Greeting For All Members

[Sweeney]

Barro's a great local pizza chain in the greater Phoenix area. Their original crust with Italian sausage, pepperoni, and green olives....mmmmm

...and it seems they are quite generous givers as well! Those are some big numbers.

I have never been to the southwest other than Lost Wages, and passing through phoenix airport --- which STINKS!

My bucket list has getting there, I'd love to come down for a visit. Albuquerque holds my interest to visit a few filming locations for my favorite alternative universe which needs not be named.

Arizona, my company has a location there (tuscon) and so far they have never had a justification to send me there, but frankly I'd not get to see much if they did -- business trips are always packed too tightly with meetings. To a man, everyone I know who has relocated there, or spent enough time there, have raved at how much they liked it.

Are you planning on BLM camping, thats pretty much all I hear about, or is there more interesting state parks? The national parks all seem to be beautiful but incredibly busy...and frankly probably not all that enjoyable...

 

[M&L]

(tuscon)

SOOOO many interesting things around Tucson. Tombstone is touristy but a must see (if you want to stay right around Tucson, DON'T stay at the RV park in town...stay at the one just outside of town, it's WAY better, and they have ice cream). The Titan Missile Museum and the Pima Air & Space Museum are amazing. The San Xavier Mission is interesting if you like history and architecture. Kitt Peak is super cool, you can tour some of the observatories during daylight hours while the astronomers are sleeping. Saguaro National Park is beautiful...make sure to do BOTH sides. Wandering off into the mountains and deserts around Tucson is SO worthwhile. On our next trip to the area, we plan to hit Tumacacori, Bisbee, and Kartchner Caverns. Oh, and if you want to hit a resort while you're there, the Starr Pass JW Marriott is very enjoyable, and somewhat more affordable during the off (summer) season...the lazy river is very nice to float around while they bring you fine, refreshing beverages with umbrellas.

Arizona keep s moving up on my list of favorite places to explore. I can see why so many people move there for retirement.

 

[dustinp]

...and it seems they are quite generous givers as well! Those are some big numbers.

I have never been to the southwest other than Lost Wages, and passing through phoenix airport --- which STINKS!

My bucket list has getting there, I'd love to come down for a visit. Albuquerque holds my interest to visit a few filming locations for my favorite alternative universe which needs not be named.

Arizona, my company has a location there (tuscon) and so far they have never had a justification to send me there, but frankly I'd not get to see much if they did -- business trips are always packed too tightly with meetings. To a man, everyone I know who has relocated there, or spent enough time there, have raved at how much they liked it.

Are you planning on BLM camping, thats pretty much all I hear about, or is there more interesting state parks? The national parks all seem to be beautiful but incredibly busy...and frankly probably not all that enjoyable...

I'll have to admit to not seeing near as much of the state as we would have liked. We bought our place down there in 2017, and we were both still working at the time. Consequently our time there was limited, and much of it spent doing projects on the house when we were there.
We planned to go down with the TD again in late April or early May of 2020 to try and see some of the more popular national parks in AZ, CA, and UT before school was out and the parks all over crowded, and spend a little time at our home both coming and going, but we all know what happened that year. So unfortunately we don't have much in the way of experiences, or recommendations to pass along yet for the SW .
We have been to Sedona, and the south rim of the Grand Canyon, but it wasn't with the TD, we just did B&B's then. Both are spectacular to see, however Sedona seemed like it was a bit of a tourist trap. Hopefully things will get back closer to normal soon, and we'll be able to make plans to get down there with the TD again.

 

[Sweeney]

I remember Farrell's, but I don't remember getting ice cream there. I do vaguely recall something about a bunch of people getting killed at the one in Sacramento in an aircraft incident in the early 1970's.

I'm a clarinet and saxophone player, but I've always loved banjo. I did not see myself learning. However, having a lot of southern Appalachian ancestry on my dad's side, I was aware of the mountain dulcimer. A guy by the name of Mike Clemmer out of Tennessee (Wood-N-Strings) makes a banjo version that is superb. Easy to play as a novice, and amazing if you know what you're doing. Highly, highly recommend. Here's Aaron O'Rourke playing a more traditional mountain dulcimer AND the banjo version...this guy is really talented:

<SNIPPED>

Your pizza sounds delicious. "More generous cheese" is right up my alley.

The mountain dulcimer didn't appear on my radar, until a few months before we lost our collective minds in 2020. I stumbled on a video on youtube -- I was definitely fascinated. I remember thinking that was close enough to be a long weekend trip for us, and was something we wanted to do. Then we had a "full size" camping setup -- it would be relatively easy to move 2 of these....coz I couldn't get just 1....this is a greater challenge today unless they make an inflatible version

I wonder if Wood-n-Strings is the same shop I saw...I'll definately give this some of my attention later today. I'm looking forward to watching the video...

Speaking of strange and unusual instruments -- have you ever heard a Chapman Stick? Sadly, the creator of the instrument (Emmet Chapman) just went to his eternal reward in 2021. Stick Enterprises - Home of the Chapman Stick - A friend of mine plays, and the acoustic version (Clevely named Acoustick) is very unusual...The electronic ones, I like, but the pickups are a little 'hot' -- even though I like it, I can only listen to them in 1 album increments....then I need a break.

Bob Culberson is probably the one I enjoy the most --- he's very influential..

Of course, if you've ever seen "Blue Man Group" their sound is defined by the instrumnet...besides PVC

 

[M&L]

have you ever heard a Chapman Stick?

Most definitely! Super cool instrument. I've seen them played up close, and I'm always amazed. Not quite as odd as a Theremin, but in a similar category in my brain for some reason.

It's also worth mentioning that people have made bowed versions of dulcimers, and even electric dulcimers. Even saw a video of an electric bass dulcimer with thick rubbery strings. Super fun!

 

[Sweeney]

Most definitely! Super cool instrument. I've seen them played up close, and I'm always amazed. Not quite as odd as a Theremin, but in a similar category in my brain for some reason.

It's also worth mentioning that people have made bowed versions of dulcimers, and even electric dulcimers. Even saw a video of an electric bass dulcimer with thick rubbery strings. Super fun!

They definately sound different than they look....much more like a synth...again, see my comment about something I'd like to learn to play

I saw Tony Lavine play once live...pretty impressive. And BlueMan twice....chicago and Las Vegas.

BMG --- what a unique show. Cross between Comedy, Music, and "experience". Theres probably another 2 or 3 performance types there I missed. I will however NEVER be able to eat a twinkie again. If you know why --- Lets just say I was in about the 3rd row, we were NOT provided with ponchos....It washed out...luckily.

Then again, Twinkies today taste NOTHING like what I grew up on, so I'm not sure thats a bad thing