Time Flies - part 2

We went to the Arizona Opry one night.  There was a group of about 20 ish from our park.  There is dinner and then this great show.  It was old time rock and roll and these entertainers can play many instruments.  The lead singer George Staerkle who was from the Tokens - the group  that sang "The Lion Sleeps tonite"  Another great night for us.  I can't thank Ernie and Dianne enough for getting these tickets for us.  They are hard to come by and they are all sold out by the summer for the next year.
We also went with a group to the Improv one night. First we met at a local pub and had supper and then on to the Improv.  It was really great, and some of the members of the group managed their own impov tricks - 'nuff said about that!

One day a group of us hopped on the valley rail public transport and rode into Phoenix.

It is an absolutely fabulous way to see downtown Phoenix.  We walked a block or so and saw this amazing Irish museum.  The building and grounds were just beautiful.  We then had lunch at the spaghetti factory before getting back on the train and going to the Wells Fargo Museum.

This was a very hands on, interactive museum and it was FREE to boot.  They took pictures of anyone who wanted to and sent them to us in an email.  I snapped this one of Suz and Larry.  We were sort of aimlessly wandering through downtown and we saw so much cool stuff.

This is a group getting their photos taken for a quincenara which is a celebration similar to a sweet 16.  It is a latin celebration for a 15 year old.  They were so cute and the girl was so pretty so I asked if she minded if I snapped a pic also.

 So many beautiful buildings to see in the downtown area. We need to go back and see more.  That is next years project.

this is Alice Coopers restaurant.  All the menu items include the names of famous stars and the waitresses all had on make up Alice Cooper style!  There is a 2 foot long hot dog on the menu which would feed a lot of people.  We also went to a police  museum which was also free.  On the way back from Phoenix we stopped off in Tempe, the girls did some shopping and the guys went to Hooters.

One night after yet another great happy hour/good bye party we went for a moonlight swim and then scorpion hunting with Suz and Larry.  You have to take a black light at night and shine it on cement walls and cracks where they might be hiding.  We found the first one and of course we were all huddled trying to look at it, and I was trying to take a picture.  You have to know that the guys will jump and try to scare the crap out of the girls.  You also have to know that the girls will scream like they were in high school and some bad words might also follow.  And of course much giggling and carrying on afterwards.   Luckily we did not get kicked out of the park and I still giggle when I think of this night.

 This picture was taken from Saguaro Lake.  We went once with Ruth and Wayne, we had a great day just looking at the desert flowers and we walked a little way around the lake.  We then sat and had a great picnic lunch and watched for birds.  It was an enjoyable day.

 Mexican gold poppy

 This tiny little flower is a desert bell.

Can you believe this beautiful field of lupins?  the ditches were loaded with purple blooms.

 A few days later Don and I went back and hiked farther around the lake.  The trail here is very nice and the view was amazing.  We needed hiking boots and our sticks.

These are baby oranges.  they will be ready to eat in Jan or so next year.

We watched this worker clean off the dead fronds from the palm trees.  I had always wondered how they did it, and I was certainly glad I never have to do it.  Its amazing how much cleaner they look if you compare the 2 in the above picture.  That is also a huge pile of trimmings!  These things are a little dangerous to leave on the trees as they blow off when there is strong winds.  The chunks of tree bark/base of fronds are fairly substantial.  They look and feel almost leathery.

This is a Saguaro cactus bloom.  I was sooooo excited to see it as they usually bloom in May or June.  They don't all open at the same time.

One of my favorite plants in the desert.   When I first saw these last year I thought there was a lot of dead things.  They look like a dead old stick with many sharp thorns but once they get a little moisture the leaves and then amazing flowers appear.  It is called an ocotillo.

I like this picture as I have figured out I look really skinny if I hide half of me behind Don.  Thanks to our photographer Larry and his assistant (aka - hide the bra straps and badge lady Suz)

Today we spent a lot of time doing laundry and getting everything all packed up and ready to leave.  We extended our stay a day as it is quite windy and we are not a fan of driving the rig in wind.

To all our old friends and new friends at VVV - thank you so much for making this such a great winter.  The weather and company could not have been better.  I will miss you all very much.  And I will  miss my pool days whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

On our way home we plan to stop in Vegas, Parker, Lake Havasu, Valley of Fire, Zion and Bryce and we want to spend a couple of days exploring Salt Lake City.  We are hoping to stop in Estevan to see family and then to Prince Albert for the summer.  I am missing my girl!