Our Winter Home

We will be staying here for two to three months.

Front entrance and dining room. 

There is laminate flooring throughout the whole house. 

 The view from our kitchen table.

I love how the morning sun shines in the the living room. 

All the furniture and kitchen items were included 

which was perfect since we just sold everything. We will 

decorate once we get our stuff from the storage unit.

Tile in the entry, kitchen and bathroom.

A nice size bedroom with a queen bed. 

Stacked washer, dryer with a walk in closet 

in the master bedroom. 

No picture of the second bedroom because it is our office 

and we have not organized it yet.  

 It is nice to relax on the deck, enjoy the sun 

and view the mountains in the distance. We have had several 

neighbors stop by and welcome us to the neighborhhood.

 No mowing! 

There are so many things to do in this park 

and surrounding area. 

 We had a blast at The Gaslight Theatre in Tucson. 

It is a small intimate place and this show was sold out. 

 Five couples from the park attended. 

The show was The Two Amigos. 

It is similar to The Des Moines Community Playhouse. 

Yes, we have had some cold weather here in Arizona. 

This is the mountain range to the east and in the 

higher elevations there is snow. 

Thankfully, it is way in the distance!

We wandered around the Tucson Swap Meet for a 

few hours and found something for our deck.

"Harness the power of today. Seize the blessings of today!
Make something happen, enhance your life, 
make someone laugh, help a friend, love, love, love!"
Steve Maraboli

Green Valley, Arizona

A few highlights from our busy week.

 We went to Mission San Xavier del Bac which is a national 

historical landmark north of Green Valley. I highly recommend
 the docent-led tour because of all the history and
interesting things they point out in this elaborate building.
It is also known as the White Dove and one of the finest example
of mission architecture in the United States.
You can see that the tower on the right
was left unfinished. Construction started in 1783 and after
14 years they ran out of money. The left side has been restored 

and they continue the restoration process as funds allow.

Interesting hardware on the door.

The Last Supper is one of many paintings that were restored.

The mission is used regularly by the nearby Tohono O’odham 

and San Xavier Indians so I only took a few photos.

Beautiful view looking northeast from the mission.

 The guys wanted to go to Hotrods Old Vail.
It is a unique body shop and restaurant.

You can overlook men working on
classic cars while you dine. 

Surprisingly the food was really good.

We set out on this journey to see the United States and 
to figure out where to relocate. How do you decide?
So many factors go into that decision.
Everywhere we have been we say, 

“What about this town?”.  No because of this or that.
Will we ever find a place that meets our criteria?  

The people here have been friendly, a variety of things to do, 

Tucson is only about 20 minutes away and great weather. 

We are thrilled to tell you that we have purchased this home
and will be spending our winters in Arizona.
If you plan on being in the Green Valley/Tucson area
let us know ahead of time because we still plan
to travel several months of the year. 

More photos next week.

Fabulous sunsets! This photo taken in super vivid mode.

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before 
which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams

Tubac & Saguaro National Park - East

Mike and Nancy took us to Tubac, which is a community

 20 miles south of Green Valley. Tubac is known as an 

art destination with an eclectic mix of shops, art galleries, 

and restaurants. If you are in the Tucson area it is 

a fun place to go.

An overcast day is perfect for a hike. 

 It is very early for this Brittlebush to be in bloom.  

We found these twin Saguaro cactus along the trail. 

Can you see the cactus condominium?

Gilda Flickers and Gila Woodpeckers carefully carve nest
 in the cactus because it is cool inside. Over the years many
birds and owls will call it home.

Scott climbing on Javelina rock.

If you look at a desert and think there is nothing living there, 

take a closer look at this gorgeous ceramic relief which

 is outside of the visitor's center.

This Saguaro is 100 years old. 

The first arms start growing around 60 years of age 

and about 16 feet tall. They can live to be over 150 years!

Jojoba shrub. 

I can hardly wait for the desert to start blooming!

We are really enjoying Green Valley and the 

friendly people. About 30 of us from the park 

met at Manuel's Mexican Restaurant, which is a short 

walk from here. There are a mix of couples, singles, 

those who stay just for the winter and some who live 

here year-round. We attended the Bible study group that 

meets in the clubhouse on Wednesday night and 

watched God's Not Dead 2. Several people have invited

 us over to play games and go out for dinner. 

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, 

always bring your own sunshine."

Anthony J. D' Angelo

Great Views and Great Friends!

Northeast of Tucson, Arizona

Sabino Canyon

You can ride a tram to the top, 

which crosses over Sabino Creek several times.

We would recommend taking the tram and then hike around.

Over a million people visit this area to walk, hike and jog
through this beautiful scenery.
The water is brown because of dissolved tannin and algae. 

Scott is loving this December hike. 

Lots of beautiful rocks that sparkle along the trail.

Can you spot Snoopy on top of his doghouse?

Use your imagination to see his head, belly and toes.

Snow melt from Mt. Lemmon makes a great water fall

 which is refreshing to see in the desert. 

 Cacti can take on a human form. 

Some days your legs are dragging.

Some days you just feel different.

This is the most unusual cacti in Sabino Canyon.
Crested Saguaro

Lovely sunset in Green Valley, Arizona
where we will be for the next two months.

We are thrilled to meet up with Mike & Nancy and

celebrate my retirement at the El Rodeo Mexican Restaurant. 

Great food, great view and great friends!

I go to water aerobics at 9:00 a.m. Monday - Friday. 

Yes, it is chilly in the morning but the heated pool helps.

You can see our RV under the Palm tree. 

Then we soak in the Jacuzzi before heading home. 

Scott & I also come over at night.

Life is good!

It is funny how small the world really can be. 

On Sunday at church we saw some friends from Des Moines 

that we haven't see in years. Keith & Pat have been coming here 

for many years and now they live here.

"What sweetness is left in life, if you take away friendship?

Robbing life of friendship is like robbing the world of the sun. 

A true friend is more to be esteemed than kinsfolk."

Marcus Tullius Cicero