Valley of the Sun 2014: Happy new Year!!!

Settling in.....

First of all, thanks for all the messages from back home.

Settling in is just not the way to describe our first 4 days in the desert. Bluebird skies, warm temps and cold beer, or rum if you prefer. Were to start......

We arrived in Mesa on December 30th. Our last night on the road was in Blythe, California. Our last day on the road was a short one. The drive from Blythe took us about 3 hours. We arrived at our winter home at around noon. When we drove down our street we were greeting warmly by the many friends we have made here in the RV park. After hugs and handshakes were able to unload the 4Runner and then head for the grocery store for provisions. That done we spent the rest of the day greeting more friends, eating dinner then falling into bed for a well earned good night sleep.

Our first full day was spent birding in the morning at Gilbert Water Ranch and then running errands. Birding was quite good. It was fun to bird with Kevin and Sherri. We identified 42 species of birds. I got a few good photographs which I will post and add to my Flickr page. New Year’s Eve was quiet. We had dinner with Kevin, Sherri and the kids then we went to the airport at 10:30 to pick up Kelly and Donna who were inbound from Canada. Home at 11:20, in bed soon thereafter.

January 1st, 2014. We headed out of the park at 0900 for our inaugural bike ride. Just a short(ish) 50k ride to get us started in the New Year. It was warm, 16C or 72F. Glorious! Funny thing happened on the ride. We were riding in the bike lane when a vehicle came up beside us. The fellow driving the SUV slowed, rolled down his window and called out to us that his buddy in Victoria rides with IRC, my bike club. Small world as there are fewer that 50 IRC members. As I was wearing my IRC club kit he wanted to take my photo and send it to his buddy. I agreed and he whipped out his cell phone took the shot, said thanks and drove off. Small world. In the afternoon I had a great time playing tennis with Sherri while Dana visited with friends on our block.

Today we went birding on the Salt River. We identified several species including a new one for us, a Lark Sparrow. I got a good photo of the Lark Sparrow and a female Ladder-backed Woodpecker that I will include in this post. This afternoon we mostly rested, did some grocery shopping and got caught up on some rest. Tomorrow we hope to ride in the morning. Might even catch up with Steve and Jo unless they are on the golf course.....

Enjoy the pics. Ciao!