Great week!

Friday and we wake up to rain! Take off early and drive back to Minnesota to Dewain and Linda's. Rained hard during the drive. Wish we could bring some of this home to Arizona. Temp dropped again too.

Enjoyed time with more old friends. Barb and EJ and of course, Tess. Never get tired of reconnecting with people we knew in "our other life."

These two are the perfect hosts! Love 'em to the moon and back!

Afternoon flight back to Phoenix and then the drive home. After a cold and windy week we came home to 93 degrees in Tucson. I am finally warm.

Westside

Popped into the Harley Davidson dealer in Carrol, Ia to see my niece Kim. She manages the clothing line while Kevin is Service Manager. They weren't so busy so had some time to catch up and Will had fun checking out all those motorcycles!  We bought some t-shirts that we can wear while riding our lowly bicycles!

Dinner at Taco Night at local bar and grill in Westside where Kellie and Rich joined us!

Managed coffee and couple hours visit with highschool classmates and longtime friends Sue and Jay. LOTS of memories to remember.

The little town of Templeton has some interesting history and local bootlegging lore back in the days of Prohibition. Templeton Rye whiskey was infamous throughout the midwest. Now there is a honest to goodness Distillery there and is marketed world wide. We toured it and learned all about the process. And a very fun museum that told the story--myth and truth about those lawless days.

Baby Canadian geese are a sure sign of spring.

Driving back to the Twin Cities in the rain. Wish we could bring some back to Arizona!!

Spring not exactly here yet!

Something we haven't done in a very long time. . .we went bowling! Will's game came back pretty quickly. . .

Mine, not so much!! But my form was good! At least I looked good and isn't that most important!

A quick drive past Will's boyhood farm. Farmers just starting to get into the fields for spring planting. Not much green yet. And we came at a cold, windy week in Iowa. My Arizona bones not appreciating freezing temperatures!

Arizona to Minnesota to Iowa

A night at Holiday Inn Phoenix Airport and then an early flight to Minneapolis. Had a lovely overnight visit with Dewain and Linda Goff. Tess V. came over for a while to help us catch up--always a good time.

Next day. . .

Then we drove our rental car the 4 hours to Iowa to arrive in time for Helene's (almost) surprise birthday party! Les planned a party to celebrate her 80th birthday and did a great job of party planning but she kinda figured out something was going on. Wasn't a total surprise but was a hoot when brother Jay showed up from Washington state, then we walked in from Arizona and then her kids and grandkids, followed by Les's kids and grandkids--all bearing food!! Lots of laughs, good eats, birthday cake, and birthday blessings shared! Madison made the yummy cake!

Les, Pam and Helene.

Great Grandma Helene with Morgan, Madison, and Hunter

New stuff and day Out

Here's the new stuff!! My dishwasher died so I had to actually wash my own dishes for a week until could get the new one installed. Worst part is a constant sink of dirty dishes. My old one was at least 25 years old and. . .well, so far this one is very quiet!

A day in Phoenix!! First stop was a not-very-memorable breakfast in Florence and then onto the Minnesota Music Museum. We ended up spending 4 hours there--is great!  So well done, interesting, informative and great fun. 

Indonesia. One of the exhibits showcasing music and culture from all over the world. 

We actually could have stayed longer but pretty soon one is on brain overload and time to leave. Deserves a return visit. Our favorite area showcases artists of fame, or music genres, and cultural icons of music. Great place for anyone, any age.

Ice cream at Tempe Town and then to the Phoenix Botonical Garden. There is a Chihuly Exhibit going on and we have always enjoyed his Glasswork. We had tickets for 5pm so that we could see the gardens and be there when it got dark to see the special lighting.

But aside from the Art Glass exhibit, it was also THE night that some Night Blooming Enchenaous (sp??) was blooming.  When we arrived they were still just big buds but when we left about 7 :30pm they were fully open and quite amazing!!

Now, these blossoms are 10 inches across!! And will last one night. By morning they will be dropping and gone!

A lovely garden in its own right, now a lovely setting for Chihuly Glass. 

Kiln Opening today

Wall hangings and desert- themed painted pots.

Bikes and Moon

See that "sold" sign? That's an E-bike, and it is sold to me!! Maybe I can actually bike with Will now and keep up! This battery powered bike has something called "assist." When I peddle as normal, which is quite a bit slower than Will-- I can get a little boost that helps. I am still peddling. We tried it out on bike path--didn't take long to get the feel for it.

By the way--tonight's almost-full moon was really incredible. I read that it's called a Pink Moon. Doesn't especially look pink but the ring around it was stunning through the clouds.

Back road to Mt Lemon

We took the Jeep up to top of My Lemon. . .the back way. Up 30 miles of gravel road that turned to rocky dirt, the last 6 miles "not appropriate for passenger cars!". Gave the 4wheel drive a good work out and between white-knuckle gripping, bone jarring crawling over rocks and ruts, thrilling vistas from desert to 8,000 ft. Was fun but we took the hiway back, weren't ready to do that again quite so soon.  We have wanted to drive that road as long as we have lived here.

A Southwest specialty, Aberts Squirrel. Notice his long, pointed ears.

A Yellow Eyed Junco. A high elevation bird.

We started out with breakfast in the town of Oracle at a funky local restaurant.

Madera Canyon birding hike

We haven't been out birding for a really long time.  Migrant birds are at peak of spring return. We headed for a favorite hot spot, Madera Canyon.  Didn't take us long to locate the prize--an Elegant Trogan! Madera is a somewhat reliable place to see them. . .if you just happen to be at the right place at the right time! It's a great find.

As is a Hooded Oriole!!

And then a "Scots Oriole."  Also Painted Redstart, Scrub Jay, Wild Turkey, Goldfinch, Warblers, Acorn Woodpeckers, and more.  Considered a great birding day.

It's a very scenic place to spend a warm, spring morning.