From desert wild flowers to snow.

Took a trip up north to clean up Our Little Red House. We went from warm sunny desert wild flowers to snow and pine trees.

We are back in the city desert now and we are experiencing hot temps for April. We had to turn on the air conditioning. Up north we were freezing and had to get a fire going inside Our Little Red House. That little stove heats up the whole place fast.

It’s hard to get used to the two extremes in three days. It was a short trip up north, had a pocket of no storms so we took advantage of the opportunity to go check on Our Little Red House to see if it was still standing…sometimes we wonder. It has been through some hard Winters these last couple of years. Every time we get into town we are always happy to see the little red house there to greet us.

There have been so many snow storms up north lately we just haven’t had a chance to get up there to do some Spring cleaning. On this trip I forgot the vacuum cleaner. I had to use a broom to clean up with. We also cleaned out more clutter everywhere. Been doing that a lot lately. The place is pretty much empty now.

On the drive up, I finally saw some wild horses on the river bed. This is the first time I got a photo of them drinking water. We drive through two reservations on our drive to the high country. Only a few miles away from Our Little Red house is the White mountain Apache reservation which is one of the most beautiful areas in Arizona. You need permission to get in some of these areas, so make sure you research that.

If you look closely you will see horses in this photo.

I also got to stop off at some of my favorite second hand stores on the drive up. This is usually the pattern. Been 6 months, so I have to check out and see what treasures were for sale. I am not buying a lot though. Just some small items. I picked up a couple old novels written before the 2000’s, a beautiful floral pin for my daughter’s Easter gift, a pin for my son too, a miniature garden set, and two tiny pots for some of my succulents.

I really liked this old writers desk and curio cabinet in photo below. It was only $100 dollars. Made of real wood and made well too. Imagine how much a reproduction of this, made from lesser type materials would cost at one of those mass produced furniture stores. It wouldn’t be $100 I can tell you that much. Probably $400 and cheaply made too. Better to get real and original furniture pieces, they last longer.

We also got to visit with some friends of ours who live in an old country store as their house. Really cool exploring that place.

When we got home we celebrated my son’s birthday and Easter.

My son’s cake this year was a snicker bar cake. He was a little disappointed since he really wanted the peanut butter cake he always gets every year. They no longer make those they said. Told my son we will make our own version…might have one of those nail it moments coming up again. This year’s Easter basket combo was filled with more of the non edible candies and chocolates we normally have added in the past. I used to make bean burritos from canned beans when my kids were preschool aged. They love canned beans but we don’t usually buy those anymore since we make our own home made version now, but I will surprise them with a treat from their childhood…so funny the things we love to eat. Although the recipe has changed because soda, all food, it all taste different now. I never loss my sense of smell, and I am very sensitive to recognizing flavors in things, the recipes have changed in my opinion.

Here are a few photos of desert to high country. Desert wildflowers, desert sunsets, wooded areas covered in snow and streams of cold water and ice. Arizona is huge and spread out with lots of open spaces. Hope you all enjoy this road trip I am sharing with you. Stay safe out there and God bless you all.