January 2017

Found a landlord willing to rent an apartment near Ann. Very cheap price. Of course only a studio, but still with an airmattress and camping chairs you have a bedroom and kitchen table. Nice to have a kitchen and bathroom again, if only for a little while. Only a few blocks to walk to lightrail to downtown PHX. And cheaper than camping.

Plan to spend as much time with Ann as possible and check out so many other nearby towns (Tucson, Sedona, Scottsdale, Flagstaff) so much hiking and the weather will be 70+ degrees for the next 7 days. Almost seems hot, but won't complain. Will be strange to see the Superbowl weekend be warm. That's a first. Temps View from apt window into courtyard

<img class="yui-img" alt="apt4" src="http://images.travelpod.com/users/lettinggo/thumbnail.large.1.1486035133.apt4.jpg"><img class="yui-img" alt="phx3" src="http://images.travelpod.com/users/lettinggo/thumbnail.large.1.1486035133.phx3.jpg">

<img class="yui-img" alt="phx1" src="http://images.travelpod.com/users/lettinggo/thumbnail.large.1.1486035133.phx1.jpg">Apartment (Studio) decorated from the campervan. Camping chairs for kitchen table. and air mattress for bed.

phx1

phx2

phx3

apt4

Denzil's sister from NC is coming to be with his Mom now. We drove back up to Rockford to put the jeep back into storage and fly back to Mesa.

Denzil's sister Ann lives also in Phoenix, and we were able to find a landlord willing to rent to us a studio apartment near her, for only 30 days, not 6 months or longer. So we can spend more time with her. They have always lived far apart as adults so nice to spend time together at such a critical time.

rfd1

We drove near a special place where Denzil's Mom grew up that locals call the Steel Bridge place. There is a lot of hunting and wilderness areas around there.

After we drove over the kind of scary steel bridge we saw tens of thousands of nesting birds. We think they were Canadian geese, but not sure. As we approached they flew off and it was majestic. Unfortunately we only had cell phone cameras so they don't capture how majestic and special it was to see them or see them flying. a beautiful and peaceful sight indeed.

sb1

sb3

sb4

sb5

While we were in Arkansas took a side trip to see if there was a coffee shop. There was one in a little town called Walnut Ridge, 15 mins away. While at the coffee shop, called The Dark Side Coffee shop. They had a sign on the corner mentioning when the Beatles came there in the height of their popularity in 1964, as that was the only town with a large enough airport near the dude ranch they went to after being in Dallas.... " Some local teenagers were sent to see what the large plane landing was about and came back with the news it was the Beatles. There are several tourist stops and people who still relive the day when the Beatles came unannounced to their town. A nice diversion from the facility. quiet night in 1964 was interrupted by the unusual sound of an airliner approaching Walnut Ridge Airport. Its arrival sparked enough interest that three local teens went to investigate, only to discover John, Paul, Ringo, and George walking from the plane. The Beatles, the biggest rock band in the world, had arrived at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. <img width="280" height="279" class="wp-image-2291 yui-img" alt="George Harrison in Walnut Ridge Arkansas" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.beatlesattheridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/history1.jpg?resize=280%2C279"> <img width="280" height="280" class="size-full wp-image-2293 yui-img" alt="Small Plane and Suburban" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.beatlesattheridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/history3.jpg?resize=280%2C280"> After performing in Dallas on that Friday evening, September 18th, the Beatles were headed to a weekend vacation at Pigman Ranch, a dude ranch near Alton, Mo. The ranch was owned by Reed Pigman, Sr., who operated the charter airline on which they flew. <img width="298" height="365" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2071 yui-img" alt="Beatles tickets" src="https://i1.wp.com/www.beatlesattheridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/tickets.jpg?resize=298%2C365">Walnut Ridge had the closest airport that could accommodate such a large plan, so plans were for the group to land there secretly and then depart the following Sunday, also secretly. But the secret didn’t last. Word spread quickly around the town, especially among teens who, like the rest of the country, were in the throes of Beatle-mania. A crowd of several hundred was gathered at the airport by Sunday morning, September 20th, to greet the Beatles. Sure enough, they arrived, John and Ringo in a small plane and Paul and George in a GMC Suburban from Pigman Ranch. There were a few hands shaken and autographs given as the Fab Four walked through the Walnut Ridge crowd, and then the Beatles settled into their seats for the flight to New York City, where they would conclude their first American tour. The stopover at Walnut Ridge was but a footnote in the history of the legendary band, but it was much more than that for the community that had a surprise encounter with the one and only Beatles. Lasting memories were made in that brief visit.

wr2

wr1

wr3

wr5

Denzil's Mom fell and broke her hip in late December and has been in Rehab and a Facility. Needed to fly quickly to see her as she is doing progressively worse.

The fastest cheapest way was to fly into Rockford from Mesa and get Jeep to drive to Arkansas.