We drove the Apache Trail to Lake Roosevelt, a very scenic drive but about 20 miles was unpaved and quite rough, taking 1.5 hours to drive that stretch. When we got there, we stopped at the National Monument and hiked about a half mile to the Salado Cliff Dwellings called Eagle Ridge, a group of several rooms in the side of the mountain. The views of Roosevent Lake were gorgeous.
When we got back to Mesa, we stopped at Rancho de Tia Rosa for dinner, one of my favorites - and Randy agreed with me.
Tia Rosa
Tuesday, March 14. Randy took off this morning to have breakfast with Aunt Jean and I got to working on a few projects around the house. The other day, while at Home Depot, I couldn't resist buying a few Lantana plants, so I got them planted underneath the Palo Verde trees. Before I could get them in the ground though, I had to soak the ground in order to dig a hole. I also pruned one of the Cassia bushes.
When Randy got back, we just sat in the yard and enjoyed the warm sunshine. I attended the HCC (Highlands Community Club) meeting at 5:00 and while I was gone, Randy cooked our chicken on the grill for dinner. It was yummy! We had a quiet night watching Ron White's 2012 stand-up comedy show and got a lot of laughs.
Saturday, January 18. I got Randy to the airport by 6 am on Thursday morning and he made it back home safely. When I got back home, I did a Walk Away The Pounds workout, took Frisco for a nice walk and went to Costco to stock up on supplies for the clubhouse. I slso made a pot of Chicken Minestrone soup and delivered some to my friend, Vicki, who just got home from having major surgery. I sat outside and worked on my crochet project, a sleeping mat for the homeless. Connie came by and we chatted and had a bowl of soup together.
I woke up yesterday morning with a nasty cold and didn't do much all day. It's a common thing, I know of lots of folks that have them and am hearing reports on the news of flu epidemics.
This morning, as I was getting my breakfast, I heard a commotion in the street and found that 5 police cars and many cops were surrounding a young man, the youngest son of the couple across the street. He was handcuffed, searched, and several items put in a bag and he was hauled off with them. I have no idea what his suspected crime is, but would like to know if I have been at risk here.
Connie and I went to downtown Mesa, just for something to do today. We found an arts and crafts fair and spent a while at the antique mall. From there, we went to the rose gardens at Mesa Community College. There are massive gardens filled with all colors snd sizes of roses, although many were being pruned and prepped for their peak show that is coming up in April. Regardless, it was worth the visit and I definitely want to return again.
On the way home, we stopped to see Pat and Roger's new motorhome - a 2014 Fleetwood
Searcher. It's not much bigger than their old one, but definitely has a lot more room. They gained a bed on the floor, more closet space, a usable shower, and lots of basement storage. It is very nice and should be a comfortable home away from home for them.
Sunday, January 19. Frisco and I headed to Apache Junction this morning to go for a hike with
Allan and Sharon and their dogs, Elsie and Murray. We went to Silly Mountain, a hiking area not far from their house. Just as we were starting our hike, called and we had a short FaceTime conversation. I got to see Charlotte modeling her new dress and got big smiles from Camille and Norah, and Ben got to see the Silly Mountain hiking trail. Modern technology sure is something. There are several trails to choose from, so we picked one and headed up it. We didn't go all of the way to the top, but stopped at the first saddle to look around and the views of the valley were quite nice. The trail was pretty rocky and there were lots of folks out there with their families. It was a nice, short, enjoyable hike.
Back at their house, we sat in the beautiful yard and had a bowl of vegetable beef soup and garlic bread - and talked and talked and talked. It was a great morning!
Pat and Roger came over for dinner tonight (salad, sweet potato fries, and poor man's lobster). I had to be at the clubhouse at 6:00 to help on the mats for the homeless project, so they stayed at the house and watched football.
