Ho Ho Ho

Dec 25/17   Weather sunny 74, low 42.  Christmas in Arizona.... is pretty good. 
Winter number 7 in the motor home and it is our first time staying through Christmas.  So we hung our tree....

oh christmas tree

and wrapped our presents

a new jigsaw puzzle?

and put a turkey breast and stuffing in the crockpot!  Even made fresh cranberry sauce.  Smells like Christmas dinner :)
Honestly we had such a wonderful day, peaceful and quiet.  
Going home last weekend and celebrating with family made it feel complete. 
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. 

snow on the christmas card is just enough

 

Cactus on the Move

Dec 22/17 Weather in Phoenix is cool for the next two days, high of 58 and low of 37.   Feels wonderful in the coach or in a jacket in the sun.  So we are catching up on tidbits, like flipping through the pictures on our cell phone and we found two that were forgotten.   When we were in Catalina State Park we saw a Cactus on the move.  Literally.  Now one would have to ponder how you would go about moving a Saguaro Cactus that is 15 to 20 feet long and has many arms.  An old mattress would be handy to keep it away from you! Looks like they used a ladder to keep the longest arm supported, pretty smart actually.  Then there are lots of strappings to keep it in place and as much foam padding as needed.  Definitely takes a few hands to do this transplanting.  A Saguaro this size could be a hundred years old and about 2000 lbs. 

takes of ingenuity to get such a big cactus moved

they are very proud of their work

Hurry Up and Wait ~ otherwise known as Airline Travel

Dec 14 to 18/17  Weather in Arizona is lovely, 70's and 40's.

flying into Canada

Home in Ontario is SNOWY and COLD!  Apparently Winter came just in time for me to fly home for the weekend.  Oh boy!  Billy was my Uber driver and dropped me off at Phoenix Skyharbor Airport Thursday and picked me up on Monday.  It seemed sensible to have just one of us fly back this year.    So funny, I was the only one with an airport shuttle that was a motorcycle!  But at least this way I could not overpack and I had my leather jacket and gloves on to take with me.

My airport shuttle

My Westjet flight stopped in Toronto and then on to London but it was late by about 1 hour.  The rental car desk was closing at midnight and when we got in about 11:45..... I was thinking please don't leave before I get my car.  Little did I know that my dearest friend was waiting for me and had already told the car rental guy to get the car cleaned off from snow and warmed up for us!  Ha, ha.  Paula is the best, giving me a place to stay coming and going.  The weekend days were spent down in Chatham visiting with my family.  We had the best time, the best Christmas.  Thanks to my sons we had so much fun seeing our annual christmas  Star Wars release.   Lots of hugs and laughs.  After I got back to Phoenix the very next day the snow melted, haha - of course it did.  I'm pretty sure my shoes and socks were wet the entire 3 days slopping around in the snow.   But it was worth a pair of shoes  :)

Not used to driving in the white stuff

Motor Oil to Olive Oil

Dec 10/17  Weather 76 sunny, night 45.  

traditional Olive Tree plantation

Agriculture and Farming are plentiful just south of metro-Phoenix.  You will find cotton, cattle, pork and Arizona's only working olive farm and mill.   Oddly the gentleman who owns and operates the farm and business is from the Detroit area.  We found that bizarre, how did he end up here in an Olive Farm business?  Well apparently like us a warm getaway from the chilly Detroit weather was a turning point for their future.  Within a year(1997) they moved from Detroit and planted 1,000 olive trees on 100 acres in the outskirts of the town of Queen Creek Today Queen Creek Olive Farm and Mill have over 7,000 trees/16 varieties.  Mr. Perry went to study the trade in Italy and acquired his Masterblender & Olive Oil Sommelier accreditation.  

shopping for oils, olives, vinegars

Beyond the olive tree groves and the Extra Virgin Oil Processing you will get to enjoy a delicious eatery, which uses many of their products and a coffee roaster on site - Superstition Coffee.  Shopping will include their oils, vinegars, wines, and an array of interesting foodie stuff.

Superstition Roasters ~Coffee Beans

A small tour (tasting included) is available where you will learn why you should always buy "Extra Virgin".  It contains the most nutrients and the highest quality.   Other tips: 1) the label should display the harvest and bottle date - which you want to keep for no more than 18 months maximum; 2)a dark bottle is necessary to keep out light which promotes oxidation.  Never buy "light olive oil"; it appears to make you feel it would be good for you when in fact it is made from the leftovers of the process which are called refined oils and then has perhaps 5% Virgin added back into it.  In other words it is garbage......   Good to know.
The food was wonderful and the fresh roasted coffee!!!  Oh boy this was a great place to visit.  We left full and happy and healthy with a supply of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  And the wine.... so funny, no we did not buy the Happy Bitch.  If it had said "Lucky Bitch"; that's me.  Haha.

Queen Creek Olive Mill Award winner

hilarious...... Happy Bitch Wine

Working the left and right brain

Coffee and our Morning Puzzle

It is so nice out each morning we take our pot of coffee outside and last week we started working on a puzzle that we can leave outside on our table.  When we walk away we cover it and start up at another time.   It is so addictive and fun.  
 

3 days later 

Did you know there is a warning on a puzzle box that it is good for your Brain?  The Brain produces a chemical known as dopamine that is chiefly responsible for learning and memory. The production of this chemical increases in the brain at the time when it is engaged in solving the jigsaw puzzle.
Jigsaw puzzles also promote the relationship between the left and right brain. The logical left brain looks at individual parts. It is sequential, rational, analytical and objective. The left brain is stimulated by problem solving. The creative right brain sees the big picture. It thrives on randomness, is intuitive and subjective, and even likes the unfamiliar. Jigsaw puzzles satiate the needs of both the left and right brain.

Beeline to Rim Country

Dec 2/17 Weather sunny, high of 74 and only 67 up in Payson, low of 48.  Our neighbours are riders and knocked on our door to go for a ride.....but we missed out.  We have to admit we were still in bed the first time they knocked  ~it was 7:30 a.m. and Billy and Rosey don't move till about 9 a.m. !!!  So the next time we asked what time are you leaving and we set our alarm clock to go for a ride.  We left at 9 a.m.  and had lunch in Payson then looped back past Lake Roosevelt and popped out at Globe and then back to Gold Canyon.  About a 200 mile ride, back at 3 pm.    Nice riding day.

Beeline Hwy headed to Payson from Phoenix

The destination was through the Mazatzal Wilderness with over 250,000 acres of the Tonto and Coconino National Forests.  Hwy 87 is called Beeline Hwy and the name fits as the population of Phoenix can make a quick escape up to Payson to escape the heat.  The entire 90 miles is worth the ride, the views are quite beautiful.  Notice the haze in our pictures, there were several controlled burns going on for a few days in the Forest and it created a softness to the shots. 

smoke laying in the valleys near Payson

Canyon Lake

Nov 28/17  Weather sunny 85, low 51.  Today might be the 100th day here in the Phoenix area with no measurable rainfall.  Can you imagine?  

views are great, road needs reconstruction

We meandered out along the historic Apache Trail.  The road was once an old stagecoach trail that ran through Superstition Mountains.  The quality of the road has really deteriorated; it is a washboard.   If travelling on a motorcycle we suggest going during the week when there is little traffic so you can take it slow and drive around some of the ruts when possible.

a view like a painting

The end of the pavement is at Tortilla Flats and beyond that the road turns to dirt and very narrow and steep cliff drops and little in the way of safety barriers.  No worries, we turned around at the end of the pavement.  We have heard some horror stories of bikers wiping out.  Most of the road has a maximum speed limit of 15 mph. Little known tidbit: test drivers from General Motors Proving Grounds used to use the Apache Trail to test tires and vehicle maneuverability. 

how the Apache Trail became a road

22 miles of dirt, hairpin turns, switchbacks........time to turn around

We backtracked to Canyon Lake where we sat on the marina restaurant patio and had a bit of refreshments.  We are good at eating out; have you noticed?  Haha.   This is one of the reservoirs of water created when damming the Salt River. 

from the restaurant patio view of Canyon Lake

Old Willy's

Nov 25/17  After a great few hours of hiking around the Arboretum we jumped on the Harley and road a few miles farther down the road to Superior.  There is a cool bar and restaurant in the old downtown section called Porter's Cafe.

Porters Cafe before the $'s came down

We understand it has changed ownership and all the dollar bills have been taken down off the walls and the new owners donated them to local town charities.  Sounds like a great thing to do, we just hope the burgers are still as good !!!!     (Yes we can say our burger was great; although we were starving and would have ate anything!!!)    Next door is an antique store and look what he uses as his advertising sign - an old Willy's (1940's circa) the original Jeep.  Willy's Overland manufactured the Jeep for World War II.  Interestingly the plant was in Toledo and the Chyrsler Jeep plant is still in Toledo, Ohio.

Old Willy's

our ride parked beside the Willy's

And ours is sitting at home..... saying "Hey what about Me?"  We still really like our motorcycle riding; but in the future we will get our Jeep ready to tow.  Would be great for off roading in Arizona that's for sure.

maybe one day we will tow our Jeep