Superstition Mountain

Today we drove about 50 km east to an interpretive center for Superstition Mountain.  The mountain supposedly is the home of "The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine" .  It looked like we were close to the mountain but we were still probably 50 km away.

There are lots of touristy things to do at the Center.

We road on a stage coach ...

... and set for a spell on the bench in front of the jail.

But mostly we enjoyed the views of the mountain and surrounding areas.  Here are a few of the photos Den Dad took:

Just a few Saquaro

There's even a cacti named after us - the Teddy Bear Cholla

So good-bye from Superstition Mountain.  Rudy thinks he saw a mine shaft far up the side of the mountain.  Off we go!

On the Road Again ... to Tempe, AZ

Well today we got packed up and said our good-byes.

We said good-bye to our casita by the mountains.

The Den Parents said good-bye to their new friend, Dixon

They said good-bye to two of their favorite places in Old Town
- Gracie's Emporium and Old Town Coffee Company

We said good-bye to the whole Coachella Valley

And then we were on the road, in 1.5 hours we were leaving California.

Welcome to Arizona!

 Here are a few scenes: 

We saw lots of RV's parked randomly out across the desert

This is Arizona!

So good-night from Arizona.  Jeremy, Rudy, Rusty and ...

Mickey

We're Sorry

We bears staged a 24 hour sit-down strike over the "dog incident".  However, today Den Dad had a talk with us.  He explained that it's all about Love.  Except for Love, we bears would be just stuffed pieces of fabric sitting on a shelf somewhere.  It's Love that makes everything Real.  He told us some of the story of Gracie (the dog) and how she was rescued from an animal shelter,  Without Love she would be dead now!  Love made her Real.  It even extends to people.  "You're nobody until somebody loves you."  Den Dad said it's even bigger than that.  Not only being Loved, but also Loving others makes you better (or more Real).  He explained that Love is not something that should be bottled or limited but that it works best if it is given away and flows out into the world.  In fact, he said, Loving others: people, pets (even dogs), bears, plants, flowers, mountains, whatever - is the greatest thing we can do!  So, we will apologize to Gracie (if we ever meet her in person).  Den Dad left us to study a quotation.  We think he picked it up at church.  If you can believe, we are reciting it below!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Dog Day

We heard the rumors but chose not to believe them - but today the Den Parents spent all afternoon taking DOG photos and talking business.  We BEARS are considering our options - protest action IS coming!
See the startling evidence below of a Den Dad gone wrong (maybe we should say Kennel Dad).

Gone to the dog
what more can we say?

Signs of Spring

We went for another drive today [after the Den Parents finished sunning at the pool - it was +28C today].  The drive was a short one - just some of the neighbourhoods nearby.

The closest church to us is St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church

The Church has a commanding view of the Coachella Valley

We saw some more examples of unique homes nearby.

And it's always nice to have an orange tree on your front lawn.

We also visited the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.  It will host a major professional tennis tournament March 5 - 18, 2012.

Below: Just some incidental landscaping near the entrance to the Tennis Garden

 And we saw some signs of Spring!

 And tonight we could watch the new moon in a starry sky above our swimming pool.

Good night all!  If you have any requests for photos, let us know.  Our time here is running low!

Joshua Tree National Park

Hi Folks - Rudy here!   Today we went on a big drive and visited a desert park.

Here are some of the photos:

The kind of place the bad guys in the movies used to run for

Desert flowers are in bloom as spring time dawns

Lots of different colours in the mountains too

They went "that-a-way" ??

A Joshua Tree - what the park is named for

We enjoyed our visit - and no dogs!

Back on Track

Rudy here! Sorry about yesterday.  We bears woke up early and when we looked out the window, we saw a man in a huge coat, with a large hood over his head, holding a long silver pole pointed at the swimming pool.  I thought it was an Inuit hunter waiting to harpoon a seal - but Jeremy said it was someone called a pool boy and he was cleaning the pool of all the leaves and blossoms that blew in during our windstorm on Saturday.  It was only +7C so the pool boy probably felt he was an Inuit.  We called Den Dad to take a photo but by the time he got up the pool boy was gone.  [Note to those of you who think Den Dad takes some good photos - you should see the ones he misses - they would be great!]
Later in the day we had not one but two rain showers but again - no photo.  Then the Den Parents went shopping and bought a whole selection of clothes for Den Dad at The Men's Wearhouse - we have to go back to pick up some of them on Saturday.


Today, Den Dad returned a call from a lady who said she wanted him to take photos of her dog!  We hope it doesn't work out.  He will find out it is a lot harder to take dog photos than bear photos! Here is one he took on our drive today - a dog riding in a basket on a bicycle.

Troubling trend toward dog photos continues!

 Also on the drive we took some more traditional scenery photos.  Here are a few:

And here are a few homes in the area.

Tonight we went to a science fair at the John Adams Elementary School across the street.

Some of the displays at the Science Fair

Here I am with Road Runner
the mascot of John Adams Elementary

Stay tuned - we hope we don't have to show you dog photos tomorrow.