I decided if we were gonna go, we'd make it a "couple days" trip. First, we headed for Safford, so we could see the new Gila Valley Temple.
We continued east toward Mule Creek. It's been a long, loooooong time since I've driven that direction, and ended up missing my turn. I was hoping for a convenience store or gas station, but is was pretty desolate ahead of us. Fortunately, there was a highway patrolman, parked on the side of the road... I think he was waiting for speeders... But I sure was happy to see him!
The road through Mule Creek was a whole lot twisty-er than I remembered, too, but some of the views were beautiful!
Jesse had never been to the Cat Walk, in Glenwood, New Mexico, so I wanted to show it to him. First, though, we stopped at the little gas station/store across the street (this was always a part of every trip, since it was the nearest indoor bathroom for miles). Believe it or not, while we were there, this man said to me, "Hey, how are you doing?" When I turned around, it was Steve Hamblin, from Eagar! What a coincidence!!!
Next, was the Cat Walk... Boy has this place changed! It now has a paved parking lot, bridges, and groomed trails. We really did pick the perfect time to go; the weather was beautiful... My favorite time of the year!
Once we got to Eagar, we check into the Sunrise Best Western motel, right across the street from the stake center, where I used to go to church. We then headed toward the Eagar cemetary to put new flowers on Gary's grave. This place is so difficult for me to visit. I feel like a hypocrite visiting my husband, that I spent 15 years with, while standing next to the man that I've been married to for the past 5 years. It just really tears at my heart strings. it doesn't help to know that the plot next to Gary is reserved for me. Just thinking about it gets me all teared-up; just too many emotions.
After the cemetary we took a tour of my old stomping grounds; past "my" house, that Gary and I finished, and I put my own personal touches on. It looks soooooo different now. I spent so much time cleaning up the yard, adding fences and a chain link fence. All of it is gone now; over grown trees and weeds. It's sad! We also drove past the high school that the plane crashed into in June. And, of course, we had to go to the Safire to get a green chili burro. I was hoping to not see any one I knew, but that didn't happen. In fact, as we were eating, the waitress came up to me and said, "Everyone wants to know if you're Robin." Albeit flattering, talk about being on the spot!
First thing the next morning we headed back to Phoenix, going over the mountain toward Show Low. The quakey trees were a brilliant gold, standing against the deep green of the ponderosa pines; especially around A-1 Lake (aka Robin's Lake).
That pretty much sums it up. The beautiful weather and colors, and of course, the company, made a potentially miserable trip much more pleasant than anticipated.
