31 May: As we leave the merry month of May, we also ride away from beautiful Sedona to Flagstaff. The astounding part is that Ron's packing was completed earlier than ususal and we finished housecleaning only an hour past our check out time. (Ron has learned that the housekeepers are delighted to discover him still cleaning when they arrive.) The ride north to Flagstaff was scenic and uneventful unless you consider that there was little to no traffic to slow us down. As we rode up the switchbacks onto the Mogollon rim, we encountered a surprisingly chill wind. Then again, Flagstaff is at 6900 feet elevation. Route: 89-A N to I-17 N to I-40 E to exit 198, R on Butler Ave .7mi, L on 4th Street .7mi, R on Industrial Blvd .6mi, L on Steve's Road, R to Best Western Pony Soldier.
"Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings ... It's something we make inside ourselves."
-Corrie ten Boom
30 May: This will be an early to hike day, then filled with packing and recycling until dinner at Linda and Dale’s at 5 PM. With luck everything will be packed and ready to roll first thing in the morning - don't we wish. 4.0 Miles
29 May: Memorial Day, so no QQQ. We hiked at 10:30 and enjoyed watching a backhoe digging loose rock from the entrance to the irrigation canal. Cynthia took a video to delight the younger generation. At 4:15 we rode south to dinner at Cucina Rustica with pastors David and Gwen B. Our waiter was quite a character, with a strong accent that was hard to understand. This time they got the message no oil, no butter, no fat, no cheese and delivered immediately with no backtalk. 3.0 miles
28 May, Sunday: Worship at Christ Lutheran was wonderful. The sermon highlighted the need for being feathers on the breath of God, a need for good leadership and communication to overcome division in our troubled times. We stand united with a constitution like no other country. Being in the presence of America’s beauty, its red rocks and rills, is a gift. Cythia became teary-eyed while singing the national anthem in church. After breakfast at Cafe Jose, Ron rode to Cottonwood for frozen mango and pretzels. Cynthia is almost packed. Ron hasn't started packing yet. 3.9 miles
27 May: We hiked a short one early because Cynthia has a nail appt at one. Cynthia's goal is to pack her saddlebag. On our evening hike, we met a delightful foursome from Santa Fe at the overlook after our mandatory hill climb! We enjoyed visiting so much that we failed to notice the encroaching darkness, so we boogied off down the hill via the access road past Cresent Moon Ranch house. 3.02 miles
26 May: Two hikes, it was such fun meeting Brad and Natasha from Duluth, MN, and how fun to see Gretchen with little Gitsy in the park. 6.5 miles
25 May: Ron strapped the big box of Cynthia's clothing, etc to the back of the bike and mailed it back to Texas. We hiked twice, and our backs have survived too much bending over to move rocks to help clear the trail. It took us this many hikes to decide which path is a trail that leads to Buddha Beach and on to the old water-powered pump. 5.10 miles.
24 May: We leave for ABQ a week from today. LIFE IS GOOD! Thank God! Thank God! Two hours hiking, moving rock, and clearing trees from the flood damaged trail left us exhausted. Progress is being made. The evening walk was also satisfying. 5.25 miles, 13,868 steps
23 May: Exercised, oatmealed, and QQQ’d, we were hiking by 8:30 AM for three miles before returning to more of the crazy market returns. Ron rode to Cottonwood for groceries for the "last time." Cynthia started packing. We went out for a second hike at 6:30, but that is only an hour and a half before darkness threatens. Five miles
22 May: We tried to hike early, but that turned into 10:45 AM when the sun is already too intense; so we opted for forty-five minutes with a second hike at 6:30 PM when it was cooler and pleasant. We met Angela again, this time with her husband Ryan and two cute, cute little ones, Finn and Johanna. 4.7 miles
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| Another lovely day in Sedona |
21 May, Sunday: Oh, oh! Oh, no! Our friends at church gave Ron a two-sided, complicated puzzle. We enjoyed breakfast at Cafe Jose, and Cynthia fell asleep while Ron now puzzles away. It is 85 degrees warm today, very hot degrees outside, and it is steamy hot indoors. Ron was able to spend almost the entire day on the puzzle. We walked only 3 miles in the cool of the evening.
20 May: Our one day to sleep in, now that QQQ obsession has gripped Ron. We did sleep in until nearly 9 AM. Whoopee !! Then we exercised, ate, and went for a quick walk through the park, past the pump, and up the hill. We met the nicest person, Angela, writing at the picnic table chained to a tree that had kept it from being washed downstream in the flooding. After exchanging life histories, we proceeded up the hill to find that the temperature had gotten too warm to continue before evening, so we returned by the upper route across the meadows. We went for a second walk this evening after it cooled off and helped some folks from Napa Valley find the vortex. 5.0 Miles
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| Looking back after all these years of wedded bliss. |
19 May: Tomorrow, Ron will get Tori's photo aligned with the text below. First QQQ, exercises, oatmeal, and a ride to Elite for Cynthia's hair. Cynthia walked to Cafe Jose to get steps on her Apple Watch. Then instead of breakfast at Cafe Jose, as planned, we rode home to avoid the approaching thunderstorm. We listened to thunder for a couple of hours - but no rain. Had we known, we would have eaten omelets. Ron is patiently waiting for QQQ to go down again, a certainty now that the debt limit talks have stalled and the Fed is threatening another interest rate rise. Over the weekend, he will work on James Lea instead; now, his focus is on the great-grandchildren of James Lea of Cobbs Creek. The lightest drizzle of rain commenced about 4 PM and continued until midnight without leaving much wetness anywhere.
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| Tori on the Path to Willingness |
18 May: And the rains came, fortunately after we finished our walk and had met Tori on the Ridge Trail, a painter, and musician (The Path to Willingness). Cynthia wanted to capture her sweet persona as we said goodbye. Tori was framed against the deep red rocks, and Cynthia captured the image, but unfortunately, the light did not fall on her sweet face. Thank you, Tori! We got an earlier start than usual and were able to hike up the hill and up the Ridge Trail to the Sketch Trail, which we soon decided was too challenging for us just now. It rained lightly for the rest of the day without amounting to much. 6.17 miles
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| Tivoli Fest-ivities #2 |
17 May: We have dinner this evening with Nellie & Lisa, cousins of Deb, an Iowa friend who sent Danish party favors from the Elkhorn Danish Windmill (click here). Both girls were wonderfully sweet, and Nellie's Eddie was also a nice man. We all enjoyed a couple of hours of reminiscing "Tivoli Fest" (even though Ron and Eddie were about 60 years out of the loop). 16 May: Rain is forecast again today, but only at 30%. We need to hike, but the temperature is 85 degrees Hot. Ron rode to Cottonwood for groceries, and we hiked 3.39 miles at 6:00 PM when it cooled down. After we hiked through the fields and up to the road, we met a mom and her two UT grad student daughters who wanted to swim in Oak Creek, so we led them down the hill to a wide spot in the creek where they could swim.
12 May: HAPPY ANNIBIRSARY! We celebrated our twelfth anniversary, and Ron is now 76 years old. (Let's see - born in '47 so math works out.) We could never have envisioned our lives so changed & wonderful fifteen years ago. Ron continues to say that he had the perfect life for a bachelor - - and leave it to God to improve upon perfection. Ron again bought QQQ calls, but the market didn't agree with him until closing. He then rode to Cottonwood Walmart for the last groceries we would need while here. Then at 5:30, we joined Linda and Dale (whose birthday was Wednesday, May 10) at Judi’s Restaurant to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary over dinner. 3.6 miles 11 May: I LOVE YOU, SMOOCH! We hiked the Ridge Trail (marked with a black diamond on the maps) for quite a distance. The black diamond means it climbs and climbs and climbs some more. Actually, there are a couple of difficult rocks covered with loose sand & gravel to scramble over. (Falling is not allowed.) We turned back before reaching the second junction with the Sketch Trail, totaling 6.10 miles. 10 May: We arose early and decided it was too cold to be up, so we went back to bed to warm up and fell asleep. At one, we went for the first of two hikes, moved rocks again, and met several lovely people. Our second walk in the evening only took us as far as Buddha Beach again. 5.42 miles. We started SightCare eye exercise program. 9 May: We can hike early today! Nope! We left at 1:30 when the temp was at 80 degrees and did rock maintenance ... moving loose rocks to create a better trail than the one the flooding left us. We went out again at six, found a shortcut to Buddha Beach, and helped a girl from NYC find it too. Ron is enjoying telling people that Buddha Beach is buried under 6 to 10 feet of loose rock and gravel left by the flooding, which carried the vortex downstream too. 5.00 miles 8 May: Ron arose at 5:30 to finish exercises and breakfast and QQQ in time to leave at 7 am and took the motorcycle to Scottsdale for 6,000-mile maintenance. And twelve hours later, he successfully returned home with groceries, new light bulbs, and a better coffee pot. He spent several afternoon hours in Cave Creek visiting with his cousin Rex and Susie. 6 May: Hiking Bell Rock was the goal, but we weren't sure if our guests were hikers. Indeed, they are young and fit! Jim even scrambled to the top of Spaceship Rock. We hiked 6.09 miles with our granddaughter's fiance’s parents, followed by breakfast at Miley's cafe. Our ride home through Page Springs was lovely, so one would not know it was Arizona. In a rush to depart on time this morning, Ron accidentally melted his shirt while trying to iron on a patch. Fortunately, he has identified a candidate patch for that spot. (He still hasn't finished the mending job on May 18th.) 5 May: It is lovely to sleep with open windows and not need A/C because the cold overnight air keeps us chilly until noon. QQQ behaved nicely. Now it is time to hike! Hiking Sedona! The flooding was impressive, leaving debris twelve feet high in trees and piled in heaps blocking the trails. Buddha Beach is no longer; the Slickrock slab is covered by a pile of loose rocks up to ten feet high. Cynthia’s hiking goal of thirty days consecutively turned into 37 days because of the rain, but her total was 159.33 miles, not too shabby for a great-grandmother. Photos (?) are from today's hike, where many old Westerns were filmed. We once met a guy who grew up in the area then. His parents hosted and fed many movie stars, including John Wayne. He remembered seeing the valley filled with water when the creek flooded. 4 May: National Day of Prayer begins with thanksgiving for life lived abundantly and together. We pray for healing for our country. QQQ didn't behave as planned, so we hope for better behavior tomorrow. The ride to Cottonwood for groceries was windy, but the ride back was very scenic and pleasant. 2 May: We are ensconced in Creekside Cottage, a block to the Red Rock Crossing of Oak Creek, with a phenomenal view of Cathedral Rock, the most photographed spot in Sedona. We walk through the adjacent Crescent Moon State Park to terrific hiking trails, and the weather forecast for next week is excellent. Those fantastic hiking trails are gone because massive flooding washed them away on March 22nd this year. We could pick our way over river rock and sand to find recognizable portions of the trail to the top of the nearest hill. 4 miles. We discovered that the rose bush adjacent to the porch is blooming a few red blooms. Yes, JOY. 1 May: Mee weefee returns !!! Oh, Joy, oh, Joy. Yes, JOY. Ron made one trip with a big box to the Creekside Cottage & recycling to Sedona before Cynthia returned, but ran into a mile-long backup due to a paving crew on the return trip, so he could not welcome his WeeFee home. Ron cleaned, packed, and prepared to move to the Creekside Cottage while his exhausted WeeFee slept. Cynthia and her children arose at three AM for early airline departures from Palm Springs Airport, plus she had a two-hour shuttle ride returning to Sedona. Zzzz
15 May: Another day on pins and needles, wondering if QQQ would go up or down, and eventually, it did move far enough up for Ron to sell his calls at a profit. Our new efforts to improve our vision require us to exercise our eyes for an hour daily. As he does those exercises, Ron often falls asleep mid-exercise. We tried a late hike when it cooled off, but the rain forecast was actually correct, and we got wet while putting on our plastic rain ponchos! One little mile!
14 May, Sunday: HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! After a beautiful Lutheran church service and visit with friends, we enjoyed a good breakfast at Cafe Jose and rested our overfull stomachs all afternoon. After a short nap, we awoke to dark skies threatening rain. Ron spent the second day on the puzzle given to him by Dale and Linda for his birthday.
Our guests shot us in the back as we hiked
3 May: It is wonderfully cool at night and early AM. The microwave is a combo microwave and air fryer. (This modern world needs to be simplified.) Cynthia is still exhausted, so Ron walked alone today out the door and over the rocky "trail" to discover Buddha Beach covered with rocks and sand up to 8 feet deep, another casualty of the flooding this March. No more cute piles of rocks, no more psychic vortex. He again made it to the top of the hill and came back via the Secret Slickrock Trail, and the wind was strongest where the exposure was greatest a fun combo.Cynthia with niece Kelly Tivoli fest (see Apr 24)
