Merry Christmas

Kevin and I want to wish all of our family and friends the merriest of Christmases. Although, we are not joining our family this year in person, you are all in our hearts on this special day. We go back to Wisconsin every other year to spend the holidays with family; this is our year to stay in Arizona. I must say I am missing my kids a bit, but it's wonderful to be able to speak to them on the phone.

The weather up north is the coldest of the season, so I am definitely not missing the cold and snow. We had a bit of a cold spell in Yuma the past few days with highs of only about 60 and lows near 40 with strong winds. However, starting today, we're back in the 70s for highs and about 50 for lows. Can't beat that.

We continue to stay busy here at the resort. While Kevin was back in Wisconsin a few weeks ago, I went hiking with the hiking group. Here's a picture of me hiking in an area called the Painted Desert. It was beautiful.

Last Monday Kevin and I both joined the hiking group on an expedition to the Valley of  Names. It was about a thirty minute drive from Yuma to a desert area in California. There are several explanations online of how this area got started. It seems at least sixty years ago people started spelling out their names with rocks. The area has grown to over 10,000 names covering several miles. It's an amazing site to see. Here's part of our group getting started walking around and looking at some of the names.

Some people have gone to great lengths to recognize their family. All of these rocks are brought in from the outside. Large plots are outlined with whole families of names. Some have generations of family members recognized.

There are names much farther than the eye can see.

In addition to hiking, we've been golfing a few times a week. We've joined a scramble group on Friday afternoons and a couples group on Wednesday mornings. It's a great way to meet new people.

I join the quilting group once a week to sew together. Starting in January we will be working on a mystery quilt project as a group. That should be fun. They're a nice group. We also play bocce ball on Thursdays when the weather cooperates. The last two Thursdays it was quite cold and windy so we didn't play.

January through March are the busiest times for the snowbird resorts. Lots of people don't arrive until after Christmas. Our resort is supposedly pretty much fully booked, so there should be lots of units rolling in during the next week or two. I have to say that I really enjoy it during this fall season when it's not so busy.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!