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Published: March 17th 2020
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Picacho Peak
Between Tucson and Phoenix On March 1, 2020 we left Tucson for Phoenix. We were lucky to get a spot in the same RV resort we were in over Thanksgiving in Sun City. It is on the north west side of Phoenix. Our first week was really hot 70s-80s and sunny. We enjoyed several days by the pool😊 We also went to a spring training game. The Cactus League plays here for spring training. They have many baseball complexes. We saw the Chicago White Sox play the Oakland As. The complex is the spring training home to the White Sox and the Dodgers. It was incredible how few people were there. We ended up sitting in the first row behind the dugout after a few innings. The game moved really slow as they were playing their "prospects." It was fun though to see a professional game. Mike recognized one player on the White Sox who has played for many years. I didn't recognize anyone. Fortunately we decided to take in a game our first week as our second week was off and on rain, and by the middle of our second week the MLB cancelled spring training due to the Corona Virus.
We drove
up to Clarkdale, couple of hours north, one day and took a railroad tour through Verde Canyon. It was incredible. We enjoyed a 4 hr. trip out to an abandoned ranching town and back. The rail goes along the Verde River and Canyon. It was built back in the mining days for copper mining. Right when we left the station we passed this huge hill that looked like lava. Turns out is is "by-product" from the copper mining that took place in the area. The sides were ridged. They used corrugated metal to hold it in while it cools. We were told that proper disposal has been discussed and some feel it may be best to not disturb it now. I was just amazed at how much it looked like lava!
The ride was beautiful. We had a nice sunny day. We started through cattle and farm land. We passed an old homestead. It looks like a little town. We learned that it was ranch land of one owner and as his children grew and married he gave them land, they would build and so on....before you know it they had their own little town. The canyon also borders
a national forest land and we saw a few vehicles of people out enjoying the trails across the river. Once we got out of the cattle lands we entered a canyon area of red rock. Along the red rock walls were remnants of some native cliff dwellings. We passed through a tunnel and at the end in Perkinsville, the abandoned ranching town, the engines disconnected and moved to the opposite end of the cars to guide us back. Our guide was awesome with the history of the rail and the lore of the area. We talked quite a bit with a couple who where from Wisconsin there visiting their daughter who lives in Phoenix.
Nascar was in town while we were there so we took a chance and were able to get tickets. We were seated on turn 3. We had a great view of part of "pit row" and the infield "pre-race" show stage. It was ending when we arrived. Blake Shelton and Pittbull! I loved the sound of the cars and it was amazing that they could only be heard when they were in the turn. When they were on the other side of the track we
couldn't really hear them. We saw some bumping and some really close drafting! I saw the front of one car lift from the draft but control was maintained! It was incredible. They went so fast. There were a few cautions but no huge serious crashes. I don't follow racing, Mike watches it sometimes. He has a favorite driver, Chase Elliot. He "won the pole" so he started first and my Dad's favorite, Kevin Harvick was second. So those 2 guys were the first row to start the race, that was really cool! They stayed together too for many laps. In the end Joey Lagano won. There was a family sitting in front of us and he was the favorite of one of their boys so I was really happy for them😊 The track is in south west Phoenix and it seemed like it was in a bowl surrounded by mountains.
The rest of our time in Phoenix we enjoyed the last of the summer like sun before the rain moved in. We had some thunder storms and learneThen we did a lot of reading, shopping, and laundry😊. We did celebrate our 30th anniversary with a trip to Dairy Queen
and we found an old retro movie theater that was still playing Ford vs. Ferrari. It was an awesome movie!
So now we will be heading north. We have enjoyed our winter in Arizona. It has been warm for the most part. We enjoyed all that we have been able to see. We also enjoyed the "down" time of staying in one place for more that a few days at a time but found some of that time was a little too long for us. We are excited to be moving on to see new things while making our way back home to Maine for the summer and fall.
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