Apache Junction, AZ – Wrapping Up Our Stay

February 28th was our final day at Superstition Lookout in Apache Junction.  Ordinarily we can be ready in a matter of an hour or so to hit the road but not when we’ve been sitting in one place for three months.  Not only does it take longer to stow everything but we needed to check and re-check our “to do” list so that we didn’t do something stupid.

Our final month in AJ was relatively calm.  Russ and Howie continued their cycling routine, doing roughly ten miles a day six days a week and ending the season with just over 425 miles logged.  One of their discoveries was a lady hummingbird who had set up housekeeping in a tree they passed some days.   She was relatively uninterested in their presence and so Howie was able to get this photo of her “at home”.  Meanwhile, Rochelle continued with her water aerobics but I threw in the towel thanks to a bad knee and total lack of interest, especially once temperatures began to dip into the 40’s.  I didn’t become a snowbird so I could be cold and miserable and wet only adds to the discomfort.  As you can see from this photo of cacti dressed for the winter,  we’ve had a fair amount of chilly weather.  I thought they resembled a caravan of Arabs gathered at an oasis; it looks a bit like a high school production of “Kismet”, doesn’t it?

 

On one fine day,  Russ and Howie decided to hike the Peralta Trail  to Fremont Saddle for the grand view of Weaver’s Needle.  It’s a 2 1/2 mile hike up with an elevation gain of 1365 feet.  The uphill trek took four hours and a little over two hours coming down (they stopped for a rest quite often).  We ladies were beginning to get a little worried as the sun edged closer to the horizon with no signs of them but they eventually returned, considerably worse for wear.  It’s a moderately strenuous climb  for experienced hikers so you can imagine how two over-the-hill novices felt the next day!  (One guide book rates it “easy”, but suggests that grandma might want to stay home)

During the snowbird season, The Superstition Mountain Museum out on Route 88 offers free programs on Thursday afternoons on a variety of topics.  We’ve been to see singer/songwriter Ted Newman several times and always enjoy him.  Most of his songs are about the Sonoran desert and some of Arizona’s famous sons and daughters and it’s pretty nifty to sit there under a big blue sky with the saguaros standing guard and the mountains beyond.  Prior to the concert, we toured the museum where we encountered a delightful docent who told us a great deal about the construction of Roosevelt Dam in the ‘30s.  We wish she’d had more time to spend with us but she had to hurry off to participate in preparation for the concert.

Russ entered one of his woodburning projects at a show in Mesa and came away with second place in his division.   The piece is entitled “Cheyenne To Deadwood”.  Pretty cool, wouldn’t you agree? 

 

It has been my intention to visit The Bead Museum in Glendale ever since taking up the hobby but it always seems like such a long trip over there.  In checking their website, we learned that the museum is about to close its doors in early March due to lack of funding so we made the effort to pay a visit before it folds.  I guess I was expecting something else and found it less than interesting although I did avail myself of their 40% off sale in their gift shop.

Harold and Ruthann decided to throw a surprise  birthday party for George Rorke and it turned out to be a humdinger.  There were several couples we’d met on previous visits to the Valley plus we met some new “fun folks” so we had a jolly time.  We arrived late due to a prior commitment so we didn’t get to see George’s expression of surprise first hand but we were told he was truly surprised.  It wasn’t long before a fairly rowdy game of Wii bowling had us laughing and carrying on.  We hope that the neighbors don’t hold it against Harold and Ruthann; it’s not their fault (entirely) that they have some particularly noisy friends.

It seems we have an ever-increasing circle of friends who either winter here in the East Valley or live here year round so there was a great deal of socializing going on.  It was wonderful to see everyone in decent (the best we can hope for at this age) health and still active and involved in various endeavors.  David and Shirley invited us to the dance lessons they were giving at View Point.  It’s hard to believe it’s been over 20 years since we took our first dance lesson from them.  We also enjoyed a rock ‘em sock ‘em game of Pictionary and learned a few other card games from them.  One game, Golf, prodded us to go on a search for a four-deck automatic card shuffler at the Mesa Flea Market.  And of course we bought the first one, thus paying nearly twice what they were selling for at the other end of the market.  Rats.

We also got to see Gayle one more time before we hit the road.  Her brother and sister-in-law are in town for a few weeks so we all had a pleasant reunion over what Gayle described as a “down home dinner”.  It’s a good thing we don’t have regular access to the yummy gravy she makes!

Our final weekend in Apache Junction was celebrated with the Lost Dutchman Parade and Rodeo, an annual event here in the East Valley.  It was threatening rain and we had to start packing up so we skipped the rodeo and just attended the parade.  The Budweiser Horses were missing this year but there was a Clydesdale Drill Team participating so there was no shortage of big shaggy equines.  We couldn’t help noticing some anomalies such as the regal-looking Knight of Columbus in his elegant black suit, white gloves, purple satin cape…and black cowboy boots with silver toe guards.  No spurs, however.  And the Shriner with the tall glittery fez with a Bluetooth receiver in his ear.  Was he expecting some calls while he’s marching down the street?  Oh, yes, and the WW-II era jeep with a pink blanket on the front seat.  Is pink the new camo?

And so Tuesday morning we uprooted ourselves and headed off into the sunset for a week on the Colorado River at Ehrenberg, followed by a week each in Desert Center and Niland, CA before returning to Ehrenberg.  Stay tuned for additional reports from along the way.