree for my motor home and the lady picked one up, handed it to me and said, "Merry Christmas." So now I have a Christmas tree for the motor home.
Tue Dec 21
We made the relatively short trip to Yuma today and found Betty and Keith and Betty's sister Paula. They have a very nice park model in a large park in Yuma. The scenery change was amazing just as we were entering Yuma as desert changed to huge fields of lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower and other vegetables. There are also many citrus fruit trees all around town loaded with oranges, tangerines, lemons and grapefruits. It rained on us a little off and on all the way down and then rained considerably more after our arrival. We spent a quiet afternoon with Keith, Betty and Paula and we enjoyed a very nice lunch and dinner in the evening with them. Our motor home is parked in a different park a short distance away in front of a park model that is currently vacant that belongs to Keith's sister.

Preparing to Leave Quartzsite

Sat Dec 18
Today was a laid back day. We read our books until after noon. Then I hauled Dad around shopping. The huge gem store was full of beads and jewelry. It was the biggest store I have ever seen with beads and the makings for jewelry. Even at that I didn't find what I wanted so we went to another jewelry store. Then we hit a few flea markets loaded with the most junk I have ever seen. We bought groceries at the General store where I got sticker shock to say the least. We than came home to eat dinner and read our books. Can you tell it was a good day?
Sun Dec 19
We woke up to watch a gorgeous sunrise and attended church. The branch choir put on a very beautiful and touching Christmas program. It has been very windy for the past couple of days but still not too cool.

More Quartzsite...

Wed Dec 15
This morning we did laundry and had some downtime. We also found a more padded bicycle seat for me. Then in the afternoon we took an 8-mile bicycle hike. At the end my back side felt much better than the two earlier times. I might just be able to get used to this bicycling thing. It is overcast and cooler today than it has been but still pleasant. We finished the day by inviting Phil to dinner in town (good BBQ ribs) and a movie afterward.
Thu Dec 16
It was raining and a little cooler (60's) than the last few days. We first went to a craft and painting class at the QIA (Quartzsite Improvement Association). After that I wanted to look at RV's (Dad didn't know why). Anyway we talked to an RV salesman for about two hours and got a free lunch for looking at a motor home. Dad says I am thinking we are richer than he does but it was nice. Anyway this was just "entertainment" wasn't it? After that we visited the Tyson's Well Stage Station Museum in town. This was a historic stage stop with a good well that was welcome to early desert travelers. There were many historic artifacts and photos to see in the original adobe brick building that has been restored. In the afternoon we took a good two-mile hike down the Old Yuma Road past where Phil is camped. On the way back we stopped for a brief visit with him and then returned to camp just about dark. In the evening we went to a "Desert Music" show at the QIA center. This consisted of a five-person band, four guitarists and a lady on the keyboard. The band accompanied a number of artists playing guitar or fiddle while singing in turn. The show started out with a couple of Christmas songs by the band and then the main show was a Western theme. Nearly all performers, band members and songs they sang predated me but suited the average audience very well if you get my drift. However we did have a fun time and very much enjoyed the show. After the show we toured the town to check out all the entries in the city Christmas Lighting Contest. A number of entries were in RV parks. Now when was the last time you toured trailer parks in Pocatello to see Christmas lights? Well here that's where the rich people live. It was also strange to me to see so many palm trees decorated with Christmas lights. Some displays were very pretty and we picked our choice to vote for.
Fri Dec 17
We took it easy around camp in the morning. Then I prepared a casserole for the ward pot luck Christmas party later today. We then took an 11-mile bicycle ride with Phil that pretty much traced the outer perimeter of the town of Quartzsite from camp and back. This time it was Dad's turn for a minor crash just as we were returning to camp. In the evening we went to the ward Christmas party. There were a lot of people there and plenty of choices for our meal. After dinner there was a program featuring a number of musical numbers by branch members and visitors. All were Christmas related and we had a good time. However it seems hard to get the Christmas spirit without the traditional home environment and weather.

More Quartzsite...

Mon Dec 13
Today was a fairly quiet day. We visited the senior center this morning for wifi and to check out the crafts class. We then did a little shopping and went for about a 3-mile bike ride. My bottom was far to sore from the ride last week for any more.
Tue Dec 14
We went touring south of Quartzsite today, again with Phil. It has been fun spending time with him. We did quite a few miles of gravel roads to see two attractions. The first was Palm Canyon. This is the only place in Arizona where palm trees grow in a canyon. They are seen after a steep, rough half-mile hike from the parking area in a narrow canyon high on the mountain within a larger canyon. The mountains are solid rock, almost devoid of vegetation, very steep and quite picturesque. The small palm grove provided quite a contrast. We then traveled further south to the ghost town and mining district of Castle Dome City. Silver mining was done here from the mid 1800's through the 1970's. It was very well preserved and well worth the long dusty gravel road to reach it. The city area was similar to Custer on the Yankee Fork near Stanley, Idaho but with much more to see. There were many buildings including a church, bank, several bars, motel, blacksmith shop, sheriff's office and jail, general store, dentist's office, gas station and much more. All were well preserved with more displays of era memorabilia in each building than one might imagine. Much history was recounted and posted throughout the town. The adjacent mining area was ticketed separately and was interesting but nothing compared to the town site. It was a somewhat tiring day but very worthwhile. The weather continues to be sunny and into the lower 80's. We learned that yesterday set a record high for Quartzsite.