Seniors Gone Wild!

Wickenburg, AZ is a fun town, and the center of town is only a block from where the Dance Rally was being held. Besides an old train that came to a permanent stop in front of a giant Saguaro -

There are numerous realistic statues. This lady is waiting for the train. It may be a long wait...

One night we had a dress-up dance with the "On the Road Again" band. Very fitting.

They also played the following night at our pajama dance. I wore my Tigger footie pj's.

And if the guys didn't ask me to dance, my little Tigger stepped right up!

In addition to the spaghetti feed the first night, we had a hot breakfast every morning. The participants were divided into 4 teams, and each team had 2 days to work, providing breakfast and doing other jobs.

And at our afternoon social, the team of the day provided snacks. No, we aren't going to starve!

One day we had our Tacky Fashion show. Ken (or Kendra) was a big hit.

And then we had our Talent/No Talent show.

Each team, and various individuals, provided entertainment, and everyone really loved the Burlesque show. (Those are their elbows, guys...)

In addition, we had over 20 hours of dance instruction from professional instructors. Whew! I need a rest!

Rusty Stuff Heaven!

We had a free day at the Dance Rally because the Community Center had been previously rented to another group. So a bunch of us went on a private tour of the Vulture Mine, just south of town.

WOW! I think I'm going to like this!

We had a great tour guide.

Henry Wickenburg, a prospector from Prussia (now Austria) found gold here in 1863, while retrieving a vulture he had shot.

Here you can see the veins that were dug. The mine produced $200 million in gold and silver until it was closed in 1942. But it is going to be reopened in a few months.

A lot of the buildings from the early mining are still sort of "standing."

Including the Assay Office.

But here's my very favorite thing - old rusty cars half buried. WOW!

Some of the remains looked to be in an impossible state.

The sign says, "From this Ironwood tree, 18 men were hung for highgrading or stealing gold ore. Please watch your step." Although the tour guide told us we could take any rock we wanted, so I loaded up my pocket.

We went in the mess hall/kitchen and it was still stocked.

Outside, someone left their booze. Hmmmmmmm... Wonder if I can take that?

More half-buried rusty cars -

And other rusty stuff, including a hoist. I took way too many pictures....

And finally found some "gold." Too big for my pocket though...

WIN Dance Rally

This is the 17th Dance Rally the WINs have had, but the first one in Wickenburg, AZ. I'm the registrar/treasurer, so I got to greet everyone and take their money.

Notice my t-shirt! If you watch Dancing With the Stars, you probably can figure out what it was supposed to say.

The rally is being held at the Wickenburg Community Center. The inside facilities are great -

But the parking lot could be a little bigger. There's a city campground a mile away if we fill up.

We have about 90 registered. The first night was a welcome DJ dance complete with cake after a Spaghetti Feed.

The next night was a Sadie Hawkins dance. I loved it! Only the gals could ask the guys to dance, not the other way around. I've never danced so much! I'm posing here with Mary Jane and Max.

Viv came with her corn cob pipe.

And Stephanie had a bun in the oven. It popped out later in the evening.

The next night was our Margaritaville dance. Surfer Dude Chuck fit right in.

Castaway sang at both of the themed dances and he was wonderful. Here he's doing "Red Solo Cup," a crowd favorite.

The end for now, but lots more to come.

Hiking Around Santee

Well, this one doesn't really count as a hike, since you can almost drive to it, but it was really interesting.

Located in Mission Trails Regional Park, the Old Mission Dam on the San Diego River was built by Spanish settlers in the early 1800s to provide water for irrigation.

The fishing must be really good.

The 13-foot thick dam used to have a flume in the opening, but it's long ago been washed away by floods.

I loved the old bricks, although based on what I've read, I'm not sure they were the original construction material.

On another day, I went on a hike up Cowles Mountain, also in Mission Trails Park.

I was Feeling a little lazy, and didn't go all the way to the top, but this guy probably did.

I was hoping to get a view of Tijuana, but that was a little too far. I did get a great view of downtown San Diego.

Also not a hike, but I have a POI on my GPS for Offbeat Tourist attractions. How could I resist going to see the "World's Largest Lemon?" Although I was a bit disappointed, I guess I should have known it would be a STATUE of a lemon....

I'm on my way now to the WIN Dance Rally. I'm the Registrar/Treasurer, so I should be pretty busy. But I'm sure I'll find time to take pictures!

I Made It to the Pacific!

It's not very often that I see both the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean in the same year (without flying) but it happened this year. I took a day trip over to the ocean from Santee. I had meant to go to Torrey Pines, but it was closed for road construction. But I got a good view from a hilltop.

I then went south a little to La Jolla, and scored a great parking place on the street right by the good stuff. I'd love to see this in the spring when those ice plants are blooming.

Lots of cool rock formations.

I walked down to this bay -

And along the way said hi to the shy cormorants out on the island -

And this California pelican.

In the bay is where the sea lions play.

There is one good rock to sit on, and lots of territorial fights over it.

I happened to hear the story of this lifeguard call box from some strangers. It's a tribute to a body surfer who died here in 1994 of an unknown heart defect. They weren't allowed to put his name on the box, so they hid the name in the other words.

If you enlarge the photo, you can see "David C Freeman" from top to bottom. Since he was apparently a big prankster and a great guy, it's a fitting tribute.