Well, I felt as though I might be living a verse not written to that song!
"From the mountains to the desert to the midwest, white with snow!"
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...
... and Pat.
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!
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.
But when the sun sets -- well, there's plenty of color then!
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.
This was part of our view...
...and so was this. The sunset made you gasp!
John and Pat have two dogs -- Tank and Gus, who found a soft touch in Rick!
I, for one, could not resist Tank. From little Ham to big Tank, quite the difference, but both were wonderful!
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...
...or this horse painting -- what wonderful colors!
You'll recall Rick was limping a tad -- kind and compassionate Pat helped him out with some Alleve.
John, on the other hand, thought it would be a fine time to race my bike racer-boy.
John said he'd use his big-tire red bike and let Rick use his other.
Rick declined. I knew he had to be hurting! I don't think he ever turned down a biking challenge in his life!
But Tank seemed to enjoy it!
Eventually it was time to leave -- but what a lovely holiday.
Past the horses. Down the highway to the Phoenix airport. All aboard. Homeward bound.
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!
Horses, dogs, gorgeous views (esp from the patio!) and lovely hosts AND a room big enough to ride a bike in there! All does a lovely trip (and blog entry) make!
ReplyDeleteHmmm...makes you think twice about having four seasons, doesn't it?
I'm so glad you had such a wonderful trip :)
ReplyDelete70 degrees what a treat!
Happy Holidays ♥
Wow that is a huge room when you can ride a bike there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great trip and lovely photos !!!
I enjoyed the snowfree photos today !!! Here in Germany we have enough of the white stuff...
A lovely trip, beautiful sights. Something to remember on those cold, snowy days.
ReplyDeleteAs always, Great photos. And, isn't it nice visiting friends in far away places!
ReplyDeletelove your pictures of the wide-open spaces of the wild, wild west, and it looks like you enjoyed them, too. So good to see old friends again... great start to the holidays. Unfortunately, I've already seen what comes later -- good to know you had a head start on good times before the pneumonia kicked in.
ReplyDeleteStunning photos and I'm so glad your saving the snowy ones for later. We hae had the worst snow for about thirty years this last month and it's been awful. It just melting now but apparently there is more coming.
ReplyDelete