WINTERING, 2020

January – March, 2020
So what do we have to say for ourselves after hanging around in one spot for 6 months? Do we have anything new to report that you, dear readers, have not heard before about our adventures in the Southwest during wintertime in North America?  Should we bore you further with tales of softball (Brian played for the first time since 1994 as a left handed shortstop!), pickleball (Brian and his co-ed partner represented VDO in the Cal-Am tourney), bocce ball, table tennis, happy hours, the sewing room and quilt show, adventures in the Box Office, seeing Three Dog Night and The Beach Boys in concert and Funday Sundays?  Do we have any condemnation or accolades for snowbirds who deserted a colder clime after the “holidays,” and who will once again return “north” alongside the professional baseball players, sporting their tans and with an (imaginarily) improved golf game? Is there anything of value we did before Brian’s softball injury and the slowdown of life in America due to the coronavirus pandemic (or was it an infodemic before the pandemic?) to share? Well, hell yeah…check it out…

In 1939, Swedish botanist Gustaf Starck recruited a group of like-minded Phoenix residents by posting a sign that read “Save the Desert,” giving an address and time for an organizational meeting.  That small group of passionate local citizens came to work passionately together to conserve their beloved and beautiful Sonoran Desert.  80 years later the Desert Botanical Garden is considered one of the 25 most stunning botanical gardens in America, and it has grown into a 140-acre park featuring more than 4,482 plant species, 379 of which are rare and endangered, all arranged in beautiful outdoor exhibits.

Special events such as dining in the desert, garden mixtape featuring the talents of local musicians, an art class on the use of crepe paper to make California poppies, and a class on light in photography dot the year ’round calendar at the Desert Botanical Garden.  Their newest art exhibition – Wild Rising – is an installation of more than 1,000 animal sculptures made from colorful and recyclable plastic.

A visit to explore special events is an added bonus, but we found that true enjoyment of the Garden is found simply by taking a leisurely walk around the miles of intersecting paths amongst the Sonoran Desert flora.

We had such a wonderful afternoon that it was a no-brainer to upgrade our daily admission to an annual membership.

We headed south of the border to the small town of Los Algodones in pursuit of prescription medication and eyeglasses.  Los Algodones is approximately 30 miles south and west of Yuma, Arizona, and getting into town is startlingly easy.  You can drive through the vehicle gate and across the border into Baja California, Mexico, or park on the US side of the border, on land owned by the Quechan Tribe (Yuma Indians), and walk across.  It made better sense to us to park in a secured fenced-in lot on US soil and walk the 100 yards into Mexico.  At the border there are no representatives of the Mexican government – no custom agents – we simply walked into another country.  Returning to the US was a bit slower as we did need to declare our citizenship and purchases with US customers agents.

Los Algodones exists for 3 reasons; dental work, pharmacy, and eyeglasses.  All along US Highway 8 heading west out of Gila Bend, Arizona billboard signs advertise the value proposition of visiting Los Algodones.  Sure, you can buy liquor (tequila!!) at about 35%-50% US, have a meal (we had a most delicious lunch, and no later-in-the-day gastrointestinal issues), get a free margarita from your optometrist while waiting for your eyeglasses to be made up, and be harassed by locals selling all kinds of tchotchkes (ask Barbara about the armadillo), but we were on a mission for pharmacy and eyeglasses.  Let’s be clear – the day was a success.  We received a competent eye exam (margarita following), chose from a wide selection of frames, and bought 3 pair of progressive trifocal eyeglasses including one pair of sunglasses and one with transition lenses for less than the cost of 1 pair in the US even with vision insurance!  And pharmacy is just as stupid cheap…exact prescriptions at about 10% the cost.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is 517 square miles of wilderness located along the Mexican/US border in extreme southern Arizona.  Brian had been talking about hiking in the Monument for the last year, and he was most excited to be able to check this off of our bucket list.  The Monument is the only place in the United States where the organ pipe cactus grows wild.  Along with organ pipe, many other types of cacti and other desert flora native to the Yuma Desert region of the Sonoran Desert grow in the Monument – because of the diversity of desert plants it became a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976.

It is unfortunate that our present administration ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to build “the wall” along this section of the US/Mexican border.  We join our fellow conservationists in feeling a collective American shame that excavation disturbed the biosphere reserve, caused irreparable damage to the delicate desert environment, and destroyed archaeological sites and burial grounds sacred to the Tohono O’odham Nation.

The organ pipe cactus is a tall upright cacti that derives its name from the upright stems that branch from the base of the plant.

When our friends Tom and Landa were in Phoenix they raved about the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM).  For whatever reason we had not, at least until now, spent time exploring this fascinating 2-floor exposition of the history of the musical instrument and musical cultures.  Does this mean we ought to pay closer attention to what Tom and Landa have to say?

The MIM has on display more than 7,000 instruments (of its collection of more than 13,000) from 200 of the world’s countries and territories. State-of-the-art audio and video technologies allowed us to see the instruments and hear their sounds being played in their original cultural contexts.  Entering into the Experience Gallery we were able to play instruments from around the world, and in the Artists Gallery instruments from music icons such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Pablo Casals, Buddy Rich, “King” Sunny Adé, Clara Rockmore, Bud Issacs, and (yes, the Wichita Lineman himself!) Glenn Campbell were on display.  Favorite displays included an exploration of the roots of American genres of music, and instruments made out of discarded items.

A special exhibit on African culture drew us to discover the interconnectedness of music and masks in 3rd world cultures.

…and yet so much more to see in this fabulous collection!

The MIM is also home to a live performance auditorium.  What we thought would be an afternoon’s enjoyment turned into a 2-day “haven’t really seen it all” exhilarating experience.  A must-do if spending any time in the Phoenix metroplex.

Just a brief reminder that Barbara is a rock hound, and that a year ago January we spent a couple of weeks in Quartzsite for a small portion of the City’s 2-month-long RV invasion, rock, gem and mineral show.  Couldn’t pass up the chance this year to visit Tucson’s homage to rock hounds everywhere.  Whether in Quartzsite or Tucson there are multiple venues around town; the Big Tent in Quartzsite and Tucson’s Convention Center drawing the largest crowds.

How mineral and gem rocks are known to contain minerals and gems, how they are then broken, split and/or cut to expose their precious secret, how the rough product is cut down and polished is truly an art form that had us in awe.

For the uniformed, like Brian, geodes are hollow, vaguely circular rocks, in which masses of mineral matter (which may include crystals) are secluded. One of the hands-on fun activities at the show involved picking a geode from one of a dozen bins of rocks and then, using an industrial strength tool, it was cracked open to reveal the treasure inside.

Quartzsite’s show has a rustic charm and flea market appeal while Tucson’s show is for the serious collector (read: $$$), for folks like us to get the opportunity to take a good long look at exquisite minerals and gems for sale, and to give us a setting in which to appreciate the overall exhibition of minerals, gems and fossils.

Barbara has been awe-struck by the Superstition Mountains from her first glimpse of their snow-covered peaks last March.  This winter has been much warmer and snow in the mountains has not lasted more than a day or so, but looking northeast their beauty is gloriously on display, just as the Rockies greeted her every morning while living in Colorado Springs.  Lost Dutchman State Park afforded us an opportunity to hike in the Superstitions.

Remember the Lost Dutchman?  Crazy prospector supposedly found a gold mine and never told anyone its location?  Well the mine is reportedly out there in the Superstitions…maybe we’d get lucky during our hike?

No luck finding the Lost Dutchman’s mine, but a great day with an easy hike in the Park.

Canyon Lake is a recreational area for hikers and boaters alike or grab your fishing rod and test your luck! – pick your poison, you can’t go wrong.

Housed at the Canyon Lake marina the Dolly Steamboat Company offers hour-long lake cruises as well as a 2 1/2-hour twilight dinner cruise on Friday and Saturday, and an astronomer-led night sky dinner cruise once a month on a Sunday.  Guess which one would have been of interest for us?

We made our reservations for the next scheduled astronomer-led night sky cruise, but about a week before the embarkation date the cruise was cancelled.  We rescheduled for a week later – cancelled again!  Not enough sales explained the Company.  We were pretty disappointed to not have the chance to view the night sky, but we do enjoy time on the water so we decided to go ahead with the next twilight dinner cruise.

Everyone bellies up to the will-call booth for their boarding pass.  Imagine our surprise when, in addition to receiving our boarding passes the Company gifted us with a $25 on-board credit because we had been cancelled out of the night cruise!  The credit was put to good use for adult beverages to complement a very fine evening’s outing on Canyon Lake.  The scenery was terrific, the meal well prepared and tasty, and the chance to be out on the water fabulous…the moon rising was an added bonus to spending some special time together.

Wintering in Mesa has been a blur; it seems like yesterday that we anxiously pulled into Valle del Oro wondering if we could tolerate being so long in one location, if we’d like workkamping, and what we’d find day-by-day to keep us out of trouble.  The answers are yes, yes, and well, all of the stuff found in the last 3 blogs kept us pretty busy.

Oh yeah…new friends and old friends.  There’s a crazy community feel existing at Valle del Oro we’ve not experienced in any other place we’ve ever lived.  People genuinely have a smile and good word for their neighbor, people extend a helping hand to their neighbor, and people rally around their neighbor in time of need.  The intensity of connection when we gather together is far beyond your neighbors on whatever main street you grew up on or lived on as an adult.

Barbara and I have come to truly love our friends at Valle del Oro.  So Godspeed to Jack and Chris, Darlene and Joel, Karen and Paul, Bob and Marlene (and Winston), Connie and Jim, Alan and Cassie, Tim and Angie, Angie, Barb and Dale, Jerry and Barb, Tom and Karen, Woody and Linda, Alan and Claudia, Dee and Kent.  Let’s stay in touch and see you next season!

Barbara and Brian