Tucson AZ Lunch and trip to Saguaro National Park

December 25, 2010

We had Christmas dinner with over 80 people at the Rovers Roost (The SKP park where we stay.) Turkey, beef, and ham plus all sorts of side dishes contributed by all who attended. No one went hungry.




December 26, 2010

This may show up out of order...oh, well, that's what happend when you get behind on the blog.

Before we left for Brenda's we received a text from Sheila - regarding the ShowDown cook off - Huevos Rancheros at Theresa's Mosaic. So, being fans of Huevos...and wanted to take a jaunt to Tucson...we headed off for lunch.

A colorful diner with great Mexican food...and terrific Margaritas...we assure you, there was no Margarita mix or Sweet and Sour mix used. :-) We both received the clean plate award.

On our way back to Casa Grande, we stopped at the Ostrich farm.

We fed the deer.......

The goats........
The lorakeets.........

And the ostrichs. We didn't see the sign (below) until we had both experienced having our hands grabbed by an Ostrich while we were trying to give them food. I don't think they have teeth...it felt more like having your fingers clamped between a couple of boards. They let go very quickly so it was just a second...and we weren't hurt...But we were definitely surprised.

The Saguaro [Sa Wah Ro] National Forest was also a stop on the way home. Beautiful scenery. We sat through a movie (most National parks, forests, and monuments have a 10-15 minute presentation about the site), and then a live lecture by a forester, who discribed the wild life in the desert. Mostly noctournal animals...I think he described 9 or 10...which would be the first 9 or 10 reasons I would never camp IN A TENT in the desert. :-)


Several different types of cactus in the area. I think everyone recognizes the prickley pear..The Saguaro can just be one fat pole...or, as we usually think of it...have several arms.

The first pic is a string Cholla cactus (pronounced Choy-ya)

The barrel cactus is fairly prevalent...and in our park there are several...and they lean toward the sun. When they get large...sometimes they lean too much, and just tip over, because their root structure is so shallow.


The stringy looking tree is an Ocatillo cactus. When it rains, it will be full of leaves and flowers...when it dries out...all of the leaves fall off, and it looks dead.

Saguaro in back of the prickley pears.

The story of all of the animals in the Saguaro National forest.

It really IS a forest of cacti. Last view from inside the visitor center looking out.

Christmas and New Years with Grandchildren

December 28, 2010 - January 4, 2011



We flew from Phoenix to Denver for a belated Christmas with Brenda and the kids. Our gifts were delayed until the 31st, as we put out a bit of a challenge to see who could sort, straighten and put their room in "great shape" in two days. They all did an amazing job...and worked very hard.






















Their reward was our trip by train to the "almost" top of Pike's peak. More on that later.





New Years Eve celebration was a fun time. The kids picked both white and red sparkling grape juice for the party. Hats, confetti, noisemakers were all part of the celebration. We watched movies on the Hallmark channel...and all of them made it until Midnight...except Ava, who found a soft warm spot next to Grandma at about 11:30.

Even Mason joined in on the festivities.

January 2, we set out for the Cog Railway which would take us to Pike's Peak.


We got a bit of a discount on our ticket...and couldn't go the last 500 ft because of 70 MPH winds on that side of the mountain. That's OK. Considering th0se circumstances -

who could object?
The sights were incredible as we climbed the mountain on the cog train.



1st pic - the city below...2nd pic - Mountain range in New Mexico...60 miles away

Big horn sheep...bunches of them

Difficult to describe the wonderment of the views...I guess you had to be there. :-)

Casa Grande National Park

December 24, 2010

OK...so we're a little remiss in updating the blog. Really...it's only the 11th of February. We're finishing out the last two spots for 2010 today, so, we're making progress. Having way too much fun here in Casa Grande, AZ...and truly managing to stay out of the bad weather to boot!

Just before leaving for Brenda's for the Holiday visit, we took a drive out to the Casa Grande National Monument. (About 30 miles East of Casa Grande - city.)
This park is an archeological site...and is the place for which Casa Grande was named.

A canopy was built over the "BIG HOUSE" to protect it from the elements back in the 1800's when the site was discovered, with the current canopy representing an update.

The land was occupied by the "Hohokam"...and indian tribe which dates back to the 1300's in this region. They migrated north from Mexico [as we learned in one of our adventures in January 2011-more on that later]

The plaque explains the land in the picture following it. They had an arena for "games." There is still some digging being done in this area.

These people had an amazing system of irrigation that they developed - and they were agricultural people.

Incidently, most of the Arizona farming is supported by "updated" but truly similar irrigation systems today.

The desert at certain altitudes is populated by Saguaro [Sa-Wah-Ro] cactus...at around 1500 - 2000 ft above sea level they are quite prevalent.

The Hohokam abandoned the area (@ 1500)...and no one is quite sure why or where they went.


Parts of their buildings...and foundations for their living space has been unearthed by the archiologists. They amazingly lived quite well off the food of the land.

Closeup shots of the "Casa Grande" The Main house...and community center for the Hohokam village.

Truly an interesting visit.