THE VALLEY TOUR

Rev. Bob Copeland returned to Sun Spiritualist Camp Sunday. We were treated to dinner at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Buckeye, Az. That is a very unique place with antigues and gifts. Naturally, you walk through the temptation of the gifts store before you go into the restaurant part of the building. I was glad that I had left my purse at home.

We unloaded the crystals, books, flat screen tv, and a few other items that we are giving to Bob or the Camp. I say we, but the truth is Phil did all the lifting and carrying of the items.  This should lighten the load that we pull quiet a bit. I also noted that we are still down sizing, learning what is important and what is not. I even went through and toss out all of my "big" clothes. I have one more dress size to drop and I will be back at what I weighed before the thyroid problem. That is a good feeling of accomplishment.

Today, Bob took us out sight seeing in the desert. He took us to see the Palo Verde Nuclear Plant...

As he talked about the founder of Sun Spiritualist Camp and the dream he followed as to it's creation. He was told to look for the sleeping indian. And in the distance there is a mountain that looks like an Indian sleeping...

After showing this to us Bob took us to see the King of Arizona. If you look closely at the right side of this mountain you can see a man's face...

This mountain is part of the Kofa mountain range. They were named for the King of Arizona gold mine, discovered in King Valley in 1896. The mine used to stamp their property "K of A" and hence the name, Kofa. They are arid and rugged volcanic remnants of the Tertiary period.

We then went through the Harquahala Valley area. I was amazed to find so my green in the middle of a desert. There were miles of alfalfa fields, corn, maize, cotton, and plants unknown to me. Most of the fields belonged to Del Monte. That was a total surprise to discover. This a photo I took of an alfalfa field as we passed by...

The secret is water. There are miles of aqua ducts running through the valley to carry the water. This must be how they made deserts flourish in the ancient days of Egypt. As we drove we arrived at a Outback Australian Tree Plantation...

 They grow eucalyptus and other Australian desert trees for market here in Arizona. I was very impressed with their operation. They had mounds of rich black compost, row after row of covered seedlings.

After the valley tour Bob treated us to the history of Tonopah Joe and we sat in the Tonopah Joe Restaurant. He is a photo of Phil playing around...

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the history of the area. Including this old building...

Thanks to Bob, we discovered that this was once the Harquahala Courthouse. Can't you just see the law of the west in this old building? Only thing missing is the hitching post.

Well this day has ended and a new one shall begin tomorrow. Meanwhile, remember to keep on dancing...