Cactus Fly-In and Apache Trail

Monday, March 10, 2008

Last weekend (3/8-9/08) was full of fun activities with Bob and Judy. Saturday we started out by going to a craft/senior health fair at the Southern Arizona University in Coolidge. It was a senior health fair plus several craft vendors. Judy and I sure enjoyed it and the guys just tagged along. The weather was cloudy, breezy, and cool.

About mid-morning we got to the Casa Grande Airport for the 50th Annual Cactus Fly-In. Boy, Larry was in “seventh heaven”! He was grinning from ear to ear all afternoon. There were probably close to 150 small airplanes, antique bi-planes, old military planes, etc. There were airplanes taking off and landing and making pass-by flights all afternoon. We got to see a lot of the airplanes take-off to go home. One of the highlights for Larry was to see a military airplane that was used in Korea and Vietnam Wars called the “Skyraider” fly and to hear the sound of the engines roar. We also got to see 4 antique Stearman bi-planes take off together and they made several pass-by flights in formation. Each time they passed by, they ejected smoke out. Took lots of pictures and 30 video clips. Mike and Scott – bet you can hardly wait to see Dad’s videos! The sun finally came out and by later in the afternoon, it was almost 80 degrees out.

The Apache Trail was on the agenda for Sunday. Bob so graciously volunteered to drive their Jeep as he knew what the road was going to be like; parts of it were gravel, narrow, curvy, and rough (with a capital R). Ha! Fortunately, the day turned out to be gorgeous – clear blue sky and warm temps. The Apache Trail goes through the rugged Superstition Mtns with their jagged peaks, the Sonoran Desert with various forms of cactus, and two beautiful desert lakes—Canyon Lake and Apache Lake. The desert is real green now and has a lot of yellow and orange flowers blooming. The Apache Trail was built to transport materials and equipment, hauled by 20-mule teams from the nearest railroad to the construction site of the Theodore Roosevelt Dam. It was dedicated in 1911 and is the world’s largest masonry dam. On the way to Roosevelt Dam, we went through a town called Tortilla Flat with a population of six! It is a resurrected ghost town and has a café and country store that had once been a stagecoach stop. We had lunch at a restaurant along Canyon Lake and ate outside on the lakeside patio and looked at the mtns. – so beautiful and peaceful. The drive was so breathtaking and scenic. Bob drove over 200 miles that day, but it was so worth it for me. That drive was one of my highlights of our trip to Arizona. Sure hope we can do that again next year, Bob!

Next week will be our last week in Casa Grande. The time has gone way too fast. We have decided to come back again next year for January, February, and March if we are able.

Hope everyone is beginning to warm up back in the Midwest. Will see you soon.

Love, Glenda and Larry