Geocaching and My Place

There is a lot of geocaches around Sunsites.  After many attempts over the years,  I finally found one!  And then another! The first one was quite a challenge.  The clue was to look under the oak tree.  Being from Oregon, looking at the trees and saying to myself "There aren't any oak trees here!" is this suppose to be a clue with some secret meaning?  With the song about tying a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree, I am looking around for a yellow ribbon!  Guess I should have gone on the informative nature trail first:

But alas, as always, I did things backwards.  None the less, there was no giving up as determination to find ONE geocache egged me on.  Determination paid of!

It is a two part geocache, the first had the coordinates for the second.  After about 45 minutes of trying to get to the second one and my GPS just giving me a straight line to get to it and running into a dead end canyon, determination having wained, the search was abandoned for the day.

 

 Another day, another geocache successfully located after 4 or 5 circles to zero in on it.  Along the way signs of the deserting getting ready to bloom could be seen. 

 Put in one of the oragami items received at the Korean Convention August 2009 along with my name.  Let me know if you find it in a cache you do.






Here are some pics of my new home and a cool one where relfections make it look like a hole in the tree.

 

And lastly, the moto that keeps me moving forward:

TTFN! LJ

Some Arizona Pictures April 25, 2011

In addition to finding animals in the clouds they can be found in the cactus...

                              isn't he just so cute!







You have heard of farmer's tan, here is biker's tan:



Before you all get on my case about sunscreen, I had been out in the sun for several days and not even so much as a little pink.  This day was particularly windy and this was the results.  Now I know.





Here are some pics of my trip to Coronado National Memorial and a cave there.  Some of the pics in the cave look like its underwater but it is the dust that is churned up from people walking around.  All the rock is covered with a film of dust.

I don't think we are in Kansas anymore Toto!  (come on, what else could I say here?)

Drive up to the top on a dirt switch back.

Just a good reminder to us all.

 Some of the cactus did not survie the 0 degree winter...

 There is a sign that says "Do not touch the rocks".  Hmmm...this may be a challenge to climb down and back up again without touching any rock.


It is impossible to do.  So many have had to touch the rocks climbing in and out that they have been polished and have a shiny sheen to them.

 A second way out.  Its amazing what water can do to rock, huh?

Well, that are my pictures and experiences to date.  Hope you enjoyed!

At last!  Sunsites, AZ (Also known as Pearce, AZ)

My move to warmer weather has finally been accomplished.  Only a year later than was planned.  The month of March was a bit hectic!  The journey began in Oregon and in rain, typical.  The journey south saw the onset of spring.  First with the little lambs and then with the blossoming fruit trees and then pinnacle of spring and warmer weather - bugs on the windshield!

Two days of searching for a new home and a decision.  With a lease and all kinds of deposits for utilities paid I had keys and a place to live for the next 6 ½ months.  Then came more knowledge, dust storms (in addition to the bugs you can see the dust in the above pic), monsoons and bugs!  And the piece de resistance?  FROGS!   Fortunately, not in my toilet.  Apparently they come with the monsoons, as do the bugs, in July and August.  Big frogs.  Tune in for updates on that!

The second trip down at the end of March was with two full loads and with three companions to keep company with.  Ida, Terry and Pam.  It was a bit slow as we climbed mountains and traversed over 1500 miles.  Then it happened.  Thirty miles from our destination.  A flat tire on the trailer!  Ida and I continued on to the house to empty our load and by the time we were almost finished, new peeps arrived.  Brandon and Danny, two young brothers to help!  YEAH!  We rushed back to Terry and Pam who had unloaded some of the things to give relief to a broken leaf spring on the trailer while Ida unpacked boxes (YEAH! So tired of boxes!).  After a quick transfer of cargo to my truck we were off to Sunsites.  After everything had been unloaded, dinner eaten, we all took turns in the massage chair and went off to grab some zzzzzz.

The next morning after a gorgeous sunrise...

we did a temporary fix  on the trailer they took off for Phoenix and a friends house who knew someone who ended up buying the trailer!  (Again…YEAH!)  Ida and I decided to head back to Oregon too and listened to the McMinnville meeting on the phone.  Was really trying to get back in two days, but locking my keys in the truck the next morning put a crimp in the plan.  After calling AAA and the guy setting off the alarm ½ dozen times in the motel parking lot at 7 am we slinked away but the tone of the day had been set.  Grrrr!

Packing up the remainder of the items and cleaning up and closing out accounts took a little longer than expected.  Finally Sunday at 1 pm, with a goodbye to my home in Oregon and no room for anything else in the truck I put the pedal to the metal and the last trip began.  Thanks to some lovely energy supplements from Terrry & Pam I made it to Sunsites by Monday at 8pm!

Right into the thick of things I spent the next two days out in service in the morning and unpacking in the afternoons.  Memorial was 138 for our congregation of about 70 pubs.  More service (more new peeps), more unpacking, some motorcycling and some hiking.  In amidst this a few crazy people.  There seems to be some sort of magnetic attraction, as a woman asked if she could give me a back rub and got very insulted with my declination and a man was insulted when he said he was from heaven and I said “really?”.  Well, without crazy people the stories just aren’t as interesting are they?