Rick & Brenda's Anniversary Trip

Rick & I decided to take a long weekend and getaway for our anniversary this year. We found a great deal to Arizona and since we had never been there thought that it would be a nice place to visit. The weather was fantastic!!! Upper 80"s!! It was a nice change from the weather in Washington at this time of year.

We arrived on Thursday and decided to take a drive on the Apache trail. The first stop was Goldfield Ghost Town for lunch.

Rick next to a giant Saguaro Cactus.

The drive is not too far from Tempe, but it is amazing how much desert is out here.

Believe it or not, we found a lake!! This is Canyon Lake. (It is about the size of Spanaway Lake). There was a marina that we past and Rick was amazed at the number of boats stored there. (if they all went out at the same time you could probably walk across the lake.) We also stopped at alittle town called Tortilla Flat, population 6, for some Prickly-pear ice cream. It was very yummy!

Friday, we decided to take another drive. This time we headed north to Sedona, AZ. The first stop was Montezuma Castle. This is an above-ground masonry dwelling that the Sinagua people lived in between 1125 and the 1400's.

This is Montezuma Castle. It is approx. 100 feet above the ground. It is original and has not been reconstructed. They would use ladders to reach the 5 story, 20 room dwelling.

This is Castle A. It sits a short distance from Montezuma Castle. It was a 6 story, 45 room dweling that was built against the base of the cliff.

Sedona

The Bell

The scenery was spectacular!!

Red Rock Country

We bought a day pass and went hiking in the hills.

Rick on Deadmans Pass.

After Deadmans Pass, we took another trail up to the top for a better view.


Rick at the top.

The sun was going down and it was starting to get chilly. Time to go!

Rick at the Desert Botanical Gardens.


Prickly-pear Cactus!! They are everywhere.

We had a wonderful time in Arizona and a great anniversary!!

Brenda's visit to Madison

I got to go back and visit Chelsea & Jake at the end of September for a short visit. Chelsea recently started a new position as the director of the Oregon Youth Center in Wisconsin. It was fun hanging out with her and the kids for a few days. She held an Open House while I was there to introduce the center to some of the local community. There was a free BBQ with brats, hotdogs, chips, soda & desert. It turned out very well. Jake's birthday also happen to be the Saturday that I was there. We spent the day at a really neat corn maze & pumpkin patch, then went to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant.

Jake & Chelsea at the corn maze. It was alittle cold & drizzly, but we had a great time!!

View of the corn maze.