More Family Stuff & Happy Birthday Arizona

CORRRECTION:  Cousin Ken Wersch is from Rosetown, Saskatchewan, not Calgary,Alberta, as stated in the previous blog.  Ken’s parents, Lloyd & Eleanor Wersch live in Calgary and his brother David lives just outside of Calgary.  Sorry about that, Ken.

Feb 15 – 22

We took a break from the lovely winter weather here in Arizona and flew to sunny but cool Pennsylvania to visit the grandkids.  Quite a change from mid 70’s to mid 40’s.  OK, it might have reached the 50’s once or twice.  Had a great time with Karen and the girls.  Thanks to cousin Bill and his wife, Mary Ann, for shuttling us to the Phoenix airport and back.

Driving to anywhere in Phoenix is always an adventure.  The city is the definition of urban sprawl. Officially Phoenix encompasses 475 square miles compared to Portland which has 145.  Of course this doesn’t include suburban communities like, Scottsdale and Tempe; nor does Portland’s figure include Gresham or Beaverton.  Sometimes we feel like we should pack a lunch just to go to the store.  With both the area and population of Phoenix roughly 3 times that of Portland, Phoenix has approximately 3,000 people per square mile while Portland has 4,000. 

Fri – Feb 24

Thanks to Mary Ann, we hopped right back into our party/fun time routine with another “Wersch cousins” get together.  This time Randy gave Pickle Ball lessons. 

Ken and Bill struggled with the scoring and there were some injuries, although not too serious.  (Hope that's true, Karen.)



 

Sat – Feb 25

Went to the Mardi Gras dinner dance at Bill & Mary Ann’s resort.  We always meet such interesting people at these events.  Fred and Connie, originally from Pennsylvania, have been full timing for 4 years and love it.  They carry all their worldly possessions with them except for 3 large plastic bins which they store at her sister’s house.  They have been all over the USA from Florida to Oregon and like the Southwest best.  They said Florida is too humid and has too many bugs.  Oregon is nice in the summer.  Arizona is their favorite state for winter.

Sun – Feb 26

Drove out to the Peralta Trail to get more pictures of the Superstition Mountains and some of Weaver’s Needle.  It was too warm to hike the trail, but the Needle is visible for miles.  It is a rock formation that has a large split in the side that makes it look like it has two tops, not one.  Viewed from a certain angle it appears as one spire.  It rises 1,000 feet from the surrounding area with a summit elevation of 4,553 feet.  It is in the Tonto National Forest amidst the Saguaro cactus and mesquite bushes.  Legend says the Needle’s shadow indicates the location of a rich vein of gold, possibly the Lost Dutchman Mine.

It is unclear even to this day who actually gave the Superstition Mountains their name.  One version says the Spanish named them in the 1500’s based on the Apaches’ belief that spirits lived there and did not welcome visitors.  The name Sierra Supersticiones first appeared on a map in 1866.  In more recent times the Pima Indians considered the mountains sacred.

We couldn’t get a good picture of Weaver’s Needle but the Superstitions are awesome up close.

Arizona just celebrated 100 years of statehood on Feb 14^th.  Interesting that Feb 14 is Oregon’s birthday also, but Oregon has 53 more years.  Arizona was the last of the contiguous states to be admitted.  Maybe that’s why they still do not have a law against using cell phones while driving.  However, there is talk about making it illegal for teenagers to use cell phones while driving.  Evidently it’s o.k. for adults as we saw lots of them doing it.