Mesa, Arizona – January & February, 2012

The new year kicked off with “more of the same”, what seemed an endless round of doctors, dentists and RV techs.  All three of us are aging, some more gracefully than others. 

Never in the five years we’ve wintered in the Phoenix area has Howie managed to visit the Barrett-Jackson car auction in Scottsdale but this year he ventured out with Russ and David for a day of gawking at the automotive superstars that materialize annually at West World.   This early example of a color coordinated camping rig created quite a stir but, having once owned a VW bus, we know that any traveling in this would be done in slow motion!  It might be fine in Kansas but would be a disaster for inter-mountain driving.

 

And remember the days when this little “smart” car was considered to be anything but a smart thing to drive?  You’d be deemed out of your bloomin’ mind to drive anything that tiny.  It would be no match for a Buick in a fender-bender. 

 

 

Our “resort” is one of only four in the East Valley to boast a lawn bowling facility and Howie has since taken up the sport.   He, of course, assumed it was akin to bocce but was assured by the many Canadian participants that it’s more like curling.  To participate in one of the inter-resort tournaments, a player is required to dress all in white so it meant a mad dash to Goodwill and Beall’s Outlets to put together the “uniform”.  It turned out that finding a white belt was the most difficult, although with all the old geezers around here you’d think that would have been easy.

David and Shirley asked us to participate in a dance demonstration at their “resort”.  Somehow I misunderstood and thought it was just a casual demo for their dance class.  Oh, no, it was a full-blown Review held in the ballroom and with a great many folks in the audience.  We used to memorize the steps to many line dances with ease but these days we have difficulty retaining the sequence for the Ten Step which, as you might imagine, has ten steps.  Thank heavens the footlights kept the audience from seeing our feet and thus any missteps we might have made.  Thankfully no photos of this endeavor have surfaced.

 

We’ve just about exhausted the area’s supply of museums but we did pay a brief visit to the Mesa Historical Society Museum.  The main thrust of the collection is given over to Falcon Field which began as a training base for British pilots during World War II.  We found the museum somewhat neglected so we didn’t linger.

 

 

Again this year Russ participated in the Desert Woodcarving Show held at the Convention Center in Mesa.  He put in a lot of time and effort on this scene of the Superstitions but didn’t collect a ribbon this year.  This event showcases a variety of woodworking techniques and themes, some of which are humorous…or meant to be, anyhow.  

This is what passes for a knee slapper in the desert!  But it’s a dry heat.  

 

 

 

 

 

If Howie had always had a yen to attend the Barrett-Jackson auction, I’ve always wanted to pay a visit to the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show, also held at West World.  So, with two-fer coupon in hand, we raced north to check it out.  Arabs are a versatile breed and we saw them used as cutting horses, English and Western pleasure horses, pulling carts and jumping fences.  The Ladies’ Side Saddle competition was very interesting – the women all managed to look beautiful, unruffled and cool in spite of being precariously perched atop a horse and dressed in long skirts and hats with veils…under a broiling Arizona sun. 

While I would dearly love to see the Costume Class, it was scheduled for early evening and promised to be crowded so we opted instead to hit the road for home at a reasonable hour.  At least this time we knew enough to take advantage of the HOV lane.

Every year, towards the end of February, Apache Junction celebrates Lost Dutchman Days with a big parade and rodeo.  We thought this display of miniature horses pulling wagons filled with not-so-miniature people was especially appealing.

 

This being Arizona’s Centennial Year, the parade was longer than usual and by the time The Lost Dutchman rounded the corner, signaling the end of the parade, I was more than ready to head for home for a little nap.

 

 

Because we still have additional appointments with doctors and RV techs, we’ve decided to stay at least through March here in the East Valley.  Unfortunately the resort where we spent three months claimed not to have room for us for March and so we have had to relocate to another spot.  No big deal…the sites are roomier, the rent is cheaper and the people are friendlier so we’re “good to go” for another month of fun in the sun.