Covina, CA - Meeting New Friends!

Tuesday was an exciting day because we got to meet 3 of our Zoom clubbers who live in CA. They got connected to our club via a mutual friend. The drive up to their house was a narrow, steep, curvy road in a gated community, but the R.V. did great! At the almost top of the hill was a clearing with 5 dwellings – 1 large house and 2 duplexes. Our friends live in the duplexes – we met 3 of the 4 families. The large house is an Air BnB, and was currently empty. The owner of the property lives in Canada – a Chinese Christian. We were greeted and graciously welcomed. They took us up the rest of the hill on steps, from where we could look out over the valley. Someone many years ago had built a small clearing just below the highest look-out with a cross on it. Possibly a good place to worship in private.

That afternoon I taught a Good News Club to the 5 kids present. It was a first for them to be in a “real in person” club and we all enjoyed it. The parents watched from the back.

We were showered with gifts and hospitality. One family brought pizzas for us all. The other 2 families took us out to dinner. In the end, we parked there for the night – a quiet, beautiful spot.

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Monday was a relaxing day. We stopped by the General Patton Museum, but decided not to tour it. 

Then we drove through Joshua Tree National Park, enjoying the slow pace of the day. Parked in the middle of it and had lunch.

Late afternoon we parked in a R.V. lot and caught up on laundry. Also caught up on internet – an ongoing issue – and then had time to put a 500 piece puzzle together.

We were able to turn off the a/c after 9 p.m. The day temperatures hover around 100, but the wind that drives us nuts when driving  during the day is a cooling feature in the evening and through the night.

Casa Grande National Monument and Sunday, AZ

Saturday we went to see the Casa Grande National Monument. It’s the ruins of a civilization that no one knows anything about, but they built their adobe houses 3 stories high; built irrigation canals; farmed; and even had artistic pursuits. The thing that impressed me (Heather) most was the way they could “read” the heavens and the star arrangements. The design of the structure show alignment with the heavenly bodies. These were not primitive people – they were informed in engineering and also celestial planets.

We returned to Roger’s cousins for the evening and enjoyed singing together after another delicious meal. The next morning we said good-bye and headed for church. (They are still staying home and attending church online.)

We found a great church with no masks required and Sunday School as well as church. Snacks in between services! It’s always great to fellowship with God’s people in person.

We had lunch at a rest area on our way west out of Phoenix. For the evening service, we found a wonderful country church with lively singing and enthusiastic preaching. After the service we joined them for snacks and spent considerable time with the pastor and wife. It was very therapeutic and uplifting. We were invited to plug in to an RV spot in their parking lot, so spent the night with a cooling, gentle breeze on church land.

It's such a blessing to be with God's people and find Christian fellowship all around this great country.

Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson

Friday morning…left the campsite, tanked up and laundry done.

We toured the Pima Air and Space Museum and the 390th Memorial Museum, co-located in Tucson. Very impressive! We learned a lot about soldier’s quarters, types of military and civilian planes, helicopters missiles, etc. No way could we see everything in a few hours– it would take days!

That afternoon we pulled into cousin Sue and Barry’s place in Chandler, just in time for a delicious meal! And lots of catch-up talk! The evening cooled off, even though the day had registered over 100 degrees!!

Snow and White Sands National Monument

For nighttime we pulled off the road onto a flat open area in the tiny town of Mayhill, NM. We went to sleep in a warm world but woke up to snow! The road was unplowed and it was snowing heavily. The trees were loaded with snow.

Roger was considering if it was safe to continue on, but coming up behind was a snow plow that God provided just in time. We pulled over to let it pass, and then followed it until the snow let up. We hadn’t realized that we were in the high desert – we slept at 6500’ and then climbed to 8700’!

The weather warmed up at the lower elevations and we enjoyed a late breakfast in a roadside turn-out which was also a beautiful viewpoint.

 

We continued on to White Sands, NM. It’s pretty amazing to see all that white, very fine sand – and that is exactly what it is! It was warm and we walked the boardwalk to find small flowers blooming. The first one is the Soaptree Yucca - evidently Indians could make 100 products out of it!

 

 You'd think it was snow like we had in the morning, but it's just sand.

 We're spending the night in a KOA in Lordsburg, NM. A beautiful Sunset!