Ahhhhh warm Phoenix sunshine at last

I absolutely love that they disguise the cell phone towers into palm trees. Very clever !!!
Ansel and his family raced at the Phoenix Fairgrounds in 1923 and 24. His brother Bailey was the jockey then. The fairgrounds are in the same location on the corner of 17th and McDowell. The house they lived in was just behind these grand stands. The race track in gone now and it appears that they use the grandstands for concerts and such. Ansel says they had the first auto race on this track in 1919.

We stayed with friends Janine and Vance Simms and their daughter Shayla. They were absolutely wonderful hosts. I was pretty excited that maybe I would get to see baby Blake Joseph before we had to leave... but he wasn't ready... so I'll have to wait until next time.

Shayla has her own computer key board that plays learning games on the big monitor, she's very good at them.

Janine and Vance in front of their lovely home.

Janine and Cyndy me. I knew Janine and her family from Burns. She's an Oregon State alum and has been living in the Phoenix area since 2001. It really was a great visit. It was so nice to catch up.

Beautiful precious Shayla in their back yard. Just before we hit the road again. Oh and on the way out of their neighborhood, we stopped and bought a 20 lb bag of oranges, really delicious oranges for only $10.00. I bet there is 40 oranges in this bag. Amazing...

Catching up with Nita and Tom in Phoenix

Nita Wilkes Russell, Martina's niece lives just north of Phoenix in the desert burg of Wittmann with her husband Tom. It was a bonus to our trip that we were able to make connections with Nita and her husband at their very cool Southwest Hacienda. It was a pleasant time, and Ansel just beamed.

Over the last couple of years as I've been sorting through "stuff" at the OB Riley house, I have made little collections for every one who I thought might be interested in having their memories jogged by reading the notes and cards etc and seeing pictures that they have sent Martina and Ansel over the years. I know it was fun for me after my mother passed away, to read the 20-30 year old letters from me that my dear mother had saved all those years. So I as I have been sorting I've been keeping envelopes of memories to give to the appropriate persons. Giving Nita her envelopes was just the first installment I told her, since there still is so much sorting to do in Bend. After all I'm sorting through 90 years of pack-rat-itis.

It was fun to share the Hellos and greetings to Nita that old classmates friends from Harney County had passed on with me.

Nita shows Uncle Ansel her remuda. I was very envious of the very efficient pipe pens and sheds that they have been able to build together to keep their horses in. Tom is obviously a very good welder, he built all the square panels.

We enjoyed a wonderful bbq dinner, in their rustic southwest great room. I missed the sunset by just a few minutes the sky was still purple of the cactus and neighbors adobe home. There's lot's of elbow room where they live, no side walks or street lights, just coyotes and desert flowers, it's just the way I pictured AZ to be...