 We departed our beautiful southern AZ, crossed into CA via I-8 and passed through extensive sand dunes. Of course, made sure to fill our gas tank on the AZ side of the border as we drove 8 hours to Temecula, CA.  We had been invited by a friend of Amy's, to celebrate her 40th. We arrived at a beautiful setting, a "chateau", high in the hills.. This was my first visit to Temecula and it was quite a revelation. We shared the house...opps, I mean chateau with 10 others. I must say, I think this was a first for me, rather than staying in a hotel, staying in a large house....opps, chateau and sharing all the space other than our bedroom.  How nice, overlooking the pool and the adjoining garden had a....  ....statue of David! Once inside, we roamed into various rooms and discovered not one but two....  ....medieval suit of armor. Like, who doesn't devote their home's space to this, lol?  For me, one of the highlights was the arrival of a personal chef to prepare our dinner.  The chef's assistant laid out numerous plates as we....  ....sat and enjoyed being served, truly, a fabulous meal. We were in wine country, not that that would have made a difference, so the wine was flowing. I drank way too many glasses of wine. Meantime....  ....Jack was exhausted from the drive. It was an anxiety filled 8 hour drive for my buddy who simply hates car rides.
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 Approximately 2" of rain fell during the recent multi-day event. Following these, I enjoy getting out early to see the clouds and mountains.  The views are always different following each rain event.  The pavement was too wet, too much standing water so I headed, once again to....  ....Sabino Canyon for a short....  ....1.5 mile hike. On this day, a rare sight as very few people came out to enjoy the scenery.  And then this! OK, it did rain again after my hike and someone took out our northern monument. But, the street sleuths are on it and searching Ring video footage. The truck that did the damage and left behind truck parts has been identified but not with a license plate to tie it to the owner.
 OK, so yes it's our short winter and typically, systems emerge from southern CA and sweep across AZ, bringing rain from time to time. But gosh! Two inches in three days is a bit much but still, welcome. Jack and I went to Aqua Client Park for a walk between showers.  Jack, ready to get started.  Clouds obscure the peaks so can't see snow, yet. Meantime, back in Ohio....  ....a guy with whom I once rode, did a double metric century on his indoor trainer. Amazing for a variety of reasons.
 Ya got to give it to this homeowner, lol. First erected for Halloween than costume changed for Thanksgiving, then for Christmas and now this for St. Patty's Day. Probably somewhat motivated by storage space or lack thereof but I am curious what comes next.  On Saturday I made the 30 minute drive to Bicycle Ranch, a popular shop in Tucson. The owner sponsors several racers who show up at regional races and typically dominate with averages of 25+mph. Rumor was there would be a "B" group for today's, 50 mile route but alas, no. I rode out with the 20-something cutthroat's. A guy touched the wheel in front of him and went down at mile 2. Amazing in this tight group of 35 cyclists, going well more than 20mph, we all (thankfully including me) were able to divert and avoid. Ahem, I was left gasping at mile 8 and soloed back.  I came up with the idea of hosting a "Heat of the Day" ride each Tuesday and that has been well attended, at 1pm with the Cactus Club group. It's kinda depressing, riding with so many retirees who ride 10,000+ miles each year. I get blown out the back of similarly aged cyclists but I'm happy to give back to the group by organizing a weekly ride. Today's was in Oro Valley, highs in the 70's, NICE!  Another system comes through out of southern CA and drenches us with 3/4"+ of rain. We had a nice 5+ days of sun and warmth but that ended with this. Fortunately, it did not bring in cold temps so highs stayed in the 50's during the rain.  And of course, there were breaks in the rain. Not long enough for a ride but enough for a short, 1.5 mile hike in Sabino Canyon. We're on our way to Temecula, CA in a few days. The weather there, during winter, is a crapshoot but it looks like we'll be good for the duration of our stay.
 I drove about 45 minutes to the south, passing the Santa Ritas to join a group of about 18 cyclists on a 51 mile loop that included a stop at....  ....the San Xavier del Bac Mission. Built in 1797, it is a popular destination and my first time visiting it. Quite impressive. Finished with the aforementioned 51 miles, 16.5 average and 2100' of climbing. The next day....  ....I went for a short ride which included checking out what progress has been made on the paving project, east of Wentworth Road, on Reddington Road. Wow, all the pavement has been stripped, graded and rolled so perhaps now the paving begins.
 I returned to Tanque Verde Canyon to resume a canyoning experience that would include a stop at the lower falls. Of note, my drive on a very bumpy Tanque Verde/Reddington Pass Road will be repaved in a week so that adds a cycling segment opportunity.  The temperature was a around 45 degrees as I begin the hike in the shade with the promise that the sun would soon provide some warmth.  It's hard not to be a little excited. There is no trail to follow, just a series of figuring out answers to the question, "Huh, now where do I go?"  There was a nice flow of water but not so much that it prevented me from jumping over the stream if I found myself blocked on one side of the water or the other.  Occasionally, the rock would give way to a short, flat section of sand prior to the next obstacle presenting itself.  Many pools were passed.  Confronting this, I had to scramble high on the adjoining hill to bypass and then drop back down, above the above wall.  And there, at last, is a mature Palo Verde tree, guarding the entrance to....  ...the falls. The 80' falls is quite impressive, more so when there is a heavier flow of water but always a great sight. I relaxed for a few minutes and then headed back. The return is just as challenging for route finding as coming in. I finished with 2.5 miles and a lot of fun was had.
 I've become a temperature weenie, no doubt. I've got clothing that enables me to ride in the 20's and I had to drag some of that clothing out to prepare for today's ride. Start temperature was 45!!! Good group ride of 37 miles, 1500'+ of climbing with a stop at Colossal Cave Park  Nice views from the parking lot. The first 21 miles contained most of the climbing so as I stood looking to the north.....  ...ahhhh, much of the balance of the ride would be down hill. Old Spanish Trail Road in the distance, part of our return route.  Our "cold" days continue with another front approaching. I thought I could get in a short hike at Sabino Canyon and was lucky to do so. A few more inches of snow dropped at higher elevations so....  ...got out the next morning to see the mountain. Ahh, our forecast is improving!
 I drive east on Reddington Road with the Rincons growing on the horizon. They received some snow as did the Catalinas and Santa Ritas. My destination this morning....  ....with my buddy Jack, who is anxious to get going is....  Tanque Verde Canyon and the falls. What a fantastic bouldering experience, climbing up canyon to the falls!  Of course, reaching the falls was never realistic with a dog on a leash and all the additional complications but Jack loved that which we did visit.  This is the entrance to the real fun.  So beautiful. We made it a short distance into the canyon and did so one falls. We turned around but I'll be back soon to finish the hike.
 The front and back yard, like many area yards, is a low maintenance type yard consisting of fractured stones. In our case, it's 1/2" Apache Brown. We brought in 3 tons of it last year and spread it around. My recent plant trimming yielded bare spots so I found a company that allowed me to drive to the appropriate pile and only fill a couple of 5 gallon buckets.  Then this tangled mess of Christmas lights had to be removed from a mesquite tree. Standing on a ladder above cactus...what could go wrong but got it all removed just before.....  ...another round of rain moved through. Once the clouds lifted.....  ....snow was replenished on the mountain. Another round of precipitation is coming with a forecast of snow lowering to the valley floor. We shall see.
 I drove around the corner of the mountain to Oro Valley. I try to ride there each week. Partly to expand the variety of routes and partly, on windy days, the mountains act as a heck of a wind break. During my 43 mile ride, I had to stop and take this pic with snow capped Mount Lemmon just visible above Pusch Ridge. Beautiful.  Amy is on the PUP list (Player Unavailable for Play) due to a knee problem so I'm walking the Jackster both mornings and evenings. One of our favorite routes takes us around a pond. The opposite bank is kind of barren but the south side is lush and always in shade.  Up early this day as we still marvel at our new pavement. I'm on my way again to Oro Valley where for the first time in a long time I....  ....attend a group hike. Quite a few old hiking peeps had signed up for the hike and I thought it would be fun to catch up. Our destination was Romero Pools in Catalina State Park.  A beautiful day with highs in the low 60's.  After about 3 miles of fairly fast paced hiking, we reach the pools where water was running but....  ....continue on for another 1/4 mile to....  ...a more secluded location.  I scrambled around each side and then sat with our organizer, Barry. Interesting guy who has acquired 12, acres in northern NM. No water or electricity access to his land where he is about to build a small home.  I was relieved when the crowded parking lot came into view. The 6.25 miles, coupled with 1500' of climbing, was a lot more hiking than I've done in awhile. My legs were confirming the point.
 My education with southern AZ plants continues. We discover the above is supposed to be trimmed so again I wiggled in and began cutting....  ....That's how it is supposed to look.  Stretched my legs for a short ride. I enjoy this view with Blackett's Ridge and Thimble Peak in the foreground, Mount Lemmon visible in the break between the two.  A shaggy Jack taking a break from chasing the ball.  We had friends over for Christmas. Amy had a good idea to buy 2, gingerbread making kits. So teams were the guys against the gals with Amy as the judge. I think our team focused too much on the engineering quality of our structure while the other team won....  ....with aesthetics. I am certain, had an earthquake occurred, our house would have survived while theirs would certainly have collapsed. Sadly, that was beside the point.  Toward the end of the evening, the losing team went outside to brood, sit in front of a fire and smoke cigars. Unfortunately, the exercise left me a little woozy and I could barely stand for the group picture, lol.
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