The Sunday before we left Apache Junction, we had Travis and his family over for dinner. It turned our really well. They didn't even know they were eating instant mashed potatoes until we told them afterwards!
Here are Shannon, Travis, Nicholas, Joshua. . .
. . . Nathan, and Spencer. We had a lot of fun being around them for three weeks and spending Christmas and New Years Eve with them.
Palm Springs is one of our favorite parks. I am not sure why, except from the first time we were there we have been fascinated with the palm trees. The sites are close together and hard to get into sometimes, but this is what we could see from our big back window in the Condo one evening!
This is the view from the other direction. The whole sky was lit up, with the sun going down on one side and the moon coming up on the other side!
Terry is always looking for projects! I create some for him, but some he creates a few for himself. We connected with a little corner cement wall going out of our last park at Apache Junction. The only damage was to the bike rack and to the corner of the condo. So, we visited the local
NAPA store to purchase a fiberglass repair kit and Terry was busy for a few days!
He did a really good job repairing our bike rack--almost completely rebuilding it. It ended up being a better rack than before it got "bumped."
I just kind of sat around and watched the show! Actually, our friend Jim took this picture to show us what good pictures his new phone takes. I warned him that his camera/phone may never never be the same if he used it on me! But, it did take a pretty good picture. We got to spend quite a bit of time with Jim and Sue, playing games, eating, and visiting.
I got Terry a hummingbird feeder for Christmas. I didn't get any pictures of the hummingbirds, but quite a few of them came to it. We could see them really close from in the house, looking out the window. Our windows are so dark that the birds couldn't see us, but when I would go outside to take their picture they would fly away. I wasn't patient enough to sit outside long enough for them to come back.
We went on a couple of hikes with the hiking group. The first one was called "Chutes and Ladders" and was in the Painted Canyon. We started out following the bottom of a riverbed.
When we found the "arrow" pointing up, we
began to go through the "chutes and ladders."
Terry is going up one of the first of the ladders.
I am going up the second one.
Then we walked through all of these narrow passageways. Most of them were so dark it was hard to take pictures. Terry is kind of claustrophobic so he didn't waste too much time getting through! But, I did talk him into stopping long enough to take this picture.
We finally made it on top and what a site it was! We could see a little bit of the Salton Sea and it felt like we were on top of the world. This is quite a mountain range!
We came to another arrow. There were several trails we could have taken. It is nice to have a guide who knows where is is going!
We couldn't believe that the
Ocatillos were already blooming in some of the areas. Usually they were just beginning to bloom the end of March when we would go to my Mom's place in
Wikieup.
After
climbing down a couple more ladders, we started walking a in riverbed again and went through the Painted Valley. We came upon a place where there were a lot of stacked rocks. Each of us added at least one rock to one of the stacks. It is sometimes quite a trick to keep them all balanced so they don't fall over.
The canyon had so many beautiful colors and fascinating designs in the rocks, I can see why they call it the Painted Canyon. My pictures didn't capture what it really looked like. It was a fun hike, but a little longer than the ones we had been going on in Apache Junction. This one took about four hours, with lots of up and downs. We ended up in the
hottub that night!
The other times we have been in Palm Springs Terry always wanted to go to the General Patton Memorial Museum. So, this time we did. General Patton had a training base here during World War II. It was really interesting to watch the film and see all of the memorabilia from the War.
There was a yard of old tanks and machinery they used in the War. Terry actually drove one like this one at one point when he was in
Viet Nam, although he was usually on an
APC (armored personnel carrier.)
This is where they held Church services for the
military men. I guess it must have been nice enough weather to have it outside.
Our muscles
recuperated enough that we went on another hike the next week. Our guide told us at the very beginning that he had never been on this hike, but he had a "map." He gave us the option of bailing out or going with him. We all decided to go for the adventure! This hike started a little higher than the one last week, and before long we were on top, heading for the
grottos, which are caves in the rocks. We walked along the top for a while and then started our descent down to the valley floor.
On the way down we spotted this "oasis" that had been made for the mountain goats in the area. We hoped to see one, but never did. When we got to the bottom of the canyon, the guide pointed out two trees--one for the women and one for the men!
We knew there were some people on horses coming behind us, and sure enough, they were closer behind us than we counted on! There were quite a few
squealing women behind their tree as the horse riders started down the hill. They assured us that the guy with the camera was in the back and didn't get a chance to take any pictures! We laughed about this the whole rest of the hike!
Well, after taking a couple of wrong turns and several miles out of our way, we ended up at the place where the
grottos were supposed to be! You had to climb through this narrow opening in the mountain, on your hands and knees part of the way, and then climb down a rope with knots in it to get to the bottom (which we were going to have to
climp back up later.) The "map" stated that there was supposed to be a ladder there. Well, I am sure that Terry and I could have made it!?!? but there were some older hikers that were already pretty pooped from the extra miles of walking, so we decided to not go any further. We headed back and didn't realize that we had come down the mountain
sooo far! Each time we got to the top of a hill there was another hill!
We were all very tired and hot by the time we got back to the vehicles. The horse people had come and gone, but they left a pile of ice from their coolers on the ground. We enjoyed putting the ice on the backs of our necks and our wrists to cool us off! This was by far the hardest hike we have been on. I was really amazed at how well some of the "older" hikers did! We don't know if we would do that hike again, but we feel like we
accomplished something!
Hottub, here we come!
A little roadrunner came to say goodbye to us the day before we left Palm Springs. They are all over the park. One day Terry was sitting at the picnic table and one jumped right up on the bench and onto the table and looked at him. He tried to get my attention so I could get a picture, but as soon as he tried, the bird left. Once again, we enjoyed our stay at Palm Springs!
. . . Nathan, and Spencer. We had a lot of fun being around them for three weeks and spending Christmas and New Years Eve with them.
Palm Springs is one of our favorite parks. I am not sure why, except from the first time we were there we have been fascinated with the palm trees. The sites are close together and hard to get into sometimes, but this is what we could see from our big back window in the Condo one evening!
This is the view from the other direction. The whole sky was lit up, with the sun going down on one side and the moon coming up on the other side!
Terry is always looking for projects! I create some for him, but some he creates a few for himself. We connected with a little corner cement wall going out of our last park at Apache Junction. The only damage was to the bike rack and to the corner of the condo. So, we visited the local NAPA store to purchase a fiberglass repair kit and Terry was busy for a few days!
He did a really good job repairing our bike rack--almost completely rebuilding it. It ended up being a better rack than before it got "bumped."
I just kind of sat around and watched the show! Actually, our friend Jim took this picture to show us what good pictures his new phone takes. I warned him that his camera/phone may never never be the same if he used it on me! But, it did take a pretty good picture. We got to spend quite a bit of time with Jim and Sue, playing games, eating, and visiting.
I got Terry a hummingbird feeder for Christmas. I didn't get any pictures of the hummingbirds, but quite a few of them came to it. We could see them really close from in the house, looking out the window. Our windows are so dark that the birds couldn't see us, but when I would go outside to take their picture they would fly away. I wasn't patient enough to sit outside long enough for them to come back.
We went on a couple of hikes with the hiking group. The first one was called "Chutes and Ladders" and was in the Painted Canyon. We started out following the bottom of a riverbed.
When we found the "arrow" pointing up, we began to go through the "chutes and ladders."
Terry is going up one of the first of the ladders.
I am going up the second one.
Then we walked through all of these narrow passageways. Most of them were so dark it was hard to take pictures. Terry is kind of claustrophobic so he didn't waste too much time getting through! But, I did talk him into stopping long enough to take this picture.
We finally made it on top and what a site it was! We could see a little bit of the Salton Sea and it felt like we were on top of the world. This is quite a mountain range!
We came to another arrow. There were several trails we could have taken. It is nice to have a guide who knows where is is going!
We couldn't believe that the Ocatillos were already blooming in some of the areas. Usually they were just beginning to bloom the end of March when we would go to my Mom's place in Wikieup.
After climbing down a couple more ladders, we started walking a in riverbed again and went through the Painted Valley. We came upon a place where there were a lot of stacked rocks. Each of us added at least one rock to one of the stacks. It is sometimes quite a trick to keep them all balanced so they don't fall over.
The canyon had so many beautiful colors and fascinating designs in the rocks, I can see why they call it the Painted Canyon. My pictures didn't capture what it really looked like. It was a fun hike, but a little longer than the ones we had been going on in Apache Junction. This one took about four hours, with lots of up and downs. We ended up in the hottub that night!
The other times we have been in Palm Springs Terry always wanted to go to the General Patton Memorial Museum. So, this time we did. General Patton had a training base here during World War II. It was really interesting to watch the film and see all of the memorabilia from the War.
There was a yard of old tanks and machinery they used in the War. Terry actually drove one like this one at one point when he was in Viet Nam, although he was usually on an APC (armored personnel carrier.)
This is where they held Church services for the military men. I guess it must have been nice enough weather to have it outside.
Our muscles recuperated enough that we went on another hike the next week. Our guide told us at the very beginning that he had never been on this hike, but he had a "map." He gave us the option of bailing out or going with him. We all decided to go for the adventure! This hike started a little higher than the one last week, and before long we were on top, heading for the grottos, which are caves in the rocks. We walked along the top for a while and then started our descent down to the valley floor.
On the way down we spotted this "oasis" that had been made for the mountain goats in the area. We hoped to see one, but never did. When we got to the bottom of the canyon, the guide pointed out two trees--one for the women and one for the men!
We knew there were some people on horses coming behind us, and sure enough, they were closer behind us than we counted on! There were quite a few squealing women behind their tree as the horse riders started down the hill. They assured us that the guy with the camera was in the back and didn't get a chance to take any pictures! We laughed about this the whole rest of the hike!
Well, after taking a couple of wrong turns and several miles out of our way, we ended up at the place where the grottos were supposed to be! You had to climb through this narrow opening in the mountain, on your hands and knees part of the way, and then climb down a rope with knots in it to get to the bottom (which we were going to have to climp back up later.) The "map" stated that there was supposed to be a ladder there. Well, I am sure that Terry and I could have made it!?!? but there were some older hikers that were already pretty pooped from the extra miles of walking, so we decided to not go any further. We headed back and didn't realize that we had come down the mountain sooo far! Each time we got to the top of a hill there was another hill!
We were all very tired and hot by the time we got back to the vehicles. The horse people had come and gone, but they left a pile of ice from their coolers on the ground. We enjoyed putting the ice on the backs of our necks and our wrists to cool us off! This was by far the hardest hike we have been on. I was really amazed at how well some of the "older" hikers did! We don't know if we would do that hike again, but we feel like we accomplished something! Hottub, here we come!
A little roadrunner came to say goodbye to us the day before we left Palm Springs. They are all over the park. One day Terry was sitting at the picnic table and one jumped right up on the bench and onto the table and looked at him. He tried to get my attention so I could get a picture, but as soon as he tried, the bird left. Once again, we enjoyed our stay at Palm Springs!
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