CORPUS CHRISTI and Texas riviera

It's a pleasant drive south for 2 hours to the cost. Agricultural and hunting, fishing and shooting territory here. Corpus is a huge industrial city with many refineries but we shoot through, over the bridge to the 18 mile beach of North Padre Island, the Texas 'riviera'. It's sunny and hot so we are glad the wind is blowing. But we're told this wind has stopped fishing in these parts over the last while, bringing loads of seaweed to mar the beautiful undeveloped beaches.
This is summer home territory for the monied. Clearly there are some enormous mansions on inlets with their enormous boats parked on their private piers - we expected no less of Texas!
The Pioneer RV park is well run, right on the beach, but we get parked on a nice spot looking over a small lake. It is seabird and ornithologists paradise here, on the two main flyways between Canada and Central/South America. Very popular with birders.
We have our own picnic table behind wind break and BBQ shelf, great for Ted's back, which is playing up again. Not sure if it's the humidity, his arthritis, or all of the above. WE plan to stay and veg out here for the rest of the week. They got 10cm of snow in North Dakota today, piles are still 6ft high, so we are not keen to head back up the east side of the Rockies any time soon. All the snowbirds are leaving here and after spring break, it's a breeze to find good RV parking now.

S.A. DODGE'S VERSION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

Took a hotel to be near the dealer and get it in by 7:30am to be finished by 10:30. At 11am they tell us they have not started, we wait 2 hours at our hotel to be "picked up" by their courtesy?? car. After waiting two hours, we call a cab, but still sit at the dealership for another hour or so! Grrr.
Finally they finish at 2pm! And we are on our way south to the Texas Gulf Coast, our destination this winter. It's now too late to head for Corpus Christi so we shop for food at the great HEB grocery stores here, hole up one more night at our RV resort on the south side and meet up with Pat & Anna, some nice New Yorkers.
Crack the last bottle of Trader Joe's dessert wine to celebrate his birthday and enjoy dinner on the picnic table. Good news is most of these RV resorts do have a picnic table, ideal for our BBQ and eating out on these lovely warm evenings. We still have some of TJ's limoncello to go with the lemon cake I bake when I can plug in the toaster oven outside.
(Photo left, no not our hotel, it's the Pearl Brewery, sadly under renovation, so not the source of limitless free beer, as it was on our first visit there some 35 years ago!)

HILL COUNTRY - THEN SAN ANTONIO

The plan to stop in Hill Country, visit Fredericksburg and Texan capital Austin was scuppered by spring break hordes, and a huge music festival and the rodeo in Austin. We found a small RV park overnight, then headed south next day to San Antonio.

We visited there 35 years ago - it has changed unrecognizably but still has a lot of charm.
Pulling into a nice RV resort on the south side of town, we found we were easy driving to the Mission Trail, covering 4 of the 5 missions in SA, a good day's touring in brilliant sunshine and 88 degree days (photos above.)
The Alamo (left) was originally a mission that makes up the 5th in the series, a positive shrine for Americans, and one they lined up around the block to visit. We enjoy the civilization of good facilities and a pool to end the day after hot sightseeing. Also a day (an easy 3 mile bus trip so time off from driving for Ted) downtown, enjoying the Riverwalk, a great downtime collection of hotels, shops, restaurants, live entertainment, a theatre on one bank of the river and seats on the other.
With spring break, it was positively jumping, we skipped the river tour lineups and walked to take in the renovated Spanish Governor's palace, cathedral, market square and, of course, The Alamo (photos only!) Great to see the cardinals and birds in our trees, which are bursting by the day with pale green life again. So glad we are not heading home to the 10 cm of snow forecast for Calgary again. (Durty Nellies left on the Riverwalk!)
We stayed an extra day to get the RV in for service, a frustrating and aggravating experience while you search for a dealer who handles these vehicles, sometimes Dodge, sometimes Chrysler, sometimes Mercedes.

FINALLY TEXAS! Cave country and Spring

Arizona one day, New Mexico the next, and today Texas! We carelessly lost two hours in one day, one to daylight saving change and the other going east a time zone. Ted was able to BBQ steaks to get in the Texas mood! The reason for taking this route is to visit Sonora Caverns, one of the third best sets of caves in the world, and even by other than Texan standards! It was truly worth the journey to camp here in the rural site, surrounded by many many birds, wild turkeys and deer who came by in the light of an almost full moon. True to form, Texans are a friendly bunch and readily meet and greet and are generally a mine of useful information. It is also very hispanic around here, Spanish being spoken and used more than English in many areas.
Today we see the first signs of Spring, green grass, trees budding, a few blossoms and many, many birds.

NEW MEXICO - FOR THE DAY

Out of Tombstone en route to Las Cruces, NM, we found the amazing Amerind Museum, a repository of some exquisite Amer-Indian relics, displays and crafts, unexpected in its remoteness from any large centres. Driving through a vast agricultural region of alfalfa, cotton, pecans, walnuts, this is also a rockhound heaven. Many people come here to hack minerals from the rocky, mainly volcanic, outcrops. There is also plenty of evidence of past and current mining in the area for cobalt, talc, copper.
Las Cruces is an interesting city on the edge of the mountains with a long history of settlement. Crossed the continental divide to get there and hope it's the last time we do that on this trip. Spent a pleasant afternoon strolling the streets of historic Mesilla which has been nicely preserved and has several good restaurants to enjoy traditional Mexican food, like chicken mole enchiladas and seafood stuffed chile relleno (photo left.)

MORE TUCSON DESERT AND THINGS

We were horrified to see a TV running in one of the stores with word of a tremendous earthquake in Japan, far worse than that in Christchurch, NZ. a month or so back. It is total devastation and we are glad we we off the fault in California, even though it doesn't seem to have any link to other geophysical activity on the planet.
Lunch at a nice little Mexican place in Tombstone proved a bit traumatic when a wasp, attracted to my margarita, stung my right arm, the one with lymphedema! Quick action with ice and Benedril stopped it from swelling and does not seem to have affected the lymphedema, which is aggravated by the heat and humidity down south. At least I didn't merit a place in Tombstone graveyard!
(Headstone left: Here lies George Johnson. Hanged by mistake 1882. He was right. We was wrong. But we strung him up. And now he's gone.)

KARTCHNER CAVERNS - WORLD CLASS

Tucson is home to one of the most beautiful missions in southern USA. We were not disappointed with a beautiful hot day to visit.
Heading south from Tucson, into high desert, we camped at the nice but busy Kartchner Caverns, a National Park, and amazing huge, really well preserved wet caves. Booking two days before, we did a morning tour of the Big Cave and afternoon in the Rotunda. National Park Rangers give excellent talks about the formations. Found in 1967 (the year we got married!) and kept secret on private land for 14 years, these caves are sealed (you go thorugh two heavy sets of doors to enter, and visitors are carefully searched for anything that might harm the interior. A one hour tour takes you through amazing stalactite and stalagmite formations, but not photos are allowed.
Next day we visited the quaint town of Tombstone, home of the Shootout at the OK Corral, legendary graveyard and memorable gravestones*, Birdcage theatre (where Fatima's portrait on the bar wall has been shot 7 times!),
* "Here lies Les Moore, shot by a slug from a 44, No Les no more"

Tucson, home of the blood red sunsets..

A delightful surprise was Picacho Peak State Park, half an hour south and not far north of Tucson (photo left.) The hikes, views and camping were lovely and at $20 a night, very reasonable.
Then into the famed Saguaro National Park complex and Tucson Mountain State Park, a vast and gorgeous spread of saguaro cacti, but many, many other desert plants and wildlife. A highlight here is the Saguaro Park which highlights all the allure of the Sonora desert. Split in two either side of Tucson, it is a glorious area of preserved terrain, good for walks and hiking, but with the blood-red sunsets for which Tucson is renowned.
The park is a wonderful place to visit to see and hear docents and experts describe the flora, fauna and habitat of this area. We always enjoy it and this is our third visit. Last time we visited, a full moon came up between the mountain peaks, we were not so lucky this time around.
But as I write, Ted is sitting in his new sunhat at the base of a statuesque saguaro cactus with nothing between him and the mountain ridge. As I look out the back of the RV all I see is desert growth, listen to the birds, coyotes at night, and the occasional sound of civilization. I believe there is a military reserve nearby as we have seen several heavy duty helicopters fly by. It seems the US is always at war with someone, and it seems like a big business that keeps a lot of people occupied! There is a fair breeze blowing but it usually dies down in the evening, hopefully in time for Ted to put 2 bacon-wrapped filets on the BBQ, ah the gypsy life!
We are now in a civilized RV park in Tucson where I swam, showered and will do the washing! Yeah. Also some retail therapy...
We have found some really good outlet stores all over the place. In Palm Springs I got Columbia gear for less than 50% of Cdn prices. We also went to Scottsdale's upscale mall where I got a super swimsuit for Tahiti for $120 which I thought was really good. then in Casa Grande (south of Phoenix) we went to an almost deserted mall but got good buys at Izod, with expensive golf gear you can also wear even if you don't golf! My friend in Phoenix had the catalog for Chicos and I've fallen in love with some of their stuff. Found one store but didn't have my size in what I liked, so we are on the hunt as there are about 3 in Tucson. There is a pile of money in some of these cities, no sign of a recession among the ladies who lunch...
It is interesting staying at all these 55+ RV resorts, we feel like youngsters. They have all sorts of rules to keep out 'young' people and children! There are special arrangements for families to visit..strange really. We had a night camping after hiking at Picacho Peak State park between Casa Grande and Tucson. There we found lots of people like us in small RVs, trailers, tents, etc. One woman from Whitehorse traveling alone in the bigger version of our Leisure Travel RV, quite inspiring really. We do meet some interesting people and the minute we arrived here, for instance, the neighbour came out to greet us and tell us all sorts of good local lore. Also to say - don't put the awning up as we are due for some big wind tonight. Really helpful.
We are told more people arrive in Tucson with binocs than golf clubs, it is a birders paradise and that is what our neighbors from Salem, Oregon, spend their winter doing. The birds down here are lovely. Last night we settled down with birds and coyotes calling across the canyon.

Calgary from November to January

The two months home was a busy time. I had doctor's appointments, tests, etc. in November and December. All results were excellent. Dec 23 I had the last of my reconstruction surgery, yippee, and then Dec 29 I had both lenses replaced (pre-cataract surgery) by
Dr. Howard Gimbel, Calgary's premier surgeon for this procedure. After 15 minutes I had 20-25 vision in my almost blind left eye and better than 20-20 in my right. A month of dry discomfort was all I had to handle. I am elated that I don't need glasses for most things, just reading and distance glasses for driving at night.
In January Dorothy & I went on two of our winter ski outings, leading Ted and John at home! Sadly, Dorothy & John then went to Kimberley, where he broke his golf arm in 4 places just before they returned to Palm Springs for a month! But D&S had a great time, the second weekend proving an adventure when the ski club members were evacuated out of Field after serious avalanches closed the roads east and west.
It's a different matter preparing to go away for a month and leaving the house in winter for 3 months. Ted had a list as long as your arm AND leg to attend to. This winter has been brutal for many places, both N. America and elsewhere. So we were glad to wave goodbye to the snow Feb 2 and fly into Palm Springs.

February 2011 to Palm Springs, Phoenix

DESERT HOT SPRINGS (California)
The timing was good to meet up with several friends down south. We first spent a week in Desert Hot Springs (half price as we had visited in October), and saw a bit more of the area including driving the Palms to Pines highway up to 6,000 ft at I? Cool weather and power cuts limited our activities. The good news was we got a refund for 3 more days.
I was really glad to be able to meet up with ex work colleague Joscelyn and Rick LeBlanc and learn about living down here, now that they have bought an apartment in Bermuda Dunes. They also bought 4 acres in Nova Scotia where they parked their RV and spend the summers there. What a perfect combination!
Meantime, we went to San Diego where I visited the great CircAid lymphedema specialists. They measured me for a support sleeve and made two that afternoon. Meantime, Ted and I enjoyed some retail therapy at a lovely mall nearby. Returning to Palm Springs, a windstorm blew in so we holed up for the night at a hotel, hit the outlet stores for an hour or so next morning (great Columbia hiking gear), and headed north to Joshua Tree National Park (left).
What a gorgeous park this is. Due to the freezing temperatures overnight, we passed on dry camping in the park and found a nice RV resort in 29 Palms. The hiking was spectacular but we were both out of shape but gradually warmed to is after 3 days. There are several stands of original California palms in oases in this area (photo left), lovely walks and well preserved either as state or national areas.
PHOENIX (Arizona)
On the way east to Phoenix, we followed the old highway 80, and saw some of the old sights from that bygone era. We headed south past the Salton Sea, the largest inland sea in N. America, but set in a windswept, high desert area where it seems nothing grows but mining plants! (left hike overlooking Salton Sea.)
Into Phoenix we first spent 3 days with Mark & Mary in Scottsdale. Unfortunately, Mark had to have emergency gall bladder surgery so their month south was cut in half. We had a great time together, walking, hiking, again some retail therapy at the high end Scottsdale emporium. One evening when Mark had a conference call, the 3 of us went to see "The Kings Speech" which later proved a big winner at the Oscars, a fine movie.
Moving on we headed to N.Phoenix and our friends Gail & Dan who have been coming here for 20 years and owned their home here for 17. We were given a warm welcome, always enjoy getting all the local news and gossip. Can't believe Dan will turn 80 this year, his golf and activities keep him in incredible shape.
Meantime, I found a very good lymphedema therapist in Scottsdale who tuned me up, and introduced me to the pneumatic massage (mini me as she described it) with a sleeve that bloows up and pressures the arm. I am seeing an improvement with the new sleeve (which I wear every night so far) and my normal pressure sleeves. But they are SOOOOOO hot here.
Heading south, we called in to see wine club buddies Bob & Barb, who insisted we stay for dinner and spend the night at their gorgeous house on the golf course in Mesa, really a suburb of Phoenix. Again, we got lots of good info on the local area, which may prove very useful if we spend more time here in future winters. It's hit and miss finding places to rent on the internet, some underplay their allure and others take it to complete new levels of lying!
Once out of Mesa, it was deserted high desert all around, and isolated huge towns of RVs. People come from all over the US and Canada to winter here. Some of these resorts are spectacular, $55 a night for us one-nighters! Others look dreary to the nth degree. Shopping in the large towns is good and you can see how much cheaper you can live in this environment if you stay a while and shop at Costco and Walmart!
On the way we stopped off at historic old Florence (left), now fading into ghost town status. There were some nice old buildings but most seem to be for sale now. We than called in on Casa Grande National Historic site. We have visited before but it's always interesting to catch the ranger talks at these sites. Mysterious as to their origins, many of these native sites have lost their history but still draw people to them. I am now practising on the native flute I bought there, it sounds eerie and somehow perfectly apt in these desert surroundings. (Oh I checked and it was not made by the US natives, it was made in China!)
Talking of China, there are vast long rail trains passing through this area. Most have double containers. Sometimes trains have to wait for their turn to pass. It is an enormous amount of trade coming from overseas to what used to be a very self-sufficient nation. California, Arizona and Florida at least are bankrupt. It is interesting watching TV here, listening to the various opinions on how they can get themselves out of this financial morass. I don't think it is possible. But John opined, when we met in Palm Springs, that in 10 years this economy will bounce back. We shall see. Meanwhile, you pass through certain parts of towns where the for sale notices on homes are everywhere. Good news for speculators, not for those living on the edge of survival level. Certainly many snowbirds are taking advantage of repossessions and cheap real estate in this region of the US.
CASA GRANDE RUINS (left)
Arriving in Casa Grande town itself, we found a burgeoning winter resort for many snowbirds, alongside a historic old town and great little mama-run Mexican restaurants. We holed up for a couple of days there before heading into the serious desert north of Tucson.