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We made two overnight stops before stopping in Wilcox, Arizona. We will be here two nights. Southeast of Wilcox is the Chiricahua National Monument where we want to take a scenic drive and hike. The mountains in the park were formed by both volcanic and tectonic plate movement.
We would like to camp at Chiricahua but the longest RV's can be to camp there is 20 feet.
The drive down takes us closer to the border but only a little bit and not near the common crossing points. BTW, if you are reading this years from today this was a time when the US administration had allowed huge numbers of people to come over the border illegally than at anytime in history combined. Anywhere near the border is not safe. 
The drive takes a winding path up the mountains to Massai Point. We gain a lot of elevation and unlike at the start of our drive, the top still has snow and ice. At 6,870 feet it is the high point in the park.
At the top were great views and some very determined birds I can best describe as big Blue Jays. They were not happy that we were not feeding them. There were birds that looked like a robin but with very red eyes.
The views from the parking lot and the observation building were fantastic. Snow and Ice were everywhere. It made the views even more interesting. Shawna fell when she stepped on ice that was dark and looked more like a rock than anything else. After some checking, we determined that she was okay and still wanted to try the hike. Note to self, don't walk while taking pictures. Watch where you are stepping, stop and then take the picture.
Todays hike will take us on three trails that meander through Hoodoos. Echo Canyon, Hailstone ridge, Ed Riggs trails combine to make an over 3 miles and an elevation change of over 800 feet.
The Hoodoos and other features are formed by erosion of softer rock that once surrounded the harder rock that now stands.
We drove just a short way down to the next parking area to start our hike. There will be plenty hoodoos and balanced rocks on the hike. We also get some pretty strong warnings.
This is not a regular hike. The warnings are pretty clear. Snow and ice will be on the trail. Falling rocks are common. Even a small rock here could be the size of a bowling ball and weigh at least that much a large one … never mind.
The trail passes directly under several balanced rocks.
A few tight passages.
It got a bit chilly later because of the ice and snow so we put on our muffs and zipped up the puffy jackets.
We had to be careful on the ice as not to slip. This is not a good place for a twisted ankle. Oh, there is no cell service in the park. As always, we have our Garmin In-reach with us just in case of an emergency.
Lots of pretty views.
As we dropped in elevation, it got a bit warmer.
More amazing views.
This place is so surprising.
More tight passages.
We need to get moving. It is getting later in the afternoon and we would like to be back to the RV before dark.
We walk on for a while and come upon a frozen waterfall.
Back to the truck. It was a great hike. So 3.2 mile hike completed in 3 hours, not bad for 2 people 63 years old.
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Well, heading south then west. We left Logan this morning and stopped at Valley of Fires National Recreation Area near Carrizozo, NM.  This is our second time to stay at this campground. The campsites are right in the middle of a lava flow that was formed about 5000 years ago.  Due east are the mountains that just south of here includes Ruidoso, and Cloudcroft and about 40 miles due west of us is the Trinity site where the first Atomic bomb was tested. There are still residents of Carrizozo who remember seeing the explosion. The plan is to be in Parker, AZ by Friday, February 3rd.
Right now we are getting ready for several inches of SNOW. We have had many days in the teens and a few in the single digits. Ouch!
By next weekend we plan to move on to southern Arizona to have some warmer weather. Our time here has been great visiting with Betty, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and being productive. The deer know they are safe in town. Of course nothing is safe from a car but otherwise safe because hunting is outlawed in the village limits and the state park.   And of course a few pretty sunsets.  We will be in Logan through January.
Up and going early to be off the ship. Thank goodness we are in the hotel right above the cruise port so no long walks or frantic taxi hailing. We just have to gather our luggage and walk to an elevator to take us up to check in to the hotel.  Foggy and misty cool day in Vancover.  Back in the big city.    We grabbed a couple of meals at the nearby food court, played cards, relaxed, grabbed some Tim Horton’s pastries for breakfast tomorrow. It always amazes me how wasteful people in large cities are especially with the fake environmentalism and finger pointing at rural areas as being polluters. Floor on floor of buildings fully lit and they stay that way 24 hours a day 365 days a year. I have seen the same thing in other cities especially NYC. Even at 8pm the lights are still on. I looked out before we went to bed later and it was exactly the same.   Shawna slept in and I was not up till 7am. Breakfast with Betty and then I brought coffee back for Shawna. After Shawna had breakfast, she and Betty are off to the Mineral Spa and I am going to the gym for a few minutes. Lots of relaxing and playing cards together today. Packing and getting suitcases ready to be put out in the hall for pickup tonight.  Our last dinner at the dining room tonight. After dinner, there was a Chocolate Dessert event.  Our last chance to enjoying the final performances in the music clubs.
I went to the Coffee chat and the guest was Ed Alonzo and was surprised at how diverse his acting and magic career was. He not only worked on several tv shows like Murphy Brown and Modern Family but he was a friend of David Copperfield and helped him with some of his biggest tricks like making the Statue of Liberty disappear. He also was working with Michael Jackson on the day before he died. He was preparing some illusions and practicing with him that day. After the talk, we spoke for a couple of minutes and I thanked him for his magic performance the night before. He was amazing.  The last Mixology class. We met a nice couple from England. It turns our Mark is a huge D&D fan and writes and designs gaming systems. He and I got deep into conversion. It was a big surprise but nice to reminisce over the old days of gaming.         Dinner was the Pinnacle tonight. Very nice. Much better than the last cruise. We are still more impressed with the Tamarind. The comedian was great. He was funny and his jokes were just what we needed.
A bit of BBKings and the Rock and Roll band then off to bed. We lose another hour tonight.
Another day where we lose an hour. We made it to breakfast about 8am. Later than normal for us on a cruise.
Up to the Crow's Nest to play cards and then off to lunch.
The naturalist was speaking on Stanley Park which is a huge park right outside Vancouver. Very popular with the city residents and has a lot of different types of wildlife. Owls, eagles, great herons, and a lot of others. Animals like seal, otter, beaver, raccoons, squirls, and some dangerous coyotes. She told us that the coyotes in the park have started to attack people. They have become used to people feeding them and now attack people for food. They tried catching some and removing them but that has not changed the problem at all so now they may have to remove all of them. Replacements may be brought in but people will have to not feed them or the same problem will start again.
The crew decided to show off their skills at making towel animals. Impressive!
Back up to the Crow's Nest for some puzzle work.
Mixology this afternoon.
Dressy dinner tonight.
The Magician. Ed Alonzo, was great! Betty, Shawna, and I really enjoyed the show. It turns out he has been on the TV show Saved By the Bell playing Max? Ok I never watched the show. In Men in Black, he was the puppeteer for several characters including the "worms". He had a big stage show in Las Vegas and for a while had Britney Spears in his magic show where he would “cut” her in half. He was hilarious.
Shawna and I stopped in to the B. B. King's Club for a while before going up to the Crow's Nest to relax before bed.
After breakfast, both Betty and Shawna were off to get massages and I went to the gym. The naturalist will speaking on whales. That should be fun.  After our Mixology class and a nice dinner, Betty headed back to her room. We went to hear in the new comedian Kermit Apio. As you can imagine there were frog jokes among other subjects. He was very funny. We ended the day by relaxing in the Crow's Nest.
A quick breakfast. Later in the morning, we went to hear the Naturalist speak on her encounter with bears and what to look forward to when we approach land in Vancouver area. In the afternoon, our Mixology Class started again.   Dinner at the Tamarind. Wonderful as always. We were overlooking the aft of the ship and the water in that pool was sloshing over the sides on to the deck. I think it is going to be a rocky night.  Tonight we listened to the piano players in Billboard Onboard. They were both a bit “green” and dealing with some sea sickness.
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