After sleeping too late for church, we joined Don and Ann Aitchison, Canadian friends from Bentsen Palm Village in South Texas for 18 holes of golf. Don played light’s out; he may be ready for the tour! Neither Kay nor I played all that well. But, we had a really good time—Don and Ann are so much fun, and active! 

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to describe the number of activities and participants here at Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ. Pickleball reigns supreme, and many residents come here specifically to play; the resort hosted the National’s for three years, before it moved to a larger venue nearby. Softball is huge, with games taking place every morning, all morning long. Pottery is also huge as is lapidary and silversmithing. Golf is very popular as well. There are numerous exercise and dance opportunities, first class entertainment, and cafes and grills. I attended a Photography Club meeting Monday AM and about 50 people were in attendance—they meet three times a week with various classes and field trips; Kay did Line Dancing. It’s tiring to even write about all that is happening here, and this doesn’t include all the national monuments and parks nearby!

Thank goodness for a new year. The last couple have proved quite challenging.

Golf was on the agenda for New Year’s Eve, played on Palm Creek’s 18 hole executive course (we only played 9 holes). The evening was spent visiting with Steve and Mary Seitz, also of Hot Springs Village. Internet was installed on New Year Day, allowing us to be fully “connected”. I have been spending most waking hours “cleaning” up Lightroom (photo editing software) and the thousands of photos stored on the computer’s hard drive and 3 external drives—what a mess! Today, January 2, Kay and I played golf (Kay played 9 holes and I played 18) after which Kay had a group pickle ball lesson.  Palm Creek is widely recognized as a pickle ball haven; the 32 courts have a constant waiting list. If I can ever get sleep patterns organized, desert sunrises and sunsets want to be photographed. More to come.

High on our list of things to do this winter was a visit to Saguaro NP near Tucson. The national park, 92,000 acres, consists of two separate areas: the Tucson Mountain District about 10 miles west of Tucson and the Rincon Mountain District about 10 miles east of Tucson. Its purpose is to preserve Sonoran Desert landscapes, fauna, and flora, including the giant saguaro cactus which only grows naturally in the Sonoran Desert.

Upon entering the Tucson Mountain District area of the park, one’s breath is almost taken away upon seeing the giant saguaros everywhere, even stretching to the horizon, surrounded by other varieties of cacti and desert vegetation. Virtually every color was represented.

Driving east, the Rincon Mountains loomed on the horizon. The Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro NP was the initial protected area, designated as such by President Herbert Hoover. Here, the cacti are larger, i.e.  more rotund, because of more rainfall in the area. Again, saguaro and other cacti grew as far as the eye could see, even up the mountain side. Occasionally a bird would dart among the tops of the tall cacti—our target bird was the Gila Woodpecker, and one posed briefly along one of the trails.

A brief visit to a very crowded Costco in Tucson preceded the hour drive back to Palm Creek.

Another cold morning greeted us, 31°. Walmart beckoned for a few items forgotten, bicycle tires aired, and we continued to “settle in” for the long haul. Needing some outdoor activity, several routes were driven in an attempt to find Casa Grande Mountain Park (a city park) in order to hike one of its several trails; no such luck as every route seemed to end with a dead end, flooded road, or never never land.

We opted to tour Casa Grande Ruins National Monument from which Casa Grande gets its name. The national monument consists of the ruins of multiple adobe structures surrounded by a compound wall constructed by the ancient people of the Hohokam period. These people farmed the Gila Valley in the early 13th century. Evidence strongly suggests that the ancient Sonoran Desert people who built the Casa Grande Also developed wide-scale irrigation farming and trade routes which lasted over a thousand years until about 1450 C.E. Casa Grande, aka the “big house”, refer to the largest structure on the site, which is what remains of of a four-story structure thought to have been abandoned by 1450. The large house consists of outer rooms, three stories high,  surrounding an inner structure, four stories high.

While the ruins were impressive, so were the cacti surrounding the compound—a photographer’s haven.

We awoke to very cold weather, at least for us, 27°. In addition a smattering of snow fell during the night, but did not affect road conditions. Though the forecast called for heavy winds again, we did not feel any, nor experience any problems. Snow covered the desert floor in many places, and the expanse of pecan orchards was mind boggling —pecan trees as far as the eye could see! Neither of us had ever seen even a tiny amount of pecan trees compared to these humongous orchards. Passing through Tucson, we turned northward and rolled into Palm Creek RV and Golf Resort in Casa Grande, AZ, our place of residence for the next couple of months. Coincidentally, we pulled into the check-in lane beside Steve and Mary Seitz, also from the Village. Apparently, we had traveled the same route at the same time since leaving AR.

Check-in was smooth, and we were escorted to the site, with Canadians on either side of us. Set-up was uneventful.

Why we (I) chose this to be our longest driving day is beyond logic—significant gain in elevation, over 4,000 feet, and 25 mph headwinds for the entire day.  Fortunately, we did not experience any heavy cross winds, though Kay did drive in freezing rain for several minutes. Again, taking turns driving, we made great progress on this western trip, covering 455 miles. Though the wind made driving difficult, we again took turns, and the day passed quickly; gas mileage was horrendous!

Surprisingly were the number of pecan orchards in West Texas, particularly considering the arid climate and near desert conditions. Acre upon acre of trees occupied the otherwise barren environment; most had been recently pruned. Neither Kay nor I had ever seen so many pecan trees! 

Near the end of the day, we crossed into mountain time zone, giving us another hour. We overnighted at Dreamcatcher RV Park in Deming, New Mexico. After setting up and socializing with other guests, Kay and I had a delicious Mexican meal.

Waiting until traffic somewhat abated in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, we departed Bluebonnet Cabins and RV Park at 8:40 AM. The drive on I-20 south of Dallas was relatively easy. Again taking turns driving the 321 miles, we arrived at Elite Cabins and RV Park in Sandy Springs, TX, at about 3:15 PM. The RV Park was dirt and gravel (available RV spaces are far and few between as oil and gas workers occupy most of them; this is in the Permian Basin). Regrettably, at least for me, there was hidden dog poop all over the place, and I stepped in some while unhooking the tow vehicle, tracking it onto mats, linoleum, and carpet—the next 30 minutes were spent cleaning shoes, mats, and the inside of the MH! A low rating is likely for this RV park.

It took two more carloads of “stuff” to complete packing the motorhome. After getting everything settled in the motorhome, we hooked up the tow car and discovered that we could not find the remote sensor for the auxiliary brake. After looking “everywhere” in the motorhome and the tow car, we could not find where I “hid” it. This necessitated another trip back to the house via the motorbike and tow vehicle, the narrow Hot Springs Village streets nevertheless, to see if I left it on the workbench—no such luck. Oh well, just another faux pas; we can travel without it.

The 285 mile drive was uneventful, and we pulled in to Bluebonnet RV Park and Terrell, TX, just after 4:30 PM. Kay and I shared driving duties as well as planning for rest breaks and overnight stops.

Christmas Day was anticlimactic; holiday festivities with family and friends occurred earlier in the week. Kay busily deconstructed Christmas decorations, while I worked on “information management” software and hardware. We took a break to exchange gifts with friends Pam and Don, and then continued packing away ornaments and trees. Late afternoon we drove to the motorhome storage bay with a load of stuff, mostly my computer and photographic gear. After installing the bike rack on the car, we could not find the lock key anywhere. We looked everywhere, and then out of desperation, looked in my bedside table drawer, and, low and behold, there it was. Christmas Day proved to be an exhausting day for us!

Waking up several times during the short night, both Kay and I got up about 4:30 AM Tuesday morning (9:30 PM Monday, Central Standard Time), put the luggage outside the door to be picked up, had breakfast, and boarded the bus to the airport. No problems were encountered at either Charles de Gaulle Airport or Chicago Ohare; in fact, both were quite efficient, including immigration and customs. Each of the flights arrived early. Many thanks to Dana Connally at Vacation Valet in Hot Springs Village. She went above and beyond attempting to solve our first day trip disruption. 

The area of France we toured, Normandy and Paris, were delightful to say the least. The rural French countryside was breathtaking, especially with peaking leaf colors—about two weeks behind us. We especially liked the small villages, towns, and cities along the River Seine, with their quaintness and medieval architecture. People were courteous, but not unfriendly. Little English is spoken, but pointing and hand signs worked. Prices for foods, tea, and coffee were much less expensive than in large US cities, and were very, very tasty. The weather during the trip was typical Arkansas winter weather—temperatures in the 40s, cloudy, and some rain—though it did not impede us. The parts of France we saw were really clean. Our guides were especially good, and experts in the the things we saw. Viking was great as usual, once we were on the ship. ALL staff and services were above average, as was the food and drink. We will definitely sail with them again, Lord willing.

We took way too many clothes, but we did have the right layers. Thus, the cool, wet weather did not adversely impact our various excursions. 

We are scheduled to tour England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland for 24 days in September 2020. Want to join us? 

Depending on health, family, etc. the Balkans (Eastern Europe), Mediterranean, and New Zealand are high on the list, too. At our age international travel becomes more challenging each trip!

Cold temperatures and rain did not dampen our enthusiasm for seeing Paris. The 8-hour tour covered all the highlights of this wonderful city as we viewed essentially all the “big name” sights, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, Pantheon, Louvre, and stops at the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Photo making opportunities were very limited because of the rain. About three hours of “free time” allowed us to walk the streets near Notre Dame Cathedral, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of Europe’s second largest city. Small shops abounded, and prices declined the further one was away from the Cathedral. Numerous eateries—most had outdoor areas —were inner mixed with the shops. We had coffee, tea, and croissants at a corner cafe across from Notre Dame. Paris is known for its pickpockets, but we did not experience any issues. Public toilets were immaculate, as they have been in all of France.

Back at the ship, we enjoyed a great dinner before taking on the chore of packing for the return trip home; luggage is out the door at 5:15 AM.