Monday, November 22, 2014

It is difficult to believe we have already been in Mesa, AZ, for a couple of weeks.  Once in a while, I catch myself thinking about how little I have accomplished since we arrived, but then I remember retirement has no rules and sometimes it is good to relax with no particular plans or goals.

Joani discovered there was going to be a large art show/craft fair in Old Town Scottsdale, AZ.  They allowed (I think I can say they even encouraged) pets in the park which made Sam's day.

We didn't see any signs for the event and had to double check that we had the right day.  Old Town Scottsdale was such an interesting place, we found a parking spot and just walked around.  Eventually, we found the show in a really nice park/common area with a lot of wide meandering paved pathways.  The artist's booths probably covered several acres and everywhere there were pools and fountains and artwork and greenery.  It all made you forget you were in the desert.

You can probably imagine the sculpture below was popular for pictures.  I had to wait to get this clear shot, but maybe I should have had people in the picture for scale.  I would estimate this piece was 10 feet high.

There were many talented artists with a lot of beautiful and unique art, but in the end, all we took home was a few used hardback books Joani will use for some of her projects.  Old Town Scottsdale certainly had a lot of charm making it a very pleasant outing!

Monday, November 17, 2014

The area has yet to be explored as we take care of some of the more boring aspects of full-timing life.  Re-stocking the pantry and fridge were high on the priority list since we have so many shopping options here in Mesa.  I can assure you, it was not long before we made our way to IKEA for some Swedish meatballs.  Sharing the parking lot with IKEA was a Total Wine store where I found lots of good looking choices.  Obviously, we hit every WalMart in the area (I think there were four within a five-mile radius).

Our daughter, Kate, has taken up knitting.  Of course, when she dives into something she takes it to a new level creatively.  She knitted a snowman for us, and to keep it from getting too cold she also knitted a scarf, cap and mittens for him.  He stands about 8 inches tall and 8 inches from mitten to mitten and looks so "adorable" in the front window of the coach - thank you, Kate.

Cozy McMittens welcomes all that enter!

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

We signed up for the Veteran's Day dinner.  I think everyone was hungry as the crowd gathered around the clubhouse.

Before entering the dining hall we paid our respects during the flag lowering ceremony.  

We were definitely in the minority as non-veterans.  After a dinner of Bar-B-Que pork, cole slaw, baked beans, lemonade and cake, the park handed out service awards for each vet.  While there was only one retired Coast Guard vet it would be difficult to say which branch of service had the most vets - there were a lot of retired Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.  Of course, there were quite a few Canadian vets present as well including, Larry and Bev across from us and Jack next to us at our table.

Our evening's entertainment was provided by Curtis Knox, a veteran with quite a vocal range.  He wore a different hat for each song that was somewhat typical of the artist he was emulating.  They ran the gamut from a white cowboy hat (Charlie Pride) to a big black hat (Johnny Cash) to a sombrero.  He thrilled the crowd with a lot of old favorites and even had a number of folks up dancing.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

For the entire week that we were in Cortez, the overnight low temperatures were in the 20's.  That meant every night bringing the water hoses in and placing a 60 watt light in the water bay to make sure nothing would freeze.  Sure, I could get a heavy duty hose with an integral heater strip, but the real question is why stay someplace cold when our coach has wheels?  We had planned on heading west to Page, AZ, but with so many sights closing this late in the year and a less than promising weather forecast we changed our plans.  Our park in Mesa, AZ could accommodate us early and the campground in Page understood the situation and let us cancel our reservation.

Our route took us straight south into New Mexico, west to Flagstaff and finally south into Phoenix.  At 487.6 miles (71,285.5 total), I am pretty sure it was the longest single day drive in our full-timing experience, but the warm sunshine at our new site made it worthwhile.

Spirit Mesa RV Resort, located on Main Street, Mesa, AZ had quite a deal.  October 1st through January 1st for just $695 ($8 a day!!!).  We will only be staying the last 7 weeks of the period, but they still let us come in for the same $695.  Fellow residents assure us it's the best park in the area.  At 1800 sites, it is the largest park we have stayed in so far.  We should have plenty of time to explore the park's amenities (3 pools and 3 hot tubs) and surrounding area (20 minutes to Phoenix) before we leave.

That's a bold choice - located on Main St., Mesa.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Since we ran out of daylight yesterday a return trip to Mesa Verde National Park was the plan for today.  The park entrance is at 7,000 feet elevation and most of the park's sites are at 7,000 feet elevation. In between, you have to climb over an 8,600 ridge with some nice switchbacks and overlook pull-outs.  Like most parks, it's a good idea to just take it slow and take in all of the sights.  

I have no idea what the geologic formation below is called, but it looked like a huge rock terrace wall.  The fractured rock seemed to be stacked nearly vertically and looked to be back-filled with dirt and rubble. 

Yesterday, the sun was setting as we got to Far View House and this needed to be explored.  There were six sites in close proximity, all with the same kind of architecture.  Each had circular kivas surrounded by small square or rectangular rooms.  The kivas were once thought to be mainly ceremonial, but they now suspect they were really equivalent to today's living room, dining room, kitchen combination.  Since they were the only room with a fire, I bet they slept in the kiva whenever it was cold as well. 

Pipe Shrine House is in the foreground.  Far View House is above in the distance.

Far View House, excavated in 1916, had more than 50 rooms and dated to 1000 A.D.

Pipe Shrine House was excavated 6 years after Far View House and contained about 20 rooms.

Pipe Shrine House was named for the decorated smoking pipes found in the kiva during excavation.

Unlike the other ruins, Coyote Village allowed closer inspection.

Coyote Village wasn't excavated until 1968 and contains about 30 ground floor rooms.

40 to 50 people probably occupied Coyote Village in 1000 A.D.

Far View Tower had 16 small, one-story rooms, 3 kivas, and a round tower.  From the amount of rubble around the tower, they believe the tower once stood as high as the surrounding trees.

We drove the Mesa Top Loop which had more stops than we could possibly see with the time we had left before sunset (bad planning on my part), so some sites did not get a lot of scrutiny.

Oak Tree House in Fewkes Canyon from the Sun Point View.

Pithouses preceded the cliff dwellings, built around 550 A.D.

Mesa Top Loop takes you to an overlook where you can see Square Tower House below (undergoing preservation work).  It has eight kivas and at least 60 rooms.

I set up to capture Cliff Palace at sunset from across the canyon. This vantage point allowed us to see a little deeper into the structure and we were able to see some buildings not visible from the overlook yesterday.  The distance and the lighting, however, left me a little disappointed with today's pictures.

Cliff Palace could be seen from the overlook at Sun Temple on the Mesa Top Loop.

The ruins were in ruins by the 1800s. The National Park Service restored it to its current height and stature.

It was only 5:30, but the sun was leaving the canyon and taking its warmth with it.

The moon had risen above the mesa.

The sun was sinking fast...

...leaving a warm glow.

We rushed to the rise where we watched the moon peak behind the little tree the day before.  It was pretty dark, but David was able to spot some deer crossing over the ridge. 

The moon graced us with its presence...

...and quickly dominated the camera's sensors.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Even though we actually did a quick tour of the Visitor's Center the day we arrived in Cortez, we did not really go into Mesa Verde National Park.

Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center houses a research and storage facility for the park's museum and a collection of more than three million objects.

Today we went into the park to see some of the ancient pueblos. Unfortunately, Spruce House was the only cliff dwelling open this late in the year.  The tour was free and convenient (we took the 3:00 tour), so it was all good!  We gathered with everyone at the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum.  The museum had quite a collection of artifacts and very informative displays and video presentations that kept us busy while we waited for the tour to begin.

The paved trail to Spruce House descended rapidly into the canyon outside of the museum.  Ranger Lyndsey George told us it was an easy 1/4 mile there and a long 2 miles back (uphill was more work, but not really that bad since it was so short).  We were told there were more than 600 cliff dwellings within the boundaries of the park and the population was estimated to be more than 20,000 at its peak around 1,250 AD.

During the summer, ranger-led tours cost $4-$20 (to help limit numbers) for all cliff dwelling except Spruce House.

Most of the tours close after Labor Day.  Spruce House is the only tour to remain open.

Ranger Lyndsey told us the rooms go back into the overhang another 90 feet!

We learned many of the rooms were used for storage of grains and seeds.  The people stored as much as four years worth of food to keep them through difficult growing seasons.  They must have been pretty good at sealing the rooms to protect their stores from pests.

The openings are all doors that had slab coverings that fit in them (no windows).  Tiny squares held wood beams to support floors/ceilings (since rotted away).

Ranger Lyndsey considered this a very small tour group and told us, in the summer, the tours can include 50 people or more.

Metates and manos were used to grind seeds.  Stone fragments in the meal were detrimental to the Puebloan's tooth enamel (so worn away that they developed dental pain early on.)

Doorways are small, but the average male was only about 5'4".

Cliff Palace was closed for the season but could be seen from above from the Cliff Palace overlook.

Cliff Palace is Mesa Verde's largest cliff dwelling.

In the summer, they offer a Twilight Tour of Cliff Palace ($12) with rooms lit up and a Photography Tour ($20) that only allows 10 people.  That's a good reason to return before Labor Day next time.

They believe that Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas (functioned as family-rooms) housing 100-120 people.

Most of the park drives closed at sunset, so we needed to head out to avoid being locked in.  The sunset colors were impossible to ignore. A nearly full moon was on the rise, so we made a lot of stops on the way for some artsy shots.

An attempted sunset shot on the go clearly went awry, but still tickled my fancy.