My shock wore out in McDowell

As we finish our time here is Mesa, AZ, we have to get one more ride in McDowell Regional Park.  Everything was so green and the cacti fat after all of the rain this winter. We took the Pemberton Trail counter clockwise.

 

 

              

A nice place for a stop about 8 miles from the trailhead.

Looking for lunch?

 About 5 miles into the ride, I started having achy wrists and elbows but couldn't figure out why. My bike started making a funky noise, so I stopped to make sure the front tire was not loose. That could be ugly if it came off. After 8 miles, it was worse so I had Mike check it out and the front shock was worn out. When I would hit a bump, it would jar down but not spring back. He suggested that we head back so I wouldn't get hurt.

 

We had just gotten to the good stuff and after all of that uphill, I wasn't ready to give up. I tried to keep loose and hit the dips slower to avoid the jolt. This made for a little more work up the dip instead of just flowing.

Why do guys have to climb up on something for a rest stop? Climbing with clips in my shoes is a bit slick on granite. Maybe, he is trying to ditch me.

Looks like he is thinking about the good time we have had here in AZ or maybe what's for dinner.

The lounge chairs were calling us when we got back. Nothing like a catnap in the sunshine after a 16 mile desert ride and picnic lunch. 

It snowed on us in Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree is made up of the  Colorado Desert which part of the Sonoran Desert and Mojave Desert. The vegetation is very different without Saguaros.

Grinding was done here. I could imagine the ladies working away.

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The amazing geological formations were formed by molten liquid, heated by the continuous movement of Earth’s crust, oozed upward and cooled while still below the surface.

They grew some interesting rocks out here.

Skull Rock

A wealthy rancher from Montana, J.D. Ryan's ranch to supply food for the workers for his gold mine.

I had to put the coyote in after Mike followed him determined to get a picture.

Looks like it might fall if I kick the rock holding everything up.

There were so many short interesting  hikes. We would imagine being "back in the day" as we walked.

Cattle grazed throughout the park from the 1870s until 1945. The cattle companies located springs, dug wells, and developed rainwater impoundments called “tanks,” which can be seen today at places like Barker Dam.

The cattle's water troughs.

Petroglyphs

I have a hard time being the driver as we go through the wind farms. They were all moving and mesmerizing, I was watching them instead of the road. Good thing I was off driving duty.

What a year

What a year of changes we have had . We thought that we had reached the point in our lives that we would settle down in one place, have part time jobs and save for vacations. Our home was very but a bit too big with lovely neighbors to watch out for us and our house  when we were gone skiing or somewhere.  

 I realized that my job sucked. I usually like being a nurse but the dynamics were not the way I wanted to spend my only real currency in this life, my time and I dreaded each day I had to go. I saw that I was working someplace that made me stressed because the house we had was nearby. We had the house to keep our stuff that we acquired in our past. It was nice stuff but really didn't give us as much as it took from us. We started going thru our stuff and if we hadn't used it in a few years, it might as well go on to a new owner. No sense in living in the past even if it was good stuff.

It reminded me of George Carlin and his "stuff" monolog. You can see it by clicking below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac

You know how the story goes. We sold our things and house so we could explore and have an adventure while we can. So far it has been so much fun meeting new people, doing  and learning new things. We can say that this little adventure has exceeded our expectations as we get ready to leave to our next stop. 2016 is looking pretty good from here.

Indian Canyon

Fifteen miles long, Palm Canyon is one of great beauty. Its indigenous flora and fauna, which the Cahuilla people so expertly used and its abundant California Fan Palm are breathtaking contrasts to the stark rocky gorges and barren desert lands. A moderately graded, foot path winds down into the canyon near the stream. 

While walking through the oasis, we would get lost in our thoughts and imagine the natives enjoying the cool breezes through the canyon.

After hiking along the stream, we returned on the Victor Trail on the ridge above the canyon.

Still plenty of snow in the mountains after the Sunday storm.

A scenic foot trail leads through the canyon passing groves of  palms, unusual rock formations and the perennial Andreas Creek.  could still see bedrock mortars and metates used centuries ago for preparing food.

Had to try out the Carne Asada and green chili. Two thumbs up from us.

Colorado and back

January thru March is harvest season for the citrus fruit in Arizona. Since the rain hadn't stopped in a while, we decided to check out the local produce growers and then went home and picked a grapefruit.

 

We actually stopped for the cinnamon roll with orange frosting.

A local tourist place here in the valley is Organ Stop Pizza. It was still raining so decided to check it out since it was still raining.

 

I call it Chucky Cheese for old people.

 

 A Wurlitzer pipe organ which was originally built for Grauman’s Hollywood Egyptian Theater. This unique concept of a pizza parlor with a pipe organ. It was actually quite entertaining. The pizza not that great.

Our flight to Denver was $37 each way but then they made us pay extra for a seat.

I missed the holidays with the boys and decided to fly home for the weekend. It was time for a little yoga.

It was good to get outside for a bit even if the temps were pretty chilly.

Brother love.

Kyle loves a good snowball fight. He got grandpa pretty good.

Yes, they made us tired. So lad we got to spend time with them.

As soon as I took this picture, they were wrestling on the floor.

The Four Peaks were shinning in the sunshine when we returned to our little home in Arizona.