March in Arizona

 (Remember once again, that you can click on any photo to see a larger image. Clicking on the X in the upper right corner will then return you to this posting.)

Greetings and salutations my fellow earthlings! Kathie and I are presently in Scottsdale, Arizona, though we will be returning to Iowa in just a few days. For many years, we have appreciated a gracious invitation from our good friends Richard and Rina to join them here during the month of March. Although the weather this year in the southwest has been unseasonably cool and often rainy, we have still frequently been able to enjoy the sun and opportunities to be outside. You may recall that prior to coming here we were at our cabin in Wisconsin where there was and continues to be a considerable amount of snow still on the ground. So the transition has been interesting. Meanwhile...

In early March, son Rob reached his 50th birthday. Though we were not able to be in attendance for the celebrations, I contributed by providing a slide show and a gift book with photo selections from his 50 years. Rob, his siblings, and their spouses posed for this very nice picture and shared a copy with me. I thought those of you who know them might appreciate seeing them all together on this occasion.

Of course, you will recall from my most recent prior posting, that we have been following grandson Anders as he has competed in various cross-country skiing events through the winter. He qualified this year in the U16 group (under 16—age 14 and 15 year olds) to be a team member for the Midwest Division and to participate in the Junior National Cross Country Skiing Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska. Competing with the top 70 individuals in this group from all over the nation proved to be a clear step up in terms of challenge, but Anders finished all three of the events in which he participated. Though he did not reach the podium, we were so proud of him nevertheless. Few athletes get to compete at national levels such as this, and there is always next year! Below are two photos from Fairbanks, one of his proud parents and another of Anders during the classic skiing event. Yes, it was mostly bitterly cold up there. Events were not held unless temperatures reached at least negative 4ºF. We were thrilled to be able to watch most of the competition via Internet streaming.

  

The house and neighborhood we are inhabiting while in Arizona are very comfortable. I don't have a photo of the house, but there are some strange vehicles around. A junked old 1950s Jaguar is actually in the back yard of our "home", and another strange vehicle is nearby in the neighborhood.

 

 Son Travis flew down from Colorado to join us for a few days. The three of us spent one morning at the Desert Botanical Garden which is a favorite spot to visit. We highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. Numerous trails through the garden allow one to see many varieties of cactus and other desert plants and flowers. Currently, the garden is featuring Rotraut art work, including the one called "Rainbow Bridge" seen below.

 

 There are many majestic saguaro cactus to see throughout this region, including in the desert and in city neighborhoods. This one, located in the botanical garden was most unusual and definitely caught my eye.

 

 

A few days ago, Kathie and I drove north about 30 miles into the Tonto National Forest. Our plans included a horseback ride and viewing wildflowers. The riding was a way for us to practice prior to a guest ranch vacation we will be taking in early August in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of western Montana. Neither of us has been on a horse much or at all in recent years, and at least for me, the question had to do with whether or not my increasingly old frame could handle it. The answer turns out to be, "Maybe!" Though we rode only for an hour, both of us had a little trouble regaining our "land legs" and felt a bit sore the next couple days. Still, it was enjoyable, and when the ranch vacation rolls around "we shall see." By the way, the names of our horses were Hoolihan and Remington.

 The hills in the vicinity of the horse stable were very green this year—the desert has received more rain this is usual. California Poppies were everywhere and made the scenes golden. We have never seen the desert so beautiful as this, although it is always fascinating.

We also came across wild horses grazing on the hillsides. Word had obviously spread throughout the valley that this was an especially good year for viewing flowers and seeing the horses. Roadsides along the highway were jammed with cars pulled off to the side with groups of individuals taking photographs and walking into the landscape for closer looks.

Unexpectedly, upon arrival I learned that a good friend was also visiting the area. Tom and I go back nearly 60 years (can hardly believe I just wrote that!). Some of you will remember that son Will, Tom and I completed a cross-country bicycle ride from Seattle to Atlantic City during the summer of 1989, just one of several great memories. Anyway, we arranged to meet for lunch one day and tried to catch up on at least some of what each of us has been doing in recent years.

March in Arizona means spring training baseball. We saw quite a few games while here. Travis, my baseball buddy, loves the game as much as I do, so we typically work in several games during his visit. Major league teams we saw included Cubs, Angels, Rangers, White Sox, Padres, Brewers, Reds, Rockies (Diner, the mascot, seen below), and Royals. We even worked in one extra game in the World Baseball Classic between Canada and England. Travis is a White Sox fan, so I had to take one of him with the giant Frank Thomas bobble-head doll at the spring training home of the Sox on the day we saw them play the Cubs.

 

 The last game that Richard, Rina, Kathie and I attended just a couple days ago was at Sloan Park, the spring training home of the Cubs. We all wore the required color.

 

 

 Along with everything else, we have been following the amazing story that is the 2022-23 University of Iowa women's basketball team. These Hawkeyes have made it to the Final Four behind the leadership of several amazing players. Some of the them, particularly Caitlin Clark, have been featured in national news articles. Click here for one especially good read in the Washington Post. We'll be traveling home tomorrow and will be there in time to watch Iowa take on number one South Carolina. A win would advance the team to the championship final, but it will be a challenging game. Still, they have met and surpassed many hurdles already this year, so one never knows until the games are played. Go Hawks!