Walking in Gilbert

Our daily routine includes walking 10,000 steps, which is about 5 miles.  Most of the time we walk around our resort but sometimes we want a change of scenery.  One day we ventured out to the Gilbert Water Ranch.  There are several ponds where the water district stores their water.  In a desert, the water quickly attracts birds and other water-loving wildlife.

We saw these turtles sunning themselves on a log.

There are numerous varieties of ducks and other water birds, including the long-legged stilts in the upper right of this photo.  Their colors make them look like they are wearing tuxedos.

We enjoyed this egret.  It was standing still, waiting for a fish to swim up for dinner.

Once in a while, we will look for more interesting places to walk.

Are We Really in Arizona?

Wednesday we hiked the Saguaro Lake trail with our friends Ron and Barbara. The temps have been really cold for Arizona, as you can see in these two pictures.

The trail, which is 4 miles out and back, goes along the lake but sometimes we could see it and sometimes we couldn't. When we could see it, there were great views.

We also saw folks fishing and ducks, including these lesser scaups.

The views weren't too shabby when we were away from the lake, either. There were incredibly green hillsides because of all the rain we have had, great rock formations and beautiful saguaros and other cactus plants.

We also saw snow on some mountains on the horizon

It was a fun trail and a good time with good friends.

Cindy Comes to Visit

John's sister Cindy arrived Monday afternoon for a week-long visit. We want her to see how we live in our winter home and experience life in a "55+ Active Adult" community. She flew into the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport, coming from the Colorado Springs airport. We were delighted her tickets were to this airport, which is much closer to our place than Sky Harbor in central Phoenix.

We checked the arrival board and saw her plane was on it's way. So we sat down to wait.

We saw her walking into the terminal area.

Tuesday, we showed her around our resort.

Then we were off to Best Buy so Cindy could buy her very first iPad! She and John opened all the packages on our dining room table.

Then John began to set up the tablet, with Cindy watching the process.

We were all exhausted after all that concentration, so we all went to bed early.

Today, we spent time at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve, checking out the birds.

Cindy brought warm,sunny  weather--finally. We are enjoying the weather snowbirds come to Arizona to enjoy. And it was fun to see all the ducks and other water birds. We have all walked over 3 and 1/2 miles, so we will probably be tired this evening, as well.

Recent Days

There have been a number of images from the last couple to weeks that stand out from the hum-drum of our days.

One of the advantages of having friends here in the Phoenix area is the fresh oranges they give out. He told us they needed a little more time in the sun, so we haven't tasted them yet.

I had my annual mammogram at the Banner MD Anderson facility. We were interested to see this RV park, right next to the hospital. I imagine it provides a safe and inexpensive place for people who are having cancer treatments to park their RV. Really a thoughtful idea.

I doubt I need the hospital's services, other than for a mammogram. My doctor thinks they do the best job of any facility in the Valley.

A large saguaro has been planted here in our resort. The supports must help it get established. But John thought the supports made it look like it was on crutches.

We saw this truck, filled with batteries, parked in front of house in the resort. The company supplies golf cart owners with new batteries and takes away their old ones.

We did get out for some fun. We walked around the Gilbert Water Ranch. The ponds provide third-state treatment for waste water and bring in lots of water birds. Just look at all these ducks.

Today, we went to the Mesa Swap Meet. The place can get very crowded, but there was a real advantage to going early on this cold morning. (Our low temperature this morning was 39 degrees! Brrr. At least for snowbirds. It is really cold up north in Colorado.) Look at these nearly empty aisles.

One last picture--a dog being carried around the swap meet.

Odds and Ends #1

You have heard of horse whisperers, I imagine. They don't have any horses here at the Antlers Rio Grande Lodge and Restaurant, but they do have sheep and one goat.

John said he was a goat whisperer. Oh really? was my response.






























Now, every time we pass the goat and sheep pen, John has to stop by and say hello. And the nanny goat seems to talk to him, too. She even sticks out her head to be petted. Maybe he really is a goat whisperer.

We pass this pond several times each day as we come and go from our resort and as we take our walks. Often it is a beautiful reflecting pool.

Sometimes we see a mother duck and her three ducklings. You might try clicking on this photo to get a better look at these cute little ducks.

We drove to Lake City one day and when we were enjoying an art gallery, John pointed out this group of photographs. (Robinson is my maiden name.) Unfortunately, they are not my work.

Bursting Out All Over

I can't really say we ever really have winter here in the Valley of the Sun, but now spring is bursting out all over. If we were up north, we would see crocus and flowering apple and plum trees. Here, the colors are red, white and yellow.

Well-watered ocotillo have lots of red flowers.

Easter is coming on Sunday and the white Easter lily cactus blooms are spectacular this year. The blooms each only last about 24 hours.

We have never seen so many yellow blossoms on the palo verde trees. Our park and the nearby desert and beautiful.

You really know it is spring when the local water fowl start parading their young around. Did I say water fowl? Yes, though I have no idea where nearby water can be found, except in a pond across busy U S 60 or in the resort next door, where there are golf courses. The nine (I think) baby ducklings were so cute. I spotted them by our tennis court when I headed out for my morning walk.

Memphis

We've been exploring some pretty serious stuff recently, so Sunday we went to downtown Memphis to just relax and see the sights. We enjoyed the time. As we walked down main street, we saw lots of pretty and interesting things, like this alley or courtyard.



Many signs were interesting or colorful, like this one for a New Orleans restaurant.



How about this sign on a store that sold exercise balls?



How do you write with this pencil?



We walked to Court Square, a little oasis in the middle of downtown that reminded us a little to Savannah, Georgia.



There was a nice fountain in the center.



We saw a number of city dwellers taking their daily run on downtown sidewalks and one man was laying on the lawn in the square, doing his exercises.

The Main Street Trolley ran on tracks in the middle of the street. There were many different kinds and colors of trollies. You can click on the collage to see them better.



On the way from Main Street to Beale Street, we saw The King, Elvis himself--or at least a good statue of him.



Memphis calls itself the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and roll. Beale street is where much of that music was developed. It is quite an experience, even late Sunday morning. There are lots neon signs and memorabilia of the 1950s and 1960s.













How about a toilet seat with a pink Cadillac  on the cover?



Or a Chevy Bel Air pink and white convertible?



Memphis barbeque is all about pork. The Pig is a Beale Street restaurant and they have won lots of BBQ contests.





We walked a couple of blocks along Beale to the Mississippi River, where John got ready to beat his feet in the Mississippi mud.



We even went bird watching in Memphis---indoors! We went to see the Peabody ducks.



And we weren't the only people watching.



The ducks spend their day in the beautiful lobby of the grand old Peabody Hotel.



To learn more about the ducks, click on Peabody Ducks.