The stars at night, are big and bright....

deep in the heart of Texas. The skies are truly exceptional. I only wish I could send a photo of the millions of stars. 

We have left west Texas and are heading toward Houston. Our time at Lajitas resort near Big Bend Nat’l Park (on the Rio Grande) was terrific. The origins of the resort date to 1899 when it was a trading post. The building now contains a longhorn museum. 

Lovely setting for breakfast at the resort. 

We enjoyed some down home western music by the Whitfords. They provide free concerts and yoga three times a week!

Rick played a couple rounds of golf in 80 degree weather. The course is surrealistic. Below is the view of a par 3 from the tee box. You can imagine how many golf balls there in the gully in front of the green—I left one there myself last year. 

As we drove through Big Bend, the wildflowers were abundant, especially the purple lupine  

And even in Marathon, TX, (population 430) there is a little free library at the gas station. 

Mary’s Misery

Well, it happened again— a medical adventure for Mary in Las Cruces, NM. One of her pesky kidney stones decided it wanted to leave the kidney and go on its own adventure down to the bladder. Problem is that it got stuck part way down, creating excruciating pain and discomfort. So I got to meet the nice staff at Mountain View Regional Medical Center. Was there for less than 24 hours, and we are now back on our way to Texas. At least it didn’t happen just before we leave for our London trip!!

44 Miles

I’m hoping this link will take you to a video I took on our last day of hiking on the Chuck Wagon trail—beautiful!!

https://youtu.be/_uWxUo4LiyMhttps://youtu.be/_uWxUo4LiyM

44 miles—that’s the sum total of our hiking in Sedona. All the trails were interesting but some more challenging than others. 

Red Rock Heaven

The weather in Sedona has been cooler (and rainier) than past years, but we have been out hiking regardless. On our walk near Courthouse Rock, we had an extraordinary sight. There was actually a double rainbow but I was able to capture it. 

Hiking with the Bruce’s is as delightful as ever. 

Farewell Tucson

Sadly, we left Tucson on February 1st and headed to Sedona. We had a great stay.  Lots of time spent with Kathy and Tony golfing, playing Mah Jongg, shopping, and, of course, eating. On our last golf outing at Ventana Canyon, we met this bobcat who was in no hurry to share the tee box with us. 

But it sure is beautiful in Sedona. What a backdrop for our golf. 

Now the hiking will commence in earnest with Pete and Joan’s arrival. 

Time for Friends and Family

One of my favorite things about Tucson is that my lifetime friend Dianne is here. We have known each other since third grade. And she was my bestie all though high school. Here we are reconnecting at dinner. 

Unfortunately the day after our delightful evening she developed Bell’s Palsy just as she was heading in for a biopsy for breast cancer. We are all being hopeful. 

Dianne’s oldest son, Tim, is my godson. Here is his family. 

Lovin’ Tucson

Can’t believe how fast our month in Tucson is flying by. We are enjoying the desert environment for golf and hiking. The saguaros are as fascinating as always. 

We hiked the Pima Canyon ( one of our favorites) for the great view of Tucson. 

Some of the flowers are already thinking it’s spring. 

Found a nice spot for a break before heading down. We did 5 miles and it took us 3 hours. Lots of elevation gain, about 800 feet of climbing.