We said goodbye to Grandpa Luke/Dad Friday night at 11:14pm, AZ time, 45 minutes before his 82nd birthday. He was a GREAT dad, a SUPER grandpa, and a VERY SPECIAL Great-Grandpa to Hannah, Cailyn, and little-one-yet-to-be-named :o)
It was Papa's turn to lead a VBS clinic, and I must say he travels much lighter than Granny!
He also travels much farther! This VBS clinic was in Snowflake.....and it lived up to it's name!
But my favorite part of this drive was definitely the snow :o) We have truly had 'In Like a Lion Out Like a Lamb March' weather this year, and this part of the state had just received another dusting of snow a day or two before we drove through.
Dusty Twales prefers naps on his'tack' to working the range! One VBS Clinic down, about 4 to go LOL Had a great time at the first one, love, love, love the music and enjoying the western/dude ranch theme, Saddle Ridge Ranch.
Amazing what folks will do for VBS! We pulled together this 'rock' band, complete with Willie Nelson braids and a jug. Little guy really rocked out to the music, but of course he had NO idea who Willie Nelson is!
I can't believe it's been a year already....and time for VBS again! It is a 'dude ranch' theme this year, hence the "Roy Rogers" cowboy shirt and steer in the background. I 're-purposed' my hanging backdrops ....moving them from the outback of Australia to the hills and plains of Colorado.
My straw bale was a little anemic, but with the few extra props it served its decorative purpose.
I needed a different style campfire this year.....looks a little scary....was supposed to look like embers. Note to self: NEVER put halogen plant lights under a plastic pompom!
This weekend we joined another couple and ventured down about 40 miles to visit a famous ruin, Casa Grande, which means Big House. The protective roof was not part of the original structure...LOL....it was added to protect the building from further erosion.
This is believed to be a building used for worship. You can walk right up to it now, you just can't go inside. You are able to see where the building has been reinforced throughout to keep it in tact. There was a complete village surrounding this structure at one time, and the village was surrounded by a 7-foot mud/clay wall. It has been compared to Stonehenge in that the building contains several holes at different levels, like the one pictured below. They are strategically placed for the sun or moon to shine through on each of the equinox days, PLUS one set for an astrological occurrence that happened only every 18 1/2 years! How'd they KNOW that???
We were surprised to find that we were visiting on the weekend of the Annual Indian Music Fest, so we were serenaded the entire time we were there.
Continuing on our tour........ we got to visit the press box and sit in the seats used for the pre-game banter between Gracie and Candioti. You might notice the condition of the field...
When I first saw the field I thought they were re-doing it, dirt and all. But our guide explained that it was set up for a moto-cross event. There will be a monster truck jam in a few days as well. Sacrilege!! 
They covered the sod with tarp and sheets of ply-wood, then trucked in tons of dirt. I'm thinkin' the drivers better be pretty careful or they could go careening off into the stands! (by the by, this shot was taken from the owner's suite!)
The press box has a signature wall for guests to autograph that have appeared on air (we weren't asked to sign it LOL) It was a blast hunting for signatures. I got excited about a Bil Keane cartoon signature, and papa HAD to have a picture of Vin Scully's signature.
Pretty official, huh?! From the expression on his face, I'm guessing his team must have won the game!
This is Granny signing off, no more questions, please.......
One of our Christmas gifts was a 'deluxe' 1 & 1/2 hour tour of one of our fav spots - Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. We were allowed into places that the normal tours never go, and our group was only 7 folks, so we got plenty of time to see everything. It was GREAT fun!
Our D-backs are a very young franchise and already have a World Series trophy under their belts. This is on display in the "Wow Lobby", the entrance to the business offices that is meant to impress. It WAS nice, but our biggest kicks were yet to come.......
We were allowed inside the team locker room, which was great fun. Some players are still in town and come to the park to work out. They leave their equipment in their lockers, and we saw the 'mighty four' lockers in all their glory (or disarray!) Reynolds, Upton, Young, and Byrnes
The digital command center. From this station they watch every camera in the stadium, choose the replays, fan shots, and set the tone of the 'digital show'.
This is the locker room 'boom box'! I've NEVER seen a portable system with that size speakers! When we asked our guide about it his response was, "well, these are young guys........"