Wednesday, April 29, 2015
I wore myself out working on the Annual Meeting and lay in bed with a cold for a few days, feeling all of the delightful things people with colds feel. But by Saturday I had mostly recovered and Kevin arrived to visit.
That afternoon we went out to San Xavier Mission and ran around in the few minutes before the church closed. Afterward we took the streetcar downtown and had supper at La Indita and then came home and hung out.
Kevin at San Xavier del Bac.
The next morning I made pancakes with carmelized bananas and cheesy scrambled eggs and then we went to King's Canyon for a hike. It was a beautiful day and very few people were about.
Madera Canyon.
Napped in the afternoon and then I took Kevin to Cafe Desta for Ethiopian food. So good. The next morning he drove off to the Grand Canyon for another adventure. I'll be seeing him again this summer when I go on my road trip to see Jim and George and Matt.
That afternoon we went out to San Xavier Mission and ran around in the few minutes before the church closed. Afterward we took the streetcar downtown and had supper at La Indita and then came home and hung out.
Kevin at San Xavier del Bac.
The next morning I made pancakes with carmelized bananas and cheesy scrambled eggs and then we went to King's Canyon for a hike. It was a beautiful day and very few people were about.
King's Canyon.
The palo verde trees were blooming like crazy, big splotches of yellow everywhere.
Looking east.
We saw several herds of young deer. The second group was very curious and watched us as we approached.
Mule deer.
Definitely the least shy deer I have ever seen in Arizona.
Hello humans!
Kevin was impressed by the enormous saguaros.
Kevin.
The last of the wildflowers were blooming, helped out by the thunderstorm we had the previous night.
Unknown flower.
The cacti are still blossoming. There is one particular kind with long, skinny arms. It blooms in red, orange, and yellow- very attractive.
Red cactus.
We wandered off the trail and climbed a hill, then went up another hill thinking we were on a trail but it turned out to be an animal path.
Kevin capturing the Sonoran Desert.
I did really well, considering how sick I had been a few days earlier.
Homer.
We made sandwiches and drove to Mount Lemmon. Kevin noticed a truck that had driven by had snow on it. The weather report had said it was in the 40s. I was not expecting to see winter weather.
Sprinkling of snow.
At about 7,500 feet suddenly there was snow, a lot of snow. It was awesome, suddenly it was like Christmas time all over again.
Snowy.
We were above the clouds and here and there some snow was falling.
Buds.
We ate lunch sitting in the car, watching the Mexican kids playing in the snow piles.
I didn't want to leave.
Supper at BK's. I wanted Kevin to try the genuine Sonoran-style food. He really liked it, including the Sonoran hotdog. Then I said, "Let's go watch the sunset at Gate's Pass."
It was cold enough for me to wear a sweater, probably last time until Fall.
We sat for an hour watching the colors.
Kevin and red cactus.
It was very dramatic.
Sunset.
At home we had gin and tonics and talked for hours. So much fun.
The next morning I took the day off from work. Decided to go down to Madera Canyon. A beautiful drive up into the mountains and then a nice hike.
Mount Wrightson.
We saw some jays, more deer, and later on listened to a male turkey gobble excitedly.
Kevin and Homer.
Madera Canyon is known for its birds. What impressed me was the enormous diversity of plant life.
Napped in the afternoon and then I took Kevin to Cafe Desta for Ethiopian food. So good. The next morning he drove off to the Grand Canyon for another adventure. I'll be seeing him again this summer when I go on my road trip to see Jim and George and Matt.
