A New Season Begins

Prayer flag totem at entry

We're nearing the end of a fabulous summer in Seattle, and beginning to think about Arizona. It's fun to think about returning to our little house there and enjoying another great 3 months or so of hiking, biking, swimming, socializing and taking advantage of the great facilities, particularly the wood shop and the clay studio. We have now outfitted the house with wifi and basic cable, so we actually have more home entertainment possibilities than we do in Seattle.

The house is available for rent from February 18 until the middle of April. Rates and availability are noted at right.

Back in Seattle

This was my big accomplishment in the time we spent in Arizona this fall. I finished it just before we left and didn't have time to grout it. We bought the green tiles; I made almost all the others in the clay studio. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Green Valley this time. Jed biked with a hard core group on Tuesdays and took swimming lessons. He also made a couple great pieces of furniture in the wood shop- a coffee table for Seattle and a cabinet in which to store our sports equipment in AZ. We both hiked on Thursdays with the club and really enjoyed some of the hikes in the Saguaro National Park barely north of Tucson, where you see not only great Saguaros, but interesting rock formations. I LOVE the clay studio and spend maybe even too much time there. We did manage to play tennis once and work out in the fitness rooms maybe 10 times. Didn't play pickle ball even once! Too much to do- too little time. We are making more friends and enjoying social time as well. This was the first time that I could envision spending even more time here. The only drawback to that plan is friends and family- especially our new grandson. Wish AZ and Seattle weren't so far apart! Speaking of that, we made a leisurely road trip of it this time-8 days- and it was a lot more pleasant than trying to make it in 3 days! We drove no more than 6 hours each day and visited friends or explored by ourselves in Palm Springs, L.A., Big Sur, Napa, Arcata, Eugene and Lebanon, and Portland. Nice!!!!

Heading to Arizona

We're leaving Sunday on a road trip that will take us through Oregon, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and finally, to Green Valley. We've never taken this route before (it's a bit of a detour into Colorado) but we look forward to seeing some new territory. Arizona is starting to cool down a bit now, so we look forward to temperatures in the 80's.
We plan to add cable service and a wireless modem to the house amenities this fall. I adjusted the rental prices just a bit to cover that. We're still trying to keep them below market value and give rental preference to friends and referrals of friends. That has worked quite well thus far.
We're looking forward to all the activities available in Green Valley. There are some house projects that await us, but we should still have lots of time for fun and travel. I'll try to post a few blog entries about any interesting things we discover.

Bisbee and Tombstone

 My Mom and sisters visited for a week, and we spent 2 days and a night in Bisbee, an old mining town in S.E. Arizona.. We had a marvelous time. The drive is an easy 2.25 hours and it's very scenic. We stopped in Tombstone for a quick look- it's very touristy, but the history is authentic and interesting. In Bisbee, we stayed at the Gym Club Suites, which is an old YMCA right in the heart of town and across from a public parking lot. It has been converted into a charming hotel, and the prices are very reasonable. We had dinner at the Cafe Roka, which is considered one of Arizona's best restaurants (and rightly so). Like much of Bisbee, it's only open Thursday through Sunday. I had made reservations a few days prior to our visit. On Saturday we hiked around town a bit- very interesting as there are many creative people who have personalized the old miners shacks with color, yard art and funky fences. Then we drove past the open pit mine to Bisbee Breakfast Club- a "must" for every Bisbee trip, in our (Jed's and my) opinion. Delightful, as always.We spent about an hour in the mining museum, which tells the story of the mining process and the people who once populated this once thriving town. We hired a walking historical tour guide, Michael, who was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining. And we checked out the galleries and shops on Main Street and in Brewery Gulch. We did not go on the mine tour, having run out of time, but I highly recommend it.
All in all, it was a wonderful time. I love Bisbee, and I'm happy to go there at least once a year.

Tombstone: Bar Girls

Barb and Fran in Bisbee

Bisbee Main Street

Tombstone: Horses and Carriage

Horses and Stagecoach

Horses and stagecoach with passengers

Bisbee: front porch of a house

Bisbee: on a hike

Bisbee: Michael the historical tour guide

Bisbee: street performers

Creative fence in Bisbee

Roadrunner!!!!!

We're used to seeing quail and doves and lots of other birds, but a roadrunner in the backyard is not an every day occurrence. This guy was there for quite a while, and I got about 10 photos, but this is the only one where he's moving and actually looks like a roadrunner.
After a day of house and yard work and a Costco run in Tucson, we settled in to enjoying some Green Valley amenities. We discovered that our favorite fitness room at Santa Rita Springs has been enlarged and updated- a nice surprise. The pool at this facility is also my favorite, as it's kept pretty warm and has a lovely view of the mountains.
Today we joined the hiking club (an every Thursday event) for a hike in the Santa Rita mountains-just a 20 minute drive from our house. It was a great outing, and the weather was perfect. It got hot in the afternoon- 88- but was cooler in the morning and we had some good tree cover.
Tomorrow.....who knows?

Anticipating Autumn in Arizona

We're counting the days until we return to our Arizona home. As the weather gets wetter and the days get shorter here in Seattle, the Southwest is looking more and more enticing. We should be about to get away by mid October. We'll be driving down, and the road trip is an enjoyable part of the experience for us (except when we have to rush it).
Today is the first day of this blog, and the purpose is to create a resource for friends who rent or who would like to rent this house for a stretch of time in the winter. As we discover more and more interesting places to go and things to do in the surrounding area, we'll share our thoughts here. Hopefully, this will result in richer experiences for those who spend some time in Green Valley.