Time to stop and smell the roses

Caring for the 204 rose bushes on the west end of Mesa Regal is truly a labor of love. It's not often you have a job where you can actually stop and smell the roses!

Old is new again

I've been busy in both the lapidary and silver smithing shops. The shell neckless was made from shells we collected last winter in Florida. They had a certain smell that took some work to eliminate but I'm happy with the results. The second piece is a stone found in Yuma, shaped in Mesa Regal two years back by Gary and the design is a collection of material that my mother (also a jeweler) had collected while I was in high school. It includes half of a Boy Scout neck tie scarf holder. I learned the craft in my junior and senior year in high school. After seeing my efforts, my mother was excited to learn as well. She took a class at the local community college, and collected many of the materials needed to make jewelry. I have enough to keep me busy for a long time between her materials and my stuff. The last piece was done by my mother, I just finished and polished it. 

Keeping busy in AZ

Two of the amenities included in our stay at Mesa Regal are the lapidary and silver smithing shops. The heart is crafted from a stone Gary and I found hiking the desert, cut, shaped, polished and drilled this fall. The stone is jasper and the chain was my mothers. I have three other pieces in the works that I should be able to show in the next few weeks. In between the yoga classes and swimming. I'll get there.

Mesa Regal, home for the winter

This year Gary and I decided to try something new, call one location home base for the winter. Mesa Regal is that place and it's not our first time here. I have a good friend from high school that purchased a park model here and after a short visit, we booked a site for a month two winters back. Why Mesa Regal? It's in the heart of Mesa AZ, a suburb of Phoenix, it's the largest RV resort in the area and after some persistence, we locked up a spot in the communities workcamper program. Yes we are working, two days a week and you'll never guess what we are doing...taking care of the roses!!! We are not getting a pay check however, our hours/profits go toward the cost of our site, all the services and all the amenities this park has to offer. And there are many, in fact they have a saying that if you have nothing to do, its your own fault. I've already signed up for the lapidary shop, silver smithing and will also sign up for the wood shop. There is a well equipped quilting studio, stain glass facility and art room. If you eat too much or drink more than usual, there are several workout programs from yoga, to water aerobics, to a full fitness center with free classes every day to get you back in shape. I've been doing palates and yoga.

Mesa Regal has two areas with pools and hot tubs hosting activities all day, with happy hour from 3-5, a grill that serves up burgers, nachos and other nibblys for the residents to enjoy. There's a band that plays during happy hour and with a large event room, the resort has scheduled programs with name artists like LeAnn Rimes, Gladys Knight and Lovin Spoonful. When we were hear a few years back we missed Gordon Lightfoot by a day :-( They also have dinners for special days, Thanks Giving, Christmas and New Years.

We do have a plan to take day trips. Local hiking is fantastic and we hope to see Gary's relatives in the Tucson area. So the blog will have some unique content this year, stay tuned!

Arizona

There's a lot of history here, much of which is prehistoric and on display for us all, free with our national parks pass! The painted desert and petrified forest are worth a stop, even thou we've been here before. Seeing these large fossilized trees never gets old and what is it about dinosaurs that brings out the kid in all of us. The only challenge for this rock hound is all those beautiful stones under foot, need to stay where they are for all to see. Still, I pick up a few, polish with a little spit, admire them and then put them back were I found them. 

As we walked back to the rig, Gary and I got the biggest laugh when we noticed several people taking photos of our little car in tow. They were all speaking German, like they've never seen an older Porsche before? Gary said there was a fee for photographing the car and we all had a good laugh together.

There is a lot of history here, much of which is prehistoric and on display for us all, free with our national parks pass! The painted desert and petrified forest are worth a stop, even thou we've been here before. Seeing these large fossilized trees never gets old and what is it about dinosaurs that brings out the kid in all of us. The only challenge for this rock hound is all those beautiful stones under foot, need to stay where they are for all to see. Still, I pick up a few, polish with a little spit, admire them and then put them back were I found them. 

As we walked back to the rig, Gary and I got the biggest laugh when we noticed several people taking photos of our little car in tow. They were all speaking German, like they've never seen an older Porsche before? Gary said there was a fee for photographing the car and we all had a good laugh together.

Land of Enchantment

Or no country for old men. New Mexico is both. With stunning beauty in many areas, including red rock country that rivals Sedona, herds of antelope and horizons filled with buttes that Gary finds hard to believe are real. 

But the extremes swing as far the other way. This is not a good place to get lost, with miles of nothing but sage brush, creosote bushes and chollas to make the going even harder. It's nothing to drive hours with no services is sight. Summer's are hot and at this elevation, winters nights can drop below freezing shortly after the sun drops in the west, despite a warm and sunny day. Any time I see signs warning of road closures, extreme winds or do not drive into smoke filled roads, I know that we need to stay aware of the surrounding at all times. Still, I love New Mexico and find myself enchanted every time I visit.

From the North Star to the Lone Star

Our trip south has been a good one given the chance for extreme weather in these parts. Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas can get very windy. Unlike past years, we are moving almost fast toward a destination for our winter retreat. OK, just so you all know, we are not speed demons but the states are ticking by, sometimes as many as three per day. It's not my favorite way to travel but we have been this way before and have seen many of the attractions in route. I would also consider myself very fortunate that this year is our turn to head south west, not south east to Florida which has had a difficult hurricane season. It's already snowing back home so I would say yes, we are blessed in many ways.

In flight with the red tails

As we make our way to the south west, we travel the same route as many of our northern hawks. Red tails, ferruginous and as Gary calls them "skinny Hawks" also known as sharp shinned are among the numerous sightings along these byways. These aviators hangout on low branches and fence posts, looking for an opportunity to drop down on an unsuspecting mouse or bunny to help fuel the rest of the journey south. We snow birds are getting out of dodge just in time as an arctic blast  drops down from Canada to bring the first hard freeze and the end of the growing season. Our travels have been really good, so far with blue bird sky's, a light wind to push us and temps just warm enough for a light comforter. And the Blue cat has settled into his routine nicely once he pulled his all nighter, waking me with a cold nose bump and a loud purrrrrrrr! His second night was under the covers for a sound sleep and the rest is business as usual. Under my chair while we drive, out for a walk on the leash as we level the rig in our camp sight each night. And after dinner, he has a 34 foot race track to work the kinks out. He is a good traveling buddy for sure.

Home again

Traveling home we never know what to expect. The first week was warm and sunny and today it's in the low 30's with a few inches of snow. Happy to be home but I refuse to shovel!

Grayton Beach

Our final days this winter are in one of our favorite beach locations, Grayton Beach State Park along with our favorite visitor, Don. A wonderful year with lots of sun and warm temps. Time to head home.

St Andrews State Park

Along the panhandle of Florida's northwest coast are three beautiful state parks, near Destin sits Henderson, over by Sea Side there is Grayton Beach and today's park is St Andrews near Panama City. These are all amazing places to stay with some of the most beautiful beaches in the USA.

A walk on the cool side

After a warm day on the beach it's nice to take the cool walk back to the campground where a long hot shower awaits.

Life's a beach!

So get out and walk on it!

Girls just want to have fun!

Selfies with an actual camera are sometimes a little off. While this day is not full of sun the spirits are up. I can assure you, this girl is smiling and in her happy place.