Looking For A Lull

Our time for this season is coming to a close and we're soon to leave AZ.  I don't want to leave, but I'm also excited to announce that we will be returning again this fall!  Our trip back to the frozen north will take us to a number of stops to visit friends and relatives and hopefully we'll see some new things and meet some new people along the way. I'd like to give special thanks to the folks at the KOA in Benson Arizona.  You guys made us feel welcome, helped us with any issues we had and made our experience a great one.  With all of the hard work you are putting into the campground so far and with your future plans, we look forward to coming back in the fall and seeing how much that work has paid off. We are leaving for Dallas, TX soon and I'll post some updates when we get there. Here is a random selection of photo's.  Goodbye AZ, I'll miss you.

What a great time the Tucson rodeo was!  It has been a while since I have been to a rodeo and the Tucson rodeo is a good one to attend.  We didn't make the parade this year, but we did attend both Saturday and Sunday.  Karen really enjoyed her first rodeo and especially liked watching the JR rodeo participants. Tuscon rodeo Stage Arena from our vantage point Great weather on Sunday.  Saturday had some rain, but was still awesome!

Karen and I thought we would find a hike that wouldn't be as much up and down hill as our hike at the Chiricahua national monument so we stopped at the visitor center and surveyed our options.  Then like gluttons for punishment we chose to hike to the top of the peak and see the view.  It was only .5 miles or so, so it wasn't that bad and the view's were definitely worth it! This picture looks back toward the visitor center.  That is the tiny road we drove Bodie up.  Glad there wasn't much traffic! Zooming in you can see the Mexico/US border. Karen smiles before we start the hike to the top. At the top there are 360 degree views and a little shelter to sit and reflect.  Be sure to write in the book while you are there.

South of Tucson and not far from San Xavier is the Titan II Missile Museum.  What a cool place!  We visited directly after coming from the mission and had plenty of time to spend and take the tour.  The tour is 1 hour long and does require that you can go up and down stairs.  It is the only remaining Titan II missile site as the remainder were destroyed as part of the treaty with the former soviet union. We had a great time and our guide Tony did an awesome job answering our questions and giving us a good overview of what the daily operations were like.  Karen even got to turn the key to simulate the missile launch. The front of the Museum Check out how thick the first blast door is!  There are 2 more behind this one. This is the missile control room.  It is separated from the missile by a long walkway.  It's said that those in the control room likely could not hear the missile launch because of the distance and internal noise of ...

We had a three day weekend last weekend due to the Presidents Day holiday.  I'm still getting used to having some different days off during the year.  We took this opportunity to visit a few places on our list and it was GREAT! The first place we visited was Mission San Xavier del Bac .  If you get the chance it is a beautiful mission located just south of Tucson and is the oldest European structure in Arizona.  It's free, doesn't take long to see, and well worth your time. Karen goes to church Inside the chapel.  I have a full video tour of the inside I may add later.

Another beautiful AZ weekend.  We took advantage and made a trip to Chiricahua national monument where we did a 3 mile hike. It was well worth the drive.  Entry into the park is free and I would suggest spending more than one day visiting if you can swing it.  We couldn't but we will definitely be back!   I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. After leaving the park, we drove another 20 miles or so and stopped at a little out of the way spot, the final resting place of Johnny Ringo.  Located on private property it is worth a quick visit if, like me, you are a lover of history and the stories of the old west.  Everyone familiar with the saga of Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, or even the character played by Val Kilmer in the movie of the same name, would enjoy this serene location.  Be sure to leave a donation for upkeep and appreciation for the private owners of this property that so generously allow the general public access to this bit of history....

I found that I have a long weekend this weekend due to changes in our Holidays from my old company to our new company.  We're looking for something to do this weekend instead of sitting around.  Here are a few ideas we are mulling over: Visiting the Chiricahua National Monument Explore the Cochise Stronghold Spend a day sightseeing in Bisbee Look at all of the planes at the Pima Air and Space Museum Take a trip to Old Tucson We're not sure if we'll do more than 1 of these this weekend, but it would be nice!

My apologies for not updating recently.  We've spent that last few weeks on the road in locations with very little to no cell phone coverage so my access to internet has been spotty at best and non-existent most of the time. We had a great time visiting our family in California for Xmas and New Years.  It's so good to see everyone and bringing Chappy out there made it much easier for us to enjoy our time.  No major issues on the trip only a stuck pocket door going to my office/bunkroom and I was able to fix that (mostly) when we got back. Here are a few pictures of some of the things.  I wish I could post them all but it would take forever. Of Course Karen and I found a  Brunch place that served a decent bloody Mary. Our Trip to Anza Borrego followed the rains resulting in many plants in bloom early! Walking through a slot canyon.  Notice the tipped column in the top center!  Yikes! Lunch prep.  That is Big Joe's homemade...

I can hardly make a trip to SW Michigan longer than a day without stopping by my favorite restaurant in the area and having a couple of beers.  This trip however, it only worked out that we could go on Sunday which you may know from past posts is when I normally would have brunch with my bloody mary. My favorite Michigan restaurant did not disappoint when it came to delivering a bloody mary, although state law made it so that it was delivered to my table precisely at noon at the tail end of my repast instead of when I began to eat at 11:45 AM. This particular restaurant though is not known for their bloody Mary's but rather their VERY robust selection of beers.  A separate menu for beer is available where you will find hundreds of different choices.  Join the beer club, take a few home, and try something different each time.  Many years ago I was introduced to Big T's in Lawton, Michigan and it was a regular stop for us when we lived in the area.  Now it i...