January in Arizona

Andy & I attempted Picacho Peak near Tucson - see the peak in the distance. Didn't quite make it...but it was beautiful out in the desert.

Our first dinner guests in the new RV - Jack & Connie, friends from Iowa.

We are camped at McDowell Mountain Park near Fountain Hills (where we were married in 2003). So beautiful here.
Hiked Pinnacle Peak with Gary & Judy one day.

Saguaro over 175 yers old...

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Took a Metro Light Rail Tour, full route from Mesa to NW Phoenix round trip, with Gary, Judy, Patti, John, Sylvia and Don. Stopped at the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch (where Gregg & I both used to go for Happy Hours 30 years ago...) and visited the Phoenix Art Museum.

Patti, Gary & Judy & some guy I don't think we know!
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The Art Museum was fascinating...

My only December post

Oh my gosh, the whole month of December almost got away from me! We get so busy with all there is to do at home with family and friends and volunteer activity...we'll need to get ourselves back on the road again to rest up!
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Gregg & I did take our feet on vacation for Christmas - to Ambergris Caye in Belize. Our pictures are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sschin999/BelizeDec2009##





We had our annual holiday get-together with high school friends Betsy and Shirley and their families, with lots of kids joining us this year.

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See how well my kids behaved!


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We had a gift exchange with Sarah, Andy, Jeramie, and Michael at Andy's house, then went out for a good dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Chevy's.








Got to do my favorite volunteer things - selling at a bazaar to benefit International Street Angels of the World. Sarah, Judy and I cleared over $600 for the kids in need - and had fun doing it!

P.E.O. friends Bette and Martha and I got to go to the annual holiday decorating for Sterling Ranch, home for 18 developmentally disabled women, in Skull Valley.

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2009 was a VERY good year!!

New RV!!

Who-eeee! Are we excited!

2005 Fleetwood Discovery

New home-away-from-home, built for all the miles we plan to put on it, diesel for a quieter ride and easier trips up over mountains. Five feet longer at 39', more slides, more room inside. I think it's about 400 square feet, way larger than our former 320 square feet.

Gregg's up in Seattle buying it and driving it home while I am in Prescott getting the trusty Bounder spiffed up for Dean and Judy. Needless to say, I am anxious for Gregg to get home!!

Arizona

Sally's daughter Sarah, boyfriend Jeramie, and Great Dane Zeke - we all walk our 2nd annual Light the Night Walk in Glendale, raising awareness of blood cancers Leukemia and Lymphoma.




...................................................................................My friend Lee and her team walked the 3-Day 60 mile fundraising for Breast Cancer. I donned the gorilla costume again to cheer on the walkers. A new-found friend there, Leigh, wore my Mom's Energizer Bunny costume. My last-year-walker-buddy Mary took hundreds of pictures for walkers, posing with us. What fun that was! Hot in there but a whole lot more comfortable than my feet were during the 60 mile walk last year....and it all beats the heck out of the discomfort of cancer and chemo.
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Holy cow, we are exhausting ourselves being back home! So much to do! Seeing friends, catching up on everything, participating in my favorite fundraisers...oh yes, and shopping for a new RV!

We decided we need a little bigger and newer for our next long trips so we've sold ours to some of our very good RV friends here in town. They get it next week so we've been on our last trip in that Bounder we have loved so well. Spent several days in Tucson and Mesa shopping around RV lots, narrowing down what we want.

Home in Prescott again

Whew...we got home from Denver in just 2 days of Gregg's hard driving (he's like a pony returning to the barn when headed home). Lots of work to get unpacked and embroiled in all the things we do here at home. Days are flying by - so different from our laid-back life on the road.

It's beautiful here, Indian summer, warm weather. The trees are colorful. It seemed like Nebraska and Colorado skipped their color change this year and went straight to frozen.

Just before we left Denver, we experienced The Denver Gorilla Run ... what a kick.
See some here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8OhaB68llM



See our pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sschin999/DenverGorillaRun10312009

Fun with Sally's brother and family

That is my brother Bill, "Huge Hefner", editor of Cagemate Magazine, ready to walk in the 6th annual Denver Gorilla Run, raising funds to help the endangered Mountain Gorillas. I'll join him as Tilly Gorilly, Cagemate of the Year. More pictures later...
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This is my Sister-in-Law Lisa and my favorite cat ever - Daisy. She is so beautiful and soft and loves to be around people. However, she will only sit on a lap that has the Kansas City Chiefs blanket on it. So cat-like - I admire her.


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In here is my niece Molly in the Chaparral High School Marching Band, playing flute. We went to an all day competition where they advanced to state finals - first time ever for their school. Yay, Molly!
All the bands were great and the day was gorgeous.
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Bill, Lisa and Molly's deck on Thursday - heaviest October snowfall Denver area has had in 12 years.
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We need that to melt for Saturday's Gorilla Run!

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Our campground, the beautiful Cherry Creek State Park. Good thing we got a good bike ride in the day before this snow. Our bikes are buried! Look at the shelf of snow hanging over the roof of the RV. Gregg had to climb up and shovel the roof! But we stay cozy and warm inside. We were the only campers on our loop with only a few others in other loops. It's been fun being a little isolated.

Colorado weather

Yesterday, chilly and clear. I just put my earflaps down and we did a 21 mile bike ride along the beautiful Cherry Creek

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These are our neighbors in Cherry Creek State Park.

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Here's our new neighbor today... Mr. Coyote. Actually the Mrs. was here too but I didn't get her in the picture with him.

We are expecting to get pretty well buried in the white stuff today. We've come to enjoy it, just holing up and reading a lot. It's beautiful out there. In two days it will be melting; beautiful weather is expected for our Denver Gorilla Run on Halloween.