April 2015 – Apache Junction, AZ




We started moving into our house on April 1st and we do not know how we had so much stuff in our 5th wheel - we hauled stuff for a couple of days!  We finally got everything moved that we wanted to move out of the 5th wheel and settled into the house.  It took a few days to get used to all the extra room but we love the house!  The first time we opened the back patio doors and told Camille and Cody to “go outside” they just stood there looking at us.  It took us a while to convince them it was ok to go outside without a leash on – it has been 7 years since they had a back yard.  They soon got the message and they love their little back yard, although we think Camille would prefer grass over the rocks.  After we got settled, we enjoyed hosting a few dinners with friends from the RV resort. 

Our friends from Colorado, Teri and Bill, were our first overnight guests.  They spent one night with us and we enjoyed a great visit with them.  We are looking forward to spending a few days with them when we are in Colorado in June.






Nancy’s sister, Carol, visited us for a week toward the end of April.  We enjoyed a nice visit with her and did a little sightseeing while she was here.  One day we drove into Phoenix and toured the Pueblo Grande Museum and Ruins.   The small museum was very nice and gave a great overview of how the Hohokam Indians lived here beside the Salt River.   Only a small portion of the ruins has been excavated and there were replicas of the dwellings the Hohokam lived in.












 

One of the dwellings had a very nice display of pottery and other artifacts that would be found in a typical Hohokam dwelling.















We left the museum and drove to downtown Phoenix to see Saint Mary’s Basilica.  This is a beautiful old church that seemed a little out of place across the street from the Phoenix Convention Center.


















After a nice lunch in a sandwich shop just down the street we headed to the Japanese Friendship Garden, named RO HO EN. 













Today is the opening day of the Camelia and Iris Ikebana Exhibit.  Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging.  A group of artists’ magnificent floral arrangements using camilia and iris were on display.  We walked around the gardens watching the ladies create these beautiful arrangements and then walked around a second time to view the finished arrangements  - just too beautiful for words! 















Each arrangement was beautiful in its own way - here are a few of the many arrangements we saw. 






























 












Nancy and Carol enjoying watching a turtle swimming in the pond.



What a beautiful way to end our day!  We always enjoy coming to these gardens as it is beautiful and peaceful.











A few days later we drove the Apache Trail to Tortilla Flats for a great lunch and some gelato.  After lunch we continued on the Trail to Roosevelt Lake.  Along the way we stopped at an overlook before heading down to Fish Creek.





































The Ocotillo were blooming – beautiful!



The clouds were looking ominous and it started raining before we reached Roosevelt Lake which kept it cool but we were glad it waited until we reached pavement (the Apache Trail is mostly a winding dirt road).  We had a great drive and enjoyed the day together.

We really enjoyed Carol’s visit and spending time with her.






After Carol left we started thinking about getting ready to leave for the summer.  We are allowed to park the 5th wheel in front of the house for 3 days which made moving back into the 5th wheel much easier.  It is hard to leave our house after only one month but it is starting to get hot (already a couple of days in the 100’s) and we are excited to start traveling again.  Our summer plans are to spend a few days with Nancy’s Uncle Lonnie and Aunt Roylene in Aztec, NM on our way Chama, NM.  We will spend a month in Chama while Rex volunteers on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.  After we leave Chama we will stop in Colorado for a few days where we will visit family and friends.  We then will travel to Vancouver Island, BC where we will spend July and August touring the island.  In September we are sailing out of Seattle on a 2-week cruise to Alaska.  After our cruise we will make our way back to Arizona but haven’t yet decided our route.









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