Picture: Bill, Katy and Matt in the background. William, Lindsay and Michael in front.
For Thanksgiving Weekend, some of us gathered at Michael's home in Sierra Vista, AZ. The weekend was filled with a multitude of activities:
Bill and I started the week by camping at the Double G Harvest Host Alpaca Farm in Sierra Vista, AZ. It is dusty (as is all of this part of Arizona), but comfortable and interesting. Our extremely nice hosts, Paula and LeRoy, raise the Alpacas, likely the cutest animals that roam the earth. Their hair is called fiber and Leroy and Paula shear it and process it into yarn. They sell it, along with lots of other goodies, in the little store on the farm. I spent a lot of money there.
This is Grace. I bought some yarn that was formed from her fiber, so her picture needed to be included. We learned that Alpacas do not spit, except at each other, and they have only bottom teeth and do not bite.
This is Oreo. Who could not love this face? Besides Alpacas, there are horses, mini-horses, a great crowd in the Chick-Inn Coop, a miniature golf course and a desert trail for walking.
Thanksgiving Dinner,
Lindsay and Michael created a really fun day when we were joined by Matt and Katy for a non-traditional dinner. It was a low-key meal overseen by Lindsay and William creating personal sized pizzas in the kitchen. Michael baked them outside in a wood fired pizza oven. Lots of pie and whip cream was had by all. Even Roux, the weimaraner, got a pizza.
t turns out that you don't need the traditional meal to feel a little overly full after a dinner that included three kinds of pie. That's Matt with the computer, then Lindsay, Katy, Roux, William, Michael, and Bill. All our shoes seem to have been discarded and dog toys spill across the floor.
Post Thanksgiving activities, and there were many:
The family, excluding me, all went spelunking at the Coronado National Monument. I do not enjoy scrambling, and for sure, am not doing it in the dark. Instead, I enjoyed the quiet atmosphere and comfortable chairs of the visitor center watching wildlife and talking with an expert birder. There are cave pictures below taken by Matt, and here are some Mexican Jays and a Coati from my wildlife observing. Also saw several Coues Deer (Arizona whitetails) and a lot of species of birds. Sometimes I wish I was a birder, too.
Matt took some spelunking pictures -- looks like they had a great time.
A walk through a legal crossing in the "Wall" led us to some yummy tacos, etc., in the small town of Naco, Sonora, Mexico. And Katy and Matt found a "farmacia" where they could purchase some needed prescription meds over the counter that were lots less expensive than in the US. The young and chatty border patrol agent had no concerns about the drugs when we crossed back to the US, but entertained us with the list of drugs he would have had to confiscate.
I think this drink is called a Michelada and I watched our wait person make it-- it is colored by a little tomato juice and filled with an entire beer. Clearly there's enough for us all to taste, and we did. Thanks, Katy!
This picture, again credit goes to Matt, is significant because it is documenting William's first time back on his bike since the fall the broke his femur on Labor Day. I don't think he would have tried it without Aunt Katy running along beside him. The rest of us ran outside to form the cheering section.
Some horseback trail riding protected by a cowboy hat helmet. Quite goofy.
Also the first time William has been back on a horse since his accident. The horse is one that he got to know by taking riding lessons at the Buffalo Soldiers Corral on Fort Huachuca. The horse's name is Nugget, and William was happy to see him again. Nugget seemed happy, too. The ride went just fine.
William designed a 3' Christmas stocking for a class project for his 5th grade class. I sewed it. It seems no one took pictures of the stocking or the bowling that followed.
Roux oversaw the van as we prepped to leave on Sunday. Thing is, she can get up on the bed, but she can't get down. Michael had to lift her. She's not a little dog. 
A last lunch on Sunday and we were on our way, along with Matt and Katy, both of our couples separately heading towards Sedona, AZ. We rendezvoused with Matt and Katy there and spent two nights being introduced to true boon-docking on National Forest Service land. But that's another post.
Retirement Lessons Learned: The more the merrier!
Woyaya
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