Jan 29 - A little bit of everything last week

Well, things are starting to settle into a a routine of sorts.  John and I are both trying to exercise at least 3 days every week.  I hope to increase that soon to 4 or 5, but for now we're just getting into the groove.  I tried water aerobics yesterday - it was fun, but not too energetic...but the water was wonderful.   It's gonna be 72 today so we're going to spend some time at the pool. 

Meghan gets a couple of walks a day which helps as well and she's enjoying that.  She's had an ear infection and is now taking allergy pills that make her a bit lethargic, but she's stopped chewing on her leg and feet which is terrific - we were both tired of yelling at her to stop.  

John's allergies and mine have kicked in here - we don't know to what, but our eyes and sinuses are a mess.  I know the desert is good for asthma.  I'm hoping once we're used to it we'll get better.  

In terms of sports, John is playing golf and softball, so he's in heaven.  I still haven't figured out what I'm gonna do so am trying different things.  I'm planing on trying pickle ball this week - it looks like tennis on a smaller court and with ping pong paddles to me.  And I want to try shuffleboard - we used to play as kids up on Lake Erie and I loved it then.  

Our resort had an evening at the firepit last week where we listened to music - 2 guys past their prime, but that still had fun entertaining.  I recognized most of the songs but not all.  "I don't look good naked anymore" was pretty funny and a new one.  There's a movie night next week that we may go to, free to go and free popcorn - sounds like a deal. 

I found a rug weaving class in Mesa that starts Feb. 15th for 4 weeks.  I'm looking forward to that - could be a new hobby for me (and I don't really have any).  I guess our class project will be a table runner which will be a good thing to make.  

So life's good - I'm still working part time, but I'm less and less engaged.  I'm gonna miss everyone a lot, and all the geeky stuff we do and use.  It's gonna be interesting when it all ends, I'm not sure how I'll keep myself busy yet but I suppose things will just happen. 

Jan 20 - We've finally landed in Phoenix!

We actually arrived on Friday, but have been super busy getting set-up and figuring out where things are.  We had so many suitcases to unpack, not to mention the boxes of stuff we'd dumped into the 5th wheel when we left.  


The park is pretty nice - it's very large and has a great recreation room, workout room, swimming pool, lots of outdoor courts (tennis, pickle ball, shuffleboard, lawn bowling etc.), so lots to do.  And the athletic room is close so we have no excuses.  The golf course is in great shape so John is happy - he played his first round today.  It's an interesting combination of RVs, 5th wheels, trailers, and modular homes.  The people are really friendly and everyone walks and says hi; of course they love Meghan.  I've decided I'm definitely the youngest person here; I'll get used to it, but neither of us feel old enough to be spending time in this kind of park.  Funny!


Last night we had dinner with an old friend, boss, and mentor Lynn Dorsett - it was so fun to catch up.  We're planning on doing it again soon, but here at our place.  


Today I went back to work, which after 5 weeks off is really hard.  I'm not sure exactly when I'll be calling it quits, I have a few things to finish up first.  In the meantime I'm diving back in and trying to stay focused.  


One fun thing, I found a rug weaving class which I'll start in a few weeks - I'm looking forward to learning how to use a loom and learning something new.  More to come on this one.   

Jan 12 - Sedona, a town of red rocks and art!

Sedona is a different sort of place.  There are red rocks all around the town which sits down in a valley.  We came in from Flagstaff which brought us down a windy valley which was beautiful.  It dropped us into the downtown area which turned out to be extremely touristy.  To the north and west additional "villages" make up the rest of Sedona.  The homes blend into the hillsides and are almost invisible, the primary architecture is stucco or adobe.  To me it isn't quite as overwhelming as I found it to be in Santa Fe, NM a few years ago.

The town is full of art galleries - the work is beautiful - paintings, bronze sculptures, jewelry, glass, rugs and more.  We saw some Dale Chihuly glass objects in a gallery - he's always a favorite, and the pieces were spectacular.  They're hard to find in a small town like Reno so seeing them was a treat. 

The bronze on the right is of Merlin.  The detail work was incredible, it must have taken the artist months if not years to create the cast. To find it in a shopping center roundabout was a surprise, but nice to find it in a place where the public could appreciate it.

Today we wasted 2 hours in a timeshare presentation - we were hijacked as we walked downtown yesterday and before we knew it we'd committed to attending.  The presentation was compelling to me, but John would have none of it.  And to be truthful, the 5th wheel is our big travel investment for a while.  We did manage to get our Grand Canyon train tickets for next month really cheap so the time was worth it.  

After that we found a nice creekside cafe for lunch where Meghan could sit with us.  The food was extremely good, but once again too much.  The diet begins in Phoenix and we can't get there soon enough.  We worked out for a short time yesterday and it was harder than it should have been.  That was a sign that a serious turnaround is needed. 

We did take a few short drives around town to see the rocks and enjoy the scenery.  We never found a vortex but it was easy to enjoy the serenity anyway. I think we may try and come back before we leave Arizona, but we'll definitely bring back our hiking gear so we can really enjoy the outdoors which is such a focus here. 

We've decided to leave for Phoenix tomorrow - we're ready to get settled and get out of hotels.  And we're tired, we realized today we haven't slowed down since we left Denver.  It's time for a rest, and we need to do laundry.  We'll go back to friends Tony & Jeanette Chavez tomorrow afternoon, tell tall tales, and drink wine.  It will be a great transition to the major part of this adventure - our time in Phoenix. 

As I reflect on the last 2 weeks it turned out to be the perfect time to do this trip.  Yes it was a bit cold, but it was manageable.  The things that worked in our favor were that it was low season which made the hotel rates more reasonable, and of course it wasn't crowded with tourists.  I'd encourage others to try this time of year, it really worked out for us. 

Jan 11 - Our native American tour continues to Mesa Verde and Monument Park.

Funny, I didn't consciously think the tour would be through Indian country, but it's turned out that way.  We went to Durango and spent the night after we left Taos, our destination being Mesa Verde.  I'd been there years ago, but John had never seen it.  

 Our drive to Mesa Verde took about 45 minutes, we saw incredible mesas and enjoyed the snow (on the hills, but not on the road).  It was overcast but still beautiful.





MV is where is an archeological preserve of the ancestral Puebloan people.  The preserve is the nation's largest and consists of 600 cliff dwellings.  It was occupied from 600 A.D. until about 1300.  We couldn't go into any of the sites because of the time of year, but we took the loop drive and were able to see almost everything. 

This picture is of the Cliff Palace the largest dwelling in the park, it was a shame we couldn't tour it.  I have to agree with the brochure, winter is a special time in the park, the snow really gave us a sense for what it could have been like to have lived here in the harsh weather.  On the loop road we met a young man and his dad - they left the park when we did and were planning to see Monument park and get into Flagstaff that night - one of those 12 countries in 4 days types of tours.  We lost them on the road so we don't know if they ever made it.  They wouldn't have appreciated it at that speed I can promise you. 

On our way to Monument park we had to stop in Four Corners for John.  He said he'd always wanted to go, but I'm not sure why.  I think it was because he could be in 4 states at one time.  So here is his $6 shot which is what the Indians charge to go in.  

The drive out of MV was spectacular - the Mesas were fabulous and we enjoyed the vistas on the horizon - just beautiful country that neither of us had ever seen before. 

From there we hustled in to a small town called Kayenta where we spent the night at a Hampton Inn.  The food there was great.  I had the Navajo taco - it was like nothing I've ever had - and I could only eat half of it.  It was a treat.  And John had the green chile stew with Navajo flat bread - he said both were terrific.

Kayenta is at the crossroads of Hwys. 160/163 - in Navajo Nation and not far from the entrance to Monument Valley.  That night we had another dusting of snow but boy did it make the monuments spectacular! Apparently John Ford filmed a lot of westerns here with John Wayne - it really did look familiar, but so much bigger in person that you can see in the photos.  

 

We left Monument Valley so glad we'd made the time to come through; I can't recommend it enough.  The Navajo have a tough life, many live in single-wide trailers, some are still in Hogans, and a few are lucky enough to be in a small tract house - their annual income is about $22k so they're living at the poverty level.  They certainly live in beautiful places, but their life it pretty hard.  Those we met were extremely friendly and hospitable.  

We arrived in Sedona, AZ about 4:30pm and got settled into our hotel.  It wasn't particular nice (a La Quinta) so we moved the next day over to a Best Western which was much nicer.  Tuesday was a low-key day, we were tired from the travel and decided this was a perfect place to lay low.  We looked around town a bit (a tad touristy in the downtown area), but the setting is amazing - we're surrounded by red rocks and incredible views.  We'll take photos tomorrow, today was camera-free.  

Tonight after our first workout in over 3 weeks, we went for Mexican food at the Casa Bonita - we had organic margaritas!  If you like, try their recipe: 3 parts Tierras Silver Organic tequila, 2 parts Triple Sec, and 1 part fresh squeezed lime juice - YUMMY!

We've taken so many pictures I can't share here that I'm going to upload them to Picassa after I've weeded out the bad ones.  I'll post a link here in the blog and on my Facebook page for those who want the detail.  More on that later when I'm not vacationing :-) 

Jan 7 - Taos is a magical place!

Wow, what a place!  We've been busy and feel like we've barely seen the tip of the iceberg (which is a good metaphor because of the temperature - mid 30's during the day, and who knows what at night).  

Yesterday we went to the Taos Pueblo - this is a living world heritage site and is absolutely magical.  The native Americans have been living in this same pueblo for more than 1,000 years.  We were extremely lucky because Jan. 6th was the annual date of the Buffalo Dance (sometimes the Deer Dance).  We got there early and wandered thru the pueblo - no electricity or running water (and people live there!).  I wish I had photos, but we weren't allowed to take any because the dance was sacred.  

The elders danced and played drums.  There were probably 30 dancers that had on buffalo heads, and another 5 that had on deer heads w/full horns, and skins down their backs.  They had on loin cloths and moccasins and that was it.  It was surreal to think that the same dance has been done for 1,000 years in the same exact spot. If you ever go to Taos, try to schedule around one of the dances, they're definitely worth seeing.  

For lunch we ate at Abe's in Arroyo Seco - it's been there for 60+ years - wonderful tamales and tacos.  Arroyo Seco used to be home to a number of communes - it's still kind of funky today.  

On the spur of the moment we drove up to the ski area - from the little we saw it's definitely for experts.  You drive into a dead-end valley and the runs look like sheer drops from the top - apparently we could only see 1/30th of it, the rest is tucked around the back of the mountain.

Dinner was at El Meze - absolutely wonderful! North African and Spanish fusion - definitely a highlight for us!  The sopa verde was to die for. 

Today (Friday) was our last day and we decided to drive the "High Road" between Santa Fe and Taos.  In addition to the wonderful scenery, it is noted for having a number of pueblos as well as being a part of the Fiber Trail.  

We stopped first at the Cardona-Hine Gallery in Truchas - their paintings were wonderful, but way out of our price range. You can certainly see how the surroundings inspire their work.   

The absolute best stop was at Centinela Arts - they do traditional weaving and the weavers have won lots of awards for their work.  We were very lucky because Lisa Trujillo, one of the owners was there and she was wonderful about answering my questions.  The picture shows her weaving a contemporary piece which will be a large rug - the colors were beautiful.  It was all new to me, but wonderful.  I'm going to look into classes when we get to Phoenix.  

Maybe the best part was that there was another artist's work there who made Quechquemitl's - don't ask me how to pronounce it.  But I had to have the one you see in the picture - I can't wait to wear it.  The turquoise color is spectacular!

Our last stop was at the Pueblo Ildefonso where Maria & Julian Martinez revolutionized Indian pottery.  Their black on black pottery is amazing - John would have loved to have a piece, but the prices are in the thousands even for the small pieces.  Today their descendants carry the tradition but their pieces are out of reach as well.   

Tomorrow we head out for Farmington on our way to either Mesa Verde or to Monument Valley - weather dependent.  We'll really miss our wonderful B&B and our room w/the private patio and our kiva fireplace.  Brad was a fountain of knowledge and gave us wonderful recommendations about what to see and where to eat.  His stories were great and we listened avidly every morning over breakfast.  Breakfast...what can I say? Michael is the best!  Everything was fresh and homemade - from the best scones I've ever had in my life, to Tosadas Posada (like Huevos), to blue corn waffles, and fruit and yoghurt.  We always left full and more than happy!  If you ever come here this is a 5* stop and worth every penny.  We'll definitely be back to Taos to see the things we missed, and we'll definitely stay at La Posada de Taos.  

More on our journey soon!

Jan 5 - The first post from the Shaw's on their 2011 adventure

This blog will follow the adventures of Gail, John, and Meghan Shaw.  We'll share our travels, our adventures, our interests and our opinions.  We hope you'll be interested and follow us - we plan that this will be a "diary" of our new adventures as Gail retires from IBM (not yet, but soon) as we take more vacations and see more sights. 

Our first adventure/ trip began on Dec. 16th when we left Reno, NV with our 5th wheel on the way to Littleton, CO for the holidays.  We spent our first night in Las Vegas, then went on to Phoenix and spent 2 days with Tony & Jeanette Chavez in Phoenix.  We left the RV there and will pick it up later (our ultimate destination for the winter).  We arrived in Denver on Dec. 21st and spent the next two weeks with Gail's family over Christmas and New Years.  We also saw John's daughter Lisa and her 3 boys, Cody, Braden and Garrett.  It was great to connect and catch-up with everyone.  

While in Denver we saw the King Tut exhibit, watched my nephew Christopher's hockey team (the Foothill Flyers) take runner-up in a big tournament, visited with local friends the Hambrooks, and went to a couple of movies.  We were busy!  And of course we ate and drank too much which is typical for the holidays (but is a serious focus area for 2011).


We left Denver yesterday for a rambling trip back to Phoenix.  We stopped in Taos and already love the place.  We're staying at La Posada de Taos and are enjoying the hospitality of Brad and Michael our innkeepers.  What a terrific place, close to the old town center, the ski area and lots of wonderful sights - but it's cold here!

Today we explored old town and bought a few pieces of turquoise.  Later we went to an amazing place called Earthship.  All of the homes are built 100% naturally and are 100% off the grid - completely selfsustaining.  Amazing to see tomatoes growing indoors in January!  If we were only a few years younger we'd might give this a go.  After that we were off the the Millicent Rogers museum to see her collection of art, jewelry, pottery, and woven goods - it's something that shouldn't be missed if you're ever here.  We had terrific margueritas at the Taos Inn and called it a night.  Lots more to do tomorrow - we've already decided to extend this visit - we'll leave here on Saturday morning.

This is a long entry because I wanted to go back and share this adventure from the beginning.  We'll continue to post, but shorter entries with what we're up to.  We hope to hear you, and definitely see you as we're out and about!