December 15, 2009 - Apache Tears

Today we drove to Superior, AZ and then hiked to see the Apache Tears Stones. Superior, Arizona is located in the foothills of Apache Leap Mountain, and the town`s special attraction is Apache Tears Good Luck Stones. This semi-precious gemstone is a Merikanite Obsidian, nature's glass in rounded shapes from pea size to softball size. Found only near Superior, Arizona, its smoky brown hue is semi-transparent when polished and held up to light. We chisled these stones out of the rock and when they are polished they reveal a beautiful black shiny stone and when held up to the light they become transparent.

December 11, 2009 - Keeping Busy...

We are enjoying our stay at Apache Junction keeping busy at the RV Resort we are staying at. Monday and Wednesday are golf days, Tuesday and Friday are hiking days, weekday mornings are water exercises in the the pool. You can sign up for weekly bus tours that visit the sites around the area. There is plenty of activities to keep you busy all the time; there is weekly cermaics, bingo, pool table tournaments, card game tournaments, wii tournaments, floor and water exercises, Friday nite dances, golf and baseball leagues, Monday potluck dinners. There is too many to participate in. The people here are very friendly, and we are glad to be meeting alot of people and hearing about their RVing travels and experiences.

November 27, 2009 - Abandoned Copper Mine

Today we had a beautiful hike to an abandoned copper mine in the mountains. There is quite a few copper excavation sites in this region.

We tried counting the arms on this saguaro, and it was over 50. Amazing!

November 22, 2009 - Cliff Dwellings

Today we drove through the Tonto National Forest, a breathtaking trip, where we drove past 3 lakes and mountainous roads; most of the trip was on a unpaved single lane windy road that had spectacular views and scenery. We arrived at the Tonto National Monument,``cliff dwellings`` which overlook the Theodore Roosevelt Lake and the Tonto Basin. The cliff dwellings are around 700 years old, and were very very cool to experience.

November 17, 2009 - Jeeping in the desert and mountains

Today, we joined a group of jeepers, (7 jeeps) for a day of jeeping through the Goldmine Mountains in the Tonto Foreset and Sonoran desert in the area around Apache Junction, AZ. We enjoyed the rocky ride and the desert scenery, we even spotted a tranchela along the way.

St. Anthony`s Monastery

Today, we did a day trip Florence, AZ to see St. Anthony`s Greek Orthodox Monastery. In the middle of the desert we discovered a breathtaking oasis. In the summer of 1995, six monks arrived to establish St. Anthony`s Monastery. Upon their arrival, the fathers began the necessary construction: building first the main church, living quarters for monks, a dinning hall and guest facilities. As the monastery expanded more chapels were built, avegetable garden, a vineyard, citrus orchards, and an olive grove soon followed. An elaborate system of gardens, pathways, gazebos and fountains portray the monastery its extensive grounds an oasis in the desert. The monastery follows the rule of monastic life in which over 40 monks and novices hold all things in common and follow a daily schedule of prayer and work under obedience to their sprirtual father. The monk`s daily program begins an hour or two before midnight with personal prayer time and spritual reading, followed by the cycle of morning prayers and the Divine Liturgy. After breakfast and rest period the monks begin their work day, attending to prayer and their tasks until evening. Tasks include grounds keeping, tending to the various gardens, orchards and vineyard, construction, woodworking, publishing and food preparation.
All guests are to be appropriately dressed: men are required to wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts and women long skirts, long sleeved blouses, and a head scarf.
Check out the pictures by clicking on the top Photo Album Link http:/public.fotki.com/777-777 located at the top centre.

The start of our trip...

We are now officially retired and our starting our first step in our journey through North America. Hmmm, Snowbirds; migratory people who travel to warmer climates in the winter months. We have dreamed of this for many years, and so it begins.
On October 31, 2009 we left Calgary, Alberta for warmer climates. On our third day of travelling we arrived in Laughlin, NV with the tempratures in the high 80s, on came the shorts. Lauglin, NV is a very hot climate with a very rocky terrain, and we spent a couple days at this destination. We then left to go to North Central Arizona; Sedona, Cottonwood, Verde Valley. Four of the state`s six national forest are partially or completely in this region: Coconino, Prescott, Tonto and Apache-Sitgreaves. Between them they`ve got a variety of scenery and activities: fishing, boating, hiking, jeeping, rock climbing, horse back riding, scenic drives, there is pretty much every outdoor activity imaginable here. Sedona`s red mountain majesties are freakishly beautiful rock towers shooting sky, at least 76 feature flims have been shot here and there are more artists per capita here than anywhere else in the country. South and west of Sedona, the Verde and Chino Valleys produces some of the most amazing wines in the western United States. A particular high-scorer was Alcantara`s 2005 Chardonnay.
Out of Clarkdale, we visted a former copper mining town called Jerome, impossibly suspended high up on the side of Cleopartra Hill. Jerome had no option but to spread up, bottom to top the town stretches 1,500 vertical feet, to appreciate Jerome`s percarious perch, on a clear days you can see more than 50 miles past Sedona and to the San Francisco Peaks. We visted Montezuma Castle, a Natioanl Monument created by the Sinagua Indian nearly a millennium ago. Its 20-rooms soar five stories high uo into the cliffs overlooking Verde Valley.

We then travelled to Central Arizona, the Valley of the Sun (Greater Phoenix) which encompasses 23 continous cities, a spawling hub in the Sonoran Desert, it`s spokes jutting out in every direction, connecting towns and cities. At last in the east valley, we settled us and our RV in Apache Junction, nestled beside the breathtaking Superstition Mountains which rise some 2,000 feet into the sky. Legend has it that hidden in these parts is a rich vein of gold, for more than 150 years prospectors have hiked up and down the mountains in search of Lost Dutchman`s Mine. Nearby in the Superstition Mountains are Canyon, Apache, and Roosevelt Lakes. The Sonoran Desert is home to thousands of species of plants and animals offering the most diverse desert habitat in the world, most likely due to the fact it gets more rainfall than any other desert, with that said, the Sonoran Desert also gets more than 330 days of sunshine a year. The towering Saguaro with its human-like arms reaches up to 50 feet tall , and we have been told that it can take up to 80 years for this cactus to start producing it`s arms. The temperature has been in the high 80s to the mid 90`s and the night time temperature is in the mid 50`s.