Tortilla Flats

Judy drove down to Casa Grande last Sunday. We went out to brunch and then over to Eloy to watch the parachute jumpers. The small airport there is a happening place for instructors teaching people from all over the world - even military troops. They have a wind tunnel and two landing fields and the planes are dropping jumpers out of the sky on a regular basis. Fun to watch! You can schedule a "tandem jump" but that is not on our bucket list - no way!

We went to Apache Junction on Thursday and spent the day with Judy. We drove out to Tortilla Flats, at the base of the Superstition Mountains, and had lunch at the fun saloon there. Saddles for bar stools, dollar bills all over the walls and funny stalls in the ladies restroom!

After lunch we drove the 25 mile trek around the mountain to the Roosevelt Dam. A beautiful day to be out exploring.

We have met Dave and Carol, who are staying here, near us, and are going on the Baja trip with us - what a small world! They came over for happy hour last night and are as excited as we are to begin our adventure!

Palm Creek RV Resort

We are settled in at Palm Creek - nice to return to a place where we have friends. It has rained more in a week than it did the entire 3 months we were here last time! But, in between the weather has been wonderful - cool in the mornings and evenings and lovely during the day.

This is a huge park with plenty of smooth roads to ride our bikes - feels good to be outside exercising! Glad Roger's ankle is feeling better. I played in the women's golf league and loved my new Christmas present!

Getting excited about going to Mexico in February! Making a list!

Show Case of Floats

All the floats were parked at the Show Case of Floats for close scrutiny on Tuesday and Judy and I were amazed at the details that we missed as they passed by in the parade! The creativity and artistry is unbelievable! They use every flower imaginable - even expensive ones! - plus all sorts of natural fibers, vegetables, fruits, beans, leaves, cotton, moss - the list goes on and on! The painstaking work of gluing and inserting all the flowers at the last minute is mind boggling! Like a huge paint by numbers project!

Mums, pumpkin seeds, oranges and kidney beans

These eyeballs are amazing! Love the colors!

Bean baskets

The detail on the turtles is amazing!

Look at the weaving of these leaves!

Volunteers fill these vials with water and then put the stoppers on so the flowers can be inserted at the last minute

Banana chip coat!

These iguana eyeballs fascinated me!

The Lion's Club

Surfer dog!

A rose made from rose petals!

Rose Bowl Parade

Poor Roger woke up with a gout attack in his right ankle and wasn't able to go to the parade on Monday or the Showcase of Floats on Tuesday. A trip to the Urgent Care, medication and crutches and he is on the mend. No time is a good time to be sick but it seems things always happen at the worst times! Well, I guess in Mexico would have been worse!

The bus left at 5:00 am to get us to Pasadena and settled by the time the parade started at 8:00 am. Out seats were excellent - at the beginning of the parade route - and the weather was cool but comfortable. The floats were beautiful and we had a new appreciation for the work that goes into making them after "helping" for 4 hours! It was hard to believe that they all came together from Friday when we saw the "bare bones" to Sunday for the judging.

It was fun to see the bands from the Band Fest and "our" floats go by - looked like our pumpkin seeds even stayed glued on!

How cute is he?

Dogs were surfing on this float!

The Bachelor Float

Toy Soldiers - see the "wind up" on their backs?

Bob Hope Humor Float

These iguanas were awesome!

Ragu - can't imagine how many roses!

"Our" float for China Airlines

Farmers Insurance - the motor home lifted up and down

The gorilla is eating a bananna

Rose Bowl Parade - Day 2 and 3

We were supposed to attend the Equestfest but it was cancelled due to worries of spreading a virus that was infecting the horses. So we went to the Reagan library instead. Roger and I have been there before but this time we had a docent tour guide - nice because it was very crowded. We have been to many of the Presidential Libraries but this one of my favorites - well done and the property is gorgeous.

Piece of the Berlin Wall

Judy for President!

Friday was the Band Fest at Pasadena College. It was cool and misting on and off but what an experience! The high school bands from Nevada, Georgia and Oklahoma were awesome! Martin Luther King High School's band, from Georgia, is called "King of Halftime" - need to be really great with a name like that and they were fantastic! The "Pride of Broken Arrow" from Oklahoma is a band like no other you have ever seen! They have won more awards, including Grand Nationals, than any other band in the world! Innovative uniforms, choreography and music. They even rode 40 "go cart" type bikes around the field - playing instruments while pedaling or riding on them!

We had a "tame" New Year's Eve with dinner and cards! Celebrated on east coast time while on the west coast so midnight was at 9 pm!!

Rose Bowl Parade - Day 1 - Float Decorating

If you think you have experience float decorating because you worked on your high school homecoming parade creation, think again!

The Rose Bowl Parade floats are big business and cost anywhere from $75,000 to $400,000 depending on whether there is a corporate sponsor. Some of the floats are decorated by civic groups but most are designed by professional companies. Volunteers are used by both. They begin bidding for the opportunity to build a float in February and work on it all year but the major work with shifts of volunteers begins December 26th. Our tour guide has been doing it for 40 years and her company (AES) is building 5 floats this year including the 2 for the football teams - Penn State and USC. They did 14 last year!  All the materials, including colors, must be natural - no dyes allowed. They are judged for creativity, use of flowers and how well they comply with the years theme. This year it is "Echos of Success." They must be completed and ready for judging by 9 am Sunday and then the parade is on Monday. No big prize - just bragging rights!

Watch for the one commissioned by 24 Hour Fitness - the characters are formed by a robot out of Styrofoam. They all have parts that fold down to allow them to travel the 8-9 hour drive, at 5 miles/hour, through city streets to get to the parade route in Pasadena. The drivers are under the float in the back and the directors are in the front where they can see - sort of like Roger driving and me telling him how!!

Judy and I started out cutting lavender off of dried plants. They brush glue on with a paint brush and then sprinkle the small flakes over the surface.

Then we moved on to cutting small, yellow and white mums off the stems, laying them flower side down in a box and putting glue on the bottoms. They used them to put in the inside of the lilies we worked on next. Our job was to glue pumpkin seeds along the blossoms to give them dimension.

Can't imagine how they get it all done by Sunday but, I did see a vending machine selling Red Bull in the back! I'm sure it's a big seller during an "all nighter!"