Los Angeles, Mesa to Tucson

As you can see, I've moved back to Arizona for the winter.  I guess I'm officially a Snowbird.  Below are photos from the journey, going backwards in time.  First is Kaya and Hal, who let me stop over for a couple of nights in Mesa.  They are fantastic tour guides, taking me to three park areas to see how beautiful mesa is.  Kaya also took me to a writer's group she's teaching, two thrift stores and the local library where I was able to stock up on books that should last me a month at least.

I forget the names of all the places, but they have unusual trees and lots of wild horses which we weren't able to see but everyone we met had.  Evidently there are over 700 horses running around the desert and as they multiply they are rounded up.  Oh yes, it's the Salt River.

Below is a sacred mountain only the local tribe is allowed to climb.

An underwater worm who seemed to like it there.  I thought worms drowned in water - why else do they come out after it rains?

I slept in Kaya's office and hanging on the wall was the painting below, one I painted many years ago (? about 25 years ago I think).

Coming from California where everything is MUCH more expensive I had to photograph the sign below because cheap gas in Cal is $2.79.  This sign is from Mesa but in Tucson the gas is even cheaper at $1.81 to $1.91.  I filled my tank up and it cost me 14.73!  That hasn't happened in a long time.

After driving 10 hours from Redwood Valley, I arrived in Hermosa Beach to visit my sister Janice.

I spent Thanksgiving week with Janice.  One day we headed to Watts to check out the Towers built by Simon Rodia in the 1930's.  Below are photos from the outing.

Once a month Janice volunteers at the Nature Center in Palos Verdes.  This was a very educational trip for me.  Not only did they have a very interesting herbalist give a talk and let us try eating her delicious concoctions, below, but the center's building was once where Nike missiles were assembled, next to a missile site operated from 1914 to 1982 for coastal defence.  Now welded shut, there is six stories underground where missiles were stored, with elevators and launch sites.  At one time 30,000 people worked here.

There are two bunkers, as well as silos and elevators for the missiles, and lots of concrete.  This all amazed me because I had driven down this road in the past, before 1980, and I don't remember ever seeing anything, because, I guess, it was all underground.

Elevator shaft with a great ocean view.

Cool rust

Below are a few photos from Redwood Valley