Karen at Fifty Four

Another work trip to teach ACS had brought me to a new (to me) town. This time I'm in Rockingham, NC; exactly halfway between Charlottesville and Fayetteville. Unfortunately, this is not the place I would ever want to return. It is small and poor. The only restaurants were fast food, and they looked stretchy. I ended up at the Food Lion buying groceries for my dinners. I can't imagine a life here. Really sad collection of run-down houses, a bunch of churches and graveyards, a few low-cost stores, and a railroad running through the middle. Maybe the countryside just outside of town would have been pretty, but I did not go exploring. As for the work, the unit was in the final stages of prep for a year-long deployment to Kenya. They were set up in a field on a non-controlled airport. They had their mobile tower and GCA equipment out there and a C12 flight-checking their gear. The ACS class was conducted in a tent! I'll admit though, it was a very nice tent and well insulated,

I took an extra day onsite to sightsee at the Saguaro NP and the Sonoran Desert Museum. It was a beautiful day. Cool and cloudy in the morning and warming up to only the 70's. Couldn't ask for better conditions to walk around the desert! I returned to the west side of the national park because I wanted to visit the museum and it didn't open until 9:30, giving me plenty of time for an easy hike.  The Desert Museum had a "free flight" show. Beautiful Horned Owl. They started the show with two ravens. Turns out ravens mate for life so you will usually see them in pairs. They after those two went back to there pen, they let out the owl. She stayed with us for a good while until she was ready to return to her pen. The trainers said all the birds were raised in captivity and unable to be released to the wild. It amazed me that they didn't just fly away, but maybe it's for the same reason Mango doesn't hit the road when I let him out... they know when they ha

 After the last day of training, I went straight to an old church (another student recommendation).  San Xavier del Bac is considered the finest example of Mexican baroque architecture in the US. I'm afraid I was not impressed with this one. It was built in 1783 and looks very worn. I wonder how the old churches in Europe are able to survive.  The front entranceway. The alter. All the statues in the church were missing their fingers ??? This to me looks very cartoonish, almost a cross between a monkey and a lion. A side chapel fill of candles. I guess people go in there to light a candle for the dead or dying.   

The desert region where Tucson is located is the Sonoran Desert. After my second day of teaching, I drove into the mountains to get a good vantagepoint for the sunset. The drive was terrifying, I'm just not used to these steep, windy mountain roads. I also can't believe there are cyclists all over these mountain roads!!!  It doesn't look like I'm very high, but I am. This little white dots are houses down in the valley. Dinner this night was a Sonoran Dog at the recommendation of my students. It was awesome! The bun is fresh baked. Inside was a hotdog wrapped in bacon and covered with grilled onions, pinto beans, and diced tomatoes. Dressed with mayo and mustard. So delicious... glad I only had one!!!! 

The location I was teaching the ACS class was the Silverbell Army Heliport, which just so happens to overlook an airplane dumping ground. Seeing all those airplanes in various states of disrepair was weird. There were hundreds of them!

A work trip to teach an ACS class in Tucson AZ allowed me to opportunity to visit another national park! The Saguaro NP is amazing. The environment was so different and drastic and beautiful in its own unique way. Crazy "forest" of cacti. Not sure of what this one's name is, could be the one that produces the prickly pear fruit. I would love to return to the desert in the spring to see everything in bloom. This is the Saguaro cactus. The quintessential cactus. This one is call the Fishhook Barrel Cactus. The top looks like a bunch of mini pineapples to me. Cool looking close up taken with the portrait feature of my cell phone camera. The rising moon! Selfie at the entrance to the west side of the part, called the Tucson Mountain District. 

I've never shied away from painting rooms different colors. It was my intention to paint my office a deep, beautiful hunter green. I went to Home Depot and selected dozens of paint chips and taped them to the office walls to choose. I finally narrowed it down to a medium dusty, sage kind-of green. Then I held it up to the color I painted the bathroom, and it was really, really close. Ah... where's the thrill in that? The bathroom a light grey-sage and the office a medium sage. So, at the last minute I changed to my second choice which was much greener; not sage, at all. When I first started painting, I was certain I would not like the results. Way too minty for an office!!! But once I got everything put back together and added all the nick knacks to the bookshelves, I was happy. It's very cozy and comfy in there. I had to put away all my Africa pictures, they clashed terribly, but the parrots look nice.