Tucson, Minneapolis, Phoenix

After leaving Chinle, we headed south to Tucson, AZ, to visit my cousin, Lisa, who I haven’t seen for 17 years! She and her husband have been living full-time in their motorhome for 14 years now (I guess it runs in the family). We were blessed to be able to park right next to them at Voyager RV Park where they are work-camping for the season. And we were doubly blessed with my mom flying in to visit us again. She was more than happy to escape the long, cold MN winter – and we were so happy to see her! This worked out beautifully as Rich had to fly to Minneapolis for two business meetings. And, since my mom was there and my cousin was next door, I got to hop on a plane and head to MN to attend a conference with a group of dear friends. I told you it has been a whirlwind lately…now you know why our blog hasn’t been up to date for awhile!

While I was gone, my cousin took everyone to Saguaro National Park to see an incredible array of cacti. It is such a unique landscape in the desert and there is more life there than I imagined. We really enjoyed our morning desert walks with my cousin. She even taught the kids the names of all the different cacti species. We also visited San Xavier del Bac Mission which was built in the late 1700’s and is under constant restoration to preserve this historic building.

Oh, remember that incident with the rock that nearly damaged the radiator? Well, as it turns out, the van was not as fortunate as the RV after being dragged over the rock. We ended up having to stay an extra day in Tucson to get the suspension and tie rod repaired. Honestly, I think God did some kind of miracle because we drove the van for quite a few days before it started acting up. It was perfectly fine until Rich picked me up at the airport and the steering started locking up and making an awful squealing noise. We took it in for repairs and were happy to have extra time with my cousin while the van was getting fixed up.

Next we went to Phoenix to visit Bob and Doris – Rich’s great aunt and uncle. They have a beautiful place in Apache Junction and we had a great time dining with them at Los Gringos Locos.

Then we were off to Sun City to visit my aunt Marvel, my cousin Penny, and her husband Jim. We enjoyed spending the afternoon visiting with them. And we were so excited to go home with a trunk full of oranges and grapefruits that we got to pick ourselves in their back yard! I cannot believe how sweet grapefruit is when it is allowed to ripen on the tree. We are still enjoying that beautiful fruit!

Time is flying and it’s hard to believe we’ve been gone nearly six months. Life on the road has been very busy the last few weeks and we are happy to be settling into a healthy rhythm again this week. Lessons from the desert: The whole earth is filled with Your glory, Lord!