New Tow vehicle

Ha ha ha!

Get Your Motor Running

Today I headed out on the highway in a rental Harley Davidson trike motorcycle.

Jenna did not join me, still feeling some pain in her back.

I have no ridden in seven years.  We rode two up on a 1989 Honda Goldwing for two summers in 2001-2002.

[Can't find the pics with J too.]

Eventually I gave it up for a year due to pain.  Lasted one year before buying a smaller motorcycle, which I kept for one month and sold.

I made up for lost time by riding 200 miles this afternoon.  Rode from Prescott to Sedona, thru the Oak Creek Canyon, up to Flagstaff, and home.

Twas great fun.  Not quite a real motorcycle, which handles far better.  But still a reasonable compromise and more comfortable, even if it was a damned Harley.

More fun to come.

Bruce

Prescott, AZ

Call it Press kit if you please.  We departed Tucson on 2/18.  Stopped for a few days in Casa Grande to visit friends.  Then north and up, from 2,000' elevation to 5,000'. 

Gets a bit cool at night, usually in the upper 20s.  But the days have been glorious.  And we really like the town so far.  Have walked around the big historic town square.  In fact, in March 2006 the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Prescott one of its "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" appealing to tourists' taste for historic places.  It's a cool place, with a good local brewpub on the square.

Today we saw Montezuma Castle National Monument, [thanks Steve!], a poorly named cliff dwelling south of Flagstaff, AZ.  Click here for more info.

The inhabitants built this and other houses in AD 1200 and lived there for 300 years.  Quite amazing when you see that they constructed them from mud that they carried up ladders 200' from the river below.

Watch this space for more amazing facts!

Bruce

Weather Weenies

This morning we checked the weather forecast in Prescott for this coming week.  Too cold and rainy!  So we will delay our departure for a few days at least, hoping the temperature will at least reach 50 degrees during our visit.

Tucson rejoices!  Prescott responds, "No comment."

Bruce

Itchy Hitchy Gotta Scratchy

Here we go again.  Two plus months in Tucson.  Feeling restless.  It's not like we don't have a wonderful situation here.  Nice weather, great site, good friends, beautiful city.  And an unbeatable delicatessen.  Oyyy.

But this is our third winter in Tucson.  Going into our third month, we've decided to move on.  We now plan to hitch up in another week.  Would depart sooner, but we hold tickets for a performance in a few days, and also must wait for a package from Amazon.  The next day, we head west. 

First stop will be Casa Grande, AZ to visit friends Toni and Doug.  Then we'll drive north to Prescott, AZ, near Flagstaff, where we will spend coupla weeks before returning to Park Sierra.

Don't ask us why.  Ours is just to do and try not to die...too soon.

Bruce

PS We are also considering a new destination next winter.  Maybe Rockport, Texas.

Culture Update and another Clancy Song

Last post, I mentioned our pending cultural plans.  We attended the tango performance and came away quite impressed.  Amazing dancers thrashing about, all arms and legs entwined with no apparent injuries.  I know those men must wear protectors, or the art would die out from a declining birth rate.

Next we saw a comedic presentation of Hitchcock's classic 39 Steps movie.  Three men and one woman played multiple parts at a frenetic pace, employing a wide range of creative devices.  One can hardly describe the performance in a way worthy of the effort.  So I won't.

Planned to attend a dance presentation this evening.  But the truck wouldn't start, and I did not have enough  time to try to fix it in the dark.  C'est la vie.

I realize that I have not mentioned Clancy much of late.  Yes, he still lives here with us.  While he continues to show improvement in his behavior at home, he retains his roots as a terrier.  Still jumps and squeals at most passing strangers, and even more so should someone make the mistake of paying us a home visit.  And so I dedicate this song to the certain knowledge that some things will never change.

Bruce

To the tune of I Won't Dance
I won't tour, don't ask me
I won't tour with Clancy,
I won't tour, monsieur, with you.
This dog won't let me do the things I want to do.

You know what, you're pesty
The bark bark, is pesty,
You really embarrass me,
I hear a sound wave that just echoes everywhere,
I need a muzzle for you when the people stare.
[Refrain]
 When you sleep, you're charming and you're gentle,
When you bark, I hear it continental,
Peace and quiet I need in my mental,
Your chatter bugs me.  To hell it tugs me.

And that's why
I won't tour, don't ask me
I won't tour with Clancy,
I won't tour, monsieur, with you.
This dog won't let me do the things I want to do.

You know what, you're lovely,
In dog shows, you're lovely,
But, oh, what you do to me,
Your squealing jumping in the air drives me insane.
While all those 'round you think you're cute and not a pain.
[Refrain]
 When you sleep, you're cute and not a rascal,
People don't think you are such a hassle.
They don't live a shoebox life like we do.
For heaven rest us.  Just don't arrest us.

And so
I won't tour, don't ask me
I won't tour with Clancy,
I won't tour, monsieur, with you.
This dog won't let me do the things I want to do.