Phoenix Rises

When planning travel and destinations Chris and Jay try to stay near friends to visit, when possible.  Phoenix was one of those places.  In fact, three friends lived there and having plenty of time to share with all three is always a scheduling problem, especially when those friends most always have their own lives and that terrible, 4-letter word: WORK to deal with.  Thus it was with Matt & Sandy Hankerd.  Matt was Jay’s 20^th and last cook on his charter boat in the Caribbean and spent more than a year together both in charter and cruising Honduras and Belize and many fun adventures too numerous to mention.  Matt now is an Assistant Manager of a very posh restaurant in Scottsdale so has a non-standard work-week.  As luck would have it he was off on Tuesday and Wednesday as Chris and Jay were arriving.  This good news was made even better by Matt wanting to show off his culinary skills by inviting the weary travelers to join them for dinners and fed them profusely for nearly the entire week they were there.  The only downside was that Sandy was ill so Chris and Jay didn’t have near enough time to enjoy her company. 

After Matt left the boat he attended the Culinary Institute in Scottsdale and though he never worked as a chef after that he loves to cook.  Words simply cannot describe the scrumptious delights he can conjure up.  Chris took notes and asked many questions while Matt created his gastronomical treats.  Even Jay was attentive as Matt revealed many secrets to preparing incredible food.  When Matt wasn’t cooking he played tour guide and showed them the local spots including the best place to watch landing F-16’s at Luke AFB and the best grocery stores and cheapest fuel.

An F-16 preparing to land at Luke AFB.

Although Jay’s back was somewhat improved by the Tucson traditional Chiropractor, there was no way he would be able to function normally without further professional help.  The priority during the Phoenix visit was to find an A.R.T. (Active Release Therapy) Chiropractor that could actually correct the problem and get Jay back to one hundred percent.  The frustration is that finding ART Chiro’s is difficult; there just aren’t many of them around.  Four were found close to the RV Park in the Phoenix area and with the price of diesel near $4.00 per gallon finding one that was geographically desirable was imperative.  The nearest one was on vacation but the next closest was available.  Jay called and spoke to the most helpful Doctor's Assistant, Melissa, whose smile was evident in her voice, and happlily scheduled a Thursday appointment.  Dr. Michael Jarembek (or Dr. J, of Phoenix Sports & Spinal Medicine www.phoenixssm.com, 602-212-1122) a young, strapping, good-natured guy who performed the most thorough skeletal examination Jay had ever had.  Dr. J then proceeded to adjust things Jay didn’t even know he had; much less knew could be adjusted.  When finished, Jay arose from the adjustment table as if a Phoenix being reborn and at least an inch taller.  After witnessing the nearly magical results Chris immediately made an appointment for herself and they decided to stay in Phoenix an extra two days to allow time for more adjustments from this man with the magic hands.  They even video-taped the next sessions so they would not make a mistake while doing the exercises and ART therapy Dr. J taught them to keep them in good shape for the summer of hiking that was scheduled.  Between Matt’s food and Dr. J you can bet Chris and Jay will return when their summer activities are terminated in Utah and Montana.

The RV Park in Phoenix was chosen partly for its location but mostly for its price.  It seems most RV parks in the area are set up for winter “snow-birds” with “frosty” prices to match and it turned out the park’s heated pool and hot-tub were perfect for jay to relax his tortured muscles as his back was healing itself.

 As Chris was tending her garden, which travels with us, a rather well-fed Road-Runner paid her a visit walking right up to her and looking around.  All was well as Chris got some photos of the bird until it flew up on the table with her herbs.  All Chris could envision was the bird eating her garden that has had to endure creatures of all descriptions at all locations doing just that.  Needless to say the Road-Runner was given a quick flying lesson as Chris chased it away with great enthusiasm.  A few days later, as Jay’s former Commanding Officer from Houston, Dave Ciancaglini, visited for dinner, the bird dropped by for another visit.  Dave informed Jay that the birds were carnivores and would probably not bother the plants.  As if on cue the bird flew up onto the table and walked through all the planter boxes investigating what was there but then, showing no interest in the vegetation, flew away looking for a more pleasing hand out.

The visiting Road Runner.

Rounding out the triad of friends to visit with was a day spent with Tom Luttrell and Val Cialkowski who operated the Charter Boat “Prego” in the Virgin Islands when Jay lived there.  They had become good friends over the years and Chris had met them several years ago when they were all in Colorado together.  Jay only learned they had moved to Phoenix while in Tucson so it was an added plus to see them while there.

While traveling the country Chris wants to visit galleries that may show her work and there is one in Scottsdale that she has had contact with so a meeting with them was advantageous.  It so happened that Matt’s restaurant was only a few blocks away and he wanted Chris and Jay to visit him there.  Now chain restaurants aren’t usually on the list of places for them to patronize but they were completely blown away by the décor and quality of food.  Grand Lux Café would rival any restaurant anywhere in the world and FORCED Chris and Jay to over-eat to the point they not only took doggie bags home but had to walk off dinner at a nearby mall before they could climb into Big Red for the journey back to the RV Park.

The Grand Lux Café, the restaurant where Matt works.

On Thursday, the 14^th of April, the well-adjusted (chiropractically speaking) and stuffed (gastronomically speaking) travelers departed Phoenix heading to Sedona, AZ where the spring and summer of serious photo work was to begin.

Recovery in Tucson

The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base RV campground, in Tucson, did not take reservations and was a popular destination for the Snowbirds that wintered there.  In the cooler months campers may have to wait in the overflow area, where there are no hookups for water, electricity or sewage, for a week or more for a site to become available.  By mid-March, the winter residents were beginning to head home and within two days those awaiting a site were able to move in.   Jay’s back was in good enough shape to allow him to drive from Tombstone to Tucson and they arrived on Thursday, March 17^th, pulled into the overflow area and waited their turn.

An ART (Active Release Technique) practitioner was located and an appointment was made for the following morning.  With Chris’s assistance, and taking miniscule baby steps, Jay hobbled into the office and waited his turn.  It was then that they discovered the ART practitioner was not a Chiropractor but a Physical Therapist.  The tiny, but mighty young lady worked him over but did not adjust his whacked out skeleton and he left, not only poorer but in just as much pain has he had arrived and efforts to secure an appointment with a local Chiropractor were futile.  Jay returned home went to bed and stayed there through the weekend.  Occasional forays to the “facilities” were accomplished by slithering on his stomach until his feet, then his knees, touched the floor and crawling on all fours until he reached the vanity counter.  With Chris’ assistance (which then caused strain on her back) he was able to push himself upright and, clinging to walls and door jams, shuffle into the bathroom and relieve himself.  Chris would have videotaped the painful but comical effort to share with their readers, but thought some might be offended by his lack of attire.

Saturday morning came and Chris trundled up to the campground office, selected a site and moved the RV out of overflow.  Jay felt so helpless lying in bed while Chris maneuvered Big Red and hooked up Sonny, raised the front and back stabilizing legs, secured the stairs and drove to their new digs.  Fortunately it was a pull-through site and, with a neighbor’s assistance to make sure she didn’t hit vehicles and utilities, within moments she was in position, connecting electric, water and sewer, bumping out the slides and setting up the household comforts inside.  

The weekend dragged as Chris searched the internet for treatments she could administer to her ailing spouse and attended to the nursing duties required to keep Jay fed, warm, cool, relieved, washed and entertained.  Fortunately a Saturday night dinner invitation from her cousins Helen Nazzaro and Janet, Corey afforded a welcome break.

Helen was Chris’ mother’s first cousin and Janet is Helen’s daughter and visiting with them was the primary reason for stopping in Tucson.  Janet has spent untold hours researching the Clark/Harmon genealogy for the last several decades and over Chris’ three week stay they shared generations of family photos (including tin types of relatives Chris had never heard of), military records, documents and letters.  Chris left a legal sized accordion folder stuffed full of family records for Janet to digest over the next six months, since her attention would be on traveling and photographing and not on family research.

Janet (left) and Helen (right) after our dinner at the Country Club.

Helen and Janet referred Jay to a Chiropractor they used and after a few treatments he was ambulatory and eager to re-engage in life, albeit at a slower pace than normal.  Janet chauffeured them to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum located over a mountain to the west of Tucson.  The term museum to describe the attraction was a bit of a stretch for Chris and Jay to accept as they associate the term with brick and mortar structures.  The museum is open desert covering 100 acres with broad paths winding throughout that take you past 1,200 kinds of plants and animal exhibits.  Tucked into the hillsides are enclosures containing more than 300 animal species including mountain lions, bobcats, prairie dogs and Gila monsters.  One of their favorite stops was the hummingbird house where dozens of the tiny birds zipped past their heads building nests and feeding their young. 

A view of the Desert Museum terrain with valley and mountains in the distance.

An exciting event they attended was a Raptor Free Flight Demonstration of a family of Harris’ Hawks.  That day the trainers released five birds and the audience learned that they live and hunt together as a family in groups of three to seven.  They soared above then swooped so close that Chris felt the wind from the beat of a wing as one flew through the crowd then perched atop a Saguaro cactus.

A trainer with one of the hawks.

Another outing was to the Mission San Xavier del Bac , an active church constructed in the late 1700s by Franciscan missionaries with money borrowed from a local rancher.  It is beautifully restored inside and out and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.  The intricate carvings, paintings, frescoes and statues in the alter areas must have been designed to wow the Indians whom the missionaries were there to convert. 

A view from the back of the church of the ornately carved and painted altar

 and frescos on the ceiling.

Janet insisted that a visit to Tucson wasn’t complete without lunch at the Tohono Chul Park Tea Room – one of her favorite places.  Tohono Chul Park is recognized as one of the great botanical gardens of the world and is located on 37 acres in the northwestern section of Tucson.  It is home to a plethora of reptiles, birds, and every kind of desert plant known to the area.  The park is a popular location for weddings, art exhibits and talks of all types.  After an enjoyable lunch Jay bought a zebra succulent plant from the greenhouse to replace one that died months before and he returned home, literally, a happy camper.

Chris and Jay at the Tohono Chul Park.

Jay is holding his new Zebra succulent plant that he bought to replace one that died.

The travelers didn’t do half of what they’d planned during their stay since every other morning was obligated to chiropractic appointments but in a way it was relaxing and forced them to slow their pace and “smell the cactus flowers” that were just beginning to bloom.  A week-long stop in Phoenix was next on the itinerary and they knew that after that the main focus would be photographing for the rest of the summer beginning with Sedona, the Jewel of Arizona.

Some of the cactus that were blooming when they left Tucson.