OK, I'll let the cat out of the bag.  I grew up in a mennonite home and the only thing you could do that was worse than infidelity was to dance.  Well, that is a slight exaggeration.  Since coming to Yuma I have enjoyed for the first time, dancing to the best 70's  music that has been composed.  I have a circle of new friends and have had so much fun enjoying the music past the tapping of my fingers and toes.  

Barry and his brother have a gift for music that pulls you up off your chair and onto the tiny floor of the lounge.  If it doesn't, there has to be something wrong with you.  

Then a day in Mexico in Algadonas with friends.

I love the way Mexicans know how to celebrate. 

The temperatures here are rising, causing people to wear hats and bare more skin, which is  browning very nicely. I am watching the weather and the roads north but this week is still very wet and cool.  I will try again next week.  I am getting homesick for family and friends.  

In the right place at the right time, we watched some training taking place in the air.  These airforce sky divers were accurate at landing on target. 

Seeing these guys fall through the air reminded me of something.......

Memories trooped in like soldiers from the desert.  I remembered some things that pulled at me from the past.  

This winter I have done many things that I had once only dreamed about.  You might call it my bucket list.  In the midst of all the fun and excitement of what I am doing now, I had forgotten that once upon a time I had also dreamed of jumping out of an airplane.  And now....I think I will do it.  What is there to stop me but my own thumping heart?  

Frank had the great idea to ride out to Oatman which is a small old town on route 66.  There you can feed the wild donkeys which are all over the streets.  They are descendants of the animals they used for mining years ago and who now lead a life of luxury.  No foraging for them.  

If this is what it means to be a jackass, I'm in.

So who is Frank?

Frank is one of Mike's riding buddies, which makes him now one of mine as well.  The three of us have taken a number of day trips together.  Frank's wife Eleanor has cooked us a couple of very good meals, one of which was corn beef and cabbage, and the desserts were memorable too! 

One of the most awesome rides Mike and I have done is the road between Show Low and Globe.  It is like riding through the Grand Canyon. 

We are back in Yuma now and I am looking for a window of opportunity to ride home without hitting icey roads or getting rained on for three days.  So in the meantime I am making lots of new friends and doing short rides around here.

This is the old hotel that burned down in.....umm....ok, I don't keep a journal and dates allude me, so all I can remember were the pictures of this hotel half burned, aaannnd.......

I DO remember the movie I saw where Gene Autry climbs the marble staircase on his horse Champion. This is it!

So....which one should should we choose.  One was plain white and there were 2 people standing beside it.  The other one was very colourful and there were people swarming around looking very happy, hands full of food. 

Two young Mexican guys ran this business.  It was $5.00 for two hotdogs and two bottles of water.   

Then there were the mouth watering jalepinos! Are you with me Rachel?  

I was looking at my photos and decided to put up a few more pictures of Bisbee.  I really enjoyed that town. 

The streets are crooked and not flat.  We wound our way up and down the dead end side streets that took us up the hillsides where houses are built against the rock.  We climbed the endless stairways that connected homes and businesses.  

This is the new way of sliding down the banister.  Don't try this at home kids.  Some people have more guts than brains.  :-)
And when they reach the bottom you get to see just exactly how many guts they really have. 

The inactive open pit mine east of Bisbee.

This is only one of many walls that people have creatively decorated on their property borders. 

You know me and colours.  There were so many brightly coloured buildings and enticing little gift shops.  This is a must see village.  

Bisbee is a quaint little mining town perched in the Mule Mountains. I didn't expect to find so many art shops, healthy food choices or friendly people.  It is a memorable place to visit.

This meatloaf sandwich is real.  And real good.

Bisbee was mined for Copper among other things.  The mine walls had very interesting spots that made me want to take out my little pick and do some mining myself.  There are many art shops that sell local copper art that is very beautiful and original in design.  If I wasn't travelling on motorcycle I would have bought a few pieces.  

Between Tucson and Tombstone we stopped at Tubac and camped. We were the only tents. There were not many people tenting here and the nights are considered very cold. It gets down to 2 celcius but our bags are very warm. 

Besides the history and the gun fights in the streets there are many things in Tombstone to keep one entertained for a few days.  We took in as much as we could in two days.  

The horse and wagon tour we took educated us about the history of the town and quite a few of the spots of interest within the town.

The old courthouse holds the history of the gun fights and the court cases that followed.  The Crystal Palace was a saloon and has most of the original decor in it.  The gallows is the original as well, rather morbid, 

We watched the enactment of the gun battle at the OK Corral.  This is Doc Holiday and he was a very convincing actor.

Then there was Wyat Earp and his cohorts who did most of the shooting.  It was a good presentation.  Mike and I both enjoyed ourselves and would recommend Tombstone as a place worth seeing.  

I wish my Grandboys could have walked with me through the graveyard for planes in Tucson.  

I think the bee seeds and the airplane seeds got mixed up.

Below is the unrecognizable nose of an airplane that has been at war.  I pray there will be no more war when the boys in my family are grown.

This time the helicopter seeds and the mosquito seeds got mixed up.

It wasn't easy.....I had to hold this one down long enough to get a picture. 
There were 80 acres of airplanes and veterans to tell the history of the planes and the events surrounding them.  It was very interesting, even for a Gran.  :-)

Look, I know I said tomorrow, but I have a good excuse. I was very sick for a few days so I put you all on hold.  Sorry.  I'm back on my feet again.

Mt Lemmon's elevation is 9000 ft.  I have never been interested in elevation until I started riding a motorcycle.  Next to scenery, it really matters.  I went from sleeveless with no helmet to lined jacket, gloves and full face helmet.  But as long as the sun is shining, none of these things matter.  

Unfortunately you can only stop to take photos where there is a pullout.  There were places where I would have loved to have taken some pictures but couldn't.

Nothing like meeting a few fellow bikers at the top of the mountain.  We rode back down with them and ate supper together in Tucson.  

This rock formation speaks for itself. It doesn't need a puny human bean like me to write down insignificant adjectives that flail helplessly and fall futilely into space like unaimed arrows.