While most of the country is shivering knee-deep in snow, howling winds and power outages, we are living under a bright blue sky…which is not to say we are even remotely warm. The overnight temperature dipped well below freezing and we don’t seem to have running water this morning. The big golf tournament in Phoenix was delayed because the greens were frozen and home-owners are being advised to cover their plants. Just imagine how difficult it is to wrap a cactus!
Our stay in Apache Junction is drawing to a close and we’re pretty much on schedule to get our winter chores done before it’s time to move on down the road. My exercise regime has fallen by the wayside; it’s hard to work up much enthusiasm for water aerobics when the thermometer is stuck below 50 degrees. But Howie and Russ continue with their biking routine on a nearly daily basis. They are doing in excess of ten miles per outing and have explored most of the highways and byways here in Apache Junction. Rochelle printed out an area map and Russ has dutifully checked off all of the routes they’ve taken so there is an accurate picture of how far they’ve traveled. (Click on map for larger image)
Last week we were able to attend a country/western dance lesson given by our New York friends, David and Shirley, at their home park. However, this week a sore knee kept me sidelined. We’re hoping I’ll have improved enough by next week so we can get in a few turns – dancing is one of those things that benefits from constant practice so that muscle memory kicks in when the brain fails to send the correct signals on its own.
My college roommate, Gayle, and I were able to spend a play day nosing around the mall on Val Vista. Sadly, many of the shops at this upscale mall have closed their doors and beautiful retail space remains empty. The stores that do remain open were having big post-Christmas sales and so we scored a few good bargains. I fell in love with a pale blue “boyfriend shirt” at J. Jill, one of my favorite shops, but the fine linen fabric seemed inappropriate for our nomadic lifestyle. And it wasn’t on sale, either.
January excitement was pretty low-level except that we went on a cruise aboard The Dolly, a steamboat which plies the waters of Canyon Lake up in the Superstition Mountains. Canyon Lake is one of four lakes formed by dams on the Salt River (aka Rio Salado). The views from the water range from saguaro-studded low hills to towering cliffs with the opportunity of seeing plenty of wildlife. Even though the ship’s captain gave everyone plenty of warning about spotting wildlife, many of us failed to look in just the right places. Rochelle’s daughter, who was visiting from Wyoming, managed to spot the bald eagle and photograph him (or her) posing majestically on a crag. Howie shot blindly in the general direction of some desert bighorn sheep and, sure enough, they appeared in the photos once he got them loaded into the computer. Those critters take “camo” to a whole other level! There’s one just about dead-center in the above photo with another slightly to the right and lower.
The weather was just perfect for a cruise, bright and sunny but not overly hot, so a good time was had by all. We finished up the cruise with lunch at Tortilla Flat, an interesting little tourist trap on the paved part of Route 86, a snaky road that winds its way uphill from Goldfield, past Canyon Lake and Roosevelt Lake and through Tonto National Forest. Here are some photos that give an idea of the variety of terrain we traveled through on our cruise.