On New Year's Day I made a new friend. Christine Nieto, who worked with Jim at CTB/McGraw-Hill, brought her dog Amigo to meet me. We had lots of fun and Sami and Amigo got to hike the hills nearby.
I spent the last two weeks in the San Diego area. We were parked at Pio Pico (A Thousand Trails Preserve) about 20 miles east of the ocean. Jim & Pat took me and Sami to Coronado Island several times. The picture to the left is the view I had back toward downtown San Diego across San Diego Bay.
I had a safe and sane New Year's Eve.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
