Get-Away-to-Greer

Vince and I escaped the valley's summer heat for 6 days and began our short vacation in Strawberry, Arizona on July 16, staying with my folks for a couple days.

 Vince helped my Dad with a project to cover the underside of the deck eaves with wood.  Dad had built some scaffolding to make the job a bit easier!

 Mom was the ultimate hostess, and even served a special coffee cake for our wedding anniversary breakfast on the 17th~plus they treated us to a delicious italian dinner at Mama Joe's Italian Grill that evening to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary!

Leaving on the 18th, we spent the next four days in Greer, AZ at the White Mountain Lodge.  We had made reservations in Greer before the Wallow Fire, so didn't know what we would find upon our arrival. 
We saw hundreds of blackened trees, but as the sign above states, there's STILL alot of GREEN!

Here's the front of the White Mountain Lodge.  We stayed in the Meadows Suite:  kingsize bed, fireplace, kitchenette...NO, I didn't have to cook, but it was nice to have the fridge for juice, milk & fruit, a stove for making tea or hot chocolate, and the microwave for  my afternoon movie popcorn during Vince's naptime! I also did alot of reading.

This is the view of the mountain just south of our lodge; it's easy to see how close the fire came to the town.  We were able to watch the daily helicopter flights over the mountains, as they (2 copters) were dropping straw to cover the ground, hoping to prevent mudslides later in the year.

This photo shows a tiny speck (helicopter) and the beige color spot on the mountain is the straw being dropped.  The green in the foreground is the Greer Meadow which runs through the town, alongside the Little Colorado River.  Again, this is the view from our porch at the Lodge. 

 

Here is the "trout pond" 30 yards from our porch though we never saw any trout.  It's part of the Little Colorado.  It is a section that's "pooled" due to a beaver family that has built it's home here.  Didn't get to see the "family", but the Lodge staff member told us about them.

One evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Molly Butler Lodge...Great food! Unfortunately, business is slow in Greer. We were one of only a few tables being served in the entire restaurant.  Signs thanking the Firefighters were seen everywhere in Greer, Pinetop, and Springerville, some of the nearby towns we visited for dining and shopping!  Yes, I did get to shop a little, after Vince enjoyed his missions to catch (& release) some trout! Here's my husband suited up for fishing at the Lee Valley Reservoir!

Below you can see how ALL businesses and homes in the area are surrounded by sandbags, as they expect the Little Colorado River to overflow its banks, especially if there are mudslides down the mountains into the one little river~ The Rendezvous House is a landmark in Greer...serving up breakfast and lunch since the early 1900's.

We enjoyed watching the wild life. We saw a few deer and a herd of elk one evening.  I enjoyed the beautiful wildflowers, many varieties of birds, the usual chipmunks, of course, and....

CATTLE!!!  On the first day of fishing at Lee Valley Reservoir, we saw a few cows near the turn off to the lake...on the second day trip to that lake, apparently those few cows had invited their "friends" for a rendezvous at the lake!

They kept watching me...as much as I was watching them!! 

We were thankful to see how much GREEN there remains; I loved the groves of aspens  below, and next is a favorite of mine, the Blue Spruce nestled right next to the mighty Ponderosa Pine.

It was sad to see the blackened areas of the forest, but are thankful that there is still so much beauty to be

enjoyed in God's country!

Below is Vince's favorite "fishing hole" during our Greer get-away.  This "secret place" is the Little Colorado River right along the Sheep's Crossing hiking trail.  He must have landed about 15 trout in a couple of hours ...before the downpour of rain.  Of course, the rain didn't stop him from fishing, but when the lightening started, then he did head back to the car!

One evening we drove to Pinetop to Vince's favorite restaurant there, called the Pasta House.  On the way I snapped this photo of the storm clouds.  When in Pinetop, one must dine here!  (Also, Darbi's is a great place for breakfast and lunch in Pinetop.)

We enjoyed our get-away-to-Greer and are thankful we had the chance to escape the heat and enjoy a change of scenery and routine for a short while.

Weekend in Strawberry

Vince and I were able to escape the Valley heat and join my parents at their mountain retreat in Strawberry, Arizona.  Strawberry is about 20 minutes north of Payson, and 3 miles north of Pine, Arizona.  We enjoyed breakfast on their lovely deck, as we watched the "wildlife" (squirrels and birds) come to the many feeders that Dad keeps filled for them.

 On Sunday morning, while Vince helped Dad with some electrical wiring for their deck lighting, Mom and I went to the Arts and Crafts Fair in Pine, and enjoyed poking around all the craft booths.  We went into the Thrift store, and also looked at the Friends of the Library booksale.  Went back home to enjoy traditional 4th of July hotdogs and watermelon for lunch.  Dad grilled the dogs to perfection!

 On Saturday night, Mom and Dad treated us to pizza at Mama Joe's Italian Grill in Strawberry and then Vince drove us "into town" (Payson) for the Saturday-night-concert-in-the-park!  It was a lovely evening, nice and cool on the grass near the lake, and band was excellent, playing some patriotic tunes for the veterans who were present, and some "big band era" music also!  We also were able to visit with some of our friends who have weekend homes in Payson.
 Before we left Strawberry on Monday morning, we went for a nice walk in the neighborhood near their home.  We also enjoyed seeing all the fruit trees in their yard.  They will have a bumper crop of apples this season, and a few pears.  They also have cherry and plum trees.  We're trying to decide what variety this apple will turn out to be?!?

Thanks for your wonderful hospitality, Mom and Dad!  It was a lovely get-away weekend, and glad we had a chance to spend time with both of you!

Monsoons are Here and One Haboob!!

Many people saw the "wall of dust" descending on to the Valley of the Sun last night! These dust storms are typical during the monsoon season, however the WALL was so dramatic that it made the national news coverage today.  Apparently the wall stretched from Apache Junction (east) to Maricopa (west)....some 70 miles long, one mile high and moved across the valley at 60 mph!

 According to some reports, the average number of haboobs in our desert is 3 per summer. I was able to capture these dramatic pictures just before the storm arrived at our house!  Surprisingly, we didn't have wind damage...but DIRT everywhere today!

 Here's the view looking east from our front yard.

 This is the view looking straight south from our front yard.  My windows WERE clean for a few months, but not anymore!  I'm sure swimming pool owners were unhappy today too!