WEDNESDAY UPDATE 2

So, on Monday we went to the Sonora Desert and Saguaro National Park, on the west side of Tucson.  It was hot and dusty.  And beige.

 So hot.

So beige.

A strange growth on the top of a cactus.

Did I mention that it was hot and dusty and beige?

So we decided to climb to the top of that rocky hill to see the ancient petroglyphs decorating the rocks on the top.

I think they are so interesting.

Fascinating.

Does it mean anything?

Or is it ancient graffiti?

Did I mention that it was hot and dusty?  At least there were no rattlesnakes.

Weird.  I miss my trees!

WEDNESDAY UPDATE I

Okay.  The wifi connection from the trailer is not strong enough to post pictures to Blogger, so my attempts on Monday caused much stress.  I did get one update posted, but I could go no further.  Thus, Monday 2 and 3 have now become Wednesday 1 and 2, and I have a regular post from today!  Bear with me! 

 Sunday we drove up towards the Mesa area, to Queen Creek.  Ernie's brother, Neil, and his wife, Karen, have a new home there, where they spend 6 months, and then they return to Minnesota for 6 months.  Their daughter and SIL were down visiting from Minnesota for a week, so the guys and their daughter, Lori, went golfing.  Karen and I went out to lunch and did a little shopping.

Their backyard

is a large area, with an awesome view.

The inside is beautiful too.....here is the kitchen.

And just as we left, we were treated to a beautiful sunset!

MONDAY UPDATE NUMBER 1

Good afternoon from sunny Tucson where the temperature is too hot for me.  83 degrees.  Way too warm!  Now if I had some trees to sit under, or an ocean to dip my toes into, it might be okay, but this bright hot sun is too much for someone who is used to Minnesota weather!

I am sorry for my unexplained absence this past week.  I did miss you, but sitting in a site with no electricity, no water, and no sewer was not the best.  The wifi signal was intermittent,  at best, and I was lucky to get a couple of emails sent out.  So, now I have a few adventures to share with you.  I am labeling them updates 1, 2, and 3.

Number one:  On Saturday we took a trip up Mt. Lemmon, here on the north east edge of Tucson.  This road takes us to the foothills, and some beautiful homes with awesome views of the valley and the mountains to the west where the sunsets are spectacular.

 This is part way up the first hill, looking back over the Tucson valley.

The next one is a bit high up, and is looking towards the mountains in the west.

There are lots of rocks and cactus on the hills, and it is very dry.

We are on one layer of the road, looking at two higher layers.

And now, just when we're getting to the top, and some green trees, and some snow, and some lovely mountain village homes, blogger won't let me load any more pictures.  I don't know if it's this connection, or if it is actually a problem with blogger, but I'm not happy.  So, here is update number one, incomplete.  I'll try more later, but waiting an hour and fifteen minutes is long enough to try to load two more photos.

WE ARE IN TUCSON

As we left the base in Clovis, NM, I was beginning to wonder why we had bothered to drive all the way down here!  And it was cold, too!

There wasn't much traffic.  Everything shuts down when there is a little snow, as they don't have the equipment to clear the roads.  But we had no problems.

And soon, we had a bit of sun and some beautiful scenery!  It was looking better, don't you think?

As we neared Holloman AFB, near Alamogordo, the sun was setting and I liked the coloring that was appearing on the hills.

And of course the colors in the west were gorgeous!  And we had a wonderful dinner of a glass of wine and a bowl of Ramen noodles.  The was the last meal of microwaved food.  The 5 nights of eating garbage was now over, and I was looking forward to finally cooking again tomorrow night!

Yesterday morning as we headed off toward Tucson, I spied this tanker truck ahead of us!  Whoopee!  I told Ernie to speed up so we could catch it and find the spigot!

Shucks.  Just an advertisement for a gas station franchise that claims to have good coffee.

And as we hit Tucson, this is the temperature the truck was displaying.  87 degrees warmer than 6 days earlier when we left Minnesota at 11 below.

This is the view from the campground office.  We didn't get into the actual campground.  We are spending the next 5 days or so in the overflow site.  No electricity, water or sewer hookups.  But we have a generator and we've filled with water, so we should be okay.  We'll just shower up at the campground showers to preserve our water.

Today is windy, warm, and sunny.  We have that cold stuff coming for the next 3 or 4 days, but it should turn nicer again by the weekend.  At least we don't have to shovel!

OKLAHOMA, TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO!

Yesterday we traveled south through Kansas and into Oklahoma where we turned west.  We ate lunch in Enid.  (Don't even know if you still read this or not, Lisa!!!)

I was surprised at the scenery in western Oklahoma.  I don't know why, just didn't expect this, I guess.

It was pretty in it's own way.

The picture below is more of what I expected....and there are a lot of cattle and oil wells.

And for my northern friends.  That field in the middle of the picture is green.  Remember green?  We used to have it in Minnesota, too, before the days of snow and white.

And then we came to Texas.

And we passed huge cattle lots.......lots and lots of cattle lots!  With thousands of cattle.

There are also many fields full of bales.

We entered New Mexico this morning.  This is a rest stop along the highway.  The gal there told me that the other two workers couldn't make it in today because of bad roads!

All I know is that the highways are perfectly dry!  However, there is snow expected tonight again. 

WE ARE IN KANSAS

We had a short day today, and are resting comfortably in a room on the Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas.  The roads were good, the sun was shining, and the truck thermometer hit 24.  Above, folks!  24 above!  Haven't seen that since we were in Alaska a few weeks ago.

 Notice the nice clean windshield.  And notice the bare roads.  No snow.  No ice.  No problem!

The reason these fields look kind of brownish is that the grasses are showing through the snow!  There are not 60 inches of white, cold, flaky stuff piled on top of the fields!  Just a little covering of an inch or two is evident on these fields.  We must not be in Minnesota anymore!

Tomorrow we head to Amarillo, Texas.  Speaking of Texas....did you hear that El Paso, Texas is expecting a temperature of 7 degrees?  Unbelievable!  Way up in Alaska my son is enjoying 27 degrees!  Weird!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

This is our sidewalk to our front door, and underneath that snow drift is a bench and two chairs on a little patio type spot.

I had a bouquet of flowers that was dying, and we were leaving, so I planted them on top of the snow drift!

Ernie has the truck warmed up and backed out, and is getting ready to hook up to the trailer.  Wish him luck!

Gotta crank up the jacks and shovel a bit around the wheels, but soon............

here he is, out in the street already!  No problem!

Hopefully this parking spot will be melted a bit when we return!

As we were leaving town on a snow covered bumpy road, I snapped a picture of the temperature.

There were snow drifts in Iowa....

some pretty impressive ones at that.

And then we arrived in Omaha, where they had a blizzard yesterday.

Couldn't prove it by me!  Looks about like Minnesota did after the first little snow in November! 

 

We had dry roads and sunshine the whole way today.  Can't ask for more than that on our first day out!

IT'S SPRING!

Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow.  Therefore, spring is right around the corner.  It's 4 below right now.

Whoops.  It slipped to 9 below.  I'm outta here!

SNOW STORMS, HAIR CUTS, SANDALS AND BREAD

Remember my hair cut last month?  It was during a snow storm, and I had Ernie drive me in to the appointment.  Well, guess what?  Today was another day just like the one last month!  A nice snow storm was raging outside, and I had Ernie drive me in to town.  Last month I said we were leaving for Tucson, so there was no way I could miss the appointment, and then because we had to go to Alaska, we didn't go to Tucson.  Well, this time we are really leaving for Tucson, so I had to keep my appointment and let sweet Amy work her magic!

I have spent the rest of the day doing laundry and sorting clothes, and lining up shoes (yup, sandals!) and other things we'll need to take along. I know, I always pack too much, but I'm always afraid I'll need something and I won't have it, so I pack it.  And when you have a trailer, you can pack a lot!

The oven in our trailer is very small, but it does heat up to 450 degrees, so I am going to attempt baking bread in it.  I don't think I can go back to store bought bread after eating the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  I don't eat much bread, but when I do I want it to be good bread.  Ernie on the other hand, could eat a loaf by himself, and he is really enjoying my new hobby of baking bread.

Last minute stuff tomorrow and then we'll take off on Wednesday morning if weather permits.  And tomorrow morning if I can get out of the driveway, I am going to one more Bible study before we take off.  

OUT OF THERE!

We have received word that our SIL is safely on a plane from Cairo to Chicago, and she should arrive this evening.  The family thanks everyone for the prayers and concern.  Her experience isn't quite over, but it's looking like she'll be safely home later on this evening.  Thank you everyone!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

We just received word that our sister-in-law is stuck in Cairo, Egypt on her return from a tour of Israel and Egypt.  We have no other information.  Please keep her and her family in your prayers.  Thanks.

TENTATIVE PLANS FOR SUNSHINE

Tentative plans are made.  Or should I say that hubby has made plans and told me what we are going to do!  That's okay.  He does all the driving when we're pulling the trailer, so I guess he gets to make the plans!  We think we will be able to leave for our Arizona trip next Wednesday.  We can't go on Monday, as I have a hair appointment, and we all know that women do not give up their hair cut appointments for just any old reason, even going to Arizona.  I have been going to the same sweet Amy for so many years that I could not imagine going elsewhere unless I was very desperate.   Anyhow, back to the subject at hand.  We can't leave Monday because I have a hair appointment.

And we can't leave Tuesday because I want to go to one more Tuesday morning Bible study before leaving.  We are studying Isaiah, and I am finding it very interesting, and so applicable to today's world.  I am going to miss the study and the girls so much.  So I have to attend one more before we leave!

I guess that means we can try for Wednesday!  All we need for our daily living is in the trailer already, the sheets, blankets, towels, dishes, etc.  I need to pack the cast iron skillets and a few other things that I don't have duplicates of to leave packed, but there isn't really a lot I have to worry about.  We'll load our clothes and the personal items we need, the computers, the cameras, and my Nook, and we will be able to take off.

Our first night out we will stop at the AFB in Omaha where we have stayed before.  The fun thing this time will be that we are going to contact our niece and her husband who live there, and we hope to meet them for dinner.  We have a young man from our church that we want to visit at his AFB in New Mexico before we head to Tucson where we will call the base there our home during our stay in Arizona.  We have friends and relatives in Tucson, Mesa, Phoenix and the surrounding area, so we shouldn't get too lonesome, although I always miss the kids and grandkids.

The best part is that you are all invited to go with us!  The camera and computer are working well, so you know I will be sharing with you.  So toss the boots and parkas, and pack the sandals and T-shirts.  We're going to Arizona!  SUNSHINE!

WEDNESDAY'S WORDS

I know.  I've been neglecting this blog since we returned from Alaska.  I may be rectifying that soon.  But more on that in a minute.  First I want to tell you some sad news.  Our nephew passed away on the 21st.  He was only 47 and he had a heart attack during the night.  The memorial service is later this afternoon.  It will be a sad gathering, but it will be good to see a lot of relatives that unfortunately don't get together often enough. A large family is a huge comfort at these times.

After our trip to Alaska for our SIL's funeral, we had pretty much decided that we wouldn't take a winter trip to the warmer part of our country, but I guess the last couple of weeks and the 25 below temps have gotten to Ernie.  Two nights ago he informed me that he wanted to go to Arizona anyhow, and that he had figured out how we could afford it if we were careful.  I'm still not totally convinced, but I guess he is going, so I think I'll have to tag along!  We haven't set an exact departure date yet, but I guess if we're going we should just go.  The trailer is always loaded with all we need except for our clothing and some food, and of course the computers and cameras.  We can't really stock up on food and then drive through below zero temps for a couple of days because everything would freeze, so I think I'll load the rice, flour, pinto beans, and coffee, and just go shopping when we arrive at our destination.  I guess I can load meat from our freezer....it's already frozen.... but anything else isn't feasible.

So, what I'm saying is that it sounds like we're going on a trip to Arizona where we hope to find some roads less traveled.  Want to come along?  You are invited.  I'll let you know when we leave!

JUST SAYING

Actual temperatures this morning at 7:30 my time, 4:30 Alaska time:

Seldovia, Alaska is 29 ABOVE

Southern Minnesota is 22 BELOW!

Folks, that is fifty one degrees difference!  I'm moving.

THE BREAD

I have had several requests by comment and by email to post the bread recipe I've been raving about.  I am instead going to link to the website that got me interested enough to buy the book.  (Amazon for about $13)  It isn't really the recipe as much as the method of baking in a hot oven on a hot stone with steam added.  So  check it out.  And just so you know, I made the recipe with part whole wheat and part white today, and it is the best bread ever!  So you may want to give this method a try!  Go to this site and bake it now!  You won't be disappointed!

FRESH HOMEMADE BREAD

Guess what I did on Saturday?  And then again on Sunday?  And Monday?  And even Tuesday?  I baked bread!  Yup, four days in a row!  My husband is in bread heaven!  I  used the master recipe in the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and I love it.  The recipe is so simple, yeast, salt, water, and flour.  And it makes a beautiful round of bread, don't you think?

You can either mix it by hand or use a mixer with a dough hook.  I used my Kitchen Aid.  The dough is quite wet, you don't keep adding flour and you don't knead it, just mix it up and let it set for a couple of hours, and then refrigerate it.  For up to twelve days!  When you need to bake you take out a grapefruit sized hunk, shape it quickly and bake it on a hot stone in a hot oven with a cup of water thrown into a pan to create steam.  That's it!  So you mix it up in about five minutes, and store it until you want to bake, and there you have it, fresh bread!  Probably less than five minutes a day.

And it is very good.  I love the little loaves, not a huge amount of bread to go stale in a couple of days.  This is a loaf from the master recipe that uses white flour (King Arthur is a good one) and you can vary the size or shape if you want.  This afternoon I mixed up another batch, this time using part stone ground whole wheat that I purchased from a local gal who grinds her own flour and part white flour.  I can't wait to bake it, but I won't need it until tomorrow.  Tonight we are having bean soup that I made yesterday, and I'm thinking I'll take the odd sized pieces of bread we have left and sprinkle them with shredded cheese and quickly grill them to eat with the soup.

So Patti, the answer is, yes, I like the book!  I can't wait to try the various breads included  in the recipes.  I'm thinking if there's anything I really want, now would be the time to ask hubby for it, right?

NOT A FROZEN MAMMOTH

Lest you think I am a frozen mammoth, encased in ice for the next thousand years, I thought I should update this blog.  I left you on Monday after our ride through the crystal tundra of Dr. Zhivago, and you may think I didn't return!

Well, not to fear!  We are back in Minnesota, where it is just as white, and just as cold, just not as beautiful!  Our trip home started early on Tuesday morning when we wakened at 2:30, left for the airport an hour later, turned in the rental car, and made it through security by 4:30.  We then had breakfast before we boarded as the package of three soy nuts and one pretzel ring that you receive in flight wasn't going to do it for us!  We had an uneventful flight to Seattle, where we had lunch while waiting for the next leg of our journey home.  Wonder of wonders, we landed in Minneapolis a half an hour early, and because we had only carry on bags, we decided to race for the 6 pm shuttle rather than wait for the 7:30 one we were booked on.  We were originally supposed to land at 5:50 and would never have made the earlier shuttle, but because of the apparent speeding of the plane, we made it!  So we were home by 7:30, were picked up by super SIL, and delivered to our doorstep shortly after 8.  It was a long day, but uneventful thank goodness, and we slept in our own bed Tuesday night.

Since then I've been trying unsuccessfully to catch up!  Still have one more load of laundry, still have mail to go through, still have stuff to put away.  I love to travel, but dislike the mess when you unload!

Today I am trying the bread recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and will let you know the results.  Looking good so far!  And I have a pot of chicken soup bubbling away on the stove, hoping it will somehow overshadow the outdoor temps in the single digits!  We had more snow last night, and more coming tomorrow, and again next week.  This is the winter of snow every other day, and it's getting old!