Wrap up and back to the deep freeze

I am wrapping up the blog for this trip.  The temperatures warmed up and were actually HOT the last couple of days.  On Monday, we enjoyed a delicious crepe lunch on the patio (they do yummy gluten free ones too) in Cave Creek.  This is a regular haunt for us and we knew it was moving locations a couple of doors up in the outdoor mall.  It is moved now and they did a great job.  The only drawback is the patio is on the front of the building now and you look at the courtyard instead of the mountains at the back.  Here we are waiting for our lunch.  Sorry about the table view, I was using my mini tri-pod.  We had to move into the shade, it was so warm.  We had savory crepes and then we shared a traditional lemon crepe for desert.  Yummy!! 

 

There is a large courtyard as you can see and an amazing bronze statue of a horse and cowboy.  There is a lot of public art in the Phoenix area and this is just one example.   This shows you the size of it and the courtyard.

 

You can see the detail in the horse and the man's face and clothing.

 Yay! Mom was hoping for a handsome date and look here, she found herself a cowboy!!

We were enjoying the bright sun and temperate weather so much, it was very hard to leave, especially to go to the exteme cold temperatures at home.  Craig picked up a wicked cold a couple of days before we left that slowed him down a bit.  He even took the car a couple of times and did not take the bike!! That is when you know he is under the weather.  Unfortunately Mom also picked up the cold when we got home too.  I thought I escaped it but it had hit me too.  Spent the day on the couch on Sunday and was off work a couple of days too it hit me so hard.  It must be going around fast as there are a lot of people coughing right now. 

Well, that is the wrap up for this trip.  I didn't include all the things we got up to but you get the idea that we were busy but also relaxed and did some sight seeing.  It was nice not to be in the cold and snow for a bit.  Our next visit will be in May and we may squeek another visit in before then. 

Hope you enjoyed the blog!  until next time....

Saguaro Lake Desert Belle Cruise

Today was georgeous!!  The sun was shining and a beautiful blue sky.  A teeny bit warmer than the last couple of days as well.  We went out for the noon Saguaro Lake Desert Belle Cruise and it was perfect.  We have done this at sunset but not in the daytime.  The light was very different and the narrative by the captain was very good.  Here's some nice photo's for your enjoyment.  After the cruise we had a nice lunch at the marina and then headed home.  A great mix of being out and relaxing!!

Warning - heavy on the photo's for this post. The lake is so beautiful. Enjoy!

Sedona Road Trip

Hello All!!

Yesterday we went for another neighborhood walk with camera in hand to take some photo's of the neighbors fruit trees a.k.a. the perfect lemon.  Also grapefruit.  Here's some pics.

Montezuma Castle
On the way to Sedona there is a wonderful example of cliff dwellings called Montezuma Castle. It's a very interesting place to see how natives lived years ago.  The paths were a bit treacherous but apparently snow is so rare here the last time they had any was about 1963.  Seeing cactus in the snow was also strange but most seem to survive the snow and frost.

You can't go into the dwellings any more due to the volume of visitors but it is still interesting to see. 

Here's Craig and Mom posing beside an example of one of the ruins that once were five story's high.  Just the outline shows now.

Having been here only in warm months it a change to be able to see the river in full because the leaves usually block out a lot of it.

Sedona in the snow!
What a change in view when there is snow on the beautiful red rocks. This is on our way into town where we followed a new Pink Jeep. 

Here's some other pics with the snow. 

 

On the way out of town is a fantastic shop with the mexican fireplaces, carvings, metalwork and so much more.

 They also dry and hang the red peppers here.  They have them all hanging in the outdoor sheds. If you visit when they are roasting, it will nip your eyes. 

 A bit hard to sell stuff covered in snow!  So unusual to see all the wares with snow over most of them.

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It was a lovely day out and a great drive even though the highway was the busiest drive to Sedona we have ever had.  Arrived home and had a snack and were off to an early bed.  All that cool fresh air can tire you out!! 

g'nite!