March 20-April 23, 1998
While we were in the Tucson area, we got together with Earl Hipp and Gwen Barker-some friends from MN who were wintering in Tucson. We enjoyed a sunset hike together in Sabino Canyon near their place, followed by a delicious cowboy steak dinner at an old-west restaurant. On Sunday, 3/22, they came up to do some hiking with us at the state park. Tom, Earl and Gwen conquered Picacho Peak--a strenuous, mostly vertical 2.1 mile hike that required pulling yourself up on cables part of the way. While up on the peak, they were surprised to be buzzed by an airplane. (That's one good way to get the view without the hard work!)
While at Picacho Peak, we met some really neat folks, Don and Bernie Lake from Ronan, Montana. We shared a campfire while getting to know these kind, caring, honest, hard-working folks. They own a large farm in Montana. Their family won both the 1996 Montana and National Family Business of the Year awards. We look forward to visiting their farm this summer as we explore their area. It's great to make new friends along the journey.
Tom stayed at Picacho Peak while I headed to Phoenix to do another class. He got great sunrise and sunset shots plus lots more photos of the stunning flowers.
One day he headed to Bear Canyon and took a 2.6-mile hike to Seven Falls. The creek through Bear Canyon was flowing swiftly. Tom cautiously crossed the rushing stream seven times on his way to the falls. The steep canyon walls were outlined against a cobalt blue sky. Boulders the size of cars and houses littered the creek bed. A profusion of wildflowers accented the desert scenery. The cascading series of falls was quite high with a large pool halfway down the rocky terraces. There was plenty of ledge-rock on which to frolic and picnic. Next year I hope to see it for myself. For now, I just enjoy Tom's pictures of that special place.
3/26--We put the APPLE in storage in Phoenix and flew back to Minnesota for a two-week visit. It was Marc's 23rd birthday, so the first activity on our agenda after picking up our extra car was to take our sons, Chris & Marc, and their girlfriends, Lynn & Vicki, out for a great dinner at Timberlodge Steakhouse. It was wonderful to have us all together and to have a chance to catch up on the latest. We were pleased to find our house in good condition. Marc and his roommates have been taking care of things pretty well.
My folks drove up from Black River Falls, WI, on 3/29 for a visit. Chris, Lynn, and Lynn's daughter, Kaila, drove down from their place in Brooklyn Park for the day. Marc and Vicki were both there along with us, so we had a house full of family. It was marvelous to have time to spend together. We sure appreciated my folk's willingness to make the trip up and save us the travel time.
While in Minneapolis, I conducted a two-day 'Career Focus' class for American Express. Other days were spent visiting friends, getting haircuts and chiropractic adjustments, cleaning out one last bedroom of stuff we hadn't gotten to before we left, making a few repairs and running miscellaneous errands. It was great to see people face-to-face because it's the people that we miss--not the house, the neighborhood or any of our old 'stuff.' We especially enjoyed a belated birthday celebration with our friends, Barry and Nancy Przybylski, and their two boys, Zack and Alex. We're grateful for their willingness to store our extra car plus the hospitality of spending our last night with them followed by transportation to the airport. Even more than that, we're grateful for the wonderful blessing of their friendship that continues over the years and the miles. They have been wonderful encouragers of our journey, and we know they are with us in spirit.
The main reason for the timing of our trip back to Minnesota was to celebrate Tom's parents' 50th Anniversary. Chris, Lynn, Kaila, Marc, Vicki, Lisa (our daughter) and Morgan (our 3 year old granddaughter) were all able to be there, so we had the largest family contingent at the party! It was the first time in many years that all three of our children had been together. There were 35 people (almost exclusively family) at the private celebration at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort in Ely, MN. The food was great, and it was so nice to have all of the Seliskar family together to celebrate this special occasion. A special family video had been created by our friend, Barry Przybylski, from 50 years of family pictures. We all enjoyed watching the years flash by as the Seliskar family grew up and expanded. It was a very special family time with laughter, tears and much love. While in Ely, we also celebrated Tom's birthday and spent lots of time visiting family and friends.
4/8--We returned to Phoenix and retrieved our home, the APPLE, from storage. We headed back down to Picacho Peak State Park for a couple of nights. The poppies were mostly done blooming, but the cacti were just starting to bloom with an occasional splash of bright pink or red. We met a terrific family from Germany who were touring the southwest on holiday--Thomas, Inge, Lea (13) and Philipp (11) Hüvelmeier. We enjoyed sharing our campfire and marshmallows with them as we began to build our heart connections. The kids played games inside the APPLE (they appreciated the warmth and light of our home) while the grownups chatted around the fire and enjoyed the starry night. Philipp really liked Big Red so we invited him and Lea to climb aboard. His folks said this would be the highlight of his whole US trip! Thomas is an avid photographer, so he enjoyed seeing Tom's Nikon F5 and lenses. We talked until midnight and only stopped because it had gotten so late.
The next morning we stopped by to give our German friends a gift--our 'Deserts' book about the flowers, birds and critters. They had enjoyed it so much the night before that we wanted them to have it. They were speechless when we offered it. At first, they tried to refuse it because it was "too much." Then they wondered what they could give us in return. "Your friendship is more than enough," we replied. Thomas and Inge conversed in German a little, and then Inge went into their tent and came out with a beautiful linen ribbon (tied in a bow) on which she had lovingly cross-stitched two Easter Bunnies. Now we were the ones feeling moved by their act of graciousness. Next, a photo session ensued, ending with several pictures of Philipp and Lea seated in Big Red. Philipp's buddies back home will be impressed! After a misty round of goodbye hugs and handshakes, we each headed off in new directions. The Easter ribbon hangs above our table to remind us of the blessings of some very special new friends.
We moved on to a new neighborhood at Catalina State Park just a few miles north of Tucson. What a beautiful park! Our campground site was at the edge of the Santa Catalina Mountains. What a view to wake up to each day--soft golden morning light illuminating the faces of the mountains.
We hiked many trails and photographed more wildflowers.
We even saw our first New Horizons rig in this campground. Bob and Ginger Becker, originally from Milwaukee, had picked up their rig last April and began full- timing in September. It was fun to swap tours of our rigs and to show them to George and Nancy Williams, other full-timers who are thinking about ordering a New Horizons in the near future. We all shared stories and tips about life on the road, and life in general. There are so many things that connect us with others, and it's fun to discover the threads of life that weave us together.
We spent Saturday, 3/11, adventuring in the Saguaro National Monument west of Tucson. The rough gravel roads took us to new desert vistas of thousands of saguaro, prickly pear, cholla, and hedgehog cacti. Only a few were blooming now, but there were many buds promising more brilliance in the coming weeks. We then headed south to the San Xavier Mission whose beautifully painted and carved interior is being restored.
We had a marvelous Easter, which started with a sunrise service right in the park. We met a neat woman, Susan Clarke. Susan is learning to respond to the prompting of the Spirit in her life. As we enjoyed an outdoor breakfast of pancakes, sausage and coffee after the service, we shared our thoughts and feelings. We talked of what it means to speak your truth, to share from your heart and personal experiences, and to trust the Source-of-All-That-Is to show you the way each day. We shared stories of answers to prayers, and we made another heart connection. What a way to start a special day.
Later Tom and I hiked to Montrose Pools. Then Tom went on to hike to Romero's Pools (a much more rugged hike). After a light lunch, we drove up to Mt. Lemmon and visited the snow above 7,000 feet. The alpine environment was a neat contrast to the desert below. We grilled a couple of T-bones for Easter dinner, enjoyed the stars, and said goodnight to a perfect day.
While I headed up to Phoenix for business, Tom hiked more of Catalina State Park including an off-trail adventure to a beautiful waterfall he'd spotted while hiking to Romero's Pools. He carefully picked his way down the mountain side, around the huge boulders and steep rock faces along the river, which he crossed many times. He said he was weaving through the cactus and brush like a rabbit. The falls consisted of three main ribbons of water (side-by-side) which dropped about 40 feet into a pool. There was a high volume of icy cold water from the snow melt, but Tom braved the thigh-deep stream to get some great shots. Now that's dedication to his work-- Brrr! He took an almost vertical route back out of the canyon and has a new appreciation for the skill of mountain goats! The next day he hiked up the Pima Canyon Trail past gigantic boulders, ancient cottonwoods and slick gray bedrock striped with white granite bands. (He had some interesting and humorous exchanges with people on this trip, which he intends to write up in a separate piece for the website.)
After I returned from Phoenix, we spent our last day and a half hiking more of the small trails at the park and exploring more of Sabino Canyon near Tucson. The varieties of wildflowers in bloom made each trail a special treat.
We were reluctant to leave this beautiful area, but we needed to move the APPLE north so I could have a place to stay while I did the next Phoenix class. This is a place we know we'll return to in the future.
4/19--We moved to the Pioneer Village RV Park about 17 miles north of where I usually conduct classes in Phoenix. This park was neat, clean and had many amenities including an indoor swimming pool and hot tub, which we took advantage of almost every night. We appreciated having hook-ups again as we hadn't had them in either state park--no need to ration usage of electricity or water for a few days. While I was busy teaching, Tom explored the area around Apache Lake and Roosevelt Lake, northeast of Phoenix. He found an adventurous gravel road that was mostly one-lane switchbacks up and down the mountains. The spectacular scenery greeted him at every turn. He plans to take me back there someday.
One evening we gave a tour of the APPLE to my friend, Donna Kerwick, and her friend, Bill. Donna is one of the friends who makes my stays at the Sheraton Crescent so special. It was fun to have her see the APPLE after hearing about it for over a year. We then headed off to dinner at a Cracker Barrel nearby where we stuffed ourselves.
It sure was nice to come home everyday from class and be greeted by my honey. It's comforting to have my own pillow and my best friend there when I close my eyes at night. The daytime temps had been up to 97 degrees, but the air conditioner kept the APPLE cool during the day, and the nights cooled off for comfortable sleeping. It was beautiful to watch the blooms on the beavertail cactus at the park unfold each day.
4/23--We knew the time had come to move to a cooler location, so after completing my work in Phoenix, we began the journey north. We headed up to Flagstaff on I-17 through a changing desert landscape. Then we continued north on scenic hwy 89 past the San Francisco Mountains and through the Painted Desert to Page, AZ, which is on the shore of Lake Powell. Lake Powell has more shoreline than the west coast and extends for over 185 miles through the Glen Canyon Recreation Area on the Arizona-Utah border. We continued north and then west until we found a site at the Mukuntuweep Campground right outside the east entrance to Zion National Park in southwestern Utah just before dark. We had a chance to give Big Red a significant workout on some steep grades and learned more about the meaning of patience (30-40 mph uphill) and restraint (using the exhaust brakes to keep our downhill speed manageable).
Well, we've come to the end of another leg of the journey. The next travelogue will share tales from the canyons of southern Utah and beyond-wherever the Spirit leads us next. Until then, may angel blessings flow upon each of you as you travel on your own journey.
Love from the wanderers...as the journey continues...
Kay & Tom
