Day 3 - The Work Begins

It was a fine morning except for the painful crustiness on and around my lips. I had no idea what it was. All that I knew was that I was already having some irritation around my lips before I left for Phoenix.

It couldn't have been allergies because the allergy medication I had did not even touch it. It wasn't sunburn because that was the only part of my body that was affected. Whatever it was, it hurt. And it made my lips swell to twice their normal size.

I had to apply a cool compress to my lips to get some relief and to soften up those painful crusts. Yuck!

Gary and I had a better opportunity to get to know each other over breakfast (which I can't remember what we had except for the fresh strawberries and raspberries, bacon, and coffee). He was a sweet 66-year-old Texas gentleman who worked for the U.S. government at Fort Bliss.

It was good having Gary join me for breakfast, especially when he exclaimed to Carolyn that this was 10 times the amount of food he normally eats for breakfast. Good! I didn't have to feel so bad for not being able to eat all of Carolyn's gut-busting portions.

Because we had to be at class for 9:00 AM, there was no dilly-dallying over breakfast like yesterday. Also, there was no more bringing back uneaten left-overs either.

Our 3-day seminar was officially called "CorelDRAW X3 Unleashed Boot Camp." It was to be 3 full days of intensive training in the new version of CorelDRAW, a graphic editing program which I think is superior to the ubiquitous and over-used Adobe (Illustrator and Photo Shop) software. (Sorry to all you folks who like and use Adobe products.)

All along, for some reason, I had thought that the class was going to be taught in one of the function rooms at the Rancho Mañana Golf Club. Maybe that was because it was listed in the directions to get to the boot camp.

But no, boot camp was actually held at the home of the the instructor, Foster Coburn III, who also happens to be a CorelDRAW guru.

Foster's an interesting guy. He looks younger than his 42 years of age. He's a nice enough fellow, but not one who elicits warm fuzzies. And he does seem to be a bit full of himself at times. I suppose that is to be expected of someone with his extensive area of expertise.

But still, he was an excellent teacher who had much to offer.

It's amazing just how much of his material Foster knows. And even more amazing is the opulent adobe home that he has across the street from the Rancho Mañana Golf Club. That swimming pool is none like I've ever seen except in those fancy-schmancy home and garden magazines.

Boot camp was in this darkened room that looked like a home theater. Just as well that the room was dark. I was feeling rather self-conscious of my Bozo lips, though for originally skinny lips like mine, they probably did not seem as freakish as I thought.

First order of the day, after finding our name tags and assigned seats was to introduce each other.

We already met Gary. And you all know who I am. So that leaves Gina, Kandy, and Gala who work for Wilkerson's, a jewelry liquidator in Arkansas; Edie, another government worker at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (the place that's home to the Atomic Clock) in Boulder, Colorado; and Jodi from Vancouver, British Columbia who has her own design and sign-making business.

Knowing that the U.S. government (along with some big mucky-muck corporations that were not represented in this boot camp) sends its people to train with Foster gave me great confidence in my decision to attend this boot camp.

After introductions, it was down to business. Today's full-day class was going to focus on vector graphics.

Vector graphics may be a little bit hard to explain to those of you who have no familiarity with graphic editing.

Vector graphics is what you use in designing logos, signs, illustrations, etc. Unlike bit-maps, of which photos are one example, vector graphic do not become distorted and do not pixelate when they are enlarged. This is all done using very complex mathematical algorithms that I will not even attempt to explain.

We were well fed all throughout the day. Soda, coffee, tea, water, pastries, etc. were always available. For lunch, we had a choice of items from a menu of a local restaurant (and a new restaurant for each day that we were there). I ordered a southwestern burger.

When Foster's assistant, Diane, arrived with the food, we broke for lunch. Surprisingly, we all ate outside, even though the temperature was in the low 100s.

What?! Were we nuts?!

No.

Actually it was comfortable outside because the air was being cooled with fine mists of water that were being sprayed at periodic intervals. Plus, we all sat in the shade at one of the many tables that were scattered around Foster's extravagant pool.

My Bozo mouth made it difficult and painful to eat. Plus, my stomach could not accept an entire burger. It was an effort just to eat half.

While all the others threw out their uneaten portions, I saved mine for the left-over collection that was multiplying back in my room. After all, my mother deeply ingrained in me that throwing out food was a sin.

All through the class Edie kept exclaiming how the information that she just learned had already paid for her class. Her boot camp experience must have been paid for at least a dozen times by the end of the final class!

While there were a lot of things that I already knew about, there were also plenty of things that I had forgotten about or not even used. Plus, there were some new tools that I didn't know about. So I felt good about my first day in class.

We managed to survive day one of boot camp.

That night I offered Gary a bottle of chili beer, and he took it with trepidation as we headed up to the star-gazing deck for some conversation.

Gary is not a big beer fan. The only beer that he drinks is Coors, which he calls "Colorado Kool-Aid."

We had pleasant conversation about the boot camp, Arizona, our lives, and the sense of accomplishment and failure we experienced.

After awhile of this deep and personal conversation, Gary said, "I hope you don't get offended if I don't finish this beer."

Me? Offended? No way! More chili beer for me!

Pretty soon my bladder was signaling its discomfort. I guess this was as good a point as any to call it a night. I made a bee-line for the bathroom while Gary called his honey back in El Paso.

Thus day 3 of my great Arizona adventure has been put to bed.

Adventures Of A Different Sort

I now had 2 hikes under my belt, and yet it was only just about lunch time. God! In such a short of time I had already accomplished a lot by conquering 2 mountains. And yet, the day was not even half over.

So what was my next adventure to be? Certainly not another encounter with the great outdoors. Not this time. Nope. No way.

Instead, it was time to do some shopping. After all, isn't that what people usually do when they go away to a different place?

Well, I wasn't going to stop at Carefree to do my shopping. All the stores there were in shopping centers. And while I'm sure that Carefree had its fair share of nice gift shops, I had a tough time imagining one of them sharing space with a building supply store, real estate office, or pharmacy.

So, it was back to Cave Creek.

While heading back, I passed this rather wild and garish structure that was called the "Town Dump." When I had first first seen it on a local map, I thought that it was a place where people went to dispose of their trash, just like I thought the the post office, town hall, and the fire station were what the labels said they were.

I never suspected it to be this crazy, wild, and bizarre store of the tourist trap persuasion.

So whoa!

I had to stop there, even if it meant that I had to find a turn-around because I had already passed the store while trying to process what I was seeing while I was driving. I had to visit this tourist trap that sported the sign "Malfunction Junction."

One of the first things that I saw, aside from the sensory over-loaded front of the store, was a yard that was filled with large Mexican pottery and humongous metal sculptures. That wasn't for me. I didn't even want to think about shipping one of those gigantic and heavy pieces back home.

The inside of the store was crammed to the hilt. Literally crammed. It was hard to walk around without practically hitting something. And it was definitely NOT a place for strollers, or for that matter, any life forms under 3 and a half feet tall.

Perhaps I could find something for Roma and Ariana in this store. But like all tourist traps, I had to carefully check the bottom to make sure that I was getting something local or labeled "Hecho en Mexico" instead of "Made in China."

Yeah, those long scarves were lovely. And I bet that Roma would have loved the colors. But, "Made in Indonesia?" I don't think so. And that nice looking string of cloth birds that were made in India? Forget it!

I did find a whimsical wooden hummingbird mobile. And while it had no sticker to indicate country of origin, it was undeniably a piece of Mexican folk art. I got 2 ~ one for me and one for Roma. I also got an iron hanging hook in the shape of a frog.

And I found 2 Dios de los Meurtos (Day of the Dead) figures that did have the "Hecho en Mexico" sticker. And for 9 bucks a piece, they cost a fraction of what I would have had to pay on my side of the coast.

Those items were in just the main building of this labyrinthine shopping establishment. There was still far more to explore.

Entering one of the rear rooms in the main building gave me this very weird feeling that I could not readily identify. It took a few minutes to realize that feeling came from that room looking like something out of one of my bizarre dreams.

Can you say, "Twilight Zone?" Sure you can.

After exiting the main building, there were 2 more buildings in a courtyard that was crammed with even more enormous metal sculptures and big pottery pieces along with any sort of miscellanea imaginable.

These buildings had a series of rooms that were open on one side, sort of like a garage or stables. Some of the rooms had antique furniture. Others had what looked like could have been a collection of old bar stools from some defunct diner. Still others had tons of retablos, santos, nichos (both wooden and tin), and Mexican tin work.

All these rooms were crowded, crammed, and in some places totally impassable.

In one room I found the perfect gift for Ariana ~ a cow skull. The room was loaded with them. 2 were on a table that was easy to get to. The others were hanging on all 3 walls. Those were not easy to get to, especially the ones on the right hand wall, which would have required that I climb on top of the antique furniture shoved in that very tight space.

So it was going to have to be one of the 2 skulls on the table. When I picked up the one on the right, the teeth fell out. So it wasn't going to be that one. And seeing that the other skulls were not easily accessible, it was fortunate that the remaining skull had its teeth intact. They were loose, but they were still marginally secured in the upper jaw.

Now there was no way I was going to pack a large cow skull in my suitcase. I could just see the reaction of the Transportation Security Agents. And with the Phoenix airport being über-anal with their security, I wasn't going to take the chance. Besides, where would the rest of my stuff fit?

So it was a great thing that the Town Dump is a USP shipping location. They would ship my swag for me. Not only that, if I have them ship my purchases, I don't have to pay sales tax. And in Arizona, that is a good thing.

You see, in Arizona you don't have just one plain state sales tax (5.6%). You also have the Maricopa County tax (.7%). And on top of that, each city has its own separate tax which could run anywhere from 1.5% to 3.0%.

Yowzah!

So in Phoenix you would have the total sales tax of 8.1% while Carefree, Cave Creek's next door neighbor has a whopping 9.3%. Cave Creek's grand sales tax total amounts to 8.8%.

So don't you go off complaining about about taxes if you live elsewhere.

And speaking of complaining about taxes, I really haven't heard much squawking from the locals.

Apparently the county tax supports the roads and jails. And I must say, the roads are pretty decent. However, I can't make judgment either way about the jails.

In Cave Creek, the city tax has gone to major conservation efforts to buy up land in order to protect it from development. And that's a good thing. It would be a shame to have all that gorgeous land turned into strip malls, even if the developers do find new homes for all those displaced refugee saguaro cacti.

Anyhow, back to my story.

Having made my purchases and shipping arrangements, it was now time to go on and continue with my retail therapy.

Next on the list were post cards and gifts for Ariana and Neil.

I must say that the next stores I've gone into were nowhere near as colorful and freaky as the Town Dump. The Town Dump was a unique experience in itself.

The next place that I stopped at were a set of shops, one of them being Crazy Ed's Satisfied Frog, located in Cave Creek's Frontier Village.

There I found the post cards that I've been looking for, along with tee shirts for Neil, Ariana, and me.

I also found some interesting hot sauces, including one that had to stay hidden behind a curtain marked "For Adults Only" because of its ~ ahem ~ saucy name ("One Fuckin' Drop At a Time" for those of you who want to know).

I also found unique southwest candy in flavors like jalapeno and prickly pear. For Ariana and me I got 2 lighters in engraved wooden sheaths.

Also, I found an industrial-size coffee mug in the shape of a rattlesnake. The tail was the handle. But where was the head? Why, it was inside the cup, poised to strike at any unsuspecting soul. Of course I had to get that one for myself. (I just have to make sure that Neil doesn't get a glimpse of it.)

And without a doubt, I had to stop in at Crazy Ed's to get a 6-pack of that world famous Cave Creek Chili Beer.

By now it was 4 o'clock and time to bring all the spoils of my adventures back to my room.

I was tired and beat.

Carrying my many bags, I met Gary from El Paso, who would be joining me in the CorelDRAW Boot Camp tomorrow morning. I only had enough energy to introduce myself and say "Hi."

I had to quickly get myself into my air conditioned room and decompress before heading out to rustle up some grub. (No, they really don't talk that way in Cave Creek.)

I was having a tough time deciding between Mexican and beef ribs. Both sounded really good, and my stomach was having a tough time deciding.

Eventually, Mexican won out, especially since I wanted to know what a chili relleno (Mexican stuffed pepper) tasted like.

I decided on El Encanto, which was a short distance away and across the street from the Frontier Village. It was a lovely place with a gorgeous huge koi pond in the courtyard. In addition to the koi, there were geese, ducks, turtles, and a whole bunch of red dragon flies.

I opted to sit inside at a window by the pond. There were turtles basking on the rocks by the window. They appeared to be red eared sliders.

Having already looked over the menu while still back in my room, I already knew what I wanted ~ guacamole, the carnito chili relleno, and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to wash it all down.

Buster, my waiter (That's his real name!), quickly brought me my wine and guacamole. Oh! That guacamole was to die for! I could not get guacamole that good where I live, unless I make it myself.

The relleno was interesting and the beef nicely seasoned. But it was not something that I would be interested in ordering again.

I had Buster wrap up my leftover guacamole and relleno with the side of black beans. More food to add to my growing leftover collection. It was time to head back.

Looking back on the day, I did 2 strenuous hikes and some serious shopping, topped off by a pleasant Mexican meal in the company of turtles. I think at this point it's time to call it a day.

And there's some chili beer waiting for me at the end of the day.

Further Adventures on Day 2

Alrighty then.

Having recovered from my early morning hike, it was now time for me to depart my nicely air conditioned room and make my way to the main house for breakfast. It was to be a gut-busting breakfast as I was soon to find out.

On my way to get stuffed, I noticed an overturned flower pot on the patio, which I thought was odd.

Anyhow, I soon found out who was the author of that minor bit of vandalism.

It seems as though a herd of javelinas paid a visit during the night, on a quest for a fine dining experience. They knocked over more than that one flower pot I saw. They stripped the hibiscus and other plants of all their leaves. And they even pulled a small cactus out of a flower pot and took a small bite out of it.

Aw gee! And I missed it all.

I had wanted to see a javelina. And I even got a big kick out of the "Javenlina X-ing" sign just further up the road. But with my body being on east coast time, I was dead to the world by the time the javelinas partied down on the patio at Spur Cross B & B.

Well, the javelinas had their meal. Now it was time for me to have mine.

And what a meal that was.

For starters I had half a grapefruit with raw sugar. There was bacon that was done to the most perfect crispness possible. And there was this giant big-butt slab of French toast, with sliced apples inside, that was baked instead of fried. And, of course, there was plenty of coffee.

Oh my God! How was I going to eat all of this?!

As it turns out, I could only eat half of the French toast. Not wanting to offend Carolyn, my hostess, by wasting good food, I asked if I could get it wrapped up to put in my fridge to have for later.

While eating, I mentioned to Carolyn that I was thinking of taking a drive to the Sears-Kay ruins that I read about in the visitor's guide book in my room.

Having been a recent transplant, Carolyn was not aware of the ruins. But she did tell me that if I were to drive up the road and continue through the intersection up the road, that I could get to a trail on the mountain that would allow me breath-taking views of both sides of the mountain. She said that the road will end and turn into a dirt road, but that it's still passable, even with that low and crappy Ford Focus.

So, after breakfast, armed with a camera and a water bottle in my backpack, I was off on another adventure.

I crossed the main drag and continued up the road. Yup, it did turn into a dirt road. But I soldiered on. I came to an area that said to turn around, that there was no parking beyond that point. Carolyn never mentioned that. So I just figured that this was the continuation of the dirt road that lead to the trail that she was telling me about.

WRONG!

I found myself going down what seemed like somebody's private driveway. (A few adobe McMansions dotted the mountain side.) Well, I couldn't exactly go down somebody's driveway, now could I? That would be rude.

Yet, there was no room for me to turn the car around. There was nothing I could do but back up down the mountain until I got to a spot where I could easily and safely turn the car around.

And that was easier said than done. Never mind worrying about getting the car dinged up with rocks and then having to pay the rental company for damages on the car. How about worrying about going over the edge instead?

Yup, that's what I said, "...going over the edge." You see, to the right of me was nothing but a sheer drop. No guard rails. No boulders. Nothing between me and the bottom way below. Gee, try explaining that to the rental car company!

Anyhow, seeing that I am here to re-tell the experience, it's obvious that I have not gone over the edge ~ at least not the literal edge.

It took some scary and careful maneuvering, but I finally made it to a spot where I could safely turn around. OK, now back to worrying about dinging up the car with rocks.

What a relief it was to finally be pointing in the right direction and off that evil mountain! As I made my descent, I saw 2 hikers in the distance starting their ascent. At least they won't have to worry about going ass-end over the cliff.

Well, with that finally out of the way, I went back to my original plan, which was to take a drive to the Sears-Kay ruins.

The ruins were off the local map that I had. But the directions that I got from the visitor's guide book made it easy enough to piece things together. At least the roads here are laid out in a more wide open and logical order than the ones back home.

I had to go just to the outside of Carefree, Cave Creek's neighboring town. (If I had to go just outside of Carefree, then where was I? North Scottsdale?)

Once I turned off Cave Creek Road onto Seven Springs Road, the driving got interesting. I'd never seen hair-pin turns like that. And that sign warning about a dip in the road? I'll tell you, that wasn't a dip, that was a freakin' roller coaster!

But just imagine all those hair-pin turns and dramatic dips in one of the most beautiful country ever. There were so many places where I would have just loved to have stopped the car, gotten out, and taken pictures.

Finally I made it to the parking area at the base of the hill where the ruins are located.

This sign told me what to expect. Notice the last sentence. Snakes and water are cast iron facts of life in this part of the country.

I had my water and my camera. But, gee, I forgot my boonie hat. Well, no sense in turning around and driving all of 8 miles and back just for a hat.

The hike up the hill proceeded like the one earlier that morning, except for a couple of salient points: this hill was much bigger and the temperature was much hotter.

Yet, I was still determined to get to the top. And just like Saguaro Hill behind the B & B, I quickly discovered that when I thought I was about to reach the top that there was still a whole lot of hill left to go.

And it was a strenuous hike where my water bottle was my best friend and every step was a prayer thanking God for not having me pass out from heat stroke.

I was all alone up on this rock. What would happen if I passed out, slipped on some loose rocks, or gotten bitten by a rattlesnake?

Well, there was also a singular advantage of being alone in this very wide and open space with no cover. And that advantage was immediately made known when my bladder got the urge to vacate. In other words, I had to pee.

Seeing that there were no bushes or trees to hide behind it was just me and the open sky.

Feeling somewhat satisfied, it was upward and onward.

While I was slowly trudging up to the top, I kept imagining what life would have been like in 900 AD, when the ruins were first built. In my mind's eye I could see children running up and down the paths on the hill oblivious to the desert heat.

Where would the basket maker be? And where would I find the stone carver? How did the Hohokum defend themselves? Where did they gather for their communal circles?

Amid the imagining and exertion, I finally made it to the top! Hooray! Yippie! Yay! I conquered the hill!

And once on top of the hill I got my glimpse of the ruins.

It was amazing to see the walls of the ruins. They really did give an idea of how the structures would have looked well over 1000 years ago.

And that main ruin wasn't just the walls of one small hut. Look how far back it goes. There were at least 3 rooms in this ruin.

Here's another ruin, smaller than the one above.

Still another ruin. Or is it the same one?

In addition to the ruins, the view from up top was well worth it.

Now isn't that a spectacular view? Looks like I could have lifted it right out the pages of the "National Geographic!" (Do you think they would hire me as a photographer???

Walking around the top of the hill I saw more ruins and some very large free-standing rocks.

Here's a close-up of the free-standing boulder in the above picture. It reminds me of one of those Easter Island heads.

Now came time to start making my descent. As much as I enjoyed the history and beauty up top, I was hot, not feeling all that great, and just dying to get some AC.

Just like going up, each step on the way down was a prayer thanking God for assuring my safety.

Each step closer to the parking lot brought me a new sense of elation. To spur me on to my quest for an air conditioned vehicle, I would imagine myself already there, seat all the way back, and the AC blasting on the highest setting possible.

And my hands started getting that weird vibration feeling again that signaled that I better get out of the sun really fast.

But before I got all the way down, I had to turn around and take a picture of the side of the hill that I just came down from. It doesn't look like much, does it? However, be forewarned that in the Arizona desert looks can be deceiving.

Finally the car was in sight and on relatively the same elevation that I was. Another few steps I was inside doing just what I had envisioned on my descent: leaning seat way back with the AC blasting.

I don't know how many minutes I stayed like that. It must have been awhile ~ or at least felt like it ~ because I was getting concerned about burning too much gas.

However, in my air conditioned reverie I heard car doors slam. Opening my eyes and turning my head, I saw some guys exiting a car. (Good thing they weren't there when I needed to pee.)

One of them looked at me, and I wonder what was going through his head.

Then I saw 2 more cars, all bearing Michigan plates. (And what are the chances that a large group of guys would have been able to rent out 3 cars all with Michigan plates?)

At that point, I felt that it would be a good idea to leave. I could have stayed longer. But I felt sufficiently recovered to drive on to my next adventure.

Day 2 - Pre Breakfast Adventure

Having been fully rested from the night before, today was the day for some adventuring.

Seeing that I'm still operating on east coast time, I got up early and decided to hike up the hill behind the B & B before breakfast.

That area behind the B & B is not just any nameless desert scenery. It's actually called the Caroline Bartol Preserve on Saguaro Hill and it's also the site of the Goldwater Memorial Garden, named for Senator Barry Goldwater.

I didn't see any obvious trails while I was going up the hill. But at least the vegetation wasn't closely packed together that I would have to bush-whack through thickets of thorny cacti and be caught unawares by hidden rattlesnakes.

It was 7 o'clock in the morning, and already the day was showing signs of getting hot. But I figured that a short hike up the hill behind the B & B wouldn't be such a big deal.

Anyhow, that hike was to be the first among several lessons in the rigors of desert hiking.

A little hill like that would have not given me much problem in the leafy forests of New England, not even for somebody who's no longer in the shape she used to be.

But here it's different. It's exposed. And it's hot.

So every several feet I found myself struggling to catch my breath ~ really catch my breath.

However I wasn't going to let a little hill like that get the better of me, even if it was hot and without a lick of shade.

While hiking up that hill, and other hills to follow, I discovered that here, in Arizona, when you think you've gotten to the top of the hill, there is a whole more hill left to go.

"Great," she says with sarcasm.

Still the view from the top was spectacular and well worth the effort.

You could see all this land spread out before the mountains. And you could see why this area is called the Desert Foothills.

All around you could see saguaro cacti. But then, what do you expect from a place called Saguaro Hill?

This is the spot of the Goldwater Memorial Garden. That stone wall makes a great place to catch your breath. And that's a good thing because there's still a lot more hill left to go.

Saguaros aren't the only cacti to occupy Saguaro Hill.

You certainly would not want to back up into this baby!

And here's another example why this place is called Saguaro Hill. Notice that pale green saguaro near the middle. Its color was really out of place with all the other saguaros.

Here's a dead saguaro. Dead saguaros are collected and used to make interesting sculptures as well as floor and table lamps. The center is hollow, and there's enough spacing in between the ribs for the light to shine through.

Here's another dead saguaro with its innards somewhat intact.

Gradually, I'm making my descent. There's the B & B down below.

As I get closer down, I get a better look at that odd-colored saguaro. It looks Gumby green to me. I haven't seen other saguaros that pale green color. (That's the Desert Foothills Library, that's under construction, behind ol' Gumby.)

This gives you an idea of how tall these suckers get. A saguaro cactus can easily get 30 to 40 feet tall. That's about the size of your average backyard maple.

And did you know that one foot of saguaro weighs 100 pounds? And that's not counting the weight of the arms. So when one of those beasts falls, get out of the way FAST!

Oh good! Finally I'm back down to the B & B. (That little tiny blob on the right edge is one of the hummingbird feeders at the Spur Cross.)

Boy! Was I ever glad to be done with that hike.

It's not that I didn't enjoy seeing all that beauty. It's that the hike took a lot out of me. I was winded, hot, and thirsty. My hands were experiencing this weird vibration from God knows what.

Even for such a short hike behind the B & B, I should have worn a hat and taken some water with me. I cannot begin to stress enough how important it is to have water with you constantly when you're outdoors in this kind of environment.

I still had about 15 to 20 minutes left before breakfast ~ enough time for me to suck down some water and suck up the AC in my room.

After all, it was still early in the morning, and I had more adventures awaiting me that day.

Settling In

First thing I had to do, after regaining some of my energy and strength, was to unpack and put away my clothing and toiletries. All my clothing went into that nice and spacious armoir to the left of the bed.

I never did use the comfy chair for sitting. It made more of a convenient catch-all for my miscellanea.

The roomy bed was also another catch-all.

The fireplace never got used. There was no need for that. But it was still pretty to look at. And it made another convenient catch-all object a little later on in my stay.

I even had a little kitchette area. The fridge wound up getting filled with lots of left-overs that had to be eventually thrown out for the coyotes to feast on.

As you can tell, it looks like I have a good view outside my window.

And speaking of views outside my window, here's a close-up of one of the mountains.

This is that same mountain further away. The trees in front are mesquite. And by the way, my room is called the "Mesquite."

This is more to the left of the mesquite in the above picture. Notice there are more mountains. In fact, there are mountains all around. How cool is that?!

Here's a saguaro cactus that is in between the Spur Cross Bed and Breakfast and the horse farm about a quarter of a mile away.

Did you know that a saguaro has to be about 75 years old before it sprouts its first arm and that a saguaro with 5 or more arms is generally 200 years old? I bet that baby in the picture above is at least 200 years old. Just count the number of arms. There must be at least 7.

I saw many saguaro that were propped up by 2 x 4s. That is because in addition to having a very shallow root system, they are also a protected species. It is against the law to cut down a saguaro.

So whenever there are construction projects where the saguaro are in the way, they have to be dug out and then relocated. The 2 x 4s hold the cacti in place while their shallow roots try to establish themselves in their new location.

How very cool it was to have a nice room with this great beautiful view. No Holiday Inn would have been able to do that well.

Arizona - Day 1 - Getting There

My trip to Cave Creek, Arizona started on Tuesday ~ 4 September 2007 ~ the day after Labor Day.

I woke up at 5 in the morning. Maybe saying "got up" is more accurate. After all, I barely got any sleep the night before, getting up at 1 in the morning to rearrange my luggage and carry-on.

This is the day that I had been waiting for since March. All my arrangements had been made. I had a massive check-off list for my family to follow for every day that I would be gone. And I did almost all the morning tasks so that Neil and Ariana would have an easy morning the first day.

Ariana got up early to see me off. And 40 minutes after I got up, my ride had arrived to take me to the airport.

My ride, Leo, was a pleasantly chatty fellow. The easy conversation made the nearly one hour ride to T. F. Green Airport in Providence (which is actually in Warwick) fly by.

When getting my boarding pass, my suitcase weighed in 2 pounds over the 50 pound limit. However, because I was the only one in line, I was able to open my suitcase and transfer the excess weight to my carry-on.

I made it through security with just one beep through the metal detector. It was my watch.

Now I was free and clear to make it to the boarding gate for Northwestern's out-going flight to Detroit. Wow! I was actually on my way!

Because the Jetway was broken, we had to walk down the stairs, onto the tarmac, and climb the portable stairs ~ like the ones that former President Gerald Ford fell from ~ to the airplane itself.

I had an aisle seat, which was not a good thing because of all the turbulence we ran into on our way to Phoenix. I cannot read in moving vehicles, and there was sufficient movement from the turbulence to make it difficult without getting sick. And just think, the captain said that our flight actually lucked out with the turbulence.

It was a short flight to Detroit ~ perhaps one and a half hours, give or take.

However, it was long walk from the arrival gate to the departure gate. I arrived at Gate 64 and had to schlep my increasingly heavy carry-on all the way down to Gate 12. It must have been easily a mile.

There was a mono-rail tram that would have made things much easier. But it was up on another level, and I could not see an obvious way to get up there until I was nearly at my destination.

Through that whole walk I kept shifting my bags trying to find that very elusive comfortable spot for hauling heavy objects that feel more like dead bodies.

And as I walked, I kept counting down the gates.

50 more.

Nearly half way there.

30 more.

Oh good, 20 more.

Getting closer, 10 more.

Ahhh! Finally there!

It was a short wait until boarding. I got the window seat this time. Yeah!

Next to me sat a Canadian-transplant couple returning back home after bringing their son to college in eastern Canada. I talked with the wife in between reading Jon Katz's A Good Dog - The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life.

It was a long flight ~ a bit over 4 hours.

Looking out the window I got to see the landscape change from the familiar crowded cities to the vast watery expanse of Lake Michigan to large patchwork squares to brown canyons deeply gouged into the earth.

And at times, flying above the clouds revealed a cloudscape that looked as though it could have been a barren Arctic landscape.

The plane was making its descent, and I got a slight fluttery sense of anxiety about having to make my way alone in a very unfamiliar place. But that quickly evaporated in the dry Arizona heat.

Touch down came around 1:30 PM, Arizona time.

But why were there palm trees in Arizona? That's the first form of vegetation I noticed when we landed. They're certainly not a native species.

Now to claim my luggage, which took forever. I've already lost count of the number of times that grey suitcase went around. And while I was waiting, Ariana called me. She had just gotten out of work.

After getting my long-awaited suitcase, I had to make my way to the entrance of that particular terminal to catch a shuttle that would take me to the car rental place.

Once I got outside, I got my first blast of Arizona heat. It was hot, but not too bad. I did have to take off the light shirt that I wore as a jacket over my sleeveless top, however.

Good thing there was that car rental shuttle service, because the car rental place was easily 2 miles ~ maybe 3 ~ beyond the airport. Can you imagine trying to schlep your luggage all that distance, crossing major roads and thoroughfares?

I had reserved an economy car with Pay-Less. However, they were all out of sardine can cars. So, rather than up-grade me to something more decent, they had me step over a couple of windows to E-Z Rental for that little matchbox car.

Boy! Those car rental places do try to skin you by telling you of all the scary and dreadful consequences you'd be facing if you don't throw more money their way by purchasing all these add-on options.

No, I don't need extra liability insurance. I have the highest safe driver rating that one could get in my state.

No, I don't need GPS. I know how to read a map and have a good sense of navigation.

No, I don't need to pay you $35 to avoid having you charge me 6 bucks for every gallon below a full tank of gas when I return the car. I'm going to have to stop at a gas station anyway.

Next came having to find my way to Cave Creek and the Spur Cross Bed and Breakfast where I was going to be staying.

It's unfortunate that I did not think to read the directions that were on the B & B's website. They were a lot easier than the ones from the car rental place. And I probably would have not come close to having to eat my words about my safe driver rating in a couple of unexpectedly jammed up spots on the freeway.

Being very unfamiliar with the roads, there were a couple of times when I found myself in a wrong lane. That's where the Massachusetts bad driver bag of tricks came in useful.

But once I got out of Phoenix proper, the driving was getting easier, and prettier while cruising the Desert Foothills Scenic Highway. It was pretty much straight all the way with one left hand turn and then one right hand turn. The only tricky part was finding the B & B because residential zoning does not allow for signs on the street.

In fact, I drove right by the Spur Cross the first time. For some reason, I though the numbers were going in the opposite order. And there's a lot of numbers to keep track of, because it seems that everyone has a 5-digit street number.

So, when I came to the end of the road, I knew that I had to turn around and check the numbers more carefully.

Finally I found it ~ in the dip in the road just past the sign that warned against going down the road in the rain.

I parked that crappy Ford Focus with the rear spoiler that spoiled my visibility and the oddly placed headlight switch that nearly got me into 2 rear-end collisions as I tried to figure out how it worked. There were no other cars in the lot.

Walking up to the office there was no one there except for that little doggie in the window.

I called the number of the B & B and could hear the phone ringing inside.

Then I called the cell number listed on the web site. That number now belonged to someone else. Fortunately the fellow on the other end of the line was kind and patient. And it was obvious that he received many calls like this before.

According to Mr. Kind & Friendly, the B & B had changed hands a few months earlier. And he assured me that the new owner must have just stepped out for a moment and will be back soon.

So, seeking what little shade I could find, I called Roma to kill some time. At this point, I was hungry, thirsty, and dealing with an empty stomach. While it may have been 3:30 Arizona time, my body was still registering 7:30 east coast time.

Finally, after waiting for 30 to 45 minutes Carolyn, the owner, had arrived. Apparently she had left my room unlocked. Duh!

Carolyn first got me a bottle of cold water and then showed me to my room ~ all while introducing me to her cocker-poo Saffron, Saffy for short.

And because I was starting to feel really nauseous from hunger, thirst, and the rigors of 6 hours plus of flying, she was kind enough to bring my bags out of the car. I was especially concerned about my carry-on which contained my new camera and lap top.

Not only that, she got me a plate of cheese, crackers, veggies, and grapes because I was way too out of it to go look for a place to eat.

Here I was in Arizona. I was torn between wanting to explore right away and decompressing from all that traveling. When you think about it, I had been up since 2 o'clock in the morning Arizona time. It's been a long day for me.

Thus, the demands of my body won out.

The rest of the day was for settling in, munching on Carolyn's plate of snacks, and reading the various menus and activities in the visitor's guide in my room.

My adventure will have to start tomorrow.

Where Did August Go?

That's the question I've been asking myself. It's kind of scary when a whole month just zips right on by.

And it was amazing that some of you actually missed my blog and even contacted me to see if everything was OK. Thanks. It was nice to know that I actually have fans!

Well, everything has been OK ~ just busy. And those evil cyber fairies didn't help matters either.

First of all, I started the renovation work on my studio. It's going VERY slow because I have never done anything like that before. The only kind of painting I've done was on canvas, paper, and mail boxes.

What's this having to prepare a surface for painting?

And how do you repair holes and other damage in the walls?

It's all been quite the learning experience.

Not only did I learn that primer sticks to the substrate and paint sticks to the primer, I also learned that if you're painting in a dark color your primer needs to be dark as well.

So before my back wall and the two side wall sections became a deep rich periwinkle, they were primed a battleship grey, which did not look all too bad.

There is still a lot more work to be done. But I have to content myself to doing a little bit at a time.

And I am kind of procrastinating on the next step, which is to install and paint wall shelves. Somehow, that task seems a bit daunting right now.

Home improvements aside, I also had to deal with technology issues. This is where those evil cyber fairies come in.

First of all, I had no Internet for a couple of weeks due to the cables and router being fried out from a lightning strike. While we have a lightning arrestor system on our electrical service, it doesn't apply to the broadband cable.

So we got hit with a triple whammy ~ no TV (which isn't all that bad), no phone (that's bad), and no Internet (even worse).

And because we live in an area that has very poor cell phone service, using cell phones were not an option, especially when having to deal with those lengthy voice menu mazes when calling for service or repair.

OK, we got that out of the way. And we were good to go.

But shortly after getting reconnected and back on-line, my monitor crapped the bed. But then, what could I expect? It was a dinosaur, being 6 years old.

So, I had to get a new monitor. And while I was at it, I wound up getting a new computer and printer because the old ones, too, were 6 years old and showing it. Besides, I was going to up-date my system to 2 gigs anyhow.

The evil cyber fairies have been exorcised, and we're now free and clear.

However, it already was the end of August, and I had to prepare for my up-coming trip to Arizona for a 3-day intensive CorelDRAW Boot Camp, along with 4 extra days thrown in as a much-needed vacation.

But that's a whole new blog ~ actually series of blogs ~ in itself.