We didn’t do anything special for Thanksgiving, since we had to work the next four days on the Desert Belle. On November 28th, however, was Wyatt Earp’s second performance on the Desert Belle. Molly & I had talked to him in Prescott, AZ last spring and encouraged him to do his one man show "Life on the Frontier" on the new Desert Belle. The show presents of an older Wyatt Earp talking to an off stage reporter asking Wyatt about his life. During the performance, then, you get a well-researched history of Wyatt Earp, by Wyatt Earp, the great grand nephew of the original Wyatt Earp. His first performance on the Belle was Oct 17th, and then he returned for a total of five shows this season.On December 5th the traditional Parade of Lights on Saguaro Lake was lead by the Desert Belle, this time with the "new" Belle. I was captain once again, but I was training another of our newer captain’s for a future opportunity. It’s obviously a nighttime charter with no lights to follow. You just have to know where you’re going. It’s a fun trip for all, except the captain can’t partake in all of the onboard fun!
On December 26th we picked up our new "Brent & Molly Forsberg" sandstone sign to display outside our park model. It has an outline of Arizona and Oregon on it, each depicting our residential cities (Gresham and Mesa), and a Saguaro Cactus in the center. We had just gotten it when Jeanette informed us that that is what they got us for a Christmas present, but didn’t want to ship it because of the weight. We will use theirs to display outside the RV when traveling.
This winter we enjoyed several performances at the Broadway Palms Theater nearby. We went to a total of six different shows including:
Oct. 8: Smoky Joe’s Café; we took sister Jodene when she was visiting,
Dec 17: Meet Me In St. Louis,
Feb 4: Molly Brown,
March 14: George M; sister JoAnn was our guest for this performance,
May 8: Nunsense, and
May 11: AZ Diamond (a performer tribute to Neil Diamond).
Every seat was an excellent front row seat. We went to so many this winter and also went to quite a few in the past, that we decided to get season tickets for next year.
Jan 16-17: This year we decided to once again go to the Blythe Blue Grass Festival in Blythe, CA. We met friends Bud and Lisa Root there and enjoyed another great concert. We even picked up a couple more CD’s. Bud and Lisa later visited us in Mesa and took a ride on the new Belle.
Jan 19-28: Since one of the other captain’s normally takes the month of December off to go home and visit family for the holiday’s, I decided, with his and the owners blessing, that Molly and I would take most of the month of January off. I substituted for him and now he can reciprocate.
And it worked out great because Molly’s sister, JoAnn and husband Jim, had rented a condominium for a month in Hawaii (big island at Puako) and asked us to join them for some of that time. We jumped at the chance. The only problem was getting there. There are no direct flights from Phoenix, so on January 19th we had to fly to Seattle, spend the night, and then fly to Kona, Hawaii the next day.
It was one of the best trips we’ve made. Since we spent two weeks on the big island several years ago and "saw everything", we didn’t have to do any of that this time. We just laid around on the beach sunning ourselves, read our books, did some shopping, and ate! Of course we had to take Jim to the doctor after he fell while he and I were walking along the lava rock "beach" below their place watching sea turtles. He had to have several deep stitches in his knee. He still says I pushed him!
After another two flights back to Phoenix, we arrived just in time to go to the Phoenix Quilt Show on January 28th. It’s a big show, but we didn’t see anything there we couldn’t live without.
Since we are spending more time in Mesa now than in Oregon, we decided to locate a local Dentist and Doctor. Finding a doctor was out of necessity since I came down with something that reminded me of the Valley Fever I had several years ago. I had achy joints, headaches, coughing, and couldn’t breathe while laying on my left side at night. Apparently it was "just" walking pneumonia or bronchitis. I didn’t miss any work, but it was difficult narrating for both hour-and-a-half trips a day, sometimes three trips. The dentist we chose was very close, on the same mile-square block that we live on, and very good. We liked him a lot.
On February 21, Molly was again flying off to Las Vegas for the "Hen Party" with the other cruising girls. This has become an annual event, and this year they decided to have their get together in Vegas and see some shows. They couldn’t get the same great deal we had at the Trump in November, but after a little surfing, found a great deal at the Rio Hotel and Casino with adjoining rooms and a car. They decided to see the "Jersey Boys". That makes the third time for Molly, but it’s such a great show she didn’t mind seeing it again. They also spent a day at the Spa and shopping till they dropped!
Once again daughter Jeanette came for a weeklong visit (March 2-9). Since we had done so much with her on previous trips, we let her just take it easy and get some pool time. We did, however, take to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior, a trip that Molly and I have always wanted to make. We enjoy her visits and wish that Terry could break free one of these years to join her, although we know that’s his busy time of year. On the day Jeanette flew out of the Phoenix Sky Harbor 
Airport on the 9th, Molly’s sister JoAnn arrived. She stayed a little over a week (March 9-17th). Again, we had a relaxing week, but did take her for a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, his western living quarters and studio. Molly and I have done the tour before, but the guide this time made the place come alive. You could tell it was his life love. The best tour we’ve had.
On March 21-23 we drove to Yuma to visit Jim & Linda Newton. He and I used to work together at the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Back on February 12 they came through Mesa for a visit and went for a ride on the Desert Belle with her sister and brother-in-law. They have a great place in Yuma and were very good hosts and guides. They took us to the Yuma Territorial Prison and up the Colorado River to visit a wildlife refuge and another tour boat that I had a chance to operate several years ago…..glad I didn’t get that job! They also treated us to the infamous date-shake.
Then the next week (March 28-30) we took a bus trip to Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), Mexico. We have been looking at some of the World Span Travel Trips on the board in the Rec. Room at Apache Wells for a long time, and finally decided to t
ake this trip. We had never been to Rocky Point and decided this was the best way to get there after driving all the way to Yuma the week before. We stayed in the largest and finest hotel in town (Penasco del Sol), right on the beach and were very well taken care of. We had plenty of time to wonder around and shop, just lay in the beach cabanas, or by the pool. The tour guide was knowledgeable and very friendly. Another great time!
On April 5-6, we made another minor trip to Winslow, Arizona. We stayed at the La Posada Hotel, one of the last great railroad hotels build by Fred Harvey. We were originally given a small un-level room, but asked about an upgrade and moved to a large room with a Jacuzzi tub, large poster bed, and a library. In fact there was a good book about a couple sailing to Antarctica to spend the winter there. I borrowed it to read later, then sent it back. The lounge treated us like special guests, and the meal in the large dinning room was wonderful.Oh, the original reason for going to Winslow in the first place was just to get a replacement T-shirt. The original one I bought during our Route 66 trip had an awful stain on it. The shirt had the Route 66 logo on it with "Standing on the Corner in Winslow Arizona", from the Eagles song. It got an awful stain on it so I had to replace it! It turned out to be an expensive T-shirt, but well worth the relaxed great mini-vacation.
On April 7 we went to the Arizona Opry with the Dick and Colleen Bonney, the other Desert
Belle captain. Dick invited us because we had given them a couple tickets to an Oak Ridge Boys concert that we couldn’t make earlier this year. While we were there, Dick and I saw an advertisement for the Dolly Steamboat, a tour boat on Canyon Lake, on their large stage screens. We asked George Staerkel, the music director and star, what it would cost to get a picture of the Desert Belle on the screen and he said just send him a picture with any info we wanted. So we did, but by the time we left Mesa, it wasn’t up yet. He did give us several music CD’s, however, to play on the Desert Belle for the type of music we liked. We went back to the Opry on April 20 again with the Bonney’s and cruising friends Pat and Susan Canniff during their visit.
By far the best trip we took this season was on April 11 to the Four Peaks Amethyst Mine. We briefly talk about the mine during our Desert Belle narration as being the 2nd largest and highest quality amethyst mine in the world. As part of their appreciation to their captains, David Smith and Jeff Kitchen 
gave us a helicopter trip to the mine. We met at the Sami’s Jewelry store in Fountain Hills, were driven to a ranch outside of town, boarded a special high altitude helicopter and flew to the mine at about 7,000 feet elevation. The helipad is almost big enough to land…..the tail still hangs out over the cliff! We met the owner and miners, donned our hard hats, and entered the mine with hammer and chisel to chip away. We got to keep all the amethyst we collected unless it was gem quality. We kept the best we could find and put the rocks in a small bowl with a candle in it to show off the purple color. As the helicopter leaves, it lifts off
slightly, turns, and then falls straight down the cliff….an E-ticket ride! Even though the trip was a free gift from management, it cost me about $800. When we got back to the jewelry shop, I asked if they had a pair of earrings that would match Molly’s ring that I got her last Christmas with Four Peaks Amethyst and Arizona Peridot. Of course they did!!! It even had a third stone of Arizona Ruby (Anthill Carnet), also mined in Arizona, but by ants!Our last day on the Desert Belle was May 14th. And we left the next day. Since we didn’t have the RV down this year, we planned a quick trip and made it to Barstow, CA that first day. Then on to Medford on the 16th and back to the Salem Elks on May 17th. We got the RV out of storage and started it with the generator and a little battery booster and drove it about 50 yards to our spot for the rest of the summer.
