Merry Christmas!!

My friends and I want to wish you a Merry Christmas. Pictured to the left with me is Betty and the little one between us is Billy.
Pictured below with Betty and me is our new dog, Sami. The pictures were taken at the Verde Vally Preserve (Thousand Trails) near Cottonwood, AZ The Verde River is flowing through the canyon below and the mountains in the background are near Flagstaff.

I have much to be thankful for this year, as I spent the winter months in South TX (with a side-trip to Copper Canyon and Mazatlan, Mexico) and the summer months in IA, MN and WI. We visited with many of Jim and Pat's family and friends along the way. We had a great time on Galveston Island before the hurricne, avoided tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest, and generally had great times where ever we went. I even got up to Ontario, Canada this summer.

Meeting Santa

In a recent blog I mentioned riding the Verde Canyon Railroad and meeting some special people. Well, I met Santa Claus and some of his helpers. Santa said he was taking some time from his busy schedule to check out the delivery routes for this year and to check on the boys and girls who live in the Verde Canyon.
Warmest regards, Gus

Prescott, AZ

Last week I was in Prescott, AZ, and I met this "cowboy and his horse" on the county courthouse square.
At the hotel across from the courthouse square I met Tom Ruth. Tom polished my shoes and did a great job. I apologize to Tom because the picture came out a little fuzzy. By the way, Tom is a cousin of George "Babe" Ruth.
When I left Prescott, Jim and Pat took me to Lake Havasu City, located on the Colorado River.

Warmest regards, Gus

Verde Canyon Railroad

On Wednesday I got to ride the Verde Canyon Railroad from Clarkdale to Perkinsville, AZ. This was a four-hour round trip ride along the Verde River. The trip took us through a breeding area for the bald eagle, towering crimson cliffs, ancient Indian ruins, a 680-foot tunnel and old ranches.
Before we left on the trip, I got to meet Dennis, our engineer. Dennis told me the only way through the canyon is by rail--or walking.
Behind me is the beautiful Verde River canyon.
I met some really nice people on the trip and some of them wanted to make sure I had a "comfortable" trip. I really only drank hot chocolate and had a cookie, compliments of the conductor. I will share a picture of some really special people traveling on the train with us in a future blog.

Until next time....Gus

Montezuma Castle NM, AZ

I talked Jim and Pat into bringing me to Montezuma Castle National Monument (Camp Verde, AZ) to see how the Southern Sinagua farmers lived about 900-1200 years ago. Early settlers thought the construction was of Aztec origin and named it Montezuma, but it has been learned that the farmers/builders were of the Hohokam culture. These skilled Sinaguan farmers grew corn, squash and cotton using a variety of techniques that included canal irrigation.

We are parked near Cottonwood, AZ, about 50 miles south of Flagstaff. We will be here for another week when we will move to Prescott and then to Lake Havasu City.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.

Warmest regards, Gus