hiking – Tales From The Hive

Back to Tucson

We are back in Tucson. Back in Tucson after almost 5 months. After almost 5 months of dealing with a difficult medical problem that I had. We spent June and July 2018 mostly in North Carolina and New York state, seeing friends and family, camping and hiking. We got back to Tucson after stopping in Albuquerque for a couple of days, and on August 11, 2018, I ended up in the hospital in Tucson. They found a brain tumor called a meningioma, which needed surgery. Chris determined that it made the most sense to head to Chicago where the top neurosurgeons worked at Northwestern to get a second opinion, and where friends and family were. I started treatment on September 5th and ended with the ringing of a gong on December 17th. Chris started working remote at University of Arizona on December 3rd, and continues to work there at this time.

Life is boring and interesting, all at the same time. Boring is what happens when you are used to being really active and not used to taking it easy to heal. Boring is making sure you get new license plates and drivers licenses, car insurance in a new state, a new dentist, and a new doctor. Looking for a new home is a combination of boring and interesting.

More interesting is learning how to live in a new place. Tucson is different. People are nicer and more willing to spend time with us in most cases (even those working in customer service jobs at big box stores) and sometimes because of that, I think Chris and I stick out as New Yorkers. We meet lots of people who have similar values, as Tucson is more liberal than other parts of the state. There is a lot going on in the winter because the weather is so delightful. Here are some of the things that happen every year or all the time. There is way more, but I just cannot attend everything these days!

International Gem and Mineral Show in February (the city fills with visitors for this!)
Many theater productions (Recently saw a great production called American Mariachi)
Music, music, music including the Tucson Jazz Festival (Martin Luther King day weekend)
An art theater (The Loft), much like the Little Theater in Rochester
Outside activities!!!
Tucson Festival of Books in early March

Some of the items for sale at the African Village which is part of the Gem and Mineral Show. We talked to mostly men from all over Africa, here to sell some amazing art items.

Pancho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band at the Tucson Jazz Festival (downtown Tucson)

Saw two different panels of authors speak at the Tucson Festival of Books, but forgot to take any pictures. Fashion from the Festival of Books! Javelinas on the front!

We are learning about different housing styles and building methods, the process of a sale (which differs from NY state), and about neighborhoods within 5 miles from where Chris works. He rides his bike to work most days. Many days, since we are close to downtown and a YMCA there, I do not use the car but walk everywhere. We still have The Hive van but are close to getting a smaller car. The Hive name for the car will be transferred, mostly because I can’t let the name go!

I was intensely excited about a license plate with a cactus on it and laughed at myself at the same time! Still really excited about it. Way better than NY plates! (sorry friends!)

Chris is working at a new job at the University of Arizona with a group of plant and data scientists. After almost 30 years of working for small and large companies in Boston and Rochester, the university is a very different environment that challenges him to learn new things most days. As you might know, he is the kind of guy that loves that! In late April, he will travel for work to the Netherlands for the Wageningen Hackathon (love that name!) He is also working on getting back into great bike shape, and seems to be progressing well (70 miles last weekend). I did start to drive again after no driving for 5 months, mostly short distances, but made it to Phoenix last week. I have a very good friend here from college which is absolutely wonderful. It is a little difficult sometimes to have enough energy to make new friends while working out to get stronger most days and trying to figure out what physical activities work for me. It will take more time to heal before I figure out what else to do with my life. I still practice mindfulness and meditation. We still hike within my physical capacity. Some of the rain this winter has created “super blooms in the desert” which have been amazing (there will be another post about spring wildflowers.)

As many of you know, since I always need a “project”, we have a “breakfast project” where we eat breakfast out once a week at different places, and try to find the best places. It is very hard to pick the best places because there are so many good breakfast joints, both divey and nicer. We really have not eaten at any place that is bad, and are enjoying the personalities we find in these places.

Maybe it is elegant elsewhere but it is still really yummy here! Best pancakes!!

Just like Mom's... — Breakfast with the most amazing pancakes

Another interesting experience; It snowed on February 22, 2019. It can snow often in the winter up on Mt Lemmon, but it snowed in town. I went to a wonderful yin flow yoga class that morning which was pretty large – between 20-25 people. Just imagine being in a class that size where everyone (except me) was excited about the snow. They could not stop talking about it and ten minutes into the class, 2 large doors in the back were opened so the snow could be seen. 5 minutes later, I had every item of clothing I brought on, and thankfully 5 minutes after that, the doors were closed and heat turned on. I could not complain and ruin the joy being expressed!! After class, I went to my friend’s neighborhood market (Rincon Market), which sells the freshest fish in Tucson. The cashiers were still exclaiming about the joy of the snow!

Me wearing my heaviest coat on the day it was snowing! Very few others wearing a heavy coat because they do not own them!!

This is the amount of snow that excited everyone!

More to come in other posts about the spring superbloom, friends that visit, signs and the future!

Up, Up and Away (or do I have a career as a balloon pilot?)

While in Sedona, we went for a balloon ride. I have wanted to do this for a long while and finally justified the expense to myself. Our younger daughter rode in a balloon when she was 13 because her grandfather got her a balloon ride gift. Here I am at 60, letting myself do it.

You get to see the sun rise from the balloon!

It is a full morning experience, where you get picked up at 5:15 am, ride out to the launch site, watch the balloon and basket get unloaded and filled, ride for 90 ish minutes, land, then have breakfast (champagne, OJ, apple fritters and fruit.) Then the balloons get deflated and put away, everything gets loaded again, and we get dropped off at our car.

Filling up the ballon with the basket on the side still.

The ride was remarkable. We floated above the buttes, mesas and red rocks with amazing views in all directions. We saw the sun rise. We saw the top of some of the mesas we hiked up. There are other balloons flying. Mostly it is silent except when the burner is turned on. It felt magical enough that I could do this every day and not get tired of it (hence the new career direction.) Our pilot was probably in his early 70’s and had been flying for over 20 years. He was a fountain of ballooning knowledge and shared freely. The balloons launch from a specific spot but where you land is due to winds that day, so there are chase vehicles.

One of the many views from up high in the sky!

Typically other balloons fly at the same time because they all fly when the weather and winds are best.

This is what you see when you look up (when the burner is on.) This is why they tell you to wear a hat!

The fancy table for the after ballooning breakfast. These are the apple fritter and fruit plates.

I am looking pretty happy. It is because of the ride, not at all due to the mimosa!

While in this area we hiked to Cathedral Rock, Brims Mesa, Devil’s Bridge , Bell Rock and did the Courtyard Butte loop. You can hike around in the desert and stay on relatively flat trails, or you can hike up various mesas and buttes. They were all gorgeous. Cathedral Rock, Brim’s Mesa and Bell Rock had the added pleasure of astounding views from the top. We did so much hiking that I had to ask for an afternoon off from my husband after 3 or 4 days!

Looking back while hiking/scrambling up Cathedral Rock. In the middle you see a basket cairn. I had never seen a cairn like this before Sedona. So organized and sturdy!

Devil’s Bridge was so special because you not only hike to a natural rock bridge/arch, but you can walk on top of it and across it when you get there (it is about 5 feet wide at a minimum). When we first arrived, there was a yogi doing downward facing dog. He then attempted a head stand but kind of changed his mind in the middle. There is also an amazing view if you hike to the bottom of the arch and walk through it. You see the arch and the landscape behind it.

On top of Devil’s bridge (about 5 feet across).

You can also hike beneath the arch and get a visual looking through it. Most people did not do this but we were really happy we did.

My obsession to visit every national park, monument, recreation area, etc. led us to our next stop on the way to Albuquerque. We have an annual national park pass and have definitely gotten the best deal in town with it. For most, it costs $80 annually, and to get into a park, monument or recreation area usually costs between $10-20. We were surprised to notice how many of these parks there are!

The Petrified Forest National Park is in a desert painted with lots of colors, and strewn with petrified wood. Petrified wood ranges from white to gold to reds to purples, and looks like stone. There is even a natural bridge made from a giant tree that was under water for many years before it appeared again.

It looks like this has been cut up but the petrification process actually did this.

We have been in Albuquerque for about 2 weeks and got to spend the first few days with Ilana and her boyfriend, Josh. I even got pfankuchen (a special treat – german roll up pancakes by Chris) for breakfast on Mother’s Day before they left for their adventures in Alaska.

More Tales of Tucson (and some last bridge art)

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.

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.

Chuckwalla 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.

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.

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.

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 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!

With a really open mind and heart…and news of Tucson

“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.

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.

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!

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 high

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!

Life is full of exquisite diversions.

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.

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 group

Hiking 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 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.

You know you are in California when…

someone apologized for their road rage

In our visits and travels so far, people have been really nice, friendly and super helpful. But as we were loading the car to leave Grass Valley, we witnessed an incident of road rage on the street corner. One car cut off another and then a young-ish man was leaning out his car window screaming and cursing. As the other car drove away, the young man rode past me, leaned out his window, and said “Sorry.” Only in California!

Before leaving Grass Valley, we took a last look at all the old mining equipment. Grass Valley was a gold mining town, and appears to going through some kind of revival with many building renovations. I now know what hydraulic mining is, and in fact saw a hydraulic 21 inch gate valve that was used at “You Bet-Red Dog Diggin” (had to work that name in here somehow).

We also found Caroline’s Coffee, biked some, tasted wine at Luccelli’s (small boutique winery – outstanding), took at trip to nearby Nevada City, and saw “The Post” at a cool old theater downtown. Our rental is a block from Main Street so the car has only been pulled out twice in four days (I even walked to Safeway for groceries.) As part of my community research, I spoke to the president of the local temple here. She was amazingly friendly and had a bunch of great community information.

Chris started biking outside again because the weather has been in the 60’s in the afternoons. He starts work very early and then knocks off in time to have 1½ hours of daylight. I have started practicing yoga almost every day like I had been planning, and like in Moab, did a class at a local yoga studio.

There is an old hotel right downtown that is now the Bret Harte Retirement Inn. I was considering it for my next home because it has a great stained glass window. When I saw the stained glass window, I had all kinds of fantasies about Salomy Jane being either an famous gunslinger, outlaw, or madame. But Bret Harte was a famous writer who wrote the screen play to a 1914 western called Salomy Jane. Disappointing!

The nice but disappointing Salomy Jane’s window.

Nevada City was similar to Grass Valley although seems a bit more built up and possibly wealthier. It also has its history embedded with mining. One of our nieces spent about a year there about three years ago, and when we texted her that we were there, she sent us a great tip. She suggested we visit the South Yuba River about 8 miles away so went there for a small hike and to see the sunset. Gorgeous!

Downtown Nevada City has a lovely hodge-podge of mainly old buildings, some going back to the mid 1800’s. We even found a couple of art deco buildings, including the court house, which has a new section, but then a white shining, towering old section. There are restaurants and bars, winery tasting rooms, antiques, ice cream and chocolate shops, bakeries, cafes, yoga and pilates studios, and a great number of wellness businesses.

The beginning of the super moon over Nevada City

We made it to Redding, California where we will be until February 28th. As you can see below, we have made our apartment more homey with a couple of pictures and holiday cards. Every day we have been outside as it unusually warm here, and should stay that way for at least 10 more days. On Friday, we biked, then spent Saturday at Lassen National Park (60 degrees with melting snow), and biked again today (me 18 miles and Chris 40 miles). Everyone is concerned about the lack of snow in the mountains, because the snow then melts and provides enough water for the summer. Evidently last year at this time, there was 10 feet of snow in Lassen. There couldn’t have been more than 12 inches so far this year.

And Chris first ride — A view of the Sundial Bridge in Redding.

Views from Lassen Volcanic National Park

The new week will start tomorrow and I will be back to living the real life (working a few hours at least, yoga, getting the car washed, doing laundry, doing research on places to live, etc.)