Coyotes in the drainage ditch - they have a feast of rabbits to pick from in Sun City
Pickleball action
At the beginning of the Vulture Mine tour
Snake on the tour
Orange and orange blossom outside Grant and Bobbie's back door
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Pictures (Saturday)
Pickleball actionAt the beginning of the Vulture Mine tour
Snake on the tourOrange and orange blossom outside Grant and Bobbie's back door
Happy Easter
Well, this is a bit of a departure from our usual Easter schedule! Today we're going to play some more pickleball, golf at 3:37, and of course, Easter dinner (or lunch perhaps). This is a far cry from the snow-covered ground of Detroit. I was just outside by the orange trees and the grass is absolutely delightful on the feet - cool, soft, lush (don't get me started though on the presence of the aforementioned grass in a desert). OK then, let's get started on yesterday's recap:
Per usual, we started our day with some wicked pickleball action...Tom and I took the matches to 4-3...it was a nail-biter. On our way to the court we saw a few coyotes laying out the drainage ditch. Little did we know that these wouldn't be the only wildlife that we would see during the course of the day.
We took a mini-excursion up to Wickenburg to see the Vulture Mine. It was an old gold mine that basically spawned the birth of Phoenix and the surrounding areas. The estimate is that the mine produced $200 million in ore but it has been closed since 1944. If you're interested in an investment, it is available for purchase ($6.5 mil.) - might be a good bet with the price of gold. Supposedly, there is 3-4 times as much gold left in the vein as what was already taken out. We weren't able to go underground at the mine but we were able to explore all of the above ground structures so that was cool. Some of the buildings were quite picturesque - I didn't take the time that I could have to get some really good pictures - the sun as it fell through the old wooden doors and windows into debris-scattered rooms seemed very stereotypical of the Old West. It was in one of these open doorways where I saw my first diamondback. Now, it was no giant world-record snake (truth be told, it was probably just a baby) but I gotta tell you, it got my heart pumping all the same. I walked through a doorway into a room when across the dusty wooden floor I saw the snake come out of the little closet. You would be amazed at how fast I can back out of a room! Bobbie didn't see the snake but all it took was my mention of our serpentine friend and she was out the door and back into the relative safety of the open clearing outside. Once the snake curled up behind the door on the opposite side of the room I was able to get a few pictures. We cooled off from the excitement of the trip by grabbing a cone of homemade hand-dipped ice cream at a little shop in Wickenburg.
We wound down the evening with a few rounds of Bid 500 (basically a version of Euchre). It was another great day in Sun City West (and the name is definitely no misnomer) - today looks to be off to a wonderful start. Check back later for more!
Per usual, we started our day with some wicked pickleball action...Tom and I took the matches to 4-3...it was a nail-biter. On our way to the court we saw a few coyotes laying out the drainage ditch. Little did we know that these wouldn't be the only wildlife that we would see during the course of the day.
We took a mini-excursion up to Wickenburg to see the Vulture Mine. It was an old gold mine that basically spawned the birth of Phoenix and the surrounding areas. The estimate is that the mine produced $200 million in ore but it has been closed since 1944. If you're interested in an investment, it is available for purchase ($6.5 mil.) - might be a good bet with the price of gold. Supposedly, there is 3-4 times as much gold left in the vein as what was already taken out. We weren't able to go underground at the mine but we were able to explore all of the above ground structures so that was cool. Some of the buildings were quite picturesque - I didn't take the time that I could have to get some really good pictures - the sun as it fell through the old wooden doors and windows into debris-scattered rooms seemed very stereotypical of the Old West. It was in one of these open doorways where I saw my first diamondback. Now, it was no giant world-record snake (truth be told, it was probably just a baby) but I gotta tell you, it got my heart pumping all the same. I walked through a doorway into a room when across the dusty wooden floor I saw the snake come out of the little closet. You would be amazed at how fast I can back out of a room! Bobbie didn't see the snake but all it took was my mention of our serpentine friend and she was out the door and back into the relative safety of the open clearing outside. Once the snake curled up behind the door on the opposite side of the room I was able to get a few pictures. We cooled off from the excitement of the trip by grabbing a cone of homemade hand-dipped ice cream at a little shop in Wickenburg.
We wound down the evening with a few rounds of Bid 500 (basically a version of Euchre). It was another great day in Sun City West (and the name is definitely no misnomer) - today looks to be off to a wonderful start. Check back later for more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)