Marc, Bev and our Australian Kelpie: Happy Trails

November 1st we settled in to the Happy Trails Resort in Surprise, Arizona. Our third winter in the park.

Happy Trails has approximately 2400 sites, 3 pools, 7 spas, fitness center, restaurant, post office and a lot more. This is a gated community and in order to get around people either ride bicycles or use golf carts.

Our site for this season, on the golf course. A rainstorm came through which lasted about one hour. Great site with a casita (stacking washer/dryer, full sized fridge, microwave and upstairs room). Outdoor kitchen and large barbecue with a briquette barbecue on the side.

Some interesting commentary is heard from the tee box behind us on hole 12.

Doggies are enjoying the lush, green grass in the neighborhoods around us.

Election Year

June of last year Donald Trump announced he was serious about running for President.

Social media became inundated with jokes at his expense while experts struggled to take his campaign seriously.

Here we are after almost nine months of debates and campaigning.

America is preparing for change.

Day after Thanksgiving (November 24th) and Black Friday,

the Christmas Season bursts into action.

Now comes a whack of night time Christmas around Surprise shots (photographed over about a three week period - takes some practice when you're new to this).

The Chuckwagon Restaurant on site in Happy Trails - all run by volunteers.
Good down home cooking and extremely reasonable pricing. They have the bestest whole grain pancakes and omelettes.

The skies are amazing here this time of year.

When it rains it rains hard.

Love the smell of the desert - its very distinctive.

Night shots from the cactus garden in Happy Trails.

Have noticed this Nov/Dec has been very quiet around Happy Trails.

Like a ghost town in the evenings. The olympic sized heated swimming pool, hot tub and gym are open 24/7 but all I see is a kelpie who doesn't like swimming and is a great model. She loves 'guarding' me at night while playing in the desert.

The scene beside the City Pickleball Courts in Surprise (Bullard Avenue)

Across the street from the courts and park is the Surprise Stadium; baseball spring training destination. The Stadium hold 10,714 people.

The entranceway to Sun City Grand (community of 9,802 homes)

adjacent to Happy Trails.

HAPPY TRAILS PICKLEBALL COURTS

Happy Trails pickleball courts. Women's pickleball for me is mostly in intercommunity play which involves play at other resort communities (Pebble Creek, Traditions, Sun City West, Sun City and El Mirage). Marc has a men's group that travels to Pebble Creek (20 mins away) and a mixed group at Surprise City Courts.

Took a little time out to play on the computer with some new techniques.

Photo courtesy of Lisa's Website

Thanks to Ambrosino'a, I had a fabulous day of traveling with them to Globe, AZ (approx 2 hours south east of Surprise) to go on a photo walk with the fabulous photographer - Lisa Langell.

We had a little time to kill prior to meeting at one of the local Saloons so stopped in at the Trading Post (metal yard ornaments/gift shop).

I was amazed at the Fimo Clay 3D creations - can not imagine how long this must take.

We met at the Drift Inn Saloon in Globe with approximately twelve photographers.

Lisa snuck a shot of me with her phone outside the Saloon.

The Drift Inn is a popular biker destination in the heart of Globe, a mining town. Operating since 1902 it is one of the oldest running saloons in the state.

Photo courtesy of the Drift Inn website.

The bar has a ceiling of pressed tin, long wooden bar and paintings of ladies adorn the wall, paying homage to the "soiled doves" who worked the brothel upstairs.

This 6,000-square-foot building was a whorehouse with 25 rooms, each 10 feet by 12. Eileen Townsend (middle of photo) and partner Lisa Brazil bought the building. Nothing structurally had been done for at least 50 years. In 1997 they moved to Globe and began restorations.

Eileen met with our group and gave us a tour of what used to be the upstairs brothel.

The upstairs has a history of being haunted.

This room is pitch black; a long exposure gives it light - facing the adjacent building. One photographer captured a strange white band of light on the left - going around the window sill. Hmmmm (no flash, no lights).

By 4:30 we all one mile southwest of Globe to see

the Annual Festival of Lights at the

Besh Ba Gowah Archaeological Park and Museum.

The term was originally given by the Apaches to the early settlement of Globe (means "place of metal.")

Visitors are offered a chance to explore the 700 year old Salado Culture pueblo,

a museum,

gift shop and botanical gardens.

The festival offers cultural entertainment as well as food vendors and two fire rings as the evening cools rapidly.

Darkness falls very quickly and the 2,500 lanterns glow beautifully.

This is a one day event - mega volunteers put out and light the lanterns.
Then the next day - all taken down.

When one's birthday happens around the same time as Christmas - it is one long celebration.

First - out to the new Star Wars movie with friends at the new theatre. 78,000 square foot theatre building, 16 theaters and all are electric recliner chairs or you can make your two chairs into a couch, a bar and cinema one has the largest screen in Arizona in excess of 80 feet.