Adventure 719: Bisbee Two/Post B

Great day today! Started off walking to the bakery to enjoy my February winnings of $2.04. Coffee and a multi-berry scone were the offerings of the day. We then walked the town a little bit. We climbed 269 of the thousand stairs, and enjoyed viewing some very neat, colorful, and eclectic homes in in the tangled neighborhood hillside. Then to top things off, our good buddies, the Drouin"s showed up for dinner. Good times had by all. We've traveled much with this pair over the years, so it's especially nice that our paths are crossing on our independent adventures as well. We'll spend until Friday enjoying Bisbee and the surrounding area until we go our separate ways. And the extra cherry on top is that our other good buddy, Liz Ulmen, will be here tomorrow to add her shy self to the mix. Life is made all the better with close friends. Like my cousin Douglas has often said, "Life just keeps getting better." I readily concur. In fact, like I always say, "Life is good, especially today."

Judy and Deb reunion.

Our current life plan follows this paradigm.

Back alley art in Bisbee.

Some of the thousand stairs in Bisbee.

The Wiley Cager showing her good sportsmanship.

Me, gloating over my winnings.

The whole gang. That's me behind the camera.

 Just another God gift.

Adventure 718: Bisbee Two/Post A

We were met today with traveling mercies that allowed us to reach the Queen Mine RV Park in Bisbee a little before 1 P.M. It's just as we remembered it: a large gravel circle with RVs of all types and sizes circled like pioneer wagons on the trail West. We're snuggled into Site 16, and we've put a cone in site 17 to save it for our buddy, Liz, who plans to arrive Tuesday. We've heard tell that the Drouin's will arrive tomorrow about 4 P.M. In the meantime, we'll settle into life as temporary Bisbee-ites. If we look out our back window, we can see into the depths of of the unbelievably giant hole in the ground that represents the remains of  Bisbee's long history of copper, silver, and gold mining. The town, much more attractive than the scar it left behind, was founded in 1880 and named in honor of Judge Dewitt Bisbee, one of the backers of the adjacent Copper Queen Mine. The city charter was approved in 1902 and the city was incorporated. The newly appointed city council set to work on sorely needed improvements. By 1910, the population was over 25,000, and the city was considered the largest in the territory. In 1929, the county seat was moved to Bisbee from Tombstone where it remains to this day. The big hole outside our back window, the site of the Sacramento Pit Copper Mine is 435 ft deep. Some claim that Bisbee is a ghost town, and surely many a man died trying to find his fortune. But today, when we walked the streets a bit, we felt just the change tinkling into the local vendors pockets. For them and us, life is good, especially today.

Home for a while.

Looks a little like a ghost town on Sunday.

Who is that ghost in the window?

Fric and Frac

The history of this place is full of rough and tumble.

Come on down, the door is open.

In Bisbee, it's clear everyone dances to their own tune.

 

Adventure 717: El Pais/Post E

Last night at the Motel El Pais. It's been a good stay. This morning we drove over to Saguaro National Park East, which lies under the Rincon Mountain Range, for a final six mile stroll in the desert. It was lovely to be with the older saguaros, the thick underbrush, and the gnarly Mesquite trees. We've spent nearly six weeks in the Tucson area. We'll be glad to come back next year if we're lucky enough. In the meantime, we're off to Bisbee, AZ tomorrow where we'll meet up with our good buddies, the Drouin's and the finally ungrounded Liz Ulmen whose LizMobile has been undergoing some pack rat invasion repairs. Drat the rats! She'll be glad to be on the road, and we'll be glad to explore parts East with her. Sadly, our Zags went down to defeat tonight, marking an unusual day in college basketball. The top six teams in the nation lost today, along with number nine. Just goes to show it's why they play the game, and a reminder that David has one over on Goliath. I just hope in a more serious game, the Ukrainians can stand strong against the bully bear Russians. We'll keep praying for an acceptable result. As for us, we're currently untouched by much adversity, and for that we're very grateful. Suffice to say, life is good for us, especially  today.

Most of the saguaros we saw today were well over a hundred years old.

Last of this year's desert selfies.

My Bunny checking the trail map.

While it look hot and bothered under the noir lens, today's weather was absolutely perfect.

It's very rare to see these crown top saguaros. Magnificent!

We'll see you next time, El Pais.

We met a 95 year old lady hiking today. She was so spry, judy had to put her "75" card back in her pocket.
 

Adventure 716: El Pais/Post D

Still pretty cool, so we layered up for our morning bike ride on the loop. We drove about fifteen minutes over to Michael Perry Park where we parked Fric. The we rode for an hour an a half in two directions. It was nice and afforded us a little more local knowledge of the trail. We lounged the rest of the day away. Judy baked muffins. I made RV reservations for the month of March. I dozed off in the sun for awhile. Nothing to earth shattering. Pretty soon it was evening and I BBQd some chicken, zucchini, and romaine. Pretty much the pattern. Life is pretty good here at the El Pais, especially today.

An already cool day got just a little cooler (In every way) at sunset.

Some of the loop trail ends. I'm still recording which surface streets I have to traverse to make the whole loop. It's fun exploring.

Another of the classic rigs here at the El Pais.

This biker babe is hot to trot.

"I'm warning you, ladies. Don't trust that guy."

 She said, "Hey, good looking, what you got cooking?" He replied, "Thighs."

Adventure 715: El Pais/Post C

Today, after a delightfully novel savory oatmeal dish, fresh fruit, and coffee, we headed for Sabino Canyon. Today's visit, our third, found us walking the main road three miles up and three miles down. On the way, Judy panned for garnets and found several hundred, all about a mini-micron big. Still, the chilly bluebird weather had us in good spirits, so Judy readily participated in what normally is a kid activity. Looks like she pulled the "75" card again. We hadn't walked for a few days because of our trip home, but we have ridden bike four times. Still, our legs felt the effort after today. In the afternoon, we sat in the sun while the wash was running its cycles. Not bad work if you can get it. 

Of course, we're praying for sanity in the current world events, and a faithful God surely has a plan. In the meantime, mostly as a function of fate, no bombs are dropping on me. For that I'm grateful, and my fervent prayer is for that to be the same for all. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." (James 1:2-3)

On the cribbage front, the Wiley Cager and I have played 214 games since mid November up until today. I'm ahead in the overall with a total of +$7.04, which spreads out to winning 3.3 cents per game. Lately the Cager has been on a roll. She's whittled my lead by winning four of the last five games. So who can know the twists of fate? Anything can happen.

I've been thinking of the proposition the writer of 1883 made last night that we live at once in both heaven and hell. And god is the land in between. I don't know if that's little g or big G, but we hiked in a place God has been this morning, and that made life good, especially today.

  Had to get with the ambience of the El Pais.

Adventure 714: El Pais/Post B

Some seventy years ago the Potters traveled from the East to build and nourish what has become Tucson's Botanical garden. It's magnificent. We spent most of the morning wandering through its lushness, which just shows that love and care can bring forth much beauty, even from the harshness of the desert. It was nice to be back in a little bit of nature, even the carved beauty of this place. As an addition, we witnessed an art show called "Invisible". Computer wizards downloaded some GPS coordinates and overlaid holograms around the garden. Pretty cool except for the annoyance of staring at a small screen following the blue dot to find the hidden art. The afternoon met us with a forty degree drop in temperature and a few hours of cold wind blown rain. We hunkered down in Frac and watched a couple of episodes of 1883. Our modern wagon is much more comfortable than those the pioneers drove across this nation. It's an impressive show, made all the more impressive by the strength of the female characters. The last episode we watched left us with this thought: Both heaven and hell are here right now; the land in between is god. I'm sure that the danger, death, and despair gave strength to the dreams, daring, and determination that our ancestors used as motivation. I know this. Thanks in part to them, the life I lead is good, especially today.

These small cacti are called living rocks.

Here at the El Pais, the chickens are free roaming. Eggs for breakfast and the chicks are free.

Part of the botanical garden is the butterfly house. Reminded me of Costa Rica.

She's done her duty for today.

Succulents of all stripes filled the garden.

Meditation for the day.

This little butterfly tried to hitch a ride on Judy.

To find the invisible art, you merely found the right coordinates, scanned the area, and an image would superimpose itself over the actual ground. It's a brave new world out there.

Tropical orchids in the desert. God's art is pretty cool, too.

 We live in a tangle of beauty and mystery. Embrace it all.

Adventure 713: El Pais/Post A

We're settled in for a few days here at the Motel & RV HipCamp, El Pais. It's got a nice feel, kind of funky, and our owner-host, Toni, is quite accommodating. Unfortunately, any off site adventure will require using the truck. This place is located on what I call an "Eisenhower" road, otherwise known as the Benson Highway. An Eisenhower road is a main thoroughfare that existed before the freeway system made it obsolete. Hence, an Eisenhower road. In most towns these roads are either on the neglected side or they've been gentrified. We're a little bit on the neglected side here. Not to worry; it's all good. Speaking of good news. I read an interesting tidbit today about a California Pilot Program designed to combat climate change by covering its nearly 4,000 miles of canals with solar panels. Currently, a large amount of the water evaporates before it reaches its destination. Studies suggest that covering the canals with solar panels will save 63 billion gallons of water while generating 13 gigawatts of green energy annually. In a time when much of our leadership haggles over efficacy, it's nice to see some concrete action. Clearly, life continues to be good, especially today.

This is our next door neighbor. Not sure anyone is home.

Fric and Frac nestled in.

I once had a Corvair. It leaked a quart of oil every time I stopped. I captured it in a number ten coffee can, and I carried a case of oil in the back seat. I swear every time I see one of these cars. %&*@!^%

Smile, you're on Candid Camera.

This roadside motel began in 1948. It was re-imagined in 2014.

Art shot of the day.