Munday's the Arizona Roadrunners

Now they have this nice museum, they have included nice grounds for picnicing here too. It's really a nice little park - or it would have been if the weather had been better while we were there. ha! The rain started before we could make it all the way around so called it quits early on the outside section but enjoyed it just the same.

Who would have thought there was more than 1 type of Mammouth? Anyway, there is and this is a reconstruction of a columbian mammouth. He is BIG!!! They have rooms with drawers and drawers of bones of all sorts from the tiniest insect to these large creatures... saber tooth cats, bears, wolves, birds, plants etc etc etc...

Although I grew in Los Angeles area and we have visited here many times, this was a 1st for Earl and I and brother John to visit the famed "tar pits". Right in the heart of the city is this pool of tar! This pit has been here for more years that you can imagine and they have excavated so many bones of animals no longer in existance. Very interesting and the work goes on. We spent time watching the films and looking at all the exhibits in the museum and even looked at the pit itself. Amazing really that it is still in existance and still bubbling and in this area ONLY! Of course we were there with a few bus loads of children on the "field trip" but that was fine. Quite an interesting place to visit. Only problem of course is the traffic in and out of the city! If you plan to be in L. A. it is a fun thing to do...

The best part of being in the Los Angeles area is being able to touch base with relatives. It was so great of Uncle Jim (93) and Aunt Tootie (83) to snag cousin Vicki and her son Stephen to come up for lunch in Acton. Went to the famed "49er Cafe in Acton" . Had a great visit and loved the time we were able to see them. Just wonderful...

One of the reasons we travel south is for the SUNSHINE!! Not the dreaded WHITE STUFF!!! So, we left Menifee knowing we were going to a high altitude and what did we encounter but the dreaded white stuff!!! It was pretty on the mountaintops and fine since we did not have to drive through it... however the next morning we did have a downpour of the dreaded stuff and made it fun for a short while. It looks like God sprinkled powdered sugar on this hilltops! Pretty but cold! Anyway, It did not stay long. Only a few hours on the ground...

One of the fun things about visiting these different museums is you never know exactly what you will find... who would have thought we'd see Tricky Dick with Elvis! Cute... Enjoyed this very much.. oh yeah... just learned on the news that the entry fee was FREE on President's Day (today) and that President Nixon's brother was going to be there along with other fun events planned for the day! Oh well... that is the way it goes......

Visiting Presidential librairies is not on our list of things to do, but after a suggestion from our son-in-law we decided to go visit this one since we were in the area. It was actually a nice museum and since we were familiar with this President it was great looking back on so much that was familiar. They had all the campaign buttons and other tidbits from his time in office. Fun seeing all that old "stuff" again besides seeing his limo and gowns Pat and girls wore. I was most interested in seeing the replica of the Lincoln sitting room. It is an exact replica of how it looked when Jackie Kennedy redid it.. she kept furniture from Lincoln's time and changed wallpaper and drapes to their time period. Guess Hilary redid when she was 1st lady but changed to brighten the place up.. anyway, the chairs have short legs and look a little strange. Learned they are due to when the "ladies" had those large hoop skirts and they needed balance when sitting and getting

While still at Wilderness we had a very short visit with daughter Mary and her little family. One day we even had nice enough weather to play in the pool! Grands loved it and so did we... very nice...

One of the great things about this lifestyle is being able to touch base with family and friends. While here at Menifee (it is a new town name) we were able to see sister Mary. I went down to her place one day in Solana Beach and she came up for a visit with us. Had a lovely day so enjoyed a BBQ salmon dinner outside. It was sort of fun having EArl's brother John and my sis Mary at same time. cute huh.

It is now the 7th of Feb and already our time here at Wilderness Lakes TTN is over... plan to leave tomorrow and go on up to Acton, CA - Soledad TTN. Always enjoy this park with all the water birds and good location for visiting. Had a nice visit with sister Mary, niece Chantal and her little famly and nephew Ryan! What a great treat! Daughter Mary and her little family came down too for a very short visit so we have been doing a lot of family stuff! Now on to Acton and hopefully more family visiting. ha! The rain did manage to find us here and although some areas are really getting slammed with the rain it hasn't been too bad. We'd complain but then this area needs rain so badly. Did take a little time out to visit the Nixon Presidential Library. Very interesting and although the poor guy went out with a bad taste in everyone's mouth he did have a lot of good points about him. Poor smuck just got caught... Worth the visit.. more later after I download the pics f