On our four mile walk through the East Saguaro National Park yesterday, I was struck by how much the desert was blooming. Not that it hadn’t been blooming before, but there are even more flowers now that it’s warmed up a little bit.
It’s been really interesting seeing Tucson green-up during March and April. When one is up on a hill or mountain overlooking the valley, the formerly brown and dark olive colors have changed to be uniformly green. During this time the bougainvillea and palo verde have bloomed like mad, as have some barrel cacti, other early cacti, and all types of agave.
So it was really neat to see all the other flowers blooming now that the heat has arrived and made things comfortable (for me and the cacti at least). During the walk, I decided to take pictures of all the different flowering plants. This post is about those flowers I saw during our 4 mile, 98 degree hike (I loved it, but my love – she melted a bit).
I’m going to start with the trees that we saw. No palo verdes are shown here, but those are still blooming all around Tucson dropping their piles of compelling yellow flowers everywhere.
The prickly pear and cholla (choy-ah) are blooming finally. The prickly pear run from pink to light yellow, including a light lemon color. The cholla flowers are mostly a deep red with hints of black, or a bright yellow. Some of the cholla don’t appear to flower but drop new growths onto the ground which then may take root. I think most of the time it doesn’t work out that way; the “nurseries” can be full of dead Cholla babies (to go full Grimm).
There are also a wide assortment of small flowers low to the ground. Some of them are only one quarter inch wide. So cute!
There’s also this special one that appears to be related to tobacco (due to the leaf and flower shape). What’s tobacco doing in the Sonoran desert?
The fairy dusters are long gone, but the other shrubs are just starting out. This included one that has pale brown flowers that look totally fake.
Honorable mention goes to the kings and queens of the dessert; the saguaros that are just getting started on their blooms. Also, the hedgehog and pincushion cacti are in various stages of starting and ending.
Last but not least are some photos of the trails we hiked on. I chose these due to the amount of erosion which helps show the trail. Most of the trail was flat and in full sun.
Beth dumped the rest of her water bottle about 3/4 of the way through the hike because the water become too warm for her. It wasn’t boiling (yet) but it was a perfect tea sipping temperature.
After over 2 weeks of 90+ Fahrenheit (33+ Celsius), the desert appears to have decided spring has sprung
“You never really leave a place or person you love, part of them you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind.” (Author unknown)
As we prepare to leave Tucson for now, in my head I start to walk through the recent familiar ritual of leaving. When we preparing to “move”, I think and feel a lot.
About 7-10 days before we leave, I start taking a closer look at what food we buy, making sure to use what’s in the freezer so we have enough space in our coolers to transport it.
Saying good-bye to people starts early. When we left Rochester, it started in November for a late December departure. Here in Tucson, I have already said goodbye to the people at the food bank, some who I only worked together with for a couple weeks, but with whom a connection was made. We talked about life in Tucson as well as shows worth watching on Netflix and Amazon, books and of course, our children. We say goodbye to acquaintances, friends of friends, and eventually any friends who live here. In some cases, there are even goodbyes to our AirB&B hosts, who became a little part of our life.
I start hoping that the next place we stay will be nicer or as nice and go back to the AirB&B or VRBO booking for the next place to check out the amenities. It is hard to remember which place has what; a washer and dryer, dishwasher, patio, etc.
Because we are not really tourists, but looking for a new home, we do not spend every days seeing the sites. But at the same time, I want to see and do everything and realize at the end of our stay that there is no way to do this. So I get a little regretful and a little blue, while anticipating the new adventure. It is like leaving Rochester except on a much smaller scale. Mostly the sadness is about lost possibilities.
I also start planning for what to do in the next place. I reflect on whether this is someplace we are really considering, or just passing through for fun. I check out what grocery stores there are, whether I can get my gas at Costco, and whether we can get our snacks at Trader Joe’s. I review “must-see” sites, look for bike trails, yoga studios, and if we are serious about the possibility of living there, look for community events, activities and institutions, and sometimes at real estate.
I want our last day to happen before it is scheduled. I feel like I am done, kind of edgy and impatient. This is me wanting to avoid the regret and sadness. Of course, there is no excitement in a new place without first leaving where we are now.
At the same time, I do not want to pack until the last minute. For those of you who know my planning side, this must come as a surprise. But we don’t need to decide what to take. We take everything we are traveling with, and it is mostly organized so we know where to pack everything. I don’t want to live from suitcases and bins. When we left Redding for Tucson, it took us 1 ½ hours to pack, do dishes and take out garbage, so it doesn’t take long.
And then, somehow at the end, missing friends, family and the familiar gets a little overwhelming. We face not knowing anyone again, and in the anticipation of that absence, I get pushed back to recent losses. We have to start over. We will lack the social and support network we are used to. We face explaining our journey to everyone we meet, and we frankly face others trying to explain our adventure in a way that makes it familiar and understandable for them. In Tucson, that means that people would say “oh you are snowbirds.” Well not really but that is what folks around here are used to, so I guess it is easiest to put us in the same box.
So that is what I face in the next couple of days. Ciao.
I thought I had captured most of the bridge art but here are a few more nuggets from my long bike ride on Saturday.
From the Rillito Park portion of the Loop
Bisbee – We visited Bisbee, an old mining town, about an hour and a half from Tucson. It seems like an old hippie town now, filled with restaurants, bars, art galleries, and mining history. The town is nestled into the mountains where you would think it should not fit. The streets are connected by hundreds of stairs, and of course, we did the walking tour. For my running/triathlete friends, there is a running event every year called the Bisbee 1000 (The Great Stair Climb). By wandering up and down these stairs (and mostly we went up), you get to see this eccentric, decorated town. We also had some good food and great drinks. We did not get tickets for the copper mine tour soon enough and it was sold out, so clearly another visit is necessary!
A view of one of the main streets in Bisbee with the mountains in view. Below you will see some of house and public art we saw as we marched up and down the city stairs.
Bisbee is a place where old items are reused.
Annette and I enjoying a tequila flight, and Chris cheering us on!We saw these bedazzled cars on our walk, and did see this one driving around later in the day!
Tohuno Chul – This is a garden, galleries and bistro. Kind of an enchanted place with a non-profit mission to connect people with the magic of nature and art in the Sonoran Desert region, as well as inspire them to care for the world. It is pretty unique. The gardens are stunning when you hike through them, the exhibitions were brilliant, and they have a wonderful gift shop with local art.
Art in the garden
Hiking – We have hiked many trails and mountain ranges but the newest standout for fun and challenge is Picacha Peak. Although the first 2 miles of trail were normal desert trail, the last mile is full of sections where it is necessary to use cables inserted in rock either to haul yourself up or to hold onto to ensure you do not fall sideways down the cliff wall. We love this kind of “almost rock climbing” and really enjoyed scrambing to the top of this peak where there is a 360 degree view of the desert around you! And the saguaros, pencil cholla and prickly pear cacti were blooming in Picacha State Park. This past weekend, we hiked the very challenging Finger Rock Trail for 8 miles and 2000 plus feet of elevation gain on the way to Mount Kimball. It was a challenging hike where at about 4000 feet, the saguaro desert gave way to a totally different landscape where there were still some cacti and agave, but also oaks, pines and manzanitas.
Flowering prickly pearChuckwalla lizard – This one was less than a foot away from us, sunning on a rock, could care less that we were there. There was a larger one, 20 feet away on a rock, that had a different color tail. This meant it had lost its original tail, and grew a new one.Climbing!View of Picacha Peak.View from Picacha Peak.Lunch at the top of Picacha Peak.
View of Finger Rock (rocks in the middle) from the Finger Rock Trail
In a silly moment I called this “Cactus Skeleton with Live Cactus and Live Person”. This is what a saguaro looks like when it dies.A view going back down.A rare species on this blog.Some of the other beautiful items and views on our Finger Rock Trail hike.
Downtown – We haven’t spent much time here but visited on a Saturday night to see some local music at an outdoor venue within the Hotel Congress. The area was jam-packed and there seemed to be many events; huge lines at the Rialto Theater and at the Fox Theater; local vendors selling handcrafted items; a street blocked off with food trucks; a group protesting the U.S. attack on Syria. People walking everywhere! People watching everywhere! We watched a couple of local bands in the coolness of the dusk and neon signs at Hotel Congress, while Chris had coffee and a huge slice of chocolate mousse cake, and I had a cocktail. Everyone’s needs got met!!
A downtown sculpture with a view of a nice building.
Some great neon
at Hotel Congress.
Kartchner Caverns – About 30 minutes from Tucson, there is a state park that contains a cave system discovered in the early 70’s. We have been awed visiting caves before, but this place is different. Two local cavers 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. With the help of a local state biologist, 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 through the Arizona State Park system. So this cave is “living” and continues to develop and change. You are able to take two different tours, and for this visit, we chose the Rotunda tour which has types of formations that I have never heard of before and is an active bat maternity ward. This part of the cave is actually closed to visitors from April 15 – October 15th while the bats mate and have babies. Arizonans value bats for their insect eating abilities! The original discoverers found a sloth skeleton from 80,000 years ago in the cave. The care taken to keep this cave “living” is extraordinary! Tour guides give you instructions at the beginning of the tour that if you touch anything besides the built railings, that if you tell them, a flag is placed there so that evening, the cleaning crew can come in, and get the oils that are on your hands cleaned off so the cave continues living!
Tucson Art Museum – We visited on a Thursday night, when it was open ‘til 8 pm, with children’s activities. Although we did not love the special exhibits, they were interesting, and there is some wonderful sculpture and native American art. They also have an incredible café with great coffee, food and art.
Mexican food -There are so many options for authentic Mexican food, it makes your head spin. Standouts have been El Charro and Café Poca Cosa. For breakfast, the Little One Café, owned by sisters of the Poca Cosa chef, excelled for amazing food, great prices, and an even better vibe. And the tamales everywhere! I know I have mentioned how much I love tamales, and we are staying pretty close to the #1 place In Tucson called Tucson Tamales.
The Little One Cafe in downtown TucsonThe music is not that loud. And the hug is for real!Yes. Tamales for breakfast (sweet green corn tamale).
Tucson Food Bank – Since we were going to be here for 2 months, a great opportunity to learn more about the community was doing community service at the local food bank. The Tucson Food Bank is huge and has many programs; an organic garden, community kitchen, food drives, community garden plots, gardening lessons, weekend backpack programs for children, produce rescue, and senior meals, to name just a few. I volunteered at the food bank directly, taking jobs that required little or no training. Most of the people volunteering for these jobs were court ordered in some way (mostly for parking violations or DUIs), although there were a few others like me who did it because they wanted to give back. There were two high school students from Italy who were in Tucson living with families and doing an internship at the food bank. We packed boxed food that came to the food bank into smaller quantities for people who then picked up at the food bank or other locations. I have never seen so many tomatoes and spaghetti squashes in one day before! Tucson, Pima County and the surrounding area has a lot of hunger, so this resource is a gem in the desert!
The people – We are so fortunate to have my friend from college here. She and her husband have been so welcoming and include us on all kinds of events with their Tucson “family”. After being here for so long, with no actual family here, they have created a community of friends that are their family, and that we have greatly enjoyed! Their daughter visited for 2 weeks and we got the opportunity to get to know her as an adult (along with her lovely boyfriend.) In general, people here are pretty nice; not just exceedingly polite the way folks are in the south, but genuinely interested in talking and helping.
My dear friend Vikki who lives here in Tucson and I on a hike.
We have also had visitors. We welcome anyone who will be in the areas we are visiting, or near these areas to stop in for a visit. Chris’ sister, Annette, was here for a week, and 2 friends from college have visited as well! Quite frankly, there are times when I am a little desperate to have that social interaction that you have with someone that is not your spouse. This has happened less in Tucson than other places because we have a little built in social network.
One more week here and then on to Sedona/Cottonwood and Albuquerque!
The landscape in Tucson, although incredibly stunning, takes some getting used to if you recently lived in the Northeast. Even though it is spring and there are blooming cacti, flowers, trees and bushes, there is a lot of sand. In the Northeast, if there is dirt, most often, it is covered by grass, weeds, or other types of landscaping. Starting in April or May, the green is lush and cannot be missed. But in Tucson, there is a lot of sand and a lot of rock. Anything blooming stands out to you, and viewed from the perspective of the flats of the city, there are mountain ranges in every direction. The sunrises and sunsets decorate the sky on a regular basis like there is a party going on.
Maybe the starkness of the landscape is why there is so much public art and bridge decorations? In any case, we really enjoy the bridge decorations, and wanted to share some of them. These photos are from “the Loop”, 131 miles of bike/pedestrian path around the city. The highway bridges are often decorated as well, but much more difficult to stop and photograph.
There is a pedestrian/bike bridge downtown that is built like a rattlesnake. (Click here for a link to photos of this bridge.)
There is so much fun stuff to do in Tucson that we can’t get to much of it!
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum – Visiting is a “must-do” with anyone who wants to see the sights of Tucson. It is a large, mostly outdoors museum with 98 acres that include a zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history museum and aquarium. Highlights were the raptor free flight show, cactus garden, walk in aviary, and the company!
Great Horned Owl during the Free Flight Raptor Show. These birds fly so close overhead that you could reach up and touch them (is possible but frowned upon because you can hurt them). Birds of a different feather below (the human kind!)
Some of the amazing flowering cacti and agave we saw at the museum.
March for our Lives – The walk and rally was an overwhelmingly moving event. I didn’t know about it until the morning it happened when I overheard some women talking while I was walking down Tumamoc Hill. Luckily they were very happy to have me ask them more about it! I got there late but was able to hear the speakers talking to the crowd on the University of Arizona green space. Since the event was organized by high school students, most speakers were students who spoke about how gun violence impacted them; daughters who lost their mothers; teenagers who worry each day about whether they will leave school on the bus, or in a body bag; adults shot at the same time as Gabby Gifford. The Gabby Gifford shooting occurred here at a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, and is an event that changed lives here forever. Most politicians in AZ still will not embrace any kind of change to gun laws, but there were a couple supporting this, and one of them was shot in the same event as Gabby Giffords. But the most moving for me was to have teenagers (still children!) be so articulate about the events. Their feelings shaped my views on this important issue forever.
“Dinner and a show” (and Shabbat) in the desert – I am visiting synagogues to find out more about them so we attended a hike, service and dinner in the National Saguaro Park East. We sat facing a sunset that was absolutely breathtaking and met some very wonderful welcoming people.
Museum of Contemporary Art – Located in a huge old fire station with garage doors and so much light, this small museum had really interesting exhibits and collections.
Cyclovia Tucson – A day where a 2.5 mile route on Tucson streets is closed for bikes and pedestrians, and there are events and activities along the way. It was really wonderful to ride with hundreds, as well as walk with my friend for part of the way. There were so many families on bikes, and even a couple of young toddlers riding their tricycles. I found an acai food truck and had a great smoothie. And also found a new neighborhood (Lost Barrio) where historic warehouses are being renovated to house businesses.
This is Dead Cow bike, a well known sight. I did not see the man who rides it, but the video online shows how the legs move when the bike is ridden.
Yoga – There are so many studios here in Tucson (and even more massage therapists.) I practice 5 days a week and spent 4 weeks at 4th Avenue Yoga, but am now trying out a variety of studios. The strength and calm that I get each day from this practice is inspiring. Last week, I visited studios called Yoga Oasis and Yoga is Therapy. This week, I plan to visit Sessions Yoga and Om Yoga (where they offer yoga using silks, a tool used in aerial circus work.)
“Are we really doing this?” has turned into “how do you do this?” How do you live in a place that is not your home, make it feel like you are at home, and learn enough about it to determine if you want it to be your home? This is different than being on vacation where we fill the days with interesting things to eat, to do and to see. We are living our lives but in different places, without a place to call home. As far I can tell, you do this with a really open mind and heart, a few important belongings, and constant research of the environment around you.
Here are some tips we have found helpful.
Bring along some pictures of family and friends to decorate wherever you stay.
A couple days before you arrive, or when you arrive someplace new, research at least one thing you want to do so you can start living your life immediately. For me, that is finding a yoga studio or gym, along with hiking spots. For Chris, it is finding bike routes and groups to bike with.
It is fun and helpful also to have a “project” or two to help explore the new place. In Tucson, project number 1 is an exploration of a bunch of different coffee roasters, and recently we have started to try as many breakfast restaurants as we can.
Pillows are important, as are comfortable beds. We decided to take our pillows along, and as a result, I actually sleep the first night in a new place.
If you intend to cook some of your meals versus having takeout or going out all the time, a few kitchen items are important; a couple of good knives, cutting board, French press pots and coffee grinder for us, commonly used spices, containers for leftovers, pot holders, garlic press, citrus squeezer, rubber gloves, and vegetable peeler. (Thanks to Susan S. for her thoughts on living away from home for several months at a time. I expanded what you told me a little and we are pretty happy that we did!)
You need way less clothes than you think especially if you are in the southwest. I did not want to feel like I was on vacation and living out of a suitcase, but have been putting away clothes for storage in Rochester since we got to Northern California.
Living and working remote can be a little isolating, so for us it is important to have a few activities outside of the house that we are passionate about (hiking and biking for us, museums and tourist attractions for others). Volunteer work can be a good way to get to know a community so if this was part of your old life, make it part of your new life.
We are mostly staying at houses and apartments found on Air B&B and VRBO. It is important to have a sense of humor about the places you stay. They are all different in some way from what you expect. Communicate positively about what you need to the hosts, and be realistic about what you can expect. We have learned that we may need to pay a little more to stay closer to the center of cities, but that this is worthwhile to us, because we want to be able to walk and bike short distances to where we want to go. If the place has been seriously oversold, consider moving to another place. Air B&B will work with you on getting refunds.
If you are used to purchasing some items online that you cannot easily find in stores, free Amazon delivery with Amazon Prime across the US may be something to invest in.
Talk to everyone you come into contact with. Find out what they like about their town, their life, and hit them up for tips on whatever you are interested in.
It is super helpful to have someone reliable as a forwarding address to get your mail (thank you, Annette). Pay all your bills online so you can get rid of as much mail as possible, but have someone who can forward your mail on a regular basis.
The Tucson landscape and architecture is so different from what we are used to that it takes some getting used to. The city is surrounded by four mountain ranges, the Tucsons, Rincons, Santa Catalinas and Santa Ritas. The city is relatively flat but wherever you look there are mountains. Many times, because of the intense light, they look 2 dimensional, as if someone has surrounded the city with very large beautifully painted poster boards.
Tucson Adventures
It’s been a good whirlwind since we hit Tucson. The first weekend, we spent time with my college friends (one who lives here and one in from Alaska), and explored a great restaurant called Café Poco Cosa and went to a fundraiser for a non-profit called ICS. The second weekend, another college friend, from Portland, was in town and we explored the Tucson Festival of Books, a large festival where there are tons of lectures and readings, book signings, food stands, activities for kids, publisher and author booths. We heard Jeffrey Kruger, Time Magazine writer and the author of multiple books including Apollo 13, who also happened to go the same Baltimore high school as my friend. We ate roasted corn, tamales, and Frost Gelato. We also attended Scott Simon, author and host of NPR’s Saturday morning weekend edition’s talk. Scott Simon was definitely the highlight as he spoke about my hometown, his book about my favorite ball club, the Chicago Cubs, politics, relationships, gun control and a number of other topics. The weekend ended on Sunday night at Sidecar, a fabulous craft cocktail bar with house made ingredients.
NPR’s Scott Simon
That same weekend, Chris and I took our first hike in Tucson at Sabino Canyon National Recreation Area, to Seven Falls. This is considered “touristy” to the folks who live here, and heading back to the car felt a little like being on the trail version of a super highway, but this eight mile round trip hike ended at seven falls and pools of water where you could swim (too cold for me), that are there in the desert most of the year. We started out early which was nice because it was pretty quiet on the way there, and there was lots of time to see the views. There are a ton of different cacti, including the many saguaros (the ones that look like they have arms.) Sometimes the way they were all lined up in a row, it looked like we were hiking past a saguaro cactus farm.
We both got big hats. The sun is so strong!Two mallards at the falls
On the way back, there were a lot of hikers. At times, Chris and I felt like we were an advertisement for others being able to make it to the end. (Imagining the other much younger hikers looking at us and saying to themselves “well if they can make it, no problem for us!) I saw my first roadrunner about a mile from the end of the trail, which was very exciting, and a tiny, tiny cactus covered with flowers.
Arizona Fishhook Cactus, about 4 inches highFlowering barrel cactus
Since we have been here, we have also seen a coyote on the bike path (which headed away from us as soon as it saw us), and several other roadrunners and birds. I have yet to see a javelina, a wild pig like creature that sometimes is even seen in neighborhoods near downtown Tucson.
Our hike last weekend was to Romero Pools in the Santa Catalina State Park. This area was home to Hohokam Indians from 500-1050 AD, and has a rich history of ranching after that time. On a Sunday afternoon, we did a self-guided biking tour of public art in and around downtown Tucson.
Blooms we saw on our way to Romero Pools (the largest one is called Fairy Duster and is very popular with hummingbirds)We saw this great house while on our art tour.Some of the amazing murals and one sculpture that can be found in and around downtown Tucson.
We have discovered such a great bakery that we keep going back. It is called Barrio Bread, and is a local bakery whose baker works with local farmers to grow ancient grains. Sidecar, a craft cocktail bar, is another place we have gone to multiple times. During our breakfast exploration project, we have visited Frank’s and Francisco’s (where we sat at the counter for “breakfast and a show” and where their motto is “elegant dining elsewhere”), the Bizbee Breakfast Club, where I had what seems to be a Tucson original, blueberry granola pancakes, 5 Points Market and Restaurant, and Eclectic Café. For coffee, we have purchased beans at Ombre, Raging Sage, Cartel Coffee, Exo, and Shot in the Dark. So far my favorite is Raging Sage, but I still miss my JamaicaMeCrazy decaf beans from Canaltown in Rochester!
We ordered way too much food!These guys were fun to watch!At Frank’s and Francisco’s
It has been 2 hectic weeks since we left Redding. Since we left, we have explored Joshua Tree National Park, stayed at the Space Age Lodge, moved into a new casita, visited with three of my college friends (!!), had a couple of very good Mexican food meals, biked on the Loop trail, eaten sorbet at Frost Gellato, eaten roasted corn and attended 2 author talks at the Tucson Festival of Books, done yoga, worked, seen two coyotes and three roadrunners (beep beep), had an amazing cocktail at the SideCar, bought bread at the Barrio Bakery, and coffee at Ombre Roasters and Raging Sage Café, and hiked to Seven Falls at Sabino Canyon. On Friday, it will be two weeks since we arrived in Tucson. But I will talk about Tucson in another post.
We left Redding a day early. We got up that morning and Chris was really twitchy, and I was ready to leave as well. After canceling my afternoon meeting and packing up in about an hour and a half, we said goodbye to the ‘rents (our landlords in Redding), and got on the road. Joshua Tree was a long drive but a logical place to stop so we could be in Tucson easily from there. We planned to camp at Cottonwood Spring Campground on the southern border. We got there around 11 pm, put up our tent in the moonlight with a headlamp, rolled out our mats and sleeping bags, and went to sleep. All was well for a while, but in a couple of hours, I started to notice that I was cold. I already had warm clothing on, but the thermostat dove lower than we anticipated, so I was up at about 4 am, unable to fall back asleep. I moved my mat and bag closer to Chris and snuggled in, thinking that would help. No deal. Finally he noticed and kind of enveloped me partially within his bag as well, so I was able to stay in the tent until about 6. At that point we gave in, and decided to pack up and get ready to hike. I knew I was not spending another night camping in the same conditions.
Panorama view of the desert.
We hiked 8 miles through two palm oases (plural of oasis) in beautiful sun, but windy weather. In the desert, the landscape changes so much from place to place, so the morning was full of pointing out desert landscape objects. The hike turned around after reaching Lost Palms Oasis, where there are more fan palms than any other place in Joshua Tree. When I knew we were headed to an oasis, I thought there may be visible water, but that was not the case. When the ancient Native Americans lived here, they did have spring water. On the trail, we passed a rock that had a depression hollowed out from these ancients grinding corn on the rock. We got back to our car shortly after noon, and decided to go on a hunt for Joshua trees, which Chris had never seen. Then we found out that there are no Joshua trees in the southern part of the park, which is part of a different desert. So we drove north, and I had some momentary excitement as we passed Fried Liver Wash (because I liked the sound of the name.) The real excitement came when we went around a bend and a coyote was trotting down the road. We found our Joshua tree, and headed south and out of the park to Chiriaco Summit Coffee, where we had coffee and french fries, and plotted our next steps.
The depression on the left in the rock is from natives using the stone to grind flour.First view of Lost Palms OasisHappy couple with palms
We looked at staying overnight in Phoenix, and when that did not work out, found the Space Age Lodge in Gila Bend, Arizona. Hoping against all odds that Gila Bend would have gila monsters, we arrived at our hotel by 8 pm and skipped dinner because of the approximately 15 cups of Trader Joe’s popcorn we ate in the car. I crashed pretty quick so it was morning before we could explore the Space Age Lodge.
I made an alien friend in the gift shop!
I am happy to say that although the Space Age Lodge was not really a notable landmark, my love of kitsch took over when I saw the murals, signs, and building design. With all kinds of images of space travel everywhere, an older motel had been purchased by Best Western and newly renovated, so we had a clean comfortable place to sleep after our camping debacle.
All the interesting or flowering stuff we saw in Joshua Tree.
As we drove from there to Tucson, we saw crops in the desert and palm tree farms. We also passed the Boot Barn, which we have seen in several towns in the West. Because we have seen them so many times, I thought it deserved a visit. Chris disagreed saying “you are more of a ‘stomp on it’ versus a ‘hee haw’ type of girl.” True that!
Sounds very strange when you think of it, “Traffic Calming”. It’s as if traffic is a toddler having a tantrum, or a cobra that needs soothing. Today I’m happy to announce that phrase has been officially added to my repertoire (just before my trick of using Google to look up how to spell ‘repertoire’). However, a more accurate phrase would be: “Piss off the driver by slowing them down and making sure they really want to be there because that’s where they live”.
Given the reputation of traffic in California, it seems that there is a need for more traffic calming. But so far, mostly it’s all been the same calming techniques used elsewhere. Zebra crosswalks, traffic lights, stop signs, more signs, more designs painted on the roads, etc. Or so I thought.
On our visit to Sacramento I was delighted to discover that California has a vast portfolio of traffic calming techniques, in the form of pavement modifications, that I was unaware of. These are “bumps”, “lumps”, “undulations”, and “tables”, along with the regular assortment of “raised crossings”, “striped bumps”, and others that are in the neighborhoods we visited. Where have you been all this time?
My absolute favorites are the undulations, as the following picture illustrates.
These make it to the top of the list not only because of their name, but because jellyfish also undulate. This makes it necessary to extend and undulate ones’ arms as you travel over the undulations. Extra points for undulating your head and body (safely of course) while traversing. These were such a hit that Beth had to tell me to stop doing that. After a few more times, I ceased undulating on the undulations and just smiled as we bumped along up and down.
Next come the lumps.
These are interesting since they are almost the same as the bumps, not quite table-like, and looking like someone got bored with dropping asphalt in neat rows. This is because they are three mounds stretched across the road, left to right, with dips for tires between the mounds. I was tempted to straddle the middle hump so that we had a smooth ride, but was worried that I would bottom out the car. Speed lumps, I address you when I say “job well done”!
Next in line are the speed humps.
These are as we know and hate them. They do their job here and everywhere else, for everyone, unless you have a truck with raised suspension and can just cruise over these babies. That’s probably why undulations were created.
Last in line of these new pacifications come tables and raised crossings.
Why is there only one picture you ask? I’m glad you asked. Just as with striped or safety speed bumps and plain-Jane speed bumps, raised crossings are the same as tables with some eyelash liner applied. This has the effect of calming down traffic and placing pedestrians in a raised location where they silhouette against the horizon allowing the slowed drivers to easily see them before taking careful aim and gunning their truck engines to catch some air (not really). Actually, it’s a clever combination of two different tasks in one design. (My apologies to all the Jane’s out there – I didn’t make up that expression.)
While calling these new techniques “vast” is probably overstating it a bit, I’m keeping it. Learning new things is so worth the effort.
Bonus Round: While looking up information for this post, I found out that you can order your own speed bumps and signs! Not only that, but these things are called “vertical displacement measures”!
I got a card from an old friend today. This is the front of it.
I am absorbing for the first time the fact that that my husband of almost 25 years has the magnificent skill of pivoting from the big picture plan when necessary, whereas I am really great at staying the course while I painstakingly work out the fine points and details. This is a very good combination for us as we move forward for more stimulating, exhilarating and meaningful lives, but these different approaches can seem at odds to each other along the way. This card summed that up and reminded me of the journey! Thanks friend.
“If you like the outdoors…” This is what everyone we’ve met here says about Redding, almost as an apology. If you like the outdoors, Redding is a great place to live. And many of the people we have met either used to live, or currently live, out of town on a hill or along the river and have land to spare. It is a beautiful place with incredible views.
We are living in the bottom apartment of a beautiful home. Because the home is built into a hill, our apartment has windows and a patio. Right now I am writing with my back to the kitchen window and basking in the sun. From the patio, I can see the mountains including Lassen Peak. From the wall of windows in the yoga studio at the local Y, in any twisting pose, I see the mountains as well.
As far as we can tell, Redding is full of people who like the outdoors. Chris went biking with the Shasta Wheelman on our third day here. One of guys in the group told me about an informal group that hikes every Wednesday morning, and I have joined them 3 Wednesdays in a row. If every muscle in my body did not hurt, we would have joined them at the annual President’s Day pie hike; you hike 4 miles and in the middle, get to eat pie! On our second day here, we hiked in Lassen Volcanic National Park, which is about 1½ hours away. 2 weekends later, we tried to hike at Mount Shasta, where it was snowing (white out conditions), so we opted out and hiked at Castle Crags instead (5.6 miles, 2200 elevation gain, shockingly beautiful).
Mt. Shasta trailhead where we declined to hike in white out conditions.
Along the way to Castle Dome at Castle Crags. The same day, 20 minutes away, sunshine!So exciting that we crossed the Pacific Crest Trail.
The Castle Dome – almost there!
My hiking group is mainly older people who are all super energetic. An 82 year old ex-military man who is probably the fastest hiker, the sharpest thinker, and bikes 3 times a week to boot. There are a number of women who taught school, a land planner who worked for the state and a numbers of counties, a historian, and a man who works for the Redding Parks and Recreation department. Many have lived in others places, mostly Southern California. Two grew up in New York state. Many are ex-mountain bikers. Everyone has aches and pains, but there is little conversation about that. Most volunteer somewhere and seem to travel a bit to keep life stimulating. Wendy does volunteer work at the hospital where after a while she took over the information desk portion of the volunteer organization at the hospital. They know all the trails, much of the history, a lot of neat places to visit, a lot about native plants and trees, and history of some of the structures and mines we encounter on our hikes. They have formed a little lovely community of those who like to be outside. Many are retired, many are widowed, and they have each others’ backs. Finding out about a new place gets way easier when you talk in depth to the people that live there!
From top left clockwise: Indian paintbrush, toyon, hound’s tongue, and Manzanita (with amazing red/purplish bark)
Hiking to Camden House with the hiking groupHiking past an old mine (in the background) and the stamp mill used for the gold extraction.
The downtown is different than what I normally expect. There are shops and restaurants that are isolated on various streets, rather than all grouped together. It it is difficult to see what is here. At some point, a downtown pedestrian mall was created, but it failed and is deserted with few businesses. Turtle Bay Exploration Park and the Sundial Bridge are close to downtown but difficult to get to by bike or walking. At Turtle Bay, there is a museum there with a lovely outdoor café overlooking the river, an arboretum and botanical gardens, and a number of exhibits. The arboretum and botanical gardens are focusing on reclamation of the natural environment and include a pond with otters and beavers. On any beautiful day, there are always people, but on Saturday, it was extremely busy.
If you know where to go, there are hidden treasures. Woody’s Brewery is downtown, has tons of great burgers, homemade garlic tater tots, and a grapefruit tree with ripe fruits in the parking lot. The first time I was there with the hiking group, there was a young man in the tree picking for a woman on the ground. He picked another bag for one of the women in my group when she asked! We also found another restaurant called Moonstone Bistro with fresh food, interesting cocktails, and great service.
The tater tots at Woody’s
The local Y where I work out most days is small but well-utilized. There are a large number of classes and they are all well attended. I take yoga, pilates and when it is cooler than 60 degrees, spinning.
Our time here ends soon and we leave for a couple of months of desert, spring wild flowers, warmer temperatures and even more time outside.
On a Friday afternoon, we traveled south to Chico. It is a University of California town in the agricultural Central Valley, and has a great reputation for lower housing costs, biking, the ability to walk many places, a “reasonable” downtown (right next to the university), a great farmer’s market, lots of arts and cultural activities, and is close to the mountains and coast. As an almost-teenage boy and future salesman/real estate agent told us in the farmer’s market, you can surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon!
We went to Friday night services at a local synagogue because this adventure is not only about weather, but also about finding community. My Temple Sinai community in Rochester was an important place for me. Temple Beth Israel in Chico is a small temple (Beth Israel – 80 family units, 75% time rabbi), was founded in 1915, disbanded in the 30’s, then began again sometime in the 1950’s. The service brought about 20-25 people of all ages, and was led by the rabbi, a student cantor, and a teenage boy practicing for his bar mitzvah. We were warmly welcomed by at least 10 individuals who came over to greet us. They all shared their thoughts and facts about temple and Chico, and answered our questions about the community. We met a terrific woman who went out of her way to spend extra time with us as we grilled her about neighborhoods and what it was like to live there. Another small world moment was that she had grown up on the south side of Chicago, while I was on the north side, and had lived there for several years as an adult as well. Her husband was a dedicated bicyclist, so he and Chris had a ton to talk about. We even met Steve who told us he would run into us at the farmer’s market on Saturday morning, and we did. We did not know that he is a local music producer, bringing national and international acts to the Paradise Performing Arts Center, a 750 seat venue close to Chico, and would be handing out flyers all morning for his next production – Dion Warwick..
Saturday morning we went to the fabulous farmer’s market. High points were the tamale stand, beautiful and (often) organic produce and nuts for sale, the fresh bread stands, the tamale stand, the kindness and friendliness of strangers, and did I mention the tamale stand? I love tamales and these were amazingly fresh. You could get chicken, chicken with cheese, pork or pineapple. Any guesses on mine – of course, pineapple mixed with raisins. It was the first time ever I have had a sweet tamale, and for breakfast, it was the best. We were at a stand that sold herbs and nuts, attracted to it by the sign that said “Herbs grown in Paradise” (which makes me grin each time I think of it.) The woman who ran the stand and farmed the nuts found out we were visiting, and handed us a clamshell of special red walnuts as a gift. Then she and her friend told us all about Chico and Paradise and invited us to hear music out at a local venue. (By the way, these are the best walnuts I have ever tasted!)
Saturday morning Farmer’s Market in downtown Chico.
After the market, we headed to Bidwell Park and rode our bikes about 10 miles through this very large city park, and through the California Park neighborhood. We had already driven through the Avenues, Amber Grove, Downtown, West Side, the Barber, and continued our neighborhood car survey in Doe Mill.
Pink stucco Bidwell Mansion. In the city park, home of John Bidwell, teacher, miner, and founder of Chico.The creek that goes through Bidwell Park gets dammed up into a huge public swimming pool. Kind of like the pool at Stoneybrook State Park near Rochester, but about 5 times larger!
Then it was time for lunch, so we went to the Sierra Nevada taproom and restaurant. Sierra Nevada started in Chico in the garage of Ken Grossman, who still owns the company. They do all different kind of tours (which we did not take), but looked through their gallery and self-guided tour area. And then as we often do, took seats at the bar in order to avoid a 30 minute wait for a table. That always works for us because with just 2, you can still have a conversation. We had a lot of conversations that day but not much with each other! The man on my right worked for Sierra Nevada and was there on his day off with his wife. The guy on Chris’ left was a regular. They both helped me pick out beers for my flight, told us about Chico, and told us great stories about the company. I loved best a Gose style beer (Otra Vez) because it only had a 5% International Bitter Units (IBU), lowest on the menu. My learnings of the day were that Sierra Nevada makes very hoppy beers, and what I like and call “girly” beers are the ones that are low in the IBUs (and to be frank, what an IBU is). And as we paid for our lunch, we found that my neighbor that worked at Sierra Nevada picked up the tab for my flight!
A view of the bar at Sierra Nevada above, and a display of the some of the 800 beers they make!
Our bar neighbors also told us about Hooker Oaks rum distillery. So I started with beer and then went on to taste pineapple rum, apple pie rum (visualize sipping on a cold night in front of the fire), and plain rum. The distillery owners are contractors who now distill rum as well. In addition to the tasting, I had a very good peach fizz cocktail with pineapple rum, peach nectar and a little bit of 7Up. The distillery tour, where we saw the process of making rum, was very interesting and fun as well. (And thanks as always to my partner in crime, and always designated driver Chris!)
After this action packed and fun filled 24 hours in Chico, we visited a bakery café again (The Upper Crust Bakery) where we both had cookies to fortify us for our drive back to Redding.
We have been pretty content here in Redding so far. We have lovely hosts who live upstairs in their beautiful house that they renovated four years ago when they married. We are in a pretty, downstairs, one bedroom apartment with nice outside patio where I stretched and did yoga in the sun. The house is built into a hill so although we are in what used to be a basement, there are windows, lots of light, and little touches that make this place great. It is spotless, newly renovated, has comfortable couches, easy access to outside, lots of closet and pantry space, and a view of Lassen mountain. Our hosts have been generous and kind. They invited us for drinks and appetizers last week, and shared their upstairs view of both Mount Shasta and Lassen, and the stories of their lives, their children, their work, and their hopes. It was a delightful evening that I really needed because although I love my husband very much, I also require more social time with others.
I spent the week working for Paychex (the beginning of training my replacement),taking yoga and pilates classes at the local and generally very full Shasta Family Y, and biking and/or hiking outside almost every day. The weather continues to be unusually warm and sunny – so much so that everyone here worries about the possible consequences of not having the usual rain and snow.
I hiked on Wednesday morning with a group of strangers. We found the group by talking to a guy that Chris biked with on Sunday. It is an informal group that hikes every Wednesday at 9 am. There were about 12 people and they welcomed me warmly as I was included in an almost 4 mile hike up to Whiskeytown Falls. There is a federal recreation area 7 miles out of town called Whiskeytown that has a huge lake, and tons of walking and mountain biking trails. This particular trail went up to beautiful falls. I got to know about half the group who hiked the same speed as me. There were several teachers, a retired federal park employee, and other active folks. It took about 40 minutes to hike to the top where the falls are. This particular trail was about 12 years old, just recently built although there had been an informal trail prior to that. Along the way there was a creek, stunning forest views and sometimes views of the huge Whiskeytown Lake.
Along the trail to Whiskeytown Falls
Later in the day, I had a “small world” moment. One of the women I hiked with had two daughters who both worked in museums. She proudly told me that her daughter who lived in San Diego was currently at a conference in Palm Desert. When I texted my old friend from college, Marjorie, that evening, she shared with me that she was at the same conference!
No one knew why this area is called Whiskeytown though. Maybe that is a story for another day.
Art, flowers and views from my walk today at Turtle Bay in Redding, CA
