Ravi Zacharias draws raves in Benson events - San Pedro Valley News-Sun: News

Ravi Zacharias draws raves in Benson events - San Pedro Valley News-Sun: News

It was amazing to see that Ravi Zacharias even came to Benson.  It was great to see a group of pastors from the area get together to make this happen.

Armando's tour guides

While taking Armando on a tour of Cochise County, Art and I have discovered many more interesting places which we plan on visiting again when we have more time and energy to go on extended hikes.

Ramsey Canyon, east of Sierra Vista by Hereford is one of those beautiful escapes where the creek was still running and the last of the hummingbirds are deciding whether to stay for the winter.  It's a place to just go, take a book, sit in the shade and wait for the hummingbirds to come to the feeders.  Sounds like heaven to me.  I don't know if Artur could sit that long.

We went for a short walk with Armando and discovered an old log cabin and another long deserted house in the woods.  The weather here is just the perfect temperature for wandering but still too warm for intense hiking.  Maybe we'll come back in December so that we can also see the snow on the tops of the mountains surrounding the area.

Last Sunday they had "Helldorado" in Tombstone.  To me that sounds like a nutty thing to do on Sunday but Art and Armando went to find no parking spaces and the town just packed.  They did manage to find a spot on the outskirts of town and walked in to watch the parade.  Of course the bars and restaurants were too crowded so they were home within 2 hours.  Tombstone is a nice place to visit during the week when it's not too busy.  I love the food and according to a couple who own a ranch in the area, you can't find bad food in Tombstone.  

So after exhausting all possible tourist attractions, we decided to take Armando to the "Times Square" of Benson for a banana split at the local dairy bar.  At 6PM the Amtrack train rolled into town which added to the flair of Benson.  The simple things are always the best!

Speaking of simple things!  We watched the full mom come up over the stronghold the other night.  It was magnificent!

On Wednesday we drove down Mescal Rd as far as the Cadillac would take us.  Next time we're taking the truck.  There's a beautiful ranch near the Rincon Peak and many more trails to explore.

Armando is leaving for "cold" Ohio again on Saturday.  One comfort, he's going to visit his brother in Mexico for Christmas.  Should be warm there also.

Cascabel Road and other adventures

We have had a house guest since the end of September.  Armando, Artur's old work buddy came to stay for a month.  This area of the country is like home to him since he's originally from Mexico and grew up in Texas.  Armando is still suffering some of the effects of brain surgery that he had years ago for a tumor which almost killed him but generally by now he is able to get around pretty well.  We just decided not to take him on any lengthy hikes so our sightseeing is limited to driving, which of course Artur doesn't mind.

We are obviously still newbies in Arizona because we took off for a drive on Cascabel Road which runs north from Benson along the San Pedro River and meanders all the way to Tucson.  After about 36 miles down the road, we realized the with half a tank of gas and only my cup of water we better make sure that there's a gas station or town around if we continue.  My phone GPS showed about another 75 miles to any paved road so we decided to get back to Benson and take gas and water with us next time around.  Still there were amazing sites just along those 30 some miles.  Artur and I decided that this would be a great place to come back to in the winter.

Our first stop was Gammons Gulch, an old movie town that has some really great building and lots of old rusted stuff!  Fun place to walk around and explore.  Not a single person around so it was really great!

Poor Armando is such a good sport!

Here are the cement quails that I had just purchased in Tucson for my front entrance.  I just love them!

I think they look better on my porch.....

After Gammons Gulch we headed North on Cascabel Rd.  The San Pedro Valley was so amazing and beautiful on this October Day....

The River Valley has amazing earth formations that look like ancient ruins but are totally out of clay molded by the river.  There are also organic farms along the river with so much variety of animals and crops.  We really do need to explore this area in greater detail.  So close to Benson.....no need to drive so far to see such interesting wonders.

Finally made it to California

When we moved to Arizona in March 2013, Tom had mentioned that we need to go visit our sister Barbara who lives in Grass Valley California after we are settled in.  Little did Barb know that it would take 5 months to finally get the trip organized.  I was naive in thinking that because Arizona and California are bordering states, the distances would not be as great but they are nothing like the Eastern States that we were used to.  Just traveling around Arizona opens your eyes to the vastness of the Western States.  "How beautiful for spacious skies"!

So we started on our trip last Friday the 27th of September at 5AM and headed up Hwy 10 towards Phoenix and took Hwy 8 heading for San Diego.  Around 10 AM we found ourselves surrounded by

fields of windmills in the Palm Springs Valley of California.  I have seen windmills in the fields of Indiana but here in California they have all different designs, shapes and sizes.  This valley must be the test field for windmill companies.

To me they look like space age palm trees.  Wonder if Bob Hope ever envisioned this while relaxing on all those golf courses in town.

Here's another "only in California" sight.....Trucks full of grapefruit.  I also spotted one full of tomatoes probably headed to the V8 factory.

We finally arrived at Barbara's around 9:30 PM.  I'm glad she's moving because it's crazy to find her place at night in the foothills of the Sierra's.  But the smell of pines and running water did my old Ohio Soul good.

Brunch with Barb in Grass Valley

Barb's a walker.....Tom and I had a hard time keeping up...

Barb's house

Love these trees!!

Tom's pulling out what he can to grow in Arizona....

I helped Barb with her computer issues and Tom did some small repairs around the house.  Tom is so generous with his helpless sisters!

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We headed for home on Sept. 30 at 6:30 AM intending to drive home via Reno and LasVegas.  Somewhere south of Reno we encountered this:

I was pleasantly surprised  and mentioned to Tom how beautiful it was and kept driving....

Just a few miles later we saw a sign "Welcome to California".  Much to our surprise we had made a right turn right back and we  were staring at the Sierra Nevada's on the other side of Yosemite.  I was happy for the detour because I got some great shots in the valley along Rt 395 heading South to Rt. 40.

Coming over the Donner Pass, trying to envision the first settlers making this trip, I can't wrap my mind around that one!

Along Calif. 395

It's Fall in the Valley

Colorado River at the Calif. Arizona border at sunset

Heading towards Lake Havasu, AZ

I decided that going back to see Lake Havasu would be worth a trip.  There's is also Parker Lake and Parker Dam with several State Parks in the area.  I had imagined it to be flat as a pancake type of landscape but I was really wrong.  It's very beautiful and Lake Havasu is a huge modern city.

So continues my exploration of the American West.

What fun!!!