We have stayed here longer than usual. Surprisingly, it has been good. Don't get me wrong. I am not talking about putting down roots. We had so many things to take care of before heading out again on a year packed full of plans. We had to be sure not only we were all tuned up and ready to go but our truck and trailer too.
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| Hieroglyph Trail |
Since our health insurance deductibles had been met for the year, we went forward with the Dynamic Photo Therapy recommended by our dermatologist to prevent new skin cancers developing. Boy, did we look ugly for a week. Mike looked like a burn victim and I looked like a teenager with bad acne. Now that we have shed the snake skin, we don't look half scary anymore.
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| Shady place to ground the mesquite pods |
We are back on the trails, now that we can be in the sun again, enjoying the hikes in cool temps in the 60s as we prepare to leave Valley Del Oro and head out into the desert.
McDowell Regional Park is one of our favorites with plenty of trails to hike and bike.
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After our mountain bike ride, we were having lunch and noticed a Lazy Daze RV across form our picnic table that I thought I recognized. Sure enough, it was Gayle and Jim from Life's Little Adventures. We didn't want to just drop in but did want to say hi. I was placing a card on their window when Jim walked out to assess the situation. We had a fun visit and hope to catch up more when we move over to camp at McDowell Regional Park for a few days soon.
These are a few interesting caches we have found while hiking in the East Valley.
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| A dove in a mesquite bush (not quite the Christmas song) |
We woud notice a lot of cars parked at the Silly Mountain Trailhead when we would go to Gold Canyon. This day we checked it out and found a rather nice hike.
Papago Park in Tempe near the zoo
It has been another fun year with plenty of new places visited. And has been good to return to others we have enjoyed in the past. We often are asked how long are we in this for and really aren't sure. But after being in one place for 3 months, we aren't done yet.
McDowell looks wonderful....it's been on our list for a very long time. We really need to get ourselves there, maybe next winter. How fun that you met up with Jim and Gayle—we hope to meet them in our travels (and you guys, as well!). Glad you're all tuned up and ready for a new year of adventures.
ReplyDeleteI bet our paths will cross someday. You will enjoy Jim and Gayle as they are very easy to talk to.
DeleteThanks for my AZ fix, can't wait to get back to Cave Creek next winter. Will have to try and do some of the hikes you've talked about.
ReplyDeleteAZ is great but S Texas looks sweet. There are so many great hikes here.
DeleteThis really is a great area to spend some time. Look forward to seeing you soon!
ReplyDeleteThis really is a great area to spend some time. Look forward to seeing you soon!
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