Prescott, AZ --- Dec, 2008                                               RAWH Home           Prior Month

We are not yet snowbirds.  At 5000 feet, Prescott is high country and winter is the off season.  Folks come here in the summer to escape the heat.  Right now, it's not exactly frosty.  It freezes in the morning and heats up to 55 or 60 by afternoon.  Since we are fair weather outdoorsman, we are sticking to walking and sight-seeing.  Below are photos of Sedona, the Peacock room of Prescott's Hassayampa Inn, and two street shots of the cliffside artist town of Jerome.

    

    

Phoenix and Tucson --- Dec 2008

Our home back in the 80's --- the Sonoron desert.  We are not here five minutes and it's TOO HOT.  If you don't believe me, ask Ritzy.  I had to roll out the awning to keep some heat off the side of the bus. 

It's been over a week now.  We are finally getting used to the 73 to 77 degree weather.  Shirtsleeves and shorts in December.  Go figure.  We have friends and family in both towns --- sunshine, beer, and bullshit.

    

Tucson, AZ  --- 3rd week of Dec 2008

Pima Canyon --- Pristine wilderness in Tucson's back door.  The trailhead is about 10 minutes from where we are staying.  That stuff up in the sky is clouds --- very rare for Tucson.  Most days, it's crystal clear.  The Pima Canyon trail was a real bugger -- one of the rockiest trails we've ever hiked.  We slowly picked our way along having to watch every step for fear of twisting an ankle.  The views were worth it:

    

    

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The cold snap that hit the rest of the west arrived in Tucson.  Folks here are wearing flannel shirts, knit hats, down jackets, etc. and they swear it's absolutely frigid.  Keep in mind that how the air temperature feels is a relative thing.  Deb and I are in polo shirts.  Air temp: 63 degrees F.

Tucson is expected to be our longest pit stop.  This week, I got my chores done; I replaced the engine air filter, the water filter under the sink, the weather-strip around the slide-out, the sewer hose and connector, replaced the black tank valve and had dental and doctor checkups.  Now we are ready to goof off some more then hit the road after the holidays.

We have to give two thumbs way up to the City of Tucson.  Since we moved out 20 years ago, the City has installed bike paths and bike lanes all around town.  Nice work!!

    

Tucson, AZ  --- 2nd week of Dec 2008

Folks in Seattle tell me it's snowing right now.  This is how I spent the day:

    

On stage 2, I had my best stage ever so far, 5th out of 23, about  3/4 of a second behind the winning time.  A visitor made a video recording.  If I can get a copy, I'll put it up on the blog.  No snow, but lots of wind.  It was blowing 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph.  Today, ALL the targets were moving targets.

There are two USPSA matches this month, two steel plate challenges, and a possible IDPA Classifier.  This could seriously cut into my golf time. 

Tucson, AZ / Nogales, Sonora  --- Last week of Dec 2008

After three weeks in Tucson, we are on the road to Silver City, New Mexico.  I didn't want to inflict undue torture and suffering on the snow bound folks last week so I held off posting James Whistler's "Composition in Blue and Green Number144" also called "View from the Hot Tub".  Check out the long range, paparazzi, telephoto shot of two unnamed Hollywood bikini babes.  Enjoy.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

                                                       

We have been looking forward to going to Nogales, Sonora Mexico to see a dear friend, and visit some old stomping grounds, and sample some authentic Mexican fare.  The report we got was "don't go".  The State Department has issued a travel alert.  Competing drug lords are shooting each other with innocent bystanders  getting caught in the cross fire.  Most tourists stay away.  We went.  We had a wonderful visit and some truly tasty tamales, mole, and pozole. 

I was doing OK until we came across the soldiers in the camouflaged HumVee with the machine gun turret on top.  It was seriously creepy.  I don't blame folks for being a bit put off by the conditions.  Fortunately, we  had an uneventful visit, a pleasant day, and a good time.

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