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?

Portland Japanese Gardens December 13, 2010

When my brother said he wanted to go to the Japanese Gardens on his vacation in December, my response was "You want to go in winter!" After much convincing we made out plan. Happily, just days before we set off, Groupon.com was offering a two for one coupon. So rather than $9 each that was the total. Awesome!

Off to the gardens we went. After a windy ride in the hills we found the parking lot for the Portland Japanese Gardens. After parking we hiked up the trail to the entrance gate. No sooner did we go
through the gate than the rains came. Not daunted, off we went to explore.

Even in winter and in the rain it was quite scenic. I am not the type to sit and contemplate the landscape and the use of one element to represent another. Too quiet for my liking. However, observing those who are into that type of thing was interesting and Larry was totally in his element.









There was lots of color and textures that made the scenery quite interesting. There were plants that were even in bloom.




























And the rain added its fine touch and even made a leafless tree twinkle.




























Larry's observation of the this scene was that the rocks represented people and how the ripples represent the fact that we do not live in isolation and the ripples represent the affect we have on the lives of others, whether we recognize that or not. Deep!

HOT, HOT, HOT...

but I think I like it! Yesterday I got to thinking I could live here in Willcox, but then realized that lying on my back in the pool makes it easy
to feel like living anywhere.

Today was meeting at 10 for the English congregation. They have somewhere between 50 - 80 pubs (got conflicting reports). Willcox congo is one of color, some vanilla, some cinnamon and some chocolate. Old and middle and young. Lots of comments and semi-loud singing. And good territory, I'm told! I think I might be excited.

Went exploring this afternoon and got a little more excited while roaming around Sunsites, a town about 30+ miles southish of Willcox. Lots of places to ride and a golf course! This is Indian country and lots of different parks and monuments. The scenery here is just amazing!

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Oooo weee!

It be a bit hot here in Willcox, AZ! My morning started out with the sun breaking through the curtains in a blinding fashion at 5 am. Got to Bearizona at 8 am. Its a new drive through wild life park in Williams, AZ. They just opened a few weeks ago and are only on phase one of the construction. It's pretty small but the highlight is the 9 black bears and the two 5 month old bear sisters, Kona & Coco. Kona already has a major reputation as a terror! The staff were really friendly.

The drive was a lot more interesting today and I got to see cactus in bloom. The halo of flowers that top the saguras is pretty entertaining. There were also spots of bright pink (however speeding at 75 mph through twisting highway didn't allow me to stop and get a picture). Just outside of Willcox is an area that looks like the dribble sand castles I use to make as a kid.

The kingdom hall is a newer one it appears on the outside. Spanish and English. People don't have to worry about mowing lawns here and it does not appear that gardening is a particular popular pass time. It seems to be an old western town. Passed a store that advertised gun fights by the fully dressed caballeros lounging in the shade. (Sorry, didn't get a pic). And they have a store that has sales for people 49 and younger! This may be the place!

Magnifiscent!

I left the cool temps of my room in Las Vegas at 7:30 am and out into the already hot temps of the Nevada desert! They are expecting 106 tomorrow. Thankfully Arizona is about 15 degrees cooler. The drive was still a bit on the dull side (except for the car that was on fire), but even the desert has blossomed as you can see from the pics. After finding my motel, the Quality Inn Mountain Ranch about 5 miles east of Williams, AZ; my destination was the Grand Canyon. A 60 minute drive, a $25 park pass and a two hour drive in the park and all I's gots ta say is WOW!

Its like seeing an old movie that the background is actually a painted wall. It is surreal that there could be such a huge hole in the middle of nowhere and that water did all that (note to self: fix the leaky faucet outside). All kinds of accents as I passed people.

Back to the hotel, its older but has been nicely updated, very elegant. Tomorrow a drive through Bearizona, a wild life park, $11 entrance fee until 2011 and then off to Willcox. The temps are at 100, eek!

Aaaarrrrggghhh!

The trip from Susanville to Vegas is unbelievably boring! Very long straight stretches with just scrub brush. A few little towns break up the monotony wondering what people do in these little towns that are literally in the middle of nowhere. The mountains can be pretty interesting, the different colors are amazing. I have been searching for warmth and definately found it in Las Vegas at 100 degrees with a low of 78. The hotel I got is quite regal for a price of $41 bucks! I am finding that I am a bit addicted to electronics as I paid $12.99 in order to get internet access here so I could check email, book my next motel and do my blog : ).