Who is Ben Avery?

Currently In: Phoenix


A few days ago we went with our friends to the Ben Avery Shooting Facility.  Our RV Park is very close to Ben Avery - we can hear the shooting just over the mountains.

Don't worry everyone - I didn't even touch a gun.  But Johnny has been quail hunting in his younger days, so he was up for some practice.  Packing up to go here.

We parked next to the area for target practice, which is what I thought the activity was.

But then I found out the idea was to shoot clay pigeons - more along the lines of hunting.  There are 15 stations to shoot clay pigeons.  You keep score by counting how many pigeons you hit.

And the list of rules.

As with many sports there is specific equipment - rifles with cases, vests for ammo, and carts to carry everything from station to station.  Or you can use one of these to haul your stuff.

The targets come out of these machines - kind of like the pitching machines used for batting practice.

A lift was used at this station so the targets fly in from up above.

The Facility also has an RV campground with full hook ups!- this outdoor stuff all fits together.

As we left Ben Avery (never did find out who he is), we were treated to some hot air balloon landings.

Pie

In Phoenix until mid January


We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with our friends Greg and Joan Christensen who live here in Phoenix.  I volunteered to bring dessert which gave us the opportunity to visit Black Canyon and Rock Springs as I heard the cafe there has delicious pies.

First we drove through the town of Black Canyon.  It literally took us 90 seconds.  No photos as there is nothing there but a few shops and a dusty playground they call a park.

The Rock Springs Cafe has an interesting history as it was a stop on the Black Canyon Trail after the area was inhabited by the Yavapai, then became a military encampment, and finally was water stop for miners cattle drivers and travelers.  The last Black Canyon Stage Coach came through in 1917 when autos took over the trail.  The cafe location was a hotel and general store beginning in 1918.
The inside of the cafe is reminiscent of those old days.  The walls are cinderblock and part of the ceiling is still tin!

This place sell a lot of pies at holiday time.  I mean a lot.  Here is the room where you pick up the preorders. Those are all pies stacked up behind the tables.

We had a wonderful holiday with our friends.

Greg's daughter was visiting with her crew, so there was extra help in the kitchen.

The salad was so pretty.

Johnny and Greg even got in a couple of games of backgammon.

What a fun table!

Tyler enjoyed his turkey leg and even the dog got a treat!

I didn't get a photo of the pies - they looked like regular pumpkin pies and were quite tasty - so I will leave you with this thought...

Parked for a While

Currently In:  Phoenix
Next Up:  ????

We are parked for the holidays in Phoenix.  This will give us the time to plan our exit strategy from the RV travel life.  Right now our thought is to return to the Midwest sometime this Spring.  We have had quite an adventure!

My blog posts will slow down for the next couple of months.  I am hoping to continue to explore the trails and such that Arizona has to offer and of course will update the blog accordingly.

If you are coming to the Phoenix area before January 15, let us know!

Telegraph Pass Hike?

Currently In:  Phoenix, AZ

On our last full day in Yuma we wanted to do the popular Telegraph Pass hike.  It is designated as moderate with a steep section at the end, so we were in!

I followed my phone GPS directions to the trailhead.  There were other cars in the parking lot and we saw the trail in front of us.  Looked a little steep, but doable.

The path wasn't too bad toward the bottom.

Wait, where did the trail go?  This is just loose rock!

We toughed it out and made it to the top.  Funny, nowhere did I read that the trail disappears into loose rock.

We did find a cross that a young man put up to honor his parents.

We got into a conversation with another group at the top about the steepness and the rock.  They told us this isn't Telegraph Pass.  They pointed behind us...."That is".  I guess from the parking lot the Telegraph Pass went off to the right after you cross the wash (it wasn't marked).  Oops.

The view was still pretty.

The guy we talked to at the top sounded like he knew what he was doing, so we took the same path down the side of the mountain that his group did.  They were older than we were and typically hike the same kind of trails we do.  Sounds like a plan.

This section got a little difficult.  We just took our time.

The last section was very steep and all loose rock.  We both went down slowly and on our backsides.

Made it to the bottom.  It took us about 20 minutes to get to the top and over an hour to get back down.

My first post in this blog talked about "what stupid thing did we do today?"  We haven't done anything this dumb in a long time.  So happy to see our car again.  It's 3 days later and my legs still hurt!

I want to end this post with something fun - a good memory.  So, here goes.  The RV Park in Yuma had a lot of residents that come down for the winter.  Most of them own "park models" - they look more like a small home, but still need RV hook ups.  Many homes were already decorated for Christmas when we got there on November 8!

Across the Border

Currently in:  Phoenix, AZ

Los Algodones, Mexico is just across the border and was about 30 minutes from our RV Park in Yuma.   We were told we should check it out.

I did a little internet research before we ventured into Mexico.  Americans go to Algodones for a few things.  Many older Americans go to Mexico for health care, specifically dental and vision care, due to much lower costs than in the US .  Dentist offices line the streets.  And there are people passing out business cards and drumming up business.

Along with providers, folks frequent pharmacies for cheaper drugs, usually 50-70% less expensive than in nearby Arizona or California.

 There is lots of shopping in Los Algondones, too.  Knock offs, jewelry and knick knacks are popular.

How about this marketing effort?

John Deere was one of our customers at the steel company.  This t-shirt made me laugh.

Americans also come to Los Algodones to stock the bar.  Every kind of tequila imaginable.

Eventually we stopped for lunch at this cute place with an atrium.

Salud!

So now we've been to a border town!