Virginia

We drove 430 miles today in about 8 hours and the day was beautiful. PA and Virginia are both beautiful states with far off mountains, and farmland.
I will post some photos if I can. I took pictures this morning matamoras along the Delaware. We walked to the river from our campsite and on one picture you can see the high water mark of debris behind Tom from the recent flooding.
Tonight we are at Natural Bridge, VA at a lovely KOA campground.

Matamoras, PA

Photos will come tomorrow because by the time we had supper and walked around our campsite, the good light was gone. However, what we found when we walked around was that we are on the banks of the Delaware River. A lovely park with groomed flower gardens, benches, etc overlook the river which is teeming with hundreds of geese at the moment and Linda from the office assures me you can catch any fish you want to in the river.
We saw where the floodwaters from tropical storm Lee had covered the road right along the river and dumped large trees on the banks of the gardens.
We hope to visit a few historic sites tomorrow if we have time. The Columns is right near here and is the official museum of Pike county. The blood stained flag which was under President Lincoln's head as he lay dying is among the historic exhibits.
There are so many wonderful places to visit in the USA that we could never see them all, but this is an area I would love to revisit.

Back again

Here I am back on the blog. I will be posting along our trip south as we take off in the camper for a few weeks. Hopefully I will be able to put in photos as we stop for a few days in Chattanoog,TN, Wiggins, MS, Enfield,CT and Longmeadow, MA.
Look for updates when we have internet.

Orchids in winter

With the April first snowfall, I spent much of the day checking out my orchid blooms. There's nothing like a little color in the house when there are 8 inches of snow in the yard.
Notice that the lovely purple phalenopsis under the white one, is the same plant that was nothing more than a keiki in October. I am very pleased with this plant especially since it arrived in a suitcase with my brother in law from Dallas with nothing more than a piece of the stem it was growing on.

April 1

This is not an April fool's joke. This is my yard at 9:30 this morning. We have lots more of the heavy stuff coming down and the wind is blowing. I never saw this down south on April one, that's for sure.

We don't have anywhere to go, so will take advantage of a slow day. The income tax is mailed, we have all the groceries we need and the house is warm. What more could one ask?

Last week I searched in places where the snow had melted around the house and saw some tulips coming up, but no other sleepers were showing up.

However, I saw several robins yesterday where the grass was showing in some patches that were clear of snow . I wonder where they are today. Poor things.

Family leaving

Here is a family picture minus Charles who was of course, taking the picture. Everyone is ready to leave for the airport, but as you can see, the eyes of Grandmom and Granddad look sad.
What a wonderful time we had with our Chilian family last week. We look forward to keeping in touch through skype. What a wonderful invention that lets us see each other over the miles.

Sleigh Ride in Maine

Yesterday we went on a sleigh ride in Sumner. Tom, Charles, Luz Maria, Baby Charlie, Ignacio and myself all fit in the sleigh nicely. It was bitter cold, but we had blankets to keep warm. Baby Charlie was fascinated by the big horses drawing the sleigh and kept making a smacking sound with the lips to imitate sounds he hears in Chile when the horses plop their feet.
The day was sunny and we could see all the way to the paper mill in Jay. Mount Washington was in the clouds, but it would have been visable from the ride.

Grand Canyon and others

Just sending some more beautiful pictures we took yesterday at Grand Canyon, sunset crater and some Indian ruins.
Also, we hit a rest area just as this sunset was beginning.

We had a beautiful day at the Grand Canyon today. I think it's supposed to snow later this week, but today was beautiful.
Tom and I relived many memories as we looked down on the Colorado River that we rafted down some 35 years ago.
It was a long day. We left the Condo at 7 this morning and got home at 8 tonight.

Site correction

Sorry, but we are in a Marriotte resort, not Best Western. This is the second largest in the USA. We feel very fortunate to be in such a great place.
Today was rest day for our trip to the Grand Canyon tomorrow.
Will try to put in a picture of our "home" away from home. Can't find the one I want, so this will have to do.

Montezuma Castle and Sedona

Phoenix, Day 2
The sky was cloudless as we traveled toward Sedona. Leaving the Best Western resort, we got to Route 17 around 10:00. Soon after leaving the city, the rolling hills gave vistas of tall saguaro cacti reaching their green arms to the sky.
Listening to conversations by our scientist husbands, we remembered that the saguaro has to be 40 years old before it begins to have arms. These specimens were easily 200or more years old.
As we climbed to 3,000 feet in elevation, the saguaros gave way to the prickly pear cacti and then they were gone as we reached a plains area where cows and horses were grazing.
Scrub cedar grew sparsely in the white rocky soil. In the distance the mountains were varying shades of blue and purple.
We reached the Montezuma National Monument just before noon and the sky was still clear and sunny. The temperature was around 70 degrees. The chalky white rocks didn’t look like it would have been the place to build a dwelling, but obviously the Sinagua Indians did. It was a good place for protection and they chose a large natural cave on the side of a cliff to build a 5 story castle.
The castle was made without any help from modern conveniences as it was made in a.d.1250.
In 1906, Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed the area a National Monument and it was then protected. Restoration took place and you see today what the castle did look like. It is one of the best preserved of ancient cave dwellings.
The trees and plants in the area served the Indians as food and building material. The massive sycamore trees still grow in the area and these were used for timbers in construction when the castle was built.
Most of the ancient trees still grow in the area and Mesquite trees were used for many things by the Indians. The sap was used to make candy, black dyes and adhesive for holding baskets together.
There were other ruins of a larger set of dwellings, but they were not as well preserved. Whereas Montezuma’s castle held about fifty people, these ruins had forty four rooms.
We ate lunch by a bubbling brook in the park and then rode to Sedona to feast our eyes on the red rocks. There is nothing quite unbelievable as the glowing red formations reaching up unto the sky.
Tom and I had never been to the Rock Chapel, so Dean took us there. It is an amazing and awesome place sitting there on the side of those magnificant red rocks. These sights are all in or near the Coconino National Forest.

Arizona in February

Yes, Tom and I are in Arizona as guests of the Kavanagh's, our friends from MA.
We are in a condo village which is part of a large Marriott Hotel.
We'vs been swimming and sunning and enjoying great weather. It was minus 14 when we left Maine yesterday.
Today we explored the complex. Tomorrow we go to an Indian village to explore that area.