The Joys of Arizona/Texas Friends and Sunshine

Never in my life (up until now!) had I ever thought I might have a streak of "snowbird" in me. However, when the snow continued to get deeper and deeper (see previous post) I happily accepted invitations from friends in Arizona and Texas to head south so I could dry out my feet and get warm. Just before Easter I loaded Scarlet (my bright red car that takes me wherever I need to go) with clothes for a month, my swimming suit, some books waiting to be read, some maps, and my camera.

My home base was with long-time friend, Sandy Weaver, at her new winter home in Surprise, Arizona (west of Phoenix). The Easter Bunny found me there! We had a great time at a spring training baseball game, shopping and framing pictures for the house, soaking in the backyard spa under a full moon, and walking to this great coffee house when we needed a little joe! She and Tom have created a very attractive winter haven and I felt priviledged to be their first guest!

Suzie joined us for a long weekend which was really special. Here we are, sunning with the flamingos at the zoo! Pennsylvania had a long, cold, and icy winter so Suz was glad to come get warm! She had recently been released from crutches after breaking her leg in December so we enjoyed a celebration of her restored mobility.

Time to go to Texas! In Houston I enjoyed a reunion with friends from the early days of our marriages---foty-one years ago to be precise. Skip and Cindy Young were great companions when Charlie and were at K-State in school---Skip and Charlie fished, Cindy and I car-pooled to teach, we all played bridge on Friday nights, etc. etc. We enjoyed two days at their house on Lake Conroe, joy-riding in Skip's great bass boat when he wasn't fishing!Here are Skip and Cindy with Cindy's mom, the great dessert-maker, and daughter, Julie, a school librarian. Cindy and I had such fun while Skip worked (you see, he isn't retired, yet!).

We toured the Houston Space Center, picked strawberries at a berry farm for pie and jam, and visited endlessly about things we love to do, our families, and life in general. We discovered, that even though so many years have passed, we still are very much alike and have a great time together. I loved staying in their guest house, which they have dubbed "The Outhouse." What a fine place for escaping the cold of a Colorado winter! It came with regular meals, cocktails at five, and great entertainment!
One of the reasons for going to Texas was to see the Texas Bluebonnets (state flower) in bloom, after hearing about these gorgeous flowers for years. We saw fields of them, looking much like water from a distance. Often they have patches of bright orange paintbrush within the fields of blue---when I suggested they looked like Bronco flowers the Youngs frowned! They are true Texans and love their home teams.

One day we drove to the bay east of Houston to purchase fresh shrimp for dinner. While there I was amazed at the homes right on the bay which are built on stilts so the big storms and hurricanes that blow in from the Gulf of Mexico do less harm. Some have garage doors on either end of the house so the water can just roll through. Talk about a wild way to clean and scrub your garage!

Cindy and I went to an Antique Rose farm on the Blue Bonnet day---here we are in the lovely flowers. We had lunch at Tex's Bar-B-Q where all the locals eat; delicious!

I also went to Yuma, Arizona which is about as close to Mexico and California as you can get and still be in Arizona. It is where the Colorado River rolls through carrying water to all the farming areas of the southwest. While there I visited Mel and Marilyn Davis, with whom I lived when I was in high school. We determined that was a cool fifty years ago! We toured a date farm, which was most interesting and tasty---have you ever had a date milk shake? Delicious!

So, my friends and family, I need to report that I feel most fortunate to have such wonderful long-time friends (I no longer feel I can say "old friends"---that would be the pot calling the kettle black, wouldn't it?)---we seemed to pick up our friendships so easily and comfortably.

Cherish your friends---and many thanks to mine in Arizona and Texas, ESPECIALLY Sandy who allowed me to flow in and out for a month!

Over and out---I am off to North Dakota, Portland, and Minneapolis for the northern version of my southern trip. Shall post a report the end of May when I return home. Bye!

Copper Canyon(s), Chihuahua, Mexico

Years ago Charlie and I flew over Mexico's Copper Canyon System coming home from Puerta Vallarta and agreed the area looked like a good place for an adventure! March 2-11 found me traveling into the canyon area with the Chapmans and Sandells, long-time Silverton friends.

We boarded the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad on the west coast of Mexico and traveled up into the Sierra Madre Occidental, over 26 bridges and through 87 tunnels, from sea level to 8000 feet. We could see into some of the canyons (there are 20 in the system), and enjoyed spectacular scenery and changes in vegetation. Of course the windows in the club car were the best place for good viewing!

The Tarahumara Indians, known for their great running ability, live scattered through these canyons, living in remote caves and small houses, connected by a spider-web-like system of foot and goat trails. They quietly appear at the train stops to sell their baskets and carvings. They are rather like ghosts, as they simply stand and wait for customers to come to them. The only words I ever heard from them was an answer to the question about the price of one of their wares. They do not hawk or push their wares. This Tarahumara man was sitting near his wife who was making a mat out of aguave fronds and selling baskets. Note his worn and dusty feet.

This young girl was selling baskets at a railroad stop. She would have walked many miles from her home, through and up out of Urique Canyon, to sell. The canyon is so steep she probably had to ascend the final hundred feet or so by ladder, with her baskets on her back.
Below is a view of the Urique Canyon, one that is close to the railroad. The Tarahumara Indians (they have the reputation for being great runners), a tribe that has remained mostly unchanged since before the Spaniards arrived, live deep within these canyons in caves or simple homes connected by an elaborate network of foot trails. We could see homes, with binoculars,
on the far plateaus in this photo.
Here is another "spectacular" view of the canyon. This rock is known as the "Balancing Rock", as it teeters if someone stands on it with both feet. Not wishing to end my current habits of gleeful travel and adventures, I only stood on it with one foot! (Yes, it was straight down on both sides!) Leaving the train, we traveled by van, down a twisted dirt road, 150 kilometers (100 miles) into the Batopilas Canyon, the deepest. Our destination was the silver mining town of the same name, dating back to the 1600s. The road had many switchbacks and cross-overs and was an adventure, even for those of us from the Rockies who are accustomed to our four-wheel jeep roads!
There are a few very high waterfalls in the canyons. I hiked 310 concrete steps to the bottom of this fall---an odd convenience to find in this very remote area (the steps, that is, not the water!)

We stayed at a small hotel in Batopilas for several days and enjoyed hikes in the area. Here is a snap of me resting en route to the "Lost Cathedral", the church at the end of the valley. The church is a puzzle to historians as there was never a town here, just this large Jesuit-style cathedral.
It was wonderful to experience a different area of Mexico than I had previously enjoyed. The Tarahumaras live simply in a beautiful land and I hope that visitors, such as myself, won't cause their life to change. One can only wonder...

Next posting will be when Suzie and I meet in Phoenix for a visit....Until then.....

Astonishing Snow in Silverton!

Greetings from snowy Silverton located high in the San Juan Mountains at 9318 feet! Here is my cozy little house all tucked in with its amazing blanket of snow. I'm not sure anyone has an idea of how much snow we've had since Thanksgiving but it is currently well over 200 inches!


The picture below features the glorious blue skies we enjoy in Colorado, when it isn't snowing, as well as the north side of my house. There actually are windows on this side of the house, and the current view out the windows is of snow! (I keep wondering if someday I'll see a snow snake peering in and smiling at me!) The roof of the sunroom at the rear of the house has disappeared totally and simply looks like a long, slanting snowdrift.

Now we come to a picture of the results of an activity which engages most Silvertonians many hours a winter. Because our little Victorian homes do not have garages, and most (such as mine) do not have space to add one, we have to create off-street parking spaces for our vehicles. Here is Scarlet (my Dodge Durango), basking in the sun in her parking space which is around the corner from my house. Friends from Dallas allow me to use space in their driveway during the winter, while they are moving their lawn in Texas. I took this photo yesterday after clearing away the evidence (snow) of the storm the night before. It still amazes me, after living here all these years, at how quickly vehicles and roads dry after a big storm.

Last of all, for this posting, here is a photo of our church, during a storm. The detail is not clear because of the falling snow, but it will give you an idea of the amounts of snow that accumulate before our snowplow boys do their work!
P.S. I am currently making cinnamon rolls to deliver to the snowplow crew tomorrow morning for their coffee. They start at 4:30 am during a storm or the day after to clear our streets and make living here possible. Next posting will be after I return from the Copper Canyon area of Mexico. Adios!