Drumroll Please - Meet Raelee Beth

 AJ, AZ  High 70s  Low 50s

  Isn't she beautiful? (many pictures) Raelee was rather stubborn and wouldn't turn so she was breach. The doctor said it was time to get her out of there so a C-section was scheduled for Tuesday morning. By the time the surgery came around, she had flipped herself so her head was pointed down which made for a much easier surgery for both her and her mom. 

February 10 - 10:07 am - 5lb 11oz - 19 inches 

 

 

 

Grandma Mary

Elias turned 3 years old on the 3rd of February. So far he's really excited about having a baby in the house.  Hope it stays that way.

 

February is a joyous month.  Happy Birthday Elias. Welcome to earth Raelee. 

 

Wild Wild West

 Apache Junction, AZ  above average temps in the 80s. Lows in the 50s

 Meanwhile back at the park

We have some very talented people in our park and they decided to throw a western murder mystery dinner. It was so much fun. I definitely did not figure out who committed the murder, but a few people did a good job of it.  

I only took a few pictures because I was having too much fun. So this will give you just a small picture of the fun.

Waiting in line to get into the clubhouse.

Mickey - a Pinkerton Guy

 Laura - another Pinkerton - trying to keep the crowd under control

 The local paper (with clues)

The characters or should I say possible murderers

The Menu

The food - it was really good. Not only do we have talented people we have really good cooks in this park.

Wendy and her dad Jim

They did an amazing job and we all had a great time. 

The other thing I had going was birthday cake kits. We put these together last year and delivered 44 kits to the food bank. I hoped we could surpass that number this year and we certainly did. I delivered 57 kits this year. This really is a group project from everybody donating all the cake mixes, sodas, frosting, napkins, candles and foil cake pans. Then they all come together to put the kits together and wrap them.

My car was full - the trunk, backseat and passenger seat were piled high. Believe me, the food bank was glad to see me come.

Next up will be a really exciting announcement. Have a great day.

 

 

Day Two Continued and Day 3

 Sierra Vista, AZ  beautiful weather

 After finding our way off the base finally, we had a very important meet up. Well sort of a meet up - the other party didn't know we were going to show up. Pat has a very dear friend who lives in Sierra Vista and she hasn't seen her in years. So she found her address and we decided to track her down.

Her name is Betty and we did find where she lives. However, she wasn't at home. Luckily her little house is right next to her son's house. Betty had gone to Costco with her son and they were on their way home and arrived about five minutes later.  

They had a wonderful reunion just not long enough. Hopefully the next time we get down here we can arrange for a longer visit. 

Pat and Betty

 It was getting late and we were all tired. So we decided to just munch on whatever goodies we had and not go out to dinner. That sure worked for me.  

Next morning we had a so-so breakfast and checked out. We weren't in a big hurry but we did have one stop to make on our way home.

I'm sure many of your have been to the San Xavier del Bac Mission in south Tucson. It is a beautiful old Spanish Catholic Mission (undergoing some restorations while we were there). The Mission is located on the Tohono O'odham Nation San Xavier Indian Reservation. 

Our timing wasn't great because there were two or three busloads of high school students with big backpacks everywhere. We were able to take a few pictures. 

The building was completed in 1797 and continues to serve as a place of faith. At that time Southern Arizona was still part of New Spain. It is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona.

 I used this picture on their website to show you have beautiful this mission really is.

 We decided it was a little too early for lunch so we pressed on to Florence. I just had to take them to one of my favorite restaurants. The Irish Cowboy. Paul and I have been there several times. I think they also really enjoyed the food.

Then we were home and we all want to know where we are going next. So hang in there until we get plans firmed up. Thanks for following along on our journeys.

The Three Musketeers 

Day Two - Getting on Base, Lost on Base, and Buffalo Soldiers

 Sierra Vista, AZ   High 78  low 44

One of the main reasons we wanted to visit Sierra Vista is because it is home to Fort Huachuca (pronounced  wuh-choo-kuh). Pat had watched a show about the fort and thought it would be really interesting. She was right.

We had breakfast at the hotel but it seemed to me that the breakfasts are getting skimpier with fewer offerings. I'll be curious to see what is happening at hotels that I stay at this summer.

Anyhow, back to the story. We headed for the base about 9:00 a.m. Went to the wrong gate the first try. The guard checked our car in and then gave us directions to the correct gate where we were directed to the parking lot of their security check office.

Visitors entering the fort who do not have a DoD id card, are subject to a background check before you can enter the grounds.  You must have a REAL ID and an Access Request Form which you can download and print from their website. 

Marilyn had printed the forms for us and we thought we were ready to go. Marilyn discovered that she had left her Access Form back in AJ. We weren't sure we would be allowed in but we forged on. There were a few people ahead of us and it's an honor system about who's next in line. 

We sent Marilyn up first because if she was turned away we would leave. He got her Passport and Driver's License, asked her some questions as he filled out the form and then took her picture and printed off her pass. Next was Pat and she sailed through with flying colors. Got her picture taken and her pass and it was my turn. Things started off fine. Gave him my driver's license and form. He noticed that I had checked retired civil service. For some reason that meant I got asked about twice as many questions as either Pat or Marilyn. I have no idea why. Things like jail time? did you retire or get fired? Finally he took my picture and gave me my pass. Then we noticed that Marilyn only got a six month pass and Pat and I have ones that are good for a year. It must be because she didn't have the Access Form.

Fort Huachuca was originally set up as a outpost in 1877 to secure the San Pedro and Santa Cruz Valleys from Apache raiders. The fort has been home to horse soldiers, foot soldiers, Buffalo Soldiers and WW2 Infantrymen. Engineers were trained here during the Korean War. Today it is used for technical and intelligence development and Soldier training, and the world's largest unmanned aerial systems training center. 

 It is also over 70,000 acres and I'm pretty sure we saw most of them because I got lost. There are 18,000 people working on the base and we couldn't find one outside. We did hear gunfire off in the distance but I tried not to wander too close to that area. 

Finally saw a tiny little sign that said museum with an arrow. Believe me, they do not make it easy for you to find the museums. We finally found the Buffalo Soldier Museum. Thank goodness.

It's a really informative small museum. We took our time looking at all the exhibits and visiting the gift shop. There is a handout about the Buffalo Soldiers that was extremely informative. Early in the 17th century, African-Americans fought along their white owners to defend against Indian attacks. Around 5,000  fought in the American Revolution but in 1775 when the Continental Army was formed, Congress excluded blacks from service. Despite the fact that they continued to make real military contributions in the War of 1812 and in the Civil War, it was not until after the Civil War that blacks were accepted into the regular Army. 

In 1892 the first black regiment arrived at Fort Huachuca. Other troops arrived throughout the next few years. until 1900. They were first called Buffalo Soldiers when the name was given to them by the Indians of the plains who likened their hair to that of a buffalo.

The handout is full of fascinating information but I've gone on too long as it is. We discovered while we were there that the second museum we wanted to see had been moved.  It is the U. S. Army Intelligence Museum. We never did find it and by now it was time for lunch. First we have to figure out how to get off the base. Had no idea where we were. We finally found one lone guy outside and he was able to give us directions to the gate. 

 

We do need to make another trip down here. Lots of things we didn't get to see.

Unmanned Aircraft

 

 I'm going to make another post for the rest of this day and day three of our journey. 

 

 

We Are Off Again

 AJ, AZ - High 81  Low 52

 First of all I want to discuss this winter's weather. It's just plain messed up. The Midwest, Southeast, and East Coast are buried in snow with absolutely frigid temperatures. Meanwhile The West and Southwest are breaking heat records. I am not complaining because I am in the Southwest enjoying 80 degree days. But I do worry about what the summer will bring.

Now back to the fun stuff. The Three Musketeers (Marilyn, Pat and I) were ready to roll again. This time we are headed to Sierra Vista in southern Arizona. Our first stop was at the Tom Mix Memorial - The End of a Legend.

Tom Mix was a cowboy hero back in the 20s and 30s and quite the ladies man (had five wives). He and his horse, Tony, performed their own stunts. Kind of like an old timey Tom Cruise. He performed in 291 movies but could not make the transition from silent movies to talkies.

The Memorial we stopped at is located on Highway 79 south of Florence, AZ where he died.

His death is an interesting story. He was driving a yellow Cord Phaeton sports car as he came down the highway, and he did not see or failed to heed the signs warning of a bridge washed out. The car swing into a gully and Tom was hit in the back of the head by a heavy aluminum suitcase that was in the back seat. The impact broke the actor's neck and he died instantly. 

From there we headed on down to Sierra Vista, grabbed some lunch and checked into the hotel. We didn't have much time before our next adventure, so we headed right back out after checking our rooms. 

We climbed into the car and headed north to Benson and beyond.  I had discovered a donkey rescue a few miles north of Benson. If you have ever been to Gammon's Gulch you were almost next door to the donkeys. 

Forever Home Donkey Rescue and Sanctuary takes in donkeys who need rehabilitation and hopefully they are able to rehome the donkeys. Those that are too sick or not able to be rehabilitated will live their life out at the Sanctuary. 

They offer free tours (by appointment) because they believe education is key to ending donkey cruelty. An all volunteer organization with some of the most dedicated people I've ever met.

His ears are a little wonkie but he's such a sweetie.

 Our tour was a little different then other tours. The volunteers had been dealing with a donkey who had choked that morning and had gotten behind in their chores. Normally when people arrive for the tour, the animals are in their own stalls and ready to receive treats from the tourists. Well, because they were so far behind, the donkeys were wandering around loose all over the area. That meant we got to actually mingle with them and give them hugs.

 Had to be careful though, because they are like dogs and cats and they love to rub up against you. Which means us "older" women needed to be careful not to get knocked over. But it was so worth it. They finally rounded them up and we were able to take the tour. We were the only people there so we got to take the golf cart. The treats we were given to hand out to all the donkeys were animal crackers. They loved them.

 

The tours are usually about an hour long - ours was over two hours. We had such a great time. But we were getting hungry and it was an hour drive back to our hotel in Sierra Vista. We found a restaurant that was still open which was ok but we won't return. So on to the next part of our day.

The hotel we stayed in had only one access door to the elevators which was in the lobby. We were parked way back in the rear because it was late when we pulled in. They also tell you that you must back in to several parking spots. I don't like to back in during the day but especially not late at night. There was a door back there but it was access to stairs only. I do not do stairs especially not with luggage. But up we started to climb. Marilyn carried my luggage and Pat's luggage up for us or we wouldn't have made it. Needless to say, we were exhausted and headed straight to our beds. 

 The end of our first day. Next post - Day Two