February 27 – March 6, 2022 Arizona free time! Our projects, making repairs, great food, the sights, family & friends!

Lorree – she’s always making something happen! She continues to love her new oven and is now baking sour dough items like these wonderful loaves of bread! She has also been quilting all along – and just completed this warm-wintery-rag-quilt-for-her! She is so talented and full of ideas to occupy her “down” time!

Meanwhile… Dennis is underneath the rig trying to locate a leak in our gray water holding tank (Thankful it’s not the black tank!!) Looks like we might be able to do a simple JB Weld patch on this and make it go away!

Our Sower friends are still here for a few days and we’re always eager to try out a new food menu – how about going to the “Boxyard” and getting some bacon wrapped Percheron Burritos!?! [FYI: a Percheron horse (2,600 lbs) is bigger than a Clydesdale!]

A fun little lunch area downtown Tucson made out of shipping containers! Each spot (like several food trucks) offers a different menu choice: Vietnamese, Pizza, Burritos, and more. We arrived at 11:30 am. (they said it would open at 12:00 pm.) …AND they finally opened 1:00 pm! Yes, it was worth the 1 1/2 hr wait! (delicious…but couldnt eat it all – especially with the side order of cheesy french fries!)

On the weekend, we were able to face-time Mom Johnson. It’s always a special time to be able to catch up with each other and hear how God continues to bless her! She is doing so well – we love her smiles and the joy she shares with everyone! We especially appreciate Kay living with Mom and watching over her.

Somebody said that SOWERs only work Mon – Thurs because Friday is for RV repairs! Our friends Craig & Karen Burrell were leaving and they discovered their stairs didn’t close back in. It ended up in disconnecting and then strapping them up in order to leave today.

While doing some shopping, we were amazed at the plants available in the area for gardening – lots of succulents and blooming cactus. So colorful! (The tall one in back is my favorite rose! …ahh)

Sabino Canyon and Mount Lemon – Sights TO See!

We ventured out to visit the Sabino Canyon and do a bit of hiking. We learned a lot more about the native cactus and desert environment.

Love this picture – what a beautiful landscape God has created here in Arizona, whew!

We enjoyed a hike around the welcome center and into the desert nature area. We received some sage advice from Smoky and the Sanguaros! LOL! Amazing plant life to experience!

We rode the tram up into the canyon. Such a pretty view of the Sabino Creek. There was still runoff from a recent rain and some of the snow pack on top of Mount Lemon.

As we headed up to Mount Lemon from Sabino Canyon, we immediately had a view overlooking Tucson. In only one hour, we climbed close to 7,000 feet (from 2,300 to 9,100 ft) in about 9 miles. We learned of the four different life zones: at the base is the Sonoran Desert, going up is Semi-Desert Grasslands, Oak Woodland, Pine-Oak Woodland, Ponderosa Pine Forest, and Mixed Conifer Forest at the top. The pine and conifers reminded us of being at our home in the Colorado Rockies. Spectacular contrast in such a short time – the only place in the United States to experience this in such a contained area.

As we drove we got to see many “HooDoo’s” These are stacked rocks (of course billions and billions and billions of years of water erosion caused this LOL!) Beautiful views all along the way!

…from feeling the heat at 91 degrees at the bottom, to praising the Lord for the coolness of 59 degrees at the top. Amazing! At the top is a ski slope still covered with snow! We really enjoyed this adventure – if you’re in the area be sure to put htis on your schedule!

Enjoying friends and family!

We were able to meet up and enjoy a dinner out with our friends Rick and Sandi Gibson. It’s also great to share life and stories with friends as we travel – whenever we can!

And another facetime visit! This time with Ray & Sarah, Jeremiah, Asia, and Faith. Loving our family from afar – so thankful for technology!

We learned a new word at church this weekend… “theodidaktoi” …Paul probably made it up since it’s only found once in the Bible (1 Thess 4:9) and never in any other greek liturature. But it’s a powerful word meaning “taught by God”. We have been taught by God in so many ways and times throughout our life, and especially through these many adventures. Like our motto says, “Everyday with God is an adventure!”

We’re getting ready for our next SOWER project – and we’re staying right here in Tucson at The Gospel Rescue Mission! We’ll be joined by one other couple to serve for the month of March. Wonder what adventures God has planned for us next!?!