You know the verse in "God Bless America" -- "From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam..."
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Well, I felt as though I might be living a verse not written to that song!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIp3ZQCiVVHJzhWauITqJt-nuUUZq9PoQJT9TrlzEzZqPolR6huB3Kr-5dydxYlOeaJQSsrb0E19PkLZAkj-_Ce1gzMrUmNzRx0KgjR-3hwuexaJKYm5oeVVlr1q4oDzqjvnKdFVa8vbo/s400/IMG_0587.JPG)
"From the mountains to the desert to the midwest, white with snow!"
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We'll leave the snow photos for later -- I just can't cope! But the desert -- that's another matter!
We drove down from Flagstaff to Wickenberg and Cousins John...
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... and Pat.
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We got a bit of a late start -- Rick's canyon jaunt tuckered him out and left him hobbling. He needed a good sleep. But once we hit the road, it was straight on!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KohGsdB-UjxBoIXB2pJakQkh7xZAxLnrS9Cw3w7hBty5GihbNjqTIKzY0KsFs1VHrMnEG6gd4D_MFiE66gTtRR_bYb3BCsTp9afUuNwkqvawatb0h2yoJc5gjd2Q_FOPiiDUKUvwCXg/s400/IMG_0556.JPG)
John and Pat live in the desert, a spot with a character all its own. No bright greens and other colors. Instead, it is a medley of earth tones. The browns range from sand and tan to sepia; the greens are soft.
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But when the sun sets -- well, there's plenty of color then!
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It was divine to sit by the pool, watching the sunset, catching up -- knowing full well that in Michigan it was snowing like crazy, and mighty cold.
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This was part of our view...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0OJEen6GCG6hQ1rsGIwQH7sWiFfgtD9DG2t_-VHIcBhyphenhyphen6rHVzkg5r_f8VaJUwCyzyZhT2hyphenhyphen8o7J7T0iDIYpzRL5Oao94-gEJoZrYMZrRArsXZVc_0YNSzOd8fEQkrSrwHPWww8V_FHg/s400/IMG_0586.JPG)
...and so was this. The sunset made you gasp!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6bRXuxPEVOZl5GSJnCAfaQvS5BBHCPWMSxrHlXAmE6OtJYDgkxthrTYoiDcAARwuqUCF-GaWa3TzwCnRsNTfAG-gyjL7_kg3dF9XtNX6n_6Wx482Rh7mvdovPomCJEv_m3qxLlpc_rE/s400/IMG_0612.JPG)
John and Pat have two dogs -- Tank and Gus, who found a soft touch in Rick!
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I, for one, could not resist Tank. From little Ham to big Tank, quite the difference, but both were wonderful!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqq09dKksyTqtNm2ieXXhVk7mR-b1EDDN39s9VBToNZMriqviUPnbmpnDWEYg0Ow0-nqR0UXyG24iNGeaQYvpA35RugKCbX7mbPil2zgIquXBzuIsz_JBXMXp6TUeItPUm04HW7GM_Tm0/s400/IMG_0674.JPG)
John and Pat collect Western art. They have beautiful pieces, but if I could have walked out with anything slipped into my carry-on, it would be this duo of chickens...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNI4Hyx-AUJDTOh9iQUNJXkRG7qAo98YJubMMlvMM1zQVDRIRtlcFSfPMI7td2ayIau9QYorVE7Q78mRaSILKJvz10VbKdd06uIbqJgg9VW1aAaUIiH_bhRKJLTLCXpt40qKfuzzdvAoo/s400/IMG_0667.JPG)
...or this horse painting -- what wonderful colors!
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You'll recall Rick was limping a tad -- kind and compassionate Pat helped him out with some Alleve.
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John, on the other hand, thought it would be a fine time to race my bike racer-boy.
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John said he'd use his big-tire red bike and let Rick use his other.
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Rick declined. I knew he had to be hurting! I don't think he ever turned down a biking challenge in his life!
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But Tank seemed to enjoy it!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianOCXtTT6y5XiJsLLFGc75V9OV3DUlubI77HwT1BEW6mZ0B7R2qfdz74b76PEgBi_LkzKreaq1S3-Uc_aLMJmV94VJ06uzvPTUAvGQ56uEAEWln1ZIbHf0jL5vTtUcXsspS-NC6mCgNk/s400/IMG_0672.JPG)
Eventually it was time to leave -- but what a lovely holiday.
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Past the horses. Down the highway to the Phoenix airport. All aboard. Homeward bound.
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A post script. We arrived home and after getting our bags, took the shuttle to the car park. Our car had a good six inches of ice and frozen snow on both windshields. After breaking a wiper, we took off, almost unable to believe we had been in 70 degree weather so recently.
I am beginning to catch up on reading blogs between holiday festivities. Looking forward to seeing you soon!