Casa Grande AZ

So last time I was telling you a bit about our reasons for this adventure/travel. Another reason is to get a sense of what kind of area we would like to make our next permanent home. We planned on staying here in Casa Grande for a month so Marilyn would have time to establish a doctor who would then schedule her for an infusion. As it turned out, there were no openings for any arthritis specialist in Phoenix. So she had to make an appointment back in Yuma where she last had one. So that means a 2 1/2 trip back to Yuma on the 25th.
But first, on our first evening here, I saw this glorious sunset that gave me hope and comfort. I stood on the top of the camper and patiently waited until the perfect moment arrived. Here's what I saw.

When I posted this on my Facebook timeline I added that there is something almost divine in a sunset like this. It's like the hand of God reaching out to soothe our souls. I still feel that way each time I look at it.
During our first night here it rained cats and dogs. I mean really hard rain. The next morning it was clear and the air felt crisp and fresh.

Anyway, we spent a day in the outer boundaries of Casa Grande looking at properties for sale.  We set the Zillow filter for only double wides with 3 bed, 2 bath on at least a half acre. What we found was many available in nice and not so nice neighborhoods. One was near the small town of Coolidge with 2 acres, a big RV shed and lots of junk in the yard. Not something we'd consider. Since we're here for a month we have lots of time to explore and see what is available.
This resort is pretty active with a number of amenities such as a pool and hot tub, shuffleboards, putting green, games in the evening and so forth. Folks are super friendly and readily answer questions.


On our 40th wedding anniversary on the 8th, we went to an old established family run restaurant here in downtown Casa Grande. The owner himself made room for us even though the place was packed. Marilyn had told him on the phone that this was a special date. The food and atmosphere were perfect.

Steak and lobster for mama and seafood linguini for me

A kissing selfie

When the wife is happy the world is a good place to be

When I'm happy it doesn't matter!

Owner Michael Jackson

We have become quite comfortable living in an RV park with the slow pace of doing what comes our way. Most people are friendly and ready to share their lives on the surface. They like their simple routines. Sometimes fixing something, doing laundry, going to some park activity, a dip in the pool (my favorite) or walking their dogs. And believe me there are lots of dogs with RV'ers. We are not sure this is a place for us at this time in our travels. We have lots of other places to visit before we make a permanent home somewhere.

While in Yuma in January we met the nicest folks and among those were Rex and Joyce Barnes. They had left Yuma before us but they told us they'd be in Casa Grande for March and we were invited to visit them if we got there. So that's what we did. They have a very nice motorhome and were camped in an RV park closer in to to the city.

From the left, Rex, Joyce, sister in law Millie, Rex's brother Lou, and Marilyn

We took a few hours one afternoon and spent it with our church friends from Maltby Congregational Church who have a home near Chandler. Jim and Jill Skog invited us to dinner along with another church friend, George Lee. We had a wonderful time sharing our adventures along with their perspective on living in the desert. They had prepared a great dinner of pork ribs and fixins' which was a real delight. Unfortunately I didn't take and photos. I just plain forgot.

Just like owning a home, an RV requires periodic maintenance. Like any other piece of machinery, things break down and fail. On our second day here, the hot water heater failed. I traced the problem to a bad thermostat. So it was off to a local RV place to buy a new T-stat. I have no experience in fixing this particular piece of equipment. But I'm pretty handy at this sort of thing and I saved $700 fixing it myself.

The sun was really bright, thus the squint

From what we've heard, this park has a new administrator who is very good. She is a younger woman who has a lot of energy and keeps things interesting. For example, on St. Patrick's day, she spearheaded the first annual "golf cart" parade. We've seen a lot of golf carts in these parks where people, especially those who are older and can't get around well, use them to get around quickly. So she had the folks decorate them in green and we had a real parade.

First comes the color guard and we stood up as our flag passed

Next were the cheerleaders

Then the King and Queen in a hot Mustang GT

Followed by rows and rows of the finest virtuosos...oops that was in River City...not here. Golf carts galore!!

Marilyn with her improvised noise maker!!

Earlier I mentioned George Lee. George is a long time member of the Maltby church. In fact, his entire life has been spent in Maltby. He has been coming down here to Arizona for nearly 20 years. He's in his early 90's and still drives each way.

We visited him and he drove us around to some interesting spots. First it was to the Old Dutchman state park where there is a trail with examples of the local flora along with descriptive plaques.

Marilyn and George with the Superstition Mountains in the background

Then we drove a long and winding road deep into the mountains and wound up in Tortilla Flats. This is an old west resting place for those traveling along the dusty trail from Yuma to points north. How those old west wagons and horses made it through the rugged terrain is amazing. But they did. The town has burned down twice but thanks to generous donations from the historical societies and private donors, the town has been rebuilt again and again.

Hmmm....not sure George knew what the background was. hehehe

My brother Steve and wife Leslie live in the Chandler area. He works at the Holiday Inn Ocotillo as the facilities manager. He took time out of his busy day to visit with us on the property.

Among the many activities here is cribbage night. Marilyn and I play it often in the evenings and she usually beats me. So this was a chance to meet new folks and get some time in with 4 handed cribbage which I'd never done before.

Since I'm the chief cook I thought you'd like a pix of me making cookies.....or maybe not.

Well we still have two weeks left here in Casa Grande. Our next destination is Mesa where we'll visit with another couple from Maltby who come down periodically to get some sun during the rainy, chilly, damp and gloomy winters in Bothell.

Benson AZ

I've mentioned before that this trip is serving several purposes. Not only is it one of exploration of our beautiful country, but it is also, and perhaps most significantly, one of self exploration. Like many in our generation, we grew up in a time of great changes. The 50's and 60's saw the traditions of our parents fading and a new worldview take hold. One could argue that these changes were either good or bad but nevertheless, they formed us into who we are now. The divisions we see in our society have yielded a country sorely lacking in civility and respect for different points of view. With that in mind, we have met people on different sides of issues that seem to divide us but we have also seen that these divisive issues are not the primary focus of people. When one is surrounded by those who agree with one another, there is little to differentiate them. Even in the small world between my wife and I, we can agree to disagree and keep our attention on what really matters; that being our relationship with each other. In the larger context of this trip, we are seeing relationships between other people where the focus is on enjoying one another's company. That, I think, is at the heart of relationships.

Now on to Benson Arizona and our time here. Despite the remoteness of this area, it is filled with lots of things to do and see.

This is where we stayed during our time in Benson. It's the Valley Vista RV resort. Our rig is in the center of the photo.

Fort Huachuca (wa-chu-ka) is located in Sierra Vista about 15 miles north of the Mexican border. In the later half of the 19th century, many military strongholds were established in SW Arizona to protect the settlers from Indian raids. The famous Apache chiefs Geronimo and Cochise mounted attacks against the Anglo-Americans who invaded and took hold of their lands.Cochise was the leader of the Chokonen people who lived in the sprawling territory that ran from Sierra Vista east into New Mexico and south of the Mexican border. As a young adult he began conducting raids into Mexico, largely ignoring his American neighbors. It all changed one day in 1861, when under a flag of truce, he voluntarily came to see Lt. George Bascom. The young officer took him prisoner by surprise. As the tale is told, Cochise supposedly escaped with three bullets in him. What is known for certain is that from that day on, he waged an incessant campaign against the local settlers and military. Later on, Geronimo came into his own as a leader just after the passing of Cochise. After many years of fighting, he was finally cornered in a natural mountain fortress. He surrendered for the last time.

Inside the military intelligence museum 

A tableau of the town and soldiers 

Another tableau

Fort Huachuca is the home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command.

There is a cemetery on the base with headstones as far back as 1877

There were a surprisingly large number of children buried in the cemetery

One of the highlights was visiting Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David, just a few miles south of Benson. It was founded in 1974 and is a semi-contemplative retreat in the Benedictine tradition.

The resident peacock who would not spread his "foliage" for me

I don't have many pictures of the monastery in respect to the people there. But further west of the grounds there is a bird trail that winds through a forest of trees in their winter dormancy. It was rather spooky as evidenced by these black and white photos.

Benson was founded in 1880 when the Southern Pacific Railroad came through. It was named after Judge William B. Benson, a friend of Charles Crocker, president of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Southern Pacific, coming overland from California, chose the Benson site to cross the San Pedro River. Benson then served as a rail junction point to obtain ore and refined metal by wagon, in turn shipping rail freight back to the mines at Tombstone, Fairbank, Contention and Bisbee. For example, the railhead in Benson was about 25 miles from Tombstone, and was the closest rail connection to it until 1882, when a feeder line was laid from Benson to Contention City.
We visited the Benson museum which had a large assortment of historical items. In the back of the building there was an interesting display of early mining equipment. Among them was a fireless steam locomotive used to haul explosives from the Apache Powder Company to local mining outfits. It was fitted with connectors and filled with high pressure steam. 

The Benson jail was preserved and now houses this dangerous criminal

An original "school bus"

Benson is probably best known as the gateway to Kartchner Caverns. The story behind these caverns is quite remarkable. The caverns were discovered in 1974, when cavers Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts found a narrow crack in the bottom of a sinkhole, and followed the source of warm, moist air toward what ended up being more than 2.5 miles of pristine cave passages. Hoping to protect the cave from vandalism, they kept the location a secret for fourteen years, deciding that the best way to preserve the cavern — which was near a freeway — was to develop it as a tour cave. After gaining the cooperation of the Kartchner family and working with them for ten years, together they decided that the best way to achieve the goal of protection through development as a tour cave was to approach Arizona State Parks. In 1985, Governor Bruce Babbitt secretly left the state capitol with two bodyguards and spent three hours crawling through the cave's tight passages to reach the cave's showcase chambers, including the Big Room, Echo Passage and Cul-de-sac Passage. The discovery of the cave was finally made public in 1988 when the landowners sold the area to the state for development as a park and show cavern. The state spent $28 million on a high-tech system of air-lock doors, misting machines and other gadgetry designed to preserve the cave. 

No photography is allowed inside so I have nothing to show for our tour. However, the cavern web site has a wealth of information and photos which will give you an appreciation for its special nature. Copy and paste this URL into your web browser.>>> http://www.pr.state.az.us/parks/KACA/index.html

One of our trips was to do some geocaching in New Mexico. We had a travel bug that wanted to go to Florida so we dropped it off along side I-10 near Lordsburg.

That may look like desert in the background, but it's actually water

We took time to head into Lordsburg just to look around and have a picnic lunch

Our good friends Olivia and Paul Peters have lived in Tucson for several years. We visited them for a couple of days and had a great time visiting and showing them some geocaching. They showed us around the northeast areas of Tucson and the many different types of housing that is for sale. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with these good people.

The sunsets and sunrise here in Benson are spectacular. I drove down AZ-80 toward St. David early one morning and took a few pix of the sun just prior to sunrise.

So that's the story from Benson. Our next destination is Casa Grande where we will stay for one month.