tucson – 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!

The Names of Places

Our travel from Chicago to Tucson

Starting with a view of the sunrise and Navy Pier!

As we’ve travelled around the USA, I’ve always found it interesting how the names of places reflect their history.

We left Chicago at the end of December on our way to Tucson, where we have decided to live, for a little while at least. We left the Windy City much later than planned due to some unexpected aggravations.

“The Bean” – A famous sculpture downtown. We had never seen these amazing reflections at night.

Beth’s happiest time in Chicago. At a family Chanukah party with many family members including 3 adorable kids.

Line of snow covered Citi bikes — The Windy City in December

The first complication was the car deciding that, since we were leaving on a big trip, it needed its oil changed. Our van is very modern and will tell you when it needs its oil changed, but it’s not on a regular schedule. In that way it’s a bit like a toddler that knows they need to go to the bathroom and announces it at the last second, causing their parents to spring into frenzied action. “I need to go now!” “I need my oil changed now!” Although we’ve been taking the car out on a fairly regular basis, it decided that since we didn’t have any spare time that day, it needed its oil changed.

Complication number two was a failure of the apartment building to do what they said they were going to do. Namely, allow us to move out easily by programming the freight elevator for us and opening the loading dock doors. We had scheduled the freight elevator for that morning, but there was no freight elevator to be had. No problem, we’ll take the elevator with a back door and get to the car that way. Oops, nope, the loading dock doors are closed.

Taking matters into my own hands, I parked on the front sidewalk and proceeded to bring our stuff down from the 59th floor and stuff it into the car. As I was stuffing my second load into the car, a security guard walked up and told me that I couldn’t park there, on the sidewalk, in front of the building. After informing her on the lack of elevator and the closed loading dock doors, I challenged her to find a solution for me. Challenge accepted, she strode off as I moved the car to the alley and the rest of the packing went smoothly. Thank you security guard!

Now several hours behind schedule, we stopped and gave the “Hive” (our blog’s namesake) the oil change it craved, and headed down to St. Louis where we spent the night. Due to the long day, we ordered dinner from The Olive Garden, where we never eat, and had a good nights sleep. Coincidentally our daughter in Alaska and her boyfriend celebrated their anniversary by going to The Olive Garden in Anchorage the exact, same, night! Family togetherness when you’re spread all over a continent. I’ll take what I can.

Fox and mice store front decorations — Store window in Chicago

The next morning, we headed out on a long drive to Dallas, TX, our next stop. As I was sipping my morning coffee and driving, we passed Pomme de Terre Lake! There is also a Pomme de Terre stream that feeds that lake. We were surrounded by all these “Pommes” of “de Terre”!

So what exactly is a “Pomme de Terre”? Quickly utilizing my knowledge of Latin, I knew “Terre” meant “Earth”, as in “Terra Firma”, and “Terraforming”. But what the heck is a Pomme? It sounds very pretentious by itself and more-so when you round your mouth while saying it and slightly lowering your voice. Pomme. Yep, it’s French.

Beth translated this to English and accurately reported it as “Apple of the Earth”. Except she was wrong. Putting my knowledge of French to work, I knew it was actually a potato! Those weird and whacky French had been to the middle of Eastern Missouri and named something “Potato.” Why? I don’t know. I’m just happy that I was able to put my two words of Latin and one French vegetable to their fullest use by solving this riddle. Fortunately there weren’t more French or Latin words to translate the rest of the trip, or I’d have been in trouble.

So why Potato Lake and Potato stream? It turns out the lake is artificial and named after the stream a wandering Frenchman decided looked like a potato. Or maybe he thought it was good for growing potatoes? Or maybe he was hungry for potatoes? We may never know.

That’s what’s so cool about traveling! You never know what you will find. In this case, a food cultivated for centuries in the Andes was brought over to Europe. It was declared an Apple of the Earth by the awed Frenchmen, who then crossed back over the Atlantic to North America. And then, while wandering around the middle of the continent with potatoes on their mind, came across this stream in the middle of nowhere and named it after the food they were craving. Viola! We have a Pomme de Terre stream! And because of that stream and the Army Core of Engineers, we have Pomme de Terre Lake! And I love french fries!

Plate of french fries — Don’t they look good?

Sorry, I might have gone too far in the previous paragraph and done a disservice to French people everywhere. We (that is, us English speakers in North America) should consider the “apple of my eye” saying. If you are not familiar with this term, I can tell you that it’s not a medical condition and it’s not contagious. When someone is the apple of your eye it means that you love them, maybe even exclusively. Instead of lacking words, perhaps the French were so enamored with the potato that they named it Pomme de Terre to express their passionate love of this apple-like thing that came from the earth. The French, passion, and love – it’s a thing.

Does anyone know how Dallas got its name? It makes no sense to me. El Paso makes total sense; it means The Pass in Spanish. How about Tucson? Again, it makes no sense. Outside of Dallas, we stayed with a dear friend and her husband in Grapevine, Texas. Grapevine got it’s name due to its location on the appropriately-named Grape Vine Prairie near Grape Vine Springs, both names in homage to the wild grapes that grew in the area.

And how do you pronounce Tucson? It’s pronounced like the bird with a big colored beak selling round hoops of breakfast cereal, the Toucan. Too-can. Too-son. Maybe a Conquistador with a soft Barcelona lisp was trying to name it after the bird? As with Potato stream, we may never know.

I actually have no idea how most places got their names. However, some are easy, such as “New York”, “New Jersey”, “New Brunswick”; named by homesick Englishmen, obviously. Yet others are plainly from the Indians (how confused were those original explorers to name them Indians?). Names such as “Detroit”, “Ontario”, “Dupont”, “Winnebego” are all Indian names. Others are fun to say; Walla Walla, Washington and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for example – even if I don’t know where they come from. And now that Beth had read this, and added how Grapevine got its name (a question she asked when we were there), she is going to find out how all these places got their names!

Catalina mountains at sunset — Catalina Mountains at sunset. Taken near “Metal Arts Village”

So, now we’re in Tucson for the foreseeable future and enjoying sunshine and warmer weather. I am ignoring that one morning when Anchorage (known as a good place to park your boat), Alaska was warmer than Tucson by a whole degree Fahrenheit. More news to come soon about life in Tucson!

Temperature listing showing Anchorage, AK is warmer than Tucson, AZ — Anchorage is warmer than Tucson! How did this happen?

What’cha been up to?

We got a nasty surprise when we went back to Tucson to live

(Originally written in October 2018 but posted it in February 2019)

Wow!

You last heard from us in June when we were talking about Albuquerque and other areas in New Mexico.

So what’s been going on since then and why haven’t you heard from us?

Well, the short version is: we met our oldest daughter in the Outer Banks, North Carolina and went to back to Rochester, New York for the month of July. After that we headed back to Tucson, AZ! Along the way we made stops and saw sights (more on those in other posts).

We arrived in Tucson with all four of our bikes and unpacked the van, storing the bikes in the newly cleaned out sheds that were made available to us by our wonderful, lovely, and generous Airbnb hosts! We settled in that night by trying out an amazing Ramen noodle place, Raijing Ramen. It was truly awesome and I ended up going back again.

The next morning we went for bike rides, starting out together, on a lovely day along The Loop. We split up at Beth’s halfway point and I went along my merry way up through Cortaro and back. When I got home, I looked at my phone and found out Beth had been extremely dizzy and stopped. I picked her up and the rest of the day was normal until the evening when she got very sick and ended up in the hospital. An CAT scan for a possible stroke turned up a mass which an MRI resolved to be a Meningioma!

The next week was crazy as I visited Beth in the hospital, researched where the best treatment could be had, and tried to figure out our next steps. I need to give a massive shout out to Vikki (an old college friend of Beth’s) who was awesome in visiting and supporting both of us! She brought me coffee that first night so she has my eternal gratitude (yes, I am that easy).

Given the size of the mass, where it was in her head, and due to limited options, surgery was the best choice for fixing this. We ended up deciding on Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago since it was listed in almost every top 10 list and Beth has family nearby. So it’s goodby Tucson, thanks for the crazy one week visit! On the plus side, while in Tucson, we found another awesome restaurant and I was able to get my Barrio Bread fix. On the minus side, well you know now.

We made the drive to Chicago in 2.5 days and stayed at her brother’s house for the next 6 weeks. We currently have a place right by Northwestern through the end of December. This is a great location overlooking the lake and Beth can walk to her appointments in a few minutes.

Beth’s surgery went well and she’s expected to make a full recovery (no cancer was found) – although not in a short time frame or without an effort on her part. The operation took quite a lot out of Beth but with occupational/speech/physical therapies she’s making a comeback. Unfortunately, there’s also a course of radiation needed to clean up tumor cells that were not able to be removed because of their location within the brain. Aside from the normal cellular level of left-over mass, the doctors left an area of nerves and vessels alone which the radiation should clean up.

So here we are now, waiting for Tuesday, October 30 to roll around when she begins her first photon (X-ray) radiation treatment; and every weekday for the next 6 weeks. Given that we’re dealing with her brain, optic nerve, carotid artery, and some ‘cavern’, the radiation is low dose and given over a period of time to minimize problems. No Death Star beams here.

We’ll be in Rochester for Thanksgiving because both of our children will be there. We will be seeing our kids and other family members. It is unlikely that we will get to see friends as well, because the radiation will likely create much more fatigue. This also means that we once again disappoint the Chicago portion of the family, even when we’re right in their backyard!

So, that’s all for now. We will be posting more in the future.

Departures

“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.

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!

Mid-day at the Oasis

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.

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.

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!