Entertaining Ourselves in the Winter

We truly enjoy our winters in Gold Canyon.  But life isn't full of as many photo and story opportunities as when we travel.

I baked cookies one day.  The oven in the Airstream measures 13 inches by 13 inches so baking there is difficult.  The large oven in our house here is 24 by 18.  I can bake a whole lot more cookies in the house.





We quickly ate up my cookies.  John's efforts are producing something much more lasting.  This is an intarsia wreath he made--assembled, then finished.  It hangs on our house in the covered patio area.

Saturday we drove to the West Valley to look around the Litchfield Park art and craft show.  There were some pretty items, but nothing really inspiring.  I didn't take many photos because many artists are afraid someone will copy their ideas.  These umbrellas might be of interest to the people in our resort who have sun decks.



There were t-shirts with messages and beautiful images in numerous booths.

                                                                

And, of course, every style of jewelry you could ever want, assuming you are in the market for jewelry.  I wasn't.  There were very few booths with woodworking projects, something we would have been very interested it.

We were really big spenders.  We bought and shared this boat of french fries!

Today we were off to the Mesa library to look at the Grand Canyon State Model Railroad display.  I liked the smoke coming out of the smokestack in this section.

Lots of freight trains with coal and shipping containers.  We see lots of these containers as we travel and we were very familiar with coal trains when we lived in Castle Rock.     

                                     

 

The Burlington Northern line ran east and west through the northern part of the country as well as throughout the Midwest.  Today it is part of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe system.

Notice the two old black and white police cars in the city scene here.

There was a train station about this size in Castle Rock.  It was moved and it now a museum.

Add caption

Look at the length of this coal train.  They really hold up traffic when they pass through a town.

We decided some of the model railroad enthusiasts name businesses or towns after their wives who let them spend all that time and money on their hobby.

This Isn't What We Came Here to See

Rain, sleet, snow, temps in the 30s and 40s.  And we're not in Colorado, Minnesota or the northwest.  We are in Arizona!

The rest of the country--with the possible exception of Florida--has bone-chilling cold with snow.  Here, we have had over 2 inches of rain.

The road in front of our house had running water.

This retention pond was really full.

A drainage ditch had running water.

Usually we can walk down the path that is underneath of center of this lake.

The Superstition Mountains had more snow than we have seen in all our winters in the Valley.

This is another walkway--full to the brim with happy ducks floating around.  They may be the only folks here who are happy with the weather.

If this area gets much fuller, the nearby houses will see flooding.

To the left rear of this photo, you can see the shuffle board court.  I hope the pucks float.

Winter in Gold Canyon

Most of the country wouldn't think it has been cold here in Gold Canyon but those of us who came here for warm weather are whining. The high temps have only been in the 50s recently and we've had over an inch of rain in the past week. Where's the sun?

Today we walked for exercise inside the Superstition Springs Mall. We weren't the only people doing it, either. Notice that everyone is in long pants, not shorts. We know that people who spend the summer in the Phoenix area walk inside the mall to get away from the heat. We don't expect to have to do it in winter.

Last spring shortly before we left for the summer, we went into Mesa Marketplace, the home of recreational shopping. Open year round, the facility has canvas walls so it is experiences all sorts of weather. In late April and May it is getting pretty hot. Though the swap meet is open, very few of the vendors were trying to sell things. We visited this Sunday and found almost all the vendor stalls open and the crowds of shoppers was increasing. In February and March the aisles will be so crowded it will be hard to move through them.

I keep think of the song from "Annie," "Tomorrow, tomorrow, the sun will come out tomorrow." We certainly hope so.

WHAT Have We Been Doing?

We are about ready to leave Gold Canyon until next fall. So, what have we done over the winter? We certainly haven't been hiking much--only twice all winter, as a matter of fact. When we first arrived in October, we were busy getting our new workshop ready, getting a washer-dryer, utility sink, water softener, cabinets, work bench, lathe, scroll saw, etc. etc. etc.

Finally, we got down to work. John used the scroll saw to create three intarsia projects. He also painted the nativity scene characters he had carved over the summer.

He also created this scroll saw cross.

Then, he got distracted. He started attending a class on "Writing Your Family History" here in our resort. For years, he has been writing stories about his ancestors and about his own experiences. He decided to get serious. Here is a photo of the notebook of stories about his personal experiences. He hopes to have it ready to publish (on a limited basis) before 2016 is over. It won't be in bookstores, but hopefully it will be of interest to family and a few friends. He is really a good writer and he has done so many different and interesting things over the years.

Meanwhile, I spent a lot of time working on the lathe. Some projects turned out very well, others--not so much. But I had a lot of fun and I learned a whole lot, especially from my mistakes. Look at what I did.

Next winter, we hope to live a more balanced life--both hobbies and hiking. But, that balance has always been hard for us. All our married lives we have focused on either work or play, but never balanced the two in either a week or a month. Do you suppose we can change that in the 13th year of retirement? I wonder.

The Bad and The Good

This has been the coldest Arizona winter we have experienced in the seven years we have been coming here. Until this week, the daytime high has been in the 50s for several weeks. We were getting tired of it. We come here to be in shorts and t-shirts--not possible in these temps.

Look at what we woke up to last week.

That's right--frost on the truck windshield! Brrr.

Then came the rains. See the water, running in the street? And the rain running off the neighbor's roof?

Finally, this week, we are having highs in the low 60s and lots of sunshine. And the good side of the rain is the flowers on the cactus. Beautiful!

Brrrr! But Beautiful

It snowed! Here in Gold Canyon, Arizona! On our truck! That really isn't fair. And it is really cold. The low this morning was 30 degrees. Yes, I know. It is a lot colder in most of the country. But we came to southern Arizona to escape the cold. This is what our truck looked like yesterday morning.

That wasn't pretty. But the nearby Superstition Mountains were beautiful.

If we live through this (and I am sure we will), it is supposed to be in the 60s by Sunday with lows above freezing. Ahhhh. That is what we expect when we come here for the winter.

What Are We Doing?

              We are excited about our new winter home and anxious to move in.  I am not-so-patiently waiting for the concrete to be poured for our RV pad and car port/patio and parking space.  We probably won’t be able to move in till the end of December, after the RV pad cement cures for 4 weeks.

              We aren’t “hanging up our keys”, however.  We still plan to be long-timers, though not full-time RVers.  For six years before we moved into our RV full-time, we spent about half the year traveling.  The last time we spent less than a month traveling in our RV was in 2002. 

              The day will surely come that we are either unable or not interested in RV travel, but we don’t see that time coming very soon.  We are already planning next year’s travels.

              For the past 6 years we have been spending our winters in either Arizona or Texas.  In many ways, our life won’t change much.  Now, we will be living in our winter home during those months, instead of in our RV.  The home is better-insulated, so we won’t be as tied to the heat index in Arizona as in the past. We will be 10 miles further east than in the past—closer to some hiking, further away from other trails.

              We are making new friends and missing our neighbors in Valle del Oro.  But we know, we will soon have good relationships here, as well.  It is a new chapter in our lives, though not too different from what we have been living.

Family Time

One of the great things about spending the winter in Arizona is the fact our son in Colorado loves to come here with his family for spring break. Wednesday night, they came to our place for dinner. Except for wind, the weather was beautiful and we sat outside for a while.



Afraid that the wind would blow our plates of food away, we came inside for the rest of the evening. Fourteen-year-old Kylie was in fashion with a stocking cap on her head while wearing shorts and a tank top. She loves to take pictures with her iPhone, especially selfies.



Her 8-year-old (going on 9) brother, John, also had a stocking cap.



They enjoy playing Old Maid.



Thursday we spent most of the day at the Phoenix Zoo. Here are the grandchildren in front of a large noodle.



The petting zoo was a highlight of our time at the zoo. Kylie enjoyed combing this goat. She even took a selfie of the goat!



This goat so wanted to be petted, he first cuddled up to me, then to John.



Grandson John and his siter both tried milking the plastic cow.



A living cow was preparing to give birth in a nearby stall, but we all decided not to wait around and watch.

The zoo here is wonderful and we had a good time walking to nearly all of the animal areas. There were a large number of turkey vultures. What interesting-looking heads they have.



Another exhibit had a different type of vulture. I only saw them from a distance and don't know what kind they are. But I don't think I would like to meet them up close!



Young John's favorite was the tortise. I didn't get a good photo of it, but I was able to get one of Kylie's favorite, the giraffe.



They sold snow cones in one snack stand. I think this young boy had his hair painted to advertise the different snow cone flavors.



Look at this sleeping female lion. She doesn't look very dangerous at this moment.



We were fascinated by these graceful gerenuks.



We were able to walk through an enclosed area with these small monkeys. They are so cute.



Who knew that elephants sleep on their side, just like horses? A little later, we saw her (him?) up walking around.





These warty pigs are a little scary looking. The zoo keepers spend a lot of time in close contact with the animals so they know humans are safe and so the keepers are able to examine the pigs and give them shots.







There were lots of other animals, but if you want to see them, you will have to make a trip there yourself. This blog is long enough.