Our First AZ Geo Adventure

Once we got settled, the first appointments out of the way, and the fridge and cupboards stocked, Hubby began planning our first geo adventure.

We left at 6:30 AM for the two hour drive to the first geocache. Only one little area of slow traffic for an accident. Not bad for a Thursday morning drive in rush hour traffic and full moon.

After a stop for fuel, breakfast and our last flushing potty break until the end of the day, we were off to find shotgun shell geocaches in the desert.

not a lot of vegetation in places

Terry taking his turn collecting and replacing shotgun shells

very brown as there has been very little rain

but it is in the forecast for this week

saguaros growing on the sides of this hill,

very few saguaros on the low land

the dust kept in the valley by the mountain ridge

we need rain

a saguaro with many short arms

and its neighbor hugging itself after loosing its top

this was the best road once we got off the pavement

It was the roads that made it an adventure! There were clouds of blue smoke above the Edge every now and then as the driver was certain she would not make it through the sandy wash, or over the rocky road, or through the volcanic rock fields, or through the drop offs into and out of the washes...but she did! No one had to push or get out and walk, but they may have wanted to at times...

Jane taking her turn at collecting and replacing geocaches

more bushes and shrubs to scratch the Edge

near the end of the adventure

next time we take the jeep or a truck!

a four-wheel drive is much more appropriate

Hubby had it washed and cleaned the next day and reported there were no AZ stripes (bush and shrub scratches) on my new car! 

one of three power plants in the area

second of three power plants along the PAVED road

the last stop of the day for dinner

we had stopped here last spring after completing the 

shotgun shell geo series north of interstate

we completed the yellow lines

the green lines are the ones we have left and that isn't all of them!

198 geocaches found and signed and replaced

4 tired, relieved but emotionally drained geocachers

Our Winter Migration

Our plan was to leave SD for AZ on Sunday about noon, the day following Miss W's concert. several texts and two phone calls changed those plans very quickly. On Saturday afternoon OFD shared she had emergency eye surgery for a torn and detached retina. We quickly finished our packing and last minute must dos Saturday evening with plans to be in Minneapolis by 11 AM Sunday to meet with the surgeon and take OFD home from the surgical center.

heading east into the Sunday morning sunrise

We spent Sunday afternoon at the surgery center as she needed another surgical procedure before the surgeon would release her. We took her to her apartment, made certain she had some easy to fix food when she was ready, plenty of water, and knew the time table for her eye drops. We came back on Monday morning and took her to her follow-up appointment. The surgeon was pleased with how everything looked. He suggested she take 3 days from work, but said 5 might be better. She got everything arranged and once we knew that time and rest would be best, we left for AZ. 

Now that may sound rather cruel or tough love, but remember, she couldn't see and wasn't to tire the eye that was working. So leaving her alone and allowing her to sleep as much as she needed was the best medicine. That and the eye drops. We checked in with her several times a day. We had a Thursday 8:00 AM appointment in AZ that would have been VERY hard to reschedule, so we boogied south.

Tuesday's sunset west of Amarillo TX

headed to Albuquerque for the night

Wednesday morning in New Mexico

at least it wasn't the ice of last year's trip through NM

about to leave NM for...

AZ 

this section of NM/AZ border never gets old

Snowflake to Show Low to Globe

some deciduous trees

a little more colored leaves

getting closer to the Salt River Canyon

like a mini-Grand Canyon

so awesome for the passenger

not so much for the driver

We don't usually take that route, but I am glad we did as there was a major accident south of Payson that closed that highway for a number of hours. Once you are on that road, there is no option but to wait for it to open. We encountered very little traffic.

arrival time and temp on Wednesday

and our first AZ sunset on Thursday evening

Ahhh. It is good to be here.

P.S. OFD's eye is healing well. She went back to work after the week off, but was very happy when the weekend arrived and she did not have to drive home from work in the dark. Surgery on the other eye in a couple of weeks for the same issue, just not as severe, so laser surgery should do the trick.

Miss W's Singing Debut

November 2nd was a BIG day for our little family. It all started last spring when Miss W was asked/encouraged to audition for a choir concert. She was the only 3rd grader at her school to audition and be accepted. That alone was a BIG deal to us, but it got even bigger when we realized the choir concert was the South Dakota Elementary School Honors Choir involving 180 (+ a few) fourth through sixth graders from across the state. She had to memorize six songs prior to the Saturday concert. She had practice once a week after school with the other students from Sonia Sotomayor. She also watched a video to learn the dance moves and actions to one of the songs. On the day of the concert she and the other elementary students met their guest conductor and rehearsed as a group, blending their voices and singing in rounds. The concert for the audience was to begin at 3:00 PM. Hubby and I left the house at 1:30 (we heard there would be a big crowd) for the 10 minute drive only to learn we were about an hour late for the line standing for premium seating. No one was let into the concert hall until rehearsal was over and the students and conductor were ready to show-off their hard work; that happened about 3:20. I think there may have been 1000 people seated and standing for the concert. Miss Willa had seven of us there and I bet other kids had more audience members.

the guest conductor Dr. Ann Usher

Miss W in the middle showing off the peace sign

we were told to sit on the right side to see the sopranos

not so, as Miss W was front and right

the only way to see her was to walk in front of the stage 

prior to the concert

this was the section of students we saw during the concert

singing a cappella to the African folk song

just realized I do not have the titles of the songs

they sang

this is for the SD followers who might want to watch

these 180+ elementary students sing

there she is...

one of 180+

Oh yes, we were so proud of her!

Fall at The Falls

Before we left for the winter I spent some time at The Falls taking photos. There had been more rain so The Falls water was rushing and it had been cold enough for the leaves to be turning.

I had hoped to catch the two hot air balloons as they launched from The Falls, but until I got home and grabbed the camera and drove back, the balloons were not only launched, but miles away. It was the perfect late afternoon for a launch.

I was able to zoom in enough to get this one

above the sm in Ehresmann and below the 

high line wires next to the trees on the left.

But the sunlight on the tree leaves and glistening water is why I stopped at this park.

an old railroad bridge

a couple of geese taking advantage of the water

this sign explains why some areas of the park

look like the granite looks like it was cut

it was and the prisoners hauled it uphill to 

build the prison

A Holocaust Survivor

For more than a month our community has been promoting an evening with a holocaust survivor and step-sister of Anne Frank. I bought two tickets right away and was really looking forward to hearing Eva Schloss and her holocaust experiences. I knew it would be more meaningful since we visited Dachau and that experience was very moving and memorable.

The event was scheduled to begin at 7 PM. We left the house at 6. We did not have reserved seats, but I knew we would have to get there 'early' to have a choice. I knew the location for the event was on the college campus and I was aware it was in the sports venue, BUT, I was surprised to learn we'd be on bleachers. Only the $250 and $150 tickets got chairs with backs on the arena floor. That's okay as Hubby and I did find bleacher seats along the top so we'd have a back rest, a cold, brick back rest, but a back rest. At 6:15, there weren't many of those spots available.

2500 tickets were sold. The audience included middle school and high school students, many Augustana students and the rest of us, ages 22 to 100.

Eva told about growing up in Vienna, Austria and shared photos of her home and family.  She told how her family of four fled to Belgium and then Amsterdam during the Nazi's invasions of European countries. Eva talked about meeting Anne and other children and their families who had escaped their homes. She shared her memories of being confined, having to hide from the Nazis and moving from one safe location to another. She talked about the capture of her family and the train ride to Auschwitz and the initial experiences at camp.

As she talked with her thick German accent and soft voice, I could visualize and feel her shame of standing naked before the German soldiers, her fear as she and her mother were separated from her father and brother, her despair when sleeping with seven other women on a 6 foot piece of wood...I was with her because I had visited Dachau and I had seen what the Jews, gypsies, political dissidents, homosexuals, and others had to endure during interment. I felt what those million souls had endured.

Eva Schloss is 90 years old, living in London. Her husband of 63 years passed away 3 years ago. She started sharing her concentration camp experiences in 1980 after Otto Frank, her step-father passed away. Eva's mother survived her time at Auschwitz but her father and brother did not. Otto Frank survived his time at Auschwitz, but his family did not. In 1953 Otto and Eva's mother married and moved to Switzerland where he shared his daughter Anne's diary of experiences leading up to their capture. When Otto passed away, Eva continued Otto's mission, of sharing not only Anne Frank's story, but her story and stories of other holocaust survivors. She has written two books.

The down-side to the evening was the sound system. Because we were sitting on one of the side set of bleachers, the amplification was less than desirable. Hubby said he heard very little of Eva's talk, even with his hearing aids. I felt I heard maybe 1 of every 10 words. Eva talked for 90 minutes, in an interview format, but once she got started with her story, the words flowed and flowed, with humor and heartbreak. Never Forget, Never Again.