Our friends, Russ and Louise, were already there and some other friends, Jim and Sue, were there and left a few days before. They had signed us up for a seminar on ambulance insurance and we got a free chicken dinner the night we arrived. It is always nice not to have to worry about a meal the day we arrive at a new home!
Desert Shadows has organized hikes in the surrounding mountains. We went on one with Russ and Louise a couple of days after we got there. We hadn't hiked for a while, at least Terry hadn't hiked for a while. His knee was feeling pretty good so we off we went. The desert is just starting to get all bloomed out. Here is an occatillo that has its red flags just popping out.
We spotted these little pin cushion cactus that was almost fully bloomed. We had never seen the pin cushions in bloom before. They are really small little cactus and are the ones we always tried to find in Wikieup to take home to bus drivers and other friends when we would visit there each spring break. They would fit in a "decorated butter container."
We walked far enough back in the hills to find some petroglyphs. It also seemed to be a local "party place" from the looks of all of the debris around. So, we were not sure whether all of them were authentic or not.
There was a memorial for someone who had died. It had quite fresh flowers on it. Our guide said that it had been there for quite a few years, but usually had fresh flowers. There were even a couple of Christmas cards to the lady who was being memorialized.
We made a trip into Apache Junction, about 70 miles, to go to our favorite fruit and vegetable market. The strawberries were extra cheap, so I got enough to put up some strawberry freezer jam. (We have a small freezer in the Condo where a washing machine can go.)
The same day we went to Apache Junction, we were with Russ and Louise and went to Superior and hunted for Apache tears. They are black stones, usually covered with soft white stone, that are used in making jewelry. There is a legend about the Indians jumping off of the cliff in that area to avoid being shot and killed by the white men. Thus, they cried tears as they took their own lives in a brave way. I think Russ was finding some good ones and was defending his territory from Louise!
Terry found some really nice ones, in size.
I opted for quantity over size!
We found these caves along the trail where the Apache tears were.
They had the area all fenced off because of the possible danger of things caving in. Terry really wanted to get through that fence!
I found a small break in the fence against the mountain that I was able to squeeze through. So, I braved the danger and walked into the caves. It was quite something to see, and thank goodness, nothing fell while I was in there!
The whole desert seems to be coming alive with color. I think the colors are more vibrant when they are out in the middle of the rocks and cactus.We made one more trip to the Gilbert/Mesa/Apache Junction area. Travis has started a new practice in Gilbert. He started on May 1, but Shannon and the kids won't move down until the end of May when school is out. They will close on their new home towards the end of the month. We met Travis at one of the hospitals that he will work at and he took us around and showed us his new home and his new office. After we left him, we went to the Arizona Temple that evening and watched the dress rehearsal of the Easter Pageant they perform each year. It was really awesome and we are so glad we got the chance to go.
1 comment:
Very fun! Gilbert is where Cameron is!
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