We've been playing a lot of golf and enjoying time with friends, but I just haven't had time to blog on it. I'll try to do better!
We decided to go on a desert camp out with the side by side club to take some rides, enjoy the amazing weather we have been having and get to know some of the club members better.
The camp out was at mile marker six on Shea Road, just south of Parker, AZ. Most of the club was already here by the time we pulled in (I needed to work a bit before we could go!), so we found a little spot, kind of out by ourselves where we set up camp. This was the view out our living room window. Not bad!
And this was the view from our front porch as the sun set our first night.
While we were camped out on Shea Road, we took several club rides. The first was to the Little Grand Canyon (see my post on January 30th, 2018) and the second was to a little cafe in Bouse for lunch (see my post on January 31st, 2018).
On the night of the 31st, we decided to take a night ride to the top of "P" Mountain. It's called "P" Mountain because it has the "P" for Parker on it. It is the mountain with all of the antennas on top, and it has views for miles in every direction.
Our friend grew up in the area so knew it very well, so he told us he would take us in.
We drove up the paved road for a ways, then headed off on the trails toward the mountain. Just for fun, we drove up on a big hill as we approached "P" Mountain, and over the radio we heard the leader say "there's a man". None of us knew what he meant, so we followed him up the hill, and right on the top was a man, sitting in a lawn chair with his dog at his feet in total darkness. No car, no anything, just a man and his dog. He was lucky we didn't hit him, he was dressed all in black and was really hard to see. He cursed at each of us as we drove by, and then we left him in peace as we drove on. If we had any indication that he was up there, we would never have gone up, but he surprised us as much as we surprised him.
As we started climbing "P" Mountain, it was a very steep road up, part of it had concrete, but a lot of it was very broken up with deep potholes. When we got to the top, it was amazing. We were standing there right under the radio and microwave towers with views in every direction.
The town of Parker from the top of the mountain.
Looking up at the towers.
And the main reason for our night ride was the full moon. It gave us some light to ride by, but also was beautiful from up on the mountain.
The lights in this picture are cars (or campers) on Shea Road.
We left "P" Mountain just as we had found it and made our way back down the mountain.
This was a super fun ride, and not something we would have a chance to do everyday. Thank you to our friend for leading us up there. We had a great time!
When we got back from our trip with the kids, Steve and I stayed in Denver for a short time to celebrate Christmas and his mom's birthday, check on the progress Steve's dad had made after his knee replacement (which was great by the way) and spend time with family and friends before heading back home.
Our youngest daughter headed back to college for her final semester, and had a couple of snafoos in the process. After a long discussion, she and her boyfriend of five years decided it would be best to go their separate directions. Although I know this will be a hard transition for both of them, I know that they will both find their way as they transition into life. In addition to this, her car decided to give up on her. We had a lot of discussions about the best option for her, and in the end, she decided that she would prefer to take on the challenge of a new car, rather than take the chance of being stranded again after we returned home (our mechanic said it could be one of 50 things and they all sounded quite expensive). She thought that with her being in Colorado a four-wheel drive car would make her feel a lot safer, and not knowing where she will live after she graduates, or what her commute will look like to her new big-girl job, we all decided that she was right. So off we went to look at cars. She ended up with a small new four-wheel drive (and unfortunately, the debt that goes with it), and we ended up trading in 375,000 miles of used cars. We're happy to have the old cars gone (they have been great cars!), and she is very excited to be owning her first ever new car.
The day after we returned from the trip, our oldest daughter and our son (in-law) headed out for their new home in Washington. Our son (in-law) reported to his new job with the Army on January 4th and our daughter headed back to Colorado Springs to finish the sale of their house, pick up their cat, and return to Washington to start their new lives there. Our daughter will continue to work at her current job for now, but we'll have to see what the future brings since it is a "Denver only" position.
When we got back to Arizona, my main focus was to get the blog caught up from the trip, catch up on work, and enjoy time with friends as time permitted, but in reality, the order of it just didn't work out quite like that.
Of course, work came first, but after that, everything got a little fuzzy. Friends kept calling asking us to join them for a meal, a drink or a game of golf. The side by side club kept planning rides that we just couldn't resist, and once again life got really busy.
Here are a few fun pictures from our trip to the Wing Mine and the Bat Cave with the side by side club.
We made it to the Wing Mine.
Back on the Road!
Lunch Time!
Fun pictures of Mitten rock.
Approaching the Bat Cave.
Hiking In...
Homeward Bound!
We will soon be moving into February with daytime temperatures in the low 80's and night time temperatures in the 50's. It is gorgeous, and we have a lot to do, so I'll say goodbye for now, and catch you again with our next adventure!
