Showing posts with label arizona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arizona. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

APACHELAND

Whenever Jeff is here on weekends we try to stay busy because of his ADD, or ADHD, or his low tolerance for boredom, or his 7-8 Cokes a day. It depends on which source you ask... but I am straying from the real topic... we go places. Sometimes we have a specific destination in mind and sometimes we just drive. Jeff wanted to get a closer look at the Superstition Mountains to our east so we DROVE in their direction. On roads. And later on dirt roads. We had lunch before leaving home and wouldn't you know it, Nature decided to place a call! And then we happened upon this tiny blessing...

And I fell in love with Arizona all over again! Can you see the Superstition Mountains in the background? This dirt road led to another paved road, which led us smack into Apacheland Movie Ranch and Superstition Mountain Museum. If I had known we were only five minutes from civilization, I wouldn't have used Ol' Blue, but that's all yellow water under the bridge now.

Apacheland has been the setting for many a Western movie set, and for many t.v. shows too. Who out there remembers Gunsmoke? You have to be pretty old like me to remember that television series... but to the point... Gunsmoke was filmed in Apacheland too. (Now who has ADD?) So we toured the place.

We saw this rusty rock crushing thing


And these big rusty buckets


And these old machines in a cage

And then this is where the kids decided that Apacheland was a place that Grandpa Ellis would love!

There's a church...


...where Elvis lives


And a windmill


And all the rest of this stuff






And then we got bored, so we left.

The End.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

HIGHS AND LOWS

Unless you were actually here today, you will NOT believe how warm it was... 87 degrees!!! Can you even believe it? And I don't think that is a record high for this date. It has been really warm for about three days and even though it's harder to walk the dogs in the middle of the day, it makes the evenings and nights sooooo nice. It reminds me of summer in Utah, here, right now. So today I am loving the extra warm weather and trying to preserve the feeling of being warm enough so that I can make it through the rest of March when we get back in a couple of weeks. Another high point to the past few days has been my current wheels. My brother-in-law has been borrowing our big, black truck for hauling around atvs and whatnot, so I got "stuck" with my sis-in-laws RAV4. Oh how I love parking wherever I want, pulling in and out of traffic without cringing, or holding my breath every time I have to merge on to the Interstate. The RAV4 is no Prius, but it's still a pretty sweet car to be "stuck" with! Thanks Woodards!

Since we have a lot to do in the next 9 days before we leave AZ, we decided to tackle a few of those things today... get it over with. We have quickly become addicted to some of the things this lovely State has to offer that we just can't get at home. For example, we drove all the way out to Queen Creek Olive Mill again last week to get just one more yummy gelato, and stock up on the best olive oil you will ever taste. There are a few health food items that Sprouts carries here, and we've never seen in any of the local places in Utah so we needed to stock up there as well. On our way to one destination, we happened upon the grand opening of a Dunkin' Donuts and we decided we HAD to stop.
It didn't really even have to do with whether we can get Dunkin' Donuts in Utah or not, because maybe we can, I've never checked. It had more to do with the fact that we mostly eat the most bland and boring foods on the planet (at least they are bland compared to donuts) and donuts sounded so good today. Even better they have a drive-thru! We got a whole dozen and started eating them in the car right away. Brit took control of the box like he was the boss of us and all that; he said he would take a bite of each one and then pass them to us. Kaylee was turned around clawing at him and we were not settled back down until we each had a donut in hand. We pulled into the parking lot and that's when all hell broke loose! It took me several minutes to realize that we were just shoveling those poor donuts into our mouths like we might never eat again! I would say this is a new low for us, except that we did this same exact thing last week with KFC. Oh, and sorry about your car Jen. Haha! I'm kidding?

Monday, February 9, 2009

THE REAL OLIVE GARDEN


We had a fun weekend because Jeff was here and he brought a good idea with him. Since we are trying to take advantage of the many cool places to see in "The Valley" while we're here, there was bound to be another adventure this weekend. Jeff somehow found the info and directions to Queen Creek Olive Mill. How, and why would he suggest going to an olive mill? You'll have to ask him. But it WAS a good idea. Our trip and tour to the mill was both educational and DELICIOUS! We learned all about growing and harvesting olives, we learned that there really are no black olives and the process needed to get them black, and we now know what the difference between Extra Virgin olive oil, and all the others is. Did I already mention there are no black olives? And after our visit to Queen Creek Olive Mill, I doubt any of us will be eating black olives anymore. We did eat at the Mill though. The owner, "Perry," is Italian, for real, from Italy and he has a cafe right there at the Mill. We had bruscetta. Yes, Nate, I do know what bruscetta is:).
Classic

Peach


We also had salads and olives that were super-yum. But the best part of our lunch was the gelato! Rich, creamy, straight from Italy gelato.
Kaylee got vanilla bean


Brit got lemon and raspberry... he loves the sour!


Then we spent a crap-load of money on oils and olives.

Olive trees are pretty and smell so good!


Too many choices!


If the chance to tour an olive mill comes your way, I say, DO IT! We had a great time. We filled the rest of the weekend by dining at "Sakana" (our new fave Japanese joint here) with Mr. Woodard and Meggy on Friday night, Wii Fit, a long anticipated daddy/daughter brunch for Jeff and Kaylee, and a movie. We eat out a lot when Jeff is here because he is just not that into tofu and rice (imagine?!) and it's been fun to try new places. I think we found another new favorite this weekend in "Streets of New York" on Signal Booty and Baseline. Pizza, pasta, subs, and salads. We tried a little of each and everything we got was delish. For any locals reading... it's worth the drive all the way out here to East, East, way East Mesa. And since I am doling out advice and suggestions, I'll say this, "Coraline" is cute, but really, maybe not for younger kids. We're still kind of cocking our heads to the side and saying, "Ummmm... Hmmmmm...."

Thursday, January 29, 2009

MORE OF THE SAME

I can't put my thoughts together to make much sense so I thought I'd just post more pictures of our lovely new (temporary) home. People keep telling me if I think it's pretty now, wait a couple of months when everything is in full bloom. This makes me think I didn't plan to be here long enough. Should we stay a little longer? Kids?

Walking the dogs in the park


Sunburns here can be brutal... even the trees are peeling!


Desert Octopus


Forcing a smile


Weirdest tree ever


I dunno. I just liked the way this pic turned out


I get asked on occasion why I love the desert so much. Why do I prefer the heat and sparse landscape to a lush, green, dense forest? I don't know why for sure, some preferences come with us as part of the package, I guess. The desert tells me stories of survival... beating the odds to live and bloom another day. I suppose anyone who really knows me well would understand why it's so beautiful to me to see these thorny, angry, against all odds creatures produce such beautiful flowers.

Monday, January 26, 2009

I HATE MONDAYS

In case we needed another reason to hate Mondays... To maximize our time together on weekends when Jeff comes down, he has scheduled his flights home on Monday mornings. Jeff and I woke this morning around 5 a.m. An hour of the day that no one should ever have to be witness to! The worst part- we really didn't need to get up until 6 so we had to lay there thinking about the next 10 long days until he can visit us again. I was brave though. I figure being brave is the least I can do for everyone else since this whole arrangement is my fault. Driving to the airport has not been a big issue, traffic is not too bad... come to think of it... traffic is never really much of an issue here in AZ. But once we pull up to the drop-off area, Kaylee starts in with the tears. I'm not allowed to cry for the same reason I have to be brave. Hugs and kisses, and then he is gone. It sucks!

We had a great weekend though. We went to the Desert Botanical Gardens on Saturday where they are hosting the Chihuly glass exhibit for a few months. It was a nice afternoon, we learned what most of the prickly, spiny plants are that have taken a chunk out of us more than once. I took about 200 photos while we were there, but I won't post that many! Besides, only a few turned out really well.

One of the blown glass chandeliers


The Fam


More glass and cacti


A horrible wound!


Glass balls in a boat. Why? Not sure... it's art, ya know?


Purple flowers, in winter, in the desert.


The boys


Kaylee's growing interest in pots


It's called "The Blue Boat"


Beautiful but dangerous ground cover


Gnarly


We had a great weekend. Besides our trip to the Botanical Gardens, we had a yummy dinner and visit with the Woodards, we played games, watched movies, and enjoyed being together! Thanks Dad for your time, your snuggles, and for being here this weekend.

Monday, January 19, 2009

HIGH TEA


After all was said and done, we finally had our High Tea. And here are the pictures to prove it...


We made lemon tarts to have with our tea. YUM!


The cute little teapot we spent two days trying to obtain.


Raspberry Zinger tea looks so much yummier in cute little blue teacups.


Kaylee doesn't like it when I explode the flash from the camera in her face...tee hee.


And this is what happens...


...when you have...


...too much sugar!

I think she is a humming bird now!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

WILD GOOSE CHASE AND OTHER TALES OF WOE

I know even before starting this post that I will get little sympathy. And not because you all don't love me, of course. More because I have defected from the lands of snow and cold, and now only blog about lovely, sunny days, and endless blue skies. But this is a sad tale that must to told.

It started yesterday with an idea. Kaylee had the idea that she wanted to have some mommy/daughter time and that we should have a fancy tea party. She wanted to bake goodies, find some yummy herbal teas, and get a proper teapot and cups. We made a grocery list and set out to get all the things on the list. And then I made my first mistake. See... I'm still a newbie in this town and so I don't always end up where I've intended to go in the beginning. You can't blame me for forgettin' that not ALL Target stores are Super! So, I couldn't get my groceries... there was still that pizza cutter and slotted spoon we've been living without. My remedy for most problems is just to "shop it off." You would think that Target (or even Super Target) would carry tea sets, I thought so. They do not.

Still, we needed those groceries and I was taking no chances this time! We headed to Sprouts, the local whole foods store, to make sure we could get our herbal teas (and to hopefully get a tea set without making another stop). Now this is where things start to get a little fuzzy for me. Somehow, without really knowing what happened, it was nearly dark and dinner time, we had just picked Brit up from they gym, and we were coming home from our day of shopping with no tea set, a yoga DVD and mat, and refills for our doggie poop bag dispenser. Obviously there'd been a stop at Petco at some point. Does this ever happen to anyone else? A whole day wasted in the car with nothing but poopie bags and slotted spoons to show for it? I didn't really even have anything to make for dinner!

Day two dawned this morning and I felt sure that I was going to finish what I had started. Bed Bath and Beyond would be the perfect place to find a huge selection of tea sets. I found their web site, used their store locater, and found a store really close to where we're staying. Simple, efficient, effective! We drove, Kaylee and I, the short distance to our nearest location, and oooooo!!! We uncovered a treasure that had been hidden right out our back door all this time! I admit I got a little distracted by the fact that we have a whole, new shopping complex just a couple of blocks from our rv park. With Kohl's, and Ross, and Jamba Juice and, and... Gateway Movies 12!!! I almost lost sight of the mission I was so excited, but no, I had to focus! A few deep breaths and we were in the parking lot of BB&B. K, now I don't usually diss people, but if you are gonna name your store Bed, Bath, AND Beyond, you really ought ta have the Beyond stuff! We walked out without a tea set (yet somehow we still were not leaving empty handed :) and I was pretty much hating tea, and parties, and even sugar cubes at that point. But the look on my little girl's face made me think I needed to try just a little bit harder. I only had one other friend to turn to... the Internet. It was Kaylee, actually, who found Abbey Garden Teahouse and Gifts, located way out in Chandler, miles and miles from where we are living in East Mesa. But it didn't matter how far because it was an actual Teahouse where actual teas and tea sets were sold. So we loaded up just one more time into the big, loud, clumsy, black truck to finally score our goal. And we drove the 1/2 hour to Abbey Garden Teahouse and Gifts. And we got there at 5:15 p.m., a full 45 minutes before they close. But they were closed. Closed for good it turns out... they had recently gone out of business. And then the tears started. Because we had been through so much already, and all we wanted was to have our damn tea party, and that didn't seem to much to ask.

And now we are back in the truck, and Kaylee is sniffling, and I am fuming, and Brit is quiet as a mouse because he knows better than to open his mouth when two girls are disappointed, and we're making the 1/2 hour drive back home. And I'm not saying that I'm putting any one's life in danger, but I am saying that there were a few people giving me a wide berth in which to maneuver because they were probably thinking it was better to give that crazy Utah girl with smoke coming out of her ears, in the big, black truck, and skull with glowing red eyes on the back, some space in which to work these things out. This is about the time that it hit me... I could not give up now! I had one more field to flush out on this wild goose chase. We were going to Pier 1!

My story has a happy ending. We just finished some yummy peppermint tea. Somehow it tasted so much better to drink it from a proper teapot and cups :) Funny coincidence: Jeff was out on a real wild goose chase today in Idaho. Wonder if his was half as frustrating as ours?

Thursday, January 8, 2009

IS IT TOO EARLY TO DECIDE?

Do you think that a week is enough time to know you are in love? We have been in our sunny, winter home for a full week now and here are some of the things we love about this place...


Weekly deep cleaning of our trailer, top to bottom, only takes 30 minutes!


Daily walks in the park... in shorts!


Leaves on trees!


Flowers in winter.


There's time for chillin'.


We could get used to this!