Because of our close proximity to the Great Lakes here in southern Ontario we are subject to very damp cold in the winter & a heavy humidity factor in the summer. We are a few degrees below freezing at the moment & it's a damp kind of cold that just gets right inside your clothes & makes you feel like a dripping ice cube. We've noticed the same temperature in Arizona is not nearly as bad. I also believe what they say about the southwest's drier weather being much healthier for people. Max, Checkers, & I all have problems with arthritis & we are hobbling around here like a bunch of old bruised & bent rodeo clowns at the moment. Looking forward to reaching Arizona in a couple of weeks, strapping on the old hiking boots, & heading off into the Chiricahua mountains to kick this aching arthritis out of my legs.
Last November while at the Kartchner Caverns near Benson Arizona we stopped by to visit another RV couple we had met the year before near Why, Arizona. We had been emailing back & forth with Bea & Herb & knew they were at an RV Park in the area. When they said the RV Park was at a Monastery I was a little apprehensive about going but they were quick to mention that the Monastery had no religious affiliations with the Park itself so we headed over to the little town of St. David just south of Benson Arizona to the HOLY TRINITY MONASTERY . A lot of information about this Monastery can be found by typing Holy Trinity Monastery St. David Arizona into the Google search engine. I do know that it is well known for it's pecan orchards & products. I will put to-gether a short photo album of our walk around the Monastery grounds with Bea & Herb. As mentioned, the RV Park, although on the same grounds, does not have a religious affiliation with the Monastery & fortunately anyone can go there.
We did take one of the Kartchner Cavern tours but I was very disappointed when I found out camera's were not allowed on the tours so all I have are a few pics of paintings in the State Park's lobby. I really do think the Carlsbad Caverns are a much bigger bang for your buck by far. Just my opinion & I do have to careful about my opinions don't I!!
Our unusual cold snap is continuing here in southern Ontario & my favorite time of the year has been very disappointing so far & is quickly slipping away. Most trees are still very green so we just may miss the Autumn colors this year. Some of the snowbirds in our Park are flexing their travel wings already with one lady leaving for Florida to-day, another couple heading for Georgia next week, & some other folks heading for the Rio Grande Valley in Texas very shortly. Just a few short years ago Kelly & I were the one's keeping an eye on some neighbor's places for the winter & now we have to have someone come in every week & check on ours while away. Some folks shut their place completely down, draining all the water lines, etc. No heat whatsoever during the winter. We thought about that this year but in the end I think we'll just end up leaving a bit of heat on again & take our chances with the money grubbing electricity company. No, I'm not going to rant about them again, it doesn't do any good anyway. All those large companies have put a lot of years into perfecting the art of greed & that's pretty much the end of the story for all the little guys out here!!
HERB, KELLY, & BEA, LOOKING AT THE KOI IN THE PONDS
 PECAN LOAD |  QUIET PATH |
 SAN PEDRO RIVER |  THE HERMITAGE |
 PECAN PICKING |  |
 |  QUIET SPOT |
 BEA & HERB'S |  |
 | Hover your cursor over the photos for captions & click to enlarge |
You might want to slip over to Randy's, ROAD SIDE CHRONICLES to-day for a look at some trials & tribulations of having a motorhome breakdown & the towing problems that can ensue when proper equipment is not sent out to help you. I would be out on the road jumping up & down on my hat but I think Randy & Pam have handled matters quite well....considering!!
GROANER'S CORNER:(( The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
Because of our close proximity to the Great Lakes here in southern Ontario we are subject to very damp cold in the winter & a heavy humidity factor in the summer. We are a few degrees below freezing at the moment & it's a damp kind of cold that just gets right inside your clothes & makes you feel like a dripping ice cube. We've noticed the same temperature in Arizona is not nearly as bad. I also believe what they say about the southwest's drier weather being much healthier for people. Max, Checkers, & I all have problems with arthritis & we are hobbling around here like a bunch of old bruised & bent rodeo clowns at the moment. Looking forward to reaching Arizona in a couple of weeks, strapping on the old hiking boots, & heading off into the Chiricahua mountains to kick this aching arthritis out of my legs. 
We did take one of the Kartchner Cavern tours but I was very disappointed when I found out camera's were not allowed on the tours so all I have are a few pics of paintings in the State Park's lobby. I really do think the Carlsbad Caverns are a much bigger bang for your buck by far. Just my opinion & I do have to careful about my opinions don't I!! 
PECAN LOAD
QUIET PATH
SAN PEDRO RIVER
THE HERMITAGE
PECAN PICKING
QUIET SPOT
BEA & HERB'S 
Your photos are always so amazing, especially the one of the stained glass window. Great!
ReplyDeleteI'm always so amazed that your writing and pictures make me want to head for the southwest when I don't even like desert for more than a day! That's some kind of persuasion.
ReplyDeleteI've been putting your photos as my desktop background...but you have so many beautiful and interesting ones in each blog, I am having to change my desktop every 3 hours just to keep up!
ReplyDeleteDont mind me Al,I'm just practicing and trying to figure why in some blog comment section's,my Google account shows and in others it doesn't.trying to figure how to activate it when its not there.
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos - what type of camera do you use, they are always so clear and sharp.
ReplyDeleteRoberta
Al, thank you for featuring "our" monastery. It's just seven miles from our winter home in Benson. You've got some fine pictures of the place. Pecans are a major industry throughout this part of the dessert country -- thousands of acres, it seems, as you drive any highway. That's good, because we never get enough pecan pie!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Al - Now we've got another place to add to our list of places to visit while we're in AZ next year. Great pics again, too - I know it's the photographer and not just the camera that makes your pics so amazing. I always like to remember that a table saw used by a craftsman can produce fine furniture; used by an amateur, it makes fine firewood!
ReplyDeleteWhen I did a web search search for Holy trinity Monastery I found these two statements.
ReplyDelete"Visitors who have their own recreational vehicles can stay in the Monte Cassino RV Park housed on the property. During their stay, they are invited to join the community in daily prayer and eucharist, plus other activities."
"In keeping with the tradition of monastic hospitality, guest house facilities are offered for monastic retreats. All retreatants, coming either singly or in a group, are expected to participate in the monastic exercises of silence, solitude, simple living, community and personal prayer.
Guest quarters provide a place for prayer and reading. There are eleven rooms, single or double occupancy. Hosted are private retreats and conferences, group tours, days of reflection, spiritual counseling, Friday's Taize candlelight service The lounge in Benedict Hall and the gazebos in the plaza are used for sharing and conferences. RV spaces are available."
If I were staying there and were invited to participate or the feeling expressed in the 2nd statement, from the Holy Trinity Monastery web site, were voiced I would be uncomfortable declining. I would therefore probably not stay there.
I assume that your friends were either not invited, did participate or did not not feel uncomfortable declining to participate.