February in Arizona and now March in Nevada
After Quartzsite we ventured to Yuma to visit family & friends, take a quick trip to Mexico, and experience two earthquakes! A few days in Florence with the Washington State Patrol retirees was also very enjoyable. We spent the next weekend in Phoenix area which was highlighted with a brunch with cousins Sally & Bruce. They introduced us to T.C. Eggington's restaurant in Mesa. Delicious!
That brought us to a week in Congress, AZ with the Escapees BOF of the Prospectors and Metal Detectors. Here Ken enjoys the solitude and beauty of the Arizona landscape.


Our group visited claims, a museum, and had interesting speakers. This is the Rich Hill area where in the 1860's pioneers discovered gold nuggets the size of potatoes. Believe me, we didn't see anything like that in 2008!


Our group enjoyed visiting the town of Stanton near Rich Hill. There is lots of history in this area!


As we came north there was our first glimpse of an absolutely amazing project...building a freeway that bypasses Hoover Dam. This will be an engineering feat in and of itself!


Attending a business trade show in Las Vegas was also an amazing experience. There were several thousand exhibitors. We did get our exercise! By Sunday we had a great afternoon...would you believe at the airport? The city has a parking area on the south side that is right up at the runway. We parked just adjacent to where the plane's wheels hit the ground when they land. What a busy airport! We must have seen 50+ flights landing in the time we were there. It was obvious that lots of local families also come here for a Sunday afternoon outing.

The most exciting blessing of the past week...Rebecca Mary was born to our nephew and his wife! We received these pictures of her older sister and brother holding her. "Great" Uncle Ken and "Great" Aunt Joanne are anxious to meet her when we return to La Grande.