Holiday Activities

Even though there was no snow or evergreen trees, residents of the RV park did lots of decorating and made the holidays festive. We enjoyed a potluck dinner on Christmas day with about 80-100 of our newest old friends.  A New Year's Eve party is also planned.  And, there's a rumor that Elvis will make an appearance to entertain us in January!

Dairy in the Desert

Shamrock Farms Farm Tour near Stanfield, AZ was our first planned field trip for this season.  Started as a family business some 90 years ago with 20 cows and a model T milk delivery truck, the dairy farm is now home to approximately 10,000 cows and delivers 47,000 gallons of milk per day. We went by tram around and through the dairy operation, seeing the cattle feeding lots, the milking parlor, and the "nursery" for newborn calves.
The feeding areas were designed with ventilation and huge fans to keep the cows comfortable, even during the hottest months. The milking parlor was in full operation while we were there: they milk about 8000 cows twice a day, 200 cows at a time. We watched the cows enter single file and find their stanchion.  Workers cleaned the udders and attached the milking machines.  Once 4 gallons of milk was collected from each cow, the milkers fall off, the cows are released and leave the parlor.  Then another group of cows enter...the collected milk is cooled and hauled out in large tank trucks.  Processing, pasteurizing, and bottling is done at another site.

Shamrock Farms is one of the only dairies in Arizona to offer organic milk. A separate group of about 2000 cows are maintained following regulations for organic production. One requirement is that organic milk producing cows must roam and graze in pasture.

Snowbirds Return to Arizona

We have completed another successful trip to Arizona, where we will again spend the winter months.  Travel this year took us on our familiar route South...staying overnight in Osceola, Iowa;  Emporia and Liberal, Kansas. Our stay in Liberal was extended to two nights due to gusty winds and the threat of tumbleweed attack...this small one even got us in the RV park...We did some sightseeing in Liberal, which didn't take too long. They do have a museum and replica of Dorothy's house (as in Wizard of Oz) complete with Muchkins, but we decided to pass on that.
   From there it was on to Santa Rosa, New Mexico, then Deming, NM for the next night.  On a "shortcut" from Santa Rosa to I-25 South (attempting to avoid Albuquerque) Gene earned another RV Drivers Merit Badge for maneuvering 13 miles of rough, narrow, lane-changing road construction without hitting even one orange cone!!
   We left Deming, NM and arrived in Casa Grande, Arizona the next afternoon.
The RV park is quiet yet, still awaiting many snowbirds to arrive...but it is warm and sunny here, and we quickly changed from Minnesota turtlenecks and jeans, to t-shirts and shorts.

Wisconsin Trip July 2012

Our Wisconsin trip started at Chapparal Campground, Wonewoc, WI on Thursday, July 12th.  We joined other members of Northland Travelers RV club for a weekend of camping and biking.  The campground has close access to a couple popular Wisconsin bike trails, which follow abandoned rail lines.  One trail advertises a 1/4 mile tunnel, which is so dark in the middle you need flashlights! 
   On Friday we explored small towns of LaValle (which had an old grain elevator converted to antique store), Ironton, Cazenovia, and Germantown.  It was in the last two where we found descendents of a Jax family, and located gravesites of some long past. We also visited a cheese factory, and bought homemade pie from an Amish girl who was selling from her buggy. We missed the bike ride which was scheduled for Saturday, as we had to leave early to make our next destination.
   On Saturday afternoon we arrived in Kiel, WI and parked at Kiel Marsh Wildlife Area (Broughton Sheboygan Marsh Park).  We went to visit Jim & Irene, a couple we met last winter in Arizona.  On Sunday, we all attended a polka mass and parish celebration at St. Johns church in Johnsburg, WI.  Here Gene met folks with last names similar to those of Johnsburg, MN...many were likely relatives! Monday and Tuesday were spent driving around to small towns in the area (Marytown, New Holstein, Mt. Calvary, Chilton), looking in cemetaries and talking with local residents about family ancestry.
    Wednesday found us on the road with the motorhome again, traveling a short distance north along Lake Winnebago to High Cliff State Park, Sherwood, WI.
     High Cliff started out as a limestone quarry operation in the mid to late 1800's.  Limestone from the bluffs was crushed and sent to a kiln where the heated stone turned to lime powder.  Vast amounts of forest were harvested to fire the kilns. But eventually the good limestone was depleted, and the operation shut down.  Remnants of the old kilns and quarry are still visible in the park. The park also has an area containing effigy mounds built by native tribes between 1000 and 1500 AD.  We camped there two days, explored the walking trails, and went to visit Gene's cousin and her husband who lived nearby the park.
    By Friday we were traveling again, headed to the Stevens Point area to stay at Vista Royalle Campground, Bancroft, WI. We spent time visiting Gene's relatives who lived in the area, and on Saturday toured Point Brewery, the oldest in Stevens Point (brewing since 1857).
    Sunday, July 22nd had arrived; time to make the drive back to Shoreview.  We enjoyed the entire Wisconsin experience: a cheese factory, a brewery, a dairy farm (in Kiel), and some wonderful scenery.
  

Return to Minnesota

On April 5th we left Casa Grande to start our journey toward Minnesota.  First stop was Prescott, Arizona where we spent a few days with Kathy's cousin and her husband.  They became our tour guides... taking us to view the Grand Canyon, then to see historic sites around Prescott area.
    After leaving Prescott we headed east along I-40, spending nights in Gallup and Santa Rosa, New Mexico. As we left Santa Rosa the winds picked up, and severe thunderstorms were predicted along our driving route.  We stopped in Tucumcari, NM for two days to wait out the storms.  Downtown Tucumcari is part of Route 66 National Scenic Byway, so we went by car to check out the colorful murals that cover shops and buildings along "Main Street", and spent some time at the local Historical Museum.
    With the threat of severe weather temporarily subsided we headed east again on I-40 through Amarillo, TX, then on to Clinton, Oklahoma. By then more severe weather, including hail, tornadoes, heavy rains and strong, gusty winds, was in the forecast again.  Woodward, OK (just north of Clinton) was hard hit by these storms.
We camped in Clinton for 3 days.
   From Clinton, OK we drove to Garden Plain, Kansas where we spent an afternoon and evening visiting some of Gene's relatives.  We parked overnight at the family farm place still occupied by an 89 year old cousin who had been born on that farm.
   After leaving Garden Plain we headed toward I-35, spending nights in Topeka, KS and Osceola, Iowa along the route home.  We arrived in Shoreview on April 19th.
    The motor home is parked, the Christmas decorations have been taken down, and yard and garden activities await...

St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery

  On March 27th we drove to St. Anthony's Monastery near Florence, AZ to view the beautiful church, chapels, and gardens that make up the Monastery.  Jen was visiting  for a few days the end of March, so she was able to go on this trip with us.
   In the summer of 1995 six monks arrived in the Arizona desert. Under the direction of Elder Ephraim, a disciple of Mt. Athos monastery in Greece, the building began. They constructed a main church, living quarters for the monks, a  dining hall, and guest facilities.  As the monastery expanded they added more chapels, a vegetable garden, citrus orchards, and an olive grove.
 
  The brotherhood of over 40 monks and novices living here follow a daily schedule of prayer and work...tending the gardens, orchards, and buildings; preparing food; and offering hospitality to visitors. Everyone is welcome to visit, but are asked to dress appropriately: men wear long sleeve shirts and long pants; women wear long sleeve blouses, long skirts, and head scarves.  A supply of clothing is kept at the visitor entrance for those needing it...Jen and I were given long skirts and head scarves to put on as we entered, as neither of us had those garments in our travel wardrobe...

    Beautiful woodwork, icons, and candles are plentiful. The rounded Byzantine dome (Russian dome) architecture and Russian Orthodox crosses are present on the church and chapels. The churches are open, with no pews or chairs, only benches surrounding the perimeter where those attending stand during the services.

 It is a beautiful hidden, desert surprise...

Biosphere 2

On March 14 we went on a tag-a-long tour from Val Vista Park to see Biosphere 2.  The drive to Biosphere was scenic, with changes in variety of cactus and other landscape as we ascended elevation to the site location in Oracle, AZ.  The mountains behind Biosphere 2 actually had some snow on the upper peaks.
  Original construction began in 1986 by Space Biospheres Ventures to construct a facility to study self-sustaining space-colonization technology.  Two missions were completed between 1991 and 1994, with human subjects sealed in  Biosphere 2 to analyze survivability in a created environment.  The outcomes were considered successful, but no further missions were planned.
   In 2007 University of Arizona took over management of the facility.  The enclosure is now used to support research for large scale ecology projects, such as the consequences of global climate change.  Ecosystems within Biosphere 2 include ocean with coral reef; mangrove wetlands; tropical rainforest; savannah grassland, and fog desert.  Huge air-handlers can adjust environmental conditions in each of these areas...e.g. if they want to study impact of less rain and cooler temperatures in the rainforest, this can be accomplished by settings made within the energy center.
   The most frequent visitor question...where is Biosphere 1?  Answer...Biosphere 1 is our natural planet Earth!

Copper Mine Tour

On March 9th we drove south of Tucson to the ASARCO Mineral Discovery Center in Sahuarita, AZ to tour an open pit copper mine.  The guided tour took us to the edge of the open mine pit, then back to the plant to see how the ore is processed and copper removed from the waste rock. At this mine, every ton of ore produces about 13 pounds of copper.  But, for every ton of ore approximately 3 ton of rock has to be processed.
 Rock is first blasted to fracture it into material that can be loaded onto the huge trucks and hauled to a crusher.  The primary crusher reduces the rock to about 8 inch size pieces. A secondary gyratory crusher breaks those pieces even smaller.  From there the rock travels through large rotating mills that contain 8 inch diameter steel balls which pulverize the rock into a powder. The powder is mixed with water, lime, and other chemicals to create a slurry which goes to a flotation tank. Air is bubbled in, the extracted copper attaches to the air bubbles and is separated, dried and forms a fine powder which is now 28% copper.  At this point the powder is shipped to another site for smelting and refining.
   Huge amounts of electricity and water are needed for this process.  Much of the water is reclaimed and reused, which helps in this state with so little water resources.  Some byproducts of the copper separation process, small amounts of silver and gold, can be sold to help pay for electricity.  Some mines like this are evaluating the use of solar panels to help supplement the energy requirement.  The open pits are very controversial due to the environmental impact they have.  There are some efforts being made to reclaim the damaged earth and initiate native plants and animals to come back.  One way of doing this is to introduce grazing cattle into the area, hoping as they feed they will spread grasses and seeds over the earth.

Saguaro Lake Cruise

On Feb 28th we viewed Saguaro Lake via a 90 minute narrated cruise aboard the Desert Belle Tour Boat.  Saguaro Lake is the 4th lake in a series formed by dams installed along the Salt River. Most well known is the first, Theodore Roosevelt Dam, which forms Theodore Roosevelt Lake. Following that is Horse Mesa Dam (Apache Lake), Morman Flat Dam (Canyon Lake), and finally Stewart Mountain Dam (Saguaro Lake).

   Saguaro Lake is a long, narrow lake that covers 1100 acres.  It is stocked with walleye, bass, trout, bluegills, crappies, and catfish by the Arizona Fish & Game Department.
    Located within the Tonto National Forest, rustic campsites are available by boat access only; hiking, biking, horse-back riding, and ATV trails wind their way through the desert areas surrounding Saguaro Lake.  A few RV campsites are available along the highway leading to the lake.
    Water from these lake reservoirs can be diverted for irrigation purposes.  According to the cruise narrator, some campers using boat access have awaken in the morning to find the water table has dropped by 4 feet or more, and their boat is now on dry land!
    Before driving home, we had lunch at Lake Shore Restaurant, located near the cruise departure area.

Casa Grande Cowboy and Indians Days

Cowboy and Indians Days was a week long rodeo event held in Casa Grande in February.  Different events were held each day; participants included cowboys from both the US and Canada, and Indians from various Native American tribes.  The day we went was "Ranch Rodeo" day, where the riders were teams of individuals from actual working ranches around the area.

   The day started with shooting, where riders on horseback rode through a prepared course and had to shoot balloons mounted on posts along the way. These were timed events, and points earned or lost depending on how many balloons broke and whether the course was followed correctly.

   After this event, the rodeo "zamboni" (little blue tractor with a drag behind) smoothed the field.  Other events that afternoon included catching a wild horse, putting a saddle on and riding it to a finish line; roping calves from a herd and pretending to brand them; catching two calves and loading them in a trailer; wild bronco riding, and finally, roping a wild cow and milking it.

    Lunch was served from a circle of "chuck wagons"...each wagon had a slightly different menu but all had to include beef, beans,and biscuits.
 
 This was a different sort of rodeo to watch, but the events were entertaining.

Picacho Peak State Park

On Feb 11th we drove south of Casa Grande toward Tucson to visit Picacho Peak State Park.  Picacho Peak is a dramatic geological rocky protrudence with a unique shape that rises 1500 feet above the desert floor, reaching an elevation of 3,374 feet at the peak.   It can be seen for miles around, and has likely been used as a landmark by travelers since prehistoric times.  One of the first written records was in the 1700's when the Anza Expedition passed through this area.
   It has historical significance as the site of a battle during the Civil War.  A monument placed there commemorates this event.  A re-enactment of the battle takes place the second week in March.
   The 3500 acre site has seven miles of developed hiking trails that wind through the saguaro cacti and other desert plants.  There are picnic areas, campsites, interpretive signs, and a visitor center on site.

SkyDive Arizona

SkyDive Arizona is advertised as the largest skydiving center in the world...we were told by numerous RV Park residents that we had to drive to Eloy, AZ and check it out, so on Friday, Feb 10th we drove the 20 or so miles to Eloy and watched the skydivers...it was amazing!
    SkyDive Arizona is a training facility for individual and team skydivers...they also offer tandem jumps with an instructor for those brave enough to jump out of a plane at 13,000 feet, free-fall for one minute, then deploy the parachute and glide to earth.  (Neither of the Jax's were up for that!) 

 Also on site is a freefall simulator...that looked to be more fun! The simulator generates wind speeds of up to 120 miles per hour in an enclosed chamber...you gear up, step into the chamber, and experience the "free-fall" sensation, suspended a couple feet above the floor of the chamber.  We were able to watch several individuals, including a group of young children, use the simulator.

 The fields and simulator are often used for military training.  The day we visited there was a group of about 20 members of the Royal Air Force from England doing practice jumps.

We spent a couple hours there watching the jumpers glide to earth...at times there would be a dozen or more in the sky at once, all with colorful jumpsuits & parachutes.  Everyone we watched made a safe landing!

Queen Creek Olive Mill

On February 9th we drove to Queen Creek, AZ to observe a working olive mill.  The Queen Creek Olive Mill is a small family owned company that is experimenting with growing olives in Arizona, then using those olives to produce a high quality extra virgin olive oil.  The grove of approximately 2000 trees is an assortment of varieties including Classic Tuscany (Lechino, Frantoio, Pendolino, and Grappolo); the Mission Olive; Spanish Manzanillo, Sevillano, and Arbequina; Italian Baroni; California Lucca; and the Greek Kalamata.
   The olive trees are drip irrigated; no pesticides or mold inhibitors are needed due to this region's growing conditions.  Trees grow buds in March and blossom mid-April.  By May the olives are formed on the tree; they are allowed to grow through the summer.  Harvest is in the fall.
   Olives are harvested by hand using special rakes to remove the fruit from the trees.  After harvest, the olives are washed with fresh water and ground into a coarse paste using a hammer mill.   The paste is slowly mixed to allow small oil drops to stick together and form larger ones.  A centrifugal decanter is then used to separate the oil.  The oils are stored in large stainless steel vats until they can be blended and bottled.
   At the end of the tour we were given samples of different blends, and encouraged to shop in their market for bottles to enjoy at home.

RV Park Activities

In case you are wondering, we are keeping busy here at the RV Park...Kathy has been taking part in Walk Aerobics classes held Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.  Tuesday and Thursday, we both have been playing shuffleboard. Every Monday morning there is a park meeting where activities for the week are presented, and problems/concerns addressed.  They also provide coffee & donuts!  Monday evening is Music Night, with entertainment provided by musicians from the park. Many of the selections are "sing along" with a song book provided. Wednesday night is Wii Bowling.  Almost every Friday night there is entertainment by an outside group. Anyone who wants can attend for a small fee. The night we attended there was a very enthusiastic bluegrass band playing.
    Breakfasts are served every other Saturday morning.  We learned quickly that if you show up at the scheduled time for food events, you are already at least 15 minutes late!  One evening there was a cook-out in the desert next to the park; this event is BYOB & C (bring your own beverage and chair); they served hamburgers, brats, and hotdogs, then started large bonfires to sit around and visit with your neighbors.
    Other tag-a-long events are constantly being scheduled...this month (February) we are going to an olive mill to learn about olive oil processing; and a chartered lake cruise on Saguaro Lake.
     Daily walks around the park and visiting neighbors complete our park events.

Casa Grande Ruins

On January 9th we visited Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, the site of the archeological remains of an ancient Hohokam farming village. At the center of the site is the "Great House", remains of a structure estimated to have been 4 stories high and 60 feet long.  It was constructed of desert subsoil mud called caliche, timbers from huge juniper, fir, or pine trees carried from the rivers as far as 60 miles from the site, and large cactus found on the desert.
   Smaller pit houses were also located around the large structure.  The entire village seemed to have been surrounded by a mud wall. (The tour guide joked this was probably  Arizona's original "gated community")
    The Hohokam were hunter-gatherers who likely inhabited this area from 300 to the 1400's.  They drew from Mesoamerican civilizations, traded their pottery and  jewelry for shells, mirrors, copper items, and Macaws from Mexico.  They learned to channel water from nearby rivers through intricate irrigation canals and grew corn, beans, squash, tobacco, cotton, and agave.  Other sources of food were the desert plants and animals found around the settlement.
    The Great House was constructed so it's four walls faced the four cardinal points of the compass. Circles and other openings in the walls aligned with celestial events, like the setting sun on the day of summer solstice, or different phases of the moon and stars during the year.
    The village seemed to have been abandoned in the 1400's; it was discovered in the late 1600's by missionaries; then found again in the late 1800's. Travelers to the west in search of gold carved their names and other graffiti in the soft stone. In 1892 it was designated an archeological preserve to be protected from further damage.
     The site is now maintained by the National Park Service.

Cotton Farm Tour

On Jan 6th we joined a group from the RV park on a "tag-a-long" tour to a local cotton farm.  We spent the afternoon observing equipment used to harvest and bale cotton, and went into the field to see the plants.  A tour guide then gave a presentation about the ginning process, where seeds are removed and the raw cotton is cleaned and re-baled for sale.  Quality of the cotton is determined by length and uniformity of the cotton fiber, as well as the color and brightness. Sale price is negotiated according to the quality of the fiber. Textile mills purchase the bales and perform the carding and weaving into fabric.  Cotton seed is also sold and has several uses...it can be saved and treated for future planting, the kernels can be pressed into cottonseed oil, and the hulls used for livestock feed.

It was an interesting day for a couple of old farm kids!

                                                                              

Arizona or Bust

Arizona is our winter destination this year; we departed Shoreview on Dec 28th and headed South.  The trip to Arizona took many days with many stops in-between.  Travel temperatures were warmer this year than last, so we were able to look for campgrounds that were open, and spent evenings in our motorhome, rather than hotels.
   The first night we spent at Terribles Lakeside Casino RV Park in Osceola, Iowa. Other MN travelers were there too. From there our travels took us to Emporia, Kansas, where we spent an evening in a RV park located between the Kansas Turnpike and a very busy railroad line...then on to Guymon, Oklahoma which had a couple RV parks, but both were encased in mud from the melting snowstorm afew days earlier. That evening we opted for the Walmart parking lot!
   On New Years Eve day we left Guymon in hopes of driving to Albuquerque by the next evening.  Instead strong gusty winds drove us off the interstate early afternoon, and we spent New Years Eve in an RV park in Santa Rosa, NM.  The winds calmed overnight; our next stop was Deming, NM.  On the way to Deming we passed through Hatch, NM the Chili Capitol of the USA...there were chili peppers and restaurants serving spicy delights everywhere!  Finally on Monday, Jan 2nd we arrived in Casa Grande, Arizona, our final destination.
   After a couple days of checking out parks, we moved to our new "home base" in Casa Grande today...now we can start sightseeing...