Jeeping in Carrizo Canyon.

We got up, with temperatures around freezing, ate breakfast, and waited until 10 AM for Tom and Joan. Then we headed out for Bow Willow Campground, where Tom and Joan had planned to spend the night. As we were driving in, they were driving out. After a few minutes, we agreed to head out in Tom's Jeep, and went up Carrizo Canyon. The lower parts of the canyon were sandy, but the further we went, the rockier it became. In some places it was so rocky that we were getting tossed around pretty hard, even in compound low gear. When the jeep trail petered out, we got out and walked, looking for some pictographs. Other jeepers directed us to the overhang that held the pictographs. The pictographs appeared relatively recent, different from other pictographs that we were familiar with.

The area is beautiful desert, with evidence of recent rains. The Ocotillo trees are green, as are some of the grasses. We have seen relatively few birds or other wildlife, although we did see a Phainopepla.

We finished the day with Margaritas and chips at Tom and Joan's campsite. We agreed that Tom and Joan would come to our campground Monday morning.

West to California

We got up around 7 AM on Saturday, to pack up and head down the road to California. With some last minute computer items for Eileen, we did not make it out of Sun City West until 9:30 AM.

We stopped at the Territorial Prison in Yuma for lunch, and took pictures of the Colorado River from the overlook. The river looked pretty small, due to most of the water being pulled off for irrigation. We saw numerous irrigated fields in Arizona, while the Imperial Valley of California is industrial agriculture. The irrigation canals were prominently marked, a key to the local economy.

In the Yuma area, we saw huge numbers of ATVs, dune buggies, and sand rails, each with a flag on a tall mast for visibility. The dunes are a popular recreation area, and there were dozens of RVers set up in villages spread across the area.

Mapquest claimed that it was only a four hour drive from Sun City West to Ocotillo, the closest city to the park, so Richard thought that we would have lots of time. As the day went on, the four hours came and went, and we were not near Ocotillo. The RV goes slower than the average car, especially in California, where the speed limit for trailers is 55 mph. We also made multiple stops, for air in the tires, bathrooms, gas, groceries, lunch, etc. It took us almost 7 hours to make it to Ocotillo.


At Ocotillo, we turned off Interstate 8 onto county road S2, and headed out into the Anza-Borrego desert. We drove by some badlands, over a small pass, and then found the Agua Caliente Springs park. It cooled down quickly as the sun went behind the mountains. Our campsite is big, removed from the hot springs pools, with AC, water, and sewer. It looks like it will be nice and quiet, which is good, since we be here for six nights, until January 2nd. Tom is supposed to come visit us tomorrow morning, and we can start exploring.

After dinner we played Scrabble.

The Cat's Day

The Cat was exhibiting symptoms of an eye problem that he has had in the past, and we did not have any medicine for him. We could not do anything about it on Christmas Day, but on the 26th we called our Vet in Boulder, to fax a prescription to an animal pharmacy in Phoenix. It took numerous phone calls and a couple of visits to the pharmacy, but we got what the cat needed. The bad news was that it was time consuming and frustrating. The good news is that it was inexpensive.

I had hoped that I could resolve the issue of the cat's medicine in the morning, but it took until mid-afternoon. This meant that we did not leave Arizona on the 26th, as we had planned. I called the park in California to change our arrival date, and to Tom to let him know our reschedule. We will all arrive in California on the 27th.

In the evening, Marianne and Eileen watched a movie on TV, until Marianne went to bed. Richard worked on Eileen's computer, setting up the printer so that it would print 4 by 6 photos. Richard wrote up an instruction for Eileen on how to do it.

Richard took Mike and Liz's two dogs for several walks. Rather, they took him for a walk, towing him down the street by their leashes. The dogs are not small, but luckily, Richard weighs more than the two dogs put together, so he can control them. The dogs seem to worship Richard, lying by his feet.

Christmas Party

We started the day by attending Christmas mass at the Franciscan center. The mass was very welcoming, with beautiful contemporary music. The people were involved, the feeling was nice. Father Joe said the mass. Very nice.

After mass, we drove over to Liz's and Mike's for a Christmas Dinner. There was great food, presents were opened, and all had a good time.

Getting ready for Christmas

We spent the day before Christmas doing a little Christmas shopping, as well as getting ready to head for California. A quiet evening at home.

Heard Museum and Eileen Home

In the morning, Marianne went to the hospital to visit Eileen, while Richard worked on the camper.

In the afternoon, we drove into Phoenix to the Heard Museum of the American Indian. We arrived in time for the tour, and decided to take it. Our guides were two young Indian women. Their personal commentary made the tour more interesting, and we got a little insight into Indian culture, more than if we had just wandered around and seen the exhibits.

We had dinner at a little Mexican restaurant in Phoenix, where we received a call from Eileen, saying that she was being released. We drove to the hospital and brought her home. We and she were very happy that she was back in her house.

Richard swapped some messages with Tom. He is already in Las Vegas, but is concerned about whether Joan will be able to fly out of Seattle, due to the snow there. We will hope that this will all work out, and that we will be able to meet them in the California desert.

Dinner with Liz's family

We visited Eileen in the hospital, and she was looking pretty good. She was still under infection control, so we put on disposable gowns and gloves for our visit.

Richard decided that he needed a small tripod, so we went to a camera store, and found a suitable tripod, which is Richard's Christmas present.

We drove over to Liz's house for a tamale dinner. We admired their remodeling project, which looked very nice. Anna had strep, so she did not join us for dinner, but we included her in the picture. A nice evening. Their entire block was decorated with Christmas lights, very pretty.

Chihuly Glass at Botanic Gardens

We started the day by going to church at one of the huge churches in Sun City West. After mass, we went over to talk to the organist, Joan, who used to teach with Marianne. It was nice to see her again. She is now 80 years old, and still playing.

We visited Eileen in the hospital after mass, she was looking pretty good.


We headed for the Phoenix Botanic Gardens to meet Liz and Emily, to see the Chihuly Glass, and the plants. The glass was impressive, and it is amazing to see how many varieties of cactus and other desert plants there are. The juxtaposition of the glass and the plants was very interesting.




After the Botanic Gardens, we ate dinner at a restaurant, and visited Eileen in the hospital.

Evening in Sun City West

We slept in, relaxed, and did chores in the morning, and then went to see Eileen in the afternoon. As we were leaving, we saw Patrick and Stacy coming in. Eileen reported that she had a feeling of well being around 3 PM. Eileen's spirit is high, as usual, and she is glad that she in in the hospital, getting good care.

In the evening, Marianne and Richard went for a walk around the neighborhood in
Sun City West. We saw quite a bit of urban wildlife, notably a Gila Woodpecker, a pair of Harris Hawks, and a coyote. The Harris Hawk is a new bird for us.

Santa Fe to Sun City West

We got up early, left a cold Santa Fe, and headed down the road to Albuquerque. Marianne wanted to take the southern route, through Hatch, but Richard wanted to take the shorter route, through Flagstaff. Richard was driving, so we turned on I40 to Flagstaff. The traffic was not bad, and the driving was easy, thanks to relatively little wind, most of the day. We had lunch in Winslow at a family Mexican restaurant; we were panhandled there by Indians. The reservation looked mostly sad.

Flagstaff had lots of snow on the side of the road, glad that we were not there the day before.

On our way down from Flagstaff to to Phoenix, Liz called. Eileen was in the hospital. Marianne was pretty upset. We headed for Eileen's house, and parked the camper in her driveway. We then headed to hospital, and visited with Eileen a bit. A damper on our plans to have fun in Arizona, but we will try to do some fun things while we are here.

Heading South

We left Thursday morning, on our way to the Phoenix area. Happy to be escaping the deep freeze in Colorado. Our plan is to spend time with Eileen and her family up to and including Christmas, and then head to the California Desert.

It was a hard and slow drive, mostly due to a strong headwind, which is troublesome in an RV. We decided to stop in Santa Fe.

There is a party at Liz's Friday night, but we may not make it.