On the Road Again

We be very happy to be back in warm Arizona. We drove the little red car to Logan, Utah for baby Xander’s blessing the 20th of March. Dodged snowstorms on the way up and had to come home the long way, via Las Vegas, to stay at lower elevations. It was wonderful to see Jason and Jamie and the kids. Everyone is doing well, and Xander is the cutest little boy – he looks just like his sisters, except somehow boyish.

I miss my plants. The one plant I brought with me, an orchid, is surviving, but not responding well to moving around. I have been fooling around with a little bonsai … well, not really … actually, it’s garlic on a wet sponge. At least it’s responsive!

We had one last meal at the Hot licks Barbecue and Blues Saloon and said goodbye to Bisbee. Somewhat reluctantly, too. They serve the best barbecue on a paper plate with a plastic fork and a wedge of unbuttered wonder bread. The other night a lady in a fedora sang the blues accompanied by a guy on a washboard bass. When she sang Dock of the Bay, everybody whistled at the whistle part. We’ve chuckled at how the Hot Licks waitress goes out the EXIT door to get the food. We figured it was just a misplaced sign until we stepped around the building after dinner. There was a kid in a dirty apron, cooking barbecue. Outdoors. No sign of a kitchen, but it has to be there somewhere. Maybe.

Recent observations: We saw an RV with the entire back end painted to look like a Craftsman Tool Box.

The bigger the RV the more coifed the woman’s hair. A lady in a Minnie Winnie wears a butch. (The exception is, of course, the VW bus. And there are MANY of those in Bisbee, old ones.)

We drove Cygnus to Scottsdale and hooked up with Kevin and Shelly for a few days. It was great to see them, even if we were short one granddaughter. Morgan Ann was at Disneyworld with cousins from her mom’s side – pretty hard to compete with that. She would have loved where we were staying, though, at Scottsdale’s WestWorld, an equestrian events center. We saw a lot of miniature horses … what a hoot. Just the other night Davey said to me, “Did you ever think you’d have so much fun when you got old?” It’s true. We play nearly every day, no matter where we are or what we’re doing.

We’ve done a lot of exploring in southern Arizona. It has been a little shocking to find towns that aren’t as old as we are! Sierra Vista is a good example. Founded in l956, it grew out of nearby Fort Huachuca. Locals figure it will grow more in the next ten years as military bases are shut down. Fort Huachuca is a military intelligence post and they expect it to stay healthy. With the Minutemen hunkered down on the U.S./Mexico border, it may get exciting. Mike and Liz had to have their stuff out of the Bisbee storage units by April 6th because Homeland Security has rented the entire facility. Now what’s that all about?!?

We’re parked at the San Carlos Apache Reservation Casino and RV Park. We’re getting used to parking on blacktop or gravel. Even though this is an acre of blacktop, it’s roomy and clean. The only other RV facility was full of pretty permanent looking old rigs. I am enjoying looking up more history on John Clum. We started looking him up in Tombstone, I think I mentioned, because he was the owner/editor of the Epitaph. (My mother’s Uncle Peter married John Clum’s daughter, Caro.) He was probably better known as the first Indian Agent at the San Carlos Reservation when they rounded up Geronimo and Cochise and tried to convince them that the Apaches could live a good life under the care of the Great White Father. Hollywood memorialized Clum in the movie “Walk the Proud Land,” with Audie Murphy in the l950s.

Thursday we toured the Besh-Be-Gowah Archeological area of Globe, AZ. Besh-be-gowah is Apache for “metal camp,” a reference to the silver and copper mining which put Globe on the map. Globe and its bordering city, Miami, are also home to the Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Mine, which turns out an easy to recognize flawless blue stone. Davey is getting in some bike rides, in spite of the Barstow, California, flag-snapping winds that can hit these high desert areas. Temps are hovering around 82 degrees; almost everything is blooming. The desert is beautiful. Hope you all can see signs of spring and think about putting the quilts away.

Today is Saturday, and we just got back from a road trip to the Tonto Cliff Dellings. An interesting little park. Somewhat cooler today–a little rain up in Prescott and the weather people said it was snowing again in Flagstaff. The wind seems to come up every day in the desert

Love,

Sam