When we arrived at Snowbird West, I wasn’t convinced that I wanted to stay out in the middle of the desert for a whole month, but we’re halfway in and it is proving to be quite fun to be camped with so many friends.

It feels like a convergence, or our own little town –  with Mayor Dan (in the know about everything), Postmaster Paul (delivering daily mail pickup to each campsite), Beautification Committee Sondi (one person, many projects) and multiple Event and Party Planners.

We were there for Winter Solstice and a couple of people had viewing scopes set up so we could look at the Saturn-Jupiter alignment. That was really fun. We also held a solstice ceremony at Patsi’s newly built labyrinth, so that was pretty cool.

In the spirit of Christmas gift giving, someone organized a white-elephant gift exchange that was quite entertaining.

We got rid of our emergency purchased ice chests, and gained some round ice-cube makers that are working well in our new and larger freezer.

I talked about our new fridge in our last blog, but I didn’t mention the day we spent in downtown Tempe while waiting for the install. It’s a beautiful city, and full of water!

We had an enjoyable time walking around the water front before picking up the rig and heading home in holiday traffic.

I guess this saying is from an episode of Sienfeld.

While the group at Snowbird West put together a covid-rules Christmas dinner event, we decided to head down to Tuscon to spend Christmas Day with Tom’s daughter Jessica (who lives there).

Heading down the highway early in the morning on Christmas Day.

We had a great day of watching Christmas movies and playing the board game Catan. She even made us an excellent vegan soup for dinner. We didn’t stay over because she has a house cat (and I’m highly allergic) so we made the drive home after dark – with me coughing and sneezing the whole way (thank goodness I had my inhaler with me!).

Back at camp, we had many game nights and visits around the campfires – both large and small. We got to make great new friends and spend precious time with old friends.

We made several trips into town weekly so I could drop off packages, and we explored the area a bit more when we did.

There are many mountains around, so it doesn’t take long to drive up and find a view like this.
We drove to the nearby town of Hope, only to find this sign when leaving.
There are several ‘roadside attractions’ in Salome, like this sand-castle looking car sculpture – just on an empty lot!

And a tiny church with stained glass windows open for peaceful meditation. (And a gate to no-where)

The group planned a great event for our New Year’s Eve celebration. A couple camped there with us performed music (thank you to The Border Hookups).

They even had a taco truck come out from Salome.

Plenty of fires were going to keep us warm (along with the alcohol) and it was a truly fun night under the stars.

So as the sun sets on 2020, we can only hope that this new year will be better. And as long as we’re focused on spending time in nature and with friends, I’m sure we’ll be fine.

Happy New Year!

Peace & Love, Joy