Sayre, Oklahoma and a Catch Up

 Sunday, April 10, 2022

Our day started with 8 o'clock Mass at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church. This is a small parish and the priest was outside welcoming people in. He asked where we were visiting from and interestingly he had visited the UP years ago. Sometimes it is a small world. 

Pretty little church ready to celebrate Palm Sunday.
They had lovely stained glass windows, 
I only took pictures of two.

North Fork of the Red River

Just a slight breeze this morning. So after brunch Tom
was up on the roof checking things out.

The good news is it was not the solar panel and nothing else was loose except the antenna, which is now in the garbage. A while back when Tom was cleaning off the roof the wiring had disintegrated when he touched it and the antenna itself was corroded. Since, we do not watch that much television it was not high on the priority list to replace. It may now be time. 

I went back into town to take a couple of pictures and make a stop at Dollar General. We need to give the windows a thorough cleaning before the valances are replaced next week and I wanted a drop cloth to put over the couch to keep it from getting wet. 

This was an interesting find. I would have ventured down if
Tom had been with me but not by myself.

The bottom left is a house I spotted on the way to church.

The top picture is an Old Train Station turned into a museum.
It still makes me sad that they ripped the one in Escanaba down.

A couple more pictures of the Park we are at.

The RV area this evening. 
The only negative about this park are the goat heads stickers.
They seem to be everywhere outside in the sites.

Home

Whenever we have stopped here we have found this to be a quiet place to stop and catch our breath, this time was not exception.  Even though we have never stayed less then a couple of nights this would also be a good overnight stop. I think I mentioned it is close to I-40 and there are several long pull through sites that we could easily fit into without unhooking.

Today the trek east continues.

Catching Up: Casa Grande, AZ

After leaving Quartzsite on March 29th we spent five nights at the High Chaparral RV Park in Casa Grande. Our reason for stopping there was two fold. One we needed to clean the inside of the accumulated desert dust and catch up on wash. Secondly we wanted to spend some time checking out a few of the other RV Parks in the area and the area itself. Thinking about the future we are looking for a home base and this area checks off several things on our wish list. Close to an airport, close to shopping, we still need to check out the medical in the area, and close to things to do and see when our kids, grandkids, extended family, or friends would decide to visit. 

Thursday, March 31, 2022

We decided to take a ride over to Florence and check out their Historical Downtown. It is quite evident they have done a good job of preserving what is special about this area. Our intention was just to ride through the area though I did get out and take several pictures. Another time it might be fun to spend more time checking the area out. There is a museum that would be fun to visit but today was not the day.

This is the Old Court House

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church.
A side door in the back was open and I could see they were
cleaning so I slipped in to take a picture of the altar area.

The Catholic Church Grounds

First Presbyterian Church

We both saw this at the same time.

Stinger Welding, Inc. is located in Coolidge, AZ, United States and is part of the Architectural and Structural Metals Manufacturing Industry. 

We passed by several green fields 

with mountains in the distance

today.

I have often wondered what keeps them upright.

So I looked it up: By increasing the number of roots they put down, palms are able to hold on to a larger volume of soil and therefore possess a much heavier base. This keeps them stranding upright in all but the worst conditions.

Friday, April 1, 2022

We spent part of today looking at several RV Parks in the area.
The bottom picture is what most of the sites looked like
Right would be where the RV would be parked and on the
left there is room for your vehicle with the cement patio.
The above picture was the only exception that we saw.
Though the site was not any bigger it was all brick.

Our conclusion at the end of the day is that price wise the High Chaparral RV is the best value and as far as site size not much different then any of the other parks we checked out. The only thing they do not have is the cement patio and that is not a deal breaker for us. To be continued in the fall.

Saturday, April 2, 2022

St. Helen of the Cross Catholic Church in Eloy, AZ
We attended Mass here Saturday evening.

The two side altars.

I just liked the contrast of the colors.

Our site.

Our Happy Hour views after the RV next to us left.
Not quite the same as being parked in the desert.

This was our last evening here. In the morning we continued our trek east.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Yesterday and Last Saturday (Ajo Sonoran Shindig/Ajo Memory Project/Ajo Scenic Loop)

(Click on the pictures to open them larger in a new window.)

March 24, 2018

Tom spent quite a bit of today giving the Stinger "B" a good scrubbing and then got about half way done waxing the "B" before he decided enough was enough for today. While he did that I took a ride to Walmart and Fry's to restock our pantry. After putting the groceries away I put out some crackers and cheese, Tom made me an adult beverage, and opened himself a beer then we proceeded to sit in these chairs and enjoyed a late afternoon Happy Hour. A nice couple from Indiana out walking their dog stopped and we chatted a bit about being glad we are in the warmth of the Southwest.

As Tom was grilling a couple of pork chops for tonight's dinner we continued to sit and enjoy the last of the days sunshine.

Could not really see the sunset but the afterglow was a nice pink.
The last of the suns rays reflecting on a squeaky clean Stinger "B".

March 17, 2018

(Back tracking to last Saturday)
We enjoyed a leisurely start to our day just sitting and enjoying our coffee.

The sun was already out when I opened our window shade.
The sun was peeking through the branches of the tree
outside our window.

Then just because, I took a second one using the effects setting,
Photo Illustration, on my camera.

Ajo Sonoran Shindig

A little later in the morning we headed over to what was listed as the Ajo Sonoran Shindig which took place at the Ajo Plaza. I googled trying to find the origins of this event but all I can find out is it is a Celebration of the Sonoran Desert and or Spring. From what I read it was the 18th one and it is held on the 3rd Saturday in March.

This definitely is a community event.
Food booths, information booths, booths with things for sale,
dancing, and music., with a little cheer-leading added in.
(They were cute as were the dancers)
 It was a lively place from 10 to 3 in the afternoon.

In the midst of all the things going on 
there was calm praying by this group.

We enjoyed a couple of hours walking around and checking out the various booths. We purchased some locally roasted coffee beans and had a nice chat with the woman who does the roasting. We enjoyed tasting a couple different coffees she had available and are looking forward to trying the ones we purchased later this week. (We/I misjudged how much coffee we use in a given week and we are just about out of the coffee we brought with us from a local roaster back home.) We also purchased a fry bread taco, for me, and fry bread with honey, for Tom, from one of the food booths. There was a long line so we figured it was a good choice and it was.

After we had checked out everything there was to see at the Shindig we spent some time taking pictures of the Murals in what is called Artist Alley on the south side of the plaza. This will be  my next "catch up" post. 

Ajo Memory Project

After taking pictures of the  murals we decided to take a ride and  I spotted this area just past the Plaza heading North. Curious we parked and I took a walk in to see what it was all about. It is actually a Memory Project that was dedicated in 2011. (I am hoping if you click on the pictures they will be large enough to read what is there, if you wish. This is a special project they undertook to bring healing to their community and to keep their diverse history alive.)

This is what you first see when you walk in.

Ajo has been named a Certified Wildlife Habitat Community
by the National Wildlife Federation. Ajo is the second community 
in Arizona and the 65th in the nation to earn this certification.

The pictures below are what hang on the wall starting from the left when you walk in.

Ajo Scenic Loop

First of all we did not know this was a Scenic Loop until we picked up a brochure at the Chamber of Commerce the following Wednesday. If you go to Ajo make it one of your first stops. According to the brochure it is a 10.4 mile drive of which 7.5 is graded but bumpy road, which we can attest to.
We did not drive the entire loop today, about half way we decided to turn around and head back. To drive up to the mine view.

This is a nice ride with a mixture of cacti and Sonoran Desert 
vegetation. The Teddy Bear Cholla can been seen above.

The Ocotillo had green leaves and red blossoms.

We saw a nice number of Organ Pipe Cactus along with the
majestic Saguaros.

This cross honors John Campbell Greenway, the first mine 
superintendent and founder of Ajo. 
It was erected in 1926 shortly after his death.

We saw this sign more then once today.
Wildlife Habitat
This property provides the four basic habitat elements needed for
wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover, and places to raise young.

Coming back down the hill into Ajo 
provides some nice views or the area.

New Cornelia Mine

This is what we originally turned down the street to go and check out. I saw a sculpture on the side of a house so we turned down a street so I could take a picture. Then we saw a house up a hill that looked interesting and before we knew it we were on the above ride. The funny thing is we actually took this loop last year starting at Darby Wells Road off of Highway 85 but did not recognize it from this direction until we were several miles in.

This is a very large whole in the ground.

Some of the same colors that are 
seen in the tailings on Highway 85.

The sun setting on what turned into a day 
filled with memory moments.

We enjoyed today and the day we spent a week ago. Hope your day was filled with good moments.

If you would like to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.