February was quite busy, with Audrey, Lauren, and Taylor with us until the 27th. We hiked the Wild Burro Trail, hiked Pima Canyon again, Sabine Canyon, went to the Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson Museum of Art, and more. I made a recipe with Lauren every week that corresponded to her latest Travel Book Club - NYC, Greece, Russia, Kenya... We played games after dinner, lots of Yahtzee and Blokus. We went to Phoenix twice for Covid vaccinations, staying at the historic Wigwam hotel each time. We visited Claire’s family so the cousins could play, and we spent time with Mary, helping get her house ready to put on the market. Every day was full to overflowing. We left Tucson on February 25, to drive Audrey and the girls to New Mexico to meet Dan. We spent one night at the Sierra Grande Hotel in Truth or Consequences, enjoying two hot springs soaks. We stopped the next morning at Bosque del Apache and saw thousands of Canadian geese. We stayed that night in Santa Fe, walking around the Plaza and soaking in the history of the old city. The next day, February 27, we met Dan near Raton, and said goodbye to Audrey, Lauren, and Taylor. Papa and I drove down the eastern side of New Mexico on our way home. The car was quiet, after two and a half months of nonstop squeals, laughter, and hugs.
I rested the following two weeks, then we met Claire at Picacho Peak on March 14, to pick up Emerson and Colby for a three night visit. They watched a Western movie with Papa that night after dinner, and we went to Tombstone the next day. They loved the shootout at the OK Corral. We had lunch and walked around town. They’ve watched lots of Westerns with Papa, so Tombstone felt familiar to them. The following day was cloudy and damp, so I took Emerson shopping - fun for a 10 year old! I also took her for a new haircut that afternoon. Emerson felt “made over!” We drove up to the Casa Grande ruins in Coolidge the following day, where we explored the pueblo ruins. After lunch, we met Claire and David, and said goodbye to Emerson and Colby.
During February and March, I took a six week archaeology class, non-credit and live video from UA, “From Clovis to Coronado.” The class followed the paths of Native Americans from the time of Clovis spear points made to kill mammoths to Coronado’s exploration in North America. The weekly reading was hundreds of pages and so interesting that I didn’t skip around. Most of what I learned was new to me and a very different early history of America than the one that began with the Pilgrims. We live in the path of those early people that came from Russia to Alaska and down the Rockies, where they scattered, and some continued south into Chile. The oldest known farming in what is now America, is believed to be along the Santa Cruz River in Tucson, with canals dating back 4000 years. It was a fascinating history lesson that I enjoyed enormously.
