And Around We Go Again

       We’ve been traveling for exactly 6 months – and sometimes it seems like we have been going in circles. Oh, wait…we HAVE been going in circles ever since we left California 5 months ago: circling the southwest, first in summer, then fall, and, lately, winter. We have enjoyed every season, even if the scenery itself isn’t changing, only the weather. We are back in Arizona now, for a few weeks, before the real adventure begins anew.

Sunset at my brother's house in Avondale, AZ

      As our last post indicated, after leaving our RV in Phoenix, we headed up to the mountains of Colorado and Utah. Our week in Breckenridge at our timeshare was wonderful – some quality time skiing and relaxing with friends, great skiing conditions (interspersed with cold winter storms), and, of course, my annual birthday massage at the spa. When the temperatures dropped into single digits and the wind howled, I did question WHY we do this to ourselves, but then the sun came out and the snow was perfect and the crowds had not yet descended, and I remembered why we love to come here in the winter: it’s the quiet peace and serene beauty. There are times when I accept that I don’t have to hurl myself down the mountain like all the youngsters around me; I can just enjoy the moment.

The storms and the snow kept coming as we headed to Utah, but we managed to reach Park City before the worst hit Sunday evening. Then, on cue, the sun came out and we had two great days on the slopes before the next storm enveloped us and the mountain.  The pattern continued and Friday was beautiful, so Lew got to ski with grandson, Phin, for the day, while I enjoyed the easier blue runs at Canyons Resort, Park City. We left the mountains to spend a few days in Salt Lake City over President’s Day weekend, celebrated Erin’s 39^th birthday (when did our “baby” get so old?), and, at Erin’s request, skied an extra day at Snow Basin on Monday, an unexpected treat and an incredible day of skiing under gorgeous blue skies. 

Snow Basin Ski Resort

Phin and Faraday, a moment of relaxation

AirB&B in Park City. Shoveling roof.

 We left Salt Lake in the rain on February 19, with plans to spend a few nights at Hoover Dam, naively expecting to be able to hike and enjoy warmer weather. Our plans were interrupted by yet another storm, bringing snow to the Las Vegas area Wednesday night into Thursday. We hightailed it south to Ft. Mohave, AZ, where we celebrated a friend’s 70^th birthday and enjoyed an evening of cards and laughter. We were greeted Thursday morning with more rain, but avoided the feet of snow in Kingman and Flagstaff, by heading south to Blythe, where we caught the I-10 into Phoenix. Phoenix, meanwhile, was getting over 2 inches of rain in 24 hours; we hunkered down in near freezing temperatures for two nights (without hookups) at my brother’s.

Looking out over Lake Mead

But things are definitely looking up. We settled into Leaf Verde RV Resort in Buckeye, AZ (30 mi west of Phoenix) to re-provision, reconnect, and review our plans for the next few months. During this week we  attended a Dodger preseason game and hiked to a nearby waterfall with my brother and some of his friends. We reconnected with a friend I hadn't seen in 35 years who just happened to be traveling through Phoenix.

Sarah Petty and me

We also reconnected with friends we met at Canyon de Chelly in October, with plans to attend the Indian Market at the Heard Museum (one of the artists on display is our leader from the Road Scholar program) and with two old high school friends of mine, which was great fun for me. Poor Lew – what a good sport he has been when I get on one of these nostalgia kicks! 

Bob and Donna Sioles, me and Bob Stamm. Class of '65

We are also reconnecting with Erin’s father-in-law and his wife, an artist, who happens to be part of the “Celebration of Fine Arts” in Scottsdale, showing off her talent and technique.

All these encounters have left us only a little time to hike and explore the environs. We took the 1.5-mile hike to the waterfall at White Tanks Regional Park with Don on Monday and another, longer hike along the Rainbow Trail at another local regional park, where the wildflowers were out in profusion. The weather has turned beautiful and we have loved having the chance to get out and move. Speaking of moving, I’ve also played a few hours of pickleball with others here at the RV Park. My game is coming along!

White Tanks Regional Park

Brother Don at waterfall - with actual water flowing!

Wildflowers in the desert on 4 mile hike

All in all, it’s been an outstanding month. We have learned one important lesson, however – you need to get reservations way ahead of time if you want to stay in Arizona in February or March. This has been, and continues to be, a challenge. We leave Monday for Tucson, with no place to stay except on our friend’s street. We hope to find a spot at the Air Force Base FamCamp, but it’s first come, first serve, so we will see. In ten days or so we will begin heading east to new “unexplored” territory in New Mexico and Texas. The real adventure is about to begin. No more circling.