Valley of the Sun 2013: A week to write home about....

This has been a great week it has been here in the Valley of the Sun. My health has returned to near normal which has allowed us to kick it up a notch. The weeks summary of activity is as follows:

Cycling - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday. Total of 220 kms.
Birding - Tuesday at the Gilbert Water Ranch
Hiking - The epic Siphon Draw/Flatiron trail on Friday
Cultural event - Saturday - 55th Annual Indian Fair and Market at the Heard Museum.

It seems that with the passing of every day we look at the calendar and realize that our days here are short. When we wake tomorrow we will have 14 days to enjoy our winter home before we begin our trek north to the cold wet remnants of winter. Madelyn wrote to us today and told us of the joy of seeing the first Daffodil of "Spring". Dearest Madelyn, I am overjoyed that your spirit is lifted by the sight of a lone Daffodil. It was 80F here in the desert today. We now seek shelter from the hot sun. The grapefruit tree outside our park model is covered in buds and will soon flower. The thought of leaving here to return to the Pacific North West where April showers are cold and endless though they give way to May flowers, or perhaps more showers. Oh joy!

This is a big week coming up. Erica and Sandy will arrive on Tuesday. Planning is underway to find interesting and fun stuff to do while they are here. I am sure there is hiking and birding involved, and perhaps a bit of down time at poolside....

We spent yesterday at the Heard Museum. This is the second time we have taken in the Annual Indian Fair and Market. It is difficult to describe the scope of this event. There is an amphitheatre which is used for Indian dancing, story telling and music. We were able to watch several artists. We wandered through part of the market. The quantity and quality of the merchandise was amazing. There were carvers, weavers, artists, jewelry designers and makers, glass sculpture, pottery, etc. Native Indians from across the U.S. and Canada were represented. We also had a tour of the museum. This museum is fully dedicated to Native Indians, their culture and history. If you are in Phoenix this time of the year I strongly recommend attending this event or visiting the museum.

Here are a couple of pictures from our day at the Fair. Enjoy!