Gunfight at the OK Corral????

Yup!  We spent the day exploring Tombstone on our bikes.  DANG!   We missed the big shootout - but saw lots of other interesting, historic and amazing sights. Here are a few pics from our day in "The Town Too Tough to Die".

This, the world's largest rose tree, is almost unbelievable!!  Over 120 years old, it's canopy covers an unheard of 8,000 square feet!!  No kidding!  Of course it would be fabulous to see it in full bloom (April!), but even dormant, it's a sight to behold! 

Here it is in February . . .

And below is a picture I got from the internet showing the tree in April in full bloom:

Our "mounts" at the hitchin' post . . .

It took some doin', but I finally convinced Harold to buy this cool hat!

In front of the Oriental Saloon on Allen Street.

I would be remiss in leaving my Tombstone post without mentioning Wyatt Earp!  I never thought about that old TV cowboy as a real guy, but he was quite an interesting character and now I'm delving into the real story, "The Life Behind the Legend".  Meanwhile, here are the salt & pepper shakers from Moe's breakfast cafe!! 

Tomorrow we'll hit the road again - exact route as yet undetermined - but we will be in Albuquerque in plenty of time to celebrate Polly's 94th birthday on the 15th! 

Happy trails to you - until we meet again . . .  

"Not all who wander are lost." (SO TRUE!)

Today is Thursday -  a week since my last blog post.  Yippee!  We have wi-fi, and I know now, without a doubt, that I am an internet junkie!!  But, anyway, here we are, after an entire unconnected week, at an RV park with a connection!!!  Woohoo!!!!

We left Cathy and Bill's house this morning, drove two blocks, turned off the engine and tried to decide where to go next  We  wanted to go to a warm place, so we set out for one of our favorite spots, Ramsey Canyon in southeast Arizona.  Along the way, though, we discovered a previously unknown-to-us scenic route and decided to "wander on down" and check out Tombstone Territory instead!  So Zoe, our almost always reliable GPS, "recalculated" and here we are tonight at Stampede RV Park in Tombstone Arizona.

So, to continue from my post last week, we left Why, AZ, and went back up to Ajo for a couple more nights.  We'd heard on the way down that it would be a happenin' weekend in Ajo . . . . and we like that little town!!!!

An impromptu fiddle fest at the Ajo town square . . .

The four youngsters pictured here (not the old guy in the baseball cap!) all took awards in the junior division at the Old Time Fiddler Contest in Ajo - and they were awesome!
(And you know we fit in perfectly with that "sea of gray" that filled the room!)

This is the (so-called) Ajo Country Club, about six miles out of town!  We camped out on the driving range along with scores of other RVers in town for the Fiddlers Contest!

And out by the Country Club is the Ajo Airport.  We had a great bike
 ride out on the desert and finished up here on the runway!
This was my first time to ride a bike on an airport runway!

From Ajo, we headed in the direction of Phoenix - our destination being White Tanks Mountain Regional Park.  Here we knew there'd be great hiking and biking (which there was!), the weather was very nice, and we had a lovely campsite in a fabulous park with very few campers!!

As the sun came up the first morning, I opened my eyes and looked out the window to see this old cactus glowing in the first light of day.

Home, sweet home! 

Here we are at the top of the White Tanks Waterfall trail.

along the White Tanks Waterfall trail . . .

Later in the day, Harold's niece Pam and her daughter Selena drove out with Pam's twin grandsons Alex and Andan for a visit at White Tanks.  Friends Cathy and Bill Harvey joined us, too, for an evening of fun.  We played outside 'til it got dark, then had a little bar-b-que.  The boys played Bogle while we cooked and talked.  Afterwards, we had a bonfire and fortunately, the boys had their marshmallows with them!  All they had to do was find some good roasting sticks and, mmmmmm, that gooey goodness was enjoyed by all!!

The night was perfect!  The sky was clear and from our vantage point on the mountain we had a dazzling view of the lights of the Valley of the Sun.  A beautiful sight to be sure!!

Next day, Tuesday, we once again packed up and headed out, this time to Surprise where Cathy and Bill live.  Had a good time there - eating, drinking, playing Mexican Train!  Rode our bikes a little - over to watch Cathy and Bill play Bocci Ball.  They are currently IN FIRST PLACE in their league!!  woohoo!!!!!

Cathy's up - bill on the side.

The place they live is Sun City Grand and it is one grand resort-y place!!!  Thanks Cathy and Bill - the host and hostess with the mostest - for EVERYTHING!  We had a good time with you guys!!

So, now, we'll we'll spend a day or two here in Tombstone, enjoying "camping" (hurray for water, electric and sewer hook-ups - also Wi-fi!), and then it's off to Albuquerque, where we'll gather with family beloved to celebrate the 94th birthday of Polly Hines (Harold's Mom).

Back in the USA!

Returned to Arizona yesterday from Rocky Point.  What a time we had in Mexico!  Anyway, made it back into the USA without a hitch!  Thought for a minute we might have to leave Trixie there though as she has no passport (but the immigration officer was just being cute!)

Just over the border, had planned to spend a couple of days at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, but no hook-ups there and it was just too darn cold for dry camping.  Continued on north and back up to Why, where we're spending a couple of nights at Coyote Howls WEST, an RV park with hook-ups.  When the temp dips down into the 20's, it really helps to have electrical hook-up to keep the tanks and pipes from freezing and potentially wrecking a nice RV vacation!  So here we are:

Forecast is for warming trend. Yippee!!!  Tomorrow we're going up to Ajo for a couple of days to take in the Old Time Fiddlers Fest and other culture Ajo-style. From there, we're off to Phoenix where we hope to see Harold's niece Pam and our friends Cathy & Bill Harvey in Surprise.

After this, won't have internet access until who knows when, but will post again when I can . . .

Adios a Puerto Peñasco y el Mar de Cortes . . .

This amazing, laid-back week here in "paradisio" has flown by!   I am so not ready to leave, but in a few hours we'll be packing up and heading north.  We should be back in the U.S. and set up  at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument by late afternoon.  A few pictures before we go. . .  

Sunrise as awesome as the sunsets -
not many places where you get to see both!

My collection from the beach here . . . 

Our longest bike ride yet was to this funky but very important aquarium. It's affiliated with the educational center and is working to save and protect huge sea turtles.  ALL of the fish and sea creatures at the aquarium have come from the Sea of Cortez . . . including this friendly guy below:

¡Mi casa es su casa!

Our humble campsite on the shore - there's Harold
just popping out the door!!

And here he is, taking in the view from the top of the lighthouse hill.

A long scooter ride out to Choya Bay - looking back at Puerto Peñasco. 
These "free-range" dogs are everywhere.  Wonder how Trixie would get along out there! 

El Capitan at the top of the hill - we heard this is the place for dinner.

ooohh, we heard right!  Shrimp was superb!

. . . and the margaritas - and the view - all muy bueno!!

Last night, just around sunset and at lowest tide,
 one last venture out to the "pools".

¡Hasta luego familia y amigos!

Spectacular sunsets and scrumptious shrimp . . .

Puerto Peñasco - known mainly for shrimp and beautiful sunsets . . .

Harold took this shot last night - it's REAL!!
If you look closely, you can see the mirage (what looks like low,flat-topped "mesas" 
on the horizon just right of center that are not actually there!) - truly spectacular!

 "Our" beach (El Mirador) at low tide - this is when Trixie likes it best!

 

 

Tamale  making project . . . 

Harold said " . . . a how-to-make tamales cooking show!!!"

Out our window, a couple of entrepreneurial young ladies
set up for massages on the beach  . . .

Lunch!  Harold proclaimed the chicken tamales a success!

And then it was off for a bit of retail therapy (Carolyn, wish you were here!):

Following 4 pics are at Cholla "Mall"

 

Harold seemed impressed by this relatively upscale shop!

Yours truly - just another day at the mall!!

Time to leave the Cholla Mall and get a few groceries . .

Next stop - the Puerto Peñasco "Super Ley".  We'd been told it's "like Safeway" and in some ways yes - "pero todo en Español!!"

This is how they do the self-serve bakery items -
walk around with a tray & tongs.
  Then a clerk puts them in a sack and prices them.

LOTS of great looking goodies!  We had to exercise restraint!

OK, so that was our day yesterday.  Today we're just sitting here looking at the sea.  The massage girls are back and there's lots of friendly visiting to take part in up and down the beach.  But for now - I'm just going to go out and take Trixie for a romp in the sea!!

Oops - just realized I forget to mention the shrimp . . . oh, well - - mañana!!  And now for one last look at that sunset!