We arrived at Val Vista Village (all three Rigs) about noon and I was out riding my bike before 1 pm. I love being able to ride around the neighborhood, seeing familiar faces and there is always something to do. The Garvey’s and Tennant’s are new to resort life and will be here only 1 week so we will try to squeeze as much in as we can in 7 short days.
Organ Pipe Pizza Lunch
Organist's CD
This Organ is pretty amazing and the guy playing it is exceptional. Eddie enjoyed it so much he bought the CD and got the artist to sign it!
Being the tour guides, Paul insisted we take Eddie to Heart Attack Grill. Always great tasting burgers and the guys always enjoy the service!
Eddie, Can you at least SMILE?
One evening we took to group (those that chose the challenge!) to our little discovery in the desert. It is a short hike to the top of a small mountain with amazing vista’s and we usually time it to enjoy the sunset.
Paul, Eddie & Peggy making their way
Marking our expedition
Too much blue sky
The sunset wasn’t the best but we did enjoy sharing our COOL spot with friends. It is always hard to decide which days to climb the mountain. The good news is Peggy made it to the top and back to the bottom without falling!
Next stop on the tour train was the Apache Trail to Canyon Lake and to Tortilla Flat for lunch. At Canyon Lake we took the Dolly Steamboat ride up the canyon where we had beautiful views of the desert, canyons and the lake. We did see some Longhorn Sheep of some type! Mostly what you saw was some white dots that were their butts! With binnoculars you could actually see the sheep after you figured out how to operate them.
What a group!
Last stop for the day was Tortilla Flat where you can get a burger on the patio and listen to some local music. Tortilla Flat is where the pavement ends, the creek runs across the road and life is pretty simple. Today the creek wasn’t flowing as there just hasn’t been any rain here in the desert. After listening to the music for a bit we all starting wandering about, some of us shopping, some eating prickly pear ice cream (everyone should try it once!), some of us sitting on a bench watching the tourists flood into this place, and of course some of us using the facilities!
Peggy?
Nice legs Pat!
We also enjoyed a lunch at the park where the Chef taught us all about heart health and how to keep your sex life alive! Who knew Steak was so good for your heart! We were treated to Steak Diane among other great foods and we got to take the recipe home.
A week is not enough time to really show all that we enjoy here in the desert in the winter but we did a great job of trying to do as much as possible. The weather wasn’t the best but we did get to the hot tub a few times and of course happy hour outside on the patio.