A visit to this quintessential medieval town was greatly anticipated and a primary reason for this trip (surpassed only by the Normandy beaches, which are up next).

Bruges was a trading center. In the 11th century it grew wealthy on the cloth trade and by the 14th century its population was as large as London’s. It was then, the most important cloth market in Northern Europe. In the 15th century the arts also boomed here – but, unfortunately by the 16th century the harbor had silted up and the economy had collapsed. Here today and gone tomorrow 😢

Today, Bruges thrives on tourism as it is a uniquely well-preserved, walkable Gothic city with an easy way about it. AND, every other shop is a chocolate shop full of wonderful Belgium chocolates!

From the first steps it was enchanting – walking through Kanaaleiland and it’s adjacent park to Bbegijnhof.

The Begijnhofs were built to house women of the lay order called Beguines. They did not take the vows of a nun, but did spend days in prayer and caring for the sick. The housing was built around a peaceful garden with a church for their services. There hangs a painting of the Beguines’ patron saint, St. Elizabeth! The entry to the garden is also marked with her presence—-

A highlight of Bruges is the Church of Our Lady, which stands as a memorial to the power and wealth of the city in its heyday.

Upon entering the church and standing in the nave, one is surrounded by 12 Gothic-era statues of apostles and views of the medieval-style screen which divides the clergy from the commoners in the nave.

As is always true, many tombs reside in the High Altar areas. Those of the more affluent are adorned with sculptures, paintings and various tributes. The less affluent may just have paintings that were hastily completed as the burial was taking place.

The primary

Our “Tale of Canterbury” of September 28, 2022 goes like this —

The entry into Canterbury took us back in time – to 597 AD and the Romans who founded the city. By the 1100’s, as Christianity had become more established in England, Canterbury was its religious center. The new medieval city walls had been built on top of the original Roman wall and we’re still there to remind one of the city’s history.

In the center of historic Canterbury is the enormous Canterbury Cathedral, still today the headquarters of the Anglican Church. Although not always in its present form, a church has been on this site since St. Augustine, the cathedral’s first archbishop, broke ground in 597!

With one’s back to the Nave, the beautiful West Window awes. The bottom two rows are mostly original, 12th century stained glass.

The Nave was the Gothic part of the church – for the common people. Beyond the beautiful carved “screen” was the “quire” reserved exclusively for the community of Benedictine monks and church VIP’s. It is amazing that all of this was not lost in World War II, as the city was heavily bombed on several occasions.

In 1162, King Henry II was looking for a new archbishop, someone who would act as a yes-man and allow him to gain control of the church. One day he appointed his drinking buddy, Thomas Becket, a priest and consecrated him as archbishop the next day. Much to King Henry’s surprise, his old buddy took his holy office with a great deal of dedication. As tensions grew with the King – he wondered aloud one day “will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” Four of his knights took his words as an order and assassinated Becket with their swords during vespers. The place of his death is marked in the church —

The Trinity Chapel also had a shrine honoring St Thomas (Becket) from 1220 until 1538, when it was demolished and removed by another Henry – King Henry VIII – who had another break with the church and started his own Anglican Church.

Also housed in the Trinity Chapel are the royal tombs of King Henry IV and Edward, Prince of Wales known as The Black Prince (watch A Knights Tale😂).

Last, but not least, is the peaceful Cloister. It was the center of monastic life and connected the various parts of the monastery.

Our Canterbury Tale took us from 597AD to the 1100’s, 1500’s and today. What a trip!

E & G awed by splendor!

Our latest adventure begins with a favorite city – Amsterdam, which still looks much like it did in the 1600’s. Then it was the world’s richest city, an international sea-trading port and the cradle of capitalism. The Netherlands has battled the sea for centuries, actually reclaiming low-lying lands by pumping water out or into controlled canals and creating fertile farmlands and housing areas. (And, by the way – the country is the Netherlands and a province within the country is Holland.) Amsterdam is a wonderful place to see the canals and how the city has grown around them.

Amsterdam is quite a progressive city of almost a million people – with as many bikes. The airport ONLY allows electric taxis – so there were also many Tesla’s! Traditionally, the city attracted sailors and allowed them their fun – so prostitution is allowed in the Red Light District while marijuana is openly sold and smoked.

Painters here such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Vermeer captured the atmosphere of the city on canvas many years ago, but artists are still at work here. AND E found a ‘delicious’ example – –

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is fabulous! But having been there on a prior trip, this trip took us to the Kroller Muller Museum in the Hoge Veluwe NP, which houses the second largest number of Van Gogh’s in the world. Unfortunately, it was a miserable, rainy day so the sculpture gardens were not too inviting. But, the Van Gogh’s were terrific!!

The Kroller Muller was a great choice! Next was a train ride in the other direction out of the city – off to Den Haag (The Hague) and the Mauritshuis, Noordeinde Palace (the home of the King and Queen), the Binnenhof (the Government Center) and the Peace Palace.

The museum was actually built in the 17th century as the residence of John Maurits, nephew of William of Orange. Unfortunately, he made a good bit of his money in the sugar trade, which relied on slaves. He and his wife were collectors of art and left their home with its art collection to the ‘state’ for all to see. From that – we all did benefit. The home is its own piece of art – but, what it holds is also definitely worth the trip. Especially these two favorites—

Mauritshuis sits on this beautiful ‘pond’ next to the extensive Binnenhof, where the upper and lower houses of the Netherlands’ government meet.

There is no mistaking where the King and Queen live. Just follow the crowns —

Next stop – The Peace Palace. Netherlands’ Queen Wilhelmina invited various country representatives to her palace in the late 1800’s to discuss how to prevent future wars. In 1903 Carnegie donated 1.5 million dollars (today $50 million) to build a facility to hold these meetings- thus the Peace Palace was begun. Today the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice and the Library of International Law are housed here. Unfortunately, the Palace is not open to the public but there is a very informative visitor center with audio information available.

This trip outside Amsterdam was very enlightening and well worth the time.

One more museum before leaving Amsterdam- the Foam Museum of Photography. Some very avant-garde, thought provoking exhibits. (Sorry – no pictures of these works.).

Amsterdam is a fun, progressive, very artsy city. And there is very good food and lots of little cafes. Love it.

E&G on the move🚢🚢

Hard to believe the summer has come and gone. Our last month was a mad dash to see friends, take favorite hikes, eat at favorite restaurants and see as many animals as possible – ONE MORE TIME before heading back to Scottsdale.

Loose Moose and Jenni’s Trails up at Park City Mountain Resort were calling. It was a beautiful day, so even friend Sally was convinced to join us – –

After our success with Loose Moose it was decided to see if the construction at our favorite trailhead up in the Uinta’s was completed so that the trailhead parking was once again open. It was a very lucky day, as we had an escort just out of Kamas – – a moose cow and her calf – –

It was VERY exciting to see all the construction signs down and a fantastic, HUGE new parking area for very popular hiking trails – especially the trail to Wall Lake (our favorite) and The Notch! It was especially great to see the parking area empty – a real bonus. One mile in Wall Lake appeared – as beautiful and serene as always. But, today the decision was to head to The Notch and see how far we could get.

Two miles and 600 vertical feet later – this was the view of Wall Lake. How much more beautiful can a day get?!?!

Back in Park City, much of our last few weeks were spent tracking Mama Moose and her two calves around our neighborhood. She really liked our area, which was a great delight for all of us.

There were also several sets of Sand Hill cranes who roamed around the ‘hood’ and the Muni golf course. They really are majestic animals with the most intriguing sound.

There was also a group of young ‘bucks’ that hung around our ‘hood’ – even right off our deck!

This summer was particularly delightful for us as the owners of the unit we rent replaced the deck AND bought a new grill for our use! How much better could it get?

It was a perfect summer this year – and very hard to leave. BUT, a cruise from Amsterdam to Lisbon was calling and we needed to get going. Hope the summer was good for all of you and you look forward to the fall and holidays, which will soon be upon us.

More soon from Amsterdam. Take care and stay well – E & G, on our way again

Long ago (in a galaxy far far away) when we first purchased in Park City a friend said “you will learn to love it in the summer as much as the winter!” A shake of the head was the response as the move here was for the skiing. HOWEVER, when the skiing stopped a move took us to Scottsdale – BUT, the summers are still spent in Park City. No where is the weather as nice – or the golfing as great AND cheap – in the summer than Park City. So – here we spend those three months+ and DO love it. Especially since we have found a townhouse to rent in the old neighborhood that suits us just fine.

PC also seems to be the summer escape of choice for many other couples in our Vi community. Therefore, the days are filled with old PC friends and new Vi friends all summer long – beginning with all the 4th of July celebrations. Fortunately for all of us, one Vi couple stays at their daughter’s in the Canyon Village where there is a wonderful celebration on the 3rd of July. Their deck provides a fantastic view of the concert and drone and fireworks show.

Seems funny that immediately after celebrating our independence there should be a British invasion. But, that’s just what happened. And, E got to see the group that made her swoon in high school;-) Welcome Herman’s Hermits – –

Playing tour guide is great fun so we were all off to Sundance where the lift took us to incredible views and a great Mexican food lunch!! Not once – but twice – with different friends. Who would have thought?

Then of course, there are the hikes. A favorite area is the Uinta Mountains – almost always around Mirror Lake.

Sometimes the ski areas provide the hiking destinations instead of heading east to the Uintas. This particular day at PC Mountain Resort was a perfect hiking day! Even got a little sprinkle to keep things cool. Ended up with 4.5 miles and 700′ vertical. Perfect!!

As if the scenery wasn’t enough – there are always the animals. Never get enough of them and always surprised how many are in the neighborhood – –

It is always hard to believe how fast time goes. Guess it is because the time is filled with golf a couple of times a week, hikes and walks several days and fabulous dinners 4-5 nights a week with lots of friends. Park City IS loved even more in the summer than the winter! Who would have thought?!?

Loving Life in Cool Weather – E & G

Yes – it’s true. The family trip to Alaska – that was planned for over a year – was not to be due to flight cancelations by DELTA!! After much sadness, anger and denial it was decided to spend a few days in Flagstaff so that at least one NP could be visited – among other sites and activities.

The first ‘adventure’ was the Northern Arizona University campus – the site of both E’s and son Keith’s graduation! Needless to say, much has changed in the 45 years (YIKES) since E walked the grounds. One constant is the Paul Bunyan size lumberjack – –

Flagstaff was close enough for Christian’s dad to be able to wander over from Heber Overgaard to celebrate Olivia’s 16th birthday AND Father’s Day. After dinner – cake was served – –

A great, fun way to get to the Grand Canyon is to take the Grand Canyon Railway out of Williams. This is a railroad built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, completing it on September 17, 1901 and still taking passengers the 64 miles from Williams to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Today the trip features western musicians and cowboy characters on vintage rail cars. The ‘show’ begins after one checks in while waiting for boarding time.

The Grand Canyon was made a NP in 1919 and receives millions of visitors every year. While the canyon is only a mile deep, it takes several hours to hike to the bottom and much longer to hike out. A rim to rim trip is an overnight experience for those who have trained are in very good shape.

The canyon is a fantastic study for geologists with its 2 billion years of history. As discussed with the granddaughters – older than us/older than dirt!!

There is much more history here besides the views of the canyon itself. The legendary El Tovar Hotel, located right on the south rim, was opened in 1905 by Fred Harvey in conjunction with the Santa Fe Railway. It was built for $250,000 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. It hosted Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Bill Clinton, Sir Paul McCartney and the Biaett/Dickey clan for lunch;-)!!

There is also a ‘Matrimony Rock’ embedded by a young gentleman where he asked his intended to marry him. This one you have to look for – –

The most popular hiking trail into the Grand Canyon is the Bright Angel Trail, where hikers can walk in the footsteps of Native Americans, canyon miners and pioneers. To get to the bottom of the canyon and the Colorado river it IS a 5,000′ elevation change! Hiker beware. Fortunately the first tunnel and pictographs of this day’s destination were only 0.1 mile one way – but still takes 15/20 minutes.

Another must stop on the south rim is Mary Colter’s Lookout Studio built in 1914 of stone and log timbers as a place where visitors could photograph the Grand Canyon from its precipitous edge. Colter (an early female architect) designed the exterior stonework to convey an indigenous American Indian structure, similar to the ruins of the Ancestral Puebloan dwellings in the region.

After several hours to lunch and explore, it is time to return to Williams. That is – if you make it back alive with the outlaws in the area – –

Another day – another adventure. Bearizona in Williams is interesting and fun for all. Started as a conservation effort for rescues it now houses approximately 50% rescues as offspring have enlarged the population. Most are maintained in their natural, forested environment which can be seen on the 3-mile drive through the grounds. Then many birds and smaller animals can be observed in the Fort.

Bearizona wasn’t enough for one day – so off to Walnut Canyon National Monument (NM). Walnut Canyon was home to people today known as Sinagua – Spanish for ‘without water’. Their dwellings were sheltered by overhanging cliffs and they were the only permanent inhabitants here more than 800 years ago. They made their living by farming, hunting deer and small game, gathering useful plants and trading. These dwellings were occupied for little more than 100 years and the reason for their leaving the area is not known. The Sinagua ‘homes’ remained largely undisturbed until the railroad brought souvenir hunters in the 1880’s with theft and destruction. Thankfully, in 1915 Walnut Canyon was declared a national monument to preserve what was left. On a personal note – this is one of my favorite places to visit in Arizona!

Another favorite activity in Flagstaff is the Lowell Observatory. The Clark telescope, the largest on site has a long history. Among its successes was its use in mapping the landing areas for the Apollo moon landings. The astronauts for those missions actually spent time on site studying the surfaces of the moon that they would later encounter.

The Pluto telescope was aptly named after its use in discovering the planet Pluto. The telescope enclosure is now used as a museum.

The open deck observatory near the Pluto Telescope had several smaller telescopes that were available to visitors along with a number of very knowledgeable hosts to provide extensive discussions on the devices and what was being seen through them.

One last experience was a scientific presentation on Dark Matter by one of the scientists. Gary wished the he had a clue what it all meant.

In between NP’s and NM’s – the girls used up energy skating – –

And, that was the substitute for Alaska. A FUN trip for all – –

As they say – “when given lemons make lemonade”.

E & G – beginning summer with the family;-)

One can only stay home for so long until Magic begins whining about getting exercise;-) Since April contains a birthday AND an anniversary to celebrate – what better time to hit the road?!?!

The first week of April, Magic was packed and headed west – to Ojai, CA and the Malone’s. There was a lot of catching up to do, along with playing golf, eating and just goofing off. Even though there were two great, beautiful venues to provide the golf – Soule Park and Ojai Valley Inn – the golf sucked!!

So – a little break from golf was in order. This required a jaunt down the freeway about an hour south of Ojai to Simi Valley. Here the Reagan Library sits on a 100-acre campus overlooking the topography of Southern California. The incredible, picturesque views reach out to the Pacific Ocean and rolling hills. In the lush gardens and serene settings one can even find the final resting places of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Or walk through the replica of the Rose Garden.

Inside the museum there are 24 galleries exploring the life of Ronald Reagan – from the early years of his life through the Presidency. Of course, there are the many gifts received while in office, the dish ware utilized for State dinners and dresses worn by Nancy for those events.

One can also enter a full-scale reproduction of the Oval Office just as it was during Reagan’s tenure – complete with the jar of jelly beans! Or perhaps stand on the podium to be installed as the next President of the United States – – –

The most dramatic part of the museum is the 90,000 square foot Air Force One Pavilion where one can board Marine One helicopter for a ride to Air Force One – “The Flying White House” – and board the same plane that took Reagan to 26 countries and 46 states. The Boeing 707 flew seven Presidents, but the Reagan Library received it in a decommissioning ceremony in 2001. It was disassembled by the Boeing Company, transported to the Reagan Library by truck, towed inside 2 1/2 walls of the Pavilion and reassembled by the Boeing Company in ten weeks as the remaining walls were built around the aircraft!! VERY dramatic!

A BIG thank you to Rebecca and Jim for being fabulous hosts, entertaining us, feeding us and putting up with our sucky attitudes while golfing. On the way home, there was a quick couple of days in Ridgecrest to see Heather’s family. (unfortunately – no pics).

Not letting any grass grow under our feet – four days were all that were allowed for a few dinners with friends and to repack Magic and to be on the road again. This time the trek was to a new golfing mecca (for us)-Big Cedar Lodge in Hollister, MO (6 miles south of Branson). BUT, to keep the trip to and from interesting there were many stops along the way. First up – Winslow, AZ. And YES – we stood on the corner;-)

Route 66, or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways in the US Highway System. It was established in 1926 and has been commemorated in song, plays and movies. Route 66 also closely paralleled the Santa Fe Railroad tracks. Therefore, in the 1920’s Fred Harvey, who developed and ran all the hotels and restaurants of the Santa Fe Railway, decided to build a major hotel in the center of Northern Arizona – at Winslow, the Arizona headquarters of the Santa Fe Railway. La Posada – the Resting Place – was to be the finest in the Southwest. The architect, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, was hired to design the hotel. Although most famous for the magnificent buildings at the Grand Canyon, she considered La Posada her masterpiece. The hotel has had several lives – not all good. But, it has been revived to a grand old state and we had the opportunity to spend a night here – in what purported to be the resting room of Howard Hughes!! You can also still board the train here after a nights stay. If you are passing through and can’t stay, at least have lunch in the Turquoise Room. Worth the stop – –

Time to move on – to Tulsa with a little side trip to Stillwater, OK in order to visit yet another college campus. Since we ‘camped’ on the Oklahoma University campus, equal time was needed at Oklahoma State campus (although no camping this time – just a visit). This really is a beautiful campus and our wanderings led to a nice lunch at The Rancher’s Club.

Big Cedar Lodge was now just around the corner. A remote haven of natural beauty spread over 4.600 acres tucked into the rugged landscape of the Missouri Ozark Mountains overlooking Table Rock Lake. Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops, created Big Cedar Lodge as a destination for families and friends to connect in the outdoors. This includes setting out to create one of the greatest golf experiences in the country. But, first we needed a room – or a Payne’s Valley cottage. Equipped with a kitchen, fireplace, deck with rockers and BBQ grill AND a fantastic view of the rolling country of the Ozarks just above the first hole of Payne’s Valley course;-)

Once settled in the attention can turn to golf. First up is the Tom Fazio designed Buffalo Ridge Springs Course complete with buffalo. This was definitely my favorite – it was just a beautiful sight!

Another day – another course. Today Payne’s Valley, the new 19 hole course designed by PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods opened just 2 years ago. And, we got to sit above the first fairway in our little rocking chairs and watch the golfers go by – –

The third of the 18 hole courses at Big Cedar is Ozark National, a Championship design by Core & Crenshaw. If you are going to play this course, be sure your hat has a strap to keep it from blowing away!

Perhaps the most FUN – and very beautiful – was the Top of the Rock 9-hole par 3 course. The first ever par-3 course to be included in a PGA Tour event. Several of the holes look down on Table Rock Lake and the first hole passes by the charming Chapel of the Ozarks.

Top of the Rock is home to the Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail, Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum, Top of the Rock Golf, Chapel of the Ozarks, pro shop, gift shop and 4 restaurants and bars – including Arnies’s Barn Restaurant housed in a barn brought from Latrobe, PA!! What better place to chill and toast the evening – –

All of the grounds in the three different areas of the complex are stunningly beautiful and extremely well maintained. Even while doing laundry on a rainy day, the view was awesome – –

A beautiful week – but all good things must end and it was time to think about heading back west. However, just like the trip east – stops must be had to keep the trek interesting. So Eureka Springs, known for its hot springs, was a lunch stop. Cute little town, but the real purpose for the visit here was Thorncrown Chapel.

Jim Reed, a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, had a dream to build his retirement home on the piece of property where the chapel stands. He met E. Fay Jones, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, and decided to have him build a chapel for all to share the beautiful location instead of his home. The chapel is 48 feet tall, contains 425 windows, over 6,000 square feet of glass and opened in 1980. Truly a beautiful, awe inspiring sight.

Bentonville, Arkansas is the birthplace of Walmart and its founder Sam Walton. Bentonville is all things Walmart and Walton – from the original Walton five-and-dime store to a family created Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The museum’s sprawling grounds include miles of forest trails, sculpture gardens, waterside pavilions and even a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house moved from New Jersey. Its architecture is something to see and an architectural tour is a must.

The discovery that Bentonville was only 30 minutes from Fayetteville gave the opportunity to see yet another college campus. So – off to the University of Arkansas.

Tornado season seemed to be on its way – so it really was time to head home. What a fantastic two weeks. All new sights and lots of new memories!

What more can anyone ask for???? A Happy E & G

The Holidays are over and it is time to look for a few new activities beyond the Friday hikes, 5 mile walks to Starbucks twice a week, volunteer shifts at MIM, golf twice a week and whatever else is repeated on the calendar. So – the Chihuly exhibit at FLW’s Taliesin West brought to mind a stashed away list of FLW houses in the greater Phoenix area and E’s desire to tour them all. The Harold Price, Sr. house popped out as a home that had tours a few times a month and would be a great Saturday outing for a few of us at Vi. Having a tour time, we set off to see this 7 bedroom house set on a 9-acre plot built by FLW for Harold Price and his wife – mainly to have the grandchildren visit (therefore, referred to as The Grandma House). Following Price’s death in 1964, the estate was sold to U-Haul president, Sam Shoen, who has maintained the house as a private residence (but does allow tours). The house is a typical FLW one level, concrete block structure. It has a wonderful, large open-air atrium, which connects the bedroom wing of the house to the living room and kitchen. A GREAT example of a FLW house and furnishings – especially since it has been so well maintained thru the years.

OK – so there was one brief out-of-town trek during this first couple of months. It was reportedly a good time to see the eagles on the Verde Canyon RR trip out of Cottonwood so the car was packed to meet friends Linda & Chuck for the RR trip and night out in Sedona. The trip was great – just NO eagle sightings;-(

Was it mentioned that we stayed an extra night to golf and have dinner with friends in Oak Creek??

Time to get back to some of the regular stuff – hiking and MIM concerts, which are now back in full force (thank goodness!!)!

It is such a delight to have concerts back at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM)! AND – one of the best that we have seen there was Janis Ian. A great story teller and musician – just her on the stage. See her if you have the chance;-)

Actually, there was another overnight – Tucson to see niece Demi and her friend Ryan. There was a pretty full, fun day of breakfast, a woman’s basketball game at U of A, dinner and a dorm room tour;-) This was all followed the next day by fun at the Champions Tour Golf Tournament.

A very fun thing in our “Sr. Community” is referred to as “The Artists Wall”, which each month features the work of one of the residents. The art might be paintings, stitching, quilting or maybe photography! The month of February was the Dickey/Biaett feature – –

This guy didn’t make it to the wall – but, we’re glad he is back – –

And so – 2022 is off to a pretty good start keeping us busy and enjoying life. Wish the same for all of you.

E & G enjoying life

2021 was drawing to a close and our resident owl was continuing to look over us – –

There was no major travel the last couple of months of the year – just more of the usual. The normal Friday Vi hikes and an outing to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum kept us busy at least a day a week. This Arboretum is Arizona’s first and oldest botanical garden, with collections from many of the world’s deserts and miles of trails to explore them all. A wonderful place to get outside when visiting.

A brief overnight escape was made to Prescott to see the decorated Court House Square. It is a beautiful, fun sight around the holidays.

Unfortunately, the Biaett holiday gatherings were small and quiet in 2021 – Mom/Dorthy was missed. So small (I guess) that no pictures exist – only the dessert for our dinner got a remembrance picture;-(

The events with the Shoe Crew, on the other hand, were well documented. A Christmas breakfast with the obligatory Christmas poppers, a hike to Mom’s ashes (which is where we want ours to go and thought we should show the granddaughters so they can get us there!) and an evening at the Desert Botanical Gardens to see the Chihuly exhibit were all on the agenda.

Though some of the gatherings were small, it was wonderful to be with family. New Year’s Eve we raised a toast to the new year with sister Barb and friend Joe at the Biltmore.

Just like that, another year was gone and we were looking forward to 2022. After 2020, everyone expected 2021 to be so much better but – it, too, had its moments. So – here’s wishing you all an even more ‘normal’ 2022 ;-).

With Lots of Love from E & G

People who complain about birthdays clearly don’t have family and friends to celebrate with. What could be better than a week (or more) of dinners, visits and escapes? In our family birthdays were always a big deal. So, naturally mine started with a surprise dinner with my sister and niece at a favorite restaurant the night we arrived back in town after five months on the road. For the next two weeks there were celebration dinners with many dear friends!

Then – there was the BIG escape. Three days at an oasis in the Arizona desert – Castle Hot Springs. Castle Hot Springs was established in 1896, but the springs were first utilized and the area cultivated by the Yavapai Tribe. Then settlers moved into the area and ‘the springs’ were developed into a health resort that drew the likes of the Rockefellers, Pews and Vanderbilts. Cecil B. DeMille staged his cast and crew at the resort during the Depression and filmed an early “talkie”. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed several of the buildings in 1976 and the resort fell into disrepair. Recently it was purchased, restored and added to with lovely casitas, a ‘farm’ (which grows most of the fruits and vegetables utilized in meal preparations) and revitalized grounds. Most of all – the hot springs have survived all these years and are the main draw to the resort.

One really has to want to enjoy all there is to offer here, as the trip is not an easy one – but much easier than they had it in the early 1900’s!! A drive of approximately 15 miles heading north off of 74 (the extension of Carefree Hwy that takes you to Wickenburg) will get you there – AFTER 7 miles on an interestingly maintained dirt road;-)

Then you come around a corner and there is the oasis of Castle Hot Springs!

The grounds are beautiful – and so are the accommodations! The staff is extremely friendly and cheerful and the food is delicious. And, no one let me forget about a birthday;-)

Of course the main attraction is the mineral water – hot springs – in the three pools at varying temperatures.

Other sights and sounds of the resort take one back to the days of old – –

There are scheduled activities much of the day, which one can participate in as much as wanted. A short walk into an adjacent canyon takes one past the ‘castles’ from which Castle Hot Springs derived its name and petroglyphs from the original inhabitants.

As always – the sun goes down on our adventures and it is time to fly away back home;-(

Only an hour from home, but a world away in relaxation. AND – a perfect way to conclude birthday celebrations.

E saying a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to G for a wonderful birthday celebration;-)