We are definitely getting into the swing of things now. Our days are very busy with a myriad of activities. So, what have we been up to this past week.
Our first trip out was to Tortilla Flat. It is presumed to be Arizona’s smallest official “community” having a U.S. Post Office and voting precinct. The town has a population of 6. Originally a camping ground for the prospectors who searched for gold in the Superstition Mountains in the mid-to-late 19th century, Tortilla Flat was later a freight camp for the construction of Theodore Roosevelt Dam.
We went inside the Superstition Saloon for a look and found these really cool bar seats – not your typical bar stool. If you look closely you might be able to identify what is on the walls – they are US dollar bills and they cover every wall and ceiling in the saloon. There is a sign that says that should you think about trying to remove any of them it is a criminal offence and YOU WILL be sent to jail.
It is a motorcyclist dream ride out to Toritlla Flats as the road was very windy and narrow.
We thought we would continue the theme of tree hugging …but…we think we have changed our minds on that.
A couple of days later it was then a drive to Scottsdale. We had heard so much about this place that we were looking forward to finally being able to visit it. Sometimes your expectations do not meet reality, and this is what happened to us. There was a little charm in the old town area of Scottsdale, but the newer additions were somewhat disappointing. It is based around one of the irrigation canals, but it is all concrete and glary due to the sun reflecting off the harsh surfaces. We didn’t go into the very up market shopping mall as we had Toque with us and neither of us felt interested in doing that. Maybe if we had of, we might not have been as disappointed but from what we could see it was very glitzy and high end. There was an Aston Martin parked out the entrance way which set the “statement” and that very much turned us off. We didn’t drive around the neighbourhood as we ran out of time, but we could imagine that it makes our living arrangements at Venture Out look very mediocre.
We did spot this car plus several others that were the same and were quite confused by them. Some had passengers in them but otherwise they were empty and just buzzing all around the suburb – it threw us as it looked most unusual with no driver. Originally, we thought it might be a google earth car or one of those horrid cars that go around and book you for overstaying your parking car. After some googling we discovered it is a ride-hail service that offers fully electric, self-driving cars and is in several cities across America. We have only seen them in Scottsdale so far and not on the freeways. That would really freak us out.
We had been told about the Mormon Church in Mesa and to go and see it at night with all the lights on. This is one very affluent church as their electricity bill must be out of this world – guess this is where you say “Thanks Jesus”.
The grounds were very extensive. We were told by one of the many “mormony” people floating around that they start to get the lights ready in April and then erect them in the grounds in November. It is well worth the visit.
We got to talking to a couple of groups of the Mormons there and they were very nice people. There was no hard sell or conversion therapy going on. Di is going to go back next week and do some genealogy work on her family history as they have the biggest library in the world of family records.
Fras has joined the Monday “bush” walking group, and they did their first desert walk which included going down an abandoned mine. Of course, he felt right at home.
Di has done a glass fusion class which she loved. The Glass Art facility at Venture Out has to be the best she has ever seen. She would like to get involved more but she has to do an introductory OH&S class and unfortunately the first available is the 8th January – she is very disappointed about that.
Every day Di takes Toque on the bike and goes to the dog park which is in the far corner of the facility. It is off leash and very well thought out. It even has a professional dog bath you see in a pet spa and there are towels and shampoo there for you to use. We have been loaned bikes by the kind people so are making the most of using them as the park covers a large area. We are leaving Toque for an hour a day back in the trailer whilst we go and play pickleball and so far, so good. She still barks but not continuously according to the neighbours. We take her for a number of short walks each day and try to tire her out before we leave her on her own.
Our days are very full of so many activities and we fall into bed each evening exhausted. We are in the process of seeing if we can find another trailer that we can rent for the month of January. We have a few irons in the fire and by next weeks blog we should hopefully have something secured.
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